Kim Gentes

Dry. Focused. Artful. Perfect.

Summary: Real life seems to be the rage in recent movies. The challenge becomes more arduous for major productions when the plot doesn't include any of the silver screen big five: superstars, sex/romance, CGI, suspense (or horror) and action.

The new film "The King's Speech" is a screen rendition of the book "The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy" co-written by the grandson of Lionel Logue, the speech therapist who helps Albert (titled as King George VI) to achieve his ability to speak publicly without stammering.

Directed by Tom Hooper, the film has low star power- Colin Firth plays as "Bertie", the common name give King George VI by his family. While Firth is recognizable to many, he is certainly not a popular draw. Geoffrey Rush likewise plays the uncompromising speech therapist, Logue.  Great character acting is done by both. The cinematography has the predictably drab realism of grey, dreary England. The contrast of royal furnishings and clothing are all that holds hope for any visuals that might wake up the audience.

Content caution: for moms, dads, and such- this film has no objectionable content, violence or images. Except, that is, for two specific and demonstrative examples of extensive cursing from which its R-rating is completely based. I say this to clarify the rating. To the film's credit, it is completely in context for the script, where it is meant as a therapeutic exercise. Both times the tirade of language is contained, strong and over quickly.  I wouldn't bring a child under 13 to this film, but anyone over that age would not be unfamiliar with any words spoken in this film.

Beyond that, the plot is swift and simple and unfolds in just that manner. Bertie is crowned King George VI after the death of this father, King George V, and subsequent abdication of the throne by his older brother, Edward, just a year later.  In just weeks, the new king must deliver a crucial speech to address the nation and empire as the United Kingdom declares war on Hitler's Germany.

Firth becomes what he must for this film- the consummate professional. Acting along a thin line between historical fact and brilliant character development, Firth bristles with life. There is no perfection, because the character himself was rife with imperfection. But there is life, because the character becomes a very realistic, endearing and human example of determination and perseverance. Firth is balanced in two spheres by Helena Bonham Carter (as his characters' wife, Elizabeth) on the royal homefront and by  the aforementioned Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist, Lionel Logue.

With such a thin plot, there is little to rely on for sensation. The movie is based purely on character development with a touch of humor. I won't pour out more details, when they are best picked up in the viewing of it.  This was the first film I have seen in quite a while that audience members clapped spontaneously at the end.  It is, in a word, brilliant.

Amazon DVD Link: http://amzn.to/pUv5va

Review by Kim Gentes.

Aliens, borders and human smuggling - a new kind of monster.

Summary: Are the monsters we create sci-fi movies about really Freudian projections from our minds? This movie about that and much more. Follow a couple finding themselves while trying to sneak past aliens and get into America!

Full Review: Imagine earth has been infected by alien life forms. For the time being it seems we have quarantined the aliens to a containment area in northern Mexico that we call the infected zone. The United States builds a massive wall along its border, hoping to keep the aliens out. Both Mexico and the US regularly deploy military operations against the infected zone, trying to eradicate the aliens. Against this backdrop, two people become stranded and are forced to try to make their way through the zone any way possible, trying to get back home to America.

Scoot McNairy stars as Andrew Calder, an American photographer who works for a popular magazine/publisher (we are never told the name of the publication). Whatever the name, the CEO of that company has a daughter who has been trapped in central Mexico by an attack caused by the aliens. She, Samantha Wynden (played by Whitney Able) is not badly hurt but is now in need of help to get her back to the US. Her father instructs Calder to escort her in the journey back to the US. What begins as a simple transportation task turns into an odyssey as the characters encounter constant detours (literally and metaphorically). The last reasonable option they have devolves into the most dangerous situation.

I won't tell you how they fair in reaching their destination. The movie is too good to give it away in a review. But the plot of this movie is, perhaps, the lesser of all its strong points. First, this is a low budget sci-fi. Because of that, the effects and visuals of the alien creatures seem almost 70s nostalgic in application. They keep the audience just on the edge of going "that kinda looks corny". But it is the avoidance of high-end effects that makes the viewing of aliens and visual displays return to a minimalist approach. And this actually works.

The subplot surrounds the relationship of the two characters, that grows throughout the film. As the viewer grows in knowledge of the world in which the film is set, parallels are constantly being alluded to regarding relationship (traveling/migration patterns of the aliens, mating rituals etc). Again, all this is just happening as the film unfolds and you don't catch it the first time through, but the subplot turns slowly towards the real intent of the film, not as a sci-fi, but as an emotional drama without the sappy discourse. I later learned that the co-stars of this film married due to their relationship that developed while filming this movie. It truly feels like you are catching that kind of chemistry as the film unfolds.

There are other obvious narratives that the writer/producers are trying to communicate with this film. Not the least of which is the building of a massive border wall, the military actions to secure the border, the labeling of the aliens as an "infection", the banter of the characters about what it feels like trying to get into America from the outside, and even the bribery and hiring of a crew of smugglers to try to get the main characters into America. This none-to-subtle allusion to US immigration policy seems obvious to me, but perhaps I am over thinking it. Maybe aliens are just aliens. I leave that to you.

The best part of this film is the pacing and the uncompromising acting by these two co-stars. You feel like the movie is too real, perhaps too plodding at times. But this is just how it should feel, I would guess. The mundane breakdown of equipment, the conniving deciept of the smuggler/dealers, the in-your-bones frightening scenes that turn out to just be nervousness, the terrible reality of a single dead human being- all of these things are in stark contrast to overwrought, flying, super 3D, city-destroying alien movies we've become used to.  Here, the film makes you feel like you have to take it personally. And that is it's power.

It's been out for 3 years now, but for the thoughtful movie-goer, it is an excellent movie for your Netflix, Amazon Instant or rental queue.  The director is already working on a sequel, and this is a film that could become one of those indie legends as the story unfolds. See it now, before the second film makes it a main stream Hollywood hit and you can say you found it before the crowd. I found this film on the recommendation of a friend. You should too. I'm your friend. Go rent or see it. Now.

Amazon DVD (or Instant) Link: http://amzn.to/14X81uz

Review by Kim Gentes

A story about waiting to die. Audience participation required.

Summary: Imagine if you had the opportunity to know you were about to die.  That in a few days your body would shut down and you writhe painfully from dehydration, exhaustion into complete physical collapse.  This is the real life story of Aron Ralston. An Intel engineer who was a serious hiking enthusiast, took on one too many challenges.   

I won't recite the entire storyline for you.  If you haven't heard it, it is well worth either reading his real life story or watching this movie. Suffice it to say that Ralston has his life dangling in the balance while stuck in the crevas of a slot canyon in Utah, his arm wedged between the canyon and a rock.

The very best about this movie is the acting by James Franco. Edging out a character study for this protagonist gets center stage. The movie, quite frankly, is little else.  And Franco is more than up to the task. He elevates the film to believability, pain and course reality.  You feel the wind, the grit of sand, the losing of sanity, the struggle of dehydration pressing in on you as you watch the film.

Danny Boyle (director) achieves precisely his goal with the stark renderings and narrow effect given to the cinematography- to make you feel like each moment is grainy, slow and arduous. This is the point of the film making, that you will feel what the character feels. But this becomes the ironic anti-point to most viewers, since the very thing Boyle intends to make us feel, when it succeeds, is the exact opposite thing you need to keep people in the seats at a local theatre. Twenty-first century Americans can't be bothered with painful, frightening, gnawing, ugly reality. They can't handle story telling that is not 120 minutes of 7 second sound bites and 50 car explosions.  So I don't expect 127 Hours will do well as a money making venture.

But if you would like to hear an amazing story, of a truly heroic individual, who grinds out life and death with the elements of a desert canyon, and you are willing to endure for 133 minutes what he endured for 127 hours, then you can learn the lessons he learned. And you won't be disappointed.

I also usually give warnings related to content for age. For parents out there, you should know that this film has a few instances of cursing, though, it is occasional. There are also sexual innuendoes, but again they are passing. However, in one scene, James Franco's character does pleasure himself, apparently as an attempt to alleviate pain. This may be offensive to some viewers. I would not bring my 13 year old to this movie, but I would bring my 16 and 19 year old boys. I have boys and do not have girls so I have no good grid for evaluating well age appropriateness for daughters. As you might imagine, there are some visceral, disgusting things that he does to his body to survive (including drinking urine, considering severing body parts, etc). Much the same way as "Saving Private Ryan" was a particularly shocking viewpoint of war, this movie is a microcosm of personal human struggle. It is realistic and yet painful and visceral.

The film has a man who goes from happy, to angry, to hopeful, to hopeless, to base human animal, back through to thankful, changed, human. When he reaches the base human animal, on a human level this reflects a journey where a person goes from seeming happiness into transformation, through a deeply terrible self-revelation, which forces him to leave behind part of his old life to move on to the new.

I am slightly less compelled to feel like Boyle worked as hard as Franco on the film. The one thing that seemed a bit too obvious was the moral lesson that he pounds out in the script. The epiphany moment (at the end of the movie) when the Ralston character yells the word "Help" is about the fourth or fifth time the moral lesson is hammered home for the viewers. That felt a little over done for the normally more clever style that Boyle employs in his films.  But I certainly can grant this concession for an otherwise poignant and painful triumph to a powerful story.

Amazon DVD Link : http://amzn.to/pMEcog

Review by Kim Gentes.

Not so true. Not much grit.

Summary: I have to admit, I went to this film because it was directed by the Coen brothers. Their ability to take a story and turn its perspective upside down without ruining it is near legendary.  And while they certainly did take a seeming classic story and spin its viewpoint, the result is a placid, ineffectual, yarn with little drama and misuse of a star-studded cast.

The Coens had help in killing the life of this film, but not from Hailee Steinfeld.  Hailee plays Mattie Ross, a 14 year old girl who is left to deal with her murdered father's affairs. She takes it upon herself to hire two men to track down her father's killer and joins them in the pursuit.  Her acting is crisp and well set for the role and story.  It could be argued that she overplays the capabilities of a 14 year old, but that seems to be written into the story and not a misrepresentation in her acting.

Jeffe Bridges also does a reasonable job as the drunken, hard-nosed US Marshal, Rooster Cogburn.  Flashes of intensity in his character save the film from absolute boredom.  Matt Damon is ill-cast as the lucid, weakling Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf.  He provides a sympathetic, but nearly ineffectual character that neither fits Damon's intense style or helps the film.  Likewise, James Brolen's character is less than what you hope for as well. Neutered by a subjugated role to the "Lucky Ned Pepper" character, Brolen ends up in 2 strange and almost discardable scenes. All this leaves you thinking- "that's the villain?"  The real antagonist ends up being the "Lucky Ned Pepper" character, whose namesake is ironically similar to the actor, Barry Pepper, who plays him. Pepper (actor and character) is the only one who seems to take the film as a serious western.  If you're looking for "grit", Pepper is all you'll find.

The film fails, in my estimation because it lacks any chemistry between the characters. There is no intensity, no dialog and no attraction to speak of. Nothing relationally seems real in this film.  That would be fine if it contained actual and suspense to keep you going, but it fails there too.  In fact, the Coen's try to rely on humor to keep you interested.  Humor which, though occasionally seems helpful, is ultimately all that is left.

I wish I had more encouraging news on this film.  It is definitely not the best movie to see in this season. Both "127 Hours" and "Fighter" are much more worthy of your money, in my opinion.

Amazon DVD Link: http://amzn.to/nx8fdR

Review by Kim Gentes.

A super geek. An average story. Brilliant direction.

Summary: What would it be like if you had a movie made of your life? Some things would be exciting enough to be "media" worthy, other things might seem rather "run of the mill".  But what makes your story particularly interesting to your friends and family is that it actually happened, and it actually happened to someone they know.  

Mark Zuckerberg is a geek.  A Harvard geek.  The story of his rise to fame and the explosion of his website, Facebook, is not as tumultuous and extraordinary as you might think.  But it is believable and it is engaging.  "The Social Network" takes you on that story, and it does so with an exceptional script, excellent acting and perfect direction.

Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg as the irrepressible, though socially awkward computer geek that bumbles his way into the brilliant idea of Facebook.  Eisenberg's execution of the script, pacing of his lines (rapid fire geek-talk included) and coyish (though duplicitous) characteristics leave you with the character as he is: uncertain, yet brash; loyal, yet easily seduced; naive, yet considerably cunning and possibly disingenuous.  There is no lack of top notch acting in this film.  Andrew Garfield plays the slighted best friend, Eduardo Saverin, who carefully executes the hint of similar genius on a script that sounds genuine and compelling.

But the best acting in this film is done by Justin Timeberlake. I know, it sounds like a claim to garner celeb thanks, but frankly, Timberlake simply is deviously brilliant as Sean Parker, former co-founder of Napster.  The Parker character is the icon for the slimy underworld of hubris filled "entrepreneurism".  With pithy lines and insidious conniving, Parker weaves his way into Facebook ownership and management by befriending Zuckerberg and essentially destroying the relationship between the startup's founder duo. It would be hard to dislike this character more, and that is the point.  What Javier Bardem does as an unrelenting assassin in "No Country For Old Men", Timberlake does as a creepy, self-infatuated, megalomaniac in "The Social Network".

I am not sure how close to reality that the film plays with the dialog, but the top notch writing in this film keep you laughing and very interested in the next moment. And the next.  And the next. Each of the 121 minutes flew by and director David Fincher made sure you couldn't find one of those minutes you regretted.

Negatives? If you don't like witty cynicism this film may prove to be less than entertaining.  And it appears that the film certainly steps out of reality a few times with its overwrought scenes of partying and plot twists that keep you watching.

I would not bring my kids to see this film, though there is no explicit nudity in the film or excessive language (relative to other films). But the film is clearly portraying a college atmosphere at its hedonistic height (and exaggerating it at that, says the real Mark Zuckerberg in a separate interview about the film). There are numerous drug and alcohol use scenes, parlayed against additional scenes of sexual innuendoes. All told, it's simply too much for anyone under 17, in my opinion.

Those items aside, "The Social Network" is worth watching.  With the rash of bland to bad films that have come out this year, it's not hard to call the film one of the best 3 of the year.  As a geek myself, I found "Social Network" amusing and self-complimentary to all who might classify themselves as such. But mostly, its just good fun and surprisingly moralistic (the yarn points at a simple moral lesson throughout).

Go see it. You won't be disappointed.

Amazon DVD Link: http://amzn.to/pLJ5dz

Review by Kim Gentes.