"No Country" Ending

I was not at all disappointed by the somewhat abrupt ending of No Country for Old Men. I felt that it was a highly appropriate ending when considering the overall theme of the film. Had there been a traditional final showdown between good and evil (aka Sheriff Bell and Aton Chigurh) it would have negated the deeper meaning of the film, causing it to blend right back into the thousands of dumbed down, mindless entertainment films we see on a day to day basis. Luckily, the Coen brothers took a chance and forced the audience to think for a change. 

And I'll admit, the first time I saw this movie I did not understand the ending at all. But after a second viewing, I not only enjoyed more, but I gained a firmer grasp on what the Coens were attempting to say with the ending. Granted, this is my interpretation of it. There could be several other ways to look at this scene. But this is how I see it...

So in the first dream, Sheriff Bell says that he met his father in town and he gave him some money. Then Bell mutters "I think I lost it." This last line is significant because it ridicules the idea that money is worth dying for. Bell makes money sound worthless and arbitrary. Which is what the entire plot has been based around up to this point (It could be considered the McGuffin). 

The second dream is a little more complicated, so I won't recap everything in it, but my analysis of it is this: The landscape that Bell is describing with his father in it is Heaven. But it's described as a cold and barren place. His father is wandering around with his head down and caring fire with him to keep him warm. I believe this is refuting the idea that the afterlife will make everything "ok". Bell experiences the dream-like hopefulness of Heaven, but then he "wakes up" and snaps back into reality. That's why the screen goes black in a heart-beat after Bell utters these words. It reveals the extremely sudden and anticlimactic reality of death and what occurs after the sudden blackness.

I realize this analysis of the ending is very bleak and harsh, but hey, it's the perfect ending to a very bleak and harsh film.

Making Sense of the Ending to Nashville

After watching the final scene of Nashville, I couldn't help but wonder, "what in the world just happened." Not because of the sudden shooting, but because of the following reaction in the crowd. I don't know how their society works, but in ours we tend to set aside a kind of grace period where we grieve for a murder victim. I consider grieving a form of respect for the deceased person and a way of expressing how much they will be missed. But oddly, this didn't occur in Nashville. Almost immediately after the shooting, the poor woman's corpse was quickly dragged off stage and the entertainment continued like nothing happened. Now, I understand that the crowd's quick turn around was supposed to represent the idea that "no one can bring down America." And yes, a similar patriotic reaction happened after 9/11, but not immediately. The entire world mourned for the thousands killed in 9/11 for months before the patriotic feelings kicked in. I realize that this tragedy was of a slightly smaller scale, but murder is murder no matter how many people are involved. I sure wouldn't want my life-less corpse tossed aside after being murdered so the crowd could sing some more country music. But hey, that's just me.

Gran Torino

Going into this film, I didn't expect very much. Mostly because Clint Eastwood was the main actor and let's face it, he's old. Really old. But the movie recieved good reviews so I decided to give Eastwood a chance to redeem himself.

              

I was not impressed with the first 30 minutes of the film.  Nothing significant happened plot wise that would catch the audiences attention. Clint Eastwood (Walt Kowalski) just mumbled racist comments under his breath and complained about "kids these days". I'll admit, the first couple mumbles were funny. But after the 8th, then 12th, then 20th racist comment I began to think that Eastwood attempted to base an entire movie off of a racist old man. Yes, it's a funny concept. But you can't write an entire movie around this alone. My Grandfather was also comically racist every once and a while, but if he mumbled as many racist comments in his lifetime as Clint Eastwood's character did over the course of this film, I would be concerned. I'm not saying I was offended by them in any way. I've heard my fair share of racist comments. I just felt that it got old after a while.

Luckily, about 45 minutes in, the plot began to pick up. Despite Walt's "strong opinions" of other races, he befriends a teenage asian girl (Sue) who happens to be his neighbor. Eventually, she introduces him to her brother (Thao) who is trying to avoid being forced to enter a neighborhood gang. As the film progresses, Walt becomes Thao's mentor and he teaches him how to be a man. I'll stop here so I don't accidently give anything away.

Overall this is a decent plot. I feel like it's somewhat cliche with the whole "grandpa teaching the son to be a man" thing (that is essentially the plot to the movie "Second Hand Lion") but it is still entertaining no matter what circumstance. I also feel like the ending was pretty predictable too. It really disappoints me when I figure out the ending 30 minuted before it actually happens because then there is no element of surprise at the end, which is the best part of a movie.

I know I've only said negative things about this film, but overall I would say it is worth seeing. It may contain some recycled plot lines, but hey, what movie today doesn't do that? 

I would like to know what you guys thought of the movie. If you liked it, please explain why and if you disagree with any of my comments don't hesitate to prove me wrong. I'm up for some discussion.

Quantum of Solace- Cool Name, Crap Film

I'm not much of a Bond enthusiast, but having nothing else to do on a sunday afternoon, I went to see Quantum of Solace. This is probably only the 3rd bond film I have seen, and I have to say, if it wasn't for the constant blaring of gunfire, I probably would have successfully fallen asleep. First of all, the film had a horrible plot line, if you can even call it that. It was extremely confusing. (but maybe that was just because I dipped in an out of sleep) There were so many different antagonists that randomly jumped in and started shooting at Bond that I couldn't keep track of who was who. And also the fact that this is a story of revenge rather than a "mission" upset many Bond-lovers out there. He didn't even get his revenge in the end, so that was 2 hours well wasted.

Transsiberian

Last weekend I saw the movie Transsiberian and I must say that this is one of the best movies I've seen in theaters for a while. 

Almost the entire movie takes place on a train, which can be looked at in two different ways. On the one hand you can kick back and relax to the slowly passing scenery and the repetitive rumbling of the wheels rolling along the tracks. But at the same time, you're trapped. There's nowhere to go except from cramped sleeping quarters, to cramped eating quarters, to even more cramped restrooms. Add to that the fact that more likely than not the train that you're squished on is pressing through the middle of nowhere. Sounds like a formula for being trapped and isolated, which is the perfect setting for a thriller. 

I can't really talk in depth about the movie because there are too many secrets I could accidently give away. But the movie as a whole did open my eyes to something. It helped me realize how incredibly corrupt and brutal Russia's law enforcement system is. Not just the law enforcement system, but the country itself. The movie deals a lot with Russia's drug smuggling problems and how some drug dealers have more power than the police. I'm not saying that all of Russia is "evil" or entirely bad or anything, I'm just surprised at how bad it has gotten there. There are some pretty horrifying scenes in the movie that you wouldn't expect to happen in America. It also makes me appreciate living in America. And I know, I'm not exactly the "proudest" American out there, but after watching this movie, I appreciate it a lot more.

Michael Clayton

In this blog entry, I have decided to promote one of my all-time favorite movies, Michael Clayton. 

This movie is for anyone who would enjoy an intelligent thriller that deals with the corruption of large cooperate businesses.  I will also touch on the main reason why I think this movie is so amazing: the acting.

Here is a quick overview of the movie:

George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, the “Fixer”, a kind of free agent that cleans up the dirty messes that corporate clients can tend to leave behind. This is a world-weary man if there ever was one, plagued by a gambling problem, family issues, mounting debt, and now one of the biggest messes he’s ever encountered, involving a close friend of his, Arthur Edens, played by Tom Wilkinson. Edens has been working on a case that will cement the prestigious career of Tilda Swinton’s character, Karen Crowder, head of a new eco-company called U-North, but apparently something fishy is going on and Clayton is called in to clean up the mess left behind.

The movie literally begins with a bang, in which we see a car bomb go off in Clayton’s car as he is standing on the side of a hill several hundred feet away. Then we flash back to four days earlier, where we will eventually find out what in the world brought us to that point. The difference between the Clayton at the very beginning of the film and the Clayton ten minutes later is massive. And it is mostly due to George Clooney’s brilliance as an actor. But first, I would like to commend the other actors in the movie.

Tilda Swinton as Karen Crowder plays her corrupt-hearted character with a kind of sensitive portrayal that almost makes you sympathize with her for a while, but then she does or says something horrific that makes you go back to despising her. Tom Wilkinson plays Arthur Edens with extreme (almost too extreme) intensity, portraying him as a man on the edge of sanity whose world has just been turned upside down. Wilkinson also does some phenomenal narrating at the beginning of the film that literally gives you goose bumps. You have no idea what he is talking about at the time, but then it all makes sense about halfway through the movie.

Michael Clayton’s best strength is unquestionably the acting. These are all such amazing actors doing such phenomenal work that the performances alone will keep your eyes glued to the screen. The story is so engrossing and it challenges you to actually pay attention to specific details and people, as opposed to the typical simplistic plot that Hollywood is so used to giving out. It is at times too challenging to keep up with the plot. There is a lot of legal babble that will confuse you and leave you wondering what the heck happened, unless you’re paying close attention. Even if you never look away from the screen and keep your ears tuned to every line of dialogue, you’re bound to get lost at some point. The first time I watched it I was lost for a whole 30 minutes in the middle of the film. But I eventually caught up with the plot.

There is one last thing I'd like to mention about the movie. There’s a scene, with absolutely no dialogue, that goes on for three to five minutes, in which we watch Clooney’s face, which occupies more than half the screen. There’s no sound except the for taxi that he’s riding in. It’s three of the most intriguing minutes I’ve seen in a film for years, and some of the best acting too. As we sit and watch Clooney, we notice a very slow and gradual change in his facial expressions. I won't give away why he is going through this kind of emotional roller coaster at the end, but Clooney's ability to pull of so many emotions and still make it look believable, in one take mind you, is amazing. He goes from terrified, to saddened, to sobering, and then in the last 10 seconds of the film, he has a kind of realization and ends the film looking exhilarated. 

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who appreciates good acting, and enjoys movies that make you think.

Juno?

I can not understand why the movie Juno is praised as much as it is...

First of all, the sarcasm in that movie is completely overwhelming to the point where it just becomes annoying. My mind couldn't register anything Juno said because I was in a sarcastic coma about half way into the film. No one in real life talks in complete sarcasm 24/7, especially not after they just found out they were pregnant. Which brings me to another point. Why did everyone take the pregnancy news so lightly? And sarcastically for that matter? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't getting pregnant at age 16 upset your parents to the point where they stop cracking sarcastic jokes for a couple of minutes? Apparently not Juno's parents. Or even Juno for that matter. She did break down in one scene while driving the Previa, but after that, she was back to her happy, overly sarcastic self for the rest of the movie. For me, that just voids the rest of the movie of any realistic possibilities. 

The other thing that bugged me about this movie was the scene where she decides to keep the baby. I won't get all political on you and preach my beliefs about pro-choice, but I think it's worth mentioning. When she arrives at the clinic where she plans to go through with the abortion, the director choses to depict it in a vile and disgusting light. The place is filthy, the employees look like they haven't showered in a month, and strange sounds begin to fill Juno's head. She becomes uncomfortable as these weird "sounds" get louder and louder. At that point, Juno just couldn't take those sounds anymore and she decided that she was going to have the baby... did this strike anyone else as odd? The director made it seem as if Juno made her decision based  on some sounds she heard in the abortion office. I would've guessed that the decision making process of whether  to keep or not keep your unborn child would be a little more difficult than that, but that's just me. 

The only props I can give to this movie is the soundtrack. It is mostly consists of the artist, Kimya Dawson. If you haven't heard her music, I suggest you have a listen.