Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go is a very thoughtful piece of work that makes you acutely aware of your existence. It's very easy, especially in youth, to forget that existence on this planet is terminable. It's the only way to truly live for we would drive ourselves crazy if we constantly concerned ourselves with death. It therefore creates a great deal of friction to be thinking about the impending doom of these characters, who are cloned only to have their organs harvested in early adulthood.

The whole time, I couldn't help but wonder why on earth the characters would not just run away? Once they knew their allotted purpose in life and once they left the preparatory school they grew up in, what kept them from running off into the world and establishing an alternate identification? It's rather clear that they, as clones, have the same feelings that "originals" have and the same need to find a place in the world so why would they conform to a system that suppresses everything.

They take pride in successfully donating, often measuring how well they have done after their first or second or even third donation (one thing that confused me is that it was never addressed which organs were being donated because in reality that would determine how many donations you survived). They worry about "completing," or dying, but don't seem to fight for living. It's not until the end when Kathy (Carey Mulligan) expresses that "we all complete" that I finally connected with the mentality that allowed these characters to accept their fate so willingly. It's true that we must all accept our inevitable death but personally I couldn't do that unless I knew I gave every shot I had at life.

A key objective for the characters becomes the desire to attain a deferral. The very goal of obtaining a "deferral," which would allow them to put off their organ donations until later in life, proves their want for more than what has been allotted to them. It's frustrating how there seems to be no hint of resistance.While this story probably comes off beautifully on the pages of a book, when you see the characters on screen it's more difficult to not scream for them to do something to fight back! It pains me to say that even Michael Bay's The Island took a similar premise and had its characters fight for survival (no, that doesn't make it a better film).

Never Let Me Go will have you contemplating your mortality in a very thoughtful manner. It's a very interesting coming of age story that for me is simply restrained by an inability to fully buy into the lack of a natural drive for survival. Then again, I suppose one can argue that the characters are clones and therefore don't behave entirely natural, but that's just making up explanations.

Black Swan

"Black Swan" is to Swan Lake what "Shakespeare in Love" is to Romeo and Juliet. In both, we have a character striving to succeed at their art and in the process lives a life that parallels their work. Shakespeare's work became a result of his life (according to the film) but Nina's life results from her work. We are essentially watching an adaptation of Swan Lake with characters that happen to be performing Swan Lake. The story is taken to more depth and explores the idea of obsession, not simply career obsession but an obsession of breaking free from confinement. That is the journey that our heroine embarks on.

Nina is restrained professionally, emotionally, sexually and even physically in many ways. She lives with her mother and sleeps in a room saturated in pink and suffocated by stuffed animals. Her mother (an excellent Barbara Hershey) cares for her as if she is still a teenager. Nina seems to exemplify innocence in every aspect. She is soft spoken and often submissive. Although she says that she is not a virgin, it's reasonable to believe that perhaps she is not entirely truthful on the subject.

Natalie Portman is ideal for this sort of over-the-top performance. Nina is a well of emotions ready to erupt and Portman manages to come off as dramatic but yet subdued. However, Aronofsky is the true star here. His visual style utilizes tight camera work on Portman, disabling our ability to know what's going on around her. It's often dizzying and claustrophobic. We feel lost and absorbed into this world much like our main character. She is career-driven, gradually getting lost in her ambitions, and we are engulfed in that obsession with her.

Additionally, we get a fascinating glance at the world of ballet and the daily grind that the performers must endure. It's not made out to be something beautiful for Aronofsky doesn't allow us that luxury. It's more of a grueling career and a way to make a living. Any young girls hoping to become ballerinas will likely reconsider if shown "Black Swan."

This is a remarkably intelligent film. Some might be distracted by the elements of horror and sensuality, writing them off as cheap instruments, but they are merely the surface of a film that provides ample beauty in the form of a dark and uncertain world. Like a good ballet, "Black Swan" will leave you replaying the scenes over and over again. Everything builds at an accelerating rate to a finale that will have you on the edge of your seat. The film's final line can be used to describe itself as well: perfection.

TRON: Legacy

The first TRON, while severely dated as it shows a world of a command-line interface system, manages to remain timeless for its portrayal of how that world would operate. I can watch it now and still find myself dazzled at the workings of the system and the thought put into the physics of it all. Legacy will not live up to its name and provide the same snapshot of its time that its predecessor did. Instead it aims towards loftier themes and the affection of a father-son dynamic.

There is a lot of fun to be had here. That clean, sleek-looking digital environment is thrilling to look at and Daft Punk's score brilliantly provides ample energy and emotion. The light cycles get an appropriate upgrade but overall this universe seems to be more of a throw back to the 1982 TRON world than it is a re-visioning of our current digitally saturated world. Pieces of the universe that were previously assigned a purpose seem to exist now only because we are already familiar with them.

The commentary on technology has been replaced with that of the human existence and finding perfection in the imperfect. In TRON we were given a specific and exhilarating objective for the protagonists to achieve and we watched as they fought for it. But here the ultimate goal is more cloudy and much less grandiose. Too many uncertainties arise in regards to the details of this revamped universe, but as always life is simpler if we just remain ignorant. Though the script doesn't necessarily work, the filmmaking is fairly superb and the final scene offers a nice moment and more literary conclusion than the first film.

The Oscar for Visual Effects has, to me, has always been the most fun and fascinating category as it correlates directly with technological advancements in the industry, but 2009 is a difficult year to top after the game-changer that was "Avatar." TRON: Legacy though seems to be the best contender for the award this year (an achievement the original failed to make) with "Alice in Wonderland" perhaps being the main competition. Beyond this deserved recognition and some likely nods for the sound department (and maybe the score if their lucky?) this movie will not make its mark in history like TRON did.

If there is to be a sequel, as there are plans for one, it needs to be much sooner than 28 years from now or else the superficial thrill will wear off. I'm thinking it already has.

The Fighter

David O. Russell pulls off many great achievements with this new flick portraying a dysfunctional urban family. The pacing is inspired, the shots and edits done with intent and the moments of emotional interest deliver quite potently.

Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a "fighter" not just in the ring, but within his own family. He has to look out for his own interests and, at times, must resist aide from those that he loves. Unfortunately, his character seems to be doing much less fighting than the females around him (who end up in a full-fledged brawl on the front porch). Ward's ascent to the title has been described as "Rocky-like" but Rocky went through personal anguish to achieve his objectives whereas Ward seems to arrive at the title somehow via a much more passive rout. He faces many troubles from outside forces, but very few internal ones.

The cast are the real heavyweights here. I'm tempted to claim that they deserve to take home the SAG award for ensemble cast. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo deliver earnest portrayals of two women fighting for presence in one man's life (one as a girlfriend and the other as a mother) and Christian Bale will win this year's supporting actor Oscar for embodying the persona of not just the crack addicted man he is directly portraying, but the manner in which a person who has been consumed by something self-destructive responds to the world around him.

While I tremendously enjoyed myself nearly the entire duration of the film, the most substantial flaw came with the flat finale. Much of the conflict was less focused on Ward's boxing matches and more on his family. Indeed, I'm willing to go as far as saying that I really did not care nearly as much about the results of Ward's fights as much as I did about the outcome of his family's altercations.

However, our story wraps up with its focus on the boxing without even hinting at how the conflicts between the featured individuals will play out. This is a family whose personalities will lend to ongoing, cyclical turmoil (whether their real lives played out in that manner, I'm not sure, but that's the impression here). The suggested assumption by the end seems to be that everything is fine and dandy, but a discerning viewer knows better yet isn't given anything to chew on. The movie has much to say, but it doesn't all seem to come out.

The Social Network

You may very well enjoy this film immensely when you see it but you're likely to question its rave reviews for it does not launch an emotional catalyst one normally expects from something claiming to be the best of the year. To those who don't understand the praise bestowed upon this film, I say see it again. And again. And perhaps again. Like any art that is truly treasured it presents itself with time.

Comparisons have been made to "Citizen Kane" as both portray a driven and brilliant individual living out the American Dream but yet coming to a point where the things that once meant a great deal to them (in the case of Zuckerberg, his friends) get lost in the process. A character named Erica Albright (supposedly based off a real life person) is given significant emotional weight with the character of Zuckerberg (a liberty taken by the filmmakers) and eventually becomes his "rosebud".

This is a movie that will go down in American cinema history more for its enthralling content matter but yet the filmmaking is the best of the year. Like "Kane," it's not visually flashy. It's relatively simple in its approach but very creative and extremely meticulous. Like most great films of this time period, it's much more of an exercise in editing than photography. Could any other director besides Fincher have handled this material more perfectly? He has been described as a multitasking filmmaker with an extremely acute attention given to every aspect of this art form. What better director to tackle a guy like Mark Zuckerberg?

Aaron Sorkin is an immensely skilled writer that has been overdue for an recognition from the Academy for quite some time. He describes himself as a writer who enjoys dialogue. He mentions seeing the play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" at a young age and not knowing really what's going on but just simply enjoying the rhythm of the dialogue. This movie proves his ability to match anyone when it comes to dialogue. His structure is impeccable as it creates parallel sets of events focusing on the same plot. Many people will be turned off by the non-linear approach as it avoids the usual climax but it couldn't have been made in any other way and have been so smooth.

I'm reminded of a quote from the film "Easy A" earlier this year referencing facebook with the question: "I don't know what it is with your generation's need to document everything?"... but yet we do. "The Social Network" is a movie that defines where we are in our culture and where we are heading. Countless analysis will be written in coming years of the multitude of dynamics at play here: the rise of the underdog, the nerd vs. the jocks, the portrayal of the traditional academic world of the east coast vs. the hip and modern west coast, the countless ethical views, etc.

Perhaps the material is too new and current to really be appreciated right now. People expect great films to be of far off places during times long ago but what they don't realize is that all of this going on right underneath our noses and Fincher has captured it on film for future generations to appreciate. Like "Citizen Kane," time will place it amongst the greatest American films.

127 Hours

True achievement in filmmaking comes when you just can't imagine a movie being made any way other than what it was. 127 Hours is one of a few films this year that can make such a claim.

I would not go as far as saying that Boyle did the impossible by making a film about a man stuck in one spot for nearly the entire time. Yes it might seem static in terms of geography and character population but the dynamic of a man fighting for survival is powerful. There are numerous factors at play here. It's not as if Aaron Ralston simply sat there and did nothing for the entire time. This story is like a war for it's made up of individual battles each with its own level of intensity. One particularly strenuous moment has Aaron (James Franco) attempting to retrieve the knife he has dropped a few feet below him.

Boyle makes the movie a very subjective experience. Every sensation that this character experiences can be felt in the audience. He doesn't just photograph Aaron trying to get the last drop of water out of his bottle. He sticks the camera in the bottle and shows us Aaron's tongue emerging from a chasm in need of nourishment, flailing for the last possible drop.

The structure is appropriate and utilizes flashbacks carefully. A couple of the scenes that we see aren't seen in any context nor do we ever find out the context. All we see is what we need to see to know how Aaron is feeling. Some moments are fused with quirky and yet heart-breaking humor that enhances the dramatic value of the movie. Sure, eventually an arm gets cut off, but to walk away from this movie with that in the forefront of your mind is to miss the entire point.

Boyle's direction out does that of his Oscar-winning work in Slumdog Millionaire by celebrating one man's desire to live and making a movie filled with life itself. Unfortunately, it seems the more limited scope of this project will prevent it from getting the same sort of deserved attention.

Tangled

I was hooked from the prologue. Whatever I had going on in life as I walked into this movie just melted away when I found myself along for this delightful ride as the combination of the Rapunzel tale with mythical elements is downright enchanting. Much like in "Beauty and the Beast," the premise here is immediately laid out and hints precisely at where we are going but gives you a thrilling sensation at the dramatic possibilities.

In keeping the tradition of a princess in distress, the team from Disney appropriately swaps the roles of the female and male from the Brothers Grimm tale and creates an Anastasia-like twist with the lore of a lost princess. It doesn't satirize fairy tales in the cliched manner that has become popular since "Shrek," but instead offers a fresh blend of modern humor and traditional charm. The lengthy hair is given appropriate attention and a worthy purpose to further the story.

At $260 million this is easily the most expensive animated film to date (in fact it has the 2nd highest budget of any film behind only the third Pirates of the Caribbean) but boy howdy did the animation for that golden, magical hair look astonishing! I was skeptical when I read of the filmmakers' intention to create the look of a traditional hand-drawn film within a CGI environment but it seems to have prevailed handsomely as the result is reminiscent of the hand-painted work done eons ago.

This studio is alive and is beginning to once again make its contributions to the art of animation. After basing their previous success mostly on spectacle and charm, they'll have to do some catching up to get their scripts up to the level of narrative structure and character development that Pixar has risen to, but these last two outings give me hope in their potential. (Next year will be a down year for Pixar with "Cars 2," a very unnecessary sequel. Can "Winnie the Pooh" get Disney its first Animated Feature Oscar?)

For the price Disney paid, they should hope to gain a few Annie awards or something to validate the wonderful work they have done here because they aren't going to win the Academy Award over Pixar's climatic Toy Story finale. Although do expect the legendary Alan Menken to add another nod (statuette maybe?) to his resume in the Original Song category.