Inherent Vice

Posted on January 8, 2015 at 5:58 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Adult
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for drug use throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and some violence
Profanity:	Very strong, explicit, and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Extensive substance abuse including drinking, smoking, and drugs, drug dealing
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and violence
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	January 9, 2015

We love mystery stories because they reassure us that questions have answers and justice is possible. But some mystery stories are there to remind us that life is complicated and messy, and sometimes answers are just more questions. This is one of those stories.

Inherent Vice is a novel by the famously private author Thomas Pynchon, whose books are dense, complex, and thus rich fodder for grad students and intelligentsia. Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (“Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia,” “There Will Be Blood,” “The Master”) is also known for dense, complex stories, and he likes to focus on decay, corruption, and bruised innocence. They are well matched in this weed noir story, sort of Dashiell Hammett crossed with Hunter Thompson.

The original set-up is right out of a classic detective story. A beautiful woman named Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston) visits her ex-boyfriend, Doc (Joaquin Phoenix), some kind of hippie detective, to ask for his help. The narrator (singer Joanna Newsom), in a hypnotic, vocal fry deadpan, lets us know right away that Doc would be better off telling her to leave. But he cannot say no to Shasta or to a mystery, so he is on the case.

Shasta’s new boyfriend is a wealthy (and married) developer named Mickey Wolfman (Eric Roberts). Shasta believes that Wolfman’s wife and her boyfriend are trying to have him committed so they can get his money. As Doc begins to look into this, he encounters many odd characters, most with their own unsolved mysteries, some of which begin to intersect with the Wolfman story or with each other or both. And it all comes together, or doesn’t, in a haze of, yes, decay, corruption, and bruised innocence that is about the failure of the American Dream or existential chaos or the fragility of our concept of reality, or maybe just that the journey and those who accompany us along the way are more important than the destination. Also, something about the optimism and passion for changing society of the 60’s giving way to the me-decade and passion for individual self-exploration of the 70’s.

Doc encounters a number of extremely colorful characters as he explores a series of mysteries that appear to be linked, or perhaps all part of one big mystery involving a secret and very powerful malevolent force. The only one who seems to know what’s going on is the almost-never-seen narrator, and it’s not clear whether we’re supposed to root for the characters or laugh at them. But as always, Anderson’s impeccable casting and music choices are captivating, and there is an amusing contrast between his attention to every detail of camera placement, editing, production design, and dialog and the convoluted storyline and druggy fog surrounding the characters. I’m not sure what it was that I watched, but I have to admit I enjoyed watching it.

Parents should know that this film has just about everything we consider “adult content,” including constant very strong, explicit, and crude language, nudity and very explicit sexual references and situations including prostitution and adultery, drinking, drugs of all kinds and drug dealing, and violence including guns.

Family discussion: Why did Doc help Shasta? Why did he help Coy? Why is Doc a detective?

If you like this, try: “Boogie Nights” and “There Will Be Blood” by the same director and the book by Thomas Pynchon

Top Five

Posted on December 11, 2014 at 5:59 pm

MPAA Rating:

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, crude humor, language throughout and some drug use

Why is it that we love to talk about our top five? Is it because it gives us a sense of order in the midst of chaos? Is it because we feel that if we can somehow distill the whole world into a definitive top five (with a possible but un-canonical sixth position just to make it interesting), that will reveal something essential about the person doing the ranking?

Writer/director/star Chris Rock plays Andre, a stand-up comic turned wildly successful movie star, with a series of dumb comedy blockbuster hits where he plays Hammy the Bear, an ursine cop with a gun as quick as his wisecracks and catch phrases. Like the director in “Sullivan’s Travels” and the stand-up comic turned actor and filmmaker in “Stardust Memories,” Andre wants to do something serious and meaningful. He has made a new film called “Uprize,” a drama based on the real-life slave rebellion in late 18th century Haiti, and he is on a publicity tour to promote it. He is also about to get married to a reality star (Gabrielle Union as the exquisitely airbrushed and relentlessly determined Erica), who has made every element of the wedding and their lives together a branding opportunity. And he has agreed to spend the day with Chelsea, a New York Times reporter (Rosario Dawson) who begins by asking him why he isn’t funny anymore and wants him to describe what it felt like to hit bottom before he became sober.

Andre and Chelsea travel all over the New York, visiting the inner city neighborhood where his friends and family jockey between pride and resentment. The girlfriend who was there at the beginning is sorry she quit before he hit it big. The old friends tease him about how he was never the funniest one in the group and remind him to keep it real. Andre also has a talk with some older men on the street. One calls him “Hollywood” — but asks for money. We learn his relationship to Andre. It is understated, but significant.

No one is buying tickets to “Uprize.” And “everyone in the barbershop wants to see in the bear costume” for Hammy 4.

Rock has often seemed awkward or uncomfortable on screen, even in “Head of State,” which he directed, especially in scenes with women. But here he shows a welcome naturalness and confidence. We got a glimpse of those qualities in his best previous performance, “2 Days in New York,” which has a similar intimate, improvisational vibe. This time, playing a central character who shares some of his experiences — and some of his friends, with Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Jerry Seinfeld making cameos — Rock’s performance is nuanced, thoughtful, very, very funny, and touching as well. It is the funniest movie of the year, in part because it is so sharply observed. Andre may think the best way to deliver a message is with a serious drama, but Chris Rock knows better.

Parents should know that this film has extremely strong, explicit, and crude language including the n-word, extremely explicit sexual references and situations, and very crude humor, substance abuse including drugs, and mild comic peril.

Family discussion: What will Andre do next? Would you go to see his movie about the slave rebellion? What is “rigorous honesty?” Who’s in your top five and why is it fun to try to rank your favorites?

If you like this, try: “Sullivan’s Travels,” “Stardust Memories” and Chris Rock’s stand-up performance films and television series

Related Tags:

Comedy Movies -- format

Little Hope Was Arson

Posted on November 22, 2014 at 8:40 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Not Rated
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drugs
Violence/ Scariness:	Arson
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	November 21, 2014

In a small East Texas community “with a church on every corner,” 10 churches were burned. One church showed the Christian film “Fireproof” one night and showed that it was far from fireproof itself the next day.

This is a documentary about the impact on the community and also about the investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of two young men who could barely explain why they did it. The title comes from graffiti carved into a wall that becomes a clue. And there is a wrenching twist. One of the two young men is the brother of a woman who works in law enforcement.

But the real themes of the film go beyond a crime procedural. This is the story of a culture that allows young people to get lost and the failure of religious institutions to reach them. And it is also the story of great resilience, compassion, and forgiveness. The most powerful scene in the film is at the sentencing proceeding, where one of the clergyman uses his time on the stand not to tell the judge about what he and his congregation had suffered but to speak from the heart, asking the young men who burned down his church for their forgiveness and assuring them that they had his.

“Getting slapped in the face by your hypocrisy hurts like hell,” one minister says somberly. He has reason to welcome this dose of humility. The young men who torched the churches belonged to his congregation. But of course the problem is that they did not feel they belonged anywhere. The film’s sympathetic portrayal of the believers is undercut in the final image by a quote from the anarchist Buenaventura Durruti: “The only church that illuminates is a burning church.”

If this was a feature film, we would have the satisfaction of some sort of cathartic breakthrough explaining what happened. But real life is messy and often unsatisfying. “I’ve been here for three years and still don’t know the motive,” one of the arsonists says. Have they learned anything? “When you fight with God, you’re just going to lose.”

Parents should know that this movie includes frank discussion of drug and alcohol abuse, crime, and a sad parental death.

Family discussion: What kind of punishment is appropriate here? If you disagree with what the judge ordered, why? Why do you think the boys burned the churches?

If you like this, try: “At the Death House Door” and “Into the Abyss”

Related Tags:

Documentary Movies -- format

Rosewater

Posted on November 16, 2014 at 11:04 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for language including some crude references, and violent content
Profanity:	Strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Riots and brutal attacks on rioters and rebels, torture
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	November 14, 2014

First-time writer/director Jon Stewart has made a remarkably assured film about the imprisonment and torture of Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari It is an absorbing drama that is at the same time the story of a very specific individual and a thoughtful consideration of contemporary geopolitics that avoids stereotypes or jingoism. This not only makes it a better story; it elevates the level of discourse without preachiness.

Bahari (a superb Gael Garcia Bernal) was working for Newsweek when he returned to Iran to cover the election in 2009. He knew the dangers of posing a threat to the government in Iran. His father and sister both died in prison as accused enemies of two different regimes. And now, as he filmed the protests over the disputed election victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the “Dish University” maintained by dissidents, he knows he is putting himself and his subjects and sources at risk. It is possible he does not consider the risks posed by his decision to be interviewed by “The Daily Show,” where he jokes about being a spy.

He is asleep at his mother’s home when officials arrive to take him to prison. It is disturbing and shocking that he is neither disturbed or shocked. While his mother (Shohreh Aghdashloo) bravely snaps at the man who orders her to wear a headscarf, Bahari is calm and polite.

Stewart wants us to understand the pressure that Bahari’s interrogator (Danish actor Kim Bodnia) is under. Stewart shrewdly introduces us to the man who smells of rose water as he is on the phone to his family, and showing us that he is just one link in a chain of oppression and bureaucracy. And he is not afraid to use cinematic touches to show us what is going on in Bahari’s mind. We see a face reflected on the walls as he walks through the streets. Later, in prison, he has conversations with his father and sister. They seem real to us, but they are not hallucinations. They are just visual embodiments of Bahari’s thought processes or fantasies has the weeks in solitary confinement turn into months, with no contact from the outside world. These memories of his family members who were also imprisoned help him stay strong. They even help him briefly outsmart Rosewater, as he fabricates a series of sexual encounters to describe in questioning, his “specialist” (interrogator) listening in horrified fascination, Bahari having, for once, the upper hand.

Stewart wisely also keeps us confined with Bahari, not telling us more than he knows about efforts to get him out of prison. When we finally see archival footage of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talking about the importance of having him freed, we share his sense of relief that the world knows what is going on and cares about it. The other prisoners have no such support. And yet, Stewart finds a way to end on an image of hope that circles back to origins of the film itself. In moving out from behind the “Daily Show” desk, he is inviting us, as he has and as Bahari has, to shift from observer to participant.

Parents should know that this film includes some mature material: riots, abuse and torture (not graphic), some sexual references, and some strong language.

Family discussion: In what way did Maziar use his imprisoners’ weakness? What were their most effective tactics and what were his?

If you like this, try: “Z” and “Beaufort” and Bahari’s book, Rosewater: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival

Laggies

Posted on October 30, 2014 at 5:58 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for language, some sexual material and teen partying
Profanity:	Strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Adult and teen drinking and drunkenness, drunk driving
Violence/ Scariness:	Car crash, tense emotional confrontations
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	October 31, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00OUNNWPS

Lynn Shelton is known for writing and directing small, intimate, independent films with a lot of improvised dialogue (“Humpday,””My Sister’s Sister,” “Touchy Feely”), often using the same small group of actors. With “Laggies,” she moves seamlessly to working with a more conventional screenplay, written by someone else (novelist Andrea Seigel), and with a higher-profile Hollywood cast, but the film maintains a nice indie sensibility that lets the characters speak for themselves. For example, the only time the word “laggie” is used, it is not directed at any of the main characters and it is never explained, but we get the point. The laggie is Megan (Keira Knightley), who has lagged behind her close-knit group of friends from high school. Ten years later, all of them are established in careers and relationships. You can tell they all have mortgages and 401(k)s. But Megan, who has an MA in counseling, is currently working as a “sign girl” for her accountant father (Jeff Garlin), standing on the sidewalk twirling an arrow sign advertising his firm. She is living with Anthony (Mark Webber), the boyfriend she has been with since sophomore year of high school.

At a bridal shower for her friend Allison (Ellie Kemper), her friends find her joking immature and she finds them stuffy. And at Allison’s wedding (with a hilariously pretentious First Dance), two developments shake Megan badly. Anthony proposes. And Megan sees her father kissing (and more) Allison’s mother. Megan leaves the wedding and meets four teenagers hanging out in front of a convenience store. They ask her to buy some booze for them and she reasons that since someone did it for her, she should do it for them. “It’s a rite of passage,” she reassures herself.

With no interest in returning to her messy life, she spends some time with the kids. They think she is cool, and she likes being thought of that way. Annika (Chloë Grace Moretz) gives her a phone and asks her to stay in touch. When Megan gets back to her apartment, she accepts Anthony’s proposal and agrees to elope with him in a week. Before they go, she tells him, she wants to attend the week-long personal development seminar that made such a difference to him (he learned that his spirit animal was a shark and that made him realize he had to start making decisions in his life because if a shark doesn’t move, it dies).

She has no intention of attending the seminar. She just needs time to think. And then Annika calls and asks her to pretend to be her mother for a parent conference at school. Megan puts up her hair and fakes her way through. And then she asks Annika if she can stay at her house for a week without her father finding out. One of the many nice touches in this movie is that of course he finds out immediately. This is not a sitcom. The set-up may be artificial, but the characters have real-life reactions.

Annika’s father is Craig (Sam Rockwell), a divorce lawyer and single dad. Annika’s mother left them years ago and he spends his days working with unhappy, angry couples. Annika thought she could hide Megan because Sam was supposed to be at a mixer, but he comes home early. I loved the detail that his name tag was on his arm and his conversation with Megan about how women at mixers like that tap him on the arm to show that they are listening. There are lies, and excruciating confessions, and lessons learned, but the progress is organic as everyone from the school counselor who thinks Megan is Annika’s mother to the real mother (the always-excellent Gretchen Moll) to Megan’s old friends from high school and even Craig seem to be carrying a message about growing up even though you don’t have it all figured out. Shelton has enough confidence in the story, the characters, and her outstanding performers to avoid the easy exaggerations of the genre and show us real people who are essentially decent struggling to find the courage to move forward, even when they don’t know where that will take them.

Parents should know that this film includes strong language, drinking by adults and teenagers, drunk driving, car crash, sexual references, some crude, and non-explicit situations, and infidelity.

Family discussion: What animal would you pick to represent your spirit? How can you tell when you’ve outgrown your friends?

If you like this, try: “Girl Most Likely” and Sam Rockwell films like “Galaxy Quest” and “The Way Way Back”

Related Tags:

Drama Movies -- format