Perks of Being a Wallflower (***1/2 out of ****)

While watching Perks of Being a Wallflower I was reminded of a John Keats's "Endymoin" I probably quote far too often. The first stanza is the following:

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

The passage can apply to more than one kind of love. To me I thought of this poem because of my love  for coming of age stories where I can identify something with the lead character. Major details are always changed, but for a few brief instances, I understand more about the character on screen than I do my self proclaimed hectic life. Wallflower is the story of growing up about many people, but namely Charlie (Logan Lerman). Starting high school this year Charlie is completely lost on what to do. His best friend committed suicide a few months ago and Charlie is alone but not by choice. He fortunately comes across "the island of misfit toys", a group of mostly seniors who operate on a different track. Not really an outcast group in their high school, more just kids who won't compromise popularity with their taste. Charlie's life is changed namely by two members of the group. The first is Sam (Emma Watson), a lovable and kind girl. Charlie understandably forms a crush on her but she instead spends her love life with boyfriends who mistreat her. "Accepting the love we think we deserve". The film isn't so simple that the audience is justing hoping Charlie gets his chance with Sam, all of his new friends are entertaining and fulfilling. The second life changer is Patrick (a great Ezra Miller), a gay live wire of a person. While Charlie deals with the demons of his past, Sam works work to improve her life, and Patrick deals with his closeted boy friend (Johnny Simmons).

Going to the film I wasn't sure how I thought things were going to turn out. Personal experience in high school told me that the events of the film seem like a wild world of fiction. However as the film went the more I fell in love with it. For 103 minutes, I got to see characters lives I genuinely cared something for. The film feels sincere in it's actions. It's warm and inviting but doesn't shy away from the darker fears of adolescence. Wallflower was adapted from a book by non other than the author himself, he's bound to get the point across. Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen, but when you find a good one,  it's mesmerizing. This is one of the best high school stories I've seen in years.

***1/2 out of ****

Looper (***1/2 out of ****)

"Do something new." The crime boss character played by Jeff Daniels sits in his sleezy personal throne and says this to lead character. This some what meta wink is both a wonderful statement of the type of film that is being watched and part of a well executed story. Looper feels new, it's not a film made to simply enjoy the ride, but something to keep you guessing and involved with what will happen next. This is one of best science fiction movies in years, a top five candidate for best since Children of Men.

The lead character here has a unique situation. Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Joe, a Looper. His job is a special kind of hit-man that waits at a location to kill somebody from the future. Thirty years into the future time travel is perfected but illegal, crime syndicates use it to dispose of problem people, Loopers clean up the problem in a different time, where the problem doesn't exist yet. Joe lives a hard and fast lifestyle. Drowning himself in drugs and chasing after a stripper/prostitute doesn't make Joe seem like a such a good person (the whole hit-man thing adds to that). However him learning french in his spare time suggests there's more that meets the surface. Joe's life is changed when one day the man he is meant to kill is his future self (played by Bruce Willis)

Looper is unforgiving in nature and is not afraid of the whole coherent time travel ramblings. What's wonderful is the details here. Emily Blunt's character in introduced in a moment of calm, she sits on a her porch and makes motions of blowing an imaginary cigarette, I was won over immediately with such a simple action. Looper is well constructed and thought out to give something to the audience to ponder the meaning of some scenes as the film progresses. Building upon its story and characters make the action scenes much more rewarding. It makes even sitting on a farm for much of its climax utterly cool. Looper is not one to miss. 

***1/2 out of ****

The Master (**** out of ****)

I know I'm not alone in the cult of Paul Thomas Anderson. The Master is his sixth feature film and continues the director's amazing track work. He might be the best working director of his generation. The Master is a challenging film and one that Anderson does not take lightly. He throws all of himself in it to create a true classic. All directors work their hardest when making a film, but the quality they put in varies. Anderson's best is revelatory stuff. It's the work of a master restoring faith in cinema as an art form one scene at a time.

The Master is based off of Scientology and it's controversial leader L. Ron Hubbard. The film version group is known as The Cause and is led by Lancaster Dodd played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Dodd it is widely interesting man who is both a philosopher and psychologist of a new age. He pictures himself like Socrates and Freud, one of intelligence who will awaken those around him through his beliefs. He laughs, sings, and teaches his followers in a sincere matter. It is throughly convincing to his followers and even comes across onto the film's audience. 

The film is mostly about Freddie Quell played by Joaquin Phoenix. Returning from war, Freddie is a man unhinged. Mumbling through psychological tests, the man comes off as insane or at least unstable. He can't bring himself to face the world and drinks his sorrow away while running away from a girl he left. He stumbles across Dodd and the teacher gladly brings him in. This will be the guinea pig Dodd has been looking for. A person so broken that if his teaching can reach him, it could reach anyone. The two form an odd friendship that is ever changing. They switch between the role of hero and villain, a power game of unusual circumstances.

The Master is a work of art if the highest order. It manipulates the audience into a strange place. By the end of the film the audience likely will feel empty. However this seems to be the intention of the film. People's love crumbles and their trusts are betrayed in the film, they leave with a empty hole, this reflected onto those watching.The film deals with several different themes and ideas all of which are on the surface, there's no need to hide anything here. There is the idea of greed, power, mind games, son vs father and master vs student. Freddie behaves like a mad animal and Dodd acts civilized, the complications of human behavior is ever present. The Master is gorgeously shot in 70mm, it might be the best looking film of the year. Johnny Greenwood also creates a luring yet dangerous score. Everything in the film is firing off on all cylinders. Perhaps the most striking contribution is the acting. Philip Seymour Hoffman is is utterly convincing in his role as Dodd. Ranging in emotion and intensity he lives and breathes the role. It's easy to lose tract on where the actor ends and where this character has just come to life. Playing Dodd's wife is Amy Adams, a strong and curious woman with many haunting scenes. Adams is devastating in the role, first rate work from her. Then there is Joaquin Phoenix, it's his Academy Award to lose right now. The man is so imbedded in the rage and confusion of his character it's impossible to look away. It's the performance of his career and some of the best acting I've seen in years. The Master might just be the film of the year, but there is still time. I look forward to any film to any film that might top the list, it will be a masterpiece of the highest quality. Regardless The Master is unforgettable, an American classic.

**** out of ****

Cosmopolis (*** out of ****)

David Cronenberg never shies away from a challenge. The director has made maddening films from The Fly, Crash all the way to Naked Lunch. His past three films while still deeply thought provoking, were rather tame for the director. Cosmopolis is almost a return to his origins but is something new at the same time. Claiming to be the first film to describe the new decade it is a philosophical and controversial look at those in charge, the 1%

The film stars Robert Pattinson as Eric Packer in a departure from his usual area of film. Cold, intelligent, and sly, Pattinson proves his acting skills. Cronenberg's work with him reminds me of what the director did for Jeremy Irons with Dead Ringers (Minus the iconic performance). Eric Packer spends a rather unusual day moving around a city in his modified limousine. Traffic is at a near standstill allowing Eric do conduct meetings in the back of the limo. He meets analyzers, executives and even stops to eat with his new frigid wife (a ghostly Sarah Gadon). Eric has made a wild bet against the Chinese Yuan and is losing money by the tons. The city meanwhile is in chaos in a mad attempt to stall the future.

Cosmopolis is a mess, but a brilliant and fascinating one. The film has scenes that seem unintentionally hilarious, but that might not be true either. It is intellectually simplistic in design yet still it is easy to miss 1/4 of what is said. It's hard to pick out just what to focus on as a theme. However the film is ambitious and that is very admirable. It's very well acted, containing actors such as Paul Giamatti, Juliet Binoche, Samantha Morton and others. The dialogue and exchange between actors is often hypnotic. What can be deciphered from the plot is that the world is falling part and blames the 1%. People are scarred of the future and act animalistic to keep the world from advancing. I'm not sure how multiple viewing will help this film, I think I learned most of what it offered the first time. However just because the film is sinful in nature, doesn't mean I won't enjoy seeing it again.

*** out of ****

Resident Evil: Retribution (** out of ****)

Alice, the Umbrella Corporation, zombies, and mutants all return in the fifth film in the franchise. Milla Jovovich and her husband Paul W. Anderson make one of these films every few years and the world keeps spinning. Retribution is not the strongest of the mediocre series but probably not the worst. This time Alice must fight her way out of a Umbrella facility that was used to simulate the T virus (zombie virus) on major cities. There's other returning faces in the characters Jill and Rain, but for fans of the video game series Ada Wong, Barry Burton, and Leon  Kennedy (the best) make their debut. In creating an action film of this type it falls flat in comparison to other great films. In using slow motion and bullet time effects Retribution tries to be like The Matrix but fails in making intense and emotionally gripping fights. The series once tried for an action horror route in the vein of Aliens, little is left now. The video game series has made some classic moments in it's industry. I don't know why they don't try to replicate the stories of either the first or fourth game. There are some moments of fun here and there and I never grew that bored so that's a nice compliment for the franchise. Say what you want of Paul W. Anderson (I often am very critical), but he's one of the few directors who understands how to incorporate 3-D properly into a film By the end of the film it appears that the craziest days await us in the sixth film. Yay?

** out of ****

Arbitrage (*** out of ****)

Lead characters don't have to be likable nor be pure heinous. They need substance, development and something intriguing. Robert Miller played by a mesmerizing Richard Gere is such a character. A white collar hedge fund magnate who only thinks of himself. He analyzes problems and people and how they effect his ultimate life goals. This puts him in trouble with his wife (Susan Sarandon), his daughter/protege (Brit Marling) and his mistress (Laetitia Casta). However one of those people he ends dead through his fault which will set a detective (Tim Roth) after him. Robert Miller must match wits with the law and his family.

This is a tight and well made thriller. It's filled with talented actors who all perform well. Richard Gere isn't exactly an actor you think of for fantastic performances but much like The Hoax Gere is capable of moments of brilliance. Very well constructed and paced, Arbitrage is exciting from beginning to end. The only fault worth mentioning is the film treats Miller's problems often very separate up until the finale. His corporate life and his criminal action don't collide as well as they should. Putting Miller on more of a edge with the combination seems like a better route. Regardless Arbitrage is a wonderful little film that shows intrigue should be built by the film itself and not by initial expectations. 

*** out of ****

The Words (*1/2 out of ****)

For film about literature, The Words is constructed how I'd imagine a 4th grader trying to write something meaningful. Sure there is some attempt at intelligence and a plausible story, but the tale is so poorly constructed that eye rolling and yawns would be induced if you weren't well thinking "this is the child trying their best". However that is not the case here, directors/writing duo Brian Klugman and Lee Sternhal are two people who should know how to make a at least somewhat likable film. 

Bradley Cooper is starting to be typecast as a struggling writer it appears with his character Rory. He marries the girl of his dreams Dory (Zoe Saldana) and tries to make it as a big shot writer. Too bad nobody likes his work. Unwilling to grow up he fortunately comes across a manuscript in an old bag. The manuscript is a beautifully written story which Rory steals as his own. Well when things don't go smoothly when the original writer (Jeremy Irons) shows up. He's the real kick, none of this is real in the film, it's all a story. An author named Clay (Dennis Quaid) wrote this story and his reading it at a showing and later a grad student (Olivia Wilde). If two mediocre stories weren't enough, we also learn the events of the stolen story in first person (With Ben Barnes playing the young Jeremy Irons).  So this is a story within a story within a story that is actually just another story. 

The Words has many problems. Stories are plagued with unneeded narration that explains exactly what each character is thinking (defeating genuine character development). The film is incredibly predictable, basically telling the same story three times. There is scenes of boring and unintentionally funny melodrama that is more painful to watch then laugh of at it's failing. This doesn't feel like a human story, just something thrown together from half finished ideas. It's one of the worst films I've seen this year and I look forward to never having t watch it again. 

*1/2 out of ****

Celeste & Jesse Forever (*** out of ****)

Celeste & Jesse Forever is romantic, dryly funny, lifelike, sweet, charming, touching, engaging and just plain fun. Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) seem like they would be the perfect couple. Childhood best friends and have been together since high school. It was only logical that they marry. However a few years later they realize that maybe their family life might not be what they are looking for. They love each other but can't see the other person as a parent to their kids. They begin to fight over details they didn't before and thus decide to get a divorce. However they are still best friends and despite being separated, they spend all their time together. However they begin to grow apart and Celeste is lost on what to do.

Here is a film that is well thought out and contains very interesting characters. The supporting cast made up of Ari Graynor, Will McCormack, Eric Christian Olsen, Elijah Wood, Chris Messina and Emma Roberts, all of which breathe life into small roles, the seem to occupy their own story rather than just be background plot to the two leads. Celeste & Jesse Forever largely skips romantic cliches and those few it contains are rewritten in a more engaging fashion. Rashida Jones cowrote the screenplay here and shows that she is very capable or making a great film, I'm sure she has many more on the way.

*** out of ****

Lawless (**1/2 out of ****)

Director John Hillcoat has the rare beauty to match beauty and violence. The darker violence is unapologetic and often brutal. Yet this is surround by gorgeous scenery captured in the most flattering ways. Lawless is a very well made film, quite good really, but not very compelling nor refreshing.

During The Depression, prohibition was rather nasty business. Crime increased country wide to keep illegal alcohol flowing. In Virginia, moonshine was the illegal booze of choice. The Bondurant brothers were the kins of the world in this field. However their business is challenged  by dirty cops and other gangsters. 

Lawless is very well acted, is paced reasonably well, and tells a complete story. However in trying to tell the story of a family fighting with a life of crime (Hey it's like The Godfather) it does nothing original. It just feels like a less stellar gangster drama. The characters aren't the most intriguing either (except for one). Protagonists don't have to be perfect but it would be nice if they were fully entertaining, not just every now and then. The cast composed of Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan, Gary Oldman and a scene stealing Guy Pearce did a good job in making a bland story worth while. John Hillcoat has done a lot of good here, but it's easier to see the not so great here.

**1/2 out of ****