Mockingjay - Part 1: The Fight for Freedom

When I first read The Hunger Games, I was obsessed. I couldn't stop reading the books until I was all done. Then I saw the first movie, and loved it. I re-read the books with just as much enthusiasm and watched the second movie, which I adored as well. And now I've just watched The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. No surprise, I loved it too.

The movie picks up in the underground bunkers of District 13. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is trying to process her rescue from the arena of the 75th Hunger Games and deal with the guilt of leaving Peeta behind. Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), the President of 13, is trying to figure out if this traumatized girl really is capable of being the spokesperson of the revolution to overthrow the Capitol, a view only enthusiastically being espoused by Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Gale (Liam Hemsworth) is turning into a soldier, invested in the fight and eager to obtain retribution for the destruction of District 12. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go read the books or watch the previous movies, because this is a sequel that has zero interest in recapping events for you and making sure you're caught up.

This movie is jam-packed with action, emotion, and high-stakes drama. There are some brief moments of levity (mostly through Elizabeth Banks' wonderful performance as the ridiculous Effie Trinket), but this is a tale that is true to its dark and dystopian roots. Lawrence's performance is powerful as always, capturing every nuance of Katniss' fear, anger, and bravery as she reluctantly agrees to become the Mockingjay and lead the rebellion. Her conflicted feelings for Gale and Peeta are explored carefully, and despite the many action sequences and epic set pieces, there are also moments of quiet reflection and haunting beauty that remind you of what these people are fighting for. Always a sucker for soundtracks, I have to say the most affecting moment for me was when Katniss sings "The Hanging Tree," which is filmed and turned into a propaganda video, subsequently becoming a rebel anthem. It's a moving and powerful sequence that brilliantly distills the mood of the novels and the complex narrative.

Director Francis Lawrence has a real knack for these movies and he knows how to pace them perfectly. The action is always punctuated with plot and moments of stillness, and while you are swept away in the narrative, you are never overwhelmed. Screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong have done a fantastic job of adapting Suzanne Collins' work and it is very clear that the decision to split the story into two parts was the right one. A lot happens in the novel, and it would have been crazy to pack that all into one movie. By splitting the story into two parts, we get to fully experience the world of the novel and the heart-stopping events that will lead to the ultimate battle against the Capitol. The cliffhanger is perfectly frustrating, and even though I know what's going to happen next, I still can't wait to see it all unfold.

The Hunger Games is a truly great franchise, and Mockingjay - Part 1 is an excellent addition. While I am desperate to see Part 2, I am also sad that this means it's all almost over. But then again, I'll just re-read the novels and re-watch these movies for many years to come. 

Transparent: Groundbreaking Television

Transparent is Amazon's first big foray into the arena of prestige programming. They dropped all ten episodes of the show's first season (it has unsurprisingly been renewed for a second) in September and the rave reviews kept pouring in. I'm late to the party but finally binge watched my way through the show last week and can add my praise to the flood.

The show tells the story of Mort (Jeffrey Tambor), a seventy-year-old man who has decided to finally take the plunge and come out to his family as a woman. That is the last time I will be using masculine pronouns to describe her. Maura (that's her new name) is terrified to come out to her three grown children, who are all hideously self-obsessed human beings in their own special way. There's the eldest daughter, Sarah (Amy Landecker), who has two young kids with her husband, but is grossly dissatisfied with her stay-at-home lifestyle and is seeking to rekindle a romance with a former flame. The middle son, Josh (Jay Duplass), is a successful music producer but a fairly horrible and entitled person. The youngest daughter, Ali (Gaby Hoffmann), is smart but aimless, hitting her father up for money with no real life plans and ambition. The remaining member of the family is Shelly (Judith Light), Maura's ex-wife (they have been divorced for several years at this point), who is very Jewish and loud and equally fed up of her unhelpful children.

The series is brimming with plot - while Maura's coming out and transition to full time womanhood is obviously central to the show, her ex-wife and kids also have a lot going on in their own personal lives. At times, it seems like Maura might be the only stable one in her family, as she at least has decided to accept her true self and take control of her life. Tambor does an exceptional job playing Maura. His performance is so quiet and reserved, yet he is imbuing that character with years of frustrated femininity, fear, and finally acceptance. The show contains many flashbacks that give us some insight into Maura's early struggles to find a place for herself. It is an eye-opening and beautifully constructed look into the evolution of the LGBT community and the strange politics and rules within that world that manage to make Maura feel as unwelcome there as she does in the heterosexual sphere. 

The other actors are all doing tremendous work as well. Landecker, Hoffmann, and Duplass keep straddling the line between likability and loathing, portraying three very human siblings who are extremely flawed but still care for each other and their parents in some twisted fashion. There are plenty of guest actors you will recognize from other shows (Rob Heubel, Melora Hardin, Bradley Whitford, to name a few), who are doing things you've never seen them do before, and doing it spectacularly. Of course, ultimate credit is due to the show's creator, Jill Soloway, who wrote the show as a way of processing her own father's coming out as trans. Each episode is a thoughtful, empathetic portrayal of the trans community, LGBT issues, and general family dynamics. Some moments are farcical and hilarious, some are deeply moving and sad, others are odd and thought-provoking. But it is never dull, and is a constantly surprising piece of television that challenges you to assume you know where things are going and then takes you somewhere else.

Transparent is a sprawling, messy, dramatic comedy filled with moments of hilarity, profoundness, and just plain weirdness. It contains brilliantly-realized characters, who all have deeply complicated and nuanced relationships with each other. It is challenging and absorbing, heartbreaking and funny, and simply lovely. You've never seen anything like it before, so watch it right away.

St. Vincent: Sweet & Savvy

All I knew about St. Vincent is that it starred Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy. That was enough for me. Now that I've watched it, I can recommend it not only for its cast, but for the funny and moving story by writer-director Theodore Melfi. He tells a familiar story but tells it so well that you could just keep watching it forever.

The story is fairly simple. Vincent MacKenna (Bill Murray) is a cranky old man who doesn't like people and isn't much liked in return. He is fond of gambling and drinking, pays a pregnant Russian prostitute (Naomi Watts) for her services once a week, and is heavily in debt. One day, Maggie Bronstein (Melissa McCarthy) moves in next door with her 12-year old son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher). She is getting over a nasty divorce and is dealing with the chaos of single motherhood, while Oliver quietly takes it all in his stride. He is a remarkably self-possessed child, but after being bullied at his new school and arriving at his house without his keys, he is forced to seek refuge at his cranky neighbor's house. Vincent, desperate for cash, reluctantly agrees to become Oliver's babysitter, and proceeds to teach him some questionable life lessons, including how to break someone's nose and gamble all your money on a horse racing trifecta.

Murray and McCarthy are two of the greatest comedians to grace our screens and they both do a spectacular job in this movie. I don't know how much of the dialogue was improvised and how much of it was already included in Melfi's original script, but the humor is sarcastic, witty, and fantastic. Chris O'Dowd also plays a small but insanely memorable role as Oliver's teacher, Brother Geraghty (it's a Catholic school), who is resigned to the fact that his pupils are a bunch of heathens but he is going to teach them about morning prayers anyway. Naomi Watts is charming as Daka, the "lady of the night" who seems like a one-note character but gradually develops into a surprisingly funny and warm woman. And Jordan Lieberher is one of those child actors who is destined to become a star. He is utterly wonderful as the polite, capable Oliver, watching in resigned bewilderment as the adults around him proceed to screw up their lives in every way possible.

While the movie starts off as a raucous comedy, the second half gets more dramatic, as Vincent undergoes some huge life changes, alienates his friends, and seems to return to his old ways. Oliver and Maggie have to face some challenges themselves, and things look a little bleak. However, the movie ends with a beautiful flourish that teeters on the edge of treacly sentimentality but is saved by Murray's no-nonsense acting. He doesn't chew the scenery in the dramatic moments, letting them play out naturally without getting too mawkish. Likewise with Melissa McCarthy, who is sympathetic throughout but never demands your pity. The proceedings are enough to bring a tear to your eye but not make you feel too manipulated, the Goldilocks zone of a great comedy-drama.

St. Vincent is a movie that you can predict all the way through: the story of a grumpy old man and a young boy becoming unlikely friends is one that we've all seen before. What makes it unique is the stellar cast, who can make you laugh uncontrollably one moment and then tear up the next. The characters are unlikely and bizarre, which makes it all the more fascinating to see how they all fit together and become a support system. It may be a tale as old as time, but it is a beautifully told tale, and will gladden your heart. 

Rosewater: A Profound Revolution

Some days, I feel incredibly fortunate to be a New Yorker. My oft-mentioned brilliant friend, Laura, alerted me to a special preview screening of Rosewater at the AMC Lincoln Square theater on Thursday. The screening would be followed by a live stream of a Q&A session between Stephen Colbert, Maziar Bahari, and Jon Stewart that was being broadcast across the country in multiple movie theaters. However, much to my shock and delight, since I was attending the Lincoln Square screening, I had unwittingly stumbled upon the location where Stewart, Colbert, and Bahari were physically present to conduct the Q&A. It was a wonderful event that fully conveyed the intelligence and earnestness of all parties involved in making this movie. But enough about that - you're hear to read about the movie.

Rosewater is the true story of Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari (played by Gael Garcia Bernal), who went to Iran in 2009 to cover the presidential elections. These were the elections that sparked the Green Revolution that took Twitter by storm and brought the world's attention to the fact that Iran was full of educated, disenfranchised youth who wanted to have a say in their country's future and were being denied that opportunity. Bahari was caught in this political maelstrom and summarily arrested and placed in solitary confinement at Evin Prison, under accusations of being a spy for the Western media and charged with fomenting the revolution. His nameless interrogator (played by Kim Bodnia) played a clip of an interview Bahari had done for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This satirical news segment was used as evidence that he was talking to American spies, further highlighting the dangerous absurdity of his situation, and ultimately leading to the reason why Jon Stewart got involved in this project.

Since Bahari wrote a book about his experience that Jon Stewart has turned into a film, we all know this story ends with him ultimately getting out of prison. But the story of how he got there, and his desperate attempts to cling to his sanity and some semblance of hope as he spent 118 days in solitary confinement is what makes Rosewater such a powerful and moving film. The movie rests squarely on the shoulders of Gael Garcia Bernal, who delivers a simply astonishing performance. His face is a flickering canvas of emotion and there are multiple scenes where he has to go from laughter to despair, from hope to anger, and convey impossible nuances of human emotion, all while wearing a blindfold. Kim Bodnia is equally effective as his ruthless but foolish interrogator, a man who is just trying to get his job done so he can get home to his wife and stop thinking about torturing people for a few hours. It's such an absurd and terrible situation, and despite the immense darkness of the story, Stewart deftly weaves in plenty of humor that allows you to decompress from the horrors of this stifling imprisonment.

This film is an impressive directorial debut and I greatly look forward to seeing what Jon Stewart comes up with next. The movie is not a polished affair - there certainly are times when the camera is too shaky, or montages are done a bit too cleverly to demonstrate technical proficiency at the expense of simple artistry. But all of the core elements of excellent storytelling, superb acting, and evocative cinematography and music are there. The background score by Howard Shore is wonderful, but the occasional blasts of Iranian hip hop are even more vibrant and exciting, challenging you to alter your perceptions of this society and recognize that it is filled with so much more diversity and animation than you would ever imagine from watching cable news stories.

Rosewater captures the beauty of Iranian society along with its ugliness, and this is a movie that has multiple tales to tell. It is a movie about the dangers faced by journalists in the field along with their responsibility to brandish their cameras and tell the world about what they see. It is a movie about an oppressive regime and the clamoring idealists who love their country and demand change. It is a movie about psychological torture and unlawful imprisonment. It is the story of the members of Bahari's family, a group of brave souls who all fought in their own way to change the status quo and paid dearly for it. And with its final shot, Rosewater is the story of the triumph of the human spirit, that refuses to be cowed, will laugh in the face of horror, and remain defiant in the quest for justice. 

Interstellar: Trippy Science & Storytelling

Christopher Nolan makes complicated movies. Movies about space tend to be complicated. So when Christopher Nolan makes a movie about space, you get Interstellar, a trippy glimpse into the future that features some intriguing pseudoscience, a superb cast, gorgeous visuals, and laughable dialogue. It's a movie I liked, but did not love, one that has promising ideas, but falls a bit flat on execution.

Interstellar begins a few generations into the future, when the people of Earth have completely outstripped their resources through war, pollution, and greed. Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a widowed former NASA test pilot who was forced to become a farmer because the world needed more food instead of astronauts. He lives on a farm with his two young children and father-in-law, where apart from the fancy technology, their living conditions resemble scenes from Ken Burns' The Dust Bowl. His ten-year old daughter, Murphy (a precocious and delightful actress by the name of Mackenzie Foy), is extremely bright but keeps talking about a ghost in her room that is trying to send her messages. Disbelieving at first, Cooper eventually realizes there are in fact hidden messages contained in the poltergeisty happenings in his daughter's room. He deciphers them and stumbles upon a secret NASA program whose mission is to travel into other solar systems, by means of a mysterious wormhole that has appeared near Saturn. They are trying to find Earth-like planets that can sustain human life before the human race is driven to extinction: quite an ambitious goal. The program is headed by Cooper's former mentor,  Professor Brand (the reliable Michael Caine), and Cooper is convinced to set off into space with three other astronauts, including Brand's daughter, Amelia (Anne Hathaway). Space adventures ensue.

Interstellar is visually stunning but not revolutionary. Apart from a breathtaking sequence through the wormhole and an (apparently) scientifically accurate depiction of a spinning black hole, space looks pretty much the same as it always has in the movies. The robots depicted in the movie are wonderful, initially seeming rather unexciting and then slowly revealing just how much they are capable of. The alien planets that the astronauts land on are not exceptionally mesmerizing and look like they've just stepped into a remote corner of Iceland. The plot is really what needs to keeps the movie moving, and by and large it does. Interstellar is almost three hours long, and I was never bored. There's a lot of head-scratching discussion about relativity, which I'm sure would either delight or infuriate physicists, and much debate about gravity, quantum mechanics, and other high-level topics that I never understood in college and don't comprehend now. While that talk is dumbed down to make some semblance of sense to the audience, the more annoying aspect of the dialogue is the hazy philosophic rambling courtesy of McConaughey and Hathaway that resembles an episode of True Detective. It's unfortunate that McConaughey has become synonymous with that kind of nonsensical speechifying, and while Interstellar is not chock-full of such moments, there are enough to get a trifle wearisome.

The movie does pack some emotional punch, with a heartbreaking arc between Cooper and his children as he disappears into space and has to miss their entire childhood. There is also a fantastic cameo, which the marketing department has done a hell of job keeping secret, and which certainly piqued my interest right when my attention was flagging. There are plenty of twists, moments of exceptional courage and horrific betrayal, and most thankfully, a complete resolution. The one thing I appreciate in a Christopher Nolan film is that you do get a satisfying conclusion. There might be a sense that more is left to accomplish offscreen, but the characters have successfully followed a story arc and most loose ends have been tied up. Interstellar may have very weird and bizarre themes, but it resolves them with a neat ending that leaves you with only a few unanswered questions that you can then fiercely debate with your friends. 

Interstellar is not Nolan's best movie, but it is still a decent film. Space is always a worthy subject for film, and Nolan's deft use of imagery and sound to alternately blast your eyes and ears with novelty and then abandon you in the dark vast quiet of space is an amazing cinematic experience. The all-star cast does what it can with a serviceable story but strained dialogue, and there's much to like and dislike. For me, the things I liked outweighed the annoyances, and ultimately I enjoyed Interstellar. Depending on your cinematic tastes and scientific background, you may or may not agree.

Yes Please: Amy Poehler's Life Lessons

My brilliant friend Laura (who knows my pop culture tastes so well) bought me a copy of Amy Poehler's memoir, Yes Please. It arrived on my doorstep last week and just the fact that it opens with a picture of Poehler's Kindergarten report card was an indication that I would love this book. I quickly devoured it, savoring every story and piece of advice from this funny, feisty, and fabulous woman.

Yes Please is not a traditional memoir that starts from her birth and ends with her present. Instead, it's an eclectic hodgepodge of remembrances, essays, childhood stories, grown-up advice, silly poems, inane acrostics, and even guest essays from Amy's friends, who contributed some stories so she would have less writing to do. Poehler is very upfront of the sheer pain of writing a book - it was not a task that came easy and appears to have been executed in stolen moments of sheer exhaustion. Yet she has crafted a combination of tales that made me laugh out loud, gave me a lump in my throat, or just made me stop and think for a bit. 

Together with Tina Fey's Bossypants, and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Yes Please completes the trilogy of memoirs by my most-adored TV comediennes. Amy Poehler's book did make me more contemplative than the others - there are some sadder tales mixed in, as well as much more unapologetic feminist rhetoric that reminded me of Fey and Poehler's iconic Weekend Update segment about how "Bitches get stuff done." The backstage stories about Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation are fantastic, and her long history of improv with Second City and UCB is equally impressive. She has done some wonderful things and it's enlightening to read about the behind-the-scenes experiences that formed the woman we all watch on our screens today. 

In Yes Please, Poehler comes off as a fearless, BS-intolerant woman with a fierce work ethic and full awareness of her strengths and weaknesses. She understands how privileged she is as a blonde white lady in America, yet she still shares some universal truths about being an ambitious working woman and proffers solid advice about how to be happier with yourself and your life. So pick up a copy of her book, start flipping through the pages, and learn how to embrace the Poehler motto of, "Yes Please."

As You Wish: Behind the Scenes of The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride is an enduring classic, a movie that spans the generations and continues to entertain kids and adults of all ages today. It has been 27 years since the movie was released, but the movie's fans are still devoted to it, flocking to special screenings a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show, having Westley and Buttercup themed weddings, and endlessly quoting the movie's eminently quotable lines. Therefore, As You Wish, Cary Elwes' memoir (co-written with Joe Layden) about the filming of The Princess Bride, is a welcome addition to any fan's bookshelf.

The book takes us all the way from Elwes' initial casting to the end of filming and subsequent reception of the movie. Despite a good critical reception and ardent support from the people who managed to see it in theaters, the film only made a modest $30 million at the box office and seemed destined for obscurity. However, as VHS technology became more widespread, the movie quickly became a family favorite and a cult classic; 25 years later, the cast were assembled at Lincoln Center for a screening and Q&A to talk about the movie's enduring popularity.

The book mostly recounts Elwes' memories of the shoot and the impressive cast and crew, but it is peppered with remembrances from the other actors, director Rob Reiner, and writer William Goldman. I highly recommend that you have the movie on hand when you read this book: there are certain scenes alluded to that you will want to re-watch now that you have the behind-the-scenes scoop of what was really going on. This by no means a scandalous memoir; by all accounts, The Princess Bride was a joyful movie to make, led by a mensch of a director, featuring a tight-knit and extremely collegial cast, a hardworking, tea-break-enjoying British crew, and an anxious but brilliant screenwriter who was entrusting his most beloved script to people who wanted to do justice to his imagination. Right after I read this book, I felt compelled to read Goldman's original 1973 novel, a brilliant fairytale that set this whole juggernaut into motion.

The tone of As You Wish can get a bit saccharine at times, but ultimately, what can you expect for a movie that is so sweet and beloved as The Princess Bride? While many of the stories recounted in the book were familiar to me from the fantastic Entertainment Weekly oral history that was published a few years ago, it is still wonderful to have a compilation of these tales in one book. The dust jacket also contains a limited edition Shepard Fairey poster, so fans can adorn both their walls and their bookshelves. The Man in Black might believe that you have to get used to disappointment, but if you're a fan of the movie, this memoir is everything you could wish for.