Blue Jasmine

Directed by Woody Allen
2013

Blue Jasmine is Woody Allen's latest film starring Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin.  Cate Blanchett plays Jasmine a stuck up socialite from Manhattan who after losing everything moves in with her sister in San Francisco to try to start over.  Jasmine is delusional and very narcissistic.  Her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins) is a common woman who lives a modest life with her mechanic boyfriend who Jasmine looks down on and feels she is better then everyone.  

If this sounds familiar it should, this film is a modern day Streetcar Named Desire.  Jasmine is the modern Blanche with Ginger is the modern day Stella.  Ginger's boyfriend Chilli (Bobby Cannavale) is a shade of Stanley.  I say shade because even though there is the parallels of being the simple man and more savage then characters like Jasmine would like Chilli isn't as vicious as Stanley is in Streetcar.  There is even the parallels of the use of the song Blue Moon in Blue Jasmine and It's Only a Paper Moon in Streetcar.  Both songs have a very haunting presence in the film for the main character's dark pasts.  Throughout the film we slowly get clues and glimpses to what happened to Jasmine and though you find out what happened you get more details though out the film that will keep you engaged.  The dialog in this film is classic Woody Allen and is the best part of the film.  Overall I liked the film, I love the way Woody Allen writes his movies, the dialogue between the characters and some of the randomness of it is always clever.  As soon as I could see the influence of A Streetcar Named Desire I tried to look at it from the play perspective because if you compare the film version to it all you can see is that there's no Marlon Brando.  Cate Blanchett creates a character that you are never sure if you want to see her rise or fall, which makes the story as much of a roller coaster as Jasmine's psyche.  One part I wasn't sure about was that it was suppose to be San Francisco but everyone other then Jasmine seemed to be a character out of the stereotypical New Jersey films we have all seen. 

In the end I would recommend this film to anyone who likes  Woody Allen's other films because you can tell by the writing and the way it's shot that it's his work.  I would also recommend it to anyone that likes A Streetcar Named Desire for reasons other then you liked  Marlon Brando.  If you don't know a single Woody Allen film or don't have a clue what A Streetcar Named Desire is then you wouldn't like this film and you may want to catch up on the classics because you are missing out.

and, just because it's pretty much the only part people remember from the film

Lee Daniel's The Butler

The Butler
Lee Daniels 2013

This has got to be the best film I have seen this year.  I feel bad for any dramas that will be going up against this film in the upcoming awards season this winter.  Forest Whitaker plays the lead role of Cecil Gaines, an African American man who grew up in the 1920's working in a cotton fields.  The story follows Cecil's life from his childhood through his life as a butler at the White House from the 1950's to the 1980's.  Throughout his time in the White House Cecil serves under several presidents and is a first hand witness to the world changing with civil rights ending with the inauguration of President Obama.  Throughout the film Cecil's son Louis (David Oyelowo) experiences the Civil Rights movement first hand as he attended sit ins and was one of the Freedom Riders who had to deal with being arrested, beaten, and having his life literally threatened for fighting to secure equal rights.(if you don't know what I'm talking about seriously go read a history book and if you have lived in the US your whole life shame on you.)  The parallel scenes between Cecil in the White House and his son Louis out there in the trenches sort or speak creates a further tension between the father and son.  Caught between these two is Cecil's wife Gloria(Oprah Winfrey I'm not going to put a link in for who Oprah is.  If you don't know who Oprah is what are you doing on a blog.)

This movie was truly a great film.  The story has a great way to remind the audience of the slice of history and a shadow of our Nations past that an audience needs every now and then.  The cast is just outstanding.  Forest Whitaker is a shoe in for a Best Actor Nomination and I don't think he's the only one.  I wasn't sure Oprah was a good fit for this film because I wasn't sure it would be possible to see anyone other then Oprah, the most powerful woman on the planet but I guess I forgot that Oprah was nominated for an Oscar for the movie The Color Purple.  She does an outstanding job as Gloria, a house wife and right away her performance makes us forget that she is Oprah.  Another performance that was outstanding was Liev Schreiber as President Lyndon Johnson.  I couldn't believe it was him but he nails the part.

Lee Daniels has proven he isn't just a one hit wonder with Precious with this film.  He creates a perfect balance of pure entertainment.  The part I love of his story-telling is the way he throws humor into the story at just the right time to keep the whole film grounded and not getting overly dramatic because there is a lot of drama from the real life that this film is based off of.  Another thing I love about this film is it's not a Civil Rights film.  It's a film about Fathers and Sons that is set in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement.  It's amazing that with the subject of Civil Rights that has so much dramatic moments in our history some of the most intense scenes are with Cecil and his son Louis as they clash as many fathers and sons do.  I literally can't think of anyone I don't recommend this movie to.  I think everyone will leave this movie with a feeling of wow, that was great damn movie.

Elysium

Elysium 2013
Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Elysium is essentially Terminator meets Homeland Security.  In the future the Earth is a wasteland.  The extremely wealthy live on a Space Station floating above the Earth called.....you guessed it.  Up on Elysium the people can be healed for pretty much any illness or injury where as down on Earth the people are poor and are not offered the same medical care they are given in Elysium.  Jodie Foster is the Secretary of whatever(Almost like Secretary of State by the way she takes command of military action)  Matt Damon is Max, an ex-con you is just trying to get by with his low income job building robots at a robot plant.  Essentially something happens to Matt Damon (I don't give spoilers go watch the movie if you are intrigued) and he has to get to Elysium.

Overall I liked the film Elysium.  The story and plot takes a lot of twists that make it had to guess where it's all going to end.  It parallels several social issues such as immigration as the people of Earth that sneak onto Elysium are like illegal immigrants scattering as the border patrol which in this case are Homeland Security Robots hunts them down.  Another social issue that is very centralized to the film is the idea of health care for the poor compared to the health care of the wealthy.  Several of the people that are trying to sneak into Elysium are only going there to try to get their children into a Medical Pod that will heal all illness and injury.  These people seem to accept they will get caught and sent back to Earth.  Matt Damon delivers a believable performance as Max the ex-con that lives by a code.  I was worried that when I watched it because of the action I'd see a bald Jason Bourne but literally the way Damon distinguishes the two characters fighting styles show Max is a brawler and not Jason Bourne.  There are two parts of the film I was disappointed in.  First was the love story could have used a little more development in certain spots but I don't want to give the story away. (seriously go watch the movie)  The other part I was disappointed in was Jodie Foster.  Her character was seriously flat and had no substance.  I feel like this was the directors way of making her come across as cold and evil but it was pushed too far.  I can't imagine Jodie Foster's acting ability was the problem since Jodie Foster is a well established actress, but I guess everyone has a bomb every now and then unless it's Meryl Streep.

Overall if you like action and/or Sci Fi I think you will like this movie.  It's got a pretty compelling plot, some great special effects,  and some pretty cool cyborg like fights.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters (yeah don't judge)

So this week I've sort of been on a Greek Mythology kick so this weekend I went to go see Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters.  This is a long awaited sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians the Lightning Thief which you should watch first if you want to see the new one.  Basically The film, based on a popular book series is about a teenager who finds out that not only are the Greek Myths of old true but his father who he has never known is Poseidon God of the Seas.  Percy struggles with his new found powers and fame as a child of one of "The Big Three" Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.  His best friend is a Saytr (half man half goat)  and the potential love interest is the daughter of Athena.  If you have no idea who I'm talking about with these names you may not like these films or just need to watch the first film.

The first of these films was directed by Chris Columbus who also directed the first two Harry Potter films which I think is the reason he was selected to direct it.  There are a lot of things that these two series have in common.  Both series focus on a boy trying to find his place in the world while they are helped along by a know it all girl and a guy that's stomach is a human garbage disposal (Okay comparing Ron who is always eating foot to Grover who eats garbage since he's half goat is probably pushing it.)  In the end both Percy and Harry are children of prophecy that will determine the fate of the world they live in.  I'm not saying that the two series are equal.  Harry Potter has been a phenomenon that may never be matched as far as both the books and the films.  That being said, if you like the Harry Potter series and know a little bit about Greek Mythology then you will probably like Percy Jackson.

Review: We're the Millers

We're the Millers (2013)
Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber

This last week I went to see the movie We're The Millers.  We're the Millers is a comedy starring Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston.  We're The Millers is the story of a drug dealer who when put in a tight spot convinces a Stripper(Aniston), a runaway(Emma Roberts), and a nerdy neighbor(Will Poulter) to attempt to smuggle a huge amount of marijuana across the Mexican border.  In order to get past the Border Patrol without drawing too much attention to themselves they pose as a loving family.

This movie is very predicable as far as the story and plot points.  You will see exactly where it's going to go before the story gets there.  It follows the same formula as every other film about a 30's something slacker who is forced to interact with a family type group.  The slacker becomes a better man because of his family... BLAH BLAH BLAH.  That being said I was surprised at how many laughs I got out of this movie given it's predictability.  This movie has a lot of "WHAT THE HELL?!" moments that will have you rolling in your seats.  

If I had to Pick a Favorite Movie.....

One thing I get asked a lot when people find out I went to school for film is what is my favorite movie.  Trying to narrow down one specific movie as my favorite can give me a headache because I love so many movies.  I guess if I had to narrow down my favorite film to one all time movie I'd have to say it would be The Quiet Man.  I watch this film all the time and have a tradition of watching it every St. Patrick's Day.  The Quiet Man was directed by John Ford in 1952 and stars John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.  The premise of this film is that Sean Thornton(Wayne) is a natural born Irishman who left with his mother to the United States when he was a kid.  He's returning to Ireland as a man looking to settle into his home village of his family and live a quiet life.  While settling in he comes across the fiery Danahers.  He immediately makes an enemy of Will Danaher when he out bids Danaher for the Thornton family home which really makes things interesting when Thornton falls for Danaher's sister Mary Kate(Maureen O'Hara).  John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara are in my opinion the greatest onscreen pair in film history.  They were both larger and life and were really the only ones that could stand up and be the equal of the other.  John Wayne is one of the most iconic symbols of American Film in film history.  He is the quintessential symbol of masculinity in American Society.  He won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role of Rooster Cogburn.  Maureen O'Hara was known as the Queen of Technicolor because of her red hair.  She was known for playing strong willed heroines which made her the only actress to ever be able to fully stand equal with John Wayne on the big screen.  I close second would be Kathrine Hepburn who starred along side Wayne in Rooster Cogburn and the Lady.

Back to The Quiet Man, the village conspires to help Sean and Mary Kate get married but unfortunately Danaher figures out the ruse on the day of the wedding and refuses to pay his sister's dowry.  The refusal of the dowry and Thornton's refusal to fight his brother-in-law makes Mary Kate ashamed of her husband and won't accept the marriage until the dowry is paid.  Mary Kate's feelings about the dowry are an interesting jusxtaposition because it is established early on in the film that her character is a very strong woman but then her desire of following through on such an old fashion and chauvinistic tradition seems to clash with her strong will causing strain with her new husband.  In the end John Wayne has to decide if his love is worth fighting for despite a dark shadow from his past.........(nope no spoilers watch the movie).

When you watch the movie you can both feel and see that this was a movie John Ford had a lot of passion to make.  The cinematography is truly breath taking and Ford fully captures the beauty of Ireland.  The story is fully engaging and is filled with characters and pretty much every Irish stereotype that you will remember and love, plus the soundtrack will get stuck in your head at one point or another.  If you can watch an older movie without getting distracted by say a squirrel and you haven't seen this movie I can't say more to recommend it.  You won't be disappointed.

Where's the Westerns?

I've been wondering why don't Westerns get made like they used to?  What happened to make Post Apocalyptic movies so popular and the Western fall? Did the Western fall to the wayside because the ever popular and racist answer for who the villain would be from the 1940's and 1950's wouldn't be acceptable today?  Well Westerns had surpassed that with movies like True Grit, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and High Noon...so it can't be that.  There have been recent Westerns like the True Grit remake starring Jeff Bridges and last years Django Unchained that were very successful so the people will still watch them but they are not being made as rapidly as they used to.  Yet at the same time between zombies, war, and alien invasion the Post Apocalyptic film is becoming the fastest rising genre in media.  If you think about it both film genres have the same premise most of the time, the lone hero wanders through untamed territory where there is no law and has to resort to making his or her own law by the code he or she lives by.  Let's compare two movies, one from each genre.  For the Western movie lets use Pale Rider.  For the Post Apocalyptic movie lets use Book of Eli.  Both films are centered on a mysterious drifter that has ties with the Christian God that will resort to violence when pushed.  In both cases the lone drifter also finds an innocent soul portrayed by a young girl.  This symbol of innocence engages the drifters humanity and in the end justifies the violence needed for the eventual showdown.  In the end we aren't really sure who these drifters were or if they were guided through their trials by the Hand of God.

So why aren't the Westerns being made?  Maybe it's because our society is to overly saturated by media that for most people a Western moves too slow and can't grab the attention of the generic target audience that films need to engage to be successful.  Let's face it most people under the age of 40 can't even watch black and white movies because they get bored even though several of the best films ever made are in black and white.  I'm always shocked by how many people I know who have never seen the movie Casablanca, even people that call themselves film people which I think you can't tell people you're a film person or a film nut if you haven't seen movies like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, or Touch of Evil.  If it's the pace of films nowadays then how do the big dramatic films that are recognized every award season.  These films usually have a slower pace but seem to engage the audience, or is it because they don't really target the generic target audience.  The most measured target audience is males usually between the ages of 14-35.  Are these the audiences that are driving these dramatic films or is the lack of that target audience already factored in when they set out to make the movie?

There are so many stories that could make a great Western film.  There's a book by Louis L'amor called The Shadow Riders.  This is the story of two brothers who fought for opposite sides during the Civil War who are on their way home only to find renegade Confederate Soldiers raided their parents home and kidnapped their kid sisters to be sold into slavery and prostitution.  This story would make a great film.  It was already adapted for a TV movie starring Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott.  It's a little too lighthearted for the story.  There should be some animosity for one of the brothers against the other for fighting for the other side.  Plus they down play the fact that their kid sisters are set to be sold into prostitution.  Oh, and if anyone steals my idea, you suck.

Pacific Rim 2013
Directed by Guillermo del Toro

So, I thought the first movie I would talk about is the film Pacific Rim because it's the biggest spectacle I've seen this year.  Spectacle was the original purpose of movies when they were shown in the nickelodeons and vaudeville back in the early 1900's.  Movies were looked down upon by the wealthy and seen as the common man's crude form of entertainment.  Now it's become a truly recognizable art form that is seen as everything from moving and changing the way we talk to changing the way we look at the world. The world of film has evolved so much yet it can't quite shake it's original attraction, spectacle.  That is where Pacific Rim comes in, the whole film and why you would want to see it can be summed up in one phrase.....Giant Robots v.s. Giant Monsters.  If that sounds idiotic to you then this really isn't for you, but if you hear that and think it would look great on screen or would be a great spectacle on screen then it's for you.  It's a movie you don't have to follow too closely to enjoy which we all need sometimes when we have had a really long day.  That's why movies from the 1902's Journey to the Moon to 1996's Independence Day to 2007's Transformers to 2013's Pacific Rim continue to be made.  People sometimes need a distraction from the real world and sometimes that distraction is giant robots kicking the shit out of giant monsters.

Here are the movies I plan to see this year

1. Olympus Has Fallen
2. Jurrasic Park 3D
3. 42
4. Oblivion
5. Iron Man 3
6. The Great Gatsby
7. Star Trek Into Darkness
8. Hangover III
9. Now You See Me
10. After Earth
11. MAN OF STEEL
12. This is the End
13. World War Z
14. White House Down
15. Despicable Me 2
16. The Lone Ranger
17. Grown Ups 2
18. Pacific Rim
19. R.I.P.D.
20. RED 2
21. The Wolverine
22. 2 Guns
23. 300 Rise of an Empire
24. Planes
25. Elysium
26. Kickass 2
27. Percy Jackson
28. The World's End
29. I, Frankenstien
30. Machete Kills
31. Prisoners
32. Rush
33. The Tomb
34. Sin City, A Dame to Kill For
35. Captain Phillips
36. The Butler
37. Carrie
38. Malavita
39. Seventh Son
40. Ender's Game
41. Las Vegas
42. Thor, Dark World
43. Catching Fire
44. The Hobbit 2
45. The Monuments Men
46. Anchorman 2
47. 47 Ronin
48. Jack Ryan
49. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Today I realized that a lot of people I interact with everyday actually like to hear what I have to say about movies both new and old.  So, it got me thinking that maybe some other people might like to know what I know and think about movies.  Plus I think some of my friends are getting tired of all the trailers I post on facebook.