Quick Movie Reviews: Ben Button, Chop Shop, Gran Torino, The Lives of Others

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
In 1994 a movie was released that you may have heard of. It told the story of a young man who overcame a somewhat slow demeanor to become one of the most famous people in America and lead us to believe that things could really work out if we tried hard enough. Forrest Gump (1994) also won the Best Picture Oscar in 1995 beating out what many believed was a superior movie – Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. As you know doubt know by now, Benjamin Button tells the story of a man who is born internally as a baby but with the outward appearance of an 85-year-old man. As he gets younger on the outside, he gets older on the inside so that when he has actually been on the earth for 85 years, he is an infant on the outside. Along the way, he meets many interesting people including Tilda Swinton and a radiant Cate Blanchett. Brad Pitt is Button and he is terrific. I’ll have to say that I enjoyed the movie but that I left feeling as if I had seen it before. For what it’s worth, movies like Button are why I enjoy going to the movies – the scope of this story over time and place is more than any TV screen can handle. It is a tremendous film-going experience but I think one that will lose some cache when transferred to the small screen. My other two favorite characters are Button’s adopted mother played by Taraji P. Henson. You may remember Henson from Talk to Me (2007). She lit up the screen playing opposite Don Cheadle and she does not disappoint here. My other favorite character (Lt. Dan?) is Capt. Mike played by Jared Harris. You gotta love Capt. Mike. Director David Fincher gets a little heavy handed with the symbolism (look for the hummingbird) but does a good job taking a lengthy movie and making it eminently watchable. Oh, and, yes, I feel completely comfortable saying that seeing Brad Pitt on the motorcycle is worth the price of admission.

Chop Shop (2007)
Another small independent film that takes a camera and drops it right in the middle of a depressing situation and watches as life unfolds. Directed by Ramin Bahrani, Chop Shop follows the story of young Ale who struggles for survival on the outskirts of Queens, New York. The title comes from the area where Ale lives and survives – an area of Queens that specializes in “car repair.” When Ale’s sister arrives, he is determined to work to make them a better life. And that’s pretty much it. The fascinating part about this film is how much is feels like a documentary. About half-way through, you forget that these are actors and that this is a fictionalized story. The whole films hinges on the ability of Alejandro Polanco, who is all of 12 or 13 years old, to carry this off, and he does. It is a terrific acting job by a young man who had no real previous acting experience. If you’re in the mood for yet another depressing little indie film, then pick this up.

Gran Torino (2008)
I’ll watch Clint Eastwood in just about anything. I can’t think of a film starring Eastwood that I haven’t seen. So, given that, it was nice sitting in the theater (literally, by myself) getting comfortable with the Eastwood I’ve grown to know and love. Here was an older Will Munny. Here was an older Harry Callahan. Here was an older Man With No Name. Here was an older Josey Wales. In 1998 I was bothered that Jack Nicholson was nominated and eventually won the Oscar for Best Actor in As Good As It Gets (1997). Why? Because he was rewarded for doing what he does best – playing Jack Nicholson. I was disappointed that Eastwood was not nominated for Best Actor for Gran Torino because I knew he would be good and it is rumored that it will be he last time in front of the camera. However, after seeing it, I’m glad they didn’t nominate him. Clint was playing the person he plays best – Clint Eastwood. As Walt Kowalski, he scowls and growls his way throughout this movie as an “R” rated Archie Bunker. The twist, of course, is that the very people he rails against are the very people he ends up defending. About halfway through the movie, you can see where this is going to end up but I will not spoil it here. Eastwood starred and directed this movie and it is worth seeing; however, unless you are a big Eastwood fan, it is worth waiting on the DVD. The other actors in the film are doing just that – acting. And you can tell.

The Lives of Others (2006)
Want to know what life was like for Winston Smith in Oceania? Then watch this terrific film set in 1984 in East Germany. This movie won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007 and justifiably so. This two+ hour German movie (with subtitles) is directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and is fantastic. The movie tells the story of a member of the secret police who is assigned to spy on a local artist, who, by all appearances, is most definitely a friend of the state. In so doing, our secret police agent and true state believer is introduced to everything that it means to be an artist – the music, the plays, the literature, the discussion, etc. Slowly he finds himself being transformed and he finds his faith in the state shaken.

James Whitmore, R.I.P.
On Feb. 6, we lost another one of our great character actors. James Whitmore died on Friday, Feb. 6. He had been in movies and television forever and a day but I will always remember him as Brooks Hatlen in The Shawshank Redemption (1994). “Brooks was here.”