REVIEW: What We Do in the Shadows

16 03 2015

what_we_do_in_the_shadowsAfter the vampire boom of the late 2000s (all thanks to the “Twilight” saga), it makes sense that we now get a reactionary boom of revisionist bloodsuckers.  From action flick “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” to hipster indies like “Only Lovers Left Alive” and “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” it feels like culture has begun to reclaim the terrifying creature from the Cullens.

Now, add Kiwi mockumentary “What We Do in the Shadows” to the pile. The film comes from the team behind cult hit TV series “Flight of the Concords,” Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, and their latest effort seems destined to dwell in a similar realm of fandom.  The movie is undeniably clever and funny on a number of occasions, yet those moments come inconsistently (and a little too infrequently).

When Clement and Waititi realize their vision for three centuries-old vampires who are hopelessly out of place courting fresh blood in the modern world, “What We Do in the Shadows” recalls “This is Spinal Tap” in the hilarity of its pathetic mundanity.  But when they miss, the film feels like an improv sketch that cannot achieve liftoff from the very beginning and then crawls its way towards a far-off conclusion.  Even at under an hour and a half, the uneven mix of these two extremes makes the whole thing drag.  B / 2halfstars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Seymour: An Introduction

15 03 2015

Look no further, all those who wander aimlessly and wonder what the true meaning of life is, for Ethan Hawke seems pretty sure he has found it.  In “Seymour: An Introduction,” his first effort as a documentarian, Hawke profiles a former pianist and current piano instructor, octogenarian Seymour Bernstein.  But this is hardly a movie about music; the real subject is how to lead a wholesome life in the pursuit of art.

Hawke, after apparently hitting a wall of frustration in his acting, found renewed purpose from hearing the work and teachings of Seymour.  He mostly removes himself from the film, though Hawke does appear from time to time to gush ecstatic praises at his subject.  “Seymour: An Introduction” possesses the same amount of reverence that might be expected in a documentary about the Dalai Lama or Deepak Chopra.  I kept waiting for Gwyneth Paltrow to jump out at some point and endorse Seymour’s lifestyle brand.

None of this is meant to imply that Hawke is off-base in declaring Seymour a true savant at playing the keys of the piano as well as life, nor do I wish to ridicule the director for some kind of ridiculous insincerity.  I have personally witnessed Ethan Hawke speaking in person, both in private and public settings, and I truly believe that he cares deeply about meaningful art.  To someone without that context, though, “Seymour” might seem to drown under the weight of its hyperbole.

Plenty of Seymour’s wisdom is relevant, applicable, and deeply felt from a lifetime of lived experience.  Sometimes, though, his morsels of insight amount to little more than a well-phrased fortune cookie aphorism.  Hawke treats both like they are holy texts, unassailable because of their almost spiritual nature.  In fact, he passes off the only serious interrogation of his subject to a reporter writing a story on Seymour (convenient way to show undying loyalty to a deity).

“Seymour: An Introduction” works best when consumed like a self-help chicken soup as opposed to a practically religious message.  There is likely a great documentary lurking under the surface of this pretty good one, probably hiding behind the unceasing praise lavished on the film’s sage.  But if Seymour played any part in helping Hawke find the poignancy he lent to those final scenes in “Boyhood,” then this film’s existence is completely justified.  B / 2halfstars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Short Term 12

14 03 2015

Short Term 12“Look into my eyes so you know what it’s like, to live a life not knowing what a normal life’s like,” raps Keith Stanfield as Marcus in “Short Term 12.”  The musical moment occurs early on in the film, so the mood of momentarily subdued hopelessness is well established.  But his vulnerable profession of pain still feels like it comes out of nowhere, blindsiding us and leaving an aching bruise on our heart.

Writer/director Destin Cretton derived the film from his own experiences working in a home for troubled teens, so the scenes portraying the residents of the short term living facility are the most vividly realized.  They possess a potent, palpable authenticity that is rare to encounter outside of documentary film.  The kids do not come across as characters wandering around inside a story – they feel like people who happened to step in front of the lens.

“Short Term 12” would be a compelling enough film had it just focused on the backstories of the teenagers and what led them to the home, but that does not exactly lend itself handily to the narrative form.  Thus, to tie all the elements together, Cretton introduces Brie Larson as the home’s supervisor, Grace, into the script.

Larson is phenomenal in the role, bringing equal parts heart and grit to the table.  But the problem is, the rest of “Short Term 12” just lies on an entirely different level as her.  Everyone else appears to be inhabiting and living; Larson, unavoidably, always has to act.  They are authentic, while she is honest – two modes that are closely related but not quite synonymous.

Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: The Salvation

13 03 2015

The SalvationSometimes it takes an outsider to really make a cinematic genre reflect the American character; I’m thinking specifically of Brit Christopher Nolan making the ultimate statement about post-9/11 USA with comic book flick “The Dark Knight.”  This is not necessarily the case with Danish director Kristian Levring’s western “The Salvation,” however.  (Yes, the American West.)

“The Salvation” has its modest thrills, like the classic “High Noon” bred with a modern Liam Neeson-style revenge caper.  The film sees Mads Mikkelsen’s Jon lose his newly immigrated wife and son at the hands of two gangsters, Jon’s retaliation, the gang leader Delarue (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) throwing down the gauntlet in the tiny Western town, and the townspeople cower in fear from offering Jon any assistance.  And all in a slender, 90 minute runtime, no less!

Mikkelsen is powerful as ever, but any fans of his should just reexamine the complexities of “The Hunt” or binge watch “Hannibal” for a more worthwhile use of screen time.  And as for those interested in or passionate about westerns, it’s hard to recommend something like “The Salvation,” a film rather average and unspectacular, when multiple watershed John Ford westerns are so readily available to stream.  B- / 2stars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Cinderella

12 03 2015

Kenneth Branagh’s biggest cinematic production to date has been “Thor,” but he established a reputation far before taking on a hot Marvel property.  Many consider him the Laurence Olivier of our time, perhaps the preeminent modern interpreter of Shakespeare.  Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he stood at the helm of multiple acclaimed film adaptations of the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon’s plays.

After delivering a dead-on-arrival reboot of the “Jack Ryan” franchise, Branagh turned back toward a source material that he could more faithfully reproduce: Disney’s “Cinderella.”  He approaches the fabled animated classic with the same tender touch he brings to a Shakespeare text, gingerly re-staging the action with careful attention to its original incarnation.  By not shaking anything up, Branagh ensures that his film will not ruffle the feathers of the die-hards.

But the downside of such a rigid reinterpretation is that his “Cinderella” also does not really excite anyone except the die-hards.  If the animated classic, 65 years later, still enchants children everywhere, why bother to remake it with such obliviousness to the many midnights passed?  (“Maleficent,” warts and all, at least took a stab at reimagining the “Sleeping Beauty” mythology.)  The answer seems simple: merchandising opportunities and brand awareness.

Branagh serves less as a director and more as a cookie-cutter, ensuring that all components of his “Cinderella” meet the pre-established mold.  In everything from the opening line of “once upon a time” to the traditional gender roles and ideology, the film adequately measures up.  The only worthwhile addition 2015 makes to the story is some CGI in the Fairy Godmother’s transformation of Cinderella, her escorts, and her carriage – effects that look quite magical.

Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

F.I.L.M. of the Week (March 12, 2015)

12 03 2015

Often times, the genres “action” and “adventure” get grouped together with a hyphen or a slash mark as if they were interchangeable terms.  It seems that not too long ago, Hollywood pumped out both kinds of movies in relatively equal measure.  Now, with the seemingly unstoppable rise of the comic book adaptation, action films have shoved out all the more epic, ambitious adventures.

Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s “Kon-Tiki,” on the other hand, serves as a potent reminder of just how captivating a real adventure is when done well.  It’s no surprise that Disney has quickly scooped up the directing duo to steer the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise back into safer waters. Rønning and Sandberg’s knack for balancing exciting storytelling and impressive set pieces makes their work a more than deserving pick for my “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”

The movie follows the simple yet truly extraordinary of Thor Heyerdal, an anthropologist whose ethnographic research on Polynesia suggests Peruvians settled on the island from the west.  His theory receives dismissal from the academic community, which suggests that such a feat was impossible with their lack of technology.  Thor, rather than giving up or just yelling, decides to disprove his detractors by sailing from Peru to Polynesia on a raft built only with the materials at the disposal of the settlers.

Thor, along with an eclectic crew of sailors and explorers, embark on a perilous, foolish, and admirable quest on the high seas that sees them facing down some of nature’s most dangerous foes.  All the while, “Kon-Tiki” makes for a refreshing movie to watch simply because it thrills without the weight of Hollywood star iconography.  Without the baggage brought to the film by well-known actors necessary to sell a film like this at a studio, we can really get to know the characters, not just analyze them in light of what we already know about the person playing them.

“Kon-Tiki” is the kind of movie that aims to do little more than entertain, but it achieves that aim without devolving into mindlessness or artlessness.  Rønning and Sandberg do not aim to leave any big questions, although I had one at the end: how did a movie with only a few lines of non-English dialogue manage to pull of an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film?!


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : F.I.L.M. of the Week, Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Oz the Great and Powerful

11 03 2015

Sam Raimi’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” is home to a number of very pleasant elements.  James Franco’s Oscar receives accompaniment a heartwarming and adorable CGI china doll with a broken leg voiced by Joey King as well as a flying monkey hilariously played by Zach Braff.  The conclusion (no spoilers) also pays a wonderful tribute to the magic and power of cinema.

And … that’s pretty much it that I can remember.

“Oz” mostly strands a talented cast of actors against recycled graphics from Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.”  Raimi and screenwriters Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire (the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of “Rabbit Hole,” mind you) have to tiptoe around the iconography of “The Wizard of Oz” since Disney does not own the 1939 classic film, which means they cannot gush about its timeless qualities or rejuvenate the brand.  So the whole thing just feels rather awkward in principle, and then the film itself does nothing to alleviate that sensation.

James Franco is a great actor, but he is unfortunately miscast as Oscar.  His moral ambiguity in the role means nothing without the kind of earnestness and goodness that make up the bedrock of a Disney protagonist.  The part just seems too simple for him, as strange as that sounds.

Meanwhile, among the witches in the Land of Oz, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz appear to be having some kind of competition to see who can overact the most and bring the movie down more.  Shockingly, it’s the Oscar-winner Weisz who might tank “Oz” to a greater extent.

And then there’s also Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good Witch.  She’s very pleasant, too, I’m now remembering.  Williams brings the airy, gentle grace she endowed her Marilyn Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn,” and it does make the film more bearable when she appears on screen.  That is hardly enough to salvage the whole movie, though, or make it fun and entertaining. C / 2stars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: The Myth of the American Sleepover

10 03 2015

American SleepoverI remember being 15 years old like it was just yesterday.  It was a time of excitement and newness as well as a period of confusion, longing, and frustration.  You begin to realize what it is that you personally want yet only have a rudimentary vocabulary to express it. The world seems so full of promise and potential, but so much of it seems locked away out of reach.

David Robert Mitchell’s atypical teen film “The Myth of the American Sleepover” captures this post-pubescent milieu with shocking accuracy.  He presents a vast array of characters in his ensemble, at least one of whom has to strike some sort of chord with a viewer.  They resist stereotypes and stock characterization quite ably, getting to the heart of what it really means to endure and enjoy this critical life juncture.

Mitchell’s script essentially consists of prolonged conversations between the characters, not advancing any sort of linear plot but rather chipping away at the facade they put up for others to view.  After a while, the film starts to run in circles and overstay its welcome as it ponders over the same adolescent conundrums.

Nonetheless, “The Myth of the American Sleepover” is a special kind of coming-of-age movie, simply because it does not show the process of change over a period of time.  Over the course of a single weekend at the end of summer, we learn all we need to know.  I just wish I had this movie to watch when I was still a teen and not discovered it as a twentysomething.  B / 2halfstars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

9 03 2015

Gett PosterThe protagonist and heroine of “Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem” may have her name in the title, but that could very well be the only advantage she possesses in the film.  Take the first scene, for example.  As Viviane seeks a divorce in court from her husband Elisha, all the other participants mention her several times in the first few minutes – yet she remains off-camera entirely.  Elisha even delivers a line directly to her, and he just looks right into the lens.

Brother/sister writing and directing team Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz use “Gett” as an exploration of the ways in which women are degraded and disrespected in Israeli society.  Patriarchy is not just institutionalized – it’s codified in law.  When Viviane (played by the co-writer and director Ronit) and her lawyer present their petition for separation, the three male judges deciding the future of her union clearly have no intention of really listening to what she has to say. Any intents and declarations professed by a male receive obvious privilege in their eyes.

The entire two-hour film takes place inside the walls of the courtroom, a single location conceit starts off interesting but gradually grows somewhat tiring.  Some of the fatigue sets in because, surprisingly, the Elkabetz siblings do all their table-turning on the witnesses brought in to testify.  Normally, in a courtroom drama, the audience vacillates in opinion on the plaintiff and the defendant as new evidence brings about a clearer picture of each.

Even in spite of its flaws, “Gett” still makes a compelling watch for its fierce feminism alone.  Hearing such sexist remarks as “Know your place, woman” is painful enough, but observing Viviane’s relative silence in the face of such misogyny speaks volumes – especially when compared to all the long-winded men in the room.  She usually maintains a stoic facade, occasionally captured in a long take by the camera, and rarely breaks it.

Mostly, though, Viviane is just caught quietly registering the words of all the males around her and feeling a sense of hopelessness.  What chance does she have to fight for her own happiness in a world where a man’s flimsy word is stronger than a woman’s firm willpower?  Her occasional outbreaks, forcefully and urgently argued by Ronit Elkbaetz, feel rousing and righteous as a result.  B+ / 3stars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Ballet 422

8 03 2015

Ballet 422The documentary “Ballet 422” follows the process of the only person concurrently serving as dancer and choreographer in the New York City ballet, Justin Kelly, as he mounts a new production.  But unlike the average non-fiction film, director Jody Lee Lipes features no talking heads – at least not ones commenting on the events from the privileged position of hindsight.

His editing style shows how the minutiae and tiny little components of the rehearsal process amass and eventually cohere into a ballet.  Lipes devotes several minutes to showing how a staff member works to get the right shade of blue for the costumes.  This is the kind of scene that would normally be left on the cutting room floor, yet in “Ballet 422,” it feels compelling and necessary.

At times, the documentary flirts with the self-indulgence of a “making of” film that would be a DVD extra for a recording of the ballet itself.  Yet, for the most part, Lipes resists succumbing to some easy trappings of such nonfictional pieces. By showing rather than telling, he indicates a level of trust in the viewers’ power to adequately process what they observe.

Perhaps most refreshingly, there is no tacked-on biography of Kelly as a person.  “Ballet 422” defines him simply by his work in the studio and nothing more.  It is definitely heartening to see a documentary so fully committed to a single focal point, although the almost inevitable downside of such an approach is the alienation of those outside such a tiny niche.  Still, I found the film mostly fascinating – and with a 70 minute runtime, the film certainly does not overstay its welcome. B / 2halfstars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Blackhat

7 03 2015

For a movie that features hackers who can access some scarily far reaches of the world’s computing system, in a time where cyberterrorists quite literally reached inside the American network and restricted our freedom of speech, the stakes in Michael Mann’s “Blackhat” feel remarkably low.  These unknown villains do not seem threatening so much as annoying, as if they were Clippy on Microsoft Word.

Some serialized dramas on basic cable networks possess more urgency in storytelling.  So the moral of the story is never send the year’s champion of World’s Sexiest Man to do Mariska Hargitay’s job, perhaps?

Hemsworth stars as Hathaway, the now-imprisoned programmer who served as the lead architect on the code that wreaks havoc on nuclear reactors and stock markets across the world.  (In spite of this brilliance, Hathaway still cannot manage to figure out how to button the top four buttons on his shirt.)  Since Mann sets the film on such a low simmer, it seems only fitting that their criminal adversary only seeks to hijack computers for the sake of making a quick buck off the manipulation of global trade.

To make matters worse, enduring “Blackhat” also involves tolerating Mann’s grimy, grainy digital aesthetic.  The movie looks like a crappy HDTV demo from a flat-screen at Sam’s Club, circa 2007.  It has no pretense of imitating the look of film stock (even if this sounds arcane and technical, this difference is obvious).  Not to mention, the camera feels about as loose as the buttons on Hemsworth’s wardrobe, and the entire thing looks cheaply re-lit in post-production.

Mann’s visuals are in service of a script from Morgan Davis Foehl, a writer getting his first screenplay credit.  His writing does not highlight relevant issues surrounding cybersecurity nor does it raise any intriguing ethical questions, a real bummer considering what just happened surrounding the release of “The Interview.”  In fact, the only question I left “Blackhat” asking was whether I found it tougher to follow the plot … or to care about what happened altogether?  C / 2stars


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: The Kill Team

6 03 2015

The Kill Team“The Kill Team” takes place during the War in Iraq, but Dan Krauss’ documentary is not really about that conflict.  Most non-fiction films about American involvement in the Middle East try to take a more holistic view, contextualizing one story within a much broader frame of reference to argue the filmmakers’ thesis.  Krauss, on the other hand, simply tells a tale of humans and the society they construct around them.

His film opens with voiceovers of news allegations that of a “kill team” in Iraq that murdered for fun, and then it cuts to one of the men facing life in prison for a premeditated murder.  Krauss switches between Iraq and the courtroom effectively throughout the entire film, showing what led to the incidents in question as well as their consequences and repercussions in equal measure.  “The Kill Team” stays chiefly focused on the people directly involved in the killings under investigation and those immediately affected by it, and the film is all the better for maintaining such a tight, narrow scope.

The stark contrast between the battlefield and the courtroom provides a potent illustration of how morality is socially constructed.  What seems like a choice between following the rules and preserving your life becomes the ultimate catch-22.  The heart cannot help but break for Spc. Adam Winfield, who was the whistleblower for the unit, but not in the same way as Bradley/Chelsea Manning.  This soldier was motivated purely by what ought to be considered inarguable conscience as he strove to maintain a basic sense of humanity, and he faces punishment that devastates both he and his entire family.

The film might have benefitted from hearing the perspective of Gibbs, the sadistic military man responsible for intimidating soldiers into the mess depicted in “The Kill Team.”  But if anything Winfield and his comrades claimed about his actions is true, it is understandable why he would not want to speak in his own defense; simply put, his actions were indefensible.  A- / 3halfstars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

F.I.L.M. of the Week (March 5, 2015)

5 03 2015

In the HouseFrançois Ozon made a big splash in 2003 with his film “Swimming Pool,” which follows the exploits of a novelist pulling generously from real life to write her next book.  A decade later, he circles back to the same themes with his adaptation of “In the House.”  It hardly feels like a rerun, however.

Ozon, here, concerns himself with the ethical position of the observer watching actuality being warped into literary fantasy.  This thrilling, dramatic work earns my nod for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week” because of the way it raises fascinating questions about the challenges and conundrums faced by all who write fictional tales.  While Ozon stops short of making the voyeuristic audience feel that moral weight, “In the House” nonetheless excites and enchants with its intellectual interrogations.

The film plays out as a serialized drama refracted through the experience of a teenage boy, the inquisitive student Claude (Ernest Umhauer).  His incisive description of the inner workings and desires of the real, banal middle-class home belonging to his socially awkward classmate Rapha Artole proves tantalizing to Claude’s teacher, washed-up writer Germain Germain (Fabrice Luchini).  Germain wants to develop and hone his pupil’s writing skills, so he begins to tutor him privately in order to discuss his compositions.

But Germain also pushes him to take surprising actions in his dealings with the Artoles to make Claude’s writing more daring in tone and content.  Thus, the always teetering fulcrum between art reflecting life and life reflecting art begins to fluctuate so rapidly that any distinction between the directionality become inpossible to discern.  Germain essentially turns Claude into a narrative Rumpelstiltskin, exploiting the beauty of the mundane for textual gold and personal gain.

“In the House” excellently illuminates the problems of narrativizing life as it plays out as well as how the writing of life ex post facto clouds and ruins the living of it.  Ozon’s smart plotting and direction makes these quandaries not only intriguing to mull over but also truly riveting to watch in action.


Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : F.I.L.M. of the Week, Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Scenic Route

4 03 2015

Scenic RouteExplicitly name-dropping influences within a movie is always a bad idea because it quite literally invites comparisons to the source. And it is an especially ill-advised move if that movie is a classic of the cinema like Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver.”

Well, in Kevin and Michael Goetz’s “Scenic Route,” guess what they do when Dan Fogler’s Carter shaves the hair of Josh Duhamel’s Mitchell into a Mohawk? Yeah. Big mistake.

In “Taxi Driver,” Scorsese achieves fascinating results by playing around with the grammar and vocabulary of cinema itself. “Scenic Route,” on the other hand, feels rather stage-like in its setup. Two brothers, one car, driven slowly to insanity by getting stuck in the middle of nowhere for an obscene amount of time? Having just a pair of performers really seems like more of a theatrical conceit. Having the immediacy of their presence, combined with an unbroken temporal dimension of their escalating madness, sounds like a riveting play.

But on screen, it can feel rather excruciating. The Goetzs fail to use the confined space in any interesting way, and it makes the sub-90 minute runtime quite a chore. Not to mention, “Scenic Route” takes an odd, tonally inconsistent turn in its conclusion that feels totally unearned. So, to answer the question that Josh Duhamel is begging to ask – no, this film does not redeem his participation in the “Transformers” series.  C / 2stars


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Olympus Has Fallen

3 03 2015

Lest we forget, the sight of the White House, the very icon of the American Presidency, in flames could have been a non-fiction tale (or a Paul Greengrass film). On September 11, 2001, United Flight 93 was likely headed to Washington, D.C. to take out the beloved building. So given that history, a modicum of respect – not even Christopher Nolan levels of seriousness – and reverence seems due for the landmark.

None of this registered with the makers of “Olympus Has Fallen,” however. Director Antoine Fuqua seeks to inspire anger by focusing on the sight of the edifice under siege, yet the film just feels too cartoonish in its destruction for any real emotions to register. (This is a movie where someone gets killed by trauma to the head inflicted by a bust of Abraham Lincoln, after all.)

Furthermore, the trigger-happy festival of gore devalues innocent lives taken by terrorists – NOT a smart move when trying to invoke the legacy of 9/11. As Gerard Butler’s Mike Banning seeks to rescue the prisoners of the North Korean attackers who take over the White House, the stakes feel rather low. In terms of hostage movies, this feels about on the level of a bank robbery.

“Olympus Has Fallen” will not even leave you chanting “USA! USA!” And, keep in mind, this is a movie that stars Morgan Freeman. What a squandered opportunity. C / 2stars


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Movie Reviews

« Previous Entries Next Entries »