Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ brings life to a crazy genre  

Directed by: Burr Steers

Starring:  Lily James, Sam Riley, Douglas Booth, Charles Dance, Jack Huston, Matt Smith

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (2016) - Four years ago, Hollywood released “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”.  If you have not seen it, yes, the movie is as ridiculous as the title suggests.   Even with a bright cast and some fun action sequences, watching the 16^th President of the United States slaying the undead not only does not suspend one’s disbelief, this movie pulls back the curtain and gives it a front row seat.

Well, except I should mention one colleague actually (and seriously) asked me if “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” was based upon a true story, but I digress.

After the lingering effects of the previously mentioned film, I surely felt a bit skeptical about “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”.   Admittedly, I am lukewarm to both genres (Jane Austen and zombies) and combining them seems a bit like cinematic déjà vu from my previous experience in 2012, but I am happy to report that this movie does surprise and is an entertaining flick.   Set in the 1800s, England is ravaged by zombies, and as the narrator puts it, the French were probably behind it.  Writer/director Burr Steers is the man behind this film, as he cleverly plays up a Jane Austin-like world in which mothers spend every waking moment desperately trying to marry off their daughters, formal dances are important social gatherings of the highest order, invitations for tea are always welcomed, and yes, a looming, murderous threat of the undead is ever-present.

For the Bennet family, they maintain a happy and comfortable abode in safe quarters behind the Great Barrier - built in 1710 around London - and raised four girls who are now are women at marrying ages.   The Bennet women are great catches, as they are knowledgeable about worldly events and completely well-mannered and dressed, but they are also trained in martial arts for the sole purpose of killing zombies.  A couple of the film’s funniest and most surreal moments are when all the girls simultaneously draw their swords or point their rifles, like an 18^th Century cry for Girl Power!

Elizabeth (Lily James) is “2^nd most beautiful” Bennet (according to her mother), but she is the fiercest.   Curiously, when Col. Darcy (Sam Riley) first glances at Elizabeth, he remarks that she looks “tolerable”, but once he sees her fight, he falls in love instantly.  The problem for Darcy is a woman never forgets, and Elizabeth still hears the word “tolerable” from his lips and keeps her distance.   The movie frolics with their love/hate relationship throughout the runtime while also dealing with the zombie war.

The zombie infection somehow sneaks inside the Great Barrier, and Col. Darcy, Elizabeth, and many others chop, stomp, slash, and smash the undead with the efficiency of a pour of tea at 3 p.m. sharp.   The other threat, however, is a legion of zombies outside the Great Barrier who begin to mobilize, and the only standing bridge between humans and the undead (the Hingham Bridge) may soon be under siege.

From a cinematic perspective, the blend of 19^th Century British pleasantries and hand-to-hand zombie combat works beautifully and feels oddly natural.  Much credit goes to Seth Grahame-Smith’s original material and Steers’ screenplay.  All of the characters in this alternative universe refrain from playfully winking to the audience, and their collective conviction brings a welcomed and intended comedic effect to the concept’s silliness.  The end result is the writing and performances do suspend our disbelief which was a key element missing in “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”.   The movie’s humor is not only implied but directly written into the script as well with the Bennet girls’ cousin, Mr. Collins (Matt Smith), becoming the butt of many jokes.

While this movie-blend experiment organically succeeds, the film falls short from a functional perspective.   The narrative itself gets a little confusing between Col. Darcy and a potential antagonist named George Wickham (Jack Huston).   Darcy and Wickham each explained their backstory quarrel a couple times – and despite listening very closely – I could not quite understand why they disliked one another.  Unfortunately, their disagreement from many moons ago is a main thread of the story, but I also could not follow exactly where the characters physically existed during much of the film either.   As mentioned earlier, the Great Barrier keeps the zombies out, but sometimes our heroes were in No-Man’s Zombie-Land in a place called the In-Between, and other times they traveled back to safe harbors.  Despite the occasional on-screen presence of a map, I was a bit lost.

From a pure horror movie viewpoint, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” was not particularly scary either.   Although our living 19^th Century friends were routinely placed in danger, I never felt a fraction of the tension they experienced on-screen.  Maybe that’s not the point, because rather than becoming frightened, I spent the entire time transfixed on an effective film mash-up.  Sure, I hope that “Andrew Johnson: Vampire Hunter” does not see the light of day, but “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 2” could be fun.  (3/4 stars)

An interview with Nicholas Sparks by Jeff Mitchell

Interview – Novelist Nicholas Sparks, a producer of “The Choice” (2016)  

Novelist Nicholas Sparks made a choice to stop by Phoenix and talk about “The Choice” (2016), a new film based upon his 2007 novel with the same title.   Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer star in this love story, and Nicholas is also a producer of this cinematic project.   He sat down and spoke with the Phoenix Film Festival and three other critics/journalists during a group interview and discussed lots of topics, including the on-screen chemistry with the lead characters, elements of his personality and personal experiences within his novels and whether or not men routinely ask him for advice about women.  “The Choice” opens on Friday, Feb. 5^th.

PFF:   Now that you are a producer for some of your movies, what is like seeing your stories from a producer’s point of view? 

NS:  It is a lot of fun.  I love the fact that viewers are going to (experience) the story that I can conceived (in a new way).   I had my chance to tell the story the way I wanted it in the novel, but let’s see what someone else does with my story.  Who are we going to cast?  How do we frame this?  What elements do we keep, and what do we change to capture the whole spirit of the story and characters?  So, for me, it’s just a wonderful way to experience a story in a different medium.

PFF:  You have been doing this a long time, and I still find it refreshing - after all of these years - that you continue to offer love stories from a man’s perspective.   Do men often approach you and ask for advice about women?

NS:  No.  In fact, I do not know if that has ever happened before.  How about that?  I am not recognized by men.  I am not recognized by women sometimes but never by men.  I am seldom recognized at all.  In the history of my career, as far as I know, outside of my hometown, I have probably been recognized less than a dozen times.   There was a lady sitting next to me on the plane reading my book, and she didn’t recognize me.

PFF:  Travis (Walker) and Gabby (Palmer) had such great on-screen chemistry.   How did you go about bringing the characters to life?

NS:  First, we cast people who we thought were immensely talented, and then during the casting process, we looked for chemistry checks.  Do they seem to get along?  Do they seem to be friends?  Teresa is one of those personalities that draws everyone in, and so does Ben, in fact.  So, what they had was just magnetic, even in the reads.   When we put them on-screen, you (see) them on the big picture, and it just really comes across as being incredible. 

PFF:  Travis’ relationship with his sister Stephanie (Maggie Grace) was very entertaining.   Is there something in your personal life that you drew from for these siblings? 

NS:  I was very close to my siblings growing up, and I am still incredibly close to my brother.  We actually took a trip around the world, and I wrote a nonfiction book about (the experience) called “Three Weeks with My Brother” (2004).    I was close with my sister too, but she passed away with a brain tumor about 16 years ago.   So, the relationship between Travis and Stephanie was very much inspired with the relationship I had with my siblings.   I had parents that stressed the fact that your siblings will always be around.  Friends will come and go, but your family is there forever.  In many ways, they are the people that you can tell anything to, and they still keep coming back.

PFF:  We talked about the casting earlier, and I enjoyed the supporting actors as well, such as Tom Wilkinson and Tom Welling.  Now, did anyone make any jokes on set about Ben stealing Superman’s girlfriend?  (Welling played Superman in TV’s “Smallville” (2001 – 2011)) 

NS:  There were no particular jokes about that, but we (wanted) all of those (supporting) characters to have arcs.   The father (Wilkinson) had an arc.   The sister had an arc, and because they all had arcs, we asked (the actors) to do various things emotionally.  We wanted (the actors) to be very comfortable, really experimenting, pressing themselves, going out on a limb, and really allowing the characters to evoke emotions in the viewer in a real way.  We did that by having (the making of the movie) become a family setting.  When we were filming the backyard barbeque scene, it was almost as though (we looked at each other and said), “Are we actually filming?  It feels like we are having a (real) backyard barbeque.”  Dogs are running around.  There are kids over there.  The sun is beautiful.  It’s warm.  You are wearing shorts and cooking on the grill.  We couldn’t believe that we were working.

PFF:  Have you ever thought about writing a screenplay and producing a movie yourself? 

NS:  Sure I have, and I have chosen to do that in television.  I think that’s because television is more similar to novels, because there is more opportunity to tell a specific story.  For instance, I am currently writing a pilot for HBO, and they will give me 10 episodes to tell a full story.

PFF:  Trauma is involved in many of your novels.   Do you think trauma makes your stories better? 

NS:  I write in a very distinct genre, and it’s really called a love story as distinguished from a romance novel.  A romance novel is really about romantic fantasy, and it’s really supposed to allow the reader to escape into a world.  When you go through (the story’s) conflicts, you pretty much know that the couple is going to get together in the end.   That’s what romance novels are about.  That’s why (people) read them, and it’s certainly a wonderful genre.  This is a love story, and it’s a little bit different.  It is not necessarily romantic fantasy, although there are romantic elements.  The purpose is to move the reader or viewer through all of the emotions of life to make it feel real.  You might call it romantic realism versus romantic fantasy.   That realism requires that the reader or viewer feels all of the emotions of life, because otherwise, something is missing.  The simple fact of life is everyone goes through tragedy.  There’s not one of us that will escape scot-free.   We have characters that feel real.  They go through emotions that feel real.  They allow you as a reader or viewer to live someone else’s life, but to feel like it was a full life.  You got it all, even though it was just a snippet of a point in time.  

PFF:  Do you want write in a different genre?

NS:  No, I don’t.  I am very happy with the kind of novels that I write.  One of the wonderful things about (love stories) is I am able to pull elements from all sorts of other genres and build them into my novels.  For instance, “See Me” (2015) is my latest novel.  It’s a love story, but somewhere around the halfway point, it starts devolving into a very twisty, mystery thriller.  Part of the fun of that novel is the tension increases, and (the reader) is not even sure what’s going on.  The reader is as confused as the characters.   So, I can put elements of mystery into my novels.  I put elements of the supernatural in “Save Haven” (2010).  I’ve done epic, sweeping stories like “The Longest Ride” (2013).  So, all of these elements that are particular to various genres, I am able to put them into mine. 

PFF:  Have you or are you now writing with a specific actor in mind?  

NS:  The only time I did that was for “The Last Song” (2010) (with) Miley Cyrus (as the lead character), and that’s because I wrote with Disney on the project. 

PFF:  How much of yourself do you put into your characters?

NS:  Depending upon the story, some have elements from me.   Well, of course, I am the writer, so I guess everything is (from me) in one sense, and specific aspects of my personality (fall into the story).   If a character likes to run, well, that is because I like to jog.  Sometimes though, you write to what you inspire to be or something familiar to you.   With Travis, I was trying to capture my brother.  Travis was a character inspired by my brother who was this great bachelor.   He lived “the life” for 10 years before he got married and was really very good at living the bachelor life.  So, Travis was more of capturing my brother or the flavor of him, than it was about capturing me.  So you put bits and pieces of yourself here and there when it’s necessary, and you put bits and pieces of other people or your imagination into others. 

PFF:  Religion became part of the narrative of “The Choice”.  In the backstory, the film explains how Travis pulled away from his faith as a teenager.  Do you think after the movie ended, Travis would go back to his faith?  

NS:  I think it would be difficult for Travis not to go back to his faith, but of course, that’s just my opinion on the matter.   Religion was not an element within the novel.  This was an element that came about in the film.   Ben Walker might be a better person to ask to give his version of the character.

PFF:  When watching “The Choice”, I thought of another film for a very different reason.   In “45 Years” (2015), the husband – during his 45^th wedding anniversary said that all of the big decisions or choices are made when we are young.  He seemed to carry a very defeatist attitude towards life, but I’d like to think that we make life-changing choices every day.   What do you think?

NS:  Of course.  (Now), there is some validity (to that character’s statement).  When you are young is usually when you choose your career.  You might choose a partner or a spouse.  You decide whether or not to have children.  If you are a woman and all of a sudden, you are 50 and never had children, you cannot bear children (any longer).  You might be able to adopt, but you cannot bear them.  Some choices by the nature of time itself (are made) when you are young, however, there are always major choices one can make.  There is always the kind of life that you want to live and the new struggles or new sufferings that you are willing to experience to get that.   You want to climb Mt. Everest?  Sure, some have done that in their 70s.  Alright, do you want to do all of that suffering, all of that training?  Are you willing?  Do you really want to climb Everest?  That would be a choice, and it’s possible. 

The Finest Hours - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

‘The Finest Hours’ somehow loses track of its emotional core  

Directed by:  Craig Gillespie

Starring:  Chris Pine, Holliday Grainger, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Eric Bana

“The Finest Hours” – Chris Pine landed the role of a lifetime as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” (2009) reboot.    For millions of Trekkies, Pine is a 23^rd Century hero, but in “The Finest Hours”, he plays a real-life one from the 20^th Century, U.S. Coast Guard Officer Bernie Webber.  Bernie led one of the most dramatic rescues in U.S. Coast Guard history near Cape Cod, MA on Feb. 18, 1952, and the film recreates the events from that fateful, wintery day.

Contrasting the massively dangerous events in the nearby ocean, director Craig Gillespie also intertwines Bernie’s budding relationship with his new girlfriend/fiancé Miriam (Holliday Grainger) into the narrative. Bernie and Miriam’s first encounter is sweet, nice and feels appropriate for a much more innocent time.   For example, Bernie worries he picked out the wrong shirt for their date and seems infinitely nervous about meeting Miriam for the first time.  Pine and Grainger deliver the cautious courtship with humor, awkwardness and chemistry, and they make it extremely easy to like this young couple.

Their relationship cannot be all smiles though, because Bernie’s job is occasionally dangerous, and on Feb. 17, he embarks on a journey in treacherous waters to save the crew from the SS Pendleton.  The violent storm literally cuts the Pendleton in half, and the crew’s lives will surely be lost without any immediate, outside help.   Bernie and a three-man crew of his own offer their assistance, albeit in a 30-foot, single-engine boat.

Unfortunately, this is where the movie falls down, and not due to a lack of special effects or sense of danger.  Instead, it just fails to develop any of the involved characters.   The treacherous on-screen nor’easter certainly generates cinematic fear with massive waves which dwarf Bernie’s boat.  He actually revs the engine and climbs a - seemingly 100-yard high - wave like a football player chugging up a hill during spring practice and then braces for the dramatic fall on the other side.  He needs to repeatedly navigate this maneuver ad nauseam and in spectacular fashion, as we wonder how this crew survives the first clash with one wave, let alone a constant stream of them.

The journey into the beyond-brutal conditions with freezing cold, dark skies and whipping wind in the chaotic Atlantic is somehow inexplicably muted with Pine’s purposely subdued performance.   He gives a no-nonsense, just-move-forward persona which is free of much meaningful dialogue.  He and his crew (who we barely know) do not really have any deep conversations, and although I wished for their success, I did not emotionally connect with them.  Meanwhile on land, Miriam longs for Bernie’s return and riddles herself with worry, but she does not verbalize her feelings either.   With Bernie’s focus on the monumental task at hand and Miriam’s lack of key self-talk about her feelings, the initial connection between the two – developed in the movie’s first 20 minutes – becomes lost.  In many ways, the hope for their potential reunion feels a bit hollow and nearly nonexistent.  The personalities of the SS Pendleton crew seem nonexistent as well, with Casey Affleck delivering the only memorable performance of the 33 seamen.

I must add that Gillespie does a nice job of capturing the actual mechanics of the rescue, and the sea-filled sequences are pretty miraculous.   Leaving the theatre, I was left in awe of Bernie Webber’s bravery and grit, as he truly achieved greatness that I will never forget.  Regrettably, “The Finest Hours” accomplished something almost as amazing:  it somehow missed conveying human connections between groups of people with the deepest of bonds.   The film did not need to “boldly go where no man has gone before.”  It simply needed to emotionally go where these individuals have already been.  (2/4 stars)

Mojave - Movie Review by Monte Yazzie

Mojave  

Director: William Monahan

Starring: Garrett Hedlund, Oscar Isaac, Walton Goggins, Mark Wahlberg, and Dania Ramirez

A24 Films / 93 Minutes

Director William Monahan, well-known screenwriter for Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed”, takes us on a trip into the isolated and narcissistic world of a Hollywood star in his film “Mojave”. Set amidst the desolation of the Mojave Desert and the loneliness of Los Angeles, Mr. Monahan attempts to paint a noir-like portrait of Hollywood and the stars that slowly fade away into darkness.  Assisted by a recognizable cast the film somewhat gets this point across during brief, vague moments that offer a self-deprecating analysis of stardom. Unfortunately the narrative is consistently overbearing and wanders unnecessarily in many places, making “Mojave” feel increasingly like all the B-movie characteristics it tries to avoid.

Thomas (Garrett Hedlund) is a famous Hollywood artist who is unhappy with his life. Anger and desperation lead him into the Mojave Desert, recklessly placing himself in a dangerous situation. Thomas becomes stranded, though it seems like an occurrence he was hoping would happen. Unexpectedly a man named Jack (Oscar Isaac) approaches Thomas in the desert. The two men have a discussion that leads to an argument, leaving Thomas standing over the unconscious body of Jack. Thomas retreats to his mansion in Los Angeles but Jack isn’t far behind.

Jack’s arrival in the desert, a materialization of sorts, offers the first glimpse into the world Mr. Monahan is forming and what he is attempting to analyze through Thomas’ composition, it’s an interesting dynamic presented in the film that up to this point was simply a moody journey for a self-absorbed famous person. Thomas’ character presents the loneliness and separation from reality that his stardom has influenced but also the bleak nature of the world that encompasses his everyday life. In one scene Thomas returns to his mansion that is filled with representations of his vanity; it’s not luxurious or welcoming but instead feels more like a tomb. Mr. Monahan fills many of the quieter scenes, when the two embattled characters aren’t waxing philosophically in heavily indulgent dialog, with interesting details. Unfortunately these are never enough to change the meandering, many times confusing, tone.

Garrett Hedlund fits the role of Thomas quite well. Mr. Hedlund has a familiarity that makes him easy to watch but also composes the proper quirks and smirks that make him seem amused by his own ego. Oscar Isaac is a great actor; unfortunately here Mr. Isaac portrays an antagonist that doesn’t have the menace or intuition that the character should. Mark Wahlberg makes a brief appearance as the worst kind of Hollywood personality, yelling and cursing in silky clothing; Mr. Wahlberg is amusing even though the role seems more like a distraction to the story. Walton Googins, recently in “The Hateful Eight”, also makes an awkward appearance as some kind of representation for Thomas. Mr. Googins puts a strange, mysterious touch on the character.

What does it all mean, or represent, for Thomas? The answers are as unclear as the shadowy image that Thomas encounters in the desert. “Mojave” tries to be a suspenseful thriller, a stimulating noir, and a none-to-serious dark comedy; while these qualities are achieved in a few miniscule flashes of excellence the remaining parts are a confusion of rambling themes.

Monte’s Rating

2.50 out of 5.00

IP Man 3 - Movie Review by Monte Yazzie

Ip Man 3  

Director: Wilson Yip

Starring: Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung, Jin Zhang, and Mike Tyson

Well Go USA

105 Minutes

The concluding third installment of the popular “Ip Man” series hits theaters with the impressive Donnie Yen again playing the title character. If you aren’t sold on the presence and prowess of Mr. Yen may I suggest that you remedy this immediately by watching “Iron Monkey”, the 1993 martial-arts masterwork that featured fight choreography from famed stunt coordinator and director Yuen Woo-Ping. “Ip Man 3” again displays the wonderful, at times beautiful, fight compositions but also adds a touching love story amidst all the flying fists…oh, did I fail to mention that Mike Tyson is in this film too.

Master Ip (Donnie Yen) is in China circa 1959. Living a low-key life with his wife (Lynn Hung) and young son, Master Ip is respected amongst the community and rightfully recognized as one of the Masters of Wing Chun kung fu. The school that his son attends is targeted by a foreign gangster (Mike Tyson); Master Ip is forced into action to protect the community. However, this isn’t the only foe, a local martial arts rival (Jin Zhang) has plans to challenge Ip Man for the title of Wing Chun Master.

“Ip Man” is based on the real life Chinese master teacher, who famously taught the legendary Bruce Lee. This meeting between the master and the student is the introduction for the film. It’s a reunion, glimpsed briefly at the end of the second film, which fans of the franchise have been waiting for and it’s every bit as charming and entertaining as it should be. That’s one of the prevailing qualities of “Ip Man 3”, the charm that it fully understands and utilizes to heighten moments for the greatest possible impact. The audience knows that they are watching an action movie, it’s not a secret that Mike Tyson is in the film or that the Bruce Lee character would have a more substantial introduction, but the encounters with these characters are still thrilling to watch because they are composed in the same way a promoter would hype a title fight. Yes, even the meeting with Mike Tyson playing a ruthless gangster named Frank.

I have to admit that I was tentative about Mike Tyson being in the film. And in the first scene with Mr. Tyson my worries were confirmed with poor acting, lousy dialog, and a terrible mishmash of languages. But as the film moved forward and Mr. Tyson stopped talking, filmmaker Wilson Yip composed moments that placed the former heavy weight boxer in an intimidating light by putting him into full-on boxing mode, shadow boxing and speed bag training to assist. When Master Ip confronts him, the setting has been threateningly established.

This fight scene isn’t even the best one in the film. Yuen Woo-Ping composes some impressive moments throughout, however it’s not only the fight scenes that are a highlight here. The story of Master Ip and his wife is touching, bringing a surprising emotional aspect that was missing from the previous films. Mr. Yen’s calm and purposeful character composition assists greatly during these quiet, tender moments.

This isn’t the last film to portray the legendary Master Ip but it’s supposedly the final one for Donnie Yen, and it’s in this performance that Mr. Yen is firmly established as a martial arts superstar but also a wholly capable dramatic actor. “Ip Man 3” is a fitting conclusion to this franchise, going out with a fury of punches both physical and emotional.

Monte’s Rating

3.50 out of 5.00

45 Years - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

’45 Years’ captures a lifetime of drama in one particular week  

Directed by:  Andrew Haigh

Starring:  Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay

“45 Years” – In six days, Kate and Geoff Mercer (Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay) will celebrate their 45^th wedding anniversary in a sizeable ballroom with a couple hundred friends.   Planning for such an event can create stress or anxiety for any couple, but for The Mercers, this particular week will clearly stand out from the previous 2,339 weeks of their marriage for a very different – and much more serious – reason.

As the picture begins, however, life does not appear too serious or worrisome for two retirees living a comfortable existence in a beautiful country home among green pastures near the east coast of England.   With busy careers in their rearview mirrors, Kate spends a pleasant and tranquil Monday morning walking her German Shepherd named Max, while Geoff sits at the kitchen table and opens up the mail.  Very quickly, however, Geoff – in a state of shock - reads very surprising contents of one particular letter, and it involves an event in his past before their marriage.   In director Andrew Haigh’s picture, he conducts a riveting narrative by reintroducing this happening in Geoff’s life from over four decades ago.  This presents new questions for the couple which reveal themselves over a slow burn from Monday to Saturday, the day of their anniversary.

Rampling and Courtenay offer masterful performances in this quietly explosive drama by conveying (and swallowing) deep-seeded emotions over important and philosophical conversations throughout the week.   The Mercers are a congenial couple with almost a half century of history, and they intimately know each other’s mannerisms, habits and preferences as well as their own, however, during this fateful week, the foundation of their marriage does not crack, but – in an even worse scenario - gradually becomes foreign to Kate.   Haigh effectively sets the tone when guiding us through this figurative emotional “death march” by introducing each day with a black screen and tiny white font which spells out “Monday”, “Tuesday”, “Wednesday”, etc., and then the day’s events begin under cloudy, British daylight with a lurking, dark undercurrent.

The Mercers relationship is the film’s main focal point, but Haigh mostly concentrates on Kate during each day.   Geoff’s behavior - due to the letter’s contents - changes subtly throughout the week, but the audience spends a majority of the days with Kate.   We sit, walk or drive with her as her co-pilot while she processes her thoughts.  Whether Kate takes a boat ride and stares at the lonely, empty countryside or plays the murkiest song on her piano this side of “The Phantom of the Opera”, Rampling perfectly conveys her character’s emotions with a purposely minimalist effort.  Her work rightfully garnered a Best Actress Oscar nomination, and she equally delivers her best moments when Kate reflects in solitude and also when she confronts Geoff.

When dealing with complex emotions inside the self-contained four walls of a marriage, the lead actors need to command the audience’s attention.  Rampling and Courtenay successfully do this through slight nuances in mood or cadence during ordinary and personal exchanges inside of – and sometimes outside - the home.   They open up this couple’s personal life through a sharply written screenplay which carefully considers every single word and every single moment during the 95-minute runtime.   When the essence of this 45-year marriage unexpectedly teeters on the brink of potential bankruptcy, we, the audience, take attentive notice, but is the damage temporary or permanent?   “45 Years” does answer this question and gives us reasons to celebrate or not celebrate Kate and Geoff’s Saturday night in the one of the most memorable films of the year.  (3.5/4 stars)

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi - Movie Review by Monte Yazzie

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi  

Director: Michael Bay

Starring: John Krasinski, James Badge Dale, Pablo Schreiber, David Denman, Dominic Fumusa, Max Martini, David Costabile, Alexia Barlier, and Toby Stephens

On September 11^th, 2012 a group of heavily armed militants from Libya attacked a United State’s diplomatic compound in Benghazi. The group quickly overwhelmed the compound and set fire to the buildings and later launched mortar rounds at a secret C.I.A. compound that was within a few miles of the first attack. U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three Americans were killed in the attacks. This tragic event is the inspiration for director Michael Bay’s new film “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”, based from the novel by Mitchell Zuckoff, which includes accounts from the security contractors that were working with the C.I.A. during the attacks, “13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi”. Michael Bay, a director known for his boisterous, excessive, and overindulgent style, tackles this heroic, chaotic story with less identifying flair than he typically expels, though that’s not saying very much considering the directors excessive tendencies. This demonstration displays many of Mr. Bay’s strengths but also his glaring weaknesses, this both helps and hinders  “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”.

Former Navy Seal Jack Silva (John Krasinski) arrives in the heat of Benghazi and is greeted by an old acquaintance Tyrone “Rone” Woods (James Badge Dale). Jack is the new member to a security team of former elite military operatives tasked with protecting C.I.A. agents hoping to assist in the restructuring of Libya. Benghazi is dangerous, filled with weapon carrying citizens and roaming militant squads. Jack and his team protect a compound called the Annex and escort C.I.A. operatives to meetings with different influential figures. Things take a turn for the worse when a nearby U.S. diplomatic compound is attacked, forcing the team to take action in order to save lives and stay alive.

Michael Bay understands how to construct an action film; big explosions over big special effects combined with dynamic photography and breakneck editing; it can be difficult to completely register what is going on at times but it’s also strangely hypnotic, mind-numbingly so. Regardless of how one may feel about these extremes, the director is one of the best at utilizing them. Mr. Bay has scaled back these elements within “13 Hours” but his distinctive signatures still permeate in many moments, unfortunately in one dramatic instant it’s used in the absolute worst way. Once the build-up ends and the action takes over completely, Mr. Bay keeps the tension high and the action quick and frenzied by utilizing a mix of first-person perspective photography, wide angle establishing shots, constant flashes of gun fire, and violence that is rapid and in a few moments graphically rendered.

With Mr. Bay operating with a little more restraint, it offers an opportunity for more character developments to shine through. The introduction allows ample time to get to know these brave men operating in a system that doesn’t quite except or appreciate them, for instance the director of the C.I.A. compound consistently talks down and berates these men’s lifestyle and purpose. Unfortunately most of the structure avoids the deeper angles, like the enemies these men fight both in the smoky fields and abandoned buildings that surround the compound and those operating on the American side miles away, safe and sound, watching the conflict in front of a computer. The film opts for the simplified version of dedicated men doing a dangerous job, the only offering of insight comes when these soldiers are given little moments to communicate with family via video or during down time between gun fights to talk about life away from the battle, but these moments come as secondary filler flashes instead of being purposefully designed. This underutilization of character building lessens the emotional aspects that could have allowed a greater connection to these characters.

John Krasinski is exceptional here, crafting a character that is professionally focused but also wholly aware and affected by the risk he is taking. James Badge Dale, playing the team leader, and Pablo Schreiber, playing the smart aleck of sorts, are also very good in their roles throughout.

“13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” doesn’t tell the most cohesive story and the characters lack the nuance that would provide them greater emotional connection.   However, underneath the excesses of Michael Bay’s filmmaking style, restrained yet still obviously noticeable here, is a film about heroes and the dedication, responsibility, and self-sacrifice that define their commitment to America. Mr. Bay never sways from this fundamental purpose, even if his indulgent filmmaking signature still shares, sometimes overshadows, the spotlight.

Monte’s Rating

3.00 out of 5.00

Ride Along 2 - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

“Ride Along 2” - “Ride Along 2” sets cruise control and puts us to sleep  

Directed by:  Tim Story

Starring:  Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Benjamin Bratt, Olivia Munn, Ken Jeong, Tika Sumpter

“Ride Along 2” - Have you ever driven when your mind is on autopilot?   Not purposely, but I sometimes fall into that trap when driving to a very familiar destination like work, a great restaurant or yes, my favorite movie theater.   I will arrive and not particularly recall some of the lights or series of turns on my habitual journey, because I have seen/taken them 1,000,006 times.   Driving without thinking.   I certainly do not recommend it, but most unfortunately, the new comedy “Ride Along 2” is driving without thinking as well.  Now the film does not elicit painful emotions.  Instead, it simply presents a dull and lifeless script and delivers it via cruise control.

The film continues the story of two frenemies within the Atlanta Police Department, Detective James Payton (Ice Cube) and Officer Ben Barber (Kevin Hart).   While James is a veteran on the force, Ben recently earned his stripes and eagerly embraces his new job with the unbridled enthusiasm of a teenager’s first day with a driver’s license.    With Ben about to marry James’ sister (Tika Sumpter) coupled with his adolescent excitement, the experienced detective’s patience is currently running thinner than Taylor Swift on a hunger strike.   This leads to James calling Ben several lightly amusing names like “Man-Smurf”, “Little Clown” and “Marshmallow” during their police adventure from Atlanta to Miami.

With a 1 hour and 41 minute runtime, director Tim Story could devote plenty of scenes to develop these characters and offer lots of humor over their natural conflict and personality differences, but alternatively the audience is simply subjected to repeated, one-note backhanded comments over a truly boring crime story.    In a plot which carries the originality of an episode of “The A-Team” in its final season, a prominent Miami philanthropist named Pope (Benjamin Bratt) doubles as a criminal mastermind who has his hands in apparently everything bad, including money laundering, gun trafficking and drug dealing.

With the help of a techie (Ken Jeong) and a Miami detective (Olivia Munn), James and Ben hope to expose Pope’s true intentions and place him behind bars.    The movie then sleepwalks through countless and tedious details about Pope’s hidden shipments and manifest records, as the previously mentioned four attempt to crack the code to crimes which no one in the audience truly cares about.    The two leads’ comedic timing is the real reason to watch this movie, but the paint-by-numbers cops/bad guys story dominates the narrative.

“The Heat” (2013) starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy fell into the same recycled cop-story trap, but it did a much better job of including some highly memorable sequences with its two stars.  For example, Bullock and McCarthy’s characters get wildly drunk at a dive bar and slow dance with a pair of senior citizens, and they also accidentally drop a suspect from the third floor of a fire escape.  These are just a pair of many scenes which generated lots of belly laughs, but unfortunately, the writing in “Ride Along 2” is devoid of any such moments.

Jeong is occasionally funny, but Munn is completely miscast.   The movie does not really give her anything to do except look pretty and act tough by delivering pressure-point holds on her fellow officer, Ben.   Even Maya’s (Munn) dance sequence with Pope is disappointing, because Story’s camera never pulls back to show the two actually move on the dance floor.  Instead, we see alternating close-ups of Munn and Bratt’s feet and their head and shoulders.   Perhaps they boogied extremely well, but we will never know.    Well, maybe the editors were on autopilot.  I strongly suspect they were not alone.  (1/4 stars)

Anomalisa - Movie Review by Monte Yazzie

Anomalisa  

Director: Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson

Starring: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tom Noonan

There are interesting minds and voices in the world of cinema, and then there is Charlie Kaufman. The writer of “Being John Malkovich”, “Adaptation”, and “The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and also the director of one of the most brilliant films of the last ten years “Synecdoche, New York”, Mr. Kaufman’s work has been equally unique and strange but also intricate and confounding. It’s a characteristic many filmmakers try to emulate but few successfully achieve. “Anomalisa” is a film about imperfect individuals dealing with complicated issues that are never easy or simply stated, it’s a film that displays the pain of loneliness, the despair found in relationships, and the journey of finding ones’ self. Did I fail to mention that this entire story is told through stop-motion puppet animation?

Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis) is traveling by plane to give a speech at a convention. He leads an unexciting existence and is crippled with a difficulty of interacting deeply with other people. Everything in Michael’s world is a reminder of how alone he actually is, a painful repetition of people and places. By chance Michael meets a woman named Lisa (voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh). He is shocked and intrigued because Lisa isn’t like everyone else in his life, Michael begins to feel something different, something new, something exciting.

Mr. Kaufman doesn’t shy away from the complexities of the relationship between Michael and Lisa, instead of looking for an easy resolution he delves into the difficult matters. What begins as a lustful affair for the couple, displayed through an honest though detailed sexual demonstration, turns into a mess of emotional anxieties and uncomfortable discernments for two people who both want something that is difficult for them to accept. It’s stingingly genuine and truthful; the imperfections that exist within people are demonstrated in various ways, some softly spoken while others exuberantly expressed. It’s a sad and melancholy world, an example of how painfully ordinary everyday life can be when seen through the eyes of frustrated and disheartened people.

The environments created reflect the ordinariness of the world seen by Michael, faces become strangely blank, almost emotionless, because many of the supporting characters are refabricated from other puppets seen throughout the film, just newly styled to fit new environments. Add the brilliant design of making every character besides Michael and Lisa have the same voice, that of the impressive Tom Noonan utilizing slightly different vocal styles, and the world here becomes a reality that is undistinguishable for Michael.

David Thewlis does a fine job of giving Michael a balance of hostility and hopelessness. Jennifer Jason Leigh adds the necessary life to Lisa that makes her a determined beam of complicated sunshine even though her imperfections are just as noticeable as everyone else here. It’s a wonderfully rendered balancing act from two accomplished actors but also a display of Mr. Kaufman’s patient attention and meticulous composition of these characters.

“Anomalisa” is a challenging, yet strangely heartfelt, experience. A story of human connection told in a completely unique way, an unparalleled vision from a masterful storyteller.

Monte’s Rating

4.50 out of 5.00

The Revenant - Movie Review by Monte Yazzie

The Revenant  

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Dohmnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, and Forrest Goodluck

One of the great things about New Year’s Eve celebrations is letting the atmosphere take hold of you. I find enjoyment in the few minutes before the clock strikes midnight. The world is quiet, silent, and dark, and then, in an instant, everything comes alive with sound, light, and energy. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film “The Revenant” has this same quality, a work of staggering patience that lingers within dark and bleak atmospheres only to burst to life with scenes of beautiful landscapes and spectacles of brutal violence, all this accompanied by a performance by Leonardo DiCaprio that is beyond committed. “The Revenant” is a painstaking journey, from a talented director, to portray nature and humanity in its most raw and pure form.

Trappers from a fur company are exploring the American wilderness, guided by a cautious yet steadfast man named Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio). The group is attacked by Native American’s and forced to find a new route through the cold and snowy mountains. While scouting the area a bear viciously mauls Glass, leaving him clinging for life. Members of his group (Tom Hardy and Will Poulter), including his son (Forrest Goodluck), stay behind to care for Glass and make sure he is given a proper burial. Betrayal, fear, and murder lead to Glass being left in a shallow grave, forced to crawl inch by inch to seek revenge.

“The Revenant” is based on true events, first described in Michael Punke’s novel “The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge”. It’s a very simplistic narrative design; man is betrayed, man seeks revenge. But in the hands of Mr. Iñárritu this tale of retribution takes on a different kind of life through the director’s unique filmmaking technique and unequaled style. Whether the one-takes, impressively done in an early fight scene that transitions from land, to horseback, then to boat, or the extended scenes that present nature in menacing and serene ways, it all builds in creating an atmosphere that is filled with tension but also, in a way, accomplishes a dream-like or hallucinatory effect.

Leonardo DiCaprio gives an extraordinary lead performance, one of the best of his career. A majority of Mr. DiCaprio’s portrayal in the film is physical and demanding; its been noted that the actor was incredibly diligent with staying in character even when the camera wasn’t rolling but also going to extremes within certain scenes so that Mr. Iñárritu could maintain authenticity with the character. Tom Hardy is also in the film, overdoing a strong accent, but providing a spineless foe that cares more about saving his own hide.

Mr. Iñárritu isn’t one for subtlety, the themes here are big and bursting, sometimes pretentious, as are the locations that sweep through and over and across green and white landscapes that veil the brutal behavior occurring within it. However, even when the elements begin to overtake and muddle one another, especially when the film takes on a spiritual approach to connect Hugh Glass beyond reality, the director provides substance by utilizing his striking style to accommodate the simplicities of the story but also presenting what’s going on in the background during this time in history, the manipulation and genocide of the Native Americans and also the greed of corporations and desperation of the working man in early America.

“The Revenant” is a cinematic adventure from a director who utilizes elaborate methods to make a revenge film into something far more intricate and provocative than it might have been in different hands.

Monte’s Rating

4.25 out of 5.00

The Forest - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

'The Forest' gets lost in the shuffle of better horror films  

Directed by:  Jason Zada

Starring:  Natalie Dormer, Eoin Macken, Taylor Kinney

“The Forest” – Forests make terrific settings for horror films.

First of all, no artificial light exists in the wilderness, and insects, animals and the wind provide plenty of creepy noises that go “bump” in the night.  Plus, when trouble does arrive, many times the film’s protagonists have very few modern-day resources available to help.  Speaking of help, lightly-staffed police stations always seem to sit about 30 minutes away, and transportation options - to get away from a menacing antagonist - usually are limited. Also, sparsely-populated areas inherently eliminate the entire safety in numbers concept.

In “The Forest”, the filmmakers smartly chose the Aokigahara Forest, near the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan as a creepy setting for this horror movie.  This mammoth woodland area certainly feels isolated from civilization and safe harbor, and the story involves Sara (Natalie Dormer) as a twin who ordinarily swims in the safe harbors of life.  She lives a comfortable lifestyle with her husband, but her identical twin sister, Jess (Dormer), leads a troubled existence.  Sara routinely needs to bail Jess out of various jams, but her twinlike supernatural sensors are now rising into overdrive:  Sara discovers her sis is missing in Japan and naturally jumps on the next plane to Tokyo to fetch her.

With director Jason Zada’s movie set in Tokyo, he does place the audience out of its immediate comfort zone.  We get a “Lost in Translation”-like feel in the beginning of the picture.  Sara is stranger in a strange land and impressed with the massive size of the city coupled with its eccentric red lights which blink on the top of every skyscraper.  She travels, however, from the concrete jungle of Tokyo to the place where Jess allegedly wandered, the aforementioned Aokigahara Forest. Unfortunately, the locals explain that no one goes off the paths of this forest unless they wish to commit suicide, and now, Sara’s trip becomes a rescue mission.

Zada then sends Sara into the secluded forest, but not before nearby residents repeatedly warn her why the forest is dangerous and how the forest will play on her fears.

From the audience’s perspective, knowing why is not an issue, but, unfortunately, knowing how is.

Most regrettably, the movie completely gives away how the forest will scare Sara, and quite frankly, this key piece of information – which truly should have been withheld - takes away nearly all of the dramatic tension during her journey.  I should have felt like Sara’s immersed companion.  Instead, as an emotionally-distant observer – I watched the scares fall flat, while Sara marched through the supernatural terrain on foreign soil.

Now, in many other respects, the movie captures the right elements for a great horror film.  The thickly-wooded landscape offers an endless maze of wrong turns and dead-ends, and the opportunities for strange noises and wandering, angry apparitions eagerly present themselves on the big screen.  Dormer also holds her own when playing both twin sisters in a dual role, and shooting in a Japanese environment brings an edgy vibe.

Sadly, none of it matters, because other than a few jump scares, the movie – as previously explained – blows its chance to be scary.  On the bright side, at least “The Forest” will not give me nightmares during my next camping trip, and that is quite an accomplishment, because forests make terrific settings for horror films.  (2/4 stars)

Michael Clawson's Favorites of 2015

By Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume  

So many great films this year. It seems unfair to single 10 out, but here they are.

10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens — Not only did J.J. Abrams right the ship that is Star Wars, he found himself on par with the original trilogy thanks to careful writing, exceptional special effects and new, interesting layers to the Star Wars mythology. I never knew I needed a Finn, Rey, Poe Dameron or Kylo Ren in place of Han, Luke and Leia — who return anyway — but here they after one movie and I can’t imagine the franchise without them anymore. Yes, there was a lot of hype on this one, but meeting the hype and even surpassing it at this level is really a rare feat.

9. Slow West — John Maclean’s wacky western Slow West has imagery that is borderline surreal, but it’s deadly serious with bounty hunters, conniving killers and eccentric pioneers. About a Scottish teen (Kody Smit-McPhee) sent scurrying into the American wilderness to chase after his love, Slow West drops the stranger-in-a-strange-land into a variety of western scenes, from flooded riverbanks to burning Native American villages to deadly shootouts on the prairies. Michael Fassbender as bounty hunter is a nice touch, as is Ben Mendelsohn as his counterpart. Mostly, though, the film is a wonderful visual feast, one filled with imagery we’ve yet seen in a 115-year-old genre.

8. The Revenant — This movie should come with a blanket, one skinned from the carcass of a great beast of the American frontier. It takes place in blizzard conditions, in icy forest landscapes, barren tundras of snow and in frigid rivers. Theaters are missing out on a unique theater experience by kicking on their air conditioning and watching the teeth rattle. In the early 1800s, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his Native American son are leading a group of trappers through hostile country. After a murder, a double-cross, a bear attack and a shallow grave, Hugh Glass claws from the soil with only an ounce of life still in him. As he crawls, hobbles and swims to safety he has his sights set on John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), a trapper with a colorful dialect who left Hugh for dead. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s survival film is a long slog out of hell for Glass, and his journey contains an incredible cross section of early American life with warring Native American tribes, French and American trappers, settlers, explorers and adventurers. It was a violent time, and nowhere is it better captured than in the violent and epic The Revenant.

7. Carol — Todd Haynes’ Carol is beautiful love story, made ugly by the era that it takes place in. In 1952, Carol (Cate Blanchett) is quite obviously a lesbian, a fact that humiliates her husband. While buying a toy for her child at a department store, Carol is smitten by Therese (said like ‘terr-rez,’ and played by Rooney Mara), who is enchanted by Carol’s deliberate demeanor and sure footing. What follows is a series of lunches, dates and a road trip that will expose Therese to Carol’s adoration. It’s a lovely courtship, one that is interrupted by the bigotry of the time period. As Carol disappears to court-ordered therapy to cure her “unsuitable attractions,” the film focuses on Therese, a budding photographer who is so unfamiliar with her attraction to Carol that she questions everything she once knew. This is a lovely movie with two radiant stars.

6. Room — Featuring two of the most inspiring performances of the year, Room is ripped from the headlines in the most compassionate way possible. It begins with a teenage girl (Brie Larson) who is kidnapped and held in seclusion in her rapist’s backyard shed that has been converted into her soundproof prison. Room picks up six years into her ordeal, and she now has 5-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay), whose entire world is the four walls, floor and ceiling of the cell, which he refers to as “room” the way we refer to the planet as Earth. Although the product of a rape, and confined to one room for his whole life, Jack has been taught about the wonder of the world by his mother, whose innocence was stolen so long ago. What could be a grim drama, and it certainly has those moments, Room is largely about the good that a mother can inspire in her child and the love that brings them together to conquer their prison.

5. Spotlight — In 2001, the Boston Globe’s investigative team turned its unblinking eye, or spotlight, on the Roman Catholic Church and its handling of child abuse by priests. Viewers expecting to see a bang-bang investigation with news van chases, mysterious tipsters in parking garages and “stop the presses” revelations were likely caught very off guard to find the exact kind of methodical, slow-moving investigative reporting that actually transpired at the Globe. The film coils together from a variety of different threads, all of which are researched, fact checked, confirmed and analyzed, because that’s how journalism actually happens. It’s this adherence to authenticity that makes Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight so mesmerizing. How do you make a gripping drama out of court records, grand jury testimony and old archdiocese yearbooks? Spotlight has found a way. The movies stars — including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams — hold it all together with thorough and convincing portrayals that move this delicate subject matter forward.

4. The Martian — Ridley Scott’s fantastic space flick The Martian is a story about small victories and small defeats, and how they add up to tell a story about science. We tend to forget that science got us up there in the cosmos, and science will bring us down, so to see science and engineering given such a starring role is a powerful reminder of what, and who, NASA is. When Matt Damon’s botanist is marooned on Mars, he does what any astronaut would do: “I’m going to have to science the shit out of this.” What follows is a thrill-ride involving radiation, poopy soil, ASCII translation, solar panels and hydrogen-burning water factories. Scott is no stranger to space having made Alien and Prometheus, but The Martian is a wholly unique endeavor for Scott and his gifted eye. It’s hopeful and upbeat, and even though millions of miles separate the Martian from earth victory is always within his grasp.

3. Mad Max: Fury Road — Fury Road didn’t just reboot the Mad Max franchise — it rebooted the action movie. Without a cape, Marvel logo or hovercopter in sight George Miller single-handedly brought an entirely new level to the spectacle that has become action extravaganzas. With practical effects, bonkers interpretations of the post-apocalypse, a badass female hero, wild character and car creations, and a bona fide car religion to boot (“I am awaited in Valhalla!”), Mad Max: Fury Road took bigger movies with younger directors and showed them the door. If there was a ever a movie that deserved the adjective “high octane,” then here it is.

2. Ex Machina — Alex Garland’s smoldering burn of science fiction could easily be the spiritual sequel to Spike Jonze’s Her, in which an arty schlub falls in love with his AI personal assistant, manifested as a lovely voice that whispers to him from his electronic devices. Here, though, technology has advanced to include skin, movement and a perk only a male designer would consider, sexual organs. Oscar Isaac is a billionaire inventor who invites one of his employees, played by Domhnall Gleeson, to his isolated compound, where they bro out with weights, tech and beer. Isaac plays a man wound so tight that every scene with him feels threatening and on the verge of a violent outburst. The employee musters along as best he can as he’s introduced to Ava (Alicia Vikander), an AI creation that is the most human part of the film. Between the three explosive lead performances, and the effectively claustrophobic sets, Ex Machina churns out one of the most subdued robot movies ever made, one that that ends on a perfect note that is equally haunting and existentially enlightening.

1. The Big Short — It’s remarkable that Americans lost their jobs, lost their homes, were uprooted from their lives and scattered to the wind and many still don’t know what caused the recession, and why. The Big Short is the blueprint for the whole damn thing: the housing bubble, the sub-prime mortgage calamity, the collapse of Wall Street, the imploding bond market … all of it, every ugly derivative and security swap from day traders right on up to CEOs. The fact that Adam McKay’s movie, based on Michael Lewis’s book, is both informative and devilishly funny is the film’s saving grace. It’s also supremely well acted, it routinely breaks the fourth wall to address us directly, is edited with style and purpose, and paced so viewers can laugh and learn at the same time. There’s a lot going on here, but The Big Short succeeds in holding it all together with a vengeance.

Jeff Mitchell's Top Movies of 2015

  Jeff Mitchell’s Top 20 Films of 2015

20. “Phoenix” - Nina Hoss delivers an unforgettable performance as a wounded concentration camp survivor who undergoes significant facial plastic surgery, but her appearance creates more than considerable complications when she travels back to Berlin after the war to find her husband. This movie took me by surprise

.

19. “Youth” - Director Paolo Sorrentino offers a story of two longtime friends - played by Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel - who ponder big and small questions under a backdrop of an extravagant hotel in the Swiss Alps.  Sorrentino intermingles stunning visuals and pleasing sounds with intimate conversations, and Caine and Keitel are at the top of the game.

18. “Love & Mercy” - Paul Dano and John Cusack play Brian Wilson in his 20s and 40s, respectively, as the film showcases The Beach Boys’ leader as a brilliant, young musician and a damaged individual under the abusive “care” of a manipulative doctor.  An insightful and well-acted film for Beach Boys fans and non-fans, alike.

17. “Bone Tomahawk” - Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins leave the town of Bright Hope on a perilous journey to rescue some of its citizens from a group of cannibals.   Although this very well-written and acted film does take an exceptionally gruesome turn in the final act, this is a highly engaging and memorable western.

16. “Straight Outta Compton” - Director F. Gary Gray recounts the history of N.W.A, a seminal rap band of the 1980s, in a complimentary and comprehensive biopic of the group’s rise to national prominence, inner financial turmoil and racism the band members faced while growing up and during their stardom.

15. “Shaun the Sheep Movie” - In the most enjoyable animated film of the year, a sheep named Shaun engineers a day off for the flock but inadvertently creates a big problem for the farmer.  The painstaking top-motion animation (from Aardman Animations, the “Wallace and Gromit” folks) is only topped by the totally creative narrative and endearing characters.

14. “Timbuktu” - Director Abderrahmane Sissako presents an unsettling picture of extreme Islamic rule when a small - but forceful - group of ideologues have control of the city.   The main story focuses on a rancher’s tale of woe, but we also see the consequences of others who fail to fall in line.  From the outside, Timbuktu looks like a peaceful town, but looks can be deceiving.

13. “’71” - Director Yann Demange recreates the ground-level street war in the battered and beaten down brick of Belfast between the loyalists (to the UK) and the nationalists, when a young British private, Gary Hook (Jack O’Connell), finds himself behind enemy lines.  Double-crosses and danger seemingly appear on every block in this visceral and effective war movie.

12. “Mississippi Grind” - Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) and Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) are a pair of degenerate gamblers who embark on a sooty trip down America’s most famous river to make some bucks.  They form an immediate friendship and share great on-screen rapport, while directors/writers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck make us literally flip a coin to guess if they will win or lose at every turn.  Mendelsohn’s performance deserves an Oscar nomination.

11. “Carol” - Carol (Cate Blanchett) and Therese (Rooney Mara) begin a lesbian relationship in the early 1950s, and the two leads deliver electric performances by expressing their characters’ true feelings while also stifling them - and proceeding with caution - due to the more conservative time period.  Meanwhile, director Todd Haynes meticulously captures a 1950s atmosphere as the entire film feels like we stepped into a dreamlike, time warp haze.

10. “Ex Machina” - A 26-year-old programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) - working for a wildly successful tech corporation - wins “a golden ticket” to visit its founder’s (Oscar Issac) home and then meets an artificial life form, Ava (Alicia Vikander), who looks like a beautiful 20-something woman.  Supported by intense performances, writer/director Alex Garland provides an excellent setup for this man and machine encounter with oodles of eerie sci-fi weirdness and thought-provoking questions about humanity.

9. “Brooklyn” - Saoirse Ronan shines in a beautifully-filmed movie about a young Irish woman starting a new life in the bustling streets of New York City while struggling with the emotional pulls of home in County Wexford.  Along with Eilis’ (Ronan) homesickness, writer Nick Hornby pens several amusing and warm moments with her boarding housemates and a new love interest, and with the film’s throwback vibe to pictures of yesterdecade, “Brooklyn” is the most graceful and lovely cinematic experience of the year.

8. “Mustang” - Five sisters - raised by their grandmother - harmlessly play in the Black Sea with some boys, but their uncle responds with massively excessive repercussions in a movie which intimately captures the struggle between child and adult and freedom of expression and oppression more than any other film that I can remember.   The girls respond to their repressive new environment in varying ways, while writer/director Deniz Gamze Erguven organically communicates the involved bonds of sisterhood and heartbreaking moments within emotionally and physically enclosed spaces.

7. “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” - In one of the most effective high school stories in long memory, a self-doubting teen (Thomas Mann) befriends a fellow student stricken with leukemia (Olivia Cooke), and the particularly well-written script provides an equally hilarious and affecting journey about teenagers coping with untimely circumstances.  Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon guides the material with a Wes Anderson-like flair, as Mann, Cooke and RJ Cyler (as Earl) deliver especially likable and sympathetic performances while navigating through the clumsy, exposed and thoughtful emotions of youth.

6. “It Follows” - Writer/director David Robert Mitchell creates a horror film masterpiece with a story of a mysterious being who singularly follows an ordinary student through the suburbs of Detroit, MI.  Mitchell’s film offers an obscure late 70s/early 80s vibe with the period’s cars, clothes and living room decors while accompanying the landscape with a synthesizer-filled soundtrack and hand-wringing sequences reminiscent of 1978’s “Halloween”. With its unsettling creepiness and a most original antagonist, “It Follows” brings an intoxicating blend of old-school horror and brand new ideas.

5. “Listen to Me Marlon” - Movie icon Marlon Brando kept his personal life extremely private, but he chronicled hundreds of hours of personal audio recordings as a diary of sorts, and director Stevan Riley pieced together the man’s personal thoughts in a truly amazing reveal over a 1 hour 43 minute runtime.   Paired with photos and historical video footage of movie clips and interviews, Brando - in his own words - recites and reflects his innermost views on his romantic relationships, colleagues, preparation for his most coveted roles, and his painful childhood.  This extraordinary find is easily the documentary of the year.

4. “Wild Tales” - Wild is the definitive word when describing this wonderfully sadistic, sarcastic and hilarious ride into six devilish tales of revenge from the mind of writer/director Damian Szifron. Each story opens without fanfare or opening titles, jumps right into the daily lives of ordinary people, throws them life-changing curve balls, and lets the chips fall where they may. Wholly original and terrifically smart, this roller coaster ride will make you laugh, cringe and also very hopeful none of these “Wild Tales” will ever happen to you. A cinematic home run.

3. “Room” - Brie Larson delivers the performance of year as a young mother living in an uncommonly cramped one-room space with her 5-year-old son (Jacob Tremblay).   The movie initially presents the circumstances of their odd living situation as a confusing puzzle, but eventually the secrets of “the room” are revealed, and the narrative then splits from one incredibly difficult challenge to an altogether different confrontation.  Narrated - at times - by Jack (Tremblay), this raw story expresses the beauty of our everyday world through a child’s voice, and Ma (Larson) professes the feverous bond of mother and child through her actions.

2. “Mad Max: Fury Road” - After a 30-year absence, Mad Max makes a triumphant return to the big screen in a completely enthralling action picture which is far superior to its three predecessors.  Nearly the entire film plays out as a non-stop, mind-boggling chase through a barren Australian wasteland, and the action grabs you by the throat and periodically cuts off your air supply for two hours.  “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is great, but Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron star in the thrill ride of the year.

1. “Spotlight” - Led by an outstanding ensemble cast (Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Stanley Tucci, Rachel McAdams, and Liev Schreiber), director/co-writer Tom McCarthy provides a wholly mesmerizing account of a tenacious group of Boston Globe reporters who uncover a widespread Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal.   The journalists bang on figurative locked doors while dozens of Boston players - big and small - carry differing agendas to expose or cover up the sordid details.  McCarthy opens up a world of exemplary journalism practices to the audience and reinforces the importance of the media as the Fourth Pillar of Democracy.  This riveting movie leaves you hanging on every moment and is the best picture of 2015.

Monte Yazzie's Best Films of 2015

Monte Yazzie’s Best Films of 2015  

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

Director George Miller drove this pulsing, bursting, no-holds-barred vehicle into the summer blockbuster scramble and completely destroyed all competitors. Mr. Miller builds an expansive world, without much dialogue, with the assistance of Tom Hardy who plays Max Rockatansky. But don’t be fooled, this film belongs to Charlize Theron. As Imperator Furiosa, Ms. Theron confidently controls the film with stunning screen presence. Mr. Miller executes the film with exceptional style and skill, making “Mad Max: Fury Road” feel more suited for the arthouse than the grindhouse.

2. Spotlight

“Spotlight”, a film about the investigation by the “Boston Globe” into the scandal within the Catholic Church, is a captivating and devastating experience. Tom McCarthy directs an exceptional cast, lead by Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, and Liev Schreiber, and narrates a film about investigative journalism in a straightforward manner while also allowing the film to unfold in a thrilling and stunning fashion. It’s a film that never relies on anything more than displaying a group of hardworking people determined to reveal the truth, regardless of how intimidating the impact of the truth may be.

3. Ex Machina

Good science fiction always asks difficult questions. Science fiction cinema didn’t get much better than “Ex Machina”, a methodically structured film with an intelligent narrative directed by Alex Garland. While many of the films that deal with science fiction are cluttered with special effects, Mr. Garland utilizes these tools to build an impressive, beautiful, and emotional artificial being known as Ava, played impeccably by actor Alicia Vikander. “Ex Machina” focuses on relationships between men and women, the advancing world and how it connects with progressing technology, and the trappings and limitations of science. It is an exceptional film that asks difficult questions and allows the viewer to interpret the answers however they choose.

4. Inside/Out

Pixar films have an undeniable emotional quality unlike other animated films. “Inside Out”, a film that takes place inside the mind of a young girl, is an impressive return to form for the company. The narrative is smart and poignant while also being thought provoking, asking questions for both children and adults to contemplate and, hopefully, discuss with one another. The animated world is incredibly unique, the casting of the characters is near perfect, and the story is accomplished in displaying how emotion changes throughout the rough and beautiful parts of maturing life.

5. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl

Experience is an important aspect of adolescence, it has a way of preparing one for the unexpected but also teaching one valuable lessons about people and situations. “Me and Earl and The Dying Girl” is a coming-of-age story with a firm and grounded sincerity. All the trappings of a melodramatic teenage film are here but are instead shrewdly and cleverly implemented under the keen direction of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. “Me and Earl and The Dying Girl” is an emotional experience, though it’s never devastating or heartbreaking but instead filled with heart and passion.

6. Anomalisa

Human connection told expertly through stop-motion animation; “Anomalisa” displayed the pain, loneliness, and despair of relationships and the journey of finding ones’ self better than many films this year. Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson co-direct this film, about a solitary man leading a mundane life who has an unexpected encounter with a stranger, with charm and tenderness. This is a film about imperfect individuals dealing with complicated issues, it’s never easy or simply stated. “Anomalisa” is a challenging, yet heartfelt experience.

7. Sicario

“Sicario” is a fascinating thriller about the war on drugs and the control and chaos that ensues while federal agents fight a faceless foe. It’s a film that lingers in an atmosphere of fear and builds suspense in subtle yet effective ways. Whether the enchanting cinematography by Roger Deakins, which is a visual descent into darkness, or the narrative penned by Taylor Sheridan that displays the bleak disenchantment of the whole situation. “Sicario” is consistently tense and foreboding; it’s a film that drops the viewer in the middle of a frantic and confused setting, and then continues the journey amidst building chaos.  Director Denis Villeneuve is a skillful director and “Sicario” is one of his best films.

8. Brooklyn

Colm Tóibín’s novel, about a strong-willed Irish immigrant living in 1950’s Brooklyn, found its film adaptation from director John Crowley. The story follows Eilis Lacey, a great lead performance from Saoirse Ronan, as she comes to America in search of all it promises. Themes of homesickness, love, maturity, and the identity found in the place one calls “home” are all deftly handled throughout the film. Mr. Crowley paces the film with measured assurance while avoiding the clichés and melodramatic trappings that hamper many dramatic stories like this. “Brooklyn” is uplifting and sincere.

9. The Hateful Eight

In the eighth film from Quentin Tarantino the director takes a group of unredeemable characters and locks them in a shack during a blizzard in post-Civil War Wyoming. The three-hour long epic, released in a special 70mm presentation, displays Mr. Tarantino meticulously building a mystery while also incorporating an interesting amount of social commentary that transcends beyond the time period depicted in the film; it’s compelling to see everything slowly unravel. The film finds further success with stunning cinematography and a beautiful score, composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone. “The Hateful Eight” is Quentin Tarantino self-indulgently doing what he does best.

10. Carol

Director Todd Haynes builds a magnetizing connection of love between two women in the film “Carol”. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara give phenomenal performances as two women drawn to each other in the 1950’s. Their romance is witnessed from the initial blossom, starting as a chance encounter at a shopping counter, to powerful gazes across and next to one another, to the moment of intimacy; everything in their relationship is portrayed with subtle details, emphasizing mannerisms and movements and expressions. It feels in parts like a dream, accomplished through beautiful photography, in the sense that as the feelings grow stronger for these two women so does their release from the constraints of their 1950’s reality.

11. Timbuktu

Director Abderrahmane Sissako constructs a quiet, at times gentle, film that displays the realities of life under Islamic extremist rule with an insightful and skillful hand; “Timbuktu” is striking and uncompromisingly truthful.

12. The Revenant

Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of his best performances in “The Revenant”, a film that takes painstaking measures to portray nature and humanity in its most raw and pure form. “The Revenant” is a gorgeously composed film with some of the best technical scenes of the year. The silence of nature provides a powerful backdrop for this visceral revenge tale.

13. Straight Outta Compton

“Straight Outta Compton” is the story of the hip-hop collective N.W.A., a group of talented, enraged young men who utilized the power of their words to reflect the emotions and experiences of their world. F. Gary Gray directs this accomplished biopic with a steady hand; the attitude of the actors, the placement of the music, and the design of the environments are all spot-on.

14. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The movie event of the year arrived in theaters, with long lines of people waiting, still waiting, to watch this film. Director J.J. Abrams did not disappoint with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. It’s a film that gives older audiences joyous nostalgic feelings and offers a new generation of fans that memorable movie magic experience.

15. White God

In Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó’s film “White God”, the enduring trust and love between a young girl and her dog presents a heartwarming tale, until the dog is ripped away and left to survive in the corrupt and hate-filled world. “White God” comes to stunning life with the assistance of near two hundred trained dogs, offering a film that starts as a touching drama and moves into the realms of horror.

Honorable Mention:

• Beasts of No Nation
• Bone Tomahawk
• Chi-Raq
• Creed
• Dope
• Duke of Burgundy
• Labyrinth of Lies
• Love & Mercy
• Mustang
• Tangerine
• Room
• The Assassin
• The Big Short

Joy - Movie Review by Monte Yazzie

Joy  

Director: David O. Russell

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Édgar Ramírez, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, and Diane Ladd

You know that self-wringing mop you have or have always wanted to use? It’s called the “Miracle Mop” and entrepreneur Joy Mangano invented it. Ms. Mangano, a college graduate with a degree in business administration, was a divorced mother of three working a variety of different jobs and selling her cleaning invention out of her father’s body shop. After a few years of selling in her local community Ms. Mangano’s luck changed after she pitched her invention to television shopping network QVC. Director David O. Russell, “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook”, takes on this rags-to-riches story with the help of a fantastic performance from Jennifer Lawrence. While “Joy” may not always display the quality its title describes and becomes rather formulaic very quickly, Mr. Russell puts enough trust in his assemble cast to bring a rather lackluster script to life.

Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) is a struggling divorced mother, raising her children, taking care of her purposefully bedridden mother (Virginia Madsen), and offering a basement for her ex-husband (Édgar Ramírez) to live in while he works nights as lounge singer. Room becomes sparse when her father (Robert De Niro) is thrown out by his girlfriend and moves into the basement as well. Joy, pushed over and taken advantage of, unexpectedly finds inspiration to create an invention that could change her, and her families, entire life.

Underdog stories are a familiar narrative trope in films; everyone likes to see admirable characters rise up against the odds, dust themselves off, and charge for the finish line. “Joy” is exactly this though far more mean-spirited and hopeless. Joy is introduced in the film at a bad place in her life, basically losing her job and caring for a family that would rather step over her than help her. The only person rooting and encouraging her success is her grandmother Mimi, a welcome Diane Ladd who fits nicely into the role. Mimi is also the narrator for much of the film, providing insights during flashbacks into how the family has become so dysfunctional but also how Joy has survived her downtrodden journey so far. It’s a grim outlook even when success peeks into Joy’s life.

David O. Russell is very good at writing characters, especially the interactions that happen with other characters. Again, as Mr. Russell has proven with his past films, he succeeds in keeping these characters interesting. What doesn’t work very well is the design of the story; it’s the same overdone and familiar structure of every other rags-to-riches tale, but that isn’t necessarily the worst part. Mr. Russell never embeds any authenticity into Joy’s tragedies in her personal or professional life. Bad things happen and are quickly pushed aside, while this should in some way display the resiliency of Joy’s character it instead feels like a side note, an easy progression towards the looming success that is always within her grasp.

Still, Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic in the lead, her performance displays the highs and lows experienced in the character’s life. Ms. Lawrence has grown significantly as an actor, and it shows in her performance here. Robert De Niro seems at his best with Mr. Russell in the director’s chair, here Mr. De Niro is utilized nicely as a brash father who hasn’t always been the best example for his children. Take for instance a scene where Mr. De Niro gives a scathing and unfeeling speech to his daughter Joy just after she has experienced terrible failure. Bradley Cooper has a smaller role here, playing a QVC executive, but continues to show great chemistry with Ms. Lawrence.

“Joy” is about the dysfunction that exists in our world, whether with family, love, relationships, or, specifically to this film, commerce; it’s dysfunction that many must somehow function through. While “Joy” may stumble on getting this point across clearly, David O. Russell is a capable enough to allow his excellent cast opportunity to make something happen.

Monte’s Rating

3.50 out of 5.00

Joy - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

Lawrence delivers ‘Joy’ on the big screen  

Written and directed by:  David O. Russell

Starring:  Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Virginia Madsen, Bradley Cooper, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, Edgar Ramirez

“Joy” - “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them.  They went out and happened to things.”  - Leonardo da Vinci

For Joy (Jennifer Lawrence), a struggling working mom, she let life happen to her.  Years ago, she skipped college in order to stay home and help her dysfunctional parents (Robert De Niro, Virginia Madsen) work through their divorce.   Now she is stressed out at work with a thankless job at Eastern Airlines, and her life is even more frazzled at home.   In addition to raising two young children, her ex-husband (Edgar Ramirez) lives in the basement, her mom (Madsen) coops herself up in a bedroom all day and – most recently - her father (De Niro) needs a place to live and moves into the basement as well.   Other than her grandmother (Diane Ladd) providing emotional support, Joy is the only responsible adult in her family and the center of their universe.

In writer/director David O. Russell’s latest creation, he penned and guided a very entertaining picture with many unlikely turns on a trip for the film’s hero, Joy.   Russell creates a chaotic, but also very funny, set of surroundings in Joy’s home, and the madness is a delightful mess to behold for the viewer.   All families own their own craziness, but in so many cases, “sane” family members simply continue to mire themselves through the daily drudgery, because making change is too difficult.   Joy takes the rare step of attempting to take control of her life.

A high school valedictorian, Joy has always been creative, and just after spilling red wine on a fancy boat, she conjures up an idea for an ingenious product.   The film then takes us on Joy’s journey to bring her invention to market.  Although she would be much better off on her own, she does require some help from her irrational family members.

“Joy” is based upon a real-life person, Joy Mangano, and Lawrence and the entire cast do feel like real human beings.  At the same time, the script feels too implausible to be believed, but because we are so anchored with these individuals, we take Joy’s twisting journey at face value and trust all of it.  That is a sound recipe for intriguing cinema.

The respected ensemble cast also includes Isabella Rossellini and Bradley Cooper, and they play key supporting functions to the story, but despite the rich dialogue and interesting people running in and out of the screen, this is Lawrence’s movie.   She owns Joy and manages shades of doubt, vulnerability, brilliance, ingenuity, and strength.  Her performance during Joy’s long, strange trip completely grabs our attention.  As an example, when the people closest to her say that she is not capable of great things and just an average mom, Joy will grab a gun at a piecemeal target range and fire with the will of a U.S. Marine on the front lines.

Joy is a fascinating film about empowerment and attempting to stake one’s claim in this world, no matter where one originally starts.   It should also not be lost on anyone that Joy is an inspiring role model for women.   Joy not only stopped sitting back and letting things happen to her, she was not waiting for her prince to come either.  Even in 2015, that is a wonderful reminder for us all.  (3.5/4 stars) 

Carol - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

Blanchett and Mara offer award-worthy performances in ‘Carol’  

Directed by:  Todd Haynes

Starring:  Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler

“Carol” - As I grow older, I more frequently hear from friends or colleagues, “Remember the good old days?”

Well, I usually refrain from wearing rose-colored glasses when examining the past.  For example, looking back at the 1950s:  the chickenpox vaccine did not exist, southern schools were segregated, tooth fillings were made of mercury, and gay relationships were considered taboo and kept in the closet.

“Carol” – starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara - is set in the 1950s.

The film takes place in New York City, and amongst the bustle of the Christmas season, the below freezing temperatures and the occasional snow flurry, a romantic relationship develops between a wealthy woman in her late 30s/early 40s (Blanchett) and a department store clerk in her early 20s (Mara).   They first meet at the aforesaid department store when Therese (Mara) helps Carol (Blanchett) decide on a present for her son, but she “conveniently” leaves her gloves behind at the sales counter.  When Therese ensures the gloves get back to Carol, she invites her out to lunch as a thank you gesture.

Their time together quickly accelerates from there, and they both feel a pull towards one other, but do not verbally acknowledge it.   Due to her age and experience, Carol drives the decisions on the times and places that they meet, and Therese quietly smiles, agrees and feels happy to be alongside her new friend.   Almost everything about their friendship and budding romance bathes in subtly, and these two talented actresses communicate so much to each other through looks and expressions during routine conversations.

For instance, during their first lunch – which seems initially benign – Carol delicately studies Therese’s movements and says, “Maybe you’d like to come visit me sometime.  You’re welcome to.  At least there’s some pretty country where I live.   Would you like to come visit me this Sunday?”

Therese – with an ever so brief hesitation – then responds, “Yes.”

Although the exchange seems harmless and innocent, there is so much more with the characters’ facial expressions and mannerisms, and we can easily process their unspoken inner thoughts.   The film is filled with many such moments, and Carol and Therese carefully balance expressing their true feelings while simultaneously stifling them due to the day’s forbidden nature of these emotions.

The film’s tones greatly contrast with another recent movie about a new lesbian relationship, the 2013 French film “Blue is the Warmest Color”.   In the 2013 movie, a high school girl Adele (Adele Exarchopoulos) enters into her first lesbian relationship with a more experienced woman named Emma (Lea Seydoux).   Emma is older, but very close in age with Adele, and the two women openly express themselves in a highly-charged environment.   The on-screen emotions pour like sizzling lava and crash like piercing thunderclaps, and the actresses offer spirited, believable and engaging performances.

Conversely, Carol and Therese walk a difficult, controlled and subdued tightrope act due to Carol’s active marital status with her husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) and the forbidden nature of their loving relationship.    At the time, engaging in such relationships could result in the perceived need for psychiatric sessions.   So, they proceed with caution but do move forward and figuratively dance in their courtship in beautiful ways.

Not only are the performances beautiful, but the movie itself looks gorgeous as well.   Costumes and accessories – like Therese’s multicolored winter hat and Carol’s manicured jackets and well-placed jewelry – stand out and pop.   The details feel rich and sophisticated within the stylish surroundings of affluent households, restaurants and parlors, and director Todd Haynes and cinematographer Edward Lachman were meticulous in encapsulating a 1950s atmosphere.  The movie feels like Haynes and Lachman captured it through some dreamlike, time warp haze.  Every scene does appear crystal clear, but “Carol” carries this magical, visual tone of a nostalgic era that is simply lovely to gaze upon.

Blanchett and Mara – who both earned Golden Globe Best Actress nominations -  are electric on-screen, and the exploration into their new relationship and differences in their characters’ previous experiences are captivating dynamics.    Carol and Therese operate in a time not always welcomed to them, but if they can survive the nature of their current environment, tomorrow could become the good new days.   (3.5/4 stars)

The Big Short - Movie Review by Michael Clawson

The Big Short  

Directed by:  Adam McKay

Starring:  Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling

By Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume

In 2007 I lived in a suburb of Phoenix, way out in the far West Valley where homes sprung up like weeds in the desert sand. Mortgage brokers couldn’t give homes away. Bad job? Poor credit? No savings? Here’s a house. It was harder to stand on a busy street corner and give out $10 bills. And then one day it all ended.

The newspaper I was with at the time covered those terrible years, back when people used air quotes around the word “recession” and then when they dropped the air quotes entirely as they drove off in a moving van. The sub-prime mortgages, the interest-only loans, the house flippers who extended themselves one house too many. It was like a huge game of musical chairs, but instead of 100 people and 99 chairs, it was like 100 people and one chair — lots of people had nothing when the music stopped.

The Big Short is the story of how and why the recession happened. How American banks were dragged to their knees by hubris, and why they sold the American people down the river to save their own skins. It’s a powerful indictment of greed, capitalism, and the “American way,” which in this context is golden parachutes, profit and satisfying shareholders. If this film doesn’t make you frothing mad, then you’re still not paying attention.

The movie, directed by Adam McKay (Anchorman) and based on a book by Michael Lewis, begins with Michael Burry (Christian Bale), an eccentric trader who stares at market prices the way Rain Man counts toothpicks. From amid vast spreadsheets of information he notices a pattern in how mortgage defaults are creeping upward. Never one to miss an opportunity, he bets against the house market — he shorts it — something that is never done, because the housing market is a constant, it’s like betting against gravity. When he shows up at all the investment banks to place these bets, they almost feel sorry taking his money.

It’s abundantly clear very early that McKay is going to work with all the market jargon and banking terms, and do so with reckless abandon. So he enlists help, including Margot Robbie, playing herself naked in a bathtub with bubbles up to her chin. She lifts a champagne flute and promises to teach us about collateralized debt obligation, credit default swaps and “shorting” the market. It’s sexy and effective, and I promise it actually teaches you about CDOs and the other dirty bombs that sunk the housing market. In other sequences characters address the camera directly and explain to the audience what’s happening and why it’s important. Anthony Bourdain teaches us about junk bonds and how they’re rated while filleting fish, and Selena Gomez explains betting against the market at a Vegas blackjack table. It’s the best economics class you’ll ever take.

Meanwhile, we also drop in on money manager Mark Baum (Steve Carell), hedge fund manager Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) and on two young up-and-coming analysts who want a seat at the big boy table. All of these characters eventually find what Burry finds, what is essentially a doomsday machine built into the housing market. And one by one, they all start to plot how to make money on what they know.

Now, I don’t know if these men (and their composites) are villains in this story, but The Big Short portrays them as innocent financial geeks who discover the terrible secret of the economy and do what they can to profit off it. They don’t keep it a secret, in fact several of them had shared their bets with other bankers, who promptly laughed at them for their faulty investments. Carell’s character is especially convincing as he wanders back and forth between the people who rate bonds, Goldman Sachs (never forget the Rolling Stone line about the company: “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money”) and the mortgage brokers on the ground in places like Florida, Arizona and Nevada. One government oversight worker is so negligent to what’s happening under her nose, she is quite literally blind. As the chips stack up against the housing market, these men watch in horror as their bank accounts grow off the failure of the American economy, and although they are rich, their souls will never recover. If that makes you mad, then what happens to the banks will send you ballistic.

This is a movie we need right now. The recession is over. The Fed is hiking the interest rate back up. Jobs are returning. Wages are stagnant, but all signs are pointing to eventual increases. And just few a years out, it’s already forgotten. Banks are still pushing their way around with no consequences, and they have still not been held responsible for the swindling of the American economy. The Big Short holds their feet to the fire, and it arms the public with their best weapon — information.

The Big Short - Movie Review by Jeff Mitchell

‘The Big Short’ stands tall and delivers an entertaining look at financial madness  

Directed by:  Adam McKay

Starring:  Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling

“The Big Short” - For anyone who owned stock, participated in a 401(k), was tied to a pension, held a credit card, owned a home outright, or was paying a mortgage, they felt at least some angst during the financial market crisis of 2008.    The stock market crashed, 401(k) values plummeted, credit quickly dried up, and home prices tanked.    Faulty and fraudulent mortgage-backed securities drove the collapse of the aforementioned markets, and it created worldwide economic nightmares.

From a movie perspective, the fascinating and highly informative Oscar-winning documentary “Inside Job” (2010) – narrated by Matt Damon - systematically walks the audience through the major causes of the crisis and then shows the grisly aftereffects.   In “Margin Call” (2011), an all-star cast - led by Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany, and Stanley Tucci - tells the tale of one New York City investment firm and its mad scramble for survival during a one-day period of the 2008 collapse.   Both films provide excellent narratives about those panicked days from very different points of view.

“The Big Short” takes another perspective and is a worthy companion piece along with the above two movies.   With a wickedly-smart script, this film grabs our hands and drags us through a winding obstacle course of three stories about investors who took unheard of approaches and bet against the housing market/the big banks/the American economy.  We, the audience, then receive open access to their thought processes and decided actions and watch them try to make their fortunes in the most opportunistic ways.

As the film moves along, talks of mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps, AAA ratings, and other Wall Street lingo become massively perplexing.   In order to provide some clarity in an entertaining way, director/co-writer Adam McKay allows some players to break the sacred forth wall.   One character, Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), repeatedly stops his conversations, turns to the camera and translates financial concepts and/or his actions into layman’s language we can understand.  Two other celebrities – playing themselves (who I will not name in order to preserve the surprises) - make cameos and explain similar concepts.   These moments catch us off-guard and ironically generate smiles and laughs while we also watch a meltdown of epic proportions over a 2 hour and 10 minute runtime.

McKay (mostly) drives the narratives at a frenzied pace – and keeps us dizzy - as he continually shifts between the three true stories of experts who bet against the system:

A high-strung fund manager (Steve Carell) makes a massive high stakes deal with Vennett.

Two 20-somethings - who started a capital fund in a garage - recruit a retired trader (Brad Pitt) for big-time investment firm access.

A medical doctor (Christian Bale) - who founded a fund (called Scion Capital) in California and spends his days blasting heavy metal music in his office – bets billions of dollars with several prominent Wall Street investment houses.

These men did their homework and saw the housing market as a paper tiger that was about to be crushed, and the film takes place during these early days of premonition in 2005 through the actual collapse in 2008.    Through this wacky time period, we see the large banks in denial, rating agencies committing fraud and real estate agents feeling drunk with success, and the film “treats” us to smaller moments like a stripper explaining how she owns five houses and a condo via subprime mortgages and millions of dollars changing hands in The Black Horse Pub in England.

The end result is a wacky, confusing, funny, and painfully sad look at big banking greed, and the men who saw an opportunity to bet against that excess.  Carell and Bale rightfully earned Golden Globe Supporting Actor nominations and - along with Gosling - stand out the most from this outstanding cast, but Bale’s work as the immensely-brilliant Michael Burry is the most memorable.   Burry is an impressive number cruncher and clairvoyant, and the movie leaves you with the hope that he will use his abilities to warn us all before the next financial crisis.  (3.5/4 stars)

The Hateful Eight - Movie Review by Michael Clawson

The Hateful Eight  

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Googins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Demian Bichir

By Michael Clawson of Terminal Volume

You’ve never seen a western like Hateful Eight, which is neither praise nor pan.

Before we begin there, though, take yourself back to Inglourious Basterds. It had Hitler, Churchill, Nazis, the French resistance, a vile Jew-hunting SS officer, wise-talking GIs, machine guns, bombs, interrogations … everything one could hope for in a World War II movie. Pulp Fiction, a crime movie, had robberies, murders, drug deals, drug overdoses, fixed boxing fights, kidnapping, torture. Kill Bill, a revenge thriller in two parts, had kung-fu, animation, gunfights, swordfights, assassinations. I bring all this up because director Quentin Tarantino really packs everything he can into his movies, and he also boils his genres down to their most basic parts and then he exemplifies those parts with his subversive brand of glee.

Hateful Eight, though, is a western with few of the characteristics that define a western, least of all the adventurous spirit of the West. No saloon brawls, no high-noon shootouts, no horse chases or cattle rustlers, and not even a train heist or bank robbery. None of this is really out of the ordinary for Tarantino, who seems to thrive on taking what we expect and giving us something completely different. But Hateful Eight is not only a letdown as a western, it’s a tremendously indulgent film for the brash director, who likely didn’t hear the word “no” very often when he was pitching it as a three-hour, single-location stage play with overture and intermission and enough mindless dialogue to undo all the goodwill he’s earned from a career of mindless dialogue.

The film opens on a stagecoach as it travels through a blizzard in Colorado. Inside the cabin are bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), John’s latest bounty that he intends to take to a town called Red Rock where she will hang for her crimes. Slowly, amid the snow and wind, the stagecoach begins assembling the cast: there’s the feisty stagecoach driver (James Parks), a former union officer Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), and soon-to-be sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins). Early scenes take place in the stagecoach as three of the men and Domergue talk about bounties, bushwhackers and a letter from President Abraham Lincoln. This tedious dialogue is neither boring nor interesting, but it fills the cabin of the stagecoach for north of 20 minutes.

With a blizzard bearing down, the stagecoach stops at Minnie’s Haberdashery, where the film will spend the rest of its running time, and where our travelers take refuge inside with Mexican Bob (Demián Bichir), a proper English gentleman (Tim Roth), a weary cow-puncher (Michael Madsen), and Confederate general (Bruce Dern). What happens next would best be described by saying “the plot of Clue.” Men are killed, some coffee is poisoned, and Daisy Domergue cackles with delight as John Ruth questions who is and isn’t who they say they are.

Hateful Eight wasted so much of my time, that I will not to do the same here: the movie is simply far too long. A skilled editor could have his way with this and come out 45 minutes lighter, and the movie would fly. Here, though, it’s so bloated and top-heavy it can never build momentum. Dialogue just keeps rolling out of everyone’s mouth, and so little of it is noteworthy or memorable that it all blends into a monotonous dribble of cowboy talk and frontier banter. Jackson has a great monologue about torturing a confederate soldier — he repeatedly says the word “dingus” which gets some decent laughs during a darker chapter about Union revenge — but these scenes are few and far between.

With so much dialogue, you’d think the characters would have more — you know — character, but they never elevate out of Tarantino’s muck of words. Russell’s bounty hunter has an interesting look and particularly evocative dialect of country words, but he seems lost amid the exposition and mood that are telegraphed within pages of dialogue. Jackson and Goggins do what they can, even as the film ratchets tension around their plight that can only end one way. As characters trade conversations inside the store, amid the shaking of the blizzard and a broken door that needs to be hammered shut, none of it really leads anywhere. By the time the intermission starts, the film is nearly at the two-hour mark and you slowly start to realize that a better movie would have you walking to your car at this point. But Hateful Eight toils onward.

Post-intermission scenes do greatly improve, largely because key sequences from earlier are revisited in Tarantino’s out-of-order style of chapter organization. And while the first two-thirds are largely bloodless, the last third pours the guts, blood and mayhem on thick as all parties turn on one another. Snickering through much of it is Daisy Domergue, who might be the sole salvation in this twisted whodunit. Leigh seems delighted to play the demented little demoness. Russell has some great lines, and his thick porkchop sideburns do justice to his unapologetic ruggedness. Jackson is Jackson, which is way of saying he’s excellent, but I found the 75-plus uses of the N word thrown at his character excessive and entirely unnecessary — Tarantino believes we should take the power from the word, which is admirable but altogether impossible in this context.

I admire Tarantino’s vision, but Hateful Eight simply doesn’t work. Slap any other name on this film and every cowpoke on the range will tell you it’s too long, too wordy and too meandering. But Tarantino’s name is on it, so it’s brilliant — no thanks. He’s showing off here, and for once in his career, it’s not really working like it once did.