Movie Review: Twelve (2010)

For White Mike (Chace Crawford), life in New York has changed since his mother died of cancer and he and his father fell from their cushy life.  Now White Mike deals drugs (but never indulges himself) to the wealthy, vapid beautiful people he used to consort with.  He hides his new job from his childhood best friend, Molly (Emma Roberts), who is the only thing he desires.  Meanwhile, rich kids throw parties, have sex, and get hooked on Twelve, a new designer drug that seems to be a cross between coke and ecstasy.

The story was originally a YA novel written by Nick McDonell in 2002, when he was just seventeen.  This garnered McDonell quite a bit of attention.  The book was hailed as “controversial” and “edgy” and all those other adjectives that critics like to throw around when a precocious teenager writes a gritty account of what it’s like to be young, white, and privileged in New York.  I read the book when I was eighteen (McDonell and I are the same age, coincidentally), and while I remember liking it, I never thought much of it becoming a film.  The resulting film, almost a decade later, is kind of a mess.

Twelve is directed by septuagenarian Joel Schumaker (St. Elmo’s Fire) with a script adapted by Jordan Melamed.  Whatever authentic angst and frustration about high school that McDonell was able to convey in the novel is lost in this flashy, empty adaptation.  The film drowns in its own pretension and self-importance, and the sheer number of characters that populate this film means that the audience can’t get to know any of them enough to care about their (admittedly bleak) futures.

To say that the film takes itself seriously is down-playing it: the film is narrated by an omniscient, gravelly-voiced Keifer Sutherland.  Through his narration, viewers are given a jaded, almost satirical description of who these characters are and what their lives are like.  Of course, the narration focuses mostly on rattling off traits of each of the characters instead of actually allowing the audience to get to know any of them.  The clunky narration is the first clue that the filmmakers lacked confidence in the ability of the film’s cast to accurately communicate the story.

Which is partly true.  Crawford, whose pretty-boy looks have largely allowed him to survive in Hollywood this long, is so painfully miscast that it hurts to watch him onscreen.  Many of the other characters, whose sole purpose seems to be to fill certain stereotypes about wealthy kids in Manhattan, are adequate enough in their roles but are largely forgettable.  Roberts turns in a very cool performance as good-girl Molly, the supposed icon of purity in a film full of depravity.

All is not lost, though.  There are a few solid, noteworthy performances here.  Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) plays Lionel, a really bad-news drug dealer who murders White Mike’s cousin at the beginning of the film (this fact almost gets forgotten in the shuffle of characters).  Rory Culkin plays Christopher, a nerdy kid who gets used for his house and ability to throw parties.  His brother Claude, played by Billy Magnussen, is also good as a ‘roid rehab drop-out who spends his days lifting weights on the balcony.  But these few strong performances can’t support the melodrama happening around them, and the film’s odd, violent end leaves viewers wondering what the point was.

The bottom line is that although the drama attempts to be a bit nihilistic and profound, it comes off as unintentionally absurd.  It’s another film to be added to the genre that so loves to both glorify and shame those lost youth of privilege.  The problem is that the film has nothing new to add.  Skip this one, guys.  If you must, pick up the McDonell’s novel, but do so with a skeptical eye.

Twelve is available on DVD and on Netflix Instant Streaming now.

Movie Review: Cairo Time (2009)

Juliette (Patricia Clarkson) goes to Egypt to meet her U.N. diplomat husband for a vacation, but he is detained on business indefinitely in Gaza.  Although she spends some time alone, she also begins to spend time with Tareq (Alexander Siddig) , a former colleague of her husband, who picks her up from the airport and offers to be her tour guide.  As the two spend time together, they find it harder to ignore the fact that there’s an attraction between them.

Here’s the thing about Cairo Time: If you go in expecting a slow, contemplative piece, you’re probably going to enjoy it.  If you go in expecting a light romantic comedy, you’re going to be disappointed, and probably bored.  However, I really liked this very quiet little film about buried desire.

Written and directed by Ruba Nadda, it becomes clear early on that Nadda’s movie is as much about a love affair with the city itself as it is about a love affair between two people.  Sparse dialogue and long, gorgeous shots of the pyramids at Giza and crowded marketplaces take up much of the film.  Nadda’s intentionally slow pacing is supposed to provide a juxtaposition between Juliette’s fast-paced New York life and Tareq’s much more relaxed life in Cairo, and for the most part it works, but it is at times so slow and filled with pauses so long that one can’t help but want to push these two people closer together.

Make no mistake about it: Clarkson and Siddig have palpable chemistry.  Between her  statuesque, vaguely Southern mannerisms and his positively smouldering eyes, the two sizzle when onscreen together.  It is this chemistry that makes the film as enjoyable as it is, because if the two leads did not seem to like each other, this film would not have been as successful at conveying its message.

In some ways, it seems as though Nadda is attempting to skewer Western stereotypes of Arabs in her film.  She is certainly inviting a conversation on gender and what it means to be a self-sufficient woman in the Arab world.  However, the film is almost too cautious, relying too heavily on pauses and quiet moments and not enough on genuine emotion.

Even so, I really enjoyed it.  By the time it was over, my heart was aching just a little bit for these characters, for the pain on their faces and the promise of what could have been.  Recommended for fans of quiet, contemplative independent dramas.

Cairo Time is available on DVD now.

 

Movie Review: Super 8 (2011)

Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and his friends are spending the summer of 1979 making a monster movie.  His friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) is the show-runner, but Joe’s the makeup guy.  When Alice (Elle Fanning) joins the cast, the boys are flummoxed at what to make of such a beautiful girl hanging around with a bunch of movie-geeks.  The kids live in a pretty quiet town, and they ride around on their bikes.   Joe’s mother was recently killed in a factory accident, and his deputy father (Kyle Chandler) is emotionally distant.  When they accidentally film a terrible train accident, the kids have to deal with the sudden and inexplicable presence of the military in their quiet hamlet.

Written and directed by J.J. Abrams, who grew up making movies with his friends (the movie feels a little autobiographical, if you take out the monster elements), the film is, in many ways, a testament of nostalgia for 1979.  Abrams’s rendering of the time period is so pitch-perfect that it almost feels too real.  Of course, creating a movie set in a time when technology wasn’t so rampant is intentional and provides a lot of the humor in the story.

In all honesty, the first half of the film is much stronger than the second half.  Like other monster movies in recent years (Cloverfield comes to mind), the story is at its best when the monster element is still largely unknown and unseen.  Once the monster becomes the focus, the film loses its footing somewhat.  From then on out, the movie is uneven, still containing moments of genuine suspense and humor but losing much of its emotional impact.

The (human) cast is pretty strong overall, and the moments where the boys hang out and tease one another are not only the funniest but also the most poignant.  Chandler is, as always, really good, but he isn’t given much to do except be emotionally unavailable and look confused.  The standouts here are Courtney and Fanning, two young actors (15 and 13, respectively) who do much of the film’s heavy lifting.  Fanning is already gorgeous, and her face is both expressive and heartbreaking.  Courtney’s portrayal of a young teen who has just lost his mother is pitch-perfect.

Super 8 isn’t a great movie.  It is, however, pretty good.  It’s definitely worth seeing, and I think there’s something to be said for seeing it in the theater (you can skip the IMAX, though).  It’s perfect for the summer, when you’re looking to escape the heat and don’t want to sit through Thor.

Super 8 is playing in wide release in theaters now.

 

Movie Review: Hesher (2011)

T.J. (Devin Brochu) is a young boy whose family is collapsing in on itself like a dead star.  His mother was killed in a terrible car accident, and his father (Rainn Wilson) is almost catatonic with grief, sleeping on the sofa all day and numbing his pain with prescription meds.  His grandma (Piper Laurie) tries to take care of them, but she’s ailing as well.  T.J. is being bullied terribly at school and is barely hanging on when Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) enters his life.  Hesher is a drifter with long hair, offensive tattoos, and a penchant for heavy-metal.  One day, he just moves into T.J.’s house and insinuates himself into the family’s life, wreaking havoc and lighting things on fire.

A directorial debut from Spencer Susser, who co-wrote the screenplay with David Michod (Animal Kingdom), Hesher is a film that attempts to explore the concept of how people deal with grief through the juxtaposition of its characters.  While T.J.’s father numbs his pain and seems to want to die himself, T.J. himself is struggling to survive, avoiding bullies at school and constantly revisiting the wrecked car where his mother was killed.  At the other end of the spectrum, Hesher is a character who is callous, rude, and completely immature, despite being (biologically) an adult.  Each of these characters deals with grief and loss in their own ways, but Hesher’s head-on approach is what starts to rub off on T.J.

What is notable about this film are its performances.  Accolades are being given to Gordon-Levitt for his performance, and they’re well-deserved.  Gordon-Levitt is one of his generation’s best actors, and his chameleon-like ability to transform himself is fascinating.  He is undeniably watchable.  However, he is not the only actor to give a strong performance in this movie.  Natalie Portman, who plays a mousy grocery store cashier, gives a great performance, though her purpose to the overall story is negligible (another female character whose sole existence is to further the plot/the male protagonist’s needs).  However, the real standout is Devin Brochu, whose eyes are so expressive and whose face is so heartbreaking that one cannot tear their eyes away from him.  He is one to watch.

A talented cast can’t distract viewers from the fact that this is a problematic film.  Although it starts out strong, the movie loses momentum about halfway through and seems to almost meander to a conclusion.  When the film finally does show its cards, its message is heavy-handed.  This can be seen clearly in the character of Hesher himself, who at the end of the film displays a little bit of remorse, which is both disappointing and an indication that Susser lacked confidence in the character he created–that at some point, someone said that Hesher had to be redeemable.

This is not a film for every viewer.  It is, however, an interesting one to watch and think about afterward.  A strong cast and a glimmer of potential from Susser make up for the unevenness and meandering story.

Hesher is playing in theaters in limited release.

Movie Review: Teenage Dirtbag (2009)

It’s a fairly well-mined story at this point: a young, popular high school girl meets and ends up liking the social outcast.  Pretty, popular, and privileged, Amber Lane (Noa Hegesh) is fed up with being harassed by bad-boy Thayer Mangeris (Scott Michael Foster).  When the two of them end up in the same creative writing class, they end up bonding over writing, but high school’s social stratosphere makes it difficult for them to express what they truly feel for each other.  What could easily fall into the world of cliché, though, is handled with subtlety and surprising care in writer-director Regina Crosby’s Teenage Dirtbag, a bare-bones, super independent movie from 2009.

Crosby wrote the script for the movie and then was asked to direct it just two days before shooting was to begin.  Even though she had never directed before, Crosby manages to make a movie that is full of compelling moments even though the overall narrative is uneven and a little confusing at times.  This can be blamed partly on the nonlinear narrative and partly on the film’s miniscule budget—it is often difficult, especially at the beginning, to tell exactly where the characters are in the timeline.

What works extremely well in the movie is its cast.  Noa Hegesh, an Israeli actress, gives a nuanced performance as poor-little-rich girl Amber.  The creative writing teacher, Mr. Ruskovitch, played by Michael Bradley, is so convincing as a magnetic and passionate teacher that I often felt as though I was watching a documentary instead of a fictionalized drama (based on true events).  The real standout, of course, is Scott Michael Foster (Greek), whose performance as Thayer is so heart-breaking and so convincing that I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

This is not a film for everyone.  It’s pacing is slow, especially at the beginning, and it’s minimalist cast will turn some viewers off.  But for those who like quiet, contemplative character studies, this is a film worth seeing at least once.  It’s not a movie that will necessarily knock your socks off, but its characters will stay with you long after you’ve watched the credits roll.
Teenage Dirtbag is available to stream instantly on Netflix.

TV Series: Parenthood

Parenthood is an American comedy-drama about three generations of the Braverman family living in the San Francisco/Bay Area of California.  It premiered on NBC on March 2, 2010, and it is loosely based on the 1989 movie of the same name.  Developed by Jason Katims (Roswell), the show features an incredibly talented ensemble cast and just finished up its second season.  Although on the surface Parenthood has a lot in common with ABC’s (glacially slow) Brothers & Sisters, good writing and an exceptional cast elevate this hour-long drama into some really compelling television.

Zeek Braverman (Craig T. Nelson) is the family patriarch, a Vietnam War vet who is equal parts bully and alpha male, but it’s clear that he loves his kids very much.  His wife Camille (Bonnie Bedelia, who is still really gorgeous) is an often-overshadowed hippie with an interest in becoming an artist.  Their oldest son Adam (Peter Krause, pitch-perfect as always) and his wife Kristina (Monica Potter) are raising smart, good-girl teenager Haddie (Sarah Ramos) and Max (Max Burkholder), who was recently diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.  Adam struggles to be the role model older brother to his three younger siblings.  Sarah (Lauren Graham) has recently moved back in with her parents, bringing her rebellious daughter Amber (Mae Whitman) and introverted son Drew (Miles Heizer) with her.  Julia (Erika Christensen) is a successful lawyer who struggles to manage work and family with her stay-at-home husband Joel (Sam Jaeger) and their young daughter Sydney (Savannah Page Rae).  Then there’s perennial-slacker-man-child Crosby (Dax Shepard) whose ex-girlfriend Jasmine (Joy Bryant) swings into town to drop the bomb that he has a son named Jabbar (Tyree Brown).  It’s a big family, and it’s full of dysfunction and turmoil.

Did you get all that?

What makes the show so compelling is partly due to very good writing.  Katims himself is the head writer on the show, and with executive producers in the form of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, the quality of the show is somewhat higher than the standard fare found on network television these days.  But it is the extremely talented and versatile cast that keeps me tuning in (I watched both seasons in about two weeks).  This show is a rarity wherein nearly every role is perfectly cast, the actors bringing so much life and depth to their characters that they feel like real people.  The cast has incredibly chemistry, lending believability to their history as a family.  They fight and laugh and dance and talk over one another, and it’s really…it’s really great.

Standouts for me are the women, to be honest.  Lauren Graham’s portrayal of struggling Sarah starts off similar to her role on Gilmore Girls, but it doesn’t take long to see that Graham has shed the powerful woman that Lorelai was in order to inhabit Sarah’s sense of aimlessness.  Sarah is a woman who has had a lot of disappointments and whose life has knocked her down repeatedly.  She lacks the self-esteem and confidence that Lorelai possessed, and watching Graham find her stride in the character is pretty remarkable.

Also noteworthy is Mae Whitman (who is totally my girl-crush-of-the-moment), whose rebellious teen Amber could easily become shrill and irritating but doesn’t in Whitman’s capable hands.  Amber’s insecurities and desire to be a good kid show through her tough, angry exterior.  Also, can that girl cry or can she CRY?  Holy cheese and crackers.  The only one giving her a run for the money in the crying department is Monica Potter, whose eyes fill up so fast and so beautifully that it literally hurts my heart.

Peter Krause is incredible as always, creating a character in Adam who is both self-righteous and sympathetic.  I alternate between wanting him as a dad and wanting to punch him.  Even Dax Shepard, who can be a bit grating (and is certainly the most polarizing actor on the show), is convincing and sympathetic as the charming lothario Crosby.

This is, without a doubt, the best drama on television right now.  Whether or not it gets renewed for another season remains to be seen (we should find out at the up-fronts in about a week or so), but let me just say that it SHOULD be renewed.  It’s that great.  I’m pretty apathetic about most TV that’s on the air right now (I’m pointedly not looking at you right now, Glee), but this is the show that I’m passionate about.  I just bought the first season on DVD for my mom (Happy Mother’s day, Mom.  It’s the gift that keeps on giving!) and I have every intention of making my sister watch it this summer when she visits (after she gets through the second season of the Vampire Diaries, of course).

If you haven’t already watched it, I suggest you try to get your hands on a copy of the first season.  The second season is available to stream on Hulu if you have their plus account.  Super highly recommended.

Movie Review: Water for Elephants (2011)

A young man named Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) drops out of Cornell University’s Veterinary school in the middle of his final exams after finding out about his parents’ death.  It’s the Depression, and he’s left with nothing, so he starts walking, and before long finds himself hopping aboard a train that just happens to be carrying the Benzini Brothers Circus.  After telling the volatile circus boss August (Christoph Waltz) that he’s a vet, he gets hired on to care for the animals.  He also happens to fall in love with said circus boss’s beautiful wife Marlena (Reese Witherspoon).  Oops.

I reviewed the book last week on the blog, so it seemed like a good idea to also review the movie.  I was in a unique position of seeing the movie a few days after finishing the book.  This isn’t always a great idea, because the book is still so fresh in your mind that you can’t help comparing it to the movie at every turn.  However, the movie version of Water for Elephants is good enough to stand on its own.

Directed by Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) with a screenplay adapted by Richard LaGravenese, the movie stays fairly faithful to its source material, perhaps even to a fault: it tries to cram in all of the characters and events from the book into two hours, and it doesn’t quite manage to pull this off.  However, the largely talented cast and the absolutely beautiful shots of Rosie the elephant help to make up for this slight case of over-ambitiousness.  Readers, believe me when I tell you that the best scenes are the ones with the elephant.

Much has been made of the fact that Pattinson apparently can’t act.  I don’t agree with this pronouncement: while I don’t think he’s the greatest actor of our generation, I think that he inhabited the character of Jacob very well.  His facial expressions conveyed every emotion that his character felt, and that was more than satisfactory in a story like this.  Witherspoon was beautiful and plucky, which is pretty much what she’s supposed to be in a role like this.  Of course, Waltz is the one who really shines as paranoid schizophrenic August, and his ability to go from charming to lethal in a matter of seconds is amazing to watch.

The real problem is that Pattinson and Witherspoon had zero romantic chemistry.  This is something that has been pointed out in other reviews, so I know I’m not the only one who noticed it.  As a viewer (and a lover of the romance, as we’ve talked about on this blog before), it’s essential for me to buy the attraction happening onscreen.  That wasn’t the case with this movie, and that was kind of a bummer.  The one love scene between Witherspoon and Pattinson was so devoid of any actual spark that I actually yawned during it.

Even so, fans of the book should see this movie.  It’s faithful enough to satisfy those who like to nitpick, and it’s entertaining enough to hold the interest of those who haven’t read the book.  Recommended, with reservations.

Water for Elephants is playing in theaters now.

Movie Review: The Exploding Girl (2009)

Ivy (Zoe Kazan) is home on her spring break.  Her friend Al (Mark Randall) ends up staying with her and her distant mother, and the two spend the week in New York City playing cards, hanging out, and going to a few parties.  Zoe’s boyfriend Greg is somewhere else, and it becomes clear early on that it’s not just physical distance that plagues this couple: the awkward silences and missed phone calls indicate an emotional distance forming between the two as well.  As Ivy navigates her way through the week, she starts to realize that she might have to make some sort of decision–about anything.

Bradley Rust Gray’s sweet, quiet film is the epitome of a minimalist drama.  The cast is as small as can be, and Gray’s cinematography indicates a small budget as well as a genuine interest solely in the characters.  Viewers looking for the excitement that the title suggest should go elsewhere.  While the title could be interpreted ironically, it is clear that it refers to Ivy’s epilepsy, and the threat of a seizure lingers in the movie, building anticipation for something that is inevitable but still really upsetting.

Kazan is very good in this film, giving a careful, nuanced performance that allows the viewer in a little bit but also keeps them at a distance.  She is lovely to watch, and that is a good thing, because she is in virtually every scene.  Kazan lends a certain quiet grace to the role, and it is this performance that makes the movie so watchable.

What makes Gray’s film worth your time is his commitment to the delicate, subtle story.  He is not concerned with the huge moments in life but rather chooses to focus on the quiet, sometimes awkward moments in between.  This film is quiet and very slow, so be aware of that going in, but if you take the time to watch this movie, you won’t be sorry.  Days later, the story and the characters are still sitting with me.

Highly recommended.  The Exploding Girl is available on DVD and is available to Watch Instantly on Netflix.

Movie Review: Jane Eyre

Hated by the aunt who is supposed to raise her after her parents die, Jane Eyre has not had an easy go of it.  Shipped off to a boarding school that relishes corporal punishment, she suffers a dark childhood where punishment is the norm and her freedoms are completely restricted.  Upon graduation from the school, she takes a position as a governess to a young French girl under the care of a wealthy man named Mr. Edward Rochester.  Rochester has a pull on Jane, but he is haunted by his past and harbors some dangerous secrets.

Charlotte Bronte’s 19th century book is in many ways the embodiment of the Victorian era.  It has something for everyone: Christian piety, Gothic intrigue, love, betrayal, and more than a spot of violence.  There are many reasons why Bronte’s novel has managed to stand the test of time, but readers ability to identify with “poor, plain, small and obscure” Jane Eyre is definitely one of them.  In this most recent film adaptation, viewers can revel in the dreary landscape and dark corridors of Bronte’s novel as it comes to life on the screen.

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, adapted from a script by Moira Buffini, this adaptation of Jane Eyre trims the book considerably and yet is still an effective and enjoyable adaptation.  21-year-old Mia Wasikowska is mesmerizing as Jane, and Michael Fassbender smolders as the elusive Rochester.  A talented supporting cast, including Judy Dench, rounds out the film.

There’s a lot to like here.  The cinematography is great, with lots of misty moors, dark forests, and even darker corridors.  Fukunaga spends a great deal of time working on the emotional details of the film, and the attraction between Rochester and Jane is palpable.  The themes and overall mood of Bronte’s novel have been retained, and the nod to the Gothic style could not be clearer.

The film jumps around in time at the beginning, and this is something that viewers not intimately familiar with the story might struggle with.  Although the storyline sorts itself out as Jane becomes more established in Rochester’s mansion, the flashes back and forth in time are likely to frustrate some.  What’s more is that much of the building of the relationship of Rochester and Jane has been cut, and so their sudden professions of love felt rushed to me.

However, the story is really about Jane Eyre’s quest to find freedom, and that’s expressed in this film, too.  At the end of the day, it’s not about getting the emotionally unavailable guy (although that happens, too) so much as it is about Jane finding her happiness.  This film is a testament to that, and it’s pretty enjoyable.

Jane Eye is playing in selected theaters now.

Movie Review: Chloe (2009)

When Catherine, a successful gynecologist (Julianne Moore) suspects that David, her handsome professor husband (Liam Neeson) is cheating on her, she enlists the help of beautiful prostitute Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to create a temptation scenario.  As Chloe’s stories about David become more and more detailed and erotic, Catherine finds herself drawn deeper into the situation, and she realizes that Chloe might want more than money from her.

Directed by Atom Egoyan, working from a script by Erin Cressida Wilson, the movie aims to be a sort of erotic thriller but mostly comes off as soft-core with a hint of suspense thrown in.  Despite the talented cast, the movie never manages to create an emotional charge, and the largely ridiculous third act leaves viewers with sour taste in their mouths.  It’s not all bad, though.

Like I said, the cast is talented.  Seyfried is magnetic as usual, giving credence to a somewhat dubious character.  She’s convincing as a mysterious prostitute with some deep psychological issues, and the woman could not embody the concept of sex more fully: she is ripe and womanly and seductive.  Moore is fantastic as usual as a woman whose self-possession might destroy her marriage, and she manages to embody someone whose needs are so repressed that they aren’t even aware of it anymore.

Technically speaking, the film is a success.  Egoyan frames each scene beautifully and works closely with detail.  Toronto has never looked so good, folks.  While the characters themselves are quite pretty to look at, so are their surroundings, especially in the case of the gorgeous glass house that Catherine and David live in.

Unfortunately, the film is too self-aware and too serious.  The plot never quite works, despite some early promise (the hints that Catherine’s mid-life crisis, and not her husband’s, might actually be driving the story is interesting), and the third act is so preposterous that it’s nearly impossible for the movie to regain any ground to stand on.  Instead of seducing viewers, the film leaves them feeling a tiny bit cheap.

Chloe is out on DVD and is available (for the time being) to stream instantly on Netflix.