Short Takes: "The Ides of March" and "Rampart".

Oren Moverman was clever enough to cast his The Messenger star Woody Harrelson in Rampart: a character study that seems more obsessed with turning Woody's character into an iconic movie villain, than to actually study his character...

Set in 1999, just after the Rampart controversy sent the LAPD down a hole, the film has Harrelson play Dave Brown; a corrupt cop who has his way regardless of who he has to step on. This makes him a true movie monster and presents Harrelson with the difficult task of adding a human layer to a character that could easily become caricature. This he does beautifully; whether he's sucking on a woman's foot, beating a handicapped man or stealing from thieves, he adds a certain something that gives us a better idea of who this man might be and why he's struggling so much to preserve his decadent lifestyle.

What he doesn't give us, and this might be the screenplay's fault, is a look at what might've turned him into such a despicable creature. It's obviously not necessary to have something like this spelled out to you in a movie, but every character in Rampart feels like it was created specifically for the scenes they're in.

Woody does his best to elevate the movie from being a scenery-chewing fest but the truth is that all the rage in Dave results more frustrating than compelling.

One has to wonder why did George Clooney decide to direct and star in The Ides of March when he could've easily just ran for office. This film adaptation of Beau Willimon's Farragut North (which itself had been loosely inspired by Howard Dean's 200a campaign) works on an almost superficial level because it has a clear agenda, which doesn't allow its viewers to "think".
Clooney stars as Mike Morris, a Democratic candidate in the middle of a primary election that could have him become the next presidential candidate. Ryan Gosling plays Stephen Meyers, his loyal and cinematically idealistic junior campaign manager. When Meyers learns that Morris has a dark secret involving - of all things - an intern (played by Evan Rachel Wood) he has to decide whether to be loyal to his employer or to his morality. Which one wins isn't really important as much as it is to see Clooney execute a fine campaign ad for himself by reminding us that he will be the kind of man who, as his character says, believes in the religion of the US constitution.
By making his "villain" a Democrat, Clooney reassures us that no political affiliations will stand in the way of the common good and it's obvious that he feels best identified with Meyers (if he'd been younger he probably would've played him). Even if the film is extremely dull, Clooney has some truly inspired directorial moments (stylistic bookends, clever visual tricks, superb casting, you must see Marisa Tomei giving a delicious star turn here!) but more often than not he foregoes them to chase clichés that would work best in the insipid All the King's Men remake from a few years back, too bad he let his political interest come between him and the religion of filmmaking.

Grades:
Rampart **
The Ides of March **

Sex and the City 2 ***

Director: Michael Patrick King
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon
Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Willie Garson
Mario Cantone, Max Ryan, Lynn Cohen, Jason Lewis
Alice Eve, Noah Mills, Raza Jaffrey, John Corbett

"Beyond here there be fashion" should warn a sign at the beginning of Sex and the City 2; like the ancient maps warning sailors about the perils involving dragons, it seems that almost every "traditional" heterosexual man fears fashion with the same irrational angst of their ancestors.
Once they made it through the labyrinth of Dior, Vuitton and Manolos, they would be surprised to find a sensitive film that taps on the fears, anxieties and hopes of the women they love.
Because regardless of the excess, apparent frivolity and more slapstick infused nature of this installment, Sex is still about the magical friendship of its four leads.
This time around Carrie (Parker) is going into the terrible twos with her husband Mr. Big (Noth). He wants to sit on the couch and watch TV, she's desperate for nights out on the town and escaping the boring married couple curse.
Samantha (Cattrall) is trying to go through menopause with as much dignity as she can muster while trying to see if she's still got it (she seduces stud Noah Mills using her amazing one liners).
Miranda (Nixon) comes to realize that work might just not be all there is to life while Charlotte (Davis) begins to sink under the pressures of motherhood.
Just as the women are about to be trampled under the harshness of reality, an opportunity comes up for them to escape when Samantha invites them to come with her to Abu Dhabi, all expenses paid.
Once in the Middle East we follow their adventures which rage from enigmatic trips to little markets, camel rides, karaoke singing, running into old flames (Corbett's Aidan for Carrie this time) and also the realization that rules and traditions are practically impossible to understand looking from the outside in.
To enjoy this movie fully one must understand that it's not meant to be taken as a factual "this is how things are" deal. Sex and the City 2 is a delightful throwback to the films audiences flocked to during the Great Depression and WWII.
Escapist fare overflowing glamour, sparkle and the kind of excess people only could look up to. In the style of Greta Garbo, the women are dressed head to toe in exquisite clothes (courtesy of genius costume designer Patricia Field).
Like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in Road to Morocco they take on the exotic locale with the selfish anxiety Americans tend to show in foreign places.
And just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz they're also completely conscious that this is a land of dreams that soon will prove it has its dark sides as well. It's no coincidence that Carrie utters delighted "Toto I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" the minute they walk into the luxurious Middle Eastern hotel.
Just like no one chided Dorothy for taking advantage of what she could in Oz, these women deal with the place in the only way they know how. In order to fulfill the roles they created in the original TV series and first movie, sometimes the filmmakers recur to efficient techniques that help encompass who these characters are using the smallest details.
Therefore we have Samantha regain her mojo through a Shisha, Charlotte give in to her insecurities by becoming attached to her iPhone and Miranda manifest her inner control freak through schedules and the strategic use of Arabic words.
Anyone who's followed these women for a long time will notice that they do change in vacation, "you're fun in Abu Dhabi" says one of them with gleeful surprise.
But at their core they remain the same women we've known for ages, in this case it's just the structure that changes.
Michael Patrick King cleverly turns his entire film into a 1930's spectacle, in a way Sex and the City 2 follows the course of the cinema made during those years.
The movie begins with the delightful excess of a Busby Berkeley musical. There's a wedding at the beginning with such campy charm and outlandish attention to detail that you can't help but fall for its innocent belief in romance a la Top Hat.
After this, the film enters into the shaky terrain of Leo McCarey and Frank Capra romantic comedies, you know films like It Happened One Night where romance actually dealt with emotions while being outrageously entertaining. It's no wonder that some of the women's further hijinx involve moments straight out of slapstick classics.
Then when the film explores the nature of fantastic travel (like in the mentioned Morocco and Oz) it does so with a selfconscious, almost forced sense of escapism. Without disregarding reality the women know that despite their privileged status they want to get away from "reality".
Therefore Samantha has no trouble expressing how because of the bad economy they "need to go somewhere rich".
To expect these women to ignore their wealth and the opportunity they have to indulge themselves in luxury would be to condemn reality, for isn't this exactly what the upper classes have done throughout history?
It's fortunate for the Sex girls that now they're less Marie Antoinette and fit more with the celebrity worship our generation has come to obsess with, if not this movie could be perceived by some as being a tacky exercise in excess.
Fortunately by movie's end, King concentrates a bit more on the melancholic feeling brought by more serious filmic works like those of Preston Sturges and William Wyler, which means that when the credits roll, the women, especially Carrie, have gone from Arabic princesses to bruised women learning what they really want out of life.
King's intentions don't always work and some of his most clever ideas are drowned in execution (the whole analogy of the women learning about tradition and rules by going to a different cultural landscape is fascinating, the execution lacks a bit more politics) yet for all its flaws in the end Sex and the City 2 can't help but take aim at our hearts by adequately reminding us that when all is said and done there is no place like home.

Quick Sunday Rundown.

Two quick things...

I finally saw Sex and the City 2 and the wait was so damn worth it.
Expect a review quite soon but if you must know I found it to be utterly fabulous!

Now going across to the extreme opposite, in terms of gender, not fabulosity, Luke, Andrew and I got together once again to discuss the Best Actor Oscar race. This time it was a jolly trip back in time all the way to 1985.
Pretty interesting stuff happened if I may say so, now run down over to Luke's and read all about it.

That's all for now.

Take,Toss,Store

The blog enters a very short hiatus from today until Monday.
I'll be moving during the weekend and while I get settled into my new apartment I doubt I'll have the time or energy to get online much.
I'll sure miss writing and talking to all you guys out there and I'll sure miss the movies (won't get to see Iron Man 2 until next week!)
If anybody wants to come help with the packing, you're more than welcome!

Just don't forget to bring champagne!

Birthday Wish.

If this had been released today it would've been the coolest present ever.
Still had a fantastic birthday hehe.

Sex and the City ***1/2

Director: Michael Patrick King

Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis

Chris Noth, Jason Lewis, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Lynn Cohen

Willie Garson, Mario Cantone, Candice Bergen, Jennifer Hudson

Four years after the groundbreaking HBO series went off the air, fans the world over couldn't help but wonder: what will happen between Carrie (Parker) and Mr. Big (Noth)? Will Samantha (Cattrall) leave her old ways and settle with rising young star Jerrod Smith (Lewis)? Will Miranda (Nixon) achieve marital bliss with Steve (Eigenberg)? and will Charlotte (Davis) finally be able to have a baby with her husband Harry (Handler)?

Almost half a decade has gone by and now all those questions are answered in a movie event that was destined to be more event than movie, but ends up pulling the rug from under our feet.

(For those who have never seen the show and obviously don't have those questions in mind, the opening sequence features a montage that sets the mood, along with an infectious update of the theme song provided by, of all people, Fergie).

After this we're thrown right back into the story and much to our surprise, and it has to be said pleasure, we realize that things haven't really changed that much.

A still unmarried Carrie Bradshaw is finally planning a big wedding with Mr. Big, which brings back commitment issues between both of them. Samantha now living and working in Los Angeles as Smith's agent is beginning to lose her own sense of self. Miranda is having trust issues with Steve.

And Charlotte, who has adopted a girl (the lovely Alexandra Fong) is still trying to have a baby of her own.

While it's true that TV to film conversion should feel bigger, not only in the obvious sense of screen dimension but in plot development (after all it's not the same to keep your attention during half hour episodes than in the film's two hour and twenty two minutes running time with no TiVo or bathroom breaks) it's refreshing to see that, brilliant writer/director, King put his characters' priorities before anything else and instead of coming up with some unexpected twist to push the cinematical, simply goes with the flow.

Just because the characters are older (and they look it!) doesn't mean that they're wiser which is why to some the film might seem like an extension of an old joke, but to others is merely the obvious progression.

When was the last time, after Woody Allen, that someone dared to revisit the same themes over and over without feeling stale and redundant? It's rare to see a filmmaker so humbly express his insecurities on the screen and reveal that just because he got to make a movie about something doesn't mean he's got all the answers to his questions.

Which is why when Carrie and Big get in their umpteenth relationship crisis (after all it's been a whole decade of trouble for them) we don't feel annoyed, instead turning into an introspective soul search mood that challenges our preconceptions about love.

Those looking for a laugh out loud experience will be mildly disappointed, because even though the movie is hilarious, the jokes never come at expense of what's going on with the plot. This obviously doesn't mean that the film achieves "Closer" levels of darkness, because the one thing these four New Yorkers never lose is unabashed hope.

With the actors having pretty much defined who their characters are (and never reducing them to caricatures), it's still a pleasant surprise to see Kristin Davis' doe eyed Charlotte practically steal the movie.

Cattrall, always the sex bomb, has grown into a more mature actress who has absolutely no fear of aging, her Samantha Jones, who sometimes screamed of nympho, is perhaps the one character who never loses perspective of who she is;even though her choices may seem selfish, Cattrall's confidence assures you she will be alright and that she's ready to fight when things go wrong.

Nixon avoids giving in to complete paranoid, bitter meltdown and explores the sweeter side of Miranda, the one that forces her to examine past the logical aspects in the situations.

And Parker, more beautiful than ever with a post punk-ish Audrey Hepburn look, once again makes your heart stop at the right moments.

Her Carrie has become an icon in New York and like everything iconic she is object of questioning. Luckily for us most of this comes from within her and Carrie's neuroses now seem more profound than ever, especially when she examines the essence of what love ought to be.

In some of the film's best scenes Parker shines as an actress, whether it's a little gut wrenching move here or a heartbreakingly beautiful smile there, she knows how and when to hit you. Since she is the protagonist, her vivid narration puts a little Jane Austen into a Manhattan that never sinks either into a shallow fairy tale land or a destructive emotional void.

In one of the show's best episodes the women decide that they will be each other's soulmates. The film will make you feel like you're the fifth.

The chemistry between the four actresses is remarkable and some of the most joyous moments are when they're together discussing sex, shopping or indulging in fashion moments (the clothes and visual style of the movie deserve a review of their own) which is when we see them at their most natural, no longer restricted by the influence of the men in their lives, they become liberated.

Which isn't to say that this is a maneater world or some sort of feminist fascism, but rather something that embraces the differences between the sexes without underrating how they compliment each other.

The male characters may seem a bit too passive at times, but their influence has Freudian reprecussions as they're always there in some way or another.

"Sex and the City" has the sort of divine mystery that has always known what to express without really knowing how it got there.

While the supporting cast is splendid, the most welcome inclusion comes in the shape of Hudson who plays Carrie's new assistant, Louise from St. Louis, and breathes new life into their world.

When Carrie asks what brings her to New York, she answers "I came to fall in love".

By that time in the movie you would expect Carrie to fall into a cynical route and try to snap the innocent girl out of her dream, but it's our heroine herself who snaps out of hers'.

Nowadays almost everything tries to push us into a hedonist, selfcentered existence and with this rediscovery of love Michael Patrick King is able to take Big and Carrie beyond the realms of Ross and Rachel, sending them instead to the stratosphere where Romeo and Juliet reside along with Ilsa and Rick; a love that pushes boundaries, that is never easy to make happen, that hurts, that takes you to unexpected places, that defies normal thought processes, but ends up stronger because of that.

They say that sex without love is nothing and the love in this "Sex" sparkles like diamonds.