MARRIAGE STORY Review

"She's a mother who plays. Really plays."

"I listen. I play. I put in the time."

The first line occurs very early in Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story while the second comes later-after much change has occurred in the lives of the characters speaking these lines. These lines come from two different characters, but they represent equal recognition of this intangible, but truly difficult quality to possess. It is in this simple connection-this acknowledgement in an admirable sense-that we know from the beginning no matter how ugly things get between Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) that they will somehow be mature enough to find those lasting connections, those things that transcend their own relationship, that will allow them to find a common ground not only for the sake of their child, Henry (Azhy Robertson), but for the sake of their continued love story-even if the romance of that love lapsed long ago.

Marriage Story is in fact a love story, but a love story told through the lens of divorce that takes these two people we come to know on a very precise and personal level that we then watch fall further and further away from one another. The rigmarole of divorce turns things into a very impersonal process overrun by other people's opinions and agendas leaving Charlie and Nicole to ultimately find a way to figure things out on their own...doing so through that kernel of a connection the viewer trusts remains between them. Of course, said connections are more apparent to the viewer as some of Baumbach's best writing and directing moments here come when we see either of the two leads true emotions come to the surface outside of the presence of their former partner; each of them becoming what they needed to be for themselves and for one another while they were married after the fact.

TOY STORY 4 Review

Toy Story 4 is necessary. Know that first and foremost, that not only is Toy Story 4 a necessary addition to the franchise that launched Pixar, but a meaningful one as well. One wouldn't be at fault for thinking the animation studio has been somewhat off its game over the past few years as it turned into a sequel factory of sorts and churned out entertaining enough diversions to more creatively satisfying original films as that's kind of the fact of the matter save for the occasional Inside Out or Coco. Since Toy Story 3 in 2010 Disney and Pixar have released ten films counting this latest Toy sequel and of those ten films six have been prequels or sequels. These have all been of a certain quality, mind you-as even the third Cars film allowed Pixar's most underwhelming franchise to go out on more of a high note than not-and yet, Toy Story 4 feels like the true return to form the studio needed and that audiences were waiting on. With original creative mastermind John Lasseter only credited as a story contributor among a barrage of other contributors it was up to screenwriters Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL-E) and Stephany Folsom to crack the story as Inside Out screenwriter and frequent Pixar voice actor Josh Cooley was tasked with his feature directorial debut being the fourth installment in this consistently excellent series. No easy task, but to circle back to the beginning of this review is to reiterate that the most difficult obstacle to overcome with a fourth Toy Story film would be that of justifying its existence. Toy Story 3 ended in such a way that it not only wrapped up the story of these toys and the child they'd belonged to for as long as either of them could remember, but it gave closure to those who'd grown up with the first two films and were now transitioning into adulthood themselves. Almost another decade later and the characters of this world are as endearing as ever with Stanton and Folsom's narrative zeroing in on Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) as he learns that being in charge doesn't always mean being in control. While there were seeds of doubt as to whether or not Cooley and the gang (ah thank you) could find what more there was to be said with these characters and this world, what transpires in Toy Story 4 ultimately provides the necessary comfort to the truth spoken by Toy Story 3; if that previous film eased the transition from adolescence to adulthood then this latest (and presumably final?) film discusses how one adapts to their new role in a mature and positive way.

Official Trailer for Disney & Pixar's TOY STORY 4

First and foremost, while I'm sure Toy Story 4 will feature plenty of new characters that can be sold as toys and plenty of new incarnations of old characters that can be re-packaged for sale in support of this fourth film, there is a strange kind of respect for making your new, seemingly co-lead character a spork with googly eyes and pipe cleaner arms that parents of pre-schoolers can bring home on the daily. Disney, Pixar, and the Toy Story brand are each worth more money than I can comprehend and it would seem that to reach such heights would only garner more greed and more ways to try and increase said wealth and stability, but then they go and make what feels like a purely financial move in green-lighting a fourth Toy Story movie after the third film rounded the trilogy out so perfectly all the more pure by placing at the center of it a toy any young boy or girl regardless of economical status can make for themselves. It's surely a calculated corporate move in some regard, I have no doubts, but it's also kind of *nice*. Still, it's easy to admit that when that final reel of 2010's Toy Story 3 finished rolling it seemed there was no better or more poignant way to complete this trilogy that had begun some fifteen years earlier, spanned my childhood, and revolutionized animation as we knew it. Over the nearly twenty-five years now that Pixar has been in power they have become increasingly more reliant on sequels to the films that originally made them that powerhouse. No matter how much I wished for Pixar to keep that book closed though, it was always something of an inevitability that we'd get another chapter in the Woody and Buzz saga. In this fourth chapter a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang on a road trip that reveals how big the world can really be for a toy. Pixar vet Josh Cooley makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Stephany Folsom and Will McCormack (Celeste & Jesse Forever). Toy Story 4 features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Keanu Reeves, Patricia Arquette, Joan Cusack, Annie Potts, Wallace Shawn, Laurie Metcalf, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Jodie Benson, John Ratzenberger, Tony Hale, Blake Clark, and opens on June 21st, 2019.

MAGGIE'S PLAN Review

Maggie's plan is a little bit of a gimmick and that is to say the plan that our titular character comes up with and not the film itself. Despite the credentials of the cast and creators what we get in this new film from writer/director Rebecca Miller (The Ballad of Jack and Rose) is something akin to a Noah Baumbach picture (and therefore, by default, a Woody Allen picture) with more of a plot device to drive the characters rather than that of an engaging premise. The titular plan though, as gimmicky as it can sometimes feel, isn't the star of the movie and thus is what saves Maggie's Plan from completely discrediting itself instead allowing it to turn into the insightful, funny, and rather poignant piece it always seemed destined to be based on those aforementioned credentials. When it comes to smaller, independent features that focus largely on intellectuals and their need to create drama and conflict so as to drive their own creativity most can be pretentious without holding any actual water no matter how compelling or precise the dialogue. Maggie's Plan walks this line skillfully, beginning as a film that would fall squarely into the genre of "artists supposedly making great art based on their own lives that we now find appealing because we're watching a movie about them," but somehow manages to become more about the characters than the thickening plot that is driving them. It's a very "movie-like" set-up for a movie that doesn't feel as artificial as said set-up. That isn't to say Maggie's Plan should be one thing because it seems like it should be (a talkie indie drama), but that it turns out it very much does want to be a certain type of thing (a talkie indie drama) as well as a few other things (a screwball/melodrama) that makes the final product feel forced if not still mostly coherent. As stated earlier though, it is not the plotting or even the sometimes strained dialogue that is the driving force behind the film, but rather the people who begin as archetypal academics and are humanized due largely to their ideas and self-awareness (or lack thereof) to such an extent that by the end of the film it's easy to forgive the bipolar tone their movie carries.

THE DOUBLE Review

I'm all for attempting innovation and being abstract and I understand to a certain extent I feel what director Richard Ayoade was trying to do here, but that it just isn't all that compelling and thus the reason I found it to be so dull. In fact, I felt like the whole time I was watching Ayoade's sophomore effort that I'd already seen this film and to much better and more engaging effect last month with Enemy. I liked his previous effort, 2010's Submarine, fine enough but never found it to be anything substantial or anything that moved me or left a mark in any way, but the idea alone of watching Jesse Eisenberg and his two distinct but recognizable personas go at it throughout the course of a film was intriguing enough on paper that to see it come to fruition must be an interesting experience to say the least, but as The Double rolled on and it became more and more evident that I wasn't going to be able to pick up what Ayoade was laying down I became all the more disappointed in myself strangely enough because unlike with Under the Skin, I truly feel like I'm missing something here, that Ayoade is such a clever, witty and intelligent individual that I must be missing a point or metaphorical reason he chose to convey this simple story in such an unconventional manner. Sure, I could applaud him for being daring and different in the way that he constructs his own world and his own society and his own rules in which that society functions that is just different enough from ours to be weird and the people act just weird enough in conjunction with the world that it all seems a little out of left field, a little uncomfortable and because of that I appreciate it rather than look down upon it because, well, at least he's trying. The fact of the matter is though, and I said this with Under the Skin also, is that trying to be different and actually accomplishing something original are two completely different things and whether it simply be because I enjoyed the style and tone that director Denis Villeneuve employed on Enemy more than that of Ayoade's here I felt that Enemy accomplished that level of uniqueness to greater effect than what The Double leaves you with because in all honesty I walked away from The Double with nothing more than a headache full of questions. Why did I stick the film out if I only saw it crashing and burning the moment I realized it wasn't going to be my cup of tea? Maybe to prove I can appreciate the academic, open mind of an artist and at least try to draw some meaning from it, but instead I was left cold with nothing to ponder and no questions that burned.

ADMISSION Review

Admission is something of a lazy movie. There is no energy about it, no zeal that ever gets you too excited about watching it, but worst of all is the fact that these boring attributes make us not care for the characters in the story. If I'm telling the truth I kind of had that feeling about the film from the beginning. It felt slightly rushed, a small almost indie film that just had too big of movie stars in it to escape the glow of mainstream marketing. Thus is born the only solid reason I can find in getting behind this film: those movie stars. When you have someone as charismatic as Paul Rudd and as appealing as Tina Fey in a movie together, and for the first time no less, it is easy to get excited. They are both actors with great comedic personas and are figures many feel relatively easy to relate to. That small percentage that seem to "get it" and have a quirly way of perfectly putting into words why they are smarter than everyone else while the outside world continues to fall apart despite their observations that seem obvious and are always funny. They are almost elitists without coming off as assholes who think they're better than everyone else. Those personas usually suit them well and have made them the bankable names they are today, but all of that charm and wit is nearly absent from this flick as only the rare smile finds its way onto your face when that true comic ability shines through the stilted characters these guys have been burdened with playing. That may all sound a little harsh and as if I'm harping on the actors, but they are the only reason to really see the film unless you are just super interested in the college admissions process. Other than that the script features mommy issues and a forced romantic angle that the movie would have become better without. I liked the film well enough because I like the people involved, but I don't care to ever see it again as doing that would be more effort than it feels they put into making this film.