Last Flag Flying

A morose man (Steve Carell) looks up two of his old Vietnam buddies (Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne) and asks their assistance to help in making funeral preparations for his only son who has just been killed in the early days of the 2nd Iraq War. Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying, who worked with writer Darryl Ponicsan, is a thoughtful, meditative, and even novelistic discourse that is made in the same vein, and almost functions as a quasi sequel of sorts, as Ponicsan's The Last Detail. Though their performances are not without their qualities, Carrel and Fishburne devolve into their usual personas but Cranston's turn, though heavily influence by Nicholson's, actually grows and takes on life as the film progresses.

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

Waking Life

7/17/10 Waking Life is about a young man caught in a series of dreams who meets several people and listens to their philosophies on life while he formulates his own opinions. Director Richard Linklater, who may be the most innovative and experimental director working today, created this marvel of a movie by filming it with a digital camera and having dozens of writers animate the film while adding their own trippy spins. This is a thinking person's movie and is not for everyone. However, it is a movie that can be watch casually or intensely, and can be revisited many times. Waking Life is a little gem of a movie that each person should at least tempt to watch. Look for Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy who make a welcome reprise of their characters from Before Sunrise.

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