Led Zeppelin Played Here Review

The mystery of rock----Outside of Wheaton Community Center where Led Zeppelin supposedly played and where Jeff Krulik makes his newest documentary
                                        Jeff Krulik's newest documentary, Led Zeppelin Played Here is a truly great example of just how much a documentary not only relies on its subject but its maker. Being from the area in which this documentary takes place may make me a bit biased in writing this review but not to a fault. Krulik knows how to engage the audience throughout and the diverse subjects who debate the mystery of a concert in Wheaton, MD are endlessly fascinating.

                                         A little background----the film premiered at the AFI Silver in downtown Silver Spring in its entire glory. I was one of the people fortunate enough to sit down and watch this fascinating piece of work. It's expending to more festivals and if it's at a festival near you---I highly recommend you check it out.

                                          The film follows a quest to find out if rock band Led Zeppelin played at the Community Center in Wheaton. Krulik talks to all kinds of people. Some say there's no way they didn't and some say there's no way they did. The fact that both sides put up a very convincing argument makes the film all the more fascinating. Krulik delivers lots of humor and talks a lot about other well known artists and bands while still holding the audience down with that ultimate question---did Led Zeppelin play there?

                                           I also saw an unfinished preview cut of the film back in January of this year and while I thought the unfinished cut was terrific...the full length version is even better. The audience gets a glimpse inside a ton of fascinating people ranging from a man who collects everything Led Zeppelin to music archivists to people who claim that they were there on that fateful night. The subjects he speaks to are simultaneously fascinating and funny. Also---no matter what side they're on---they put up a good argument as to why they think what they think.

                                            Krulik has made a truly fascinating film here. He sucks in the audience in with this one burning question and never lets go. I honestly can't think of a documentary that I've enjoyed more in the past couple of years. If this comes anywhere near you...by all means, see it.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is Not Rated)

You're Next Review

A home invasion away from home----Sharni Vinson as the victim of a home invasion in You're Next
                                 The ads for You're Next are among the worst I have ever seen. It made the film look intriguing enough but it also suggested that this was yet another home invasion horror film a la The Purge or The Strangers. In actuality, You're Next is (without overselling it) one of the greatest things ever put on film. It is the most innovative, entertaining, creepy, delightfully gory and surprisingly intentionally very funny films of any sort of the past few decades. Words lose me when trying to describe my love for this film. This is one of those films where you walk out of the theater vibrating from the awesomeness that you have just experienced. There is so much life and energy as well as originality to every frame of this film that it can only be praised as a modern masterpiece. Directed by Adam Wingard  and written by Simon Barrett who did the wraparound story for the much-lauded V/H/S (which I actually found pretty enjoyable).....this is a film that should be shown to film students for decades to come on how to make a legitimately amazing film.

                                  I'm not going to tell you the plot because the less you know about this film---the more you'll love it. I will say it's a home invasion film like no other. Other than that---going into this film fresh will make you love this film even more than I did (if that's even possible.)  

                                   I always talk about great acting in films that I review. While this film does have some excellent acting including a hilarious performance from Joe Swanberg (whose character we needed more of)...the directing, writing and most important---editing are key here. Director Wingard shows us almost every scene of violence in full. While this will cause just about anyone to turn away multiple times....it also makes for a delightfully gory horror film. All the horror films from this year (barring Evil Dead) have been too afraid to go the extra mile. That is to say the filmmakers were afraid too much gore would be a turn off for audiences. Here's a little secret to the filmmakers----a lot of gore actually makes for a more fun and creepy film than a dumbed down PG-13 horror film. The writing is very funny while still managing to be incredibly creepy. The dialogue could probably go up against Aaron Sorkin's screenplays---no joke. It is fast, funny, fierce and menacing. Also----the story keeps you hooked wondering what's going to happen next and the outcome doesn't disappoint. The editing uses many quick jump cuts to make for a very disturbing look. Too many horror films nowadays think that if one shot is shown for a long time---that's creepy. Rather, it just gets boring and repetitive. The fact that the film's editing uses a lot of jump cuts and fast paced cinematography actually makes it 1000 times more enjoyable than any other horror film from the past few decades. Also...the score is fantastic. The progressively loud music adds to the creepiness of each situation and the technique (which I will not give away) of playing a certain song is downright brilliant.

                                      You're Next is the very definition of a flawless film. If I had anything close to one complaint---it would be that the characters are unlikable. However, even that's a positive for the film. You wouldn't want to see Shailene Woodley's character from The Spectacular Now get brutally killed...would you? Thus having unlikable people makes a lot of sense for this film. If you haven't seen You're Next yet...do so now. It is a legitimately amazing piece of filmmaking.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity)

Lee Daniels' The Butler Review

To protest and to serve----Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey as a White House employee and his wife in Lee Daniels' The Butler
                                 Lee Daniels' The Butler is the very definition of Oscar bait. The film was made simply to attract the attention of the Academy. This isn't a terrible film by any means but it is a frustrating one due to the fact that there is nothing here that suggests a film was attempting to be more than a hook for the Academy. The film is also definitive proof that great acting doesn't always make a great film. It is an expertly performed film but rather bland if you ask me. For all of its potential---the film seems to be a huge missed opportunity.

                                   The film follows Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker)....a man who has suffered through years of oppression and gets his chance at the good life when The White House calls him to offer him a job as a butler. This is a true story of a man who overcame the odds and served as butler for eight presidents. The performances of these presidents range from skillfully underplayed (James Marsden as John F. Kennedy and Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower) to merrily and accurately over the top (Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson and John Cusack as Richard Nixon) to kind of just there (I'm sorry Alan Rickman, but your Ronald Reagan just isn't cutting it.) Considering this is a truly fascinating and inspiring story.....there's not a whole lot here to make it worth the 130 minute running time.

                                    There are some nice turns from Cuba Gooding, JR. and Lenny Kravitz as fellow butlers and Whitaker is great here. However, actors such as Terrence Howard, David Oyelowo and Vanessa Redgrave are just kind of left in the dust. Their roles hold no significance and the entire film could have been done without them. However, even the great performances simply feel like an attempt to get the Academy's attention. Also...Oprah Winfrey as Cecil's wife, Gloria is a well written character but Winfrey makes the character seem like the most annoying human being on earth simply by acting like she generally does. The story lags so much that you start to wonder why the film needed to be over two hours.

                                     I'm not saying this a terrible film by any means whatsoever. It's just that there's nothing to it. There are one or two individual moments in which director Lee Daniels and writer Danny Strong (who did the excellent HBO film Recount) don't try to pull in the Oscars. Those are the moments that stand out as truly excellent because they're attempting to be interesting and succeeding quite well. However, those moments are too little too late and I'm disappointed to report that I don't think Lee Daniels' The Butler should get any attention come Oscar season.
(2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for some violence and disturbing images, language, sexual material, thematic elements and smoking)

Kick-Ass 2 Review

Holding out for a hero----Chloe Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are superheroes once again in Kick-Ass 2
                               Kick-Ass 2 is right up there with Poltergeist II: The Other Side, The Sting II, Jaws 2 and Exorcist II: The Heretic as one of the most lifeless, dumbest sequels ever made. The sequel that Kick-Ass 2 is most reminiscent of, however, also came out this year. That sequel is The Hangover Part III. This is due to the fact that, just as that film did...Kick-Ass 2 pulls a complete 360. It takes a completely different tone from the first one and changes the whole idea of the film and doesn't work at all. This is a very bad film with two bright spots that kept me from being totally bored. The first Kick-Ass being a legitimately great film in my eyes...I have some biased towards this dumbed down sequel and will make some comparisons through the course of this review.

                                This time...Kick-Ass/Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is being taught by Hit Girl/Mindy  (Chloe Grace Moretz) how to become a great fighter/superhero. However, Mindy just wants to lead a normal high school life and steps down from being Hit Girl. This happens right as rich kid Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse....one of the bright spots) plans to become the world's first super villain. His villain name is a name that would be unprofessional of me to type in this review. His assistant, Javier (John Leguizamo....there's the other bright spot) doesn't know what to think of his evil plans. Meanwhile, Kick-Ass joins a group of real-life superheroes that include such wacky characters as Colonel Stars And Stripes (Jim Carrey) and Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison.)

                                    The film can be summed up by a line that is uttered a few times. In a few scenes...a character says "This isn't a comic book." The fatal flaw of the film, however is that it IS a comic book. A lot of the fun in the first one came from the fact that the superheroes lived in the real world and were totally out of place when they were walking on the streets. Here....they're placed into a world in which everyone is a cartoon therefore making no one interesting. There's a lot of stuff involving Mindy and her struggles at school as well as her trouble with her adoptive father, Marcus (Morris Chestnut.) This aspect of the film annoyed me beyond belief. I don't go to a film like this to see a teenage girl struggle through high school. That's like going to a horror film to see Pauly Shore do his schtick. Carrey could have been great but it ultimately ended up feeling like they were forcing a big name actor to be in an unrecognizable part. Moretz and Taylor-Johnson are fine but they obviously don't really want to be there. Also... all the action scenes are shot in shaky-cam...the most annoying way to shoot anything in a film.

                                        Mintz-Plasse and Leguizamo are both funny in and of themselves and work well together. Leguizamo is in the same league as Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman, Philip Baker Hall and Woody Harrelson as an actor that never disappoints. However, the whole motive behind Chris could have been better executed and more interesting. I will say if you've seen the first film...you'll be disappointed that they didn't do more with Chris's motive. Javier is just there to provide a bit of comic energy as well he should be since nothing else in the film is all that entertaining. In fact...a lot of it is very, very boring.

                                           Writer-Director Jeff Wadlow, who previously did the fighting drama Never Back Down which is admittedly a guilty pleasure for me and the pathetic high school horror film Cry_Wolf obviously has no idea to do with the material at hand here. The first one was directed by Matthew Vaughn who did the amazing action film Layer Cake before he made Kick-Ass. It showed that Vaughn knew what he was doing when directing action sequences as well as when writing an action film. The first film took a while to get started but at least both the non-superhero stuff and the superhero stuff were entertaining because they showed the absolute absurdity of the situation. Here....the film is set in such a caricature filled world that the film itself is not interesting. I know I should suspend disbelief for films like Kick-Ass 2 and I tried to. However, when the film's not only uninteresting but genuinely boring...that's where I need to put my foot down.
(1 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, crude and sexual content and brief nudity)

We're The Millers Review

Coked out family road trip---Jason Sudekis, Jennifer Aniston, Will Poulter and Emma Roberts as a fake family of drug smugglers in We're The Millers

                                      To quote George Costanza in "Seinfeld"....We're The Millers is right in that meaty part of the curve...not showing off and not falling behind. It's a comedy with an enormous amount of chuckle worthy moments that never reaches its full potential. There is nothing that particularly stands out as hysterical but nothing particularly stands out as awful, either. The film is directed by Rawson Marshall Thunder...the guy who directed the surprisingly hilarious Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Similarly....the film is written by Bob Fisher and Steve Faber...the writers of the instant classic Wedding Crashers. The other two writers on the film (yes...there are two more) are Sean Anders and Josh Morris who did the surprisingly great comedy Hot Tub Time Machine and the very funny Sex Drive. When you put up this film against any four of those comedies...they will always make me laugh more than this comedy. That's not to say that We're The Millers isn't funny. As I previously mentioned...there are many chuckle worthy moments. It's just to say that it's strange how such a typical, by the numbers, predictable comedy took four incredibly gifted writers and an excellent director to make.

                                      The film follows David Clark (Jason Sudekis)....a pot dealer who's good at what he does and yet kind of secretly yearns to be part of a family. One day...David loses all of his pot and his drug kingpin boss (Ed Helms...oddly enough) offers him a way to pay back his debt by smuggling some marijuana across the border. David realizes that he would be caught right at the border if he went alone. Because family's dont get a second look...he hires a stripper (Jennifer Aniston), a dorky kid from his building (Will Poulter) and a drifter (Emma Roberts) to  pose as his fake family.

                                         This is a funny concept and I laughed consistently during the film. However, those moments are all in the back of my brain at this point. This is not only due to the fact that the film has a problem of being both detached from itself and too into itself but mostly because of how predictable it is. I'll give you a good example. The fake family meets u with a real family of campers. The dork immediately falls for the dorky daughter (Molly Quinn). The dad (Nick Offerman) is a DEA agent and the mom (Kathryn Hahn) is just there to be wacky. How do you think the fact that the dad is a DEA agent will play into the story? If you didn't already mumble the answer to yourself...you need to think a bit harder.

                                             What it comes down to with a film like this is did I laugh? The answer in this case is yes...multiple times. However, I didn't laugh as much as I think I should have. Sudekis and Aniston have great comic timing and their chemistry works. Offerman, as always, is great and makes me laugh and Poulter and Roberts make good supporting players. However, nothing stood out to me here. It's not that We're The Millers is a bad film. In fact....it's pretty damn good. It's just that I wish it was a bit better.
(3 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for crude sexual content, pervasive language, drug material and brief graphic nudity)

The Spectacular Now Review

Oh, to be a teen again----Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller as a surprisingly fitting couple in The Spectacular Now

                                 It's fitting that the new coming of age drama/comedy is called The Spectacular Now. Why is this? Well...it's because this is the third coming of age film this year and all three of them have been spectacular. This one, however, may top the list. The Way Way Back may have to move over as my f and The Kings Of Summer may have to move out of my top 15 because this is a truly phenomenal film. Every second of this film rings absolutely true---from the dialect of the characters to the tough parent-child relationships. There is not a false note in the entire film.

   

                                 The film stars Miles Teller as Sutter....a nice guy who's also a party animal and somewhat of an alcoholic. When his girlfriend, Cassidy (Brie Larson) dumps him...he finds himself in the biggest slump of his life. He is born anew, however when he meets Aimee (Shailene Woodley)....a. sweet, completely harmless young woman who goes to the same high school as him. Sutter and Aimee hit it off and start dating much to the surprise of Sutter's friends and the chagrin of Aimee's friends.

                                   Teller and Woodley are both phenomenal here. Teller makes Sutter into a nice, caring guy who is trying to improve for Aimee but can't seem to while Woodley makes Aimee a sweet, compassionate young woman but never does so unrealistically. Their chemistry is the best I've seen all year and gives the whole film an authentic vibe. It's as if the audience is watching these people talk up close and personal. 

                                   As I said before...the film also rings true in every aspect. Every scene evokes a part of high school that we've all been through. There's even a great scene in which Cassidy's new boyfriend asks Sutter what's going on between them. What happens in this scene could have easily felt very unrealistic but as done by director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H Weber (500 Days Of Summer)...even that scene rang completely true. 

                                    All in one fell swoop....the film manages to be funny, touching, sad, realistic, incredibly well acted, expertly directed, sharply written and magical among other things. Please---if you can only see one film this year...make it The Spectacular Now.

(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for alcohol use, language and some sexuality---all involving teens)

                                     

The Smurfs 2 Review

Feeling blue---Vexy (Christina Ricci), Smurfette (Katy Perry), Gargamel (Hank Azaria) and Hackus (JB Smoove) take a ride in The Smurfs 2
                                     The Smurfs 2 is the sequel that nobody wanted and nobody asked for. Even I---admittedly having slightly enjoyed the first film---did not want this to come into play. However, The Smurfs was a huge moneymaker and if it's one thing studios care about---it's money and this is the very definition of no effort for a big fat paycheck. This isn't to say that The Smurfs 2 is the worst film of the year. Far from it as a matter of fact. However, The Smurfs 2 might be the most frustrating film of the year. Why would talented people (barring director Raja Gosnell who is by no means talented) make such a terrible film? Why wouldn't such actors as Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris and Brendan Gleeson go out and make a good film to show off their true talents? Granted---Azaria made me laugh a couple of times due to his go for broke attitude but that's just not enough.

                                       The film follows Gargamel (Azaria)....a now world renowned magician whose powers are going to run out if he doesn't get more smurf essence. He has his two assistants called naughties, Vexy (Christina Ricci) and Hackus (JB Smoove) kidnap Smurfette (Katy Perry) to turn her into a naughty and eventually get her smurf essence. Meanwhile----Patrick (Harris), the man who helped save the day in the first film is now settled with his wife (Jayma Mays) and their child (Jacob Tremblay.) Also...for some reason---Gleeson decided to sign up for this film as Patrick's estranged stepfather.

                                         By and large the most annoying aspect of the film is the constant badgering of messages about family and it's not where you come from...it's who you are now. These two themes are placed so many times in the film, in fact, that I started to get a severe headache just listening to the film. Harris, Mays and Gleeson just look embarrassed to be in this film while Azaria tries and succeeds to some degree but not enough to save the film.  The story goes nowhere to the point of self destruction as well.

                                         Look---I know that many of you are going to argue that I'm being too harsh due to the fact that it's a film for little children. However, this film is actually going to make your children dumber because it doesn't let your kids think about anything while watching it. Almost every other kids film has something in which kids have to use their imaginations. There is no such thing here. This is why The Smurfs 2 is going to be a bad experience for all.
(1 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG for some rude humor and action)

                                     

2 Guns Review

Robbery gone wrong----Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg as a DEA agent and a Special Forces agent who rob a bank together in 2 Guns
                                                  Ever watch a movie and enjoy it despite the fact that you know it's mostly working just because of the actors? That is definitely the case with 2 Guns....a completely cool and suave action film that I can guarantee would not have worked if it had not been for the actors involved. Directed by Baltasar Kormakur, who previously directed star Mark Wahlberg in Contraband....this is miles better than that film which was mediocre at best.

                                                   The film stars Wahlberg as fast-talking, womanizing Special Forces agent Michael Stigman. Assigned to rob a bank by his boss (James Marsden)...he teams up with Robert Trench (Denzel Washington.) Unaware that Robert is a DEA agent....Michael is furious to find out he has been set up and vice versa. However, these two men have to work to stop a greater evil. Namely---a drug kingpin (Edward James Olmos) who has kidnapped Robert's mistress (Paula Patton) and a corrupt CIA agent (Bill Paxton) who just wants his money back.

                                                      I'll admit it---this is the type of film I will forget within a day. I'm writing this review five hours after having seen the film and have already forgot about a lot of it. Also---the whole story is contrived even if it fits the film well. It is the old "two rivals have to work together to stop a greater evil" story but it does work here.

                                                       The film reminded me a lot of The Internship if it was an action film. Wahlberg is the fast talking, sarcastic guy a la Vince Vaughn and Washington is the relaxed, charming guy a la Owen Wilson. As with Vaughn and Wilson----there is a nice chemistry between these two and they have some excellent banter. The opening scene which involves Michael ordering breakfast for Robert was incredibly funny. The whole film is surprisingly very funny, in fact. Marsden is great as the corrupt captain while Olmos is excellent as the menacing drug kingpin and Paxton is having a blast and delivers his lines perfectly. The story works even though having three bad guys and a bunch of henchmen in a film like this does become a bit overwhelming.

                                                         2 Guns isn't anything that hasn't been done a million times before nor is it any great feat of filmmaking in general. However, while you're in the moment----it provides action galore, plenty of laughs and a very fun time at the movies.
(3 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for violence throughout, language and brief nudity)

I'm So Excited Review

Taking off----Javier Camara and Raul Arevalo as flight attendants on a disastrous plane in I'm So Excited

                       I have to admit that I have never seen a Pedro Almodovar comedy. Yes...I have never seen Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, What Have I Done To Deserve This? or Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!. The only ones I had seen of his before were Bad Education and The Skin I Live In. I admittedly didn't like either of those films at all. It's not that I can't see why people don't like them or anything...they just weren't up my alley. I tell you this so you know that I went into Almodovar's newest film, I'm So Excited an Almodovar comedy virgin and one could argue an Almodovar virgin in general. Perhaps that's why I'm So Excited is admittedly the most fun I have had at the cinema in a long while. I laughed as much at this film as American comedies This Is The End and The Heat combined. Also...remember that I am a straight, young male. I must mention this because this film is the gay version of Airplane just like Soul Plane was the black version. The difference between Soul Plane and I'm So Excited is that I laughed through every second of the latter.

                         The film stars Javier Camara, Raul Arevalo and Carlos Areces as a group of gay flight attendants who are informed that something has gone terribly wrong with the airplane. When they hear of the distressing news...they try to keep the passengers on the plane entertained. This doesn't seem to work, however. That is until---well, you go see the film to figure out.

                         The film mostly takes place inside of the plane. There are maybe 15 minutes that take place elsewhere. Almodovar is masterful at keeping us engaged when mostly the location is inside an airplane. The film is not just people acting wacky---as funny as that is, however. The film is also an incredibly biting satire on how we live our day to day lives. The way these people act inside the airplane is quintessential to society. Everyone on the airplane represents someone you know and maybe even you. Almodovar (who I forgot to mention also wrote the film) provides the audience with the snooty businessman, the excited newlyweds, the attractive woman who still can't seem to find love and many other relatable characters. I was admittedly skeptical that Almodovar was going to paint the flight attendants as stereotypical gay characters but he didn't. He gives each of the flight attendants their own personality and traits.

                            The look of the film also caught my eye. It is bright and colorful without being too showy. This is one of the many reasons that the film has an infectious energy that is unmatched by any film I've seen in the past couple of years. It is so energetic, in fact, that the audience feels as if they are on the airplane with the characters. However, there is one aspect of the film that falls a little short. It involves the ex-girlfriend of one of the passengers and a missing cellphone. Almodovar introduces that idea in a 10 minute scene that partially takes place outside of the plane but seems to have forgotten about it until the very end. That is a very small complaint for a masterfully made film, however.

                             I'm So Excited is a wacky, outrageous and hysterically funny comedy from a man with whom I can now see why he's so admired. There was not a moment I wasn't laughing during this film. If you're okay with reading the jokes the film throws at you then I can almost guarantee that you too will have a great time watching this film.

(4 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong sexual content including crude references, and drug use)