Creed Review

Shadowboxer---Michael B Jordan as Apollo Creed's son, who gets trained by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) in Creed
                                  Creed is a film that is frustrating in its efforts to be more than it is. This is a great couple of bits that don't add up to a cohesive whole. I'd like to blame most of all the clear attempt to throw everything you know about Rocky into the hands of a different character. So destined for unearned nostalgia is this film that scenes are lifted directly out of the original Rocky with Michael B Jordan feeling like one of those people who reenact crimes years after they've been committed. However, there's an even more gaping flaw in this film---Adonis Johnson is not a very interesting or motivated character. Played by Jordan with a lot of effort but no conviction, he just feels like a character who is dropped into the middle of this world and given the legacy of Apollo Creed to hold onto. I could never tell why he wanted to be the person he's trying to become. The film simply drops us into a world where he quits his cozy bank job to chase his dreams of becoming a fighter. However, why does he want to become a fighter? The film never seems to have a desire to answer that question.

                                      The film follows Adonis as he moves to Philadelphia to follow his father's legacy. There, he meets his father's nemesis-turned-friend Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) who agrees to train him. However, he must also spend time with new love interest Bianca (Tessa Thompson,) a character that could literally not be more superfluous. Had Coogler and Covington dropped this obligatory plot, the film would have played out exactly as it did. This is less a character and more of an "insert here" plot device. Their relationship is forced and phony without even having the courtesy of adding anything to the script.

                                         The actors try for sure. Jordan gives it his all, even if he's not entirely successful. Meanwhile, Stallone reminds us how great he can be, playing a teddy bear of a man whose rough life inspires him to help Adonis out. Thompson makes an effort with absolutely nothing to do. Phylicia Rashad also has a brief but effective role as Apollo's widow Mary who took Adonis in at an early age. My suggestion for Coogler and Covington would have been to explore the well done relationship between Mary and Adonis better and cut out Adonis and Bianca completely. Try as they may, the actors can't escape the fact that this is an attempt to go "if you loved Rocky, here's Rocky, just with a different title."

                                           The film is well directed by Coogler. There's even a very well shot scene that is just a copy and paste version of the scene with Rocky running down the street in the original. Coogler adds some poetry and meaning to scenes that would have felt completely empty without an up-and-coming director such as him at the helm. Coogler and Jordan worked together on the excellent Fruitvale Station and while this effort is thin soup, especially compared to that film, there is a potential future for that team.

                                             The acting is good for what it is and the direction by Ryan Coogler is well done but the script by Coogler and Aaron Covington let the audience down at every turn. To use the old expression--"There is no there there."
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality)











 

Victoria Review

You had one shot!---Laia Costa as a woman who finds herself in the world of crime after a crazy night out in Victoria

                     It's hard to imagine a more unpleasant film than Victoria, a French so-called thriller all done in one shot, being made but I suppose it is entirely possible if a lot of effort were put into it. It's hard to imagine what went so wrong in the production of this film. They had a great idea both from a filmmaking and writing standpoint and yet they managed to make a film that is simultaneously empty, with not much of anything happening and thoroughly unpleasant to sit through.  The film is shot in one take, which was better executed in last year's Birdman and more substantial of a technique in Russian Ark. Here, it is such a gimmick that even the few things to like about the film (Laia Costa's lead performance being the main one) end up playing second fiddle to the distracting camerawork. 

                      The film stars Costa as Victoria, a French woman who meets a group of seemingly fun men at a  nightclub. She then proceeds to spend an hour screwing around with them and not doing anything worth watching. Then, they ask her to be the driver for a job that they strongly keep confidential. The fact that this character is too stupid to realize how suspicious it is that they won't even give her a hint about the job isn't the first thing that will make audiences thoroughly dislike her, but it's the most apparent. Then, she and the gang get pursued for cops for an hour and 15 minutes.  

                      Yes, this film is two hours and 15 minutes, which means it's about 125 minutes too long. This is a cool idea for a short film (a very, very, very short film) but as a feature length film (and a longer than average one at that,) it milks the plot (what little of it there is) to a point of utter frustration. After not so long, you just wish this group would make a suicide pact and the credits would roll over the sound of a gunshot. W

                        Writer-director Sebastian Schlepper also seems to have no intent to be inventive. Why not make these people more than just unlikable, one dimensional characters? Why not give Victoria and at least one of the guys some sort of backstory? Without any reason to wanna follow these characters, the audience is just left staring into an empty void of nothing. Right off the bat, it is clear why all of these people are such lonely, miserable souls. Why would anyone besides others of their ilk wanna be around them? Why would audiences want to watch them for over two hours? It's such an unpleasant thing to sit through.

                           Costa is good and clearly tries to make an effort to bring something to this character but the writing lets her down every single time. She's clearly got a future but not in pictures that are this low on quality. As for the rest of the cast, they let the writing be their guide, which is a very bad idea they should have known not to do. By making the writing their guide to performing, they form bland, unlikable characters with no purpose. At least Costa is trying to some degree.

                             Victoria is the most unpleasant film I have had the displeasure of viewing. Each frame made me feel icky and each second moved incredibly slowly to the finish line. By the time the incredibly stupid ending came, I was just happy to finally be walking out of the theater. There's a way to do this type of film but clearly Schlepper doesn't know what that way is.

(1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is Not Rated)

The Big Short Review

Bunches of hunches---Hamish Linklater and Steve Carrell as businessmen who decide to listen to a long shot financial guess in The Big Short
                                 It's inherently hard to make an interesting financial drama. Films such as Boiler Room and Glengarry Glen Ross that make the financial world thrilling are few and far between. Therefore, it is natural for a man like Adam McKay (Anchorman, The Other Guys) who brings energy and creativity to all of his films to be brought on for a film like The Big Short. While all of what McKay does with this story is entirely successful, he has made a creative, self deprecating film about the lead up to the 2007-2008 recession that manages to break through most of the cliches it could have been surrounded by.
 
                                     The film follows multiple stories about people who decide to bet against the banks, starting with narration by Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling,) a young man making his way through high finance who explains he is one of many who heard that Michael Burry (Christian Bale, the MVP who is nothing if not underused in the film) believes that the financial world is a bubble and it's about to pop, so betting against the banks is a great decision. This news also manages to get to Mark Baum (Steve Carrell,) who runs a small financial department with three assistants (Jeremy Strong, Hamish Linklater and Rafe Spall.) They decide to track down Jared in order to get the inside scoop. However, young men Jamie Shipley and Charlie Geller (Finn Wittrock and John Magaro) want to get the perks first and enlist the help of a former financial god of sorts, Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt.) Soon, all the men find themselves questioning whether or not this was the brilliant idea it initially seemed to be.

                                      All the performances are fantastic here. As previously mentioned, Bale is the best one of the lot, giving what easily could have been an over the top, not very interesting character a fascinating attitude and background. However, Gosling, Carrell, Wittrock, Magaro and Pitt all give their characters interesting spins and motivations that makes the audience root for all of them even in their worst moments.

                                        However, the star here is Adam McKay, whose screenplay (based on a popular book by Michael Lewis) and directing bring an energy to the film that easily could have been non-existent. He injects a ton of humor, including a hysterical gag that involves Jared admitting how boring what he's saying is through his narration. This makes the film investing without ever feeling like it's trying too hard. There's no strokes of overly broad comedy but rather a subtle mocking of the subject at hand.

                                           The film is flawed, however. Great actresses such as Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei and Karen Gillan show up for a scene or two a piece and are completely wasted in the process. It felt like I could have put on a wig and done these roles. That's not to knock the actresses at all but rather to knock the fact that the script doesn't let them have any sort of meaning to their characters. Also, at a little over two hours, the film does get rather redundant and tedious at the end. For the last fifteen or twenty minutes, it does feel like McKay could have cut out some of the fat. Lastly, the film's tone does shift in a way that feels completely random and unnecessary. It's one thing to change completely from comedy to drama but there should be more of a reason to it.

                                               While there are some undeniable flaws to it, The Big Short is a mostly enjoyable, interesting film depicting an event that needed to be told in a manner such as this one. What happened behind the scenes wasn't really known and McKay, along with the A-list cast, deliver an extremely solid retelling of the side the public didn't truly know.
(4 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity)

Spotlight Review

Hearts and craft---Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo as journalists who get deep into a religious scandal in Spotlight
                               Thomas McCarthy is an incredible filmmaker, showing a knack for telling stories about people who can be seen anywhere in films such as Win Win, The Station Agent and The Visitor. Then he made The Cobbler, a desperate and completely baffling comedy starring Adam Sandler. Coming off of that film, it's great to see him make yet another fascinating character study like Spotlight.  This film will no doubt  put McCarthy back in the, um, spotlight. This is a fascinating study of the dedication that people have, the lengths that people will go to for the truth and the fact that underestimating people is a fatal flaw many of us make.

                                   The film is based on a fascinating true story and follows a team of reporters (Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Brian d'Arcy James) at The Boston Globe. They are the Spotlight team, who work as discreet journalists, ones with the abilities to get stories that no one else can. they have their own work area and can fit into almost any situation for journalistic purposes. Think Woody Allen in Zelig as a journalist. However, they get a task to report on the recent scandals involving Catholic priests and their molesting of children. All the while, they have to deal with their bosses (John Slattery and Liev Schreiber) who get increasingly annoyed at the spirals this story takes.

                                     All around, the performances are amazing. These actors milk every emotion they can get out of these characters and give completely believable performances as dedicated journalists who become obsessed with this story. The way in which all four of the leads, along with Slattery and Schreiber, can show feelings that would take entire conversations with just a look in their eyes is incredible. For such a tough subject matter, these actors even bring some much needed humor to the film, especially Slattery, who impresses me more and more every time I see him.

                                     The script and direction by McCarthy is also spectacular (the script was co-written by Josh Singer.) McCarthy and Singer bring to light how real these issues were and how important it was to get them out to the world. Even the little details of the story and how it is uncovered are done flawlessly. A lot of filmmakers overlook how important it is to get the small details correct but McCarthy and Singer understand that every little corner of the screen matters. In this day and age, it's hard not to appreciate a filmmaker understanding that.

                                     This is also a very devastating film. There are multiple times in which the victims of the crimes are interviewed by the journalists and it's tough to watch them recall their past. This is made even better by the fact that none of these journalists are types. Although I have yet to mention any of their names (partially because I went into this film only knowing the basic story and that's the way to do it,) all of them have distinctive personalities and lives. They are people who you could see anywhere. There's one especially powerful scene involving one of the journalists and a man who attempts to defend the crime that have been committed. If your eyes aren't glued to the screen during this scene, you may want to check your pulse.
 
                                       Spotlight is a dynamite film about people who are dedicated to their craft and want the truth to be exposed. This is one of the rare films about journalism that gets it completely right. There is complete legitimacy to every decision these writers make and that makes the impact much more powerful than it could have been. Come Oscar season, this is going to be the film to look out for because it's going to scoop a ton of awards.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for some language including sexual references)

Truth Review

News, lies and alibis---Robert Redford as Dan Rather, amidst a controversy involving George W Bush's military services, in Truth.
                                    The poster for Truth shows Dan Rather (Robert Redford) sitting at a news desk, looking like he just saw a ghost, with Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) placed in a  picture atop him, looking like she's ready to explode. This is both an inaccurate and accurate portrayal of the film from the start. The film (based on Mapes's account of the story) is much more of the Mary Mapes story and barely even covers anything about Dan Rather. I suppose it's only natural that a writer such as myself has been somewhat influenced by Rather and Mapes's complete breakdown of what reporting is. They changed the face of journalism and showed that reporting the facts is not always reporting what people want to hear. However, Truth turns their story into a bland, overly preachy drama that does nothing to show the inherent intensity of the situation.

                                       The film introduces Rather rather quickly, complete with exposition about his life by CBS president Andrew Heyward (Bruce Greenwood.) Quickly, it jumps into Mapes deciding to run a smear campaign of sorts about President George W Bush. She gathers a group of writers and researchers including a military man (Dennis Quaid,) a tabloid writer (Topher Grace) and an English professor (Elisabeth Moss.)

                                          What transpires are multiple scenes in which a character just has to take a break in the action to deliver some sort of speech about the moralities of journalism. Quaid gets a few, Grace gets a few, Moss gets a few before the film forgets that she was even introduced. There's no rhyme or reason as to why one character would be making this speech at this particular moment. Rather, these moments just happen with an uneasy flow. Redford and Blanchett are excellent because they have no choice but to be. However, they, along with the rest of the cast, look like they would rather be anywhere else. There's been some complaints that Redford is not believable as Rather but he does a fine enough job of creating his persona and certainly has the voice down. Grace especially sticks out like a sore thumb, trying to convince the audience that he would ever be a journalist and failing miserably.

                                            Naturally, the director is a first timer, James Vanderbilt. He also wrote the script. His other writing credits include the 2004 John Travolta thriller Basic, Darkness Falls, The Losers (the 2010 action flop) and both The Amazing Spiderman films so clearly this film didn't exactly book a master class to make this film. As a director, he handles the actors well enough but considering the level of talent here, he wastes them to a large degree. Also, the film is ugly looking form start to finish and has absolutely no energy to it.

                                             Truth could have and should have been a great film about a fascinating story. However, it turns out to be just another failed attempt to dramatize an inherently filmic and energetic story. I imagine this film with Danny Boyle directing and Aaron Sorkin writing and assume i would be incredible. Speaking of which, just go see the far superior Steve Jobs instead of this dull as ditchwater mess.
(1 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language and a brief nude photo)

Brooklyn Review

Dedicated to you....and you---Saoirse Ronan as an Irish immigrant in New York caught up in a love triangle and Emory Cohen as one of the love interests in Brooklyn

                            After her Oscar nominated performance in Atonement, I have found myself wishing Saoirse Ronan would get more recognition. It's not like she's disappeared off the face of the earth or anything. She's been excellent in films such as How I Live Now, Byzantium and The Grand Budapest Hotel since then and yet she hasn't gotten much praise. This makes me wonder if young actresses who take on roles in more traditional mainstream fare like Jennifer Lawrence, Shailene Woodley and Elizabeth Olsen (not to discount the extreme talent of those three) have taken the spotlight away from Ronan, who  decides to go for more indy films. With the arrival of the drama Brooklyn, I can safely say that people will start giving Ronan the recognition she deserves. In fact, it would be a crime if this isn't an outcome of the film. Here, Ronan gives a deep, thought provoking, sympathetic, funny and downright phenomenal performance. As for the rest of the film, it's damned good, too.

                                 Ronan plays Ellis, a young woman who moves from Ireland to Brooklyn to find opportunities only presented in America. One of those opportunities is a boyfriend, the sweet and dedicated Tony (Emory Cohen,) whom she instantly falls for. Very quickly, Ellis and Tony get really serious (Tony even introduces Ellis to his family, who takes an instant liking to her.) However, Ellis must travel back to Ireland for reasons I choose not to say and is introduced to Jim (Domnhall Gleeson,) a lovely lad with all the charm she'll ever need. Soon, Ellis finds herself deciding between the two men, both of whom she falls for.

                                   Right off the bat, I have to mention Ronan and Cohen's excellent chemistry It is so palpable that I have a hard time believing they didn't fall in love in real life on the set. They are electric together and feel completely genuine. This is completely helped by the fact that both of them are terrific, rising young stars. Gleeson is also excellent, providing a character who Ellis would believably fall for despite her love for Tony. 

                                    The other stand out here is the screenplay, written by the wonderful Nick Hornby. As he did with last year's Wild, he takes a popular book (this one by Colm Toibin) that easily could have been turned into an unsatisfying adaptation and makes the dialogue and actions sparkle.  Hornby also cuts much more than a film about a woman caught in a love triangle should ever be allowed to. As with Wild, this is a surprisingly funny film about people trying to do the right thing while finding themselves that also lays on the emotionally devastating moments with perfection. 

                                       This is also helped by director John Crowley (who did the excellent and criminally underrated films Boy A, Intermission and Is Anybody There  but also did the bland and forgettable Closed Circuit.) Here, Crowley does a lot more than get a lot of nice landscape shots. Through his directing, he gets deep into the heart of these characters, showing why they are the way they are and making them as three dimensional and multi layered as possible. 

                                          Brooklyn is a wonderful, delightful film about the decisions we make and how they end up shaping us. It is a character study with all the aching realism that one may not expect from the movies nowadays and features some of the best performances of the year. Come Oscar time, I think Ronan, Cohen, Crowley and Hornby should all be on that nomination list.

(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for a scene of sexuality and brief strong language)