The Grand Budapest Hotel

Do you like director Wes Anderson movies?  If so, RUN to see this film.  If not, you just won't get it.  If you haven't seen one, it's time you did!  (See previous post on Moonrise Kingdom for a side tutorial.)

His latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel, requires you to sit down, buckle up and pay attention.  Then go see it a second time for all the things you missed. This is ONE FUN RIDE!  With Anderson's trademark color palette, brilliant scoring and set design, and long list of notable cast members,  he lets you in on his iconic rapid-fire humor.  He has to be smart to put Ralph Fiennes in his first comedic role and Fiennes is flawless. 

I just had a blast watching this and can't wait to see it again.  Bang for your buck. 

See it and then tell me who your favorite character was.

A treat sneak peek:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fg5iWmQjwk

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Did you see the first Hunger Games?  If not, it's amazing.  Part two is even better.

Never the spoiler, I will comment as generally as possible:  Katniss Everdeen returns with her bow to do battle as before, but the protagonist has grown.  She is now confident in her warrior abilities and sure of her hatred for those who would try to enslave others.

Of course, Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss, and is she just damn good!  She no longer looks like a teen, and as a young adult she dazzles.  She is pretty, witty, sexy, tough, skilled, independent, feisty....what more can I say?  Ms Lawrence has already proven she can act up a storm.  Remember her debut in Winter's Bone, for which she was nominated as Best Actress at the ripe old age of sixteen?

I would have again put up Jennifer Lawrence  for Best Actress for her role in Catching Fire.  She offers a truly multi-layered, complexly shaded Katniss.  She cries, smiles, grimaces, and emotes far better than any other young female actress in the business today.

More on the film? It has a great story that reminds us of so many films, perhaps most of all Lord of the Flies.  Great effects.  How in the world do they make holograms look so real?  Amazing acting, not just by Jennifer, but also by Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson.  Pacing so perfect that the nearly three hour movie goes by in a flash.

A+ grade for this futuristic, imaginative thriller.

Not to be missed.  And.... I just can't wait for the third and final installment!

East of Eden

Lest my dear readers think that the movies I review are only current, I must admit to reveling occasionally in old classics.

Back in 1955, the great director Elia Kazan got hold of a new young talent, James Dean, and made a masterpiece that would prove to defy time:  East of Eden.

In this colorized version, Steinbeck's novel comes to life.  No spoiler, of course, but the story is touching:  Two brothers vie for the love of their father, the love of a woman, and even the lost love of a distant mother.  Full of emotion and extraordinary acting, the film replays Cain and Abel in Monterey and Salinas in 1917.

The best reason to view the film is to see why James Dean captured viewers of his time.   Although he made only three major films, the actor seems to have played the young rebel with more heart and soul than any other actor, including the great Marlon Brando.  Today, posters of the handsome actor, who died in his mid 20s, hardly do justice to the talent of the star.

After viewing the film, I wonder why James Dean did not win an Oscar.  Probably the year the film was made says it all.  1955 was a very conservative time in America, when McCarthy and The Establishment ruled.  Perhaps the Academy was reticent to reward an actor for portraying a character who was fiercely independent and even amoral.

Anyway, they don't make 'em like this any more!  East of Eden is a must-view for anyone who has not seen the movie or might have forgotten its power.

And the Oscar goes to...

Film fans:  weigh in!  What d'ya'think?

What did you like and not like about the Oscars last night and recipients?

I'll go first in a shallow way:  I didn't see one butt-ugly dress all night.  Women are showing some real taste these days, and I applaud the return of the white tux jackets on the men.

And you...???

Downton Soap (actually: Downton Abbey)

In the past, I have been a Downton Abbey enthusiast.  I have marveled at the wit, historical setting, costuming, plotting, and overall charm of the British masterpiece.

But this season the series has taken a serious downturn.  I now feel like I'm watching a daytime soap opera, with gut-wrenching scenes meant to pull at the viewers' heartstrings.

Just as too much soap can spoil a load of laundry, too much soap can decimate an otherwise great drama.

Points in fact:  Dying spouses, pregnant daughters, and deathly-ill granny.  Yeah, even Maggie Smith, pictured above, is not above getting overly dour in the now-maudlin, unctuous, often annoying show.

Doesn't Maggie look unhappy?  Well, you should see me!  Haha!  What happened to her clever witticisms that made me admire the British aristocracy with shameless abandon?

Let's hope the series gets back on track, lest it go the way of so many wonderful dramas that begin on the high road and end up mired in the mud.

My Sweet Pepper Land

OK, readers, get out your glasses and get ready for subtitles!  That is, unless you speak fluent Kurdish!

Right, as you might have guessed, this film is foreign.  That's what makes it such a marvel.

Where did I see it?

In Santa Barbara, at the 29th year of the great film festival.  If any of you have not experienced a real film festival, full of celebrities and offbeat films, you might consider venturing to the beautiful city on the California coast.  I had the privilege of watching Leo DiCaprio and Marty Scorcese sit on stage and discuss the making of their big hit, Wolf of Wall Street.  I also saw Johah Hill. But enough celebrity talk.  What really impressed me were the amazing independent films from all over the world that were in all the theaters in the small city north of L.A.

My Sweet Pepper Land provides an incredible look into a very different culture.  The story is about a former freedom fighter, who voluntarily moves to a small, corrupt city in the north, where he takes on the job of Police Chief.  There, he hopes to keep order and impose some form of justice.

Problem is, the city is run by a ruthless mobster.  Bullies run rampant, and women are regarded with the utmost disdain.  In fact, the pretty school teacher, pictured above, finds herself the victim of vicious rumors and lies.  Before long, the baddies threaten the new town marshall.

Our hero is brave: he takes on the powers that be, much as Cary Cooper fought the bad guys in High Noon.  And like Cooper, the police chief has a lady in the wings, who stands by as the violence in the small town unfolds.

Enough on the plot.  I will never be a spoiler.  Suffice it to say that this film is anything but a boring documentary of rural Kurdish life.  It is a slam-bang, rugged, daring, realistic look at a tough man who stands by his guns, literally and figuratively.

Where can you see the film?  Probably in an artsy theater near you.  The film had so much buzz in Santa Barbara, that word went out that it would go mainstream very soon.

Watch for this Indy masterpiece.  It will teach and captivate you.

I guarantee it!

Inside Llewyn Davis

Two words:  hated it.

This was probably the most joyless film I have ever seen.  Gives new meaning to the word slooooow.  Started at the end.  Went nowhere.  Not one character I cared about or liked.  Cold winter of New York and Chicago.  Didn't come near capturing the flavor of the folk music era.  I didn't even find Burnett's soundtrack memorable.

Cohen brothers, where are all the qualities you normally bring to the screen?  Oh, Cohen brothers, where art thou?

(d'ya like that one?  -wink- )