109 minutes of profanity-laced hilarity

In The Loop is basically a film version of the BBC television show The Thick of It. I’m sure any British readers out there already realize this, and conversely, I’m sure practically no American readers know this. If the television series is anywhere near the quality of this film, I’ll be a happy man once I track it down.

In The Loop is a scathingly, brilliantly hilarious political satire that pretty much never stops with its one-liners and vitriolic arguments.

It’s pretty obvious early on — or from any of the trailers — that In The Loop is poking fun at the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. There are people on both sides that want to go to war and vice versa, and they are all entwined in a web of confusion and absurdity.

The events of the movie are kickstarted when British minister Simon Foster (played by Tom Hollander) says that war is “unforeseeable” in a radio interview, and the media runs with it, as Simon is berated and emasculated by his superior Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Simon doesn’t quite realize the storm he’s created until he is confronted in the street by reporters and provides yet another soundbite that is blasted over the airwaves. It just seems that every time he opens his mouth, things only get worse.

Starting on the day of the “unforeseeable” quote, Toby Wright (Chris Addison) becomes Simon’s assistant throughout the entire affair, shuttling between meetings in both the UK and America. He manages to do damage of his own, accidentally leaking information to the press and also destroying his romantic relationship back home in probably the most embarrassing fashion imaginable. Simon and Toby make for an immensely amusing disaster of a team.

There's a lot of this in the film.

Meanwhile, the two Americans they work with, the US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy) and her assistant Liza (Anna Chlumsky), seem on the ball and mostly treat the two Brits as the bumbling — if well-intentioned — idiots they are. They work together with Gen. George Miller (James Gandolfini) to try to stop the seemingly unstoppable march to war. They are mostly up against another Assistant Sec. of State, Linton Barwick (David Rasche), who is naturally the most unlikeable character in the film. I think you can guess how it turns out.

The star of the film is undoubtedly Capaldi, who seems to be ripping someone apart in every other scene. Every time he opens his mouth, a geyser of expletives shoots out, hitting whoever happens to be around square in the face. You may think *he* would be the most unlikeable character, but it’s hard to hate someone who is capable of effortlessly eviscerating anyone within shouting distance. There’s a reason why the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay — and that reason is that insults have never been piled on top of each other so well outside of a David Mamet film.

Probably the only complaints I can think of are the subplot that has Steve Coogan complaining to Simon about a wall that is about to fall and possibly crush his mom and perhaps that the movie just kinda of ends. But the former is still pretty funny and the latter — well, I wasn’t really watching the film for a twist or tidy, meaningful ending. I think it works fine and shows that politics just go on. And go on as dysfunctional as they’ve always been.

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Even the cover looks indie.

Parenthesis in the title. Zooey Deschanel dressing up in silly clothing. The two main characters sharing a love of The Smiths. A musical number complete with a bit of hand-drawn animation. Could a movie get any more indie?

Perhaps surprisingly, you don’t need to be a hipster to enjoy this film.

You also know from the start that the movie is non-linear, which was probably the best way to spruce up the fairly humdrum relationship. The film touches on key events that both initiate and destroy the relationship, usually skipping back and forth between good and bad. I say humdrum because looking back, it’s not the most original or interesting course of events, but the story is told in a way that is consistently entertaining. Although, some people who have just suffered a tough breakup might not feel the same way.

The film is anchored by a great performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the naive young Tom who, the minute he sees Summer (Deschanel), knows she’s the one. As the relationship develops, he never understands why she doesn’t feel same about him as he does about her, even though she stated from the beginning she wasn’t looking for something serious. Deschanel does her job of looking pretty and being — arguably — a bitch. It’s all about perspective!

This doesn't actually happen!

The small supporting cast does a pretty great job, from Tom’s friend McKenzie asking Tom what the hell is wrong with him, to Tom’s little sister dispensing advice as if she were an experienced 40-year-old woman. Between the sister character in particular and the musical dance scene in the middle of the movie, there’s a bit of light-heartedness that tempers the ultimate crushing of Tom’s soul.

Those unrealistic, and possibly too cutesy, components of the film allowed me to handle the final word of the script a bit better than some other people I’ve come across. Sure, roll your eyes, but it fits well enough. You’ll see what I’m talking about.

But even with those parts, the film manages to stay true to its emotional roots, and that’s the most important thing, isn’t it? Tom’s bewilderment and broken heart really do hit home. It’s about him learning from his first love and heartbreak. It’s about his growth coming out of that world of hurt. And it’s told in a way that is clever, energetic, and heartfelt.

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So much cooler than the iPad.

Paramount has announced that Minority Report — the Steven Spielberg-directed, Tom Cruise-driven sci-fi thriller — will be available on Blu-ray on April 20th.

Spielberg’s Philip K. Dick adaptation will be a two-disc package, featuring a video transfer from a true 4K master created last year. It’ll be presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.

The Blu-ray package certainly looks like it’s going to be worth the upgrade, as in addition to the previous released extras presented in standard definition (except for HD trailers), there will be plenty of new special features presented in high-definition.

The full rundown of new supplements includes: The Future According to Steven Spielberg; Inside The World of Precrime; Phillip K. Dick, Steven Spielberg and Minority Report; Minority Report: Future Realized; Minority Report: Props of the Future; Highlights from Minority Report: From the Set; Minority Report: Commercials of the Future; Previz Sequences. All presented in HD.

It’s been listed at $29.99, so one can safely assume it’ll be going for 20 bucks on Amazon and Best Buy (at least on release week).

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3D glasses not included

CES — the largest consumer electronics tradeshow in the world — has kicked off its 2010 edition and 3D seems to be one the hottest technologies on the floor. There have been 3D HDTV announcements and DirecTV jumping into the 3D fray, but what we care about here is the Blu-ray news. Every major Blu-ray player manufacturer showed off a new model capable of 3D, which at this point it looks like most people will break in with an Avatar Blu-ray disc.

Sony showed off their BDP-S770, which in addition to 3D will have built-in WiFi, and iPhone/iPod Touch app for remote utilization, and a bunch of streaming options including Amazon, Netflix, Youtube and Pandora, among others. It’s due to hit stores this summer.

Panasonic’s 3D Blu-ray player will be the DMP-BDT350, a player featuring VIERA CAST, which means it’ll be able to stream the same stuff as Sony’s player. But you’ll have to hook it up to your network through the USB port. Maybe the 96kHz surround re-master and 1080p upconverting will make up for the lack of built-in WiFi. Expect it on shelves sometime in the spring.

Samsung’s top-of-the-line 3D player will be the BD-C6900, but next to nothing is known about it other than it’ll be compatible with Samsung’s existing 3D displays.

Even Toshiba, the company behind some other disc format you might have heard about, announced a 3D Blu-Ray player in the BDX3000. It’ll have built-in WiFi, some streaming capabilities such as Netflix and Pandora, and should hit sometime in Q3.

Oh, and you PS3 owners out there? Don’t worry, your multi-functional Blu-ray player is ready to go. Sony announced it’ll play 3D BRDs on their upcoming 3D Bravias.

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Balloons not included.

Another year, another offering from Pixar beloved by critics and adults and kids and whoever else has a functional heart and brain.

Somehow Pixar manages to cultivate wonderful creativity and originality in almost every film they make. Up is no different, centering the story around an old man who lifts and flies his house with the help of an insane amount of balloons. Somehow, Pixar created an engaging story from that starting point.

Up sails by at a brisk pace – clocking in at only 96 minutes – but it manages to fill that hour and a half with more than enough backstory, tender moments, comedic gags, and action.

The story begins following a little boy named Carl with dreams of grand adventure, inspired by his hero Charles F. Muntz. He soon runs into Ellie, an energeric young girl who shares the same love of adventure and Charles Muntz. It is then that Carl makes the promise to Ellie that he will help her get to Paradise Falls in South America.

The subsequent sequence is a 5-minute encapsulation of Carl and Ellie’s long-lasting marriage. It’s a totally silent collection of scenes, except for the Michael Giacchio-supplied score. It may not be the absolutely brilliant dialogue-less first act of Wall-E, but it’s quite a heartfelt and useful way to establish the backstory that sets up the heart of the film.

Carl is left alone in the house he and Ellie fixed up and truly made their own. He’s getting pushed out by building contractors, who will do or pay anything to get his old house out of the way. When Carl leaves them an opening, they take it, leaving Carl with seemingly no options – until he unleashes a massive collection of balloons that lift his house off the foundation and kick off the action of the film.

What Carl didn’t realize when lifting off was that a young boy named Russell – who he had sent off on a fool’s errand the day before – was on the deck upon liftoff. Much of the story from that point on revolves around the relationship between Carl and Russell, the old curmudgeon and the excitable, curious young kid. I found myself siding with Carl most of the time, if only because I found Russell as annoying as he did.

Once the two land in South America, there are all sorts of things going on, but for the most part, everything works flawlessly. Without giving too much away, it involves a giant colorful bird, dozens of dogs wearing speech-collars, and the reemergence of a figure from the beginning of the film. Within the universe Up establishes (one where a house can be lifted up by balloons) every whimisical and providential occurrence makes perfect sense.

The film does alternate between action and dialogue frequently, but it always handles the transition well. It helps that the relationship between Carl and Russell truly grows in their intimate scenes, and that the action setpieces are exciting, easy to follow, and carry meaning and consequence.

By the end of the film, Carl has learned to move forward by letting go of the past he can never get back. I hate to do this, but it’s pretty uplifting. See what I did there?

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