Thoughts on 'Love and Mercy'

In looking at the possible movies that I could see this weekend (I see a movie in the theater every week, almost without exception), I was pleasantly surprised that Love and Mercy, a film that I had been wanting to see, was playing at my local Harkins theater.  This was the only wide release that was in my wheelhouse (Spy and Insidous 3 are NOT my cup of herbal tea).  Also, through pure Serendipity, I was able to sit next to some good friends.  

You have probably not even heard of this movie, so I will post the synopsis and trailer here before posting my thoughts. 

Synopsis: 

In the 1960s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 1980s, he is a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist Dr. Eugene Landy.

And finally, my thoughts:

• This movie SUPERBLY acted.  It's my favorite performances of both Elizabeth Banks and John Cusack.  One of the friends I saw it with (we'll call him N. Cooley...or maybe just Nate C.) thought that Cusack tried too hard, but I disagreed.  Also, Paul Dano delivers an Oscar-worthy performance as a younger Brian Wilson.  
• This film could probably be placed in the category of 'Oscar Bait.'  I doubt it's going to get a strong push by its studio, but it still feels like an Oscar play.  3/5 of the last Best Picture winners were bio-pics, had strong acting, and didn't have wide audience appeal.
• My friends and I were the youngest kids in the theater, probably by at least 10 years.  It looks like it was marketed to the right crowd.  
• About half the movie takes place in the mid-1980s, and as such the clothes worn by Elizabeth Banks were just amazing.  Her massive 80's belt deserved its own headline in the credits.
• The music scenes (i.e. the scenes where Brian and/or the Beach Boys are recording, creating, or performing) are simply magical.  They were the best part of the film.
• The movie got me really curious about the history of the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson.  I had no idea that the Beach Boys were so influential.  I also didn't know that Brian Wilson was such a genius.  
• After seeing it, I came home and read up on his story because the movie left a lot of unanswered questions, IMO.  It turns out that, like most bio-pics, a lot of the plot points were based on conjecture rather than solid fact.  This practice usually doesn't bother me, but the film wasn't good enough to make me not care about its historicity.  Argo, The King's Speech, or The Social Network are all such good movies that it didn't matter to me if they took leaps.
• The movie does raise mental illness awareness, I think, which is a good thing. 
• However, it never rises to be a particular great movie, overall.  It's worth seeing for the music, the acting, and the fascinating history of Brian Wilson, but I wouldn't say rush out and see it.

Overall I gave it 3/5 Disco Balls. 

Parents Guide:

It doesn't have any nudity, but there is one scene where they run around in some bed sheets.  It has LOTS of drug use.  

Spoiler-free Thoughts on TOMORROWLAND

I was able to go on a date with my awesome wife yesterday to a screening of Brad Bird's latest film, Tomorrowland. I can safely say that before the reviews for it were released earlier this week, this film was my most anticipated of the year, outside of Star Wars.  Brad Bird has made some of my favorite films of the last 10 years and has written/directed two out of my top three Pixar films.  The Incredibles and Ratatioulle are cinematic masterpieces, and Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol is an amazing film as well.  So, with that in mind, here are my spoiler-free thoughts of Tomorrowland. 

• This is a very inspiring film. Its message can be pretty powerful and it resonated with me. It made me rethink a few things, which is what a movie like this should do. 
• I liked the acting in this film MUCH more than many of my critical colleagues.  I was very moved by Clooney's performance. Also there is a child actor who plays a character named Athena that does an absolutely stellar job.  She is not in the trailers, but I think that she really adds a lot of depth to the film. 
• The script is REALLY clunky in parts.  Bird does his best with what is there, however there is only so much he can do with Damon Lindelof's story.  
• With that being said about the script, there are some very authentic and moving moments in the film.  
• I think the best way I can describe this movie is that it's like a really good episode of Once Upon a Time or even LOST. It has some amazingly compelling, emotional moments, but the in-between parts are just 'so-so.'  
• The score is pretty good; it sounds very much like John Williams could have written it, which gives me some great hope for the new Star Wars, as it's the same composer (Michael Giacchino). 

I went in with pretty tempered expectations, so I can't say that it was a disappointment.  If I had seen it before I had read the reviews, I certainly would have been.  But I can't say that it isn't a misfire for Bird, especially compared to his other films.  I give it 3.5/5 Disco Balls. 

Thoughts on Avengers: Age of Ultron

Summer movie season has commenced with a bang, as Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron has finally been released here in the USA.  I attended a double feature last night of both Avengers and Ultron and I wanted to jot down a few thoughts.

SPOILER-FREE Thoughts

• It was delightful to watch the first Avengers in the theater again. I love that movie so much and watching it in 3D was a fun experience, although I did use my new 2D conversion glasses part of the time. 
• There were only 40ish people in our theater, so it was a very relaxing event. My friend John and I had an absolute blast and we got prime seats. 
• Age of Ultron was a good and satisfying movie, although I do think there were some significant flaws in it:
• It felt rushed to me. Joss Whedon had a truly Herculean task of putting this many characters on screen together and do a few other things.  I think that Kevin Feige put a lot of constraints and requirements on what he could and could not do in this movie, and I think it shows. 
• The movie could have easily been split into 2 movies and would have had more room to breathe. There really weren't enough breaths for anything to settle in my mind. 
• The acting was fantastic
• The action was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. 

Top 13 Under PG-13 of 2014

It's that time of year to write a top list of films for the year.  I'm a bit late because I wanted to make sure I watched a few films that had potential to make my list.  But, I will say that this year's Oscar season slate (e.g. films that are released near the end of the year in order to catch the eye of Academy voters) has been a huge disappointment.  I've only included two films on my list that are getting serious Oscar consideration.  However, this year's Blockbuster summer slate was amazing, as you will see reflected in my list.  Without further caveat, here is the list.

13. The Book of Life

 This film kind of took me by surprise at how much I adored it.  Its themes are very prescient to me, although I think it tried to simplify a few concepts a little too much.  The animation was so unique and ambitious!  The music was just delightful.  Most of the voice acting was phenomenal, with the exception of the random Ice Cube cameo.  Films that are this ambitious should be applauded and I recommend this film to one and all.

12. Draft Day

It saddens me that more people didn't take this film seriously.  It was directed by the legendary Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters), and I really do think it's among his best work in the last ten years.  I found the storytelling to be so compelling.  I often like films and TV series that delve into the behind-the-scenes bits of a profession, and this one was great to watch.  I've shown it to both my father and my father-in-law and they both loved it as much as I did.

11. St. Vincent

 This film also surprised me.  The first twenty minutes are very difficult to watch, but then it really picks up.  The basic theme of the film is that most people are good-natured, despite making making some terrible choices.  Bill Murray was just spectacular.

10. Godzilla

My initial viewing of this movie was very disappointing.  My complaints were the same as most critical of it: they didn't show enough monsters, the characters were dumb, etc.  However, upon rewatching it I have a new-found love for it.  When I understood what the film was supposed to be and discarded what I expected it to be, I was able to appreciate how fun this movie is.   

9. Into the Woods

I honestly thought this movie would make it higher on the list because of how much I enjoyed it.  It is perfectly cast, with the possible exception of James Cordon.  The music is so spectacular, the acting is pretty amazing, and it is so beautifully shot.  However, I have to compare it to the stage musical that it's based on.  And when doing said comparison, it doesn't have the same emotional impact.  But that doesn't mean you shouldn't watch it! 

8. Lego Movie

I will say that I consider this to be the funniest film of the year.  I laugh so hard every time I watch it.  It has such a sharp script and would have made it further up my list if it weren't for the end: the last 20 minutes didn't gel for me, and I still can't shake it. 

7. Captain America: Winter Soldier

This film has the best action scenes of the year for me.  The sequence on the highway is brilliantly choreographed.  My only problem that I have with the film is, like many other films this year, in a comparison to its predecessor.  The way that Joss Whedon wrote the character of Steve Rogers in The Avengers endeared me to the character (all the characters, actually), whereas I just think that the Russo brothers (they wrote and directed the movie) didn't write him in the same way.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy

I'm certain that many will be shocked that this isn't higher on my list.  I recommend this film to almost anyone I meet.  It's absolutely hilarious, witty, well-acted, and superbly directed.  Rocket Raccoon is the most memorable character of the year for me, and I love the 80's references that make their way into this space opera.  The emotional climax never rose to the level of The Avengers or Iron Man, which is why I can't agree with many of my friends and colleagues and say that this is the 'best' Marvel film to date.

5. Edge of Tomorrow

This was the biggest surprise of the year for me.  I expected it to be terrible, or at best mediocre.  However, I LOVED it!  I've watched it probably 4 times now and like it more with each viewing.  I tried to recommend it to a friend and he said he would only see a film where Tom Cruise dies 100 times because that's how much he hates the actor.  This was obviously a great recommendation for him.  Also, Emily Blunt is brilliant in this.

4. Selma

This is the only movie on the list that is likely to get nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.  It is thoroughly moving and utterly compelling.  It doesn't omit the flaws of Martin Luther King Jr., nor does it deify him, which many other Bio-Pics this last year were guilty of with their subjects.

3. X-Men: Days of Future Past

This is probably my favorite X-Men film to date.  It was a Herculean task for director Bryan Singer to bring two ensemble casts together and make a compelling and very touching story.  The ending of the film is my favorite cherry-on-top sequence this year.  It has a very strong emotional core with amazing acting to boot.

2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

This movie made me extremely uncomfortable the first time I watched it.  No one told me going in how much of an allegory it is.  It made me reconsider my views on the nature of human beings and whether conflict is truly inevitable in this fallen world of ours.  It is a masterpiece, plain and simple.  If I were to give out a Best Actor of the Year award, it would certainly go to Andy Serkis for his portrayal of Caesar. 

1. How To Train Your Dragon 2

As a huge fan of the first, I was anticipating this film greatly, and it actually exceeded my expectations.  It has a timeless message that mirrors World War II in a love of ways.  It was extremely touching and brought tears to my eyes.  The soundtrack is not as good as the first, and there isn't a scene like the 'Forbidden Friendship' sequence in the first, but it did work on every level and is my favorite film of the year. 

Review: The Theory of Everything

This film is getting a lot of Oscar buzz, so I thought it would be worthwhile to check it out.  And it was, but I give the film an overall negative score.

THE GOOD
The acting is exquisite in this movie.  Both the actors who play Stephen and Jane Hawking deserve some accolades for their performances.   Both are revelations from mostly unknown entities (and Felicity Jones, who portrays Jane, is breathtakingly beautiful in this film).  In fact, there wasn't a bad performance in the whole film.

As with much of British-originated cinema these days, it was very beautifully shot.  It was also pretty well directed.  Its pace is great and is fairly compelling.

THE BAD
This story is remarkably sugarcoated.  Like many men with an abnormally high IQ, Stephen Hawking is a jerk in real life (think Sheldon Cooper).  This film portrays him as a 'lovable scientist' whose only sin was being too brilliant.  It sets the blame of his divorce almost solely on his wife and never takes into account of how difficult he is to live with.  It's unfair and uncalled for.

It also treats the eventual divorce and infidelity as inevitable.  This is a false narrative, especially when both were so talented and smart.

CONCLUSION
Although spectacularly acted and beautifully shot, this film is a whitewash that does a disservice to all who watch it.  It deifies a man that doesn't deserve deification.  Hawking is brilliant man, but doesn't deserve a candy-coated biopic.  2.5/5 Disco Balls.

PARENTS GUIDE
There is no nudity and very little adult language.  However, there is implied infidelity that I think would be wisely avoided.

Review: The Hunger Games, Mockingjay Part 1

I'm in the minority of film critics in that I think that the trend of splitting the last book of a Young Adult Novel series into two movies is quite fine.  It worked REALLY well for Harry Potter; it gave the story room to breathe in a way that the other films didn't.  However, I was a little hesitant in jumping on board with the splitting of the last Hunger Games installment into two movies.  The book is easily the worst of the 3, so I naturally questioned the studio's decision to split it.  I thought the first film was pretty good, although not as polished or as compelling as the second one, Catching Fire. 

THE GOOD
First off, Jennifer Lawrence continues to prove herself as a force to be reckoned with.  Her performance is so good and I thank my lucky stars that they casted her back when she was relatively unknown.  I was genuinely and pleasently surprised with Liam Hemsworth's performance as Gale.  I felt his earlier portrayals were little more than eye candy, but here he proves that he can give a fairly moving performance.  In fact, there weren't really any bad performances in the whole movie, with one exception, which will be discussed on 'THE BAD' section.

The propaganda scenes in the film are 10 times more compelling than they were in the book.  I was sincerely moved and inspired by the speeches.  This was very unexpected for me, and it brought the film to a whole different level. 

The musical score was VERY good as well. 

The set design and overall look of the film is a big win too.  I really felt immersed in District 13. 

THE BAD
The film ended in a weird place, and I honestly don't know where they are going to go from here.  It's a huge divergent from the book. 

The portrayal of Prim feels a bit forced.  It's not way distracting, but I definitely felt like her lines were there just to move the plot forward. 

CONCLUSION
I REALLY liked this film.  It was dramatically better than its source material and was even thoroughly compelling.  It threw around some great ideas like having to make ethical compromises even when you're on the side of good.  I really recommend it.  4.5/5 Disco Balls

PARENTS GUIDE
This film has some disturbing things happen, but all of them off camera.  You don't actually SEE any blood or violence, with exception of some bones.  There's no sex and no profanity.  I almost think they could have gotten away with a PG rating with this one, although I'm glad they didn't.  

First thoughts on Interstellar

I saw Interstellar yesterday.  It was an intense experience to say the least.  It was my most anticipated film of the year. I'm just going to jot down some thoughts.  Unfortunately this movie can't really be discussed without including SPOILERS. So I apologize in advance if you choose to read this without first having seen the film. 

• There are TONS of allusions to Stanley Kubrick and in particular his film 2001: A Space Odyssy. 
• The most obvious is the themes of both films: both of them deal with the evolution/progression of humanity into more or less Gods. 
• Both films have obelisks play an important role in the evolution of mankind.  I really don't think it was any kind of accident that Nolan chose the shape of a monolith for his robots. More of the robots later. 
• The idea that the moon landings were faked is a very prominent conspiracy theory. And among the true believers it is widely believed that Kubrick was the one who filmed the fake landings. 
• There is a lot of Christian/Mormon theological symbolism here.  I doubt the Mormon bits were intentional, but who knows. 
• The main character represents both Adam and Jesus Christ.  He sacrifices himself to save humanity and is 'resurrected.'  He also is considered to be the individual who 'prepares' the world with his Eve, Anne Hathaway.  
• The film is obviously a paradox: mankind couldn't have been saved without his future self, and his future self couldn't have existed without his previous self.  
• I inferred that we become progress into Godhood when we as a people understand the 5th dimension. Early Christians called this process 'Deification' and it is something that Mormons believe today.  And without Coop' (or Christ) it wouldn't be possible. I definitely took away the message that 'We Are God collectively.' 
• Matt Damon represents Lucifer and his world represents the Garden of Eden.  Damon will do anything to destroy humanity for his own selfish reasons.  He also wants the pull down the only remaining humans to his level.  Misery loves companny.
• I certainly hope Matt Damon at least gets nominated for his performance in this film in the Best Supporting Actor category.  It was his best performance ever, with his part in Hereafter. 
• Christopher Nolan is well known for his mastery of marrying high-brow cinema with the pleasing of the masses.  He usually makes his films as smart as they are entertaining, earning both critical and box office acclaim.  However, with Interstellar, I think he focused too much on the symbolism and not enough on making an entertaining film that the masses can consume.  
• This is a film that falls into the category of 'the trailer is vastly better than the movie.' 
• Technology is demonized at the beginning of the film, but it is technology that saves them in the form of the Matt Damon-voiced robot that provides the data to save humanity.