Adapted/Directed by: Ryan Murphy
Starring: Annette Benning, Brian Cox, Joseph Cross, Joseph Fiennes, Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Evan Rachel Wood, Jill Clayburgh
Rated: R for strong language and elements of sexuality, violence and substance abuse.
Parental Notes: This isn't a terribly strong R, but it does deserve the rating. It's not graphic but the emotional violence makes it unsuitable for youngsters.
Every so often a movie comes along that allows many of its viewers to appreciate how decent their childhoods seem in comparison to the one on the screen. Sure, we were picked on in school, but at least our fathers weren't raging alcoholics. Or sure, Dad hit the bottle, but at least Mom wasn't a raging narcissist with regular psychotic breaks. Or sure, things were hard but at least we weren't handed over to the family shrink to spend our formative years in a sort of outpatient insane asylum. Maybe our first boyfriend was a jerk, but at least he wasn't schizophrenic and over twice our age. Augusten Burroughs went through all that and more, and detailed it in his memoir "Running with Scissors." Writer/Director Ryan Murphy has adapted the book for the screen, and assembled a top-notch cast to bring this darkly hilarious tale to life.
Augusten (Joseph Cross) grew up with his mother Dierdre (Annette Benning), who frequently keeps him home from school to read him her poetry and declaim to him about how she was destined for greatness. His father Norman (Alec Baldwin) seems resigned to his wife's issues and his son's eccentricities (Augusten polishes his allowance because he "likes shiny things") but turns to drink. The family begins therapy with Dr. Finch (Brian Cox), who says he needs to see them five hours a day, every day. Dierdre is game, but Norman protests that he has to work. "See, I told you!" Dierdre proclaims triumphantly, "I'm married to a narcissist!" Not surprisingly, the family falls apart when Augusten is in middle school. Dierdre sends Augusten to live with Dr. Finch, convinced that Norman is planning to kill her and that Augusten will be safer that way.
Augusten discovers that the Finch household makes his own look positively stable. Finch's wife Agnes (Jill Clayburgh) munches dog kibble while watching "Dark Shadows." The elder daughter, Hope (Gwyneth Paltrow), receives psychic communications from her cat, Freud. The younger daughter, Natalie (Evan Rachel Ward), is Augusten's age and something of a kindred spirit. The house is a wreck, with unwashed dishes everywhere and a Christmas tree that's been up for two years. When Natalie and Augusten snap and smash a hole in the kitchen ceiling, Dr. Finch is perfectly fine with it. "It brings a sense of humor to the room," he tells them benignly. Finch is even fine with Augusten, who comes out as gay around this time, starts dating a former patient and adopted son of Finch's, Bookman (Joseph Fiennes), who hears voices shouting at him.
Much of the humor of "Running with Scissors" comes from the dissonance between the chaos surrounding Augusten and everyone's reactions to it. He seems to be the only one who finds Dr. Finch's household problematic, and when he starts acting out in an attempt to get a little structure to his life, nobody stops him, least of all his over-medicated mother. Cross offers a solid performance as the eccentric, overwhelmed Augusten; although he is several years older than his character and that is occasionally a bit of a problem, his acting brings the difficult character to life well enough that it's hard to complain about his age.
The supporting cast is so talented it seems a shame to call them "supporting." Cox is in his element as the madman-cum-doctor, showing us both Finch's utter confidence in his ability to help people and his borderline insanity. The entire Finch family runs the risk of being reduced to cardboard cutouts of neuroses, but Paltrow, Ward, and Clayburgh bring a surprising humanity to their roles. Paltrow in particular brings out aspects of Hope which the audience can relate to even as she shows us how insane the woman really is. Benning is fantastic, showing us Dierdre at both ends of her emotional spectrum as well as all points in between, and even portraying her while heavily medicated without missing a step. Baldwin has all too small a role, but he brings Norman's weariness and resignation to life.
"Running with Scissors" isn't exactly lighthearted. It's incredibly funny in the same way that Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H" is: you are shown people in impossible situations and have to laugh with them because otherwise you'd be struck dumb by the horror of it. If that's your cup of tea, do not miss this film.
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, David Bowie
Rated: PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.
Parental Notes: This is not a film for youngsters -- they will likely be both confused and frightened. Teens with an interest in magic and in films that have plenty of plot twists will probably enjoy it.
Writer/director Christopher Nolan and his brother and co-writer Jonathan Nolan are probably best known for the film "Memento," a ground breaking, mind bending film noir. The Nolans' new film, "The Prestige," is not nearly as innovative, but it's definitely a mind-bender and just what fans of Nolan and his brother are likely to be looking for. It follows two obsessed men and examines in detail just how far they will go in the pursuit of their rivalry. It's not a feel-good film, but it is utterly fascinating and not your usual mind-numbing megaplex fare.
The two main characters meet as young men assisting a popular stage magician. It's the late 1800s in London, and stage magicians are all the rage. Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) is a talented magician but a poor showman, while Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) is a flawless showman but only a competent magician. They begin as friendly rivals but become bitter enemies when Borden appears to cause Angier's wife to drown on stage during a show. Angier takes a modicum of revenge on Borden by slipping a real bullet into his gun during a trick and taking off two of the Borden's fingers.
Things turn even uglier when Borden debuts an absolutely stunning trick: he seemingly transports himself across the stage with impossible speed. When neither Angier nor his gadget-builder Cutter (Michael Caine) can figure out how Borden is doing it, Angier becomes completely obsessed with duplicating the trick. As Borden and Angier go to greater and greater lengths in their rivalry, the plot twists begin to pile up. What makes it work is that these two men are professional pretenders: their entire lives are tied up in tricking the people around them, including us.
There are countless tiny clues and moments of foreshadowing scattered through the film, so when the twists are revealed they ring true. As the truths behind the various lies in the film are revealed, Borden and Angier are revealed as not the young, full-of-potential, aspiring magicians we thought they were but in truth damaged, somewhat insane, and very dangerous men.
"The Prestige" is packed with a surprising amount of skill; the Nolans are top-notch at what they do, and the main actors in the film are very talented. The cinematography is solid, bringing us the cold, crisp air of the Colorado mountains, the grimy world of performers in London, and the futuristic laboratory of Nikola Tesla (David Bowie, who really ought to act more, he's fantastic) in equally compelling fashion.
This is not a film to see when you just want to relax. The story is broken into three chunks which are then interwoven to keep us in suspense. There's also a bookend scene, broken in half to start and conclude the film. You have to be paying sharp attention to make sure you know what is happening when. It's also full of nasty twists, one of which has a certain amount of existential horror to it,. The film leaves one with a sort of empty feeling, similar to the way one might feel after learning how a particularly amazing magic trick was accomplished. If, however, you are looking for a film that will keep you on your toes and won't offer you the same old bland Hollywood pap, you will not be disappointed.
Written and Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, Jeff Goldblum
Rated: PG-13 for language including some crude sexual references, drug related material, and brief violence.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly innocuous film for teens and mature preteens, but youngsters may be frightened by the thriller plot line.
A quick browse online will show that there are plenty of people who want Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," to run for president. Barry Levinson has taken this idea and run with it to create "Man of the Year," a comedy in which a political comedian, Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams, "RV"), runs for president -- and wins. Although the idea is a timely one, the film tries to be too many things and winds up falling far short of its potential.
Tom gets the idea to run when a woman in his studio audience asks if he would and the idea is loudly applauded. He announces his candidacy not long after, and soon is on the road campaigning with his manager Jack Mencken (Christopher Walken, "Click") and head writer Eddie Langston (Lewis Black, "Accepted") in tow. Tom tries to run a standard campaign, giving dull and dry speeches and talking about the issues, until he makes it into the debate a month before the election. While on live television, he loses his cool and tears into the other candidates with the razor-sharp wit he's known for. The crowd loves him, and he decides to revamp his campaign.
Williams is in fine form, delivering zippy one-liners and rousing comedic speeches with flair. Even when Tom is off-camera, he's a funny guy, but Williams doesn't make him into a one-note clown. We see Tom' self-doubt and his concern that because he's a comedian, people won't take him seriously if he makes them laugh. It's a solid performance from a master comedian.
Meanwhile, we meet Eleanor Green (Laura Linney, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"), a high-ranking software engineer at polling machine company. Their machines are going to be used at all polling stations nation-wide, but she has found a glitch in the software which will result in incorrect election results. She notifies the CEO of the company, but is brushed off. On election night, she watches in horror as Tom soars to an obviously false victory. When she goes to the CEO again, she is warned not to take the information public.
Linney is a solid actress but doesn't quite pull off the software engineer role. She conveys the emotions of the character well, particularly once the CEO's sidekick Alan (Jeff Goldblum) sics his henchmen on her to keep her quiet. However, she doesn't quite have the nuances of the engineer down. There's more to a software engineer than a bit of social awkwardness, which is all Linney assumes here.
However, the two plot lines are from very different films. Tom is the star of a comedy, or perhaps a political satire, while Eleanor is the star of a thriller. They don't mix well; it's hard to laugh at lighthearted comedy in one scene when we know that just a scene before a masked man did something very ominous to our heroine. Levinson would have done better to choose one genre and stick with it.
Once Eleanor gets the idea to go directly to Tom with her information, the film adds "romance" to the genre list and really starts to fall apart. It's a shame, as the underlying point of the film is one that needs to be made: a great many Americans are so fed up with our political system that a grassroots campaign to elect a totally inexperienced person is not only not out of the question but something that makes audiences cheer. Unfortunately, "Man of the Year" does a mediocre job of carrying that point.
Directed by:Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin
Rated: R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material.
Parental Notes: There's violence and language aplenty here, as well as drug content and some sex. The violence is frequently cruel and brutal, as well as graphic. This is not a movie for youngsters at all.
"The Departed" is one of those films that feels a good deal more significant while you are watching it than it does once it's over. It has a stellar, all-star cast, sharp dialog, clever and artistic camera work, lots of black humor, and is thoroughly gritty and realistic-looking. Unfortunately, it lacks character development, any sort of point or moral, and a solid ending. The ending almost feels as though the writers ran out of ideas and came up with this out of desperation.
The story is thoroughly convoluted. In South Boston, the State Police ("staties") have insinuated an undercover cop, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) into the local mob run by Frankie Costello (Jack Nicholson). Billy has come up through the ranks and is one of Costello's most trusted minions. Costello, meanwhile, has insinuated a mole into the State Police: Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon). Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) are the only two people who know Billy is really a statie; Costello is the only one who knows Colin is a really a crook.
Costello becomes suspicious that there's a rat in his crew just as the staties are ramping up their investigation into how information is leaking out of the department. Colin finds himself assigned to find the mole in the staties even as Costello is riding him to find the rat in the mob. Billy is told by Queenan that Costello has a mole in the staties, and starts trying to find out who it is. Just to make things a little more complex, Colin is dating Madolyn (Vera Farmiga), the police psychiatrist who is assigned to Billy.
At this point, midway through the film, the story resembles a juggling team tossing a wide variety of items through the air. It's fascinating to watch as the two sides play against each other, with the respective moles searching for their opposites. The actors are all in fine form; Nicholson has even adopted a Boston accent, which helps us watch him act rather than just see him as himself for two hours. Unfortunately, as the end approaches, the jugglers starts dropping items. Or maybe throwing them into the audience to startle us.
The closest thing the film has to a moral is something Costello says early on: "When I was your age, they would say you could become a cop or you could become a criminal. What I'm saying is this: When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?" There does seem to be little difference between the staties and the criminals they are combating. Both are prone to fits of violence, though the staties usually pull the fighting men apart before they do too much damage. Both use warped ethics (as when Colin tricks a man in statie custody into thinking he's the man's lawyer, so he can get information from him) and both seek revenge when they've been wronged.
But is that the only point Scorsese has to make? This is hardly a new concept; a quick viewing of any number of gangster films will give you the same idea. There isn't much in the way of character development or study. It's hard to latch onto something in the film to figure out what its point is. The fact that the final scene of the film amounts to a deus ex machina doesn't help.
"The Departed" is certainly absorbing; it's hard not to be drawn in when master actors are practicing their craft together, even if the story itself has flaws. Ultimately, though, the film is unsatisfying because it has no point to make, and ends on a truly hopeless and despairing note.
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder, Jacinda Barrett, Matt Walsh, Horatio Sanz, Todd Louiso
Rated: PG-13 for language, crude and sexual content, and some violence.
Parental Notes: This is a safe movie for teens and mature preteens, though offhand mentions of rape may make it inappropriate for some.
One of the nuggets of advice Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton "Bad News Bears") gives his students early on in "School for Scoundrels" is "lie, lie, and lie some more." They are in his class to learn from him how to be lions -- confident, attractive men -- instead of the mice they are. As Dr. P puts it, losers miss the shots they take, but these guys don't even take shots to begin with. "School for Scoundrels" follows Roger (Jon Heder, "Napoleon Dynamite"), who starts out as the worst guy in the class, and his progress through Dr. P's challenges is both touching and hilarious.
Roger works as a meter maid in New York, and his entire life is one long string of humiliations. Heder is built for this kind of comedy, with his lanky frame and ability to look utterly helpless. When Roger's third Little Brother in a row requests a new Big Brother, his buddy Ian (David Cross, "She's the Man") takes pity on him and gives him Dr. P's phone number. The class, taught by Dr. P and his massive sidekick Lesher (Michael Clarke Duncan, "Talladega Nights"), involves everything from role-playing a date (with Lesher in drag as the girl) to playing paint ball out in the woods. One of their first assignments is to instigate a confrontation when ordered to via pager. Roger takes the opportunity to stand up to a bully at work, and gets his head stuffed in the toilet for his trouble.
Before long, though, Roger is at the head of the class. He manages to ask out his beautiful Australian neighbor, Amanda (Jacinda Barrett, "The Last Kiss") and starts dating her. He gets his shoes back from some thugs who roughed him up and stole them. It's interesting to see Heder show the change -- Roger is still the same person he was before, but rather than backing down constantly he starts standing up for himself. Heder's body language changes subtly, he tones down the fish-out-of-water gape his wide mouth has early in the film, and when he speaks, his tone of voice is a bit different. He could have made Roger a caricature here, but instead shows the change in little ways. Roger's still Roger, he's just a less wimpy version of himself.
But maybe he's getting a little too confident. Ian says that the star student the year he took the class wound up completely destroyed by Dr. P. Roger is skeptical until he finds out Dr. P is dating Amanda too -- and is a lot better at the game than Roger is. Thornton was made for this kind of role. He has the ability to portray the depths of self-loathing and depravity ("Bad Santa"), but here he's taken a somewhat shallower version of that and glossed it over with a con man's swagger. Even better, he's able to show us the charming version of Dr. P (when he's with Amanda) and make it clear that while it's a good enough facade for Amanda to buy it, the familiar, despicable Dr. P is just under the surface.
The only major flaw in "School for Scoundrels" is a pair of subplots. There's a recurrent suggestion that Lesher rapes the worst students in the class, and Diego (Horatio Sanz, "Rebound"), one of the students, is the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of his wife. Whenever either of these comes up, it's treated as comedy. Domestic abuse and rape are, to my mind, too terrible to make jokes about unless they're handled carefully, but this film uses them as throw-away gags. Fortunately, they are not constant topics here, but they do come up enough to spoil things for the sensitive.
That aside, "School for Scoundrels" is a highly entertaining film. Heder and Thornton turn in solid, well-timed performances that bring out plenty of laughs, and are supported by a bevy of character actors.