Reviews

In a summer (or should that be year or decade) of vapid sequels, remakes, and overblown superhero catastrophes, who would have expected an entertaining, intelligent, well-crafted, suspenseful, character- driven, modern-day western with a brain. Riding on Taylor Sheridan's razor-sharp script and David Mackenzie's nuanced direction, Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and (especially) Ben Foster (along with everyone else who appears on the screen) inhabit this film as wryly humorous, heartfelt, vicious, painfully tragic, and realistic members of a society reaping the fruits it has tragically sown. Best film so far this year.

Shane Black's The Nice Guys is a thoroughly entertaining, retro 1970s buddy-action-crime romp that brings to mind a cross between his previous works (such as Lethal Weapon and Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang) and the blackest absurd humor of the Coen brothers (The Big Lebowski). The buddies here are an absurdly bumbling private eye, his far-more- intelligent (though also somewhat bumbling) 13-year-old daughter, and a gruff, disgruntled enforcer (who sends physical messages to people doing things they shouldn't be doing). They are grudgingly drawn together to solve a far- flung conspiracy involving mysterious deaths, porno films, Detroit automakers, the Justice Department, and The Waltons. The chemistry of the trio — played to perfection by Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, and Russell Crowe — is a delight to behold. Sincerely hope this is the start of a franchise.

Nightcrawler is an excellently eerie psychological thriller/black comedy featuring lush, at times dazzling visuals; crisp, tension- heightening editing; a thought-provoking under-plot; and excellent performances. This mesmerizing film about a video news stringer prowling the LA nights in search of crime and mayhem footage is like a hybrid of Taxi Driver and Network. Everyone in the cast delivers sharply honed performances (especially Rene Russo). However, Jake Gyllenhaal tears up the screen and drives the film with his astounding turn as a deeply disturbing sociopath who spouts Tony Robbins platitudes while sinking deeper and deeper into the cesspool of "if it bleeds, it leads" journalism.

X-Men: Days ... is a dazzlingly convoluted popcorn movie extravaganza that brings back memories of the surprising summertime joy of discovering Jaws. Bryan Singer's return to the series results in his best film since The Usual Suspects and one of the best comic book-inspired films this side of The Dark Knight. Using intricate CGI and arresting visuals, time-honored sci-fi plot twists swirling around time travel, and a sense of humor, Singer has crafted a perfect cinematic treat. The acting of the entire cast is perfect. However, Evan Peters in his all too short appearance as Quicksilver, steals the movie. Let's hope he resurfaces in days of future future. Lot's of fun!

The best translation of a Broadway musical to film, ever The film differs on many points from the brilliant original stage version--most noticeably the absences of choral numbers and the running metatheatrical commentaries of the Ballad of Sweeney Todd. Yet the film perfectly captures the spirit of Sondhiem's ferocious masterpiece and presents it in a film, not a filmed play. Tim Burton weaves together the music and an equally expressive visual style to create the film of his career. From the devilish opening credits to the final image, the film astounds, entrances, mortifies, and entertains like nothing else that has hit the screens in a very long time. Yes, it is graphically gruesome. When Sweeney dispatches his victims, we clearly see their instant transformation into meat. What happens after the razor frequently is more disturbing than the juicy slice. The film also contains a chilling undercurrent of violence directed at children. The younger characters in this film, Johanna, Antony, and especially Toby, are played by very young actors--in fact, Toby is just a child (which adds historical accuracy and unnerving queasiness to his character).

Sounds pretty grim. But the film is a spectacular entertainment. It's wickedly funny, visually breathtaking, and filled with excellent performances by every single actor who appears on screen. Everyone, not just Depp (who gives the performance of his life with his eyes in one moment, when he asks "How about a shave?") soars in this effort.

This has been a great year for film. Eastern Promises, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Gone Baby Gone, The Assassination of Jesse James . . ., Michael Clayton, and American Gangster all share a place beside The Departed as great films. But this twisted, bloody meditation on the consuming nature of revenge goes up there with the best of the best.

Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck's debut as a feature film director, is a finely textured and thoroughly engrossing crime drama. Showcasing brilliant performances, the film succeeds as both a captivating mystery and as a thought provoking examination of morally ambiguous issues not often encountered on a local megaplex screen.

The film is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River, and similarly focuses on the tough, crime laced neighborhoods of Boston. Instead of Clint Eastwood's stylish, almost operatic tragedy, Gone Baby Gone provides a grittier and even more complex, morally ambiguous view of life on the other side of the tracks. The cinematography by John Toll (especially the sparing and effective use of hand help camera work) and editing by William Goldenberg (most effective in weaving together multiple tracking shots and in capturing the reactions of multiple characters within a scene) visually support a sense of intimate realism. The musical score by Harry Gregson-Williams pulls the viewer into the film without overpowering it.

Ben Affleck's triumph in this film is the way in which he allows the actors, or rather, the characters they portray, to comprise the heart of this film. Every performance is unforgettably etched and seems to flow naturally from the background. Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Michelle Monaghan, Amy Madigan, and Titus Welliver all deliver extraordinary performances. Amy Ryan delivers an award-worthy performance as a mother who is both repellent and and heartbreakingly pitiable. Casey Affleck follows up his masterful performance in The Assassination of Jesse James ... with another disturbing, but far more understated and complicated performance as the central character. More than any other, his performance draws the viewer into the disquieting moral labyrinth of Gone Baby Gone.

Aside from his work on the screenplay of Good Will Hunting (but definitely not his acting in this film) and his wonderfully self-parodying performance in Shakespeare In Love, I have not been an ardent Ben Affleck fan. With this film, he firmly establishes himself as a talented director. For the first time, I can say that I look forward to the next Ben Affleck film.

Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, is a deliberately paced, stunningly visualized, and emotionally charged exploration of the early development of mass media celebrity in America. The film riveted my attention for two hours and 40 minutes, and has remained on my mind for several days after my viewing. Although centered on one of the iconic legends of the Old West, it is far beyond an updated reincarnation of the Western. It is an epic allegory about the development of the American cult of celebrity and the effects of this obsession on the individuals caught in its web.

Visually, the film soars beyond anything that has hit the screen since Conrad Hall's final masterpiece with Road to Perdition. Roger Deakins, the cinematography genius behind The Shawshank Redemption, Kundun, and all the Cohen brothers" films since The Hudsucker Proxy, surpasses his best work. He pulls out all the stops here—intricately orchestrated changes in focus, richly textured colors, dazzling use of light sources, careful manipulations of time, powerfully significant fade-ins and fade-outs, and shots through rain, snow, and rippled old glass—to communicate the story. Deakins' contribution stands out in the railroad train robbery sequence at the beginning of the film. Clearly defined, flickering light sources and deep black shadows create a dazzling, nightmarish vision that haunts the rest of the film. This sequence alone is worth the price of admission.

The richly textured, historically precise visual aspects of the film bring to mind Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven and Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller. However, instead of the understated, "realistic" performances featured in those films, The Assassination of Jesse James…showcases powerful, yet still realistic performances by an outstanding ensemble cast.

Sam Rockwell, as the not-too-bright but well-meaning Charley Ford, and Mary-Louise Parker, as Jesse's loving wife, stand out. Yet the film belongs to the two titular leads, both of whom deliver the performances of their careers and create characters filled with disturbing contradictions. Brad Pitt's Jesse James is alternately pitiable and terrifying—an affectionate, loving father, an old-before-his-time sage, an adventurous daredevil, an unrepentant bad boy, and a vicious sociopath. Casey Affleck's Robin Ford is a complex, repellent, and tragic character who challenges the audience's complicity in the undercurrents of the film.

All in all, this is a great film—not for those seeking the simple pleasures of instant gratification. But definitely worth the attention of those who still believe that movies are an art form.