Movie Review: Doubt

Doubt (2008) 

Directed by John Patrick Shanley 

Written by John Patrick Shanley 

Starring Meryl Streep,, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Release Date December 12h, 2008

Published January 5th, 2008 

I did not attend Catholic School but some of my favorite people have and the experience shaped their lives. The most famous example is George Carlin whose catholic school experience fostered the rebellious spirit that would lead comic explications of the churches and indeed religions many failings.

Doubt, the film version of John Patrick Shanley's stage play, displays catholic school as it was just after Carlin left. Set in 1963 we witness the clash of 50's parochialism and the mind expanding 60's and the result is surprisingly fair to both sides. If you believe completely in the discipline of the 50's or subscribe entirely to the freedom of the 60's you will leave this movie with doubts.

Meryl Streep stars in Doubt as Sister Aloysius the principle of a New York catholic school in flux. The school has its first african american student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), and the parish home of the school has a priest. He is father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his approach to catholicism and to the school is open minded and compassionate.

The approach rankles Sister Aloysisus who believes in fear as the best teacher and motivator. The interesting thing is that both approaches really have merits. In fact both are demonstrated by Sister James (Amy Adams). Caught in the middle of the changing times, Sister James is an example of the balance that could be struck if both sides weren't so intransigent.

The plot of Doubt centers on Father Flynn's relationship with Donald Miller. He immediately takes the boy under his wing. Donald is an alter boy and I know your mind has already jumped to a particular conclusion. Sister James and Sister Aloysius jump to the same conclusion only Sister Aloysius is certain of her suspicions, Sister James is conflicted.

When Father Flynn is confronted about these suspicions the scenes are explosive and Doubt becomes a fiery, passionate battle of wills. Streep and Hoffman are perfectly cast as two willful personalities incapable of conceding. In Father Flynn's case conceding is inconceivable not just because he is willful but because of what conceding means.

For Sister Aloysius self doubt is a sin. Her life is lived in service of a belief. When she comes to believe her suspicions about Father Flynn she cannot allow herself to be proven wrong. To be wrong would be as if to prove God himself were wrong.

Streep is cast as the villanous in much of the press about Doubt. In reality her Sister Aloysius is just a fervent defender of what she believes and if you concede that she has something to be worried about in Father Flynn's relationship with her students then you must sympathize with her even if her severity is off putting.

Shanley doesn't aim to make Doubt a mystery. There are no gotcha moments. You will likely leave the theater debating Father Flynn's guilt as much as you talk about whether you liked the movie. I will keep my thoughts to myself on the matter. If you want to talk about it off the blog where spoilers can be shared, please email.

Doubt is one of the best movies of 2008. A powerful, thought provoking and moving drama that has numerous levels to its drama and passion. Meryl Streep will win and deserve to win Best Actress for her role. The greatest actress of her time has once again shown why she is worth such hyperbolic praise.

Movie Review Synechdoche, New York

Synechdoche, New York (2008) 

Directed by Charlie Kaufman

Written by Charlie Kaufman

Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Samathan Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener

Release Date October 24th, 2008 

Published November 7th, 2009

Some movies piss off as many audience members as they enchant. That was certainly the case with Fellini whose masturbatory explorations of his own wild mind kept him a cult favorite in America though a hero in Italy. Charlie Kaufman may want to see if the Italians find his work interesting. Kaufman's film Synecdoche, New York is rather Fellini-esque in the way the director goes all internal, walking around in his own weird imagination, but without Fellini's affinity for circus performers and other such absurdities.

Synecdoche, New York stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a hypochondriac playwright trapped in a bad marriage. Catherine Keener, always Kaufman's idea of the castrating female, plays Hoffman's wife with the requisite disdain for the male gender. Keener's character has barely tolerated her husband for years but he has hardly noticed. 

Together they have a daughter who carries equal parts of dad's hypochondria and mom's disdain. At work, Hoffman has a sweet flirtation with a box office worker played by Samantha Morton who, despite a mousy appearance, has an outward sexuality. The straight forward aspect of Kaufman's screenplay ends when Keener takes the kid and splits for Germany. She claims she'll be back but she never returns. From here Synecdoche, New York turns from the story of a sad sack writer into an exploration of this man's psyche.

We are never clued into the change of setting from the suburbs of New York City to Hoffman's frontal lobe but it's not that difficult to figure out if you are willing. Some viewers will not be so willing. When a seemingly random whim finds Morton's character purchasing a house that is on fire and will remain so for the next 40 years, many in the audience will get irretrievably irritated and give up.

It's not an entirely unreasonable reaction. Hoffman's character goes on to win unlimited funding to put on the play of his choice and begins a play in a giant stadium like building that becomes a play within a play within a play about Hoffman's life putting on a play within a play within a play. At one time Hoffman hires actors to play himself and another actor to play that actor playing him. You can see where some would grow tired of this. I did not. As I watched Synecdoche, New York I found myself becoming enrapt in Kaufman's endless self investigation.

The repeated ways in which Kaufman explores his fears, fantasies and obsessions is almost hypnotic in its oddity. I say his fears, fantasies and obsessions because the playwright is clearly a stand-in for Kaufman whose fascination with the exploration of the mind has run through each of his scripts, most obviously in Being John Malkovich where characters literally went inside the mind of the Oscar winning Malkovich.

Synecdoche, New York won me over with the ways in which Kaufman so nakedly explores his own mind. The honesty, hidden behind the play within a play blah, blah, blah, aesthetic is stunning and it stays with you long after you watch the movie. Indeed, even those who come away irritated by Synecdoche, New York likely won't be able to shake it for a few days. Some may even find themselves moving from baffled and disturbed to appreciating the movie. That's powerful work. Synecdoche, New York is a powerful movie experience.

Movie Review Pirate Radio

Pirate Radio/The Boat That Rocked (2009) 

Directed by Richard Curtis

Written by Richard Curtis

Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Emma Thompson

Release Date April 1st, 2009 

Published November 12th, 2009 

Oh how sad, a good premise gone bad. Pirate Radio has a sensational premise. Set in 1966 it tells the story of a Rock N' Roll radio station moored off the shores London. Why is the radio station on a ship in the Atlantic? Because 1966 was the year that rock music was banned in the UK. Brilliant subversives took the cause of rock n roll to the sea and broadcast rock, soul and pop tunes to millions.

If you think the premise is good, how about the fact that Pirate Radio is written and directed by Richard Curtis, the brilliant mind behind Four Weddings and A Funeral and Love Actually, with a cast that includes Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, January Jones and Emma Thompson. How could this have gone so very, very wrong?

Pirate Radio tells the story of some heroic music lovers. Quentin (Bill Nighy) is the fun loving; sea-faring owner of Rock Radio, the most listened to pirate radio station on the high seas. His ratings are high thanks to an American DJ known as The Count (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and a collection of oddball jocks including failed comic Angus (Rhys Darby), shy morning guy Simon (Chris O'Dowd) and ladies man Dave (Nick Frost).

Together they roll the high seas rocking, drinking and engaging in general debauchery. Or so we are told, one of the failings of Pirate Radio is how often the film leaves the best stuff off screen. This is supposed to be a movie about rock radio in the 60’s. Girls, drugs, booze, sex. And yet, we rarely see any of it. It's one thing to imply wild, rock n'roll good times but Pirate Radio can't even imply good times well enough.

Into this allegedly wild environment young Carl (Tom Sturridge) arrives. Kicked out of school for some reason, Carl's mom (Emma Thompson) sends him to stay with Quentin who may or may not be his father. What Carl or his new roommate, known to everyone on the boat as Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke) , do in exchange for staying on the boat is anyone’s guess.

Then again, motivation for any of these characters is lacking throughout Pirate Radio. So truncated is the character development in Pirate Radio that scenes arrive, exist and disappear seemingly at random. One moment a character is on the radio and in the next he's sitting around with the other DJ's laughing and drinking and while it's all congenial, even occasionally funny, there isn't much of anything going on.

Tension is supposed to build with the arrival of a new DJ named Gavin (Rhys Ifans) but again we aren't sure why. Yes, he's cocky and dismissive but we know too little about him or the people he rubs the wrong way to care why anyone is so terribly upset. Gavin is initiated in a bizarre contest with the Count that wastes a good 10 minutes of screen time.

Kenneth Branagh, playing the necessary villain as the officious government prat Sir Allistair Dormandy, is the only actor to discover his character's purpose. Though his proper British stiff is well lampooned he too lacks nuance beyond repeatedly defining himself as a jerk. At least he has a definition. Branagh's put upon assistant Mr. Twatt, yes you read that right, is a one note joke that gets less funny each time it is uttered.

There may be a behind the scenes reason for the complete failure of Pirate Radio. The film was released 8 months ago in England; then called The Boat That Rocked. The film was 20 or so minutes longer and allegedly had a lot more character stuff. Maybe, just maybe, there is something in there to explain the actions of these characters and give them depth beyond the caricatures. Then again, as it is Pirate Radio feels over long; making the film longer has rarely improved any movie.

Then again, there is a rumor that the original didn't have this version's prolonged, shipwreck of an ending, or at least didn't linger on it as much as this version does. That could definitely be an improvement. No matter what the first version of Pirate Radio/The Boat that Rocked looked like this version stinks out loud.

Movie Review Mission Impossible 3

Mission Impossible 3 (2006) 

Directed by J.J Abrams 

Written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci 

Starring Tom Cruise, Michelle Moynihan, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Maggie Q

Release Date May 5th, 2006 

Published May 4th, 2006 

If Mission Impossible 2 was the height of slick and shallow action fantasy, Mission Impossible 3 is the height of the series becoming something more than just slick fantasy. Mission Impossible 3 is completely awesome with more genuine suspense and thrills than either of the two previous Mission Impossible movies. Director J.J Abrams, before he manned the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises, grabbed the reins of the Mission Impossible franchise and transformed it from thinly plotted, style over substance action into a full fledged movie that also happens to be a great action movie.

Mission Impossible 3 picks up the story of Impossible Mission Force Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) five years after the action of MI2. Now, Hunt is in semi-retirement, busily training the next generation of IMF Agents. Hunt is also soon to be married to Jules (Michelle Monaghan), who has no idea what Ethan did or currently does for a living. Her appeal to him is that she is completely outside the espionage sphere.

That’s unfortunately about to change as Ethan is drawn back into the field and his new bride is soon to be drawn in as well. Ethan is brought out of retirement by a friend and agent named Musgrave (Billy Crudup) who wants Ethan to go to Germany and rescue one of the agents he trained. Agent Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell) had been tracking an arms dealer named Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) when she was captured.

The rescue sequence, featuring Hunt’s latest Impossible Mission team, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames, in his third Mission appearance), Declan Gormley (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and Zhen Lei (Maggie Q), is an incredibly tense, fast paced and exceptionally well shot sequence. It’s a nail-biting series of scenes with Keri Russell getting a moment to shine next to Cruise and show the chops that would take her to Emmy leading lady status as another kind of spy on The Americans.

Here, Russell was not long from the fluffy television series Felicity but the gun battle here put any questions about her range as an action hero and actress to rest for good. Russell is every bit the badass Cruise is in this scene and J.J Abrams captures the scene brilliantly with remarkable camera work, editing and scene setting. The tension in this scene is almost unbearable as the perfectly timed events play out., I can’t praise this scene enough, and I haven’t even mentioned the gut-punch payoff to this sequence.

From there we move the plot on to Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s big bad, Owen Davian. The Academy Award nominated Hoffman is not playing around with the role of action movie bad guy, he’s deeply invested in this dangerous character. Davian is maniacal but it’s Hoffman’s measured tones and invective that make him scary and not the kind of blustering we get from so many other action movie bad guys.

A sequence in which Cruise and his team invade The Vatican to capture Davian is another stand out series of scenes filled with the kinds of things we’ve come to love about the series, the speculative technology, the expert timing and the thrilling last minute saves. Director Abrams could teach a master class in action movie suspense and just show people this sequence with its expert timing and clever twists and turns.

After the disappointment of the first Mission Impossible and the shallow but exceptionally fun Mission Impossible 2, I was once again surprised by the Mission Impossible franchise with Mission Impossible 3. Instead of adopting the shallow, thrill a minute style of the modern action movie, J.J Abrams set out and made an action movie with a brain, a careful thriller that uses strong cinematic technique to build suspense in a plot that is the perfect mix of action movie thrills and genuine, edge of your seat suspense.

With all of the negativity aimed at Tom Cruise these days I wonder if I am the last Cruise fan left. For me, Tom is one of the golden gods of movie stardom. The man can do no wrong... on the big screen. His charisma, magnetism and that pulsing vein in the middle of his forehead simply hold me at rapt attention.

Call it a heterosexual man crush if you wish, I prefer to think of it in the classic Hollywood star parlance. The classic Hollywood idiom about great stars, Women want to be with him and men, like me, want to be him.

It is that quality that drives his blockbuster flicks to stratospheric heights at the box office and it is that quality that often rescues some questionable films from flopping like a dead fish. His latest film, the third in the mindlessly entertaining Mission Impossible series M.I:3, succeeds solely because of Cruise's star magnetism.

M.I:3 returns Tom Cruise to the role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt, newly retired and soon to be married to the lovely Julia (Michelle Monaghan). She knows nothing of his past or of his current job as a part time trainer of new IMF agents, he told her works for the D.O.T on traffic patterns, a job just boring enough that no one asks for details.

Ethan is pulled back into the IMF fold when one of his trainees, his star student Lindsey (Keri Russell), is captured in Berlin while on the trail of an arms dealer named Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).To get her back Ethan hooks up with his old pal Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and a new crew of IMF'ers including Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and Zhen (Maggie Q) and a new pair of bosses Brassell (Laurence Fishburne) and Musgrave (Billy Crudup).

Together they infiltrate one of those classic action movie mileu's, the factory that produces sparks and steam, and fight through several hundred nameless henchman.The raid is successful or seemed to be but unfortunately the bad guys inserted a timebomb in Lindsey's brain which detonates killing only her. These scenes sound as cheeseball as they truly are, and yet, through sheer hardcore adrenalin, they work.

Indeed the entire movie, as directed by TV genius J.J Abrams, is a series of over the top action scenes that dangle Cruise precariously from varying heights, fires gazillions of bullets, destroys millions of dollars worth of property and never stops entertaining.

The remaining plot involves Ethan and his team catching Davian, being double crossed in classic Mission Impossible fashion and, of course, along the way poor Julia will be kidnapped and have a near death experience with the big bad Davian.

I will freely admit that M.I:3 is a brainless action flick. Utterly mindless, with a plot that falls apart with too much scrutiny. However if you can forget the plot for awhile and just get into the spectacle and bathe in the star powered charisma you will be entertained thoroughly by M.I:3.

This film is just pure adrenalized joy. J.J Abrams and Tom Cruise revel in upping the ante on the action spectacle with every passing scene. They turn the experience into something akin to the X-Games crossed with James Bond and a little David Blaine magic, awe inspiring at times and cheesy as all get out.

I absolutely loved Mission Impossible 3 and I recommend it completely as a must see for people who love the classic Hollywood blockbuster. If you want your mind expanded I recommend Akeelah and The Bee. If you want your pulse to race and heart to pound then see M:I3 and leave your brain in the car.

Movie Review Love Liza

Love Liza (2002) 

Directed by Todd Louiso 

Written by Gordy Hoffman

Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Stephen Tobolowsky 

Release Date January 14th, 2002 

Published June 2nd, 2003 

In this age of Prozac and less well-known antidepressants, it is becoming odd to see people express real sadness. In Love Liza, Phillip Seymour Hoffman takes sadness to profound depths. Portraying a man whose wife has taken her own life, Hoffman is a revelation in sadness in an award-worthy performance.

Directed by Todd Louiso, Love Liza stars Hoffman as Wilson Joel, a software designer living somewhere in the mid-south. When we meet him, Wilson is returning to his home with an obviously distraught air about him. As he falls asleep on the floor outside of his bedroom, we are certain that something very traumatic has happened. The film slowly reveals Wilson's wife has killed herself. Liza Joel had gone into their garage, locked herself in the car with the engine running.

What we, Wilson, and Liza's mother Mary Ann (Kathy Bates), don't know is why she did. Wilson has a clue, a suicide note that he can't bring himself to open. Mary Ann is pressuring him to open it and bring some small bit of closure to her daughter's death. Mary Ann's prodding and Wilson's attempts at returning to a normal life at work finally get the better of him as he becomes fascinated with Liza's last moments on earth. Having killed herself suffocating on gas fumes, Wilson begins to huff gasoline to get a sense of her final moments. The gas also provides a distraction from real life, and a temporary escape from the sadness.

The role fits Hoffman like it does no other actor; not only because Hoffman is a brilliant actor, but also because his brother Gordy wrote the script. Director Todd Louiso is also a close friend of the Hoffman brothers, which likely helped bring together a chemistry necessary to carry off this film which was shot in a mere 25 days.

As great as Hoffman and his supporting cast--Bates, Stephen Toboloski, and Jack Kehler--are, the rushed production did take its toll on the finished product. With script changes coming at the last minute, it's Bates's character who is hurt the most. Her character's motivations that lead to the film's third act are a contrivance that likely came only as a way of giving her character more screen time. As the filmmakers explain in the DVD commentary track, the character of Liza's mother was beefed up to get Bates in the movie.

Many critics called Love Liza oppressively sad and they were right. But that's the point. Of course it's sad. It is about grief to an extreme degree. This is not meant as an examination of grief on a grand scale. Love Liza is an examination of this character's grief and as played by Hoffman it is a powerhouse.

Movie Review: Along Came Polly

Along Came Polly (2004) 

Directed by John Hamburg

Written by John Hamburg 

Starring Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Hank Azaria 

Release Date January 16th, 2004 

Published January 15th, 2004 

2004 is shaping up to be a big year for Ben Stiller. He has 3 films coming out in just the first five months of the year and is directing another. With Starsky and Hutch due in March, his much delayed teaming with Jack Black in Envy pushed to early Spring and a just-begun multi-episode stint on Larry David's HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Stiller is going to be everywhere this year. His first film of the year, the romantic comedy Along Came Polly with Jennifer Aniston, gets 2004 off to a good start.

In Along Came Polly, Stiller is Rueben Feffer, an expert in risk management. Ruben's job as a risk evaluator for an insurance company has taught him to be quite cautious in everything he does. Cautious even in his personal life which has caused him to settle down with Lisa (Debra Messing) for what seems like a safe, life-long commitment. However, on their honeymoon in St Barts, the couple meets a French scuba diving instructor named Claude (Hank Azaria in a stellar cameo). Of course, Claude and Lisa end up in bed together, discovered by Rueben while doing it with their scuba gear still on. No one does this kind of indignity quite as well as Stiller, who is to humiliation what Jack Benny was to being a tightwad.

Returning home, Rueben is consoled by his friend and former child star Sandy (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who tries to raise his spirits by taking him to a party. At the party Rueben runs into Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), a girl he went to junior high with and who now works as a cocktail waitress in between flights of fancy that have taken her all over the world.

Rueben and Polly are totally opposite personalities, Rueben is uptight, neurotic and fearful while Polly is adventurous, carefree and owns a ferret as a pet. However, like any man who sees an opportunity to be with a beautiful woman, Rueben puts aside his fears of spicy food, salsa dancing and ferrets. Of course, all of which leads to numerous comic foul-ups where his fears get the best of him. 

Once again, Stiller's talent for taking the worst that life can give him makes these varying humiliations terrifically funny. Even the awful bathroom scene after Rueben has suffered through dinner at an Indian restaurant and the spicy food has caused his irritable bowel syndrome to act up. Ugh!

The problem with Stiller's performance in Along Came Polly, as funny as he is, is that we have seen him do variations on this same character plenty of times. Rueben is essentially just an extension of the character he played in last years Duplex who was an extension of Greg Fokker in Meet The Parents (Not so coincidentally, Parents and Along Came Polly are both written and directed by John Hamburg). Further still, those roles were basically toned down takes on Stiller's role in There's Something About Mary. Stiller's act is still funny in Along Came Polly but it is growing a little too familiar and tiresome.

As for Jennifer Aniston, she once again shows why she is the Friend most likely to breakout as a bigtime film star. She's got it, acting chops and comic timing. Her role is surprisingly small as the film makes room for a number of supporting characters. Her Polly has little interaction with the supporting characters which makes her feel as if she were in a slightly different film. Unlike Cameron Diaz in the very similar There's Something About Mary, Aniston's Polly is played straight, above all of the humiliating gross out gags. Polly is central to the plot but is outside much of the humor of the film.

The best parts of the film are the supporting roles played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin and Hank Azaria. These three terrific actors are in place to put Stiller in the most humiliating situations possible and they do their jobs well. Azaria is especially funny in his small role. Carrying his best accent since his gay Puerto Rican is The Birdcage, Azaria walks nude on the beach, murders the English language and as he should puts Stiller's Rueben in the most humiliating situations possible.

The supporting players, as good as they are, do however expose one of the films main flaws. Writer-Director John Hamburg can't decide on a comic tone. The script attempts to combine over-the-top slapstick, gross-out humor with a realistic romance. The over-the-top elements pull you out of the realistic story, rendering it less believable, especially at the end when the film wants you to get emotional about whether the romance will have a happy ending.

It's difficult to criticize a film that is as funny as Along Came Polly. The cast is terrific and there are a number of funny gags. Still, the romance never feels real because, as written, it gets stepped on by the slapsticky, gross-out humor. Thus we are left with a series of comic skits tied together loosely by a romance that is only in place to give the jokes context. I can kind of recommend Along Came Polly but with a slight reservations. 

Movie Review Owning Mahowny

Owning Mahowny (2003) 

Directed by Richard Kwietniowski 

Written by Maurice Chauvet 

Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John Hurt, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin 

Release Date May 2nd, 2003 

Published August 12th, 2003 

Obsessive and addictive personalities often make great film dramas. Think Nicolas Cage's dying alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas, or Jason Patric's drug addicted cop in Rush. To a lesser extent Vin Diesel's adrenaline junkies in Fast and The Furious and XXX. Add to those performances Philip Seymour Hoffman's engrossing gambling addict in Owning Mahowny, a performance so strong it elevates a rather mundane drama to unexpected levels.

Dan Mahowney is yet another of those indistinct characters that Philip Seymour Hoffman excels at making memorable. He's a dull looking banker with a secret life as a big time gambler. At first it's endless weekends at the local racetrack, then it's betting on major league sports with his small-time bookie played by Maury Chaykin. Once Dan receives a promotion at the bank and the ability to write checks to himself from his clients’ accounts, Dan is off to Atlantic City. There, his obsession grows from two and three thousand dollar bets to ten, fifteen and one hundred thousand dollar bets.

Aided by the casino boss Victor Foss (the invaluable John Hurt), Dan is able to open a line of credit with the casino that he grows into the millions. All the while he haphazardly attempts to hide his gambling from his cuckolded girlfriend Belinda (Minnie Driver). Cuckolded not for another woman but by Dan's gambling which is closer to his heart than any human being could be.

As much as I love Minnie Driver, she just doesn't fit the role of Belinda. Her innate intelligence and the residue of her wonderful characters from Good Will Hunting and Grosse Pointe Blank, make her difficult to believe as a spineless enabler of Dan's obsession. In addition, her good looks overpower the characters' frumpy clothes and hairstyle. You can almost see her glamorous black curls trying to fight their way free of her ugly blonde wig.

Director Richard Kwietniowski working from a complicated novel from writer Gary Ross has the difficult task of making a rather mundane dramatic setup entertaining. It isn't easy to make bank fraud seem exciting. He succeeds only because his star Philip Seymour Hoffman is so fascinating you can’t stop watching him. It's a performance of quiet desperation that pours out of his skin. His every facial movement evokes drama and tension, far more tension than the situations surrounding him.

Hoffman has done this before, rehabilitating material that may not be worthy of his talent. Owning Mahowny is worthy of his considerable talent and only he can make it work. It is a brilliant performance, engrossing and entertaining. For fans of Hoffman, it's a true feast. For the casual fan, it works only because Hoffman is so good.

Movie Review Punch Drunk Love

Punch Drunk Love (2002) 

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson 

Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman 

Release Date October 11th, 2002 

Published October 10th, 2002 

Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia was, in the eyes of this critic, an unqualified masterpiece. While some complained about its quirks, its length, and it's strange use of frogs, I defy anyone to create a scene as moving as the final shot of Melora Waters' smile at the end. The film was a long journey, but well worth the trip. Anderson's latest isn't quite the epic that Magnolia was but, in its minimalist manner, it is almost as moving, and it is a far greater surprise, considering it features an awesome lead performance from, of all actors, Adam Sandler.

In Punch-Drunk Love, Sandler plays Barry Egan, a schlubby, put-upon brother to seven overbearing sisters. Barry owns his own business selling novelty plungers, and spends his free time collecting Healthy Choice pudding. (More on the pudding later.) In the opening, we see Barry standing in front of his office, a converted garage, when, in typical PT Anderson fashion, he witnesses a massive car crash that is immediately followed by the unusual delivery of a small piano left at the end of an alley. Barry then meets Lena (Emily Watson), who is dropping off her car to be serviced at the garage next door. Actually, that was the excuse she was using so she could meet Barry before Barry's sister—who is Lena's best friend—could set them up.

The connection isn't immediate but Lena does see something in him. In the meantime, a lonely Barry makes the mistake of calling a 900 phone sex number. As it turns out the 900 number is part of an extortion scam being run by a furniture store manager in Utah named Dean Trumbell (Anderson favorite Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Eventually Barry and Lena do get together and it is their unique love story that is the soul of this very unusual film.

The pudding subplot is actually based on a true story. A guy in Los Angeles figured out that if he bought three thousand dollars worth of Healthy Choice pudding cups and redeemed them as part of a Healthy Choice frequent flier mile giveaway, he could earn enough miles to never have to pay for a plane ticket for the rest of his life. That actually happened, and it is these little details and character quirks that surround all of Anderson's characters. They can occasionally get tiresome if they become too obvious, but thanks to the amazing lead performances of Sandler and Watson, that never happens in Punch-Drunk Love.

Sandler is perhaps the biggest surprise of the year. I don't know if it's because the role was so well written or if he benefited so greatly from the supporting cast—Watson especially—but somehow, Sandler crafts a really stellar performance. (Did I just write that? Yes I did.) For the first time in his career, Sandler proves he can act. For a Saturday Night Live alum, that is saying something.

At a mere 89 minutes Punch-Drunk Love is barely a subplot compared to Magnolia, but that isn't a bad thing. As quirky as Punch-Drunk Love is, it's good that it never wears out its welcome. Watching Barry strain and push for any longer would make him more difficult to like, and he is already difficult to like. I don't think Punch-Drunk Love is as brilliant as Magnolia but, in its own way, it's charming and sweet, and features two very Oscar-worthy performances. Punch-Drunk Love is a unique, wonderful love story that shows a side of Adam Sandler that we will likely never see again.

Movie Review Red Dragon

Red Dragon (2002) 

Directed by Bret Ratner 

Written by Ted Tally

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary Louise Parker, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Release Date October 4th, 2002 

Published October 3rd, 2002 

In 1991, The Silence Of The Lambs captured pop culture with a character more frightening than any horror movie cliché. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, as portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, embodied intelligence that was as frightening as any weapon Jason Voorhees ever used.

With Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling as the perfect foil, Hopkins tore into the psyche of moviegoers dissecting their fears the way he did his victims. The style and wit of Hannibal Lecter thrust the character off the screen and into pop culture. Even the lame sequel Hannibal, which turned the character into a horror movie monster, couldn’t completely destroy Hannibal Lecter.

Now with the release of Red Dragon, Anthony Hopkins has a vehicle that restores the character to the elements that made it iconic; the gray jumpsuit, the glass cage and the menacing intelligence. If only director Brett Ratner had the same skill with the remaining cast and story of Red Dragon, it could have been the equal of the original. As it is, Red Dragon is a solid but brutal by-the-numbers thriller with one of those endings that just makes you shake your head and wish they would have quit while they were ahead.

As the credits roll it is 1980 and Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a well respected forensic psychologist, enjoying the symphony and entertaining guests with his unique culinary skills. In a scene written by Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally, Hopkins teases the audience with the fate of a missing symphony musician being discussed by Dr. Lecter’s dinner guests. After dinner FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton), arrives at Lecter’s door to discuss a case that Lecter is consulting on. In yet another very well written scene, Norton and Hopkins match wits as Graham slowly realizes the friendly doctor is actually his suspect.

The capture of Hannibal Lecter is merely the opening act of Red Dragon, the meat of the story is Grant’s search for a serial killer dubbed by the media as The Tooth Fairy, for his penchant to bite his victims. The killer's method is simple, he stalks a family 'til the night of a full moon when he attacks, killing husbands and children and raping the mothers. The killer breaks all of the mirrors in the home using the glass as a weapon and placing it in the eyes of his victims. As Will investigates he realizes that he can’t get inside this case without help and is forced to turn to Dr. Lecter for advice. As the conversations between Lecter and Graham proceed, Lecter takes an interest in The Tooth Fairy and finds the interest to be mutual as the two killers trade messages in a tabloid personals column.

The logistics of Lecter’s being able to place an ad from his jail cell is one of a number of logical leaps by director Brett Ratner. Others include Graham’s finding of clues other investigators couldn’t, not an unusual trait for an FBI expert except that the evidence is as obvious as an episode of CSI. Those factual inconsistencies aside, the characters in Red Dragon are smart and engaging enough to carry the viewers over the logical rough spots.

As The Tooth Fairy, Ralph Fienes returns to the type of character acting that won him an Oscar for Schindler’s List. Portraying both the killer's depraved brutality and his sensitive sadness, Fiennes almost earns the audience's sympathy, especially after he begins a tentative relationship with a blind coworker named Reba, played by fellow Oscar nominee Emily Watson. Since Reba can’t see him, he is comfortable with her. She can’t see the scar on his lip he is so ashamed of, the scar that drives him to destroy every mirror he sees. Reba knows the guy is odd but she has no idea he is a sought after serial killer. There is an amazing sweetness to the relationship that is leavened by Tooth Fairy’s twisted insanity. When Reba isn’t around he argues with his imaginary master, the Red Dragon, over whether or not to kill her.

Rounding out this amazing cast is Philip Seymour Hoffman as a sleazy tabloid journalist who Graham uses to tease Tooth Fairy into showing himself. The plan backfires resulting in one of the more shocking and memorable scenes in the film. The cast also includes Harvey Keitel as Graham’s boss and Mary Louise Parker, greatly underused as Graham’s wife.

Never one to take much notice of film score I must say how impressed I was with the work of Danny Elfman. While at times the score employs cheesy horror film screeches, most of the score is deep bass and ornamental horns that give each scene sonic depth. The score is effective and memorable and vital to the film's tone. Also impressive is Dante Spinotti’s cinematography which is most notable for how mundane it is. Never getting in the way, the lighting is stylish without being overbearing and the film's brutality and violence is given a realistic feel by Spinotti’s camerawork.

Give director Brett Ratner credit for working with talented people, unfortunately his own talent isn’t as well pronounced. Ratner’s direction is a heavy handed crowd pleasing style that pushes aside artistic touches in favor of manipulating the audience with violence and manufactured suspense. Especially overwrought is the ending, yet another case of false ending overkill. Had the director stopped 15 minutes earlier the film may have ended in a more tragic and poetic way. However Ratner has some very obvious setups that need to be paid off. You know those scenes that seem to have no bearing on the story but you know they have to pay off at some point? Red Dragon ends with two of those scenes.

And then there is Anthony Hopkins, who has said this will be the last we see of him as Hannibal Lecter. Hopkins’s performance is Oscar Worthy, he hits every note perfectly with wit and menace. There has never before and will likely never again be a killer more fascinating than Hannibal Lecter. Red Dragon gives the character the send off he deserves.

Despite its shortcomings, the thrilling suspense of the majority of the film and the stellar cast make Red Dragon easy to recommend.

Movie Review Cold Mountain

Cold Mountain (2003) 

Directed by Anthony Minghella 

Written by Anthony Minghella 

Starring Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Jude Law, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman 

Release Date December 25th, 2003 

Published December 24th, 2003 

In 1997, Author Charles Frazier set out to tell a story that had been passed through his family for years. It was the story of his great uncle H.P Inman and his arduous trek home to North Carolina after deserting the Southern army near the end of the Civil War. In translating the story to the page, Frazier created an epic love story combined it with a Homeric odyssey and bathed it in Southern gentility.

Now in the hands of Director Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain is a portentous, pompous, epic scale film and a sure bet Best Picture candidate.

Jude Law stars as Inman, a day laborer helping to build a brand new chapel for the people of Cold Mountain who are welcoming the arrival of a new Minister, Reverend Monroe (Donald Sutherland). With Reverend Monroe is his daughter Ada (Nicole Kidman), a well-educated, Charlotte-bred woman who has never done a days work in her life. Ada is a trained pianist, a writer and lives to serve her father. The attraction between Ada and Inman is immediate though inexplicable. The timing couldn’t be worse as Inman is leaving to join the Southern army to fight in the Civil War. They exchange photographs and a single passionate kiss. They promise to write and Inman promises to come back.

At war, Inman is witness to one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the battle at Petersburg, Virginia. The battle is legendary for the massive mistake made by the northern army who, after setting off a huge explosion underneath the southern lines, charged ahead into the crater they created. Once trapped inside the remaining Southern soldiers are able to pick them off one by one as they attempted to climb out of the crater. Inman watches most of the carnage until forced to jump in and save a friend who fell into the crater.

Afterwards, Inman is injured in a raid meant to kill the remaining Northerners trapped in the crater. While recovering, he receives a letter from Ada detailing her struggles since he left and asking him to come home. Inman immediately deserts and begins a very long walk home.

In the meantime, Ada is in grave danger of her own. With all of the able bodied men of Cold Mountain off to war and her father having passed away, Ada is left to tend the farm which she can't do. With only the kindness of an old couple played by Kathy Baker and James Gammon is Ada able to survive. At the old couple’s urging Ada takes in a woman named Ruby (Renee Zellweger), a force of nature personality who's as spunky as Ada is helpless. Ruby moves in and teaches Ada how to survive.

Zellweger's Ruby is at once the film’s most interesting and most problematic performance. On the one hand, it brings the film some much-needed lightness to balance the dreariness of the austere landscape and doomed love story. On the other hand, Zellweger continues to draw laughs even as she is supposed to be drawing sympathy. Credit Renee Zellweger for her ability to keep Ruby from going over the top but the adapted screenplay does her little favor with it's cornpone wisdom and forced passages that play up the character’s lack of education. The role was initially intended for an African American actress, the change is a wise one because as written the role would have been clearly racist.

As Inman makes his trek back to Cold Mountain he also meets some colorful characters, including a lecherous priest played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and a nasty little redneck played by Giovanni Ribisi. Then there is the odd cameo by Natalie Portman as a war widow trying to protect her sick infant and fend off the Union army creeping up on her doorstep. She takes in Inman during a heavy rainstorm and the two have an odd encounter that is chastely romantic but unnecessary. Portman's scenes drag out the runtime of the film and serve no purpose on Inman's journey other than showing what great chemistry Law and Portman could have together given more time.

Much has been said of the chemistry between Law and Kidman, including rumors of onset romance. However, in the film they share so few scenes that the chemistry is never really an issue. Ada and Inman don't fall in love with one another but rather the idea of each other. Inman headed off to war and the strong possibility of death and appears to grab on to the image of Ada, the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, as a reason to fight and a reason to keep living in the face of great tragedy. 

As for Ada, Inman is at first simply an intriguing romance but in the course of losing her father and suffering on the farm, before Ruby arrives to help her, Inman is a savior. Inman is a knight in shining armor coming to her rescue. It is the idea of one another that matters, not the person themselves. It’s that idea which makes the film’s ending all the more poetic and fascinating.

I'm not going to give away anything, Director Anthony Minghella certainly never gives anything away. For most of the entire nearly three hour runtime of Cold Mountain, the audience has a preconceived notion of what will happen and Minghella alternately delivers it and subverts it. Switching perspectives from Ada to Inman, shifting the timeline from when Inman and Ada met to the current moment of their journey. The film is at once conventional and out of sorts and I dig that about it.

That said there is another element of Cold Mountain that I didn't like. Call it the Miramax effect or maybe just something about Minghella's affected filmmaking, but everything about Cold Mountain screams out at you to appreciate it whether you want to or not. There is an arrogance to it that says the film doesn't have to be entertaining because it's above that. It's like an obnoxious person who simply assumes that you like them regardless of how you really feel. Cold Mountain seems full of itself and arrives with an air that says “Award me.”

Is Cold Mountain a well-crafted film? Absolutely. Is it among the best films of 2003? No. Does it demand that you think it is? Definitely.

Movie Review: Before the Devil Knows Your Dead

Before the Devil Knows Your Dead (2007) 

Directed by Sydney Lumet 

Written by Kelly Masterson 

Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Amy Ryan, Marisa Tomei 

Release Date October 26th, 2007 

Published November 5th, 2007

Sydney Lumet has already been given a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars. Those awards are given to artists whose best work is long behind them. Not Lumet who with his latest film Before The Devil Knows Your Dead crafts arguably the most engaged and fascinating work in his nearly 60 year directorial career. A thriller starring Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman as brothers trying to find some way to pay off their debts, Before The Devil Knows Your Dead unfolds from sleeze to tragedy and back again all the while holding the audience enthralled beginning to end.

Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has the look of a successful man. His wife Gina is gorgeous and he's pulling down six figures a year in his high finance gig. On the other hand he has a serious drug problem and more than a little debt to take care of. Andy's brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) is far worse off. Even more in debt with an ex-wife (Amy Ryan) draining his bank account and a young daughter to support, Hank is in dire straits. Andy has a way to solve both of their problems but it won't be easy. It involves a robbery. To say much more than that would spoil a stunner of a plot.

Albert Finney plays the boys father and delivers a performance of devastating depth and conviction. It is some of the finest work in a multiple Oscar winning career. With Hoffman and Hawke in the lead and Rosemary Harris, Oscar nominee Amy Ryan and Oscar winner Marisa Tomei on board Director Lumet assembled a can't miss cast and unleashed them on a Greek tragedy of mismatched fates, fortunes and family ties. A debut script from Kelly Masterson invigorates the old master Lumet and with this cast in place Before The Devil Knows Your Dead becomes something beyond extraordinary.

Movie Review: The Ides of March

The Ides of March (2011) 

Directed by George Clooney 

Written by George Cloooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon 

Starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright 

Release Date October 7th, 2011 

Published October 6th, 2011 

It's hard to believe that America has ever been more cynical about politics and politicians than we are right now in 2011. The divisions between Democrats and Republicans are at ocean's depth and that division has fed a distrust of government like nothing since the Civil War. Into this angry, cynical fray comes a cynical movie, "The Ides of March," directed by and starring George Clooney, which audiences will either embrace as a cynical sign of the times or reject as a more of the ugly animus that has weighed on us for several cynical years.

Ryan Gosling is the focus of "The Ides of March" playing an up and coming communications specialist named Stephen Meyers. Though only 30 years old, Stephen is a veteran on the campaign trail. Now, he's the second in command on what may be a game changing Presidential campaign. Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) is the candidate the Democrats have been searching for, a Liberal from a prosperous and politically pivotal state, Pennsylvania, with a spotless record and endless charisma. More importantly, Morris's uncompromising convictions are of a kind that inspires even the most jaded politico, like Stephen.

Grasping at a first opportunity to win the right way, in the arena of ideas, Stephen has become a true believer in Governor Morris. Naturally, such blind faith is a dangerous thing. When Stephen discovers the chink in Governor Morris's armor his devastation has shockwaves that reverberate through the whole campaign. Unfortunately, there is an inherent flaw in "The Ides of March" that cannot be escaped. I won't reveal the secret here but it involves a supporting character who preposterously exists in the lives of Stephen and the Governor. The laziness and obviousness of this character's function undermines much of The Ides of March.

Not only does this character function in a way that is hard to believe, the character is also quite dated. Political scandals have evolved and while the occasional old school, 90's style scandal still bubbles up, the bigger more elaborate scandals involving money and abuse of power are more resonant today. That said, "The Ides of March" contains scenes that are transcendent and would make a better movie into one that would be talked about for a very long time. One scene involves Gosling's Stephen and Paul Giamatti, the campaign manager for a rival campaign, which contains the kind of political inside baseball that political junkies won't be able to resist.

Another great scene involves Gosling and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in which Hoffman delivers a glorious speech about loyalty. Hoffman is Gosling's boss and when he finds out that Stephen has met with Giamatti he unleashes a fury that is Oscar quality. The cast of "The Ides of March" is first rate, including strong supporting roles for Marisa Tomei as a cynical journalist and Max Minghella (The Social Network) as an ambitious campaign operative. The main cast is very good as well but they cannot overcome the flaws of the film's 'twist' and a distinct ugliness that is magnified by our real life political climate.

Movies cannot ignore the times in which they exist, especially one that aims to mimic real life. "The Ides of March" is a mirror image of the negativity and vileness of our current politics. George Clooney has every right to make a movie that reflects our current politics but that doesn't make "The Ides of March" enjoyable to watch. Count me among those who are exhausted by politics; exhausted by the cynical game playing. 

I'm tired of being suspicious of all politicians. I'm sick of all the lying and gamesmanship. I want to believe in something again, anything. "The Ides of March" believes only in the ugliness of politics and while that's a perfectly valid perspective, I don't want to watch this or any movie about this ugliness. I'm tired, too tired for any more cynicism than I am already burdened with. "The Ides of March" invites us only to wallow in our cynicism and I am too tired to wallow.

Movie Review: The Savages

The Savages (2007) 

Directed by Tamara Jenkins

Written by Tamara Jenkins 

Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, Phillip Bosco 

Release Date November 28th, 2007

Published January 31st 2008 

Brother and Siste, John (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) Savage, haven't heard from their father in more than 20 years. That isn't such a bad thing, he wasn't a very good father anyway. Now, as he drifts off into dementia, he is thrust back into their lives. Having lived with a woman in Arizona for years when she passes away, dad is now their problem whether they like it or not. Placing dad in a nursing home not far from John's Buffalo new York home, John seems content to wait for dad's last days. Wendy on the other hand is a mess of concern who fusses and worries and searches for a home that will dress up dad's last days with a nice view and some fresh air.

Directed by Tamara Jenkins, inconspicuous since her hip debut flick Slums of Beverly Hills nearly a decade ago, The Savages plays realistically with a sad situation. So real that you may want to prepare yourselves with a bottle of anti-depressants or at least a bowl of ice cream. The sad story is compounded by Jenkins' script which offers these characters nothing beyond grief and sadness. Aside from moments of dark humor that are more apparent to us than to them, John and Wendy live lives of perpetual depression and disappointment.

Essentially, both characters begin the movie miserable. They become progressively more miserable during the story, and then, finally, end up back where they started but with a vague hint of possible good fortune tacked on to the end. The oppressive sadness of The Savages is its defining characteristic, even beyond the strong lead performances of Hoffman and Linney, Linney even having been Oscar nominated for this role. Not every movie has to be entertaining or leave the audience with hope or inspiration. Life doesn't always put a perfect little bow on things and it can be welcome when a movie so readily acknowledges that not everything is perfect. That said, The Savages is not itself, a welcome respite from the sunny aspiration of so many other family dramas, The Savages rather, is simply too sad. It is too oppressive, too unpleasant even for the sad subject at its center.

I was taken back to my feelings about Paul Greengrass's exceptional 9/11 movie United 93. Everything about that film, from an artistic standpoint, was phenomenal and yet I couldn't find one reason to recommend people go see it. Why anyone would want to live those moments again, no matter how skillfully rendered, was simply beyond me. I feel the same way about The Savages. Even with the skilled performances of Hoffman and Linney and director Tamara Jenkins' well demonstrated skills, I can't see one reason why anyone would want the depressing experience of The Savages.

I would love to tell you that you could marvel at Laura Linney's remarkable range or Phillip Seymour Hoffman's uncanny ability for communicating soul deep sadness, but as remarkably realistic as these performances are, the result is so sad, heartbreaking, and relentless that there is simply no way I can recommend it. The Savages is a rare movie that is too good for its own good. It's so well acted and well crafted that it leaves you deeply, woefully sad in a deeply unpleasant fashion that proves to be too much for any general audience movie.