Thanksgiving Break Pocket Reviews

The Night Before (2015)

dir. Jonathan Levine

Cast: Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie, Lizzy Caplan

After the indelible, understated charms of 50-50, director Jonathan Levine re-teams with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt for this flat-out absurd holiday comedy. Think The Hangover set at Christmastime.

When three best friends (Rogen, Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie) meet for their last Christmas Eve together, they embark on an odyssey to make it the greatest night of their lives.

Each goofy, unrealistic escapade begets another, but so goes every single one of Rogen's movies. That said, the film shows some heart and could just be the best new Christmas movie in several years. It really is the holiday-themed Hangover movie I didn't realize I needed to put me right in the spirit of the season.

The Night Before is a total riot, but whether or not it becomes a perennial favorite remains to be seen. I'll have to try it out again next Christmas.

B

Creed (2015)
dir. Ryan Coogler
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson

Director Ryan Coogler reinvigorates the Rocky franchise with the exceptional seventh sequel, Creed.

Living in Apollo's shadow, young Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) seeks to honor his late father's legacy while also forging his own path on his way to becoming a champion. Along the way, Adonis seeks the counsel of former champ Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and also finds his "Adrian" in Bianca (Tessa Thompson), an edgy, up-and-coming musical artist from Rocky's neighborhood.

Spectacular performances, a great story, gorgeous cinematography and confident direction will make you forget Southpaw even existed, if you haven't already. Creed is as good as anything I've seen all year.

(P.S. Stallone is firmly, unfacetiously in the conversation for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Yes, that's right. THAT Sylvester Stallone, bitches.)

A+

Spectre (2015)

dir. Sam Mendes

Cast: Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Naomi Harris, Ben Whishaw, Dave Bautista, and Monica Bellucci

I finally made it out to see Spectre, the latest (and possibly last) adventure for Daniel Craig's 007.

Following a snafu in Mexico City, James Bond returns to England disgraced. He's suspended by M (Ralph Fiennes) just as political tensions loom regarding worldwide surveilance / "big data." This somehow prompts Bond to embark on a personal mission to uncover the secrets behind a rogue organization of assassins and terrorists.

Many of the subplots didn't quite gel for me. I also found Spectre to be criminally lacking in urgency and stakes compared to Skyfall and Casino Royale. To add insult to injury, this is apparently one of the most expensive movies ever made, costing around $300 million after re-shoots and marketing expenses. You'd never know it by just watching the thing though. There aren't enough set pieces to justify going so far overbudget, and most of the locations are no more lavish than what we've seen in previous Bond films.

All said, it's interesting to dig deeper into Bond's character as it seems all roads so far have led to this. At the same time, it still feels like the real conflict is just beginning. The performances are quite good as well. Christoph Waltz is the standout as the main villain, Franz Oberhauser.

If you have yet to see Spectre at this point, wait and give it a rent when it hits Blu-ray.

C+

"Spectre" Review

by Levi Hill

(WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME MINOR SPOILERS)

Spectre sees Daniel Craig return for his fourth go-round as special agent 007. In this film, as his past comes back to haunt him, James Bond hunts for a sinister terrorist organization while M (Ralph Fiennes) fights to keep MI6 in operation. The movie tries to craft a deeper personal look at Bond but lackluster storytelling holds it back from reaching its full potential. Acting and set pieces are solid though.

Spectre’s main issue is that the villain of the film, Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), is severely underused. He doesn’t appear until well into the film, and once he does appear, he is completely hidden in shadow. When he surfaces a second time, near the very end of the film, he shows exactly how perfect of a Bond villain he is. However his three scenes are not nearly enough screen time for a cretin of his caliber.

The next issue I had with Spectre is that the relationship between Bond and Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) feels incredibly forced. Of course Bond isn’t known for taking things slow with his women, but by the end of the film their relationship feels rushed and unearned. Similar to Vesper in Casino Royale, Swann is set up to be a real love interest for Bond. However, the lack of chemistry between the two makes their relationship here hard to believe.

Despite these complaints, the film is still worth your while. The opening sequence is a masterpiece of continuous camera movement. The action scenes are exciting, and you can feel the impact of each blow, especially when Bond is fighting Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista).

There are no bad performances in the film. Craig is fantastic as Bond, which should be expected with his fourth, and potentially final, outing as 007. Waltz is incredible in his limited screen time. Seydoux is convincing enough despite her character being rushed. The supporting cast, including Fiennes, Andrew Scott, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw, also give solid performances. 

Overall, Spectre is a fun, enjoyable action film. It doesn’t live up to the post-Skyfall hype that surrounded it, but that doesn’t make it a complete failure.

B-

Words on "Star Wars: Battlefront"

I've seen so much negativity out there surrounding this new video game, Star Wars: Battlefront, that I felt compelled to offer my meager two cents after spending time with last month's beta as well as this week's full release.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not played enough of the original Battlefront games to speak in depth on them here. However, I recognize a hard reboot when I see one.)

This game is AWESOME. Fans on the fence who didn't have a chance to play the beta should at least rent it, but if you're like me (a Star Wars fan who enjoys playing online shooters with friends who are also Star Wars fans) pick this game up post-haste.

There are many caveats to developer DICE and publisher EA's approach to this thing. It thrives on multiplayer and doesn't feature much by way of an offline single-player campaign. There are several training, battle, and survival missions for players to choose from that each take place within the context of the larger "story world" of this game, which is almost exclusively based on Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Players can tackle these modes alone or with a friend offline locally, but online co-op is also supported. I had a blast racing speeder bikes on Endor with a friend who lives 100 miles away.

Battlefront also has myriad online multiplayer game modes. Some are better than others. Without the fan-favorite Galactic Conquest, most players will probably turn to Supremacy, Walker Assault, and Fighter Squadron. The current game has about 12-13 maps spread across 4 planets: Hoth, Endor, Sullist and Tattoine. The thing holding some of these modes back is that the game limits map choice. For example, you can only play Walker Assault on 4 of the 13 maps. However it wouldn't make sense to have the massive AT-ATs on a map like "Ice Caves" which is made up entirely of a network of underground tunnels on Hoth.

There are many critics out there that think limitations such as these constitute a broken game. They're also complaining that EA is pushing a $50 DLC season pass that, over the course of the coming year, will offer 16 more maps, more game modes (possibly Galactic Conquest?), more weapons, and additional playable heroes. Is that really more overall content than the final game? Who knows? I'd rather have a sure thing in my hands first than base my entire judgement on mysterious additional content that may be underwhelming. 

From a visual standpoint, the whole thing just looks and sounds so damn good that it's easy for me to let some of the limitations slide. It really feels like I'm playing the movie. Blaster fire and character movement feel authentic. Killing stormtroopers is extremely satisfying when they crumble to the ground with physics that mirror the films.

Controls are pretty tight too. The only thing that feels out of place is the ability to switch between first and third person views on the fly, which is mapped exclusively to the down arrow on the D-pad. That feels awkward when I'm trying to quickly outmaneuver enemy fire.

 For me, Battlefront is about as immersive a video game as I've ever played. I'm having such a blast with it that I'm not put off by any of these nitpicks, many of which can be fixed for free in future software updates let alone $50 DLC. 

(Once the season pass is fully detailed, I might spring for it. Maybe that means I'm part of the problem, but from what I've experienced so far, it's worth it.)

"Steve Jobs" Review

With Steve Jobs, Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 127 Hours) directs a script from Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network) based on Walter Isaacson's best-selling biography

The drama here centers around the events backstage at three product launches which signify three distinct eras in Jobs' life and career. Thus, the entire movie is really just three extended scenes.

1984 - the Macintosh represents the culmination of Jobs' misguided, unchecked hubris leading to his firing from Apple. For you cinematography nerds, this section of the film was shot on 16mm film stock. Grain levels are high, and you can see the scratches and burns in the image itself. 

1988 - the NeXT Black Cube is Jobs' independed project that serves as a mere stunt in order to win back Apple's good graces. Shot on 35mm film stock.

1998 - the original iMac serves as the climax of Jobs' aspirations in personal computing. His relationships with other characters such as Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen), Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg), Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), and his daughter Lisa (in this era, Perla Haney-Jardine) come to a head as well. Shot on the latest digital cameras.

Though deliberately and rather uniquely structured for a biopic, this is one of Sorkin's weakest screenplays. He seems content to let the dialogue be little more than quips for the characters to shout at one another. As for the direction, this feels like Danny Boyle directing a David Fincher film. The material doesn't suit Boyle's stylistic proclivities as well as it does Fincher's. In fact I couldn't even tell I was watching a Boyle movie until the last five minutes.

Still, at least it's less vanilla than the Ashton Kutcher version.

What keeps the film watchable are the incredible acting performances. Fassbender is as good as, if not better than, he's ever been despite the fact he looks nothing at all like Jobs. Winslet and Katherine Waterston (playing Jobs' muse Chrisann Brennan) are wonderful in meaty roles as the only females who can stand up to Jobs' domineering, boorish personality. Rogen gives the dramatic performance of his life as Wozniak. Many of the film's strongest moments are when he is on screen trading barbs with Fassbender. One of the best scenes comes in 1988 where they meet in the pit of the San Francisco orchestra for a private conversation about their individual contributions to personal computing.

I think my favorite part though is also during the '88 section where Steve finds himself in an empty room with John Scully (Jeff Daniels), Apple's CEO. Their meet-cute is pretty corny. Scully is sitting in a chair at the end of this long, empty room as if planning for the random chance that Jobs might wander in and see him. From there, the next 5-7 minutes are a master class in elliptical editing and narrative economy. Boyle uses these tools to build tension and deliver character development at the same time. The conversation eventually devolves into quip-shouting, but at least here it makes sense. This is as tense a scene as I've witnessed in any film this year.

At the time of this posting, Steve Jobs is projected to put up only $7.5 million in its first weekend of nationwide release. That's sad because I think this film is worthy of attention, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a big Oscar campaign built around it. However it is neither the best movie of the year nor does it live up to the full potential of a dream Boyle-Sorkin team-up.

B-

Weekend Report (October 16-18)

Bridge of Spies

Steven Spielberg directs this Cold War espionage thriller about insurance lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) who is selected by the CIA to represent a Soviet spy in American court. After an American spy plane is shot down over Soviet air space, Donovan is called on again to negotiate a trade - one spy for another.

The story is so riveting and the script so well written by Matt Charman and the Coen Brothers that the narrative seems to move at a gingerly pace. Hanks turns in another bravura performance, but who really impressed me was Mark Rylance as Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. Rylance turns in a nuanced, understated performance that makes me want to seek out more of his work. He's slated to play the title character in Spielberg's upcoming Roald Dahl adaptation The BFG, and after seeing Bridge of Spies, I think Rylance is a marvelous choice. The film is also very well lit and shot by DP Janusz Kaminski. Figures don't seem to glow as they have in some of Kaminski's previous work. Rather this film seems to be an exercise in visual economy. The viewer always sees what he/she needs to see, and the atmosphere appears clean, clear and cool. My only major gripe is that this is one of two movies this weekend in which actress Amy Ryan is limited to a wifely/motherly role with little to no agency.
GRADE: A

Goosebumps

Where Bridge of Spies displays visual economy, Goosebumps demonstrates narrative economy. It moves at a breakneck pace in which just about every moment services the plot or character development.

The story follows a kid named Zach (Dylan Minnette) who moves to a sleepy Delaware town with his mother (Amy Ryan) who's taken a job as the vice principal at her son's new high school. Talk about awkward. Zach befriends his next door neighbor Hannah (Odeya Rush), the daughter of children's book author R.L. Stine (Jack Black). Stine is adamant that Zach and Hannah are not to see each other, but things go awry when Zach tries to save Hannah from what he mistakenly believes is a domestic dispute with her father. He breaks into their home and accidentally opens one of the transcripts in Stine's office, unleashing every manner of monsters, ghouls and creepy crawlies from the Goosebumps canon.

I had tons of fun with this. While the fast pacing and visual effects may overwhelm some, Goosebumps features several genuinely hilarious moments and pitch-perfect performances. The cast fully commits to the silliness. Black especially shows a dark edge that makes the experience so much more interesting than just early Halloween eye candy. This is a good horror comedy for the whole family.
GRADE: B

Crimson Peak

Following a mysterious family tragedy, a young woman (Mia Wasikowska) from New York is whisked away to a mansion in the English countryside after she falls for an outsider (Tom Hiddleston). 

Guillermo Del Toro's unique visual style is on full display. The costume and production designers deserve Oscars. The film isn't especially scary in the traditional "horror movie" sense, but Crimson Peak revels in the macabre and nods to several hallmarks of Gothic cinema/literature. You'll notice specks of Jane Eyre, Rebecca, The Innocents, and The Uninvited among other influences. I've never particularly cared for Wasikowska as an actress but Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain, who plays his sister, are both terrific.
GRADE: A-

99 Homes

A man (Andrew Garfield) and his mother and son (Laura Dern, Noah Lomax) are evicted from their home in Orlando, Florida. In order to get it back, he begins working for the shady real estate broker that took everything from him (Michael Shannon).

Shannon gives another great performance as the real estate magnate, but Garfield turns in his finest work to date as the desperate Dennis Nash. There was some talk of Oscar potential for the two lead actors, but I don't think this movie has it. As great as their performances are, I don't think Broad Green or Noruz Films have the money to put together an Oscar campaign for this film. It's destined to be overlooked like Drive and so many other deserving indies over the past several years. Aside from that, 99 Homes tells a riveting story that would've been perfect had it come out at the height of the housing collapse a few years ago. Now it feels something like old news.
GRADE: B+

Legendary & WB are re-teaming for an all-new cinematic universe with Godzilla, King Kong and other famous monsters

News doesn't get any bigger than this.

Today, Legendary and Warner Bros. Pictures announced a limited partnership to produce and distribute films for a "kaiju" cinematic universe. This comes on the heels of Godzilla's worldwide success for the studios last year. Legendary plans to cross over Gareth Edwards' latest incarnation of Godzilla with an upcoming King Kong, as well as Toho's other popular monsters King Gidorah, Mothra and Rodan eventually.

According to the press release from Legendary, these films will be linked by Monarch, the human organization that David Strathairn led in the 2014 film, as they continue missions around the globe. It is unconfirmed if Strathairn will reprise his role as Admiral Stentz in these upcoming films.

The next film in this new franchise, Kong: Skull Island, will be in theaters on March 10, 2017.

Gareth Edwards' Godzilla 2 will be out June 8, 2018.

Things will come to a head in Godzilla Vs. Kong, which bows at a date to be determined for 2020.

Personally, I think all of this sounds awesome. But this new Godzilla is nearly the height of a skyscraper, and King Kong isn't even as tall as the spire on the Empire State Building. The "8th wonder of the world" might be at a slight disadvantage...

I guess we'll see.

Marvel Studios announces "Ant-Man" sequel and new Phase 3 release dates

by Levi Hill (@Levi_Hill15)

Marvel Studios have shaken up their Phase 3 lineup once again.

This time they’ve added a sequel to this summer’s surprise hit Ant-Man with Ant-Man and the Wasp, which will debut on July 6, 2018. This marks the first time a Marvel Studios film has used its heroine’s name in the title. Ant-Man has earned $410 million dollars so far at the worldwide box-office, $178.5 million coming from the United States.

Over the summer, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said that we would see Hope Van Dyne on screen as the Wasp before Phase 3 was over, so this is confirmation of that promise. Paul Rudd, who played the titular hero in Ant-Man, is set to appear next in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Whether he will join the Avengers for 2018’s Infinity War – Part 1 has yet to be announced.

Marvel Studios also moved the release dates for Black Panther and Captain Marvel. Black Panther will now release on February 16, 2018, and Captain Marvel will hit theaters on March 8, 2019.

This will be the first time that Marvel releases movies in the months of February and March.

The studio also announced three untitled films for 2020 – releasing May 1, July 10 and November 6. This adheres to the three-movie-per-year model they are starting in 2017. It’s safe to say that these films will be a mix of sequels and new characters, but it’s impossible to predict who the films will be about until we get closer to their releases.