Thursday Movie Picks: A Disappearance

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies with Devastating Crushing Endings that Makes You Want to Weep

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Set in a High School, Secondary School or the Equivalent

The Interview

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Don Jon

Directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

2013. Rated R, 90 minutes.

Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Scarlett Johansson

Julianne Moore

Tony Danza

Glenne Headly

Brie Larson

Rob Brown

Jeremy Luke

Italia Ricci

Porn. Once it was society's secret shame. For a brief time in the 1970s, it was chic. It scurried back underground in the 80s with the rise of the VCR. To get it, you had to venture into the back room of mom and pop video stores where the other shady characters hung out and hope you weren't spotted entering or exiting by someone you know and thinks you're a fine, upstanding citizen. Now, with the omnipotence of the internet, porn rules the world. There really are only two types of people: those who actively seek it out and those who actively guard against it. Jon (Gordon-Levitt) is definitely one of the former. He gets plenty of real sex, but prefers watching it online. He tries to change things when he starts dating the beautiful Barbara (Johansson). She hates nothing more than a man who watches smut.

Don Jon is an exploration of addiction as well as of a relationship where one party dominates the other. Although it focuses more intently on the former, it's more successful with the latter. The addiction generates most of the film's laughs as it points out the differences between porn and real life sex. It's also responsible for part of the running joke that is his weekly confession at church. Where the movie really gets us emotionally involved is in showing us a man trying to maintain his own sense of identity while trying to please his mate. It's clear he has little regard for what anyone thinks of him, including his own father (Danza). With Barbara, it's different. He wants badly to impress her because he believes she is "the one." On the one hand, we understand he watches an unhealthy amount of porn. On the other, we don't want him to give up who he is and do things he doesn't want to in order to keep her. As beautiful as she is, is she worth the price of his soul?

This is where Esther comes in. She's lived, and seems to have been sent to help our hero. Julianne Moore plays the role wonderfully. She's not alone in her excellence. as a whole, the acting is a strong suit for Don Jon. Lead man Joseph Gordon-Levitt is terrific and really drags us into this character's psyche. Of course, playing an excellently written character helps. Scarlett Johansson is also really good as Barbara. We despise her, which is what we should do. She pretty much gives us our villain. The biggest surprise, though, is how good Tony Danza is. He completely owns every scene he is in. As well as our stars perform throughout the rest of the movie, they struggle to keep up when sharing the screen with him.

Where Don Jon falls short is in connecting all the dots to form a powerful picture. Certain strands of the film are built up to be important, but never go anywhere. The two most easily recognizable are Don's relationship with his father and the one with his God. He and his dad constantly antagonize one another. To what extent this has shaped him, or what he thinks of all this is never explored. It just kind of is. That's okay, but it feels like there are more depths to be mined. This is certainly true of Jon's faith. we never see him really trying to reconcile his constant watching of porn with his religion, or express any serious misgivings about it on a level that doesn't involve Barbara. He merely shows up in the confessional, spouts off the stats on his sexual and masturbatory exploits of the last seven days to the priest and is given a number of times to say "Hail Mary" as penance. There is no evidence of an inner-conflict. The problem with this is we're told multiple times how seriously he takes his faith, yet it doesn't ring true. It seems to be a game he plays. The object is simply to see how many times he'll have to say "Hail Mary." Even if he thought this really redeemed him each week, I would like to have seen that made clear. Without that, it becomes a funny, but hollow reoccurring segment.

Don Jon is still an enjoyable picture. It's lots of fun to watch and has a cute story wrapped in all its vulgarity. The performances are a real treat, with our main cast all turning in excellent work. Both the story and the actors help time fly by. Kudos to Joseph Gordon-Levitt for not only starring in such a flick, but writing it, and using it to make his directorial debut. In front of the camera, the man is a marvel. Behind it, he did some very good work, here. It's his writing that ultimately keeps this from being a special movie. It is satisfied with giving us something entertaining, but stops shy of being thought provoking even though the pieces for it to be precisely that are all in place. Therefore, while I do like the movie quite a bit, I can't help but feel like a number of opportunities have been missed.

Premium Rush

Directed by David Koepp.

2012. Rated PG-13, 91 minutes.

Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Michael Shannon

Dania Ramirez

Jamie Chung

Wolé Parks

Aasif Mandvi

Lauren Ashley Carter

Christopher Place

Anthony Chisolm

Kym Perfetto

Wilee (Gordon-Levitt) is a Manhattan bike messenger. For those of you who've never been to New York he’s a same day courier of small packages that rides a bicycle instead of driving a truck. Rest assured, this is a real job in the Big Apple. As you might imagine, with your knowledge of Manhattan traffic, real or just what you see in movies, this isn't the safest occupation in the world. Wilee seems to make it even more dangerous. He usually rides at breakneck speed, refuses to even have a break on his bike and commits as many moving violations as humanly possible. He has an unbridled passion for riding and is completely dedicated to being on time. Therefore, he’s the perfect person for Nima (Chung), the soon-to-be ex-roommate of his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Ramirez), to call when she has a highly valuable, time-sensitive envelope to be delivered across town. He picks it up at about 5:30. It had better be there by 7:00, or else. Of course, we wouldn't have a movie if there weren't a few obstacles. Namely there’s Bobby (Shannon), a desperate cop with a serious gambling problem. He’s intent on getting that envelope for himself. Lots and lots of bike riding ensues.

There are a couple of cat-and-mouse games going on. This is where Premium Rush excels. First and foremost is the aforementioned one between Wilee and Bobby. Next, but no less fun, is between Wilee and a legit bicycle cop. Watching our hero try to elude both is highly entertaining. These, along with our dirty cop mishandling his debtors, provides us with the film’s action and does an excellent job of it. The contents of the envelope and the story behind it gives us its heart. It works enough for us to root for its safe delivery.

Where PR sputters is when its attentions turn to the love story stuck in its spokes. It is an awkwardly handled triangle with fellow bike messenger Manny (Parks) vying with Wylie for Vanessa’s attention. Oh, I forgot to mention she’s also a messenger. It mostly involves each guy yelling their case at her then trying to force their lips on her. Who says romance is dead? Truthfully, this could sorta work if performed properly. Unfortunately, the line deliveries of both Ramirez and Parks leave a lot to be desired. Assuming it is actually them we see riding through the streets, they’re better cyclists than actors. At least they are in this movie.

The only other issue is time. We effectively jump back and forth within it on the day in question. Each leap backwards reveals enough of the story to keep us engaged. The problem comes when we start getting close to our deadline. You know how in some movies the hero has thirty seconds to diffuse a bomb and takes ten minutes before he gets it done with one second left on the clock? Yeah, sort of like that.

In the grand scheme of things, the problems I've mentioned are really small. They don’t subtract from our enjoyment of PR. Watching all the bike stunts is fairly exhilarating and the whole thing moves at a brisk pace. Down time is kept to a minimum and surprisingly so is stupidity, aside from the finale I mentioned above. This should quench the thirst of all you action junkies.

Looper

Directed by Rian Johnson.

2012. Rated R, 119 minutes.

Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Bruce Willis

Emily Blunt

Jeff Daniels

Piper Perabo

Paul Dano

Noah Segan

Pierce Gagnon

Qing Xu

Tracie Thoms

Our story focuses on Joe (Gordon-Levitt). He’s an assassin known as a looper. His job is killing people sent back from the future by mobsters who live in a time where disposing of bodies is virtually impossible. At some point, whenever they decide they want to completely disassociate with a particular looper, they “close his loop” by sending him his future self to gun down. Needless to say, when Joe fails to kill the older Joe (Willis) who has been zapped back to him, all sorts of problems arise. Young Joe trying to kill his loop, Joe’s boss (Daniels), plus a slew of henchmen, trying to kill Joe and/or his loop and his loop doing some killing of his own ensues.

Despite the focus on shooting people, Looper is a thinking man’s action flick. It disguises that fact pretty well until it’s final moments. Until then it plays out like a wonderful game of cat and mouse and mouse (not a typo). As you might imagine, such a scenario makes it difficult for us to figure out who to root for. This is a good thing. Both the younger and older Joe have compelling reasons for their actions. Since they’re not presented simultaneously our allegiances sway.

Eventually, we meet Sara (Blunt) and her little boy Cid (Gagnon). They figure heavily in the proceedings, but we’re not sure what to make of them, either. Again, this is good. It’s good because we’re never confused, just conflicted. Our confliction adds to the tension between chase scenes and shootouts. We find ourselves on the edge of our seats as pending danger for one person or another creeps closer. The trick is, through more character development that we had any right to expect from a shoot 'em up sci-fi flick, we become vested in these people. We really understand why each of them feel their actions are the only way to deal with the issues at hand. This is used to much greater effect than rushing us off to the next action sequence, or trying to dazzle us with special fx. Even though, like I said, at it’s core it is science-fiction, Looper is not about showing off whatever futuristic gadgets the filmmakers can dream up or giving us a laser and lights show. It’s a rather human tale that happens to contain time-travel.

Humanity not only drives the movie, but ends it as well. One character makes a decision many of us would like to believe we’d make but I’m not sure how many really would. Once it happens, Looper instantly becomes a parable addressing several issues pertaining to current-day society. I choose the word parable because it is not terribly different from some religious stories. Still, that’s not why it has the immediate impact it does. It has that because it poses a simple question you can debate with your friends. Would you do it?

50/50

Lincoln

Directed by Steven Spielberg.

2012. Rated PG-13, 150 minutes.

Cast:

Daniel Day-Lewis

Sally Field

David Strathairn

Tommy Lee Jones

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Gloria Reuben

John Hawkes

Jackie Earle Haley

David Oyelowo

James Spader

Bruce McGill

Lee Pace

Gulliver McGrath

Having just been re-elected as President of the United States, with the Civil War still raging on, Abraham Lincoln (Day-Lewis) focuses his efforts on getting the 13th Amendment to the Constitution passed which will abolish slavery in America. As with most laws that most presidents want passed, there is almost total support from his own party, Republican in this case, and almost none from the other. Some swaying must be done. To complicate matters, he wants it to pass in a rather short period of time since the South appears ready to negotiate an end to the war. However, he knows that any agreement they settle on would have to include the survival of slavery. Amidst pressure from everyone around him, Lincoln stays his course.

As has been said so many times already, Daniel Day-Lewis inhabits the character to such a degree he is truly lost within Abraham Lincoln. We see him as a man who, in his professional capacity, has an enormous presence. He fills the room both literally and figuratively. If not always complete confidence, he oozes authority. Leadership seems to come easy for him. We can see why people follow him. On the other hand, we can also see he's flawed. Political opponents see him as abusive of his power and/or chasing a pipe dream. Privately, his marriage is contentious and he's completely stifling his older son Robert (Gordon-Levitt) in order to protect his wife's well-being since she teeters on the verge of a complete breakdown. In the role of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Sally Field is nearly her leading man's equal, coming apart at the seams one moment and the very picture of composure the next. When neither of those two are on the screen, the movie is carried by a magnificent Tommy Lee Jones who give his most inspired performance in years playing Republican Congressional Leader Thaddeus Stevens.

Carrying the weight of history, the plot unfolds in a riveting manner. This is because the supporting cast is allowed ample room to breathe. In a departure from most contemporary films, especially biopics, much happens when our hero is not on the screen. He spends large chunks of the movie off-camera while we watch the bickering going on in the House of Representatives. These spirited debates mostly take the place of action scenes. Though there are a few actual battle scenes, the high powered pontification on display is more entertaining. These guys, led by the aforementioned Jones, don't just argue. They scream, shout and string together fifty cent words all to the cheers and jeers of a crowd. Then there's the covert vote-grabbing operation going on initiated Secretary of State William H. Seward (Strathairn). There are a few times when the movie drags as the same arguments are repeated but usually something else happens that snaps us out of it.

For director Steven Spielberg, in my very humble opinion, this is his easily his finest directorial outing since Munich and quite possibly his best since Saving Private Ryan. The Adventures of Tintin, the best of his three movies since Munich is merely okay. It has it's moments. The last Indiana Jones flick left a lot to be desired. Finally, War Horse was somehow nominated for Best Picture last year but is just a dreadful, overwrought, unstoppable force of cheesiness. Lincoln also has its share of the director's trademarked sentimentality and even some corniness. The opening scene where soldiers take turns reciting the president's most famous speech to him comes to mind. Thankfully, that sort of stuff is ratcheted down a thousand notches from War Horse. We're left with a wonderful biopic and Daniel Day-Lewis' performance for the ages.

MY SCORE: 9/10

Ranking the Batman Movies: #7

7. The Dark Knight Rises

(2012)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Batman…Christian Bale

James Gordon…Gary Oldman

Alfred…Michael Caine

Lucius Fox…Morgan Freeman

John Blake…Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Catwoman…Anne Hathaway

Bane…Tom Hardy

The Scarecrow…Cillian Murphy

Miranda Tate…Marion Cotillard

The final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is probably the most gorgeous Batman movie ever made. It’s arguably the darkest themed, also. A terrorist named Bane (Hardy) comes to Gotham and destroys the city from a socio-political standpoint while he simultaneously threatens to physically destroy it by detonating a nuke within the city limits. While we may shrink in our seats a little further each time our beloved Gotham, as well as Batman himself, takes another hit we can’t turn away. Christian Bale may have solidified his place as the best Batman of all time with his best performance in the role. The same goes for Michael Caine, easily the best Alfred there’s ever been. Anne Hathaway has also earned mighty praise for her work as Catwoman. The Dark Knight’s fights with Bane are insanely tense. Yes, there’s a lot of “best ever in a Batman movie” stuff going on. However, some narrative issues in Act 3 keep this from “rising” any further on the list.

The Dark Knight Rises

Directed by Christopher Nolan.

2012. Rated PG-13, 165 minutes.
Cast:
Christian Bale
Tom Hardy
Anne Hathaway
Michael Caine
Morgan Freeman
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Marion Cotillard
Matthew Modine
Liam Neeson
Cillian Murphy

Billionaire Bruce Wayne (Bale) has retired from life just as his alter-ego, Batman, has bowed out of the crime-fighting arena. For the last eight years he’s been a recluse, relegating himself to the east wing of Wayne Manor with no human contact other than his trusty butler Alfred (Caine). It’s just as well since Batman is wanted for the murder of Harvey Dent. If this is a surprise to you, please watch both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight before reading any further. Anyhoo, the Caped Crusader is forced back into action when the mercenary known as Bane (Hardy) threatens to destroy Gotham City.

One of the things that happens to movie franchises is that by the third movie, the spectacle overwhelms the story. The scope expands beyond its breaking point. Throngs of new characters are introduced, convoluting an already weak tale. Special fx substitutes for substance. Often, all of this coincides with a shift in tone to make things overly cartoonish. In short, the focus becomes being bigger than the previous movies, not continuing its saga. The Dark Knight Rises falls victim to some of these things and manages to avoid others.

To help TDKR stay above the fray littered with failed third installments is another splendid villain. A seemingly indomitable foe for our hero creates tension, keeps us on the edge of our seats. Bane gives us this, perhaps even more than The Joker did in the last movie because, unlike the Clown Prince, we fear he is physically superior to Batman. This is in addition to possessing the same maniacal passion to blow Gotham to smithereens. Tom Hardy gives us a menacing performance in the role, both aided and hindered by the mask that covers most of his face. With that and his bulky physique he’s simply intimidating to gaze upon. In action, he just as much, seeming to dwarf our hero in both height and width and the ability to put both to good use. The problem is the mask is equipped with a Vader-esque voice-box that lacks the clarity of having James Earl Jones voice the dialogue, occasionally making it difficult to understand what he’s saying.

As for Batman himself, he’s ever the tortured soul. Life without his beloved Rachel (again, watch the first two movies) and also without the cape and cowl has proven to be a struggle. It’s the most interesting the character has been and Bale gives his best performance in the series. However, donning the costume again may not be the best thing for Bruce. It also strains his relationship with his oldest and best friend Alfred. Alfred wants nothing more for Bruce than a happy ending. He realizes this might be an unattainable goal. Michael Caine plays the role superbly. The most touching scenes in the film are of him pleading with Bruce to find a better way than constantly putting himself in harm’s way.

Alas, there is plenty of spectacle and a number of newcomers. Aside from Bane, the main newbies Selina Kyle AKA, but never actually called Catwoman (Hathaway), Miranda Tate (Cotillard) who may be able to save Wayne Enterprises from financial ruin and young police officer John Blake (Gordon-Levitt). The handling of Selina Kyle is perhaps most interesting. She’s much less a villain than she is simply selfish and connected to all the wrong people. Unfortunately, the sparks needed to make some things towards the end work just aren’t there. Their relationship is much more reminiscent of a father and his adult daughter than two people sexually attracted to one another. Regardless of what she does dad, or Batman in this case, is there to show how much he believes in her. By itself that would be fine, but it renders the shift that takes place between them unbelievable and forced, even if predictable. When you add in all that’s going on with Wayne Enterprises’ board of directors, a romance with Miranda Tate, following around John Blake for long stretches and the movie can begin to feel a bit cluttered.

The spectacle is handled in magical fashion. The easiest thing to point out is Batman’s newest toy, an aircraft creator Lucius Fox (Freeman) simply dubs The Bat. It’s an oddly shaped flying machine, but still more plausible than the giant flying aircraft carrier in The Avengers. Whenever it appears it takes center stage. However, the eye-popper is Gotham herself. One of the greatest strengths of Nolan’s trilogy is making the city a living, breathing character. She is Bruce Wayne’s true love. She is our damsel in distress. The cinematography exploring, exploiting and damaging her is amazing.

Though very exciting and containing most of the action, the last third of TDKR is a point of contention with me. Timelines become incoherent, plotholes pop up in droves and the last minute or two feels like a bit of a copout. This is completely understandable since TDKR is intended to be the last Batman movie Nolan will helm. I don’t think he wanted to upset too many folks on his way out the door. However, the previous movie in the franchise, along with his other movies like Memento and Inception, proves that he’s willing to end on a surprising and disconcerting note. For the first time in the trilogy, the director flinches. He shies away from challenging us and is content with merely entertaining us. This is all fine and dandy, but the finale doesn’t leave the lasting impression of its predecessor.

Inception

Directed by Christopher Nolan.
2010. Rated PG-13, 148 minutes.
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ellen Page
Ken Watanabe
Tom Hardy
Marion Cotillard
Cillian Murphy
Dileep Rao
Tom Berenger
Michael Caine

Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a unique sort of criminal. He’s often hired by companies to steal secrets from their competitors. What makes him uniqe is that he actually enters a person’s mind through their dreams to unlock these treasures. His latest employer, Mr. Saito (Watanabe), wants something different. Mr. Saito wants him to do the opposite and plant an idea in the mind of his biggest competitor’s son Robert Fischer (Murphy). Putting an idea into someone’s mind, we learn, is called “inception” and thought by most to be impossible. Cobb says he can deliver and sets out hiring a crack staff to help him do so.

At any given moment we are thrust into and kicked out of dreams. We watch land and cityscapes change before our eyes, often in impossible ways. We see how time operates on different levels of consciousness. We see Dom’s own sanity slipping as too much time spent in other people’s minds, along with the things going on in his own, take a steadily increasing toll on him and threatens his and the team’s ability to complete the mission.

This is far from a simple movie. Like many fantasy or science-fiction films, it asks us to accept something seemingly preposterous as a sort of reality. The difference between Inception and the majority of others is simple. For the two hours or so we’re watching those others, it’s mutually understood that the reality on screen is wholly separate from our own. We know that no amount of exposure to gamma rays is going to transform us into The Hulk. Here, we’re given cause to wonder about our own dreams and the odd events that occur during the portions we can remember. And what about those parts we can’t remember?

Amazingly, even with all the jumping in and out of dreams and playing with reality, Inception is not nearly as convoluted or complicated as it could’ve been. Like I said, though, nor is it simple. With incredible special fx, astute storytelling, enough action infused into the proceedings and another great performance by DiCaprio, it strikes a perfect balance between entertaining us and challenging us.

Speaking of DiCaprio, he’s becoming the go-to-guy for leading men with less than a firm grip of reality. Here, as well as in The Departed and most recently in Shutter Island, he plays a guy who struggles with the concept. Kudos to him for being brilliant in all three.

As I’ve mentioned, the special fx are also brilliant. Worlds coming together and falling apart as we watch provide splendid visuals. In particular, the city that folds over on itself is an awe-inspiring moment. My only gripe is that I didn’t see it on the big screen. I may not ever get to see it in a theater, but I definitely plan on seeing it on something bigger than my 32” television. Yes, I’m putting my pennies aside.

All of the great things Inception does would be for naught if it blew the ending. Thankfully, it does nothing of the sort. Surprisingly, it leaves us right where it tells us it will and somehow, it still works. It works because we hope against hope that that’s not how it will end. Still, when it does we’re left to wonder and debate what’s next. It’s a perfect ending that I hope isn’t ruined by a sequel.

MY SCORE: 10/10