Get the Gringo

This is a new Mel Gibson film, but was released in May through video-on-demand via DirecTV and not traditional theatres (at least for now).

The plot involves an American lifetime criminal played by Gibson, who is unnamed (but known in the credits as The Driver) who with his partner has apparently stolen a huge amount of money right by the Mexican border.  He crashes his getaway car through the fence dividing the U.S. and Mexico. Mexico is well-known for its corrupt police forces, so the Mexican officers see the stacks of money and innocently state they will take this case, now that the robbers are on their soil. They throw the Driver into a prison called El Pueblito (modeled after real prisons in Mexico). El Pueblito, as per its name, is a little town, where you can buy anything, has many services--even illegal ones, and as a character says, “the world’s worst mall” is an apt description of this setting. Prisoners can also pay to have their families live with them, so that the family unit can stay together (yeah, I don’t know who thought this was a good thing nor how it punishes the prisoner). 
Driver bides his time to make an escape, by observing everyone and studying the hierarchy in El Pueblito.  Despite its restrictive setting, there is a lot of money moving around El Pueblito, much of it passing through the hands of a big shot criminal, Javi (Daniel Gimenez Cacho), who gets to come and go as he pleases and takes his cut off every deal that goes on. His lackeys are his brother and cousin.

Another guy, Bill (Dean Norris), some sort of shady government lawyer, tries to get Driver out of prison in trade for a cut of the money that was stolen. But Driver is not interested in working with anyone but himself.

Other key characters are a widow and her son (Dolores Heredia, Kevin Hernandez, known as the kid and the kid’s mother). The kid sees Driver observing everyone, as well as Driver's ingenious robbery of a drug dealer during a fire, and the Driver grudgingly takes the kid under his wing. The kid reveals a hatred of Javi due to Javi having his father killed for a despicable reason, that threatens the kid’s life too, but ironically Javi protects the kid’s life, at least for now. The Driver eventually mentors him as a father figure and helping him defeat Javi. 

God Bless America

A gentle man is tired of how rude and crude American has become. When Frank (Joel Murray) is told he has a tumor, he decides to take a last stand against those crude Americans, such as reality show stars, people who cell/text during movies, trash talk show hosts, etc. and goes on a cross country road trip with his gun. Along the way he finds he has a hanger-on, the teen Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr) who shares his attitude. At first they kill one person here and there who have personally offended Frank, but soon it becomes scapegoating rude people they see in the news.  Frank's moral "standards" become more lax and he finds it easier to kill others for offenses to society. It seems everyone's behavior can have some facet that Frank and especially Roxy finds objectionable. Although Frank still comes off as a nice guy and often admonishes Roxy on not going too far, the duo become seen in the media as Bonnie and Clyde types.

Past seven days

I saw two interesting documentaries this week. The first was David Wants to Fly. A David Lynch fan found out he was seriously into transcendental yoga and wanted to find out more about it--which he certainly did! Conan O'Brien Can't Stop certainly shows that--the comedy talk show host can't seem to shut off his need for attention, and the word "addiction" is actually brought up in one of the special features on this DVD. Otherwise, a broken DVD player has seriously cramped my style lately, driving me to my PC which is not a prime viewing space. I've also watched some older TV shows on DVD, continuing with the sketch comedy show The State, Veronica Mars, and some old TV I had recorded on VHS--Remember WENN (only bootleg copies available on DVD) and Whose Line is it Anyway?, the improv comedy show hosted by Drew Carey (which is the American version of a long-running British hit).

Conan O’Brien Can't Stop
David Wants to Fly
The Eagle
North & South (BBC miniseries)

Bernie

Bernie is a new film with a pretty good performance by Jack Black, who is probably equally famous now for being a comic musician as well as a comic actor.  Although this film has some ironically comic moments and black humor due to the content of its plot, Black's performance is played as straight drama.

Based on a real life story, Black plays Bernie, a Southern mortician with such a a gentle and generous friendly manner that he is beloved around town.  This is personified by several talking heads of real citizens who are interviewed in the film, speaking about the event the film is recounting--the murder by Bernie of a widow whom he befriended.

Marjorie, the widow, is known as the meanest woman in town.  She is played here by Shirley MacLaine, an actress who has played this type of woman pretty well.  Bernie, as he has done with many other grieving widows, helps soothe Marge after the death of her husband, following up several times afterwards even despite her curt attitude towards him.  She warms to Bernie, and their relationship is increasingly dependent upon each other--she values his opinions in her personal matters, he welcomes the lavishness of gifts she bestows on him.  But--as her gifts get more lavish, so do her demands, so much so that one day, out of the blue it seems, Bernie picks up a gun and shoots her four times, killing her.

This brings the district attorney onto the case (played a little greasily by Matthew McConnaughey).  He seems to be the only one able to see beyond the town's love of Bernie to the undeniable facts of the killing, which is also supported by Bernie's confession.  Everyone else either disbelieves the facts or repudiates the confession and sticks by Bernie.  Or is the district attorney trying to hammer through this case to increase his political power?  It is touch and go as he has to move the trial to another city, not to protect the defendant as is often the case, but to protect the state.

Meet: Barbara Vancheri

Meet Barbara Vancheri, film critic and reporter for the Pittsburgh Gazette.

I ran across Barbara's reporting and film blog, Mad About the Movies, in a news alert.  I like that her reporting covers a range of movies from blockbusters to smaller films or those that might fall in between, and especially that she always points out when a film has a Pittsburgh connection, whether it was filmed there or if the story takes place there or if an artist grew up in the area.  Recently she reported about the renovation of a local theater and a couple of new indie films.

Her columns also appear to be syndicated to other papers, so her work is not just shown to a local audience.

Here is her bio from the Pittsburgh Gazette website:

Pittsburgh native Barbara Vancheri learned to love the movies at the Bellevue and North Hills theaters, McKnight Cinemas and Wexford Drive-In, now all fodder for a "Things That Aren't There Anymore" documentary. A journalism graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, she worked at newspapers in Ashtabula and Columbus, Ohio, Beaver County and Rochester, N.Y., before joining the Post-Gazette in 1984 as a feature writer. She has chronicled a wide range of subjects, from the recovery of two brothers badly burned in a fire and Fred Rogers' puppet diplomacy to the end of "Seinfeld," the opening and closing of local movie houses and Pittsburghers with Hollywood connections. She previewed Universal Studios theme park in Florida before its 1990 opening and has reported on the Academy Awards from the fabled red carpet and the independent-minded Spirit Awards from a tent at Santa Monica Beach. Vancheri also attends the Toronto International Film Festival and keeps readers apprised about Pittsburgh's many homegrown film festivals.In 2005, Vancheri was named movie editor of the Post-Gazette.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

I'm excited that Wes Anderson has a new film coming out, Moonrise Kingdom. From what I've read and seen so far it has all the sensibilities of an Anderson flm and I don't think his fans will be disappointed. Much as summer blockbusters tend to be critic-proof, I think this film will be critic-proof for the Anderson fanbase.

I recall when screening Fantastic Mr. Fox a couple years ago, I noticed this film seemed to have hit the beloved 18-34 male audience squarely on the nose. I would say half the audience fell into this group. Although I don't think this film was in any way marketed to children, despite being animated with talking animals and based on a Roald Dahl book, there were a few kids present. Like many of Wes Anderson's films, themes of childhood are present but his films are for the most part not "for" children.  Anyway, this movie was fantastic wacky fun and included story, music and visuals in a perfect trifecta that Anderson is so good at. I'm not saying you have to be a Wes Anderson fan, but I think viewers do need a certain openmindedness to something out of the ordinary or quirky.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

This movie is based on a memoir the author wrote about her mother.

A post-WW2 housewife Evelyn (Julianne Moore) enters contest after contest in order to make ends meet for her large family, winning free food, bikes, home appliances. Her husband Kelly (Woody Harrelson), after a deferred singing career, now works at a factory, and resents her ingenuity and good luck because it makes him feel as if he can't provide for the family. He becomes increasingly depressed and is an angry alcoholic, which the older kids can't help but see and fear. Evelyn on the other hand keeps a stiff upper lip and tries to maintain the facade of a happy home, and tries to protect her children as much as she can, but it appears she is on a slow boil.

Past seven days

Some movies over the weekend, but not in the mindframe this week!

The Beaver
Bernie
Election
For Greater Glory
The Inspectors
Island Etude
A Slight Case of Murder

Past seven days

I attended for the first time This American Life Live: Invisible Made Visible, a live performance of a stage show similar to their radio program (I haven't seen their TV show).  The show was quite funny and since this was a visual program instead of just their audio/radio, they incorporated several things to make it visually interesting.  One story highlighted some found photos from an unknown but excellent amateur photographer.  Another incorporated an app designed by musical group OK Go, known for their intricately planned music videos, to go along with a performance of theirs onstage, where viewers could perform along with on their digital devices.  (The ONLY TIME, host Ira Glass stressed, that you were allowed to use your device at the movie theatre. He was NOT KIDDING.)  There were also some dance sequences by the Monica Bill Barnes dance company.
 
You can also watch a short film made by contributor Mike Birbiglia, where he pokes gentle fun at radio interviews with the assistance of Fresh Air's host Terry Gross.

This screening will be rerun at theatres on various dates, and is highly recommended!  If you can't make any of the screenings, a portion of the audio will replay on their radio show the weekend of May 18 (some performances have been recreated for the radio and others are the recordings from the live stage performance).  Also included at the audio link are behind the scenes photos by Adrianne Mathiowetz that accentuates what a great show this was--OK Go playing handbells, David Sedaris in clown makeup, Taylor Dayne singing to one of the performers who is a big fan).

Here is the past seven days list:

Amantes
Going Postal
I Am
Red Hill
The Red Shoes
This American Life Live: Invisible Made Visible

Intolerable Cruelty

Miles (George Clooney), a successful divorce lawyer, meets his match in gold-digger Marilyn (Catherine Zeta-Jones). He wins his latest case against her, despite her having hidden her machinations well.

At her next marriage, she claims it's true love and asks him to draft one of his infamous pre-nuptial agreements, which are renowned for being ironclad, for the benefit of her oil baron fiance. At the wedding, hubby is so in love he tears it up, and Miles is impressed that Marilyn has somehow beaten his unbeatable pre-nup. Divorce, American-style, follows shortly of course.

Now that Marilyn holds the wealth, Miles feels no qualms about falling in love, especially since Marilyn fears dying alone like her friend just did. History repeats itself when he makes a pre-nup for her benefit, they marry, and she tears it up.

Free event: Albert Nobbs

Did you catch Albert Nobbs when it played recently?  If not, the Northbrook Public Library has a screening this weekend.  See Glenn Close play a man in a project she had been trying to realize for quite a few years.

Albert Nobbs

Saturday, May 12, 2012

2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Northbrook Public Library

1201 Cedar Lane, Northbrook, IL

Past seven days

h man, what have I been doing this week? Only four movies? Actually I started Owatching the old sketch comedy show The State. Such a lot of talent came out of that show!

The Avengers
Cheyenne Autumn
Everything Must Go
Keyhole

The Other Side of Immigration

Oftentimes when returning from a late movie, I take the bus home through an area with a lot of night life, and I see lone Hispanic guys taking the bus too. I assume they are bar and restaurant workers probably working for low wages, and are pretty invisible to the loud drinkers partying in the area where they serve behind the scenes. I can't imagine that much of the profit of $5 martinis and corresponding tips end up in their pockets. They always seem very polite and quiet, and just seem to want to do their job and be left alone and go home after a long night's work.

This doc visits rural parts of Mexico and interviews many people about their views and opinions about immigration, especially as it relates to the U.S. The culture in Mexico is as you expect--poverty, corruption, political nepotism, lack of economic growth.

Mr. Lonely

This film shows that celebrity impersonators have typical, even depressing, lives, and not "celebrity" lives.

"Michael Jackson" (Diego Luna) performs on the streets and in old folks homes of Paris and meets "Marilyn Monroe" (Samantha Morton).  She invites him to join a group of other impersonators living in a commune, where her husband is "Charlie Chaplin" (played by Denis Lavant, he's often jealous and abusive) and their daughter is "Shirley Temple."

Michael seems dissatisfied with his life; his way of looking at life seems bigger than what it is offering him. He tries hard to find whatever it is he is seeking for, but the sadness around him reminds him that it may be futile.

Past seven days

If it looks like the lineup this week was heavy on the sci fi, that's because it was!  Portage Theatre held their annual Sci Fi Spectacular, a marathon of older films, although unfortunately there were lots of projection problems throughout the day.

Attack the Block
Brazil
God Bless America
Here Without Me
Joint Body
The Kingfisher
The Last Starfighter
Night of the Comet
Nine Nation Animation
The Theatre Bizarre
Twelve Monkeys

Robinson Crusoe on Mars

After trying to avoid a meteor, a spaceship is sucked into Mars' gravitational pull, forcing the astronauts to eject inside a small capsule, Draper (Paul Mantee) first, and his co-pilot (a small part by Adam West) second. Draper is unable to find his co-worker once he lands, but does find the test monkey Mona.

Draper spends the first day huddling in front of a fire instead of doing much of anything constructive to remedy his situation or find his co-pilot. As the days wear on, with the help of the monkey, he finds an oxygen source, water and food. He also discovers the wreckage of the capsule and that his co-pilot is dead.