July 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey
Stars - Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan
Plot - A virginal college girl falls for a billionaire businessman who is a little on the kinky side.
Thoughts - Anyone who knows me, knows that I was not a fan of the poorly written book. It's not even the fact that the writer seems to hate women, it's just that a fifth grader has a better grasp of the English language. I feel like director Sam Taylor-Johnson really wanted to make a better movie, but the source material just wouldn't allow for that to happen. Dakota Johnson is a star waiting to happen, but mostly this was just a bad, unsexy movie and Dornan has the personality of a rock.
Grade - D-

The Loft
Stars - James Marsden, Karl Urban, Wentworth Miller
Plot - A group of friends share a loft where they can take their mistresses, but when a woman turns up dead, they all suspect each other.
Thoughts - I mean, interesting idea. This movie definitely had potential, and despite being shot like some cheesy Telemundo soap opera, it actually kept me interested. Still, there were absolutely no likable characters and it was hard to care about the outcome with no one to root for.
Grade - C-

The DUFF
Stars - Mae Whitman
Plot - A high school girl finds out she is the Designated Ugly Fat Friend and decides to change her life.
Thoughts - Sure, this is a cliche filled high school comedy that pales in comparison to much better, classic teen movies. But I've always felt like the ugly fat friend, and I still feel like an outcast, so this movie hit a little close to home for me. Maybe I related to it a bit too much and maybe I'm being too kind, but I would recommend it.
Grade - B-

Southpaw
Stars - Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams
Plot - A boxer struggles to get his life together after a tragedy puts him in a self destructive tailspin.
Thoughts - Relatively speaking, this is no Raging Bull or Rocky, or even The Fighter. But I do love a good boxing movie, and I think Gyllenhaal is our best young actor, someone who constantly challenges himself and betters himself. He is so exciting to watch.  Even when the script feels overly sentimental or overly cheesy, his raw and devastating performance pulls everything together.
Grade - B

Dark Places
Stars - Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Corey Stoll
Plot - The lone survivor of a horrendous murder rethinks the testimony she gave which put her brother in prison for killing their entire family.
Thoughts - Mostly this movie just made me want to read the really great, perfectly plotted book by Gillian Flynn again. It's not that the movie is bad, per se, it just feels long and sluggish and boring sometimes. The book was a non stop page turner, but this adaptation is just okay. Come for Corey Stoll, though, who steals the show.
Grade - C

Trainwreck
Stars - Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Tilda Swinton
Plot - A hot mess journalist who likes a good one night stand falls for a nerdy and sweet doctor, even though she is a mess and incapable of loving or being loved and she is uncomfortable with intimacy and the idea that her sister is having babies A.K.A. the story of my life.
Thoughts - I was super excited for this movie because I RELATE, man, but I was slightly disappointed. I mean, I laughed, I cried, I fell even harder for Schumer. Still, it just didn't totally get there for me. I think all Judd Apatow movies are about 30 minutes too long and a little editing would have gone a long way. Still, the movie is funny and feminist and breaks rom-com conventions. It's probably the type of movie that will grow on me (like another Apatow movie, Knocked Up, which I despised the first time I saw it). Also, a nearly unrecognizable Tilda Swinton steals the whole movie. (Like, I'm seriously not even fully convinced that it was really her.)
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

Moonrise Kingdom (DVD)

Here's the thing I love most about Wes Anderson, and you can probably only say the following about a very small number of directors: when you are watching a Wes Anderson movie, you absolutely know you are watching a Wes Anderson movie from frame one. If you didn't know he directed the movie, you would most certainly realize it as soon as the movie starts.

Moonrise Kingdom is most certainly a Wes Anderson movie. Every single detail proves this, from the clothes to the set decoration to the dialogue - everything. And while it's not my personal favorite of his movies (that award goes to The Royal Tennenbaums, of course), I think it may be his best work to date. It's sweet and it's sad and it's just damn good.

The movie takes place in 1965 on a small East Coast island where a teenage khaki scout named Sam (Jared Gilman) falls in love with a book / binocular loving girl named Suzy (Kara Hayward) and they decide to run away together. With an impending hurricane headed their way, a bunch of people begin searching the island for them, including Suzy's lawyer parents with a troubled marriage (Frances McDormand and Bill Murray), the island cop (Bruce Willis), a hilariously serious Scout Master (Edward Norton) and a character aptly named Social Services (Tilda Swinton). Jason Schwartzman also shows up in the final act to help our young love runaways. What's so great about Moonrise Kingdom in this day and age of movies with complicated plots and confusing story lines is how unabashedly straight forward it is. It's a simple story told simply and that is what makes it so beautiful. There's this great overall sense of adventure and this celebration of young love. The film is so beautiful but it also makes you sad at the end, remembering better days.

The movie may be Wes Anderson's best but it's far from perfect. The adult characters have a certain lack of personality and aren't really fully developed although I like to think that's intentional. As a child, you don't fully understand the problems and concerns going on in adult lives, so perhaps this is a reflection of that feeling. Another small problem I had was the third act. The film meanders at a slow, sweet and enjoyable pace and then at the end, Anderson tries to fit in as much action as possible (in fact, all of the action).

But these two small problems don't take away from the fact that Moonrise Kingdom is a great movie, definitely one of the best of the year and probably Anderson's overall best. Anderson is known for being weird and pretentious but he keeps this movie quirky while managing to curb his more out there notions that maybe turn off mainstream audiences. The performances, especially by the young Gilman and Hayward, and Norton, who all but steals the show, are fabulous. The dialogue is fresh and sweet. Moonrise Kingdom happens to be a perfect inclusion in Anderson's resume.

Grade: B+

Michael Clayton, We Own the Night

Michael Clayton - This is the kind of movie that is a little bit hard to explain. Why? Well, it takes all of about the entire two hours to finally get a grasp on what exactly is going on. Guess what? I love movies like that. Also, the plot is just a little bit complicated. George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, a "fixer" for a high-powered law firm in New York City. Said firm is representing a manufacturing company, U North, in a class action libel suit that says their weed repelent has killed family members. Tom Wilkinson is the lawyer in charge of that case (but also, he's sort of making a case against them). Tilda Swinton is a sort of public relations person for U North. Sydney Pollack is the head honcho at the law firm. These are the main characters you need to worry about. The movie surely requires a lot of attention, but it's not the convoluted jigsaw puzzle I'm making it sound like. There are a lot of secondary characters involved in the story that make explaining it difficult. There are also various important pieces of information that I wouldn't want to give away. The film makers aren't spoon feeding the audience but they also haven't made the movie something you can't understand (David Lynch didn't direct it, after all). To make things generic, the basic plot is not unlike 'A Civil Action' or 'Erin Brokovich.' But unlike either of those films, this film works on a much higher level. It unfolds in a spell binding way. It's completely engrossing (except for the middle section which dragged a bit for me but whatever). The story telling is mesmerizing. The dialogue is pitch perfect. And those performances! The spotlight surely falls on Clooney - as it always does. He's amazing, for sure (especially while the credits role - don't look at them - look at everything that is happening in Clooney's face... those 2 minutes alone are nomination worthy). But the real stand-out here is Wilkinson. He does over the top with a subtle nuance and it's just perfect. He's on my short list for Best Supporting Actor. Holding it down for the ladies is the amazing Tilda Swinton. You can have your Cate Blanchett. I'll take Tilda. She's amazing to watch. There is a particular scene in which she practices a speech while getting ready for work that just knocked me out. The movie is not without it's flaws of course. It's hardly convincing that lawyers wouldn't know better than to assume Clayton died in a fiery car crash when there was clearly no body. Also, the final 10 minutes is terribly predictable and cliche. Although, Clooney and Swinton somehow make it almost work. Maybe I'm just getting tougher. After all, pretty much every movie that comes out after September wants to be considered for an Oscar. If this movie was released in, say, April, it probably would have gotten a higher grade.
Grade: B

We Own the Night - There's a lot to like with We Own The Night. Unfortunately, there's a lot to dislike as well, especially after last year's fantastic The Departed. This movie will inevitably be compared to that movie and it's almost not fair. But guess what? Both are complicated mob/cop movies. The Departed is as close to perfection as possible. Compared to Scorsese's masterpiece, We Own the Night is mediocre at best. The movie which takes place in the 80s (wonderful setting) in New York City follows Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix), a nightclub manager who has a hot girlfriend (Eva Mendes) and a decadent drug fueled lifestyle. Meanwhile, his brother Joseph (Mark Walhberg) just got promoted to the captain of the drug inforcement task force on the police department. Their father (Robert DuVall) is also a respected and veneered police officer. That's the basic plot. What are the fatal flaws here? The characters are terribly contrived. The storyline is a little bit nonsensical (I really don't want to ruin anything but Phoenix's character makes such a drastic character change near the end that I just personally find hard to believe). There are quite a few boring parts. The acting is superb but that's to be expected with such a high caliber cast. The on-screen family, however, has little chemistry together. Mendes' character is annoying and a bit ridiculous (she and Phoenix take part in the most gratitous, unnecessary sex scene in recent memory). There's a lot of things that don't make a lot of sense (where is the cop back-up? why is DuVall so mad at Phoenix just for managing a nightclub? why would the drug dealer just hang around in the city?) . They give us reasons for some of this stuff but they don't satisfy my curiosity. But the movie definitely isn't all bad. The two shootouts are well done with a lot of shaky camera, which makes them more exciting. The final cat and mouse game in the long grass is thrilling and engrossing. There's a car chase in the pouring rain that will make your heart stop beating. Overall, the movie is barely more than average.
Grade: C+

The TV Set - I would definitely recommend this movie. It's fun and funny, witty and well done. It's an interesting look at how exactly a television show gets made. Grade: B-

Lucky You - Ah, my most hated film genre - the romantic comedy. It is my mortal enemy. This movie is about 30 minutes too long. It's also a shame that Texas Hold Em' is so 2005. But, kudos for small roles from Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Shannon. Grade: D

Reign Over Me - I'm about 3/4 of the way through this movie right now and it's so boring that I am doing this instead. I heard so much about Adam Sandler being Oscar worthy? Are you kidding me? Don Cheadle is wiping the floor with him. Grade: D (as of right now anyway).