To Say Something That Means Nothing to Anyone at All

In response to the recent slanderous attacks on my blog posting board, I would like to address the following issues

I am not nor have I ever been a douchebag.

The film in question that was quoted on the very same post board was in fact Changing Lanes.

Pleasantville is a fine film.

Explosions in the Sky is one of the best bands on the planet, I need to know where they are and when they are at any time of the day or night.

And as for the regularity of the posts, I say this in response...

EASE UP! BACK UP OFF ME! YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME!

Okay, now that that's out of the way, on with the post...

With Nate back in the city I've been able to catch up on some much needed to be seen flicka shows. Let's start from the top.
Capote was first on tuesday night and this was definitely one of the best films of the year. I'm a sucker for artists' inspiration stories finding neverland and shakespeare in love come to mind. With Capote, however, it's a completely different take and unlike any of the recent slew of bio pics I have seen crowding our cinemas. First of all, Phillip Seymour Hoffman owns every single inch of this movie. This is his first legitimate starring role (state and main is the closest I think he's ever come), he's always been a great team player by filling in key roles and never hogging the narrative thrust. With this film he is allowed to hog the spotlight a little bit, but he never does it for the sake of a starring role. He is so much the soul of this film that all the camera really needs to do is train itself on his face and all the crap they teach you in film school just pours out of him. Not to say that the director and writer were lazy in any sense of the word, the direction is paced and executed in such a way that you don't usually expect from a first time director (waiting...anyone?) (okay that's not really fair, I haven't seen waiting... but come on you were all thinking it). And the script offers some fascinating insights into the crime itself and the story of its creation as the "non fiction masterpiece of the century". This really is a film to see in a theatre listening to the moments of silence where the rest of the audience is just as enraptured as you are. At least as enraptured as I hope you are.

Thumbsucker, a delightful little romp about four horny high school buddies trying to score on the night of their high school prom, when inadequacy ensues, you can be sure the laughs will folllow. Bet you didn't see that one coming...

Actually Thumbsucker is pretty damn good as opposed to most movies made about teenagers. The key to this film I think is a reliance on non-answers and empty solutions, you just accept that that's all we got and get on with it. Also what I really liked about this film was the portrayal of the parents, in the performances and the writing. Usually in films like this we are used to the bumbling idiot parents who are so cluelessly dumb about what their kids are going through that they substitute any sort of parental concern for spouting out inane and dated hip hop catch phrases. They are merely cartoon versions of parents and it's a rare teenage film that presents parents with anything resembling human behavior. Thumbsucker is, luckily one of those films. The parents are fucked up but struggling to make things right, they don't understand their kids but they want them to be happy even when they have absolutely no idea how to do it to themselves. They have failed dreams themselves and moments when they thought everything they had accomplished was worthless. Thumbsucker has some really touching moments because of this and surprising in how rewarded we feel by the conclusion that everybody is fucked up. The cast is great, including, because I have to mention this in the face of all the nay-sayers, Keanu Reeves. He once again proves that given the right role he can be a really subtle and funny comedic actor. Anyone remember thomas haden church, a once has been joke who is now a golden boy because of sideways? It just takes the right role.

Paradise Now was last night (again thank you dev) and that was at the new york film festival, it doesn't open until the end of the month. I had some problems with the film mainly because it couldn't decide at the end of the day whether it was an issue oriented message film or a character driven drama about two men making an absolute choice when they haven't gotten it all figured out yet. My main issue was the lack of character with the two leads, they didn't possess any individual humanistic traits besides the need to breathe and eat that made them the least bit compelling. I had a hard time following them around because I wished they were more interesting to watch. I wished we were given compelling human beings rather than mouthpieces for ideological statements. With that in mind, what happens too often with message oriented movies is that they cease to exist as human drama and become simply an excuse to espouse a checklist of facts, ideas, and historical interpretations. This alone did not bother me, I applaud any filmmaker who tries to inject a political stance, as long as they don't sacrifice the drama because of it. That being said, Paradise Now, is worth seeing. It has a final shot that will stick with you long after you leave the theatre and it's a positive step in the right direction for future films like it.

Finally, the last was Good Night, and Good Luck. Really strong film and before I get into it let me just pause a moment to appreciate the talents of George Clooney...
I know, he was a tv actor on a remarkably successfull drama, and yes it took him a while to find roles suited for him (with the exception of from dusk till dawn which fit him like a speedo) But right now, I think he is on a roll, he directed this film, he's got Syriana coming out in november (which looks fucking amazing) and he's got another collaboration with Soderbergh out next year. Personally I think making out of sight back in 1998 was the best thing that could have happened to him, and kudos to soderbergh for taking a chance on him. Something I really admire about Clooney is that he cares, he said a few days ago that he wanted to make more politically oriented films like the paranoid thrillers of the 60's and 70's and that makes me happy to hear a hollywood star wants to make films that challenge popular opinion. That doesn't mean they are all going to be great, but they at least they are not complacent with the popular culture of today. They attempt to be subversive. Films like Good Night, and Good Luck want to engage us and not simply bore us to tears. Clooney wants to make films like this and the fact that he directed Good Night is an indication that he will put himself on the line to do so. He's like a non-psycho version of tom cruise, neither of them are "great" actors but when they are good, they are better than good. And most importantly, they work their asses off on every project they are involved with, and they care about the movies they make. I don't know, I was just thinking about what a steady and positive contribution George Clooney has made over the years and I'm glad he's doing it.

On to good night, and good luck. I know I've been saying this a lot but I really liked this film. Clooney shows a remarkable restraint and amazing improvement over his last film confessions of a dangerous mind, a film I liked but grew tiresome with because it was 8 billion different things at one time. Good night has none of that bullshit, it's a claustrophobic thriller only instead of submarines and gene hackmen it's white guys with glasses smoking cigarettes while duking it out on the air with stone cold killers like joe mccarthy. What I especially liked about the film was the fact that while their was definitely some mythologizing and hero worship going on (I think it's impossible to avoid such pratfalls myself) a lot of it was subdued by the fact that the cast went out of its way to paint these people as recognizably human. They joke, they make sarcastic comments, and they treat their cause not like a cause, but rather something that simply should be done. The CBS studios they inhabit are filmed like a Byzantine maze, always contorting itself into some new shape and direction, finding new areas for the actors to hide or be discovered. It's a dizzying effect, giving one the feeling of constant motion and a real time documentary feel as we watch this story unfold. I don't think I can say enough how masterfully this film is directed, but I'm having a Clooney induced love fest so maybe that's what that's all about. Fascinating film, David Strathairn is great and he is one of those actors like Frank langella (who is also in the film) that seems to float by from film to film and deliver strong work every time out but never really achieve the recognition they deserve. It's great that this month two films, one starring phillip seymour hoffman and this one with strathairn are giving two great performers the chance to be actors and not just character actors.

Okay, I think that's enough, I could go on about squid and the whale, but I've already talked about that. Check out a mid july post to get the skinny on that film, but in short I loved it and I think everybody and their mothers should go see it, together. Or mix and match what do I care. So I hope this blog entry was long enough, I hope you enjoy reading it....suckers.

"Don't say your sorry
Cause sorry means something is wrong"

p.s. I suck as a critic I know, but I've got to be better than Rex Reed right?