The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

First Hit:  I couldn’t wait for this to end and I'm pleased that I'll never have to watch this story again. This film got old within the first 15 minutes. The convoluted story about some Italian Vampires being the ruling class (Like the Pope over Catholics) was insipid. The acting and drama being attempted by Bella (played by Kristen Stewart) and Edward (played by Robert Pattinson) to create a caring viable story is even worse. The best thing about the film is some of the outside scenery shots of the State of Washington. Some of the other characters were amusing but in the overall scheme of things this series of books needed to be filmed in 1 or 2 films (not 5). Although the films might be financially successful, from a film point of view they will be lost in a few years and not show up as having much redeeming value.

Stewart continues the role in the same way she began the series but at least now there is more to her. Pattinson still cannot act and what he does has been worn very thin. Taylor Lautner is OK as the Werewolf who likes to hang out with Vampires. Melissa Rosenberg wrote this insipid script while Bill Condon phoned in direction which came out as “I don’t really care about making a good film”.

Overall: Don’t waste time or energy sitting through this movie.

The Sessions

First Hit:  A touching thoughtful film.

In 1980 I audio recorded a conference on sexuality and the handicapped and disabled. It was very eye-opening and enlightening. During the 3 days I learned so much about how sexuality can enter and be embraced fully in a handicapped or disabled person’s life.

Here, the story is around Mark O’Brian (played by John Hawkes) who got polio when he was 8 years old. He wasn’t expected to live very long but now he’s over 35 and he’s still going strong. He lives most of his days in an iron lung in is small apartment and writing poems. He has helpers who moved him from place to place after he got involved in too many accidents with his electric gurney.

During the film he goes through different daytime women helpers, one with whom he falls in love. He’s never had a sexual relationship and decides he wants one and asks his priest Father Brendan (played by William H. Macy) if it would be OK – sex out of marriage.

He begins to work with a sex therapist named Cheryl (played by Helen Hunt). Here is where the acting becomes phenomenal. All the actors seem to fully embrace this story and their roles with deep compassion. Vera (played by Moon Bloodgood), his latest keeper is matter of fact, direct, and certainly someone I’d trust to be a caretaker. Her interaction with the hotel clerk is great.

Cheryl is beautiful, compassionate and hardened by her current life with a husband who doesn’t do a whole lot. The hardened part is seen around her mouth and the occasional forced smile. Mark is constantly fighting the battle of fear of the unknown and embracing becoming a sexually experienced man.

This film is very well acted by all.

Hawkes is amazing in this role and reflects O’Brian’s fears and limited abilities in an effective way. Macy was superb as the catholic priest whom guides Mark to explore his sexuality (“I think God will give you a pass on this”). Hunt is phenomenal as Cheryl and displays the right touch of vulnerability and factual practical empathy. Also very brave of her to appear fully naked over and over again in this role. As one would expect her own stuff appears and the way she internalizes it is shear talent. Bloodgood is wonderful in her role as caretaker. Ben Lewin wrote a very strong screenplay and also directed this film openly crisp.

Overall: Both educational and powerful in its execution by all actors.

Flight

First Hit:  Exciting beginning with amazing scenes of the flight and crash.

This film uses a very taut elongated scene of a plane crash made both believable and unbelievable because the opening scene of pilot Whip Whitaker (played by Denzel Washington) finishing up a wild night of sex and drugs with his co-worker flight attendant Katerina (played by Nadine Velazquez) just before they get on the plane to fly it from Florida to Georgia.

A couple lines of coke, a couple mini bottles of vodka and he’s on his way. At take-off he scares his Christian co-pilot Ken (played by Brian Geraghty) by flying through a hug storm and when he gets to clear air he hands the plane over to him while falling asleep in a comical pose.

When the plane, all of a sudden, heads into a full dive, Whip wakes up and takes charge. Amazingly he figures out to keep the plane from diving straight into the ground by going inverted and just before they hit an open field he’s aimed for, he flips the plan upright and out of the 102 passengers and crew all but six make it.

The film's other story is about Nicole (played by Kelly Reilly), a long suffering drug using masseuse. She ends up in a hospital from OD’ing after shooting up some powerful heroin. She meets Whip when they are both in the hospital and there is a connection.

Here is where the film gets interesting because when they are both on the screen, it isn’t Whip I’m watching – it’s Nicole. There is an amazing strength and vulnerability Nicole shows which not only draws in Whip, it entices the audience. When both are fighting their inner demons about ready to do their drug of choice, it is Nicole that my heart wanted to help. Nicole choses to get sober and although she tries to assist Whip, he’s not ready.

When the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) investigates, they are suspicious about Whip and his being drunk. In the decision scene, the audience wonders will he save his ass or will he own the truth.

Washington is excellent as Whip, a very functional alcoholic and commercial pilot. The scenes where he’s in his uniform, walking down a hall with his sunglasses on says it all, I’m in control as long as you can’t really see me. Velazquez is good as his current squeeze and attendant who saves a young boy. Reilly, is superb and steals every scene she is in. Geraghty is great as a his Christian co-pilot. Bruce Greenwood is very good as Whip’s old pilot friend and head of the pilot’s union. John Goodman is oddly and interestingly cast as Whip’s old hippy like personal drug dealer. Don Cheadle is strong as Hugh Lang the Pilot’s Union lawyer. John Gatins wrote a great and interesting script. Robert Zemeckis directed this film in a very tight focused way.

Overall: This was a very good film and worth the ride of watching the highs and lows of a man’s life.

Chasing Mavericks

First Hit:  I wanted more surf scenes and less of the drama that had little impact on the film's point.

A young Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston) is fascinated by the ocean and the movement of waves.

His interest is peaked by self-discovering that the time between waves can have something to do with their height and massiveness. As a Santa Cruz young fatherless boy who takes on getting his mom (Kristy played by Elisabeth Shue) up and going in the morning so that she can get to work on time, working double shifts at a pizza parlor to help pay the rent, and his fascination with surfing, he finds a father figure hopeful in Frosty Hesson (played by Gerard Butler).

Frosty is married to Brenda (played by Abigail Spencer) and they have two children to whom he rarely relates to. Of course there is a back-story as to why and it is that he was put into an orphanage as a young boy, so he doesn’t get close to anyone except to Brenda.

The set up works well enough and Jay and Frosty begin a relationship based around Jay’s desire to ride Mavericks a surf spot an hour or so from his home. Mavericks was a phantom spot until word got out it was real and the waves there on a particular storm swell will rise higher than 40 feet and even up to 60. You know the ending already, so there are no surprises.

But if the directors lopped 15 or so minutes off this film, it becomes much better. The wave shots are really good and having stood on the cliff overlooking Mavericks during a swell, this film does enough justice for the audience to feel the power of these huge waves.

Weston is good and at times strong as Jay. Watching his body build up to take on Mavericks along with his joyous enthusiasm was very good. Shue was good as the struggling single mom who gains strength as the film moves along. Butler is perfect for this role with the right amount of dis-attachment and engagement. Spencer's face is so beautiful that it is mesmerizing. Leven Rambin plays Jay’s lifelong girlfriend Kim and her sunny disposition works well with Weston. Kario Salem and Jim Meenaghan wrote the well-meaning screenplay but they could have left out stuff to make this film crisper. Michael Apted and Curtis Hanson co-directed this film with some great footage but didn’t know what to leave on the cutting room floor.

Overall:  Enjoyed many aspects of this film.

Cloud Atlas

First Hit:  A difficult concept to make believable in film but here it works fairly well and is interesting.

The concept that the energy/spirit of who we are never ceases to exist and manifests itself in bodies is not new.

His Holiness Dalai Lama has revisited us 14 times. If you watch the Martin Scorsese film “Kundun” (HHDL’s nickname) you will see an enactment of his discovery of who he is and was. Anyway, Cloud Atlas takes us through people and their connections through many different expressions of their lifetimes.

Tom Hanks plays multiple versions of a good guy as does Halle Berry his connected partner. This very long (almost three hours) film goes by surprisingly fast because there are 6 story lines the audience has to follow.

The credit for this film being engaging and interesting is to the fine direction under Tom Tykwer with Lana and Andy Wachowski. I found myself wanting to know more (and read this also as caring more) about some story lines versus others. T

here were storylines I wanted to dismiss quickly while others I had more interest in. Without tipping my hand too much, the future stories were more interesting to me as were 2 of the historical stories. At times the scenes and sets were amazing in their ethereal beauty while others were sharp in their rough starkness.

Without me having to go back (and I won’t) watch it again, what struck the following day was; did anyone learn enough in their previous versions of themselves to go from being a bad guy to a good guy? Was there redemption? I don’t think so. This thought took me to thinking how much better this film might have been if an energy/spirit learned from their past behavior and moved to a different based energy. But then again it would have been a whole other film.

At one point the film did strike a chord in me which I think is true: “Love is real. Everything else is an illusion. Live in this realm and you will be at peace.”

I wondered how hard it was for the actors to stay in character for all the roles each had to play – and therefore kudos to all. Hanks was very good but typical of himself in his roles as Dr. Henry Goose, and 5 others. Halle Berry was strong in her 6 roles. Jim Broadbent was really fun to watch in his 5 roles. Hugo Weaving had 6 really disparate but interesting roles as the bad guy. Jim Sturgess was the young hero in 7 roles and did this well but I didn’t think the Asian makeup worked well. Doona Bae was mesmerizing as Sonmi-451 (interesting reference to another famous 451) and her scenes stole much of the film. Lana and Andy Wachowski along with Tom Tykwer wrote an interesting screenplay from David Mitchell’s book Cloud Atlas (named for a symphony). They also did an outstanding job of keeping this long film moving and engaging the audience.

Overall:  Interesting, far reaching, and well done but not great.