shirleyclyde Reviews

Precious (II) (2009)

Cold and Distant Movie

[3/10 · 27 February 2009]

This movie looks great. It sounds great. The performances are great. And yet I left the theater feeling cold and empty. For some reason, this movie is not connected at all with it's heart. Which is ironic, because it wants you to think that it is a movie all about heart. But really I think it's a cold film. Lee Daniels has talent, but he lacks compassion. I didn't really feel like he cared about the girl in the movie. He cared more about showing off as a director. The movie puts gloss all over the grit. You don't really feel like you're in poverty, because Daniels puts gloss all over it. And while the performances are all great, they too lack something. It's as if every note was hit perfectly, but a true emotion is never really there. People cry, but it's not moving. People get angry, but it's not scary. It's just empty, good film-making. Which is to say, not very good film-making at all.

Cassavetes used to say that all he cared about was feeling, not craft. Lee Daniels needs to watch some Cassavetes.

Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry must have been drawn to this so much because bad vibes magnetize other bad vibes. Lee Daniels+ Tyler Perry + Oprah= Scary bad vibes. Don't believe the hype. None of them are gurus, geniuses, or great.

Tyson (2008)

Great Subject, Okay Movie

[7/10 · 27 February 2009]

Put a camera on Tyson, it's riveting. Toback hasn't made a good movie in a long time. He tends to think he's being really cutting edge when he's not(Adrian Grenier tripping on acid in "Harvard Man" was far less mind blowing than Toback imagined. I've had deeper acid trips off Pepto Bismol.) But Tyson is cutting edge. Always.

And so this movie works because of the access, simply. Toback is no D.A. Pennebaker. He doesn't shape the movie into any kind of insight. But we do get to spend time with Tyson. And we do get to see him let his guard down. And that's enough. I'd love to see this on a bill with "Raging Bull" and "On The Waterfront."

The Missing Person (2009)

Elegant, Sad, Funny Rumination on Loneliness and Loss

[9/10 · 27 February 2009]

This movie reminded me a bit of James Gray's movies. Simply shot, actor driven, quiet, sincere, and romantic. While "The Missing Person" is much more of an art film than "Two Lovers," I left with the same feeling of having just watched something very personal and very moving. I don't want to give away too much about this movie, but ultimately it is a film about loneliness and being alone. Sound like a downer? It's not. Michael Shannon delivers his best performance yet as a drunk detective who likes to crack himself up with bad jokes(he cracked up the Sundance audience too.) Amy Ryan, Margaret Colin, and a bunch of other familiar faces provide moments of humor and sadness. Mostly what impressed me about "The Missing Person" was that it wasn't hip or clever. And not fancy either. In fact it was almost the opposite of every movie I saw at Sundance. It was mostly just good, honest film-making . Rare qualities indeed in independent film these days.

The Greatest (2009)

Sugary, Manipulative, with some talent and sparks

[5/10 · 27 February 2009]

Shana Feste, after a screening, said one of her fave films is "Terms Of Endearment." So I suppose if that is one of your fave films, you might like "The Greatest."

I don't think "Terms Of Endearment" is a great film. It's an okay film that you take your grandma too. And not your cool grandma, your lame grandma.

P.Brosnan does some of his finest work ever and his scenes with C.Mulligan are sweet and effecting.

Sundance It Girl Carey Mulligan is solid here, although I felt like with her pixie haircut and bland character she could have been interchanged with Jena Malone or a lot of other actresses and no one would have noticed.

"Juno" is a movie that hovers over the movie, mixed with some "Ordinary People." Sounds good, right? But both those movies worked so well because of the directing. Here, the directing is not surprising, and so the clichés are just clichés. At a certain point I felt so manipulated that I stopped caring what happened. It didn't matter, because it just felt like strings being pulled to tug tears out. It felt fake. Like a fake movie, working too hard to sell itself.

Johnny Simmons is the real reason to see this movie. He gives a star turn. Zoe Kravitz and everyone else disappear when he's on screen.

There is a truly ridiculously written scene with Michael Shannon and Susan Sarandon. The two fine actors are talented enough to ring some beauty out of it-- but my goodness was it a stretch of the imagination to believe the scene itself. I wont say anything more, don't want to spoil plot, but I just didn't buy it for a second.

There's a lot of that in this movie. You have to turn off your common sense if you want to cry here. I didn't cry. But Johnny Simmons truly gave me chills and maybe a tear in the eye.

The Carter (2009 Video)

Weak Doc.

[3/10 · 27 February 2009]

Adam Bhala Lough is a director who's all flash with no substance. I thought "Bomb The System" was empty chop chop chop unoriginal stuff. Now here he is with The Carter and once again the movie is all style, no center. Hip-hop is a culture and music that needs originality, or it will die. Lil' Wayne has brought a little bit of originality to the game in the last couple years. But Bhala Lough can't match him, so what we get is MTV style visuals, making the film feel dated and tired. There's no risk taking and in the end the movie feels deflated, as opposed to energized. I kept waiting for the movie to take a breath and do some thing original, but it never did. I think Bhala Lough would be great in Hollywood making movies like Brett Ratner. He's the next Brett Ratner.