Oculus (Throwback Review)

Anyone who knows my taste in movies knows that I have very little enjoyment with modern horror films. Frankly, they bore me. We watch jump scare after silly jump scare, poorly explained plot points litter a lack luster script, and actors and actresses are forced to die in sexual or gore porn ways. Don't get me wrong - none of these tropes are necessarily bad, or not entertaining. But just like any other trope, they get lazy and tired. Oculus looked no different. 

Fortunately, it was. Oculus isn't a traditionally scary film. In fact, there wasn't any thing in it that made me jump or even really feel fear. But it made me feel creeped out. The film took some tropes of horror and turned them around. Instead of boring plot points to reveal forced emotional content about the spirits, it spends all of its time trying to simply find out what this evil mirror is, with no success. Instead of sexual related deaths that can only exploit the dead girls boobs in so many ways, it uses an admittedly sexy red head to be a strong voice of reason and knowledge, and uses very little death to emphasize the tragedy and brutality of the deaths at hand.

I also have to appreciate the lack of religion. In so many supernatural horror films, the immediate interpretation of spirits or supernatural is some form of christian demon. But here, the question pursued in the film what the mirror is. At no point is religious speculation brought into the picture. Even though it's flawed in its approach, the characters attempt to use the scientific method and experimentation to figure out what this thing is. It's really refreshing to see a plot line that leaves supernatural occurrences as just that - supernatural.

In addition, the movie treats women in a far more respectable light. In most horror, the girl is a big boobed dumby who can't do anything for herself. Admittedly, the girl is super hot. Fine. But her character is intelligent, devoted, and uncompromising. She has a lot of personality, and her sex appeal is quickly pushed to the side to develop her actual character. Her brother is another good character, somehow blending the line between ignorance and close-mindedness to a believable mix. The backstory is admittedly occupied by generic parent abuse stories, but this is to explain the characters motivations rather than this entity. So to me, it was a different style, and it worked fine. 

Oculus is far from perfect. It could have been a lot scarier, and it could have been a lot more catering to the modern horror fan base. But for me, there was a lot to respect in this new interpretation of horror. I loved the lack of jump scares, instead focusing on creepiness and elongated imagery to bring about feelings of unease and fear. I loved the treatment of women, letting our female character be the strong and smart one, protecting her brother from harm. And it was great to finally see a supernatural plot line focus around a non-religious interpretation. It was a good watch, and while I can't recommend it to average horror fans, I do think there is a lot to take away from this film.

Rank - 3.5/5

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Throwback Review)

Captain America is my favorite movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's exciting, clever, brilliantly scripted and wonderfully shot. I love the perfect changes it made to the universe to make the silliness actually work. I loved the interpretation by the entire cast, especially Chris Evans and Toby Jones. But there's no way that the sequel could be handled in the same method of story telling, the appreciative nod to WWII propaganda films. So what was the approach?

It was far more subtle than the first film, but this new movie takes on a pseudo spy thriller vibe. It's a lot less action, and a lot more revelation. But that's not to say there's no action. When it's there, it's exciting and vibrant. I couldn't help but in my mind appreciate it in the way I appreciate the action in The Raid. It's not all that dissimilar, amazingly enough. It's just as brutal, a similar lack of use of blood until it's necessary, letting his failures really ring through as failures, highlighting his humanity. 

But the film really serves as commentary for American surveillance. A necessary and poignant topic for a film today, and more importantly, perhaps setting up its own style the way the first based itself on propaganda film. 

Again, everyone in this film is great. This time, particular shout outs go to Sebastian Stan for his quiet, thoughtful performance as the films pseudo villain part anti hero. He was angry, but confused, dark but not by choice. It was a dynamic that I hadn't really seen from a character of this genre before, and it worked incredibly well. We also welcomed Anthony Mackie, who's role wasn't as significant as anticipated, but who had a great performance and energy on screen nonetheless. Not to mention a pretty damn cool trick. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier succeeds at surpassing its successor in so many ways. It brings an updated story poignant to todays current events to the minds of many viewers. Its cast only improves on their already fantastic performances, and the script only becomes more mature with its new themes and material. The action is just as campy, but also more organic and feels more real. This movie was a pleasure to watch.

Rank - 5/5

The Raid 2

There aren't too many movies that left me sitting in my chair shaking from excitement. The Raid: Redemption was one of those movies. It was a complete surprise for me, filled with crazy shootouts, awesome martial arts sequence and a tone that felt claustrophobic, like you were trapped. It was creepy, exciting, hilarious, and the perfect movie to put a smile on your face. If you're into martial arts and action, that is. It's silly. 

When I heard of The Raid 2, it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I wasn't expecting a rehash of the original, but I was hoping for a similar approach. And in some ways, it was there. In more ways, though, the movie was bigger, becoming less of a compact action movie and becoming a much larger crime epic. I liked it a lot, don't get me wrong, but I definitely missed the smaller scale of the first Raid film.

The Raid 2 picks up where the first Raid ended, only now having Rama going from being a rookie SWAT officer to being an undercover agent, infiltrating himself into a crime family in order to uncover police corruption. Already, the story is much larger. The original Raid focused on the SWAT team attack on a small building, resulting in the worst case scenario for a single cop. This sequel focuses on an entire city, jumping to many locations and tons of environments. The Raid was refreshing in its approach to keep interest with only one environment type. But the sequel manages to keep it interesting with generic appearing locations in constantly fun and silly ways - a night club, a kitchen, an office. It keeps you on your toes in the same way, but with more variety in its general simplicity.

The action is once again astounding. The film utilizes stationary camera positions to highlight the amazing fighting choreography, but also uses a new, quicker jumping style. It's fascinating that this style succeeds at what so many other action movies utterly fail at doing - keeping it easy to follow while still complimenting the choreography. At no point do you ever misread how moves were held or misinterpret the action. It's crystal clear, and it's an absolute joy to watch.

The Raid series is definitely not one for everyone. But for me, it's everything I miss in action movies. A story that's exciting, action to keep you on the edge of your seat, characters that you love for their brutality and style, just enough blood to keep it significant, but plenty for the gore lovers to really get into. It's just a brilliant movie. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.

Rank - 5/5

Muppets: Most Wanted (Throwback Review)

The Muppets have this amazing ability to make pop culture timeless. It's weird, isn't it? But they make popular actors and stars have unforgettable performances, and give them humor that will last for a long time. Clearly, I'm a fanboy. But The Muppets are a group that leave me expecting nothing less than a masterpiece. 

Is Muppets: Most Wanted a masterpiece? No, not really. It has its problems. It has some unfortunately gaping plot holes and some weird forced characterizations. It's music isn't nearly as memorable as the original film, and it's not quite as heartfelt or emotionally investing. What it lacks in emotional content it makes up for in zany comedy. 

That's not necessarily a blessing. Unlike the prequel, it feels like this film is REALLY aimed at children. It doesn't give its adult audience too much to feel smart about, unlike the first movie, which was packed with references to past film genres and tendencies, as well as a much broader sense of humor. I guess in some ways that's letting The Muppets get back to their roots. But in other ways, it hinders the movie from what I can see as its full potential, being something special for both adults and children.

The cameo's in this work as well as you could hope from any Muppets movie. Tina Fey is predictably brilliant, Ricky Gervais is pretty great too, managing to play a predictable bad guy, but a fun one nonetheless. My personal favorite cameo has to go to Ty Burrell, playing a hilarious French Interpol inspector working with Sam Eagle to track down the evil Constantine. But none of these cameo's had quite the punch they could have. Some of them played to the actors strengths, while others played to just having another cameo of a famous person. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. Tom Hiddleston's definitely worked.

Overall, there's not much to say about The Muppets: Most Wanted. This is a throwback review, and not much of the movie stuck with me. So I guess that really says it all about how I felt about it.

Rank - 2.5/5

Million Dollar Arm

Well there certainly is a trend starting, isn't there? Hollywood is spitting out movie after movie based around not only a sport, but the managing side of the sport. We saw Moneyball take in its successes thanks to amazing performances, a thoughtful script, and a cool direction style that kept the excitement of the sport with the suspense of the management. And that opened the floodgates for movies like Trouble With The Curve, Draft Day, and now, Million Dollar Arm.

There's only one way I can describe Million Dollar Arm - fluffy. Really really fluffy. There is never a sense of conflict or drama. At no point do I feel like there's even a minuscule chance of not succeeding. Every bit of conflict is almost immediately resolved with the fluffiest, happiest response imaginable. It's impossible to not have a smile on your face during this movie. But actually, that's what really bothered me. It wasn't only a lack of drama or suspense that did this. But the fluffy characters doing their fluffy things. We see the obnoxious racially insensitive cliche, the tight ass CEO type character who won't take no for an answer, the silly culture shock of a handsome American guy out of his comfort zone, the takes-no-nonsense love interest. It's not just that it's all been done before, it's that it's being done with a sense of pride and such joy at its cliche. It's simultaneously annoying and infectious. 

Jon Hamm is as likable as ever, I gotta give him that. Then again what else do you expect from him. It has to be said that he makes the most of this fluffy script. Obviously he's written to be constantly on the edge of failure, but we don't really get to see his failure. It's hard when you see a huge house and fancy car as "leftovers" from his previous fast-paced life. But this is a great opportunity to show sacrifices. Maybe a scene of him paying his bills. Maybe a scene of him finding something he needs, but being forced to take the significantly cheaper alternative. Why not show his struggle? It's hard when he's getting a fancy fast paced trip to India.

As for our Indian actors (both familiar faces from films such as Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi), they're both fine. But they're both forced to play almost parodies of themselves. We see forced comedic culture shock, both unbelievable and a bit annoying. We get it, they're not from here. Give them a little dignity in their education of American culture. It's particularly annoying from actor Pitobash Tripathy, an actor I am unfamiliar with, but who is forced to play an overly enthusiastic parody of Indian culture. It gets real old real fast. Although it should be noted that he has one of the most heartfelt speeches I've seen in recent sports movies. One that may or may not have brought a tear to my eye. 

Million Dollar Arm is an interesting movie idea with a whole heck of a lot of potential. But it's advertising as the "feel good movie of the summer" are certainly correct, to a fault. There is no drama, and there is no sense of urgency. It works at points, but fails at others. Still, I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me laugh.

Rank - 2.5/5

Godzilla

Well, it was sure as hell better than the Roland Emmerich one. 

I shouldn't need to explain Godzilla right? We all know who Godzilla. Even as a kid I knew Godzilla without watching a single movie. This movie changes a few things about Godzilla. First of all, apparently he likes humans? I don't know where this came from. Even in films where Godzilla fought along side humans, it was animalistic and based around a common enemy. This just becomes weird. Why is Godzilla protecting civilians from fire? What part of Godzilla does that? He should be animalistic, terrifying, like we should be worrying about his next move despite his support. It's made only stranger by the films explanation that Godzilla is a balancing force of nature, not a beast out to defend or even attack humans in any way. He simply is. He is a creature that exists, just as we are creatures that exist. I don't understand his motivation to protect people, or even his motivation to fight this "MUTO" monster. Is it solely to hunt? Then what the heck else has it been living on this whole time?

This MUTO feeds on radiation? This movie is trying to be so scientific, are we supposed to believe that radiation can be some strange form of sustenance? I don't know. It's Godzilla, I guess, but this movie tries to put so much emphasis on believability rather than embrace the Godzilla creature it's using that it simply doesn't work anymore. Heck, did you know that the Red Cross released a statement about how to approach a Godzilla attack? It was similar to the CDC zombie outbreak release, more based on general information than the actual idea of a monster attack. But the point is everything about this movie screams attempted believability. There is none. 

A lot of people are complaining about the complete lack of Godzilla and the forced human romance. Generally speaking, neither of these things bothered me. I like when movies take a human approach to unbelievable scenarios, and actually I liked that even though Godzilla wasn't shown for a while, he was only difficult to locate in the oceans, and then was easy to follow. None of this disappearing crap from the Emmerich version still fresh in my mind as a piece of garbage. But what did bother me was a complete lack of acting talent, save Bryan Cranston's amazing performance. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who I admire from his fun and passionate performances in the Kick-Ass films, is suddenly cold and emotionless, with no depth to his character besides the disaster-movie forced father and husband roles. We never learn his desires, we never learn who he is or why he is who he is. And that's annoying, considering we see his entire backstory. It feels poorly structure, a real cop out character. His wife is just as boring, never emoting anything beyond damsel in distress fear. Throw in some scientists that remind me far too much of the ones in MegaShark vs. Giant Octopus, and you have some pretty bland characters. A shame. If there's one place to really let the zany characters shine, it's in a Godzilla movie. Heck, I loved the characters in Pacific Rim.

Godzilla isn't bad. It's definitely better than the Roland Emmerich abomination. But it forgets not only what Godzilla is - a big bad killing machine that serves as a commentary for the fear of nuclear war, as well as a campy sci-fi money maker - but also what Godzilla could be, a cool fictional study on the worst case scenario of human nature and evolution. It isn't really campy enough, and it also isn't serious enough. It's in an awful middle ground, littered with uninteresting characters and a strange interpretation of the beast. I can't help but feel disappointed.

Rank - 1.5/5

Noah (Throwback Review)

I'm a rarity. I'm a person who both knows the story of Noah very well, having been raised a Christian, and yet is no longer a Christian. It leaves me in, what I see as, the best place. I can see this as a religious story of meaning as well as a film. I think it succeeds in both regards, actually very well. 

I have one general, sweeping problem with religious movies in general, and that problem is the inability to NOT believe. It sounds backwards, but what makes any religious movie suck is its forced perception that it is simple to prove that God exists. That is not the case. You can show me a million sunsets, a million births, a million miracles, and there simply is no proof that God exists. The beauty perceived in religion is from the FAITH that a god or gods exists. There needs to be a certain potential for the faithful to be wrong, or to see at least where the fear in belief would be. Noah completely succeeds at this. We never see God. We never hear or see any proof of a diety. We see miracles, however they're more in the realm of magic than God. Even these Watchers, fallen angels forced to live as stone golems for their days on earth, never really feel intrusive. To me, the atheist, they could be anything. In a world where the religion is final and yet never seen, they could be just as jaded as the people around them.

That raises another point. The biggest complaint I see from people about this film are the existence of these "watchers" for their lack of mention in the bible. The people making these claims are missing two points. 1) this film is about Noah, not God. It's about humanity and believability in a world where the religion is eventually proven true. 2) The watchers serve a purpose. They are not there to be controversial, they're not even there to make a stupid point. They're there to have a conceivable way to build the ark in the timely fashion mentioned in the bible. More importantly, they're a way to show no disproof of existence. You can't prove they DIDN'T exists. Just like we can't totally disprove the idea of Noah. No one was there. And to those who haven't seen the movie, this may or may not be a spoiler, but it's not like these golems could potentially leave fossils behind.

And that's where Noah succeeds. It makes not only a scenario as believable as possible given its outlandish circumstances. But it mostly succeeds with its characters. another point of contention for many a religious follower. To me, the obvious mistake with any religious movie is the lack of interesting characters. To make Noah not only human but actually a bit frightening in his resolve is interesting, and a very welcome interpretation. 

Noah isn't perfect. It has questionable scenes, pointless plot points, an overabundance of characters, and a bit of a heavy-handed characterization style. But it succeeds in what many movies of similar religious background fail at. It's an interesting, exciting, and well written story for the non religious. It puts my hopes for Ridley Scott's Moses movie, coming out later this are, very high!

Rank - 4/5

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Throwback Review)

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a marvel in what I consider to be some perfect film making. There's nothing quite like its sense of humor, blending the Wes Anderson style of humor both poking fun at characters as well as celebrities playing them, while mixed with a particularly dark vibe that leaves you laughing from discomfort. This movie makes you feel both happy and yet very, very uncomfortable with what you're watching. 

The film is told in a flashback, not from the narrator, but from the person being interviewed by the narrator. It tells the story of Zero Moustafa, a native of the fictional Republic of Zubrowka, who is training under the master concierge Monsieur Gustave H. to become the next great concierge. This head concierge is accused of murder, thought to have killed one of his frequent guests for the inheritance of a painting called "Boy With Apple", supposedly a painting of great wealth. So much wealth, that the family is enraged at his inheritance of the painting, and presses the charges. The story moves on in predictable fashion enough, becoming a movie where obviously everything goes wrong. 

But there's more to the film than that. There's a heart that makes it all believable, or at least so passionate that you desperately want to believe it to be real. The characters, even the detestable ones played by Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe, are a pleasure to learn about and watch. They add a level of a backward loving hatred, not unlike the love a child has for the villains in their favorite story books. The film, while mostly dreary in its own way to imply impending war, death, and sadness, is still colorful and vivid, as if a completely unforgotten memory, one with every detail still completely intact. 

There's no way for me to approach talking about The Grand Budapest Hotel without spoilers. It's like any Wes Anderson movie - a flavor that I just can't spoil for anyone. It's a masterpiece of filmmaking, one that you just can't forget experiencing. I can't see why you'd want to, anyway.

Rank - 5/5