I like dark comedies.  I love laughing at things that I probably shouldn’t be laughing at, but do anyway.  So when I first saw previews for the movie The Savages, I felt that it was a movie right up my alley, and I was right.  This movie is more family drama, but it does have some dark comedy thrown in at just the right moments to help lighten the drama. 

Basically this movie is about Wendy (Laura Linney, The Squid and the Whale) and Jon Savage (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Capote) – a brother and sister who learn that their father needs to be put in a nursing home.  They have not spoken to their father, Lenny

(Philip Bosco, Working Girl), in almost twenty years, and have quite a strained relationship with him.  The siblings come together though and do what needs to be done, and learn many things about each other along the way.  Wendy is an aspiring playwright who makes a living temping, while Jon is an aspiring author who makes his living teaching drama at a college level.  Each has their own problems they are trying to deal with – Wendy is sleeping with a married man, and Jon can’t commit to his Polish girlfriend. 

I really enjoyed watching this family’s story unfold.  There were so many things just under the surface that finally boiled over as the movie went on, and it always helped them make a better decision in their life.  Director Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) was good at showing just enough, but not telling the audience everything, as to let them figure out the details.  She was also good at showing the humor of the situations the characters found themselves in. 

One of my favorite scenes involved Wendy and her father as they travel to the East Coast.  Wendy decides that her father doesn’t need to wear suspenders as he looks like “Grandpa Walton” and since he’s almost always in his wheelchair, what’s the point, so she takes them off of him.  Soon enough Lenny is on the plane and needs to go to the bathroom, not able to wait for help, Wendy must take him to the bathroom.  As they’re walking down the aisle, Lenny suddenly stops and just stares at Wendy.  Unsure what has happened, Wendy asks her father what is wrong…cut to Lenny’s ankles, which now have his pants around them.  Next cut to a back view of people looking at Lenny wearing an adult diaper. End scene.  Now that’s funny, it probably shouldn’t be as funny as I found it, but it was!  Of course it was a little sad too, but that goes perfectly with the tone of this movie.  

If the director was good, her actors were great.  All three of the main characters were wonderful in making their roles seem very real.  Bosco was definitely the stand out actor as a man with dementia, I was almost shocked in watching a feature and seeing him be himself and not Lenny.  As expected, Linney and Hoffman give wonderful performances.  They acted just as siblings should act, a bit competitive but supportive too, and of course they fought like siblings do too. I haven’t seen much of their work, but every time I do get a chance to watch them in a movie they do not disappoint.  

The Savages would get a B+ for me.  Towards the middle it did get a bit slow, but quickly caught my interest again and kept a strong hold on it until the end of the movie.  

I’ve seen comedy movies that deal with serious matters, and I’ve seen serious movies that incorporate comedic elements, but never before have I seen a film that could be considered both of these genres at the same time. Until I watched the dark comedy In Bruges, of course.

In Bruges circles around Ken and Ray, two hitmen who are sent to Bruges, Belgium by their boss, Harry Waters, after completing a job in London. Harry orders them to stay put and lay low until he’s able to call them with further instructions. With nothing to do but sight-see and visit the pubs, both Ken and Ray begin to rethink their lives as professional killers.

As you can probably observe from just the brief premise, the script was very original and fresh. I thought it would lean more towards one genre than the other, as most films do, but the blending of drama and comedy was surprisingly balanced. It was odd to feel shocked and scared one moment, and then laugh out loud the next. And it’s not just a movie that freaks you out and cracks you up – it’s a movie with a distinct underlying message. It’s one of those films that you can’t watch fully until you’ve seen it a couple times and caught all the subtle foreshadowing and symbolism. And what moviegoer doesn’t love a film you can watch five times and still see something you hadn’t before? 

I will warn you though – a lot of the film’s jokes can be taken a little offensively. To be fair, it mocks almost every class of people, not just one specific group, but some scenes were a little overstuffed with crude humor. I didn’t really have a problem with it, but those easily bothered by discriminatory jokes would probably be unable to truly relax and enjoy the plot.

Which is a shame because not only was the script great, the acting was brilliant as well. Colin Farrell is one of those actors who is basically awesome in every role he takes, even if the overall film isn’t that great, so I wasn’t at all surprised to see him bring the character of Ray so boldly to life. I hadn’t previously seen much of Clémence Poésy, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes (a.k.a. Fleur Delacour, Mad-Eye Moody, and Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies), or Jordan Prentice (Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle), but I’m happy to say that they performed hundreds of times better in In Bruges. Each character was so multi-dynamic that it was hard to dislike any of them, even though they all had some pretty nasty pasts.

The directing of Martin McDonagh (Six Shooter) and cinematography of Eigil Bryld (Becoming Jane) was also amazing. Having the director be the writer as well really helped in keeping everything visually in sync with what was on the page. The way they revealed some events, like what occurred during the job in London, was very nicely done. I hope the two work together again some time in the future.

I’m still debating whether In Bruges is one of my favorites, but it’s definitely high on the list. It’s refreshing, it’s scary, it’s amusing, it’s intelligent…I guess I’ll just have to watch it one or twelve more times before I decide. I suggest that all other film buffs do the same.

Remember the VHS tape?  How about having to rewind our tapes before returning them to the store? Yeah, that was a pain, but something I look back fondly on now.  Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) takes audiences back to those bygone days in Be Kind Rewind.

Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover, Lethal Weapon) owns the Be Kind Rewind video rental store, which was also the birthplace to a famous Jazz musician.  Mike (Mos Def, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) is Mr. Fletcher’s employee, friend, and fellow Jazz fan. They seem to have little to no business, as they haven’t changed with the times to include modern technology.  Neither has the building the store is in, and the city is threatening to demolish it.  Mr. Fletcher decides to go on a trip to honor the famous Jazz musician, and also visit new rental stores to get ideas for his own store.  He decides to leave Mike in charge with only one rule, keep his friend Jerry (Jack Black, Margot at the Wedding, Kung Fu Panda) out of the store.

Although Mike means well, he breaks that rule the first day and hilarity ensues.  Jerry accidentally magnetizes all the vide tapes in the store, erasing everything! What is a movie store going to do with no movies!? When Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow, Hannah and Her Sisters) wants to rent Ghostbusters and threatens to tell Mr. Fletcher that he’s doing poorly, Mike figures out what to do.  He and Jerry make the rash decision to remake the movies themselves.  The next thing they know their ‘sweded’ (their term for what their movies are) movies are more popular than the originals and business is booming! But will it be enough to save he store?

This movie was at its best during their remakes.  Watching Black and Def remake classic movies was hilarious!  I especially enjoyed their Ghostbusters remake (“I’ll be Bill Murray and you be everyone else” Mike tells Jerry…and had me laughing for a good five minutes!) Some other remakes seen are Rush Hour 2, The Lion King, Robocop, and some others that are only shown in brief glimpses.  I always wanted to see another remake to see what they could come up with next.

Black and Def show excellent chemistry whether they are playing Mike and Jerry or Miss Daisy and Hoke (Driving Miss Daisy reference anyone?)  The supporting cast is excellent too.  Melonie Diaz (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) comes in to play the girl in most of their movies, but really shines in their version of The Lion King.  Also their friend Wilson (Irv Gooch in his debut role) is hilarious in every role he plays.

Gondry is known for taking chances with his movies and music videos.  He does play around some with the effects in this movie too, and they work well.  I still would have liked to see more though.  I also want to know how he does all of them! I bet the editors work extra hard on his movies! Although I didn’t like this movie as much as some of Gondry’s other efforts I still enjoyed it, and would give it a solid B.

Michael Clayton (George Clooney) works for a high-powered law firm as a ‘fixer’. Where there’s trouble, Clayton is the man they send to sort out the mess. When old friend and top attorney Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) suffers a mental breakdown, Clayton is immediately dispatched. The protracted case Edens has been involved in, defending one of the firm’s biggest clients, makes Clayton reassess his principles and life as he comes across high-level corruption.

I quite like the way this movie doesn’t serve everything to the audience on a platter. Not much of the story is given over without a bit of thought involved. But, having said that the opening thirty minutes or so can leave you wondering just what it is that you’re supposed to be focusing on. It’s almost as if director Tony Gilroy is being deliberately obscure.

Michael Clayton is billed as a thriller but I don’t think it quite hits the mark. It’s a slow paced movie that doesn’t really build up a sense of drama or suspense; certainly you’re not on the edge of your seat from a constant thrill ride. It just plays out the story without resorting to mindless plot twists or unnecessary action scenes. There is a sense that this is a real story being told to the audience, which is a credit to Gilroy’s direction and script.

The acting is superb, Tilda Swinton won the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar, and rightly so. She portrays Karen Crowder, a somewhat naïve corporate high-flyer who is willing to sell her soul to the company at any price. Tom Wilkinson is brilliant as the crazed and driven Edens. And, it was nice to see Clooney being able to shed his star charisma for a role that gave him the chance to act out a guy who is not that likeable.

The only problem is that the movie makes you engage your brain in the first half an hour, and because you’re not letting the story wash over you, you being to question some of what’s being portrayed. At least that’s how it was with me. We’re shown how ruthless and efficient a couple of murdering thugs can be, but for their next hit they choose the most over the top way to dispose of their target. Then, it seemed odd that for such a smart and savvy lawyer Clayton would think he would be able to fool a police forensic team in an absurd way.

I guess my biggest gripe with the story is that it’s a moral tale. We’re supposed to leave thinking that corruption is bad and money should not motivate us to do the wrong thing. But the movie never gives us the example that’s needed. There is a scene where Clayton is literally weighing up his options in both hands, but he ends up taking both! He doesn’t actually make the moral decision, he just cleans the board with everything on offer.

In the end I think it was a little slow paced for my tastes and almost too obscure at times. I could have done with more tension and thrills along the way. It’s definitely worth watching for the performances of Swinton and Wilkinson, but I think it missed the chance to be compelling.