Good morning/afternoon/whatever the hell time it is gang. We got a new post, and it is a unique one. After going through three movies that all hit decent status, nothing great but nothing bad, we get to a movie that is so singular and so dense but not clear at all, I don't know how to review it. So strap in and see whats up. Thanks again.
The Sacrament (December 7th, 2014)
Director: Ti West
Starring: AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Kentucker Audley, and Gene Jones
Ti West is a very particular film maker. He works in the B movie genre, but doesn't deal in the B movie style. Instead of going big, flashy and gory, West goes for tense, slow and unsettling. It doesn't always work. It kinds works in VHS 2, works to some extent in The Innkeepers. But this movie is where it works a little more than the others. There's still a problem with pacing with him, spending too much time setting up and not so much building character. Even if he kept this pace, it needs to be weirder, dealing with a cult and all. But theres enough of a tone to unsettle a bit. Now, Bowen and Swanberg are ok, kinda just playing themselves. It's easy work for them, especially Swanberg since he's the cameraman for most of the movie. Oh yeah, it's found footage. We'll get to that. But the standout is Gene Jones as the cult leader. He is every bit as magnetic and creepy that such a man needs to be. It's a surprise performance because he's really never done anything like this, just kinda showing up in movies like No Country For Old Men. Now to the found footage aspect. It is shot well as a movie. It looks good and isn't disorienting. But that's because at points in the movie, it seems to forgot that there's only one camera in the entire compound and he's not around to be filming some of this crap. It's distracting when you realize it, because it's just kinda lazy. Now the biggest problem this movie faces is being very similar to a recently released movie. It's unfair to compare it to it, being a short and having a completely different tone and goals, but it does not stand up to Safe Haven from VHS 2. Even before the shit goes down, that has a tone and a creepiness sneaking in at the edges of the screen that it's even worse when the shit hits the fan. In the end, this is a very solid little movie, definitely worth seeing.
Draft Day (December 9th, 2014)
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, and Chadwick Boseman
This is a nice surprise, seeing Ivan making a good movie for the first time since Ghostbusters II (yeah, I said it. Get mad 80s babies), It's probably just wild luck that he managed to get a script, but I'd like to think he saw his son starting to lose the thread and decided to one up him. Set 12 hours before the NFL draft, Costner plays the GM of the Browns. It sounds like his job is on the line if he doesn't have a god draft. So he makes a crazy trade for the 1st pick, and starts to maybe regret it. Its all about him deciding what's right for the team and if he should take a risk. And somehow, it's surprisingly engrossing. The cast helps. Everyone is doing real solid work. Garner is yet again left out of the group, playing a thankless role again. But the standout isn't Costner, who does a more engaged version of his usual act. The standout is Boseman, who completely transforms to play a down south linebacker, so very different than Jackie Robinson or James Brown. Its a good little performance that is really surprising in a movie like this. This is a solid flick, but it never reaches above the normal fare. Its really cliched and isn't too surprising, but it works thanks to the cast and a solid script, not to mention Reitmans surprisingly strong direction. I'd recommend it.
Man of Tai Chi (December 12th, 2014)
Director: Keanu Reeves
Starring: Tiger Chen, Keanu Reeves, Karen Mok, and Iko Uwais
So, Keanu is a pretty solid director. When it comes to making throwback kung fu movies, he works a lot better than RZA. It also helps that this one is a lower key than the very big Man With The Iron Fists. This is aiming for nothing for more than entertaining kung fu. Keanu, playing the bad guy at peak Keanu-ness, is running what appears to be an underground fight league. He recruits Tiger to fight for him, and Tiger takes a real shine to it. Whats a nice surprise is that the movie is about watching Tiger struggle with a terrible anger inside of him and his descent into madness thanks to these fights, and then having to pull himself back out. It all plays out very typically but is done with such love for the genre, and is played straight face that it works. The fights are shot very well. Either the work he's done with the many great directors over the years has rubbed off, or he just gets how to shoot a film. I think both, since it's very good looking but also seems inspired by his work on The Matrix. This isn't a groundbreaking film, but it is damn entertaining and should be seen by all kung fu fans.
Inherent Vice (December 13th, 2014)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, and Joanna Newsom
I have no idea what the fuck I watched. I know I watched something. I know that it is technically very well made. I know that the acting was great. I also know that the cast is kinda not really used for the most part, with people just showing up. I also know that the movie is really funny. But in the end, I don't know if the movie makes any damn sense. I know it's not really supposed to, but does the end result work? On a scene by scene basis, it works. Each scene is well done and perfectly made. It's hilarious throughout. But the end game, fuck if I know. This is something that I need time and another viewing to get a handle on. This is exactly the movie Anderson wanted to make, so he succeeded on that front. But that movie is either a masterpiece or a fucking joke. Either way, he got masterful stuff from Phoenix and Brolin and made a movie that just makes you feel like you've been pumped with drugs. I'll come back with another review down the road, but this is a movie that needs to be seen.
Top Movies
1. Inherent Vice
2. The Sacrament
3. Draft Day
4. Man of Tai Chi
Top 5 Moments
1. Doc's Reaction to A Picture - Inherent Vice
2. The Plan In Effect - The Sacrament
3. Bigfoot Eats a Chocolate Banana - Inherent Vice
4. Bigfoots Final Meal, Doc Lets Out Some Tears - Inherent Vice
5. The Force Unleashed - Man of Tai Chi
Top 5 Performances
1. Joaquin Phoenix - Inherent Vice
2. Josh Brolin - Inherent Vice
3. Gene Jones - The Sacrament
4. Keanu Reeves - Man of Tai Chi
5. Chadwick Boseman - Draft Day
- Tom Lorenzo
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