This Irish dark comedy is a showpiece for Brendan Gleeson as a lowbrow cop happening upon an international drug conspiracy. Gleeson is always very good and was especially memorable in director Martin McDonagh’s 2008 In Bruges, which was either the funniest hit man movie ever or the darkest and most violent buddy comedy ever. This time, McDonagh’s brother John Michael McDonagh directs Gleeson as a very canny man who convincingly strives to appear much dumber than he is. The perfect foil for Gleeson’s sloppy local cop is the refined FBI agent played by Don Cheadle. Those familiar with Ireland will recognize the Connemara Coast. Don’t miss The Guard.
Men in Black 3: just as delightful in 1969
Our favorite alien-zapping secret agents return in the delightful Men in Black 3. We still have the yapping Will Smith paired with the Titan of Terseness, Tommy Lee Jones. In this edition of the sci fi comedy franchise, Smith must travel back to 1969 to save his partner and the world from a new odious and scary alien villain, Boris The Animal. We get a Mad Men size dose of 1969, including Andy Warhol’s Factory, the Miracle Mets, the Moon Launch, some hippies and lots of skinny neckties.
The cast is all good, but the most inspired casting has to be Josh Brolin as the young Tommy Lee Jones. Michael Stuhlbarg, last seen as the uptight depressive in A Serious Man, here almost steals the movie as a blissed out but hyper-perceptive alien. Michael Chernus, so good in a serious role in Vera Farmiga’s Higher Ground, is excellent as a shady geek. Bill Hader is very funny as Warhol.
I’m usually not one for franchise movies, but MIB3 is gloriously entertaining. I saw it in 2D – you should, too. As with most movies, the 3D premium isn’t worth it.
In the trailer (but not the movie) we briefly glimpse the torch-wielding Columbia Picture lady wearing MIB shades – very cool.
Hysteria: a feminist lark
Hysteria is a breezy, feminist lark. Victorian doctors are befuddled by all manner of female complaints, which they lump together into the diagnosis of hysteria. One physician becomes popular when he pioneers pelvic massage as treatment. Who knew that rubbing their clitorises (clitorii?) made them happy?
Thankfully, director Tanya Wexler keeps the whole thing light. Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as a proto-feminist and High Dancy plays the doc who invented a proto-vibrator. Rising star Felicity Jone (Like Crazy) pulls off a secondary role.
Where Do We Go Now?: comedy as a matter of life and death
Christians and Muslims live together in a very isolated Lebanese village. The men, none too bright, flare any perceived grievance into testosterone-fueled tribal fury. Knowing that any trivial incident can spark an escalation to sectarian slaughter, the women, aided by the imam and the priest, work tirelessly to extinguish every possible provocation. The women will stop at nothing, including sabotaging the village’s only TV, faking a miracle, medicating the pastries and even hiring a van full of Ukrainian strippers.
This story could have been played broadly like Lysistrata. There are many funny moments, but Where Do We Go Now? is more than farce. To these women, war is not theoretical. We can tell from their language, which references men crouching in the attics and looking under beds, that they have survived past sectarian violence. And we see the village cemetery, filled with the headstones of young men. The women and the clerics have seen war, and they are desperate to avoid it. That desperation adds a sting to the comedy, and makes Where Do We Go Now? a pretty good movie.
Movies to See this Week
This weekend, I recommend one of the year’s best – Polisse, the story of the police child protection unit in Paris.
Bernie, a very funny dark comedy by Richard Linklater, shows off Jack Black’s talents in a whole new light. The story of aged Brits seeking a low-budget retirement in India, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is much more than a fish-out-of-water comedy. Another entertaining movie is the Norwegian dark comedy Headhunters, with Aksel Hennie as a smug corporate headhunter/art thief who panics when a high tech commando hunts him down. The Five-Year Engagement is an appealing romantic comedy.
You can still find one of the year’s best movies, Monsieur Lazhar, the story of French-Canadian fifth graders recovering from a traumatic experience with their replacement teacher, an Algerian immigrant.
On Monday night, HBO will begin broadcasting Hemingway and Gellhorn, starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman.
I haven’t yet seen Hysteria, which opens this week. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.
My DVD pick this week is the Chinese action comedy Let the Bullets Fly, the all-time #2 most popular movie in China (behind Avatar).
Polisse: how protecting children takes a toll
Polisse is a riveting French police procedural about the child protective services unit in Paris. Most cop movies are about how the cops solve the crime. Instead, Polisse is about the job’s emotional impact on the cops themselves – when their assignment is rescuing kids from various degrees of abuse. It’s an uncommonly good film.
Writer-director Maiwenn embedded herself with this police unit for several months. At the San Francisco International Film Festival screening, she said that, although the film is fictional, everything in the movie happened in real life (except for the love story between Maiwenn’s photographer and Joey Starr’s cop). Maiwenn also said that, although the real-life cops were rooting for her to do a movie about their most spectacular exploits, she chose to focus on a realistic cross-section of cases to depict the unit’s actual daily experience.
There are about ten cops in the unit, and it’s an excellent ensemble cast. Joey Starr is the cop who cares too much. Karin Viard (Paris, Potiche, Time Out) is the seemingly together cop whose family life has been sacrificed. Marine Fois (seen earlier this year in Four Lovers) is wound way too tight. Frederic Pierrot (I’ve Loved You So Long, Let It Rain, Sarah’s Key) is the conflict-averse commander trying to keep the lid on his rambunctious unit.
Polisse won the jury prize at Cannes and is on my list of Best Movies of 2012- So Far.
DVD of the Week: Let the Bullets Fly
Ever seen a movie where the outlaw rides into town and sticks up for the little guys against the local bully of a crime boss? Well, maybe so, but you probably haven’t seen a movie like Let the Bullets Fly (Rang Zidan Fei), which is set in southeastern China in the Chinese warlord period around 1919.
For one thing, it’s an unusually exuberant film that’s extremely funny for an action western.
For another, it’s a deeply cynical assessment of government corruption. It quickly becomes apparent that the professional bandit is more honest and reliable than any of the local institutions. (That subtext is not lost on the Chinese public.)
And the Chinese movie fans have embraced Let the Bullets Fly. It’s the highest-grossing Chinese language movie ever, and is the all-time #2 most popular movie in China (behind Avatar).
Writer-director Wen Jiang plays the stalwart bandit hero who substitutes himself for the newly arriving appointed Governor (played by You Ge as a hilariously unabashed sleazeball). Jiang’s bandit comes up against the local baddie (Chow Yun Fat), who doesn’t want to relinquish any of his power or ill-gotten gains. As the two match wits, a fast, funny and utterly rambunctious ride ensues.
In this case, 1.3 billion Chinese are correct – this is one fun movie.
movies for late May
It looks like a really strong late May at the movies, with several promising releases for Memorial Day weekend. I’ve already seen Polisse, a riveting French police procedural about the child protective services unit – it’s one of the best films of the year.
Intouchables is story of a paraplegic rich French guy who hires a black street guy as his caretaker; though not critically praised, it’s the second most popular movie of all time in France.
Moonrise Kingdom is another entry from Director Wes Anderson, who has had some quirky hits (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore) and some quirky misses (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou), but he’s always original.
With Hysteria, director Tanya Wexler brings us a female look at how Victorian medicine addressed female sexuality. Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as a proto-feminist and High Dancy plays the doc who invented a proto-vibrator.
You can read descriptions and watch the trailers on my Movies I’m Looking Forward To page. Here’s the trailer for Polisse.
Movies to See This Week
This week’s highlight is the release of Bernie, a very funny dark comedy by Richard Linklater that shows off Jack Black’s talents in a whole new way.
The story of aged Brits seeking a low-budget retirement in India, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is much more than a fish-out-of-water comedy. Another entertaining movie is the Norwegian dark comedy Headhunters, with Aksel Hennie as a smug corporate headhunter/art thief who panics when a high tech commando hunts him down. The Five-Year Engagement is an appealing romantic comedy.
You can still find one of the year’s best movies, Monsieur Lazhar, the story of French-Canadian fifth graders recovering from a traumatic experience with their replacement teacher, an Algerian immigrant.
I haven’t yet seen Where Do We Go Now? which opens this weekend. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.
My DVD pick this week is the cancer comedy 50/50 with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen.
Bernie: East Texas, Jack Black and a very funny story that happens to be true
This is one very funny movie. Playing against type, Jack Black is Bernie, an assistant funeral director who is the kindest, most generous guy in a small East Texas town. Bernie becomes entangled with the most malicious town resident, the rich widow played by Shirley MacLaine. We are used to seeing Black playing venal and devious characters, but Bernie is utterly good-hearted. He has built up so much good will in the community that when he snaps and commits one very gravely wrong act, he is still locally beloved. Black also gets to show off his singing voice on some heartfelt gospel hymns.
But the real main character is really the East Texas town of Carthage. Director Richard Linklater has the local residents (some played by actors) tell the story in capsule interviews. Through this chorus, we see how the locals view Bernie and the widow, and we learn a lot about the local values, customs and colorful language. Linklater is from East Texas himself and clearly revels in sharing the culture with us. It’s very, very funny.
The plot takes one improbably funny turn after another – but it’s a true story, which makes it even funnier. You can look it up in the New York Times [major spoilers in the article]. During the end credits, we even see Jack Black conversing with the real Bernie at Bernie’s current residence.
(I’m not embedding the trailer, because it doesn’t make clear that Jack Black’s character is not the winking, edgy guy that he usually plays. Just see the movie.)