By Sean “GOP-y” Donovan
Snoopy In The Oval Office
Directed and Written by Mike Huckabee & Mitt Romney
Starring Tommy Tune, Martha Plimpton, Nathan Lane, Annette Bening, Angelica Huston and Michael Gambon
Now Playing at the Nederlander Theatre
Grade- B+
When I walked into the historic Nederlander theatre to watch this masterpiece of social satire (one that really shows them liberals who they’re messin’ with! You know they all meet! And they talk! And they plot!), I was struck by an aura of sheer brilliance. What a wonderful show this is! The cast is magnificent, the writing taut, and the presidential hopefuls direct with the ferocity and power of a jungle cat.
The labyrinthine plot involves the newest president of the country (played aptly by Tommy Tune, in his best role ever) struggling to live with a habitual wife (Annette Bening, her eyes lit up like fireworks), a humble vice president (Nathan Lane), and a feisty secretary of state (Angelica Huston, certainly worthy of all the awards Broadway, and the world, can give her). Popping up periodically throughout the show is a narcoleptic salesman with a heart condition (a very stalwart Michael Gambon). With a cast like that, you’d expect a whole menagerie of hi-jinks to occur- and they do!
The one disappointment in this exhilarating piece is the set design. In one scene, Nathan Lane and Michael Gambon’s characters simulate a house while Annette Bening’s bakes cookies. It’s largely un-impressive, and throughout the show there are similar issues.
While the sets are a disappointment, you cannot deny that Snoopy In The Oval Office is performing a valuable service to its country. Rent, the Nederlander Theatre’s previous show, was a haven for atheists, Muslims, and other enemies of freedom and liberty. It glorified ne’er-do-wells, and set that their rebellious treatment of government was right! Ha! Next I suppose they’ll be saying we should leave Iraq, and that we should separate church and state! Ha! Thank you Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee for ending this evil!!!!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Michael Clayton
By Sean “Shiva The God of Death” Donovan
Michael Clayton
Directed and Written by Tony Gilroy
Starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, and Sydney Pollack
Grade- A
Remember the days where films were better? Where one didn’t have to look to exclusively the independent market to find films that weren’t based around CGI animation, sex, torture, or films that were made before? I don’t, since I was born in 1992, and only really started being an active film nerd since 7th grade. This film, however, is very refreshing. It’s not really an action film, as no one jumps from skyscraper to skyscraper (I consider this as being one of the main criteria in terming a film as an “action film”), but it’s also not a horror, sex comedy, or an animated family annoyance. What? You mean there are genres of film that exist beyond those four kingdoms? Oh yes, reader, there are. Michael Clayton is refreshing because it is so well made, yet doesn’t try to be revolutionary. It’s just a really great film.
George Clooney plays the titular character, a corporate “fixer” (there’s really no other term to describe his job), whose duties consist mainly of hiding corporate scandals and making them disappear. From this moment forward, even though I probably won’t mention his job again in this review, I’ll call that a “Corporate Magician.” Someone might ask, “Hey, Shiva the God of Death, what would you call Michael Clayton’s job?” or, “Hey, what’s Jodie Foster’s character’s occupation in Inside Man?” To both I’ll reply that their title is corporate magician.
A company called U/North is sued for having dangerous ingredients in their products. One day, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), their attorney who works for the same firm as Michael and is a manic-depressive, strips down naked in a deposition room. Michael is called in to handle him for the company, but it soon becomes clear that Arthur’s gone round the bend because of guilt for defending the evil company for so many years. Also monitoring Arthur and his case is Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), a representative for the company. The case goes up and down throughout the movie, and Michael goes through a crisis: What has he accomplished by defending and cleaning up the messes of these companies all these years?
I’ve never watched the films writer/director Tony Gilroy has written before this one (the Bourne films; they’re supposedly very good but I’ve never seen one), but he’s made an impressive directorial debut with Michael Clayton. Not a single frame is un-needed in character or plot development. His script is brilliantly complex, with some of the best dialogue this year (although Juno’s is better, but who could beat that?). He also draws exquisite performances from everyone in the cast.
George Clooney is believable in his soul-changing journey in the film, but there are two other performances I prefer to his. One is Tom Wilkinson’s turn as Edens. He spends most of the film ranting angrily, and it’s a joy to watch, but in one scene he displays the infinite knowledge of law he has. The look on Wilkinson’s face adds depth to his character, we suddenly see a very intelligent man lost in a pit of corruption and guilt.
It’s silly to talk about depth in acting in Michael Clayton without mentioning Tilda Swinton’s awe-inspiring performance as Karen Crowder. Her role could be viewed as almost cardboard-like on paper. She’s a cold-hearted villain who has no conscience and is very upwardly mobile in her company. Swinton turns Karen into so much more. She anxiously prepares before each speech she gives, with a seemingly endless canyon of unhinged neurosis and nervousness. She does some awful, unthinkable things in this film, but we see the effects of each one painfully implanted on Karen’s face. She, along with Javier Bardem in this year’s No Country For Old Men, have given two of the best antagonist performances ever.
Michael Clayton
Directed and Written by Tony Gilroy
Starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, and Sydney Pollack
Grade- A
Remember the days where films were better? Where one didn’t have to look to exclusively the independent market to find films that weren’t based around CGI animation, sex, torture, or films that were made before? I don’t, since I was born in 1992, and only really started being an active film nerd since 7th grade. This film, however, is very refreshing. It’s not really an action film, as no one jumps from skyscraper to skyscraper (I consider this as being one of the main criteria in terming a film as an “action film”), but it’s also not a horror, sex comedy, or an animated family annoyance. What? You mean there are genres of film that exist beyond those four kingdoms? Oh yes, reader, there are. Michael Clayton is refreshing because it is so well made, yet doesn’t try to be revolutionary. It’s just a really great film.
George Clooney plays the titular character, a corporate “fixer” (there’s really no other term to describe his job), whose duties consist mainly of hiding corporate scandals and making them disappear. From this moment forward, even though I probably won’t mention his job again in this review, I’ll call that a “Corporate Magician.” Someone might ask, “Hey, Shiva the God of Death, what would you call Michael Clayton’s job?” or, “Hey, what’s Jodie Foster’s character’s occupation in Inside Man?” To both I’ll reply that their title is corporate magician.
A company called U/North is sued for having dangerous ingredients in their products. One day, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), their attorney who works for the same firm as Michael and is a manic-depressive, strips down naked in a deposition room. Michael is called in to handle him for the company, but it soon becomes clear that Arthur’s gone round the bend because of guilt for defending the evil company for so many years. Also monitoring Arthur and his case is Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), a representative for the company. The case goes up and down throughout the movie, and Michael goes through a crisis: What has he accomplished by defending and cleaning up the messes of these companies all these years?
I’ve never watched the films writer/director Tony Gilroy has written before this one (the Bourne films; they’re supposedly very good but I’ve never seen one), but he’s made an impressive directorial debut with Michael Clayton. Not a single frame is un-needed in character or plot development. His script is brilliantly complex, with some of the best dialogue this year (although Juno’s is better, but who could beat that?). He also draws exquisite performances from everyone in the cast.
George Clooney is believable in his soul-changing journey in the film, but there are two other performances I prefer to his. One is Tom Wilkinson’s turn as Edens. He spends most of the film ranting angrily, and it’s a joy to watch, but in one scene he displays the infinite knowledge of law he has. The look on Wilkinson’s face adds depth to his character, we suddenly see a very intelligent man lost in a pit of corruption and guilt.
It’s silly to talk about depth in acting in Michael Clayton without mentioning Tilda Swinton’s awe-inspiring performance as Karen Crowder. Her role could be viewed as almost cardboard-like on paper. She’s a cold-hearted villain who has no conscience and is very upwardly mobile in her company. Swinton turns Karen into so much more. She anxiously prepares before each speech she gives, with a seemingly endless canyon of unhinged neurosis and nervousness. She does some awful, unthinkable things in this film, but we see the effects of each one painfully implanted on Karen’s face. She, along with Javier Bardem in this year’s No Country For Old Men, have given two of the best antagonist performances ever.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
No Country For Old Men
By Sean "Red Eyed Caper" Donovan
No Country For Old Men
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
Screenplay by Joel & Ethan Coen
Based on the book by Cormac McCarthy
Starring Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly MacDonald
Grade- A+
Most horror films usually accompany particularly frightening moments with an abrupt musical shock. Of course, it is the same menacing horror music that also follows the main character (usually an over-acting, unrealistically good-looking teenager and his/her identically over-acting, unrealistically good-looking friends, who fill a variety of different stereotypes) right up until a shocking “Gotcha!” type moment. This lessens from the horror, and allows you to prepare yourself for fright. No such moment occurs in No Country For Old Men, the latest film from the Coen brothers Joel and Ethan, and their best film since 1996’s Fargo. Then again, No Country isn’t really a horror film now, is it? Shockingly brutal and terrifying acts (usually done by Anthon Chirguh) are supplemented by…nothing. The credits clearly state that the score is written by Carter Burwell, long-time Coen brothers’ music writer, but I can’t remember any music in the film at all. Just wind, blowing with an almost mocking serenity against the violent acts displayed. Wind and wide expansive prairies filled with nothing at all, except a bloody trail of corpses.
The plot of No Country For Old Men is not very different from that of most films of this genre. A Texas hunter, Llewelyn Moss (played believably by Josh Brolin) goes on the run with a satchel of money he found amidst a few abandoned trucks and corpses. He is pursued by a relentless, inhuman hit-man, Anton Chirguh (Javier Bardem, who’ll get a whole paragraph later on in this review). They are both pursued in turn by a kind, world-weary sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones, whose fine performance here nicely accompanies a spell-binding performance in this year’s In The Valley of Elah). This whole chase is filled with astounding cinematography. In a particular scene where Moss is being chased is a work of art with its daybreak colors set against the headlights of pickup trucks and the mountainous rural lands of Texas.
Like I said, the plot sounds fairly routine, but no film has ever been made that is like No Country For Old Men. This is evident mainly in its ending. Most films centered around a chase like this have only one real way to end: end the chase. You’re thinking, “Well, of course that’s how it has to end! I need closure! You’re telling me the chase doesn’t end?” No, the chase ends alright. What exactly transpires the film doesn’t really care about, and wisely so. We only get a vague idea of what has occurred, and much of the last scenes are devoted to Tommy Lee Jones’ character, who is able to communicate the effects such brutal violence can have on people. The film quite bleakly suggests that horrific violence can enter without warning into anyone’s life, and that there’s no real protection against it. In an amusing interview I found on Youtube, Tommy Lee Jones is talking to a high-voiced, flamboyant male interviewer, while Jones continues trying to communicate the bleak outlook of the film. The interviewer keeps finishing his sentences with “…but there’s always hope!” The muted argument goes on for a while. Despite (or perhaps because of) the bleak feeling of this film, No Country For Old Men is a brilliant film on all possible fronts: writing, directing, and acting.
Acting! Here’s where Chirguh comes in! When I walked out of this film, I was captivated by the brilliantly subtle ending, as well as Javier Bardem’s performance. I kept tying to think of any character in film that is more terrifying, but I couldn’t. Using his terrifying and painful-looking captive bolt pistol, Chirguh really is a violent, sociopath-ic force of nature. Bardem plays the part so powerfully, too. Nothing I could say about him, or his role, could appropriately convey the fear he inspires.
No Country For Old Men
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
Screenplay by Joel & Ethan Coen
Based on the book by Cormac McCarthy
Starring Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly MacDonald
Grade- A+
Most horror films usually accompany particularly frightening moments with an abrupt musical shock. Of course, it is the same menacing horror music that also follows the main character (usually an over-acting, unrealistically good-looking teenager and his/her identically over-acting, unrealistically good-looking friends, who fill a variety of different stereotypes) right up until a shocking “Gotcha!” type moment. This lessens from the horror, and allows you to prepare yourself for fright. No such moment occurs in No Country For Old Men, the latest film from the Coen brothers Joel and Ethan, and their best film since 1996’s Fargo. Then again, No Country isn’t really a horror film now, is it? Shockingly brutal and terrifying acts (usually done by Anthon Chirguh) are supplemented by…nothing. The credits clearly state that the score is written by Carter Burwell, long-time Coen brothers’ music writer, but I can’t remember any music in the film at all. Just wind, blowing with an almost mocking serenity against the violent acts displayed. Wind and wide expansive prairies filled with nothing at all, except a bloody trail of corpses.
The plot of No Country For Old Men is not very different from that of most films of this genre. A Texas hunter, Llewelyn Moss (played believably by Josh Brolin) goes on the run with a satchel of money he found amidst a few abandoned trucks and corpses. He is pursued by a relentless, inhuman hit-man, Anton Chirguh (Javier Bardem, who’ll get a whole paragraph later on in this review). They are both pursued in turn by a kind, world-weary sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones, whose fine performance here nicely accompanies a spell-binding performance in this year’s In The Valley of Elah). This whole chase is filled with astounding cinematography. In a particular scene where Moss is being chased is a work of art with its daybreak colors set against the headlights of pickup trucks and the mountainous rural lands of Texas.
Like I said, the plot sounds fairly routine, but no film has ever been made that is like No Country For Old Men. This is evident mainly in its ending. Most films centered around a chase like this have only one real way to end: end the chase. You’re thinking, “Well, of course that’s how it has to end! I need closure! You’re telling me the chase doesn’t end?” No, the chase ends alright. What exactly transpires the film doesn’t really care about, and wisely so. We only get a vague idea of what has occurred, and much of the last scenes are devoted to Tommy Lee Jones’ character, who is able to communicate the effects such brutal violence can have on people. The film quite bleakly suggests that horrific violence can enter without warning into anyone’s life, and that there’s no real protection against it. In an amusing interview I found on Youtube, Tommy Lee Jones is talking to a high-voiced, flamboyant male interviewer, while Jones continues trying to communicate the bleak outlook of the film. The interviewer keeps finishing his sentences with “…but there’s always hope!” The muted argument goes on for a while. Despite (or perhaps because of) the bleak feeling of this film, No Country For Old Men is a brilliant film on all possible fronts: writing, directing, and acting.
Acting! Here’s where Chirguh comes in! When I walked out of this film, I was captivated by the brilliantly subtle ending, as well as Javier Bardem’s performance. I kept tying to think of any character in film that is more terrifying, but I couldn’t. Using his terrifying and painful-looking captive bolt pistol, Chirguh really is a violent, sociopath-ic force of nature. Bardem plays the part so powerfully, too. Nothing I could say about him, or his role, could appropriately convey the fear he inspires.
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