comicman117 Reviews

A Lego Brickumentary (2014)

A Vision

[7/10 · 5 October 2015]

A Lego Brickumentary, also known as Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary is a very interestingly done documentary that looks at the global culture, appeal, and history of the Lego Company and its building block toys. The documentary borders on mockumentary at times, and it features some rather confusing scenes, but overall, it's worth a watch, especially if you're a huge fan of the popular brick company. The film shows the audience the origin of Legos through its country of origin, Denmark, to modern day. The film goes through both the accomplishments and struggles of the company, and how it almost went bankrupt around 1999. The film shows how the company changed with the times, as well as, footage of Lego conventions, and various fans using their Legos in very creative ways. Creative use of Legos included a person who built an entire house out of Lego bricks, and another person who built an actual car using Legos. Both examples are crazily creative. The movie even contains scenes showing how Legos are improving the world, with some psychiatrist using Legos to help their patients, and one boy, named Adrian Pitt, who is using Legos to help with his speech problem.

The documentary is narrated by Jason Bateman, playing a fictional Lego, who appears sometimes in well-done stop-motion sequences and tells the audience about an aspect of Legos. What I appreciated about these particular sequences was the amount of creativity that went into them. It must have taken the filmmakers hours just to make one sequence. We even get to see some behind the scenes footage of the making of the recent The Lego Movie.

The film contains interviews with various people who work at Lego, as well as, entertainers such as Ed Sheeran, Trey Parker, and Dwight Howard, all of whom relate their personal experiences and appreciation for Legos. These sequences are nice, as we get to see that Lego fans go well-beyond supposed children or even nerds.

In spite of all of the praise I've given this film, I can't say it's perfect. One thing, a Brickumentary falls apart in, is it's a lack of focus. While all the various Lego stories are interesting, much of the material that happens at the actual Lego studios left me uninterested. Maybe I'm just not into the actual behind the scenes aspects of the company, but I did find the actual Lego creative stories more eventful, and thankfully, they do make up the bulk of the film.

That major flaw aside, A Lego Brickumentary is a fairly well-made, well-done documentary that serves as a good look at the history and success of one of the world's biggest toy companies, who got popular simply off one product, and not many companies can say that.

Boulevard (2014)

An Uneven Average Film That Is Most Notable For Being One of Robin Williams Last Performances

[5/10 · 30 August 2015]

Boulevard is not a particularly great movie, and suffers from its utter generic-ness and lack of ambition. The absolute best thing I can say about the film, however, is it contains one of Robin Williams's last acting performances, and in spite of such an average picture, he manages to turn in a fine, very restrained, dramatic performance. The kind we had come to expect from Williams.

The set-up of the story is simple. A bank clerk, named Nolan (played by Robin Williams, lives a pretty standard life. He and his wife (played by Kathy Baker) have set-up their marriage as a way to distract themselves from the outside world. All of this changes one night while driving. Nolan encounters a troubled young man, named Leo (played by Roberto Aguire), and his entire life changes, as he comes to embrace who he really is, and even his own sexuality.

Boulevard is a pretty atypical film. It's well directed by Dito Montiel (who also made Guide To Recognizing Your Saints) and the script is okay, even having some genuine laughs in it. The performances all around, not just Williams, are fine, including Kathy Baker as his wife, Roberto Acquire as the troubled youth he befriends and Bob Odenkirk in a small role as one of his accomplices and friend named Winston. It's really Robin Williams who shines through though. This may not be one of his absolute best performances, but for being one of his final roles, it isn't a bad role either. Williams isn't being manically over the top (overly dramatic) in this film. He's showing the level of restraint that he's usually showed in some of his best roles like Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society. For example, when he confronts his wife after missing dinner, instead of screaming and hollering, he tries to calm her down, and is very resourceful as playing it cool.

Boulevard is a rather short film with less than 90 minutes. The director clearly has skill in making a competent picture, but aside from Williams's performance, I wasn't drawn into much of the story. For being one of Robin Williams's last performances, it does make me sad, but either way, it was a good role for him to go out on.

Timbuktu (2014)

Well Done

[7/10 · 30 April 2015]

Timbuktu is a well-made French co-production about the ancient city of Timbuktu, set in modern times. The relationship between the characters, particularly the family, is very strong in the film, and it works because of that. At the same time, the film is not especially engaging and it does include some brutal scenes. Overall, I'd say it's a mixed bag, even if I do admire what it's trying to do.

The film follows the people of Timbuktu who are powerless against Jihadists who want to control their fate. Many forms of different entertainment have been banned by these oppressors: music, laughter, and soccer, among others. The women are especially powerless, but they still manage to have some resistance against the evil leadership, and try to be independent, despite the laws imposed on them. Although the film has some other minor stories, it's essentially about a family led by a cattle herder named Kidane, his wife, Satima, their daughter Toya, and a twelve-year old shepherd named Issan.

What I liked about Timbuktu was the relationship between the father, his wife, and their daughter. Each of these three characters feel realistic, especially given the setting of the film. Neither Kidane nor Satima are particularly hard on their daughter, Toya, but they still expect much out of her. So when she gets into trouble in the film, Kidane is not proud. I especially liked the scene where Satima is telling Kidane that she's wants to leave the country, and Kidane reminds her how utterly pointless that idea really is. It's a strongly acted scene that helps to give more development to these already realistic characters.

The opening of this film, a five minute sequence that features no sound, is of the Malian men hunting a deer and doing other hard jobs near their city. It's a nice sequence that helps to give the audience an idea of what the film their watching will be like. Another sequence I liked that included a musical score, involved a group of African people playing soccer, until they are caught by some of the members of the Jihadists. Another sequence I liked involved a local man walking through a small river where the camera is set up a large distance in front of him, an interesting choice of direction, especially given what the scene is about. This film doesn't shy away from the violence of the country. Whippings, rocks being thrown at people's heads and other violent acts are shown in the film, making it more realistic.

However, for as much as I might praise the movie, there were a number of things there were other sequences that did not work for me, for example, when the African is getting interrogated for illegal playing soccer in the city, it just didn't seem to go anywhere afterwards, and the character is quickly dropped. Also, the sequence where a cow is killed by a fisherman, although interesting, is seemed to last too long, as the camera cuts closer and closer to the cow as it is dying. Timbuktu is a well-made movie, but some people might find the film hard to sit through, given that there are a few disturbing scenes. I, however, found it to be tame compared to other violent movies. It's a well-meaning picture, that isn't especially fascinating or entertaining, but you may find it enjoyable.

Diplomacy (2014)

Needed More Time for Breathing but Great Performances Make it a Watch

[7/10 · 15 February 2015]

Diplomacy is based off a play by Cyril Gely, and, in many respects, it feels like a play brought to film. This is, however, probably the movie's biggest weakness, as it moves very slowly at times. Despite this though, the film is very well acted and does feature some very interesting uses of editing and directing.

Set during World War II, Diplomacy tells the story of the relationship between Dietrich von Choltitz (played by Niels Arestrup), the German military governor who is currently occupying Paris, and Swedish consul-general Raoul Nordling (played by Andre Dussollier), as Nordling attempts to convince Choltitz not to bomb Paris.

Diplomacy features some very good acting by the two leads, especially Dussollier as Nordling who looks very stern and strong throughout most of the movie. The majority of the film is set inside the office room where the two main characters are talking. At first, it seemed like the film would primarily be a one-room movie, but after the first forty or so minutes, we see some action happening outside, as soldiers are fighting for their lives. The shift is unexpected, but works in the film's favor.

The film doesn't shy away from the violence of war, and showed it in a very realistic manner, even if only for a few scenes. The others thing I appreciated about the film is the musical score, which at times was very effective, being both chilling and dramatic. The sets were excellent and made the film look like it was actually occurring during the 1940's in France. Overall, I'd say these positive attributes as worked together to make this film very enjoyable.

Overall, the film could have benefited by giving the audience more time to breathe, but if you're a fan of war movies, I definitely recommend seeing this film.

Point and Shoot (2014)

Point Out of My Mind

[8/10 · 7 February 2015]

Marshall Curry's Point and Shoot is a documentary detailing the story of Matthew VanDyke, a man from the states, who on a motorbike set out to find his own adventure and his own manhood. His journey took him through various places, such as Africa, Arab, Afghanistan, and eventually, what turns out to be what the bulk of the film, leads to his involvement with the Libyan revolution of 2011. Point and Shoot is a very well made documentary, about a very unusual character, Matthew VanDyke. Like most good documentaries, it works because the main character is fascinating to learn about.

Matthew VanDyke suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and often washes his hands because he has an obsession with being clean. He also has a fear of really harming people. When we first meet him at the beginning of the film, he's talking about the equipment he brought on his journey. Afterwards, we cut to clips of his childhood, nicely intercut with interviews of him. We discover he had a very odd and not so pleasant childhood. Raised by his mother, after his parents divorced when he was 3 years old, Matthew became a bit of a weirdo, a loner having no real friends in school, and continued to live with his mother well into his twenties. The reason why Matthew decided to leave the country and set out on his journey was to make his own path, and become an adult, not just to his mother, but also to his girlfriend, Laura Fischer, whose relationship with him is a big part of the film. Not only did Matt accomplish his goals and grow-up, but he also discovered much more about himself then he really expected. According to Matthew himself, the greatest thing he encountered on his journey was a spiritual hippie named Nouri, who ends up becoming his best friend.

There are some nice directing choices in Point and Shoot. For example, there's a well done montage when Matthew is traveling from place to place, where we see him exploring the various cities and countries. Another good shot is when we see Matthew driving through various grasslands on his motorcycle. The way the scene is cut and paced is perfectly done. Another interesting and well done set of scenes are when Matthew is being taken prisoner. These scenes are done in a stylized sort of animation with the camera being very grainy, perhaps done by the director in an attempt to show things from Matthew's point of view.

Despite my praises for this documentary, there is one major problem I had with the film. It really falls apart in the final act when Matthew is finally freed from prison. What would seem like a logical place to end the film, it instead dragged on as we see Matthew continue to work in Libya. While I understand the filmmakers intent, and the documentary itself isn't very long (running around 83 minutes in length including credits, it felt somewhat tacked on and unnecessary. Aside from that, the film itself, while not perfect, is a very good and interesting watch.

Point and Shoot is well made, and shows us the story of a very fascinating character. Matthew VanDyke, who was a loner in his own country, but in his journey to Libya he found a place where he was accepted and made friends. His story is one of true courage, and the documentary does a good job of showing that. While I can't recommend the film for everyone, especially since the subject matter is very violent, but I can say that the film, as a whole, had me very fascinated and it was very entertaining to watch.

Laggies (2014)

Lagging Around

[7/10 · 22 January 2015]

Laggies is a "coming of age" romantic comedy with a twist as the main character is not an adolescent, but is 28 years old. The film is not exceptional, but it is enjoyable, and its performances and story progression help to elevate an average film overall. Laggies begins by telling the story of Megan (played by Keira Knightley) whose longtime boyfriend (played by Mark Webber) has just proposed to her. Megan, having also just found out her father (played by Jeff Garlin) is having an extramarital affair, experiences a bit of an identity crisis, and doesn't know quite how to respond to her own marriage proposal. She plans a fake trip, in order to escape from her boyfriend for a week, and finds herself in the house of her newly found, 16 year old girlfriend, Annika (played by Chloe Grace Moretz), and her single, stern father, Craig, (played by Sam Rockwell).

The main characters go through changes as they begin to know each other. Megan starts out as a manipulative lying person who uses people, but as the film continues, she realizes this is not what she wants and begins to take charge of her own life by becoming more responsible. The character of Annika goes from being a risky teenager to becoming more of her own person, even confronting her own mother. Her father, Craig, goes through a character progression as he becomes less stuck-up and more of a person who actually cares for other people. All of three of the main characters story arcs nicely parallel each other. Out of all of the character arcs, I found Megan's due to Keira Knightley's performance, to be the most believable.

However, I did have my issues with this film. I found the boyfriend of the film, Anthony, to be a bit of a push-over and too much of a plot device. He gets introduced, gets a few scenes and then reappears during the climax. Another thing that bugged about the film, was an absurd scene where Knightley has to pose as Moretz's mother and I couldn't honestly believe that anyone would honestly believe that Knightley and Moretz were mother and daughter, what with the twelve years difference, and looking more like sisters.

There are some interesting directing choices by Lynn Shelton, including having the film start out with a flashback and then cutting to ten years later. As well as Knightley's introduction, where we see her listening to a CD player on the streets as she holds up a sign advertising her father's accounting business where she works. Check it out for yourself, and see what you think of it.

Listen Up Philip (2014)

Listen Up Movie

[4/10 · 22 January 2015]

Listen Up Phillip is a very pretentious movie. It's not a poorly made movie, but it gives me the feeling that it's trying to be more than something it is. Listen Up Phillip tells the story of aspiring author Phillip Lewis Friedman (Jason Schwartzman) who has just published his second novel. He wants to leave his adopted home city, and his relationship with his girlfriend, Ashley (played by Elizabeth Moss) is falling apart. When his idol Ike Zimmerman (played by Jonathan Pryce) offers him a chance to live with him at his isolated summer home, Phillip takes this opportunity to get some peace and quiet to focus on his favorite, and most important subject, himself.

The main character of Listen Up Phillip, Philip, is intentionally unlikeable and it's very hard to root for him. In some stories, unlikeable main characters change throughout the course of the story, but in this story, Phillip not change from beginning to end. Although I feel this is intentional on the director's part, if the protagonist was even meant to be relatable character at all, as the movie's narration suggests, then I believe the film failed in that regard.

Elizabeth Moss is pretty darn good as Jason's girlfriend, Ashley. She has all the right ingredients: she's full of emotion. Jonathan Pryce does a good job playing a messed up author, Ike, in a somewhat predictable role. Props to Krysten Ritter, especially, as Ike's daughter, who really gives us her all as an unhappy character. Also of note, is French actress, Josephine de La Baume, as Melanie Zimmerman, a woman Phillip starts dating at the end. Unfortunately, their relationship is underdeveloped, and somehow I was left feeling she was supposed to be more of a major character.

One of the better things I appreciated the film for, is how, despite the title, Phillip isn't the only character that gets some perspective. There are a few scenes, halfway through the film, where we see things from Ashley's viewpoint. There's even a sequence where she's talking to Phillip at a restaurant and we can only hear his voice, not see his face. There are even scenes where we are shown the perspective of other characters, Ike and Melanie, and we are given their thoughts on what they are thinking during those scenes.

There are some shots that I liked, too. The title sequence reminds me of a title sequence from the 70's and 80's, and I appreciate Eric Bogosian's narration (the opening almost made me think I was watching a documentarian for a second) describing the characters and their feelings. There's also a nice sequence where Phillip is driving the car which features some low-key jazz music in the background. While Listen Up Philip is not a film I would rush out to see again, it was enjoyable.

The Blue Room (2014)

Average Court Days

[5/10 · 10 December 2014]

The Blue Room is a French crime drama based on a novel of the same name by Georges Simenon and is directed by the lead actor, Mathieu Amalric. The film opens up in what is later revealed to be a flashback where the main character, Julien (played by Amalric), a married man, recalls his sexual experience with a woman (played by Stephanie Cleau) in a hotel room to the police. Julien is being accused of a crime that he doesn't apparently know anything about. As the film continues, and we go further and further into the story, we find out what actually did happen between this man and woman, as well as, the relationship between this man and his wife, eventually leading to a court case.

The movie's most interesting elements are its story structure, told in flashback, and its use of its musical score. One of my favorite scenes concerns Julien trying to burn some papers and they slowly vanish into the darkness of the ocean. The way this scene is filmed and framed, being intentionally slow, made it very interesting from a filmmaking standpoint.

The musical score is often bombastic, and scenes that aren't really meant to be dramatic carried a melodramatic theme. The score itself goes through different phases, from the very dramatic, to the mysterious, scary and even intimidating. The best use of the score in the film is during a court scene where we see people doing various things all at once. The background piano music fits the theme of this scene particularly well.

This film has good acting from its lead actors and lovely cinematography. If you like stories of adultery and crime, you will not be disappointed, however I found that the film wasn't particularly memorable or anything special overall.

Art and Craft (2014)

Fascinating

[8/10 · 9 December 2014]

Art and Craft is one of the most fascinating documentaries about art that I have ever seen. It's well made, well put together, and delivers a very satisfying experience overall. In fact, this film fascinated me more than some live action movies have.

Art and Craft is a documentary that follows a few days in the life of famous art forger, Mark. A Landis. Mr. Landis is a savant who has spent 30 years deceiving museums with his drawings by making them believe that they actually have art by a famous artist, when, in fact it's just him. Landis has the amazing ability to copy a painting almost exactly like the original artist, although Landis is not a very good artist, rarely paints original art of his own, and prefers instead to cheat and copy. This film explores Landis as we see him go through his childhood, learn how he became obsessed with art, how his fraud was eventually exposed, and also see him prepare for an exhibit based upon his "fake" work.

This documentary was a very pleasant surprise. After weeks of films that were okay, but lackluster, Art and Craft's high quality was a breath of fresh air. This documentary doesn't portray Landis as a criminal or villain, or glorify him as some sort of hero. Instead, it just portrays him as a real human being who is a curiously strange person. In total, Landis has given 47 forged paintings to 46 art museums around America. In the film, we see interviews with Landis himself where he explains why he became a forger, what his life is like, and his understanding of his mental problems. We also see interviews with people who have met Landis, or people who worked at various art museums that Landis has tried to give forged paintings to, and how they may or may not see him as a villain. This documentary method is quite effective and allows us to see perspective from both sides.

Some of the directing choices in this film were interesting as well. Filmmakers Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman really show they know how to use a camera. Sequences such as the one where we see Landis's photo gallery and his forged art really help to emphasize him as a person. While I quite liked how the regular scenes kept being intercut with movie clips from films like Casablanca and Charlie Chan, as Landis is shown to be a bit of a classic film fan, having grown up watching a lot of television and movies.

Art and Craft is a wonderfully made documentary about one of the most fascinating characters of real life art. I've watched plenty of great documentaries in the past, but this one reminds me of why I find filmmaking to be interesting in the first place. I definitely recommended this film.

White Bird in a Blizzard (2014)

Almost Like An Unintentional Comedy

[5/10 · 19 November 2014]

White Bird in a Blizzard is set in the 1988, and tells the story of Kat Conner, played by Shailene Woodley, a 17 year old girl who seems to live a normal life until her perfect, homemaker mother, Eve, played by Eva Green, disappears one day. Having lived in a dysfunctional relationship with her mother, she feels little pain or sadness towards her mother's absence. She doesn't even blame her father, Brock, played by Chris Meloni, as he is too much of a wimp to have anything to do with her disappearance. As a few years go by, and Kat goes to College, she begins to realize just how much her mother's disappearance really impacted her, as she finds herself investigating and discovering the truth about what really happened.

White Bird in a Blizzard is based on a novel by Laura Kasischke and adapted by director Gregg Araki. Simply put, it is a somewhat bizarre, silly, sex romp, featuring a great lead performance by Shailene Woodley. This film fits director Gregg Araki's usual teenage sex and violence overtones, and features some pretentious and overbearing dialogue that almost comes off as an unintentional comedy. There are also some interesting things in this film, directing-wise: an unusual opening with a shot of Eve, the mother, on her back and a recurring dream sequence throughout involves Kat seeing her mother naked in the snow (hence the title). This is actually supposed to be a symbol for the film and a clue to the audience about the truth of the mystery. Additionally, the film's use of flashbacks is both bizarre and fascinating at the same time, making the relationship between mother and daughter all the more dysfunctional and creepy.

In the lead role, Shailene Woodley demonstrates her talents portraying a teenager who really doesn't know who to trust. The flashback where her mother comes into the room and tries to psychically assault her features some very fine acting by Woodley. In comparison, Eva Green appears more "over the top' and gives a notably "hammy" performance, portraying a clearly disturbed woman. In one of the scenes, for example, when she tries to act younger than her age and then breakdowns, it is mildly disturbing and gloriously cheesy all at the same time. The other actors in the film are good, especially Chris Meloni as the father who has a secret to hide, and Angela Bassett as a psychiatrist.

Overall I thought this was interesting film, but I don't know what to really make of it.

Love Is Strange (2014)

Strong Performances Help What Could Have Been An Average Film

[7/10 · 19 November 2014]

Love Is Strange is a good quiet film that's elevated by strong performances from its leads (John Lithgow and Alfred Molina) and supporting cast. The film is also a well-made "gay" film, dealing with the subject of same-sex relationship without making the characters straight-up stereotypes. Love Is Strange is a good movie overall, even if the film is real nothing special.

Love Is Strange tells the story of gay lovers, Ben played by John Lithgow a painter and George played by Alfred Molina a music teacher, who finally tie the knot after living together for some time. Only things get complicated when George is fired from his position as a music teacher. This forces the two to live separately from each other, with George living with two cops played by Cheyenne Jackson and Manny Perez), and Ben living with his nephew played by Darren Burrows, wife played by Marisa Tomei, and their son played by Charlie Tahan, as the two try to look for cheaper housing.

The two lead performances by Lithgow and Molina feel very natural and real as does their chemistry as lovers. Even though the two share little scenes together (being separated throughout most of the film), you can tell that Ben and George are genuinely in love with each other. The scene where the two hug is quite touching. While Marisa Tomei gives a natural well layered, good performance as a mother who feels a little bit disconnected from her family. Her best scene is when she complains to her husband about how he's too soft on his uncle Ben. Darren Burrows is also another good standout as Joey, Tomei's son in the film who has a bit too many problems that he's hiding from his family.

Some of the shots in Love Is Strange are nice. The opening sequence with a shot of the legs of the two main characters (Ben and George) sleeping together in their bed was well done. While there's another nice quiet scene where Ben is shown painting. The short scene consists of little dialogue and just music played in the background.

Love Is Strange doesn't really tackle the gay subject matter all that much, but it doesn't play it up either. Very few times throughout the film is the word gay actually said, and because of this, I appreciate Love Is Strange.

One of the best things about the film it's score. Although the score is very limited and small, it consists of classical music, primarily that of a piano. This helps to give certain scenes a nice feeling. Additionally, the use of classical music in the film makes sense considering that George is a music teacher himself.

Love Is Strange is a very quiet and understated film. While not perfect, the film is helped by its lead performances and is overall enjoyable to watch.

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

Just Your Typical Average Woody Allen Feature

[5/10 · 1 November 2014]

Magic In The Moonlight, despite its runtime of 97m, quite typical for director Woody Allen, is a movie that moves at a fairly slow pace. The film feels a little disjointed and seems to be following the recent habit of Woody Allen making one very good picture (for example, Match Point, Vicky Christiana Barcelona, Midnight in Paris, and Blue Jasmine as examples), and followed it up by a rather average or mediocre films (such as Cassandra's Dream, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, To Rome With Love, etc..). Magic In the Moonlight is a fairly predictable romantic comedy. Colin Firth and Emma Stone, have good chemistry between each other, but ultimately the film left me unimpressed.

Like most of Allen's recent films, Magic In The Moonlight is set in a foreign country, France, specifically the French Riviera. The film is at least lovely to look at, and tells the story of a famous illusionist named Stanley Crawford (played by Colin Firth), who has spent his life revealing fake spiritualists. Enlisted by his best friend Howard, (played by Simon McBurney), he goes to the French Riviera, where a rich family has been taken in by a spiritualist named Sophie (played by Emma Stone), and her scheming mother (played by Marcia Gay Harden. Stanley plans to expose Sophie as a fake, but after seeing her abilities in action, he actually starts to believe that she may be actually be able to communicate with the spirit world, and even stranger, he may actually be falling for her.

One of the things I appreciated about this film, was Allen's use of classical songs and scores. Instead of going for an original score composed by someone, Allen instead chose, songs from the 1930's and 1940's, written by Cole Porter, Richard Rogers, William Jerome, as well, classical pieces such as Igor Stravinsky's The Adoration of The Earth, as performed by The London Festival Orchestra. The best scenes in the film are when the soundtrack is in full force, such as, at the beginning of the film with the magician scene which has nothing but music in it, or the scene where Stanley opens his eyes and gets out of his bed. Those kinds of scenes are when Magic In The Moonlight actually becomes magical.

Despite this though Colin Firth and Emma Stone both give solid performances. I was particular impressed by Firth's performance after he started to believe that Sophie was a true spiritualist. He truly seems excited, which is a change from his original character, who seemed to be a bit of a jerk.

Like all of Allen's films, there's also a fine supporting cast, including Marcia Gay Harden as Sophie's mother, Hamish Linklater as Sophie's fiancé, Jackie Weaver as the fiancé's mother, Eileen Atkins as Stanley's aunt Vanessa. All of these actors give fine performances, but the script itself is rather lackluster, due to its very cliché premise.

Life After Beth (2014)

A Very Bloody Relationship

[8/10 · 1 November 2014]

Life After Beth is a very, unusual, clever horror romantic comedy, full of wit and a lot of genuine humor. Life After Beth is also a movie with some disturbing scenes, but not enough to change my opinion that this is a genuinely underrated gem. I definitely think this movie deserves more attention than it's gotten.

Life After Beth tells the story of Zach Orfman (played by Dane DeHaan), whose girlfriend, Beth Slocum (played by Audrey Plaza), died after a hike that led her to a fatal snake bite. This leads Zach and Beth's parents to be naturally distraught. Zach tries to make friends with Beth's parents (played John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon), but finds, they are now rejecting him for some unusual reason, and are not even answering their own door when he knocks. When Zach sees Beth in the window, while looking at their house, which seems strange to him, he suddenly becomes obsessed with getting into the Slocum's residents. He manages to sneak in and learns that Beth has somehow been resurrected from the dead. At first Zach is absolutely ecstatic, but Beth's behavior suddenly becomes erratic, and it soon becomes clear to Zach that his girlfriend, is in fact a zombie, which makes Zach's relationship with Beth all the more complicated.

Coming into Life After Beth I had no real expectations. I had seen the trailer for Life After Beth and thought it looked really ridiculous, but still, it was an interesting idea, and perhaps they could probably get some comedy out of this plot. However, after having actually seen the film, I can safely say that this movie more than met my expectations. In fact, I would say that Life After Beth is one of 2014's most underrated and best comedies I've seen to date.

Much of what makes this film work is the "black" humor. Like any good horror comedy, death is played up for laughs, and while some of the scenes, left me scratching my head, such as the one when Zach gets home and his brother Kyle tries to shoot him with a gun, having assumed he's become a zombie, as it is somewhat confusingly directed.

What I think really think helps the film is the acting. As the title character Aubrey Plaza, brings her usual "stupid girl" character to the role of Beth and plays it up here enough, that it becomes quite hilarious. In particular, I was impressed by her during the breakdown scene where she causes a fire to happen near a beach. Her attitude works throughout the film as her character becomes more and more zombie-like, and even starts craving flesh. Even if you haven't seen the trailer for the film, the movie gives you hints that Beth is a zombie, such as a scene where Beth returns and they do a close-up on her eyes, showing that they have started to become red. Dane DeHaan's performance is quite good. Having seen him in both Chronicle and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (where he played Harry Osborne), he comes off as a smug and unlikely bastard. Here his character is supposed to be a bit of an obsessor and a not so terribly bright fella. When his character sees Beth and he starts obsessing and acting crazy, but I genuinely thought that he realistically portrayed a person who had "gone to the dogs", because he didn't know if he could trust Beth's parents anymore. There's even a scene where he gets knocked unconscious and we see things from his perceptive, as he falls down and everything goes dark. As Beth's parents, John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon play their roles quite well. C. Reilly, in particular, is as an overprotecting father, who hides a dark secret that is revealed much later. Of the rest of the cast, I will note that I liked Matthew Gray Gubler as Zach's older brother Kyle, who goes from being hateful of his brother, to appreciating him as the zombie invasion starts to happen. Cheryl Hines and Paul Reiser play Zach and Kyle's parents, and Anna Kendrick has a small role as an old childhood friend of Zach's who returns.

The success of Life After Beth has to do with the film's genuinely crazy and silly tone. Much like another recent horror comedy Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, Life After Beth works because it plays with the typical tropes of a zombie, and uses it for dark laughs. Not expecting much, I found that Life After Beth was definitely entertaining.

Land Ho! (2014)

Two Geezers and a Lot of Swimming

[8/10 · 19 October 2014]

Land Ho! Is a very pleasant surprise. Coming into the movie, I had zero expectations, since I had never heard of the film prior, and a movie about two old men embarking on a journey through Iceland, sounded like something that could have been boring for me. However, great chemistry between the two leads (Earl Lynn Nelson and Paul Eenhoorn), along with an emphasis of character than story, and a lot of very funny but vulgar humor, made Land Ho! was a pleasant surprise for me.

Land Ho! is a film that starts out in The U.S. (the opening scenes were filmed in Kentucky), and winds up going to Iceland after the first fifteen minutes of the film. Telling the story of two brother-in-laws named Mitch (his full name is Leslie Mitchell, but he prefers Mitch because he finds Leslie to be a girl's name), and Colin, an Australian, who decide to go through Iceland in an attempt to reclaim their youth. They go through Reykjavik nightclubs, spas, and campsites. This film is supposed to be a throwback to the 1980's road trip comedies, as well as an exploration of age and friendship. Mitch and Colin are still friends in the film all the way through, despite their differences and arguments.

As mentioned already, Land Ho! is a joy to watch, but what it makes it work is the actor's chemistry with each other. As played by Nelson and Eenhoorn, Mitch and Colin are believable as old acquaintances and best friends. The two bicker and argue in the film, but they still laugh and have a good time with each other. I especially like the movie references they give (of which the film has plenty of), including Sleepless in Seattle, Rio Bravo and Pretty Woman. Those were fun to hear and catch, as was the rest of the film.

The movie itself is put into three different sequences, referring to where the two are traveling. These include, The Golden Circle, Land Manga, and Laughter. Some of the plot concerns Mitch seeing his younger cousin (who refers to him as uncle, even though they are second cousins), who is visiting Iceland. The other parts of the plot concern Mitch and Colin getting caught up in some wacky shenanigans, like in an assuming scene where the two get lost in the dark after being outside and are trying to get back to their hotel, but can't see and eventually end up sleeping in the woods at night; very amusing scene.

The humor in Land Ho! comes from the characters interactions with each other. Director and writer team Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens clearly have a good idea on how to create genuine humor. Mitch and Colin, or either one or the other are the focus of the film 100% of the time, which is a good thing, and adds to the humor and interaction. Quotes such as "angels pissing on your tongue" and the use of the words "balls" in a particular scene, had me and the audience cracking up, as we were already enjoying the rest of the film. Another funny scene occurs when Mitch and Colin are in the water swimming around. Colin does his best Johnny Weissmuller Tarzans' scream impersonation. The film's dialogue and humor can be very vulgar at times, so it may not be for everyone, even if the film itself is harmless in terms of actual imagery.

Land Ho! is an enjoyable, road adventure comedy. It's not the greatest movie ever, but as a piece of entertainment, it works extremely well. The actors' chemistry, along with the humor, helps to make the film enjoyable to watch. You don't see many road movies like Land-Ho made these days.

The 78 Project Movie (2014)

An Experiment in Records

[7/10 · 19 October 2014]

The 78 Project Movie is an interesting documentary. Based off an acclaimed web series (which I have not seen), and inspired by Alan Lomax, a man who quested to capture music as it went through the 20th century. The 78 Project Movie is about a journey across America to record some of today's musical artists as they perform early influential American songs that inspired future songs and artists, trying to record them exactly as they originally were. The 78 Project Movie is an interesting documentary and experiment to watch. It showed me things that I didn't even know were still around.

The very well done title cards at the beginning immediately got me hooked on The 78 Project Movie. However, one of the most things I found fascinating about the documentary was that it made me realize that traditional records are still popular in certain circles, or at the very least, they are making, a comeback. All of the songs in the film are recorded in the old record way, done in order to match the time period that the original songs were written (30's, 40's, 50's etc…). This gives the film a feel of recognizing the past and giving its' due due. I must applaud the filmmakers, Alex Steyermark and Lavinia Jones Wright for that, as well the people who on the road trip.

Among the places the two visit include Port Tobacco, Maryland, Arnaudville, LA, among others. We even see the two travel through Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana. This gives the film a feel of a road trip style documentary, as we follow our two filmmakers as they look for artists to record and put on records.

What I especially liked about The 78 Project Movie though was the performers that we got to see. Most of them have nice voices, and even though their appearances are brief, the amount of musical artists that we get to see perform is good. All of the artists are not famous, with most of them being up and coming. Among the artists that perform include such names as John Paul Keith, Ella Mae Bowen of Nashville, John Wilkins, Tom Brosseau and strangely the only name I recognized and who I had no idea was also an actual country singer (his appearance was brief), John C. Reilly, simply credited as John Reilly.

The 78 Project Movie also shows the process of how the 78 mil records are made, something that I didn't particular find to be all that engaging, but other audience members might. Additionally, we are shown other items throughout various scenes', such as a tube supplier, instantaneous discs, and dusk jacket discs. While these are the weaker parts of the documentary, items such as the instantaneous discs are very interesting to look at and think about.

The 78 Project Movie is a very low-key documentary with some interesting elements to it. What I especially liked about the film was the various performers that we got to see in the documentary. They brought the voice and energy to a film that probably wouldn't have interested me otherwise, aside from the eye-catching, well done, opening credits.

Frank (II) (2014)

A Hysterical Black Comedy That Has To Be Seen To Be Believed

[9/10 · 28 September 2014]

Frank features a poster which depicts a giant cartoon head. Now some people who haven't seen the trailer might assume that it's just there for the point of advertising, or there's an animated sequence in the film, but no, the title character of the film is a man who dresses up in a cartoon head. That seems in of itself a crazy concept, but it fits with the rest of the film, which goes from being a quirky dark comedy to basically being down right serious and realistic at the end. In short, Frank is a gem that I can recommend to just about anyone, unless men wearing cartoon faces and crazy antics isn't your idea of a good time.

Frank tells the story of Jon Burroughs (played by Domnhall Gleason) who is surprisingly likable and later in the film even works perfect as a jackass when he lets fame get to his head. Burroughs is a young wanna-be musician from Ireland who meets a traveling band. The band is led by Frank played by Michael Fassbender a mysterious cartoon wearing headman. Jon eventually learns that he's gotten himself into more than he can handle by joining this band.

Frank is at its heart a black comedy that eventually evolves into a cross country road-trip film, and then even becomes serious by the end. It's nonetheless a hilarious movie to watch. The script by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan is very clever and includes some memorable dialogue. Although Frank is not the main character of the film (despite the title being named after him), by having his antics be center stage of the film, it makes for interesting and hilarious situations. Frank himself is an interesting character, a man who received a cartoon mask as a teenager and wouldn't take it off, instead preferring to conceal his true face and identity. As the main character, Jon has an interesting character arc in the film himself, going an aspiring almost weak songwriter who can't seem to finish or write any memorable songs, to letting fame get to him, and eventually becoming extremely unlikeable as a person.

The rest of the band, which makes up the bulk of the major characters in the film are also interesting. You have Maggie Gyllenhaal as Clara, the aggressive chick of the group, who rarely has anything nice to say (at least until the end of the film), and has absolutely little regard for Jon as a person. Gyllenhaal is even very sexy in some of her scenes. There's Scoot McNairy as Don, the bands' manager who eventually commits suicide with a Frank mask on and in a rather comical and dark scene they place his body on a boat with flames into the river (basically being his grave) until a slight problem occurs, and ruins the moment for them. Francois Civil as Baraque the French bassist (he literally only speaks French throughout the film) and Carla Azar as Nana, the band's drummer, make up the rest of the cast. Both characters, Baraque and Nana, also show little empathy for Jon. These characters are basically a group of misfits with their own quirks and problems.

Although I had issues with another movie that started out as a quirky comedy, that being Michel Gondry's Mood Indigo, Frank's tonal shift at the end didn't bother me as much as that film did, because in addition to a much weirder and more surrealistic film, Mood Indigo still kept its crazy tone, even at the funeral sequences. In comparison, Frank, became down to earth and less quirky, which I appreciated.

None of the songs in Frank are especially memorable, which is the point of the film, as Jon sees himself as an amazing lyricist, when the best thing he can come up with is repeating the same sound over and over. The actual actors performed in the band, which isn't surprising given that the songs aren't really performed all that memorably to begin with.

Frank is definitely not a movie made with the general audience in mind. I appreciate the film for that, though as its crazy concept, along with the antics, made me laughing and smiling until the last act. Even the tonal shift of the film didn't bother me that much. Frank's black comedy aspect is something I very much appreciate about the film. Frank, is overall an enjoyable movie, and I would recommend it to anyone, but be warned, you may not get the concept. Yes, it's that weird of a film and I liked it a lot because of that.

A Most Wanted Man (2014)

A Most Ingenious Spy Thriller

[8/10 · 28 September 2014]

A Most Wanted Man is an ingenious thriller. The film has a strong political message and feels like one of those classic spy thrillers from the 60's and the 70's. Being based off a John le Carre Novel, as Mr. le Carre was actually part of the British intelligence, and used his experiences to write his classic spy thrillers. However it falls short on the very riveting side of things, though the film is intriguing enough to carry my attention through its two hour running time. The film is also helped by its lead actor, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, giving a terrific performance in his penultimate film. These things contribute to making A Most Wanted Man a good enough sit.

A Most Wanted Man is set in Germany and tells the story of what happens when a tortured half-Chechen, half-Russian immigrant turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community. US and German agencies take an interest in him when he lay's claim to his father's ill-conceived fortune. This leads a race, or chase of sorts, in order to uncover the most wanted man's true identity. Is he an oppressed victim of circumstances or is he a destruction intended extremist? A Most Wanted Man is a film that like most of le Carre's works and adaptations is an unromantic spy thriller, featuring little action and more realism, with characters dealing with their actions through talk and not physical violence. This is not James Bond people. The movie also has twists and turns, along with a message about the problems of the immigration policy. In A Most Wanted Man there are no real good guys, just ambiguous characters whose motivations seem clear, but who you cannot be sure if you can trust. Director Anton Corbin (Control, The American) does a nice job of balancing the film's "message" with the spy aspect of the film.

The best thing about A Most Wanted Man though are the performances. A Most Wanted Man has gained a lot of attention from film buffs and film critics for the fact that it features the second to final performance by acclaimed and academy award winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2 being his real final performances), who tragically took his own life months ago. Here Hoffman is at his best, as Gunther Bachmann, a German espionage agent who leads a team that seeks to develop intelligence from the local Muslim community. Along with a solid German accent (making him sound almost unrecognizable), Hoffman is riveting in the role, being a subtle and somewhat dangerous performance as Bachmann. You've got Rachel McAdams as Annabel Ritcher, an, immigration lawyer; Willem Dafoe as Tommy Brue a banker; Robin Wright as Martha Sullivan an, American diplomat and Grigoriy Dobrygin as Issa Karpov, the immigrant also bring good acting support to the film. McAdams and Dafoe's German accents are also impressive, but they are overshadowed by Hoffman's superb performance.

The score to A Most Wanted Man is memorable for a chase sequence where Karpov is trying to get away from the agents and ends up running into a club where we hear an 80's tune being played. During that scene the score sounds very frantic and dangerous, which is fitting given that the scene is about escaping.

A Most Wanted Man is not a perfect movie. It can, at times, drag on. However, as a second to final film for Philip Seymour Hoffman, it is, in many ways, a perfect end to his career. Even if Mockingjay Part 1 and 2 will be Philip Seymour Hoffman's last released films, A Most Wanted Man is the last film that cinema lovers will truly see him in, especially as one where he is the top billed actor, making this film in some ways very sad. That being said, A Most Wanted Man is recommended, not just as a celebration for one terrific actors' last roles, but also as a smart spy thriller.

Rich Hill (2014)

A Depressing But Interesting Documentary

[7/10 · 21 September 2014]

Rich Hill is a very interesting documentary that gets its points across quite clearly. It deals with the subject of poverty and may be a hard documentary to watch, but the film is quite well made, regardless of how depressing the subject and it never tries to downplay that aspect.

Rich Hill, focuses on the lives of three different teenagers, Andrew, Appachey, and Harley, who are living in the impoverished Midwestern town of Rich Hill, Missouri, where filmmakers, who are also first cousins, Tracy Droz Tragos and Andrew Droz Palermo's grandparents and parents lived.

Andrew is an athletic kid who lives with his mother and a dreaming father who sees no reason to keep a regular job, and takes drugs. Appachey is a chain smoker who lives in an out of control household, struggles with the authorities, and his need for freedom. While Harley, the oldest of three boys, lives with his grandmother, has a disorder connected to his mother being in prison because assaulted his father while he was abusing their son.

What I liked about Rich Hill, was its approach. Instead of just featuring interviews with the three young men (which the film did feature but only a few times), it also delved into their problems and backstories. We got to see into their lives and really learn just how messed up and pathetic things lives really are for them. In particular, Harley's story was the most fascinating for me, as we saw him constantly try to get out of school because of his personal problems, despite the fact that eventually after weeks and weeks of making excuses, if he did leave school again, he would be arrested.

Even if Rich Hill is a depressing documentary, it also does have a bit of the optimism. Both the ending and other parts imply that these young men could be getting better. There may be a glimmer of hope for them, and this makes Rich Hill, less one-sided than one might expect. Parts of this documentary are hard to watch because of its truthfulness, but at the same time, seeing Andrew smile at one point makes up for the overall depressiveness.

Rich Hill is a documentary that some regular moviegoers might avoid because of its subject material. However once you get through the initial idea and the first parts of the documentary, you may find that it's not as hard to watch as you think it is, aided by a strong musical score composed by Nathan Halpern. Rich Hill is a very fascinating look at the values of family life and the struggles people live with daily in an economically disadvantaged Midwestern small town. Rich Hill is not easy to watch, but its headed in all the right places. Share this:

Boyhood (I) (2014)

A Film Experience

[10/10 · 14 September 2014]

On first glance, Richard Linklater's Boyhood might not even sound like it is anything special: just a film about a boy growing up. We've seen plenty of movies like that before, but when you discover just how they made Boyhood, it makes the film even more special. Boyhood is like no film I've ever seen before, and not because of the story, but its conception. Boyhood was shot over a 12 year period, with the same actors. No kidding. The film is actually the most realistic portrayal of child to adult that I've ever seen. Boyhood isn't just a great film, it's also a great experience. Boyhood is literally life on film.

Filmed over exactly twelve years and forty five days, Boyhood is told through the eyes of a young boy named Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane). Boyhood follows Mason through various sequences of childhood: as a young six year old boy in 2002; during his preadolescence; his adolescence; and finally when he goes to college. The audience literally sees him grow up before our eyes. We also see Mason's relationships with his parents, including his divorced mother (played by Patricia Arquette), his father (played by Ethan Hawke), and his older sister, Samantha (played by Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei).

Boyhood is a fantastic movie and opens perfectly with a shot of Mason looking up at the clouds in the sky (which is what is on the movie poster). The first shot is excellent because it helps to introduce us to Mason's character, and it is also a perfect representation of what a child does: question and wonder, and look up at the blue sky outside.

As someone who grew up around the same time period as Mason's character, I can attest to this film being a perfect time capsule of that period. It reminded of the innocence, the trends and fads, such as watching Dragon Ball Z, playing Pokemon, reading Harry Potter, exploring the outdoors with friends, using laptops and computers, listening to popular music bands of the time, and everything else that happened to me as a child. Much like Mason's character, my mother moved us when I was younger, and I could relate to the pressures of losing friends and meeting new ones, as Mason did in the film when he moved to Texas.

This film features pretty great performances from all the actors here, especially since it was shot over a twelve year period, and you can tell by how much older the actors look at the end of the picture. Ellar Coltrane, in, basically, his acting debut since the film started in 2002, is really good. Even as a child, he is totally believable. As an adolescent, he conveys great energy and the attitude of "I don't care". Patricia Arquette is a revelation to me in this film. To be honest, I've never been much of a fan of hers, but with her portrayal as Mason's mother (who doesn't have a first name and is just referred to as mom even in the credits) is absolutely terrific. She plays a stressed out woman who has to raise two kids on her own. During the house scene, at the beginning of the film, we see her arguing with her then husband which eventually leads to their divorce. She is really strong at conveying her annoyance and frustration, and most of her best scenes are when she is angry. She conveys a lot of emotion and it shows her range. Ethan Hawke is also very good as Mason's father. I particularly liked the scene where he is with his kids in the car and pretends to talk like their talking about their week when they're really not (he is disappointed because his kids never talk about what their week was like). Richard Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei, who plays Mason's older sister, Samantha, is very good, even cute at the beginning of the picture when she uses a fictional language that she created herself. She is also very good when she is being the very much stressed out, disobedient, teenage girl later on. On an interesting note, despite her character being older than Mason in the film, she is actually only three months older than Coltrane in real life.

What I especially liked about Boyhood was the character arc and relationships. Mason's story is told over several episodes, and we do see his character change and grow: he goes from being a naïve young boy to a teenager who seems to be unsure of himself. The relationship between him and the various people in his life are interesting. His relationship with his father, for example, goes from being basically nonexistent and quiet, to the two actually bonding, especially when they go camping. Mason's relationship with his mother, however, is very sour throughout the film. Although this relationship could feel unsatisfied and unresolved, instead, it feels more like its only one small part of the bigger picture.

Boyhood is a film that gave me a feeling of satisfaction. Richard Linklater has really captured the feeling of childhood innocence and the struggles of growing up. I cannot recommend it more than this: Boyhood is a masterpiece of filmmaking and one of the very best films of the year.

Finding Fela (2014)

Finding Out More about Fela than Just Nothing

[7/10 · 14 September 2014]

Alex Gibney's Finding Fela is a very nice documentary that recalls the life and times of Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti. Gibney does a good job of intercutting video footage of the musical artist, alongside interviews with people familiar with him, as well as his admirers. Though over long, this documentary does its job just fine.

The film takes us through Fela's life, including interviews with people who knew or were familiar with the artist: his manager, Rikki Stein; his drummer, Tony Allen; Sandra Izadore, a musician who worked with him; and even a brief interview with Paul McCartney. It shows us his early days when as a young man he decided, while living in Nigeria, to head to London. Fela's career rose as a popular musician, who used songs and words in the 1970's, instead of violence, to protest the war in his country, as well as addressing other social issues going on in the world at that time. Fela eventually died from AIDS in 1997, and millions of people showed up at his funeral to pay their respects to him and what he stood for.

A lot of Finding Fela seems to be thrown together, but this film is intercut in a very interesting way. While it does tell us the story of Fela, this documentary is also about the making of a musical based off of Fela's life. So while we (the audience) are watching the documentary styled life story, we are also being shown scenes from the musical being rehearsed as if they were being shown in a real historical documentary format. We even get a scene where we're shown the shrine that Fela performed in as it is today and not just in the past or in clips. This way, the film is more than just a documentary, it is also an overall tribute to Fela's influence and music.

The film portrays Fela as a human being, not as a hero or as a villain, but as someone who had flaws, such as his belief in unprotected sex which led to his contracting AIDS. I admire the film for that, because it could have been a complete love letter and shown Fela as the perfect human being, when just like all of us, he wasn't.

This is the first time I ever actually encountered Fela Kuti's name. After watching this documentary, I'm actually interested in researching more about the singer who led a pretty interesting life, if this documentary is anything to go by.

Begin Again (II) (2013)

Pleasant Film

[7/10 · 7 September 2014]

John Carney's Begin Again is a nice little somewhat "feel good" musical set in New York. The film features some very good performances and the songs are also memorable and well written.

Begin Again tells the story of Greta (played by Keira Knightley) and her boyfriend/college sweetheart, named Dave (played by Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and The Voice making his feature film debut), who are songwriter partners. Their relationship hits a rocky road when Dave lands a major deal in Los Angeles and strays away from Greta, leaving her on her own. She is discovered on an east village stage by a washed up divorced record label executive named Dan (played by Mark Ruffalo), who takes to her talent and tries to make her a name. As the two begin their collaboration, they run into some problems along the way.

There are some clear character arcs in the story as well. Dan, for example, goes from being an unlikeable drunk who is a disgraced and fired record producer, to having his job back, as well as improving his relationship with his daughter. Similarly, Greta goes from being a love-struck songwriter with no real ambitions to being an ambitious songwriter/singer who can clearly think on her own. The stories of these two characters parallel each other well. Other character arcs include Dan's daughter, Violet (played by Hailee Steinfeld), who seems to have limited screen time (disappearing after the first ten minutes and not reappearing until an hour in), going from an angst-ridden daughter to discovering her talents for playing guitar. While Dave, Greta's lover, goes from being an ambitious songwriter/singer to understanding just what fame is doing to him, in a story-arc that is almost like the opposite of Greta's.

The acting in the film is very good. Mark Ruffalo has gained some weight, and is showing his age. When he talks to Knightley near the end of the film and says "you know nothing", he delivers that line with such energy and force, it is terrific. Keira Knightly herself comes off as rather bitchy at the beginning of the film, but by the end, she develops into a finer character, even if her performance at times can feel emotionless. Hailee Steinfeld, as Ruffalo's daughter, is wasted and brings nothing to the table. Similarly, Catherine Keener is wasted as Ruffalo's ex, and her character is treated like your typical divorced nagging ex-wife. In his major film debut, singer Adam Levine has a nice voice, but his performances are, at times, bland, though his scenes with Knightley do show good moments of acting. Additionally, of note in the cast are Mos Def (under the alias Yasiin Bey!!!) as the owner of the record studio and Ceelo Green as a character named Troublegum, as a performer (basically playing himself).

The songs are really nicely done. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Knightley and Ruffalo are walking down the streets of New York and they manage to incorporate "Luck Be a Lady" by Frank Sinatra in a way that gave me a feeling of happiness and excitement. The majority of the original songs are written by Gregg Alexander and Nick Lashley (director John Carney himself contributed to two songs, including "Like a Fool" which has to do with trusting people. Knightley herself has a nice singing voice (having been trained by a voice specialist), and songs like "Lost Stars" and "A Higher Place" are good and having meaning. There are many good performances, even if some of the characters exist solely for the purpose of having real nice songs played. Given Carney's previous film, Once, one should probably not be surprised, as that film also dealt with music.

Begin Again has a very pleasing tone to it. The songs, along with the character arcs, contribute to the films overall style. Definitely worth checking out.

Mood Indigo (2013)

A Mood Shift Issue

[6/10 · 7 September 2014]

Mood Indigo is an interesting film based off the novel by French author, Boris Vian. With Michel Gondry's sharp direction, a tone of satire and some funny moments, Mood Indigo should really work. However, watching the film all the way through, I can't help but wonder if the movie would have been better had it not featured so many random and nonsensical scenes that overall didn't do anything for the picture. Mood Indigo is an unusual movie that fits Gondry's style (eg. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and from a filmmaking standpoint, it is fascinating to watch.

The film is set in a surreal Paris, and tells the story of a wealthy bachelor named Colin (played by Romain Duris), who spends his time developing a cocktail-making piano known as a pianocktail (not the most subtle of names), and devouring strange moving dishes prepared by his chef, Nicolas (played by Omar Sy). Colin learns that his best friend, Chick (Gad Elmaleh), who is a fellow assistant of philosopher, Jean-Sol Partre (played by Philippe Torreton), has a new American girlfriend (played by Aissa Maiga, who is actually a Senegal born French actress doing an admirable job pretending that her French accent is low), and so he decides to attend a party in hopes that he may find someone for himself. There he meets Chloe (played by Audrey Tautou) and the two fall in love. Eventually an illness comes over Chloe, one very strange illness, as a flower begins to grow in her lungs. The only way Colin can save her, is to supply her with an endless amount of fresh flowers.

The opening of Mood Indigo introduces us to what most of the film's tone will be as we are treated to a variety of things happening: people using typewriters in a room; then we cut to a man getting out of a bathtub; we see a rat, who is just a small guy in a rat suit etc. Every single thing we see in the introduction relates in some way to some form of technology. The film seems to have a fascination with using technology in weird and unusual ways. I haven't read the book it's based off of, but from what I've heard, it also conveys unusual and bizarre things in it. This makes it interesting to watch, but I couldn't possibly imagine few directors, other than Gondry, making this film work in any way, even if it ultimately makes little sense. Among the things that I find fascinating and weird at the same time in the film include: throughout the film when objects are thrown and touched, multiple versions of them appear suddenly out of the blue; during the dance, the entire background of the area is blue; the ringer in Colin's room is treated like a bug, and falls apart into little tiny robotic bugs anytime it makes a sound; the two couples, Chick and Alise, and Colin and Chloe (who are getting married), ride in small cars throughout the building in order to get to the wedding; and a man gets in a rocket suit with wings of sorts and goes into the sky, only for him to eventually fall back into the sky, among others.

Much like most of Gondry's films including The Silence of The Sleep and Eternal Spotlight of The Sunshine Mind, this film is more about the fantastical elements, than it is about the actual performances. That said, this film features a fine cast, and most of the actors, including Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, and Omar Sy, are giving good performances. There are many things in this film that are honestly not needed, such as the small man in the rat suit, and the bird human lady at the ice rink. Some of these elements serve the story no purpose and are just there to give the film an even weirder feeling.

About an hour within the film, it takes a tonal shift and becomes more depressing as the wife become sick. This shift comes out of the nowhere, but given the story, it actually works. The lack of technology makes this apparent, as Gondry makes the film's tone bleaker and depressing, with Chloe just about dying. By the end of the film, everything is in black and white, which is done to represent Colin's loss of faith and feelings. One scene in particular, features a nice dangerous bit of music, as Colin chases his shadow down the road back home.

Aside from a few scenes, this film is never really boring. I can't really recommend this film for the average moviegoer, but any film geek, like myself, would probably find it fascinating, even if the film inconsistent in some regards.

Dormant Beauty (2012)

Well Meaning With Good Intentions Though Slightly Lacking

[7/10 · 31 August 2014]

Marco Bellocchio's Dormant Beauty is a well-made movie. The film has good acting, good cinematography, decent dialogue, some interesting directing choices, strong themes, and all around is a very well done movie. Despite this though, the film suffers from a somewhat confusing story structure.

There is a specific story in Dormant Beauty, but it is also about episodes that tackle such subjects as life, love and hope. Such stories are treated in an adult manner. Dormant Beauty is set in Italy, and is based on the true story of Eluana Englaro, a woman who, because of a car accident, is in a coma state. Her parents consider euthanasia, but isn't legal to do in Italy in her specific situation, and the church and politics get involved.

Dormant Beauty is also about two other stories relating to acquaintances of Englaro. These stories don't feel that connected to each other, which makes the film seem like it's more of an anthology series in some ways, but the similarity in subject material is still evident. One of the stories is about a young woman trying to kill herself with heroin. I liked how they approached the topic of heroin and suicide and the acting was also very good. The other story is about a member of the political government of Berlusconi who refuses to join the party and wants to pursue a bill that will make euthanasia completely illegal in Italy. What I liked about the political story of the film was the way it was shot. After the death of a woman in the politician's story which he is sad about it, in the background, a political gathering is shown appearing from the politician's mind, but almost like it's happening right next to him, but it's not. That scene is incredibly powerful and powerfully acted.

The film's score, small as it is, is quite good. Having a classical feel but also a modern mix as well.

Dormant Beauty is a film with good intentions, but suffers from somewhat of an incoherent story, and a lack of a real style. It has its moments, and the setting looks great.

Snowpiercer (2013)

A Bleak Unsettling Great Discovery

[9/10 · 31 August 2014]

Joon-ho Bong's Snowpiercer is an interesting gem. It is a very bleak, dark, dystopian-styled future film. The film runs over 2 hours long, but goes at a nice pace. As bleak as Snowpiercer was, it was amazingly well done. The direction was fantastic. I loved just about every minute of it and the acting was great.

Snowpiercer is set in 2031, when a failed climate-change experiment kills just about everybody on the planet except for those who have been fortunate enough to board The Snowpiercer, a huge train that travels around the globe with a class system. Eventually the lower, literally dirty class led by Curtis (Chris Evans), tries to revolt in an attempt to get the conductors room and find out what's really going on.

Snowpiercer is a very dark looking movie. The lead characters look incredibly dirty. This is no doubt from the fact that they've been living in a very muddy part of the train and haven't had any water in years. The tone is consistent throughout the film as the story progresses, characters are brutally killed and bodies pile up. This type of tone may be not pleasing for the general audience, but as a longtime movie buff, I loved how the director approached this, and appreciated it as well.

The acting is Snowpiercer is fantastic. The film features a fantastic cast, and none of them feel wasted. You have Chris Evans as the protagonist who is somewhat strikingly unrecognizable with his dirty face. Although Evans does seem to mumble at the beginning of the film, his performance does gradually get better, and by the end, when his character has a breakdown, his emotions and acting are terrifically well done. The rest of the cast includes: John Hurt, playing his usual elderly nice guy character (only this time with a secret); Kang-ho Song as Namgoong Minsoo, a higher-up who can open and close doors on the train who joins Curtis and his rebellion; Octavia Spencer, as a grieving mother whose son is kidnapped; Jamie Bell as Edgar, a sort of wannabe tough guy; Tilda Swinton as Mason, one of the film's main antagonist, as a superior officer type; and Ed Harris, as the train conductor. The performances are all well-acted in the film, and each character serves the story well.

One of the things I especially liked about Snowpiercer was how the characters weren't just evil or good. In many ways, the majority of the characters in Snowpiercer are quite unlikeable. It's not just brown and grey, like it can be in so many films. The so-called villains of the story, led by Mason (Tilda Swinton), are portrayed as being higher-ups who don't seem to have any bit of redeeming qualities about them and are heartless, but surprisingly seem to have good points and intentions. On the other side, we have our heroes, led by Curtis, who aren't real heroes when you think about. They attack, they kill, and they are treated more like noble savages than anything. This is consistent with the film's excellent message about the human condition: how a society can go from being considered an elite to completely destroying themselves.

The direction by South Korean filmmaker, Joon-ho Bong, doing his first English language film, is excellent. The film definitely fits his trademark style of multiple events occurring in long takes. Scenes, like when the members of the train are revolting, or where the train goes over the bridge, show a lot of things going on all at once and being captured simultaneously in a dark green lighted screen. Snowpiercer does, however, suffer from some of its action scenes, which, while exhilarating to watch, had at times shaky cam overload.

Snowpiercer doesn't feel like your usual average blockbuster, despite the fact that it could easily have fallen into that very category. This film was clearly made with an intent. Sure, there are some plot holes in the film, especially regarding the use of the train, but thanks to great direction, great directing, and a great "muddy, dark" look, Snowpiercer is among the best of 2014.

Punch Drunks (1934)

Larry Sure Knows How To Play That Violin Of His

[10/10 · 9 July 2014]

Punch Drunk is The Three Stooges second short, though not exactly featuring the familiar slapstick that The Three would be famous for (they were still trying to get the hang of their humor at the time), it's still easily among the boy's best and most memorable.

The plot is insane, this short is actually one of the few (though not only) where The Stooges aren't together at the beginning (though by the end they become The Trio we all know). The plot involves Moe discovering Curly's boxing talent when Larry plays Pop Goes the Weasel on a violin, and decides to become Curly's manager, with Curly winning every game, until the two get to the championship.

The humor of the short comes from the insane wackiness of it. Stooge logic is at high in this short, especially compared to Woman Haters. Lots of slaps, lots of groins and lots of laughs (though at this time it was just something that Curly said by accident, instead of actually being written in the script).

Overall the short is a blast, definitely recommended.