ALIEN: COVENANT Review

As a human male who wasn't born until 1987, the year after James Cameron's seven-year-later sequel to Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece debuted, I was never overly inclined to invest much of my adolescence in Xenomophs or the lore of the talented Ms. Ripley. As someone who would unknowingly be lumped in with the millennial generation I didn't grow up with a fondness for those original films and thus they never became a critical part of the cultural landscape for me until much later in life. It might even be difficult for viewers with older tastes and dated perspectives to understand how such a film as restrained and measured as Alien might play for today's ADD audiences, but despite the fact I didn't end up seeing Scott's original film until a college scriptwriting class doesn't mean I didn't understand the how and why of its effectiveness. Still, because of the life experiences that shaped who I was up until the point when I saw Prometheus in the summer of 2012 I didn't mind that it felt completely different from what Scott had established as his Alien universe in the past. Like with music and most things in life if something works and people crave more of it the artist must find a way to strike a balance between what has come before while also reinventing themselves so as not to repeat the same old shtick over and over again. While many complained about Prometheus for being too heady and not so reliant on thrills or action Scott, along with screenwriters John Logan and Dante Harper, have seemingly course corrected for the sake of the fans with Alien: Covenant as the film more or less meshes what Prometheus started and what fans seemingly wanted in a new Alien movie. That isn't to say it all melds seamlessly or that Covenant is all the better for attempting to strike such a balance, but rather that it wants to have its cake and eat it too. As an individual who has no vested interest in continuing the Alien franchise as it once was, but who dug the hell out of Prometheus, I was slightly disappointed the more philosophical aspects of the film were traded in for more formulaic action beats and scares, but while Covenant may be a safer movie than Prometheus as well as a less effective film than Alien it is still very much an entertaining one that does enough good to earn its place among the ranks of a series that seems to be more well regarded out of nostalgia and a couple strong entries than a consistent quality in the films overall.

Full Trailer for ALIEN : COVENANT

I am among those of the mind that consider Prometheus an astonishing achievement. A careful consideration of some very big questions that is as self-serious as could be, but with valid reasoning. Also, those visuals. The look of Prometheus is one that has stayed with me and has been hard to compete with even in the five plus years since its debut. With this new, full trailer though, we finally get a much better, more immersive look at Alien: Covenant in which Scott seems to be more interested in reprogramming Alien than the continuing adventures of Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth and Michael Fassbender’s David. Given Covenant finds Fassbender reprising his role as the android and the fact the script comes from John Logan who adapted Hugo and had a hand in writing Skyfall and The Last Samurai I am optimistic there could be enough here to sustain and interest me in this new chapter of the franchise. All of that said, I've never been into the Alien mythos enough to be truly excited for this film, but the casting is intriguing and the reveal of the premise of the mission certainly raises some questions I look forward to finding out the answers to. It definitely seems as if Scott is going more for the horror genre than that of pure science fiction, but while that may reassure most I preferred the direction Prometheus was going rather than the isolated story Alien presented. In the trailer we see the crew of the titular Covenant discover what seems to be an “uncharted paradise” whose only inhabitant is Fassbender's David. As is also made clear, it doesn't seem it takes too long after the crew encounters David that things begin to go horribly wrong and they're forced to find daring ways in which to escape. Still, those visuals. I'll give the trailer that even if I'm still not convinced this will match the hype. Alien: Covenant also stars Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollet, Amy Seimetz, James Franco, Danny McBride, and opens on May 19th, 2017.

20TH CENTURY WOMEN Review

Time is fleeting. This is a phrase heard countless times throughout our youth and throughout our life as a reminder to cherish the days we're living in as they'll be gone before we realize it. What we never realize though, is just how fleeting such times are when we're actually in them. The young man at the center of 20th Century Women, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), was born in 1964 with the film opening in 1979. This makes Jamie a young fifteen as made even more apparent by his clear skin and boyish features that render him still a child in our minds rather than the adult he would have us believe he is becoming. My own father was born in 1964 and I can't say I've ever considered what the world looked like at the time of his most formative years. Hell, I don't know that I ever even realized it was the fall of 1980 when he turned sixteen-with only six years to go until he married my mother on the cusp of his twenty-second birthday. Sure, I've heard him tell stories of the things he did as a young boy with his older brother and neighborhood friends, but never did I take a minute to step back and look at the bigger picture; really consider the world they were living in at that time. With 20th Century Women writer/director Mike Mills (Beginners) explores these small, fleeting moments in time and reflects on what made what is presumed to be his mother, his mother. This isn't simply presented by the circumstances of her life, but by the circumstances of the time in which she was born. This is a fascinating way of perceiving things, but can also be rather dangerous considering the infinite possibilities one can imagine were they to consider who they or someone they know/love might have been were they born in a different time. This framing of lives through fleeting moments with the added perception of where each of the individuals chronicled came from and where they're going reveals a lot of truths, but mostly it works best by affirming what we don't always have enough time to acknowledge-that happiness comes most naturally when we're not actively trying to chase it.

First Trailer for ALIEN: COVENANT Starring Michael Fassbender

I am among those of the mind that consider Prometheus an astonishing achievement. A careful consideration of some very big questions that is as self-serious as could be, but with valid reasoning. Also, those visuals. The look of Prometheus is one that has stayed with me and has been hard to compete with even in the four plus years since its debut. And so, while I'm somewhat disheartened by the fact director Ridley Scott decided to go more with a direct prequel to his beloved 1979 film, Alien, rather than more of a sequel to that aforementioned 2012 hit with the follow-up I assume I'll get over it. With Alien: Covenant Scott seems to be more interested in reprogramming that film that started all of this rather than the continuing adventures of Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth and Michael Fassbender’s David, but given Covenant finds Fassbender reprising his role as the android and the script comes from John Logan who adapted Hugo and had a hand in writing Skyfall and The Last Samurai I am optimistic that there could be enough story here to sustain this new chapter in the franchise. All of that said, I can't say that I'm overly excited for what this first look trailer promises. Sure, it looks like it might be more in the horror genre than that of the pure science fiction one, but while that may reassure most I preferred the direction Prometheus was going rather than the isolated story Alien presented. As far as story is concerned though, it seems we encounter David who is now the sole inhabitant of an “uncharted paradise” which is visited by the crew of the colony ship Covenant. Of course, once the crew arrives on this supposed "uncharted paradise" I'm sure it doesn't take long before things begin to go wrong and the (remaining) crew have to find daring ways in which they might escape. I'm not saying this can't be accomplished in an exciting manner, but I am saying this trailer doesn't do much for me by way of getting me excited for the film. Alien: Covenant also stars Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollet, Amy Seimetz, James Franco, Danny McBride, and opens on May 19th, 2017. 

JACKIE Review

There's a moment that comes forty-five or so minutes into Jackie where the former first lady boldly strides into her husband's quarters for the first time since his death and proceeds to play what she recalls as his favorite number from the musical, "Camelot," while trying on much of her wardrobe, sitting in chairs, smoking, sitting in rooms, and admiring swatches of material she no doubt had glorious plans for; soaking in all that will soon be gone, the tragedy, the full comprehension of what our titular character is going through just washing over Jackie herself-maybe for the first time since her husband's death with the full force of reality. There is a plethora of delicious dialogue in Noah Oppenheim's screenplay, but it is moments such as this-moments that require no words where director Pablo Larraín excels at cutting to the heart of what motivates our titular character, what allows her to push on with life, and most impressively what gives Jackie the ability of allowing the audience to understand an individual's challenging ideas and decisions in the midst of unfair circumstances that are also undoubtedly the worst days of her life. Jackie follows former first lady Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) in the week following the assassination of her husband in 1963, but that is what is to be expected from a biographical film concerning Mrs. Kennedy. What one might not necessarily be prepared for, but that Jackie certainly delivers, is a closely compacted study of the balance a woman in her (singular) position must pull off when concerning themselves not only with the here and now, but what people will write about her and her husband for decades to come. The ideas of legacy and of shaping that legacy come easier to viewers who obviously know what the myths around the ever-regal Kennedy clan have come to be, but Jackie opens our eyes to the fact such myths have to be constructed in some form or fashion. People like to believe in fairy tales and, for Jackie, it seems the goal was always to purport this facade that embodied the noble and majestic lifestyle of her husband's favorite musical. While Jackie, the film, looks to more or less deconstruct those myths-revealing the thought process and truths behind the scenes-the film also weirdly works to build up that myth even more albeit with more of an eerie tone than that of the mysterious one Jackie might have preferred. 

Teaser Trailer for JACKIE Starring Natalie Portman

One of the bigger surprises to come out of the Toronto International Film Festival this year was the wave of positive reactions and praise in response to director Pablo Larraín's Jackie. The film that is a biopic of the First Lady to John F. Kennedy is said to tell a searingly personal account of Mrs. Kennedy's life in the hours and days following the assassination of her husband. Starring Natalie Portman in the titular role early word is the actor will easily land in the Best Actress category at this year's Academy Awards as Larraín has given Portman a platform on which to craft a version of this person that is more introspective and nuanced than any other portrayal we've seen of this First lady on screen before. And to be honest, this first look at the film for those of us not privileged enough to attend a major film festival is completely astonishing. The visual prowess of the film seems to mirror the light, but striking gravitas of its titular character while the score is as exquisite and classy as most would imagine the real Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was. It is the narration of this teaser that really drives home the weight the film likely holds though, as the quote from the musical "Camelot," reinforces the idea of sudden change and the more sudden realizations that things will never be the same as they once were. In the stage play King Arthur speaks these words near the end as he comes to realize that the grand notions and the lofty ideas of his beloved Camelot are gone. The Jackie that is the subject of Larraín's film is very much in this same state of mind. By layering in these elements the teaser culminates with a barrage of imagery that figuratively resembles the walls of the Kennedy's Camelot falling down around them. It's more than effective-it is moving even and if Larraín's film can elicit as much of an emotional response as it does in this two-minute clip I can only imagine what the feature film experience might be like. I can't wait. Jackie also stars Billy Crudup, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, John Hurt, Richard E. Grant, John Carroll Lynch, and opens on December 2nd, 2016.

SPOTLIGHT Review

Note: This is a reprint of my review for Spotlight, which originally ran on September 23, 2015 after seeing it at the Toronto Film Festival. I am publishing it again today as it hits theaters this weekend.

Spotlight is a fine example of what perfect execution looks like. From the outset we are given the broad scope of the issue the film looks to tackle and from there we dive right into Boston, 2001 to meet the key players in the game the film will be playing. There are no hiccups, no time for second guesses and nothing narratively to take away from the main objective. Spotlight is a prime piece of meat with all of the fat trimmed and only the juiciest parts left so as to make the whole experience one of pure, concentrated excellence. That said, it is certainly an interesting case in a couple of areas. The first being that director Thomas McCarthy (The Visitor, Win Win), who is generally regarded as both a solid writer and filmmaker, was coming off the worst reviewed film of his career a year ago with The Cobbler and so to bounce back so ferociously with this effortlessly intelligent thriller makes it clear there is something more to be said for the process of filmmaking. The other, is that this reviewer in particular is a Catholic. This is an influential piece of information considering Spotlight is about the Boston Globe's investigation into the Church's sexual abuse scandal that gave cause for people everywhere (Catholic or not) to take a second look at one of our most respected and trusted institutions. Because the film plays it straight down the middle, with no time for subplots or unnecessary qualms, no one party is ever viewed unfairly, but rather the irrefutable facts presented allow the audience to make up their own minds.

TIFF 2015: SPOTLIGHT Review

Spotlight is a fine example of what perfect execution looks like. From the outset we are given the broad scope of the issue the film looks to tackle and from there we dive right into Boston, 2001 to meet the key players in the game the film will be playing. There are no hiccups, no time for second guesses and nothing narratively to take away from the main objective. Spotlight is a prime piece of meat with all of the fat trimmed and only the juiciest parts left so as to make the whole experience one of pure, concentrated excellence. That said, it is certainly an interesting case in a couple of areas. The first being that director Thomas McCarthy (The Visitor, Win Win), who is generally regarded as both a solid writer and filmmaker, was coming off the worst reviewed film of his career a year ago with The Cobbler and so to bounce back so ferociously with this effortlessly intelligent thriller makes it clear there is something more to be said for the process of filmmaking. The other, is that this reviewer in particular is a Catholic. This is an influential piece of information considering Spotlight is about the Boston Globe's investigation into the Church's sexual abuse scandal that gave cause for people everywhere (Catholic or not) to take a second look at one of our most respected and trusted institutions. Because the film plays it straight down the middle, with no time for subplots or unnecessary qualms, no one party is ever viewed unfairly, but rather the irrefutable facts presented allow the audience to make up their own minds.

First Trailer for SPOTLIGHT Starring Michael Keaton

Open Road Films has released the first trailer for director/co-writer Thomas McCarthy’s (The Station Agent, The Visitor) new film, Spotlight. This is somewhat interesting given McCarthy's last film, the critically dismissed The Cobbler, opens in the UK this weekend but is also expected given it was announced the film would have its premiere at the Venice Film Festival and screen at the Toronto International Film Festival yesterday. Telling the true story of the Boston Globe reporters who investigated and exposed the Catholic Church’s systemic cover-up of sexual abuse, this is a film that will both touch on some hot button issues while at the same time being immediately engaging for doing so. This first look at the film offers a solid look at both how McCarthy has executed what is essentially one of the biggest stories of the 21st century as well as the stellar ensemble cast he has recruited. Hot off his Best Actor nomination for Birdman, Michael Keaton will play legendary reporter Walter 'Robby' Robinson while it seems Mark Ruffalo will serve more as the lead in the role of Michael Rezendes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and political writer for The Globe. Spotlight was co-written by The West Wing‘s Josh Singer and also stars Rachel McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James, John Slattery, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle, Len Cariou and opens in theaters on November 6th.

THE WATCH Review

I suspected something like this was going to happen when it came to The Watch. The general consensus of critics would be that this is a lazy and unfunny piece of work from two aging comedians that are likely looking for nothing more than a good paycheck. While I can certainly understand where they are coming from and I would have overall liked the film to be a bit more funny, I actually enjoyed the movie. Maybe it was the fact I was able to get a grasp of what critics were saying that lowered my expectations, but in the end I think it just comes down to the fact that what I was looking for from this movie is what it delivered and nothing more. I don't usually like to waste time in a review trying to justify why I enjoyed a movie versus what the majority of critics thought about it, but due to the fact this one has been so brutally abused by critics I felt it necessary to justify the fact I don't mind watching this group of guys do their thing, even if we have seen it before. As this is no longer 2004-05 I can see how the demand for a Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn comedy might have decreased, but I can't deny the excitement of seeing them back together as a kind of return to form for the Frat Pack members. Do I wish there was a bit more satire to the tired alien genre? Yes. Do I wish the plot itself would have been a bit more clever, bringing together the strands of the script for a better payoff? Sure, but what I went into this movie looking for was laughs. Did I get as many as I wanted? Maybe not, but I laughed plenty enough and many times out loud. I liked the film, I walked out smiling and in a lite-comedy, isn't that all that really matters?

Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade), Bob (Vince Vaughn), Evan
(Ben Stiller), and Franklin (Jonah Hill) form the watch. 

If there was one aspect of the film that did disappoint me it would in fact be within the story. There was a lot to take advantage of here as last years Attack the Block demonstrated or even Paul, they were big, broad comedies that took advantage of the premise and embraced it for what it was while maintaining a sense of parody. I wanted the script, penned by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg no less, to not only poke fun at the care-free, easy going lifestyle of suburbanites but combining these satirical observations with those of an outlandish alien invasion plot. The opportunity was there but Rogen and Goldberg instead decided it would just be easier to have these guys improv back and forth guaranteeing some solid laughs while throwing in the extra-terrestrials for ridiculous effect and giving them some kind of goal to work towards for an hour and forty minutes. If you've seen the trailer you get the gist of what is going on here and you see the typical roles each actor has attached themselves to. Stiller plays the uptight, community leader who wears sweater vests and has no shame in embracing his life as a Costco manager. Vaughn is Vaughn, but to be honest he is the guy we haven't really seen on film since 2006. Since his string of knockouts from 2003's Old School through extended cameos in Starsky & Hutch to Anchorman paired with his leads in Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers, and The Break-Up Vaughn has been somewhat absent from the fast talking, R-rated persona we all loved so much. After two Christmas-themed films and two flops that could have been much better in Couples Retreat and The Dilemma the guy who could talk his way out of anything comes back with full force in The Watch and in this aspect alone, not to mention his hilarious pairings with Hill (please let them do a movie together soon) I enjoyed watching the film. I couldn't wait to hear what came out of the guys mouth and despite this being his go-to persona he's withheld it long enough for us to welcome it back with open arms.

The men of the neighborhood watch find a new toy their
friends from outer space seem to have lost.

As for Hill, who has been having a stellar year so far with his Academy award nomination and the success of 21 Jump Street he slides easily into the violence obsessed loser that still lives with his mom shtick. The wild card here was Richard Ayoade, a British comedian who is likely best known for his role as Moss in The IT Crowd. I have never seen the TV series, but will certainly be interested in checking it out as well as following where Ayoade's career goes from this point. His humor here though is so low-key it is somewhat overshadowed by the brashness of Vaughn and the ridiculousness of Hill's. As Stiller's career has gone on I have wondered what made us find him so funny in the first place? How has he come to be this kind of modern comedic standard? Those early days of being the guy unafraid to throw himself into physical gags or be regarded as a kind of clown seem so long ago. Here, while Stiller seemingly plays a man that is made up of characteristics he has played countless times before he also continues to show why he is so reliable. He can bring out the leading man side whenever he chooses to and then will slip in the perfect delivery of a comedic line that we are taken off guard by how funny it actually is. Stiller does it several times here as he navigates this odd group of guys through the course of male bonding and his own personal issues that include not being able to get his wife pregnant. His wife, as played here by Rosemarie DeWitt and her concern in the plot is undercooked as is Vaughn's daughter/parenting issues. It's almost as if the script felt like it had to include these things to feel like a real movie, but why must we let genre lines define a film? If anything this should have consisted of breaking those boundaries and making fun of the horror and buddy action flicks, testosterone action movies, and that suburban angst that deals with the concerns of the meaning of life.

Evan and Franklin interrogate a culprit in the egging
assault that took place on them.

While the cast holds up its end of the bargain, they really do bring the funny and are solid fun to watch for the whole of the running time, I can't say that director Akiva Schaffer did the same. His group of fake MC's The Lonely Island have made countless hilarious digital shorts for SNL for years and have even made one of the more underrated comedic gems of the last few years with Hot Rod but even as that movie was not generally accepted by critics it was no doubt a funny film that might just be of an acquired taste. What was significant about Hot Rod though was that it carried this very distinctive stamp on its brand of humor. It wasn't trying to be anything it wasn't, it was simply itself and it was hilarious. That distinctive style is what I was hoping to see, but instead feels absent from the barren center of The Watch. It is of course likely that with much bigger stars and a much bigger budget ($80 million, seriously?) that the studio was much more restrictive of the artistic and comedic liberties Schaffer could take with the project yet it seemed the parts he was able to slip in is what we saw in the trailers. Why couldn't they then follow through on what we were promised? What looked to be a high concept bit of satire that featured two proven comedians and two up and comers that could more than hold their own turns out to be what is likely a more watered down version of what must have attracted Schaffer, Stiller, Vaughn, and Hill to the project in this first place. I am content with what I saw and will accept it because it made me laugh and didn't disappoint in a way I know it had the capacity of doing. And though I will likely never see it, and maybe it doesn't exist at all, I can still imagine there is a directors cut out there that matches the extra miles this could have gone to be something more. They aren't reinventing the wheel here, but it is a delight to watch when hanging out with a group of friends on a random night that will leave a smile on your face.

    

THE WATCH Review

I suspected something like this was going to happen when it came to The Watch. The general consensus of critics would be that this is a lazy and unfunny piece of work from two aging comedians that are likely looking for nothing more than a good paycheck. While I can certainly understand where they are coming from and I would have overall liked the film to be a bit more funny, I actually enjoyed the movie. Maybe it was the fact I was able to get a grasp of what critics were saying that lowered my expectations, but in the end I think it just comes down to the fact that what I was looking for from this movie is what it delivered and nothing more. I don't usually like to waste time in a review trying to justify why I enjoyed a movie versus what the majority of critics thought about it, but due to the fact this one has been so brutally abused by critics I felt it necessary to justify the fact I don't mind watching this group of guys do their thing, even if we have seen it before. As this is no longer 2004-05 I can see how the demand for a Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn comedy might have decreased, but I can't deny the excitement of seeing them back together as a kind of return to form for the Frat Pack members. Do I wish there was a bit more satire to the tired alien genre? Yes. Do I wish the plot itself would have been a bit more clever, bringing together the strands of the script for a better payoff? Sure, but what I went into this movie looking for was laughs. Did I get as many as I wanted? Maybe not, but I laughed plenty enough and many times out loud. I liked the film, I walked out smiling and in a lite-comedy, isn't that all that really matters?