Shop Talk
By BOP Staff
November 20, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Edwin Davies: I've been catching up on films from earlier this year and awards contenders lately, so this weekend I watched:
Frances Ha - I'm a bit cool on both Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, but I was blown away by how much I loved this film. It’s a gorgeous, funny and insightful film about being young and aimless that manages to celebrate the freedom of trying to follow your dreams while also embracing the fact that everyone has to grow up sometimes. I've had Modern Love by David Bowie stuck in my head ever since watching it, and that's a pretty good place to be.
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks - Alex Gibney's a filmmaker I admire a great deal, both for his prolificity - he makes three to four documentaries a year - and his ability to approach difficult subjects with a cool head. WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning are all divisive figures, and I felt that he treated them evenhandedly by portraying them as well-intentioned but flawed individuals. Whether that is true is a matter of debate (WikiLeaks has taken strongly against the film, perhaps unsurprisingly) but I found it compelling nonetheless.
Dallas Buyers Club - This could have easily been somber Oscar bait (real life story, AIDS, actor loses a scary amount of weight for the role) but it's a much more fun and lively film than that. McConaughey continues his superb run of form with a funny, abrasive and sympathetic performance as a man forced to be a hero to save himself from the ravages of HIV, while Jared Leto, who I tend to dislike because he's always trying so hard to be taken seriously, is brilliant because he lightens up and has a little fun. It strikes me as a film that is going to dominate the acting categories as we get deeper into awards season.
All Is Lost - Speaking of great acting, Robert Redford ends years of complacency by anchoring a nearly dialogue-free tale of survival on the high seas. It feels like a companion piece/refutation of Gravity in some ways, but the main point of comparison is that they're both gripping stories of people trapped in dreadful situations and striving to overcome them through sheer ingenuity.
Jason Barney: I have not been out to the movies much recently. The only film I have gone to see of late is Gravity, and that was excellent. Better than expected. I am likely to go see The Hobbit 2 when it comes out, and I did not see the first one in theaters, though I got it on DVD recently. It was better than I expected, although a lot of people disliked it, I guess.
Matthew Huntley: I've managed to see all the high-profile releases, including Gravity, Captain Phillips, Carrie, 12 Years a Slave, Thor: The Dark World and most recently, Enough Said. Here are my short reviews of each:
Gravity: Intense filmmaking style mixed with not-so-intense/demanding screenplay. Worth it for the visuals alone, and that's saying a lot in this case.
Captain Phillips: Strong acting in a competently-made thriller, but would have been more interesting as a documentary.
Carrie: Another pointless horror remake that brings nothing new/different to the table. Skip it.
12 Years a Slave: Bravura acting combined with unabashed, graphic imagery; film brings to light aspect of one of America's worst practices that many might not know about. Definitely worth seeing on several levels.
Thor: The Dark World: Sufficiently serves the Saturday action movie audience; light and fun, but also forgettable. It's like an appetizer before the next big feast (i.e. Avengers 2).
Enough Said: Great chemistry between the two leads and natural, fluid dialogue keep this rom-com moving. All things considered, film is a high note for James Gandolfini to go out on.
Max Braden: I've fallen way behind, and I don't think it's going to improve with the Xbox One releasing at the end of the week. I haven't been to the theater since seeing Gravity (and I feel like I need to see 12 Years a Slave and Dallas Buyer's Club before they get nominated). Just a handful of movies on DVD:
Just Like a Woman: This is a road-trip belly-dancing movie featuring Sienna Miller. To be honest, I rented it mostly for midriff gyrations and when it turned out to be a girl-bonding movie I lost interest. I've liked Sienna Miller ever since Layer Cake and Casanova, so I'm always on the lookout for appearances by her.
Blood of Redemption: Dolph Lundgren, Billy Zane, Vinnie Jones, and Robert Davi all together in a mob movie! Surprisingly, Zane turns in a decent performance in this movie. Davi's attempt to have the same accent as Vinnie Jones is hilariously wrong.
Much Ado About Nothing: Thirty seconds in to this movie I wanted to shut it off. I think I'm only inclined to like Shakespearean dialogue when it's spoken in period costume, so the modern setting threw me. But I stuck it out and warmed to it by the end. Fillion's comedy definitely helped.
Before Midnight: Before Sunset was among my top ten favorite movies of 2004, but I found Before Midnight a miserable watching experience. I can't remember a single instance where Delpy's character was supportive or complimentary to her husband, and she couldn't seem to go five minutes without starting a fight. It made it hard to see why Hawke's character would bother.
Evidence: Radha Mitchell and Stephen Moyer star but take a backseat to found footage of a brutal mass murder, which is even less palatable because of the static-strewn recordings. There's a twist at the end but it wasn't worth the effort.
I know it's not a movie but I want to take the opportunity to mention that Brooklyn Nine-Nine is my favorite new show of the season and is easily one of my most anticipated episodes to watch every week. It has a similar atmosphere to Parks and Recreation, but Parks can be a little "we just made a joke, did you see it?" while there's no breaking of the fourth wall in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is just fun, and all the cast members deliver great comedy for the show.
Bruce Hall: Why, I'm glad you asked...
MAJOR RELEASES:
Ender's Game - I've read a few Orson Scott Card books but none of the Ender's Game series, so I am officially ambivalent about that part of it. As for the movie, I thought it was confusing and inefficient. Harrison Ford needs to stop taking Valium on set [citation needed].
Thor: The Dark World - You know how Angry Birds is so much fun while you're playing it, and then you look at the clock and realize what you've been doing for the past hour is the intellectual equivalent of staring at an aquarium? Much like the first Thor, this one is like that.
Machete Kills: That he does. Yes, indeed. Find the trailer online. If you like that, you'll probably like the movie. Otherwise, not so much.
OLDER MOVIES:
All of Me: The missus and I revisited this one when a conversation about Lily Tomlin led to a bout of all out nostalgia. All of Me doesn't hold up very well, and it's mostly because just like Goldie Hawn's Overboard, this breezy comedy unwittingly poses some truly horrifying ethical questions that take you right out of the movie.
Man of Steel: Revisited this one since it just dropped on Blu Ray. I still insist that it's a pretty good adaptation all the way up until that last, climactic battle. No, not the FIRST last climactic battle. The SECOND one that looked like a $200 million dollar Tom and Jerry cartoon.
Extract: Mike Judge excels at subtle humor, but his directing style still makes you feel like you're watching a television show. Oh, and the story just kind of fizzles out and walks away from itself at the end. But it's an enjoyable movie, and it's a much better date movie then Bloodsport II.
Hobo With a Shotgun: Holy effing dog poop, Batman. Much like Robert Rodriguez' Machete, Hobo With a Shotgun was a fake trailer made for the movie Grindhouse. The problem with Hobo (and Grindhouse) is that the joke is not sustainable for an entire film. This is a straight up exploitation flick, and if you're one of the dwindling numbers of people who still get into torture porn, Hobo With a Shotgun just might be your Chariots of Fire. I sat through it because I like Rutger Hauer. You'll have to come up with your own reason.
TELEVISION:
This is where it gets sad, but if you could see my schedule every day it's a wonder I even watch THIS much TV.
Sons of Anarchy: We're still catching up with Season five, so nobody tell me what happened to Tara. It's a great ride, and still the most bloody, improbable, chest thumping biker soap opera on television.
The Kids in the Hall: Remember what I said about that nostalgia kick? I’m rewatching the whole series on the rare occasions I have free time. I'm up to season three. Unlike its more self important cousin Saturday Night Live, Kids still holds up really well almost across the board. I still don't get the flying pig though....
Miami Vice: Uh...ditto with the "free time/nostalgia kick" thing. Hey, don't you judge me. It was my favorite show from 1984-1987. It was a simpler time. And you know what? I still love it, and I don't care what anyone says. So in the immortal words of Sonny Crockett: "Can the attitude Jack, and let's blow this pop stand."
Kim Hollis: I caught up on some releases from earlier this year. Turbo is a better-than-it-has-any-right-to-be animated flick that steals elements from movies like Ratatouille and Cars and somehow manages to make it not seem like highway robbery. It’s a fun little movie and I think any kid would enjoy it. I also had low expectations for The Internship, and wound up enjoying it a surprising amount. It’s a film that has the best of intentions, even if the whole “ha ha, look at the 45-year-olds who don’t know how to use Google” shtick got a little old. It’s certainly not Wedding Crashers era Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, but it’s a movie I think I’d watch again. Finally, Stoker is a strange, fascinating, disturbing movie. It reminded me of Oldboy in an odd way, which makes sense because they’re from the same director (Chan-wook Park).
Since a few people have mentioned TV now (Miami Vice is one of the greatest shows ever and I’m not ashamed to say it), I figured I could weigh in with some of my favorites out of the new shows this season. The one I look forward to the most is The Originals, which you have probably never heard of. It’s on the CW, and since it’s about vampires I was ready to dismiss it immediately, but it has a really nice Interview With the Vampire vibe going and not just because it’s set in New Orleans. The four leads are all excellent.
I’m also enjoying several of the new comedies (something I haven’t been able to say for a long time), and my favorite of them is The Goldbergs. It might be because it’s set in the ‘80s, which is when I grew up, but I laugh every week. It feels like a lighter version of Freaks & Geeks. The actors who play the three Goldberg kids are terrific.
David Mumpower: As I continue to catch up on 2013 releases, I’ve experienced an odd epiphany. Tyler Perry Presents Peeples and The Big Wedding are basically the same movie. Both involve patriarch caused hijinks involving an attempt at matrimony. Each includes not quite incestuous but close enough sexual encounters among “siblings”, a frustrated father of the family acting out against his aging, and a major character outing herself as lesbian. Apparently, Robert De Niro and Craig Robinson are getting the same scripts these days. I must have been in a good mood for this double feature, because I liked both movies well enough to recommend marginally. The casts of both productions are excellent, and I am thrilled that Malcolm Barrett from Better Off Ted is getting some decent parts. That dude is a brilliant comic actor.
R.I.P.D. was a movie whose trailers always interested me more than most folks. It was already a punchline before it was released in theaters yet I held out hope that I would go against the grain here. The movie all but begged for Men in Black comparisons, and that happens to be a franchise that I love. R.I.P.D. is no Men in Black. There is one cute romantic subplot involving Mary-Louise Parker. Other than that, it is 90 minutes of nonsense. Avoid at all costs.
I also caught a double bill of horror movies with The Conjuring and Mama. I wish that I had watched the former movie first because it suffered severely by comparison with Mama, an exceptional scarefest that demonstrates once again that the most terrifying creatures on Earth are little girls. Particularly noteworthy was the disconnect between the older sister who had been indoctrinated into civilization and the younger one who had gone native. The dichotomy between the two daughters captivated me throughout Mama. Meanwhile, The Conjuring is the Ed and Lorraine Warren story that nobody believes is true yet we all kind of wish it were. The farmhouse thriller provides exceptional balancing of multiple characters, and those people are all juggled for maximum tension at the end. It is nowhere near as good as Mama but I still think it is one of the best horror flicks in recent memory. Conversely, Mama may be the best horror film since the original Paranormal Activity.
I didn’t hate After Earth the way that I experienced visceral reactions against Movie 43 and A Good Day to Die Hard, easily the worst movies of 2013 thus far. What I actively despised, however, was the performance of Will Smith in the film. I am ordinarily a huge fan of his, and I believe that his decision making in choosing projects is the gold standard. After Earth was a mistake from one perspective because it was a box office bomb (please don’t waste my time arguing that its overseas box office saved it). It was a much bigger miscalculation to have Will Smith portray such an icy, soulless semi-protagonist. I should note that the movie really belongs to his son Jaden more than him. Still, the Fresh Prince’s acting was so forced that I had a great deal of difficulty separating the action on screen from the distraction of him talking.