Locke: A Unique Cinematic Accomplishment

Locke is a masterwork of understatement.  It's scintillating cinematic minimalism.  Bold claims out of the way, I was mesmerized by the confidence of this film.  The whole film takes place in a car with some aerial/exterior road shots for visual relief.  At the beginning we see him exit the place he works.  He makes and receives various calls during which he must deal with personal and professional issues.  He has to deal with some heavy stuff but he always remains very calm and cool like a soothsayer, his voice rarely wavers.  It is surreal how composed he is during these stressful calls but then he has these private moments of catharsis.  Much of the film has the effects of a very dark comedy, if you come from a certain point of view like me but it is ultimately a drama.  

This is a film almost without music.  The only moments of score occur during some catharsis scenes, some traffic footage, and at the climax and end credits.  Otherwise, the drama and suspense hold up without music for most of the film.  This is not a one of those films that's wooden without the score.

Who knew concrete pouring could be so epic?! I also love that there is a character named Gareth.

The Judge: Review

The Judge: Paradigm Paradise: that's one way of approaching this film.And I love the paradigms here, most of all: the big city man gets pulled away from the city to some small town/rural location and his life changes in a number of ways.  I love it, love it in Elizabethtown, loved it in A Good Year.  I love those abrupt changes.  SPOILERS AHEAD: I also love the cocky protagonist finding a soul, rediscovering an old lover, and finally taking pride in his hometown.  SPOILER OVER

Hitting reset is such a great thing, especially in the movies.  This is also a technically top-notch film, Thomas Newman provided the hauntingly beautiful music as he always does and Janusz Kaminski provided the photography that is visually the equal to Newman's score, there is so much weight in those shadows and comfort in those highlights and colors.  This is a beautiful vacation of a film.

Of course, the protagonist considers his idyllic small town paradise of a hometown a burden even though it's populated with adoring attractive women.  And his personal life is conveniently messy.  Robert Downey Jr. rains his big, beautiful persona on the material and Robert Duvall supplies a necessary gravitas to this well-executed recipe.  The courtroom climax gets a little too unprofessional and there is a major revelation but not a clever legal turn.

I wanted to love this movie and I loved parts, others I merely liked.  Would I watch it again: yes, especially with my parents to see their reactions.  This would also be great in a corn belt marathon or a marathon of going back home movies!  Who knows, this year being like it is, it may yet be on my favorites. 

Three Films That Surpised Me Last Weekend (The Weekend of 12-20-2014)

Gone Girl: This move is the second most enjoyable Fincher film I've seen of the 2000's ilk, after The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Generally, I've been disappointed by his more recent films compared to the rest of of civilization.  I miss his 1990's films.  Anyhow, I thought this was going to be some painful, tearjerker of a film but it was really fun considering the subject, I especially like the protagonist's sister, who I knew I loved from her very first appearance.  I'm not the biggest fan of the bittersweet ending, bitches deserve justice.

Housebound: Like Grabbers last year, this is another film I saw thanks to Fangoria.  I love horror comedy and dry humor, both of which are to be found here.  What's surprising is that this film starts as one thing then becomes another thing and then another.  There are some solid movie references/similarities.  Morgana O'Reilly has a cute-punkish screen presence that grew on me.  The big caveat: this film doesn't really get started until about 40-45 minutes in, that said, on repeat viewings it just may fly by when you know what's coming.

The Town That Dreaded Sundown: First off, I loved seeing the classic 1990's Orion logo again, the one that accompanied my favorite film of all time, The Silence of the Lambs (among others).  This film is deliciously meta and I don't want to say why because that spoils the fun.  Addison Timlin charmed the hell out of me as a brunette Southern belle, or a Texan-Lower Plains Belle, whatever . . . but if she brung me then I'd be dancing with her empty cups before I laid eyes on another gal. Anyhow, this film has familiar elements for sure; and why shouldn't it?  This is the best horror franchise successor I've seen ever, I think.  Pop some granola and whip up some wheatgrass gravy and let this one rip.