True Grit (2010) Review

The Coen Brothers are known for their distinct and sometimes wacky yet always insightful take on formulaic genres. Their writing skills specifically in the dialogue department rival that of a cinematic genius like Quentin Tarantino so its odd that they choose to make a very traditional western. True Grit stands without even a hint of many of the trademark Coen Brothers staples, including but not limited to over the top character personalities, dark but always humours comedy, or just outlandish and increasingly out of control situations. Having said all that, True Grit still manages to be a immensely engaging even when its just Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) telling stories about his past as he and  Mattie (Hailee Steinfield) travel through the west. Mattie is a determined and steadfast young girl hoping to catch and bring to justice the man who killed her father she completely out of her element but that never stops her from standing up for herself and never taking no for an answer.

True Grit contains not one, not even two, but three of the very best performances of the year. Hailee Steinfield is a newcomer to the acting world, and its astounding how quickly she positions herself alongside such heavy hitters like Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. Matt Damon plays a pompous Texas Ranger tracking down the same man as Mattie for crime committed in Texas and as usual Matt Damon dials up the charm even when playing an officious boob. Jeff Bridges is the real star of the show, with a great memorable performance even though most of his words come out slurred and out of sequence due to Roosters destructive drinking habit. Bridges and Mattie work wonderfully together forming a simple if not predictable and yet always affection relationship. So when the movie inches towards its fist clenching finale, you are bound to be in a fervor as well as in tears. Its an inspiring tale with a classic western formula that surprisingly doesn't seem outdated. Fantastic cinematography rounds out the high praise of the movie as it beautifully illustrates the old west in all its natural wonder, vast landscapes and earth shattering sunsets abound.

True Grit is a fantastic movie, it doesn't do anything particularly new, but it doesn't need to, it rests its lulls on the shoulders of three fantastic actors and their engaging performances and then goes unto entrust the ever talented directing due to carry it all home.

(4 out of 5)

Quick and Dirty Reviews

In this new feature I will try to review an inordinate amount of movies as quickly as possible while still at least semi justifying the movies star rating. This is more an experiment than anything else, but also I've seen about 4 movies everyday for the past few days and I might as well induct them into the archives.

Green Zone  (1 out of 5)

A political thriller that lacks creativity, and pushes its political beliefs way to hard on the viewer. There is no questioning which  political party these film makers belong too and whether you agree or not, its distracting. Its like being hammered over the head, yes thank you I get it, the government is evil and corrupt and lied to us about the WMD's (weapons of mass destruction). That coupled with a predictable and frustratingly tedious  plot with performances that rival the riveting nature of a spoiling milk carton makes this a dull underachieving political message.

The Men who Stare at Goats (2 out of 5)

A dark comedy very much in the vain of the classic Coen Brothers ilk. Its surprisingly unfunny given the subject matter of peace warriors trained by the US government to fight through psychokinesis and by developing superpowers. The government called these soldiers Jedi's (ha-ha-ha, get it). George Clooney plays a Jedi Master on a mission in Iraq with a journalist played by Ewan McGregor (cause he was Obi-Wan, oh man hilarious). Its a mess of a movie that tries to hard and misses painfully especially given the caliber of the cast that also includes Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. Its pretty fun trying to figure out if these soldiers really do have powers or if their just delusional and its just by happenstance that they keep surviving increasingly over the top situations. The ending is abrupt and mind boggling, but the overall message is sort of sweet even if its lost amongst the antics.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (4 out of 5)

In Crazy, Stupid, Love Steve Carrel plays well, Steve Carrel who is getting a divorce from his wife played by Julianne Moore. In an act of defiance he goes sulking in a bar and ends up meeting a charming ladies man played by Ryan Gosling who gives him a makeover and teaches him the ways of the ladies man. The movie is consistently funny throughout with touching performances by everyone in the cast, add to that the witty fast dialogue and you have one of the best comedy's of the year.  There are some truly great performances throughout even though most of the actors play the roles they always play, especially Steve Carrel and Emma Stone. On the bad side, there are one too many plots playing out concurrently, which predictably all tie together albeit messily when they finally come to a head towards the end. The end is also a big sticking point which could not have been more Hollywood cliched, but in the end its a cute story about the joy of love and its unfortunate casualties that kept me laughing.

Friends with Benefits (3 out of 5)

The other casual sex movie of the year, and to clarify, this is the one to see and not that Ashton Kutcher garbage. Starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis two friends who deiced to get the complications out of the way and instead opt to have strictly platonic yet adventurous (but no anal) sex together.  Its way to predictable and cliched but its endearing stars and vast and memorable side characters make it a lot of fun, lets just say you've never seen Shaun White quite like this. Though you may be able to guess the entire plot of the movie beat for beat having just read this small paragraph its still a funny and hard R rated comedy that includes a scene where Justin Timberlake (who is quickly becoming a great actor) sings a pop-rock song into Mila Kunis vagina.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (1 out of 5)

A supernatural noir film starring the ever wooden acting of Brandon Routh. Dylan Dog is a private investigator who has an in, within the ever growing community of vampires, werewolves, zombies, demons, and other quintessential spooky horror monsters in New Orleans. When a man is murdered Dog (not the bounty hunter) learns of a vast conspiracy to re-awaken a big bad monster. Routh sucks dick, he mutters every line in a uninterested monotone and sucks any sense of fun in what could have been at least a campy B movie. The monster effects look like they were bought in Party City, after Halloween was over and they were forced to stitch together all the clearance sale costumes. A terrible script with terrible dialogue rounds out the list of offenses, someone actually says this, seriously ... "I thought I left my past behind... but sometimes the past catches up with you and punches you square into the present" UGH, nuff said. (in the interest of full disclosure I have fucking hated Routh every since he almost single-handedly ruined Season 3 of Chuck)

Blue Valentine Review

Never has a movie captured the beauty of two people falling in love so effortlessly and with such elegance without ever veering into typical Hollywood romantic melodrama only to violently rip them apart with almost sadistic pleasure. Blue Valentine tells two stories about the same couple Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) splitting time between their fruitful young love and their dire depressing marriage. Watching these two wildly different relationships play out involving the same couple only adds to the investment we have for these characters and their relationship. Director Derek Cianfrance makes you wonder why these two people ever got married if they so clearly only put up with each other in their marriage, and Cianfrance makes it very simple, it's because they use to be in love.

The reality of love is that it has the capacity to evoke our highest sense of joy and also our most enraged passion. Most who experience love will inevitably fell its sting, and that can lead to a passionate life long affection or that same passionate relationship can lose its vitality and the most insignificant comment can bring about a rage filled argument as you grow more and more distant. Blue Valentine captures both of these extremes of a relationship beautifully as Dean and Cindy could not be a more convincing couple with such playful antics mixed with eyes that are filled with true affection, both actors give powerful performances that will have you second guessing if you aren't peering through some bizarre looking glass into a real relationship, and therein lies the tragedy. These two people no matter how bad the relationship gets clearly loved each other at some point and probably still do in some regards and so watching a fight lead to tears on both sides as they contemplate leaving each other and thus breaking apart their family and leaving their daughter without her father, it really is difficult to watch. Both actors give such believable performances when they are truly falling in love, it makes it so much more tragic once their relationship becomes stagnant and almost antagonistic.

While you witness the birth of such a happy and loving couple you are also watching its future demise, and it becomes incredibly soul crushing, this is not a happy movie. Anyone who knows what it feels like come to the realization that a relationship is over yet continued to go through the motions, will be affected in no small part by this movie. Its all the more gut wrenching the way it is portrayed, as both Dean and Cindy are sympathetic even when the relationship hits rock bottom. No one is the "bad guy" both people have flaws and it is those flaws matched with the fading feelings for one another that makes it so unbearable. Dean is not abusive but he drinks which leads to sudden mood shifts going from charmingly wise cracking to annoyed and offended by the most inane statement from Cindy, but his heartfelt love for daughter and wife are never in question . It adds to the overwhelming stress Cindy already deals with and Cindy while not cold hearted shrugs off Dean's affection and instigates Dean with remarks towards his job or his ambitions.

Blue Valentine is a raw unfiltered look into a loving and joyful relationship and the heart breaking yet harsh realities of a lifeless marriage that is only being put through its paces. Its an unprecedentedly honest dissection of a relationship. Both Gosling and Williams give captivating performances with real depth so rare in Hollywood. It's a relentlessly sad movie that is at times grueling to watch but its an uncensored look into a tough relationship made all the more depressing by the amazing engaging performances by its two lead actors.

(5 out of 5)

Super Review

SHUT UP CRIME !!! When those are the first words out of a superheroes mouth just as he begins to cave in somebodies skull with a pipe wrench, you know something went wrong somewhere. But that's what Super does so well, it exemplifies the truths that come with an ordinary person donning a costume and dishing out justice as they see fit. Kick Ass similarly tackled the notion of average people taking the law into their own hands, but while Kick Ass hid the realities of its concept in stylish action and ridiculously over the top antics, Super is a rude awakening in the most gleefully perverse sense.

Beware Crime: I'm in your "hood"

Rainn Wilson plays Frank a loser and utter sad sack, who in his apparent forties has only had two moments in his entire life of any significance, and after being humiliated by having his wife stolen from him by the towns local crime boss, played wonderfully by Kevin Bacon he decides to fight back against injustice. The spark that ignites his decision to become a vigilante is hilarious and disturbing, but the fact that it comes out of left field makes it all the better, so don't expect me to say what happens. Suffice to say Frank decides to become the Crimson Bolt armed only with a pipe wrench he begins dishing out justice in some of the most disturbingly violent ways. And this is where Super goes a little screwy, between the awkwardly uncomfortable scenes and amid all the genuinely funny moments of Wilson being a pathetic loser there are some of the most disturbing acts of violence or sexual perversion that actually made me uncomfortable, and I normally relish in sex and violence in films. The problem I feel is that the movie plays most of its action and even its comedy pretty flat, sort of striking this mix between dark comedy and disturbing realism. Rainn Wilson who truly does a fantastic job in this film, is sometimes too serious and sociopathic making it extremely hard to sympathize with a character who is already pathetic and then goes on to violently and sometimes unjustifiably beat people to the brink of death.

That's inappropriate (not in this movie)

Ellen Page plays a comic book store employee who discovers Franks secret identity and then proceeds to become his sidekick under the guise of Boltie. Page who as far as I am concerned is an absolute revelation in anything she does continues that streak here, with the portrayal of a character so depraved yet so charged up and bull headed that she becomes endearing even when she forcibly rapes Frank. Super has a lot of problems with its tone, dancing almost incoherently between straight relationship drama, outrageous situational comedy, superhero parody, and a disturbing graphically violent action movie. I have no doubt most people will be very turned off by this movie, especially once its characters become almost irredeemable in their actions. But there is something strangely appealing about a movie that unapologetically paints its characters in the most raw realistic light possible, even once the violence levels reach cartoonish levels and proceeds to sprints past that level while holding a severed head with a bladed dildo sticking out of its mouth and laughing manically.

Don't molest kids ... also Shut Up 

Super catches you by surprise, even when you think you have the movie figured out it takes a sharp left turn and challenges you to reorient yourself. Its that jarring tonal shift that might throw many people off, as you try to figure out if your supposed to be laughing, wincing, or disturbed. Its not for everyone but it sure is like nothing else out there. Give Super a chance if you think you can keep up.

(3 out of 5)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

If you became uninterested just trying to finish reading the title of the movie I urge you please continue onward, because without a shadow of a doubt this reboot of the revered Planet of the Apes franchise, is the biggest surprise of the summer and easily the most fun you'll have at the theater with monkeys involved. That may seem like a huge conceit, but its more because this has been a terrific year for summer blockbusters. Rise of the Planet of the Apes--which from here on out I will refer to as "Rise of the Apes (the original title of the film until they were asked to change it)-- is defiantly worth your hard earned money as it contains the best performance of the year so far as well as a truly thrilling and sincerely genuine story of hyper intelligent chimpanzee Caesar and his revolt against humans.

I will begin by saying you should run not walk to the theater to see this movie for the sole purpose of being one of the first to witness the next evolutionary step (no pun intended) in CGI. WETA Digital the effects house behind such films as Lord of the Rings and Avatar easily out due themselves in this film with the most groundbreaking CGI yet. Rise of the Apes does more for CGI than cat eyed blue aliens, by crafting some of the most fully realized and realistic creatures to date. These apes don't simply look utterly fantastic but they exude such emotion and personality that once the film takes a dark and chilling turn you will become so immersed in this society of apes that you will begin to feel as if these CGI creations aren't just living breathing animals but that they are capable of incredibly nuanced and emotionally affecting performances, kudos WETA, you have truly out done yourselves here.

The plot is pretty thin, but acceptable since its only a launching point for the apes to become intelligent and subsequently revolt. A lab coat wearing James Franco, Will Rodman is developing a drug that allows the brain to create new cells and repair itself. Will is dedicated to creating this drug because back at home his father is suffering from Alzheimer's. When an ape they have been testing on breaks loose and is brutally put down, they discover a baby in said apes holding cell, unable to kill the newborn Will takes the baby home and as most people would, he becomes attached and begins to raise him. This newborn chimp is given the name Caesar and as he grows up it becomes exceedingly clear that the drugs being tested on Caesars mother passed on to him, making Caesar incredibly intelligent with exponentially increased cognitive skills. Its unfortunate that the humans in the movie aren't as interesting as the apes, with decent performances from the entire cast, they fall prey to broad character types, like "passionate but unethical scientist" or "cold hearted business man who cares more about money than the apes" and finally "pretty girlfriend who softly chides the unethical treatment of animals". When the CGI creations exude more personality and emotion than the human actors you know you have a problem. In the end its forgivable since Caesar and the many other apes are easily the main stars of the movie and the real reason to go see this film.

Caesars quickly becomes the main protagonist as a violent outburst lands him in what is essentially an ape prison, fit with an evil warden and an abusive guard; Here is where Caesar is forced, violently to become an animal. Up until this point in the film, Caesar had been treated well by all the people in his life, as well as being spoiled by his surrogate family. The harsh realities of being an animal in this hostile human world is hard on Caesar as he is repeatedly abused by the "prison guard" played by the preternatural sleazy and evil Tom Felton and is even beaten up by the prisons alpha male chimp who not only humiliates Caesar but gives him a hard beating. This is where Andy Serkis who plays Caesar through motion capture truly begins to shine as the often times humorous and adorable young Caesar is replaced by a beaten and tattered being, who must use his extreme intelligence if he is going to survive in this harsh new environment.

Serkis's performance throughout the entire film is wonderful but once Caesar undergoes abandonment and continuous abuse it becomes truly riveting, as we watch somebody who has been taken to his breaking point and his forced to fight back. Its is a fantastic performance, that even though transmitted through a CGI ape is no less engrossing or memorable. Serkis has breathed more life into CGI Caesar than most actors do when they are actually on screen, his uncanny ability to communicate fear, pride and cunningness through a subtle facial expression is astonishing. It truly is mind blowing watching such a powerful performance fill this CGI creation with such life. Through the perfect marriage of the wonderful CGI and the captivating performance of Andy Serkis, Caesar and his ever growing force of apes are the most compelling part of the entire movie. And as Caesar and his fellow apes begin to exact their plans of conquest, you sympathize with their plight and subsequently when they begin to hurl spears at police officers you will begin to question where your loyalties lay, with the apes or the humans. Because we understand what has transpired up to the final moments of the apes revolt,  its so easy to root for their success and cheer when they display acts of bravery and compassion.

Lastly credit most be given to several specific things that greatly increased my enjoyment of the movie, mainly the fact that director Rupert Wyatt smartly lets things play out, and doesn't interfere with the emotion of a scene or the action as it unfolds, instead he sits back and lets things unravel, making for powerful moments as well as thrilling action throughout. WETA also does a fantastic job differentiating the apes from each other and imbuing them with a sense of  individuality, allowing you to tell them apart which is important once the apes are in the hundreds and causing chaos in the streets. Cementing my enjoyment of film is the tone, which is sincere and unwavering in its depiction of this highly improbable situation with apes becoming highly intelligent and fighting back against their oppressive human overlords. This movie is earnest in the best way possible, no matter how preposterous you may think it is, they don't tone it down one bit and its a way better movie for that, since it adds weight to the proceedings and increases your attachment to these apes and their mission.

Rise of the Apes-- my unofficial name for this movie-- is easily the most fun I have had at the movie this summer. And as cheesy as it sounds I laughed, I cried, I cheered; in all seriousness I loved the hell out of this movie, it affected me in a way I could have never expected. But I cant in good faith bring myself to give this movie a perfect score since the script isn't anything to praise nor are any of the human components of this film. Andy Serkis deserves at the very least an Oscar nod for his performance as Caesar which is riveting and is easily the most engaging part of the entire film. Rise of the Apes has thrilling action, chilling and heart wrenching moments and easily some of the most groundbreaking CGI yet. I highly recommend this movie. Ignore the slightly less than perfect score and GO SEE Rise of the Apes.

(4 out of 5)