BOYHOOD - Review

Boyhood

Drama, 2014
2 hours, 46 minutes
Written and Directed by Richard Linklater
Rated R for "language including sexual references and for teen drug and alcohol use"

Starring
Ellar Coltrane
Ethan Hawke
Patricia Arquette
Lorelei Linklater

"Life doesn't give you bumpers."

We go to the movies to escape from our lives. For just a few bucks and a couple of hours, we can immerse ourselves in fantastical and fictional worlds that have the ability to provoke certain emotion. We forget about our problems. We stop caring about our real problems and start thinking about the fictional ones on screen.

Films surrounding adolescence usually focus on a brief moment in the main character’s life. The story might revolve around a divorce, the loss of a loved one, or some sort of traumatic event. Films like these attempt to make a bold statement on the human condition. Some of these films might be close, but Boyhood is the only film to nail it right on the head. And it hits hard.

Boyhood follows the story of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), a young and ordinary kid. Mason has a younger sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), a struggling Mom (Patricia Arquette) and an absent Dad (Ethan Hawke). The film doesn't have an exact story. It's just about growing up. Mason begins the film as a young boy and by the time the credits roll, he's a young man in college. He experiences happiness, fear, love, loss, failure, and success. The film is built of smaller stories that serve the theme of the film. Significant moments such as escaping a drunken step-father's home are juxtaposed with going to church on a Sunday morning, but every moment serves a purpose.

Boyhood is a grand experiment in filmmaking that pays off in an incredible way. The film was shot over the course of twelve years with the same cast. It may be an incredible experiment, Boyhood does something on an emotional level that most movies don't. It forces us to examine our own lives and how we move through different stages of being. Unlike most movies, Boyhood is about real people with real problems. It rarely feels staged. The film has a natural progression between the years. Soon enough, the inquisitive six-year-old is now a well-spoken adult.

Boyhood represents life at its core. If you're expecting an answer to the meaning of life, you won't find it here. The movie does not exist to teach us the meaning of life. It teaches how to appreciate it. We travel through life thinking we live in stages, yet we fail to appreciate the nuanced moments that define who we truly are. Yes, there are huge tent-pole moments that shape us, but it's the little things that we overlook that have huge impacts in our lives.

Boyhood is about life. It is sad, funny, awkward, and uplifting. It will cause many to examine their own lives and how the small things in life shape us, the small things that matter the most. Everyone will find something relatable in Mason and his family. This film is a masterpiece and will go down in history as one of the greats. It is the Casablanca or The Godfather of our time.

Boyhood is, perhaps, the definitive expression of what it means to be a human being. This movie is just, well... life. And that's all it needs to be.

10/10

The Best of 2014 (So Far)

We're over halfway through the year, so I think now is a good enough time to come up with a top 10 list for the first half of the year... however, I'm a somewhat lazy fucker, so I only wrote stuff for the top five. Even though that's how I usually do this, so... this is awkward.

I'm going to keep this relatively brief, so let's get to it.

#10: X-Men: Days of Future Past
#9: Neighbors
#8: Edge of Tomorrow
#7: Godzilla
#6: The Grand Budapest Hotel

#5: Chef
Although Chef isn't quite the highest rated of all the films I've seen thus far, it's still high up in terms of pure entertainment. Yeah, the story could've used a bit of worked, but Chef is one of the few films in which I could easily say, "I want to watch this non-stop for hours." The characters are instantly likable and the food looks so good.

#4: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
I didn't like the first Captain America film, so thankfully, this one made up for it. The story led the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe to a completely new place that is sure to change things up in the future. The film also plays out somewhat like a political thriller, full of twists and turns, which is a rare quality for any superhero film. It also has Robert Redford as a bad guy, so, you know... kinda has to be good.

#3 How to Train Your Dragon 2
Dreamworks shocked everyone with the first How to Train Your Dragon film. I think this is partially because Dreamworks had a shitty streak for a while. Thankfully, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is just as exciting and entertaining as the first, which I did not see coming. The animation itself is gorgeous, the character development is strong, and it does a great job of building the world around the main village of Berk. It's one not to be missed.

#2 The Lego Movie
I did not expect to enjoy this movie. At all. I went into it with the mentality of "this is just 100 minutes of product placement" which, I suppose, isn't incorrect... but there's so much more to the film than I was expecting. The voice cast is excellent and the animation is first class. It should also be noted that the film has a surprisingly sweet and positive message for younger AND older viewers. Definitely an Oscar contender for this year.

#1: The Raid 2
The third sequel on the top 5, The Raid 2 was a massive expansion of 2011's The Raid: Redemption. Jumping off immediately from the first film, The Raid 2 is a combination of hardboiled gangster film and even harder-boiled martial arts action. Everything about the production is top notch. At no point does the story drag -- if anything, it feels a wee bit short at two and a half hours. But that might just be because I just wanted more. Thankfully, a third (and most likely, final) Raid film is in the works.

That was pretty short, right? Whew. Now go back to whatever you were doing, and props to you if you actually read the descriptions that I worked so very hard on! You readers are pretty swell. Here's a prize that I am sure only a small few of you people will appreciate.

JERSEY BOYS - Review

Jersey Boys

Musical Biopic, 2014
2 hours, 14 minutes
Screenplay by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Based on the Broadway Musical "Jersey Boys"
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Rated R for "language throughout"

Starring
John Lloyd Young
Erich Bergen
Michael Lomenda
Vincent Piazza
Christopher Walken

"Funny how?"

When I think of Clint Eastwood, I think of Harry Callahan. William Munny. The Man With No fuckin' Name. But he's had a good run as a director... well, maybe not recently. He doesn't have much of an outstanding directorial style. He was just a good filmmaker. As of late, he's had a bit of a dry spell with his films. Not since 2008's Gran Torino has he received many good reviews. Unfortunately, Jersey Boys, which chronicles the rise and fall of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is just straight up a bad movie and a sadly lazy piece of filmmaking.

The strength of the film lies in its acting and soundtrack. That's about it. The performances are as good as they can be, while the music is just as good as the actual records from back in the day. John Lloyd Young, who reprises his Tony winning role as Frankie Valli from the Broadway show, is easily the best part of the entire production. What else about this movie is good? Not so much...

Jersey Boys' flaws stem from poor filmmaking. Right from the opening scene, I felt completely uninterested, which is rare for just about any movie ever. Every film, even the bad ones, has something going on to get the film rolling from the get-go. Jersey Boys had me bored from the very start. I didn't feel captivated or interested by anything.

Things don't get much better from there. The only interesting aspect of the story is anything in regards to the music. The music is great. Hell, the music is easily the single best part about the film. It's an amazing soundtrack! But it isn't enough to save the story, which fails due to a few uninteresting subplots that don't seem to go anywhere or add to the story. Not just that, but there are a few glaring structural issues as well. The progression of time is barely present. The best example of this is the subplot with Frankie's family. In an early scene, a very young Frankie takes a girl out on a date. Their relationship from the first date isn't believable, and it cuts from said first date to their wedding. Next time we see the wife, 20 minutes later, they've got a young daughter. Then Frankie has a discussion with the same daughter (who is suddenly older, about 10 or so). Then in the final act, his daughter is a young woman who gets into trouble and has a heart to heart with Frankie. We don't feel anything for the girl because we don't know her. It's frustrating to see this relationship blossom out of nowhere, and then we're expected to have sympathy for these characters once something happens to them. In addition to the shitty subplot, it's difficult to see the progression of fame and wealth that the Four Seasons attain throughout the years. Most films cover the rise and fall, but in this case it's just about the music. Then it becomes about the money. But then the money was never a big deal before... so where is this stuff coming from? The film is driven by a messy narrative that doesn't actually need to be so messy.

When I said above that the problems stem from poor filmmaking, that includes a couple of other elements in the process of making the film. For one, Jersey Boys is an adaptation of a musical. Sure, musicals might move the action along a little quicker and in a different style than a film, but you have to take that into account when doing the actual adaptation. Secondly, the film ignores any sort of rules set by musical biopics from the past. YES, I am saying that this film does not fall into any sort of cliched plot because it simply cuts these elements short. The family subplot is in every musical biopic but in Jersey Boys, it's obvious that a few scenes were left on the cutting room floor, giving us only a weak outline of what's actually going on. Stuff that should be there simply is not, and that is not acceptable for this type of movie. Maybe Eastwood wanted something different, but in this case, it doesn't work. He tried to break the rules and he failed.

The only positive experience I got from Jersey Boys is a new appreciation for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Performances are strong and the soundtrack is great. The writing, pacing, and overall plot? Underwhelming at best. There are a few moments that could have been more memorable. The introduction of the song "Sherry" was snooze-worthy when it could have been a standout moment. But no. Strong performances and a great soundtrack do not fix a fractured and boring narrative. If you're a die hard fan of the band, it's worth your time. Otherwise, sticking to the Broadway show might be your best bet.

5/10