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Movie Review: 12 Years a Slave

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Image via Salon

WARNING: Spoilers for real life. According to the Internet, this is now something I have to say. 

Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” is about as intense and emotionally devastating as you might expect. Then again, a drama about slavery probably couldn’t go any other way.

“12 Years a Slave” is a great film that I don’t think I can ever watch again. And that’s a compliment. It plays like a series of terrible atrocities that you wish you had never witnessed, but you feel like a different person for having viewed history from a new perspective.


It seems that Hollywood has finally gotten comfortable telling stories about America’s past with slavery. “12 Years a Slave” is based on a book that is based on a true story of an odd occurrence that was unfortunately not uncommon during one of America’s darkest times. Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black man from Saratoga. He is a husband, father, and talented violinist. One day, two white men who probably shouldn’t be trusted (re: they have facial hair) trick Solomon and sell him into slavery. If it takes a movie to make you realize how cruel slavery was, then you’re probably an idiot. If it took a movie to make you realize that something this cruel could actually happen to another human, then you’re probably me.

Image via Daily Princetonian. 

When I think of Solomon Northrup, I’m reminded of something Red said about Andy Dufresne in “The Shawshank Redemption”: “Some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.” During these next 12 years, Solomon deals with a series of cruel masters who beat him, manipulate him, and try to extinguish whatever hope might be left inside of him. But as they say in movies, you can’t lose your hope as long as you’re good at playing a musical instrument.

Under the direction of Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave” is one of the darkest period dramas I’ve ever seen. At times, it is less about hope and optimism and more about the pure will to survive. There is little talk of morality, just desperate people who will do literally anything they can to be free. The nicest man to take Solomon in (Benedict Cumberbatch) must let him go, as he feels he cannot keep him safe from those who want to hurt him. While “12 Years a Slave” is an emotional film, it does distance itself as much as possible, so as not to alter history. “12 Years a Slave is about witnessing, not changing, history.

Image via Collider

Despite this, McQueen is neither tasteless nor sadistic: he truly knows how to capture tragedy in unimaginably horrifying ways. One scene which involves an attempted punishment for disobedience (you’ll know which one it is when you see it) seems to go on forever. I wish I brought a stopwatch in to time the length of the shot, which gets more and more unbearable and threatening the longer it goes on. McQueen takes the elements of film (image, sound, time, etc.) and uses them masterfully.

“12 Years a Slave” brings up a lot of obvious points (slavery was bad; slaveowners were assholes), while also shedding new light on a part of history that was thought to be so well documented. “12 Years a Slave” is accurate until whoever the history equivalent of Neil deGrasse Tyson says otherwise. Either way, movies should be primarily about capturing the emotions associated with living during a certain period in history. All it takes is a scene where a mother is separated from her two children for another person’s financial benefit in order to get a sense of the cruelties of slavery.

“12 Years a Slave” also focuses on the slaveowners as well. Michael Fassbender is riveting as Edwin Epps, the man who would own Solomon for most of his time as a slave. He’s unpredictable, and lets his power go to his head just a little too much. Paul Dano, meanwhile, lets his Eli Sunday side come back in full form. The most powerful performance, however, comes from Ejiofor, who does so much acting simply with his eyes, which hide so much pain and longing. It’s truly beautiful and moving, and it works perfectly with McQueen’s directing. I sense many future collaborations between McQueen and a majority of the actors from this film.

It might seem difficult to drag yourself to a theater to watch a movie that is this uncompromisingly brutal. Just know that you will be part of an experience that will be talked about for years to come. McQueen defies the norms to make a movie that shouldn’t be defined as “feel-bad,” but also doesn’t resort to a happy ending that ties everything together too perfectly. In the end, one slave is safe, but that was sadly just one man who was able to walk free at that time. In the end, the hope in “12 Years a Slave” lies in the hindsight.

Brain Farts From The Edge

  • Great to see that Brad Pitt walked right off the set of “Inglourious Basterds” for this role, but replaced the mustache with one of those weird chin beards.
  • Speaking of Pitt, it’s funny that the producer would cast himself as the guy who saves the main character. Just saying.
  • Speaking of funny accents, I don’t know what Benedict Cumberbatch was going for. Sure, he wanted to be Southern, but there was still a little bit of British left in there. My theory is that it was a compromise, as Hollywood believes that anyone born before the year 1950 had a British accent (I’m looking at you, “Hugo”). 
  • I should probably write a second post about this film. Soon.
  • I don’t want to Armond White this here, but there were tiny flaws here and there, but definitely not enough to ruin the experience. Mainly, the villains often bordered on cartoonish, but luckily nobody pushed it too far over the line. However, this is a true story, so maybe their actions speak more to the evils of slavery than to the possible flaws in the script. Just an interesting thought to ponder.
  • I don’t know if I am alone here, but there were several occasions throughout the film where I just wish Django would show up.
  • The South was an unjust place. However, McQueen finds time to focus on the beauty of the region. From fields of cotton to jungles of cane to swamps, “12 Years a Slave” had some of the best cinematography of the year.
  • Taran Killam is in this for some reason. You’re awesome Taran, but this casting decision will forever confuse me. 
  • Paul Giamatti. Man, calm down and drink some wine. 
  • Favorite note I took during the movie: “Slaveowners were weird.”
  • I finally figured out where Salvatore Romano has been hiding all of these years. For those of you who don’t watch “Mad Men,” Salvatore Romano is not Ray Romano’s cousin. 
  • The most important note I have ever taken: When he puts on a bandana, Michael Fassbender looks like Chris Meloni in “Wet Hot American Summer.”

Movie Review: Evil Dead (2013)

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Image via YouTube

Well, if you’re going to remake a classic that didn’t need to be remade, then you might as well remake it like this.

“Evil Dead” pulls a Sean Parker and removes the “The.” While it would be funny if this was the only change made in this remake, “Evil Dead” defies a lot of expectations by actually being its own movie. Unlike the recent “Carrie” remake, “Evil Dead” knows exactly what kind of movie it wants to be: a spectacularly gory horror movie. At that, it definitely succeeds.

Once again, “Evil Dead” begins with a group of young adults heading up for a pleasant weekend in a cabin in the woods. At this point, you’d think that people would watch enough horror movies to know that you’re probably screwed if you go to stay in a cabin in the woods.* Even if reminders of “The Evil Dead” past abound, including the car, a deck of cards, and that ticking clock, this new group has no clue what they’re in for.

You could sit there and try and figure out which character is supposed to be in the place of which character from the original, or you could look at them as separate people. The characters in “Evil Dead” are definitely more fully fleshed out than in the original, even though their paper-thin nature is what made the characters originally so funny. The most important characters here are David (Shiloh Fernandez) and his sister Mia (Jane Levy). Their mother had died, David wasn’t there for them, and Mia tries to get off drugs once and for all.

While the original almost immediately jumps into demon play, “Evil Dead” takes its sweet time, which allows for some solid buildup. During this time, we learn that Olivia (Jessica Lucas) is a nurse who is somewhat helpful to Mia, even though she doesn’t realize that her possession isn’t actually withdrawl. Meanwhile, Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) finds the infamous Sumerian text and begins to piece together what is really going on. You see, Eric is smart, and we know this because he has long hair, a beard, and glasses. Meanwhile, we learn that Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) is an attractive blonde who is in this movie because she is an attractive blonde. At least Fede Alvarez gives his caricatures decent backstories.

These cabin dwellers are certainly a little less oblivious than the first bunch, or at least they are the victims of some plausible misdirection. Also, the demons themselves are a little different this time around. It seems to be more clear where they come from, and they are also much more personal in their taunting. This comes back to how well developed the characters are at the beginning. Yet David, like Ash, doesn’t have much more of a comeback beyond “Shut up!”

Once everyone figures out what exactly is going on, “Evil Dead” is relentless. It relishes it buckets of blood and shocking violence. I don’t use the word “shocking” lightly because that is something that is nearly impossible to do nowadays. “Evil Dead” shows everything from discarded flesh to mutilated arms. Normally, this would be just too much and if this already sounds like too much for you, then you definitely should not watch “Evil Dead.” Yet, “Evil Dead” earns the right to show too much, as the film tries to replicate the experience of hell literally breaking loose on earth.

“Evil Dead” also highlights how well the original film holds up today, despite many sequels, knockoffs, and raised stakes in gore and torture porn. There’s still nothing as perplexing and weird as a tree coming to life and committing rape. That scene is handled quite differently in the remake, as if here it is actually trying to give itself a purpose for existing. Maybe it just really felt the need to be in the remake, given how infamous that scene is. The great thing about “Evil Dead” is that you don’t need to be a fan of the original trilogy in order to enjoy it. Yet, those who are will find themselves rewarded. “Evil Dead” was produced by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, who clearly knew which scenes fans were dying to get recreated.

“Evil Dead” might be even more bloody disgusting than the original, but its also surprisingly more hopeful. “Evil Dead” is as much a redemption story as it is a horror film. Independent from the original, it is a high quality horror film, mining screams from the utmost depths of unimaginable fright. It is just as scary to see an arm pop out of the ground and scare someone as it is to see someone saw off their own arm in order to save themselves. These are two things that happen in “Evil Dead,” many times over.

Unfortunately, “Evil Dead” loses a few valuable traits in its translation from 1981 to 2013. It lacks the visceral sense of humor of “The Evil Dead” as well as its audacity and simplicity. The original felt like commentary on all of horror in general. Through a bleeding projector and some off-putting point of view shots, the film transported the viewer right into it and then asked if they still enjoyed watching a horror film as it tore itself apart from the inside. The new one is a bit more of a back-to-basics horror film, often asking the audience to just sit back and be scared. That is not necessarily a bad thing, because “Evil Dead” delivers damn well on that promise. Still, it sometimes feels like “Evil Dead” homogenizes a revolutionary cult classic.

Nonetheless, “Evil Dead” is a fine practice in plausible insanity. Despite a lack in laughs, it never takes itself too seriously. “Evil Dead” is a sometimes fun, sometimes scary, practice in developing a bunch of characters, and then trying to find ways to kill them all off.

*Come on, guys. This is why Cancun was invented!

IT’S JUST LIKE “THE HAPPENING” LULZ. Image via Bitch Magazine

Movie Review: Carrie (2013)

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Poor Carrie White. 37 years later, and she still can’t catch a break. The latest update of “Carrie” is not a total facelift, but it does take the White family and places them in the present day. If you’ve already seen the original, you might be interested to see how much more the White family feels out of place in 2013 than 1976.

Even for newbies, I believe the story of “Carrie” is well known enough at this point that I shouldn’t use too much time to lay it all out. Carrie (Chloe Moretz) is still a misfit, and her mother Margaret (Julianne Moore) is still a religious fanatic. Carrie still gets bullied, gets covered in pig guts, and then gets sweet, sweet revenge.


Unlike the original though, director Kimberly Peirce decided to focus much more on the bullying aspect. This is important, as the Internet has made bullying both much more prevalent and scarier than it ever was in the past. On the one hand, Peirce handles this topic with restraint, rightfully not cluttering the screen with texts and Tweets. This is what sets “Carrie” apart from most modern teen films, even if it is sometimes feels like a gorier version of a CW show. On the other hand, Peirce doesn’t explore the bullying idea enough, and it often feels more like an afterthought than an insight. Also, even somebody as maniacal and dumb as Chris (Portia Doubleday) wouldn’t post a video that incriminating on YouTube for anyone and everyone to see.

I’ve begun to shake off my completely negative attitude towards remakes. The best thing about them is that they can shed light onto the filmmaking of both the past and present. The “Carrie” of 1976 creates tension with a slow buildup. It is more a work of the Hitchcockian school of terror (indeed Brian De Palma was a big fan of paying homage to Hitchcock). The “Carrie” of 2013 throws the ideas of patience and subtlety out the door. The action scenes in the new “Carrie” are well choreographed and plausible, but they are never surprising and they never keep you guessing. At one point after a big explosion I said to myself, “oh they had to do that just in case we weren’t sure that character was already dead. Now they’re just more dead.” The more “Carrie” shows, the less scary it becomes.

While a movie about telekinesis obviously isn’t going to offer the most realistic portrait of high school, there could have at least been a little more effort. I would have liked to see Carrie in the same high school I saw in “The Spectacular Now,” where the teens at least speak the way teens actually do. “Carrie” feels less like a horror movie set in high school, and more like a superhero movie. In fact, at several points I felt reminded of “The Amazing Spider-Man.” While I really enjoyed that movie, Carrie shouldn’t be a superhero movie. It is more interesting, and more tragic, to watch her struggle with her powers. Carrie is a tragic anti-hero, not Wonder Woman.

There’s also a lot of problems with the dialogue, which rarely replicates the way teenagers actually talk. However, the actors make the best of the script they are given. Chloe Moretz, the most mature actress her age in Hollywood, embodies all of Carrie’s silent rage. Meanwhile, Julianne Moore is sometimes unrecognizable in her performance as Carrie’s mother. They both portray madness in two different ways: one implicitly, and one explicitly.

As director, Peirce definitely respects the source material, and does her best to remain faithful while inserting her original voice. It just doesn’t seem right to turn “Carrie” into such an on-the-nose anti-bullying film, when the original story did that so well without having to state the message. The latest version of “Carrie” is a fine introduction to the story, but its existence still doesn’t seem merited enough for me. Throughout its entire run, it had my attention. However, it never had my full curiosity.

SPOILER SECTION- Read on if you’ve seen “Carrie”

  • I think it was the new ending that bothered me most about “Carrie.” It is not even that Sue (Gabriella Wilde) going to court is less haunting than her having a breakdown in her mother’s arms. It is that they took the memorable final image of Carrie’s hand popping out of the ground and replaced it with what felt like the beginning of a music video. I am all for ambiguity, but I don’t even think this ending knew how it wanted to make the audience feel. 
  • This version decides to spare Ms. Desjardin. Her death in the original showed the consequences of Carrie’s revenge, and how little control she had over her own body. Now, her revenge is much more calculated. 
  • I think Richard Kelly would have been a great choice as director for this remake. He hasn’t made a great film since “Donnie Darko.” He really could use a comeback. 
  • Of course Mrs. White is crazy enough to give birth to Carrie all by herself.
  • Their last name is White. White…Walter White? Lot’s of evil…are they related?! Guys, I miss “Breaking Bad.” 

Movie Review: Captain Phillips

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People praise Paul Greengrass for his sharp action directing and quick cuts. What he rarely gets credit for is that he is the rare action director who realizes that there is no way to be prepared for tragedy. This is why “Captain Phillips” doesn’t start on a boat.

It’s just another day, and just another mission for Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), who’s preparing for umpteenth mission as captain at sea. He drives with his wife (Catherine Keener) to the airport and talk about anything but his trip. They talk about their children and lament about how lazy good for nothing punk kids are today.

The trip seems simple enough, like something he’s been doing for years. The ship he’s commanding is meant to bring supplies around the horn of Africa, which, if you didn’t already know this, is not the friendliest place in the world. Nonetheless, a job is a job and Captain Phillips is the definition of salt of the earth. However, what Phillips is about to find out is that this isn’t like any other job he’s had. Captain Phillips is about to get his mojo back.


Despite its title, “Captain Phillips” is about more than its captain. Remember, there are also Somali pirates here, and we get a rare glimpse at their fractured homeland. The pirates, who are just teenagers, have a demanding warlord to report to. Greengrass isn’t trying to turn America’s enemies into one-dimensional villains. He also isn’t trying to make them look heroic. Rather, he wants to show that there are circumstances beyond simple greed that lead people to a life of crime.

I feel like an old Jewish man could probably turn this into a joke: how does a Somali pirate in a giant boat board a giant freighter? He uses a ladder. Seriously, all it takes for the pirates to get on board the ship is a single ladder that you could probably buy at Home Depot. Once the pirates climb up the ladder onto the boat, the whole film becomes a ticking time bomb. Greengrass is always so cognizant of time and how to use it to build dread. When a character threatens “one minute” until he starts shooting the place up, every millisecond of that minute feels like a frightening eternity. Also, space is so well utilized here, whether it be a boiler room on a freighter or a crammed lifeboat. In “Captain Phillips,” claustrophobia is the name of the game.

One problem people might have with “Captain Phillips” is that the pirates aren’t very scary, which I think is exactly the point. These are not professional criminals, but rather a bunch of teens who are forced to grow up too fast. The scrawny Muse (Barkhad Abdi) gets mercilessly picked on by everyone but once he boards the freighter, he is the leader. Or as he says (and now I can’t stop saying to everyone I know), “I am the captain now.” I get a sense that if Muse were a typical American high schooler, he’d probably have a rough few years followed by a great time in college.

“Captain Phillips” marks a return to form for Tom Hanks, who serves here as both a father figure and a working class badass. Maybe the most distracting part about his performance is that it feels a little bit like a half-assed New England accent. He sounds just like a much nicer Mark Wahlberg. This is some of the graceful screaming that Tom Hanks has done since “Cast Away.” Honestly, I’m surprised that there wasn’t a single scene where Wilson popped out of the water. I guess Greengrass ain’t about those easter eggs.

While Greengrass is a master at realism and capturing real time, the slight problems in “Captain Phillips” comes when it feels too much like a movie and not enough like real life. Certain snippets of dialogue should have come with giant flashing letter exclaiming “THEME!” at the bottom of the screen. While the freighter and Somali characters are all very unique, the film enters vanilla territory once the military intervenes. Mainly, there’s a lot of Marines yelling “Alpha! Charlie!” at each other for a really long time.

Regardless, “Captain Phillips” is the kind of action movie that can only be released around Oscar season because it actually has a soul.

Additional Notes:

  • How is it that none of these pirates never need to use the bathroom? I know this doesn’t seem like an important question but seriously, you can’t go that long without peeing or pooping. Just science.
  • If you’ve seen “The Book of Mormon” and that ruined your perception of African warlords, then you’re not alone. 
  • Now, I kind of wish this movie was a “Book of Mormon” style musical. If Matt Stone and Trey Parker wrote this, hopefully this lyric would exist: “I am a captain. And a captain just believes.” 
  • Speaking of which, there was also a great “South Park” episode about this event.
  • It took me a really long time to remind myself that this wasn’t “Gravity” and that no other movie I will see in theaters is “Gravity.” 
  • I was looking back at my notes for the movie and found that I kept writing “Skinny Pete” over and over again. I think Muse reminded me of Skinny Pete because…they’re both skinny. Guys, my “Breaking Bad” is getting bad.
  • I also wrote the word “prepared” in my notes at least five times.
  • “Captain Phillips” is best if you know as little as possible about the true story it is based off of. 
  • I love how many rainbows you seem every time water bursts out of the boat. Just a really cool effect. 
  • If Robert Zemekis wrote this, then Tom Hanks and all the pirates would be in mo-cap and I would be really creeped out.
  • If Michael Bay wrote this, somebody would put sunglasses on every time something loudly and violently blew up. Also, no one would look back at the explosions. Because science. 
  • I also wrote “sitcom” in my notes. I’m not sure why. I guess I thought it would be funny if there was a sitcom where Tom Hanks and a Somali pirate moved into an apartment together. Guys, I’m dumb. 
  • Another thing from my notes: “Fonzi.” It comes from a scene where Phillips is combing his hair goatee in the mirror. Well, I mean, Tom Hanks is a really cool guy.
  • The Somali pirates call Phillips “Irish.” I am sick of this stereotyping, people. Just because you’re white and from New England, it doesn’t mean you’re Irish, dammit! 

Spoiler Review: Gravity

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Spoiler Review is a new series where I will review movies that require many spoilers in order to review them properly. This is my review of “Gravity.” This goes without saying: SPOILER ALERT.

Every time a movie comes out that uses 3D really well, like really really well, I never hesitate to call it the second coming of cinema. “Avatar.” “Hugo.” “Life of Pi.” Yes, I do strongly regret giving “Avatar” that much credit.

I don’t want to say “Gravity” has changed the game. It’s just responded to the tools of our time so well and it has done what many others only wished they could accomplish. More importantly, if you ever doubted that the wonder of the movies has been stolen by TV, then look at “Gravity,” and you’ll understand that it never went anywhere.

This spoiler review needed to exist. It is impossible to fully expound on “Gravity” without revealing many important twists and turns. Also, it is the kind of film enhanced by going in completely surprised. Once things start to explode, the story seems very straightforward. Yet, it also has such an uneasy and unpredictable edge to it. Maybe that’s because Cuaron decided to kill off one of Hollywood’s biggest stars halfway through and then let one person run the rest of the show. Cuaron pulled a similar move in “Children of Men.” I like when movies do this. Wait, that sounded bad. I’m not sadistic, but taking an event that would normally end a film and putting it so early on is always daring. Not only that, but it will always carry the film into another direction.

Clooney’s death also leads to one of the greatest fake outs in recent memory. Kowalski’s return elicited groans from the entire audience. However, it just didn’t sit well with me from the beginning. For one thing, he kicks out a window in outer space while she sits there with no helmet on. She covers her mouth and somehow is fine. This isn’t the season of “24″ with the nerve gas where everyone just covers their faces with a tissue and is somehow fine. “Gravity” can’t get every scientific detail right, but this one was too obvious.

I’m sure Cuaron knew what kind of reaction he’d get with that scene. Good job, it worked. And it just gave even more of a sense of how alone Stone was in space. “Gravity” is less about the fear of life on another planet and more about the fear that we are but a tiny speck in a vast, empty universe. As Frankenstein’s Monster once said: “alone…bad.”

After Kowalski dies, Stone is left to fend for herself. And oh what a beautiful performance Bullock gives. She takes what could have been a repetitive 91 minutes of screaming and floating and turns it into a one woman show. It’s a lot like James Franco’s performance in “127 Hours” as she displays so many altering personalities in such a short amount of time. The most beautiful moment in the entire film is not a shot of space, but rather the scene where Stone communicates with an unknown Chinese man. She hears his dogs bark and asks them to keep barking. Then she barks along with them. These two have so little common and don’t even speak the same language. She’s trying literally anything to keep herself motivated to survive.

Eventually, there is going to be a “Gravity” backlash, because that’s what happens with any movie this big. In fact, its already begun. People are going to compare it to other movies and identify a lack of originality. However, what I hope everyone will remember is that this is the anti-space space movie. “Gravity” is not against space, but rather it challenges our notions of what lies above. At the beginning, Kowalski plays an old western tune as he floats around. Space has always been labeled the final frontier, but what is rarely acknowledged is that it is so hard to conquer a frontier that we know so little about. Unlike many of its contemporaries, “Gravity” acknowledges the many dangers of space. Its opening title card makes note of how much the temperature fluctuates. A little bit later, Kessler Syndrome causes a chain of destruction that I am still trying to wrap my head around.

And then there is Bullock, who is constantly fighting the voices in her own head as she doesn’t have anyone else to talk to for a majority of the film. She constantly has to fight between holding on to any object that will keep her alive, and letting go of all of her earthly problems, which are inconsequential when the remains of a Russian satellite are hurtling right towards you. “Gravity” shows so much, but leaves much more to the imagination. The image of her driving through Illinois with the radio playing and no direction at all is a sad yet lovely one, enhanced by the fact that we never actually get to see it. With this, the film also plays against the idea of sci-fi films in which one tries to escape their earth forms in search of a better self. Ryan Stone was hired for the job because she’s a damn good technician, but I’m sure she also really needed an escape from her lonely life. Yet, orbiting above earth, all she finds is chaos.

Cuaron has proved himself a master of visual metaphors. That’s why I’ll let it slide every time Clooney says “I have a bad feeling about this,” because that is the worst foreshadowing possible. Instead, just marvel at the moment Ryan boards the ship and sheds her suit, her body curled up and looking very much like a baby in the womb. Most filmmakers would settle for a trite Jesus on the Cross reference, but Cuaron loves his baby imagery.

That was the first rebirth of Ryan Stone. The second comes at the end, as her module crashes on earth and against all odds, she survives. Watching her swim out of the ocean and then crawl onto land before slowly getting up was like watching an ancient creature evolve right before our eyes. It’s like the Star Baby from the end of “2001″ [Editor's Note: I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT STAR BABY IS] landed on earth. Ryan Stone might be born a new, but she is no blank slate. She has a hell of a story to tell. I picture the rest of her life will include telling people this amazing story of hers at fancy dinner parties, and then chiding them because they never got to experience it in IMAX 3D.

This is not a love story.

Movie Review: Gravity

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“In space, no one can hear you scream.”

This is now the famous tagline from “Alien,” and the basis for “Gravity.” “Gravity” hasn’t been advertised as a horror film, but it captures the fear of being alone in space better than most others that have tried way too hard to do so.

“Gravity” marks the long awaited return of Alfonso Cuaron who last directed “Children of Men,” which is still one of my favorite films of all time. Like “Children of Men,” there is no indication of when the camera starts and stops rolling. Cuaron is one for relentless action. Immersive might not even be a strong enough word to describe “Gravity.” I get the feeling that Cuaron just wanted us to float in space with him forever. There were multiple times where I felt short of breath. Apparently, you don’t need any dimensions beyond 3D to get all your senses this invested in a movie.


Plot details shouldn’t matter here much, and I want to keep it as surprising here for everyone who is reading this. The most important thing to know is that Sandra Bullock and George Clooney play two very attractive people in space. They’re assigned to fix a space ship. Things go haywire, communications breakdown, and suddenly they’re both free falling through space. If anybody remembers the scene in “Thank You For Smoking” where Rob Lowe breaks down of a movie set in space starring two attractive movie stars (one of them being Clooney), just know that “Gravity” is the exact opposite of that.

Before relying heavily on action scenes, “Gravity” is a space porn spectacle on level with “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The advent of 3D works so well here because it gives such an honest depiction of the vast scope of the universe. The long shots that Cuaron made so famous in “Children of Men” are a little stiller here, but there’s still the sense that he just wants to let the camera roll, and see what magic unfolds.

Unlike most film sets in space, “Gravity” is not about what life exists beyond our earth, but rather the lack thereof. When Matt Kowalski (Clooney) asks Ryan Stone (Bullock) what her favorite part about space is, without hesitation she replies “the silence.” Space is such a serene place, and that is why disaster makes it all the more frightening, because there’s nowhere to turn to when it hits the fan. It is also a fitting place for Ryan, who wants to be as far as she can from some of the tragic events of her own life.

Many have said that the script of “Gravity” is nothing special. While it is mostly very straightforward, it takes a lot more risks than people have been giving it credit for. One major event not even midway through completely alters the events of the film. In addition, its near lack of dialogue is a bold move which draws attention to how much of a visual driven media film is. The lack of dialogue prevents it from ever being bogged down by too many rules and too much exposition. Its never a terrible thing to make the viewers figure out some details on their own.

There are moments where it seems like “Gravity” is about to slip off into implausibility or worse yet, become “Vertical Limit” in space. However, it finds ways to stay out of that territory. “Gravity” is basically a two man show, with the two performers living up to the challenge. Bullock hands down steals the show, and proves that she can take nearly any kind of role. There’s a scene later in the film that involves her making a bunch of noises, including barking sounds, that’s she makes sad yet uplifting. I hate to make the “Alien” comparison again, but don’t be surprised if you see shades of Ripley in her performance.

When “Gravity” ended, I had that feeling I only get from truly great films. I felt a mix between exhilaration and profound shock that brought tears to my eyes. I could have sat there and watched it again. I don’t know how “Gravity” will hold up without the big screen and extra dimension, but I don’t want to worry about that just yet. While film itself is permanent, they are only in theaters for so long, and the experience is a fleeting one. “Gravity” is the reason why we go see movies in theaters.

Movie Review: Touchy Feely

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If you were to watch “Touchy Feely” for any one reason, it should be for Josh Pais’ performance as Paul, a dentist who’s basically dead inside, or “wan,” as his sister Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt) keeps describing him.

“Touchy Feely” is the latest film from Lynn Shelton, who is a secret weapon in the independent film world. Her loose and mainly unscripted films are refreshing in a world dominated by formula and safety. With “Touchy Feely,” Shelton feels like she is trying to move towards something more structured all while holding on to the characteristics that have defined her work as a filmmaker. Yet, there is a difficulty in balancing the two, and it is not achieved here.


This is not to say that there aren’t many strong parts to “Touchy Feely.” It’s premise is weird and original enough to make you want to watch it, and credit where credit is due for not ending the way you would expect it to end. Once again, Shelton focuses on a dysfunctional family that masks its dysfunction with awkward silences. Paul raises his daughter Jenny (Ellen Page) alone and gives her a job as his dental assistant, which clearly keeps her from achieving some of her actual dreams. There’s no indication of what happened to Paul’s wife, but he makes do with what he can contribute. Basically, what he can contribute is blank stares while Jenny makes him dinner.

Paul is in an inexplicable rut. When he goes to a new age therapist (a criminally underused Allison Janney) and is asked about his happy place, he says his back office, where he looks at x-rays in the dark. It’s perfectly telling of his character that the only way he can interact with people is when he’s nowhere near them. This is also why he hasn’t gotten a new patient in a long time, and he just doesn’t seem to care about lowering his patient demographic to below the age of 80.

Suddenly, Paul is ordained with a seemingly magic ability to heal the mouth pains of anyone he touches. This validation is enough to give Paul just the slightest of confidence boosts. Shelton never turns his ability into schlocky humor; the idea in itself is funny enough. At the same time that Paul finds new catharsis at his job, Abby finds troubles at her’s as she gains a sudden aversion to human skin. Neither Paul’s skill nor Abby’s conflict are explained, which makes the intrigue of “Touchy Feely” interesting enough. Some mysteries are more engaging when they’re left unexplained. Also, “Touchy Feely” is not trying to be a sci-fi allegory.

The one thing that “Touchy Feely” gets absolutely right is character consistency. As “Humpday” and “Your Sister’s Sister” showed, Lynn Shelton’s talent lies in putting a bunch of skilled actors in a room together and letting the camera run. Still, it’s odd how many endless debates there are here, yet still too much is left unspoken. It’s like this time she let the camera run, but with no end goal in mind.

The biggest problem the film faces is that it isn’t confrontational enough. For example, one emotional turning point is built up to using only images, not words. But because nothing is said, I got a sense that neither character knew why anyone was so upset. While less is usually more, too little is definitely not enough.

The most frustrating flaw in “Touchy Feely” is that the two main story lines basically never cross paths. Doesn’t it make sense that somebody with healing powers might at least try to help somebody going through an odd physical pain? Instead, Ron Livingston is used to try and remedy DeWitt’s story. I still cannot figure out why he was there at all, and why he wasn’t spending his screen time complaining about his boss. Because nothing feels connected, in the end it feels like nothing that was just witnessed matters at all.

The best thing I can say about “Touchy Feely” is that in the end, Lynn Shelton looks like a true cinematic director. Every shot has a purpose, and every shot is framed just right. She shows the sides of Seattle that are never seen; the Space Needle is just a speck in the background at one point. The film ends with a shot that’s warm, friendly, and perfectly framed. It’s great to see an indie movie that doesn’t resort to a cut to black. However, the final shot feels like it belongs in a different movie, one that is more complete and didn’t try and just skip around from plot point to plot point. “Touchy Feely” would have benefitted from bolder and clearer character choices. I think what I am really trying to say is that “Touchy Feely” needed more Allison Janney.

Movie Review: The World’s End

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“The World’s End” marks the end of the Cornetto trilogy, a trilogy connected only by theme and named after ice cream. It’s as much about a trilogy of humans as it is about a trilogy of movies: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost have created a pitch perfect cinematic universe where the code of law is alcoholism and arrested development.

Clearly, I will stay away from all possible spoilers, yet it is important to know that “The World’s End” comes full circle in the most, well, circular way possible: it starts and ends with people talking in a circle. In the beginning, it’s Gary King (Simon Pegg), a man who is a former shell of himself. Gary is a recovering alcoholic who can’t quite erase the memory of the best night of his life: The Golden Mile Pub Crawl.


The pub crawl covered all 12 pubs in his small English hometown of Newton Haven. Craving to relive the magic of that night from 20 years earlier, Gary reunites his whole gang. While they’ve all advanced forwards, he’s stayed exactly the same. Gary has some unfinished business in form of the World’s End, the last stop on the pub crawl and the one place they never got to.

The beginning of the film compromises of a bunch of montages of misery as Gary attempts to reunite the team. All of his friends have now split off and got respectable office jobs, wives, and children. Gary thinks that because he has no responsibilities, he has absolute freedom. What he doesn’t realize though is that having nothing doesn’t always help you get to a better place.

I wish I brought a timer into “The World’s End,” because the buildup is so impressive. It goes an extensive stretch of time as a buddy comedy about a bunch of friends getting drunk and reminiscing. That would be a fine movie by itself, but what makes it even better is the fact that Edgar Wright then takes it to the complete next level. The buildup is what makes the stakes so much higher once the robots invade and bleed blue paint everywhere. Yes, you read that right.

It takes a really long time for “The World’s End” to get to the robots, but that makes the first attack even more surprising and worth the wait. Up until that time, Wright and the guys show their brilliant knack for recurring jokes. The beautiful thing about “The World’s End” is that I already feel like I need to watch it again because of how much I must have missed the first time around. In one subtle sight gag, Gary drives his old, beat up, gas guzzling car past a billboard for an electric car. Few directors are as good at understanding visual humor as Edgar Wright.

“The World’s End” is yet another of Wright’s satires of small town life. In making fun of suburbia, “The World’s End” eventually brings life to the mundane. It is in the little everyday things that Wright seems most interested in, which is why watching a beer get poured in one Wright’s movies can be as cool as watching a robot get his head kicked off. And yes, the fight scenes are better than any Hollywood movie I’ve seen this summer.

“The World’s End” also shows Wright’s proficiency in the language of cinema. “The World’s End” is a perfect sci-fi homage. It borrows from everything from “Blade Runner” to “Minority Report” to movies I haven’t even seen. However, Wright is no thief. He takes things from different genres, blends them together, and then adds his own thoughts to it. What brings it to the next level is that it is also a perfect look at the nostalgia that runs popular culture. Just like the zombies in “Shaun of the Dead,” the robots of “The World’s End” aren’t too different from the humans. Like Gary (who could be a stand-in for a lot of the people who attend Comic Con), the robots are programmed with selective memory.

Of the three characters that Pegg has played in the Cornetto trilogy, Gary is by far the most pathetic, but ultimately the most entertaining to watch. If the Oscars took movies like “The World’s End” seriously, Pegg would be a frontrunner for Best Actor. His self-denial is as sad as his snark is hilarious. Luckily, Pegg is backed up by a great supporting cast, especially Nick Frost, who is one of the most talented comedic actors working today. He spends most of “The World’s End” as a subdued recovering alcoholic. Once that does change (that’s not a spoiler because come), Frost becomes a master of casual slapstick. Oh also this cast includes the guy who plays Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as well as Pierce Brosnan, who sports a Trotsky/Evil Abed goatee.

Perhaps if “The World’s End” does well, people will start taking comedy a lot more seriously. Maybe a line like “he’s my cock!” doesn’t belong in a movie like this, but it is a line of dialogue that this story needs. It is the humor that gives “The World’s End” life and ultimately what makes its satire even sharper. Here lies the best damn movie so far this year. While “The World’s End” heavily debates the idea of slavery and whether freedom can be obtained by being a slave to something. Maybe I am missing the point by saying this, but Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost have my undivided attention and servitude for the rest of their careers.

Necessary. 

Movie Review: The Butler

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“Cotton was all I ever knew.”

 
Pop quiz hotshot: Is this quote from the opening of “The Butler,” or a proposed sequel to “The Jerk.” Surprisingly, the answer is the former.
“The Butler” is a big historical drama that is filled with some shining moments, and some others where Lee Daniel is practically screaming “Give me an Oscar!” at the screen.
“The Butler” is based on an incredible true story. It is one of those stories that chronicles history from a character who was always behind the scenes as opposed to the forefront. Those stories can often be the most truthful, as observers tend to be a little more objective than participants.
Forest Whitaker takes on the role of Cecil Gaines, a man who was born to poor cotton pickers in the deep south. His mother is repeatedly raped by one of the landowners and his father is arbitrarily murdered right in front of him. The old woman who runs the house (Vanessa Redgrave) shows enough mercy to take Cecil under her wing and teach him to be a servant for faux-fancy white people. The name for this is something I choose to not reprint here.
Cecil practices and becomes very good at his job. He learns everything there is to know about fine dining, from which fork is for salad to which one is for the meat, or however that works.* Cecil runs away from the plantation and ends up in one butler job after another until he finally hits the jackpot: White House butler.
Cecil remains the White House butler for nearly three decades. Once Cecil lands the job, “The Butler” becomes a montage of mid-20th century American history, with some insightful glances into the lives of the men who ran America. The balance between the screen time each president gets is sometimes bizarre. Cecil starts work during the Eisenhower administration. It’s unsettling for at least a few moments to see a surprisingly quiet Robin Williams play Eisenhower. James Marsden is a more fitting choice for JFK, yet we spend a very small amount of time with the much celebrated president. Perhaps Daniels and screenwriter Danny Strong figured audiences know enough about him by this point.
As a butler, Cecil is trained to be present yet invisible. Even though Cecil is the main character, he is also the audience surrogate. His duty as a butler is the same duty a viewer has when watching a film. Yet, as the years go by, Cecil becomes less invisible to those in power. He never gets to decide policy, but he is a really good listener.
“The Butler” is the least depressing of Lee Daniels’ films to watch. Sure, it has its disturbing moments, but it also has Lyndon Johnson (Liev Schreiber) yelling at people while sitting on the toilet and John Cusack playing Richard Nixon, prosthetic nose and all.
The presidential moments of “The Butler” are more entertaining than they are revealing. The strongest parts of the film take place in Cecil’s home. Cecil’s wife Gloria is portrayed by Oprah. This would be distracting if Oprah weren’t such a good actress. She is dynamic in every scene she is in, a good reminder of why she’s so successful. Thankfully, the home scenes aren’t all politics. A lot of them are just about everything from the culture of the time to the food that Gloria serves her family. You can find out things about presidents from the History Channel. Only in film can you get a real sense of how ordinary families of a certain time lived.
Cecil works hard and sacrifices so he can give his sons a better life. Cecil loves his country and turns a blind eye to the oppression, just because things have gotten a little better. His oldest son Earl (David Banner) won’t have any of it though. Earl gets arrested repeatedly for fighting for civil rights. The most fascinating scene in the film comes as a professor teaches a bunch of students how to participate in a sit-in. It basically involves being tormented without batting an eye. The scene is eye-opening and harrowing. It is a complete contrast to Cecil and Gloria, who just want to believe that what they’ve been given so far is enough for them.
Some of these more interesting undercurrents of African American identity are often tampered by Lee Daniels’ over-direction. The scene in which a Freedom Riders’ bus is destroyed by the KKK would be distressing enough as is. Yet, Daniels feels the need to put it in slow motion. Witnessing something as is can be powerful enough. When Daniels slows it down, it’s as if he’s blatantly manipulating the viewer’s emotions. Visual art is supposed to tell us how to feel but a little thing called subtlety is often forgotten.
The best performance Cuba Gooding Jr. has given since before that bunch of terrible movies ruined his career.
“The Butler” then takes its biggest misstep towards the end. I am not going to label this as a SPOILER ALERT WATCH OUT because this is history and nobody ever got mad about hearing how the Vietnam War ended in class. At one point, “The Butler” finds a nearly perfect point to end at, and then decides to keep going to the present day. Seeing recent history portrayed in film and TV is always a little jarring, which is why I’m not the biggest fan of “The Newsroom.” When “The Butler,” enters the Obama era, it suddenly turns from lecture to PSA. I don’t mind movies about politics, but it gets a little weird when they become political.
People have been calling “The Butler” “black Forrest Gump.” This is a thought I also had when I left the theater so this confirms that maybe I’m not racist. Anyway, while that title might be a little facetious, it’s also fairly accurate: “The Butler” is a look at history through the eyes of the little guy. However, it also relies heavily on forced sentimentality, which overshadow some of the greater aspects of the film. “The Butler” is a good enough Oscar contender that serves as a good history lesson, but it just misses the mark of a much better film.
I don’t normally give out letter grades for movies, but “The Butler is the definition of a B.
*Dining etiquette is hilarious. I know I’m an adult but I still don’t know the difference between one fork and another. Oops.

Movie Review: The Spectacular Now

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Finally, here’s a teen drama that has so many things that I never thought I was looking for in a teen drama, mainly because I never thought I was looking for a teen drama. First of all, it’s not on CW or ABC Family. “The Spectacular Now” is not about petty problems but, well, the big things we face right now. Also, there’s no vampires.

“The Spectacular Now” is based on a novel, as opposed to director James Ponsoldt’s childhood. However, the one thing that the film actually has in common with his life is that it takes place in Athens, Georgia where he grew up. There is a strong sense of familiarity with the whole thing, as if he is reminiscing on all the spots he once called home.

The teenage anti-hero of “The Spectacular Now” is Sutter, played Miles Teller, who sounds an awful lot like Jonah Hill and acts an awful lot like he doesn’t give a crap. Unlike most high school stories, the protagonist isn’t awkward. Despite all the cracks in his life, Sutter is frighteningly self-confident for somebody his age. He’s just come out of a pretty bad breakup with a girl (Brie Larson) who seemed like his soulmate. Now, he’s writing an angry college essay with her as the subject. “500 Days of Summer” says something about turning your former loves into literature, but it’s probably a bad idea to put them into a common app.

Sutter has this vision of living completely in a delusional happy moment. He drinks as much as he can as a way to keep reality at bay. His mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) works nearly all the time. Meanwhile, his father (Kyle Chandler, completely shattering the Coach Taylor illusion) is completely absent from his life, so he collects a series of father figures such as his boss Dan (Bob Odenkirk), who’s the definition of Southern Hospitality.

His delusional life view is compromised when he meets Aimee (Shailene Woodley) one drunken night. Well, he doesn’t really meet her. He ends up passed out on her front lawn and being the good girl that she is, she gives him a hand. The two begin to rub off on one another (personality wise, you sicko) and eventually fall in love. But given the fact that Sutter is kind of a jerk, he’s not quite sure if he wants to call it love.

“The Spectacular Now” is a lot about breaking stereotypes, which is why everything about this story feels so real. Just like Sutter, Aimee is also not like the kind of teen you’d find in this movie. Her broken backstory is put front and center, yet because her spirits are always so high, she never enters Manic Pixie Dream Girl territory. While she does have a love of comic books that she shares, the real thing that Sutter and Aimee bond over is there families. The way these two people bond and fall in love so sincerely made me think a lot of “Harold and Maude,” except, you know, they’re both the same age.

Speaking of that perennial 70s comedy, “The Spectacular Now” feels like it could have come right out of that era. James Ponsoldt is a wonderful director because he tends to let the film speak for itself. The camera usually sits still, and if it isn’t sitting still, then it’s slowly zooming in. One great moment comes and Sutter and Aimee stand by a window overlooking the football field. This conversation feels so important because we get to hear all of it without a single cutaway. Here, we see how little Sutter knows about what he will do with his own future.

“The Spectacular Now” is the kind of warm, character driven story only expected to be seen on TV nowadays. People like James Ponsoldt and co-writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (“500 Days of Summer”) give me faith in the continued strength of the self-contained story. It even ends at just right the moment. We, as the viewers have guided the characters to where they’re meant to be. And it was a pleasure to bring them there.