Alright guys, after going on a movie-watching blitz over the past month, I'm in need of a catch-up post. Here are some Reader's Digest Condensed reviews of the movies I've watched recently.
The Imitation Game
For all the homoerotic slash fiction written about him, and the unflattering comparisons people make about him, it's easy to forget that Benedict Cumberbatch is actually a pretty good actor. The Imitation Game is a good--but not great--movie that elevates Cumberbatch above his cultural position as the most meme-able actor. Based on Andrew Hodges' biography Alan Turing: The Enigma, The Imitation Game tells the story of Turing, one of the many people who had a hand in creating the modern computer (no single person can be said the have "invented" the computer or the Internet, with apologies to Al Gore). Turing accomplished much in his short life, and with a group of colleagues at Bletchley Park, was able to crack the Enigma machine and thus crack coded Nazi messages, which helped the allies win WWII.
Instead of being treated as the hero he was, Turing was arrested and charged with indecency for soliciting sex with a man. He chose chemical castration over jail and died--likely by suicide--two years later. It's all too easy to look back at this period in history and say "well, they had a different culture back then". That's a sad excuse when you consider what other contributions Turing and other LGBTQ individuals could have given the world if their lives hadn't been constrained and cut short. Or, hell, forget contributions. They simply could have lived and loved like anyone else. The Imitation Game covers the events at Bletchley Park, as well as Turing's years in boarding school and his love for his friend, Christopher. The film isn't particularly remarkable, but it is well made, interesting, and boasts an excellent performance by Cumberbatch as the unsociable, blunt, and repressed Turing and Keira Knightley as his gentle, steadfast friend.
B-
***
Big Eyes
I wrote a brief review of Big Eyes in my "Best Of 2014" post, so I won't go into too much detail here. Big Eyes tells the story of artist Margaret Keane, known for her portraits of children with giant eyes. In the mid 1950's, Keane (nee Ulbrich) left an unhappy marriage and moved herself and her young daughter to San Francisco. There, she met Walter Keane, a charismatic aspiring artist who drew Parisian street scenes. The two fell in love and married quickly. Walter Keane encouraged Margaret's artistic side, but when the paintings began to sell, he began taking credit for them himself. He convinced Margaret to go along with the scheme (which was technically fraud) through a combination of gentle persuasion ("Nobody wants to buy lady art!", "We share the same wallet") and outright emotional abuse. After years of creating paintings that were sold under Walter's name, Margaret once again gathered the courage to leave a bad marriage. She then took Walter to court for slander and won.
Big Eyes is a delightful film directed by Tim Burton. It is one of Burton's most realistic and serious films in a long time, though there is enough of a wisp of his wacky humor and surrealism to give Big Eyes the edge it needs to transcend boring biopic hell. Burton really was an excellent choice to bring this unusual story to the big screen.
Amy Adams is wonderful as Margaret, a woman both strong and very, very naive. Christoph Waltz goes a bit over the top with the typical charismatic abuser schtick that he does so well, but I love the actor so much that I didn't mind watching him do his thing even if I didn't fully buy it. Bit parts played by Jason Schwartzman, Danny Huston, and Krysten Ritter round out the film and give it some additional color.
B+
***
Proxy
Talk about a bat-shit crazy film. Proxy is a psychological thriller available streaming on Netflix. In some ways it reminded me of Possession, the 1981 film about a woman's descent into insanity, only Proxy is 1,000 times more interesting and 1,000 times less insufferable than Possession (a film I gave the lowest rating ever to on this blog). I can't tell you too much because Proxy is a film that has the ability to shock and surprise over and over again.
Bare bones plot outline (or feel free to stop reading if you want to see it with a 100% clean slate of ignorance): a young woman named Esther is the victim of a violent crime while she is enormously pregnant. In the wake of this traumatic event, she attends a support group and meets a woman, Melanie, who appears sympathetic and understanding. However, Esther finds out some information about Melanie that suggests Melanie is not being honest with Esther. That's basically all I can say without giving too much away.
I went back and forth on Proxy, at times thinking it was an over-the-top piece of garbage, and at other times thinking it was riveting and genius. One thing is undeniable though: you will be thrown for a loop if you watch this bizarre film.
B-
***
The Thin Man
Don't you just love comedies from the 1930's and 40's? I know I do. I like how sassy they are and how fresh they feel even today. The Thin Man is 80 years old, but feels like it could have been written yesterday. It's the first in a series of films staring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a couple who drink, investigate crimes, drink, flirt, drink, and drink. This is the first Thin Man movie I've seen, so I can't speak for the sequels, but it seems that the big draw to these movies is the witty banter and playfulness between the leads. Nick is called upon to investigate the murder of Julia Wolf, a secretary to an inventor, Clyde Wynant, who has recently gone missing. After talking to various people, including Wynant's ex-wife, daughter, and employee, Nick realizes that the problem isn't a lack of suspects--it's too many suspects. Everyone seems to have a motive for killing Julia. Nick and Nora hatch a scheme to suss out the murderer, which climaxes in a hilarious and delightful scene. The 1930's must have been awesome, since according to The Thin Man, murder was a perfectly good excuse to throw a party.
A-
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