The Official Review Thread of 2014

anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by anonymous1980 »

THE BOXTROLLS
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Toni Collette, Tracy Morgan, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum (voices),
Dirs: Graham Annabel, Anthony Stacchi.

This is a stop-motion animated feature from LAIKA, the same company that gave us Coraline and ParaNorman. This one is not QUITE as great as those two films but it is still a wonderful piece of work. This film about misunderstood monsters has a bunch of clever gags and eye-popping visuals and like the previous two films, also kind of dark, darker (and also kind of gross) than what you can expect from what's really a kids' film. Ben Kingsley gives a fantastic voice-over performance as the villain. You can tell he is having a wonderful time hamming it up and the animation matches it. Extra points for the Monty Python references (including a song written by Eric Idle) and the wonderful end credit sequence.

Oscar Prospects: Best Animated Feature nomination is possible (but not a lock). "The Boxtrolls Song" could get in Original Song.

Grade: B+
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by Big Magilla »

dws1982 wrote:
anonymous1980 wrote:As the story progresses, it reveals that it's just another Hunger Games rip-off.
For what it's worth, the novel was published before The Hunger Games. (Although I guess the movie could still rip off The Hunger Games.)
Interestingly I never heard of this at all until yesterday when my 21 year-old nephew called me asking what I thought of it. He was shocked that I had never even heard of it. There goes my reputation as the family's go-to guy for movie information. :cry:
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by dws1982 »

anonymous1980 wrote:As the story progresses, it reveals that it's just another Hunger Games rip-off.
For what it's worth, the novel was published before The Hunger Games. (Although I guess the movie could still rip off The Hunger Games.)
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by anonymous1980 »

THE MAZE RUNNER
Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Blake Cooper, Patricia Clarkson.
Dir: Wes Ball.

I've never heard of this book before it was announced that it was to be made into movie starring Dylan O'Brien to which I said, "What is that and who's Dylan O'Brien?" The film sets up an intriguing premise, a teenage boy finds himself commune of boys surrounded by a mysterious maze with no memory of who he is or how he got there in the first place. As the story progresses, it reveals that it's just another Hunger Games rip-off. But it's entertaining enough, it's slickly-made and the actors are fine. I wasn't bored. It's too bad most of the interesting characters were killed off (just a word of warning).

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: C+
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by Mister Tee »

Big Magilla wrote:
Mister Tee wrote: The studio's been understandably selling the film as yet another in the financially lucrative series of Liam-kicks-butt movies, but this is actually based on a quite solid book in a very strong Lawrence Block series (which previously yielded the Friedkin Eight Million Ways to Die). Given Scott Frank's track record in adapting such work, I'm not surprised this film appears to be a cut above the norm.
Yeah, A Walk Among the Tombstones has been getting better reviews than the typical recent Neeson film, but 8 Million Ways to Die was a Hal Ashby film with a screenplay by Oliver Stone. You may be confusing it with Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. from the same year (1986).
Of course you're correct. Eight Million Ways to Die is the Lawrence Block adaptation, but I had my "brand name directors from the 70s in career decline" mixed up.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by Big Magilla »

Mister Tee wrote: The studio's been understandably selling the film as yet another in the financially lucrative series of Liam-kicks-butt movies, but this is actually based on a quite solid book in a very strong Lawrence Block series (which previously yielded the Friedkin Eight Million Ways to Die). Given Scott Frank's track record in adapting such work, I'm not surprised this film appears to be a cut above the norm.
Yeah, A Walk Among the Tombstones has been getting better reviews than the typical recent Neeson film, but 8 Million Ways to Die was a Hal Ashby film with a screenplay by Oliver Stone. You may be confusing it with Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. from the same year (1986).
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by Mister Tee »

anonymous1980 wrote:A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES
Cast: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, Eric Nelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Brian "Astro, Bradley, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Mark Consuelos.
Dir: Scott Frank.

Films where Liam Neeson kicks the shit out of bad guys is almost sub-genre of films onto themselves. A bit like Steven Seagal if Steven Seagal was a great actor. Among that I've seen, this is the best. That's kind of like damning it with faint praise but it shouldn't. After an unfortunate incident, an NYPD cop becomes a private investigator and is hired by a drug dealer to find the kidnappers and murderers of his wife. It's actually a pretty solid thriller with actually more substance that you would expect. It's extremely well shot (by rising star cinematographer Mihai Malamaire Jr.) and Liam Neeson actually gets to stretch his acting muscles a bit here. All in all, not a bad film at all.

Oscar Prospects: None but Mihai Malamaire Jr. should get an Oscar nomination pretty soon.

Grade: B.
The studio's been understandably selling the film as yet another in the financially lucrative series of Liam-kicks-butt movies, but this is actually based on a quite solid book in a very strong Lawrence Block series (which previously yielded the Friedkin Eight Million Ways to Die). Given Scott Frank's track record in adapting such work, I'm not surprised this film appears to be a cut above the norm.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by ksrymy »

THE HOMESMAN
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank, Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Meryl Streep, Hailee Steinfeld.
Director: Tommy Lee Jones.

A claim jumper and a pioneer woman escort three insane women from Nebraska to Iowa. Tommy Lee Jones proves again and again that he has quite an eye for Western films, and, while this isn't his strongest work, "The Homesman" has a lot to say on faith and trust. Strong performances by both Jones and Hilary Swank aid the film when it starts to drag. With several shocking scenes, the film can't be called boring even if it does drop to a trudging pace a couple times. The film's dialogue is very well-written even though the backstories of the transported women in the first act are incredibly weak. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. A film worth seeing.
"Men get to be a mixture of the charming mannerisms of the women they have known." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by anonymous1980 »

A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES
Cast: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, Eric Nelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Brian "Astro, Bradley, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Mark Consuelos.
Dir: Scott Frank.

Films where Liam Neeson kicks the shit out of bad guys is almost sub-genre of films onto themselves. A bit like Steven Seagal if Steven Seagal was a great actor. Among that I've seen, this is the best. That's kind of like damning it with faint praise but it shouldn't. After an unfortunate incident, an NYPD cop becomes a private investigator and is hired by a drug dealer to find the kidnappers and murderers of his wife. It's actually a pretty solid thriller with actually more substance that you would expect. It's extremely well shot (by rising star cinematographer Mihai Malamaire Jr.) and Liam Neeson actually gets to stretch his acting muscles a bit here. All in all, not a bad film at all.

Oscar Prospects: None but Mihai Malamaire Jr. should get an Oscar nomination pretty soon.

Grade: B.

THE BABADOOK
Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Barbara West, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall.
Dir: Jennifer Kent.

A single mother, whose husband was killed in an car accident the same night she gave birth, is at the end of her ropes raising a son with behavioral problems start to see and feel the presence of a monster called the Babadook. If you have a chance to see this extraordinary Australian horror film, SEE IT. Horror films are a dime a dozen these days. So many bad ones are made every year so for a horror movie to stand out as something special without resorting to gore and titties. This year, this is the one. It is legitimately pretty scary but it also dares tackle very heady and very human themes of dealing with grief, dealing with deep-seated emotions and of course parenting. Wonderfully directed with superb performances from the two leads. I would describe it as Next to Normal meets The Exorcist. Seriously, I highly recommend it.

Oscar Prospects: None but I think Essie Davis should be given a chance.

Grade: A-
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by Sabin »

Saw Guardians of the Galaxy again. It is one of the swiftest two hours I’ve ever sat through and it’s ridiculously rewatchable. Every joke that was funny before was funny again. The action is inspired, rarely monotonous. Only the final battle verges on it, but again and again it keeps offering new sights and spectacles like the ships forming a barrier that I find it hard to gripe. This is so rare in a film that devotes so much of its energy to behavior and eccentric psychology.

As a written narrative, the central plot is an uninteresting MacGuffin, but the film is strongest in knowing how to pair characters up in different ways so that we never see the same “Team-Up” twice. In that way (among many), it’s a very well-written film, but James Gunn is a visual filmmaker. The littlest details work so well, such as in the jail-break scene how he lets the blasts of the flying robots light up Groots branches against darkness, emphasizing their physicality in a way that would seem at home in a horror film, or later on in the film when Groot clears the field of soldiers by impaling them in comical horror, slamming them back and forth, as his friends stand in shock and delight, afterwards looking back/directly at the camera and smiling as if to say “I did good, right?” This is one of the least cheeky fourth wall breaks I’ve ever seen, because Groot isn’t looking at us. He’s looking back at his friends, but the result is hilarious. If the blandly villainous Lee Pace isn’t terribly memorable, the film didn’t really need a fascinating antagonist. Our heroes are so neurotic that being boring is the ultimate evil in this world. The film also has wonderful pop sensibilities. The choice to mostly include one hit wonders is not accidental in a film where the heroes are Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon. No winner for “Best Adapted Song” this year is acceptable unless it’s Chris Pratt lip-syching to “Come and Get Your Love” with one of those rat things unless it’s Baby Groot dancing to “I Want You Back.”

Totally love it. The best summer movie I’ve seen since Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Thank God audiences caught hip to this one in theaters.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by anonymous1980 »

A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST
Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Wes Studi.
Dir: Seth MacFarlane.

I've said it before. Seth MacFarlane is hit-and-miss with me. But I really enjoyed Ted so I was looking forward to this. Well, first the positive parts: I really loved the fact that they shot this thing in Monument Valley. You can tell that effort was made to remind you of classic Westerns of John Ford, Howard Hawks, etc. in the cinematography and the production design. As a comedy, I can say that there are three or four really good jokes that made me laugh along with a few that elicited pity chuckles. This is unfortunately a misfire. It felt way too long and the effort to weave in some earnestness fall flat. You're better off watching Blazing Saddles or even Rango.

Oscar Prospects: Original Song is possible.

Grade: C.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by anonymous1980 »

THE PURGE: ANARCHY
Cast: Frank Grillo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Carmen Ejogo, Michael K. Williams, Zoe Soul, Edwin Hodge, Justin Machado, Jack Conley, Keith Stanfield.
Dir: James DeMonaco.

I didn't see the first Purge movie although I seriously considered it because it's such a really great idea for a dystopian satire: for 12 hours every year, the government legalizes all crime including murder in order to control the population. I've been hearing from people whose opinions I take seriously that this one is an improvement and you don't need to see the first one in order to appreciate and follow this. I must say, I kind of liked it. Of course the story is pure pulp and the satirical elements are not handled all that well (it needed more black humor, IMO). It's entertaining but nothing more than that. I'm trying to imagine something like this on the hands of someone like John Carpenter or Terry Gilliam.

Oscar Prospects; None.

Grade: B-
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by Greg »

The way Love Is Strange is described gives me the impression that it is reminiscent of Harry And Tonto as well as Make War For Tomorrow.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by flipp525 »

BJ, the deficiencies in the film that you pointed out were our go-to's after walking out of the theater as well. Especially that random lingering shot you mentioned of the son at the end. We were also troubled by the lack of resolution to the stolen books storyline (what was that even about?) And the sort of mystery that surrounded Vlad (who, quite distractingly, reminded me of Boris from "The Goldfinch," a far more well-rendered version of a similar character).

I think I really just took the film as a nice character piece that wasn't quite fully realized. The acting saved some weak script problems. And its similarity to Make Way for Tomorrow did help.
Last edited by flipp525 on Fri Aug 29, 2014 5:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2014

Post by The Original BJ »

I saw Love is Strange yesterday and thought it was just okay. I thought it started off well -- the bustle of the preparation for the wedding and its aftermath, the loving bickering between Alfred Molina and John Lithgow (who craft a relationship that feels like it has lasted for decades), the heartbreak of Molina losing his job, the scenes of family and friends wanting to help but also knowing taking them in will present a burden -- all provide a compelling set-up to a story that reminded me of Make Way for Tomorrow as well.

Once the couple is physically separated (even farther than opposite sides of Manhattan...Lithgow ends up in Brooklyn!) there are some good scenes -- Tomei trying to be warm to Lithgow even as he's a huge distraction from her work, the simplicity of Molina struggling to fit in at his younger friends' apartment, the sequence of Molina and Lithgow visiting the bar together and sharing a romantic stroll that bears the weight of their life together as well as the joy of their love. But I thought the plot had some pretty limp turns along the way: a handful of scenes on the Lithgow side of the story revolve around this business of stolen school books, and I didn't feel that portion of the narrative had been worked out well at all, so vague are some of the details. And the sudden ease with which Molina found a solution to his housing struggles (albeit after a lot of hardship) struck me as so convenient as to feel half-hearted.

The ending scenes definitely have poignancy, but even there I thought there were some puzzling dramatic choices, especially the way Sachs focuses so many of the film's final shots on the young kid, when he hadn't been a central driving force to the story up to that point. (That LONG shot of emotion building on the kid's face struck me as an especially odd choice, both in terms of the focus on this character at that moment, as well as the fact that, frankly, I didn't think the kid had quite the acting chops to make much out of that beat. Why not give Alfred Molina an acting moment like this instead?)

On the whole, more thoughtful and sensitive than anything with an explosion in it this summer, but I found it a lot more wan as a piece of filmmaking than many of the raves suggested it would be.
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