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Thursday, February 12, 2009
I do love Ron Howard, but for some reason I was not super excited about the prospect of seeing Frost/Nixon, but I still intended to see it because I know Ron Howard makes movies worth seeing. Well, I saw Frost/Nixon today and I can safely say that I was not at all disappointed in it, in fact I was enthralled by the film.
Frost/Nixon is the tale of David Frost who is a British television personality who decides it would be good TV, and exposure for himself to get an interview with Richard Nixon post his abdication of the presidency and the difficulties he faces when he succeeds in getting that interview. For me I think that this movie fell in the same category as The Queen and I was uninterested because I felt no need for another political history lesson. However, just as The Queen surprised me in its ability to entice me Frost/Nixon grabbed me and kept me rooted to my seat without ever feeling like I was watching a history channel dramatization; instead Ron Howard managed to make me feel like I was in the room with Frost and Nixon and their associates watching a game of tennis or a tug-of-war that neither personality could afford to lose.
What I did find delightful was Frank Langella’s portrayal of Richard Nixon. I’ve had the experience of visiting the Nixon library several times as it is remarkable close to my house and have therefore seen way more of Nixon than I ever wanted to; I believe due to this when I watched Langella in the Frost/Nixon trailer I couldn’t help but feel like he was a Nixon imposter, and it bothered me. However, between the talents of Langella and Howard when I was actually watching the film in its entirety Langella became Nixon for me. I am not sure that Langella deserves an Oscar for the performance, but he definitely deserves the nomination as he somehow captures the essence of Nixon’s stubborn ruthlessness and still manages to make him empathetic and slightly likeable.
So far out of all the films that actually scored a best picture nomination this year I’d have to say that Frost/Nixon would get my vote, but I do think they Oscar’s are a forgone conclusion this year and Slumdog Millionaire will be taking home the gold.
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Peter Morgan
Richard Nixon: Frank Langella
David Frost: Michael Sheen
James Reston, Jr: Sam Rockwell
Jack Brennan: Kevin Bacon
John Birt: Matthew Macfadyen
Bob Zelnick: Oliver Platt
Caroline Cushing: Rebecca Hall
Pat Nixon: Patty McCormack
James Reston, Jr.: You know the first and greatest sin of the deception of television is that it simplifies; it diminishes great, complex ideas, trenches of time; whole careers become reduced to a single snapshot.
Monday, October 20, 2008
In traditional Allen fashion this is a confused and tangled story of characters looking for their life, their passion and their loves. Vicky and Cristina are best friends though they are as different as can be and decide to head to Vicky’s relative’s in Barcelona for the summer; Vicky is engaged to Doug a devoted but boring man and working on her Masters in Catalan culture, Cristina is a flight artist that cannot decide her medium and doesn’t know what she wants in a romance. Out for dinner one night they meet Juan Antonio who invites them to Oviedo with him for a weekend of culture and love making – he does not hide that this is his motive. Cristina is intrigued by Juan Antonio an pressures rigid Vicky into accompanying her with Juan Antonio. Though Vicky and Juan Antonio don’t immediately hit it off they do end up carrying a flame for each other that they hide as Juan Antonio begins a relationship with Cristina that becomes incredibly complex and eventually includes his ex-wife Maria Elena.
I am someone who has never been affected by the charms of Penelope Cruz, I really don’t think she is that good of an actress – in English. I think too much is going on in her head to translate from Spanish to English and as a result I have never really enjoyed her performances; however, she speaks mainly Spanish in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and I was amazed how large a difference it made in her performance. I can now begin to see the kind of talent that she really has, and I hope she can bring it to an English language film.
It is common knowledge that Scarlett has become Allen’s new muse. The funny thing about Scarlett’s muse status is that Allen didn’t want to work with her. In her first role with Allen in Match Point another actress was slotted in her part and dropped out at the last minute – Scarlett stepped in. Since working with her Allen can’t get enough of her. What was most interesting to me in their latest endeavor is that I believe in essence Scarlett was playing the traditional Allen character. Cristina is the Alvy Singer character who has impossible neurosis, quirky mannerisms, talks far too fast and is the crux of the tale – Cristina is the backbone of the story.
I used to consider Woody Allen an overrated filmmaker. However, in my post-film school life I have actually found a place for him in my film catalog. I deeply enjoy his movies and think that he is a filmmaker that has contributed to the art of film. I thank Scarlet Johansson for taking a last minute role in Match Point and reigniting Woody Allen’s zest for filmmaking.
Director & Writer: Woody Allen
Cristina: Scarlett Johansson
Vicky: Rebecca Hall
Juan Antonio: Javier Bardem
Maria Elena: Penelope Cruz
Doug: Chris Messina
Judy Nash: Patricia Clarkson
Mark Nash: Kevin Dunn
Narrator: Christopher Evan Welch
Juan Antonio: We are meant for each other and not meant for each other. It's a contradiction.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
I cannot tell you that the story behind The Prestige is simple as I do with some of my other reviews, nor can I tell you all about it as that would spoil the surprise. What I can tell you is that this film improves with every viewing because more layers of the story become clear to the viewer.
My favorite thing about the film is actually how it is structured; the film is structured like a magic trick. One of the characters sets up this structure at the beginning of the film; every magic trick contains three parts, the pledge where the magician shows you something ordinary but of course it isn’t ordinary, the turn where he takes the ordinary object and makes it extraordinary, and finally the prestige where the pay off of the magic trick is revealed - without the prestige the trick is worthless.
The pledge in this film seems so very ordinary; Cutter, Alfred, Robert & his wife Julia work for a magician and the Robert & Alfred have aspirations to become magicians in their own right. While performing a trick they have done hundreds of times something goes wrong and Julia is killed. Distraught, Robert blames Alfred for Julia’s death and both men leave their positions seeking to better the other as the world’s best magician a rivalry fueled by Robert’s anger at Alfred. Alfred and Cutter join forces to help bring Alfred’s magic to the public.
The turn is the middle of the film; Alfred has lived up to his word and created what appears to be the world’s greatest magic trick and no one can duplicate it. Alfred becomes massively popular and eclipse's Robert’s glory; the two men begin to compete even more than before and each forsee’s the other’s next step. Angered even more, Robert seeks to discover how Alfred’s illusion is managed and finally has Alfred stopped from performing his trick by having him arrested and tried for murder.
The prestige is what I cannot reveal, but it truly is the point in the movie where Christopher and Jonathon Nolan take what seemed to be an ordinary rivalry and turn it into something you never expected and a masterful bit of writing that makes the entire movie that precedes it more worth the viewing. Just like promised, the prestige of this film makes the entire movie worth watching again and again.
When I tell you that this movie is different I am not exaggerating. The story is more complex and layered that I can explain here without ruining everything for you. I think that this movie surprises and confuses people, but it is so worth your time.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher and Jonathon Nolan
Alfred: Christian Bale
Robert: Hugh Jackman
Cutter: Michael Caine
Julia: Piper Perabo
Olivia: Scarlett Johansson
Tesla: David Bowie
Sarah: Rebecca Hall
Cutter: Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".
