At the Cinema - September 2013

Elysium – 8
You’ll like this movie if you like
a.  Science Fiction
b.  Matt Damon
c.  Heroes and Villains

Matt Damon is Max, a car thief of the future, but he’s been convicted and he’s therefore watched closely even though he toils away in a mundane job.  When he gets radiation poisoning on that job, he can easily get cured, but not on earth – only on Elysium, a space station circling earth populated with the rich and privileged. They have all the luxuries of the future on Elysium, and they guard them closely.  The Secretary of Defense is played coldly by Jodi Foster who grew into a mature lady while we weren’t looking.

All this is ludicrous of course, but good science fiction makes it believable, and this all seems to work.  Matt’s poisoning has made him weak, so he has to get outfitted with hardware welded to him so that he becomes a robotic superman.  Transformer-like battles ensue as Damon tries to make the commute from Los Angeles to Elysium.  Director Neill Blomkamp inexplicably became a hot property after his District 9 became a hit, although I didn’t care for it at all.  He redeems himself here with a more entertaining metaphorical leap.  We’re headed for separate planets (or space stations) with the widening divide between the haves and the have-nots.  I guess the Conservatives get a planet, and the Liberals get a planet.  Let’s hope there’s a third choice.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler - 7
You’ll like this movie if you like:
a.  Historical Perspective
b.  Interesting Characters
c.  Great Acting

This is an interesting movie in many ways.  Unfortunately, it is also deceptive.  If you walked in off the street knowing nothing you would believe that this is a true story of a man (not Lee Daniels - he's the director) who is a White House butler through several administrations.  You would be wrong.

Forest Whitaker plays The Butler, Cecil Gaines, a character “based on a true story.”  It’s loosely based on Eugene Allen, who was a White House servant through 8 administrations, and a whole lot of discrimination.  Oprah Winfrey plays his wife, and they both do a great job.  There is a parade of Presidential caricatures’ as the movie unfolds, with the emphasis on the Civil Rights movement, and one can’t help wonder what’s real and what isn’t. 

Did Ronald Reagan really think he was on the wrong side of the civil rights movement even as he was unwinding legislation?  Did Nancy Reagan really invite a Butler and his wife to a state dinner?  What’s real here?  Should I really have to research a movie when I leave to find out what was real and what was fictional?

We watch Forrest Gump and we understand that it is just entertainment.  Here, we are baffled.

But, that doesn’t mean there isn’t significant merit to the movie.  It does a fine job weaving old footage of key historical events with character evolution as the years go by in Gaines’ life.  Most interesting is his relationship with a rebellious son who is in the thick of key events. 
All of which is interesting, but too important to be a mishmash of truth and fiction, one that made me more and more uncomfortable as I learned more.  Movies like this can be so important.  The truth is fascinating enough.  Why leave us guessing?

In a World… - 7
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. An original subject
b. Movie Trailers
c. Voice Overs

It seems talented actresses like Lake Bell and Brit Marling (The East) have to write their own movies to land a decent role.  In this case Lake also has to direct and produce.  That’s a shame, because here Lake Bell the wonderful actress gets let down by Lake Bell the writer, producer, and director.    This is a wonderful premise that never quite ignites.

Lake plays Carol Solomon, a vocal coach who longs to break through the male-dominated profession of movie voice overs.  One of the males that dominates is her own father, a bundle of ego who has no intention of letting his daughter break through.  Another male is Don LaFontaine, the author of the famous “In a world where” preface to so many movie trailers.  LaFontaine has died (he actually died 5 years ago) and the studio wants to revive his signature phrase, perhaps even with a woman.  Carol should be so lucky. 

Unfortunately, this wonderful backdrop deteriorates into a couple of love story soap operas that we’ve seen a million times.  Too bad.  Nice try, in a world where women have to write movies to get a decent role.

The Family – 4

You’ll like this movie if you like:
a.  Waterboarding for fun
b.  Dianna Agron
c.  Tedium

This movie is so shockingly tedious that you’ll wonder who green-lighted the script.  I feared the worst but agreed to go because of the presence of the beautiful Agron, whose charisma is sorely missed on Glee.  I would have rather watched an interview of her, or just a still picture, or paint dry.

The biggest problem here is that this is as humorless a movie as one could imagine, and it is sorely in need of humor, anything to break the monotony of seeing Robert DeNiro play Robert DeNiro for the 23^rd consecutive movie.  Michelle Pfeifer and Agron are wasted.  You see, DeNiro testified against his mob buddies and he and his Munchasen family are in witness protection under a dour Tommy Lee Jones.  Even the inevitable violent ending is dull. 

I can’t think of a single reason to make this movie, and I surely can’t think of a reason to see it.  Another high school role for Agron surely wasn’t it.  Note to Hollywood:  Dianna Agron is a potential star and it’s time for her to graduate from high school and take on an adult role.  That might be worth seeing.   This wasn’t.