At the Movies 2016: Freeheld

Posted on April 19, 2016 by cornholio1980

FreeheldFreeheld
USA 2015
Written by Ron Nyswaner
Directed by Peter Sollett
Watched on 06.04.2016

If I would use headlines to introduce my reviews, the one for “Freeheld” would read “Julianne Moore and Ellen Page shine in an otherwise muddled, uneven drama”. Because apart from the fact that the true story behind this film definitely is notable, it’s really the lead performances by Moore and Page that (barely) save the day.

One of my main problems with “Freeheld” was how it seemed to constantly shift from one type of movie to the next, never really amounting to a coherent, convincing whole. It starts off as a cop procedural, then its a romantic comedy about a lesbian couple. After a one year time jump and with Laurel’s cancer diagnosis, it becomes a drama about disease, before turning into a courtroom drama. And whenever Steve Carell turns up, it’s suddenly a comedy. All these shifts in theme and tone gave me the impression that “Freeheld” doesn’t really know what kind of movie it wants to be, and I don’t quite see why they couldn’t just start with Laurel and Stacie already being a couple. The most aggravating part of the movie, however, is everything around Steve Carell. They probably were afraid that without some comic relief, “Freeheld” would turn out to be too serious, but he just doesn’t fit into the movie at all. Whenever he shows up, he turns it into a circus. I for one felt his presence to be extremely annoying and disruptive. I also think that “Freeheld” is one of these movies that are preaching to the choir, but I don’t really see it reaching people that don’t already agree with its central message. It also suffers from the fact that IMHO we had many better and more impressive movies in recent years when it comes to same-sex relationships, and the struggles that lie therein. There definitely is a certain “by the numbers” and “been there, done that”-character to the movie that prevents it from really standing out. And finally, I found “Freeheld” to be rather predictable, which also meant that the setbacks that Laurel and Stacie face didn’t really hit me emotionally.

Having said all that, it’s still an ok movie that tells an important story about two women facing an incredible injustice, and fighting against it. For me, however, what worked best about “Freeheld” was the story about Laurel’s terminal illness, and how both characters deal with that. That was the most human and universal part of the story, and the stuff that really connected with me (so much so that I found the hearings to be rather distracting). In those moments, “Freeheld” worked incredibly well and really managed to move me. This is mostly due to Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, who – despite the fact that they both definitely make an odd couple (and not just because of their age gap) – really sold me on Laurel and Stacie’s relationship, and the feelings that they have for each other. Both give really strong performances, and even though by now, we expect nothing less from them, it’s nevertheless worth pointing out. Julianne Moore, shortly after “Still Alice” (which was a better movie overall), again plays a woman struggling with illness, and it’s hard to not feel for Laurel while witnessing her decline. However, Ellen Page (who, I imagine, must have found it quite liberating to finally play a character whose sexual orientation matches hers) is just as great as a young woman who finds love, and then has to face the fact that it’s going to be taken away from her so soon. If anything, her character is even more thinly sketched than Laurel, but she really gives it her all. Whenever they shared the screen, “Freeheld” came to life in a way that the rest of the movie could only dream of. Too bad, then, that said scenes were few and far between.
5/10


IMDB

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At the Movies 2016: Hardcore Henry

Posted on April 18, 2016 by cornholio1980

Hardcore HenryHardcore Henry
Russia | USA 2016
Written by Ilya Naishuller & Will Stewart
Directed by Ilya Naishuller
Watched on 15.04.2016

POV-shots in movies are hardly anything new (see, for example, “Halloween”, “Strange Days”, “Doom” or “Maniac”), but “Hardcore Henry” is arguably the first action movie that is presented entirely in that particular style – thanks to the wonders of modern technology (more precise: A modified GoPro) – thus imitating first person-shooters, but with “real world”-graphics. Unfortunately, that’s also the only thing that the movie has going for it, because otherwise, it’s completely unremarkable; and even the “first person view”-style is not without problems. Overall, I had the feeling that I wasn’t watching an actual movie, but rather a 90-minutes “proof of concept”-video.

Let’s start with said style, shall we? On the one hand, I have to applaud the filmmaker for trying to shoot an entire movie that way. On the other hand, I feel that what he offers up here is more of a failed attempt from which other filmmakers can learn – in order to identify, and avoid, the pitfalls that go with it – than an experimental triumph in itself. For example, everyone who hates shaky-cam (like me) will have a hard time, and should definitely avoid the first couple of rows in the theatre. That – as well as the fish-eye lens, which is noticeable pretty much throughout (even though it’s worse in some scenes than it is in others) – is the main problem of using a GoPro instead of a regular handheld camera (or, even better, a steadicam). What was even more jarring for me, however, was that while “Hardcore Henry” is shot from a first person point of view, it’s not a “single take”-movie (or at least appearing to be). There are cuts all the time, and while I understand the reasoning behind that from a production point of view, every single of those cuts took me out of the movie and ruined my impression that I’m either watching some sort of ego-shooter-“Let’s play”, or might even experience the action myself. Because there are no such cuts in either real life nor video games. Thus, for me, the whole concept was flawed from the start. Now, mind you, I wouldn’t have minded if they would have hidden the cuts, or – like going from one level to the next – had Henry close his eyes occasionally, to open them again at a new location (starting a new level, so to speak). But, just as an example, you see Henry walking towards something or someone, and instead of following him all the way, we suddenly cut to when he already got there. I for one found that incredibly irritating.

There also is an inherent problem in the POV-approach: Since we follow the action from Henry’s point of view, we know that nothing is going to happen to him, and that he will make it at least to the end of the movie – since otherwise, it would be over right away. Granted, one could argue that there’s hardly any danger for the main hero to die throughout an action film in general, but nevertheless, because of the first person-view, I found it particularly problematic in this case. Even worse, though, is the fact that apart from the POV-gimmick, “Hardcore Henry” is completely unremarkable. Seriously, if it wouldn’t be the self-proclaimed first movie shot entirely from this perspective (even though that’s not true), we wouldn’t have this discussion, because no one would talk about and hardly anyone would have seen it. Because if you take that gimmick away, all that you’re left with is an action flick that doesn’t even deserve to be called mediocre. The story is practically non-existent. There are no discernible character motivations, neither for the hero, not for the bad guy(s). You’re simply supposed to root for him because the movie gives you the impression that you are him, but at least for me, that simply wasn’t enough. Also, the bad guy was absolutely terrible. I have no idea what Naishuller thought it would be a good idea to give him telekinetic powers, but for me, it went against the “realism” that the movie strived for by putting us in the heroe’s shoes. Also, Danila Kozlovsky gives one of the worst performances that I have seen in a very long time. I also was and still am not the biggest fan of Sharlto Copley – an opinion I continue to stand behind after watching this movie. And while the movie, very occasionally, managed to slightly amuse me, most of the humor fell completely flat for me. The musical number was especially painful. Finally, nothing that happens in this movie had even the slightest emotional resonance with me.

Now, as I said before, “Hardcore Henry” has its moments. There are a couple of thrilling scenes, like when we’re thrown out of an airplane, tumbling to the ground, or we’re holding on to a rope that’s dangling from a soaring helicopter. The best part of the movie was the shootout that takes place in an abandoned building. Not only did it feature the best us of a Wilhelm scream in a very long time, but it was also one of the very few scenes where they used as little cuts as possible, thus the action moved very fluently. And as a huge fan of Queen, I have to admit that I smiled when “Don’t Stop Me Now” started playing. Overall, though, I’m afraid to say that despite a couple of thrilling sequences, “Hardcore Henry” is probably the worst video game movie not actually based on a video game.
3/10


IMDB

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A short announcement

Posted on April 17, 2016 by cornholio1980

Sorry for making myself so scarce in the last couple of weeks. After finally catching up with all 2015-movies that I saw in the cinema, I was so pleased with myself that I kinda lost all motivation to continue, even though I had already seen a couple of movies in 2016. But I either felt hardly any need to write about them (since I didn’t really have to say that much), or said need was already satisfied by the reviews that I write for the german site fictionBOX. However, I recently saw three movies that I can’t wait to write about – thus, I decided to actually review the 2016-releases that I saw so far in reverse chronological order. The obsessive-compulsive part of me might protest and yell out in agony, but I feel that it’s the only way to finally get back my momentum before the slash 1/2-festival starts at the end of april. Thus, be on the lookout for reviews of such divisive movies as “Hardcore Henry” and “Batman v Superman”, with reviews to “10 Cloverfield Lane” and “Midnight Special” also coming up in the forseeable future. Thanks for sticking around! 🙂

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Screener-review: Holidays

Posted on April 16, 2016 by cornholio1980


HolidaysHolidays
USA 2016
Written by Anthony Scott Burns, Matt Johnson, Kevin Kolsch, Nicholas McCarthy, Gary Shore, Kevin Smith, Sarah Adina Smith, Scott Stewart & Dennis Widmyer
Directed by Anthony Scott Burns, Kevin Kolsch, Nicholas McCarthy, Adam Egypt Mortimer, Gary Shore, Kevin Smith, Sarah Adina Smith, Scott Stewart & Dennis Widmyer
Watched on 30.03.2016

It seems that, after movies like “Trick R’ Treat”, the “V/H/S”-series, “Tales of Halloween”, “Southbound”, and this, that horror anthologies are back in fashion. “Holidays” consists of eight short films, each and every one of them tackling a different holiday, from Valentine’s Day to New Year’s Eve (no Independence Day, however). As with almost all of these kinds of movies, the individual segments vary in quality; however, overall, I was quite pleased with this most recent entry to this subgenre.

Lets go quickly over the individual stories, without giving too much away. The first entry is “Valentine’s Day” by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer. Shot incredibly well, with a couple of beautiful images and a nice atmosphere, it’s a nice, dark little romantic tale of a bullied schoolgirl falling for the one teacher who’s nice to her, and her present for him. A strong and promising first entry to this anthology! Next up was “St. Patrick’s Day” by Gary Shore. Maybe it was because St. Patrick’s Day isn’t really a thing over here in Austria, or maybe the story just didn’t grip me as much, but personally, I wasn’t quite as taken by it. The idea behind it was ok, and the little girl sufficiently creepy, but the ending was rather weird, and overall, I felt that this theme of being pregnant with a spawn from hell has a certain “been there, done that”-feel to it. Overall, though, it was ok. Up next was “Easter” by Nicholas McCarthy, which turned out to be one of my favorite entries to this anthology. I loved the little girl in the beginning, with her questions about the background of said holiday, and how Jesus and the Easter Bunny are related. It’s also one of the creepiest entries in the series, very well shot, with a great performance by said little girl, and a dark, ominous ending. In my book, this short film alone is worth the VOD-price of the movie. Up next is “Mother’s Day” by Sarah Adina Smith, which turned out to be yet another pregnancy-themed short film. The fact that we already had something similar (yet different) with “St. Patrick’s Day” didn’t help, and overall, it was another rather weird entry that I never really connected with. Still, it was alright.

“Father’s Day” was my other favorite of this anthology (next to “Easter”). It has a great score, a nice atmosphere, is built around a great mystery-premise that managed to grip me right away, and offers, in my opinion, the strongest ending of all the stories assembled here. It reminded me very much of “It Follows” (not storywise, but tonally), so much so that I could have sworn that it’s by David Robert Mitchell; instead, it was written and directed by Anthony Scott Burns, who, with this, proves to be another young talent worth looking out for. The next entry, “Halloween”, was put into the experienced hands of Kevin Smith, who offers up his familiar mix of horror, sex and comedy. It’s one of the movie’s lighter entries, which offers a couple of big laughs (and the best use of the tear-laughing emoji ever), and even though it was very silly, I found it quite entertaining. Definitely a lot better than “Tusk”. “Christmas” by Scott Stewart has a nice, strong beginning and an interesting premise that deals with the fact how the internet, due to social media, google searches etc., knows us (and our wants, needs and deeds) better than we might like, but for me, it couldn’t quite shake the problem of “Why doesn’t he just simply stop using this technology?”. Also, it ultimately leads nowhere, and simply stops, instead of offering up a satisfying conclusion. Finally, we get “New Year’s Eve” by “Some Kind of Hate”‘s Adam Egypt Mortimer. Another “romantic” tale, its main problem was that I think that the dangers of online dating have been overdone by now. Also, I would have wished for a different outcome. However, I loved the idea of what it means for a killer to meet his “perfect match”, and it offers a very attractive Lorenza Izzo (which I found a lot more alluring here than I did in “Knock Knock”). It’s not the strongest entry of this anthology, but nevertheless ends it on a satisfying note.

Overall, I’d count “Holidays” among the better entries to the ever-growing list of horror anthology movies. Not every story is equally good, but they are quite varied in content in tone, which means that everyone should be able to find something to like here.
7/10


IMDB

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Oscars 2016 – My Predictions

Posted on February 28, 2016 by cornholio1980

First, a little celebration: I finally finished my reviews for movies that I saw in the cinema last year! Hurray for me! Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I originally thought, so before we get into my cinematic adventures of 2016 (and I let off some steam concerning the miniseries-revival of “The X-Files”), I’ll give you a short overview of my predictions for this years Academy Awards. No text, no reasoning, no explanation – just plain facts:

Best Picture
The Revenant

Directing
The Revenant

Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Actress in a Leading Role
Brie Larson, Room

Actor in a Supporting Role
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Actress in a Supporting Role
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Animated Feature Film
Inside Out

Cinematography
The Revenant

Costume Design
Cinderella

Documentary (Feature)
Amy

Documentary (Short)
Body Team 12

Film Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road

Foreign Language Film
Son of Saul

Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road

Music (Original Score)
The Hateful Eight

Music (Original Song)
“Til It Happens To You,” The Hunting Ground

Production Design
Mad Max: Fury Road

Short Film (Animated)
World of Tomorrow

Short Film (Live Action)
Shok

Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road

Sound Mixing
The Revenant

Visual Effects
Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Big Short

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Spotlight

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At the Movies 2015: Mr. Holmes

Posted on February 27, 2016 by cornholio1980

Mr HolmesMr. Holmes
UK | USA 2015
Written by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the novel by Mitch Cullin
Directed by Bill Condon
Watched on 27.12.2015

As a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, I was very much looking forward to this movie. Unfortunately, over here in Austria, they had us wait quite a while until they finally released it to the cinemas – but at least, from my point of view, it was worth the wait. What you should know beforehand, though, is that Mr. Holmes acts quite differently here from how we’re used to. It seems he got a little – and for his character rather unusually and surprisingly – sentimental in his old age. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with that; at least it was something new, and showed a different side to him than what we usually get to see in depictions of this literal figure. However, purists might disagree.

One of my favorite things about “Mr. Holmes” is that it shows one of the most brilliant (fictional) minds struggling with a disease that slowly takes away from him exactly that what distinguished him from the rest: His mind. Losing your memories and your mind to a disease like Alzheimer’s is no fun to anyone, but it must be especially difficult in his case, since he took so much pride in his intelligence, his knowledge, and his skills to observe and deduce. Thus, I really felt for him during his struggle. I also liked that in his old days, he’s actually learning a new life lesson, and has to acknowledge that truth, sometimes, isn’t everything. And I really liked the friendship that emerges between him and Roger, the little boy, and son to Mrs. Munro, who owns the place in which he stays. As expected, Ian McKellen is great in the role, and up to the task of portraying Sherlock Holmes at two very different, but pivotal, stages of his life. The rest of the cast is equally great; I especially enjoyed Laura Linney’s performance, but Milo Parker was really good, too. And even though it might not have been the most complicated, exciting and/or intriguing case of his career, I also liked the investigation that Mr. Holmes struggles to remember, and which offers one of the rare occasions where he, in a way, failed. However, two flaws prevented this from being even better. As my good friend Bernhard, a long time fan of Sherlock Holmes himself, pointed out afterwards, it would have been nice if Sherlock would have had to use his skills in an unusual way, namely to deduce what actually happened back then. Instead, it just simply comes to him in dreams, memories, sudden flashbacks etc. That was a wasted opportunity. And, kinda related: Going in I expected a different movie, since I thought that Mr. Holmes would have to use his ailing skills one last time to solve a case – which isn’t really what “Mr. Holmes” is about. And while I usually try to not let my expectations interfere with my opinion of a movie, in this case I think I would have liked my initial thoughts of what this movie would be a little bit more than what we ultimately got. Overall, though, these are minor criticisms that only marginally detracted from my enjoyment of the movie.
8/10


IMDB

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At the Movies 2015: Krampus

Posted on February 26, 2016 by cornholio1980

KrampusKrampus
USA 2015
Written by Michael Dougherty, Todd Casey & Zach Shields
Directed by Michael Dougherty
Watched on 18.12.2015

When I heard that Hollywood would make a movie about a mythical figure of austrian folklore, I knew that I had to see it. Now, granted, the Krampus presented here has very little to do with the one that I grew up with, but in a way, that only enhanced my enjoyment of the movie, since it added another layer to its (already considerable) hilarity.

My favorite scene can be found right at the beginning, where they perfectly mock the commercialization of Christmas, with a hilarious slow-motion-montage of department store-mayhem, set to Bing Crosby’s festive “It’s beginning to look a lot like christmas”. If there was a more to-the-point and funny damnation of consumerism last year, I missed it. But while for me, this already was the highlight of the movie, there also was quite a lot to enjoy afterwards. For example, even though they changed the Krampus-folklore-tale beyond recognition, they at least had the decency to cast a real austrian actress as Omi – something that I very much appreciated. I also loved Krampus’ helpers, with the gingerbread men especially funny (even though I probably wasn’t the only one who immediately had “Shrek” on their minds). But despite all laughs, there’s also a dark undertone that leads to a pretty grim ending that I definitely didn’t expect in a horror comedy like this. Some might criticise the movie for exactly that, wishing for a different outcome – because as it stands, I wouldn’t really recommend watching “Krampus” with your children. However, I really loved that they had the guts to follow through with it. I also liked the cast, there were a couple of nice, quite, sentimental moments (usually involving Omi), and the movie was very well shot, offering some haunting images and a nice, creepy mood. Overall, I had a blast with it, and found it to be incredibly funny and entertaining. What it’s not, though, at least in my opinion, is scary. For me, that’s the one aspect where this falls short of Dougherty’s first directorial outing, “Trick R’ Treat”. I smiled, I laughed, I was entertained, and occasionally I was even distraught – but not for one second was I actually afraid, let alone terrified. It you can live with that, and don’t mind the fact that this has absolutely zero to do with the original austrian folklore tale, then you should have a pretty good time. Just don’t expect it to creep you out.
7/10


IMDB

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At the Movies 2015: Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Posted on February 25, 2016 by cornholio1980

Star Wars The Force AwakensStar Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens
USA 2015
Written by Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams & Michael Arndt
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Watched on 17.12.2015

Ok, let’s get a few things right out of the way. A) “Star Wars” has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. B) I’d definitely consider myself a hardcore-fan. C) I’m one of those guys who spend lots of time and money on the Expanded Universe, thus I wasn’t exactly thrilled (as much as I can understand the decision) when Disney devalued it to pay-for-fanfiction-status. D) While I’m not the biggest fan of J.J. Abrams “Star Trek”-Reboot, I loved “Super 8”, so I’m definitely not an Abrams-hater. E) While I know that they’re widely derided, I’m not the biggest detractor of the prequels. Yeah, “The Phantom Menace” was very disappointing, but I found “Attack of the Clones” quite entertaining, and absolute love “Revenge of the Sith”. F) If you’ve got half an hour on your hands, understand german, and want to read my in-depth thoughts on the movie, head over to fictionBOX. And finally, G) as much as I was looking forward to this movie, I was also a little concerned, especially since none of the trailers really spoke to me. With all of that out of the way (just so you know where I stood before I entered the cinema), here’s what I thought of it:

I’m afraid I wasn’t quite as taken with the movie as most others were (at least that’s the impression that I got last December). Yes, it was quite entertaining, but I also had some issues with it that altogether made it only my sixth-favorite “Star Wars”-episode, only beating out “The Phantom Menace”. One of my biggest complaints is how risk-averse it was. In order to appeal to those who only love the original trilogy, and hated the prequels, they pretty much present a “Best of the OT”-movie here, and pretty much copy “A New Hope”. I was especially disappointed about the new Death Star – the third one in the seventh “Star Wars”-film. Really? That’s the best that you could come up with? If this wouldn’t have “Star Wars” in the title, they would have been sued for plagiarism. I’m also not sure if I’m happy with the First Order as Empire-surrogate. Seeing the galaxy far far away in so much disarray 30 years after the original trilogy seems to make their victory there rather meaningless. Also, most of the First Order-characters didn’t really work for me. I was especially disappointed with Domhnall Gleeson, who I usually love, but here, he was so unconvincing that I had to refrain from bursting out into laughter. And while Kylo Ren might be one of the few original things about this movie, thus I don’t want to diss on him too hard, I’d challenge how anyone can hate Anakin Skywalker for his emo-behaviour, but give him a pass. Ultimately, none of the new bad guys (especially Supreme Leader Snoke; what a weird choice to blow their own horn for mostly refraining from CGI, and doing mostly practical effects, masks, make-up etc., but then do one of the new major baddies as CGI-character) worked for me, or felt threatening in any way.

I also didn’t care for all the allusions to the original trilogy. A couple of references here and there (like the homage to the famous cantina-scene) would have been fine, but “The Force Awakens” is full of them. Sometimes they’re rather easy to spot, sometimes only the die hard-fans will notice them. However, I am a die-hard fan, thus I found one allusion after another, and whenever I did, it threw me right out of the movie. Instead of following the story, I stopped and thought about a different (IMHO better) movie, thus I never was immersed in what was going on for very long. I was also very disappointed by John Williams’ score, which is easily the worst of all of his “Star Wars”-soundtracks. And I thought that they really fumbled a certain dramatic scene. I don’t want to spoil it here, thus I have to be vague, but… lets just say that because of the way it was handled, I just knew what was going to happen, and thus wasn’t really in the moment – which is why it left me completely cold. And I was also rather disappointed that the old folks hardly ever interacted with each other – which is what I hoped for the most. Why bringing them back when you don’t see them all together in action? What a wasted opportunity. And even though it’s hard for me to put my finger on it, “The Force Awakens” somehow felt more contemporary and less timeless to me. This is especially true about the humor, which gave off a certain Joss Whedon-vibe. Usually, I like this kind of humor, but for whatever reason, IMHO it didn’t really seem to gel with “Star Wars”. But I guess that’s just me.

Ultimately, “The Force Awakens” felt more like a fan-film, or an imitation, to me. Say about the other “Star Wars”-films what you want, but – including the prequels – they always were quite different from each other. “The Force Awakens”, however, is some kind of “Best Of”-version of the original trilogy, which occasionally made me question why I should even bother with it, and not watch the movies it is mimicking instead. Having said all that, I can’t deny that “The Force Awakens”, overall, had me entertained. I also really loved most of the new characters, with Rey a particular standout. With Princess Leia, which was anything but a damsel in distress, “Star Wars” has always been on the forefront of bringing us strong female characters, but Rey really brings it up to a new level. I absolutely loved the scene where Finn is about to come to her rescue, only to note that she doesn’t need his help. Overall, I think it’s great that young girls now have a character within the Star Wars-universe who they can identify with, and look up to. I also really liked Finn, mostly because of the moral conflict that he’s facing. Poe, on the other hand, only was ok; I really wish they would have done more with this character, but there’s always episodes VIII and IX, I guess. I also can’t deny that it was a thrill to see the old characters on the big screen again. The effects were flawless, J. J. Abrams direction was spot-on, giving us a couple of beautiful shots and handling the action rather well, and yes, getting more practical effects again definitely is a development that I approve of.

Overall, “The Force Awakens” probably is better when seen as a starting off point for the new chapter in the “Star Wars”-saga, than as an independent episode in itself. J.J. Abrams played it a little bit too safe for my taste, offering little in terms of new ideas, and mostly copying what has come before, but he paves the way for the others, leaves quite some room for improvement, and offers up an interesting and promising starting-off-point for the rest of the saga. Now, it’s up to Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow to pick up where he left off, and to make use of this setup – hopefully finally offering “Star Wars”-episodes that live up to the legacy, and that manage to enchant me as much as the original trilogy did.
6/10


IMDB

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At the Movies 2015: Bridge of Spies

Posted on February 23, 2016 by cornholio1980

Bridge of SpiesBridge of Spies
USA 2015
Written by Mark Charman, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Watched on 13.12.2015

Having visited Berlin last year for the first time in my life, “Bridge of Spies” kinda was the perfect movie to round up my impressions, and to complete the picture of its history in my mind. That’s not the only thing that Steven Spielberg latest movie has the offer, though. Rather, it’s a compelling historical drama, depicting the strained relationship between Russia and the US during the Cold War, the rise of the Berlin Wall, political maneuverings, and much more.

It’s not just all about the past, though. Unfortunately, in the way Donovan is shunned by some parts of the population, simply for doing his job, for playing his role in the legal system, for standing up for what he knows is right, and for sticking to his principles, I could definitely see shades of the present. It’s easy to see him defending a terror suspect, and having to face similar rejection. I really wish we as a society would have left this kind of behavior in the past, and would be able to see past our fear, our prejudice and our hate, but if anything, it seems even worse now. Thus, “Bridge of Spies” is probably more relevant today than is has ever been, and as sad as that may be, the movie itself benefited tremendously from that. It’s further enhanced by Spielberg’s very stylish, old-fashioned and elegant direction, a very good score by Thomas Newman (who proves himself to be a worthy substitute for John Williams), as well as great performances by Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance. Granted, it might take a little to really get going, but in slowly accelerating and intensifying the plot, Spielberg really managed to draw me in. Also, in those few scenes where he heightens the tension, Spielberg once again proves himself to be a master of suspense. The callback to an earlier, gut-punching scene during a ride with the subway was equally great. Finally, kudos also has to go out to scriptwriters Mark Charman & the Coen-brothers for telling a very interesting story, and filling the movie with many sympathetic characters. Overall, it might not rank among Spielberg’s absolute best, but it’s another very good entry in his ever-growing filmography, who once again proves why he’s undoubtedly one of the best directors working today.
8/10


IMDB

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At the Movies 2015: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

Posted on February 23, 2016 by cornholio1980

The Hunger Games Mockingjay 2The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
USA 2015
Written by Peter Craig & Danny Strong, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Watched on 01.12.2015

After the first two movies, which I liked very much (even though – or maybe because – they were quite different), I was rather disappointed by “Mockingjay – Part 1”. And while I still maintain that “Mockingjay” was hurt considerably by the decision of the film studio to split it in half, just to make more dough, at least the second part was a return to form for the franchise, and a worthy conclusion to the series.

Nevertheless, it took a while to really get going. If they would have cut down the first hour to half an hour, getting us to the city a lot quicker, the movie would have been a lot more gripping, right from the start. Overall, I think that if they would have taken both movies, and cut them down to three hours, “Mockingjay” could have been one of the best movies of the decade, and an incredible intense finale for the series. As it stands, the second part is still a very good movie in itself, but it takes a while to really get going. Also, not having read the novels (yet), I couldn’t shake the feeling that they pretty much adapted it word for word, page for page. Maybe that’s a misconception, but I very much got the same vibe here that I also got from the three “The Hobbit”-movies, of dragging things out and possibly even adding stuff, instead of trimming down the source material. And finally, while it didn’t quite bug me as much as it did others, the final shot indeed was a little too saccharine, presented a conservative’s wet dream, and tonally didn’t fit the rest of the movie series at all. However, as an epilogue, and thanks to Katniss’ nice, sad monologue, the sweet lullaby, as well as the great score, I could only just accept it.

Which also brings us right to the things that I loved about the movie. James Newton Howard’s score for “Mockingjay – Part 2” isn’t simply the best one of the series, but in my very humble opinion actually the crown achievement of his entire career (so far). And with a filmography like his, that’s saying something. His score reminded me of Howard Shore’s music for “The Return of the King”: Epic, rousing, and highly emotional. Jennifer Lawrence is and remains the heart and soul of these movies, giving another great, highly emotive performance, which might very well be her best of the entire series. Also, after the leisurely paced beginning, things finally start to heat up once they reach the city, and after they got down into the sewers, “Mockingjay Part 2” was pretty much flawless (apart from its final two minutes, that is, of course), getting incredibly tense and gripping, and culminating in a highly dramatic showdown with a character’s death that at least I didn’t see coming. I also loved that here, Katniss finally takes her life – and her destiny – into her own hands, after only being used as a figurehead by one side or the other in the previous movies. Thus, even though I was pretty sure that I knew what was going to happen at a certain scene near the end, I still cheered when she finally did exactly what I hoped she’d do. There definitely is a lot of subtext and social as well as political commentary to be found here – definitely more than is usual for a blockbuster like this – and I for one really appreciated that.

Part of me still is quite disappointed – and a little angry – that we didn’t get an epic and highly dramatic 3-hour-version of “Mockingjay”, but after the disappointing first part, at least with “Mockingjay Part 2”, the “Hunger Games”-franchise goes out in class, style, and lots of emotions.
8/10


IMDB

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