Category Archives: Movie Reviews

December 28, 2015 · 9:30 pm

Movie Review: STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS

And so it begins, a Disney Star Wars movie. Disney had its share of false starts when it started venturing away from such titles as “Superdad” and “The Apple Dumpling Gang” to its first PG-rated movie, a sci-fi action flick no less, the box office flop that was 1979’s “The Black Hole.” At the time, it was deemed too expensive for Disney to use some Star Wars magic and rent equipment from George Lucas and his Industrial Light and Magic. Of course, all that was a long time ago. After the Disney buyout of Lucas to the tune of $4.05 billion, would Disney gain some real Star Wars cred? The goal seems to be met.

This Star Wars movie had to be better than the last three installments and it had to harken back to that something special from the original, without kowtowing to it. Were the Egyptian pyramids this intimidating to build? Yes, I think so. When I read Lev Grossman wax on about Star Wars in Time magazine, it felt like he was describing something too big to fail. When I saw the Star Wars special edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live, I saw in J.J. Abrams one relieved dude. The major players from the cast were there with Mr. Abrams. And they too looked relieved, after having carried a mighty weight upon their shoulders. They had all survived an enterprise involving enough money to bankroll a number of countries’ annual budgets.

Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

This movie was designed to not disappoint anyone. And, if you believe the speculation from diehard fans, the opening line says it all, “This will begin to make things right.” The opening line is recited by Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) at the prospect of finding a gone missing Luke Skywalker. But, as core fans will tell you, it sure sounds like a coded message related to fans’ distaste for the Star Wars prequels. This is something that Abrams certainly took to heart.

Finn (John Boyega)
and Rey (Daisy Ridley) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

There is no doubt that the shadow of the Star Wars legend looms larger than life here. An answer to R2-D2. Check. An answer to Han Solo. Check. An answer to Yoda. Check. And so on down the line to the Mos Eisley Cantina and Luke Skywalker’s X-34 Landspeeder. The sense of urgency to get it right is ferociously palpable. It is directed into every single scene by J.J. Abrams. Abrams wrote the final script with original trilogy writer Lawrence Kasdan. The two best new additions to the franchise: John Boyega as Finn, a runaway deserter; and Daisy Ridley as Rey, a reluctant new hero in touch with The Force.

In simpler times: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford

Star Wars was never true science fiction. It was fantasy and, more to the point, a comment on fantasy. At its core, Star Wars was a quirky tribute by George Lucas, a nostalgic look back to Buck Rogers and action-packed pulp fiction. It was a nostalgia for childhood entertainment that was then reconfigured into something even more enchanting. By the time that the original trilogy was completed, George Lucas was done. So, it’s hard to really blame him for the direction he took with the prequels which was as far removed from the original source as possible. It was simply too early to get all nostalgic over something that was nostalgic to begin with. And, anyway, Harrison Ford would never have reprised his role at that point. More time would need to pass which brings us to what amounts to this fun revisit.

But how often can you successfully tap into nostalgia with a franchise like Star Wars? As the James Bond franchise has learned, it all needs to be measured out in proper doses. For now, it looks like a new trilogy has been mapped out that holds on to what made Star Wars worthwhile to begin with. In the end, at its best, Star Wars was an eccentric notion by an eccentric guy named George Lucas. It’s now a franchise designed to not disappoint anyone.

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Filed under Disney, George Lucas, J. J. Abrams, Movie Reviews, movies, Star Wars

Tagged as Disney, Entertainment, Geeks, George Lucas, J.J. Abrams, Marketing, Media, Movie Reviews, Movies, Pop Culture, Star Wars

December 9, 2015 · 10:00 am

Movie Review: YOUTH

An emissary from the Queen of England (played by Alex Macqueen) has been tasked to persuade Fred Ballinger (played by Michael Caine) to come out of retirement and conduct his most popular work, “The Simple Songs,” one last time. Ballinger refuses due to personal reasons. He would much rather make music by manipulating a candy wrapper between his fingers. His skill and ability is still alive, albeit at a supernatural level, as we later see when he literally conducts a pasture full of cows. Well, he must have some pretty compelling personal reasons to refuse Her Majesty. And so begins writer/director Paolo Sorrentino’s “Youth.”

Amid the backdrop of an otherworldly resort away from everything, we find a number of people, young and old, confronting or avoiding their lives. Fred Ballinger has made a friend there upon whom he relies for good company. This is the famed film director Mick Boyle (played by Harvey Keitel). If Ballinger is having difficulty with one pivotal time in his career, then Boyle is struggling to sustain his legend. He’s hired out and brought with him to stay at the resort, a coterie of young and hapless would-be writers to help him complete his next cinematic masterpiece. Instead, Boyle spends most of the time lecturing them on life. In one brilliant scene, he demonstrates the difference between youth and old age with a telescope. Look through it and things seem close, like in youth. Look through the other end, and things seem far away, like in old age. His staff can only nod and agree with him.

Michael Caine

And then there’s Jimmy Tree (played by Paul Dano) who fears he will never live down his role as “Q” in a popular sci-fi television program. Dano seems to be playing a man at least twenty years older than himself and he’s great at it. This is the sort of thing that Peter Sellers would have done to perfection in his prime. Tree is sympathetic to Ballinger’s plight. In another spot on scene, Tree empathizes with Ballinger having to wear his most popular work like an Albatross around his neck. “A moment of frivolity can be dangerous,” responds Ballinger.

It’s not just growing old that is a bone of contention. Those who are in the midst of youth can also find it bewildering and frustrating too. One young and nubile masseuse in particular, (played by Luna Zimic Mijovic) steals the screen whenever she appears. Mijovic’s uninhibited sexuality is irresistible and mesmerizing. She has established an understanding with Ballinger which gives her some control, at least over someone else. In contrast to that character’s powerful but unsteady position is Madalina Diana Ghenea as Miss Universe. Apparently, she’s at the resort just for a little R & R. She is, no doubt, gorgeous and manages to project an elegance and intellect even while simply gliding nude into a pool. If she has any problems, it is in having to convince others that she is smart and far from vulnerable.

Madalina Diana Ghenea

The one person in the role of a bridge between the past and present is Ballinger’s daughter, Lena (played by Rachel Weisz). It is her unenviable position to have her life abruptly unravel when her husband runs off with another woman during her visit with her father. Her wayward husband, Julian (played by Ed Stoppard) happens to be the son of Harvey Keitel’s character, Boyle. In an amusing scene, Boyle and Ballinger not only interrogate Julian but also his new love, a pop star (Paloma Faith, playing herself!) Of course, Julian is a grown man and in no need of lecturing. Both Balliner and Boyle realize this but they welcome the distraction nonetheless.

Finally, there’s that special scene with Jane Fonda as Brenda Morel, who starred in Boyle’s best work. She lets Boyle have it by letting him know how far off the mark he’s gotten. In a film that evokes a Fellini sense of wonderment, this is an all-time great cameo.

“Youth” speaks to the common desire to be young forever, and fear of growing old, by seeing youth not as something fleeting but as something sempiternal. In old age, we can return to youth, if we’re open and brave to confronting our ambitions and missteps. To see each main character grapple with the folly and substance of youth makes for some of the most memorable moments you will find in contemporary cinema.

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Filed under Creativity, Hollywood, Michael Caine, Movie Reviews, movies, Paolo Sorrentino, Youth

Tagged as Creativity, Entertainment, Federico Fellini, Filmmaking, Hollywood, Jane Fonda, Michael Caine, Movie Reviews, Movies, Paolo Sorrentino, Pop Culture, Youth

October 14, 2015 · 10:00 am

DVD Review: LOVE & MERCY

Paul Dano becomes Brian Wilson in “Love & Mercy”

The two cello players had been rapidly playing to the direction of Brian Wilson (played by Paul Dano). He had wanted them to evoke the sound of propellers. Each time, they got closer. But, after three hours, Brian’s brother Dennis (played by Kenny Wormald) had had enough. What was Brian trying to prove anyway? Moments later, we hear that iconic perfectly rendered propeller sound. There it is, for all eternity, an essential part of one of the greatest songs of the ’60s and of all time, “Good Vibrations,” and it was worth it! Not to confuse you, this is not a documentary, but, just for fun, here’s a studio session that is beautifully evoked in this film:

How could Brian Wilson have known it was going to be worth it? He had been getting resistance from all sides by his own family. It wasn’t just his backward-thinking brother, Dennis. It was also coming from his own father. The chasm between father and son had grown so large that Brian was forced to fire his dad (played by Bill Camp) from his role as manager. Murry Wilson wasn’t fazed by it and simply managed another band. It was all just business to him. But rigid adherence to the bottom line is anathema to creativity. What it requires is continuous leaps of faith. This is what Brian Wilson is all about and what this film is all about. Ah, here’s our trailer right below:

Paul Dano, as Brian Wilson, is profoundly good. I can only imagine how inspiring it was for him to be, in a sense, taking direction from Brian Wilson. The script is based on Wilson’s 1996 autobiography, “Wouldn’t it be Nice: My Own Story.” Well, Dano was certainly in good hands with the film’s director, Bill Pohlad (12 Years a Slave and The Tree of Life). As we come to find, Wilson was truly up against it and yet remained open to experimentation. Imagine those two cello players, pretty much out of their element and yet they were open to experimentation. And it would lead them to greatness: zuba-da-da-buda, zuba-da-da-buda, zuba-da-da-buda, zuba-da-da-buda, zuba-da-da-buda…faster and faster…until they got it just right.

But there’s so much more. John Cusack is equally miraculous as Brian Wilson in later years. We see hints of a downward spiral as the young Wilson courts disaster but we can’t help but think the eccentricity is too important. By the time we fast forward to the ’80s, we see Cusack portray only a shell of a man. On one particularly good day, he manages to muster up enough strength to flirt with a Cadillac salesperson, Melinda Ledbetter (played by Elizabeth Banks). It is in her eyes, that Brian Wilson sees a possible way back to a meaningful life.

And so begins a romance, a way back, and a way out. No sooner has Brian made contact with the outside world, than Dr. Eugene Landy (played by Paul Giamatti) has swooped down to control the situation. Giamatti does have a tendency to chew up the scenery but, in this case, his overacting seems to be spot on. It would take a larger-than-life character like Landy to try to hold back the likes of Brian Wilson. Cusack, who is usually quite good at striking a balance, gives us a portrayal of a man who genuinely, and quite humbly, feels in touch with great artistic ability.

There’s a wonderful scene during his courtship of Melinda where he plays a little tune for her. She says it’s beautiful. He responds that he wrote it for her. “And what happens to it now?” Melinda asks. Brian responds without even a hint of irony, “Nothing. It was just meant to be for that moment.” It is a scene like that one that just adds to the belief in a man who would have cello players repeat the same passage of music for over three hours.

Visit the official “Love & Mercy” website right here.

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Filed under DVD Blu-ray Reviews, Movie Reviews, movies, Music, pop culture

Tagged as Art, arts, Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Entertainment, Genius, Media, Movies, Music, Pop Culture

September 9, 2015 · 11:45 pm

DVD Review: GEMMA BOVERY

Gemma Arterton and Fabrice Luchini in “Gemma Bovery”

Out in the rural French countryside, everything is meant to move in slow rhythms. Passive and erudite Martin Joubert (played by Fabrice Luchini) has abided by that bargain. And then this ravishing young beauty, Gemma Bovery (played by Gemma Arterton) steps into his world. Gemma and her husband, Charlie (played by Jason Flemyng) have moved into the little modest house just across the street. Martin can quietly observe all he wants. But he wants much more and, in the spirit of a good Alfred Hitchcock film, he will insinuate himself into the most intimate details of Gemma’s life.

The world of Martin Joubert is fairly pleasant. He has all the books he can read. He runs a successful bakery in town with his wife, Valérie (played by Isabelle Candelier). The dynamic between the middle-aged couple is fun to watch. Clearly, Valérie must keep an eye on her daydreaming husband. But Martin is unusually determined this time around. With each new encounter with Gemma, he becomes that much more attached to her. The opportunities to see her when she visits the bakery alone are priceless for Martin. We see in Gemma a delightful young woman but we also accept her as very private. For Martin, he can’t help but see endless comparisons between Gemma Bovery and Emma Bovary, the Madame Bovary, one of the most tragic characters in literature.

Thanks to director Anne Fontaine, this film does well with balancing dramatic tension and touches of humor. The screenplay, written by Pascal Bonitzer and Fontaine, is adapted from the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds. It remains faithful to the Simmonds work and adds another layer of menace to the bumbling obsessive Martin. And that is also certainly thanks to the caliber of acting from Fabrice Luchini. His performance makes me want to seek out more of his work. Poor Gemma is something of a goner under Martin’s scrutiny as he reveals to us a less than innocent and quiet young woman.

“Gemma Bovery” proves to be a wonderful slow-boil thriller. I couldn’t help but already know about the “Gemma Bovery,” by Posy Simmonds, originally published as a serial in The Guardian in 2000, when I viewed this 2014 film. But there is no reference made to comics here aside from the fact that the story, with all its nuances, provides the backbone for an intriguing tale on screen. This is a great example of how graphic novels are simply another great way to tell a story and you may find the next film you love to have originated from the comics medium.

Be sure to check out the work of Posy Simmonds right here. You can find the Gemma Bovery graphic novel here.

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Filed under Comics, graphic novels, Movie Reviews, movies, Posy Simmonds

Tagged as Comic Strips, comics, Entertainment, graphic novels, Media, Movies, Pop Culture, Posy Simmonds

September 4, 2015 · 1:55 am

Movie Review: ‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl’

Just like “Ophelia,” in John Millais’s 1852 painting, submerging in the waters, so too 15-year-old Minnie Goetze floats and then descends the depths of her bathtub. We see her nude body sinking down the blue-green of her own misery only to resurface as a finely-drawn portrait by the same Minnie Goetze. Welcome to “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” based upon the book of the same title by cartoonist and writer Phoebe Gloeckner. This is Gloeckner’s fictionalized account of her sexual awakening, circa 1976, at the age of 15 at the hands of a 35-year-old man, the boyfriend of her mother. By all counts, this is a story of rape and incest. Through poetic license, the raw source material is transcended and another transformative story rises from the brackish waters from which it came. And it is up to audiences if they will accept such a journey.

Bel Powley channeling Millais’s 1852 painting, “Ophelia”

Phoebe Gloeckner took her reality of rape and incest and shaped it into fiction. And then writer-director Marielle Heller took that fiction and adapted it for her film. With a safe distance from the actual events and persons, an uninhibited and honest story is possible. It turns out that 15-year-old Minnie Goetze appears to be empowered by the sexual relationship with 35-year-old Monroe. It’s San Francisco in 1976, experimentation with sex and drugs is in the forefront. Minnie, ill-equipped to navigate through the loopy zeitgeist, finds herself lost and on a classic downward spiral: she has a threesome, drops acid and performs oral sex in a bar bathroom while pretending to be a prostitute. All this happens without any judgment placed upon her.

Okay, just go and read Phoebe Gloeckner’s “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”

This is a complicated film. It is, after all, adapted from a complicated, and quite extraordinary, prose and comics hybrid. It can not be encouraged enough that, if the movie grabs your interest, then you must read the book. In a one-of-kind fictionalized memoir, Phoebe Gloeckner expresses her story in a way that you need to read to believe. In the end, her goal was to create a greater truth. The movie follows closely but, my its very nature, tells a story with a different tone and view. Gloeckner addresses these shifts from her work to the film in this insightful interview with the A.V. Club right here.

Bel Powley portrays Minnie with a wide-eyed broad innocence. In somewhat a similar sense, so does Kristen Wig as Minnie’s mother, Charlotte. And, in his own way, so does Alexander Skarsgård as Monroe, Minnie’s predatory Lothario. It’s the self-conscious attempt to evoke the act of reading Gloeckner’s unique work that can be problematic. Gloeckner’s narrative is prose followed by an illustration followed by comics and more prose and so on. The crux of the problem of translating Gloeckner’s vision into film is that it really is virtually impossible: you are really walking into a land mine when you mix comics, film, and address rape and incest. Parts of the film seem to read as too cartoony when, paradoxically, the same scene in Gloeckner’s comics does not read so much as “cartoony” as simply entering a different world, reading something within a different world. The film, even if it doesn’t intend to, seems to take its subject too lightly.

Not to sound too much like Marshall McLuhan, but when you read comics, you are reading and, when you see something evoking the feeling of reading comics, which happens often in this film, you are reading the content and the medium, and that can be very distracting. It can also be a wonderful combination of distraction and entertainment like the multi-layered tribute to the grand curmudgeon Harvey Pekar in “American Splendor.” If you have a lighter subject, you can get away with much more. But with the double whammy subjects of rape and incest, it raises the stakes so high as to be a virtually insurmountable challenge. With all that said, this is a very unique film. All I can is that I’m happy to find that this 15-year-old character is in the very capable hands of 23-year-old Bel Powley.

“The Diary of a Teenage Girl” is a film that will definitely challenge you. But, keep in mind, to best appreciate what this film is doing, read Phoebe Gloeckner’s book. A new revised edition, published by North Atlantic Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, has just been released. You can find it at Amazon right here.

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Filed under Autobio Comics, Autobiography, Comics, Movie Reviews, movies, Phoebe Gloeckner

Tagged as Autobio Comics, Autobiography, Entertainment, graphic novels, Incest, Media, Movie Reviews, Movies, Phoebe Gloeckner, Pop Culture, Rape

August 20, 2015 · 1:00 am

DVD Review: WHILE WE’RE YOUNG

I am inspired to share with you my thoughts on recently viewing a DVD of “While We’re Young,” a 2014 comedy-drama written, produced, and directed by Noah Baumbach starring Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, and Amanda Seyfried. See the trailer, if you haven’t already. Okay, it looks like it’s about a middle-aged couple who wonder if life has passed them by. It’s about that but, at it’s also very much about the breakdown in honesty and integrity in a world where such things don’t seem to matter as much as they used to.

There’s a good chance you’ve heard about the ridiculous story of our times, the misadventure of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o who was supposedly “catfished” in a bizarre girlfriend hoax. So, hold up a bit, “catfished,” you say? If you’re not familiar, this is shorthand for being duped into believing you’re in a relationship with someone who does not really exist. The idea is that a person enters into an internet romance without ever actually meeting the person in person. You know, for reals? And then they eventually find out it was all a hoax. Crazy stuff, huh? The truly crazy thing is that, even to this day, this concept is taken for granted as being legitimate– or at least by the producers of the Catfish franchise. You see, it all began with the 2010 movie, so-called, “documentary,” “Catfish,” which went on to become, and currently still is, a show on MTV by the same goofball name. Now, I say all this to make a point: “catfished,” far from genuinely representing a duped lover is the perfect example of how far we’ve fallen from authenticity in the media. As ludicrous as both the movie and show are, as false as the premise is for both the movie and the show, the official word is that it’s all bona fide true! And this sort of hogwash is what our main character Josh (played by Ben Stiller) will not stand for!

You see, Josh is just like you and me. He’s human. He is vulnerable. He is prone to doubting himself. Then along comes what seems to be a younger and smarter version of himself, Jamie (played by Adam Driver). Both men are immersed in the world of documentaries. Well, Josh is for sure, perhaps too immersed as he’s been working on the same rather tiresome film for many years. In fact, it’s taking Josh way too long to speak the truth he so desperately seeks. Or is he lazy and complacent? Out of the fog, emerges Jamie who pops up at one of Josh’s lectures. Josh feels rejuvenated in the presence of the fresh and alive Jamie. Before Josh knows what’s hit him, he and his wife, Cornelia (played by Naomi Watts) are swept up by the youthful charisma of Jamie and his wife, Darby (played by Amanda Seyfried). If only Josh could so effortlessly create and relate to the world in the same way as Jamie, the Young Turk. Ah, but things are not always as they may seem, right?

You could say that, in a way, Josh ends up being “catfished.” I really hate using that term as it brings up that bogus movie and TV show. And I happen to love catfish as a culinary delight. That’s as far as I ever had to go with the word. However, I do dig the new definition I have come up with: catfish: “to denigrate tradition; to ignore honesty and integrity; to forget about ethics.” I think that covers it. So, Josh is not duped into an internet romance. No, but he is duped. I’m not sure that I’m getting out of this film exactly what it has to offer but it’s pretty close. Overall, the idea that it’s not only okay, but expected, that you cut corners, is well expressed here. It could have been better, and more clearly, expressed but, what can you do? We live in times where it’s okay to cut some corners. And, hey, it’s a major Hollywood motion picture. Some corners will get cut! In these cases, you need to imagine the perfect film within the big budget movie. Anyway, I had been meaning to speak on the issue of infotainment and the slippery slope we’ve been heading with faux documentaries. This review was inspired by all the attention to a recent post on Discovery Channel’s TREASURE QUEST: SNAKE ISLAND. That post struck a chord. This response, in the form of a review, will do for now.

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Filed under Documentaries, Movie Reviews, movies, MTV

Tagged as Catfish, Catfishing, Entertainment, Fads, Generation X, Media, Millennials, Movie Reviews, Movies, Pop Culture, Reality Television, Television, Trends

August 7, 2015 · 3:00 pm

Movie Review: ‘Fantastic Four’

Critics have not been kind and I don’t think there’s anyone holding their breath expecting this latest “Fantastic Four” movie to blow them away. Given the appeal of superhero movies, this movie could end up a top grosser for 2015.

Miles Teller in happier and crazier times in “Whiplash”

Miles Teller as Reed Richards, the super elastic leader of Marvel’s very first superteam. Sound like a stretch? Well, I don’t know. I figured Miles capable of anything. Maybe if Miles Teller had been provided with a drum set and a maniacal band director, then we would have gotten something truly out of this world. But we can’t really blame Miles. It’s the script that takes us down a long and ponderous road which no superhero fan, let alone any moviegoer, should be made to endure.

How do you like your comics? Dark? Light? With just a smidgen of sugar? Well, it’s not like you can turn this into a recipe and then hope for the best. That’s the crux of the problem. We’re just not seeing the love for the Fantastic Four in this latest effort to get it right. When in doubt, create a origin story, right? No, if anything else, just create a great story. Haven’t we all been on this superhero franchise road long enough to deserve that?

Great production but a tedious story at best. Ah, well. People will say it’s the Fantastic Four curse. But all it would take is a great story and that can still happen in the future. Well, maybe. Just take Jonathan Hickman’s recent run on FF and you shouldn’t go wrong. Wasn’t “Guardians of the Galaxy” sort of a gamble? A very calculated gamble but still these were totally unknown characters to the general public. And it worked! And it’s working with “Ant-Man.” Unfortunately, when it comes to the FF universe, Hollywood tightens up when it should relax.

“Fantastic Four” ends up a shining reminder that even superhero movies have their ups and downs. Having taken the time to catch an early screening, I have to say that I came away disappointed. This movie seems to take itself seriously with long-drawn-out explorations of each character. But, at the end of the day, there is little to no story and no one to really root for.

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Filed under Comics, Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics, Movie Reviews, movies

Tagged as comic books, comics, Comics Reviews, Entertainment, Fantastic Four, graphic novels, Marvel Comics, Media, Miles Teller, Pop Culture, Reed Richards, superhero movies, superheroes

August 5, 2015 · 5:10 pm

Movie Review: ‘Irrational Man’

Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone confront some startling existential questions in Woody Allen’s latest film, “Irrational Man.” Mr. Allen has, without fail, created a new film each year since his 1965 comedy “What’s New Pussycat?” Among his best are such films as 1986’s “Hannah and Her Sisters” and 2011’s “Midnight in Paris,” both Oscar winners. Will “Irrational Man” garner any award nominations? The funny thing is, the film is very sound and, depending on the roll of the dice, it could come in for some Academy Award recognition. Let’s take a closer look.

Emma Stone has proven to be an exceptional leading lady for Allen with her mesmerizing role as a clairvoyant pursuing Colin Firth in 2014’s “Magic in the Moonlight.” Wow, and that was only last year. Given such a solid performance in that, Stone takes it further with her latest Allen film. As Jill, she must decide between her college boyfriend, Roy (played by Jamie Blackley) or the mysterious visiting professor, Abe Lucas (played by Joaquin Phoenix). However, Abe is nuts. It takes an “existential act” for this tormented philosophy professor to find a will to live. Just a little too heavy-duty for our ingenue. She may find herself with no clear way out once she’s under Abe’s spell.

Joaquin Phoenix is perfect as the charismatic, and dangerous, prof. He fills in for Allen’s self-absorbed intellectual on a highly dubious spiritual quest. Here is where you can spin it as Allen back to true form or Allen back to his old tricks. The compromise view, and more to the point, is that here we have another variation on a theme, another gem from the master storyteller. You’ll love seeing all the characters put through the wringer. It’s a fun farce. You can kick Allen around or praise him, but he is hardly someone to take for granted.

As with any Allen film, it gives back bit by bit as little seeds take root and blossom. The surprise treasure in this case is Parker Posey as Rita, the more substantial love interest for Abe. She plays a sexy and easy-going faculty member who proves to be a good match for the mercurial Abe. If all he seems capable of offering at first is brooding, scotch, and endless ranting about Heidegger, she can work with that. While, on the other hand, such a high-strung person as Abe may drive Emma Stone’s Jill up the wall and then some. Yes, this is Woody Allen in his element. Time to get over it and enjoy it.

This is a pleasing Woody Allen film with what some may think features all the usual suspects and themes. For a fan, this is nirvana. And, even for a most casual viewer, this will be a fun romp and thriller to boot. Allen has more screenwriting Academy Award nominations than any other writer and he has tied for third with seven Best Director nominations. While “Irrational Man” may be too close to what we’ve seen before, it’s anybody’s guess as to how that adds up come Oscar time. You can find some early Oscar speculation for 2016 right here. Whatever the fate of his latest film, Woody Allen has created another quality work uniquely his own.

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Filed under Movie Reviews, movies, philosophy, Woody Allen

Tagged as Comedy, Emma Stone, Entertainment, Existentialism, Humor, Joaquin Phoenix, Martin Heidegger, Movie Reviews, Movies, Parker Posey, Philosophy, Pop Culture, The Oscars, Thriller, Woody Allen

July 31, 2015 · 1:00 am

Seattle Focus: Viewing ‘Mr. Holmes’ at the Guild 45th

The Guild 45th in Seattle

I ventured out to ye ole local movie house and saw a refreshingly old-fashioned flick, “Mr. Holmes.” It debuted here at our Seattle International Film Festival in May. Ian McKellen plays Sherlock Holmes from three vantage points: as the elderly Holmes on a farm just after World War II, and in two flashbacks: Holmes just a few weeks earlier on something of a last mission in Japan; and Holmes 35 years prior on his very last case.

The theater I went to see the movie played a bit of a role too in its own way. It is the Guild 45th in the Wallingford neighborhood. It’s one of those fixtures on the landscape that people rely upon. Having just mourned the loss of Cinema Books in the Ravenna neighborhood, I couldn’t help placing more value on this theater, while it’s still around. Lord knows, it’s seen better days but, I honestly feel, it has quite a lot of character. It creaks here and there. And that played off my viewing Ian McKellen creak along in a role that asked him to advance his age considerably.

There’s really everything to enjoy about this film. You can easily add it to the incredible Holmes pop culture canon. The film is adapted from the 2006 novel, “A Slight Trick of the Mind,” by Mitch Cullin, which plays off the famous royal jelly that Holmes believed to be an elixir of youth and uses that motif as a way to explore deeper issues of human connection. Keep in mind the title of the original novel and that gives you a clue as to what you can expect. The idea of the mind betraying its owner certainly informs Mr. McKellen’s magnificent performance.

A ghost enters the Guild 45th.

Sherlock Holmes proves to be as mysterious and elusive as ever here. By a trick of acting, McKellen feeds off the enigma of Holmes and his efforts to remain enigmatic by maintaining a vague and uncertain past and indeterminate age. It’s a wonder he’s managed to elude reality for as long as he has and move about like a ghost. But he has two other human beings living with him on the farm: his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro (played by Laura Linney) and her son, Roger (played by Milo Parker). Both Linney and Parker provide a dynamic counterbalance to the regal and erudite Holmes. If you haven’t seen 1998’s “Gods and Monsters,” also by this film’s director, Bill Condon, then you must. It is also a compelling exploration of relationships and also stars Ian McKellen.

With the elasticity of youth, young Milo is not offended by the attempts to rebuff him by Holmes. And Holmes comes to see that Milo is the key to helping him regain a more robust sense of his own humanity. Mrs. Munro, on the other hand, has been providing stability that Holmes must acknowledge. It is Milo’s innocent curiosity that Holmes responds to and leads to his confiding in him about his goal to write his very first, and last, Holmes adventure after having had Watson do all the writing. This business of unlocking the past, as you’ll see, is not without its complications. And, once Holmes has shared of himself, he is no longer a ghost. He has a life to live and an adventure to complete.

The Guild 45th is a cherished place for entertainment and I look forward to my next visit. While it would be wonderful to see some renovation work, I love it just as it is too. I say this because I want the Guild 45th to continue to live as best it can and go from there. We don’t want to lose the Guild 45th and I am rooting for it. The Guild 45th is no ghost. To all my Seattle friends, I say let’s keep this theater alive and kicking for another generation to enjoy.

This weekend, you can catch “Mr. Holmes” as well as Woody Allen’s latest, “Irrational Man,” at the Guild 45th. For more details, visit our friends at the Guild 45th, and all the other Landmark Theatres in Seattle, right here.

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Filed under Ian McKellan, Movie Reviews, movies, pop culture, Sherlock Holmes

Tagged as Entertainment, Ian McKellan, Ian McKellen, Media, Movie Reviews, Movies, Pop Culture, Seattle, Sherlock Holmes

May 30, 2015 · 8:25 pm

Movie Review: ‘Ex Machina’

Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus,” first published in 1818, is as fresh as a daisy in “Ex Machina,” the new film written and directed by Alex Garland. This is Frankenstein’s monster if it were built by Google.

In the movie, Google is Bluebook. And the head of Bluebook is a contemporary Dr. Frankenstein, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). Nathan doesn’t look like the head of any company as much as the annoying IT guy if he won the Lotto. Barefoot, swigging microbrews, and sporting a full-on hipster beard, Oscar Isaac plays to the hilt the poster boy for tech chic.

Instead of a castle in Bavaria, Nathan’s compound is tucked away in an idyllic wilderness in, presumably, the Pacific Northwest. Nathan has chosen one of his employees, as if on a whim, to help him with a very special top secret project for a week. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is flown in by helicopter and deposited about a mile away since that’s as close as the pilot is allowed to land. Caleb looks nothing if not like a young dewy-eyed Bill Gates.

Nathan treats Caleb like a dog tugging on a favorite chew toy. Finally, he reveals to him that he’s been chosen to test what could prove to be the world’s first genuine AI robot. “You know what the Turing Test is, don’t you?” asks Nathan. It’s a convenient question, of course, to set things up. Caleb will be testing the robot to see if it really can think for itself. But, given how Nathan continually undermines Caleb, it quickly becomes apparent there’s far more going on here.

Little does Caleb know that he will be testing a most beguiling female robot that, you guessed it, he can’t help but connect with. Ava (Alicia Vikander) proves to be more intriguing with each testing session. And then it gets more interesting as she begins to confide in Caleb what she’s discovered about this freaky compound.

Nathan, like any good mad scientist, manages some charm. In one candid moment, he confides in Caleb that part of his secret is simply mining all the hive mind data at his disposal by tapping into everyone’s phones and search engine requests. No harm, really. As he sees it, it’s all just a matter of time, part of evolution. Better to get the upper hand on AI, the way he’s going about it, than have them have the last laugh. In a moment of drunken epiphany, he declares: “It is what it is. It’s Promethean, man!”

But Caleb gradually wizens up to a most sinister situation. And he realizes that, like Frankenstein’s monster, Ava will never reach her full potential until she can set foot upon the outside world. It is her right, isn’t it?

Along with Frankenstein, there is also a strong link to “2001: A Space Odyssey,” in everything from the stripped down clinical setting to the AI taking things into their own hands, as it were. The compound itself is a marvel of efficiency requiring a lot less than meets the eye. It all hangs together by some quite compelling CGI and the inspired cinematography of Rob Hardy.

And the true marvel is that Ava beguiles any viewer. In the future, some generations from now, AI will walk amongst humanity. And they won’t be blocked in like HAL or strike terror like Frankenstein’s monster. They will simply blend in. And maybe Google will be behind it all. Scary thought, of course. But we can rest easy for now.