Observe and Report Impressions

Hey look, I’m talking about a comedy for once. Well, this is technically a comedy, just extremely dark. Set Rogen stars as a mall cop in this movie released around the same time as another movie about a mall cop, Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Unlike Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Observe and Report is actually funny. Evidently that wasn’t enough to make it stand out, as it is one of lowest performing movies in terms of box office receipts for Seth Rogen. That isn’t awesome at all, considering this is one of his best performances that I’ve seen. His character Ronnie has some deep psychological issues that haven’t really been entirely worked out. It also doesn’t help that he still lives with his mom. There really is a lot more to his character, but if I say anything else, it might spoil something for you. Trust me on this.

A consequence of Rogen’s character is that a lot of comedy seems out of place. Like I said, this move is seriously dark, borderline depressing. One of the supporting characters, Dennis (played by Michael Peña), keeps it from being to dark thankfully. Every scene with Dennis is wonderful,  especially one in particular,  where he and and Ronnie assault some skateboarders. Peña is an amazing actor who really should be more well known. It really was a shame he didn’t get more screen time. Ray Liotta and Anna Faris also perform admirably here.
One issue I do have with this movie is that the plot seemed to wrap itself up a little too neatly.
Because it is so dark, this movie is not for everyone, even if the comedy is expertly done. But, if you are a fan of Seth Rogen, this is definitely worth your time.

The Signal Impressions

I’m just going to say this right here: I really don’t know what happened in this movie. The plot seemed completely nonsensical,  and the editing really made no logical sense. It probably would lend itself to another viewing, but it’s late and a rental copy so that probably won’t happen for a while. The acting from the main cast was decent, with Laurence Fishburne doing the greatest job here. That being said, much of the script was awful, and really could have used a rewrite. Overall it came off as pretentious.

What did The Signal do right? Well, quite a bit actually. The special effects were better than a lot of major Hollywood releases with budgets ten times as large as the (relatively) miniscule 4 million dollars used here. The director, William Eubank was trained as a cinematographer, and that shows. Every shot in this movie was done near perfectly. Give Eubank a better, more grounded story and a decent script and I can see him doing something amazing. With The Signal, that greatness is very hard to see.

Top Five Favorite Films

This post is a little long, but it is my top 5 favorite movies. I will probably do longer articles on each of these in the future; this is just to give you guys an outline of my taste.

• Apocalypse Now

In the 1970’s, Francis Ford Coppola made 3 of the best movies of all time, The Godfather and its sequel, as well as Apocalypse Now. It may seem cliche to include something by Coppola, but there is a reason why so many people like his films. They’re masterpieces.  Apocalypse Now is the story of an army officer in the Vietnam war who is assigned a mission to kill Colonel Kurtz, a rouge officer. It is an extremely long movie, but none of it seems tacked on. From the opening scene of Captain Willard trashing his hotel room to the almost surreal final scenes in Kurtz’s camp, the film keeps you interested. All of the characters are extremely well played, but one in particular is probably the single best performance I have seen in any movie. That honor belongs to Marlon Brando, as he plays the powerful and enigmatic Kurtz. I have no doubt all of these elements create the best film of all time.

• Blue Valentine

The director, Derek Cianfrance spent years trying to get this film made. He had quite a bit of time to think out every detail and it shows. This is actually two movies, filmed months apart. One is the beginning of a relationship, the other the end. The narrative switches back and forth between two time periods, one shot with film, the other with digital photography. This creates a nice contrast, with the past looking warm, as if to say it was a better time. The present feels cold, a shell of what it was. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams make an excellent couple, with many chances for them to improvise. It works wonderfully. This is one of the few movies that has moved me to tears, and left me feeling a little bummed out for a few days. Blue Valentine is an emotional journey well worth taking

• The Departed

Martin Scorsese is the greatest director of all time. I consider that a fact, not up for debate. His filmography spans over 40 years, with some more than a few contenders for greatest film of all time. The departed has come relatively late in his career, having come out in 2006. It is a story of betrayal and double crosses, with what I consider the best ensemble cast ever to grace the silver screen. Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Martin Sheen, and Mark Wahlberg all give the performance of a lifetime. The basic plot is Matt Damon is a mole in the Massachusetts State Police for the Irish Mob headed by an almost satanic Jack Nicholson. DiCaprio conversely plays a mole in the mob for the state police. They find out about each other and from there it’s a game of cat and mouse to see who gets caught first. The ending is completely unexpected and expertly handled, making The Departed the pinnacle of Scorsese’s long career. This is of course assuming he doesn’t pull of something even more amazing.

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This is an odd film to say the least. It is loosely based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Brad Pitt (as well as a number of other actors) stars as the titular character. Button was born old, and gets younger as time goes on. This is framed through a diary he wrote and is being read by a woman to her dying mother as Hurricane Katrina makes land fall in New Orleans. A lot about life and how we all live it is said here. All said is very wise and well written. The makeup is amazingly done, as well as the special effects (It won an Oscar for them). The direction by David Fincher is top notch. He is one of the best working in Hollywood right now. This is another depressing movie. I don’t consider that a bad thing, sadness is one of the most powerful emotions a man can experience. It works well here, creating a very memorable movie that I doubt I will ever forget.

• The Tree of Life

Looking at this list so far, it’s all sad dramas. I guess I’m into that sort of thing. I may as well put something happy in here. This is a different kind of movie. It’s filled with mostly metaphors for its themes. This is par for the course for its director, Terence Malick. In the best way I can explain it, it’s about nature, grace, and forgiveness, put in the context of a men remembering his childhood in the 1950’s. A bit different, right? Especially the short scene midway through the film involving dinosaurs. It works, trust me. The special effects were done using traditional methods, similar to what was done for 2001: A Space Odyssey. This also has the most beautiful cinematography I have ever seen. You could take any still from the film and hang it on a wall. Your friends would be impressed. Watching this left me feeling happy, as well as hopeful for the future. It’s not for everyone considering its nontraditional narrative, but if you are looking for something different, you should check this out.

Calvary, or Oh My God, That Was Kind of Depressing

The fact that I’m willing to drive the hour it takes to get to Fort Collins to go see a movie says a lot about my priorities. The fact that I have to drive an hour to be able to see a lot of movies says a lot about Wyoming. Trade off of unbelievably cheap tuition I guess. Anyways, I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with movies. At this point in this blog’s life you are most likely coming to this page because I begged you to over Facebook or Twitter. Thank you for taking the time to click on this by the way. At any rate, on one of these trips I went to go see Calvary.

It stars Brendan Gleeson as a priest who gets a death threat. I was first introduced to Gleeson while watching In Bruges and he impressed me there. (I’m going to have to do a write up on In Bruges; it’s probably my favorite comedy of all time) In this movie, he is downright amazing. He plays a truly good man, something rarely seen in today’s media. Most characters are antiheros of some type. This character, Father James, is not perfect though. Some of his actions cause him to get beat up. Alcohol can do that to you. He is a human character, full of faults, but trying to do his best to fix them.

The supporting cast in this movie is phenomenal as well. They are not good people though. Most of them are downright assholes. The best by far among them is Dylan Moran as Michael Fitzgerald, a millionaire whose family has left him. Father James has a few interactions with him, including a hilarious scene where Fitzgerald pees on a priceless painting to prove that he doesn’t care about his money. Other characters include James’s daughter Fiona, a socially maladjusted young man named Milo (His conversations with James are downright hilarious), an atheist doctor Frank Hart, and an enigmatic writer, among others. They are all extremely well written and well-acted.

Calvary is technically impressive as well. The cinematography is amazing, with a muted color palette and beautiful shots of the Irish coast. The editing is spot on as well. The director, John Michael McDonagh did a great job with this movie as a whole. It’s one of my favorites so far this year.

You aren’t going to have to worry about spoilers here by the way. I don’t want to ruin this for you. The storytelling is unbelievably good. This movie changes from comedic to serious, then back to comedic in very short order. Even at a very tense scene towards the end, it throws its hilarious writing at you. It doesn’t make the drama any less cheap either. The ending is extremely depressing, yet moving. It’s extremely hard to explain without spoiling so just trust me.

I went down to Fort Collins expecting a good movie, but what I got was a near masterpiece. It blew me away. Calvary had me laughing harder at a movie than I have in a while, as well as near tears. It’s hard to find movies that balance comedy with tragedy so well.