The Company Men

John Wells ("The West Wing", "ER") tackles the economically relevant issue of corporate downsizing in his eye-opening directorial debut.  Ben Affleck stars as Bobby Walker, a successful businessman living the white-collar, suburban dream.  Until he is unexpectedly made "redundant" at his company and watches his entire life fall apart.  As Bobby desperately searches for a new job in today's environment of record unemployment rates, he quickly realizes that he isn't as valuable a commodity as he once thought, and slowly learns what is most important in life.  This movie is a realistic look at how company-wide reductions affect not just the lowly assembly line worker, but the corporate bigwig as well.  At first I was asking myself, "Why should I care about these overpampered a-holes??"  But as the story unfolds and deals one devastating blow after another to these characters, you find yourself starting to sympathize with them.  Affleck is terrific at playing the smug Bobby, and it's both comical and sad seeing his anger at discovering how unemployable he is and how ill-equipped he is at holding a blue-collar job.  Tommy Lee Jones, as a conflicted VP, and Chris Cooper, as a paranoid and bitter executive, also deliver fine performances.  "The Company Men" is a smart and engrossing film that shows the sad truth of greedy corporations that fire good, hard-working people all in the name of short-term profits and inflated stock options.  My only complaint with this movie was the "happy" ending that was a shade too idealistic to be taken seriously.  But the silver lining here is that sometimes those same avaricious pigs that so royally fucked up the financial state of this country can learn their lesson and try to do some good for a change.


4 out of 5 stars

True Grit

From directors Joel and Ethan Coen ("No Country for Old Men", "Fargo") comes this stoic Western remake, starring Academy-Award winner Jeff Bridges.  14-year old Mattie Ross (newcomer Hailee Steinfeld) is on a mission to track down Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) - the drifter who murdered her father - but she can't find him alone.  For that she enlists the help of the best U.S. Marshal in town, Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn, a man described as having "true grit".  But Reuben's advanced age, gruff demeanor, and drunken tendencies - not to mention Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) also gunning for Chaney - all threaten to impede Mattie's quest for revenge.  In the Coen brothers expert hands, the desert landscapes are gorgeously shot and the plot unfolds at a satisfying pace.  Beyond the directing and story, though, are the amazing performances that really make this film worth watching.  Bridges takes on the role previously played by John Wayne, and brings all the cantankerousness to the part that he can muster.  He makes the character so prickly and unlikable that you end up liking him for the sheer fact that he just doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself.  As for Reuben's competition, the arrogant and sometimes childish LaBoeuf, Damon continues to prove that he is among Hollywood's most surprising and versatile actors.  But the real showcase here is the shockingly talented Steinfeld: her strong performance as the steely and wise-beyond-her-years Mattie can only be described as a revelation, and I eagerly look forward to seeing Steinfeld in future projects.  "True Grit" is the beautifully sad tale of a girl forced to grow up too fast and an ornery old man who unwillingly becomes her protector, but in the end it's clear that Mattie is the one with the real grit.


4 out of 5 stars

Super 8

Rarely does a film come along that so perfectly encapsulates the nostalgia of an era.  The elements that make up the period's whole are usually fairly easy to reproduce - such as the fashion, pop culture, and political events of the time - but the essence is much more elusive.  In "Super 8", writer/director J.J. Abrams attempts to do this by penning a love letter to his childhood and the movies of his youth.  Set in the 70s, the story centers around a group of middle-schoolers making a horror movie to enter in a young filmmakers' competition. But one fateful night, they catch more on camera than they bargained for as a nearby train derails and unleashes its deadly cargo on the unsuspecting town of Lillian, Ohio.  Abrams' latest supernatural tale will inevitably be compared to that other sci-fi masterpiece (directed by some young up-and-comer of the time named Steven Spielberg), and in my opinion, unfairly so.  Yes, extraterrestrials and kids are involved in both, and yes, it can only be seen as a compliment to be considered even remotely in the same league as the great Spielberg.  But Abrams' creation is a classic in its own right.  It made me vividly recall the lazy days of summer spent hanging around with friends, down to the level of detail around animated conversations that seemed so important at the time.  The kids in the film are depicted so beautifully, accurately portraying the unconditional friendships that come with being young and earnest.  Newcomer Joel Courtney is a delight as sweet-faced Joe - who has recently lost his mother and is trying desperately to reconnect with his despondent father.  And a phenomenally talented Elle Fanning plays Joe's friend Alice, who is going through some tough times of her own.  Ultimately, the story is about experiencing first griefs and first loves, and just happens to be set amongst the backdrop of a lethally dangerous alien running amok a sleepy town (not to downplay the scary creature-on-the-loose artistry that went into making the film fun and damn entertaining).  "Super 8" will tug at you emotionally and fill you with a sense of wonder that only a truly gifted filmmaker can achieve, and for that J.J., I say "Bravo".


5 out of 5 stars

The Green Hornet

Michel Gondry directs this modern-day adaptation of the radio/comic book/TV series.  Seth Rogen stars as Britt Reid, the spoiled richboy son of a newspaper tycoon.  When Britt's father suddenly dies, the empire falls to him and he is forced to clean up his act.  One night, Britt - accompanied by his father's loyal mechanic/butler Kato (Jay Chou) - saves a young woman from thugs and develops a taste for crime-fighting.  Britt and Kato decide to become masked vigilantes - known as the Green Hornet and his sidekick - and start making headlines.  But their good deeds put them in danger when they become the targets of a local drug lord who wants the Hornet's bad-for-business antics quashed.  The movie really hangs on whether or not you find Seth Rogen funny.  He plays Britt in his usual goofball-with-a-heart manner that has served his career well.  Personally, I found Rogen's delivery of the film's one-liners hilarious and his self-centered playboy worked well off of Kato's straight man.  The story itself is a bit on the anorexic side, but with Gondry at the helm the pace never stalls (except for the final showdown that goes on a bit too long... there could have easily been 20 minutes trimmed off the film's total running time).  I was also expecting a little more whimsy and a little less predictability from the notoriously left of center director.  All in all, "The Green Hornet" has some great laughs and is very enjoyable, but it could've used a little more bite.

3 out of 5 stars

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Johnny Depp returns for another raucous romp in this fourth installment of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. This time around, our endearingly reluctant hero, Capt. Jack Sparrow, is on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth.  But when he is forced to accompany an old flame - who may be daughter to the evil pirate Blackbeard - it may prove to be more adventure than Sparrow signed up for.  Gone from this sequel are the dead weight characters (sorry, Keira and Orlando) and convoluted subplots (who broke Davey Jones's heart and why do we care?), and now with all the baggage stripped away the movie is finally able to be fun again.  Except... it's not.  The plot is so nonexistent that even the magnetic Depp can't keep this excursion afloat.  Instead, the story drags on as Sparrow's voyage moves from sea to land, and besides one particular scene involving an attack by deadly sirens, the journey is plodding and devoid of any excitement.  As for the new characters, Ian McShane is great as the fearsome Blackbeard, but there's really not enough of him to satisfy.  Penélope Cruz plays the beautiful and mysterious Angelica, who claims she is Blackbeard's long lost daughter.  The role calls for a lively mixture of seductiveness and spunk, but unfortunately Cruz provides little of either as she barrels around with a perpetual scowl on her face.  All in all, this so-called reboot of the franchise was not all it was hyped up to be; perhaps it's time for Capt. Jack to take an extended vacation in Tortuga... or even retire altogether.


2 out of 5 stars

Hereafter

This supernatural drama explores the possibility of life after death from the view point of three characters whose lives are fatefully intertwined.  Directed by Clint Eastwood, "Hereafter" stars Matt Damon as George, a sad and lonely man who has given up his lucrative career - as a psychic that can communicate with the dead - in order to have a semblance of a normal life.  Across the world in Paris, a beautiful and successful journalist attempts to recover from a near-death experience, while a young boy in London desperately searches for a way to communicate with his deceased twin brother.  The story definitely has the feel of an intentional tear-jerker, so I have to dock it some points for that.  But in Eastwood's adept hands, the execution of portraying the melancholy of these characters and the urgency in their need for answers is genuinely moving.  Damon's performance here is extremely effective in its subtleness - from the quiet and tentative way that he speaks, to the slouched-shoulder way he carries himself.  Cécile De France, who plays French journalist, Marie, and Frankie and George McLaren, who play twins Marcus and Jason, are equally up to the challenge of evoking sympathy from the viewer as you watch them trying to piece their lives back together after suffering major tragedies.  Overall, the movie is well-acted and exceptionally-directed, and despite the calculated, weep-inducing plot, "Hereafter" delivers such a satisfying catharsis that you end up forgiving the deliberateness behind it.


4 out of 5 stars

Country Strong

This country music drama stars Gwyneth Paltrow as troubled superstar, Kelly Canter.  A public display of drunken debauchery during one of her live performances ends in tragedy as Kelly stumbles off the stage and loses her 5-month pregnancy in the fall.  After a short stint in rehab, her husband/manager, Ed (a quietly hostile Tim McGraw), sees fit to have Kelly released early so she can stage a comeback tour.  But between Kelly's demons, Ed's unwillingness to forgive his wife, and hot up-and-comers in the industry to contend with, the road ahead seems rocky and uncertain at best.  The character of Kelly is a departure for Paltrow, who usually plays the charming beauty with the winsome smile.  Here, the actress gives it her all to portray the singer as an unlikable, selfish, and mentally unstable artist.  Unfortunately, Paltrow does her job a little too well and there is nothing redeeming left about Kelly to root for, except maybe her musical ability.  On the flip side, newcomer Garrett Hedlund ("TRON: Legacy") plays Beau, a toiling country singer by night, and a rehab center attendant by day (where he meets and falls for Kelly).  Hedlund gives Beau a sweet earnestness in everything he does, from the way he lovingly tries to protect Kelly, to the way he strums a guitar.  But the most astonishing thing about the actor is his rich, heartbreaking voice that flows over you like a river of honey.  Hedlund could easily have a career in country music - or any music, for that matter - if he wanted to.  Speaking of the music, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the original compositions for the film.  I am admittedly not a country music fan, but thankfully the soundtrack had a nice balance of songs that skewed either to the alt-country or pop-country sides of the spectrum.  Overall, the story left something to be desired as it never delved deep enough into explaining where Kelly's self-destructive tendencies stem from - I guess we are meant to assume that fame has made her this way? - but the musical numbers keep the pace from dragging.  You may initially come to check out Paltrow's singing chops, but it's Hedlund's unique sound that will stick in your head long after.

3 out of 5 stars