Zero Dark Thirty

So, Zero Dark Thirty is the movie about the search for Osama bin Laden. Kathryn Bigelow had already been working on a film, they were ready to begin filming, when the news broke that Osama bin Laden had been found and killed, so she and screenwriter Mark Boal changed their focus and basically started over. It covers the 10 years from the attacks on September 11, 2001 to the raid that killed bin Laden.

I felt as though the first hour and a half went a bit slow. It's very procedural. While the work that goes on behind the scenes of something like this operation is very interesting, it just seemed to be presented without any sort of personality. It has a sort of journalistic detachment, where the filmmakers set out to simply present this story without interjecting themselves. And, that's fine, to a point – they're not trying to drum up drama unnecessarily, they're not trying to force a particular point-of-view or opinion on events. It's just that, for this first hour and a half, they don't make a lot of progress in their search. So it's 90 minutes of watching men get tortured and asked questions with no real answers and nothing really to break it up. For me, it made those 90 minutes drag.

The last hour, though, picks up and is really quite excellent. It's in this portion where they finally start to close in on bin Laden and then, finally, make the decision to do the raid and get him. Here the film was interesting as well as entertaining. And the raid section was absolutely outstanding filmmaking. It's tense and fascinating. That last half hour makes the film.

When it comes to the depiction of torture, I think this is where the detached, journalistic route they take works in its favor. I didn't feel as though they took a stance on torture, rather just acknowledged that it happened in the interest of being honest. What are they supposed to do? Pretend it didn't happen? Have a character grandstand and moralize and lecture about how torture is wrong? The film would become suspect then. You'd be aware that it's trying to make a point, not just tell a story in an honest manner. Likewise, when Barack Obama says he'll stop the use of torture, the characters acknowledge it'll change how they do things, but they don't lament it as the only way, or best way, for them to work or get info. I'll say this – in the film, they do not get any real or useful information from any one while torturing them. Just seemed to be something I noticed. I think, ultimately, whether it condones torture or not, or overplays its importance, is something that will depend on the person viewing it because I think they chose to not really take a stance.

The detached nature also works because the film never devolves into sentimental ploys. It doesn't prey on emotions. There's no patriotic chest-thumping. It never goes cheap. And I like that. There's no agenda but to tell the story. Though, of course, this is a dramatization, not the actual true story, so the detachment lends the story an air of creditability it, maybe, shouldn't have. And it also leads to the problems I mentioned above. So it has positives and negatives.

It's a very well-made film, though there are some issues with the way the story is presented. It's very interesting, but not necessarily always gripping or entertaining. It's definitely worth seeing, it's that type of film. The last 30 minutes are so well-done that it makes the film worth it.

3 1/2 out of 5

Jack Reacher

Gonna keep this quick and short. I was pleasantly surprised by Jack Reacher. The trailers and commercials made it look as though it were just some action movie – all car chase and butt-kicking. It was nice to see that there was actually more to it than that. It's not great cinema by any means, but it's a solid, entertaining flick.

A sniper sets up and shoots five people. The cops pull a fingerprint off a quarter in the parking meter where the gunman parked and arrest the suspect. While being interrogated, he tells the police to get Jack Reacher. No one can find Jack Reacher, he's gone way off the grid. But he sees a report on the news that they're looking for him in connection with this shooter, so he goes to them. Jack had investigated the alleged shooter in the Army for going on a shooting spree, which he got off for because the men he shot happened to be under investigation for major crimes. Jack doesn't want this guy to go free again. However, he becomes suspicious of the events when he sees how neat the evidence is and this man, having been trained for this, would know better and not leave that evidence. So he starts to dig deeper.

I've read that, in the books, the Jack Reacher character is supposed to be something like 6'6'' and 250 pounds, or something along those lines. Basically to be this intimidating figure, I guess. As we all know, Tom Cruise, who plays the character in the movie, does not fit that description. But, you know, I had no problem believing Tom Cruise in this role. So he doesn't tower over everyone. Big deal. He's somewhat unassuming rather than intimidating. For me, that works. Tom Cruise looks as though he can take care of himself, so this isn't a stretch to believe.

It's not a revolutionary story or anything – it's basically a pulp, genre story. But it's capably told. The action scenes are exciting – I dug the car chase. There's a good mix of drama and humor. There's not much to say or get into about it. It's a pretty good piece of entertainment.

3 out of 5

Les Miserables

To be honest, I feel conflicted about Les Miserables. Not that I have a vested interest in the musical, or even Victor Hugo's novel. I don't – I've not read the novel nor seen the musical or even heard most of the music. It's just that, as personal preference, this sort of story is not a type of which I'm particularly fond. And there were issues with the style which bothered me to the point of distraction.

As for the story, my problem is that it starts as one story then becomes a different one. At the beginning it's about Jean Valjean and Javert. Jean Valjean, released on parole, decides to start a new life, under a new identity, and skip out on his parole. Even though he becomes a respected, well-to-do, man, he must always be alert because he can still be found out and sent back to prison. Everywhere he goes, eventually Javert shows up and recognizes Jean Valjean, forcing him to run again. I really liked this portion of the movie.

But, then, the story becomes about Cosette, the young girl who Jean Valjean feels responsible for after discovering he had not come to the defense of her mother, Fantine, when she worked for him and then turned to selling herself – hair, teeth, and body – and finally dying. Not only does it become about her, it becomes about her and Marius, a young student involved in the uprising against the French government. Their romance and the building revolt dominate the latter half of the story. As it's own entity, I liked this portion also.

Jean Valjean and Javert are still there, but they're more or less reduced to secondary characters. So what's the story? Who are the main characters? What is the main conflict? I have no problem when a story eschews these conventions and doesn't really contain them at all, but when a story changes mid-course it feels sloppy and unfocused to me. I could deal with two storylines being told in unison, alongside each other, but this feels more like one usurping the other. Or as though the Jean Valjean/Javert story is really just the setup for the Cosette/Marius story. But it feels like an awfully long way to go for a set up. Of course, this is an issue between my tastes and the source material. How can I really hold that against the film when it's a part of not just a classic musical but also a classic piece of literature on which it's based? If these two stories were distinctly separate from each other, with one ending before the other begins, I'd not have a problem. But telling them as one bothers me.

For its part, I think the film tells this story (these stories?) well. It's very effective. Each time Javert shows up again in Jean Valjean's life you feel for him – he's become a good man, in the grand scheme of things he's more than made up for any sins he's committed, but it makes no difference in the eyes of the law. And while the Cosette/Marius romance is of the 'love at first sight/I don't know you but I love you/star-crossed lovers' type, it's not bad. It adds stakes to the revolt section (whether you – or rather, I – think it's necessary). Jean Valjean's turn to accepting Cosette's and Marius' love doesn't really add anything to me, it doesn't add anything to his character as we already see him as an honorable and caring man, which I think adds to my distaste for the change in direction of the story. It seems a way to force him into the revolt story.

In the end, I feel like Javert is the most interesting character. The others are, more or less, static, they don't really grow or change. But Javert, he spends his whole life chasing Jean Valjean, and when he finally has the chance to get Valjean, he saves Javert's life – Javert becomes struck by the conflict, then, that what is lawful (to arrest and bring in Valjean) is immoral (because Valjean could've just left Javert to die and been free once and for all, but didn't), but to act morally is to be unlawful and go against everything he stands for, so he commits suicide by jumping off a bridge.

As for the issues with the style, I felt as though an inordinate amount of the film was told in close-up, and often somewhat awkwardly framed with too much head room and with the faces too close to the edge of the frame. This would seem, to me, to be a result of them recording the actors singing the song live, on set, as opposed to pre-recorded in a studio with actors lip-synching to playback. That approach would seem to not really allow the flexibility of multiple takes, without the use of a multi-camera set up, because each take the actor might have a different tempo, different rhythm, different take on the meldoy, etc. With close-ups, when the actors are moving around, the frame will need the extra headroom and lead room in anticipation of them moving. But it doesn't really work well when you're not intercutting between wide or medium shots and just using the properly framed portions of the take. Plus, it seems the actors are looking straight into the camera a lot, which increases the awkwardness.

Also, we often end up not seeing the actors interacting with the other actors. You have, really, an excellent cast, but we don't get to see them working together as much as we, maybe, should. It's almost as though most of the movie was shot one actor at a time – that's the feeling I got. But when the frame opens up, such as with the “Master of the House” sequence, it's really fantastic. When we get to see two or more actors together on screen, it's good. It's just that nearly the whole movie is singing and nearly all the songs are shot in that close-up style. For me it got distracting when I realized most of it was just faces singing at me. That's a shame because it undermines the portions that were shot with fantastic style.

So, as you can see, I just don't know how quite to feel about this. I can't deny the story is big and grand and has power and weight to it. I can't deny that parts were shot really well. The music is excellent, though I thought perhaps the conversational nature the actors took with it occasionally didn't always serve it well (as though at times they weren't sure whether to say a line or sing it and kind of change their mind halfway through delivering it). Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, and especially Anne Hathaway as Fantine give fantastic performances – if there were no other reasons, they make the film worth seeing. I enjoyed the film, I truly did. I think it's a good film, all in all. There were just issues that I had that, at least upon this initial viewing, drove me to distraction. I suppose the best way I could put it is that I would definitely be willing to watch the film again and give it another chance because none of those issues were of the variety that make me not like it.

3 out of 5