Bill and Bill Movies

Bill I’s Review – 4.5 out of 5

It’s a rare film that is so powerful and moving that I know I will remember not only the plot but how I felt after watching it: The Killing Fields, The Deer Hunter, Schindler’s List, The Excorcist (OK, not all of them are about killing), and now 12 Years a Slave. I said after I saw Django Unchained that while it had some typical Tarantino stylistic exaggerations, graphic violence and revenge fantasy, it served as a necessary reminder of how terrifyingly brutal slavery was in reality. 12 Years a Slave takes this to another level, where you see the human evil, of one man owning others, treating them much worse than he treated his animals, rapes at the drop of a hat, whips to near death at a whim, separates families without a second thought, and preaches the gospel without even considering that what he’s doing every day is a worse sin than anything mentioned in the ten commandments. What elevates this film above documentaries and other films of this subject is the magic of the director, cinematographer and the actors. Ever see a lynching on film? Not like here, you didn’t, where Solomon (the main character played by a soon to be Oscar winner Chiwetel Ejiofor) is strung up just high enough so his toes can support him on the ground, and they let him hang in the midday sun, gasping for breath, under the watch of the overseer and the occasional glance of the master’s wife while his fellow slaves continue their daily business, and some of their kids play in the field. No dialogue is necessary as the only sound is Solomon’s desperate breathing, a scene that seemed to last hours but is probably 4-5 minutes of just in your face reality you can’t avoid. Made me think am I really of the same species as these people? Was it only 160 years ago that this happened in our country? My grandfather’s parents (maybe) and grandparents (definitely) were living during this time, so it’s really not that long ago. Now flash back to the present time, where apparently 60,000 people are modern day versions of slaves right here in the US (read this: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/opinion/slavery-isnt-a-thing-of-the-past.html)

I won’t get into the plot, which is a perfect vehicle to tell this story, and it’s based on a real person and his real hellish experience. You can read about that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Northup

What a film!

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

I don’t have much to add to Bill’s excellent review. The movie shows the brutality of slavery, how some people coped and others didn’t, and how it never occurred to many slave-owners that they were doing anything wrong. The movie is well-written, beautifully directed, and has an excellent cast. In addition to the great performance by Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender as a religious but cruel slave-owner, and Lupita Nyong as a slave in one of her first roles were standouts.

As Bill says, this is one of those movies that will definitely stick with you long after you’ve seen it.

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Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

Inside Llewyn Davis is the new Coen Brothers movie about a folk singer struggling for success in a one week period in 1961.  I liked this a lot but I do not think it quite makes the top echelon of Coen Brothers many diverse films.

This is a really good, sad character study as success eludes Davis on both a personal and professional basis often times due to self inflicted actions.  Oscar Isaac stars as Davis.  I had never even heard of him before and he totally dominates the movie.  I think he was probably in every scene and he did a great job performing the  music as well as acting.

The music definitely evoked the music of the era and much of the music was played in it’s entirety which was a pleasant surprise.  T-Bone Burnett, who wrote the music for Crazy Heart and many Coen Brothers movies wrote the music with Isaac.

While overall this is a sad movie the Coen’s do inject a fair amount of humor including a great song about JFK  and the space program sung by Isaac, Justin Timberlake (showing he could have been a successful folk singer) and Adam Driver (from Girls).

Definitely check this one out.

Bill I’s Review – 4 out of 5

The main character, Llewyn Davis, is based on Dave Van Ronk, a genuine folk singer that I have never listened to. I thought his singing (Oscar Davis in a tremendous performance) in this film is excellent, and was shocked when he gets told at one desperate point that it’s not a money making sound, but it must be true because Van Ronk was never a big seller as far as I know. There’s a cool scene towards the end where you see Bob Dylan (an actor playing him of course) on stage with his unique voice at the Gaslight club, who proved there’s money and fame to be made if you were good, and unique, enough. Or maybe a big dose of luck and timing. To base a movie on such a sad character who is also fairly despicable at times and still make it compelling is an amazing feat. But it’s a great character, who is multi-dimensional, with the overriding theme of the life of an artist. An artist who is so focused, and self-centered, on his craft that it blinds him to what he needs to do to be successful. The life of a self-destructive artist. The visuals are great as usual in a Coen brothers film, although nothing that brings us out of reality. Throughout it’s an understated film, with some unexpected funny/shocking scenes, and not much that is predictable.

IMDB

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Bill I’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

Yes, there’s ostensibly a concussion early on to the main character, Abby (wonderfully portrayed by Robin Weigert, who was Calamity Jane in Deadwood), or what actually seems to be just a cut on her head (I never heard the diagnosis), and then she starts doing something new – high end escorting, just for women. She’s a lesbian, and has fairly stringent screening criteria, which her joans (female equivalent of johns?) must pass including the tea test (meet for a cup of tea). Oh, and she wants to work only on Wednesday mornings, when she can plausibly leave her picturesque suburb (Montclair, in fact an area within 3 miles of the theatre I viewed it at) and hang out in the loft she’s rehabbing in Manhattan. Initial very awkward encounters lead to a more profesional approach, and eventually she’s working every day of the week and getting “A” ratings. Her high end lawyer wife (remember, she’s a lesbian) notices nothing since Abby never fails to pick up her kids from school. Well, (spoiler alert), she does forget once and then her wife gets suspicious. But there’s no sex life at home, so Abby gets her rocks off with the paying clients, even becoming sort of friends to some her own age and mentor to a younger one. The story plays out slowly, and somewhat repetitively, and the sex is barely soft-core, but it held my interest. I was wondering how it would end: will she write a book and appear on Oprah and The View? Will her wife show up as a surprise client? Will she get turned off women and find a “cure” for lesbianism? Well, the actual ending is none of those and somewhat anti-climactic (final spoiler alert) – they decide to build a wrap-around porch, not shocking in Montclair which is filled with them. The so-typical surburan housewife life of spin classes, truckiing kids around, homework, boring chats in coffee shops, leads me to think how many women I know are hooking in their spare time? Hmmm, I’ll ask around.