The French Dispatch - Movie Review

Starring Benecio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Elisabeth Moss, Fisher Stevens, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Christoph Waltz, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton, Lois Smith, Henry Winkler, Cecile de France, Steve Park and Mathieu Amalric.

Written by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness & Jason Schwartzman.

Directed by Wes Anderson.

★★½ 

There are plenty of actors I didn't even list above; the movie is bursting with recognizable faces. This ode to long-form journalism of a certain time is lovingly crafted by Wes Anderson, he of the very distinct flavor of films like Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and Isle of Dogs. While there is plenty to admire here and be entertained by, it's one of his most self-indulgent efforts to date, and I doubt it'll convert any newcomers not already on board with his sensibilities.

The movie is basically three stories attached with the narrative device of a magazine similar to The New Yorker. The French Dispatch is edited by Arthur Howitzer Jr (Bill Murray), and he has dedication to his writers. We learn at the beginning that he has died, and in his will, he wishes publication of the magazine to cease, so in this final issue, we get the last articles by JKL Berensen (Tilda Swinton), Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand), and Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright).

The first story is the strongest of the three, about a convicted murderer (Benecio Del Toro) who happens to be a genius painter. The second revolves around a French student rebellion led by Timothee Chalamet, and the third is about the kidnapping of the son of the Commissaire (Mathieu Amalric). Toward the end of the second story, I was ready for it to be over, and toward the end of the third, I felt the same way. And with so many good actors, I have to wonder why they were willing to sign on when they only had one or two lines?

I'm trying to think of anthology movies I liked, and they tend to be horror (Trick R Treat) or from different voices (New York Stories). This is one I'm glad I saw but unlike the majority of Wes's films, I have no desire to see it again. In fact, the couple next to us said it was the worst movie they'd ever seen. But if Benecio Del Toro's story was on TV, I'd watch for a few minutes.

The Host - Movie Review

Starring Saoirse Ronan, William Hurt, Jake Abel, Max Irons, Diane Kruger and Frances Fisher.
Directed by Andrew Niccol.

★★½

This harmless sci-fi diversion produces a narrative challenge for director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) and actress Saoirse Ronan (Hanna). How do you keep dramatic momentum going when most of it is about a girl arguing with the alien being possessing her body?

Based on the Stephenie Meyer best-seller, this story takes place in the not-too-distant future, where the Invasion of the Body Snatchers has happened, and almost all humans are now possessed.  Only a handful of humans still have free will, and we immediately see the capture of Melanie (Ronan), who has an alien put inside her. (Looks similar to the ones on Star Trek: DS9, with more glowing).

So for most of the movie, you have the alien - Wanderer - trying to ignore Melanie's voice in her head.  Most humans fade away and vanish after possession, but Melanie has a really strong spirit. It's a juggling act, and Ronan does a great job with it. There's a scene toward the end, all in a close-up of her face, where Wanderer and Melanie are exchanging what might be their final words, and Ronan made me believe.

The aliens can search the memories of those they possess, and Wanderer is interrogated by a Seeker (Kruger), aliens who specialize in tracking down the last few humans.  Wanderer begins to sympathize with Melanie and escapes the compound where she's questioned.  She makes her way to the hide-out where her husband, brother, uncle, aunt, and others are creating a hidden society for themselves.

At first, the survivors think they should just kill Wanderer, but Uncle Jeb (Hurt) wants to give it time, and as he does, he begins to believe "Wanda" has enough Melanie in her to keep her alive, and maybe he can make her an ally.  There's also an amusing love-triangle that develops when one survivor falls for Wanda, while her husband just wants Melanie back.  Let's just say Jake Abel and Max Irons are better actors than Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

Most of the outside world is undercooked.  It's your usual sterile dystopian future, where most people wear all white but most things are the same, to save on budget.

We had some teen girls in our audience who wound talking and giggling through most of it. I'm sure RiffTrax will have a blast with it, but I accepted the movie on its own terms, and based on that, I thought it delivered mostly on what it wanted to do. If I had to choose between watching a Twilight 6 or a Host 2, I'd easily pick Host 2.

The Way Back - Movie Review

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Starring Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan and Mark Strong.
Directed by Peter Weir.

"Inspired by a true story" makes me wonder just how far away they strayed from real events. Did they stray a little, like The King's Speech, or a lot, like The Exorcism of Emily Rose? Regardless it's a solid study in the examination of the lengths to which people will go to be free.

We get Nazis up the yin-yang in our movie villains, but sometimes people forget just how nasty the Stalinists were. We meet one Polish prisoner (Jim Sturgess), sent here after Stalinists torture his wife to make her lie about her husband, and he immediately starts thinking about how to escape. Throw in a grumpy American (Ed Harris), a wily Russian (Colin Farrell) and some other rag-taggers, and we have our escape group.

The movie puts us through the slogs they went through, and while I can't say it was fun, it was just the right length and served as a testament to human determination.

P.S. It had a limited release in December somewhere to qualify it for Oscar nominations. It has one nomination - makeup - and it would be a worthy winner. Walking from Siberia to India does horrible things to your skin.