I watch movies every week and then write down my thoughts. Read my previous reviews!
My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it.
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| The Martian - It's not the destination, it's the journey. |
The Martian (2015)
Read the book
Watch The Martian
Written by: Drew Goddard (Screenplay) Andy Weir (Book)
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetal Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Kate Mara
Rated: PG-13
Plot:
Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, is stranded on Mars after an accident and presumed dead. With all odds against him, Watney has to figure out how to survive.
Review:
I guessed Mark Watney's fate before I ever sat down for this movie, but his fate isn't the focus of this movie. It's about the resourcefulness and resiliency of mankind. The bond we as humans share to protect and help each other. The production values are amazing, and plenty of shots show it off. From the space craft, rovers, and hab to the desert and terrain. The story is very good. It felt grounded, or at least believable, up until the end where it got slightly fantastical and theatrical. The beginning is great, really engrossing. It doesn't hold that momentum throughout, but very few movies can. I like the dichotomy of what should be done and what needs to be done. PR and the NASA director don't want to admit that Watney is alive, due to image and due to potential funding issues, the flight director wants the crew to know. That part felt incredibly real.
The movie is based on a book and it feels like it. There are some characters, Donald Glover in particular, that get a lot of characterization but have very little input or screen time. Maybe he lives at NASA in a space that looks more like a dorm room, but it just felt like an odd addition. This makes it feel like it's adapted from a book. The movie pandered a few times like this, and it really should be a bit leaner and thus shorter. It's trying to include too much, and I'm guessing that's by trying to stay faithful to the book. If it wasn't an adaptation, I a lot of those parts would have been cut.
Matt Damon does a great job as Watney. He balances confidence and desperation perfectly. In the situation you laugh or cry, and Watney laughs. What else can you do when you're stranded on Mars? He delivers some great one liners that will be quoted often. "I'm going to have to science the **** out of this." It's easy to root for him.The makeup department did a great job making Damon appear that he had been stranded for years, from the matted hair to the yellowed teeth. Watney is incredibly resourceful, in what feels at times like a sadistic nightmare when everything that can go wrong does.
Being rated PG-13, the movie gets one 'f' word, which is used early on, but I found it incredibly clever how they snuck in more of the word without actually hearing it. We see Damon in a rover, incredibly upset. We know what he is saying, even if we don't hear it.
Despite feeling bloated with side stories, the movie skipped quite a bit of time. I expected an issue with his rover trip, which was hand waved with text indicating X months later.
The movie has a great payoff, but it did run a little too long past the climax. Adding too much exposition, which the movie wasn't prone to do. When the crew leaves him, the camera lingers on the empty chair. That shot said everything required with no words. When the airlock breaks at the hab and his potato farm is flushed out the door, again nothing is said, but the feeling is conveyed. The movie did a great job of avoiding exposition and showing us how long Watney was stranded, which makes the scenes after the climax strange when it's pure exposition with no real purpose.
Verdict:
The Martian is a thrill ride. The story, thought not perfect, does many things right. Damon is perfectly cast playing a character that is easily likable. The movie fully embraces the resiliency and ambition of humankind.
Watch it.
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| Ex Machina - The horror when you stare into the face of A.I. |
Watch Ex Machina
Written by: Alex Garland
Directed by: Alex Garland
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac
Rated: R
Plot:
Caleb wins a contest to spend a week with the CEO of Blue book, Nathan. Caleb soon realizes his task is to test an A.I., Eva, developed by Nathan. Reality becomes obscured for Caleb as he marvels at Eva, and begins to think Nathan is lying to him about what's really happening.
Review:
This movie is impressive from the start with good direction and production values, backed by a very solid script. This is Alex Garland's directorial debut, but he's written the screenplays for a number of movies I've really enjoyed, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Dredd. Whatever his next project is, I'll be checking it out.
In Ex Machina, Oscar Isaac is impressive. Isaac is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. His character is an enigma, almost gloating over his A.I. achievement, but then refusing to talk about. He alternates between domineering, brooding, and cheerful in a wonderful performance. There is something insidious just below the surface and Isaac sells it.
Caleb, played by Domhnall Gleeson, flies out to a remote area only accessable by helicopter, at first thinks he's won a contest before he's told this is a job. He needs to test the A.I. for sentience. Caleb begins to wonder if the test is for Eva or himself. Gleeson does a good jot, though he falls into the awkward programmer stereotype a little too much. Nathan's house is state of the art with key card access, cameras, and all the amenities. Nathan monitors the entire house, including Caleb,and Caleb monitors Eva. When the power goes out, interrupting the video feed to Nathan, Eva slips Caleb a message. "Nathan is a liar. Don't trust him." Is this a sign of sentience? Is it true? Caleb lies to Nathan, keeping the message secret. Nathan later reveals that Caleb wasn't selected randomly at all.
The movie does a great job of building tension. Who is trapped in the house? It could be Nathan, Eva, or Caleb. When he tests Eva, he's in a small cage-like room and she pace in her room. We're left wondering along with Caleb, is this A.I. sentient? Nathan is this mastermind, behind the curtain watching both of them. It's soon discovered that Eva isn't the first A.I. he built.
Full of misdirection and intrigue, some clues you'll pick up on, others you will miss. Throughout you're forced to question whether Nathan is a villain. The three main characters are in a triangle of deception. Which character can we trust? Eva tells Caleb Nathan is a liar. Nathan suggests Eva is a liar. We, with Caleb, realize too late Nathan and Eva's true intentions.
The writing is very good. It plants the seed for a number of elements reintroduced later. I never felt that far behind or ahead of Caleb in wondering what's really going on. In so many movies the character is too smart or too dumb, and this movie captures a great balance. The ending is striking. You'll have to see for yourself whether the A.I. passed the test of being truly sentient.
The movie does stretch belief. It would be incredibly awkward to live in a house when you need a key card for every room. I wonder how the robot skin works. While control panels to the robots are concealed under flaps of skin, how are there no seam lines? The ending generates a number of, "How is that possible? How would that work?" questions. While the end fits the theme and direction of the movie, the events actually happening are improbable.
The music was very good, though at times overpowering. The best soundtrack is often the one you don't notice, and this soundtrack tends to intrude.
The CGI is well done. The bulk of the movie has Eva as a talking head on a robot body. It never looks overly fake.
Verdict:
Everything about this movie works in tandem to create a well crafted experience. It's part thriller and mystery, with traces of romance. It's a very impressive film. This is a must see movie. It's very likely it will appear on my top movie list at the end of the year.
Watch it.
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| Cut Bank - Great premise that doesn't last. |
Watch Cut Bank
Written by: Roberto Patino
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Liam Hemsworth, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich, Bruce Dern, Michasel Stuhlbarg
Rated: R
Plot:
Dwayne, played by Liam Hemsworth, captures the murder of a mailman with his video camera. His video seems too coincidental, and soon the cops are questioning what happened to the body. To further complicate the situation, one man is desperately trying to find the mail that wasn't delivered.
Review:
BEWARE OF SPOILERS
It's difficult to review this movie without divulging too much of the plot. The movie has a great hook. Two young adults accidentally film a murder. How did they manage to film it so perfectly? Why did the murder occur in that spot? Where is the body?
The twist isn't that the murder was faked, but who planned it. A related plot is Derby Milton, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, who just wants his p-p-p-parcel. The character reminds me a lot of Milton from Office Space. I didn't recognize Stuhlbarg (from Boardwalk Empire) who went through a complete transformation, and the name can't be a coincidence.
The movie slowly reveals the involvement of all the players. It's one surprise after another, before Derby Milton's plot line soon takes center stage as he will go to any length to get his parcel. This plot line changes the movie from a murder mystery to a revenge/rampage movie and that isn't a good thing.
I don't know anything about Milton, which means his motivation has no basis. I know why he wanted the package, but just hand waving away his murderous rampage as just this crazy guy is sloppy writing. Was he tired of everyone asking, "I thought you were dead?" That joke is overused, resurrected, and used again. I didn't check, but I bet every single character in the movie says it at least once. It's nowhere near as funny as I'm sure the writer thought it was.
The end also feels unfinished due to lazy writing. The cop lets Liam Hemsworth off the hook, while the cop and Hemsworth dad were friends, it doesn't seem credible.
Verdict:
This movie had a lot of promise. I watched it due to the trailer alone that happened to be in front of Good Kill. The movie's main fault is writing. The last half falters due to a genre shift and an under-developed villain. This is the perfect example of an ending that can make or break a movie.
Skip it.
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