Missed Masterpieces: The Master

by Kevin Powers

In recent days, I have watched several films of great depth and magnitude, completely different in every way. All were released in 2012. All were on my radar, yet I happened to miss them in theaters.

For Part I of this multi-part series, I shall discuss the one I truly regret missing on the big screen. It is a film meant for a theater, beautifully shot on the rarely used 70mm film...real actual film. I have struggled with how to approach writing about this one. It is so full and dense, yet I'm not sure (even now) if it's actually a good movie.

Written and Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams

Music by Jonny Greenwood



Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is a movie of so many questions. At times, I wasn't even sure what was happening. It is slow and too long. It lingers, though, in my head. It features striking imagery in its cinematography. It is a masterful sight to see from a masterful filmmaker, yet I'm not sure it ended up being the movie that was originally envisioned when initially conceived. The performances from the three leads are some of the best in any movie I've seen. How can a movie do everything right, as far as the craft of movie-making goes, and just not be effective? I blame post-production on this one. I think it could've been a great follow-up to Anderson's incredible There Will Be Blood (2007). It certainly has a similar tone and look. It also has that same sort-of haunting music from Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead). It's just not there in the end.

The Master stars Joaquin Phoenix in his first role after the odd "I'm quitting acting to pursue a hip-hop career" put-on he did for the fake documentary I'm Still Here. He is brilliant. A true actor. His performance fills every inch of him. He is the odd, alcoholic WWII vet Freddie Quell. You believe every bit of his disturbed sensibility right down to the way he stands and walks and holds his arms and talks out of the side of his mouth.

After the war, Freddie finds himself out of place. He tries different jobs. Early in the film, he takes a job as a department store portrait photographer. He is unstable, odd. He mixes up strange concoctions of various chemicals and poisons and drinks them from a flask. He gets really drunk. After accosting a customer during a photo shoot, the film flashes to his next venture as a farm hand in Salinas, a cabbage picker. After an old man gets ahold of his potent hooch and nearly dies, Freddy flees, staggering down the docks and stumbles upon a yacht. The yacht is housing a party, the wedding of the daughter of a man named Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Dodd is a up-and-coming religious figure. He is a self-proclaimed "nuclear physicist and theoretical philosopher." He is obviously modeled after L. Ron Hubbard (writer of Dianetics and creator of "Scientology"). Dodd and his wife Peggy (Amy Adams) take the man into their world of healing (referred to as "The Cause"). Freddie becomes part of the cult that has begun to gather. Then, the real questions start flying.

There is an early scene, an interview between Freddie and Dodd, that is one of the best directed and acted scenes I can recall in any movie. Dodd fires away question after question refusing to allow Freddie to blink or they start over. Things about his past, his future, his fears. See, Dodd's philosophy is that all things are connected through time, outside of your physical being. Your fears are the fears bred into you by millions of years of evolution. Freddie is an animal. He is irrational and violent and afraid. Dodd finds in Freddie a challenge. He must have thought Can I tame him? Can I heal his pain? Can I help him erase the horrors he faced in the war? In his childhood?

Another great scene between the two male leads takes places later as they are both jailed. Dodd for a sort of fraud and Freddie for attacking the police officers there to serve their warrant.

Dodd: Your fear of capture and imprisonment is an implant from millions of years ago. This battle has been with you from before you knew. This is not you.

Freddie: SHUT THE F@#& UP!

Part of Dodd's belief system is that "Man is NOT an animal." Yet Freddie is. And Dodd is. And everyone is. What about sexual desire? Dodd has it. Freddie has it. It is clearly seen in this film in surprising scenes that I won't even hint at. What about mental illness? Freddie is certainly mentally ill. As Peggy puts it, when trying to sway Dodd to cast Freddie out, "Maybe he is past help...or insane?" As Dodd begins to put Freddie through a series of tests all I could think was Is this religion or psychotherapy? Now, I'm wondering to myself, Is there a difference?

These are the struggles I had with this movie. It is all contradictory. Maybe that's Anderson's point here. Is religion inherently crazy? A man like Dodd, or an L. Ron Hubbard, believes he can simply create his own philosophy and call it religion. People will follow it like anything else. At one point, Dodd's son, Val (Jesse Plemons), points out to Freddie one simple idea:  "He's making this up as he goes along. You don't see that?" We see what we choose to see. Freddie needed somewhere to belong. He left the war a broken man, physically and mentally. Whether "The Cause' was his answer or not, we must find out for ourselves.

**Request: I invite anyone reading this and willing to watch this movie. I want to hear more thoughts on it. Is The Master a masterpiece? In the end, it seems too unclear for me to decide. It certainly looks and feels like one. I'm just not sure. 

On Home Video

On Home Video
by Kevin Powers

Remember the good ole days when you got in the car and went down to the local video store and searched and scoured the racks for upwards of an hour to find just the right movie you wanted? I miss that!

I was that guy with whom you hated to rent a movie. I was (and still am) picky. I've read the reviews. I know what's "good" and what's not. No. I don't want to rent that summer blockbuster or that silly, dime-a-dozen romantic comedy.

Now, it seems that the choices are so limited. You have your home On Demand service (too expensive). Netflix subscription (too much planning). Netflix Instant Watch (mostly crap). Then, there's Redbox. This is my preferred method these days, despite the limited selection. I want nothing more than to see Perks of Being a Wallflower, for example. Can't find it in any Redbox locations right now in my area. Not available on my On Demand. I wish I could just go to Blockbuster and get it. There are many movies that are just in between. I miss the video store. I like the physical browsing aspect. They're never coming back, I know.

I will say that I've been happily surprised, though, at the speed with which DVDs and Blu-Rays are making it to the public. Theaters turn most movies over at rapid speed and the home video comes out quicker than ever. I have to say that in the past two weeks, visits to "The Redbox" have been quite rewarding.

Here are some great movies available at your local Redbox right now:

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

Story by Bob Fisher and Steve Faber; Screenplay by Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders, and John Morris

Starring Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, and Ed Helms







We're the Millers is just a solidly funny summer comedy. The always-good Jason Sudeikis plays David, a Denver pot dealer, who, after being robbed by some young punks, has to make a trip down to Mexico to score a great deal of weed for his boss, drug kingpin Brad Gurlinger (Ed Helms). To make it look legit, he decides to assemble a family of sorts by enlisting his stripper neighbor, Rose (Jennifer Aniston), to be his wife; the annoying teenage virgin from down the hall, Kenny (Will Poulter), as his son; and the spoiled rich kid runaway, Casey (Emma Roberts), who hangs around his neighborhood as his daughter.

Together, they form bonds (in many more ways than one) that will last a lifetime playing house in an RV in classic road-movie form. The funniest bits come early in the movie as the David character has so much to say about his enjoyment of not being a family man. Shaggy-haired, he goes to a barber shop for a clean-cut look and his observances about the married man look are worth the price of the rental alone. I also enjoyed the Kenny character. New-comer Will Poulter holds his own with the more seasoned young actor in Emma Roberts and veteran comic-actress Jennifer Aniston, who, like a fine wine, gets better and better with age. She is smokin' hot in this movie.

It is just a fun movie to watch. There is drug humor, sex humor, awkward family humor, parenting mishaps, and, to be honest, quite a bit of warmth. A satisfying watch for a cold, winter evening.

Directed by James Ponsoldt

Screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, based on the novel by Tim Tharp

Starring Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler









I felt this movie in every inch of my emotional being. It is so pure and true and near-perfect. I enjoyed it so much, it has kicked started my enjoyment of writing once again. I wrote about it at great length in my best of the year reviews, where it landed at #1 by a long-shot. Read my full review here.

Written and Directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash

Starring Steve Carrell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, and Liam James









The writing team of actors, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, having experienced some success as writers working with Alexander Payne on The Descendants (2011), have gone back to what has to be a shared experience of their own youths with this one. I expected a bit more, but this is a pretty solid movie and definitely worth the rental.

One thing I can say about The Way Way Back is that Sam Rockwell is great. He is an actor that I have come to admire greatly over the years, and he is rarely used. He is the reason to watch this movie. The heart of the story is the relationship that develops between 14-year-old Duncan (Liam James) and Owen (Sam Rockwell). Duncan has been dragged to his future stepdad's (Steve Carrell) beach house for the summer along with his mom (Toni Collette) and future stepsister. His parents are recently divorced. He wishes he could've gone with his dad. He is shy and awkward and just uncomfortable in his own skin. The neighbor girl, Susanna (the charming AnnaSophia Robb), is immediately in his crosshairs, though he would never have the guts to talk to her. And his mom's beau, Trent (Carrell), is what most would describe as an asshole jerk.

One day, he happens upon Owen (Rockwell) and finds himself whisked away into the world of water park employment. With Owen as his life-coach, Duncan slowly comes out of his shell. Gains some confidence and "comes-of-age." The Way Way Back, on my radar earlier in 2013 and later recommended by my old college friend Jen, was not as good as I expected but it has a stellar cast, some good laughs, and enough hard truths about divorce and growing-up to make it a good watch on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Written and Directed by Woody Allen

Starring Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis CK, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard, and Michael Stuhlbarg









There are moments in Woody Allen's 43rd feature Blue Jasmine that remind you of some of his greatest  works like Crimes and Misdemeanors or Match Point. There are also some moments that don't work as well. Some skips in the plot that just don't allow the whole movie to come together.

This is a modern take on the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire. And, in that regard, it works. Cate Blanchett, who is already clearing shelf space for her next Oscar, is incredible. She plays the classic devastated woman character that we have come to know well from Woody. The latest in a long-line of great female roles that include Dianne Wiest's Holly in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and and Radha Mitchell's Melinda in Melinda and Melinda (2004). Just to name a couple.

Blanchett plays Jasmine, a recently-divorced New York wife and socialite, who is forced to move in with her half-sister, Ginger (the great Sally Hawkins), in San Francisco. She chases her Xanax with Stoli Martinis. She talks to herself. She is detached from reality. She is broken. The sister, Ginger, is her opposite. Divorced from her first husband, Augie (Andrew Dice Clay), and now taken up with Chili (Bobby Cannavale), Ginger does her best to help Jasmine, though she knows Jasmine is too stuck-up and shallow to ever do anything like that for her.

The plot plays inside the head of Jasmine, for the most part. It flashes between Jasmine trying to get back on her feet while dealing with a deteriorating mental state in the present and her marriage to millionaire fraud artist, Hal (Alec Baldwin), now in the past. While both story lines are effective, the plot gets a bit muddled in the shifting.

Where Blue Jasmine falls short in story, though, it rises to the occasion in some incredibly inspired casting. Andrew Dice Clay is excellent as the screwed-over by Hal ex-husband of Ginger. He delivers some of the movie's most heartfelt lines. It is great to see him in a serious role, or in a movie at all these days. Similarly, Bobby Cannavale plays a great Kowalski-type in Chili, a man consumed by love for Ginger and hatred for Jasmine and her negative effect on his love. Every Woody Allen movie should be seen. I have seen most of them. When a man makes a movie a year, every single year, there are bound to be some that falter. This one, I'd say, sits in the middle somewhere. Not great, but pretty good.

Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams










I'm still processing this movie, which is either one of the best or worst of 2012. I haven't fully decided. I was inspired to seek it out, after missing it in the theater (big regret, as it's the only movie in 15 years to be shot on 70mm film), upon leaving Spike Jonze's collaboration with Joaquin Phoenix, Her.

Phoenix is being very selective in his movie role choices these days and this one is no exception. It is compelling and beautiful but also messy and odd. I plan to write about it at greater length once it soaks in a bit more, but, essentially, it is the story, set in post-WWII, of a confused, angry, alcoholic drifter (Phoenix), who stumbles upon a man named Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman), an L. Ron Hubbard-type religious figure working on a new sort-of religion. You have to see it and figure it out for yourself. Recommended only for the patient and curious.

Directed by Paul Greengrass

Screenplay by Billy Ray, based on the book by Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty

Starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysai Ahmed, and Mahat M. Ali








Several years ago, Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum) made a very small movie about the passengers of United 93--the plane that went down in Pennsylvania on 9/11. Much like that film (United 93), Captain Phillips retraces the uber-realistic journey of a hijacking. It is supremely effective in its realism, which has become Greengrass' trademark, and the ending scenes feature some of the most powerful acting of the year.

In 2009, Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship delivering goods and supplies meant for poor African villagers and refugees, found himself under siege by a small group of Somali pirates. He is cool and calm, a great Captain. He doesn't get in with the BS and small-talk of the rest of his crew. He is matter-of-fact with his thick New England accent. He is a good boss and ship captain. Those of us who listen to (or watch) the news were captivated by this story as it played out. We are familiar with the hijacking and eventual takedown of the pirates and rescue of Phillips by the Navy SEALs.

What we aren't familiar with is the process, the emotions, the sheer terror, and the utter devastation of the Somali people, who are given to lives of crime in a poor, war-torn country. That is where this movie is great. Like Kathryn Bigelow's 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty, Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips is that once-in-awhile ripped-from-the-headlines movie that really works. And watching this movie, you know who made it. It has the Greengrass stamp on it. The shaky hand-held closeups (loved my me, hated my most, including my wife) and quickly edited action sequences. This is a Best Picture nominee and well deserves it, though it's at the bottom of my rankings of the nominated films. However, if you're into a good, intense, realistic action movie, then this is the one for 2013. 

Buzz-worthy: My Top Five Movies of 2013

Five
by Kevin Powers

Random summer movie days "make the world come alive," to quote my old drinking buddy Zeb. Anything worth doing makes the "world come alive." The best movies to see on a hot summer day, for me, are not the billion-dollar action blockbuster superhero extravaganzas...no, not for me. For me, it's the comedies.

No all-out comedy was better in 2013 than the Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg end of the world spectacular featuring some of the greatest cameos in cameo history known as...

#5

Directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen

Screenplay by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg; Screen Story by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, based on the short film "Seth and Jay vs. The Apocalypse" by Jason Stone

Starring Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson


The best part is that they play themselves. These crazy, odd versions of themselves. Don't they always anyway? That's what's so great about these guys. At some point in the past 10 years, the various casts of Judd Apatow's short-lived TV series (Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared) got involved with some North Carolina film school characters, including the likes of writer/directors Jody Hill and David Gordon Green as well as the actor Danny McBride and all became best friends. Two worlds unite:  dirty jokes meet dark comedy. With that formula, you end up with zany stoner comedies like Pineapple Express and strange, very dark comic fare like Observe and Report. Added to all that, just about every major comedy of the last 10 years can be degreed back to one of the guys in this movie. Think about it. Eat your heart out, Kevin Bacon. The new pawn in that game is James Franco, maybe even Jonah Hill.

This is the End is the most original comedy these guys have done amidst a long list of original comedies. They push the envelope on bad taste, homophobic/erotic dude relationships, odd violence, drug use, and just plain meanness. Picture a scene where Danny McBride, playing himself, wakes up the next morning in Franco's house not realizing the world has essentially ended. He smokes most of the weed, cooks all the food, and drains all the water. Then, he makes fun of James Franco, also playing himself, to the point that its just plain mean. McBride is really the one they don't like. Or is it Jonah? Or is it Jay? Or is it Seth? Or is it Craig? Or is it Michael Cera? Yeah, he's the real jackass.

At the center of This is the End, though, is the relationship between Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel (once cast-mates on the short-lived Fox series Undeclared). Jay is in LA for a visit. He hopes the two buddies will just chill and not get into much. Before you know it, Seth has Jay going to a lavish party at James Franco's mansion. Jay is uncomfortable, doesn't like these guys, is more of the odd man out as he doesn't live the "Hollywood life." Michael Cera shows up, as one of the at least a dozen cameos in the first 30 minutes of the movie, does blow off some chicks, and then rays of light start pulling people out of the sky. The world is ending.

Back at Franco's, it is survival mode. Lock up, take stock of the inventory, figure out what to do. There is demon possession, talk of possible attempted rape (much to Hermione's chagrin), jealous rages, axes and firearms, pee and fart jokes, blood spatters, discussions of religion, Craig Robinson's shrill scream, apocalypse, post-apocalypse, and a bright white backstreet version of heaven.

This is the one of the strangest movies I've ever seen (if my review is some indication). I can't and won't describe its plot (or lack thereof). What I will do is tell you that the crew of comics that made this movie are some of the most creative people of my generation. I have enjoyed growing up with these guys. I recommend just about any of the movies involving any of these actors despite the fact that I just can't keep up with Franco. To digress (and give some perspective), James Franco was featured in 14 movies in 2013 while directing two adaptations of William Faulkner novels (As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury) and one of Cormac McCarthy's (Child of God). Having given you that, I can't help but list this movie in my top five. These guys have gotten to a place where they can do anything they want, and I thank all that is good in the world for that. I couldn't get the smile off my face when I left this movie. It was as if I woke up and rocked it with McBride and then called Franco a "queer" and grabbed a weapon and defended myself against the demons.

I'm listening to Mozart right now, by the way.

Buzz-worthy: My Top Five Movies of 2013

Four
by Kevin Powers

New Year's Eve, 2013, Downtown Knoxville

We decided to see the first show of the day...the early matinee.

Breakfast at Pete's. Delicious. Expectations were high.

The first 5 minutes of my number four pick features more obscenity and depravity, and comedy, than just about any movie I saw all year (save my #5 pick, discussion forthcoming). Then, it continues for another 174 minutes.

#4

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Screenplay by Terrence Winter, based on the memoir by Jordan Belfort

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Kyle Chandler



No doubt by now you've heard of the epic three-hour debauchery fest that is Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. It is the longest movie Scorsese has ever made. And, so I've heard, was trimmed even further from its first cut of nearly 4 hours. I could've done the four with this movie and these characters. They are horrible, greedy, drug-and-sex-addicted, multi-multi-millionaires. I loved every second of it. I have to shout out to rogerebert.com editor-in-chief Matt Zoller Seitz and quote from his review, "Imagine the last thirty minutes of Goodfellas stretched out to three hours. That's the pace of this movie, and the feel of it. It's one damned thing after another..."

Real-life, high-society low-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort has written two memoirs now about his years of cheating and swindling and doing blow and hookers and Quaaludes and making more money than one could possibly even fathom. As played by Leonardo DiCaprio (in one of his best performances), he is all of those things and more. Leo (almost 40) is as fresh and youthful in this movie as if he was playing the character at 25. He jumps through the screen and into your face. In usual Scorsese style, a good portion of the movie is narrated by Leo in voiceover, setting up the feel that this is something that actually happened and most likely really did. And further credit to Scorsese and screenwriter, Terrence Winter (HBO's The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire) for not selling out at all. Excuse the girly exclamation point but this movie is filthy and shocking and unexpected and, most of all, hilarious!

Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) starts out as a fresh-faced Queens newlywed looking to make it rich, the right way, on Wall Street. He is immediately taken under the tutelage of Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey, in one hilarious scene). But his mark in the legit stock world fades quickly. After losing his job in the crash of '87, he finds his way into a small Long Island "penny-stock" firm and pretty much takes it over. Thus begins his years of slinging crap stocks for big money and 50% commissions. One day, while eating lunch at a local diner, an odd, horribly dressed, overweight, bespectacled local named Donnie Azoff (the unbelievable Jonah Hill), strikes up a conversation about the ridiculous car Jordan has in the parking lot. As soon as the astronomical amount of money he asked Jordan about gets in the air, it's over. Donnie will become Jordan's right-hand man. They starts up a firm of their own, give it a old-school name, Stratton Oakmont, and assemble a gaggle of the most ill-qualified characters possible as their associates. Together, this odd league of greedy gentlemen will expand and grow and work together over the next several years ripping people off, lining their pockets, and not feeling the least bit bad about about it.

Added to the mix is Jordan's introduction to "The Duchess of Bay Ridge (Brooklyn)" Naomi LaPaglia (the absolutely stunning Margot Robbie). He will, of course, pine for, court, and eventually do cocaine off her breasts before leaving his wife for her. And, man, is she worth it. Their relationship plays out like (another Goodfellas comparison) Henry and Karen Hill on crack then speed then 'ludes times infinity. Margot Robbie delivered the best Fran Drescher accent since Fran Drescher. Her performance was worth an Oscar nod as well in my opinion. I expect big things from her. She owns the screen.

There are scenes in this movie that are just so unbelievable they have to have happened. It is just crazy on top of nuts on top of ridiculous and you know its real. It contains perhaps the greatest, and probably only, Quaalude-enhanced telephone conversation in the history of cinema. And what follows that scene is just plain epic and is what I believe wins Leo his first Oscar. I am almost certain on this one. I laughed and laughed and laughed and loved it and believed it.

Of course, like all great rags-to-riches stories, the man eventually has to kill your buzz a bit. In this case, the man is FBI agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler). His introduction to the film gives you the answers to the most basic questions of this film, of the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort. Is this sort of greed ever worth it? How can people live such a life? How do they deny the horrible things they're doing to themselves and others? How can people live in such excess? How can a man be so selfish? So cocky? So ambitious? These are the questions of nearly all of Scorsese's movies. They are all about men who are swallowed up by their own crazy and/or greed and/or ambition. Travis Bickle. Jake LaMotta. Henry Hill. Ace Rothstein. Howard Hughes. Colin Sullivan and Billy Costigan. And, now, Jordan Belfort. This is a Scorsese movie at the grandest level. It follows his delightful family film Hugo. The Wolf of Wall Street is the opposite of a delightful family movie. It is a hard, often crazy, often hilarious story of a supremely flawed man. Yet, for all of Jordan Belfort's faults, I couldn't help but leave the theater with the urge to pound my chest, belt out a war chant, and steal some rich guy's money.

Buzz-worthy: My Top Five Movies of 2013

Three
by Kevin Powers

Living near Knoxville has its ups and downs. One major up is Regal Entertainment Group's Downtown West...pretty much the only place to see a movie that's on the more artsy side. I've been going there for years, and I love it. Props to the people of Knoxville for keeping this thing alive.

My wife and I went to Downtown West to see my number three favorite of the year.

It opens with the seldom used, but incredible, Bruce Dern, disheveled, bearded, ambling down an Interstate in broad daylight. I chuckled, then laughed, then laughed some more. My wife joined in. We laughed the whole time. It was 10:30 PM EST. We were the only ones there.

#3

Directed by Alexander Payne

Written by Bob Nelson

Starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Stacy Keach, and Bob Odenkirk




Alexander Payne has been one of my favorite directors since I realized that, when Sideways (2004) came out, he had directed my favorite movie from my high school days...Election (1999). If you haven't seen Election or Sideways or The Descendants (2011), then shame on you. Get started now! You can even start with Nebraska because, really, of all Payne's films, this one is the one that truly should be seen on the big screen. It is shot in widescreen black and white, though set in roughly present-day, and there are some just beautifully simple images in this movie that are best captured on a giant screen.

It is sometimes argued that Payne is poking fun at his characters. They are always flawed and do unexpected things and are just so incredibly normal that you feel like some movie guy is just trying to get you to feel sorry for regular everyday people. As my wife and I discussed after we left the movie, that idea couldn't be more wrong. Alexander Payne loves these people. And the characters in Nebraska are just plain interesting and, in an odd way, lovable.

Nebraska, which is the first movie Payne has directed that he did not have a hand in writing, is the very simple story of an old Billings, Montana, man named Woody Grant (Dern). He is a man on a quest. A quest to claim his million dollar prize from a Publishers Clearing House-type marketing scam. His son, David (SNL's Will Forte), at first tries to convince him that going to Lincoln, Nebraska, is silly and unnecessary. His mother Kate (the incredible June Squibb) and older brother Ross (Bob Odenkirk) agree. He is too old, slightly demented, an alcoholic, and he can no longer drive. Going through a rough-patch himself, David finally agrees to drive the old man to Nebraska, thinking why not give the man one last thing? Maybe they can even see some sights and visit the family, who happen to live in a small Nebraska town. The father and son get sidetracked by mishap after mishap, cold beers, accidents, unruly, greedy, quiet, and/or quite crazy old friends and brothers and sisters-in-law and aunts and uncles and cousins. It is so real and funny.

This is the most visually beautiful movie Payne has directed. The widescreen black and white cinematography by Phedon Papamichael is brilliant. And Payne's ability to evoke just the right reactions and facial expressions from his actors has never been better. The screenwriter (Bob Nelson) finds just the right line between drama and comedy. Some of the mother character, Kate's, dialogue is the funniest in any movie this year. June Squibb is one of those actresses that you've seen but don't really know. She is incredible, and this movie is worth seeing just for some of her foul-mouthed escapades.

There are moments in this film of such stark truth and clarity that it cuts right to the core of you. That is found mostly through the eyes of the son, David, who just wants to know his father, a distant drunk who never spoke about his feelings or thoughts and who will never apologize for anything. Woody just wants to collect his prize. David just wants to help. The unexpected sweetness of the movie's later scenes are so satisfying, though, and my wife and I just couldn't get over how nice this movie is. I felt as buzzed when I left as if I had just knocked back a couple of quiet Coors, or Budweiser, long-necks with Woody and David, or even my own Dad, and didn't speak about the past, though it is, was, and will always be there. 

Buzz-worthy: My Top Five Movies of 2013

Two
by Kevin Powers

I struggled to decide on my number two pick for the best five movies of 2013. Then, I realized that the next biggest high I felt upon leaving a theater happened two days before Christmas.

The film in question combines Jennifer Lawrence with Paul McCartney and Wings' "Live and Let Die."

The End.

I mean, come on!? I thought something else could go in this spot? For me, you just can't compete with that.

#2

Directed by David O. Russell


Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell

Starring, well, you know...





At the SAG Awards the other night, Bradley Cooper, upon accepting the Actor for Cast in a Motion Picture, made very clear the notion that David O. Russell is an "actor's director." And anytime you leave a David O. Russell movie, you know that to be true. The performances in his movies, especially his last three (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and now American Hustle), are what makes them good. This is what makes his movies so universally likeable. He employs good actors and gets them, by any means necessary, to the tops of their games.

Ah, Jennifer Lawrence. Is there anyone in movies right now so wonderful? I read a silly snippet recently about American Hustle that claimed she would be, and I'm paraphrasing here, interesting reading a newspaper. I agree. She's barely 23 years old and already a Best Actress Oscar winner showing no signs of slowing down. She does not disappoint in this movie, and I believe she may well take home the big prize for Supporting Actress, although 12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'o is picking up some steam and June Squibb (Nebraska) is unreal great. But, I digress.

American Hustle is the story of Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), a small-time con-man, who meets his match in Syndey Prosser (Amy Adams) as a lover, fellow Jazz fan, and natural con artist. Meanwhile, his wife Rosalyn (Lawrence) stays at home with their young son and takes bored housewife to places nobody has ever seen. Then there's also the ambitious, rambunctious, perm-wearing FBI agent (Bradley Cooper, in the best work he's ever done) bent on using Rosenfeld and Prosser to take down politicians, including Camden, NJ, Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), as they accept bribes for an operation to rebuild Atlantic City. Of course, this is all based on a true story known as the Abscam scandal.

To try and describe this movie would be nothing short of impossible. It's a con game inside of a con game with plot twists you don't see coming. The Scorsese-esque shifting voiceover narration is as good as in any Scorsese movie. The soundtrack has everything from ELO to Wings to Tom Jones and Duke Ellington. The costume design and hairstyles will be remembered for years to come. And now, for the second year in a row, David O. Russell has managed to lead four actors to Oscar nominations in each acting category. They all deserve it. There is a scene towards the third act, with all the actors together, when you see in each one of them the downward spiral that has befallen them all without them all even being aware of it. There are looks on faces, a camera that glides around the dark, smoky ballroom. And you know you are watching one of the best movies of the year.

When I left the theater after this movie, there was something that felt like disappointment. Like it wasn't everything I thought it was. But as the night went on and turned to morning, I realized that I missed it. I wanted to be back there in a polyester suit with a can of hair spray and a hunger for success.

Buzz-worthy: My Top Five Movies of 2013

One
by Kevin Powers

I didn't see many movies this year. Each year, it seems, real life gets in the way of my true passion, my life-hobby. Not that I'm complaining. I've had a busy year. Teaching middle school and directing middle school athletic events. Getting married to my best friend and true movie companion. Dealing, or avoiding dealing, with my broken-down truck.

Since Thanksgiving, I have been on a movie-watching rampage. Devouring as many as possible to make up for lost time as well as getting out to the year-end award season movies, none of which have disappointed, except maybe the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis.

For this year's list, I shall start at the top and work my way down. All of these movies contain characters, who like to have a buzz (whether from drugs or booze or sex or power or greed or love). And all of these movies left me with a buzz. That is how I know I've seen a good one, when the feelings I left with won't leave me.

I start at the top (#1) mostly because I saw the best movie of the year just last night. I feel this flick in my gut, in my heart, in every emotional sense that I have. It is a true and beautiful movie, if imperfect. But, well, isn't life?

#1

Directed by James Ponsoldt

Screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, based on the novel by Tim Tharp

Starring Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler

"Hummingbird"

Suppose I say summer,
Write the word "hummingbird,"
Put it in an envelope,
take it down the hill
to the box. When you open
my letter you will recall
those days and how much,
just how much, I love you.

- Raymond Carver

If you know me, I mean really know me, you know that I'm a sucker for young love stories. There is something still, to me, so mystifying about young love. Maybe because I struggled with it myself, or because I longed for it so deeply. It is true and it is real and it is everlasting. The Spectacular Now is one of those love stories. I haven't been so deeply moved by a movie since last year's Beasts of the Southern Wild. And I haven't been moved so deeply by a love story since 2009's 500 Days of Summer (which happens to have been written by the same team that adapted this movie). I will instantly add this movie into the canon with Say Anything, Moonlight Mile, All the Real Girls, 500 Days of Summer, Snow Angels, Terri, and Moonrise Kingdom. All of which highlight that first real love and what it means.

Miles Teller plays Sutter, a recently dumped, hard-drinking high school senior, who ends up passed-out drunk on the lawn of a classmate he never knew named Aimee (the incredibly charming Shailene Woodley). And so begins their relationship. Two kids, with similar backgrounds, who just "really like" each other. He, like most boys his age, wants to live for right now, while the girls, including Aimee, want a future. His drinking and daddy issues have hindered any past relationship for him, while Aimee is experiencing her first. Still, they find perfection in each other. You sense, throughout this movie, that their love might fade. That Sutter will mess it up. That Aimee will be hurt. I credit director James Ponsoldt with evoking this feeling. I wanted it to work. I still do.

I won't destroy your viewing of this movie with any important plot details. I will say that these actors might as well be you, your best friends, your family. I will also say that there are three scenes in this movie that are acted and directed so perfectly you want to hug anyone near you. All of these scenes feature Miles Teller's ability to display emotion on his face. No words need be spoken. You know, without words, the moment he falls for Aimee. You know, without words, the happiness they feel the first time they make love. You know, without words, the heartbreak this young man has endured with a controlling mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh), without a father (Kyle Chandler, in one show-stealing scene), and without any ability to control his growing drinking problem.

While the ending of this movie is perfectly ambiguous, again without words, I look to the future of Sutter and Aimee. I am reminded of Raymond Chandler's poem "Hummingbird," which tells simply of first love, love that sticks forever. No matter how it ends for these two young lovers. We know that their love was real and true and will be remembered always throughout many springs and summers to come, a remembrance of those long, warm last days of high school, of prom, of driving around, of youth.

Note: This movie is Rated-R. And deserves it (for language and a sex scene). However, I want every single high school student in America to watch this movie, especially the boys. I would also like to direct you to Roger Ebert's brilliant review of the film, which was one of his last. I am so glad Roger got to see this movie. You can read it here.

****Addition****

I want to add that since my initial post on the masterful young adult drama The Spectacular Now, I have continually felt affected. I have also since read the novel of the same name by National Book Award Finalist Tim Tharp (published in 2008). Having read the book and re-watched the movie, I can now add something very important that I was blinded from on first viewing/reacting. That is that this story is utterly and beautifully heartbreaking. It is, now that I see it more clearly, not only just a story of young love but also a story about pain and loss and growing up and painful truths about adulthood and, really, above all...addiction (alcoholism, in this case). This further strengthens my love for this film. It will never leave me. I just know it. This also further strengthens my call for all high school seniors to watch this movie before heading into the great wide open. I am forever grateful for this movie. I wish it had been around earlier in my life.

- Kevin Powers, 2/4/14