The Lobster (2015)

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou
Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux and John C. Reilly

In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into the woods.

If there was an academy award category for weirdest movie of the year, I can't think of any other movie that would top this one. Despite taking place in a rather unbelievable world, there is something rather familiar in the way characters interact with each other, all struggling to find love. The only difference is that the stakes are much higher in this universe.

In a way, it is an extreme exaggeration of how society views single people. Viewed as outcasts, citizens without partners are banished from the rest of the world and forced to find love within a tight timeline. The pressures of having "a normal life" are magnified tenfold when the threat of becoming an animal are thrown into play.

On the other end of the spectrum, when in a group of loners, the same prejudices are projected onto the idea of love and intimacy and any displays of such are punished just as harshly. It is a complex world in which there is little hope for happiness.

For such a random and uncomfortable film, it had a surprising amount to say about societies views on how others live their lives. This is for certain, not a film for everyone. It is aggressively outlandish and is performed as if it took place on another planet. But under that veil of deceit is an incredibly human story.

My Rating: 8/10

Carol (2015)

Directed by Todd Haynes
Written by Phyllis Nagy
Based on the novel "The Price of Salt", by Patricia Highsmith
Starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler and Sarah Paulson

Set in 1950s New York, "Carol" tells the story of forbidden love, as a young aspiring photographer finds herself infatuated with an older woman. As their intimate relationship develops, complications of living in their time see to it that their love is anything but easy.

From the beginning, this film has everything going for it. Top notch actors with brilliant director, a masterful cinematographer, a beautiful score and a gorgeous production design. The time of the story is encapsulated perfectly onto film and makes the world believable. Each shot keeps you engaged and keeps your eyes on the screen. But where it lacks, I'm afraid, is the most important part. The story.

While the the story isn't exactly overdone, it has been done before. And it's been done better. It is truly a heart breaking story, but the way it is told make it hard to connect. Drama seems to be forced upon the audience. It is as if the director is saying "feel this way because I told you to feel this way". We are not shown why we should feel a certain way.

Certain scenes in the film felt as though they were incomplete and needed more background than was given in order to truly connect with the characters. Everything seemed to jump around from one problem to the next with no real solution or conclusion. And not in a realistic way. It felt as though, perhaps there was more to the film, but for one reason or another it was cut.

This film will certainly garner some awards. And it should. As I said before, everything is set to have made this will great! But somehow, through it all, they failed to focus on the most important thing. Whether that was through editing or writing, I can't be sure. All I know is that it felt as if it insisted upon itself.

My Rating: 6/10

Slow West (2015)

Written and Directed by John Maclean
Starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorius and Rory McCann

A 16-year-old Scottish boy leaves his home and travels through the wild west in order to reconnect with the girl he loves, while accompanied by a mysterious traveler, Silas.

Unlike most westerns, which are flashy and loud, this film takes a more subtle approach. It's subdued themes and characters build an intensity that is often missed in films in which people shoot first and ask questions later. Every action and bullet is meticulously thought over before decisions are made.

Another thing that stood out about this movie is that unlike other westerns where the entirety of the movie is spent on gun fights, this is a genuine character study into the mind of a naive teenage boy and the man using him to get what he wants. An intriguing scenario in which the unlikeliest of a friendship is built.

Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee have this uncomfortableness between them that really adds to the building of their bond. As their relationship develops, so does their chemistry. It is a very fluid feeling, following the two of them.

Ironically, what I believe to be it's biggest strength, others will more than likely see as a weakness. Yes, it would appear as though very little happens throughout most of the movie. But what they fail to realize is this isn't your typical western. This isn't all about gunfights and violence. This is a movie about the characters involved, not their actions. And from that standpoint, it is brilliant.

My Rating: 7/10

The Graduate (1967)

Directed by Mike Nichols
Written by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, based on the novel by Charles Webb
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross and William Daniels

A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.

There is no denying that this comedy from 1967 is a classic. It is filled with memorable scenes, perfect performances and top-notch writing. This film has withstood the test of time and still finds a sense or relevance among younger audiences.

But good God, is it annoying. Filled with stupid, annoying and irrational characters who do stupid, annoying and irrational things. No character has any redeeming qualities and even as a twenty-five year old, I find everyone's actions childish and literally the worst possible thing they can do in the situations they find themselves in.

Starring a definitely-not-twenty-year-old Dustin Hoffman and a not-much-older-than-Dustin-Hoffman Anne Bancroft, I found their characters rather unbelievable. Their affair, however was more believable than the love between Hoffman and the daughter of his lover. 

More time was spent on establishing the affair than was spent on the entire part of the film in which he "fell in love" with the daughter, let alone the 30 seconds it took for him to fall in love with her. Which made the entire plot eye-roll worthy.

All that being said, you're probably expecting my to give this an extremely low rating. Despite all of it's flaws, and there were many, I found that the performances overshadowed them. Yes, they were all stupid, annoying and irrational. But they all had a humor to them that made the experience enjoyable. It's easy to see why this film is a classic.

My Rating: 6/10

Camp Takota (2014)

Directed by Chris and Nick Riedell
Written by Lydia Genner, Mamrie Hart and Michael Goldfine
Starring Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, Hannah Hart and Chris Riedell

With her personal and professional life in shambles, Elise ends up having to take a job as a counselor at her old summer camp. There, she reunites with two estranged friends who attended camp and never left. When the future of the camp is put in jeopardy, the three friends must band together to save it, changing the course of their lives forever.

The most apparent thing to me in watching this is that the writers and directors had no idea what demographic they were going for. The humor seemed to be intended for children or preteens. Yet much of the subject matter and dialogue seemed to inappropriate for people in that age group. The whole thing came off as a mash-up of two different scripts written for two separate demographics.

The acting was absolutely atrocious, which is understandable seeing as how the cast was lined with YouTube celebrities, who given their massive following, believe they can act. Every other element of the way it was filmed felt like a Disney Channel original movie, most notably the cinematography and the overall story arc.

While certain characters and situations did provide me with some chuckles, what this boils down to is not the movie itself. In retrospect, the one thing I am 100% certain about is that whatever demographic this was intended for, I'm not a part of it. So there is a strong chance that many other people would enjoy it. It just wasn't for me. I have no idea why Netflix recommended it to me.

My Rating: 4/10

Beginners (2010)

Written and Directed by Mike Mills

Starring Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent and Goran Visnjic

A young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer, and that he has a young male lover.

This movie has so much substance and thematic elements to it, it's hard not to enjoy it. A story dealing with love, life, the history of civilization between generations and gay rights, it brilliantly links all of these themes together into one coherent and emotional story.

A man so unsure about his ability to love due to the unexpected news that his father was secretly homosexual over the past 44 years, Ewan McGregor captures the confusion and insecurity of his character in a powerful performance. Winner of the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at the 2012 Academy Awards, Christopher Plummer delivers a stellar rendering of a man finally content and confident enough to live as he is. The acting is undoubtedly the power behind this moving film.

Delightfully humorous and painfully honest, at it's core this is a film about the growth of acceptance of homosexuals over the decades and the trials they were put through during the mid-nineteenth century. It is as relevant today as it was three years ago, and I believe it will remain so for a while.

My Rating: 8/10

Son of a Gun (2014)

Directed by Julius Avery
Written by Julius Avery and John Collee
Starring Ewan McGregor, Brenton Thwaites, Alicia Vikander and Jacek Koman

JR busts out of prison with Brendan Lynch, Australia's most notorious criminal, and joins Lynch's gang for a gold heist that soon pits the two men against one another.

Never have I ever watched a movie with so many peaks and valleys when it comes to it's quality. With a strong beginning, it finds itself becoming less inspired. Then, it picks up again. This happens several times throughout the story. The characters, while interesting often seem melodramatic and will change emotions to another extreme at the slightest bit of provocation.

In a role unlike any other I have seen him in, Ewan McGregor commands the screen as the intimidating career criminal with everything to lose. The delicate situation he finds himself causes him to act like a wild animal backed into a corner.  He is equally charming and intimidating, which is far off from his usual "romantic interest" or "Jedi" roles.

The movie, overall was decent. But there were many writing and general flow problems that made certain scenes seem forced or half thought-out. The story felt as though it jumped around quite a bit and many things were rarely explained to the point where you knew exactly what was going on. It wasn't a confusing movie. The information just wasn't given to you in a clear and concise manner. However, there were scenes that were fantastically shot and kept drawing me back in. I just wish the scenes that followed and led up to them were as good.

My Rating: 6/10

Love is Strange (2014)

Directed by Ira Sachs
Written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias
Starring John Lithgow, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei and Darren E. Burrows

Ben and George get married after years of being together without the law being on their side. After their honeymoon, George is fired from his teaching post, forcing them to stay with friends separately while they sell their place and look for cheaper housing-- a situation that weighs heavily on all involved.

An eloquent study of how love can conquer the most arduous situations, this film has the added element of a homosexual couple and their tribulations soon after the ban on same-sex marriage in New York was lifted. Not only is it a film about romantic love, but also familiar love.

John Lithgow and Alfred Molina are great as the couple who experiences all of these trials. Their chemistry together seems genuine as if they had been together for all of the decades their characters claim.

Set to the music of classical composers, this film seemed as if it were orchestrated specifically to Chopin and Beethoven in a sort of mash-up symphony. The music gave an added sense of peace and at times, sadness that classical composers have been known for. It is rare that the music influence stands out so much in a positive and non-distracting way. It truly added to the film New York setting.

I wouldn't call this movie amazing, but it was certainly touching and entertaining. Film's such as this aren't trying to change your life are change the way you see movies. They just try to tell a nice, clean story that you can enjoy. And this movie succeeded at that.

My Rating: 6.5/10