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 **

Crazy, Stupid, Love. **

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast: Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Analeigh Tipton, John Carroll Lynch, Jonah Bobo

Josh Groban, Kevin Bacon, Marisa Tomei

Despite how generic its title made it sound (just a bunch of adjectives and a noun thrown in together), Crazy, Stupid, Love. seemed promising because of the people who star in it and the men behind the camera. The film contains none of the loony excitement of Ficarra and Requa's I Love You Phillip Morris. which isn't a perfect movie by any means but still thrives with something that makes it feel truly alive. Of course, it's not like they have to repeat a style on every movie, that would certainly limit their artistic blooming, but their work in this film seems stilted to say the least.

The screenplay, written by Dan Fogelman, works as Magnolia lite; we meet several characters living in Los Angeles whose lives get intertwined and united by the universal subject of love.

Carell plays Cal Weaver, a sad-eyed man whose life turns upside down after his wife Emily (Moore) confesses she cheated with one of her co-workers (Bacon) and asks for a divorce.

Cal becomes an even more tragic figure and spends the nights away crying at a hip bar where he catches the eye of the womanizing Jacob Palmer (Gosling) who has just been rejected for the first time in his life by a young, lively lawyer called Hannah (Stone). Perhaps seeking to atone for the sin committed against his masculinity, Jacob decides to "Miyagi" Cal and turn him into a womanizer.

While it can be said that Cal and Jacob share the main plot, the peripheral stories around them are what truly make the film work better than it should.

Cal's son Robbie (Bobo) for example, plays perhaps the film's most romantic role as he engages in a battle to win the heart of his babysitter Jessica (the wide eyed Tipton whose smile evokes a young Shelley Duvall) who is 4 years older than him.

Perhaps the movie works best when it occurs as individual vignettes, say Cal's crazy one night stand with insane teacher Kate (Tomei playing a dignified version of batshit crazy) is joyous to say the least and the always fantastic Moore turns Emily's scenes of quiet sorrow into complete acting courses.

Yet as it travels from Jacob's James Bond-ish house to Hannah's own disastrous affair with a sadsack colleague (played with enough douche baggery by Groban to make us root for Jacob) we realize that Requa and Ficarra can not, for the life of them, juggle smartly with so many characters.

The film feels as if they forget about some of their characters and then upon remembering their existence try to make them do something funny, cute or silly, as if to say "hey I'm still here". The plot has some serious time conundrums and you might find yourself surprised to realize that one year has supposedly gone by in the movie when it ends. Even if the performances are charming (Emma Stone's giant laughter is deemed to overthrow the reign of Julia Roberts') the film never feels particularly crazy, stupid or even romantic.

During the most inspired sequence in the running time, all the characters come together through a divine intervention that would've made Moliere giggle, during a single moment the entire film comes together perfectly and its theme of universality clicks as we realize that yeah, we're all on the same boat when it comes to lámour.

However the film keeps on going after this and the spark of magic it obtained is reduced to a series of preachy "we all can change and be forgiven" moments where once again the pain of individuality becomes too tedious to watch.

The Lincoln Lawyer **

Director: Brad Furman

Cast: Matthew McCounaghey, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei

Josh Lucas, Frances Fisher, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña

William H. Macy, Bryan Cranston

It's not that The Lincoln Lawyer is a bad movie per se, it's just so forgettable that throughout its running time you try hard not to wander around looking for something more interesting. McCounaghey plays Mickey Haller, the title character, a lawyer who specializes in getting guilty people out of jail. That is until he has to defend playboy Louis Roulet (Phillippe) who has been accused of beating a prostitute. Haller detects the slimy heir might have a connection to one of his previous cases and you guessed it, a change of heart occurs.

There is nothing in this movie that we haven't seen before and while McCounaghey is charming enough to carry the movie, the rest of the cast never really clicks.

You can't help but feel bad for McCounaghey who obviously is pushing his "serious actor"chops here (he doesn't even show his abs!) but the plot just becomes less interesting by the twist and who would ever believe that Marisa Tomei ever was married to him?

The Lincoln Lawyer often demands your attention but some will object to its dull pace and thrill-less ride.

Oscars 08: Best Dressed

1. Penélope Cruz
The moment I saw her on the red carpet she just took my breath away.
I loved the way she looked like a bride or a queen about to be crowned and instantly knew her dress just had to be vintage.
I found out until much later that it indeed it was vintage and Balmain nonetheless. Watching how gracious and beautiful she was when she won the Oscar I had a sudden epiphany (at least fashion and Oscar wise).


'Nuff said.


2. Anne Hathaway
Shirley MacLaine herself said that we love Anne as a princess, and a modern one she was in her stunning Aramni Privé white dress with crystal appliqués. It would've been great to see her win if only to see the way she would've matched that gorgeous Swarovski curtain above the stage.
Her best accesory? As always her million dollar smile.

3. Marion Cotillard
Last year she rocked in an unexpected Gaultier mermaid dress, this year she rocks once more in black and blue Dior gown, with a Tinkerbell-ish top that gives path to a risqué skirt with almost transparent folds that makes the Oscar winner look like a punk princess.

4. Kate Winslet
The first time Oscar winner didn't stray too far from what she'd been doing all season long.
And too far is the key part here. Her Yves Saint Laurent dark blue and black dress looks like a variation on what she wore to the Golden Globes in January, with some extra black lace.
Classy and simple yes, but way too safe for an actress known for her wild characters.

5. Halle Berry
This is how you do black and gold Beyoncé...

6. Sarah Jessica Parker
Poor SJP has been cursed with fashion double duty. She played Carrie Bradshaw, a modern Holly Golightly inspired fashionista, for more than five years in "Sex and the City" and outside the show she became a fashion icon herself.
So she must juggle constantly and fend Carrie/Sarah comparisons. With her mint Dior she brings the two women together. The top with the NYC retro, deco art and unusual belt is all Carrie, but from the waist down, the delicate tulle and ample skirt are as deliciously sweet as only Parker can be.

7. Nicole Kidman
One could almost swear Nicole Kidman has worn this dress before (that baby blue YSL from 2004 which also included feathers if I can recall) but then again she rarely varies her column with a detail look.
She might've looked a bit uncomfortable on stage, but after a few seconds she was absolutely radiant.

8. Tilda Swinton
Once again wearing Lanvin (after last year's black ensemble which seemed to be made out of liquid silk) the iconic Tilda Swinton pushes the envelope by wearing two similar pieces in different colors. Her blonde hair and ruffly, folds recall both dandies and classic Greece and like nobody else she looks so damn comfortable in avant garde couture.
You either love or hate Swinton's style.
She obviously won't give a damn either way.

9. Marisa Tomei
The very deserving, and very very beautiful, Best Supporting Actress nominee had been making some of the craziest choices of the season (I was a big fan of her bright yellow SAG dress) and for the Oscars she shows off her quirkiness with a pleated tail that gives her Versace Atelier gown a little something extra, not too common, but not too outrageous.

10. Evan Rachel Wood
After her split from Marilyn Manson, the beautiful Wood, who had gone to the very dark side, has resurfaced like a princess. For the Oscars she was one of the many to wear creams and whites; her classic Elie Saab and simple jewelry make her look like Grace Kelly even when her unusual nail color suggests she's not that innocent.

Oscars 08: Fashion Split Decisions
Oscars 08: Worst Dressed
Oscars 08: Fashion Tendencies
Oscars 08: Post-Show Column

A Quickie Through the Orange Carpet.

Since I've no BBC or SKY or something that airs the BAFTAs, the next best thing I'm left with, while waiting for the results is fashion.
I've noticed the stars usually tone it down for these awards, they all wear sober, rather usual dresses in dark colors or go the entire opposite way and "dress up" (last year's Marion Cotillard mini-feathered-sequin creation was a breath of fresh air and a bold choice that looked good despite its riskiness).
As usual this time everyone wore black, it was expected of Meryl, but even Angelina Jolie donned the color, at least this time her dress has shape, not like those weird moo-moo/toga things she's been wearing in like forever.
Anyways without further ado, here are the loveliest women I saw:

Did you really think I wasn't going to include her?
Her hair is perfection (and very "Broken Embraces") and while I'm not fully loving the velvety black, she looks gorgeous.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed so that she has her first big award moment of the season tonight.
Go Penélope!

Freida Pinto is a beautiful woman and she knows it, but if she doesn't she should log on to the internet and watch how we all talk about her (skipping the acting parts of course). A vision in pink she forces me to wonder is there any color she won't look like a vision in?

Even the lovely Marisa Tomei got into the "Slumdog" groove...
But her sari is nothing short of majestic.
And I just realized the three women I chose are all Best Supporting Actress nominees grrr.
I wouldn't be completely offended if Marisa won, next to Penélope she's the one I'm rooting for.
And last I checked the ceremony was turning into a "Benjamin" "Slumdog" lovefest.

The Wrestler ***1/2

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood

You may never have seen a wrestling match in your entire life and you still will be rooting for Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke), a professional wrestler who is way past his prime and looking for a comeback in Darren Aronofsky's touching character study.
"The Ram" was big in the 80's, where he even had an action figure shaped after him (and which he carries in his car with him), now he's living in a trailer, working part time at a supermarket and doing small venues aware that he's old news in the modern wrestling scene while trying to rekindle his relationship with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Wood) and trying to initiate a romance with a stripper named Cassidy (Tomei).
If everything about the film sounds like a cliché it very well should, the surprise is in how after watching it, it's been everything but that.
Centered on the remarkable performance by Rourke, "The Wrestler" takes a harsh look at a society where the underdogs only get their due in films like this (one of the "best" compliments you can give the film is thinking it was inspired by a true story).
Rourke disappears into Robinson, with a bulked up body, blonde dyed hair and the remains of what one was a face he embodies the pain the man has put up with for so long.
The only thing that reminds him there is a world outside his career is his ailing heart, which both physically and emotionally bring him down to Earth for a moment where he faces that he has to change in order to remain alive.
What Rourke preserves is an intense charm, aided by a sweet, almost paternal voice. When we see him playing a video game with a child, we don't find it surprising that the kid isn't terrified of him and when later he has to work behind the deli counter, the women he serves are enchanted by his brutish kindness.
Yet all of this hides a pain that he doesn't know how to channel. He is a bad father because he doesn't know how else to be; Rourke shines in his scenes with Wood, who gives an affecting performance containing her adolescent resentment until exactly the right moment.
Sometimes you wonder why Robinson chose this job and Rourke makes us understand that it might be perhaps because within it he has found the only place where he can control the pain he receives and the one he inflicts upon others.
Because if this kind of selfish sacrifice, his performance is almost sublime.
Tomei plays his emotional counterpart, at first being almost some sort of a twin. They both play entertainers who must submit to the fantasies of their customers (one remarkable scene cuts between the two of them tidying up for their jobs), both have to be careful in establishing the limit where the job ends and the life begins.
The actress, one of the few who can be completely nude dancing on a pole and stir feelings of kindness, avoids playing her as the stripper with the heart of gold and goes for a raw approach where not even she's sure she'll end up.
"The Wrestler" is shot in verité style by Maryse Alberti, who gives it even more of a documentary feel. The cinematographer's work with the camera is also a wondruous thing to behold, most of the film the camera follows "The Ram", reminiscing the moments before the wrestlers are sent off into the stage and also giving everything a rare kind of sadness making us think that perhaps everything good about Robinson has been left in his past.
Aronofsky details the behind the scenes of wrestling, where we are witnesses of the tricks and maneuvers they plan to put on the show we end up watching. In a way it's as if we're watching the movie being made in front of our eyes, because even when we know for a fact everything we're about to see has been prepared for our entertainment, there is an amount of truth within this that makes it remain compelling.
Those who aren't fans of wrestling will surely wonder what is there to see in a fight where the winner has been resolved before it even begins, where the pain and blood have all been calculated.
What is it that charms viewers about this showcase of artifice? Those who care to see beyond this will find a beautiful metaphor within the spectacle they're witnessing, as wrestling becomes comparable with cinema where the fates of the characters involved have been resolved way before the projection begins, but the journey can't help but feel thrilling nevertheless.
When talking about a match with some of his fellow wrestlers, "The Ram" asks them if they enjoyed it, after getting an affirmative response he stops for a while, points to the audience and remarks "more important, they liked it".