Wish I Was Here Review

Expression through lessons---Zach Braff as a struggling actor and Pierce Gagnon and Joey King as his two recently home schooled children in Wish I Was Here
                                            A film about discovering yourself is always a tricky path to go down, especially when you're talking about midlife. Thomas Haden Church and Paul Giamatti made it work wonders in the 2004 dramedy Sideways while Ben Stiller made me and several other people cringe last year by making The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. The newest midlife crises/discovering your purpose in life film is a project that was funded through Kickstarter by Zach Braff of the long running, highly syndicated television hospital comedy "Scrubs," much to many people's chagrin (he does supposedly get a ludicrous amount of royalties from that show after all.)

                                            The film is Wish I Was Here, a dramedy in which Braff plays Aidan, a struggling but hopeful actor whose father, Gabe (Mandy "You killed my father. Prepare to die." Patinkin) has been paying for his children, Tucker (Pierce Gagnon) and Grace (Joey King) to go to private Jewish school. However, Gabe comes with an overload of bad news when he tells Aidan he not only can no longer pay for their education but he's also dying of severe cancer. All the while, Aidan's supportive wife, Sarah (Kate Hudson) is miserably working a day job to support the family and Aidan must convince his estranged brother Noah (Josh Gad) to actually take time and see their dying father.

                                            While I will admit that the film features a lot of manipulation on director-co-writer Braff's part (he wrote the script with brother Adam,) the film still managed to get to me fairly often. I was surprised at how beautiful and touching the film was and how universal the issues it dealt with were. Everyone has dealt with death and the film knows that so it's not fast and loose with the subject nor is it overly preachy.

                                              The acting is pretty exceptional here, with everyone turning in an excellent performance. The biggest standout to me, however, was Gad. Having been a fan of his for quite some time now, I have always found him to be a superior comic talent. Here, he proves that he also has an abundance of dramatic skills. He gives the character of Noah, who easily could have been played as too much of a bumbling idiot, a large amount of depth and sympathy. He shows that Noah is not a character who just wants to be separated from the world. Rather, he wants to become someone and cares about everyone but can't seem to find the exact way to show it. There is also excellent supporting work from Jim Parsons as a fellow struggling actor who Aidan seems to have a knack of running into. Alexander Chaplin (the nervous looking speech writer for the mayor on TV's "Spin City" and an incredibly underrated actor) also turns in a wonderfully underplayed comedic performance as a sympathetic Rabbi with whom Aidan turns to for help temporarily.

                                             While Wish I Was Here is not a perfect film (like I said...it is somewhat deceiving in its own way and there are some overly gooey moments, in particular a metaphor about wanting to be "the hero of a story,") this is still a fairly wonderful film that I enjoyed from the first frame to the last. In a summer of explosions, gun play and raunchy comedies that seem intent on playing it safe, this is a delightful way to spend two hours in an air conditioned theater.
(4 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language and some sexual content)

(More Than) Halfway 2014 Report---The Best And Worst (So Far)

                                Here we are, more than halfway through 2014. I have decided to establish a list of my ten favorite and least favorite films that I have seen so far. This is due to the fact that 2014 has been a very strong year for film but also has had a lot of clunkers to go along with the greats. These are definitely prior to change come December 31st but right now, these are the films that reassured my love for film as well as the ones that made me consider finding a different passions. There are also a few honorable and dishonorable mentions thrown in for good measure. Also, please note that I have yet to see films such as Boyhood and A Most Wanted Man and I have avoided films such as Blended and Transformers: Age Of Extinction that have to be terrible so my list is what I have seen so far.
The best------(10) They Came Together  
                    I know many people were disappointed by this parody of the conventions of romantic comedies but what made a lot of people hate it is what I found so hysterical. The film is deliberate in the way it skewers the predictable nature of the romantic comedy and thus the broad humor works because it shows why these films starring Katherine Heigl and/or Gerald Butler among others have been hard to stomach over the years.

(9) 22 Jump Street

                     Yes...this film is fantastic and had me laughing hysterically the entire time. It just shows how fantastic 2014 has been when this manages to only sneak in at number 9. I loved everything about this film and the palpable chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as well as the obviously massive amounts of fun that they're having are nothing short of fabulous. 

(8) Chef

                     Jon Favreau proves yet again to be a genuinely great filmmaker with a heart of gold by making this delicious treat of a film. He plays a passionate chef who works for an unappreciative boss (Dustin Hoffman) and decides to open up a food truck business and work for himself after a humiliating fight with a snobby food critic (Oliver Platt) circles the internet. The film has a great message about doing what you love and an excellent young performance in Emjay Anthony as Carl (Favreau)'s son, Percy as well as a dynamite performance by John Leguizamo as Carl's buddy and old co-worker who decides to join him. Also, Favreau is fantastic in this and reassures audiences that there is a reason he is so highly regarded as an actor, writer and director.

(7) Snowpiercer  

                      Chris Evans' fantastic performance playing a different kind of superhero is only one of the many reasons to see this inventive, thrilling, daring and downright fantastic motion picture. Co-written and directed by Joon-Ho Bong, this is a wild ride from start to finish that is also a tough and timely metaphor. Not always easy to watch, this is the type of film where it's impossible to take your eyes off the screen even for a second.

(6) Locke

                      This film finds the audience watching Tom Hardy drive a car while talking on the phone for 85 minutes and works due to Hardy's performance. He pulls off the excitement and thrill that the of the moment phone calls bring in a way that most actors could never pull off. Captivating from start to finish, this film relies on the idea that no one in the audience knows what's going to happen next and are dying to figure it out.

(5) The Grand Budapest Hotel

                               Perhaps the greatest film that the brilliant Wes Anderson has done, this film not only features a stellar performance from the always reliable Ralph Fiennes but is also in equal parts funny, thrilling and even touching. Newcomer Tony Revolori as an anxious and charming lobby boy as well as a cavalcade of hilarious cameos and an abundance of the most visually pleasing set pieces I have seen add to this comedy's wonderfulness and beauty.

(4) The Double

                                     Richard Ayoade (who many people may know as that funny British guy from the otherwise disappointing The Watch) writes and directs this creative and massively entertaining comedy about a lonely office worked named Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) who sees his doppleganger in the newest employee at his office named James Simon (also Eisenberg.) James Simon proves to be significantly smoother and much more popular than Simon James is and that drives Simon James up a wall. With excellent supporting work from Mia Wasikowska as a crush of Simon James and the always great Wallace Shawn as the lookalikes' boss, this is a film for anyone who loves film 

(3) Blue Ruin

                               Films don't get more intense and cinematic than writer-director Jeremy Saulnier's Blue Ruin, a revenge picture that ends up being much more than it seems. Following an outcast named Dwight (Macon Blair) whose presence is ghostly (which can be seen by the fact that he sneaks into other people's houses to take a shower and never gets caught,) this is a tense, edge of your seat ride with more depth than anyone could expect. Dwight plans to carry out an act of revenge but gets more than he bargained for. However, more than he bargained for does not refer to the cliche revenge picture tropes but something much cooler and way more intense. Blair is excellent as the quiet loner who just wants to get back at the people who ruined his life and Saulnier gives the film an extremely cool and creepy vibe without ever going over the top. Sadly, this film was not at all a success in theaters but hopefully will find its way into cult status on home video.

(2) Enemy       

                               The other doppleganger film this year, Denis Villeneuve's down and dirty, creepy thriller features a show stopping performance by Jake Gyllenhall who plays a wimpy college professor slowly going down the rabbit hole after he spots a struggling actor (also Gyllenhaal) who looks scarily like him in a film. With a twist ending that will never legitimately be explained and will most definitely anger most people but that I completely dug, this is a film that has soon to be classic written all over it.

(1) Life Itself 

                             Fine, I'm admittedly a bit bias about picking this as my number one because I owe my passion for film and I would go so far as to say my purpose in life to Roger Ebert. However, this is an unforgettable film that is extraordinarily made by Steve James, a director who also owes a lot to Ebert. James lets this be the film that Ebert wanted everyone to see and wisely does not sugarcoat anything. He shows all the hardships that Roger and wife Chaz had to go through and by the end of this beautiful and endearing motion picture, I had too many tears rolling down my face to count.

Honorable Mentions---Neighbors, Begin Again, The Raid 2, X-Men: Days Of Future Past, The Grand Seduction, The Lego Movie, Cold In July

The worst----(10) A Haunted House 2 

                         I am ashamed to admit that I even paid to see this. While it is in no way as aggressively bad and unpleasant as the first one (I even laughed twice,) this is still a terrible piece of film making (if you can even call it that) and further proof that Marlon Wayans is most likely just an escaped mental patient who has no connection at all to THE Wayans family.

(9) Labor Day  

                            Writer-director Jason Reitman takes a huge step back with this creepy, uncomfortable and just plain excruciatingly dull drama about a depressed woman (Kate Winslet) who takes in an escaped convict (Josh Brolin) and eventually falls in love with him. Winslet, Brolin and co-stars Clark Gregg, Tobey Maguire, JK Simmons and James Van Der Beek as well as Reitman are all extremely talented people. What any of them were doing appearing in this garbage is beyond me.

(8) That Awkward Moment 

                            Let's face it---no one on earth liked this film. I was even perhaps the only person looking forward to it and I despised it. With three talented actors at the helm (Michael B Jordan, Zac Efron and Miles Teller,) this is a depressing and utterly desperate comedy that manages to be in turns creepy, lazy and just downright stupid. This was a good date film only if you want to break up with the person you're seeing it with.

(7) Pompeii

                             I couldn't even write a review on this film because I didn't remember anything about it the second I left the theater. The only thing I have recalled since is that Kiefer Sutherland was in it for some reason. Enough said.

(6) I, Frankenstein

                              If you want to know why this is on my list, see my description for the film above and just replace Kiefer Sutherland with Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy. Good god, what are these two incredible talents doing with themselves?

(5) The Amazing Spider Man 2  

                        Sony pictures has decided to push the third film in this seemingly endless franchise back to 2016, perhaps to fix their mistakes. I vote that just not making another sequel and thus not wasting talent is a better idea.

(4) A Million Ways To Die In The West 

                             I'm as loyal  of a "Family Guy" fan as you can find and this film even made me hate Seth MacFarlane. The creator of the long running animated sitcom has crafted an extremely boring comedy that only he thinks is hilarious and seems intent on telling the same two jokes hundreds of times. He also foolishly put himself in the leading man role that he was born to never play. I think he just made this film to make out with Charlize Theron. At least I can't really blame him for that part. 

(3) Transcendence 

                             This film seemed destined for success and somehow failed miserably. The only way I kept myself engaged in this overlong, preachy, unforgivably boring science fiction tale was by counting the number of people who had fallen asleep in the theater due to boredom one by one. I barely made it all the way through without becoming one of them.

(2) Deliver Us From Evil 

                              This horror film-cop drama mixture is even more dumb, hokey and boring than its title suggests. Eric Bana, usually a very reliable actor gives one of the most all time boring performances in film history as a street smart cop who discovers the paranormal. Nothing about this film is redeeming and the only thing I can say to the usually talented writer-director Scott Derrickson is that you got me to pay money to see your garbage so touche.

(1) The Other Woman 

                            When a film about three women who plan to get back at a man who's cheating on all of them and many others at once makes me sympathize with the man, you know the film has a lot of problems. Sad thing is that's the least of its issues. With a totally misogynistic and immature screenplay shockingly written by a woman, Melissa Stack and a talented cast (Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Don Johnson) all giving it their nothing, watching this insulting garbage is the closest thing to being killed by pure boredom in a theater I have ever had. 

Dishonorable mentions---The Nut Job, Ride Along, Sex Tape, Divergent, Noah, Third Person, Sabotage

They Came Together Review

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a cliche---Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler as love interests stuck in a typical romantic comedy setting in They Came Together

                                                   How do you spoof something that is already making fun of itself (albeit inadvertently) and make it completely hysterical and on target? The newest spoof film, They Came Together has an excellent answer to that question. This is a film that spoofs romantic comedies, alright inadvertent satire in its own right to a tee and has more memorable moments than any comedy in recent history. Not surprising since this comes from the makers of Wet Hot American Summer, a spoof of summer camp films such as Meatballs and Gorp, another genre that is seemingly hard to spoof. As written by the team of Michael Showalter and David Wain, who also worked on the hysterical TV show "Stella" together, this is a spoof film that revitalizes the genre just when it seems to have been completely dead.

                                                  The film stars Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler as Joel and Molly, two nice people living in New York who accidentally end up at a party both dressed as Benjamin Franklin after a disastrous fight on the street. While having dinner with friends Kyle and Karen (Bill Hader and Ellie Kemper,) they discuss their story in hilarious, beautifully cliched detail. 

                                                  It's amazing to see just how many romantic comedy cliches Showalter and Wain (also the director) have managed to come up with here. Joel works for a mega candy corporation that will run Molly's store out of business. Molly is an unbelievable klutz who knocks everything she touches over. Joel is competing for a promotion at work but must stop the competitive and manipulative Trevor (Michael Ian Black) who has slept with Joel's ex-girlfriend (Cobie Smulders) multiple times. Molly's accountant Eggbert (Ed Helms and whether or not you think that name is inherently funny is a testament to how much you will laugh at this film) has an incredible crush on her but she's not interested. Joel even has a younger brother named Jake (Max Greenfield) who isn't as successful as him. All these tired bits are done in hilarious bashing as characters even explain that they are acting out a cliche right that second. For example, Jake consistently argues with Joel about his greater success with lines such as "why can't I be exactly like you, big brother..it makes me mad." 

                                                 There is one scene in particular that is worth the price of admission alone. I will only say that it involves Roland (Christopher Meloni,) Joel's boss and a Halloween costume. I don't think I've ever laughed harder in my life at an individual scene than I did that one. However, the film is filled with about 50 more huge laughs and 25 smaller laughs. The film knows that the romantic comedy genre is worn and takes it on with full force, bashing every little detail that have made people want to gouge their eyes out over the years.

                                                  They Came Together is a massively funny comedy that had me laughing out loud more times than I could even count. My only complaint is that when the 80 minutes was up, I wanted to see more of this film. It even got to the point where I was laughing so hard at such a constant rate I was afraid one of the other 50 or so people in the theater were going to complain to management. Good thing they were laughing just as hard as I was. 

(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language and sexual content)

Third Person Review

Nothing to write home about---Liam Neeson as a washed up novelist and Olivia Wilde as his current fling in Third Person
                                              Ever since Crash *somehow* won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2006, writer-director Paul Haggis has been on a brutal, fortunately sporadic streak of making bland dramas that feature events that purely happen due to circumstances that are so far off reality they make The Matrix look like a documentary. His latest, Third Person continues his maniacal quest to make the worst dramas of all time. Haggis, after this, The Next Three Days and In The Valley Of Elah can officially be deemed as a man who is doing for dramas what Adam Sandler is doing for comedies and Michael Bay is doing for action films. This is an intensely dull film that thinks leaving the mystery open for interpretation is an excuse to not have anything happen on screen. All three stories are full of non-events that all intersect only because Haggis needed them to in order to have some hint of a plot.

                                              The three stories are as follows---Michael (Liam Neeson) is a washed up, formerly great novelist whose latest fling, Anna (Olivia Wilde) has a strong suspicion that his writing has become too personal of an entity. Julia (Mila Kunis) is an irresponsible mess whose ex-husband Rick (James Franco won't let her see their son, Jesse (Oliver Crouch.) Finally, Scott (Adrien Brody) is a businessman in the midst of a depressing part of his life who helps a woman named Monika (Moran Atias) out, not realizing the entanglements of trouble he's about to get himself into. All three of these stories somehow correlate with one another, the Adrien Brody story correlation being so forced it borders on parody.

                                                While I find the interlocking story set up generally dull and being run on pretensions, I have nothing wrong with it per say. In theory, this type of film is actually a really good idea because it shows three perspectives from three different events leading up to one meaning, thus it should make all three stories a more significant whole. However, as Haggis and many others (because I don't want to come across as if I'm just dishing on Haggis for no reason) present this idea, there are too many moments in which disbelief has to be totally suspended in order to believe these evens would ever happen in the manner that they do. While it is possible for me to suspend my disbelief under these circumstances, it automatically makes the ideas presented significantly less effective. If these events and their respective correlations were presented in a more realistic light, I would be able to observe the overall meaning with a much more perspective and engaged eye. Also, the talented actors do nothing special here. They all play their parts as they need to but I watched the film knowing they're better actors than just the type of actors who play the part how they need to. I didn't even mention Maria Bello as Julia's lawyer or Kim Basinger as Michael's ex-wife.

                                                  Yet on top of all these flaws, the main problem is still that the film is just plain dull. I never even came close to caring enough about these characters to be interested in what happens to them or what the meaning of all their stories is. Also, when the film does get to the overall meaning of these stories, it's hard to believe that Haggis couldn't come up with a better twist than the obvious and tired one that is presented. Perhaps Haggis should think about his twist for a minute instead of 15 seconds next time.

                                                    I don't want to come across as if I'm calling Third Person one of the worst films of the year or anything. I am certainly not. Every film that came out in January of this year and most that came out in February are enough to hold those honors. This is not a cringe-worthy, awful piece of film making or anything. It's simply that Third Person is far too boring, lazy and predictable to work. In other words, this film is not terribly made because as with Michael's newest writings, it really hasn't been completed enough.
(1 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language and some sexuality/nudity)

Jersey Boys Review

There's this singing in my ear---John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli in his early days and Michael Lomenda as his band mate in Jersey Boys
                                             Jersey Boys is a film that knows the music but not the lyrics. There are enough individual aspects that I enjoyed immensely about this biopic to make it sad when the film turns out to be almost completely boring as a whole. Sure, the music is kind of fun but it had the potential to be significantly more bubbly and lively. The acting's really good but it feels as if these actors are still doing the stage play, making the film itself feel too confined. As for the directing... it's alright but if I didn't know going in it was directed by Clint Eastwood, I would have thought some newcomer who didn't know that much about directing was making it. This is not a terrible film per say, it just doesn't have any flavor to it. As written by Marshall Brickman (Annie Hall, Sleeper, Lovesick, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery...the man can write) and newcomer Rick Elice, it feels like the most standard biopic script that anyone could come up with.

                                               The film follows Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) in his early years. He gets into trouble with Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), forms a band with Tommy and his brother Nick (Johnny Cannizzaro.) Later, the band brings in knowing Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda.) All the while, gangster Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken) has Frankie, and the band's back no matter what. I choose to leave the plot description as broad as it is because it's a biopic and thus describing what happens would be describing the self explanatory. There are no surprises here, just standard band gets together and eventually falls apart stuff.

                                                  Before I get accused of being someone who simply does not like biopics, let me explain something. I do not think they are generally ever that good. Most of the time, they are too artificial for my taste. However, I will admit before anyone else if a biopic is good or even great. It's just that this particular biopic does in fact follow the major flaw of biopics in that it feels too up its own ass with the subject. I'm not saying that Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons aren't fascinating or influential. In fact, they are both. It can be seen that they are by the fact that a long running, world renowned play has been made about them. However, this film gets through the basics of the band's history and seems to think that they are fascinating enough that all they need are the basics.

                                                  This is not true and it makes for a completely overlong two hours and 15 minutes. Also, the breaking the fourth wall/talking to the camera bit should add to the fun but it ends up just feeling like a forced plot point. It also breaks the ultimate rule for me in a film. That rule is show, don't tell and the talking to the camera bit tells a lot of stuff that would be more interesting if displayed. Like I said, the acting is fantastic in a Broadway sort of way but the only actor who stands out is Walken. This is a man who I could watch twiddle his thumbs for days and be completely enthralled through every second. Here, he plays a somewhat goofy gangster who gets down to business when the time calls for it. This is a role that he can do in his sleep by now, which explains why he hands in his best work in years. He's fantastic in everything so it's not like he hasn't had great work in years. However, here he provides a lot of depth as well as great comic relief to a character that could have been underplayed to a detrimentally large degree. Before I go into my final paragraph, I want to inform the reader that I will spoil a good bit of the ending (something I try to never do) to describe why I ended up not liking this film much at all so read at your own risk.

                                                   The film ends with with an awards ceremony with Valli and the gang as old men in make up that had at least five people in the theater break out into unintentional laughter. This is followed up by a song and dance number and bow to the audience that really confirmed the non-cinematic feeling of the film and yet was the only genuinely great part. This is because the song and dance sequence was the only completely lively and bubbly part of the film. It showed what the rest of the film should have been and made me wish that I hadn't just sat through 130 minutes of almost entirely boring and extremely tame storytelling. Jersey Boys fails just enough to make me realize all the way it easily could have succeeded and how great it had the potential to be.
(2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language throughout)

Deliver Us From Evil Review

Horror-ible----Eric Bana as a sergeant being haunted by the paranormal and Joel McHale as his partner in Deliver Us From Evil
                                     Every once in a while, I see a film that is so dreadful and terribly done in every way possible that I start to wonder if I should stop watching film altogether. Deliver Us From Evil is one of those times. This is a film that wants to assault its audience's every senses but also seems intent on putting everyone in the theater to sleep. This is a horror film only in the sense that it's terrifying to watch talented actors such as Eric Bana, Joel McHale and Edgar Ramirez try to make this script at all decent. It's also scary to think that the co-writer and director of this film is Scott Derrickson, director of last year's somewhat unsatisfying but ultimately creepier than most films nowadays Sinister. The other credited writer is Paul Harris Boardman, who is responsible for Derrickson's first directorial job with the unbelievably bad Hellraiser: Inferno script and who also wrote Urban Legends: Final Cut. On the basis of his career so far, Derrickson should give Boardman a nice royalty package and let them go their separate ways.

                                   The film is "based" on the "real life accounts" of Officer Ralph Sarchie, who is played by Bana with such non-enthusiasm, the audience starts to question if Derrickson is blackmailing him. One day, through a serious of incredibly convoluted events, Ralph finds a woman in a zoo who seems to be possessed. Soon enough, Ralph is being stalked by paranormal demons. This leads him to try to find out what his going on with partner Butler (McHale, the only good thing in the film, playing it so go for broke and with such schlock it becomes hysterical.) All the while, a priest of sorts named Mendoza (Ramirez) believes that there is a chain reaction going on, someone having to do with the classic rock group The Doors (I am not even kidding...this film is indeed THAT bad.) Also, Olivia Munn attempts to actually act in the film as Ralph's wife, Jen and fails miserably.

                                 One of the worst parts about this film is how it tries to be both an exorcism flick but also attempts to become a police procedural. I have nothing against these two genres clashing if done well. However, if done as it is in this film, they both become equally tedious and that makes the whole experience twice as bad. In other words, if it were just one of these genres, it would still be dreadful but it would be more understandable. There are plenty of bad exorcism films and there are plenty of bad police dramas. However, trying to mix the both proves to be an impossible task as it becomes increasingly unbearable to watch.

                                Derrickson also adds insult to injury by not only co-writing as terrible a screenplay as has ever been penned but also by directing this film like a 10 year old. The film's grainy look is, I suppose, intended to give the film a creepy atmosphere but it only adds to the Why Did I Pay To See This Garbage factor of the film. It's especially sad that every outside scene takes place when it's pouring down rain to make things seem creepy, a horror film trope that I thought directors have gotten over. Also, the amount of random loud noises to make audiences jump in this film are insurmountable. Not only is that not the least bit scary, it also doesn't even cause a jump at this point since it's so predictable. If there is little to no noise in a scene, it is obvious that some loud noise is going to happen and wake the audience up. I don't go to horror films to have the equivalent of an alarm clock happen to me. Sadly, most horror films seem to think I, and everyone else do.

                              This is not just a terrible film...it is a film so bad that it made me reconsider life. At two hours long, this film is 120 minutes more than it needs to be. Everything about it is so terrible and lazy. To whomever's reading this..I beg of you, do not ever see this film. Life is too precious to be wasting your time like this. Rather than see this film, go get a filling from your dentist. It will be much less painful and will actually prove to be beneficial to do, which watching this film will never do.
(0 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for bloody violence, grisly images, terror throughout and language)