The Prestige (2006)

Posted on September 29, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johannson, and Michael Caine with director Christopher Nolan, this film is about two magicians who ultimately become rivals. After the death of Robert Angiers’ wife, he blames Alfred Borden and thus begins their quest to become the greatest magicians the world has ever seen. Along the way Borden finds a wife and has a daughter, while Angiers tries to discover Borden’s secrets various ways. Both men will stop at nothing to succeed even if it means sabotage, wounding, or even traveling to Colorado in Angiers’ case. With Borden in jail for murder of his rival, it appears as if Angiers has won. However, in the end all is not as it seems and it is revealed to the audience. Once again Nolan uses non linear storytelling to develop this intriguing mystery. I was not much of an authority on magic but now I know you have the pledge, the turn, and of course the prestige.

4/5 Stars

Three Colors: Blue (1993)

Posted on September 28, 2014 by 4 Star Films

“Now I only have one thing left to do: Nothing. I don’t want any belongings, any memories. No friends, no love. Those are all traps.”

I once thought that Before Sunrise was the type of movie that I would want to make. Three Colors: Blue is another concept that I have often envisioned without even knowing it. In fact, I had seen The Descendants, a film with a somewhat similar story arc told from a different perspective. Except whereas Clooney’s film is full of blatant drama and intense familial moments in Hawaii, Blue is far more nuanced.

The Descendants might be a more gripping drama, but Blue has the sort of complex depiction that seems to more closely mirror reality. The grieving process involves isolation, solemness, and at times few words. The easiest way to grieve is not to feel, not to fully embrace the pain. Sometimes that is the simplest if not the healthiest way to deal with it for Julie. It’s a real world approach to the scenario, and it’s no less painful to watch — perhaps even more so.

Julie’s husband Patrice de Courcy was a famous composer who was commissioned to arrange a grand piece to be performed at concerts for the Unification of Europe. It is a great honor and we quickly learn that Patrice is quite a big deal. However, after a car accident, Patrice and his 5-year-old daughter perish in the crash and only Julie gets away alive. It is a stark, unsentimental picture, and it succeeds in changing Julie’s life forever.

After being released from the hospital she soon sells all her possessions and moves out of her family apartment to take up residence somewhere far removed from any acquaintances, including a man named Olivier who is in love with her. She has a new home and begins to sever ties to her old life. The unfinished work of her husband (and her) is trashed and that’s the end of that. In her new Parisian home, she has a rodent problem and becomes the hesitant confidant of a local exotic dancer. Furthermore, she rejects the necklace that a young man pulled out of the wreckage. Her times of solitude are spent swimming laps alone in the local pool, submerged and half-covered in shadow. Grandiose symphonies reverberate through her mind haunting her. In such moments, Kieslowski will often black out the screen in the middle of the scene, effectively interrupting the action for a few seconds before bringing us back.

Words are few and far between for Julie and when she does speak it is often brief and reserved. We are, therefore, forced to observe her without the aid of dialogue. She is certainly detached but there is a provocative side to her. Something is mystifying about her soft features, dark eyes, and short hair. She is a wonderful woman of mystery and beauty because the reality of it is, we do not know a whole lot about her. We must discover more bit by bit and she does not readily disclose information.

It is when pictures of her life literally flash before her eyes on a TV screen that the story takes its next turn. Julie learns soon enough that her husband had a mistress that he was with for a few years. In the hands of Hollywood, this would be high drama. In the hands of Kieslowski, it is far from it. Julie is still the same aloof individual she always was and even a confrontation with the mistress does not change that. She is civil and generous through it all.

Finally, she returns to her husband’s composition which she learns Olivier has started to rewrite. They agree that he will make his own work and Julie must accept it for what it is. Faces from the film float across the screen and a still solemn Julie lets out a few silent tears. The anti-tragedy is complete, a subdued, intriguing piece of cinema. Not for those with short attention spans but, I am interested to see Red and White. Kieslowski intrigues me with his thought provoking films somehow reminiscent of the likes of Bergman or Bunuel.

4.5/5 Stars

The Best Films of Michael Caine

Posted on September 28, 2014 by 4 Star Films

1. Get Carter
2. Sleuth
3. Zulu
4. The Italian Job
5. Hannah and Her Sisters
6. The Man Who Would be King
7. The Ipcress Files
8. The Dark Knight Rises
9. The Dark Knight
10. Alfie
11. Children of Men
12. The Prestige
13. Batman Begins
14. Mona Lisa
15. The Quiet American
16. The Cider House Rules
17. Educating Rita

The LEGO Movie (2014)

Posted on September 26, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Kudos to the minds behind The Lego Movie, because it is unlike any animated movie I have seen before and it is due to remixing, so to speak. For one thing, their story satirizes the ever popular action-adventure trope complete with an evil mastermind who is bent on controlling the world, and an every man who ultimately becomes the chosen one to save the…Lego race.

The world that Chris Miller & Phil Lord created is filled with annoyingly popular music, a superficial television program, overpriced coffee, and of course cities full of Lego people living in Lego places. They’ve taken the pieces and people that every little boy knows and spliced it into their own little unique universe.

In their world, Emmett (Chris Pratt) is a simpleton construction worker who is suspected to be the chosen one by the fugitive master builder Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks). They track down the prophetic Vitruvious (Morgan Freeman) and after gathering support, they enact a plan to take down the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) who wants to subject the world to the Kragle super weapon. I might as well stop the synopsis here because for one I do not want to spoil the film, and for another, it probably sounds like I am speaking complete gibberish.

That is the beauty of this film because it takes a previous concept like Legos and builds on it. After all, that is what you are supposed to do with Legos. Build things! In many ways, I could easily see a version of myself making a movie like this when I was younger. In the Lego world, everything collides into a wonderfully beautiful collage. You have cities, Cowboys, Pirates, Superheroes, Basketball players and Star Wars all tossed together in a giant melting pot. Thus, the Lego movie I would have made would have been a lot different than this one, but that is absolutely okay. Legos are meant to stimulate the mind and allow the bricklayer to build and tell any story they might want to. The minds behind this film certainly did that to great effect with a story that is clever, witty, and even touching.

Furthermore, it is necessary to give a shout out to the voice actors. The two leads in Christ Pratt and Elizabeth Banks did well with their roles. However, they were also surrounded by the likes of Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Nick Offerman, and Alison Brie. Parks and Rec, Arrested Development, and Community were all represented here.

You cannot leave out cameos by Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and Shaq. There are undoubtedly others that I left out. Hopefully, they forgive me.

By the end of the film you will probably be convinced that everything is AWESOME and that each one of us is, in fact, a chosen one, we just have to truly believe it.

4/5 Stars

Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

Posted on September 25, 2014 by 4 Star Films

Every film franchise needs an installment where the stakes get higher and the outlook gets a lot bleaker, dropping lower into the darkness. Star Wars has Empire Strikes Back, The Hunger Games has Catching Fire and the new Star Trek series has this film. The opening gambit exhibits all the problems that normally arise with the enterprise crew. Kirk acts rashly not following protocol, Spock is far too logical for his own good and the native population sees far more than they should. All in a day’s work except their exploits get Kirk relieved of his command and Spock transferred. It’s not a good situation by any means.

Then out of the woodwork comes John Harrison a former Star Fleet weapons expert who has gone rogue and induced a man to blow up a seemingly insignificance archives building, but its all a ploy to get at the command. The aftermath leaves Kirk’s mentor dead and Kirk himself reinstated bent on revenge. The Enterprise heads after Harrison who fled to Kronos, part of the airspace of the dreaded Klingon. In a heated confrontation the unstoppable fugitive mows down the Klingons and allows himself to be taken in, but obviously something is not right.

Now Admiral Marcus is on their tale bent on finishing off Harrison and doing it by any means necessary even going so far as shooting down the Enterprise. The balance of right and wrong is completely off kilter by now. Once again Kirk chooses to ally with Harrison to take down Marcus, a risky proposition to be sure. Little does he know who Harrison actually is and what his mission entails. Ultimately Kirk is left with a few options with a ship without little power and a crew that are sitting ducks. In a fitting role reversal, he does the only logical thing he can and Spock takes over the bridge using Kirkian-like tactics. But the mission is far from over with danger still afoot. It takes a little ingenuity from all hands on deck including Spock, Uhura and Dr. McCoy. They cannot be expected to stop there however because their true mission is to go where no man has gone before. Gear up for another 5 years in space or possibly 5 years until the next movie.

I must admit I am not a true Trekkie but I did appreciate a few of the nods in this film including the appearance of Leonard Nimoy and the resurfacing of Khan. Now I really want to go back and see the classic Wrath of Khan too. However, I found this film to have nice pacing some good about-faces and a generally good story line. There are times when I get sick of the drama and picture perfect special effects but Star Trek Into Darkness is undoubtedly good blockbuster fodder. For Trekkies, it certainly is worth it and the cast is endearing. I must say I miss Deforrest Kelly especially, though. Bones is just too overdramatic in this film for his own good. But what do I know? Since villains are always so important Benedict Cumberbatch did a wonderful job raising the stakes by playing the audience beautifully. Well done.

4/5 Stars

The Kid with a Bike (2011)

Posted on September 25, 2014 by 4 Star Films

To say this is an affecting film would be an understatement, because if you want, to be honest, it is truly heart wrenching and painful to watch. From the beginning moments, this film brought to mind a modern-day hybrid of The 400 Blows with a bit of The Bicycle Thief mixed in. However, comparisons are always unfair, because this film will never be either of those and that is fine.

Cyril (Thomas Doret) is a young red-headed boy whose most prize possession is his bicycle. Now his mother is non-existent (either dead or gone) and his father might as well be. The boy lives at a foster home, but he is an unruly occupant who is prone to flee. The reason being is that Cyril clings to the hope that his father will come and get him or that his father will call him soon. It never happens.

On one such escape attempt, Cyril clings to a lady hairdresser (Cecile de France) as his caretakers pry him away. Soon she comes to see him and brings his prized bike which had been stolen. Next, she graciously agrees to take him for the weekends after he asks her. However, he is far from a perfect child, often detached, prone to disobey, and can even be violent at times. Things get worse when Cyril goes with Samantha to talk to his father. It’s a happy moment for Cyril until his father reluctantly tells him to his face that he will not take him back. He had initially asked Samantha to do it showing his lack of a spine and self-respect. You cannot much blame Cyril, but he gets worse before he gets better. He spends time with a local thug who ingratiates himself to Cyril with bike repairs, Assassins Creed, and soda. The motive being he needs a new accomplice to take part in a small-time robbery. The worst part is Cyril does it after Samantha specifically tells him not to hang out with the guy.

Without getting into all the gory details Cyril runs into more problems, Samantha gives up her boyfriend, and there are more repercussions for his actions. However, unlike The 400 Blows, this film ends on perhaps a more positive, although altogether odd, note. We can only hope that Cyril and Samantha gel even more because they deserve to be happy, but that is a story for another film. Or maybe it is better not knowing.

I had yet to see anything from the Dardenne Brothers, but I can see why their type of film-making is so popular. It’s “European film” at its best with simple storylines, realistic and humble camerawork that is brought to life by complex characters. There is a lot of raw emotion and character traits that must be parsed through. Motives and actions must always be questioned since we cannot understand everything. We just know they happen. That is a beautiful thing I suppose because these characters are not often two dimensional and that is a service to the audience. These are the type of films people deserve to watch whether they know it or not. If all we see are summer blockbusters and Oscar contenders we would be missing out on a whole different niche of film entirely. Give it a chance and just maybe you’ll like it.

4.5/5 Stars

The Best Films of Gene Hackman

Posted on September 25, 2014 by 4 Star Films

1. The French Connection
2. The Conversation
3. Hoosiers
4. Superman
5. Bonnie and Clyde
6. Unforgiven
7. The Royal Tenenbaums
8. I Never Sang for my Father
9. Superman II
10. Get Shorty
11. Crimson Tide
12. Night Moves
13. No Way Out
14. Mississippi Burning
15. Young Frankenstein

Serpico (1973)

Posted on September 25, 2014 by 4 Star Films

“Come on Frank. Let’s face it. Who can trust a cop who don’t take money?”

This is the state of affairs in the police department that green police academy grad Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) finds himself thrown into. At first, he is unaware of it all as he moves up the ranks as a young uniformed cop. In fact, he looks exactly like a post-war Michael Corleone at this point. His new role seems like an honorable life of camaraderie, duty, and public service. The corrupt is obvious and distinct from the good. Soon his brash, forthright style creates waves, but it soon becomes apparent that he is not one to care about hurting egos.

He moves on with his career working in plainclothes and getting a new apartment followed by a new dog. His appearance begins to change as well as he starts wearing a thick bushy beard and wearing hippy garb. It suits him fine in his work and outside he meets a pretty girl named Leslie Lane, but it’s not meant to be.

Serpico corroborates with colleague Bob Blair (Tony Roberts) trying to figure out how to bring attention to the bribes he has 60789-serp2b4 been offered. But honest help is hard to find especially from someone who makes it stick. The higher ups care more about the reputation of the department over corruption, making progress difficult to come by. He continually bounces around from division to division and nobody seems to want him, or trust him for that matter. There are only a few honest Joes around and they are few and far between. Serpico gets transferred this time to the “upright” 7th division and begins seeing his next door neighbor named Laurie. Too soon he learns that one of his acquaintances is instrumental in the extortion that takes place department-wide. By now Frank is feared, hated, and despised because he will not take money under any circumstances. It takes its toll to be all alone in the force, and he lashes out at Laurie who leaves him for good. Now he truly is alone.

He becomes increasingly combative and paranoid as he gets ready to testify before the grand jury. Another case of bribes comes out and when Serpico and his upright partner try and report it nothing is done. As a last resort, Frank goes to The New York Times and they blow the cover right off. He soon receives an ominous death threat and gets shot when trying to bust someone.

He lays in the hospital recuperating asking for his guards to be relieved and watching the hate mail pile up. His badge is returned to him, but he rejects it in disgust, soon resigning from the police and waiting for a slow boat to Switzerland. That’s as far from New York as he could get.

It seems like there are so very many close-ups of Frank Serpico, and thus, over the course of the film we get the opportunity to truly study his face, or rather the face of Pacino as he embodies this character. His cold, aloof eyes, his facial hair that goes under several transformations, but that is only the outward appearance. It is his inner transformation that is most important because that is where his conscience lies, to guide him each and everyday on the beat.

My New York geography leaves something to be desired but that’s not the problem of native New Yorker Sidney Lumet. This is a story that takes place in New York, made for New York, and fit perfectly with its director. It seems like he knew the streets of the New York like the back of his hand, really creating an authentic atmosphere for this police biopic. It has a touch of The French Connection and yet it is a far more personal look at the life of Serpico himself.

This is also extraordinary because the story of Serpico was so fresh, still only a year or two old at most. Furthermore, the film has the same disillusioning and depressing tone of other dramas that came out of the 1970s. Back in the 1950s films like 12 Angry Men (Lumet’s debut) still had an air of idealism. That had mostly dissipated in the New Hollywood period, because the good guys aren’t black and white. Serpico is not the greatest guy around, but the one thing he has going for him is that he is not crooked and that’s saying a lot in the corrupt world he exists in. This is his story told with all the blemishes, personal troubles, and drama that went with it. The greatest service to him is that his story got told and hopefully truthfully enough.

4.5/5 Stars

The Best Films of Robert Mitchum

Posted on September 24, 2014 by 4 Star Films

1. Night of the Hunter
2. Out of the Past
3. Cape Fear
4. Friend of Eddie Coyle
5. The Lusty Men
6. Home From the Hill
7. El Dorado
8. The Longest Day
9. Farewell, My Lovely
10. Angel Face
11. Pursued
12. Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
13. Crossfire
14. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
15. Story of G.I. Joe
16. Tombstone
17. Scrooged
18. Dead Man

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Posted on September 23, 2014 by 4 Star Films

It’s a film about a despicable world which promotes despicable people and despicable behavior. That’s the world of the real estate salesmen in Glengarry Glen Ross. Here are men who use any mode necessary to close deals as they say. They finagle, lie, cheat and even steal because those are just tricks of the trade. Those who get the good leads are able to close more deals and make more bank. Those who get the leftovers struggle to swing something out of nothing. Shelley “The Machine” Levene (Jack Lemmon) is one of those struggling after many years of success in the business or racket, whichever you prefer. He has a lovely personality, rather like a hissing snake trying to seduce you before going in for the kill. On the flip side, he can be a real jerk and he is unscrupulous as all get out.

But that’s enough on Shelley. The office is run by rigid John Williamson (Kevin Spacey) who just follows his orders and does not budge an inch. Then there is Ricky Roma (Al Pacino), the top closer who is especially cynical but also a great admirer of Shelley’s skill. Dave Moss (Ed Harris) is a man with a big mouth and fiery temper not ready to sit by while other men outperform him. Finally, there’s George Aaronow (Alan Arkin) a man who humors Moss and is also fed up with his situation.

The wheels start turning when the Big Whigs send in a man named Blake (Alec Baldwin) to motivate the salesmen. It’s the survival of the fittest after all and they know what it takes to sell real estate so he encourages them to go and do likewise. His main tactics include berating, insults, and threats against their careers (They either get a car, a set of knives or the boot). Verbal attacks are sometimes more pernicious than physical beatings and that’s the truth here. They never relent even after Blake leaves because that’s the type of choice words that this environment fosters. One minute a salesman uses a polished voice to coerce a client then turns right around to bad mouth a colleague.

Moss on his part tries to pull Aaronow into his plan to steal the good leads from Williamson’s office. A desperate Levene tries to get better leads from an unrelenting Williamson as the veteran man struggles to convince clients and deal with his ill daughter. Roma, on his part, is at top form playing his client (Jonathan Pryce) and getting him to stay with a deal until it gets messed up. In the process we see all the pettiness, desperateness and corruption unleashed. The burglary goes down and it does not necessarily involve who you would think. Maybe it does. That’s not the point, though. The point is these men will do anything given the position they are in, but it’s not that simple because each one has their complexities. For instance, Levene and Roma are on very good terms and Moss and Aaronow seem very buddy, buddy. But ultimately it seems they look out for number one and that takes its toll on any human being.

The film is a biting drama brought to us through a fiery and sometimes brutal script from David Mamet, based on his play. Furthermore, the story is aided by an all-star cast of big names. Each one plays an equally despicable character. I knew Pacino, Spacey, Harris, and Arkin were up to the task because I had seen them before in tough or villainous roles. However, to his credit Jack Lemmon shows his versatility here since I absolutely despised him for once. That’s no easy task and he proved it to be possible. This film may be a black comedy, but there really should not be much to laugh at.

3.5/5 Stars