Footloose

Director: Craig Brewer
Writers: Craig Brewer, Dean Pitchford
Starring: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough
Release Date: October 14, 2011
Length: 1 hour 53 minutes

    It has been twenty seven years since Kevin Bacon gave us number after number of never ending sweat in the enjoyable teen dance classic Footloose, and now director Craig Brewer has given us a remake with a whole lot of the same movie.

    Replacing Bacon is the professional dancer Kenny Wormald as the troubled Ren McCormack from Boston, who moves in with his aunt and uncle in the small town of Bomont, Georgia. McCormack, who is a constantly dancing gymnast, is shocked to hear that the town bans dancing and inappropriate music to people under eighteen because of an accident killing five high school seniors on their way back from Prom, five years earlier. The reverend of the town, Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) was the father of one of the kids in the accident and created the new laws with the rest of the city council. Since then, his younger daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough) has turned into a rebellious kid without his knowledge and takes an interest in Ren when he arrives in town. When Ren and Ariel eventually become closer, they come up with the idea of hosting a dance for the senior students of Bomont, but they will have to face the town council, including Ariel’s dad before the kids can have their long-awaited dance.

    Sound a little too familiar? Something that apparently everyone working on this film missed was that basing a film off another older film is not the same as basing a film off a book or play. You do not have to feel bad about not “keeping true” to the original because truthfully, if we wanted to see the same movie, we would just rent the original one again. There was almost nothing changed and even worse, nothing updated from the original 1984 film to this brand new 2011 film. Even during a montage of teaching his friend to dance, with the exact same moves Kevin Bacon and Chris Penn did, Kenny Wormald and Miles Teller dance to “Let’s Hear it For The Boy” by Deniece Williams. This is almost a line for line remake of the original, which is beyond annoying to fans of the original. By being such a faithful adaptation, the film allows fans to guess almost the entire movie, but at the same time the original may have shared the same trait in predictability.

    Now, aside from the fact that this film has next to no credibility, Footloose makes up for it with a lot of fun energy instilled by Brewer, mostly good acting, and beyond enjoyable dance sequences from choreographer Jamal Sims. Brewer, who also co-wrote the script, compensates with his unbounded vigor that gives the film a much-needed spark.

    Contributing to that continuous excitement is Jamal Sims, who creates anchoring dances that are not only extremely enjoyable but also work perfectly with where the characters and story are at during the film. His dances also give a necessary edge to this teenage film, displaying a more realistic portrayal of teenagers. Though unoriginal, the script, written by Brewer and the original’s screenwriter Dean Pitchford, is still convincing and entertaining. The important character development and often very clever and humorous dialogue is what makes the film solid.

    For the majority of the time, the cast of the film plays off the script beautifully. Kenny Wormald contrasts completely with the famous Kevin Bacon, in the role of Ren McCormack. Bacon, who was not trained at all in dancing, had a stunt double do most of his dancing, but he also gave a charismatic well-acted performance. Wormald, unlike Bacon, performs all of his own dancing captivatingly and brings Sims choreography brilliantly to life. However, Wormald clearly presents himself as a professional dancer and not a trained actor. In no way is Wormald a bad actor, and the role certainly does not require a method thespian, but while playing a character whose mother has just died, Wormald simply cannot carry the movie dramatically. In some ways, the brooding, darker McCormack that Wormald gives us is more interesting than the energetic Ren we saw almost thirty years ago, yet in certain scenes, you just need some solid acting that Wormald does not give us. However, he does share a very important and romantic chemistry with his co-star Julianne Hough though.

    Hough, who is also a trained dancer seems to have a natural acting ability on screen and it is her talented performance that carries the seriousness of the film. The endlessly skillfull country singer/ballroom dancer/film actress, better known for her routines for five seasons on Dancing With The Stars, is quickly on her way to becoming Hollywood’s next starlet with the lead role in Adam Shankman’s Rock of Ages, and rightfully deserves to be. The adorable Ziah Colon gives a great performance as Ariel’s loyal best friend Rusty and Miles Teller, who gave an amazing pivotal performance in Rabbit Hole, is quite funny in his wonderful performance as Ren’s best friend, Willard, who shamefully cannot dance.

    Yes, it’s difficult to commend the film for everything you like about it, but in the end Footloose is not trying to win an Oscar. It is meant for you to have a highly enjoyable movie experience, and with Brewer’s drive, Hough’s performance and Sims’ incredible choreography, that is exactly what Footloose does. 

The Ides of March

Director: George Clooney
Writers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon (playwright)
Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Evan Rachel Wood
Length: 1 hour 41 minutes
Release Date: October 7, 2011

    Academy Award Winner, two-time sexiest man-alive, mega superstar George Clooney has been on a continuous roll of some good, some bad, some fantastic films for the last ten years. However, after only every three years, the constantly working actor stops to sit behind the director’s chair as well. He made his directorial debut with Confessions of A Dangerous Mind in 2002, received six Oscar nominations for his McCarthy era film Good Night, And Good Luck in 2005, gave us the screwball football comedy Leatherheads in 2008 and now takes on the highly anticipated political drama, The Ides of March.

    Based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, the film stars golden boy Ryan Gosling as the idealistic Stephen Meyers, the deputy campaign manager for governor Mike Morris (Clooney), who is running as a Democratic presidential candidate. Campaign Manager Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the Morris campaign’s twenty-year-old intern Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), Meyers and the rest of the campaign team are working to beat out Ted Pullman (Michael Mantell) in the Democratic primaries.

    While both are currently campaigning in Ohio, a state that would secure the nomination for Morris and would give Pullman critical momentum, Pullman’s campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) asks Meyers for a secret meeting. Though unwilling, Meyers goes and meets Duffy, where he is asked to join the campaign for Pullman and leave Morris. Meyers refuses and leaves the meeting. However, he does not realize how much he has compromised himself by seeing Duffy in the first place. Quickly, this naïve subordinate gets a harsh dose of dirty politics that puts him in jeopardy. Nonetheless, something Meyers has found out about Morris through Molly might be able to malevolently help him out.

    Right off the bat, without even knowing everything about the plot, this film has literally everything going for it. With Clooney directing, the film already has a massive amount of interest surrounding it, as well as the fact that the film is filled with one of the best casts of movie history. Name after name, you are shocked by the amount of brilliant talent that can fit into this movie including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, and the list continues. Going into the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, I assumed The Ides of March would come out on top, winning the people’s choice awards and being the sure pick for this year’s Oscars. Unfortunately, it was impossible for those unbelievably high expectations to be met and what we are left with is a very good film, but also a disappointment.

    Everything that you expect to be fantastic in The Ides of March still is. The factor that stops you from being completely blown away by the film does not lie in the casts’ performances or in Clooney’s direction, but in the very delicate script. Writing a political movie is always a tricky task, and while managing to create great character depth and an enjoyable plot, the screenplay by Clooney, Grant Heslov and the playwright Beau Willimon does not surpass every obstacle. Keeping in mind the film was based off a theatrical production, there are very dramatic plot turns and clichés that irritate you for existing in this smart political drama. The story clearly does not take place in today’s world of U.S. politics, which is completely fine. However, this creates a constant slight detachment from the solely democrat competition these characters are in.

    This only reminds you that the story is the backbone of a film. If it isn’t completely sturdy, there is no way to be entirely enveloped with what’s in front of you, no matter how talented the cast or director is. Nonetheless, they are clearly very talented and bring out an immense enjoyment of the film that no other team could. Clooney, to start with, shines brilliantly as the director of this film. He brings out a very important kind of elegance that the scenes between most characters seem to naturally have. Simultaneously, he brings out the darkness from underneath the cruel world of politics that uncovers itself slowly as Gosling’s character finds himself in more and more trouble. That darkness is so pinnacle for the film because it alters not only your understanding of the film but also your understanding of the unfair world of politics, similar to another film this fall, Moneyball, with the corrupt world of Baseball. Clooney simply nails that aspect of the film.

    His second greatest achievement with The Ides Of March is picking the ultimate cast. Ryan Gosling, in the lead role is topping off his best most versatile year yet. First, with the hugely successful romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid,Love. in the summer, the acclaimed and triumphant action thriller Drive in September and now, the sharp political drama, The Ides of March, you think we would be getting sick of the gifted heartthrob. However, with Gosling’s versatility in picking his roles comes outstanding versatility in his performances, so that every time you see that familiar face on screen, you aren’t seeing the same person at all. He carries the film beautifully and is totally convincing in his character’s drastic transformation, making the audience sad for his lost innocence.

    Phillip Seymour Hoffman who plays Meyers’ boss, Morris’ head campaign manager, is simply fantastic as the zealous Paul Zara, while Marisa Tomei is marvelously devious as the New York Times reporter Ida Horowitz, who puts Meyers in an awkward position. Paul Giamatti is also commanding on screen as the likable enemy of Meyers, while Evan Rachel Wood captivates the screen with her very strong chemistry with Gosling and her unbelievable skill playing a charming but distressed girl that is stuck in the middle of Meyers’ dilemma. The rest of the cast including Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, Jennifer Ehle and Clooney himself are somehow all extraordinary as well.

    If your expectations of this film were similar to mine, it is impossible to walk away without feeling slight disappointment. However, with Clooney directing, a fairly intriguing plot, and once again one of the best dramatic casts you will ever see on screen, The Ides of March makes for a thoroughly enjoyable movie experience that is well worth your time.  

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Director: Sean Durkin
Writer: Sean Durkin
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Length: 1 hour 41 minutes

    In addition to Rooney Mara of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Felicity Jones of Like Crazy, one of the most talked about new talented faces of 2011 and the coming Oscar season is the star of Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene, Elizabeth Olsen. The younger sister of the famed Olsen twins has broken through on her own in a quite shocking debut role, as an influenced girl taken in by a welcoming cult.

    The film opens with Olsen running away from the cult through the Catskill Mountains, finding a diner on an open road. She is followed by Watts, a young fellow cult member, who refers to our lead character as Marcy May, the name given to her at the cult. He eventually leaves, allowing her to escape and call her sister to pick her up, using a nearby payphone. The girl – we learn is named Martha – is picked up by her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and is taken back to her spacious and modern summer home in upstate New York. She will stay with Lucy and her husband Ted (Hugh Dancy), who are completely unaware of where Martha has been for the last two years.

    The film goes back and forth between flashbacks of Martha’s time at the cult, including her relationship with the much older enigmatic Patrick (John Hawkes) and the present where Martha has trouble interacting with the real world. As the film continues, we finely discover how much the cult has damaged Martha and her mental health and are pulled back and forth from believing the threat of the cult coming after her and thinking she has been induced into paranoia.

    After receiving incredible praise at Sundance Film Festival in January and at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, curiosity has been rising about the independent film surrounding such a disturbing topic. This powerfully unique film is not only a surprising breakthrough for the twenty two year old actress, but for writer/director Sean Durkin as well.

    Durkin, who took home the best director award at Sundance film festival, makes a bold choice for his feature film debut as well as a commendable choice in casting the unknown Olsen. Both talents soar brilliantly within their own fields, combining for a surprising and haunting success of genius. Durkin’s slow careful camerawork makes every shot appreciatively beautiful and eerie. His dark lighting and cinematography of the Catskills creates an ominous atmosphere to the time Martha spends there while the almost too bright lighting and open window décor of Lucy and Ted’s house makes us feel as uncomfortable and displaced as Martha.

   Durkin’s powerful script succeeds with subtlety about anything but a simple situation. Instead of dramatizing Martha’s experiences and memories with dialogue of her reliving it, he chooses to ever so subtly show how Martha does not fit into her sister’s world. The obvious changes in her mind grow more worrying as the film continues, with you truly seeing how two years of the cult has changed her forever. First, she goes swimming naked in her sister’s lake, and then later cringingly goes into her sister’s bed while she and her husband are having sex. In most scenes, with the simple look at the lives of people in the cult, the film never forces us into feeling only one emotion for a character, and instead lets us interpret our feeling toward the characters and situations as we choose. Although usually appreciating the delicacy, sometimes you wish it would go away more often so you could really be compelled to feel something strong toward the horrors you are seeing in front of you.

   Minding that annoyance, Durkin shines as a commanding filmmaker, including choosing some of the best working actors to live out his incomparable writing. Olsen simply takes our breath away in each scene, and not just because of her natural beauty, but also with her astonishing poignant performance as a psychologically tormented young girl who cannot leave her past behind. Olsen is one of the most talented faces to appear in 2011 and is more than worthy of an Oscar nomination this February.

   She is accompanied by the equally talented John Hawkes, who was nominated for an Academy Award last year for his performance in the highly acclaimed independent film Winter’s Bone starring Jennifer Lawrence. In Martha Marcy May Marlene, Hawkes is uncannily exceptional as the middle-aged leader of the cult, Patrick. His astounding performance makes the horrific character bizarrely attractive, just like Olsen’s character sees him. Sarah Paulson is also fantastic as Martha’s worried and confused sister, who has no idea how to deal with her clearly messed up sister as well as Hugh Dancy as Ted, who sympathizes less with the erratic and ungrateful Martha.

    Though it might not be the most enjoyable film of 2011, Martha Marcy May Marlene is by far, one of the most praiseworthy. Starring the irreplaceable Olsen and lead by virtuoso filmmaker Sean Durkin, it is a must see for any film appreciator. 

Like Crazy

Director: Drake Doremus
Writers: Drake Doremus
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes

    Being the winner of 2011’s prestigious grand jury prize at the Sundance film festival, there was much anticipation for unknown director Drake Doremus’ indie romance, as it was going into the Toronto International Film Festival in September and into theatres just a few weeks later. People were more than intrigued by Like Crazy, a film that did so well at Sundance, had such an interesting premise and had a fresh beautiful actress to boot.

   Like Crazy is this year’s Blue Valentine, the new bittersweet melancholy romance about two whimsical kids who face circumstances that threaten their blissful romance. Jacob and Anna are two university students in Los Angeles who before you can catch it, quickly fall in love with each other during their senior year. With Anna being from England, they know they will eventually have to deal with her going back and the two of them being separated when they graduate. However when June approaches, the smitten couple spontaneously decides that Anna will stay living with Jacob in California until she has to return for a relative’s wedding in the UK.

    After a lovely relaxing summer, Anna goes back to England for the wedding, planning on returning straight to Jacob, when it is finished. When she lands in L.A. after her trip though, she is held at customs for abusing her student visa and is eventually told she is being sent back to the UK and will not be allowed to return back to the U.S.

   The film takes us through the next four or five years of both their lives as they continue to try to make the relationship work because they seriously cannot think of being with anyone else but each other. Inspired by Doremus’ experiences with his ex-wife and her U.S. immigration issues, he adds a very realistic element to the script, especially with the relationship between Anna and Jacob. He also shoots Like Crazy with exceptionally beautiful camerawork and cinematography, highlighting his very independent style of filmmaking.

   However, his authenticity does not shine through every scene due to some moments of indie directing that just comes off as contrived. For instance, after Anna and Jacob’s first date, they place their hands at the same place on opposite sides of a window for what seems like an hour and when they are not getting along they sit across from each other on the bus with their arms crossed.

   Those are only little annoyances that add to the general irritation of little character development before the two characters get together. Like another longing romance this summer One Day, you are forced to just go with these characters right from the start without any depth or insight into who your protagonists are. Aside from their first date, all of their happy romance is captured in a three minute montage and Anna is deported only twenty or twenty five minutes into the film. If it was any other couple, you would understand their breakup, but Anna and Jacob fight so hard to keep their relationship going, because of their undeniable affection for each other. Yet, we do not understand their love quite as clear as they do and are, therefore, always a little detached from the motivation of their strenuous mission to bring Anna back to Los Angeles.

    After the rocky beginning of the film though, the plot picks up and you are soon entangled into the saddening love story. The latter half of Like Crazy is what makes it so strongly affective, showing you how realistically tired the characters become after years of trying everything to make it work and when it finally does, they realize their exhaustion has debauched their love.

   Two incredibly talented young actors carry the film, Anton Yelchin, who we have seen in films like Star Trek and Charlie Bartlett and newcomer British actress Felicity Jones, who won best actress at Sundance for her performance in this movie. Their powerful performances overcome the lack of character development and make us unquestioningly believe their undeniable love for each other and drive to just stick together. Jennifer Lawrence is also fantastic in her small role as Jacob’s girlfriend in Los Angeles, who knows he is still in love with Anna and that their relationship is headed nowhere. There has never been so much more young dramatic talent in a movie than in Like Crazy and it is because of them, you are swept away with the story for the last hour.

   Similar to Blue Valentine, when Like Crazy is over, you leave the theatre feeling as emotionally drained as the characters, but emotionally moved at least. You cannot help but act like a therapist, talking about why the relationship did not work, and how they had grown up and wasted so much of their lives on their blinding love.

    If you can get over the slightly bumpy beginning, and allow yourself to buy into this young love by the cast and Doremus’ skillfull filming, you will easily dive into the intensity of Like Crazy, though keep in mind, the result is far from rewarding.