My Review: Taxi Driver (10/10)

"You talking to me? Well I'm the only one here."

If you look up the word 'masterpiece' in the dictionary, Taxi Driver is its definition. Not only does it appeal subjectively to audiences but it is a complete film in all the technical aspects as well. It has a stunning cinematography capturing the dark and dirty streets of New York City, a gorgeous and eerie score that accompanies the action perfectly, some amazing camera angles and shots, perfect editing, and some of the greatest ever performances you will see in a film. Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver is a visually stunning film that happens to be one of the greatest character studies of all time. There have been hundreds of films focusing on characters suffering from some sort of traumatic experience from war, but none have captured that complex mental breakdown as well as De Niro's Travis Bickle. Much of the credit has to be given to screenwriter Paul Schrader who suffered a similar mental breakdown and dealt with it by writing this amazing and somewhat autobiographical script, but De Niro and Scorsese took it even further by doing the best work of their careers. There isn't a single scene in this film that feels out of place and De Niro plays every note perfectly. There isn't a better character study about a Vietnam war veteran than Travis Bickle who slowly descends into psychotic behavior as he isolates himself from the rest of society and decides he has to try to do something to clean the filthy streets of New York. 

Imagine a man who has served as a Marine in the Vietnam war only to come home and find that not only does the country he has served not appreciate him, but it has become a filthy and dirty place. That is such the case with Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) who is mentally unstable and suffering from insomnia. He decides that he might as well work as a taxi driver since he spends all night driving around anyway. We don't get any flashbacks about his experience in the war, but he is clearly disturbed by the deteriorated society he lives in. He finds it incredibly difficult to interact with anyone, but in the midst of all the filth and darkness there is one person who shines a ray of hope for him. The only redemptive quality for Travis in this city is Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), who works for the presidential nomination campaign of Senator Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris). He invites Betsy out for a cup of coffee and she accepts. They share some sort of bond, but he messes up when he invites her to the cinema and takes her to a porno movie (he's so disconnected with society that he thinks it's what normal couples do). That is where their relationship ends and he completely breaks down. He becomes fascinated with guns and decides he has to clean the streets of New York. One of the first steps he takes is trying to save a twelve year old prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster) from her pimp and lover, Sport (Harvey Keitel), but his mind is clearly troubled and there seems to be nothing that will put it at ease.

Taxi Driver is my favorite Scorsese film so far and I can't believe it took me so long to watch it. I can see how this film clearly resonated at a time where American society was clearly disturbed after the events of Vietnam and the Watergate scandal, but the film has transcended the test of time and it continues to be a disturbing portrait of a mentally ill man dealing with isolation. It's a wonderful film that somehow speaks to audiences differently. It has all the qualities of an art house film but somehow it has found a mainstream audience (probably thanks to Robert De Niro's stunning performance). After having seen several clips of this film I always imagined it focused on this taxi driver following around Iris, but that was actually only a small part of the film. Jodie Foster is so great in those short but memorable scenes that she is in almost every highlight of Taxi Driver. The real star however is Robert De Niro who gives such a believable and natural performance of a troubled and complex man. Taxi Driver is one of the most powerful and groundbreaking films that I've seen and so much has been written about it already. It's a unique experience and one that everyone should go through!

My Review: Elysium (7/10)

"I promise you, one day I'll take you to Elysium."

Elysium is Neill Blomkamp's sophomore sci-fi film after his critically acclaimed debut with District 9. Expectations were high considering that film was a unique experience in that it blended some great sci-fi visuals with a social commentary about the apartheid movement in South Africa. District 9 worked as a modern day parable. Sadly Elysium doesn't live up to those high standards he set in his previous movie, but I still have to admit I had a fun time with this film. I think people would've enjoyed this film a little more if they didn't know it was directed by the same person who brought us the groundbreaking District 9. Elysium is far from being a great film because it is very predictable and generic. There were no twists or surprises here, but I enjoyed the CGI and the performances from some of the cast members (sorry Jodie Foster, I can't include you here). Elysium works as a blockbuster as long as you don't think too much about the plot. Unlike in District 9, the social commentary doesn't work too well here because the characterizations were extremely over the top (Jodie Foster could've toned it down a bit). Blomkamp was trying to criticize the immigration issue and the difference in privileges between the rich and poor. However, I felt that as an action sci-fi film it kept me entertained despite the predictability so I still had a good time with Elysium.

The film takes place in 2154 where the planet has suffered from overpopulation and the wealthy have decided to live off in a space station called Elysium. The wealthy have access to a very comfortable life and state of the art equipment such as these medical capsules that heal you in a matter of seconds. Max (Matt Damon) has been dreaming of living in Elysium but his social condition doesn't allow it. He's committed several crimes in the past, but now he's decided to clean up his act and work at a local armor factory. After an incident with some droids, he runs into his childhood friend, Frey (Alice Braga), who's working as a nurse. Max isn't the only one who dreams of being able to go to Elysium. Several thousands of people have searched for a way to get a ticket (especially the sick who want to get healed in those capsules), but Officer Delacourt Rhodes (Jodie Foster) enforces the anti-immigration laws with a stern hand and will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of the wealthy class. When illegal crafts try to enter Elysium she doesn't hesitate in using force to stop them. One of her best agents is Kruger (Sharlto Copley) who happens to be psychotic as well and loves to use violence. When Max suffers an accident at work he is forced to find a way to Elysium and will stop at nothing to get there. 

I enjoyed Matt Damon's lead performance here and it was good to see Copley teaming up with Blomkamp again. The face off between these two characters was probably my favorite scene in this film. Elysium isn't the best sci-fi film of the year, but it still is an enjoyable flick if you go into it with low expectations. The action is pretty fast paced and at times the slow motion action scenes look like a video game. Blomkamp is a young and talented writer/director who will probably continue having success in the genre. Again I think the main weakness of the film was its overselling of the social commentary, but the premise and the action scenes lift this film from other formulaix sci-fi action films. I guess that the wealthy habitants of Elysium would've been better off if they simply offered their employees a better healthcare system. The lovely Alice Braga should also go over her roles a little as to try not to come up with a same ending again because the closure was almost identical to I Am Legend.

My Review: Carnage (6/10)

¨A new comedy of no manners.¨

Roman Polanski is a great director, there is no denying his trajectory (Rosemary`s Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist), and his latest film, The Ghost Writer, was amongst my favorite movies of last year, but Carnage was a bit of a disappointment for me. Perhaps I was expecting more going into this movie considering Polanski was directing it and knowing it had a spectacular cast: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, and Christoph Waltz. Carnage was nowhere near as good as I thought it would be, but it still isn`t a bad movie. It has some witty dialogues, several funny scenes, and of course great performances. There is nothing wrong with the cast; they all did a great job with their characters and Jodie Foster should receive an Oscar nomination for her role; the problem I had was mainly with the story. It takes place entirely in an apartment building and the conversations made me feel so awkward and unsteady that I couldn`t wait for the couple to leave the room. They seem to continue going on in circles criticizing one another, while slowly escalating their tones. Of course there are several really funny moments and John C. Reilly steals most laughs, but the film just felt too simplistic. Another problem I had with it was the length; it lasts less than 80 minutes. I suspect Carnage worked much better in the theater since it was based on the play written by Yasmina Reza (The God of Carnage), but it just didn’t translate really well in the big screen. Reza and Polanski both worked in the adaptation of the script. Carnage is a funny, simple movie, but not very memorable.

The premise of the movie is pretty simple. We have two couples that decide to meet at their New York apartment after their kids had a big fight and one of them lost two teeth in the process. On the one hand we have Penelope (Jodie Foster) and Michael (John C. Reilly) Longstreet who`s child (Ethan) was the victim, and on the other we have Nancy (Kate Winslet) and Alan Cowan (Christoph Waltz) who`s child (Zachary) was responsible for beating the other with a stick. At first they decide to meet cordially and try to solve the issue in a friendly matter, but the tone begins to escalate after Penelope asks the Cowan`s if they could bring Zachary over to apologize for the incident. Nancy says she could bring her son over, but Alan has no intention of coming back since he sees the entire issue pointless. All he cares for is getting back to work and that is why he is constantly on the phone. Penelope on the other hand wants to solve the issue peacefully, but she is more of an idealist than a realist. The entire conversation begins to heat up and after a couple of drinks the violent words begin to cross from one point of the room to the other. The entire movie takes place inside this apartment, although in the beginning we get to see the incident between the kids in the park from afar.

Carnage is a movie that points out human behavior. While we`re kids we seem to have no trouble at expressing our feelings and emotions. Kids fight all the time. When we grow up and become adults it seems like we leave those child ways behind; or at least we try to contain our emotions and we put on our masks to act like everything is fine. That is the case with both couples in the movie. They meet in order to solve a conflict that began with their kids, but they blow it way out of proportions after their own masks become falling off. Adults can be violent as well, perhaps they won`t grab a stick and hit someone in the face, but they do curse at each other and begin a verbal war. Carnage is a verbal war that begins cordial and ends with violent outbursts and infantile behavior. We try to act like adults, but when we reach our boiling point we end up acting worse than the kids. Perhaps the only character that never wears a mask in Carnage is Alan who always shows his disinterest in the entire situation. At times I felt the same way he did towards the movie, but I did enjoy the witty dialogue at others. All these characters were really unlikeable people and as the minutes went by they just got worse. The performances were really great despite the fact that we could care less for the characters. Carnage isn’t a bad movie, it`s funny, but it won`t rank among Polanski`s best work. If you’re a fan of him or any of these actors than you might want to check this movie out.

  

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My Review: The Beaver (8/10)

¨This is what I believe right now: there is someone who is with you, someone who is willing to pick you up, dust you off, kiss you, forgive you, carry you, love you. So while everything may not be okay, one thing I know is true, you do not have to be alone.¨

This is Jodie Foster`s first directorial film in the last 15 years and what a risky project she decided to undertake. First of all the subject matter: a depressed man living with a puppet in his hand isn’t exactly attractive for audiences; it`s a hard sell. And the second major risk she took was trusting Mel Gibson as the lead role after all the scandals that he has undergone in the last couple of years. He is not a likeable actor anymore and most people boycotted the film due to this. It doesn’t matter what opinion you may have towards Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster made the right decision by relying on her good friend Mel and he truly carries this movie. Gibson`s performance is easily the best one I`ve seen from any actor all year long. I doubt he will be recognized by the Academy due to all the negative press, but if there is any justice left in the world he should receive several nominations for his performance. He singlehandedly carries this film and brings a lot more depth to the dark subject matter the film addresses. He transmits so much depth to his character and you can clearly identify both his personalities: the depressed one and the one who is trying to recover while assuming the identity of the beaver hand-puppet. These split personalities are clearly manifested in the film and what could have been a total disaster actually works to perfection in The Beaver thanks to Gibson. Kudos to Foster for maintaining her faith in this great actor, despite all the differences we might have with him in his personal life.

Walter Black (Mel Gibson) was once a very successful businessman as he inherited a toy company from his father, he was also a very loving family man, he lived a happy life with his beautiful wife, Meredith (Jodie Foster), and his two sons: Porter (Anton Yelchin), and Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart). Everything seemed perfect, until Walter fell into a deep depression. All of a sudden he stopped caring about his work or his family and all he wanted to do was sleep. His un-involvement affected the company which is now nearing bankruptcy, and it also has affected his family: his wife working overtime to try to suppress the hurt of a missing husband, his youngest son becoming alienated from the rest of the boys at school, and his older son fearing he might one day become like his father and suffer from depression. Meredith decides it`s time to let Walter go before he infests his family even more. Walter heads to a hotel where he considers taking his own life, but something saves him: a beaver hand-puppet. Walter begins assuming a new personality as he talks as the beaver with an English accent and tells him he will begin a new treatment. Through the beaver Walter discovers that he can interact with his co-workers and friends, thus developing his own means of therapy. There is also an interesting side story involving Porter`s relationship with the school Valedictorian Cheerleader, Norah (Jennifer Lawrence). Norah asks Porter to write her graduation speech for her since he makes money off writing papers for his fellow classmates. Porter is good at assuming other identities just like his father has done with the Beaver. He fears these similarities he shares with Walter.

The Beaver addresses the issue of depression pretty well and takes it very serious. One might assume that an adult communicating through a hand-puppet would make for a comedy, but this is a serious dramatic movie and Mel Gibson delivers through a great performance. The rest of the cast is overshadowed by him, but I still was quite interested in the relationship between Yelchin and Lawrence`s characters. This side story worked really well for me, and it also allowed us to see how similar Porter really is to his father. Jodie Foster doesn’t deliver a great performance, but that is because her character isn’t really central to the movie. She did do a great job with the direction however and really makes this movie work. She took a huge risk, but she really made The Beaver work. It is a good movie and I absolutely recommend it despite the dark subject matter. It was a pleasure to watch Gibson`s performance and this reason alone is more than enough to watch The Beaver. I think that if we were talking about an unknown Gibson, critics would be praising his performance. Sometimes it is necessary to remain unbiased as a critic and judge the performance on its own. This is a really good movie and one that should be seen.

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