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'NEBRASKA' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)
Written by Bob Nelson
Directed by Alexander Payne
Actors: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk, Stacy Keach, Rance Howard, Mary Louise Wilson.
In gorgeous black and white we see an elderly man walking aimlessly down a street, looking disheveled and lost. We will find out that this man is named Woody Grant. We are also seeing the start of a performance by one of out national treasures in cinema. Bruce Dern has always been seen as a supporting character actor. When he tried to stretch as a leading man with 1973's "The King of Marvin Gardens" his quest failed. That movie became a curio and a cult movie but Bruce Dern has always given great performances no matter the role. Now with "Nebraska", Dern gives his best performance of his career as a lead character. You can tell he has been licking his lips for decades for this opportunity and he hits a home run!
Bruce Dern plays Woody Grant, who believes he has become a millionaire when he is sent one of those marketing letters telling him he may have the winning number to win millions. His son David, played by Will Forte, tries to convince his old man that this is a scam. Woody, who lives with his wife in Billings, Montana, wants to go to Nebraska, where the letter came from, to collect his money. Woody is stubborn and dementia is starting to sink in and he won't listen to his son so David will take a road trip with his father to Nebraska. His wife Kate, June Squibb, is a great match for Woody even though she berates him and calls him crazy and lazy. Woody will go with David to Nebraska and on the way they will visit Woody's old town where he used to live and where he will try to settle old scores.
As Woody visits the town he used to live in the word spreads that Woody is a millionaire and Woody's creepy twins, his old partner(Stacey Keach) and old friends come out of the woodwork asking for money. "Nebraska" deals with small towns where living is easy and people just want to relax and just live. "Nebraska" is beautifully shot in black and white by Alexander Payne who just relaxes and let's us soak in the atmosphere. The screenplay by Bob Nelson is very deadpan but also brilliant and hilarious. I laughed out loud a lot during this movie and I was amazed that the movie treated it's characters so honestly and didn't ridicule them. A lot of writers would have poked fun at these simple town folk because let's be honest, movies about small towns and the South are usually full of stereotypical rube type characters in Hollywood.
Director Alexander Payne and writer Bob Nelson love Woody, his family and all these people. The movie successfully captures the simple beauty of the country, the small stores, the hole in the wall type bars. There are some priceless lines of dialogue and some wonderful, tender moments and this movie wouldn't have worked without it's wonderful cast of actors and their performances. Bruce Dern has acted in some iconic movies and given such wonderful performances but this is definitely his best performance of his career. He does not have much dialogue but when he does speak he carefully delivers each line with precision and poignancy. June Squibb is his equal and her performance is a hilarious gift of put downs but also some nuggets of honesty. Kate is not afraid to speak her mind and when she does I laughed my butt off! Squibb just might run away with Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, she is pitch perfect and steals the movie.
I also was surprised by the wonderful performance by Will Forte as David. I wasn't surprised that he was capable of a great performance in something substantial. I know Forte could become a great actor but I was surprised that he would give such a deep and measured performance that would be Oscar caliber. He works wonderfully off of Dern and I hope to see Will Forte tackle more big roles in more movies in the future. There are also some great supporting performances of well written characters by Bob Odenkirk and Stacy Keach as Woody's old partner who wants the money Woody still owes him.
This is Alexander Payne's best movie since "Sideways" and it reminded me of his other movie dealing with old people "About Schmidt" but this is deeper, more entertaining and ten times better. I also found this to be just right in it's focus and much more compelling than Payne's "The Descendants". It is beautiful to look at, charming, poignant and downright hilarious. The performances are beautiful and this movie won't insult a much older audience's intelligence like the terrible "The Book Thief" did. This movie could have gone so wrong but Payne and writer Bob Nelson care about their story and it's characters. Then there is Bruce Dern who I couldn't be more happy for getting a lead role that displays how amazing an actor he is. I love actors and the feeling I have watching a performance of a well written character by someone as great as Dern, that was long due in a movie like Nebraska", lifts me up and touches me.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
'THE DALLAS BUYERS CLUB'
'THE DALLAS BUYERS CLUB' (R) (4 STARS) (HIGHEST RATING)
Written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack
Directed by Jean-Marc Valee
Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Deni O'Hare, Steve Zahn, Dallas Roberts, Griffin Dunne, Kevin Rankin.
Movies can transport us back to a time of our lives and a period of time that we have forgotten existed, that has evaporated from our minds. The best movies take you back to a time and effectively puts you in a certain era and teaches you something you didn't know. "The Dallas Buyers Club" is one of those great movies, it moved me, taught me a lot and effectively put me in a time and place that enveloped me and introduced me to people I would come to care about deeply. This is a fascinating movie and a very entertaining movie despite it's bleak subject matter.
"The Dallas Buyers Club" tells the true story of electrician and rodeo star Ron Woodroof who in 1986 was infected with the HIV-AIDS virus. Ron partied hard and definitely scored with a lot of women, having unprotected sex with them all, but Ron explains to a doctor that he is in no way a homosexual. Ron is a very homophobic man and a lesser movie would just be about how Ron learns to accept homosexuals as equals by living through a disease that was once thought of as only affecting homosexuals. "The Dallas Buyers Club" is much better than that, it follows Ron's change of heart and lifestyle but it also taught me a lot about the disease, the drugs used to try to curb the disease and what Ron finds in other countries, other forms of unapproved medicine that could help him.
Ron will also set up a club called "The Dallas Buyers Club" where HIV infected people could pay a monthly membership fee and Ron would then provide them with alternative medicine. Ron will strike up an unusual friendship with a transvestite named Rayon who will help him with the club's business. Ron will go to Japan and to Mexico to find alternative medicine with the FDA, police and doctors trying to stop them. My joy in watching this movie was learning about this time in history and the drugs that were available, but not FDA approved. We have seemed to ignore this period in time as it pertains to this horrible disease that changed us and a lot of others. The movie jolted me to my seat and I was fascinated by the subject matter, enthralled like I was watching an intense thriller. I was riveted by what I was learning and fascinated by all the characters and Ron's journey.
The pulse of the movie, that made it so special for me, was the two lead characters and the magnificent performances by Matthew McConaughey as Ron and Jared Leto as Rayon. These are two of my favorite characters I have spent time with in a movie and two of the best and most lived in performances I have seen. The heart of the movie is the developing friendship between the once homophobic Ron and the open hearted Rayon. McConaughey has now emerged as one of the best actors of my generation with his amazing performance here. Though I am not talking about the 40 pounds he lost for the role, I am talking about how he becomes Ron. His McConaughey southern drawl is there but he also disappears into his role. He is matched by the wonderful Jared Leto who we grow to love and respect because of Leto's way of not holding back but also touching us emotionally.
Ron and Rayon's friendship reminded me of the central friendship between Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman in "Midnight Cowboy" but I love this friendship and movie much more. There is also a small subplot of a love story between Ron and a doctor who tries to help him, solidly played by Jennifer Garner. Critics have complained that this plot development of a minor, almost budding romance is manufactured but I strongly disagree. We come to love Ron as much as she does and the wonderful screenplay by first timer Melisa Wallack and Craig Barten doesn't turn the subplot into a major love story, they scale the romance back. It is also a touching and effective emerging friendship and respect instead of a head over heels romance.
My favorite movies transport me back to a time and place that fascinates me and introduces me to people I wish I could have known and that I grow to love and respect. "The Dallas Buyers Club" is such a movie, it kept me enraptured for the entire running time. I didn't find any major missteps and the movie may seem long but I never wanted it to end, a mark of a great movie indeed. I loved the performances by McConaughey and Leto so much I now might put them as my front runners for Best Actor and Supporting Actor. McConaughey and Leto never appear as they are acting, they become Ron and Rayon and with McConaughey it had to be so difficult to do. My favorite period of filmmaking is 1968-1979 where movies taught me and also moved me to tears and made me confront life, helping me grow into adulthood. "The Dallas Buyers Club" is an effective evocation of the 80's equal to what the great movies of the 70's like "All the President's Men" and "The China Syndrome" did for the 70's. Bravo!
Written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack
Directed by Jean-Marc Valee
Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Deni O'Hare, Steve Zahn, Dallas Roberts, Griffin Dunne, Kevin Rankin.
Movies can transport us back to a time of our lives and a period of time that we have forgotten existed, that has evaporated from our minds. The best movies take you back to a time and effectively puts you in a certain era and teaches you something you didn't know. "The Dallas Buyers Club" is one of those great movies, it moved me, taught me a lot and effectively put me in a time and place that enveloped me and introduced me to people I would come to care about deeply. This is a fascinating movie and a very entertaining movie despite it's bleak subject matter.
"The Dallas Buyers Club" tells the true story of electrician and rodeo star Ron Woodroof who in 1986 was infected with the HIV-AIDS virus. Ron partied hard and definitely scored with a lot of women, having unprotected sex with them all, but Ron explains to a doctor that he is in no way a homosexual. Ron is a very homophobic man and a lesser movie would just be about how Ron learns to accept homosexuals as equals by living through a disease that was once thought of as only affecting homosexuals. "The Dallas Buyers Club" is much better than that, it follows Ron's change of heart and lifestyle but it also taught me a lot about the disease, the drugs used to try to curb the disease and what Ron finds in other countries, other forms of unapproved medicine that could help him.
Ron will also set up a club called "The Dallas Buyers Club" where HIV infected people could pay a monthly membership fee and Ron would then provide them with alternative medicine. Ron will strike up an unusual friendship with a transvestite named Rayon who will help him with the club's business. Ron will go to Japan and to Mexico to find alternative medicine with the FDA, police and doctors trying to stop them. My joy in watching this movie was learning about this time in history and the drugs that were available, but not FDA approved. We have seemed to ignore this period in time as it pertains to this horrible disease that changed us and a lot of others. The movie jolted me to my seat and I was fascinated by the subject matter, enthralled like I was watching an intense thriller. I was riveted by what I was learning and fascinated by all the characters and Ron's journey.
The pulse of the movie, that made it so special for me, was the two lead characters and the magnificent performances by Matthew McConaughey as Ron and Jared Leto as Rayon. These are two of my favorite characters I have spent time with in a movie and two of the best and most lived in performances I have seen. The heart of the movie is the developing friendship between the once homophobic Ron and the open hearted Rayon. McConaughey has now emerged as one of the best actors of my generation with his amazing performance here. Though I am not talking about the 40 pounds he lost for the role, I am talking about how he becomes Ron. His McConaughey southern drawl is there but he also disappears into his role. He is matched by the wonderful Jared Leto who we grow to love and respect because of Leto's way of not holding back but also touching us emotionally.
Ron and Rayon's friendship reminded me of the central friendship between Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman in "Midnight Cowboy" but I love this friendship and movie much more. There is also a small subplot of a love story between Ron and a doctor who tries to help him, solidly played by Jennifer Garner. Critics have complained that this plot development of a minor, almost budding romance is manufactured but I strongly disagree. We come to love Ron as much as she does and the wonderful screenplay by first timer Melisa Wallack and Craig Barten doesn't turn the subplot into a major love story, they scale the romance back. It is also a touching and effective emerging friendship and respect instead of a head over heels romance.
My favorite movies transport me back to a time and place that fascinates me and introduces me to people I wish I could have known and that I grow to love and respect. "The Dallas Buyers Club" is such a movie, it kept me enraptured for the entire running time. I didn't find any major missteps and the movie may seem long but I never wanted it to end, a mark of a great movie indeed. I loved the performances by McConaughey and Leto so much I now might put them as my front runners for Best Actor and Supporting Actor. McConaughey and Leto never appear as they are acting, they become Ron and Rayon and with McConaughey it had to be so difficult to do. My favorite period of filmmaking is 1968-1979 where movies taught me and also moved me to tears and made me confront life, helping me grow into adulthood. "The Dallas Buyers Club" is an effective evocation of the 80's equal to what the great movies of the 70's like "All the President's Men" and "The China Syndrome" did for the 70's. Bravo!
'THOR:THE DARK WORLD'
'THOR:THE DARK WORLD (PG-13) (2 STARS)
Written by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley
Directed by Alan Taylor
Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopoher Eccleston.
The sudden rush of superhero movies, "Avengers" movies and "X Men" movies are exciting to many movie goers in the last half decade or more. That's fine with me but it gets to the point when I have had enough, I have to sit through sequel after sequel without that much time in between to breathe. "Thor:The Dark World" is the first one of these to make me think all this for it is a lazy movie and I am figuring out the problem. These movies are all being rushed and jumbled together in one or two years. With that traffic jam it's easier to rush one of these movies at the expense of the movie's story. If you rush the release dates time will not be spent on the screenplay. That brings me to the lazy screenplay to the weakest of these movies so far and that is this dumb "Thor" sequel.
I don't mean dumb in a fun way, with "Thor:The Dark World" it is a dull, badly written idiocy. I am not a prude when it comes to these movies I swear. I think the original "Thor" was dumb but a lot of fun and fast until the over stuffed ending. I also think "Ironman" is one of my all time favorites. I don't expect a home run at every bat but when the bar is set high with "Ironman" you at least have to try to bring something original to this kind of movie or people will get bored fast. This "Thor" sequel has such a drag of a first hour, a glum, dark, hard to follow suck fest, that it can't recover even with a better, funnier, lighter last half hour. Maybe the problem is the Thor character is the least interesting of the "Avengers" characters. Argue with me if you will but I think Thor is the most dull character of the lot.
Further backing up that opinion is that of all the bad guys, here the antihero, this "Thor" sequel is stolen by the sneering, funny and energetic Loki. Loki is the pulse of this movie and "Thor"The Dark World" shoots itself in the foot with putting Loki to the side while Kat Dennings blabs on and Stellan Skarsgard stumbles around embarrassingly in the awful first hour. The supporting characters are all dull here, the major bad guys are elves!? Hello, "Lords of the Rings" rip off! The first hour is dark, hard to understand, Natalie Portman proves she is below her pay grade here and Anthony Hopkins (terrible here) shouts and growls his lines. Maybe Hopkins should join Harrison Ford in a alcoholic grouch gabfest.
There is not an original thought or ideal in this movie, at least "Ironman 3" added an ingenious, little twist in it's plot. The movie belongs to Tom Hiddleston as Loki and he is a delight. My suggestion for the third "Thor" movie is to drop Thor and make it a Loki spin off. Chris Hemsworth is still effective as Thor but he is given nothing interesting to do and you can't do that to a fairly dull character to begin with. The effects are all very effective here but to what purpose? This "Thor" sequel is a waste of everybody's time, cast, crew and movie goers. Thank a Thor God that Loki is saving your ass or "The Avengers" movies might be in trouble.
Written by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley
Directed by Alan Taylor
Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopoher Eccleston.
The sudden rush of superhero movies, "Avengers" movies and "X Men" movies are exciting to many movie goers in the last half decade or more. That's fine with me but it gets to the point when I have had enough, I have to sit through sequel after sequel without that much time in between to breathe. "Thor:The Dark World" is the first one of these to make me think all this for it is a lazy movie and I am figuring out the problem. These movies are all being rushed and jumbled together in one or two years. With that traffic jam it's easier to rush one of these movies at the expense of the movie's story. If you rush the release dates time will not be spent on the screenplay. That brings me to the lazy screenplay to the weakest of these movies so far and that is this dumb "Thor" sequel.
I don't mean dumb in a fun way, with "Thor:The Dark World" it is a dull, badly written idiocy. I am not a prude when it comes to these movies I swear. I think the original "Thor" was dumb but a lot of fun and fast until the over stuffed ending. I also think "Ironman" is one of my all time favorites. I don't expect a home run at every bat but when the bar is set high with "Ironman" you at least have to try to bring something original to this kind of movie or people will get bored fast. This "Thor" sequel has such a drag of a first hour, a glum, dark, hard to follow suck fest, that it can't recover even with a better, funnier, lighter last half hour. Maybe the problem is the Thor character is the least interesting of the "Avengers" characters. Argue with me if you will but I think Thor is the most dull character of the lot.
Further backing up that opinion is that of all the bad guys, here the antihero, this "Thor" sequel is stolen by the sneering, funny and energetic Loki. Loki is the pulse of this movie and "Thor"The Dark World" shoots itself in the foot with putting Loki to the side while Kat Dennings blabs on and Stellan Skarsgard stumbles around embarrassingly in the awful first hour. The supporting characters are all dull here, the major bad guys are elves!? Hello, "Lords of the Rings" rip off! The first hour is dark, hard to understand, Natalie Portman proves she is below her pay grade here and Anthony Hopkins (terrible here) shouts and growls his lines. Maybe Hopkins should join Harrison Ford in a alcoholic grouch gabfest.
There is not an original thought or ideal in this movie, at least "Ironman 3" added an ingenious, little twist in it's plot. The movie belongs to Tom Hiddleston as Loki and he is a delight. My suggestion for the third "Thor" movie is to drop Thor and make it a Loki spin off. Chris Hemsworth is still effective as Thor but he is given nothing interesting to do and you can't do that to a fairly dull character to begin with. The effects are all very effective here but to what purpose? This "Thor" sequel is a waste of everybody's time, cast, crew and movie goers. Thank a Thor God that Loki is saving your ass or "The Avengers" movies might be in trouble.
Friday, October 25, 2013
'ALL IS LOST'
'ALL IS LOST' (PG-13) (3 1/2 STARS)
Written and Directed by J.C. Chandor
Actor: Robert Redford
A lot of survival cliches came to mind while watching J.C. Chandor's "All Is Lost" and my mind raced with bleak thoughts while watching the movie. Thoughts like, I know I would be not knowing what to do and would probably be dead in two or three days if I was in the lead character's shoes. That lead is called "Our Man" and he is played by Robert Redford who, excuse the pun, is a natural fit for the story of "All Is Lost". He is sailing alone off the Indian Ocean in a small sailboat when he crashes into a cargo container, lost from a ship, which has gashed a huge hole on the side of the boat. His boat starts leaking and throughout 8 days he will have to deal with his boat falling apart and in danger of sinking, a diminishing food supply and sharks circling his boat soon to be hungry.
"All Is Lost" does a very good job of putting us on that ship with Our Man and photographing the perils that Our Man faces including a brooding storm that almost wipes everything away. I mention Redford being perfect here and not because he is a huge nature advocate. Critics in the past have called Redford a cold actor but I disagree and here I could identify with him. He might not be as endearing as a Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) but he has an everyman, rugged screen presence that feels perfect here. We can feel his frustration building as more obstacles to surviving mount and more perilous situations build. Redford never overplays his reactions, he never over emotes or over reacts to the danger in a phony way.
We forget while watching "All Is Lost" that Redford has proved himself as being a great action movie star and screen presence before. His 1972 film "Jeremiah Johnson", one of Redford's best films, showed that Redford is an expert at the surviving nature, action thing. It is a very physically demanding performance and you can tell that Redford does all his stunts. It is even more impressive because Chandor makes all the perilous scenes look so effective and real that I know that Redford had to do all the physical stunts himself. Director Chandor does an excellent job at realistically capturing the danger of the storm that hits and what Redford has to do to survive. The cinematography here, underwater photography by Peter Zuccarini, and Frank G. DeMarco is beautiful and thrilling.
"All Is Lost" is not a movie that I would desire to go see again but for the one time viewing it kept me enthralled and never bored. A movie like this can get tedious but J.C. Chandor does a great job at keeping us involved with each twist and peril that befalls Our Man. Coming out around the same time as a more thrilling masterpiece like "Captain Phillips" can't help "All Is Lost" but it is a movie worth your time. You have a thrilling movie that is very effective and well directed and a movie star that strips away his vanity and gives an emotionally draining and flawless performance. Robert Redford is the perfect choice for this movie and he proves it with one of his best performances.
Written and Directed by J.C. Chandor
Actor: Robert Redford
A lot of survival cliches came to mind while watching J.C. Chandor's "All Is Lost" and my mind raced with bleak thoughts while watching the movie. Thoughts like, I know I would be not knowing what to do and would probably be dead in two or three days if I was in the lead character's shoes. That lead is called "Our Man" and he is played by Robert Redford who, excuse the pun, is a natural fit for the story of "All Is Lost". He is sailing alone off the Indian Ocean in a small sailboat when he crashes into a cargo container, lost from a ship, which has gashed a huge hole on the side of the boat. His boat starts leaking and throughout 8 days he will have to deal with his boat falling apart and in danger of sinking, a diminishing food supply and sharks circling his boat soon to be hungry.
"All Is Lost" does a very good job of putting us on that ship with Our Man and photographing the perils that Our Man faces including a brooding storm that almost wipes everything away. I mention Redford being perfect here and not because he is a huge nature advocate. Critics in the past have called Redford a cold actor but I disagree and here I could identify with him. He might not be as endearing as a Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) but he has an everyman, rugged screen presence that feels perfect here. We can feel his frustration building as more obstacles to surviving mount and more perilous situations build. Redford never overplays his reactions, he never over emotes or over reacts to the danger in a phony way.
We forget while watching "All Is Lost" that Redford has proved himself as being a great action movie star and screen presence before. His 1972 film "Jeremiah Johnson", one of Redford's best films, showed that Redford is an expert at the surviving nature, action thing. It is a very physically demanding performance and you can tell that Redford does all his stunts. It is even more impressive because Chandor makes all the perilous scenes look so effective and real that I know that Redford had to do all the physical stunts himself. Director Chandor does an excellent job at realistically capturing the danger of the storm that hits and what Redford has to do to survive. The cinematography here, underwater photography by Peter Zuccarini, and Frank G. DeMarco is beautiful and thrilling.
"All Is Lost" is not a movie that I would desire to go see again but for the one time viewing it kept me enthralled and never bored. A movie like this can get tedious but J.C. Chandor does a great job at keeping us involved with each twist and peril that befalls Our Man. Coming out around the same time as a more thrilling masterpiece like "Captain Phillips" can't help "All Is Lost" but it is a movie worth your time. You have a thrilling movie that is very effective and well directed and a movie star that strips away his vanity and gives an emotionally draining and flawless performance. Robert Redford is the perfect choice for this movie and he proves it with one of his best performances.
Friday, October 18, 2013
'CARRIE'
'CARRIE' (R) (3 STARS)
Written by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Actors: Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday.
Let me get this straight right off the bat. No one can ever do a remake of the original "Carrie" with the same amount of surprise, scares and grisly shock scenes. Brian DePalma's 1976 horror classic "Carrie" is one of my ten favorite horror movies of all time. I don't get really scared often but I still can't watch the original movie without getting nerves and goosebumps. No movie as a child has haunted me more than DePalma's gritty horror movie. Piper Laurie as Carrie's mother is one of the most frightening performances I have seen in a horror picture. The performance by Sissy Spacek put her on the map and no one can touch her as Carrie except maybe the remake's Chloe Grace Moretz who is the only reason I am fully endorsing this movie. Sometimes a performance is so captivating it can make a so so movie become a solid experience.
The original "Carrie" has a lot more power than the remake because of the type of film making. The remake is glossier, less grittier and too polished. The original had grit, a better, spookier house for it's location and Carrie's mother Margaret is scarier and more effective in the original. It is funny but the original didn't have CGI and the visual technology that movies have today but the prom scenes in the original are much more effective in the blood and shock category. I also don't see the supporting actors becoming stars like Travolta, Nancy Allen and Amy Irving became, the actors here are a little flat. I remember DePalma getting great flak by critics and even Stephen King, DePalma has received more hate than any director ever has in the history of movies by critics, but now critics call "Carrie" a masterpiece. That is funny and also a reason I don't pattern myself after movie critics.
I should not like this movie because it in no way measures up to the original but the performance by Chloe Grace Moretz is equal in power to Spacek's. Moretz is one of our finest young actresses and she nails the sweetness, fragility and naivety of Carrie perfectly. It is a graceful, subtle and beautiful performance. The other aspects of this movie might not be as effective but Moretz grounds this movie and her performance made me follow this remake even though the horror scenes and scares just don't touch the original's and didn't impress me a lot. Kimberly Peirce is a great director, "Boys Don't Cry", but I expected more from her. The screenwriters do a decent job of giving us a fragile Carrie who has to emerge from her shell and deal with bullying and ridicule from her peers. I like the use of modern touches like facebook and other social media aspects and how more despicable bullying is today. I just wasn't scared or jolted and man did the original scare the crap out of me!
I did love Chloe Grace Moretz though and she turns a fairly effective horror movie into something much more. Because of Moretz I was able to be somewhat affected by her battles with her mother and her tormentors with the final scenes. I do love Julianne Moore a lot and she is good here but her performance can't possibly match Piper Laurie's. Also DePalma is one of my favorite directors, I despise the hate he receives by critics, and his direction of the original movie is singular, scary as hell and gut wrenching. The way the original was filmed brings in my head thoughts of visceral masterpiece, auteur and a groundbreaking horror movie. The remake can't possibly touch the original's genius and on it's own it needed more oomph but Moretz is the real deal. A star and a future Oscar winning actress has emerged!
Written by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Actors: Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday.
Let me get this straight right off the bat. No one can ever do a remake of the original "Carrie" with the same amount of surprise, scares and grisly shock scenes. Brian DePalma's 1976 horror classic "Carrie" is one of my ten favorite horror movies of all time. I don't get really scared often but I still can't watch the original movie without getting nerves and goosebumps. No movie as a child has haunted me more than DePalma's gritty horror movie. Piper Laurie as Carrie's mother is one of the most frightening performances I have seen in a horror picture. The performance by Sissy Spacek put her on the map and no one can touch her as Carrie except maybe the remake's Chloe Grace Moretz who is the only reason I am fully endorsing this movie. Sometimes a performance is so captivating it can make a so so movie become a solid experience.
The original "Carrie" has a lot more power than the remake because of the type of film making. The remake is glossier, less grittier and too polished. The original had grit, a better, spookier house for it's location and Carrie's mother Margaret is scarier and more effective in the original. It is funny but the original didn't have CGI and the visual technology that movies have today but the prom scenes in the original are much more effective in the blood and shock category. I also don't see the supporting actors becoming stars like Travolta, Nancy Allen and Amy Irving became, the actors here are a little flat. I remember DePalma getting great flak by critics and even Stephen King, DePalma has received more hate than any director ever has in the history of movies by critics, but now critics call "Carrie" a masterpiece. That is funny and also a reason I don't pattern myself after movie critics.
I should not like this movie because it in no way measures up to the original but the performance by Chloe Grace Moretz is equal in power to Spacek's. Moretz is one of our finest young actresses and she nails the sweetness, fragility and naivety of Carrie perfectly. It is a graceful, subtle and beautiful performance. The other aspects of this movie might not be as effective but Moretz grounds this movie and her performance made me follow this remake even though the horror scenes and scares just don't touch the original's and didn't impress me a lot. Kimberly Peirce is a great director, "Boys Don't Cry", but I expected more from her. The screenwriters do a decent job of giving us a fragile Carrie who has to emerge from her shell and deal with bullying and ridicule from her peers. I like the use of modern touches like facebook and other social media aspects and how more despicable bullying is today. I just wasn't scared or jolted and man did the original scare the crap out of me!
I did love Chloe Grace Moretz though and she turns a fairly effective horror movie into something much more. Because of Moretz I was able to be somewhat affected by her battles with her mother and her tormentors with the final scenes. I do love Julianne Moore a lot and she is good here but her performance can't possibly match Piper Laurie's. Also DePalma is one of my favorite directors, I despise the hate he receives by critics, and his direction of the original movie is singular, scary as hell and gut wrenching. The way the original was filmed brings in my head thoughts of visceral masterpiece, auteur and a groundbreaking horror movie. The remake can't possibly touch the original's genius and on it's own it needed more oomph but Moretz is the real deal. A star and a future Oscar winning actress has emerged!
'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.
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.
Friday, October 11, 2013
'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.
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.
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