Movie Review: Men, Women & Children (2014)

A preachy, disjointed disaster. 

 

When leaving the theatre after seeing Men, Women & Children, the latest from Juno director Jason Reitman, my friends and I had varying views of what the movie was about. Discussions ranged from how it examines the irony of communication technology breeding a generation of poor communicators, to how it exposes the human race as a helpless collections of molecules, cursed to live on a giant rock in a vast universe that's doomed to collapse. At the time I presented another alternative. But I can’t recall what it was. To be honest, I don’t have a clue what the larger moral of the story is, but I am positive there is one, glaring at me and shoving itself in my face from beginning to end, like a reactive father trying to teach a complicated lesson that he himself had never thought of before this moment.

Movie Reivew: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Loosely based on the Chris Claremont comic arc of the same name, X-Men: Days of Future Past opens in a dark dystopian future, where a war with robotic soldiers -- called "sentinels" -- has left the mutant population devastated and helpless to fight back. On the run and fighting for their survival, the remaining mutants of the world have only one plan left: Send one of their own back in time, in hopes of stopping this bleak future from ever happening.

It’s an almost ironic plot, considering how truly horrible some of the X-Men film entries have been. Those who were hoping this outing would act as reboot for the dying franchise can rest easy: X-Men: Days of Future Past is not only the hands-down best film in the series, it may very well be the best comic book adaptation of all time.

Movie Review: Noah (2014)

 

When the opening credits rolled for Noah, a woman in attendance with me yelled “praise the Lord!”, which was then inexplicably followed by cheers from the crowd. It was obvious that a church group of some sort was in the theatre with me, made up of people likely unaware of the abstract moral complexity that is typically characteristic of a Darren Aronofsky film. I suppose the presence of Godly folk should be expected whenever one sees a movie based on a Bible story. Luckily for this congregation, they picked a relatively safe Aronofsky film to see, one that shies away from philosophizing about the backwards ethics at the heart of this Biblical end-of-the-world myth.

Aronofsky succeeds in telling the story of the Great Flood in a way which exposes its glorious absurdity. But he ultimately pulls his punches, seemingly out of fear of offending the Christian masses who will lead Noah to box office success. Inevitably, some of the faithful are going to be offended by what they see here regardless, but if the theatre I was in is any indication of how the public will react, many of the God-fearing are going to feel vindicated by this holy adaptation.

Instant Reaction: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

I remember leaving the theatre after seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and I turned to my  

girlfriend at the time to ask her what she thought of the movie. She shrugged, and we continued our walk in silence, secretly reflecting on what we had just witnessed. After another minute of walking, the tension inside her boiled over and she let her feelings fly: “That movie is so beautiful that it makes me mad", she said, with genuine passion in her voice. "It’s so bad, but I’m so moved by it that I have to love it." She looked seriously distressed, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Tears were almost in her eyes as she recalled some of the film’s greatest moments; like the opening scene that sees a pirate boy hanged, or an astonishing ship battle in a whirlpool that left her in a state of awe. I share her sentiment completely; there’s so much to dislike about this film in terms of story, plot, and Johnny Depp antics. But when you focus on the score, the photography, and the truly fantastic special effects, it’s difficult not to lose yourself in the spectacle.

Once I was hooked in by the overwhelming quality of the score and visuals, I couldn’t help but love the characters and the witty dialogue. Further, once I began to let loose my rational inhibitions and let the film wash over me, the crazy antics, such as a marriage conducted during a sword fight, began to reveal their uniquely cinematic charm.

At World’s End strikes me on a purely visceral level and compels me to love it, even though the logical side of my brain can't stand it. And its successful in its mission, forcing me into its world despite my resistance. Even seven years after its release, I find myself still watching it and enjoying it. You could say it’s a guilty pleasure of mine, yet I feel no guilt nor shame for loving it. It’s a technical masterpiece, one that's truly awesome to be behold.

Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley

Movie Review: The LEGO Movie (2014)

 

My fear going into The LEGO Movie was that it would be an obvious 90 minute ad for the brand, sacrificing a chance to create a truly unique stop-animation feature. Strangely enough, my fears were partially realized. It is true that the movie is little more than a glorified advertisement, yet everything about it is so charmingly wonderful that I can’t help but love it, even if it’s trying to sell me a product. With incredible animation, a hilariously anarchic tone, and a surprisingly smart story, The LEGO Movie is a huge win. It intelligently blurs the line between art and commerce, forcing me to rethink the way I view advertising, which apparently can be a legitimate form of expression. This is the first great film of 2014, not to mention one of the best animated features in upwards of a decade.

Movie Review: American Hustle (2013)

There’s something glorious about the chaos of American Hustle, a comedy-crime drama that’s both hard to watch and unbelievably compelling at the same time. Director David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter) has crafted one of the most fiercely entertaining films of the year; it’s both intense and downright hilarious from beginning to end, taking pride in its ability to create memorable moments, scene after scene. 

The energy level that Russell is able to maintain on screen is astonishing. American Hustle takes you on a ride and doesn’t let go, keeping you drawn in through all its insane twists and turns. I was never sure how I should react to what I was seeing, but I think that’s the point. The movie teases the audience, compelling you to laugh or empathize with its characters, only to tear away your fleeting reaction in the next frame. It’s as if Russell is scolding us for attempting to feel anything deeper than what’s presented. Every serious moment is followed with something comical; every moment of humor is wrapped in a layer of depression, and that’s just how it’s supposed to be. This is a film that lives in the moment. 

Instant Reaction: Drive (2011)

Drive is one of those movies that is slow from start to finish, and it's proud of that stylistic choice. Despite its shallow, simple story about a stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver and falls in love with his oblivious neighbor, the film delivers some genuine emotion, thanks to the effectively quiet romance between co-stars Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan.

But it’s more than just the acting that hooked me. When contrasted with the slow pacing and the moody soundtrack, the moments of abrupt graphic violence are so shocking that they carve a spot for themselves in your memory with little effort, culminating in an effective work of visual poetry. This is a movie that's all style -- and that's a compliment, because it works. My brain has trouble reconciling how a film like Drive can be so methodical, yet hit home on a purely visceral level. I can’t get it out of my head.

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, and Bryan Cranston

Movie Review: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

 

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) sported a mohawk as a young boy, skateboarded with his friends, and had an idealistic, punk rock image of how he would live his life. But along the way, reality trapped him. The monotony of daily life took over his identity, and Walter found himself working as a Negative Asset Manager -- or a photo archivist -- for Life magazine, living an adventurous life vicariously through the images of photographer Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn).

Walter “zones out” constantly and day dreams that he’s another man, one less suppressed by the world and more in control of his own destiny. Sometimes his dreams mold perfectly into reality, culminating in a beautiful, surreal amalgam of wish fulfillment. Other times they are less enchanting, becoming manic special-effects-ridden spectacles that don’t fit well with the tone of the film – in fact, they sometimes detract from it.  While the fantasies work to add to the depth of the themes and characters, toning them down wouldn’t hurt at all.

Much like its protagonist, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty suffers from an identity crisis, unsure if it wants to be a wacky family comedy or a quieter, sweeter film about a man who is inspired to live a fulfilling life. It’s the latter that works far more, and it’s the former I could do without completely. I found myself wishing Walter’s fantasies were more grounded, giving me more insight into what goes on in his head.

The strange thing is that, while I know this movie is flawed (and makes a much better trailer than it does a two hour film), it still moved me on a level that few other works have accomplished. If you can get past its zany shortcomings, this really is one of the better movies of the year — when the tone and images on screen fall into sync, the result is truly spectacular.

Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 

When Smaug slowly emerges from the massive pile of treasure at the heart of the Lonely Mountain, making only his eyes visible and keeping his immense size a mystery from the audience, the young nerd deep inside of me was just about as gitty as you can be. I was hooked, drawn into the world of Middle-earth in a way I never imagined possible again, especially after the first part of this Hobbit trilogy, An Unexpected Journey, turned out to be such a massive disappointment.

If there’s one thing I can say for certain about this latest Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug, it’s that it’s better than its predecessor in nearly every way: It’s more exciting, the story is more coherent, and the photography is a hell of a lot better. Yes, when compared to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and the dwarves of Erebor falls short. But if Desolation is any indication of what comes next, The Hobbit trilogy may yet be able to craft its own unique take on the world of Tolkien — assuming Peter Jackson stops pushing hard for this to be a prequel, and allows this adventure to stand on its own two feet.

PlayStation 3 Review: Beyond Two Souls

When the game is hitting all the right notes, "Beyond Two Souls" is wonderfully imperfect and will leave you mesmerized by its quality animation, beautiful soundtrack, and unique twist on the coming-of-age drama. 

If I had written this review a third of the way into Quantic Dream’s Beyond Two Souls, I would have poured my emotion onto the page, urging everyone to play it immediately or risk missing out on one of the most moving works of art to grace this console generation. Regrettably, my positive reaction has cooled some after finishing the game, which turned out to have a serious identity problem long before its final act. At some point Beyond Two Souls, which is at times a wonderful, human story full of great characters, falls into a mess of Hollywood pulp and convention, desperately trying to make sense of its own unnecessarily complex narrative. And for a game like this, which functions as more of an interactive movie than a traditional video game, a story and characters means everything.

Movie Review: Gravity (2013)

A visceral film that feels like a lucid dream.

I once had a film professor who told me that movies should overwhelm you, fully absorb you into them, and truly become larger than reality. For this reason, he opposed watching a movie on small media devices, feeling as though the experience is damaged in the process. I always agreed with him. But I never agreed with him so firmly until I saw Gravity, the epic by visionary director Alfonso Cuarón, who very well may have just crafted his masterpiece. Watching Gravity on anything other than a high quality, large screen would be a sin from which there is no penance, dooming you to lose the full effect of one of the most moving works to ever grace cinema.

Rarely is every aspect of a film -- from the acting, direction, photography, and beyond -- in such perfect sync, uniting harmoniously to craft something that will undoubtedly become timeless. Gravity is one of the most awesome things I have ever witnessed. It’s a visceral film that feels more like a lucid dream, and it’ll stand as a compelling example of purely visual storytelling.

The story is, at least on the surface, a simple one, taking place in near real-time, while avoiding the gimmicky feel that usually accompanies the idea. On a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are caught in a cascade of debris caused by a missile strike, which is systematically wiping out everything in low-Earth orbit. As time goes on, these characters attempt to survive one terrible event after the other, culminating in one of the most intense films I have ever seen.

Movie Review: Don Jon (2013)

Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) basically has his pick of an array of hotties on the New Jersey bar scene, never scoring below an eight, even if he’s had a few too many drinks. Jon has a natural way with women; shoot them once glance and it’s a near guarantee he’ll be taking them back to his place before the night’s out. But this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; after all, his friends do call him “Don Jon”.

So, if Jon is such a master of finding women to slam, why does he spend most nights alone at his computer, masturbating compulsively, even after he’s just had sex with a dime? Jon explains to us – in the graphic detail you’d expect from a Jersey-Italian stereotype — that he simply doesn’t get off to women like he does porn. Women in porn will do anything to please a guy and, let’s face it, real women rarely have perfect porno bodies. To Jon, the real thing is boring by comparison. When it comes to the ladies, Jon seems to be more into the game of womanizing than he is the actual sex – or hell, the women themselves.

Movie Review: Zombie Warz: Falls the Shadow (2011)

Zombie Warz: Falls the Shadow is an extremely low-budget independent film, one that has much less to do with zombies than it does its cast of characters. I have to imagine that the “Zombie Warz” title was added just to sell DVDs to the crowd that loves awesomely bad B-movies. However, people expecting some cheap-looking zombie guts are going to be disappointed. While Falls the Shadow is definitely a film made on a micro budget, it’s a beautifully photographed, well-directed little gem, that accomplishes more than most student films of its ilk could ever dream of.

The film opens with the execution of a young black woman by a gang of southern neo-nazis, led by the appropriately named Reverend Phelps (Phil Perry), who seems hell-bent on rebuilding a post-apocalyptic America in the image of some violent right-wing God. His organization exemplifies the negative side of how humanity may act in a world where all organized governments are gone; his band of raiders use fear and violence to get what they want, including sex.

s their counterpart we meet a cast of compassionate characters, all of whom begin with their own separate stories. Eventually their lives intertwine, thanks to an invariable link to the band of neo-confederates, who are expanding their reach by raping, murdering, and robbing anyone they come into contact with.

Movie Review: The Conjuring (2013)

 

I’m an atheist, a skeptic, and a rational human being. I don’t believe in gods, psychics, demons, ghosts, or other spooky things. That being said, I’m a huge fan of The Exorcist, and I am perfectly capable of employing the suspension of disbelief necessary to thoroughly enjoy a film about demon possession.  I went into The Conjuring with an open mind, expecting to enjoy some classic horror thrills. But what I saw instead was a movie that seemed obsessed with falling into the realm of the completely absurd, destined to just be another forgotten mainstream horror film.

The Exorcist was tempered in its execution, relying on traditional scares, clever lighting, and superb sound design to sell you on its premise, and that’s why it was so effective. The Conjuring starts out following this time-tested formula, but soon devolves into nonsensical crap, stabbing your suspension of disbelief to death with one of the silliest exorcisms ever to haunt a horror movie, floating shotguns and biting demons included.

PlayStation 3 Review: The Last of Us

The opening scene of The Last of Us drew me in immediately. Playing as a young girl, I felt terror when I woke up alone, exploring a dark house, calling out to my father and getting no response. The newspaper on the sink talked about a new virus spreading quickly, the symptoms of which seemed to be aggression and violent tendencies. It was then that I heard a noise downstairs. If I wanted to progress, I had to go investigate. Pushing the stick forward, I felt like I was walking to my own doom.

The opening grabs you tight and doesn’t let go, but somehow the game manages to become even more compelling as it progresses. Despite a narrative that, on the surface, appears to be riddled with horror clichés, somehow The Last of Us manages to dodge your expectations unceremoniously, becoming more brutal and depressing with every moment that passes by.

The story in The Last of Us works because the characters work. The Last of Us is – for lack of a better term – a character drama, in the same vein as The Walking Dead or Stephen King’s The Mist. Yes, it’s a generic horror setting. But it works because the characters feel so deep, raw, and real. Joel, Ellie, and the supporting cast are as interesting as any characters you’ll find on television, and the superb voice acting is largely to thank for that.

Movie Review: Monster's University (2013)

The short film that preceded Monsters University, The Blue Umbrella, is a beautiful work of visual poetry, using music and rhythm to progress the narrative, with absolutely no dialogue whatsoever. It’s a story about – as you may have guessed – a blue umbrella that develops an attraction to a red umbrella, which happens to be the only other color that stands out amongst the sea of traditional black (there’s some symbolism in there somewhere).

When the blue umbrella finds itself blown away during a rain storm, a world of inanimate objects comes alive, working together to save the helpless little guy from all sorts of peril, all to reunite him with his bright red crush. The animation is absolutely fantastic; perfect rain effects and dark lighting dominate the environment, creating detailed shadows and reflections everywhere. Pixar is a studio that once combined incredible technical polish with a unique approach to storytelling. Their true power is shown during this wonderful little short.

Then The Blue Umbrella ended and Monsters University began. From there on out things seemed fairly run-of-the-mill -- a very sad thing to have to say about any Pixar production. After all, this is the studio that gave the world masterpieces like Ratatouille (2007) and Toy Story (1995).

Movie Review: Stories We Tell (2013)

Stories We Tell is an extremely personal documentary, directed by the very talented Sarah Polley (Away From Her, Take this Waltz). Featuring interviews from her real-life family, friends, and acquaintances, the movie begins by telling the story of Polley’s mother, Diane, who died of Cancer in 1990. But the story doesn’t stop there; Polley goes on to examine the unique circumstances surrounding her birth, as well as the complex relationship of her eccentric parents.

In a way, watching makes you feel as though you’re invading the privacy of this family, especially since the film seems to focus on a lot of intimate, embarrassing moments in their lives. Yet, the approach feels inviting; every member of the family appears happy to share what they remember and be a part of the film, which helps keep the tone feeling consistently positive throughout.

If you’re someone who can’t open your mind to documentaries, the idea of seeing a film centered around a family you’ve never heard of may seem especially off-putting. However, you’ll be glad to know that Stories We Tell has a nontraditional approach, adding in actors to give life to the narration, which is written and recited by Michael Polley, Sarah Polley’s father.

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