Movie Review - Silence

Silence (2016)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Yosuke Kubozuka, Issey Ogata, Tadanobu Asano, Shinya Tsukamoto, Yoshi Oida, and Liam Neeson

Directed by Martin Scorsese

I had heard of the epic boringness of Martin Scorsese's Silence and admittedly was hesitant to watch the nearly 165-minute flick, but the story of two Jesuit priests heading to Japan in the mid-1600s to attempt to spread Christianity was surprisingly gripping and beautifully shot and acted.  Could it have been trimmed a little bit more in order to move things along a tiny bit faster?  Definitely.  However, the film is a refreshingly original look at an aspect of life -- religion -- that is rarely explored in cinema by directors as well known and qualified as Scorsese.

The premise of Silence is very simple -- perhaps too simple for a film of its length -- as we follow two young priests Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver) on their journey to Japan as they search for Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) who has apparently apostatized (renounced his faith) after horrible torture at the hands of Japanese authorities desperate to eradicate Christianity from their country.  Forced to stay hidden in their search for fear of being caught by the Japanese and the man known as "the Inquisitor" (Issey Ogata) who leads the hunt against Christians, Rodrigues and Garupe secretly administer to the underground Christian community while trying to determine the location of Ferreira.

Scorsese (who directed and co-wrote Silence) has crafted an elegantly gritty period piece, fully realizing the mid-1600s Japanese environment.  Darkened secluded grottos and secret underground basements create a claustrophobic atmosphere that envelops the characters and the audience.  The horror of intense torture isn't sugarcoated making for some intense sequences that add to the seriousness of the journey of Rodrigues and Garupe and make their resolute steadfastness to Christian theology all the more admirable.  [At least it's admirable if you yourself believe in their cause...for others, the mileage may vary.]  While this isn't necessarily an actor-driven piece with any particular stand-outs, Scorsese's ensemble of American and Japanese actors is a very good one, keying in on the pain suffered by the Christians forced to hide their beliefs as well as the driven desire by the non-Christian Japanese to eradicate the religion from their island.

Silence does have a few too many moments of nothingness...a few too many moments of silence perhaps.  While I understand the purposes of these sequences in that they mirror the sequestered nature of the Christians living in Japan, this is still a movie and the momentum of the story is often stunted because of the slower pace.  However, Silence is a film that, in time, I'd like to give another look because these less-pulsing moments may perhaps be more integral to the story than I thought during my initial viewing.  Despite this qualm, Silence is an oftentimes riveting look at an aspect of Christianity that was unknown to me, filmed in a reverent and capable manner.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Hacksaw Ridge

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, and Teresa Palmer

Directed by Mel Gibson

Hacksaw Ridge is an engaging film of two disparate tones that surprisingly and seamlessly meld together under the direction of Mel Gibson.  Certainly a difficult sit for its last hour which gives the audience one of the most realistically violent portrayals of war I've ever seen captured on film, I never found myself bored or uninterested in the true story of conscientious WWII objector and soldier Desmond Doss even during the film's first ninety minutes which plays like a 1940s style Hollywood wartime romance.  However, while Gibson succeeds at blending two distinct genres (and infusing some amusing humor), his film sometimes plays a bit too hokey due to some of his directorial flourishes and some of his cast's one-note "podunk country" characterizations.

Andrew Garfield portrays Doss who grew up in Lynchburg, Virigina, during the Great Depression.  A near tragic childhood incident in which Desmond could've killed his brother instills a deeply religious belief system into his young mind, with Desmond carrying the missives of the Ten Commandments with him throughout this life.  When WWII begins, Desmond feels that he must enlist to serve his country despite the urgings of his parents (Hugo Weaving and Rachel Griffiths) and his girlfriend Dorothy (Teresa Palmer) to remain in Virginia and do his part on his home soil.  Filled with patriotic pride, Desmond heads off to basic training to be a combat medic where he immediately finds resentment amongst his fellow soldiers for his refusal to carry a weapon, taking on the role of a passive conscientious objector as he abides by the commandment that he "shalt not kill."  Many attempts are made to relieve him of his duties, but Desmond perseveres and is allowed to head over to Japan with his regiment (after a quick wedding to Dorothy, that is).  It's there where the American troops engage in an epic battle to take over Hacksaw Ridge from the Japanese -- a brutal melee during which Desmond proves his worth and his unimaginable bravery without ever picking up a weapon.

Desmond Doss's story on the battlefield is an amazing one -- one that deserved to be brought to the screen.  His tale is treated with reverence by Gibson (and the screenwriters) and it's certainly an odd thing to see religion and faith be treated with respect in a mainstream big budget movie.  For that, I commend Gibson, but I also feel that there were moments when visually the director decides to paint a too blatantly Jesus-esque depiction of Doss.  Slow motion edits and obvious cinematographic overtones hammer home the comparison a bit too bluntly (and actually caused me to laugh at one point in time -- something that was certainly not the intention).  In a similar fashion, during the film's first half, much of cast is forced to portray one-note characters, particularly that of Desmond's father Tom played by Hugo Weaving.  Weaving is the quintessential country bumpkin -- an alcoholic, abusive, slow-talker who is eventually won over by his son's backbone -- and he's playing a joke of a role that feels as if it could've been culled from a Duck Dynasty episode or a human version of The Country Bear Jamboree.  Quite frankly, it's a bit embarrassing, as is the typical array of characters Desmond meets in his army regiment from the tough-as-nails Smitty (Luke Bracey) who refuses to accept Desmond until a pivotal moment changes his worldview to a comedic Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn) who puts Desmond through a tough struggle to stay in the army.  Granted, Desmond's army buddies fare better than his father, but the script does these side characters no favors.

Andrew Garfield and Teresa Palmer come across much better and their love story is peppered with several meet-cutes and blinky-eyed 1940s flirting, but it works in the environment set up by Gibson.  Admittedly, this romance stands in huge contrast to the incredibly violent though brutally realistic war scenes in the film's second half, but Gibson manages to stage both disparate segments with confidence, allowing Desmond's religious faith to remain a strong focus amidst the chaotic freneticism of the violent Hacksaw Ridge battle.

In the end, Hacksaw Ridge is a successful film and portrays a story that will instill a great deal of pride in Americans who give the film a watch (even those inherently anti-war and anti-violence).  Gibson really does do an excellent job in showcasing and merging the brutality of war with the gentle strength of faith and character in Desmond Doss.  I just wish the screenplay could've allowed for a more well-rounded portrayal of the cast outside of the film's central romantic relationship.  It's good to see Mel Gibson back behind the lens again and even if he adds in a few too many flourishes, he proves he's an adept auteur.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - 99 Homes

99 Homes (2015)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, and Noah Lomax

Directed by Ramin Bahrani

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is a construction worker finding it difficult to find a job in Orlando, Florida.  A single father to his son Conner (Noah Lomax), Dennis' mother Lynn (Laura Dern) also lives with him and runs her hair salon out of his house.  Unfortunately, tough times befall upon Dennis and his house is foreclosed.  Real estate mogul Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) takes charge of the eviction, just as he has for so many other homes in the Orlando area.  Obviously not well liked by those he's evicted, Rick sees something special in Dennis and offers him a job helping him clear out and repair foreclosed homes.  Initially against the concept of helping the man who forced him out of his home, Dennis reluctantly accepts the job out of desperation and discovers the difficulty of working for a man whom he vehemently despises.

99 Homes is a well-acted, well-told tale about the real estate boom and its subsequent collapse, but I wanted to be moved more than I was.  Director and co-writer Ramin Bahrani proves he's capable of delivering a solid piece of cinema, but the emotional connection never quite surfaced for me.  It doesn't help that the film, while fast-paced in its first hour, grows repetitive and a bit tiresome during its second half with character development that feels too obvious to sustain its run time.

Don't mistake my criticism as disavowal of the film.  99 Homes has enough going for it to certainly be recommendable.  Michael Shannon embodies the rather intimidating, offensive, crude, and unsympathetic Rick Carver with a vigor that had me wishing this rather malevolent guy was in every scene.  Laura Dern is also quite good in her small role as a mother and grandmother faced with the notion that she's losing the house where her son grew up.  Andrew Garfield is the weakest link in that I think he's slightly miscast here, seeming a bit too young to be Conner's father and lacking a bit of the emotional gravitas needed to showcase his character's struggle.  Perhaps in five years' time, Garfield will become a bit more grizzled, but now he doesn't quite match the soul needed for this particular type of character.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Chris Cooper, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Embeth Davidtz, Campbell Scott, and Sally Field

Directed by Marc Webb

While moderately better than 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man mainly because we're able to move on beyond the re-telling of Spidey's origin story, there's something about this title character that doesn't quite click with me.  If I remember correctly, there has always been some sly, comedic aspect to Peter Parker whenever he finds himself wearing the Spiderman attire and I find it oddly disconcerting.  When faced with evil villains like Electro (Jamie Foxx), a lowly worker at the Oscorp Power Company whose obsession with Spiderman takes a nasty turn, and the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan), who was previously Harry Osborn, son of the founder of Oscorp, Spidey just makes jokes.  Because of this, any potential for suspense is oftentimes mitigated.

When compared to the Tobey Maguire/Kirsten Dunst trilogy, I still think Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone fare better in the acting department as both Garfield and Stone more believably inhabit their characters' tumultuous relationship.  With the exception of Jamie Foxx -- who, admittedly, is given a bit more of a stock character type of role than those around him -- most of the acting is solid which certainly helps matters and makes things watchable.  However, I still find myself utterly uninterested whenever Garfield's Peter Parker puts on the Spidey suit.

Perhaps it's the lack of believable special effects.  I commented on this after watching the first film as well, but there must be something about having some guy fly around in a suit like Spidey's that makes things look incredibly fake.  Unfortunately, the fx wizards didn't fix things with this second film -- you're always well aware that you're watching animation onscreen and it's irritating, removing us from the story at times.  While there have certainly been worse superhero films, this new reimagining of the Spider-Man story doesn't really have the cinematic chops to make it worth continuing.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Irrfan Khan, Sally Field, and Martin Sheen

Directed by Marc Webb

Despite better direction of the film's quieter moments and much more talent in the acting department across the board than the 2002 version of nearly the exact same tale, The Amazing Spider-Man is a movie that I watch and can't fathom why it was made.  The Tobey Maguire-Kirsten Dunst origin tale of this masked crusader has not aged well in my book, but we're only a decade removed from the first of that trilogy and only five years from its finale, and this film comes much too soon on those heels to tell this story again. 

You all know the tale -- Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) gets bit by a spider while touring the labs of Curt Conners (Rhys Ifans) and turns into this spider/human melding who decides to fight crime after his uncle (Martin Sheen) is murdered in a horrible random crime.  Sure, in this version, Peter falls for the smart Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) instead of Mary Jane, but that makes little difference in the grand scheme of things.  Granted, that's not the only minor difference -- Curt Connors turns into a giant lizard as opposed to Norman Osborn turning into the Green Goblin, there's no J. Jonah Jameson as the kooky editor of The Daily Bugle -- but we're looking at essentially the same plot.

With the exception of the special effects (which are admittedly important in a film like this and prove to be a bit to fake-looking for my liking), everything about this 2012 version of the Spider-Man origin tale is better than the former...which is why it's even more of a shame that the former exists.  Overall, I think the Spider-Man origin story is too silly to craft a film as dark and intense as the recent Batman trilogy, but at least this movie abandons the almost cartoonish look of the original Sam Raimi-directed films.  However, during the film's special effects-heavy scenes, there are moments that prove to be almost laughable in terms of how poorly they are conceived.  However, I felt very much the same about the effects in the original trilogy so I think it's just impossible to make a man look real as he flies through the New York skyline with the help of spiderwebs.

Still, credit must be given to Andrew Garfield whose Peter Parker is less wide-eyed and dumbfounded than Mr. Maguire upon his discovery of his newfound powers.  Garfield delves a bit emotionally darker which is a welcome addition.  Similarly, Emma Stone isn't given much to do, but provides a more believable love interest than Ms. Dunst despite the infamous upside-down kissing scene in the older trilogy.  Stone is a stronger chick (I don't know if that's due to her different character or if that's just Stone's overall persona) and she also screeches and screams nary a once and, if I remember correctly, there was a lot of whiny eeking by Dunst in her film's finale.  There are also some very nice smaller turns from Martin Sheen, Sally Field, and Denis Leary.

The Amazing Spider-Man would not have been a perfect movie even if the earlier version of Spider-Man hadn't existed.  However, because the story is so darn familiar, the whole thing feels like it's always lagging as the audience longs for something they haven't seen before.  And unfortunately, there's nothing new here.  That being said, if you've never seen the Sam Raimi-directed original films, don't start there.  Go with this new version and you'll likely give it a much higher rating than I did below.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Social Network

The Social Network (2010)

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hamer, Max Minghella, Rashida Jones, Brenda Song, and Rooney Mara

Directed by David Fincher

I avoided the Facebook thing for as long as I could, but one day in an attempt to look at pictures of some girl who I thought I might want to date, I signed up and began the process of "friending" people.  It's all rather foolish (though not as foolish as Twitter), but there is something to be said for Facebook being the new form of communication.  The final scene of The Social Network hints at the argument that Facebook has distanced people from others rather than brought people closer together, but that's the only moment where I felt the film was trying to say anything deep and meaningful.  Don't get me wrong.  The Social Network is a good film -- well crafted, well acted, and very well written.  But it's not groundbreaking cinema.  Still, in this lukewarm year for film, it's one of the best flicks I've seen in 2010.

Jesse Eisenberg is Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard student who is dumped by his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara) while at a bar one evening.  The gal wasn't wrong to dump him -- he was a stuck-up bastard -- but Mark doesn't see it that way.  Instead, this computer-savvy nerd takes to his blog and begins a bitter tirade against Erica.  This then leads to a rather misogynistic website which he formulates and releases on the very same night he was dumped -- a "who's hotter" kind of thing where Mark pitted pictures of two college girls against each other and allowed the public to vote on who was better looking.  When this website crashes the Harvard internet system, Mark gets into a bit of trouble, but that's only the start of his creative brainstorming.

Mark meets the Winklevoss twin brothers (Armie Hammer) and their buddy Divya (Max Minghella) who have an idea to create a dating site for Harvard students only.  The brothers and their pal recognize Mark's computer skills (and recognize that he may need to "rehabilitate" his image)  and hire him to create the code for the site.  Mark agrees to help, but in the process formulates his own idea -- "the Facebook."  With the help of his business-oriented friend Eduardo (Andrew Garfield), Mark launches "the Facebook."  As is often the case with surprise successes, though, enemies can be made rather quickly, and Mark's life is no exception.

There's a kind of coldness on display in the flick -- director Fincher uses it to mirror the outwardly emotional coldness of Mark.  And there's not a whole lot of "brightness" onscreen either.  Fincher drapes the film in darkness for a fairly big chunk of the time whether it be in the scenes where Mark is creating the website or the litigation scenes where he's being sued for creating the very same website.  

Speaking of those litigation scenes (which Fincher does a rather brilliant job of balancing and cutting to throughout the whole film), screenwriter Aaron Sorkin amazingly makes them interesting.  It may seem like a simple task, but sometimes putting a lawyer into any scene makes the boredom factor spike greatly.  Not so, here.  In fact, as has been said in many reviews of the flick, Sorkin's screenplay is the true star of the picture.  There's a wit and genuine intelligence on display that isn't commonplace in mainstream films.  I was a big fan of Sorkin's television show Sports Night for the very same reason I'm a fan of his work in this film -- the quick patter of smart speak was welcome in that show and welcome here as well.

It certainly takes a talented actor to make Sorkin's fast-paced dialog work and Jesse Eisenberg steps up to the plate.  His Mark Zuckerberg is zeroed in on one thing -- creating "the Facebook" -- and pushes away everything and everyone else.  There was much talk before the film was released that Zuckerberg came off looking like a nasty guy.  I didn't see it that way at all and I think that's due to Eisenberg's performance.  To me, Zuckerberg was a loner who was not quite prepared for the nearly immediate success that his work would bring him.

While Justin Timberlake proves adequate (I wasn't bowled over by him, although he certainly didn't disappoint), my favorite actor was perhaps Andrew Garfield (who also starred in this year's Never Let Me Go) as Mark's friend and business partner Eduardo.  Eduardo actually has a bit more of an emotional arc (or at least a more obvious one) than Mark and Garfield makes his character the person we in the audience relate to most.

There's nothing really bad to say about The Social Network.  It's a well made smart film the likes of which we don't see onscreen often nowadays.  Across the board, everything is top notch.  That being said, it never really pulled me in emotionally and I think that's because of the "coldness" that I mentioned above.  Still, it's certainly a film I'd recommend and watch again.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go (2010)

Starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins, and Andrea Riseborough

Directed by Mark Romanek

There's a moment towards the end of Never Let Me Go where Andrew Garfield's character Tommy lets out a guttural, primal scream of anguish, pain, and bewilderment after learning some devastating news.  In that moment, I admittedly got chills.  It's a real shame that the remainder of the film couldn't elicit a single emotion from me one way or the other.  What could have been a powerful story about friendship (and in a broader sense, the implications of science and government impeding upon personal freedoms and choices) turns out to be simply a very well-acted flick that carries little emotional resonance.

In order to not spoil anything in the film, I'm simply going to copy and paste my summary from my book review with a few minor changes.

Never Let Me Go is a science fiction film in the loosest sense of the word.  There's not a hint of apocalyptic tones, nor does it take place in a future overrun by new technologies.  It actually takes place in Britain from the late 1970s-1990s and it's really a world similar to what we live in today.

The only real difference revolves around the young students at Hailsham, a private school that keeps its students far away from the outside world.  The students, including our narrator, Kathy (Carey Mulligan), and her friends Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield), are told right from the start of their schooling that they are "special" and will hold an important place in society as they grow older.  While they live a seemingly happy existence, as they head into their teen years and early twenties, they begin to realize their true purpose in life which leads to some students longing for a little something more.

In a nutshell, that's the tale.  The reason why these Hailsham children are "special" is where the emotional impact of the film should arise, but the film never really gets off the ground in that department.  I can't help but think that since nearly the entirety of the book was told in the mind of young Kathy that it was difficult to transfer to the screen all those inner emotions that were so easy to connect with while reading the novel.

The flick isn't a failure by any means and that is thanks to the great work of nearly all the actors that grace the screen.  Carey Mulligan is proving to be a force to be reckoned with.  Despite her melancholic tone throughout the whole film, she is a commanding presence.  Andrew Garfield (who I need to see in The Social Network still) was also quite good and, as I mentioned above, has the one moment in the film that actually hit me at an emotional level.  Supporting turns from Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins, and Andrea Riseborough (who I saw and greatly admired in an Off-Broadway play last year) also added to the caliber of talent onscreen.

Keira Knightley, however, was a bit unimpressive.  In seemingly every single one of her movies, she does this incredibly odd thing with her chin and lower jaw when she talks. I think it's her way of trying to make her voice sound tougher and grittier, but all it does is tick me off.  [It's shades of good ole Kristen Stewart biting her lip in those damn Twilight movies.]  Admittedly, in Knightley's defense,  I think the character of Ruth in both the novel and the film is certainly the toughest for the audience to connect with, but in the film, the character's motivations are never quite clear.  [They were a little clearer in the book because we at least had an idea of Ruth's motivations thanks to Kathy's narration.]

The film was adequately shot, but director Mark Romanek doesn't really do anything special with his camera.  I think there were certain shots that were supposed to resonate with me on a visual and visceral level, but they didn't succeed.  Still, this is only his second film and I thought the direction was serviceable.

Needless to say, I was disappointed with Never Let Me Go.  It isn't a bad film, by any means, but it's a story that simply didn't translate well from the book to the screen.  The poignancy that made the book special wasn't present in the film at all.

The RyMickey Rating:  C