Flight
Actor-writer John Gatins spent 12 years trying to get Flight made. One thing led to another, and Paramount agreed to make it once Denzel Washington and Robert Zemeckis came onboard. It is definitely a work of passion.
Just hours before Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) has to pilot a plane from Orlando to Atlanta, he is still boozing and snorting coke and having sex with a crew member. Before the flight, Whip violates the law again by drinking. When the plane malfunctions and nosedives, Whip makes a call and flips the plane upside down and thus averts a disaster that could have killed everyone onboard. Four passengers and two crew members die, however.
Whip is quickly hailed the hero. However, before he can celebrate and bask in his glory, he is being investigated for having been intoxicated while piloting the plane. He's helped by his friend Charlie (Bruce Greenwood) and lawyer Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle), who tries to convince Whip to get sober while they try to clear his name. While at the hospital, Whip meets recovering drug addict Nicole (Kelly Reilly). Nicole tries to stay clean and convince Whip to seek help, but Whip doesn't want any of that.
As the pressure mounts, Whip becomes more stressed and depressed, and he turns to booze and drugs to cope. That's the last thing he should be doing while he faces his hearing. He also becomes increasing out of control, and Nicole decides to leave him so she won't sink with his ship.
Denzel Washington (Unstoppable) won a Best Actor Oscar for playing a villain. Here, he once again plays an unlikable character, who is so deep in his own shit that he can't see the light. Deep down, the character isn't a bad person, but he is arrogant (he is the only person who could have done what he did, and thus he was the hero who saved all those lives including his own), stubborn, and often abrasive and unkind to others. Washington walks a fine line portraying this character, giving us enough to empathize but never a reason to condone his actions. He's given an impressive performance.
Kelly Reilly (Sherlock Holmes) surprises with her delicate portrayal of a junkie who is in dire need for help. Her performance, in comparison, is quieter and more understated, and thus provides a nice counterpoint to Washington's bravado. John Goodman (Argo) receives great Oscar buzz for playing Whip's drug dealer, and for a good reason. Bruce Greenwood (Super 8) and Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2) are both solid in their supporting roles. Melissa Leo (The Fighter) has a brief but commanding role as well.
John Gratins's (Real Steel) screenplay is very serious in tone and themes and subject matters. It deals with alcoholism, drug abuse and faith head-on without apologies. The dialogue and the plot are thoughtful and serious. At times, I do feel that Gratins preaches too much. It feels like a message movie. Also, Whip just isn't a very likable, although Gratins tries to give him many dimensions. But realistic since Whip is an alcoholic, he is realistically portrayed and written as an ass. The problem is that it makes it more difficult for the audience to identify and empathize. It's a risk that Gratins has to take, and I give him kudos for that.
Still, it makes it hard to really like this story or the characters. Nicole is a more sympathetic character and she serves as a nice counterpoint to Whip. Still, this is really Whip's show, so the parallel arcs don't really work. Also, the reasons for Nicole's sobering up isn't well explained.
The direction of Robert Zemeckis (A Christmas Carol), who took some much needed time off, is solid. The film has a gritty, realistic look to it, which serves the material just fine, if not entirely aesthetic. The pacing though seems uneven. There are some slow parts of the story where the plot doesn't seem to move at all. The plot seems to have stopped just to develop the characters some more. The crash scene is good, but not as amazing as Zemeckis's other crash scene in Cast Away.
While Denzel Washington gave a wonderful performance as the flawed man, this is not an easy movie to love. It just feels too heavy, without a lot of humor, and preachy. While the performances are strong and the direction solid, the movie never quite takes flight.
Stars: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, Melissa Leo
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writer: John Gatins
Distributor: Paramount
MPAA Rating: R for drug and alcohol abuse, language, sexuality, nudity and intense action sequence
Running Time: 138 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 8
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 7
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 7
Production - 8
Total - 7.5 out of 10.0
© 2012 Ray Wong
The crowd-pleasing feel good movie of the year has arrived, and it's aptly called Silver Linings Playbook. Based on Matthew Quick's popular novel, the movie touches on the wide spectrum of emotions with quirky but likable characters, albeit being predictable and contrived at times.
Pat (Bradley Cooper) has been in a mental hospital because of a plea bargain following a mental breakdown that resulted in him almost killing a fellow teacher in an outburst of rage. It happens that Pat's wife had been cheating on him with said teacher. Pat finally snapped, and was promptly diagnosed as being bipolar. After eight months, Pat's mother (Jacki Weaver) has had enough so she asks the court to release Pat, and she takes Pat under her wings since Pat has lost his job, his house, and his wife.
Living under his parents' roof again and trying to adjust back to real life has not been easy for Pat. He tries to do his best, and he's going to therapy, but he also makes a conscientious choice to win his wife back, who has since moved on. Meanwhile, his best friend Ronnie (John Ortiz) tries to set him up with his sister-in-law Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), who recently became a widow when her cop husband was killed in a freak accident while trying to be a good Samaritan. Tiffany is going through a lot herself, and she was fired from her job by sleeping with 11 people at her workplace.
Pat is instantly attracted to Tiffany, but mentally he is trying very hard to resist and avoid her because his mind is set on winning his wife back. Tiffany, who has access to Pat's wife, agrees to help Pat if only he would do something for her in return. Meanwhile, Pat is trying to reconnect with his father by engaging in one of the few passions they share: The Philadelphia Eagles. Pat's long and strange road of recovery hinges on how well he connects with his family, friends and Tiffany.
Bradley Cooper (The Words) has risen to leading man status relatively quickly based on his Sexiest Man Alive good looks and crowd-pleasing materials he's been presented with such as the Hangover series. However, Cooper has yet to prove his acting chops which is strange since he came from theater. With the character of Pat in Silver Linings Playbook, I think Cooper has finally found his groove. Despite his good looks, Cooper is perfect as the mentally unbalanced man who struggles to find himself. He's shown a good range in his finely tuned performance.
Likewise, Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) has risen to stardom relatively quickly since her breakout performance in Winter's Bone. Here, she shows a different side which I think is more in line with the actress's true identity than her character in The Hunger Games. She and Bradley Cooper have great chemistry together despite their age difference, and that is key to the success of this movie.
The supporting characters are hilarious but great. Robert De Niro (Being Flynn) nails it in one of his most affecting roles in recent years. In truth, his character is no less neurotic than his bipolar son, and through that hard Italian shell you can see how much he loves his son. That's great acting. Jacki Weaver (The Five-Year Engagement) is wonderfully understated and subtle as Pat's doting mother. John Ortiz (Public Enemies) is fantastic as Pat's best friend, and Julia Stiles (Between Us) is suitably uptight as his wife and Tiffany's sister. Chris Tucker (Rush Hour), however, stands out like a sore thumb among the other seasoned actors. Mr. Tucker has a great presence, but his acting is a bit rusty (and his role seems irrelevant as far as the story is concerned).
Written and directed by David O. Russell (The Fighter), the screenplay adheres to the book's themes and arcs but also deviates from them, and that's a good thing. For example, it plays up the relationship between Pat and his father, and that's a welcome change. Russell himself deviates from his past efforts, too but manages to stay close to his root at the same time. While Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy of sorts and features some outrageously funny characters and situations, it doesn't stray far from the working class characters, grit, and nuances of The Fighter or Three Kings. The writing is sharp, witty and insightful, if at times frantic and somewhat chaotic. But Russell has done a great job developing the characters while moving the plot along without relying too much on stereotypes or shortcuts. There are subtleties in the writing and direction that it may take a second or third viewing to notice.
That said, the direction can be somewhat frantic at times. Given the frantic nature of the characters, I think the director gets a bit too involved, and as a result, some scenes become too frantic and lack the needed objectivity or some narrative distance. Also, the concept of the ballroom dancing competition and the ending are somewhat contrived and predictable. It veers towards the mainstream which is at odds with the premise and first half of the story, where everything seems so fresh and unusual and original. In comparison, the ending simply feels overdone and too crowd pleasing, if not for the two leads who bring down the house with their affecting chemistry and performances.
There's been a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding Silver Linings Playbook, and I can understand why. It's a roaring, feel-good dramedy about broken people who have serious personality flaws. It's a crowd pleaser. It is very funny. And it has very touching moments as well. And the leads have done marvelously. Still, I think if we take a step back, we will start to see the cracks. It's not a perfect film but boy will you have a great time watching it. That itself is a silver lining.
Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz, Julia Stiles
Director: David O. Russell
Writers: David O. Russell (based on novel by Matthew Quick)
Distributor: Weinstein Company
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual content and nudity
Running Time: 122 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 8
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 8
Music/Sound - 8
Editing - 7
Production - 8
Total - 7.9 out of 10.0
© 2012 Ray Wong
Deemed to be an unfilmable book, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, to quote director Ang Lee, is a philosophical book about faith and storytelling. Even with the adventures in the middle, the story in fact lacks a true plot and relies mostly on two characters: a young man and a Bengal tiger.
While working on his next book in India, a young writer (Rafe Spall) receives a tip from an Indian man who insists that his nephew, Pi Patel, has a story that will make anyone believe in God. Intrigued, the writer travels back to Montreal to find Pi (Irrfan Khan), who proceeds to tell him his life story and the fateful events that forced him to question the existence of God.
Pi is an inquisitive boy while growing up in the French-Indian country where his family owns and operate a zoo. Even as a boy, Pi questions the truth about God, and he becomes a Hindu, Christian and Muslim at the same time, much to his father's chagrin. The changing political climate in India convinces Pi's father (Adil Hussain) to move the family to Canada. While crossing the Pacific on a Japanese freighter, a storm hits and sinks the boat, killing everyone onboard including Pi's family.
Out of sheer luck, Pi escapes in a lifeboat with an injured zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Much to Pi's despair, the hyena kills the zebra and the orangutan before Richard Parker kills the hyena. Knowing the tiger will turn to him after it has devoured the other animals, Pi builds a raft and tries to avoid Richard Parker. Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, and when food and water become scarce, Pi knows that he will need to share his resources with Richard Parker if he wants to survive, and the only way he can do that is to tame the tiger.
Irrfan Khan (The Amazing Spider-Man) plays the older Pi. He doesn't have a lot of screen time, mostly serving as a reference character in a frame story. His quiet and thoughtful mannerism does convey a more mature and philosophical Pi. Rafe Spall (Prometheus) is less convincing as the writer. I find his performance and the role underdeveloped, almost as a plot device and not a real character.
Gérard Depardieu (Dumas) has a small role as a French cook, but he makes the best of it as a nasty brute. Indian actors Tabu and Adil Hussain are both good as Pi's mother and father respectively. But the star of the movie is newcomer Suraj Sharma. While not the best actor in the world, Sharma has a natural talent and charisma that make us care about his character, and he carries most of the movie admirably, with the help of only a CGI tiger most of the time. We can't tell that this is Sharma's very first acting job!
Well, I suppose the REAL star of the show is the CGI tiger. Recreated mostly with CGI using four tigers as references, Richard Parker is a marvel of modern cinematic magic.
Writer David Magee (Finding Neverland) has the thankless job of attempting Yann Martel's famed but difficult and introspective novel. Magee has to streamline the novel to make it more cinematic while finding a structure that works for film. By and large he's succeeded, especially with the middle of the story when Pi tries to survive. I am not sure about the framing story though. I understand what he tries to accomplish, as it is as much a story about faith as it is about storytelling, but I find the frame lacking in urgency, relevance, and cinematic value. It also distances the audiences from the central narrative (which, in the book, is told in first person). The first-person narration helps, but emotionally it feels distant as the older Pi is too calm and collected, almost detached. Compared to the "meat" of the central story, the frame pales drastically.
I also find the dialogue somewhat on the nose and earnest. Yes, this is a story about faith, but does it need to be spelled out every chance we have?
It doesn't help that director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) breaks the adventures with the older Pi cutting in with his narration. That's distracting and an equivalent of an "author's intrusion." The ending also feels lukewarm as we try to process what we've seen and what the story really means. It lacks a significant payoff.
That said, technically the movie is spectacular. The cinematography is gorgeous from the scenes in India (with the exception of the scenes in Canada -- that looks like an afterthought) to the scenes in the Pacific. In addition to the Bengal tiger, the shipwreck, and the ferocious ocean, there are too many "wow" moments to mention. The movie is full of cinematic wonders that often juxtapose Pi's ordeal and struggles with a dreamlike quality of surrealism. In Lee's vision, the ocean is majestic and spectacular and frightening and lonesome and calming and inspirational all at once. I believe Life of Pi deserves an Oscar nomination, if not a win, just for Richard Parker himself, if not for the over all technical achievements.
So it's sad for me to say that Life of Pi turns out to be somewhat a disappointment. I wish Ang Lee and David Magee had dropped the framing device and plunged right in Pi's first-person narrative and engulfed us with Pi's adventures through and through. I also wish that they didn't overplay the spiritual aspect of the novel, which I found rather overbearing at times. Still, there is so much to like and marvel about this movie that I recommend that you go see it and come to your own conclusion.
Stars: Irrfan Khan, Suraj Sharma, Gérard Depardieu, Rafe Spall, Tabu, Adil Hussain
Director: Ang Lee
Writers: David Magee (based on novel by Yann Martel)
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: PG for emotional thematic content, some scary action sequences
Running Time: 127 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 8
Editing - 8
Production - 10
Total - 7.7 out of 10.0
© 2012 Ray Wong
After 50 years and six lead actors, how do you manage to make an old franchise fresh and exciting again? Four years after the lackluster Quantum of Solace, audiences around the world begin to question if there is still life in James Bond, especially with Daniel Craig in the iconic role. Fortunately for us, Craig's third outing as Bond proves to be his best, yet.
Skyfall opens in Istanbul, with Bond (Daniel Craig) in hot pursuit of an assassin who has stolen an encrypted hard drive containing a list of MI6 field agents' identities. The highly sensitive information will completely destroy MI6 and their operations if it gets out, and M (Judi Dench) is determined to secure that list. She makes a fateful decision that almost gets Bond killed, and in the process she loses the list.
A few months later, a terrorist attack on MI6 headquarters in London jolts M to realize that their security has been compromised. More important, the terrorist has a personal axe to grind with M. Bond reemerges from his "death" to pursue the man behind the curtains, which leads him in a wild goose chase through the streets of Shanghai, Macau and back to London. Eventually, he tracks down the terrorist, Silva (Javier Bardem), who used to be an MI6 agent.
Silva tries to convince Bond to join him in his crusade. He rationalizes with Bond how silly they would work for their country when someone like M could give an order to get them killed without blinking an eye. Instead, Silva can do whatever he wants with what he knows and what he can do. Bond's moral compass is shaken when he questions his own mortality and loyalty. More important, he starts to questions M's trust and his own patriotism.
Daniel Craig (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) has both hardened and softened as Bond in his third and most demanding film as James Bond. Physically, Craig is commanding and extremely convincing as the suave but brutal agent. And yet he allows us to continue to peel off another layer and see into Bond's soul and sentimentality. Through Craig, whose steely eyes are as lethal as they are sensitive, we get to see a softer and human side of the world's most famous super spy.
Judi Dench (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) reprises her pivotal role as M with similarly steely and yet sensitive quality. At the beginning of the movie we get to see M's brutal and apparently insensitive side (just to get the job done). But as the movie clips along, we realizes M cares too much, and her character unravels before our eyes, and that makes her a vulnerable character. Ralph Fiennes (Wrath of the Titans) does a good job as M's boss, Gareth Mallory -- his character doesn't have a whole lot to do here, but we figure he will be featured more prominently in future films.
As the baddie, Javier Bardem (Eat Pray Love) is creepy, frightening, and yet hilarious at the same time. How this actor can appear so charging and handsome in one film (Eat Pray Love) and hideously creepy in another is a testament of his acting prowess. There is one homoerotic scene between him and Craig that is laugh-out-loud funny, bizarre, and creepy at the same time. Kudos to both actors to playfully pull that off.
Albert Finney (Big Fish) makes a much-appreciated appearance as Bond's old friend Kincade. Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas) is an interesting choice for a new Q. The Bond girls have surprisingly meatier roles. Naomie Harris (Miami Vice) sparkles as fellow MI6 agent Eve, and French actress Berenice Marlohe puts in some good work as the complex Severene.
The screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan is surprising streamlined and straightforward. This has, by far, one of the easiest-to-follow plot in any Bond films. Don't get me wrong; it still has all the requisite elements of a good Bond film: the structure, the thrills, the actions, the steamy Bond sex. But I am impressed with the character development. I'm also impressed that they choose to turn the story personal, especially in the third act when Bond returns to his childhood home. His history is slowly revealed but there is still so much we don't know about James Bond, and he's not one to divulge. Nicely done.
Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) adds a rare prestige to the production. It may seem strange for an Oscar-winning director well known for his dramas to direct a Bond film, but it works beautifully. Mendes manages to stay within the Bond formula but also expand on it, making it personal, character-driven, and relevant at the same time. But what's a Bond film without cars, chases, gadgets and actions? The action sequences are incredible; we can only marvel at the inventiveness especially after 50 years of Bond action. The images are stunning, and the actions are easy to follow (none of that convoluted close-ups and shaky cams) and thrilling. The sequences in Asia are spectacular.
And then Sam Mendes does something incredible. Amongst all that mayhem and destructions and thrilling actions, he manages to make us care deeply about the characters. In particular, the relationship between M and Bond is complex, at times humorous, and subtly and nicely explored. Well done.
Skyfall is one of the best Bond films I have seen… in all of its 50 years' history. Add to that we also have one of the best Bond songs in recent memory, courtesy of Adele. The perfect storm and the outrageously talented people have finally given us a Bond film that is worthy of all the praises and may one day become a true classic.
Stars: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear
Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Distributor: Columbia
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense violent sequences, some sexuality, language and smoking
Running Time: 143 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 8
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 8
Editing - 8
Production - 9
Total - 8.0 out of 10.0
© 2012 Ray Wong
As the title suggests, The Impossible chronicles the ordeal of a family during the 2004 Tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia, and how they defied the impossible odds to survive and find one another.
Henry (Ewan McGregor), Maria (Naomi Watts) and their three sons Lucas (Tom Holland), Thomas (Samuel Joslin) and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) are vacationing in Thailand from Japan for the holidays. Maria has temporarily quit her job as a doctor to care for the three boys, while Henry is on the verge of losing his lucrative job. But all of their problems seem to suddenly disappear as they face the unthinkable when a tsunami hits their vacation villas.
Maria is seriously hurt but manages to reunite with Lucas. Together they help each other survive until nearby villagers rescue them. Soon, they are taken to a local hospital which is teeming with injured survivors. It's when they realize how much the tsunami has destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people, including visitors like them, have their lives completely changed. Meanwhile, Maria and Lucas believe that Henry and the other two boys are dead. Clinging to each other, they must keep on living as Maria's injury is threatening her life.
Meanwhile, Henry and the boys have survived, against all odds. But Henry holds on the belief that Maria and Lucas are still alive, and he sends the boys to the mountain shelter while looking for his wife and oldest son. The search seems impossible, and the odds of ever finding them -- alive, no less -- become more and more impossible as days pass.
Naomi Watts (J. Edgar) gives a tour-de-force performance as Maria. Her suffering is difficult to watch, and often she has no dialogue, just her facial expressions and body languages to convey her pain, anguish, and love for Lucas. It is a tremendous performance. Ewan McGregor (Salmon Fishing in the Yemens) does a good job, too, but in an odd way his is the least impressive.
Most impressive is Tom Holland (The Secret World of Arrietty) as Lucas. The boy has some serious acting chops and holds his own against Naomi Watts, as they share the most screen time together. The chemistry between the two is incredible, making us believe in the bond between them as mother and son. The two other boys, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast, also impress with their innocent and no-frill performances that just make our heart ache. Geraldine Chaplin (The Orphanage) lends her regal appearance in a heartfelt scene.
Written by Sergio Sanchez (The End) based on the true story of the Belon's family, the story is rather straightforward and heavy on coincidences. The filmmakers understand how implausible it may seem, and rely on our suspension of disbelief that it is all about fate. How one can survive something like that -- not to mention the entire family. How impossible it is for the family to reunite after being separated by such devastation. The theme is all about fate and coincidence, and they play up some of the impossible events, mostly due to the limit of trying to tell the story in such a short time.
The lack of significant dialogue is offset by many sequences of intensely emotional scenes and actions. Under Bayona's (The Orphanage) direction, the movie is gripping, intense and frightening. The tsunami scenes are some of the most realistic I have ever seen, and they truly impress. While sometimes overtly sentimental and sappy (a line that Bayona crosses even as the story itself is emotional -- I think he could have toned that down without sacrificing the emotional impact), the film includes many haunting images with stunning performances from the stars as well as the background actors.
The Impossible is an emotionally gripping, intense story that hits us with the full force of tsunami waves. Despite its occasionally sentimental flaws, it is impossible not to be affected by this movie.
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Holland, Martha Etura, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Writers: Sergio G. Sanchez (based on Maria Belon's story)
Distributor: Summit
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense realistic disaster sequences, brief nudity
Running Time: 114 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 9
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 8
Editing - 8
Production - 10
Total - 8.0 out of 10.0
