Taking Woodstock (2009)

40 years after the landmark music festival, where hundreds of thousands of people gathered in peace, we get a movie detailing what into making the concert possible, and how it affected the people around it.

Now that sounds like the premise to a pretty decent little film, and Ang Lee's new effort Taking Woodstock is, for the most part, enjoyable. It's sported by a likable cast (Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, and others) and helmed by a director who should be capable of handling such material.

Martin, who is a very funny and unique stand-up comic (if you haven't, check out his Comedy Central special Person), plays Elliot Teichberg, a young man who has sacrificed a job at New York to go upstate and help his parents (Staunton and Henry Goodman) turn around their crumbling motel. Elliot notices that a concert has been kicked out of its original location, and sees an opportunity to make money. And then everything snowballs into Woodstock.

The movie never really focuses on the concert on stage, where Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead are presumably playing, but focuses on Elliot as he wanders around the concert, trying to get to the stage but being sidetracked by the many colorful characters that show up. Schreiber, who is in drag here, steals the show.

But the movie is littered with clichés of the time. Elliot takes acid and suddenly his eyes are opened to the entire world. His mother fulfills every requirement of the greedy jew, charging extra for towels or soap. The uptight parents take brownies and strut around. And around and around it goes, never ending.

I actually really want to see the three hour documentary Woodstock (1970) which I feel would be a better representative to that "awesome" time everyone reminisces about. Here, Ang Lee falls far short.

The movie has a lot of interesting ideas presented in the movie, but it never fully realizes any of them. Staunton's character has a revelation that is so stereotypical you expect her to turn into a rat, Elliot's dad has the cheesiest confession this year, and the movie never really gives you a sense of the community and camaraderie the hippies had with each other.

Ultimately, the movie is forgettable. I doubt that when I wake tomorrow I will be thinking much about this film. And soon I will forget its existence completely. Which is a shame, because Woodstock probably deserves more justice then this. Though it already has a three hour documentary. I think I'll put that on my Netflix.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

I rarely say this (in reviews anyways) but holy shit that was an awesome movie. Now this is the movie of the summer; not X-Men, not Transformers, Harry Potter, G.I. Joe, or Prawns...this is.

My, what a bold statement I just made there. But it's true. And this movie is an example of something that Hollywood should take special notice of. This movie is gruesome, but if you clocked the amount of violence and action in the movie, you would probably come short of five minutes tops...and that's being optimistic. The movie builds to its action sequences, which are short bursts of bloody glory, then resumes it what is almost an entirely dialogue driven movie.

The opening scene alone, which takes up about 20 minutes, held this audience in complete captivation. And that scene so effectively establishes the villain, Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) that whenever that character reappears, chills go up and down your spine.

The story of Inglorious Basterds could simply be boiled down to this: Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) leads an army of American Jews and Germans (Krauts who hate the third reich) on a general slaughter of any and all Nazis they come across. To say anymore would be to spoil too much of the fun.

Needless to say, this is history as Tarantino envisions it, so if you hate historically inaccurate movies, then I'd say you should leave the theater immediately and go rent Sergei Bondarchuk's War and Peace. If, however, you are tired of the endless WWII and Holocaust movies, then this is your movie. The Jews take matters into their own hands, and while the film has no semblances of realism in accordance with history, it is glorious to watch.

But I want to touch again on something remarkable about this film. Tarantino uses dialogue in all of his scenes, that special brand where characters don't necessarily talk about plot related matters but about what they are doing, their lives. Everything drives the plot, though you may not realize it at first, and little embellishments help flourish the scenery, for instance strudels, a card game, and milk.

The movie, however, is not without a few very, very minor faults. First, I would have liked to have known a bit more about the Basterds; they are the title but share maybe 1/4 of the screen time that other characters have. This is a small quibble, really. What bothered me a little more was Tarantino's endless references that I caught and didn't catch. The scores used near the beginning are obviously remixed versions of Ennio Morricone's The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly score. The film also randomly mashes styles, giving us a looney backstory on one Basterd, with silly titles and all.

Now I challenge Tarantino with this: make a movie that is wholly original and doesn't contain references to obscure kung fu films or slightly better known westerns. You've mastered the art creating excellent entertainments around things you loved (most notably Kill Bill). Now it's time to stop paying homage. It's time to start doing things that people will pay homage to you for.

I still think this movie is great, and even want to see it again to make sure I take in everything. I recommend those that have been waiting for the movie to see this summer to go see it, and everyone else too. This is a film that does not insult its audiences intelligence.

Rated R for the scalping of Nazis, swearing, and a brief shot of Goebbel's humping his translator.

The Sopranos (1999 - 2007)

The following review contains spoilers.

We live in a golden age of television of sorts. The networks have improved upon their tired old shows of yesteryear to bring us thrilling shows like 24 and Lost, or great comedy like The Office (U.S.) and Arrested Development. Of course, there is still a LOT of crap on television, but there are a few gems out there that should be recognized, and appreciated.

I don't consider myself any sort of T.V. aficionado, at least, not in the way I consider myself a movie aficionado. However, I can say that no other T.V. show has so seamlessly felt like a movie then The Sopranos, one that many have called the greatest show of all time, and that is almost true. Sopranos aired on HBO, which allowed the show to spew as many language as it could, something the show would have lost on cable or network television (I have never seen the show's A&E version, though I'm sure it loses something in the censorship).

The Sopranos opens with the shows protagonist, Anthony Soprano (James Gadolfini) about to see a therapist (Lorraine Bracco) to diagnose his issue with panic attacks. The Billy Crystal/Robert DeNiro comedy Analyze This came out the same year, but this deals with mobster therapy in a wholly serious and convincing way.

The show goes on to paint the picture of Tony's life: his loving wife, Carmella (Edie Falco), bratty daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), fat son Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler), crazy mother Livia (Nancy Marchand), self-absorbed sister Janice (Aida Tuturro) and Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese). This is his family, and they influence in shape Tony in many ways.

Then there's his crew: his Consigliere Silvio Dante (Steve van Zandt), Paulie Gualtieri (Tony Sirico), nephew Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), Bobby Baccalieri (Steve Schirripa) and Vito Spatafore (Joseph R. Gannascoli).

The show is about the mob, but it's not the Godfather mob, or the Goofellas mob. It's not the mafia that has been romanticized in Hollywood: this is a gritty, realistic mob, where the boss lives better then the henchmen, who must carry out horrible tasks, and where the warring families can come at odds and order hits on each other.

What makes this show so special, though, is the moral perspective it takes on as well. Through Tony's therapy sessions you get an inside look into what makes Tony tick, what irks him and what makes him happy. In the Pilot, ducks land in Tony's pond, and when they leave, he feels lonesome and has a panic attack (leading him to therapy). Tony is painted a monster, but one that you understand, and even like. You see Tony at his best, and you see Tony at his worst.

This show is probably one of the single most unpredictable shows out there. You expect characters to die, and a lot do, but some deaths catch you by surprise, some you expect to happen but are still surprised by it, and some make your stomach turn. Throughout the course of the seasons, one character is singled out to be killed off by the end of the season, maybe two. In Season Two, Richie Aprile (David Proval) is the character you expect to die, and he does, but in a wholly unexpected way.

Of course, the show also works because there are so many great talents on full view here. Edie Falco is terrific as the upper class wife, so shallow, yet so determined to do right (despite her knowledge of where her fortune comes from). Falco embodies this character.

Sigler and Iler, as the kids, are very good too. You get frustrated at them because they are spoiled beyond belief, Meadow is a bratty teenager by every definition, and A.J. is just fat and lazy (though it's amazing how much weight this character loses over the course of the show). Sometimes they can be both annoying (especially A.J.'s attempt on his own life), but both are great characters.

Uncle Junior and Livia Soprano represent the old mafia, since they lived in the mafia of the 50s. Of course Livia was just like Carmella and ignorant: Junior, though, is an indispensable character, starting as boss of the family, then when Tony takes that title he begins to lose his mind. Junior is definitely one of the standouts, and Livia lives on as one of the greatest villains on television.

Of Tony's crew, Christopher is the most developed character, as he is Tony's chose heir to the family. Chris suffers his own problems, though, dealing with cocaine, heroin, alcohol, and all manner of substances before being submitted to AA and NA for recovery. He has aspirations to be a screenwriter and has a funny run-in with Jon Favreau during the second season. And his supported by his girlfriend, Adriana.

Adriana La Cerva is a curious character because she was only written for one episode. However, Drea de Matteo impressed the producers so much that they expanded her role to a regular on the show, and you can see why. Adriana is a loving to companion to Christopher, another perspective on the mob business, and probably the most sympathetic character as she is turned by the F.B.I. and experiences the most harrowing car ride on television.

Silvio Dante is my favorite of the crew, as he is always providing Tony with sure advice. Paulie is the craziest character, and all you need is the Season 3 episode Pine Barrens (one of the show's best) to show you why. Bobby, who starts as Junior's driver, moves up. And let's not forget Pussy (Vincent Pastore).

There are so many characters. Dr. Melfi, the therapist, has her own thread as she realizes who Tony really is and if she wants to help him any more. Their therapy continues for the show's duration, and she has therapy with Peter Bogdanovich (not as himself) seeking counsel for what she is doing. Her character fell by the wayside in the later seasons, but you get a strong idea of her character's morals in the Season 3 episode Employee of the Month.

And, of course, there's Tony. James Gadolfini cannot be praised enough for his portrayal of this lovable, yet horrible mobster. Tony always seeks to avoid conflict when he can, but then he can sink to the lowest morals (near the end of the show he drastically turns on one of his crew). You believe Gadolfini through every moment on screen, at his worst and best.

The show remains strong throughout it's run, only faltering in quality significantly in Season Six, Part I. And the ending of the show is one that caused mass disappointment in fans, and I can see why, but it makes sense to me. Tony isn't killed, or at least this isn't shown, and that is something very original for a mafia show. One would almost expect Tony to die, but instead the show builds up one last sequence that ends for no reason. It just ends. We don't know what happens to Tony, but that's the point: this was several years in Tony Soprano's life, and now his story is over.

It's because of HBO we also got the wonderful Six Feet Under, which has a better ending, yes, but a Six Feet Under ending would not befit the Sopranos, and Six Feet Under endings can be terrible if done wrong. But the Sopranos was the first show to dare television to try harder, and the first television show that you could call art. Much of television is just crap to entertain you after a hard day's work, but the Sopranos...that is something worth watching.

District 9 (2009)

A lot of people have been fawning over a movie called District 9, directed by unknown Neill Blomkamp and released by Peter Jackson. Harry Knowles of AICN said that this was "...the most accomplished, provocative and intelligent science fiction I've seen in this new century." Now I have learned to take what the AICN fanboys say with a grain of salt, and this is no disrespect against them, but they usually don't make statements this bold, and I've seen many other people on the Internets raving about this movie.

So of course I had to go see it. It did look good after all, the teaser trailer and theatrical trailer enticing you but giving none of the story away. This is one of the few movies I went into as blind as possible; I didn't read any reviews until after I had seen it, to gain a perspective on what those other critics had thought of it.

The movie's premise, I have to say, is one of the most original premises we have had in a while. Aliens land not over Chicago, New York, D.C., or L.A., but over Johannesburg, South Africa. The movie is not about what the aliens do to us, but what we do to them. In a very well done mockumentary at the opening, the situation of the Aliens are set up, nicknamed Prawns for their crustaceanlike appearance, and because that associates them with bottom feeders. The Prawns are moved into a slum, which shares the movie's title, and live a fairly disgusting life, loving catfood.

The main character of the film is Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley), an employee of MNU (the company that maintains the Aliens living conditions) who is assigned the task of going through District 9 and getting the Prawns to sign an eviction notice, merrily killing the eggs of the Prawns and arresting/killing those who resist. He has an unfortunate accident which makes him a refugee from humankind.

One might be surprised to learn that this only cost $30 million to make, considering the amount of visual effects are in the film. The Prawns, using the motion capture technology that Jackson's Weta Workshops has perfected, are realistic and exist within the realm of each scene perfectly. You forget they are computer generations and except them as actual beings, much like you did Gollum in LOTR. One Prawn, Christopher Johnson (yes, that is his name) and his son become surprisingly empathetic, and it is one of the movie's great accomplishments.

But alas, this movie is not all that others have made it out to be. While the movie has a terrific set-up and premise, once the movie starts following Wikus' exile it becomes surprisingly formulaic. The villains, and there are many, are so one-dimensional and evil that you can predict their every move (the aliens are not really the enemy, I might add). The fighting and action is badass, to be sure, and is probably the most inventive of the summer, but it goes on and on and on to no end.

And I am getting really, really sick of the shaky camera thing. Jim Emerson, a blog writer for Ebert's website, posted an article titled "Ten Limitations for better movies," and number one on that list was "Get a Tripod." Blair Witch Project (1999) was probably the first to make this popular, though you can most likely trace the origin of shaky cam farther back; the Bourne films kind of made it more Hollywood, and Cloverfield (2008) ushered in a new age of shaky cam. And now I've had enough. Your film will look good even if you don't have it shaking every the whole time. The beginning of the film makes sense, since this stuff is being filmed, but after that I got bored of the shaky cam and wished that it would sit still.

This movie had so much potential to be better then it is. A lot have been recalling Blade Runner and comparing it to that, and while I am not the biggest Blade Runner fan, I think it is a smarter and better movie then this. The movie starts strong, and the transformation the main character goes through is great, but the message of corporate greed is hackneyed, and the movie has the most routine third act for something that started off so fresh and original.

Rated R for Alien/Human swears, a ton of violence, and implied Alien prostitution.

Funny People (2009)

In looking over Adam Sandler's filmography as an actor, I notice that a good amount of his movies I dislike, some highly. I also noticed that I have never seen Sandler on the big screen, since I usually choose to avoid his films. I've seen him in one film I really liked him in, and that was Paul Thomas Anderson's Punk-Drunk Love (2002). Sandler is excellent in this movie too, in a different way, and maybe the days of Sandler's low-brow comedy days may be coming to an end.

This is Judd Apatow's third movie and with each one he seems to be playing more and more of a balancing act with comedy and drama. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) is still probably his most hilarious movie, I might be so bold to say that Knocked Up (2007) is still his best, but Funny People is his most genuine. It comes from the heart, truly, as it explores the rarely seen backstage life of a stand-up comic.

The movie opens with real footage of Adam Sandler, filmed by Judd Apatow when they were roommates in their 20s, making prank phone calls. Here is a man full of youth, his whole life ahead of him. Suddenly, we see George Simmons (Adam Sandler) living alone in a humongous house, successful, yet solitary. He is diagnosed with Leukemia, and things get worse.

Seth Rogen plays Ira Wright, a struggling young comic hoping to make it big and working at the local grocery deli to get the income. RZA has an amusing role here. One night, Ira does stand-up in the same place that Simmons puts on a show (the theater is one Apatow emceed at when he was a struggling comedian). Simmons sees Ira, and hires him to write jokes for him, eventually opening up about his disease and pouring his whole life into Ira's lap.

Here is a comedy that is actually about something. Every person in this movie, even down to Eric Bana's comical Australian villain, feel like real, whole human beings. Compare this to a movie like The Hangover, which settles for endless butt gags and surface emotion characters, and you have two directors working in entirely different fields.

Sadly, though, Funny People commits a crime the Hangover did as well. The Hangover showed us butts and did other things to shock us, and here Funny People features an endless barrage of penis jokes. They are funny yes, and at one point a famous singer quips, "Don't you ever get tired of talking about your penis?" but they feel like they never, never end. This and that, this and that, back and forth. Maybe this is authentic to the comedian's lifestyle, I dunno.

The movie is also very long. At 146 minutes, it is epic for a comedy, though it is equal parts drama. I enjoy a movie that doesn't feel like it has to rush through everything, but this film could have used some pairing down. Be prepared for the movie's length, as I was. It pays off in the end, but you may get restless wondering what happened to the penis jokes.

Fans of The 40-Year-Old Virgin who weren't crazy about Knocked Up should be warned: this movie contains a lot more drama, is not your traditional Sandler or Rogen picture, and might cause you to feel more emotion then you are used to at a comedy. Which is really what I like about this movie; it feels like a real movie, not some frat boy comedy. The slimmed down Rogen is less funny then in recent movies, but he also plays a much more real character, and surprised me with how different he can be.

I should mention Leslie Mann, who appears as Laura, Simmons' one true love, the one that got away. Though she is married to Apatow (the kids in the movie are also her kids with Apatow), she is still pretty good in this movie. She is forced to deal with some tough decisions at the end of the movie, and you understand her character's decisions, even though you think less of her because of the process she goes through to make them.

And Sandler plays a guy who really isn't that likable. I don't know why the trailer reveals that Simmons is cured of his disease; probably to inspire people to come see it and not feel like its going to be a real downer. Rest assured though that the disease is only the midway point of the movie, there is stuff after that the trailer reveals too, but makes the situations less obvious.

As a dark comedy, it works, and as a creative insight into the comedian's world, it is great. The cast is as strong as ever, and Apatow is really coming into his element. He's working on another level, at least, then most comedy writer/directors, and I can't wait to see what he directs next.

Rated R: Sandler has some sex, and lots of penis jokes are told. Eric Bana gets violent.

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Populating many multiplexes this summer are stupid, idiotic romantic comedies like The Proposal and The Ugly Truth. There's nothing wrong with a romantic comedy; City Lights (1931), Annie Hall (1977), It Happened One Night (1934), and When Harry Met Sally... (1989) are all romantic comedies that I feel are terrific films. Those films somehow fully embodied or transcended the genre, and are not merely completely predictable by-the-numbers films. And while (500) Days of Summer is not in the same league as those four, it's still a pretty damn good movie, and a refreshing look at romance.

The movie does away with any semblance of chronology, starting at Day 488, in many ways the most pivotal day, and then going back to Day 1, only to jump to Day 290 to examine the turmoil the relationship is in. A voice-over at the beginning states that this is a story of boy meets girl, but is not a love story. It's no secret that at the end of the film the two are not together, as evidenced by the title, so the film becomes an observation of Tom's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) confusion about what went wrong, and not understanding.

The movie seems to have a brutal honesty about relationships, right at the start, as Summer (Zooey Deschanel), the girl Tom is enamored with, right off the bat tells him she is not looking for anything serious. It seems that these two are in a role-reversal of what seems to be the "norm": Tom is looking for love, while Summer just wants to have fun.

The movie is carried by the leads effortlessly, especially Gordon-Levitt who is able to make you empathize with him during his heartbreak. Deschanel as Summer is also great, creating a character that remains a mystery throughout the picture, but also someone you could totally imagine wanting to hang out with.

The movie also has that indelible indie feel, as Tom in depression enters scenes from Persona and The Seventh Seal, or after his first big night with summer dances down the street to Hall & Oate's "You Make My Dreams". The movie has a pretty good soundtrack, which, besides the Hall & Oates, supports the indie feel of the picture.

The movie is directed by Marc Webb, his first feature, and what a breakout. Obviously the next movie is the true test of the director's strength, but here he fills the movie with such joy and sorrow, and you actually feel for these characters, even though the film will jump from early days of happiness to latter days of sorrow. The screenplay is written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who also scripted The Pink Panther 2. I never saw that film, but I am assured that when this duo is working from the heart instead of for the cash, they put a strong film together.

The film is not without its flaws. Most annoying is Chloe Moretz as Tom Hanson's 12-year-old sister who has all the right answers, or doesn't. She's the one character in the film that doesn't have an authentic feel to her, and instead was created as a weird channel for Tom's emotions in times of crises. An early scene of the film has her rushing to Tom's place because Summer has just broken up with him, and the goofiness was a little too much to handle.

Otherwise, I can't recommend this picture enough. 2009 hasn't been a particularly exciting year, but now I've seen The Hurt Locker, and this. Both are fresh breaths of air into their respective genres, and hopefully this means that there will be plenty of films to come.