#19: The Monuments Men (2014)

This is another disappointment from a director that's normally on his game. I loved George Clooney's directorial debut Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and I've heard his Good Night, and Good Luck is the standard for biographical films on early broadcast journalism (haven't seen it but adding it to the queue). He's also an amazing actor. The Monuments Men isn't a bad film. It's just not a particularly good one. The cast is great. George knows how to get great performances out of top-notch talent. However, the tone of the movie is off. I'm not sure if this film is a comedy or a drama. I guess it's a little of both, but the combination in this case is awkward. It's like... joke, joke, someone dies... joke, joke, Holocaust. It's just strange. Also, there are far too many coincidences. I think the general rule is one coincidence, maybe two, but after that you've lost the audience's confidence. It's war time, and we're canvasing at least four different countries. How are they happening upon the same guy in Germany that stole the statue of the Madonna in Bruges and happen to have dinner in the house of the dude that stole the art from Paris? Not to mention that they not only discover a mass of artwork but the Nazis entire gold stash? Ridiculous. I actually think what really makes this movie just so-so is that this is yet another WWII story, and I think at this point every story that needs to be told from that period has been told. Hitler sucked, yes. Let's move on. Never forget but move on. The events that happen in this story are a nice anecdote, maybe an interesting read, but not really worthy of a movie.