The Good German

4/10

One of the biggest disappointments of my life. I was expecting this film to be a masterpiece, and it couldn't have been further from it. The film tries to be an homage to the 40's noirs but ends up being a carbon-copy of half and shitting all over the other half. None of the characters or actors even seem to belong in a noir, except for Blanchett who is absolutely exceptional. Her accent is pitch-perfect. I was very excited to see Tobey Maguire, who I feel is a very capable actor, in a role that will hopefully diversify himself from Spiderman. However, he couldn't have been more miscast. The film couldn't be less engaging, and it expects you to follow every tiny detail. Of course if you lose attention for a second, it can shine a bright light on a certain piece of paper so that you know what they're talking about when they bring it up a minute later. Speaking of minutes, there is no way to care for the characters when every two minutes it's switching to a completely different scene. Clooney, who I've always felt is a good actor, seems like he's as bored as the audience is. He just drags himself along the film, not caring if the audience hears him or knows what he's talking about. He's obviously going for a Bogart/Grant/Stewart mashup, but ends up falling into his charming, smug normal self half of the time he's on screen. As I said, the film couldn't be less engaging which leads to it being completely dull and just annoying. The cuts are contstant, and after the first ten minutes become tedious and unbearable. Before you even know what the film is talking about, one of the main characters dies, and you're apparently supposed to care about since they made the effort to dramatically pause on the character's face and throw in some ridiculously loud score piece. The quality of the film is incredibly poor, but that's because (since it was an homage to the 40's) they didn't use any equipment that was made after the 40's. I really never thought anyone could be more pretentious than Tarantino, but it looks like Soderbergh and Clooney have that covered. I guess it could have been an innovative idea, but it just came across as arrogant, showy and unecessary. However big of a disappointment the film was though, the lighting and cinematography are some of the best of the decade and Blanchett is absolutely brilliant in a role practically made for her. But still, one of the largest disappointments I've faced my entire life.

The Salton Sea

8/10

A very enjoyable film with phenomenal performances around. Sarsgaard was dynamic as always, and D'Onofrio is completely explosive. The score did a wonderful job of fitting the bleak tone. The plot itself was mostly excellent. It's full of twists and double-crosses, but doesn't become too convuluted like most films of this nature do. It does a good job of letting the audience catch up instead of throwing character after character after death after rat at you. Unforunately, the film was pretty one-dimensional and it seemed like it didn't know what it wanted to be in terms of genre. One second it was full of cops, rats and gunfire. The next it was a sentimental drama about a man trying to survive after watching his wife die. Then it was a revenge story about him destroying those who murdered his wife. Then it was a gimmicky comedy full of quirky, speedheads. Then it was a dark, noir with a trumpet player in a dark and dangerous world. I wish it would have picked one and stayed with it. I also wasn't a big fan of the trumpet playing scenes. They felt unecessary and really drew away from the plot. However they were nice to sound and I do understand what Caruso was trying to do with them, I just don't think he really succeeded.