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Logan Lucky (2017)
The Laughs of Logan Lucky
Read full review here: https://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2017/09/logan-lucky.html
Within Logan Lucky the film itself gives you the most succinct description of what it is: Ocean's Seven-Eleven. Steven Soderbergh returns to the comedy heist genre replacing Las Vegas with West Virginia, the equivalent of a casino on boxing night being a big Nascar race at a track, and instead of a swanky pair of slick criminals we have a couple of lovable, white-trash brothers who you should not underestimate. While not as innovative and novel in style as his original foray into this type of movie, I'm glad Soderberg's back with Logan Lucky.
Shan he gu ren (2015)
Both joyous & heart-wrenching, symbolic and founded in human relationships
Read full review here: http://bit.ly/2eo9O3d
Somewhere in Mountains May Depart there's a quote I can't recall that says, effectively, you can't spend your entire life with any one other person. While this may not be categorically true, if you think through the eras of a life - as a baby, toddler, childhood, teenager, young adult, middle-age, and so on - it is unlikely that any one person will be a part of your daily interactions throughout. Considering that, it can be true that the impact someone has on your life may be greater than the portion of time you spend with them. Through a handful of characters whose lives intertwine over three distinct periods of time - 1999, 2014, & 2025 - Chinese-born director Jia Zhangke explores and rejoices in the emotional resonance of our relationships in Mountains May Depart.
The three epochs of the film are each brilliantly conceived aesthetically to provide a subtle atmospheric guide to the scenes they are home to within the story. The boxy, more realistic and grainy style of the 1999 sequence - designed to match actual documentary footage the director and his cinematographer shot from the same period - is a little more raw, like the youthful emotions the characters experience in their mid-20's. Here we have a love triangle where our central character, Tao, is confronted with a choice between the brash, rich, and charming Jinsheng and the humble coal-miner Liangzi. The 2014 section is a wider aspect ratio with a higher quality, yet natural visual reflecting Tao's middle-aged experience. Life's lessons have provided a bit more perspective and the muted colors are like some of her dreams that haven't worked out as planned. She's divorced and facing a continental estrangement from her 7-year old son. A fully widescreen format with an artificial, over-developed HD quality evokes a 2025 that is equally more advanced and more separated from the past. This is the backdrop as Tao's son Dollar has to learn why he feels unsettled in a life he's done little to create for himself. Here, in a bit of an Oedipal twist, he develops a relationship with a surrogate mother of sorts that reminds the youth, now so far removed from his past that he can't even speak his first language, where he came from. For the first time of his own volition he makes the choice to search and reach backwards so that he can progress and grow. It hurts. You don't know if he achieves what he's reaching for but the important thing is that he chooses to do it.
Zhangke uses artifacts from his own life, from pop-culture, and of a more universal nature to serve as totems for emotional relationships that bridge the difference timelines. In 1999 Tao is young and bright, greeting each moment with a smile. She rejoices in music and food that bring her joy. Later in 2014 she faces losing everyone that is or has been important to her and these things become tools for holding on to what she's lost. A divorce left her with lots of money and a lost custody battle for her young son, whose father is abandoning all remnants of their culture and taking him to Australia. After panicking, Tao resolves to make the most impact she can on the impressionable and hungry heart of her little boy. She prepares several tokens for him to keep close through taste, touch, sound and feeling, as they will become further away than ever. The keys she gives Dollar are based on the director's own mother doing the same for him. It's possible she may never know the impact they have in his life but they become figuratively the keys to his unlocking his own freedom (see what I did there??) as he comes of age in 2025. These tokens used throughout the film, and especially two key pieces of music and the light-touch score from Yoshihiro Hanno, immediately have the same effect on the viewer each time they are re-introduced to signify a key relationship and emotion whose origin may be otherwise untraceable to the characters.
The Two Faces of January (2014)
Great, true-to-form 60's thriller with stellar cast and maybe some daddy issues?
Check out my full review here: http://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-two-faces-of- January.html
Channeling the great director himself, writer/director Hossein Amini delivers one of the most Hitchcockian thrillers I've seen in awhile with The Two Faces of January. Starring Aragorn (aka Viggo Mortensen), that girl from the first Spider-Man series (Kirsten Dunst), and one of the most sought-after, up-and-coming, young- actor-types of today, Oscar Issac, this film is a succinct story of trust set across Aegean Europe.
Rydal (Isaac) is a young American working as a tour guide and small- time con man in Athens when he stumbles upon Chester (Mortensen) and Collette McFarland (Dunst). At the Parthenon Rydal and Chester, strangers to one another, exchange a meaningful and questioning stare. Later, Collette is curious as well and both parties seem to have something more up their sleeve. Both are curious in finding out more. The McFarlands take him on as a guide and both seem to be feeling out the other, attempting to gain the upper hand. Who's past will come out and catch up with them first?
Two Faces has been compared to The Talented Mr. Ripley or Strangers on a Train and rightly so. In fact, I think it takes the strengths of each of those movies and improves on them. Mr. Ripley was overlong as the third-act chase became more desperate while Strangers lacked the visual style and dynamic use of light in Two Faces. The cinematography takes advantage of the exotic on-location setting and the accompanying music hits all the right beats, creating an aura that moves from curious intrigue to life-or-death entanglement. What's more, the ending of this film has a much more satisfying overall story arc (be sure, though, that one or more tragic events do occur along the way).
If you are familiar with ancient mythology you may know of Janus, aka January, the god of transitions and change. Often depicted as a two-faced man, looking to both the future and the past, the symbolism has been used before in the '90's James Bond film Goldeneye (arguable Pierce Brosnan's best as 007). I think because of that reference I imagined the Viggo Mortensen character to be one of dual personalities, a seemingly good man that turns out to be ruinous and conniving to those around him. During the film's climax I wondered if perhaps the twist is that it's the other way around. Rydal has unmentioned history with his father that is implied to be negative. As Chester becomes a sort of twisted father figure consider how this whole affair, in the end, may serve as a reckoning for Rydal.
Perhaps because it did stick so closely to genre, The Two Faces of January wasn't a critical hit and seemed to pass by unnoticed at the box office. Give it a chance when you are in the mood for something with characters that spend a lot of time in the shadows. Produced by the team of people that made the grossly underrated Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Drive, it is worth your time.
Whiplash (2014)
Edge of your seat intensity
Read my full review here: http://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2015/02/whiplash.html
Oh man. I just saw Whiplash and I am still reeling. I can't remember ever having such an electrifying experience watching a movie (I swear I wrote that before finding the poster on the left with the word "ELECTRIFYING" in all caps). I was riveted, on the edge of my seat strung up with excitement by this thing. It'll have you on your toes, sometimes shaking with anxiety and other times bursting with anger and then joyously applauding at the end. Whiplash indeed.
Maybe it's because I had a taste for how nasty it was going to get, but I was just wiggling with anxiety, half anticipating/half dreading when the shoe would drop. And once it does for the first time you just never know when it's going to hit again. JK Simmon's performance is just gnarly and intense. He plays a man with a single-minded, unbending vision: create truly great jazz musicians, no matter the cost. For him, this means pushing them to the brink of their own destruction. The ends justify the means. He makes the tiger mom look like a cuddly kitten. At one point he pits three drummers against each other for hours on end. He dismisses the rest of the band while the three battle it out one after another and you can see Fletcher is in his element, relishing the opportunity to just dig in, give in to his rage, and make them suffer it out. Andrew plays until his hands are bleeding. This movie has more sweat and blood-stained drum sets then a Tool concert.
Writer/Director Damian Chazelle (who just turned 30) reportedly based the movie on his own experience dealing with an overbearing band teacher in high school. I did band all through school and even had a teacher that had some mildly-similar elements. (Also, did I mention the director completed this movie by the time he was 29?!? So impressive.) Fletcher's character is certainly extreme, with some complaining that it is unrealistically so, but it is brilliantly carried out. Yeah, we know that life as a jazz student isn't' exactly like this - so what? Keep watch for when he takes off his jacket, usually a sign he's doing what he thinks is his most important work. Miles Teller's performance of Andrew show's great range as well as his character transitions from a young hopeful pup to a cocky upstart, then a broken down hound dog and finally an experienced wolf that, although not a master, has a couple of lessons under his belt. Now that he's been through the first few bumps he's more dedicated then ever.
The movie really asks two questions: What does it really take to achieve greatness? And then the follow up, is it worth it? The final act is exhilarating, jump-out-of-your-seat kind of stuff. I do like jazz, especially the type in this movie. But I think even if you know nothing and care nothing for jazz, the performances, the visuals, the editing, and the resulting energy and dynamics of the final scenes will get anyone going. Even as you see the relationship between Andrew and Fletcher change and then change again during an extended musical sequence, you never know right till the last moment how it's going to end and what it means. And even then the movie still leaves it up to the viewer's interpretation. Maybe the answers that you think the movie is giving to those questions says more about you then about the movie.
American Sniper (2014)
American Sniper & the heroism of difficult decisions
My full review here: http://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2015/02/film-american-sniper- heroism-of-making.html
I think the real heroism of the character that Eastwood and Cooper give us in American Sniper is not in his courage in the face of death or in the combination of talent and determination that feed his skill at shooting, but in the resolve of character that allows Chris Kyle to make difficult decisions. This much is clear as he reflects on a letter written by a fallen soldier and comrade after a funeral. Although a poor decision and a surprise enemy onslaught resulted in his friend's death, Kyle says it is the doubt expressed in the letter that really caused him to die. Some may describe it as willed ignorance or justification of the many lives he ended from his eagle-eye perch, but it is actually a result of his facing the reality of his role as sniper and the reason for his service - in other words looking at the worst full in the face - that allows him to achieve calm acceptance of who he is and what he does. He is able to cordon off sections of debate that don't fall under his purview as a soldier. The reverence and clear respect for his situation allows him to consider shooting a child picking up a gun at the same time he scolds fellow soldiers for congratulating him on a kill.
While there are many life-affecting decisions that Chris Kyle makes in the film, two are key to the development of the character. The first is made in the spur of the moment by a cowboy waking up to the reality of the larger world. The second, made just as quickly, comes to a man realizing when it's time to come home. Watch for the symbolism of where Kyle puts his gun as a sign of this. As a sandstorm engulfs a messy, nearly-fatal operation for Kyle, and after scrambling to phone his wife mid-battle and tell her he's ready to truly leave the war, you'll see his gun, ammo, and helmet left in the sand signifying he's ready to accept and give in. Conventional wisdom might say the decision to go to war is the most difficult and self-sacrificing, but it's the choice to live that becomes so understandably elusive for many veterans. And as with so many suffering from withdrawal of one kind or another, Chris aids his own recovery by offering his friendship to veterans stateside after he's finished his military service.
Vi är bäst! (2013)
Learning how to grow up with punk rock
For full review: http://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2014/12/film-we- are-best.html
One token of a great movie is that it helps you expand your circle of humanity. I've never found MMA cage fighting to be enjoyable, and yet while watching Warrior I was on the edge of my seat. You might never have associated punk music with the fragile yet hilarious stage of life of coming-of-age of preteens but through these girls' characters you come to love punk music for the opportunity it provides them to grow up and accept new people. Although they might resist the notion, the love these girls develop for each other is just the same that a group of cheerleaders might. We Are The Best reiterates the fact that you already knew that life for punk rockers is pretty much the same as it is for the rest of us. Roger Ebert said, "The movies are like a machine that generates empathy." This is something I'm always looking for and We Are The Best takes you into the space of being a 13 year old. From a goofy dad that wants to embarrass you by bringing a clarinet to your punk band rehearsal to the joy of serendipitous friendships turning into lifelong relationships, this movie reminds you of yourself - whether you've had the same experiences or not - in a fresh way.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
The best original blockbuster action movie of the summer!
Read my full review here: http://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2014/07/edge-of-tomorrow.html
Edge of Tomorrow is the first original action blockbuster of the summer and likely to be, of them all, the biggest success. The others would be Snowpiercer and Lucy, both of which seem pretty unique and come from directors with solid reputations (the former comes out in August and the latter started in limited release last week). The premise and plot of this film feels familiar, like its been pieced together from varying parts of iconic blockbusters from the past 25 years, but it tells its story so well that you don't mind. The most oft made comparison is as a sci-fi action iteration of the masterpiece Groundhog Day. And rightly so. There's something in that idea of reliving the same day - of realizing the potential for change that exists inside of 24 hours - that is rich with story-telling potential and that sparks our imagination. Cashing in on that curiosity, Edge of Tomorrow delivers plenty of entertainment as a smart, fun, and emotionally-engaging summer blockbuster should.
In the near future Earth has been hit by a meteoroid containing an alien force that proceeds to attack the human race, taking over much of Europe. A global army is amassed and a special tool, a mechanical suit, turns the average enlistee into a super-soldier, better equipped to fight what are called Mimics - quick, multi-armed, mechanical-seeming aliens akin to the sentinels from The Matrix. Emily Blunt plays Rita, the femme fatale public face of victory for the war against the Mimics. She's a legend, known for having killed over 100 mimics in one battle - she's called as the Angel of Verdun to the reverent and the Full Metal Bitch to the fearful adoring. As the most decorated warrior of the force, and as an icon among soldiers, she holds a special authority, like the Achilles of her time.
Tom Cruise plays Cage, an officer that specializes in PR, spinning stories through multimedia campaigns to help fight the war of public opinion for the army and its leadership. He's a bit slimy at first, but because he's Tom Cruise you can't help but love him. After miscalculating the moral compass of a general, he winds up powerless, reduced to the office of private, labeled a deserter, and with orders to join a D-Day-type invasion happening on the coast of France the next day. He's not the type to fight but you realize that he's going to end up in battle and there's nothing he can do about it. Within a few minutes of joining the battle he dies. And then he wakes up right where he was the day before - about to get processed and assigned to his unit. This shouldn't be any surprise - it's the basic premise of the movie. You can get the details when you watch it, which I recommend you do - but basically he needs to relive this day again and again, ensuring it ends with either his death (causing a reset) or the destruction of the entire enemy force. Fairly early on he confronts Rita and establishes that she's been through this before (although she lost this ability) and that she thinks he can help win the war.
I'll mention Groundhog Day again because much of the second act plays out similarly. You'll have a lot of fun seeing Cage attempt new tactics to advance farther in his mission. After establishing a routine to get the attention of Rita, they set to training and planning the best way to destroy the mimics. Unlike the Bill Murray comedy, though, instead of ending each day after a full 24 hours, Cage's day must end with his death (much like Source Code). This reset-by-death brings a freedom to him that only comes from the knowledge that you can try it all again tomorrow. And this is where the real magic of the situation starts to change Cage and his approach to life and those around him, especially Rita. The confidence he has in confronting those things he's already done over and over again translates into an ability to more expertly deal with the situations that result from his success at getting closer to the goal. We can see that Rita has already reached this level of existence and is glad to have someone who understands.
The real reason we love a movie like this is because we like to imagine taking on every day as if we were an expert at that day. Surely some days feel monotonously like every other day and perhaps we'd like to imagine being put in a situation where we are forced to confront life with a different attitude. Whether or not every day of your life is just the repetition of a routine, the reality is that each day truly is an opportunity to make a world of difference, and just like Phil the weatherman in Puxatawney, PA, realizes the only one trapping you in life is yourself, Cage comes to take control. In the third act the certainty of his regeneration comes into question and the lasting nature of the decisions he makes sets in, but he has a new perspective with which to make them.
The action is straightforward with no shaky-cam because the story demands you know what's happening. The editing style is quick, avoiding the need to repeat sections of the day beyond what is necessary, while rarely devolving into an extensive montage, which the film could easily do. The audience isn't always told which iteration of the day Cage is experiencing and so you're never sure if this is the first or the fifteenth time he's been in this situation until you see it play out. Both Cruise and Blunt play their characters supremely well with convincing chemistry and earnestness.
Gravity (2013)
Gravity: Will you hold on or let go?
Since its release last weekend I've seen Gravity described as the masterpiece of Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. It is. It's a visually astonishing film that cohesively uses all its elements - cinematography, sound, acting, plot, visual effects, etc. - to tell a beautiful, and gripping story. While at face value it's a thrilling portrayal of a perilous struggle for survival, Gravity offers a deeper exploration into how each of us deals with adversity in life.
When I first saw the teaser trailer for Gravity I was instantly enthralled and excited. A couple of things stood out to me. First, I was in the theater when I saw it so I got the full audiovisual experience and the film looked beautiful and thrilling. I was instantly gripped, even though I really had no idea what it was about - no more than astronauts in trouble in space. The second thing I noticed were the names attached to it. Alfonso Cuarón is an increasingly recognized director with only a few titles under his belt, but they are diverse and told with style and meaning (He directed the best Harry Potter film, Prisoner of Azkaban, among other things). Seeing something so different with his name on it is good reason to get excited. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are both great actors as well. Expectations were forming and I had a hunch this was going to be great. My ears were perked and I was paying close attention. I was dying to see it. That's what a good trailer does.
It met my expectations. Gravity's storytelling is efficient. Everything is tied to the ultimate purpose of the story and the characters. I just have to say thank you to Cuarón for doing that so well. Most great movies do it, but few big budget flicks are among them. It opens with three astronauts during a spacewalk. The shuttle Explorer is attached to the Hubble satellite and Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is installing some hardware to assist in her research. It's her first time in space and Mission Control is getting readings indicating she's feeling a bit queasy. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), on the other hand, is a seasoned veteran astronaut and zooms around with confidence. A third member of the team is enjoying himself as well. He's a nice guy with a family and you know instantly he is not making it out of this alive. The voice of Mission Control (Ed Harris... yes, the guy that was the head of Mission Control in Apollo 13... if you were paying attention) lets them know a Russian satellite was destroyed and has created some debris but no need to worry. Oh wait... yes there is need to worry. They get hit by a field of high velocity space shrapnel. Ryan is flung into space completely detached from the shuttle and her team. She starts to panic. Matt tries to settle her down on the radio but she can barely breathe.
This is all in the trailer. From there it's a series of obstacles that must be overcome one by one, each promising a great likelihood of failure and death. This is where we really get to know these characters and learn from their different approaches to dealing with extreme adversity. Because that's what Gravity is all about. It's a beautiful and extensive series of metaphors on life and how to deal with hardship. But that part of it's not pushed in your face and it's great as it is without the reflection. Dr. Stone has some difficult things from her past and has kind of shut out the rest of the world since then. This makes the silence of space appealing to her. Matt is more fun-loving but with a sure will to survive and an unbreakable calm. There's going to be some real anxiety as you watch and consider how you would react in the same situation. You tell yourself these people have been trained for this, but only a true acceptance of the reality of death and life can really allow you to make jokes and listen to twangy country music as you drift in space with your oxygen ticking below 5%.
The physical situation in which these astronauts find themselves starts to morph into a good metaphor for Dr. Stone's own situation down on earth as we learn more about her. Isolated. Silent. Hopeless. Peaceful. As you watch you may begin to wonder if it mirrors your own life. Not in a desperate depressing sort of way (perhaps) but in that this mortal life we all wander through, the chance for disaster is upon us at any moment and once it strikes - whatever flavor adversity comes in - it's hard to imagine that most people wouldn't panic too. Maybe it would be easiest to just drift off. To let go. It's a lot of work to stay afloat. Ryan must make a decision that most of us are never confronted with: to hold on to or let go of gravity. By the end of the film we learn that rather than the shared bond between two masses, gravity is also the shared bond between each of us and the rest of the human race (perhaps even a higher power?). The choice we are faced with is to hold on and accept gravity - despite all the weight that comes with that choice - or to let go and drift away.
See my expanded review here: http://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2013/10/film-gravity.html
Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004)
Miyazaki retells the same story. Is that problem for you? Not for me.
See my full review here: ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2013/03/film-howls-moving-castle.html
Hayao Miyazaki's groundbreaking animated films, like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, can be described as sweeping, fantastical, and heart- wrenchingly joyful. Equally epic, Miyazaki's 2004 film Howl's Moving Castle, adapted from Diana Wynne Jones' book of the same name, renders the viewer immobilized through the experience of a young girl on a journey of discovery. The film reaffirmed Miyazaki's role as the global ambassador of Japanese animation. He is a visionary man who understands that discovering an alternative side of life can be a revitalizing experience, and in that sense sends his audience right along with his characters.
The film begins in a world at war. Young Sophie works in a hat shop and bumps into Howl, a known wizard and local heartthrob She quickly falls into a world of magic and finds trouble when the Witch of the Waste binds her with a spell of old age. In her newly geriatric state she goes in search of Howl. His house, a walking, magic fortress serves as his headquarters and main point of departure for his war-related missions. Now known as Grandma Sophie, she enlists herself as his maid and finds a place among the other house mates. Howl, a tenacious wizard full of defiance and destructive power, is caught in his own difficulties. Dealing with pacifism in wartime, he has become a political casualty of the raging conflict. The struggles crescendo and combine - as they are often wont to do - and the characters face difficult, life-changing choices. The whole things comes together in classic Miyazaki style.
Is this starting to sound a little too "magical" for you? Maybe you think its just for kids? Well grow up and accept that some children's movies are even better for adults. This film was released on the tailwind of Miyazaki's most globally recognized film, Spirited Away, which had just become the first anime film to win the Academy Award for Best Animation. The two films, along with most of his movies, communicate many of the same themes. Howl, which set box office records in its own right, was highly influenced both by the previous success of Spirited Away - still the highest grossing Japanese film of all time - and by Miyazaki's own reactions to the beginning of the Iraq War. He has been classified as a pacifist, feminist, and traditionalist - all perspectives that inform his characters and their struggles. But the moralistic view of his stories is more universal than partisan. In this film Howl's struggles are treated more as personal than political.
While there are lessons to be learned from Howl's demons, Sophie's character growth is equally poignant as she decides to optimistically accepts the challenge of old age. Her quick transformation from young adult to elderly is one most youth would not accept lightly, and Miyazaki helps the viewer to reflect on age and identity as he explores how Sophie deals with instant maturity and physical limitation. She finds she's able to gradually shed the years by embracing life and its challenges rather than complaining about them. Love, energy, and wisdom come as she is forced to accept things she cannot change and address those she can. Life in Howl's mystical mobile home is lived a few steps away from normality. Time and space have no constancy. The resulting mobility, while exciting, has kept Howl and his house mates from facing reality. Sophie breathes some fresh air into the place as she takes responsibility and learns to value the moment and the relationships that surround her.
I prefer watching in Japanese with English subtitles. When coupled with the beautiful, melancholy score it completes the cultural journey and give you a truly foreign experience. If you just can't handle reading while watching, or you are enjoying it with kids, turn on the translation. John Lasseter - Miyazaki's championing super fan in the US - and his team at Disney went to significant lengths to make a quality English translation including recording voice-over work by critically acclaimed actors.
This film is a gem during which I always sit in constant amazement. The beguiling blend of music, love, magic, and visuals creates an orchestral experience. Just as Miyazaki's character's rarely finish a film in the same form they began it, you'll be closer to internalizing the fact that life is always changing. And maybe you'll see the young person inside the next old face you see.
Lincoln (2012)
Lincoln - The Subtle, Mature Spielberg
Check out my full review here: http://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2013/03/film-lincoln.html
I finally took the opportunity to see Steven Spielberg's epic historical drama Lincoln. And I'm so glad I did. It's a film deserving of the many accolades it's received. It gracefully guides us through President Abraham Lincoln's most far-reaching political victory: the passing of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Equally remarkable, it connects us to the giant historical figure of Lincoln on a personal level. This movie is the realization of an effort by a truly great team of filmmakers, led by Spielberg, but brought to cohesive fruition by a team of producers, writers, cast, and crew that are as dedicated to telling a meaningful story as they are to making it universal. Its a masterclass of film for the industry and a lesson in subtle, dexterous storytelling for the rest of us. Plus it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
To be more specific on how the story is framed, the film deals primarily with the struggle to rally enough supporters to gain a 2/3 majority vote for the bill proposing the amendment in the US House of Representatives. While the Senate had more easily passed the bill earlier, and afterward it would be ratified among the states, the film takes the stance that the battle in the House was the lynchpin to the process - not only because of the close voting numbers in that governing body, but because of how its passing fit within the political context of the war and the popular opinion across the county. That I can explain this to you is a testament to the clarity with which the story is told - and political dramas can be tough to follow. To be fair, I've read Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals which was Spielberg's main source material for the film. But while true political dramas are more about delivering intrigue, the real summation of the story is an emotional catharsis realized when a set of circumstances and people find success in bringing to pass an historically groundbreaking and life-affirming event.
Spielberg opens with a war scene, set in a muddy riverbed, of hand-to- hand combat from a time before modern military training and Hollywood action, where men clumsily, intimately face the reality of giving and receiving death. Awkward hands push faces, men wrestle and reel in the water, bayonets hit and miss their marks. It's a chilling context, necessary to remind us from the start that the ensuing story takes place in a land where Americans have engaged in and felt the effects of such combat for four long years. Politicians and citizens alike are anxious for this unnatural predicament - brother fighting brother - to come to an end. This is just the first of many evidences that this is Spielberg at his best. His quest for historical accuracy is another. Lincoln's study was carefully constructed to match the original down to the wallpaper. The ticking from Lincoln's actual watch was recorded. Spielberg is noted for having now famously come to set in a suit and addressing the lead cast members as Mr. President and Mrs. Lincoln.
Lincoln shows the career arc of a master craftsman for both Steven Spielberg and John Williams. Both gained meteoric success through their collaboration on Jaws (1974) and have been a famous working pair ever since. Their distinct style set the modern standard for high-quality, entertaining, thematic, blockbuster filmmaking and scoring. This film portrays the skill of aged and experienced craftsmen willing to risk taking their art to the next level. As a follower of both their bodies of work I feel Lincoln is a culmination of their skill, thoughtfully matured with a touch that is subtle, slight, refined, and exquisite in its deliberate application that is lastingly powerful. And yes, I did look up "subtle" on thesaurus.com. I've said it before and I'll probably repeat again that artists' best work comes later in their career when they remain dedicated and persistent in the pursuit of the art.
Daniel Day Lewis is fully deserving of his recent Best Actor Oscar win for this performance (and he gave one of the most charming acceptance speeches for it). He captures Lincoln's spirit without basing his performance on our standard modern perception of the man (i.e. the voice, the walking gait). Historians will notice Sally Field is almost a full two decades beyond the age of her character but unless you are categorically unable to withstand such inaccuracies, you will be convinced by her portrayal of the tortured Mary Todd Lincoln. Even after reading all of Goodwin's book, it was only Sally Field's performance that opened me to empathize with her character.
I should also mention screenwriter Tony Kushner. His script delivers truthful dialogue that adroitly walks the line of accessibility and accuracy while never making us think we are listening to historical dialogue. I'm excited to see what his next project will be. Tommy Lee Jones is perfectly cast as well. His normal crotchety and closed-in attitude - occasionally a liability for him in that he seems to always play the same character - is an asset here as he plays radical abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens. In fact, it's his character that gives the summation of the film as he comments on the messy, imprecise, precarious process of getting a bill through the House. He calls it "The greatest measure of the Nineteenth Century. Passed by corruption, aided and abetted by the purest man in America."
Cutie and the Boxer (2013)
Do we look like who we are? How'd we got to be who we are? Also, I can't remember my age.
My full review: ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2013/01/film-sundance-2013-cutie-and- boxer.html.
I have come to a stage in life where I sometimes forget how old I am. I find that when I think about my age I have to stop a second and recheck my calculations. I'm pretty good at head math and remembering numbers but I find this one doesn't quite stick.
I had an opportunity to attend the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and see Cutie and the Boxer, a documentary film by Zachary Heinzerling about Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, an aging Japanese married couple - both artists - living in New York City. As I've reflected on the film one of the most prominent thoughts that surfaces is age.
Age is perhaps our most defining physical characteristic. Maybe even more than race. And just like race and ethnicity, the physical cues that point to age can be misleading. It's easy to judge someone based on how old we think they are. We look at someone and we can make a guess. As we get older some people define themselves less by their age and focus more on the way they feel. Maybe that's why I can't remember my age that well. That or I'm just getting older. In Cutie and the Boxer we see first an older couple, and then throughout the film we see more of who they really are and how they see themselves.
Zachary Heinzerling's documentary Cutie and the Boxer is not a film primarily about age, although it invokes thoughts about aging. It's a film about the relationship between a husband and a wife and the sacrifices it takes to dedicate your life to someone else. Back when they first met, Ushio was already a prominent avant garde artist, having made an impact in Japan and rubbing shoulders with people like Andy Warhol in New York. He was most famous for his boxing paintings. To create these pieces of art Ushio dresses himself up very much like a boxer, including strapping on boxing gloves with sponges dipped in paint. He then energetically punches a large canvas as he moves from right to left. The experience of creating these paintings, which takes only a couple of minutes, epitomizes who Ushio is and how he sees himself as an artist. He appreciates characteristics like power, energy, spontaneity, and movement. Also famous for his motorcycle and dinosaur sculptures, he likes to name his exhibits with words like "Vroom!!" and "Roaarrr!"
According to her own story, Noriko was a young and eager artist fresh off the boat. She met Ushio, over 20 years her senior, and quickly entwined her life with his, giving up her own aspirations as an artist in the process. Jump forward after a child and 39 years of marriage and we them first as any other couple, with their quirks and recurring arguments. We quickly realize that Noriko set a precedence very early on in their relationship by making significant sacrifices in her lifestyle to accommodate Ushio and his needs. Now, after four decades together, she's undergoing a retrospective of her life and breaking out as the artist she always meant to be. Ushio's career seems to be gaining new momentum as well.
The film follows from there, laying out small but defining interactions between Ushio and Noriko over a two-year period. Beautifully filmed and beautifully portrayed, it splices in principal photography, archive footage covering multiple periods of their life, and the fantastical world of each of their art - especially the animation of Cutie's world. The animation is based on Noriko's comic about Cutie and the Bullie, her caricatured interpretation of herself and Ushio.
During the Q&A the director was asked why he decided to call the film Cutie and the Boxer when Noriko's comic named them Cutie and the Bullie. He answered that it just sounded better to him. I think the better answer - which he probably could've answered - is that it reflects the identity each of the characters would give themselves, even though neither is completely accurate. It's how they see their idealized selves. Noriko envisions herself as Cutie, the independent female artist able to overcome and tame her love-needy but headstrong husband. Ushio sees himself as the prize fighter and artistic genius of the family, his boxing paintings as a symbol of his power and art and therefore his dominance in their relationship. The reality of how each of these identities has manifested over the years is the result we see on the screen.
It's true that at first glance the film can seem to portray Ushio as uncaring, prideful, and jealous. It's an example of one of those relationships where the woman, due to the man's negligence and denial, has to take over the practical functioning of the family. But Heinzerling also hinted at something that the movie subtly tells you as you watch: that Ushio is a good and dedicated man and that he and Noriko have come to an unspoken arrangement. Ushio has a vibrant and open personality and is honest, but his love is need-based. And, although she has struggled with it for their 40+ years together, Noriko is OK with that. She might even be willing to do it all again.