From HAL to GAL: Review of Her

Romances between humans and robots have happened a few times in movies. Remember Making Mr. Right?
However, can a man fall in love with his computer's operating system? Maybe, if the OS changes, too...just like any regular romance.

That's what Spike Jonze has created in Her, a sci-fi romance like no other. He wrote and directed this movie, and has been getting raves all over the internet from fans in Los Angeles and New York. It'll open wide Friday, and when it comes, see it! There's many reasons why the Golden Globes like this movie, and maybe the Oscars will, too.

The movie opens with the sad face of Theodore Twombley (Joaquin Phoenix), who gives a touching yet puzzling monologue, until we see it's really his job: writing touching letters for other people. We also see it's Los Angeles about ten years from now,where technology has become more of a part of our lives. He's also broken up with his wife, and the pain still shows. He even turns to voice-operated smartphone sex.

One day, he learns about the OS1, which includes artificial intelligence that allows it to adapt to its user. Theodore gives it a try, and the experience is just like meeting a girl for the first time. The OS calls itself Samantha, and sounds like Scarlett Johansson. It isn't long before Samantha organizes his life and hard drive, and literally helps him through a hard time.

Then, after a blind date gone wrong, Samantha and Theodore become very intimate. How Jones shows this scene is inspired, and shows us that, in this future, real emotions are expressed between the two....right down to the awkward morning after.

If it was just about a man who's in love with his computer, it would be an odd futuristic romance. However, since the OS1 is available to anyone, Jonze shows that other OSes may have different evolutions with their users...and that the OSes may talk to each other. It doesn't turn into Skynet, but something more thoughtful. Samantha becomes aware of her existence, and compares it to having a body.

The responses Theodore gets about his unconventional romance are interesting, too. While his ex-wife (Rooney Mara) thinks it's a way for him to have love without any challenges, his friend Amy (Amy Adams), also going through a breakup, is more sympathetic. "Falling in live is a crazy thing to do," she says. "It's like a socially acceptable form of insanity." That statement is later proven when Samantha finds a unique way to be more physical with Theodore. This scene is one of the most memorable of the year.

Her, when you get right down to it, is actually any love story, if it didn't involve a computer's OS and a lonely man. If you replaced the OS with the physical form of Johannson, it would be a typical romance about a lonely man who learns a few lessons about himself even if he doesn't get the happy ending.
And that is Jonez's point.

Phoenix is great as Theodore, as is the voice of Johansson. When you hear her, you could almost see her, too. There's also fine performances by Adams, Chris Pratt, and Olivia Wilde as the Blind Date.

Siri is snarky about this film when iPhone users ask her if she is "Her." Of course, that's because of the programmers who made her.
Right?
Anyway, this is pure OS 3 1/2 out of OS 4, and should at least lead to an Original Screenplay nomination come Oscar time. Phoenix would be Best Actor material, if not for the logjam of worthy nominees this year.

All the World's A Con: Review of "American Hustle"

Variety, you're wrong.

Peter DeBruge's declaration that American Hustle is an overrated mess, and that critics and award shows have been conned, proves that he missed the point about the movie.

Of course, it's messy, puzzling, irrational and everything else. That's because you have a bunch of people who play a role they create to survive. Irving (Christian Bale) wants to create a better life for himself, starting with breaking windows to help his dad's glass business, then going into fraud and art forging. One day, he meets Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who fakes a British accent to help with his cons. They're also madly in love with each other. Too bad he's married to Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), who's a bit of a mess and has a young son.

Irving and Sydney, however, get caught by ambitious FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), who wants to fight big white-collar crime and rise in the ranks. He uses these two con artists to create a sting operation to fight major white-collar crime. They target Camden Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). Polito's "role" is being a man of the people who wants to do right for his city and New Jersey...just as long his constituents don't know all the facts. Richie hopes to tempt Polito by getting him involved with a fake sheik in an attempt to get money to renovate Atlantic City. If it sounds like ABSCAM, the movie will only admit that "some of these events actually happened". It's fiction, but somewhat close to what really happened.

The great thing about this movie is that Irving, Sydney (in her Lady Edith persona) and Richie are all trying to play each other to get what they want. Sydney seduces Ritchie for her own gains, and Irving knows that. Richie wants to learn what they know about cons. It leads to one really bizarre triangle.

There's also some great set pieces, when Sydney seduces Ritchie at a disco, then he tries to "be real with her" only to find out the truth about her. There's Rosalyn getting friendly with some of the mobsters at a party Polito is throwing, then that confrontation with Sydney in the ladies' room that a lot of people will be talking about. The best one is when Irving, Politio, Richie, and their fake sheik meet mobster Victor Tellegio to close the deal...and Tellegio does something that threatens to ruin everything. Most of the cast have been in David O. Russell movies before, mainly The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, and he uses his familiarity with these actors quite well.

Christian Bale is incredible as Irving. Despite a chubby body and an awful comb over, you can't help but believe what he says. It's hard to believe this man is also Bruce Wayne, Dicky Ecklund and John Connor. Bradley Cooper is also great at Richie, who thinks he's better than the con men, but learns the truth in a hard fashion.

It's the women, though, that are THE reason to check this movie out. Amy Adams as Sydney could fit right in a noir movie, and she has the perfect mix of vunerability and deviousness. She is also beyond sexy here. Jennifer Lawrence, meanwhile, proves that she is much more than Katniss...again. You almost hate Irving for treating Rosalyn this way, keeping her in Long Island while he's with Sydney. She is an oddball, but someone you hope can emerge from all this. Of course, there's also that scene in the ladies room. Both Adams and Lawrence are likely to be in the Best Supporting Actress race, and either one would be a good choice.
Meanwhile, it looks like Louis C.K. could have a future in movies. After appearing in Blue Jasmine, he's great as Richie's boss. And, fans of Angel and Law and Order may spot Elizabeth Rohm as Polito's wife, although she looks much different.
Oh, and if Tellegio looks familiar, he was in at least one of Russell's movie before. A recent one.

Now, the movie starts with multiple voice-overs in a style that may be a bit too much like Goodfellas, but this is a long con that pays off at the end beautifully. It also has a great soundtrack that includes "White Rabbit" in Arabic. It's also very good at recreating the 70's, from the old Columbia Pictures logo from back then (the 2nd worst logo update ever, Warner Brothers "little w" is still the worst), to the clothes that look right out of Ron Burgundy's closet.

Easy three and a half stars for American Hustle, and maybe a few awards as well. So there, Variety.

Man of Steel Not Quite Shiny

The new version of Superman will fulfill his true destiny: create a Justice League franchise that will put those smug Avengers in their place.

Whether he really does this in Man of Steel.....not quite, but it's trying to be different than Marvel, and maybe riskier, too. That explains how the movie ended. Whether that will work out in the long run remains to be seen.

Man of Steel is much better than Superman Returns because it wants to recreate one of America's greatest icons by using familiar details and mixing new ones to fit current times. That was a better approach that making Superman Returns the semi-sequel to Superman II, complete with Lois having a child that is MUCH more than he looks. I'm guessing the writers of that movie were expecting a sequel to tie up loose ends. That was one of many mistakes.

In the 2013 version of Superman, we get the usual origin story, but with a bit more meat. I kind of wish there was a prequel with Kal-El vs. Zod over the fate of Krypton, plus what the planet was doing before its final destruction. Then you have Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Kal-El, coming to terms with his powers as a child and an adult. It seemed to be confusing, though. It should have been more chronological, especially with one friend who seems to be connected with Clark no matter what. I still thought Cavill played Superman as a hero-in-training, trying to figure out how Earth would accept or fear him, and how he should use his powers to benefit mankind.

I will say Russell Crowe's diving skills were better than in Les Miserables. It made sense for his hologram to tell Clark who he really was, and fill him in on Krypton and Zod. Afterwards, it was overkill, and too much of a plot convenience.

What would be considered unthinkable...allowing Lois Lane to be more familiar with Superman's true identity than ever before...actually works here. She's supposed to be this brilliant reporter, and expecting her not to catch on by connecting the dots is now hard to believe. Remember, in the original cut of Superman II, Lois does figure it out twice. You can't keep her ignorant just because she's a girl.
That being said, Amy Adams is very good as the resilient Lois Lane, much better than Kate Bosworth. It was still odd seeing Lois so deep in the battle between Superman and Zod. Seeing so many differences in the usual Superman myth may be the reason why critics aren't happy with this movie, but customers have been so far.

When Michael Shannon appears as Zod, he was chewing the scenery as much as Sting was in Dune, especially with that "I will find him" remark. He settled down after a while, but he was still a bit too hammy. His explanation of how he got out of the, er, strange-looking cocoons in the Phantom Zone made a lot of sense.

What really drags down Man of Steel is Zach Snyder's apparent need to create more collateral damage than The Avengers. Sure, in that movie stuff got wrecked, but the dialogue kept things interesting.
OK, so what about how it ended?
Some people may say the ending goes against everything the Man of Steel believes in, from his creation in 1938 to now. Snyder made the call, I think, because in this movie, Superman is learning what a superhero is, and what he thinks is right or wrong. A lot of people may disagree with his final decision, but at the spirit of the moment, it made sense.
Also, I think DC wants a movie philosophy where the heroes will make decisions that may not be popular with everyone, but you know why they made them. The template is the Christopher Nolan version of Batman, and it would be applied here because Nolan co-wrote this movie.

So, I'd give Man of Steel two and a half capes out of four. It took some risks to create a new Superman 'verse, but way too much collateral damage towards the end.