Carrie (July 6th, 2014)
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Ansel Elgort, and Gabriella Wilde
I really wanted this to be great. I loved the book and found the original movie by DePalma lacking. And when those working on the movie said the book was more a basis than the original movie, I got excited. It may have taken me a while to finally see it, but I did. And I didn't hate it. Chloe Moretz is a better Carrie than Sissy Spacek was. Moore was also better as Margaret White than Piper Laurie. So when it was dealing with them on screen, I was into it. I believed Carries and Margarets journey more. Moretz may not be a fat, ugly little duckling like King described her in the book, but neither was Spacek. Moretz managed to portray the wallflower, repressed aspects of Carrie better than Spacek, who only managed to be weird because she looked weird. And Moore had an easy job, for me at least, because all she had to do was not be a cartoon mess of a woman like Laurie. Luckily she was also good as the insanely devout woman who has to struggle with herself to kill her daughter. The biggest problem with the movie is the lack of anyone interesting aside from those two. None of the cast really shine or make an impression, some of them being bad. So it's essentially the horror movie problem of having to like the characters, but you don't so you want to see them die. Another big problem was Pierce shows her lack of experience with big effects work, because they sometimes seem a bit off, like she didn't know how to film it. There are moments when it's really good, but the rest is lacking. Now, there's the part of me that has a grudge against this movie for not being closer to the book, being that I've read the book. This is closer to the original movie, so the pre release talk was all bull shit. If it wanted to be like the book, it would have been like a docudrama in a sense, with a big apocalyptic ending. But I have to ignore that. As a movie, it works well enough. It doesn't soar, but it's a good enough way to pass the time.
Rating: 7/10
22 Jump Street (July 9th, 2014)
Director: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube, and Wyatt Russell
Ice Cube steals the movie. It's gotta be put up front. He single handedly steals the movie from the on point Tatum and the still over rated, barely funny Hill. Now that we got past that, the movie is pretty funny. A sequel that manages to be an overtly meta take down on sequels, it pulls of quite a tough balancing act. I don't find Hill particularly funny, but Tatum is even better than the last time. He is perfectly harnessing the stiff, dumb ass persona that he has and it's great. Add the bromance he gets into with Wyatt Russell (Kurts son, who looks way too much like him) is really funny, adding some "aren't buddy movies kinda gay" humor to the movie. The plot itself is almost an exact copy of the last one, but it being a sequel, it has a twist to not be exact. The movie can kinda be a little too much if you aren't into such winking material. I did for the most part, but I won't say it's a classic. It's on the same level as the first, and I hope they don't come back to the well. The credits of the movie make it perfectly clear it wouldn't be a good idea.
Rating: 8/10
Dawn of The Planet of The Apes (July 11th, 2014)
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell, Jason Clarke, and Gary Oldman
This movie may be the biggest surprise of the summer. The last Apes movie was good, but it had a good deal of flaws. Mainly the humans in the movie were absolutely worthless and kinda terribly performed. But all the stuff with Serkis as Caesar was great. It left room for a sequel with a lot of potential, but I did not think that they would come back this strong. I've never loved an Apes movie (a rewatch of the original and a viewing of the sequels is imminent), but I loved this one. The biggest improvement and the element that elevates it too greatness is the humans are actually really good in this. Clarke is a good focal point for the humans, a man trying to protect his loved ones and who sees the good in the Apes. Oldman, who in a lesser movie would be the moustache twirling villain, is just a man who is trying to protect his people and doesn't have all the knowledge of the Apes and Caesar to trust them. Even the supporting actors bring some good work to the movie, specifically Keri Russell and Kodi Smit McPhee as Clarkes family. And the Apes, great in the last movie, are even better this time out. Because not only do we get Serkis doing even better work as Caesar, we get Kebbell as Koba. Koba is essentially the villain of the movie. But you understand why he does what he does. One of the things that sets this apart from most other blockbusters and sci fi movies is that we understand everyone, and nobody is pure evil. We don't want violence to break out, because we know the toll will be terrible. Reeves has taken a huge leap here, completely elevating the game. He shames the rest of the years blockbusters with mature and smart directing. I can't really speak much higher about the movie. All that's left to say is it needs to be seen. Highly recommended.
Rating: 9.5/10
Throne of Blood (July 12th, 2014)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune
It's Kurosawa doing the samurai version of MacBeth, with Mifune as the warrior himself. It was gonna be good no matter what. And it is. Most know the story of MacBeth so I'll keep it simple. This is a good adaptation of the play. Mifune is phenomenal as usual as the main man himself. The paranoia and guilt just drips off him. His wife, the most hideous woman I have ever had the displeasure of laying eyes on, is good as Lady MacBeth. The whole movie is good, simply put. It lacks a bit of meat on the bones, not being as fleshed out as the play it's based on. But that's fine, it's the 50s and Kurosawa wrings out alot of good from what he's got. It is a top tier movie from one of the best film makers ever. Give it a shot and watch a master at work.
Rating: 9/10
22 Jump Street (July 9th, 2014)
Director: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube, and Wyatt Russell
Ice Cube steals the movie. It's gotta be put up front. He single handedly steals the movie from the on point Tatum and the still over rated, barely funny Hill. Now that we got past that, the movie is pretty funny. A sequel that manages to be an overtly meta take down on sequels, it pulls of quite a tough balancing act. I don't find Hill particularly funny, but Tatum is even better than the last time. He is perfectly harnessing the stiff, dumb ass persona that he has and it's great. Add the bromance he gets into with Wyatt Russell (Kurts son, who looks way too much like him) is really funny, adding some "aren't buddy movies kinda gay" humor to the movie. The plot itself is almost an exact copy of the last one, but it being a sequel, it has a twist to not be exact. The movie can kinda be a little too much if you aren't into such winking material. I did for the most part, but I won't say it's a classic. It's on the same level as the first, and I hope they don't come back to the well. The credits of the movie make it perfectly clear it wouldn't be a good idea.
Dawn of The Planet of The Apes (July 11th, 2014)
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell, Jason Clarke, and Gary Oldman
This movie may be the biggest surprise of the summer. The last Apes movie was good, but it had a good deal of flaws. Mainly the humans in the movie were absolutely worthless and kinda terribly performed. But all the stuff with Serkis as Caesar was great. It left room for a sequel with a lot of potential, but I did not think that they would come back this strong. I've never loved an Apes movie (a rewatch of the original and a viewing of the sequels is imminent), but I loved this one. The biggest improvement and the element that elevates it too greatness is the humans are actually really good in this. Clarke is a good focal point for the humans, a man trying to protect his loved ones and who sees the good in the Apes. Oldman, who in a lesser movie would be the moustache twirling villain, is just a man who is trying to protect his people and doesn't have all the knowledge of the Apes and Caesar to trust them. Even the supporting actors bring some good work to the movie, specifically Keri Russell and Kodi Smit McPhee as Clarkes family. And the Apes, great in the last movie, are even better this time out. Because not only do we get Serkis doing even better work as Caesar, we get Kebbell as Koba. Koba is essentially the villain of the movie. But you understand why he does what he does. One of the things that sets this apart from most other blockbusters and sci fi movies is that we understand everyone, and nobody is pure evil. We don't want violence to break out, because we know the toll will be terrible. Reeves has taken a huge leap here, completely elevating the game. He shames the rest of the years blockbusters with mature and smart directing. I can't really speak much higher about the movie. All that's left to say is it needs to be seen. Highly recommended.
Throne of Blood (July 12th, 2014)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune
It's Kurosawa doing the samurai version of MacBeth, with Mifune as the warrior himself. It was gonna be good no matter what. And it is. Most know the story of MacBeth so I'll keep it simple. This is a good adaptation of the play. Mifune is phenomenal as usual as the main man himself. The paranoia and guilt just drips off him. His wife, the most hideous woman I have ever had the displeasure of laying eyes on, is good as Lady MacBeth. The whole movie is good, simply put. It lacks a bit of meat on the bones, not being as fleshed out as the play it's based on. But that's fine, it's the 50s and Kurosawa wrings out alot of good from what he's got. It is a top tier movie from one of the best film makers ever. Give it a shot and watch a master at work.
- Tom Lorenzo
No comments:
Post a Comment