Movie Review Only the Brave

Only the Brave (2017) 

Directed by Joseph Kosinski 

Written by Ken Nolan, Eric Warren Singer

Starring Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, James Badge Dale, Taylor Kitsch, Jennifer Connelly 

Release Date October 8th, 2017 

Only The Brave is based on a harrowing true story. In 2013 the Granite Mountain Hotshots wildfire fighting team was sent to Yarnell Hill in Arizona to battle a wildfire. When the weather turned and the wind kicked up the flames in a new direction, 19 members of the Hot Shots team was caught behind the fire line. All 19 were killed despite their use of flame retardant covers which proved ineffective for this raging blaze.

Director Joseph Kosinski, a fine director of such solid efforts as Tron Legacy and Oblivion, brings the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots to life beautifully and painfully in Only the Brave. Taking the tale from the perspective of a new member of the squad, and ultimately the only man on the crew to survive the Yarnell Hill Fire, he was away from his team working as a scout, the film boils down the experience to a very human and relatable level that packs an emotional wallop.

Though it departs from the true story a tad, Only the Brave follows Brandon McDonough, a jobless, seemingly hopeless addict, who cleans up and looks for work as a firefighter. He arrives at the headquarters of the Hotshots in his hometown of Prescott, Arizona, with little experience, aside from EMT training course and looks to be a laughingstock to the members of the Hotshots crew. However, Supervisor and Hotshots boss, Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) recognizes something in McDonough and hires him on the spot.

In reality, McDonough was a three-year hotshot's vet when the Yarnell Hill fire occurred, but the film character is meant as an amalgamation, as well as an audience surrogate. McDonough, who takes on the nickname Donut because his new friends don’t like his name, is made a rookie so the film can use him to explain terminology and give us more insights into what a Hotshot does. It’s a good choice, if one that defies the true story.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal 

Movie Review Kingsman The Golden Circle

Kingsman The Golden Circle (2017)

Directed by Matthew Vaughn 

Written by Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn 

Starring Taron Egerton, Julianne Moore, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Halle Berry, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges

Release Date September 22nd, 2017 

Published September 21st, 2017 

Kingsman: The Secret Service was a not particularly inventive rehash of Mark Millar’s previously adapted work, Kick-Ass. The derivative spy take on the same tropes of the super-hero send-up bored me endlessly with its nihilistic approach to James Bond minus the strange wit of Kick-Ass, which shared not just creator Millar but also director Matthew Vaughn, who couldn’t help but seem to rip off his own work in a lazy rehash.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle, thankfully, is not Kick-Ass 2. That sequel was a massive letdown that quickly destroyed the goodwill carried over from the inventive original film. Here, with The Golden Circle we have the opposite effect. Considering that they had nowhere to go but up following The Secret Service, Kingsman: The Golden Circle has the wit, charm, and fun that the original was lacking, minus the nihilistic violence that was so out of place in the first film. Don’t get me wrong, there are still gruesome elements but nothing that approaches the overrated church shootout of Kingsman 1.

Eggsy (Taron Edgerton) is still living with the loss of his mentor, Harry (Colin Firth), as we join the story of Kingsman: The Golden Circle. His time to mourn, however, is quickly cut short as the film dives into a spectacular car chase to open The Golden Circle. Though it is showy and rather pointless to the plot, the chase is undeniably spectacular with Edgerton battling it out inside of a cab with a former Kingsman recruit who is now working for the bad guys and is part robot.

The bad guy in Kingsman: The Golden Circle is actually a bad lady played by Julianne Moore. Poppy, Moore’s character, is a drug dealer who hopes to use her illicit products to hold the world hostage. Meanwhile, she’s also found a way to take the Kingsmen out of the game by blowing up all of their headquarters around the globe and killing several of Eggsy’s close friends, while he happens to be out of the country.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. 

Classic Movie Review Fearless

Fearless (1993) 

Directed by Peter Weir 

Written by Raphael Yglesias 

Starring Jeff Bridges, Rosie Perez, Isabella Rossellini, Benicio Del Toro 

Release Date October 15th, 1993 

Published November 6th, 2023 

Fearless stars Jeff Bridges as Max Kline, an architect who survives a deadly plane crash. We meet Max just as he's emerging from the smoking hull of the plane, several passengers trailing behind him. He appears stunned but also serenely calm as holds the hand of a child and is carrying a baby. After handing off the child to a first responder, Max goes in search of the mother of the child. After reuniting mother and baby, Max simply wanders off. He doesn't merely leave the side of the mother, he leaves the sight of the crash. 

Fast forward to a hotel for a quick shower and Max is off. We next see him arrive at a home where the woman inside, a married homemaker recognizes him and welcomes him inside briefly. The two are ex-lovers and they share a few memories over lunch. And then, Max is back at his hotel where he's located by authorities who've been trying to account for him since the crash. The airline wants to give Max a free train ride back to his home in San Francisco but Max, unexpectedly insists on flying back, first class. This is despite his having had serious fear of flying prior to having survived this crash. 

Back home we will learn that Max has a wife and son that he no longer appears to care for. Nearly dying has made Max a creature of the moment, a man with no time for anything that isn't his immediate desire. Much to the dismay of his otherwise loving and caring wife, Laura (Isabella Rosselini), Max has no interest in being home. Instead, Max seeks out one of his fellow survivors, Carla (Rosie Perez), with whom he pursues a relationship, mostly friendly, though he does eventually talk about running away with her. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media

Movie Review: True Grit

True Grit (2010) 

Directed by The Coen Brothers

Written by The Coen Brothers 

Starring Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld

Release Date December 22nd, 2010 

Published December 18th, 2010 

A strange thing has happened near the end of 2010. Some of the most daring and different directors are being tamed by the Hollywood system. Whether it's a moderation toward the notion crafted by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon years ago; 'One for them, one for me,' or merely an acceptance of the terms that Hollywood dictates to all filmmakers in these tough economic times, directors like David O. Russell (The Fighter) and John Cameron Mitchell (Rabbit Hole) have crafted their most conventional and studio friendly films in their esoteric careers.

The same could be said of the Coen Brothers whose latest film is a straight as an arrow adaptation of the Charles Portis novel “True Grit.” Though artful and entertaining, “True Grit” is easily the most straight-forward, audience friendly film in the otherwise odd and fascinating careers of Joel and Ethan Coen. There is nothing wrong with convention, especially when it is as moving and amusing as “True Grit.”

John Wayne won his only Oscar for Best Actor for his take on the role of Rooster Cogburn in 1969. 41 years later Jeff Bridges brings new energy and life to the role of the reprobate US Marshall Rooster Cogburn. Hired by 14 year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) to track down the villain Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) who killed her father, Cogburn never ceases being a debauched yet heroic man with strong wit and as Mattie recalls in voiceover, True Grit.

Joining Marshall Cogburn and Mattie on the trail of Chaney is Texas Ranger Lebeouf (Matt Damon). Having been on the trail of Chaney longer than Mattie, he intends to return Chaney to Texas for a reward a move that runs counter to Mattie's intent to have Chaney hanged in Arkansas. Lebeouf is also intent on convincing Mattie to return home something she refuses to her detriment as danger lurks around every turn of the bend.

True Grit is not the movie many may think it is. From the dark and foreboding trailer with its ominous Johnny Cash tune, "God's Gonna Cut You Down," that has been playing for the past six months, one would miss the fact that “True Grit” is witty and entertaining as it is violent. The PG-13 rating is far less misleading than the trailer, indeed “True Grit” is as safe and conventional as the John Wayne original.

Again, I know this reads like harsh criticism but it's more of an observation; it's surprising to see director's like the Coens make a movie as standard and practiced “True Grit.” The film has the skill of the typical Coen brand, the fabulous cinematography of Roger Deakins as well as the music of Carter Burwell, two regular Coen's contributors, but it does lack the Coen Brothers brand of quirk that has highlighted their best work from the beginning. 

Just as surprising however is how effective this standard approach is. Jeff Bridges delivers a Rooster Cogburn every bit as iconic as John Wayne's while young Hailee Steinfeld steals the film with her steely, thoughtful and sensitive performance. Matt Damon is highly effective in the role essayed by singer Glen Campbell. I could see Oscar nominations for each as well as for the directors, cinematographer and, if it hadn't been ruled ineligible, Carter Burwell's exceptional score. 

”True Grit” may be shockingly conventional as a film by the Coen Brothers but it is still a highly entertaining and in the end moving film populated by excellent performances. In a career that has spanned nearly the length of time since the original “True Grit,” Jeff Bridges has evolved from handsome charmer to leading man and now to elder statesman and perennial Oscar contender. “True Grit” may give Bridges back to back Oscars following last year's “Crazy Heart” as a deserving Best Actor winner. 

14 year old Hailee Steinfeld was found in a nationwide search, a remarkable find. Steinfeld stands toe to toe with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon and more than holds her own even as she chews over ancient dialogue in a rhythm that even long time trained actors would struggle with. Steinfeld's performance alone would be enough to recommend “True Grit” but with Bridges, Damon and highly effective direction of the Coen Brothers, True Grit is more than merely recommended, it is a must see film.

Movie Review: Tron Legacy

Tron Legacy (2010) 

Directed by Joseph Kosinski 

Written by Edward Kitsis 

Starring Garrett Hedlund, Bruce Boxleitner, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen

Release Date December 17th, 2010 

Published December 16th, 2010

It's been nearly 30 years since the original "Tron" ended with Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) overcoming his creation, the Grid, and the evil Master Control program, to take control of Encom, the world's largest computer game maker. Picking up some 8 years later, Flynn is still Encom CEO until one day he simply vanishes leaving behind his son Sam.

Flash forward to today and Sam (Garrett Hedlund) is a rebellious 20 something on the outside of Encom looking in. One night, as Sam has just sabotaged the latest big name project of his father's company, simply for kicks, he is visited by Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) his father's old partner who has a strange message for him. Alan has received a page but the fact that he wears a pager is not the surprise, the page came from Kevin Flynn's office at his long shuddered arcade.

When Sam goes to investigate he stumbles on a secret basement office and a strange looking computer. After a vain attempt at hacking it Sam suddenly finds himself struck by a laser and sucked inside the computer. He is now on the Grid, the seemingly mythical creation his father spent years trying to create.

Unfortunately for Sam the Grid is not a safe place. Run by the program Clu (Jeff Bridges?), it's a harsh digital realm where Programs are killed for sport in virtual gladiator arenas. Before Sam can be killed by Clu, he is rescued by Quorra who takes him to the creator, his long lost dad Kevin. The father and son reunion is short lived as the portal back to the real world closes soon and Sam must convince Kevin to go head to head with Clu in order to escape.

That is a linear interpretation of the plot of "Tron Legacy" and the futility of my description should be well in evidence. Tron Legacy is clearly not a movie that thrives on plot or detail. Instead, Tron Legacy just wants to have a good time playing with digital toys and listening to Jeff Bridges play a serious version of his The Dude from the Big Lebowski.

You think I'm kidding but listen to some of Bridges' lines like "Clu, your breaking my Zen man" or "I'm gonna go knock on the sky and see what I hear," lines delivered with a very Dude-like inflection. Those are actual lines from the movie Tron Legacy, not a parody, not a youtube mash-up, but actual lines delivered by Jeff Bridges with a level of 'I can't believe they are letting me do this' smugness.

Not that there is anything wrong with that smugness really. There is a good deal of entertainment to be found in how much Bridges relishes his freedom to be out there doing his own thing against this self serious digital background, it just goes against the grain in the most noticeable ways, ways I'm not sure were intentional.

Bridges is at times the only one in how goofy all of this really is. Well, he and Michael Sheen who takes on a role in "Tron Legacy" that only Ziggy Stardust could love. Sheen plays Zeus a nightclub owner who may or may not be fomenting rebellion against Clu and may or may not be an ally of Quorra and Flynn.

All Zeus really does is give rise to odd, unnecessary questions about this place called The Grid. When Sam arrives he is arrested immediately by Clu's guards. Why? We don't know. Then, after his stripped and dressed by refugees from a futuristic Marilyn Manson video, he is dropped into the game arena where he fights battles familiar from the first Tron movie, the Frisbee game, in front of a massive cheering, mostly unseen crowd. Who are these people in the crowd? What do they do? What function do they serve for Clu as he is creating what he calls a perfect world?

These questions are not the least bit important but they rise up in the mind while you are waiting for the next big digital landscape to emerge. Anytime Tron Legacy pauses for some exposition, a father son chat or whatever, the mind of the viewer can tend to wander to questions like why do computer programs need a bar? What do computer programs drink and why? Do they have food? Does Kevin Flynn have food? What has he been eating for 20 years trapped in a computer?

Again, none of this matters but so much of "Tron Legacy" is so massively dull that you cannot help but wonder. Then, Jeff Bridges will say something dude like and some cool looking effect will pop up and you will be transfixed for a moment. The moments unfortunately, don't really add up to much. By the time you come to understand Clu's bad guy motives you aren't likely to care.

"Tron Legacy" exists as a brand that Disney hopes to capitalize on like "Pirates of the Caribbean." It's a machine built to create sequels and make money. There are pleasures to be found in amongst all the goofiness but they are too few and far between to really recommend "Tron Legacy" as a whole.

At 2 hours plus, Tron Legacy wears out its welcome and while the effects will no doubt dazzle kids, mom and dad will be checking their watches regularly in between the minor giggles induced by The Dude as he abides a CGI universe.

Movie Review Surf's Up

Surf's Up (2007) 

Directed by Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Written by Ash Brannon, Chris Buck, Don Rhymer, Chris Jenkins

Starring Shia Le Beouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Brian Posehn

Release Date June 15th, 2007 

Published June 15th, 2007

In its brief history Sony Pictures Animation has turned out a pleasant slate of kids pics that, while they aren't the rival of Pixar, are wonderfully imaginative and lovingly crafted. Monster House and Open Season were two of 2006's most pleasant surprises and showed an aesthetic that is becoming a Sony Animation staple. It's a watercolor, computer animation combination that occasionally looks quite breathtaking.

The latest Sony Pictures Animation project, the Penguin comedy Surf's Up, is not as accomplished as Monster House or as fun as Open Season, but it does show the potential of the talented group at Sony Animation and the likelihood that, with a little more care and attention, there is a chance for a real masterpiece from this rising animation company.

Ever since he was a small penguin Cody (Shia Le Beouf) has wanted to surf. When he was very young Cody met the legendary surfer Big Z who gave him a souvenir medallion that he has worn for the rest of his life. Shaping a piece of ice into a board, Cody surfs the relatively small Antarctic swells in hopes of one day traveling to Penghu Island for the Big Z memorial tournament.

Cody gets his chance when a talent scout arrives, riding on whale-back. Cody impresses him with his persistence, if not his surfing and soon Cody is on his way to the big show. There he meets Roger the chicken (Jon Heder) who quickly becomes his new best friend. He also meets Lena (Zooey Deschanel) who catches his romantic fancy.

Then there is Geek (Jeff Bridges) , a mysterious hermit who takes Cody in after he has an accident while surfing. The two bond and soon Geek is Cody's mentor; preparing him for the tournament and a showdown with the jerky defending champion Tank (Diedrich Bader).

Surf's Up plays out in a cartoon documentary style that works to set it apart from other similar animated films. The format allows humorous digressions like a look back at Big Z's classic surfing movies, reminiscent of the legendary Endless Summer documentaries. Another strength of the documentary structure is the straight to the camera interview moments, especially those featuring the cute young penguins with their wonderfully humorous greek chorus commentaries.

Comedian Brian Posehn also shines in these brief interview segments with pitch perfect sibling rivalry banter with Shia Le Beouf.

The terrifically talented voice cast of Surf's Up is a real joy to behold. Shia Le Beouf brings to life Cody's childlike wonderment with an edge of youthful arrogance. Jeff Bridges meanwhile will no doubt remind many adult viewers of his most iconic character, the dude from The Big Lebowski, sans the white russians and the bathrobe.

Zooey Deschanel's distinctive voice has an edgy sarcastic quality that she can turn sympathetic but only when absolutely necessary. Jon Heder delivers a slightly controversial turn as Roger the chicken. The character is supposed to be sweetly naive but he comes off more like a classic stoner character, not exactly kid friendly.

The animation of Surf's Up is pretty terrific. Sony Pictures Animation has followed the Pixar model and is developing a signature style. Combining computer animated aesthetics with a sort of water color look, Sony's animators bring an element of classic hand drawn animation to their CG work. The closing scene of Surf's Up, set inside the curl of a wave, is a breathtaking sight, one of the finest animated moments of any cartoon you've ever seen.

Surf's Up could stand to be a little funnier, with a quicker pace but overall it's pleasant, non-threatening and energetic enough that the kids will be engaged and mom and dad won't be bored. Most importantly, Surf's Up is a signpost of great things to come from the rising Sony Animation brand. A strong, if not as impressive, follow up to the terrific Monster House and the entertaining Open Season, Surf's Up is worth the price of a matinee admission.

Movie Review Stick It

Stick It (2006)

Directed by Jessica Bendinger

Written by Jessica Bendinger

Starring Missy Peregrym, Jeff Bridges, Kellan Lutz

Release Date April 28th, 2006

Published May 15th, 2006

If all juvenile delinquents could get the kind of court treatment that Hayley, the heroine of the new Disney comedy Stick It got, the world would be filled with extremely limber criminals. Hayley, the heroine of Stick It,  has had numerous run-ins with the law in her short life; but now she finds herself in real deep trouble. After damaging property she is being sent off to, horror of horrors, gymnastics camp!

That ought to show her.

Stick It is the kind of wish fulfillment comedy that Hollywood is convinced that we love. Filled with sitcom characters and Saved By The Bell style dialogue, Stick It is a stylish but rarely amusing teen comedy.

Hayley Graham (Missy Peregrym) has been sentenced by a judge to go to gymnastics camp. Luckily she happens to have once been a world class gymnast before she walked away in the midst of a big meet or match or whatever the hell they call it. Needless to say, she is not popular with her fellow gymnasts at the Vickerman gymnastics academy.

Run by the tough loving Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges); the academy is better known for major injuries caused by Burt's hardcore training than for major gymnastic stars. Naturally, Hayley and Burt clash immediately. She doesn't want to be there, he doesn't care, they clash until valuable lessons are learned and naturally a big meet(?) bonds the team to Hayley and she to them.

Jessica Bendinger, who wrote the amusing script for the cheerleader comedy Bring It On, directs her first feature and brings a rebellious attitude to Stick It but, like most teenage rebellion, it's mostly just childish posturing.

Missy Peregrym gives a free spirited performance that is restricted by a script that puts really stupid words in her mouth. The dialogue is filled with dopey sub-sitcom zingers that undermine any character development. Not one of these characters feels like a natural human being because everything they say seems as if it should be followed with canned laughter.

I hope Jeff Bridges makes good use of the paycheck he picked up for Stick It. If the audience is bored  watching Stick It they are just reflecting Bridges who could not be any more bored with this material. He knows this movie is no good and he reflects it with an attitude of disaffection.

So, does anything about Stick It work? Yeah; kind of. Director Jessica Bendinger establishes a candy colored palette in the background of her candy coated story. Using low grade special effects Bendinger makes gymnastics about as interesting as it can possibly be without having someone in your own family competing.

There is a certain camp humor found in Jeff Bridges' tired, bored, performance in Stick It. His character's almost constant exasperation is supposedly linked to the untamed rebelliousness of his charges, but you can easily read it as Bridges real life response to this lifeless exercise in teen appeal sit-comedy.

Jessica Bendinger is not an untalented director. She crafts some clever visuals with overlapping photography in the gymnastics scenes and makes good use of CGI. Bendinger makes gymnastics more interesting than I've ever found it before, but having never found it all that interesting to begin with, this is a minimal accomplishment.

Bendinger, at the very least, has enough talent to make me interested in what she will do next. Anything she does now will have to be better than the forgettable teen tripe of Stick It.

Movie Review: K-Pax

K-Pax (2001) 

Directed by Iain Softley 

Written by Charles Leavitt 

Starring Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Alfre Woodard, Mary McCormack

Release Date August 13th, 2001 

Published November 1st, 2001 

Kevin Spacey is one our finest actors having created such enduring characters as American Beauty's Lester Burnham, Seven's John Doe, and the unforgettable Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects (My personal favorite). But no matter how great the actor, he can't get it right every time. Need I remind you of Pay it Forward, and now with K-Pax Spacey has struck out again. High hopes still persist for his role in The Shipping News in December.

You can't blame Spacey entirely for the failure of K-Pax -- director Iain Softley and the screenwriter must share equal blame. They seemed to approach the film with no idea how they would resolve it which leaves the audience with an ending so unsatisfying it collapses any interesting elements the film had built to that point.

K-Pax is the story of Prot (Spacey) a man who's either an alien or a mental patient. Prot is picked up by police at the scene of a mugging after babbling about not being from Earth. He is placed in a mental institution where Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges, in the film's best performance) treats him. K Pax is at its best when Bridges and Spacey go one on one with Bridge's doctor attempting to logically ascertain why this seemingly brilliant man thinks he is an alien. 

The film's other scenes are less interesting featuring your typical cast of loony bin loonies such as the germophobe, the mean one, and the patient who could leave the hospital if someone would treat him with love instead of medicine. Of course Prot will redeem them and these scenes are lifted from the Patch Adams scrap heap though slightly elevated by Spacey's presence. 

Jeff Bridge's performance nearly saves K Pax his search for Prot's true identity is well played with the right amount of emotional impact. Bridges is stringing together one of the most under-appreciated resumes in the business with brilliant turns in The Contender, The Big Lebowski and Fearless. If all of K-Pax were as good as he is, K-Pax could have been one of the best films of the year.

As for Spacey, Prot is a nearly impossible character who's required to be quirky because all aliens are quirky, and he's required to be psychologically damaged and then be a saint. That's a lot of work. In the end the director refuses to give the audience any catharsis by not answering the film's big question, one I won't print because I don't want to spoil it. The ending is left open either for a sequel or to offer the audience the opportunity to write their own ending, but intelligent moviegoers may be annoyed with the mystery. I know I was.

Movie Review Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit (2003) 

Directed by Gary Ross

Written by Gary Ross

Starring Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Gary Stevens, William H. Macy

Release Date July 25th, 2003 

Published July 24th, 2003 

The first trailers for Seabiscuit came in late January/early February and were not well received. They looked kind of dopey and sappy, like every other horse movie ever made. It didn't help that Tobey Maguire evoked the same winsomeness that made The Cider House Rules so relentlessly dull. It also didn’t help that the film was directed by the same guy who made Pleasantville a beat you over the head message movie, Gary Ross.

Subsequent trailers have managed to rehab the film’s image into that of the first Oscar contender of the year and that is somewhat accurate. Despite a number of reservations, I wouldn't be surprised to see Seabiscuit come roaring down the stretch in late February at the Oscars.

Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand’s surprise best seller, Seabiscuit relates the rise of a racehorse with the resurgence of an America in the wake of The Depression. Tobey Maguire stars as Red Pollard, a jockey and part time boxer who was sold by his parents to a horse stable after his parents lost everything in the market crash. Red grew up bouncing from race track to race track working in stables and riding in races while at night getting his butt whooped in bar room brawls. In one fight in Mexico, Red is beaten so badly he loses sight in one eye.

Parallel to Red's story is that of a bicycle salesman named Charles Howard who moved out west to find his fortune selling bikes in mining towns. One day a man asks Charles if he could fix a car, and though he's never done it before, Howard is ingenious enough to figure it out and in so doing found his true calling. Seeing the rise of the automobile, Howard opens the very first Western car dealership and becomes a millionaire. Though Howard was one of the lucky people who survived the market crash, his life was not immune to tragedy. While working at his dealership one day, Howard found that his young son Sean had died after borrowing one of dad's cars to go fishing. The death of his son was also the end of his first marriage.

Looking for ways to cope with these dual tragedies, Howard heads to Mexico where he meets a strange old horse trainer named Tom Smith. An old time cowboy, Smith still sleeps under the stars and trains horses not just to run races. He simply loves horses regardless of their abilities. Howard and Smith then look for a horse to run in races and find a real nag. An undersized, intemperate sire of a Triple Crown winner, named Seabiscuit. For a jockey they find the only man who wasn't afraid to ride the angry Seabiscuit, Red Pollard, and soon the too short horse with a too large jockey is running and winning every race.

The main story arc of the film is Howard's attempt to entice the owner of Triple Crown winner War Admiral into a match race with Seabiscuit. While the film posits the match up as a David and Goliath story, I couldn't help but see it as an ego contest between two rich guys at a time when people were starving. Call me cynical if you like, but as the owner of War Admiral and Howard negotiate the terms of the big race while sitting in a New York country club, I couldn't help but imagine the number of people in line for soup just down the road from them. I couldn’t help but think how truly insignificant a horse race is. 

I realize that the race was in reality very inspiring to poor Americans coming out of The Depression but in reality, they were watching one massive ego battle between two rich guys. I guess I can't feel sorry for the number of poor people who threw in their last quarter to sit in the infield to watch the match race, they gave their money willingly. However, at a time of such poverty should there have been a charge to see this race, especially when the money raised all went into the pockets of the already very rich owners? I realize politics has no place in this film’s glossy repainting of its period but if you're going to tie your story to the rebirth of the country, it's fair to take a more realistic look at this idealized story.

All that said, Seabiscuit from a filmmaking standpoint is a very competent professional production. Ross may present a glossed over version of reality but it's a beautiful rendering of said gloss. Seabiscuit is visually very well produced and far better than Ross' previous effort, the annoyingly overwrought message picture Pleasantville.

The performances in Seabiscuit are where its award chances are, especially the supporting performance from William H. Macy as the cartoony comic relief race announcer Tick Tock Mcglaughlin. As always, Jeff Bridges is outstanding and once again shows why he is the most underappreciated actor in Hollywood. Of course, Tobey Maguire is the film’s lead and though I find his dewy-eyed innocence routine somewhat grating, I don't think it's entirely his fault. The script betrays him in the hero department, painting Red as an innocent kid even as he grows into a man living in Mexico, dallying with prostitutes and fighting in bars.

Chris Cooper delivers yet another solid performance and though it may not be as memorable as his Oscar winning turn in Adaptation, it underscores his amazing range. Finally, some praise for real-life jockey Gary Stevens who plays Red's best friend and rival, George Woolf. Stevens delivers a very relaxed and real performance and his riding ability of course is well showcased in the film’s very well orchestrated racing scenes.

There are a number of good things about Seabiscuit, especially its acting. However, the falseness of the re-imagined reality of the period continues to nag at me and thus the impact of the film’s centerpiece, the match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, felt hollow to me. I just can't cheer what amounts to an ego contest between two rich guys no matter how athletic and beautiful the horses may be.

Movie Review Iron Man

Iron Man (2008) 

Directed by Jon Favreau 

Written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub

Release Date May 2nd, 2008 

Published May 1st, 2008 

Tony Stark has lived a life of glorious privilege since birth. His father was part of the group that invented the A Bomb. That allowed Tony's dad to build a weapons manufacturing empire. By the time Tony Stark became a grown-up, he was a billionaire. He was also an orphan as his parents were killed in an accident some years before this story begins. 

With power, money and women all at his feet things could not be any more perfect for Tony Stark. He was left only for a fall. That fall comes when Tony is captured by Afghan terrorists after demonstrating his latest weapon for the military. The terrorists want Tony to build them his new weapon from the scraps of his weapons that they have somehow purchased.

Tony has other plans. With the help of a fellow captive (Shaun Toub, Crash) Tony builds a new kind of weapon, a giant iron suit that he will use to escape. This prototype suit allows Tony to fight his way out of the clutches of the bad guys and into a well timed rescue by the military, lead by Tony's pal General Rhodes (Terrence Howard).

Returning home, Tony decides to change his ways. While perfecting his iron suit weapon he makes the rash decision to take his company out of the weapons business, against the advice of his father's business partner Obediah Stane (Jeff Bridges). Vowing to protect the people he put in harms way with his weapons of mass destruction, Stark creates Iron Man and goes to war with terrorists and their benefactors.

Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man is classic blockbuster, summer movie fare. Larger than life characters, good versus evil, big time action and a sense of humor. Iron Man has it all and in the person of Robert Downey Jr. it has a soul and depth that similar movies (I'm looking at you Fantastic Four) don't have.

Downey is not your prototypical action star and given his history of drug and alcohol abuse, he's the last actor you would imagine as the star of a summer blockbuster. That is however what makes his casting so inspired. Hiring a real actor as opposed to some hunky stand-in (Tom Welling anyone?), gives Iron Man the kind of depth that it would take other actors a lot more work to establish.

Surrounded by an exceptional supporting cast of Oscar nominees, Terrence Howard, Oscar winners, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, and crafty veterans, Jeff 'The Dude' Bridges, Shaun Taub, Downey sparkles and Iron Man transcends the typical summer movie. Iron Man is not without flaws, it takes a while to get to the red and gold suit, the editing of the big fight scene is a little muddled, but overall this is a terrific summer entertainment.

Movie Review Tron

Tron (1982) 

Directed by Steven Lisberger

Written by Steven Lisberger 

Starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Bernard Hughes

Release Date July 9th, 1982 

Published July 10th 2012 

Comedian Dennis Miller once satirized then Vice President Al Gore’s allegedly stony and boring persona by claiming that the VP’s favorite movie was “Tron.” If you have seen the original, 1982 version, of “Tron” you likely found that joke pretty funny, in 1999 when the joke was made and even today.

Yes, “Tron” is not the most exciting exercise in acting or dialogue or special effects (compared to what we see today). But, in its day “Tron” was cutting edge in terms of effects, if still stolid in acting and stumbling in dialogue. What looks remarkably cheesy through the prism of today was mind blowing in 1982.

Forget it Mr. High and Mighty Master Control

Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) was once the top programmer at the Encom software company. But, hen his many ideas for new videogames were stolen by a fellow programmer, the slimy Ed Dillinger (David Warner), Flynn is devastated and then fired. Now, Flynn runs an arcade while secretly trying to hack Encom and get his games back.

Flynn has been battling Dillinger’s Master Control Program and mostly been losing until his former co-workers Alan (Bruce Boxleitner) and Lora (Cindy Morgan), Flynn’s former flame, approach him at the arcade. Alan’s Tron program has been locked up by the Master Control thanks to Flynn’s hacking. Flynn, however, has a plan to get Tron out and take down the MCP.

Derezzed

Once Flynn, Alan and Lora break into Encom, Flynn gets to work on invading the MCP. Unfortunately, for Flynn he finds himself on the wrong side of a laser beam that digitizes him and puts him inside the computer grid where the MCP uses programs like Sark (David Warner, again) to force programs into deadly videogame competitions. If Flynn loses he could be ‘derezzed’ a term you can take to mean killed inside the computer.

“Tron” is awkward and a little boring outside the computer world and strange and entertaining inside. The dialogue goes from oddly delivered to just plain odd with lines about ‘Micro-Sectors,’ ‘Bit Brains,’ ‘Users,’ and my favorite odd line “Who does he calculate he is.”

High gloss camp

Even the most diehard fan of “Tron” must admit how campy it all is. From the dialogue to the odd looking lighted costumes to Bruce Boxleitner’s wooden performance as both Alan and Tron, there is a heavy dose of unintentionally funny stuff in “Tron.” In fact, the kitsch is nearly overwhelming by the end of “Tron.”

So what makes “Tron” a classic? How does this admittedly goofy looking movie remain part of the pop culture ephemera? “Tron” strikes a lasting chord for being document of it’s time, a relic of a period before computer effects consumed movies. “Tron” was the first of its kind.

Tron invented at MIT

Director Steven Lisberger was an MIT graduate who worked on first generation computer animation while in school. Inspired by the video game “Pong” Lisberger came up with the idea to combine computer animation with videogame graphics and “Tron” was born. Lisberger took the idea to Disney who committed 12 million dollars to his visionary idea and the rest is movie history.

The cheese-factor is inescapable but so is the film’s place in movie history. “Tron” will be remembered forever for its visionary use of animation, computer graphics and videogame tech. Bruce Boxleitner will never live down his beyond wooden appearance and Oscar winner Jeff Bridges has a little to be embarrassed about as well, but mostly “Tron” is a movie classic.

Movie Review Seventh Son

Seventh Son (2015) 

Directed by Sergei Bodrov

Written by Charles Leavitt, Steven Knight

Starring Jeff Bridge, Julianne Moore, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander, Kit Harrington, Olivia Williams, Djimon Hounsou 

Release Date February 6th, 2015 

Published February 5th, 2015

There is a sad and desperate affliction plaguing middle aged Hollywood stars. I’ve come to call it “Nicolas-Cage-Itis.” NCI, as we will henceforth refer to it, strikes when an actor reaches of a level of age and stardom where they are no longer seen as viable leading men but can’t pull themselves from in front of the camera.

The dissonance between their faded place in the pop ephemera and their own perception of their pop mortality clash and a level of madness emerges that leads to making movies of questionable taste and quality. John Cusack, for one, has succumbed mightily to NCI and will in 2015 star in a film project so bereft it likely will never be seen outside of China.

Other actors look on the verge of an NCI flare up, Johnny Depp is perilously close, Keanu Reeves seems to have pulled back from the brink but still could go either way and Tom Cruise is just one batshit crazy sci-fi movie from a full blown case. Sadly, however, the most recent fully diagnosed case of NCI is Academy Award winner and all around good dude Jeff Bridges.

With his “RIPD,” “The Giver,” and “Seventh Son” triumvirate it’s clear Bridges is in the throes of a full on Nicolas-Cage-Itis breakdown. He’s already begun the ‘bizarre accents are why I make movies’ phase of the illness. Soon, he will be experimenting with his hairline and having massive tax problems.

“Seventh Son” was the final piece of the NCI diagnosis. This misbegotten YA adventure movie stars Bridges as a mystical witch hunter named Master Gregory and while you might be tempted to believe Bridges wanted to play a mystical witch hunter named Master Gregory on a lark, it’s clear he chose the role because he was allowed to speak in a manner of his choosing, something akin to Morgan Freeman without teeth.

Yes, the accent is really the only reason Bridges wanted to play Master Gregory. Any director indulgent enough to allow his star to mush mouth his way through an ostensibly teen-friendly blockbuster adventure clearly isn’t asking much of his star. No, Bridges and his star power quite clearly dominate every aspect of “Seventh Son” which means nothing too challenging and only the vaguest sense that anyone gives the slightest damn about the material.

Joining Bridges with her own mild case of NCI is Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore. Bridges’ Lady Friend from “The Big Lebowski” plays a witch that Gregory once loved, then hunted and now hunts again after she escapes from the prison he made her years before. The love story aspect is left thankfully to the willing imagination as the movie is given over to high camp vamping and the chewing of scenery.

It’s difficult to decide what is more dispiriting about “Seventh Son:” Bridges and Moore’s dull, camp excess or the abysmal love story tacked on to their teenage sidekicks. Ben Barnes Barnes and Alicia Vikander play star-crossed lovers, witch-hunter apprentice and witch, respectively, with about as much romantic chemistry as mismatched shelving units. If you need a sense of just how invested the film is in Barnes’ apprentice character, his name is Tom Ward. Tom Ward. “Seventh Son” is set in a world of Witches, Dragons and shape shifting Bears and Leopards and they are battled by a guy named Tom. At least Gregory gets call himself ‘Master.’

“Seventh Son” is an incredibly depressing piece of work. It’s a YA adaptation, it’s dreary and lumbering with about as much wonder and excitement as a trip to the DMV. But, of course, the dreariest of the dreary is watching Jeff Bridges entertain himself. Bridges is playing an elaborate prank that’s only funny for him. He’s fully aware of how ridiculous he looks and sounds but he’s also wildly entertained by it. We, on the other hand, are just hurt that our hero won’t let us in on the joke.

Mr. Bridges’s case of NCI is in that hermetic stage where a selfish negation of all outside opinion leads to humiliating career decisions that the star doesn’t fully realize they’re making. NCI blinds the star from seeing how silly they look and consequently divorces them from reality enough that they take a strange pride in their own oddity.

Can Mr. Bridges recover from this devilish disease? It’s hard to say. The progenitor of NCI, Nicolas Cage Esquire, does, on occasion, allow his talent to emerge from behind his lunacy but seemingly only by accident. Maybe it will be by accident that we will once again see Mr. Bridges. For now, sadly, his NCI has fully overtaken his good sense and “Seventh Son” is the signifier of his full blown madness.

Movie Review: Tideland

Tideland (2006) 

Directed by Terry Gilliam 

Written by Tony Grisoni, Terry Gilliam

Starring Jodelle Ferland, Brendan Fletcher, Janet McTeer, Jennifer Tilly, Jeff Bridges

Release Date October 27th, 2006

Published November 17th, 2006 

Writer-director Terry Gilliam has always directed his fantasies. Be they weird or myopic or paranoid, Gilliam directs entirely from his imagination, practical concerns be damned. His latest dream-scape is a perfect example. As Gilliam is forced to admit, in a bizarre opening behind the scenes prologue, Tideland is his own fantasy of what life would be like if he were a pre-teen girl. Based on a novel Mitch Cullen, Terry Gilliam's take on life as a tween girl is even more disturbing and bizarre than even his most ardent fans may expect.

Jeliza Rose (Jodelle Ferland), the daughter of a pair of serious heroin addicts, watches first her mom (Jennifer Tilly) and then her dad (Jeff Bridges), die of drug overdoses. The heroin prepared for mom and dad by Jeliza herself, causes her to recede into her self created fantasy world where a witch named Dell (Janet McTeer) and her mentally challenged henchman (Brenden Fletcher) become her pseudo family and the doll heads she wears as finger puppets carry on long, imaginative conversations with her.

Terry Gilliam isn't kidding when he claims this is what his life would be like were he a pre-teen girl. Wild, imaginative, perverse visions of love, death, sex and parenthood are all themes that Gilliam has tackled before. However, Tideland takes Gilliam's extreme fantasies to a whole new level of perversion. Perhaps Terry Gilliam has finally tweaked a puritan part of my brain but I find there to be something very wrong about presenting a Terry Gilliam fantasy through the eyes of this little girl. 

This is a fantasy that includes not just the drug overdose deaths of two parents from heroin doses administered by their own daughter but also the subsequent gutting, embalming, and slow decomposition of the father as the child continues chatting away as if dad were just napping. Then there is the creepy pseudo-romance. The pre-teen girl has a childish dalliance with the mentally challenged guy. In scenes that are both creepy and strangely sweet these two people who have no idea what intimacy is engage in the kind of childish exploration that would be cute if the mentally challenged guy weren't in his mid-twenties and quite insane.

There is, at the very least, some exceptional visual artwork in Tideland. Cinematographer Nicola Pecorini does some fine work giving vivid life to each of Terry Gilliam's most twisted ideas. For better or worse, the look of Tideland is as impressive as the story is disturbing and horrifying. And yet, Gilliam doesn't treat the horror as horror, there is a distinct sense of dreamlike fantasy, not light-hearted really, but Gilliam is not leaning into the horror that is very much present in this story and while some find that dichotomy compelling, I found it repellent. 

Every experience Terry Gilliam's pre-teen protagonist has, from watching both parents die, to the creepy mentally challenged 'boyfriend,' to the presence of the witch in her fantasies, are all played to such a low key whimsy that they barely register. You may watch in horror as scenes of degradation and dark humor play out, but you will also likely find your mind wandering as Gilliam underplays the horror of the scene in favor of  playing off a more goofball dispassionate response from this deeply troubled and traumatized young girl.

Terry Gilliam has demonstrated the genius of his myopic, selfish approach to film-making in movies as varied as 12 Monkeys, Brazil, and Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. In Tideland however, he takes that weird personal vision to its navel-gazing nadir. This is a movie made by Terry Gilliam for Terry Gilliam and while I admire any filmmaker who doesn't bow to audience concerns about what the majority of people want to see, that doesn't make a movie like Tideland fun to watch.

Movie Review: Crazy Heart

Crazy Heart (2009) 

Directed by Scott Cooper

Written by Scott Cooper

Starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall 

Release Date December 16th, 2009 

Published by December 15th, 2009 

Very often the Oscars turn into the Hollywood Lifetime Achievement Awards. That will likely be the case with the Oscars this year as one of Hollywood's most beloved actors, Jeff Bridges,is the front-runner for one of Hollywood's biggest prizes, Best Actor in a Leading Role. Now, to be clear, I love Jeff Bridges. “The Big Lebowski” is my favorite film of all time. However, Jeff Bridges' work in “Crazy Heart” is solid but not spectacular and certainly not the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. 

For one thing, George Clooney delivers a far more complex, thoughtful and engaging performance in Jason Reitman's wonderful drama, “Up in the Air.” For another example Jeremy Renner's intensity and focus in The Hurt Locker would be a winner in any other year. Bridges' performance is authentically battered, broken, and genial but there is little depth to his drunken country singer, Bad Blake, in “Crazy Heart.”

Bad Blake was once a pretty big star in the world of Country Music but alcohol and a lack of a good accountant have laid him low. These days ol' Bad can be found playing rundown taverns and in an early scene, a bowling alley. There is still hope for Bad but he will have to clean up and swallow his pride a little. Bad's former back up band member Tommy (Colin Farrell) is now a huge star and he's willing to give Bad a break if he'll take it.

While Bad's busy fending off Tommy and his second chance, a trip to New Mexico brings Blake into the life of Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a wannabe music journalist. Jean wants and gets an interview with Bad Blake that she believes could be her big break. Bad, meanwhile is quickly smitten with the much younger and very beautiful writer. His music charms her into his bed and soon Bad is bonding with her very young son.

Where the story goes from there is for you to discover. Jeff Bridges makes all the minor melodramatic turns affable and helps avoid most cliches of this kind of redemption drama but there is nothing particularly special about Crazy Heart. Director Scott Cooper doesn't reinvent the wheel with his dusty, slightly battered shooting style that, though it does well to match Bad Blake's boozy and beat up lifestyle. it lacks insight and the drama is relatively inert in its predictability. 

Movie Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) 

Directed by Grant Heslov

Written by Peter Straughan 

Starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey 

Release Date November 6th, 2009 

Published November 5th, 2009 

Remote viewing is sort of a real thing. Real in that some people believe they can do it or enjoy conning others into thinking they can do it. So good were some of these con men that they convinced the United States government to fund a program that allowed them to train their remote viewing techniques. The book The Men Who Stare at Goats, by journalist Jon Ronson, is about the real life nuts and con men who took advantage of cold war paranoia to further their work in the world of the paranormal. 

The book is now a quite funny movie that slowly morphs into a mawkish tribute to morons and con men. Ewan McGregor is the star of The Men Who Stare at Goats. MacGregor plays Bob Wilton a journalist who, after his wife leaves him, decides to get embedded in Iraq to cover the war. Once their he stumbles upon Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Bob knows Cassady from an interview he did with a wacko who claimed the ability to stop an animal's heart with his mind. The nut claimed Cassady was the best psychic spy in the world.

Cassady prefers the title Jedi Warrior and maybe through some pop culture osmosis, McGregor was Obi Wan Kenobi, he senses a kindred spirit in Bob and decides to take the reporter with him on a 'psychic mission.' The two men wander out into the desert of Iraq and along the way Lyn recounts the wild, unbelievable story of his introduction to, and the creation of, what the government called 'The New Earth Army'.

Lead by Colonel Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) the New Earth Army was a plan to fight wars without weapons. Col. Django believed that the mind could be used to fight wars and encourage peace. Django recruited young men willing to explore their minds and dance free and grow their hair. Lyn Cassady was his prize student while Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) acts as the snake in the New Earth garden of Eden.

Director Grant Heslov tackles Jon Ronson's book with an eye toward satire. It is after all quite a wild idea that the US government paid to train psychic warriors. However, as the movie goes along, what begins as a biting satiric send up of this lunatic idea turns into a mushy tribute to goofballs who believe in the ridiculous. Instead of sending up the idea of psychic warriors, the director appears to buy into the idea, though not completely, and what appears intended to be a comedy becomes something closer to a tribute to weirdos and kooks. 

In the final act of The Men Who Stare at Goats a film that was building some satiric momentum devolves into a nutty homage to the numbskull characters who believe they have psychic abilities. It's a shame because a healthy dose of skepticism and reality is just what this material needed. A great cast in the end is drowned in lunacy and goofiness and while it's all very good natured, it also feels like a major missed opportunity. The Men Who Stare at Goats, in the end, is a disappointing sop that should have been a giddy satire.