A Return to Form

Free-Lancing in Dublin town.

Having completed a grand European excursion wherein I acted as Ambassador of Goodwill Towards America in the fine countries of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, and France I returned home and found at once that I was "blogged out." The reason for this blogging exhausted relates directly to the fabulous chronicle of my journey that I kept up at YANKS ACROSS THE POND. If you didn't read along, shame on you. However, there is always time to go back and read bits here and there at your leisure, for the blog will remain up indefinitely and, as is this one, is fully searchable. Try typing random words and phrases into the search and see what comes up. You never know.

Now I return to the Free-Lancer, at long last. In the time since I took my European hiatus I have seen many of the big summer tent-pole pictures that Hollywood has rolled out, and none impressed me more than Public Enemies. I must, as it is long since past due, abstain from writing a full review. I will state this for the record: Public Enemies is the best film to have come out this year and is one of the best period pictures to come out since 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James (of which many of you know that I find to be one of the best movies ever made.)

I saw Funny People and found it reasonably entertaining, but over-long. There is a considerable amount of depth to the picture, and Sandler gives one of the best performances of his career--let alone of any "comedic" actor-turned-serious. I would warn you that if you are going into the film looking for the goofiness of Sandler's standard fare, or the crude humor of Apatow's other work, you will likely come away disappointed. Funny People is a much more mature film making endeavor, and it should be approached as such.

Finally, my full endorsement of any film yet to be released this summer must fall squarely behind Moon, which if you are not familiar with the picture, is a sci-fi drama staring Sam Rockwell and directed by first-timer Duncan Jones AKA David Bowie's son Zowie Bowie. The film is beautifully crafted in both story and cinematography, and marks a return to form for the "serious" science fiction picture (something that was almost achieved two years ago with Sunshine, though that movie unraveled catastrophically in the end.) Rockwell is amazing (as he usually is) and the film is gripping and thought-provoking while also managing to keep a under current of humor, mostly due to Rockwell's incredible on screen charm.
Here is the trailer:


Rolled out in a limited release fashion, I believe Moon has gone wide now and if you hurry, you should still be able to catch it in theatres. Forget the travesty that is G.I. Joe (a heartbreaking affront to the joys of my childhood) and shoot for the Moon.