Everybody's Fine

How strange to make a film so sad as this at Christmas time. The film ads and posters show a smiling, happy crew headed by Robert DeNiro. Take a long, hard look because that is about the last time you'll see them happy. DeNiro is a newly widowed father who kept in touch with his adult kids via his wife (the usual). Now that she is gone, he invites them but they don't come. They planned to, but since one of them is in prison in Mexico, they all cancel. So he goes to find them. Yet, he has a lung disease from working with PVC wire that insulates phone lines- so we are supposed to get the irony that he made all that communication possible, but no one calls him. Anyhoo- he does visit them and they are each hiding something so they don't disappoint him. You get the drift. Parts are absolutely wonderful- but the story becomes oppressive. The children all love their father but they won't tell him the truth?? It is very 1950s in that respect. DeNiro plays a very wise and caring father. It seems odd they wouldn't tell him his kid was in Mexico in prison. The end of this movie is a miserable failure- was it an homage to Christmas spirit that they tied it up tightly with a bow? Should you see it?- no, you should wait and rent it. It's too down for this time of year.

Brothers

An ensemble film depends on every single actor doing a wonderful job. The danger is when there is even a slightly weak link- that actor will be somewhat ignored while the viewer pays attention to the better actor. In this movie, the best actor is the child actor Bailee Madison. It is up to the adults to keep pace. Tobey McGuire and Jake Gyllenhaal hold their own as the brothers who switch places as the good/bad child in the family. Natalie Portman, who is a very boring actress to watch and listen to, limps her way through as the wife who believes her husband (McGuire) is dead and picks up with his brother (Gyllenhaal). There is plenty of tension. It's a good movie, and it is interesting to watch. There is a problem however, and that is that it just isn't enough. A complex story becomes a simple story. McGuire tries to save it by using his eyes to express his craziness. But truly- the kids tell the story better than anyone. I'd recommend it. Yet, everyone in this film really seems like they are working too hard to make it a film. It feels far more like a play.

The Fantastic Mr Fox

Bearing an odd resemblance to Wladyslaw Starewicz's The Tale of the Fox (1930s), Anderson uses stop animation to tell an adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's story of the same name. I must confess, I never read the book. Not even to my kiddos. So the story was new to me. The stop animation is very similar to Starewicz- especially when compared to more modern animation. But it works. The story is clever and the dialogue is funny. I liked the touch of having a driver hop into a car on the right hand side, since Dahl would have done that. Some of the things are obvious references to Anderson's previous works. It is never over done, and it would be easily identified as a Wes Anderson film in style. I think this film would suit almost anyone over the age of 7- but it has quirks and could be scary for little kids. (The usual Dahl problem). I had one complaint- and it is a common one for me. I cannot stand having famous voices in animated film. It is highly distracting. This one SCREAMED George Clooney. And Meryl Streep. Clooney was great, but his highly recognizable voice keeps you from getting into the character. You are completely aware that Clooney has a mike in front of him and is reciting this dialogue. Anderson needs to stop using his friends in any future animations- it just distracts. Otherwise, it was fun and easy.

2012

I start out this review by saying the usual- it is what it is. Lots of explosions. Lots of implausible science. Lots of overacting. Lots of predictable situations. The world is going to end in 2012. Everything is falling apart. There is some vague Noah's Ark ideology. And that's it. But what there is of it is indeed spectacular. In fact, if you are going for a plot or story, you will be very disappointed. It is a special effects film- no more, no less. And for some of us, that is enough.

A Serious Man

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that you will probably find the humor in this movie if you are Jewish. And not the kind of Jewish that never goes to synagogue- or even the kind of Jewish that you became to please your husband's family. I'm talking Saturday school, Bat/bar mitzvah, glass stomping Jewish. Because there are obviously inside jokes here that merely going to synagogue with your junior high friends on Friday night will not explain. It baffled me in spots- about 20 people roared with delight while I, on the other hand, felt like I was watching a movie about Jewish stereotypes. They were all in here- the wise but obtuse rabbi, the shrewish wife, the nebbishy husband and his sycophantic brother, the smart but bored Jewish kids, the sister who saves up for a nose job- and that is just part of it. In a Coen movie, you always wait for the other shoe to drop. So this one leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next and when will someone be killed. The plot summary can easily be found on any website, but suffice it to say, it is Job without a happy ending. I feel it was worth seeing, but it may be too much of an inside joke for any non-Jewish theater goers. But if you are Jewish, you'll probably be one of the people who really can get the humor and who will say it is the best Jewish movie of all time. As an aside- the movie was made in the Minneapolis neighborhood that the Coen's grew up in around the same time as they did. Notice the set decoration. If you were alive in 1967, it will look very familiar.