Following

Written and Directed by: Christopher Nolan












There's not a whole lot that can be said about "Following" without ruining some of the details, so - like the film itself - I will try keep this short and sweet.

An unnamed writer (Theobald) begins following people to help him develop characters for his novel.  But he is caught by a man named Cobb (Haw) who introduces him to the world of burglary.  The writer soon finds himself consumed the the philosophy and thrill of the break-in.  But, as his second career expands, he begins to find himself caught up in machinations of more powerful criminals.

"Following" is Nolan's first film, but in it he experiments with some of the storytelling devices which would become cornerstones of his later films.  The one that stands out the most is revealing the story in a non-linear fashion - showing how certain parts end before showing how they begin.  This is the central trope of "Memento," but it's used with great effect here as well.  The changes in sequence are not as clear in "Following" though, so it's important to use random details (haircuts, clothes, bruises) to help determine which part of the story is being told.  This device demands the viewer's attention, or the story will seem choppy and incoherent.

The movie's final reveal - which I won't tell here - is expertly set up.  By ending the film with such a twist, Nolan practically begs the viewer to watch the film again right away to try to fit the puzzle pieces together.  The "twist-ending" can be a bit cliche when not handled correctly, but Nolan uses it like a pro in his first try.

"Following" isn't a perfect film, but it's surprising how great it is.  Nolan already has his filmmaker's toolbox filled in his rookie effort, and uses those tools to make a great movie.

The Thin Red Line

Directed by: Terrence Malick

Written by: James Jones (novel); Terrence Malick (screenplay)










It's not often that the words "beautiful" and "war film" go together.  But, if ever they were, it would be in regards to "The Thin Red Line."  Malick brings his unique visual style and vision to a genre which is rarely ground-breaking and is more often stale.

Although the movie loosely follows the American invasion of a pacific island during World War II, it's hard to point to any central plot beyond the general invasion.  There are recurring themes and inter-personal conflicts, but characters come and go in an almost arbitrary fashion.

Woody Harrelson's performance is absolutely fantastic and is worth noting here.  His part is small, but powerful.  It's also emblematic of the film as a whole - small and excellent parts which come together in a fantastic whole.

"The Thin Red Line" is not your typical war movie.  But Malick is not your typical director.

There's not a whole lot else I can say.  It's quite an experience to see a film like this, which stakes its own territory in the world of cinema and sets itself apart.

Rounders

Directed by: John Dahl

Written by: David Levein, Brian Koppelman










There was a point - namely, the late 1990s - when Matt Damon could basically do whatever he wanted and still be king of the hill.  "Rounders" comes out of that time period.

Mike (Damon) has traded in his poker chips for a girlfriend (Mol) and law school.  But when his best friend Worm (Norton) gets out of prison, the allure of the high stakes table draws him back in to the game.  But things go suddenly wrong, and the stakes become even higher, until he has to lay it all on the line and go all-in against notorious underground poker champ Teddy KGB (Malkovich).

(If anyone can fit in any more cliches into that summary, I'll be happy to add it in!)

There's not a whole lot wrong with this movie.  I'm not saying it's great, but it definitely wears its flaws well and plays to its strengths.  And its strengths are in its principle actors - Matt Damon and Edward Norton.  Damon gives his standard performance as the lovable sinner-with-the-heart-of-gold.  Norton shines as the aptly named Worm; he exudes his character's sliminess.  Even Malkovich does a fantastic job.  (The less we say about Gretchen Mol in this film, the better.  Her part was so small that it was almost negligible.  I'm not quite sure how she ended up on the poster.)

The movie had a few pacing issues, mostly occurring when the story turned back to Damon's personal life.  Those scenes just didn't have quite the tension or drama of the poker story line, nor did they really add to Damon's character in any meaningful way.  Also, the final poker game was a bit anti-climactic.  If you don't know how that game is going to turn out, you really haven't been watching the movie at all.

"Rounders" is entertaining, and a bit of a time piece.  It shows Matt Damon before he became a caricature of himself, Edward Norton at the top of his game, and poker when it was still a bit of underground novelty outside the Vegas city line.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Written by: J. K. Rowling



















Being the second book of the series, it naturally tells the story of Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts, picking up a few months after the previous book left off.

After being warned not to return to Hogwarts by a mysterious visitor named Dobby, Harry goes back to school.  But someone is running around turning people into stone, including Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger, and Harry is the number one suspect.  A magic journal by the former Hogwarts student Tom Riddle provides Harry with several clues which help him discover the hidden Chamber of Secrets.

While I have no major complaints about this book, I must say that I did not enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the first book.  Mainly, I felt that this book mirrored the first book too closely without exploring any new territory in the Harry Potter universe.  Most of the key plot points and features are almost exactly the same was they were before.  For example, the use of the invisibility blanket, an ill-timed game of quidditch, and even the villain was revealed to be (spoiler here) Voldemort yet again.  Essentially, it's a re-hash.

I was really hoping to expand the HP world a lot more, but I didn't get what I wanted.  The book isn't terrible.  In fact, it's rather enjoyable.  It just isn't wasn't what I was hoping for when I started reading.  Maybe next book?  We'll see.

The Big Lebowski

Directed by: Joel Coen

Written by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

The Coen brothers are known for making comedies which are both dark and surreal. It's films like "The Big Lebowski" - following up "Fargo" - which helped them to earn this reputation.

When Jeffrey Lebowski, aka The Dude (Bridges) is the ultimate lowlife who spends his time drinking White Russians, bowling with his buddies, and wearing a robe. When the wife of multimillionaire businessman Jeffrey Lebowski goes missing, The Dude is brought in to solve the case. Through the meddling of his friend Walter (Goodman) and his "ladyfriend" (Moore), The Dude gets drawn deeper and deeper in a case that goes far beyond a kidnapping.

The plot, loosely based on the old noir mysteries of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, simply serves as a backdrop for the incredibly interesting characters. Without going too over-the-top, the characters come off as both surreal and hyper-real. For example, we all know someone like Walter, who is just a hair away from totally crazy, and we all know someone like Donny (Buscemi), who never seems to fit in - even as a misfit. Yet, nobody in real life is quite as off-base as any of the characters. Overall, it's the performances - especially the supporting cast - which bring this film to life.

Although the movie was whimsical and abstract with randomness as a premium, I still felt like there was a lot of fat that could have been trimmed, or at least tweaked. For example, I totally enjoyed Julianne Moore's character, but many of her scenes failed to add anything meaningful to the film beyond giving The Dude something to do. Sam Elliot's appearance as The Stranger is a perfect example of a character who, without being central to the story, was made into an essential feature of the movie.

Over the years, "The Big Lebowski" has become a cult classic, and it's easy to see why. It's not a typical plot or action driven movie. The main character would struggle to even be an anti-hero. And there are random dream and dance sequences. But put them all together, and there's a charming synergy which appeals to the Big Lebowski in all of us.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

I finally made my way around to reading Michael Chabon's 1988 novel "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh." I had tried reading through this book a few years ago, but got bogged down about halfway into it and distracted by other things, and eventually it made its way back on to my shelf. I picked it up again (literally) a few months ago, and put it in my car with every intention of reading it, but but before I could read it, it got buried under the myriad and sundry things that eventually end up in the backseat of every car. Finally, it was discovered and I committed myself to getting all the way through it. (But enough about that...)

The book covers one summer in the life of Arthur Bechstein, as he discovers new friends and lovers in the college areas of Pittsburgh. Jobless and aimless and recently graduated, he gets caught up in a whirlwind of activity surrounding his new friends. Although he falls madly in love with the exotic librarian Phlox, he also struggles with homosexual feelings for his best friend, Arthur Lecomte. Bechstein bounces between the two lovers through most of the novel. Meanwhile, he is also trying to keep his past - specifically his mobster father - away from his newly developing personal life. But, when Cleveland - one of the new friends - forces Bechstein to introduce him to his father, things begin to sour on every front. Phlox and Lecomte force Bechstein to choose between the two of them, and Cleveland gets caught up too heavily in the mob scene and meets a tragic end. In the end, we learn that Bechstein chooses Lecomte and they move to Europe, although it is also revealed that Lecomte leaves him there and the novel ends with Bechstein reflecting upon his abandoned relationship with Phlox and what might have been.

"The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" was the first novel that Chabon read, and that becomes painfully obvious while reading. The voice and tone of the novel is unrefined and seems to change regularly, as though Chabon wasn't quite sure where he was going from chapter to chapter. He relies too heavily on archetype to create his characters: Phlox - the exotic woman; Lecomte - the forbidden lover; Cleveland - the rugged man; Jane - the ideal upper-class beauty. Cleveland's dramatic death represents the climax of the plot, somehow, even though he was only a slightly-higher-than-minor character throughout the book - rather than the climax being Bechstein's choice between Phlox and Lecomte, which the entire book was building towards but ends up being delegated to a few sentences in the resolution. There are also moments of beautiful metaphor and description that do not seem to add to the novel in any way except that, well, they're the type of thing a novel is supposed to have and so they were thrown in to the book.

Of course, part of the reason I blast "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" here is out of jealousy. The book is better, by far, than anything I could ever write (me being the same age now as Chabon was when it was published). Clearly, Chabon is setting the stage for his later great writings involving similar situations - the ensemble cast in "Wonder Boys" (one of my personal favorite books of all time) and the love triangle in "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" (although that was a minor subplot).

Like a teenager shaving with a straight blade for the first time who nicks himself several times in the process, "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" isn't perfect, but it marks the beginning of an already great career, highlighted by a Pulitzer Prize honor, but not yet punctuated. (And with that poor imitation of a Chabon metaphor, this post is over.)