Mini Reviews / Pre-Vacation Catch Up

Next weekend, I will be on vacation... at the beach... drinking my way through Ocean City. For now, here are some quick reviews in order to play catch up.

Begin Again
Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Adam Levine, Catherine Keener, Hailee Steinfeld
Plot: After her boyfriend becomes a rock star and dumps her, Greta decides to make an album with a down on his luck indie record exec and use the city of New York as her inspiration.
Thoughts: The director of this movie also directed Once, a movie that is so singular, so like catching lightning in a bottle, that he probably should have just stopped while he was ahead. He can never make another movie like Once. So, Begin Again lacks all that natural charm and sweetness and rawness. It feels a bit forced - bigger budget, bigger stars - but it's also just a really likable movie. It's sweet filled with easy, natural performances and great music (especially Lost Stars which I promptly downloaded and listened to on repeat).
Grade: B

Rob the Mob
Stars: Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda
Plot: An ex-con couple decide their low pay jobs as telemarketers are beneath them, so they decide to rob the clubs where mobsters hang out. Based on a true story.
Thoughts: I feel like the idea behind this movie is something really great. It's a true story, and an interesting one, but the movie lacks any sort of dynamic. Honestly, this movie is almost unwatchable, and I love, love, love, LOVE Michael Pitt. But these characters just feel so forced, and annoying.
Grade: D

3 Days to Kill
Stars: Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld
Plot: A dying hitman takes one last job trying to close a case that went haywire.
Thoughts: What a disaster! I watched this for Costner, and honestly, my grade might not even count because I couldn't even get all the way through this. It was just so boring, and bizarre (Amber Heard's character is literally the most ridiculous thing I've seen in film this year).
Grade: F

The Monument's Men
Stars: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Jean DuJardin, Bob Balaban
Plot: The true story of a group of art historians who were tasked with finding art the Nazi's stole and reclaiming it.
Thoughts: Look at that cast!! How could you possibly go wrong with a cast like that? My thoughts exactly, which is how I got into this mess in the first place. First of all, this story is too interesting to be resigned to a movie like this. This is terrible story telling, and just plain lazy film making. Any sort of line that is supposed to be funny just doesn't land well (and if Bill Murray can't make something funny, then you've got a huge problem). This movie is just one big disaster.
Grade: D+

The Lego Movie
Stars (the voices of): Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Charlie Day
Plot: An every day Lego gets mistaken for the "Special", the savior of the Lego world after their President decides he is going to destroy everything.
Thoughts: Listen, I'm surprised as you are, but this movie is AWESOME. I absolutely loved it totally and completely. I am definitely not one for animated films (with the rare exception like Wall-E and Up), but The Lego Movie is a pop-culture laden movie that everyone can enjoy. It's funny and cute and just plain good!
Grade: B+

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Adrian Brody, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe
Plot: A hotel concierge becomes involved in an art heist and a jail break after a long standing guest (and lover) dies.
Thoughts: I love Wes Anderson movies. They are so absolutely singular. He is one of the very few directors that, if you watch even 30 seconds of one of his movies, you automatically know it's his. This movie is brimming with everything I love about Anderson movies - crazy characters, cool set designs, bright colors. Still, this isn't his best work. It's a bit jumbled and maybe feels like it's trying too hard. Still, I'll take an "okay" Wes Anderson movie any day.
Grade: B

Lucy
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman
Plot: An American party girl in Taiwan can suddenly access increasing amounts of her brain when a bag of drugs bursts inside her stomach.
Thoughts: I wanted this movie to be so much more than it was. I wanted less scenes of apes and dinosaurs and more scenes of Scarlett kicking ass. Scarlett is fantastic here, and I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever about her. However, this movie just plays off as such a huge mess. I mean, sure, it's cool, I guess. But it had the opportunity to be so much cooler. It's a wasted opportunity, in my opinion.
Grade: D+

Under the Skin
Stars: Scarlett Johansson
Plot: A mysterious woman lures men to their doom in Scotland (where you can't understand a word anyone says... actual conversation I had with my boyfriend while watching this movie: Me: "This movie needs subtitles." Him: "It's in English!")
Thoughts: I seriously have done very little other than think about this movie for the last two days. It's that intense and mysterious and thought-provoking. Upon thinking about it non-stop, I have realized that I think I liked it more than I initially thought. I have come to the conclusion that it's this really great feminist tale about how even a superior being becomes weak when stuck in a female body. The movie was filmed so beautifully (so many amazing shots), and it's so been on my mind, that I almost want to watch it again. But, then I remember how I felt while watching it, which was mostly infuriated and even angry. This is the first movie I have ever watched where I literally don't know what grade to give it. It has an equal chance of ending up on my Best of and Worst of lists at the end of the year.
Grade: ????

The Purge: Anarchy

Here is all you need to know about The Purge: Anarchy - Frank Grillo is a complete and total badass in this movie.

Oh, you want more information? Fine.

The premise here is the same as the first Purge movie - about 15 years in the future, there is barely any unemployment or poverty and the reason is because the new government regime has set The Purge in place. One night a year, anything goes. There are no laws. You can steal and murder at will. You can stay barricaded in your house with your family or you can hit the streets and cleanse yourself of all your anger and frustrations. It's for the greater good. This, in my opinion, is a pretty great set up for a horror film. The big problem with the first film is that it limits itself to following one family trapped inside a house for the night. It's more a home invasion film than anything else. But Anarchy hits the streets and it's far and away a better film.

The sequel follows a group of people who find themselves stuck on the streets unwillingly after the purge has commenced. Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights alumni alert!!) and Kiele Sanchez play a young couple whose car breaks down and Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul play a mother/daughter who are forced from their apartment building after someone breaks in. These four, who are totally unprepared for the purge and would never survive a minute, happen upon Frank Grillo's unnamed badass, a man who is participating in the purge willingly for reasons we will discover lately. He takes it upon himself to protect the group and help them find their way to safety. The premise is more or less the premise of one of my very favorite movies of all time - The Warriors - but with way more violence. (Aside: if you haven't seen The Warriors, you have to do it NOW and then you can come back here and thank me and we can all plan our Halloween costumes based on the Baseball Furies and it will be awesome. /End aside.)

The great thing about Anarchy is how many more options there are now. This isn't just a few people stuck inside a house. The scope is city wide and we see so many different ways people participate in the Purge, so many different groups of people - the guys on motorcycles with the creepy masks and white face paint, the Black Panthers-esque group tasked to protect the cities poor, the man in the back of an 18-wheeler with a machine gun, the rich who bid on people and then hunt them in an indoor maze while other rich people watch for their own amusement. You get the feeling, suddenly, that the ideas for subsequent Purge sequels are limitless. You can keep moving from city to city with different groups of people and different settings and set ups.

Sure, The Purge: Anarchy is pretty basic as far as movies go - get from point A to point B and try not to die. This isn't an artistic movie (although the closest it comes to artistic is when the camera follows Grillo as he cruises the empty city streets in his bullet proof car), but that's not to say it isn't a fun movie. There are some continuity errors, the characters act stupid a lot of the time, but this is still a pretty thrilling ride. There are tons of great action pieces and lots of great costumes and creepy background characters. This is a bad ass movie, with an ending that actually is sort of heartwarming. This could have been another case of a great premise with a failed execution, but Frank Grillo is such a great actor - with his weathered face and tough guy voice - that he carries this movie on his very able shoulders. He is the rare kind of actor who can kick ass and also emote when necessary. Anarchy is largely successful because we believe he is the kind of man who is capable of all these crazy things. If the purge ever becomes a thing, I want Grillo looking out for me.

Grade: B

Snowpiercer

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that feels like a game changer. It feels new and fresh, revolutionary, like something you've never seen before. Think The Matrix. And even if you don't necessarily like the movie (I disliked The Matrix, personally), you still have to appreciate the ballsy attempt at making something different and unique. The newest movie attempting to change the game is Snowpiercer and it's easily the best film I've seen this year.

The setting is in the near future. A new ice age has made every living thing extinct, and the only survivors are traveling on a global rail road. It takes exactly one year to ride the entire track and the train is more than a hundred cars long. But it's not a free for all on the train. The richest one percent live like kings at the front of the train. They've got nightclubs and schools and sauna's. They've got all the food and wine they could possibly want, along with drugs. Meanwhile, all the poor people live like sardines in the very last train car. They are caged in like animals, sleeping on bunk beds, eating a disgusting gelatin protein block. Except one man has been waiting for the right time to start a revolution. And the basic premise of this movie is very simple - move from the back of the train to the front and take the engine.

The star of Snowpiercer is none other than Captain America himself, Chris Evans. And while I've never been a fan of his work in the past, I have to really praise him for his work here. He is absolutely astounding in this role, especially a third act monologue which is heartbreaking and shocking. He plays Curtis, a man who spent 17 years on Earth and 17 years on the train. He is joined on his mission by a rag tag group of passengers including the train kid that looks up to him (Jamie Bell), tough mom Tonya (Octavia Spencer), the conductor's one time partner (John Hurt), the man that invented the locks for the doors who they must break out of prison first (Kang-ho Song), and more. After breaking Namgoong out of prison, they make their way car by car through the train running into characters like Tilda Swinton's bureaucrat and Allison Pill's teacher. The cars themselves are a production designers dream come true - an aquarium car, a greenhouse car, etc. The entirety of the film takes place on a train, so it seems like it might be constricting for a director - filming in this linear, and limited space. But Korean director Joon-ho Bong is more than up for the challenge. He directs the hell out of this movie, making room for extreme action set pieces and also intimate character moments.

This is not just an action movie (although the action scenes are intense and exciting, specifically the torch/tunnel fight scene which is riveting), it's more a movie about humanity and about what people are capable of when society is stripped down to its most basic wants and needs. This is the sort of smart movie that will stay with you for days and months. It's not only destined to become a cult classic, but also probably a sci-fi genre masterpiece. Sure, some of the film borderlines on ridiculous (I still can't decide how I feel about Tilda Swinton's performance which is, to me, the most divisive part of the film), but this is it's own movie - pure cinematic joy, a unique vision, and one entertaining film.

Grade: A

Mini Reviews

I do this thing where I like to watch as many movies released in a certain year as possible. For instance, right now, I pretty much only want to watch movies released in 2014, no matter how good or bad they might be (incidentally, I'm so over just about any movie I actually wanted to see in 2013 but didn't get a chance to watch). A lot of the year's earlier films are currently being released on DVD, so I've been catching up with things via Netflix and Redbox. My whole thing is - I like to have as much of a complete list of movies for my Best and Worst list by the end of the year. Sometimes, you can even find little gems hidden in there. And sometimes you are stuck watching a really crappy movie, but, hey!, at least Sam Rockwell is in it. That being said, here are some of the movies I've been catching up on lately.

Veronica Mars
Stars: Kirsten Bell, Jason Dohring
Plot: Once sassy high school private eye Veronica is now on the verge of becoming a high-powered NYC lawyer, when her bad boy (read: sexy) ex-boyfriend is accused of murdering his pop star girlfriend. She flies home for one last case, and, of course!, a ten year high school reunion.
Thoughts: This was less a cinematic experience and more like binge watching a few episodes of Veronica Mars. That's not a bad thing! I was obsessed with Veronica Mars when it was on TV and I used to watch the Soapnet marathons any chance I could. Who doesn't love a sassy, smart ass private eye with a rich, baby boy soulmate?? So, it was truly great to see all the old characters that were so familiar and whom I actually missed! Plus, they had some great new additions for the movie like Gabby Hoffman and Martin Starr! So, this wasn't a bust per se, but it also felt more like a made for TV movie than anything else.
Grade: B

In Secret
Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar Isaac, Jessica Lange
Plot: A young unhappily married woman in Victorian Paris begins a steamy relationship with a mysterious stranger with killer sideburns.
Thoughts: Yawn! For a movie that is about explicit sex, lies, deceit, manipulation and murder, In Secret is pretty damn boring. I mean, the saving grace, of course, are the performances, which are stellar, especially goddess of the world Jessica Lange. In short, come for Lange, stick around for Oscar Isaac's sexy sideburns (I could literally think of nothing else for days after watching this movie!).
Grade: C

Vampire Academy
Stars: Zoey Deutch, Sarah Hyland
Plot: Something about good vampires and bad vampires and protectors of vampires and an academy. I guess I'm too old to understand.
Thoughts: Listen. Sometimes I just have to give my inner 14 year old what she wants. Do you really think I want to be addicted to Pretty Little Liars? Do you really think I want to browse the YA shelves every time I hit up a book store? The answer is no. But, sometimes I just can't help myself. My inner 14 year old thought this movie would be a whole lot of snarky, campy fun. Kind of like Pitch Perfect, but with less singing and more vampires. But that didn't happen. The only reason this movie doesn't get a worse grade is because of Deutch who is ADORABLE and HILARIOUS and SASSY and WONDERFUL. With the right material, she could become a huge star.
Grade: D+

Earth to Echo
Plot: Three boyhood pals spend the last night before one of them moves away tracking a mysterious map, finding an adorable alien, and escaping nefarious construction workers.
Thoughts: My boyfriend says we don't watch enough "nice movies." I understand his complaint. I like my movies dark and twisted and violent. So, when there is a nice movie that he wants to see, I go with him. Earth to Echo is a nice movie. The problem? It's utterly forgettable. Like, I saw it less than a week ago and already forget a lot of the plot. What I do remember about it is that it's cute and sweet and highly likable, especially if you have kids in the 8 to 14 range. I wish it would have been more memorable though. I make lists of all the movies I see in a given year and that's a good thing in this case because come December, I might forget about this all together.
Grade: C+

Better Living Through Chemistry
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde
Plot: A small town pharmacist begins an affair with a pill popping married rich woman and his life somehow manages to get better and fall apart at the same time.
Thoughts: Like I said above, at least Sam Rockwell is in it! This movie is pretty much just a giant mess of unlikable characters who do stupid things. None of what anyone does makes any sense and the end is just so absurd that it seems more likely to me that Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man would come flying through the sky and land in my backyard than any of this movie actually happening. It doesn't get an F because of the 30 second sequence of Rockwell dancing, which is glorious.
Grade: D-

Halfway Point of 2014

At the mid-point of 2014, I must say that, overall, I am pretty disappointed with the movies released this year. I have only seen a few things that I thought were good, and nothing that has really wowed me. Usually around this time of year, I release a Best of the Year so far sort of list, the actors and movies that deserve recognition, but probably won't make it to my end of the year list. So, here it is, but keep in mind that this year is sort of below par, at least so far.

Best Actor
01. James McAvoy in X-Men: Days of Future Past
02. Jason Bateman in Bad Words
03. Kevin Costner in Draft Day
04. Oscar Isaac in In Secret
05. Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow

Best Actress
01. Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow
02. Rose Byrne in Neighbors
03. Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars
04. Elizabeth Olsen in In Secret
05. Shailene Woodley in Divergent

Best Supporting Actor
01. Bryan Cranston in Godzilla
02. Nat Wolff in The Fault in Our Stars
03. Dane DeHaan in The Amazing Spider-man 2
04. Michael Fassbender in X-Men: Days of Future Past
05. Jai Courtney in Divergent

Best Supporting Actress
01. Jessica Lange in In Secret
02. Scarlett Johansson in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
03. Emma Stone in The Amazing Spider-man 2

Best Film
01. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
02. Edge of Tomorrow
03. Godzilla
04. Bad Words
05. 22 Jump Street