Four Brief Takes

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Hey do you like movies which invite you to spend 90 minutes laughing at (rather than with) their characters? Me neither. Unfortunately, that's The Incredible Burt Wonderstone in a nutshell. Despite a real knowledge of and fondness for magicians and their craft, the film can't overcome its fundamental mean-spiritedness.

Incredibly, Burt Wonderstone couldn't pull so much as a chuckle out of thin air. I should have cleaned out my house's raingutters, instead.

Elysium

Elysium is Matt Damon's shot at a Big Concept, Big Budget science-fiction adventure. Unfortunately, the Big Concept is that Rich People are Bad, which is laughable coming from a studio owned and run by rich people.

Sanctimony, however, isn't Elysium's greatest flaw. That honor gets divided between dullness and ugliness. Elysium is dull because its hero takes so long to get from “self-absorbed jerk” to “hero” that we've lost empathy by the time he's made the transition. It's dull because its villains are so villainous that they aren't even interesting. It's dull because its internal contradictions glare so brightly that they keep the audience from suspending disbelief. And it's dull just because it drags. Elysium is ugly because – heck, I don't know, maybe director Neil Blomkamp (of the remarkable District 9) just likes ugliness.

This is a tedious, dull, annoying, ugly film.  Pass it by.

The Wolverine

I saw The Wolverine about a week ago, and I've already forgotten nearly everything about it other than a ridiculous hand-to-hand battle with a cyborg samurai.  It's as if the movie had never even existed.

Taken 2

If you liked Taken, you'll like Taken 2. It's an unapologetic rehash of the first film, set this time in Istanbul. Hey, I liked Taken. I like Istanbul. I got my money's worth.

Inside Man

INSIDE MAN wants to be a heist picture, a police procedural, and a (local) political thriller all at the same time. It succeeds through a combination of excellent performances; fine photography; and smooth, measured pacing.

I didn't see this as a propulsive thriller so much as a study in contrasting characters, and I enjoyed watching most of those characters muddle through a confusing situation as best they could. Why? Probably because Lee was astute enough to cast excellent, credible, and likeable actors in his leading and major supporting roles. I mean, who doesn't enjoy watching Jodie Foster kick ass; Denzel Washington stick it to the Man; Clive Owen be cool; and Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, and Chiwetel Ejiofor do just about anything?

Additionally, INSIDE MAN features a number of shots that are just plain fun to look at. Watch Denzel come through the door of his shabby detective's apartment and bemoan the fact that they never made a follow-up to DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS. Watch the early moments of the heist unfold and consider how fun it is to see modern sensibilities applied to this timeworn genre. Watch the variations in color and film stock (or digital reprocessing, as the case may be) and enjoy the fun Lee can have when he sets out to generate Product with a capital P.

Finally, the pacing. Folks here argue that nothing much happens in the second act, but I don't see that. The act gives us time to enjoy these characters and enjoy the turns in the situation. It builds tension as we try to deduce the plot behind the plot, and it dribbles out the reveals often enough to keep us involved. This movie doesn't move at a breakneck pace, but it moves at the right pace. I felt like I got my entertainment dollar's worth.

INSIDE MAN may be slick American filmmaking, but it's an excellent example of slick American filmmaking. I enjoyed every minute of it.

A Very Long Engagement

I loved A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT. It's a beautiful film, full of hope and golden light, and it made us both cry like adolescents who've just figured out what heartbreak means.

My favorite thing about this movie is that it's visually creative, using seamless CGI to give us a world that's just a little more beautiful, and a little more terrifying, than ours. What a great way to spend a couple of hours.