The Bronze Clip #1: McDonalds; Delicious food, Top-notch service and Intelligent conversation

Charlie Wilson's War

© Universal Pictures

Charlie Wilson's War is the true story of a congressman who single-handedly helped end Communism and the cold war. Played by Tom Hanks, Wilson did this by manipulating all the right people in all the right places to get Afghanistan more defense power. An incredible feat but not accomplished without help from C.I.A. agent Gus played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and a very wealthy Texan woman Joanne, played by Julia "What have you done for us lately?" Roberts. A truly amazing story that once translated to film, flaws are born. The movie, for the most part, is boring to look at. No interesting camera work at all other than some fantastic war moments. In fact, without scribe Aaron Sorkin's colourful dialogue, it would be downright dull. The acting also helps. Tom Hanks does a good job playing the charismatic Wilson. It's quite annoying, however that Hanks sure loves playing extraordinary men. If you take a look at Hank's seemingly diverse roles, you'll notice he likes playing sentimental crowd pleasing characters. I'm not saying he is not a great actor, but I'm getting damn tired of him. The female version of Hanks (meaning an actor who is far too distracting from the actual character) is Julia Roberts. Guess what!? She has a similar performance and I'm damn tired of her as well. Thank God that Hoffman plays Gus, which on his own makes up for everything else. An overlooked Amy Adams as Wilson's assistant is terrific as well. What Charlie Wilson achieved was important but as we all know, led to some terrible consequences. Afghans who received weapons and training have become terrorists (Osama Bin Laden) and have caused some terrible events. It is very interesting when Wilson and Gus are having a conversation, about whether there will be repercussions of their actions, on an apartment deck (pictured above) and you can clearly hear an airplane. It is normal to hear an airplane from a deck I know, but it is nearly as loud as the conversation being had. I believe this to be a form of foreshadowing regarding 9/11. Another interesting film making choice is mixing movie war scenes with real footage, which I also found effective. The screenplay is great but perhaps no more impressive than Sorkin's work on television (The West Wing, Studio 60). The story is so engaging that it makes up for an occasional lack of film making flare. A very good movie indeed, but amongst so many greats this year, it will likely be forgotten. Or, it should be. But Hollywood is not damn tired of praising Hanks and Roberts.

Walk Hard

© Columbia Pictures

Walk Hard is a film spoof of the recent run of music bio-pics (Ray, Walk The Line). Starring the previously under-used John C. Reilly, this comedy is truly hit or miss. Reilly does a very good job here and it's nice to see him with a starring role. However, the movie itself is a bit too silly and over the top. At times this pays off but mostly causes even entire scenes to fall flat. As soon as a comedy decides it will not have any emotional resonance or endearing characters, it needs to be damn funny. This is Walk Hard's fatal flaw. It completely relies on it's jokes, which half the time do not generate a laugh. Fortunately there are so many jokes that you find yourself laughing often. But barely any belly laughs or super quotable parts. The real saving grace are the marvelous cameos which I will not spoil. One particualar scene with the Beatles is truly memorable. Perhaps if released at the beginning of the year, or better yet a couple years ago, Walk Hard would be very satisfying. But the bar has been raised in comedy, thanks to recent classics like Little Miss Sunshine and Judd Apatow's other works (The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) and this year's best in Juno and Superbad. A bold new standard has been set, and when considering this it is apparent that "just for laughs" flicks don't quite cut it anymore.

The Savages

© Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Savages is a painfully realistic story of a brother and sister who must deal with their father's aging. Once they discover that their dad can no longer care for himself they struggle to deal with the necessary consequences as well as their own issues. Through this ordeal, they begin to discover why it is they have trouble being happy in their own lives.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, with his second Oscar-calibre performance this year, is the brother, Jon. Laura Linney is just as good playing the sister, Wendy. The film is at times funny, depressing, sad, hopeful and frightening. It never steps out of line to please the audience, truly uncompromising. This allows the story to seem completely real to life, and therefore all the more effective. The way the movie is filmed is perfectly in sync with the tone and subject matter. Once again, the acting is so good that it makes the title characters so believable. Because of this, with each mistake they make, you feel genuine disappointment. And as convenient and initially pleasing as it would be, these characters don't turn on a dime. From start to finish they are flawed and partly unlikeable. In an odd way, this actually helps the viewer warm up to them as we can truly take them seriously.

Writer/director Tamara Jenkins does an extraordinary job of creating a accurate tale that we can all relate to, whether or not we have gone through similar crises. Truths are revealed as we learn more about the characters, and ourselves. A great movie.

Juno

© Fox Searchlight Pictures

It's not often that a film can change how you feel about film. It's not often a teen comedy provides more insight than most acclaimed dramas. It's not often a movie is so special that as you're in the theatre, you actually take notice, and thank the movie heavens for such a miracle. It's not often you enter a movie with such high hopes and are still surprised. It's rare. Juno is such an experience.

The magnificent, Canadian Ellen Page plays Juno, a 16 year old who suddenly finds herself pregnant. The father to be, Paulie Bleeker, played by the magnificent, Canadian Micheal Cera, isn't even her boyfriend. Paulie is a good friend, who, one night and one night only, was something more. Rather then beginning with the act that leaves Juno in such a difficult situation. We begin with that difficult situation. We get to follow and observe every consequence and lesson learned.

The film presents itself in four parts, Autumn, Winter, Spring and finally Summer. First with an abortion clinic, then a change of mind, and then a search for adopting parents. Every bump along the way is executed brilliantly. The wonderful cast of characters, from Juno, her parents, best friend, and the (seemingly) aspiring parents is pitch perfect. In fact, this may be my favourite portrayal of people I have ever seen. Honest, fair and wise, never has a comedy been so insightful.

It's quite amazing, when, in a year with the classics "Knocked Up", an excellent tale of a unexpected pregnancy, and "Superbad", a superb high school movie (both delivered from the film Gods Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow), that one movie can surpass both in nearly every way. It's quite ironic that the film in question is a masterpiece about an unexpected pregnancy in high school.

The script is perfect, the acting is phenomenal, the soundtrack is charming, the characters are endearing. The magnificent, Canadian director, Jason Reitman creates another winner. There are a couple promising titles still on the horizon in 2007, such as P. T. Anderson's There Will Be Blood. But unless they truly are something rare, surprising and special, then they don't stand a chance. The film of the year has arrived.

I Am Legend

I Am Legend is the story of the last man on earth, survivor of a world-wide airborne virus. Robert Neville, alone except for his beloved dog Samantha (a surprisingly effective character) is still trying to save humanity. Before the infection hit, he was the leading scientist dealing with the problem, but failed. Still at ground zero in NYC, he will not give up. Legend is part silly blockbuster and part intelligent sci-fi drama. As I watched the film i could feel each half tugging at each other. Strong acting and fairly developed emotional resonance combating with poorly used CGI and action movie cliches.
Will Smith is captivating and heartbreaking throughout what I consider to be his best performance (even far superior to his acclaimed role in "The Pursuit of Happyness"). Unfortunately the writing, which at times seems like it is going to be great, never quite matches his performance. It leaves me to believe that had the material been better, Smith could have raised his game further, perhaps to Oscar heights. I found it interesting to discover that the screenplay was written by those with these films in their collective resume': "A Beautiful Mind", "Lost In Space", "Batman & Robin" and "The Cell". Two intelligent films and two very not.
Ultimately, the good or even great side of this film never is completely absent, allowing Legend to never be too far gone. Simply, it is never bad, but rarely great. However, when it is great, it hints at overwhelming potential and unexplored depth. One wonders if the film was in the hands of a worthy director (mind you, "Constantine's" Francis Lawrence occasionally succeeds) such as Danny Boyle, Alfonso Cuaron or at the very, very, very least an inspired Spielberg a' la "Minority Report" that this would have been a considerable cinematic achievement.
One of the areas where Legend thrives is in being suspenseful. At times the tension reaches points movies don't often approach. Of course this is then ruined by close up CGI moments of the "dark seekers" or infected humans. At the boring, unimpressive view of their faces, the realism and effectiveness is at once lost. I can't help but complain that human actors were not used where it's quite obvious they should have. In the great "28 Days Later", the sight of a once human, now infected monster was not only frightening but sorrowful. The creatures in Legend are so far removed from reality and plausibility that it is impossible to feel that despair and sadness in what has become of our race.
It sounds like I am just complaining but that is only because I caught wind of what could have been. Overall, this is a movie that could have been a masterpiece but falls short. But thanks to a strong performance from Smith and a story and character(s) so engrossing it helps carry the weight of this treatment's flaws, the movie is good. I Am Legend isn't brilliant, but it isn't dumb either, and on entertainment value alone, it's worth the price of admission.



image © Warner Bros