The Way, Way Back

Well, tonight it is official... I am sick.  I had a runny nose the past few days which has now morphed into a full body shellacking, and my brain is proper mush.  I watched Source Code last night with hopes to review it today, but my mental state is not one to give full respect to such a fine movie.  I never wanted to post a previously written review, and unfortunately that will be the case today.  The review I am posting is from The Way, Way Back, a movie that I had the privelage to see while I was in Kelowna, BC with my wife while we visited her sister and brother-in-law.  I hope you enjoy it while I lay in bed and feel sorry for myself.

Perhaps it was meant to be, standing outside of the Paramount Theatre in Kelowna on a still summer evening awaiting the fourth member of our party to head in and see The Way, Way Back.  In a day of large, spacious and sterile movie theatres with brightly lit foyers, I was transported back into my childhood every time the doors to the Paramount opened.  Inside I could see an almost claustrophobic entrance with dim lighting which brought me back to simpler days of movie theatres that had one, two or three screens.  What sent my senses directly into overdrive, though, was the smell of stale popcorn that flooded out of the door to smack me in the face, only to disappear the moment the entrance was once again closed.  I was completely teleported back to summer nights as a child, going to the theatre with my parents to see such classics as The Goonies.  Completely pulled from time and space, I was awkward young Scott.

When the movie started, we are met with Duncan (Liam James) riding in a panel station wagon, having a conversation with his mother’s boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) with his mother riding shotgun and Trent’s daughter reclined and lost in her own world.  In the conversation, Trent gives what we can only presume is what he considers an encouraging speech to Duncan about the upcoming summer.  The height of the encouragement and uplifting comes after Trent asks Duncan how he would rate himself out of ten, and then tells Duncan that in actuality he is a three.  The interesting part of this introductory scene is that of the four characters, all are riding in the car looking forward to what may come, whereas Duncan is riding in the trunk seat of the station wagon, looking back to where he came from.

When they reach their destination, which is a cozy little beach town on the Atlantic coast, we find that it is a summer trapped in time.  All of the characters here seem to revert to the rhythms and patterns of summers past, never being able to let go of those moments of their youth.  Duncan, a fourteen year old boy with a social awkwardness and lack of confidence that transcends just existing in his interactions with others, but penetrates into even his withdrawn posture and stance, has no place in which to fit.  The other teenagers seem to be living in the same cycle as the parents and just doing the summer motions as they have always done.

What we have in this movie is an object, surrounded by happily stationary objects, wanting to move, wanting to discover but not having the abilities to naturally do so.  We follow Duncan as his want to escape the pain of his unhappy life forces him to take some social risks, including awkward conversations with girls that I myself can align with all too well.  In his pilgrimage with no known destination, he meets Owen (Sam Rockwell) who is a manager at local water park.  Owen is a charismatic, laid back individual who develops a relationship with our socially inept protagonist and hires him to work at the park, which is also completely stuck in the past.

What follows is one of the most heartwarming, yet at times emotionally torturous movies of the summer.  The performance by Liam James is unbelievable, and he captures the nuances of his character to perfection.  The movie does have some very jilted transitions from moments of elevated emotion, to Duncan being rocked by reality and left remembering the harsh nature of his dysfunctional life at home.  Sometimes such quick emotional transitions do not work, but in the real life of a socially lost individual the highs are intoxicatingly high and can be swept out from under your feet as quickly as someone can remind you of who you truly are.

The movie was written and directed by both Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, neither of whom had directed a movie before.  The talent they show in weaving a story of different characters with deep personalities, using imagery to narrate the mood would make people believe they have been around the block and had sat in the director’s chair many times before.  As well, the acting performances by Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell were dynamic and captured a real essence of the characters that they played.  They both played a father figure to Duncan, but one who went through the motions and the other who would do anything to see the man develop his confidence and self-awareness.

In the end, this movie left me with so many emotions that I was just completely unable to shake as the credits rolled.  That truly is the sign of a good movie… it is one that haunts you, whether you want it to or not.  As I saw a lot of myself in Duncan, I know that there are scenes and characters in the movie that other people can relate to.  Some scenes can be triggering for some people, as Rash and Faxon seem to know well the instances and situations that are able to cause tension among family.  As the movie ended, we once again had Duncan in the rear-facing seat of the panel station wagon with the rest of the family once again looking forward.  But this time, as the car reversed out from the driveway of the summer home, it was now Duncan who was the lone character looking forward, a victor over summer by choosing to push into the unknown and discover life.

Rating - 4 out of 4 stars

The Fifth Estate

This past weekend was a very tough one for me.  If you follow the blog semi-regularly, you may be aware that I have some struggles with anxiety.  For the last week I have been just so drained by it that the smallest things are sending me into anxiety attacks, from my wife tickling me to my normal Saturday breakfast being put on hold a few hours.  When one is in such a point of depletion, we really want something to uplift us.  A story of triumph, of the little guy taking on the giant conglomerate, or hope and victory.  Those are the kind of movies that can really change the outlook one has for a few days and add a breeze that fills the sails for long enough to turn the ship towards friendly shores.  On Friday night I saw The Fifth Estate, and it did not do shit for me.

I don't want to be a bully and really try to nail this film from all sides in order to make myself feel better, but I do want to be honest.  Honesty in this case is saying that this is a boring movie, and it is not worth your time.  It is the story of Julian Assange and the creation of WikiLeaks.  The source material is what helps make this movie become so disappointing.  The source material leads for dynamic characters and a story that left an important mark in history, but what we ended up with is a docudrama on 5 Hour Energy.

There are some times when I am watching a war movie, scenes that have explosions and soldiers flying everywhere, and the use of a hyperactive camera (fast zoom ins, fast pans, shaky cam) feels a little too much.  If it can get distracting on the front line, imagine what it would be like in the offices of a newspaper?  Director Bill Condon really wanted this movie pumped up to the extreme, and the over active camera work was not only distracting but embarrassing.  Mix in an overdose of techno music, and you have The Fifth Estate, a film that does not seem to have confidence that its script or its actors can bring the appropriate amount of energy and tension.

They were right to have a lack of faith in the script.  As I had mentioned, the movie was boring.  We get very few interesting moments, and a lot of filler.  There was a whole story line around characters played by Stanley Tucci and Laura Linney that ended up having no consequence to the story.  The dialogue that we did get gave us characters that we don't really adopt any kind of emotional connection to and whose actions we may not really care about.

Thrown in the mix was a huge art-house feel that Condon was aiming for.  We had a symbolic room which represented WikiLeaks and all of the work done through it.  I understand the visual that he was aiming for, but in this film, and the way in which it was done, it just did not fit at all.  As well, there were some scenes where characters were typing and narrating at the same time, with the words they were typing floating across their faces.  I like it when people try different things and attempt visuals that enhance the story in an artful way, but this was not executed properly at all and became agonizing to watch.

The saving grace of the film were the performances by the leads.  Julian Assange was played by Bennedict Cumberbatch who is known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in BBC's Sherlock.  Cumberbatch may not be a very well known actor right now, but he will be very soon.  He will be the voice of Smaug in the upcoming Hobbit movie, and also has roles in 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage County.  This man will be gunning for Oscars before we know it, so keep a keen eye on him as he has a great screen presence and an Alan Rickman style voice.  Playing the role of Assange's WikiLeaks teammate Daniel Berg is Daniel Bruhl, who was actually the protagonist of the story.  Bruhl is coming off of a great performance as Niki Lauda in Ron Howard's Rush, and is another actor who has some great potential.

In the end, it is the acting of the two leads that keeps the star rating in a reasonable location.  Take that for whatever you may, but you still don't need to see the film.  Just understand that I am saying these are great young actors and they have good, fresh content in theatres as I type this.  Go see those movies and appreciate their abilities, and, at most, mourn the loss of opportunity to make a high caliber movie, about high caliber source material, with high caliber actors.

Rating - 2 out of 4 stars

The Breakdown of Captain Phillips

It is Monday, and that means Chris and I are back with The Breakdown, a movie podcast where we review and talk about five different films.  Amoung the films talked about are recently released Captain Phillips, The Fifth Estate, and Enough Said.

Head on over to Chris' blog to check it out.

Captain Phillips

Well, it has been a few days since I have intended to review this film, so today will be the day that I let loose my thoughts and opinions of this docudrama based on the real life incident of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama in 2009.  The majority of the film takes place at sea, so slap on your life vests, take your sea-sick pills and come along for this high seas adventure of modern day piracy.

Tom Hanks plays the lead role of Captain Richard Phillips, the seasoned veteran of the open waters who looks to protect the safety of his crew when his ship is taken over by a small group of Somali pirates.  While it is titled, Captain Phillips, it really is a movie that looks at two captains as it views the story of pirate leader Abduwali Muse, played by Barkhad Abdi.  With the main focus of the film on Captain Phillips, we also become aware of the motivations and the plight of Muse and this brings a great contrast of leadership styles.  Thrown into the mix is also Captain Frank Castellano (Yul Vazquez) who is captain of the USS Bainbridge and charged with bringing resolution to the situation.

This is the perfect role for Tom Hanks at this point in his career, as he has suffered from his last few movies underperforming at the box office.  His portrayal of Richard Phillips is a good reminder to audiences that he is a true legend and that he still can bring dominant performances.  The last few minutes of the film was an absolute showcase of his skills, as the situation has been resolved and he is finally able to go into shock.  It is such a powerful scene that leaves an emotional fingerprint on the viewer.

Starring opposite Hanks was Barkhad Abdi, a first time actor who had, up until this moment, been a taxi driver.  Abdi plays a very nuanced role in Muse, a man whose physical stature and his desire to slip into the background at times leads to a lack of respect from those around him.  What he does so masterfully is present such a power and presence that demands the attention of those around him.  One of the best scenes of the film is when the ship is boarded and Muse crosses paths with Phillips for the first time.  In this scene, the first time actor is able to completely overshadow Tom Hanks (a man who he was a fan of and who he had never met until this scene was shot) and create an aura around Muse.

With this film clocking in at over two hours and with half of the movie happening within the confines of a life boat, it flies by with a great pace that never had me bored.  On top of not being bored, director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, United 93) is able to create a feeling of tension that exists for the majority of the film.  We are never really taken out of the shoes of the captains, so we never have a moment to breath and have a personal debrief from the situation.  The script is very engaging as well, which helps when we are stuck in the hot, claustrophobic life boat.

While I went into it with some excitement, I had no idea that I was going to enjoy the film as much as I did, and that is because it is a movie with next to no flaws.  The only thing that kept me from giving it a four star rating is that the Muse character seemed to change a bit by the end of the movie.  At the beginning, he was the definition of 'street smarts' as he was able to detect any kind of possible trap.  By the end of the film he was not picking up on the most blatant things.  Perhaps that is because they wanted to show that he was slipping under the stress of the situation, but it just didn't feel altogether organic.  They did, however, do a great job of giving us a reason for wanting his character survive as we develop sympathy for the life that he was unfairly born into.

If you enjoy well written stories that focus on excitement, tension, drama, and thrills, Captain Phillips is a must see.  There are no explosions or car chases, but it is a movie that never stops for a moment.  In the film, the Somali crew is determined to make it to the coast, the stubby little life boat chugging through the waves, and that is what this film is really about.  It is about determination to not quit, to make it through, fight through the stress and reach stability.  That is a message that can hit home for many people.

Rating - 3.5 out of 4 stars

Rabies

Today's movie is yet another horror, so if you detect an oversaturation of this genre compared to others in my recent reviews, you are most correct.  Halloween is coming up, so I am thusly in the mood.  As well, I have been having to watch some horror movies for an upcoming Halloween podcast.  Today it is all about Rabies, an Israeli horror film (apparently the first Israeli horror film) which was randomly selected by myself to be a part of the Halloween podcast.  If you look it up on Rotten Tomatoes, it has only been reviewed by eight critics.

The movie is about the actions of a psychopath, but what makes this movie quite different than other horrors is that the psychopath does not kill anyone.  The film starts with a woman caught in an ominous trap, and her brother set to free her.  We then meet a park ranger (along with his wife and his dog), four young people who are lost while looking for a tennis court, and two police officers.  All of their paths end up intertwining because of the trap that was set by the psychopath.

As the movie moves along, the actions set in motion by the psycho trigger a butterfly effect that ripples through these other characters.  We have a number of good people who end up becoming murderers over the course of the film.  The true brilliance of this movie is the progression that allows us to believe how these normal people would do the things they do in this situation.  It can be hard enough for a movie to chronicle how one good person could end up committing heinous actions, and Rabies was sufficiently able to show a number of people reaching that point in a believable way.

The key to this movie is that the would be murderers were all 'good' people.  They were common folk who were not bent on malicious activity.  This is important because this is how the name of the film makes sense, and the entire premise.  It is these good and healthy vessles that became contaminated and infected and turned to this psychopath's sickness.  It really did spread like a disease, taking with it anyone who came in contact with it and slowly destroying them from the inside.

I was lead through the full range of emotions during this movie as it had moments that I found to be humourous, horrific, touching, disarming, sobering, and grounding.  A lot of it had to do with the high quality of the script and the terrific casting.  Each character felt right for their role, which is incredibly important to pull off this type of cascade effect.  I believed everything about the characters, from their motivations to their personalities, and that strung me along for every turn this movie took.

Another great element was the use of visual gore, or the lack thereof.  The scenes were shot in ways that allowed for events of surprise and also for a build up and anticipation to a dreadful act that we could see coming.  When they showed images of gore, it looked real enough and the camera did not linger on it long enough to be either scrutinized or for the audience to become accustomed to the horrific images.  As well, it never relied on showing absolutely everything, with some things happening off camera.  When movies show everything, it leaves us desensitized and creates no emotional effect.  In this film we toyed with the gore, teased with it, only every so often catching a glance.  That is when it is effective and is able to connect us with emotions of discomfort and anxiety.

Rabies is a film that should satisfy most horror fans, and hopefully people do not get scared off by the subtitles.  It is entertaining, horrific, smart, and fun.  It may not have jump scares, found footage, haunted houses, zombies, ghost hunters, escaped criminals, cannibals, or any other horror cliche out there.  It does have something even more scarey and unsettling, and that is ordinary everyday people turning into brutal murderers.  While movies like The Crazies pull this off with the assistance of outbreaks of chemical agents, Rabies does it with good, old fashioned, human nature.

Rating - 4 out of 4 stars

Insidious

Today, for the most part, was a very good Friday, with the exception of a stupid anxiety attack that I am still reeling from.  It was brought on simply by my wife pestering me via tickles, and I guess the repetition of it (or something) made the anxiety put down its coffee and head to work.  If you have not dealt with it before, it may seem strange that it comes out of nowhere like that.  Actually, it is strange.  It is strange and stupid.  I am not a fan of anxiety and the effects that it has on my life.  Because of that, I am ditching reviewing Captain Phillips for today and am instead going to review a movie that I perhaps find strange, bewildering, and has caused ill effects on my life.

The movie is Insidious, and it stars Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson and was directed by James Wan.  Some people praise Wan, some are opposed to him and I think I land right in the middle.  I believe he has the ability to use interesting concepts and set mood well (at times), but also has the failings of reverting to the same images in multiple movies and having incoherent scenes.  When he is focused and on task he is a very talented story teller, but when he is unrestrained he can cause a great deal of pain (the perfect example of this is the third act of Insidious).

The movie is about a young family who moves into a new house (a big old house, to be exact) with the father working as a teacher and the mother staying at home with three young boys and trying to get her music career some traction.  The story takes a turn for the eerie when the youngest boy ends up in a coma and supernatural occurrences start to haunt the mother.  The father is a skeptic, of course, because every movie by Blumhouse Productions (the company that produced this movie, Paranormal Activity ) needs to have skeptics who don't seem to pay attention to what is going on.  In one movie of theirs, all of a sudden the skeptic became a believer and the believer became a skeptic... that wasn't nauseating at all.

What we end up having with the plot is almost a modern re-telling of Poltergeist as the child was trapped in another realm, with his physical body still in this one.  This was what I liked the most about the movie as it is different than the typical haunted house movie and could allow for some imagination to flow.  Unfortunately, the ending (which I referenced above) threw away all of the potential that it had at its disposal and ended up being a literal haunted house.  So ultimately, what I liked about the movie was later slaughtered by the same people who brought it to life.

There will be a lot of people out there who sing the praises of this film, as it got a decent following and spawned a very successful sequel.  What I was left with, was just annoyance.  I was annoyed at how people cease to act like real people and only do things that will push the plot.  I was annoyed that the main baddie looked like a cross between Darth Maul and one of those silly little trolls that people bring to Bingo to help them claim the pot.  I was annoyed at the potential that was wasted when the movie devolved into typical horror.  I was appalled at the end.  I don't know who thought going the direction they did was a good idea.

The movie could be very distracting, with random visuals that don't have any place in the greater narrative, or abrupt and cutting music.  The very first scene of the movie leads into the title sequence with some of the most obnoxious 'scary' music I have heard.  This immediately shook me from the movie, and any time I was feeling the film's vibe, the music was sure to pull me out.  This is an aspect of the unrestrained Wan that I have a hard time with.  Everything just feels so abrupt and chaotic that it is hard to find an actual horror tone.

I just found a cat hair in my nose... wow, that was surreal.

To tell you the truth, the best thing that Insidious ever did for me was help me get through the tail end of my anxiety attack by giving me something that I am passionate to write about.  The first time I saw Insidious I was thrown into a frenzy of disdain, but the second time left me with a little more affection.  Perhaps it is growing on me.  Not all things that grow on you are good, though.  That is important for us to remember.

Rating - 1 out of 4 stars

Metallica Through The Never

I seem to keep having nights where I am getting around to writing a lot later than intended.  Tonight's excuse is because I was watching Captain Phillips, which will be reviewed in podcast form on Monday and possibly on this blog on Saturday.  Tomorrow will possibly a later one as well as I will be watching The Fifth Estate, a film about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.  Tonight, however, is all about Metallica.  And a disclaimer once again that I am without a proof reader.  My cat, John McClane, does not yet understand sentence structure and is therefore no good to me.

A number of weeks ago, the concert movie Metallica Through The Never  brought the 3D concert experience to IMAX screens across North American.  There was a long stretch of time where Metallica was a band near and dear to my own heart (from the albums And Justice For All through to Garage Inc.) so I had a personal desire to see it.  As well, it was reviewing quite well so it was viewed to be talked about in podcast form.  As well as being a concert film, there is a fictional narrative that plays sporadically throughout the film (usually tying in with changing songs).  The fictional aspect gets almost post apocalyptic at times, as it follows a roadie on a quest to bring fuel to a van that is carrying something that is needed for the Metallica concert.

I have always believed that a good concert film should do a few things.  First, it should make you wish that you were at the concert that it is showing.  Second, it should make you feel like you are actually at that concert.  Third, it should leave you feeling affection towards the music, with the songs still running through your head.  Twice there I mentioned 'feel,' which is appropriate because music is an emotional experience.  Without that connection, it is just sequences of notes and beats.  And, I am happy to announce, that Metallica Through the Never nailed each of those three aspects.

One of the most powerful tools of the movie was the camera work.  It was brilliantly crisp and clear, but it was also all over the place.  At times I felt like I was a fan standing in the front row with Kirk Hammett soloing only a few feet away, and at other times I was right on stage, staring Lars in the face as he hit the toms.  Crane shots swooped over the stage and the crowds, giving the large and vast feeling of the stadium concert, and at other times it felt intimate and close on stage with the band.

The band was the other great positive of the movie.  If you are a fan and you have not seen this film, you have missed out.  The performance, from the stage set up to the set list, was engaging and stimulating.  As well, this is a band that does not just go out there and play a few songs.  They really seem to have a connection with the audience as they interact with them, send them into a frenzy, and in return feed off of that energy.  Normally a crowd is just a backdrop, but in this film it shows the crowd clearly.  We see the faces of the people in attendance, and that just furthers the feeling that the show is not just about Metallica, but that it is a two way relationship with their fans.

The only criticism that I could possibly have with this movie is that there were times near the end when the cuts from concert to narrative (and vice versa) were a little abrupt.  They both were so entertaining to watch that at points I really did not want to have the focus changed.  That's the only criticism, and it did not affect the viewing experience.

It is a very easy film for me to recommend to the Metallica fan.  It may not hit all of your favourite songs, but it makes you feel like you are right there with them.  There were times when I wanted to sing along with the stadium, pump my fist with the stadium, and applaud with the stadium.  This is because that's where I was transported to, and what more could be asked of a concert film?

Rating - 3.5 out of 4 stars