My Review: The Counselor (6/10)

"I'm pretty skeptical about the goodness of the good."

The Counselor is without a doubt one of the most divisive films of the year. It has received a lot of hatred, but at the same time some people absolutely loved it. I understand why this film has caused such a reaction because it doesn't follow your normal narrative structure and is heavy on the philosophical dialogues. I've liked most of Ridley Scott's films, I was one of the few who actually loved Prometheus, and I also think that Cormac McCarthy is a great novelist (No Country for Old Men being his masterpiece) so when I heard the two were going to work together I couldn't help but add this to my watchlist. My expectations took a blow when I read all the early reviews and so I went into this expecting a complete flaw. To my surprise it wasn't as bad as I was lead to believe (I can think of at least 50 films I've seen this year that are far worse) and I ended up slightly enjoying this. Despite its heavy loaded philosophical dialogues and lack of characterization, there are some great scenes in The Counselor and some great performances. This film easily has one of the most memorable murder scenes I've seen all year, but at the same time it has many scenes that really felt out of place (like the scene involving Cameron Diaz and the yellow Ferrari). The Counselor feels more like a McCarthy film than a Ridley Scott movie, and his dark humor and anti climatic scenes are all over the place here in this suspenseful thriller (if I can really call it that because it isn't really generic at all). The Counselor isn't an easy watch and at times it feels too preachy, but it kept my interest nonetheless. McCarthy's message about facing the consequences of your sins was loud and clear in The Counselor. 

The plot is pretty simple actually as the film focuses more on the dialogues than the actual events. Michael Fassbender plays a successful lawyer who is known simply as the Counselor. He falls deeply in love with Laura (Penelope Cruz), a girl of simple tastes, but in order to give her a dreamy life the Counselor decides to enter a one time deal involving drug trafficking. His business associate, the wealthy Reiner (Javier Bardem) who spends most of his time drinking expensive whisky in the mornings and watching his pet cheetahs hunt down rabbits, warns him about the dangers involved in this deal. Reiner has been in this business for a long time and knows how the cartel works, but the Counselor decides to team up with him nonetheless. Reiner's girlfriend, Malkina (Cameron Diaz), is a very smart woman who is kind of shady as Reiner never knows what she is up to. The middle man involved in the transaction between the cartel and Reiner is Westray (Brad Pitt) who also warns the Counselor about the world he's getting himself into. The deal is an apparently simple one as the cartel uses Reiner's trucks to carry the drugs to Chicago, but an unfortunate accident puts everyone's life in danger.

The Counselor, who ironically in this film is always receiving advice from everyone, learns that greed isn't a good thing. The film focuses on greed and evil, but there is way too much talking at times which makes it feel too preachy at times. I think that much of the criticism this film is receiving has to do with the high expectations that people had about it considering the talented cast and crew involved int his film. Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt actually lift this film in my opinion and make their characters bearable to watch on screen. These characters aren't people we would care for in any other film, but the actors make it tolerable. I especially liked Fassbender in this film and I think he gives yet another powerful performance. The weakest link here was Cameron Diaz who never felt natural in my opinion, but that perhaps was part of McCarthy's plan. She isn't as strong as Bardem was in No Country for Old Men, but she kind of plays that same character that McCarthy tends to include in his novels. This is the first time that McCarthy writes an original screenplay since the other films were based on his novels, and this is definitely more his film than Scott's. If you are a fan of his work than you will probably like this film more than other people. I think one of the key McCarthy moments can be seen through Ruben Blades's monologue about how our decisions ultimately set our fate. There are just too many memorable scenes in this film for me not to give it a passing grade. The Counselor isn't an easy watch, but if you go into it with your expectations lowered you might actually be in for a surprise.

My Review: To the Wonder (5/10)

"You got me out of the darkness. You gathered me up from earth. You've brought me back to life."

I'm not a fan of Terrence Malick, but there is no denying that Tree of Life was his masterpiece, a beautifully shot film, which I really liked. I was surprised to hear that To the Wonder was coming out so soon considering that Malick usually takes about 6 to 7 years to work in between films. To the Wonder is a beautifully shot film, with poetic imagery about love, and it's something that the director has shown us before, but the narrative really takes a blow here and I found it very difficult to make connections between some of these characters. I love Javier Bardem and Rachel McAdams, but the way their characters were edited in this film made them both feel completely misplaced. It was a difficult experience to sit through the two hours of this film despite all the artistic and beautiful imagery due to the narrative. If you've never seen a Malick film you will not enjoy this, but if you appreciate his work you might love this poetic film. I would recommend you watching The Tree of Life which is really the only film of his I liked along with The Thin Red Line. Be warned, To the Wonder is not an easy watch, but the cinematography is amazing.

The narrative of the film kind of plays out like a series of memories with several images and musical backgrounds with very few dialogues and some voice over narrations from main characters. The entire film feels like a series of dream sequences, and some really don't connect with the rest of the film. The sequences begin in France where we witness how love blossoms between Neil (Ben Affleck) and Marina (Olga Kurylenko), characters whose names we only know because they are mentioned in the credits. Neil asks Marina to return to the States with him along with her young daughter Tatiana (Tatiana Chiline). Once they are back in Oklahoma we see how the perfect romance begins to crumble although its hard to figure out how much time has elapsed considering the narrative structure. Neil reconnects with a High School sweetheart named Jane (Rachel McAdams) and Marina returns to France once her Visa expires. The film also introduces a Spanish priest, Father Quintana (Javier Bardem), struggling with his faith in Oklahoma. While Marina was living with Neil she would often visit his Church and that is how Malick makes the connection with his character, who I thought felt out of place.

To the Wonder probably ranks amongst Malick's weakest efforts (I would rate it slightly above The New World), but it still is a visually stunning film, and yet another sort of autobiographical Malick film. If you've seen a Malick film before then you probably know what to expect from him and this film was pretty much a copy of his other efforts. Malick gets really philosophical once again with this film and shares some beautiful imagery, but it really didn't connect with me. I love artistic films, but have trouble identifying with them if there is no narrative structure which was the case with To the Wonder. I need more than just poetic imagery, and I didn't feel it in this film. I do have to admit that the score of the film was beautiful as well.

My Review: Skyfall (8/10)

¨ It always makes me feel a bit melancholy. Grand old war ship. being ignominiously haunted away to scrap... The inevitability of time, don't you think? What do you see? ¨

¨James Bond will return¨ is one of the few promises that have never been broken, and that is where Skyfall jumps in as the 23^rd film of the franchise. There have been several changes along the way, this is the third film Daniel Craig stars as the main character, but it is the first time Sam Mendes (American Beauty and Road to Perdition) directs. Long time screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are back again writing the script although this time John Logan (Gladiator, Hugo) was brought on board to help out. I think these new additions improved the film and gave the characters a lot more depth. This is a very different James Bond film; it begins as your average spy thriller with a motorcycle chase but ends like a Western film with a final shoot out in an open field. Skyfall is beautifully shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins who should receive his tenth Oscar nomination for his work in this film. The film has a much more artistic feeling to it than most other blockbuster Bond movies and much credit has to be given to all these new additions. The film has a nostalgic feeling to it as we finally begin to see how the inevitability of time can catch up to even the greatest spy on Earth. Like we saw in the Dark Knight Rises with Batman, James Bond too has begun to feel the weight of time over his shoulders and he is much more vulnerable in this picture. Sam Mendes also does another thing very well in this film: he pays homage to some of the earlier Bond films near the end. Skyfall was a great film and definitely among the best Bond movies. However I would still rank Casino Royale as the best one so far.

Unlike with Quantum of Solace that picked up right where Casino Royale left out, Skyfall takes place several years later as we see an aged Bond (Daniel Craig) chasing yet another foe who has stolen a computer drive which contains all the names of the MI6 British agents and their locations. Bond is not on his own; his partner Eve (Naomie Harris) is also following the evasive man who is getting away with the drive. Bond chases him to the top of the train and Eve is waiting for the perfect moment to take the shot but time is running out. M (Judi Dench) orders Eve to take the shot before they get out of her reach and the bullet hits Bond. The man disappears with the drive, and Bond is declared death after he falls wounded into a river. A few months go by and M is in trouble for having lost the drive and putting all the MI6 agents in harm way. Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) insists it is her moment to retire, but she refuses since she wants to solve the problem. An explosion takes place inside the headquarters and several other agents die. M receives a threat claiming that the name of 5 agents will be revealed and that she should pay for her sins. Bond, who of course hasn’t been dead but enjoying of his early retirement decides to return to England after hearing about the explosion and enlists once again as 007, although a bit more rusty. M sends him on a mission to find the man who has the drive and retrieve it before more harm is done. Here we are introduced to some other characters like Q (Ben Whishaw), Severine (Berenice Marlohe), and Silva (Javier Bardem) and the spy games begin.

I must say that Javier Bardem portrays one of the best Bond villains I´ve seen. He steals the show from the minute he walks in. I think another Oscar nomination is on the way for his supporting performance here. It is a villain unlike most other ones. Silva is seeking revenge but in a much more calculated and methodic way. Skyfall is much better thanks to him. Daniel Craig is in my opinion the best Bond and he had a lot more depth in this film as well. The Bond girls were also perfectly cast. You can´t have a Bond film without them. Berenice Marlohe and Naomie Harris were both great in their roles. Judi Dench is marvelous as M. She has been playing this role for nearly two decades and here we see her making a lot more difficult decisions. She is portrayed in a much darker light here. The film works extremely well, I loved the new characters, the nostalgic feeling to the film, and the beautiful cinematography. This is a different kind of Bond film, but one you will want to see.

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