24 Hours: Steve Jobs

After From Dusk Til Dawn 3, Planet Terror, Dunkin' Donuts and the gym it was off to west Los Angeles for a screening of Shame: Apple Edition aka Steve Jobs at the Landmark. Here's a tip, don't park in the theater side structure on a Saturday, it was a frigging mess. Go a few feet down Pico to the main mall lot and simply cross the street or bridge. We were a few minutes early and checked out the upstairs bar for a cider and glass of wine, respectively. They have light bites but if you're in the mood for food, the area has lot of options like the Westside Tavern, Gyu-Kaku, Islands, an Indian restaurant I once saw Goldie Hawn at (no Kurt though) and gastropub The Gulp within walking distance. Playing in a handful of spots in LA and New York, Steve Jobs like Sicario before it is an early awards hopeful. Based on the book by Walter Isaacson and adapted by Aaron Sorkin, Danny Boyle's Jobs takes a unique approach to a bio pic by studying it's subject via several lengthy scenes set backstage at three product launches in 1984, 1988 and 1998. Michael Fassbender plays the legendary Jobs with Kate Winslet, Seth Rogan and Jeff Daniels as his right hand woman, former partner and former boss.

I can't say I know too much about Steve Jobs beyond that he was a very public figure lauded for his insight and vision as well as his less than rosy social skills. Apple is an unstoppable juggernaut in the technology world but comes off as a bit of a cult to me. You have one of their leaders talking about wanting to help the environment yet have you ever seen how much packaging comes from a pair of earbuds or an adapter? Then he called the film opportunistic which Sorkin countered that Apple pays Chinese workers pennies an hour in horrid conditions to make products that are sold at premium prices. But the Jobs did help make Pixar what it is which in turn cemented Tim Allen's legacy so hey, raise a glass to love your past. Through the three main scenes with flashbacks sometimes happening at the same time, you get a simple yet thorough ideal of the person Jobs is, at least the version the movie would have you believe. I had no clue he was adopted and knew nothing about his rocky relationship with his daughter and her mom. It's little human touches that like that break him down to a basic level you could relate to which at the same time made me wonder how much of it was actually true. Fassbender is one of my favorite modern actors and does a superb job here of playing Jobs through the eras as driven and intelligent but also a bit of an asshole because he wants things to be perfect. Dialog is unsurprisingly crisp throughout and Boyle's editing and use of music keeps talky things going so I was never wondering what time or drifting off.

Early iterations had David Fincher directing with Christian Bale starring which would have been  something as I think Bale would have transformed himself into Jobs more so than the Fass did. Leonardo DiCaprio was courted for a time but I honestly don't think he would have been the best choice. In these early award days, I'll give Fassbender an edge over Sicario's Benicio Del Toro. We'll see what Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks give us next week with Bridge of Spies.

2014 Cinema Round Up

Movies cost more to make and attend than ever.  Each of the six major studios crossed the billion dollar gross line but attendance slid to 1.2 billion admissions.  That's just above 1995 numbers.  3D upcharges, reboots, remakes, sequels, everything being based on something else, the so called rise of television, video games, no one will ever know what will please audiences.  Luckily I just like movies and saw dozens of them in the theater this year.  New ones, old ones, good ones, shitty ones, seeing a movie in the theater is still the best way to experience a film in my opinion as you have nothing to do but watch the movie.  Unless you're an asshole on a phone then I'm giving you to the count of 0.  Sometimes dealing with rude patrons is enough to make you not want to check out the cinema but being in Los Angeles where movies are such a key to the infrastructure, you tend to be able to get through most flicks without telling someone to go outside and seeing if their response is going to be compliance or getting into it.  I'm fine with either one.

In no order, some of the flicks I enjoyed this year:

Sabotage: "Look at you with your fucking 48% body fat!"
Arnold in a mature, raw, ridiculous action thriller.  David Ayer's street, bro-down style makes little sense but I loved it and told Sam Worthington so in person.

Snowpiercer: "I know what people taste like. I know that babies taste best." 
Crazy, sad, visual, violent, funny. Oh them Koreans and their post apocalyptic, 99% VS the 1% on a train tales. 

Frank: "Ginger crouton!"
Not so much a movie but more a sad/funny/weird experience about fitting in and mental health.  Michael Fassbender wearing a paper mache helmet for 95% of the running time shows you what kind of actor he is.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier: "It's real!"
Marvel again knocks it out of the park, giving audiences fun times without really challenging the genre and treating movies like television.

The Lego Movie: "Spaceship!"
One of the few kiddie movies I saw this year but uber cute, funny with a killer cast and interesting core message of everything being awesome.

Interstellar: "You don't believe we went to the moon?"
Something to be experienced and felt, in your heart from the emotions and your chest from the big ass sound system.  It's not a documentary so don't analyze it as such.  Otherwise I can punch holes in Guardians all day but since people had fun with it they don't think to nitpick it.

The Expendables 3: "I'll open up your meat shirt and show you your own heart."
Saw this thing 3 times in as many days.  Modern, sleek and entertaining it's less serious than I and not as weird goofy as II.  Gave up hope on a "good" Expendables movie after the first one and just went for the ride.  Wondering how it's failure will effect a potential fourth chapter.

Nightcrawler: "You're a lifetime too late!" and "Twerp."
One of the surprises of the year, funny, creepy and messed up Los Angeles movie about shock media and journalism.  Jake G is slowly turning me into a fan. Bill Paxton showing up always a plus.

Birdman: "I'm gonna crab up on your ass and choke you out!"
Beautiful, bizarre, Broadway.  Michael Keaton and Edward Norton are terrific.

Fury: "Best job I ever had."
David Ayer second appearance! Violent, brutal bromance of a World War II tank flick. Brad Pitt still has it.

The Almost Pacific Rim but Not Quite Award:  Edge of Tomorrow
Tom Cruise has yet to make a bad movie and this big sci-fi, time leaping, alien invasion romp is a lot of fun if a little repetitive.  Bill Paxton again.

Whoda Thunk: Let's Be Cops
Actually quite funny buddy action comedy with consistent laughs on a low budget and expectations.  Those New Girl guys are good together.

Surprised People Liked It So Much: John Wick
The moody, violent action flick was a nice run from Keanu Reeves but I honestly can't believe people liked the hitman flick as much as they let on. 

Almost Good But Not Quite: Robocop & Godzilla
Samuel L. Jackson opened and closed the Robo remake with gusto but in between it was pretty uneven and Joel Kinnaman ain't no Peter Weller, bro.  His faux Detroit tough guy turned lobotomized cyborg did nothing for me while Godzilla was hardly in his own movie and we're left with uninteresting human characters doing uninteresting things.  Godzilla was probably the biggest let down of the year.

Just Didn't Get It:
The Raid 2 - Amazing action yet mean spirited, overlong with a simple story that doesn't justify the running time.  Cut it down from 130 to 90 minutes and I'm sure there's a classic inside.
Gone Girl - A big budget Lifetime movie where serious adult actors utter "cool girl".
Lucy- Along with 3 Days to Kill shows that Luc Besson and company have an interesting method to crafting would be action movies but become a little too abstract while not sticking to their own made up rules.
Into the Woods - Beautiful yet boring, maybe if you like musicals.

Fall Flicks: Frank

"Ginger crouton!" "I have a certificate!" "Big, non-threatening grin!"

Magnolia Pictures is one of the most interesting distributors working today, putting out awesome foreign films like samurai action tale 13 Assassins, small scale genre flick Monsters, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren franchise chapter Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Thomas Jane's adult drama I Melt With You and their latest, the seemingly oddball comedy Frank.  Magnolia usually launches films on Video On Demand before securing a few theatrical playdates in random cities then producing special feature heavy DVDs and Blu-Rays.  Not having seen a trailer for Frank, the only thing I knew of the film was that it starred Michael Fassbender wearing a giant paper mache head.  The official synopsis speaks of a young would-be musician who joins a band led by the eccentric and enigmatic Frank.  What actually follows can't be classified as a good or bad film per se but a weird, funny and sad journey/experience. 

Domhnall Gleeson (About Time) plays Jon, a young man struggling to write music while working a boring office job.  With 14 Twitter followers to his name, Jon comes across Soronprfbs, an indie band managed by Don (Scoot McNairy) that includes members Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Baraque (Francois Civil) and Nana (Carla Azar).  When their keyboard player can no longer continue, Don invites Jon to join them that night at a show where we're introduced to Soronprf's unique if not crowd pleasing sound and their front man; the big, fake head wearing and wetsuit clad Frank.  The show goes south quickly but Soronprfs is about to record an album and Jon is invited to join.  Staying at a remote cabin in Ireland, the band goes through bizarre rituals to try and capture the perfect sound.  We learn that Don met Frank in a mental institute, observe Clara's love for Frank and disdain for Jon while the newest band member documents the band's weird and random activities on YouTube and begins to gain a following.

It's hard to discuss the film without getting more into the story which would be a bit spoiler heavy.  So let's just say that the film takes a look at some real issues that effect the lives of millions without actually commenting on them or offering solutions.  Sometimes you just have to let things be the way they are.  As Jon gets deeper into the band, mesmerized by Frank's strange yet apparent talent and his own dreams of success, a simple yet familiar story of the grass maybe not being so green on the other side comes into play.  What was interesting about Frank was that director Kenny Abrahamson with writers Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan made sure you didn't know which way things were going to go but the end result is more or less satisfying as the journey has taken you from point A to Y back to D etc in short order without cheating the audience.  While the film is about a band and there's lot of cues, there isn't an actual soundtrack at play here waiting for you to buy afterwards.  Listening to the one full length track, "I Love You All" outside the confines of the film loses much of it's effectiveness but the film stayed with me for a couple of days.

"Here it is, my most likeable song, ever."