After some computer prooblems are resolved (I hope), here are some reviews for current and recent films.
Meek’s Cutoff
Director: Kelly Reichardt
With: Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Paul Dano, Will Patton, Shirley Henderson, Zoe Kazan, Rod Rondeaux
First, I don't want to discourage anyone from seeing this movie. It has many virtues. Pacing and a dense story line are not among them.
Reichardt specializes in the small, character-driven movie. Here, she takes on the move west by Oregon settlers in 1845. They have placed their trust in Meek (Greenwood), who may or may not be a charlatan and/or a madman. Running out of water, and in the middle of nowhere, the settlers discuss among themselves whether to take the leadership into their own hands, or to continue to follow Meek’s erratic behavior.
And, that’s pretty much it. Endless walking through vast landscapes (which still exist here in Oregon), listening to Meek’s rationalizing, and getting thirsty.
Then, they meet, and capture, an Indian. The new discussion is whether to trust the Indian to lead them to water. He speaks no English, communicates by gestures, and may or may not have an agenda. Meek doesn’t want to carry him along. Emily (Williams), one of the settler wives, defends him against Meek.
And that is pretty much it. Slow-paced, kind of like the journey itself, with little dialog, and ambiguous throughout, it is so low key that it almost disappears. I wanted to like this more, but I admire the idea more than the execution.
B-
Water for Elephants
Director: Francis Lawrence
With: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz
I don’t know whether the plot holes are from the book or the screenplay, but the story of a struggling circus in the Depression is not much more than a shopgirl’s romance. August (Waltz) is the circus owner, cruel and vicious. He is married to Marlene (Witherspoon), who is also his biggest star. Jacob (Pattinson) is a veterinary student who was unable to finish and get a license, but becomes useful to the circus.
The attraction between Jacob and Marlene is obvious from the first, and that sets the romance in motion. But, the circus buys an elephant, and August brutalizes it until the secret of handling the poor creature is discovered. I must say that this was the single most absurd thing I’ve seen in a serious movie. I won’t give it away.
Pattinson does fine, although he seems to be given roles that are less characters than deeply-sensitive cardboard cutouts. Reese is always good, and Waltz provides th same undercurrent of menace he gave in his last role.
Ultimately, it all comes down to what you want from this movie. A coherent story of surviving cruelty and finding love, or a romance-novel mess. This gives us much more of the latter.
C+
Source Code
Director: Duncan Jones
With: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Gimmicky but well-done science-fiction plus love story. Colter (Gyllenhaal) keeps being returned to the scene of a train bombing in 8-minute chunks. He is part of an experimental program run by Rutledge (Wright) and operated by Goodwin (Farmiga). The object is for Colter to find and stop the bombing, and discover the bomber. In the process, he falls for Christina (Monaghan), a fellow passenger.
The story and the plot get revealed in increments, and the thing mostly holds together. Good work by all.
B
Super
Director: James Gunn
With: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon
Another “guy with no powers” superhero movie, with a mess of a script and a surprising performance by Wilson. The plot is ludicrous, even for this kind of film, and makes great missteps as it plays out. Kick-Ass worked much better for me.
This is both more ambitious and less interesting. The mix of comedy and violence and sorrow does not jell.
D+
Miral
Director: Julian Schnabel
With: Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass, Willem Dafoe
Earnest, but cliched. Not as biased as some have charged, but also nothing new about the Palestinian/Israeli situation. In fact, Schnabel makes a couple of attempts to show that the Palestinian side has its own moral weaknesses. Yet, it doesn’t work as anything other than a so-so movie, despite a couple of good performances. Nothing you haven’t seen before, and done better.
C
The Conspirator
Director: Robert Redford
With: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood
Mary Surratt (Wright) ran a boardinghouse in Washington in which the plot to murder Lincoln was hatched. Was she involved? She knew Booth well, and her son was a close associate of the other conspirators. This is the story of her trial and the aftermath. Her lawyer (McAvoy) is a war hero who takes her case against advice from friends. He discovers that the US government is not above railroading Surratt for political reasons. But, is she guilty? The whole thing begins well, but winds up a kind of dull history lesson. Good acting does not overcome turgid writing.
All the acting is adequate, with Kevin Kline scoring as the manipulative secretary of war, Stanton. Wright, and Wood as her daughter, do the job.
Redford is earnest to a fault. He has instructed us, but failed to entertain us. This should have been better.
C+