Tenenbaums Blog

A few years ago on the talk show circuit, Luke Wilson liked to note that he had contributed one of the most memorable lines in Rushmore.  Already cast as Dr. Peter Flynn, Luke was reading over the script written by Wes Anderson and brother Owen when he got to the restaurant scene after the conclusion of Max Fischer's "Serpico."  Luke's character comes to the dinner in O.R. scrubs and he thought it would be funny if Max asked what the clothing was, got the response, and then asked, "Oh, are they?"  Bill Murray's Harold Blume nearly gags on his whiskey after hearing the line and so do we.

Luke played his part.  He saw an opportunity, went for it, and it worked.  Apparently, the experience gave him enough confidence to write a script of his own.  His first attempt is The Wendell Baker Story, a project that looks wildly appealing on paper.  Co-directed with brother Andrew, the film stars Luke, Seymour Cassel, Eddie Griffin, Kris Kristofferson, Eva Mendes, Harry Dean Stanton, Owen Wilson, and Will Ferrell.  The acting ingredients are there, but these Wilsons (Owen can obviously write) are no Afflecks behind the scenes.

The script feels paper thin and as a result, these famous friends of the Wilsons are exposed for their true motives: merely paying a favor.  Surprisingly, it is Luke himself who is most phoning in a performance.  His do-good title character is an incomplete writing exercise, a by-product of inexperience (and possibly lack of talent) that plagues the duped supporting cast.  All of the Wilsons' weaknesses that have been seen in other directors' films are exposed to their full intensity fittingly at their own expense.  Unfortunately, it also makes the rest of the known cast look like painful caricatures of themselves (notably Griffin, Cassel, and Owen).

The funny lines that made Luke extra cool on Lettermen are still there.  Wendell tells his business partner Reyes, "I feel like a million pesos."  Reyes replies, "That's like, 4 bucks."  But that's all Luke's got: a few memorable lines.  This failed Creative Writing 101 assignment only made it to the big screen on the Wilsons' clout and with the help of some overly kind Hollywood pals.  With the exception of a few Bottle Rocket-esque moments, this one is in Plan 9 From Outer Space league.

5. The Bourne Ultimatum
With the exception of Wes Anderson’s films, few entries in recent cinema have been as exciting to watch as first viewings of the Bourne films. Much has been critically made over the "spy with a conscience" that has already influenced major action films (namely Casino Royale), but the praise is wholly warranted. The only other times that I have been wowed so much by an action sequence was the bridge scene from Mission: Impossible III. For the series' third and final (?) installment, director Paul Greengrass and his crew (especially cinematographer Oliver Wood and editor Christopher Rouse, both so key to the maestro's trademark mixed camera surveillance look) ante up by having three such scenes. Since The Bourne Identity was released in 2002, Matt Damon has elevated himself from “rising star” to a near sure thing and one of the industry’s best. His Bourne is many wonderful things, and as more of his memory has come back, he has proven not just to have a heart, but, especially in Ultimatum, to be more vulnerable and human than we expect a super spy to be. The result could be the best action film of all time and possibly the best series of its kind, replacing the smugness of Bond with more intrigue and high stakes adrenaline. High octane is an understatement: new standards in filmmaking have been set.

4. The Darjeeling Limited
The most linear Wes Anderson film since Bottle Rocket (in that the narrative “distractions” from attention-grabbing detail are greatly diminished), it nonetheless feels like (stealing one of the few worthwhile lines from the Anderson-produced The Squid and the Whale) “minor” Anderson. In the Indian-set tale of brotherhood found, Adrien Brody fits seamlessly into the Anderson world while a band of familiar faces (Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston) quote the script’s precious painful poetry with relaxed control. It was a treat to see Anderson largely accepted into the mainstream this year. After being somewhat recognized in his own American Express commercial two years ago, he really hit it big with his short Darjeeling “prequel” film Hotel Chevalier, available for free download on iTunes. The 13 minute film became so popular that it was added before Darjeeling in its wide theatrical release after Anderson and Fox Searchlight claimed for weeks that it would be cut after festival circuit screenings. Critics continued to be divided on Anderson’s work, but even haters noticed that his scenes of sustained emotion show a promise for maturity as a filmmaker. For us Wes disciples, we understand and welcome his need to grow, but trust that he will keep making “Wes Anderson films.” For us, he’s seemed mature for a long time.

3. Gone Baby Gone
The year’s biggest surprise comes from a family whose sons’ careers have taken distinctly different paths. Now, order in the Affleck household has finally been restored. It is Casey who is the real actor (which we’d only seen in small doses) and Ben who is the real writer (which we knew) and director (which we didn’t). Based on Dennis Lehane’s novel, the film begins in typical exciting detective story fashion and then after a midpoint “solution” it flips the genre on its head to spectacular results. As Casey investigates his native Boston streets for leads on a missing child, Ben’s technical work gives us hope, desperation, adrenaline, and heartbreak as we follow his brother’s relentless search for answers. Casey (who was by far the best thing in Ocean’s 13 and apparently wicked in The Assassination of Jesse James) has given his oath to a neighborhood family and it is his unstoppable desire to do the right thing that plunges him and us to dangerous depths of determination, all in the name of honor. With a crackling Departed-esque “Bah-ston” script and engrossing cinematography, Ben surpasses Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of Lehane’s Mystic River by great lengths. Thanks to a who’s who of famous friends (Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, et al) in memorable supporting roles, Ben makes sure that his hard work is channeled by the right people. It’s been a good year for Boston, with near widespread athletic dominance and a Best Picture win for The Departed, and the luck of the Irish continues with a solid, gritty homage to the city by its new favorite family. Welcome back, Ben. We’ve missed you.

2. Zodiac
A film that came out so long ago that I’m not convinced it was actually 2007 still manages to stick with me more than titles I saw last week. David Fincher and his crew (most notably screenwriter James Vanderbilt and cinematographer Harris Savides) take the notorious unsolved case and let it play out in a manner that pulls us in the same way that magnetically attracted those obsessed by the mystery. Instead of taking the unrealistic approach that many Zodiac films employ of only following the killer, Fincher’s film shows how three San Francisco men’s lives were forever altered by their unrelenting quest for truth and closure. The wise narrative choice allows Boy Scout cartoonist Robert Graysmith, Inspector Dave Toschi, and investigative reporter Paul Avery’s characters to grow in remarkable depth as they continue to pursue the case after everyone else has attempted to forget about it. An understated Jake Gyllenhaal as Graysmith leads a perfect cast of “I know that face”s that effortlessly embrace their respective real-life 60s/70s personas. Each shot and piece of dialogue feels so consciously precise and full of importance that 2.5 hours of screen time have rarely passed with such smoothness and intrigue. I highly anticipate the Director’s Cut DVD (I know where $25 of my Christmas money is going) as no other film this year is more worthy of a director’s commentary. Fincher’s meticulous attention to detail made for such a tight film considering the magnitude of the project that it will be priceless to hear his take on the process.

1. No Country For Old Men
I realize that I am echoing the sentiments of critics nationwide, but there can be no other choice. Cormac McCarthy’s novel read like a screenplay, but the Coen Brothers’ meticulously faithful detailed adaptation and their expert knowledge of the language of film gives the literature its deserving visual presentation. No weak links are present here. Josh Brolin, capping a stellar year (Planet Terror and American Gangster), is excellent as a quiet Vietnam vet hunter and Tommy Lee Jones keeps his often loopy trademark acting in perfect check. Then there is Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh. The character was haunting enough on the page, but Bardem’s portrayal of the merciless bounty hunter is the perfect realization of the Grim Reaper, human only in that he bleeds, drinks milk, and has breakable bones. Alongside an already superb cat-and-mouse film are meditations on mortality and attempting to make sense of unexplainable evil, proving that No Country is far from the likes of simple Spaghetti Westerns. It’s about drug runners and gratuitous violence, but these are merely devices of the larger darker issues of the morally devolving world. Martin Scorsese’s The Departed held this spot last year, and this time another “comeback” picture from a talented director (in this case, directors) earns the crown. It is encouraging to see great filmmakers return to peak performance, especially since the sparks hint at soon and future greatness. It speaks extra volumes that even after reading the book, the film is still surprising and has so much to offer. Only the Lord of the Rings trilogy has offered similar literature-to-film satisfaction, and No Country will be likely rewarded with a similar deluge of Academy Awards in the new year

Rescue Dawn
Werner Herzog’s film of Dieter Dengler’s true survival and escape from a Vietnam P.O.W. camp is a tale of two tales. Early scenes of peacetime military life feel staged and out of place, but once Dengler’s plane crashes, the story takes off in a major way. Christian Bale delivers another solid performance as Dengler, harrowingly depicting the daily torture of captivity, but the real surprise is Steve Zahn as fellow prisoner Duane. Zahn, finally in a non-goofy role, steals every scene that he’s in. His comedically googly eyes are ever present, though here they mirror a frantic need to survive in horrific circumstances. I may never be able to look at him the same again. Despite Duane’s authenticity, Herzog asks the audience to stretch themselves in believing Dengler’s characterization. Dengler is apparently so determined in his ways that he will yell at his captors immediately after being tortured as if he expects no consequences for his actions. If such action accomplishes anything, it’s only internal for Dengler. In interviews, Herzog has said that Dengler was a unique person and that Bale’s portrayal is entirely accurate. Without an explanation for his motivation and attitude other than “that’s just how Dieter was,” it’s hard to accept many of Dengler’s actions. Regardless of this shortcoming, the 4/5 of the film set in the jungle are some of the most powerful images of the year.

Eastern Promises
David Cronenberg’s latest thoroughly dark film builds on the intensity of his A History of Violence, though topping that film is going to take an extraordinary effort. Once again, Viggo Mortensen lends a strong performance as a Russian bodyguard keeping a powerful syndicate family together despite the reckless decisions of its spoiled son (Vincent Cassel) and corrupted leadership of its father (Armin Mueller-Stahl). The male triumvirate’s exceptional strength makes Naomi Watts’ phoned-in performance as the female catalyst all the more surprising, though her character’s general mundaneness rests more on the screenwriter than her. Promises also contains the most exhilarating sequence of the year in which Mortensen engages in a steam room brawl with a pair of knife-armed rival mobsters...while in the buff. Mortensen’s vulnerability couldn’t be captured in a better way and the technical fluidity of the scene is utterly mesmerizing. Though leading the league in throat slashings and eye stabbings, the cruelty throughout is thankfully redeemed by the end, a resolution that offers more hope than similar downers such as Seven. The surprise isn’t that the film is good. It’s that hardly anyone is talking about how good it is.

American Gangster
A battle of the titans that was billed for longer than any Don King promoted heavyweight fight ends up being singular showcases instead of the hopeful unified collaboration. Ridley Scott’s most focused film since Gladiator benefits from his commitment to an authentic 1970s setting just as much as its monster performances by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. What saves the film from being simply another Scarface is that once the inevitable drug lord (Washington)’s fall comes, it’s easier and more fascinating to deal with since the cop bringing him down (Crowe) is so appealing. Gangster hasn’t broken any social or cinematic barriers (Washington’s other film this year, The Great Debaters, does a better job of the social aspect), but following the pattern of Heat instead of The Mexican, it proves that the best way to use two superstars is to primarily keep them apart.

Other notable enjoyable films: Ocean’s Thirteen; Shrek 3; Live Free or Die Hard; Sicko; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; A Mighty Heart; Hot Fuzz; Waitress; Stardust; The Simpsons Movie; The Golden Compass; Enchanted; The Great Debaters; and Knocked Up.