All is Lost

 

Directed and written by J.C. Chandor

With Robert Redford

 

A lone sailor adrift in the Indian Ocean utters the few words

spoken in ALL Is Lost.  The words are in voiceover
of a farewell letter he is writing to someone(wife, child,
business partner, parent?) as he clings to a shattered
raft.  He is identified only as Our Man in the credits.  He is played by Robert Redford, giving the performance of his life.

All is Lost is a most mesmerizing and terrifying of stories

as Our Man withstands eight days of a cavalcade of misfortunes.
We never know who he is, but we see someone who embodies
patience, heroism and grace under pressure.  Director JC Chandor has created a miracle of a film which can be called a metaphor of someone attempting
to survive the storms of life.  It is a simple story, a harrowing
tale of survival.

On Day One Our Man is jolted awake in the cabin of his 29 foot handsomely outfitted yacht.  Water begins to pour in, flooding the vessel.  A container

jammed full of sneakers has fallen off a freighter and collided with his boat. 

This is only the beginning of the relentless hardships that befall Our Man.

There are storms, sharks, leaks, malfunctioning of electrical equipment.  Soaring shots that show the vastness of water highlight how totally alone he is.    The tribulations of Job come to mind as he experiences one after another in the chain of disasters.  As a viewer, you are alongside him and you experience the mounting dread.

The only sounds are those of the creaking and grinding of Our Man’s boat, the tumult of thunder, the smashing of the waves, the crunching of metal, an occasional grunt as he makes efforts at repair.

Robert Redford conveys his thought and emotion on screen without words..  His determination is palpable as he patiently perseveres to try to win his losing battle with the Sea.  He is the American hero incarnate.

Director J.C. Chandor is a master of visual detail.  There are gorgeous underwater shots in addition to attention to the minutiae of the boat.

In the middle of a desperate situation, he has Redford shave as if to say
everything is normal.  There are no clichéd moments in flashback.  Everything
takes place in the present.  It is all very real and a thriller at its core.  It is a monumental achievement for the Director and the Actor.   And it is a hair raising experience for you, the viewer.

Captain Phillips

 

Directed by Paul Greengrass

Written by Billy Ray, Based on the book” A Captain’s Duty:

Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea”

With:  Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barhad Ahdirahman, Michael Chernus, Corey Johnson, Max Martini, and Catherine Keener

 

Captain Phillips delivers a nail-biting true tale of terror on the high seas.

In 2009, the container ship, Maersk Alabama, was hijacked by a group of ragtag Somali pirates off the coast of Africa. They held the captain hostage for five days. The event was a global headliner story. In the end, the U.S. Navy SEALS saved the day and Captain Phillips.

Director Peter Greengrass knows how a biopic should be done. The result is a taut, intelligent film as intense as any action film you’ve ever seen.

Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) is hauling tons of stuff, including World Food items to Africa. Meanwhile, in a dusty poverty-stricken Somali village, men are instructed by their warlords to hijack a ship. Director Greengrass has chosen to show the desperate conditions of their lives. They target Captain Phillips’ unarmed vessel.

The tension builds as a tiny boat with four heavily armed men approaches the Maersk Alabama, whose only protection is fire hoses. The four men scramble onto the ship. Their leader is the English speaking Muse (Barkhad Abdi). The focus now is the relationship between him and Phillips. 

Phillips’ demeanor is calm as he does everything he can to protect the crew hiding elsewhere on the ship. Things don’t go well and the pirates threaten to kill the crew one by one unless Captain Phillips comes up with an enormous sum of money.

The $30,000 in the ship’s safe doesn’t cut it. The four Somalis take Captain Phillips hostage in a tiny lifeboat. Demands are made for ransom. What happens in the tiny claustrophobic lifeboat is guaranteed to jangle your nerves. 

The tension builds and the Navy SEALS prepare to do their work. The Somalis continue to nervously jerk their weapons every which way.

Tom Hanks portrays a solid, principled man whose world has been turned upside down. He does this with total authenticity. Barkhad Abdi ( Muse) is an untrained Somali actor and he couldn’t be more believable as he faces off with Hanks.

Peter Greengrass has mastered the art of docudrama here. How the story ends is a foregone conclusion, but he puts you in the shoes of the characters.

Watching Captain Phillips is a harrowing experience. You are in for a ride aboard a roller coaster of emotion. It is immensely satisfying. Patriotism wells up in your gut as the SEALS arrive like the cavalry does in an old Western.

“Prisoners”

 

Director: Denis Villeneuves

Writer:  Aaron Guzikowski

With Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Paul Dano, Maria Bello,

Viola Davis, and Terrence Howard

 

It is guaranteed that you will find “Prisoners” the most intense and haunting thriller to hit the screen in ages.  This chilling story centers around every parent’s worst nightmare: the kidnapping of a child, and the lengths that a parent may go to find that child.

It is Thanksgiving in a small, working class Pennsylvania town and two families have gathered for dinner. Anna and Joy, their 6-year-old daughters, go outside to play. They never come home.

The calm, collected, but tormented Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), promises the hysterical parents that he will find their daughters. An emotionally disturbed and creepy man, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), was seen nearby in his ramshackle white trailer about the time of the girls’ disappearance and is taken in for questioning.

In despair, the survivalist Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) , Amy’s impulsive, avenging father, takes matters into his own hands. In denial, his wife, Grace (Maria Bello) escapes to her bed with a profusion of medications. Joy’s parents, Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis) are also paralyzed by their grief.

Dover, a honorable man, becomes a savage and vicious vigilante not above brutalizing and torturing the man he thinks has kidnapped his daughter. The Birches, horrified at what he does, still go along with him because they are desperate to find their daughter, Joy.

“Prisoners” takes place in the period of one week. Detective Loki methodically follows every clue while also trying to get Dover to keep out of the business of finding the kidnapper. There are twists and turns in the investigation, many surprising leads.

This is Canadian director Denis Villenueves first English language film. He slowly builds character in each of his actors. Hugh Jackman’s Keller reaches his boiling point; Jake Gyllenhaal’s tattooed Detective Lodi is imprisoned in his own emotional turmoil. All actors give top-notch performances.

The cinematography by Roger Deakins creates a cold and barren tone throughout. The wet chill of winter enhances the gloomy feel of the film.

“Prisoners” has a relentless and startling impact. Every moment absorbs the viewer’s attention, and most will be drained by the end of its two-and-a-half hour duration. This is an edge-of-the-seat entertainment. More than a thriller, “Prisoners” is also a voyage into the nature of evil. It is well worth the trip.

 

 Fruitvale Station

 

Directed and written by Ryan Coogler

With Michael Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melanie Diaz, and Ariana Neal

 Every now and then a film comes along that reassures your faith in the cinema's

ability to really move you, to tell a story in a truly honest way with no Hollywood embellishments, to put you in touch with gut wrenching humanity.  The Fruitvale Station is this film.  It is based on events that happened on January 1, 2009 when a 22 year old unarmed black man, Oscar Grant, was infamously killed by a transit officer on the BART transit system in San Francisco. This harrowing film tells the story of what happened in the last day in Oscar’s Grant’s life. 

 The film begins with actual footage taken on the cellphones of horrified witnesses

that night.   Then, in flashback,  Oscar(Michael Jordan) is shown wearing a prison uniform as his mother(Octavia Spencer) visits him.

Fast-forward to December 31, 2007.  Oscar is  home with his girlfriend, Sophina(Melonie Diaz), the mother of his four year old daughter Tatiana(Ariana Neal) upon whom he dotes.  He has vowed to get his life together after being imprisoned for dealing marijuana.  He has since gotten a job in a butcher shop which he loses for being late.  It is clear he really wants to go straight but he hasn’t gotten it right yet.

 Fruitvale Station chronicles that last day of his life, an ordinary day. as he takes his daughter to school, gets a birthday card and a carrot cake for his mother’s birthday.  He throws away the pot.  In a prophetic scene, he comes across a dying stray dog who has been hit by a car.  He cuddles the animal’s head and speaks softly to it as he lays it alongside the road.

He attends a birthday party for his mother that evening where a huge extended family has gathered.  The warmth of the family and friends’ relationships is obvious.   Oscar and Sophina take the fated BART train into San Francisco to continue the New Years Revelries.  I promise you that the last few minutes of Fruitvale Station are as disturbing as any you’ve ever seen.

  There is clearly a sweetness to Oscar, a kind and decent young man who is also prone to instant rages, telling white lies to Sophina. But he is anything but a stereotype.  Michael Jordan(from TV’s Friday Night Lights) plays this role with extraordinary passion and pathos.  His Oscar is a flawed character and Jordan exhibits

 the despair that rules his life.

This is the debut feature of Ryan Coogler, a 27 year old graduate of USC film School.  This is his debut feature.  He is able to put the audience in touch with moral outrage as he immerses us in Oscar’s life and its end.   He had dreams, feelings, and cared for many people, and it’s all here in Fruitvale Station.

Director Coogler doesn’t preach about Ghetto boys having limited opportunities, getting a raw deal.  His strategy is to dramatize a young black man’s daily routines and pressures.  He is a normal Dad, worried about paying the rent, his daughter’s schooling, just paying the bills.  Coogler tells a compassionate true

story.  It all feels so real, shot with hand held cameras.

 Of course, the George Zimmerman acquittal has helped this film get the attention it deserves.   It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance film festival.  It is Academy Award material, if the Academy has any sense.

I will say this about  Director Ryan Coogler : A star is born.

The Bling Ring

 

Directed by Sofia Coppola

With Katie Chang, Israel Boussard, Clarie Jullen, Taissa Famiga and

Emma Watson

 

A most timely crime drama, “The Bling Ring” tells the story of celebrity-obsessed teens in the Hollywood hills who go on shopping sprees by burglarizing the homes of celebrities. 

You probably read about or have seen news coverage about the thefts that took place in 2008-2009. It’s all true.

The group of five wayward 16-year-olds included Marc (Isreal Boussard), Chloe, (Claire Jullen), Nik i(Emma Watson), Sam (Taissa Farminga) and ringleader Rebecca (Kathe Chang). 

They followed the social/celebrity media on the Internet and knew when their victims would be out of town. Believe it or not, some of the celebrities, which included Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, and Megan Fox, left their keys under the front doormat.

Once inside the homes, the gang would stuff clothing, jewelry and shoes into duffle bags, often spending time marveling at the lavishness of their victims’ homes. For example, Paris Hilton had giant silk cushions emblazoned with her photos in her ‘nightclub room.’ Actual footage of the inside of Ms. Hilton’s house is used in “The Bling Ring,” and the characters are shown going through her real closet.

The teens would post photos of each other wearing the loot on the Internet. They spent most of the money they pilfered in L.A. Clubs or on drugs. They amassed $3,000,000 worth of plunder.

“The Bling Ring” is Sofia Coppola’s critique of materialism, teen amorality, weak parenting and the celebrity culture. The kids lead unmotivated lives, devoid of financial hardship. Without moral compasses, they feel they can get away with anything.  

And no matter how much they get, they want more. They spend their days watching TV reality shows (keeping up with the Kardashains!), looking at slick fashion magazines, and browsing gossip websites. The nights were for clubs and drugs. The robberies were “shopping expeditions” to them.

Unfortunately, these teens became outlaw heroes to many. Their admirers want to somehow be connected to the rich and famous.

Ms. Coppola does not analyze, explain or excuse her subjects’ behavior. Her approach is impartial. The parents are mostly absent in the film. The parents you do see are intimidated by their kids and do not question their behaviors.

The acting is right on target. There is not much depth to the teens: they are shown to be shallow, fame obsessed teens gorging themselves on other peoples’ possessions. They are not happy just being wealthy. They envy the super rich,

Finally, they do get arrested. They do a little time and pay some restitution to their victims. And now they have the celebrity they were seeking.

“The Bling Ring” is a disturbing chronicle of materialism gone berserk.

Sofia Coppola has nailed it.

 

FRANCES HA

 

Directed by Noah Baumbach

Written by Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig

With Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, and Grace Gummer

 

Greta Gerwig, who stars in “Frances Ha,” is like the puppy you always wanted to adopt. This beguiling film tells the story about a 27-year-old woman who is not quite ready for adulthood but too old for college.

Frances (Greta Gerwig) lives in New York with her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner). The film begins with a montage of the two of them doing laundry, fake fighting, watching movies in bed, smoking cigarettes on the fire escape, knitting and, mainly, laughing. This is female bonding at its best.

The sweet and rather clueless Frances dreams of being a dancer in spite of her questionable talent. She works as an apprentice for a small dance company. Frances never gives up chasing her dreams. It never occurs to her that she may fail. 

She is crushed when Sylvia announces that she is moving to a better apartment. Next Greta is cut out of the dance group. But, never bitter, she moves on with a childlike optimism.

She lives in a series of apartments, always with friends, never with her name on the lease. She is always agreeable, helpful, never a pessimistic note, but she messes things up for herself. After charging plane fare she cannot afford to her maxed credit card, she flies to Paris for a weekend. Because of her jet lag she takes a sleeping pill. And sleeps though the weekend.

“Frances Ha” feels like Woody Allen’s earlier films. It is shot in crisp black and white in locations throughout the city. And like so many of Allen’s characters, Frances is on a crusade to find herself.

 

Director Noah Baumbach is known for his indie films (“The Squid and the Whale,” “Greenberg”). Greta Gerwig is his girlfriend and this film mightily showcases her appeal. Her character is effervescent, always honest and hopeful, often very funny, always appealing. 

There is a lot of cigarette smoking in “Frances Ha,” which viewers might find disturbing. It would be unfortunate if this is a trend among the 20 somethings.

The film is really about a moment in life, a timeless tale about the joys and sadness of youth. “Frances Ha” is a delight that makes you feel hopeful about life (except for the smoking!). The meaning of “Ha” is revealed in the very last moment of the film. Only a scrooge could watch it without a feeling of delight.

The Great Gatsby

 Directed by Baz Luhrman

Based on the novel by F Scott Fitzgerald

 

With Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan,
Isla Fisher, and Jason Clarke

Discard any literary pretensions you may have regarding F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel

about the decadence of the 1920’s jazz age in New York.  Baz Lurhman’s film The Great Gatsby is a simply spectacular piece of razzle dazzle sight and sound filmmaking that stands mightily on its own.

Most of you have read the novel about Jay Gatsby, enigmatic rags to riches millionaire

who throws ultra lavish parties which he never attends at his grandiose mansion in East Egg Long Island.  His entertainments with legions of glitzy flapper girls, dozens of tuxedoed help and gallons of bootleg booze are the talk of New York.

Jay Gatsby(Leonardo DiCaprio)  has built his manor smack across the Long Island Sound from blueblood Tom(Joel Edgerton) Buchanan and his wife Daisy’s(Carey Mulligan) own mansion.  Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy, with whom he had a fling before she and Tom married.

Gatsby recruits his neighbor Nick Carraway(Tobey Maguire) to help him win back Daisy’s affections..  It is Nick who narrates the story.  Nick is also pursuing the American Dream.

 

There have been six film versions of The Great Gatsby.  Luhrman’s film is a glittery showcase of the early 1920’s with its bootleg behaviors, frantic flappers, and the frenzied search for more thrills.
The theme is nothing new: a girl is attracted to a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, but she marries the one with the money.  The poor boy makes good and tries to woo her back.  It doesn’t always work.

Leonardo DiCaprio embraces the complexity and mystery of Jay Gatsby.  His handsome

good looks got gasps from the audience with whom I viewed the film. Including me.

Carry Mulligan is perfect as the insubstantial, listless, pampered Daisy who wants it both ways.
Joel Edgerton is superb as the philandering, buffoonish Tom.  Tobey Maguire is excellent as the wide eyed innocent foil to DiCaprio’s sophistication.

Baz Luhrman’s Gatsby is homage as well as a blistering critique of the excesses of

Materialism.  The shimmering gowns and jewels, the high kicking sequined flappers,
the flowers by the truckload, the perfectly cut suits, the garish settings, the gleaming
vehicles are a resplendent, but also vulgar  feast for the eyes.  This Flashy Gatsby
captures the shallowness of that milieu.  It’s a delicious bon bon, not much substance, but oh so tasty.