Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Assassination of the Outlaw Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and The Darjeeling Limited

Let's get right to it.

"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" was like the first "Elizabeth", but not so much. It goes without saying that Cate Blanchett did a great job, and this movie was worth watching for her performance, the costumes and well to tell the truth my memory of this movie is already fading. If you haven't seen the first "Elizabeth" then I can recommend watching that film for sure. The combination of story, Blanchett's acting and the character created by Geoffrey Rush made that film very entertaining.

"The Assassination of the Outlaw Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is a film that I'm still contemplating. First off the cinematography was distracting and overdone. Definitely unique and to the point, but overdone nevertheless. It was hot down in Mexico in "Traffic", war was hellish on the beach in "Saving Private Ryan", but how cold and dreary can every day have been in the life of Jesse James? I only criticize so directly beacause I found it to be distracting, for the most part I liked the film. What I really liked was that the movie was about both Jesse James and Robert Ford. Just because one of them was present didn't mean that the other was overlooked. Seldom do films take the time to study two characters, and it was especially interesting since we know from the title the course they are both on. There has been much talk about Casey Affleck having a great perfomance in this movie, and I must say that he did a very good job. At the same time, to me it was pretty much typical Casey Affleck. It's one of those films where the director spend a lot of time just watching the actors in silence, their eyes, their expressions, thinking. My guess is that wether it's Casey, Ben or any other Affleck, if you film them for long enough, you'd get enough footage to make them look thoughtful or whatever state of mind you're looking for. That's not meant to take away from the film, only to say that I think the direction and editing probably is causing the buzz about Casey more than anything else.

"The Darjeeling Limited" was not what I expected it to be. Let's preface this by me stating that I loved Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums". Gene Hackman's character, Luke and Owen Wilson, Gwyneth, Bill Murray, Hey Jude, Alec Baldwin narrating, stabbings, etc. It was funny, it was sad, it was quirky, and it just worked for me. "Darjeeling" almost got there, it's almost like it was intentionally getting close but wasn't willing to go all the way. All the biggest laughs almost seemed to be the cheapest ones, like from a typical comedey. The characters were well cast, and perhaps I was expecting too much. But from the beginning when I realized that the Bill Murray cahracter wasn't even gong to make it into the movie, I was dissapointed. Then there is a death, a broken car, and many close misses with humor. The quirkiness was there, there was some cool music and some interesting cinematography including a classic Wes Andreson transition scene, but overall I was dissapointed. On a side not, the short film by Wes Anderson before the film, with Natalie Portman was actually the best part of the movie, I could have watched a lot more of that.

Michael Clayton and Stranger Than Fiction

Alright, I saw both of these movies about a week ago, but I think it's best to write about them now before I see my next movies.

"Michael Clayton" was one

Let me stop myself right there, I just saw a preview for "Be Kind Rewind" over on the Quicktime trailer site, and it looks super funny, my kind of movie alright.

Anyways, "Michael Clayton" was one of those movies that was good, and I want to write a good review about it, but as you can see it has taken a week for me to get around to writing about it. Geoerge Clooney was very good. Instead of being a invincible star, he plays Machael as a fallible, unsure, older guy. He's been through quite a bit, he's got personal issues, but he has a mission. All that extra baggage makes his character more believable and interesting. I think the ending of the movie is more satisfying because it took so much hard work to get there. The best part of the movie though was the protaganist played by Tilda Swinton. I don't think I've seen such a character before. She was manipulative, calculated and just plain nasty bad. At the same time she wasn't exactly having a walk in the park. The film captured her struggle with decisions and consequences as well. It's not easy being evil I guess.

I had heard good things about "Stranger Than Fiction", perhaps some of you had mentioned it. Sometimes I just don't make it to all the movies, and this was a chance to see something with Jess for the first time on video. I think the measure of great comedies, is how hard I laugh, and let me tell you I was laughing pretty hard at this one. Another measure of my enjoyment of a film at home is how much Jess enjoys it. Jess liked this one too, so it was a fun movie to wath together, and I would recommend it to almost anyone. I think that this is Will Ferrell's best movie. Perhaps this goes hand in hand with the fact that I'm super old now, but range that he demonstrates in this role shows his acting ability off quite well. The supporting cast, the quirky special effects, the music, they all support the humorous, original story, and make for a fun movie.

In The Valley of Elah

Tommy Lee Jones gets the story of David and Goliath right, for the most part. He uses the term "slingshot" and he suggests that David defeated Goliath because he overcame his own fear. The "slingshot" part doesn't bother me so much. How great it would be if someone in a movie would actually have gotten the point of that Sunday School lesson from so long ago.

I went into "In The Valley of Elah" expecting something quite a bit different from what I got, and that's a good thing. I like to be suprised, and I like a film that keeps me interested until the end. Tommy Lee Jones has always been great, and here he is as well. It's just sad to see a movie about such a hopeless subject, as seen through the eyes of such a hopeless individual. Basically good people, interacting with other basically good people in a completely fallen world. The basic premise of this movie was to condemn those who send innocent young men off to kill or be killed in places like Iraq. On one hand I have respect for anyone who is willing to speak out for what they believe in. Obviously the people making this movie saw a concern and want us to know about it. On the other hand, this movie is an outcry without hope. This brings me back to Tommy Lee Jones' explination of David without including God; it seems as though people in Hollywood can stand up to the wrong they percieve, but without God what hope do they have in overcoming?

The War

I'm going to post two reviews tonight, so forgive me if I'm not all-inclusive in either review. Both movies were not easy to watch, and I'm still contemplating what I think about the two.

"The War" by Ken Burns recently aired on PBS, and most likely will re-run for quite a while. I watched each consecutive episode, and I can only reccomend viewing it this way. To watch one or two episodes, or to view out of order will defeat part of the purpose. This is the best kind of anti war film that can be made. "Saving Private Ryan" is in the upper tier of anti war films, but sometimes it steps into the action genre and therefore cannot be at the top. "The War" is an unflinching look at the horrific nature of humans killing each other for their respective countries. Don't get me wrong, this was a truly reverent homage to the men and women who fought and supported the war effort durring World War II. Just as in his "Civil War" series, Ken Burns paints the struggle as being on of good vs. evil. Even if the men on the ground didn't realize the atrocities of Hitler, history has made heroes out of everyone who fought his regime. The fervent determination of the Japanese is portrayed in uncanny similarity to our current struggle with religious fanatics. At the same time, fourteen hours allows Ken Burns to address the agonizing ironies, such as Japanese internment camps here in the United States. Another subject Burns looks at was our decision to bomb hundreds of thousands of civiliians on Japan, so shortly after discoving the death camps in Germany. There are things I saw that made me feel good to be an American. There were things I heard that made me think of Pop and remind me that I'll never be able to completely appreciate or comprehend what he and so many others have done for us. I also saw things that were hard to see. Hopefully with all the questions I have and all the emotions it stirred up, the final outcome will be a balanced, thoughtful perspective, and a greater respect for men who are willing to do what is right regardless of the cost.