This week has been absolutely insane what with playing catch-up to all the big awards films I missed on my holiday, cracking out a Top Ten of 2014 List, a 50 Most Anticipated Films of 2015 list, Oscar Nominations Predictions, Oscar Nominations Reactions, Seattle Critics Film Awards and drafting reviews of Michael Mann‘s horrible Blackhat, the cute and quaint Paddington and the actually funny Kevin Hart brom-com The Wedding Ringer. Somehow, I managed to sneak in seven screeners at home and one at a second-run theater to pad out the list of 2014 films I’ve consumed in preparation for the 100 Best Movies of 2014 – to be release later today.Not to forecast too strongly but it’s unlikely that more than two of the below will make the cut… This week on Weekly Review.
MR. TURNER (2014)
Timothy Spall puts in a mighty performance as secretly emotional romanticist painter J.M.W. Turner. He grunts, mumbles and grumbles like an out-of-shape lumberjack hacking through a ball of phlegm. The movie itself, unlike Spall’s crusty and terse Turner, is long-winded, meandering and sometimes out of shape. Fatally British director Mike Leigh‘s shots are gorgeously composed like classical paintings, with DP Dick Pope (that’s Dick Poop to the Academy) casting light upon them to resemble the very romanticism period his subject matter paints his brush strokes in. The picture is affable -at least more so than its gruffalo subject – if not with too many flourishes of boring. Much like an entire exhibit of Romantic-era paintings. (C+)
UNBROKEN (2014)
Angelina Jolie fails to settle into the moment in her clunky Louis Zamperini biopic. The first scene – a critical dogfight – should be ungodly tense, instead the stakes are bled dry by a prevailing sense of inconsequential schmaltz. “Don’t forget, it’s just a movie!” By refusing to tell the story chronologically, Jolie has snuffed the natural tension of events and quelled our investment in the characters before they arrive at pivotal, empathy-rich moments. With a notably better movie just simple steps away – one with better editing (anything other than that dreadful flash-back/flash-forward), a lack of inexplicably useless alterations to Zamp’s true tale and some actual storytelling prowess – Unbroken is an undeniable failure, most of all for its wasted potential. If you want the story of Zamperini, do yourself a favor and read the book as Jolie skimps mightily on the goods – often skipping entirely over critical scenes – and can only proffer this truly inspiring saga glazed over with a cloying religious-tinged icing and sans a lick of nuance or tension. Chariots of Fire this most certainly is not. (D)
CAKE (2014)
Majorly better than the petri dish of Hallmark moments I went in expecting, Cake is a victory not only for Jennifer Aniston‘s majorly biting performance but for its subtle examination of a life lived in angry anguish. Leaving tooth-marks in everything she touches, Aniston’s Claire lives in chronic pain, lashing out at the word around her and pushing those closest to her away. Daniel Barnz seeps into and out of the story like a fly on the wall, allowing us to take in his subject with all her scuzziness intact, not trying to paint a pretty picture so much as replicate the after effects of a fatal accident. The product may not be remarkably new but its certainly potent and a big stepping stone for Aniston’s dramatic future. (C+)
THE MAZE RUNNER (2014)
Far more fun than it has any right to be, The Maze Runner is a jambalaya of The Hungers Games, Labyrinth, The Goonies and “Lord of the Flies” with mecha-spiders and a prevailing sense of mystery to make the whole thing exciting. The film, based on the first in the popular YA series from James Dashner, sets up a series how a series is supposed to be set up: slowly and with a careful amount of reveals. Kitchen sinking this is not. Rather than yet another retread origin story to preface the event we’re all waiting for anyways, The Maze Runner launches right into the action, rarely stopping to explain itself along the way. For a product that could have been a total mess, The Maze Runner manages to stay fresh and intriguing even in a sub-genre critically overloaded with bunk. (B-)
INHERENT VICE (2014)
Paul Thomas Anderson‘s latest may prove a touch of disdain for his audience as he makes no effort to surface the runways of Inherent Vice with any narrative tarmac. He’s happy letting us bump along a long and rocky road to get to his warm, gooey center. Though full of genuinely inspired moments of shot-framing perfection, Inherent Vice fails to grasp a through line and with a running time that’s just shy of two-and-a-half hours, he lets down those looking for any clarity through all the pot smoke. Joaquin Phoenix is strong in the role though I can’t help but wonder if original cast member Robert Downey Jr. could have been able to elevate the stoned PI character to higher heights. All in all, another case of PTA not being able to deliver the full, meaty package worthy of his talent. (C+)
SELMA (2014)
A rousing historical tour de force, Selma is an accomplishment of art and nonfiction coming to head; the product of historical accuracy colliding with a massively stirring lead performance from David Oyelowo and confident, assured direction from Ava DuVernay. Selma documents the events leading up to the Selma to Birmingham march in hopes of true voter equality, starting with Martin Luther King’s receiving of the Nobel Peace Prize. Though DuVernay’s picture isn’t always as taut as it should be – and there are some serious second act lulls – Selma thrives on the soaring energy of Oyelowo, who captures the powerful energy of the good Reverend MLK with earth-shaking force. Of biopics this year, DuVernay’s is a massive step above the humdrum The Imitiaton Game, and Oyelowo is a good step above Benedict Cumberbatch on almost all levels. It’s a damn shame that history once again couldn’t reflect the change that Selma and Selma sought. (B+)
BIG EYES (2014)
Tim Burton‘s talents depend entirely upon his current quirk level setting. Aside from the crisp, all-ducks-in-a-row 1950s/60s setting and an abstract grocery store scene, Big Eyes harkens back to a very different Burton – one without a drapery of strange and a Johnny Depp mascot prancing around. A Burton that attempted to engage emotionally with his audience. And although Big Eyes seems (finally) to come from the right place, its subject – Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) – is an infinitely frustrating lead character that all but unravels our interest in her story. Christoph Waltz imbues his devilish character with just the right amount of paranoid charm but it’s hard to get wrapped up in the narrative when you’re always yelling at the screen for your “hero” to actually act. (C)
CITIZENFOUR (2014)
Laura Poitras‘ portrait of Edward Snowden and his NSA whistle blowing is earth-quaking stuff. The clear front runner for Best Documentary at the 2015 Academy Awards, Citizenfour is a triumph because of its varied ability to get inside the story. Documentarian Laura Poitras not only offers a complete overview of all the facts but gets under the skin of the issue by closely tracking the emotional transformation of the controversial figure at the center of her film. A must-see for any and all American citizens, Citizenfour is an intellectually-driven descent into the madness of post 9/11 politics and the hazy hero-status of a new breed of revolutionary. (B)
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