FILM: The Big Deal About "The Salt of The Earth"
THE WHO
Wim Wenders, Sebastiao Salgado, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
THE WHAT:
A look into the life and career of photographer Sebastiao Salgado.
THE BIG DEAL:
“The Salt of the Earth” is a glacially paced exploration of the man behind the photos of Earth. Salgado captures the lives of the poor and natives of countries that go largely ignored. Salgado has also been a prominent photographer of nature and landscape, finding the beauty in parts of the Earth that resemble the beginning of time on the planet.
The filmmakers (one of which is Salgado’s son Juliano) try their best to find the raw beauty of the man who’s spent a living pointing his lens on untapped parts of the world. The documentary is most interesting when it follows Salgado on his photography trips; but when it recounts the history of the photographer it loses a lot of steam.
The film turns into a time-killing educational seminar rather than a captivating story about a man who has lead an amazing life too often and staring at photos over warm, somber voices doesn’t make for the most enticing feature.
However, Salgado is a fascinating figure who has led a life worried more about being connected to nature than to anything else. At times, you’re curious, when it comes to tragedies like Rwanda and malnutrition in Ethiopia: what the excessive force on the horrors are in service to and whether or not the context of Salgado talking about photographing the tragedy feels completely appropriate. In the end, one thing is certain, Salgado did want to educate people about what was happening and as a photographer, the only way for him to do so was to portray it for what it is.
THE GRADE: C+
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
The Salt of the Earth opens today in select theaters.
#FILM: The Big Deal About Neil Blomkamp's "Chappie"
THE WHO
Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, Yolandi Visser and Sigourney Weaver in a film by Neil Blomkamp.
THE WHAT:
In the near future, a mechanized police force patrols the streets and deals with lawbreakers -- but when one police droid is stolen and given new programming, he acquires the ability to feel and think for himself. While the robot named "Chappie (Sharlto Copley)," puzzles out human behavior, the authorities begin to see him as a danger to mankind and order; they will stop at nothing to ensure that Chappie is the last of his kind.
THE BIG DEAL:
Although "Chappie" is a bold attempt at pulp action filmmaking, it doesn't have the strength to carry the weight of the big ideas or social commentary it presents, nor does it have the intellect to pull off the sort of social satire that made "Robocop" (its most obvious inspiration) such a classic film.
What it does have is a playful life to it, a silly irreverence and a lot of janky science.
"Chappie" follows the story of a young hotshot engineer named Deon (Dev Patel) who has been the lead for a series of mechanized armed forces used to patrol crime in Johannesburg, South Africa. Despite this success, what he really wants to do is create the first robot that uses artificial intelligence and is able to think, feel and discriminate on their own. Deon finally cracks the code for artificial intelligence and tries to test it on a broken robot, but his plans are deviated when a trio of criminals kidnap him. Thinking that he has the key to turn the army of police bots off so that they can stage a heist and pay back a gang lord, Deon makes a deal with the criminals to outfit the broken robot with the AI capability and give it to them to use.
As the robot learns more about its surroundings and its own sense of self, Deon keeps revisiting in order to teach Chappie how to be a productive member of society and to find a way to get the robot back into his possession. Meanwhile, the gang tries to initiate Chappie into a life of crime; one member however, Yolandi (Yolandi Visser, the other half of South African rap group Die Antwoord) tries to be an actual parent to the robot.
While this is going on, a jealous ex-soldier who works with Deon named Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman), tries to find a way to unleash his own automated killing machine in the field of police investigation.
There's a lot of mess going on in the film and it's certainly a unique direction for this kind of movie to tell a story about child rearing and advancing science within the confines of a cop thriller. It was surprising how little of the movie is even about a larger world's reaction to Chappie or what the downside of having such an intelligent machine in the world would mean. There's no sense of apocalyptic dread, such as in "The Terminator" films. By the time the world gets wind of Chappie, it's under the worst circumstances and is misunderstood as simply a police robot gone rogue.
The film does a lot of things and dabbles within a plethora of ideas too quickly for any of them to breathe. However, the film is a nice ride and campy in the best ways. It's full of kitschy slow-mo takes, intense shootouts and a wink-wink offbeat humor -- and thank God for it. Otherwise, you'd be stuck with a movie that is an unorganized, mis-focused mess.
THE GRADE: C+
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Chappie opens today in select theaters.
#FILM: The Big Deal About "FOCUS"
THE WHO
Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adrian Martinez, Rodrigo Santoro in a film directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra.
THE WHAT:
Nicky Spurgeon (Will Smith) is a seasoned con-man who becomes romantically involved with an attractive young woman (Margot Robbie); while introducing her to the tricks of his con man trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former flame shows up in Buenos Aires as the opposing side of the same scam: a billionaire international race car owner (Rodrigo Santoro), throwing his plans for a loop.
THE BIG DEAL:
Once upon a time, Will Smith was the biggest star in the world, but in the years between "The Pursuit Of Happiness" and this new movie, "Focus," his star hasn't so much fallen as it has just been diminished by a sea change in both what we look for in celebrity and the types of movies that make $500 million these days. I'm sure Smith thought "After Earth" was going to be that movie fit for this new cinema world, but people saw it as nothing more than faux scientific gibberish and nepotism.
"Focus" comes off like an apology movie. It's the movie that's meant to curry favor with the country and show everyone that Will Smith can still be the star you need. It almost works: the movie is full of peaks and valleys; it can be exciting at times and dull at other times. This is the most obvious showcase for Will Smith's next career phase and it's clear he doesn't know what he wants that phase to be.
"Focus" stars Smith as Nicky Spurgeon, a veteran con man with a gambling problem that's never really explored (except to set up a sequence mid-film), who's made a living on countless small-scale crimes of pocket picking, credit card fraud and deliberate manipulation of unsuspecting victims. He meets a beautiful, stiff novice who wants to enter this world, named Jess (Robbie), who's obviously attracted to a life of crime as well as to this man who's supposed to be her mentor. He shows her slight of hand and mental manipulation tricks effective enough to help her rob a "mark." She picks up on it quickly because the movie needs her to pick up on it quickly, the movie needs to do everything quickly so it can fit a lot of things in. The two fall for each other and after a string of jacks and a somewhat large heist, Nicky has to break ties with Jess and abandon her because you never get attached in these sorts of enterprises. Three years later, the two lovers meet again in the midst of another con that Nicky is pulling with a race car owner named Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro). Jess is now with Garriga and Nicky is thrown off his game by her appearance and is trying his best to get his act together to pull this new con off.
The biggest takeaway from this film is that there's something about Will Smith that just doesn't click the same way anymore. He's still charming, he's still handsome, he's still funny but the spark isn't the same. Time has taken the twinkle in his eye. You're always aware that you're watching a movie now. There are times when he gives you that twinge and he sells you on the idea that he is in control of everything happening on screen.
This is a deeply silly movie but he's up for the ride. He never presses on the gas but he's behind the wheel and he's driving through the storm and no matter how flimsy the movie gets, you always trust him to pull you through. Something does feel just a tad bit off though. I don't know what the next stage of the Smith career is. Can he pull off the Denzel Washington late period stage or does he need to go in a different route?
For all this movies contrivances and goofiness, the movie only works in spite of itself. I don't think the movie is in on what's funny about it but at least it is not completely humorless. You just leave wishing Will Smith was given something more.
THE GRADE: B
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Focus opens today in theaters everywhere.
#FILM: The Big Deal About Horror Movie "The Lazurus Effect"
THE WHO
Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Donald Glover, Evan Peters and Sarah Bolger in a film directed by David Gelb.
THE WHAT:
A team of medical professionals have found a way to bring dead patients back to life using a serum named "Lazarus." After several successful tests are done on animals, Zoe (Olivia Wilde), one of the lead researchers, dies in a lab accident and the team uses "Lazarus" to bring her back successfully. When she begins to display unusual abilities, the team realizes that their attempt to resurrect the dead may have opened the door to something evil.
THE BIG DEAL:
Lazarus is a biblical reference referring to a sick man that Jesus brought back from the dead. It's good background to have because this is a movie that dabbles both in "science vs. religion" and the idea that "man musn't play God." It's not meant to be weighty because it's just a silly horror movie but you can't help but to still roll your eyes every time it comes up here.
Frank (Mark Duplass), his fiancee Zoe (Olivia Wilde) and their team of medical researchers are being interviewed by a student documentarian, Eva (Sarah Bolger) after they have found a way to revive the dead using a serum named "Lazarus." Their first successful experiment was on a lifeless dog whom they brought back to life with strange results. Their experimentation is shut down when a pharmaceutical company learns of their plans and buys out their sponsor in order to get them shut down. The team head back into the lab for one more experiment to act as proof of the work they've created when Zoe is killed, leading Frank--out of guilt--to test the process on her. Zoe is revived but the experiment causes a chemical imbalance in her brain that turns her into a personification of hell, bringing wrath onto her teammates.
It's reminiscent of both last year's "Lucy" and the classic anime "Akira," only instead of using her newfound powers and engagement with 100% of her brain, Zoe uses it to murder anyone she can. The idea of hell is prevalent and it is the driving force behind the horror that overcomes her after resurrection. It's not very interesting or original or even very scary, it's just kind of there.
This is a blink and you'll miss it movie. It gets straight to the point and does away with any sort of baggage that may drags things down. It moves at a rapid pace and on one level, it's very much appreciated but, on another level, it sacrifices any sort of character depth or real stakes.
The characters are shoddily drawn out. People are murdered but you don't care because they're not real people. Maybe this would be okay in a campy, kitschy horror movie but there isn't enough humor here to make you believe that's what the filmmakers are going for here. But it's good for a couple of cheap thrills and the ending is cheeky for a movie that seemed mostly devoid of that sort of thing when it should've been full of it. It's just a hollow duplicate instead of being a real living thing.
THE GRADE: D
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
The Lazurus Effect opens today in theaters everywhere.
#Film: The Big Deal About "Black Sea"
THE WHO
Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, David Threlfall
THE WHAT:
A submarine captain (Jude Law) assembles a crew of ex-Naval experts to take on a job with a shadowy backer to search the depths of the Black Sea for a WWII submarine rumored to be loaded with gold. As the crew gets closer to newfound wealth and possible acclaim, their dark sides begin to take hold.
THE BIG DEAL:
I don't know what to make of Jude Law's accent. It doesn't feel authentic to any country; it's thick in places and becomes a distraction at the most inopportune times.
This is a complaint that may come off as inane or out of left field, but this is a movie about a man ignoring what's clearly in front of him in service to the loud dissenters of his life that he continues to hold a grudge against. Those dissenters are the thick, foggy accent of the movie that is his life.
Law plays Robinson: a stern-faced, curmudgeon who's pushed his family away due to his love of the sea only to be fired by his salvage job. As Robinson ponders his new reality away from the sea and what's left for him after he's lost everything, an opportunity comes his way in the form of possible sunken treasure. A Nazi U-boat is purported to be at the bottom of the Black Sea with hundreds of millions in gold inside of it. The adventure is a seemingly good opportunity for Robinson to make enough money to comfortably retire but really it's about Robinson proving himself still useful.
He assembles a ragtag group of unemployed seamen happy to just be working again, as well as a young man who has friends with a former associate and a shifty, corporate stooge partner of the shadowy group that's funding the journey.
This is a movie about greed and cabin fever. A group of men together in a claustrophobic space thinking about possible millions and how much they really trust each other. It's also an action movie so these things are plot devices to get these people to harm each other and openly contemplate who they think they may need to harm next.
It's not the the movie is incoherent, it's that instead of stretching one story, it shifts to different perspectives. One minute you think it's a movie about men who'll kill each other to keep all the gold for themselves; the next it's a film about men banding together to stay alive. When the smoke clears though, it's a film about this captain feeling slighted by the world; inadequate and disrespected by both his employers and his family. The money is a tool to vindicate himself and this desire affects everyone.
As an action movie, it's thrilling enough and the actors--while not adding anything to the film--don't get in the way of the story. The action delivers plenty which is good because the themes are so secondary that they don't even click with you until you're well into the film. By that point you just want to know where this is going.
It's a serviceable action movie about a reheated subject; even leftovers are still good the next day.
THE GRADE: B-
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Black Sea opens today in select theaters.
#Film: The Big Deal About Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice"
THE WHO
Joaquin Phoenix, Katherine Waterston, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Joanna Newsom, Hung Chau, Reese Witherspoon and Benicio del Toro in a film by Paul Thomas Anderson.
THE WHAT
Private detective Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) navigates a psychedelic world of surfers, stoners and cops to solve the case when his ex-lover mysteriously comes back into his life.
THE BIG DEAL
Short of studying Thomas Pynchon's "Inherent Vice" novel like a graduate student, you're probably not going to be able to take it all in one viewing. That's part of its charm, though; it's dense, thick, compressed and rarely lets up for air. Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation breathes life and a smoky hangout vibe to an overwhelming text; this isn't a movie that is committed to being coherent or plot focused or even sensical, and that choice along with many other choices made by the actors in the film create a world that is such a vibrant and thrilling place.
Joaquin Phoenix plays Larry "Doc" Sportello, a private detective living in a California beach community, where he spends his days getting high, watching TV and dining on the finest pizzas.
A visit from an old lover, Shasta (Katherine Waterston), gets Doc on a whirlwind of a case involving lowlifes, high authorities and everything in between, while also rekindling old feelings inside himself. Shasta's current beau, rich real-estate tycoon Mickey Wolfmann, has a wife who may be plotting to commit him to a mental hospital. When Mickey and Shasta both disappear, Doc navigates through a haze of smoke and a seedy underworld to solve the case.
Summing the movie up this way doesn't begin to say anything about what this film is or what it's even about because it's about everything and nothing. Doc meanders and mumbles and smokes his way through ridiculous scenarios and fever dream-like machinations that are treated with the utmost gravitas and poise. Josh Brolin plays a surly, macho straight cop who loves frozen chocolate bananas and kicking Doc's ass. Joanna Newsom plays a wafting, fairy-like hippie comrade who narrates the film like she just came over to eat your leftovers and tell you about her crazy night. Owen Wilson is so many things to this movie that it isn't even right for me to talk about his character and Reese Witherspoon is like a grown up Tracy Flick who went back in time and became a DA with an affinity for getting her own buzz on when she's not on the clock.
What I can say for sure about the experience of watching this film is that it is a freewheeling story that drifts, wavers, blends and dissipates in the way that the 60s did when the era of free love began to come to an end and the Charles Manson massacre sort of changed everything for certain kind of people in a specific generation.
It is a film about conspiracies and the idea that everyone is in cahoots with one another and that you never really get to the bottom of anything and solve things, you just do your best to get your own piece of mind. It is also a film about the "one that got away" and how feelings sometimes never go away, they just hang around and sprout up at any given moment.
"Inherent Vice" is a complete mess; a sporadic, slapstick circus that you will likely not get a grip on the first time around. Instead, the best thing to do is to let the movie wash over you and enjoy hanging out with its goofballs and miscreants: they're always looking for a good time.
THE GRADE: A-
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Inherent Vice opens today in select theaters.
#FILM: Christopher Nolan's “Interstellar” Is a Love letter to Astronomy, Science and Discovery
THE WHO
Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine in a film directed by Christopher Nolan.
THE WHAT:
With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers, led by Matthew McConaughey, travel beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.
THE BIG DEAL:
"Interstellar" follows the story of Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former pilot and engineer, who is now a farmer due to widespread hunger caused by a future blight.
He lives with his father-in-law (John Lithgow), teenage son Tom, and 10-year-old daughter Murphy (named after Murphy’s Law, because of course). Cooper is a fine farmer but he really wants to get back to being the explorer he once was. While his son is more enamored with the farmer aspect of his life, it’s the daughter who carries the adventurous spirit of her father. She believes a ghost hiding in a bookcase is communicating with her but when Cooper discovers it, he interprets this instead as gravity. The gravity is sending the two a set of coordinates in binary, which takes them to a hidden NASA base.
There, the two meet with Dr. Brand (Michael Caine) and his daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway), scientists at the facility. They explain a previous mission through the wormhole that narrows down three possible new home planets, and the two plans in place to save civilization and ask Cooper to join. Cooper reluctantly goes along and joins Amelia, and two other scientists and a sophisticated robot assistant TARS to journey into space and begin the two-year trip to Jupiter and the wormhole.
The story is as seemingly straightforward as possible. A dad, who is also a space cowboy, tries to save the planet; this is a Chris Nolan film however, and plot is nothing more than a catalyst to get to what really matters: the awesomeness of space.
Nolan seems as fascinated with space as any doe-eyed child who spent their days watching "Cosmos." The movie’s approximation of space (on an IMAX screen) is spectacular.
Just as "Gravity" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" before it, "Interstellar" captures the wonder, beauty, seemingly endless vastness and pure fucking terror of space. There are times when the actors seem like distractions to what is really a love letter to space and the infinite possibilities inherent.
Despite this, this movie would still be a lot more fun if it didn’t get trapped under the weight of Nolan’s self-serious and self-important need to make this some sort of definite statement on mankind’s instinctual sense of survival and the can-do American spirit of exploration.
McConaughey is the proto-typical masculine American cowboy. He’s great in this because he does what’s asked of him: he’s pure charisma, he’s built as the kind of handsome hero that a space folklore would need and he’s serviceable as a dad who just wants his kids back. Yet, there’s no room for him to be anything more than a driver for this vehicle and there’s even less asked of from the other great actors in this movie. Nolan packs this film with an '80s Lakers roster of top-notch talent and then asks them all to be role players to service his grand doctrine on love and humanity (Jessica Chastain might be strongest after McConaughey).
For someone who’s on his fifth major studio film (and is more or less guaranteed to inexplicably fill a movie theater), you’d think he’d learn the number one secret of these kinds of movies: they’re supposed to be fun.
That’s not to say it doesn’t work at all. This movie was an amazing experience. Nolan has a clear vision and fascination with science and astronomy. Each planet that the explorers visit in the film is mesmerizing: one that’s one big tidal wave, another that is covered in ice. The film’s vision of a blackhole and infinity is original and sublime, even if the science behind it may not be completely sound.
You end up leaving this movie wondering what it would be like if Nolan went full Kubrick and didn’t even bother tacking on an action movie to what is essentially a love letter to astronomy, science and discovery.
Nolan thinks huge and goes for more; his movies are beautiful, lush and every detail is thought over. He’s in love with loud—so much so that in the brief moment in the film where everything goes quiet it’s a jolt to your system—but he has Hans Zimmer there to soundtrack an epic feat of moviemaking like only he can. While the lesson of “love conquers and transcends all” doesn’t completely land, what does is the idea of dreaming big and reaching for the stars.
THE GRADE: B-
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Interstellar opens today in theaters everywhere.
#FILM: The Big Deal About Jake Gyllenhaal's Crime Journalism Film, “Nightcrawler”
THE WHO
Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton
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THE WHAT:
Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. With an eye for the obscene and calculating menace, Lou muscles into the dangerous realm of nightcrawling and turning victims into dollars and cents.
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THE BIG DEAL:
Movies about Los Angeles tend to be self-involved. They move slow--basking in the palm trees and seemingly endless roads. They're beautiful and vapid and, when it comes to movies like this one, show an underlying, terrifying and ugly side.
Gyllenhaal's Lou Bloom is a creepy, fast talking, sickly looking criminal --equal parts Travis Bickle and Raymond from Rain Man. He conducts himself as if his life is a permanent job interview: certain of his ability and yet you feel the emptiness in his soul. It isn't until he stumbles upon a crash site and witnesses 2 freelance cameramen (aka nightcrawlers) capture the wreckage, in order to sell to the local news, that Bloom realizes the best place to put his business acumen to use.
Bloom eventually finds his... I guess you could say voice, by having the fortitude (and insensitivity) to get up close and personal at these travesties, capturing the blood and carnage and selling it to a Rene Russo-led news channel that is all too eager to have something that'll get them easy ratings.
As Bloom's star rises, so comes the advantages of being able to bring in poor, nervous understudy Rick (Riz Ahmed), a new car and a bloodlust to take out any and all competition as well as use his newfound status to take whatever he pleases from the news station craving his work and from Nina personally.
Gyllenhaal is a magnet through out. With his high cheekbones and skinny build, he is lizard like and uncomfortable in demeanor. His Lou Bloom continues his evolution into a very niche field of actors who disappear into their roles. Dan Gilroy's script and direction is reminiscent of the lonely man narrative of Taxi Driver, and the film itself is a sound commentary on obsession.
To comment on the film's idea of media invasiveness and bloodlust seems lazy and also sort of beside the point. The film instead tells me more about the bloodlust and obsession with documenting everything inherent in ourselves. On a small scale, this movie is reminiscent of the burgeoning of social media and how the idea of gratification keeps us humming along. Bloom goes through any lengths to get the best shot, to be first, to make the most money, to separate himself from the pack. And while, with this job, Bloom is essentially going straight, it doesn't take long for his sinister, calculating malevolence to seep into this work.
Gilroy's film is probably better than it should have been. Gyllenhaal elevates a one-dimensional (purposely so) character and expert direction keeps your heart racing and has you laughing and feeling uncomfortable at the same time.
You're amused by what is essentially Harvey Levin for the local news and yet you're attracted to it. A relationship that resembles our own with our "no privacy allowed" 2014 media.
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THE GRADE: A-
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Nightcrawler is currently playing in theaters everywhere.
#FILM: The Big Deal About Bill Murray's “St. Vincent”
THE WHO:
Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Jaeden Lieberher in a film directed by Ted Melfi.
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THE WHAT:
Vincent (Murray) is a broke, drunken, gambling war veteran retiree who finds himself recruited by his new in-over-her-head, single-mom neighbor, Maggie (McCarthy), to watch over her small yet mature 12-year-old son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher).
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THE BIG DEAL:
I'll be honest, I don't follow Bill Murray, the meme, the way most people do. At some point, he became a hipster hero for both his choice in film roles and his offscreen antics--like wedding crashing.
For this reason, many of my fellow reviewers found this movie hard to take seriously; for the meme has officially become bigger than Bill Murray, the man.
I get it and, though I've never thought much of the meme, I like Murray the actor but this movie on its own merit doesn't do enough to wrap you into its story.
Murray's Vincent is a degenerate who gambles all his money, drinks profusely and sleeps with a pregnant Russian prostitute named Daka (Watts). Why anyone would even consider leaving their child alone with this man is beyond me but the script necessitates it so you go along for the ride.
Vincent's neighbor Maggie has been hurt by her previous marriage and stuck in a rut of trying to go out on her own: both working as a nurse and taking care of her son Arthur. McCarthy is at her most restrained and, when given the few opportunities she's given, is charming. As for Oliver (played by relative newcomer Jaeden Lieberher), he's every young, too smart for their own good child in an indie comedy. He's serviceable and is enjoyable to watch
The film falls into every trap imaginable for a comedy about a mean old man with a secret hard of gold and the precocious child he befriends. There's a more interesting movie inside this one however, and it concerns mortality.
At some point in the film, I became keenly aware that Bill Murray would indeed die someday; as will I, as will you. The young goofball and wiseacre from "Saturday Night Live" is long gone and his meme-ification does not serve as a life preserver. This is both the most tragic and effective portion of the film and it's primarily because it's Bill Murray that we're watching this happen to.
Before that day comes, I hope to continue seeing Murray in a lot of much better films than this. Seeing him play such a character in this kind of film, you can't help but think that he's beginning on the road towards dealing with this fate. I don't know how he feels about the meme version of himself, I'd have to believe it's a positive. It's the closest thing to living forever.
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THE GRADE: B-
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
St. Vincent opens today in select theaters.
#FILM: The Big Deal About the Music Documentary 'Nas: Time Is Illmatic'
THE WHO
Nas, Jabari "Jungle" Jones, Q-Tip, Large Professor, Pete Rock
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THE WHAT
"NAS: TIME IS ILLMATIC" captures the creative process and evolution of a young Nas in his entrance into rap success and Hip-Hop legend that came about through his debut Illmatic. Twenty years later, Nas returns to his childhood home in Queensbridge, to share stories of his upbringing, his influences and the obstacles he faced before his major label signing at age 19.
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THE BIG DEAL
Illmatic is a classic album. Even if I'd never listened to it enough times to make my head explode, I'd know that I'm supposed to feel this way. From the moment it was released, Illmatic was surrounded by hype and fascination; all of it earned, but still exhausting all the same.
Twenty years later, Nas--and everyone else involved in the making--are taking part in a year-long exercise in self-congratulation. Nas has been on tour all year performing the record in its entirety and now, we have this: the definitive tale of Illmatic and how it came to be. For a lot of people who follow Hip-Hop and follow Nas, we've heard this story a million times--we've heard it so much, we know it as though we were there--yet despite this, watching Time Is Illmatic caused me to get swept up in history like it was the first time again.
The documentary takes the account of Nas' upbringing in Queensbridge in New York: the influence of his father, Jazz musician, Olu Dara, the love of his mother Ann Jones, the harshness of living in the projects when the crack epidemic hit and the building blocks and moving pieces that eventually became his magnum opus.
The stories that reflect Nas' pro-Black leanings and the grim realities of watching your friends lose their lives or end up in prison are heartbreaking and provide the backbone to the film. One moment in particular stands out near the end of the film: Jabari, Nas' brother, reflects on the lives of various people photographed for the album booklet. It's evident that only Nas made it to a better life and it's chilling and an aggravating reminder of a world that has failed too many.
The stories and anecdotes about various songs that either were on the album or led to it are fine. For a first timer, these will bring you inspiration and warm feelings, but if you've heard them before--as many have--it gets a little harder to forgive the film's deserved moment of self-indulgence. Still, this is a story that is worthy of praise, even if mine may seem a bit faint. Nas was a kid failed by the system and left to his own devices by the world and what he created was something that has stood the test of time. An aural masterpiece vivid in it's ugliness, menace and despair yet still glimmering with hope. Twenty years later people still love this album and they'll love it the same way in another twenty years. Time is still illmatic.
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THE GRADE: B
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Nas: Time Is Illmatic opens today in select theaters.
#FILM: The Big Deal About David Fincher's “Gone Girl”
Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon and Tyler Perry in a film by David Fincher.
Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl follows Nick Dunne as he deals with the aftermath of his wife gone missing. An intense media circus ensues on Dunne, when the case begins to unravel and he's suspected to not be as innocent as he proclaims.
In "Gone Girl," Nick Dunne (Affleck) is in a loveless, dying marriage to wife Amy (Pike) when one morning, she disappears--leaving behind a shattered glass table and blood marks on the wall above the kitchen counter.
As a police investigation begins and media attention is showered upon Nick, his family and his in-laws, more facts of the case come out painting Nick as a suspect and public enemy number one to a distraught town and a fixated audience.
"Gone Girl" is an intriguing portrait of our television media and how it capitalizes on tragedy and people's assumptions based on the history of domestic violence. Nick's trial takes place on the news when newscaster after newscaster all but accuses him of being a murderer.
The film plays on the natural assumption about the disappearance of wives that the men they marry are probably involved. It doesn't do this as a way to mock an assumption based on years of history but to highlight presumptions and to explore how an event like this turns into a circus of accusations and gossip. Nick himself, is shown to be a liar engaging in strange behavior that does him no favors, yet he continues to maintain innocence when more evidence against him piles up.
"Gone Girl" is also a chilling, grim look at marriage and the dissolution of a relationship. The film, like the book, jumps back and forth through time to capture the beginning and the crumbling of love shared by a couple. The film is at its best when it works as an ugly allegory of marriage: lies, deceit and vengeance become a testimony to what marriage is and it would be devastating if the movie didn't do such a great job at being devious and conniving.
Fincher is perfectly at home with this film; capturing the grimness, ugliness and craziness of the Dunne marriage. It's a movie that continuously reveals itself throughout the film--so much so that I can't even talk too much about the actual movie without giving something away.
Fincher's direction is focused, attentive and perfectly suspenseful when it needs to be, while Rosamund Pike runs away with the film giving a fine performance.
In the end, I left the film wondering how I should feel and wrestling with how uncomfortable the film made me; but that's the beauty of it: it is not neat or tidy, it is ugly and too much of an ordeal to make peace with. As a story about marriage, it takes for better or for worse to ultimate extreme limits.
B+
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
"Gone Girl" opens today in theaters everywhere.
#FILM: The Big Deal About the Oddball Indie Film, "Frank"
THE WHO
Michael Fassbender, Domhnal Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Scoot McNairy in a film by Lenny Abrahamson.
THE WHAT
Frank is an oddball comedy about a young struggling musician named Jon (Gleeson) who joins an eccentric band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank (Fassbender) and his terrifying sidekick, Clara (Gyllenhaal). Jon ingratiates himself with the band as they retreat to a cabin in the woods to record an album and grows enamored with Frank's unique musical sensibilities and odd behavior, such as wearing a giant fake head and making seemingly purposefully off-putting music.
THE BIG DEAL
Every year, a film comes out that tries to grab the championship belt for quirky, heartwarming indie comedy, and Frank seems to be the contender for this one. The elements are all there: hip, cool guy soundtrack, endearing, yet thinly developed weirdo characters, mental illness, deadpan comedy and Wes Andersonian touches and camera movements.
Despite all this, Fassbender is still a charismatic figure, even in a giant fake head. As Frank, Fassbender plays sheepish and joyous very well; I may not buy into the mental illness angle fully (due to how flimsy of a plot device it is), but Frank is endearing as a damaged soul who just wants to make music.
The crux of the film lies with Gleeson as Jon. Jon is a misguided young person who wants to make music but, more than that, he wants to be a rock star. It's clear from the way he insists on cataloguing and recording his every moment while in the band. He doesn't understand the people in this band and mistakes Frank's persona for a character or a quirk, rather than something more serious, which ultimately leads to the band's problems as the film goes on.
It's a little rough to watch things come undone. To be fair to Jon, for awhile, the film never seems clear on what Frank is either. You buy into him as an enigma that the world would be intrigued by, you watch bandmates driven mad out of a feeling of never matching up to his greatness and yet, ultimately, you realize that these are all just people with problems and depression that are trying to be saved by music.
Watching the band fall on its face and come apart feels more masochistic then enjoyable. You want these people who need each other to stay together. They're a real family and there's a real story of emotional attachment there. It's a shame that they're instead written as caricatures in a quirky movie band.
GRADE: C+
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Frank opens today in select theaters.
#FILM: The Big Deal About the James Brown Biopic, "Get on Up"
Chadwick Boseman, Nelson Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Jill Scott, Craig Robinson and Octavia Spencer in a film directed by Tate Taylor.
Based on the life story of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, the film gives a fearless look inside the music, moves and moods of the man behind the legend--from his impoverished childhood to his evolution into one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
I'll say this about "Get On Up": it's ambitious.
A PG-13 film, produced by Brian Grazer and directed by Tate Taylor ("The Help"), about the life James Brown was probably never going to be groundbreaking, but the creative minds behind this probably did all they could with what was surely a studio-approved film.
What the film lacks in depth and true insight of the problems and destructive behavior of James Brown, it makes up for in gorgeous cinematography, inventive editing and show-stopping performances.
As a set piece for Chadwick Boseman to dance, gyrate and flamboyantly embrace the essence of Brown, the film is truly a sight. After that, there isn't much left.
"Get On Up" follows the life of James Brown, from being a small boy in deep Georgia abused by his father and abandoned by his mother, to becoming the biggest artist in America. James Brown has one of the most compelling background stories and careers that I can think of, and it would be nice if it one day gets the film that it deserves.
As it stands, "Get On Up" is only worth it for the fun that is conveyed. Boseman is enigmatic and animated as Brown and even though you know he's not performing, you get sucked into the musical interludes anyhow.
But the movie has a very bad habit of skirting around things that may color Brown too negatively. There's a moment of domestic abuse that happens and is then quickly forgotten; there's also a scene involving drug use that is also quickly forgotten. All of this serves to undermine the complexity and problematic nature of James Brown.
What does stay in the film is Brown's disputes with his band members. Brown is painted as a dictator and his band is more than justified to react the way they do. It's all compelling to see unfold, especially Brown and his relationship with his band leader and best friend Bobby Byrd.
Nelson Ellis as Bobby Byrd is sympathetic and a great underdog for this story. James's and Bobby's interactions keep this film together even as it gets too wrapped up in following biopic logic 101.
A movie strictly based on their relationship would probably be even more interesting. But again, that would require this to be a braver film than it is.
Grade: B-
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Get On Up opens today in select theaters.
#FILM: The Big Deal About Linklater's 12-Years-In-the-Making Drama, “Boyhood”
Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater and Ethan Hawke in a film by Richard Linklater.
The film tells a story of a young boy dealing with a fractured family and the angst of adolescence over the course of twelve years, from age 6 to age 18.
Richard Linklater’s "Boyhood" is sweeping and sporadic, jumping from year to year sometimes in a blur; much like the act of growing up itself. "Boyhood" tells the story of the evolution of Mason, Jr (Ellar Coltrane) over a 12 year period, starting from age 6 and going on until he hits 18. The film was shot over a 12 year period starting in 2002 for a few weeks out of every year.
Mason’s parents are divorced. His mom Olivia (Patricia Arquette), is his and his sister Samantha’s (Lorelei Linklater) primary caretaker. His dad, Mason Sr (Ethan Hawke), visits inconsistently whilst trying to hold on to dreams of being a musician and the cool dad.
We watch Mason move from house to house for various reasons, and over the course of a little under 3 hours you’re watching people, children especially, grow older before your eyes and you start to care about them as your own.
You bring your own childhood experiences to the film and, despite personal differences or experiences, this is a universal story. Without realizing, you find yourself deeply invested in these characters and dreading the possibility of anything bad ever happening to them.
Watching both Mason and his sister Samantha get older before our eyes and battle the trials of adolescence is endearing. They’re angst ridden and obtuse but you understand it and you want the world to give them a moment to breathe. With Mason specifically, you want him to be allowed to fly free like the bird he wants to be, but that’s not the world. You think back to your own adolescence and how oppressive in nature the adults are in your lives; preordaining a path for you, taking out frustrations on you and telling you who to be as a person. This is Linklater’s deal. He’s always telling the story of kids who don’t get the world, who don’t fit in and who just want to find some kind of answer.
Things just happen to these characters and there is no time for pause for reflection, life always goes on. To paraphrase one character near the end, “you don’t really seize the moment, the moment seizes you.”
Boyhood is about the moments that seize you and mold you into who you become. It’s messy, beautiful and chaotic, and in the end I just wanted to relive it one more time, just like childhood.
Grade: A
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Boyhood opens today in select theaters.
FILM: The Big Deal About “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"
Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, and Keri Russell starring in a film directed by Matt Reeves
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier and both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.
2011's "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" was a surprise treat. The filmmakers took a property that didn't really need to be rebooted and found a compelling story about what created these apes and what lead to the eventual destruction of Earth. The combination of CGI Caesar and the other apes fleshed out human characters made for an enjoyable and interesting time.
With "Dawn Of The Plant Of The Apes," Caesar is the head of an entire, growing congregation of genetically-enhanced apes. They communicate through sign language and short sentences. They are fully self-aware and more human than the flat human characters of the movie. And yet, it's hard to get lost in their world; you're always aware that this is all CGI and it feels like it should just be a computer generated film.
The movie takes itself too seriously in its effort to tell stories of betrayal, loyalty, what is means to be human and the art of war. After ten years without contact with humans, a small party of survivors from San Francisco come across the apes. After one of their members panics, shooting and wounding a young ape, Caesar leads the apes to the human settlement and forbids the humans from entering the woods.
The party's leader, Malcolm (Jason Clarke), convinces the human leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) to give him three days to make peace with the apes to gain access to a hydroelectric generator at a dam in their territory, which could provide power to the city. Dreyfus is distrustful of the apes, and begins to arm the survivors in preparation for war while Caesar's lieutenant, Koba, encourages Caesar to wipe out the humans while they are desperate.
Caesar, seeing a chance for peace with the humans, agrees to allow Malcolm access to the dam. As Malcolm, his wife and son work on the generator, they begin to form a bond with the apes, despite several tense situations arising from the mutual distrust of both sides.
It's a good story, one that's been told plenty of times before, and the performances by the apes are well done. But it all feels silly, and not silly in a fun way and, at 2 hours, the film is a bit exhausting. The human characters are drab and Gary Oldman doesn't actually have anything to do.
The action sequences of the film are well done and engaging. The forest set and desolate San Francisco are fascinating and the movie thrives best when the apes interact with each other. It's just hard to get inspired by any of it though, but at least Dawn is enjoyable enough for a summer movie season full of dull stories and loud sound effects.
Grade: C+
Tickets & Showtimes | Movie Trailer | Official Website
Dawn Of The Plant Of The Apes opens today in theaters everywhere.