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Reviews
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
A lot about nothing should be the tittle of Scorsese's latest film.
Run to Netflix and rent "Wall Street" and you'll have a better time watching a fiction story imitating life than this life story imitating nothing except over the top excess of chemical, sex and greed infused frenzies. When I first read about the Jordan Belfort story coming to the screen and that Leonardo DiCaprio would play the Wolf and Martin Scorsese was going to Direct. The needle on my excitement and anticipation meter quickly rose up too super psyched up level. Unfortunately after having watched this excessive monstrosity of a film, that's not where my excitement needle rested 3 numbing hours later. Don't get me wrong, the film was beautifully shot by Rodrigo Prieto and delivered some standout performances both from its lead and supporting cast of Jonah Hill as Donie Azoff, Margot Robie as Naomi Lapaglia Belfort and Rob Reiner playing Max Belfort was sensational. Here is the thing, I found myself asking the same question throughout the 180 minutes of this feature film, "Is this all there is, is this all there is?" The answer resonated in my gut with a resounding thud of a yes. That was all there was, and after what seem like forever of gratuitous sex and over the top drug usage sophomoric greed fueled behavior, the story stalls like a bad case of constipation. Along the way Mr Scorsese fails miserably to add depth and weight to a story predicated on the bilking of hundreds of millions of dollars from unsuspecting investors. The Wolf of Wall Street comes nowhere near its superior predecessor of the 80's Oliver Stone's Wall Street. In Wall Street you witness the excess and greed with redemption and with a feeling that wrongs need to be righted. Gordon Geko was a more likable anti hero and Michael Douglas brought a degree of gravitas to a much higher quality narrative. Mr Scorses's mosh pit of debauchery and greed only makes us revolt even more to the outrageous and felonious behavior of Wall Street Gone Wild. My suggestion stands, if you like the subject matter see Wall Street or better yet pick up a book and read till your hearts content
Sons of Anarchy: One One Six (2013)
From Very Promising to Soap Opera Hell.
This show has gotten tiresome and very predictable,the story dialog is negative & without substance or any real texture. Any human with a remotely functioning brain would have difficulties maintaining interest or a straight face through this now soap operaish dribble.. The plot similarities and story developments gives the viewer the feeling the real culprits in this fast decline are the writers and producers of this once promising dramatic series. I've noticed even the actors look tired of the same boring lines. Unfortunately this program has now fallen into the Soap pit of creative writing. I can only hope the end comes soon and by the look on the faces of the regulars on the show,they may very well feel the same.
Sons of Anarchy (2008)
From Very Promising to Soap Opera Hell.
This show has gotten tiresome and very predictable,the dialog is negative & without substance or any real texture. Any human with a remotely functioning brain would have difficulties maintaining interest or a straight face through this now soap operaish dribble.. The plot similarities and story developments gives the viewer the feeling the real culprits in this fast decline are the writers and producers of this once promising dramatic series. I've noticed even the actors appear to look tired of the same boring lines. Unfortunately this program has now fallen into the Soap pit of creative writing. I can only hope the end comes soon and by the look on the faces of some of the regulars on the show,it not be soon enough.
The Anonymous People (2013)
Cause for a Relapse
I watched Anonymous People this past Tuesday a new documentary film by Executive Producers Paul McCulley and John Silverman at the very beautiful New York University Skirball Auditorium. As I sat in my plush and comfortable seat alongside my wife I couldn't help to think, I was watching a corporate film rather than a serious documentary on 12 step recovery in America. The central premise of this documentary Is a one note message, constructed to entice anyone who is a member of an anonymous 12 Step program, to break their anonymity and come out to the general public. Giving us the notion somehow, this will eliminate all stigmas and remove bureaucratic barriers that create impediments to addicts and alcoholics in their quest for sobriety. Director Greg D Williams has undertaken a subject matter that's never easy and always emotionally tricky to navigate through. Unfortunately and annoying to the viewer, Mr. Williams a first time director (no IMDb credits) has failed to present an accurate portrait of recovery in America. Rather he's led us to believe that NCADD short for National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence has discovered the magic pill to the problem. The irony is Mr. Williams has fallen in the trap of being self serving to his cause, and judgmental to the very organizations that are helping the very individuals his film is trying to help.. Anonymous People has many failures to communicate its main idea and instead it comes off as self serving, sarcastic and sometimes pedantic in its zeal to enlighten us . So much for humility dictating the conversation, Anonymous People continually fails to demonstrate how the effects of this mass outing will impact the long established recovery community. Given the success 12 Step programs have demonstrated dating back to the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935.It hard to imagine how successful the films proposals would be to the millions of suffering addicts and alcoholics worldwide. Anonymous People is as relentless in its tone and message as an addict on a mission to buy drugs and as flawed as the moral inventory of a recovering alcoholic. The film attacks 12 Step programs and their basic principles of anonymity through various interviews and lectures we are forced to endure, from self professed members in recovery to the so called addiction experts. To further drive it's painfully dull point home the film doesn't do itself any favors by labeling members of twelve step programs as "Brain Washed" and individuals "Hiding in basements."The producers of this fauxcumentary demonstrate an obvious agenda not to present a balanced message to the contrary they go out of their way not too. The theme music provides us with a sentimental muzak composed by Brendan Berry to further enhanced it's similarities to sitting in a dentist chair . It never broaches the subject of how their proposal may hurt long established organizations with proved track records. It doesn't touch on the possibility that relapse by their more famous advocates could hurt the person on the fence of entering a 12 step program. In the film actress Kirsten Johnson does extensive interviews and readings from her bio, and in true celebrity form, doesn't miss the opportunity to plug her new autobiography. This film doesn't disclose any of the reasons why anonymity is such a important component of12 Step Programs either from literature or recordings readily available to any researcher. These well known recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or Cocaine Anonymous have extensive writings on the subject of anonymity yet Director Williams does not explore nor reveals the 800 pound elephant in the room. It never bothers to explore the 12th Tradition from the aforementioned organizations that may explain why Anonymity is so crucial in their existence. Twelve Step programs have 12 traditions in place that guide their organizations and provide a moral compass to the groups that make up their organizations. Some of these include not engaging in any controversy or opposing any causes due to the nature of their Anonymity and absence of self promotion. One gets the impression that NCADD, who screened the film as well as being integral in its production is counting on exactly that passivity from all Anonymous organizations. Sitting through this promotional film in some ways reminded me of the industrial shorts some movie theaters use to play before a feature film would start. Mr. Williams has a definite calling in the 4am infomercial side of the entertainment business rather than serious documentary making. If you want to get a more complete picture of recovery and told in a balanced and comprehensive story try the 2012 award winning documentary Bill W.
Blue Jasmine (2013)
Better than a mini bar filled with Thorazine cocktails.
As to writer, director Woody Allen's latest release, he brings us his most melancholy and yes "Depressing" piece since his 1978 film Interiors. The central character of Jasmine is every bit as emotionally discombobulated as was the character of Eve 35 years ago, played by the late and great actress Geraldine Page. Although there are some similarities in both pictures, clearly Blue Jasmine provides more light and some thirst quenching humor, which Interiors clearly did not. But in essence both films make the viewer feel as though the next stop is a padded room at Bellevue with a mini bar filled with plenty of Thorazine cocktails.
Let me start out by saying that Cate Blanchett turns in a phenomenal performance playing Jasmine Blue and is worthy of all the awards and accolades afforded a female lead in a feature film this year. Jasmine Blue is writer director Woody Allen's latest release. Blue Jasmine really is two locations (New York,San Francisco) revealing one story of Allen's protagonist.
By intertwining each locations part of the story, Allen and film editor Alisa Lepselter have really found a secure zone in what can be a tricky and often dizzying endeavor for any editor. Mr Allen's unique view of the beautiful city by the bay is wonderfully shot by acclaim Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe, who also shot Mr Allen's 2008 Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Ms Blanchett's incredible range brings the title character of Jasmine to life and with Woody Allen's Direction ,we are given front and center seats to witness the magnificence of a great artist composing and decomposing a work of art. All while taking us slowly out of our comfort zone one Xanax at a time.
The supporting cast is superb, starting with British actress Sally Hawkins, who plays Jasmin's adopted sister Ginger. Alec Baldwin delivers another solid supporting performance as Jasmine's scoundrel of a husband Hal. Bobby Cannavale provides us with a terrific performance as Ginger's blue collar boyfriend Chili. Rounding out the cast and providing a dramatic performance worthy of note is comedian Andrew "Dice' Clay as Gingers ex husband Augie. Peter Sarsgaard plays his usual suave role of Dwight Jasmine's potential suitor.
I felt a little betrayed after the end of this film, if for no other reason than I came totally unprepared for what I discovered. That although Mr Allen's insatiable need and want too continue his depressive angst, can still be funny,even when he's ratcheting up the tenor of melancholia in his central character. Therein lies the story that focuses on the disintegration of a person's sanity and yet Mr Allen still finds a compassionate and poignant way in which to voice it and reveal it as though peeling an orange.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Zero Dark Thirty Delivers for the Holidays
ZERO DARK THIRTY/MY REVIEW 12/20/12 Kathryn Bigelow's latest directorial effort, has been receiving even more attention than her 2008 Tour De Force "Hurt Locker", about a team of ordinance disposal soldiers during the war in Iraq. Ms Bigelow garnered a best director Oscar for her efforts on HL and the film went on to win an additional five statutes. On this go around she tackles the war on terror, specifically the Hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Ms Bigelow has teamed up again with writer Mark Boal a former freelance journalist who was embedded in Iraq in the early years of that war, Mr. Boal also won Gold for his original screenplay of Hurt Locker. On this go around the dynamic pairing of Bigelow and Boal's, sends us on a trip that will reveal the inner workings of our intelligence service (C.I.A) hunt for Osama Bin Laden. As well the internal mechanics of the terror organization we have come to know as Al-Qaeda. Concentrating on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is the central issue and although the road takes some twist and turns. Ms Bigelow always steers us back, in the direction of the impossible task of finding the needle in a dark cave that was (Bin Laden).
Zero Dark Thirty may not be for everyone, what may appear to be a slow moving tale for action junkies being deprived of their adrenaline shots. Ms Bigelow makes sure to dispense the excitement for the rest of us, with the consistency of an intravenous drip, methodical and sufficient to achieve its purpose. In Zero Dark Thirty, Ms. Bigelow has opened a door and allowed us to enter. The result is a satisfaction of witnessing a relentless and painstaking process to bag the overlord of all Al-Qaeda attacks on Americans. The films protagonist is a CIA analyst named Maya played by the very talented Jessica Chastain. Maya displays a crescendo of obsessive determination which distances her from her superiors while garnering the respect of her colleagues. In Zero Dark Thirty Ms Bigelow allows Ms Chastain's portrayal of Maya, to slowly develop and engulf us into a state of total support and amazement. Through the years she reveals slowly her sheer determination to capture the world's most dangerous man. Chastain's portrayal of Maya is sure to capture the artistic attention she so richly deserves. The journey that we embark on in ZDT, brings Maya to life through her exhaustive twelve year search. The film doesn't judge, it allows us to ask ourselves some serious philosophical questions along the way. Principally how far are we willing to go exact justice? Ms Bigelow lets us dwell into our psyche and explore the questions which naturally arise from this journey. For me one thing was clear about this film, the journey can be more important than the destination.Those twelve years Maya searches for the elusive Bin Laden were filled with terror,frustration,savagery. We know what the final payoff is (a dead Bin Laden) Ms Bigelow makes sure not let us off the hook so easy. The distinction of Zero Dark Thirty is the authenticity of its source material, which came into question for possible disclosure violation, of top secret materials. Charges that writer Boal's completely denies. The question has risen from the very authentic characters and C.I.A. methodology displayed in the film. Including but not limited to the actual step by step S.E.A.L team mission to capture Bin Laden. Certainly enough to make CIA management question Mr. Boal's sources. This film worked on many levels for me; on limited release in the East Village section of Manhattan, just twenty blocks from the site of the attack on the World Trade Center. I watched it along with a hundred other New Yorkers and not once did I find Ms Bigelow storytelling to be demeaning to its audience or to the subject matter. Ms Bigelow made sure to withhold from making any manipulative or political statements, instead like an expert butcher. She just kept removing the fat and presenting a lean and concise telling of this most riveting story. The supporting cast with Jason Clarke formerly of Showtime series Brotherhood turns in a solid portrayal of Dan, Maya's supervisor. The rest of the cast Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Ricky Sekhon and Mark Strong without exception were equally as effective in delivering home this remarkable project. As I sat watching this film with my fellow New Yorkers, I felt something that I rarely feel watching films. I felt a mix of emotions mostly gratitude to be an American. I felt a beaming pride in the incredible hard work it took for justice to be handed out. In many ways Zero Dark Thirty was not just a film but a cathartic experience for me as well. It resonated and released many unresolved feelings within me that had been locked up for eleven years. I suppose with all the division that continues to take place in our nation. Zero Dark Thirty truly delivers a bipartisan gift worthy of Santa himself.