Michael Clayton

George Clooney is on a short list of actors who I’ll see in most movies. I start to believe that he is that character (maybe not Batman) and you get sucked into the movie. I loved him in Syriana, Oceans 11, Out Of Sight and From Dusk Till Dawn.

I had to see Michael Clayton! I thought there was way too much hype. The first article I read about the movie was all about the Oscar Clooney was going to get for this role. That’s always a red flag for me. Some of these movies that are nominated for Academy Awards are sometimes good movies, but not fun to watch. Clayton was an exception.

This films starts Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) strips off his clothes in a deposition. Clayton (George Clooney) is sent in by the firm to clean up the mess and help hold his friend together. Edens has spent the six years defending a $3 billion lawsuit against a new agrochemical company U North. After being convinced that his friend has just been off his meds. Clayton starts to realize that maybe he’s not really crazy at all. Maybe some of the gibberish that was coming out of his mouth actually meant something.

Tom Wilkinson is great as the crazed man who’s come to his senses. He plays the crazy role so well. Everything from buying large amounts of French bread to his obsession with a children’s book and making the connections with the case.
Clooney is amazing as well. His character has so many layers. You see his frustrations with the firm, his family life, his relationship with his son, even his gambling problem. As the movie moves forward, you begin to see how the corruption gets to him. There is a sense of realism too it. He reminded me of myself in some ways. A company man who’s doing his job and trying to get his stuff together. Trying to have a healthy balance between his family and finances and work. That’s most people in America who struggle with striving to be “well off” and having to manage that with the relationships they have.

My suggestion: Check out Michael Clayton. Not a “feel good” movie, but is a mature movie (no not like that) and is a harsh look at corporations and how they may work. It’s what one of my co-workers would call a “shot of reality”.

Stephen King's - The Mist

I’ve always wonder if me and some of my co-workers looked outside and zombies ran the streets, or Jigsaw had us trapped in some where house, or even if we decided to have our retreat at Camp Crystal Lake, how would people react? Would we all ban together? Would I jump in front of a machete for a stranger? Maybe I’d trip someone as we were being chased by Zombies. That could easily buy us 5-10 minutes.

That’s what I liked about the Mist. It answered a lot of those questions for me. I don’t feel like I ever really seen that played out in a movie. Most movies start like that but at some point people have seen enough madness that it brings them together. Saw II sort of scratched the surface in the “finding a needle in the haystack” scene. I laughed out loud thinking, “I could really see someone doing that”.

The Mist starts as there is a storm rolls into town. The next morning the towns people are at the store getting supplies just in case the storm gets worse. As the mist rolls into to town the people soon realize the seemingly harmless mist is actually deadly. They are barricade themselves in the store. David Drayton (Thomas Jane) sees some unworldly things in the loading dock. Now his mission is to keep whatever is out there from coming in, protect his son, and figure out what exactly what is causing this mist.

The movie is about the monsters inside the store as well as the monsters outside. One of the monsters is Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) who goes on and on about this being the end of the world and man having to pay for its sins. As the movie goes on she starts to look more and more like a prophet or “God’s vessel” and less like a crazy woman. Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) is a non believer. He thinks the mist is what it is and the locals are trying to pull a fast one on him. He and others decide to leave the safety of the store and brave the mist. Not a good idea.

The movie is good. It deals with the nature of man (or woman). We are all raised different and have different believes, responsibilities, world views. All of that comes out in a crisis situation. So you think you have 8 really good friends? Trap you all in a house and tell you that death is outside waiting to get in and you have to figure a way out. Who snaps? Who is going to be the Ms. Carmody of the group? Who decides to “sacrifice” someone for the greater good of the group? Who says I’ll give my life so the rest can live? Hopefully I’ll never have to answer any of these questions.

My suggestion: Go see the movie! It’s good and will possible give you the creeps. There aren’t too many good scary movies, but this delivers some good thrills.

My grade: 3.3 – Okay grades in a mediocre class. Your classmates need to step it up

No Country For Old Men

I watch a ton of movies and have grown fond of the Coen Brothers work. Raising Arizona is one of my favorite movies. You could imagine my delight when I heard they were writing/directing No Country For Old Men. I’ve never read the books. Books are only good for burning (really I love to read), but everyone said the book was amazing. I knew I was going to see it no matter what the reviews said. I was reading one of my favorite sports writers Bill Simmons of ESPN’s weekly football column and his said “if somebody has a good explanation for the last 25 minutes of that movie, I'd love to hear it. Everyone at my theater applauded when it was over, like something special had just happened. Meanwhile, I was sitting there going, "Wait, it's over? What the hell just happened?" That’s exactly how I felt.

The movie starts as hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon the aftermath of a deadly shootout and 2 million dollars in cash. Like most people he takes the money and makes plans to leave town. Moss knows that whoever lost this money will be looking for it very shortly, but what he doesn’t know is that he’s being tracked by killer/psychopath named Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Tommy Lee Jones lays Sheriff Ed Tom Bell who is trying to track the killer and find Moss to help keep him safe. The movie picks up quickly and is a very tense atmosphere for the first 100 of the 122 minutes this movie runs.

This is one of those films that is very character driven. You feel for Moss’ character. He’s like most of us. What would you do if you found $2,000,000? Most people would keep it and leave town just as fast as they found the money. Moss is a regular guy that has an idea that’s he’s gotten into some trouble but really has no idea the type of people he’s mixed up with. The movie sparked an interesting conversation with me and my roommate. He says he’d keep it and head out of town. I said I’d plead ignorance or turn the money in. I feel he’d always be looking over his shoulder wondering if whoever lost the money was coming to collect. He says I’d always be wondering, “What if I just kept the money?” I think we are both right.

What really helps propel this movie is the villain Chigurh. From the first time you see him on screen, he creeps you out and every time they show him you know something bad is going to happen. It wasn’t just his haircut and odd facial expressions. Or even his strange way he engaged in conversations that made you feel like it made sense to him and nobody else. Maybe it was the fact that he killed people with an air pressure can and filled his victims head with air. It could have been the sick sense of honor that he displays. A little bizarre but definitely made you fear the guy if you didn’t already. He is easily one of my favorite movie villains. He was everything you want out of a villain. Chigurh was smart, sick, fearless, and didn’t seem to care who got in his way.

The movie hits its climax and I’m sitting in my seat thinking “Oh this is going to be goooooooooooooood” that’s about the same time the movie took an unexpected/unnecessary turn for the worst. I was looking around the theater thinking maybe I leaped like the guy from Journeyman into another movie. There has to be a worst feeling than that in life, but it has to rank pretty high. Somewhere between having a blind date with a real blind person and realizing you sent a Valentine’s Day card for Keesha in an envelope addressed to Jamie (that pain never goes away). I’d like compare it to having a date with Beyonce and then she invites you back to her place. You think it’s “go-time” and you get to her house and Jay-Z is there relaxing on the couch. It just didn’t end like you hoped it would. Kind of hard to tell your friends you had a great time without mentioning the disappointment at the end. That’s how I feel about No Country. Could have ended great if the Coen Brothers didn’t have Jay-Z on the couch for the last 25 minutes.

My suggestion: Go see it if you want to. The first 100 minutes are very good and it really gets you hooked into the story. I wouldn’t be mad if you saw it but when you see a hotel pool for the first time this is your sign to quickly get up and leave. When Beyonce invites me back to her place I’ll say, “No I think I’ll just call it a night” and always wonder what might have been. Maybe that’s the same logic that would have me give the money back.

My grade: 3.0 – You did great on your homework, but failed the final miserably. Better luck next time.

American Gangster

I love watching movies that are “based on a true story”. I’ve always viewed those stories as 3 parts truth and 1 part “Hollywood”. I know that my life would have some exciting ups and downs to it, but my usual day-to-day activities would probably bore you to death. I couldn’t imagine people watching my life unfold on a big screen as I toggle through my fantasy football team or look for new cologne at Macy’s. American Gangster is based on the life of Frank Lucas. Driver turned kingpin who ruled the streets of Harlem for years. Thankfully his life wasn’t as mundane as mine so it made for a much better motion picture.

American Gangster starts as crime boss Bumpy Johnson passes away and Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) vows to get the money back that people owed Bumpy. At a lost to find ways to make money, Lucas comes up with the idea of getting heroin straight from Vietnam and bypassing the middleman. He outsmarts the competition and because the main supplier to the inner-city drug scene in New York City. Lucas becomes a major figure and draws the attention of New Jersey policeman Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe).

The movie does a great job of showing multiple sides of the drug game. You are able to see how the lifestyle affected his wife and his family. The supporting characters did a great job (Cuba Gooding Jr. as Nicky Barnes especially), but Crowe and Denzel basically ran a two man game for the entire film. Both actors are so far beyond talented that it makes the movie work.

After watching the movie I had a ton of questions so I went to my own person history expert, my dad. I asked him how someone was able to make so much money in the 1960’s.

Dad Fact #1
He said that a lot of the soldiers from Vietnam were coming home drug addicted. Some picked up habits while serving overseas and others received morphine to help with the pain of lost appendages, but were not adequately shown how to kick the drug. This means you had a ton of junkies with money coming home from the war.

Dad fact #2
My dad concludes that Vietnam had the best weed and “everyone knew it” He had a friend in the military who would take whole duffle bags full of weed off the plan and nobody ever checked him. Seems crazy, but I guess a lot of that stuff really happened.

Since the American Gangster opened there have been interviews with Bumpy Johnson’s family, officer Ritchie Roberts, Nicky Barnes and even Frank Lucas. There are conflicting reports as to what actually happened and what details were left out or added. What we do know is an amazing story about a man who made choices in life. Life is about the choices you make and he chose to sell drugs. I wonder how different his life would be if he decided to do something else.

My Suggestion: I there was one movie out to see this fall it would be American Gangster. It’s informative, sad, intriguing, cool, and will definitely start a few conversations.

My Grade: 3.5 – Great job. We’ll done, but not sure if you showed enough work.

My Obsession with Scrooge McDuck

As a kid I watched a ton of cartoons. By a lot I mean a lot! I may have watched more T.V than legally possible. The more I watched the more the characters started to stick with me. I loved Optimus Prime and his leadership, the courage of He-Man, how cool Heathcliff was even though he lived in a dump, and the wittiness of Bugs Bunny. None of these characters struck a chord with me as much as Scrooge McDuck.

Uncle Scrooge a Scottish born duck who is known for his love of money. His American grand -nephews Hewy, Dewey, and Louie never seemed to fully understand Scrooge and his obsession with money. He was rich beyond his means. They even had a robot in the home that would help around the house. Scrooge was portrayed a businessman who was very successful and was always looking at a way not to spend his riches. He worked his way up from the bottom and was all about hard work and earning every penny.

Scrooge resided in the town of Duckburg. Duckburg is a small town and not very rich. Scrooge had so many companies there that he kept the town running and continued to make more money and more money. He made so much money that he kept it in his “Money Bin” which sat on a big hill for everyone in Duckburg to see. It was like a slap in the face to all the residence. No wonder the Beagle Boys, a family of ex-cons, wanted his fortune. Every time they left their low-income home they had to look up and see the money bin knowing that Scrooge was probably in there swimming around in his fortune.

How did Uncle Scrooge obtain his fortune? According to “Voodoo Hoodoo” published in 1949, Scrooge used an army of “cutthroats” to get the tribe to abandon their lands in order to establish a diamond-mining colony. Foola Zoola an African sorcerer and chief of Voodoo cursed Scrooge. That may be why Uncle Scrooge was always obsessed with money. He seemed possessed when he would hear about a diamond or sunken treasure and dollar signs would pop up in his eyes. It was like he couldn’t control. Scrooge was always being led somewhere to find some lost gold. It wasn’t as if they had to pull his leg. He was always easily persuaded. The thought of more riches would lure him in. Now it’s all starting to make sense.

I wondered for years why that character always resonated with me. It’s because Scrooge McDuck is most Americans today. Just think about it. He was all about himself. He would risk his nephews lives, Mrs. Beakley, Launchpad, Gyro, Doofus, it didn’t matter. If he thought there was money involved he would travel any and everywhere and take any risk.

All he cared about was his money. You remember seeing more scenes with him swimming in his money than you do with his grand-nephews. Everyone in Duckburg knew that his biggest fear was being broke and back in the poor house. He was so concerned with things that didn’t really matter in life. After ruthlessly taking over an African country he became wealthy and his life mission was trying to maintain that wealth.

Why was he never married? All this time and he could never settle down with anyone? He was too obsessed with his career. What woman would want to come second to a man’s money? She’d never win. I think all these women knew that and it was hard for him to give it up.

His most prize possession? His number one dime. The first dime he ever earned. There was something mystical about it. He earned it signing shoes in Scotland. It was an American dime and not worth any money. Scrooge kept it as a reminder to never be fooled again. I never realized Scrooge has such a hardened heart.

There is a little bit of Scrooge in all of us. People always stress college for education. How often do we stress that we need to be educated. We are taught to go to college so we can go out and get a job and make money. It’s about earning potential and not about what you are passionate about. I’ll be the first to admit that once you start making money, it’s hard to give up that lifestyle. Most of us struggle with that, much like Uncle Scrooge and his quest to always make money. How else could he keep his private plane, or robot maid or lavish top hats and nice suits. How else can you pay for your new car, condo, wedding and still take trips to Vegas.

If Scrooge was around today he’d be on MTV Cribs with a Lamborghini and some “stunna shades” showing off his mansion and all his new gadgets with his bad nephews running around. He’d be a CEO of a major company donating to presidential campaigns that are helping pass laws to keep his businesses flourishing with little concern about the poor people in his town and the wages they make, as long as McDuck Industries kept making money.

He’d be that unmarried man/woman who was so career driven that they never settled down. Always about making that extra money. Like a friend told me the other day. Scrooge was always concerned about the end result and not invested in the process. You have to be invested in your relationships. Scrooge was invested in his money. It made him a wealthy man, but a lonely man.

As yourself, how much Scrooge McDuck do I have in me. I asked myself and I have more than I would like to admit. Still I strive to have a little less Scrooge and a little more of me.