1/26/2015 0 Comments 'Boyhood' Movie ReviewBoyhood has been hailed as a "masterpiece unlike anything else in the history of cinema." Wow. Could any film live up to that? Fortunately, this film sure gives it its all.
The story follows the American upbringing of a boy named Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his family. He has a sister named Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), an absentee father named Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke), and a single-parenting mother named Olivia (Patricia Arquette). What makes this film particularly special, and what has people raving, is the fact that visionary director Richard Linklater (father of cast member Lorelei) filmed the actors over the course of 12 years, authentically capturing their growth. While not based on a true story, this technique still manages to serve as a record of a boy growing up, which has never before been condensed to three hours. The more than ambitious filming strategy does pose its drawbacks, however. While I do appreciate that the film takes the time to span each year individually, the overall project could have benefited from smoother transitions. For example, nearly halfway through the film do we see young Mason and Samantha supporting the Obama campaign and mentally checkpoint it as 2008, but by the time we do the math to figure out how old they are by now, we've missed the latest updates on the rest of their lives up to that point. It doesn't have to be exposed through dialogue, but the passage of time could have been clarified through small nods, such as diary entries. This lack of explanation eventually escapes the pacing and seeps onto the story itself, sometimes throwing you into a scene and having the passage of time itself serve as the explanation. We don't know why the family is in a new home, for example, we just know by looking at them that time has passed, and so they must have moved. But, as off putting as the transitions can be, I can argue that there is a reason: we don't know why certain things have or haven't happened to other characters because the entire film is seen from Mason's perspective. There isn't a scene without him in it because this is his story, and Coltrane captures the perspective perfectly, evolving from a curious boy to a rebellious adolescent to a confident man. In fact, the same can be said for the majority of the cast. Though some of the characters have certainly been written to be less likeable than others, you can actually see everyone growing as actors, but still maintaining a very realistic outlook. Nothing is overblown or theatrical, but rather the film is bold enough to take the time to exploit the beauty in the simple things that we all go through. Nothing happens, and yet, everything happens. In the end, Boyhood isn't a film for everyone; it clocks in at nearly three hours, and the pacing is a bit clunky. But there's a great deal of admiration to be had for Richard Linklater's 12-year vision come to life. You can marathon Boy Meets World or the Harry Potter films and watch the same body of actors grow up over a decade, but no one else has managed to condense that experience to a single film, whilst still keeping the spirit of growing up alive and well. I'm giving Boyhood three and a half stars out of four.
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1/18/2015 1 Comment 'American Sniper' Movie ReviewAcclaimed director Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino) has officially entered the Oscar race with his true story war biopic, American Sniper. But does the film stack up to Eastwood's prior works? No. It exceeds them.
The story, based upon the memoir of the same name by Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), follows Kyle's military career and marriage to Taya Kyle (Sienna Miller). Cooper delivers his most moving performance to date, putting on 40 pounds of muscle to play the military legend. A natural shot with a sniper rifle, Kyle is far from a bona-fide killing machine. Every shot takes a toll on him emotionally, and the world of luxury he called home is never the same when he returns to it. It's truly a metamorphosis to see Kyle's skills increase, though still remaining the Texas-born patriot who sees evil in the world and seeks to do something about it. But Kyle's story tells that there is never a solution that simple, as some of the most gripping scenes entail last-second tough calls shot through the scope of Kyle's rifle. It's scenes like this that show you don't need guns-a-blazing action scenes to create tension, but rather a scene can just play out and be intense in itself. That isn't to say, however, that there aren't compelling action sequences. The final action scene, featuring a sandstorm that sweeps over the streets and rooftops of Iraq, is reminiscent of Black Hawk Down, putting you right in the perspective of the protagonists. Honestly, there's not much wrong here. Though some have complained that the downplayed scenes between Kyle and his family are rather mundane, I found them to contrast the wartime scenes rather nicely: whether toting his rifle or carrying one of children over his shoulder, the scarred Kyle is never off his guard. Beyond that, what we have here is a passionate and dedicated tribute film teeming with all-American gusto, and a film that I can't recommend enough. I give American Sniper four stars. 1/11/2015 0 Comments 'Life Itself' Movie ReviewGiven my fascination with film and admiration for Roger Ebert as a writer, it was practically a given that I would enjoy the documentary on Ebert's life, Life Itself. And I did. But does that mean that the film offers anything for those who didn't know Ebert's work? Absolutely.
Based on and featuring excerpts from Ebert's memoir of the same name, the film dares to strip away the legend of the most influential film critic ever and give us the story of the man himself and his personal life - upbringing, alcoholism, marriage, and battle with cancer - mostly told through Ebert's own narration. Skimming the details on Ebert's journalistic career to focus on the more personal details, those among the audience looking for what went into Roger's reviews or what film criticism was to him won't find it here. When looking at the bigger picture, you're truthfully only getting half the story. However, for those seeking the less-explored personal half, I would highly recommend this film to viewers who would like to know more about Roger as a person. As stated previously, topics such as home life, his marriage and troubling alcoholism are covered in detail, the most significant of which being Ebert's battle with thyroid cancer. Intercut with back story and interviews with some of Hollywood's biggest names (including director Martin Scorsese) are clips of Ebert's trying final months in the hospital alongside his devoted wife, Chaz Ebert. Screenwriters of Hollywood, this is the love story you should be using as your reference. Unscripted and passionate without dominating the film's focus, the romance between Roger and Chaz Ebert is purely genuine. Chaz is a woman strong and endearing, standing by Roger through the most enduring of times. And enduring times they were. Fans of Ebert and newcomers to his work alike will be surprised to know just how much of a toll Ebert's cancer took on his health. Unable to speak, eat, drink normally, or even walk, Ebert soldiered on with his reviews and blog posts, an admirable smile never leaving his eye. As odd of a comparison as it sounds, I'm going to liken this film to Mozart and the Whale, a romance between two people with autism. Mozart suffers as a romance, but understandably so, as the writers were more concerned with accurately representing autism than anything else. Once you accept that the writers' intentions are in the right place, you accept the film for what it is, and it grows on you. The same applies here: no, I didn't get the journalistic coverage of Ebert's career that I was hoping for, but given what we have, this is still a very emotional and passionate documentary about love for what you do and love for those around you. In honor of Roger's timeless trademark, I'm giving Life Itself a thumbs up. With a new Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Mad Max and James Bond coming out, 2015 is shaping up to be a big year for blockbuster films. It can also be pretty easy to get lost amidst all the noise, and fall prey to the year's less favorable selections. This is a brief listing of what you should anticipate in 2015.
1. Furious 7 (April 3) With the recent passing of Fast and Furious star Paul Walker, the seventh installment of the action series has a lot to live up to for its fans, promising an entertaining ride while also honoring Walker's memory and integrating his death into the plot. 2. Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1) Marvel's streak of fun, action-packed, character-driven films has to end sometime. One of these days, they're just going to make a bad movie. Based on the strong chemistry of the all star cast and the studio's trademark balance of action and plot, I'd say this isn't going to be that day. 3. Tomorrowland (May 15) Brad Bird makes fun movies, plain and simple. From The Iron Giant to Ratatouille to The Incredibles, you know it's a big deal when he directs a live-action film about George Clooney visiting a futuristic other world. Sign me up. 4. Jurassic World (June 12) The Jurassic Park series has had its ups and downs, but with the first film etched into cinematic history, it's natural to be curious about a new Jurassic film. With that said, Jurassic World shows great promise, keeping the wonder of dinosaurs alive while taking the adventure to new levels. 5. Inside Out (June 19) After several years of experimenting with sequels, Pixar returns to their roots and churns out an original film about the emotions of a little girl (happiness, sadness, jealousy, lust) represented as colorful characters living inside her mind. Given that this is the studio who made a movie about a man traveling in a floated house suspended by balloons into an endearing tearjerker, I can't wait to see how they'll make this work. 6. Ted 2 (June 26) When Family Guy head Seth McFarlane released his film debut about a foul-mouthed teddy bear in the summer of 2012, audiences fell in love with the adorably awful bear. Now reunited with talented star Mark Wahlberg, McFarlane sets out to accomplish the most daunting feat of any sequel: to recapture the spirit of the original, but in a new light. 7. Ant-Man (July 17) Yes, the name is silly. Yes, the movie probably will be, too. But why should that be a bad thing? If there's anything to be learned from Guardians of the Galaxy, it's that once you embrace the oddities and go from there, you can make a film that appeals to just about everyone. Here's to what will hopefully be this year's Guardians. 8. The Walk (October 2) This true story from director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future) stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a French high wire artist bent on traversing a wire atop the twin towers of the World Trade Center (yes, walking a wire from one tower to the other) in 1974. Shot in IMAX 3D, The Walk is sure to be a thrill of the highest stakes. 9. St. James Place (October 9) A Cold War thriller directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Hanks, and written by Joel and Ethan Coen (Unbroken, No Country for Old Men)? With a powerhouse combo like that, this could easily be the film to look out for come awards season. 10. Peanuts (November 6) So few entries in the world of animation have had a cultural impact on par with Charles Schultz's Peanuts cartoons, so it's needless to say that a lot is riding on the success of this 3D animated film about Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang. Whether it's good or bad, Peanuts will definitely be one of the most talked about movies of the year. 11. Spectre (November 6) Bond is back, and so is Sam Mendes (director of 007 hit Skyfall). Mendes and current Bond actor Daniel Craig have proven to be a strong combo before, and having Ralph Fiennes (The Prince of Egypt, The Grand Budapest Hotel) in your cast is never a bad thing, either. 12. The Hateful Eight (November 13) Whether you love him or hate him, there's no denying that director Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Django Unchained) has a distinct and recognizable style. He also has a love for westens, which is a good thing for this film about a party of bounty hunters trapped in a saloon together during a blizzard. 13. The Martian (November 25) Eventually, every big name director goes back to their roots, and now Ridley Scott is taking his turn. The Martian, reminiscent of Scott's film debut Alien, is a straightforward space thriller, this one starring Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded and forced to survive on the surface of Mars. 14. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (December 18) It's Star Wars. Star Wars! Not only does this generation get to witness the rebirth of a saga that inspired decades' worth of imaginative growth throughout all of cinema, but it's also being given to us by the same director who brought Star Trek back from the grave and received thunderous applause. 15. Mission: Impossible V (December 25) "You can't keep a good dog down." These seem to be the words Tom Cruise has lived by, and why fault him for it? The man can act, and obviously realizes that when something as crowd pleasing as a good Mission: Impossible film works, it just works. Don't change the formula, just keep 'em coming. 1/9/2015 0 Comments Top 10 Best Movies Of 20141. Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal, at the absolute top of his game, delivers as a slightly deranged TV news cameraman who films the seedy nighttime underbelly of Los Angeles in this gripping film about news journalism. Is it a character study? A social commentary? Or just an awesome movie? All of the above. 2. Unbroken A life story about a man who transcends athletic stardom to serve his country in a war. Is this Forrest Gump? No, but it's just as inspirational, because at its core, Unbroken is a true story of the resilience of the human spirit take the toughest of what life hurls at you and never, ever back down. 3. Interstellar Director Christopher Nolan's voyage through space and time is a well-acted journey that needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Panned by some critics for favoring an emotional story over a logical one, Interstellar still pulls through by packing an emotional punch. 4. Gone Girl Boasting career-defining performances by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl is a thriller with a twist you'll never see coming. Beyond that, this is a very smartly written film with a great deal to say about the media, public image, and even about marriage. 5. Two Days, One Night Inception star Marion Cotillard dominates this endearing true story of economic strife. Cotillard plays Sandra, a depression-racked factory worker who has only a weekend to persuade her coworkers to vote in her favor over a substantial bonus. Occasionally dragging in pacing, Two Days, One Night is kept afloat by its relevancy to the despairing state of the contemporary economy. 6. Guardians of the Galaxy In a world where the success of The Dark Knight has inspired a generation of overly serious summer movies, Guardians of the Galaxy stands out as the one that knows how to have fun, but still take itself plenty seriously. From the outstanding visual effects to the unforgettable soundtrack, Guardians is a romp from start to finish. 7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes The last Apes film was an engaging origin story that highly respected its source material, but Dawn takes it to a new level with updated visual effects and a poignant message on biases between different cultures. 8. The Grand Budapest Hotel Of all the things that stand out in this film - the dynamic cast (including the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Murray), the precise cinematography - easily the most memorable is the striking visual style. Every set looks as though the actors are stepping through a Cake Boss cake, making for a truly memorable world worth revisiting. 9. X-Men: Days of Future Past Director Bryan Singer (of the first two X-Men films) returns to bridge the casts of the original series and the outstanding prequel, X-Men: First Class. The result is a surefire crowd pleaser for fans and newcomers alike, correcting the mistakes of the earlier films and opening the doors to newer ones. 10. Edge of Tomorrow The most underrated sci-fi movie of the year, Edge of Tomorrow plays out like a video game in the best of ways: whenever Tom Cruise's lead character dies, he simply restarts, which leads to a variety of entertaining plot directions and outcomes. Featuring Emily Blunt as a well-to-do warrior (and Hollywood's should-be role model for strong female characters), Edge of Tomorrow combines everything loveable about Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers in a movie that stands toe to toe with both of them. 1/7/2015 0 Comments Top 5 Worst Movies Of 20141. Noah
Quite possibly one of the worst films ever made, Noah is as blasphemous to non-religious viewers as it is to Christians, distorting common sense and using everything it has - the script, the effects, the acting - to redefine the word "bad." 2. Transformers: Age of Extinction This movie only happened because the first three were huge financial hits. All it takes is one box office flop, and summer blockbusters will no longer be defined by lazy plots that exist only to springboard wooden characters into overlong, meaningless, and mercilessly drawn out sequences of destruction. Until then, we've still got two more of these things coming. 3. Transcendence Johnny Depp has finally broken the decade-long chain of playing the same Jack Sparrow character in every movie, and is now the complete opposite: the voice and face of a computer who barely has to act, and his most boring role ever. And he's not even the worst of this movie. 4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 In the right mindset, I can enjoy the commonly hated Spider-Man 3 for its silliness, but this movie just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. From the jumbled story to the flatly written characters, there have been worse movies this year, but none have proven to be a bigger disappointment. 5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Though the entirety of this film isn't as awful as anyone expected, the majority of it is still marred by a startling lack of originality in terms of character and story. Why do the story and sloppily written villains take backseat to the flashy effects? Because here, characters aren't important. Brand-building is. In much the same fashion as The Fault in Our Stars, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is a young adult novel adaptation that takes the weaknesses of its predecessor and turns them into strong qualifies on film. How does that even work? Well, I'll tell you.
The third installment of the Hunger Games series follows teenage Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who, after surviving her second Hunger Games (a televised battle to the death between a futuristic nation's youths), has taken refuge in a rebel camp and agreed to become the symbol for the rebellion against the oppressive Capitol. Katniss is at her most vulnerable and emotional low here, and Lawrence has never been better in the role. Practically broken by the Games, Katniss sees the hopeful fingers point to her for salvation and reluctantly joins the fight for the sake of the people. She's a real and human hero because she's seen struggling with her heaving leadership more often than drawing a bow, but she's not weak, either. Newcoming screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong manage to strike a balance of admirable character traits in a memorable heroine for the ages. Donald Sutherland is equally striking as the villainous President Snow, setting his strongest forces on Katniss in what will be the beginning of an all-out war. This is one of those performances by an actor who has few lines, but manages to leave a true impression by just his facial expressions. In terms of story structure, this installment of the Hunger Games franchise is easily the least action-packed, relying more on moving the plot along via political propaganda. Katniss' rebellion leaders desire her to be the object of anti-war ads, a less subtle practice than the previous film's seamless integration of politics into the action. In addition to this setback, the film's story tends to stay in one place for the majority of its runtime, shortchanging itself out of a wide variety of settings, and the most abrupt ending of all of the two-part series finales. When the arrows do fly, however, the action is nothing short of exhilarating, and for all of its pacing issues, it's impossible to deny Mockingjay's good intentions. In the end, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is an entertaining, politically-charged action thriller that focuses more on the politics, and manages to never be boring. I can't wait to see how the series ends, and I'm giving the first half of the Hunger Games finale three and a half out of four stars. |
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