Premium Rush. Action. ★★ 1/2 (Fair-Good)I usually enjoy movies that take unconventional, everyman roles and turn them into heroes. Daniel Koepp does this with NYC's bicycle messengers. Surreal "gaming" motifs are regularly inserted into the story, at times turning Premium Rush into a muted Scott Pilgrim. Stereotyped roles: the dirty cop, the ex-girlfriend, the Chinese loan shark, the self-obsessed rival, the impatient boss. Ironically Gordon-Levitt (the lead role) did injure himself while cycling too fast during shooting. An appropriately light-hearted movie worth seeing if you need to unwind.
Looper. Science fiction action. ★★1/2 (Fair-Good)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis play Joe Simmons' younger and older selves in this science fiction action thriller. "Looper" derives a unique premise from a previously unexplored possibility of time travel, an increasingly rare beast. There are glimpses of a larger world behind the sharply drawn characters thrust into the foreground, which gives the story a depth often lacking in modern sci-fi. The story would have worked better if the two leading roles could have looked a bit more like each other. Great entertainment, some implicit philosophical issues for a thinking viewer (like "Minority Report", are individuals already culpable for actions not yet committed? Can trying to avoid a certain future result in its very fulfillment?), and overall a lean and trim addition to the genre.
Argo. Historical drama/thriller. ★★★ (Good)
After "Good Will Hunting", Ben Affleck was been in so many bad movies ("Pearl Harbor", "Daredevil"), it is positively thrilling to see him succeed again. I never saw The Town, the only other film Affleck both starred in and directed, so this was a first for me. Based on a true story (certain points about the Iranian government and the role of the CIA have received criticism), this film had me on the edge of my seat for nearly the whole two hours. Ever since "A Separation" I have wanted to see another movie based in Iran, and with "Argo" I was able to revel in the Arabic world once again. Unfortunately, with American-Iranian relations at such a historic low, "Argo" exploits current public anti-Iranian sentiment and fails to engender any sympathy for the Iranian people. But in terms of raw entertainment, you can't get much better than this.
Cloud Atlas. Drama and science fiction. ★★★ (Good)
The most expensive independent film ever produced ($102 million budget) and the most recent work of the Wachowskis ("The Matrix", "V for Vendetta"). This is intended as a philosophical work, but only attentive viewers will pick up on the connections between the six stories from six different time periods, ranging from the 19th century South Pacific to the post-apocalyptic 24th century. This mosaic takes a dozen actors and recycles them with some consistency across the half dozen stories, which provides some guidance for the connections that are supposed to be made and the patterns supposed to be seen. After an ambitious three hours of airtime, I was satisfied with the movie's message, although many movie critics apparently were not. Worst movie of 2012? Best movie of 2012? Neither. Some of the mini-stories are compelling and interesting; others are not. Some of the philosophical points are said well (fighting against a greater power to find the truth and free oneself is the occasion to demonstrate the noblest qualities of our race) and others are not (actions and consequences of individual lives impact each other and last far into the future). My recommendation is to leave your snarky side at home and see what signs you can read in this ever-shifting Atlas.
Skyfall. Action. ★★ 1/2 (Fair-Good)
Martin Campbell directed the first, Marc Foster the second, and now this third Craig installment of this Bond reboot (after Brosnan derailed the franchise in an attempt to be "the last Bond") is directed by Sam Mendes, whom I love for "American Beauty" and "Revolutionary Road", but I didn't know he had a talent for action. Admittedly, this 23rd Bond film feels very different from anything else in the entire corpus, mostly because Bond is not playing spy but rather a bodyguard most of the time. There are still the great action and chase scenes but, for the first time, Bond is not the target. This being the case, Bond feels like another agent, and Bond's world has a chance to grow beyond the constraints of megalomania. In fact, I would suggest that the franchise has more fundamentally evolved with this film than with any other as far back as "On His Majesty's Secret Service", the first movie after Connery's retirement from the franchise, and the occasion of Bond's only marriage (his wife is killed shortly thereafter). The story arc that started in "Casino Royale" continues to develop his character into the roundest any movie Bond has ever been. I am still unhappy with Ben Whishaw's persistence as Q but hopefully that role will be recast next time around.
Silver Linings Playbook. Romantic Comedy/Drama ★★★1/2 (Good-Great)
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawerence co-star in this full and compelling romance about two people who have lost their spouses (although in vastly different ways) and struggle to move on. If half of the joy of this film is piecing together the backstory, the characters' motives, and the truth, the other half is watching them bounce off each other at each encounter. It's like nuts in a nuthouse. Each pair of characters exhibits its own fiery chemistry and the verbal exchanges are usually hilarious. The artistic and athletic performance that marks the climax of the film is beautiful. There are a few times when the situation is so surreal as to lose credibility and believability, but only a few. In the meantime the film sensitively explores questions of destiny, positive thinking. Cooper here shows a range of acting ability that he didn't need in comedies like "The Hangover" and "Wedding Crashers". Lawrence, incredibly, moves from her barely pubescent performance in "The Hunger Games" to acting opposite a man 16 years her senior, and miraculously she feels perfectly fitted for the task.
Lincoln. Historical Drama ★★★ 1/2 (Good-Great)
Daniel Day-Lewis gives a magisterial performance in Spielberg's new "Amistad" (1997). The sixteenth president is exactly as I always imagined him: self-possessed, sharply intelligent, approachable, powerful. The film moves back and forth between the epic and the personal, conveying both the critical historical juncture belonging to late nineteenth century Washington, as well as the intimate moments between Lincoln and his wife, sons, African-American soldiers, servants, and fellow politicians. What is essentially a two-and-a-half hour long West Wing episode goes by in a flash. I am no history buff so I cannot say to what degree the film is faithful to history, but I can say that it is faithful to American memory of it. What Spielberg clearly hoped to achieve in "War Horse" (2011), namely, a dramatic tribute to our collective interpretation of Lincoln, the civil war and the abolition of slavery, is achieved here. The final moments of the film should have been handled more deftly -- little screen time is given to the reaction of the President's family, and makes his death a rather cold and lackluster event. Spectacular supporting roles by Sally Field (Mary Todd Lincoln), Tommy Lee Jones (Thaddeus Stevens) and David Strathairn (Secretary of State Seward), all worthy of Oscar nominations. John Williams, too, for yet another flawless soundtrack. This film the inspirational powerhouse that "War Horse" could never be. Skip "Vampire Hunter".
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