Leave it to Beaver turned on its head

I have talked before about my slight unfamiliarity with Peter Bogdanovich's work during my review of his great film Paper Moon. Now having seen what is considered by many as his quintessential work The Last Picture Show (1971) I think I have a much better understanding of Bogdanovich as a director and storyteller.

The Last Picture Show takes place in a run down, nothing to do town in texas in the "innocent" 1950s. The interesting thing about nothing to do towns is that is where people tend to do more to make up for their self proclaimed boring existence. The film starts out quaint enough, being filmed in black and white with deep focus, really adds to the authenticity and the nostalgia of the 1950's. We meet the young high school seniors whom we find out early aren't good at football, and the older towns people try and shame them on this, but they don't seem to care. We meet Sam the Lion the purest representation of old time texas, he seems to be straight out of a John Ford movie and we will come to know him as the moral anchor of an other wise morally confused town. In the beginning Bogdanovich is pushing our expectations in one direction so that when the layers of affairs, sex, death, teen angst, the Korean War and loss start pilling up, they hit us hard.

Timothy Bottoms plays Sonny, the eyes and ears of the audience. He goes through his everyday life trying to figure out what to make of his time hear on earth, and what to do with the relationships he makes along the way. All the characters seem to be searching for something deeper and in their reaching out for that only find broken relationships, sex, war and alcohol. It seemed like only Sam the Lion knew how to make this town work, and once he was gone all was lost.

As I mentioned in my review of Paper Moon, Bogdanovich's style is minimalist but at the same time very self assured. With no wide shots, and many deep focus close ups, we get a sense of being trapped with the characters. He is not afraid to hang on someone face, and in doing so he really produces a great sense of longing in that character.

At the time of its release much had been made of the acting in this film. After all it got four acting nominations and two wins from the Academy. It introduced the likes of Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepard, and was the first of six Oscar nominations for Ellen Burstyn. All of these performances are deserving of their recognition and I would have even added Timothy Bottoms name to that Oscar list.

I can see how when The Last Picture Show first came out it was sort of shocking to audiences. It was about an era that had not long since past, it came on the heals of many films like Easy Rider and The Graduate where consequences where second thoughts to freedoms. In a weird way it almost works in that same vein now. The early seventies were long enough ago to watch a film like this in black and white and not be off put by it, maybe even think its normal, and in evoking a time long since gone, we only have the memories of films and television of that time, which makes The Last Picture Show still shocking to our expectations.

This is a great film and maybe deserves five stars, but what it does in style and substance it lacks in personal connection. I liked Paper Moon better only because I liked that relationship better than any in The Last Picture Show, but the film still deserves praise and recognition for its achievements.

****

Top 10 Movies of 2009

So I have seen around 33-34 movies in 2009. I don't have all the time in the world so I try to see the more critically hyped films or interesting films, but still some where much better than others. Some were bad The Hangover, Away We Go, some were disappointing Public Enemies, The Road and some just missed the cut A Serious Man, 500 Days of Summer. And without further ado.....

10. Precious

9. Avatar

8. Bad Lieutenant

7. An Education

6. Moon

5. Where The Wild Things Are

4. Sin Nombre

3. The Hurt Locker

2. Inglourious Basterds

1. Adventureland

A look at the other side

James Cameron's Avatar has been praised for taking us to another world. A place that we are utterly unfamiliar with but can revel in its beauty. Avatar is not the only film this year to take me to a unique world I know nothing about, but so has Cary Fukunaga's beautiful Sin Nombre (2009). I am now glad to have waited to put up my best of the year list until I saw Sin Nombre because I have a lot to say about it, and it certainly deserves a spot on that list.

Lets start with the direction. Fukunaga is now officially on my top five directors of the year list, right in front of the Coen brothers. That means with all his millions of dollars I am kicking James Cameron off that list. I don't know how he is able to do it, but Fukunaga places his crew and camera in the middle of this culture. You are immersed in these people's lives as they try to escape South America and make their way north to America. I know he couldn't have gotten permission from everyone involved in this movie, they were not extras, he must have just shot and shot and the result is an immersive feeling that all the CGI in the world couldn't recreate.

The story surrounds Willy or El Casper as his gang calls him as he tries to balance his life between his girlfriend and the ruthless gang he is in. You can read on his face that this is not the life he has chosen, but he is strong enough to be apart of it, but smart enough to know its not for him. Eventually the two worlds collide in violence and he makes a decision that ultimately seals his fate, but at the same time releases him from the psychological prison that is being in the gang. Willy is played by newcomer Edgar Flores, who is nothing short of spectacular here. As an audience member you just like watching him, your drawn to his silence, his rage is always below the surface, if he was white and lived in the 50's we would be talking about him on the level of Dean or Brando. He commands the screen with such ease, and I hope people take note of this and put him in other films. The problem with him is I don't know if he has much more range or a broad enough appeal and sadly this may be the only thing we see of Edgar Flores.

Willy has a young friend Smiley who wants to be in the gang. Willy doesn't encourage it, or dissuade him. Smiley being all of 13 or 14 has to commit a murder of the rival gang as initiation. The film deals with this in passing, as if it is just another day, which makes it all that more haunting. Eventually Willy becomes the target of his own gang and it is Smiley who is sent after him. It is the plot of a great noir thriller but set on the rails of Mexico. Structurally the film stays away from the super realistic storytelling of other films of this yoke and instead doesn't forget that this is a movie, and tries to both entertain and inform.

While Willy is going threw his ordeal he meets up with a young lady named Sayra played by Paulina Gaitan who is heading north to meet up with family in New Jersey. Those two's fates become intertwined and that sets off our inevitable conclusion. Unfortunately this is the one misstep this movie takes as I never believed that Sayra and Willy's motivation to be together was ever that clear or believable, and unfortunately it does hurt the films climax. Had that worked better, Sin Nombre may have been my favorite film of the year.

One more huge note to be mentioned is the Cinematography, which is hands down the best of the year. And I am not talking about mistaking beautiful landscapes for great cinematography, but somehow Adriano Goldman was able to get his 35 MM camera in such tight and unusual spaces and with what seemed like just natural light create great contrast and lighting. Some of the stuff on the train should be a class in using natural light.

I can see comparisons to the more popular film City of God, and if you are a fan of that film check out Sin Nombre which in my opinion is a better movie. Sin Nombre combines a landscape not usually seen, with stories not usually told, and near perfect structure and acting that will leave you contemplating it for days. I am very excited to see what Fukunaga will come up with next. Until then, I hope to see Sin Nombre a second time.

****1/2

Michael Cera will continue his success as long as he never gets laid

They were trying to go for a lot in Miguel Artera's Youth In Revolt (2009) and ultimately landed on nothing. It is a film about the angst of growing up and getting laid (Is that really just a teenage problem?). My love affair with Michael Cera may also be wearing thin as his charm and nerdiness aren't enough to save this movie.

Cera plays a dual role in Youth In Revolt, he plays Nick Twisp and his alter french ego Francois Dillinger. Twisp is a loner, and in love with a girl who is mysterious, flirty and seductive. Twisp has a hard time wrestling with keeping the girl and to do this he invents his alter ego to help him be "bad" enough to impress her.

Lets start with the story itself. It tried to be fresh by inventing this alter ego and really having him go off the deep end, but in the end felt forced and ultimately unbelievable. There was no real flow to the film, it seemed to go from one scene to the next without taking into account the little moments of how they got there. And I know this is a movie about youth and the truths in young adulthood as compared to those adults in the film, but the writer and director could not have made more one dimensional adults. Everyone of them from Nicks mother to Sheeni's Christian Parents to the hippy next door neighbor are painted with a very broad and ugly brush.

Maybe the worst thing about Youth In Revolt is that its comic moments are at best scattered. I wouldn't say this is an unfunny film, but for it to work it really needed a lot more laughs. It to often tries to balance the line between absurd and realistic and to be honest that line doesn't really exist.

None of the performances were bad for what was given. I particularly liked Portia Doubleday as Sheeni, the girl of Nick Twisp's desires. Without her intrinsic charm and allure I wouldn't be able to really hang my hat on anything in this film. Then there is Cera, who is not bad here, in fact if this film had been his first people might be talking about his greatness, but other than when he is his alter ego, we have seen this same thing done much better by Cera several times before. It is kind of sad because I love Cera, I love his comedy styling but he really needs to come up with something else soon or he is going to lose all his fan base. There are certain comedy actors that can do the same thing over and over again (Woody Allen, Ricky Gervais) and it never feel stale but for some reason it doesn't work with Cera. He needs to try to find some more depth and emotion.

Overall I say Youth In Revolt is an absolute skip. There is no nostalgic feelings of youth you will come away from watching this movie, it doesn't shine any new light on what it means to be young in America, instead you may be left wondering what is the point. Part of me wants to yell at the characters in this film and say you are only 17 you will get over this chick, and probably need and want to find someone new, not really worth blowing up buildings for.

**

Time travel on a budget

I was excited to check out Shane Carruth's Sundance hit Primer (2004). I had heard a lot of good buzz about the film, and I was curious how Carruth effectively managed a engaging film about the science of time travel on a budget of under $10,000. Unfortunately I don't think he managed to accomplish that feat. I mentioned in my review of Paranormal Activity that any film with a micro-budget must be taken into consideration when reviewing it, and I will do the same with this film. After all, Carruth was able to make a cult science classic, that seems to have kept people engaged just solely on the "nerd effect". And what I mean by the "nerd effect" is this movie appeals to those who want to break down the science and or inconsistencies and theorize about what could or would not have happened. For everyone else, I dare say, it was just boring.

Yes the budget was extremely low, and the filmmakers where clever with it at points, but at points it really hurt the film. There is very poor ADR throughout and during moments where seeing duplicates of people in the same scene would have been effective, the budget obviously doesn't allow for that.

I will be the first one to admit that I may be missing something here. But the problem is I am was not engaged enough in the story to even want to go back and re-watch the film. The reason I have these lackluster feelings about Primer is because without interest in the content there is nothing on an emotional level to grab me either. A film I can see it drawing comparisons too is a great film by Darren Aronofsky called Pi. But the reason Pi works and Primer doesn't is because the science and math are secondary to the story and character.

I mentioned earlier that I believe part of the appeal of this film is "the nerd effect" but also I dare say that there may be a few viewers out there that are to ashamed of not understanding it, that might explain a lot of the reviews with the words, "cerebral", "fascinating", "it will keep you wondering".

Yes maybe LOST can take a tip about how to do time travel from Primer, but they certainly shouldn't go to Primer for story, character or content.

**

Best Director 2009

The what should have beens....

5. Ethan and Joel Coen-A Serious Man

Even if the movie is not a five star film, it is the Coens direction that keeps it engaging. I love watching their work, they are masters.

4. Cary Fukunaga-Sin Nombre

He kicked James Cameron off this list by making a film more rich and emotional than all of Pandora.

3. Spike Jonze-Where The Wild Things Are

A visually interesting and tonally accurate take on the famed children's book deserves Spike Jones a lot more recognition than he has gotten to this point.

2.Kathryn Bigelow-The Hurt Locker

I wouldn't even rank her number 2 but instead 1B. She brings suspense and most importantly interest to a movie about a war we have not yet favored on the screen.

1. Quentin Tarantino-Inglourious Basterds

There is not much left to say about Mr. Tarantino that has not already been said. He has gone from cinematic lore to a master filmmaker that proves he will continue to make good movies for a while.

Honorable Mentions:

James Cameron-Avatar

Greg Motolla-Adventureland

Tom Ford-A Single Man

Duncan Jones-Moon

Werner Herzog-Bad Lieutenant

Best Actor 2009

Where as with the women there was none to pick from, the men have an abundance. I really could do a top 10 with ease. But lets stick to the classic 5.

And They Are.....

5. Morgan Freeman-Invictus

With almost to much ease this veteran actor transforms himself into Nelson Mandela.

4. Sam Rockwell-Moon

Balancing a duel rule and captivating an audience with no one else on screen. Rockwell succeeds in giving a face to humanity.

3. Colin Firth-A Single Man

He may not have physically looked as horrible as everyone was saying but Firth is perfect as a depressive looking for answers in a bleak world.

2. Jeremy Renner-The Hurt Locker

The performance I most want to emulate this year. He is both a "wild man" and comforting in this adrenaline driven performance.

1. Jeff Bridges-Crazy Heart

Its time, give the man his oscar.

Honorable Mentions:

Max Records-Where The Wild Things Are

Michael Stuhlbarg-A Serious Man

Jessie Eisenberg-Adventureland

Edgar Flores-Sin Nombre

Nicolas Cage-Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Adam Sandler-Funny People

George Clooney-Up in The Air

Sharlto Copley-District 9