Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice

Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice

This movie is confusing. The plot lines are like pick up sticks strewn about. Scenes appear to be helter skelter and transitioning is not obvious (no I did not fall asleep…I think). There is mayhem galore and a bit too violent for PG-13; I think the PG-13 was a push for the sake box office. Most of the movie is dark and violent. Except for two funny lines (which are in the trailer) the movie is basically humorless.

Henry Cavill reprises his Superman persona from the Man of Steel film. Good hearted as always and Clark Kent is still a nerd (but better dressed). Lois Lane as played by Amy Adams has a relationship with Superman.  My hope soared when there was a potent hot seen between Superman and Lois, but they kept their clothes on.

Ben Affleck’s Batman is grim. His battles with Superman and others were brutal. Batman wears bulky armor that resembles the Lego Batman. The biggest miscasting is Jeremy Irons as Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred. Irons is devoid of humility and if you want a cup of coffee you better get it yourself.

Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luther was extremely annoying with his twitchy dialogue and piercing unnerving glares. His interpretation of the character is off the mark. Also Lex Luther with a mop of hair is anathema.

Wonder Woman is played by Gal Gadot, a former Miss Israel and super model. She played the sexy Brazilian cop in the Fast and the Furious movie. I have a problem, TV’s Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter (with her boom boom hips), is imprinted on my brain as the WW archetype.  Gadot makes a great model but is too thin to be a super hero; she has a credibility problem. A Subway sandwich has more meat on it than she does.

This movie is not terrible, just bad in places. The film is bullet proof, it has already broken box office records. It needs to clear $800m before it is in the black, which it will probably get. The challenge for the studios is selling the other lesser DC hero movies (including WW) which are coming soon. If you are part of the Fan base you will be forgiving of the movie’s short comings. Otherwise Downton Abbey is on demand.

Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky

This film had lofty ideas but it fell flat on its face. The movie focuses on the politicization of a drone attack targeting high level terrorists and conflicting with the military agenda. The politicians and the military are at odds on how to proceed with the drone strike. The politicians are incapable of making a decision and play political hot potato deferring to their superiors. This goes on for a while and instead of creating an atmosphere of suspense it becomes tedious.

Helen Mirren is the Colonel impatiently waiting for the go ahead.  Alan Rickman is the liaison Lt. General dealing with the politicians. Arron Paul is the drone pilot. Barkhad Abdi plays Jama Farah, a Kenyan undercover agent (he was a pirate in the Captain Philips movie). There really is not much acting going on in the war room. As this may be his last film it is sad to see Rickman sitting in the war room trying to get bickering officials to reach agreement.  If this feckless bunch were hunting Osama Bin Laden he would still be in Pakistan collecting a pension.

There is more action during the drone strike. The deployment of the missile is delayed because of collateral damage; in this case one person. This caused another round of indecision and procrastination. Targeting the safe house had to be recalculated to Helen Mirren’s consternation.  

How they handled collateral damage is the movie’s moral lynch pin. Not to be too callus, collateral damage depends on what end of the attack you are on. To prevent another terrorist attack would you accept the cost of collateral damage?

10 Cloverfield Lane

10 Cloverfield Lane

In 2008 the movie Cloverfield was released. I assumed 10 Cloverfield Lane was either a prequel or a sequel. No, this is a “spiritual successor”. I told my son I never heard of this expression and he said it is because I am old. For those of you too embarrassed to ask, here is the definition:

A Spiritual Successor is a type of sequel that is not part of the same world or story as its predecessor, but is nonetheless considered to be a successor because it's made by the same creators; shares common themes, styles, or elements; or, most likely, both. In other words, it's a sequel "in spirit.

This is a doomsday/sci-fi movie. There are three principles: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. The small ensemble sustains the movie’s tension and focus. Goodman plays Harold the farmer turned doomsday fanatic who constructs a bunker. Winstead plays Michelle, who is rescued by Howard after an auto accident and taken to his bunker. Gallagher plays Emmett who is a farm worker who stows away in the bunker.

The essence of the movie is you are not sure what is real. Is Goodman really a survivalist or is he totally unbalanced. Is the atmosphere toxic or this is what Goodman wants you to believe? Is he benevolent or does he want to keep Michelle and Emmett captive? Conflicting clues support both positions.

Goodman usually plays the happy fat guy. He is terrific in this role as the doomsday fanatic.  He does not over play the role. I am not familiar with Winstead’s work but she played her role well showing vulnerability and grit. The movie has an atmosphere of suspense. Unexpected things happen making you jump. The film holds your attention completely.

 My one critique is the set up took a little bit too long. If Alfred Hitchcock did a sci-fi/end of the world thriller it would resemble this film. For fear of life and limb I will not say more about the plot (there is lots more). Hint, during the last half hour do not go to the bathroom.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

There must be a special place in hell for people who make misleading movie trailers. This movie is falsely advertised as a Tina Fey comedy. The Tina Fey part is true, the comedy part is false. This film is a dull Afghan war correspondent movie with hints of comedy. The majority of these comedic gems can be seen for free in movie and TV ads. What is left is a listless war film without direction or heart (they needed two directors for this film, only God knows why).

Tina Fey is a news writer from New York who volunteers to go to Afghanistan as a war correspondent and stays for three years. She becomes addicted to the rush of war. All the clichés are present. She catches her fiancés being unfaithful on Skype (wait, that’s funny); there are torrid alcoholic infused parties (no Talibans were harmed in the making of this movie); casual and uncasual sex; the horrors of war, but not too many since this is a comedy.

Why do they need A listed stars to make this shlock? Margot Robbie is the camp trampoline; Billy Bob Thornton is the tough but soft hearted general; Martin Freeman is the hard drinking Scottish photo journalist who is Fay’s lover. In the Hobbit he plays Bilbo Baggins; now Bilbo having sex that’s funny! Alfred Molina plays a corrupt Afghan minister who is nearly unrecognizable with his beard and hair blending into one big mop.

So why did I go see this movie? Tina Fey is a smart and funny comedian, so I went with the brand. Too bad movies do not come with a list of ingredients.   

2016 Oscar Nominations

2016 Oscar Nominations

Yellow jc picks; red winners; red on yellow jc correct pick

BEST PICTURE

·         The Big Short

·         Bridge of Spies

·         Brooklyn

·         Mad Max: Fury Road

·         The Martian

·         The Revenant

·         Room

·         Spotlight

BEST ACTOR

·         Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

·         Matt Damon, The Martian

·         Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

·         Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

·         Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

BEST ACTRESS

·         Cate Blanchett, Carol

·         Brie Larson, Room

·         Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

·         Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

·         Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

·         Christian Bale, The Big Short

·         Tom Hardy, The Revenant

·         Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight

·         Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

·         Sylvester Stallone, Creed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

·         Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

·         Rooney Mara, Carol

·         Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

·         Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

·         Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

DIRECTING

·         Adam McKay - The Big Short

·         George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road

·         Alejandro G. Iñárritu - The Revenant

·         Lenny Abrahamson - Room

·         Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

·         Anomalisa

·         Boy and the World

·         Inside Out

·         Shaun the Sheep Movie

·         When Marnie Was There

COSTUME DESIGN

·         Carol

·         Cinderella

·         The Danish Girl

·         Mad Max: Fury Road

·         The Revenant

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

·         Amy

·         Cartel Land

·         The Look of Silence

·         What Happened, Miss Simone?

·         Winter on Fire

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

·         Body Team

·         Chau, Beyond the Lines

·         Claude Lanzmann

·         A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

·         Last Day of Freedom

MAKEUP AND HAIR STYLING

·         Mad Max: Fury Road

·         The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

·         The Revenant

ORIGINAL SONG

·         "Earned It" - Fifty Shades of Grey

·         "Manta Ray" - Racing Extinction

·         "Simple Song #3" - Youth

·         "Til It Happens to You" - The Hunting Ground

·         "Writing's on the Wall" - Spectre

ANIMATED SHORT

·         Bear Story

·         Prologue

·         Sanjay's Super Team

·         We Can't Live Without Cosmos

·         World of Tomorrow

SOUND EDITING

·         Mad Max: Fury Road

·         Sicario

·         Star Wars: The Force Awakens

·         The Martian

·         The Revenant

FILM EDITING

·         The Big Short

·         Mad Max: Fury Road

·         The Revenant

·         Spotlight

·         Star Wars: The Force Awakens

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

·         Embrace of the Serpent

·         Mustang

·         Son of Saul

·         Theeb

·         A War

ORIGINAL SCORE

·         Bridge of Spies

·         Carol

·         The Hateful Eight

·         Sicario

·         Star Wars: The Force Awakens

PRODUCTION DESIGN

·         Bridge of Spies

·         The Danish Girl

·         Mad Max: Fury Road

·         The Martian

·         The Revenant

VISUAL EFFECTS

·         Ex Machina

·         Mad Max: Fury Road

·         The Martian

·         The Revenant

·         Star Wars: The Force Awakens

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

·         The Big Short

·         Brooklyn

·         Carol

·         The Martian

·         Room

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

·         Bridge of Spies

·         Ex Machina

·         Inside Out

·         Spotlight

·         Straight Outta Compton

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

·         Carol

·         The Hateful Eight

·         Mad Max: Fury Road

·         The Revenant

·         Sicario

Hail Caeser

Hail Caesar

This is probably the most disappointing Coen film I have seen. The movie has a gaggle of A listed stars which fractionalizes the movie since each one has to have their little star turn. The main stars are George Clooney and Josh Brolin. Clooney is the hapless lead in a Roman epic and Brolin is an overwrought studio executive who fixes problems. Clooney resurrects his character in the Coen movie “O Brother Where Art Thou”, who was also dimwitted. His humor here is more physical than verbal. Brolin is also funny running from crisis to crisis. The setting is post war Hollywood with the studio system still pervasive.

The comedy is mostly physical and stretches with slow drama. Some scenes go on too long. One set up has Channing Tatum dancing with a bunch of sailors (very well I may add). They did the entire Busby Berkley dance routine instead of doing a shortened version. There is a tread of a plot weaving the stars together. But it unravels with Tatum boarding a Soviet submarine off the coast of California. This refers to the Red Scare during the period.

Scarlet Johnson is an Ester Williams type with a staccato low class New Jersey accent. She has a separate plot line dealing with an illegitimate child. Her interaction with Jonah Hill lasts about three minutes.

The Coen brothers are paying homage to a by gone Hollywood that millennials, and others, will have difficulty relating to. The movie is self-indulgent, with the Coens resurrecting long dead actor types. An inside joke has a cabal of misguided scene writers exhorting money from the studio; the Coen brothers are writers too.

This is a slight film wasting copious talent. The film’s attempt at farce is lacking. Instead of the theater a better value would be “On Demand”.

The Danish Girl

This is an outstanding movie. Its picture book appearance belies the emotional and psychological challenges of the main characters. Eddie Radmayine delivers a powerful performance transforming his male persona Einar Wegener to  femme Lili Elbe. With his slight build and female affections Wegener disguising himself as a woman was easy. His nervous gestures, uncertainties and trepidations of his transformation to a woman makes his performance potent. His journey to womanhood and forsaking his past is unwavering with all the collateral damage it ensues. Radmayine is Hollywood’s latest cameleon. As a women he is not a looker, which makes his acting demanding. Radmayine’s performance here is arguably better than the Theory of Everything. Back to back Oscars are rare (only five in Oscar history), but Radmayine is a fitting candidate.

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) plays his wife Gerta Wegener. Her altruism, love and dedication to her husband cause her much suffering.  Vikander’s performance captures her conflicted plight between devoted wife and dealing with the challenges from another woman.

The supporting actors are also great. Many of whom are unfamiliar to American audiences (except for Q, Ben Wishaw, from the Bond movies). Finding new talent makes the film more interesting.

The cinematogray is one of the best for this season. From moody landscapes to lush Art Nouveau buildings these shots frame the movie.  Copenhagen, Paris and Dresden are transformed to their 1920’s and 30’s glory.

I initially was not enthusiast to see this movie. The other movie at the same show time was Kung Fu Panda 3, which was a tempting choice. My inner adult won out.