Rick's Flicks Picks on AWN

It's kind of like SIDEWAYS crossed with MY DINNER WITH ANDRE. In the former, we have old friends on vacation. In the latter, the two friends do spend a great time talking over dinner. Sounds kind of boring. But wait. The dinner guests are Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

Coogan and Brydon play exaggerated versions of the own personas. Coogan has been asked by The Observer to tour fine restaurants in the North and write about the experience. He wanted to take his girlfriend Mischa (Margo Stilley, HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE), but she has decided to put their relationship on a break. Steve misses her, but that doesn't stop him from bedding hostesses, waitresses and a female photographer.

Despite having the superhero in the title, this animated feature seems less like the Dark Knight’s story and more like that of James Gordon, who at this time is new to the Gotham police department. Based on what is hailed as a seminal comic series from writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli, the transition from the page to the screen is faithful, but also highlights the differences between mediums.

Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie, TV’s SOUTHLAND) was returned to Gotham from training abroad. He has begun the preparation for becoming the vigilante, but hasn’t found his identity yet. Jim Gordon (Bryan Cranston, TV’s BREAKING BAD) is the new lieutenant in town, having been exiled to the most corrupt city after smoking out police corruption in his last post. His wife Barbara (Grey DeLisle, TV’s THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS) is pregnant and he is guilty to bring a new child into this dirty, grim world.

Terri is an overweight high school student who is picked on at school. You might be thinking that you've seen this film or one very much like it before. But I assure you, you haven't. This is a film based on real life not any of those other movies. Director Azazel Jacobs and co-writer Patrick Dewitt have made a quirky comedy that is truthful and not gimmicky. All the pieces just fit.

Speaking of fitting, Terri wears pajamas to school each day because they are the only clothes that actually fit him. He doesn't know where his parents are, having been dumped on his uncle James (Creed Bratton, TV's THE OFFICE), who is slipping in and out of dementia. As a result Terri has been missing a lot of days of school to take care of him. Not that Terri minds all that much because when he goes he is tormented by classmates, who find ways of embarrassing him by getting under his skin in relentlessly annoying ways.

When the title comes up on the screen it appears next to the dead body of a teenage girl floating in a river. A poetry teacher in the film describes poetry as the search for beauty. The juxtaposition of the tragic and the beautiful is a current that runs through this Korean drama. It seems that sadness and beauty go together in life more than we think.

Mija (Jeong-hie Yun, TWO FLAGS) is a 60-something maid who takes care of her grandson Wook (Da-wit Lee, THE FRONT LINE). Her daughter has dumped him on her and the grandmother doesn't like telling her child anything that might be going wrong. The old woman is feeling tingling in her arm and starting to forget words. Wook is a lazy slob who is running with a bad crowd who get him deep in severe trouble. Mija works for a lecherous old man who has suffered a stroke and needs her to bathe him. She has a hard time dealing with any of these problems directly. Her mind seems completely consumed with the poetry class she is taking at the cultural center.

It’s not surprising that George Clooney would make a political film. What might be surprising is how cynical the film is about our political process. For sure Clooney works in liberal ideas, but it’s not the point. His character just happens to be a Democrat. The political policies his character talks about easily be switched to the other side and it wouldn’t change the central theme, which is that politics is completely compromised with flawed humans looking out for themselves.

Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling, DRIVE) is a young campaign operative who has worked on more campaigns at 30 than most people have worked by 40. He’s an idealist who really believes in the presidential candidate Gov. Mike Morris (Clooney). He works under the grizzled operative Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman, CAPOTE), who is working behind the scenes to seal a deal with former primary candidate Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright, CASINO ROYALE), whose delegates would put either of the two remaining candidates over the top.

This film is not based on Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Now that we got that out of the way, we can find out what this film is really about. One could claim though that this film is based on a dozen previous boxing movies such as ROCKY and THE CHAMP.

Set in a future where robots have replaced humans in the boxing ring because people like the carnage more. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) is a former boxer who has become involved in the low-rung world of robot boxing. He gets a shock one day when he discovers that the mother of his son Max (Dakota Goyo, THOR) has died and that he needs to work out who will take the child. The 11-year-old's aunt Debra (Hope Davis, AMERICAN SPLENDOR) wants to take him and Charlie sees her rich husband as a chance to make some money out of the situation.

This dialogue-free Italian production is pure cinema. Director Michael Frammartino shows us images and grips our attention. He tells an epic story of life itself, weaving together tragedy, comedy and suspense. Its protagonists are an elderly shepherd, a young goat, a large tree and charcoal.

The first shot that comes on screen is a large black pile billowing smoke. What is it? It's a tantalizing image. Then we are introduced to the shepherd (Giuseppe Fuda), who has a nasty cough. As he staggers along with his goats and his energetic dog, we fear for his safety. When we witness his home remedy, we fear even more for him.

The title translates as "The Four Times" and encapsulates the lives of its protagonists in separate sections. How the lives of a man, an animal, a plant and a mineral intersect is fascinating. Frammartino has a saint's patience with the pacing and for some it will move too slowly. There is not amped up drama or action, but the pacing creates tension because it forces us to think. We think about the welfare of the old man and how he is carrying on a tradition in his village that has gone on for centuries. We think about the fragility of life as we witness the birth of the baby goat. We contemplate the intersection of humans and the natural environment when we move into the stories of the majestic tree and the birth of the charcoal.

Calling this film the female HANGOVER is easy. Wedding prep theme. Crude humor. Personality conflicts. Comedic mayhem. Both films have all these things in common. But the female part is key. It's what really sets the films apart. Male friendships are vastly different than female friendships and this film knows it.

Annie (Kristen Wiig, TV's SNL) is down on her luck. As she says she was the only person stupid enough to open a bakery during a recession. Following the failure of her business, she lost her longtime boyfriend and has now hooked up with the piggish Ted (Jon Hamm, TV's MAD MEN), who just wants her as his sex buddy. She is so close to being forced to move back in with her recovering alcoholic mother (Jill Clayburgh, AN UNMARRIED WOMAN). Then her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph, AWAY WE GO) makes her the maid of honor in her wedding. This is the start of her descent to rock bottom.

Read my LION KING review.

This 1080p/AVC-encoded Blu-ray is about as good as it gets. On it's picture and audio alone, it's one of the must-own Blu-rays of the year. From the first moment when the sun rises over the savanna, the richness of color is impressive. Black levels are solid as well. Details really make the artistry of the animation stand out. During the wildebeest stampede, nothing gets lost in the chaos as dust swirls around the air. The fires at the end with their striking reds, yellows and oranges make a powerful impact. The presentation is clean from both dust and digital anomalies.