The Sisters Brothers

First Hit: This film had drama, comedy and interesting moments that were really strong, but overall it was an odd film.

The title alone will tip you off that this is an unconventional film. It opens with Eli and Charlie Sisters (John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix respectively) in a night time fire fight with some hombres in a cabin. The brothers are deadly and kill everyone and because the barn catches fire as well, the horses burn. One of the scenes that stuck with me throughout was when one of the horses runs out of the barn, on fire. This scene led me to believe that this film could have some difficult to watch scenes, and it did.

Think spider. Think horse mauled by bear. Think suicide. Think chemical burns. Think amputations. Yes, this film has large number of overtly horrible scenes, but there are also thoughtful scenes.

The Sisters Brothers work for the Commodore (Rutger Hauer). They are his hit men. When he wants someone killed, he sends them. After the initial scene, there are a few scenes that attempt to show the brother’s dynamics. Charlie is the younger and wilder of the two brothers. His back story, of killing their father, is briefly explored. Charlie also, like his father, drinks and gets drunk a lot. Eli works at being more thoughtful and progressive. Watch his look in using a toothbrush for the first time. Yet, when push comes to shove he’ll do anything and kill anyone to protect his brother and himself.

Their latest job for the Commodore is to track down Hermann Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed) who has created a secret formula that, when poured into water, highlights the gold. It makes the gold glow and thereby easy to pluck out of the water bed. Warm is being tracked by John Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal) for the Sisters brothers. He leaves them letters at towns along the way telling them where they are headed.

In one town, Mayfield, named after the town owner, Mayfield (Rebecca Root) the brothers run into a little trouble. She is controlling and decides she can make a name for herself if she kills the brothers. Sending groups of men after the Sisters, they all find their demise at the end of the Sisters Brothers' guns.

When the brothers finally catch up with Warm and Morris, they’ve a change of heart about their plans of working with the Commodore and together with Warm and Morris decide to create riches for themselves and move on.

The ending was a nice surprise and it did complete an odd and interesting story.

Reilly was fantastic as the older more thoughtful but loyal brother. I enjoyed his thoughtful dialogue about his life. The bit with the shawl and the hooker was interesting and moving. Phoenix was strong as the slightly touched, yet smart brother. The intensity of the brother’s dinner conversation in a San Francisco restaurant was excellent on both actor’s part. How their conversation elevated was wonderfully done. Gyllenhaal was wonderful as the bookish, thoughtful tracker and writer for the Commodore. Ahmed was wonderful as the chemist and dreamer of an egalitarian society. Root was strong as the matriarch of the town named after her. Hauer had a minor, yet pivotal role. Carol Kane (as Sisters Brothers’ mother) was great. Loved seeing Kane in a role again. Perfect casting decision. Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain wrote an odd, yet interesting and thought-provoking script. Audiard made some amazing choices about scenes and the scenery that this movie was shot in. I thought the San Francisco city scenes to be interesting as well as the Sisters’ dialogue while in the city.

Overall: Despite some difficult scenes to watch, this was an odd film, but the chemistry between the actor’s characters was amazingly wonderful.

Jason Bourne

First Hit:  Unnecessary shaky camera work got in the way of a sub-standard story about Jason Bourne.

I don’t mind shaky camera work when it adds to the excitement of a scene in a film. In some films it works really well (think “Breaking the Waves”). It can also be helpful when the audience is following someone who is running and other scenes like this. The technique becomes a mindless technique and distraction when unnecessarily used to create excitement.

The story needs to be exciting first and foremost. Paul Greengrass used a ton of unnecessary shaky camera work in this film. Examples abound, like when a sniper is setting up to shoot, the camera needed to be as still and calm as the in-breath and out-breath of a sniper making a clean shot. Internal and external landscape shots of an area so that the audience knows the the lay of the land instead of haphazard shots creating confusion for the audience.  

When I have the thought "why can’t the camera stop shaking", it is a distraction. The director doesn't want the audience thinking about why they cannot tell what is happening on the screen.

Greengrass may have used this technique because the story is less intriguing than the previous Bourne films (The Bourne Identity – 2002, The Bourne Supremacy – 2004, The Bourne Ultimatum – 2007, and The Bourne Legacy – 2012). The first three captured my attention mostly because the story was great, had passion, intrigue, and suspense. In the 2012 version, Matt Damon wasn’t playing Jason Bourne directly and therefore the film lacked the amazingness he brings to this franchise.

This version had Matt Damon back as Jason Bourne seeking to piece together his father’s death and involvement in Blackbriar while attempting to settle his own personal struggles of identity.

As an overall storyline it wasn’t the best, yet it did have a side story about today’s issue of using technology to track people and their actions. Here, the company creating software that can do this is lead by Aaron Kallor (Riz Ahmed). But the story and film are about Bourne and Damon is such a strong actor that he brings this character to life like no one else can. He makes Bourne complex, charming, physically capable, and chivalrous, or as much as a undercover CIA agent can be chivalrous.

The villain is still the agency as they believe he knows too much and will continue to expose their illegal covert programs. It was wonderful to see Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), his previous supporting agency agent, helping Jason to get additional information helping him to piece together the puzzle.

The film showing the kind of technology available to the CIA was very good and interesting. The new CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), as always, wants Jason eliminated. He uses an Asset (Vincent Cassel) to do the dirty work and like, Bourne he’s relentless.

Another bright spot was CIA Agent Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) who takes on the previous Pam Landy (Joan Allen) spot as head of the task force to bring Bourne in (or take him out). Lee, like Landy, connects with Bourne as a person and shows a level of compassion for his plight. One last note, I thought the car chase through downtown Las Vegas overdone and unnecessarily unrealistic.

Damon is Jason Bourne. In my eyes he’s the only guy who can pull off the character Jason Bourne because he created him. As usual, I loved his performance. Jones was OK as the crusty, old school, CIA Director but felt he was too crusty to run an agency that is filled with new progressive technology. Vikander was perfect for the part. Her strong, aggressive, and young female portrayal of a top CIA Agent in this world of progressive electronics was perfect. She was the opposite of Jones. Stiles was great to see again and her role really helped tie together Bourne and the new players in the agency. Cassel was perfect as the Asset. He does focused single minded action as good as anyone. Ahmed does a good job as being a software vendor who got into bed with the CIA and now wants out. Paul Greengrass and Christopher Rouse wrote a barely adequate script, but it was Greengrass’s direction that lowed the Bourne bar.

Overall:  Although shaky, it is watchable because Damon makes it work.

Nightcrawler

First Hit:  Amazing performance in a film about a dark undercurrent theme of our society.

We like voyeur’s views of the world. How do I know, watch television news. News programs would not be as popular as they are without having a certain voyeuristic view into other people’s lives, our lives.

Here we have Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is trying to make a life for himself. He’s a thief who sells stolen metal at junk yards. He runs up on a freeway accident where he watches a videographer filming the gruesome scene. He finds out that TV news stations buy this kind of video so he decides to become an independent videographer as a way to make an interesting living. It is to the depth in which he dives into this new role that highlights the film and the story.

Louis’ sleazy looks, acts of righteous knowledgeable indignation, slumping posture, while embodying the role of providing gory TV news film for money – that makes this film all-encompassing and watchable. While this film is about Louis’ voyeuristic ways, it is also about the audiences’ engagement with the video Louis shoots as well as viewing Louis’ life.

Gyllenhaal was so immersed and engaged that I believed everything about this character. Rene Russo (playing Nina Romina the News Director who buys Louis’ video) is absolutely fabulous. Her facial expressions at the date/dinner she has with Louis are amazing. Her directness in decision making in the newsroom – perfect. Riz Ahmed as Rick, Louis’ right hand man was extraordinary. Dan Gilroy wrote and directed this film. The writing was superb and his direction of the actors and scenes was, at times, riveting.

Overall:  This film was well done and Gyllenhaal made it this way.