(Sofia Coppola doing her thing)
When The Levees Broke (Spike Lee, 2006):This four hour HBO documentary/miniseries about New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina is an absolute must watch. It's one of the most impressive and comprehensive accounts of an American disaster I've ever seen. I don't think this movie was made with the people who lived through this tragedy in mind, it was made for the people who will study history in the future. This documentary will tell you most everything you need to know about what happened, it tells you the facts of the storm, the emotions of those who stayed behind, the failures of the government, the failures of the levees, the relocation efforts, all of it. Spike Lee doesn't try for too many tricks, he just asks people questions and they give their answers. The way he put those answers together though give you that comprehensive look at the disaster, though it certainly helps that many of the interviewees are so emotional and vivd in their descriptions. The music by Terrence Blanchard, also a New Orleans resident and interviewee, is beautiful and helps drive home the emotion as well. The interesting thing about this is that it's four hours long, but Lee could have said even more if he wanted to. It's a dense topic and Lee does a magnificent job of deciding which details he wants to keep in (usually personal ones) and how in depth he wants to go on many of the issues brought up. Lee has made an amazing documentary, and even if you have only a slight interest in Hurricane Katrina, I strongly encourage finding time to watch this. You'll learn a lot and feel a lot and you'll have something to show your kids when they grow up and ask about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina.
Grade: A
Somewhere (Sofia Coppola, 2010): It's true that I have my own personal sensibilities and I am well aware they will not always match up with the general populace, or even most film critics. Sofia Coppola is very much tuned to my sensibilities. Her patient visual style and clean photography are things that many critics would probably find refreshing, hence the very warm appreciation of "Lost in Translation," but "Marie Antoinette" and the recent "Somewhere" were not as received as warmly. Many complaints were about how many viewers didn't have sympathy for Marie Antoinette and Johnny Marco of "Somewhere" because of their relative success. I think what makes these characters work is that Coppola herself grew up famous and successful and that infuses her characters with a sense of personality. I may not relate to the characters, but I don't always watch movies to learn about myself, sometimes it's very useful to learn about others and know that they have their own issues and emotions different from what you might have. "Somewhere" is definitely very similar to "Lost in Translation," and while it's not quite as good as that, it's still a great film. I'd rather see a film very personal to a great filmmaker than a great filmmaker take on a character that he or she has no connection to. I am glad Coppola is taking on the social alienation of the rich, because she is uniquely qualified to take on this topic. She is a young skilled director that grew up famous and in the spotlight. She knows this topic and that's why she should be the one to bring it up, not only because she's lived through it, but because she's a great director. While I'm sure I'd eventually tire if she continued with this theme, so far at least, I am not tired of it at all.
Grade: A-
Animal Kingdom (David Michod, 2010): This Australian crime story focuses on one slowly dying family and their attempts to keep themselves up. It's a very well paced script with very good dialogue and some nice directorial touches, especially with the ambient and moody music. It's stunning to think that this is David Michod's first feature film. it's a debut that's comparable, though not quite as good, to Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck's recent German debut "The Lives of Others" (which is a very nice compliment because that movie was an incredible debut). Michod's script is great as well as his directing. His uses slow motion to give poignancy to scenes (he was very close to overdoing it though), unlike Zack Snyder who uses slow motion to make things look cool (who always overdoes it). Sprawling crime epics are right up my alley, films like "The Godfather," "Goodfellas," or this years "A Prophet" are films I love. These types of crime epics can shine a unique light on society and also on the individuals who make up society. My only complaint about this film is that I feel like it could have done a lot more to shine a light on other members of society, like the police or lawyers. The film is called "Animal Kingdom" and I was disappointed that it didn't go as deep into the idea that this criminal-police relationship is a part of an ecosystem. But what is surprising is that even though it didn't get that sprawling epic part of the story down, it still works extremely well as a story about one crime family. Michod is definitely a director I will keeping a very close eye on, I do hope he perfects his skill and uses his newfound success for good, and not studio cash.
Grade: B+
The Hudsucker Proxy (Joel & Ethan Coen, 1994): I know what the Coen Brothers tried to do with this one, but I'm not sure why they did what they did. It is very obviously meant as a tribute to the screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's, but I'm not sure why the Coen's thought that would be a worthwhile genre to tribute. The plot and the characters are all predictable and simple, and I'm sure there wasn't a whole lot of effort to make them complex, since that would not fit into the tribute they were trying to do, but that begs the question, is it worth tributing movies that aren't worth tributing? I'm sure if you really enjoy that screwball style from then you'll enjoy this, but even then I don't think this will be something truly memorable. There are definitely things to enjoy about the movie, there are certain scenes that are pretty funny and the Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance as the fast talking female trying to rise to the top is especially fun because of how well she emulates the line reading of that period. The set decorations are great to look at as well. The Coen Brothers are definitely eclectic in their tastes, and have a love for old Hollywood classic films, which can sometimes tend to be their downfall if they only emulate without adding their own senses to it. Classical Hollywood style was not very exciting, and emulating that will not make it more exciting.
Grade: C+
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