Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

The theater was sold out and all I heard was the movie and not so much as a peep from the audience, but for when it ended. Zero interest in ever seeing this again as there is nothing resembling fun here, but so thankful that I did see it and that movies like this can afford us an idea of how things actually happen in circumstances like this.

Don’t see anything beating this out for best picture this year.

Also, if you’re not a fan of Jessica Chastain yet, time to climb aboard.

Update: I know I said I’d never see this again, but I did and it was even better the second time around. I still can’t imagine this getting beat out for best picture this year.

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Lawless (2012)

Like O Brother, Where Art Thou?, but not at all funny and with way more blood.

Violent maven John Hillcoat (The Propostion 2005 and The Road 2009) directs, Tom Hardy continues to seduce the camera and Shia LeBeouf manages not to ruin. But it’s Guy Pearce who impresses most with a sinister performance that helps him steal every scene and this says a lot as he shares a few with the aforementioned Hardy.

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Carnage (2011)

Like an 80 minute episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but not nearly as funny and far less plausible. The biggest surprise in this unnatural and often stiff comedy by exciled Roman Polanski is that John C. Rielly outshines his three costars. I didn’t buy the puking Kate Winslet, the smug Christoph Waltz or the frantic Jodie Foster, but a down to earth and affable Reilly almost made this stage play adaptation worth while.

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The Central Park Five (2012)

Recounting the details of a travesty that took place more than 20 years ago is a valuable and important history lesson, but at times tedious. Documentarian extraordinaire Ken Burns teams up with his daughter and her husband on this documentary about the 1989 Jogger Case involving a raped and beaten woman and five wrongfully convicted youths. The first 30 minutes could stand up on its own as a found footage journey of New York City in the 80’s. Chock full of mesmerizing images from that part of the world at that time in history is expected from a Ken Burns doc, but the meandering and lack of focus and style in the second half leave you wondering who directed what. What could have been told in 90 minutes took 130 and the film suffers as a result. Might have been better served as a segment or two on 60 Minutes. And why now? This modern day court style lynching is horrific and beyond upsetting and the interviews with the five wrongfully imprisoned men now, boys then is harrowing and heartbreaking, but why now? They’ve been released for nearly 10 years and their countersuits are all stagnant. Similar to the much more recent West Memphis Three, the Central Park Five seems more like a valuable, but somewhat distant  history lesson. (more…)

Chasing Ice (2012)

I’m not one for politically fueled documentaries (I attribute this to The Michael More Effect) and much to my dismay the global warming issue is a political one. As a result Chasing Ice is a political film, but when viewed strictly as a nature documentary, the footage that renowned nature photographer James Balog captures over a 3 year period is nothing short of astounding. He trains a few dozen nikons on various glaciers around the globe and documents their erosion through means of time-lapse photography. The stills are beautiful while the moving images are breathtaking and undeniable. It’s the video footage however, of the largest iceberg calving ever recorded by a couple of his assistants at the end that proves to be most impressive. The size of Manhattan breaks off right before your eyes and slides into the ocean. (more…)

Her Master’s Voice (2012) Now on Instant

Open a window into a world you most likely are not too familiar with. The ventriloquist is and odd bird and Nina Conti helps continue this notion in her scant 64 minute documentary that chronicles her pilgrimage to The Vent Haven Museum to retire one of her bereaved puppets. She too is bereaved as are all of the characters that accompany her on the journey due to the recent passing of their master, mentor, father, lover and inspiration Ken Campbell. Incredibly intimate at times (she shoots footage of herself alone with her puppets as she works out internal strife and regret) and touching at others, this world is more fascinating than most documentaries dare to be. (more…)

Chained (2012)

Chained is a dark one, a very dark one, but if you can stomach violence and extreme mental anguish then it’s well worth your while. It’s not torture porn like the similar, but inferior Bereavement from 2010. Torture porn does not interest me. This is psychological and it’s Vincent D’Onofrio that makes it work. His return to the big screen brings us one of his greatest characters yet. Bob is fantastically unforgettable and D’Onofrio’s commitment to the character is palpable. The set design is incredibly crafted and beautifully minimalistic as well, but it’s the relationship that really sticks with you.

I love the odd relationship that movies can so effectively expose us to. Think Harold and Maude, Midnight Cowboy, Rain Man and the Odd Couple. Enter Rabbit and Bob. Their relationship is less than ideal, but a duo you may never mentally shake. Jennifer Lynch’s follow up to Surveillance does not let down and this daughter of a master is proving worthy of the name. 

“I will call you Rabbit.”

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Dark Horse (2011)

All the bright colors and poppy music we’ve come to expect in a Todd Solonz film along with the usual dark undertones, but this time it’s just sad. An examination of insecurity and deep denial is the unflinching subject matter that is the story of Abe, an overweight and underachieving real life George Costanza (CARTWRIGHT!) A man child who fumbles about in a manner that is far too real to be fun. He and his love interest played by Selma Blair would’ve been middle of the road ancillary characters in Solondz’s earlier work, but are center stage in this underdeveloped and depressing tale. Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken were the perfect unperfect parents of Abe, but where is the cruelty? The director’s maturity shows (not in a good way) as he has moved on from the meanness and onto the pedestrian and personal. If it’s going to hurt, if it’s going to inflict pain, I want it to be so painful and so exaggerated that it’s hilarious and hurts so good. But this is just sad.

Positives: Jordan Gelber somehow allows us not to absolutley hate Abe and Selma Blair has found new depths of apathy and despair that I have not seen before.

Finally, Solondz is an American treasure who I will continue to support. Maybe I just get sad to see my heros grow up. (more…)

The Tall Man (2012)

The guy who nearly wrecked my mind with the daring, disturbing yet thought provoking Martyrs is at it again, but this time it’s no tour de force.

Children are disappearing in a small North Western town outside of Seattle and I don’t care. Much like Mathieu Kassovitz’s crossover attempt  Gothika with  Halle Berry and Penélope Cruz after the success of Hate (This is a must see)  and Crimson Rivers , Pascal Laugier took a shot with Jessica Biel and American audiences. Another twist ending that could rival any M. Night climax, The Tall Man delivers no punch. Beautifully shot and at times well directed, I hope this is not the last we see of this daring French auteur he writes all his own stuff, I just hope not to see another American horror vehicle. (more…)

The Sessions (2012)

The true life story of Mark O’Brien, a 36 year old man afflicted with polio who lives in an iron lung and his quest to lose his virginity card ultimatly with the help of a sex surrogate. An unrecognizable John Hawkes of Deadwood and Winter’s Bone plays the virgin in the lung while an equally good Helen Hunt plays the surrogate. If you’ve got a thing for Helen, have at it, full frontal nudity throughout. Hunt is nude more often than not and Hawkes is horizontal and horny all film long. Shocking as this might sound with those two elements a constant, another constant is the dullness that sets in at about the 20 minute mark.

In the same vein as the The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, but not nearly as good, Sessions shoots for a lighter mood and in the process put me nearly asleep. While Hawkes is very good and likable as the sexually frustrated O’Brien, he had to be lovable to really make this story work. (more…)