Random Flicks

I have seen a number of films recently and instead of individual reviews, I thought I'd just give a brief overview of my thoughts:

Revolutionary Road (2008)

Kate (Winslet) and Leo (-nardo DiCaprio) reunite for the first time since that small movie with a sinking ship, in a Douglas Sirkian critique of 1950s suburbia based upon Richard Yates' novel of the same name. They star as an unhappily married couple trying to escape the illusion of happiness created by normality of the white-picket fence and two children stereotype. Heartbreakingly brilliantly acted and tightly written, the movie is a depressing steam train headed for an inevitable crash. Its frequently hard to watch as these two characters and their mostly oblivious neighbours try to break free from the situation, being utterly nasty to each other and themselves in the process. Not always fun, but a fine film that is obvious award bait.

Directed by Winslet's hubby, Sam Mendes.

Valkyrie (2008)

Tom Cruise is not a bad actor, nor has he lost that star quality (let's face it, he is more or less always playing Tom Cruise), and he delivers a cold and efficient performance as Von Stauffenberg, the leader of the famous July-plot to assasdinate Hitler. With the outcome already known, it's surprising how much tension director Bryan Singer can wring out of the simple premise by focusing on the intricate details, mechanisms and pitfalls of the operation. The stellar cast of British actors (inc. Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Terence Stamp) do a fine job, if one is able to look past the mishmash of accents. It's also a treat that they always find appropriately slimy looking actors to play Joseph Goebbles, in this case Harvey Frigaiedman. John Ottman, as well as being editor, creates a tense score with one or two stand out elegiac cues. So ignore all the bad press, the stories of reshoots and the German government's upset at Tom Cruise's Scientology (untrue, according to Singer), and enjoy a tight, tense WWII thriller.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Brad Pitt is turning into quite the actor. Yes, he was always a star, but he has made very astute choices - from Fight Club, The Assassination of Jesse James, his hilarious turn in Burn After Reading, to David Fincher's new film. Button is a meticulous and sprawling biopic of sorts. The titular character, played by Pitt, ages backwards. The film hence starts with his birth as an old man and follows him through his reverse adolescence, his different jobs, and, especially, his relationship with Daisy (played by the extraordinary Cate Blanchett; yes, I have a crush). Daisy, like everyone else, ages normally, and this hence makes their relationship unique and equally sweet and bizarre. Morally, many of the choices made here are difficult, and especially in the second half when Button starts to get younger, it's often hard to make emotional sense of the characters. Written by Eric Roth, who also wrote the much derided (but popular) script for Forrest Gump, it shares similar traits to that film. It's more a sequence of vignettes that doesn't quite cohere into a story - maybe because there could never be one for this character. But so beautifully is it made, so stunning is the CGI-enhanced aging make-up, and so entertaining are these stories, especially his liaison with the fantastic Tilda Swinton, that one doesn't mind that is isn't quite more than the sum of its parts.

Zodiac (2007)

I actually saw David Fincher's film about the infamous San Francisco serial killer some weeks ago, and it's so effective it's still with me. Starring Robert Downey Jr, Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo, it follows them, respectively, as a reporter, cartoonist and police inspector, as they try to apprehend the killer. Spanning decades, Zodiac is long, intricate and utterly compelling. It also contains one of the most effective stuck-in-the-basement-with-someone-who-could-be-the-killer scenes I've ever seen. Not as flashy as the equally brilliant Se7en, but definitely worth seeking out. Not one that garnered a whole lot of press upon it's release.