Rachel Getting Married

One daughter gets out of rehab to immediately join her family for the older sister's wedding. If that is not the set up for family drama, I don't know what is. The portrayal of the love and hate felt simultaneously in family relationships is dead on in this film, with both sisters expressing the difficulty of being "the other sister". And while there is some reconciliation, some recognition of the difficulties in the others lives, we don't get a washed over happy ending where everybody is as happy as Cinderella. But we definitely get the impression that everybody truly loves the other.
An additionally important aspect of this film is found in the music. I love when a non-person becomes a character, and in this case the music is an important character. The diversity of musical styles was fabulous and really drove the celebration aspect of the wedding weekend, as well as highlighted the diversity of the people involved. The music seemed to be so diverse that diversity of the people and personalities involved in melding the two families paled in comparison. Adding this character of music to the mix allows the bride's familial relationships to be the focus of the film without getting lost in the significant difficulties of inter-family mergers. And at the same time, this character of music is front and center, and integral part of the film, so that we do not just ignore the other difficulties. We are told that the family merger is important, and the people involved are very different, but that is not the point of this particular story.
4-stars

Au revoir les enfants

Set in France, near the end of WWII, a school run by Carmelite monks provides the setting for this now 20 year old portrayal of the tension between ethics, nationalism, self preservation and self discovery. When a new boy arrives at school, the others simultaneously welcome him, isolate him, become cruel, share books, steal and learn what it is like to be different than the others. This is good filmmaking. In particular the tone set by the choice of colors (all drab greens, greys, blues, browns) fits exactly the "dreary north France during winter and war" that seems appropriate. It reminds me of how powerful a color pallete can be at generating mood, which was also done particularly well in The Lives of Others, and Far from Heaven more recently. Unfortunately, watching a particularly well made film from 20 years ago means that the same formula has been presented many times since then. The end result for this viewing is that today the material seems tired.
3-stars

The Transporter 3

How often is a three-quel any good? And how often is a summer movie released in the fall any good? Well in this case, at least once. The Transporter 3 is an excellent continuation of the Jason Statham series in which Statham gets to drive cars fast and beat people up with his hands, feet, and in amazingly his coat, shirt and tie. A satisfactory plot line, the requisite evil guy who comes up with the obligatory plot restraint (don't go too far from the car or you blow up) that was made very popular by Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed, and the creative (and almost believable) defy-all-odds escapes. And yet it all holds together. Comparing this film to Daniel Craig's Quantum of Solace, I would actually have to say that this is a better summer action movie. And while that may have to do with the inherent expectations that come with a Bond movie, I am going to stick with recommending this over the Bond film, if you have to chose only one.
3-stars

[Get on Soapbox #1] Someday, would someone please make a film in which a car goes over a cliff, crashes into the valley below, and does not explode in a fireball of destruction.[Step down off Soapbox #1]

[Get back up for Soapbox #2] Requisite evil guy actually delivers the line "You know, at heart I am really a pacifist" and follows with some explanation about how he tried to plan to avoid death but outside of his control, everybody just seemed to fight back. Let's clarify that a pacifist isn't someone who just tries to avoid violence unless someone fights back. A pacifist is someone who plans to avoid violence, and does avoid violence. Even when someone perpetrates violence against you, or in your general vicinity, or in a way that interferes with your desires, a pacifist so wholly abhors violence that they always seek an alternative action. Never is violence the only option. And we must not be so naive to suggest that there is always a happy ending to seeking alternatives to violence. Seeking peace and avoiding violence is often ugly (and often for the seeker and avoider). But it is always right. Just want to make sure that the general public does not confuse pacifism with avoidance of violence when it is convenient. [Step down from Soapbox #2]

Quantum of Solace

I must admit from the outset that I am not a Bond fanatic. I do like the Bond movies, and I have my favorite Bond (Sean Connery), but I can't name all the films, nor argue the merits of the various plot lines and villains. At the same time, there are two characteristics that are essential identifiers of a Bond movie. Cheeky humor and gadgets. It is these two areas that Quantum of Solace fails miserably. So much so, in fact, that this iteration does not even have Q. And Daniel Craig (so far) is a bit too serious for the cheeky humor. But this film fits solidly into the 'good action/adventure' category: Nice little plot, a few absurdities that need to be over looked, good chase scenes, a rescue or two, a friend "on the other side", a boss who believes in you in spite of all appearances. In fact, this film reminds me more of The Transporter series, or even a bit of District B-13 than it does of the classic Bond model. And that is actually OK with me. I don't want to be someone who is stuck in history, with an "If it is not like the first Bond movie I saw, then it isn't a Bond movie at all" attitude. But again, I am not a fanatic.
3-stars

Wall-E

Any two movie day is a good day and today the latest from Pixar finally made it to my DVD player. I was mostly interested in watching this as the final installment of this years "Apocalyptic Trilogy", along with I am Legend and The Happening. While there is definitely truth to the idea that high expectations for a movie lead to an inevitable let down, I don't think only high expectations where the problem here. This animated feature got lots of press this summer, but even then I wasn't really interested. Perhaps that is why it slipped to my "watch later" list. But while watching, Annika commented that it seemed like the entire movie was made with one purpose in mind... to create a theme for a ride to be built around at Disneyland. For me, it comes down to the simple fact that the plot devices didn't work. I was not engaged by the "characters" or the "love story" or (as can often be the case with animation) the visuals.
2-stars

The only redeeming factor is that it fills out the "Apocalyptic Trilogy". So lets talk about that...
In the three summer movies (I am Legend, The Happening and Wall-E) we have three different views of how humanity will be screwed over in the future. Respectively, in all of our technological prowess and efforts to cure all ills we create a deadly virus which wipes out humanity, we piss off nature who then creates a deadly pathogen that wipes out humanity, and humans vacate Earth to allow the clean-up robots to fix our mess for us. While the whole zombie creature thing of I am Legend is too far fetched to be believable, the idea of "accidentally" creating a devastating pathogen while trying to do good is probably too close to reality. This is why most of Europe avoids GMO's as they preach the precautionary principle. Something about American arrogance must go along with creating the cure that is really the illness and then being genuinely surprised that this could happen. The same can be said about Wall-E in that the cure is to seek independence by "just vacating the earth", leading to an extreme consumerist society which is ultimately dependent. One wonders what is needed (and I hope the answer isn't war) to move a society or culture's values in a significant way. What are the factors that contribute, who contributes them and what is any individuals role?

Slumdog Millionaire

There is nothing like a week off of work to get back into the swing of cinema. This week begins with a nice little film from India. Actually, while it is filmed on location in India, it is not really from India. Instead, it sets up as a pretty mainstream Danny Boyle (Sunshine and Millions) piece. But Slumdog Millionaire is a very enjoyable film (in spite of the occasional disturbing murder which definitely warrants the R-rating) that I would categorize as a romantic drama. The film centers on a Indian boy (Jamal) who grew up in poverty with his brother. He has somehow gotten on to "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", and each question he is given is connected to some experience he has had in his past. With each question comes a flashback and a deepening understanding of Jamal, his brother and his motivations. Brilliant colors juxtaposed with drab urban India make for a visually stimulating (and appealing) experience. The protagonists are likable while the antagonists fill their role nicely. Overall, this plays out like a classic fairy tale based on class stereotypes and struggles, with love and family to pull everything together. And while that may not sound like a ringing endorsement, in this case it all works.
4-stars

The Family Stone

Part two of this pairing is The Family Stone. Let's see, the whole family is coming home for Christmas with one brother bringing the girlfriend. The other brother falls for her and the original brother falls for the original girlfriends sister, who is called in for emotional support. Again, and I quote (myself) - "Finding a relationship when one doesn't expect it, and in the place that one is not seeking it, but finding ultimately that it is the perfect relationship that can't be let go." Also a romantic comedy, with just a touch more comedy. But the romance in this film originates in the fact that the whole family comes home for Christmas. What is more romantic (i.e. characterized by idealism, or idealizing a particular person or situation) than a family of five kids returning every year with their own families for several days at the 'ol homestead. For some, this is as (or more) appealing than the romantic relationship of meeting the perfect mate. Makes me wonder what other kinds of romance people hold dear...
3-stars

Part One: And then she found me