Prisoners - 2013


Prisoners is the new Hugh Jackman movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrance Howard, and Viola Davis about the abduction of two young girls on Thanksgiving and the effect it has on everyone involved in the case from the families, to the investigating detective, to the suspect.  The film was directed by Denis Villeneuve.  I'll only tell you as much as you can get from the trailer, but Kellar Dover (Jackman) has his daughter and his friends daughter kidnapped from their own neighborhood.  When a suspect is taken into custody that Dover feels took his daughter but has to be let free because of not enough evidence Dover takes matters into his own hands and kidnaps the suspected kidnapper.  He then takes things beyond the law in an attempt to find is daughter and her friend alive if possible.  As this is happening the detective assigned the case, Det. Loki (Gyllenhaal) is turning over everything in his path to try to at the very least find out what happened to those two girls.

Overall this is a great thriller.  The cast of this film is a who's who of heavy hitters in the drama department of Hollywood.  I would recommend this film to anyone what enjoys movies like The Bone Collector, dark thrillers that keep you guessing and you don't know who to suspect till the end of the film.  This is a dark film with perhaps the darkest of subjects being its about bad things happening to children.  So, if you are the kind of person that can get really down after watching a movie with a dark or sad subject this movie isn't for you.  For the rest of us, this is the best thriller I have seen in a long time.  I truly didn't see the ending coming which is rare for me because I can usually call it very early in a film.  At several parts throughout the film you suspect multiple characters, even characters you won't think it's possible to think it's them.  This film is up there with what I think is the best thriller of all time M, a film that also has to do about the loss of children.  It seems that the darkest characters make for the bet thrillers.  The title really sums up this film because the kidnapping turns every character in this film into a prisoner of some kind and it will cross your mind as you watch the film. 

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.