J. Edgar

Movie: J. Edgar

Genre: drama - biography

Synopsis: This is the story of J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DeCaprio) from his early years in the Justice Department through the founding of the FBI and his reign as director from 1935 until his death in 1972.  It covers his battle against the gangsters of the depression era, his fight against organized crime as well as his no-holds-barred fight against anyone he though was crossing him or getting in his way– whether it be his doctor, a senator or the president of the United States.  While he did a lot of admirable work in building the FBI, his utter disregard for the constitution and laws – when they got in his way was pretty scary.  In his world anything was acceptable if it furthered his ends.

My two cents: I thought this was a pretty good movie.  It did a great job of displaying the rotten underside of what Hoover became.  Leonardo DeCaprio’s performance was right up there with his portrayal of Howard Hughes.  Naomi Watt’s portray of his secretary, Helen Gandy was dynamite.  I thought she was really effective in showing the conflict Helen Gandy felt.  She was Hoover’s personal secretary for virtually his entire reign as directory and struggle with the conflict between her innate loyalty to the man and her realization that much of what he was doing was just plain wrong.  My only really beef with the film was with the makeup job on         Armie Hammer (as Clyde Tolson).  Whereas the makeup of DeCaprio was dead-on as Hoover aged, the makeup of Armie Hammer seemed almost amateurish by comparison. 

In any case, I found this movie to be well worth my time and money.

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The Descendants

Movie: The Descendants

Genre: drama - comedy

Synopsis: Matt King (George Clooney) lives in Hawaii and is a direct descendant of King Kamehameha.  He is one of a large group of cousins who are the beneficiaries of a trust (for which Matt is the executor) that includes 20,000 acres of pristine Hawaiian beachfront property. They cousins are preparing to vote on whether or not to sell the land to developers.  As the movie opens, Matt’s wife lies in a coma, following a boating accident.  Matt is wrestling with the prospect of having to pull the plug on her life support. To add to his stress, he must do some repair work on his relationship with his two daughters.

My two cents: I really loved this movie. George Clooney once again shows how good he is at comedy.  Without trying to give too much away, I like the way his older daughter starts out as the daughter-from-hell, but ends up doing quite an about-face and is instrumental in helping her father face the discovery that his wife was not quite the person he thought she was.  The acting was good, there several interesting story lines within the movie – and it was in Hawaii.

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Tower Heist

Movie: Tower Heist

Genre: thriller - comedy

Synopsis: Josh (Ben Stiller) is the manager of the most exclusive condo high rise in Manhattan.  Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), one of the residents, is arrested for investment fraud.  The big mystery is where he has hidden is stash of millions of dollars.  The victims of his crime include the employees of the condo building – their entire pension fund has been lost.  Josh takes matters into his own hands and forms a “team” (Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Michael Peña and Gabourey Sidibe) with the goal of finding and recovering the hidden millions.  The team’s plan and execution of the plan is not exactly of Mission impossible caliber.

My two cents: A great comedy – it was fun from start to finish.  This light-hearted slapstick quality of this movie is kind of a throw back.  I really enjoyed it and did a lot of laughing. There is one scene involving a car – and a couple of the characters – being dangled about 40 or 50 stories above the street that was one of the most squirm-inducing scene I have ever seen outside of a horror movie.  I really liked Tea Leone as the FBI agent who is also out to recover the missing money.  Last, but not least, Alan Alda seems to revel in playing the smarmy rich guy who has no morals.  He certainly did a bang-up job in this movie.

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The Interrupters

Movie: The Interrupters

Genre: documentary

Synopsis: Violence Interrupters is the name of a Chicago organization.  In the 1990’s violence was running rampant in many areas of Chicago.  Violence Interrupters was formed in an effort to reduce this violence.  The idea is to recruit former gang members who have reformed and turned their lives around.  These men and

women meet with current gang members to try and get them to realize that they have it within their power to stop the cycle of violence.  They also meet with victim’s families to help them.  The program has shown considerable success.  The movie covers a single year and focuses on three members of the Violence Interrupters.

My two cents: I found this movie to be pretty interesting. The amount of violence going on in Chicago was pretty amazing – one single day saw 16 shootings.  The whole idea was intriguing.  Since most of the members of this group are themselves former gang members, they are not easily intimidated by the gang members they work with. The movie did seem to plod along, though.  While I am glad I saw it and learned a lot, the 125 minutes of the movie seemed to drag on and on.

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Anonymous

Movie: Anonymous

Genre: historical drama

Synopsis: This movie takes place in the late 1500’s.  It proposes that the works attributed to William Shakespeare were in fact written by Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans  The movie covers, via flashbacks) the Earl’s childhood and his obsession with writing.  We get a taste of the incredibly complex political maneuvering that went on in the court of Queen Elizabeth I.  The infighting and manipulations that went into determining who succeeded Queen Elizabeth makes today’s politicians look like a bunch of boy scouts.

My two cents: From what I have seen in a brief internet search, the Earl of Oxford really is probably the leading candidates for the works attributed to William Shakespeare.  I found this movie to be absolutely fascinating and riveting. My biggest problem was keeping the various characters straight as the movie jumped back and forth over a 20 year period.  It was interesting to see how playwrights were looked down upon in those days.  Definitely a movie worth seeing.

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Melancholia

Movie: Melancholia

Genre: drama

Synopsis: There are two story lines here.  The first one is centers on Justine (Kirsten Dunst).  The movie opens on Justine’s wedding day.  The problem is that Justine suffers from almost an paralyzing depression.  Those around her fail to grasp the depth of her problem. The wedding reception takes place at plush estate of Justine’s sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg).  Justine’s divorced parents, played by John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling, are about as dysfunctional as they can get – and totally useless as parents.  Claire struggles to help Justine through her depression/melancholy.

The second story revolves around the planet Melancholia.  It has appeared in the solar system – where it came from we are never told.  There is much debate about whether Melancholia is going to collide with – and destroy the earth or if it will simply do a “flyby” and provide the earth with a beautiful display to watch. 

My two cents:  This was a very unique movie. The opening sequences are beautiful and surreal – and tough to describe.  The first half of the movie is difficult to follow – but it kept my interest.  The 2^nd half of the movie seemed a bit more coherent as I was able to see the direction it was going in.  This movie has really stuck in my head.  I keep going over it in my mind.  I am really looking forward to seeing it again when it comes out on DVD.  I expect to understand it a lot better the 2^nd or 3^rd time around.

Bottom line: If you are a Kirsten Dunst fan, you should enjoy this – she gives a superb performance.  However, it you like your movies to be neat and tidy and straightforward, this might not be the movie for you.

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Immortals 3D

Movie: Immortals 3D

Genre: sword-and-sandals

Synopsis: In the time before men, the Greek gods battled the Immortals.  When the Greek gods prevailed, the Immortals were imprisoned in a special cage, with the caveat that if the gods ever directly interacted with humans, the Immortals would be released.  Fast forward to the 2^nd millennium B.C. where King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) is well on his way to conquering all of Greece.  His goal is to find a magical bow that he can use to release the Immortals.  Theseus (Henry Cavill) has the skills, but not the desire, to be a mighty warrior and leader.  When Hyperion kills his mother before his eyes, Theseus is finally motivated to fight Hyperion.  Assisting him is the oracle Phaedra (Freida Pinto) and Zeus (Luke Evans).

My two cents: A pretty decent entry in its genre.  Hyperion was satisfyingly evil and ruthless.  There was a lot of good old fashioned swordplay.  It was interesting to see the Greek gods as less than immortal.  Freida Pinto was great as the oracle. I first saw her in Slumdog Millionare.  She has become breathtakingly beautiful – truly stunning.

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