10 Word Reviews: Hanna, Like Crazy, Puss in Boots, Coriolanus
Monday, November 14, 2011 at 4:00PM Though I'm happy to have finally banged out a few thoughts on J Edgar, I'm never going catch up without engaging in some quickies. So herewith some miniature takes on things I've recently seen that I haven't written up. (And at the end of the post, a bit more on J. Edgar because you were asking... )
CORIOLANUS
For Fiennes directorial debut he adapts one of Shakespeare's lesser tragedies
10WR: Swings with brutish fists, occasionally landing blows. Impactful locale choices. B
Oscar? Supporting Actress. It will be all about beastly mama Redgrave chewing determinedly on her own anger. (Fiennes does the spitting for their amusingly Oedipal bond).
LIKE CRAZY
Crazy College Kids Cuddling Cross-Atlantic
10WR: Intermittently endearing / annoying, sensitively made. Starter kit for promising careers. B-
Oscar? Unlikely despite early buzz to the contrary. Best Actress is too crowded and romantic dramas don't win kudos for their male leads. On that note, I feel it's worth trumpeting that Anton Yelchin is every bit as strong as Felicity Jones in detailing the first crushing moments of love and the romantic confusion that often follows. Bonus points for giving us the most authentic "drunk but horny, trying to stay awake" face the movies have ever seen.
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
Crazy Post-Collegiate Kids' "NO CUDDLING!" Coitus
10 WR: 100% predictable but funny. Authentically acted despite proud sitcom leanings. C+
Oscar? LOL. But no embarrassment for Portman as post-Oscar performances go -- which it could have been. She's far better here than in The Other Woman. No really.
PUSS IN BOOTS
Puss invades another fairy tale (Jack and the Beanstalk) for treasure and personal redemption.
10WR: Indulgent backstories / setpieces bore. Charms with character and recurring gags. B
Oscar? Seems likely for animated feature but then they did ignore the last two Shrek movies.
HANNA
in which a teen killing machine is on the run from... because of... with only .....
10 WR: Carnage-filled collision of fairytales/Catholocism. Ridiculous. Unique. Very watchable B
Oscar? Stylized teen driven genre pieces are not their thing so "No". But how about that Chemical Bros score, eh? Cinematography was compelling, too.
J EDGAR & OSCAR?
Already reviewed and interviewed but y'all kept asking about Oscar. I only have it predicted for two nominations right now, Best Makeup and Best Actor. The makeup is getting mostly bad reviews but bad reviews have rarely stopped them from honoring "Most Makeup" in the past. As for the Best Actor nomination for Leonardo DiCaprio, I agree with Mark who says in the review comments.
I don't want to live in a world where Leo is given out of some sense of obligation but Fassbender is snubbed for his miraculous turn in Shame.
... but we do live in that kind of world, even if this year happens to pan out differently.
Otherwise, I don't see a way the film can find much Oscar traction. The costumes and art direction aren't particularly showy (and it's a crowded year). The cinematography seems to be one of the more divisive elements and historically the cinematography branch isn't as enamored with Eastwood's filmography as other branches tend to be. Even when his films are Best Picture nominated they don't often show up. Unforgiven (Jack N. Green) is the only one of his four Best Picture nominees to receive a cinematography nomination and Changeling (Tom Stern) is the only other one of his pictures so honored.
What's next review wise?
More substantial takes coming on Melancholia and the Scandinavian Oscar submissions...
Coriolanus, Hanna, J Edgar, Like Crazy, No Strings Attached, Oscars (11), Puss in Boots, Reviews
Reader Comments (23)
I'd be OK with DiCaprio getting a Best Actor nomination...but I'd really hate it if the film got a nomination for makeup.
For whatever reason, Hanna hit me on a level that it didn't hit most people. The giddy surrealism and atmospheric air of violence struck me in the same way Drive did; almost a parable or a fairy tale, entirely unreal yet masterfully realized and brought to life. However you slice it, love it or hate it, these two movies are high imaginative cinema and we need vital players like Wright and Winding who are willing to take things to new levels.
Anthony -- agreed. In some ways I thought Hanna was a complete disaster but then I would notice that i was still riveted and Saoirse was, as always, quite a screen presence.
Joe Wright is definitely pushing himself in this one -- even though I don't think he undersatnds how to stage action at all. the action scenes seemed to make very very little spatial sense -- and you have to respect that. I also kind of dug how shamelessly hammy Cate Blanchett was being although the line between bad performance and shamelessly hammy is perilously thin so she was kind of hit and miss.
Having seen Shame this weekend, and mostly enjoyed it, I'm starting to think Fassbender may be a little bit (and really just mean a little bit) overpraised. Yes he is wonderful, but it's no surprise. The man can do anything, we know that. So in that sense, I do think he's a little overrated. Actually, I take that back. I think he's better than the film and the writing let's him down a few times. Yes, that makes sense. Where's the love for Carey Mulligan, though? I thought she was just as good as he was, not to mention underused. But maybe that's just me. That being said, can they both get Oscar nods, please? (I know this is wildly unlikely. Oh, well.)
I hated Like Crazy. Two anti-charismatic leads pining over each other, infuriatingly, for years, whilst simultaneously blowing off backup partners with whom each of them is OBVIOUSLY much better paired. Plus, the whole hushed, on the fly style of it = ughsville. That is way more infuriating to me than all the desaturated Eastwood gloom in the world (though I still haven't seen J. Edgar, so what the hell do I know?) A B- is entirely too kind of you, sir, though thoughtful people can disagree on this point!
I agree Blanchett was hamming but she was being the cartoon character she needed to be to sell the movie-if she were too serious I don't think the film would be quite as comic-book mythos as it wanted to be. And I see what youre saying about the action sequences but I found them to be...hmm...psychedelically sumptuous. Then again I'm Vanilla Sky's only fan, so take that as you will :p. Also that score was incredible! Within the next few years, I think more than 50% of movies will be electronically scored, and honestly I don't mind.
It's interesting you mention that about Hanna's action because the action sequences were each shot in very long takes and then edited down. The one in Containment Park was actually a continuous shot that was longer than the Dunkirk sequence in Atonement which I find hard to even believe. I got this from some interview with Ronan, wish I knew the link.
I don't remember much about the specifics of the action scenes but I remember being very impressed, especially by the scene with Bana in the subway that remains a continuous shot as well as the escape from the compound. Also agree the score is fantastic.
@ Dominique - when I wrote up Shame on this blog last month from the London Film Fest, I was definitely fighting Mulligan's corner! Fassbender is of course superb, but I agree, it was rather expected, and I do think the performance wasn't surprising in its brilliance because it does see him on familiar ground. Whereas Mulligan still takes up a lot of space in my head because she was such a revelation. I think because this year has been her first of 'adult' leading roles (admittedly I can't comment on Wall Street 2 from last year, but Never Let Me Go was still "stunted growth") in this and Drive, and Sissy is a much more active characterisation than Irene in Drive. I know it was designed to be such a different part in her career plan, but that doesn't mean it wasn't effective as such.
Nathaniel...I'm so glad you watched No Strings Attached...Yay!
The trailer for Hanna was better than the film...but certainly not better than Hanna's magnificent wintry white eyebrows.
@David I must have missed that! Gonna go look it up now....
And let me quickly defend Cate Blanchett's hamminess. Loved it! I want to see her play a villain again. (No, Indiana Jones and the Film I Pretend Doesn't Exist does not count.)
Hanna is an amazing, incredibly original, constantly surprising and above everything, awesomely BRAVE movie. A mess?? No way. It has soul, magic, and it communicates all that passion to us thanks to Joe Wright's extraordinary talent and yes, again passion and love to the cinema. It's a beautiful, energic coming of age movie. He has nothing to respect in his planification of the action sequences, his action sequences are the best thing that has happened to the genre in many, many years. And Cate Blanchett is GLORIOUS in this movie, hit and miss?? Again, no way, she's just gorgeous, one of her best performances ever. Saoirse can't be better. One of the movies of the year. Chemical Brothers' music is perfect.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that you saw the movie with prejudices (with that problem that you have with Teenage killers), you just didn't see this odd jewel coming and you don't know how to deal with it. Forget prejudices! it's a great, unique movie! And OMG what an amazing sense of rythm.
Glad you enjoyed 'Hanna.' Next to Tree of Life, it's at the top of my list of films this year. Like 'Drive', I really appreciated the way the movie invoked style and a certain fairy tale quality to propel what would otherwise seem very familiar. Maybe it's just because I have a greater affection for the films being evoked by 'Hanna', but I responded more to it than 'Drive.'
The last shot is KILLER. Really sealed the deal for me.
I really like "Hanna"
I love Cate Blanchett, I've loved the Chemical Brothers ever since 1997, when I was only 12 and my sister introduced them to me, and I love Joe Wright films, they're always endlessly beautiful => so when I heard Cate Blanchett + The Chemical Brothers + Joe Wright = I couldn't calm down :D for like a.... week or more
btw, hasn't Blanchett worked with some of the most impressive directors ever?
and now she'll add Terrence Malick to her list and a double dose of him too :P
"J Edgar" does feel a bit "Elizabeth: The Golden Age", doesn't it? It's big, showboating A-lister lead and a lone technical nod sort of deal.
LOVE the "Coriolanus" poster!
been almost 2 months since i saw shame. have seen sone other contenders since. im a little worried that folks are getting a bit too over the moon for him right now, and i love fassy except for his messy accent in jane eyre. but i am in agreement that he's starting to get overpriased in this circle now a days, not unlike how one mr. goosling used to be. who is slowly fading as the flavor of the month, for better or worse.
with that said, i'll take them over leo,s hoover any day!
I was so looking forward to Hanna & was massively let down by it. It was so contrived & Blanchett was poor ( what was with the excessive teeth brushing), she's in desperate need of a challenging role is our Cate.
I was surprised to see Hanna here - didn't that come out months and months ago? I recall reading reviews elsewhere on the 'net. Or was that a festival premiere from some time back? It seems like old news already, and I have no idea why.
I am a big fan of the Puss in Boots. I took the kids to go see this and it was great. We really enjoy watching movies as much as anyone. I recently signed up for the Blockbuster Movie Pass which gives us access to thousands of movies and games. This lets a movie junkie get the most options and movies around. You can get movies a month before Redbox or Netflix does. This is avail from DISH Network where I work.
Janice -- yes. it was an early year release. but this time of year is when i watch everythign that i somehow missed earlier in prep for all the "year in review" madness.
No 10 word review for Rampart? How was Woody!?