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Reviews
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
Simply stunning!
Simply put, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is the reason I go to the movies. In a story that is much darker and more grown up than the first entry, Hiccup and Toothless both go down a road of transformation that is as emotional as it is thrilling. The world is bigger and the dragons are exponentially more magical. Especially Toothless, who is officially one of the greatest computer generated creations of all time. His mannerisms and emotions are equal parts of any number of animals, yet he still feels like a creature that you could find if only you looked hard enough. Also of note is John Powell's score, which soars just as high as it did in the previous installment. It's majestic and beautiful in a way that can only be described as breathtaking. DreamWorks Animation seems to be in the business of churning out family friendly sequels that exist to retread what worked in the previous film and not trying much new. But make no mistake, HTTYD2 is much more akin to The Empire Strikes Back or The Dark Knight than it is Ice Age 2 or Madagascar 2. This is a new story with new characters who are faced with some tough decisions that have consequences. I can't wait to see where this series goes from here and how then end up capping off this trilogy but Dean DeBlois and Co. have set the bar very, very high with this entry. How To Train Your Dragon 2 gets my highest recommendation, as it's absolutely a must see movie for the family as well as for anyone that is still young at heart.
Evil Dead (2013)
Hail to the king baby!
Remakes are a sensitive subject in cinema. There are camps of fans that will be excited to see a favorite story of theirs remade or re-imagined. Then there are camps of fans that will decry even the idea of their favorite film being remade, heralding the death and ruination of the original. Both sides are equally justified in their arguments, as once an audience sees a film it ceases to merely be a product of the production team. Ownership passes to the audience as the movie is experienced, and as such they are entitled to feel possessive. Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead is one such movie that has amassed a cult following in the 30 some odd years since its release, and feelings have been mixed since it was announced that it would be remade. The director was an unknown, the cast was a mixed bag of TV and indie film faces, and there was a decidedly large absence of Bruce Campbell. All of the ingredients were in place for this film to fail, and fail miserably. Trust me when I say that all of your worries are completely unfounded, and within your darkened theater, you have everything to fear.
The frame of the original's minimal story is present but embellished a bit to provide some weight for the characters. The five friends are at the cabin to help Mia (Jane Levy) detox from heroin cold turkey. Accompanying her are her friends Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) and Olivia (Jessica Lucas), her estranged brother David (Shiloh Fernandez), and his girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore). There is some past history between the group involving the siblings strained relationship with their parents and each other, as well as some stress between David and the others after he skipped town. There is also a little prologue that opens the movie that gives a little background on what's happening for those unfamiliar with the overall story that also sets the tone of what's to come. These elements that make up the first act yield mixed results, and are honestly the weakest parts of the movie. The story and relationships are decent enough to get you invested in the primary characters but the rest are clearly established as demon fodder. The detox is also a realistic enough narrative ploy to keep them in the cabin until it's too late because, as we all know, heroin addicts will do anything to score another fix. The beginnings of Mia's possession are attributed to her sober manipulations to get back to humanity, so the weight of the situation doesn't hit the group until it's too late.
Once everything kicks into gear in the second act, Evil Dead proves that it belongs among the masterworks of the horror genre. It is a triumph of suspense, gore, and jump out of your seat scares, the likes of which haven't been seen in a long time. Fede Alvarez has the same keen eye for atmosphere and lighting that Raimi exhibited in the original, and for every genre convention that he breezes through he immediately sets a new standard for horror films to come. The amount of dismemberment and brutality on display are felt and experienced with every fiber of being thanks to some impressive makeup and effects. Something worth noting is that the effects Alvarez utilizes are almost entirely practical, leaving distracting CGI at the wayside. He's also smart enough to know that the best horror films are built like roller coasters and that you have to allow for moments of levity to lift some of the suspense. It is darkly hilarious at times and it's this sense of humor that is one of the greatest assets it carries over from the original, while not necessarily to the same degree.
Evil Dead pays its dues to its predecessor in the ways a remake should in the first two acts, and does a damn good job of it. But just when you think it's about to get wholly predictable, Alvarez kicks it into overdrive and flips the whole movie on its head. The finale is unpredictable, ruthless, and visceral to a degree that I didn't think the movie was capable of achieving. Horror films have a notable tendency to fizzle as ideas run dry in the third act, but Alvarez saves the best for last. Truthfully, it's one of the most satisfying and intense horror climaxes in decades.
If you're not a fan of the original, or the genre in general, then Evil Dead won't change your mind. It's not going to be a crossover hit that draws in the crowd outside of the one it's catered to. Also, there are some genre rules that are diligently followed, thanks to its tie to the original, which may seem hokey or weird to a modern audience. For fans of the campy cult classic they grew up with, Alvarez's Evil Dead is the realization of an impressive vision of horror approved of by both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, and that should be all the encouragement you need to see this movie. For those that might still be on the fence, I'm here to tell you Evil Dead is well worth your money. It is everything you want from the established series and then some. By the end you will have laughed, cringed, shrieked, and cheered for the rebirth of a franchise that has been buried in the woods for far too long. Hail to the king baby!
Mama (2013)
Mama - A slightly flawed yet effective ghost story
Annabel is not ready to be a mother. She's a bass player in a punk rock band, she's dating Lucas, who is a starving artist as well, and she thanks the lord above that she's not pregnant. But on that same morning of reassurance that an impending pregnancy won't interrupt her rebellious and free-spirited life, Lucas gets the call that his nieces have been discovered in a cabin in the woods. Five years prior, they disappeared with their father after he killed their mother, and have survived by developing into feral creatures. Lucas, and a begrudging Annabel, fight in court to get custody of the socially handicapped little girls despite the fact that their therapist, Dr. Dreyfuss, doesn't think either of them are fit to be parents. But the alternative is the girls go with their only other family member, a great aunt that lives on the opposite coast, so he strikes a deal. He'll move them all into a house the hospital uses for transitioning families, all expenses paid, as long as he can continue to examine the girls. They begin to settle into their new lives as the girls come further and further out of their shell, only to discover that the girls are as alone in their bedrooms at night as they were in the woods.
Mama is a full-length adaptation of a two-minute film, both written and directed by Andres Muschietti. The film was so strong that Guillermo del Toro tasked the Spaniard with expanding the minimalistic narrative into a feature that is as scary and atmospheric as its inspiration. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, he succeeded.
First of all are the negative aspects. All of the clichés are alive and well in Mama. Flickering lights, late night explorations sans flashlights or logic, characters that explain aspects of the story to come and then disappear, cheap jump scares rear their ugly head, and orchestral swells and crescendos dictate when to be scared. Mama doesn't make any attempts to reinvent the proverbial wheel of horror.
The good news is that all flaws aside, Mama ends up being very scary and surprisingly touching. Jessica Chastain fully commits to her role as Annabel and proves why she is one of today's rising stars. The development of her maternal instincts and emotional journey are wholly believable, and her chemistry with the two girls is excellent. Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nelisse, as Victoria and Lilly, turn in equally believable and touching performances as two girls trying to find their place between their adopted and spiritual mothers. Neither one of them is tasked with easy jobs as the psychologically damaged children, but both of them succeed in being reasonably creepy and disarmingly innocent. The girls also provide some needed humor that is well timed to diffuse some tension and then serves ratchet it right back up. The real star of the show though is Mama herself. While she is more CGI than practical effects, Mama still makes for an effective creature that moves like a tortured marionette. And thanks to a disturbing back story, she also makes for a ghostly villain you can empathize with on some levels. She is not just your average boogey (wo)man.
The cinematography in Mama is astounding at times. A lot of horror films utilize quick camera cuts and edits to provide scares or reveal what scares await off screen. But Muschietti goes through a lot of trouble to keep the camera rolling and keeping the characters in frame, which goes a long way to building the tension. There is a roughly 5 minute long tracking shot at the end of the 2nd act that is relentlessly intense. Mama also creates one of the most atmospheric and moving nightmare sequences in recent memory. And even if the flickering lights and dark hallways have all been seen before, they are still well lit and utilized.
For what it's worth, Mama doesn't get everything right. There are plot holes abound, side characters are forgotten as fast as they're introduced, and the clichés are as present as they've ever been. But I urge you to look past the flaws and give Mama a chance. The scares are efficient and well earned without feeling too cheap. The principal characters are well developed and easy to empathize with when the terror hits, including "mama" herself. I walked in expecting a few halfway decent scares, but I found myself drawn in to a deep and oddly moving ghost story. Will Mama be remembered ten years from now? In all likelihood, no it won't. But while you're watching it makes for one hell of a frightening ride.
I would score Mama as a 7 out of 10.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spiderman - It's pretty, well, amazing!
The Amazing Spiderman is something special in the universe of comic book/superhero movies. They all feature the big, flashy CGI action sequences that make us ooh and aah. Some manage to make you care about the events on the screen, but not all of them manage to make you care about the characters and their motivations. Occasionally there is a compelling villain whose evil ways are logical. Even more rare is the love story that is equal parts sweet and believable. The Amazing Spiderman manages to be all of this, and then some.
Peter Parker has had a rough time in his life. His parents inexplicably abandon him at his aunt and uncles one night when he's a child, and the mystery of their disappearance still haunts him. He's a bit of a social outcast at school, and he is picked on pretty mercilessly as a result. He's also got a crush on Gwen Stacy, but never has the guts to say anything to her about it. But a trip to the Oscorp building while searching for answers to his parent's disappearance is about to change Peter's life forever.
While this is both a remake and a reboot for the franchise, rest assured that the cast and direction breathe new life into this familiar story. Marc Webb's direction is skillful and patient, and never rushes through the quiet moments that really inform who these people are. The result is a cast of characters that are very real and act on real emotions. As much as these movies are about the spectacle, they also have to exist within the boundaries of a human story. This is what gives superhero stories resonance and meaning, and Webb makes his time count.
When Webb isn't actually telling a story within a superhero movie, he's setting up some impressive action sequences. One where Spiderman is rescuing a boy from a car that has fallen off a bridge is particularly breathtaking. The POV moments while swinging through the city are pretty cool, albeit a little unnecessary. Webb also uses the hero's abilities in some new and intriguing ways that I won't spoil.
I was excited from day one to hear that Andrew Garfield was chosen to play Peter/Spiderman, and he never once disappoints here. He's appropriately vulnerable and sarcastic without the mask, and overly confident when shrouded in his anonymity. Emma Stone also does an excellent job as his love interest, Gwen. Their chemistry is palpable, and their moments on screen are very natural. Rhys Ifans as Dr. Connors/The Lizard does a decent enough job as the villain. The character is written well, and he makes a more than adequate first test for Spiderman. It's easy to empathize with his mad scientist ways given his predicament, at least before he goes insane with power that is. Rounding out the cast are Denis Leary as Captain Stacy, who happens to be Gwen's father, and Sally Field and Martin Sheen are charming as always as Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
Given the original series is only about 10 years old, it seemed like an odd idea at first that Columbia Pictures would seek to reboot their franchise. From what I understand it had to do with the studio maintaining the character rights from being bought out, but the story changes depending on what you read. And despite the fair number of hiccups in part 3, Raimi's trilogy is still a great addition to the superhero movie lexicon. The Amazing Spiderman doesn't have as many problems as part 3, but what's there is pretty noticeable because of how good the rest of the movie is. The design of the lizard leaves something to be desired, the promises of the "untold story" of Spiderman being told in the trailers is largely a lie, and the movie itself features some pretty glaring plot holes.
But by the end of the movie I didn't really care. Garfield and Stone's performances are miles above those of Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, and I was completely invested in their romance rather than laughing at it. The action is thrilling and emotionally driven without being contrived, and the visuals are top notch. The Amazing Spiderman is above average summer fare, and sets up some fun territory to be explored in the sequels to come.
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The Newsroom (2012)
We just decided to - Episode Review
Welcome back Mr. Sorkin. TV has missed you.
The Newsroom is the story of Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels), a TV news anchor who is notorious for remaining neutral on all party lines when it comes to the news he's reporting. When asked, "Why America is the greatest country in the world?" during a Q&A at a college, he gives a painfully honest and scathing answer. Needless to say, this has mixed results with his newsroom staff, and most of them jump ship. The fact that he's also an infamous pain in the ass to work with isn't helping him. Mackenzie MacHale (Emily Mortimer) is brought in to be his new producer and to revive his show, but the problem is they had a past romance, and he's hesitant to work with her again. There are of course more characters at work, but spoiling any more would just ruin the fun.
Aaron Sorkin has an amazing talent with dialogue and in the way he draws his characters. This is only the first episode and these people already come across as familiar and charming. Some writers are lucky to hit this level after an entire season, if at all, and he does it in an hour. His prose and his flow are unmistakable, and all of the players handle it perfectly. The conversations between Emily Mortimer and Jeff Daniels are especially mesmerizing. Their chemistry is palpable, and I can't wait to see where their relationship goes (hopefully not too far too fast).
It's hard to judge the future of a series based on the pilot. Sorkin's own Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip started incredibly strong, but flopped just as fast. Based on the first episode I certainly have high hopes for The Newsroom. Using the news as a platform allows all sorts of angles with subject matter, and I hope he really digs in to everything that's happened in the previous few years. The cast is also exceptional all around, and so far excels at making Sorkin's words resonate and take shape. Daniels and Mortimer aside, Sam Waterston, Alison Pill, and Dev Patel round out the excellent ensemble.
The comedy is whip-smart and the drama is substantial. I'll be back for more, and I hope you will too.
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La Luna (2011)
La Luna - A short film that packs an emotional punch
Preceding Brave is the Academy Award nominated short film, La Luna. What we have here is a silent film that tells the tale of the lessons a son learns from their father, and vice versa. This is nicely juxtaposed next to Brave, which is about the lessons mothers and daughters teach each other. La Luna is a gorgeous and moving little film that manages to tell a better story in a few minutes (with no dialogue) than most of its two-hour long counterparts. To go into too much detail would really ruin the fun of discovering just why this boy is at sea with his father and grandfather. Just know that the few minutes this short film lasts are very moving and are something to behold.
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Brave (2012)
Brave - A stunningly beautiful, if albeit a tad predictable, adventure for the whole family
Brave tells the tale of Merida, a Scottish princess who is wrestling against her impending fate to be married as hard as she's wrestling with her mother, Elinor. Merida would much rather be wandering the country-side and practicing archery while riding her horse, Angus, than being tied up in corsets and presented to suitors. One day, after a particularly nasty fight with her mother, Merida stumbles upon a witches hut in the woods. Together they strike a deal to make a spell for Merida to change her fate, and well, things get a wee bit complicated.
Merida marks PIXAR's first addition to the Disney princess pantheon. Time will tell how she resonates with that audience, but I think she's a worthy addition. Merida, as well as the rest of the cast, are beautifully animated and rendered, but not quite PIXAR's finest. It's kind of hard to judge them this way, since the company's forte has really been creating anthropomorphic characters. But The Incredibles managed to create some very interesting looking human characters and Brave's come up just a little short by comparison. Merida and her mother are really the center stage characters though, and their relationship is well crafted and engrossing. The real visual treats are the environments and the scenery. The natural beauty of Scotland really shines through the animator's use of the areas lush forests and greenery. The scenes with Merida just riding through the woods or climbing a hill are absolutely spectacular.
Of special note is the soundtrack, which is beautiful on all accounts. The violin, fiddles, flutes, and bagpipes are melded together by Patrick Doyle to create something almost transformative. I've always been a fan of traditional Scottish music for its ability to paint a vivid and mystical picture with some very unique sounds, and Doyle's score is no exception. When mixed with the mountains and the rivers and the majesty of Scotland, the combination is extraordinarily breathtaking.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the story, which gets a little mundane by around the halfway point. It's not boring by any means, but it does begin to feel a little standard. It's about the point that Merida meets the witch that things become a little derivative, but this is really only so evident because the beginning of the movie is so good. While not a backwards slide in narrative at this point, it is a bit of a plateau that holds steady until the end. Brave is still a great cautionary tale for young women (and their mothers too) about riding the fine line of making your own way, but doing it without trampling on the people that got you where you are. It's just going to feel more than a little familiar in the end.
Don't get me wrong though. Brave is an excellent movie and I'd highly recommend it to the old and the young alike. We'll certainly be seeing it again at sometime, and will definitely own it when it's released for home viewing. Something can be found in Brave to entertain the whole family, and that is really where PIXAR shines. They don't pander to either the kids or the parents, and instead set out to make a real film with mature themes, that are boiled down in essence for everyone to understand. The result is always a mix that resonates well with everyone. Brave's problem is that it's only great compared to extraordinary. PIXAR has really spoiled us with the quality of their products since Toy Story all those years ago. But at the end of the day, a second rate PIXAR movie is still better than the majority of other features produced by the Hollywood system, and that's a pretty good position to be in.
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The Grey (2011)
The Grey - A brutal fight for survival
Movies about plane crashes are largely to do with why I hate flying. The fear runs much deeper than just the crash itself: the fear is really what happens if I survive. I'm not much for survival skills in the event I should ever need them, so my only hope would be for someone else much more adaptable and knowledgeable also survives. But I guess if that survivor is Liam Neeson and you're stuck in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, you could probably sleep a little easier knowing that, all things considered, it could be worse.
The Grey is a thriller that really touches on the idea of survival in the face of insurmountable odds. Directed by Joe Carnahan, the film uses the title both as a description of the landscape the survivors are trying to escape, but also as the colors of their personalities seemingly working against them.
Ottway (Neeson) is a hunter hired by oil companies to protect their men working in less than favorable conditions. He's not exactly thrilled with his job, and is haunted by the memories of a past lover. After a night at the bar, he hits rock bottom and nearly takes his life. Having reconsidered his suicide, he boards the plane that should take him, and a large portion of the rig crew, home. Something terrible happens during the flight, and the plane crash-lands in the middle of a blizzard. Ottway wakes up to discover he's one of 7 survivors, and that the rest of the crew either died in the crash or froze to death shortly there after. He also learns that he and his new friends are not alone in the wilderness. They're being hunted by a pack of wolves, and with each attempted attack, they are getting more brazen and more desperate.
Director Joe Carnahan is very skilled at these kind of human dramas. He seems drawn to characters at war with themselves and their environments, but who seem to act in a way that society expects them to act. Neeson's portrayal of Ottway fits this to a T, and really helps the movie to shine. Here is a man, not hours before justifying his own death, now fighting to keep him and six other men alive. And the fact that a few of them are fighting him back, rather than fighting the elements or the ravenous wolves, is not making the situation any easier for him to navigate. Neeson fills this character with these very delicate moments of conflict and pain that really begin to emotionally resonate as his past is revealed through flashbacks and hallucinations. His companions are fleshed out as well through the campfire conversations and the inevitable battles for control they experience. While not as fully fleshed out as Ottway, the other survivors end up being more than wolf fodder, and really serve to invest you in their plight.
The film, despite its bleak setting, is still beautiful and haunting to look at. The moments of quiet snowflakes falling are hypnotic, while the snowstorms and flashes of whiteouts are nerve racking. It's painted as a location that is meant to draw you in with its beauty, but as one that will rip you to shreds if you're not prepared. Speaking of shreds, the wolves are excellently utilized. Their sounds are present throughout most of the second and third acts and are a constant reminder of the threat that awaits these men. The moments they attack do end up being a bit telegraphed, but they are so visceral and brutal that you quickly forget whether or not you saw it coming.
This is certainly not a movie for everyone. Anyone with a phobia of attacking dogs or wolves, survival situations, or plane crashes should probably stay away. The action is very primal and the violence could be unsettling, but never in a torture porn kind of way. It is never gratuitous for the sake of being so. This could have easily been a cheap, one off, creature feature type survival movie. But Joe Carnahan, and indeed the performance of Liam Neeson, brings a film with a lot more going on than what is on the surface. This is as much a human drama as it is a survival tale, and in the end is something to behold. It may not stick around with you by the next day, or even within the next few hours after watching it. But while you're watching, you are transported to a hell that will thankfully only exist in our nightmares. Well, for most of us at least.
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Prometheus (2012)
Prometheus - A bold, brave, and terrifying new direction for the Alien series.
Stop. Right now. Forget what you think know about the Alien franchise. Forget what you think you're about to see. You're all very, very wrong.
Prometheus returns Ridley Scott to the franchise, and arguably the genre, that he created and delivers something very special and spellbinding. It marks a true return to science fiction that the series has desperately needed, and will leave you with more questions that are unanswered than you may like. But isn't the point of good science fiction?
Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) have been discovering cave paintings all over the world. These exist among multiple cultures that have existed over time with no contact with each other. What is puzzling is that in each of these cave paintings is a common element. Man is worshiping larger than average humanoids, referred to as the Engineers, that are pointing to a unique set of celestial objects. What the scientists have discovered is that this actually is a solar system well beyond the boundaries of our universe, and that within this solar system is a moon that closely resembles Earth. Who are these creatures? Did they create us? Do they negate the idea of God? The Weyland-Yutani Company has decided these are important enough questions to answer, so they sponsor a trillion dollar effort to explore these possibilities.
In the truest essence of its science fiction roots, Prometheus provides us with some unique and complex characters. Shaw is a believer in God, but is still a scientist at heart and wants her own answers to our creation. Holloway however is a pure scientist: driven, and often reckless, in his pursuit to prove that science has truly won over religion. David, the android played by Michael Fassbender, is the care giver assigned with watching over the crew during their hyper sleep across the galaxy. He is fearlessly intrigued by the team's discovery, and may or may not have come along with his own hidden agenda. Fassbender really brings a calculated and nuanced disconnect with his human counterparts. He's programmed to protect them, but is just as much out for his own answers as anyone else. Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) is the company representative that is there to keep everyone in line and on mission. Rounding out the main cast is the ships captain Janek (Idris Elba). It could have been a really throw away kind of role. But Elba breathes life into him, especially as he starts to see the dangers add up and concludes what it could all mean for humanity.
I would highly recommend ponying up the premium to see this in IMAX 3D if it's available in your area. It's easily the best 3D since Avatar, if not better, and really does add to the immersion. Scott films most of the film practically, only relying on CGI when absolutely necessary. The planets and locations are all stunningly presented and fully realized, especially the alien relics that the crew explores. The final product feels familiar and foreign at the same time. The same can be said with the creature effects. I won't go into detail so as to avoid spoiling the fun, but rest assured they are as nightmarish as ever.
We walked out of the movie and spent the next two hours talking about it. The events in the finale and the nature of the Engineers are left purposefully enigmatic and open ended. Not in a lazy way by any means, which is the pitfall of many recent science fiction movies. The fundamental ideas and questions being posed are universal to humanity. The quest for the truth behind our existence is part of the human experience, and Prometheus is smart enough to slow down and ask these questions of the audience. It's also smart enough to not necessarily answer all of them for you.
If Prometheus is any indication of where Scott and screenwriter Damon Lindelof (of Lost fame) plan to take the Alien franchise, then I'm all aboard. As familiar as I am with the series, I can see the possibilities of where things can go from here and it's pretty exciting. The horror elements blend seamlessly with the science fiction and the action. Throughout the two-hour run time none of the elements feel under or over balanced, and they manage to coalesce into a haunting and thought provoking experience. The perfect amount of respect is paid to the original that started it all, with a brave new path being laid out for future installments. This is exactly the movie that fans of the Alien series have been waiting for.
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