Life, Death, and Catfish

Movies: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Like The Tree of Life, which won the Cannes Palm d'Or prize this year, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, the winner of last year's Palm d'Or, is beautiful, slow, and weird as hell. It boggles the mind, but Uncle Boonmee actually has less of a coherent plot than The Tree of Life. This is not to say that a thin or non-existent plot is inherently wrong, it just means that films like these aren't really meant for entertainment purposes. But when does a movie cross the line from being unusual and unique, to incoherent and weird for the sake of being weird? That's a line viewers must draw for themselves.

I was quick to praise The Tree of Life, giving it 4.5 stars on this blog, not because I enjoyed it immensely, but because I thought it was beautiful and figured "Hey, it must be important!". Well, I'm kind of rethinking my position. Tree of Life, like Uncle Boonmee, is certainly a unique vision that blasts right through the conventions of film, and I admire that. Both films must mean...something. But they are so personal to their respective directors and so symbolic and so out there that it seems impossible to make sense of what the films are trying to tell us. In addition, Uncle Boonmee is a Thai film. At least with Tree of Life, I understood the American tropes of small town suburbia and the nuclear family. I almost don't want to try to interpret Uncle Boonmee since I have so little knowledge of the culture and traditions it came from.

So I won't try. Instead, I'll briefly explain the plot of Uncle Boonmee and a few personal impressions I got from it. The film centers around the titular Boonmee, a man in his early 60's who is dying of kidney failure. His sister-law-comes to live with him and take care of him during his final days. In addition, the ghost of Boonmee's long-dead wife arrives (everyone, not just Boonmee, can see her) as well as Boonmee's long-missing son, who, after mating with a female monkey ghost, has become a monkey ghost himself--covered in black hair, with red, glowing eyes.

Then there is a random interlude where a woman (played--I think--by the same woman who plays Boonmee's sister) goes down to a waterfall and has sex with a catfish. Yes, this actually happens.

Eventually, Boonmee and his family travel to a cave that Boonmee says is "like a womb". He passes away. After his funeral, Boonmee's sister and her niece are counting the money they received from friends and family after Boonmee passed on. Brother Tong, a monk, stops by to take a shower. He and Boonmee's sister go out to get food...but actually, their spirits go out to get food while their bodies remain in the hotel room.

The end.

Some observations and thoughts:

* Certain scenes, including the crazy-ass catfish sex scene, are beautifully filmed and have a poetic quality to them. The scene I liked the most was when Boonmee's dead wife holds him as he asks her where his spirit should go to look for her after he dies.

* There is a  theme of interconnectedness that runs through the film. If there is one idea or concept that can be extracted from Uncle Boonmee, it's that the line between this life and the afterlife, as well as the line between animals and humans, are paper thin. This movie is full of ghosts, monkey-ghost-humans, out of body experiences, and inter-species mating. It's all very weird, but also kind of interesting how the director blurs the lines between boundaries that are otherwise set in stone.

* The movie is very slow. The camera holds on certain scenes or landscapes for minutes at a time. I actually shaved off a few minutes of the movie by fastforwarding through the slow parts. Hey! Don't judge me! I didn't want to miss the beginning of The Daily Show.

* According to Wikipedia, the director explains: " the film is primarily about "objects and people that transform or hybridise". A central theme is the transformation and possible extinction of cinema itself. The film consists of six reels each shot in a different cinematic style. The styles include, by the words of the director, "old cinema with stiff acting and classical staging", "documentary style", "costume drama" and "my kind of film when you see long takes of animals and people driving". 


Ok, now that's kind of interesting to me. A meditation on death that is also a meta-meditation of the "death" of cinema. But is cinema dying? Or is it, and our expectations of it, evolving? If movies like Uncle Boonmee and The Tree of Life are winning awards, doesn't this show that visionary film and mash-ups of different genres are celebrated now? Does that equal death? Who knows. All I know is that I can't puzzle out what Uncle Boonmee means all on my own. It's an interesting film, for sure, but like the art of Sergej Jensen, Uncle Boonmee is too minimal and too unusual for many people understand or care about.

2.5 stars for enjoyment
3.5 stars for artistic vision

Also, I think director Apichatpong Weerasethakul may have ripped off the Guerrilla Girls with his depictions of the monkey ghosts.

 Guerrilla Girls

   

Monkey ghost

Be Better than Soulmates

Movies: Crazy, Stupid, Love

Crazy, Stupid, Love has a lot going for it, despite a few flaws that kept it from being a truly excellent and wonderful movie. It boasts a strong and funny cast: Steve Carell as Cal Weaver, doing his sad-sack schtick that never seems to get old; Julianne Moore, as Cal's wife, Emily, who unexpectedly asks for a divorce; Ryan Gosling as Jacob, a slick ladies' man who looks at pathetic Cal as a makeover project; Emma Stone as Hannah, who is onto Jacob's game, yet also falls for it.


These four characters own Crazy, Stupid, Love and I wish the movie had been entirely focused on their stories. Unfortunately, there are a couple subplots in the movie that are just, well, crazy and stupid. Cal and Emily's son, Robbie, has an inappropriate crush on their babysitter, Jessica, even though Robbie is 13 and Jessica is 17. This crush is not something Robbie keeps to himself. He tells Jessica repeatedly that he loves her, even after she tells him to bug off. Robbie even visits her high school and makes a dramatic and grand gesture of love, insisting that she's his soulmate and that she'll "learn to love" him. Sheesh, even though the kid is 13 and harmless enough, his obsession with her is genuinely creepy. And--semi spoiler here--Jessica gives Robbie a memento at the end of the film that is incredibly creepy and gross.

Meanwhile, Jessica nurtures an inappropriate crush on Cal that also appears out of place and bizarre in an otherwise sweet film. To me, Crazy, Stupid, Love is about four adults dealing with the ups and downs and complications of relationships--not about kids and their unrequited crushes. I don't have a problem with kids and unrequited crushes--I've had my fair share, after all--but the directors took these subplots in icky directions that distracted from the characters I was actually interested in.

Speaking of childish sensibilities, Crazy, Stupid, Love pushes the belief that there is one person out there for everyone, and when you meet them "you'll just know" and you'll "never stop fighting for them". In a flimsy romantic comedy, I would expect characters to swallow the idea of soulmates hook, line, and sinker. But I felt like Crazy, Stupid, Love was too good, too honest, too mature for this nonsense. There's a line where Cal wants to purchase jeans at the Gap and the fashionable Jacob tells him "Be better than the Gap". I wanted to tell Crazy, Stupid, Love to "be better than soulmates". Soulmates is the easy way out. Think about it: if you're watching a movie (a mainstream one, at least) and the two romantic leads have an argument or some kind of obstacle, but one of them says "you're my soulmate", or "you're the One", or even simply, "I love you"--it shuts down all other arguments and discussion. Movies that pull the soulmate move take romantic love for granted. They think that, in the end, romantic love will solve all problems and wash away all inequities. In reality, we know that love doesn't work that way. Yes, love can be transformative, and in some cases even more powerful than life itself. But the idea of "true love" presented in fluffy rom-coms is too much of a Deus ex machina to be believed: it immediately solves all problems. That's fine for a lot of movies, but Crazy, Stupid, Love *appears* to want to soar above all that, yet never quite does.

Inside Crazy, Stupid, Love is a better movie waiting to be born. There are moments of such honesty and longing (for example, a scene where Jacob tries to explain to Cal  his surprise--and fear--at discovering his own ability to fall in love) that make you feel as if you are spying on real people and not just watching actors say lines. Crazy, Stupid, Love is very slick (the characters are wealthy and educated, and spend their time in suburban malls and upscale bars), yet never phony. Still, the fact that the film rests a little too comfortably in the security that True Love will win out in the end--without truly addressing the dark side of relationships (stalking, obsession, promiscuity, loss of desire for one's spouse...the list goes on) that it hints at--brings an otherwise transcendent film down a notch.

Oh, and FWIW, Crazy, Stupid, Love has an awesome soundtrack.

3.75 out of 5 stars

The Key of Rock

Movies: Rock N' Roll High School and Get Him to the Greek

Rock N' Roll High School

Sample lyric: Fun fun rock n' roll high school/Fun fun rock n' roll high school


Although the above lyric recalls a less celebrated song that glorifies "partyin' partyin (yeah)" and "fun fun fun fun", Rock N' Roll High School, a sweetly anarchic comedy that revels in the joy of skipping class, getting to second base with your best gal, and the music of the Ramones, is the real deal. It's a true celebration of the power of music in a teenager's life, wrapped in an absurdist, genre-defying package.


The plot of Rock N' Roll High School revolves around the students of Vince Lombardi High School, specifically Riff Randall (P.J. Soles), the sweetest, most chipper rebel rocker you'll ever meet. Riff is obsessed with the Ramones and wants to share the joy of punk rock with her high school. Unfortunately, Vince Lombardi High has a new principal--humorless Miss Togar (Mary Woronov)--who is hell bent on whipping the school into shape.

This movie cracks me up because even though it's about punk rock music and causing mass mayhem (including arson) on public property, it's so darn lovable. When Riff meets the Ramones backstage at a concert, they're not shooting up or drinking heavily--they're just salivating over pizza! When the two star crossed lovebirds Katie and Tom finally get together at the end of the movie, they don't have awkward teen sex in the back of Tom's van--they just kiss! Rock N' Roll High School has the music of the late 70's, but the heart of a more innocent time. And the movie's sweetness makes the climax all the more hilarious and weird.

4 out of 5 stars

Get Him to the Greek

Sample lyric: When the world slips you a jeffrey/Stroke the furry wall


Get Him to the Greek, by contrast, is far more cynical (but just as hilarious) in its view of the music industry. Jonah Hill plays Aaron, a scout at a record company whose boss assigns him to travel to England and escort rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand, reprising his role from Forgetting Sarah Marshall) to New York for an appearance on the Today Show and then to the Greek Theatre in LA to perform an anniversary concert. Along the way, Aaron is forced to do drugs, have freaky sex, and undergo a number of enlightening/humiliating experiences in order to earn Aldous's trust and get him to the Greek.


First of all, I want to say that this movie is ingeniously cast. Not only are Hill and Brand perfect for their roles, the supporting actors are all unexpectedly hilarious. Sean "Puffy" Combs steals the show as Sergio, Aaron's flashy jerk of a boss, whose idea of "game changing" music is a rap song with the lyrics "I'm gonna fuck your shit/I'm gonna rock your bitch". Rose Byrne plays Aldous's ex-wife, Jackie Q, a British model and singer whose beauty and delicacy bely her filthy mouth and drug addiction. Elizabeth Moss (Peggy from Mad Men) plays Aaron's overworked doctor girlfriend. I thought her role would be one of those lame, two-dimensional "girlfriend" roles, but she and Aaron have a legitimate conflict when she's offered a residency in Seattle, forcing the couple to consider relocating. In addition, there are a number of amusing cameos sprinkled throughout the movie, from Tom Felton (Draco in the Harry Potter films) at a club in London to Paul Krugman at the Today Show. Watching Get Him to the Greek was like opening presents on Christmas--you didn't know what you were going to get next!

The film's cynicism lies in its satirical exploration of the modern music industry, where selling records is more important than artistic expression. The film opens at the video shoot for Aldous's latest single, "African Child", which pokes fun at pretentious white rockers trying to single-handedly "save" third world countries. Aldous even refers to his look in the video as a "white, African, space Christ" (Bono would approve). Get Him to the Greek accurately captures slick celebrity culture in which celebrity romances, divorces, and addictions are just as much fodder for entertainment as their music and movies are. The film also manages to get a lot of humor out of drug use, while simultaneously pointing out that drugs destroy lives and relationships. In true Judd Apatow fashion (he was one of the producers of the film), Get Him to the Greek has a sweet, moral message lying under a heap of drug and sex jokes.

I had relatively low expectations for Get Him to the Greek and I wound up being pleasantly surprised. Russell Brand may not have the widest range in the characters he plays, but he frickin' owns Aldous Snow.

4 out of 5 stars

There Was a Child Went Forth at Hogwarts

Movies: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2

Spoilers.


I am not a model Harry Potter fan. I've only read the first book and a little of the second. I keep meaning to pick up the third and read from there, but other books seem more interesting to me.

But in a weird way, not reading the Harry Potter books gives me a unique perspective on the films. I'm not concerned about whether or not every plot line and every character makes it to the movies. My concerns for each Harry Potter film are: 1) Is it fun? 2) Is it artistically done? 3) Can I follow it?

Based on these criteria, my favorite of the Potter movies (not including the last two) are The Prisoner of Azkaban for it's artistic vision and emotional weight (I wanted to cry when Harry realized that the vision he saw of a wizard performing the Patronus charm was not his dead father--but was Harry himself. Not exactly subtle, but still...) and The Order of the Phoenix for the sheer force that is Dolores Umbridge. I found myself not so enamored by the first two films in the series (kid stuff) and the Half-Blood Prince (I remember about 5% of what happened).

The first six films have their ups and downs, but the final two, The Deathly Hallows part 1 and 2, seem to be cut out of entirely different cloth. The safety of Hogwarts seems like a distant memory. Harry's isolation and fear are palpable. Imagine it: Harry's closest loved ones and mentors are dead, and he knows that Voldemort will not stop there. He will kill anyone and everyone to get to Harry. Although Harry has his loyal--perhaps insanely loyal--friends with him, he must surely realize that he's going to have to sacrifice himself in order to save those he cares about. And that is a task he'll have to face all alone.

The first part of The Deathly Hallows is concerned with Harry, Ron, and Hermione fleeing from Hogwarts (now under the supervision of Snape) and hunting down and destroying the horcruxes--objects with bits of Voldemort's soul. The second part brings us back to Hogwarts for a final showdown between good and evil.

I realized while watching this movie that the Harry Potter films become increasingly grim with each entry. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But while earlier films had dangerous situations that were leavened with humor, zaniness, and/or Ron screaming shrilly and pulling a face, the dangerous situations in The Deathly Hallows are just, well, dangerous. Take the scene where the gang breaks into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. In an earlier movie, this scene would have been done with a sense of wacky humor. Instead, when the trick vault ends up nearly suffocating Harry, Ron, and Hermione with luxurious objects like silver plates and gold coins that reproduce when touched, it just seems like another terrifying obstacle for the trio to overcome. And when Goyle sets fire to the room of requirement, forcing everyone to frantically search for an exit on brooms, I thought "My God, these kids are psychopaths!". Malfoy, Goyle, and the other kid (whatshisface) are no longer just bullies--they're arsonists and attempted murderers. Stupid, incompetent ones at that.

This change in atmosphere reflects the maturity (or loss of innocence if you like) of the characters, and it's what makes the final Harry Potter film so bittersweet. All of our favorite characters are grown up and forced--whether they like it or not--to kick ass in order to survive. Here is sweet Neville Longbottom assassinating the snake Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor. Here is the Weasley family, sobbing over Fred's dead body. I admire JK Rowling for having the guts to kill off major, beloved characters--because death and destruction is exactly what happens in a violent battle.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 unfortunately doesn't have room to fit in everything. I was surprised at how quickly the battle scenes went by. In the aftermath, we see Tonks on Remus Lupin lying side by side in death, and there's a throwaway line about how their baby will grow up to learn how its parents died fighting for a noble cause. Um, lame? Even the scene where Harry dies and meets Dumbledore in the afterlife seems to go by quickly (nice touch with the bloody fetus/Gollum type thing representing the part of Voldemort's soul in Harry). The movie is packed so full that it can only afford to linger on the most poignant and exciting scenes for a few moments before moving on.

But all of the flaws in the final Harry Potter film are understandable and unavoidable. You can't translate an epic book series to the big screen without breaking a few eggs, right? And I'm not sure if my lack of knowledge of the books made me more forgiving or less forgiving of the movies' foibles.

In the end, it doesn't really matter that I never read the books. Maybe I avoided some of the intense and complicated emotions that devout fans of the books who grew up with Harry felt. But I was still touched and awed by the final chapter, in which the Boy Who Lived grew into a man.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Hostile Work Environment

Movies: Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses' strength lies in its spot-on ensemble cast. In fact, you can't really talk about the movie without going into detail about the cast and the characters they play, which is exactly what I'm going to do now.

Some of the roles are played by the very actor who you would expect in that role, and they fit like a glove. For example, Kevin Spacey as the smirking, sadistic Dave Harken. Dave is Nick Hendricks's boss, played to a T by every-straight-man Jason Bateman, who grimly accepts that in order to get ahead, he must put up with Dave's cruelties and abusive behavior. Jason Sudekis and Charlie Day play Nick's buddies, Kurt and Dale. Kurt is a laid-back womanizer who is lucky enough to work for a great man, Jack Pellitt (Donald Sutherland). That is, until Jack has a heart attack, leaving his self-made company to his son, Bobby, a coke addicted weirdo who simply wants to milk his father's legacy for every penny it's worth. Dale is a talkative, slightly manic dental assistant who is a true romantic. In a voice over, he tells the audience that when he was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be a husband. He's about to get the chance to fulfill this dream after proposing to his fiancee. If only it weren't for his boss, Julia Harris, who enjoys sexually harassing and humiliating Dale on a daily basis, and threatening to blackmail him if he doesn't submit to her outrageous advances.

In addition to the actors who fit perfectly into their roles, there are some surprises. Jennifer Aniston (who is, by the way, secretly a good actress. See The Good Girl) eats up her role as Dr. Harris, the nymphomaniac dentist who has a mouth so filthy, all of the dental instruments in the world wouldn't be able to clean it up. Colin Farrell, hot under normal circumstances, is unrecognizable as Kurt's cokehead boss with a bad combover and beer gut. Also, Jamie Foxx, has a hilarious cameo as "murder consultant" named Motherf*cker Jones (nee Dean Jones--he didn't want to be confused with the actor from The Love Bug). It turns out that MF Jones never actually served time for killing anyone, but for pirating a movie.

Unfortunately, the strong cast doesn't change the fact that Horrible Bosses is, well, highly derivative. Of course, the very premise of the film--the three friends conspire to kill one another's horrible bosses--recalls Strangers on a Train. But in addition to that, Horrible Bosses has a number of jokes that are pretty much stolen from other movies. You know the scene in Annie Hall where Woody Allen sneezes on some expensive cocaine? Yeah, there's a scene like that in Horrible Bosses. And the scene in Dodgeball where Ben Stiller brings Vince Vaughn a briefcase with ten thousand dollars, and it's this tiny stack of bills? Also in Horrible Bosses. And the scene in High Fidelity where John Cusack fantasizes about beating up Tim Robbins with his coworkers cheering him on. You guessed it...Horrible Bosses has a similar scene.

I guess you could argue that there's very little new under the sun and that most movies steal from other movies. True enough. But it just seemed more noticeable in this film. Don't get me wrong--I laughed a lot during the movie. I just wish it had been a little more original.

Also, there were a lot of jokes about rape and sexual harassment. Rape and sexual harassment of men, to be specific, because apparently it's funny when that kind of thing happens to men. I mean, I expected a couple of jokes about how Dale is "lucky" to be harassed by his sexy, female boss, but I didn't expect all the prison rape jokes. It felt gross after a while. And worse than gross--tired.

Despite its flaws, Horrible Bosses isn't a total waste. It's got some legitimately hilarious moments. But, like Cedar Rapids, which I saw earlier this year, it's more of a Red Box rental than a full price ticket movie.

3 out of 5 stars

With Friends Like These

Movies: The Trip

Just as there is a Stephen Colbert and a "Stephen Colbert", there is a Steve Coogan and a "Steve Coogan"--a real man, and his character which sometimes bleeds into real life.

I've seen about 7 or 8 movies starring Coogan (a glance at his profile on IMDB reveals just how prolific the actor is). In a few of the movies he plays himself and in others he plays a character. In all of them he plays a self-important, pompous ass. So, my assumption is that the real Coogan is carefully controlling his career so that he always comes off, whether in character or not, as an ass. Either that, or Coogan is, in fact, an ass.

The Trip, like Tristram Shandy and Coffee and Cigarettes, is one of the films where Coogan plays "himself". And when I say he plays "himself", I mean he plays this asshole named "Steve Coogan", in the same way that Stephen Colbert plays an asshole named "Stephen Colbert" on The Colbert Report. Ok...now I'm just confusing myself. But you get my point. I don't really believe the real Coogan is like the Coogan he plays in The Trip. But then...maybe he is?

Anyway, in The Trip Coogan and his actor friend Rob Brydon take a road trip around north England, eating in the finest, hippest restaurants for a story for The Observer. The two men wine and dine, do celebrity impressions (Brydon's Michael Caine is unbelievable), and bicker. Coogan is narcissistic and aggressive, demanding the best rooms and constantly attempting to one-up Brydon. Brydon is laid-back and takes Coogan's jabs with good humor. The film also highlights the men's relationships with women: Brydon's loving relationship with his wife, and Coogan's fraught relationship with his semi-girlfriend, Mischa. In the end, Brydon comes off as a happy, goofy man with stable relationships and Coogan comes off as a bitter, insecure crank who is all alone. The end.

Seriously, that's it. While The Trip had its moments of hilarity, the film left me wanting something more. The dynamic between Coogan and Brydon was intriguing, but in the end, the message seemed too simple. I was left wondering what I had gained from seeing The Trip. I certainly hadn't lost much--the film was worth the money I paid for it, and, except for a few boring scenes, was an overall solid two hours of entertainment. But I didn't really get much out of it either. It was a wash. It was one of those movies where the funniest scenes are in the preview, and the feature length film offers a little more, but not much.

I'd recommend The Trip to fans of Coogan and/or Brydon and aficionados of British humor. Anyone looking for a light buddy-comedy will likely be disappointed.

3 out of 5 stars

An Uncommonly Gentle Man

Movies: Buck

Buck is a documentary about Buck Brannaman, a horse trainer who was one of the inspirations for Nicholas Evans's novel The Horse Whisperer (the book was, however, not solely based on him). Brannaman proves to be an ordinary man with extraordinary talents. Although he claims that any person with enough patience can become a horse trainer, Buck's way with animals seems truly exemplary. He trains young, spirited horses not by forcing the horse to obey, but by taking it at the horse's pace. He points out that a horse who acts wild and violent is often scared and on the defensive, so a good trainer will slowly gain the horse's trust by being gentle and non-threatening. Director Cindy Meehl shows Buck in action at various horse-training clinics. It's amazing to see how Buck's presence almost immediately calms the animals down.


In interacting with humans, Buck is similarly gentle, yet firm. He is not afraid to chastise owners of particularly unruly horses (he says that a horse's behavior is often a mirror of its owner), but he does so in a way that is helpful and never harsh. You can hear the pride and love in Buck's voice when he talks about his wife and children, though he doesn't gush. This man is the definition of the "strong and silent" cowboy type. He is soft spoken, but he's no pushover.

The truly extraordinary thing about Buck Brannaman is the fact that he emerged from an extremely violent childhood. Buck's father was physically abusive, beating Buck and his brother on a regular basis. The two boys were eventually removed from their father's household (their mother died when Buck was around 10 or 12 years old) and placed in foster care. Buck's foster mother is still alive and was interviewed for this film--and she is obviously a loving, gutsy lady who raised Buck to be the man he is today. Some people who come from violent homes grow up to perpetuate that violence; others have a difficult time with trust and communication as adults. Against great odds, Buck managed to thrive despite the horrible things he went through as a child. He discusses how when he first went to foster care, he was terrified of adult men and had difficulty speaking to them or looking them in the eye. But over time and with the help of a his foster mom and dad, he overcame these obstacles. It's pretty clear that Buck's experiences growing up--both being abused, and being rescued from that abuse--play a large role in his ability to understand and train horses. Buck says, "Abused horses are like abused children. They trust no one and expect the worst. But patience, leadership, compassion, and firmness can help them overcome their pasts."

Buck is a documentary that is inspiring without being sappy. The world would benefit from more people like Buck Brannaman.

4 out of 5 stars