In my first installment, I focused on many of the features from the coming months. In this installment, I highlight a few of the soon to arrive hits films and some movies to get excited about later in the year.
March 22nd – Olympus Has Fallen
Set in modern day DC, this film explores the chaos that follows a successful terrorist attack on the White House and an ex-agent (Gerard Butler) who is the only man available to rescue the president.
June 7th – Now You See Me
Unlike the earlier film related to magic and illusion, this film focuses on a cerebral battle between a band of illusionists and a group of FBI agents trying to uncover the secret of their big heist.
July 26th – The Wolverine
With many hoping this sequel will surpass the original, Hugh Jackman takes this legendary X-men character to Japan in search of the meaning of his condition.
August 2nd – Red 2
The aging action heroes are back…and they are not expendable. The surprise success of the original brings a certain hope for a strong sequel.
August 16th – 2 Guns
Two agents…both investigating the other. Major plus that the agents happen to be played by Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington.
Additional Movies (no previews)
August 9th – Planes (unconfirmed)
September 13th – I, Frankenstein
September 20th – Prisoners; Rush
September 27th – Runner Runner
October 4th – Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
October 25th – The World’s End
November 1st – Ender’s Game
November 8th – Thor: The Dark World
November 15th – The Counselor
November 22nd – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
November 27th – Frozen
December 13th – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
December 18th – The Monuments Men
December 20th – Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues; Saving Mr. Banks
With the Oscar season at a close, it is now time to truly get excited for what 2013 has to offer. There are some summer blockbusters to get excited for and some possible films to keep in mind for next year’s Oscars. Let’s take a look ahead of what to look out for in the months ahead.
March 8th – Oz: The Great and Powerful
Going back to the origins of the Wizard of Oz, Sam Raimi is looking to bring the classic film concept to a whole new generation of movie-goers.
March 15th – The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
While it is not going to win any major awards, this film is a possible fun distraction before the slate of summer comedies. Jim Carrey and Steve Carell…good match!
March 29th – The Place Beyond the Pines
This film is the next great film on the watch of major critics. Director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) reconnects with Ryan Gosling. Add Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes to a strong cast for this emotionally powerful story.
April 12th – 42
Following the story of the legendary Jackie Robinson, Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford have a chance to highlight a major moment in sports and American history.
April 19th – Oblivion
While there may be some varied feelings about Tom Cruise, this sci-fi film looks at the struggle of holding onto the past at the end of the world.
May 3rd – Iron Man 3
Back for a third film, Robert Downey Jr has excited fans over the past few appearances as the arrogant hero. The trailer gives the impression that Iron Man is more vulnerable than he may have originally appeared.
May 10th – The Great Gatsby
Bringing back to 1920s story of glitz, glamour and tragedy, a cast filled with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan means that you can expect something special.
May 15th – Star Trek: Into Darkness
With a lot of speculation over the villain and buzz surrounding the teaser posted during the premiere of The Hobbit, this revitalized series posts great expectations and will bring out midnight movie-goers in great numbers.
May 24th – The Hangover: Part III
Some may say that this series does not need to go further. Some might say that there is no movie without a wedding as a vehicle for the story. Only time will tell if this film catches the success or not.
June 7th – After Earth
After taking a brief hiatus from the big screen, Will Smith and his son Jaden return for a sci-fi thriller following a father and son crash landing on Earth 1000 years after an apocalypse forced humanity to evacuate.
June 14th – Man of Steel
The long-awaited reboot of this super story, America is hoping that Henry Cavill can bring justice to the man in blue.
June 21st – Monsters University
Pixar’s next big hit brings back Sully and Mike Wazowski to explore their college days. This will be a frontrunner for Best Animated Feature for next award season.
June 21st – World War Z
With zombies being the big thriller/horror theme at the moment, Brad Pitt takes on the role of hero in what hopefully will include better animation work than what the previews currently show.
June 28th – Kick-Ass 2
One of the several sequels in this year’s blockbusters, this one has the best opportunity for comedic and action entertainment. This movie solidifies that 2013 will be a good year for Jim Carrey.
July 3rd – Despicable Me 2
Dreamworks is going to try to battle Pixar with one of their best current stories, with Steve Carell being joined by Al Pacino this time around.
July 3rd – The Lone Ranger
Serving as this year’s big July 4th release, Arnie Hammer joins Johnny Depp to help Disney bring this classic story back to life.
Part II of this list will be coming soon, but these films should at least get you excited for what is coming.
Another year, another Oscars. The Academy made the decision to make a number of changes this year that may or may not have been noticeable. The first, which was a major change, was that the “Academy Awards” label has been dropped from the name. Part of the rebranding of the awards to grab onto a younger audience meant drop the classic/double title. To go with the name change, there was also an attempt to make more youth-relevant choices in the host, presenters and production. While Seth MacFarlane was the host and the more youth-focused talent was on display, so were certain classic elements that kept the award show a little more relevant for an older audience. It would be easy to say that it was a balance, but the long show time and classic elements detracted away from the more youthful attempt.
But I digress…
Oscar night was still a huge success. There were surprises, upsets and memorable moments abound. The red carpet did serve a bit as the prelude to come of the events of the night (and not based off of who was wearing what). The big stars were out and there were some fun interactions that set the stage for the coming entertainment. Quvenzhane Wallis did not have to win anything to still get the attention and respect from the crowd. Jennifer Lawrence was in line to win the category, but she also found an opportunity to playfully take it to Emma Stone to let her know to watch her back. Jamie Foxx brought his daughter and presented himself well as an invested parent. Kristen Stewart showed up with crutches and attempted to balance herself for a few moments to pose for photographers. Numerous actors also hinted at their involvement in the night’s festivities.
Now to the actual award night. Here are my impressions of the wins and losses for the night at the movies…
Host: Seth MacFarlane
Win: During the times when Seth was ad-libbing, he was actually quite funny. He showed a bit more humility when he recognized that a joke may have missed its mark, but the script was also not a complete loss. While the crowd seemed a bit lost, his Sound of Music bit with the Von Trapp family was rather amusing. He also could have easily focused more on his song and dance routines. Another win for Seth was in his presentation with Mark Wahlberg as Ted (less so for the content and more for the avenue of presenting himself as an animated bear). He had a truly gem with the opportunity to do what he does best…animated voices.
Loss: It may not be his fault completely, but the writing suffered from being borderline or even totally offensive. It was not a surprise that he would push the line, but the “boobs” song, joke about Chris Brown and Rihanna and mention of Clooney chasing young women were failures in the script. The line about Clooney also destroyed the innocence of Quvenzhane, who was the target of a sexually-charged disaster. His opening also failed to seem cohesive or relevant. Besides the song, he had William Shatner playing his Star Trek role bouncing back and forth from inappropriate jokes to unrelated song and dance.
Final Thoughts:Â If Seth were to be given another opportunity to host, he could easily take more of a Billy Crystal-like approach with a musical number with puns or quips about the nominees to start the show (though he apparently received some coaching from Crystal prior to the show). He could have even done something more with his vocal work besides Ted and made a better impact. As controversial and negative as some critics were about his performance, there was also a lot of support for his willingness to be controversial and perceived attractiveness (not exactly redeeming qualities for a possible repeat host).
Presenters
Win: The Avengers may not have been nominated for anything, but the cast made an appearance to present a pair of awards with a little banter and self-defamation. Jean Dujardin was his fun, simple self and still posted a quick comment and tribute to the grace and majesty of the best actress nominees. As mentioned previously, Mark Wahlberg and Ted presented to a rather receptive crowd, sparking conversation that Ted (rather than Seth MacFarlane himself) should host the next Oscars. To reduce the time needed to present the best picture nominees, Reese Witherspoon, Liam Neeson and Nicole Kidman each highlighted three nominees apiece with brief bios and a quick video montage. The biggest surprise of the night included Jack Nicholson and Michelle Obama. While they may have different political ideologies, they supported the arts with their joint message and Michelle got the chance to make the official announcement.
Loss: First up…Melissa McCarthy and Paul Rudd. Attempting to awkwardly exhibit how to do voice acting, they looked confused and completely out of it. As bad as they were, there was worse. Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere appeared to forget how to read and seemed like they did not want to be there. Worst of all was Kristen Stewart. In her appearance with Daniel Radcliffe, she appeared either drugged, drunk or in some way disheveled.
Final Thoughts:Â There was an opportunity for Meryl Streep to present the Best Actress award to Jennifer Lawrence, but opportunity missed. Regardless, many of the choices were good, but some were clearly not that interested or impressed with the opportunity to be up on stage honoring other actors and moviemakers. The Academy needs to be more aware of who is going to appreciate the opportunity.
Musical Performances
Win: The quick and easy answer here was Jennifer Hudson. Although she is amazing in nearly every performance, I’m Telling You is honestly one of her best songs. She brought the house down. Adele also wowed people with Skyfall, although she was also victim of some unbalanced audio during the chorus. The cast from Les Miserables came out for their performance of Suddenly, even with Russell Crowe. Also notable was Nora Jones, out there to sing Everybody Needs a Best Friend.
Loss: While the performances themselves were not bad, they missed the mark in terms of capturing a younger audience. Dame Shirley Bassey came onto the stage to sing Goldfinger, which seemed to drag on and could have been replaced by a more modern vocalist and Bond song. Barbara Streisand did a fitting tribute along with the In Memoriam but just seemed to drag out the segment and again disconnect from the younger viewers. Catherine Zeta Jones did an okay performance with All That Jazz but she seemed a little lackluster energy for the first half of the performance.
Final Thoughts:Â I like the idea of doing a tribute to music in film but shouldn’t that be every year? Music is such an important part of movies and should be celebrated.
Nominees & Winners
Win: There were some winners that were expected. Daniel Day-Lewis was the clear frontrunner for Best Actor, but he also caught people off guard with his comedy during his acceptance speech. Jennifer Lawrence tripped going up the stairs to receive her Best Actress award but showed some humility and surprise after walking off stage. Quentin Tarantino was his usual wild and crazy self, which also makes for good television. Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine both were able to show their gratitude and promote the support for the arts through the opportunity they were able to provide for the focus of their film. Christoph Waltz snuck one away from Tommy Lee Jones with another gripping performance in a Tarantino film. Ben Affleck may have been snubbed for Best Director but his film still took the biggest prize of the night. And out of the category for best upset, Ang Lee surprised many with both the success of Life of Pi and his win over Spielberg.
Loss: On the flip side of the Lee, Spielberg put out the movie everyone hoped and expected him to direct to only fall to disappointment and shock. Life of Pi had a late surge that took out the momentum Lincoln had originally produced (also losing some of that steam to Argo and the Best Picture category). Lincoln did get a bit of revenge when it won for Best Production Design, even though it had been tracking in 4th place behind Life of Pi, Les Miserables and The Hobbit. Not even nominated for any category, Cloud Atlas should have at least been up for Best Makeup, Best Original Song and Best Original Score. Wreck-It Ralph fell victim to Disney’s stranglehold on the animated category, which also took the animated short category. There were a few acceptance speeches that ran long, but that also served as an enjoyable experience with Jaws playing in the background.
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Final Thoughts: While the awards may have been spread out, there were too many surprises. Ang Lee did walk away the big winner, even without the Best Picture win. Seth’s song and dance at the end to honor the losers was really a bit of a fail, as it did nothing to consul or entertain people. Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook could have won more categories but there was stiff competition with Lincoln and Life of Pi. There are actually a few challenges with the award’s setup though. There is no suspense for certain categories when you have a film like Amour nominated for Best Picture and Best Foreign Film. There is no way it can be nominated for the biggest category of the night but then lose in its smaller category.
The Oscars were entertaining but I have a few final suggestions for future award shows. Get presenters that care about recognizing other people’s talent. Consider bumping the show up to 6:30pm EST so the show does not run so late (midnight). Avoid the crazy gimmicks to start the show and keep it shorter and simpler. If Seth is going to come back, reconsider how much leeway he gets or reduce the vulgarity. If you are going to keep the 9-10 nominee increase for Best Picture, the same allowance should be made for Best Director (only).
I will be back in the theaters soon, so stay up with the blog and I’ll see you at the movies.
Tonight is Oscar night and things will be a bit different this time around. Seth MacFarlane (who also has a nomination for Best Original Song) will be taking the hosting duties this year. It will be interesting to see how far he goes with some of the jokes and whether he can live up to the previous performances of some of the other Oscar greats. Meanwhile, there will also be a few other questions buzzing around this evening. Will there be any commentary surrounding the significant Oscar snubs of Ben Affleck for Argo or Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty? Will history be made with the young nominee ever? Will Jennifer Lawrence make another comment about beating Meryl?
I will be on the blog tonight updating this posting to keep up with the awards, so look back later to see if my predictions came true.
Best Picture
My Prediction: Argo
My Spoilers: Lincoln
Winner: Argo
Actor in a Leading Role
My Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln
My Spoiler: Denzel Washington in Flight
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis
Actor in a Supporting Role
My Prediction: Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained
My Spoiler: Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln
Winner: Christoph Waltz
Actress in a Leading Role
My Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook
My Spoiler: Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty
Winner: Jennifer Lawrence
Actress in a Supporting Role
My Prediction:Â Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables
My Spoiler:Â Helen Hunt for The Sessions
Winner: Anne Hathaway
Animated Feature Film
My Prediction: Brave
My Spoiler: Wreck-It Ralph
Winner: Brave
Cinematography
My Prediction: Life of Pi
My Spoiler: Skyfall
Winner: Life of Pi
Costume Design
My Prediction: Les Miserables
My Spoiler: Anna Karenina
Winner: Anna Karenina
Directing
My Prediction: Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
My Spoiler: Ang Lee for Life of Pi
Winner: Ang Lee
Documentary (Feature)
My Prediction: Searching for Sugar Man
My Spoiler: 5 Broken Cameras
Winner: Searching for Sugar Man
Documentary (Short Subject)
My Prediction: Open Heart
My Spoiler: Inocente
Winner: Inocente
Film Editing
My Prediction: Argo
My Spoiler: Zero Dark Thirty
Winner: Argo
Foreign Language
My Prediction: Amour (Austria)
My Spoiler: A Royal Affair (Denmark)
Winner: Amour
Makeup
My Prediction: The Hobbit
My Spoiler: Les Miserables
Winner: Les Miserables
Music (Original Score)
My Prediction: Life of Pi
My Spoiler: Lincoln
Winner: Life of Pi
Music (Original Song)
My Prediction: Skyfall (Adele) in Skyfall
My Spoiler: Everybody Needs a Best Friend in Ted
Winner: Skyfall
Production Design
My Prediction: Les Miserables
My Spoiler: Life of Pi
Winner: Lincoln
Short Film (Animated)
My Prediction: Paperman
My Spoiler: Heads Over Heels
Winner: Paperman
Short Film (Live Action)
My Prediction: Curfew
My Spoiler: Asad
Winner: Curfew
Sound Editing
My Prediction: Zero Dark Thirty
My Spoiler: Life of Pi
Winner: Zero Dark Thirty & Skyfall
Sound Mixing
My Prediction: Les Miserables
My Spoiler: Skyfall
Winner: Les Miserables
Visual Effects
My Prediction: Life of Pi
My Spoiler: The Hobbit
Winner: Life of Pi
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
My Prediction: Chris Terrio for Argo
My Spoiler: David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook
Winner: Chris Terrio for Argo
Writing (Original Screenplay)
My Prediction: Mark Boal for Zero Dark Thirty
My Spoiler: Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola for Moonrise Kingdom
As a young child, John Bennett always had trouble making friends. After he made a wish on a shooting star that his teddy bear could actually talk, he woke up the next morning to discover that his wish had come true. Ted became an instant celebrity, but as John grew up, so did Ted. Now, John is in a serious relationship with his girlfriend, Lori, and Ted’s fame has faded with his innocence. Concerned that Ted is holding John back, she asks him to grow up and find a way to ask Ted to move out. Wanting to respect his friend, Ted finds an apartment and tries to start a new life for himself. The only problem is that John is having trouble letting go and moving on, which is distracting both of them from realizing the dangers lurking around them.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg (John Bennett), Mila Kunis (Lori Collins), Seth MacFarlane (Ted – voice), Joel McHale (Rex), Giovanni Ribisi (Donny), Aedin Mincks (Robert), Patrick Warburton (Guy), Matt Walsh (Thomas), Jessica Barth (Tami-Lynn), Patrick Stewart (Narrator), Nora Jones (herself), Sam J. Jones (himself), Tom Skeritt (himself), Bretton Manley (Young John), Ralph Garman (John’s Dad), Alex Bornstein (John’s Mom), Ryan Reynolds (Jared)
While this was a live-action film, there was quite a bit of animation both visually and through the actors’ performances. Wahlberg’s personality fit well with a slacker character, though his voice acting faded in and out of a strong Bostonian accent. Kunis followed up her performance from Friends with Benefits with an interesting mix of awkward tomboyishness and maturity. The focus of the film was the character of Ted, of course. MacFarlane’s performance provided something that felt like Peter Griffin with more masculine flair. It caused the whole film to feel more like an extended Family Guy episode with a stuffed bear as the lead.
Not only did Seth provide the voice for Ted, he also wrote and directed the film. The story took a more childhood feel at the beginning with an innocent introduction between John and Ted over a bit a magic. Ted’s coming to life attracted a lot of attention and, like other childhood stars, he had his moment in the spotlight before it faded into life after the fame. While there were still remnants of recognition for his unusual existence, Ted had somehow wasted any possible money he may have earned or just never earned anything on his own. Living with John was all he knew, so John’s desire to get more serious with Lori put a strain on their relationship. They both seemingly were able to find lives outside of their friendship, but they were too close for their own good. Meanwhile, Ted unsuspectingly continued to be a target for a deranged fan who seemed to ignore the bear’s desire not to be owned by someone.
This film rests on its laurels of slapstick comedy and immature dialogue. As already mentioned, MacFarlane did not stray too far from his formula used with his TV shows. Including Flash Gordon as a vehicle for their friendship, he tossed in music, film references and other symbols of the 80s, Star Wars and his other creations. An entire scene was devoted to bring the Flash Gordon concept into the drama between the two leading characters. From a more slapstick focus, there were a number of scenes, most notably the fight in the hotel room, where the MacFarlane tried to play up the novelty of an adult-themed teddy bear. The film also included quite its share of fart jokes and gross references.
Ted is mildly entertaining but does not seem to add much to MacFarlane’s range from a performance standard. It does have its moments of creativity and was nominated for best original song for its theme song.
Emily Taylor is a graphic designer who has suffered from some unfortunate psychological issues. After suffering a sense of loss when her husband was sent to jail for insider trading, she is getting excited for his return home. Martin’s release brings some excitement but Emily quickly also begins to show significant depression symptoms. After a possible suicide attempt, she meets Dr. Jonathan Banks and is prescribed a set of depression-reducing drugs that seem to have some unfortunate side effects that continue to make her life a struggle. Dr. Banks is approached by a pharmaceutical rep, who enters him and his patients into a drug trial for a new antidepressant. After he prescribes this new drug to Emily, she seemingly gets better until she falls victim to one of the side effects. Martin ends up dead and Emily goes on trial for the murder. Dr. Banks becomes a lead expert but his life gets wound up in the mess of the outcome, including an uneasiness in the outcome of the trial.
Starring: Rooney Mara (Emily Taylor), Jude Law (Dr. Jonathan Banks), Channing Tatum (Martin Taylor), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Dr. Victoria Siebert), Vinessa Shaw (Dierdre Shaw), Polly Draper (Emily’s Boss), Vladimi Versailles (Augustin), Michelle Vergara Moore (Joan), Ann Dowd (Martin’s Mother), David Costabile (Carl), Mamie Gummer (Kayla), Andrea Bogart (Drug Rep), Peter Friedman (Banks Partner #1), Laila Robins (Banks Partner #2)
While there is a sense that things are not exactly what they appear to be, the actors of this film are able to keep the audience guessing in terms of how aware they actually are about their current conditions. Mara has been developing her career around damaged characters, including this one. She appears lost and depressed to start of the film, but something about her image starts the break as the story runs deeper. Law has also developed a reputation for his obsessive and deeply passionate characters. Tatum’s performance is merely a placeholder for his role, but Zeta-Jones is also quite deceptive as she originally appears to corroborate with Law until things start to really fall apart.
As one of the first notable films of the year, Side Effects, with Steven Soderbergh, appears to be about the dangers of the side effects of drugs but goes deeper into lies and deception with drugs used as the facilitator. Emily’s fall into depression seems to be explained by a loss of control over the events of her life and chemical imbalances that can only be managed with a regimen of antidepressants and drugs to treat the side effects. It seemed as though the focus was about how the drugs could have caused Emily to kill Martin while sleepwalking, but there was a conspiracy that ran deeper than simply a miscalculation of dosage. Dr. Banks’s obsession with finding out the truth caused him to see things that no one else was willing to see. There was more to the relationship between Dr. Siebert and Emily than was originally let on, which also meant that there was more that Dr. Banks needed to do to try to recover his life.
This film was very successful with its misdirection between the psychological issues and the conspiracy underlying Emily’s situation. The fact that Emily may not have been truly suffering from the diagnosis brings a whole new depth to the film and tied in all of the little details presented up to the point that she is admitted to the psychiatric facility. Her relationship with Martin was significant because the fiscal knowledge played into a deeper plot involving her condition. Emily’s relationship with Dr. Siebert continued, even after they were no longer meeting up as doctor and patient. Because of double jeopardy, Emily was protected from any changes in the case that could have affected the final decision, but new material had the chance of altering her continued outcome.
While there are some flaws with the portrayal of Dierdre Banks and some little inconsistencies in the story, this is actually a well thought out thriller with somewhat unpredictable surprises.
Sandra thinks that she has a tough day ahead at her restaurant after she finds that the freezer had been left open and food had spoiled overnight. After a pep talk with the staff, the evening rush begins but not before Sandra receives a phone call from someone who identifies himself as the police. Officer Daniels claims that he has a woman who has reported that cashier Becky has stolen money from the woman’s purse and video surveillance has confirmed the report. Sandra gets Becky and brings her to the back of the store. While on the phone, Daniels continues to give her orders to search Becky’s possessions and eventually down to a strip search. The store continues to get busier and Sandra has to start relying on the people around her to help work with Daniels to continue his investigation.
Starring: Ann Dowd (Sandra), Dreama Walker (Becky), Pat Healy (Officer Daniels), Philip Ettinger (Kevin), Ashlie Atkinson (Marti), Nikiya Mathis (Connie), Ralph Rodriguez (Julio), Stephen Payne (Harold), Bill Camp (Van), Amelia Fowler (Brie), James McCaffrey (Detective Neals), Desmin Borges (Officer Morris)
The cast for this film is one that is raw and eerily compliant with outrageous orders. Ann Dowd comes off as an extremely innocent, responsible woman who feels compelled to respond to every request made over the phone. She portrays how the stress and lack of assurance can lead to agreeing to things one would never do under sound judgment. Walker is the standout star of the film with her emotional roller coaster from confusion to anger to apathy to deadness. Healy definitely gives a chilling portrayal of a mentally-ill manipulator.
In an attempt to portray a rather disturbing real tale of deception, Craig Zobel focuses in on one of the stories of a fast food chain that was victimized by a psychotic caller, though the employees thought it was actually a police investigation. Officer Daniels was never really an officer and had the entire restaurant fooled. When he called up Sandra and started his game, he was using a combination of past attempts and comments made by Sandra and her employees to continue to lead the group on. He almost busted the entire guise when his calling card was nearly out, but he jumped back in and was able to get the employees to go to an extreme of engaging in a strip search and sexual activities that they would normally have been able to deny.
The staff of the restaurant played into Daniels’s trap at almost every turn. Sandra was the main target, as she was convinced that she had to follow the will of this officer in the midst of a phony investigation. With an answer ready at every turn, she uncomfortably still agreed to every request until she finally spoke to the regional manager and realized that it was a ruse. In the meantime, Becky had given up her clothing and allowed multiple people to see her naked, Marti had complied with every step of the process and Sandra’s partner, Van, forced Becky into compromising sexual acts. When the ruse was finally uncovered, it destroyed the lives of all of the people involved. Sandra and Van officially split, even though they were incredibly close to engagement, Becky was emotionally traumatized and people lost their jobs.
While an interesting and gripping concept, the execution is a bit uneasy. It seems remarkable that the employees would let the unusual demands go so far without getting another police officer on scene or realizing that the commands were no longer ethical (though even the first requests with deputizing Sandra were too much).
Being a freshman in high school is hard enough but Charlie seems to be having more trouble finding his place than most. One his first day, the only friend he makes is his English teacher. Though still alone, he goes to a football game and spots Patrick. Moving up the stands to talk to him, their conversation sparks something unexpected…an opportunity to meet Sam. Charlie gets to go to his first party, which is filled with all sorts of new experiences but, best of all, a new set of friends. As the school year continues, Charlie’s life seems to keep getting better and better. His friendship gives him the acceptance he had been craving and Sam stirred feelings in him that he did not know he would ever experience. But just as things seem to be getting better, his past catches back up with him and he has to try to reconcile who he is with who is used to be.
Starring: Logan Lerman (Charlie), Ezra Miller (Patrick), Emma Watson (Sam), Mae Whitman (Mary Elizabeth), Nina Dobrev (Candace), Dylan McDermott (Father), Kate Walsh (Mother), Paul Rudd (Mr. Anderson), Tom Savini (Mr. Callahan), Johnny Simmons (Brad), Nicholas Braun (Ponytail Derek), Julia Garner (Susan), Adam Hagenbuch (Bob), Erin Wilhelmi (Alice), Reece Thompson (Craig), Zane Holtz (Chris), Landon Pigg (Peter), Melanie Lynskey (Aunt Helen), Joan Cusack (Dr. Burton)
Movies like this bring out the opportunity for young talents to shine. Lerman plays the shy but powerful lead, bringing a sense of both sensitivity and complexity to the character. Watson is a more typical from her love interest role, but even she is able to give the feeling that there is something deeper to her character’s past than gets discussed. Miller begins as a fun-loving sidekick but is able to also play into the roller coaster of drama that weaves him together with Lerman and Watson.
Stephen Chbosky’s adaptation of the hit novel combines a desire to be accepted and to escape a painful past. On the side of acceptance, Charlie’s past prevented him from feeling like he had a place where he belonged. Being so isolated, he had focused in on success at school and working at his desire to be a writer. Getting a sense that Patrick was an approachable person, Charlie took a chance and found him accepted into a group of “social outcasts.” To them, it did not matter. When the relationships became complicated between Charlie, Sam and Mary Elizabeth, the group found itself at odds and struggling for a sense of understanding. Charlie stepping in to save Patrick from the harassment and aggression of the jocks led to his re-acceptance to the group. While all of his friends from his freshman year were going to be moving on to the next stage of their lives, he found solace in the fact that he made real human connections.
The other side of the story was a much darker one, full of pain and repressed agony. Charlie’s story was the most prominent but it was also kept incomplete until his full breakdown near the end of the film. Sexual abuse seemed to be a theme for both Charlie and Sam, but Charlie came along with an additional element of guilt due to the death of his aunt after having promised to keep their activities a secret. Having repressed the full memory, little interactions throughout the film hinted at how significant his past was in shaping who he had become and his fear with getting too close to others. For Sam, her story was kept relatively brief, though her sexual abuse also involved older individuals. Patrick’s story added a whole new element of pain with his somewhat hidden relationship with Brad, who was keeping his sexuality hidden from others at school and his family. When Brad became exposed to his father, it led to a pattern of regret and hopelessness in Patrick that was not easily remedied.
While the film was met with mixed reviews, there was a lot of depth in the character development that makes this more than just a worthwhile story. Though it is a little lighter than the book and suffers from periodic tangents, this film rises above many others of its genre.
Marty is a writer trying to put together a phenomenal screenplay about psychopaths. The problem is that he keeps getting in his own way between a lack of ideas and perpetual state of drunkenness. Marty does not realize how close he actually is to find his inspiration by the people close to him. While attempting to write his screenplay, Marty’s friend, Billy, is working with an older man, Hans, to steal and return dogs for the reward money. Billy is a little too zealous and takes the dog of a psychotic gangster, who happens to be sleeping with his girlfriend. When Charlie realizes that his Shih Tzu gone, he goes on a rampage to get her back. This eventually leads the gangster toward Marty, Billy and Hans, who go into hiding to escape his wrath.
Starring: Colin Farrell (Marty), Sam Rockwell (Billy), Woody Harrelson (Charlie), Christopher Walken (Hans), Abbie Cornish (Kaya), Linda Bright Clay (Myra), Gabourey Sidibe (Sharice), Long Nguyen (Vietnamese Priest), Tom Waits (Zachariah), Brendon Sexton III (Young Zachariah), Michael Pitt (Larry), Michael Stuhlbarg (Tommy), Harry Dean Stanton (Man in Hat), Kevin Corrigan (Dennis), Zeljko Ivanek (Paulo), Olga Kurylenko (Angela)
This film is loaded with a lot of interesting performances by actors who all have significant flaws. Colin Farrell has played a drunkard before but this character was made for him. Outshining him though were the performances of Harrelson, Rockwell and Walken. Harrelson comes off as a expected casting of a psychopath with his rage and violence. Rockwell initially seems like a mere con artist but slowly is revealed to be much more. Walken’s staggered speech pattern plays well to creating the image of psychosis, even though he chooses more of a non-violent route. The women of the film, Abbie Cornish and Olga Kurylenko, play directly into the message of the mistreatment of women in stories like this with their limited dialogue and impact on the story’s progression.
Martin McDonagh strung together a series of psychopathic stories to make a mosaic of psychosis-filled entertainment. The story most closely followed the screenplay development of Marty, who appeared to have no issues with psychosis but rather severe alcoholism. While he never fully has a psychotic break, his constantly drinking and choice of friends puts him in and out of danger throughout the story. Billy was the most interesting of the group, since he started as a mere dog-nabber and eventually was revealed to be the Jack O’Diamonds killer. He wanted to help Marty put together his story but chose to get himself into a violent situation to help push the creative process along. Hans, though a partner in Billy’s dog-nabbing, is actually a pacifist. Even though he came from a violent past, he was not directly responsible for any harm to anyone. The reality that he was actually the Quaker made for a great twist. Charlie was simply a clear psychopath from the beginning, with his ticks, compulsions and brash behavior.
The interesting element of this film is the fact that the psychopaths seemingly have little to do with each other but somehow are still intertwined to make it a full story. The film uses the development of the screenplay to tie it all together, but it is actually hard to see that screenplay as a successful one. The idea of merging together the Quaker story with the Vietnamese Priest story and the couple killers story just does not seem to fit. Added on top of that, Billy tried to pull them all together by throwing all of the characters into a shootout in a graveyard, which only seemed to solidify Billy’s psychosis rather than help bring the stories together.
This film barely suffers from a lack of consistency, but what would you expect from a story about psychotic killers? The characters are memorable and the concept is entertaining.
Getting the opportunity to take the big stage at her college, Hannah begins to act in her first feature play, only to be stricken by illness and find herself in the hospital. When she is talking with her parents and the doctor, it slips out that she is actually adopted. Grief-stricken by the news, she detaches from everyone and goes to sit out by the water that evening while contemplating who she actually was. As a way to help her find her birth mother, Jason, a good friend, recommends that she join them for a spring break trip and that they will pass through Mobile, Alabama in order to give her a chance to find her mother. After she comes into conflict with the group and splits off on her own, Jason follows her and vows to get her to Mobile to figure things out. The trip is not as easy as they expect but they find themselves confronted with the opportunity to finally get some answers.
Starring: Rachel Hendrix (Hannah), Jason Burkey (Jason), John Schneider (Jacob), Jennifer Price (Grace), Colleen Trusler (Alanna), James Austin Johnson (Truman), Lance E. Nichols (Dr. Stewart), Chris Sligh (Bmac), Joy Brunson (Danielle), Diego Montiel (Diego), Tracy Miller (Sgt. Dodd), Shari Rigby (Cindy Hastings), Jasmine Guy (Nurse Mary)
Brooding and consistently depressed Hannah is represented by the talented Rachel Hendrix. In her first feature film, she maximizes her opportunity to draw emotion out of each of her scenes as she represents a person struggling with her identity. Jason Burkey does not wow as the partner and supporter but meets the needs of his role. Schneider represents a combination of denial and internal struggle, trying to find the right way to speak about such a difficult issue. Shari Rigby, though not getting a lot of screen time, actually was personally collected to the film as a person who had gone through an abortion while working at a law firm 20 years prior to receiving this script.
Andrew and Jon Erwin taking this touching, semi-religious film about love, family and life and tell it though the eyes of a child feeling abandoned by her mother. Hannah did not know for the first 19 years of her life that she was actually abandoned by her mother and left in the car of Jacob and Grace. While it took her nearly the entire film to learn about the truth, she later learns that her mother saw that there was a bulletin at the hospital where she was born advertising the opportunity to adopt twins, which included her brother Jonathan. While Jonathan did not survive for more than four months, she went through her life with no knowledge of how and why everything happened. With some help along the way, she eventually made it to Mobile and talked with the nurse who delivered her, leading her to her mother. Feeling abandoned when Cindy refused to acknowledge her, more soul searching finally led her to the realization that Jacob and Grace truly were her parents and truly loved her.
While the story itself (of finding who you really are and how to forgive) is beautiful, it also brings up a very controversial topic. The pro-life/pro-choice debate is one that encompasses very strong emotional responses. While this film does not exactly take a strongly definable stance, it does invoke strong emotions about abandonment and regret. Nurse Mary expressed her remorse for the damage caused to Hannah’s brother. Cindy eventually broke down and recognized the pain she had caused by rejecting her child, though there is nothing that ever occurred to indicate if she ever chose to reach back out. Regardless, religion is used as a central form of guidance for forgiveness and understanding, leading Hannah to a church of a different faith seeking forgiveness for her anger.
Whatever your feelings are about the abortion issue, this is still a decent dramatic film that takes a difficult topic and incorporates some good themes of the infusion of faith and forgiveness when trying to go through troubling times.
Down the Red Carpet: Dan's Movie Reviews 