Archive for category Film
Movie Mayhem – The Sisters Brothers & The Old Man and the Gun
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 21, 2018
The Sisters Brothers — 2018; Directed by Jacques Audiard; Starring Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed; The Old Man and the Gun — 2018; Directed by David Lowery; Starring Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover and Tom Waits
For a long time, especially throughout the sixties and seventies, westerns ruled the roost in the cineplexes. But as the blockbuster slowly took over and science fiction finally found a strong footing in people’s wallets, the western eroded into a forgotten medium that occasionally rears its head to peek in on what’s happening around them, sometimes to great critical acclaim (Tombstone, Unforgiven, Open Range), other times in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fashion (The Quick and the Dead, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Cowboys and Aliens) and tepid remakes (3:10 To Yuma, True Grit, The Magnificent Seven).
In that time, the western also evolved; it was no longer just your typical men on horseback in the dusty old west anymore. We now had what’s known as the modern western, which took the style and themes of the old and paired them in an era full of cars and modern technology (Hell or High Water). Two films went wide this week that convey both sides of the western coin: The Sisters Brothers, reveling in the harsh realities of a time when uncivilized gunslingers are starting to fade into the civility of the modern world; and The Old Man and the Gun, meditating on a modern bank robber who reminisces of days gone by, but is just as happy with the respect he provides his victims. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Bad Times at the El Royale
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 14, 2018
Bad Times at the El Raoyale — 2018; Directed by Drew Goddard; Starring Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Lweis Pullman, Cailee Spaeny and Chris Hemsworth
Earlier this year, Hotel Artemis, a film with a big name cast gathering inside a hotel for various reasons, was released. It didn’t last long in theaters, and it’s not hard to understand why: the film couldn’t figure out what it wanted to be as the majority of the cast sailed through their usual schtick without much passion behind it. None of the characters were all that likable, mostly because, aside from the Doctor (Jodie Foster), we never really got to know any of them outside of their overt personalities, so their choices didn’t give us anything to identify with or hold onto. Fast forward a few months to Bad Times at the El Royale, another film with an all-star cast about a group of strangers coming together at a hotel for their own nefarious purposes. The similarities end there, as El Royale turns out to be what Hotel Artemis was hoping to be. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – A Star Is Born
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 7, 2018
A Star Is Born — 2018; Directed by Bradley Cooper; Starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Rafi Gavron and Anthony Ramos
For a long time, I never thought of Lady Gaga as anything but an act. By this I mean, she was all gimmick, no substance, more focused on the persona she presented than with the music she performed. Although her music was fine, her shtick so far overwhelmed it, I always felt she was covering for a lack of vocal talent. Then in 2015, she appeared completely stripped down (no weird outfits or heavy makeup) at the Oscars to sing a beautiful rendition of “The Sound of Music.” It was clear she was an extremely talented vocalist, and it made me wonder why she’d spent so much time hiding behind a mask. A Star Is Born, the newest remake of the film made famous by Barbara Streisand (which itself was a remake), in some ways mirror’s Lady Gaga’s rise to fame and how she may have felt when she herself was coming up in an industry obsessed with appearance. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Smallfoot
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on September 30, 2018
Smallfoot — 2018; Directed by Karey Kirkpatrick and Jason Reisig; Starring the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, Danny DeVito, LeBron James and Gina Rodriguez
Pixar has dominated the animation stage for so long now, sometimes we forget there are other animation studios that have delivered some exceptional animated films as well (though the majority of them do tend to run their brands into the ground with too many unnecessary sequels and spinoffs). Sony Animation has produced several fun films, Dreamworks Animation has delivered a couple of standouts, and of course, we all know Disney Animation’s history. Then there’s Warner Brothers Animation, who, outside of their DC, LEGO and Hannah-Barbara brands, hasn’t delivered a whole lot in terms of winning products. So it was interesting to see them step out of their comfort zone once again (after 2016’s Storks, which did impress me quite a bit!) to produce a film that resembled something you might expect from a studio like Blue Sky. I can’t say that Smallfoot is full of laugh-out-loud moments, but it does have a strong, tender narrative that keeps it from sinking into the ice. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Assassination Nation
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on September 23, 2018
Assassination Nation — 2018; Directed by Sam Levinson; Starring Odessa Young, Hari Nef, Suki Waterhouse, Abra, Colman Domingo, Bill Skarsgård and Joel McHale
When grading films, books or any other type of entertainment, there are a lot of factors I take into account — acting, writing, editing, character development, cinematography, direction, pace and overall entertainment factor, among others. This is why I very rarely give anything an F, as there is almost always some redeemable qualities that keep it from being a complete disaster. It’s also why I’ve never walked out of a movie; no matter how bad it is, there’s always a chance the film will redeem itself in some way. Within the first minutes of Assassination Nation, the new sociopolitical mind rape that just hit theaters, I was sickened and completely disengaged; an F was certainly on the horizon as I bordered that fine line between holding true and walking out. As the movie progressed, so too did my tolerance to the point where it was clear there could have been a good, meaningful film somewhere hidden under the grotesque masks of sadism. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Peppermint
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on September 9, 2018
Peppermint — 2018; Directed by Pierre Morel; Starring Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher Jr., John Ortiz, Juan Pablo Raba, and Annie Ilonzeh
In the trailer for Peppermint, one of the characters asks what Jennifer Garner’s Riley North was doing traveling the world for five years, bouncing from place to place (paraphrasing of course). Within the context of the movie, my first thought when I heard this — she was becoming Sydney Bristow! For anyone who remembers Alias, the terrific spy series that ran on ABC from 2001-2006 and made Garner a name for herself in the industry, you’ll know that she’s more than capable of unleashing hell on her enemies and look good doing it. And though it’s great to see Garner returning to her action roots after a string of dramas, rom-coms and faith-based films, I’m not sure how I felt about her kicking tail and taking names for the sake of vengeance rather than justice. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Kin
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on September 2, 2018
Kin — 2018; Directed by Jonathan and Josh Baker; Starring Myles Truitt, Jack Reynor, Dennis Quaid, Zoë Kravitz and James Franco
When someone sets out to tell a story, the intent is to capture the audience’s imagination and provide a satisfying climax that keeps people wanting more. Everything is developed in a way that allows us to fall in love with the characters so much, we want to continue to spend time with them, even though they have received closure at the end of their story.
Sometimes, though, this need for more stems from the wrong reasons. The characters may meander through circumstances that don’t necessarily add up, eventually throwing us a curveball at the end that makes you wish that story was the one they had told instead of the one you actually had to sit through. This scenario is Kin in a nutshell — a film that provides nothing of substance until the very last minute, but by then, it’s far too late. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – The Happytime Murders
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on August 26, 2018
The Happytime Murders — 2018; Directed by Brian Henson; Starring Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph and Joel McHalee
The Muppets have been around for a very long time, brightening the moods of both children and adults. The sense of whimsy, education and absurdity that Jim Henson brought to his creation spoke to generations of fans. The kids liked them because they were fuzzy and cute, the adults liked them because there was an underlying maturity to them. But sometime after Henson’s death in 1990, people seemed to lose touch with the Muppets. They were still around, mostly appearing in the retelling of famous stories like A Christmas Carol and Treasure Island (and of course Sesame Street, which will live on forever, as it should), but they slowly became irrelevant. In 2011, the Muppets started to make a comeback with Jason Segel’s The Muppets, and have slowly been earning their stripes back under the leadership of Henson’s son, Brian, who to his credit continues to try new things to reinvigorate the brand. Through his newest venture, Henson Alternative, Henson brings us The Happytime Murders, a seedy look at the dark secrets behind the Muppets who aren’t famous like Kermit the Frog. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – Mile 22
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on August 19, 2018
Mile 22 — 2018; Directed by Peter Berg; Starring Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, John Malkovich, Iko Uwais, and Ronda Rousey
Ever since the beginning of cinema, actors and directors have been teaming up to produce multiple projects together. Leonardo Dicaprio was just another pretty face before Martin Scorcese made him an actor; Wes Anderson’s phone number is the only one Bill Murray will ever answer; Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater break all kinds of boundaries; Tim Burton and Johnny Depp share the same brain; and John Ford and John Wayne are probably still making movies together in heaven. What makes them work so well together is because each pair have a unique brand; you always know what you’re going to get when you walk in the theater. One of the more recent actor/director collaborations is Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg, who have made four films together over the last five years (two of which opened in 2016). The first three were powerful true stories of harrowing bravery in the face of tragedy. Their newest partnership, Mile 22, is miles from their previous jaunts together, but nevertheless stays true to their brand. Read Full Review
Movie Mayhem – The Meg
Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on August 12, 2018
The Meg — 2018; Directed by Jon Turteltaub; Starring Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Page Kennedy and Shuya Sophia Cai
What made Jaws so great when it first scared audiences away from beaches (and subsequently made the rest of the series so underwhelming or bad) was that it felt so authentic. It’s been widely documented that Steven Spielberg had major technical problems with the shark during production, limiting its exposure to the audience. This “problem” provided much more tension because we could sense a danger lurking in the depths of the water, but couldn’t see it. Ever since then, filmmakers have tried to replicate that sense of fear to varying degrees of success.
The problem is, as technology evolved and became more accessible, that authenticity devolved. Filmmakers jumped at the chance to use computer effects to create more menacing sharks without the hindrance of technical issues, but in doing so, made them less scary. Not only that, but by focusing so much effort on making the shark more frightening, they stopped caring about the characters, which is another ingredient Spielberg nailed to precision. And when the characters simply become a source for food (and the only goal of the filmmaker is how many people die, and how gruesome their deaths will be), we lose that connection and, thus, our ability to relate to what’s happening. The genre, therefore has either embraced the stupidity of shark attacks or have failed to live up to the promise of being the next Jaws. Read Full Review
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