Oscarbait 2011: We Need To Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About Kevin cans and compresses the novel into 2 hours of bleak psychodrama. You can't look away, no matter how badly you may want to. Its not a thriller, its not a drama, its something...new.

Nothing is definitive here; director Lynne Ramsay leads us through Eva Katchadourian's mind with a series of impressions. Eva, once a highly successful travel writer, is left alienated by her son's horrifying actions, but in some ways it seems she was even more alienated by the act of becoming a mother.

That tension drives the narrative, which skips back in forth in time with no unifying through-line of its own. Did Kevin become evil because of Eva's alienation, or was Eva alienated by being the only person to recognize his malevolence?

Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller both excel in their roles, but Jasper Newell, as toddler Kevin, really steals the show. Eva's never allowed to know why he's driven to his grand final act, but we do; both Newell and Miller play Kevin as a blankly attractive container housing pure malevolence.

Still, we're not asked to sympathize with Eva, even as she makes small steps to reclaim her life. The movie stays centered in her perspective, and her perspective is clearly not to be trusted. Certain cinematographic details reveal that we're very specifically viewing her impressions of her life, what she imagines herself to be guilty of, and what she blames others for. As with Eva, we are left with no objective truth about Kevin to cling to.

The film cleverly limits John C. Reilly's role as the father of the monster, whose wide-eyed love of his son stands at odds with this peculiar psychic war between mother and son.

Kevin's not a movie for the faint of heart; it asks you to look deep within the hearts of Eva and Kevin to determine who the real monster is. The finale leaves us no doubt as to the answer to that question, but other questions linger. I'll leave you to find them out for yourself.

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Ephemera: Stunning 1960's Soviet Science Magazine Covers

This Soviet technology magazine has some of the loveliest artwork I've ever seen. I can't find a whole lot of information about it, since the original poster is Russian (and Google Translate is especially goofy with Russian).

These visions of the future are fascinating. There's the totally cliché vision of flying cars, but I'm intrigued by some of the other ideas, such as:

Wall-E!:

The Underground Kremlin:

The flying stadium:

My beloved Golem. I never cease to be entertained by the Jewbot:

The Soviet vision of a united global politik:

My favorite, because it's just a damn beautiful drawing:

Check out the original post for tons more.

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Hot Movie Trailer: The Five Year Engagement

It may surprise many of you to see me so enthused about a romantic comedy, but The Five Year Engagement couldn't look more awesome if it tried.

Are we finally experiencing the post-Bridesmaids bump, where screenwriters put back the comedy into rom-com?

Jason Segel, CHRIS PRATT!!!, Alison Brie and the always wonderful Emily Blunt round out the cast. Though Alison Brie's British accent deserves its own comedy series. But the real surprise, and what gives me hope? Animal Kingdom's wicked Jacki Weaver.

Enjoy!

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Oscarbait 2011: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

originally published in The 405. If nothing else, see this for Gary Oldman's fantastic performance.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a four word justification for the existence of that most onerous of Hollywood trends: the remake. However, unlike other adaptations of novels from the Cold War era, the story hasn’t been modernized the way the Bourne films have been. Director Tomas Alfredson does not set out to make ham-fisted metaphors about the state of contemporary intelligence, he focuses on telling a tight, old-fashioned spy tale.

Like the original, this version of TTSS assembles the finest British actors working today, with a killer cast including Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds, John Hurt, and Gary Oldman in what must surely be his finest performance to date. But lest you think this is only features the British acting royalty, the young Turks are well represented by Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch.

In structure, the film closely resembles a typical televised serial: first we meet our cast of characters, then we look closely at each one, then the endgame is revealed. This serial form of storytelling proved surprisingly effective, as we were allowed to observe George Smiley (Gary Oldman) slowly peel back the layers of these spy games, moving ever closer to the mole.

However, the slow pace led to one problem. The identity of the mole becomes clear to the discerning viewer quite early within the film. It’s a credit to the director, however, that this didn’t actually spoil the film.

I’m not certain if it took Alfredson ten minutes to find his rhythm in the film, or whether it took me ten minutes to adjust to it. The pacing is measured; a surprising number of shots lasted ten seconds or longer (believe it or not, I was counting). In the first ten minutes of the film, this felt overly languorous, almost as if Alfredson were privileging the film’s attention to period detail over the actual story, but that feeling subsides, and the lingering shots on lampshades move to careful close-ups of our actors’ faces.

As Smiley navigates his way through the top members of The Circus, we revel in his close examination of the acrobatics, clowning and gamesmanship that are part and parcel of Cold War intelligence. Try to see it in the theatre if you can, so you can bathe in its period atmospherics.

Rating: 8/10

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Great Fakeout Songs: "Luka" and the Invention of the MP3

If you don't listen to the lyrics, you'd think this was one of the happiest tunes ever written. But behind the B-52's style pop melodies, there lies total darkness.

I love Suzanne Vega's anecdote in the New York Times about her early performances of the song:

“Luka” was not a popular song when I would perform it back then. I would watch people from the stage. You could see their faces change as they thought about the lyrics; a frown would appear, then a general look of unhappiness, followed by a scowl directed at the floor and, at the conclusion, a smattering of reluctant applause. Then a request for something else, usually “Gypsy” or something in a major key with a chorus.

That's what Great Fakeout Songs is all about!

More interesting trivia about Suzanne Vega: "Tom's Diner" was used to optimize the newly invented mp3 format, as it were widely considered the most perfect recordings from a sonic perspective. Many artists used "Luka" to test their speakers for the same reason, including Philip Glass, oddly enough.

But if you think you're sick of "Tom's Diner":

“He wound up listening to the song thousands of times,” the article, written by Hilmar Schmundt, continued, “and the result was a code that was heard around the world. When an MP3 player compresses music by anyone from Courtney Love to Kenny G, it is replicating the way that Brandenburg heard Suzanne Vega.”

How lovely is that! Suzanne Vega may not have had a hit in over two decades, but we hear her sound in every mp3. Go read the article.

Anyway, here's the song!

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Winter Song of the Day: "White Days" by The Juliana Theory

Winter song time! Brrrrr...London's turned cold! After one of the mildest autumns in recent memory, nature is exercising her harshest punishment: freezing winds and ice rain. All the more reason to stay inside with a warm cup of tea and think about the songs that make us feel a little bit warmer in the wintertime.

"White Days" has to be one of my all-time favorite songs by The Juliana Theory, one of my all-time favorite bands (the devotion of an 16 year old never quite dies...). The fifth track from Love, it's the best example of how the band combined electronica style fast guitar riffs with classic song-writing.

I was always amazed how the band recreated the sounds almost perfectly live without any pre-recorded tracks or extra players. (My college roomate and I did manage to get pretty close to figuring out, to the endless unhappiness of our neighbors).

Anyways, it's a bit more melancholy than most of their tunes, which makes it perfect listening for a winter's day.

I couldn't find a good video of the song, so you get this weird fanvid instead:

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The Good Wife In Review: "Parenting Made Easy"

Today, I'm going to string you all along until we get to the part we all want to talk about: Grace Florrick. Kidding!

In the storyline we all knew would happen, we get a face-off between Martha and Caitlin. Caitlin is no Mini Streep. The "cuteness" thing doesn't go too well for her in court (nor does it make her any more appealing to the audience). That said, Martha's no peach either. She validates L/G's hiring decision by behaving incredibly immaturely.

It's quite funny really. These young 'uns haven't had a chance to learn how to play dirty the way adults do, so they indulge in cheap playground tricks like giggling in the middle of testimony.

It seems oddly fitting that we have John Michael Higgins moderating this fight. I can't take him seriously as a lawyer for obvious reasons:

Oh look! There's Jennifer Carpenter! Ain't she pretty? Sadly, she's not a motherfucking professor of motherfucking English, but a Christian Reformist. C'mon Deb. Give me a swear word?

I admit, her beauty slightly dulls the fact that she's probably a very unlikeable person and incredibly difficult to defend from a moral standpoint.

But morality is irrelevant when Michael J. Fox is around! Alicia apparently has not learned not to dick him around, though it's absolutely hilarious when she scurries away from him down the stairs. It was the sporting thing to do.

He retaliates by...stealing from her handbag. After helping her out. I'm still not sure whether he was being genuinely helpful or just biding his time for an opportunity. That is the magic of Canning's mystery. Alicia, go work for him!

LOCKHART GARDNER STUFF

SMASH CUT to the adults. Diane lays down the law, Will mopes with Kalinda, and Peter realizes what a mistake he's made hiring Wendy Scott-Carr, dead-eyed psycho, looking for REVEEEEENGE!! There are hints that Wendy's more concerned with destroying Alicia than Peter, but I have no doubt that her scheming is vast and dangerous enough to encompass them both.

In my favorite subplot, Eli runs begging to Will. The HoYay is so blinding that I'm turning gay just watching it (the same can no longer be said for Kalinda/Dana, however. Hope that's the end of those "flirtations"). Eli is now officially allies with everyone on the show, which kind of makes him the King of the castle, though he probably doesn't realize it (how insufferable would he be if he knew?).

DEMON SPAWN

Grace, who exists only to give Julianna Margulies more clips for her Emmy reel, makes herself a bigger pain in the ass than usual by getting baptized by Internet Cheesus. And she didn't leave a note!

That's what this show needs: more dismemberment. Anyway...

I was not unmoved by Peter's swift moves into action. You can tell that Alicia's always been attracted to how powerful he is, even though she wasn't ready for the dark side of that.

The most exciting development here, however, is the return of Kalinda. I'm betting Alicia finds out next week, and their hostility finally begins to thaw.

THAT OTHER THING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK

A thousand Will/Alicia fans are sobbing into their tequilas this week. I'm sorry to see it end, but from a narrative perspective, it feels necessary. Again, they're adults, and they don't live in a fantasy world. Alicia recognizes this, and so does Will. Unfortunately, they arrive at opposite conclusions.

I have a feeling that Wendy Scott-Carr's investigation will burn the firm badly whether they're together or not, and if she is after Alicia, Will's in a better position to help her if they're not in a relationship.

That said, poor guy. He's in for a rough year.

OTHER

Are The Kills the official soundtrack for Kalinda's sexy-times? That just makes me miss Lili Taylor and Kalinda's OTP: baseball bat.

 

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