Annie (2014)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Director

Will Gluck

Country

USA

Cast

Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Cameron Diaz, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Tracie Thoms, Dorian Missick, David Zayas, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Nicolette Pierini, Amanda Troya, Eden Duncan-Smith, Zoe Margaret, Patricia Clarkson, Michael J. Fox, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Bobby Moynihan, Rihanna, Sia

Storyline

Left by her parents with the promise that they'd be back, it's been a hard knock life for Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything's about to change when business tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. 

Opinion

The famous Broadway play was not a source of success even for the great John Huston, hence the reason that has driven Will Gluck on the path of remaking it is completely unknown to me. 

The sun is not coming out tomorrow or anytime for this Annie, the poor remake that is nothing more than just another missed opportunity. 

The story of curly red-haired orphan girl Annie in Great Depression's America has been adapted with a modern and black twist. I'm not not going to complain about Annie's skin colour - I don't get why people are so upset about it -, but the problem is that the film tries too hard on too many levels to be too many things.

The characters are a complete mess. Annie is not an orphan anymore, but a foster child in search of her parents. She is still living with Miss Hannigan, now a wash-up singer from the 90's, that is just a mean, self-destructive woman that does more harm to herself than to people around her. The mysterious Daddy Warbucks is now Will Stacks, just a typical, and germaphobic tycoon running for mayor. Grace Farrell is just a pathetic woman that keeps on pointing out the fact that she has no friends.

The new arrangements of the songs is bloody painful and the addition of bass, guitars, and keyboards to make the songs sound pop is annoying. Most of the numbers just come out of nowhere, the choreographies are ridiculously awful and none of the numbers pop.

Then there is the Friday night thing. Each Friday night, Annie sits on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant waiting for her parents to come back for her. I suppose the restaurant's name "Domani" wants to be a tribute to the famous song "Tomorrow", but since lot of people won't get it, it has no reason to exists.

It was supposed to be a career vehicle for Quvenzhané Wallis, the young talent of Beasts of the Southern Wild, but it didn't really help her. She is cute and lovely, but unfortunately her voice is not good enough. Jamie Foxx, despite being the only one who can properly sing, was the wrong cast for Will stacks, as he makes the character look more cool than bad. Cameron Diaz put in this all the possible effort to be even more annoying that she usually is, and if I thought Carol Burnett was a disappointment, her Miss Hannigan was Oscar worthy compared to Diaz poor "attempt". The real shame is to see Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale in this mess.

Quotes

Will Stacks: Sometimes what you're looking for is right in front of your face.

Despicable Me (2010)

Genres

Animation | Comedy

Directors

Pierre Coffin | Chris Renaud

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher, Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Jemaine Clement, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, Mindy Kaling, Ken Jeong

Storyline

When super-villain Gru (Steve Carell) learns that young criminal mastermind Vector (Jason Segel) has stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza, he plans an even greater heist: to steal the moon.

Opinion

The year 2010 has been a great year for animated films. Dreamworks rose from the ashes of numerous mediocre films with How to Train Your Dragon, Pixar struck again with Toy Story 3, and then Universal released this, that may be the weakest of the three, but it's still entertaining.

Visually beautiful, Despicable Me is a funny and touching, yet not too cheesy animation film.

The filmmakers were able to make a simple, quite predictable and not very original story become captivating and entertaining with the great idea of having a villain as a main character, and with never over the top, yet hilarious humour. 

The character of Gru is incredibly funny with his dark sense of humour, and although it was utterly predictable, it was enjoyable to see his growth from an evil, cold-hearted villain, to a warm and loving father. The three little orphan girls are probably the cutest I've ever seen, Agnes being the youngest and cutest. Then there are young villain Vector, who is silly and nearly wholly uninteresting, and crazy scientist Dr. Nefario. 

The several references are packed and delivered in a way that they can make laugh even children, who obviously won't understand it - like the Taxi Driver mirror scene.

Definetly worth of a mention - and of their own movie, as we have seen this year - are the Minions, those little yellow creatures working for Gru. They are delightful and kinda steals the show. 

Steve Carell does an admirable job in the lead role of Gru, and his Eastern Europe accent - Russian maybe - is quite good. Jason Segel does a wonderful job as villain Vector. However, the guy that really stands out is Russell Brand. Even though I like him, I find his voice quite annoying. The incredible thing is that he doesn't sound like himself at all as Dr. Nefario, and also plays a different character than usual. Very well done Russell! 

Quotes

Gru: Hello, Fred. FYI. Your dog has been leaving little bombs in my yard, and I do not appreciate it.

Fred: Oh you know dogs... they go where they want to go.

Gru: Unless they're dead. [laughs] I'm joking! Although it is true. Anyway, have a good one.

Game OverThinker: "DUMBER ALIVE"

The Weekly Movie Watch Volume 71

This week I watched Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys.

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.

Jurassic World -It overshoots, it misses.

Jurassic World (2015)
Watch Jurassic World
Written by: Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Colin Trevorrow & Derek Connolly (screenplay); Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (story); Michael Crichton (characters)
Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, 
Rated: R

Plot:
A genetically modified dinosaur bred to be bigger, meaner, and more likely to escape, unexpectedly escapes from Jurassic World, the fully functioning dinosaur theme park and petting zoo that Jurassic Park never wished to be. Only one man, Owen Grady played by Chris Pratt and his pet raptors can stop the aptly named Indominus Rex.

Review:
Comparisons to Jurassic Park are inevitable, so let's get that out of the way. I remember scenes from the original, seeing the first dinosaur, Alan Grant implanting a nightmare about raptors in a child's mind, and the raptors flanking the big game hunter among others. These were moments that surprised and entertained, slowing down the action to set a mood. Jurassic World doesn't do that. It distills the unique characters into two stereotypes and keeps the action non-stop. All while attempting a record number of cliches per minute.
 Bryce Dallas Howard plays a marketing manager only concerned with profits. She's also a neglectful aunt with a strained relationship with her sister to wrap up the family cliche.  
I'm amazed this movie did so well when it's not very good. The budget is big. The acting is only notable because the actors had so little with which to work and still nearly made it work. Even with all the money, the production design isn't that great. This park doesn't look that great, not like the original. I was appalled (yes, it's an appropriate response) at the very first scene which is CGI. It doesn't look good and it isn't believable. How did the original made over twenty years ago have better CGI?
The only iconic cars are the ones the characters find when they stumble upon the original park, hidden with the wilds of Jurassic World. If that doesn't make much sense, the movie seems to pride itself on things that are unlikely bordering on impossible, things like a human with a three foot stride outrunning a Tyrannosaurus with a forty food stride. Oh, and that person wears heels during the chase and throughout the movie. In reality, that doesn't work. In fantasy, that doesn't work.
I have to point out the raptors as trained military weapons subplot because it really is utterly ridiculous. Vincent D'onofrio wants to take the raptors, the same animals that terrorized in the first movie, and make them military weapons. He thinks this is possible because Chris Pratt has trained them like dogs.  
Of course the big bad dinosaur escapes, but the movie doesn't even play that up for drama, like the first movie did with the T-rex. 
The writing is bad and the cliches are tiring. Instead of creating a good scene with a few dinosaurs, the movie packs the screen with them. More dinosaurs to hide the faults of this movie is not the answer. The end is completely unsatisfying using a deus ex machina cliche. My thoughts throughout this movie were that wouldn't work, you can't do that, and that's impossible.

Verdict
There are better big budget popcorn movies. This is a b level movie with a huge budget. Chris Pratt is the lone bright spot in this abysmal movie and the 'character' was done better in Guardians of the Galaxy. Watch that instead. Worst of all, this movie is forgettable, a non-stop showcase of well-used cliches. If you really want to see a park based dinosaur movie, save yourself time and disappointment and watch the original, Jurassic Park.
Skip it.

Terminator Genisys - It's fan fiction with a huge budget.

Terminator Genisys (2015)
Watch Terminator Genisys
Written by: Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier (written by);  James Cameron & Gale Ann Hurd (characters)
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Matt Smith
Rated: PG-13

Plot:
Kyle Reese is sent back to 1984 from 2077 to protect Sarah Connor, who ends up saving him instead. The world is at stake, and Skynet must be stopped so they travel to 2017.

Review:
Comparisons to the original two films are impossible when it duplicates so much material. There are shot for shot scenes recreated. This movie comes across as a teenager combining their favorite parts of The Terminator and Terminator 2 and then adding a lot of craziness and explosions.
Timelines are closed loops, this movie treats them as open which creates numerous inconsistencies.
Jai Courtney is no Michael Biehn. He and Jason Clarke, who plays John Connor, don't feel like characters in a war ravaged world. They and the resistance have matching uniforms and a level of supply not seen or implied in previous iterations. It's not bleak enough nor dirty enough, and they're too cheerful. 
The logic of this timeline is all over the place. Anything can happen because it doesn't matter. It gives the writers free reign to throw it all in (including the sink) with no checks and balances. While we get an impeccable homage to the original in the first half hour, it's superfluous because it undoes everything in the first movie.
The dialog in this movie is atrocious. The writers should have played a game of would Michael Biehn or Linda Hamilton say this in T1 or T2? The answer in nearly all cases is NO! Emilia Clarke doesn't have the gravitas of Linda Hamilton. The dialog is fan fiction, clunky, and doesn't fit these characters. They sound like teenagers bickering throughout the film.
The problem with the movie is that the budget is too big. A reboot of the Terminator franchise with no terminators would be more interesting and daring. We have a new terminator that isn't that much of an evolution over the T-1000. J.K. Simmons is in the mix for a few minutes but his character turns out to be minor. I can't understand why he was included at all, unless it was just a distraction to make me think about the amazing movie he starred in last year, Whiplash.
This movie wouldn't be that bad if it weren't part of The Terminator franchise, despite the numerous plot contrivances and holes, but it takes so much material from the original two which are far, far superior. The only part I liked was the introduction of John Connor in 2017. That was the lone good scene in this abysmal movie.


Verdict
All of that and the ending of this movie is much weaker than even Terminator Salvation. The dialog is terrible. The acting is average to lacking and the story is so convoluted and contrived. Fan fiction is when a fan tries to write a story about their favorite movie. That's what happened here. I would have no trouble believing a teenage fan wanted to create 'the coolest movie ever' and developed this script. It's actually quite stunning that it fails on so many levels concurrently. I long for the timeline where this movie is erased from existence along with Skynet.
Skip it.

Terminator SPOILERS
This movie drives me crazy. Nearly all the dialog is bad. And I have to take a moment to complain about the plot issues. Somehow, seemingly only for the sake of this movie, Sarah Connor gets her own terminator at age nine. Who sent it is never explained, but it does allow for the basis of this movie. How does Sarah and this terminator know how to find Reese and the original T-800? It's never explained, there is no way for them to have this knowledge. How are all of these terminators sent back in time anyway?
There is talk of a magical nexus point and Reese gets memories from two different worlds. His memories are another key point to further the plot. So many concepts are shoehorned in at an attempt to explain the plot or to make it more than it is. Kyle and Sarah jump to 2017 and from what we see never create John. How would John even exist? John posits he can kill both his parents, which is ridiculous. And in a glib moment John accidentally calls Kyle 'dad.' John has kept this secret for what twenty years and somehow lets it slip now? Any movie after this is going to have trouble untangling all these timeline strings. The best thing is to abandon this movie and start fresh. Let's not even get into the fact that Skynet visibly ages in this movie. For some reason a computer feels the need to show off to humans? Why? Why did they jump to the day Skynet is created, how does Skynet become sentient before it's released to the internet?

Take the Money and Run (1969)

Genre

Comedy | Crime

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Janet Margolin, Marcel Hillaire, Jacquelyn Hyde, Lonny Chapman, Jan Merlin, James Anderson, Howard Storm, Mark Gordon, Micil Murphy, Minnow Moskowitz, Nate Jacobson, Grace Bauer, Ethel Sokolow, Dan Frazer, Henry Leff, Mike O'Dowd, Louise Lasser

Storyline

When he was a child, Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen) wanted to play cello. Grown up and with no musical talent, he joins a street gang and ends up in prison for the first time. This will be only the first of many failure at his chosen profession, being a criminal.

Opinion

A few years later the What's Up, Tiger Lily? experiment, Woody Allen made his first real film, marking the beginning of his wonderful career as a filmmaker.

Fun and original, with some hilarious moments, Take the Money and Run is an amusing comedy that will keep you glued to the screen thanks to the odd sympathy of Woody Allen.

In his first film, Allen makes fun of some film genres and television programmes. "Hit" by his pungent irony are both the law and the gangsters, and through the mockumentary style he also makes a criticism of those television programmes that exploit and monetize the lives of ordinary people. 

The satire is more than successful, and swims in a ocean of hilarious gags and never vulgar humour, but Allen does not just make people laugh, he also makes some psychoanalysis, trying to make sense of Virgil's attraction to cello, and people constantly breaking Virgil's glasses.

There are many memorable sequences that can not be omitted like the robbery with the massage on the paper that nobody seems to understand, or the evasion with the soap revolver that turns into bubbles under the rain, or the escape of the eight men tied together with the chain.

If you don't like Woody Allen because of his neurotic rich New Yorkers, you should definitely check out this one, I think it'll do for you.

Quotes

Virgil: After fifteen minutes I wanted to marry her, and after half an hour I completely gave up the idea of stealing her purse.

Louise: He is always very depressed. I think that if he'd been a successful criminal, he would have felt better. You know, he never made the 'ten most wanted' list. It's very unfair voting; it's who you know.

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Genre

Horror

Director

Adam Marcus

Country

USA

Cast

Kane Hodder, John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Steven Williams, Allison Smith, Steven Cup, Billy Green Bush, Erin Gray, Rusty Schwimmer, Leslie Jordan, Josh Brennan, Kipp Marcus, Richard Gant, Gino Kane, Julie Michaels, Paul Devine, Michael Clunie

Storyline

Tracked down and blown to bits by a special FBI task force, everyone now assumes that Jason (Kane Hodder) is finally dead. But everyone assumes wrong, and Jason now has the ability to assume the identity of anyone he touches, and it's up to the Voorhees family to stop him.

Opinion

Definition of hell: 1. A place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering 2. A situation, experience, or place of great suffering. Now, unless I've seen a completely different film, I haven't seen Jason going through that - I kind of guess he goes to hell at the end of the film, but the audience is the one really going through hell for an hour and a half.

Slow, stupid and tacky, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday is a garbage of a movie that should go to hell.

Besides being atrociously written, poorly executed and painfully acted, and besides the title still lies because this clearly isn't the final friday, the problem here is the plot, or better what the hell happened between Manhattan and this. We left Jason dipped in toxic waste in a New York City sewer, where he turned back into a kid, and was supposedly dead - in that case the title would have made sense. This film opens with a FBI task force blowing Jason to bits, after his killing spree started again in Camp Crystal Lake. What the hell happened? How did he come back from the dead this time? And how did he go back to Camp Blood? At this point I think it's stupid of me to try to make sense of this.

The film almost completely lacks suspense and surprise. I said almost because the coroner deciding to eat Jason's heart for no apparent reason is probably the biggest surprise in the entire franchise, stupid still a surprise. 

However, Jason's heart deserves a mention because of its beats before getting eaten. I think it'd be great to make techno/electronic/dance music. Seriously, DJs should call him. 

The useless and awful characters are rewarded with something they really deserve, the worst acting in the whole franchise.

That's all for this episode, see you next Friday with the next predictably awful sequel.

Unexpected (2015)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Kris Swanberg

Country

USA

Cast

Cobie Smulders, Gail Bean, Anders Holm, Elizabeth McGovern

Storyline

An inner-city high school teacher (Cobie Smulders) discovers she is pregnant at the same time as one of her most promising students (Gail Bean) and the two develop an unlikely friendship while struggling to navigate their unexpected pregnancies.

Opinion

Unexpected is a simple, yet authentic and unexpectedly beautiful film about pregnancy and friendship, and deals with some serious social issues.

With Megan Mercier and Kris Swanberg's intelligent script, and the simple, yet feeling real story, the film manages to engage the audience with the reality of pregnancy, that can be a very complicated and confusing process, and it shows this with intense emotions through the eyes of two different women in two different moments in life, a 30-year-old teacher and and 17-year-old girl. 

The film also raises some serious social issues by taking a look at socioeconomic and cultural differences, and race privilege, and also mentions the public education system of the state of Chicago, but unfortunately it doesn't explore or deepen none of the topics above mentioned.

Still the film is a good portrait of female friendship even though the relationship that develops between Samantha, the teacher, and Jasmine, the high school girl, takes some predictable turns.

Cobie Smulders probably gives the best and most genuine performance of her career as Samantha. Being pregnant herself while making this probably helped, but she is sweet and vulnerable, and she well delivers the insecurities about being a mother and the consequences it may have on one's identity. Gail Bean also delivers a solid performance as Jasmine, and she plays the role with surprisingly wisdom for her age - Hollywood should keep an eye on her. Elizabeth McGovern also gives a good performance as Samantha's mother. 

MUST WATCH: First Trailer For CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

Click to enlarge

Here it comes! CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR promises a lot and it seems it's going to deliver with a somewhat revealing trailer giving us a look at some of the combatants.

I won't ruin the trailer for you visually - it was tempting to put up screenshots from the more interesting scenes, but you can see it for yourself in action below. Of course you may be reserving all that initial surprise for the movie itself and if you can do that - congratulations! It's a long haul until release.

What I will say is I love how the characters are clashing AND coming together for this thing. I can imagine CACV building tension to the extreme and then cutting it loose. I can see where 3D is going to augment scenes. It's been a long time coming but we're finally going to have a toe-to-toe between Stark and Rogers.

Enjoy. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR opens on May 6.

PULP CATHOLICISM #148

PODCAST 179: Cannibal Holocaust & Cannibal Ferox [Yummy Dinner Edition]

This week the Horror Duo celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday by reviewing two "fish out of water comedies", Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox.

CONTINUE READING

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Genre

Drama

Director

Nicholas Ray

Country

USA

Cast

James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Edward Platt, Frank Mazzola, Dennis Hopper, Jack Grinnage, Virginia Brissac, Marietta Canty, Ian Wolfe, Beverly Long, Nick Adams, Steffi Sidney, Jack Simmons, John Righetti

Storyline

Teenager Jim Stark (James Dean) can't help but get into trouble, a problem that has forced his parents to move over and over again. After being arrested for drunkenness, he decides that he'll try not to get into trouble, but somehow gets mixd up with some tough guys who talk him into participating in their Chickie run, which involves driving cars towards the edge of a cliff, and that's when the real troubles begin.

Opinion

The film that has consecrated James Dean as one of the major movie icones of all time, Rebel Without a Cause is one of the greatest films ever made.

Nicholas Ray crafted an extraordinary and powerful film that takes a look with great interest on the world of young people and their complex vision of reality, and the dramas that they may have to face because they consider life difficult, painful, and sometimes impossible to understand.

Contrary to popular belief, and although there are some scenes that mark the passage of time - for example when Jim kisses Judy on her forehead, and she is shocked by that -, the film isn't dated. Not yet. The problems of the main characters are the same of teenagers even today, and has been so for the past 60 years, only Chickie runs have been replaced by alcohol and drugs, so not to feel anything.

One of the major theme is the relationship between adult and their teenage children, and all three of the main characters are facing family problems. With a cold and distanced mother, Jim tries to communicate with his father, which unfortunately is, for Jim, under the thumb of his mother and wife, and is unable to act like man. Then there's Judy, which tries in every way to draw attention from her father, but he sees the love and affection of her teenage daughter completely out of place. And lastly there's Plato, firstly abandoned by his father, and later by his mother as well, who sees his parents in Jim and Judy, even though, on the other hand, he is sexually attracted to Jim and sees Judy as a threat. So without even talking about it, Ray manages to talk about a taboo subject in the 50's, homosexuality. 

The sequence in the planetarium - the only moment of calm and quiet in the entire film - has the function to unify all the characters - and humanity - inevitable fate of becoming stardust one day. The Chickie run sequence is also unfrogettable, so is Jim's calm after the tragic event.

With his exceptional expressive abilities, James Dean manages to convey the anxiety, anger, weakness and confusion felt by Jim - and probably by himself as well - in a powerful and charismatic performance. His whole career consists of only three film, and if he didn't meet his fate so early, he would have probably been one of the biggest actors in cinematic history now. Natalie Wood as Judy and Sal Mineo as Plato both do a good job, but Jim Backus stands out in the supporting cast as Jim's weak father.

Quotes

Jim Stark: You're tearing me apart!

Jim Stark: If I had one day when I didn't have to be all confused and I didn't have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace. You know?

Whose Side Are You On?

And here we go...



What's impressive to me immediately is how much the in-trailer narrative here feels designed to alleviate concerns that this is more AVENGERS 2.5 than CAPTAIN AMERICA 3. Obviously, the ancillary marketing and pop-cultural "presence" will be leaning harder into "Hey guys! Here's The Avengers again - many with slightly-redesigned outfits so you have to re-buy some figures!," but as an introduction-trailer this drives home the idea that this is a natural continuation of the Steve/Bucky storyline with everyone else onhand because, hey, this is their social-circle.

Amazing New 3D Covers For STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS From Empire

Click to enlarge

Anticipation is still seeming to mount despite a near frenzied feeling already about the upcoming release of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. Helping to drive home this point is six new covers from Empire Magazine featuring characters from the movie. They apparently have 3D lenticulars - so definitely collectible.

The first set of three show off Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and Hans Solo (Harrison Ford) of course followed by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). I'm loving the rich colors but clearly Ford was photoshopped as a younger Solo - intentional for the movie? Or cosmetic for the cover? You decide.

Here's the storyline for the movie:
Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his army of Stormtroopers.

Click to enlarge

In the next set of three we have Rey and BB-8 (Daisy Ridley), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) and Finn (John Boyega). Christie seems to be perfect casting for this role. She's 6'3" and I'm sure will take on all challengers! Great hero poses from the cast.

Have you pre-purchased your large screen format, 3D tickets yet? You can bet I have. Can't wait. This thing is going to be massive. AVATAR massive? No way. SWTFA might break 2 billion, but it won't catch AVATAR. If you think differently - let me know!

Animal Kingdom (2010)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

David Michôd

Country

Australia

Cast

James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Sullivan Stapleton, Luke Ford, Dan Wyllie, Anthony Hayes, Laura Wheelwright, Mirrah Foulkes, Justin Rosniak, Susan Prior, Clayton Jacobson, Anna Lise Phillips

Storyline

After his mother dies, seventeen year-old J Cody (James Frecheville) has no choice but to contact his maternal grandmother, Janine "Smurf" Cody (Jacki Weaver), who rules her criminal family with a borderline incestuos love over her three sons. Among blood brothers and blood, manipulated trial sand revenge served cold, J will soon lose his innocence.

Opinion

The extremely impressive debut from Australian director David Michôd, Animal Kingdom is a tense, gloomy, innovative and mesmerizing crime family drama.

In this bitter and dramatic film, Michôd tells the gangster life as if it was an animal kingdom, where the strongest, the one that eats the weakest wins, and also makes a criticism to those men - and women - who are neither men nor animals. He shows all this with a cynical eye, with no compassion, and wonderfully manages to convey violence without aestheticizing it. 

However, the moral condemnation aforementioned soon stops to make room for a world where no one is really good or bad. In fact, whether criminals or cops there is no difference: they all use others for their own ends. Only detective Leckie makes exception. 

Also, don't expect long shooting scenes, or robberies or car chases because there are none in Animal Kingdom, as the action is reduced to a minimum.

The films makes use of the minimalist synthesiser music from Antony Partos to create an air of dread and tension.

The cast is uniformly excellent. In his debut James Frecheville is basically a piece of wood as J (in a good way), he is in a constant catatonic state, seemingly frail and confused, Ben Mendelsohn delivers a convincing performance as terrifying psychopath Pope, Guy Pearce gives a wonderful and intense performance as detective Leckie, and Jacki Weaver gives a strong performance as Smurf, the matriarch of the family with the psychotic smiles. 

Annie (1982)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Director

John Huston

Country

USA

Cast

Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, Ann Reinking, Edward Herrmann, Geoffrey Holder, Roger Minami, Toni Ann Gisondi, Rosanne Sorrentino, Lara Berk, April Lerman, Robin Ignico, Lucie Stewart, Lois de Banzie, Peter Marshall, Irving Metzman, I. M. Hobson, Colleen Zenk Pinter, Lu Leonard, Victor Griffin, Jerome Collamore, Jon Richards

Storyline

Annie (Aileen Quinn) is a fiery young orphan girl who lives in a miserable orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). Her seemingly hopeless situation will change when she is selected to spend a short time at the residence of billionaire industrialist Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney).

Opinion

I didn't grew up watching Annie, and I've never seen the popular Broadway play. This film has been my very first approach to this world, and if the stage play is anything like this film, I really don't get what made the musical a classic. 

Annie does have few good musical numbers, but isn't much engaging, lacks comedy, and feels rather wooden.

The main problem here is the plot. Besides the fact that the course of events is very predictable, it is when the story turns into a search for Annie's real parents followed by a kidnapping that the film really hits the bottom.

The characters look fake and cartoonish, and some of them are almost pointless. I don't know what was Punjab's role in the comic strip, but he hasn't any reason to be in this film.

Also there are several things in the film that, in my opinion, are not very appropriate for a family movie. I don't get why Miss Hannigan is transformed into an alcoholic vamp - I read she wasn't like that in Broadway's version, and orphans and maids showing their underwear during musical numbers may please fathers, and perverts but are not family material.

As for the acting, Aileen Quinn is dreadful to watch, her reactions seem prompted by someone out of the camera range, and she doesn't look like an orphan of the 1930's, but like a sitcom orphan. Albert Finney is completely wasted in this film. Ann Reinking seems too cold, and you can't feel the maternal warmth she is supposed to deliver. Carol Burnett is a huge disappointment. 

In Bob We Trust: WHO'S THE BEST MARVEL VILLAIN?

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

Genre

Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Directors

Eric Darnell | Conrad Vernon | Tom McGrath

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Frances McDormand, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, Chris Miller, John DiMaggio, Christopher Knights, Frank Welker, Paz Vega, Conrad Vernon, Vinnie Jones, Steve Jones, Nick Fletcher, Eric Darnell, Daniel O'Connor, Danny Jacobs

Storyline

Still trying to get back to their beloved Big Apple, Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) travel to Monte Carlo, where they attract the attention of Animal Control led by Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand) who want to make Alex part of the collection. To maintain a low profile, the animals have no other choice but join a traveling circus.

Opinion

The Madagascar trilogy has evolved to dance moves: the poor first film, representing the moment of stillness, has been followed by Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, that took two steps forward, to be in its turn followed by this film, that took a step back.

Less funny than its predecessor, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a film for the easily entertained and furthermore delivers a wrong message to kids. 

The film starts off pretty well, with action, chases, and funny gags, but after around 40 minutes it loses altitude, and the main problem is not the circus idea, which seems far-fetched, but the fact that the film doesn't feel like a Madagascar flick at all. 

The plot still revolves around the same animals, but it's quite absurd, and does not relate much to the central goal of the characters, that is trying to get back to America. I don't remember posing this question when I first watched the film, but how did the animals go from Africa to Monte Carlo? By swimming? I really can't see a lion, a zebra and a giraffe swimming.

However, the penguins still make their show - the casino idea with the British chimps was great -, and King Julien, even though he has less fun, is still one of the best characters. 

And now comes the morality of the film. Even though the love affair between King Julian and the bear is rather than strange but delivers a good message of love, the circus animals joining forces with the zoo animals is a great message of friendship, the whole circus thing is just wrong. You can't make animals choose the circus life, so amazingly portrayed here, over living wild and free. I know that at some point the animals buy the circus, and humans are portrayed as evil, but it still makes animals traveling around the world to perform tricks to entertain humans look ok, and it is definitely not ok.

Having said that, I have to admit that the circus scenes with Katy Perry's "Fireworks" was awesome, and is the most colorful and creative sequence of the entire film. The soundtrack also was kind of good.

I'm glad they didn't make a fourth Madagascar film but make the Penguins' instead. 

The Weekly Movie Watch Volume 70

This week I watched Southpaw, Poltergeist.

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.

Southpaw - Filling the boxing movie void between Rocky and The Great White Hype.

Southpaw (2015)
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Written by: Kurt Sutter
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, Oona Laurence
Rated: R

Plot:
The unexpected death of a boxer's wife upends his life as he loses everything he has, including his daughter. He struggles to rebuild his life from nothing to get back his daughter.

Review:
The directing and visuals in this film are really good. Director Antoine Fuqua is best know for Training Day with Denzel Washington, and from the very start I liked the raw mood he conveys. The movie is dark and bleak, and this movie earns the R rating within seconds.
The writing is the weak point for this film. The script is from Kurt Sutter, creator of the television series Sons of Anarchy and writer for The Shield.
While Gyllenhaal does a good job bringing Billy Hope to life, the shortcomings are beyond his control. Gyllenhaal packs a lot of nuance into his performance, from how Hope speaks to interacting with others, but that falls short because there isn't enough foundation for this character. An actor, even Gyllenhaal, can't fix that. Billy Hope's struggle, like the climax of this movie feels shallow. We know how the movie will end, and while it didn't check off every trope from a final fight in a boxing movie, it did hit the most glaring trope. At least he didn't pick himself up off the ropes with a surge of energy like some kind of automated boxing machine.
The timeline in this movie felt off. Hope's downward spiral would have been more convincing if he slowly lost his life pieces at a time. I'm left wondering how he loses everything in what could be a few weeks. The movie tries to explain it through a lawyer, but it feels tacked on and unconvincing. I never felt like Hope reached bottom, despite the movie telling me otherwise. The he's a janitor, this is the bottom plot point felt awkward. This could have been done better. Make me feel it, don't tell me I should feel it.
The timing plays into his triumph having less impact. We see him break down in really overt ways, and I wish the movie had explored him breaking down with more subtlety. Everything happens quickly, making it seem like he wasn't down and out very long.  
In the Rocky series, Stallone had a reason to win each fight, in this movie the stakes aren't that high. Hope needs money, and he'll get that just for fighting, so what's the point of him winning?
There are a few other logic hurdles like the incident involving his wife that is the jump point for this movie, and his buddy who wears a watch more expensive than his car (and probably house).
I also didn't appreciate the emotionally manipulative moments involving the daughter. A touching moment shouldn't feel manufacture red with this kind of story.

Verdict:
It's not a bad movie. It has great performances, direction, and it looks good, but it falls closer to The Great White Hype than Rocky. While Gyllenhal's performance is just as good as anything in The Fighter, we need more story and that's something neither an actor nor director can fix. 

It depends.

Poltergeist - An unnecessary remake.

Poltergeist (2015)
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Written by: David Lindsay-Abaire (screenplay), based on the 1982 motion picture Poltergeist screenplay by Steven Speilberg & Michael Grais & Mark Victor, based on the 1982 motion picture Poltergeist story by Steven Speilberg
Directed by: Gil Kenan
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie Dewitt
Rated: PG-13

Plot:
A classic movie of the same name remade. A family buys a house, but they don't realize it's built on top of a cemetery until the walls are shaking, the earth is quaking, and their minds are aching. They (and the house) shook all night long.

Review:
Let's get this out of the way up front, there is no good reason to see this movie. The reason I watched it is because of Sam Rockwell. I'm a big fan, but
Great moments of tension were crafted that resulted in good jumps, but early on the sound design really bugged me. Things didn't sound right or there was too much noise for an action. I usually don't even notice sound, but this was obnoxious. Because of that I paid more attention to sound for the rest of the movie. Based on how loud the floor creaks, the house could implode at any moment. Walking across a room generates as much sounds as a construction crew.
There was a lot of setup while the movie got started and a lot of that was poor decisions. When you have to rely on dumb decisions from characters, the writing is troubled. If I woke up in the middle of the night to my kid hearing voices from the static of the television and electronics going haywire, I'd do more than go back to sleep. The family doesn't seem upset enough, or the father is in denial. Their kid gets sucked into a television and Sam Rockwell's character is nonplussed.
A paranormal investigator is shoehorned into the plot, and it might as well have been a priest from The Exorcist. That would have felt more grounded. A feeble explanation is attempted, but it doesn't land.
I don't get why the movie relies on dumb decisions, when smart decisions that made sense could have been utilized. A guy's drill gets sucked into the wall at alarming speed. He reaches into the wall for it for no explicable reason whatsoever (other than to annoy the audiences I assume). He then screams at the top of his lungs, but no one hears him. Once he's released, and I don't know why, he rejoins the group and acts as if nothing has happened? Why?
The parents belittle their son for being scared, but he had a rabid squirrel loose in his room, crazy clown dolls appeared in his room, the parents decorated his room with these crazy clowns, and he's a middle child which is probably why his parents neglect him.
I wondered if the movie was going to imply it was all in his mind, which would be a stretch since the movie established this isn't imagination, but it didn't imply that. It just left that loose thread dangling.
The ending was unsatisfying. As the family is about to leave the house, I'm thinking how the poltergeist is still there and they are just going to leave it. Which is interesting, but no, they just forgot about it momentarily. Them leaving the poltergeist in the rear view would have been a better ending.

Verdict:
When characters make dumb decisions just for the sake of the plot, that's a clue the writing is bad. I liked the Van Helsing character despite how campy that felt, but the actor didn't have the gravitas necessary for the role. This could have been a good movie, which makes it all the more disappointing.
Skip it.