ONLY GOD FORGIVES - Review

Only God Forgives

Crime/Drama, 2013
1 hour, 30 minutes
Written and Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Rated R

Starring
Ryan Gosling
Vithaya Pansringarm
Kristin Scott Thomas

"Wanna fight?"

Nicholas Winding Refn is known for his stylish and cerebral sense of filmmaking. His big hit, Drive, starring everyone's favorite Ryan Gosling, was something we had never seen. Gripping story, tense action, and pretty much awesome everything, Only God Forgives looked like a spiritual sequel.
It isn't.
Honestly, it's just Nicolas Winding Refn jerking himself off. I've seen a couple of his other movies, like Drive and Valhalla Rising. Yes, they've visually beautiful and minimal on story and dialogue, but this takes it to a whole new level. Like, an annoying level. I really wanted to see something cool here, but there wasn't anything as far as story goes. It's basically a revenge story. Gosling's brother goes batshit crazy for literally no reason whatsoever, and he gets himself killed. So Gosling has to take revenge on the guys who killed his piece-of-shit brother. Gosling's mother gets involved, and then it turns into this fucking crazy Oedipus complex stuff which is kind of weird. But whatever.
So basically the movie is just really slow. Lots of slow walking down long hallways, lots of foreshadowing. It's just slow as hell. It clocks in at a short 90 minutes but feels like 180. There are a few cool scenes. The action is solid and sweet, in particular a really cool fight with Gosling and the bad guy whose name I can't remember. It's easily the highlight of the movie. There's no quick cuts or shaky camerawork. It's a few punches at a single angle, then a cut to another angle with a few more punches, but you actually get to see ALL of the action.
But yeah, overall, the movie is just kind of empty. I didn't feel much exiting the theater, but it looked like it could've been a crazy kind of spiritual sequel to Drive. It isn't. That being said, I didn't completely hate it, so that's something, right?
Also at one point, Gosling gets angry and screams REALLY loudly and his voice gets high pitched and its fucking hilarious. So there's that too.

6/10

PACIFIC RIM - Review

Pacific Rim 

Action/Sci-Fi, 2013
2 hours, 12 minutes
Written by Travis Beacham and Guillermo del Toro
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Rated PG-13

Starring
Charlie Hunnam
Idris Elba
Rinko Kikuchi
Charlie Day
Ron Perlman
Robert Kazinsky
Max Martini


It seems like people like giant robots. The Transformers movies, no matter how awful, gross a fuck-ton of money without fail. But the Transformers movies, last time I checked, kinda suck. Critics don't like them and for the most part it seems as though moviegoers don't like them much either.
So... why isn't anyone going to see Pacific Rim? It's got giant robots fighting giant monsters. Isn't this what the people want? Maybe even a little bit? I know it's been out for a few weeks (because I've been neglecting to write reviews of any sort) but I mean it when I say that this movie deserves your money.
Everything nowadays is a sequel or adaptation. While Pacific Rim may take strong influences from classic monster and giant robot movies, it's surprisingly original. It's got a clever premise and, strong performances, and GORGEOUS visual effects, both practical effects and CGI. The writing itself, the dialogue, is a little cheesy at times, but it's fairly excusable.
So what's a monsters vs. robots movie about? Well, giant monsters called Kaiju burst out of a rift in the Pacific ocean and come and destroy everything in sight. So what do the humans do? Build MASSIVE robots called Jaegers to fight the monster threat. The but no matter how many Kaiju are killed, they keep on coming. Set in 2020, the Kaiju are becoming more powerful, and there are only a handful of operating Jaegers left. The situation has become quite dire. The film itself takes place not at the beginning of the Kaiju threat, but at the end of it. The Jaeger pilots make a desperate run to seal the rift.
While the storytelling is fairly good, the only thing that really holds this back is its writing. Some of the sub-plot points are weak and predictable. Some of the dialogue is kind of cheesy, but it doesn't hold back the movie as a whole.
There isn't a ton else that I have to say about Pacific Rim. It's an excellent summer blockbuster, much better than anything else out as of this moment. If you're looking for anything action-y, don't see Red 2 or RIPD, go see Pacific Rim.
Please do, it's worth your money.

9/10

THE WAY, WAY BACK - Review

The Way, Way Back

Comedy/Drama, 2013
1 hour, 43 minutes
Written and Directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Rated PG-13

Starring
Sam Rockwell
Liam James
Steve Carell
Toni Colette
Allison Janney
AnnaSophia Robb
Maya Rudolph
Jim Rash
Nat Faxon

"Who is this in his awkward glory?"

Written and directed by the Oscar winning team of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (the Dean from Community), The Way, Way Back had some pretty high expectations from me. I set the bar pretty high, and for the most part, I was happy with the results.
The movie is about an awkward teenager who gets dragged along to a summer home belonging to his mother's douchebag boyfriend played by Steve Carell. This kid, Duncan, is awkward as hell and it's actually pretty great. Anyway, he goes to the waterpark one day and meets the park's owner, played by the always fantastic Sam Rockwell. The two become fast friends, and then shit happens.
Although the script is pretty sharp, I was most impressed by the performances. Carell is a major douche. Like, Five-Star General Douche. Fucking hated his guts. That shit took skill. Sam Rockwell is, once again, in top form. I've seen not-so-great movies that star Sam Rockwell, but I've never seen him give a bad performance. He's excellent in everything, and this is no exception. Allison Janney practically steals the show as the bawdy neighbor who'll crack you up. But the real star here is Liam James, the awkward-as-hell 14 year old kid who's stuck in the middle of it all. He absolutely nails it in pretty much every way you can think of.
There isn't a ton that I disliked about the movie. It takes a while to get to the water park and sometimes it feels slow despite being a relatively short movie. Some of the events are predictable, but the ending is quite strong.
Overall, I enjoyed The Way, Way Back. It's funny and lovably awkward, and definitely deserves to be seen.

9.1/10

DESPICABLE ME 2 - Review

Despicable Me 2

Animation, 2013
1 hour, 38 minutes
Written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
Rated PG

Starring
Steve Carell
Kristen Wiig
Benjamin Bratt
Miranda Cosgrove
Russell Brand
Steve Coogan
Ken Jeong



I was never really a big fan of Despicable Me. Surprisingly, a lot of people find this hard to believe. The concept was kind of interesting, but it was too... slap-sticky for my taste. You know, kid stuff. The only non-Pixar CG movie that I like is How to Train Your Dragon. That was original. Different. If you had told me that it was made by Pixar I would've believed you.
But not Despicable Me 2. Yeah, the voice work is fine and the animation is colorful and there was one moment in particular that had me laughing pretty hard. But otherwise, I just didn't care. Kids will definitely get a kick out of it, but there isn't a ton for adults.
And don't get me started on those minions. They're good for marketing, but they actually have an important role in the movie. Which is annoying because for the most part they drive me insane.
But let's be real. It's pretty creative. Some of the stuff they come up with is kinda clever... that being I just didn't like it. I hate when I walk out of a movie and say that I disliked it without having any good reason. It just isn't the kind of movie that I care about, and that's just how it is.

I swear to god I have nothing else to say. Other than good voice acting and solid animation, I just didn't really care for it. Personal preference or whatever.

4/10

The 365 Day Movie Challenge - The Second 100

I'm assuming that the very few of you who read this blog know about my 365 Day Movie Challenge, which needs literally no explanation. So long story short, I just wrapped up watching my 200th movie of the year. After the first 100 milestone, I updated you on the top 5 movies that I watched in those first 100 days. So now that 200 movies have passed, I'm going to update you on the SECOND 100, meaning not the 200 as a whole but going all the way from 101-200. So lets get started with #5.


5. Dead Man 
If you know anything about writer/director Jim Jarmusch, you know he's a weird guy. He's one of the few filmmakers that makes artsy movies that I actually enjoy, mostly because they're very coherent. Dead Man didn't really stun me at first, but once it picked up steam, I fell in love with it. Not to mention, it has one of the most beautiful endings in any movie I've ever seen.

4. Before Midnight
I enjoyed both Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, when the relationship between the two characters was at an early stage, but Before Midnight blew them both completely out of the water. In particular, the final scene (which is like 30 minutes or something like that) is so incredibly well written that you'd think that it was all happening in real life right in front of your eyes.

3. Paper Moon
I don't really have a lot to say about Paper Moon. It's funny, heartwarming, and tense. It's well written and well shot. Tatum O'Neal is the youngest person in history to win an Oscar for her supporting role in the film, and shit does she nail it! If you like, well, any kind of movies, I highly recommend it. It's not like there's any single thing that really sold it for me, this movie is just the whole package.

2. Night on Earth
I went into Night On Earth completely blind other than reading the back of the box. It quickly became one of my favorites. Long story short, it's about five different cab rides in five different parts of the world, all taking place on the same night. The film takes the viewer to New York, LA, Helsinki, Rome, and Paris. The screenplay was written in 8 days by Jim Jarmusch, and each scene is incredibly well written. The conversation is spectacular and engaging. Personally, I enjoyed the New York segment the most, starring a very young Giancarlo Esposito (yes, that is Gus from Breaking Bad) and he's fucking fantastic.

1. Mud
The third film by writer/director Jeff Nichols, Mud is easily one of the most incredible coming-of-age stories I've ever witnessed. It probably isn't as insane as the trailer makes it out to be, but that being said, this is a movie that should absolutely not be missed for any reason. Sure, it's a wee bit long, but it plays out like some kind of great American novel. It's currently my #1 movie of 2013. Last time I checked it's playing at the Wilmette Theater. Do yourself a favor and go see it.

MONSTER'S UNIVERSITY - In which Pixar is staring to show it's age... (Review)

Monsters University

Pixar, 2013

1 hour 44 minutes

Written by Daniel Gerson, Robert L. Baird, and Dan Scanlon

Directed by Dan Scanlon

Rated G

Starring

Billy Crystal

John Goodman

Helen Mirren

Charlie Day

Joel Murray

Peter Sohn

Nathan Fillon

Aubrey Plaza

I've been saying that Pixar should stop with the sequels for a while, but at least Monsters University is good. That being said, it ranks pretty low on the scale of Pixar movies. But don't worry, it's better than the Cars movies.
Monsters U is a prequel to Monsters Inc. in which Mike and Sully both meet each other at the esteemed university. There's typical college shenanigans, some of which are pretty good. Then there's this scaring competition that they need to complete and they join up with a kind of dorky fraternity that nobody likes, and lots of it feels very typical. One of the movie's strongest points is the voice cast. There are lots of names that you'd never expect to be in this. One of my personal favorites is Charlie Day, who plays a stoner-like philosophy major in the fraternity. What's even better is that his character is basically Charlie from It's Always Sunny. 
But I have to say that my favorite part of the movie was the final act, which actually takes a bit of an interesting turn. I was pleasantly surprised at how heartfelt it was, and it makes you love Mike and Sully even more.
So Monsters U is good, but not great. Definitely lower on the Pixar totem pole, but that's OK. We just need to get some original content up in here. Make it happen, Pixar.

8/10

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING - In which Joss Whedon chills with some friends and does some Shakespeare (Review)

Much Ado About Nothing

Comedy, 2013
1 hour, 48 minutes
Adapted for the Screen and Directed by Joss Whedon
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and brief drug use.

Starring
Amy Acker
Alexis Denisof
Fran Kranz
Reed Diamond
Nathan Fillon
Clark Gregg
Sean Maher
Jillian Morgese
Ashley Johnson


Joss Whedon is one cool dude. He can do pretty much anything. Not only did he write and direct Marvel's massive franchise conglomerate, but he also found the time to get a bunch of his friends together to make a movie at his own house. That movie he made with his friends also happened to be Shakespeare.
Much Ado surprisingly holds up for being a few hundred years old. Whedon's adaptation is fantastic. While it's occasionally slow, it's wonderfully witty and clever. I've tried Shakespeare before, but this one feels just so right. I hardly felt that lost in the thick Shakespearean dialogue.
The performances are great. Whedon basically looked through his lineup of regulars and made some great selections. And because of that, it has a very Joss Whedon feel to it, which is something that's always welcome.
It seems like Much Ado is going to be very under the radar, which is a shame. I'm not big on Shakespeare, but I really enjoyed this movie. For something that could've been another half-baked modern Shakespeare adaptation, it does a lot with it's small budget, and it's really impressive for something that was only filmed in a few days. Definitely worth checking out.

9/10

THIS IS THE END - Review

This Is The End

Comedy, 2013
1 hour 46 minutes
Written and Directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen
Rated R

Starring
Seth Rogen
Jay Baruchel
James Franco
Jonah Hill
Craig Robinson
Danny McBride
Emma Watson
Michael Cera

"James Franco didn't suck any dick last night? Now I KNOW ya'll are trippin."

I remember watching the trailer to This is the End and I really expected it to not be that funny. Holy fuck was I wrong. This movie is fantastic, and I really don't have a ton to say about it just because it's so funny.
Basically, Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen go to a party at James Franco's house. Soon, the end of the world happens. People get sucked up into the sky, sinkholes open up in the ground, and everything goes to shit. So Rogen, Baruchel, Jonah Hill, and Craig Robinson all hide out in James Franco's place. Even Danny McBride shows up to basically act like a prick, just like he does in all of his movies.
Probably the best part about this movie is that the actors play highly exaggerated versions of themselves, particularly Danny McBride, who is just constantly a piece of shit towards everyone in the house...exactly like he is in most of the movies that I've seen him in.
The only negative thing that I have to say about this movie is that the finale is a mixed bag. On one hand, it makes sense in context, but on the other, it seems kind of like a cop-out. Maybe I'm just being a little harsh, but really, I don't quite know if I like it or not.
This is the End isn't just the funniest movie of the year thus far, but it's one of the best movies of the year as of right now.

9.5/10

MAN OF STEEL - The Almost Triumphant Return of the Big Blue Boyscout (Review)

Man of Steel

Superhero/Sci-Fi, 2013
2 hours 23 minutes
Written by David S. Goyer
Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring
Henry Cavill
Amy Adams
Michael Shannon
Russell Crowe
Kevin Costner
Diane Lane
Adtje Traue
Laurence Fishburne


"You think your son is safe? I will find him."


As Tracey Jordan once said, "Nah-uh. Superman does good. You doing well. You need to study your grammar, son."
This basically sums up my feelings about Man of Steel. Superman finally has made his big rebooted return to the big screen, but... it's just good. Great? Almost. It was actually close to being amazing, but it just needed a few structural changes and it would have been honestly amazing.
Let's get the bad out of the way. It really comes down to structure. The movie begins on a strong note with the destruction of Krypton, just like every Superman origin story. Then we go onto his Smallville days and then stuff happens in Metropolis and etc etc. During this time we learn about General Zod and what his beef with Earth is and the Phantom Zone is there and holy shit, so much stuff happens that it gets kind of jumbled, except not really. Everything just happens so fast! It isn't hard to keep up, but because of this set up for a MASSIVE action scene (like 3 different ones that all happen at pretty much all at once) at the end of the movie, you lose what's important: the identity crisis. And isn't that what Superman is all about? Or at least a lot of what he's about. It's not that the emotional center isn't there, because it is, but it just doesn't hit the high that it should or could have. It's also very serious. Way more than I expected. I figured that they might throw in some funny bits,
Also there are so many explosions that it would make Michael Bay jealous.

So it sounds like a major problem, and it kind of is. But let's get to the good stuff.
This is the definition of a summer blockbuster. Several huge set-piece battles are choreographed like it was right out of a fucking comic book. The production design is TOP NOTCH. Costumes, sets, visual effects, and that fucking cape (which is all CGI, by the way) are beautiful. Kryptonian tech is cool and impressive as hell and the planet itself is beautiful. And who can ignore the amazing score by Hans Zimmer?
The supporting cast is very strong. Michael Shannon is excellent as General Zod, and Russell Crowe is great as Jor-El. Kevin Coster was good, but I wanted to see more of his character. Amy Adams was spot-on as Lois Lane. But how was Big Blue himself? Good. He was good. He didn't do a ton other than fight, but when he was really acting, it was good. Not great or impressive, but good.

As a whole, I was entertained. Sure, it lacked what I was really looking for, but I was entertained for a lot of it. And in the end I think that's what matters. It also lays an EXCELLENT groundwork for sequels, for which I would drop Snyder as director but keep Goyer on writing duties. Just my opinion. I'm not a big Snyder fan, and I hoped that he would do better in this situation, but alas we'll just have to wait for something better.

It's not the Superman movie we deserve, but it's the one we need right now.
Why? Because the sequels will take on that responsibility. As for JLA or a teamup with Batman... we'll see for now.

7.5/10

THE ICEMAN - Review

The Iceman

Thriller, 2013
1 hour, 46 minutes
Written by Ariel Vromen and Morgan Land
Directed by Ariel Vromen

Starring
Michael Shannon
Winona Ryder
Chris Evans
Ray Liotta
James Franco
David Schwimmer
Stephen Dorff


Can we please give Michael Shannon the respect that he deserves? I've never seen him give a bad performance, or even a mediocre one. He consistently gives it his all, and The Iceman is no exception.
The film is based on a true story about a man named Richard Kuklinski. Kuklinski kills people for money for the mob. Pretty simple stuff as far as plot goes. It's basically a straightforward biographical film about a guy who supposedly killed over a hundred people for the mob.
Truthfully, there isn't anything terribly special about The Iceman. It's fairly simple. The writing isn't that bad and the performances are very solid, including a welcome turn for Winona Ryder who is just never in anything anymore. She's alright in this. James Franco is in it and does nothing for like 5 minutes. Ray Liotta plays a gangster who does a lot of sitting in cars (just like Killing Them Softly, and The Place Beyond the Pines. Seriously, he just plays a bad guy who sits in cars all the time.) One thing I was really impressed with was Chris Evans, who is unrecognizable as an associate of Kuklinski's. Sure, he's good looking and he plays Captain America, but damn he can really pull off dark drama.
Overall, the only thing that this movie does really well is it's acting. It's good, not anything amazing, but I think it's worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of Michael Shannon. It's at least entertaining, and in the end, isn't that what movies are all about?

7/10