THE HURT LOCKER (2008)

DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow
STARRING: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty

Considering this won Best Picture, among a million other things, at the Academy Awards, I figured it should be at the top of my list of films to see. I usually make a point of avoiding war movies but I decided to give this a shot anyway, just to be able to make a legitimate statement about whether or not I think it deserved its wins. I’m glad that I sat through it and I agree on some of its wins, though not on the more significant ones.

The Hurt Locker opens with the following quote: “The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” The setting is Iraq in 2004, centered upon three soldiers specialized in dismantling IED’s. When the unit’s leader is killed in an explosion, Sergeant William James (Renner) steps in to replace him. Despite claiming to have dismantled 800+ bombs in the past, James’ unorthodox methods immediately rub Sergeant Sanborn (Mackie) and Specialist Eldridge (Geraghty) the wrong way. Eventually, however, the men bond together through the trials of war as they each battle their own personal demons.

As mentioned above, I haven’t seen a lot of war movies so I don’t have much to compare this to. I believe, though, that a film should be able to stand on its own apart from its genre, so maybe my lack of comparisons is for the better. The Hurt Locker was in a lot of ways what I expected. It was tense, loud, and, like the lead character, pumped full of adrenaline. However, none of these things made the film particularly unique or special. There were some interesting explosion sequences that used slow motion fairly well, but nothing stunning or even creative as far as cinematography goes. Not worth a nomination, anyway.

As far as acting and character development goes, the acting isn’t anything to complain about. It’s fine, but that’s all. The characters, on the other hand, were a little flatter than I’d have liked and not entirely original. In the case of Sgt. James, we aren’t offered a lot in terms of range; early on, the audience is informed that he is “reckless” and therefore someone we should feel anxious about. He is a man who thrives off the rush of war and cannot seem to function without it, but any other aspects of his character were hard for me to buy. In spite of his high record of disarming bombs, this was hardly a man I could believe would be trusted to protect the lives of his team; he is solely invested in his own thrills, acting more like a macho cowboy hero than a trained soldier. Still, audiences are sure to love that invincible-man complex, and the film plays that up to the highest degree.

The bottom line of The Hurt Locker is that from the very beginning, when that quote is revealed on the screen, it declares that it is making a statement. It has a statement about war, about man’s reactions to how he experiences war, and the contrast between home life and the thrill of combat. It wanted to say so many things but didn’t bother to look beyond the exciting rush of the surface. All in all it wasn’t a bad film, nor was it necessarily a good film — it was just an unremarkable film, and, in my opinion, certainly not a Best Picture winner.

FINAL GRADE: B

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010)

DIRECTOR: Tim Burton

STARRING: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter

Having been a long-time fan of Tim Burton’s work, I was excited when I heard that he was doing his own version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. It seemed like a natural fit, particularly with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter at his side. What I got, however, was a disappointing, underwhelming piece of glitz, something that is unfortunately becoming more and more common in Burton’s work: sacrificing good story in favor of flash.

Alice in Wonderland is not exactly a retelling of Carroll’s story, but more of a continuation. It starts off when Alice (Wasikowska) is a nineteen-years-old girl, suffering from repeated dreams of falling down a rabbit hole and encountering strange characters. Upon escaping from an arranged engagement proposal from a dull suitor, Alice once again stumbles upon a rabbit hole and, of course, tumbles down it. Thus begins her adventures in Wonderland, where she meets the classic characters of Carroll’s original story, including the Mad Hatter (Depp). She is bombarded with questions of whether or not she is the “real” Alice, as everyone down there has apparently been waiting for her return so that she can save Wonderland from the tyrannical reign of the Red Queen (Bonham-Carter).

Visually, Burton gets high marks for this one. Everything looks brilliant and borderline psychedelic, like his films typically do. But that seems to be the only priority here: whether or not everything looks good. Story and acting fall to the wayside, as the plot is entirely contrived and bland. It’s almost as though the script was written by fifty different writers who each came up with a scene that they thought would look really cool, and then all those scenes were thrown together. There was no tension whatsoever, and the story’s resolution was practically stated during the first half hour of the film. For such a vivid and potentially creative film, the story was actually incredibly boring.


As far as acting goes, the only actor who highlighted the film was Helena Bonham-Carter as the Red Queen. She stole almost every scene she was in, providing some much-needed genuine comedy. Even Johnny Depp bored me — every quirk and nuance that he tried to bring to the Mad Hatter was essentially identical to his performance as Willy Wonka. I’m afraid that dear Johnny might be getting lazy, believing that if he simply wears bizarre makeup/costumes and acts like an eccentric person on drugs then audiences are guaranteed to think he is brilliant. Sorry, Johnny, but that’s not enough for me. And then there is Mia Wasikowska, a fairly pretty but stony-faced and flat actress, playing Alice. Aside from the fact that she looks lovely in her colorful costumes, she brings absolutely nothing to what could have been a charming role, practically sleepwalking through it. All I have to say is: unfortunate.

The bottom line is that Alice in Wonderland is a beautifully made bad film that’s going to make tons of money. It will be hailed as “brilliant” because of the creative visuals and another “quirky” performance on Depp’s part. But a wonder it is not.

FINAL GRADE: C+

AN EDUCATION (2009)

DIRECTOR: Lone Scherfig
STARRING: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard

This film kicked off my systematic viewing of all the films I should have seen pre-Oscars but didn’t (next on the list: The Hurt Locker and A Serious Man). Since these are Oscar nominated/winning films it’s pretty natural to expect high quality, and that’s what I got with An Education; however, there was something missing. It’s the kind of film I really wanted to love but when I left the theatre I found myself feeling strangely dissatisfied.

An Education is the coming-of-age story of Jenny (Mulligan), a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl living in the suburbs of London in the early 1960’s. She’s an intelligent young woman with great potential, something that her overprotective parents have put all their hopes and dreams upon. Every day Jenny is reminded of the purpose of her life: to earn a place at Oxford to read English. Still, Jenny is uncertain if that’s the life she truly wants, and instead would rather listen to French records and fantasize about a life of fun and sophistication. This is exactly what she gets when thirty-something-year-old David (Sarsgaard) enters her life, a charming man who claims to be educated in “the university of life.” He whisks young Jenny off into a thrilling world of fancy restaurants, pre-Raphaelite art, and grand concerts, showing her the world she always dreamed of and freeing her from the profound boredom she has endured in her studies. However, as their relationship progresses Jenny begins to suspect that David is not the person he claims to be, even as she jeopardizes her entire future at Oxford.

Let me start with the pros. An Education has many positive qualities that I can understand give it such critical acclaim: the characters are generally well rounded, and the story is one that audiences can easily connect with. The film itself is beautifully shot, costumed, scripted, acted, and so on; there are no failures in the technical department. The questions presented are valuable ones, questions that even I, as a student, have had cross my mind. While the story is not a new one by any means, it had a somewhat unique approach to it and it took some risks concerning teen sexuality.

The problem, however, lies in the fact that the film’s message is almost pre-packaged. Even the title itself seems to declare exactly what the audience should take away from it; there is a message, a moral at the end, and no ambiguity about it. Whereas many similar films with small stories generally leave it up to the audience to take what they find, this one insists upon a single idea. Having a bottom line message is fine, but the film has to be able to back it up. In my opinion, An Education didn’t. It was pretty, it was skillful, but it was shallow, and frankly, it failed to follow up on the questions it dared to ask (particularly regarding David). Not to mention, the ending felt terribly rushed, even though the film was only an hour and 35 minutes long, giving it a whole half hour the filmmakers could have used to flesh out a more solid resolution.

As far as the acting goes, the cast was reasonably strong, although I didn’t necessarily care much for any of their characters. Even Carey Mulligan, who was nominated for Best Actress, failed to blow me away like I expected her to. She was very good, but — forgive me for repeating myself — not nearly as good as Abbie Cornish in Bright Star. Damn the Academy.

Overall, I thought this was overrated. As I said, I wanted to love it, but I didn’t quite care enough to. I hope that the rest of the other Oscar nominated films I’m going to watch will be better than this.

FINAL GRADE: B

THE RULES OF ATTRACTION (2002)

DIRECTOR: Roger Avary
STARRING: James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder

I came across this on TV today, playing in its full, uncensored glory. It had been a while since I’d seen it and I had forgotten how much I loved it. It’s decadent, lewd, amoral, and wonderful. It’s funny how Bret Easton Ellis’ novels (this and American Psycho) translate so well to the screen, creating their own little soulless realities.

The Rules of Attraction is about a love triangle — well, a lust triangle. At the centre is Sean Bateman (Van Der Beek, doing his best to murder his “nice guy” Dawson persona), a cold, sexually maniacal, campus drug dealer who is receiving anonymous love notes in his mailbox. He thinks they’re from Lauren Hynde (Sossamon), who is trying to get over her hang-ups in order to lose her virginity to the perfect candidate. Then there is Paul Denton (Somerhalder), a pretty boy student who apparently used to date Lauren but has now switched teams and has his sights set on Sean. Over the course of the film the three hopeless lovers stumble their way over mistakes and misunderstandings, trying to discover if it is possible to love (or even know) someone in such a shallow and chemically-dependent atmosphere.

This film is completely superficial, but that superficiality is the point. None of the characters are particularly admirable and the audience probably won’t find themselves rooting for any of them. That isn’t what this film is about. The point is to be detached and distant and cold, as it takes place in a time when all of those things are at the peak of their value: the 80’s. Maybe the point is to reveal the connections between us, even when connection is not what we’re looking for. I don’t know. It’s hard to look for a deep, profound message in a film that intentionally avoids depth.

What makes the film so good (maybe I should say enjoyable) is that the characters are so decadent. I’m no Dawson’s Creek fan but James Van Der Beek stole the show here, throwing out all inhibitions and embracing his amoral Sean. Shannyn Sossamon and Ian Somerhalder are two of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen but I won’t pretend that either of them are great actors, though they pull off their characters well — especially Somerhalder, who gets the dry and deadpan yet totally hopeful tone of Paul perfectly. Along with the three central characters the film boasts a magnificent slew of brief and memorable roles, such as Rupert, Sean’s crazed drug dealer, and Dick, Paul’s eccentric former partner-in-experimentation.

Aside from the performances, director Roger Avary makes a creative mark with this one. Apparently he was on board with helping Quentin Tarantino conceive of Pulp Fiction, and it shows. There isn’t a really straight narrative; some scenes are shown normally and then in reverse, backtracking to previous events that illuminate on things the audience has already seen. There’s a wonderful split-scene sequence between Sean and Lauren as they each head to class, finally coming together in a single shot. Excellent stuff.

All in all, this is a fun film: not something to necessarily be studied or admired, just to be enjoyed and quoted with your friends. Still, not really for those unwilling to abandon convention or optimism.

FINAL GRADE: B+

MY BROTHER TOM (2001)

DIRECTOR: Dom Rotheroe
STARRING: Ben Whishaw, Jenna Harrison

I discovered this on my journey of adoring all things Ben Whishaw (see Bright Star below). It is one of those films, like many films that I watch, that most people would probably not like unless they worked hard at it. It isn’t a pleasant film but it’s a starkly honest one. It is meant to be appreciated, and I deeply did.

My Brother Tom tells the story of Jessica (Harrison) and Tom (Whishaw), two lonely teenagers who attend Catholic school together. After witnessing Tom being harassed by a group of bullies in the woods near their school, Jessica is gradually drawn into a friendship with Tom, in spite of his oddness — he has a penchant for spontaneously collapsing like a fallen tree, among other things. What begins as something almost sweet becomes much more profound following Jessica’s abuse at the hands of her teacher/neighbor, and she and Tom retreat into what they call the “Good Woods,” their escape from what they believe to be a world filled with nothing but bad things. It quickly becomes apparent that they understand each other in ways that no one else could, as they begin to see little distinction between one another.

The film is shot on a hand-held camera and has a pretty low production quality, giving it an unsettling voyeuristic sort of feel. There isn’t a lot of effort made to get perfect shots or moving montages, instead focusing on the interaction between the central actors. As Jessica and Tom, the two leads are remarkably fearless in their roles, letting go of any self-consciousness and simply throwing themselves, quite literally, into their characters’ relationship. There is a lot of nudity and borderline-animalistic behavior, with the two of them throwing each other around the Good Woods, screaming like crazed beasts, and butting heads, releasing as much of their humanity as they can.


This seems to be one of the underlying themes of My Brother Tom. While the focus is also on loyalty and a deep bond between two people, Jessica and Tom both hold intense anger for the “bad” world, as nearly every person in their lives have either abused or abandoned them. Even the Catholic priest at their school barely has the patience or compassion to listen when they come to him for help. The way I saw it, this is a film about the struggle to escape human pain. As Tom puts it, “It only hurts if you let it” — if only that were really true.

In the end, this was one of the most moving and disturbing films that I’ve seen in a while. It will stay with me for a long time. My hat once again goes off to the beautiful Ben Whishaw, who I’m convinced is the best young actor working today, as well as to Jenna Harrison, who I’d love to see more of. They matched each other perfectly. Bravo.

FINAL GRADE: A-

Top 10 of 2009

10. (500) Days of Summer (dir. Marc Webb) — I’ll be honest: I love romance, but I hate romantic comedies. This film deserves credit for having a fresh take on a dead-horse genre.

9. POLYTECHNIQUE (dir. Denis Villeneuve) — This was one of those films that I never want to see again but am completely grateful to have seen. Haunting, to say the least.

8. THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS (dir. Terry Gilliam) — Never know what to expect from Gilliam. It was odd seeing Heath Ledger’s final role, but frankly, he wasn’t what made the film for me—Tom Waits as the Devil did. Best casting choice ever.

7. ZOMBIELAND (dir. Ruben Fleischer) — Do I even need to explain why this was great? It just was. In my opinion, better than Shaun of the Dead.

6. BROKEN EMBRACES (dir. Pedro Almodóvar) — Almodóvar’s films always feel more like art pieces than just movies, like he’s articulating some kind of dream. That’s what this felt like. Beautiful, expertly crafted, and a bit surreal. Bravo.

5. THE WHITE RIBBON (dir. Michael Haneke) — I love Haneke, so I am thrilled that he’s getting so much praise for this. He deserves it. Out of all of his films that I’ve seen this one was probably the most mature, restrained, and meticulous. Strangely disturbing, like he does, but intriguing. I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t win Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards.

4. AVATAR (dir. James Cameron) — I don’t understand why so many people hate Avatar on the basis of an unoriginal plot. Sure, it’s essentially another version of FernGully — so what? This is from the guy who did Titanic. You expect originality from him? Seeing this in 3D was the most fun I’d had in the theatre in ages, and you can’t deny that it’s pretty revolutionary.

3. DISTRICT 9 (dir. Neill Blomkamp) — Brilliant. Just brilliant. More of a full-body experience than anything else.

2. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (dir. Quentin Tarantino) — I know that Tarantino is all style over substance, but I don’t care. I love him anyway. Fun, unbridled creativity, and an incredible cast (notably Mélanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz).

1. BRIGHT STAR (dir. Jane Campion) — I don’t think I need to explain much here, seeing as I already did. Bottom line: flawless film.

Worst 6 of 2009

Since I typically avoid seeing films that I think will be bad, I only have 6 rather than 10. These were mostly the ones that I had thought would be good but weren’t (with the exception of #1... I knew that would be bad).

6. THE HANGOVER (dir. Todd Phillips) — I really wanted to enjoy this. Everyone kept talking about how good it was. Too bad it just wasn’t funny, even to my sister, who isn’t quite so cinematically snobbish as I am.

5. SURVEILLANCE (dir. Jennifer Lynch) — Since this was from the daughter of David Lynch I was hoping this would be good. It wasn’t. Frankly, it was boring and unoriginal.

4. TWO LOVERS (dir. James Gray) — This wanted to provide the audience with some profound statement about love... or something. In the end it was just hard to care when all the characters were so damn unlikeable.

3. BRÜNO (dir. Larry Charles) — This was the second biggest disappointment. I loved Borat, but this? This felt staged, unfunny, and was mainly out to gross out the audience as often as possible. I didn’t buy it.

2. PUBLIC ENEMIES (dir. Michael Mann) — This was probably the most disappointing film of the year. I was convinced that you couldn’t go wrong with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the same film, but apparently you can. It didn’t even feel finished to me and I found myself checking the time on my cell phone midway through. Terribly unfortunate.

1. KNOWING (dir. Alex Proyas) — Why do movies like this keep getting made? Why are they so successful? And why, oh why, does Nicolas Cage continue to get work?

BRIGHT STAR (2009)

DIRECTOR: Jane Campion
STARRING: Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw

There is so much I want to say about this film that it is difficult for me to organize my thoughts. Every once in a rare while a film comes along which impacts you in ways that most people, including yourself, do not particularly understand. That is what Bright Star is for me. After looking back on 2009 I have decided it is by far my favorite film of the year (look out for my future Top/Worst 10 of 2009 post). To be quite honest, though, it is a little hard for me to articulate why.

Bright Star tells the story of nineteenth century Romantic poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and his love affair with the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Fanny is a talented fashionista who designs and sews all her own outfits; she has no patience for poetry, which she deems “a strain.” Keats, on the other hand, is the epitome of genius unappreciated in his own time, struggling to get by and caring for his brother who is dying of tuberculosis. Despite a few tiffs at the budding moments of their relationship, they quickly fall in love, only to have their romance cut short by an inevitable reality.

What makes this film stand out from anything that American cinema is capable of producing is the fact that it is — no joke — perfect. Everything about it is perfect. Every shot is breathtaking, every costume is flawless, and the pacing forces you, the audience, to slow down and experience everything that Fanny and Keats experience. You feel every fluttering emotion that they do; when they hold their breath, so does the audience; when they feel heartbreak, you feel it with them.


Aside from all the aesthetic beauty that the film provides, what truly makes it great is the work of the actors. This film introduced me to my two current favorite actors, Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish, who are both so good at what they do that it’s easy to forget that they’re actors. I will forever be enraged by the fact that Cornish didn’t receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. It is an absolute travesty. I’ve never seen an actress portray such raw, soul-crushing anguish as she did, and I will forever respect her for it.

I could go on and on for a while, but hopefully you will go see it for yourself. I truly hope that you do.

FINAL GRADE: A+

SOMERSAULT (2004)

DIRECTOR: Cate Shortland
STARRING: Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington

I had not heard of this film until I fell in love with Australian actress Abbie Cornish via her role in Jane Campion’s Bright Star. Upon doing my research on her I came across Somersault, an independent Australian darling that apparently won all sorts of awards at various prestigious film festivals. Naturally, I had to see it.

Ms. Cornish stars as Heidi, a precocious sixteen year old whose blossoming sexuality is beginning to rear its head. She runs away from home after she is caught kissing her mother’s boyfriend, traveling to the ski town of Jindabyne, and embarks on something of a journey of self-discovery, both sexual and emotional, becoming involved with a reserved local farmer named Joe (played by Sam Worthington of Avatar fame — bet you didn’t know he was an Aussie!). The film focuses on their hesitant relationship, following her desperation for love and his sexual uncertainty.

Somersault doesn’t have much of a story to speak of and depending on how one looks at it, this is both its strength and weakness. The film is essentially a showcase for Ms. Cornish’s talent, which, in my opinion, is nothing short of extraordinary. She plays Heidi as a full flesh-and-blood person, showing her intense vulnerability as well as her uninhibited, magnetic nature. She is achingly human, and Cornish doesn’t shy away from the heavier side of her character. Sam Worthington is also noteworthy; he is fully deserving of the attention he’s currently receiving in America. Anyone who doubts his talent on the basis of his success in Avatar should see his performance here, for he certainly holds his own as Joe.

The lack of story, however, may also turn off many audiences. As much as I loved Ms. Cornish’s performance I did have a hard time viewing the film in one sitting, and movie-watchers of today may feel that there just isn’t enough here to hold their attention. It certainly isn’t a film typical of American cinema. I recommend the film on the basis of its being an excellent character study, but don’t expect a traditional arching storyline.

FINAL GRADE: B+ (mostly for Abbie Cornish)