PRISONERS - Review

Prisoners

Mystery/Thriller, 2013
2 hours 33 minutes
Written by Aaron Guzikowski
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Rated R for "disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout"

Starring
Hugh Jackman
Jake Gyllenhaal
Viola Davis
Terrence Howard
Maria Bello
Paul Dano
Melissa Leo
David Dastmalchain

"Be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best."


Prisoners is pretty fucked up. It's the kind of movie that stays with you long after you've left the theater. It's a tightly written mystery that, despite having a lengthly run-time of 2 1/2 hours, it never slows down.
The film takes place in an ordinary town with an ordinary family. Wolverine plays the central character, a somewhat religious and somewhat overly-cautious father to his older son and young daughter. One day, Wolverine's daughter, along with Terrance Howard's daughter, gets kidnapped. They search high and low, but to no avail. The investigation is headed by Detective Loki (not the bad guy from The Avengers) played by Jake Gyllenhaal. And so it turns into a typical mystery-thriller kind of movie... except Wolverine kidnaps the prime suspect, a mentally challenged man named Alex and tortures him for information. Information which Alex is incapable of giving him.
The film is basically two intersecting stories: Wolverine's morality tale of this kidnapping and his personal investigation, and the detective's actual investigation. The stories obviously intersect and are both equally interesting. And, strangely enough, the whole film feels necessary. There are plenty of interesting, tense, and terrifying twists and turns. I really can't say too much else without giving anything away, but the final moments of the film are really quite incredible.
The performances are excellent, even from it's supporting cast. The movie is full of A-listers, and everybody delivers fantastic performances. It's beautifully shot, intensely edited, and the score is quite haunting.
Really, I don't have a ton to say other than it's most likely on my top 10 list for the year. An excellent movie, but not at all for the faint of heart.

9.6/10

12 YEARS A SLAVE - Review

12 Years a Slave

Historical Drama, 2013
2 hours, 13 minutes
Written by John Ridley
Directed by Steve McQueen
Rated R for "violence/cruelty, some nudity, and brief sexuality"

Starring
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Michael Fassbender
Lupita Nyong'o
Brad Pitt
Sarah Paulson
Benedict Cumberbatch
Paul Dano
Paul Giamatti


"I don't want to survive. I want to live."


As the credits rolled and the lights came up, I found myself unable to compose myself. I could not stand. I could not breathe. My stomach and chest were tingling. I had to sit for a couple of minutes before I could stand and wipe the tears running down my face.
12 Years a Slave is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is, without question, the best film of the year thus far. There are so many aspects that make this film so perfect. Everything, ranging from the performances right down to the subtle execution of the sound design.
12 Years a Slave is the true story of Solomon Northrup, a free black man living with a loving family in New York. He is an exceptionally well-educated man and an accomplished violinist. He cares deeply for his family. One day, he is kidnapped and sold into slavery. From there, he spends 12 years working for various slave owners before he is freed. It's truly an incredible story.
The performances are remarkable. Comprised of a mostly European cast led by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender, pretty much anyone in this film could win an award for their acting. The cast is surprisingly star-studded. Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, and Benedict Cumberbatch have smaller, but important roles in the film. And they're all fantastic. There's so much more that I can say about the acting in this film, but I don't have the patience, or the words, to express how I feel.
It's also insanely brutal. There's whipping, beating, choking, hanging, stabbing, and a whole lot of despair. The sound of the whips actually made me physically wince to the rhythm of the crack, something that's never happened before. I cried more than once. I wept at the end. No other movie has made me cry more than once. There has been a comparison to Schindler's List in it's accurate portrayal of persecution of a group of people. By many, it's been called the Schindler's List of films about slavery. And they're not wrong. Not only is it incredibly accurate and difficult to watch, but it's also incredibly well made in almost every single facet.
I've spent too much time already talking about this. I don't know what else I'm supposed to say at this point. I just don't have all of the words. Just please, please see this movie. If you have to see any movie this year, it's 12 Years a Slave. I still have a few movies I have to see before the year is up, but right now, this stands at #1. This film will not be easily forgotten. It's an incredible accomplishment in filmmaking and deserves to be called one of the finest films ever made.

10/10



*EDIT: Just added a couple of comments at the bottom that I forgot to put in there.

GRAVITY - Review

Gravity

Thriller, 2013
1 hour, 30 minutes
Written by Jonas Cuarón & Alfonso Cuarón
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Rated PG-13 for "intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language."

Starring
Sandra Bullock
George Clooney
Ed Harris


"Houston, I have a bad feeling about this mission."


I will never watch Gravity ever again for as long as I live. Once was enough. I was having a fucking anxiety attack for about 75% of the movie, and it's only like 90 minutes long.
I'm not saying I disliked Gravity. In fact, I think it's one of the best films of 2013. 
Gravity's premise is simple: space debris destroys a space station, which sends Sandra Bullock and George Clooney on a desperate run to safety. And in it's simplicity, we get a solid 90 minutes of heart-pounding and anxiety inducing tension. This is definitely more of a thriller than anything else, even though the only real villain is, well, gravity. Or lack thereof.
Gravity is an impressive technical feat. Remember how everyone was really impressed with Avatar? Yeah, fuck that. I've never in my life seen better use of 3D, which is undoubtedly worth the price-tag for this film. The visual effects are beautiful. The soundtrack is terrifying. Even the sound is designed to feel like you're hearing everything happen from inside the space-suits. Cuarón's usual long-take shenanigans really add a lot to the visuals, there ain't no shaky-cam here. If I'm not mistaken, the first shot in the film runs somewhere over the 12 minute mark before the first cut. That's fucking unheard of. And really, really impressive. I'm not joking when I say this is film is basically guaranteed to win a fuck-ton of technical awards for pretty much every kind of technical award that such a film can win.
It's lighter on dialogue than most films, but that's fine. Not a word is wasted. The writing isn't groundbreaking, but it doesn't need to be. It's concise and does exactly what it needs to do. Even when the characters are just chatting in between the tension, it doesn't feel wasted. We get a reasonable sense of who these people are, which is amazing, considering all of the special effects constantly happening.
Gravity comes with my highest recommendation. I'm not quite sure if it's better than Children of Men, but right now, it's one of the best films of the year, easily in my top 10 for right now. It will leave you breathless, and by the end of the film, you'll feel your heart beating through your fucking chest.
No movie has ever made me feel quite like this. No movie has ever caused me to have a near-full blown panic attack. And I've seen a lot of movies. Like, a LOT of movies. Gravity did something that none of those movies could do, and getting me to that point of anxiety is impressive.

On a side-note, I DO recommend seeing it in 3D. If you can't handle the headaches or don't want to pay the price-tag, I won't judge. But you don't want to ignore the 3D for Gravity. At least consider it.

9.7/10

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 Review - it's like an animated jurassic park. with food.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Animated, 2013
1 hour, 35 minutes
Written by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Erica Rivinoja
Directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn
Rated PG for "mild, rude humor"

Starring
Bill Hader
Anna Faris
James Caan
Will Forte
Andy Samberg
Terry Crews
Kristen Schaal
Benjamin Bratt
Neil Patrick Harris




I don't watch many kids movies other than whatever Disney puts out. Because let's face it, Most of those other Dreamworks movies are far too deep in the kids movie range. Disney and Pixar films are so finely crafted, they don't bullshit, and there are plenty of jokes for adults. They're fantastic.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a great movie on it's own. Strong voice acting and fun animation make for a fun movie for all ages. It's a great adaptation of the kids book, despite taking a very different direction with the story, but hey, it's a movie.
Cloudy 2 was definitely made with the intention of "hey we made a fortune on this and people liked it, let's do another one!" And it works. Despite following some very familiar story and character tropes, I found it to be quite enjoyable. Careful watchers will see that Cloudy 2 has taken a few notes from Jurassic Park, and there are a few great adult jokes (in particular, a device that's called a BS USB, which had me cracking up).

However, the best part of the movie is the puns. Holy shit, so many puns. All food puns. They're amazing. So many I don't even know where to start, but they're all fantastic, and they add a ton to the movie.

The voice work is top notch. All of the original cast, except for Mr. T, returns for the sequel. It's all the same characters in all of their absurd quirky selves.
The only thing that doesn't work quite as well are some of the themes. There's a whole bit about abandoning your friends, but it just doesn't have quite as much payoff as you'd expect it to. Not in terms of story, because it's not like it just happens, but as far as just storytelling goes, it just doesn't work as well as it should. On top of that, it's just far too predictable, but then again, most kids movies are.
And that's okay.

So if you like punny movies and Jurassic Park, then you'll probably get a kick out of this.
It should also be noted that there is an adorable little strawberry thing named Barry and he's adorable as fuck. Like, Jesus. I want a little toy outta that guy he's so cute. I can't even... Jeez. You know how girls get when they see small mammals? JUST LOOK AT THAT FUCKING ANIMATED STRAWBERRY!!!

Just look at that fucking cute face. SHIT I can't take how adorable he is. He's a fucking animated strawberry with giant animated eyes. Fuck. I can't handle this. I can't. I'm outta here.

Just see the movie, it's great. Not really on my top 10 of the year, but still pretty great.
9/10

RUSH - Review

Rush

Sports Drama, 2013
2 hours, 2 minutes
Written by Peter Morgan
Directed by Ron Howard
Rated R for "sexual content, nudity, language, some disturbing images and brief drug use."


Starring
Chris Hemsworth
Daniel Brühl
Olivia Wilde
Alexandra Maria Lara
Christian McKay
Natalie Dormer
Pierfrancesco Favio



I don't know a lot about Formula One racing, but I've watched a couple of movies about it. I feel as if I were to watch Formula One in real life, I'd be bored out of my fucking mind.
Thank God Rush isn't boring. It isn't quite the best movie I've seen this year, but it's definitely a good one.
For those who don't know, Rush is the true story about two racers, James Hunt and Niki Lauda, and their intense rivalry as racers. They're both fairly interesting guys, both of them very skilled racers, yet they're both polar opposites. Hunt is a regular playboy, picking up various women and finding no happiness in his sexual exploits. Lauda, on the other hand, is more focused on his cars than he is women... that is, until the right one comes along, of course.
Their story begins one day during a Formula Three race (Formula Three, from what I understand, is just a lower tier of Formula racing) in which Hunt takes the win, just barely, out of Lauda's hands. From that moment on, the two of them become fierce rivals. Both of them make their way into the prestigious Formula One league, and they both are incredible racers. Then, one day, Lauda's car crashes, and receives severe burns on his face which horribly disfiguring him. This further builds the tension between the two of them.
Both lead actors are excellent in their roles. It's easily Chris Hemsworth's finest role to date, definitely better than he is as Thor. I got nothing against Thor, but yeah. It's better. Daniel Brühl, most known for his performance as the Nazi who fucks everything up in that bar scene in Inglorious Basterds. He's wonderful as Lauda, expertly capturing the emotionally and physically tortured man. The cinematography is great. The use of color, as well as the shot composition, is great. The racing scenes are tightly shot and edited, and the visual style adds a lot to the film.
The film seemed a bit long at times, but it also was frustrating because half the time, you have no idea who to root for. The protagonist/antagonist relationship is constantly shifting. Lauda will do something shitty, making Hunt look like a good guy. Then Hunt does something kinda douchy and make Lauda look like a good guy. It's kind of strange, seeing as there's no firm antagonist despite the fact that the film seems to set one up.
Overall, its a solid movie. It might be one of Ron Howard's better movies, but it's not amazing.

8/10

ELYSIUM - Review

Elysium

Sci-Fi/Action, 2013
1 hour, 49 minutes
Written and Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Rated R for "strong bloody violence and language throughout"

Starring
Matt Damon
Jodie Foster
Sharlto Copley
Diego Luna
William Fichtner
Alice Braga
Wagner Moura



God. Fucking. Damnit.
Remember District 9 and how FUCKING AMAZING that movie was? Not only was it an incredible modern day science fiction masterpiece, but it was made on a shockingly small budget for a film of that caliber. It boasted a strong performance from newcomer Sharlto Copley, impressive special effects, a beautifully and fully realized alternative present day South Africa. Not to mention, the film is textbook hero's journey, not just in a storytelling sense, but in a very literal sense of "character transformation."
And it was all thanks to writer/director Neill Blomkamp.
So you can imagine how excited I was to hear about Elysium, Blomkamp's first followup to District 9. Matt Damon wearing a badass exoskeleton suit toting a fucking huge rifle that reads CHEM-RAIL on the side (whatever the fuck that means) looked pretty sweet. The trailer is still pretty awesome. So was the set up.
Unfortunately, Elysium isn't all it's cracked up to be. Despite promising high concept science fiction, its execution and story structure falls a little flat. There are plenty of very exciting moments and the action is intense and (mostly) great, but the whole movie comes down to one really absurd plot-hole.
So basically, what you can deduce from the trailer, its about a cancer-stricken Matt Damon who needs to get cured by going to Elysium, a space structure in space. For rich people. And up on Elysium they have these things that can cure cancer and pretty much anything wrong with someone. It fixes people in literally seconds. But it's only for the RICH people.
People back on earth don't have this technology, despite the fact that they need it more than ever. And these people on Elysium are filthy fucking rich, so they could afford healthcare if they were even back on earth. So why aren't these pods on earth? There's no real explanation other than "rich people are assholes." And that's a HUGE driving point of the movie! Really kinda ruined it for me.
But, plot-wise there was a nice curveball that took the film in a direction that I didn't see coming. I don't want to give it away, but basically, it gives Matt Damon the opportunity, if played correctly, to change the course of human history for the better. It's pretty cool and was naturally integrated into the story, so that was a nice touch.
So despite a MASSIVE logic plot-hole and some spotty storytelling, Elysium isn't really that bad. It has some redeeming qualities, namely the performances (especially from Copley) and its GORGEOUS visuals, Elysium is far from perfect. It had lots of potential and I got really excited for it so whatever. It is what it is. Still worth a watch, I think.

7/10

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