My Review: Blood Ties (5/10)

"It'll be your wedding present."

Blood Ties is a 70's crime drama that not only is a remake of a 2008 French film (Les liens du sang), but it also feels familiar to other films in the genre. One that came to mind while watching this film was James Gray's We Own the Night considering it deals with two brothers who are on different sides of the law. Ironically I found out after the film that the screenplay was adapted by director Guillaume Canet with the help of Gray himself. Despite that, I enjoyed this film because I like 70's crime dramas but it really didn't add anything to the genre and it was very predictable. The ensemble cast in Blood Ties is probably the strongest asset of the film, although I have to admit the production design was also pretty strong as it gave the film an authentic 70's vibe. Blood Ties is a great film to look at, and the actors all give strong performances, but the issue I had with this film beside the fact that it was predictable was that every gray character in the film was given a redemptive scene every time something bad was going to happen to them. I felt this was kind of a weak shot to manipulate the audience's feelings and try to engage them emotionally. It really took me out of the movie because it happens throughout the film with various characters. Blood Ties is still worth a shot if you enjoy crime dramas or if you like the talented cast involved. The performances stand out in an otherwise predictable and standard film. 

Blood Ties is a remake of a French film that also happened to be based on a French novel written by Michel and Bruno Papet. The screenplay for this film, which was adapted and relocated to New York, was written by Guillaume Canet and James Gray. Canet had previously starred in the original French film as one of the brothers. The film takes place during the 70's and it centers on a rather dysfunctional family. Two siblings, Frank (Billy Crudup) and Marie (Lili Taylor), await for their brother Chris (Clive Owen) to be released from prison. Frank happens to be a promising police officer, and he tries to help Chris stay away from trouble by finding him a job and giving him a fresh start. The first thing they do after they release Chris is visit their father, Leon (James Caan) at the hospital, who has just had one of his lungs removed. Next Frank takes Chris to visit his ex wife, Monica (Marion Cotillard) and their two children, although she doesn't seem to happy about it. Frank allows Chris to stay at his apartment, but eventually Chris's past catches up with him when he falls for the beautiful Natalie (Mila Kunis) whom he wants to provide a better life for. Frank is also trying to reconnect with a former lover, named Vanessa (Zoe Saldana), who has a daughter and is in a relationship with a man who he just put behind bars (Matthias Schoenaerts from Rust and Bone). As Chris reconnects with his criminal life, it puts Frank at an awkward position in his job as the two paths are destined to crash at one point.

Marion Cotillard is terrific once again in this film. There is one scene where she doesn't say anything, but the look in her eyes say it all. She is just a supporting character, but every time she is on screen she steals the show. Billy Crudup is the lead here and he delivers a solid performance. His character is more reserved, but he expresses his inner struggles very well. Clive Owen was on a role between 2004 and 2009 starring in several great films, but I haven't seen much from him since. He gives a solid performance here and easily one of his best over the past 5 years. Mila Kunis isn't given much to work with, but she does her job. Every character in this film seemed to have some important role and the casting was brilliant. Blood Ties is a decent film, the only problem is that the source material has been covered before making the story seem predictable. 

My Review: Bottle Rocket (7/10)

"I learned more in the 2 months I spent with Mr. Henry and this crew than I learned in 15 years of academic study."

Bottle Rocket was not only the feature film debut for director Wes Anderson, but it was also the debut for Owen and Luke Wilson who both gave inspiring performances. This is where it all started for Wes Anderson and despite not being a box office hit he slowly built a reputation for himself by remaining unique to his quirky sense of humor. Many criticized the fact that these characters didn't seem real, and that is probably true for all of Anderson's film where he focuses on dysfunctional characters with a whimsical sense of humor. Anderson's comedies are very different and they aren't for mainstream audiences, thus the reason why the screening of this film scored the worst test screening points in the history of Columbia Pictures during that time. I am glad Wes stayed true to his style and didn't sell out because his next films share similar trademarks which he began establishing in Bottle Rocket. This is perhaps his most normal looking film if you take into account the cinematography, but the quirky sense of humor is pretty much the same as well as some other technical aspects of the film (the font title cards at the beginning and the slow motion shot at the end). The same can be said for Owen Wilson who kind of plays this dumb but nice guy character in most of his comedies. It's not Anderson's best work, but his quirky style began taking shape with Bottle Rocket. 

The screenplay was co-written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson from  a short they had made a couple of years earlier. The film opens with Dignan (Owen Wilson) trying to help his best friend, Anthony (Luke Wilson) escape from a mental institution. Dignan has designed a great escape plan, but what he doesn't know is that Anthony can leave the institution upon his free will considering he voluntarily signed up for it after he had a nervous breakdown from exhaustion. This opening scene clearly establishes that Dignan is less sane than Anthony. He has established a long term plan for the two involving a criminal spree. The first step is robbing Anthony's mother's house but they can only take a few valueless items. The idea is that they get some criminal experience so they can catch the attention of Dignan's former boss, Mr. Henry (James Caan), who is sort of a legend in the criminal world. Next they plan a bookstore robbery, but this time they will need a getaway driver so they convince their friend Bob (Robert Musgrave) to join them. After successfully achieving their plan they hide out at a nearby motel where Anthony falls deeply in love with a Paraguayan maid named Inez (Lumi Cavazos). This is where the dysfunctional group of friends breaks down and things take a turn for each one of them.

Bottle Rocket was on Martin Scorsese's list of his top 10 favorite movies of the 90's. The quirky sense of humor isn't for everyone, but fans of Wes Anderson's comedies will really enjoy this considering it was the birthing point of some of his technical achievements. It may be less depressing and cynical in tone than some of his other comedies, but the whimsy characters he creates are very familiar. You can clearly see the fascination he has for exploring these dysfunctional relationships of dorky middle to upper class people. It's a refreshing film and very different from your standard buddy comedy. It's witty and despite not having many hilarious moments, the film does manage to keep a smile on your face for most of its runtime. For a debut performance Owen Wilson really shines on screen and delivers his lines with perfect timing.  I really enjoyed this offbeat comedy although I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who isn't a fan of Wes Anderson. I always recommend my favorite, The Royal Tenenbaums, to people who haven't seen any of his film.  

My Review: Detachment (8/10)

¨A child's intelligent heart can fathom the depth of many dark places, but can it fathom the delicate moment of its own detachment? ¨

Detachment is a very interesting film although I wouldn’t say it`s entertaining. It raises a lot of questions and social issues without giving many answers, but it does make us aware of many problems that our society is facing when it comes to the educational system and parents lack of involvement in it. I thought Detachment was a beautiful film and despite it being a narrative it didn’t seem like one; it is sort of poetic at times and has some great use of imagery. Adrian Brody is such a talented actor, and despite winning the Oscar for his brilliant work in The Pianist, I think he is very underrated in Hollywood. He is so good in this movie, and in my opinion it`s his best performance since The Pianist. He was one of the reasons why I wanted to see this film; the other being that it was directed by Tony Kaye, the man responsible for American History X, which is on my list of favorite films. His films are powerful, thought provoking, and Detachment is not the exception. He can make memorable films although you wouldn’t necessarily call them entertaining. In Detachment we are introduced to a very common problem: education. Kaye makes us wonder whether or not education is the teacher or parent`s responsibility. Probably both, but unfortunately neither seem to be doing a great job and our society is losing its educational battle. Kids seem to find values somewhere else and base their self worth on what their friends think of them, meanwhile parents and teachers seem to do nothing about restoring their value. Parenting and teaching are great responsibilities, and as Brody says in one of his monologues in the movie there should be prerequisites to parenting and not anyone should be allowed too.

Adrian Brody plays a substitute teacher, Mr. Barthes, who believes he has the perfect job because he doesn’t have to carry the burden of identifying or carrying for his students. He can travel from one school to another. He is a lonely, quiet, and sad man who doesn’t like attaching to anyone. He seems to have some disturbing memories about his past and doesn’t like to talk about his problems so traveling from place to place is a good way to remain detached to society. His life will change when he gets his latest assignment at a very problematic school run by Principle Carol Dearden (Marcia Gay Harden). The students in this school give the teachers a very hard time and many of them seem to be going through a living hell. Mr. Barthes identifies with some of the teachers and students here. Mr. Seaboldt (James Caan), Ms. Madison (Christina Hendricks), Ms. Perkins (Blythe Danner), Mr. Wiatt (Tim Blake Nelson), and Dr. Doris Parker (Lucy Liu) are all part of the school faculty and all seem to be going through some sort of personal hardship. Mr. Barthes begins to identify himself with some of these people like Ms. Madison who seems as lonely as he is. He also begins to give special attention to one of his students named Meredith (Betty Kaye) who despite being talented doesn’t really value herself. Another person who begins to influence Mr. Barthes is a young hooker named Erica (Sami Gayle) who he picks up from the street and begins to care for as a child. As much as Barthes wants to remain detached to people he begins to identify with many of them and without realizing it attaching to them.

Detachment has a great cast. As I mentioned before this is Adrian Brody`s best work since The Pianist, but I also have to give a lot of credit to young Sami Gayle who delivers a powerful performance as the lonely hooker who is taken advantage of and really has no self worth whatsoever. Director Kaye seems to raise this issue quite a bit since there are many characters who have little or no self value and in a way Brody`s character tries to teach them that they have value and don’t have to live based on the expectations or values given to them by others. James Caan and Christina Hendricks also give believable performances as part of the faculty. They are very different in character, but I think we all can identify them to some of the teachers we`ve had in the past. There are some very strong performances in this film and also some great dialogues. The script was written by first time screenwriter, Carl Lund, and it really is thought provoking. The imagery that Kaye uses is also very beautiful. There is a sense of claustrophobia as we see these long shots closing in on the school hallway, and emptiness when we see the abandoned classrooms. Detachment might not be an entertaining film you can watch with your friends, but it is a very interesting and thought provoking film.

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My Review: The Godfather (10/10)

¨I`ll make him an offer he can`t refuse.¨

Many people consider the 70`s to be the Golden Age in Cinema, and if that is the case then Francis Ford Coppola had a great deal to do with it. During that decade he directed The Godfather Part 1 and 2, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now; he also produced American Graffiti, and wrote the screenplay for Patton. During that time he won 5 Oscars and was nominated for another seven. At least one of these films is on everybody`s favorite movies list, and The Godfather is considered by many critics to be the best film of all time. Despite being nominated for eleven Oscars it only took home three (Best Picture, Best Performance by Marlon Brando, and Best Screenplay), just one more confirmation that a film can`t be judged by the amount of awards it receives. The Godfather deserves much more. It is a movie that has transcended time and is enjoyed by everyone even decades after its first release. It was the first of its kind to portray the mafia from the inside and Coppola does a great job at romanticizing them and making us root for these criminals. How does he do it? By showing us the mafia as a strong and united family that supports each other; portraying the good guys as bad (there are corrupt cops and politicians); and making Vito Corleone stand out from the rest of the criminal families by not wanting to get involved in the drug business. He completely romanticizes the Corleone family and has us rooting for them from the very first scene thanks to a very intelligent script co-written with Mario Puzo who had previously written the bestselling novel. The script is amazing, the performances are great, and the direction from Coppola is just superb. All these elements combine perfectly to create this classic masterpiece.

We are introduced to Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) in the opening scene. He is head of one of the five New York Mafia families, and is attending his daughter`s wedding. The wedding serves as a great excuse for Coppola to introduce all the characters because the entire family is gathered at the wedding. Vito is the Godfather for many of the people invited and he is treated with a great deal of respect. Tradition has it that no Sicilian can refuse requests on their daughter`s wedding day, so Vito is attending some of his associates who are in need of favors. His sons Sonny (James Caan) and Fredo (John Cazale) are in the family business along with Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), the family lawyer and consigliere, who was adopted by Vito at a very young age and is like a son to him as well. His youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), a World War II veteran shows up with his girlfriend Kay Adams (Diane Keaton) and is talking to her about his family. This conversation also serves as a perfect excuse to hear anecdotes about the family`s criminal life and we are informed at once that Michael is the only one who is not involved in the family business. He has decided to stay away from the criminal lifestyle and is respected by his family. The entire plot takes place inside the world of the Corleone family and during a time where significant change begins to take place. Vito will have to make an important decision whether or not the family should protect a wealthy man named The Turk (Al Lettieri) who is trying to bring heroin into the city, or stick to the harmless gambling and alcohol business. He better think things carefully because his decision could have consequences.

The Godfather is without a doubt a masterpiece and the cast has a great deal to do with it. James Caan and Robert Duvall had worked with Coppola in his previous film, The Rain People, and now they returned again with significant roles. They give great performances, but who really stands out in this movie is Marlon Brando who really becomes the Don. He gives one of the most memorable and all-time best movie performances in film history. Al Pacino hadn`t made a significant movie before and the transformation he goes through in this film is incredible. His character is the one who experiences the most change if we recall his first appearance in the wedding and his last one in the Baptism scene. The screenplay is also very well written, the story completely hooks us from the very beginning, the characters are unforgettable, and Coppola just did a great job with the direction as he immersed us inside this world of crime. Of course we know that the mob world isn`t anything like this and it has been romanticized by Hollywood, but Coppola managed to make us care for these criminals who actually don`t see themselves as the villains. Nino Rota`s score is just amazing and breathtaking; it helps build the suspense.The Baptism parallel action scene is one of the best ones in film history and has since been imitated endlessly in most action films, although never with the same effect. This is required viewing for everyone, one of the greatest achievements in film history.

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