Tuesday

Ranking the Films of Danny Boyle: Part 2

4. Millions (2004)

                                                     Photos: Wikipedia


Boyle once again demonstrates his versatility as a director by taking on a family film which hinges on the performance of a child protagonist. While the underrated Millions does cater to younger audiences with some cutesy-poo magical stuff, it's certainly accessible to anyone as its blunt commentary on capitalism is universally relevant. Boyle also adds his usual humanistic touches by celebrating morality and acts of kindness. From my perspective, this one is a more heartwarming crowd-pleaser than Slumdog, and probably Boyle's most emotionally affecting film to date.

Saturday

Ranking the Films of Danny Boyle: Part 1

                                                           Photos: Wikipedia


British filmmaker Danny Boyle made his debut in 1994 with the dark comedy-thriller Shallow Grave, and since then, he's made his mark as one of the most interesting directors in the business. Normally choosing to work outside the Hollywood system, his daring persona is reflected through his ability to genre-hop and take great risks as a filmmaker. This uniqueness as well as his signature blend of hyperactive camerawork and a prevailing theme of hope in his films give him an edge that most filmmakers do not possess. The 2008 surprise hit Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars and earned Boyle the coveted Best Director trophy. His new film 127 Hours offers no signs of post-Oscar gloating as he continues to push himself and take great risks as a filmmaker, all while sticking true to the things that make his films so one-of-a-kind.
Here's how I would rank the films of Danny Boyle...


Thursday

In Retrospect: 'Jackie Brown'

                                          Photo: Miramax

"It's Jackie Brown", mutters Ordell Robbie as he quietly ponders who could have sabotaged his money exchange. In this pivotal and nearly poetic moment, Samuel L. Jackson's character sits in a van, closes his eyes and goes into deep, silent thought as the camera slowly zooms in towards him. He's contemplative, but most importantly, he's finally vulnerable. It's a reaction that's not expected from this character, because all the while before this he's so cool, collected and sure of himself. This scene, like many other scenes in the film, speaks volumes about the enigmatic Jackie Brown, the film's main protagonist. She seems to have the world at her heels.

When I first saw Jackie Brown years ago, I was a young, maniacal Tarantino fanboy, having recently watched Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction---the latter of which I immediately proclaimed to be my favorite film of all time (I still put it in my top three). Needless to say, my expectations for Jackie Brown were very, very high; but like many others, I was somewhat dissapointed, and really felt that the film lacked something that should of been there. I suppose that my initial reactions were that the film was a little too conventional to be a true Tarantino film, and I recall being a little annoyed with the film's slow pacing and long runtime. I had also grown accustomed to Tarantino's blatant disregard for linearity, and was a little offended by the fact that the story unfolded chronologically for most of the way.

Jackie Brown quickly slipped from my memory bank and I really didn't give it much thought until about a year ago, after the release of Inglorious Basterds. I was trying to decide where that one fit in on my list of favorite Tarantino films, and it occurred to me that I should also revisit Jackie Brown as my recollection of it was a bit fuzzy. Over the last year or so, I've probably watched the film three times, and my take on it now is much different than it was back then.

Sunday

Framing '127 Hours' And 'The Social Network'

                                                           Photo: Columbia Pictures


127 Hours star James Franco and The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg were recently featured on THR's Awards Watch Actor's Roundtable. Franco recently portrayed real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, while Jesse Eisenberg portrayed Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher's The Social Network. Both films have garnered quite a bit of oscar buzz and both Franco and Eisenberg are likely to recieve best actor nods at next year's Academy Awards for their respective portrayals.

At one point in the hour-long discussion, both actors were asked to share their approach on taking on a real-life character. Director Danny Boyle was very much involved with Aron Ralston throughout the entire process of making 127 Hours, as he wanted to make sure to depict Aron's situation accurately and faithfully. As James Franco stated in the roundtable discussion, he did spend some time with Ralston, but mainly entrusted Danny Boyle to steer him in the right direction with the performance.

Also, an interesting point that James made is that no one really knows what Aron Ralston acts like in real life; the general public isn't familiar with the way he speaks or his mannerisms, so this allowed James the freedom to make the character his own in some ways, but while also honoring the fundamentals of Ralston's story.

On the other hand, it is pretty well known at this point that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg hasn't put his seal of approval on Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of him in Fincher's The Social Network, or the film itself for that matter. In fact, Zuckerberg has gone on record to say that many aspects of Fincher's film are misleading or just totally fabricated. This surely isn't Eisenberg's fault, as he stated in the roundtable discussion that he really wanted to meet and get to know Zuckerberg before filming the movie, but the producers wanted no part of this.

Needless to say, Eisenberg's depiction of Zuckerberg shouldn't evoke many positive feelings about the guy. Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter, basically reduces him to being a socially inept, greedy, selfish asshole. Sure, Sorkin uses Zuckerberg to personify capitalism and corporate america, and I guess he's making the point that Zuckerberg functions more as a computer with all his mechanicalness and social malaise. However, this narrow perspective offers little to no sympathy or redeeming characterization for the guy.

Speaking of Aaron Sorkin's screenplay, it is actually pretty brilliant in many ways. Fincher is obviously a great filmmaker, but in this case I give the most credit to Sorkin, who really made it easy for Fincher. The story is pretty enthralling from the first shot to the closing credits, no matter how skewed it is. The pacing is wonderful, and the dialogue is so sharp that it brings to mind the rythmic, cynical "Mamet Speak" of David Mamet's brilliantly written Glengarry Glen Ross. By the way, that film also has some major capitalist/corporate america subtext.

That said, I do have some small gripes with Sorkin's screenplay, which basically reflect a general problem that I have with the film itself---that being a feeling that the film doesn't know if it wants to glorify or condemn Zuckerberg's behavior. It's a fairly one-dimensional portrayal, and I for one was not very emotionally invested in the character. However, I can't help but feel that Fincher and Sorkin might want us to side with the hipster-cool wit of Mark Zuckerberg as opposed to the douchebag-demeanored Harvard twins whom Zuckerberg maliciously screwed over. We most certainly feel for Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) but I really can't get behind anyone else.

More on The Social Network and 127 Hours after the jump.