Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

The story of Nascar legend Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) whose star begins to fade when he is challenged by a fruity Formula One Racer (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his sycophantic best friend (John C. Reilly) starts to question his allegiance. Stupidity abounds in Talladega Nights nearly running the picture off road, and the first half is far funnier then the second, but it still contains more belly laughs than most things passing for studio comedy these days. Ferrell and especially Reilly, along with a lot of the supporters (Baron Cohen, Molly Shannon, Greg Hermann, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jane Lynch, Gary Cole) help keep the movie on track.

*** out of ****

Spartan

A highly skilled special ops agent (Val Kilmer) is charged with the retrieval of the Vice President's daughter following her kidnapping, ordered to function in a stealthy and effective manner before the incident becomes a global news story. Kilmer is potent in this mundane, implausible, and murky thriller which can't be saved by director David Mamet's characteristically hard-nosed dialogue and plotting.

** out of ****

Closer

Two strangers, an obituary writer (Jude Law) and a stripper (Natalie Portman), make eye contact on a bustling London street just before she is struck by a cab. A year later, the two are living together and he is preparing for the release of a new book as he falls for the photographer (Julia Roberts) of his jacket photo. The love entanglement takes a fierce turn when a fourth party, a barbarous dermatologist (Clive Owen), is cruelly drawn in and takes pitiless revenge when he is again betrayed. Mike Nichols’ filming of Patrick Marber’s play (which he scripted for the screen himself) is a frank, harsh, and verbally explicit look at love and the ugly lengths that those involved in it go to. The acting is tremendous, especially Law (in an undervalued performance), Portman, and most unforgettably, Owen in a ferocious, darkly comical, and strangely sympathetic portrayal.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Heist

After a jewelry store takedown comes off nearly without a hitch, a professional con man (Gene Hackman) and his crew are denied payment by their ruthless backer (Danny DeVito) who demands they take on one final score: the hijacking of Swedish jet to relieve it of its gold holdings. When a backup escape plan falls through, the crew is stuck not only with carrying out the daring heist but also in taking on the boss’s weaselly, hot headed, amateurish nephew (Sam Rockwell). The title job of the film takes second stage to David Mamet’s trademarked tough talking, crackling dialogue which takes on a certain ferocity when uttered by Hackman and DeVito during heated exchanges. Hackman delivers one of his finest twilight performances and supporters Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay, and DeVito are a whole lot of fun as shifty conmen.

*** 1/2 out of ****

White Men Can't Jump

A basketball hustler (Woody Harrelson) with a crippling gambling addiction presents himself as a goofy, baggy clothes white boy and works the courts of Venice Beach. After burning a fellow fast-talking conman (Wesley Snipes), the two form a tenuous, volatile partnership and enter a high stakes 2-on-2 tournament. Ron Shelton's White Men Can't Jump is a highly informed sports movie on top of being a whole lot of fun. Harrelson and Snipes both turn in funny, likable performances in addition to looking like seasoned veterans on the blacktop. Rosie Perez has a charming supporting role as Woody's girlfriend.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Heat

Following a deadly highway armored truck robbery, a hawkish L.A. detective (Al Pacino) is put on the trail of a seasoned bank robber (Robert De Niro) as his squad prepares for one final takedown. Michael Mann's Heat is an engrossing crime saga and exemplary character study with all of the director's trademarked visuals, stylistics, and ideas in top form. De Niro delivers a controlled, sage performance while Pacino's welcomed, over-the-top theatrics gradually refine themselves into an equally excellent turn. The film is compulsively watchable, endlessly quotable, and brilliantly casted with Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Tom Sizemore, and Jon Voight all serving as standouts.

**** out of ****

Ball of Fire

Seven stilted researchers compiling an encyclopedia in a New York townhouse find their benefactor growing increasingly more impatient at their laborious, unhurried pace. Meanwhile one of the compilers (Gary Cooper) finds he is hopelessly uninformed on his latest research subject, American slang, and hits the streets to learn firsthand about the topic. When he meets a sassy nightclub dancer (Barbara Stanwyck) on the run from her mobster boyfriend, he takes in the ideal study subject who transforms himself and the rest of the stodgy bachelors. Directed by Howard Hawks, Ball of Fire is a funny, amusing riff on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with the type of quick, witty script that  Billy Wilder and writing partner Charles Brackett would perfect in later years. Stanwyck is irresistible here and the film glows in her presence.

*** out of ****

The Apartment

C.C. "Bud" Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is a pencil pushing number cruncher in a sea of pencil pushing number crunchers at a top insurance agency but he has a leg up on the competition which will surely secure him a spot in middle management: a key to his flat which he lends out to supervisors for late night trysts. Soon he falls for an elevator girl (Shirley MacLaine), another wounded, lonely soul, and when it becomes apparent that she is involved with the CEO (Fred MacMurray), Baxter is forced to confront his love life, living arrangement, and work situation. Billy Wilder's The Apartment, a personal favorite from the great German emigre's unprecedented career, is so funny, witty, ultra cynical yet so heartfelt that it gets you to the point it hurts. Lemmon offers one of his finest, most tender performances, MacLaine is affecting in an early role, and MacMurray is excellent as the heartless dolt, with the rest of the cast (especially the lecherous members of upper management) in superb form.

**** out of ****

Vivre Sa Vie

Told in twelve varied, discontinuous episodes, Vivre Sa Vie tells the tragic story of a young Parisian woman who leaves her husband with aspirations of becoming an actress, but winds up a prostitute. Jean Luc-Godard’s New Wave staple is fresh and well-realized with then wife and favorite collaborator Anna Karina lovely in the lead role. Details of the protagonist’s professional life are frank and shocking which are blended with other lighter, more poignant moments offering a unique cinematic experience all told through Raoul Coutard’s tremendous black and white photography.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Pippin

This filmed version of Stephen Schwartz's musical tells the story of the oldest son (William Katt) of Charlemagne (Benjamin Rayson) and his quest to find meaning in life. As his journey's guide and narrator, Ben Vereen stars in an otherworldly, absolutely spectacular, Tony winning performance. The music is a lot of fun as is director Bob Fosse's choreography before the play hits something of a wall in its second half.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Prince of the City

A New York City narcotics detective (Treat Williams) who walks the thin, ambiguous moral line on the job but steers clear of major infractions is compelled by the Justice Department to wear a wire and testify against other members of his department. Acting out of conscience, he reluctantly agrees with the stipulation that he will not be compelled to rat on his partners. When he is outed as the mole, he finds his life in jeopardy and nowhere to turn for help. Based on a true story, Sidney Lumet’s Prince of the City is an involving, harsh, complex and even refreshing tale of police corruption geared towards adults. The detail is impeccable and you can feel the grit oozing off the screen while the protagonist’s trapped, claustrophobic dilemma is just as palpable. Williams’ performance is imperfect but demanding and occasionally powerful.

*** 1/2 out of ****

The Maltese Falcon

When San Francisco private eye Sam Spade's services are procured by a young woman, his partner winds up murdered shortly thereafter. He then embarks down a sinuous path, encountering a calvacade of miscreants all hell bent on getting their hands on the mythic, invaluable title statue. John Huston's The Maltese Falcon, the third filmization of Dashiell Hammett's novel and one of the first films classified as film noir, is an impeccable, shadowy detective story with Bogie inimitable in one of his iconic roles. The dialogue is snappy, the underhanded supporting players (including Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet) are incomparable, and Bogart's cold, final speech to Astor is one for the ages.

**** out of ****

The Trial

Joseph K. (Anthony Perkins), an significant pencil pusher, is arrested at his flat for an unspecified crime. As he fights the system through layers upon layers of red tape in an exercise of sheer futility, while encountering increasingly bizarre scenarios and characters, his ordeal sharply turns from farcical to tragic. Kafka's vivid and uncompleted novel gets lost in Orson Welles' spectacular visuals and bemused, lackadaisical, and occasionally confounding storytelling. Perkins is impressive in a perfectly cast role.

** 1/2 out of ****

To Be or Not to Be

A acting ham and his Warsaw troupe become embroiled in a treacherous and complicated espionage plot when the Nazis invade Poland and it becomes apparent that their resistance leader is collaborating with the enemy. Mel Brooks's remake of To Be or Not to Be follows Ernst Lubitsch's exceptional classic very closely while mining familiar territory for laughs but is still a very funny film thanks to an earnest sense of humor and a spirited cast (with Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, and Christopher Lloyd standing out) even if its serious scenes don't really work.

*** out of ****

The Candidate

With no viable candidate to challenge the juggernaut Republican incumbent in the California Senatorial race, an affable, idealistic attorney (Robert Redford) and son of the former governor is tapped to run. Given the promise that he will have free reign over his campaign, he swears off his lifelong aversion to politics and enters the race. As the people respond to his direct manner and the gap closes, he faces incredible temptation to compromise his ideals. Michael Ritchie's The Candidate features Redford at his most starry-eyed, but for a populist film that sets out to be so satirically biting, it is all kind of humdrum and pedestrian.

** 1/2 out ****

Moby Dick

John Huston's filmization of Herman Melville's seminal novel, scripted by Ray Bradbury, detailing the foreboding journey of the Pequod, a Nantucket whaling ship, and its obssessive captain's biblical grudge with a massive, elusive white whale is made with technical and directorial prowess and offers a colorful supporting cast, yet is somewhat muddled and features a badly miscast Gregory Peck in a turgid performance as Ahab. After some tremendous opening scenes, including a remarkable cameo by Orson Welles playing a preacher, and some exciting whaling scenes, the film settles down becoming somewhat muddled leading up unto a disappointing showdown.

** 1/2 out of ****

Fargo

To lift himself out of debt and remove the oppressive thumb of his domineering father-in-law, car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) travels from Minneapolis to the titular North Dakota locale to meet with two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) who will help him hatch a foolproof kidnapping scheme. When blood is unexpectedly and senselessly shed, a tenacious and very pregnant small town detective (Frances McDormand) picks up its trail and follows its tragic lengths. Fargo is among the richest movies I know, with the Coen brothers keeping the keenest eye for detail while presenting a top notch thriller, an uproarious comedy, and even something weightier all wrapped up in the same icy package. The film is expertly cast with McDormand and Macy turning in career performamces, Buscemi and Stormare unforgettable as inept and mindless baddies, and every other single character chosen with the utmost care.

**** out of ****

Julia

Lillian Hellman (Jane Fonda), struggling with her new play and living in a beach house with lover and mentor Dashiell Hammett (Jason Robards), is contacted through intermediaries by an eponymous childhood friend (Vanessa Redgrave) who urges her to smuggle much needed funds into Berlin by train to assist the underground war effort. Fred Zinnemann's Julia, adapted by Alvin Sargent from Hellman's own story, suffers from an identity crisis which mars the film even in its second half when the intrigue begins to pick up. For such a strong actress, Fonda reaches here and Redgrave (an Oscar recipient for her role) is excellent though she hardly has a character to work with. For me, aside from great photography, some competent yet occasionally ponderous direction, and a brief appearance by Maximilian Schell, Robards (another Oscar winner) is the reason for the movie and I often found myself hoping that the story would return to him.

** 1/2 out of ****

Page One: Inside the New York Times

Using the death of print media in the modern technological era as a springboard, Page One is not so much a window to operation of the revered and usually cloistered 164 year old publication, but a look at its recent history through the eyes of an array of its reporters and editors. Including a war correspondent, a newly appointed editor, a much hated social media expert, and David Carr (pictured above), a memorable and abrasive reformed drug addict and recently deceased columnist, all of whom guide us through such stories as the Judith Miller and Jayson Blair controversies, their involvement with WikiLeaks, the coverage of the Iraq War, the race to keep up with social media and news aggregators, and the decline in quality and general collapse of the newspaper industry.

*** out of ****

Manhattan

A television writer (Woody Allen) currently romancing a 17-year-old (Mariel Hemingway), frustrated with the inanity of his line of work, and whose ex-wife (Meryl Streep) left him for another woman, falls for his best friend's mistress (Diane Keaton). Allen's love letter to his city is humorous, deep, and distinctive, a film that lets you step outside yourself and into a another world, perhaps one that is miles away from your own, yet still containing characters with which you identify. It features Gordon Willis' beautiful black and white photography, and Allen's spectacular performance, something not commonly commented on in his movies, although his character's central relationship with a high school aged girl is disturbingly treated with levity or disregard.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony

The story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, their friendship, and tireless, decades long struggle for women's suffrage, an objective neither would see come to fruition in their lifetimes. Ken Burns' Not for Ourselves Alone is expectedly informative and well researched, but is somewhat plodding and slightly marred by the documentarian's signature, unchanging style, although some beautiful live action photography helps. The high points of the film are the assumedly unabridged speeches, especially a charged debate between Anthony and Frederick Douglass.

*** out of ****

Do the Right Thing

On the hottest day of the year, racial tensions boil over in the predominantly black Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood with Sal's, the Italian owned pizzeria, serving as the epicenter of the conflagration. Spike Lee's heralded and controversial film is thought provoking, generally well made, self-indulgent, and with its exaggerated performances and hyper-stylized treatment, had probably dated the day after its release. It features Ernest Dickerson's excellent photography and fine performances from Danny Aiello and Ossie Davis. With Do the Right Thing, there are so many conflicting ideologies on hand and Lee and many of his supporters would have you believe he paints a completely fair and honest picture, but I can't see how its deliberately inflammatory finale, which has divided audiences to this day, can be seen as anything besides a call to violence, and senseless violence at that.

*** out of ****

Running on Empty

A couple (Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) once involved in the bombing of a government weapon's facility remain political fugitives from justice with their two sons in tow. As the elder of the boys (River Phoenix) approaches adulthood, he seeks to break free from their nomadic, surreptitious lifestyle and strike out a normal life of his own. Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty is an assuredly made and somewhat fantastical film with Hirsch and Martha Plimpton incredibly irritating in key roles, Lahti offering a few glimmering moments, and Phoenix phenomenal in a standout performance, with the film working best when the story focuses on him.

*** out of ****

The Conversation

Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is the preeminent West Coast wiretapper bar none, with not a San Francisco verbal exchange privileged thanks to his state of the art gadgetry and brilliant methods. His personal life, however, is a lonely, unguarded, and vulnerable state of paranoia. When he is hired to surveil a young couple by the chairman of a powerful corporation, he finds himself entwined in an obscure murder plot and his private life begins to unravel as his conscience gradually gets the better of him. A somewhat diminished thread in an unprecedented string of classic films of the 1970s, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation is a tense, intelligent thriller that takes its time while functioning as a character study, all leading to a haunting resounding payoff, with Hackman unforgettable in a career defining performance.  

**** out of ****

The Complete Works of Jean Vigo

Jean Vigo was a surrealist French director whose life was cut short by tuberculosis at 29, but whose limited body of work (consisting of only four films, one of which was feature length) not only provided a window of what could have been and served as a major influence for the future of world cinema, but stands quite sturdily, in their own offbeat and lightly poetic way. His debut film was A Propos de Nice, a fascinating documentary covering all walks of life in Nice and was probably inspired by the landmark Man with a Movie Camera. It was followed by Taris, a brilliant and innovative instructional film featuring the eponymous swim champion, which was succeeded by Zero for Conduct, a whimsical tale detailing a boarding school rebellion. L'Atalante, his final and most cited and cherished work, tells a breezy and aimless story about newlyweds travelling upriver with a gruff riverboat captain, and features amusing situations, likable performances, and some great cinematography.