The Master

" If you figure a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let the rest of us know, will you? For you'd be the first person in the history of the world"

Some might find Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) and his films annoying. They seem to have this nasty habit of making us think after watching them whether you are admiring the the film itself and pondering its' message and its' performances...or driving yourself insane trying to figure what you watched before someone asks you about it (admit to "not getting it"? HA get real son). Anderson has brought us films like this his whole career from the funky, porn-era glorifying flick "Boogie Nights", the look into the dark side of man in "There Will Be Blood" to now with "The Master".

The Master follows Freddie Quell a young navy seaman (it's OK if you giggled, I won't judge) returning from WWII and dealing with the task of trying to find purpose in the world back at home after the war. Freddie is dealing with one hell of a case of PTSD and we witness him deal with this through his use of alcohol, women, and violence. Joaquin Phoenix is really brilliant here as Freddie. This was his first film after his mockumentary about abandoning acting and becoming a rapper "Im Still Here" (not sure he really is all "here" or there but whateva) and he brings a character with so much inner tormoil to life both mentally and physically that you become anxious everytime he is on screen. Through a series of unfortunate events (those books definitely sucked by the way) Freddie hitches on with Lancaster Dodd played by Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Hey...aren't you that kid from crocodile tears?") who is the leader of this mysterious group known as "The Cause". Dodd is curious by Freddie so he invites him to travel with him and his family in delivering the message and spreading the influence of The Cause. Dodd and "The Cause" are supposedly loosely based on L. Ron Hubbard and his creation of Scientology and the use of methods such as Dianetics (look it up.....my name isn't spelled W-I-K-I) but PTA has continually emphasized the term "loosely based" which may be good for him in the end....we wouldn't want to get Tom Cruise all riled up and cranky now would we?   

Freddie is completely taken by Dodd, he gives him a job and a place to stay but even more because Dodd didn't judge him immediately upon meeting him. He becomes extremely protective of Dodd and lashes out at anyone who presents themself as a threat to Dodd's well-being or credibility as "a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philisopher" (sheesh). He does all of this curiously enough, without  even knowing what The Cause is really about. He simply takes it for what it is and this begins to catch the eye of Dodd's wife (Amy Adams) who wonders if Freddie is really down for "The Cause" (ha) and if he is actually is a threat to what her and her husband really want to accomplish.

The acting is the best part of this film. Phoenix, Hoffman, and Adams do great work, especially Hoffman for me as he almost seems to be playing two characters at once, "The Master" and charismatic  leader of The Cause, and Lancaster Dodd, sensitive family man who is trying to keep his head above water as he gets deeper into his dealings with The Cause and who may or not be at the command of his wife. I only wish we got some more backstory into how Dodd and The Cause came to be. I know that Freddie is really the central character of the story but it is Dodd who is the most curious character and learning more about him would have been more satisfying. Freddie's past is kind of murky as well, but in the end, I feel learning about his past wouldn't have provided any new insight on him for the film because after he comes back from the war, he most likely isn't the same Freddie Quell who left. 

The film also goes into long stretches of  "processing" which is the method The Cause uses to "cure" people of their troubles. It is more or less a version of hypnotism but it is so muddled and confusing that it is hard to see what the purpose of it is and you lose interest in it. More development of Amy Adams character would have been nice because in the limited screen time she has, you get the impression that she has more power and influence over her husband then what meets the eye. What are her true reasons for being with The Cause? Is she a loyal wife and believer in what is being preached by her husband? Is she seizing an opportunity to latch on to a man and an idea that could potentially lift her into a position of great power and wealth? The ending will be one of the main dividing points among viewers. You will either be impressed at the role reversal between Freddie and Dodd that brings up the question, who really is The Master between the two of them? Or, you will be left feeling slightly unsatisfied and wanting more. For me I would have to say I felt a little bit of both but leaning more towards the former. 

In the end, if you are familiar with the type of filmmaking PTA does then you will most likely enjoy "The Master" because there are few directors who get more out of their actors and provide weighty material to chew on. If not.....then I guess go rent something?...or Netflix? or watch something else?.....I mean...Looper was kind of cool....Yup.

Toying with a funner way to grade movies since doing a number out of 5 or 10 is boring and doing it by letter grade is a little obnoxious (how does someone grade a movie a "B-".....what the hell does that even mean?" We will see how it goes as I develop it.

"The Master": Right Awn.

The 20/20 Experience

In the music world, happiness doesn't usually seem to sell to the general public as depressing as that sounds. Let me clarify, most of the "hit" music we hear over the airwaves these days tends to involve similar themes of drugs, sex, and heartbreak (which seems to be the most evident). Artists like Rihanna, Taylor Swift (who by the way I believe is still never ever ever EVER getting back together with you, you prick!) among others, make their money with music based on bad breakups and heartbreak.  Most might not even realize that these songs are about these type of things because they are disguised behind a funky beat that they may be too busy dancing to to even care about it anyway. 

Enter Justin Timberlake, returning to the music world after a 7 year hiatus, mostly to experiment in movieland, with his third studio album titled "The 20/20 Experience". The title brings to mind the phrase "hindsight is 20//20" reminding us that it is easy to understand something after it has happened when we've had time to examine it. With most celebrities, we seem to have almost instant access to their personal lives and inner most secrets. In the case with Timberlake in recent years, it has been his on again and off again relationship with actress (and total babe-asaurus rex) Jessica Biel . Timberlake and Biel are now married and Timberlake took no time at all to use his inspiration from his roller coaster ride with Biel to produce maybe the best album of the early year. Timberlake seems to be breaking the mold by showing that you can make music about happy and functional relationships and still be successful.

The track list for the album is daunting at first-look due to the length of the songs (8 of the 10 songs are nearly 7 minutes or longer). When asked about this in an interview, Timberlake simply replied with "If Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin can do 10-minute songs and Queen can do 10-minute songs then why can't we?" Pretty bold to compare yourself to music legends such as the ones he mentions, but hey go for it brotha. In the end, once you begin listening to the album is sucks you in to the point where you don't even realize the length of any track. 

It is hard to put the album into a particular genre. It contains several elements from different areas of music that range from traditional soul music, buzzing electronic, along with the feel of pop that made JT famous in the first place. Overall, the album seems to bank mostly on its rhythm and flow rather than a lot of dance tracks with catchy lyrics. 

Lyrically, the album is essentially a love letter from Timberlake to this girl he seems to be amazed by and can't seem to give enough compliments to. We see evidence of this on every track from "Pusher Love Girl" when he is describing this girl as his drug that he can't get enough of to "Suit and Tie" where it seems as if he is describing an experience he had while on a date with this girl, to eventually "Mirrors" where he comes right out and speaks about this girl being the other half of him. "Mirrors" seems to be the song that is getting the most buzz from the album but I actually didn't enjoy it as much as the other tracks. It is hard to say why, but it just felt out of place from the how the rest of the album sounded. "Suit and Tie" is the most fun song on the album and can be described as one of those songs where you hear it and it makes you think that you can dance..but in reality..you still can't. "Strawberry Bubblegum" I felt was Timberlake almost winking at the critics of his boy band past (reference to the N'SYNC song "Pop" if you hear it) and it's almost like he knows it would annoy them that he actually has a song called "Strawberry Bubblegum" on his album. 

Rumors have serviced that this will be part of a two part album with the second half of the album to be released later in 2013 or early 2014. The album would then have 10 songs on each part (to equal 20...20/20 experience and all that.) After being more that pleasantly surprised from this effort from Timberlake, one can only hope he brings it one the second part as much as he did on this current album. 

In the end, JT just wants to remind everyone in the music world that he is still here and with continued out put like "The 20/20 Experience", he will be for a long time.

Right awn.

5/5

The Pursuit of Happyness

"It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?"

When it comes to the careers of professional entertainers in Hollywood, it is hard to argue that anyone has made more right moves in their career than Will Smith. Everything the man touches seems to turn to gold, from his beginnings as a grammy award winning hip hop artist, to his current status as the biggest movie star in Hollywood whose films have earned over $5.7 billion world wide. Smith has been criticized for only sticking to a certain blue print when it comes to his film choices which mainly include big summer blockbusters. Personally, I too would like to see Smith take more chances with his career. It was reported that Quentin Tarantino wrote the title character of his recent smash "Django Unchained" with Smith in mind, but Smith turned it down saying that it was too controversial. At the end of the day, if I was getting a guaranteed $20 million for every film I was in, I don't think I would feel to broken up about the fact that I am being insulted for making a Bad Boys 3 or a Hancock 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc). 

In this writers' opinion, the Fresh Prince delivered his most layered, honest, and heartfelt performance of his career in "The Pursuit of Happyness". Smith plays Chris Gardner a struggling medical supply salesman whose life and family are falling apart as his finances continue to dwindle down to nothing. At one point, Chris' wife leaves him and he is evicted from his home and he has to bounce from one place to another as he tries to sell his supplies to make enough money find anew home and create some sort of life for his son Christopher (played by Smith's real life son, Jaden Smith).

Chris sees an ad in the newspaper for an internship at a local brokerage firm  and he recalls how good he was at math and decides to give this a chance ,because at this point, he has nothing else to lose. Chris gets accepted into the internship, but the issue is that he must work for 6 months, without pay, while competing against the other dozen candidates for the entry position at the end of the internship. Chris must find a way to sell his medical supplies (which to most hospitals in the area, have been deemed an unnecessary and expensive luxury) while working at the internship and continuing to provide for his son. 

Smith and his son have an obvious natural chemistry together on screen and we witness several moments throughout the film where it seemed that casting the two of them together was the only way to create a father-son relationship that the viewers could buy into. This is displayed in the most powerful scene in the movie where we witness Chris and his son spend the night in a subway bathroom. This is rock bottom for both of them, but almost inexplicably, Chris decides to turn their situation into a game just as an attempt to have his son feel like a kid for the first time in a long time.

The key to any film is for the audience to build a relationship with the characters so that we actually care about what happens to them throughout the story. Smith reels us in right from the beginning as the a father who will do anything for his son or die trying. Chris and his son take us on a roller coaster ride as we watch one failure after another pile up on them to the point where we just wait for them to give up. When we finally see Chris succeed in the end, it brings such relief to the audience and you think to yourself, "Thank God something positive happened!". I don't really think if I told the ending it would be a huge spoiler or anything since this was a true story and a quick google search on the topic could provide you the answers as to what happens to Chris and his son, but honestly, just watch the movie and see for yourself.

It should be a surprise to no one that if there are things you want in life, you have to go after them and get them yourself. There will be those who can help you along the way, but in the end, it is left up to you to make those key decisions in order to eventually obtain those things. Now we may not all end up on the path we originally started on and sometimes that can be a good thing. However, in order to actually achieve happiness (which I often find myself questioning what that actually is) it takes a good deal of soul searching, and in most cases, "a good kick in the ass" (Thanks Dad). We may not all end up "Getting Jiggy with It" Big Willie Style, but it's important to have confidence in what you are doing as well as in knowing that you will figure out what you want out of life and what will bring you happiness.

Be cool people.

"The Pursuit of Happyness" 4/5

Hustle and Flow

"Hey man, everybody's gotta have a dream"

I know what you're thinking......"What the hell is this crap?!? I've never even heard of it! This isn't new!"

Well, it turns out that you have to pay money to see movies in theaters and because I refuse to go back to exotic dancing to make extra cash on the side, I figure its cool to talk about films of the past as well. 

I had heard of "Hustle & Flow" mainly off of the buzz of Terrance Howard's (A.K.A. the original black actor  from "Iron Man") lead performance, which earned him an Oscar nomination in 2005. Howard plays Dejay, a small time pimp who does his business in Memphis, Tennessee. Dejay only has two employees that he pimps out while trying to provide for a pregnant wife "Sug" (Taraji P Henson) in their small home. He also is a small time dope dealer because, "hey, you gotta pay them bills somehow." Dejay has always dreamed of something more but life had different plans for him thus far. 

Dejay gets word one day that a famous hip-hop artist, Skinny Black (Ludacris essentially playing himself it seems), who was born in the same town Dejay lives now is returning home to visit his roots and throw a big party at the local bar. Dejay claims to have known Skinny Black from back in the day, and decides that he wants to create his own rap demo and hopefully get Skinny Black to have a listen to it. 

Dejay hooks up with an old friend Key (Anthony Anderson, who seems to have fallen off the face of the earth since no one wants to see another "Barbershop" movie) who does recording work for the local church and his friend Shelby (DJ Qualls) who apparently makes beats on his free time when he isn't re-stocking vending machines. Together they soundproof a room in Dejay's house and start cooking up music for Dejay's  demo. This is one of the bright spots of the film as we see Dejay really pour everything he has inside of him into his music. 

Howard does great work here as Dejay, giving us a good look at a man whose been given a tough draw but believes in himself and his music enough to pursue it and maybe see if he can turn a dream into an opportunity for a better life. What was most impressive was his ability to convey so much emotion just through his eyes to the point where you don't need words to feel what he is feeling. He deserved the Oscar nod and hopefully he goes back to putting out work like this. Anderson and Henson also do the film justice with solid performances in their supporting roles.

In the end, we get a somewhat cliche message from the film which is simply "Follow your Dreams" which could make on roll their eyes but I was fine with it in this instance. We get to see that not just through Dejay, but through the others around him as well.

 Life has a nasty tendency to put you in a situation, at one point or another, where you can feel hopeless about where you are and what you have become. "Hustle & Flow" does an excellent job of reminding us that if there is something you're passionate about, that can help redefine who you are and who people see you as, to believe in that passion no matter how big it may be or how unlikely it may seem. So no matter if you want to become a famous rap star, or even create a successful film blog (cough..cough..) life is about having the courage to fight off that fear to believe in your dreams and fulfill your own aspirations about who you want to be. 

4/5

P.S.

I would like to formally apologize to those who may be insulted by my lack of proofreading and editing in the early stages of this blog. It was brought to my attention that my poor editing insulted the apparently self-proclaimed grammar and editing Nazi, Kyle "Howard" Howerton (pictured below). For fear of inciting his wrath once again, I gave this review a once over....but lets face it, there are probably still mistakes in there.

Howie

A Good Day to Die Hard

"The things we do for our kids...."

This is the line John McClane utters as he drives an SUV out of a flying helicopter (while it is still chained to it) to bring it down which makes it seem like the 4th or 5th helicopter that has been destroyed in the Die Hard series. There was nothing wrong with that sequence because there is always expected to be the cliche "line before big explosion" moment in a Die Hard movie.

No...what I had a problem with is that lines like that came about off far to often..almost as often as the amount of times we see Bruce Willis's 60+ year old body fly through walls, floors, and windows to only stand up and remind us again that he was "on vacation".

I wanted to enjoy AGDTDH because John McClane is such a great film character and despite his advancing age I STILL want to see him out there kicking ass. However, Willis is given nothing to work with in this installment of the series and that fault lies at the feet of the writers and director John Moore (Max Payne, other bad movies).

We follow John to Moscow, Russia where he is trying to find his son Jack McClane who supposedly has been arrested and is being tried for an assortment of crimes. One thing leads to another and we discover that Jack is really an undercover C.I.A. agent trying to move a prisoner who has evidence on a Russian politician/mobster/whateverheisweneverreallyfindout. In fact, there are so many villains in this film, it is hard to even tell who is the main one until the finale in the last 20 minutes or so.

Willis can still hold his own as McClane as he delivers funny one-liners and can still fire gun pretty well (I mean, it seems pretty easy when you are just firing a gun in one spot as henchmen continue file in and basically run into the bullets one by one). Jai Courtney is the biggest human flaw of the film as McClanes' son Jack. He spends most of the movie playing the "I had a bad relationship with my dad" card by calling his father by his first name and uttering the phrase "Damn you McClane!" one too many times. Much of this again is the fault of the writers but Courtney was just bad from start to finish anyway.

There is said to be plans to make a 6th and final Die Hard film to finish the series. I encourage this to go forward because John McClane deserves to go out on a positive note (or at least get a promotion within the police force I mean come on...the dude is like 65 and would have to be the most decorated cop on the force you would think).

The most famous line of the Die Hard series (which predictably was brought up again in this version) means to move on or get going in Native American dialect.

To the writers of "A Good Day to Die Hard" and director John Moore I quote John McClane himself in saying...Yippe Kai-Yay MotherFuckers!!!

1/5