Steve Jobs

Danny Boyle, 2015

IMDB

4/5

Not many people in our modern age will likely see such legendary status so shortly after their death as Steve Jobs, who passed away in 2011 after a battle with cancer. After his passing we were treated to stories of what kind of person he was, good and bad. Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography of Jobs was a warts and all guide to the complicated person.

Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay is built upon the material contained in Isaacson’s book. It’s really a bold approach in terms of it’s cinematic treatment, because it doesn’t pull a lot of punches in showcasing some of Job’s faults. It largely focuses on Jobs negative traits. His obsession with control. His bitterness towards those who wronged him. And quite possibly his biggest flaw as a person, his denial of his biological daughter Lisa. The biopic itself was involved in a long game of hot potato in Hollywood. A lot of names were thrown around to play Steve: George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Dicaprio, Christian Bale. All of the big names that seem to come up with any high profile film these days. The choice of Michael Fassbender was an intriguing one. How could a German-Irish who doesn’t possess any of the physical qualities of Steve Jobs actually play him on screen?

Fassbender handles the role quite well. He seemed to have studied Jobs mannerisms through the seemingly endless sources of media available. There are moments where he was able to capture a few sentences where he sounded almost exactly like the real Steve. But Fassbender isn’t really doing a dead-on impersonation of Jobs, it is more of a reinterpretation or a channeling of a person through a series of fictional scenes based on accounts of others.

There is certainly a lack of Danny Boyle’s stylistic personality to the film. The superimposition of the rocket take off on the hallway wall may be one of the only visual elements that feels like Boyle. Because of this, it feels like a film belonging more to Sorkin. Especially with it being so dialogue heavy. Almost as if the script itself was blowing through the alleyways in Hollywood and finally Boyle stepped on it with one foot and decided to pick it up. Sorkin’s script isn’t just normal people talking. It’s people talking to each other in that very intense, very important manner. Everything that comes out of everyone’s mouth is quotable. But with all of that dialogue comes fatigue. By the third Apple event depicted, you are bound to feel winded.

Burt's Buzz

Jody Shapiro, 2014

IMDB

3/5

The image of Burt on the Burt's Bees product line is arguably as identifiable as Colonel Sanders, Mr. clean, or perhaps even Ronald McDonald. We see the bearded etched face when we check out at the grocery store, where the Burt's yellow circular lip balm container is placed below the latest gossip mag telling you about the most recent celebrity divorce or plastic surgery mishap. And while the innocent face of Burt contradicts the face of a Kardashian sister, the company itself is not without its own drama.

Burt Shavitz,  a reclusive Hippie from Maine, started his business on a very small scale by managing a handful of beehives upstate and selling honey by the gallon on the roadside. It wasn't until he met fellow hippie / earthchild Roxanne Quimby that the company branched out into the personal care realm. Burt exposed Roxanne to an old book about the many benefits of using honey and beeswax, and she took the ball and ran with it. Unfortunately as Roxanne took on more of a role in the company, things between her and Burt turned sour. Burt was pushed into selling his stake of the company in 1993. Burt wasn't able to benefit from the future purchase of the company by a private equity firm that made Roxanne a multimillionaire.

Burt's Buzz is similar to the 2010 documentary Candyman about Jelly Belly Jelly Bean creator David Klein. Klein, another quirky innovator, had a naivete when it came to business and was pushed out of his company and not rightfully compensated for it. In Candyman Klein doesn't come off as a completely bitter man, spending every waking second trying to get his revenge. Nor does Burt. Burt sought a lawyer after the purchase of the company, hoping to get a piece of the pie but was too late to the party. You get a sense this was more on principle rather than greed. Burt isn't a person very interested in money. He is not a man built for the 21st century corporate culture. He is more inclined to spend his time out in the field with his dog. And Shapiro doesn't set out to paint Roxanne as a calculating villainous figure set out to cheat Burt out of his business. It's just a part of the Burt's story that you kind of have to mention. A lot of business relationships are complicated and often don't end particularly well. Roxanne possessed the ambition that Burt just doesn't have, and basically admits to. You could easily see that if Roxanne never scaled the Burt's brand to the mega-company that it ultimately became, we wouldn't have the shampoo in our shower or the lip balm in our pockets. The movie doesn't have big moments and doesn't take many risks but it does paint an interesting portrait of the man on the package.