Go to the movies this weekend. Normally, that might sound like a threat, but there are at least two (count ‘em, two) watchable movies opening in theaters. It may not sound like much, but in the current box-office drought, it’s a veritable horn of plenty.
“Water for Elephants,” is a romantic melodrama that has no business being better than swill; shockingly, it is anything but.
Also read Leah Rozen's review: 'Water for Elephants': Edward Cullen Goes to the Circus
With “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” Morgan Spurlock explores the not so mysterious methods of product placement.
“Incendies,” Canada’s entry for Best Foreign Film, follows a woman’s search for her roots with tragic results in a war-torn Middle-East country.
Based on Sarah Gruen’s 2006 novel, “Water for Elephants” is the best kind of pulpy melodrama. Set against a depression-era travelling circus, it is warm, nostalgic and sentimental; manipulative but in a way befitting the genre and not overly so.
Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend”) delivers his best work yet, conjuring a timeless movie that feels like something Tyrone Power might have made in 1943.
While Robert Pattinson is no Tyrone Power, he delivers a strong performance; calm, still and heavy against the raging storm that is Christoph Waltz’s psychopathic ringmaster, August.
Pattinson did a lot of smoldering in the ‘Twilight’ movies and he does a lot of it here, too. It has turned him into a star and he evidently sees no reason to make a change. It would, however, be interesting to see him in a role that pushes him as he has yet to show much range.
As written by LaGravenese and portrayed by Waltz, August is the engine that drives the movie. It’s easy to see how Waltz, who won an Oscar for his chilling portrayal of SS Officer Landa in “Inglorious Basterds,” could easily slip into the shoes of the murderous ring master.
Sean Penn was in early talks to play the role and as magnificent as Waltz is — you can’t help wondering how much fun it would be to see Penn tear into Pattinson.
Marlena, played by Witherspoon, shares scenes with Pattinson that show warmth and chemistry; their burgeoning romance feels organic and unforced. This is due, again, to LaGravenese’s adept feel for the material and Francis Lawrence’s subtle interpretation.
Despite its old-time pacing, “Water for Elephants” will likely please its target audience. Judging by the ‘Twilight’ movies, this is not a difficult demo to please. But it is encouraging to see that someone still thinks that just because material is aimed at younger audiences doesn’t mean it has to be awful.
“Water for Elephants” isn’t a great movie, but then again it never advertised itself as such. Not like Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary, “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.”
In 2004, Spurlock’s “Super Size Me” taught the world that if it comes through the window of your car, it ain’t food. Spurlock ate nothing but fast food for a month and dutifully recorded the toll it took on his health during that time.
His follow-up, “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?” showed us that most Muslims have the same concerns and hopes as the rest of us.
With his third feature, “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” we learn of a phenomenon called product placement.
Judging by his body of work, Spurlock has set his sites on becoming independent cinema’s master of the obvious.
He is said to have arrived at the idea for his movie after watching the TV show, “Heroes,” which incorporated the Nissan Rogue into the show’s storyline.
Thus inspired, they set out to finance an entire movie on advertising dollars. Financial backing came from varied sources including Hyatt, Aruba Tourism Authority, Jet Blue, Pom Wonderful and many others.
As in his past movies, Spurlock placed himself front and center. As the main presence in “Super Size Me,” he was essential as the physical specimen on which fast food worked its morbid toll.
In the new movie, he is less essential but there he is anyway in every frame. In fact, the Spurlock brand represents the primary product placed in ‘The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.’
Spurlock is an affable guy who doesn’t seem driven by ego. His presence throughout seems to indicate he’s not sure of how else to make a movie if he’s not in it. It worked for “Super Size Me” and that got him an Oscar nomination, so why not employ it here?
“Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” might have been a searing look at the way corporate interests have compromised art and culture. Instead, it turns out to be a movie about a guy trying to raise money to make a movie. That’s not a movie; it’s what comes before a movie.
What came before Quebecois director Denis Villeneuve’s impressive “Incendies” is Wajdi Mouawad’s four-hour play on which the new movie is based.
At the reading of their mother’s will, Jeanne and Simon Marwan are handed two envelopes, one to be given to their father, whom they thought dead, the other to their brother, whom they’ve never heard of.
With a photo of her mother in hand, Jeanne Marwan, played with quiet grace and grit by Canadian actor Melissa Desormeaux Poulin, heads straight to her mother’s homeland, an embattled unnamed Middle Eastern country.
Villeneuve has been characterized as a minimalist in previous movies like 2009’s “Polytechnique.” This style serves “Incendies” well, shaving a verbose play down to a story told mainly through images.
Villeneuve places his actors in wide, barren landscapes, underscoring their isolation in a manner reminiscent of Antonioni or even Kurosawa.
It helps to bring some knowledge of Greek tragedy to “Incendies,” but it is not necessary. Villeneuve’s movie has a timeless quality that seems classical in origin, conveying strong themes about how war tears families apart and that even the survivors, those protected by time and distance, are not immune to its atrocities.