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'OBLIVION' (PG-13) (2 STARS)
Written by Karl Gadjusek and Michael DeBruyn
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Actors: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo.
I love movies and I really get why certain film makers borrow from every great writer and director they can think of. Sometimes they borrow without really knowing it. Science Fiction movies are a genre of film that gets copied a lot. The makers of "Oblivion" are certainly inspired by the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece "2001". There are many things here that pay homage to "2001" like the look of the movie and the Hal like voice here by one of the characters. "Oblivion" is a beautiful looking movie but it feels like I have seen it done before and much better. Also the movie's story takes a little from "Wall E" and mixes it with "2001" and this director's "Tron:Legacy". This pale copy of better movies is also dull, empty and stars a miscast Tom Cruise.
The movie again is pristine, very well shot and beautiful to look at but the story takes a good 45 minutes to kick in. It is like sitting down with an extremely beautiful woman until 45 minutes in you realize she has no personality and nothing interesting to say. The slow pacing worked with something like "2001" because that movie was suspenseful and the story was fascinating. "Oblivion" is just very confusing and the love story at the center left me cold. I also think Cruise is miscast here when someone younger would have been more effective. I think the film makers forgot that Cruise is 50, even though he looks 30, and his love interests here are quite younger. There is no chemistry between him and his leading ladies here adding to the very dull story.
Like the look of this film I really do like all the female performances and while Tom Cruise is good here, the women outshine him because their characters are more interesting. Andrea Riseborough is very effective her especially after seeing a much different and equally great performance in last week's "Disconnect". She is very effective here as Vika who we first see partnered with Cruise as a couple that is exploring the wasteland of Earth after a devastating war. I also like the very beautiful Olga Kurylenko as another woman that has equal ties to the Cruise character. I won't spoil the plot of this movie becase both woman's roles in the movie are part of the story's surpise.
My favorite part of this movie was the twisted character and delightful performance of that character by the great Melissa Leo. We see her on a small screen communicating with Cruise but hear her voice more often and her character is a dead ringer for Hal from "2001". It is a chilling, funny and entertaining performance and it is such a small part of this movie but it is the only part that lingers after the movie is over. It certainly is not the story which really has very little to say and I grew very tired of the numerous, boring shootouts as Cruise and others keep shooting at space orbs. You can also add that those shootouts were done much more effectively in any "Star Wars" movie. Also when you have the great Morgan Freeman in a movie and he doesn't register at all well...
So what you have with "Oblivion" is a miscast, too old Tom Cruise when a younger actor that would match the youthful, rebellious character would have been more effective. You have a pale and duller copy of better science fiction movies and a story that never grabs you. You do have some great female performances, especially Melissa Leo, and a beautiful looking movie but you also have a movie you won't even remember days after. Tom Cruise can do this kind of movie so well when he has great writers and a great director like Steven Spielberg. "Minority Report" was a wonderful and special masterpiece of a science fiction movie and I was hoping here a movie that was at least half as glorious as that classic. "Oblivion" is a very good looking beauty without any personality or imagination.
Friday, April 19, 2013
'LORDS OF SALEM'
'LORDS OF SALEM' (R) (2 STARS)
Written and Directed by Rob Zombie
Actors: Sheri Moon Zombie, Meg Foster, Dee Wallace, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sid Haig, Michale Berryman, Patricia Quinn, Judy Geeson, Maria Conchita Alonso.
When I heard that Rob Zombie was making movies there was no way I was going to take him seriously as a director. I have been pleasantly surprised by Rob Zombie the filmmaker. He really can direct and he knows how to move the camera with some nifty tracking shots and framing. From the sick but very effective and entertaining "The Devil's Rejects", to the sickening, nihilistic, ugly, dumb "Halloween" remakes he still knows how to make a movie work and he really loves movies and has a nice knowledge of film history. I hate the "Halloween" movies with every inch of my being but with "Lords of Salem", Zombie has made his dullest and least interesting movie to date.
"Lords of Salem" is a throwback to those weird, cheesy horror movies of the 70's with witches, dream sequences, awkward nudity and strange images. Those movies didn't make any sense and the film makers would just throw anything at the audience. It reminds me of a certain movie from the 70's that I saw at a Music Box horror movie marathon called "Season of the Witch". I did like Zombie's recreation of those movies and his style matches those old movies. That is not really a compliment for "Lords of Salem" is cheesy, dull, weird and shoddy just like those movies. It is an interesting movie but at the same time the story is dumb and the pacing is very slow. We wait for anything to happen, scary or otherwise, but nothing does until the very weird last half hour.
The movie stars Rob Zombie's real life wife Sheri Moon Zombie as a woman and radio DJ who gets sent a record from a band called "The Lords". She plays it on the radio and then a lot of strange things start to happen to her. We get a prologue to start things out showing a group of women being outed as witches and then burnt to a crisp. You will know where this movie will end up but you won't guess what kind of wierdness will happen. Sheri Moon Zombie is getting a lot of bad reviews like with "Devil's" but I actually like her here like I did there. I think she does very well here, much better than most horror movie acting lately like the acting in this year's ugly "Evil Dead" remake. I think Sheri Zombie is strangely attractive and sexy and she is the best thing about this movie.
"Lords of Salem" has some great casting here what with Dee Wallace (E.T.), Bruce Davison and Sid Haig among others. He nails the 70's look down wonderfully even though this is set in present day. I wish Zombie would have set his story in the 70's because this is just a pale copy of something that is a masterpiece like "House of the Devil" by Ti West. Thats is a much scarier and more effective horror movie than "Lords" because the story is much better and the movie more suspenseful and to me Ti West is the best horror film maker out there right now. Zombie just is on the cusp of making this movie work but it just doesn't go anywhere and takes so long to even get to that point. He is trying to make a fever dream movie like Dario Agento did so well in the 70's and for that his fans will be bored with this one. "Lords of Salem" is dull and very cheesy but at least it is kind of interesting.
Written and Directed by Rob Zombie
Actors: Sheri Moon Zombie, Meg Foster, Dee Wallace, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sid Haig, Michale Berryman, Patricia Quinn, Judy Geeson, Maria Conchita Alonso.
When I heard that Rob Zombie was making movies there was no way I was going to take him seriously as a director. I have been pleasantly surprised by Rob Zombie the filmmaker. He really can direct and he knows how to move the camera with some nifty tracking shots and framing. From the sick but very effective and entertaining "The Devil's Rejects", to the sickening, nihilistic, ugly, dumb "Halloween" remakes he still knows how to make a movie work and he really loves movies and has a nice knowledge of film history. I hate the "Halloween" movies with every inch of my being but with "Lords of Salem", Zombie has made his dullest and least interesting movie to date.
"Lords of Salem" is a throwback to those weird, cheesy horror movies of the 70's with witches, dream sequences, awkward nudity and strange images. Those movies didn't make any sense and the film makers would just throw anything at the audience. It reminds me of a certain movie from the 70's that I saw at a Music Box horror movie marathon called "Season of the Witch". I did like Zombie's recreation of those movies and his style matches those old movies. That is not really a compliment for "Lords of Salem" is cheesy, dull, weird and shoddy just like those movies. It is an interesting movie but at the same time the story is dumb and the pacing is very slow. We wait for anything to happen, scary or otherwise, but nothing does until the very weird last half hour.
The movie stars Rob Zombie's real life wife Sheri Moon Zombie as a woman and radio DJ who gets sent a record from a band called "The Lords". She plays it on the radio and then a lot of strange things start to happen to her. We get a prologue to start things out showing a group of women being outed as witches and then burnt to a crisp. You will know where this movie will end up but you won't guess what kind of wierdness will happen. Sheri Moon Zombie is getting a lot of bad reviews like with "Devil's" but I actually like her here like I did there. I think she does very well here, much better than most horror movie acting lately like the acting in this year's ugly "Evil Dead" remake. I think Sheri Zombie is strangely attractive and sexy and she is the best thing about this movie.
"Lords of Salem" has some great casting here what with Dee Wallace (E.T.), Bruce Davison and Sid Haig among others. He nails the 70's look down wonderfully even though this is set in present day. I wish Zombie would have set his story in the 70's because this is just a pale copy of something that is a masterpiece like "House of the Devil" by Ti West. Thats is a much scarier and more effective horror movie than "Lords" because the story is much better and the movie more suspenseful and to me Ti West is the best horror film maker out there right now. Zombie just is on the cusp of making this movie work but it just doesn't go anywhere and takes so long to even get to that point. He is trying to make a fever dream movie like Dario Agento did so well in the 70's and for that his fans will be bored with this one. "Lords of Salem" is dull and very cheesy but at least it is kind of interesting.
Monday, April 15, 2013
'DISCONNECT'
'DISCONNECT' (R) (3 STARS)
Written by Andrew Stern
Directed by Henry Alx Rubin
Actors: Jason Bateman, Alexander Skarsgard, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton, Max Theriot, Colin Ford, Aviad Bernstein, Andrea Riseborough, Jonah Bobo.
"Disconnect" has a very topical story that in these social media times is very effective, scary and sobering. It is a movie full of three interlocking stories that reminded me of the unfairly despised "Crash". It is not as powerful as that blistering drama but it will snap you to reality. The problem is that I found one of the stories here so powerful, engrossing and amazing that the other two stories pale in comparison. The movie should have been about just that one story but I still found "Disconnect" compelling and very good, even excellent when dealing with the more powerful story.
Social media can be a fun thing, it can be informative and it can get you connected with your friends. It can also be evil, vindictive and soul zapping. "Disconnect" can be a very uncomfortable movie sometimes and it is very relevant to true stories that are in our lives now. The three stories deal with a shy and introverted high school boy, a couple dealing with the loss of their child and identity theft and a reporter dangerously getting involved with an 18 year old webcam model. The story dealing with the outcast kid is the most powerful to me and on it's own it is the best movie of the year next to "The Place Beyond The Pines".
The other two stories with the reporter and the couple have been done before and they are not as strongly written as the stronger story. That story is very well acted by Jason Bateman, who can do drama as well as he does comedy, and a rising new powerful actor in Frank Grillo. The child actors playing the kids are exceptional as the young actors in the third section of "Pines" were. I felt for the shy kid in the story who has a cruel facebook prank pulled on him that will emotionally crush many lives. This story is powerful, engrossing and impeccably crafted. When it comes to the other two stories I was lost and not as involved.
I wish the movie focused on the strongest story only but this does not diminish the overall impact of this very compelling and good movie. Just the feeling this whole movie creates about connecting more with people in person instead of on the computer. It wakes us all up to what parents have to do to make sure we take the time to see that our kids and their own lives are being taken control of and not lost to the vast suck hole of social media. It is a dangerous world and the internet can be a cruel place and we have to be more alert, careful and willing to interact face to face. This is what the movie nails down so well. I just wish all the stories had the same power. The story about the couple is less effective and the third story about the reporter, I don't know where that story fits in at all in this movie actually.
Written by Andrew Stern
Directed by Henry Alx Rubin
Actors: Jason Bateman, Alexander Skarsgard, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton, Max Theriot, Colin Ford, Aviad Bernstein, Andrea Riseborough, Jonah Bobo.
"Disconnect" has a very topical story that in these social media times is very effective, scary and sobering. It is a movie full of three interlocking stories that reminded me of the unfairly despised "Crash". It is not as powerful as that blistering drama but it will snap you to reality. The problem is that I found one of the stories here so powerful, engrossing and amazing that the other two stories pale in comparison. The movie should have been about just that one story but I still found "Disconnect" compelling and very good, even excellent when dealing with the more powerful story.
Social media can be a fun thing, it can be informative and it can get you connected with your friends. It can also be evil, vindictive and soul zapping. "Disconnect" can be a very uncomfortable movie sometimes and it is very relevant to true stories that are in our lives now. The three stories deal with a shy and introverted high school boy, a couple dealing with the loss of their child and identity theft and a reporter dangerously getting involved with an 18 year old webcam model. The story dealing with the outcast kid is the most powerful to me and on it's own it is the best movie of the year next to "The Place Beyond The Pines".
The other two stories with the reporter and the couple have been done before and they are not as strongly written as the stronger story. That story is very well acted by Jason Bateman, who can do drama as well as he does comedy, and a rising new powerful actor in Frank Grillo. The child actors playing the kids are exceptional as the young actors in the third section of "Pines" were. I felt for the shy kid in the story who has a cruel facebook prank pulled on him that will emotionally crush many lives. This story is powerful, engrossing and impeccably crafted. When it comes to the other two stories I was lost and not as involved.
I wish the movie focused on the strongest story only but this does not diminish the overall impact of this very compelling and good movie. Just the feeling this whole movie creates about connecting more with people in person instead of on the computer. It wakes us all up to what parents have to do to make sure we take the time to see that our kids and their own lives are being taken control of and not lost to the vast suck hole of social media. It is a dangerous world and the internet can be a cruel place and we have to be more alert, careful and willing to interact face to face. This is what the movie nails down so well. I just wish all the stories had the same power. The story about the couple is less effective and the third story about the reporter, I don't know where that story fits in at all in this movie actually.
'42'
'42' (PG-13) (3 STARS)
Written and Directed by Brian Helgeland
Actors: Chadwick Boseman Harison Ford, Christopher Meloni, Nicole Baharie, Alan Tudyk, Hamlish Linklater, Lucas Black, Andre Holland.
The inspiration, power and bravery depicted in "42" is palpable and blistering but that power really comes from the man himself. Jackie Robinson is not only one of the bravest and best baseball players ever but one of the most courageous men in all sports history. I am very happy that "42" was made because it is a story that will inspire youth and confront us with an ugly historical period in sports that now would seem inconceivable. "42" is a beautiful looking movie with great performances and powerful scenes, I just wish the movie was as majestic and inspiring as the man himself. I can not deny that the movie got to me in certain scenes though and I love the relationship story that frames the rise to greatness of Jackie Robinson.
"42" focuses on Robinson's rise from the minors to his rookie year with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie is picked up by General Manager Branch Rickey played by Harrison Ford in arguably one of his best performances. Rickey knows that the major's first black baseball player will get a lot of vile and hate thrown his way but he is strong willed and he is determined to get Jackie to the big leagues. He believes strongly in his talents and doesn't care what anybody thinks. That growing admiration between Jackie and Rickey is my favorite part of the movie. The stuff that doesn't work is the thinly written character of Jackie's wife Rachel. I wanted more scenes between them that lasted more than 2 minutes and more of the pain she went through.
Though the performances of Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman, who is a natural and strong as Jackie, and the relationship depicted between Jackie and Rickey is touching and carefully written. There is also a powerful and painful scene that had me choked up, angry and shocked. This is when Jackie is playing in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies and their manager Ben Chapman starts shouting racial slurs and repeating the "N" word ad nauseum. It is a tough scene that lasts a long time and it carries so much power. That is a strong segment but it seems miles apart from the rest of the movie, the power from that scene will never be duplicated. That scene feels like it's from a different movie than the other scenes and in a more fully realized and more powerful movie.
I understand and like that the movie focuses on Robinson's rookie year and how tough it was to get through the hate and racism. I just think that this would be an extrmely powerful movie if it would have been longer and covered more of Robinson's life. I hate to stir controversy but maybe someone like Spike Lee would have made a stronger, fuller movie like he did with "Malcolm X". The crowd I saw it with were all surprised that the movie ended when it did, it felt like there should be more. That being said I am reviewing the movie in front of me and I did like it a lot. I loved the relationship depicted between the two men like father and son especially when Rickey consoles Robinson after the Philadelphia debacle. The movie is beautifully shot, well acted and intriguing, it is an effective baseball movie. I just wish it was more fully developed and that it cut down on some of the cliches, obvious scenes and bad dialogue.
Written and Directed by Brian Helgeland
Actors: Chadwick Boseman Harison Ford, Christopher Meloni, Nicole Baharie, Alan Tudyk, Hamlish Linklater, Lucas Black, Andre Holland.
The inspiration, power and bravery depicted in "42" is palpable and blistering but that power really comes from the man himself. Jackie Robinson is not only one of the bravest and best baseball players ever but one of the most courageous men in all sports history. I am very happy that "42" was made because it is a story that will inspire youth and confront us with an ugly historical period in sports that now would seem inconceivable. "42" is a beautiful looking movie with great performances and powerful scenes, I just wish the movie was as majestic and inspiring as the man himself. I can not deny that the movie got to me in certain scenes though and I love the relationship story that frames the rise to greatness of Jackie Robinson.
"42" focuses on Robinson's rise from the minors to his rookie year with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie is picked up by General Manager Branch Rickey played by Harrison Ford in arguably one of his best performances. Rickey knows that the major's first black baseball player will get a lot of vile and hate thrown his way but he is strong willed and he is determined to get Jackie to the big leagues. He believes strongly in his talents and doesn't care what anybody thinks. That growing admiration between Jackie and Rickey is my favorite part of the movie. The stuff that doesn't work is the thinly written character of Jackie's wife Rachel. I wanted more scenes between them that lasted more than 2 minutes and more of the pain she went through.
Though the performances of Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman, who is a natural and strong as Jackie, and the relationship depicted between Jackie and Rickey is touching and carefully written. There is also a powerful and painful scene that had me choked up, angry and shocked. This is when Jackie is playing in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies and their manager Ben Chapman starts shouting racial slurs and repeating the "N" word ad nauseum. It is a tough scene that lasts a long time and it carries so much power. That is a strong segment but it seems miles apart from the rest of the movie, the power from that scene will never be duplicated. That scene feels like it's from a different movie than the other scenes and in a more fully realized and more powerful movie.
I understand and like that the movie focuses on Robinson's rookie year and how tough it was to get through the hate and racism. I just think that this would be an extrmely powerful movie if it would have been longer and covered more of Robinson's life. I hate to stir controversy but maybe someone like Spike Lee would have made a stronger, fuller movie like he did with "Malcolm X". The crowd I saw it with were all surprised that the movie ended when it did, it felt like there should be more. That being said I am reviewing the movie in front of me and I did like it a lot. I loved the relationship depicted between the two men like father and son especially when Rickey consoles Robinson after the Philadelphia debacle. The movie is beautifully shot, well acted and intriguing, it is an effective baseball movie. I just wish it was more fully developed and that it cut down on some of the cliches, obvious scenes and bad dialogue.
Friday, April 5, 2013
'THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES'
'THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES' (R) (4 STARS)(Highest Rating)
Written by Ben Coccio and Derek Cianfrance
Directed by Derek Cianfrance
Actors: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes Ray Liotta, Bruce Greenwood, Harris Yulin, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendolhson, Emory Cohen, Dane DaHaan.
There is a moment in "The Place Beyond The Pines" where everything all came together for me and I realized I was watching a near masterpiece in story telling. The best movies sneak up on you and before you know it, by the final frame you are wrapped up in it's power and beauty. "The Place Beyond the Pines" is a haunting, beautiful and sometimes powerful movie that is a near masterpiece. It is layered, brilliantly written, powerfully acted by it's stars and all the supporting actors. It is one of the strongest and best films that has ever dealt with fractured families or about decisions we make in life and their consequences. Director Derek Cianfrance has made another movie that will stay with me for hours, days and weeks.
"Pines" unfolds like a great novel and the funny thing is that this is an original screenplay and I had to keep remembering it wasn't based on a novel. The first half of the movie centers on one main character, Luke, played by Ryan Gosling. I don't want to spoil the wonderful story of this movie so I have to be careful and sneaky. Luke is a criminal who comes back to reunite with the ex girlfriend and mother of his baby played by Eva Mendes in the best performance of her career. The second half of the movie deals with a police officer, Avery, played by the emerging powerhouse actor Bradley Cooper. These two characters will meet half way through this movie and that is all I will say. If you have seen the trailers and think you have this movie figured out, guess again.
I have read negative reviews of how the main characters are separated here but I think it is brilliant how this movie is layered and thought out. Luke and Avery will cross paths which will lead to the second part of our story focusing on the sons of Avery and Luke. I did not expect this second half to be successful because Gosling and Cooper will give way to the two young actors playing their sons but their acting is awesome and their characters so well written. This movie involved me for it's first hypnotic hour and then in the second half it grabbed a hold of me and moved me. Director Derek Cianfrance is now one of our finest writers and directors with the heartbreaking "Blue Valentine", also with Gosling, and now this powerful and beautiful movie. He might need a little more editing to be done in the first half but he does a brilliant job holding our attention and letting his movie unfold flawlessly.
Then there is the acting and I know Ryan Gosling gets a bad rap from some for being too moody and somehow stiff. His performance as Luke here is supposed to be sullen but Gosling is brilliant here. Yes sometimes Gosling can be brooding but so was Brando and Deniro so there you go. His performance here is heartbreakinbg especially teamed with Mendes who is his equal. Then there is Bradley Cooper who is even better here than he was in "Silver Linings Playbook". This is an actor that has arrived as a major talent and his performance here is also heartbreaking, subtle, beautifully controlled and majestic. For some reason, maybe with the blue eyes, I kept thinking of the greatness of Paul Newman. This is now one of our best actors and I beg the forgetful awards people to not forget this Oscar caliber performance, the best of the year so far.
There are so many supporting characters here that are so well written and we never forget them or lose track of them. The writing here is strong, exceptional and brilliant, the direction is careful and so beautifully planned out and the camera work is stellar. I love the mood, the look and the haunting beauty of this mesmerizing drama. When I was watching it I was taking it all in at first, then in the second half I was glued to the screen, there was a plethora of very powerful and suspenseful small scenes of brilliance. Then as I am writing this now I am feeling a wave of emotion. This is a story I will never forget and the acting is so good. My amazing and beautiful mentor, the late, great Roger Ebert said once that you know you are watching a great movie when you know you can't wait to see it again. Bravo Roger and so true and that sentiment is perfectly fitting for "The Place Beyond The Pines", the best movie of the year so far.
Written by Ben Coccio and Derek Cianfrance
Directed by Derek Cianfrance
Actors: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes Ray Liotta, Bruce Greenwood, Harris Yulin, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendolhson, Emory Cohen, Dane DaHaan.
There is a moment in "The Place Beyond The Pines" where everything all came together for me and I realized I was watching a near masterpiece in story telling. The best movies sneak up on you and before you know it, by the final frame you are wrapped up in it's power and beauty. "The Place Beyond the Pines" is a haunting, beautiful and sometimes powerful movie that is a near masterpiece. It is layered, brilliantly written, powerfully acted by it's stars and all the supporting actors. It is one of the strongest and best films that has ever dealt with fractured families or about decisions we make in life and their consequences. Director Derek Cianfrance has made another movie that will stay with me for hours, days and weeks.
"Pines" unfolds like a great novel and the funny thing is that this is an original screenplay and I had to keep remembering it wasn't based on a novel. The first half of the movie centers on one main character, Luke, played by Ryan Gosling. I don't want to spoil the wonderful story of this movie so I have to be careful and sneaky. Luke is a criminal who comes back to reunite with the ex girlfriend and mother of his baby played by Eva Mendes in the best performance of her career. The second half of the movie deals with a police officer, Avery, played by the emerging powerhouse actor Bradley Cooper. These two characters will meet half way through this movie and that is all I will say. If you have seen the trailers and think you have this movie figured out, guess again.
I have read negative reviews of how the main characters are separated here but I think it is brilliant how this movie is layered and thought out. Luke and Avery will cross paths which will lead to the second part of our story focusing on the sons of Avery and Luke. I did not expect this second half to be successful because Gosling and Cooper will give way to the two young actors playing their sons but their acting is awesome and their characters so well written. This movie involved me for it's first hypnotic hour and then in the second half it grabbed a hold of me and moved me. Director Derek Cianfrance is now one of our finest writers and directors with the heartbreaking "Blue Valentine", also with Gosling, and now this powerful and beautiful movie. He might need a little more editing to be done in the first half but he does a brilliant job holding our attention and letting his movie unfold flawlessly.
Then there is the acting and I know Ryan Gosling gets a bad rap from some for being too moody and somehow stiff. His performance as Luke here is supposed to be sullen but Gosling is brilliant here. Yes sometimes Gosling can be brooding but so was Brando and Deniro so there you go. His performance here is heartbreakinbg especially teamed with Mendes who is his equal. Then there is Bradley Cooper who is even better here than he was in "Silver Linings Playbook". This is an actor that has arrived as a major talent and his performance here is also heartbreaking, subtle, beautifully controlled and majestic. For some reason, maybe with the blue eyes, I kept thinking of the greatness of Paul Newman. This is now one of our best actors and I beg the forgetful awards people to not forget this Oscar caliber performance, the best of the year so far.
There are so many supporting characters here that are so well written and we never forget them or lose track of them. The writing here is strong, exceptional and brilliant, the direction is careful and so beautifully planned out and the camera work is stellar. I love the mood, the look and the haunting beauty of this mesmerizing drama. When I was watching it I was taking it all in at first, then in the second half I was glued to the screen, there was a plethora of very powerful and suspenseful small scenes of brilliance. Then as I am writing this now I am feeling a wave of emotion. This is a story I will never forget and the acting is so good. My amazing and beautiful mentor, the late, great Roger Ebert said once that you know you are watching a great movie when you know you can't wait to see it again. Bravo Roger and so true and that sentiment is perfectly fitting for "The Place Beyond The Pines", the best movie of the year so far.
'THE EVIL DEAD'
'THE EVIL DEAD' (R) (1 STAR)
Written by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues based on the 1981 original
Directed by Fede Alvarez
Actors: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore
When did horror movies stop being fun and when did torture porn and gore substitute for good characters and true scares. The awful remake "The Evil Dead" is the most depressing experience I have had at the movies in ages. Depressing in that horror movies are supposed to be fun, they are not supposed to make us feel like a "Walking Dead" zombie. This remake is so serious and lead footed that I had to check my pulse. Add to that you have horrible acting, not one moment of humor, bad direction and not one scare at all. I yawned, fidgeted and wanted to walk out, yes horror movies are supposed to be gory sometimes but they are supposed to have charisma too or am I being stupid? "The Evil Dead" remake has nothing of redeeming quality and I mean it is not offensive, it is just dull and bad.
I have not seen the original Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell movie in ages but I know it is a tad over rated. "The Evil Dead 2" though is one of the best sequels ever made, a horror classic and it had what this remake has none of, smarts and imagination. How can Raimi and Campbell produce this and not suggest to the film makers to put some humor in here. This doesn't have to be as outrageous or as funny as Part 2 but at least maybe 10 minutes of a sense of humor in some scenes. I can't be alone in feeling that this remake has nothing at all to scare anybody because I was with a big crowd and not one person laughed or jumped in their seat. This is just a freak, gore show and I love gory movies, I just ask that they are fun. The bloodletting in this movie is really not that gory because director Alvarez films his movie with such darkness, I couldn't see anything.
There is really no plot here, it is just like the original I guess where someone opens a book of witchcraft and wakes up the dead. There are a group of younger adults (none making any impact at all here) who are trying to sober up their friend Mia who is the only character I liked. The acting is horrible here and only Jane Levy as Mia can act and has any personality, maybe because she becomes the main evil in the story. I am not joking when I say that there is not one scary moment in this movie, no one in the theater jumped! Director Alvarez tries to ape the tracking shots that Sam Raimi knocked out of the park with his "Evil Dead" movies but he fails miserably. This is one of the worst directed horror movies and Alvarez has a bigger budget and more technology! Raimi proves that you can have the smallest budget and still make a much better horror movie.
I look back to movies like "Evil Dead 2", "The Re-Animator" and John Carpenter's "The Thing" as examples of how to make really gory movies with style and a sense of fun. What is the point of making this remake so serious and grim and even showing us scenes where women are tortured. There was not any of that crap in the original movies because the camera didn't linger on dismembering and raping women. I may be too serious here in my review but if this movie had one scare or was any fun I wouldn't mind the gore and dismemberment.
One example of how this movie fails besides being unintentionally funny is that the movie sets up one scene where a woman has to cut off her arm. This resembles a same scene in Part 2 where Bruce Campbell's hand was cut off and then started to have a life on it's own attacking him and others. What does this movie do? After the woman cuts her arm off, blood spurts and then nothing. You know you are in trouble when you can't even successfully honor your own original movie.
P.S. For two better movies, much much better, that resemble this crap please check out Eli Roth's "Cabin Fever" and last year's "Cabin in the Woods". I love those two movies and they were gory but they didn't take themselves so seriously like "Evil Dead" thus they are ten times better!
Written by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues based on the 1981 original
Directed by Fede Alvarez
Actors: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore
When did horror movies stop being fun and when did torture porn and gore substitute for good characters and true scares. The awful remake "The Evil Dead" is the most depressing experience I have had at the movies in ages. Depressing in that horror movies are supposed to be fun, they are not supposed to make us feel like a "Walking Dead" zombie. This remake is so serious and lead footed that I had to check my pulse. Add to that you have horrible acting, not one moment of humor, bad direction and not one scare at all. I yawned, fidgeted and wanted to walk out, yes horror movies are supposed to be gory sometimes but they are supposed to have charisma too or am I being stupid? "The Evil Dead" remake has nothing of redeeming quality and I mean it is not offensive, it is just dull and bad.
I have not seen the original Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell movie in ages but I know it is a tad over rated. "The Evil Dead 2" though is one of the best sequels ever made, a horror classic and it had what this remake has none of, smarts and imagination. How can Raimi and Campbell produce this and not suggest to the film makers to put some humor in here. This doesn't have to be as outrageous or as funny as Part 2 but at least maybe 10 minutes of a sense of humor in some scenes. I can't be alone in feeling that this remake has nothing at all to scare anybody because I was with a big crowd and not one person laughed or jumped in their seat. This is just a freak, gore show and I love gory movies, I just ask that they are fun. The bloodletting in this movie is really not that gory because director Alvarez films his movie with such darkness, I couldn't see anything.
There is really no plot here, it is just like the original I guess where someone opens a book of witchcraft and wakes up the dead. There are a group of younger adults (none making any impact at all here) who are trying to sober up their friend Mia who is the only character I liked. The acting is horrible here and only Jane Levy as Mia can act and has any personality, maybe because she becomes the main evil in the story. I am not joking when I say that there is not one scary moment in this movie, no one in the theater jumped! Director Alvarez tries to ape the tracking shots that Sam Raimi knocked out of the park with his "Evil Dead" movies but he fails miserably. This is one of the worst directed horror movies and Alvarez has a bigger budget and more technology! Raimi proves that you can have the smallest budget and still make a much better horror movie.
I look back to movies like "Evil Dead 2", "The Re-Animator" and John Carpenter's "The Thing" as examples of how to make really gory movies with style and a sense of fun. What is the point of making this remake so serious and grim and even showing us scenes where women are tortured. There was not any of that crap in the original movies because the camera didn't linger on dismembering and raping women. I may be too serious here in my review but if this movie had one scare or was any fun I wouldn't mind the gore and dismemberment.
One example of how this movie fails besides being unintentionally funny is that the movie sets up one scene where a woman has to cut off her arm. This resembles a same scene in Part 2 where Bruce Campbell's hand was cut off and then started to have a life on it's own attacking him and others. What does this movie do? After the woman cuts her arm off, blood spurts and then nothing. You know you are in trouble when you can't even successfully honor your own original movie.
P.S. For two better movies, much much better, that resemble this crap please check out Eli Roth's "Cabin Fever" and last year's "Cabin in the Woods". I love those two movies and they were gory but they didn't take themselves so seriously like "Evil Dead" thus they are ten times better!
Friday, March 29, 2013
'THE SAPPHIRES'
'THE SAPPHIRES' (PG-13) (3 STARS)
Written by Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson
Directed by Wayne Blair
Actors: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbins, Miranda Tapsell.
I have been bitching lately about the movies that have been coming out the past few months. I am tired of the mediocrity and movies that just seem to be the same old, ordinary field of sameness. I am not asking for something earth shaking all the time, I would actually just like a movie that is fresh even if it is full of cliches. "The Sapphires" has answered my complaints with a movie that is cliched but at least is alive and different in some ways. I am not asking for the sun, moon and the earth here. I just want to have fun and be entertained and this was the first time I had fun in months and months at the movies.
"The Sapphires" is that cliched story of a group of men or women who can really sing and who get recruited by a manager to tour in some desired location. There is the usual scramble for who will be the lead singer and the back up singer who gets discovered and picked to be the lead because she has the better voice. There will be the usual fights and threats to break up with all the petty rivalries and jealousies. You might think you have seen this story before but I bet you haven't seen it set in the 60's with a group of Aborigine women touring Vietnam with a booze soaked Australian manager. This is why "The Sapphires" is a fresh take on this story in a different location with different type of women.
There are other reasons too why this worked on me and it is the usual and dependable qualities of great performances, a great soundtrack and just a fun delivery. Chris O'Dowd was already a star to me playing the sweet cop who falls in love with Kristen Wiig in "Bridesmaids". His performance there and character was one of the reasons that movie catapaulted to the top as my best movie of 2011. He was charming there and funny as he is in "The Sapphires" which is a movie that should become a crowd pleasing, word of mouth hit. He completely owns the screen as Dave who manages a foursome of Aborigine women, sisters and cousins in one family. Dave runs a talent show and accompanies the women in a country song playing the piano. He likes what he hears and convinces the girls to stop singing country and start singing Soul music. O'Dowd is amazing here in a captivating, charming, funny and yes cool and sexy performance.
The group of women are all cute in their own way and one of the singers, Gail, will fall in love with Dave. I didn't mind that love story that we can see coming because the actress who plays Gail, Deborah Mailman, gives such a subtly powerhouse performance. She is really strong here and the chemistry with O'Dowd strangely works. You also have a different type of location work here with the movie being filmed in Vietnam and taking place right when the war is starting. There is also a killer soundtrack of great R & B and Soul music and the girls all sound fantastic especially the lead singer Julie played well by Jessica Mauboy.
"The Sapphires" goes by fast, is fun and will having you tapping your toes and enjoying a wonderful soundtrack of great songs, some you have never heard in this type of movie. Deborah Mailman is a revelation and Chris O'Dowd, who you will see a lot of soon, gives a star making performance and he absolutely should become a star. He has screen presence, coolness, charm, an off beat sexy quality and he is funny and never wavers in his natural charm. This is a very fun movie and I liked it a lot while it also reminded me of another sleeper hit movie that resembles this, "The Commitments". I love that movie a lot more becuase it was the most fun I have had at a movie in my life but "The Sapphires" would be a great fit with Alan Parker's classic in a toe tapping, killer double feature.
Written by Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson
Directed by Wayne Blair
Actors: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbins, Miranda Tapsell.
I have been bitching lately about the movies that have been coming out the past few months. I am tired of the mediocrity and movies that just seem to be the same old, ordinary field of sameness. I am not asking for something earth shaking all the time, I would actually just like a movie that is fresh even if it is full of cliches. "The Sapphires" has answered my complaints with a movie that is cliched but at least is alive and different in some ways. I am not asking for the sun, moon and the earth here. I just want to have fun and be entertained and this was the first time I had fun in months and months at the movies.
"The Sapphires" is that cliched story of a group of men or women who can really sing and who get recruited by a manager to tour in some desired location. There is the usual scramble for who will be the lead singer and the back up singer who gets discovered and picked to be the lead because she has the better voice. There will be the usual fights and threats to break up with all the petty rivalries and jealousies. You might think you have seen this story before but I bet you haven't seen it set in the 60's with a group of Aborigine women touring Vietnam with a booze soaked Australian manager. This is why "The Sapphires" is a fresh take on this story in a different location with different type of women.
There are other reasons too why this worked on me and it is the usual and dependable qualities of great performances, a great soundtrack and just a fun delivery. Chris O'Dowd was already a star to me playing the sweet cop who falls in love with Kristen Wiig in "Bridesmaids". His performance there and character was one of the reasons that movie catapaulted to the top as my best movie of 2011. He was charming there and funny as he is in "The Sapphires" which is a movie that should become a crowd pleasing, word of mouth hit. He completely owns the screen as Dave who manages a foursome of Aborigine women, sisters and cousins in one family. Dave runs a talent show and accompanies the women in a country song playing the piano. He likes what he hears and convinces the girls to stop singing country and start singing Soul music. O'Dowd is amazing here in a captivating, charming, funny and yes cool and sexy performance.
The group of women are all cute in their own way and one of the singers, Gail, will fall in love with Dave. I didn't mind that love story that we can see coming because the actress who plays Gail, Deborah Mailman, gives such a subtly powerhouse performance. She is really strong here and the chemistry with O'Dowd strangely works. You also have a different type of location work here with the movie being filmed in Vietnam and taking place right when the war is starting. There is also a killer soundtrack of great R & B and Soul music and the girls all sound fantastic especially the lead singer Julie played well by Jessica Mauboy.
"The Sapphires" goes by fast, is fun and will having you tapping your toes and enjoying a wonderful soundtrack of great songs, some you have never heard in this type of movie. Deborah Mailman is a revelation and Chris O'Dowd, who you will see a lot of soon, gives a star making performance and he absolutely should become a star. He has screen presence, coolness, charm, an off beat sexy quality and he is funny and never wavers in his natural charm. This is a very fun movie and I liked it a lot while it also reminded me of another sleeper hit movie that resembles this, "The Commitments". I love that movie a lot more becuase it was the most fun I have had at a movie in my life but "The Sapphires" would be a great fit with Alan Parker's classic in a toe tapping, killer double feature.
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