The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)

3/5

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a fairly benign family film. The plot follows Cindy (Garner) and Tim Green (Edgerton), a young infertile couple. The movie starts after another unsuccessful attempt at pregnancy. Distraught, they drive home barely talking to each other. To cheer themselves up, they allow themselves to dream up the perfect child. They write down the six characteristics they would see in their child, put the papers in a box, and bury the box in the yard. Magically, a ten-year-old boy named Timothy (Adams) sprouts out of the ground and into their lives.

All the technical aspects of the film, from acting to shooting to editing, are satisfactory enough not to stand out. The movie is honestly quite silly. But the plot is merely a device to allow the characters to learn about life, love, and parenting. Despite that, there are so many extraneous scenes to explain the plot instead of digging in to meatier thematics. It actually held a lot of potential with its simple metaphor, but the director chose to go for trite tropes rather than intellectually-stimulating concepts. Still, it's a saccharine story with attractive actors and colorful cinematography and is perfectly fine for afternoon filmgoing. It just isn't as good as it could be.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462769/

Life of Pi (2012)

4.9/5

The film adaptation of Yann Martel's Life of Pi is one of Ang Lee's best films, and probably my personal favorite. The film hews closely to the book, giving us a story wrapped within a story. We are introduced to Pi (Khan) as he prepares a meal for his guest, a young writer (Spall) who has come to hear about Pi's miraculous tale. After a younger Pi (Sharma) gets shipwrecked while traveling to America, he somehow survives on a lifeboat alone with a tiger named Richard Parker. The writer has been told that the story will make you believe in God, although he has his doubts. But the more Pi recounts, the more we are drawn into his most unbelievable and incredible story.

I found the first 30 minutes of exposition intriguing but not quite fascinating enough given its lack of plot. After the freighter sinks, however, we are completely immersed in the story. And we let the movie take over. The special effects are without equal. I honestly had no idea how any of the scenes were filmed, what was CGI and what was real. Except for two shots with noticeable letterboxing (once vertically and once horizontally), every frame was a beautiful image to enjoy. And the 3D was used to perfection. There is one scene, one brief moment, that brings to mind the joy and exhilaration at the heart of movies, ever since the first film by the Lumière brothers. Everyone in the audience jumped out of their seats.

Irfan Khan is an exquisite actor; his performance is undeniably tender and moving. The rest of the cast, however, was not as impressive. But Khan is the heart of the story, and his telling is what's most important. Since seeing this movie, I have spent many nights pondering its meaning. It encourages and invites discussion. It sticks with you. It provides an open canvas on which you can put your own feelings and beliefs. And it is the best movie of the year so far.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454876/

Lincoln (2012)

4/5

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln is a tremendous film. Although the biopic only details the last year or so of Lincoln's life and presidency, it focuses on his most important contribution to the United States: the passage of the amendment that prohibits slavery. There is little of the Civil War, and there is lots of oration and debate. Luckily for me, I prefer thoughtful parables and eloquent monologues to simple-minding fighting, and that is exactly what this movie provides. Oh, and it brings with it plenty of sly witticisms and clever jokes.

Daniel Day-Lewis plays the titular character, although Day-Lewis completely disappears within Lincoln. Watching the 2.5 hour movie, I never once felt I was seeing Day-Lewis on screen. I only saw Lincoln. That is perhaps the greatest commendation I can give to an actor. Sally Field is immensely believable as Lincoln's wife; her presence allows us an unexpected and sharply penetrating look into Lincoln's personal life, including its love, its turmoil, and its troubles. Tommy Lee Jones gives an equally remarkable performance as Thaddeus Stevens, one of the biggest proponents for the end of slavery and the equality of every man and woman.

The movie is, unfortunately, relatively light on story. The dialogue could also feel preachy from time to time. There are actually quite a few loose ends and irrelevant side plots that crop up. Quite frankly, I don't understand the purpose of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, or why such a well-known actor was chosen to portray him. And James Spader and his men seem to stick around well past their utility and relevance. Overall, though, the movie is equal parts iconic and inspirational. It's a historical drama with the right amount of modern sensibilities peppered throughout its joyously old-timey vernacular.

IMDb link:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/

Headhunters (2011)

4/5

Headhunters is a film based on the book of the same name by Jo Nesbø. To review the movie, I must first describe the book. The book is full of twists and turns. It is written in such a way that surprises and delights with every chapter. Even the premise of the book is only revealed after the first chapter (an interview with a potential applicant). And once you discover the premise while reading the second chapter, you want to go back and re-evaluate that first chapter for its double meanings and hidden subtext. The premise of the movie is not only revealed in the description for the film, it is used as an action-y setting for the opening credits. So now, even before we get to that interview in the first scene, we know what is up and the scene loses its cleverness and mystery. This is to say nothing of the biggest curve ball of the book--the big reveal at the end--which is announced much earlier on in the book and merits no less than a pause for the movie-going audience.

All things considered, the movie is a relatively faithful adaptation, in that specific events happen in the same way and order that they did in the book. But it loses the charm and brilliance of the writing. Still, the film is enjoyable and engaging and one that I highly recommend. More than anything, however, I recommend reading the book. The twists are absolutely to die for; you can't put it down until the jaw-dropping finale. Writing this review for the movie just makes me want to read the book again--that's how good it is.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1614989/