"Nebraska" Movie Review

My review of "Nebraska" starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb.

"Nebraska"

Published on Nov. 27, 2013 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

"Nebraska"  (2013)

The first time we meet Woody (Bruce Dern) he is walking by the side of a Montana highway in what appears to be very cold weather.  He has both a determined gait and look to him but is stopped by a police officer on a highway overpass.  We next meet David (Will Forte) who arrives at the police station to pick his father up.  We learn that Woody is in possession of a letter that says he may have won a million dollars.  Woody is convinced that he has won and is dead set on going to Nebraska to collect his winnings.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Woody’s wife, Kate (June Squibb) is being driven crazy by Woody’s determined antics and his other son, Ross (Bob Odenkrik), has gone as far as to take key parts from Woody’s truck so that the old man won’t drive his way to Nebraska.  David is in a dead end job as a home electronics salesman, has broken up with his longtime girlfriend, who tells him to make up his mind about anything, and has to keep leaving his job to go look for his wandering father.  After another attempt by Woody at walking to Nebraska, David decides that he will drive his father to claim what he knows will not be a million dollars.

So starts a very funny, touching road trip movie from director Alexander Payne.  Payne, who brought us last year’s “The Descendants”, as well as “Sideways” in 2004, “About Schmidt” (2002) and “Election” (1999).  Payne has a nice comedic touch to make something out almost nothing and scene after scene in this film demonstrates that talent.  The film is shot in black and white, by the director of photography Phedon Papamichael, which perfectly suits the landscape and the people who inhabit it.  The camera seems to be centered for each shot, rarely moving, much like the people in the film.  This is a film about taking a trip but the characters don’t seem to be going very far.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Bruce Dern gives a performance of a lifetime as the moody, alcoholic Woody.  Dern never lets us really see what Woody is thinking, using mostly grunts and one word sentences to make his point. At times, it seems as though dementia has a hold of Woody but then there are a few places in the film, where we see that there is more to Woody than meets the eye and that credit goes to Dern’s performance of the man.

Will Forte does an excellent job as David, a man who is trying as hard as he can to reconnect to his father.  It is very evident in the early parts of the film that Woody and David’s relationship is strained, but he is willing to go on the road trip in an effort to understand who his father is as a person.  Forte almost has to be the straight man in the film, reacting to David’s parents antics.

The standout supporting cast is incredible in this film.  June Squibb is marvelous as the opinionated wife of Woody.  She gets the best lines of the film as Kate tends to speak very frankly about anything and anyone.  Squibb milks the part for everything it’s got, and though she doesn’t have as many scenes as Dern, her performance is equally compelling and just as memorable.  Other cast members, such as Stacy Keach, who plays a blustery rival of Woody’s and Bob Odenkrik, who plays the more successful brother of David, are perfect in their roles.  Most of the supporting cast, including Rance Howard, who plays Woody’s brother, look as if they live and work on the farm, that’s how comfortable they look and feel in this film.

This is a film about family in the heartland of America and adult children who try to understand better who their parents are.  It’s a wonderful film that while touching and sometimes a little sad, ultimately is moving and at times quite funny.  In other words, another brilliant film from Alexander Payne and my favorite film from this year’s Austin Film Festival.

“Nebraska” opens today in Atlanta at the UA Tara Cinemas 4

"Kill Your Darlings" Movie Review

My review of "Kill Your Darlings" starring Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall.

"Kill Your Darlings"

Posted on Nov. 22, 2013 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Sony Pictures Classics

“Kill Your Darlings” (2013)

Recently, a slew of films have been exploring the Beat Generation, and it’s driving force it’s writers. Last year was “On The Road” (2012) which was based on the legendary Jack Kerouac book. This year at the Austin Film Festival I saw “Big Sur” (2013), which is about Jack Kerouac, played by Jean-Marc Barr, in his later life, 15 years after “On The Road” was released and how he is coping with the fame that came with the book. Now we have “Kill Your Darlings,” which stars Daniel Radcliffe as the poet Alan Ginsberg, Jack Huston as Jack Kerouac and Ben Foster as the eccentric writer, William S. Burroughs.

This movie takes place in 1944 New York as Allen Ginsberg has enrolled in Columbia University to become a poet like his father. Ginsberg is conflicted about going away to school as his mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is mentally unbalanced and it seems that only Allen can control and comfort her. At his father’s (David Cross) insistence, Allen decides to go to college and meets Lucien (Dane DeHaan) a charismatic boy who is the ringleader for a gang of young men who want to change the world of writing. Lucien drags Allen to a party where he meets William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) and the party’s host, a friend of Lucien named David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall). Lucien decides that Allen is perfect to join his band of misfits, which includes a former football player and would be writer Jack Kerouac.  So begins the origins of the “Beat Generation”. Lucien is the idea man of the gang, the one that comes up with the plans for this new writing movement, which he calls “The New Vision”. Lucien, who seems to be all show because he isn’t a writer at all. In fact, David writes all his papers for college. There is something more to the relationship between David and Lucien as they seem to be almost rivals instead of friends, and we sense that this volatile friendship may end badly.

As Allen deals more with Lucian, he becomes under his spell and starts having feelings for him. Allen becomes so enamored with Lucian that he dreams of making a move on him, something he clearly has never acted on before. Lucien’s influence on Allen grows as the film progresses as Allen becomes more and more in love with Lucien and the ideas that he continually speaks about.

This film centers around Allen and Lucian’s complex relationship and Radcliffe does a fascinating turn as Ginsberg. At times, Radcliffe portrays Allen as a love sick puppy, willing to do just about anything to get the attention of Lucien, but at other times, we see that Allen does have a backbone as he stands up to professors who are stuck in the 19th century way of writing poetry. DeHaan is equally fascinating as the mesmerizing Lucien. He plays Lucien as a man who can easily win over anybody by just using his words and his charisma. There is great chemistry between Radcliffe and DeHaan, each showing the building attraction that they began feeling for each other. Ben Foster also stands out in this cast as the always weird William Burroughs, playing him as a man hell bent on trying every known narcotic as a way to expand his mind. Michael C. Hall as David is perfectly cast as the blustery and sometimes creepy older man who has a thing for the much younger Lucian.

The film moves at a fast pace under the direction of John Krokidas as the film doesn’t have the look or feel of a first time director. The film, through music and cinematography, captures the time when the world was at war, and it’s younger generation was looking for new ways to express themselves. All in all, the film is a fascinating look at the origins of a writing style that influenced not just America but the world. Just a bit of warning to the fans of Daniel Radcliffe’s “Harry Potter” series, the film deals with very adult issues such as drug addiction and contains a very graphic sex scene.

My Rating:  Full Price

“Kill Your Darlings” opens today at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema and Lefont Sandy Springs

"Dallas Buyers Club" Movie Review

My review of "Dallas Buyers Club" starring Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto.

"Dallas Buyers Club"

Published on Nov. 15, 2013 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

“Dallas Buyers Club” (2013)

When we first meet Ron (Matthew McConaughey) it’s 1985 in Dallas, Texas. He is at a rodeo, having sex with a girl hidden in the back with the horses. Then we see him make a few bets on himself to complete a rodeo ride. After failing that, he tries to escape from the other cowboys so that he doesn’t have to pay. Ron is a hard living electrician who rodeos on the side and tries to sleep with any woman he can. After ending up at a hospital due to a fainting spell, Ron is given the news that he is HIV positive and is told to get his affairs in order, he will die in 30 days. Ron at first doesn’t believe his diagnosis of being HIV positive as it is the time when most people thought AIDS was a disease that only effected homosexuals and intravenous drug addicts.

After going through a few drug and alcohol enhanced days, Ron decides to research his “death sentence.”  First to see if it was even possible for a straight man to become HIV positive and then was there any treatment. He soon learns of treatments such as AZT and meets a young doctor (Jennifer Garner) who cares for her patients and wants only the best treatment for them. Ron finds out that getting the trial drugs in the U.S. is tough, so he begins looking for any way possible to get on a treatment program. He discovers that there are experimental drugs readily available in Mexico and Europe, and there are a lot of people, like him that are willing to pay for any sort of treatment. Ron seizes this opportunity to make money and goes to extremes to get the drugs into the U.S. from all over the world.

This is a film where you don’t like the main character, in this case McConaughey’s Ron, at the start of the film. Ron is a hard living, sleep with as many women as you can, homophobic man. We do see a bit of compassion in him when a fellow worker gets injured, and the crew debates if they should call for an ambulance since the worker is an undocumented alien. Ron insists that they call for help. Then takes point in getting the man treatment. This gives us a little insight into Ron and that their just might be some hope for him in the future.

Much has been said about the weight loss that McConaughey went through for the part, but it’s his acting prowess that is really on display in this film. McConaughy lets us see the man that Ron was at the beginning of the film, a man so self-assured to the point of being a jerk. Then slowly Ron’s humanity sinks into his character, to the point that we see the character’s growth as the layers are peeled away revealing his personality. McConaughey is one of those truly gifted actors that bores deep into their roles. You don’t see McConaughey when you see him on screen. Instead, you only see the hard edges of Ron’s life, a man who is determined to live as long as he can.

The supporting cast is outstanding in this film. Ron meets a transsexual named Rayon (Jared Leto) at one of his many trips to the hospital. At first, Ron can only see a very gay man who has nothing in common, other than both men are HIV positive. Ron realizes very early on that most of his potential customers for the HIV fighting drugs will be gay, and this homophobic cowboy is going to need help reach that audience. Ron then recruits Rayon to help sell the drugs and a unique partnership is created. Leto is amazing in the role, letting us and Ron see the disease through a very different pair of eyes. Leto does a chameleon-like transformation in becoming very feminine as Rayon, who is at first just a tool for the purpose of selling drugs. Then he helps teach Ron how to become a more understanding person. Leto gives a performance of a lifetime, giving his heart and soul into a role that a less skilled actor could have made very campy. Instead, his flawed character makes Ron want to be a better person. Griffin Dunne does a fine job as an unlicensed doctor living in Mexico who treats Ron when Ron has nowhere else to go. His treatment at the Mexican clinic gives Ron the insight to seek alternate drugs and treatments. Jennifer Garner plays a doctor that treats Ron very early in the film and becomes someone that Ron leans on when things get tough.

The film, directed by Jean-Marc Vallee and written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallck, “Dallas Buyers Club” moves at a comfortable pace that allows us to see the progression of the main character. It’s that transformation, along with the performances of McConaughey and Leto that make this film so special and the reason to watch it. It’s a film that never sugar coats the subject matter or characters, instead it makes the despair and death become something of hope and humanity. It’s a film that celebrates the overcoming of the odds.

My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again