I decided to create a new, weekly segment here titled "Benjamin's Stash: Video Pick of the Week". Every Tuesday I'll select a random movie from my collection and recommend it to you. My first pick for this week won five Academy Awards in 2000 - Best Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Director, and Picture.
American Beauty stars Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham, a man who to say is going through a mid-life crisis is putting it mildly. He goes through the motions at his dull, dead end advertising job. His daughter Janie (Thora Birch) can't stand him, and both he and his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) seem to be stuck in a loveless marriage. The real beauty of this film, more specifically the story itself, is that it's not so easily interpreted. Some have stated it's a satire on the typical suburban American family and the arguments for it are obviously there. What I've taken from the film is that no matter how meaningless and confined (there are some extremely creative shots depicting Lester in this manner too) your life may seem to you, there's always beauty to be found even if in the little things. Lester states it best at the end, "For me, it was
lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow
leaves, from the maple trees, that lined our street... Or my
grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the
first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And
Janie... And... Carolyn..."
With an excellent cast that, along with Kevin Spacey, includes Annette Bening (Who should've won Best Actress that year), Thora Birch, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, and Chris Cooper, along with some visually stylish direction from Sam Mendes (This was just his first feature length film too), and an emotionally satisfying final ten minutes (I'll avoid spoilers for those who haven't seen it), American Beauty is a must see, and like me, you may find yourself spotting a new meaning with each view, but as the film's tagline says, "... look closer."
Well, so much for going 18 of 18. Out of the 24 total categories, I made predictions on 18 and got only 8 right - Best Actor, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Song, Visual Effects, Sound Editing (by way of an extremely rare tie), and the big one, Best Picture. Then again, judging by the reactions of everyone else that made predictions, they didn't do that much better either. There were plenty of surprises at the Oscars, but despite getting more wrong than right, I was still overall happy with the results. Argo, as I predicted, took home the Oscar for Best Picture which at least continues my streak since 2004 (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Million Dollar Baby, Crash, The Departed, No Country for Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, The Hurt Locker, The King's Speech, and The Artist) of accurately predicting Best Picture. In 2003, I predicted Gangs of New York to win, and wanted it to win as well, but we all know how that turned out. Speaking of Best Picture, I read an interesting article on the envelope that holds the Best Picture winner card inside. Judging from how everyone involved has to handle it, you'd swear they're dealing with Yellow Cake Uranium. Just think how much the Academy could save if they simply took a 3x5 card with the winner written on it, and stuffed it inside a plain white envelope. Then again, if Hollywood really gave a damn about saving money, would we really have had so many Rob Schneider movies?
For Best Supporting Actor, I predicted Robert De Niro to win, but Christoph Waltz ended up winning his second Oscar in three years for Django Unchained (Coincidentally, his first was also for a Quentin Tarantino film). DiCaprio may have stolen the show in the film, but there's no denying Waltz was excellent as well and very much deserving of the award.
For Best Actress, I predicted Jessica Chastain to win, but the lovely Jennifer Lawrence won her first Oscar in just two nominations. My choice was Naomi Watts, but I did say either Watts, Lawrence, or Chastain were all worthy of the award. Plus, despite a brief embarrassing moment when tripping on her way up to accept the award, Jennifer took it in stride and had a little fun with it by responding to the standing ovation with, "Please, you guys are just standing up for me 'cause I fell and you feel bad." She's only 22 years old, and already has won me over as a fan with just Winter's Bone and Silver Linings Playbook alone. I'm definitely looking forward to her next projects. Hopefully, she doesn't go down the Halle Berry/Charlize Theron route by filming some Catwoman/Aeon Flux crap respectively following an Oscar win.
Quentin Tarantino took home his second Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (his first was in 1995 for Pulp Fiction). I predicted Michael Hanekefor Amour. My personal choice was Mark Boal for Zero Dark Thirty, but I'm still glad Tarantino won. He's been one of my favorite film writers for years, and his breakthrough film Reservoir Dogs along with The Godfather: Part I are the two films that ultimately influenced not just my taste in film but also how I view movies today. Django Unchained is part revenge thriller, part dark comedy, and even part romantic fantasy. It was a well earned Oscar for Tarantino.
The biggest surprise of the night came in the Best Director category. Like Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway who everyone had pegged for a lock in their respective categories, Steven Spielberg was expected to win hands down. I predicted him to win, and basically everyone and their brother did as well... but it was Ang Lee - who was my personal choice to win - that won for Life of Pi. If you haven't seen it, do so. It's not just a visual masterpiece but a moving story as well, and was so close to making my top 10 best list of last year.
The one award where I kinda went "Come on!" was in the Best Animated Feature Film category. Look, I ain't taking anything away from Brave. It was a great movie, and further proof that Pixar knows how to consistently produce quality animated features. That being said, Wreck-It Ralph more than deserved it. The fact is, Brave, while a great movie, was a more straightforward, traditional story than Pixar's normally used to doing where Wreck-It Ralph was cleverly original and the best animated film of the year by far. A part of me thinks the Academy gave the award to the Pixar name more than film Brave itself, and it shouldn't be that way. Let the best film win, and if that means Pixar has to go a year without an Oscar, then so be it. Doesn't mean it's a bad film.
As for the host, Seth MacFarlane did a fairly solid job. Some of the jokes fell flat, but I've seen far, far worse for Oscar hosts. He did manage to get get quite a few gasps at what was easily my favorite joke of the night, "Daniel Day-Lewis is actually the second actor to be nominated for Best Actor playing President Abraham Lincoln... but I would argue that the actor who got most inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth... Really, people...? 150 years go by and it's still too soon?" Also, delivering some surprising humor was Daniel Day-Lewis in his Best Actor acceptance speech, poking fun at the idea of him originally being cast to play Margaret Thatcher before doing a straight swap with Meryl Streep who was Spielberg's first choice for Lincoln. He also took a jab at Spielberg mentioning Steven didn't have to do much convincing for him to play Honest Abe, but he had to do some convincing for Steven to not make it a musical, and even poked fun at himself. Being notoriously known for his intense method acting, he pointed to his wife and stated, "Since we've been together, sixteen years ago, my wife has had to live with some very strange men. They were strange as individuals and probably even stranger if taken as a group."
I was hoping for no eye-rolling political moments, and for the most part, there were none... Then the Best Picture nominations were about to be announced, and here comes Michelle Obama onscreen to announce them all. Why? Beats me. Maybe the Academy felt there wasn't enough brown-nosing that night. There was really no other purpose to do so, and I don't care if it's Obama, Bush, Clinton, or Millard Fillmore for that matter... But hey, it was at least five good minutes of her not bitching about how bad fast food is. Overall, though, it wasn't bad... aside from the 44.4% prediction rate. Of course, having recorded it while at work I was able to fast forward through all the "Okay, get on with it" moments, so that certainly helps. I do have just a brief memo to the Academy for next year. Go back to saying "And the winner is..." instead of "And the Oscar goes to..." It's more of that politically correct "no one gets excluded, everyone's a winner" crap. Are you planning on giving all nominees a trophy next year? "And the winner is... Hey, everyone!" If not, then last I checked there's only one winner.
Cast of Characters:
Alex Wheatley - Josh Duhamel
Katie - Julianne Hough
Jo - Cobie Smulders
Kevin Tierney - David Lyons
Director - Lasse Hallstrom
Screenplay - Gage Lansky & Dana Stevens
Based on the novel “Safe Haven” by Nicholas Sparks
Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving threatening behavior, violence, and sexuality
Nicholas Sparks has earned his bread and butter throughout the years by penning novels such as “A Walk to Remember”, “The Notebook”, “Dear John” and the “The Last Song”. Here with Safe Haven, the most recent film adaptation of Sparks, you’re guaranteed to witness at least three occurrences: one main character will be mourning the loss of a loved one, one main character will be faced with great peril, and of course, we’ll get that obligatory scene with both characters stranded in the rain as they stare deep into each other’s eyes and smile. What is it with chick flicks and rain? I once had a girlfriend too, and we were stuck out in the rain at one point. Know what I felt? Cold, wet, soggy, and anticipating the toe blisters I’d be getting from my soaked socks.
Yep, rain is apparently one hell of an aphrodisiac. The story opens with Katie (Julianne Hough), a Boston native, who leaves for a nice and quaint small town in North Carolina - that would make Pleasantville look like Sin City - where everyone smiles and greets her with open arms... and I mean everyone. One character is even elated that she shows up at his store a second time. I knew the economy was bad, but is it really that bad? Katie manages to land on her feet almost instantly for the sake of time restraints, getting a job at a local fish house and purchasing a cabin in the woods within no time. She also strikes up friendships with Jo (Cobie Smulders), a woman Katie meets that seems to show up whenever it’s most convenient for Katie, and Alex Wheatley (Josh Duhamel), a widowed father of two who’s widowed because... well, it’s a Nicholas Sparks novel.
Of course, like I mentioned in the first paragraph, one of the characters may or may not be faced with great peril. That peril happens to come in the form of a detective named Kevin Tierney (David Lyons). Tierney is trying to track down Katie for reasons that are vaguely explained in the beginning of the film, and when I say vaguely explained, I mean until we get that “big reveal” at the film’s climax.
I remember when I first saw The Notebook. I had rather low expectations, but I was just getting into Ryan Gosling as an actor at the time. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but Safe Haven makes The Notebook look like Citizen Kane. It’s not the fault of the performers. Julianne Hough is, of course, a very attractive presence onscreen, and both she and Duhamel have some chemistry together. David Lyons is solid as well as the detective obsessed with finding Katie. I blame the writing here, because for ninety-five percent of the movie I thought this is cornball fluff and sentimentally sappy enough to suffocate me to death with all the cuteness they were trying to ram down my throat, but it’s what you’d expect at least... Then that ending showed up, and I’m not talking about the big reveal I previously mentioned here ‘cause that had some credibility to it story-wise. I’m talking about the very end which goes beyond roll your eyes at the screen. The ending is so jaws to the floor preposterous even M. Night Shyamalan would say, “What the hell was that?” after witnessing it. I actually felt good, no ecstatic to be single, ‘cause if I got dragged into seeing this by my girlfriend, like the number of guys who I’m sure did, I’d dump her not the next day, not while driving her home, not while leaving the theater, but while witnessing the end credits. Is the ending that bad? Yes, it is. It’s unnecessary, makes you question the female lead’s sanity, and, well, for God’s sakes just take my word for it. It’s bad. I'm almost tempted to recommend you see this hour and a half's worth of sugar coated filming sweet enough to knock your ass out into a diabetic coma just to see how bad that final twist is. One more criticism, what the hell is with all Sparks film adaptations being the same damn poster of the two lovestruck leads gazing into each other's eyes with the sun setting from a distance? Seriously, look up the other film adaptations. You'll see what I mean.
I'm sure there are a legion of girls out there now sharpening their nine inch nails, prepared to crucify me to death, screaming, “Well, you’re a typical guy, so of course you hate romantic movies.” Forrest Gump, The English Patient, As Good As it Gets, Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, Jerry Maguire, hell, even Edward Scissorhands has more heart than this. Would you like me to continue?No, I clearly don’t hate romantic movies. I hate poorly written ones, yet, nevertheless, this movie still probably made millions of undeserved dollars at the box office just on Valentine's Day alone, meaning - Hallelujah, we're getting more Nicholas Sparks film adaptations. You know you have a bad movie when one ending can derail the entire film, and this, my friends, is a bad movie. Hey, someone's gotta take the fall when Worst of 2013 comes around. I give Safe Haven a D- (½★).
REVIEWS COMING LATER NEXT WEEK...
2013 Oscar Recap
Benjamin's Stash: Video Pick of the Week Snitch
Based on the novel "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Rated PG-13 for violence, scary images and some sexual material
We as a civilized and decent society have endured more Twilight films than necessary. By more than necessary, I mean all of them, and just when you thought we were finally done with these Twilight type movies where the populated city is half human and half misunderstood creatures, and the central characters set up as the love interests are just so emotionally distraught... we're given Beautiful Creatures. Think Twilight meets Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil... minus the murder.
Down in Gatlin, South Carolina, Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) is a small-town high schooler who loves to read classic literature and dreams of going to college some day to further pursue that love. He also suffers from a recurring dream about a girl he does not know. On the first day of his junior year he meets a newcomer named Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert) who looks surprisingly familiar. Could be coincidence or maybe those dreams are more than just dreams. Not everyone's so keen on Lena joining the classroom. You know, once those "Her family worships Satan" rumors start flying, it's pretty hard to silence them. Also, using your mind to shatter all the classroom windows, scaring the hell out of everyone in the process, ain't exactly the best way to put an end to them either.
Ethan and Lena gradually strike up a friendship and that's when he finds out she is in fact a witch. Wait. Don't you dare call them witches. They prefer the term Casters as she points out. I see now even witches prefer a more sensitive, politically correct term of self-definition. This friendship comes at much dismay to her introverted yet stylish Uncle Macon Ravenwood (Jeremy Irons). See, all witches - oops, I mean Casters - when they turn sixteen face a life altering turning point that is referred to as "The Claiming". That is when they learn their true nature of whether they are dark or light. From Macon's viewpoint, Lena is strong-willed enough to turn to light, but he sees Ethan as danger for her. Makes sense. They start dating. He breaks up with her. She turns bitter, and next thing you know, she's all "Double, Double, toil and trouble" and the town's painted red in blood.
Naturally, there are those on both sides of the aisle trying to push Lena in either direction. Macon seeks out the help of Amma (Viola Davis), who runs the local library and has quite an extensive knowledge in how to handle curses and its particular histories - how convenient for the family. Of course, though, lurking in the dark are both Lena's cousin Ridley (Emmy Rossum) and Serafine (Emma Thompson), who's known in the family for being the most powerful dark Caster of all. In Ridley's mind, Lena's hopeless 'cause as she puts it, "I was just like her at her age and look how I turned out.", and Serafine feels a certain family curse will pull Lena to the dark if her own will doesn't.
I obviously had low expectations about this. Twilight with witches was what I thought... but after seeing it, I gotta say, I found it rather entertaining. For starters, this movie wisely has quite a bit more of a sense of humor about itself than the Twilight series ever had. It's bad enough seeing glittery vampires mope around the place, would witches doing the same be any better? The performances are terrific, particularly the supporting cast, and that's really the film's biggest strength. Jeremy Irons and Viola Davis are terrific, and Emma Thompson by far steals the show in a performance that allows her to be theatrical and over the top. You can tell she was having fun with this role. Emmy Rossum, who I happen to love on Showtime's Shameless, also gives a terrifically entertaining performance vamping it up as the family temptress. The criticism I have is that the two leads are clearly overshadowed by the veteran presences onscreen. It's really the supporting cast that gets all the great lines and costumes, and there are moments where you see Ethan and Lena and wonder why they can't have something to sink their teeth into. All things considered, I won't quite punish the movie as a whole just for that. Plus, despite the overshawdowing, Alice Englert does bring a likeable presence and she shows some promise as well. You may find at times that Ethan comes off as annoyingly persistent too, but hey, you're saying you weren't a little bit of an irritating prick at the age of sixteen? I sure would love to go back eleven years and give my younger self a few bitch slaps upside the face.
There's the age-old saying, "Never judge a book by its cover.", and in this case never judge a film by its trailer. I didn't expect to like this film, but I kinda enjoyed it. The performances are entertaining, the direction provides some beautiful Southern Gothic imagery (hence the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil reference), and the story knows when to not be so serious, and in the wrong hands we could've gotten just another pile of melodramatic crap. I'll probably get flack for recommending this, but hey, so sue me. I'll just remind you of the ancient Internet meme Proverb... "Thou art still a better love story than Twilight." I give Beautiful Creatures a B (★★★).
John McClane is back! After four installments of watching Bruce Willis play the detective always winding up in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, Willis returns to the iconic role that made him a mega-star in A Good Day to Die Hard.
Unlike the previous Die Hard films, John McClane (Bruce Willis) winds up traveling to Russia. I can see the studio heads going cuckoo for cocoa puffs giddy at the thought of such potentially classic taglines like "Yippee Ki-Yay Mother Russia"... See what they did there? Anyway, after finding out his estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney) has allegedly ended up in some serious trouble overseas, father John decides to take matters into his own hands and rescue his son, and why shouldn't he? After all, he has taken down at least four terrorists before. This should be a walk in the park for him by now.
Turns out though, Jack isn't quite in trouble like John thought he was. As a matter fact, Jack (See what I did there? I can come up with cheesy quotes too) is an undercover officer for the CIA... a surprising discovery to his father. Jack along with his partner Mike Collins (Cole Hauser) are attempting to achieve certain files from a whistleblower named Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch) which could potentially bring down certain, corrupt Russian officials. Those officials, though, aren't going down without a fight as they send their men led by Alik (Rasha Bukvic) to stop the McClanes no matter what, and that means forcing both father and son into committing death-defying stunts that shatter essentially every law of physics, and make you wonder how John McClane avoids being strapped to a gurney when it's all said and done.
I was really looking forward to seeing this. No one's a bigger Die Hard fan than me, and I loved the first four... Not so much with this one - okay, wait. Let me rephrase that. I thought this film was terrible. Notice my half-assed plot summary? Well, serves the film right for giving us a half-assed attempt at a Die Hard picture. For ninety minutes, I sat there disengaged, uninterested, and bored out of my mind. The last three things you wanna be feeling during a Die Hard movie - hell, any movie for that matter. The action sequences are over the top, even for Die Hard standards, there's no style or flare to them whatsoever and the story to begin with is mediocre at best. Also, the whole time I was watching the movie I kept wondering how inept does McClane have to be to not know his own son is in the CIA? I know CIA operatives - especially undercover ones - stay under the radar, and I know John McClane will never win "Father of the Year" and if I had him for a father, I'd certainly be in years of therapy, airing out my repressed feelings and cursing at how much of a deadbeat son of a bitch he always was... but for God's sakes. This is McClane's own son and he's a New York detective at that. How the hell are you that oblivious? My biggest beef, though, is the lack of a central villain. Hans Gruber, Colonel Stuart, Simon Gruber, and Thomas Gabriel (played by Alan Rickman, William Sadler, Jeremy Irons, and Timothy Olyphant respectively) were all a vital part of what made the first four Die Hard entries so great. They were intelligent, had intriguing motives ranging from money, to revenge, to cyber terrorism, and the back and forth between them and McClane was pure entertainment. With this installment, it seems like the film, more specifically the writer, didn't know who the central villain should be, so let's just throw a cluster of them in there and they can sort each other out. I'm sure I'll get those that disagree and give that "Well, in real life there's no such thing as a central villain." crap. Well, if this was based on real life, John McClane would've died years ago from whatever medical term you give to being splattered across pavement.
It's a shame really that I have to trash a film that's part of one of the most consistently entertaining film franchises of all time. Do I think Willis still has it in him to give John McClane the proper sendoff that he's due? Absolutely, and I hope someday there will be one - with better writing and direction. This one ain't it. I give A Good Day to Die Hard a D (★).
February 24th will be the 85th annual Academy Awards. Out of all the award shows dedicated to film, the Oscars are the only one I pay any attention to, mainly due to its history and that it's the most prolific out of the lot. I mean, how many movie previews have you seen that go, “Starring Screen Actors’ Guild Award winner...” Anyway, with this post, I will give you my picks for the main categories on who I think should win and who I think will win. And the first category is...
Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin - Argo
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
Who should win: I’m a bit pissed off here. I said in my “Top 10 Best Films of 2012" post that Leonardo DiCaprio gave the best supporting actor performance of the year, and sadly, he is MIA from the list. This should’ve been his year. That being said, my pick is Robert De Niro for his uncharacteristically restrained performance as a dad trying to be there for his bi-polar son, yet never taking into account that his own compulsive behavior might have rubbed off on his kid. It's one of De Niro's best performances in years. He's won it twice before, and hopefully he wins his third. Who will win: Robert De Niro
Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams - The Master
Sally Field - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook
Who should win: Helen Hunt deserves it for her rather risky yet heartfelt performance in The Sessions as a sex therapist that tends to a man paralyzed neck down. Her character has always been the type to never let any emotional attachment cross over into her profession, that is until she meets this man, Mark O'Brien. It's by far the best performance of her career. Who will win: Anne Hathaway... Hopefully her acceptance speech won't be as God awful atrocious as her Oscar hosting duties were with James Franco in 2011.
Best Actor:
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Denzel Washington - Flight
Who should win: It's almost a crime that somehow John Hawkes got snubbed for his role in The Sessions. Rant aside, Denzel Washington has won the Oscar twice before, but in Flight, I argue he gives his best performance ever. The climatic scene alone where he's at his hearing on the plane crash and finally admits he's an alcoholic is enough to win him Best Actor. Who will win: Are you kidding me? Daniel Day-Lewis could wrangle an Oscar nomination playing Eugene Levy’s character from American Pie. Just look at the poster for Lincoln. I'll be shocked if he doesn't win.
Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts - The Impossible
Who should win: This is a tough one. I'm torn between three out of the five - Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, and Naomi Watts. Jennifer Lawrence is both loveable and crazy in Silver Linings Playbook, and the amazing thing is she's only twenty-two and already has her second Oscar nomination. This girl hasn't even reached her peak yet. Jessica Chastain was my original pick for Best Actress for her quiet yet powerful performance in Zero Dark Thirty... and then I saw The Impossible, and my pick now goes to Naomi Watts for her physically demanding and emotional performance. A performance like this always runs the risk of going over the top and she strikes just the right note with each of her scenes. She's always been an underrated actress, and I've been a fan of hers for years, so hopefully she gets her due. Who will win: Honestly, I'd be happy with any of the three I mentioned winning, and I believe it will be Jessica Chastain.
Best Director:
Michael Haneke - Amour
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
David O. Russell - David O. Russell
Who should win: Ben Affleck... Oh, wait, never mind. He got snubbed. That's okay, I'll just go with my second choice, Kathryn Bigelow... Nope. Affleck was the most talked about snub in this category seeing that a lot of people had him pegged as a shoe-in for Best Director with Argo. My pick then is Ang Lee for his visually breathtaking Life of Pi. It's an extraordinary film and one I wasn't expecting to like as much as I did, but I'm glad I ended up seeing it. Who will win: With Affleck and Bigelow out of the picture, they might as well just give Steven Spielberg the trophy now and get it over with.
Best Picture: Amour - Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz Argo - Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck & George Clooney Beasts of the Southern Wild - Dan Janvey, Josh Penn & Michael Gottwald Django Unchained - Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin & Pilar Savone Les Miserables - Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward & Cameron Mackintosh Life of Pi - Gil Netter, Ang Lee & David Womark Lincoln - Steven Spielberg & Kathleen Kennedy Silver Linings Playbook - Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen & Jonathan Gordon Zero Dark Thirty - Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow & Megan Ellison
What should win: If you've read my post on the top 10 films of 2012, you should know the answer to this - Zero Dark Thirty. It's a gripping film that's just as intense in the "behind the scenes" moments with the CIA as it is during the final showdown at the Bin Laden compound. Go see this movie! What will win: If history has shown us anything, it's rare for a split to occur between Best Director and Best Picture. There's a difference between rare and impossible, though, and it has happened before (i.e. Oliver Stone/Driving Miss Daisy, Steven Spielberg/Shakespeare in Love, Steven Soderbergh/Gladiator, etc.). That being said, Oscars also love to make sure certain films don't go empty handed which is why Argo will win best picture.
To finish things off, I'm gonna do a quick prediction of the technical awards. I know most people tend to focus on the main categories, but to be honest, the guys behind the scenes doing the editing, cinematography, and visual effects are really kinda the unsung heroes of the movies. For the record, these are my predictions, and not necessarily who or what I'd prefer to win.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Lincoln
Best Original Screenplay: Amour Best Animated Feature Film:Wreck-It Ralph
Best Cinematography:Life of Pi
Best Costume Design:Le Miserables
Best Film Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:Le Miserables
Best Original Score: Lincoln
Best Original Song: Skyfall
Best Production Design:Le Miserables
Best Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Well, there you have it. Those are my predictions. Let's go 18 of 18. We'll find out February 24th, and I'll have a recap afterward. Here's hoping not as many musical montages as they normally like to churn out.
REVIEWS COMING LATER NEXT WEEK...
A Good Day to Die Hard Beautiful Creatures Safe Haven
Cast of Characters:
Sandy Bigelow Patterson - Jason Bateman
Diana - Melissa McCarthy
Harold Cornish - Jon Favreau
Trish Patterson - Amanda Peet
Julian - Tip “T.I.” Harris
Marisol - Genesis Rodriguez
Detective Reilly - Morris Chestnut
Daniel Casey - John Cho
Skiptracer - Robert Patrick
Big Chuck - Eric Stonestreet
Director - Seth Gordon
Screenplay - Craig Mazin
Rated R for sexual content and language
In 2011, Seth Gordon directed the box office and critical smash Horrible Bosses, featuring an all-star cast that included Jason Bateman. Now in 2013, both Gordon and Bateman team up again along with Mike & Molly's Melissa McCarthy in Identity Thief.
Sandy Bigelow Patterson (Jason Bateman) - named after the great Sandy Koufax by his Dodgers fan father - is an account executive for a financial firm in Denver, Colorado. His boss, Harold Cornish (Jon Favreau), much to the displeasure of Sandy and his co-worker Daniel Casey (John Cho), is cutting back on the employee bonuses. After all, in Harold’s mind, Sandy’s paid to do exactly what his wife can do on Quicken at home. Fed up with their boss, Sandy and Daniel, along with a few other employees leave the company to start their own.
On his way to work, Sandy stops to get gas, only to find out his credit card keeps getting declined. He calls the card company to settle the situation and finds out he’s apparently over $10,000 in debt. Making matters worse, he’s arrested afterward. Detective Reilly (Morris Chestnut) explains to him that he missed out on his court date for assault and public intoxication in Winter Park, Florida. Sandy explains that he doesn’t know what is going on and that he certainly hasn’t been to Winter Park. That’s when both Sandy and Detective Reilly discover Sandy has been a victim of identity theft thanks in part to Diana (Melissa McCarthy), clearly taking advantage of Sandy’s unisex name... about ten grand’s worth of advantage. Later on, at work, it’s brought to Sandy’s attention through Detective Reilly that he’s involved in drug possession. Sandy, wanting to clear his name and save his job, realizes he can find Diana, through a previous hair appointment call on his phone, and bring her back to Colorado. His wife Trish (Amanda Peet) isn’t all that thrilled about him possibly putting himself in danger, but he assures his wife, by showing her Diana’s mugshot, that it’ll be alright. The way he sees it, she’s Hobbit height, so it should be a cake-walk.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, it ends up being a lot more difficult for Sandy than he expected. You see, Diana’s quite the feisty firecracker, and won't go down without a fight. He finally ends up convincing her to go with him to Denver but only by promising not to get the police involved. Along the way, they're followed by two dealers, Julian (Tip “T.I.” Harris) and Marisol (Genesis Rodriguez), of which Diana gave bad credit cards to their boss. Also involved in their trip is a bounty hunter known as Skiptracer (Robert Patrick), who's enlisted by Marisol to kill Diana and anyone with her. There's also Big Chuck (Eric Stonestreet), a rowdy barfly Diana takes a liking to.
I was looking forward to seeing this. I’ve loved Jason Bateman since TV’s Arrested Development and Melissa McCarthy was terrific in Bridesmaids (which she received a supporting actress Oscar nomination for), so you’d think pairing the two together would achieve comic gold. There’s no reason to think otherwise. Unfortunately, it falls flat, but not at the fault of Bateman and McCarthy. They’re the two that keep this film from being much worse than it could’ve been. Writer Craig Mazin goes for character overkill by scripting way too many supporting characters than necessary. Jon Favreau and Morris Chestnut are both fine actors, but they’re clearly phoning it in with throwaway roles as the world’s worst boss and a detective I’m surprised graduated the Police Academy let alone got promoted to detective respectively. Eric Stonestreet is great in TV’s hit Modern Family, and here I could’ve maybe been okay with his part had it been one or two scenes shorter. The biggest problem I had with the film was the pointless subplot involving the dealers. I don’t know why Mazin felt the conflicting contrast of personalities between Bateman and McCarthy couldn't work, so a cliche pair of dealers as superfluous villains chasing after them is what’s needed. It really takes the film nowhere, and I honestly felt like I was the only one in the packed theater room not laughing when those moments arrived on screen. To the film’s credit, it does have its inspired moments. Like I said, Bateman and McCarthy are terrific comic performers, and it was the scenes between the two of them that got the laughs out of me. The writer should’ve realized that instead of adding way too many unnecessary characters and subplots. You saw the scene I posted here. This film needed more of that.
Identity Thief tries to emulate classic road trip comedies like Midnight Run and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but winds up coming short. I really wanted to like this movie, but overall the most I can recommend for it is maybe a rental when it comes out on disc. If you do rent it, while you’re at it, throw in Midnight Run and Planes, Trains and Automobiles as well. Here’s hoping that maybe Bateman and McCarthy can team up again in a much more worthy comedy. They definitely have what it takes to make that happen. I give Identity Thief a C+ (★★½).
Cast of Characters:
Dr. Jonathan Banks - Jude Law
Emily Taylor - Rooney Mara
Dr. Victoria Siebert - Catherine Zeta-Jones
Martin Taylor - Channing Tatum
Director - Steven Soderbergh
Screenplay - Scott Z. Burns
Rated R for sexuality, nudity, violence and language
Academy Award winning director Steven Soderbergh is only fifty years of age and already has directed more than thirty films. With Side Effects, his most recent effort, Soderbergh has announced this would be his last film. Would his possible swan song hold up to the many other critically acclaimed works of his?
Due to the twists that start about midway through the film, I’m gonna avoid giving away spoilers, and just give a brief synopsis. The film opens with the release of Martin Taylor (Channing Tatum) from prison, having been incarcerated for insider trading. His wife Emily (Rooney Mara) greets him with open arms, yet something doesn’t seem right with her. Maybe it’s the fact that she and Martin once had it all, and now have to start over. Martin assures her he’s gonna do his best to get their lives back on track. She's happy to have him back in her life, and she wants to believe him, yet something still eats at her.
After a troubling incident, Emily is referred to Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), a psychiatrist. She explains to him that she has been referred to a psychiatrist before, Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Dr. Banks prescribes Emily prescription after prescription, but none seem to benefit Emily. She then hears of a new anti-depressant called Ablixa, and that it’s been bringing about good results. Dr. Banks is more than willing to prescribe her this medication, particularly since he’s been paid $50,000 by a pharmaceutical company to study it during its licensing period. At first, Emily is relieved by the results she’s receiving from the medication, but after a few sleepwalking spells, Martin starts to have his concerns. He wants effective results for his wife regardless of whether it comes from a pill or not.
That there is really all I can say about the film without giving away any of the twists that come up later. In a way, this is two films within one. The first half deals with Emily’s depression as she takes medication after medication and experiences side effect after side effect. Both she and Martin want effective results, but it seems all Dr. Banks wants to do is churn out scripts like an assembly line. It's an extremely effective critique of the psychiatric establishment that at times just wanna push the drug for their clients. The second half deals with a life altering event in Emily’s life and that’s where the film turns almost Hitchcockian with its twists and turns. Without giving anything away, some of the twists do work and are ingeniously clever, yet some just come off as flat out unnecessary. All things considered, the performances are great. Jude Law gives one of his best performances as a Dr. trying to help Emily while, at the same time, right a few wrongs in his personal life. Rooney Mara delivers some strong work as the patient in Dr. Banks' care, and Channing Tatum is surprisingly effective in a nice restrained role as Emily's husband. Zeta-Jones is solid at times, but then again there are moments where she comes off as that "Let me explain everything for you" character. Director Steven Soderbergh pulls off some impressive camera work as well, filming a number of scenes in intimate, low angled closeups, focusing on the helplessness of characters seemingly on the edge - particularly Emily.
While this film doesn’t quite rank up there with some of Soderbergh’s masterpieces such as Sex, Lies, and Videotape, The Limey, Traffic, and the more recent The Informant! and Contagion this is still a solid effort. Aside from a few unnecessary twists, it’s still an effective psychological thriller that contains both sharp direction and terrific performances. It’s amazing to note that as many films as Soderbergh has filmed, he’s still a good ten to fifteen years younger than most directors with as lengthy a resume as him. As a fan, I hope he reconsiders his decision to retire. He’s one of the most unique and versatile directors around, and his ability to multi-task as producer, cinematographer, screenwriter, and editor on many of his films shows just how gifted a filmmaker he really is. That being said, if this is in fact his swan song, it is a fitting way to bow out... but he has reconsidered before. I give Side Effects a B+ (★★★½).
Cast of Characters:
Jimmy Bobo - Sylvester Stallone
Detective Taylor Kwon - Sung Kang
Lisa Bobo - Sarah Shahi
Robert Nkomo Morel - Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Marcus Baptiste - Christian Slater
Keegan - Jason Momoa
Director - Walter Hill
Screenplay - Alessandro Camon
Rated R for strong violence, bloody images, language, some nudity and brief drug use
From the First Blood series to Cobra to Cliffhanger to today’s The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone has been one of the most in-demand action stars of the big screen. Even today, at the ripe, old age of ninety-eight, he’s still going all-out as a punching bag for the bad guys, taking names and kicking ass in the not quite subtly titled Bullet to the Head... Okay, he’s not ninety-eight, but is sixty-six really that far off?
Down in New Orleans, Jimmy Bobo (Sylvester Stallone) is an assassin for hire. Along with his partner, Jimmy kills a corrupt cop which sets him in a “me against the world” showdown as every corrupt cop, politician, businessman, and basically anyone that scowls with pure, menacing evil in the movie will want a piece of him. This results in Bobo's partner getting killed, and they're definitely not stopping there. Meanwhile, Detective Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) arrives in The Big Easy to investigate Bobo on the death of the cop, and wouldn’t you know it, he ends up finding out more than he should, pinning him as a target for the villains. So what do you do when you end up as a human bullseye? Well, naturally, you team up with Bobo - another human bullseye. Being that he’s a cop, Detective Kwon is appalled by Bobo’s extremely knee-jerk trigger finger and his apparent “whatever” attitude about it. Being that he’s an assassin, Bobo doesn’t really give a rat’s ass what Kwon thinks.
After Kwon’s shot, Bobo introduces him to his obligatory, attractive daughter Lisa (Sarah Shahi) - a tattoo artist that can somehow magically perform surgical acts of properly removing bullets. Her character hints at the possibility of one of three things to come - 1) At some point, Kwon will “accidentally” walk in on her undressed, he’ll slowly but surely become attracted to her, and by the end of the movie, they’re an item. 2) She’ll be kidnapped by the bad guys, and 3) Hey, imagine that. Both happen.
We’re also introduced to the myriad of villains involved in the story. You have the corrupt real estate developer Robert Nkomo Morel (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), his corrupt lawyer Marcus Baptiste (Christian Slater), and the obligatory hulking mercenary Keegan (Jason Momoa) who may not be corrupt, per se... but he still looks like a douche anyway, so you don’t like him regardless. When they begin to realize both Bobo and Kwon are trying to thwart their plans of demolishing ghetto communities to make way for condominiums (And isn't that what all rich villains seemingly want to do?), they, in a surprising twist that no one could ever see coming, kidnap Bobo’s daughter, and why? Because without the kidnapping we won’t get to see the big showdown between Bobo and Keegan.
I’m not quite sure why I spent three paragraphs telling you the plot when I could’ve just summed everything up in one sentence. Stallone, along with a whiny cop, open up a can of whoop ass on a bunch of bad guys. That’s essentially all that should happen, yet somehow a convoluted plot manages to sneak its way in around the middle of the film. Stallone has a few decent one liners here and there, but for the most part, he just mumbles through his lines in that familiar deep grunt voice of his. There’s really nothing for Sarah Shahi to do here other than be a plot contrivance. Jason Momoa isn’t intimidating in the slightest as the villain. If anything, he more resembles that smug, douchy, pony-tailed, prick of a boyfriend you hope and pray to God your daughter never brings home for dinner than a credible villain. What I’m trying to say is, he gave a terrible performance. As for Sung Kang - playing the Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon)/Nick Nolte (48 Hrs.) straight man - he’s completely miscast. I’m not quite sure as to why the hell I even care at this point about whether or not someone’s miscast in this movie, but he just does not click at all with Stallone, and for being a cop, he’s quite the pushover. Both Glover and Nolte's characters worked, firstly, ‘cause they’re great actors, and secondly, their chemistry together with the animated Mel Gibson and Eddie Murphy respectively was brilliant. Really, the only interesting character in the entire film is Christian Slater. He provides a unique take on the typical “You’ll get nothing out of me!” character, and there is a comical interrogation scene that does work. I was kinda wishing instead of the typical hulk-like Momoa smirking his way through the movie, why not make Slater’s greedy little lawyer the central villain? It would’ve posed an intriguing contrast between his character and Stallone’s, but then again, who the hell comes to a movie like this to see intriguing contrasts? The viewers just wanna see Stallone punch faces into a bloody mess 'cause he's a bad ass. The Saliva hit "Badass" blasting through the film's TV spot sorta hints at that. All things considered, I do credit director Walter Hill (who coincidentally directed 48 Hrs. along with the terrific cult-hit The Warriors) and writer Alessandro Camon for not taking the material too seriously like a lot of similar movies tend to do, but overall the efforts of both them and Slater are far too little to save this film.
Let me just say Stallone is very well capable of making a great movie. The first two Rocky pictures (the first especially being a top fifty movie all-time for me), along with the more recent Rocky Balboa, and Cop Land showed Stallone is capable of taking on great story driven material. Action flicks such as the first two First Blood films, Cliffhanger, and The Expendables along with its sequel prove Stallone can make action films that are both exciting, entertaining and more importantly self-aware of its purpose. Any of those previously mentioned Stallone flicks are highly recommended by me. If you’re in the mood to see a great buddy-cop action flick, which this film tries to be, check out either 48 Hrs. or the Lethal Weapon series... but avoid this. I give Bullet to the Head a D+ (★½).
The Avengers, Bernie, The Grey, The Hunger Games, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Looper, The Master, Seven Psychopaths, and Wreck-It Ralph - what do they have in common? Well, they are ten great movies from 2012 that did not make my top ten best films list for last year. If anything, that just goes to show how strong of a year 2012 was for film. Anyway, enough of the talking, let’s get to the list. Here is the best of the best, in my opinion, that 2012 had to offer, starting with...
10) Prometheus - Is it a prequel to Ridley Scott’s breakthrough film Alien? You can certainly see the ties - some subtle and some obvious - to the original movie. Even so, as a stand alone film, it is one of the most visually stunning, hauntingly beautiful, and epic sci-fi flicks of recent years about a space crew researching artifacts in outer space that may hint to the origin of mankind. Michael Fassbender gives a brilliantly calm performance as David, the ship’s maintenance android, and there are also equally strong supporting performances from Noomi Rapace (from the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron, and an unrecognizable Guy Pearce. Plus, halfway through, we are treated to one of the most frightening, intense, cringe inducing, yet darkly humorous scenes in sci-fi film history that could very well rival the original Alien creature chest pumping scene with John Hurt. Whether you wanna view it as the prequel to Alien or just view it as a story on its own, one thing’s for certain - you’re in for one beautiful, disturbing, and exciting ride.
9) Killer Joe - Matthew McConaughey easily gives the best performance of his career in this superb thriller in the vein of Joel and Ethan Cohen’s Fargo. McConaughey plays a charming, smooth talking, Texas detective by day that moonlights as a contract killer by night. When asked by a young, local drug dealer to help kill his mom in order to pay off some loan sharks through her insurance policy, he takes the job on the condition he can either get paid up front or take the dealer’s sister as a retainer. When things naturally go south, Killer Joe’s charm quickly fades into a cold menace. With a great supporting cast that includes Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church, this is a simple yet sinister story that’s part dark comedy (emphasis on the dark) and part murder thriller. It’s also great to see director William Friedkin, who has helmed such great masterpieces as The Exorcist and The French Connection, back in top notch form. I will warn you, having been rated NC-17 at first, it is a very disturbing film, but given the story it should be expected. I’ve been critical of McConaughey before for churning out one cheesy chick flick after the other, but it’s performances like these that goes to show when given a great role, he will definitely not disappoint.
8) The Dark Knight Rises - Academy Award winner Christian Bale once again leads an excellent all-star cast that includes fellow Academy Award winners Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard and Morgan Freeman, as well as Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this fitting finale to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Following the late Heath Ledger’s sinister take on the Joker, Tom Hardy is the third Batman villain, the mercenary Bane. Hardy gives a chilling performance that’s intelligent, eloquent, and menacing all at once. Not only that, being that his lines we’re recorded afterward, his body language performance is equally as impressive as his Shakespearean like voice-over work. This is director Christopher Nolan’s last installment to his Batman series; however, the final scene does offer a glimpse of what may be a continuation through Gordon-Levitt’s character. Whether or not that will be a success remains to be seen (Please, God, no Joel Schumacher!), but Nolan, with credit also going to screen writers Jonathan Nolan (Christopher’s brother) and David S. Goyer, at least brings about a satisfactory conclusion to what is by far the greatest comic book film series ever.
7) Silver Linings Playbook - Bradley Cooper from The Hangover gives the best performance of his career so far in this brilliantly written comedy-drama from writer/director David O. Russell. Cooper plays Pat, a man diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, trying to get his life back on track, yet finding it continually hard to move on from the past demons that still haunt him. The fetching Jennifer Lawrence from The Hunger Games gives another terrific performance playing opposite Cooper, and the two of them have such a natural chemistry together onscreen. Robert De Niro gives one of the best performances he’s given in years in a nice, restrained role as Cooper’s die-hard, extremely ritualistic, Eagles fan dad, and it’s great to see Chris Tucker back on-screen in a small yet memorably funny role.
6) Flight - Denzel Washington has given a number of memorable performances such as Glory, Malcolm X, The Hurricane, Training Day, and American Gangster, but here he gives the performance of his career as an airline captain that saves 96 out of 102 lives in a plane crash. The problem though is that he finds himself facing manslaughter charges when his post-crash blood test reveals traces of both alcohol and cocaine in his system. We all know Washington can play the intimidating, take charge kind of role, but the brilliance of this emotional performance is that this time it’s exactly the opposite. Here he plays a man who’s life is quietly spinning out of control yet either doesn’t know how to handle it, or just simply doesn’t want to. He knows he’s an alcoholic, yet doesn’t wanna admit it, and why should he? In his mind, so what if he had drugs and alcohol in his system? He’s a hero that saved many lives. In his mind he should be praised, not publically crucified. Kelly Reilly is equally strong playing opposite Washington as a recovering heroin addict trying to help him battle his demons while, at the same time, keeping her own at bay. Don Cheadle and Bruce Greenwood are also solid as well as Washington’s attorney and union representative respectively, and John Goodman provides some dependable comic relief in a few scenes. Director Robert Zemeckis has been able to "wow" his viewers visually since all the way back in the eighties with Back to the Future, and here within the first twenty minutes, director Zemeckis, puts together a plane crash scene that visually is heart pounding exciting and terrifying at the same time, once again showing why he’s one of the best directors around.
5) The Sessions - Based on a real-life article by Mark O’Brien, this retells O’Brien’s struggle of living paralyzed neck down from a bout with Polio as a child. He lives in an iron lung most of the time, but still wants to experience “knowing a woman in the Biblical sense” before, as he puts it, his “use-by date” is reached. John Hawkes gives a phenomenal performance that’s both genuinely moving and at times light heartedly funny. It’s always a challenge for any actor to take on a disabled role, but like Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown, Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, and Leonardo DiCaprio in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Hawkes strikes just the right tone without being cheesy or overly sentimental or emotionally manipulative. This isn’t just a “let’s feel sorry for the guy in the iron lung” kind of performance. He’s a college graduate, writes poetry, and cracks jokes, even about himself. Helen Hunt gives one of her best performances as the sex therapist helping O’Brien, and the always dependable character actor William H. Macy is once again solid as the priest O’Brien seeks out for counsel in the matter. This is not just a movie about sex. It’s more than that. It’s about a man not knowing how much longer he has left to live, and wanting, just once, to connect intimately with a woman, having never had the chance to do so before. The fact that he’s Catholic and conflicted about what he wants, as well as the fact that he becomes emotionally attached to Hunt’s character in contrast to what she tries to see as just a therapist-patient relationship and nothing more adds so much more to this moving story.
4) The Impossible - Based on one family’s personal story set in Thailand during the 2004 tsunami that devastated the surrounding Indian Ocean nations, this film is part disaster movie and part tale of survival. Naomi Watts gives an Oscar worthy performance, in a role that’s both grueling and physically demanding, as a wife and mother of three separated from her husband and two of her kids following the tsunami’s aftermath. Her scenes of pain and suffering are perfectly acted, never appearing to be too much or fake, and are the most powerful in the quieter moments. Ewan McGregor also gives a strong performance as Watts’ husband, desperate to find his wife and children, and newcomer Tom Holland is great as the oldest son who finds himself having to unexpectedly take charge in order help his wounded mother. Director J.A. Bayona does an impeccable job crafting a tsunami disaster within the first fifteen minutes that is just as breathtaking visually as it is horrifying. It’s not just a typical over the top, special effects bonanza disaster scene. This isn’t Michael Bay at the helm throwing every bit of CGI he can at the screen. Instead, Bayona wisely cuts away from the tsunami wave at first and instead focuses the shot on quiet closeups of the vacationers witnessing the impending destruction for the first time. The moments of terror during the tsunami’s impact and afterward when you see those affected are never sensationalized and strike a realistic tone that genuinely moves you and makes you realize just how much of an impact this one disaster had on not only the main family of focus, but the countless number of others involved.
3) Django Unchained - Once again, Quentin Tarantino delivers another intense, freshly written hit this time about a freed slave on a quest to rescue his wife from the hands of a brutal slave master. Jaime Foxx is perfectly cast in the lead role as Django. Christoph Waltz, following his much deserved Oscar winning performance in Inglorious Basterds, returns to Tarantino territory again playing the bounty hunter willing to help Django. This man, like Anthony Hopkins and Morgan Freeman, could recite a phone book with enough charisma and panache to have you clinging to every word. Leonardo DiCaprio gives, by far, the best supporting actor performance of the year. Here he’s charming like his past roles, but this time he’s twice as sadistic. It’s a type of performance I had yet to see him tackle, but he hits it out of the park. The lovely Kerry Washington is solid as Foxx’s house slave wife. Both Jonah Hill and Don Johnson have small yet comically dark roles, and Tarantino staple Samuel L. Jackson (who should’ve won Best Supporting Actor for Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction) gives his best performance in years as DiCaprio’s Uncle Tom butler Stephen. Like past Tarantino films, it’s dark, funny, intense, brutal, violent, and disturbing... but I loved every minute of it.
2) Argo - Say what you want about Ben Affleck’s past movie choices, and
he sure has acted his way through a lot of crap (Armageddon, Bounce,
Reindeer Games, Forces of Nature, Gigli... need I go on?)... That being
said, having directed Gone Baby Gone, The Town and now here with Argo,
Affleck is slowly but surely setting himself up as one of the finest
directors of today. Argo, based on events surrounding the U.S./Iranian
hostage crisis in the late seventies, is about CIA specialist Tony
Mendez’s mission to fake a movie production overseas in the hopes it
helps free the hostages by posing them as his film crew. It’s part
historical drama, part taut thriller, and even part Hollywood satire all
in one movie. Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman,
and Affleck himself all deliver excellent performances, and Affleck’s
direction is spot on. Right out of the gate, Affleck has us on the edge
of our seats from the moment the opening credits stop to the very end of
the film. There’s not just one, not two, not three, but at least four
intense, heart racing moments in this film, and I guarantee you, one day
Affleck will be holding a Best Director statue in his hand.
So now we’ve finally reached the number one spot. What could it be? As the Joker himself would say... And here... we... go!
1) Zero Dark Thirty - In 2009, Kathryn Bigelow directed what I believed to be the best film of the year with The Hurt Locker. Here she does it again. Based on the decade long CIA manhunt for Osama bin Laden, Zero Dark Thirty focuses on a young CIA officer, Maya, who’s determined to bring down the number one most wanted man in the world, even when others in her own camp don’t believe she’s up to the task. Jessica Chastain gives an amazing performance in the lead role of Maya. Even after setback upon setback, she’s still confident in her mission, and when others doubt her along the way, it only boosts her confidence all the more. Jason Clarke (from Showtime’s Brotherhood) gives a strong supporting performance as the CIA interrogator that as he says to one suspect, “I’m bad news. I’m not your friend. I’m not gonna help you... I’m gonna break you.” James Gandolfini also turns in some nicely restrained work as the CIA Director. Bigelow doesn’t shy away from the interrogation scenes in the slightest, yet credit both her and screenwriter Mark Boal - who also wrote The Hurt Locker - for not taking political sides on the issue. They present everything as is, but leave the issues for the viewer to debate. Even in the quiet moments, the tension is exhilarating, and the final fifteen to twenty minutes of this movie is some of the best directing and film editing that will have your eyes glued to the screen while dangling from the edge of your seat. Walking out of the theater, the only thing I could say to myself was that I am definitely looking forward to Bigelow’s next project.
There you have it. 2012 was certainly a great year for film. Feel free to post your top ten or favorite movies of the year in the comments section. I'd love to read what you thought of 2012. Here's to 2013 being another great year!
Cast of Characters:
R - Nicholas Hoult
Julie Grigio - Teresa Palmer
M/Marcus - Rob Corddry
Perry Kelvin - Dave Franco
Nora - Analeigh Tipton
Kevin - Cory Hardrict
General Grigio - John Malkovich
Director - Jonathan Levine
Screenplay - Jonathan Levine
Based on the novel “Warm Bodies” by Isaac Marion
Rated PG-13 for zombie violence and some language
From 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, today’s critically acclaimed television series The Walking Dead, and of course, the great George A. Romero series, we’ve been given countless number of takes on the zombie genre. Here with Warm Bodies we’re finally treated with a unique take that flips the genre on its head - presenting the story from the zombie’s point of view... but does it work?
The story focuses on one zombie in particular named R (Nicholas Hoult). That’s not technically his name, but given that zombie’s have very little to no memory recollection, it’s as he states, “I can’t remember my name, but I think it started with an R”. He’s different from most of the zombies he associates with. He wonders - though narrative voice-over - why he can’t connect with someone just once. How nice it’d be to dream, and that he doesn’t like eating people, but has to in order to survive. R, as do the rest of the zombies, wander aimlessly around a rundown airport. By day, he spends his time with what he considers his best friend named M (Rob Corddry). They mostly stare blankly at each other and at times even have conversations through a series of grunts and moans, although every now and then a word will slowly roll out like “hungry”. By night, R stays in an abandoned airliner out on the runway.
We’re then introduced to the surviving humans living in a fortified city. They’re led by General Grigio (John Malcovich) who fronts the military force that is fighting the zombies, or as they call them - corpses. Grigio, having previously been forced to shoot down his own wife turned zombie, is unapologetic in his quest for taking the zombies out. While sending a group of teenagers on a training exercise - three in particular being Grigio’s daughter Julie (Teresa Palmer), her boyfriend Perry Kelvin (Dave Franco), and her best friend Nora (Analeigh Tipton) - they’re confronted by a herd of zombies while searching for supplies. Perry is attacked and killed by none other than R, and that’s when R stumbles upon Julie. He not only doesn’t attack her, but appears to be smitten by her. He then does something that would be extremely unheard of to the zombie camp - rescues her. At first, Julie is naturally turned off by R (Wouldn’t you?) and doesn’t understand why he just didn’t kill her. Over time though Julie finds herself bonding with him when she realizes he genuinely wants to protect her.
Zombies, as it turns out though, are the least of the survivors’ worries when R mentions to Julie of Bonies. Bonies, according to R, are zombies that have finally given up hope and are reduced to nothing but bone after tearing away their own flesh. They’re not only after the humans, but the zombies too. They'll eat anything with a heartbeat. Technically, R will too, but, "Hey, at least I'm conflicted about it." as he states. R then faces the challenge, through Julie, of having to convince those in her survivor camp that he’s willing to help them kill the Bonies.
Having seen a number of zombie movies - some good and some crap - it’s refreshing to see such a unique take on the genre. Here the zombies are no longer stumbling, silent, convenient props amongst the actual characters involved in the movie. Everything is from the point of view of R. Nicholas Hoult gives a strong yet quiet performance as R. He hardly says much through most of the movie other the occasional muttered word to either M or Julie, but he does provide some hilarious voice-over narration. Not only that, he provides some much needed heart to a genre character normally known for being nothing more than a mindless, flesh hungry monster. Teresa Palmer delivers a solid performance as the girl of interest for R, and there is some genuine chemistry between the two leads. Rob Corddry is a bit of a scene stealer in a terrifically funny supporting role, and John Malkovich delivers a surprisingly restrained performance as Julie’s overprotective military father. Granted, the Bonies visually weren’t all that impressive or frightening. They really do nothing more than just run around snarling. That being said, the point of this movie isn’t to be frightening or gruesome or extremely violent. Being a comedy, the point is to be funny and on that note it succeeds.
Much to the credit of director/screenwriter Jonathan Levine (based on Isaac Marion’s novel) we don’t get too deep, if at all, in the when, where, and how they became zombies. There’s no top-secret government plot or nuclear fallout or the typical backstory that often times accompanies zombie flicks. Obviously, coming from R’s point of view, how’s he gonna remember anyway? While not perfect, this is still a terrific piece of entertainment. Hoult and Palmer are great together, there are plenty of laughs, and like I said before, it’s nice seeing a different take on this popular cult-like genre. I give Warm Bodies an A- (★★★½).
Cast of Characters:
Annabel - Jessica Chastain
Lucas/Jeffrey - Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Dr. Gerald Dreyfuss - Daniel Kash
Victoria - Megan Charpentier
Lilly - Isabelle Nelisse
Mama - Javier Botet
Director - Andres Muschietti
Screenplay - Neil Cross, Andres Muschietti, & Barbara Muschietti
Based on the Spanish short film “Mama” by Andres Muschietti
Rated PG-13 for violence and terror, some disturbing images and thematic elements
If only the characters in all horror movies were fans of horror movies. Maybe then they’d know not to go near the dark closet at the end of the hallway when the door slowly creaks open. Or perhaps they’d wait until daylight to venture out into the woods by themselves. Horror films, more often than not, tend to be victims of its own cliches. With Mama, the new film presented by executive producer Guillermo Del Toro (Blade II, Pans Labyrinth, Hellboy, etc.), would it fall prey to those endless cliches or would it break the trend?
The film opens up during the start of the 2008 financial crisis. After killing his business partners and estranged wife, Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) drives home to pick up his two children - three year old Victoria and one year old Lilly. Driving erratically on the icy roads, he crashes his car in the woods. Jeffrey then takes his two children to a nearby abandoned house as he plans on murdering his two children then committing suicide... Well, something wicked this way clearly comes because if it didn’t, the movie would be over within the first five minutes.
Flash forward to present day, five years later, Jeffrey’s brother Lucas (also Coster-Waldau), is still sponsoring a search team for his missing nieces. Two of the searchers stumble upon that old, abandoned house and find the two girls inside. They’re unkempt, covered in mud, muttering weird noises, crawling on all fours like a crazed animal. Their dad has been long gone, so how exactly were they able to survive?
The two girls, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse), are kept in isolation and evaluated by Dr. Gerald Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash) who is intrigued by drawings from the girls that allude to what he perceives to be an imaginary parental figure known as Mama. As Dr. Dreyfuss continues to help with the girls’ assimilation, Lucas is fighting for custody of his two nieces against his late sister-in-law’s aunt. Given that Lucas’s day-job is drawing and selling art and that both he and his rock musician girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) live in an apartment, Dr. Dreyfuss bluntly states he’d be foolish not to recommend to the court that the girls go with their mother’s “well to do” aunt. That being said, considering he wants to continue evaluating the girls, he is not only willing to support custody for Lucas and Annabel, but also provide them with a rent-free home courtesy of Dreyfuss’s welfare agency, but only on the grounds they grant him continued access to Victoria and Lilly.
While the girls are getting accustomed to living in a “normal” setting, Lucas is somehow hospitalized by way of an accident... or was it really? Annabel isn’t all too pleased with having to care for the girls on her own, but for the sake of her boyfriend she reluctantly owns up to the task. While caring for the two on her own strange things still keep happening. Could it be this Mama figure ain't all that keen on giving up custody to some Sid and Nancy rocker freak...? Well, as it turns out, of course, Mama's (Javier Botet) not, and boy, can she get feisty when mad.
I know what you’re thinking. Creepy insects suddenly appearing in the house. Lights flickering on and off. You see only two girls humming an eery tune, yet, oddly enough, you hear three voices. The boyfriend is hospitalized at night by way of an “accident”. Man, what the hell does it take to get a family out of that house? That being said, in spite of all the cliches, this film manages to do what most horror films today fail to do - scare us into a new pair of underpants. Director and co-writer Andres Muschietti does a terrific job at creating an unsettling atmosphere within this story while also delivering some hauntingly beautiful images. In a wise move, we don’t see the Mama character ‘til about three-quarters of the way through the film - aside from the occasional quick flash-by or top of the head - but when we do finally see her, it is quite the pay-off by way of a very creepy performance from Spanish actor Javier Botet. You can also tell, especially by way of some superbly eery dream sequences, Muschietti has definitely been inspired by previous works of Guillermo Del Toro. Credit also goes to the writing by not only Muschietti, but also Barbara Mushcietti (Andres's sister) and Neil Cross. There are some nice touches of dark humor thrown in every now and then that work well - one in particular is Lilly giggling and playing with an off-screen Mama while an oblivious Annabel goes about her chores. Plus, like a lot of horror films today, this story does not get bogged down in an overly complicated backstory that ends up leading to more rabbit trails for the characters. There is naturally a backstory - told by way of dream sequences - but it's to the point and never gets in the way of the main focal point of the story. Jessica Chastain gives a great performance as do the remaining supporting cast, but Chastain’s work here (following her Oscar nominated work in Zero Dark Thirty) is the standout. In the beginning of the film, Annabel is your typical “kiss my ass” rocker chick holding a pregnancy test, with a negative result, and with quiet relief whispering “Thank God”. She doesn’t get along with the girls at first, and most certainly doesn’t want them calling her mom, mommy, or even mama, yet by the end of the movie her maternal instincts kick into gear and she gradually finds herself caring for these two girls... much to the jealous displeasure of Mama. It’s that human element that often goes missing from horror films today, and it also shows why Chastain is slowly becoming one of the best go-to actresses of today.
This film isn’t a masterpiece by any means, but unlike most horror films where it’s short on character and story and long on cheap, jump at you scares and mindless gore this one is surprisingly effective. The performances are uniformly great, the visuals are fantastic, and the story has a nice, Gothic, almost fairytale-like feel to it. I give Mama a B+ (★★★½).
