OPPENHEIMER Review

Given Christopher Nolan accomplishes as much in-camera as possible there is very little left to the imagination in Oppenheimer. From the bomb to the billions of stars and even boobs, Nolan gives us everything that made J. Robert Oppenheimer (the J apparently stands for nothing) tick. Was he a neurotic loner who was also a womanizer? A cold-hearted physicist as well as a bleeding-heart liberal? That seems to be the case and maybe the best case for why Nolan’s historical biopic about the “father of the atomic bomb” is so successful: it seamlessly integrates these contradictions into the narrative surrounding the moment that set the course of humanity on a different trajectory. Nolan's trademarks are well-suited to the story of a(nother) tortured genius who faces the greatest moral dilemma - possibly in history - and must come to terms with both his ambition, understanding his actions, and eventually wrangling with his legacy as he sees it being maligned and he himself being exiled by those with real power. 

Though technically a biopic, Oppenheimer doesn't necessarily carry a weight of obligation to feel like a fully formed portrait of the titular man, but rather Nolan's focus and more importantly his technique add more thematic and worldly weight to the proceedings rather than simply amounting to a highlight reel of Oppenheimer's most notable moments. This is also a more roundabout way of saying Nolan moves through much of his subject's life at a breakneck speed, especially in the beginning as Oppenheimer goes from student to well-renowned physicist in a handful of scenes, with very little handholding, while still elegantly establishing what inspires, drives, and irritates his main character propelling us into the second - most electric - hour of the film.

THE LITTLE THINGS Review

In a genre where advancements in technology have alleviated many of the difficulties in getting answers to tough questions in criminal cases such progress has also forced writers to be doubly creative in their efforts to outwit the viewer when it comes to a good mystery and/or crime thriller. This may not wholly be the reason writer/director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks) turned to his twenty-eight year-old script for a film set some thirty years ago when looking for his next project, but as the film unfolds it begins to feel like one of the only reasons to justify re-visiting this story. It’s not that The Little Things is a bad movie. In fact, it’s quite an interesting one in terms of objective, but what it means to do and how successful it is at executing said intent are two entirely different things. There is real promise, real ambition in Hancock’s “too smart for its own good” approach to the screenplay that sees the filmmaker playing with the conventions of the B-movie crime drama and hoping to bring a real insight into the vastness of the world detectives inhabit rather than a single, insulated tale of good cops chasing down promising leads that inevitably lead to a successful capture. It wants to be about the lasting effects these cases have on detectives, the torture being unsuccessful can cause, but the idea becomes overshadowed by a million others as Hancock tries to convey his rather straightforward story of struggle through an overly complex guise; layers are needed sure, but to emphasize the point - not cloak it completely. Furthermore, this introspection as it were is executed in such plodding fashion that by the time interesting aspects concerning the core case do begin to introduce themselves the viewer is hardly invested in what’s happening...much less anticipating who might be the big bad wolf hiding under the covers. The Little Things is a film desperate to dissect obsession, guilt, and the aforementioned torture spurned by as much. It means to tackle these generationally as the symptoms go hand in hand no matter the changing times: when it's your responsibility to prevent people from becoming victims, from becoming less than what their shells present what is it that can heal your soul and your self-esteem should you fail? These are interesting questions albeit ones that have naturally been explored before in plenty of genre flicks from the time in which this is set, but again - despite the good intent - the meaning can't help but get lost in the sluggish translation of the narrative. The Little Things is never not intriguing, this much is true, but given the depths it seeks to explore it shouldn't be nearly as forgettable as it is.  

First Trailer for NO TIME TO DIE Starring Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig is back for presumably the final time as Agent 007 in MGM and Universal's No Time to Die, the 25th film in the long-running British action-spy franchise. While this production has experienced more than its fair share of turmoil, with original director Danny Boyle leaving over unspecified “creative differences,” Craig injuring himself during a stunt and another crew member sustaining injuries during an explosion at Pinewood Studios, this first trailer would show no signs of such trouble to the general moviegoer as it looks both visually and thematically arresting. Directed by Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) from a script by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Scott Z. Burns, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as well as Fukunaga himself, the film sees Bond having left active service for a couple of years while attempting to enjoy a tranquil life in Jamaica. This peace is short-lived though, when old friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission is to rescue a kidnapped scientist, but of course this naturally turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.    Rami Malek, fresh off his Oscar win for Bohemian Rhapsody, will embody the new Bond villain while Lashana Lynch is a new MI6 agent that has seemingly risen to the top of filling the void left by Bond.  And while that synopsis may sound rather routine as far as James Bond films go once it begins to play out in the trailer-especially given the narrative connections the Craig films have maintained-it is difficult to deny the charm and intrigue of the world as No Time to Die, at first glance, seems to have tapped into how to perfectly balance the classic tropes and trademarks of a Bond film while also moving the franchise ever so elegantly into present day. No Time to Die also stars Léa Seydoux, Ana de Armas, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz and arrives in theaters on April 8, 2020.

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Review

It's not what you say, it's how you say it. It is this common expression that the rather simple and safe interpretation of the story of Queen that Bohemian Rhapsody tells might have benefited from remembering. In a nutshell, Bryan Singer and Dexter Fletcher's biopic covers the early years of Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and Roger Taylor's (Ben Hardy) band just before it recruits lead singer Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) and becomes known as Queen up through their 1985 performance at Live Aid that is considered one of the greatest performances in rock history. This is all well and good and makes sense for the arc of the band during its peak time of popularity, but within this arc Anthony McCarten's (The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour) screenplay never digs deep enough for audiences to really catch a glimpse of what actually defined Queen as a group or what made them, as a unit, so willing and trusting in one another to the extent they'd each be willing to bet everything on the titular song being a hit despite the fact a senior A&R exec with more experience than all of the members of Queen combined doesn't believe it to be. Of course, this is where one would retaliate with the, "fortune favors the bold," phrase that is also used in the movie and I'm not saying the members of Queen were wrong or stupid for doing this-obviously they weren't-or that the A&R exec was right-obviously he wasn't-but what I am saying is that Bohemian Rhapsody, the film, never gives the audience reason to trust in the word of Mercury, May, Taylor, and bassist John Deacon (Joe Mazzello) over this more experienced character outside of the fact it presumes the audience knows the story and music of Queen well enough to just go with it. And that's exactly what Bohemian Rhapsody does the majority of the time: it simply asks the audience to "go with it" as it rotates through the band's greatest hits and gives the expected beats of their meteoric rise, the inner tensions and turmoil that come with fame and notoriety, the distance that naturally grows between Mercury and the rest of his band mates, and their eventual reconciliation that leads to a triumphant return. It's all here, but the real disappointment with the story of Queen in particular is that it has so many unique variables and perspectives that this predictable pattern of the music biopic could have been used purely as a template while the actual style and substance of what was being communicated could have been fulfilled in more creative and effective ways. Instead, Bohemian Rhapsody is unapologetically "fine" and will largely be remembered for finding an excuse to play so many great songs on theater quality sound systems.

Movies I Wanna See Most: Fall 2018

The fall/winter movie season is always one of those times of the year where it seems there's so much to do and so little time. I've always attempted to find a balance between big-budget and indie fare rather than dismiss the blockbusters and only adore the smaller, more intimate movies and vice versa. That doesn't mean I'm necessarily more excited for Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 than I am something like Suspiria, but rather that I'm interested in both for very different reasons. While neither of those titles will be on my list I would place each of them just outside my top fifteen along with the likes of the sure-to-be juggernaut of this holiday season, Marry Poppins Returns, and the likely to be overlooked The Hate U Give from director George Tillman Jr. Elsewhere, there is your typical festival fodder like Beautiful Boy, The Favourite, Boy Erased, and Mary Queen of Scots that I'm certainly interested in seeing, but not necessarily overly excited for as I feel as if I kind of know what I'll be getting myself into with each of these (except for maybe the Yorgos Lanthimos experience), but am more than happy to take a chance and spend some time with them as any given movie could come out of nowhere and blow you away; if attempting to watch as many new releases as I do each year has taught me anything it is this.

There are two movies in particular that I had a difficult time grappling with whether they should go on my list and furthermore, where they should go on my list if I were to include them, but ultimately they didn't make it and I'm still not sure if that was the right choice or not. First is Jonah Hill's directorial debut, mid90s, which tells the story of a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop. I think Hill will probably have a rather distinct voice and good handle on conveying his own screenplay given the sheer amount and vast variety of creative people he's worked with, but the subject matter isn't something so near and dear to my heart that I find myself aching to see it. And then there is the first film from writer/director Alfonso Cuarón since Gravity earned him a Best Director Oscar five years ago. Cuarón's two hour and fifteen-minute opus that chronicles a year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s wuill have its festival run, but is set to largely premiere to a wide audience on Netflix in mid-December. This may be the smarter route financially, but the anticipation of such an event and/or return can't help but to feel a little undercut by the knowledge that in my region of the country it's unlikely I'll be able to experience Roma on the big screen. All of that said, you won't find the likes of Bumblebee, The Mortal Engines, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, or that new Robin Hood movie on my list, but like I said, I'm by no means opposed to unabashed blockbusters as is evidenced in my number ten pick...

Official Trailer for BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Starring Rami Malek

The second and official trailer for the Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, has been released by 20th Century Fox ahead of its early November release date. The film, which has a hell of a development history seemed destined to have some production troubles as well and those came in the form of original director Bryan Singer (X-Men, The Usual Susapects) being fired from the gig due to tensions with his star, Rami Malek, and his apparent lack of regard for punctuality. Eddie the Eagle director Dexter Fletcher was brought into complete the film, but now it has been finalized that Singer will in fact be the credited as the director on the picture though I can't imagine he's had any say in the final cut of the film. It's a weird road, no doubt, and as much as I would have loved to have seen the Freddie Mercury-centric film that Sacha Baron Cohen would have liked to have made this latest clip along with the first teaser trailer for the film have more than piqued my interest in Malek's performance. Malek certainly looks the part and if you've seen any of the behind the scenes video that puts on full display how well he's been able to mimic Mercury's movements during the Live AID performance, but while I'm all in on any kind of music biopic I have to wonder how much of this will indeed be focused on Mercury and how much of it will put equal stock in the remaining band members given they were seemingly given their way when Cohen stepped away from the project. The text cards during the trailer itself certainly seem to play up the fact this is ultimately Mercury's story and as Singer is an out and proud gay man I assume the film will find a respectful, but honest way to discuss Mercury's own sexuality as well as his fast descent into sex, drugs, and the rock and roll lifestyle that came to too quick an end in 1991 when Mercury died from AIDS. Regardless, what comes to pass-whether it be a masterpiece or a dumpster fire-will certainly hold a fair amount of intrigue up until its release and likely even through to some if not every aspect of the finished product. Bohemian Rhapsody also stars Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, Lucy Boynton, Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee, Joseph Mazzello, Allen Leech, Aaron McCusker, and opens on November 2nd, 2018.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB Review

I'm a big Frat Pack fan and always have been. The juice has long since run out on their heyday and I can admit that, but even still it is nice to see a few of them get back together every now and then even if it's for another installment of Ben Stiller's big family franchise. These films are harmless and if they're good for anything it's the excuse to see Stiller and Owen Wilson on screen together again. As much as I'd love for the likes of fellow Frat Packers to show up in this kind of movie, playing different historical figures that might place Paul Rudd as Lancelot, Will Ferrell as one of the ancient Greek statues, Jack Black as one of Attila's huns, Steve Carell and Vince Vaughn as a few of the neanderthal's while Luke Wilson would be the easiest of the bunch by adding in another cowboy to help Jedediah and Octavius (Steve Coogan), I know it will never happen, not at this point. No, at this point it would only feel like a last resort of types as even Stiller returning to this franchise five years after Battle of the Smithsonian feels a little desperate in the sense he needed something guaranteed. I can remember walking into the original (at the age of nineteen) with a sense of excitement still, not only for why Stiller might have chosen this obvious family entertainment as his next project, but for the inherently interesting premise that came along with it. It was a film fine for what it was with a fair amount to offer in return. It was obvious from the beginning what it was positioned to be and it achieved those goals, clearly, as now eight years later we are talking about the third film. Still, with this third and presumably final chapter in the story you can feel the sense of obligation to it all. There isn't a natural energy to it, but more a forced sense of fun in that it was a rush job to capitalize on the holiday season and the fact if another year went by it really would be too late to make another one. You can feel the strain of time on Stiller in particular as he can't seem to commit enough again for us to not see through his trying facade. It's not so much that it feels like movies such as this have lost there wonder, but of course the fact I have lost my wonder for movies such as this. My only hope when I see a film such as Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is that it reinstills the wonder I found as a child in these make-believe adventures, but that wonder was in limited supply here.

First Trailer for NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB

It seems every other year or so Ben Stiller retreats to one of his reliable franchises as a means for a hit in between doing the "one for him" project that is hit or miss given his track record as of late. After last years mild directorial success with the quiet Christmas day opening of Walter Mitty Stiller has retreated for one last trip to the ol' museum as he heads to London. As these things go it seems the only way to unlock the mystery around the tablet that started all of this and save the magic it possesses is to travel to the British Museum. I can remember taking my youngest brother to see the original Night at the Museum during the holiday season of 2006 and being eight years removed from that film as well as five from the suitable follow-up that failed to make much of a stir I can only imagine there wasn't much of a desire for this film. That said, I also remember really enjoying the first film for what it was and Battle of the Smithsonian was more of the same with the added bonus of Amy Adams and Hank Azaria. If there will be anything remotely surprising about this third entry I imagine it will be seeing what new historical characters the film adds, but the highlight of the trailer is Rebel Wilson taking over Jonah Hill's bit from the second film. The trailer also gets some good laughs out of a caveman that resembles Stiller and the majority of the cast seems to be returning, so hopefully this can be taken as a good sign with good meaning good fun if not necessarily substantial storytelling. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb also stars Robin Williams, Dan Stevens, Ben Kingsley, Ricky Gervais, Rami Malek, Steve Coogan, Owen Wilson, Patrick Gallagher, Mizuo Peck, Bill Cobbs, Dick Van Dyke, and Mickey Rooney and opens on December 19th.

NEED FOR SPEED Review

The first trailer for stuntman turned director Scott Waugh's sophomore effort, Need for Speed, hinted at something more than your typical video game movie; it was orchestral and well put-together with pedigree and something slightly haunting, solemn and meditated about its approach to the unexplainable infatuation people can have not just with cars, but with danger. What the final film actually feels like though is a slick pop confection with good intentions, don't get me wrong, but whose lyrics are nothing but vapid and a chorus that is completely forgettable. I don't play video games at all and despite the fact the Need for Speed gaming franchise is one of the most successful of all time I can't help but feel like this flick missed the bandwagon and is coming around at least ten years too late. This would have been another fine-enough companion piece to the phase that gave us Torque, Biker Boyz, Stallone's Driven and of course the original Fast and Furious title. Still, even the F&F movies aren't really about street racing anymore and even if they were the only incarnation of that series this seems to have taken any note of would be the fourth with its dry plot points and inability to build the right kind of tension or drama and that is the least favorite for most fans of the series. Waugh has a good eye, his shots are nicely put together and if nothing else the film looks spectacular, but even with this kind of compliment comes the stipulation a film about ex-cons, street racers and cross-country road trips that include outrunning the police at every turn shouldn't look as "nice" as the film makes them out to be and certainly not as clean as these guys are able to maintain. It simply all feels a bit forced, a bit strained and the audience can sense that. There is a line in the film where Imogen Poots character, Julia, says to Aaron Paul's Tobey Marshall that she understands that driving fast is necessary, but driving like a maniac is not and especially with the intention Paul's character has in mind. I only wish first-time screenwriter George Gatins would have followed some of his own advice and allowed the fast driving to guide the script rather than indulging in the presumed wants of the audience and delivering action for its own sake rather than allowing it to drive the narrative.

SHORT TERM 12 Review

Short Term 12 is a slice of life dramedy that will suck you in immediately and have you engulfed in the world of its timid characters that are doing nothing more than trying to do their part to make a difference in the world with an approach that truly means something to them. This film is one of those rare cases where I walked in knowing little to nothing about what I was going to experience, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a well balanced tone of what mirrors real life the closest. None of us live completely within the bounds of these genres that Hollywood has so conveniently put together so as to garner massive audiences for each one that cater to the dominant attitude one might carry. Despite the fact humans generally tend to gravitate towards specific personality traits or uncontrollable factors that determine how they are perceived the majority of us live a life filled with moments of equal highs and lows. Granted, this range of emotions is usually reserved to be explored in the smaller, less expensive films that tackle more singular subjects and therefor may have a more narrow audience looking for it, when they are done well they can likely appeal to whoever stumbles upon them and it seems Short Term 12 has the potential to have that appeal. Writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton has expanded his 2008 short film of the same name into feature length form and in doing so has given himself room to explore the devastating effects of what mental, physical and sexual abuse have on children and not just in the immediate aftermath but years and years on when you would hope the victim might have been able to look past and move on. It is as much an enlightening and inspirational film as it is a heart wrenching and extremely personal documentation of the individuals who have experienced such disgusting encounters and have had to grow and learn to adapt in a world that often times expects them to get over it without ever being able to accept the fact they might live what most of us would call a "normal life". With a strong script and some purely exceptional performances Short Term 12 turns out to be one of the more affecting films of the year that has probably been seen the least.  

First Trailer for NEED FOR SPEED

As a non-video game player as well as someone who didn't see director Scott Waugh's previous directorial effort (Act of Valor) I really have no excitement or anticipation when it comes to the big screen adaptation of Need for Speed. The one intriguing factor here is the cast. With Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul heading it up there is a certain amount of intrigue in how the actor will fare with big budget material and a leading man status while his supporting cast is made up of Dominic Cooper (seemingly hamming it up as the baddie) Kid Cudi, Imogen Poots and Michael Keaton. These guys alone would likely pique my interest in a flick, but the trailer is surprisingly eloquent for a movie based on a video game about flashy cars and loud engines. Given, this is merely a teaser and we don't know if the entire film will mirror the tone of the trailer, but it would be interesting to see the film go in a completely different direction than everyone was expecting. While the cars are certainly there and the footage rivals a Fast & Furious flick there is clearly more drama at play here. The story will follow Paul's low-key mechanic who is framed by Cooper's character for manslaughter. This somehow leads to underground racing tournaments that no doubt play a large role in the resolution of this film. Consider me interested, but not necessarily excited. Need for Speed opens in theaters on March 14, 2014.

AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS Review

There is a simple elegance to writer/director David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints. After letting it ruminate overnight I was hoping that it might come to lend a more powerful or lasting effect on me, but instead what I've come to realize more than anything is that it is little more than an exercise in poetry. Alluding to more than just what is on the surface by allowing those images or certain words to take us back to something more personal or more profound than what we see for on screen. There are times that this works for the film and other times we are left simply wondering what the point of it is that made such a story worth telling. I went into the film knowing little about plot or character and having only seen one trailer a few months ago I'd long forgotten what exactly I was in store for. Needless to say, the film fits very well into that southern gothic genre that has retained good word of mouth lately mainly due to the career renaissance Matthew McConaughey is having that brought us the likes of Killer Joe, Bernie, and Mud. These settings and off-kilter tone mixed with the aesthetics of Winter's Bone and recent Terrence Malick pictures give us what is essentially a movie drenched in style and extremely aware of the time and place it exists in. I make these comparisons not to say that Lowery is ripping these people off, but that he is drawing on some inspirational works and has crafted a well executed film himself that while being just as beautiful if not moreso than some of the aforementioned films it simply doesn't pack as much of an emotional punch. I enjoyed the film, I was interested in it throughout, but I never felt as if I really cared about these people. You could bring up that this might be the fault of the actors which isn't fair as that could have just as much been due to the direction they were given, but everyone is in fine form here. It is one of those cases, and they are the worst kind, where everything seemingly comes together just as it is supposed to and on paper looks completely right yet there's no real soul. It will be hard to argue with some Ain't Them Bodies Saints has no soul, but it doesn't strike that nerve it should have until too late in the film and by that point I didn't care as much as I should and the poignancy had been lost.