Today we're celebrating the 43rd birthday of actor Michael Sheen. He got his acting start in the early 1990s, making appearances on a couple of television shows, but it wasn't until 1995 that he made his first feature film appearance in Othello. He worked relatively consistently throughout the 1990s, nabbing small and uncredited roles here and there. Sheen made his first big splash on the Hollywood scene with his performance in 2003's Underworld, and he has gone on to reprise the role in two of the series' sequels. Despite Underworld's popularity, it wasn't until his supporting role in 2006's The Queen that Sheen truly achieved national recognition, which raised again with his starring role in 2008's Frost/Nixon opposite Frank Langella. Most recently, audiences have seen Sheen in the 2011 films The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I and Midnight in Paris, and they'll next be able to see him in the 2012 conclusion to the Twilight film series. So, to celebrate his birthday, I've listed my five favorite of his performances, and I've included videos where possible. Once again, happy birthday, Michael Sheen!
"No subject is terrible if the story is true, if the prose is clean and honest, and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure." -- Ernest Hemingway
I was fortunate enough to go into this film moderately blind. I've known about the film for some time, and I have been eager to watch it since it opened to fantastic critical reviews. In the past few weeks, Midnight in Paris has been striking it rich with awards nominations, most notably receiving a total of four nominations for the Golden Globe Awards. Most of the critical praise has been for Allen himself, both for his directing capability as well as his well-crafted screenplay. In terms of the film's story, however, I went in completely blind. All I knew was that it was an Allen-directed film that starred Owen Wilson, and that it was receiving great reviews. Sometimes, that's the best way to go into a film.
All that said, this review might make a few of my readers take a step back. I'll just come out and say this now: I did not love Midnight in Paris. That's not to say, however, that I didn't like it. It proved to be an entertaining flick that had me rolling with laughter at times, and some of the references to classic literary and art figures were brilliant. Still, I had a few issues with the movie as a whole.
Let's start with the screenplay, shall we? I do think that Allen has created a very inventive and clever piece here, and as is often the case, his dialogue is the real strength of the film. Some of the rambling quotes from the Hemingway character are simply fantastic, but even our lead in Gil is given quite a bit of room with which to work. I also liked the ultimate revelation that the Gil character learns towards film's end, and the fact that it all comes full circle is a major plus. My issue, however, is that it was all terribly predictable. From the moment that Gil stepped into the past, so to speak, I knew where the film was headed. I immediately picked up on the realization that it took Gil another seventy-five minutes to learn and understand. This predictability doesn't necessarily take away from the statement the film makes, but it does lessen the power of that statement. Had it been hidden until Gil's realization, I think the film could have proven a deep and powerful piece; as it currently stands, however, the predictability ultimately takes away the emotional power.
There's no real way I can knock on the acting in the film, although I didn't find it all that brilliant as a whole. As previously stated, most of the positive critical response has been for Allen's work behind the scenes, but there has been some mention of the cast as well (i.e., Wilson, McAdams and Stoll have all received nominations for their performances from various awards shows and critic groups). Wilson does well as our leading character, but I found it difficult to distance myself from his previous work. In the past, he's done so many lesser comedies that placing him in a film like this made him seem a little out of place. That being said, however, I do think he does well with what he's given, and Allen did a great job with writing his character in a way that Wilson could perform well. McAdams started out well but started to get on my nerves a little bit towards film's end. The two best performances in the film have to go to Michael Sheen and Corey Stoll. From the moment he stepped on-screen, I hated Sheen's Paul, and that was entirely the point of the character. And Stoll, as the legendary Hemingway, offers the film's best performance. He's utterly brilliant, and I only wish the film would have incorporated his character a little bit more. Marion Cotillard does well as the film's other central female character, and we get a good, although severely limited, performance from Kathy Bates. Also be on the lookout for a fantastic cameo from Adrien Brody.
If anything is working exceptionally well in the film, it's the soundtrack. The film's opening scene sets the tone with a montage of shots around Paris, and the background music helps create the Parisian mood and atmosphere. As Gil travels back and forth in time, the music successfully transitions as well, offering something a little bit different so that we know we've been taken to another time. Truly a greatly-pieced together soundtrack.
At the end of the day, Midnight in Paris is a good film that strives to be a great one. The critical consensus on Rottentomatoes.com offers the following insight to the film:
It may not boast the depth of his classic films, but the sweetly sentimental Midnight in Paris is funny and charming enough to satisfy Woody Allen fans.
I have to agree with the statement. It's by no means a bad film, but it just doesn't quite measure up to the Allen films of old. Still, it's a fun romp through the streets and times of Paris, and for that, it should be applauded and enjoyed.
If any of you saw my review of the original TRON from 1982, you'll know I wasn't exactly drinking from the TRON Kool-Aid. I saw the film for what it was - an advance in technology that lacked a decent storyline or intriguing characters. Suffice to say, I wasn't really expecting too much from this sequel twenty-eight years later, and I can tell you now that Disney hit par for the course.
TRON: Legacy was directed by Joseph Kosinski follows Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the supposedly orphaned son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), the man who created the computerized grid where most of the movie takes place. (Note: there's a little bit of exposition in the opening scenes, but it never really comes back into play, so I really don't see a need to talk about it in-depth). All you need to know is that Sam finds his way into this computer-generated world where a program named Clu designed by the elder Flynn is trying to take complete control from the creator. Sam finds his father, and together, the two team up to destroy Clu and the army he's creating to attack the real world.
Seriously, if any of that synopsis (which is, admittedly, bare-bones) made sense to you, then I wish I could give you a cookie. Much like its predecessor, TRON: Legacy's screenplay leaves much to be desired. There's more holes in the logic and the story than a dozen slices of Swiss cheese, and they're visible even to the untrained eye. If questions about the story's continuity and its ability to make sense arise after the film ends, then at least you've made it through the movie with a somewhat entertaining experience; however, when you're questioning sections of story while you're watching the film, there's something awry. There were just too many moments where I was questioning what was going on in front of me. That does not bode well.
Also like the original film, the acting is decent but nothing spectacular. It was nice to see that Bridges decided to be involved again, but he's nowhere near the level of cheesy goodness he was in the original (and yes, I know he's twenty-eight years older, so get off me). Hedlund is a bit stale as the lead, and I couldn't decide whether I wanted to care about him or not. Our leading female, Olivia Wilde, didn't do much either for me or for her character - when she's there, she's just there, but when she's not there, I completely forgot about her. In fact, the best performances in the film were a small, but very different, role from Michael Sheen and a cameo from Cillian Murphy. I was stuck on those parts for most of the film.
Obviously, I can't go through this blog without talking about the visual effects. The original TRON was ground-breaking for its time, and although I can't say the same for TRON: Legacy, the special effects are very, very good. We're transported to an entirely different world, and the settings are entirely believable and realistic. However, the real credit should be given for recreating a young Jeff Bridges as the face of Clu. If you put this creation next to the real man twenty-eight years ago, you'd be hard-pressed to make the distinction between real and computer-generated. It's that good.
Oh, and I absolutely loved the film's musical score, which was done by the electronic music duo Daft Punk. When I first heard they'd be helming the score, I was a little worried, but they absolutely nailed it. I was thoroughly impressed with the music they provided as it fit the film perfectly. So, kudos to Daft Punk for creating a musical atmosphere much better than this film really deserved.
Movie Review Summary: Grade: C- Thumb... Slightly down
The Damned United is a 2009 sports drama directed by Tom Hooper that tells a dramatized story of Brian Clough's 44-day reign as the coach of the Leeds United Football Club. The film cuts back and forth between the story of his time as the coach and flashbacks of the years leading up to his appointment. In the years prior, Clough (played by Michael Sheen) had established himself as a successful manager of a team in Darby, taking them from England's second division to winning the championship in the first division. After his promotion to the coach of Leeds, however, things began to unravel right before his very eyes as he tried to instill a stronger sense of pride among his players.
The screenplay itself has its ups and downs. For starters, I did enjoy the back and forth between the film's past and present as each scene gave a little more insight into Clough's character. In addition, the movie utilized archive footage both of Clough's teams and of the real Clough himself, giving the movie almost a pseudo-documentary feel. Be warned: everything I've read about The Damned United says that the situations in the film are grossly exaggerated, so don't take it all as pure fact despite the aforementioned feel. I did, however, have a little issue with how the film ended. I won't go into detail, but the final scene seemed a little Hollywood and ridiclous, and it just left a bad taste in my mouth.
The acting in the film was very, very good. I'm not quite sure what it is about Michael Sheen, but something about him just draws me into his characters. I've only seen him in a few films (most notably 2006's The Queen and 2008's Frost/Nixon) and as a semi-recurring character on television's "30 Rock," but every time I see him, he finds a way to utterly captivate me. The same goes this time around: however true his caricature of Brian Clough is, it's still fun to watch. In addition, the performance given by Timothy Spall is also noteworthy. His most recent work has been as Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter franchise, but he always seems to provide a great performance as an ancillary character.
Overall, the film is good at best. It received astounding review from critics, boasting a score on Metacritic that they say spells universal acclaim, but I can't quite say it's as good as all that. Still, if you're into soccer and the politics behind it all, then The Damned United is definitely for you. If not, then you may still want to watch it for Michael Sheen, but I'm not giving any guarantees.
Movie Review Summary: Grade: B- Thumb... Slightly up
Today we're celebrating the 43rd birthday of actor Michael Sheen. He got his acting start in the early 1990s, making appearances on a couple of television shows, but it wasn't until 1995 that he made his first feature film appearance in Othello. He worked relatively consistently throughout the 1990s, nabbing small and uncredited roles here and there. Sheen made his first big splash on the Hollywood scene with his performance in 2003's Underworld, and he has gone on to reprise the role in two of the series' sequels. Despite Underworld's popularity, it wasn't until his supporting role in 2006's The Queen that Sheen truly achieved national recognition, which raised again with his starring role in 2008's Frost/Nixon opposite Frank Langella. Most recently, audiences have seen Sheen in the 2011 films The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I and Midnight in Paris, and they'll next be able to see him in the 2012 conclusion to the Twilight film series. So, to celebrate his birthday, I've listed my five favorite of his performances, and I've included videos where possible. Once again, happy birthday, Michael Sheen!
