Francis Ha

Deb 6     Me 5

Two chicks coming of age kind o' thing. Contemporary scenes filled with doubt, confusion and dysfunction. But highly watchable and somewhat likable players deliver believable lines in realistic scenarios. It had sort of a Stranger in Paradise feel to it in style and maybe substance, but lacked the originality Jarmusch offered in his work. It's delivered in black and white which is refreshing and reflects the grey areas these people live in. The script has some clever lines that tell volumes about the players, but ultimately they're just not worthy of a film.

The Great Gatsby

Deb 6      Me 5

First of all, great book. I wasn't that jazzed to see the movie and then seeing it was offered in 3-D I figured it's designed to be more of a spectacle than a story driven film. The opening credits were neat and old time looking, then they morphed into tech. From the first scene the digital effects annoyed me, it looked like a model train set.  And then all the 3D trivialities were a distraction. But there was a narrative that closely followed the book, and Fitzgerald's words gave welcome relief from the hip-hop glory that dominated the movie. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, a nice looking chap who's star power mocks his talent. We no longer see incredible performances like in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, but a star who shines only in the vacuum of his own space. Other actors were fine, there was a Clark Gable looking guy who was quite credible. What saved this for me were the parts where they stuck with the original text. On The Road suffered from excluding Kerouac's brilliant prose, this interpretation of a great novel used the text as salvation. Its amazing to me, how a film maker can include all the ingredients of opulence and over-the-top staging and still come out flat. The missing yeast would be some exuberance from DiCaprio; he should be in contrast to Tobey Maguire's low key character, but instead acts a bit flatter. I'd guess a directorial flaw. I'm sure that making a film like this is expensive and the use of blue screen effects makes for safer, more cost effective production, but the car racing scenes were ridiculous and the coal mining town is just a digital nightmare.

Watch it, it has amazing parts, but listen to it, there's a great story behind the effects.

Mud

Deb 9     Me 9

Whatta pleasant surprise. The previews didn't look that compelling but it came recommended and the timing fit so there we were.  This features a few phenomenal kid actors; they must start at four in some actor factory and by the time they're teens they're absolutely amazing. There are some veterans here too. Matthew McConaughey, Sam Shepard and Reese Witherspoon all did fine. It is set in the south, a land that seems to be from another planet or at least another time. Beasts of the Southern Wild was set there too and I didn't know what part of the world they were in until the end.

This is set to a slow southern pace with clear actions and simple dialog. It is just great storytelling that concedes to only a few Hollywood demands. The actors are good looking underneath, but wear a healthy crust of experience on the outside. The people who populate the movie seemed honest and well intentioned. It covered a lot of bases, romance, encroachment of society on a small river town, loyalty. Its a big sampler plate of issues that are measured out in just the right amounts, enough to justify their being introduced, but not so much as to over power the palate. Really well done on all levels.

Paris - Manhattan

Deb 10       Me 9

This was a really sweet little film. French with subtitles. When we sat down I had no idea what it was about or where it was going, but we both really enjoyed the ride. An odd thing was Woody Allen is one of the actors, not the auteur. Its not a Woody Allen movie, he's just in it. This might be something never done before. I mean Woody doesn't even act in his own movies these days, so to see him as an actor was a actually a treat. But Woody's presence is all through the film and couldn't exist without him. The story is like a distillation of his finer works, Manhattan and Annie Hall (and perhaps others) that showcases some of Allen's brilliance without the tedium of his insecurities.
Being French, the movie is filled with good looking people in the beautiful setting that is France. It's a nice story, with a few unexplained holes (which is why I dropped it to 9), but if you just accept what they give you I think you'll really enjoy watching it.