It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's not often that you see two names credited as director on a Hollywood movie, but with, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck share the spotlight and deliver a truly touching film. Apparently, they also collaborated on writing the screenplay for the film as well (Credit is due to Ned Vizzini also, as he wrote the novel which the movie is based off of). This film delivers laughs, while examining the life of a modern day American teenager who's dealing with pressure from his parents, friends, and community to be successful.

I'm interested to know what aspects of the film were directed by Fleck and which ones by Boden, primarily because it's unorthodox and sort of strange for a movie to have two directors. Especially, for the actors in the film to have competing voices telling them how scenes should be done and that such. But, also because I really enjoyed the film the way it was released, so I can know more about which director pushed more for this scene to make the final cut or how he/she wanted this scene to be scored. Really, very interesting stuff..

Anyways, It's Kind of a Funny Story, is just that and it's quite a lot more. It has a big heart and some familiar faces in different roles than they usually play, which I usually find to be a good surprise.

Rabbit Hole

Nicole Kidman is astoundingly enrapturing in her role as, Becca, a mother dealing with loss and the resulting grief and anguish that comes with tragically losing a child. Her Academy Award nomination is well deserved, and I think more praise for the film is due as well. Of all the actresses nominated, besides Natalie Portman, I think she is most deserving of the golden statue. But, considering that she's already won and how popular Portman's performance in Black Swan is, she's the hands down favorite.

Speaking more about this film though, it examines the relationship between a husband and wife as the deal with the loss of their child in a very touching way. Aaron Eckhart, who plays the role of Howie, also does a brilliant job at showing the different combination of emotions that someone dealing with a major loss like this might have. Director John Cameron Mitchell does an exceptional job at depicting David Lindsay-Abaire's play. He paces the movie very well, with only being 91 minutes in length.

Bottom-line, Rabbit Hole is an excellent indie film that should have received more accolades, but hopefully Kidman's Oscar nomination can shine some light on it and make it more attractive for people to see.

The Company Men

John Wells, well known for being the show-runner behind long running hits, The West Wing and ER, writes and directs this fantastic film about corporate downsizing and how affects the lives of three men. Set in Boston, Massachusetts, a fictional company, GTX, is reeling from the economic crisis and is cutting jobs left and right to appease shareholders in an attempt to drive up their stock price. The scene to open the movie is quite powerful in the way it captures the feeling of "this sort of thing can happen to anybody, when you least expect it".

The movie stars Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, and Chris Cooper. Each actor plays the role of an employee at GTX, with Jones' character being someone in executive management, Cooper's a notch or so below him, and Affleck as a highly paid salesman. These characters don't have too much interaction on screen, the film examines more the relationships between themselves and their families, neighbors, and communities. The three actors turn in pretty incredible performances, and its a wonder that the film wasn't released earlier in 2010 to be eligible for awards consideration. Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, and Rosemarie DeWitt also play pivotal roles in the film and do superior jobs at being enrapturing and authentic.

The film reminds me a lot of, Up in the Air, and perhaps that's the reason it wasn't released for awards consideration, but instead for commercial ambitions, because Reitman's already did that. But, it's very different than the prior film in how it depicts the lives of those higher up the corporate ladder and the descent that occurs when one's income disappears. Critics can take shots at Wells pacing of the movie, but it's no easy feat to write and direct a major motion picture and I believe he does an excellent job at showing and challenging several aspects of American culture and lifestyle. Definitely, worth a watch.

The Fighter

David O Russell's latest film, The Figther, tells the story of "Irish" Micky Ward's early boxing years. The film focuses on his relationship with his brother Dicky Eklund, his mother, Alice, and his seven sisters and how they influenced his boxing career early on.

Mark Wahlberg plays the Micky Ward role, while Christian Bale plays the role of his brother, Dicky Eklund. Dicky is famous in the town of Lowell, where the film is set, because of his once legendary fight with Sugar Ray Leonard. He was once known as, "The Pride of Lowell", and maybe the most important aspect of the film is how he tries to live out his dream of winning a title through his younger brother. Michelle Leo, is Alice Ward, Micky's manager and mother. Her role is acted wonderfully as a manipulative mother who doesn't have her son's best interests in mind on many occasions. Amy Adams, is Charlene Fleming, Micky's girlfriend, who enters the boxer's life at a pivotal time in the film, when his career is being ruined by his family members indiscretions.

Probably the best aspect of the film, is how compellingly it's acted. Bale's performance will likely win him an Oscar. He is so believable as Dicky, that it wouldn't surprise me if director, David O. Russell included the clip at the end of the movie, with the real life Ward and Ecklund to show audiences just how spot on he really was. The incredible acting though is across the board with Leo, Adams, and Wahlberg already securing Golden Globe nominations. Even the actresses that play Micky's sisters in the film deserve kudos. Their portrayal added to the overwhelming element of authenticity that the film was already ripe with and Russell does an uncanny job of capturing all of this.

The expanded Best Picture category should definitely include, The Fighter, but I don't think it'll have as good a chance as taking home the golden statue as say Black Swan or The Social Network.

Hereafter

Hereafter is a supernatural drama/thriller from Clint Eastwood, that stars Matt Damon. It was released in late October. The film follows the lives of three people who are touched/affected by death in different ways. Damon, plays the lead role of George Lonegan, a man with the ability to genuinely communicate with the dead. Cecile de France, is Marie LeLay, a French journalist who survives a tsunami, but has a near death experience that shakes her grasp of reality. Finally, Frankie and George McLaren, are twins Marcus and Jason, who share a close brotherly bond that is broken after one of them tragically dies. The film shows how mortality affects people from different walks of life, leaving voids in their lives that they choose to temporarily fill by trying to communicate with their lost loved ones through a psychic medium.

The concept of the film is a delicate one, but certainly one that captures the attention of millions of people across the globe. So, it makes sense that Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment would be attached to a project like this one. Spielberg's track record and incredible success allow him to take great chances on movies other producers wouldn't touch. But, unfortunately for him, Eastwood, and Kathleen Kennedy (Another of the film's producers) the movie which was budgeted at $50 million, has only managed to pull in about $33 million in 70 days of release in American theaters. I'm not sure any of these people expected Hereafter to break records, but I think break even was at least anticipated.

The movie's central theme of mortality is without a doubt the reason that moviegoers didn't flock to theaters to see this one, but if you ask me the reason that those that did, didn't have reason to "love" it, is because it lacked one specific element that would've made it great. The acting was very solid, but wasn't exceptional. I wouldn't put all of that blame on the actors either, I don't think Eastwood's directing allowed them to expose their characters enough for the audience to connect with their struggles with the afterlife. But, that could also be attributed to Peter Morgan's script.

I sound like I'm lambasting this film, but truly I really liked it, I just thought it could've been a lot more and I'm disappointed that with the people attached to the project it wasn't,

Black Swan

Natalie Portman's character, Annie, the Swan Queen, essentially sums this movie and her performance up with her closing words the right before the credits roll. I won't give them away, but I'm very confident that you'll have similar feelings as I did towards Darren Aronofsky's incredible achievement, Black Swan.

Aronofsky film is incredibly casted, with performances by Portman and Mila Kunis, already garnering Golden Globe nominations. Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder round out an ensemble that brings so much emotion and character their respective roles. But, paramount to all of these performances is Portman's, who truly showcases her acting and dancing chops in the picture. She portrays a fragile character who during 2 hours the audience watches transform into essentially the complete opposite of who she was at the films inception (Yep, I just slipped the word inception into a description of her performance, what of it?) I'll be baffled if she isn't given a Best Actress nomination for this role.

To say a little bit about the plot though, it follows the life of Annie, a veteran ballerina as she is given the lead role in a heralded dance instructors re-imagination of the ballet production of Swan Lake. Along the way, Annie is tried and tested by her rival dancers, her over protective mother and her manipulative instructor. It all comes to a thrilling finish on opening night when The Swan Queen gives a performance that none will soon forget.

The most amazing aspect of this film to me was Aronofsky's camera work. The angles, uses of mirrors and over the shoulder shots are incredible. He utilizes them in a way that jolt emotion into the audience because the point of view either hides certain things from them or quickly reveals them. Combine this with Clint Mansell's original music and you have a suspenseful thriller that is truly menacing and very sexual.

See Black Swan, as soon as you can.

Tron: Legacy

I didn't see the original movie or play the arcade game (Well, maybe I did a few times through other mediums), but I thoroughly enjoyed Disney's latest release, Tron: Legacy. Perhaps this goes to show the relative ease, with which anyone can pop into a theater and spend two hours enjoying visually awing special effects and the truly inspired soundtrack that is, Tron. You certainly don't need to be an avid Tron follower or a nerdy gamer to enjoy this movie, but in response to a friend of mine who asked, "Is it a boy movie?" I feel pretty obliged to say that it pretty much is that. Although, Joseph Kosinski, the movie's director made an effort to accompany the sound pumping action scenes with ones dedicated to developing the character's of Sam Flynn and his father, Kevin, I don't think many females will find the story too overtly appealing to them.

A lot of people are cautioning those who might be interested in seeing this movie, that it lacks a solid plot and poses many questions that are left unanswered. While "these people" may have a solid point, often times it's better to just go into a movie, especially one like this, with little expectations and an open mind. Besides, seeing Jeff Bridges act in one movie in this many different roles is well worth the price of admission (3D or 2D).