Saboteur (1943)

I received this brilliant collection recently in celebration of a pagan holiday. So expect more reviews to come dear readers.

Saboteur is one of Hitchcock’s more uneven films in my opinion. There is a glaring ridiculousness about it, in part, because of the soundtrack. But that doesn’t keep definite Hitchcockian elements from shining.

Centered on Barry Kain, an airplane factory worker, who sets off in a cross-country chase to clear his name and capture the guilty. Set amid national treasures with hints of propaganda, it’s a race against time as fascists set out to harm our nation. But with respectable businessmen who double as secret agents, Kain and billboard model turned sidekick/love interest Patricia Martin (Priscilla Lane) aren’t sure who to trust. The tension climaxes at the top of Lady Liberty.

Robert Cummings stars as Kain and with the look of ‘everyman’ he is convincingly patriotic and respectable—wanting only to clear his good name and foil the terrorists. He is just the tip of a spectacular cast. Otto Kruger as Charles Tobin is maliciously cool. In contrast is Vaughan Glaser as Phillip Martin, as Pat’s blind but remarkable uncle with his Freudian dialogue.

The production is slick. The race against {insert current political evil here} is taught, rife with suspicion, scheming, and humor. Hitchcock springs plots and characters on his unsuspecting audience wonderfully, twisting and turning—if it were a roller-coaster we’d all be nauseous.

As I see it, the success of Saboteur rests on its characters. Cummings and Lane are solid, but Kruger, Glaser, the truck driver and entire circus group make it a film to remember.

Paper Heart (2009)

This unusual mockumentary stars a delightful Michael Cera and a new to me, oddball Charlyne Yi. Charlyne—an unbeliever in love—sets out to document people, their views on love, and unexpectedly falls into it.

The best parts of this film are the real love stories told by couples across the nation and Michael Cera. Yi is unconvincing. Her loud guffaw is unbearable. The lines between fact and fiction are clearly drawn, but that doesn’t keep Paper Heart from being obnoxiously adorable. Cera is the man. His unassuming demeanor works perfectly here. The scenes with Yi are precious, but Yi is uncomfortable in her own skin and that is reflected here.

Paper Heart is composed of scripted bits, real stories, and puppet reenactments. Sadly, they don’t gel. Making matters worst is an abrupt ending that leaves the viewer feeling cheated.

As I see it, Paper Heart is like Nick and Norah’s sans playlist and relatable characters. It’s cute, but forgettable.

The Last Days of Disco (1998)

For this group, the last days of disco were beautifully vapid and strangely familiar.

Taking Woodstock (2009)

Director Ang Lee’s latest film is one with epic surroundings; but amid the beautiful chaos is a coming of age story. Elliot (Demetri Martin) offers up his parent’s failing hotel as the base of operations for a then unheard of music festival called Woodstock. What he doesn’t realize at the time he donates an important music festival permit is how much the festival will change him.

Based on a memoir of the period, Lee strips away the iconic elements of the historical festival. What’s left in Taking Woodstock is an often comedic look at the pre and post hippie affects on Bethel, New York.

Starring a solid ensemble cast, Taking Woodstock is a real trip thanks in part to characters that give the film an offbeat feel. Demetri Martin is the twenty-something Jewish son. As Elliot, Martin plays him queer, uncertain, and an aspiring painter who is unfortunately tied to his parent’s motel. Imelda Staunton has an incredible turn as his paranoid, riotous mother, Sonia. Staunton is unlike anything I ever seen her before.  She's a chamelon.  Henry Goodman is her long-suffering husband, Jake. Elliot’s relationships with them are the impetus for welcoming the hippies. With the festival organizers comes slurry of great characters that help build the film’s off-beat, easy going naturel: Vietnam Vet Billy (Emile Hirsch), Vilma (brilliant turn for Liev Schreiber), and the VW couple (Paul Dano and Kelli Garner). Eugene Levy is the now famous farmer Max Yasgur.

The colors and production detail are dazzling. Lee doesn’t skimp on any element. Taking Woodstock looks epic, but manages to keep its cozy, personal feel. Elliot’s acid trip courtesy of VW couple is an incredible sequence.

Stripped of the nostalgia angle, independent of the music and political events of the day, this film strikes a remarkable chord. Taking Woodstock is a completely different animal with none of Lee’s heavy-handedness found in Lust, Caution. What he has done is successfully capture a pivotal moment in music history and celebrates the beauty of like-minded random strangers. As I see it, that’s pretty cool.

Julie & Julia (2009)

Embittered by her day job as a government employee who helps survivors of of the 9/11 attacks and their families cope, Julia Powell (Amy Adams) turns to the one thing she uses to forget her woe-filled days: cooking. With the encouragement of her husband Eric, Julie attempts to master the art of French cooking with Julia Child as her inspiration blogging all the way.

Based on Powell’s book of the same name, Nora Ephron’s adaptation follows the source material flawlessly. I think. I gave up on the book. But much like the book, the film has too much of the whiny Julie Powell and not enough of the kitchen icon, Julia Child.

The film’s real treat is Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Stanley Tucci as her husband Paul. Let me tell you—every frame these two are in comes alive with chemistry and joy. Streep channels Child flawlessly. From height to hearty laughter, here is a woman with a true zest for life. Dan Akroyd’s impersonation on SNL is featured here for laughs, but it is Streep that really charms. Paul dotes on this wife and Stanley Tucci makes you believe it. You can’t help but fall in love with these two.

In contrast is modern day Julie and Eric. Julie comes across as whiny, ungrateful, and dull. Amy Adams is in a constant state of pouting and quickly proves to be an irritant. Julie is simply not as interesting as Julia. Eric (Chris Messina) is the long-suffering husband that turns on his wife as quickly as she gets interesting in the cooking and stops having sex.

The film’s structure—switching between Queens and Post-war France—helps to break the weaker of plot points.  Less that midway through, the lack of engaging modern characters is so apparent this viewer just wanted the goose to be cooked.

As I see it, only the long-suffering viewer will be rewarded and that comes at the end where Julie visits the Smithsonian exhibit of Julia’s kitchen. Julie and Julia isn’t bad. But I can’t help feeling that you must really, really, REALLY want to see this one in order to fully enjoy it.