Hey gang, welcome to the special Easter addition of the weekly update of my cinematic journey. But there is nothing to do with the holiday so it isn't actually that special. It also may be the weakest week so far, but whatever. Shit happens man. Anyway, I'll make this short and sweet. So sit back, relax and let me know what you think please. Share the wealth, and enjoy the holiday.
My Soul To Take (April 13th, 2014)
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: Max Thieriot, John Magaro, Denzel Whitaker, and Frank Grillo
Wes Craven is one of the masters of horror, but he can turn on a dime and make an embarrassment of a horror movie. It's really quite odd. He's like the Robert Rodriguez of horror, except much earlier. I mean, this is a man who can go from New Nightmare to Vampire In Brooklyn to Scream or can go from The Hills Have Eyes Part II to A Nightmare On Elm Street. But the only thing that runs through all his movies is that there is usually something more underneath. He is a very smart man and tries to put some thematic heft into even the most ridiculous of movies, like Shocker, or a sequel like Scream 4. So I guess it's just sometimes he doesn't always hit his stride or have a fire in him. This movie is definitely a Wes Craven movie. I won't get much into the plot since it's all very convoluted, which wasn't helped by the typical tampering his movies face at the hands of a studio (when will these company men assholes learn). But it starts off with a bang, typical of Wes' movies. Once the cool opening is done, we move into iffy territory. Wes trying to make a high school drama with dialogue that could be described as Brick-esque. Which would be fine if it wasn't written by Wes, an 70 plus year old man. So we settle into the worst stretch of the movie, dealing with high school crap. The kids are all good and ready to go but this seems to be lacking. Probably due to reshoots. But even throughout this, there is something so odd and unusual about it that I kinda enjoyed it. It's playing to its own rhythms. It's around the halfway mark when things really start going crazy, completely abandoning the rules of the slasher genre that by the end of the movie it has completely insane but not in a shark jumping way, kinda. That's the movie to a T. It kinda doesn't jump the shark. There's two main things that make me like this movie a good bit. One, it feels like an old slasher movie while tossing all the rules out without going meta. Secondly, the crux of the story that I really don't feel like typing is all a metaphor for growing up/puberty. It kinda gets lost in all the noise and the ambitious but chopped up ideas Wes was trying to convey, but there is something in this movie that is hard to hate. At least for me. I'm a big horror fan, even bigger of Wes so I may have a soft spot for it. I know most will hate it, but with an open mind you may see something in the stars.
Rating: 6/10
The Fountain (April 14th, 2014)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weiss
Aronofsky is a man who will always swing for the fences and go big. He's not always perfect, as the word from Noah tells me (haven't seen it so I can't speak). But before Noah, there was The Fountain. His first big budget, sci fi religious epic. And it certainly doesn't lack for ambition. Tying three narrative threads together that kind of run at the same time and kind of don't, while maybe dealing with one soul throughout his reincarnation. But maybe it's just one story with another story within that is used to heighten the themes? Most didn't take to this movie when it came out, and while I understand why I don't agree. It doesn't completely hit the marks, but it reaches some damn fine highs that I really respect what he does here. Visually, the movie is superb, different than anything before. And acting wise, the main draw is Jackman. He does tremendous work as essentially three different men and making them similar but different enough. Weiss does decent work but doesn't have enough to work with to make as indelible an impression that Jackman does in what is the first serious role after playing Wolverine. This is a poetic sort of movie, with no real plot to speak of. Sure, we see Jackman try to save his wife in one story, Spain in another, and the Tree of Life in the third (surprised it bombed?). But narrative isn't important. It's the moments and the buildup to a realization, the character moments. By the end of the movie, it all comes together in that trademark ambitious Aronofsky way. Not completely clean but hard hitting nonetheless. I can't wait to watch it a second time so I could bask in it more and come out with more to say. But even on first viewing, it's a damn fine film.
Rating: 8.5/10
Frankenstein (April 15th, 2014)
Director: James Whale
Starring: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, and Boris Karloff
Having watched Dracula last week, I decided on continuing through the Universal Monster movies and watch Frankenstein. This was a good decision, because this was an improvement on Dracula. Everyone knows the story of Frankenstein, especially the movie because it is very different from the book. Dr Frankenstein is obsessed with creating life, thereby creating the monster. The monster is uncontrollable and dangerous, so he has to put it down. It's all very simple but iconic nonetheless. But where this movie is an improvement, the next step compared to Dracula is the ambiguity and the violence. Ambiguity in the way that the monster was literally made that way and isn't trying to be bad, but is like a child who doesn't know what he's doing. But should they sort of let him be a giant, impetuous child? That's rattling around up there. But for me, the violence shocked me. Not because it's gruesome or anything. But because this is a movie from the 1930s and has a scene where the monster hangs someone and throws a little girl into a lake where she drowns. I was stunned, because you can't even kill kids in todays movies. Just an insane moment that sort of pays off when there is a scene of the father walking down the road in town while he holds the dead girl in his arms, all in one long take. Now that, is some haunting shit. James Whale set out to make something great, and he did it. Now, there is alot of talk that Whale made this movie as a metaphor for being a closet homosexual. Knowing that and that Whale was a homosexual, it's almost kinda obvious that it is there. I'm not gonna say the movie is great because of that, but it's an interesting thing to think about when watching. This is a classic movie that helped change the game as the other Universal Monster movies did. Like Dracula it is a bit rough in the story department, kinda choppy in some ways but better off than Dracula in that regard. But it's still one of those movies sort of figuring out how to do these things. Either way though, it has to be seen. A classic for the ages.
Rating: 8.5/10
Reality Bites (April 17th, 2014)
Director: Ben Stiller
Starring: Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo
I don't know how it happened and I don't know why. But somehow, Ethan Hawke became an actor I really like now. Before he was that guy who was good in Training Day and Assault on Precinct 13, but nothing else I'd seen him in. Then I saw him in the atrocious Daybreakers and thought those other two movies were flukes. But then I saw Brooklyns Finest, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, and then recently I saw the coup de gras of the Before Sunrise trilogy. He's in that group know of guys that I will watch in almost anything. Add that, this being Ben Stillers directorial debut and the love of Winona Ryder that every young male who saw Beetlejuice still carries with them, I had to see this movie. And it is a damn fine little movie. It could honestly be a Hollywood-ized companion piece to Before Sunrise, before the sequels came out. Following a group of younguns fresh out of college as they flounder about, trying to figure out what to do. This is not a story driven movie. It's kind of formless, with scenes of everyone hanging out or Winona on a date or shit like that. A love triangle breaks out between Winona, Stiller and Hawke. But the movie doesn't become dominated with it until the end. It's a hang out movie featuring a group of fresh faces that we all like, so it's a fun time watching. It's funny but not gut bustingly so. It's romantic but kinda not, in the sense that Winona picks an absolute dickhead by the end of the movie. But I have a weakness for movies about yoots in the 90s. So I really liked this movie. Even with my objective hat on, it's a damn good movie that wasn't reaching for game changing levels. It was content to entertain and it did that. And for a movie that helped Stiller end up making Tropic Thunder, it is an important damn movie.
Rating: 8.5/10
A Bridge Too Far (April 18th, 2014)
Director: Richard Attenborough
Starring: Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, and Gene Hackman
I've only seen two of his movies, but I don't think Richard Attenborough is a very good director. It's not that he's bad, but it between this and Gandhi he is very much a simple director. Point and shoot, a gun for hire in a way. Which is odd since Gandhi was a passion project. He's also very boring, which shouldn't be a word mentioned in a 3 hour war movie that is 2 hours of fighting. I won't say this is a bad movie. But it never reaches any glorious heights of past war movies, nor does it do anything to set it apart. The cast is a good cast, but they pretty much do the barest of minimums. They aren't characters so much as themselves. The action is serviceable but bland. The story is stretched way too thin, doing what Band of Brothers did in an hour, over three hours. It's a simple story of the many mistakes that doomed Operation Market Garden. This isn't a bad movie, as I'm glad I saw it. War movies are usually a good time for me. It's just there's a level of disappointment that nags at me.
Rating: 7.5/10
Daredevil: Directors Cut (April 19th, 2014)
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Colin Farrell
Of all the failed comic book movies, this one was the closest to being good. Ben could have been a good Daredevil with a better director and script. Hell, all the problems fall to the director. Even the much talked about directors cut features the numerous problems that plagued the theatrical release. If anything, it kind of added more. A wildly inconsistent tone and a smattering of ridiculous scenes don't help matters. The fucking fight scene between Matt and Elektra in the playground is one of the dumbest things in all of comic book moviedom, and I've seen Galactus turned into a fucking cloud. Or the worst damned soundtrack in not just a comic book movie, but an action movie. And speaking of action movies, the fight scenes and FX are bad. There is no weight to the movements, Daredevil moving like Spiderman and the FX looking like crap. The costume is also a damn joke, with that stupid material it's made of looking like it's more of a hindrance than anything. Added to the movie in this cut is a subplot dealing with a trial. Which could have been good, if it didn't add Coolio in a role with some awful attempts at humor. It's kind of a joke. It's not like the guy got fucked by the studio. Johnson did Ghost Rider, and that was abysmal also. Worse than this. So this project was always gonna be a failure. But despite the many bad elements, it features two phenomenal elements. Michael Clarke Duncan is amazing as The Kingpin, bringing the necessary smarts and brutality to the role. Despite the neckbeards protests to the contrary, his color didn't take away anything. But the best part is Colin Farrell doing a fantastic Bullseye. He brings the cockiness and the humor to the role, as well as the physicality needed to portray him as a dead eye marksman. He is exactly what the character is in the books, and is a breathe of fresh air everytime he was on screen. But in the end, the movie is not good and a big misfire. Hopefully Marvel does right by the man without fear on Netflix, because this can't be his live action legacy.
Rating: 6/10
The Fountain (April 14th, 2014)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weiss
Aronofsky is a man who will always swing for the fences and go big. He's not always perfect, as the word from Noah tells me (haven't seen it so I can't speak). But before Noah, there was The Fountain. His first big budget, sci fi religious epic. And it certainly doesn't lack for ambition. Tying three narrative threads together that kind of run at the same time and kind of don't, while maybe dealing with one soul throughout his reincarnation. But maybe it's just one story with another story within that is used to heighten the themes? Most didn't take to this movie when it came out, and while I understand why I don't agree. It doesn't completely hit the marks, but it reaches some damn fine highs that I really respect what he does here. Visually, the movie is superb, different than anything before. And acting wise, the main draw is Jackman. He does tremendous work as essentially three different men and making them similar but different enough. Weiss does decent work but doesn't have enough to work with to make as indelible an impression that Jackman does in what is the first serious role after playing Wolverine. This is a poetic sort of movie, with no real plot to speak of. Sure, we see Jackman try to save his wife in one story, Spain in another, and the Tree of Life in the third (surprised it bombed?). But narrative isn't important. It's the moments and the buildup to a realization, the character moments. By the end of the movie, it all comes together in that trademark ambitious Aronofsky way. Not completely clean but hard hitting nonetheless. I can't wait to watch it a second time so I could bask in it more and come out with more to say. But even on first viewing, it's a damn fine film.
Director: James Whale
Starring: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, and Boris Karloff
Having watched Dracula last week, I decided on continuing through the Universal Monster movies and watch Frankenstein. This was a good decision, because this was an improvement on Dracula. Everyone knows the story of Frankenstein, especially the movie because it is very different from the book. Dr Frankenstein is obsessed with creating life, thereby creating the monster. The monster is uncontrollable and dangerous, so he has to put it down. It's all very simple but iconic nonetheless. But where this movie is an improvement, the next step compared to Dracula is the ambiguity and the violence. Ambiguity in the way that the monster was literally made that way and isn't trying to be bad, but is like a child who doesn't know what he's doing. But should they sort of let him be a giant, impetuous child? That's rattling around up there. But for me, the violence shocked me. Not because it's gruesome or anything. But because this is a movie from the 1930s and has a scene where the monster hangs someone and throws a little girl into a lake where she drowns. I was stunned, because you can't even kill kids in todays movies. Just an insane moment that sort of pays off when there is a scene of the father walking down the road in town while he holds the dead girl in his arms, all in one long take. Now that, is some haunting shit. James Whale set out to make something great, and he did it. Now, there is alot of talk that Whale made this movie as a metaphor for being a closet homosexual. Knowing that and that Whale was a homosexual, it's almost kinda obvious that it is there. I'm not gonna say the movie is great because of that, but it's an interesting thing to think about when watching. This is a classic movie that helped change the game as the other Universal Monster movies did. Like Dracula it is a bit rough in the story department, kinda choppy in some ways but better off than Dracula in that regard. But it's still one of those movies sort of figuring out how to do these things. Either way though, it has to be seen. A classic for the ages.
Reality Bites (April 17th, 2014)
Director: Ben Stiller
Starring: Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo
I don't know how it happened and I don't know why. But somehow, Ethan Hawke became an actor I really like now. Before he was that guy who was good in Training Day and Assault on Precinct 13, but nothing else I'd seen him in. Then I saw him in the atrocious Daybreakers and thought those other two movies were flukes. But then I saw Brooklyns Finest, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, and then recently I saw the coup de gras of the Before Sunrise trilogy. He's in that group know of guys that I will watch in almost anything. Add that, this being Ben Stillers directorial debut and the love of Winona Ryder that every young male who saw Beetlejuice still carries with them, I had to see this movie. And it is a damn fine little movie. It could honestly be a Hollywood-ized companion piece to Before Sunrise, before the sequels came out. Following a group of younguns fresh out of college as they flounder about, trying to figure out what to do. This is not a story driven movie. It's kind of formless, with scenes of everyone hanging out or Winona on a date or shit like that. A love triangle breaks out between Winona, Stiller and Hawke. But the movie doesn't become dominated with it until the end. It's a hang out movie featuring a group of fresh faces that we all like, so it's a fun time watching. It's funny but not gut bustingly so. It's romantic but kinda not, in the sense that Winona picks an absolute dickhead by the end of the movie. But I have a weakness for movies about yoots in the 90s. So I really liked this movie. Even with my objective hat on, it's a damn good movie that wasn't reaching for game changing levels. It was content to entertain and it did that. And for a movie that helped Stiller end up making Tropic Thunder, it is an important damn movie.
A Bridge Too Far (April 18th, 2014)
Director: Richard Attenborough
Starring: Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, and Gene Hackman
I've only seen two of his movies, but I don't think Richard Attenborough is a very good director. It's not that he's bad, but it between this and Gandhi he is very much a simple director. Point and shoot, a gun for hire in a way. Which is odd since Gandhi was a passion project. He's also very boring, which shouldn't be a word mentioned in a 3 hour war movie that is 2 hours of fighting. I won't say this is a bad movie. But it never reaches any glorious heights of past war movies, nor does it do anything to set it apart. The cast is a good cast, but they pretty much do the barest of minimums. They aren't characters so much as themselves. The action is serviceable but bland. The story is stretched way too thin, doing what Band of Brothers did in an hour, over three hours. It's a simple story of the many mistakes that doomed Operation Market Garden. This isn't a bad movie, as I'm glad I saw it. War movies are usually a good time for me. It's just there's a level of disappointment that nags at me.
Daredevil: Directors Cut (April 19th, 2014)
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Colin Farrell
Of all the failed comic book movies, this one was the closest to being good. Ben could have been a good Daredevil with a better director and script. Hell, all the problems fall to the director. Even the much talked about directors cut features the numerous problems that plagued the theatrical release. If anything, it kind of added more. A wildly inconsistent tone and a smattering of ridiculous scenes don't help matters. The fucking fight scene between Matt and Elektra in the playground is one of the dumbest things in all of comic book moviedom, and I've seen Galactus turned into a fucking cloud. Or the worst damned soundtrack in not just a comic book movie, but an action movie. And speaking of action movies, the fight scenes and FX are bad. There is no weight to the movements, Daredevil moving like Spiderman and the FX looking like crap. The costume is also a damn joke, with that stupid material it's made of looking like it's more of a hindrance than anything. Added to the movie in this cut is a subplot dealing with a trial. Which could have been good, if it didn't add Coolio in a role with some awful attempts at humor. It's kind of a joke. It's not like the guy got fucked by the studio. Johnson did Ghost Rider, and that was abysmal also. Worse than this. So this project was always gonna be a failure. But despite the many bad elements, it features two phenomenal elements. Michael Clarke Duncan is amazing as The Kingpin, bringing the necessary smarts and brutality to the role. Despite the neckbeards protests to the contrary, his color didn't take away anything. But the best part is Colin Farrell doing a fantastic Bullseye. He brings the cockiness and the humor to the role, as well as the physicality needed to portray him as a dead eye marksman. He is exactly what the character is in the books, and is a breathe of fresh air everytime he was on screen. But in the end, the movie is not good and a big misfire. Hopefully Marvel does right by the man without fear on Netflix, because this can't be his live action legacy.
- Tom Lorenzo
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