Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
As professional assassin Martin Blank (John Cusack) experiences a personal midlife crisis and a professional crisis with his chief rival, Grocer (Dan Aykroyd), his therapist (Alan Arkin) suggests he attend his tenth high school reunion where he rekindles a romance with Debi Newberry (Minnie Driver). Unfortunately, Martin’s next target is Debi’s father.
Aykroyd has been in some of the most iconic and beloved films, but Grocer, the nonchalant assassin, is his best work in years.
I’m on the fence about John Cusack. Being John Malkovich (1999) is one of the only times where I didn’t feel like he was trying too hard.
Joan Cusack is fine in supporting roles like Blank’s secretary Marcella, but when given a larger part, she’s annoying, and it’s easy to see why Kevin Kline left her at the altar.
Minnie Driver will never again achieve the level of success she briefly experienced following Good Will Hunting (1997). She’s fine here, but doesn’t bring anything special to the role.
The film does an admirable job of mining the world of assassins for laughs, but the scene where Perryman comes face to face with Blank’s secret life is out of sync with the rest of the film. Lulling us into seeing him as a regular person only to remind us he is actually a mass murderer is fine, but the gory scene goes too far and makes us despise the character.
Almost a good movie, but it misses the mark.
The East (2013)
Sharon (Patricia Clarkson) assigns Jane (Brit Marling) to infiltrate The East, an underground anarchist organization.
This film is ideological propaganda posing as a thriller. According to this, corporations are evil and will always choose to destroy the environment, fudging the results of testing to make a few more dollars.
Ellen Page was adorable in Juno (2007), creepy in Super (2010), and very good in Inception (2010), but this film is a major step back. She’s not acting, but reciting an angry anti-corporate screed.
Brit Marling and director Zal Batmanglij allegedly spent months practicing freeganism to write the screenplay. Freeganism is, as best I can a tell, a fancy way of saying “dumpster diving.”
This isn’t a horrible movie, but its relentless ideology and unwillingness to show any sympathy to opposing views makes it less than it could be. Massive corporations can be evil and are sometimes run by greedy people, but anything can be evil, including cryptic anarchic organizations dedicated to fighting corporatism in America.
Escape from Tomorrow (2013)
While vacationing at Disney World with his family, Jim White is fired, fights with his wife, obsesses over a pair of French girls, and uncovers a conspiracy of murder and mayhem at the park, before meeting an early demise.
One disturbing scene claims the Disney Princesses at the theme parks are actually high-class hookers, particularly popular among Asian tourists.
Filmed surreptitiously at Disney World and Disney Land using iPhones and hidden cameras, this is an interesting experiment, but I can’t say it’s a success. It’s a trippy movie, but never elevates beyond the genius premise: let’s film a movie at Disney World. Too bad they didn’t say, let’s film a good movie at Disney World.
Museum Hours (2012)
Anne (Canadian singer Mary Margaret O’Hara, the less famous sister of comedian Catherine O’Hara) travels to Vienna to visit a sick cousin. She doesn’t know anyone and doesn’t speak the language. Fortunately, she discovers the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and befriends Johan, a security guard.
A cross between Art History 101 and My Dinner with Andre (1981), this film documents their conversations about life, death, aging, and art. If you care about art and enjoy discussing it, this movie is a must see.
Leviathan (2012)
This boring, pretentious, and mostly silent film explores the North American fishing industry, floating from scene to scene as it shows us the physical brutality of fishing.
It was interesting at times, but its eighty-seven minutes seemed to last forever.