MINI-REVIEW: I Origins

MOVIE
I Origins

CAST
Michael Pitt, Brit Marling

RATING
R

RELEASE
July 18, 2014 (NY/LA)
July 25, 2014 (Expands)

DIRECTOR
Mike Cahill

STUDIO
Fox Searchlight Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 53 minutes




STARS
***3/4






REVIEW:

Some say that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, but in "I Origins," the eyes literally hold the beauty of one's soul. Director Mike Cahill returns to the director's chair after "Another Earth" back in 2011, and this time he is the sole writer on this film, rather than co-writing it with his friend Brit Marling. The movie itself stars Michael Pitt as Ian, a scientist who is fascinated with the unique patterns that eyes possess. One pair in particular intrigues him, and that set belongs to Sofi, a mysterious woman who had a chance encounter with Ian at a Halloween party, played by Spanish actress Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey. These two develop a romantic relationship together, and that's really all that can be said without giving too much away. However, whoever made the trailer for the film clearly did a bang up job of spoiling just about every fascinating plot point in a matter of 2 and a half minutes. My suggestion: don't watch the trailer until you've seen the film, because in my eyes, this is truly a special film.

The performances are really good, particularly from Pitt and Bergès-Frisbey. These guys are incredibly believable as two souls connected together, and both equally give emotionally driven performances that make the film as great as it is. Brit Marling and Steven Yeun from "The Walking Dead" have nice supporting roles here as fellow scientists who support Ian's eye theories, and even become involved with his personal life. I think what drives this film home for me was how creative it was, in the sense that it tested the debates of science vs. religion while also just telling a gripping story, despite some tiny little flaws present. I can see why someone may not like it, but for me, this was a film that I was interested in seeing again as soon as it ended. "I Origins" is fascinating, emotionally gripping, well-acted, and overall a really great sci-fi movie that I feel people should at least check out at home if it's not playing anywhere locally and when it becomes available on DVD and VOD.







ME WITH "I ORIGINS" WRITER/DIRECTOR MIKE CAHILL AFTER A SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING OF THE FILM IN PHILADELPHIA ON JULY 21, 2014!!

MINI-REVIEW: Sex Tape

MOVIE
Sex Tape

CAST
Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel

RATING
R

RELEASE
July 18, 2014

DIRECTOR
Jake Kasdan

STUDIO
Columbia Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 35 minutes






STARS
***








REVIEW:

One of the most important elements to a healthy relationship is intimacy.  Cameron Diaz's character in "Sex Tape" opens the film by writing an article on her blog about the lack of intimacy recently with her husband, played by Jason Segel.  Their kids and jobs get in the way of them having any type of physical relationship, apart from the occasional fling.  So in order to get the steam hot again, Diaz decides to make a 3-hour long sex tape with her husband, and then erase it from existence.  But of course if you've seen the trailer, you know that the sex tape is gonna get out and people are gonna see it.  However, that didn't stop me from actually having a fine time with this movie.  I didn't really laugh as much as I would have wanted to, but there were certain moments here that did let out a good chuckle.  Rob Lowe especially helped to make me laugh out loud during the film, particularly in a scene that takes place in his character's house.  The film itself isn't particularly original, and not all of the jokes really hit as well as others.  However, the effort put in by Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, as well as some clever story elements and other decent uses of characters makes "Sex Tape" a pleasant enough date film to recommend.  If anything, it's a fine rental for a night in with the spouse.



PREVIEW YOU MAY SEE:

The Interview

MINI-REVIEW: Behaving Badly

MOVIE
Behaving Badly

CAST
Nat Wolff, Selena Gomez

RATING
R

RELEASE
August 1, 2014 (LIMITED)

DIRECTOR
Tim Garrick

STUDIO
Vertical Entertainment

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 39 minutes






STARS
*1/2







REVIEW:

I'm just going to say this right now: the poster for this movie is one big fat lie to any Selena Gomez fan out there.  It might say that the film revolves around her, but in truth, it doesn't.  She is just the love interest to Nat Wolff's character, who is the protagonist of this unfunny movie.  "Behaving Badly" is a film that tries to be edgy and smart in how raunchy and crazy it can be, but it fails in the same way that Miley Cyrus does: in trying to act more adult, the film's actions proved to be childish if anything.  The cast is fine, despite most of the talented actors here not needing something like this on their resume.  Some jokes gave out a bit of a chuckle, but the vast majority of them all are unoriginal and just unfunny.  Plus, this movie brings absolutely nothing relatively new to the table, which it could have had the screenwriters tried to do something smart with this.  Overall, this movie is just a blatant rehash of any teen raunchy comedy you have seen, only this time it has Selena Gomez looking pretty and Elisabeth Shue overacting to annoying levels.  Do yourself a favor and skip this movie, unless this type of stuff is up your alley.  I will say this, the cameo they got in a jail scene about an hour into the film actually made me laugh, but only because of how relevant it was at the time of filming.

REWIND REVIEW: Under The Skin

MOVIE
Under The Skin

CAST
Scarlett Johansson

RATING
R

RELEASE
April 4, 2014

DIRECTOR
Jonathan Glazer

STUDIO
A24

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 48 minutes







STARS
****







REVIEW:

If you ever wondered what a true art house film looks, feels, and sounds like, then seek out "Under The Skin."  Director Jonathan Glazer directs Scarlett Johansson in an eerie, bizarre, and polarizing film about an alien in human form and her quest to seduce human men in order to consume their flesh.  The film itself might sound complex, but I'm not going to lie: this movie requires your undivided attention from frame one and will leave your head perplexed when it ends.  It took me two viewings of this film to fully comprehend it, and from what I saw, I can honestly say that this is something of a sic-fi masterpiece.  There are those who will call this movie pretentious, and I completely understand why someone would say that.  The artistic style of this movie, along with the eerie score and slow pace make this film on the surface seem pretentious.  But in truth, this is just one of those movies you just have to see to believe.  I personally found "Under The Skin," as well as Scarlett Johansson's performance to be haunting, mesmerizing, and very tense, making this one of the most fascinating and best films of 2014 thus far.  I'd go into more detail, but it's hard to considering that the film's simplicity lies in how complex everything seems on the first viewing.

MINI-REVIEW: Obvious Child

MOVIE
Obvious Child

CAST
Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy

RATING
R

RELEASE
June 6, 2014

DIRECTOR
Gillian Robespierre

STUDIO
A24

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 23 minutes







STARS
***3/4








REVIEW:

Comedian Jenny Slate has finally been given her time to shine in the film "Obvious Child," and boy does she succeed at being great.  While I had to wait over a month before I could finally check it out due to scheduling and other movies coming out, it was definitely worth the wait.  This movie tells the story of a 27 year old comedian named Donna who, after a one night stand with a quote on quote "stranger who was nice," gets pregnant.  Not wanting to be a mother at the moment, and with her life crumbling apart, she decides to get an abortion.  Think of this as an episode of the show "Louie" combined with a storyline that is almost the exact opposite of "Juno."  If you're a fan of at least one of those things, then chances are you're going to enjoy this movie.  I know I did, for sure.

The main reason why this film works so well is that, aside from the incredible script and hilarious jokes, is how relatable everything is.  Jenny Slate isn't the typical leading star, which makes her all the more natural on camera and serves as a type of reflection of everyday people to its audience members.  The chemistry between Slate and everyone she talks to feels real and authentic, and the story itself is very down to earth and honest.  The movie might be cliched, and some jokes don't exactly work as well as others, but "Obvious Child" as a whole is a funny, down-to-earth, and relatable comedy that definitely ranks among some of the best of the year thus far.





PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Magic In The Moonlight

A Most Wanted Man

Boyhood

Calvary

I Origins