Strong performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman as a smooth cult leader and Joaquin Phoenix as his angry protégé are among the strengths of director/writer Paul Thomas Anderson's sixth feature, likely to earn him (and them) more Oscar nominations. Anderson's oeuvre (Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007), and some shorts) is all pretty terrific and this is no exception, though Phoenix's (last in these pages in I'm Still Here) Freddie Quell is as hard to like as Daniel Day-Lewis' Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. Hoffman (most recently in The Ides of March) shines, as usual, as the intense Lancaster Dodd and Amy Adams (The Muppets and so much before) supports as his wife.
Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. (Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth (2007) and Tetro, among others) shot the glorious images entirely in 70mm (or is it 65? I've read both) and production designers David Crank and Jack Fisk (won the Art Directors Guild award for Excellence in a Period Film for There Will Be Blood as well as being Oscar-nominated for the same work, and were recognized for The Tree of Life (we didn't like that movie but loved the production design) and Water for Elephants, among others) deserve recognition as well (Fisk is married to Sissy Spacek). Costume designer Mark Bridges (won the Oscar for The Artist and worked on, to name a few, all of Anderson's features, Blow (2001), The Italian Job (2003), and The Fighter) also does a great job with the 1940s and 50s wardrobe.
So far the movie has won the FIPRESCI Prize (International Competition), Best Director, and shared Best Actor for Hoffman and Phoenix, as well as a nomination for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. More to come, despite tepid audience response (59% average on rottentomatoes) but love from critics (85%). Those fascinated by the work can read a spoiler-filled review and blog post from the New Yorker.
Showing posts with label the master. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the master. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Placeholder for 6 movies
Yeah, I was behind in blogging when I left town on September 22, and since then I've been home for about 10 non-consecutive days, so here are brief summaries in the order in which we saw them, which I hope to flesh out soon, randomly. Please don't judge me for quoting myself later--a gal gets only so much inspiration. As of tonight three* are still playing on first-run screens in this area and one** in a second-run movie house.
Farewell My Queen, seen on 9/5. Beautiful costume drama about the spoiled Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger), her devoted servant (Léa Seydoux), and her best friend (Virginie Ledoyen) with both of whom she cuddles every chance she gets. Noémie Lvovsky has a wonderful turn as the head ladies' maid who speaks volumes wordlessly. We liked it a lot.
**Premium Rush, seen 9/14. Awesome special effects of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a bicycle messenger appearing to weave madly in and out of Manhattan traffic. An inventive action movie with Michael Shannon playing yet another crazy guy, this one evil.
Celeste and Jesse Forever, seen 9/19. A grown-up romantic comedy co-written by and starring Rashida Jones as a career woman pulling away from her Peter Pan husband played by Andy Samberg. We loved it. Shot mostly with a handheld camera, this induces motion picture motion sickness (MPMS) on the big screen. Lucky for you, it isn't playing on any now and you'll be fine watching it at home.
*The Master, seen 10/3. Oscar-worthy performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman as a cult leader and Joaquin Phoenix as his angry protégé. Amy Adams supports as the cult leader's wife. Beautiful photography, wonderful period (1940-50s) set dressing and costumes.
*Looper, seen 10/5. Joseph Gordon-Levitt again, this time playing a young Bruce Willis, much the same way Josh Brolin played a young Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black III. Only here, in addition to imitating the voice, Gordon-Levitt's eyebrows and certain facial characteristics have been altered digitally so that he resembles Willis. Good acting and well-crafted story about time travel in the near future--the third feature from director/writer Rian Johnson.
*End of Watch, seen 10/18. Pretty darn good, this veers wildly yet successfully between being a goofy buddy picture and a violent cop drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña. There are some bloody images that will stay with you. It's also a serious MPMS inducer since a subplot is that Gyllenhaal's character is documenting his life with a hand-held camera. Apparently I was warned but didn't look at my notes before we picked something to see while we were out of town last week.
Completed full posts will be linked to the titles as I complete them.
Farewell My Queen, seen on 9/5. Beautiful costume drama about the spoiled Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger), her devoted servant (Léa Seydoux), and her best friend (Virginie Ledoyen) with both of whom she cuddles every chance she gets. Noémie Lvovsky has a wonderful turn as the head ladies' maid who speaks volumes wordlessly. We liked it a lot.
**Premium Rush, seen 9/14. Awesome special effects of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a bicycle messenger appearing to weave madly in and out of Manhattan traffic. An inventive action movie with Michael Shannon playing yet another crazy guy, this one evil.
Celeste and Jesse Forever, seen 9/19. A grown-up romantic comedy co-written by and starring Rashida Jones as a career woman pulling away from her Peter Pan husband played by Andy Samberg. We loved it. Shot mostly with a handheld camera, this induces motion picture motion sickness (MPMS) on the big screen. Lucky for you, it isn't playing on any now and you'll be fine watching it at home.
*The Master, seen 10/3. Oscar-worthy performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman as a cult leader and Joaquin Phoenix as his angry protégé. Amy Adams supports as the cult leader's wife. Beautiful photography, wonderful period (1940-50s) set dressing and costumes.
*Looper, seen 10/5. Joseph Gordon-Levitt again, this time playing a young Bruce Willis, much the same way Josh Brolin played a young Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black III. Only here, in addition to imitating the voice, Gordon-Levitt's eyebrows and certain facial characteristics have been altered digitally so that he resembles Willis. Good acting and well-crafted story about time travel in the near future--the third feature from director/writer Rian Johnson.
*End of Watch, seen 10/18. Pretty darn good, this veers wildly yet successfully between being a goofy buddy picture and a violent cop drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña. There are some bloody images that will stay with you. It's also a serious MPMS inducer since a subplot is that Gyllenhaal's character is documenting his life with a hand-held camera. Apparently I was warned but didn't look at my notes before we picked something to see while we were out of town last week.
Completed full posts will be linked to the titles as I complete them.
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