Weekly Review 36: HUNT, PROPHET, O BROTHER, LAURENCE

December 15, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged A Prophet, Laurence Anyways, O Brother Where Art Thou, Reviews, The Hunt, Weekly Review

On the march to the end of the season, with only four more major releases to go for 2013, I crossed two big ticket items off the list with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug offering just the brand of disappointment I was crossing my fingers against and Inside Llewyn Davis which has been growing on me all week since seeing it. But the really miraculous part of this week is how much great cinema I’ve seen at home. I can’t remember watching a string of films this solid in a long, long time and I’m a happy camper for it. I guess that’s what happens when you sign up for Netflix disks and pop on a collection of films you’ve been waiting to see. So let’s hop into all the goodies I watched at home.

THE HUNT (2013)

A ceaselessly powerful movie that’ll have you in fits of frustration, The Hunt is anchored by yet another career-defining performance from the always brilliant Mads Mikkelsen. It’s surely not the most accessible film of the year – it’s a Danish film about allegations of child molestation – but it explores victim psychology and crowd mentality with gripping truth. As school teacher Lucas (Mikkelsen) is accused of abusing one of his students, who so happens to be his best friend’s meek, doll-nosed daughter, we’re the only ones who know his innocence and see the town explode around him, acting against him at first with social rejection and later, violence. As things escalate and Lucas becomes an outright pariah, you’ll want to scream at the television. But every time you want to point the finger at someone or other, you find yourself slipping into their mindset and understanding where they’re coming from. In an impossible situation such as this, it all comes down to what we’re willing to believe and who you’re willing to trust.

A-

A PROPHET (2009)

Jacques Audiard‘s tale of a young French-Arab man rise inside the ranks of a prison mob is brimming with intrigue and stands as a sort of European Good Fellas. A gradual rise of power the likes of A Prophet will surely bring a slew of comparisons to Scorsese’s wok and for good reason. Audiard captures a similarly telescopic broadcast of a life, filtered down into a two-hour-plus film but still feels complete and massive. But he distinguishes his own style in the many off-kilter camera moves, intoxicating fuzzy screenshots, the use of language as a chess piece, all the while dividing the film up into succinct chapters that usually revolve around the introduction of a new character. Aided by an epic breakout from Tahar Rahim, A Prophet is a confidently made mobster movie that stands amongst the best.

A

O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU (2000)

I’m almost ashamed to say that I have never sat down and watched the entirety of O Brother Where Art Thou but it feels good to get it off my chest. Thankfully, it lived up to the high praise I’ve heard sung by hipsters and movie critics at large. Once again giving a story, which is a straggly update on Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’, a whole new set of legs than any of their previous work, the Coens continue a string of encyclopedic work that knows no bounds and dares journey into just about any territory they please. The hypnotic music, literary references, and band of stooges all help to carve a niche film the likes of none other that is easily recommended to just about anyone interested in music, comedy, or antiquity.

A

LAURENCE ANYWAYS (2013)

If you’re going to see one three-hour French-language film about star crossed lovers acclimating to a sexual identity crisis this year make it Laurence Anyways. First of all, you’ll sound so much more sophisticated when you one up all those wanna be know it alls babbling over Blue is the Warmest Color. Secondly, it’s a better film. With staggering performances from its two leads, decadent set and costume design, a throbbing score, and zesty direction, Laurence Anyways reaches emotional highs and blistering lows that only something this real and yet surreal could accomplish.

B+

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Out in Theaters: INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

December 14, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Carey Mulligan, Coen Bros, Garrett Hedlund, Inside Llewyn Davis, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake, Oscar Isaac 1 Comment

“Inside Llewyn Davis’
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Adam Driver, Max Casella, Robin Bartlett, Ethan Phillips, Stark Sands
Drama, Music
105 Mins
R

“Can anything be both meaningful and aimless?” Joel and Ethan Coen ask in their latest film. Taking it from Llewyn Davis, the man and movie both, it appears so. But such is the nature of art. A masterpiece isn’t planned, nor is it something that can necessarily be blueprinted. Half the meaning of art is in the legwork itself; the getting there of it all. For within art as self-expression, there is no structure, no path towards inspiration, and no guarantee of success, even for your best work. And yet, to only give yourself half-heartedly to a craft that only stands a snowball’s chance in hell of finding an audience is self-defeating. Folk music, as we see here, isn’t just about singing songs, it’s the burden of searching for meaning, a modus operandi that looks a lot like vagrancy; an outré way of existing. Art is no hobby, Inside Llewyn Davis cries, it’s a lifestyle, and a tiring one at that.

As Llewyn Davis tries with fleeting enthusiasm to give his folk-sung artistry a last go around the Greenwich folk scene, he learns that art and commercialism could not be further polarized (the iPhone hadn’t been invented just yet). In an ironically staged twist of Coen Bros symmetry, this film, which is as far left of commercial as can be, is a piece of high art. As such, it’ll likely be shuffled away from the mainstream, bolstered only by Coen enthusiast’s enduring adoration, near-universal critical acclaim, and a dollop of love from the awards circuits. But though it’s reach may be limited, it is powerful. And as I’ve tried to preach in movie-related writings, it’s a film best served with a healthy serving of reflection, to be sought out by those who seek a deeper relationship with the films they watch.

Inside Llewyn Davis is a mood piece if there ever was any, rich with soulful folk ballads, colorful characters, and stripped of the usual framework that we call a story. As a microcosm of an era and a subculture, Davis, with his caustic demeanor, is the last man you would expect to lead a story. But for all his many faults, he lives and breathes folk music. His battered existence is the stuff straight from a hokum Bob Dylan lyric. What better subject for a film about a music genre that has by and large represented lost souls and losing investments than a gruff man fading from relevance before he was ever close to it in the first place?

Lumbering around aimless, Davis suffers from destiny lost. He’s recovering from the death of his best friend and musical partner and coming to the harsh acceptance that life has chewed him up, spit him out, and wants no further taste of him. But that’s hardly an excuse for such reprehensible behavior. Especially in front of the ladies!

Muses for Davis come and go with the change of the seasons and, through the power of suggestion and the here-again-there-again nature of Davis, we’re led to believe that he’s notorious for being loose with the ladies. Hell, he’s even slept with his best friend’s wife. But for all the poontang he reaps around town, he’s about as popular with any given lady after a sexual tryst as the music he sings. Doling out abortion money like its a hobby, Davis is the breed of sad, sorrowful ladies man who’s lifestyle is unbefitting of love. There’s only room for one love in his life and that’s his music, however mistreated it seems to be by the rest of the world.

When it comes to telling this tale of harmonious woe, the Coens turn the formula on its head. Rather than meeting a grumbling stick-in-the-mud who then spins his life around, when we meet Davis, he seems like a pretty decent guy. However, the more time we spent with him, the more we see him as an egocentric bastard, using up people’s goodwill and spitting them out like they were nothing to him. But it probably comes with the fact that he

Llewyn’s didactic approach to music has him looking down his nose at his peers – all of which, he has assured himself, are hacks or sell outs – and yet going nowhere fast for it. In such, he’s the Holden Caulfield of folk (and I guess that makes them “phonies”). But Davis is no troubled teenager. He’s a calloused man, hardened by disappointed, burdened with grief and buried in sorrow. The only thing that keeps him ticking is his geetar and his oh so lovely vocal cords. But each time Llewyn caws out a tune, coy as it may be, he is alive. Then, he retreats into something the broken man we know. As lively and rich as his soulful ballads are, he has become a shell. Without his tunes, I’m afraid there is nothing else left in this Oscar the Grouch.

After reading an early draft of the script, the Coens decided they needed more “tradition” in it and so we have Ulysses the cat. Davis’ moral compass is represented by this fat-faced, orange tabby cat who we meet in the opening shot of the film. Ulysses, just as much as Davis, guides us through this week-long saunter. As the film tracks the cat’s journey, we come to new conclusions about the mop-headed Llewyn, conclusions which will ultimately disappoint us and leave Davis heavy with shame.

Teeming with atmosphere, Inside Llewyn Davis captures the feel of grayness, that hard to swallow pill of depression. Even though it’s quite beautiful, Inside Llewyn Davis feels ugly. You can smell the stink of the smoke on your skin, and the nip of the chilly air when Davis walks into the New York streets sans proper winter wear. We shutter when he steps in a puddle, we empathize when he’s told, “I don’t see any money in it” as if that’s all that really matters.

Wet, downtrodden cinematography from Bruno Delbonnel helps to inform a New York that’s just as beat up as Davis himself. Even the most upbeat song of the film, sung to absolute perfection by Justin Timberlake‘s Jim and Adam Driver‘s Al Cody, is a plea against America’s fear of the uncertainty – the next battle against the Ruskos in a blossoming Cold War. That song, so aptly titled Please Mr. Kennedy is perfectly symbolic for the whole feature – and one of the most fun scens in all of 2013. It’s commercial crud and yet, it’s the one song you’ll be singing after the film wraps for days (Puh-puh-puh-please…). If only the whole movie had this upbeat sensibility, humor, and Driver’s timely baritone. But that’s a different movie entirely.

And yet there are a couple chunks to it that may as well be flown in from other films. The car scene with John Goodman seems like its from another movie entirely and, while propelling Llewyn to a climatic meeting with fate, seems a touch bloated for what we get out of it.

Blemishes and all, Inside Llewyn Davis is that rare movie that only the Coens could pull off. Backed by a killer soundtrack, a gloomy visual landscape, and a star-making performance from lead Oscar Isaac, it may be a film reserved for the minority but those lucky few sure will cherish it.

A-

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Sony's Spiderman Universe Gets VENOM and SINISTER SIX Spinoffs

December 14, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Movie Announcements Tagged Andrew Garfield, Spiderman, Superhero, The Amazing Spiderman 2, The Sinister Six, Venom

The fellas over at Sony have been having a field day this month with their Spiderman properties. After the release of the latest trailer for The Amazing Spiderman 2, the interwebs stirred with spoiler discussions of what was to come next (as in, not this movie, but the movie after it). Hints towards both Vulture and Doc Ock suggested an eventual move towards a classic baddie collective that had fanboys flipping out like they were seeing The Avengers for the first time. From there, Sony further stirred the pot by releasing info that Spiderman himself, Andrew Garfield, was only signed for the first three Spiderman movies. As if that’s an actual conflict worthy of a story (the voices are telling me that that offer him… what is it?…more money! And then he signs! Lordie lordie!)

The latest announcement – standalone films for both The Sinister Six and Venom. Apparently Venom is a bit of an anti-hero in the comic books so his getting a standalone seems to make a modicum of sense (and has been something fans have pushed for for many, many years.) Few fell for Topher Grace‘s iteration of the iconic Spiderman enemy in Spiderman 3 so a reinvention of the character is a move that has been welcomely received. But while putting Venom in the spotlight might be a smart move, and a way to beef up this whole Expanded Universe thing that apparently every superhero movie in the world must do, the case for the Sinister Six sounds like a mess before it’s even started. I’m guessing they try some form of Avengers team-building but, assuming it doesn’t prominently feature Spiderman, I can’t imagine how they frame that film.

So, from my count, that makes four Amazing Spiderman movies on the platter with two spin offs and, don’t forget, the potential to have Spiderman join The Avengers (most likely for Avengers 7: Give Us All The Money). Superhero fatigue is trending like skinny jeans nowadays so I’ll save you the perfunctory sigh. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

“SPIDARMAN DREAMCASTING LIST!
Leonardo DiCaprio as Doc Ock,
Christian Bale as Kraven the Hunter,
Tom Cruise as Mysterio,
Ryan Gosling as Sandman,
JGL as Vulture,
Jaimee Foxx as Electro.
How cool wood it b if all thez AMAZINBALLS acters played da SINSTER 6?! OMFG> LOLCATZ.”

Are you happy now?! Are you not entertained? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!

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Out in Theaters: SAVING MR. BANKS

December 13, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged B.J. Novak, Biography, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell, Disney, Emma Thompson, Jason Schwartzman, Out in Theaters, Paul Giamatti, Reviews, Saving Mr. Banks, Tom Hanks

“Saving Mr. Banks”
Directed by John Lee Hancock
Starring Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell, Annie Rose Buckley, Ruth Wilson, Rachel Griffiths
Biography, Comedy, Drama
125 Mins
PG-13

Saving Mr. Banks may as well have been called How Walt Disney Saved The Day From The Curmudgeonly P.L Travers. It’s as whitewashed a narrative as can be, oozing Disney hallmarks to reinvent the notorious asshat that is Walt Disney into a salt of the earth type inspirationally adept at picking himself up by his bootstraps. He’s the American Dream personified and he circles Emma Thompson‘s P.L. “put the milk in the tea first” Travers with the predatory knack of a hawk.

Travers, whose opaque Britishness sticks out like Andre the Giant’s thumb if it’d been slammed in a car door, is a woman desperately struggling to maintain artistic control of a character she’s poured her very heart and soul into: Mary Poppins. Having either run dry in the ideas department or simply too stubborn to pen another Poppins adventure, Travers straddles the line of bankruptcy. Her only option lays in Walt Disney, who’s been hounding after the Poppins property for the past ten years.

While Travers flies over to LA to be courted by Mr. Disney himself, the earnest, creative folks at Disney are pouring themselves into turning Poppins into a product, equipped with sing-a-long numbers and dancing animated penguins. It’s a far cry from her original vision, and she battles tooth and nail to preserve the soul of these stories that mean so much to her but in the process only comes across as a mean old kook. I mean, this is the 60s, women have no place asserting themselves, amiright?

As audience members, we’re expected to cheer for this moustachioed monopoly man trying to ink out another deal with his enterprising smile. And after Saving Mr. Banks dresses Disney’s acquisition of Mary Poppins up as a promise to his children to one day turn their favorite storybook into a delightful family video, how can you not want him to succeed? Think of the children!

I don’t think I have to tell you whether or not Disney got his grubby hands on the rights to Poppins. So with that, the moral of this Disney story reads something like: big business always triumphs over the solitary artist. How sweet.

For all the tomfoolery that tries to pass as morals here, Thompson is undeniably powerhousing it as Travers. She’s confounding, frustrating, pitiable, and, for a majority of her screen time, detestable. Her 50 shades of gray comes in two flavors: frowny and disappointment. With a no-nonsense attitude so caustic she makes Professor McGonagall look like a bonafide class clown, Travers is the stuff of fairytale stepmothers – strict, rude, and utterly indifferent. But Thompson plays her with understanding, lacking an ounce of judgement. This year’s Best Actress talks have been all about Cate Blanchett but, with a performance of this caliber, Thompson might just have what it takes to knock her off her horse. There is one big thing standing in the way of that though: Travers is entirely unlikeable.

Typically, it requires a bit of mental gymnastics on behalf of the audience to acclimate to a character who is so legitimately awful and yet director John Lee Hancock makes no attempt to skirt around the dozen or so sticks up her butt. In fact, that seems the primary function of the first act – to reveal just how uptight Ms. Travers is. For most of the movie, she might as well be a plum. Says Hancock’s film, she’s a dried up old cooze more pleased by naysaying than any of this smiling nonsense. She wants for nothing save a paycheck so she may return to her flat in London and live out the rest of her days on trumpets, tea, and sighing. As she closes in on signing over that character which has come to define her and her career, she’s hardly a popular figure on the Disney campus. Making friends along the way is about as high a priority as stepping in a pile of dog shit. To her, they may as well be one in the same. With all her humbuging, she’s the Ms. Scrooge of the 2013 Christmas season.

But there’s no illusion that this pinecone of a woman won’t shed her crusty shell and reveal the little sweet girl inside, that flax-haired Aussie who we become well acquainted to through an unexpectedly prominent series of flashbacks. In his milking of the emotional teat, Hancock knows that you’ve got to show just how sour someone is to make their inescapable third act transformation all the more power. Most will likely fall victim to his ringing of the waterworks bell, but they’ll probably also be smart enough to see through the highly visibly emotional manipulation at work. So though you may cry, you’ll likely feel a sucker for it.

On the sidelines, the film is stuffed full of cheery secondary characters who either have helped raise Travers into the woman she is or those unlucky dogs who have to deal with her now that she’s grown into a froofy-haired, red lipstick-wearing bulldog. B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman, and Bradley Whitford are a fine trio of slick-job comic relief and their many colored reactions to Travers’ totalitarian workmanship are amongst the best moments of the film.

In stark contrast, Paul Giamatti‘s thick take on a white version of Driving Mrs. Daisy‘s Hoke Colburn is a prime example of Saving Mr. Banks as a hokey tearjerker while Colin Farrell‘s bubbling but bumbling alcoholic father is shaded with true characterization. He’s far richer in depth than many of these hackneyed stereotypes but belongs in a whole other movie; one far darker and sadder. Then again, the wealth the flashback scenes do seem like another movie entirely. It’s not until the end that it all finally comes together and we see the pieces for a whole. Nonetheless, Hancock never really justifies the amount of division the film must carry and the emotionally stirring conclusion still isn’t enough to make up for the sluggingness that clouds the first hour.

Saving Mr. Banks is yet another Disney export of saccharine in the highest degree, an uplifting tale that also serves to reinforce the likeability of a dynasty that has swept up Pixar, Marvel, Stars Wars, and just recently Indiana Jones. But for those of us who’ve heard stories of Disney as a man who aligned himself with anti-Semitic organizations and would work his employees to the bone, attempts to make him seem like Saint Walt come across as disingenuous at best and full-blown falsification at worst. But it’s hard to look down your nose when Tom Hanks is playing the role with all his usual charm and gumption. Well played Disney, well played.

C+

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20th SAG Nominees Led By 12 YEARS A SLAVE, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, BREAKING BAD, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

December 12, 2013 by Jill Landon Posted in Awards Tagged Arrested Development, Awards, Breaking Bad, Dallas Buyers Club, Editorials, SAG, SAG 2013

The 20^th SAG award nominations are just full of surprises as 12 Years a Slave, again, was nominated for almost every film category. Best actor looks like it will be neck and neck, between Bruce Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hanks, and Matthew McConaughey. Still unreleased to the general public, American Hustle was also well represented, along with underdog Dallas Buyers Club. Strangely there are no nominations for Her, which is hopefully poised to do well during award season.

In television, Breaking Bad is aiming to win just about everything. There is no way that final season doesn’t garner best drama and best actor for Bryan Cranston. Making predictions for comedy awards is usually fruitless, since comedic tastes tend to be all over the place. However, the usual suspects are here, including Arrested Development, Modern Family, and 30 Rock. In other news, people still like Big Bang Theory, as it has quite a few nominations too. Go figure.

See the full nominations below. Predictions in red.

Theatrical Motion Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

August: Osage County

Dallas Buyers Club

Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Bruce Dern – Woody Grant – “Nebraska“

Chiwetel Ejiofor – Solomon Northup – “12 Years a Slave“

Tom Hanks – Capt. Richard Phillips – “Captain Phillips“

Matthew McConaughey – Ron Woodroof – “Dallas Buyers Club“

Forest Whitaker – Cecil Gaines – “Lee Daniels’ The Butler“

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett – Jasmine – “Blue Jasmine“

Sandra Bullock – Ryan Stone – “Gravity“

Judi Dench – Philomena Lee – “Philomena“

Meryl Streep – Violet Weston – “August: Osage County“

Emma Thompson – P.L. Travers – “Saving Mr. Banks“

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi – Muse – “Captain Phillips“

Daniel Brühl – Niki Lauda – “Rush“

Michael Fassbender – Edwin Epps – “12 Years a Slave“

James Gandolfini – Albert – “Enough Said“

Jared Leto – Rayon – “Dallas Buyers Club“

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Lawrence – Rosalyn Rosenfeld – “American Hustle“

Lupita Nyong’o – Patsey – “12 Years a Slave“

Julia Roberts – Barbara Weston – “August: Osage County“

June Squibb – Kate Grant – “Nebraska“

Oprah Winfrey – Gloria Gaines – “Lee Daniels’ The Butler“

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Matt Damon – Scott Thorson – “Behind the Candelabra“

Michael Douglas – Liberace – “Behind the Candelabra“

Jeremy Irons – King Henry IV – “The Hollow Crown“

Rob Lowe – John F. Kennedy – “Killing Kennedy“

Al Pacino – Phil Spector – “Phil Spector“

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Angela Bassett – Coretta Scott King – “Betty & Coretta“

Helena Bonham Carter – Elizabeth Taylor – “Burton and Taylor“

Holly Hunter – G.J. – “Top of the Lake“

Helen Mirren – Linda Kenney Baden – “Phil Spector“

Elisabeth Moss – Robin Griffin – “Top of the Lake“

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Steve Buscemi – Enoch “Nucky” Thompson – “Boardwalk Empire“

Bryan Cranston – Walter White – “Breaking Bad“

Jeff Daniels – Will McAvoy – “The Newsroom“

Peter Dinklage – Tyrion Lannister – “Game of Thrones“

Kevin Spacey – Francis Underwood – “House of Cards“

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Claire Danes – Carrie Mathison – “Homeland“

Anna Gunn – Skyler White – “Breaking Bad“

Jessica Lange – Fiona Goode – “American Horror Story: Coven“

Maggie Smith – Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “Downton Abbey“

Kerry Washington – Olivia Pope – “Scandal“

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire

Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin – Jack Donaghy – “30 Rock“

Jason Bateman – Michael Bluth – “Arrested Development“

Ty Burrell – Phil Dunphy – “Modern Family“

Don Cheadle – Martin “Marty” Kaan – “House of Lies“

Jim Parsons – Sheldon Cooper – “The Big Bang Theory“

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik – Amy Farrah Fowler – “The Big Bang Theory“

Julie Bowen – Claire Dunphy – “Modern Family“

Edie Falco – Jackie Peyton – “Nurse Jackie“

Tina Fey – Liz Lemon – “30 Rock“

Julia Louis-Dreyfus / Vice President Selina Meyer – “Veep“

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 Rock

Arrested Development

The Big Bang Theory

Modern Family

Veep

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Mech Suit Tom Cruise Groundhog Daying It in EDGE OF TOMORROW Trailer

December 11, 2013 by Jill Landon Posted in Trailers Tagged Action Movies, Bill Paxton, Doug iman, Edge of Tomorrow, Emily Blunt, tom cruise, Trailers

If Groundhog Day was a sci-fi action flick, it would look something like the newly released trailer for Bourne director Doug Liman’s film Edge of Tomorrow. Tom Cruise will find himself living the same day over and over again, amidst some sort of alien war, increasing his skills a little bit at a time. The basic premise is nothing new as four or five Star Trek episodes come immediately to mind. But depending on how Liman approaches the subject matter, this looks to have great potential.

The trailer calls back a newly re-popularized Blomkampesque aesthetic, which creates a sort of gritty, dystopian feel, similar to the original Terminator. Instead of being attacked, it seems that the humans are the invaders. Having only a small glimpse of the aliens in the trailer, leads us to think that either Liman is saving it all for the big screen, or trying to deliberately draw attention to the propagandic dehumanization of the aliens, similar to Starship Troopers.

No matter what point the film tries to make, this plot is nothing new. Tom Cruise will live this day repeatedly, until he kicks ass. Hopefully, the film draws out some social commentary and doesn’t just turn into a dumb action movie. But until it’s release on June 6, 2014, we can only guess.

Edge of Tomorrow is directed by Doug Liman and stars Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, and Bill Paxton. It hits theaters June 6, 2014.

Out in Theaters: THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

December 10, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Ian McKellan, Lee Pace, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Aidan Turner, Stephen Hunter
Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
161 Mins
PG-13

Only those fond of cliffhanger endings and tease as tale will truly appreciate the second lackluster installment in Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit trilogy. Certainly there are things to love; Bilbo’s character progression and his untimely addiction to one precious ring is welcome (although not nearly as prominent as it ought to be), the set design and telescopic vistas are almost as epic as ever, seeing the majesty of gold-diggin’ dragon Smaug realized in impressive CG tantalizes the little boy in me (the one who listened to The Hobbit audiobook until it wore out), and one particularly fun scene involving dwarves in a barrel is a blatant film highlight; but other elements that ought to stand out fall flat on their face and never recover.

For instance, one would expect the return of Legolas (Orlando Bloom) to kick in some much needed nostalgia for the series but he, worse so than Ian McKellen‘s performance of Gandalf, seemingly lacks interest in the role and his apathy shines a bright hole where there ought to be life. Lacking the breezy comic relief he brought to LOTR, this new (old?) Legolas is instead a cantankerous daddy’s boy to dwarfophobe elf-king father, Thranduil (Lee Pace). That relationship and his kittenish flirtation with elf Ms. Forest Elf herself, Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), reveals a bratty blonde-haired, weird-eyed elf whose presence is entirely unnecessarily. But such is the nature of these prequels. He does come loaded with all the dynamic bowman bells and whistles that make for great action beats but he’s not the Legolas we know and love. As has become my general response to these films: why bring him up at all then?

But The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug‘s greatest crime lies in the continuation of the first installment’s trend of doing too little, too late. For a film that stretches over two and a half hours, there is probably only an hour worth of necessary story development. Everything else is superlative nonsense stuffed in purely to milk the material into three films. Worse yet, it plays like an episode of Lost where the most important cue you get from the film is: MAKE SURE YOU SEE THE NEXT ONE! And while it’s nowhere in the same league of disappointment as the Star Wars prequels, this Hobbit trilogy is so far a major bummer.

Let’s try and recount the events of Desolation of Smaug just to give you a better idea of what’s in store. First, Biblo (Martin Freeman, who seems to be the only one really trying), Gandalf, and the company of dwarves continue to flee the armless, severely face-raked white orc Azog (Manu Bennett) and his small legion of trackers. They seek refuge at the home of a surly skin-changer Boern (Mikael Persbrandt) who (unless he comes back into play in the third installment) adds absolutely nothing to the narrative. From there it’s through a inky, stinky dark forest whose dandelions have the power to make everyone trip out (a sequence which provides some satisfying laughs) and after battling a troop of lispy giant spiders, they, once again, find themselves the captives of a battalion of grumpy, wood elves.

On and on it goes, all the while you’re sitting there wondering if the whole Smaug thing (as in the name of the movie) is going to emerge. Unfortunately for those of us who’ve been anticipating Smaug to prominently feature in the film (you know because IT’S NAMED AFTER HIM), expect disappointment as his first appearance is somewhere around the two-hour mark.

The problem is, once we finally get around to all this Smaug business, we’re so worn out from all the boorishness that came before that it’s hard to muster up the excitement that ought to come from seeing this epic, gold-hoarding, talking dragon come to life. Admittedly scenes with Smaug are visually stunning and Benedict Cumberbatch is nearly perfect as the megalomaniacal, near-diva dragon but, as mentioned, it’s too little, too late.

As for all of this talk of returning to form, Jackson is still miles from the magic that made the Lord of the Rings such a rousing and resounding adventure. Missing is the enthusiasm, edge of your seat action beats, and general sense of wonder. Don’t get me wrong, action sequences here are amazingly choreographed and I can’t imagine how intricate the process of getting some of the stuff they did on screen – all the way from storyboarding to post-production – but it’s clear that Jackson’s put too much time into these action beats and not nearly enough into the hobbit, dwarves, wizards, and elves in them. What he falls to understand is that it was never the CGI that made the LOTR world magical, it was the characters and their relationships.

Here, I don’t feel like I know anyone other than Bilbo, Gandalf (the Gray, I might add), and to a lesser extent, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). As far as potential dwarf king Oakenshield is concerned, I can’t quite tell where our allegiance is supposed to lie with him. Biblo has finally won over his approval after the events of An Unexpected Journey but Thorin’s still a tyrant of a leader. He’s willing to leave behind wounded soldiers. He shakes down Bilbo for his treasure. And he’s just obviously much more concerned with securing his precious Arkenstone than he is with the safety of anyone around him. I mean the guy blatantly disregards advice from Gandalf. I think we all know, that’s never a wise move.

The rest of the dwarves all have their little bits but none are given quite enough to become a rounded character. I guess it doesn’t matter since all of them have silly names that rhyme with each other anyways and are sure to pass from one ear to the other for those who are not Tolkeinheads but it would be nice if we actually cared about some of them instead of just seeing them relegated to various stereotypical caricatures.

As this endless story rolls on, other characters pop up to pack the story as tightly as possible with characters we could care less about. Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans), who looks exactly like an amalgamate of Bloom and Viggo Mortensen, gets significantly more play than he did in Tolkein’s story and his Da’ chirping kiddies are just more fodder for the nonsense character pile. In fact, all of the Laketown characters seem like derivations of characters we’ve seen before in Rohan. Stephen Fry‘s Master is little more than a greedier, more sentient version of pre-Gandalf-exorcism Théoden. He’s even equipped with his own Wormtongue in Alfrid (Ryan Gage). So many extraneous characters, so little to do. Loopy brown wizard Radaghast (Sylvester McCoy) even returns to do absolutely nothing.

As far as where this film lies in the pantheon of films, it’s a shame that they’re forever be linked with the greatness of LOTR. And while many seem to think the Lord of the Rings films are nerdy, they are wrong. Well, maybe that’s a little far but let me run with this. This series, on the other hand, is definitively nerdy. There’s so many Tolkien tidbits unnecessarily stuffed in that only the most hardcore of Tolkien fanatics will remember more than fifty percent of this tale from the book. Jackson stretches paragraphs into pages, minor characters into twenty minute asides, and focuses the chief propulsion on a villain who we all know won’t be realized until after this prequel trilogy has concluded (you know of who I speak). ‘The Hobbit’ was 300 pages long and is being turned into nearly nine hours of film. The entirety of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ was 1500 in small print and was the same length. So essentially Jackson turns each page of The Hobbit into two minutes. No wonder the story lags so much.

Most egregious, he goes so far as to include material in this film negate the logic of The Fellowship of the Ring and Gandalf’s general story arc. Unless he gets clunked in the head in the next installment and forgets everything he learned in this film, his ignorance to the importance of the ring and Sauron’s presence is entirely unforgivable. What a travesty!

Apparently, we all have to swallow the pill though and get in line for the next bit, the finale that promises to actually deliver on, you know, being good. Jackson is dangling the carrot and we have little choice but to wait and see if the third one manages to muster up a film that can stand on its own. As is, I’m waiting until all the films are done so someone can craft a three-hour supercut of the whole trilogy. When that hits the shelves (or the internet) then I might be interested in revisiting this ought-to-be epic. It’ll clearly be way more worthwhile than any extended editions. I guess at least this time, instead of walking, they’re mostly running.

C-

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GODZILLA Returns to the Big Screen In Style, Watch the Provocative First Trailer

December 10, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Bryan Cranston, Comic Con, Elizabeth Olsen, Godzilla, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanbe, Monster Movies, Trailers

Ever since last year’s Comic Con, fanboys have been going nutso for the upcoming Godzilla reboot. And while many, myself included, didn’t understand where all this enthusiasm was coming from, looking back at the history of the monster icon reveals why he’s had such a massive cultural impact throughout the world.

Originally made in Japan, 1954, Godzilla was a dressed up metaphor for nuclear warfare, achieved by a mostly immobile man dressed up like a monster in a big green latex suit. Since the 50s, Godzilla has been on a continuous silly streak, battling other big baddies like Mothra (literally just a big moth) and King Kong and has since had a run, backed by Japanese production studio Toho, that sees minor Godzilla movies ever couple years. At this point, there are 30 official Toho Godzilla films.

Roland Emmerich re-imagined Godzilla for American audiences, in his 1998 film that takes the name of the monster, as a big preggo lizard to not so glowing results. Gareth Edwards looks to right that wrong with a much more classic take on the Godzilla design.

With a cast that includes Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Juliette Binoche and Ken Watanabe, Edwards seems to be on the right track and this first trailer does exactly what a trailer should (but nowadays hardly ever does) – it teases. Instead of giving away the events of the first, second, and third act, it drops us into the situation and let’s us see the horror, confusion, and madness for ourselves. Surely, this doesn’t mean that Godzilla will be a guaranteed layup but it looks far better than I would have first thought.

Take a look at the trailer and see if, at this point, you’d be onboard to check it out in theaters.

Godzilla is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Juliette Binoche and Ken Watanabe. It hits theaters May 16, 2014.

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C-Tates Rocks Elf Ears, Sandy Goatee in JUPITER ASCENDING Trailer from Wachowskis

December 10, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Channing Tatum, Jupiter Ascending, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Trailers, Wachowskis

Ambitious to a fault, last year’s Cloud Atlas was amongst the strangest and best of the year. It earned a mention just outside of my top ten of the year for taking massive risks that mostly paid off, something the Wachowskis have become known for. While The Matrix sequels may have soured the insane originality of the first film, they were box office giants that left every studio exec with the name Wachowski on their lips.

Even after the intellectual floppage of these follow ups, people generally agree that that first film is a stroke of genius and show that this brother (now bro-sis) duo had something special up their sleeves. The box office seem to suggest otherwise though. Since then though, the Wachowskis have struggled to find their footing creatively, and especially, financially. Cloud Atlas only scrapped up $27.1 million domestically even with big names like Tom Hanks and Halle Berry but performed four times as well overseas (a rare feat) while Speed Racer crashed and burned, only making $43.9 mill on a $120 mill budget.

Jupiter Ascending looks to share thematic similarities to both Atlas and Matrix and also has a cast loaded with international stars in Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis. Based on the pure formula of this sci-fi/action spectacle film lead by two “it” actors, Jupiter Ascending seems like it could be an easy hit but the Wachowskis recent track record seem to suggest otherwise. What is it about Wachowskis latest films that have made people back away from? Are they too heady for mainstream audiences?

If that is the case, then Jupiter Ascending is unlikely to sway any new converts since the fficial synopsis depicts an equally out-of-the-box adventure: In a universe where humans are near the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, a young destitute human woman is targeted for assassination by the Queen of the Universe because her very existence threatens to end the Queen’s reign.

Jupiter Ascending is written and directed by Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, and stars Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, James D’Arcy and Doona Bae. It opens July 25, 2014.

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Out in Theaters: HER

December 9, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Amy Adams, Best of 2013, Chris Pratt, her, Joaquin Phoenix, Olivia Wilde, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Rooney Mara, Scarlett Johannson, Spike Jonze 2 Comments

“Her”
Directed by Spike Jonze
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johannson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Chris Pratt, Olivia Wilde
Comedy, Drama, Romance
120 Mins
R

Spike Jonze has made a career out of thought-provoking eccentricity, strange tenderness, and powerhouse performances. Her is no change of pace. While both Being John Malkovitch and Adaptation found brilliance probing personal identity, infectious longing, and the delicacies of the human experience, Her strips back some of the junky, heady aspects (that comes hand-in-hand with working from a Charlie Kaufman script) to explore similarly heavy themes in this streamlined and entirely esoteric masterpiece.

In Her, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) lives in the not-so-distant future of Los Angeles, a place where human interaction has nearly become obsolete. As Theo bumps through any given crowd, the many commuters he passes each have next-gen devises stuffed in their ears, reciting emails, updating global news, and dishing out the latest gossip scoop. For Theo, these future ear-products (which will likely be marketed in the next decade or so) are about as exciting as hanging out with your iPhone is nowadays, but it’s just about the only contact he’ll have all day.

Rather than paint him as a pathetic bumbleite, Jonze allows us to find ourselves in Theo. His crippling loneliness is an invention of instantaneous “contact” as the new highest order. Instead of bringing us closer, all this connectivity has led to a devolution of what it means to actually connect. When people become as dismissible as closing out of a browser, what it means to connect with someone has fundamentally changed.

A scene where a sleepless Theo voice “connects” with an equally restless vixen named SexyKitten (voiced by Kristen Wiig) sees a distant, instant voice embarks on a cat-based sexual tirade, get herself off, and bail out of the conversation. It’s evidence of a society that has ceased to be such. Society quite literally means “a group of people involved with each other through persistent relations.” [Wikipedia] This is no society. We need look no further than our own social media culture to see that this era of emotional distancing and the end of society is already upon us.

By day, Her‘s Theodore occupies himself working at a custom, hand-written card agency where he drafts letters “from” his clients to their loved ones. When an anniversary comes around, a husband pays a premium price for Theo’s handiwork. Christmas time? Theo’s writing thank you cards to Grandma. At that high school graduation, it’s not Dad who’s penned the heartfelt and tender note but Theodore Twombly, sitting in his cubicle. Theo’s got a preternatural knack for emoting warmth and his outpouring of caring sentiments put those buying Hallmark cards to shame. How tragic though that he’ll never meet these people he’s writing to. Almost worse is the fact that his clients need rely on him at all. Everywhere he looks, Theo faces a society that has come so far as to outsource emotion.

Enter her. She isn’t really a she though. She’s an advanced operating system (like Mac’s OS X or Windows) specifically designed to match Theodore’s needs. Imagine Apple’s Siri except everyone had a different one customized to their personal preferences. Voiced to perfection by Scarlett Johansson, this OS takes the name Samantha after “thumbing through” a book of baby names (a feat achieved in a mere microsecond) and begins to evolve beyond her wildest dreams, all the while stoking an accidental romantic relationship with Theodore.

Having closed himself off to the world after lifelong lover Catherine (Rooney Mara) set the scene for a divorce, Theo is a man halved. In relationships, Her reminds us, we pour ourselves into our counterpart and when that union ends, we lose something of ourselves. In the aftermath, we’re left haunted by these ghosts of lovers past. But as Theodore begins to unexpectedly fall for his OS, his haunting memories of Catherine change their tune. The melancholy melts away and the future becomes an opportunity rather than a sentence.

The early Sam is like a child, reaching out and trying to understand the many unexplained mysteries of life. Each day, her self-awareness and curiosity grows and she soon discovers the many wonders “surrounding” her. In Sam’s perpetual bewilderment and glowing enthusiasm, Theodore begins to rediscover his own love of life.

The romance that unfolds between Theodore and Sam may prove difficult for members of older generations or those with limited imaginative capacity to grasp (“He’s fallen in love with a computer?”) but for those willing to stretch their minds and let in something new, they’ll find an entity surprisingly earnest and exceptionally affecting. When this bi-species couple “consummate” their new relationship, the screen goes black and we’re left with a scene unspeakably powerful. Theo and Sam let each other, with moans of belonged need and physical desire, with such palpable love and affection that it’ll warm and break your heart simultaneously.

As she grows, Her gets more complex and begins to dig into some deeper issues of what it is to love and be loved. How much of love is about holding on and how much is letting go? With a cast spilling with talent, standout performances flow from everyone. Phoenix and Mara perfectly encapsulate the trauma of evaporating passion, while Amy Adams and Chris Pratt provide the necessary shoulders to lean on. Even Olivia Wilde as a nameless blind date turns in a quick but potent performance. But amazingly, the tippiest of the tip of the hat goes to Johannson as her performance here is a career best. Showing a range of emotion unthinkable for a limited performance of this nature, what Johnasson communicates with her voice alone provides some of the most commanding work of the year.

Anchored with a cast this talented that are each putting their all into each and every scene, Her is lightning in a bottle. Instead of feeling like this future world is strange, it feels entirely practical, a slightly scary yet peculiarity hopeful fact. And however weird the concept of falling in love with an operating system seems, when we’re in heat of the moment, it never feels weird. It just feels right.

A+

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