Film Review: "Flight" (2013).

"The FAA and the NTSB took 10 pilots, placed them in simulators, recreated the events that led to this plane falling out of the sky. Do you know how many of them were able to safely land the planes? Not one. Every pilot crashed the aircraft, killed everybody on board. You were the only one who could do it!" Which is what is happening in Flight. This drama film directed and co-produced by Robert Zemeckis. The film's plot revolves around an airline pilot, Captain William 'Whip' Whitaker, who saves a plane from crashing and 96 out of the 102 people on board. But an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.

Robert Zemeckis entered negotiations to direct in April 2011, and by early June had accepted, with Denzel Washington about to finalize his own deal. It marked the first time Zemeckis and Washington worked together on a motion picture. By mid-September 2011, Kelly Reilly was in negotiations to play the female lead, with Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, and John Goodman joining later in the month, and Melissa Leo and James Badge Dale in final negotiations. Screenwriter John Gatins said in early October 2011 that production would begin mid-month. Flight was largely filmed on location near Atlanta, Georgia, over 45 days in November 2011. The film's relatively small budget of $31 million, which Zemeckis later calculated was his smallest budget in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1980, was due to tax rebates from Georgia and from Zemeckis and Washington having waived their customary fees. Gatins explained in a 2012 interview with the Los Angeles Times that the dramatic fictional crash depicted in Flight was "loosely inspired" by the 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which was caused by a broken jackscrew. That crash had no survivors. The airplane in Flight, a two-engine T-tail jet airliner, appears to be from the same model family as Alaska Airlines 261, a variant of the MD-80. Many elements are lifted from the accident into the film, such as the cause of the accident, segments of the radio communication and the decision to invert the airplane.

The film stars Denzel Washington, with Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly, and Melissa Leo. The performances in this film were all spectacular, Washington had portrayed one of his meatiest, most complex roles since American Gangster (2007), and he flies with it. Cheadle, along with Greenwood, gave solid and confident roles as Whitaker's confidants and moral compasses. Goodman gave an incredibly humorous performance as Whitaker's drug-crazed and 'hippie' friend. Reilly gave an incredibly warm and solid performance as Whitaker's tortured drug addicted love interest. Finally Leo, even though a small role, gave a strong and intimidating performance during the film's trial scene.

Flight is an engrossing story, told smoothly and well. It is one of the most intelligent dramas in years. The film absolutely works due to its emphasis on the human elements of the story, with an incredibly complex performance by Washington.

Simon says Flight receives:

Film Review: "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012).

The tagline of the film reads "The greatest manhunt in history", which is what you should brace yourselves for in Zero Dark Thirty. This historical drama film directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Billed as "the story of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man", the film is a dramatization of the chronicle of the decade-long United States man-hunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda terrorist group, after the September 2001 attacks. And how he was found and killed at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.

Osama bin Laden, the founder and head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 am local time by Navy S.E.A.L.s of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group (also known as 'DEVGRU' or 'S.E.A.L. Team Six'). The operation, code-named 'Operation Neptune Spear', was carried out in a Central Intelligence Agency-led operation. In addition to 'DEVGRU', participating units included the U.S. Army Special Operations Command's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) and C.I.A. operatives. The raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, was launched from Afghanistan. After the raid, U.S. forces took bin Laden's body to Afghanistan for identification, then buried it at sea within 24 hours of his death. Al-Qaeda confirmed the death on May 6 with posts made on militant websites, vowing to avenge the killing. Other Pakistani militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also vowed retaliation against the U.S. and against Pakistan for not preventing the operation. Bin Laden's killing was generally favorably received by U.S. public opinion; was welcomed by the United Nations, N.A.T.O., the European Union, and a large number of governments; but was condemned by some, including Fidel Castro of Cuba and Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamasadministration of the Gaza Strip. Legal and ethical aspects of the killing, such as his not being taken alive despite being unarmed, were questioned by others, including Amnesty International. Also controversial was the decision to not release any photographic or DNA evidence of bin Laden's death to the public.

It stars Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, and Édgar Ramírez. All the performance were all brilliantly portrayed by the cast. But the one actor - whose performance - stood out the most and drove the film entirely was Jessica Chastain. Her performance is not built on complex speeches but on a visceral projection of who this woman is and what she feels. She is not a hero in a conventional sense. Her single-minded ferocity and stubbornness not only prove essential in the hunt, but also make up the emotional through line that engages us in the story.

A well-acted, intensely shot, action filled war epic, Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty is thus far the best of the recent dramatizations of modern battle of good and evil. It is a great film, an intelligent film, a film shot clearly so that we know exactly who everybody is and where they are and what they're doing and why.

Simon says Zero Dark Thirty receives:

Film Review: "Lincoln" (2012).

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." A passage from President Lincoln’s second inaugural speech sums up the essence and theme of Lincoln. This American historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Lincoln, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and is set during the American Civil War and President Lincoln's tumultuous final months in office and his life. The country is divided by the war and, as the carnage on the battlefields continues, the president focuses his efforts on a course of action designed to end the fighting. At the same time, he is on a collision course with many members of his own cabinet in his bid to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and abolish slavery by the United States House of Representatives. He needs the courage and determination to push through with his plans at a critical moment in American history that will change the course forever in January 1865

Lincoln features an ensemble cast of Daniel Day-Lewis as President Abraham Lincoln, Sally Field as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Gloria Reuben as Elizabeth Keckley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln, David Strathairn as Secretary of State William H. Seward, Bruce McGill as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Tommy Lee Jones as Radical Republican Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens, Hal Holbrook as Francis Preston Blair, Michael Stuhlbarg as Kentucky Democratic Congressman George Yeaman, James Spader as Republican Party operative William N. Bilbo, Tim Blake Nelson as lobbyist Richard Schell, Jackie Earle Haley as Confederate States Vice President Alexander H. Stephens and Jared Harris as Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Day-Lewis' performance was phenomenal, the hallmark of the man, performed so powerfully by Day-Lewis is calm, self-confidence, patience and a willingness to play politics in a realistic way. Lincoln's concern about his wife's emotional instability and the strains of a wartime presidency... produce a portrait that is intimate but also decorous, drawn with extraordinary sensitivity and insight and focused, above all, on Lincoln's character as a politician. Doris Kearns Goodwin described Lincoln in his final months as a leader with "the rare wisdom of a temperament that consistently displayed an uncommon magnanimity to those who opposed him". Producer Kathleen Kennedy described Day-Lewis's performance as "remarkable" after 75% of the filming had been completed, and said, "Every day you get the chills thinking that Lincoln is sitting there right in front of you."

Lincoln is one of Spielberg’s best film since Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. It’s brilliantly acted, written, directed and shot. The film will take its place in cultural history and remain there for all time. Due to it’s narrative boldness, visual audacity, and emotional directness. One of the best films of the year!

Simon says Lincoln receives:

Also, see my review for War Horse.

Film Review: "The Impossible" (2012).

"In 2004, a devastating tsunami hit Southeast Asia. This is one family's true story of survival. Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit." This is the story of The Impossible. This disaster drama film directed by J. A. Bayona, written by Sergio G. Sánchez, and based on the experience of María Belón and her family in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry, and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.

By mid August 2010, Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, and Geraldine Chaplin were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in late February 2011. Filming took place in Phang Nga, Thailand, and at Ciudad de la Luz studios (City of Light studios) in Alicante, Spain. The tsunami was recreated with a mixture of digital effects and real water surges filmed in slow motion created in a water tank in Spain using miniatures that were destroyed by a huge wave. Bayona committed to working with real water rather than a computer-generated wave because he wanted the story to be authentic. This meant Watts and Holland spent five weeks filming physically and psychologically demanding scenes in a massive water tank. Holland later described it as a "scary environment ...You can imagine how tiring and brutal that was." Watts was strapped in a rotating chair. While filming, Watts couldn't hold her breath any longer and she gave the 'stop' sign. Instead of stopping, the chair started spinning the other way around. Later it was revealed that it was a technical error and Watts stated that she felt very scared and hated the chair for that reason. The crew filmed partially on location at the actual resort where the Belon family was vacationing when the tsunami hit. For the tsunami destruction scenes, a scaled model of the resort was used. The scene could only be filmed once. It would have cost too much money to rebuild the set. It took a year to put together the ten-minute sequence, a recreation of the moment the wave came crashing down on the luxury hotel in Khao Lak. The actual family served as consultants and were present during the whole shooting process. Many of the extras were actual survivors of the tsunami.

The cast deliver great performances that traps the viewers attention, making a film that revisits the tropes of the genre seen many times in blockbuster films, but with all the elements of independent cinema.

Well-acted and blessed with a refreshingly humanistic focus, The Impossible is a disaster film that makes uncommonly smart use of disaster film clichés.

Simon says The Impossible receives:

Film Review: "Django Unchained" (2012).

"'How do you like the bounty hunting business?' 'Kill white people and get paid for it? What's not to like?'" Which is what this outrageous film called Django Unchained is all about! This American epic western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Set in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West, the film follows a freed slave, Django, who is trained and treks across the United States with a bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz, on a mission to rescue his wife from a cruel and charismatic plantation owner, Calvin Candie.

The title Django Unchained alludes to the titles of the aforementioned 1966 Corbucci film Django, as well to Hercules Unchained – the American title for the 1959 Italian epic fantasy film Ercole e la regina di Lidia, which deals with the a mythical hero’s escape from enslavement to a wicked master – and to Angel Unchained – the 1970 American biker film that deals with a biker exacting revenge on a large group ofrednecks. Django Unchained is the third feature film in cinema history to use the title convention of a proper noun followed by the expression, "unchained".

In 2007, Quentin Tarantino, speaking with The Daily Telegraph, discussed an idea for a form of spaghetti western set in America's pre-Civil War Deep South which he called "a southern", stating that he wanted "to do movies that deal with America's horrible past with slavery and stuff but do them like spaghetti westerns, not like big issue movies. I want to do them like they're genre films, but they deal with everything that America has never dealt with because it's ashamed of it, and other countries don't really deal with because they don't feel they have the right to." Tarantino later explained the genesis of the idea: "I was writing a book about Sergio Corbucci when I came up with a way to tell the story. One of the things that's fun when you write about subtextual criticism ... you don't have to be right. It doesn't have to be what the director was thinking. It's what you're gathering from it. You're making a case. I was writing about how his movies have this evil Wild West, a horrible Wild West. It was surreal, it dealt a lot with fascism. So I'm writing this whole piece on this, and I'm thinking: 'I don't really know if Sergio was thinking [this] while he was doing this. But I know I'm thinking it now. And I can do it!" Tarantino finished the script on April 26, 2011, and handed in the final draft to The Weinstein Company. In October 2012, frequent Tarantino collaborator RZA said that he and Tarantino had intended to crossover Django Unchained with RZA's Tarantino-presented martial-arts film The Man with the Iron Fists. The crossover would have seen a younger version of RZA's blacksmith character appear as a slave in an auction. However, scheduling conflicts prevented RZA's participation. One inspiration for the film is Sergio Corbucci's 1966 spaghetti western Django, whose star Franco Nero has a cameo in Django Unchained. Another inspiration is the 1975 film Mandingo, about a slave trained to fight other slaves. Tarantino included scenes in the snow as an homage to The Great Silence. "Silenzio takes place in the snow. I liked the action in the snow so much, Django Unchained has a big snow section in the middle", Tarantino said in an interview with The Guardian.

The film stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson. The performances in this film were all spectacularly and outrageously enjoyable. Jamie Foxx as the film's title character gave an incredible performance as the freed African slave turned bounty hunter hellbent to rescue his wife. He owned the screen all the way. Christoph Waltz gave an outrageously humorous performance as former dentist, bounty hunter with a devilish attitude. Definitely worth the Golden Globe award! Leonardo DiCaprio was an outstanding and ruthless villain as Calvin Candie. He hadn't blown me out my chair with a villainous performance since his 1998 film The Man with the Iron Mask. Especially when gives the monologue about old Ben. He’d never been more terrifying. Kerry Washington gave an incredible performance as the film's damsel-in-distress, Broomhilda. Which was amazing for a newcomer to the screen, to my knowledge. And lastly Samuel L. Jackson as Stephen, the film's other villain, was amazing even after four Tarantino collaborations, he is 'good!' It is as though their collaboration are a match made in film heaven. I cannot wait to see more future collaborations between these two.

Leone explained for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) that "the killings in my films are exaggerated because I wanted to make a tongue-in-cheek satire on run-of-the-mill westerns... The west was made by violent, uncomplicated men, and it is this strength and simplicity that I try to recapture in my pictures." Which is exactly what Tarantino has done for this bold, bloody and stylistically daring masterpiece, Django Unchained. A classic Tarantino genre-blending thrill ride, the film is violent, unrestrained, and thoroughly entertaining. It is one of the greatest Western films ever made and it is Tarantino’s finest accomplishment as a filmmaker. As he has proven that Spaghetti Western can still exist in modern cinema, as well as proving that the genre can still be art. Tarantino has made his best movie since Pulp Fiction (1994), and it is one hell of a ride. It is a big, bold, audacious western movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he's the real thing, a director of quixotic delights. The film contains marvellous sense of detail and spectacular set pieces. To conclude, I liked what I saw, and I wanted more!

Simon says Django Unchained receives:

Film Review: "Gangster Squad" (2013).

"Every man carries a badge. Some symbol of his allegiance. His were the scars of a boxer who'd used his fists to climb the social ladder of the mob. A Jew who'd gained the respect of wops through a homicidal lust. He'd sworn an oath of violence. And his master? His own insatiable will to power. He wanted to own this town. His name was Mickey Cohen." This is the premise of Gangster Squad. This crime film directed by Ruben Fleischer, from a screenplay written by Will Beall based on the novel Tales from the Gangster Squad by Paul Lieberman. Based on the story of LAPD officers and detectives forming a secret group called the "Gangster Squad unit", led by two determined sergeants work together, who attempt to keep Los Angeles safe from Mickey Cohen, who runs the city, and his gang during 1949.

The first trailer for Gangster Squad was released on May 9, 2012. In the wake of the mass shooting at a theater in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, the trailer was pulled from most theaters running before films and airing on television, and removed from Apple's trailer site and YouTube due to a scene in which characters shoot submachine guns at moviegoers through the screen of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. It was later reported that the theater scene from the film would be either removed, or placed in a different setting since it is a crucial part of the film, and the film would undergo additional re-shoots of several scenes to accommodate these changes. This resulted in the release of Gangster Squad being delayed. About a week after the shootings in Aurora, Warner officially confirmed that the film would be released on January 11, 2013, bumped from the original September 7, 2012 release date. Two weeks later, on August 22, the cast reunited in Los Angeles to completely re-shoot the main action sequence of the film. The new scene was set in Chinatown where the Gangster Squad comes into open conflict with the gangsters as they strike back.

The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, and Sean Penn. The performances in this film well generally mixed. The cast gave terrific performances but ultimately the characters were terribly under-developed and forgettable. The two talented actors that disappointed me the most were Emma Stone and Sean Penn. Stone's performance was disappointing because of her under-developed "damsel-in-distress" character had seemed to lack confidence and nostalgia, and I thought that Stone and Gosling had a much better chemistry in Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) but in this film it curdles into lukewarm mush. Penn's performance was just as laughable as his silly looking make up.

Gangster Squad goes about its business without a trace of finesse. The film fails in the end. The best of the old noir crime dramas had lively pacing and crisp tough-guy dialogue. This movie seems at times like an exercise in slow motion and in dull, cumbersome writing.

Simon says Gangster Squad receives:

Film Review: "The Master" (2012).

From the director of There Will Be Blood comes The Master. This psychological drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film centres on Freddie, a World War II veteran, who is unable to deal with the post-war society. However, when he comes across a religious movement known as The Cause, he finds solace in it.

In December 2009, it was first reported that Anderson has been working on a script about the founder of a new religious organization (based on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology). According to an associate of Anderson stated that the idea for the film had been in Anderson's head for about twelve years. The idea for the film came to him after reading a quote that periods after wars are productive times for spiritual movements to start. Unsure of the direction the script would take, Anderson began writing it as a collection of disparate scenes, rather than one coherent outline. He combined unused scenes from early drafts of There Will Be Blood (2007), John Huston's Let There Be Light (1946), elements from the life stories of John Steinbeck and from Thomas Pynchon's novel V., and stories Jason Robards had told him on the set of Magnolia (1999) about his drinking days in the U.S. Navy during World War II (including the draining of ethanol from a torpedo). Anderson conducted research about Dianetics and its early followers. Anderson has stated that he wanted Hoffman to play Lancaster Dodd from the film's inception, and that he also had Joaquin Phoenix in mind for the part of Freddie Quell. While writing, Anderson sought Hoffman's feedback on the script, with Hoffman suggesting the film focus more on Freddie's story than Lancaster's. After the film was dropped by Universal and failed to pick up a distributor, Anderson did several months of rewrites. By early June 2011, Phoenix and Hoffman were confirmed to star with Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Ambyr Childers, Rami Malek, and Jesse Plemons rounding out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in early September. Filming took place throughout California and in O'ahu, Hawaii. The film was shot on 65 mm film using the Panavision System 65 camera in the 1.85: 1 aspect ratio. It was the first fiction film to be shot in 65mm since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996).

The film stars Phoenix, Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Ambyr Childers, Rami Malek, and Jesse Plemons. The performances by the cast, especially by Phoenix and Hoffman, are a mesmerizing meditation on the American spirit in all its maddening ambiguities: mean and noble, angry and secretive, hypocritical and more than a little insane in its aspirations.

Widely touted as a masterpiece, this sparse and sprawling epic about the underhanded 'heroes' of faith boasts incredible performances by leads Phoenix and Hoffman, and is director Paul Thomas Anderson's best work to date. It is one of the most wholly original American movies ever made. The film was so good that it's making me rethink those last four PTA features.

Simon says The Master receives: