The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford-- A very dreary, slowly unwinding look at Robert Ford and the relationship he had with Jesse James before he killed him. It’s also a secondary look at the price of fame in America, first for James, and later for Ford. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck were both pretty damn incredible. A-
Into the Wild— Based on a true story, a young man who has everything gives it all up to travel cross-country to be by himself in the Alaskan wilderness. Most of us can relate to wanting to get away from it all, but director Sean Penn reminds us that by this man fulfilling his dream, he also destroyed the dreams of his parents and sister as well as left heartbreak in his wake with all the people he came across in his journey. This extremely charismatic, learned, and giving man could not accept love from anyone, and once they got close, he ran away to the next leg on his journey. Once he got on his own in Alaska, he realized, too late, that what makes us human is need for companionship. The acting and directing were all fantastic, but I have to point out Hal Holbrook’s absolutely amazing work in the 20-odd minutes of screen time he had. Extremely powerful and moving, and ultimately heartbreaking. A-
Laurel and Hardy Digitally Remastered: “Sons of the Desert”, “The Music Box”,
“Another Fine Mess”, “Busy Bodies”, “County Hospital”
Absolutely brilliant. I loved these guys as a kid, and I still love them as an adult (BTW: my kids just love them, too). L&H’s half-hour “shorts” were masterpieces that still hold up well. If you’re looking for something fun with very good acting and directing (considering these were made when the medium was still in its infancy), you don’t need to go any further than these two. There is genius all over these shorts, and it’s a tragedy that something like this could never really fly in today’s media. A-
Wall-E—film. It’s almost ridiculous how the Pixar crew can make a film a year that is different than anything else and be as consistently good as it always is. This is no exception. This time, they spent a good 30 minutes following this character without any dialogue. And then, the last half of the movie became a movie with a (very important) message, yet it didn’t talk down to the audience. The message blended right into the plot and the characters. These guys know how to make movies. It’s not my favorite Pixar film, but it’s impossible to say it isn’t way above average when compared to anything else out there. A-
In the Shadow of the Moon— The story of the Apollo space program as told by the men who were in it. These former astronauts are all well into their sixties, but they all have a youth about them that was just fascinating to behold. They also are well aware of the part they played in American culture and human history, but they have a wonderful humor about it all. Just listening to these men tell their stories (with fantastic visuals from footage of the time) was exciting. We take for granted that people can go into space, but it really should be remembered that each and every mission is filled with peril—and these men were the first ones to do it. Take 90 minutes for yourself to experience it with them because you won’t regret it. The word “hero” has been overused of late, but these men are true heroes. A (I wish there was a higher grade I could give).
Iron Man—film. I wrote a quickie review here. I haven’t really changed my thinking, and it seems as if critics and the public agree: this was a very good action movie that was well planned out, well acted, and reminded us that a “comic book movie” does not have to be shlocky. A
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