Hereafter

First Hit: Sublime – This film tells a story of life after death in a way that lets audiences look at their own beliefs with equanimity.

This film develops three unique stories about the lives of three people who are touched by death differently and come together in an engaging and sublime way.

Most films dealing with death and the hereafter bring in stories of religion or prophecy (The Rapture is one) as the focus. This one alludes to science but not in an overhanded way. 

The science is about what people experience after dying is only used as assistance by one of the characters to write her book on her experience. It was a way for her to find words to what happened to her.

The opening scene has Marie (played by Cecile De France) on a south Asian island looking for souvenirs for her boyfriend’s children when a tsunami hits the town. She is swept up by the wave of water and I will tell you this that it is an absolutely amazing sequence of scenes as to what it could feel like to be swept away by water.

My own experience of near drowning when I was body surfing in the infamous Southern California south swells at Huntington Beach Pier while in high school was immediately touched and remembered.

The power of water to disorient direction and make one helpless to a commanding power of a raging sea is captured in this opening sequence. It is amazing! Left for dead, her body (with will/spirit/destiny) decides to come back and stay in this world.

The experience she had during the time she was not breathing and without heartbeat deeply affected her and leaves her her questioning her life. She becomes curious of what happened to her and her experience while she was dead for some minutes.

A young twin boy Marcus (played by both Frankie and George McLaren) loses his twin brother and feels lost and because his twin is gone, he feels like only part of him is still living and he feels totally lost. His mother, a drug addict, has to let the surviving boy live with foster parents, therefore he feels even a greater sense of being lost and abandoned.

The third story is about George Lonegan (played by Matt Damon) who as a child ended up, through illness and surgery, with the ability (curse) to connect with people who have passed on. This happens when he touches someone. At one time he was famous for doing readings for people but it was a life he disliked.

When we meet him he is working in a sugar factory, living alone, and his brother keeps trying to get him to go back into the psychic business. The issue of his being a psychic is brought full force when he meets a woman in a cooking class; they team up together in some of the films best and joyous scenes while in class. When she learns he has this gift she implores him to tell her what he sees, he does and she leaves his life crying.

These stories slowly weave together in a way allowing each character to be seen more fully as they struggle with their stories. George’s story is the primary story in that he is the connection between the other two characters.

This film is introspective, doesn’t try to push a belief or religion. It simply says, people who have had experiences where they have been clinically dead come back with an experience which poses the question is there life after death in the Hereafter.

Damon is extraordinary in this role of a man who tries his best to live with having the ability to understand and hear of departed souls. The McLaren boys were engaging and wonderful as the twins and the remaining boy Marcus. The depth and loss of a twin was effectively portrayed. De France was very good in what must have been a difficult role in the beginning where she had to give an accurate rendition of what it was like to be swept away in a tsunami. As her role unfolded I didn’t think her transformation was effectively written. Peter Morgan wrote this with an openness that didn’t force any one idea or spiritual or religious aspect. Clint Eastwood directed and he shows he knows how to pace a film. He used minimal special effects after the opening tsunami scene but used great acting to let the story unfold at an engaging pace.

Overall: I really enjoyed this film from the opening sequence to the questions it poses and how it always let the audience have their own opinion.

Secretariat

First Hit: A predictable, well shot, feel good film.

In some ways it is unfortunate that I followed Secretariat’s success when it actually happened in 1973.

My in-laws always traveled to the Kentucky Derby as they were from that state and liked the whole extravaganza of the Derby.

Watching television that day I watched as Secretariat came from behind and won the race in record time. The newspaper write ups kept me interested enough to watch the subsequent two races in the Triple Crown.

This Disney production brought back those memories in spades. However knowing the story made the film lack suspensefulness for me, yet there were enough audience members who didn't know the story which created an energy in the theater that was fun to feel.

Diane Lane playing the owner Penny Chenery, John Malkovich playing unlucky trainer Lucien Laurin, Nelsan Ellis as stableman Eddie Sweat, and Otto Thorwarth as jockey Ron Turcotte made a wonderful team around this amazing horse.

This is a story about a horse being allowed to run and a woman learning about her internal strength and perseverance. The best shot of the film is the rounding of the far turn at the Belmont.

The film goes silent and camera points down the inside rail from the finish line towards the end of the turn home. There is nothing, a camera shows the faces of the race watchers, you wonder, but it is just the moment before each of them realize they are seeing perfection.

The perfection of a horse running the race of our lives and as the horse rounds the home turn the sound comes back in and we are now all in concert with the beauty of this moment.

Lane is wonderful as Penny Chenery and clearly holds the screen when the horse wasn’t the central focus. Malkovich was funny and strong as the unlucky trainer who had great horses before Secretariat but they seem to lose the big races. Ellis as the stableman was perfect in showing his internal love and belief in the horse. Thorwarth was great as the Turcotte the jockey who knew how to communicate and let this house run. Mike Rich wrote a solid and predictable script. Randall Wallace did a great job of mixing drama with the drama and beauty of a horse running.

Overall: Regardless if you saw the event when it happened, it is wonderful to relive the moment once again.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

First Hit: There are strong themes in this film and it came together very well.

Suicide: Many young people consider this option as the pressures of life begin to unfold in the teen years. Many teens deal with these pressures differently; however there are a significant number who think long and hard about this option of checking out of this life.

Craig (played by Keir Gilchrist) is having thoughts and dreams of killing himself. In his dreams he begins the practice of acting them out but always stops. One night his dream has him going all the way. He awakes and heads to the hospital where they check him into the adult ward for 5 days of observation. Right after he gets a glimpse of who else is in the ward, he decides he’s cured and wants out. However his parents and the lead doctor think the stay will do him good.

Here is where the film could have fallen apart. It could have been a mockery of a mental health ward with Craig having odd or unintelligent interactions with others in the ward, but the film doesn’t go in this direction.

The writers and director (together Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck) head into the reality that each person in the ward is real with their own version of struggling with life and through this one can learn about themselves and others. One of the patients, Bobby (played by Zach Galifianakis), is a father who wants to get into a halfway house and spend time with his daughter but feels safe in the ward.

Muqtada (played by Bernard White) just stays in bed and sees no point in ever getting out of bed again. Then there is Noelle (played Emma Roberts) who is nearly the only other person in the ward that is his age. She’s there because she is a cutter and there is fear that there will be one cut too many.

As the film unfolds Craig learns about himself and others and a slowly begins to understand he can work with the pressure of life and knows he has change the things in his life that allow him to embrace it. Through his interaction with Noelle, Muqtada, Bobby and Dr. Minerva (played by Viola Davis) he finds his way and realizes it won’t always be easy but he can choose to make it work.

Gilchrist showed a great range in the part because it required him to have different sequences (like the one in which he sings “Pressure”) showing different aspects of who he could be and who he is already. Galifianakis was strong as a mentor and friend to Craig while also showing vulnerability and disappointment of his own life. Roberts was absolutely wonderful in her character. Davis was excellent as the ward psychologist. Boden and Fleck co-wrote and co-directed this film and it is their smart writing, well-crafted scenes and well executed storyline that made this film work.

Overall: This film may not get a lot of play, but it is a wonderfully crafted film in which the participants can be proud of.

The Social Network

First Hit: An absolutely wonderfully engaging film.

From the first opening moments this film puts you on notice; pay attention to the dialogue and that this film is about the main character Mark Zuckerberg.

Jesse Eisenberg clearly makes Zuckerberg his character and you’ll not be able to take your eyes off him when he is on the screen.

This film is not authorized by Zuckerberg and therefore there are questions about it truthfulness. Yet much of the film comes from interviews and court records which came to pass because Zuckerberg was sued by a college roommate and other college acquaintances in which he had made a business agreement with.

Regardless of the exact truth, the story is engaging and mostly because of the fine acting by Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield as his roommate and initial CFO Eduardo Saverin, and Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker (Sean Fanning) founder of Napster. The story doesn’t delve into the workings of Facebook and the decisions to add types of functionality into the product.

The story is about Zuckerberg and some of the motivations and single mindedness around creating Facebook as something that would change the world. The film is a study in different types of people and what motivates them. My only downside to this film was that the first scene showed an intense and somewhat angry young man, I wondered how Zuckerberg had gotten this way.

Eisenberg is wonderful at bringing the single mindedness of Zuckerberg to life. Watching Zuckerberg in interviews, especially the hour + long one recently held at a computer museum, it is clear that Eisenberg matched the fact that Zuckerberg is extremely intelligent and is unafraid to chart his own course and willing to make mistakes along the way. Garfield is strong as the jilted and shocked roommate who started with owning 7% of Facebook stock which was stripped to .03% by Zuckerberg. Timberlake is spot on as the wonderkind Parker (Fanning) who brought down the music business with his file sharing program and who shared his knowledge of what it takes to create a huge internet based business. Aaron Sorkin wrote the intense and wonderfully succinct screenplay. David Fincher expertly directed this team of actors through the complexities of the subject.

Overall: This is a very entertaining and interesting film, well worth the price of admission.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

First Hit: Enjoyed the acting and some of the shots of New York but the story wasn’t very well told.

It wasn’t until the following morning did I see the integration of the story. Maybe others got it more quickly but I didn’t.

As the credits rolled, I looked at my girlfriend, who made me wait a week to see it, and said, “What did you think?” Paraphrasing, she said it didn’t make sense and didn’t have a point. I saw her point but somewhere I knew it did make sense and had a point.

However, it didn’t come to me until the next day. Maybe I’m slow and the way this film unfolded made it difficult for me to put all the pieces together. However, I see more films than the average audience goer and I find it difficult to believe that I was the problem – but who knows.

Regardless, Michael Douglas reprises his role as Gordon Gekko the Wall Street financier who ended up in jail for insider trading in the first film. When he steps outside of the prison walls there is nobody there to pick him up. While in prison he wrote a best-selling book about his experience and heads out into the world once again.

His daughter Winnie Gekko (played by Carey Mulligan) wants nothing to do with her father, is running a website for alternative energy and lifestyles, and is living with a Wall Street trader named Jack Moore (played by Shia LaBeouf).

Moore is being mentored by an old and long-time street executive named Louis Zabel (played by Frank Langella). Their firm is in trouble and is going down the tubes if they don't get a cash infusion or are bought out. The government will only support a bargain basement buyout by a firm led by Bretton James (played by James Brolin).

Zabel is crushed by the turn of events and commits suicide by jumping in front of a subway train. The company collapses and Moore blames James on the death of both his company and his mentor. Revenge is in the air and when James listens to a talk by Gekko about the state of current Wall Street economics he decides to approach Gekko for his thoughts and assistance.

One of the most amusing scenes in the film is seeing Charlie Sheen reprising his role as Bud Fox from the first film and the exchange of conversation between him and Gekko at a fundraising event.

Douglas is wonderful in this reprised role. The taste and flavor he left on one’s mouth after the first film is, 13 years later, picked right back up again and holds true throughout this film. LaBeouf is engaging and strong as Moore. There isn’t anything great about this performance, yet I can’t think of anyone else who would have brought it together in his age group. Mulligan finally plays an age appropriate part. And here she gives a strong performance. Eli Wallach as Jules Steinhardt is interesting because he controls so much, yet says so little. It is his money that changes the game of the film. Brolin is wonderful as James the overly confident “we’re to big to fail” arrogance of the recent financial failure of Wall Street. Langella is good as the aging man who tried to keep up with the new deal making on Wall Street while stuck in the integrity of the older world. And Susan Sarandon as Jack Moore’s mother clearly portrays the stupidity and greed of buying real estate for an investment versus buying it as a home to live in. Oliver Stone directs this with some visually stunning shots of New York but the film lacks a clear story, is confusing and didn’t really provide the kind of power it could have by exposing the how of the recent financial melt-down.

Overall: Lacked cohesiveness in both its storyline and direction. However, it is definitely worth watching when Douglas in on the screen.