Up In the Air, The Warriors, Avatar

The fact that I'm actually working regular hours these past few weeks means my schedule has prevented me from my usual posting schedule, but since I know everybody (and by everybody I mean your mom) can't live without my thoughts here's a few quick hits:

Up In The Air

I really enjoyed the film (as I have Jason Reitman's previous work - Thank You for Smoking & Juno), and thought it did a nice job capturing the reality of travel, in particular the honesty that can emerge on the road between people who wouldn't otherwise associate. I also appreciate that the one point that the film looked like it was going to descend into cliche and cheap sentimentality it made a complete one-eighty (you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it) and took a turn that I thankfully didn't see coming.

I do want to address the fact George Clooney's character is secretly kind of screwed up (he lives his entire existence trying to avoid meaningful human contact and tries to convince others to do the same) but because of how Clooney portrays him we still like him and want to be his buddy. Some reviews have said that this is disingenuous and that it would be better if the chracter was less polished so we would truly see the depths of his 'depravity.' I don't buy this at all, by making him sympathetic the film leaves it up to the viewer to decide what they think about his world view. If anything, its even more interesting to see somebody who unapologically has chosen an atypical lifestyle and doesn't even seem to be that concerned about it.

The Warriors

My brothers and I rented this 1979 film from Walter Hill solely because Bill Simmons has been raving about it since we started reading his columns almost ten years ago. After watching it, well, I can't say I get the hype. Don't get me wrong the premise is fantastic. Somewhere in the future all the gangs in new york meet up in central park to hear a pitch from Cyrus (the leader of the city's largest gang) about teaming up to run the city (basically he's Stringer Bell from the Wire). He's then assassinated by a rival gang, who promptly blame it on a gang from Coney Island - the titular Warriors. The Warriors then have to fight their way back to Coney with all the other gangs (and cops) out to get them. Its a simple set up, and could have been a terrific gritty nihilistic action film. Unfortunately the film hasn't aged well, features a lot of walking, mediocre acting (at best) and surprisingly little violence. What fights there are end up feeling lackluster, and the whole enterprise has a lot less energy than it should. Its not unwatchable, just after all the hype I expected more than a passable seventies action film.

Avatar

I don't have anything new to add to what's already been written about the film. The plot is predictable, dialogue clunky, and characters one-dimensional. In terms of story content there is absolutely nothing new here. It's almost as if Cameron wanted to make sure there wasn't anything to distract us from the visuals - and he may have been right. The visuals are stunning, you have to see this in 3-D on the biggest screen possible to even have a chance of appreciating everything going on in the film. It's the first time I've seen a 3-D film where the technology felt like more than a gimmick and actually enhanced immersement into the film's world. The greatest compliment I can give to the whole thing is that the visuals kept me from carping on the film's aforementioned flaws (as well as kepping me from complaining about being stuck in the front row of an IMAX theater). Instead I just kept thinking about how cool and flawless most of the effects were, and how much I'd love to visit the environment Cameron created. That said I don't see how this could possibly sell on DVD. You sure wouldn't buy it to appreciate the story, and no television screen on earth could do it justice.

The Girlfriend Experience

I liked this film, but I don't really have a lot to say about it. Steven Soderbergh follows a highly-paid escort and her personal trainer boyfriend as they go through a few days of their lives. Even though the whole thing is shot in a non-linear manner, its never confusing and everything feels natural and authentic (well except for the loving boyfriend who apparently has no problem with his girlfriend working as paid escort. I know this makes me close-minded, but that seems to be a bit of a stretch). In particular there is a scene where the boyfriend is trying to negotiate a raise from his boss that felt like any number of conversations I've heard in real life. Soderbergh even manages to sprinkle in some commentary about the recent financial meltdown, but it never feels forced and is really not the focus of the plot. The film is really just about capturing 'a day in the life' of a couple of working people. The fact that one of them is an escort (and portrayed by a real life porn star) is just the hook - the profession could have easily been changed and the film's message wouldn't have been greatly effected. Anyway if you're a fan of low-key character studies I recommend checking this out.

Where The Wild Things Are

Unlike a lot of people I didn't go into this film full of lovely memories of the childrens book it's based on. In fact the only memory I have is that the titular Wild Things had some owl like features (come to think of it I don't have vivid memories of any of the kid's books my parents read me. They could have saved a lot of money and just used the Sunday comic pages, I obviously wouldn't have know the difference). As a result my interest was generated solely by the presence of director Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malckovich) and writer Dave Eggers (A heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Away We Go), both of whose work I've enjoyed in the past. I say this just to make clear that I didn't go into this expecting some amber-tinted walk down memory lane that would make tear up with feelings of nostalgia.

Anyway, before I get into what didn't work for me (and you know that's what I'm going to focus on) lets get the positive out of the way. The film is beautifully shot, has some moments of real energy, and nicely captures the look of the book (at least the little bit I remember). The film also achieves its biggest goal (and which has been stated in many reviews of being its most significant accomplishment) of accurately portraying a child's view of the world. Unfortunately (and I fully realize this next section is going to say more about me than any shortcoming of the film) this was my biggest problem with it, and the aspect that kept me from being fully engaged. As I watched the protagonist Max fight with his sister, become frustrated with (and eventually bite) his mom, and escape to a fantasy land where the various wild things acted as doppelgangers for his different character traits, I realized that I really don't care about a child's worldview. Its unfocused, petulant, illogical, and in most ways not that interesting. I mean there's a reason that we (and by we I mean me) don't usually like to spend two hours talking to nine year olds about their feelings on how things are going. They're kids, and by definition stupid (at least I was, I'm sure all of you were incredibly engaging youngsters) - we tell them what to do. I know they don't understand the big picture and are easily frustrated - I'm not sure I want to see a whole film documenting that.

As usual I end up sounding much more negative than I actually feel. Most of you are empathetic human beings, who will invariably find something touching in this realistic portrayal of childhood (and even if you're not the film has a lot of elements worth recommending). I'm just a cold and hearltess individual who should never be allowed direct influence over small children (of course after my slobbering review of Bad Lieutenant you already knew that).

One Tree Hill - You know I love you, Don't You

I may be a little less than focused for this. Its the final game of the regular season in my fantasy football league and I'm playing for the division (and the ever valuable bye week). I'm currently up by nine (of course I was on plane this morning and missed the fact that my kicker was benched and got a nice zero out of that position) and my opponent has the vikings defense playing Arizona. So far so good but a pick six would kill me, therefore if you see a stream of profanity you know why.

-It looks like the Jerry McGuire ripoff is in full effect. Clay's former agency has taken all his clients and he has to drive to Arkansas to convince some unknown college QB to stick with him.
-Jamie's favorite movie is White Man Can't Jump. That's some sound parenting right there. This gives Skills the idea to use Jaime and his annoying friend Chet in his promo video for a job as a sports coordinator.
-Nathan's agency proposes that he go Spain to play because every (I repeat 'every') NBA team has a full roster and is capped out(see previous post). They seem to imply that playing in Europe for a year will raise his profile enough to get an NBA deal. So he's gone from getting a two year $20 million contract offer to getting shipped off to Spain. Are we sure he's actually any good?
-Ahh Mouth misses the Old Mille, not the new drunk driver version. He says this all to her while she's passed out. Savvy
-Phew, she was just pretending to sleep.
-Julian tells Alex that Brooke can't have kids. He wants her to keep it to herself. Then proceeds tells her that he didn't know how much he wanted to have kids until he found out he couldn't have any. That's right, tell the emotionally unstable drug addict model who is still in love with you that you want to have kids. That'll keep her away.
-Clay apparently drives to Arkansas from North Carolina in one morning to convince this great unknown QB prospect to stick with him. It seems like it should have taken more time for him to get there. Lets pause a second to check Google Maps....yeah it should have been 13 hours minimum, and there's no way his suit should still be perfectly pressed. I call misleading. This prospect has an agent so he's obviously not enrolled in college (or maybe he is, and Clay is about to put a University on probation) yet Clay is banking on him to be the next great NFL QB, even though nobody knows about him (his words). An auspicious debut for the new agency.
-Oh no, even Tebow part two is thinking about firing him. We're this close to having Clay scream Show Me The Money.
-Millie flips out when Alex flushes the last of her crack. She's a mean drunk (or junkie, or whatever).
-Alright Opie isn't so unknown, he knows he's due a big payday and cuts Clay off like Michael did to Fredo.
-Haley has to go on tour, so now Nathan can't just run off to Spain because they wouldn't be together. Apparently her going on tour would be okay if he still played for Charlotte because...he would go with her???
-Alex gives Brooke fertility booklets. This goes over well.
-Clay makes a detour to Memphis, lets check google again...okay only three hours, its possible, but then gets back to tree hill before nighfall possible. Though he apparently has traveled 1500 in one day with several stops. Maybe Millie isn't the only crack addict.
-Skills has Jaime and Chuck dress like the guys from White Men Can't jump and reenact some scenes. This is wrong on so many levels. Not least because a ten year old goofy white kid is playing Wesley Snipes' role. Poor Wesley.
-Millie's cocaine contact says she has to steal Brooke's prototype dress or the C-Train is cut off. I sense a confrontation.
-Jaime is draining ten footers and dribbling like he's on the Globetrotters. The show then honest to god has him dunk. He used chuck as a stepping stool, but really? They actually plays this whole scene straight, like its perfectly normal for a six year old to dunk on a ten foot rim (which I actually kind of respect). Also Skills is doing this reel to get a job as a sports coordinator, and there's nothing Hollywood looks for more than kids playing street ball. Actually strike that, there's probably a remake of White Men Can't jump starring elementary school kids in the works.
-Nathan, in a stunning display of logic, realizes that Haley can go on tour for a few weeks and then meet him in Spain. Haley is flabbergasted by this idea.
-Apparently Alex's movie didn't sell because she was attached and nobody wanted to produce a film by a marginally talented actress who has a sordid past. Much like the NBA this versionof Hollywood apparently has a morality clause.
-Yes Arizona, 27 points and Minnesota's defense throws up a nice -2 points. Who's the big winner?
-Mouth gives mille the old 'If you walk out that door don't bother coming back speech,' Brooke tells Julian she needs some time apart, Clay tell Quinn he's leaving, and Skills and Jaime have an emotional breakup. Sooooo much drama.
-Skills asks Mouth to go to LA with him, man I hope he does. Maybe the writers have realized he sucks as bad as I think.
-Episode ends with Alex leaving Julian a morose e-mail and then slitting her wrists in a bathtup. No way they actually let her die, but a girl can hope.

A Serious Man

This is the sort of movie I would have found incredibly profound back when I was eighteen and wanted to appear deep (now I just want to wallow in blow and hookers). This is the Coen Brother's second follow up to the Academy Award Winning No Country for Old Men (O-Ver-Ra-Ted), and while it does better than its immediate predecessor (the dreadful Burn After Reading) it still left me unsatisfied. The film's plot (such that it is) follows a physics professor in the 1950's as his life gets progressively worse - then it ends (the film that is not the character's life). The films biggest problem is that it plays more like a loosely related collection of sketches as opposed to any kind of coherent narrative. This isn't to say it wasn't entertaining, many of the bits are pretty funny and the ending punchline is clever, but the whole exercise ends up feeling self indulgent and a little pointless (which as I alluded to earlier would have greatly impressed me about ten years ago). I could go on and compare A Serious Man to the Coen's previous work (the majority of which I greatly enjoyed), but instead I think the logical comparison is Transformers II. In both films a lot of stuff happens that is only tenuously related, they both made me laugh, and I left them both feeling some level of frustration (granted in the case of Transformers it was frustration with humanity for helping it earn roughly a billion dollars). Thankfully for the Coens, A Serious Man also exhibits aspects that Transformers didn't - namely competent acting, some semblance of a script, and excellent cinematography. So there's that. Like I said before, the film isn't unwatchable, it just ends up feeling empty and makes me wish the creators turned their energy to something a little less myopic (I suggest the Third Twilight Film...or your mom).