The Signal Review

Hear one minute, gone the next----Brenton Thwaites and Olivia Cooke as a crippled computer hacker and his ex-girlfriend who find themselves infected with a virus in The Signal
                                                 The Signal is a film that tries to say so much about such a variety of topics that it really ends up saying nothing about anything. It reminded me of a Neill Blomkamp film minus the A-list talent. Of course, Laurence Fishburne, an exceptional actor, plays a fairly large part in this film. However, his A-list presence feels like a more bearable version of Al Pacino in 88 Minutes (if anyone even remembers that disaster.) In other words, Fishburne is brought in by the filmmaker as an attempt to hide the fact that no one knows what they're doing. The film does present one or two interesting ideas but even those are so poorly done and overblown that the film feels more like a parody of a sci-fi film than an actual sci-fi film. I felt like I was watching the lost skit from Amazon Women On The Moon pushed to 95 minutes. I'm not trying to sound harsh because I'm aware that director and co-writer William Eubank  and co-writer Carlyle Eubank had a hamstring budget and not a ton of support. However, this is a very bad film which makes it so that I still have to hold the Eubanks's feet to the fire.

                                               The film stars Brenton Thwaites, who has been in Oculus and Maleficent this year and continues to make me question how he's getting so much work, as Nic. Nic is a man who must struggle with crutches who is also a wiz at the computer arts and gets a mysterious email from a hacker who previously caused a university scandal with which Nic and his buddy Jonah (Beau Knapp) got blamed for. Not exactly sure what to do, Nic and Jonah decide to push him back. All of a sudden, Nic, Jonah and Nic's ex-girlfriend Haley (Olivia Cooke) find themselves in isolated rooms at a mysterious supposed research center. Nic is interviewed by Damon (Laurence Fishburne) who seems intent on keeping them in this isolation for the indefinite future.

                                                Going further into the plot would be giving away too many of the all too predictable twists and turns. Fishburne gives a fairly creepy performance but his role could had been played by anyone with no real difference besides the fact that other actors wouldn't have tried so hard with such a badly written character. As for the rest of the cast, they feel as if they just came out of a high school acting class with a really bad teacher. I can't fully blame the cast, though. The Eubanks spend all too much of the time trying to give the audience the allusion that there is some kind of actual mystery. It would have been significantly more effective if the Eubanks showed more of what's so creepy and weird about this place and why the virus these three friends are infected with is so bad. However, the audience gets only one or two brief glimpses of what makes this place so bad and no real explanation of what this virus does or why it's so awful. Before the audience knows it, it's back to the question of "what does this mean?," which can be found out in the first five minutes.

                                            This film is a perfect example of why less is not always more. The film tries to build suspense out of virtually nothing and just ends up coming across as incompetent and rudimentary in the process. It's far from the worst film of 2014 but The Signal is extraordinary dull and too often obvious in the most eye rolling way possible to ever enjoy or get engaged with.
(1 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements, violence and language)

Life Itself Review

I love my work---Roger Ebert's life, from his long and deservedly thriving career as the world's most influential film critic to his unfortunate 2013 death is documented in Life Itself
                                                     I don't know if I will be able to write this review while staying dry eyed the entire time. Roger Ebert is the man that I have looked up to my entire life and will continue to look up to until the day I die. That is why I am extremely happy to report how fantastic and sad the documentary about this legendary critic titled Life Itself (also the title of Ebert's memoir) is. The film is directed by Steve James, who may not have had much of a career if it weren't for Ebert's constant raving about his superb 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams. Needless to say the love that James will always have for this man is felt by the audience. However, the fact that James isn't afraid to dive into the tough aspects of Ebert's life is what makes this documentary so magical.

                                                   The film follows Ebert's entire life, a lot of which are in Ebert's own words and shown through the text of his memoir. This tracks Ebert all the way back to his childhood and early family life to his alcoholism early in his career to becoming that film critic that all other film critics (such as myself) idolize to his long battle with cancer and his unfortunate and sad death in April 2013. What James does so magnificently with this film is that he lets himself be a part of the film without ever intruding. James makes sure he covers all the stuff in which it is imperative to cover but he follows every one of Ebert's request with a respectful agreeableness. This also helps because Ebert approaches this documentary with such humor and passion, even when being filmed on his final days, that it becomes extremely heartwarming to watch a man who cared so much about living every second with enjoyment and energy.

                                                  James also does a fantastic job of giving the audience insight into facts about Ebert that many other directors would have shied away from. In this, he proves to be a filmmaker who's not just out to cover the most basic elements of an extraordinary man's life but to show why he was so extraordinary. He explores such things as how Ebert had a long battle with alcohol and personal demons early in his career and got past them with great skill. James also talks about how Ebert's wife, Chaz loved Roger not because of how great looking or cool he was but because of how much he didn't care what anyone else thought as long as he continued to like himself.

                                                The most saddening scenes hands down are of those between Roger and Chaz. These scenes hold an especially large emotional factor because they showed that Chaz obviously loved Roger with all of her heart and yet sometimes had trouble doing what was best for him. Especially late in his battle with cancer, Roger wanted to do things his way and this made it much harder for Chaz to explain to him that it would be better to do things another way.

                                               James also employs a brilliant technique where he does Roger's life mostly in order but keeps going back to Roger after his jaw had to be removed. This makes the film significantly more sad because it adds that extra layer when the entire audience realizes that things such as food via suction and not being able to speak were a day to day part of Roger's life for quite some time. This is made even more uplifting by the fact that Roger obviously enjoyed every second of life despite these obstacles. It also touchingly shows that he was able to make his voice even more powerful than before because he couldn't speak so his writing was the only way he had to express himself.

                                               Life Itself is a truly beautiful, breathtaking and fascinating documentary that should appeal to everybody. No one has to be passionate about film or care about Roger Ebert to enjoy this documentary and find it extremely sad. I am, however, both passionate about film and someone who cared immensely about Ebert and have looked up to him for most of my life so that helped quite a bit. I will end this review by not only urging everyone to go see this documentary right away but also by confirming that I did cry while writing this entire review.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for brief sexual images/nudity and language)
**Note: The MPAA slaps this film with an R rating for a few F-Bombs and minimal, not at all graphic sexual images when talking about Ebert's work with the sexually charged filmmaker Russ Meyer. This makes me especially upset since this documentary will very easily inspire children, preteens and early teenagers to go out and pursue what they're passionate about when and if they get the chance to see it. Also, consider that extremely violent and/or terrifying films, even ones with heavy sexual themes throughout  such as Robocop (2014), Transformers (2007) and The Quiet Ones (2014) get away with the PG-13 rating simply because they don't show blood with their extreme violence or gore and they're not "graphic enough" to get an R-rating. These action and horror films will also rot children, preteens and teenager's brains out while Life Itself, as previously mentioned, will inspire them to actually at least attempt to become successful. The MPAA needs to get their act together and take into account that it shouldn't just be what's being shown on screen but the effect that the films will have on young people. I truly hope this film will be shown at schools and other educational venues throughout the country to inspire young people to chase their dreams and make them realize that if they work hard enough, that dream's not too far away.

Words And Pictures Review

More power to you---Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche as an English teacher and an art teacher who start a fling while debating their respective subjects in Words And Pictures
                                        Words And Pictures is an extremely hard film to wrap my mind around. It is so candid in how dumb it is and how beyond comprehension the premise is. However, it is also a film that is hard not to be won over by. The leads are so good together that the completely ludicrous subject matter almost gets past the audience. Notice there how I said almost. These are two great actors showing why they are so highly respected in their field by taking what easily could have been an extremely lousy film and making it charming. However, this is a case in which great acting can only go so far.

                                          In the film, Clive Owen plays Jack Marcus, a formerly great and praised writer who is now an English teacher at a preppy high school with a detrimental love for alcohol. When he sees new teacher Dina Delsanto (Juliette Binoche), a renowned artist suffer from Arthritis, in the teacher's lounge, he automatically asserts himself in his loud, obnoxious ways. At first Dina is not charmed by him but she quickly starts to become flattered by his unusually manic behavior. However, seeing that Jack is an English teacher and Dina is an art teacher, they must debate whether words or pictures hold more value. The students at the school (or at least the ones who have the exact same schedule since they're all in the same classes with Jack and Dina) help raise the question by presenting their own positions.

                                           Owen and Binoche are so incredibly lovely together that it's hard to watch the film fall apart as it goes along. The main problem is that the debate is so incredibly superfluous to the point where when the more interesting plots, the ones involving both Jack and Dina's relationship as well as the relationships with the students are pushed aside, I dreaded having to watch this silly, awful debate. I like the idea that Jack is livened up by Dina but still has a hard time controlling his drinking as well as a plot involving Jack and his estranged son but the debate at the center makes it so I had a hard time taking any of this seriously.

                                         Also, the film throws too many eggs into one basket. Writer Gerald Di Pego (who wrote a personal favorite of mine, 1996's Phenomenon) and director Fred Schepisi (Roxanne, The Russia House, A Cry In The Dark, The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith...need I say more?) throw way too many plots on screen. It gets to the point where it's hard to care about any single character because the film doesn't give enough time or focus to any of them. This can also be seen by the ending, which wraps up in much too tidy of a manner.

                                        Words And Pictures makes great use of the two incredible actors on screen and their natural chemistry. However, it doesn't make any use of anything else and therein lies the problem. It's hard not to recommend this film due to the immense charm of the two leads. However, Words And Pictures fails all too much at everything else for me to be able to do so. This is a perfect cable television film and nothing more.
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for sexual material including nude sketches, language and some mature thematic material)

A Million Ways To Die In The West Review

The decline of western civilization parodies---Seth MacFarlane as a cowardly man circa The Old West and Charlize Theron as his love interest in A Million Ways To Die In The West
                                    A Million Ways To Die In The West suffers from "Full Filmmaker Freedom Fatality.." a disease in which a writer and/or director has a huge hit and then decides that means he or she can do whatever they want in their next film. Sometimes this works out. Christopher Nolan had a huge hit with Memento and then did the excellent Insomnia. Quentin Tarantino blew people's minds with Reservoir Dogs and then once again proceeded to do so with Pulp Fiction. However, there are times in which the alliterative phrase I have just used is accurate because the fatality in the phrase is the death of or at least feeling of the death of that person's career. The newest western parody from Seth MacFarlane, who had a huge hit with Ted falls into the latter category. This is a film that has a really solid premise but suffers not only from the fact that MacFarlane gave way too much away in the trailers but because there's not a lot here that's at all funny. I will admit I laughed out loud a total of five times during the film. One involves a line about a terrible disease, another about the way in which a carnival game is set up, one involves a sight that no one has seen before, one involves a prank in which the hero of the film is the victim and the last involves an attempted theft of an article of clothing. While this may be more times than I will ever laugh at another Adam Sandler film, I was sitting in the auditorium feeling bad for me and the rest of the audience because Neighbors was playing right next door and that is a fantastic comedy. This is not to say I'm comparing MacFarlane's comedy to the Seth Rogen-Zac Efron comedy. This is just to say that it seems like a waste to see this film when there are funnier things playing in theaters right now.

                                   The film stars MacFarlane (who also wrote and directed, in case I didn't make that clear) as Albert...a cowardly sheep farmer who lives in Arizona where the term "old time" would be more accurate for this review if I spelled it "old thyme." After being dumped by his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried,) Albert meets Anna (Charlize Theron,) a mysterious woman who rolls into town. Albert is not aware that Anna is secretly the wife of master gunfighter Clinch (Liam Neeson.) All the while, Albert is trying to win Louise and take her away from mustachioed Foy (Neil Patrick Harris.)

                                    Like I said...I found five things legitimately funny in this film. Also, whenever Harris shows up...I got a warm feeling knowing that he would at least be entertaining. However, the film revolves around Albert, who is played in such a bland way by MacFarlane that watching the "Family Guy" and "American Dad" creator try to spew lines is more of a test to not fall asleep than anything. Also, the running gag involving Albert's buddy Edward (Giovanni Ribisi) and his prostitute girlfriend Ruth (Sarah Silverman) gets old after the first time it is told. This is made much worse by the fact that MacFarlane feels the need to tell that joke about 20 times. Theron does admittedly do a pretty good job of making MacFarlane's acting kind of interesting simply by playing off him but by then it's too little too late. Meanwhile, Neeson and Seyfried are given absolutely nothing to do. MacFarlane simply writes them as people who show up, moving in and out of the shot when it's necessary for them to do so.

                                    A Million Ways To Die In The West has a few very funny bits. However, those funny bits are in place of around 50 lame and sometimes unbearable bits that fall completely flat. There are especially way too many jokes where someone famous shows up for a cameo and just the fact that they showed up is supposed to be inherently funny. MacFarlane's not the first one to make that mistake but filmmakers need to start understanding that a familiar face showing up is only funny if they are given something funny to do or show up in a funny situation. The two hour running time also hurts the film significantly, making what is supposed to be a comedy feel much more like a prison sentence. MacFarlane obviously has talent in him as seen in his previous work. However, it would be best for him to go back to modern day where he's able to make pop culture references and modern day humor galore because this is just boring.
(1 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong crude and sexual content, language throughout, some violence and drug material)