Killing Me Softly

First Hit:  The not so subtle killings, the state of the economy, and a thugs life are oddly displayed here.

Three dumb smart guys think they’ve got a way to crash and rob a mob protected card game of about $30 – $50K. Because Markie (played by Ray Liotta) is hosting the game and it is believed he had previously robbed his own game, the three dumb smart guys Frankie (played by Scott McNairy), Russell (Ben Mendelsohn), and Johnny (Vincent Curatola) think that robbing the game, the mob will think Markie did it again, kill him and they’ll get off scot-free.

At first they think they are in the clear but then the mob catches on. Jackie (played by Brad Pitt) is the lead hit-man for the mob and is assigned to kill the perpetrators of the robbery because these games need to be trouble free and the mob's money protected.

In the background during this film there are multiple snippets of Bush talking about the instability of the economy as well as Obama talking about what he would do to change the economy along with how unprotected our money is.

All this is to give the audience an impression that mob life and their freedom to control the safety and free flowing-ness of their ill begotten money is as sacred and reflects the trouble and required for the safety of our money in the economy. Jackie doesn’t want to “do” all three of the dumb smart guys so he hires Mickey (played by James Gandolfini) who appears to be at the end of his usability. He spends all his time and money drinking any alcohol he can find, screwing as many whores he can hire and is fatalistic in that he thinks his wife is going to leave him and he’ll end up back in prison.

His scenes are strong, very powerful and watchable, but you can’t help but think this guy is on the fast track to death. With this new problem, Jackie also has the issue of working with new mob hierarchy which he requires approval from the mob HQ to make these hits and the price must be negotiated to make each hit. But Jackie being and "in charge guy" takes care of all the problems as quickly as he can.

I’m not really clear about the point of this film, because of the pointed background dialogue about the economy, community, and how hard it is to make changes within the economic community in America and how it is congruent with the difficulty of getting permission and getting the right price for wacking someone who steals from the mob.

It might have been better without this twist. But the tagline was suppose to set the audience free: "In America you're on your own."

Liotta is clearly sufficient as guy who got away with something once but probably should be wacked anyway. McNairy is very good as the guy trying to be a smart dumb guy. Mendelsohn was fantastic as the smart dumb guy who is so stoned but believes he’s got his game together. Pitt is good but he felt restrained in this role for some reason. Gandolfini is fabulous and the hit man who has run his course and running out of gas. Andrew Dominik wrote and directed this film and neither were great, although some of the scenes were shot very well.

Overall:  This was a mediocre film and boarding on being less than mediocre, but the few outstanding performances keep it from totally failing.

Life of Pi 3D

First Hit:  Extraordinary visualization of the story and a little long winded.

This film is worth seeing in 3D because it is, at times, visually arresting.

It is hard making something this beautiful when most of the film is on the blue water, with a blue sky, and a single white boat. But Ang Lee makes it work extremely well. What didn’t work, like the book, was the long winded set up.

A writer comes to visit Pi Patel (Adult character played by Irrfan Khan), to hear his amazing story. Their dialog and the early set up of Pi’s life takes up more of the screen time than necessary. In a book it is sometimes necessary to create long narratives to ensure the readers get the picture.

With film, it is an easier task to make the picture clear in the audience (a picture is worth a thousand words) and this film is proof. Finally when we do get into the heart of the story with Pi Patel (played by Suraj Sharma) it with amazement that we watch how he navigates and negotiates life of living on a small 26-foot lifeboat with initially, an orangutan, zebra, hyena and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

Nature takes its course with the animals so it comes down to just the tiger and Pi creating a tentative working relationship. Again, just like the beginning, it seems as though we spend more time on the water than necessary. There could have been 10 minutes taken out and it would have made no difference to the story. Then we have, like in the book, the questionable ending.

Outside of these issues, this film was very joyous to watch.

Khan was perfect as the older Pi Patel in that he brought the kind of earnestness and life view that could only have been gained from such an adventure. Sharma was wonderful as the boy who had to become a man by living through 200+ days on the sea with a Bengal tiger. He did this through his ability to learn, grow and be creative in his determination. David Magee wrote a screenplay that was right in line with the Yann Martel’s novel. Ang Lee did an amazing job with the visual part of the film, some snipping of its length would have enhanced it.

Overall:  This was an amazingly beautiful film to watch and is worth the 3D price.

Anna Karenina

First Hit:  Unfortunately a failed attempt at a stylized version of a great story.

A great love story has to begin with chemistry.

Here, we have a beauty (and I mean this) in Keira Knightley (playing Anna) repelling her husband Jude Law (playing Karenin) for Aaron Taylor-Johnson (playing Vronsky).

This premise just didn’t work. Although Taylor-Johnson is handsome enough there wasn’t any chemistry with Knightly. On the other hand, when you have an unshaven Law playing her husband with his sublime sense, one wonders did they mix up the roles. Anyway, this was only part of the problem with this film. It does this odd thing of flip-flopping between being a play in a theater, using the theater as a backdrop, and then dropping the theater aspect altogether and we're in a real life scene.

This mistake of switching venues and perspectives takes away from the story because one’s mind has to readjust to the story – again and again. Why make a Tolstoy story even more complicated? Was Knightley the right person to play Anna? Probably not, because when I read the book (some 30 years ago) I pictured a woman who was older and maybe more weighty and round.

Additionally Law didn’t seem 20 years older than Knightly as the story describes. The other story in this book is between Princess “Kitty” (played by Alicia Vikander) and Levin (played by Domhnall Gleeson) is a little more romantic and there is actually some chemistry in their relationship as the film moves towards its ending. I found it amusing that the nicest people in the film are Karenin and Levin.

Knightley, was miscast but her performance was one of the strongest in this film. Law had an uninteresting role but his inner beauty and strength did shine. Gleeson was the most interesting character in the film but that isn’t saying a whole lot. Taylor-Johnson did not hold up the role as the “to die for lover”. Vikander was good. Tom Stoppard wrote a tired screenplay from a great book. Joe Wright got mixed up early on as to what type of film he was making and it showed.

Overall:  Don’t bother to watch this film.

Silver Linings Playbook

First Hit: A well-acted film about how people can find peace in their lives by looking from within. 

Pat (played by Bradley Cooper) leaves a mental hospital where he found himself after an outburst of anger where he nearly kills his wife’s lover. Justified?

No and this is what the film is about. It is about finding other ways to recognize and re-channel feelings that can lead to strong physical and emotional outbursts. He still loves his wife Nikki (played by Brea Bee) and believes she will come back to him if he loses weight and becomes a nicer and more rounded individual.

His father Pat Sr. (played by Robert De Niro) is not the best example for him to follow. His entire life is wrapped up in the Philadelphia Eagles and his passion is so high that he is permanently banished from coming to the stadium games because of fighting.

While at his friend Ronnie’s (played by John Ortiz) house he meets Tiffany (played by Jennifer Lawrence) who also has a history of acting out. Her acting out is through sex with anyone after her husband dies.

This story is about how these two find the silver linings in their own lives through their relationship.

Cooper is strong and good as a guy who is focused on getting his wife back if only he can act right but finds his buttons being pushed from every vantage point. De Niro is good as the father seeing how his own behaviors contribute to his son’s struggles to find himself. Lawrence is amazing (Oscar worthy) in this role. Her eyes showing both strength and vulnerability in this role show why she’s one of the very best young actresses to make the scene. Ortiz is wonderful and perfect as Cooper’s true friend. David O. Russell wrote and directed with very wonderful script. I loved how he was able to have 3 – 4 people yelling all at once, yet have each point be clearly made.

Overall: This was a very fine film and deserves to be seen.

Lincoln

First Hit:  Fantastic acting in a wonderful slice of Americana.

I was overwhelmingly amused that we had just finished an election where the Republican Party devastatingly lost its credibility and mojo while this film showed Republicans at their finest.

Make no bones about it; Lincoln’s Co-Republican group were what drove the 13th Amendment into the law of the land while Democrats floundered in a generic stupidity of beliefs. Who learned from this lesson – the Democrats and it was the Democrats that brought our first black President back for a second term.

In Lincoln the focus is on a short few months from when he was elected to a second term until his assassination. Lincoln’s task was to ensure the freedom of blacks in America before the ending of the Civil War.

His premise was that if the war ended prior to passing the 13th Amendment, this law would fall by the wayside and blacks wouldn’t have their deserved freedom. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Lincoln as a thoughtful complex intelligent man whose single-minded focus kept the Republican dream alive.

He cared not so much for what was on the outside, but what was in a person's heart and what was right. Wife Mary (played by Sally Field) was, in this time of her life, grief stricken by the loss of one of their sons and despite her strength and intelligence was prone to fits of despair over loss. 

Day-Lewis is extraordinary and will certainly get an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Lincoln. He embodied the drive to create equality for the blacks in America. Field was strangely complex and powerful in her role as Marry Todd Lincoln. David Strathairn was pointedly strong and loyal as William Seward, Secretary of State. Tommy Lee Jones was amazing and perfect as Thaddeus Stevens the long time proponent of the 13th Amendment. Jackie Earle Haley was great as Alexander Stevens the Southern States representative during negotiations with Lincoln. Tony Kushner wrote a powerful and compelling screenplay while Steven Spielberg delivered a Oscar worthy turn as director.

Overall: If Republicans want to get their mojo back they need to watch and learn from this film – the Democrats obviously learned through history.