I know some people who can’t stand to see a movie a second time — they think “been there, done that, I’d rather see something new.”  I certainly don’t have anything against seeing something new, but I’m also someone who loves seeing movies for a second time — and, if it’s a good movie, seeing it many more times after that!  (I’m the same way with books, comic books, etc. — I love re-reading stories that I enjoyed multiple times.)

I find that my feelings upon watching a film for a second time often vary wildly from the experience of seeing it originally.  I can absorb the film without all the baggage of hype, my anticipation, etc.  I can also more accurately judge the movie for what it is, rather than what I had hoped it would be or was expecting it would be.

During September I had a chance to take a second look at three films that I really enjoyed during last year’s Oscar rush of films (in late December 2008).  Did my feelings about them change, for better or for worse, upon a second viewing?  Read on!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — read my original review here.  Benjamin Button was one of my very favorite movies from last year (it ranked as no. 6 on my list of my favorite films from 2008) and, if anything, I was even more in awe of it the second time around.  The film is magnificent.  It is one of those special collaborations where every single element works just perfectly, from the gorgeous sets and costumes, to the jaw-dropping visual effects (that create fully-realized environments from France to Russia to a tug-boat in the middle of the Pacific, not to mention the completely convincing creation and de-aging of Benjamin Button himself that is as wonderful a combination of makeup, prosthetics, and incredible CGI as I have ever seen), to the wonderful performances by Brad Pitt (who proves in every film he’s in why he is so deserving of his movie-star fame), Cate Blanchett, and a wonderful array of other talented actors.  Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) knows how to incorporate cutting-edge visual effects into a film without ever letting those effects overpower the film, and he knows how to tell a deeply emotional tale without ever veering into schmaltz.  As I said: magnificent.  (I also had the fun of watching this film on Blu-Ray, and let me say that my jaw was on the floor at the clarity of the images, the colors, everything.  As the enclosed booklet notes, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was created in the digital realm without ever being output to a film element and transferred,” and as such, it looks absolutely astounding on Blu-Ray.)

Frost/Nixon — read my original review here.  This was another of my favorite films from 2008 (it ranked as no. 9 on my list of my favorite films from 2008), and, as with Benjamin Button, it’s a film that I think I enjoyed even more on a second viewing.  Although the film looks great, its success rests not on any visual flourishes or special effects, but rather solely upon the great performances of the assembled actors.  This is a drama in the best sense of the word — most of the film is just conversation, even before we get to the centerpiece conversation of David Frost’s historic interview with Richard M. Nixon.  As such, this is a film that could very very easily be dreadfully boring.  Instead, it positively crackles with energy.  Michael Sheen and Frank Langella are absolutely dynamite as Frost and Nixon, and they’re surrounded by a wonderful ensemble that includes Matthew Macfadyen (Tom Quinn from MI-5, Mr, Darcy in Pride & Prejudice), Oliver Platt (who has had so many great roles, but he’ll always be White House Counsel Oliver Babish to me), Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Heist, Galaxy Quest), Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13, Mystic River, and a million other films), Rebecca Hall (Vicky Christina Barcelona, The Prestige), and Toby Jones (who played Truman Capote in Infamous).  My good friends over at The Informed Voter (an excellent political blog that you really need to check out) recently commented that “after watching Frost/Nixon on dvd the other night we were both left feeling, if not sympathetic, certainly a bit sad for Richard Nixon. This is possibly the highest compliment we can pay Ron Howard (director) and Frank Langella (Nixon): viewer empathy for a man who played an instrumental role in botching Vietnam (and Cambodia) policy and who disgraced the Presidency like no other, well, that is an accomplishment.”  Couldn’t agree more!

Valkyrie — read my original review here.  Critics weren’t very kind to Bryan Singer’s film upon its release, although I quite enjoyed it.  Perhaps the key to my enjoyment was that I saw it as a gripping heist film, rather than a deep WWII drama.  I still enjoyed it upon a second viewing, although since I already knew how every beat played out, I found myself a little less enthralled.  Despite that, I remain of the opinion that it’s a fine film.  Say what you will about him, Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns) is a terrific director, and the film is filled with a lot of fun visual flourishes.  (A lot of credit for this must also go to Mr. Singer’s regular collaborator, editor extraordinaire John Ottman.)  It also has a ridiculously amazing cast that includes  Kenneth Branagh (Dead Again, Othello, Hamlet) , Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Hot Fuzz, Pirates of the Caribbean II & III), Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom, Batman Begins, Michael Clayton), Thomas Kretschmann (Peter Jackson’s King Kong), Eddie Izzard (”cake or death?”), and Terence “kneel before Zod” Stamp.  Then there is Tom Cruise.  I can’t quite heap the praise on his performance that I did for Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button, but Cruise does a fine job here and certainly isn’t nearly as terrible as everyone has been saying.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Bryan Singer’s film Valkyrie has been getting a bit hammered in the press lately.  (Actually, I feel like I’ve been reading bad things about this movie for over a year, mostly in connection to the multiple shifts in its release date, which usually indicates a studio’s having lost faith in the film.)  I think a lot of people felt that the do-no-wrong wunderkind who made The Usual Suspects and the first two enormously successful X-Men films had stumbled a bit with Superman Returns, and they smelled blood in the water.  That pile-on attitude also extended to the film’s star, Tom Cruise, who as I’m sure you all know has had a rough time of it over the past year or two in the press.

Well, I’d advise you to leave those pre-conceived negative notions at the door, because Bryan Singer, Tom Cruise, and a phenomenal ensemble of British actors have made a fine film for you to enjoy.

Valkyrie re-tells the true story of the group of German officers who, in 1944, attempted to kill Hitler and wrest control of Germany from the SS.  I don’t think I have to tell you that the plan failed.

Much of the criticism of the film has centered on the casting of Tom Cruise as the central figure in the story, Claus von Stauffenberg.  Since one would be hard pressed to name an actor who seems more strongly associated with modern-day America (maybe Will Smith??), he seemed a bizarre choice to play the German main character.  Furthermore, he is surrounded by a cadre of other familiar, mostly British faces as his German co-conspirators.  If you closed your eyes while watching this film it would be difficult to guess that you’re watching a movie about Germans.

But everyone should just relax about this.  The film makes clear early on that everything is meant to be taking place in German (by fading from the German dialogue of the opening moments into English).  Far from a hindrance, I actually think casting the main group of Germans with American and British actors is a smart idea — it makes it easier for the audience to connect with and sympathize with these characters, which is important for our engagement with the story being told.  Would this film be a stronger movie if it was all told in German with English subtitles?  I don’t think it would.

Frankly, the biggest thing that Valkyrie has going against it is it’s release date.  By coming out at this time of year, surrounded by so many other SERIOUS-with-capital-letters Oscar-hopeful films, it becomes easy to dismiss.  Because, while this film does have something to say, and an important story to tell, this is not a somber film in the style of say, The Reader (about which I’ll be writing at length next week).  This is not Schindler’s List, and this is not The Pianist. Although Valkyrie is set during the second World War, I wouldn’t consider this film to be one of those deep message movies about the horrors of that war.  Valkyrie isn’t really a war movie of any kind — you should really think of it as a HEIST film.

For me, the pleasures of this film were in the unfolding of THE HEIST — the plan, that is, to eliminate Hitler.  The conspirators have a GOAL, and they need to figure out how to accomplish that.  Like a great heist film, Mr. Singer takes us through the process of assembling the plan, and with great detail we follow all the characters through on the attempt and see how they respond when things begin to go wrong.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t Ocean’s Eleven in Germany.  This is real life, and this is a story that ends in real tragedy.  There is a lot of drama in watching the characters meet their ultimate, unfortunate ends, and in contemplating JUST HOW CLOSE they came to really getting away with it all.  It is one of the great historical what-ifs to ponder how history might have been different had they succeeded.

I alluded to the terrific cast above, and before I wrap up it is worth elaborating on that.  Take a gander at this group of actors:  Kenneth Branagh (Dead Again, Othello, Hamlet, and more recently Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) , Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Hot Fuzz, Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and of course Slartibartfast in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom, Batman Begins, Michael Clayton), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), the amazing comedian Eddie Izzard, and Terence kneel before Zod himself Stamp.  That is an illustrious group, and they all do great work here.

When comparing Valkyrie to a film like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (which I so rapturously reviewed yesterday), one must admit that Valkyrie seems rather slight.  As I wrote above, by releasing it amongst all these other Oscar films, I think the studio has done it a disservice.  (I’d wager that people would be thinking a lot more highly of Valkyrie if it was opening in March.)  This is not a GREAT film.  It is, however, a highly enjoyable and very well-made one, and it’s worth your time.

(But see Benjamin Button first!)