2011: The Year in Film: "The Tree of Life" Review

See? It's not all CGI and wide-release flicks here at HoB. I'm a movie fan, and movies come in many forms. Terrence Malick is quite possibly the single biggest crazyman auteur in Hollywood. And that's saying something. He's not in it for money, for fame, for any of the material comforts that a life in show business offers. Malick makes films for one reason and only one reason, to explore and expand upon his art. He touches on and explores themes that seem to be more at home in literature.. utilizing the visual medium to portray the depths of feeling and emotion. His flicks are divisive among viewers because plot and narrative are often a secondary or tertiary concern. Rarely is someone "meh" on Terrence Malick. He's either a genius or a hack to most of those informed enough to have opinions on these kind of things. To me.. I recognize that while his films lack a certain cohesiveness of narrative and structure, his art manages to achieve that rarefied air of evoking strong, genuine emotions, and not from manipulation or cheap parlor tricks, but rather from amplifying and exemplifying genuine experience and reaction. And while this is something that surely all (or at least, most all) filmmakers aspire to, it is something that very few ever achieve, and just about none achieve with the consistency or success of Malick. Whatever your feelings about, say "The Thin Red Line" or "The New World", there's no disputing that the films contain scenes of heartbreaking beauty, despair, and depths of emotion that can only be described as "authentic".

So our crazyman/genius has set off on his most ambitious endeavor to date, a film that sets its sights no lower than depicting and reaching for the definition of the whole of existence.. human life just as the starting point. This flick asks questions.. unanswerable questions, dealing with spirituality, eternity, religion, and love. It doesn't bother itself with answers either, contenting itself with pondering in the manner of a late-night debate between friends. The flick unfolds in a series of vignettes, each one depicting a brief glimpse into a life, whether it's a conversation, an afternoon, a weekend, a month or a phone call. Concerned much more with visceral feeling than with narrative structure, the entire film unfolds like a prayer of sorts. This film achieves the impressive feat of pondering spirituality without preaching or extolling any one set of virtues.

The central conflict that drives the narrative, such as it is, is between the differing philosophies and approaches employed by young Jack's parents, Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien (Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain). Dad is a disciplinarian and very much a man of his Truman/Eisenhower-era ethos. He's a worker and believes that through dedication and discipline, the world is your oyster. Mom is much more ethereal and spiritual, appreciating beauty, spirituality and individualism. These dueling forces could very well be the defining conflict of western civilization.. but here, they just make young Jack a very confused boy.




After I saw this one... it took me a solid 2 hours to decide whether I liked it or not. The more I thought about it - the more I realized.. um, this was great. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.. and it explores much more than it tells. In the hands of a lesser artist this would come off as pretentious at best, far worse in the alternative. However, in Malick's hands and the hands of his cast, it comes off as... beautiful. This is an important film, important for what it says without saying anything. For putting human life into perspective... as something precious and yet insignificant. For asking... "why?" and "what else is there?" and daring to seek an answer. For putting together some beautiful sequences.

Powered by strong performances from Pitt, Chastain and the children.. this flick comes off as very, very real. I have no doubt that this is how our parents and grandparents grew up, and that this world would be all-too recognizable to them. Despite being set in the '50s, being a kid is being a kid, and the sense of confusion, wonder, anger and frustration that comes with it is perfectly conveyed here. Don't come in expecting for your hand to be held through a neat little narrative. Come in expecting an exploration.. a journey if you will. And be amazed at what results.

9/10. The Best movie I've seen in 2011.

2011: The Year in Film: "Captain America: The First Avenger"

So Captain America is the last piece of Marvel's grand "Avengers" experiment, where super heroes each with their own franchise come together, played by the same actors, as part of a cohesive storyline, in next May's Avengers picture. Captain America is one of Marvel's heavy hitters. Nominally the leader of the Avengers, he's sort of a legendary figure in Marvel's universe, and a movie featuring him could either go very, very right, or very, very wrong, depending on how capable the hands responsible turn out to be. When I found out that they'd be setting the Captain America movie in WW2 where it belongs, and that the flick would be in the very capable hands of director Joe Johnston, who proved to be more than up to the genre and period in the underrated classic "The Rocketeer", I breathed a little easier, and Captain America was one of my most anticipated flicks of the summer.

So it's 1942. The US is newly joined in WW2, and the nation's war machine is gearing up for the war of the century. Basically every able-bodied man has enlisted or been drafted into the armed forces, and 90 pound Steve Rogers wants nothing more than to be able to do his duty, like his father before him and pretty much everyone he knows, including best friend Bucky Barnes. Despite rejection after rejection, all-around good dude and general weakling is determined to do his part and continues to try and enlist, despite common sense and the advice of pretty much everyone, everywhere. His determination and heart of gold catches the attention of a Dr. Erskine, a German scientist who has been working with a secret American program. This program seeks to develop "super soldiers" to combat advanced Nazi weaponry. Steve gets selected as the test subject, and the rest, as they say, is fate. He becomes Captain America, whose strength, speed, and agility are greatly enhanced, and he becomes a legend both at home and abroad.



Now in the wrong hands this flick could come off as overly corny or jingoistic at worst. Captain America is the most American of super heroes.. he's literally in the US military and a wartime propaganda tool after all. Rather than run away from this fact and attempt to insert some postmodern cynicism, the filmmakers decided to embrace it headlong. At times the flick seems like a wartime propaganda film, but it's so earnestly and well done that it works. 21st century snark doesn't belong in World War Two.. and the ethos of Steve Rogers, which would be naive and laughable in 2011, are endearing and heroic in World War Two's greatest hero. The tone of the flick is pitch-perfect. It's part super hero story, part Indiana Jones-type adventure, part war flick. It's funny when it needs to be, and yet serious enough for the subject matter.

Now none of this would be possible without the cast. They all hit the right notes. Chris Evans plays Rogers' earnestness just right.. you truly understand why such a man would be beloved by children and fellow soldiers alike. Tommy Lee Jones is great as the gruff Colonel Phillips, in a role that few other actors could have pulled off. Hugo Weaving (as the villainous Johan Schmidt), Dominic Cooper (as Howard "Tony's Dad" Stark), Sebastian Stan (As Bucky Barnes), and Stanley Tucci as Dr Ermitage create a great cast of supporting characters and round out the world of Captain America. English Actress Hayley Atwell is both slamming hot and terrific as love interest Peggy Carter.

All in all, this is a movie that's a ton of fun to watch. The characters are well-rounded, the plot is straight-forward enough, and the atmosphere, direction and acting are done just right. This is what summer movies and superhero movies are all about. Personally, I can't wait for this one to come out on DVD so I can watch it repeatedly. Marvel has done it again, kudos.

8.3/10.

2011: The Year in Film: "Horrible Bosses" Review

This is one of those flicks that I had completely mixed feelings about. I love a lot of the talent involved, but silly comedies can go either way, and I typically wait until reviews come back to determine whether or not I'm going to see a comedy, no matter how much I love the talent involved. Well, the reviews here were pretty good and I didn't have much to do on a weeknight, so why not check it out? Sudekis is slowly but surely becoming one of my favorites on SNL (he has a certain earnestness that endears his clownish behavior), Bateman does his schtick well (the regular dude caught up with crazies) and Charlie Day's manic routine has made him the favorite of many Always Sunny aficionados. This flick is unique in that the titular "bosses" are significantly bigger stars than the protagonists involved. Kevin Spacey plays Bateman's boss, Jennifer Aniston is Day's and Colin Farrell (mid-level "boy" of this blog) is Sudekis' nemesis. So let's get on with this review, shall we?

So Kurt, Dale and Nick are old high school pals who enjoy varying levels of success at their chosen professions. Nick (Bateman) is a white collar cubicle dweller, putting in extra long workweeks in hope of an oft-hinted at promotion from his boss, Mr. Harken (Spacey). Dale (Charlie) is a dental hygienist who works for a sex-crazed dentist (Aniston). Kurt (Sudekis) finds himself working for an uber-douche (Farrell) who seeks to run his father's company into the ground for coke and hookers. After their bosses' antics become increasingly psychotic, our worker bees decide that there truly is no other option, and that killing or otherwise disposing of their bosses is the absolute only option for removing themselves from the day-in-day-out hell that has become their lives. Their attempts and plots at going through with this ridiculously morbid and over-the-top scheme take them to a variety of places and end up involving a colorfully named Jamie Foxx, who may or may not be a murder professional.




In the end, this is a dark, profane, very funny movie. I laughed out loud quite a bit and all of the primary players are very strong and very funny. Aniston is surprisingly funny as a sex crazed cougar and Colin Farrell rachets up the weird to play a cokehead douche. Our comedic leads more than meet their matches with their respective bosses, and as the plot devolves into chaos, more laughs ensue. (Plus: The Bunk!)

So this is a good time at the movies, well worth your $10 if you feel like laughing for an hour and a half. 7.5/10.