Movie Review: THE MONUMENTS MEN

THE MONUMENTS MEN
Director: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bob Balaban, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, Dimitri Leonidas, Cate Blanchett

As we all know George Clooney is a man of many talents. He has won Oscars for acting (Syriana) and producing (Argo) and has been nominated for his writing and directing efforts (Good Night, and Good Luck). These are just some of the high caliber credits under his belt. Plus, he is pretty darn good to look at on any given day of the week. His latest project, The Monuments Men, has him wearing many hats again as he acts, directs, writes, and produces the film. He enlisted the help of an all-star cast with Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Hugh Bonneville, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, John Goodman, and his good pal Matt Damon. This all sounds like a winning combination for this little known lesson in art history.

Lieutenant Frank Stokes (Clooney) has been granted permission from President Roosevelt to form a troop of men to rescue precious buildings, monuments, and art that could be lost and damaged in the war or stolen by Hitler’s men for the Fuhrer museum. The group known as “The Monuments Men” consists of various architects, art historians, and curators who are not fit for war by any means. The physical aspects of boot camp pose a challenge for some of the men.  Their experience with firing a gun and knowing how to survive in the battlefield is minimal at best. Stokes and his men haven’t a clue as to where the Nazi party is keeping their stolen goods, so they split off into pairs to track down the various pieces and collections that have gone missing.

Like I mentioned previously, Clooney co-wrote and produced the film with his partner Grant Heslov. I think Clooney may have bitten off more than he can chew here. There is a lack of specificity that plays throughout the film that is quite apparent early on. They have this general layout for the story but they don’t infuse it with anything meaty to grab onto. The group of guys are written quite generic at best and are not given anything juicy for the actors to play with regarding character development. Clooney casts these great character actors that are probably all his friends, but no one is playing outside their comfort zone. Yes, they each have fun little moments here and there. Bill Murray has a touching scene listening to a recording of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, but that’s just one scene. Are we supposed to take away that by casting all of these comedic actors that can also do drama that it’s funny and ironic that they are the ones going into war to save the art? Clooney and Heslov didn’t write the comedy strong enough to make it that apparent. Cate Blanchett is thrown into the mix but her beginning scenes feel a bit off kilter as well. She plays a French art curator that is also working to save and protect certain pieces from being captured by the Nazis. Her scenes seem to flow better once Matt Damon’s character enters the picture. There is a fun joke about the Damon character not speaking French properly. Again, it’s a decent gag like some others, but the thread that runs between them is not very strong or supportive.

A really great musical score composed for any given movie can elevate the story by bringing out the suspense and tension in any given scene. Sometimes if a score is mediocre it fades into the background and you don’t notice it. I normally love the work of Alexandre Desplat (Philomena, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). There can be these beautiful and melodic choices in his work that carry us through certain scenes. His score for The Monuments Men is quite jarring. It often times doesn’t match the tone of the film or of the action going on in each scene. I partly blame Clooney and Heslov for not having a clear voice and structure in the film. Desplat’s score makes that even more apparent. It often feels like it is used as a crutch to carry scenes along and cover transitions where dialogue seems to be lacking.

The film was originally set to be released in December 2013. It was naturally thought of as being a heavy Oscar contender with Clooney and Heslov attached to it.  After news broke that the release was being pushed to February, it was a clear sign that the film was in rough shape. The "official" wording was that it wouldn't be ready in time. I think it's evident that the studio knew that there was no way it could compete with the other films released around that time. Clooney brings forth an important story about the importance of art in our culture and how tragic it would have been to have lost all of these pieces. I am by no means an art historian, but I was able to stay engaged as someone that has been to his fair share of art museums. The bigger problem is that they don't really know how to tell this story with a precise and distinct vision to it. The writing is a general wash without any careful eye on character choices or what tone they want the film to have. My husband loves history and has been reading about Truman's life recently, so he was able to connect more dots and have a better understanding of the war details that I missed out on. I wouldn't consider myself bored by the movie as the basic premise is intriguing. There are some nice moments here and there, but they don't add up to a great movie.

Is it worth your trip to the movies? No. Clooney, Damon, Murray, and Blanchett have far better movies out there to chose from. On the other hand, you may find the film enlightening if you are a big history buff.

RATING: 2 out of 5 Ticket Stubs

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THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The Actors: Full Uncensored Interview

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The Actors: Full Uncensored Interview

This is the third in a series of videos I am posting from The Hollywood Reporter. This time they interview six dynamic and diverse actors who discuss their current roles, their history in Hollywood, dream roles, their personal life, and most of all, their love of acting.





The hour long sit down discussion includes:
Alan Arkin--Argo
Richard Gere--Arbitrage
Matt Damon--Promised Land
John Hawkes--The Sessions
Jamie Foxx--Django Unchained
Denzel Washington--Flight

You can find the other two by clicking the links below!

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The Actresses: Full Uncensored Interview

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The Directors: Full Uncensored Interview

Here are the actors:

Movie Review: PROMISED LAND

PROMISED LAND
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Matt Damon, John Krasinski, Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook

I will be honest. I had never heard of the term "fracking" until Promised Land came around. I am assuming that many people do not know what that term is. Fracking is the slang term for hydraulic fracturing which is the core debate in the latest Gus Van Sant/Matt Damon reunion. Steve Butler (Damon) and Sue Thomason (McDormand) work for Global, a natural gas company that is interested in buying farm land in order to drill for gas. Steve and Sue visit a small rural town in hopes to buy land from residents and offer them thousands of dollars in return depending on the acreage of each property. These are not rich people nor are the farms surviving, so this money could help them out in the tough economy. So they say. They go clothes shopping and drink at the local tavern in order to fit in and appear relatable to the local residents.

Their goal was to get enough signatures and be gone within a couple of days. That idea quickly changes the moment opposition starts to happen. During an initial town hall meeting at the run down high school gymnasium, retired high school teacher Frank Yates (Holbrook) questions the plan for drilling by bringing up concerns and facts from previous drilling attempts in other locations. It is easy to pass him off as the old man curmudgeon, but he is one of the smartest and well educated men in town. Another opposing viewpoint comes from Dustin Noble (Krasinski). He arrives in town at the same time as Steve and Sue and claims he is from an environmental agency. He comes ready to fight with the story of how his family farm was ruined by drilling. He comes with props, banners, and signs displaying the pictures of the dead cows. The town's residents become divided on where to stand. Is it immoral and unethical due to the potential results of the drilling or does the paycheck out weigh that?

Damon and Krasinski wrote the screenplay together as well as starring as the two opposing viewpoints. Damon was supposed to direct it, but dropped out and got his former Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant to take over. Do not go into this movie thinking it is going to be this big preachy movie with a binder full of facts and scientific jargon thrown at you. There is no big courtroom scene nor is it based on the story of a specific town. The story is focused more on the character study of the two leads as well as the residents. While I appreciate that the movie is more about the moral struggles of the characters over a legal battle, I still wanted a bit more specificity and discussion about what exactly fracking is and the impacts on the environment. The discussions are pretty elementary and tend to get glossed over. Speaking of elementary, one of the longest discussions happens to be Krasinski explaining it to a bunch of grade school children. I have been looking forward to Matt Damon getting back to writing and Krasinski is a good writing partner for him now than Ben Affleck is off directing.

The script is full of the funny and witty banter that both of the leads are good at playing at. McDormand is always sharp and on point in every performance. You know her character is simply doing her job. Whether or not Sue fully agrees with it, it is her job and she will do what she has to do. Damon’s character knows it is just his job but always seems to be on the verge of flipping sides. Hal Holbrook has had quite a run of playing small, but important, characters recently in Into the Wild, Water for Elephants, and Lincoln. He has another minor role here that I wish would have been fleshed out more. He is so fantastic that I always want to see more of him in every movie. The costume design and cinematography successfully demonstrate the kind of town these residents live in. If you have been to ever been to a small rural town, you know these types of people. This is nowhere near that caliber of work Van Sant or Damon has done before, but it certainly is nowhere near their worst. It did not have the emotional punch that I expected it to give me. Despite that, the relatable characters and struggles keep the story interesting.

RATING: *** 1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)