A technical tour de force and a wonder to behold, Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (B) is nonetheless weighed down by an oppressive storyline, stock characters and a script marred with a touch of self-importance. Both Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are bit characters eclipsed by incredible outer space floating effects. It’s highly recommended as a showcase for 3D and efficient as a thriller with some nail-biting moments, but it’s also far-fetched and ultimately orbits a black hole of melodrama. Clooney basically plays Buzz Lightyear. Bullock’s CGI face and tears seem like they’re emoting pretty well, but in space, no one can see you act. Gravity barely gave its characters the acumen to operate an Easy Bake Oven, while a simultaneous release Captain Phillips depicted complete technical mastery amidst the maritime brinkmanship.
Category Archives: Rent It Tonight
“12 Years a Slave” a Harrowing Masterpiece
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (A-) is a harrowing true story told masterfully. Journeyman actor Chiwetel Ejiofor creates the role of a lifetime as a free man kidnapped in 1841 into a life as a Southern slave. Gorgeously art directed and unflinching in its brutality, the film earns its emotions and is gripping throughout. You’ll be challenged constantly about the dehumanizing system that plagued much of our country’s history and ultimately inspired by a courageous character. After Fruitvale Station and The Butler, this is another provocative and deservingly acclaimed work about race relations that demands to be seen.
“Prisoners” (2013) a Gripping Action Drama
An absorbing dramatic thriller about the lengths people will go to in the wake of child abduction, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners (A) is this year’s master class of acting. Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman go to extremes as central protagonists obsessed with solving a twisted mystery. It’s a labyrinth of moral ambiguity and cinematic delights.
“We’re The Millers” Only Occasionally Funny
We’re the Millers (C+), a comedy directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, hearkens back to the spirit of National Lampoon’s Vacation, although this time around it’s a fake family on a road trip to smuggle drugs across the Mexican border and get them back to Denver, Smokey and the Bandit style (except in an RV) for a crime boss. Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston are workmanlike as the leads, neither over the top nor pouring on too much wit or charm into the roles. Individual episodes and lines sporadically land, but there’s too much reliance on throwaway pop culture references for the film to amount to much on its own terms. Still, it’s a funny enough vehicle for its ensemble and an occasionally witty satire about the suburban mystique. More bawdy than brainy but often worth the journey for a handful of laughs.
“Spectacular Now” is Affecting Drama
James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now (B+) reminded me of the ’80s fave Lucas with a similar melancholy I found so affecting in Perks of Being a Wallflower, and lead actor Miles Teller as the effortless charmer harboring an alcohol addiction channels a sort of Say Anything era John Cusack, if he were on an endless bender while winning love with jambox held aloft. The theme is about intoxication, to alcohol and to first love: Shailene Woodley is devastating as the naive good girl heroine, filling her first boyfriend’s flask for him as he drunkenly drives her to a date he’s just dreamed up. It’s eerie how much this could have just been called the Lea Michele/Corey Monteith story. The take-away, that life and relationships are more enduring than the episodes between blackouts, rises above the potential afterschool special pitfalls.
“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” is Stirring
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (A) is a heart-wrenching Hollywood epic about American race relations through the lens of pacifist father (a solid Forest Whitaker) and action-oriented son (a revelatory David Oweloyo). Even Oprah Winfrey gets every note right as the mighty mom of a great American family. What may be dismissed as overly polished is actually one of the most stirring, touching films of the year. Civil rights teachers will be showing this to students for generations to come.
“Before Midnight” Bittersweet
Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight (B) tells an austere, autumnal next chronicle in the romantic saga of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s Jesse and Celine. This time it’s not all fun and games and wit and wordplay as we witness scenes from a marriage that is real and raw and may not still have much of the magic we remember from the young couple that met one night on a train nearly two decades ago. It is dramatic and tricky but sometimes a little stuck in its own rut. See it for the cannily observant viewpoints on keeping things fresh while aging together. And as fascinating as they are, let’s hope we’re not gearing up two more decades from now for a talky Amour featuring this duo.
“Pacific Rim” Gets Better as it Goes Along
Gueillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim starts out as an A, drifts into a C and ultimately becomes a better-than-average B movie. The geek-tastic premise: to fight gigantic sea monsters, the nations of earth have created huge robots co-piloted by warriors who mind-meld to spar with the modern-day godzillas. Charlie Hunnam is earnestly appealing and the creature effects better than average. The flick is best when it espouses its bizarro mythology or plumbs the depths of the protagonists’ emotions, even though most are just Starship Troopers deep. Still, it’s a worthy adventure yarn and should appeal to the 11-year-old-boy-brain that yearns for a summer movie that is filled to the rim with adventure.
“This Is The End” is Raunchy, Funny
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s This Is The End (B) is a super-raunchy, self-aware, nihilistic comic adventure with zeitgeist to spare. Playing winking versions of themselves, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and James Franco are among the most hilarious of a raucous ensemble as the apocalypse comes to the Hollywood Hills. Although it overstays its welcome, this is a blissful mash-up of The Goonies, Ghostbusters, Dogma and Entourage and has more offensive laughs per minute than any comedy in a long time.
“Star Trek Into Darkness” Not as Good as Predecessor
J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness (B-) missed its mark in building upon the high standard set by its predecessor. Still, it starts off very exciting and has very nice stunts and effects along the way. Benedict Cumberbatch doesn’t get much to do in a throwaway role, but Chris Pine shines once again in the lead. There are just lots of missed opportunities given some homages made to the original series that don’t pay off with as rich an emotional effect as expected.
Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station” (2013) a Poignant Drama and Showcase for Michael B. Jordan
Shockingly efficient in its character building and its 90 minutes of sustained dread, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station (A) tells a true story plucked from today’s headlines about the plight of young black men in America. Michael B. Jordan is a revelation as Oscar, a 22 year old father trying to reform after jail time, whose slow-burn collision with contemporary destiny is sealed from the film’s first frame. His charismatic demeanor – he calls everyone “bruh” – is just seconds away from reverting to his powderkeg past, and he is alternately “hella” humorous and heartbreaking throughout. Melonie Diaz and Octavia Spencer are outstanding as the women trying to anchor and protect him. It’s a tough and essential experience.
Baz Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby” (2013) Largely Succeeds
After about 45 minutes of Baz Luhrmann’s excessive whirling dervishness settles down and a captivating Leonardo DiCaprio finally arrives as the titular playboy man of mystery, The Great Gatsby (B-) becomes a pretty engrossing potboiler about forbidden love and tragic obsession. Nearly cloaked in all the razzmatazz, glamorous sets and anachronistic hip hop music is the morality tale of self-made nouveau riche versus entrenched American wealth. Tobey Maguire is his typical boring self as wingman writer, Carey Mulligan is only moderately enchanting as Daisy (really only captivating in her scenes with Leo) and Joel Edgerton is fairly menacing as Tom. Leave it to this spastic Aussie auteur to take a Great American Novel and turn it into the same Harlequin Romance he’s made five other times. A notch better than Australia though. Glad he didn’t add an exclamation point to the title to go along with the 3D.