2015 Blind Spot Series: Glengarry Glen Ross

Grudge Match

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Directed by Don Scardino.

2013. Rated PG-13, 100 minutes.

Cast:

Steve Carell

Steve Buscemi

Olivia Wilde

Jim Carrey

James Gandolfini

Alan Arkin

Jay Mohr

Michael Herbig

Mason Cook

Luke Vanek

David Copperfield

As a kid, Burt Wonderstone (Carell) receives a “magic kit” for a birthday gift and eagerly learns every trick in it as fast as he can. He soon amazes Anton (Buscemi) and the two bond over their love of magic and grow up to be wealthy and world famous magicians. However, after ten years of headlining a Las Vegas show together, things have gotten stale. The passion is no longer there. Worse yet, ticket sales are dwindling as their dated act has been marginalized by a popular, and possibly psychotic, street magician named Steve Gray (Carrey). Think Criss Angel mixed with David Blaine. After a stunt to reclaim their relevance goes horribly wrong, Bert and Anton break up. Anton travels the world doing humanitarian work. Sorta. We focus on Bert who is not only out of work, but also broke and trying to figure out how to get back in the game.

Steve Carell is the absolute perfect person to play Burt Wonderstone. He embodies the character to such a degree we totally buy into this guy’s plight. He manages this while simultaneously ensuring we don’t really like him that much. There is no denying that Burt is a class A jerk. However, we always understand him to be a guy who has lost his way. This is what keeps us invested in the movie. We want to see if our hero can find himself again.

Burt’s quest is greatly enhanced by the surrounding characters. Most notable are Jane (Wilde) and Steve Gray. They function as the angel and devil on Burt’s shoulders. Wilde is solid as a love interest and really isn’t asked to do much, but does ground Burt. Jim Carrey more than makes up for her as Burt’s big competition. He plays Gray as a totally unhinged parody of “modern” magic. Not to be outdone, Alan Alda shines as the yoda-like Rance Holloway. No, he is nothing like the master jedi in demeanor or personality, but his status in this world is similar. Alda plays it with his trademarked gruffness. Somehow, he is simultaneously dismissive and caring. This makes him lovable. As Burt’s partner-in-magic, Buscemi is much tamer than usual which serves the movie well. The same could be said for the late James Gandolfini.

None of this would matter if the movie were not funny. Personally, I laughed quite a bit. A good deal of the jokes are double entendres. Others are pop culture references. Those dealing with tricks performed by Steve Gray are disgusting. Even the people in the movie recognize this. That self-awareness adds humor to them so they work. As a matter of fact, the movie is aware of all of its own absurdity. This knowledge of self adds an all-encompassing layer of sarcasm to the proceedings. In any event, most things are at least worthy of a snicker. This helps things move smoothly.

That it moves so fluidly is a huge plus in favor of The Great Burt Wonderstone. It knows that it is shallow and light and doesn’t pretend to be anything different. As long as you don’t go searching for something deeper, you will have an enjoyable time.

The Dellies - 2012 Best Supporting Actor

For me, this next category is probably the toughest. So much great work was turned in by guys portraying secondary characters. Whittling it down to five nominees proved a difficult task, one that makes me begrudgingly admit The Academy almost got right. Almost. With that tantalizing tease, let's move on to...

2012 - Best Supporting Actor

The Real Nominees: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

My Nominees:

Alan Arkin, Argo

In Argo, Alan Arkin is particularly exceptional. He can proudly add this to a long list of fine supporting roles.

Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained

Jackson breathes an unbelievable amount of life into his character. He is funny, conniving, deliciously evil, and perhaps the smartest person in the movie.

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

When neither Daniel Day-Lewis nor Sally Field are on the screen, the movie is carried by a magnificent Tommy Lee Jones who give his most inspired performance in years.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Hoffman is perfectly charismatic as the leader of a budding way of thought, no matter how out there it may be. In an exemplary manner, he pulls off his character’s ability to instantly adapt his explanations to most lines of questioning and knack for shouting down anyone not persuaded by his answers.

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Christoph Waltz switches sides of the coin, going from playing the unapologetic villain in Inglourious Basterds to a kinder, gentler man in Django Unchained, albeit one still capable of mowing down whoever stands in his way. He gives a moustache twirlingly fun performance.

Honorable Mention:
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Jeremy Irons, The Words
Jude Law, Rise of the Guardians
Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Hugo Weaving, Cloud Atlas

The Real Winner: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

And My Winner Is...

Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained

The portrayal I thought was best of all in a movie filled with great ones is that of Samuel L. Jackson. Every word he says, every movement of his body and shift of his eyes feels true. It’s nothing less than masterful.

Click here to see all of The Dellies!

Argo

Directed by Ben Affleck.

2012. Rated R, 120 minutes.
Cast:
Ben Affleck
Bryan Cranston
Alan Arkin
John Goodman
Victor Garber
Tate Donovan
Clea DuVall
Christopher Denham
Scoot McNairy
Kerry Bishé
Rory Cochrane
Kyle Chandler

During the final days of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, the American Embassy in Iran is overrun by people angry with the U.S. for sheltering their recently deposed shah whom committed a number of atrocities against his own people. Hmm. This is part of an obvious pattern but since this is a movie review and not a political column we’ll keep it moving. In any event, over 50 Americans were taken hostage as it was hoped they could be exchanged for the shah. Amidst the mayhem, six Americans managed to escape and find refuge at the home of Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (Garber). Since it is only a matter of time before captors of the rest figure out who is missing and where they are, big-wigs at the CIA are trying to come up with a plan to rescue them so that they don’t also become hostages or suffer a worse fate.

Exfiltration expert Tony Mendez (Affleck) is brought in and he quickly points out the flaws in all their ideas, but doesn’t have one of his own. Things change when his son’s love of science fiction movies inspires a plan so ridiculous it just might work. His idea is to pose as a producer scouting locations for his next film and leave with the escapees who will pose as his crew. Yes, this is based on a true story.

Argo succeeds mostly because it is devilishly tense. The conversations and debates among our six refugees or the hand-wringers of the CIA all carry a palpable sense of urgency. This and the progress we see the Iranians make in putting the puzzle together make it clear that the Americans are working against the clock. The other major reason it succeeds is because the comic relief is so well done. There are no bumbling fools or pratfalls, just sharp humor slicing through the thick of it at the perfect moments. It’s a masterwork crafted by Affleck, the director. For me, each of his three efforts from the special chair has been brilliant. By the way, Gone Baby Gone and The Town being the others. He may have made his name as an actor and dater of starlets, but it seems his true calling is behind the camera.

In front of the camera, he holds his own. However, the real acting kudos deserve to go to the rest of the magnificent cast. Each of them play their roles perfectly. Alan Arkin and John Goodman are both particularly exceptional. Both men can add this to a long list of fine supporting roles. For Goodman, that makes two just in 2012. He stole every scene in which he appeared in Flight.

Without any action scenes beyond the initial storming of the embassy and without demonizing an entire people as villains, Argo manages to steer clear of dull moments. Like any other movie ‘based on a true story’ it’s not 100% factual. However, in this case, liberties taken with the truth are wonderfully handled and enhance the viewing experience. This is grade A movie-making.

MY SCORE: 10/10

Marley & Me

Marley & Me
2008. Rated PG, 115 minutes.
Director: David Frankel. Starring Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Alan Arkin, Kathleen Turner, Eric Dane, Jonah.

Plot: Before having children, young couple John and Jenny Grogan (Wilson and Aniston, respectively) get a yellow Labrador puppy that they name Marley, after reggae icon Bob Marley. Doggy hijinks and family life ensues.

The Good: There are a lot of funny scenes. The movie gets a ton of mileage out of Marley being disobedient, destroying things and/or eating them. Just as that starts to wear thin, we see a family struggling through growing pains and it feels real. The pacing is a major plus. Director David Frankel does a great job speeding up and slowing down his movie at appropriate times.

The Bad: It wants to be an overwhelming tear-jerker but it fails to make us love the dog. Even worse, it struggles to make us believe the people in the movie love him. We get that there's a certain level of attachment. However, he's so much trouble and wreaks so much havoc on their lives it feels like they keep him around out of a sense of obligation rather than really wanting to. It tries to show us a powerful bond between Marley and the Grogan children but none of them are given any meaningful screen time until it's too late in the picture. It doesn't help that our "dramatic conclusion" is an inevitability we dreadfully trudge toward rather than a singular event that knocks the wind from our chests.

The Ugly: What Marley does when he's finally let loose on "Dog Beach."

Recommendation: It's a fun movie that's at times a bit racier than its PG rating suggest. I only mention that because it is marketed as a family film. While it's having fun, it waits to long to start trying to manipulate us for the big moment and misses it's mark. Then again, I suppose if you're naturally a dog lover, which I'm not, you'll buy into it a little easier. Or you're very similar to my 6 year old daughter who did, in fact, shed a few tears.

The Opposite View: Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK)

What the Internet Says: 7.2/10 on imdb.com (4/11/09), 60% on rottentomatoes.com, 53/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 6/10