Byzantium

Byzantium directed by Neil Jordan, starring Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton.

This movie is a completely different take on the whole vampire mythology and more or less plays as a companion piece to Jordan's Interview with a Vampire.  Where as that movie focused on two men as the leads this movie has two women as the leads, and I feel that connection with the movies is sound considering they shared the same director.  The movies explore similar themes but also in wildly different ways, which is one of the things that makes this movie so interesting.  I would also say this movie plays as a more independent and arty version of Interview with a Vampire and heralds back to Jordan's movie The Company of Wolves. 

These are the types of vampire movies I like where the weight of being over a hundred years old is really felt on the characters and not just some passing line of dialogue mentioned in the teenage romance vampire stories that are dominating everything, to simply set up the fact they are different because you know being a vampire and living off of blood isn't different enough.  That is one of the themes explored in this movie: the passage of time and the burden of memory and knowledge that carries on with each ticking of the clock and passing of the years.  I will say the first forty-five minutes to an hour of this movie felt too much like an independent or arty movie as nothing seemed explored nor were answers forth coming but the last part of the movie really took and flew when answers and revelations finally started to come to light.  This really helped flesh out the characters and make them shine which is the whole point of telling stories: make the characters interesting and you can do about anything with the story.  The characters in this movie are interesting as it plays around with other themes of societal structure based on class pertaining to the nature versus nurture argument.  This aspect of the movie I really liked and how they explored these themes is one of the best things about this movie.

It's not often you get a vampire movie with two female leads where sexuality isn't the focal point of their character.  Even though one of the character's livelihood is based around sex it isn't something that drives her as her life makes up one the themes of nature versus nurture.  Her daughter makes up the other part of the nature versus nurture argument and it is carried out with such grace that I was simply amazed it was an actual vampire movie.  These aren't your normal vampires as their origin becomes explained later and there's just enough back story to everything not fully explored that a sequel would be a welcome addition to the mythological groundwork set forth here.  The world created for these vampires is intriguing and genuinely original.

Acting wise I think Saoirse Ronan was simply amazing at conveying the weight of being over a hundred years old while in the body of a teenager and the conflict she battled of balancing the knowledge with appearance. 

R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D. Rest In Peace Department directed by Robert Schwentke, starring Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Mary-Louise Parker, and Kevin Bacon.

This is one of the easier movies I've seen to break down: Men in Black dealing the dead instead of aliens and that about sums it all up. 

If you're in the mood for a Men in Black type of movie then this is the movie for you, just don't go in expecting anything else.

Ryan Reynolds is typical Ryan Reynolds as his acting career has taken a detour down the Keanu Reeves acting tree, so you know what you're going to get from him.  But the main reason to watch this film is for Jeff Bridges and Mary-Louie Parker.  They are simply brilliant and steal every scene they're in, even if they're acting.  They can just stand there and act rings around everyone else.  The story line should have been built around their characters who are lot more interesting and have way more interesting pasts that Reynolds and his bland, cliche ridden character.  Also seeing the acting on display when they are all together is worth it because Hollywood keeps pushing these monotone, non-acting hacks on us, when clearly there are people who can act rings around them.  Witness every scene with Bridges, Parker, and Reynolds and see who can act and who can't.  If the movie had been built around Bridges and Parker this movie would have been much better and wildly more enertaining considering the craziness of the concept but Bridges and Parker would have made it work because they pretty much did here. 

The Town

The Town written and directed by Ben Affleck, starring Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, John Hamm, Rebecca Hall, and Black Lively.

I've got to be honest I like Ben Affleck as a director and am looking forward to the next movie he's directing, whatever and whenever that may be.  I've now seen all three of the movies he's directed and I can honestly say I'm a fan.  I waited a long time before I saw The Town.  The main reason is because I thought from the trailer I saw it was going to be a typical movie freely flowing with Hollywood cliches -  I'm man enough to admit I was completely wrong.  This is the middle movie of Affleck's director's career right smack in between Gone, Baby Gone and Argo (personally I think it is better than Argo).   This movie is two and half hours long but the pacing and characters helped the time to not feel as long and in fact the movie felt shorter than it was and I saw the director's cut so I don't know what was added and don't really care.

The characters and the actors playing the characters are what really helped this movie to be as good as it turned out.  I got engaged with the characters, their lives, their struggles, their decisions I felt I understood them in ways that felt intimate.  It also helped that Affleck cast some really good actors to help flesh out these characters and make them breathe.  I liked how this movie is sympathetic to the essentially the bad guy, played by Ben Affleck, but never once makes the FBI agent chasing him a dick.  In a lot movies they seem to make the bad guy the hero and the cop chasing them the villain.  I liked the FBI agent John Hamm played and Hamm gave him enough personality that his character never seemed cliche but had real sense of who he was without giving into the standard Hollywood formula and Hamm didn't have a huge part but he more than made up for it.  It was a good script that dived into the history of the characters in a way that didn't feel forced as the movie explored their pasts subtly with an assurance and confidence lacking in many movies.  The characters also responded to the situations and each other with a sense of reality versus the artificial fantasy of Hollywood characters, where I find myself throwing up my hands in disbelief at the utter lack intelligence versus the stupid on display.  I didn't find that here and that was wholeheartedly enjoyed.

If I had to break this movie down I would say this is the Boston version of Michael Mann's Heat, which was set in LA.  And I think this more than lives up to that statement as Affleck's character is even seen watching that movie in one scene.  The movies are similar in a lot of way as they both explore the cops and criminal and the heists the criminals plan and execute.  Only The Town doesn't go as far into the cop's life as Heat did, but Affleck's character is very similar to De Niro's character in Heat.  If you're going to steal, steal from the best. 

One of the things I've noticed over the years with directors is that there seems to be only be a handful of directors that can direct actions scenes and fully communicate to the audience what is going on without them being in confusion as to what is happening.  Paul Greengrass springs to mind as a someone who seems OK with the audience being in confusion as to what is happening with the action scenes.  Affleck hit it out of the part with the action scenes in this movies as I never once felt confused as to what was going on but always felt he was assure of himself and the action that was happening in all the scenes.  His communication skill with the action scene was full of maturity, this from a guy who had only previously directed one movie and that movie not full of any sort of the action found in this movie.  He really brought the city of Boston to life this movie as it felt like another character altogether as it not only played key roles in the characters of the movie but also served as key in the story.  This is something that was also felt in Mann's Heat, as the city of LA was a prominent character throughout that movie - just another Heat reference for this movie - one that I don't think Affleck would mind.  

100 Bullets

100 Bullets written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eddie Russo.

I had heard a lot about this series as it was going on but I never got around to reading all 100 issues of it, until now, thank you the public library.  It took about three weeks but I finally got all the issues read and what a great series it turned out to be.  It more than lived up to all hype I'd read about.  I've got admit I'm always skeptical when things get this blown out of proportion, especially when it comes to comics books, because comic readers and die hard comic fans are some of the most gullible and forgiving people on the earth.  But this series was flat out awesome, well worth the read, and more than lived up to the hype I'd read about.

Azzarello essentially dabbled in a level of world building I don't normally see in comics and he more than succeeded.  His world is full of characters of all sorts and gives them a past, a present, and a future that lived up everything he was building on since the start of issue 1.  Comic don't normally have this level of detail or world building, only a few writers have done what Azzarello did with this series.  It's one of the few comics that felt like a TV series as I was reading, such was the pacing, editing, and storytelling ability found within the pages.  Characters felt real and the world Azzarello built around them was gripping, secret, full of double crosses, triple crosses, and quadruple crosses but none of them ever felt gimmicky.  Everything fit together like a well constructed puzzle and by the last issue, even though there were still things left unexplained, I felt satisfied by everything that had at least been explained so far.  There weren't too many strings left dangled.

This is a violent story with a body count in the hundreds and deals with secret societies, criminals, hit men/women, and blood, lots of blood.  The dialogue flowed with an intimacy that completely helped to draw me into the world being built around the characters.  I loved how certain characters would be in the background or seem just part of the story for a section and then later on they would return, which caused me to look back through past issues so I could remember where I'd seen that character before.  Azzarello had the details of this story down pat and built everything subtly until the grand finale that more than lived up to everything he had built before.  This is a series that is dying to be made into a TV series and would look great on HBO.

American Hustle

American Hustle directed by David O Russell, starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, and Robert De Niro.

This is by no means a great movie but it is a very watchable and entertaining movie, and that is a complete compliment considering this movie relies on acting to sell the entire movie.  David O Russell has hit it out of the park with his last two movies The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, two of the best movies to come out in a long time.  By making those two movies I think he's set his bar very high for future movies of his released.  American Hustle doesn't reach the same heights as his previous movies but it gets darn close and is completely engaging throughout its two and half hour run time.

The acting in this movie is simply amazing.  It is reason enough to go out and watch this movie as Russell has assembled one of the finest cast of actors acting today.  Everyone of them is simply outstanding in their roles, as the screenplay gives them a lot of room to breath and flesh out their characters.  And all of them are given characters that have a three dimensional complexity not found in many movies now-a-days.  Let me tell you these actors take those complexities and run with them in full force, bringing these characters to life in ways I wouldn't have imagined.  I like the fact Russell wasn't afraid to actually let these actors act in long scenes with nothing but dialogue.  Russell put a lot of faith in his actors to carry this movie and they've risen to the challenge.  All five of these actors: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeniffer Lawrence, and Jeremy Renner do a great job of fleshing out this story and bringing these characters to life.  Robert De Niro does some of his best work in the 5 minute scene he's in.  His presence is still felt in the film after he's long gone, so strong is his performance and well written his character as he completely compliments and enhances the story line, taking it a place that Bale's character was warning everyone about.  I will say this though, Jeniffer Lawrence does steal the movie with a wildly off balance character that flirts with craziness and sanity in some ways that garners our hatred and sympathy in equal measures.  

Russell is the best director out there using a hand held camera.  No one matches his ability to set up a scene and actually shoot a scene with a hand held camera without it being all wobbly and confusing.  His ability to communicate a scene with a hand held camera is simply not matched by the lazy directors using it today.  Never for once was I in confusion as to what was going on in a scene, that speaks highly of him as a director.  Here's looking forward to his next movie.  He's officially joined the ranks of the best directors directing movies.  These are the directors who's movies need to be seen when they do a new one (and only if they're directing it): Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Michael Mann, Alfonso Cuaron, Ben Affleck , and David O Russell.

Man of Steel

Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder, starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Lawrence Fishburne, Michael Shannan, and Russel Crowe.

This is not a bad film, but no where is it a great film and somewhere under this film a great film is wanting to be made.  I did think it was way better than the Brian Singer directed and Brandon Roth starring Superman Returns though, which to me didn't really seem to add anything new to Superman, where as Man of Steel does instead of just retreading familiar grounds.  At least this film attempts something new to the Superman mythology.

Christopher Nolan's finger printers are all over this movie.  Even though he only produced it and had input in the screenplay, his influence can be felt throughout this movie.  I just wish he had been more in charge and directed the movie, then I think the final product would have been a much more focused movie than was delivered.  I just don't think Zack Snyder was the man for the job, his filmography just doesn't support the kind of material he was dealing with, with Man of Steel.   He seems to have a more juvenile attitude towards film making than the adult mindset needed for the themes floating around this Superman movie.

My one major disappoint with the movie was with how the casting was handled within the movie.  There's a great cast list, much like Nolan had with the Batman movies, but this movie squanders any acting for just out and out action and really no story progression.  I mean with this cast list I would have had all sorts of dialogue and acting scenes for them to be in to further move the story forward and develop characters.  I can just imagine how this movie would have turned out if these actors had actually been given something worth while to do besides just run, stand, or pose in most of the scenes.

In  a lot of ways this movie reminded me of the Richard Donner Superman, which upon seeing it later in my life, is one slow film that relies more on visuals to tell a story but those visuals don't mesh well with the overall story nor do flesh out Superman's characters.  He's a blank wall throughout the film.  At least Man of Steel attempts to do something different with the Superman mythology but I still felt the same way as to the visual and slowness of the movie.   Man of Steel isn't anywhere near on the same level as Nolan's Batman, which is a comparison this film will never live down.

One of things I really liked about this film was the out and out supermen brawl between Jor-El and General Zod, which was everything a super brawl would be if it really happened.  The out and out destruction I thought was great and I did find myself engaged with the characters in this fight.  I don't know why people had such a hard time with this fight, because if two people with this much power did fight, it would be something like this and collateral damage would be insane.

Despicable Me 2

Despicable Me 2 with the voice talents of Steve Corell, Kristen Wiig, Steve Coogan, Russell Brand, Benjamin Bratt, and Miranda Cosgrove.

This was a good time to spend with the kids.  I didn't see this movie in the theater when it came out but I was not shocked by why it was so popular.  This movie is funny and very character driven, so much so that the story line is the side point and that isn't a bad thing.

Much like the Ice Age movies, Despicable Me wants to establish characters, see them grow, and put them in situations that will only further their growth.  When the focus on any story is the character and the development of the character any story can be a side issue as long as the character's are being developed.  It was a joy to watch Gru grow as a character as he finds love in Lucy.  It's just a rare find of movie that focuses on family and the family dynamic as much as this movie does, along with Ice Age.  I would put these movies side by side as some of the best family movies out there to sit down and watch with the kids.  

Both of these movies grow their worlds larger with each installment as well as grow their characters.  All in all I'm looking forward to next Despicable Me as well as the next Pharell Williams soundtrack to the movie because that man can put some tunes together.

Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, B. J. Novak, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Mike Myers, Christoph Waltz, and Eli Roth.

As much as I hate Tarantino films, there's still a lot to say about his films and I think one of the reasons this is, is because his films are so praised and regarded much higher than I think they deserve.  Thus is the reason his films can be written about so much, or have to be written about so much, because there has to be evidence and justification on why his films from a technical standpoint are trash.  And, thus, why he is overrated.

One thing about Tarantino movies that I've come to expect: he will have a bunch of good acted scenes in the movie that will not add up to the whole of the film.  These scenes will be well acted and for the most part visually appealing and competently directed.  This movie is no different.

I also must say I haven't seen a Tarantino movie since the atrocious Kill Bill vol 1 which didn't even wet my appetite enough to see Kill Bill vol 2.  How bad was part one?  So bad I have no intention of seeing part two anytime soon, thus is the hatred for part one, which I sometime I might write about, but that's for another review.  That being said this is the first time in a long time I've ventured into the world of Tarantino, since then I've seen and had my movie experience widened a lot.


First thing - the acting in this movie is reason alone to see it as everyone adds their brilliance to each scene there in.  That is the one thing I can honestly say I like about Tarantino - he actually lets his actors act and doesn't overshadow them with flashy special effects, wild camera work, or crazy action scenes.  He lets them act.  I think this is one of the reasons so many actors come to the table when he makes a movie because they will get a chance to act.  Christoph Waltz is by far the highlight of this movie.  He chews his dialogue with aggression and passion as he switches from English, French, and German with an easiness that is scary.  He is simply chilling in his role, as well as being mesmerizing and very hypnotic.  Where he came from I don't know because it seems he came out of nowhere but when he landed he landed with a nuclear blast felt around the movie world.  Every scene he is in is simply boiling over with tension and brilliance that is simply captivating.  Another actor who is in one of the best scenes in the movie is Michael Fassbender - who also seemed to come out of no where and land with the same kind force as Waltz and who I must confess is the one reason I wanted to see this movie because everything I've seen him in from X-Men First Class, Shame, Hunger, Centurion, Prometheus, and Haywire has been simply amazing even if the movie wasn't that great (Haywire and Prometheus).  His finest and final scene in Basterds is one for the ages.  I  just wish I could have had a scene with him and Waltz together, that would have been worth its weight in gold.

Tarantino knows how to build a scene with tension - witness "The Bull Jew" scene where the sound of the bat hitting the rock ricochets with force throughout the scene, building tension with each ping against the rock.  Or the scenes with Waltz at the beginning of the movie and at the restaurant with the Jewish girl.  Tarantino does tension with an uncanny ability as these scenes were filled to the brim with uneasiness on an almost Hitchockian level and then he pads the rest of the movie with so much pointlessness that it gets nauseating .

Now the one part of Tarantino that I don't understand.  His ability to tell a story is simply on a level I don't understand and is confusing at best.  I could write a thesis on how Kill Bill part 1 was one of the worst written revenge movies ever made and that would just be for starters. 

Basterds only further convinces me that Tarantino likes scenes but not story telling or any structure to speak of.  The main character of the movie is the Jewish girl whose family is murdered at the beginning of the movie, thus setting up the basically revenge plot of the movie.  But as the movie gets into motion there's never any exploring of her character further than her family is murdered.  That is her whole character in a nut shell.  She has no character development beyond the revenge motive and thus is reduced to a two dimensional character that's really hard to root for because there's nothing that gives her substance.  I know nothing about her but her motive of revenge.  Compare this with the movie Ben-hur and the title character of that movie who we really get to know as the movie progresses as not just a revenge seeker but as a person: he likes horses and it good with horses and racing chariots, he comes from a rich family, is the head of household, has compassion when it would seem fit not have compassion, is in love with a servants daughter and this is just stuff from the top of my head at not having seen the movie in a long time.  Not so with Basterds, revenge is the only motive of character, all else would bog things down.  Even with the Basterds themselves there's no real three dimensional characters there's only cliches and stereotypes.  They're nothing more than strange accents with minor gimmicks.  But what more do know about them then they want to kill Nazis with a savagery that drives on the serial killer side?  Nothing.

Now the big question.  Who has character development and three dimensional structure in this film?

Two the Nazis, they are, honestly, two the characters I liked the best out of the movie and I had  - more or less - sympathy for: Waltz's Natzi "Jew Hunter"and Daniel Bruhl's Fredrick Zoller, the hero sniper.  I got to know their characters really well throughout the movie - and by the end of the movie I actually liked them and was somewhat rooting for them.  In fact they are two of the most defined three dimensional characters in the movie.  Even the Basterds I didn't like because I never got to know them beyond the fact they like to kill Natzis.  This is all Tarantino's fault as a storyteller for not giving me something more to hang my hat on than: revenge for killing her parents and we just like to kill Nazis.  It's pure laziness on his part.

This is just starting.  The name of the movie is Inglorious Basterds, who don't even show up in the movie until about an hour into the story.  And like I said above the main character of the movie is the Jewish girl from the first part of the movie.  This wide jump in storytelling is pure insanity and makes no sense at all, and like I said above, it's pure laziness, but then I've come to expect nothing else at all from Tarantino because after all if you know anything about his history, he's studies some of the best movies Hollywood has had to offer. 

It shows.