Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Posted on March 8, 2012 at 5:50 pm

The Michelin Guide to restaurants describes the best as “worth a detour” or “worth a special journey.” They describe a tiny ten-seat sushi restaurant in Tokyo as worth the trip to Japan. If you want to eat there, call before you book your plane tickets. They are booked three months in advance for meals that can cost $300 per diner. This documentary is about Jiro Ono the owner of the restaurant and its chef, who has devoted his life to perfecting the art of sushi. Director/cinematographer David Gelb makes the sushi look utterly luscious but he also makes it look exquisite as sculpture.

The movie is fascinating because of the details we learn about sushi and the dedication and artistry of the man who has devoted his life to it. Jiro-San’s attention to every possible detail from buying the freshest and best ingredients each day at the market to the balletic gestures in assembling each piece and placing it before the customer is mesmerizing. There is a holiness in his devotion to perfection as a way of honoring the food he prepares and the people who eat it. Apprentices must work just squeezing the towels for a long time before they are allowed to touch any food and for years before what they prepare is considered suitable for the customers. And they constantly re-consider their preparation to look for ways to improve it. Jiro-San announces a major change he has implemented — instead of massaging the octopus for half an hour, they will massage it for 45 minutes. We also see Jiro-San with his son, who works in the restaurant (another son runs an off-shoot location). And we see him in a rare moment away from work, at a reunion with old friends.

Sushi was once seen as a rare treat for wealthy people on special occasions. But the success of chefs like Jiro-San has made sushi so popular that it is at risk from over-fishing. The film touches lightly but frankly on these problems. But the movie’s larger point is not about sushi or about sustainability but about the poetry and depth that come from devoting one’s life to the pursuit of perfection in the service of others.

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Undefeated

Posted on March 1, 2012 at 6:30 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some language
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	References to substance abuse
Violence/ Scariness:	Sports injuries, references to violence
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	March 2, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B005S9EITC

Bill Courtney, a successful white businessman, coaches an underdog football team at an inner city high school in an Oscar-winning documentary that quickly transcends the risks of sports cliché and racially treacherous noblesse oblige. Like the wonderful “The Heart of the Game” it is a powerful reminder of the difference one person can make — and of the consequences when no one is willing to make that difference.

Manassas High School in North Memphis has never made the play-offs since it was founded in 1899. Neither the school nor its students have the resources of their opposing teams. Courtney sums up his situation to his players: Two have been shot and are no longer in school. Two others were fighting and another was arrested for shooting someone. “For most coaches, that would be a career’s worth of crap,” he says. “I think that sums up the last two weeks for me.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckku5qEt-vA

Courtney volunteers his time and an even more precious gift — he truly gives his heart to his players. He has a lot to teach them about practice and plays and teamwork, but the most important lessons come from his own example of indefatigable dedication to his team. He is fully present for them in a way that is infinitely touching. They can never give less than their best because they see him giving his every day.

The movie focuses on three players. One is returning to the team after some time in juvie for problems caused because he cannot control his rage and seems to have no inclination to try. Another is a strong player who will need to get his grades up if he wants to qualify for a college scholarship. And the third is an honor student who wants a football scholarship but is sidelined with an injury just as he needs to show the scouts he can play. Courtney’s passionate commitment makes the difference, sometimes by just being there, sometimes by bringing in some extra help. When he has some good news for one of his players, there is not a dry eye on the field — or in the audience.

“You think football builds character,” he tells the team. “It does not. It reveals character.” That is true of the players and the coach as well.

Parents should know that this film has some strong language and some sad situations including the loss of a parent and a sports injury, as well as references to substance abuse and violence.

Family discussion: Do you agree with Courtney’s decision at the end of the season? What was the most important lesson his team learned from him and what is the most important lesson he learned from them? What can Courtney’s example inspire you to do?

If you like this, try: The Heart of the Game

The Lorax

Posted on March 1, 2012 at 6:30 pm

Adapting Dr. Seuss for a feature film is a challenge. The movies can capture his whimsical drawings and mischievous humor but they fail when they pad his storylines and jettison his rhymes. Dr. Seuss had a genius for saying a lot with a little, which is one reason the half-hour animated television versions of his stories hold up so well. But more is less when it comes to adapting Dr. Seuss, and in this latest, as in too many before, most of what is added is unnecessary, distracting, and nowhere near the quality of the original.

The Lorax applies all of the latest tools of technology with great skill and imagination and never match the standard of Dr. Seuess’ paintbrush on paper. It is beautifully designed and makes great use of 3D. Unfortunately, it weighs down the story of the book, becoming something Dr. Seuss never was — heavyhanded.

The legendary Dr. Seuss wrote the story of The Lorax as a cautionary tale about environmental pollution and corporate greed in an era when the country was newly awakened to the dangers confronting our fragile ecological system. In the age of hippies and “flower power” and yearning for a return to nature, The Lorax fit right in.

In this expanded version of the story, twelve year old Ted (Zac Efron) has grown up in the town of Thneeville, where everything is “plastic and fake.” There is not one living tree, or even any place to plant a tree because the dirt has been covered up with plastic. The richest man in town, Mr. O’Hare, (Bob Riggle) makes his money selling bottled clean air (aided by large ruthless bodyguards and a corporate propaganda campaign). Mr. O’Hare believes that trees are a threat to his corporate profits because “trees make air for free.”

Ted daydreams of the beautiful young Audrey (Taylor Swift), and when Audrey wishes on her birthday that she could see “a real tree” rather than the plastic replicas in Thneeville, Ted sets out on a quest which gets him into all kinds of trouble and leads him on all kinds of adventures. (“If a boy does the same stupid thing twice, it’s usually for a girl.”) His exploits in the sewer system of Thneeville and outside the city limits are beautifully done. Ted’s quest takes him to an ancient hermit, the Once-ler, (Ed Helms) who tells the story of his long ago encounter with a strange woodland creature, the Lorax (Danny DeVito) who “spoke for the trees.” In a series of flashbacks the Once-ler explains how the trees were all killed off. The rest of the movie involves Ted, Audrey and Ted’s grandma battling corporate spies, security cameras and a brainwashed mob to see if trees can be restored. In a scene reminiscent of the recent animated classic “Wall-E,” there are wild chase scenes for the one last remaining seedling.

The Lorax is at its best when the animators are able to escape from the more heavy-handed aspects of the plot. Three singing, break-dancing goldfish provide a delightful background chorus to the action. The underground sewer system of Thneeville is a marvel of cartoon engineering. And there are some nice moments with Ted’s family, which seem to be inspired by the family in Carol Burnett’s old “Mama” skits from her variety TV show.

There is plenty of room for more animated parables sensitizing today’s young audiences to the importance of ecological concerns. However, Dr. Seus’ The Lorax would have been a better, more artful movie if its makers had exercised some artistic control and moderation over Dr. Seus’ manifesto from the opening salvos of the environmental wars. The book itself emphasizes sustainability so that natural resources will be around for production of goods. The film over-complicates the plot but over-simplifies the message.

Parents should know that this movie includes mild peril and themes of environmental destruction. Small children may find some of the exciting chases or the scenes of pollution a little intense.

Family discussion: Why did the Once-ler break his promise to the Lorax? Why did the citizens of Thneeville dislike trees? Would you be brave enough to do what Ted did?

If you like this, try: “Wall-E” and “Robots,” the Dr. Seuss book and the earlier and superior animated version with Eddie Albert as the narrator.

Wanderlust

Posted on February 24, 2012 at 8:07 am

It is painful to watch Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, who were superb together in “The Object of My Affection,” try to make the most from the fourth-rate Judd Apatow gross-out comedy “Wanderlust.” It wastes a situation filled with comic potential as we have seen in films like “Lost in America,” forgoing sharp satire for lazy jokes even Beavis and Butthead would find beneath them. Unless you think that seeing a bunch of saggy naked old people running or a doorless bathroom is hilarious, stay away.

Rudd plays George, a Wall Street guy married to Linda (Aniston), a film-maker who hopes to sell her new documentary about penguins to HBO. They have just spent all their money buying a “mini-loft,” a microscopic studio apartment with a Murphy bed. Linda Lavin makes a welcome appearance as their realtor, her impeccably dry delivery making even a raunchy line sound crisp. George’s firm collapses and Aniston’s film is rejected for being too depressing (they can’t come up with a better joke than a film about penguin testicular cancer? and HBO saying they might be interested if it had vampires?), they have to leave New York for Atlanta, where George’s brother has promised him a job. The movie’s best scene is the sharply edited driving montage, as George and Linda alternate being sad and angry with the inevitable road trip sing-along to the Doobie Brothers.

George’s brother Rick (co-screenwriter Ken Marino) is a loudmouth vulgarian who lives in a hideously sterile McMansion with his substance-addled wife Marisa (Michaela Watkins, who was a hilarious Hoda Kotb on “SNL”). It isn’t enough that Rick is crass and obnoxious. He has to be in the port-a-potty business. George and Linda can’t stand it, and decide to return to the place where they spent the night on the drive down, an “intentional community” run by a charismatic leader named Seth (Justin Theroux). Everything seems idyllic, filled with peace, harmony, and sharing. Linda is very happy, even after the “tea” they give her in the Truth Circle causes her to hallucinate that she can fly. But George starts to feel vulnerable and jealous, especially when the sharing extends to having sex with other partners.

The film-makers did much better with Rudd’s “Role Models,” which had a central sweetness and benefited from a storyline that had the adults more immature than the children and a rousing KISS-inspired RPG finale. This movie’s jokes are as tired and saggy as its aging nudists. It is painful to see talented performers Watkins, Lauren Ambrose (radiantly beautiful as an ur-mother-to-be), Alan Alda (as the community’s founder), and Kathryn Hahn (who was wonderful with Rudd in “How Will I Know”) trying so hard to make the dismal script funny. Idiotic low points include a childbirth scene, Rudd’s attempts to psych himself up for his first non-marital sexual encounter, a topless protest against casino developers (calm down, boys, Aniston is pixilated), and plot developments that make no sense whatsoever. It would be fatal to the movie that even the slackest attempts at characterization are jettisoned to flail at some inconsistent comic possibility if the movie wasn’t already DOA.

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Act of Valor

Posted on February 23, 2012 at 6:07 pm

The Navy SEALS approached the Bandito Brothers film-makers about telling their story, years before they became headline heroes by finding and killing Osama Bin Laden. After spending time with the SEALS and learning about their extraordinary missions and their extraordinary devotion to their families, their country, and each other, it became clear that even the biggest stars in Hollywood could never do them justice. And so they made “Act of Valor,” a thrilling action/adventure film starring active duty U.S. Navy SEALS re-enacting some of their most dangerous missions, with live ammunition. Every person in uniform you see in the film is currently serving in the U.S. military. More than once, shooting had to shut down so that the SEALS could get back to work.

The story is pure fiction but the situations are real and the filming includes footage of training missions with live ammunition. According to the story, a CIA agent has been kidnapped and is being tortured. Terrorists are trying to enter the United States to detonate suicide bombings that will murder thousands of civilians. The SEALS get little notice and less background briefing and they have to save the day, using a combination of the most cutting edge technology in weapons and communication and the oldest and most basic forms of technology (hand-to-hand combat) and communication (hand signals and just knowing each other and the mission objectives). Most of all, they rely on training, integrity, and trust. What they don’t rely on is anything going as originally planned. In one exciting chase, the bad guys are closing in and shooting at them with automatic weapons and one of the SEALs has been critically injured. What is even more fascinating than the pulse-pounding action is the way the Seals keep adapting their escape plan and updating their team with remarkable economy and precision. “This will be a hot extract,” they say crisply into the walkie-talkies as they return fire. “Moving to tertiary extract,” they continue. All may be chaos around them, but you get the feeling that they could keep going with another 20 thought-through options for pick-up if the first 19 can not work. “Prepare for a bigger fight than you were expecting,” they are advised in one operation, but the SEALs are always ready. One of them quotes the moving words of the Native American leader Tecumseh that concludes, “When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.”

The guys (their names are not used for security reasons) are not actors, but that just adds to to sense that we are watching a documentary, albeit a documentary that sometimes plays like a first-person shooter game. When we see the SEALs with their families and with each other, it is clear that there is not an actor in the world who could convey the humility and honor that is fundamental to their natures.

The storyline is thin and generic but there is plenty of drama in the operation of the missions, each like a movie of its own and well staged to make us feel at the center of the action. Country greats like Trace Adkins, Wynonna Judd, Sugarland, and Lady Antebellum provide a stirring soundtrack. We see operations on land, sea, and in the air. There are fights and shoot-outs but one of the most mesmerizing scenes is all talk as the master interrogator shows the master criminal just enough respect to keep him cooperating, making clear how much power he has over the other man’s life to make that cooperation meaningful. “I’d rather bring a gun to a knife fight than be interrogated by him,” one of the Seals says proudly. The support of their families and, at least in one case, a family history of sacrifice creates a clarity of priorities that creates a context for excellence. In a world where ambiguity and partisanship make it hard to find heroes, the biggest thrills in this film come not from the shoot-outs but from seeing real-life commitment, courage, and what valor truly means.

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