Arrival Review

3.5 Stars

The answer to "Are we alone in the galaxy" has been answered in Arrival as a dozen mysterious spacecraft land in various locations across the earth.  The government brings in linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and physicist Ian Donnely (Jeremy Renner) to attempt to communicate with whatever might be inside.  She and her team must find a way to discover the truth of their intentions as the world prepares for the possibility of global war.

The preview showed two different sides completely sure that their interpretation of the situation is correct.  The government and military are convinced that the aliens are here with the intent to destroy while Banks believes they are not our enemy.  Making contact with the aliens inside the pods is not a difficult task as they have made themselves available to the human race through an opening in the pod.  Once inside, they are separated by a protective barrier, presumably due to atmospheric restraints, but they are able to see and hear each other.  The humans rely on pen and paper while the aliens have a sort of squid ink technology coming from one of their appendages that form shapes.  Banks is able to interpret the shapes and starts the slow process of communication that will hopefully reveal their intent.  She is told they are out of time and that action must be taken.  So she does, but it isn't what the military had planned. Those promoting the film promise a surprise ending that will have viewers talking for quite a while after the movie is over.

There have been plenty of alien movies throughout the years.  While some portray them in a peaceful light (E.T. the Extraterrestrial, StarMan, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Cocoon), others show a very violent side to the visitors (Independence Day, Cowboys & Aliens, The War of the Worlds).  Regardless of their intent, it is always a terrifyingly unknown situation and the residents of planet Earth are immediately frightened at the catastrophic possibility rather than optimistic.  While Arrival isn't of the variety of blockbuster explosions that made some of the alien movies into hits, it does deliver a gripping and fascinating drama.  

 

I'm a huge fan of Amy Adams.  She is joined by Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in what I anticipated to be a very well executed alien film on all fronts: special effects, acting, drama, original story, and intensity leaving you breathless at the end. Well, it didn't exactly leave you breathless . . . more like confused, especially if you haven't read the story on which the movie is based.  I gave Arrival a very hopeful and optimistic 4 Star prediction, but I've knocked that down slightly to 3.5 stars.  Much of the movie had confusing flashbacks that led to revelations of communication with the aliens.  But those confusions only made me more excited to see the big wow ending we were all promised.  At the end, I was even more confused as it was no longer clear if the visions Banks had were memories or premonitions.  And instead of saying, "Woah, did that just happen?!" I sat there saying, "Wait, what just happened?!"  I definitely need to watch this again, but I thought Adams and Renner gave wonderful performances, the special effects were perfect, it was original, but I think it missed the ball on driving the whole point home at the end with clarity.  Some I've talked to have commented that the book is much more clear and would help make more sense of the movie.  I'll be watching this at least one more time; and, who knows, the second time around might tip the scales to me wanting to own Arrival in my personal collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Arrival Preview

The answer to "Are we alone in the galaxy" has been answered in Arrival as several mysterious spacecraft land in various locations across the earth.  The government brings in linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is brought in to attempt to communicate with whatever might be inside.  She and her team must find a way to discover the truth of their intentions as the world prepares for the possibility of global war.

The preview shows two different sides completely sure that their interpretation of the situation is correct.  The government and military are convinced that the aliens are here with the intent to destroy while Banks believes they are not our enemy.  She is told they are out of time and that action must be taken. So she does.  Against their orders she does something drastic that will either prove her case or lead to catastrophic results.  We can speculate that she offers herself up to the aliens in order to communicate with them, though it's not completely clear from the preview.  Those promoting the film promise a surprise ending that will have viewers talking for quite a while after the movie is over.

There have been plenty of alien movies throughout the years.  While some portray them in a peaceful light (E.T. the Extraterrestrial, StarMan, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Cocoon), others show a very violent side to the visitors (Independence Day, Cowboys & Aliens, The War of the Worlds).  Regardless of their intent, it is always a terrifyingly unknown situation and the residents of planet Earth are immediately frightened at the catastrophic possibility rather than optimistic.  While Arrival doesn't show the blockbuster explosions that made some of the alien movies into blockbusters, it does look like a gripping and fascinating drama.  And I'm a huge fan of Amy Adams.  She is joined by Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in what I'm anticipating to be a very well executed alien film on all fronts: special effects, acting, drama, original story, and intensity leaving you breathless at the end.  I'm giving Arrival a very hopeful and optimistic 4 Star prediction.  I believe it will be well worth the money in the theatre and one that I'd like to watch again and perhaps even own.  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.

Trouble With The Curve Review

Trouble With The Curve is the story of an aging baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) and his estranged daughter (Amy Adams).  Eastwood plays Gus Lobel who has been a successful baseball scout for decades, but his age and lack of embracing new technology, his employers are starting to question if he's still got the gift.  Gus is threatened by rival scout played by Justin Timberlake, both on and off the field, especially when Gus' daughter Mickey arrives on the scene.  A promising lawyer, Mickey puts her career in jeopardy to reunite with her father as Gus now finds himself looking after his daughter, his career, and keeping Timberlake away from both.

Trouble With The Curve was a cute movie.  Here are the problems: it will never make it as a classic sports or baseball film like Bull Durham, Major League, The Natural, or even Moneyball; nor is it the best relationship building movie that Eastwood has achieved.  There was more of a smooth transition and steady development of a relationship between Eastwood and Hillary Swank in Million Dollar Baby than there was between he and Amy Adams in The Curve. In fact, I more enjoyed watching Justin Timberlake's character of the "rival" scout breaking down the emotional walls that Mickey (Amy Adams) had build up over the years than I did watching Gus (Eastwood) and Mickey work through their problems.

There were a couple other issues I had with the movie.  Just twenty minutes into the movie, it felt like eighteen of those minutes were spent going out of their way to make sure we understood that Gus Lobel was old, losing his sight, and losing the faith of most of his colleagues.  It got a little tiresome to have the point driven home so much.  Also, the preview leads one to believe that Johnny "The Flame" (Timberlake) is Gus' competition both on and off the field as they are scouting the same big league hitting prospect in up-and-comer Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill) and Johnny immediately starts scouting Mickey when they first meet.  As it turns out, they are anything but rivals; which is fine, but this movie could have used a little more tension and drama and that might have been a nice twist to throw in the mix.

Finally, the protagonist and actual rival scout within the organization Phillip Sanderson (Matthew Lillard) is your stereotypical sleazy jerk that is played so over the top right along side Bo Gentry's ultra macho jerkiness that you are left with absolutely no choice but to hate both of them the minute you meet them.  The film went a bit over the top again in portraying these two in such an unfavorable light.  Sanderson relied completely on computer stats and analysis to make his decisions to climb his way up the ladder to GM of the baseball team though he knows nothing about people or baseball for that matter.  And Gentry, the next big meat-head slugger is only concerned with his image, his endorsements and chicks and has no love or respect for the game.  Not only are you forced to route against them, within moments of being introduced to either character, you know for certain that they both will fail in the end.

Again, Trouble With The Curve is a cute movie.  A little predictable.  Not the best character movie, and certainly not the best baseball movie.  Eastwood brings his A game as the crotchety old scout who is emotionally closed off to those he cares for most.  Adams is the over-achieving daughter pursuing a career she hates to impress her father and comes to terms with her own emotional baggage.  That done mostly through the aide of the smooth, sweet, and much-needed and appreciated comic relief that Timberlake brought to the film.  I enjoyed it, I'm glad I rented it, but this one will not be making it to my esteemed home collection.  What movie will be on my mind next?  We'll have to see.

Trouble With The Curve Preview

Trouble With The Curve is the story of an aging baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) and his estranged daughter (Amy Adams).  Eastwood plays Gus Lobel who has been a successful baseball scout for decades, but his age and lack of embracing new technology, his employers are starting to question if he's still got the gift.  Gus is threatened by rival scout played by Justin Timberlake, both on and off the field, especially when Gus' daughter Mickey arrives on the scene.  A promising lawyer, Mickey puts her career in jeopardy to reunite with her father as Gus now finds himself looking after his daughter, his career, and keeping Timberlake away from both.

Trouble With The Curve looks like a warm, funny, heart-felt movie that will keep audiences laughing and wiping away tears throughout.  I'd say Eastwood looks like he is back and better than ever; however, other than a slight slip-up at the Republican National Convention, no one's ever accused the actor of being anything other than one of the best.  Amy Adams (three time Academy Award nominated) looks triumphant in yet another role proving her versatility as a promising actress who fortunately was quickly able to lose her Disney Princess persona with roles in movies like Sunshine Cleaning Company, Doubt and The Fighter in which she more than held her own with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale.

Justin Timberlake, John Goodman and Robert Patrick lend their talents to what looks like a successful movie delighting audiences of all ages, both genders and sports fans (or not) alike.  I anticipate being thoroughly entertained and tearing up at points, ultimately wanting to add this movie to my collection.  Am I right?  Stay tuned and find out.