Restless (2011)

Despite a dismal 35% (critics) /58% (audiences) on rottentomatoes, I liked a lot this story of odd teenagers in love and Jack said, "It wasn't hatable." Annabel (Mia Wasikowska) and Enoch (Henry Hopper) meet at a funeral and share, for different reasons, an obsession with death. Director Gus Van Sant (I liked Drugstore Cowboy (1989), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Elephant (2003), and Paranoid Park (2007), and loved To Die For (1995), Good Will Hunting (1997), Finding Forrester (2000), and Milk) keeps it light from a script by newcomer Jason Lew, who went to NYU with Bryce Dallas Howard. She convinced him to flesh out his play and she produced this movie along with her father Ron and Ron's producing partner Brian Grazer, among others. Wasikowska (pronounced vash-i-kov-ska, she is Australian) was believable as Alice in Wonderland with an English accent and as the strong-willed American daughter in The Kids Are All Right, and here is the strong-willed sick American girl in the fabulous vintage outfits. Costume designer Danny Glicker (Oscar-nominated for Milk, won a Costume Designers Guild award from his peers for Transamerica (2005), and was nominated for Milk and Up in the Air) may get another nomination for this one. Hopper is the 21-year-old son of the late Dennis Hopper, and Henry had one other role before this, at the age of 6. I hope he isn't too daunted by the bad reviews, for which few are faulting the acting anyway. Speaking of famous parents, Sissy Spacek's 29-year-old daughter Schuyler Fisk (The Babysitters Club (1995)) plays Annabel's custodial sister as brisk and overworked. The wonderful Jane Adams (my favorites: Happiness (1998), The Anniversary Party (2001), Little Children (2006), The Wackness, and just started another season of Hung) is under-used as Enoch's aunt.

Danny Elfman wrote the score and I can't find any clips for your enjoyment (other than that in the trailer and a loop on the site). I'm a huge fan of Elfman, including his four Oscar nominations (Men in Black (1997), Good Will Hunting (1997), Big Fish (2003), and Milk), as well as Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), Back to School (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), To Die For (1995), Men in Black II (2002), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Spider-Man (2002, 04), Milk, Alice in Wonderland, and many more) and this is more understated than his usual splashy orchestral work.

We saw this ten days ago, just before it closed in our area, and the DVD release date hasn't yet been announced. Save it to your netflix queue it for the good acting, the cloudy Portland Oregon scenery, and Gus Van Sant.

The Future (2010)

Here's one that we didn't much like. Director/writer Miranda July's sophomore feature opens with her croaky voiceover from a wounded cat waiting to be adopted by dysfunctional couple Sophie (July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater) and their lives get weirder from there. Her feature debut, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), was pretty good and won piles of awards. July (née Grossinger, and there's a story behind each name) puts herself out there, which I respect, and has worked as a performance artist, which is evident in some scenes. Jack and I don't mind quirky, but this is a little annoying, I'm sorry to report, despite its nomination for a major award at the Berlin Film Festival. I know how difficult it is for women to make their own movies but I just didn't care about the people (or the cat), nor did I find the story amusing. I do like Linklater, who starred as the brother in The New Adventures of the Old Christine, and here plays the same kind of smart, worried nebbish.

July met fellow director Mike Mills (Beginners) in 2005 when both of their debut pictures were featured at Sundance, and they've been married for two years now. So maybe they'll do something good together in "the future."

Composer Jon Brion (Hard Eight (1996), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), I Heart Huckabees (2004), Synechdoche, New York, The Other Guys, more) provides the music, but I honestly don't remember it, as we saw this maybe 6-8 weeks ago. Watching the trailer again, I see elements that I like, way better than I recall, so maybe you should give it 91 minutes of your life after it's released on DVD.

50/50 (2011)

Jack and I loved this story of a 20-something guy diagnosed with a tumor on his back--surprisingly funny and predictably poignant. Writer Will Reiser actually had this rare cancer and Seth Rogen was his supportive friend and here plays the supportive friend of patient Joseph Gordon-Levitt--they have wonderful chemistry as the id and the ego, respectively, with Gordon-Levitt (he was in Inception after I wrote about him in (500) Days of Summer and this title will go right above it in my alphabetical list) giving a nuanced performance as Adam, and Rogen (covered in The Green Hornet) his usual irresponsible stoner, but this time a caring friend. The stellar supporting cast includes Anna Kendrick (see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help), Anjelica Huston (favorites: Prizzi's Honor (1985), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), The Grifters (1990), Agnes Browne (1999) which she directed, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), and Choke), Philip Baker Hall (profiled in All Good Things), and Matt Frewer (with 111 acting jobs on imdb, he'll always be Max Headroom to me).

This is Reiser's (a cousin of actor Paul) feature film writing debut, though he's done a little producing, and an assured script it is at the hands of director Jonathan Levine, who wrote and directed The Wackness, which we also loved. Rogen encouraged Reiser to write the script and we're glad he did.

Despite Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino's (covered in Super 8) score, what you will remember are the songs, listed here by fellow blogger reelsoundtrack, who came back from a long hiatus days before we saw this.

This is one of the best movies so far this year, in my humble opinion, though "Oscar season" has barely begun. Do make a point of seeing it.

The Ides of March (2011)

Good stuff. This political thriller about a smart staffer for a liberal Democratic presidential candidate is fresh (unless you've seen the play) and exciting, with good acting by Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and George Clooney, who co-adapted the script, directs his fourth feature (I liked the others, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), and Leatherheads (2008), a lot and listed my favorites of his acting credits in The Men Who Stare at Goats, after which he was Oscar-nominated for starring in Up in the Air), and plays the candidate, Governor Morris. One poster shows half of Gosling's (I wrote about him in Blue Valentine after which he starred in All Good Things, Crazy, Stupid, Love., and Drive) face covered by half of Clooney's face, the latter a TIME magazine cover story. I, for one, see only Gosling's, which is no accident, since it's his, Stephen's, story. Hoffman (covered in Pirate Radio, then he made Jack Goes Boating and Moneyball) and Giamatti (after I wrote about him in Cold Souls he co-starred in The Last Station and starred in Barney's Version and Win Win) have supporting yet important and impassioned roles as the heads of two campaigns. Also featured as "the" intern is Evan Rachel Wood (my faves are listed in Whatever Works but didn't include her star turn in the last two episodes of Mildred Pierce on HBO) and Marisa Tomei (details in Cyrus, see also The Lincoln Lawyer and Crazy, Stupid, Love.) as a hard-ass reporter.

The play, Farragut North by Beau Willimon, is named after a DC Metro stop and set at the Iowa primary, but Clooney and co-adaptors Grant Heslov (covered in The Men Who Stare at Goats, which he directed) and Willimon chose to move it mostly to Cincinnati (Clooney grew up in parts of Kentucky and Ohio, including the Cincinnati suburbs) and center it around the Ohio primary. There are quite a few establishing shots of Cincinnati, though apparently Michigan stands in for Ohio in some places. One of my favorite scenes is the discussion between Morris and his wife in the campaign bus. You can see only the bottom half of Clooney's face as his lips twitch in and out of his disarming smile. It's sweet and intimate. Someone else had a different agenda while watching that scene, because he or she posted on imdb that the road signs were from Michigan, not Ohio.

Noted composer Alexandre Desplat (the hits keep coming--I wrote about him in both The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Ghost Writer, after which he scored The King's Speech, The Tree of Life, and A Better Life) provides thriller-type music, a short loop of which you can hear by going to this link and clicking Enter the Site (the soundtrack is due to be released next month).

This movie won one and was nominated for another award at the Venice Film Festival. More are likely. Check it out while it's still playing.

The Debt (2010)

Jack and I liked this taut thriller about a trio of Israeli secret agents on an operation in 1966 and living with its results in 1997. A remake of the 2007 Israeli movie of the same name, this one is directed by a Brit and stars two Brits, two Aussies, an American, and an Irishman all speaking English with Israeli accents and contributing damn fine acting to the finished product. here's the line-up: In 1997 we have Helen Mirren (Brit) (after I wrote about her in The Last Station she was in Red) as Rachel, Tom Wilkinson (Brit) (covered in Duplicity, then later was in The Ghost Writer) as Stephan, and Ciarán Hinds (see Life During Wartime) as David. In 1966 Jessica Chastain (Yank) (The Help, more) is Rachel, and Aussies Marton Csokas and Sam Worthington (Avatar) are Stephan and David, respectively. Danish actor Jesper Christiansen is scary as the bad guy. Director John Madden (I really liked Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (1997), Proof (2005), and Shakespeare in Love (1998), the latter of which earned his Oscar nomination) keeps us guessing with a fast pace. The new script was co-adapted by Matthew Vaughn (I picked my favorites in Kick-Ass, which he co-wrote, produced, and directed before doing so on X-Men: First Class), Jane Goldman (wrote and produced with Vaughn on both and more), and Peter Straughan (adaptor of How to Lose Friends & Alienate People and The Men Who Stare at Goats, both comedies).

Adding to the atmosphere is the wonderful score by Thomas Newman (covered in detail in The Adjustment Bureau and also scored Revolutionary Road). Play the samples at amazon.

This is the last of the ones we saw in September that are still playing, and I have two more in the pipeline that are gone from big screens in my area. Watch these pages. I imagine most serious movie buffs will have seen The Debt before I did. If not, it's worth your time.

Drive (2011)

Despite its excessive violence (Jack said it should be called "Stab") we found quite compelling this story of a loner who works as a getaway wheelman and gets involved with his pretty neighbor and some nasty criminals. Ryan Gosling's (after I wrote about him in Blue Valentine he was in All Good Things and Crazy, Stupid, Love.) character is known simply as Driver and he is powerful, as always, here as a mostly strong silent type, except when he isn't. Carey Mulligan (covered in An Education for which she was Oscar-nominated and Never Let Me Go) doesn't have loads to do but she's just fine as the neighbor. Most surprising is funny man Albert Brooks (born Albert Einstein, and the brother of "Super Dave" Osbourne, who was born Bob Einstein, Brooks wrote, directed, and starred in a handful of classics, including Lost in America (1985), Defending Your Life (1991), Mother (1996), and The Muse (1999), and was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar for Broadcast News (1987)) stone-faced and super scary as one of the nasty criminals. Strong supporting roles come from many, including Bryan Cranston and Christina Hendricks, whose roles couldn't be farther from their TV turns in Breaking Bad and Mad Men, respectively. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is new to me but not a newcomer and won Best Director at Cannes for this movie which was also nominated for the Palme d'Or.

Hossein Amini (Oscar nomination for the screenplay adaptation of the Henry James novel for Wings of the Dove (1997)) adapted James Sallis' novel (rated 3.5 stars on amazon) and kept it dark. I particularly liked the moody music by Cliff Martinez (here is a compilation, or Click Play all samples on the the amazon page). The picture cars and stunt driving are first rate, as are the seedy L.A. neighborhoods. Is it just me or does the poster, at first glance, look more like Daniel Craig than Ryan Gosling?

We saw this weeks ago, before some travels, and I took a New Yorker with me, wherein Anthony Lane gave away nearly everything about the movie. Do not read his review before you see it! But afterwards, you'll find it entertaining. If violence doesn't bother you much, or you're quick to block the screen (lately I've been using my elbow instead of my hand), do check out this noir thriller, still on big screens.

Higher Ground (2011)

Way better and more layered than we expected, Vera Farmiga's directorial debut about a woman's quest for her faith kept Jack and me entertained the whole time, despite our mutual lack of bible study. Adapted by Carolyn S. Briggs and Tim Metcalfe (story for Revenge of the Nerds (1984), more) from Briggs' memoir, it features Farmiga (Oscar-nominated for Up in the Air, BAFTA winner for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, good in The Departed (2006)) as Corinne, a totally believable believer in the early 1970s (because in the trailer the women wear long tresses and dresses and the men have beards I wasn't sure until today in which century it was set). We noticed the dramatic resemblance to Farmiga of the actress playing the teenage Corinne, which was explained by the fact that it is Taissa Farmiga, her sister, in her big screen debut. There's a big cast that includes Donna Murphy (best known for her stage work, she was also good in the mini-series Murder One (1995-6), The Fountain (2006), more) and John Hawkes (Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), American Gangster (2007), Oscar-nominated for Winter's Bone) as Corinne's parents, Boyd Holbrook (Mykail in The Big C and a small part in Milk) and Joshua Leonard as Corinne's teenage and adult husband Ethan.

The movie is deliberately vague about the location, but it was shot in various New York state locations, including Kingston, about 15 miles up the Hudson from Poughkeepsie, by Michael McDonough, who also shot Winter's Bone, among others.

You can listen to the lovely guitar-heavy soundtrack composed by Alec Puro (The Art of Getting By, others) on this link, but do see the movie, which will, like the one below, also be playing at my local theatre at least until October 20.

The First Grader (2010)

Not all sweetness and light, this story of an 84-year-old Kenyan who doggedly pursues his basic education also depicts the torture and more he suffered at the hands of the British 50 years before. The acting, writing, cinematography, and music are excellent -- no wonder it has begun winning awards. Oliver Litondo and Naomie Harris are terrific as the man Maruge (ma-ROO-gay) and the teacher Jane Obinchu, not to mention the adorable rural schoolchildren, none of whom had acted before, much less seen a camera. This is Litondo's first starring role, but Harris is known for playing the witch in two Pirates of the Caribbean movies (2006-7), and I also liked her in the fine British mini-series White Teeth (2002), 28 Days Later... (2002), and Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005).

Producer Sam Feuer read an article in the Los Angeles Times about the real-life man, Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge, a Kenyan villager who had fought for the Mau Mau rebellion against the British occupation during the 1950s and attended first grade in 2002. Feuer and his producing partner, Richard Harding from Sierra Leone, bought the rights for their brand new company and were tracked down by South African screenwriter Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) adaptation, more), who had been captivated by the same article (for more on the movie's genesis, skip to page 6, About the production, in the production notes). They hired director Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), some TV, some acting), whose work with cinematographer Rob Hardy (Is Anybody There? and more) brings this to life, shot entirely in Kenya, including Nairobi.

Already a fan of composer Alex Heffes (I own his soundtrack to The Last King of Scotland (2006), one of his 39 credits) I bought this soundtrack tonight as well. Preview it here and see if you like it as much. You may have a little trouble understanding the English dialogue, but not enough to prevent you from seeing this on the big screen, where it will, in my town, be playing at least until October 20.

Moneyball (2011)

Jack, Charlotte, and I enjoyed this baseball drama the day after my team tanked in the playoffs. Based on the true story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, it features Brad Pitt as Beane and Jonah Hill as wunderkind Peter Brand, who together turned the A's from losers to winners with statistics. Directed by Bennett Miller (Oscar-nominated for Capote (2005) which was his feature fiction debut and second of three movies so far) with a script adapted by Steve Zaillian (Oscar winner for Schindler's List (1993), nominated for Awakenings (1990) and for co-writing Gangs of New York (2002), among his 15 writing credits) and Aaron Sorkin (I wrote about him in The Social Network, which won him his Oscar) from Michael Lewis's book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (with a story credit to an unknown named Stan Chervin) (Lewis also wrote the book on which The Blind Side was based), the movie has a quick pace with many flashbacks to Beane's younger years as a player, as well as archival footage of real baseball games and players. Pitt (after I wrote about him in Inglourious Basterds he was in The Tree of Life) is totally believable as the obsessive Beane, Hill (see Cyrus) complements him as young Brand, Philip Seymour Hoffman (after I listed my favorites in Pirate Radio he directed and starred in Jack Goes Boating) has a good supporting role as the head coach with the shaved head Art Howe and 13-year-old Kerris Dorsey (Rachel Griffiths' daughter in Brothers & Sisters) is adorable as Beane's daughter Casey, who also has a lovely singing voice, though apparently the song The Show by Lenka was released in 2008, even though the movie takes place in 2002, one of several anachronisms noted by imdb. An important trivia point is that the filmmakers changed the name of Beane's assistant to Peter Brand after the real guy, Paul DePodesta, asked them to. And speaking of the character, it's ironic how the chubby Hill has lost a lot of weight since the movie was shot yet Pitt is the one constantly eating onscreen. The cast is huge, and also includes Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) as Scott Hatteberg and baseball players/actors Stephen Bishop as David Justice, Royce Clayton as Miguel Tejada, Darrin Ebert as Mike Magnante, and Casey Bond as pitcher Chad Bradford with the crazy throw.

The score by Mychael Danna (see Chloe) is great and you can hear it by going to this link and progressing numerically, although for some reason youtube does not suggest that you do so.

There is much to recommend here but one of our favorite scenes was the awkward one where Beane waits with his ex-wife, played by Robin Wright (faves in State of Play, then I saw her in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee) and her husband Alan (an uncredited cameo by director Spike Jonze, profiled in Where the Wild Things Are) for Casey to come home to their idyllic beachside home.

Even if baseball season is not over for you yet, do see this before it leaves the big screen, or watch the DVD later.