TIME TO REVISE YOUR OPINIONS ON ALIENS : "K-PAX"

Ok, as you can see I have finally got a semi-decent theme going this week. And it’s aliens! Not just the Sigourney Weaver variety but some that are a little more, well… Shall we say understated? I saw the trailer for K-Pax a good many years ago and it really, really seemed interesting but it’s only almost literally ten years later that I got the chance to see it. Oh I do so love using our school library. A word from the wise, if you have some establishment providing you with free books and dvds (a university library for example) make the best of it. It’s definitely what I am doing. Now, K-Pax is not a person / alien but a planet. It is the planet Prot (Kevin Spacey) comes from. He appears one day in Grand Central Station in New York, and his calm explanations that he is, in fact, an alien lands him quite quickly in the Manhattan Psychiatric Institute. Here, the head doctor is Dr. Mark Fuller (Jeff Bridges) and he along with a lot of his eminent colleagues is finding it difficult to understand why this mysterious man’s delusions seem to be so persistent. But there is something else strange about Prot. He has a unexplainable sensitivity to light, seems to know a lot about astro-physics that not only makes perfect sense but baffles leading experts in the field and seems to be having a very bizarre effect on his fellow patients. Dr. Fuller is an eminently sensible man, a man of science but even he begins to seriously wonder… Could Prot possibly, actually come from another planet? Rarely, if ever, have I seen such a film for twists and turns. There were a good few times throughout the film when I was pretty sure I had “got” which way the story was going. Then there was a twist. “Oh” says I and I adapt my approach. Nope. There’s another twist. And not one of those “forced” twists either. The film really, really flows, everything develops really organically. The one thing you probably expect and will ultimately find is the “extraordinary character bursts into the everyday reality and changes the lives of everyone he comes into contact with” line. Yes, there is that. But even that is done with sensitivity and come on, it is a Hollywood film. Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges more than make up for that with their acting alone. The story is, basically, a detective story. We are trying to piece together Prot’s past. Along with Dr. Fuller we are try to find out who Prot really is – and what he is – and like every good detective story nothing is quite what it seems right to the very end. Believe me. Whatever you think this film is at the moment, it probably isn’t. You’re just going to have to give it a whirl and see what I mean for your selves.

JEDIS WITH FLOWER POWER AND "MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS"

Haha, well, we’ve all heard a bit of hype about this one, right? I don’t believe in hype, but I must say, I was curious. I mean, George Clooney, Edward Norton, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon… I must admit, one DOES get curious. Common sense alone dictates that this should make for quite an awesome movie – all the actors have proved their abilities as far as comedy is concerned on numerous occasions… The actual result in this case is, however, “mixed”. I’m not saying it’s a bad or boring movie (or why would I review it) but it is definitely DEFINITELY not to everybody’s tastes…
Bob Wilton (Edward Norton) is a reporter that is down on pretty much everything. His wife has run off with his editor, killing his family life and career in one fell swoop. He is (understandably) depressed. He decides to make a drastic change in his life if only to shake things up a bit. And thus heads off to Iraq (story is set in the mid 2000’s – yikes, I actually said that). There, pure chance (or possibly fate) brings him face to face with Lynn Cassidy (George Clooney). Now Lynn is part of a top secret team of soldiers: the New World Army. The New World Army is the result of the US army’s efforts to train “psychic soldiers” – with actual super powers. But the New World Army is not an army in the classical sense. Oh no, lead by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) they wish to bring peace and respect to earth – think the spirit of the 70’s revived – only have super powers. Now Bob may be depressed but he recognizes a story when he sees it. So he follows Lynn out into the desert on his latest mission. The experience will prove, in a word, life changing.
Now, the only thing that actually got me through this film is my love, nay, obsession with absurd comedy. It’s a very good example of the genre too; a fact I was able to discern even though I was almost dead on my feet when I watched it. I didn’t actually laugh out loud but was genuinely amused by most of the film. But on the other hand my Mom (who was watching it with me) waltzed off in the middle of said film and went to bed – completely uninterested in finding out what might happen in the end (and to be honest at that point it could be absolutely ANYTHING. Go for it if you’re into something experimental, non linear and absurd. Or if you’re a George Clooney or Edward Norton fan. Can’t say fairer than that…

PICK UP THAT CRAZY HEART...

I’m almost out of Oscar® winners and nominees to review. But one of the ones I was looking forward to the most was in fact Crazy Heart. I love Jeff Bridges and I was very glad to hear he won the Oscar® (this kind of thing is the height of “identification” I suppose – great stars like Jeff Bridges end up being a kind of family friend!). The film itself is very well directed and very well acted but it didn’t knock my socks off either…

I guess you know the story – line but here’s a short “résumé” anyways. Crazy Heart is the story of country singer Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) . A great star of yore, he is now an alcoholic and a nobody to most in the music industry (except a handful of loyal fans). He tours the country, playing in bowling alleys and small bars growing more bitter with every passing day. Yet one day a chance of redemption crosses his path in the shape of the beautiful reporter Jean Craddock (Maggie Gylenhaal). As their relationship grows, Bad is forced to face his demons… Unfortunately, it is by no means clear whether he will be able to beat them or not…

This film will be a mixed bag for some, despite its quality. The direction is superb; I particularly enjoyed a couple of nods to the Big Lebowski. (I mean I have only seen the film once, but the sight of Jeff Bridges sitting at a bar in a bowling alley was more than able to ring some bells ;) ) Jeff Bridges, in a word, surpasses himself. But, of course you know what everyone’s going to say… “It’s a slightly softer version of “The Wrestler””. I’m sorry to say I tend to agree with them… And it seems almost ironic; Mickey Rourke was also up for an Oscar ® for Best Actor last year with a very similar role. Some said he should have got it. Now Jeff Bridges has it. Don’t get me wrong, both gave outstanding performances that were in no way “similar” to the others but still… It feels like the Academy was “righting a wrong” more than anything else if you see what I mean… To give you an example my Mom (who was watching the film with me and had convinced me to sit down to the film in the first place) gave up and went to bed half an hour later saying that she had “seen it all before”. I watched it until the end and enjoyed it immensely. All in all, an outstanding performance. Again.

TRIBUTE TO THE MASTERS : "THE BIG LEBOWSKI"

At 26, I am very probably the last person of my generation to watch this Coen brothers classic. I hang my head in shame. Here comes the review for those of you who were too young, too old or like me just too darn lazy.
Ok, so let me sum it up right away. Yes; it is as good as they say it is. I am a massive Coen brothers fan – and the brilliant way they seem to blur the line between the believable and the absurd. Here the use of hallucinogenics (Ehm ehm) among other things help to blur the line even further making it in my view one of the best examples of absurd comedy I have ever seen. As far as the acting goes, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi – two of the Coen brothers favorite actors and don’t get me wrong though they’re two of my favorites too! – are absoloutely hilarious. Recent Oscar winner Jeff Bridges who needless to say became part of movie legend as “The Dude” and simply has to be experienced to be believed. And another small point I found amusing (something that doesn’t seem to get mentioned on the DVD sleeve, possibly because our actor hadn’t “made it” at the time) is the prominent presence of one of my favorite actors : Philip Seymour Hoffman!
Tradition dictates that I touch on the storyline a little: well, this is a story of mistaken identity. Of ruined rugs. Of framing innocent men. Of severed toes and White Russians. And a Vietnam vet with SERIOUS anger-management issues.
Just watch the bloody thing, it’ll make more sense… :)