I regret saying this, but Inherent Vice is I think on the weak side of Paul Thomas Andersons filmography. Im not a huge fan of MAGNOLIA, but it at least had an incredible cast and told a gut-wrenching, emotional and beautiful story, The Master is an extraordinary work of art if a little bit of a difficult film to understand and process, and Punch-Drunk Love has its moments: likewise Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood and Hard Eight are some of the greatest American films ever made. Sadly, Inherent Vice, while terrifically acted, poignant and occasionally funny, is seriously slack in its pacing, creating a mood of stoned boredom that stretches for an uncomfortable length of time in the middle, and the pickup at the end feels less than earned. A good twenty minutes or so should have been cut, thus giving more emphasis to Josh Brolins wildly hilarious flat-topped police lieutenant, who ends up being the most interesting character on screen anyway. I still need to see A Most Violent Year but so far this Oscar season Im rooting for SELMA, BIRDMAN, BOYHOOD, NIGHTCRAWLER and FOXCATCHER, for being the films that most vividly captured my imagination, with additional shout-outs to GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, ERNEST & CELSTINE, LIFE ITSELF and OBVIOUS CHILD for being other viewing pleasures/cinematic treasures of the past year in movies.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 00:36:16 +0000