ROUND UP OF NEW AND RECENT FILMS PART EIGHT

ROUND UP OF NEW AND RECENT FILMS PART EIGHT

Changing Lanes (2002). Director: Roger Michell. A corporate lawyer (Ben Affleck) and a reformed alcoholic businessman (Samuel L. Jackson) get in a fender bender, and the former, late for court, pretty much blows the other guy off. Then he realizes he's accidentally given the man some important papers. However, Jackson, trying to get his family back, is also late for a court date, and is furious with Affleck. Things between the two men spiral out of control and at one point nearly turn murderous. This is an absorbing, very well-acted movie in which race relations do not take center stage. (With the exception of one sequence, this could have been about two white guys or two black guys.) The movie features two very interesting character studies, although some abrupt character reversals aren't convincing. You have to suspend disbelief for the feel-good ending -- and pretty much gloss over an act of attempted murder (!) -- but the movie is quite entertaining and does end on a high note. ***.  

Serenity (2019). Writer/director: Steven Knight. Just when you're getting pleasantly involved with and  invested in this film noirish story of a man (Matthew McConaughey) who is importuned by his ex-wife (Anne Hathaway) to murder her distinctly unpleasant husband (Jason Clarke) while on a fishing charter, the picture does an 160 degree turn and becomes a fantasy-science fiction story. I've no doubt some viewers will give Serenity points for being something different, but it's not the most original concept, and it sort of forces you to suddenly stop caring about the characters. There are certainly interesting notions in the basic premise, but I, for one, felt a bit cheated. This would have been a better movie had it remained a late entry in the film noir sweepstakes. McConaughey is excellent, however, and everyone else in the cast is right on target. **1/4. 

The Ides of March (2011), which co-stars, was co-written and directed by George Clooney, focuses more on Stephen (Ryan Gosling), a second-in-command for a presidential campaign for Clooney's governor. Stephen finds himself being played by opposing forces and also discovers that his married hero had a one-night-stand with a pretty intern. Ides is generally well-acted and fairly absorbing but its cliche-ridden screenplay puts it in the minor leagues. Gosling has given some very good performances in other films but in this he mostly displays cool attitude, seems bored half the time, and doesn't even seem to be acting; Clooney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, among others, are better. As political movies go, this one just isn't in the running. **1/4. 

Closer (2004) deals with two couples in London. Photographer Anna (Julia Roberts) gets involved with dermatologist Larry (Clive Owen) when the strange author Dan (Jude Law) pretends to be a woman online and arranges a date between him and Anna. Meanwhile Dan, who is obsessed with Anna, already has a girlfriend in Alice (Natalie Portman), a stripper from New York. Anna is torn between the two men and Alice can't seem to live without Dan. Based on a play, this has characters that aren't dimensional enough to help us care about them, although the four solid actors give it their all. There really isn't much of a story to this, which is a problem as the movie is not character-driven so much as plot-driven. The frank language and profligate bed-hopping probably fooled young audiences -- and 73-year-old director Mike Nichols -- into thinking they were seeing something deep -- they weren't. However, the film is undeniably entertaining and absorbing thanks to the performances. **1/2. 

Primary Colors (1998), also directed by Mike Nichols and scripted by Elaine May, deals with a fictionalized version of the Clintons. John Travolta never quite seems like a real person in his portrayal of the amiably piggish "Jack Stanton," but Emma Thompson is absolute perfection as his strong-willed wife, Susan (Hilary). I was not as carried away as others by Kathy Bates as the lesbian Libby Holman, although she is good, but Adrian Lester definitely impressed me with his likable and evocative portrayal of the Stanton's African-American coordinator, Henry. There are also nice turns by Larry Hagman, Tony Shalhoub, Rob Reiner, and others. While hardly perfect, the fast-paced, and entertaining picture is amusing and disturbing in equal measure. ***. 

GOOD NEWER MOVIE: LA LA LAND

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone 

LA LA LAND (2019). Written and directed by Damien Chazelle.

Mia (Emma Stone of The Amazing Spider-Man) is an aspiring actress going on auditions and working as a barista in L.A. She encounters jazz musician Sebastian (Ryan Gosling of All Good Things), who proves quite obnoxious at first. Gradually the two warm up to one another and begin a relationship. But both have ambitions that may interfere with the permanency of their union. And their idea of success may not be the same. Periodically they and others break into song.

Emma Stone

First let me make it clear that La La Land is not on the list of really superb musicals a la Singin' in the Rain. When Stone and Gosling dance you won't in any sense of the word be reminded of Fred and Ginger or Gene Kelly, and they both have mediocre voices. But if you take it on its own terms La La Land has its rewards. The two leads, neither of whom is conventionally attractive, give very good performances and the songs they warble are at least pleasant.

Stone and Gosling 

Linus Sandgren's cinematography is first-class, and there's an interesting opening production number on the freeway. La La Land gets high marks for being visually arresting. But the chief thing I liked about the movie is its coda, a long sequence in which Emma encounters Sebastian years later -- and as people will do -- imagines what her life would have been like had she married him instead of her husband. I think it is this finale that resonates with most viewers and has perhaps led many people to over-rate the movie. Still, it's romantic, well-acted, and good to look at. Damien Chazelle also directed Whiplash. Ryan Gosling is not to be confused with Ryan Reynolds [Green Lantern] even though they look alike.

Verdict: Not a classic but entertaining enough. ***. 

ALL GOOD THINGS

ALL GOOD THINGS (2010). Director: Andrew Jarecki.

David Marks (Ryan Gosling) is considered the fucked-up son of real estate man, Sanford Marks (Frank Langella). One good thing in his life seems to be his wife, Katie (Kirsten Dunst), who discovers that he's becoming increasingly moody, distant, and violent. One day Katie simply disappears and is never seen again. Then bad things happen to two of David's friends, Deborah (Lily Rabe), who may have been blackmailing him, and Malvern Bump (Philip Baker Hall). All Good Things is, of course, a thinly-disguised look at the life, times and literal trials of Robert Durst, widely believed to have been responsible for the deaths and or disappearances of at least three people. Ryan Gosling [Fracture] and Kirsten Durst [Spider-Man 2] give very good performances, as do Rabe and Hall, and Frank Langella [Diary of a Mad Housewife] nearly walks off with the movie in one of his best roles. But while All Good Things holds the attention, it is also a bit obvious and stilted, and probably not as fascinating nor entertaining as true-crime shows that have focused on Durst, such as Dateline. Jumping back and forth in time only makes the picture confusing at times.

Verdict: Acceptable crime drama but nothing special. **1/2.

FRACTURE

Conference: Billy Burke and Ryan Gosling

FRACTURE (2007). Director: Gregory Hoblit.

At the opening of Fracture Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins of Thor) fires a bullet into the brain of his philandering wife. As she lies in the hospital in a coma, prosecutor Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) is perhaps more preoccupied with leaving the D.A's office for his cushy new job than he is with his last assignment. Crawford decides to represent himself, and things get especially complicated when it is revealed in the courtroom that the arresting officer, Lt. Nunally (Billy Burke), was the man having an affair with Crawford's wife [the audience also knows this from the first]. Beachum realizes that he has to up his game and pay more attention if he's going to put Crawford away for attempted murder. Fracture is one of those tricky suspense films that has some vaguely clever things going on but doesn't really add much to the genre. Hopkins is excellent, but the odd Gosling is exactly the same in the second half as he is in the first, and seems like an actor who should stick to after-school specials. Burke is okay, and Rosamund Pike [Jack Reacher] makes a good impression as Nikki, a pretty lady who works for the firm that Willy hopes to work for. The characters in this are all one-dimensional.

Verdict: Minor-league "thriller" with few thrills. **.