The Walk (7/10): A man's determination to conquer his dream

“People ask me "Why do you risk death?". For me, this is life.”

I could’ve probably decided to spend my Back to the Future Day yesterday watching Robert Zemeckis’s classic Blockbuster film, but instead I decided to catch up with his latest movie: The Walk. Zemeckis is one of those directors who is always ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and innovation in the film industry although his risks don’t always pay off. A Christmas Carol, Beowulf, and The Polar Express are examples of this, although I was pleased to finally seeing him take a more conservative approach with Flight. It did take me by surprise because it ended up being a completely different movie from what I was expecting, but it worked. The Walk combines some of his innovative techniques delivering some impressive images at the height of the twin towers, but it also is a conventional biopic. If you’ve seen the fabulous 2008 documentary, Man on Wire, directed by James Marsh then you basically know the narrative of this film because both screenplays are based on the same book “To Reach the Clouds,” written by Philippe Petit himself. Petit is played here by the talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt and if you were unaware of who this man was in real life then you might think he is exaggerating the character because he is such a vibrant and effusive person. But thankfully after seeing Man on Wire I can honestly say that he nailed the role because that’s exactly how he sounded all the time as he passionately spoke about his dream of crossing the void between the two World Trade Center towers on a high wire. Zemeckis follows his story closely and delivers a film about a man who would stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Perhaps we may not identify with this man’s passion, but it is still inspiring nonetheless and it makes for an entertaining watch.

The trailer for The Walk is probably the only one that I’ve seen that focuses on the climax of the story. The selling point for this movie is the fantastic visuals of Philippe walking through the clouds on a thin wire, but I actually found the build up for it much more entertaining. Getting to experience Philippe’s conception of his dream and then following the recruiting process as these characters who enter his life also become passionate about his crazy dream is the highlight of the film for me. Even the actual operation to get to the top of the building is a much more fascinating watch then simply watching the spectacle in the air, so I must admit that the trailers don’t give away the most important aspect of this film which is celebrating this man’s passion. The Walk is an inspirational and uplifting film, while at the same time it’s also a love letter to New York and the World Trade Center. It seems that many people are still not ready to watch films centering on the towers, but this might be the best way to commemorate them and what they represented. 

The Walk is a conventional biopic, but at the same time it manages to incorporate elements of a heist movie because everything had to be perfectly orchestrated in order for Philippe and his men to attach the wires through both towers. It has its moments of suspense and even comedy because the relationship between these characters is solid. They somehow all realize that it’s worth risking their freedom in order to help this friend achieve his goal. Philippe is a mad man, but he is so convincing at the same time that it’s hard to say no to. The supporting performances in this film from Ben Kingsley (who plays Philippe’s mentor, Papa Rudy), Charlotte Le Bon, Clement Sibony, Cesar Domboy, and James Badge Dale are all fascinating, but it is Joseph Gordon-Levitt who carries this film along with the breathtaking visuals from Zemeckis.  

My Review: Parkland (7/10)

¨It's the first time that the secret service has lost a president under its watch.¨

I'm actually surprised I enjoyed this film so much considering the bad reviews it has been receiving and my lack of knowledge on the historical details about the assassination of John F Kennedy. There have been many films made about this specific event, but very few have taken this approach where you get to experience things through the eyes of secondary characters and people behind the scenes like the Parkland medical staff that had to attend the president, or Oswald's brother who is shocked to hear his brother has shot the president. The apparently small scaled moments of this tragic event (like how the medical staff decide to keep the president's boxers on during surgery to preserve his dignity, or the urgency with which the Secret Service agents were trying to get a film of the assassination developed, or how Robert Oswald reacts when he hears that his brother is the prime suspect of the murder) are what truly make this film gripping and unique. The film has its flaws such as failing to have narrative cohesion and the characters are underdeveloped at times, but I think it worked really well considering everything happened so fast and these people had to make split second decisions. The overall feeling of chaos and messiness of the events that took place really transcend here as everything happens so fast and the film is reduced to a length of merely 90 minutes. The film follows a semi documentary style that totally works because you can feel the tension and urgency with which they had to deal with during such a catastrophic event. Parkland is Peter Landesman's first feature film and somehow the movie touched me in a way that apparently hasn't touched most audiences or critics. I didn't expect to like this film as much as I did, but I really felt engaged from the very opening scenes up to the very end. It doesn't offer new insight to a popular historical event, but it does tell the story differently. As we approach the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death this might be a movie worth checking out (just don't go into it thinking you are going to get another Oliver Stone JFK). The film's strongest strength relies on this sense of urgency and how it depicts the events in real time as everyone had to make life changing decisions in a matter of seconds. But it also seems to be its weakness as many consider it to be a little too over the place and chaotic with little cohesiveness.

The film follows the tragic events that occurred in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 involving the assassination of President John F Kennedy. The story focuses on the perspective of the people in the sidelines that witnessed the event first hand like the medical staff in Parkland Hospital that were there that tragic day. Young Doctor Jim Carrico (Zac Efron) was the resident doctor that day in Parkland, and some of the nurses that were there to assist him were Nurse Doris (Marcia Gay Harden) and the emergency room nurse played by Mallory Moye. We get another perspective of that day through the eyes of a small businessman named Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti), who happened to capture the assassination on his Super 8 camera. We also see things through the eyes of Dallas's chief of the Secret Service, Forrest Sorrels (Billy Bob Thornton), an FBI agent named James Hosty (Ron Livingston) who was investigating Lee Harvey Oswald (Jeremy Strong), and Lee Harvey's brother Robert (James Badge Dale) and mother (Jacki Weaver) who react differently to the news about the murder. All these different perspectives are weaved together giving us an engaging film and different insight into what was going on. Tom Welling, Mark Duplass, Colin Hanks, Jackie Earle Haley, and Kat Steffens all play secondary characters in this star studded cast. 

There were some strong performances in this film although not really Oscar worthy. I specially liked James Badge Dale in this film who gives a quiet but brave performance, while Paul Giamatti rings true with his emotional performance as he has to deal with the pain of viewing the horrific event he captured on camera. The rest of the cast didn't really stand out considering they all had very little screen time, but it was good to see some of these talented actors working together. Jacki Weaver is a talented actress and she proves it once again in this small role. The cast is solid and the script is also pretty engaging. I was glad everything was depicted so fast and that the film didn't run too long.

My Review: The Lone Ranger (4/10)

"There come a time, when good man must wear mask."

Teaming up Gore Verbinski with Johnny Depp and several others from the crew that brought us The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise seemed like a great idea for The Lone Ranger, but unfortunately the magic was gone here in what is in my opinion the biggest disappointment in the Summer box office this year. The film was a huge failure for the following reasons: I don't tend to complain about long movies, but this film felt to drag forever with so many unnecessary elements and so many senseless action scenes. The lead roles were disappointing despite how much I love Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, but I think the main issue had to do with the screenplay. They made the Lone Ranger look like such a weak and silly character that it was really hard to sympathize with him. Johnny Depp plays his silly self once again and I think he goes a little to overboard with the wackiness of his character. It works sometimes (like it did with John Sparrow), but here it fails. The comedy in this film didn't really work either, I found most of the jokes a bit recycled. As much as I wanted to enjoy this movie, I couldn't manage to get hooked with the story or its characters. The only moments were I felt moved was during the climatic action scene at the end where they used the familiar soundtrack of the TV series. The nostalgic factor appealed to me there, but it wasn't enough. At the end my favorite character ended up being the horse, Silver. That sort of sums it all.

As for the plot, fans of the series will be familiar with the story. Johnny Depp is Tonto, a Comanche during the late 1800's, who is narrating the story of his encounter with the Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) to a little boy (Mason Elston Cook) who finds him at a museum. Tonto explains how he ran into this man through a series of flashbacks. He basically finds John Reid (the Lone Ranger) dead after he and seven other Texas Rangers were ambushed by the fugitive, Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) and his gang. Tonto believes that John is a Spirit Walker and that he's been chosen by the white spirit horse to bring justice back to the land. That explains why John is alive and Tonto convinces him to wear the mask and become the Lone Ranger. Together they decide to bring Cavendish to justice and restore order to the west. Tom WIlkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, and Barry Pepper all play supporting roles. 

I'm a fan of westerns and enjoy the cinematography these films usually have. Many people have said that the genre is dying, but there have been some exceptional westerns lately. I hope The Lone Ranger isn't the film that ends up definitely burying the genre, because it does everything wrong here. First of all the macho hero is missing; with all the action this film desperately needed one! Despite the great cinematography the film felt as dry as the desert scenes. There were so many unnecessary subplots going on that the film seemed to diverge and go into all directions. It just felt really chaotic and it is a pity because I really wanted to like The Lone Ranger for what the character has meant to past generations. Unfortunately this was an unnecessarily long pointless film. You might be better off if you just wait and watch the final 15 minutes of the film that actually feel more like the TV series.

My Review: Shame (8/10)

¨We’re not bad people, we just come from a bad place.¨

It is a shame that Shame did not receive more love from the Academy voters last year because it truly is a powerful film with one of the best performances of the year coming from Michael Fassbender. This is the second time that Fassbender teams up with director Steve McQueen after his feature film debut, Hunger. That film opened up a lot of doors for both McQueen and Fassbender who have outdone themselves again with this raw and dark film about a man who is so addicted to sex and porn that he has completely lost touch with human interactions and relationships. On the surface he looks like a very successful man, living on his own in a nice apartment in New York and being congratulated for his work by his boss who enjoys hanging out with him at night and hitting on women. The viewer could assume that this man is very privileged, however from one of the early scenes we see how out of touch Fassbender’s character really is to human interaction when he hits on a girl on a subway who is feeling uncomfortable with his glances. She tries to avoid contact with him showing him her ring and that she’s married, but Fassbender completely misinterprets these signals and follows her, only realizing later that she is not hitting on him but rather running away from him. We later come to understand his character when he tries to go on a normal date with a co-worker and mentions how he doesn’t believe in relationships. Many people probably don’t consider sex an addiction, but McQueen makes a valid point here showing how negative and destructive it can be on a person by making them completely lose their touch on reality and human interaction. It is similar to Hunger in that the main character begins to lose touch with reality, but on a whole different level here. This film is rated NC-17 because of the strong sexual content, but believe me this is not a sexy or romantic film, it really shows you how addictive sex can be and the toll it can take on people when there is no love or relationships involved.

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) seems to have a very successful life living in New York City and meeting a lot of attractive women. He seems to spend all day obsessed with sex however as we see him with prostitutes and looking at porn in his computer. From the very beginning we see how Brandon enjoys his life while delving into this sexual addiction he has. His boss David (James Badge Dale) even warns him that they have found a large amount of pornography on his computer in the office, but concludes that it had to be an intern that was playing a joke on him because it would take a very sick man to have all that filth on a computer at work. He ends up congratulating Brandon on closing a very important deal at the office and they decide to go out and celebrate with the rest of their co-workers. When David tries to hit on a hot looking girl in the bar, we see how Brandon manages to flirt with her without saying a word and ends up sleeping with her. Brandon seems to have a perfect life, he enjoys the control he has over his life and the fact that he doesn’t have to have a serious relationship. However he loses that sense of control when his sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan) shows up at his apartment and asks him if she could stay with him for a couple of days. They share a very strange relationship, and Sissy seems to come with some baggage of her own, but you can tell that they love each other in a very bizarre way. Nicole Beharie plays Brandon’s co-worker, Marianne, who goes out on a couple of dates with him and is probably the closest thing to a relationship that he has experienced in years.

I already mentioned how well Fassbender and McQueen worked together in this film, but I also have to give credit to Carey Mulligan who gave a very strong performance here as well. She doesn’t get as much screen time as Fassbender, but she holds her own next to his powerful performance. She even has a three minute scene that was shot in one take of her singing her own version of New York New York at a restaurant. She did a wonderful job here as well in this very complicated, dark, and raw human drama. The film plays out really well as this character study and explores sexual addiction in a very different light than most Hollywood films do. This shows you another side to sex and pornography in a very dark light. I think it will play out as a cult film in the same way Requiem for a Dream did. This film delves more on sexual addiction while the other one had to do more with drug addiction. I still can’t believe Fassbender and Mulligan didn’t receive Academy nominations for their strong performances here. This is a very powerful film, but probably not for all considering the dark subject matter.

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