Mini Reviews

I have seen a lot of movies that I haven't written about. Either I didn't have the time or didn't have very much to say. Looking back at my list, most of them fell on the mediocre scale, but here are a few mini reviews for the bigger releases I missed as well as two movies that might make it on to my Best and Worst lists.

Horrible Bosses 2
Stars: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx
Plot: The three lovable goofballs from the first movie decide to go into business for themselves, but when a rich businessman steals their idea, they orchestrate the kidnapping of his spoiled son as payback.
Thoughts: Chris Pine is very pretty. I will never complain about having to look at him for two hours. Other than that, this is pretty much exactly what you would expect if you saw the first one - a ridiculous, sometime funny, sometime eye roll inducing comedy.
Grade: C+

Obvious Child
Stars: Jenny Slate
Plot: After a one night stand leads to an unwanted pregnancy, a New York City comic, who is kind of a mess, tries to figure out what to do with her life.
Thoughts: I heard so many good things about this movie, but it was a huge disappointment for me.  Does it want to be a romantic comedy for the hipster set? Does it want to be a quirky coming of age movie? Does it have to have so many sophomoric jokes? I'm sorry, but fart jokes are for 13 year old boys, not seemingly well educated people who get to write screenplays for a living.
Grade: D

Wild
Stars: Reese Witherspoon,  Laura Dern
Plot: After a divorce, a heroin addiction and the death of her mother, lost soul Cheryl Strayed decided to find herself by hiking the 1100 mile Pacific Crest Trail.
Thoughts: I absolutely loved the memoir on which this was based. The movie? Not so much. Don't get me wrong. It's incredibly well made with superb performances. I loved the flashback segments, but as much as I love me some Reese Witherspoon, I can only take a much of watching her walk and eat and try to put up a tent. It just all became a bit redundant after a while.
Grade: B

The Gambler
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Brie Larson, goddess of the world Jessica Lange
Plot: A college professor with a gambling addiction finds himself in way over his head when he owes extravagant amounts of money to three different scary loan shark types.
Thoughts: While I appreciate a good nihilistic lead character more than you can imagine, this movie never quite reached the sum of its parts. At times, it felt exciting and brilliant, and at others lazy and cliche. I read that this was originally going to be a Scorsese / DiCaprio project and I can't even imagine how good it could have been then. But I guess unlike our titular character,  those guys know when to walk away.
Grade: C+

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Stars: Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, the exquisite cheekbones of Cate Blanchett
Plot: We are nearing the 9 hour mark and things are happening and there is a war and, honestly, I'm not that into it AND THEN BIRDS START DROPPING BEARS INTO THE FIGHT AND SHIT GETS REAL.
Thoughts: I have a love-hate relationship with The Hobbit movies that mostly leans toward the latter. I mean, I loved the second one as much as I hated the first one. The last in the trilogy (Fingers crossed) is mostly boring until the epic battle scene FINALLY starts. Somewhere in an alternate reality black hole bookshelf,  there is a really bad ass four hour / two movie version of The Hobbit that I'd like to see.
Grade: C-

Blue Ruin
Stars: Macon Blair
Plot: A drifter enacts revenge when the man who killed his family is released from prison.
Thoughts: The plot of this movie is as simple and straight forward as they come. There is probably about fifty sentences of dialogue in the while movie. The lead actor kind of has a Zach Galifianakis meets Nathan Lane thing going on. The director wears his love for the Coen Bros. firmly on his sleeve. And despite or because of all that, this is one of the best movies I have seen all year. It's a thrilling slow burn modern day masterpiece with a star who is so mesmerizing you can't even stand to blink. Why isn't Blair a huge star? Why isn't everyone every where talking about this movie all the time? I have no idea.
Grade: A

Just For Fun

(Which really this whole blog is just for fun since no one reads it, but it allows me to exercise my inner movie nerd.)  But, so, anyway, the yearly wrap up of 2014 begins...

M.V.P.
Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin, Lucy; Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Chef.
Runner Up - Tom Hardy in Locke and The Drop.

BEST ENSEMBLE
Birdman
Runner Up - The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST LIMITED ROLE
Allison Pill in Snowpiercer
Runner Up - Matt Damon in Interstellar

BEST MOVIE POSTER
Nightcrawler
Runner Up - Whiplash

BEST TRAILER
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Runner Up - Gone Girl

BEST KISS
Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Runner Up: Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike's "sugar kiss" in Gone Girl

BEST CHEMISTRY
Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Runner Up - Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street

BEST DANCE SEQUENCE
Zac Efron and Seth Rogen Dance Off in Neighbors
Runner Up - Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum dance along side the car in 22 Jump Street

BEST MUSICAL SEQUENCE
The finale of Whiplash
Runner Up - Lip sync scene from The Skeleton Twins

BEST SONG
Lost Stars from Begin Again
Runner Up - Everything is Awesome from The Lego Movie

BEST SCORE
Birdman
Runner Up - Under the Skin

BEST ACTION SEQUENCE
Quicksilver in slow-mo in X-Men: Days of Future Past
Runner Up - Out running a wave in Interstellar

BEST CAR CHASE
Police car chase at the end of Nightcrawler
Runner Up - Nick Fury car chase in Captain America: The Winter Soldier

BEST FIGHT SCENE
Torch / tunnel scene in Snowpiercer
Runner Up - Elevator scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier

BEST IMAGE
Parachuting with red streaks in Godzilla
Runner Up - Glimpse of a fight on an ice planet from above in Interstellar

BEST SINGLE SCENE
The final ten minutes of Whiplash
Runner Up - Releasing the horses in Foxcatcher

BEST OPENING SHOT
The practicing drummer at the end of a long hallway in Whiplash

BEST ENDING
Final ten minutes of Whiplash
Runner Up - The gut punch ending of The Drop

BEST CLOSING CREDITS
Sequel mania in 22 Jump Street

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
Runner Up - Under the Skin

BEST COSTUMES
The Grand Budapest Hotel

BREAK THROUGH PERFORMANCE
Nat Wolff in The Fault in Our Stars and Palo Alto
Runner Up - Mackenzie Foy in Interstellar

BEST COMEBACK
Michael Keaton in Birdman
Runner Up - Don Johnson in Cold in July

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel
Runner Up - Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street

BEST VILLAIN
Sebastian Stan in Captain America : The Winter Soldier
Runner Up - Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl

BEST HERO
Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow
Runner Up - Scarlett Johansson in Lucy

BEST BAD ASS
Frank Grillo in The Purge: Anarchy
Runner Up - Chris Evans in Snowpiercer

BEST ABS
Zac Efron in Neighbors

BEST SEXPOT
Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A BAD MOVIE
James McAvoy in Filth

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MEDIOCRE MOVIE
Adam Driver in This is Where I Leave You

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Runner Up - The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl

BEST QUOTE
"I feel like grabbing you by your ears right now and screaming in your face, 'I'm not fucking interested'." - Nightcrawler
Runner Up - "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'." - Whiplash

Foxcatcher

The story of billionaire John Du Pont and the Olympic gold medal winning Schultz brothers is so unbelievable that it definitely feels like something out of Hollywood. But it isn't. This is a shocking and thrilling true story. After all, the most unbelievable stories often are the true ones.

Channing Tatum stars as Mark Schultz, an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling. He is an eager to please, hard working loner. His older brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) is also a gold medalist, who seems to be the brains behind the brawn. When Mark is approached by eccentric millionaire/billionaire/wealthiest man in America John Du Pont (Steve Carell) to train on the grounds of his mansion (the titular Foxcatcher), Mark jumps at the chance. What follows is a tale of power struggles and jealousy and homoerotic father / son relationships. Through the lens of Bennett Miller's intimate documentary like camera, Foxcatcher becomes suspenseful and enticing, capped off by a trifecta of powerful and profound performances. 

Based on trailers, I honestly thought Carell was going to annoy me in this movie. I thought his performance was going to feel over the top, but I was wrong. He nails his portrayal of the mysterious man who collects hobbies the way his disapproving mother collects horses. His physical transformation is one thing, but he also expertly taps into the mind of a man who is forced to live vicariously through a group of young wrestlers. I've never thought of Tatum as the best actor, though he certainly isn't the worst either.  Here he is on a completely different level. It's his performance that I can't stop thinking about as the eager to please, desperate to be loved (takes one to know one) man.

If Carell is an enigmatic presence throughout the film, and Tatum is the intense, electric center, then Mark Ruffalo is the heart and soul of this movie. His family man coach is the only real likeable character in the movie and the success of the third act depends entirely on how much the audience cares about him. And we care about his sweet and loyal character a whole lot. And, of course, Bennett Miller directs the hell out of this movie. Though it is a tragic film, it is also a beautiful one, filmed with wide open spaces and overhead shots to contradict with the intimate wrestling shots.

There is only one thing, really, that keeps this from being an A movie for me. It just really drags sometimes. At moments, it was simultaneously interesting and boring. With a bit better editing to make it feel sleeker and more fast paced, this could have been an instant classic. Though flawed, Foxcatcher is still a truly great story of the rise and fall of two men, and a fascinating character study of the complicated relationships we form.

Grade: B+

Interstellar

Interstellar is a lot like Game of Thrones in so much as I almost never know what the hell is going on, but damn if I don't enjoy it for the most part.

Interstellar takes place in dust bowl America. We are slowly running out of food, so a group of scientists travel into space to find a habitable planet for us to move to. That is the most basic plot of the film, and I'm not really going to get into a whole lot more because wormholes and relativity and science!  Here is the thing about Interstellar - it's two-thirds of a damn good Sci fi movie. Even if you can't always understand what is happening, you can just give in and have fun with a movie like this. My major problem with Interstellar is the last act. The absolute bizarre nature of the third act us just off putting. I know I've seen this a month later than everyone else, but I still don't want to give away any spoilers.  Let's just say my major problem is the fifth dimension book shelf. It just takes away from the awesome Sci fi movie you just spent nearly three hours watching.

If the final act of the script sort of falls apart right before your eyes, the rest of the movie more than makes up for it. The visual effects are absolutely dazzling and breath taking. Christopher Nolan directs the hell out of this movie. He wears his inspiration on his sleeve, and you can see he's trying to make his own 2001: A Space Odyssey. I mean, if you are going to pay homage to space movies, might as well try to take after the best. It never gets there, of course, but it is striking and beautifully shot. It is epic, but also works as a beautiful parable about the love between fathers and daughters.  The score of the movie is stunning as well, but I actually really enjoyed the absence of music, those few moments which were filled with profound silence.

The performances, of course, are top notch. Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, an engineer and farmer who leaves his children on Earth to travel to space to help save them. He continues the upswing of his career, in which he proves he has so much more talent than anyone could have imagined during his rom-com days. Anne Hathaway plays the appropriately named Amelia, a NASA scientist. I am not a fan of hers so the nicest thing I can say is that she didn't annoy me too much! John Lithgow and Michael Caine are solid in supporting roles. (Side note: Am I allowed to talk about the big surprise cameo yet?? I guess not, but the actor who plays Dr. Mann was a nice surprise and also absolutely wonderful in his small role.) For me, the MVP's are the actors who play Cooper's grown children. Because of relativity and black holes and whatever, Cooper doesn't age in space, but his children do on Earth. Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck are great in these roles. Affleck continues to be an under appreciated actor. He brings a silent rage to his role, while Chastain is just mesmerizing to watch, as always. She is angry and brilliant and lovely and layered and just a joy to watch. She is one of the most exciting actresses we have and it is always a pleasure to watch her, even in a flawed movie.

Because Interstellar is flawed. It is epic and stunning and enjoyable. It is also complicated and murky and ridiculous. If Interstellar had a better third act, it could have been one of the all time greats.  Instead, it's merely a visual effects driven enjoyable movie.

Grade: B

Whiplash

First I thought 2014 was a crappy year for movies. Then I decided it was mediocre. By the time I finally decided it was a good year after all, I have to change my opinion again. Now I think it might possibly be the best year since 2007 (the year if Into the Wild, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Atonement, among others). And the best of the best this year just might be Whiplash, a raucous, high energy, non stop story of obsession in the music world.

Miles Teller stars as Andrew, a young jazz drummer at a prestigious music school who gets plucked out of obscurity and asked to perform in the mist exclusive club in the school, a competition squad taught by the mecurial, unpredictable Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). His teaching methods are a bit suspect, especially when he throws a chair at the head of his young drumming prodigy and threatens to gouge his eyes out. But do they work? As we see Andrew progress with a single minded obsessiveness of not just becoming great, but one of the greats, you have to argue that Fletcher's madness is actually a positive influence on the cocky young loner, who would rather be remembered forever than have friends.

Whiplash is near perfect. There isn't a shot or a moment that doesn't feel necessary and vital for the story. The high energy, frantic pace makes the time fly while you are watching it. I wanted it to be longer! You would think watching someone play drums (breathe drums, live for drums, BLEED for drums) would get old fast, but it never does.

And then there is J.K. Simmons.  Could that evil and sadistic music teacher really be the sweetheart dad from Juno? It's hard to believe, but it is. His performance is spectacular,  the kind of parts actors probably kill for. I may slightly prefer Ed Norton in Birdman, only because his role is slightly more complex,  but Simmons eventual and inevitable Oscar win will be well deserved. Teller is no slouch either. He definitely manages to shine in the lead role even though his supporting actor is getting all the juicy dialogue. And their chemistry is pretty great too, lots of great back and forth between the two.

And I almost made it through my glowing review failing to mention the last ten minutes, which are legitimately the best ten minutes I have seen in any movie all year. What an incredible end to an incredible must-see, wholly entertaining movie.

Grade: A

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1

The fact that Mockingjay is not a great movie is not it's fault. It suffers from following Catching Fire, easily the best installment of the franchise, and from being the boring first half of an epic finale. It's all reestablishing old characters and relationships and meeting new characters and reminding people what has already happened and laying the ground work for what is to come. It has no beginning, middle or end. It is not a stand alone film, not really. So it's not Mockingjay's fault that it is so mediocre.

At the end of Catching Fire, our heroine Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) shot an arrow into the dome at the Quarter Quell. She was rescued by the rebel forces of District 13. Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) was captured by the Capitol and evil President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Mockingjay opens with Katniss living in the underground bunkers of District 13, where she is joined by her mom and sister, as well as Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Plutarch (the late, great, dearly missed Philip Seymour Hoffman), Haymitch (scene stealer Woody Harrelson), Effie (Elizabeth Banks, devoid of fab wardrobe), Finnick (Sam Claflin) and District 13 president Coin (Julianne Moore).  After Katniss' seemingly rebellious move, the districts started a bit of a rebellion so now the think tank in District 13 decide to push it into an all out war, using Katniss as the face of the war. Meanwhile, the Capitol is forcing Peeta to speak it against the war and Katniss. And... honestly? That's pretty much all that happens during what seems like a very long 2 hours.  I may be in the minority here but I would prefer a really good 3 hour movie rather than 2 mediocre 2 hour movies.

Not much really happens in the movie although there are a few nice moments (Katniss singing a haunting song on an expedition to her destroyed District), an exciting action sequence (an intense visit to District 8; easily the best scene in the whole movie), and even some bad ass fashion statements (Natalie Dormer and her cool as hell half shaved head (and, yes, now I want to half shave MY head)). But mostly Mockingjay is boring. But it's not it's fault! The cast all shows up to play. Lawrence is actually one of the weakest links here, getting out shone by scene stealers Harrelson and Banks, and out acted by consummate pros like Moore and Hoffman.  (Aside: Just seeing Hoffman on screen is hard knowing it's one of his last on screen appearances. His death was devastating. What a talent! Even in a mostly wasted supporting role in a mediocre movie. His talent was tremendous). The movie looks good and it's solid visually. And if I though about ways to change it to make it better, I can't really come up with anything save cut it and make one final film instead of Part 1 and 2. And that's not going to happen. Two parts will make twice as much money. Hollywood execs aren't stupid.

So Mockingjay is a mostly boring ride. Again, not it's fault. Once it starts to pick up steam, it's over, and lives us only anticipating next year's finale. What a tease!

Grade: C 

The Theory of Everything

Remember back in 2010 when a really hip, edgy, exciting movie named The Social Network lost every award to a dull borefest named The King's Speech? Well, that might be this year but just replace The Social Network with Birdman and replace The King's Speech with either Boyhood or The Theory of Everything.  I'm not saying The Theory of Everything is a bad movie. It is, in fact, nice, and well acted and interesting, just like The King's Speech was. But it's far from exciting or intense. It doesn't have the same frenetic energy as a game changer like Birdman.

The Theory of Everything is the story of the college years of Stephen Hawking (played by Eddie Redmayne) including his relationship with first wife Jane (Felicity Jones) and his decent into illness when he is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease and given two years to live.  And just because the movie didn't necessarily hold my interest at all times, the life of Hawking is pretty extraordinary.  The smartest man in any room, when he finds out that he will slowly lose control of his muscles and lose the ability to walk and talk and even breathe, the first question he asks is, what about the brain?

And here is where I think the movie lost me. I'm not necessarily a science minded person, but I was much more interested in learning much more about Hawking's scientific achievements.  I get that he is this brilliant mind but I wanted to know much more about the body of work of a man who can't bathe himself or speak or type who one day decides to write a book. That is extraordinary,  but it seems like the movie largely glosses over these issues and focuses on the relationship aspect of the film, which would be fine except for the fact that Redmayne and Jones have zero chemistry.  It's hard to root for a couple when you are pretty sure they would be much better off as friends anyway.

Where the movie largely succeeds is in the performances.  Felicity Jones is solid as Jane, the brilliant wife who manages to study Spanish medieval poetry, join the church choir,  raise three kids and take care of a husband whose health is quickly declining. You can leave this movie thinking the woman is a saint (and it's based on her memoirs so maybe that's what she would like you to think). Redmayne is most impressive. In a performance like this, it is easy to fall into the realm of mimicry, but he never does. His physical transformation is impressive and he's bound to be Oscar nominated for his heart wrenching and utterly committed performance. He leaves it all on the screen and even if the movie sometimes falters, Redmayne never does.

Grade: B-