Reviews

Spoiler alert: This is not a Western for gun worshippers or those who would reify the historical American west as a white supremacist's fantasy land. If you habitually numb the discomfort of your real life by watching ultra-violence on screen, you will be sorely disappointed with "The Power of the Dog." This film navigates the treacherously vulnerable psychological terrain of the human need for connection, which can be far more upsetting for some people than standard-issue Hollywood gore. No shots are fired, no blows are exchanged, no damsels are violated in this emotionally lacerating masterpiece. This tensely beautiful tone poem is the penultimate achievement of a director at the apex of her career. I can't think of anything negative to say about it. Whether technical perfection is your thing on the cinematography/sound design/editing front, or you favor magnificent natural scenery, or you geek out on exquisite production and costume design, or you like to study the behavior of animals, or you simply favor achingly authentic performances by perfectly-cast actors, it's all here. The whole time I was watching it, I was thinking about how satisfying it will be to watch it again. Bonus: The trailer is so tension-filled that I was apprehensive about being bludgeoned by a sadistic storyline. Whatever personal trauma you may bring to watching this story unfold, you are in the compassionate hands of an artist named Jane Campion, who scrupulously avoids trivializing or sensationalizing the human condition. Don't make my mistake of doing a ton of online vetting prior to watching this film to make sure it would not retraumatize me. I suggest you go in without expectations, pay close attention, and be prepared to watch without prejudice. It's a wonder.

The draw for me to see this movie was Margot Robbie. I really enjoyed her performance in "The Wolf of Wall Street." In addition to her obvious physical attributes, she was funny, smart and engaging in that film. In "Suicide Squad," her posterior gets about the same amount of screen time as her face. Not that this is a bad thing from an aesthetic point of view, but her Harley Quinn was not nearly as dominant a presence as I was led to believe from the trailer and the press coverage. So I felt shortchanged. Other than that, Will Smith and Jay Hernandez really made the film for me. They overcame their typecasting to bring depth and humanity to their characters. I liked the film's take on trying to make "bad" people sympathetic by showing how they got that way. Otherwise, this movie was just plain weird. Its gritty realism was totally at odds with the more fantastical elements; it seemed to have a split personality.

Having worked closely with dogs I was fascinated with the premise of this film and the training behind it. The canine acting is beyond belief and the story really only takes flight when the dogs own the screen. The sight of 200 dogs running in a group makes your hair stand on end. The most fully realized sequence is of the dog fight training, and one is alternately repulsed and fascinated by this brutal subculture. Standout performance by Zsófia Psotta as the young girl who believes in her beloved mixed breed Hagen above all reason. A desolate, dispirited world is fully realized in this film about love and cruelty. Magnificent is the only word that can describe the control the trainers have over the dogs behind the scenes, but you don't even think about that while watching the story unfold.

Visceral, brutal, nihilistic film-making that feels authentic, and is (half the cast was culled from juvie centers around the U.S., and their slang found its way into the script). Examines how the American system of early incarceration cements the amorality of young monsters who can never be rehabilitated. Standout performance by Adam Butcher as the anti-hero "Butch," a coiled spring of a rage machine. Butcher has the chops to be the next DiCaprio. Some interesting parallels are drawn between the objectification of females and the proclivity for violence. Feels tailor-made for an HBO series, if they hadn't already done Oz. The most effective scenes are the numerous fights, full of menace and dread, the blows falling with cathartic impact. It's not hard to imagine a teen getting off on watching the graphic action instead of learning a lesson. The cast members certainly look like they are enjoying themselves in a sick way.

I found this more funny than depressing, and also very instructive in how to deal with people, get what you want, and not be a tool. The American Dream is still very much alive, and worth trying for -- you just can't let it consume you. The successful men in this movie make the system work for them, and -- most importantly -- stay positive. The Badger's problem is that he obviously has depression, and that has never helped anybody achieve anything. It must be fought and subdued at all costs. In the commentary, Albert Maysles suggests that the Badger was not cut out for sales and should have been a postal clerk, even though the Badger rails against the predictability of a 9-to-5 office job with a pension. This is another important lesson of Salesman: Get in where you fit in. Do work that suits your temperament and abilities.

This is very dramatic and satisfying film on a character level in a way that When The Levees Broke, as good as it was, was not. I always prefer documentaries that are character driven. "Water" gives you a window into a world that usually is hermetically sealed from the rest of society, and humanizes the "ghetto" in a way I've never seen before. You really get to know the couple and you sympathize with them, even though they are far from what most people would call upstanding members of society. The world they come from is usually overlooked or glamorized in gangster films, but because Kim (the wife) did the filming of her community during the hurricane, it is authentic. It really is a testament to how technology (in this case, the amateur video camera) has democratized society and what is possible when the voiceless find their voice. It's the antidote to "Hustle and Flow" in EVERY way. When Kim raps, it comes at a devastating moment in the film and she has your full attention, and you identify with every word, and you totally understand why she is the way she is, and why rap can be such powerful poetry. It's not just some soundtrack. Musically, the film is great on many levels -- the score, and the other songs chosen.

I guess it's too late to replace Daniel Radcliffe, but from the beginning he was never a compelling on screen presence, and that's a shame. The owlish Harry Potter deserves an edge Ratcliffe simply does not possess. So, every Potter movie including this one seems to have involved spinning some very expensive plates to distract us from this fact. Here are the best special effects money can buy (the Quidditch match is the set piece and is the most satisfying), some rather disconcerting sexual innuendo about Harry's belongings in a bath house, Ralph Fiennes as the evil version of the English Patient (wow, that must have hurt his nose), and the dawning realization that purely through an accident of birth, Harry Potter will prevail over every evil that befalls him. For some reason I find this depressing rather than inspiring. It must go back to my proud American notion that you are not born into greatness, you much create it. Whereas in England, you're stuck for life.

Hillary Duff is the first actress since Marilyn Monroe whose glow totally eclipses anyone else on screen with her. The audience will follow her anywhere, even through trite stuff like this. All the irritating devices of the TV show are here, along with the flip tween-speak, but the lesson is much more sophisticated than the average tween movie, brought home by Duff's completely believable epiphany (aided by her sage friend Gordo): If you look for validation and fulfillment in another person, you are setting yourself up to be used. Fortunately, because this is a chaste version of junior high, she doesn't forfeit her body and soul to the jerk in question – just a little piece of her heart. But you still feel the sting.