The Better Angels (2014)

Written and Directed by A. J. Edwards
Starring Braydon Denney, Jason Clarke, Diane Kruger and Brit Marling

The story of Abraham Lincoln's childhood in the harsh wilderness of Indiana and the hardships that shaped him. His rocky relationship with his father, the tragedy that marked him forever and the two women who guided him to immortality.

The beautiful tragedy that was Abraham Lincoln's childhood always struck me with inspiration. When I first read about his pre-political life, I was dumbfounded that a man who had achieved so much greatness came from virtually nothing and gave himself every single bit of knowledge he would need to become the man that this country owes so much to.

Although, many parts of this movie were undoubtedly fictionalized for the sake of the story, I know for a fact that the main plot points of this film are accurate. And the monologue of the narrator is so incredibly poetic and adds so much to the incredible cinematography that this becomes more of a work of art than entertainment.

"There ain't nothin' worth talkin' about. 

Nobody much worth talkin' to… since he's gone."

Produced by Terrence Malick, I was skeptical of this film, regardless of the fact that it was about my favorite historical figure during the time in his life no one talks about. I am usually not a fan of his style of film making and although he did not direct this, it was shot much like a Malick film.

Perhaps it is my love for Lincoln or perhaps this was just done better than any Malick film, but this was a gorgeous movie. I can't quite pick out what is different from this compared to all of his other movies. Perhaps his protégé just has a better grip than he does at his own style. Maybe it's the lack of pretentiousness that is synonymous with Terrence Malick. Despite what the answer to that is, I love this film. 

"I asked him where'd he get so many blatant lies. 

He told me 'when a story learns you a good lesson, it ain't no lie. 

God tells truths in parables.'"

My Rating: 8/10

Against the Sun (2014)

Directed by Brian Falk
Written by Brian Falk and Mark David Keegan
Starring Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton and Jake Abel

A WWII pilot, bombardier and radioman find themselves adrift in the middle of the pacific ocean after an emergency ocean landing. Losing their food and water rations in the crash as well as essential survival supplies, they struggle to keep their spirits up and hope for a rescue.

To me, survival stories are usually interesting. Especially while being stranded in the middle of the ocean. Based on actual events, this story is truly remarkable. With many similarities to last years much anticipated movie "Unbroken", I suspect the hype surrounding that film pushed this one to the way side.

The writing in this was at times weak and a little cheesy. Specifically in the beginning, they described all of their plans in dialogue, step for step rather than just doing them. As the plot progressed, the writing became less of a distraction and helped the story move along.

While Angelina Jolie's war movie had much better writing and undeniably a much bigger budget, this had a lot of the heart that I feel "Unbroken" was missing. The relationships were formed on screen rather than leaving them to the audience to figure out for themselves.

"Well, now what?"

This movie had it's flaws for sure. But they are easy to overlook once you get invested in the story. You forget the little details and mistakes and just take it in as a big picture. It is a standard survival movie. But the fact that it is based on a true story (and they have pictures during the credits of the real men), that gives it a slight edge over some.

My Rating: 6.5/10

The Lazarus Effect (2015)

Directed by David Gelb
Written by Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater
Starring Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Sarah Bolger, Evan Peters and Donald Glover

A group of medical students discover a way to bring back living things from the dead. But when one of their own dies in an accident, they decide to use the barely tested method on her. She comes back to life, but with unexpected side effects.

Stealing cliches from several sub-genres of horror films, "The Lazarus Effect" has little originality to make itself stand out from the rest. Filled with jump scares, inexplicably dark rooms and predictable plot "twists", you feel as though you've seen this movie hundreds of times as it plays out.

The trailer itself is filled with spoilers, including the deaths of main characters and with a running time of 70 minutes, excluding the credits, the idea seems as though it were rushed. This movie could have been so much more, but the studio involved is the studio responsible for "The Purge" and "Paranormal Activity", two franchises that have more interest in making a quick buck than they do creating quality entertainment.

Of course Olivia Wilde would have demon eyes and

still be gorgeous. What else did you think would happen?

The only positive I can say about this movie is the cast. Olivia Wilde, Donald Glover, Evan Peters and Mark Duplass are some of my favorite actors. And while horror is not a new genre for Wilde and Peters, it's nice to see Duplass and Glover trying something new.

If you're like me and not a huge fan of horror movies, you could probably skip this one. It's nothing special. If you are a horror fanatic, who knows? You might love it.

My Rating: 5.3/10

Believe Me (2014)

Directed by Will Bakke
Written by Michael B. Allen and Will Bakke
Starring Alex Russell, Zachary Knighton, Johanna Brady and Miles Fisher

Four fraternity brothers in need of cash to pay off various bills create a fraudulent faith-based non-profit organization. They find themselves in over their heads when they agree to tour with a much larger missionary organization and are asked to preach the faith they don't believe in.

Before I get started on this review, know that my opinion may very well not be yours when it comes to this movie. While not an entirely religious film to the likes of Kirk Cameron, this does have heavy Christian themes to it. And I know due to that, not everyone will enjoy it as much as I did.

That being said, this does right in what every other faith-based movie does wrong. It creates real, imperfect characters. Characters who either struggle with their faith or have none at all and are the protagonists, rather than the supporting characters the protagonists try to persuade to turn to God.

That in itself is the reason I love this movie. Having grown up and being raised by a Pastor, I have seen a lot of Christian movies. And most of them are terrible. Their characters are too perfect and never question their faith. This starts with imperfect and frankly, terrible people and focus on them in a faith based world.

Just terrible, terrible people.

Filled with jokes that church going people will find funnier than non-church-goers (see image below), it is truly a movie made for Christians who are tired of faith-based movies making us all look bad (I'm looking at you, Kevin Sorbo!). I'm not confident everyone will enjoy this movie. But I'm pretty sure most Christians will.

Jesus Jesus

Jesus Jesus

x16

My Rating: 7.5/10

Grizzly (1976)

Directed by William Girdler
Written by Harvey Flaxman, David Sheldon and Andrew Prine
Starring Christopher George, Andrew Prine, Richard Jaeckel and Joan McCall

When a eighteen-foot tall grizzly bear terrorizes a popular National Park during peak camping season, the head Park Ranger must protect the visitors from its wrath.

In an attempt to become the "Jaws" for the woods, this movie takes damn near every single plot point and filming style from Spielberg's classic thriller. Everything from the shooting style (having angles from the perspective of the creature), to having a Park Manager (the Mayor in "Jaws") who refuses to close the mountain risking the lives of their visitors for the sake of money.

It even has a war veteran who has stories that give him extra inspiration to seek revenge on the killer animal. And he makes huge speech about a tragic even caused by the bear much like Quint does in the 1975 film (Spoiler: Even the endings are the same).

Yeah… This happens.

The only thing they didn't rip-off, excluding the antagonist and location of course, was the soundtrack. The soundtrack to this movie switches between sounding like it's from an old western film to that of a romantic film from the 50s. It is so unfitting that it's laughable. And that's not the only thing funny about this.

The scenes in which the bear kills someone are pretty hilarious. I don't know if it would have been scary back in the 70s, but today it'll just make you laugh. The acting is terrible. 90% of the scenes throughout the entire movie are ADR'd (Automated Dialogue Replacement). And the way the killing scenes are shot have been parodied by too many modern comedies to not produce a chuckle.

This movie isn't bad enough to be good like "Troll 2" and other great-terrible movies. And it's certainly not good enough to be good. It's just bad. The blatantly stolen plot points from "Jaws" don't help it's case either. It does have an awesome poster, though.

My Rating: 2/10

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)

Directed by Steve Pink
Written by Josh Heald
Starring Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke and Adam Scott

The second installment of the franchise follows the gang (minus John Cusack) as they travel in time to try to stop Lou's killer from getting to him. Now they have to alter their future, to save them in the past - which is really the present…

I will never forget when I first saw this movies predecessor. This was back in the days of 35mm projection in movie theaters. I was working at a theater and we had a screening for the employee for this movie. The screening went on without a hitch. We all thought it was disappointing and we went home. The next day, we discovered that the projectionist forgot to add one of the five 20-minute reels to the print. And none of us noticed the night before.

That to me summed the first movie up perfectly. It had it's funny moments, sure. But all-in-all, it was so poorly thought out, that we literally had cut twenty minutes out of the middle and couldn't even tell something was missing.

The similarities between young Lou and Adam and old Lou

and Adam were the most impressive parts.

The sequel to the 2010 movie is no different. It does have it's funny moments. And the ideas they have of the further are pretty cool. But it's just not what it could be. Maybe I take my comedies too seriously, but this could have definitely been a lot funny and more outrageous. I mean, with a movie that is called something as ridiculous as "Hot Tub Time Machine", you think they would have pushed the envelope with the lunacy a bit more. They stayed too safe in my opinion.

And the fact that Chevy Chase came back for this movie, but stopped doing "Community" because he didn't think it was funny just proves to me he doesn't know what funny is. And that is probably why Bill Murray once called him a "medium talent".

My Rating: 3/10

Movie Trailer Tuesdays 2/24/15

The Gunman
Directed by Pierre Morel
Starring Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Idris Elba and Ray Winstone
A former Special Forces soldier and military contractor suffering from PTSD tries to reconnect with his long time love. But first, he must go on the run from London to Barcelona and across Europe in order to clear his name.

To me, this just looks like another "Taken". I'm not sure I feel about it. It's got great actors and it looks action packed. But the story seems tired. Perhaps this one will surprise me, but I'm not going to get excited about it. In theaters March 20th.


Kill Me Three Times
Directed by Kriv Stenders
Starring Simon Pegg, Teresa Palmer, Sullivan Stapleton and Alice Braga
Professional hit-man Charlie Wolfe finds himself in three tales of murder, blackmail and revenge after a botched contract assignment.

This one could go either way. On the one hand, I love Simon Pegg. On the other, all of the gags and jokes in the trailer have been done and overdone. I have faith that Pegg could bring his A-game and make this a decent movie, but only time will tell. In theaters April 10th.

Unfriended

Directed by Levan Gabriadze

Starring Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halverson, Shelley Hennig and Will Peltz

A group of online chat room friends find themselves haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend.

So this is it… The end of movies… This is an all new low. At least movies like "Paranormal Activity" and "The Blair Witch Project" actually try. This is just lazy. Not to mention, that shot of whats her face shooting herself, that is a technique that would only be used in bad movies. This just looks terrible. Don't get me wrong, I'll still see it. I see everything. Except the movie that shall not be named. This hits theaters April 17th.

In the Hear of the Sea

Directed by Ron Howard

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw and Brendan Gleeson

The story that inspired Herman Melville to write "Moby Dick", this movie tells the story of the Whale ship Essex. The ship was destroyed by sperm whale and stranded many of it's crew in the ocean. The crew, all in separate life boats, drifted apart. Some resulted to cannibalism, others found land. But they were call changed by the event.

Initially set to be released in March 13th, the release date has been pushed to December. This could either be good or bad. It already had a PG-13 rating, so unless they plan to re-edit it or do re-shoots, I don't think it's to have more time to complete it. What I'm hoping is that they pushed it back to give it a better chance in next years Award season. Meaning they think it's good enough to contend. I have been waiting for this movie since October, and while I'm upset it was pushed back, I'm hoping it was for the latter reason and we have a truly fantastic movie on our hands. In theaters December 11th.

Faults

Directed by Riley Stearns

Starring Leland Orser, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lance Reddick and Jon Gries

Claire is under the grip of a mysterious new cult called Faults. Desperate to be reunited with their daughter, Claire's parents recruit one of the world's foremost experts on mind control, Ansel Roth.

The trailer makes it seem like a dark comedy in the likes of the Coen Brothers (Yes, I stole that from one of the title cards). If that is the case, that is fantastic news. This looks very interesting and has a ton of great actors in it. It definitely seems like it's going to be weird, but what good is a movie if it isn't weird at all? This hits theaters March 6th.

Come back next week for more trailers!

Jersey Boys (2014)

Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Starring John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Michael Lomenda and Erich Bergen

Based on the hit Broadway musical, the story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s music group, The Four Seasons.

Filled with the great music that made The Four Seasons a musical group that would have a Broadway musical and subsequent movie made about them, the performances are great. They give the entire movie the feel of the 50s and 60s creating a a sort of time capsule, as if it were just opened up after 50 years.

But musical performances aside, the film felt uninspired. I wonder if Clint Eastwood was too distracted by his upcoming "American Sniper" project to give this one his entire focus. And it is apparent that it's missing the dedication that even some of the worst films have. Like the musical, it feels like a jukebox movie. 

And I don't mean that in the sense that they use classic songs. I mean that it comes off as someone had just put a quarter in a jukebox and walked away. The material is there, and it's good enough to play in the background. But no one is dancing to it. It's just there while you're sitting at the diner bar and eating your pancakes.

"Pancakes? What the hell is he talking about"

The fact that "American Sniper" came out close to six months after this movie, I'm convinced that Clint Eastwood wasn't totally invested in this movie. And it shows.

5/10

The History of Film Part 1: Sallie Gardner at a Gallop

Movies and cinema are relatively new invention in contrast to the length of human existence on Earth. It is so new in fact, that there are some people still living that are older than motion pictures, or at the very least the wide distribution of it. Movies didn't begin to gain popularity until the early 1900s due to limited technology. So the chances that one of the oldest people living remembers a time when displaying 23.97 sequential pictures a second seemed like magic are pretty high.

With every invention, there is a beginning. Of course the very beginning of cinema is the photograph, there is another event in history that paved the way for all the films, directors and actors we all know and love today. And we have a horse to thank for it. A horse named Sallie Gardner.

"Aw, shucks!"

It all started with a question. While at a gallop, is there ever a moment where a horse as all four hooves off of the ground? While this may seem like a stupid question now, you have to remember the time period.

In 1878, Leland Stanford, and American tycoon and eventual Senator for California own a farm where he bred and trained race horses. While trying to improve the performance of his horses he became interested in his horses gait action. When the horses galloped, their movements were to quick to determine if there was ever a moment where the momentum kept the horse airborne. Even if just for a fraction of a second.

He financed a science project to determine the answer and he commissioned photographer Eadweard Muybridge (Because his birth name Edward Muggeridge just wasn't complicated enough). Together, they set up a series of 24 cameras, each with their own trip wire that would be triggered by the horses legs. The result of which were a series of pictures that gave them their answer.

Sallie Gardner at a Gallop

 The First Motion Picture,  June 15, 1878

After some time and examination, Muybridge first projected the images in quick succession during a presentation at the California School of Fine Arts in 1880, becoming the first ever exhibition of a motion picture ever. Could you just imagine how mind blowing that must have been to experience?

Let's just hope no one in the lecture was on 'shrooms, for their sake.

Muybridge eventually met with Thomas Edison (presumably in between schemes to screw people over) ,who later went on to develop the kinetoscope. The precursor to the modern movie camera. And thus, motion pictures were born.

Just think, this was a time when people barely knew what a photograph was. And the one who did know were still in awe of the new invention. The excitement one must have felt when seeing a moving picture for the first time, as an adult who could understand the scale of it's significance must have been overpowering. 

I only wish we still lived in a world where new inventions had more of an emotional impact. An impact past the "oh, that's pretty cool" feeling that is all I can seem to muster with each new invention. How amazing that would have been,

Dom Hemingway (2013)

Written and Directed by Richard Shepard
Starring Jude Law, Richard E. Grant, Emilia Clarke and Demian Bichir

A career criminal who was just released from prison returns to the boss whom he had been quiet about while in prison. The reward money the was given for doing so is stolen and Dom Hemingway's life begins to spiral out of control.

Neither a film about repentance or life change, "Dom Hemingway" is just about a criminal trying to get back his criminal life, yet attempting to regain the trust of his daughter. He never once apologizes for his actions and continues to break the law throughout.

While not a deep, meaningful story that we see so often in movies about gangsters, it is rather interesting. The character Jude law creates is so fun and eccentric that it is near impossible to turn away. With seemingly poetic threats and insults, he speaks his way through the film with such a force that it is difficult to dislike him.

Just look at this side burns!

"Dom Hemingway" has a lot of positives about it. It has great writing, acting and cinematography just to name a few. I enjoyed it. But this isn't a "must see" movie. Sure it was fun and comedic and I'm happy I watched it. It just wasn't mind-blowing or even heart-pounding.

My Rating: 5.5/10

Little Big Soldier (2010)

Directed by Sheng Ding
Written by Jackie Chan
Starring Jackie Chan, Leehom Wang, Sung-joo Yung and Peng Lin

In ancient China, an old soldier takes a young General of an enemy state captive in order to collect the bounty. On their Journey back to Liang, the two discuss war, peace and begin to form an unexpected bond.

As expected with Jackie Chan, this is filled with comedic relief and great fighting sequences. Chan continues to prove himself as a modern day Charlie Chaplin with his physical comedy. It is more apparent in this film than many others of his. In this movie in particular, he also reminds me of Danny Kaye in "The Court Jester". 

The story is rather generic and doesn't bring much to the table in the form of creativity. And it is certainly much darker than Chan's other films. The themes of war, especially during the Qin dynasty, provide for a bleak backdrop. However, his character's positive outlook and philosophies, as well as comedy make this light enough to laugh at.

Bear attacks are always hilarious.

One of the most impressive things about this movie is Chan's dramatic performance. It is unlike any other role I have seen him in. His character is deep and thoughtful and at times, emotional. It's a breath of fresh air from his other characters, which at times can blur together.

As usual, with Chinese cinema, the cinematography is top notch. It is action packed, funny and thoughtful. While it most certainly isn't a phenomenal movie, it is definitely a fun ride. I would recommend this to any fan of Kung-Fu movies or just action movies in general.

My Rating: 6/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: Whiplash

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

"Whiplash"
Written and Directed by Damien Chazelle
Starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Raul Reiser and Melissa Benoist

A promising young drummer enrolls in a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are are tested by a mentor who will stop at nothing to realize the full potential of his students.

An intense look at the lengths people will go to and the abuse they will take in order to obtain their dream, this film breaks down a mans hopes in order to build him up. It is superbly written, directed and acted and contains the role to define J.K. Simmons career.

Nominated for 5 Oscars, "Whiplash" is the film many think came out of nowhere. But it is films like that that define film making. A film that, if it weren't for it's quality would have never been heard of. Every other film nominated this year as some sort of hook, whether it be an A-list actor or even just a story based on actual events. This film gained notoriety for one reason. It's a damn great movie.

J.K. Simmons is unmatched this year in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. He brings force to his character that is believable yet commanding simultaneously. You want to hate him, but you just can't. The extremes his character goes to to bring the best out of his students cross the line, yet you find yourself understanding exactly why he's doing it.

Not Pictured: Miles Teller's urine soaked trousers.

The categories that it's nominated for alone tell the story of why this film is so fantastic. Best sound mixing, editing, adapted screenplay, actor in a supporting role and of course, best picture. All of these things are the very foundation in which unforgettable movies are based on.

This is the final Best Picture Nominee of this series, and while I did do them in alphabetical order, it is appropriate that my favorite of the eight films nominated is the last one I cover. While the chances of this movie winning are slim-to-none, this film has a caliber unmatched by "Selma", "American Sniper" and "The Theory of Everything". An intensity unequaled by "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "Boyhood" and "The Imitation Game". And a realism unmet by "Birdman". Those are the reasons why "Whiplash" is my favorite film of 2014.

And while I write this, J.K. Simmons appears as both the Yellow M&M in an M&M commercial and the spokesman of Farmers Insurance. A truly versatile actor.

And the Oscar goes to… Yellow! 

For "Russian Mob Ice Cream Commercial"!

My Rating: 10/10

Today, I will be watching all of the Best Picture Nominees at the AMC Loews Georgetown 14 in Washington, D.C. I'll be tweeting and posting pictures on Instagram throughout the day. Follow me!

Twitter: @MichaelDCHicks

Instagram: MDCHicks

Facebook: facebook.com/KeystoneFilmReview

Clerks (1994)

Written and Directed by Kevin Smith

Starring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith

A day in the life of two convenience store clerks, Dante and Randall as they annoy customers who annoy them, discuss movies and play hockey on the roof of their store.

Maintaining popularity through it's cult film status, "Clerks" has remained one of the most talked about comedies since it's premiere in 1994. It's ability to reflect the life of a person working in customer service, it is easy to connect with the characters. With the exception that they're terrible employees and should be fired immediately.

With the excepting of a few chuckles here and there, this movie is painfully unfunny. All of the characters are just unlikeable. Dante whines. Randall is a dick. Jay is dumb, but yet the only remotely funny character in the movie.

Dante also stole my last name.

It feels as though Kevin Smith is attempting to be the poor mans Tarantino by writing dialogue that has nothing to do with the plot because "it's how real people talk". It's a wonder this is a cult classic. I guess I just watched two decades too late. To each their own.

4/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: The Theory of Everything

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

Directed by James Marsh
Written by Anthony McCarten based on the book by Jane Hawking
Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones and David Thewlis

The relationship of Stephen and Jane Hawking as his ALS begins to deteriorate his body and their struggle to remain happy.

This film had a lot of things going for it. It had top notch performances from all of the actors. The cinematography was stunning and enticing. The direction was surprisingly phenomenal seeing as how James Marsh usually sticks to documentaries. The only thing lacking for me was the story.

Here, you have one of the most intelligent men, not just in modern times, but perhaps the history of the world. You have his struggle with motor neuron disease while he struggles to complete his doctorate at Cambridge. Not to mention the countless scientific break-throughs that Mr. Hawking is responsible for. But they chose to follow in my opinion, one of the least exciting parts of his life. His first marriage.

Not shown: Anything alluring.

I understand that this is based off the memoirs by Jane Hawking, so I only have myself to blame for my expectations of the film versus what it actually was. What I can't grasp is how enough members of the academy thought this was the best picture of the year in order to have it nominated for an Oscar. A nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role? Of course. You'd be crazy not to. But Best Picture?

That seems to be the running theme this year. Every year, you might get one undeserving film in the group. But this year, three of the nominees have no right being there in my mind. It seems this year, the academy has become obsessed with films that could have been so much better than they were. "American Sniper", "Selma" and "The Theory of Everything" are all good movies. But they could have been great.

My Rating: 6/10

Eddie Redmayne's performance: 10/10

Alan Partridge (2013)

Directed by Declan Lowney
Written by Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons, Armando Iannucci and Patrick Marber
Starring Steve Coogan, Colm Meaney, Felicity Montagu and Nigel Lindsay

When famous yet aging radio DJ Alan Partridge's station is taken over by a new media conglomerate, they begin to make cuts and bring in new, younger DJs. But when a fellow senior DJ gets sacked (British speak for "gets fired"), he holds the station hostage in an attempt to regain his job.

That trailer does not do it justice. Filled with clever one-liners and filled with superb comedic timing that only the British seem to be able to get a hang of. Steven Coogan is fantastic as a man who cares about fame above all things, including his life in a dangerous situation.

Much like a less obnoxious, British Ron Burgundy (although Partridge came first), Alan Partridge is a down played character that is each to believe actually exists in the real world. His narcissistic personality somehow makes him likable. And his fear of everything remotely dangerous becomes a recurring joke, regardless of him ignoring danger for the sake of fame. Narcissism trumps fear every time.

I find it hard to write about comedic movies. The plot is often just a cause for more jokes to be told in them and this is no different. Regardless it is a great movie that reminds me of the high brow "Airheads".

My Rating: 7/10

Seventh Son (2014)

Directed by Sergey Bodrov
Written by Charles Leavitt, Steven Knight and Matt Greenberg, inspired by the novel "The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
Starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander

A young man named Thomas becomes the apprentice of the last Spook (not the racial slur) to fight evil spirits in the wake of the blood moon. His first great challenge comes when the powerful witch Mother Malkin escapes her confinement and aims to destroy the Earth.

I'm convinced that Jeff Bridges saw the synopsis of this movie, asked "can I grow awesome facial hair and speak in a funny old man voice?" and accepted once the answers to those questions were yes. For some reason, he is the only person that speaks with a British accent in this entire movie, albeit a slight one.

While the premise is interesting enough, the movie itself failed to keep me engaged. It is filled with questionable choices and poor performances. The plot seemed rushed and it felt as though many of the performances were "called-in". Julianne Moore specifically, was not at the top of her game. Granted, with her Oscar Nomination, I doubt she really cares.

Just give me my Oscar!

The action sequences were fun and the effects were decent. But overall, this is one you could skip. At least until it's released on DVD. It's not the worst movie ever made, but it's far from good. It's lackluster on all fronts.

My Rating: 4/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: Selma

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

"Selma"

Directed by Ava DuVernay

Written by Paul Webb

Starring David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson and Tim Roth

Based on Martin Luther King's campaign to secure voting rights for black citizens, "Selma" focus' on the organization of the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 and the violent attack by State Police Officer's that became known as "Bloody Sunday".

The story of Selma, Alabama is an incredible one. And while this movie captures the events that happened and the people involved, at times it fails to capture any emotion.  Presented more like a History Channel exclusive documentary (Pre-Pawn Stars and the decline of the network), I felt like this was more an imagining of a High School text book than a movie.

There is controversy surrounding this movie, because Al Sharpton believes that David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay deserved nominations. And while he is right about Oyelowo (although every actor nominated for Best Leading Actor deserves it and Oyelowo was just an unfortunate snub due to lack of space) he is wrong about DuVernay.

"I have an opinion on everything because I became a minister at the age of 9

which means I'm an expert in everything including film making, the way the

Academy Award nominees are chosen (Angry White Guy in an Office picking

anyone who isn't of color) and of course, quilting."

-Al Sharpton… Probably

In fact, there are only two weaknesses to this movie. Oprah Winfrey, who should have no part in acting in movies and Ava DuVernay. Her directing made a potentially beautiful, emotional film about the civil rights movement, into a flat, reserved story that was hard to connect with. The common misconception among filmmakers who make films based on actual events is the assumption that the audience will be emotional for the sake that it is a historical occurrence. 

The shining light in this film are the performances of a few actors, primarily David Oyelowo's portrayal of the late Dr. King. His speeches are stirring and inspirational as they were when spoken by MLK himself. He, along with the song "Glory" (nominated for Best Original Song), provide the only emotional foundation of this film. 

And despite what others would say, I believe other films deserved the Best Picture nomination before this one did. It may seem contradicting for me to say this now, but this movie is worth seeing. I just think calling it one of the eight best pictures is a bit of a stretch.

Perhaps it's because of the events that occurred on this bridge,

but Edmund Pettus just sounds like a name of a racist.

My Rating: 7.5/10

The Hunt (2012)

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
Written by Tobias Lindholm and Thomas Vinterberg
Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp and Lasse Folgelstrøm

A Kindergarten teacher's life is torn apart when one of his students tells an innocent lie that causes the entire town and his closest friends question what kind of man he is.

I'm going to get really pretentious here for a moment as an opener, so bear with me. They say that art is any form of expression that creates an emotional response. If that is the case, this film is pure art. Through it's entirety, I felt more emotion than several thousands of the movies I have seen combined.

Happiness, nostalgia, glee, confusion, anger, rage, content, fear and rage again. All within the span of an hour and fifty-five minutes. It is a case study in how people are treated when false accusations against them blow out of control, and how they try to get their life back to some sense of normalcy, while the entire world fights against them. Filled with dramatic irony, I spent the entire film furious at all of the secondary characters.

At points you just want to reach into your screen and scream at them, telling them they don't know what they're talking about, but you just have to watch and let it play out itself. Unequivocally a painfully emotional yet beautiful film. This could perhaps be by favorite foreign language film of all time.

My Rating: 10/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: The Imitation Game

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

"The Imitation Game"
Directed by Morten Tyldum
Written by Graham Moore (Screenplay) and Andrew Hodges (Novel)
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong

Based on the true story of Alan Turing and the invention of his machine that would break the enigma code that the German's used in WWII. The machine is widely considered to have helped a great deal in defeating the Nazi's by breaking their code.

Truly an incredible story of a world wide hero, this film has another, more humanitarian message. Alan Turing was openly homosexual and was for lack of a better word, betrayed by the country he worked for and saved with his life's work.

Accused of indecency for being homosexual and a teacher, Turing was given a choice. To be given hormones that would affect his health and chemically castrate him, or jail, where he would surely be beaten, raped and possibly killed for being homosexual.

Impeccably acted, scored, directed and written, "The Imitation Game" is a strong contender in this years Oscars. It is also, arguably one of the most important films nominated this year for it's civil rights subplot. It brings awareness to how poorly this man was treated. A man who saved millions of lives by breaking the German code and shortening the war significantly, chemically castrated and driven into a depression leading to his suicide for the inconsequential fact of his sexual orientation. It is truly a powerful film.

My Rating: 9/10

Movie Trailer Tuesdays 2/17/15

What's so great about Tuesdays? I got two answers for you. Tacos and movie trailers. Each Tuesday, I'm going to take a look at some trailers and hopefully show you guys and gals some movies you might have interest in that you otherwise would have never heard of. I'll also be showing some bigger movie trailers as well, but I think we have all heard of "Jurassic World" by now.

Crimson Peak
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Starring Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam and Mia Wasikowska
In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider.Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds… and remembers. (AW HELL NO!)

Guillermo del Toro always makes an interesting movie. While I'm not really a fan of horror movies, his I usually always enjoy. I am looking forward to this one. In theaters October 16th.

Poltergeist

Directed by Gil Kenan

Starring Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris and Saxon Sharbino

A reboot of the classic horror film from the 80s (A film in which a light bulb that was turned off exploded above my head while I was watching it alone… no joke), this movie is about a family who moves into a suburban home, only to discover that their home contains the portal to the ghost world, and several paranormal entities invade their humble abode…. Nope, nope nope NOPE!

The original franchise proved that kids are only cute up to a certain age. Then they just become awkward. At which point you want the ghosts to keep them, but now the ghosts are too afraid of them. Oh how the tables have turned. Sam Raimi (Producer) likes to ruin old horror movies, including his own "The Evil Dead", so we'll see how this turns out. In theaters July 24th.



The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Starring Henry Cavill, Alicia Vikander, Armie Hammer and Hugh Grant
In the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.

Comedic spy movies are often a 50/50 rate of success. Sometimes they're terrible (I'm looking at you, "Mortdecai"! Bad "Mortdecai"!). Sometimes they're just really fun (Yay, "Kingsman"!). Knowing Guy Ritchie ("Snatch", "Sherlock Holmes"), I think it's safe to bet that this will end up in the latter category. I'm looking forward to seeing this in theaters on August 14th.



Hot Pursuit
Directed by Anne Fletcher
Starring Reese Witherspoon, Sofía Vergara, Michael Mosley and Jodi Lyn Brockton
An inept police officer must protect a drug dealer's widow from criminals and dirty cops.

I enjoyed not seeing this when it was called "Heat". But with this whole "trying to watch a movie a day" thing I'm doing, I might end up seeing this AND "Heat". Let's hope they both surprise me. In theaters May 8th.

The Age of Adeline

Directed by Lee Toland Kreiger

Starring Blake Lively, Harrison Ford, Amanda Crew, Michiel Huisman and Ellen Burstyn

A young woman, born at the turn of the 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After years of a solitary life, she meets a man who might be worth losing her immortality.

Two things come to mind when I watch this. The first is "Oh, snap! They got Hugh Ross" (Narrator of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"). And the second is this movie could go one of two ways. One, they take the Nicholas Sparks road and it just turns out God awful. And two, this becomes an existential movie that asks the question is life worth living if you never die? If it's the second one, this could be great. If it's the first, this movie has no hope.

That's all the trailers for today. Join in next Tuesday for more trailers. Take some time to read my other reviews. Comment or send me a message if you have any suggestions, whether they are movies or how to make this blog suck less.

The Natural (1984)

Directed by Barry Levinson
Written by Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry, based on the novel by Bernard Malamud
Starring Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger

An unknown, middle-aged rookie ball player seems to come out of nowhere and begins to save the season of the last place team in the league. His mysterious back story and unwillingness to reveal how he came to be great creates a media frenzy and shady characters come out to buy him off for their own financial gain.

Not nearly what I expected it to be, this movie caught me off guard throughout. All I had seen of this movie is the unforgettable home run scene, in which the ball smashes a light, causing sparks to fall. I was expecting more a film about a man trying to defy the odds and become a national sensation, not a movie about a man with seemingly super natural gifts who people try to buy off to win their bets.

This scene actually depicts a terrorist attack at a ball park.

Although, I was disappointed by the plot not being what I expected, the thing that lost me most was the editing. The movie is filled with jarring cuts, unnecessary voice overs, boring montages and out of place scenes. Throughout the film, the protagonist, Roy Hobbs, keeps remembering his father and the lessons he taught him. The only problem is the lessons are out of place and at times that don't make sense.

The few things this film has going for it are good acting and superb cinematography. Caleb Deschanel (Father of Zooey and Emily) creates a beautiful picture for every shot. This film is quintessential in the cinematography world.

Overall, my disappointment did not ruin the movie. While I didn't care for the editing choices or the story, it was still a decent movie. I think it would have benefited from being shorter. The movie is a classic for a reason. But other than the cinematography, I just don't see it.

By the way… In baseball, you can't change pitchers in the middle of a batter. That's just plain cheating.

UPDATE: I've been told by one of my friends that knows more about baseball that I am, in fact, an idiot. And you can indeed change pitchers in the middle of a batter. News to me! Thanks for pointing out how stupid I am, Phil.

Diabeetus.

5/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: The Grand Budapest Hotel

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Directed by Wes Anderson
Written by Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, based on the writings of Stefan Zweig
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham and Saoirse Ronan

The owner of an outdated hotel tells the story of his beginning as a Lobby Boy of the hotel and his adventures with his Mentor, Gustave H.

Truly, unequivocally one of Wes Anderson's most Wes-Anderson-y movie ever. There is no doubt while watching this who had creative control throughout production. Everything from set design, to costumes and hair, acting, shot choices and even story shrieks Anderson.

Get on with it!

This is undoubtedly the quirkiest movie of the nominations. It retains it's silliness at every twist and turn. Backed by an impossibly perfect soundtrack and cinematography techniques that had previously been forgotten by modern filmmakers, I consider this Anderson's best film to date.

The story is a classic one, filled with danger and romance and prison breaks and topped with cleverly absurd humor. The performances are eccentric and necessarily so. There would be no other way to create the world without them. 

While it is a long shot that this will win Best Picture, it is certainly one of the front runners and definitely one of the more fun films nominated.

My Rating: 10/10

Journey to the West: Conquering Demons (2013)

Directed by Stephen Chow and Chin-Kin Kwok
Written by Stephen Chow, Chin-Kin Kwok, Xin Huo, Yun Wang, Ci Keung Fung, Zhengyu Lu, Shing-Cheung Lee and Ivy Kong
Starring Zhang Wu, Qi Shu, Bo Huang and Show Luo

A pacifist demon hunter travels throughout China to save people from the demons that harass their land.  While he struggles to find his inner Buddha and stop these demons the by bringing out their good side, he meets a woman demon hunter who defeats them another way, Through pure fighting skill.

Dabbling in the absurd, Stephen Chow has created yet another adventure comedy for the ages. Filled with old western influences and comedic relief that is comparable to The Looney Tunes and Monty Python, "Journey to the West", like "Kung Fu Hustle" is a deep, find-the-power-within story that breaks character to give the audience a laugh.

Slightly off topic, this monster looks a lot like my wife's cat…

This is a fun, Kung-Fu movie with great choreography and hilarious moments that are just as memorable as Stephen Chow's previous work. Be prepared for a very strange movie. If you are and remain open minded about it, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

My Rating: 6/10