Since I didn't get any movies seen last weekend, I need to make up for it this weekend. So I did the triple feature thing on Friday night. I saw "I Heart Huckabees," "Birth," and "Ray." Here's the lowdown:
Let's start with "I ♥ Huckabees." I had fairly high expectations for this film. I knew going in that it would probably be pretentious and a bit odd. A bit odd is an understatement. This is a weird fucking movie. Normally I like weird fucking movies. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is one of my favorite films to come out this year. I didn't dislike "Huckabees." I was just disappointed. It tried way too hard. With a cast like this, it should have been a lot better than it was. The concept was soild and it had some funny moments but it never quite got where it needed to go. Jude Law was excellent as usual, but he was underutilized here. His part had no real meat to it until the last 1/2 hour or so. Jason Schwartzman was ok. His character had such potential to be interesting and he could have really run with it, but he didn't. Lily Tomiln and Dustin Hoffman were basically comic relief and window dressing. They were funny, but hardly remarkable. I didn't believe Isabelle Huppert's character at all and Naomi Watts (who I normally like) was wasted here. In a cast with this kind of talent, surprisingly, the standout performance comes from Mark Wahlberg. He made the whole movie worth watching. He was funny and tragic and totally convincing. I'm not going to recommend that everyone go out and see "Huckabees." It just wasn't that good. Wait till it comes out on DVD and put it in your NetFlix queue.
I didn't particularly like "Birth," but I'm not entirely surprised by that. I had mixed feelings about this film going in. I knew it was going to be semi-disturbing, and it was. Overall though thebest way to describe this film is "heavy." The lighting. The music. The dialogue. I kept hoping that there would be some light at the end of the tunnel, but it just never came about. I walked out of the theatre feeling as if I still had this tremendous weight bearing down on me. I usually like Nichole Kidman, but her performance here was flat. There were also several key scenes where she soooo overacted. Cameron Bright was creepy and brooding, but I was not blown away by his performance either. That was a problem. His character was too important to the story to be anything short of outstanding, and he just wasn't. The one bright spot was Lauren Bacall. She played Nichole's mother and she was excellent. There is a reason this woman is a legend in Hollywood. She is not enough to redeem this film though. Avoid it.
Out of the 3 films I saw, "Ray" was easily the best. A lot is being said about Jamie Foxx's performance in this film. Well, believe the hype. He is Ray Charles. Without him the movie would not be nearly as effective as it is. Everything hinges on his portrayal of the musical legend and he delivers. It's a beautifully shot film as well. Director Taylor Hackford catches the essence and mood of every location and he gets incredible performances out of the rest of his cast as well. Is this a great film? I don't know that I would go so far as to say that, but it is a very good one. It drags a little in some places, but still does not seem as long as it's 2.5 hour run time. It is definitely much better than your normal biopic. Go check this film out. Foxx makes it worth the price of admission.
Next up are "Primer" and "Stage Beauty." I'm going to try and get those seen tomorrow and will post reviews if I do. I'm really looking forward to "Stage Beauty." Billy Crudup =yummy ;)
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