THE NEST Review

As a huge fan of writer/director Sean Durkin's 2011 breakout feature, Martha Marcy May Marlene, I was very much looking forward to his follow-up which unfortunately has taken nine years to craft and unfortunately feels like it should have taken less than half that time. It's not difficult to see where folks who enjoy the art form that is the motion picture will derive pleasure and satisfaction from Durkin's The Nest for, despite watching hundreds of films a year, I still consider myself very much a novice when it comes to movies of bygone eras-especially those prior to the turn of the millennium. This could certainly have influenced my perception of The Nest as not only is the film set during, but very much feels like a film born of the late seventies to early eighties. That said, it's not difficult to see what Durkin is going for here with this assessment of preserving one's own identity within a marriage while simultaneously preserving the illusion of a unified union to the world at large as everyday actions threaten to tear it apart, but even that summarization makes the proceedings sound more exciting than they actually are and furthermore, lends me no idea as to how well Durkin is achieving his goal. To this untrained eye at least, the writer/director takes far longer to build the basis on which we will see the cracks that come to divide this family unit than he does on actually exploring those crevices. The Nest is the type of movie most modern moviegoers wouldn't consider a story-or more appropriately, a study-that necessarily needs or deserves to be told on the big screen. Of course, this is also the type of movie that the parents of modern moviegoers watched in droves in the seventies as this feels akin to the kind of work I expect Mike Nichols and the like were doing at the time. These smaller, character-driven pieces analyzing the fractured American dream and how the layers of such a facade easily fall apart when that's all it was to begin with: a deceitful outward appearance meant to conceal a less pleasant reality. Though Durkin's seeming objective of depicting an unpleasant reality is an unequivocal success, whether the film as whole is equally successful is more up for debate as what The Nest achieves is far easier to appreciate than it is to experience.

CAPTAIN MARVEL Review

Captain Marvel, notable for being the first female-led Marvel Cinematic Universe film after twenty-one movies, is a fun and sometimes unique take on the super hero origin story that unfortunately never finds its groove enough to the point it's somewhat fearful the character won’t be able to get her groove back when it comes time for Avengers: Endgame. For all intents and purposes, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s (Half Nelson, Mississippi Grind) MCU debut is your boilerplate Marvel origins story which, by virtue of where we’re now at in this universe, makes it feel small in comparison to even the most recent additions. Falling somewhere in between the muddled middle of Doctor Strange and Black Panther, Brie Larson's Carol Danvers isn't a riff on an origin story we've seen before, but neither does it have the added elements of magic as in Strange or the advantage of introducing us to a new world a la Panther. In a Phase Three world, a mostly Earth-set origin story was going to have to give us a little something more than also doubling as the origin story for Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury or-at least-it was going to need to find a really cool, really fresh way to convey that story. For example, in the opening twenty or so minutes of Captain Marvel, we are treated to what is essentially a Star Wars or Star Trek-like space opera with the full-on introductions of the Kree and Skrull races we've heard whisperings of for years as well as to the Kree home planet and their military force for which Danvers has been trained by her mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). Such introductions lend the film something of a Guardians of the Galaxy-vibe, but the tone is different enough that this could simply be yet another facet of the MCU we haven't yet seen. Were Boden and Fleck, who also wrote the script alongside Geneva Robertson-Dworet (2018's Tomb Raider), to harness the momentum of this initial set-up and action sequence, executing it in the fashion of a genre flick of this type that was released in the decade their film is set, the film might have proven to be a more unique and odd side venture for the MCU, but unlike the flavor Taika Waititi brought to Thor: Ragnarok or the subversiveness James Gunn infused his GotG films with, Captain Marvel ends up being a perfectly serviceable, but highly average entry in the ever-expanding MCU; a movie that feels more like the pilot of a nineties spin-off series that never hits the same strides as the series that inspired it rather than the explosive debut it could seemingly have so easily been.

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD Review

At this point in our cultural landscape the reaction one has to the latest film set in J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world is largely dependent upon your history and affiliation with said wizarding world. It’s difficult to even comprehend the amount of lives Rowling’s work has impacted and become a major component of since the Harry Potter franchise became a worldwide phenomenon nearly two decades ago. The plan for the Fantastic Beasts franchise, outside of continuing to make money off the brand, was to hopefully introduce a new, younger generation to this world through new stories while naturally entrancing those who came to the world of muggles and magical folk in real time. Harry Potter has now been a part of my life longer than it hasn’t-twice as long nearly-and so, it is always with great anticipation and interest that I approach anything Rowling does even if the cultural temperature is a bit cooler than it used to be. Though initially pessimistic towards the idea of expanding the Potterverse via New York City in the twenties and based around the guy who wrote one of Harry and his friend’s textbooks, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them turned out to be a rather charming introduction to a new facet of this world we only thought we knew; casting a strong enough spell to leave audiences wanting more adventures in the life of Mr. Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). With Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Rowling and franchise director David Yates (the last four HP films as well as the first Fantastic Beasts movie) pick up the story they started two years ago some three months later in a sequel that ultimately serves as a series of revelations for the series’ main players while potentially changing everything we know about one of the Potterverse’s most important characters. The fact the franchise has moved and is moving in the direction of utilizing more primary Potter characters is a double-edged sword given it's hard not to want to see familiar aspects of this familiar world, but there is something of a greater desire to see an aspect completely independent of the events and characters in the Harry Potter stories so as to not potentially spoil what we already love. In other words, while I’m all in for further exploration of the magical world mythology and continuous world-building Rowling is so good at the fact of the matter is The Crimes of Grindelwald might have been more consistently engaging if it’d found a more entertaining story through which to convey these new developments.

First Trailer for Marvel Studios' CAPTAIN MARVEL Starring Brie Larson

Marvel Studios has released the first look at Captain Marvel, the first female-led flick in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There have been about eight different characters known as Captain Marvel over the years, but the movie will follow the Carol Danvers storyline who first appeared in the comics in 1968. In the comics, Danvers was an Air Force pilot and CIA agent recruited by NASA and more specifically, by Dr. Philip Lawson, with whom she struck up a romantic relationship before learning of his true identity of Mahr Vehl from the alien race known as the Kree or the race of blue aliens we first saw in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. Mahr Vehl blocks an explosion causing his genetic template to meld with Danvers' DNA turning her into Ms. Marvel. It wouldn't be until July of 2012 though that Danvers would take on the mantle of Captain Marvel after Mahr Vehl dies (spoiler alert!). Described as the most powerful super in the MCU (maybe even more so than Thanos) Captain Marvel has super strength, tons of military training, absorbs energy and returns the blasts from her fists as well as being able to fly six times faster than the speed of sound. This is all without mentioning the fact she apparently has a seventh sense that allows her to subconsciously anticipate the moves of her opponents and to connect with the cosmos. This cavalcade of powers will no doubt come in hand as the character's first film will be set in the nineties and deal with the ongoing galactic war between the Kree and the Skrull-a race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters. In the film, Brie Larson (Room, Kong: Skull Island) plays the titular character while Jude Law will appear as Lawson. Samuel L. Jackson will return as a younger Nicky Fury and Clark Gregg will be back as Agent Coulson. Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou will also reprise their Guardians of the Galaxy roles as they are Kree warriors. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Mississippi Grind) were tapped to write and direct and while the screenplay is credited to both Boden, Fleck, and a host of other writers including Liz Flahive (GLOW), Meg LeFauve (Inside Out), Carly Mensch (Weeds, Nurse Jackie), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (2018's Tomb Raider). And while this will largely be our introduction to Danvers if not your typical origin story it still has the responsibility of clearing up where Captain Marvel has been this entire time and how the character will play into Avengers 4. Needless to say, Boden and Fleck have their work cut out for them, but if the MCU train and this trailer are any indication, it doesn't seem the MCU will be getting off track anytime soon. Captain Marvel also stars Gemma Chan, Ben Mendelsohn, McKenna Grace, Annette Bening, Pete Ploszek, and opens on March 8th, 2019.

First Trailer for FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD

Yesterday the wizarding world was warned to get their #WandsReady in preparation for today's premiere of our first look at the follow-up to 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and here we are. This sequel, said to be the second film in a planned five film franchise, picks up where the first film concluded by following-up the reveal that Colin Farrell's Percival Graves was actually the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald as played by Johnny Depp. The titular Grindelwald was captured by the Magical Congress of the United States of America with the help of our hero, Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander, but Grindelwald has since escaped custody and set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda to raise pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings. With The Crimes of Grindelwald, returning director David Yates (who also helmed the fifth, sixth, and both parts of the seventh Harry Potter films) and sole screenwriter and creator of this wizarding world, J.K. Rowling, we pick-up with a younger Albus Dumbledore than we've ever seen before as portrayed by newcomer to the series Jude Law as he enlists his former student, Scamander, to help in an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans completely unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. While this trailer certainly matches the implied epicness of such a synopsis and it is cool to see this world continue to expand as it seems much of the action in The Crimes of Grindelwald takes place in Paris I can only hope that Yates is able to remain in a genuinely creative and innovative headspace rather than becoming complacent with his position in this universe. Still, this first look appears to be all a fan could want from a film inspired by Rowling's world and I'm more than intrigued to see where this film intends to take the series as a whole. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald also stars Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller, Zoe Kravitz, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, Carmen Ejogo, Jessica Williams, and opens in theaters on November 16th.

KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD Review

I like Guy Ritchie, I like his style, and I enjoy his approach to storytelling. The writer/director understands the unique ways in which one can convey something as simple as a montage and how such interpretive change can alter the reception and/or investment of an audience in something as simple as a montage. If you've seen any of Ritchie's s previous films, such as Snatch, RocknRolla, or either of the two Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes adventures, then you'll certainly recognize the marks of the director in his latest film; another re-telling of the King Arthur story. It was inevitable the legend of Arthur and his knights of the roundtable would eventually get their own gritty re-boot, but when it was announced Ritchie would be the one bringing said gritty reboot to the big screen the trend all of a sudden didn't feel so tired. Too bad we spoke too soon for despite the fact Ritchie gets a director, co-writer, and producer credit on this $175 million flick-it reeks of studio intervention and countless pacing issues due to as much. Before we get too far into this though, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword isn't an outright train wreck and has some rather inspired and interesting moments whether that be in character and set design, some of the performances, or of course the notable editing and inventive storytelling. Still, at the end of the day, this is a film whose parts are greater than its (overlong) summation and unfortunately that leaves a rather forgettable taste. Bland. Bland is the word I'm looking for. And while one might have advised Ritchie and the gang against rebooting a brand name no one seemed to be particularly interested in (the last incarnation of King Arthur came just over a decade ago and only delivered $200 million worldwide) there was always that hope Ritchie might put enough of a directorial stamp on the material that this new version might come to be more than justified. There are hints of Ritchie's British blue collar mentality and sense of humor that pop up throughout that hint at what could have been, a medieval Lock, Stock if you will, but more often than not King Arthur: Legend of the Sword becomes a bloated, CGI-fest that is more hollow spectacle than engaging character drama.

First Trailer for KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD Starring Charlie Hunnam

Does there need to be another movie about King Arthur and his Knights of the round table? No. Do I mind that there is another King Arthur movie coming out that stars Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and is directed by Guy Ritchie (Snatch, RockNRolla, Sherlock Holmes)? Not at all. In fact, it is for this reason that I am excited to see what this new iteration of the classic character holds. It is clear from this first look trailer that this is undoubtedly a Guy Ritchie movie as the grittiness and the obviousness of the editing is front and center. Though there is little given about what quest or adventure this particular story might tell the trailer does a good job of highlighting the familiar beats of the legend we've all heard and seen versions of before while at the same time making the more modern tone and approach to the material very apparent. More than anything else it seems like the cast is having a grand time playing on these tropes for which their characters have been recognized by for years and both upending them as well as elaborating on them. This looks to be especially true of Jude law's Vortigern AKA the guy who killed the titular characters father and brother. As with Kong: Skull Island it seems as if something like an epic King Arthur film should debut in the midst of the summer movie season, but with an early March release the third month of 2017 is shaping up to be a fairly major one. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword also stars Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Eric Bana, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, and opens on March 24th, 2017.

SPY Review

Ladies and gentleman, Melissa McCarthy has brought us her version of Austin Powers and while it more or less diverts the James Bond tropes through a slew of supporting characters this is very much a breaking the mold kind of movie that not only puts a woman in the lead where a man typically reigns supreme, but a woman that looks like McCarthy who, per usual, recognizes where she fits into the Holywood lexicon and more or less takes a big ole dump on those expectations. Being unwilling to yield to anyone's pre-determined set of guidelines for what it takes to be an actress, a comedian or now, an action star, has made McCarthy one of the hottest properties around and with Spy she delivers a kind of definitive comedy that will seemingly launch her into the stratosphere of commanding her own franchise. Much like Mike Myers in 1997 McCarthy has used the same popular and well-known template of the spy thriller to lampoon any and all of the typical beats that Ian Fleming's most famous spy and his many imitators have acted out over the years. Opening with the more dashing version of Bond in Jude Law's Bradley Fine as he infiltrates a high class party to commandeer a nuclear bomb that has somehow managed to end up in the wrong persons hands we are taken through the scenario as expected until Fine comes face to face with Tihomir Boyanov (Raad Rawi) and the first of those many expectations are turned on its head and given a certain freshness that not only makes an audience member excited to see what the film will do with each scenario to come, but keeps us consistently laughing as both the sight gags and the one-liners the film delivers are expertly set-up and executed so as to get the biggest pay off. Needless to say, both McCarthy and frequent collaborator Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) know what they're doing at this point and they use their assumed short-hand to create not only a solid, credible comedy in a world of sub-par and sloppily put-together comedies, but they so clearly know how to draw on the strengths of each cast members talent as well as the archetypes of the genre so that it all seems to effortlessly pull together to create a hugely funny and entertaining time.

First Trailer for Paul Feig's SPY

Director Paul Feig may currently be casting an all-female version of Ghostbusters, but before he gets around to promoting women in film to a greater extent with that re-imagining of the classic eighties property he will be pairing with Melissa McCarthy again for a rift on the spy genre that looks like nothing short of another massive hit. I have always enjoyed McCarthy's comedy, even in lackluster films like Identity Thief and the truly awful Tammy. Despite the projects themselves being close to unwatchable at times there is always an empathy McCarthy is able to pull from her characters besides the fact she is exceedingly talented at physical comedy and finding the perfect inflection for the perfect moment. When she teams with Feig we get to meet the likes of Megan in Bridesmaids and see the duo of McCarthy and Sandra Bullock in Heat, both of which worked to their advantage and proved to be breakout hits in the vein of largely female casts in broad comedies. While McCarthy will have a little more support from some heavy-hitting male leads here in the form of Jude Law and Jason Statham it will also be nice to see her back on screen and going head to head with Rose Byrne who she didn't get to share enough screen time with on Bridesmaids. While the overall tone of this trailer implies something similar to that of the Steve Carell Get Smart it is nice to know Feig and McCarthy won't be shying away from their R-ratings as 20th Century Fox has released both a green and red band trailer that you can check out below. SPY also stars Bobby Cannavale, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Peter Serafinowicz, Miranda Hart, Allison Janney, Morena Baccarin and opens on May 22nd.

DOM HEMINGWAY Review

Sometimes, knowing someone and their aptitude for integrating themselves (no matter with good or bad results, as both can be equally entertaining) into society and the world around them is an exhilarating and interesting enough reason to hang out with them, to spend time with them. Despite the fact these tendencies may or may not become annoying or too much to look past when actually having to deal with the repercussions these actions provide they almost always give way to a few good stories to tell your actual set of friends when you sit down to share a drink and a meal with them where that time spent together is about the conversation and not about the presumed antics you'll encounter because of the domineering traits that make each encounter an adventure with the friend of another set. Some will classify this as simply being two different kinds of people: the thinkers and the doers. The thinkers sitting around watching, speculating while the actions of the doers provide content for those conversations. Much of watching film and critiquing or dissecting it makes the world feel like it squarely fits into these categories, but there are no absolutes and every person, no matter their domineering traits or tendencies will always have experiences in both of these types of situations and yet with Dom Hemingway we get as close as we probably ever will to both processing the antics of our titular character as we take them in while also feeling a part of the excursion because of how much was clearly put into the development of Hemingway, not only in the script and the way he was written, but of course and likely more critically in the way he was brought to life by Jude Law. Law, as the boozed out, drug-addled Englishman has seemingly subdued his classic good looks in every possible way to bring as much grit and grime to the presence of Hemingway to the point we don't doubt the man has dirt under his nails that's been there the entire time he kept his mouth shut in prison. It is a shame the actual film can't keep up with the character, because the energy that flows through Law's blood-shot eyes and out of his saliva-slinging mouth is pure electric.

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Review

Wes Anderson's latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel is many things, but at its heart it feels like a quiet epic, a love letter to time gone by with a narrative spanning decades that chronicles the exceptionally unexceptional life of one young man who was influenced by another and would have his world forever changed because of him. It is as much about the world one creates around themselves and how it determines the outcome of ones life as it is about the actual plot of the story which, be not afraid, contains prison break-outs, gun fights, affairs with older women and a fair amount of lies and deception. Over the course of his career, Anderson has created many an interesting world where his characters find their typically odd yet perfect little worlds rocked by some kind of event. Whether it be the Tennenbaums, Steve Zissou or even Mr. Fox each of these characters have a way of trying to retain the normality that has escaped them in the time of their lives that Anderson's films have chosen to document. With The Grand Budapest Hotel things are only slightly different in that the screenplay itself, for the first time in his career, was written solely by Anderson and this more intimate relationship with the material certainly makes for a strong showing by the director, one in which it feels this film is the epitome of Anderson's imagination, that he is fully operating within the confines of his own imagination that he has come to be inspired to create through the works of Stefan Zweig and his consistent themes of becoming lost in ones reality and while not only has Anderson seemed to inhabit the role of Zweig here he has also come to imprint that same mentality on his main character, M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes). Gustave, as one of our two storytellers overseeing the main narrative insinuates near the end of the film, may have come to live in a world that ceased to exist before he even entered it. It is this kind of thinking, these ideas beyond that of simply telling an entertaining story, but rather inspecting the mind of someone and how they look at their world and take on the challenges laid before them that makes Anderson's work so engaging and off-kilter, while this film in particular beautifully demonstrates the thin line that sometimes exists between real life and imagination.

First Trailer for THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

I have always been a fan of Wes Anderson's work if not for the fact that he has a great story of how he and Owen Wilson met and made it into Hollywood, but for the fact he has kept his singular voice throughout his now illustrious career and continues to do so. Coming off what was likely his most mainstream success as well as being one of his better films last year in Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson has turned his sights on a script that for the first time he has written solely on his own. The Grand Budapest Hotel tells the story of a legendary concierge in 20th-century Hungary who takes a young employee (Tony Revolori) on as his protégé. Naturally the film looks to be much more complex than this as there is murder, scandal, and comedy thrown in for good measure all of which can be gauged in this excessively charming first trailer. The cast is ridiculous as the concierge is played by Ralph Fiennes in a rare comedic role that he looks to absolutely kill as well as the roles of Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody and Tilda Swinton getting nice moments here. The set design looks to be on a massive Anderson scale and the camera work is as stoic as ever with complex shots and framing done to the hilt (Anderson also shot this in three different aspect ratios; one for each of the time periods in which the film takes palce). If it is unclear I am beyond excited for this film and only hope that it lives up to the expectations I've always held for Anderson's work. The rest of the cast includes the likes of F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. The Grand Budapest Hotel opens March 7, 2014.

First Trailer for DOM HEMINGWAY

Having just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and receiving a wave of positive reviews it is nice to see some of what all the fuss concerning Dom Hemingway is about. Though this opens in the UK this November we here in the States will have to wait until next spring to see the final result, but if the festival reviews and debut poster weren't enough to get you interested, this debut trailer certainly should. Jude Law plays the titular hero of the story as a guy who has just been released from prison and is determined to recover the hush money that was stolen from him. While the trailer does a fine job of conveying this simple premise what it really sells is Law's performance. They guy is hell on wheels with a drink always in his hand and with mutton chops worthy of hard bragging. It's been a while since Law has taken on a project that he could really sink his teeth into (though he was easily the best part of last years Anna Karenina), but this looks to turn things around for him both commercially (maybe) and artistically. The guy is a talented and charismatic actor and I wouldn't be surprised if this spurred the kind of change The Lincoln Lawyer did for Matthew McConaughey's career renaissance. Here's hoping that it does and that someone decides to move the release date of this up stateside, otherwise I'll just have to watch this trailer over and over again, which isn't all bad as it has plenty of laughs to hold one over. Dom Hemingway also stars Richard E. Grant, Emilia Clarke, Jumayn Hunter, Madalina Diana Ghena, Demian Bichir and opens in the U.S. on April 4, 2014.

SIDE EFFECTS Review

Scott Z. Burns has written two of my favorite Steven Soderbergh films since 2009 and up through his recent rush of films from late 2011 into what is being called his last major feature that is the subject of this review, Side Effects. Burns penned the lovably goofy 2009 farce The Informant! as well as the first and very well crafted of Soderbergh's final run, Contagion. Each of these films have a very distinct tone and a very good sense of what they are while not relying on the conventions of their genre to restrain or define them. The same could be said for this latest Burns and Soderbergh collaboration as it is hard to even tell what category it might fall into. As soon as you'd like to think you know where it is going Side Effects begins to venture down a different path. I love it, walking into the film with only a vague knowledge of what the film is about (thank you deliberately fuzzy marketing campaign) and being able to relish in the execution of the film as it slowly unfolds to reveal itself as something much more than I ever expected it to be. There are hints of the cautionary tale, of the talespin into madness, even the courtroom drama with an element of mystery, but what makes the movie such an enjoyable and rather brisk experience despite the slow start, is the fact it melds each of these elements together seamlessly creating a mixed bag of drama and emotions, dynamics and expectations that are still able to form a cohesive and satisfying story while throwing twist after twist at the audience and keeping us on the edge of our seats as we anxiously await which character will pull back the next layer. With a more than firm hand on the wheel from Soderbergh and a fantastic ensemble cast Side Effects is easily the first great film of 2013.

ANNA KARENINA Review

There is something magical about the way in which Joe Wright creates his films. There is a definitive eye for craft and a grand amount of attention paid to detail. It has resulted in some of the more beautiful shots of the last decade whether they be the glorious steadicam shot on the beach of Dunkirk in Atonement or some of his more subtle work in overlooked films such as Hanna or even The Soloist. There are moments in each of these films where you could simply sit back and marvel at the craft and skill being put into it rather than care about the story that is unfolding. In his latest effort, a retelling of Leo Tolstoy's meditation on love known as Anna Karenina Wright again enlists his muse for period pieces Kiera Knightley and takes us on a spectacle that may be his most beautiful film to date, but suffers from not having the emotional core that his other period pieces have contained. I am a huge fan of Atonement and have followed Wright's career since that film captured my heart. I was anxiously awaiting what the director would do having the opportunity to again venture into his comfort zone and while the results may not have been as spectacularly moving as I'd hoped there is no doubt this is a fine film. The acting is top notch and features an array of characters that all compliment the central theme in a way that writing seems to have lacked for some time. Adapting Tolstoy is no small task and Wright along with screenwriter Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love) have not only brought to life a story that likely didn't need to be told again but have condensed it so as to elicit a central idea, a study of an emotion, and the way in which it controls our lives with an unnerving direction.

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS Review

Expectations were slightly lowered for Rise of the Guardians after word of mouth began to get out, but I still held out hope for the film, not divulging in any full reviews as to why others were so disappointed as of yet. I can guess to what some of these complaints might be, but overall I was pretty thrilled with the experience the movie delivered, not to mention a fine amount of escapism and isn't that what animated children's films are generally for? There is a sense of, as one character puts it, wonder about the world in which the animators have created for these events to take place in. It is in these events though that the biggest let down comes a calling. Nearly everything about the movie, from the high-wattage stars doing the voice work to the wonderfully creative character designs and their humble homes is engaging and most importantly feels fresh yet it is the adventure the writers have given them to go on that feels all the more stale due to those standout qualities. Still, I liked the film enough to recommend it in that it serves its purpose and might, on any other year been a standout for its beautiful animation and character development but in the world we live in it has the unfortunate task of following up Wreck-It Ralph and that is a tough act to follow on any year. Where Ralph took the clever elements of its concept and turned them into a full fledged story committed to that world Guardians takes its grand idea and drapes it over standard action/adventure beats that have us knowing where these icons of culture are going before we really get to know them.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS Review

There is an energy to the Sherlock Holmes films that engages an audience member such as myself. It is not a dumbed down action film that takes itself too seriously, in fact the film had me laughing much more than I expected. This franchise is about style and Holmes has a lot of it even if he doesn't flaunt it. The way in which Robert Downey Jr. portrays the character seems to have no resemblance to the classic character of Arthur Conan Doyle's literature, but the characteristics that Downey does add, the kind of smooth talking eccentric is what makes the pairing of he and Dr. Watson so appealing. And that is indeed the highlight of this second film as much of the time and story is paid to the constantly changing relationship between Watson and Holmes. As was indicated in the first film, Watson is getting married and when it actually comes time for the ceremony in "Game of Shadows" it finally sinks in with Holmes that he will be somewhat losing his best friend. While this serves as a motivation for Holmes to cherish the sidekick he never showed appreciation it also makes Holmes detest the man who has designed an elaborate plan to disrupt the world by jump starting WWI. While some may not enjoy this Holmes as much as the first, the pure fact it positions Holmes against his greatest nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, is reason enough to see it. The fact director Guy Ritchie keeps the tone and style the same while capturing bigger and better action sequences on screen should also allow the film an approving nod from all fans of the series.

Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his sidekick
Watson (Jude Law) toast to Watson's upcoming wedding.

"Game of Shadows" drops the super natural element brought to the first film by villain Marc Strong in service of adding Holmes's greatest archenemy Professor Moriarty. Mad Men's Jarred Harris portrays the criminal genius with a flair of arrogance and grit that is smarmy yet inviting. As Moriarty, Harris is the right amount of indulgent villain with enough credibility to come off as the genius he is portraying The new film gives us Holmes coming to the aid of a fortuneteller (Noomi Rapace in her American film debut) who is threatened by Moriarty. He does this on the eve of Watson's wedding, somewhat luring the groom-to-be into killing two birds with one stone. The films compliment one another better than expected as at first we were led to believe Rachel McAdams Irene Adler would not be returning for the sequel, but as revealed in the opening moments she is of much importance to our story and Holmes' motivation to do away with Moriarty. This continuity funnily enough gave me a kind of peace over the series. In realizing the scope of the plot was much broader with this one than the first it also gave me the instinct this was a film in which everyone involved did seem to be trying. That seems more and more an important quality in these blockbuster films as they sometimes can be so rushed for release we see the affects on the quality, but I was nothing if not satisfied at the conclusion of "Game of Shadows".

Holmes and Watson team up with Madam Simza Heron
(Noomi Rapace) to protect her from Moriarty.

I have always enjoyed director Guy Ritchie's insight into the gritty underground world of England and how he brought that to the 19th century proved even more intriguing than I anticipated. The way in which he captures the tone with the films gray palette and Victorian set design with a lack of elegance is all the more engaging in terms of creating a world for these characters to exist in. I think the guy has a knack for pre-visualizing the film in his head and how it will play out. In all of his films, there are scenes of real innovation where editing is key, but the way in which it is shot compliment that editing style all the more. In the Sherlock films this proves true when Holmes envisions his battle tactics before they even happen. This innovation in style was a stand-out in the first film and those sequences continue in the second as the techniques to how the story is told are just as important to the story the film is telling. This is an important lesson that filmmakers should take note of, as Ritchie especially just seems to "get it". The down side of the second Sherlock though is indeed the execution of the story. Most problems seeming to come inherently from the script though. The film feels a bit long even at two hours and I was especially disappointed at the fact Rapace was not more prominently featured. While I appreciated the character development within our two leads it seemed to leave everything else as an afterthought. Even Moriarty (though his scheme was as crafty and epic as expected) seemed to have limited screen time.

Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris) has Holmes right
where he wants him, at least he thinks he does.

The overall effect didn't suffer as much as those previous sentences might lead you to expect though. As the film reached its second act it seemed to find its grounding and the pacing was much better allowing it to go out on a high note. In the end "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" was an entertaining thrill ride that in many regards improved upon the original. I was left with a fun, adventurous, feeling as the last frame of the film flashed on screen. It is simply good fun and it is clear Downey Jr. has just as much fun playing Sherlock as he does Tony Stark. That is what the attraction of these films really comes down to. That central figure of Downey and his sharp edged charisma pulls on the curiosity of viewers and what he has done and will continue to do with such a classic and iconic character. The pairing of he and Jude Law, whom I have failed to mention so far, is one of the better on screen pairs in recent years as well. I can at least hope that the final scene proves true and that the dynamics it has set up give us a possibly better scripted third entry in the series, but one that keeps the same amount of energy and effort going for it as these first two films. The way I see it, things can only get better from here.

 

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS Review

There is an energy to the Sherlock Holmes films that engages an audience member such as myself. It is not a dumbed down action film that takes itself too seriously, in fact the film had me laughing much more than I expected. This franchise is about style and Holmes has a lot of it even if he doesn't flaunt it. The way in which Robert Downey Jr. portrays the character seems to have no resemblance to the classic character of Arthur Conan Doyle's literature, but the characteristics that Downey does add, the kind of smooth talking eccentric is what makes the pairing of he and Dr. Watson so appealing. And that is indeed the highlight of this second film as much of the time and story is paid to the constantly changing relationship between Watson and Holmes. As was indicated in the first film, Watson is getting married and when it actually comes time for the ceremony in "Game of Shadows" it finally sinks in with Holmes that he will be somewhat losing his best friend. While this serves as a motivation for Holmes to cherish the sidekick he never showed appreciation it also makes Holmes detest the man who has designed an elaborate plan to disrupt the world by jump starting WWI. While some may not enjoy this Holmes as much as the first, the pure fact it positions Holmes against his greatest nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, is reason enough to see it. The fact director Guy Ritchie keeps the tone and style the same while capturing bigger and better action sequences on screen should also allow the film an approving nod from all fans of the series.