'12 YEARS A SLAVE'

'12 YEARS A SLAVE' (R)

Written by John Ridley based on the book by Solomon Northup
Directed by Steve McQueen
Actors: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong'o, Garret Dillahunt, Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti.

A star rating or a comparison to other movies out there is not fair to a movie like "12 Years a Slave". It is on another level, a level that can't be reached by just any movie. "12 Years a Slave" is not just a history lesson, isn't good for you, doesn't attempt to compare itself to race relations today. It is just a powerful and moving story about one man's tale of survival amid impossible odds from evil. It has scenes that are more unsettling and horrific than just your ordinary melodrama about a slave. It will tear your guts out and make you cry and you will never be the same. There are cliches like gut wrenching that I can use but that would just insult this powerful experience.

"12 Years a Slave" tells the story of a free black man in the 1840's who gets sold into slavery because of a random meeting, wrong place, wrong time. His name is Solomon Northup and he has a wife and two kids and can play the fiddle brilliantly. He gets recruited to play in a circus by two men and on his trip he suddenly one morning wakes up to find himself in shackles and chains. He will be sold along with Patsy, who is ripped from her children, to Freeman who will then sell Solomon to a plantation owner and will be given a slave name, Pratt. Freeman is played by Paul Giamatti and we will be introduced to one of the most evil men I have seen in a movie. The man he is sold to is not as evil, even though his wife is, but he can't keep Solomon so he sells him to a cotton plantation owner , Edwin Epps, played by Michael Fassbender.

Patsy will also come with Solomon to serve Epps and Patsy and Solomon forge a complicated but unique friendship. The performances in this movie are outstanding including Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon and Lupita Nyong'o as Patsy who are amazing and give two of the best performances I have ever seen in a movie. Ejiofor has been an amazing character actor but here as Solomon he gives a powerful performance that will forever change how movie audiences perceive him. It is a heartbreaking performance of quiet pain and Ejiofor is perfect here, without him this movie doesn't breathe. Equal to Ejiofor is Nyong'o who is also heartbreaking and in one of the most horrific scenes I have ever encountered in a movie Nyong'o will go through an incident that will shake us to the core and Nyong'o and Ejiofor make it that much more powerful. Both actors give amazing and powerful portrayls and their intense performances have to be seen.

Michael Fassbender and Paul Giamatti are frighteningly evil and also give intense performances but not all the white men in this movie are evil. This is not a black and white world here and wasn't back then, a lot of movies about slavery unfortunately are shallow. You have evil white men or noble black slaves but "12 Years a Slave" is in another stratosphere compared to other movies about slavery. Director Steve McQueen does such a wonderful job of presenting all the characters honestly and not making events come off as too melodramatic. McQueen doesn't sugarcoat things and goes for the throat and I admire that. He just lets the camera and the performances tell the story. There are many scenes that are graphic, horrific and unsettling and McQueen doesn't go to cutaways, he makes you stare evil in the face for long periods of time. A lesser movie would have softened the scenes of torture and that is why this movie is in another category.

"12 Years a Slave" can not be summarized or categorized as a movie about slavery and it doesn't paint any of the characters in broad strokes. It is a powerful experience that will tear you up but in the end the tears you will spill will be earned especially after one of the most powerful endings I have ever seen in a drama. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o are outstanding and their performances must be recognized. Steve McQueen never overdoes anything in his direction, he lets the movie breathe through the performances and the amazing screenplay by John Ridley. There are a few moments I didn't like, though tiny, in the storytelling but who cares. This is a movie going experience that will change your life and move you with it's story of one man's brave ordeal and journey through a world of evil.

'CAPTAIN PHILLIPS'

'CAPTAIN PHILLIPS' (PG-13) (4 STARS) (HIGHEST RATING)

Written by Billy Ray based on the novel "A Captain's Duty:Somali Pirates, Navy Seals and Dangerous Days at Sea" by Richard Phillips and Stephen Tally.
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Actors: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Catherine Keener, Chris Mulkey.

Tom Hanks is one of the most likeable actors we have today because we can relate to almost any character he plays in any movie. This helps a lot when watching the stomach churning, tense, extremely well acted and enthralling "Captain Phillips". This is a hard movie to embrace and love but with Hanks you will be feeling a lot of emotion by the end of this movie. Paul Greengrass has directed another movie like this before with the powerful "United 93". With that white knuckler and now this movie, Greengrass is now one of our finest directors of thrillers. "United 93" never let you off the hook and never made it easy to embrace the story. "Captain Phillips" makes you identify with it's hero because of Hank's everyman, down to earth quality.

"Captain Phillips" is mostly a cat and mouse battle of wits, a tense thriller and an action movie. It is the best action movie of 2013 so far. Greengrass directed "The Bourne Identity", he knows how to make a highly charged, effective action movie. "Captain Phillips" tells the amazing story of Richard Phillips, a cargo ship captain who is on a trip to the coast of Somali. At first Richard is a tough boss towards his crew and demanding but not any more than a usual boss at any job. When Somali pirates invade his ship and demand money or they will kill the whole crew, Richard has to save his hide and protect his crew. When this incident starts we see that Richard has feelings and that he cares about his crew and is not so cold.

"Captain Phillips" will not waste any time setting up character development. It will jump right into business and it will reveal what kind of a man Phillips is by every problem he has to overcome dealing with these pirates. We will also learn more about the chief pirate who is in charge of this invasion. I didn't expect the depths that this story would reveal with it's antagonist Muse, an outstanding performance by Barkhad Abdi. He is a desperate man whose poverty and social situation has forced him to try something like hold a ship and it's crew hostage for money. The movie will become a fascinating battle of wits between Muse and Phillips. Muse can't turn back now even when the Navy Seals become involved and Muse pretty much has run out of options.

That desperation from Muse and Phillip's steely resolve will make "Captain Phillips" an amazing story of struggle between two different men. Muse's team of attackers will also be deeply written and their ambivalent feelings towards this mission is as important as Muse's and Phillip's feelings. Tom Hanks, in my opinion, gives my favorite Tom Hank's performance and in the many tense scenes Hanks never overplays his hand and in the explosively emotional finale Hanks will reach deeper than he has in any movie since "Philadelphia". Barkhad Abdi, as Muse, gives a powerful, natural debut performance that matches Hank's subtly effective acting with Abdi's anger and explosiveness.

"Captain Phillips" never has a dull moment and never rests for a minute. The movie is beautifully shot, edited, directed and performed. It starts off as the best thriller and action movie of the year and then winds up as a morality tale with deep emotional power by the end. Hanks has to be a shoo in for an Oscar nomination and I wouldn't be surprised if Abdi doesn't get noticed also. Paul Greengrass has directed another tense masterpiece that never makes a wrong move and never lets you breathe. There are edge of your seat scenes of intensity and action, surprising emotion and finally a compelling story that also makes you think. As the end credits rolled I had to sit for a few minutes and I couldn't move. I didn't expect that from what I thought would just be a simple thriller. "Captain Phillips" is easily one of the best movies of the year.

'ENOUGH SAID'

'ENOUGH SAID' (PG-13) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written and Directed by Nicole Holofcener
Actors: Julia Louis Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, Eve Hewson, Tracey Fairaway.

"I know this might sound corny but you broke my heart"-Albert (James Gandolfini)

Yes, my heart has also been broken because we have lost a very special actor in James Gandolfini who with "Enough Said" was going to prove how great he could have been as a romantic lead. That line of dialogue, spoken by Albert, played by Gandolfini, is spoken so eloquently and truthfully by Gandolfini that I started to cry. His Albert is one of the truest and one of my favorite characters of this movie year. "Enough Said" also made me smile, amid the tears, more than almost any movie I saw this year. It is portrayed as a light romantic comedy but it's screenplay is deeper than that and wonderfully written by director Nicole Holofcener.

Nicole Holofcener has written many wonderful screenplays, my favorites being "Walking and Talking" and "Lovely and Amazing". All of her screenplays are perceptive romantic comedies that make us confront reality and loving it all the way. "Enough Said" is now my favorite Holofcener movie and it starts with a revealing performance by Gandolfini and an Oscar caliber performance of beauty by Julia Louis Dreyfus. The plot of "Enough Said" might sound preposterous and silly but trust me, this is a very funny, realistic and charming movie of great warmth.

Dreyfus plays Eva, a divorced, single parent and masseuse who is looking to get back in the dating game but can't find anyone interesting. At a dinner party, at a friend's home, she meets Albert who is nice but a tad overweight for Eva and Eva is not afraid to voice that opinion to her closest friend Sarah, Toni Collette. She will start dating Albert though because he is sweet and down to earth and kind of cute plus he is also a single parent. I am not giving away anything here that the trailer has not revealed but Eva will meet another woman that she will become friends with. Eva will also find out later in the plot that her new friend Marianne is also Albert's ex wife.

Marianne also becomes one of Eva's clients and Eva will listen to Marianne complain about how much of a slob her ex husband is. At a certain point Eva will learn that Albert and Marianne were married once and you would think that the movie would become similar to a weak, shallow sitcom. There are scenes where Eva has to hide the fact that she already knows Marianne is Albert's ex wife and listen to Marianne bad mouth Albert. These scenes could come off as phony but Holofcener delicately treats these scenes to make them come off as not only very funny but also truthful. We like Albert and Eva so much that we will invest in the story and it's plot twists. The situation might seem far fetched but the writing about relationships and dating ring very true.

There are moments here of great hilarity and I laughed a lot during "Enough Said" and there are moments that are extremely charming and there are scenes of heartbreak. The lines of dialogue also come to life and seem real thanks to the excellent acting by the two leads. We know Dreyfus can act from her many accolades from television shows "Seinfeld" and "Veep" but I found her performance here on another higher level! This is Oscar caliber work and one of the funniest and most charming performances by an actress this year. Dreyfus handles the comedy scenes with perfection but the way she handles the dramatic, bittersweet scenes are a revelation. She is beautiful, funny, graceful and she makes us believe every feeling and line of dialogue she has here.

We all knew that James Gandolfini was an amazing dramatic actor and also one of our best character actors but everyone will be floored by how great a romantic leading man he will become here. Like Albert, Gandolfini was overweight and not a conventionally handsome, leading man in the romance genre but "Enough Said" would have expanded his movie career. So when Albert says that line about his heart being broken, the way Gandolfini says it made me lose it. Gandolfini is so sweet and likable here and so believable romantically that my heart broke. There are many scenes that are wonderfully and gently played here by Gandolfini and his performance is a revelation and romantic, comedic perfection.

"Enough Said" also has a great depth in it's story with it's supporting characters and subplots. Albert's and Eva's respective daughters are strongly written and acted by Eve Hewson and Tracey Fairaway. Both teenagers will be leaving for college soon and the heartbreak that will reach each parent is performed so realistically and truthfully here by Gandolfini and Dreyfus and so well written by Holofcener. Also the sexy and funny Catherine Keener, as Marianne, and the wonderful Toni Collette and Ben Falcone as a married couple and Eva's friends are so well written and acted here. I liked everything about "Enough Said". I loved all the subplots, characters and writing plus the performances by Dreyfus and Gandolfini which floored me, moved me and made me very happy.

P.S. My heart is broken indeed, now that Gandolfini has left us but seeing how great, funny and romantic he is here I did leave the movie smiling and very happy. We will all miss you deeply.

'GRAVITY'

'GRAVITY' (PG-13) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written by Jonas and Alfonso Cuaron
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Actors: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

There is no doubt that very soon motion pictures will never be the same again now that special effects are getting more special. Now with IMAX being used as a regular viewing option for visual treats like "Avatar" we will be seeing more and more visually arresting movies. Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity" has spellbinding effects that I have never seen before on screen and it begs to be seen in 3D on a giant IMAX screen. There will be more event pictures like Cuaron's latest in the near future but of course I hope it doesn't edge out the well written, small, independent movies. I loved "Gravity" for it's breathtaking visuals and performances but the screenplay needs some editing even if the effects are perfectly displayed.

The only thing is I don't think moviegoers watching "Gravity" are coming for the screenplay and they will certainly not be disappointed in how the movie looks. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney play Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski, a medical engineer and an astronaut who are on a space exploration that is controlled on the ground by a Mission Control voice, Ed Harris. Right from the start the movie pulls you in and makes your jaw drop with it's visuals of a floating space station. It is not only the sight of the station but how Ryan and Matt effortlessly float around it. The visuals and the editing throughout the movie are perfection and very impressive.

When debris from a Russian missile hitting a Russian space station collide with the American station Ryan will be detached from Matt and will dangerously float off in space maybe hurtling towards death. Ryan will have to get back to the station and try to rescue herself and others and make a safe re-entry back to earth. Ryan also has some past, personal problems at home that she will have to face head on while floating in space and trying to save her oxygen. Sandra Bullock gives an amazing, intense performance and she doesn't let the visuals overwhelm her. I wish I could say the same about the screenplay.

The best part of the movie, besides the breathtaking visuals, is how the movie becomes intense and scary just because it will seem impossible for Ryan to live and come home safely. Cuaron does a masterful job at creating tension and awe just by the way he moves the camera among the hurtling machinery and floating bodies in space. The editing here is perfect when it deals with the intense action scenes. Bullock also makes us feel her despair and fear and her performance never strays from greatness. She is showing us how great an actress she is with her comedy skills in "The Heat" and her dramatic chops here. George Clooney again gives his everyman, charming performance that he specializes in so well.

"Gravity" will be a very intense and visually beautiful treat for audiences, especially in 3D and on the huge IMAX screen where it begs to be seen. The only time the movie lost me was when the action stopped and the very thin screenplay took over for a few moments. There is one plot point dealing with a tragedy Ryan has experienced in her life but I never felt any dramatic tension created from this tragedy. The screenplay doesn't do a good enough job at melding her past tragedy with the death she is facing now. There are some moments also where the movie just stalls and tries to create dialogue but sometimes that dialogue falls flat. If the screenplay doesn't bother you like it did me you will still find "Gravity" a special treat of groundbreaking visuals and nerve jangling, jaw dropping scenes of intensity.

'RUSH'

'RUSH' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written by Peter Morgan
Directed by Ron Howard
Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara.

Not being a fan of Formula Racing, Nascar racing or any sport that goes around in a circle over and over, I wasn't getting Ron Howard's new Formula Racing movie "Rush". Especially in the first hour where every race seemed the same and the movie seemed too glossy and superficial. This was basically my problem and not the movie's for in the second hour I got it and I started to become amazed at one of the most fascinating rivalries I have ever seen or learned of in sports. Something happens in the start of the second hour or so that raised the stakes for this life threatening sport and how it effects the two men at the center of this rivalry.

"Rush" tells the story of 70's Formula One racing legends James Hunt and Niki Lauder. Hunt was a flashy playboy and very pretty while Lauder was German and not so pretty. Hunt will be seen as an ass and a jerk in how he treats Lauder and the other racers but I found Lauder an arrogant jerk also. The difference is that Hunt was flashier thus he could get away with it. You have to be arrogant to drive a vehicular weapon of death flying around at well over 100 miles per hour. The life threatening dangers of this sport can be seen as foolish but in Lauder and Hunt it becomes a focused battle of wills to be the best, no matter the sport.

In 1976, the year that Howard's movie focuses on, Hunt and Lauder were in a vicious battle for Formula One Champion the year after Lauder was champ. Lauder seems more serious about the dangers of the sport while Hunt is more focused on the fame, glory and the ladies. In the first hour that left me a little cold, "Rush" focuses on the quick fling, marriage and separation of Hunt and his wife Suzy Miller, played by the gorgeous Olivia Wilde. The first hour full of tedious races, which do look good, and the shallow depiction of Hunt's fame and quick divorce from Suzy left me a little bored until something special and powerful happens.

In the middle of "Rush" a tragedy befalls Lauder during a crash in one of the races in the middle of the season. That event will trigger a lot of great writing and powerful, emotional material in the second half. This is when I realized what Howard is trying to do here. The first hour of races and verbal battles between Hunt and Lauder seem superficial but when both are confronted with how dangerous their profession is a lot of soul searching from both men occur. Peter Morgan's screenplay becomes brilliant in capturing what this tragedy does to both men. In a brilliantly written scene near the end, one of my favorite of the movie year, Hunt and Lauder talk about the sport and Hunt tells Lauder that he needs to have fun in his life, stop being so serious.

That scene goes further and spells out what this movie is really about and how these two men have to recognize that they are similiar to each other, more than they think even among the hate they direct towards each other. Looking at real footage at the end of both men, Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as Lauder are perfectly cast. Both men are wonderful and Daniel Bruhl gives a star making performance. The movie is beautifully shot by Ron Howard and his cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. The racing scenes are beautifully edited and edge of your seat thanks to Howard's technical prowess. The racing scenes are especially more effective after Lauder's accident. "Rush" is an exciting movie that becomes more powerful and fascinating as it goes on. You have to question a man who wants to drive a death machine but you have to admire that man also. "Rush" gives us two men whose drive to win is admirable, especially Lauder's will to win after staring death in the face.

'THE FAMILY'

'THE FAMILY' (R) (3 STARS)

Written by Michael Caleo and Luc Besson based on book by Tonino Benacquista
Directed by Luc Besson
Actors: Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo, Tommy Lee Jones, Domenick Lombardozzi

There is something refreshing about a "Mob" movie playing with the clichés of your usual "Mob movie and then adding some new touches. There are familiar scenes in "The Family" that you have seen before but also some deeper, smart material that I didn't expect. Plus the characters are fascinating and Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer playing a Mob family husband and wife!? There are also some surprising subplots that I haven't seen in this type of story.

Imagine Henry Hill from "Good Fellas" after he is relocated in the witness protection program and what his life would entail. Then you have a feeling of what "The Family" will be like. Though in some ways the movie is unpredictable, that is until the last half hour shootout. Until that violent ending teeming with bullets "The Family" is fun and entertaining. The black comedy tells the story of married couple Fred and Maggie Blake or the real family name, the Manzoni's. The family also includes their son and daughter Warren and Belle.

The Manzoni's are relocated to Normandy, France by their FBI handler Stansfield, played by the great Tommy Lee Jones. Giovanni (Fred Blake) ratted on some Mob family heads and now the family is living in France and they are not fitting in. Fitting in with the Normandy residents is hard and Fred finds it hard to hide himself in the fake story that he has come up with, that he is a writer.

"The Family" surprised me with some of the directions it takes with it's few subplots concerning each kid and the parents. The movie is a black comedy and it can be very violent but it has an endearing quality to it. DeNiro is delightfully playing a parody of his usual Mobster character and along with "Silver Linings Playbook" he is back after the last few, safe, horrible comedies he has been in. He looks like he is having fun here. You grow to like these characters like you shamefully do with a lot of crime family characters in other "Mob" movies.

It is also wonderful to see Michelle Pfeiffer given her best role in ages as a "Mob" wife and I automatically thought of her Oscar caliber performance in Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob". Pfeiffer is charming, very funny and great here as her character tries to adjust to the snooty town residents. John D'Leo and Dianna Agron (Glee) are very fine as the two siblings and we like following their side stories. Agron is very beautiful and reminds me of a young Michelle Pfeiffer! Add to this Tommy Lee Jones's deadpan, delightful turn as the FBI agent. Jones's reactions to the wild lies Fred makes are priceless!

"The Family" has a very entertaining, twisted and funny middle section and just wait for the big surprise joke towards the end of the movie. It had me laughing out loud and though I should have seen it coming, I loved it still. "The Family" is fun if you like violent, twisted black comedies about mobsters. I think it will go down easy because it is fun, the characters are interesting, the acting is solid and the movie is smarter than you would think. It should please "Mob" movie fans because it doesn't insult your intelligence and it does all the usual clichéd material right while also throwing us some curves.

'THE SPECTACULAR NOW'

'THE SPECACULAR NOW' (R) (4 STARS) (HIGHEST RATING)

Written By Scott Neustadter and Michael Webber based on the book by Tom Tharp
Directed by James Ponsoldt
Actors: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Andre Royo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Sutter Keely has a good heart and he is a thoughtful kid but he has no direction in his life and he has problems like most teenage kids his age. He doesn't throw parties where laws are broken and women are violated. He is like a normal high school kid about to graduate. He is failing in one of his school courses, he has a slight drinking problem and he has an absentee father. Life at Sutter's age is not all heightened high jinks and parties and vulgarity.

That would be all the other movies about high school that have that same formula fakeness. Once in a while you want to see a realistic movie about kids and high school and the future. "The Spectacular Now" is that movie, a breath of fresh air and one of the most realistic movies about teenagers or heck, even about life in general you will ever see. It is funny, charming, beautiful, touching and heartbreaking. It has the best performances you will see in any movie this year. It is a special movie that will never leave me.

Sutter Keely is played by the very fine young actor Miles Teller (21 & Over and Rabbit Hole). Sutter is a kid with a big heart and a single mother raising him. He is a popular kid who drinks all the time and always doesn't take things as serious as he should. That is until he finds Aimee Finecky (now that is the most real name I have ever heard in a movie!. Sutter just broke up with his girlfriend Cassidy who was also popular. Cassidy thinks that Sutter has no direction and is not going anywhere and she is the opposite of him in her direction. When he finds Aimee he isn't even still broke up about Cassidy.

Aimee likes Sutter instantly and we believe it because we like him too. He drinks a lot and seems to not take things seriously but he has a good heart and cares about his friends. The dialogue in this movie may be the most realistic dialogue I have ever heard in a high school coming of age movie. The adults are even treated with respect here when it comes to realism. They are not non existent like most movie parents are and they are depicted as flawed, loving and frustrating just like real adults can be to teenagers in life.

The performances by the two leads here couldn't be any better than they are. They are my two favorite performances of the year so far. Shailene Woodley, who made her film debut wonderfully in "The Descendants", is a revelation here. This is the strongest, most mature, sweetest and most subtly powerful performance I have ever seen a young actress give in movies. She is the real deal and she will become an award winning actress and you will see her a lot with one majestic performance after another. She comes off her as real and she has this glow that lights up the screen.

Miles Teller has grown since his jokey performance in "21 & Over". He gives a thoughtful, natural, charming and finally heartbreaking performance here. Both actors hit every note perfectly. The supporting performances are also extremely solid especially Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) as Sutter's dad. Chandler plays against type here as a deadbeat father and his performance is something special. This favorite actor of mine is finally getting the blistering career he deserves. It is also great seeing Jennifer Jason Leigh as Sutter's mother and she is real strong here. Credit also goes to Brie Larson as Cassidy and she is also real and strong here.

All the situations, dialogue and characters in "The Spectacular Now" are recognizably real. This might be the most realistic movie about coming of age and growing pains as a teenager that I have ever seen. James Ponsoldt's direction is just right, the screenplay is incredible work and the book it is based on I have to read. There are numerous scenes that broke my heart including Sutter seeing his father for the first time in ages and how his perceptions of his father will blow up in his face. There are even real scenes concerning Sutter, his job and a talk with his boss that come off so real. Also the final scene between Sutter and his mother will break your heart. So strong is this final scene that I cried during the scene, when the end credits rolled, when I was riding the subway home and now writing this review.

Words could never describe how the performances of Teller and Woodley affected me so strongly. I will never forget these two characters. I probably would have to describe how this movie felt in person, it is so strong, real, heartbreaking and magical. Movies like this don't come around very often especially in this CGI, action, chaos era of movies. I kept thinking about Lloyd Dobler in "Say Anything, another realistic amazing movie about teenagers. What a double feature these two movies would make, a look at teens then and now. I cried a lot, felt warmth and was supremely touched by this movie. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen and it will not leave my heart for a very long time. This is what the impact of real and powerful writing and filmmaking should be.