Movie Review: The Wizard Of Lies (2017)

Genre: Biographical Crime Drama

Director: Barry Levinson

Starring: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alessandro Nivola, Hank Azaria

Running Time: 132 minutes

Synopsis: The story of infamous financial fraudster Bernie Madoff (Robert De Niro) is revealed through flashbacks from his prison interview with journalist Diana B. Henriques (as herself). During the 2008 economic crisis, Madoff's private investment fund collapses. He admits to masterminding a decades-long $65 billion Ponzi scheme and is sentenced to 150 years. Investors' lives are ruined, while his sons (Alessandro Nivola and Nathan Darrow) and wife Ruth (Michelle Pfeiffer), who all claim no knowledge of the fraud, deal with the fallout.

What Works Well: Director Barry Levinson crafts a textured depiction of fake grandeur within a greed-dominated world where one charismatic swindler fooled many people for a long time. The stylistic mosaic mixes documentary-style interviews with fly-on-the-wall family revelations and public episodes of the FBI descending and dismantling Madoff's house of cards, all propelled by a captivating Robert De Niro performance.

What Does Not Work As Well: Despite the long running time, Madoff's internal drivers remain frustratingly elusive. While Levinson does well to portray the fraud victims, the balance in the final third tilts towards Madoff's sons, who as (purportedly) clueless scions are ultimately uninteresting. In contrast, more compelling characters including Madoff's right-hand associate Frank (Hank Azaria) are unceremoniously abandoned.

Conclusion: A potent portrait of carnage resulting from unchecked avarice colliding with unbridled deception.



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Movie Review: Shattered Glass (2003)

A biographical drama, Shattered Glass explores the high-stress world of deadline-driven journalism and the perils of hyper-charisma.

It's 1998 in Washington DC, and Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen) is a cocky young reporter at the prestigious New Republic magazine. He is an invited celebrity guest at a college journalism class, advising starry-eyed students on career success. Affable and good natured, Stephen is popular among his work colleagues, including fact checkers Caitlin (Chloë Sevigny) and Amy (Melanie Lynskey), and well-liked by respected editor Michael Kelly (Hank Azaria).

But Glass has a tense relationship with Charles Lane (Peter Sarsgaard), who takes over as editor when Kelly is fired. Glass then writes an entertaining piece about the antics of a young hacker at a recent convention. Adam Penenberg (Steve Zahn), a reporter at fledgling online publication Forbes Digital, wonders how he missed the event and starts fact checking, finding many holes in Glass' story. The errors are brought to Lane's attention, who initiates his own probing and starts to doubt Stephen's credibility.

The unveiling of Stephen Glass as a fraudster with a flair for writing fiction and passing it off as journalism shook the haughty world of the esteemed but small-circulation New Republic (established: 1914), a photo-free publication targeting world leaders and fully invested in the power of truthful words. His downfall was also an early reputational boost for start-up online publications, and exposed the hazards of relying on easily fabricated "reporter's notes" for fact checking. 

With misinformation at the core of the Glass controversy, director and writer Billy Ray meticulously researched the facts and assembled Shattered Glass as a close-to-the-truth drama, with fairness to actual people a prime objective. Ray resists the temptation to delve into Glass' childhood and upbringing in search of character-shaping clues. While the context is notably absent, the young man is presented as others saw him, a charming, full of life, natural storyteller and entertainer garnering immediate likeability. He is also an expert at self-deprecation and cleverly positions himself as a victim when needed to elicit sympathy and support.

The film gains strength from the contrast with Charles Lane. Dour, humourless and saddled with taking over as editor from the popular Michael Kelly, the relatively inexperienced Lane finds a potentially explosive controversy ticking in his lap when the Forbes Digital journalists start asking questions Glass cannot answer. Gradually Lane takes over the heart of the film and Ray deftly steers the narrative towards a reluctant and unpopular leader grappling with a toxic crisis.

Hayden Christensen is adequate in the showy lead role but stays close to the few notes between seeking the centre of attention and whining when challenged. Peter Sarsgaard is more stoic, his performance appropriately subdued but with gathering strength behind watchful eyes.

Within the remarkably efficient 94 minutes Ray creates an energetic milieu, the timeline-driven vigorous magazine culture providing a crackling, always-on-the-move dynamism. Despite the high pressure job Glass also insists on pursuing a law degree, the burn-both-ends-of-the-candle mentality either an excuse for sloppiness or a corroboration of recklessness. Unchecked and misdirected, the zest of youth can upend legacies.

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Movie Review: Godzilla (1998)

A rampaging monster movie, Godzilla enjoys some moments but is otherwise overlong and underpowered.

Radiation caused by nuclear weapons testing on South Pacific islands causes the mutation of a lizard into a building-sized monster. A Japanese fishing vessel is attacked and sunk, then the creature leaves footprints in Panama and Jamaica. Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick), an expert in the long term effects of radiation exposure, is recruited to join scientist Dr. Elsie Chapman (Vicki Lewis) and Col. Anthony Hicks (Kevin Dunn) to understand and subdue the beast.

Finally Godzilla emerges onto the docklands of Manhattan causing chaos and carnage before suddenly disappearing. Nick's ex-girlfriend Audrey (Maria Pitillo) is struggling to break into serious journalism, and along with television cameraman Victor (Hank Azaria) they latch onto the story. Meanwhile a group of French intelligence officers led by Philippe Roaché (Jean Reno) join the search.

Hollywood's first attempt to adapt the cautionary legend about the dangers of nuclear armament from its Japanese origins to an American context, Godzilla is a misfire. At an astonishing 2 hours and 20 minutes, the film is endless, the bloat evident in a disjointed script devoid of emotion. The monster itself gets bored and disappears for a long stretch from its own movie, replaced by a gaggle of angry and hungry baby Godzillas.

Director Roland Emmerich co-wrote the script with Dean Devlin, and baked in a fundamental weakness in not providing the gigantic creature with a personality. Neither despicably evil as in Alien nor gradually sympathetic such as King Kong, Godzilla just romps around Manhattan every now and then, and then ridiculously disappears. How a high-rise sized creature can hide underground is just one of the film's many jaw-dropping internal inconsistencies.

With most of the budget obviously dedicated to the bloodless, painless and goreless special effects, the film is hampered by a second-rate cast. Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno and Hank Azaria would have provided terrific support to a couple of bona fide leading stars. Here they are required to carry the film, and are crushed by the load.

Godzilla takes a long detour for an elaborate set-piece at Madison Square Gardens, a hide-and-seek film-within-a-film featuring hundreds of baby (but still large and nimble) monsters besieging the main characters. From a narrative perspective it's an ill-conceived distraction, but ironically provides some of the movie's most entertaining tongue-in-cheek moments. But regardless, no amount of creatures on the loose is going to save this monstrosity of a movie.

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Movie Review: Lovelace (2013)

The sad story of the porn industry's first celebrity, Lovelace is cautionary tale of exploitation and abuse. The film is cleverly constructed but lacks any emotional breakthroughs.

It's 1970 in Florida, and 20 year old Linda Boreman (Amanda Seyfried) is living with her oppressive parents Dorothy and John (Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick). Her rebellion is enabled by the sleazy and much older Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard), who claims to maybe own a strip joint. Soon they get married, Chuck teaches Linda all about oral sex, and she is remarkably good at it. Claiming money pressure, Chuck pressures Linda into the pornography industry and Lovelace is created.

They connect with producers Anthony Romano (Chris Noth) and "Butchie" Peraino (Bobby Canavale), director Gerard Damiano (Hank Azaria) and co-star Harry Reems (Adam Brody). Over a matter of six days in 1972, Damiano films Deep Throat, a relatively artistic porn film capitalizing on Linda's abilities. The film becomes an unexpected breakout hit among mainstream audiences and helps to kick-off the porno chic trend. Linda becomes a household name and travels in celebrity circles, including a meeting with Playboy's Hugh Hefner (James Franco). But behind the surface glamour there is a very dark side to Linda's life involving rampant abuse by the domineering Chuck.

Co-directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, Lovelace is a worthwhile companion piece to Boogie Nights. While the Paul Thomas Anderson film rides the breezy waves of pornography's golden era, Lovelace dives beneath the surface to poke at the visible bruises. Lovelace is too emotionally detached and conflicted in its messaging to be the better film, but it nevertheless places on record the horrific price paid by the performers exploited to serve a sordid industry.

As for the film, Epstein and Friedman do try something different. The first half breezes through Lovelace's rapid transition from rebellious young woman to porn celebrity. There are hints suggesting the hell created by Traynor, but without details. The second half retraces some of the same steps and fills in the blanks, exposing the oppressive brutality of his treatment and the degradation she faced. It's a thought provoking structure forcing a comparison between public image and private agony, but Lovelace also emerges as an unbalanced film, hitting discordant notes and mainly moving sideways.

The denouement shifts focus to Linda years after her brief foray into the industry, fighting to reclaim her dignity and identity by publishing a book. It's another shift in cinematic gears, and while the loop is closed, the film is tonally fragmented.

Lovelace delivers one devastating scene, in the least expected context. At her lowest point Linda flees back to her childhood home, and her encounter with her mother is a study of the void exposed by mutually unmet expectations.

Amanda Seyfried displays excellent breadth to convey first adventurous naiveté and then a gradual awakening to abuse. Peter Sarsgaard is fully committed to the role of Chuck Traynor, and sustains the required menace.

Lovelace tells an important story with competence but at the expense of dramatic flair.

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The Movies Of Hank Azaria

All movies starring Hank Azaria and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Pretty Woman (1990)

Quiz Show (1994)

Now And Then (1995)

Heat (1995)

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Godzilla (1998)

America's Sweethearts (2001)

Shattered Glass (2003)

Along Came Polly (2004)

Love And Other Drugs (2010)

Lovelace (2013)

The Wizard Of Lies (2017)

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The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: Along Came Polly (2004)

A romantic comedy that mixes classy charm with bathroom humour, Along Came Polly benefits from appealing leads and good depth in the supporting cast.

Reuben (Ben Stiller) is an insurance risk analyst who does nothing without calculating all possible risks. He marries his sweetheart Lisa (Debra Messing), and is crushed when she immediately betrays him by jumping into bed with hunky scuba instructor Claude (Hank Azaria) early in their Caribbean honeymoon. Reuben returns to work and stubbornly hangs on to his spreadsheet-based risk-assessment mentality despite Lisa's betrayal exposing its failings in devastating terms.

At an art gallery, Reuben reconnects with Polly (Jennifer Aniston), a former high school classmate who used to be brainy but is now a lowly server with a catering company. Polly has chosen a nomadic life of planning for nothing and going wherever the wind pushes her. She is messy, unsettled and unpredictable, loves spicy food and dancing, and takes risks as a matter of routine. Polly is the exact opposite of what Reuben should be looking for, but they nevertheless fall in love. When Lisa comes back to town pleading for a second chance, Reuben has to decide between the comforts of familiarity or the adventure of learning to take risks.

Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston slip effortlessly into the two central roles of Along Came Polly. Stiller shines as Reuben struggles to explain his growing attraction to Polly's world of chaos, while Aniston has never been better on the big screen, her Polly not shy about having fun, but also struggling to hide the insecurities that drive her fear of growing up and settling down.

The supporting actors add a lot of entertaining and good quality colour to the world of Reuben. Philip Seymour Hoffman is Sandy, Reuben's boorish friend. A former child actor with one notable supporting performance on his resume, Hoffman is quite hilarious as Sandy goes through life demanding never-deserved respect, oblivious to a career that long-since seeped out of the bottom of the barrel. Alec Baldwin as Reuben's boss and Bryan Brown as a daredevil, Richard Branson-type CEO being evaluated by Reuben for insurability are much better than the usually predicable characters supporting romantic comedy leads.

Although he does dwell on some admittedly funny bathroom and body fluid humour, director and writer John Hamburg keeps the pacing brisk, with both the romance and the comedy progressing smoothly, an example of how a script written by one person often trumps the over-bloated malaise of scripts-by-committee.

Not all unexpected visitors are welcome, but Along Came Polly proves to be a pleasantly entertaining encounter.

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