REVIEW: Pain & Gain

MOVIE
Pain & Gain

CAST
Mark Wahlberg,
Dwayne Johnson

RATING
R

RELEASE
April 26, 2013

DIRECTOR
Michael Bay

STUDIO
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 9 minutes






STARS
*1/2









REVIEW:

Moviegoers love Michael Bay movies, plain and simple.  No matter how awful they are, they still make a crap ton of money and many people out there like the racist jokes and non-stop explosion fiestas that he brings to even his non-science fiction films.  Take 'Pain & Gain' here, for instance.  This is a movie that constantly tells its audience that it's based on a true story, and by that I mean they literally say on screen that this movie is based on a true story three times throughout its 129 minute running time.  Even though Bay expects us to believe that everything in this film is true, there are too many comedic elements and not enough dark material to make people fully invest in the film.  From the trailers, this film looked like a pretty fun hard R popcorn experience.  The overall result was anything but, and that's coming from someone who actually likes all three of the 'Transformers' movies, including 'Revenge of the Fallen' to an extent.  'Pain & Gain' takes the potential greatness it had and instead gives the audience bad jokes to laugh at, asshole characters that are hard to root for, and too much going in a film that could have been 20-30 minutes shorter.

The year is 1994, and Miami local Daniel Lugo lives for fitness.  By that, I mean he literally lives for fitness, as he is the buffed out manager at Sun Gym, where business has tripled its customers thanks to Lugo.  After seeing a man named Johnny Wu talk about being a "do-er" instead of a "don't-er," Daniel decides that he wants to live the American dream.  The only problem with that is the "American Dream" costs a lot of money.  That's where Victor Kershaw comes in.  He's a snobby rich guy who could care less about guys like Daniel.  So Lugo, teaming up with his co-workers Paul and Adrian, tortures Kershaw into signing away all of his money and property.  Now Kershaw wants revenge on these three men.  Now it's a cat and mouse game between the Sun Gym Gang and Kershaw as murder, drugs, and undercover work all develop into a story so insane, it has to be true.

Many are going to blame Michael Bay for this film because of the fact that he directed it.  In all honestly I don't blame Bay for the mediocrity that this movie is, because as a director, he does a solid job.  Sure he can't direct his actors properly, but on a visual stand point, he does a good job presenting this crazy crazy world.  The editing might be strange, but in a way it works here, adding to the dark insanity that's being presented on screen.  As for the people who should be ridiculed for this film, it should be the screenwriters.

This film might have been Bay's baby from the start, but he didn't write the film at all; Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreely are the masterminds behind the screenplay.  This screenwriting duo have been responsible for films such as 'The Chronicles of Narnia' trilogy and 'Captain America: The First Avenger.'  Despite not necessarily having an awful track record, I ponder why and how they transitioned from sci-fi/fantasy films to this hard R dark comedy.  This film is trying to be a comedy, yet there aren't any laugh out loud moments present.  When the movie tries to be funny, it's pretty bland.  When it's trying to be dark, it becomes as dark as an over cooked burger on a hot summer day.  There are really pointless things in the script as well, ranging from unneccesary voiceovers to cards that literally pop up and remind its audience that the film is still a true story.  When a movie does something like that, it's never a good sign.  As for the writers themselves, they should just stick to the sci-fi/fantasy genre where they belong.

Of all of the actors in the film, the most enjoyable performance by far was Ed Harris.  Harris plays the man hired by Tony Shalloub's character Victor Kershaw to hunt down the Sun Gym Gang and get Kershaw's money back.  It seemed that Harris was the only actor trying to give a performance that people would like and root for, so to speak.  In fact, Harris is the only relatively likable character in the film.  Everyone else in this film is an ass.  Mark Wahlberg was really trying to hard to be a douche, and he succeeds at it, but overall doesn't give a good performance.  Dwayne Johnson is somewhat likable up until the attempted murder happens.  From there, he becomes a full fledged coke addict that makes you really despise the performance and the character.  Same goes for Anthony Mackie, who also gives a mediocre performance, and his worst performance in his career so far.  As for Tony Shalloub, despite his character being an asshole, the audience is actually rooting for him after we're supposed to root for the Sun Gym Gang.  The actors overall are trying to hard to be the biggest douches and most unlikable characters imaginable, and they're successful at doing just that.  The only thing is, there's no payoff to their douchey performances.  It just makes the audience hate them as actors in general.

As somebody who enjoys all three 'Transformers' films and thought this was going to be a good movie, I have to say that 'Pain & Gain' was a huge disappointment.  There are no moments that are laugh out loud funny, rather there are one or two chuckle worthy moments present throughout the movie.  The editing is strange, and there are too many voiceovers.  The actors tried to make these characters as vile as possible, while at the same time not giving any good performance whatsoever.  The screenwriters failed at making this dark comedy funny or interesting for the most part.  Michael Bay has talent as a director, and it's clearly shown here in the way he directs certain scenes.  Overall though, 'Pain & Gain' brings the pain, however there's nothing to gain from it at all.  If this movie had been 20 minutes shorter and much darker, then this would have been a much better experience.  Sadly it wasn't, and this is what we were given.

REVIEW: Oblivion

MOVIE
Oblivion

CAST
Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
April 19, 2013

DIRECTOR
Joseph Kosinski

STUDIO
Universal Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 5 minutes





STARS
**1/2








REVIEW:

When 'Tron: Legacy' first came out back in December of 2010, moviegoers including myself were blown away at how great the visuals were and how awesome it was to see this then 28 year old film spawn a sequel. Over two years have passed, and now director Joseph Kosinski brings his sophomore effort 'Oblivion,' to the big screen. This is also the latest action Sci-Fi flick to show that 50 year old megastar Tom Cruise can still be an awesome action hero. Sadly though, the film doesn't live up to the directorial debut of Kosinski, as 'Oblivion' is brilliant in the first half hour, but dwindles down despite some very intriguing ideas and some interesting twists. The film is still somewhat enjoyable and a fun theater experience overall, but it had so much potential which it didn't live up to, which makes it an average flick overall.

In the year 2017, Earth was attacked by a group of aliens called scavengers, or "scavs" for short. A full on battle between the humans and the aliens commenced, which the humans eventually won. Unfortunately, the Moon and Earth were so destroyed that the humans had to colonize on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. 60 years later, a select few sets of humans are left on Earth to clean up and repair the sets of drones that are stationed all over Earth. Jack Harper is one of these humans, who, with his partner/lover Victoria successfully repair the drones and keep the planet the way it was left before the evacuation. Things are going smoothly for the two, as they're about to be sent to Titan to live in peace and harmony. That is, until a mysterious stranger who for some reason recognizes Jack comes crash landing from a ship. From there, a series of strange and shocking events start occurring, which makes Jack ponder about his own life and what he's been told about it.

The most satisfying thing about the film is the cinematography and the visual effects. One of the big highlights on 'Tron: Legacy' was how gorgeous the 3D world looked, and the same can be said here. While not revolutionary or groundbreaking, all of the effects, from flying ships to swimming in a pool thousands of feet above the surface, look incredible. Hell, this movie would have looked incredible if it was filmed in 3D. The cinematography by Claudio Miranda, who most recently won an Oscar for his work on 'Life of Pi,' looks gorgeous. Each shot of Tom Cruise looking over the ruins of Earth makes the audience feel like we're right there looking with Cruise at the catastrophic aftermath. If there is one way to see this movie, it's on the big screen. Seeing it on a TV or computer would not give the look of the film enough justice. Sadly though, these are the only great things about this film. Everything else is either good, decent, or mediocre.

Of all of the actors in the film, Tom Cruise gives the best performance as Jack Harper. Of the performances I've seen of Cruise recently, this is my least favorite of his, and that's mainly because it felt like anyone could have played this character. Sure his character is likable and pretty cool, but we've already acknowledged that Cruise is a full fledged movie star, so this just felt like that message was repeating itself. Despite getting top billing, Morgan Freeman (aka the voice of god) is only in the film for like 10 minutes and is just phoning it in during his presence. He was fine, I guess, but honestly his character and the entire subplot revolving around his character could have easily been cut out with a few script revisions. Melissa Leo was also good, but it felt she was phoning her performance in as well, just constantly repeating the same exact lines she said 20 minutes prior. As for the other two female leads, they were the weakest part of the cast.

Olga Kurylenko was fine, but her character was written to do two things: 1.) Add more conflict to the story 2.) Do practically nothing other than be the damsel to Cruise. I saw talent in her performance, but there wasn't a lot of substance to her character. Andrea Riseborough was the weakest member of the cast because she just felt like that whiny woman character you'd see in any movie with two females for one man. This tidbit is purely a nitpick because it was bothering me to an extent; her pupils were dilated throughout the entire movie, which kept making me think she was on acid or something. Either way, she reminded me of a carbon copy of a bitchy character played by Laura Linney. Overall, Tom Cruise was good, but everyone else was either phoning in their performance or were just plain mediocre. I don't blame it on the actors, though. I actually have Joseph Kosinski to blame for this.

Joseph Kosinski is a guy who really needs more practice when it comes to directing his actors, as well as writing screenplays. His visual style is great, and he clearly has a vision for what he's making, but he directs his actors to be flat characters who spew out cheesy lines. What's funny about this is that this movie is based on a graphic novel of the same name, which Kosinski wrote with Arvid Nelson. The script was co-written by Kosinski and Karl Gajdusek, with 'Toy Story 3' screenwriter Michael Arndt doing script revisions. The main problem with the script is that they have too many things going on and are trying to do something groundbreaking with this film.

In truth, this film has most of what's been seen before in sci-fi films, with elements coming from films like 'Star Wars,' 'A.I.,' and '2001: A Space Odyssey.' There were a handful of things that could have either been talked about more or not been there at all. For example, the story with Morgan Freeman and his "resistance" could have easily been taken out and replaced with simpler things. They talk about aliens still scavenging the planet, yet these aliens are never shown! I get that the filmmakers were trying to have deeper meanings with this film and have genuinely great twists along the way, but the result was sadly a mediocre script with extra style and less substance.

I purposely avoided any footage from 'Oblivion' because I knew it would be a challenge to do. I thought that by going into this blank, maybe I would love the living hell out of it. Since I knew nothing of the film prior to seeing it, I felt a little ripped off in the end due to the fact that what I was seeing didn't feel new. The friend who I went with to see it really enjoyed it, and I can see why people in general would like this film overall. I might have been expecting a lot from seeing so little, so that might have affected my opinion. If you want a visually stunning big screen experience, then this is the perfect eye-candy for you. If you can get pass the bland script and unoriginality, then this may be a movie you will fall in love with. I just couldn't do that. Despite fantastic visuals, stellar cinematography, and a good performance from Tom Cruise, 'Oblivion' just felt like a movie trying to be unique and original, yet in the end was something that's been done many times before.




PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Now You See Me

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Man of Steel

Elysium

R.I.P.D.

The Heat

Fast and Furious 6

REVIEW: The Place Beyond The Pines

MOVIE
The Place Beyond The Pines

CAST
Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper

RATING
R

RELEASE
March 29, 2013 (NY/LA)
April 12, 2013 (WIDE)

DIRECTOR
Derek Cianfrance

STUDIO(S)
Focus Features,
Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 21 minutes






STARS
****






REVIEW:

Of all of the movies to have come out in 2013 so far, none have made me feel the way 'The Place Beyond The Pines' did.  Here is a movie that's been getting a lot of buzz due to its all star cast, which consists of names such as Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, as well as a glowing reception out of its world premiere at TIFF last year.  I kind of made it a life mission of sorts to skip out on all of the trailers and any knowledge of the plot available.  All that was left to be seen were photos and posters.  Going into the film, I didn't expect nothing more than a good movie.  Boy, what I got instead wasn't just good, but it was stunning.  At times it's disturbing, and at other times it can be shocking and brutal.  Overall though, the movie is fantastic.  It's truly an original and deep movie that is captivating and intriguing throughout.

There isn't one single plot to the film, rather three acts that make up the storyline of it.  The first act of the movie is about Luke Glanton. He's a motorcycle stunt driver who has returned to the town of Schenectady, New York, where he reunites with a woman whom he had a fling with the year prior. As it turns out, he now has a 1 year old son named Jason that's he's never been told about. As a result, Luke wants to take care of and support his son and one time lover, whom has a new man in his life. Unfortunately not a lot of jobs are out there, so he goes to the one thing that he thinks could bring in a lot of money: robbing banks. This leads into Act two, which involves Avery Cross. Avery Cross is a cop who wants to get promoted to higher ranks due to his knowledge and test scores. Unfortunately the department is ruled by a corrupt detective who does private jobs to blackmail others. Avery too has a young baby at home, who goes by the name of AJ. The final act of this film revolves around Jason and AJ meeting 15 years later, and the past and corruption of their fathers coming to haunt them in the present.

It's hard to decide who gave the best performance in the film, because Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper were both fantastic.  Gosling combined his quiet yet dangerous character in 'Drive' with a loving father with lots of tattoos on his body.  He steals the first third of the film and captivates every single scene he's in.  Cooper might not have been as good as he was in 'Silver Linings Playbook,' but his presence in the film builds up a lot of tension and makes you feel for the character while despising him to an extent at the same time.  For these two actors, this film will without a doubt be on their resume for the rest of their careers.  As for the rest of the cast, everyone gave great performances as well.

Eva Mendes didn't do a whole lot in the film, but for what it's worth, she did a great job overall.  This is, without a doubt, her best performance in a movie thus far in her career.  Her character is tough, fierce, and resistant in trying to protect her 1 year old (or 17 year old in the future) from harms way, including Gosling's Luke.  In fact, her best scenes are two different scenes, one with Gosling and the other with Cooper, that both reflect on each other in a way.  She definitely belongs more in dramatic films rather than stupid comedies (not including 'The Other Guys') or superhero films.  Ray Liotta has about 20 minutes of screen time overall, but he is a ferocious monster in every scene he's in.  Like, damn, he is a fantastic villainous actor!  That's really all that can be said about his performance.  Ben Mendelsohn, who plays Luke's only friend in the film Robin, is a great supporting character and such a nice screen presence.  I found out after the film that the actor is in fact Australian.  His American accent sounds so real, it's pretty hard to tell he is anything but an American citizen.

Dane DeHaan of 'Chronicle' also does a fantastic job, playing the older son of Ryan Gosling's Luke.  He's like a polar opposite of his father, and yet he consumes his father's criminal identity towards the end of the movie, and frankly you do feel for the character.  Bradley Cooper's son in the film AJ, played by Emory Cohen, is a different story.  This character also is a polar opposite from his father, but in the worst way possible.  Cohen captures how it might feel to rebel against their successful and "pure" parents.  Every actor in this movie gives a performance that may not soon be forgotten.  Not even the smallest of characters are easily forgotten, because they all have something to do with an essential point in the brilliant script.

Director Derek Cianfrance not only directed this film, but he also wrote the film.  To get this off the bat, this is the first fantastic movie to come out in a long time that was an entirely original idea and not taken from any other source material.  Cianfrance co-wrote this movie with Ben Coccio and Darius Marder, whom aren't known for anything really big.  What's so great about this script is that instead of playing out like a regular movie, it plays out like a three act play, which is pretty unique.  Every character gets the amount of screen-time needed for them.  Each story wraps up nicely and smoothy flows into the second story as if each story was dissolving into itself.  Not only that, but Cianfrance's direction really got some believable performances out of each actor.  His choices at where to put action and disturbing scenes were perfect.  This is a filmmaker who one day could be hailed at the same regard as maybe Steven Spielberg.  Seriously, this guy has some serious talent whether it's orchestrating a mad chase between a man on a motorcycle and several police cars, or if it's creating an effective dramatic sequence that puts the audience on the edge of their seat.

'The Place Beyond The Pines' is the first potential Oscar contender of 2013.  This is an example of how a director can tell a story over the span of three generations and still keep the audience invested throughout, despite a nearly 2 and a half hour running time.  The actors are all spectacular, particularly Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper.  The script is great and has a nice flow to it and no slow moments whatsoever.  To top it all off, the original story is a nice breath of fresh air in a season of remakes, true stories, and 3D fiestas.  'The Place Beyond The Pines' is, without a single doubt, the best movie of the year so far, and it has set a huge bar up for any other movie coming out this year.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

The Big Wedding


Mud

Unfinished Song

The East

Much Ado About Nothing

MINI-REVIEW: Starbuck

MOVIE
Starbuck

CAST
Patrick Huard, Julie Le Broton

RATING
R

RELEASE
March 22, 2013

DIRECTOR
Ken Scott

STUDIO
Entertainment One

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 49 minutes






STARS
***1/2





REVIEW:

There is a huge fascination in sperm these days, and why wouldn't there be? The male reproductive "juice" has been the subject of a bunch of recent movies, like 'The Switch' and 'The Babymakers' for example.  However there hasn't been a "sperm" movie to come around that makes audiences relate to and laugh at their main protagonist.  Now comes 'Starbuck,' a French-Canadian comedy that's just making its way to the US after opening in other parts of the world in 2011.  An English remake starring Vince Vaughn is being released this October, which can explain why Entertainment One wanted to finally take this film off its international shelf and bring it to us Americans.  Chances are that not a lot of people will find this movie in their local theater, since this is getting a pretty minuscule release.  For those who are able to find this movie, though, chances are they will really enjoy it.  The film is a funny, sweet, and charming movie about the love one can give to their children, regardless of the amount of children had.

Dave Wozniak hasn't really done anything productive with his forty-something life.  He has the easiest job at his father's butcher shop, and yet he can't even get that job done in time.  When his girlfriend announces she's pregnant, however, he decides that he wants to reshape his life to prove that he's capable of raising a child.  Little does Dave know that his life is soon going to change.  A lawyer pops into his trashy apartment one day and says that, due to his constant sperm donations over a two year period, he has fathered 533 children.  No no, you actually read that correctly: 533 children.  You see, in a two year period, Dave turned to sperm donating as a quick way to make money, for which he made nearly $25,000 for his countless donations under the alias name "Starbuck."  So there was a period at the sperm bank where they only had "Starbuck's" sperm, so that's what they could only use.  And of these 533 children, 142 of them want to create a lawsuit against their biological father, unless he reveals his true identity.  But let's face it: how would anyone's girlfriend feel if they found out that their fiancé has over 500 babies without her?

Believe it or not, 'Starbuck' is not as raunchy as one might expect it to be with its premise.  Sure the first scene of the film involves Dave, um, "making" the juice, but that's really the worst it gets.  The film overall is a sweet and funny comedy with a lot of heart thrown in, as well as a great performance from Patrick Huard.  The characters are likable for the most part, the script is fresh and witty, and it makes one wonder how somebody can care for all of their children equally.  I'm very interested in seeing the American remake of this movie, as it will probably be just as or less good than this.  That's not a bad thing at all, it's just what happens with American remakes of foreign movies.  Overall, aside from a predictable ending and some overly melodramatic moments, 'Starbuck' is a quirky, witty, and fresh French-Canadian comedy that deserves all of the praise it's gotten from everywhere else in the world.

REVIEW: Spring Breakers

MOVIE
Spring Breakers

CAST
James Franco, Selena Gomez

RATING
R

RELEASE
March 15, 2013 (NY/LA)
March 22, 2013 (WIDE)

DIRECTOR
Harmony Korine

STUDIO
A24

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 34 minutes





STARS
***1/2







REVIEW:

As soon as the Skrillex song 'Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites' starts booming through the theater speakers as a montage of partying and nudity flood the movie screen, the audience is taken on a ride that they're half expecting to be on. Most of the people who go to see this will expect a full on party movie ala 'Project X'. However what they're getting is a messed up combination of 'Project X,' 'Scarface,' and dub-step music that somehow works if one's in the right mindset. 'Spring Breakers,' from notorious weirdo director Harmony Korine, takes its audience into a crazy world of sex, drugs, violence, and partying that is a satire of a typical party movie. For that alone, many audience members will reject this movie completely and call it a waste of time. For those who know exactly what they're getting into, aka somebody who knows and understands Korine's bizarre ways of filmmaking, then they will probably enjoy it. 'Spring Breakers' is a transfixing, surreal, and crazy way of looking at a spring break gone wrong. But damn, it's such a fun movie at the same time.

After the montage of T&A, the movie opens with our four lead characters. Faith is the more naive one of the group, while the other three, Candy, Cotty, and Brit, are the more free-sprits of the foursome. Spring Break is rolling around for the girls, but their travel funds won't suffice for them and they need to find more money to fund Spring Break, and fast. So the girls do what they think is the only logical thing to do to get a lot of cash fast: rob a local fast food joint. From there, the girls head to Florida to have an unforgettable weekend filled with sex, drugs, and partying nonstop. Unfortunately the group gets arrested and it seems that their vacation will end with them in a jail cell for a few days. Low and behold, a savior in the form of a drug dealing rapper named "Alien" bails them out, and from there drags the girls into a world of money, drugs, and violence. This is definitely one Spring Break they will never forget.

By far the best thing of this insane trip is James Franco's devilishly awesome performance as Alien. Franco loses himself in this character and captivates the screen from the moment he's first introduced to the audience. Almost every line he spews out is ridiculous and hilarious at the same time. There is a scene where he's introducing two of the girls to his room filled with guns, money, and other random objects while saying the phrase "Look at ma s**t!" This scene is both funny and interesting because of how into his character Franco is in this movie. Even if it seems that this character is a sinister human being, truth be told that he really isn't. In fact, the only scene that makes him seem despicable is a scene where he's talking to Selena Gomez's character when she wants to go home. Other than that he is a gentlemen of sorts to these three girls, though that's hidden under his grills, braids, and crazy persona that should be worthy of an Academy Award nomination. Speaking of the four girls, they were all really good too.

Of the four girls, Selena Gomez has the smallest presence of the leads in the film overall, yet delivered the best performance of the four girls. Gomez plays the good girl of the group, a church going girl appropriately named Faith. Compared to the other girls, she's the tamest of them all. The worst thing she does in the movie other than wear a bikini most of the time is smoke a bong with the girls. That's really it. However that doesn't take away from the character at all, because I liked her character as a whole. She especially gives some of her best work yet when conversing with Franco's Alien about wanting to go home. Indeed a very powerful scene thanks to her performance. The other three girls were also good, but mainly for the fact that some of their actions were kind of unpredictable.

These girls have sex, snort cocaine, drop f-bombs like there's no tomorrow, and even bare their chests at some points. While doing these things though, the girls actually are able to make us believe that they are a couple of college girls looking for a fun week of recklessness. They might not look like white trash per say, (quite the opposite actually) but they do capture the emotion and craziness that a spring breaker would have on their break. I give props to the Disney stars for taking on such an ambitious project, and hopefully their serious adult movie careers (not porn for the record) is only at its beginning.

Really the only thing to really complain about with this movie is the odd editing techniques used throughout the film. There are situations where lines of dialogue and even scenes are repeated for reasons that I don't exactly recall. There's one instance where the lines "You're scared, aren't you?" and "Big old scaredy pants" are repeated countless times throughout one scene to try to build up to a big climatic gun battle. Not only was this annoying, but it was also excessively repetitive, just like how there are gun barrel clicking sounds going off after almost each scene transition. Artistically speaking I guess it's unique and original, but the magic about it is lost when it's being constantly repeated over and over again up to the verge of giving you a headache. Other than that, everything else was great.

Harmony Korine has a reputation of being a very strange director and writer. Having seen the trailers for his previous movies such as 'Gummo,' 'Kids,' and 'Trash Humpers,' I could tell that this was going to be a very different movie than just the typical party flick. Sure enough, it was. Almost as edgy as one would expect, but a lot more drama and crime than one would expect from the trailers. If one goes in to this movie with the right mindset, then they will probably be entertained as I was. However if one's going in expecting the next 'Project X,' then they will probably say this is one of the worst movies they've ever seen. It's not surprising, as this movie isn't for everyone. For me, it was a great film.

The acting was stellar, especially James Franco's hilarious performance as Alien. The soundtrack from Skrillex and Cliff Martinez is catchy and really fun to listen to. The direction and writing from Harmony Korine is unusual, but really entertaining. It might be edited strangely, but it does make for something unforgettable. 'Spring Breakers' is a transfixing and hypnotic experience that people will either dig or not dig. I, for one, really dug it, and can't wait to see this one again soon. By the way, whether one hates or likes the movie, it's hard to doubt that people won't be getting the Brittany Spears song 'Everytime' out of their heads anytime soon.




PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Now You See Me

Pain & Gain

The Hangover Part III

Trance

The Bling Ring

REVIEW: 42

MOVIE
42

CAST
Chadwick Boseman,
Harrison Ford

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
April 12, 2013

DIRECTOR
Brian Helgeland

STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 7 minutes






STARS
****








REVIEW:


Historical bio-pics seem to be one of the big trends of this day and age with films like 'J. Edgar' and 'Lincoln' coming out every year.  Now comes a film based on the life of the first African American baseball player to play for a major league baseball team, Jackie Robinson.  This film is called '42,' after the number on Robinson's baseball uniform.  It's doubtful that audiences were clamoring for a Jackie Robinson movie, as one from 1950 already exists, entitled 'The Jackie Robinson Story.'  This is a movie that wasn't wanted, rather it was in a way what was needed to save 2013 from being a marathon of mediocrity.  Sure there were movies so far this year that were better than average, ('Oz: The Great and Powerful' and 'The Croods' first come to mind) but there was nothing to me that I have loved and made me go gaga over so far.  That is until I saw this movie.  Sure it's predictable and somewhat formulaic, but '42' is the first movie of 2013 that I have truly fallen head over heals for.

Jackie Robinson was born and grew up in a time of harsh racism and discrimination.  Baseball leagues were separated by skin colors, but times were changing.  The team executive for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, was ready for change.  Over the course of a couple of years, Rickey finally helps to break the color barrier in professional baseball and sign Robinson to play on the Dodgers.  Many were not too pleased with this decision, as players tried to sign petitions, citizens were backlashing at Rickey, and even Phillies coach Ben Chapman was constantly insulting Robinson on the field despite being the manager for the worst team in the league back then.  Still though, Robinson brings his courage to the game and gives the world something that they'll never forget seeing.

Prior to seeing this movie, I looked up Chadwick Boseman on IMDB to see what else he has been in just in case I actually knew him from another movie.  Sure enough, I didn't.  His work is mostly in television with a couple of movie roles here and there.  Basically this is his first major role in a movie, and his time to shine so to speak.  Let me tell you, if Hollywood falls in love with this actor as I did in his performance as Robinson, then this is going to be somebody who makes it big in movies quite soon in the future.  Boseman brings an emotional, deep, and incredible performance as Robinson.  Racism is an awful thing, so when the audience is shown Robinson getting internally angry because he can't do a thing to backlash against the harsh slurs people are spewing, we're able to fully sympathize with him and root for him in the end.  This is a performance I will look back on at the end of the year and remember as the first performance of the year that wowed me.  I have a very strong feeling that he will be the next Denzel Washington of sorts.  Yeah, he's THAT good.

As for Harrison Ford, this might well be the best performance he's turned in in quite a long time.  He brought the power, the humor, and the emotion that would be had in a character like Branch Rickey.  Now I don't know if this was an accurate performance of Rickey, but I believed Ford in the role and saw a performance that was more than an old 'Indiana Jones' acting in a baseball drama.  Is it an Oscar worthy performance?  Compared to what else I've seen this year, it might as well be.  Ford was great in the movie.  In fact, everyone in the cast was great.  'Law & Order's' Christopher Meloni had a great small role as the original Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, as well as Alan Tudyk from 'Dodgeball' and 'Tucker & Dale vs. Evil,' whose sinister role as Phillies coach Ben Chapman had me hating my home team for being so cruel to Robinson.  Speaking of cruelty, this movie is not short on offending people in the best way possible.

This might not matter to many, but I found it rather important in my movie going experience with this film.  I had the pleasure of seeing this movie with an audience that was mostly African American.  Listening to their reactions throughout the movie, from the harshest moments to the most uplifting moments, really added something for me with this movie.  This film in general is a true crowd pleaser, as well as a shocker when it comes to the racism.  If the attitude of the racism in 'The Help' was mixed with the countless uses of the n-word in 'Django Unchained,' then that would be about equivalent to the amount of racism found in this movie.  When that horrid word is uttered, I think everyone in my theater including myself cringed in anger and disgust because of how harshly it's used in the movie.  There's one painful scene in the movie involving a white father and son at a baseball game that is sad and painful to watch.  It might have been the most powerful scene in the movie for me.  This is an important movie overall to see mainly because of the racial undertones shown throughout the movie, and for that alone could and should be shown in schools for Black History Month every year.

'42' was one of the last movies I expected to fall head over heels for this year, and yet it happened.  I was lucky enough to see this movie with my grandfather who lived in Brooklyn during the era of Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and even Jackie Robinson.  He remembered it all clearly, he told me after the movie.  Seeing it on the big screen, especially some of the landmark locations that were in Brooklyn in the 40s, literally brought him back to his childhood in Brooklyn and made him experience history once more, which he loved doing.  I loved being there with him, as well as my father, to share the experience.  The movie is occasionally funny, but for the most part it is a serious racial baseball drama.  The discrimination towards the African Americans in the movie is sometimes hard to watch, but it works.

The drama that Jackie Robinson had to go through while playing with the Dodgers felt real and created a powerful emotional response in my theater experience.  The chemistry between Boseman and Ford is great when they share scenes together.  I'm not sure how many people will agree with me on this film, but for those who enjoyed movies like 'The Help,' I have a feeling they'll really enjoy this.  Pee Wee Reese says to Jackie Robinson at the end of the trailer for the movie "Maybe tomorrow we'll all wear 42."  I'm not sure if we'll be wearing the number 42 on our backs, but it surely is a number that will not be forgotten anytime soon, thanks to this movie, and the legend who inspired it, Jackie Robinson.

PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

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RIP Roger Ebert: 1942-2013

Roger Ebert was much more than a film critic to most people.  He was like a god in the world of film criticism and criticism in general.  I found his reviews at a very young age and related to him on a lot of movies, as well as disagreed with him on others.  In fact, on his Facebook page, I had asked him how he had liked the Kevin James movie 'Zookeeper.'  It was on his posting for his review of 'Horrible Bosses,' which he really liked.  At the time, Mr. Ebert gave 'Zookeeper' a positive 3 stars out of four, where I was more negative on the film when I eventually saw the movie about 2 weeks later.  The following conversation actually happened:

This would be the only time I would ever come in contacts with Mr. Roger Ebert.  At the time, I kind of felt awful about how I came off to the biggest movie critic in the entire world.  Probably then he just thought I was some kid who made a dumb comment that needed to be answered, which he would soon forget about an hour later.  Thinking about it now, I do still feel bad about the way my conversation started, but then again I still think to myself: how come of all of the people who commented on his posting that he chose to answer mine, and even answer my second question AFTER I came off wrong?  Personally, the answer doesn't matter to me, because I feel honored to had at least get my name out there and speak to one of my personal heroes.  Roger Ebert was one of the reasons why I started writing movie reviews in the first place.  That, and I had a passion for movies and an instinct to write out of the blue.  70 years is a young age to die at, and I'm still having a hard time believing that he's gone, and that I'll never get to meet him in person, or have him review a movie I made in the future.  I can only hope the best for Roger's wife Chaz, his friends and family, and even himself.  I like to imagine Roger up in heaven now sitting next to Gene Siskel talking about life and the thing that they loved most: movies.  Roger Ebert, you were a true hero, and carried around a god-like voice wherever your work and life took you.  From the bottom of my heart, I will miss you Mr. Ebert.  Rest in peace.

MINI-REVIEW: Jurassic Park 3D

MOVIE
Jurassic Park

CAST
Sam Neill, Laura Dern

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
June 11, 1993 (Original)
April 5, 2013 (3D)

DIRECTOR
Steven Spielberg

STUDIO
Universal Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 7 minutes







STARS
***3/4











REVIEW:

20 years ago, audiences were enchanted and blown away by Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking movie 'Jurassic Park.'  1993 was a pivotal year in Spielberg's career, having both 'Jurassic Park' and 'Schindler's List' dominating the Oscars and taking home the most prestigious awards of the night, including Best Picture for 'Schindler' and Best Visual Effects for 'Jurassic.'  Up until now, I was never really the biggest fan of this movie for some reason.  It just didn't really connect with me and I never really found it amazing.  Seeing it on the big screen really added something to this movie.  It really made me appreciate the film more overall.  Even the post converted 3D was fantastic and really brought you into the story and this awesome world.  If you've seen this movie before, it's well worth going to see it again on the big screen, and even taking somebody whose never seen it before to experience it.  I took my father whom had never seen it to see it with me, and he fell in love with it.  So as Jeff Goldblum would probably say, "Life, uh, finds a way, to, uh, make a 20 year old, uh, movie, come to life again, uh, on the big screen in, but um, post converted 3D."

REVIEW: The Company You Keep

MOVIE
The Company You Keep

CAST
Robert Redford, Shia LaBeouf

RATING
R

RELEASE
April 5, 2013 (NY/LA)

DIRECTOR
Robert Redford

STUDIO
Sony Pictures Classics

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 5 minutes





STARS
***







REVIEW:

Coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival is the new Robert Redford film 'The Company You Keep.'  Here is a movie that boasts a huge cast, including the likes of Shia LaBeouf, Nick Nolte, Stanley Tucci, and many others.  This film is also directed by and stars Robert Redford, whose last directorial effort 'The Conspirator' was one of the better movies from early 2011.  The trailer for the movie didn't do much for me, but I was interested in it due to the huge talent that was involved.  After seeing the movie, I can say that, while a little too long for me, this was overall a very interesting movie. I doubt that this is something that a mainstream audience would be interested in going to see, but those who can put their head into this over 2 hour drama/thriller may actually enjoy it and get invested.

SYNOPSIS: (Courtesy of Fandango.com)
A single father's upper-middle class life as a lawyer in upstate New York is shattered when his past as a radical activist member of the Weather Underground is revealed and he is accused of having been the triggerman at a deadly bank robbery years before. Forced to go on the lam, the man evades law enforcement and encounters a series of drug dealers, bomb-planting radicals turned leftist academics, Vietnam vets, FBI agents and Republicans who collectively ponder the legacy of the '60s while searching for the one woman who can prove his innocence.

Probably the best and only thing to talk about with this film is the acting.  Robert Redford was enjoyable, but not overall great or moving exactly.  Shia LaBeouf gave a very impressive performance and possibly the best performance of his career thus far as the jockey reporter who exposes Redford's character for his true identity.  Stanley Tucci, Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, and Brit Marling are among the A-list supporting cast who all give very solid performances.  In fact, the best scenes of the movie took place between LaBeouf and Marling, due to their great chemistry on screen.  All of the acting overall was good, but no stand out performances are to be found among the group of A-listers who are in this movie.

All that can be said about this movie is that it is a well-acted film.  The script is a little boring and convoluted at times, which took me out of the movie personally.  The 2 hour length could have been cut down by 20 minutes so the time would have just flied by.  Instead, I was squirming a little and waiting for the movie to be over.  Plus, I kept wondering throughout the film "Would the FBI really be on this guy's case 30 years after one guy was murdered?" and "Who really cares about a woman 30 years after she partook in a bank robbery/one man murder?"  Putting those flaws aside, this is a great film to see if you're looking for well-acted performances by some of Hollywood's biggest names.  Now a lot of these names are only in the movie for about 5 minutes, but they were all solid for the roles they played.  'The Company You Keep' overall is an interesting, but convoluted and long drama with some good performances and a decent enough script.