The Artist

Hollywood has a way of patting itself on the back with films, which is why it seems odd that a French filmmaker would pull together two French leads to make a film that comes off as another Hollywood mirror gazer.

The Artist stars Jean DuJardin as George Valentin, a prototypical silent film era star, who, upon the invention of sound, is forced out of the studio he has made countless dollars for. When he mounts his own production, he sticks with the same type of silent movies that made him famous, and tanks, costing him everything. Berenice Bejo, who plays Peppy Miller, an actress discovered and made famous by Valentin, feels bad for the star, who has fallen into a self destructive cycle, culminating with him lighting his apartment and belongings on fire, in hopes that he will also be consumed by the flames. When his dog manages to get him rescued, and Valentin is taken to the hospital, Miller visits and opens her world to him, letting him get back up on his feet, and even bringing him back into the fold of the studio that had tossed him aside.

This film is pretty much drivel. I don't recommend it at all. The only redeeming aspect of it is Miller's obvious love for Valentin. She seems to genuinely care about the man, but The Artist's hit you over the head, and then beat you while you're down message of pride coming before the fall is just Hollywood giving itself a pass to push aside the very people that made it what it is today. So many stars, talented people, were simply tossed aside when sound came in to play. A whole generation of potential was thrown in the trash, almost overnight. Sorry Hollywood, but The Artist won't convince me you were in the right, and considering how people have rediscovered some of the awesome talent of the silent era through home video, I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one who's calling shenanigan's on this one.

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Lynne Ramsay has only released three feature's in the last ten+ years, but her debut, Ratcatcher, is one of the most solid first outings I have ever had the pleasure of watching, and her newest, We Need To Talk About Kevin, is a smack in the face to remind you of how amazing indie filmmaking can be.

Tilda Swinton plays Eva, the wife to John C. Reilly's Franklin, and Ezra Miller's Kevin. Eva and Kevin, from the moment he is out of the womb, have a contentious relationship, one that grows more frightening all the time. They are like to rooster's in a cage, fighting to the death all the time. Franklin never seems to notice Kevin's awkward and disturbing behavior, seeing as how it is always directed towards Eva, and almost always happens when he is not around. But is it just a matter of Eva's perspective, or is there something genuinely wrong with Kevin.

Ramsay really creates an amazing and skin crawling dynamic between Eva and Kevin, and, in fact, Eva and the whole world. One wonders how much of this is real, and how much of this is going on her head. Well placed clues along the way, though, allow you to put together an informed concept of who this woman is, and I can't think of ANYONE more suited to bring out the subtleties and mannerisms of Eva than Tilda Swinton. This really is one of her best roles.

We Need To Talk About Kevin is one of my favorites of the year, and Ramsay packs a lot of punch into it. I highly recommend seeing it.

Ira Glass Talks About Producing

Ira Glass discusses the realities of producing his first feature, Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk With Me, in this hilarious interview -

Shame

Steve McQueen knocks it out of the park, again, with his second feature, Shame. His first, Hunger, about IRA prisoner Bobby Sands and his hunger strike in prison was a quiet masterpiece. McQueen has re-teamed with the actor who played Sands, Michael Fassbender, and brings you the story of Brandon, a New York City high roller who's world of sex addiction is thrown into chaos when his sister, Sissy, played by Carrie Mulligan, shows up out of the blue to stay with him for a few days.

McQueen brilliantly pulls us into Brandon's world, one that is so well defined, that the slightest invasion by anyone, especially his "know no bounds" sister, throws everything in his life into complete havoc. As if his sex addiction isn't enough of a high wire when it's under control, out of control, Brandon turns into a monster before our very eyes, even going so far as to slip into a gay bar to try and deal with his needs after striking out.

Shame spares nothing, and, as such, carries an NC-17 rating, but if you are the kind of person who actually likes watching a movie for adults (and I don't mean an adult, read: pornographic, movie), then Shame is highly recommended. However, because of its graphic nature (it is considered pornographic by many), use your discretion before picking it up to watch.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Bringing together a gaggle of British stars to bring to life this best selling novel, director Tomas Alfredson still can't seem to find the sweet spot. Not even the legendary Gary Oldman can save the story of a retired MI6 agent who is pulled back into action when it is discovered that there's a mole in the organization. With roster that includes Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, and Colin Firth, you would think this film would be a shoe in to be amazing, and, while some people can't praise it enough, I found it to be a bit tiresome. I don't feel like Alfredson ever really developed the proper tension to keep me in the story, and I kind of wonder how others were able to do it. It never feels like there's that much at stake, and I think that is the films primary problem. Yes, there's a mole, but... Who cares? The film did have some great scenes in it, was beautifully shot, and the production design was gorgeous, but overall it just kind of fizzled for me.

Into The Abyss

Werner Herzog returns to documentary filmmaking with Into The Abyss, a relatively even handed look at two convicted felons, friends who helped each other commit a crime, one of whom is on death row. You can tell Herzog is struggling with the fact that he is trying to make a film that may, hopefully, turn people against capitol punishment, while, at the same time, obviously fighting with his feelings towards these men, especially Michael Perry, the one who is about to be executed. Into The Abyss doesn't so much ask you the questions as lead you too them. It makes it very clear that people were murdered, in cold blood, and for very little, by these two, but always stops short of saying Perry deserves the death penalty. You can tell even Herzog isn't sure. He wants to say spare this young man, let him serve a life sentence, but Perry is so despicable, Herzog just can't seem to do that.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise is back for another go round as Ethan Hunt. It's hard for me to say too much about the family of MI movies (this one being the 4th), because I've only seen the first one, and that was over a decade ago (I remember not liking it that much). As for this one, it was alright. It seemed like a pretty run of the mill Hollywood action film. Supposedly Cruise did all of his own stunts for it, but, I don't really care about any of that stuff, so it doesn't really make me like it anymore. The one thing that I do want to give the MI team credit for, though, is the fact that they went a great route with shutting down the agency, and basically leaving these guys on their own with their wits and whatever else they could come up with. Other than that, I saw it once, it was alright, but I will probably never watch it again.