Drama

Broken Embraces

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Broken Embraces
  • IMDB: link

As far as I can tell, Pedro Almodóvar is the most well-known Spanish filmmaker, and has a shot at being the most well-known European one, too. It’s been a lonely three years since his last film, Volver crossed the Atlantic, but now we get Broken Embraces, another story of the consequences and rewards of love. Was it worth the wait? Of course it was.

The story is a complicated entanglement of a filmmaker, Harry Caine, as he recalls his affair with his lead actress Lena (my wife, Penélope Cruz). Though they’re madly in love, they’re kept from happiness by Lena’s boyfriend, the millionaire and producer of Harry’s film, Ernesto. Afraid he’ll ruin the film, they don’t keep the relationship from Ernesto, but not without severe difficulties and consequences.

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The Young Victoria

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Young Victoria
  • IMDB: link

The Young Victoria is a solid effort from screenwriter Julian Fellows (Gosford Park, Vanity Fair).

Emily Blunt proves capable of capturing a young woman on the verge of controlling an empire and struggling with advisers, her mother’s power-hungry lover (Mark Stong), and her own ideas for her country’s future.

And yet, something is missing.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed The Young Victoria. The sets, cinematography, acting, costumes, all demonstrate talent and a keen eye for the period.

Maybe I’ve just seen too many of these paint-by-number historical dramas, or perhaps this film does too little to distinguish itself from all the others.

The film is an attempt to show Victoria (Blunt) blossoming into womanhood, her rise to power, her early years as Queen, and her romance with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend). And it does exactly that, and nothing more.

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Up, WAY UP, In the Air

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Up in the Air
  • IMDB: link

Every couple of years it seems director Jason Reitman is putting out a movie that ends up on my best of the year list. Oh wait, that’s exactly what he’s been doing.

Starting in 2005 with Thank You for Smoking followed by 2007’s Juno, Reitman has quickly made a name for himself creating smart, funny, off-beat, award-winning films with heart, wit, and a little bit of sass.

Another two years have gone by, and Reitman returns once again with tale of a salesman. In Thank You for Smoking Aaron Eckhart made smoking not only palatable, but patriotic.

Here Reitman casts George Clooney as a termination specialist, a man who is selling unemployment – with a smile. And as he did with Eckhart, Reitman allows the man’s natural charm and the wit of the script to soften the hard edges of what it is he’s selling. If you’ve never believed a movie about firing people could be this entertaining, you’re about to be proven very wrong.

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Invictus

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Invictus
  • IMDB: link

Invictus is a project Morgan Freeman has been trying to get off the ground for more than a decade. Although I think it’s a quality film, and the story is definitely worth telling, I can certainly see why it took this long for the film to get made. It feels at least one more rewrite away (the script was adapted from John Carlin‘s book by Anthony Peckham) from cashing in on its full potential.

Invictus centers around an event, the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The focus is split between that of the newly elected President Nelson Mandela (Freeman) and the captain (Matt Damon) of the South African Rugby team, the Springbok.

The film certainly captures the importance of the event and what it meant to a new South Africa coming out of the days of apartheid. It also succeeds in demonstrating the change in attitude of the South African people to the team, and effectively spotlights how sports can truly unify people in a very unique way.

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The Road

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Road
  • IMDB: link

Like most post-apocalyptic tales, The Road isn’t exactly sunny. Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, the story follows a father (Viggo Mortensen) and a son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they journey across a decimated world in search of food, shelter, and safety from bands of roving cannibals.

Okay, so it’s not a date movie.

This is really a two-character story. Other than the cannibals and occasional straggler the pair encounter, the only other person given screentime is Charlize Theron as Mortensen’s wife (though she is only shown in flashbacks).

This means the weight of the film falls on Mortensen and young Smit-McPhee. Thankfully they’re up to the task. Mortensen is as good as always, and Smit-McPhee holds his own against the Oscar-nominated actor.

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