Fletch's Film Review Blitz: The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Messenger, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Precious

The Men Who Stare at Goats
Lyn Cassady is a man on a mission, the only problem being that he doesn't quite know what that mission is. Bob Wilton is a man looking for a mission - a purpose for putting himself in Iraq. Lucky for Bob, he meets Lyn, and the two form an unlikely kinship that just might end up serving both their needs.

George Clooney shines as usual playing Lyn - the goofiest of goofballs, a self-proclaimed "Jedi warrior" - with a straight face. Goats parallels Three Kings along multiple lines (Clooney, an Iraq war, dramedy), but Grant Heslov's film doesn't quite match the intensity or comedy of David O. Russell's Kuwaiti heist flick. The plot and tone zig and zag all over the map, and while veterans such as Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges are around to keep it somewhat grounded, the pacing and frenetic quality of the story (multiple flashbacks, lots of characters) are too far ahead for the less-than-stellar writing to catch up.

Fletch's Film Rating:

	"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."

Shaky Cam Rating (details):	LAMBScore:

The Messenger
On the other side of the spectrum is Oren Moverman's is-but-it-isn't Iraq War drama The Messenger, a tough to watch but worth it film focusing on a profession I can't recall seeing portrayed much in film. As expected, it's an acting clinic, with award-worthy performances from leads Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster (compiling an awesome resume) and supporter Samantha Morton.

Foster's an injured "hero" just returned from Iraq who's having a hard time adjusting to that tag, along with life back in the states. Harrelson is the commanding officer he's assigned to, working as the next of kin notifiers of deceased soldiers.

Messenger treads some familiar ground, from post-traumatic stress disorder to the loss of loved ones, but little thought is usually given to the emotions and treatment the casualty notification officers are forced to endure. Additionally, the handful of scenes where they deliver the bad news are fresh and unpredictable spontaneous, something few films can offer these days. If the Best Supporting Actor category had ballooned to ten nominees as well, I wouldn't be shocked to see a nod to Steve Buscemi as a distraught father; as is, his role (and this film) is too small.

Fletch's Film Rating:

	"It's in the hole!"

Shaky Cam Rating (details):	LAMBScore:

Fantastic Mr. Fox
I'm gonna go ahead and ignore that terrible tagline for now...(click image to enlarge)

Wes Anderson's last film, The Darjeeling Limited, seemed to be a no-win situation for him. It was another worthy addition to his canon, but felt like too much of the same to too many of his fans. The threat of caricature loomed: take disjointed family, add hyper-specific attention to detail, throw in a dash of 60s and 70s pop/rock and a penchant for slow-motion sequences, and blend. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Funny how a simple change of scenery can make such a vast difference. Anderson's delving into stop-motion seems nothing short of revolutionary in his first time out, giving Fantastic a feel like no other film, with a perfect blend of Anderson regulars (Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray) and you'd-never-know-they-were newcomers (Clooney, Meryl Streep) on board as vocal talent. The usual doom-and-gloom of paternal issues is gone (mostly), replaced by a pair of clicks, some whistling, and loads of exuberance.

One of the year's best - though don't let the animation and animals fool you; this ain't for the little kiddies but for adults (minus the psychoanalysis of that other children's book adaptation from last month).

Fletch's Film Rating:

	"You're the best...around"

Shaky Cam Rating (details):	LAMBScore:

Precious
Precious answers that long-asked question of "What if we remade Lean on Me, but instead of focusing on Joe Clark, we focused on Sams and made him a girl?"

Outside of the central character being a student (and a female at that), Precious felt much like Morgan Freeman's high school drama, just as it evokes feelings of Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds, and even last year's Paris-set The Class. Kind of makes you wonder where all the buzz is coming from (or why), considering how familiar we are with this kind of story.

What does make this film stand out from the crowd are the out-of-nowhere acting jobs on display (covered ad nauseum) and the (500) Days of Summer-like touches by director Lee Daniels where we delve into Precious' mind, giving the actors a chance to play dress-up for some imaginative dream sequences.

I've yet to decide where I come down on the movie's message, if only because it is so mixed. It's not as though that's a bad thing, however; with such complicated issues, there ought not to be a simple solution or a single finger in which to assign blame.

Fletch's Film Rating:

	"Darn tootin!"

Shaky Cam Rating (details):	LAMBScore: