Treasure Planet

As soon as I saw the rocket propelled wind-surfboard, I knew there was trouble. That item shows up as merely one bit of hopeful patronizing toward an intended--presumably uncritical--audience of children; other aspects of the production are not just trend-chasing but actual baffling decisions. The story here is a proven winner--Stevenson’s Treasure Island has been a classic for about a century and a half at this point--so the make or break with this picture had to come from how that story was presented. The filmmakers could have gone with a straightforward retelling, hewing to the original work. Or they could have presented an updated version, one set in a future in space but otherwise recognizably the same as the source, with a spot of alien presence interwoven into a human tale. But making it story with one primary human character, and everyone else, good or bad, is a total freakshow weirdo? That decision is really hard to grasp for this viewer. It simply doesn’t work for most of the characters--even the protagonist’s allies--to be, essentially, monsters. Further, having the  story's setting happening in space, yet still giving most of the infrastructure a pronounced 18th-century look and vibe just comes across as strange and distracting, not as a particularly clever or creative bit of blandishment. (If they’re sailing through space, on a tall ship with no particular atmospheric containment going, how is everyone not immediately asphyxiating, if not actually exploding from the vacuum? Any viewer with even the mildest scientific frame of mind will have trouble setting that aside.) Finally, the kid-directed aspects of the movie--including a silly shapeshifter character--grow tedious very fast, as does the shifts in tone from high action to maudlin sentimentality. There’s just enough of positive elements in here to hold the viewer's interest--mostly that happens where the film hews to the original tale--but overall, this work has conceptual issues it just can’t overcome. Best to let this ship sail without you.

(500) Days of Summer

The biggest star in this movie is neither Joseph Gordon-Levitt nor Zooey Deschanel--it's honesty, perhaps to a fault. So much of what's in here rings true, regarding romantic relationships (as far as I would know), that this flick sticks out like a sore thumb in the rom-com landscape. You can make minor quibbles about certain aspects of the story--people that young generally don't like music that old; one suspects the source material could have been updated--but this story, including its denouement, feels right; this really is how it goes in the world. Given cinema's habit of selling the fantasy, the vision presented here actually comes across as refreshing.

Snowden

Regarding tangled webs we weave: we give a great deal of thought to the webs, but we tend not to consider much about the weaver. If we do give consideration, it's usually to condemn and judge--nothing particularly positive. Oliver Stone set out to shift against that with this biopic of both the man and his actions. The attempt was not entirely successful; there are enough inconsistencies that nagging feelings about the verdict are inescapable. Some of the problems are simple movie-making issues. For instance, Shailene Woodley portrayal of Snowden's girlfriend starts off sharp and smart, but devolves into a hyper-emotional almost-bimbo. (Though it may be the best testimony to Snowden's integrity, that he was willing to forgo his hottie for the sake of personal freedom.) The best work here is probably from Rhys Ifans as young Ed's mentor in the spook world; he covers the whole gamut from menace to nobility in an excellent performance. So is Snowden a hero or traitor? There's no point in saying in a review of this movie; the answer is largely a matter of personal viewpoint (though the film's coda, with various media reports of government action to curb surveillance, seems to present a pretty good case in his favor). You'll just have to judge for yourself.

Don Jon

Yes, a positive review, but I’m not sure it should be. Perhaps that PURR is the product of all the goodwill Joseph Gordon-Levitt has built up over the last few years. As writer-director here, JGL makes a lot of typical rookie mistakes--the usual super-self-conscious “director-y” camera work and such--but he also presents an intriguing story, too. There’s some pretty deep stuff going on with these characters...and yet, the presentation almost invites the audience to view everything on the most superficial level. The important stuff might get lost on some viewers. Still, the movie holds your interest all the way through, so it accomplishes that crucial goal. A tough call, but I think this one’s good enough to merit your attention.

Lincoln

A typically reverential treatment of (roughly) the last half-year of our most iconic president’s life. Given the suteur--Spielberg--one shouldn’t be surprised that this film comes across as equal parts dutiful myth-telling (or retelling, really) and vigorously-applied varnish. The latter applies especially so in the service of Mary Todd Lincoln, though her takedown of Thaddeus Stevens (great work by Tommy Lee Jones) is one of the highlights of the film. The real strength here is Daniel Day-Lewis’s masterful work in the title role. Over and above the performances, this could have been a lot better, could have rejected schmaltz and hagiography, could have presented a more probing, more insightful interpretation of Lincoln--and yet, it is still a good enough movie about a more-than-great historical character, and that elevates the accomplishment into a success.

Looper

The cleverness here comes from a conscious decision not to be clever. Writer and director Rian Johnson declares early on (through the Bruce Willis character) that he’s not interested in getting bogged down in time travel paradox puzzles (although the film’s denouement arguably does rely on just such a puzzle). The key decision allows both the filmmakers and the audience to focus on the business at hand: a well-made, stylish thriller that keeps you entertained all the way to its mobius knot ending. The only sour note: Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s distractingly bad makeup job; suspension of disbelief could have been achieved without the odd look. Otherwise, this flick’s a good one, and worth a look.

50/50

You expect a story about a young guy dealing with cancer to give you schmaltz, and there's a dose of that here. But there's also a lot of sharp humor, believable characters--including great interplay between Seth Rogen and the ubiquitous Joseph Gordon-Levitt--and truth in storytelling, all of which come together to form a deeply satisfying viewing experience

The Dark Knight Rises

A satisfying conclusion to Nolan's trilogy. Much more of a sequel to Batman Begins than its immediate predecessor--though that film has its impact here, too--this installment focuses strongly on the emotional life of its key characters, with heartening results when all is said and done. Even so, this is still a big, sweeping epic action hero movie, and it delivers the spectacle as well. One sour note: either I'm losing my hearing, or the sound mix was really poor (either in the theater or in the digital film; I couldn't particularly tell); either way, I could not hear far too much of the dialogue in the action sequences. There's also some muddle to the plot, especially early on, but a lot of that becomes clearer when you step back and look at the big picture. And this is, indeed, a big picture--and even worth the inflated ticket price of today's theater experience.

Inception

Christopher Nolan is rapidly rising up the roster of cinema's greatest directors, and here's another booster rocket for his rep. The plot and its execution may include more serpentine twists and turns than many audience members will tolerate, but the viewer who's willing to work a little is rewarded by the imaginative breadth of the vision and the deft execution applied to the visual presentation. How deep can you go indeed? If you're a sharp tack, take this plunge and you won't regret it.

10 Things I Hate About You

I can't really justify it, but I actually did like this movie. I guess I'm just a sucker for Shakespeare in any form (it's based on The Taming of the Shrew).