A co-worker of mine with whom I discuss movies blogged about his thoughts about the Oscar-nominated The Hurt Locker. Now Bradford is much, MUCH more critical of movies than I am. And while I don’t always agree with his assessments, I do appreciate the criticism he offers. If you don’t want to read the post, he complains the films overuse of war movie conventions cliches. What struck me were his comments regarding the protagonist Sgt. James played by Jeremy Renner.

He claims there wasn’t much character growth – at least not enough to sympathize with the character as he encounters physical and emotional obstacles throughout the story. It occurred to me that there are parallels with Sgt. James and Ryan Bingham, the protagonist in another Oscar-nominated film, Up in the Air.

Here are some excerpts from his blog post and the ensuing comments:

[AS PER USUAL, THERE ARE SPOILERS]

From Bradford’s post:

I would have loved to see Sgt. James CHANGE throughout the course of the movie. Maybe see him get more and more addicted to his job, have him start his tour with all the hope in the world, only to lose it bit by bit. Or have him start his tour completely brainwashed, but find something more important within himself outside the confines of the battlefield. ANYTHING would have been more intriguing. But instead, we got a bunch of losers who stay losers in the course of two hours. How pathetic!

I replied with this:

You say you wanted Sgt. James to CHANGE more, but I actually wanted him to change less. I felt that while it is important to have your protagonist discover something to fight for, his character just wasn’t built for that. And because of this, I never really bought the transformation that was hinted to at the end of the 2nd and into the 3rd act.

You suggest that there really isn’t an arc, but I think there is. You see him react to his surroundings and his subsequent choices go against how the character was set up. He just comes to the realization that this “new” Sgt. James isn’t for him. He makes a bad call, learns from it.

I kind of want to compare him to Ryan Bingham from Up in the Air. You see Ryan in his comfort zone and is forced to scrutinize his entire existence – what he really wants out of his life – because of a change in company policy. He goes through the motions and suddenly, he makes noble, yet characteristically unsound decisions. He gets burned and in the end you’re wondering has he REALLY changed?

Now perhaps this is where The Hurt Locker misses its opportunity. I never felt that connection with Sgt. James like I did with Ryan Bingham. Sure, the whole war thing is a bit less accessible than life in the corporate world, but if you put Ryan Bingham’s experience into Sgt. James, would you have liked it better?

Then Bradford’s reply:

I wasn’t even aware there was a hint of “transformation.” When Sgt. James wandered off to find the boy’s parents, I thought it was a foolish script twist instead of an attempt at developing his character.

I did not even see a beat where he realizes anything. The only thing that matters to him is his mission, and the outcomes seemed to have no bearing on his character. Yes, he makes a bad call and learns accordingly, but just because a kid learns to not fall off his bike, it does not exactly change or develop who he/she is.

Why do we empathize with Ryan Bingham? Maybe we don’t. I felt like Up in the Air was equally a visual punishment as it was a moral tale. Bingham is lonely, yes, and we have all felt lonely before. But Bingham chooses to be disconnected from people, like how Sgt. James chooses to go to war.

The difference? Bingham actually realizes something essential and proactively TRIES to improve his life. Has he really changed? I think so. Just a hint. Sure, he goes back on the road because his one attempt failed, but he is wiser for the ware. I can appreciate that.

Sgt. James, on the other hand, stays an arrogant loser. I don’t think he proactively tries to do anything. If nothing else, he learns that war is where he belongs. How pitiful. There is nothing hopeful, interesting, enlightening, or likable about that. It isn’t even a “dark” or “badass” revelation, since from the start, he already enjoys defusing bombs.

And me again:

“Bingham actually realizes something essential and proactively TRIES to improve his life.”

That’s it right there. With Up in the Air, the audience can see the value of not living solitary life. You can understand the value of relationships – mainly because Reitman hits you over the head with all the interview footage. With The Hurt Locker, you never really care WHY it’s important that Sgt. James goes to look for the kid’s family – important to the character.

And Bradford’s final comment:

Exactly.

I didn’t understand how or why Sgt. James went after the kid’s parents. That was the point where the movie lost me.

I thought, maybe Sgt. James was thinking about his own son? Nope. He showed no regard for his son or wife when he returned… it was pitiful.

In fact, if there was such an intended parallel between the two boys, we should have seen James with his family BEFOREHAND. THAT would have motivated the move entirely.

Oh well.

I enjoyed The Hurt Locker, but I wonder how that film would fare if it didn’t come out in the summer when the popcorn movies run circles around the more “serious, Oscar-bait” fare. Had the film been release in November or December would it have received as much praise as it is currently getting?

To expound a bit on my thoughts of Sgt. James, I too felt uncomfortable when he went to go find the kid. It is certainly interesting psychology for Sgt. James to feel more connected to an Iraqi kid than his own son, but something felt off about the development of that relationship. I suppose that’s what we want from our soldiers – we want to know that Capt. John Miller (Saving Private Ryan) was a schoolteacher. We want to see that Sgt. James isn’t just a badass who is really good at his job – that he secretly longs for an emotional connection in a war-time situation. But you either go all in or you don’t go at all.

If you keep Sgt. James as a cold, hard war machine, that’s fine. You have the opportunity to show how his persona affects the supporting characters, the other two guys in his company. The story arc would revolve around them and NOT Sgt. James – the way you see Natalie Keener’s (Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air) character evolve because of her experiences traveling all over the country with Ryan Bingham (George Clooney).

But then you have an entirely different movie.

While I enjoyed most of this series, I always wonder – much like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – what could’ve been. Throughout its 2 season run, there have been some gems, some lumps of coal, and a whole lot of mediocrity. I especially liked how it built some momentum at the end of first season which carried into most of the second season. The unaired “Epitaph One” episode was probably arguably the best and served as the framework for how the second season wrapped up. I wish Fox could’ve aired Epitaph One for audiences that didn’t rush out to buy/rent the Dollhouse season 1 DVD (I mean, if we we watched it week-to-week, why would we?)

I can’t help but feel a bit unfulfilled. It was building to a solid finale with episodes “The Attic” and “Getting Closer” where you learn what exactly Caroline knows. There were some great payoffs here and some great reversals with Adele DeWitt and Dr. Saunders/Whiskey. All this made for entertaining television until the final two episodes “The Hollow Men” and “Epitaph Two: Return” were ultimately underwhelming.

In “The Hollow Men,” revealing Boyd as the mastermind behind everything was interesting but I felt his reasoning was glazed over too quickly. I get the sense the wrtiers felt there was enough ambiguity with his character’s background to pull a stunt like this, but didn’t give the audience enough time to put it together without having long expository scenes. It would’ve been nice to see that story unfold over three episodes.

There was an especially unwatchable scene in this episode between Paul Ballard and Mellie/November. It’s a crime that Tammoh Penniket (Helo from BSG) can still get roles where he has to emote. He is just horribly bad in this scene. (I remain convinced that the the less Ballard and Echo in an episode, the better it really is)

I really wish I watched “Epitaph One” again before “Epitaph Two: Return.” In fact, I think it probably should’ve been a 2-hour episode – or 90 minutes, at least. Whenever you flash forward a few years, you can’t just expect the audience to swallow all the changes that have occurred. With “Epitaph One,” the focus was on the tech. In this one, not only do you have to focus on the tech, but also create resolutions for all the characters. But to do that, you have to show what these characters have been doing up until you moved ahead in the timeline. Sure, they got the point across with some exposition and you can follow the story, but I suppose I felt I was owed a bit more. I would’ve liked to see the deterioration of Sierra and Victor’s relationship. I would’ve loved to see Echo’s inability to show affection towards Ballard. I would’ve loved to see Topher’s steady decline into madness. There were some scenes in the finale with emotion at the core, but without solid context, you will not connect with the audience.

I suppose this is what happens when you find out you only have so many episodes left before you’re done. You have to take shortcuts to tie up the loose ends AND give the characters the resolution they should get. And I suppose this is why I can’t help but think of what could’ve been with this show. It is what it is, so they say.

But all in all, it was a pretty good run. With the exception of Echo and Ballard, I’m sure the actors will find better jobs – specifically Enver Gjokaj (Victor) who steals every scene when he’s imprinted with Topher Brink, Dichen Lachman (Sierra/Priya) who really showed her chops when they did the Priya backstory episode (Belonging)*, and Olivia Williams (Adele DeWitt) who admirably played ruthless and motherly at the same time.

* Belonging was directed by Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame. This was probably one of the best-directed episodes of television I’ve seen in a LONG time. Performances were great and there was an excellent use of motifs and imagery that you rarely notice in episodic and serialized TV today.

[NOTE: I've added to this post below]

This happens to me every year. The relationship blossoms brilliantly. I am enamored by the newness. You learn something each week. But somehow, life gets in the way. The honeymoon ends and suddenly, you see things for what they are – ordinary.

I’m talking to you Flash Forward, V, and Better Off Ted.

Flash Forward
I think I’ve only watched 3-4 episodes. I loved the reveal of the man who was walking around the baseball stadium during the blackout. I loved how another person who didn’t see anything during the blackout actually died – foreshadowing what would happen to John Cho’s character (who also didn’t have a flash forward) And then they revealed Joseph Fiennes’ friend’s flash forward was actually fake. What he saw doesn’t actually happen and thus throws off the mythology of the show all in 3 episodes. Now as an educated TV show watcher, I’m sure they’re going to call back to this and somehow explain that perhaps this character misinterpreted the flash forward. For example, he was sleeping at that very moment and what he saw was a dream. This would be lame. And because of this, I stopped watching. This doesn’t mean I don’t want to know what happens, I just don’t want to sit through it. Know what I mean?

V
I think I’m current with this show. Again, I want to know what happens but I can’t really handle the horrible dialogue or the uber-cheesy green screen shots of people on the ship. As SFX have advanced in the past decade or so, audiences are pretty hip to good and bad effects. I’m sure many don’t notice, but step up your game SFX team. And as someone who likes to completely invested in the world a show is trying to create, too many flaws (like bad effects, stilted dialogue, and expository scenes) really take me out of it. But I suppose I do look at film/tv through a different prism.

Better Off Ted
LOVED the first season of this show. It’s back and while it continually entertains, I just don’t feel I need to watch it every week. I think I’d be content with just watching it if it happens to be on. I’ve mentioned this in the past too, but they’d definitely changed the cinematography/production design a bit this season. You now see much warmer tones and generally more color in every frame. This contrasts the cooler, slightly desaturated look of last season. I’m used to it now, but it definitely felt different when I watched the first few episodes. The feel of Better Off Ted was there, but something was a bit off.

[ADDENDUM 2/8/10]

The Office
I don’t think I’ll be hurting anyone’s feelings if I said this show’s been heading south since Pam and Jim found out they were having a baby. Michael Scott will always be Michael Scott, Dwight will be Dwight and the same goes for pretty much the rest of the supporting characters. The audience falls in love with these characters and enjoys seeing them react to the random events that seem to happen in their daily routine. But there needs to be an emotional through-line the audience can follow. They need to know that something is going to happen with these characters. This is what Pam and Jim brought to the show for the first 3 seasons. Witnessing the hijinx was fun, but audiences connected with the Pam and Jim storry.

But now that Jim is a co-manager, married and expecting a kid, what’s really left? You can tell they’re shifting the romance from Jim and Pam to another salesman-receptionist potential relationship. Andy (Ed Helms) who is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters wants Erin and I’m sure that will turn into something eventually. That’s just par for the course.

Kudos to the writing staff for giving Michael some romantic pursuits because we got to see Michael fumble through something more than just being the boss. But again, it’s Michael being Michael. Also, the Dwight-Angela-Andy love triangle was enjoyable and helped transfer the emotional core away from Jim and Pam, if only for a little while.

Dunder-Mifflin getting acquired by a printer company called Sabre is interesting, but I’m wondering why it happens mid-season versus at the beginning of the next? Maybe they’re just running out of ideas?

I’ll still watch, but I won’t cry if the DVR accidentally deletes it.

[END ADDENDUM]

So these are the shows that have fallen to the wayside. This doesn’t mean that I’m not watching anything. Modern Family continues to impress in its freshman season. Castle is a guilty pleasure that keeps my interest week to week. I suppose my man crush on Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic’s hotness help with that. But I just love how that show looks – beautifully shot. And the guiltiest pleasure of all is probably Supernatural which is a perfect example of how to NOT take yourself too seriously. The creators of the show have fun with the rules and conventions you’ve established over the past 4.5 years.

I am waiting patiently for the return of Mad Men, which I can now watch in HD since Time Warner Cable FINALLY has AMC in HD.

It occurred to me that it’s been a while since I have seen a movie in theaters. I check the listings of my favorite theater – The Landmark on Westwood and Pico and realized that I wanted to see every film they’re showing…except for maybe Precious thanks to my coworker Brad’s candid thoughts.

So let’s get into it. Jason Reitman’s third film has been getting some award season buzz for his latest, Up in the Air. (imdb synopsis)

I WILL be talking about the ending of the film you might want to skip this entry and come back once you’ve seen it.

[ SPOILER ALERT ]

SCRIPT/STRUCTURE
This will win over critics and audiences alike because it’s one of those movies that ties everything up into a nice little package. Or if you wanna be a jerk about it – predictable. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The setups had satisfying payoffs, even though at times you knew that something was coming. The film is paced nicely and with the exception of one small section during the denoument resolution portion of the story, every scene did what it was supposed to. It was efficient in that none of the scenes lagged.

The married couple cutout photos from all over the country was an especially great device. It was introduced as a quirky and harmless wedding gag, but paid off both physically and emotionally. When Ryan sees the map of the United States filled with pictures of his sister (whose character name I forgot) and Jim, he probably realizes he’s been everywhere, but never really with anyone. Ryan also decides to use his miles to buy them tickets to travel around the world.

CHARACTER
Predictable is fine so long as you care about the characters. There were good ones here. The whole veteran-paired-with-a-rookie dynamic isn’t anything new, but works well to inform who these characters are. The teacher teaches the job, the student learns the job. Throughout the journey, the teacher also learns something from the student. Ryan Bingham and Natalie Kendrick are clearly on opposites poles, but the evolution of their relationship progressed logically and realistically.

A good character always has good supporting characters to help/hamper him from achieving his physical and emotional goals. They also inform some of the contrasting, yet equally valid lifestyle choices that Ryan could have. Ryan’s love interest, Alex, his mentee, Natalie, sisters and brother-in-law all lent a hand in helping Ryan make choices throughout the film.

I have a hard time imagining another actor play Ryan Bingham. There’s a sincerity and charm in George Clooney’s performance that really gets the audience to latch on and go for the 2 hour ride. Believe it or not, Ryan does have an external goal in this movie – to achieve 10 million frequent flyer miles. But I forgot about that goal because I started to care about whether or not Ryan would change his mind about his lifestyle. And by the time he achieves his external goal, you really don’t care. And guess what, neither does Ryan. Credit Jason Reitman for recognizing the importance of character growth.

DIRECTION
Jason Reitman, like Sofia Coppola, comes from film royalty so perhaps I hold high expectations. I’ve enjoyed his first two offerings (Thank You for Smoking and Juno) and there’s a part of me that kind of wants him to fail. The film walks a fine line between heartfelt and cheesy. I think Reitman knows how to walk that fine line. I’m convinced that with a lesser director (or lesser actors) the film could’ve gone into uber-cheesy. The ending isn’t a typical Hollywood ending – where the protagonist gets what the audience thinks he wants – but it’s also satisfying because the character has changed.

I’ve sprinkled some other thoughts about his direction in some of the categories below.

STYLE
The movie was classically shot (tripod and dolly shots) with the exception of one or two Aronofsky/Ritchie-type montages sprinkled in. The one that comes to mind was when they showed Ryan Bingham’s routine – airport check-in, security check-point, renting the rental car, and hotel check-in – which was a great technique to quickly get the point across.

There was a sequence later in the film that looked different from the rest. As I watched the scene, I remember being offput a bit – like it stuck out. After marinating for a while, I can now appreciate the creative choice. When Jim Miller (Danny McBride) warms up his cold feet and follows through with the marriage to Ryan’s sister, the cinematography changed. The movie up to that point was was mostly static and slow dolly shots, but converted to a more verite, no…documentary…no, camcorder style of shooting for the wedding sequence. The goal was to create the feeling that you were watching home video footage of an important moment in your life – one you would share with family, which contrasts Ryan’s entire worldview.

It works from a thematic standpoint and give Jason Reitman credit for making a cinematic choice like this. This is what directing is.

THOUGHTS/GRIPES
I enjoyed the film and think it’s rated just about right. Ever since Lost in Translation, I’ve always been weary about films being overhyped and eventually underwhelming when I finally watch it. Would I think it would be as good if I watch this AFTER it wins a Golden Globe? Who knows.

I did think one sequence was a bit heavy-handed. It incorporated the use of interview-like footage of employees who have been terminated. These interviews were intercut with either Ryan or Natalie laying people off. Towards the end of the film, Reitman intercut some footage in which the subjects express how grateful they were to have a husband/wife/family to help them cope with the pain and  uncertainty of unemployment. By this time in the film, the narrative already gets its point across. I didn’t need them to shove it down my throat. Heartfelt and cheesy = po-TAY-to and po-TAH-to. I could probably go either way depending on how cynical I’m feeling at that moment.

Anyhow, great film to start awards season. Next up: Avatar in IMAX 3D! (although it’s unclear if it will get any awards buzz outside of Outstanding Visual Effects)

Been on a roll, the last few weeks – pretty good flicks out right now.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
I was going as Tess’ sidekick for this one. I’ve never read the books and have only seen 2 Harry Potter films in their entirety, (the first one being the previous installment, The Order of the Phoenix) I’m was into it. I went in expecting to be confused about the events that led up to this film – and I was. I tried not to be that guy – the one who would lean over and ask questions like “who’s that guy?” and “wait, so what’s the horcrux?” For the most part, I was able to follow along and enjoy the ride. I’m curious if the HP films perform better during the summer or during the winter months? It definitely felt like a summer movie. Looking forward to the next one.

Oh, and am I the only one turned on by Helena Bonham Carter?

The Hurt Locker
After clearing up some confusion regarding a short, but MAJOR scene in the beginning of the 3rd act, I’ve now come to terms with a lingering issue I had with the film. This issue wasn’t big enough to sway my thoughts about the film – I enjoyed every nerve-racking minute of it. It was some of the most intense action scenes I’ve seen this year. The minimalist sound design helped create the intensity. Remember that scene in The Bourne Ultimatum where Jason Bourne fights that one dude in the bathroom in Morocco? It was all hand-to-hand combat in a small space and zero music. All you could hear were the grunts and fighting sounds. Well, it’s like that but with the risk of exploding.

Great acting all around and a breakout performance by Jeremy Renner who did well playing Brad Pitt’s cousin in Assassination of Jesse James. He was also one of the main characters in the short-lived cop show on ABC called The Unusuals, but there weren’t enough episodes to say if he was good or bad.

But all in all a great flick. Check it out if you haven’t already.

District 9
This was this summer’s pleasant surprise. I really had no idea what to make of this film. It’s been marketed and advertised like crazy way before the trailer came out for it. I remember seeing a whole bunch of those “humans only” billboards and signs all over LA. It gave me the impression it was going to be a kids movie, or at least something that wasn’t very deep. Boy was I wrong.

This is a captivating film with very heavy themes that told cleverly and just avoids being heavy-handed. To me, that’s a winning combo. Without comparing the two, the last time I reacted so strongly to a film’s overarching theme was when I watched Cuaron’s Children of Men. (I also had a somewhat similar reaction to Blindness by Meirelles, but that was on DVD) I wonder how it will hold up after a second viewing, but I was completely invested when I watched this film.

If I have to nitpick, I can. There are two small issues I have. The first is protagonist’s portrayal early in the film and the second is the final frame. Again, these issues don’t sway me away from loving the movie. That’s all I’ll say for now and we can discuss after you all watch it.