Inside Llewyn Davis

on the last 15 minutes of the movie--I think there is the glass-half-full view that he was turning things around---the movie poster about the journey, the kind encounter with Jean and the "i love you", the apology and kindness to the Columbia professor couple. Then there is the glass-half-empty view that he is on a hamster wheel of bad decisions, meanness and burned bridges that he cannot, because of himself, get off of. And guys like that don't make it. Perhaps unless you are a talent for the ages....like the Dylan insert. The narrative device that the Coen Brothers employed put their character back on the hamster wheel. With the movie's last words was he saying goodbye to folk music, or goodbye to who he had become? Most likely it's neither. Or both. Regardless, the reason that this debate of meaning is possible is because these changes (if they exist) and shifts of perspective were done with great subtlety. 99% of movies tell us how to feel. Sitting here right now 1 hour after the movie I think this might be the Coen Brothers best. Certainly their most restrained. They even got a non-caricatured performance out of John Goodman.

The Wolf of Wall Street

I cannot figure out what Scorsese has done here. It is a Scorsese movie--the cinematic momentum, the banter, the what-makes-me-live-also-makes-me-die themes---but it is the most undisciplined Scorsese movie I can think of. Scenes that get lost in absurdity. The movie is long and is its subject’s match in gluttony and abuse of power. All I can think is that Scorsese recognized this and made a movie that is its subject--long, crazed, and so over the top that it makes us uncomfortable. An indulgent movie about indulgence. I’m probably giving it too much credit.

12 Years a Slave

By 12 years this is the best movie of the alotted Oscar Movies. and it is not even close. On the level of emotional and political art, I should qualify, as Gravity deserves technical merits.  where to start? the images are strong...the juxtaposition of the opening shot line-of-slaves image with the free-black-man in free atire; the churning of the paddle-boat wheel’s human purchasing machinery ; our main character literally tiptoeing for his life as the slave world moves on around him. Moving on and not considering what is really happening is what these characters have to do to survive. and this movie shows that off--ignore and you will live. This is a disturbing truth, and what our main character deals with the entire movie. Uncompromising, deliberate, forceful, unapologetic. The movie tells us that this was a horrible past, and that we need to see that, recognize that, and deal with that. But we also need to move on and liberate that. The final spoken lines of the movie, from Soloman Northup’s wife upon hearing her husband apologize for being 12 years a slave “there is nothing to forgive” tells us that we cannot account for the atrocities, the level of horror. We must acknowledge and learn from it, but then make peace. This movie can be that catharsis.

Nebraska

The movie Nebraska doesn’t hit like a ton of bricks. Almost everything about it, from the title sequence to Bruce Dern’s performance to the final scene, is subtle. And it wasn’t until the day after watching it, as I was explaining the movie to my family, that I really felt the total impact of the film.

The underlying premise of the movie is the strained relationship of a son (and his mom and older brother) with his elderly father who is battling ‘old age’ (whether it’s dementia or Alzheimer’s, we’re never quite clear) and a life-long drinking issue – which he doesn’t think is an issue. “Beer ain’t drinkin’.” As family members talk about the dad like he’s not there, I couldn’t help but think about my own dad, who is mentally and physically healthy but turned 71 the day I saw the movie, and my father-in-law who died from complications due to dementia in 2012.

Watching the family’s struggles made me think, “How would I handle this?” Would I think it a nuisance? Or would I take some sort of action, like the compliance of Will Forte’s character? It also made me wonder how much the father really was there, as he seems to get what he actually wants by the end of the film.

Two things from the movie were not subtle: the cinematography, and the one-liners from supporting actress, June Squibb… both nominated for Academy Awards. The black and white scenes showing the contrast between the beauty of the countryside and the starkness of the town play a big part in the film. And June’s straight-talking character of Kate Grant adds comic levity and color to a bleak situation. In the end, even the love she has for her husband is shown in a subtle gesture.

Gravity, Dallas Buyers Club

with the future and outer space represented, it was nice to settle into good ol' texas. Gravity is obviously an effect landmark. it was interesting how un-3D the 3D looked. and i liked that. it was subtle and did not get in the way of the action or be the action. nice how water on earth became her space and nearly took her out. it should have. rising from the ashes was a little much. meanwhile, mcconaughey seemingly dropped in from outer space and carried a reasonably good movie on his back. but it wasn't just the weight. it was his energy and recklessness, and the subtle ways in which his character and his prejudices evolved. he deserves all of the accolades. jennifer gardner was out of place here. the pleated pants were not enough to frump her down.

Her

I saw it a week ago, and Her gets better with age. it has hung with me. the inventive next logical steps in what we have embarked upon keep me thinking and wondering how close we are to that reality. and the 30 minute segment where Phoenix and samantha are becoming friends, where she best him out into the world, talking, laughing, smiling,  is the best part of the movie. to me more affirming than anything at the end. and Jonze's creation of the future world was beautifully analog, no CGI. the more i think about it the more i feel that S Johansson as the voice was the wrong choice. we all know that voice and what that voice looks like and to me that confuses the questions of attraction, friendship and love.