Blackfish (***)

Blackfish offers little to the documentary genre, and instead offers viewers a glimpse into a world that we all recognize - or so we think. The enchanting theme parks like Sea World are merely a mask for the horrors experienced by trainers and animals alike, namely the captive Orca whales. 

The narration moves from interview to interview, beginning with the humble origins of marine parks and the brutal capture of the wild animals. We see the means by which these animals are contained, oftentimes in containment no larger than a few trucks. The whales were kept in the dark, isolated, alone, and it is these conditions which the film argues has led to more than one occasion of human attacks. 

One whale in particular, Tilikum, is the focus of the plot. One of the larger male specimens ever captured, Tilikum is a whale kept for breeding purposes and for the more impressive displays in the live shows. 

Dawn Brancheau was one of the trainers paired with Tilikum. One of the top trainers at the park, she was brutally mauled and killed by Tilikum during one of the shows. The blame was tossed around, from Dawn's lack of focus during the show, to her ponytail, to the conditions surrounding the performance. Regardless of the number of attacks, though, and the number of trainer deaths globally, the Orcas are continued to be contained as though there were no problem at all. 

The documentary itself is effective, with a clear opinion of the means to a solution. We feel for these whales, and the trainers. The trainers themselves are bright people, aware of the hazards that come with their line of work, but protective of the animals to the point that leaving their position feels like abandonment. 

On the heels of other docs relating to marine life (I'm thinking heavily of The Cove, for one), Blackfish doesn't carry as powerful of a punch. Yes, I can follow the plot and absorb the details the filmmakers give me, but the film as a 'film' fails to move gracefully from point to point. This is not to discredit the film itself, or the arguments it makes - on the contrary it is definitely a must-see. In terms of documentaries, the world has seen better. 

(Awards potential: Best Documentary (slim))

Prisoners (****1/2)

'Prisoners' is the best movie I hope to not see again for a long while. First brought to my attention with the gripping trailer, the movie has lived up to all expectations and then some, and through the brutality of the plot, here is a great crime thriller. 

The film begins on Thanksgiving. A working-class family headed by Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) arrives at a neighboring family's house for dinner. The Birch family (with Viola Davis & Terrence Howard as the loving parents) enjoy their meals, and the two youngest daughters go off to play outside. They are never seen again. 

What follows is a terrifying series of events. The older son recalls seeing a strange RV parked down the road, but now it is gone. Police find the vehicle parked in a gas station miles away, and it is driven by a man named Alex Jones (played to a shocking perfection by Paul Dano), a man with a low IQ, soft-spoken voice, and an overall 'creepy' demeanor. The case is taken up by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), and through interrogation and CSI, Jones is ultimately assumed to be not guilty. 

If only Keller Dover could take the decision easily. He, along with Franklin Birch, decide to take matters into their own hands and kidnap Jones in order to ascertain the location of their daughters. Through torture and days of senseless beatings, they come no closer to finding their girls, and Detective Loki is left cold to determine the answer to the increasing riddles and mysteries. 

How much more the plot reveals, right up to the final few minutes. The film clocks in nearly two and a half hours, but the majority of my time in the theater was spent on the edge of my seat. The film moves at a deliberate pace, slow at times, but never with the feel that everything we are seeing isn't absolutely crucial to the overarching  plot of the story. It's masterfully directed and written, and the actors are more than up to the challenge. 

The cold, bleak Pennsylvania winter is captured perfectly through the lensing of the always-great Roger Deakins. Colors are washed out by rain, and dark shadows loom over every scene. Coupled with a menacing and ominous score, the aesthetics are as gripping as the performances. 

And what acting from all. In what could very well be the best cast of the year (so far), we are witness to some of the best performances of the year. Hugh Jackman as the tormented father turned to alcohol and abuse is both appalling and genuine; here is a man who has lost everything, and we never doubt it for a second. He is bested by Jake Gyllenhaal as the tough detective. His hands and neck are sprinkled with tattoos, and his sullen features suggest some sort of dark past to his life. Devoted to work and never once seen in his personal settings, he highlights the film with some of the best acting of his career, and his character is one of the most intriguing I've seen in a crime film in some time. And Paul Dano, what more can be said. He is building a reputation for 'weird' roles (from Little Miss Sunshine to There Will Be Blood), but here he takes his method to the next step. Jones is a character we fear, simply because we don't understand him. Another actor could have taken this role to varying extremes, but Dano is restrained, leaving a haunting demeanor and quiet presence to emote his character. Without a doubt the best work of his career. 

Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Maria Bello, the list continues. There is not a flaw to be found. The success of 'Prisoners' comes from the marriage of each aspect of filmmaking, and from the directing, to the writing, to the acting, to the photography, there isn't a flaw to be found. Yes, this is a dark film that will polarize its audience in regards to subject matter, but this is a film that could very well rival 'Zodiac' as one of the century's best thrillers. 

(Awards potential: Best Actor (Jackman, Gyllenhaal), Best Supporting Actor (Dano, Howard), Best Supporting Actress (Leo, Bello), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing) 

Blue Jasmine (*****)

'Blue Jasmine' follows in the footsteps of Woody Allen's classic pictures of the 70's and 80's, what I consider his prime (though he has been making great films ever since, too). Modest in scope yet dripping with some of the most juicy characters of the year, 'Blue Jasmine' delivers as one of the strongest films of the year so far, and almost guarantees its spot amongst Allen's best. 

Like any story, the film begins with a conflict, in this case, Jasmine (played by Cate Blanchett - more on her later) moves in with her sister in San Fransisco following a 'nervous breakdown.' She is of high society, a Birkin always in the crook of her arm, a closet to die for, dripping with pearls, and a diamond wedding ring that could choke an elephant. Her husband (the ever-sly Alec Baldwin) caters to her every will, spoils her to no end, indulging her every whim, all the while operating an illegal scheme that leads him to prison and Jasmine left broke. 

Her new house, a quaint apartment with her adoptive sister, Ginger (the beautiful Sally Hawkins) and two noisy boys. Jasmine describes the setup as 'homey.' She seeks to rebuild her life. With mountains of debt (yet enough to still fly first-class, excusable due to force of habit), she decides to continue her education in Anthropology. Or perhaps interior design. Or computers…

Ginger, seeing a man Jasmine describes as a grease monkey, begins to fall in love with someone else, concurrent with Jasmine falling in love with a charming Ambassador-soon-to-be-political-figure, of course dripping with money. 

Shall I continue to describe plot, or can I at last begin shoveling my praise on this film! Allen directs a stellar cast, with a tightly-written script that flows with the ease of an auteur. There is perhaps no other filmmaker alive who can write women like Allen, and with Jasmine, he has perhaps created one of his most memorable characters. There is something so powerful in the cadence of Allen's dialogue, written with such simplicity but bursting with extraordinary depth and humor.

Blanchett more than delivers with her best performance of her career, hands down. Midway through the film, I sent a text to Maureen informing her that we have found the year's Oscar winner. There is simply no other option here. Blanchett is funny, heartbreaking, manic, delusional, walking a fine line between Academy darling and 'Mommy Dearest.' As the credits blackened the screen over Jasmine's searching face, sitting on a park bench, I moaned, wishing I could raise the lights back up and continue to watch in amazement at such a revelatory performance. This is surely the role Blanchett was born to play - and in her, Woody has found a new muse - one of his absolute best. 

This is not to outshine the rest of the cast, as Sally Hawkins is exceptionally good. She plays the 'plain' sister who is self-declared as having bad genes, a woman who aims low and seems cursed to date schmucks for the rest of her life. 

Woody Allen, bravo. 'Blue Jasmine' is a film of colossal intent, slipping through the radar as just another one of Woody's stories. Mark my words, this is one of the best films of the year. I intend to return to the theater soon, eager for more. 

(Awards potential: Best Director, Best Actress (Blanchett), Best Supporting Actress (Hawkins), Best Original Screenplay) 

The Bling Ring (****1/2)

There seems to be an emerging genre in film this year. Maybe we should call it the "grunge-teen-crime" genre.  First seen in 'Spring Breakers' earlier this year, Sophia Coppola's remarkable 'The Bling Ring' touches on many of the same ideas. From one of the most original voices in American cinema today, Coppola reminds us of her talent behind the camera. 'The Bling Ring' is yet another revealing, entertaining piece of eye candy that will surely cause many people to stop and think. 

Perhaps you remember the story, a group of teenage hooligans made their rounds to an impressive amount of celebrity homes (Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, etc) and robbed them silly. The absurdity comes from the ease with which they entered each home, the amount they got away with in luxury goods (over $3 million), and the blatant attempt at fame. 

Coppola dives deep, creating touching, disturbing, and oftentimes hilarious moments. Though the film is based on actual events (a magazine article, to be exact), it plays like a true drama, as though the events themselves were always meant to become told through film. We meet Marc, a quiet kid, newly transferred to his current high school. He meets Rebecca, they bond, and naturally their after school activities lead to burgalry - first cars on the street, then to houses, then to the homes of their idols. 

A film is only as good as its cast, and boy, what a case. The mostly unknown actors are flawless, but we must gives praise to Emma Watson. From Harry Potter to her continuing progression into more adult-themed films, she is flawless in the role of Nicki. Home-schooled by a crazed mother obsessed with 'The Secret' and without a sense of consequence, she steals scene after scene after scene. 

The film is met with criticism, mostly for the director's inability to dive below the surface and truly analyze her characters. Nonsense. Coppola herself has said this is a story that could not have been told 10 years ago, that the actions of these kids is so boggling and in many ways foreign to common sense. Her direction proves this point. None of the actors are playing overtly likable people. In fact, they could be classified into the category of 'brats.' How can we relate to someone whose motive is driven by the mere hope of becoming famous? Were any lessons learned during the course of the story? I will not spoil the ending (aside from them being caught, obviously), but I don't think any film this year has concluded with such a spot-on final line. It's left me thinking, days later. Isn't that what 'good' movies are supposed to make you do?

(Awards potential: Best Supporting Actress (Watson), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction)

What Maisie Knew (*****)

From the remarkable eyes of a child comes the best drama of the season, a movie filled with never ending beauty, sadness, and ultimate hope. Have you heard of it? Probably not, but this small independent film should make its way through the country in the coming weeks, and regardless of travel time, here is a film I would highly recommend you take the time to experience.

The story is entirely through the eyes of Maisie, the bright, beautiful, and charming star (in a breakout role by Onata Aprile, perhaps the most remarkable child performance I can think of in quite some time). Her parents bitterly fight over custody, and what ensues is a 'Kramer vs. Kramer' type legal battle.

But no, that's not the story at all. You see, each parent remarries, and although things seem good at first,  these marriages also succumb to the failure of Maisie's parents. And all through the eyes of a child, a girl who is content pressing flowers she received from her mother, or drawing castles and watching boats on the lake. She warms up to her parents' new spouses, Lincoln and Margo, and her parents become more and more engulfed in their work. What defines a family? Is there such thing as a 'good' or  'bad' parent? Perhaps the movie seeks answers, or perhaps we are meant to watch and observe.

Through heartbreaking scenes, the movie flows its way through plot points like a needle and thread. This is masterful filmmaking, and with such a particular attention paid to Maisie's childhood in particular. Her parents, played by Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan, strike the perfect tone as adults consumed with bitterness and money. Maisie comes second to their own success. And Maisie's step-parents, played by Alexander Skarsgard and Joanna Vanderham. What striking characterizations, people we warm up to in real time with Maisie. By the film's end I was absolutely filled with joy and hope, or is it too much to hope as an adult, these days?

In the midst of action movies and major blockbusters, here is a quiet movie that moves mountains. Based on a book written in the late 1800's, it's impossible to imagine a story more relevant to today's culture and perception of 'the family.' By far the best movie of 2013 so far.

(Awards potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Aprile), Best Supporting Actress (Moore, Vanderham), Best Supporting Actor (Skarsgard), Best Adapted Screenplay)