Movie Reviews -- My Weekend

A couple short (and kinda stream-of-consciousness) reviews of the movies I saw on Saturday:

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford -- ****

A sweeping, slow-moving Western epic that, if it's not a masterpiece, is damn close to it. It was written and directed by Andrew Dominick (based on a novel by the same name), whose only other effort was the shocking Australian film Chopper. The cinematography (the real star of the film) was done by the legendary Roger Deakins (did I just reveal a new level of geekiness)?

Dominick channels Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven, The New World) with prolonged shots that serve no purpose, other than to look good. That's a compliment, not a criticism.

Brad Pitt plays legendary outlaw Jesse James and Casey Affleck plays his killer, Robert Ford (I'm not giving away anything, it's in the plot). Neither of these two have ever been better and I'm fairly certain that both, especially Affleck, will be getting some Oscar attention for this film.

I'm being inarticulate here, and I'm sorry. Needless to say, I loved this movie. It's quite possibly the best film of the year so far. Between this movie and 3:10 to Yuma, I think it's pretty safe to say that the Western is still a viable film genre, even if I can't get my wife to enjoy them.


Gone Baby Gone -- ***1/2

Written and directed by Ben Affleck (yes, that Ben Affleck), Gone Baby Gone is part thriller, part mystery, part odd melodrama. Ben's younger brother, Casey Affleck (in the second best movie I saw him in that day) , plays a private investigator hired by the family of a kidnapped child to help with the police investigation. Despite some moments of odd pacing, this is a very good film. I think it's safe to say that Ben Affleck doesn't suck any more.

The strongest part of the movie is its dialogue, as Affleck, along with a strong supporting cast that includes Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman, get ample opportunity to chew the scenery and prove just how badass they are. I'm being serious -- there are at least two separate monologues that serve mainly to show just how tough Casey Affleck's character is. But, they're both so well written that they don't detract from the film at all.

As a side note, I must admit, and some may consider this sacrilege, I think Freeman was miscast in his part. Maybe it's just me, but, after playing so many gravitas-rich roles, I don't Freeman will ever be able to convincingly play a weak character.

The biggest flaw in the movie is its tendency to show long shots of the ugly faces and neighborhoods in south Boston. I think Affleck (the director...not the actor) really wanted to make the movie some sort of homage to his hometown. But, this tended to be more of a distraction than anything else, messing up the flow of the movie. This is a minor criticism, however, and, in the end, I was left hoping that Ben Affleck gets a chance to direct another movie.