Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

I look forward to Coen Brother's films as much as any other cinephile does, but Inside Llewyn Davis was one of the few I wasn't all that wild about seeing.  It's mainly because I've never been that into folk music.  Was I going to be able to enjoy a film set around an era and style of music I've never been into, and starring an actor I don't think I had heard of?  Well it turns out they managed to make a movie that made me like and care about folk music.  That's the true genius of the Coen Brothers, not their great storytelling and unusual characters and situations, but that they made me care about folk music.  Okay, I'm kidding about that last part, but the Joel and Ethan Coen continue to prove time and time again that they are brilliant filmmakers and storytellers.

One thing you'll notice is that Inside Llewyn Davis isn't quite as quirky or as unusual as other Coen Brothers offerings.  While there are a few funny things here and there, this plays as a pretty straight forward character piece, following a few days in the life of Llewyn Davis.  Llewyn (Oscar Isaac) is a struggling folk musician in New York.  He had a more successful act with his former partner, but he recently committed suicide, forcing Llewyn to try to make it as a solo act.  Effectively homeless, Llewyn crashes on the couches of people that can't say no to him even though he seems to overstay his welcome.  Llewyn isn't exactly the easiest guy to root for, it appears he has a habit of either straining or shitting on relationships.  He's not completely unlikeable though.

As the songs were all performed live in the movie, rather than lip-synched, it really added to the authenticity.  If I wasn't aware of many of the actors outside of the film, I would have thought they were all established folk singers.  Granted it's no surprise Justin Timberlake can sing, but I was impressed with Carey Mulligan's voice.  I am so generally clueless about the folk scene that I didn't even realize that most of these songs have been around for a long time.  I thought they were all originals.  Despite my reservations about the music, I ended up enjoying most of it, either tapping hands and feet along with it, or wanting to join in the singing myself.

I wondered if I actually knew about Oscar Issac from anything else, but then realized he was the best thing about 10 Years  He's actually been in a ton of stuff, but mainly supporting roles and he's one of those guys that seems to blend in.  In addition to being a great singer, he delivers a deep, soulful performance that lets you know he's moving on to bigger things in the acting world.  There's a scene where he's auditioning for Bud Grossman (F. Murray Abraham) that actually gave me the chills, and it's such an honest and vulnerable moment that I was moved to tears.  When Grossman gives his feedback, it's heartbreaking and I was concerned that Llewyn was moving towards a dark outcome, but was relieved when the story circles back.  His final performance also brought chills as it's powerful moment that shows you that Llewyn may be coming out of his funk.

As far as the rest of the performances, Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake were funny.  John Goodman's character really stands out as one of most memorable of the film despite his limited time on screen.  He's paired with Garrett Hedlund, who could have been played by a mute for all the dialog he had.  Nothing against Hedlund, mind you, but I think he said like 5 words all film.

I also found an interesting parallel to complaints I heard about modern music.  Llewyn is a talented, frustrated artist that's having a hard time getting his music sold, even heard.  When Bud Grossman tells him, "I don't see a lot of money here," you see that anger and frustration in Llewyn's face.  Meanwhile, a catchier, radio friendly song seems to be headed towards hit status.  When about to perform it, he asks, "Who wrote this?"  It's clear he thinks it's a ridiculous song, and Jim Berkey (Timberlake) looks hurt by the question.

We only hang out with Llewyn Davis for a short period of time, but it's a journey worth taking.  Inside Llewyn Davis is a gloomy tale about a frustrated artist, but still has enough humor and heart that it's not depressing.  Oscar Issac surprised me with one of the better performances of the year, and I can say the same about the Coen's surprising me with the movie.  If anything, it kind of makes me want to get a cat, and I don't even like cats.

5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Trouble with the Curve (2012) - Movie Review

I have a feeling Gus Lobel would love to tell those Moneyball guys to shove it!

Clint Eastwood plays Gus Lobel, a lifelong baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves.  Age is catching up with him and his eyesight is fading fast, but can't admit it or he's out of a job.  The organization is losing faith in him anyway, in favor of scouting players using stats and modern technology.  Gus is a purist that believes you certain things you simply can't know about a player by looking at a bunch of numbers. He prefers to rely on his senses and instincts.  I got a distinct anti-Moneyball sentiment from Trouble with the Curve, and if it comes down to a fight, my money will always be on Dirty Harry.

The upcoming draft has a huge talent the team wants as their No. 1 pick.  Gus goes back out the road to scout this kid and to prove he can still do the job.  His oldest friend, played by John Goodman, urges Gus' daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) to go along with him and make sure he doesn't screw up.

Oh, and Justin Timberlake is in this, too.  I almost forgot as they establish his character in an early scene, but then he doesn't appear again for a good 15-20 minutes, which really made me wonder why he was in the movie.  You learn that he's a former player that Gus once scouted and is now a scout himself for the Red Sox.  He and Gus seemed to have a close, almost father/son, relationship, but it's never really explored, which seemed like a missed opportunity considering the family dynamics of the film.  Naturally, he immediately has the hots for Mickey, and who can blame him, but the way his character came in and out of the film it felt he was thrown in there because they felt the movie needed a love interest.  It didn't help that it seemed that he was a little too immature for Amy Adams, and that's partially due to the fact that I know she's 38 while he's 31.  It didn't seem like the most natural pairing.  This is nothing personally against Justin Timberlake though, and I do think that he and Adams had good chemistry.

I'm getting off track, but I felt the main problem with the movie is that, once again, it's a movie that didn't quite know what it wanted to be, so it felt a little scatter-shot and uneven at times.  Is this a baseball movie?  A family drama?  Is it a romantic comedy?  I would have been fine with a movie about a stubborn, work-driven man and his stubborn, career-driven daughter reconnecting and finding some common ground over baseball.  Instead we got something that felt a little all over the place, and it suffered from having too many ideas going on.  As the movie is almost two hours, it would have benefit from a little more focus.

Another thing that hurts the film is how predictable it is.  You pretty much see where things are going to go from the outset and they constantly foreshadow plot points.  It's a minor complaint as it's not like I was expecting twists, but certain things just felt too obvious.  The conclusion was way too tidy, with every little thing being resolved by the end, and the conclusion was unsatisfying as a result.

Now we get to the strength of the film: the cast and performances.  Clint Eastwood gives a great, emotional performance   When it starts, he's the cranky and crotchety old man we've come to expect, but early on he has a very sweet and emotional scene, and it shows that there's some sadness there and more to him.  His back and forth between Amy Adams is both funny and heartfelt.  They really make you believe that she's a chip off the old block.  Both are overly focused on their work and push people away.  When you have a great actors like this, they are able to pull back just a bit, so that it doesn't feel melodramatic, which was another thing I appreciated.  They could have gone for a manipulative tear jerker, but thankfully didn't.

The rest of the supporting cast is great as well.  John Goodman is always a welcome sight.  Plus, you have a nice performance by Matthew Lillard, as a hot shot exec that you just want to see get his in the end. The T-1000 (Robert Patrick) is in this as well.  Justin Timberlake's performance was fine, even though I felt like he was just playing Justin Timberlake again.

This was a good first effort from director Robert Lorenz and writer Randy Brown.  Lorenz was smart to get out of the way of his actors and let them just do their thing.  Again, I think the main issue here is that he didn't try to reign in Brown's script a bit.  There were too many subplots and most weren't developed quite enough to have the impact they should have, and some felt like they really didn't need to be in the movie.  Another positive is that it's a much funnier movie than I was expecting, even though some of the humor felt a little easy, maybe even a little cheesy at times. The audience seemed to be really enjoying it, so maybe it was just me.

Overall, Trouble with the Curve is a charming movie that should please most audiences.  You have great performances and chemistry from the actors and a good balance of humor and emotional moments.  The drawback is the movie's predictability and lack of focus.  Whether you're a baseball fan or just want to see a nice family drama with some heart, it's an enjoyable film.  It's nothing you need to rush out and see though.  It's a good matinee or rental.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars