Brooklyn Review (2015)

Brooklyn

  The story of a young Irish girl who moves to Brooklyn, New York in search of a better life, is a simplistic one, but it has more depth than you'd think. Through Eilis Lacey's journey, we are taken on an emotional roller coaster and there is nobody better to bring us on that ride than Saoirse Ronan. Ronan has a way of making her characters effortlessly likable. With her bright blue eyes and understated, nuanced performances, she draws the audience in and keeps us there. Her subtle acting style allows her to convey the perfect amount of sentiment without making it feel contrived.

  Brooklyn is good old fashioned storytelling, driven by interesting characters with a lot at stake. Its simplicity is a breath of fresh air, beautifully shot and crafted. This is a story about the pursuit of happiness and the loss that goes along with that. In search of a better life in America, Eilis must leave behind her family and her country. 

  The supporting cast, Emory Cohen and Domhnall Gleeson, are our lead lady's love interests, as shown in the trailer. They did a great job with their characters, but I wish that the romance aspect of the story would've been handled with slightly more care. At a certain point, there is a bit of a love triangle and one of the decisions Eilis makes, in my opinion, distances the audience from her character. Something that could've been avoided, lost almost all sympathy from me for her and she almost didn't gain it back. Aside from this, the film had a lot to say and it did so profoundly. Brooklyn is a charming, coming of age tale that resonates with the audience and packs a punch that will leave you thinking about it long after you leave the theater. Elevated by superb acting and poignant elegance, I give Brooklyn 7 out of 10 stars. (Very good)

Steve Jobs Review (2015)

Steve Jobs 

  After Jobs, staring Ashton Kutcher, failed miserably, Danny Boyle (Director of Slumdog Millionare and 28 Days Later) decides to give us his version of the life behind Apple's co-founder. 

  The movie stars Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels. It begins in 1984 as Jobs is about to unveil the first Macintosh and takes us all the way to 1998 where he revolutionizes the computer with the iMac.

  Before going in, you should know that this movie is completely dialogue driven. There are no crazy action sequences or car chases, it's just people in intense conversations. I really appreciate the screenwriters here, because the movie didn't feel overlong or boring, it was always compelling. Fassbender is no newbie to these intense type roles and he absolutely nailed Steve Job's narcissistic, irritable personality. While most of the movie is Jobs arguing before a presentation of his next product, Boyle cleverly provides exposition into Jobs complex character without explicitly laying it out before us. Fassbender's nuanced performance really added to the film and made you care for him despite his sometimes despicable personality. The cinematography is another plus for this film. The three acts were shot on 16mm, 35mm, and digital cameras to demonstrate the progress and development in technology as we switched from decade to decade. Also the symmetry of the shots, the way the close ups aligned perfectly with Fassbender's face, and the overviews of the crowd stomping their feet or clapping really reminded me of 2014's Whiplash. 

  I really liked the way Boyle captured Jobs relationship with his daughter and how they brought it full circle in the end as the climax. My only gripe with the film is how over-dramatized some of the fights were. It seemed like every couple arguments were in front of some absurd crowd of people and I kept wondering, "You couldn't have had this conversation anywhere else?" That aside, I really enjoyed this film and would give it an 7 out of 10 stars. (Very Good)

Everest Review (2015)

Everest

  Let me start out by saying that the marketing for this film is a bit misleading. Why, you ask? Because the first trailer marketed it as a Jake Gyllenhaal film when in actuality it is a Jason Clarke film. I can understand why they'd do this with all of the momentum Gyllenhaal has picked up after Nightcrawler and Southpaw, but considering he only has a few lines in the movie it was a bit disappointing to me as a fan. In most cases, I wouldn't complain about there being a big ensemble cast of A-list actors, but here it seemed so unnecessary. Keira Knightly was another example of a miscast character. All she did was sit on a bed and cry the whole movie. Any actress could have done that.

  Anyway, moving on to the actual content of the film. Right off the bat, the characters were all developed pretty well. The ones you were supposed to care about, you did, and the ones you weren't supposed to care about, you didn't. This is half the battle with disaster type movies, so I'd say well done in those regards. Another good thing was the visuals which really were breathtaking! Seeing the contrast of Tibet and the mountain and then back to regular life with the character's families was really beautifully done. 

  My problem with the film doesn't lie with the execution or the characters, but with the true story itself. It was hard for me to feel sympathy for people who did such dangerous, reckless things. It's not like they are the victim of some crazy disaster that couldn't have been avoided, these people put themselves in a bad situation and literally paid 65,000 dollars to be there. For me, I questioned why the movie needed to be made in the first place when the story, though historical, doesn't really have any redeeming qualities. It wasn't life-affirming like 2012's The Impossible, it wasn't inspiring like 2010's 127 Hours, it just left me feeling unsatisfied and by the end I was asking myself "Is this it?" I wanted the movie to have a point, but it didn't. For that reason, I'd give it a 6 out of 10 stars. (Worth Ticket Price) Go see it for the visuals.

The Martian Review (2015)

The Martian

  What do you get when Life of Pi meets Interstellar? You get Ridley Scott's new film, The Martian, staring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a lot of other A-list actors.

  I was super excited for this movie because the trailer looked absolutely incredible and I'd heard a lot of good things about the book. Yes, it's based off a book, it's not a true story, although it definitely felt pretty real due to the awesome script by Drew Goddard. While the movie had a LOT of strong points, the script was definitely the strongest. It was witty, heartfelt, and clever. Not only that, but a lot of the science was actually plausible, which blows my mind. I just kept thinking to myself as I sat there in the theater, "how the heck did the author come up with a solution for THAT problem?" It was truly genius.

  Matt Damon does an awesome job, as usual, making our protagonist incredibly likable despite the lack of backstory. This isn't necessarily a knock on the film, but I did want to know more about his family life. Was he married? Did he have kids? Did he have a girlfriend? How was his relationship with his parents? What did his parents think about the whole situation? I feel like if they had focused a little more on developing that aspect of his character, the stakes would've been raised and the ending would've been even more satisfactory. On the other hand, I think they handled his bond and chemistry with the rest of the crew incredibly well! It was also super nice seeing Jessica Chastain play such a leader-type main character since she's such a big advocate for important roles for women.

  The movie easily could have been super drab and depressing simply because of it's subject matter, but it wasn't. It was funny, serious when it needed to be, non-sentimental, and really a celebration of life and why it's worth fighting for. The Martian boasts in it's visual effects, really bringing life to Mars (no pun intended). I think at this point, it's fair to say that Ridley Scott has redeemed himself from that atrocity Exodus: God's and Kings. 9 out of 10 stars. (I'd Buy It On Blu-Ray)

The Visit Review (2015)

The Visit

  After murdering The Last Airbender series and making Will Smith look like an idiot in After Earth, M. Night Shyamalan is back and just as terrible as ever. In his latest project, we have two kids who are visiting their "creepy" grandparents for the first time. I put creepy in quotations because, as hard as it tries, this movie isn't very scary at all. All of the jump scares are predictable, none the characters are intimidating. It's a lot of stuff we've seen before and honestly, it got boring pretty quickly. 

  As for any good coming from this movie, Shyamalan seemed a little more self aware then usual, cracking some occasional jokes and not taking himself too seriously. I'm not sure if I liked this aspect or not, because sometimes it seemed to mess a bit with the tone. I wish the entire movie was strictly comedy because the moments where Shyamalan was trying to be sentimental came off super annoying and pretentious.

  I've found that in every M. Night Shyamalan movie, there is always one actor/character that makes the movie watchable. In Signs it was Joaquin Phoenix. In Lady In The Water it was Paul Giamatti. In The Village it was Bryce Dallas Howard. In The Visit, it's new comer Ed Oxenbould. This kid was the heart of the film and without him it would have just been flat out awful. He was amusing, good at delivering even the stupidest lines, and was really the only character I cared about. Aside from that, I don't have much good to say about The Visit. If M. Night Shyamalan never made another movie, I think I'd be okay. 2 out of 10 (Skip It)

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Review (2015)

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

  I read all three Maze Runner books before the first movie came out, so as you can imagine, I was very much looking forward to The Scorch Trials release. That being said, when the first trailer came out, I was highly concerned. The plot looked completely different from the book––and I'm not talking about Harry Potter different either. I'm talking about Eragon different. Anyway, my family saw the movie before me and said it was the best they'd seen in a long time. Meanwhile critics gave it pretty low ratings, only a 50% out of 100% on rotten tomatoes. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect, so I went in expecting nothing. What did I think? 

  I think that Scorch Trials was one of the worst book to movie adaptations I've seen since Percy Jackson. From the very beginning, instead of following the book's excellent story, it completely rips off the first half of Michael Bay's The Island. And trust me, The Island isn't the only thing that gets ripped off. What was once a unique YA story has now been turned into generic dystopian soup mixed in with a little bit of Divergent, Ender's Game, Hunger Games, Mad Max, Lord of the Flies, and World War Z. If you think this sounds like an awesome mix, maybe this movie is for you. Personally, I wanted to see something fresh, not a sequel rehashing the same beats as the first movie.
  Not only am I disappointed with the storytelling, but I'm disappointed with the character development. Due to a specific subplot in the next book (which they may due away with completely), it was important that we get to really know Minho and Newt. But no. Thomas is the only character given proper screen time while everyone else we could literally care less about. Ugh. 

  There are so many things I could talk about; the cringe worthy dialogue, the vomit inducing shaky cam, the CGI zombies/cranks used in the end half, the fact that Teresa was even in the movie, the fact that the Right Arm was in the movie. There are just so many things wrong with this plot that are really detrimental to the third book. Things that just can't be overlooked.
  I know a lot of people who never read the book liked this movie, so I don't want to rain on their parade. I just find it frustrating that they so brazenly strayed away from the fairly well-written source material. Honestly I have no idea how they are gonna tie up loose ends for the third movie.
  All that to say, does Scorch Trails have entertainment value? Most of the people who watched it would say absolutely yes. Would I have liked it if I'd never read the book? Maybe. I probably would have loved it when I was younger. For those reasons, I give it a 4 out of 10 stars. (Watch If Free)

Love & Mercy Review (2015)

Love & Mercy 

  Love & Mercy follows the life of musician Brian Wilson. As a fan of the The Beach Boys, I was super excited when I saw the trailer for this. One of the reasons I was excited was because Paul Dano is finally getting some more screen time. After Prisoners, I knew this kid had some acting chops and now after seeing Love & Mercy, I am officially sold. To say the acting in this film is amazing would be an understatement. Both John Cusack and Dano show extreme depth and transparency in their roles. All that said, the person that surprised me most was Paul Giamatti. Everyone knows the dude can act, but he usually plays very likable characters. This role was refreshingly different from his usual roles and he absolutely nailed it.

  Another great thing about this film was the music. It was really cool to see how the songs contrasted with Brian Wilson's life and where he was at mentally when he wrote them. Without being overtly sentimental, Love & Mercy tugs at the heart strings. I thoroughly enjoyed the unconventional storytelling and how they went back and forth between young Brian Wilson and older Brian Wilson. Despite the "good vibrations" of The Beach Boy's albums, Brian Wilson was a very troubled soul. I give Love & Mercy a 7 out of 10 stars. (Very Good)