Crazy Heart

" Where did all those songs come from ?"

"Life unfortunately."

- Bad Blake

That is a great line from the terrific new film called Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges as a down and out country singer named Bad Blake. The film is directed by first time writer & director Scott Cooper. The story centers around Bridges character whose career is all but over - he finds himself playing at a bowling alley in the beginning of the film. When he gets a gig in Santa Fe he agrees to do an interview with a small town reporter named Jean Craddock played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The two develop an unlikely relationship but Bad Blake is a man with a lot of baggage and all the ailments of a musician who has lived a hard life on the road. Too much drinking, smoking and a general disregard for his overall health.

Bad Blake has an opportunity to open a show for Tommy Sweet who strangely enough is played by Colin Farrell. The casting is odd for sure - you don't think of a wild Irishmen to play a contemporary country star. Somehow though it works and he actually sings quite well. Jeff Bridges also did his own singing to a convincing degree - he is also a musician in real life. The relationship between the two is not developed enough but it's clear Blake taught him and mentored him. Sweet went on to become the big star while Bad Blake ended up driving his own truck 300 miles a night to play for the door at the local shithole.

The union grows between Jean and Bad until an incident causes him to re-evaulate his life. He calls upon his friend Wayne played by Robert Duvall to tell him he wants to get sober. Duvall's character doesn't emerge until halfway through the film - when he entered the scene there was a buzz in the packed theater that I saw this movie in. You could hear people say " Ooh Robert Duvall is in this too ! "

The story in this film is not one you haven't seen or heard before but it's told in a thoughtful and realistic manner. The writer/director clearly is either a musician or consulted with one because there is jargon in the film that only a real player would know. The strength of this picture is in the performances of the actors. Jeff Bridges is spectacular in this role. He is criminally underrated and when he received the Golden Globe recently for this performance he was given a standing ovation. He steals the show here and I predict that long overdue Oscar will finally be his. This is his greatest role ever and I think most would agree he just makes it look easy.

The music was produced by T-Bone Burnett (O Brother Where Art Thou) and the songs were written by him, Ryan Bingham and the late Stephen Bruton. The music to my ears is more Americana than traditional country. The songs are excellent and they serve the film well.

Crazy Heart is a great movie and Jeff Bridges inhabits the role of Bad Blake so well you feel as though you are witnessing the life of a man we all know throughout the history of recorded music. Strongly recommended.

DVD Picks For The Week

* Editors Note - I wanted to let readers know that for some reason Big Fan is unavailable at Blockbuster. Not sure why but as as of today it's not in stock. Netflix has it and Itunes as well for those who download.

My two dvd picks for the week are Big Fan & The Hurt Locker. They both flew under the radar commercially but were very well reviewed. One of my goals in writing this blog is to hip people to some movies that they might not have heard about.

Big Fan features Patton Oswalt as a die-hard sports fanatic who spends his time coming up with material so he can call his favorite sports talk radio program. He is in his 30's and lives at home with his mother and is a die-hard Giants fan. After an altercation in a nightclub with a star receiver from the Giant's- Oswalt's character is hospitalized. Because he is such a fan he is unwilling to recall any details of the incident for fear of jeopardizing the team with a suspension of the player in question. This film was directed by Robert D. Siegel who was the screenwriter of The Wrestler.

The Hurt Locker has won some pretty big awards this season such as the Los Angeles Film critic award for Best Picture & Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow. The film has also been nominated for three Golden Globes - Best Director, Film and Screenplay.

The Hurt Locker is about a group of bomb technicians deployed in Iraq who are responsible for detonating I.E.D.'s. The film focus's on the impossible job these men have to do on a daily basis and the toll that it takes. There are no major stars in the film but it does feature a fine ensemble cast.

Both films are to be released on Tue Jan 12th.

Invictus

The majority of movies that I see are on dvd. The reality is that movie tickets are very expensive and in my opinion the quality of most films today is on the low side. Coupled with the fact that some people feel the need to go to the movies to talk sends me over the edge - but that's a rant for another time.

When Clint Eastwood directs or stars in a movie I can't wait for a dvd release. It's rare that an effort from Clint leaves me disappointed. Since Unforgiven in 1992, the quality of Mr Eastwood's films has been remarkable. The last seven years in terms of consistency is unrivaled by any director of any era. Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags Of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima, Changeling, Gran Torino and now Invictus. That is one film per year - nobody has even come close to that in the history of cinema.

Invictus is one of those stories that is so compelling it makes you wonder why it has taken this long to reach the silver screen. The film illustrates Nelson Mandela's effort to have the South African rugby team called the Springboks win the World Cup. The country was deeply divided and Mandela saw an opportunity in which he could bring people together. The Springboks were a symbol of Apartheid to the black population of South Africa and to the white population a source of pride. Nelson Mandela realized he needed to defy what the majority of those who voted for him wanted - to change the colors and emblem of the Sprinboks jerseys. The newly elected President felt he needed to embrace the very same people who imprisoned him for 27 years. The reasoning behind this was that he needed their economic support as well as military and police support in order to rebuild the country and unify it's people.

Morgan Freeman is excellent in his portrayal as Nelson Mandela. He brings the grace, charm and serenity to the screen that I believe only he alone is capable of. Matt Damon plays the captain of the Sprinboks named Francois Pienaar. Damon is well suited for the role and I found his accent to be quite realistic. The film is shot beautifully by Tom Stern and of course wonderfully directed by Clint. He has the ability to let the story unfold at it's own pace. He acknowledges that serious movie goers want a story told simply and without fanfare. There isn't a need for frenetic editing and gratuitous sex and violence when you have a structurally sound script and great actors. Musicians strive their whole life to learn what not to play. I believe that Clint's love of music and his own musical abilities have informed his directing prowess. In the hands of a master there is no wasted motion or unnecessary effort.

My only issue with this magnificent film is that I knew nothing about rugby. I certainly could comprehend what was going on in the story but I think even a cursory understanding would raise the level of excitement. The rugby sequences are great to watch and the brutality is well captured on the screen.

I believe Invictus will be regarded as one of Clint's best directorial efforts. He manages to tell the story without preaching or over dramatizing. It's as if he puts himself in the theater while he directs and lets the film play in his own head. Invictus is also a terrific sports movie. It captures what we all are trying achieve in our own lives - how to perform above even our own expectations

DVD pick of the week

My dvd pick for this week is a documentary called Facing Ali. It features some of the fighters who fought Ali and they recount their experiences in and out of the ring. The likes of George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes and Leon Spinks are featured. Hopefully you can find this one because according to Blockbuster online there is a long wait for it.

It Might Get Loud

My dvd review for the week is a documentary called It Might Get Loud. It is directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth ) and it features guitarists Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White of The White Stripes. The film is a round table discussion of sorts and it chronicles the history of each guitarist and traces their musical roots as well as some personal history. With the exception of Page -the musicians chosen is debatable. If you asked fans of rock-n-roll guitar who they would like to see featured you would probably get 100 different answers. I will discuss the film itself and leave the guitarist roster open for debate.

It Might Get Loud is really a love letter to the guitar. The strength of this film is showing just how different an instrument can sound depending on the person playing it. Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White have very different backgrounds and each grew up in a different era - thus their influences differ as well as how they were drawn to music.

The film takes us back to where it all began for these guitarists. We see Jimmy Page return to Headley Grange where Led Zeppelin recorded and wrote some of their music. The Edge returns to his boyhood school where U2 was formed. Jack White talks about his being raised in a rough area of Detroit and details his growing up as one of ten children.

There is plenty for guitar enthusiasts to enjoy. Jimmy Page plays Whole Lotta Love and The Edge and Jack White have the look that says " Can you believe we are witnessing this ?" The Edge shows how he creates some of his signature sounds and even plays some early home demos that sound surprisingly good . Jack White also explains his concept for having a Green Bullet microphone installed in his guitar. Each player developed different techniques in order to create the sound in their head.

The three share some stories and do some playing together as well. The Edge shows the other two how to play "I Will Follow" and at one point Jimmy Page says "Are you sure that's how it goes ?" There is a cool jam of the Zep classic "In My Time Of Dying" as well as a version of The Band staple "The Weight".

All in all - It Might Get Loud is a must see for fans of any of these musicians. I believe guitarists in general will also love this documentary. Casual fans of rock -n- roll may be lost with some of the more technical aspects of the instrument but should check it out for the great clips of the artists, as well as their interesting life story and love of the electric guitar.

Holiday Films

In the spirit of the season I thought I would list my favorite holiday movies. Most of these tend to lean toward comedy but overall they use Christmas as backdrop to provide us with a situation in which we are all familiar. I suspect most of you have viewed these films many times but for me they have become a holiday tradition.

Top Five Holiday Movies

1. It's A Wonderful Life - it doesn't get any more classic than this. Frank Capra's 1947 masterpiece shows all of us what the true meaning of Christmas is - as well as life itself. I watch this every year with my wife and can't imagine Christmas without it.

2. A Christmas Story - what other movie can withstand 24 hours of constant rotation? The 1950's in America seemed to be such an idyllic time and director Bob Clark really captures the look and overall feeling of that era. Sadly - Clark and his son were killed in a head on collision by a drunk driver in 2007.

3. Love Actually - director Richard Curtis takes on the stories of several different characters and manages to not short change any of them. While the film mostly deals with relationships it also has a lot of heart and many funny moments.

4. The Ref - the late Ted Demme directed this black comedy. Denis Leary plays a burglar who is trying to evade authorities on Christmas Eve. Leary's plan takes a wrong turn as he takes a bickering couple (played beautifully by Kevin Spacey & Judy Davis) hostage and they proceed to drive him crazy.

5. Bad Santa - Billy Bob Thornton nails his role as an alcoholic criminal who under the guise of Santa, stakes out a department store safe. Great supporting roles from the late John Ritter and Bernie Mac also hit all the right notes. This is one that shouldn't be watched with the kids.

Welcome

Welcome to the first installment of The Film Enthusiast. I wanted to create a blog that is for people who love movies and also love discussing them. You might wonder why I didn't create a blog that relates to music. The reason is that I am too close to it. The fact that I teach music for a living and have been playing it for over twenty years makes it difficult at times to think of it simply from a fans perspective. It often is too much of a hot button topic with me and I want this blog to be a place that relates to my other great love - movies ! Okay maybe I will discuss film scores but other than that...

I will try to have a dvd update every week that includes new releases, reviews and other items of note. I will also feature a classic film that I have re-visited and pontificate on that for awhile also.

This blog will be a work in progress and I might try different things to see what sticks and also based on your feedback what you might like to see.

Thanks for reading & Happy Holidays.