Two to Watch

Often, the focus of TV19's Meet Me at the Movies is new releases - not always, as Barry and I like to mix things up sometimes and talk about genre films, or particular actors or directors, or whatever else grabs our attention.  And since we're not big-time critics, but are instead trying to work with the TV19 staff to put together an interesting, entertaining show while also doing our "day jobs," we don't see every new release when it is a new release - there's just not enough time.

Therefore, this post is about two films - both very good ones, although for different reasons - that slipped past my radar when they were big-screen releases.  It's hard to believe, but I missed both of these at the time.

First up, the third appearance of Daniel Craig as the iconic British Secret Service agent 007 - Skyfall.  I must admit, I like Bond, but I'm not an obsessive fan and (in fact) I haven't seen all of the 23 films (I think my count's right, but that leaves off the laughably bad Double 007, which starred [no kidding] Sean's little brother Neil.  Don't seek it out - it's awful, although the MST3K boys have fun with it).  In Skyfall, we get a far more nuanced Bond than we've seen in the past - this James is older, tireder, and subject to the faults and follies of all aging flesh.  It's not a perfect movie - and the treatment of women is still problematic - but it's the Bond that's most captured my attention and it provides a nice bridge from one version of MI6 to the one that Bond viewers are more familiar with.  Javier Bardem (who apparently has a clause in his contracts that says if he's playing a villain, he must have snickeringly-bad hair to take the edge off the menace that he exudes) is a terrific psychopathic bad guy, as well as being the personification of chickens coming home to roost.  Dame Judi Dench is magnificent as the tough-as-nails M and I enjoyed the comic relief (Skyfall's pretty psychologically grim for a Bond tale) provided by Ben Whishaw as a young, hip Q.  (Whishaw was also wonderful in multiple roles in the criminally-underrated Cloud Atlas.)  Rent soon!

Second, the Denzel Washington drama Flight.  It's hard for me to recommend this movie enough.  It's a tough watch in places - Washington's character, "Whip" Whitaker, is a commercial airline pilot with a bucketload of problems.  He's also a really good pilot, which has gotten him through.  Int his one, it's the always-reliable John Goodman who provides the comic relief - and you need it.  I don't want to give too much away, but Flight is one of the most honest, devastating portrayals of the demons of addiction I've ever seen.  Ever wonder why addicts behave the way they do?  Well, the answer is "because they're addicts," but watching Flight shows the desperation-turned-to-anger of loved ones as well as the sheer selfishness displayed by the full-on addict.  I was especially touched by tiny details in this film - a heroin addict who calls her dealer, while muttering, "Please don't answer" and the trigger provided by sounds that most people don't even notice - like a refrigerator compressor kicking in.  Rent now!

Cloud Atlas

It's a cumulus! Or a cirrostratus!

It's best to begin by a straight-up admission that I wasn't at all sure about this one. Cloud Atlas is long - like Gone with the Wind long and, for the most part, contemporary audiences get antsy around the one-hour-and-forty-five-minute mark. It involves actors playing multiple roles across multiple storylines, switching time periods, races, and genders. The film has come under fire for "yellowfacing" - having Caucasian actors play Asian characters rather than hiring Asian actors. There are three - THREE - directors, two of whom are the Wachowski siblings, who once were the Wachowski brothers and that's a whole other kettle of mackerel that I'm not getting into, aside from saying that I imagine that Lana Wachowski has a unique perspective on just how much a person can change. The Wachowski siblings have a track record that shows a definite bent for visually striking films that dabble in theology and Big Questions.

Not sure, not sure.  But this is my not-quite-job, so I bought my ticket, not at all sure if this was going to be the first Matrix movie or Speed Racer. (Hey, like your career hasn't had the occasional misstep?)

I have to say, I've never seen anything like this movie. Ever. I think it's absolutely brilliant and let me explain why.

All too often today, films lack ambition. Worse, they don't trust the audience to figure anything out, so the storytelling tends to be "tell," rather than "show." Cloud Atlas trusts you to be able to connect the dots (by the way, a "cloud atlas" is a real thing) and expects you to try. It's not about stunt casting, although some will seize on that, since you have Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and the incomparable Hugo Weaving (among at least half a dozen others) playing multiple roles. The key concept in the movie is that things, events, people, and (most importantly) love, repeat throughout time. Who's playing the "good guy" and who's filling the archetype of the villain might change, but the roles are always there because we have a hard time learning our lessons.  There's certainly some Carl Jung in here - I caught myself mulling over the concept of archetypes and the collective unconscious after the credits ran. And Joseph Campbell would swoon over this film.  Swoon.

Some will balk at the length. Some will balk at the pidgin language used in one part. Some will balk at the mixing of time periods.

I think all of these people are missing the point. Cloud Atlas is huge and glorious and celebratory (there's a scene in a Scottish pub that had me punching the air in my seat) and tragic and funny and will both make you glad to be human and sorry to be associated with such a screwed-up species.

Go see it.  

Oh, and about the pidgin language part. I've read some criticism that griped that this part should come with subtitles. Really, buddy? Stop taking snarky notes on your popcorn bucket and try concentrating. (I know - that was snarky. Trust me, it was deserved.)

And about the time switches.  Just pay attention - the time period switches aren't random at all.  They occur when a significant plot point is reached in the Grand Story.  That's one of the key points - life is the same story told over and over.  It actually reminded me of John Gardner's line that "in all the world, there are only two stories.  You take a trip, or a stranger comes to town." (And Gardner showed in Grendel that he understands the power of telling a familiar tale through the lens of another character - he'd probably like Cloud Atlas just fine for that reason alone.)  Honestly, if you ever teach any sort of narrative structure class - playwrighting, screenwriting, or just plain ol' longhand fiction - Cloud Atlas could be a great film to use as a teaching tool, for it shows the same big events multiple times.

To sum up, Cloud Atlas is a movie for viewers who are willing to settle in for a long ride, who aren't afraid to think and who can still marvel at the way a movie can touch us emotionally. All that said, Cloud Atlas isn't for everyone - and it certainly doesn't make you a dunderhead if you decide it's not your cup of sweet tea.

But I'm oh-so-glad I saw it!