The Reel World

"You should never stop thinking about a life you’ve taken.  That’s the price you pay for taking it."

In 2010 David Michod directed his first full-length feature Animal Kingdom. It was a critical success, and he went on to pick up a Best Director award with the Australian Directors’ Guild.  Now Michod has completed his sophomore effort, The Rover, which does explore some familiar ground with criminal families, but the film takes a more introspective approach to life and what matters most in the world when you believe you have nothing left to lose.

When I see films I don't like, I tend to dismiss them. I have seen many, many movies over the years, and I have seen many, many terrible movies. In the last few years, there have been an increasing number of post-modern, self-referential meta-movies full of smarmy irony. So many of these films have been made that it seems that I don't see simple un-ironic movies that are just plain funny anymore. It is actually a great skill to create something really funny. 22 Jump Street is supposed to be a stupid comedy that one can enjoy without thinking. First of all, I sat through the whole movie and didn't laugh once. That doesn't mean that most people won't laugh at this movie. But I'm angry. After I saw the movie I saw that lots of critics gave it favorable ratings. I'm angry because the standards of critical thinking are collapsing. I think it's hard for many to appreciate real humor, but I can guarantee there is no real humor in 22 Jump Street.

There are so many things I didn't like about this movie, so let me start with some of the things I did like. There was a female roommate who had a biting, sarcastic tongue and caustic manner. That was about it.

"What I am about to tell you sounds crazy. But you have to listen to me. Your very lives depend on it. You see, this isn't the first time."

No, this isn't the first time. Tom Cruise seems to be making a habit of these science fiction action movies of late. There was Oblivion and War Of The Worlds, and quite frankly Edge Of Tomorrow looked to be pretty much more of the same. But there's a huge difference between this film and the previous two. Edge Of Tomorrow is actually good. What looks on the surface to be just Groundhog Day with futuristic toys turns out to be a redemption story that I actually never saw coming.

“I believe we have a choice in this world about how to tell sad stories. On the one hand, you can sugarcoat it. Nothing is too messed up that can't be fixed with a Peter Gabriel song. I like that version as much as the next girl does. It's just not the truth.”

With its beautiful leads and an impossibly romantic European interlude, I wouldn't exactly say The Fault in Our Stars gets at the truth either. But the film has enough authentic touches — and, more importantly, treats its characters with enough unvarnished affection — to make it one of the most effective tearjerkers in recent years.

With the exception of Blazing Saddles and City Slickers, it’s not easy to come up with a successful western/comedy.  But leave to Seth MacFarlane to venture into this territory with his irreverent humor in tow as he looks to beat the odds and make a successful western with his new film A Million Ways to Die in the West.  Following the success of Ted, I was looking forward to seeing what MacFarlane would do next; after all, I feel he’s the comedian who speaks to my generation better than anyone else out there.  As one of the comedy greats of the time, I had little doubt about his ability to write and direct another hit, but where my concern mainly fell is on how he would fare as the leading man.

When we first meet Albert (MacFarlane), he’s running late for a duel with a gunslinger to whom he is in debt.  He’s no match for the gunslinger, and he does his best to beg and wisecrack his way out of the duel to the town’s disappointment.  With a minor reprieve and an even more minor gunshot wound, Albert is sent on his way.  Unfortunately Albert’s good fortune doesn’t last long once Louise (Amanda Seyfried) dumps him so she can “work on herself”.

If Christopher Nolan’s take on The Joker isn’t the very best example of modern cinematic villainy, then it’s near the top of the list. Obviously, a tremendous amount of credit goes to Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance in The Dark Knight, but I’d argue the real thrill comes from the character’s arbitrary, inexplicable approach to evil. By having its Joker invent tragic (fake) backstories on the spot, the film made a mockery out of the notion of having to explain a movie monster’s past. Disney’s Maleficent, on the other hand, is the latest misguided attempt to redeem a character who was better off being unredeemable.

"Let us tell an old story anew and see how well you know it."

Vampires have been popular since Bram Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu started writing about them nearly 200 years ago, but vampires have been around much longer than that. That seems to be how the story goes. That's part of the problem. In Only Lovers Left Alive, it's difficult for a vampire to overcome  his boredom and disappointment with “zombies”, as he calls the human mortals. These vampires try to subsist on blood banks. Not only is it more humane, but that way they know the blood is tested. They don't like blood-borne pathogens. Jim Jarmusch makes his own kinds of movies that no one else makes. He is one of the last directors working in Hollywood who hasn't sold out, partly because he never has worked in Hollywood. He's too cool to sell out. That's why he's made a vampire movie no one else could have made. It has a great cast because all the cool actors would love to be in a Jim Jarmusch film. Tilda Swinton played the angel Gabriel in Constantine. Tom Hiddleston is Loki in the Marvel universe in movies like Thor I, Thor II and The Avengers. Anton Yelchin is Chekov in Star Trek and was fighting vampires recently in Fright Night. Mia Wasikowska was Alice in Wonderland, and that movie literally and truthfully made over a billion dollars. Jeffery Wright and John Hurt are two of best actors alive, so look that up. Bill Murray and Johnny Depp have starred in Jim Jarmusch movies for no other reason than that he asked them. If you haven't seen a Jim Jarmusch film by now, you're probably not ready to see one. Go spend a few years in the East Village to prepare yourself.

All that said, Only Lovers Left Alive is a luxurious and enjoyable experience. Our main vampire, Adam (Hiddleston) is a reclusive rock star who lives in a ramshackle mansion in a deserted Detroit neighborhood. He rarely leaves the house, and his needs are mostly tended to by a spacy groupie, Ian (Yelchin). He labors over music with equipment he has cobbled together over the years. His electricity is furnished by generators based on the principles of Nikola Tesla. He gave away some music to Hayden many, many, many years ago. He shows up at a hospital blood bank unannounced to buy from Dr. Watson (Wright). That is basically his life. He recently got Ian to procure a bullet made out of one of the densest woods imaginable. Just one bullet.

Chef has a fantastic cast having fun, being sexy and making us happy. It must have been a blast for everyone involved. Everyone is probably involved because they love writer/director/star, Jon Favreau. Favreau's directorial efforts are varied and include Iron Man I, Iron Man II, Cowboys and Aliens, Zathura, Elf and Made. He made an early impact in 1996 by writing and starring in Swingers. He is also familiar to audiences as Happy Hogan, Robert Downey Jr.'s security chief, in the Iron Man series.

Now Favreau is back to running the show with a personal Indie project.

There is a famous painting from 1779 of Dido Elizabeth Belle with her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray which is owned by the present Earl of Mansfield and rests in Perth Palace. It is the inspiration for the movie Belle. The history of events that swirled around Belle are pertinent to this day. The film doesn't always hold to historical accuracy, but mostly in matters that do not aid the excellent story being told. The historical inaccuracies are minor and mostly irrelevant. Here is what is true. Belle is the daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay and an enslaved African, Maria Belle. Lindsay had his uncle, William Murray, take care of her at his estate. Murray was the first earl of Mansfield and chief magistrate of England. He also took in Lady Elizabeth Murray, another niece, when her mother died. Mansfield may have been the most powerful man in England at the time and presided over many monumental decisions of British law. The decision that this film deals with is based on the Zong massacre and its ramifications. A slave ship threw its slaves overboard chained together to claim the insurance. The thing that is remarkable about the film is that it navigates all these issues with intelligence and clarity. The historical inaccuracy I mentioned that was wisely circumvented was to make Belle the epitome of a Jane Austin heroine. Belle, in this movie, is sheer perfection and a joy. It isn't possible that the real Belle could have been so wonderful.

The cast is superb led by Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton and Matthew Goode. Belle is played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who has been around for a while in things like Larry Crowne and British television but is holding center stage here. She is the picture of aristocracy and intelligence and sensitivity and grace. She weathers the small and big slights that her unique situation delivers to her. Lord Mansfield (Wilkinson) comes to love her as if she was his daughter, but he also must navigate through mores of English society. The story plays out like an Austin novel with courting and marriage as a goal and full of complexities in execution. That is when the Zong case starts to figure more prominently in the story. The son of a minister, John Davinier (Sam Reid) is given the opportunity to clerk for Lord Mansfield. He demonstrates strong feelings about the morality of this case. He also encounters the fiercely intelligent Belle who looks down on him in her early meetings. Belle, despite being a mulatto, is part of the aristocracy. When her father dies, she is left a fortune, which entices a member of a good family to court her.

"You and I have a lot of catching up to do. What's the last thing you remember?"

In 2006 director Bryan Singer appeared to have turned his back on the film franchise he had brought to life. After two successful runs at the X-Men universe Singer was primed and ready for a third when a certain Man Of Steel caught his eye. At seemingly, the last minute Singer dropped out of the third X-Men film to direct the dubious return of Superman. I actually like Superman Returns better than most. I wonder how much of the film's hatred might have been directed at its director, considered a traitor by many fans. I never really looked at it quite that way. It's a business, after all, and people come and go. Still, I'm not sure that Singer didn't feel a need for redemption or at least that he might have had some unfinished business. X-Men: Days Of Future Past should wash away any hard feelings fans might still harbor. This is one heck of an apology!