Movie Reviews (20)14: Modern Times Edition

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The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies 9/10: I'm biased and partial to this series as I expect to watch it many times in the future. I don't expect another adaptation of The Hobbit to best this one in a long time. I'm happy with what they did with Thorin, and Freeman adds humanity to it. The relationship between Tauriel and Kili finally pays off. It can still improve if they have more good scenes with Bilbo that can be added to the extended edition. There was a lot of bombast but I was with it the whole way. Ryan Gage as Alfrid was used more than I thought and had some good comedic moments. Beats the hell out of the Hobbit cartoons I watched as a kid. Luke Evans does a good job being the moral centre for Men. Billy Connolly has some scene chewing fun. Emotions well up now this is over. Here's hoping that the Tin Tin sequel will be awesome.
 
lazarus said:
I can't imagine a scenario where I would sit through this.

And I like musicals.
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It's barely a musical! Eastwood makes it a behind-the-scenes melodrama that has all of its central characters break the fourth wall and then sometimes they perform... sometimes at the same time. It's bonkers.

At the end credits there's a Donen/Minnelli-esque take on "Oh What a Night" that's a total delight.
 
I love Jersey Boys. Man. Eastwood maybe rightfully gets a lot of shit for making all his recent films in pretty much the same mold (which usually works for me), and JB is no different. Which makes the movie exciting to me because it feels unlike any other musical I've seen in all it's weirdness.
 
Noah is one flawed, flawwweeddd film, but I loved it. It was, visually, mostly stunning (sometimes the CGI got out of hand and it just looked like what it was, computer generated) and I was just begging for him to make another film like The Fountain, and here I got it. The creation scene was probably my favorite scene I've witnessed this year, but some might have found it predictable and cheesy. So it goes.

The acting, at times, was over the top and it's probably better not to mention the comparisons between it and the source material, but I don't know, I just had a wonderful experience watching it. It was certainly better than I was expecting, and was what I was hoping it would be. If you ever wanted to know what the Bible would be like, as written by J.R.R. Tolkien, this is it.

Still, though, it's a 7/10. I mean, there are some serious problems here. But it impacted me a lot more than most other movies I've watched this year.
 
The Babadook 6/10
Fell short of my expectations. I think it is sad that many are saying this is the best horror movie in years.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 8/10
low budget vampire movie, b/w, first time director, in farsi, filmed in Bakersfield CA set to look like small Iranian town. Much more interesting than The Babadook

Uzumasa Limelight 8/10
The film is about an aged movie extra who specializes to be killed in samurai movies without ever being lit by the limelight. Using Charlie Chaplin's film Limelight as an underlying theme, the admirable story of Seiichi Kamiyama dealing with a new generation and fading craftsmanship is told with melancholy and soul.
 
Wild 7.5/10: Well edited film that has Cheryl Strayed trying to atone for her sins. I was impressed with the flashbacks. Most movies use flashbacks in jerky and annoying ways. The performances weren't as showy as I thought they would be so it doesn't grate as easily. Laura Dern does a good supporting role but again it isn't as showy. There's some good comedy to keep it from being a depressing slog. It gets it right on how when hiking alone the thoughts and memories come spilling out, and how people who feel stressed will often turn to nature to let go like a meditation. Cheryl Strayed isn't particularly sympathetic and they don't try to make her. It's not a masterpiece and I don't think I need to see it more than once but it was worth a look.
 
Night Moves 6/10: Interesting movie about the consequences of extreme environmentalism. It's a little weak because the filming isn't necessarily good and it's cheap. The ending isn't more than a mood or signal that dualism and treating human beings bad based on dogmatic environmentalist beliefs is the opposite of the goal, but it's still an open ended point of view that doesn't go all the way and satisfy. Still at least it points out the problems with too much dualism and it scores some points with me because of that. It's easy to say "man is bad" and go drive off in a fossil fueled car back home.
 
The Congress 7/10: Very loosely based on one of my favourite books The Futurological Congress. It was a strange movie first about actors/actresses becoming digitized to avoid aging then eventually about a future where just about everyone is made into an imagination animation Matrix world vs. reality. Robin Wright does a good performance as she yearns for her son. I'm not sure what to make of this. It does make you think but it's a drag for a large amount of screen time. It's ambitious but whereas Lem's book was about layers of fakery and bureaucracy in Communism (plus pointed satire) this is about people wanting to avoid reality which is very current. Both are interesting subjects. This movie might increase or decrease in value as time goes on and I can't predict how it will be. It has impact and I'll probably think about it some time to come. It's an antidote for all those types who believe they want to live forever or upload their personalities into computers.
 
I Origins 5/10: Similar to The Double Life of Véronique. The plot moves forward in a way that romantics will like, and scientific materialists will roll their eyes. I'm more of the scientific materialist with this one so the ending didn't resonate with me the way a more romantic person might respond. I felt a similar way to Paris, Texas where I was emotionally engaged but when I looked at the plot it fell apart. It's definitely worth a look nonetheless.
 
The Book of Life

This year has been a killer for animated film. I can't say enough good things about this movie. The animation style was so unique, because it set itself up in a way to do something fantastic without making you question why it was being done. In this case, the story was one being told to some children, so the characters were little wood carving toys, instead of "normal" people. The film was visually stunning, and the story was a cute one, even if it's one we've heard a million times before. I almost wish the segment in the "Land of the Remembered" had been longer, but I feel like if it had been, it may have been too much sensory overload. The five minutes or so that we get, is probably the perfect amount.

If you were to ask me which movie was my favorite animated film of 2014, I would say The Lego Movie.

If you were to ask me which movie from 2014 deserved the Academy Award for best animated film, I would say The Book of Life, no question.

8.5/10
 
Oh, also:

Still Alice:
I can't do movies about Alzheimer's, I don't know why. I've never even known anyone with Alzheimer's, though we suspect that my grandmother may have been in the early stages, prior to her death. I think it's just from my mom having worked in a nursing home, and seeing so many people with the illness, that has made me so very terrified of it happening to myself or someone I love one day. Regardless, I got through most of the movie pretty ok, but by the end I was crying more than watching. It was pretty embarrassing, honestly. Julianne Moore wrapped up the best actress award with that one, easily. Obviously this is more of an acting exercise, than anything else, but I really appreciated the editing. Especially the use of flashback to give us an idea of what memories she had left, as the film progressed. Kristen Stewart, though, proved that she's just never going to be a great actress, and was very disappointing.

8/10
 
Foxcatcher 6.5/10: Good acting from Carrell, Tatum, and Ruffalo. Carrell's work was so good that I hate his guts :lol: There's a strange plodding quality which gets tiring after awhile.
The tragedy itself is incomprehensible and nauseating.
It's worth a look for the acting alone but again it's another movie like Gone Girl that I would find difficult to muster a desire to see again.
 
Into the woods 5/10: Another movie that almost bored me to death. It may have been done as well as it could be but it only picks up towards the end. There are some morals about forgiveness, rebuilding after mistakes and to be careful what we teach our children. I think what weakens it for me is not the story but the lack of memorable, spine-tingling songs. A prose story with the same lessons could have been done (and has been done) that would have more impact. Though some audience members were crying at the end and clapping so fans of the musical will like it more than I do. :D
 
I saw it today and loved it. I'm a fan of Sondheim though not familiar with this particular music, so I can't speak to the alterations made in the adaptation.

Seems to me like you were looking for a different type of musical. Sondheim is not Lerner & Loewe, and there's an intricacy in this music and lyrics that I found refreshingly sophisticated for a big Hollywood musical.
 
lazarus said:
I saw it today and loved it. I'm a fan of Sondheim though not familiar with this particular music, so I can't speak to the alterations made in the adaptation.

Seems to me like you were looking for a different type of musical. Sondheim is not Lerner & Loewe, and there's an intricacy in this music and lyrics that I found refreshingly sophisticated for a big Hollywood musical.
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And I can understand that. I like Les Miserables which is on the other end of musicals. I loved Sweeney Todd though. I guess I was hoping for a "Joanna" or "Pretty Women" melody and didn't find it.

The Imitation Game 8/10: Devastating performance by Cumberbatch. This is typical of a Weinstein book adaptation/production/oscar bait/The King's Speech etc, but the twist and turns, plus the espionage keep it interesting. Some people complained that it should have more about the abuse he suffered for being a homosexual but I thought it was done really well considering it covers childhood, adult heroism, and institutional eugenics all in one movie. The boy who plays the young Turing also does a great job. One of the best movies of the year. It's going to be tough to try and choose a ten best list and I'm sure I've missed lots of foreign films.
 
Mr. Turner 6/10: I liked Timothy Spall as Turner and the movie looks like it was well researched. He was a precursor to the impressionists that was equally famous and infamous for his style of painting. A good chunk of the movie explores his relationships with women and the depression he experienced after the death of his father. Unfortunately it's really padded and because of the mystery of his life it looks more like a sequence of events that are less interesting than his paintings.
 
Saw Into the Woods myself and I really can't say I liked it too much because Marshall is just the most bafflingly uncinematic filmmaker ever, but the music really is phenomenal. I especially enjoyed Chris Pine and the princes' duet.
 
Blunt was best in show for me. She was funny, moving, just endearing overall. Pine was hilarious. Steep hammy but it worked for the most part.

I'll say this: Marshall has at least graduated from the too-quick cutting he used in Chicago. Seemed he gave the actors a little more room to breath on screen here, which is ironic because there's barely any dancing in this one.

Ultimately I love Sondheim and just hearing his words and melodies in a theatre was a joy. This could have been a lot worse.
 
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Without having seen The Cat Returns or Up on Poppy Hill, this is the best Studio Ghibli has produced since Spirited Away. The artwork is simply stunning, with almost every frame composed to be a singular painting. The way that many shots fade to white at the corners highlights this, as well as focussing attention when the fades move further into the frame. The expressiveness and fluidity of the waterwork style is such a leap from My Neighbours the Yamadas that it makes the prior film seem like a test run. Throwing charcoal into the mix results in some truly breathtaking sequences (Kaguya's exit from the banquet, the storm at sea).

On top of this, the folklore tale is both captivating and heartbreaking. Key characters are effortlessly fleshed out and the sparse animation makes every minor gesture speak volumes. Male lust and greed runs throughout the film, but stops short of making any character wholly grotesque.

I can't praise this film enough, it's nothing short of a masterpiece.

Under the Skin
Never got around to a write up in this before (or many others anymore frankly), but I don't want the only review on Interference to be Lemel's unimpressed verdict.

I was entranced the entire time. Again, the imagery is superb and maintains a dreamlike / nightmarish mood throughout. Whilst the starkness of the alien rooms stand out the most, the long takes of fog cloaked streets, desolate beaches and grey forests are both evocative and haunting. Contrast these with the ugliness of the Glaswegian nightlife (I've never been but certainly recognise the vibe from a few nights out in northern England) and it's no wonder ScarJo's alien is thoroughly adrift and scared in these surroundings.

This could well be a career best performance from her, certainly from what I've seen of her to date. Apparently all of her interactions with men were filmed covertly and they had no idea at the time who they were speaking to. She's charming and natural, hidden under a black wig and English accent, but also ever so slightly off and forceful. The way her expression completely disappears after a fruitless encounter is creepy and shows just what she thinks of her prey. I've read that it's a largely emotionless performance (in a good way), but the wealth of thoughts and anxiety that she conveyed with her eyes alone as the film went on was phenomenal.

While the first half of the film is largely repetitive and sticks to its own formula, each encounter leading up to the pivotal one with the afflicted man had her subtly show more fear, anxiety and compassion. The encounter with the baby would be very different had it been later in the film.

I couldn't stop thinking about this for days afterwards. An amazing example of the power of minimalism and restraint in page to screen adaptations. Overall, like Princess Kaguya, a lock for my top ten of 2014.
 
John Wick is halfway to being a really entertaining send-up of shitty revenge films but turns uncomfortably generic as it goes along. The first 45 minutes or so are the perfect balance between po-faced and absurd, with Keanu pulling off the grieving husband role respectably. The growing legend of John Wick was terribly entertaining until John Wick actually did something.

After that, I dunno. It's the same shit as always. You know the lawnmower scene in Dead Alive? The body count was like that, only spread out over the entire film so it was numbing and repetitive instead of funny. Willem Dafoe sleepwalked through this thing, which is a huge waste. Dafoe playing a renowned sniper sounded promising enough on paper. Keanu adopted Prince's voice from the Dave Chapelle sketch, deadpanning a lot of inane shit. Sometimes it was funny, sometimes it sounded like something any other action star would say.

The film had that overused color palette where the whole thing looks like it's shot through a glass of blue raspberry kool-aid. The shitty hard rock/alt-metal soundtrack put the finishing touches on a totally average movie with a promising degree of self-awareness that sets it a nose in front of the pack.

6/10
 
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monkeyskin said:
Under the Skin
Never got around to a write up in this before (or many others anymore frankly), but I don't want the only review on Interference to be Lemel's unimpressed verdict.
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I hope that everyone gives Under the Skin a chance, simply because you're not going to experience anything else like it this year. Some gorgeous photography and one of the year's best scores too.

What killed me was the repetition and the effort required to tease out the themes (faintly) present in the material. ScarJo does her best to pull that weight (as mentioned, a subtle, convincing performance), but Glazer doesn't help her out. It's frigid sci-fi, but there's something wonderfully humanistic in there that deserved more attention. I see you caught on to it, and I did as well, but it didn't move me the way it should have. It was like a whole lot of bitter with a tiny core of sweetness in the center.
 
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Sounds like we're in agreement on most things, just our level of enjoyment / appreciation differs. Art, right?! I just really dug the mood of the whole piece, so the initial repetitiveness just glided by for me because there was so much going on around the edges.

But year, I felt strongly about this one and wanted to give it some love from the blue crack.

Edit: I'll also echo the praise for the score. Been a good year for those in particular too, along with Only Lovers Left Alive and The Knick.
 
Gone Girl was solid as well. I'm no Trent Reznor fan but he's got a good thing going with Atticus Ross.
 
LemonMelon said:
John Wick is halfway to being a really entertaining send-up of shitty revenge films but turns uncomfortably generic as it goes along. The first 45 minutes or so are the perfect balance between po-faced and absurd, with Keanu pulling off the grieving husband role respectably. The growing legend of John Wick was terribly entertaining until John Wick actually did something.

After that, I dunno. It's the same shit as always. You know the lawnmower scene in Dead Alive? The body count was like that, only spread out over the entire film so it was numbing and repetitive instead of funny. Willem Dafoe sleepwalked through this thing, which is a huge waste. Dafoe playing a renowned sniper sounded promising enough on paper. Keanu adopted Prince's voice from the Dave Chapelle sketch, deadpanning a lot of inane shit. Sometimes it was funny, sometimes it sounded like something any other action star would say.

The film had that overused color palette where the whole thing looks like it's shot through a glass of blue raspberry kool-aid. The shitty hard rock/alt-metal soundtrack put the finishing touches on a totally average movie with a promising degree of self-awareness that sets it a nose in front of the pack.

6/10
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I'm pretty sure the only thing I didn't like about John Wick was Keanu. He's a fine actor, until he opens his mouth. Any time he had to say more than a sentence, I just kinda rolled my eyes. Which is why this movie worked, as it had the dialogue level of Only God Forgives.

One portion of the fight in the club/bathhouse may have been my favorite scene of the whole year. I'll have to search around and see if I can find a video of it. Basically just the best choreographed fight I've seen in quite some time, maybe ever.

I'd like to think that this movie is what the Expendables wanted to be, but it worked so well. I almost thought the villain was nearly too comical at times, however, nearly breaking the spell of balance between parody and homage, but it never quite got to that point. It reminded me quite a bit of what Crank attempted to do, but I think that particular movie was fairly perfect in execution all the way through.

It was also fun to see "Mayhem" in a movie, and I kinda wish he'd done just a bit more in the final scenes of the film.

Good flick, even with Edge of Tomorrow for me as favorite action film of the year.

7.5/10

---

St. Vincent was 1/2 Kikujiro, 1/4 Gran Torismo, 1/8 Up, 1/8 Bad Santa and a dash of Pay it Forward, which comes out to a little more than full, but whatever. This movie was mostly really good, fairly endearing, and did a decent job with material that's definitely been covered before. Really the only things I didn't like about the movie were Murray's accent that came in and out, and the abrupt way they end the retirement home plot.

Otherwise, though there were some leaps in logic and some holes that I couldn't quite mentally figure out, it was an enjoyable view and I thought that kid was a pretty great actor.

7/10
 
Clean, Shaven 7/10: Peter Greene plays a schizophrenic patient who is just released from the mental hospital and is looking for his daughter. This is a zero budget movie but it does plenty with little money. The editing and the sound editing with voices in the patient's head are unnerving, especially some of the gory parts. The cop character looking for the patient is underdeveloped, and the daughter is a complete blank but the movie still works due to its short length.
 
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