Mini Reviews: 7/7/14

The Day the Earth Stood Still:  1951 science fiction movie directed by Robert Wise and starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Billy Gray, Hugh Marlowe, and Sam Jaffe.  A flying saucer lands in D.C., and the government is understandably freaked.  When a humanoid figure emerges with a message of peace, a twitchy soldier shoots him.  He’s taken to Walter Reed Hospital, where he announces that his name is Klaatu and that he has a notice that affects the entire world and must be allowed to speak to all major political leaders at once.  This is vetoed by the President’s secretary, and he’s placed under armed guard.  He escapes and takes up lodging at a boarding house while his giant robot stands menacing sentinel at the spaceship.  He spends the next few days befriending people, learning how Earthlings think and act – so this will totally end well, right?

                  It’s definitely worth seeing once.  I didn’t know too much about it before I watched it, which helped.  Despite its age and now well-worn sci fi tropes it wasn’t what I had expected and was unpredictable enough to keep me engaged.

Friday the 13^th Part 2:  1981 American horror movie directed by Steven Miner and starring Amy Steel, John Furey, and Adrienne King.  It’s been five years since a brutal massacre occurred at Camp Crystal Lake.  An enterprising young man has decided to open another summer camp nearby, and has recruited your average amalgam of Camp Counselor Archetypes to join him.  As they gather for training before the camp’s official opening they are warned by the local crazy oracle that there’s trouble on them thar’ shores!  Sure enough, Jason Vorhees shows up and misbehaving teens start dying off like flies.

                  I was never into this franchise in my youth, and really only started watching them because I felt like I should.  It’s fine.  It’s your average 1980s teen slasher flick.  I much preferred the first movie.

The East:  2013 thriller directed by Zal Batmanglij and starring Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez, Julia Ormond, Patricia Clarkson, Josh Ritter, Aldis Hodge, and Hillary Baack.  Jan (Marling) is an operative at a private intelligence firm.  She has been tasked with infiltrating The East, an underground anarchist organization that is threatening the firm’s corporate clients.  As Jan gets deeper and deeper into her assignment she starts to develop an ambivalence towards her job, her lifestyle, her boyfriend, everything.  And she is drawn deeper into their world by The East’s magnetic leader, Benji (Skarsgard).

I frequently watch movies that I like.  Occasionally I’ll find something that I like like.  Rarely do I love a movie.  But this?  I would marry this movie.  I would have babies with this movie.  I would grow old and retire and buy a fake adobe cottage in Sedona with this movie.  So yeah, I don’t want to oversell it but HOLY FUCK you guys.  The story is compelling, the acting is exquisite, the characters are multidimensional and empathetic, and the bittersweet ending is appropriate.  There are so many little moments and tiny details to appreciate; like when Izzy (Page) confronts a new corporate target, a man she has a personal connection to – her eyes flash up and it just hits you in the gut.  You must see it.

Somm:  2013 documentary directed by Jason Wise, which follows four men as they prepare for the master sommelier exam.  A sommelier, or “somm” in the vernacular, is a wine expert.  They typically work in fine restaurants or with collectors and are involved with purchasing, storage, cellar rotation, the development of the wine list and recommended pairings.  A Master Sommelier diploma gets you serious cred in the food world and a HUGE pay-bump – all you have to do is learn literally everything about wine.  In the 40-plus years since the Master Sommelier was introduced, 214 people have earned a diploma.  That’s about four people per year.  And so we watch Ian, Dustin, Brian, and DLynn drill and practice and memorize to pass the grueling three-part exam: theory examination (every fact there is to know about wine), service (salesmanship, pairing, dealing with asshole patrons), and the blind taste test (name the grape, region, vineyard, and year).

I barely care about wine and still found it fascinating.  It’s beautifully shot, nicely paced, and I found myself rooting for these Type-A dudes – well, most of them.  The fact that it was all guys and that the girlfriends and wives were presented as long-suffering worriers did get a bit old at times.  Still, definitely worth seeing.

Skyfall:  2012 James Bond movie directed by Sam Mendes and starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Albert Finney, and Ben Winshaw.  MI6 is under attack from a former agent with a serious chip on his shoulder.  That’s pretty much all you need to know.  This is my favorite of the Craig-era Bond films so far.  I found it more interesting than Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace – mostly because they’ve sort of blurred together.  Bardem was brilliant, and I love Naomie Harris and hope she sticks with the franchise.  Winshaw as the new Q was irksomely cocky at first but he grew on me.  It was a bit heavy-handed with the whole meditation on aging theme but at least it acknowledged it?  See it.