John Wick Review

3.5 Stars

 

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) used to be a hit man for the mob.  He retired when he met the right girl and left that life behind.  Before she died from cancer, she left him a gift: a puppy named Daisy.  That puppy was all he had left from her, and it was the only thing keeping him from going over the edge and back to the dark side.  One night, some punks who wanted to steal his car picked the wrong guy to "set off" as the posters claim.  We quickly learn two things: first, those punks weren't just average punks, they were connected to the Russian mob in New York City; and second, Wick wasn't just a hit man, he was the Russian's top hit man who single-handedly took out the competition.  The Russian mob boss, Viggo (Michael Nykvist), calls in every available reinforcement to handle his son's blunder.  His son says he isn't afraid of John Wick.  Viggo corrects him saying, "You should be."  Judging by the trailer, Viggo will need all the reinforcements he can find and that still won't be enough in this dark, action-packed revenge thriller.

 

  This movie delivers everything the preview claims it will deliver and once again Keanu Reeves has picked the perfect movie for his acting abilities.  The dialogue is limited and there are some good one-liners throughout, but most of it is action.  The only criticism I can make, that I noted in my preview, is that some of the gun fights are a little unrealistic.  Wick has been out of the scene for 5 years now and makes some comments throughout the movie that he is "rusty" when he shows up at places with some battle wounds.  Yet, when it comes to the gun fights, his aim is dead on perfect while his opponents couldn't hit water if they fell off the Titanic in the middle of the ocean.  

When Viggo is telling his son about John Wick, he tells the story of a Russian folklore character called the Boogeyman.  His son laughs at the idea of Wick being that man and Viggo tells him that Wick is worse, he's the one you send in to kill the Boogeyman.  There are two important lessons about being John Wick.  First, as I mentioned before referring to the posters for the movie, "don't set him off".  And these unapologetic punks do just that.  The second lesson is don't burn your bridges.  In sprite of what John Wick was and what he did, he made some powerful allies and lived by a certain code that helped him many times throughout the movie.  It's this code that is more powerful than money that kept Wick alive and helped him to exact his revenge.

I predicted 3.5 stars and I'm going to keep that rating.  The preview perfectly sets you up for precisely what the movie is.  Like Liam Neeson in Taken or Sylvester Stallone in Get Carter, Reeves is the perfect actor to portray John Wick and is believable and enjoyable in the role.  It is extremely violent and graphic, but it is also fun and humorous at times.  My friend, Nick, feels this is one that should definitely be purchased for a home collection.  I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I do think it was worth the price of admission in the theatre and one I would readily watch again when it is available for rent.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

John Wick Preview

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) used to be a hit man for the mob.  He retired when he met the right girl and left that life behind.  Before she died from cancer, she left him a gift: a puppy named Daisy.  That puppy was all he had left from her, and it was the only thing keeping him from going over the edge and back to the dark side.  One night, some punks who wanted to steal his car picked the wrong guy to "set off" as the posters claim.  We quickly learn two things: first, those punks weren't just average punks, they were connected to the Russian mob in New York City; and second, Wick wasn't just a hit man, he was the Russian's top hit man who single-handedly took out the competition.  The Russian mob boss, Viggo (Michael Nykvist), calls in every available reinforcement to handle his son's blunder.  His son says he isn't afraid of John Wick.  Viggo corrects him saying, "You should be."  Judging by the trailer, Viggo will need all the reinforcements he can find and that still won't be enough in this dark, action-packed revenge thriller.

We've seen movies like this before.  Taken starring Liam Neeson in 2008 was about a retired CIA agent who's skills came in very handy in recovering the thugs that kidnapped his daughter in Europe and attempted to sell her into prostitution.  Get Carter starring Sylvester Stallone in 2000 was about a Las Vegas mob enforcer looking to avenge his brother's death in Seattle.  Payback starring Mel Gibson in 1999 was about an ex-marine crook who was betrayed by his wife and co-bandit taking.  Some were done better than others, but they all have some common elements.  

One-liners are a must.  They're either funny or serious, but they are defining moments of the movie.  One of them was already revealed in the trailer for John Wick when he says, "People keep asking me if I'm back.  Yeah, I'm thinking I'm back."

Another common trait is really accurate shooting from the one guy we're rooting for and a lot of really bad shooting from the myriad of guys trying to kill the guy we're rooting for.  I say the guy we're rooting for instead of good guy because, in movies like these, the guy we're rooting for isn't always the good guy.  The better ones carefully choreograph these scenes so you are left impressed with "our guy" and not laughing at a non-intentionally funny moment in the movie at the ridiculous plausibility of his out-gunning his enemies.  When "our guy" is surrounded by six combatants who are armed and ready to shoot with their finger on the trigger, he shouldn't be able to take them all out with six single shots without taking a shot himself.  

Finally, really good hand-to-hand fights that are believable.  Yes, these are all highly trained fighters, but they are all retired.  Like the gun-fights I just described, the hand-to-hand scenes need to be just as intricately choreographed to leave us clenching our fists victoriously sharing in the glory of the moment rather than throwing our open hands in the air proclaiming, "Um, what?!"

Keanu Reeves isn't the best actor.  I don't think I'm alone in my assessment of his abilities, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.  But I think Reeves also knows his place in the halls of acting greatness and chooses his roles accordingly.  That being said, in spite of his acting short-comings, he has been in several movies that I and millions have enjoyed without walking away proclaiming Reeves deserved an award for his part in the film.  Street Kings, the Matrix movies, the Replacements, Devil's Advocate, Speed, Point Break, and obviously Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure are ones that would fall under that category.  Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining without an Oscar-worthy performance from Reeves.  However, other movies suffered with Reeves as part of the cast.  Dracula, Much Ado About Nothing (fortunately a very small role), the Watcher, and the Day the Earth Stood Still are some that would fall under that particular category.  I'm hoping John Wick will be more like the first list than the latter.  

From the previews, I have no doubt this will be one of those well-done action-packed movies with some memorable one-liners we'll all be quoting long after we leave the theatre.  It looks thoroughly entertaining though not something we'll be surprised about not being nominated for best picture, best acting, or best script.  I'm predicting 3.5 stars for John Wick: worth the money in the theatre, probably rent again, but might not make it to my home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Her Review

3.0 Stars 

 

Her stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore, a writer who is going through the final stages of a divorce.  Theodore delves deeper into playing video games and escapes into the latest technological gadgets to occupy himself.  When he hears about the OS1, the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, he has to have it.  Theodore is quickly taken in with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), the voice of OS1.  He falls for the voice in his electronic box and Samantha falls for him as well.  This creates a whole new world of problems for Theodore that he never imagined, but it also opens his eyes and his heart to things he never felt before.

In the preview, Her portrays Samantha the OS1 as a computer with a personality.  She is heard telling Theodore that it's 5am and asks if he would like to try to get out of bed on time in a playful way.  She also takes the liberty of reading his emails and inquires about his recent divorce which leads to questions about love and marriage.  The preview also shows two other women in Theodore's life: Catherine (Rooney Mara) and Amy (Amy Adams).  Although it isn't clear from the preview, it seems Amy is the supportive, encouraging and understanding friend where Catherine is the condescending and judgmental sister to Theodore.  At least that's what I gathered from the clip. Actually, Amy is a good friend who is in a loveless marriage.  She fully supports Theodore in his pursuit of love, no matter who or what he finds it with.  Catherine is actually his ex wife.  They have fallen out of love because Theodore wanted all the romance with none of the reality of an actual relationship.  She thinks it silly that Theodore has fallen for a computer, but also admits that it makes sense.  

Her is nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture of the Year and Best Original Music.   Though none of the actors in Her were nominated for their performance, Phoenix should have been.  While Theodore struggles with relationships with humans, he still greatly desires love and affection.  One sleepless night, he calls an adult chat line.  The call is erotic in nature and quickly turns bizarre as the female on the other line wants him to choke her with a dead cat.   Theodore purchases a new personalized Operating System called the OS1.  Immediately after installing it, he is asked a couple questions about his personality and voila, the OS1 is online.  Upon asking OS1 its name, the voice replies Samantha.  She comments that she gave the name to herself because she liked the sound of it.  Due to her team of programmers, she understands sarcasm, humor, anger, sadness and quickly "feels" them for herself.  They grow together and fall in love.  Because of his relationship with Samantha, Theodore finds the strength to finalize the divorce with Catherine.  Eventually, Theodore's relationship with his OS1 meets the same fate as the one he had with Catherine; however, after losing Samantha, he is able to truly let go of his past relationships and his own past and face the future.

While I think Joaquin Phoenix might have been overlooked for an Oscar nomination for his performance in this movie, I don't think Her is deserving of the Best Picture of the Year.  I thought it was a unique story and well told and very well acted, but I felt the story was slow and honestly boring at times.  It was both sad and heart-warming and was not a "happily ever after" tale of love.  Just because someone has a new and fresh idea doesn't mean it's the best of all the films out there and I felt that Her fell short of other movies that deserve the recognition.  I gave it 3.0 stars.  I didn't think it a waste of money, but I'm not anxious to see it again and it will not be making it to my home collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Her Preview

Her stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore, a writer who is going through the final stages of a divorce.  Theodore delves deeper into playing video games and escapes into the latest technological gadgets to occupy himself.  When he hears about the OS1, the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, he has to have it.  Theodore is quickly taken in with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), the voice of OS1.  He falls for the voice in his electronic box and Samantha falls for him as well.  This creates a whole new world of problems for Theodore that he never imagined, but it also opens his eyes and his heart to things he never felt before.

In the preview, Her portrays Samantha the OS1 as a computer with a personality.  She is heard telling Theodore that it's 5am and asks if he would like to try to get out of bed on time in a playful way.  She also takes the liberty of reading his emails and inquires about his recent divorce which leads to questions about love and marriage.  The preview also shows two other women in Theodore's life: Catherine (Rooney Mara) and Amy (Amy Adams).  Although it isn't clear from the preview, it seems Amy is the supportive, encouraging and understanding friend where Catherine is the condescending and judgmental sister to Theodore.  At least that's what I gathered from the clip.  

Her is nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture of the Year and Best Original Music.   There are a couple of things that are of concern immediately for me.  None of the actors in Her were nominated for their performance, but it seems like Phoenix should have been, judging from the brief preview.  The movie is rated R which normally isn't that alarming except it earned the rating partially for sexual content and brief graphic nudity.  I really hope that doesn't imply Theodore and his OS1 having a sex scene.  However, Phoenix is usually reliable for a solid performance, I love Amy Adams in everything she does, and it's a unique idea for a movie.  Hopefully all the elements come together for a most enjoyable and touching movie.  I'm predicting a solid 4 stars, something well worth the price of admission and likely to make my home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Dallas Buyers Club Review

3.0 Stars

Dallas Buyers Club is based on the true story of an electrician / rodeo bull rider Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) and his unlikely campaign to spread awareness and provide comfort and medicine for those who contracted AIDS.  The story is set in Dallas in 1985 where Woodroof works hard and plays even harder, drinking, smoking, abusing illegal drugs and having casual sex.  After seeing a doctor after a work-related injury, Woodroof is informed he has the AIDS virus and is given a month to live.  At first, his ignorance and bravado prompt a defiant denial.  Once he comes to terms and accepts the facts, he refuses to accept that there's nothing he can do.  He does whatever he can to find treatments to at least prolong his life.  In the process, he befriends and helps others who are afflicted with AIDS, others he would normally have nothing to do with.  He dances dangerously between two worlds: the public world in which he provides assistance and medicine, and the private world trying to stay hidden from the FDA and authorities.  

Dallas Buyers Club has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Matthew McConaughey) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jared Leto).  Leto has been nominated and won dozens of awards for his role as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.  Rayon is a cross-dressing prostitute who starts as Woodroof's business partner and ends up his friend as Woodroof's greedy nature evolves into compassion.  When hospitals refuse to give Woodroof any treatment for his AIDS because the medicine has not been approved by the FDA, his investigation leads him to Mexico.  There, Woodroof concocts a scheme to make a lot of money by smuggling the experimental medication into the United States and distributing the drugs to those who need it.  In an effort to evade the FDA, Woodroof starts the Dallas Buyers Club and sells memberships, not drugs.  The drugs just come with the membership.  At first, this is just a way for Woodroof to prolong his own life and make some money in the process.  Somewhere along the way, he finds himself compelled to actually fight for the right of those with the AIDS virus to obtain treatment and to be treated not only for their illness, but also as human beings.

 

 The movie is exactly what the preview proclaims it to be: the story of Ron Woodroof dealing with contracting the AIDS virus, fighting with hospitals that are handcuffed by the FDA as far as what treatments they are allowed to administer, fighting with the FDA which is less concerned about actual treatment and more concerned about profit, and fighting with stereotypes about those who have contracted the virus.  It's a sad story, it's upsetting, and it was brilliantly acted by McConaughey and Leto who definitely deserve the Oscar nominations they have received.  But I don't feel the movie itself is worthy of the nomination for best picture of the year.  I felt is was slow and boring at times in spite of the outstanding acting performances.  I gave it 3.0 stars as I don't feel it was a waste of money, but I'm not excited to see it again and this won't be making it to my personal collection.  I'd say it's a good renter or matinee in the theatres.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Dallas Buyers Club Preview

Dallas Buyers Club is based on the true story of an electrician / rodeo bull rider Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) and his unlikely campaign to spread awareness and provide comfort and medicine for those who contracted AIDS.  The story is set in Dallas in 1985 where Woodroof works hard and plays even harder, drinking, smoking, abusing illegal drugs and having casual sex.  After seeing a doctor after a work-related injury, Woodroof is informed he has the AIDS virus and is given a month to live.  At first, his ignorance and bravado prompt a defiant denial.  Once he comes to terms and accepts the facts, he refuses to accept that there's nothing he can do.  He does whatever he can to find treatments to at least prolong his life.  In the process, he befriends and helps others who are afflicted with AIDS, others he would normally have nothing to do with.  He dances dangerously between two worlds: the public world in which he provides assistance and medicine, and the private world trying to stay hidden from the FDA and authorities.  

Dallas Buyers Club has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Matthew McConaughey) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jared Leto).  Leto has been nominated and won dozens of awards for his role as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.  Rayon is a cross-dressing prostitute who starts as Woodroof's business partner and ends up his friend as Woodroof's greedy nature evolves into compassion.  When hospitals refuse to give Woodroof any treatment for his AIDS because the medicine has not been approved by the FDA, his investigation leads him to Mexico.  There, Woodroof concocts a scheme to make a lot of money by smuggling the experimental medication into the United States and distributing the drugs to those who need it.  In an effort to evade the FDA, Woodroof starts the Dallas Buyers Club and sells memberships, not drugs.  The drugs just come with the membership.  At first, this is just a way for Woodroof to prolong his own life and make some money in the process.  Somewhere along the way, he finds himself compelled to actually fight for the right of those with the AIDS virus to obtain treatment and to be treated not only for their illness, but also as human beings.

Though this movie takes place nearly 30 years ago, it tackles themes of racism and homophobia that are just as relevant and prevalent today.  While it might be easy to dismiss the topic of AIDS because the treatment and prevention have made so many advancements since the 80's, and while it might also be easy to dismiss the topics of racism and homophobia because perhaps the viewer has never directly been impacted or affected by such ignorant hatred, the masterful writing and powerful performances by McConaughey and Leto will touch anyone with a soul who watches Dallas Buyers Club.  Granted, I'm basing that assumption from watching the preview for the movie and basing that presumption on the awards this film and these actors have been nominated for and already won.  But this looks like an inspirational and emotionally moving film that I'll want to see again and add to my personal collection.  I'm predicting a solid 4.0 star rating of this movie.  Am I right?  We shall see. 

The Wolf of Wall Street Review

4.0 Stars

The Wolf of Wall Street stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a Long Island stock broker who served 3 years in prison for his part in defrauding investors in a securities scam in the 1990s. The Wolf of Wall Street is nominated for five Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director (Martin Scorsese).  This is DiCaprio's fourth acting Oscar nomination.  This is Scorsese's ninth nomination.  He won the Oscar for his direction of the 2006 movie The Departed, which was another all-star ensemble cast including DiCaprio.  This would be the fifth time Scorsese and DiCaprio have teamed up for a blockbuster hit.

Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) began working on Wall Street when he was 22 years old.  His first day with a broker's license was tragically October 19, 1987, also known as Black Monday, when the world's stocks plummeted and Belfort lost his job.  Desperate for work, he finds success for a firm called Investor Center.  With his newly acquired wealth and a few of his friends, he leases out an empty garage and starts his own firm, Stratton-Oakmont.  Their continued success gains the attention of the financial world and the FBI.  Forbes magazine dubbed Belfort as the "Wolf of Wall Street". His goal was to make more money than he and his friends knew what to do with.  Throwing lavish parties and spending ridiculous amounts of money, not only were Belfort's trading practices shady and illegal, so were his methods of hiding his money from the federal government.  His world of family, friends, parties and drugs eventually come crashing down around him. 

The preview for The Wolf of Wall Street just barely gives you a glimpse into the seedy world of finance that is a breeding ground for complete and utter debauchery and total lack of self-control or inhibition.  On Belfort's first day on Wall Street, he is taken to lunch by senior partner Mark Hannah (Matthew McConaughey) who snorts cocaine, drinks  martinis and talks about sexual gratification openly with Belfort.  Belfort innocently declines the drugs and booze and naively suggests that making money for their clients in the process of making money for themselves would be a good thing.  Hannah quickly shuts down that idea and says it's only about making themselves rich.  Within months, Belfort is in a strip club, doing enough daily drugs to sedate Manhattan, and drinking excessively.  He is making so much money that he snorts a line of cocaine off his desk at work with a hundred dollar bill, crumples the bill and tosses it in a waste basket full of them.  He comments that he made forty-nine million dollars last year and that upset him because he was three million shy of a million a week.  He is constantly with different women, cheating on both of his wives.  He is constantly cheating investors out of their money and training his staff to do the same.  This film is graphic and disturbing.  I laugh briefly but am quickly nauseated to remember that this actually happened, and probably still happens in the world of finance among those who care for nothing than to have more money than they know what to do with.  I don't care to watch it again and it will not be making it into my personal collection.

So why the 4.0 star rating?  Because that's exactly what the movie aimed to do.  It isn't glorifying this behavior.  It's bringing it into the spotlight.  It shows how dark and ugly riches can make people.  And co-star Johah Hill understood that fully when he took on the role of Belfort's co-founder and best friend Donnie Azoff.  "It was understood going in that there was no holding back.  Every day we were doing something crazy, and it's fun and exciting working for Scorsese, and then when I'd be driving home at the end of the day, I'd feel a wave of guilt come over me because I treated people so badly that day."  And Hill was just playing a role.  Playing a character.  Except these aren't just fictional characters in someone's mind like a psychopath in the mind of Stephen King.  These people actually exist and they actually don't have those moments of guilt or remorse for the things they've done or to whom they were done.  While the FBI was investigating Belfort and his company, none of his co-workers ratted on anyone, giving the FBI no information at all that could help with their investigation.  They presented Belfort with enough evidence that suggested he could go to prison for 20 years to life if he refused to cooperate. In exchange, he would only serve 4 years.  He agrees to wear a wire, but slides a note to Azoff alerting him to the fact they were being recorded.  The FBI recovers the note and arrests Belfort with no more deals.  However, once he tells them everything he knows, his sentence is reduced to a mere 3 years in a facility where he is seen playing tennis daily.  Belfort went on to write a best-selling novel about his experience about which this movie was written, he had a guest appearance in the movie, and is currently giving salesmanship seminars.  It's disturbing that our financial and our justice system allow and encourage this type of behavior while the hardest working people can barely get by. 

Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio give amazing performances and effectively portray the slimiest dirt bags you could possibly imagine.  To me, however, it's just sad that even in bringing about such evil to light, the performances and film themselves are rewarded with nominations for the best of the year.  Maybe I'm just getting too old and maybe I'm just a prude, but this seems a bit like showing criminals on the news.  Yes, it gets ratings, but it also gets them what they want: their moment of fame.  In fact, the story of criminality continues for the real Jordan Belfort.  He was paid $1.045 million dollars for the rights to his book.  According to the government, only $21,000 of that went to repay his victims.  In 2003, he was ordered to repay $110.4 million dollars to his victims.  He has only paid back $11.6 million.  Though it doesn't glorify the behaviors, The Wolf of Wall Street does still show that you can cheat people and make yourself filthy rich, if you don't mind the filthy part.  And, even if you get caught, if you have enough money to start with, you'll still end up much better off than most people.  So, I reluctantly give 4.0 stars to this disturbingly graphic look into the world of Wall Street.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

The Wolf of Wall Street Preview

The Wolf of Wall Street stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a Long Island stock broker who served 3 years in prison for his part in defrauding investors in a securities scam in the 1990s. The Wolf of Wall Street is nominated for five Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director (Martin Scorsese).  This is DiCaprio's fourth acting Oscar nomination.  This is Scorsese's ninth nomination.  He won the Oscar for his direction of the 2006 movie The Departed, which was another all-star ensemble cast including DiCaprio.  This would be the fifth time Scorsese and DiCaprio have teamed up for a blockbuster hit.

Jordan Belfort began working on Wall Street when he was 22 years old.  His first day with a broker's license was tragically October 19, 1987, also known as Black Monday, when the world's stocks plummeted and Belfort lost his job.  Desperate for work, he finds success for a firm called Investor Center.  With his newly acquired wealth and a few of his friends, he leases out an empty garage and starts his own firm, Stratton-Oakmont.  Their continued success gains the attention of the financial world and the FBI.  Forbes magazine dubbed Belfort as the "Wolf of Wall Street". His goal was to make more money than he and his friends knew what to do with.  Throwing lavish parties and spending ridiculous amounts of money, not only were Belfort's trading practices shady and illegal, so were his methods of hiding his money from the federal government.  His world of family, friends, parties and drugs eventually come crashing down around him. 

From the preview, this looks like another huge success for the DiCaprio and Scorsese team.  The Wolf of Wall Street boasts a cast of stars including Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Favreau, and even a cameo from the real Jordan Belfort.  The film looks disturbingly hilarious.  What I mean by that is that the performances, the writing, even the plot will make you laugh, until you pause for a second to realize this actually happened.  For Belfort, it didn't matter if his clients made money, only that he did through any means possible.  Those of you who know me, know I'm not the biggest DiCaprio fan, though I am a fan of nearly all the films he's been a part of.  This looks like it will be no exception.  I looks like an unsettling, sad, and funny look into the dark side of Wall Street with great direction and star-studded contributions from Hollywood's who's who.  I predict a wild entertaining ride, though a long ride as this film is just shy of three hours long.  I'm predicting a 4 star rating which means this should be well worth the money in the theatres, something I'd watch again, and has a decent chance of making it to my home video collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Gravity Review

3.0 Stars

 

Gravity is the harrowing tale of the survival of brilliant medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in space.  This is Stone's first mission to space and Kowalsky's last before retiring.  While out on a seemingly routine spacewalk, tragedy strikes.  Debris from a nearby Russian satellite that has just exploded destroys their ship and the space station, killing the rest of the crew and leaving Stone and Kowalsky drifting away by themselves.  

This looks like a combination of Apollo 13 in which astronauts were trapped inside their damaged shuttle and Open Water in which two scuba divers are stranded in shark infested waters with no land in sight.  Gravity appears to be the worst of both of those scenarios; however, for me, it failed to truly capture the sense of desperation.  The film starts with about a ten minute continuous shot of Dr. Stone (Bullock) working on updating a satellite in space while Kowalsky (Clooney) is maneuvering around the satellite and the shuttle.  The cinematography is brilliant as the camera captures shots of the earth, of deep space, of Dr. Stone, of the shuttle and of Kowalsky.  The crew is alerted that the Russians have destroyed one of their own satellites with a missile and debris is heading their way.  Although the movie opens with the notes that sound does not travel through space, for dramatic effect, we hear the debris screaming past the astronauts and the ship being torn apart. The debris sends Dr. Stone and Kowalsky hurdling through space.  They are separated and Dr. Stone has no way to stop herself from floating away.  Though we spend a few minutes tumbling frantically with her, it seemed Kowalsky was able to track her down rather quickly and they both made their way back to the shuttle to assess the damages.  Upon arriving at the ship, we learn that Dr. Stone and Kowalsky are the only two survivors.  Peering into the wreckage of the shuttle, silently alone in space, the bodies of two other crew members killed in the accident come floating towards Dr. Stone and the silence is broken up with sharp and loud music heightening the terror of discovering the dead bodies.  Sometimes I feel that less is more and that the horrified reaction of Dr. Stone alone would have been scarier than the manipulated fear the accompanying music tried to create.  Gravity has been nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Original Music, but I felt that the music actually took away from the movie rather than complimented it in many parts of the film.

After realizing their shuttle is completely destroyed, Dr. Stone and Kowalsky make their way to the International Space Station where they will hopefully use one of the pods to make their way back to earth.  Dr. Stone is running low on oxygen and Kowalsky keeps her talking to keep her calm and conserve her oxygen.  But he also has a problem as his jet pack is running low of propulsion fuel.  Once they make it to the ISS, Kowalsky quickly realizes, they both won't be able to make it and one of them must go forward without the other.  He sacrifices himself and she enters the ISS.  I know that he is a professional astronaut and makes the smart decision to allow Dr. Ryan to continue, but I felt the scene was just a little too quick and emotionless again failing to create the sense of Dr. Ryan's situation getting more and more desperate and hopeless.  Once inside the ISS, Dr. Ryan realizes the boosters on the remaining escape pod have been damaged and she appears to be trapped.  She quickly gives up on herself and shuts down the oxygen supply to her ship.  Miraculously, Kowalsky reappears claiming he was able to find a little more juice in his jet pack to make it back to her and reminds her that there's still a way to power the escape pod enough to make it to a nearby Chinese satellite which should still have an escape pod to make it to earth.  It turns out, predictably to me, that the Kowalsky return is a hallucination, but it's enough to prompt Dr. Stone to give it another shot.  She resupplies her pod with oxygen and makes her way to the Chinese satellite.  There is, indeed, a remaining pod and she's able to use the pod to safely return to earth.

The movie is only an hour and a half long.  With so many movies often eclipsing the two hour length, it seems that a few more minutes of excruciating and awkward silence could have been added to some scenes to create the feeling of hopelessness and futility of the situation.  I felt there was always hope and always a way out for Dr. Ryan.  I was disappointed with the use of musical accompaniment to create emotions when I felt the situation by itself would have achieved the effect much more successfully.  I felt the long continuous shots of the astronauts in space were ground-breaking and gorgeous.  My only complaint about that would be the times when water splashed on the camera lens.  This is a technique used sometimes in movies to create the effect that you, the viewer, are right there in the middle of the action.  However, in a 3D movie, the water on the lens just created a blurry distraction.  I felt that Sandra Bullock gave an incredible performance.  I can see why she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, but I will have to see the rest of the nominees before deciding if she is the worthy recipient.  Ultimately, Gravity fell short of my expectations which is why I gave it 3 stars.  It was worth the money to see it, but I probably won't see it again and it won't be making its way to my personal collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Gravity Preview

Gravity is the harrowing tale of the survival of brilliant medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in space.  This is Stone's first mission to space and Kowalsky's last before retiring.  While out on a seemingly routine spacewalk, tragedy strikes.  Debris from a nearby Russian satellite that has just exploded destroys their ship and the space station, killing the rest of the crew and leaving Stone and Kowalsky drifting away by themselves.  

This looks like a combination of Apollo 13 in which astronauts were trapped inside their damaged shuttle and Open Water in which two scuba divers are stranded in shark infested waters with no land in sight.  Gravity appears to be the worst of both of those scenarios.  The film is nominated for ten Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director (Alfonso Cuaron), Best Leading Actress (Bullock), and Best Visual Effects.  The creative team that worked on Gravity have also worked on the visual effects in Batman the Dark Knight, Avatar, Superman Returns, several of the Harry Potter movies, Transformers, Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan, just to give you an idea of why this might be nominated for an Oscar in this particular category.

This is a tough film to preview since we really aren't given too much to go on by the trailer.  The astronauts are on a routine spacewalk, their ship is destroyed, and two of them are left floating in space.  It sounds absolutely terrifying and the brief clip definitely does its job well making me want to rush to the theatre to see what happens.  We already know the movie should be visually stunning, so I will be seeing this in 3D.  The rest of it, well that will be up to the two stars of the film, Clooney and Bullock.  And they are both wonderful actors.  This is Bullock's second Oscar nomination for Best Actress.  She won her first Oscar for her performance in The Blind Side. Clooney has been nominated for eight Oscars and won two of them, Best Film for Argo with Ben Affleck and Best Supporting Actor for his role in Syriana.  Clooney was not nominated for an Oscar in Gravity.  This is the first time Clooney has worked on a film with his longtime friend Bullock.  They almost had a chance fifteen years ago, but Bullock lost the leading part in Out of Sight to Jennifer Lopez.  This has all the makings of another movie that terrifies you without and blood or violence or even a villain to root against.  I predict 4 stars and that Gravity will be worth the money in the theatre, a movie I'd love to see again, and one that has a good chance of finding a home in my personal collection.  Am I right?  We shall see. 

Captain Phillips Review

4.0 Stars

Captain Phillips is the harrowing tale based on true events that transpired in 2009.  Tom Hanks plays Captain Richard Phillips aboard the cargo ship Maersk Alabama that is taken over by Somali pirates lead by Muse (Barkhad Abdi). According to Director Paul Greengrass, the film is "simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization". 

Captain Phillips is nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Barkhad Abdi who was apparently a limousine driver with no acting experience or aspirations of becoming an actor before landing this role. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.    Tom Hanks won the Oscar for Best Actor in Philadelphia and in Forrest Gump.  Hanks is not nominated for an award in Captain Phillips, nor is he nominated for his leading role in Saving Mr. Banks, omissions that are raising eyebrows amongst movie-goers. 

The first twenty minutes of the movie is spent introducing us to our principle characters.  First, we meet Captain Richard Phillips (Hanks) as he prepares for his flight to Oman where he will captain the cargo ship Maersk Alabama to Kenya.  He is meticulously making sure he has his passport and itinerary and everything he will need for the trip.  Once on board the ship, he continues with his attention-to-detail routine and inspects the Alabama.  Meanwhile, in Somalia, we see vans with armed mercenaries driving to a coastal village where the local Somali pirates are awakened and commanded to go out to sea to get more money for their "boss" Garaad who is displeased with their lack of production.  Immediately a group of villagers gather at the shore begging to be selected to assist in the work, not unlike the lines that formed in America in the 1920's depression era.  After the crew is picked, they head out in speed boats to find their victim.  It was interesting to be able to see these pirates humanized.  I went into the movie already hating them for what they did before even watching the film, but the film does a good job of forcing you to identify with their desperate situation.  I didn't like them, I didn't root for them, but I found myself understanding them more and not hating them as much as I had anticipated.  

The rest of the film, I was holding my breath.  From the first attempt the pirates made to approach the ship, to their second and successful attempt to board the ship, to the search for the hiding crew members, to Captain Phillips being taken hostage, to the negotiations with the military, to the attempts by US Navy SEAL Team 6 to rescue Phillips, I found myself finally taking a breath about the same time Phillips finally broke down after his eventual rescue.  Hanks gave another Oscar-worthy performance though his name is missing from this years' list of best actors.  I can only assume this was due to the fact that they can only nominate so many people and the reasoning behind it must have been that he has won before and will probably win again, so give someone else a chance this year.  Regardless, Hanks was spectacular. And though I enjoyed the film, I don't see Captain Phillips winning the Best Film Oscar for which it was nominated.

There are really no surprises in the film.  Reading comparisons between the first-hand accounts of what transpired from the crew and what eventually made it's way into the movie, Captain Phillips is pretty close to accurate in many regards.  The preview tells you exactly what will happen: a Somali pirate band take a cargo ship hostage.  But I still found myself completely engulfed in the story and emotionally exhausted by the end.  I raised my star rating from 3.5 to 4 full stars mostly due to Hanks' performance.  This movie was definitely worth it's money.  Though it may or may not ultimately find a home in my personal collection, I could easily see paying to see it again.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Captain Phillips Preview

Captain Phillips is the harrowing tale based on true events that transpired in 2009.  Tom Hanks plays Captain Richard Phillips aboard the cargo ship Maersk Alabama that is taken over by Somali pirates lead by Muse (Barkhad Abdi). According to Director Paul Greengrass, the film is "simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization". 

Captain Phillips is nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Barkhad Abdi who was apparently a limousine driver with no acting experience or aspirations of becoming an actor before landing this role. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.  Director Paul Greengrass is not nominated for Best Director and is best known for his shaky hand-held camera style of directing in the Jason Bourne Trilogy starring Matt Damon and for his post Iraqi search for weapons of mass destruction in Green Zone also starring Matt Damon.  No, Damon does not make an appearance in Captain Phillips.  Tom Hanks won the Oscar for Best Actor in Philadelphia and in Forrest Gump.  Hanks is not nominated for an award in Captain Phillips, nor is he nominated for his leading role in Saving Mr. Banks, omissions that are raising eyebrows amongst movie-goers. 

One quiet day at sea, Captain Phillips notices two small watercraft approaching his cargo ship quite rapidly.  Uneasy about the situation, he calls it in to the Coast Guard who don't seem too concerned and believe the boats to simply be fisherman.  Phillips alerts his crew and tells them to hide as he and his top assistants fail to keep the Somali pirates from boarding the ship.  After failing to locate the rest of the crew, the pirates demand that those hiding on the ship reveal themselves or the Captain and other ranking officers will start being executed.  Things get even more intense when the military arrives on the scene and the standoff escalates between Phillips and the pirates.  Director Greengrass has done a great job directing action thriller movies in the Bourne Trilogy and also in directing politically moving work in Green Zone.  This looks like another edge-of-your-seat thriller that leaves you asking, "Does this really happen?" Add that to what looks like another amazing performance by the talented Tom Hanks, and I predict Captain Phillips to get 3.5 stars: worth the money spent and has a decent chance of making it into my personal home movie collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.