Tag Archives: Bradley Cooper

2018, Recent Reviews, Reviews

A Star is Born (2018): Bradley Can Sing. Gaga Can Act.

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As far as actor-turned-directors go, Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) has proven himself to be someone to watch. Despite being the 4th iteration of this story, the 40-years since the previous rendition prevent this version from feeling too familiar. Jack (Cooper) is a rock singer past his prime who hears Ally (Lady Gaga) perform at a local bar after one of his concerts. Struck by her voice, they spend the night drinking and wandering town together where he learns that she is also a songwriter. He convinces her to come to his next show and gets her to sing an original song onstage, launching her into the public eye. The story centers on their relationship and the strain caused by her rapid rise to fame and his alcoholism.

The first act is nearly flawless. Everything from their initial meeting to the first on-stage performance hits the desired notes. Cooper and Gaga have an easy, natural chemistry and their playful teasing is endearing. Seeing their interactions and witnessing Ally’s talent in her bar performance make their mutual attraction feel believable and their affections genuine.  Their romance does hinge on a particularly annoying plot device. Ally claims she is unable to succeed in the music industry because of her looks. There have undoubtedly been people told something similar to this, but, as is typical for a studio film, they don’t have the guts to follow through in the casting. Lady Gaga isn’t unattractive by any means. She isn’t even normal or just slightly good-looking, she is a blatantly attractive person. This makes every moment where she degrades herself hollow and even a bit irritating as it comes up later in the story. If her appearance is such a key part of the story, they should have cast someone who fit the description to at least some degree. Instead, a large part of Ally’s character is based on a flaw that we know to be untrue.

Lady Gaga’s voice is amazing and the film’s music takes full advantage of it.

It turns out that Bradley Cooper can sing. He’s not the best singer in the world but his low voice and scruffy beard are enough to become the aging performer. His music is somewhat like Lynyrd Skynyrd, straddling the line between country and rock, but it’s Lady Gaga who steals the limelight. As a professional singer with a killer voice, she is a joy to watch and listen to. Her vocal performance, when she goes from being hesitant to get onstage to blowing everyone away with the strength of her vocals, is rapturous and a highpoint of the film.

She, along with the supporting cast, deliver fine performances. Gaga never feels like a celebrity casting choice and inhabits Ally naturally. There are also small roles featuring Dave Chapelle (The Chapelle Show) as an old friend of Jack that now leads a normal life and Sam Elliott (The Hero) as Jack’s older brother and manager. Chappelle is drastically different from his typical comedic roles, but perfect as the person that can deliver tough love to the leading character and Elliott brings emotional intensity to the film while hinting at their difficult upbringing and the root of Jack’s drinking problem.

With all the great performances, the script is sadly focused on the least interesting one: Cooper’s. He is perfectly capable in the role, but it’s a well-worn archetype. Perhaps this is to expected with his writer/director/actor credit, but the film would have benefited from a more even emphasis on Ally. Cooper has made a strong directorial debut with smart casting decisions, an impeccable first act, and an effective ending, but is somewhat help back by the misplaced focus on his own character.

3/5 stars.

2013, Top Lists

Top 10 Films of 2013

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[BS Note: This list was originally written in early 2014]

With the Golden Globes behind us and the Oscars coming up this weekend, it is a great time to celebrate some of the year’s best films. 2013 was a great year for film-making it was difficult to bring this list down to ten entries, but these are the films that resonated.

10. In a World…

Lake Bell (No Strings Attached) makes her feature writing and directing debut with In a World…, a comedy about a vocal coach, Carol (Bell), failing to find a place in the male dominated voice-over industry. Bell smartly mixes humor with the realities of attempting to break the glass ceiling, elevating the film from lighthearted comedy to sharp societal commentary.

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9. Gravity

Gravity, like other films on this list, is about survival. Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) plays a medical engineer on her first trip to space when a catastrophe occurs. Enough cannot be said about the way this film looks. The computer generated visual effects are stunning and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s (The Tree of Life) long takes with precise direction from Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) make the Gravity a gripping thrill ride in space.

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8. 12 Years a Slave

It would be easy to look at the story of 12 Years a Slave and think that it is Oscar bait. A film based on a true story about a free man kidnapped from the North and sold into slavery in the South? The Academy should love that. But the movie is directed by Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame) and he has no interest in the sentimental. The films depicts the horrific realities of life as a slave. What is most frightening is how common these acts were. Each brutality is accepted as a part of the natural order. The film’s traumatic imagery ensures that this period of US history and the film itself will not be forgotten.

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7. Her

Set in a slightly futuristic Los Angeles, Her follows Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) playing Theodore Twombly, a man who writes heartfelt letters on behalf of strangers unable to do so. He is separated and lonely until he falls in love with an artificial intelligence named Samantha played by Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers). Director Spike Jonze (Adaptation) uses Samantha’s lack of a body to emphasize the emotional connection craved by Theodore. He lives in a crowded city but feels isolated from the people around him. The film shows each phase of their relationship and how Theodore changes as it progresses. Her succeeds by making a romance with a disembodied voice feel remarkably human.

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6. The Hunt

The Hunt is probably the most aggravating film of the year. In a good way. Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) plays a kind, well-liked preschool teacher falsely accused of a terrible crime. The film follows him as he is ostracized out of every part of his small town. Because of the nature of the accusation his former friends and colleagues immediately abandon him. Innocent until proven guilty? Not for this crime. His descent continues as the film shows just how easily even the strongest relationships can shatter when someone cries wolf.

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5. The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines is really a triptych: three stories linked by one key event. The first story is about a stunt motorcyclist turned bank robber played by Ryan Gosling (Drive). The second is about the cop that tries to catch him played by Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) and the third is about the sons of the two. Directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), the film is at its best during small moments. The character interactions have a raw intensity that make them feel honest and real. The film shows that each action has its consequences and how each generation deals with the aftermath of the pervious.

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4. The Past

The Past is a companion piece to Asghar Farhadi’s previous Oscar-winning film A Separation. Both films are about a divorce, but The Past is about characters dealing with the ramifications of their previous actions. It is a film that presents a relatively simple situation, a long separated couple finally filing the paperwork for divorce so the woman can marry her new boyfriend, and peels back layer after layer revealing the complicated, morally ambiguous chaos underneath. Farhadi manages to do this without creating “good” or “bad” characters. Everyone acts in a realistic, understandable way but also commit tragic mistakes that make the situation even thornier and his even-handed direction causes your sympathies to shift with each new revelation.

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3. All is Lost

All is Lost is a demonstration of how great acting can carry a film. Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men) plays a nameless man on a solo voyage through the Indian Ocean whose boat springs a leak. His performance, under the direction of J.C. Chandor (Margin Call), expresses feeling through subtle actions. A grimace or sigh conveys the struggles of the protagonist more than most voiceovers in other films. Despite containing no dialogue and only a few spoken words, it commands attention. The continued determination and resourcefulness of an elderly, but experienced sailor in the face of possible death make the film a tense and affecting adventure.

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2. Inside Llewyn Davis

With Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen brothers (No Country for Old Men, True Grit) have made yet another excellent film containing their signature dark humor and sardonic wit. Starring Oscar Isaac (Drive), the film has something unusual for the Coens: sincerity. The film is about a folk singer, Llewyn Davis, who wanders from gig to gig trying to find a record deal. He is mean to most of his friends and dismissive of other singers as sell-outs, but his quest for artistic purity gives the film an earnestness that elevates it above most of the Coen brothers’ works. Despite him being more or less detestable, the film creates empathy for the character because he is unwilling to compromise his beliefs even if that means he is never successful.

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1. Before Midnight

The experience of watching Before Midnight is like reconnecting with two friends you have known for decades. Friends that will squabble, joke, and ramble about anything and everything. But that’s the best part: listening to them talk. Set 9 years after Before Sunset and 18 years after Before Sunrise, the Before series continues its tradition of charmingly garrulous dialogue, yet it surpasses its—already excellent—predecessors by confronting the struggles of long term relationships. The warmth of a perfect connection from the previous films is still present but so are the cracks of reality that affect even the best relationships. This allows the film to continue to feel new and fresh while retaining the affection built up in earlier installments. The series, like love at its best, has grown stronger over time. Before Sunrise is great, Before Sunset is even better, and Before Midnight is incredible. It is, in my opinion, the best example of a sequel done right and easily the best film of the year.

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Honorable Mentions: Enough Said, Nebraska, Captain Phillips, The Wolf of Wall Street.