THE GHOST WRITER = ****

“Haunted By The Memory Of Tony Blair”

I recently read an article about the discovery of a species of frog in Australia that was believed to have become extinct more than thirty years ago. I can imagine the thrills and joys of the scientists who made this discovery. After seeing Roman Polanski’s new film “The Ghost Writer”, I too feel I’ve discovered a species long thought to have become extinct. The smart, literate, perfectly made mystery movie. The kind I thought died with Alfred Hitchcock.

What a joy to behold. A true thriller where the thrills and suspense come not from action sequences, but from story, character, plot and revelation. Few young filmmakers today would know how to do this. But Roman Polanski has been doing it this way since the 1960s. Perhaps his unfortunate situation with being a fugitive from U.S. justice is a blessing in disguise for the filmmaker. Being prevented from working in Hollywood since the 1970s has allowed Polanski to remain one of the few true artists in modern cinema. His vision is not tampered with by studio execs or focus groups. Whatever your personal feelings are about the man and his crime, nearly all of his films have been fresh, original and rewarding experiences.

“The Ghost Writer” is in the same league with Polanski’s best work going back to the 60s for “Rosemary’s Baby” to the 70s for “Chinatown” and straight through to his Best Director Oscar for 2002’s “The Pianist”. When you think about all the great lesser-known (yet star-studded) films he’s given us in between, like “Tess” (Nastassja Kinski), “Frantic” (Harrison Ford), “Bitter Moon” (Hugh Grant), “The Ninth Gate” (Johnny Depp) or “Death And The Maiden” (Sigourney Weaver), it’s easy to see that Roman Polanski has consistently delivered the goods on his own terms.

In “The Ghost Writer”, Ewan McGregor plays an author hired to help Pierce Brosnan, a former British Prime Minister, write his memoirs. McGregor is replacing another author who has mysteriously died in odd circumstances. Brosnan plays Adam Lang, but is quite obviously, and intentionally, meant to remind us of the real former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

McGregor arrives at Brosnan’s U.S.-based home during a time when allegations of war crimes surface. The mystery of how the previous ghost writer died is now fused with the mystery of the Prime Minister’s political connections to the U.S. via the CIA. Let me warn you right now, this is a movie to which you must bring your brain and leave it swtiched on. For me, that’s a big plus. Sadly, for Variety’s reviewer Derek Elley, it’s a negative. Elley criticizes the film for its “lack of any real action or thrills”. Well Derek, “The Ghost Writer” is an adaptation of a novel, not a video game.

DVD Double Feature: Rarely, if ever, do you find a strong polticial thriller involving characters from the world of book publishing. “The Ghost Writer” reminded me of one such film. 1990’s sorely underrated “The Russia House”. Sean Connery plays a British book publisher who is given a politically dangerous manuscript written by a famous Soviet scientist. Soon Connery, and Michelle Pfeiffer, are drawn into a world of international espionage. Fred Schepisi directs Tom Stoppard’s script based on the novel by John le Carre.

Michael The Moviegoer

ALICE IN WONDERLAND = **1/2

“Is It Any Wonder?”

Lewis Carroll’s classic tale of a child’s psychotic hallucination seems like the perfect fit for director Tim Burton to do a big-screen adaptaion. Sadly, this “Alice In Wonderland” is Tim Burton at his most restrained. Although there are sprinkles of brilliance throughout, the end result is flat, lifeless and forgettable.

On the plus-side is the fresh new face of Mia Wasikowska as a 19-year old Alice. She’s literally in every scene, yet the marketing campaign makes this look like a Johnny Depp vehicle. Depp is good as the Mad Hatter, but he’s only in half the film. So when one hears that Johnny Depp is starring in “Alice In Wonderland”, should we expect him to be playing Alice in drag?

This movie really belongs to the spectacular supporting performance of Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. Bonham Carter’s energy leaps off the screen, even in the 2D version. With a seamless blend of fierceness and vulnerability, her performance is on the same level as the Oscar-winning supporting roles of Judi Dench in “Shakespeare In Love” and Renee Zellweger in “Cold Mountain”. She simply steals every scene she’s in.

Tim Burton’s visuals are always super imaginative. A lot of the eye-candy in this film is certainly original. That’s why the film’s third act is so frustrating, and so unlike Burton. Alice grabs a sword and fights a large, loud, CGI flying serpent. Suddenly Alice’s Wonderland becomes an all-too-familiar-looking video game. Burton’s creative touch completely disappears. This results in a finale that looks like a cliché of so many other CGI-infested films. The flying serpent looks so unoriginal that you’d think it comes as a standard offering in CGI software packages.

DVD Double Feature: To recall a time when Tim Burton was bursting with creativity and offering eye-popping, dazzling visuals, check out his underappreciated 1996 gem “Mars Attacks” starring Jack Nicholson.

Michael The Moviegoer

Almost nobody is predicting that “Inglourious Basterds” will win Best Picture. But I’m going to risk it for the following reasons.

If “Avatar” wins, it will be the first Best Picture win since “Titanic” that doesn’t have a screenplay nomination. If “The Hurt Locker” wins, it will be the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner in the entire history of the Oscars (adjusted for inflation of course).

Traditionally, a Best Picture winner also wins awards in other top categories. But “Avatar” has no screenplay or acting nominations, and Jeremy Renner from “The Hurt Locker” cannot beat Jeff Bridges. “Inglourious Basterds” will have a win for Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz, and possibly a screenplay win as well.

The actors make up the largest voting body of the Academy, and SAG (their own guild) gave their Best Picture award (for ensemble cast) to “Inglourious Basterds”.

“Inglourious Basterds” is the second most-nominated film this year with 8 nominations.

Science Fiction films never win Best Picture. No matter how popular they are. “Star Wars” and “E.T.” both did not win Best Picture.

Finally, “Inglourious Basterds” is Harvey Weinstein’s  baby this year. Remember when Weinstein surprised everyone with “Shakespeare In Love” beating the favorite “Saving Private Ryan” for Best Picture?

With ten Best Picture nominations instead of the usual five, the five without Director nominations can be considered irrelevant in this race. But it’s really a 3-way race between “Avatar”, “The Hurt Locker” and “Inglourious Basterds”. I’m going with the Basterds despite nobody agreeing with me. A few years ago, I similary predicted a win for “Crash” when nobody else did, and I was right.

But with voting procedures changed this year, I could be wrong. We’ll know in a few days.

Here’s my full list of Oscar predictions ranked in order of possibility.

BEST PICTURE:
1)  Inglourious Basterds
2)  The Hurt Locker
3)  Avatar
4)  Up In The Air
5)  Precious
… a tie for 10th place among the films with no director nomination…
10a)  District 9
10b)  The Blind Side
10c)  Up
10d)  An Education
10f)  A Serious Man

BEST DIRECTOR:
1)  Kathryn Bigelow – “The Hurt Locker”
2)  James Cameron – “Avatar”
3)  Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds”
4)  Lee Daniels – “Precious”
5)  Jason Reitman – “Up In The Air”

BEST ACTOR:
1)  Jeff Bridges – “Crazy Heart”
2)  George Clooney – “Up In The Air”
3)  Colin Firth – “A Single Man”
4)  Morgan Freeman – “Invictus”
5)  Jeremy Renner – “The Hurt Locker”

BEST ACTRESS:
1)  Meryl Streep – “Julie & Julia”
2)  Sandra Bullock – “The Blind Side”
3)  Carey Mulligan – “An Education”
4)  Gabourey Sidibe – “Precious”
5)  Helen Mirren – “The Last Station”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1)  Christoph Waltz – “Inglourious Basterds”
2)  Christopher Plummer – “The Last Station”
3)  Woody Harrelson – “The Messenger”
4)  Stanley Tucci – “The Lovely Bones”
5)  Matt Damon – “Invictus”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1)  Mo’Nique – “Precious”
2)  Anna Kendrick – “Up In The Air”
3)  Vera Farmiga – “Up In The Air”
4)  Penelope Cruz – “Nine”
5)  Maggie Gyllenhaal – “Crazy Heart”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
1)  Inglourious Basterds
2)  The Hurt Locker
3)  The Messenger
4)  Up
5)  A Serious Man

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
1)  Up In The Air
2)  Precious
3)  District 9
4)  An Education
5)  In The Loop

BEST MUSIC:
1)  Up
2)  Avatar
3)  Fantastic Mr. Fox
4)  Sherlock Holmes
5)  The Hurt Locker

BEST SONG:
1)  The Weary Kind – “Crazy Heart”
2)  Take It All – “Nine”
3)  Almost There – “The Princess & The Frog”
4)  Down In New Orleans – “The Princess & The Frog”
5)  Loin De Paname – “Paris 36”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
1)  Inglourious Basterds
2)  The Hurt Locker
3)  Avatar
4)  The White Ribbon
5)  Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

BEST EDITING:
1)  The Hurt Locker
2)  Inglourious Basterds
3)  Avatar
4)  District 9
5)  Precious

BEST ART DIRECTION:
1)  Avatar
2)  Nine
3)  The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
4)  The Young Victoria
5)  Sherlock Holmes

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
1)  The Young Victoria
2)  Coco Before Chanel
3)  Nine
4)  The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
5)  Bright Star

BEST MAKE-UP:
1)  Star Trek
2)  The Young Victoria
3)  Il Divo

BEST SOUND EDITING:
1)  Avatar
2)  The Hurt Locker
3)  Inglourious Basterds
4)  Up
5)  Star Trek

BEST SOUND MIXING:
1)  Avatar
2)  The Hurt Locker
3)  Inglourious Basterds
4)  Star Trek
5)  Transformers 2

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
1)  Avatar
2)  District 9
3)  Star Trek

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
1)  The White Ribbon
2)  A Prophet
3)  El Secreto De Sus Ojos
4)  Ajami
5)  The Milk Of Sorrow

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
1)  Up
2)  Fantastic Mr. Fox
3)  The Princess & The Frog
4)  Coraline
5)  The Secret Of Kells

BEST ANIMATED SHORT:
1)  A Matter Of Loaf And Death
2)  Logorama
3)  French Roast
4)  The Lady And The Reaper
5)  Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
1)  The Cove
2)  Food, Inc.
3)  The Most Dangerous Man In America
4)  Burma VJ
5)  Which Way Home

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
1)  China’s Unnatural Disaster
2)  Music By Prudence
3)  The Last Truck
4)  Rabbit A La Berlin
5)  The Last Campaign Of Gov. Booth Gardner

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT:
1)  Kavi
2)  The New Tenants
3)  The Door
4)  Instead Of Abracadabra
5)  Miracle Fish

Oscar Predictions made on March 1, 2010, by Michael The Moviegoer.
Watch The Oscars on Sunday, March 7, 2010.

NORTH FACE = ****

“Extreme Adventure”

“North Face”, from German writer/director Philipp Stolzl, is the best mainstream adventure film to come out of Germany since Wolfgang Petersen’s “Das Boot” in 1981. It also joins “K2” and “Touching The Void” as one of the best films about mountain climbing ever made.

The film is based on the true story of a 1936 attempt by two German climbers to be the first to reach the summit of the notorious Swiss mountain The Eiger.

Set against the backdrop of World War II, the climbers, Toni Kurz and Andi Hinterstoisser are also relectuant soldiers in Hitler’s new army. Mountain climbing is what they live and breathe. So, after some hesitation, they set out to climb the north face of the mountain, dubbed as the “Murder Wall”.

But what goes up must come down. It is in this film’s second half, when they are on their way back down the mountain, that things start to go really wrong for them.

Stylistically, “North Face” is a throwback to old-fashioned epic film making of the kind once made by people like David Lean. It is a sweeping adventure epic with a surprising romantic twist. Luise, a photo-journalist on the scene, is in love with Toni. Her passion is both heroic and heartbreaking.

With stunning cinematography, real locations, amazing stunt work, and a cast of actors that seem fearless and ready to die for these roles, “North Face” is a film that will leave you breathless.

DVD Double Feature: A plane crash in the Andes Mountains leaves a Chilean rugby team stranded for 72 days. The movie of this true story is Frank Marshall’s excellent 1993 film “Alive”. In “North Face”, the mountain climbers willingly put their lives in danger. But for the passengers on this plane, they were given no such choice. To survive, they must test the very limits of human courage and endurance.

Michael The Moviegoer

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN = **1/2

“On The Wrong Track”

Andre Techine’s new film “The Girl On The Train” is inspired by true events. The description of these events sounds sensationalistic enough for the evening news. But as portrayed in this film, it makes us wonder if it was a slow news day in Paris that day.

Emilie Dequenne plays Jeanne, a young 20-something French girl who lies about being the victim of a vicious anti-Semitic attack while on a train in the suburbs of Paris. But, with only a few minor scratches on her face and some Swastikas drawn on her stomach in black marker, nobody seems to believe her.

For us as an audience there is no mystery since we already know she did this to herself because we see it. We just don’t understand why. What might have been a decent psychological character study is derailed by too many additional characters and sub-plots. The main event doesn’t even happen until the film’s second half.

The film is actually divided into two halves. The first is called ‘Circumstances’ and the second is ‘Consequences’. But neither section offers any possible motives or answers. And the sub-plot involving a re-kindled love interest for her mom, played by Catherine Deneuve, with a famous Jewish lawyer, doesn’t really lead anywhere.

Perhaps Techine offers no easy explanations because there never were any. Maybe this girl just did what she did out of boredom. But who wants to see a movie about that?

DVD Double Feature: On the subject of strange hoaxes, in 2007 Richard Gere starred in “The Hoax”. It was the true story about Clifford Irving, a failed novelist who decided to write and publish a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes.

Michael The Moviegoer

SHUTTER ISLAND = ***1/2

“Scorsese Flies Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”

Would you believe that a movie about an FBI agent arriving at an insane asylum to question a serial killer about a mysterious event could open in February and a year later win Oscars in all five top categories, Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay? Have I got you wondering if “Shutter Island” can really be THAT good? Well, the answer to my tricky question is that this has already happened. Back in February of 1991 “The Silence Of The Lambs” opened. An entire year later it won in all five top Oscar categories.

That was 20 years ago. The way the business is run today, that could never happen. Films considered to be Oscar bait are released in the fourth quarter. Films whose Oscar hopes have been abandoned get released in February. How, then, does Martin Scorsese’s magnificent psychological thriller “Shutter Island” get pushed from its original opening date of October 2009 to February 2010? Shame on everyone involved in that decision.

Let me describe how the difference of a few months might have radically changed the current Oscar ballot. Leonardo DiCaprio would be considered the front-runner for his first Best Actor Oscar instead of Jeff Bridges. Maggie Gyllenhaal would be deleted from Best Supporting Actress by Patricia Clarkson. And “Shutter Island” would give everyone a run for their money in the categories of Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Art Direction, Editing and Cinematography. It’s THAT good!

DiCaprio plays a federal marshal arriving at an insane asylum to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a patient. The fact that this asylum is run by Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow would make this movie a lot of fun even if it wasn’t any good. I don’t want to say much more about the plot because the twist is pure genius. No spoilers here.

Martin Scorsese is clearly a filmmaker in love with making films. His past films show that he has been influenced by a wide variety of cinematic styles. But none of his previous efforts prepared me for the style that “Shutter Island” most closely resembles. This film looks like the Hammer horror films of the 1960s. Much of the art direction and cinematography recall many of Hammer’s best from “The Horror Of Dracula” to “The Skull”. It’s those dead leaves flying around bare trees with empty black branches that scrape across a purple-gray sky. For Martin Scorsese, it’s Hammer time! For anyone who loves movies, put “Shutter Island” on your must-see list right now.

DVD Double Feature: In 1978 Michael Crichton directed a smart medical thriller called “Coma” about a sinister conspiracy among doctors at a strange hospital. Doctors Genevieve Bujold and Michael Douglas attempt to investigate the strange disappearance of patients. Low key, yet very suspenseful.

Michael The Moviegoer

THE WOLFMAN = **1/2

“The Tail Of The Talbots”

Benicio Del Toro steps into the role of Lawrence Talbot in the remake of Universal’s 1941 horror classic “The Wolfman”. Universal nearly monopolized horror movies in that era, and they wisely continue to try and re-boot their most famous franchises. Just as with their 1979 remake of “Dracula” with Frank Langella and Laurence Olivier, this new ‘Wolfman’ is set entirely in the gothic period of 1891, and co-stars this generation’s Olivier, Anthony Hopkins.

But the film feels like 2009’s leftovers. Being released among the toxic-dump of February movies suggests the studio’s lack of faith in their film. Well, it was never going to win any Oscars, but to have missed the opportunity to release the film during this past Halloween seems just shameful.

While I found much to admire in this new ‘Wolfman’, there was also a lot to dislike. Perhaps in hoping to make their film relevant to today’s moviegoing teens, the movie is over-the-top loud. A single dog’s bark challenges the limits of any theater’s sub-woofer. And the cheap-thrill ‘gotcha’ moments are a cliché already parodied in the “Scream” movies.

What made the 1941 film so exciting was a sense of mystery and intrigue tied to the werewolf myth. That’s completely absent in the new version by director Joe Johnston, who also made the third “Jurassic Park” film, which explains a lot about why his ‘Wolfman’ seems so disconnected from the original.

Where there does seem to be more of a connection is John Landis’ 1981 modernized “An American Werewolf In London”. Played as serious yet with a sharp sense of humor, this is the best re-boot of a wolfman movie ever. The werewolf makeup effects were handled by Rick Baker who has the same duties on this new remake.

DVD Double Feature: I love the gothic period element of the new ‘Wolfman’ movie. But if you want to see a great, intelligent, literate, modernized version of the werewolf myth, you must check out Mike Nichols’ 1994 “Wolf” starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader and Christopher Plummer. Makeup effects were also handled, again, by Rick Baker.

Michael The Moviegoer

VALENTINE’S DAY = **1/2

“Valentine’s Day Massacred”

Garry Marshall’s “Valentine’s Day” is the feature film equivalent of those red carpet arrivals specials that precede awards shows. The audience for this film are the very people who love to watch the flashy parade of celebrities to see what they’re wearing, who they’re paired with, and what tasty sound bites they might have to offer. Welcome to “Red Carpet Celebrities: The Movie”.

The star-studded cast of “Valentine’s Day” includes everyone from the new Julia Roberts (Jennifer Garner) to the old Julia Roberts (Julia Roberts). Yet despite all the big movie stars, the freshest performance in the film comes from teen music sensation Taylor Swift who offers evidence here that she has a big movie career ahead of her.

Marshall’s film takes place entirely in Los Angeles. And like another L.A.-based film, the very different “Crash”, all these characters have stories that are inter-connected in a way that makes Los Angeles seem like a small town in Kansas.

The plot, assuming there is one, is simply to tell various stories of one day in the romantic lives of nearly 20 characters portrayed by famous movie stars. And anyone who thinks Anne Hathaway makes a good phone sex operator needs to see Jennifer Jason Leigh in “Short Cuts” immediately.

“Valentine’s Day” is a painfully obvious attempt to mimic last year’s V-Day box office success “He’s Just Not That Into You”. But the results are just not as much fun, insightful or intelligent.

DVD Double Feature: The best example of a movie like this when done correctly is Richard Curtis’ “Love Actually”. Another all-star cast with inter-connecting stories, but set in London. Some of the celebs in this cast are Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Laura Linney.

Michael The Moviegoer

FISH TANK = ***1/2

“A Great Catch”

“Fish Tank” is one of the best pieces of modern British cinema I have seen in a very long time. Only a few months ago we were all hailing Carey Mulligan as the next great actress from England (Mulligan was just nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for “An Education”). Now, along comes Katie Jarvis and her phenomenal performance as a lonely troubled teen named Mia desperately looking for a way out of her life in a bleak public housing dead-end neighborhood.

But unlike Mulligan, Jarvis is not a trained actor. She was discovered by director Andrea Arnold on a train platform in the same area where this film’s story is set and filmmed. Perhaps this is why “Fish Tank” has a sense of raw realism not usually experienced while watching a movie. We are immediately caught up in Mia’s pain, loneliness and isolation. Like her, we find ourselves searching for a way out only to end up sharing her pessimistic attitude that help is nowhere to be found.

I’ve read many reviews of this film that describe Mia as a girl who is looking for trouble. But the way I interpret it is that trouble comes looking for her. Mia dreams of auditioning as a hip-hop dancer as if that will change her life. In that sense, Mia is oddly reminiscent of Jennifer Beals’ character in 1983’s “Flashdance”. But Mia gets no support from her disapproving mom, and her mom’s boyfriend Connor, played by Michael Fassbender, develops a dangerous crush on Mia.

In a coming-of-age moment for Mia, after spying on Conner and her mom having sex, Mia falls into Connor’s seductive trap. When their relationship abruptly ends, “Fish Tank” shifts gears and becomes a wild psycho thriller that involves Mia kidnapping a little girl. It’s in this film’s second hour that I found myself truly on the edge of my seat.

I’m not quite sure what the film’s title means. This movie is unique in the way that we see everything from Mia’s point of view. Arnold’s camera never strays from this. We never see Mia, or her story, from anyone else’s viewpoint. In a way, for the audience, it’s quite voyeuristic. We’re allowed to look, but unable to touch. Much like looking into a fish tank.

DVD Double Feature: Great movies about troubled teens are not limited to British cinema. 2003’s “Thirteen” is a revealing look at American teens. It’s the portrait of an intense mother-daughter relationship gone sour starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood. “Thirteen” was directed by Catherine Hardwicke and the screenplay was written by real teenage co-star Nikki Reed. Despite it’s ‘R’ rating from the idiotic MPAA, this is one of the most important films made about teens that any and every teenager must be allowed to see.

Michael The Moviegoer

EDGE OF DARKNESS = **1/2

“Bring A Flashlight”

By now we all know there are two Mel Gibson’s. There’s Mel Gibson the crazed religious fanatic. And then there’s Mel Gibson the movie star. In “Edge Of Darkness” the movie star returns to the genre that made him a star. It recalls many of Gibson’s better films such as “Lethal Weapon” and “Ransom”. But the memories of those films only make us wish “Edge Of Darkness” was more fun.

The movie’s convoluted plot plays like a bad Alan J. Pakula film. The simple part is that Gibson’s daughter is murdered and he sets out to find her killer. The complex part deals with corporate conspiracies that would be difficult even for Michael Clayton to clean up.

The evil corporation Northmoor is extremely secretive about their work which deals with radiation and nuclear weapons being made with foreign parts so the U.S. can assign the blame to other countries. I think.

To keep their dirty little secrets and close every potential loophole, a lot of people meet with violent deaths. One person is run down by a car the second she opens her own car door and steps out into the road. How did that killer have such perfect timing? Was he driving around in circles at 100mph waiting for her to exit her car?

But as secretive as this corporation would like to be, their office is a towering modern glass skyscraper sitting on top of a mountain overlooking a beautiful river valley. Inconspicuous is not the word that comes to mind.

For what is supposed to be an action-thriller, this film is far too talky. Probably half the film consists of long, slow scenes of two people whisper-talking in thick accents which should require subtitles to be understood. Director Martin Campbell re-invented the James Bond franchise with 2006’s “Casino Royale”. But here he’s having trouble holding our interest as this too-complicated plot begins to unravel.

DVD Double Feature: The hard-to-believe plot in “Edge Of Darkness” seems like something Mel Gibson’s character in “Conspiracy Theory” might have dreamed up. In this fun, overlooked thriller from 1997, Gibson plays a wacko with loads of odd theories. One of those, involving co-star Julia Roberts, just might be true. The movie re-teamed Gibson with his “Lethal Weapon” director Richard Donner.

Michael The Moviegoer