Movie Review: Winter’s Bone (2010)

Winter’s Bone is about a 17-year-old girl who’s forced into being the sole provider for her two younger siblings and sick mother after her father gets sent to prison for cooking up crack. Then one day Johnny Law tells her that her dad’s out of prison.

That he offered up their house as collateral for his bond money, and if he doesn’t show up for his court hearing, the state takes the house and leaves her family to live out in the woods to probably die. So our girl Ree sets out on foot to every last terrifying hillbilly she’s related to (and there’s a lot of ‘em) in the hopes to get some kind of answer as to where the hell her dad is before time runs out.

Until last week or so, I’d heard absolutely nothing about this movie, no trailers, no articles, no nothing. Then I caught wind of some utterly glowing reviews that made me feel like a jackass for being so out of the loop and finding out that it won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance a mere four months after the fact. See, this is why some kind gent out there needs to start paying me to do this before I end up stuck in Killers for all I know. It’s just no good the way things are now.

So dry your tears if you haven’t heard of it, we all have those moments, but now that you know, get the hell out there and see this.

It’s written and directed by one Debra Granik – a woman I didn’t even know existed - and make no mistake, she is the bomb.

Being from the suburbs of New York, I can’t exactly claim to know a whole lot about living in the backwoods of the Ozarks, but apparently the sun never, ever comes out, all the trees are deader than dead and not a single resident has running water in their Shantyville showers. Granted, it is Winter, but, boy, it must totally suck to live there. But there’s a strange beauty about it, the way she embraces wide open spaces that complement the dead seriousness of the story’s tone and the way it effects the locals is ever-present and something else. This could have easily been the most grim and depressing movie setting next to the The Road, but it’s not, instead it’s authentic, fitting and mighty, mighty impressive. I like that.

Also love that Granik’s characters come off as street smart and intimidating rather than the 21st Century homicidal redneck cast of Deliverance. These folks may not have the best oral hygiene or find themselves featured on MTV Cribs any time soon, but these people – banjo parties and all - are no freakin’ joke and are shadier than you can possibly imagine.

In a nutshell, Granik has put together one seriously gritty movie and it doesn’t take long to start marveling at her keen eye for the stark and ear for the raw.

See, kids, this is how you write, this is the most refreshing damn script I’ve come across in ages. It’s such a simple plot, such a simple premise, the first half-hour is more or less comprised of our 17-year-old protagonist making home visits, and it is a thing of beauty. It’s just so uncommon to find a script anymore that feels like a throwback, where the characters don’t mince words and each sentence is packed with more meaning than most writers can get down in a fucking soliloquy, and that’s just one of the many reasons why it stands out. There is just so much power behind the dialogue and silence that even the scrawniest of individuals feel like they could feed you to the hogs without batting an eye, and even though I don’t know why Garnik is one of the minorities who can actually pull this off, she does so with ease and I’m applaud her for it.

But the real driving force behind it all is newcomer Jennifer Lawrence as our protagonist, Ree. I don’t know where this girl came from, but if she doesn’t get nominated for an Oscar this year, I will be pissed, I will be livid, I will boycott those damn awards and go to bed at a reasonable hour for once. An incredibly well-written character to begin with, Lawrence has more inherent maturity, gravitas and steadfast confidence going for her than most actors who have been in the game since she was born. I’ve never come across a girl like Ree before – which is unfortunate – and she is in all honesty right up there with Sarah Connor as one of the great badass movie heroines.

There’s also a great performance by John Hawkes as Ree’s uncle, Teardrop. Only seen him before in Deadwood, Eastbound and Down and You, Me and Everyone We Know, but the guy made quite an impression and it’s about time he landed a kickass role like this. Really good actor, really good character, and it’s about damn time people started recognizing him.

Man, I haven’t gushed over a recent movie like this in a while. I don’t know how many theaters out there are playing this at the moment, but after drudging through six long months of effing horrendous offerings from Hollywood, it is so damn good to remember what it’s like to go to a movie, love the said movie and not feel robbed of 12 hard-earned dollars. Winter’s Bone might not be your thing if you’re itching to make some feel-good memories, but it was right up my alley and I really hope it takes off. But even if it doesn’t, seek it out. The pickin’s are awful slim, gang.

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Jonah Hex Review

Jonah Hex Review – No one is expecting Jonah Hex to be the best movie of the summer, or even the biggest blockbuster. There have been a number of reviews for the film that were mixed , but overall the response has been alright.

The main problem with it is that the movie of a whole only feels like a small portion of a film. While most have a decisive plot line, this movie relies much more on their great visuals, and the co-star, Megan Fox, to keep the audience interested in the 73 minutes that it spans.

The flick is almost too short, which is a complaint that you do not often hear from moviegoers. The movie simply does not have a long enough run time to keep the viewers interested, and barely feels like more than a television show than a movie.

The civil war is over, and America is nearing their 100th year as a nation. however, a number of soldiers from the war have plans to launch a terrorist attack against the nation in hopes that President Grant would have no choice but to track down Jonah Hex, in order to meet up with the terrorists. Hex works as a bounty hunter and is famed in the movie for his skills in his craft.

The piece just never takes off like you would hope that it would. It is more action movie than story plot, and is simply not long enough to make sense of the story that they have randomly thrown in front of viewers. Now, if you are looking for a movie that will allow you to take your mind off of things and enjoy some mindless action, than Jonah Hex is the summer flick for you. Just do not go to the theater expecting a great storyline or solid character development with only 73 minutes of running time.

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Robin Hood - Movie Review

Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood is an attempt to tell a significantly different version of events and is much darker and more serious-minded than anything we have seen in the past. Like Casino Royale or the last Star Trek adventure this Robin Hood is all about going back to ground zero and rebuilding a legend.

The thrust of the film is the events leading up to Robin being branded as an outlaw and what inspired his pursuit of justice for all.The film could easily be called “Robin Hood: Origins” as it tells the story of Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) before he became Robin Hood. At the start of this movie Robin is an archer with King Richard the Lion Hearted (Danny Huston).

One of the king’s right hand men is the knight Robert Loxley (Douglas Hodge). When the King and Loxley are killed Robin takes Loxley’s name and heads back to England.There he finds England in turmoil as Prince John (Oscar Isaac) takes the throne. John’s mother Eleanor (Eileen Atkins) tries to reason with her son to take the heavy tax load off the people of England, but he decides to make the burden even more severe.

This leads to internal conflict at the same time the French are planning to invade England. All of this strife leads to amazing battle sequences. Meanwhile Robin is trying to help out Loxley’s father (Max Von Sydow) and his widow Marion (Cate Blanchett). The new Friar (Mark Addy) at Nottingham where Marion lives is also drawn into helping out, as are Robin’s buddies Allan A’Dayle (Alan Doyle), Will Scarlett (Scott Grimes) and Little John (Kevin Durand).Director.

Ridley Scott ensures the story never becomes indigestible, peppering events with rousing action sequences that lead to a bloody conclusion on the beaches of Dover that is reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan as the waters of the Channel run red, bodies tumble into the churning seas and arrows come whizzing through the surface to maim the unwary.Crowe is at his dogged best is ably supported by Blanchett, who plays a Marion not afraid to stand up to the men in her life or to wield a broadsword with the best of them.

Von Sydow is touching as old Loxley, William Hurt gives a beautifully mellow performance as the noble Sir William Marshal and Mark Strong inherits the mantle of Basil Rathbone as an eminently hateble villain.Robin Hood may not satisfy the purists who want the legend to remain intact, but for those just hungry for a great adventure Robin Hood fills the bill. It is a big, sweeping epic executed in a manner that makes all the spectacle and pageantry appear effortless.

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Raajneeti Movie Review

Respite and relief. This is exactly how I felt walking out of the cinema after watching Prakash Jha's Raajneeti. Thanks to the filmmaker, we have officially been bestowed with 2010's best film thus far.

Praise the Bollywood God; he has finally been kind on us. My expectations of the director were scorching high considering the film has a boastful cast of some of the best in the industry:

Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Manoj Vajpayee and Naseeruddin Shah. And then there are other actors who have surprised us in the recent past including Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

The film, obviously based around Indian Politics, is also based around the epic Mahabharata. With a filmography that reaches vast and wide, one can only expect an award-winning production and performances. Raajneeti is a political saga bestows precisely what it promises.Raajneeti is every socio-political movie fan's delight. From the get-go you are introduced into the world of corruption, deceit and bribery. Prakash Jha does an absolutely top-notch job of keeping the film interesting, gripping and enticing despite the story being of a serious nature. The execution of Anjum Rajabali's and Jha's script and dialogues has been completely justified by the actors who have been casted to perfection. As a director, Jha knows the ropes and demonstrates that in every scene of Raajneeti. The screenplay is strong to the extent that it is virtually impossible to find loopholes in the script. The subtle Mahabharata story has been cleverly interwoven into the script which starts with the family's division over power and money and ends with a smart anecdote between Nana Patekar and Ranbir Kapoor; a scene not to be missed!However, if one were to find a single negative aspect to the film, it would be the length; it is all of three hours long. But even then, what could you possibly edit? Every scene is so solid and required.If the screenplay is fantastic, then the performances are even better and support Jha's script one hundred percent. In fact, the actors really work the film and each one binds the film ensuring its resilient script is flawless. Breaking down the performances individually would be the only acceptable honor the cast of Raajneeti.Ranbir Kapoor: It was last year post Wake Up Sid! that the world finally realized that Ranbir Kapoor had turned from star to actor. He furthers proves this with his enactment of the sacrificing yet sly brother. From a Mahabharata standpoint, Ranbir plays Arjun and wows! Kapoor is the backbone of the film.Ranbir Kapoor: It was last year post Wake Up Sid! that the world finally realized that Ranbir Kapoor had turned from star to actor. He furthers proves this with his enactment of the sacrificing yet sly brother. From a Mahabharata standpoint, Ranbir plays Arjun and wows! Kapoor is the backbone of the film.

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MOVIE REVIEW - Splice

A couple working and living together (Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley) create genetic hybrid animals for the lab where they work. This has helped in the medical field a number of ways, but when they’re told the lab will shut down after expenses don’t justify the research, Polley decides they should add some human DNA, as they had originally planned for later down the road.

The movie is still very interesting when it turns into The Fly meets Island of Dr. Moreau, (with a little Frankenstein thrown in). It’s unfortunately that the entire second half becomes a ridiculous mess. The movie doesn’t know if it wants to stay an interesting piece of science fiction, or a horror movie.It’s even more frustrating that such great special effects are wasted. It’s also frustrating that the characters, who seem so realistic early on, make imbecilic decisions.

The first problem I had with this movie was during a conference in which the geneticists showed a few of the hybrid animals to many of the stockholders. They were fascinated by the huge worm like creatures, who we see earlier involved in a mating ritual that was beautiful and looked like something out of Avatar.

In front of the crowd, it’s a lot less “romantic.” And that would’ve been great if it was less over-the-top.

I thought it was odd that the film had these subtle lectures on the ethics of all of this, and many times the comparisons to the abortion debate got annoying.

When Polley decides to mix in human DNA, she hadn’t planned on what might happen. Unfortunately, I think the same applied for the filmmakers.

There were 11 different creatures that were built for this movie (it ages rapidly, which may have made things tougher for the prop department, but helped move the story along).

It started out like the creature from Alien, soon turned into a naked mole rat, then a rabbit, the elephant man, and finally Sinead O’Connor. And you thought you looked bad in some of your baby photos.

Another scene early in the movie that frustrates is when one scientist takes a mask off. Another sticks their arm into an incubator when a problem with the creature arises. How is it I’ve never been in a lab in my life, but would never think it’s safe to do the things they did?

Movie pet peeve #27 shows up. That’s my pet peeve that states the boss will always be mad at you and the work you do, even if you’re one of the best at your job. It’s usually the captain at a police station, telling the two hero cops he’ll “have their badges” if they keep “playing by their own rules” (even though their own rules may have just saved hundreds of people). In this lab, it’s two highly regarding geneticists who had just been featured on the cover of a magazine.

The company they work for is called N.E.R.D., which is cute. They spell it backwards, to call their latest creature Dren, played nicely by model Delphine Chaneac (bald, of course). And since it’s a model playing this character (SPOILER ALERT) – you can kind of guess that Brody will eventually have sex with it (he even gave that away on Jimmy Kimmel a few weeks ago).

Since Brody had become the father figure to this creature, I leaned into the lawyer friend watching the screening with me and said, “Would he be charged with incest or bestiality?” (SPOILER ALERT OVER)

The movie dealt a lot with Polley having a horrible childhood, but that story is told sloppily. It’s almost like they wanted to just give a lame reason for the horrible decisions she continued to make regarding Dren.

I’m also not sure why the two scientists live in such a shabby apartment when they must be making big bucks.

The movie reminded me of some of the David Cronenberg films I saw as a teenager. And I guess if I still were a teenager, I’d be able to forgive a lot of the flawed science and leaps of logic the characters make in the film.

Late in the movie, I had lost all interest because of all the craziness transpiring.

I instead had thoughts pop into my head like:

Do all scientists listen to loud rock music?

If you were a brilliant scientist like Brody, who could create any type of creature imaginable, wouldn’t you create a new nose for yourself?

When the female geneticist admits she used her own DNA and has become a mom to the creature, does she realize she’s giving Joan Crawford a run for her money by taking away the girls jewelry, toys and pet cat?

When the creature strangles the cat with its tail, will the credits say, “No cats were hurt during the filming.” Will they tell us no hybrid creatures were hurt, either?

Finally, I just wished Splice would’ve taken the good parts it had, and been spliced into a better film. The way it is now, there aren’t enough scary moments to appeal to the horror film crowd. And the sci-fi geeks will have more fun watching this at the midnight movie, throwing things and shouting at the screen. This movie opens this weekend, and all my sci-fi geek friends are excited about it. I’m giving it a D+, for a strong first half and great special effects.

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