May 26, 2005

There is a huge problem with Batman Begins...

I'm going to have to stop humming that Danny Elfman theme.

There have been some interesting movies made from "graphic novels." The material is generally more literary and less comic book and the filmmakers they attract are often art house types. Bravo. Ghost World kills.

But Batman Begins is the first comic book movie that is a truly a movie first and a comic book second. And with it, Christopher Nolan announces that he is a made man in the family of the very top filmmakers in the world today.

The thing that is most remarkable about Batman Begins is that it has so much goofy comic stuff to show off... but you never feel like it's about the stuff. This movie is loaded with really fine actors, like Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine and Gary Oldman and Liam Neeson and Rutger Hauer.... but you never feel like they are chewing scenery, which is often what they are called on to do in other films. It's not exactly Shakespeare either... but they bring what Nolan & Goyer & Company are clearly trying to bring to the genre... stable, solid grounding.

Batman Begins is the kind of movie that will have fans arguing about their favorite sections. Are they into the first act of training and flashback? Do they get goosebumps thinking about the process of Batman's development in Gotham? Or is it the relentless action of the third act?

The bat cowl is a little funny on Christian Bale's face, but he is the most serious Batman ever. And Katie Holmes is very Dr. Claire Lewicki... if you know what I mean... in almost every way.

It is a bit of an art and commerce clash... this film will thrill the base of fans, but will it be as accessible as Spidey? Unlikely. And some journos will likely crap all over the movie if it only does $600 million worldwide. And that sucks. Warner Bros. did the right thing... they made a terrific movie first... a movie that redefines the genre in its own way... which makes the nostalgia for Tim Burton's take even stronger, while allowing us to enjoy this one every bit as much. Like the comics, it is a real rethink by a fresh-eyed artist. But I don't think my mom is going to make it to this one... and that's good. Batman Begins is a very commercial film that isn't emasculating itself to find every marketing quadrant. Hallelujah.

BILL MURRAY IS COWED, NOT COWLED in Broken Flowers, the new film from Jim Jarmusch that won people over at Cannes and is sure to be one of the beloved art films of this year. Essentially a movie about looking back at your life and your loves, Jarmusch has given up some of his more overt comic tendencies and retained the gentle humanity that have been the signature of his work.

Bill Murray has clearly become the most beloved and skilled sad clown of his generation, not only delivering fantastic performances, but clearly inspiring filmmakers to their best work. He has become so remarkably consistent that it is clearly time for the world to reexamine his "middle films," like Quick Change. Adam Sandler has been chasing Murray's mature career, much as he has emulated Murray's early movie career... but he's come up short. He's still too young to be relaxed about the pain of life. Not so Murray. But one of the surprising things about Broken Flowers is that this is not just the same old Bill Murray performance from some other film. It has much of the same ennui of Lost in Translation, but it is a very different performances, subtleties inside of his general subtlety.

Jeffrey Wright is, as always, undeniably perfect. Wright is one of the greatest film actors ever... yet he is still so good that few of us remember him as clearly as some bit player on Desperate Housewives. I often have the feeling that he will some day find his Monster or Lost In Translation or Million Dollar Baby or something like that... where the director sees what others don't quite get. This is not a showy role for him, but he is just so damned good!

The women in Bill/Don's former lives are wonderful here. Remember when you first saw Sharon Stone in Total Recall and was blown away by this new face that could hold her own against Arnold Schwarzenegger? She's here in this film. This is probably her best film work and it is not just a variation on the theme that made her a movie star. Ms. Stone is a great example of "less is more." And when she is less and more, she is truly magical on screen. (Her daughter, Lolita, played by Alexis Dziena, is - Thank God! - 21 now... so no one will arrest you on the way out of the theater for finding this iconic tease titillating.)

Jessica Lange is letting herself age... and is still so beautiful. Stripped off some of the heavy style that has become her award bait trademark in recent years. Subtle and beautiful and still, a little nuts.

Six Feet Under's Frances Conroy seems like the odd woman out, but as her section continues, she melts into the form of the film like fine, warm chocolate.

And the last woman we meet in Don's life... I don't even want to tell you who it is because as well as I know her and her always tremendous work, I couldn't recognize her. And the joy of finding out is such a great part of any film...

I think Broken Flowers will grow and grow on me over time. There is a lot of Tornatore's Everybody's Fine (Stanno Tutti Bene), one of my most beloved films, in Jarmusch's latest. Is it, as people in Cannes wrote, "more accessible?" I don't know. It is a thoughtful, small, emotionally rich film. To me, Ghost Dog was more wide audience friendly. But who really gives a fuck? Certainly not Jarmusch. Certainly not Murray.

This movie touches greatness and kisses it gently on the cheek.

Good movies are a joy forever.

READER OF THE DAY: SNAKE SQUIRE - again! - writes: "These trend pieces of freakin out about the box-office have got to end. The Fall season has countless films that can make money (of course I do not have that list on hand. However, there's a FRIGGIN HARRY POTTER FILM! COME ON!) and end the year with a bang.

Yet, in the last week of bloody May, the collective entertainment world (while not focused on the American idol finale), has to freak out about BOX OFFICE! We have countless months to go. Countless films to go. Countless chances for this year to end ahead of last year's curb.

Will the people at EW, the paper of Wreckord (nice one there), Variety, Hollywood Reporter, or countless other entertainment journalists or news agencies recall this freak out in December? If the box office this year excedes last year? Hell no. Yet, since they hate SW, these bored people have to freak about something that no one should freak out about until the end of the Summer at the very least.

It's rather sad that Entertainment Journalism (In big letters because some of the hacks demand it) has started to cover so many non-stories. Especially ONE STORY THAT COULD GO AWAY IN ONE or TWO WEEKENDS OVER THE SUMMER! Doesnt someone want to talk about Cannes? Anyone want to figure out what the hell the Weinsteins are doing? Do people just have QT fatigue now or something? Shouldnt someone be blowing smoke up Sony's ass over the MGM merger or something?

The box-office will be fine. Why freak out about something, that has yet to be irreprobably damaged or destroyed yet? A lot of films and months to go. This essentially has become the second lamest freak out in entertainment journalism history. The lamest remaining the hoopla over the budget of Waterworld wish sank that film, but later budgets over a hundred million became a part of the business in a few years. Like that turd of a film Batman and Robin. Which had one of the highest speculative budgets ever. Yet not one entertainment journo gave two craps about that.

Have a nice day..."

E-ME. Ars Gratis Ars, Brutus?