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Steve Jobs (2015)

July 13, 2016

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen
Director: Danny Boyle (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting)

Bottom Line: Geez, this was kind of a bizarre movie for me to watch having rather recently listened to Steve Jobs’ incredible biography by Walter Isaacson. Obviously a book has the ability to be much more encompassing than a two hour movie, so it wasn’t much of a surprise for Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs to feel a bit lacking to me. Jobs’ adoption, childhood, and early days creating Apple are merely glossed over, but these years are critical in defining the moments the film decides to highlight, like his relationships with his first daughter and former partner Steve Wosniak. While the film seems to want to make Jobs’ maturation as a father the largest theme, being a dad never comes across as a priority in the book I listened to, which makes me wonder how many liberties screenwriter Aaron Sorkin made while penning this script. Without a doubt, the acting here is top notch, particularly from Michael Fassbender in the lead role, but there were times where the dialogue seemed overwhelmingly staged – like it was transparent that these people were reciting a script rather than the scene feeling fluid and natural. It really took me out of the movie at times.

Steve Jobs is far from a bad film; in fact, it’s plenty enjoyable, with great acting across the board and an enthralling title character. For me, seeing the father/daughter relationship play such a pivotal role in the story felt… phony. Family was not a priority to this man and while the movie somewhat highlights this fact, it also suggests that he eventually figures it out and well, I just don’t believe that to be true. Steve Jobs was always business first, business second, and business third. If you’re interested in the life of one the tech era’s biggest pioneers, I’d suggest reading his biography over watching this movie – you aren’t going to learn too much here.

Replay Value: It is quite possible I would enjoy this more a second time around and it’s also quite possible the things that bothered me the most the first time would bother me even more!
Sequel Potential: None.
Oscar Potential: Acting nominations for Fassbender and Winslet.

Grade: 5/10 (Watchable)

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The Conjuring 2 (2016)

June 29, 2016

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
Director: James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring)

Bottom Line: Director James Wan’s The Conjuring was so good and scary that I forced my wife – who hates scary movies – to watch it. She just had to; it was an absolute must see. Unfortunately, The Conjuring 2 loses quite a bit of luster. The story isn’t as interesting and the scares aren’t as original or nearly as startling. It’s like most sequels: a subpar rehash of something that worked really well the first time around. There are some cool sequences that involve the painting seen in the poster above, but most of what happens in the actual haunted house is substantially more boring and redundant.

The Conjuring 2 is an okay horror movie, but far from the must see that the original was. Nothing you need to see in theaters and it can really probably just be skipped. Fans of the original are probably more likely to be disappointed than not.

Replay Value: Probably won’t ever see it again.
Sequel Potential: James Wan movies usually becoming unkillable franchises.
Oscar Potential: None.

Grade: 4.5/10 (Watchable/Forgettable)

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The Martian (2015)

May 26, 2016

Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels
Director: Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator, Alien)

Bottom Line: In this Cast Away on Mars, Mark Watney (Damon) is left behind on the red planet after a storm separates him from his crew and they assume that he is dead. It’s a familiar trope (stranded man) in a new setting (Mars) and while it’s easy to follow how a man on an island is figuring out how to survive, the math, science, and space knowledge required to understand what Watney is doing to stay alive is quite a bit more advanced. Even so, The Martian makes for an enjoyable film with plenty of light comedic moments – despite his predicament, Watney’s sense of humor never wavers. On the other hand, the light nature of the film undermines the severity of the situation and you never really feel like this man’s life is seriously in danger.

I enjoyed Matt Damon a lot in the main role and Michael Pena (Ant Man) once again does a great job providing a funny side role, but the rest of the cast raised some question marks. Jessica Chastain probably deserves beefier roles – she has immense talent but little to do in this film. Kristen Wiig and Donald Glover (a.k.a. rapper Childish Gambino) seem miscast – Wiig plays it stiff and straight and Glover’s character seems to come from nowhere to play a pivotal role but does provide one of the film’s biggest laughs (“Who are you again?”. I like both actors, but their roles in The Martian are pretty ho hum.

Overall, The Martian is a good, but not great movie that seems to be a bit overrated, but is plenty worth watching.

Replay Value: Not strong.
Sequel Potential: I would say zero.
Oscar Potential: Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay – all of which seem pretty generous to me.

Grade: 6/10 (Recommended)

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Captain America: Civil War (2016)

May 7, 2016

Starring: The Avengers
Director: The Russo Brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, You, Me and Dupree)

Bottom Line: Somehow Marvel keeps outdoing themselves. Starting with The Avengers in 2012, Marvel has been putting out a nonstop string of top notch superhero films (with the clunky Age Of Ultron being an exception). With the same creative team responsible for The Winter Soldier in charge of making Civil War, fans of the MCU had every reason to believe this could be Marvel movie yet.

And it is. While The Dark Knight will be extremely difficult to top as my favorite comic book movie of all time, Civil War is quite easily my second favorite. Just like The Winter Soldier, the label of “comic book movie” can be dropped from the equation when discussing Civil War‘s greatness – it transcends the genre; this is simply great filmmaking.

Civil War explores what happens when The Avengers are held responsible for the consequences of their actions – in other words, what happens to innocent bystanders while they are trying to save the world. So when the United Nations steps in to try to control the superheroes, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark find themselves on opposite sides of the agenda – and then all sorts of fun things start happening.

A decade ago, I never would have dreamed that I’d be more excited to see Captain America and Iron Man duke it out over a Batman/Superman conflict, but this is the world we live in today – Marvel is king and DC is… struggling. Where it seems like DC is trying to do too much by having its big three all in the same film, Marvel seamlessly tells a story that involves up to 12 superheroes. Everyone contributes in Civil War – both to the humor and to the awesome action pieces – and it never feels like the film is crowded or trying to cram too much into the plot.

It also somehow introduces two major characters into the MCU – Black Panther and Spider-Man – and instantly turns them into fan favorites. Fourteen years and six films later, we finally get a Spider-Man that feels totally true to the character. Tom Holland is genius casting – he’s a teenager and this Spider-Man acts like a young Peter Parker should: wowed by everything around him and constantly running his mouth to hilarious results. To say I can’t wait for Spider-Man: Homecoming would be an understatement. And Chadwick Boseman is brilliant as T’Challa, the Wakanda native that takes up the Blank Panther mantle when he becomes king of his nation. His nuanced performance is the best one Marvel has produced since Robert Downey Jr. first blew us away in the original Iron Man. I can’t wait to see what he does with a starring role in 2018’s Blank Panther.

Civil War is about as fun as summer blockbusters get. With solid performances all around, good surprises, the perfect dose of humor, and relentlessly awesome action, this movie takes over the top spot as Marvel’s best film yet – and it’s not all that close, it really blows The Avengers away. Phase 3 of the MCU and the upcoming Ininity War movies are in great hands with the Russo brothers. Take note DC… this is how you make great movies.

Replay Value: A rare movie that’s worth seeing in theaters more than once.
Sequel Potential: Marvel’s Phase 3 has release dates all the way out to The Avengers: Infinity War Part II in 2019.
Oscar Potential: I would have nominated The Winter Soldier over American Sniper for Best Picture, but comic book movies are generally dismissed come awards season – even The Dark Knight got snubbed. Maybe Civil War will finally break tradition and snag a Best Picture nomination.

Grade: 7.5/10 (Highly Enjoyable/Must See)

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The Jungle Book (2016)

May 6, 2016

Starring: Neel Sethi, Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray, Idris Elba
Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Chef, Elf)

Bottom Line: Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book was borderline amazing. Favreau and his team of computer VFX geniuses bring the Disney animated classic to stunning life in this “live action” adaptation. I quote “live action” because all the characters – with the exception of Mowgli – and all the locations are computer generated – and you can barely tell. Of course, motion capture technology has drastically increased the realism of these artificial performances. The voice acting is all A-listers (Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, Giancarlo Esposito, Idris Elba) and top notch throughout. I didn’t hate the kid that played Mowgli, but Favreau got a much better performance out of the kid in his last movie, Chef.

While this version of The Jungle Book is far more intense and scary than its predecessors, it should still be suitable for most families, especially those with older kids. The Jungle Book was absolutely gorgeous and a testament to how far animation has come – in fact, it’s the new bar for CGI film making.

Replay Value: I would be happy to watch this again. A must own for families.
Sequel Potential: Crushing the box office = guaranteed sequel (already announced).
Oscar Potential: A strong favorite for any Visual Effects awards – this is really superb work here.

Grade: 7.5 (Must See/Excellent)

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Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

April 18, 2016

Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jessie Eisenberg, Amy Adams
Director: Zack Snyder (Man Of Steel, Watchmen, 300)

Bottom Line: What a mess. I knew this movie was in trouble from the first time I saw the Doomsday reveal in one of the trailers. I was on board with Ben Affleck as Batman and I loved the Jessie Eisenberg casting as Lex Luthor, but that first full trailer had me squirming uncomfortably – it looked like Zack Snyder was going to ruin everything by bloating the action with visual effects, explosions, lasers and fire. This was not a finale I was looking forward to.

And I wanted to so much. Even though the previews looked mediocre to me, as a humongous Batman fan, I was still dreaming that this movie could be everything it should be. It’s not. And it’s even worse than you think it’s going to be.

It’s been nearly a month since I saw it and, honestly, I can remember very little about it, but I can still distinctly taste the displeasure I experienced while watching it. There were numerous moments where I looked at my buddy like “is this really happening right now.” From a Batman origin vignette to a neverending – and painful (like phsyically) – conclusion, and everything in between, Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice was a wild disappointment.

It’s easier for me to pinpoint the things I did like than for me to list all the stuff I hated. Ben Affleck is a good Batman and I could see a great film being built around this version of The Dark Knight, but it’s not this one. Still, Affleck did a good job and I’m looking forward to seeing how much of a role he has in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was a pleasant surprise as I was worried about how she would fit into the story and whether or not she could even play the role. She’s great and this Wonder Woman is awesome. Again, looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie.

What I’m not looking forward to are the Justice League movies. This was such a botch job that if Zack Snyder has any involvement with those movies (he’s currently slated to direct them both) other than a relatively hands off producing role, I just can’t imagine they are going to be any good. The thought scares me. It is truly incredible that DC Comics can be this far behind Marvel in both quantity and quality. But I can promise one thing, if they continue letting Snyder be in the driver’s seat, they are in trouble.

I hated Doomsday. He looks terrible. He’s about as indistinguishable as a troll in the first Harry Potter movie. And how did he come to be? Don’t ask. Jessie Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? Unbelievably awful. He spends the entire movie playing the role so frivolously that you never really take him seriously. He wants to be Heath Ledger’s Joker, but he comes across more like Jim Carrey’s Edward Nygma before he becomes The Riddler. There are a bunch of dream sequences that are supposed to foreshadow upcoming events (I think), but they are jarring and take you out of the movie – Bruce Wayne even has a dream within a dream sequence. What. I really like the look of Henry Cavill as Superman, but his role in this movie is really disappointing. The showdowns with Batman are kind of cool, but kind of cool doesn’t really cut it for Batman Vs. Superman.

Geez, I probably can’t tell people not to watch this movie. They are going to anyway. And if you’re going to watch it, you might as well watch it on the big screen… but it’s not good. I’ve heard a number of people say they enjoyed the movie and I can’t understand it at all. It was a huge let down and it was absurdly BORING. The last 45 minutes felt like it dragged forever. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. At best, this movie was totally forgettable… at worst, it was horrible.

Replay Value: My initial thought was I’d never watch it again and that’s hard to believe. This a freaking BATMAN movie. I’ll watch it again, but… only because I have to – it’s who I am.
Sequel Potential: All the JLA members are getting solo adventures and the whole crew will be teaming up for two Justice League movies.
Oscar Potential: None.

Grade: 3.5/10 (Just Skip It/Forgettable)

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Room (2015)

February 20, 2016

Starring: Brie Larsen, Jacob Tremblay
Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Bottom Line: Imagine being born in a shack, growing up within those confines, and having no concept of your situation or the outside world. You have T.V., food, a man that stops by to deliver groceries and lay with your mother while you sleep in the closet… but as far as you know, this is all there is to life. That’s the premise of Room, where a woman is kidnapped at age 17, raped, impregnated, and held in captivity for years after giving birth. She decides to raise her son in a way that makes him ignorant and tolerant of his living conditions. “Room” is all he knows – he’s five years old and he’s never set foot outside the shack he lives in.

Brie Larsen gives a stunning performance as the mom in Room. Possibly the best performance of any 2015 film that I’ve seen so far. She sends her character through the gamut of emotions, all while making it seem effortless. I noticed Larsen’s ability to make her acting seem natural in Trainwreck earlier in 2015, but her performance in Room is a true tour-de-force – and she makes it seem so natural. I’m blown away by Brie Larsen in this movie. Her character took a situation that is undoubtedly terrifying and disgusting – captivity and constant rape – and somehow made it seem like we weren’t really watching a scary movie – just the atmosphere she wants her son to think he lives in. In that way Room reminded me a bit of Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, where a Jewish father in a concentration camp pretends that their situation is a game for the benefit of his son.

Jacob Tremblay also gives a great performance in this movie. Perhaps overshadowed by Larsen’s amazing work, Tremblay offers the best child performance I’ve seen in years.

I don’t believe that it’s a spoiler to mention that the captives in Room eventually escape and a big portion of the movie centers on the son discovering that there’s a world outside of the shack. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this section of the movie – I thought the child’s wonder would be a bit more interesting, but the second half of the movie focuses more on the mother adapting to a life outside of captivity and dealing with the media aspects of being an escaped hostage. Still, I found Room plenty enjoyable and I’m looking forward to seeing it again.

Room is one of the best films of 2015 – a gritty must see that features an absolute knockout performance from Brie Larsen.

Replay Value: I’m looking forward to watching it again with my wife. I think I could like it more the second time.
Sequel Potential: N/A
Oscar Potential: Nominated for four big Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Brie Larsen should be a virtual lock for an Oscar.

Grade: 7.5/10 (Must See/Excellent)

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Deadpool (2016)

February 15, 2016

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller
Director: Tim Miller

Bottom Line: Deadpool was everything I was hoping it would be: entertaining and hilarious. And it delivers both in heaps. The last couple years produced two of the funnier superhero movies with Guardians Of The Galaxy and Ant-Man, but Deadpool makes those films feel about as fun as Schindler’s List in comparison. It’s truly uproarious. With the exception of some slow moments as we delve into Mr. Pool’s origin story, you will never stop laughing.

Ryan Reynolds is at his best when he’s doing comedy and Deadpool is his first really funny role since playing Monty in Waiting all the way back in 2005. After seeing his involvement with the disastrous portrayal of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the terrible adaptation of Green Lantern, there was plenty of reason to be skeptical that another Ryan Reynolds superhero movie could be any good – and yet Reynolds felt like perfect casting, even before the wild success the film has enjoyed over its record-breaking first weekend. The rest of the cast is solid too. T.J. Miller of HBO’s “Silicon Valley” is great as Wade’s buddy and it’s interesting seeing “Gotham‘s” Morena Baccarin play a more sultry and humorous role.

But Ryan Reynolds is the star here and he delivers the performance of his career. Just imagine Van Wilder growing up to become a mangled superhero, but with way funnier (and even more obscene) dialogue. Yes, this is not a family film. There’s sex, nudity, graphic violence, and never-ending cursing and harsh sexual innuendo. The kids growing up watching The Avengers should maybe sit this one out… but honestly, I’d probably let my kid watch it. It’s possible to teach your kids what’s right and what’s wrong and how to speak and act – even while exposing them to some pretty raunchy stuff.

Deadpool is a winner – a must see comic book film and all around excellent at being the movie it wants to be: a not-too-serious R-rated superhero comedy. Deadpool is fantastic.

Replay Value: I will buy it when it comes out. I’m curious to see how it holds up considering most of its enjoyment is a result of the humor.
Sequel Potential: Already green lit and supposedly fast-tracked for 2017.
Oscar Potential: It’s so early it’s hard to imagine this being considered for awards. I’ll say it whiffs on Oscar noms, but if anything deserves extra credit here it’s definitely the script.

Grade: 7/10 (Highly Enjoyable)

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The Hateful Eight (2015)

February 5, 2016

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Director: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds)

Bottom Line: I hate to say it, but The Hateful Eight, was arguably the worst Quentin Tarantino movie I’ve ever seen. Maybe it will go down as overlooked and underappreciated like Jackie Brown or underwhelming but better than you thought it was like Death Proof – but without a doubt, The Hateful Eight, was the least entertaining QT film I’ve seen on an initial viewing. The film is highly dialogue driven with very little action until the over-the-top finale – and clocking in at over 2 and a half hours it all feels about an hour too long.

Not that The Hateful Eight is all bad. As usual, Tarantino gets the best out of his actors and Samuel L. Jackson, in particular, gives an amazing performance. Jennifer Jason Leigh is also very good. And of course, there is plenty of great dialogue for the actors to chew on.

Ultimately, what plagues The Hateful Eight is how the slow, intense build up leads to a pretty underwhelming climax. QT is great at providing the “wow factor,” but I’d have to say the magic is missing in this movie – even the Oscar-nominated score felt like a let down.

While The Hateful Eight is quite beautiful to look at and has some moments of brilliance, it felt like a miss from one of my top 3 directors.

Replay Value: Both of the QT films I didn’t love grew on me later, so I will be watching this again to make sure.
Sequel Potential: I don’t think we will be revisiting these characters.
Oscar Potential: Oscar noms for Cinematography (deserved), Jennifer Jason Leigh (sure), and Score (no).

Grade: 5/10 (Watchable)

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The Revenant (2015)

January 27, 2016

Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman, Babel, 21 Grams)

Bottom Line: The Revenant was quite easily the most beautiful movie I’ve seen all year – from the cold set locations along a wild river to the amazing cinematography, it is pretty astonishing to look at. Of course, Leonardo Dicaprio knocks another performance out of the park. Playing Hugh Glass, a legendary explorer of uncharted America, his character is left for dead by his peers after being brutally attacked by a bear and he spends the rest of the movie, barely alive already, fighting to survive through the threats of nature, unhappy Natives, and his body giving out in order to exact revenge on the two men that left him behind to die. Somehow Leo gives one of the best performances of his career while barely having any dialogue. And though I don’t think it was his best work, the Academy might finally reward him with a “lifetime achievement” Best Actor statue. Tom Hardy plays the main antagonist, part of the group of frontiersmen, one in constant disagreement with Glass and ultimately the man that tries to bury him alive after the bear mauling. It’s another fantastic performance for Hardy – one that kind of reminds me of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow – and continues Hardy’s history of performances so diverse he is basically unrecognizable from role to role.

I felt like The Revenant was the full package – it’s the sort of movie you really just have to go see in theaters. Great performances, amazing cinematography and camera work (that bear scene though!), and possibly the best score I’ve heard all year. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is developing quite the Hollywood resume as he has a very legitimate chance to follow up his Best Picture win for Birdman with another one for The Revenant. I’d be curious to know how many times that has been done in movie history.

The Revenant is a bit long and not for everyone (my wife was not very impressed), but I loved it. It’s as well rounded and enjoyable as any 2015 movie I’ve seen so far – a true must see cinematic experience.

Replay Value: This movie should look just as sexy in HD on blu-ray – I’m looking forward to seeing it again.
Sequel Potential: None.
Oscar Potential: 12 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor for Dicaprio, Best Supporting Actor for Hardy, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. I feel like The Revenant is probably the favorite for Best Picture at the moment, but it should have some stiff competition from Mad Max: Fury Road in a lot of the technical departments, including cinematography. Not sure how this film’s score got snubbed – I’ve heard all the nominated scores except Carol and none of them were better than The Revenant.

Grade: 8/10 (Excellent)

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