Moneyball

   I am writing this on June 27th, 2012 after I went back to my list of blog posts and realized that I never finished this one.  Moneyball was fun for me for a lot of reasons, primarily because it gave me a reason to talk baseball with people who don't usually have an interest in it.  Brad Pitt can do that to even the most "boring" of sports.  Naturally, I read Michael Lewis' book of the same name and enjoyed it very much.  I later read Jonah Keri's book The Extra 2% (about how the Tampa Bay Rays can survive in a division with powerhouse teams such as the Yankees and the Red Sox) and enjoyed that more than Moneyball.  

Drive

It has been a while since I have watched a truly unique movie - probably since Inglorious Basterds.  This new piece of work from Ryan Gosling, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, is almost unbelievably entertaining.  Drive plays like a western in that it is very quiet at times - Gosling doesn't talk all that much, and when he does, people tend to listen.  He plays a nameless character who is a Hollywood stunt driver by day and a getaway car driver by night.  Instead of a horse, he has his car.  This movie is surprisingly violent and intensely gory.  And the score in this movie is fantastic.  Carey Mulligan continues her streak of pitch-perfect sweetness on screen.  This is truly more than just another action movie.  It will be at or near the top of my list for best of the 2011.

The Interrupters

This movie will win the Oscar for Best Documentary.  The Interrupters is a gripping movie about an organization of former gang members who scour the streets of Chicago pleading for current gang members to stop killing each other.  It is shocking, sad, profane, dark, violent and, at times, even funny.  If this film is still playing near you, which is unlikely, go see it immediately.  If not, then wait impatiently for it to come out on DVD.  You will be hearing about The Interrupters again, I guarantee it. 

(since I am back to work and busy as hell, I will be keeping my posts short and sweet)

The Thin Blue Line

   Filmspotting is probably my favorite movie podcast on the internet.  It is hosted by Adam Kempenaar and Matty Robinson, two Chicago film critics who know their stuff.  Each week, they review a new movie or two, discuss what notable DVDs are coming out, and finally end each episode with a Top 5 list.  The most recent of which has Kempenaar and special guest co-host Michael Phillips (critic at the Chicago Tribune) counting down their "Top 5 Documentaries."  The Thin Blue Line came in on Phillips' list at number three and was number one on Kempenaar's list, so I had to check it out.  Luckily, Netflix Instant currently has it streaming so I checked it out.
  The film was made by legendary documentary filmmaker Errol Morris (Tabloid, Gates of Heaven) in 1988.  It focuses on the events surrounding an evening in Dallas, TX in November of 1976, when police officer Robert Wood was shot five times and killed by a motorist during a routine traffic stop just after midnight.  This documentary features the conflicting stories of David Ray Harris and Randall Adams, who met earlier that day and were both caught up in the investigation surrounding the murder. 
  Even though you can easily search the internet for the outcome of this real-life drama, I won't spoil it for you.  I will just say that this film played an extremely pivotal role in the appeal process that eventually led to justice being served, albeit 12 years after the crime was committed.  One of the interviews featured provided authorities enough evidence to reopen the case after the documentary was released in 1988 and bring the case to a satisfying close.  The stakes couldn't be higher, as the crime carried with it the death penalty in Texas.  The film plays out with highly dramatic twists and turns that far surpass the investigative reporting you may see on Dateline or 60 Minutes.  Morris' editing is superb as he pieces together the interviews to create a high level of suspense and anticipation about how the case will conclude. 
   The Thin Blue Line is a fascinating documentary that you need to see to believe.  I recommend that you read this link only after you have finished the movie.  Enjoy.

Midnight Cowboy

Coming soon!

Crazy Stupid Love

  Crazy Stupid Love has an impressive ensemble cast anchored by Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Steve Carell.  Cal, played wonderfully by Carell, is being divorced by his wife Emily (Moore), who admits she has been cheating on him with her coworker David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon).  The divorce is completely her idea and it sends Cal into an alcoholic tailspin, where he is approached by debauchee Jacob (Ryan Gosling) at a stylish bar.  Jacob offers, more like force-feeds, Cal advice on how to pick up women.  It is ridiculously uninteresting.
  Enter Hannah, played by Emma Stone, a twenty-something who just passed the bar exam and is ready to get out of a dead-end relationship with a nerdy loser played by Josh Groban (big shocker: Groban plays a nerdy loser).  Hannah is approached by Jacob one evening and he smoothly shoots her a line out of his bag of insanely stupid, yet effective, pick-up lines.  She wants nothing to do with him at first, but soon comes running back, begging for him to take her home.
   I loved Stone in previous films, especially Easy-A and Zombieland, and she is loveable here too.  This movie would certainly benefit if she were featured in it a bit more.  I didn't really buy into her relationship with Gosling - I felt that it was way underdeveloped.  The reason that it was not explored enough is because this movie is jam-packed with plot.  There was just too much going on for me to really grab onto even one of its hyper-layered story lines.  Marisa Tomei has a silly ten-minute performance as a dim-witted teacher.  That is two movies in a row for Tomei that I felt she was miscast (The terrible Lincoln Lawyer being the other one).  Bacon has a great face-to-face scene with Carell's son, but other than that he is underused. 
   After all of that, I will say that I liked this movie.  Carell is one of the best comedy actors alive.  In Crazy Stupid Love, he combines the silliness, sincerity, vulnerability and charm that we see in his characters in The Office, Dan in Real Life, and The 40-Year Old Virgin.  He is a very good actor with impressive range.  Gosling has showed us signs of excellence as well (Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine), but plays to the stereotype here so much that I couldn't buy into it.  He reminded me of Will Smith in Hitch (which I disliked very much).  Another reason that I liked this movie is because of a magnificent twist, which I did not see coming at all.  Twists are great; we all love them, and this movie has a really good one.
  There is a meta aspect to this film.  At times, it seems to acknowledge that it is being mundanely stereotypical.  For example, when Gosling's character is asked to explain why he feels the way he does about Hannah, he says something along the lines of "are you really going to make me do this?"  I appreciate this and give the director points for realizing the campiness.

Horrible Bosses

  Horrible Bosses is a film with a vacuous, yet relatable plot about hating your boss and wanting he/she to die.  I found myself not caring that the story lacked depth because the performances were so funny.  Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis star in this new comedy from director Seth Gordon, who directed Four Christmases and the very interesting documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (a must-see doc about real-life competitions between the world's best players of the classic arcade game Donkey Kong). 
  Charlie Day, who we all love from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, plays Dale, a dental hygienist who is being sexually harassed by his boss, played by Jennifer Aniston.  Day takes over this movie from his opening scene - he is a truly funny actor with tons of charisma and screen-presence.  His character in this movie is almost exactly the same as the guy he plays in Sunny and I do wonder if he can pull off a different trick.  Bateman is really good as well, but he continues to be cast as the quasi-straight-man in these types of movies.  Sudeikis, who you know from SNL, is also quite funny here.  He is the one actor who I was not a huge fan of going in to this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised.
  So the three guys hate their bosses (Aniston, Colin Farrell and Kevin Spacey) and want to kill them.  Simple enough story.  Don't go to this movie with the expectations of being swallowed up by riveting storytelling, clever twists and meaningful character evolution - go to this movie to see three funny guys have a boatload of fun together on-screen.  This movie is probably 15 or 20 minutes too long, but the film-makers threw enough celebrity cameos our way to keep it interesting.  (Ron 'Tater Salad' White, Detective Bunk from The Wire, The Old Spice Guy, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Foxx, Bob Newhart, the mother from Modern Family, just to name a few) 
  Aniston is shockingly filthy dirty in her role as a sexually inappropriate dentist.  Foxx, who I pretty much loathe, did make me laugh a bit in his five-minute role as murder consultant Dean 'Motherfucker' Jones.  Farrell does his best 'Big Ern' McCracken impersonation (see below).  Spacey is so-so in his role as Bateman's unbearable boss.    
  Horrible Bosses is essentially The Hangover, only with funnier actors.  It is pretty obvious to compare Bateman to Bradley Cooper (Bateman is funnier, and it's not close); Day to Zach Galifianakis (Day is funnier, and it's not close); Sudeikis to Ed Helms (Helms, admittedly, wins by a landslide).  This film uses the same formula as The Hangover, but uses it more creatively and with much more gusto.  

Farrell in Horrible Bosses

Murray in Kingpin