True Grit

Isn't the ideal genre for creating unforgettable characters the Western? With so much freedom for speech and appearance, the Coen Brothers must have been tickled to calculate to perfection their trademark supporting cast. Of course, having Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin as headliners doesn't hurt.

In perhaps the most mainstream and star-studded film that the genius kin have ever put out, they stick to their traditional ways; manipulating light and natural visually appealing scenery with deliberate camera pans and cuts.

The film follows the original, with the necessary deviations to modernize the outcome. It is for all intents and purposes a Western of the classic variety. A throwback to films dominated by dialogue and horseback riding. Very John Wayne.

Maddie Ross (Hailee Steinfield)is seeking justice against the murderer of her father, and finds it in Arkansas, where she comes across Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), an old drunken curmudgeon US Marshal, a throwback to the old wild west. Having lost track of the number of men he's killed, he knows nothing but tracking fugitives, so Maddie decides that he's the man for the job. A lawman with "true grit".

Cogburn takes the job and they come across LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), a Texas Ranger who has been hunting the same man who killed Maddie's father for months. Together, they set off to find Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) and either kill him or bring him to justice.

The three have a tremendously natural rapport, and the dialogue is sharp and timed wonderfully. Bridges delivers a performance equal if not better than last year's Oscar winning Bad Blake, and Damon is both comic relief, and just plain enjoys his role.

The real star is newcomer Hailee Steinfield. Although I am not saying anything that hasn't been raved about already, she owns the screen. A precocious and determined young lady in an outlaw's world, she holds her own and shows her own "true grit".

In my opinion, this is the best film of the year, but I fear that critics may be hard on the ending. It does creep up and climax a bit abruptly, and the epilogue is a bit unnecessary and out of place. This is however, a Coen Brothers movie, and everything is deliberate and calculated.

Bridges will certainly receive a nomination, and in a year with stiff competition, he may win it. Firth, Franco, and Eisenberg will certainly push him, but it is entirely possible that he will win consecutive Best Actor Oscars.

Steinfield will also certainly be recognized, but I predict a win for her in the Supporting Actress category, although she should be up for Best Actress. It is the strongest performance by a child actor in recent memory, and will launch a successful career without a doubt.

This is everything that I hoped it would be, and although the end wasn't completely satisfying, it may have just been because I didn't want it to end. This is the real Rooster Cogburn, no offense to Wayne.

Great film, definitely worth seeing (I am going for a second time soon). A better Western hasn't been seen since Unforgiven. 10/10.

Tron Legacy

28 years after the original, Tron is revisited with the special effects that were intended the first time around. Unfortunately, the story hasn't received much of an upgrade.

Jeff Bridges links two films that may win him two Best Actor Oscars with this ambitious re visitation to the cyberworld of the "Grid". He once again plays Flynn, the gaming geek trapped in a video game. The special effects are absolutely mind-blowing, and with two major action sequences, this film is worth the price of admission to the 3D and IMAX experience. The rest of the film however, has only one bearable quality; Olivia Wilde.

Garrett Hedlund takes the torch from Bridges as the prodigal son who conveniently inherits his computer hacking skills, and embarks on an accidental adventure to find his long lost father and bring him home. Once in the world of the "Grid", the film begins to fall apart. Acting is terrible, and the CGI attempts to make Bridge's alter-ego, CLU appear younger is phony and out of place. They would have been better off scouring the earth for a doppelganger. This is no Benjamin Button.

Hedlund's lack of surprise, and unjustified confidence in this gladiatorial arena is simply unbelievable. Not that being sucked into a cyber world could be believable, but I know how I would react, and calm and confident is probably not it.

Olivia Wilde is simply gorgeous. Clad in black spandex, she is the perfect actress for the role of Quorra, a program created by Bridges' Flynn who serves as a right-hand woman and personal assistant.

In its defense, the two main action sequences (three if you count the Frisbee fight) of the cycles and jets are visual euphoria. The score, done by Daft Punk is the perfect complement for the action, and for a moment, you lose yourself in the raw special effects of the film.

Then you come back to plot and acting.

The evolution of the film takes on a sort of mystical Star Wars meets Matrix quality, and it is not true to the simplicity of what should have been. I didn't appreciate the holes and lack of continuity.

Definitely kid-friendly, and a good time for 10-15 year old boys, but not up to the potential of the budget or platform on which it was created. A must see in 3D and IMAX, and extra points for that. 6/10.

The Fighter

The Fighter has been in the works for a long time. An awards sleeper, it is another gritty Boston (actually Lowell, but what's the difference?) drama with a heart of gold. Based on the true story of boxer Micky Ward, this film focuses more on the relationship with his family, particularly his crack-addicted, former boxer brother who happens to be his best friend and trainer.

Mark Wahlberg portrays Ward with ease and a casual, natural attitude. This role isn't much of a stretch as Ward seems both kind and normal. He is basically the black sheep of his dysfunctional family. His talent and determination is held hostage by his loyalty, and the singular purpose in his life is contaminated by the irony of his family bond.

Christian Bale shows his range, yet again, as Dicky Eklund. The subject of an HBO Sports documentary, his misguided, single-minded selfish character is convinced that the "Pride of Lowell" and his comeback as a boxer is the intended content. Grasping at a moment in history, Bale shows the epitome of pathetic and is a pitiable character.

The rest of the supporting cast is amazing. Amy Adams is perfect as the sharp-tongued love interest who doesn't put up with Micky's family nonsense and plays a Massachusetts girl with authenticity. Melissa Leo has one of the juiciest roles of the year as the ignorant and overburdened mother of 6 (or is it 7? 8? More?). She is dependent on her two boys to support her and her bevy of white trash daughters. They make rude quips in lazy Bostonian accents, and make the viewer almost giddy at how brilliantly portrayed and disgusting they actually are.

Boxing takes a back seat to the interaction between the characters, and Ward struggles to prove himself as more than just a stepping stone for better fighters.

The boxing scenes are fine, but not overly realistic. More attention could have been garnered on those scenes, and although Wahlberg plays a fighter with convincing conviction, his fights seemed too choreographed. However, Raging Bull and Rocky had the same criticisms, and I couldn't do better, so I can't fault David O Russell too much for that.

I enjoyed this film. It was gritty and depressing, but came through with a very favorable ending. I left feeling like the underdog had won, and the character transformations were hear-warming and endearing.

I imagine that this film will collect an assortment of Oscar nominations, but I like Melissa Leo and Christian Bale. I wouldn't be surprised if it sweeps the supporting awards, because God knows Christian Bale is one of a handful of actors who has deserved an Oscar nomination for years, and surprisingly is receiving his first Golden Globe nod this year.

Inspirational like a Disney sports film, yet shows verisimilitude to the plight of the working class. Well done film. 8/10.

Black Swan

I would pay good money to see Barbara Hershey and Natalie Portman as mother/daughter in a dysfunctional relationship again. They are chilling in this interesting psychological thriller by the unpredictable Darren Aronofsky.

The story is based on the premise of Swan Lake, but kicked up a notch with lesbianism, drug use, self-mutilation, and eerily transcendent character portrayals. Natalie Portman is spot on with her meek, passive, and submissive Nina. Nina is a simple girl living in New York with her mother, isolated from the rest of the world by her obsession with perfecting the art of ballet. Her mother does her no favors as a washed up ballerina herself, encouraging her daughter to forgo the pleasures of life in favor of the emotional and physical pain associated with the art.

Nina is hiding a secret that soon emerges, and ultimately leads her spiraling down a surreal blend of visual, auditory, and emotional hallucinations. The film is dark and basal. Aronofsky pulls no punches with his work, this is much more Requiem for a Dream than it is the Wrestler.

The transformation from the proverbial "White Swan" to the "Black Swan" is the whole purpose of the film, and to set it amidst the beauty of art, dance, music, and the graceful movements in spotlight and stage brings a sincerely watchable element to the film.

It is the little unpredictable moments that sneak up on you and dig under your skin in these films. Deliberate shocking moments or jolts in the middle of a peaceful scene. It is particularly effective when the protagonist (I use this term loosely) is so fragile and manipulable.

Vincent Cassel plays the creepy ballet instructor with a predatory agenda nicely. There is an authenticity to his French, aggressive demeanor. Mila Kunis on the other hand seemed a little out of place to me. A carefree flirt whose freedom causes the envy and jealousy of Portman to emerge. I don't see the award rationale on that one, but can see the polarity of the characters charging the film.

Overall it is a strange movie that has absolutely no appeal to the masses, but it does cause the viewer to scratch his head after viewing, and even a week later, I find myself thinking about certain plot points, trying to decipher if it was part of some sort of fantastical dream, or if it is the brutally pathetic life of a lonely young woman with emotional scars so deep that she can never recover.

I liked this movie, but I like dark, and I like original. Portman gives the performance of her career, and I would be surprised if her paradoxical dark and light personae don't earn her the first Oscar of her career. 8/10.

127 Hours

The harrowing true story of Aron Ralston resorting to primal survival instincts is a captivating gem of a film. The story is no mystery, as it is based on real events from the media amplified event of 2003. A project like this has little room for error, as it is virtually a one man movie. Danny Boyle uses his trademark unconventional camera angles and peculiar music to enhance the tension while adding a little much-needed levity.

Before I discuss the film's triumphs and shortcomings, I would like to say that this adaptation could have taken a much darker, suspenseful tone. Why Boyle chose to add humor and inspiration to such a grim story is testament to his vision as a filmmaker. I will return to this later.

The setting couldn't be more beautiful. The Moab desert in Utah; the perfect landscape filled with caves and canyons older than civilization itself. Hues of red and brown with smooth walls carved from millenniums of erosion and weathering. Untouched by humans except for hikers, climbers, and other adventure enthusiasts.

From the opening credits, there is a barrage of foreshadowing and irony. A frenetic montage of humans in their communal element. Running of the Bulls, Crossing urban intersections, basically interacting en masse. Cut to Aron who is getting ready for his solo adventure, escaping the company of his species. Boyle lingers the camera teasingly on a bottle of water, a small drop of condensation rolling down its lip signifying that every last drop is precious. Aron grabs his food and drink for his journey, the remaining choices a subtle reminder of the sustenance rejected. He reaches into the dark closet shelf for his knife, finding only a cheap, imitation Leatherman and leaving his pristine Swiss Army Knife on the shelf, just inches from his blind reach.

It is clearly going to be a movie of sublime imagery.

He embarks on his journey with reckless abandon, driving through the night until he finally reaches his destination; a small campsite outside of Blue John Canyon where he curls up in the bed of his truck. The morning jolts the viewer awake with his adventurous spirit in high gear, riding his bicycle into no-man's land. After an already exhausting biking and hiking, he comes across two young women, and we get to see James Franco begin his true transformation into Aron Ralston.

There is a sort of morbid anticipation for the tragic events that befall Aron, but as we see into his personality and his undeniable free-spirited optimism, we get a sense that everything will be alright.

From the moment that his arm is pinned under a boulder until the shocking climax, it is like the second act in a movie, but the buildup is short enough, and anticipation managed with an artful crescendo. The simplicity and humanity of the story works. Brilliantly.

As I stated earlier, there is levity thrown in that numbs the viewer from what might have been an unbearable and visceral terror of claustrophobia and moribund realization. Franco gives his last words into the camera, jumping between self-aware humor and reflective remorse and brightens his own spirit with a mock interview of himself in a delirious state. The timing of these intervening quips bring the viewer back to the reality that we are sitting in a theatre and that this is just a movie. Without it, the intensity would border on unbearable.

There is no false sense of bravado or heroism. Franco captures the spirit with a raw emotional sincerity rarely seen. He handles his predicament with grace and rational problem-solving intent, but as his strength and hydration wear down, so does his spirit. We follow a strong, young man down the spiraling inevitability that a primal choice must be made. Filming himself chronicling his experience, and watching the pallid complexion fade away, it is cinematic magic.

At the first nine screenings of this film, there were nine victims of the graphic realism who passed out. I won't lie, it is heart-pounding intensity. The amputation scene which is obviously the climax, is the most realistic and rawest I have ever seen. There is a beauty embedded deep in it however. Almost indescribable, once free of the arm that is slowly killing him, there is a sigh of relief. A feeling of freedom after 127 hours of captivity. Franco's Ralston utters two simple words while staring back at his prison; "Thank you."

What I like about it is that there is no intentional gratuitous camera work. The focus is on the emotional decision, and the arm itself becomes an afterthought. The circulation dead already, the pain and bleeding are minimal, and although gruesome in its own right, Boyle and Franco handle it with the utmost grace and professionalism.

I would highly recommend this film for the message of the strength of survival, and for the combination of Boyle and Franco. It is reminiscent of Into the Wild, a film that was overlooked by many, and which had a decidedly more tragic outcome. This is an adventure of another kind. Go see it, but be prepared. 10/10.

The Social Network

A two syllable compound word. An idea so revolutionary, yet so obvious that it has become the icon of the technological age. A dot-com success story that has withstood the flash-in-the pan glitz and glamor of imaginary money and has come out on top, with the likes of Google and Yahoo!.

It may sound dramatic, but Facebook is worth an estimated twenty-five billion dollars just a few years after its creation, and with its eccentric and a little bit autistic founder, Mark Zuckerberg, it makes a fantastic story.

Rewind to 2003, Harvard University. The campus was brimming with money-hungry future leaders just salivating to hit the job market and make millions with the next big thing. The commercial possibilities of the Internet was gaining speed like a freight train, and social networking was limited to a few dating sites and Myspace. Mark Zuckerberg, a sophomore genius, through a series of deliberate, yet chance encounters and interactions with his colleagues (because he doesn't truly have any friends), created the phenomenon that now boasts over five hundred million members worldwide.

The movie plays like something that is too good to be true; suspense, brilliant dialogue courtesy of Aaron Sorkin, truly interesting characters, and best of all, it is mostly a true story. The writers had to take some liberties due to the refusal of Zuckerberg and others involved to grant interviews. The public records however, through the lawsuits and statements of those steamrolled in the rise of the juggernaut company have pieced together enough of a story to be just believable enough.

David Fincher, one of my favorite directors since the mid-nineties, crafts this seemingly harmless story into an amazing journey and character study of Zuckerberg. He manipulates the audience's emotional response from intrigue, to abhorrence, to ultimately a sense of understanding and sympathy. Fincher hits the mark and will certainly be recognized with the minimum of a nomination.

You would think that a story like this would fail to captivate a large audience, but the writing is so excellent, and the events are portrayed so comprehensibly that it works. The details are what trap the viewer like a car wreck.

Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, and the twins (who aren't actually twins to my surprise) Armie Hammer, and Josh Pence do an amazing job in an ensemble cast. Nobody stands out as miscast, and the lack of true star power is a tribute to Fincher's vision and confidence.

Eisenberg particularly captures the essence of his character with his quirks and clear signs of Aspergers Syndrome. He is distracted by rain on a window, runs through the snow in flip-flops, pounds away at his computer for 36 hour sessions, and ironically, due to his deficient social skills, develops the largest social networking site this planet will ever see.

This is the first truly great film of 2010. It is hard to imagine that it won't be a serious contender, and with the travesty that Fincher experienced in 2008 losing his Oscar to Slumdog Millionaire, this might be his year. If not, I will gladly stand in line to see anything he creates from this point forward.

Go see this movie. It is a barometer of where technology and the Internet stand in our fast paced, always changing world of business, and is done without bias or malice. 10/10.