Pig

Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin, Darius Pierce, Cassandra Violet, Julia Bray, Elijah Ungvary, David Knell
Running Time: 92 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Nicolas Cage must have known something we didn't. Hardly the actor to conform to expectations or follow any kind of predictable career trajectory, there's always been talk about how the Oscar winner's choice of roles have flown off the rails in recent years, even by Cage standards. Annually churning out an onslaught of low budget, V.O.D. action titles led to criticisms surrounding everything from his financial situation to the unusual cries that he's wasting his talent in projects so clearly beneath him. But then something happened. The films got a little weirder, more interesting, and better. 

Regardless of how little seen Mandy or Color out of Space may have been, they were ambitious, visionary sci-fi head trips that reminded us Cage rarely phones it in or stops challenging himself, even as we sometimes scratch our heads at the choices. He gets it, and that's all that matters, constantly finding moments of invention and discovery within questionable characters and projects. It was only a matter of time before a fresh filmmaker came along and recognized this, coming up with something that perfectly plays to his biggest strengths as a performer. 

Michael Sarnoski's directorial debut, Pig, is eccentric in all the ways we've come to expect Cage movies to be, but there's an intelligence and melancholy to its story that allows the actor to do the kind of work we know he's capable of. It would be a different movie without him, possibly teetering on the edge of disaster due to the odd premise, but he keeps it afloat with his most affecting performance in years. Sarnoski's script takes its time exposing the mystery of this man, letting Cage fill in most of the blanks and avoiding a predictable path of bloodshed and violence that's accompanied some of the actor's more recent outings. This has more important things on its mind, delving into the relatable bond between man and animal before peeling back the layers to reveal the true loneliness at this reclusive protagonist's core. It's not for everyone, but even those who can't quite get on its unique wavelength should be able to respect the care and craft with which it's made. 

Robin "Rob" Feld (Cage) is a reclusive loner living off the grid in a cabin in the Oregon woods, where he spends his days hunting for truffles with his prized foraging pig. He's visited weekly by Amir (Alex Wolff), a young, inexperienced entrepreneur who buys the truffles from Rob, supplying the ingredients to a high-class restaurants in the Portland area. But when Rob is unexpectedly assaulted in the middle of the night and his pig is stolen by mysterious assailants, he must call on whatever contacts remain of his previous life to locate the animal, with whom he shares a deep bond that perplexes Amir. As he reluctantly chauffers a bruised, battered loner into the city's underbelly to follow a dangerous lead, the more we learn what drove him into the forest, as well as Amir's own history, which interects with Rob's in surprising, unexpected ways. As they get closer to discovering what happened to the pig, Rob doesn't even have to think twice whether it's worth the extreme danger he's putting them both in.    

With a hulking frame, dirty overalls, long, stringy unwashed hair and an unkempt beard, Rob is a man of few words, at first glance closely resembling a composite of the Unabomber. And Cage is so good at giving  nothing away in these early scenes other than his devotion to this pig, who more than just a pet or a means to him making an income, is the only family member he has. It's clear something happened to isolate Rob in this cabin and adapt a lifestyle he's made work for him, but to reveal exactly what, would spoil nearly all the film's surprises. 

With a sharp suit and bright yellow sports car, Amir couldn't appear more superficially different from Rob or unsympathetic to his plight, and while that initially appears to be true, the deeper they dive into this recluse's history, the more Amir's facade starts to crack. For a stretch, it nearly evolves into a buddy picture with Cage and Wolff, until we realize the stakes are higher than that, with Rob reentering a world in which he may be remembered, but not necessarily welcomed ever again. A Fight Club-like sequence when he offers himself up as a sacrifice for key information is difficult to watch, revealing the humiliating depths he needs to sink to reclaim what's rightfully his.

Heading down a path that seems to suggest a dark, violent thriller, the script instead leans further in the direction of sadness and regret, with Rob coming face-to-face with a world he abandoned and no longer holds a place for him. A scene in a posh restaurant where he confronts a chef is unbearably tense as a bloodied Cage calmly stares a hole through this guy, emotionally breaking him down with only a few painfully true words until he gets what he needs. More than any other sequence, it reveals who Rob was, or rather explains what he's become since. And once we find out all the details, it's tough to blame him for any of it. 

Cage does most of this work without utttering a word, using his body language to convey a broken, irreparably damaged soul whose name still carries just enough currency ten years out to garner some lingering respect, but also utter disbelief and pity. When the final showdown does come with the man responsible for what happened to his pig, it's settled not with fisticuffs or a shootout, but something more profound, that has more far-reaching, emotional ramifications for the three men involved. Everything about the last act is unusually restrained, finding Rob right back where he's meant to be, with a hint that perhaps he's been slightly altered, if not necessarily changed, by the traumatizing experience he's endured.      

Million Dollar Arm

Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal, Bill Paxton, Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, Pitobash Tripathy, Rey Maualuga
Running Time: 124 min.
Rating: PG

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

It's entirely possible you've seen or heard Disney's Million Dollar Arm being described as "Jerry Maguire meets Slumdog Millionaire." While that's understandable, a better comparison might be to feel-good throwback sports movies such as The Rookie, Miracle, Remember The Titans, Invincible, and yes, maybe even The Blind Side. Of course, the big worry going into something that wears its heart this proudly on its sleeve is that it will come off too syrupy or more closely resembling a Hallmark movie of the week than a legitimate entry in the sports film genre. I can't claim this completely avoids that, but it's smart and enjoyable enough to make us fondly remember when these types of pictures were released regularly and the public actually went out of their way to see them. Lately, it appears they're having a bit of of a resurgence, as this, along with the slightly more cerebral Draft Day, deserves mention alongside the better ones. It's also well anchored by an actor few would expect to see in a Disney project, marking a highly anticipated big screen transition with his first leading role.

Big shot Los Angeles based sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm) has recently fallen on tough times, having gone out on his own with partner Ash (Aasif Mandvi) to form their own fledgling agency. A dearth of clients and a failure to sign star football player Popo Vanuatu (Rey Maualuga) have left them bleeding money and in search of a game-changing idea. That idea comes to J.B. one night when flipping channels between cricket and Britain's Got Talent. Identifying an untapped market for baseball in India, J.B. comes up with the plan of holding a talent competition there called "Million Dollar Arm," in which contestants are scored on the speed and accuracy of their pitches, with the two winners receiving prize money and a trip to the U.S. to be trained as major league prospects.

But when eventual winners Rinku Singh (Life of Pi's Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh Patel (Slumdog Millionaire's Madhur Mittal) are flown to America to train with USC pitching coach Tom House (Bill Paxton), J. B. realizes he has a near impossible task ahead of him in both preparing them for the big leagues and helping them adjust to their new surroundings. With his business continuing to tank, he skirts responsibility on the latter, leaving his chatty tenant Brenda (Lake Bell) as their only moral support. With the deadline to have them ready fast approaching, J.B. may have to start realigning his personal and professional priorities, for both his sake and that of these kids.

Having limited familiarity with the true story from which Tom McCarthy's script is based, it's hard to say just how far it veers from the facts, but there was never really a moment where I was shaking my head with incredulity at the unfolding events. The movie wisely doesn't try to pretend these young guys are superstars in the making who happen to be "discovered" via the competition. They can basically throw a couple of wild pitches at a little over 80 miles per hour and that's it. They're pretty terrible and actually remain so throughout the film, seemingly struggling to grasp basic mechanics even as they put in as much effort as can reasonably be asked of them. This is a relief since it's apparent early on that this will achieve its PG Disney movie status with tone and presentation rather than concocting an unrealistic fantasy out of a true story.

Everything is sanitized, but not insultingly so, deserving credit for not ignoring the fact that these two kids are being taken from poverty and will experience extreme culture shock upon their arrival. Some of these moments are played for laughs (not knowing how an elevator works) while others (a party gone bad) are treated a little more seriously, with director Craig Gillespie skillfully alternating between the two. The meat of the story is not only Rinku and Dinesh learning to come into their own and succeed in an unfamiliar world, but J.B. morally evolving enough to actually think about some other than himself and his company's bottom line. These are obvious messages, but well delivered nonetheless. And for those wondering, J.B's extreme narcissism, womanizing and somewhat similar profession do invite modern day Don Draper comparisons. There's just no way around it, which isn't necessarily such a bad thing for the film.

Hamm has always seemed like a movie star despite only appearing primarily on TV, and that charismatic  quality is only magnified by the very essence of the character he plays on Mad Men. With that series winding down, the notion that he'd be making the jump was already a foregone conclusion so we may as well just prepare ourselves for the inevitability that none of the material he's given moving forward will contain the depth and complexity we've been spoiled with over the past 8 years. We get one of the better scenarios here, with leading role that plays to his strengths as a performer, while giving moviegoers who haven't seen the show a good inkling of why he's a big deal. Hamm can probaly do this in his sleep, but it's a credit to him that he doesn't and finds ways to constantly keep us interested in his character's rather obvious arc.

One actor who actually does give a performance in his sleep is Alan Arkin,who plays a grumpy, aging major league scout constantly dozing off during try-outs. Considering how often he's been sleeping through this grumpy old man role lately it was nice to see him just go ahead and literally make it official. But his presence only belies the fact that this cast is deceptively stacked with talent, as both Sharma and Patel are extremely likable in the face of mostly unfounded criticism about this being another Hollywood story of a white guy coming to the rescue. They mostly prevent that hijacking each time they're on screen. While Lake Bell's Brenda is blatantly being set up as the quirky, free-spirited love interest for Hamm's character, it's hard coming up with another actress who would have been as enjoyable a fit. She makes it something and isn't underutilized, despite the standard girlfriend role being more than a few levels lower than she deserves. Amit Rohan steals some scenes as the kids' interpreter, working as comic relief that's more amusing than irritating, at least when taken in small doses.

Interestingly enough, ESPN's polarizing Bill Simmons is listed as a producer on the project and as much as it looked from its trailer like the kind of movie he would mock on his podcast, it isn't. And he does know sports films, so his involvement, no matter how limited, could have only been a plus from where I sit. Despite sharing a setting, an actor and even a composer (A.R. Rahman) with Slumdog Millionaire, it didn't really remind me of that as much as it did of the story behind the making of it, with poverty-stricken kids being uprooted from their home country and being thrown into the fast-paced lifestyle of America without preparation. It's still mostly mainstream fluff,  but it's good fluff that gets little things right and doesn't insult our intelligence. Disney has this uplifting sports movie formula down pat, but it's a rare case where predictability can be somewhat comforting.

Argo

Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishe, Rory Cochrane, Victor Garber, Kyle Chandler
Running Time: 120 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

The first ten minutes of Argo are so exciting and suspenseful it's almost impossible believe it all actually happened. But it did. Of course, how closely the events depicted on screen match what really unfolded will be subject to debate, as is always the case whenever a film is "based on a true story." As far as political, Oscar friendly topics like this go, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything that fits the mold as well as the one director Ben Affleck covers in his most assured outing behind the camera yet. That George Clooney co-produced this is of little surprise since Affleck feels like this year's Clooney, starting out as a star struggling to be taken seriously as an actor and eventually earning that respect by now only directing and starring in projects he believes in.

Fully deserving every bit of praise it's gotten, his film is bookended by two thrilling sequences, the latter so tense it's almost unbearable to watch, actually drawing applause in the theater when it concluded. And that's despite us knowing how this ends. At first glance it looks like a fine, if completely by the book, point A to point B type of biographical drama/thriller, but upon closer inspection it's clear there's a lot more going on beneath the surface. Intelligent and well-made, it seems like the type of film easier to respect and admire than outright love, but I was surprised just how much I loved it. And given the tricky ground it covers, that certainly wasn't a foregone conclusion.

The film tells the story of a mission that until 1997 was kept classified. When the U.S. Embassy in Iran was stormed by militants in November, 1979 for sheltering the deposed and recently ailing Shah, more than 50 embassy staffers were taken hostage. Six escaped, hiding in the home of the Canadian Ambassador as CIA agent Tony Mendez (Affleck) and his boss Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston) are brought in to come up with a game plan for getting them out. Mendez makes a call to his old friend, Hollywood make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman), who recruits legendary, but washed-up producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) to conceive a fake science fiction fantasy movie called Argo, that will shoot in Iran.

The plan is for Mendez to pose as the fake film's producer, and with phony passports and identities, sneak the six escapees back to the U.S. as members of his production crew. They go so far as to actually write a script, take out real ads in Variety and pretend to scout out locations to pull off a ruse that just might be crazy enough to work, especially given the recent success of a little movie called Star Wars. But due to the potential embarrassment if it fails, the plan could be too crazy and dangerous for the government to get behind, putting Mendez's entire mission at risk. There's also the enormous obstacle of successfully prepping the six escapees and managing to safely get them past airport security. Already limited in options, if Mendez attempts to go through with this, there's a good possibility they all could die. If he doesn't try, they definitely will.

That this never manages to feel like a historical recitation while being so fully entrenched in history during its two-hour running time is quite an accomplishment. Even the actual newsreel footage is incorporated in an exciting way that feels organic enough to the story that it's sometimes indistinguishable from the filmed scenes. There's something to be said for telling a fact based, true life story in a no-nonsense, straightforward manner that's free of emotional fat or needless editorializing.You can thank Affleck for this as the pacing, editing, production design, cinematography, and musical choice are all so spot-on, yet lack the showboating flare that can unnecessarily draw attention to them. Because of that, it's possible more casual moviegoers could be shaking their heads wondering what all the fuss and awards attention is about. This isn't to imply they don't "get it" or come off as a stuffy film snob since that reaction most closely mirrors my own immediately after it ended.

Much reflection isn't necessary to recognize the attributes in every aspect of this project from top to bottom, brimming to the rim with scenes that don't so easily leave your mind. Even more unusual is a director executing so invisibly well and with such an objective eye that it doesn't even seem like anything's being done. Then, before you know it, it's over. That it is very much being done, and milked for such great suspense, at the service of what's essentially a biographical procedural, is even more impressive. It's one of those technically gifted films (a lot like the Clooney-starring Michael Clayton) that comes out looking clean as a whistle after you slide it down the conveyor belt and inspect for flaws.

If there's one thing that does attract attention, it's a production and costume design that's so 1970's it's almost impossible not to stare in disbelief or even maybe laugh out loud. That's not at all a flaw, but rather an exposure to our ignorance of just how silly the fashion and styles were back then. I don't doubt the period detail is completely spot-on and a separate documentary could probably be made about Affleck's shaggy helmet of hair which seems to enter each scene five minutes before he does. Yet this only adds to the authenticity of the proceedings, as it genuinely feels like we're being transported to another time in a way that few historical dramas have successfully pulled off as well. 

This is a really loaded cast, but again, in such a subtle way that you might not realize just how many great roles are afforded to some of the best, most under-valued character actors currently working in TV and film. That Affleck is a fan of them and thought enough to give each a showcase in the right capacity speaks to his intuition and integrity as a craftsman. Perhaps no choice speaks to that more than the casting of Bryan Cranston in a semi-huge role as Mendez's superior, O' Donnell, who appears at first only to dispense and receive information until events change course and his character has to re-adjust on the spot. What he does and how he does it is surprising, and will be even to those with knowledge of how these events unfolded.

There's also Victor Garber as Canadian Ambassador Taylor, Kyle Chandler as Carter's Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan, and also a slew of brief, but entirely functional appearances from Chris Messina, Titus Welliver, Bob Gunton, Clea DuVall and Zeljko Ivanek sprinkled throughout. As one of the six escapees, the long underrated Tate Donovan gets a chance to step up and shine as the defacto leader of the group. If an Oscar category was ever instituted for best ensemble, Argo would have it in the bag as its difficult recalling a cast as meticulously assembled and well utilized as this.

Despite their top billing, it's ironically Alan Arkin and the great John Goodman who leave the tiniest impressions, with the former doing another variation on his "grumpy old man" routine while the latter seems to be the only key supporting player slightly marginalized by Chris Terrio's script. There's also a clever joke involving the fake movie's title that's funny the first time, but less so after five or six, as if they just wanted to make sure we got it. But that's a small nitpick. And for all praise Affleck's received behind the lens, his work in front of it this time out hasn't gotten nearly the attention it's deserved as it could be the most quietly effective performance he's ever given, playing a man torn between following orders and doing what he knows is right. In either case, Mendez is playing chicken with everyone's lives.

I fear Arkin will be nominated for this when a far more deserving performance is given from a mustachioed Scoot McNairy as cynical escapee Joe Stafford, who isn't the slightest bit interested in cooperating with Mendez's risky plan and is more than willing to stand his ground. The character could have easily come across as just a stubborn jerk, or worse, a plot contrivance, but McNairy plays him as being aggravated and petrified for he and his wife Kathy's (Kerry Bishe) safety. He brings up legitimate holes in the plan and an argument can even be made that every objection he has is completely correct. Unfortunately, the only other alternative is staying there and waiting for certain death. He has a scene in the last act that simply defies description, so ratcheted with tension it causes you to hold your breath until it's over. It's clearly the moment when political implications of the entire situation collide head-on with the universal effect movies can have as a means of communication between cultures.

In a cast like this it's difficult to stand out, but McNairy does, much like the film, by not standing out and just doing his job expertly. So much so that if I I have a complaint it's that the time spent with Mendez cutting through bureaucractic red tape may have been better spent with the escapees, but considering these office scenes often play like a cross between All The President's Men and Zodiac, that's a very small quibble. Criticisms by some that Canada's role in the mission is downplayed seem silly when at one point it's made perfectly clear through actual footage the extent of their involvement was and how they were eventually credited. Given that this entire situation was essentially a huge cover-up anyway, it keeps in the spirit of true events that the movie wouldn't put heavy focus on Canada's cooperation. Not to mention it's just par the course for adjustments to be made so that true events can be streamlined into a cohesive two-hour narrative.

It's almost too obvious to compare Affleck's creative transformation to Clooney's, so it might be more accurate to point out that he's simply completed his transformation into Ben Affleck, fulfilling (if not exceeding) his full potential as a director and actor. After this, the sky really seems to be the limit in terms of what he can do, having gone even a step further than Clooney in not only taking inspiration from the paranoid thrillers of the 70's, but actually setting one in that time period based on actual events. To call this his Syriana or Good Night, and Good Luck. wouldn't be far off, except it's better realized, taking what could have come off as a dry history lecture in lesser hands and molding and shaping it into suspenseful, first-class entertainment. It's become a running joke that the last two or three months of the year are reserved for smart, sophisticated dramas aimed at adults. If only that were a joke. After watching something like this I wonder how some critics aren't tempted to just take the first ten months of moviegoing off and show up now. Luckily though, Argo was more than worth the wait. 

The Oscars: Was It me or...

Was it me or....

After seeing the pre-show did you think that Richard Roeper should probably just stick to film criticism?

Should a telestrater only ever be used in a football game, and most definitely not to describe what someone's wearing?

Were you ready to shoot yourself if one more interviewer asked: "Who are you wearing?"

Were you happy that for over three hours you (hopefully) wouldn't get to hear anything about Anna Nicole Smith?

Wasn't that Eroll Morris skit to open the show painfully boring?

And unfunny?

And overlong?

Weren't you relieved they changed up the format this year so all the crappy awards would be given out first?

Was that relief extinguished when you realized you'd have to sit through all of them in one shot and it actually worsened the pacing of the show?

Was that Jack Black/Will Ferrell skit a contender for the funniest in Oscar show history?

Weren't their singing voices surprisingly good?

Wasn't it funny when Jack Black said he was going to elbow Leo DiCaprio in the larnyx?

Do you have as tough a time as I do believing anyone could find Helen Mirren "hot?"

Was I regretting not going with my gut instinct and changing my pick to Alan Arkin for Best Supporting Actor?

Weren't you happy Eddie Murphy didn't win?

Did you kind of wish he had after hearing Alan Arkin's "speech?"

Did you catch Abigail Breslin yawning during it?

Were you wondering, just on the basis of that thirty second clip, if maybe Djimon Hounsou should have won for Blood Diamond?

Weren't they stupid having no place for the winners to put their Oscars while they gave their speech?

Shouldn't they at least have had someone hold it for them?

Wasn't Meryl Streep great when she played along with that joke?

Didn't you feel bad for Jaden Smith screwing up his lines?

Then feel good when he recovered pretty well?

Was "losing" the Presidential election the best thing to ever happen in Al Gore's life?

Should President Bush make a movie, then he'll become popular? (okay, maybe not)

How could you possibly blame Gore for not wanting to run again when things are going this well for him?

Doesn't he have excellent comic timing for a guy who was called "boring" just a couple of years ago?

Isn't it amazing Melissa Etheridge could sensibly work the phrase "An Inconvenient Truth" into a song?

Doesn't she deserve an Oscar just for that?

Isn't it amazing Dreamgirls (A musical! With 3 nominations!) couldn't win Best Original Song?

Does that confirm just how popular Al Gore is right now?

Wasn't Jennifer Hudson's speech really classy?

Didn't you expect her to thank Simon Cowell?

Can that girl sing or what?

Aren't you curious to see what happens (or doesn't happen) with her career now?

Was everyone (myself included) cursing and ripping up their prediction ballots when Pan's Labyrinth lost Best Foreign Film?

Is it pretty sad when the only award I got right was the Honorary Oscar?

Isn't it pretty cool though that there were that many surprises?

Didn't Ellen Degeneres seem really comfortable and relaxed even when some of her jokes missed?

Wasn't it funny when Scorsese told Ellen her screenplay even has the word "Screenplay" on it?

Doesn't she deserve to come back as host?

Isn't Tom Cruise a really articulate presenter who seemed like he was genuinely happy for Sherry Lansing and was honored to be there?

Doesn't that make some of his other off-screen behavior that much more dissapointing?

Didn't Kirsten Dunst look terrible?

And really, really pale?

Didn't Reese Witherspoon look incredible?

Is Ryan Phillipe a complete idiot?

Weren't you, like me, glad DiCaprio was nominated for Blood Diamond instead of The Departed because it meant you got to see a Jennifer Connelly clip?

Were you thinking the way things were going that Ryan Gosling would have the title "Oscar winner" in front of his name before the end of the night?

Weren't you happy for Forest Whitaker?

Doesn't it make you want to go back and give his feature directorial debut, First Daughter starring Katie Holmes a second look? (no, me neither)
Were you thinking "who doesn't belong" for reasons other than what they intended when George Lucas was standing there with Spielberg and Coppola?

Wasn't it moronic on so many different levels for Lucas to question why he doesn't have an Oscar?

Didn't those presenters confirm who was going to win?

Didn't that make the Scorsese victory that much more special?

Doesn't he seem like a really great guy?

Is Jack Nicholson's "new look" not quite working?

Did you almost fall out of your seat from shock when The Departed won Best Picture?

Do I look like a fountain of Oscar prediction wisdom for typing this comment in my last blog: "It would be interesting to see The Departed pull an upset but I can't see it happening"

Aren't you glad this whole Oscar thing is finally over with?