Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

Starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Ed Skrein, Harris Dickinson, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville

Directed by Joachin Rønning

Written by Linda Woolverton, Noah Harpster, and Micah Fitzerman-Blue

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene (2019)

Starring Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Tahar Rahim

Directed by Garth Davis

Written by Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B+

The Lion King

The Lion King (2019)

Featuring the vocal talents of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric Andre, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and James Earl Jones

Directed by Jon Favreau

Written by Jeff Nathanson

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C

Movie Review - Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange (2016)

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benjamin Bratt, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton

Directed by Scott Derrickson

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

While Doctor Strange is likely the most unique Marvel movie when it comes to the glossy, mind-spinning visuals on display, something about this film didn't quite click for me.  It gave me a Matrix vibe and that's a cinematic series I could never really get behind.  Benedict Cumberbatch makes an incredibly engaging title character, but the time-twisting nature of the piece is a concept that never really appeals to this reviewer and Doctor Strange doesn't change that opinion.

The film's set-up during the first third is where Doctor Strange is most successful which admittedly is a bit surprising because oftentimes it's the "origin story" aspect of superhero movies that feels drawn out and tired.  Here, however, Cumberbatch's dry sense of humor works wonders in creating a winning opening act.  Cumberbatch is the title character, Stephen Strange, an accomplished neurosurgeon whose arrogance is seemingly accepted because of his insane talent in the operating room.  On his way to a fancy shindig, Strange accidentally drives his car off the edge of a cliff.  After intense surgery and rehabilitation, Strange seems to be getting back on the right track except that his hands have suffered immense nerve damage making it nearly impossible for him to perform surgeries.  Strange soon hears of a unique healing experience in Asia which he assumes is medical drelated, but discovers that it's much more spiritually-based, run by a mystic known as The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who tells Strange that all the power he needs is in his mind.

Had Doctor Strange decided to not add a big baddie (Mads Mikkelsen) hellbent on taking over the powers of the Ancient One, this film may have been more successful.  Of course, Marvel movies aren't character studies so that was never going to happen, but it's a shame because Doctor Strange stumbles when it adheres too close to the typical superhero tropes.  I didn't care at all about the villain (who is given perhaps some of the least amount of character development for a Marvel villain yet) nor did I find the scenery-warping, time-bending action sequences exciting.  Sure, the action set pieces were visually intriguing -- Doctor Strange really is unique in the way it's styled -- but they lacked the requisite punch necessary to deliver tension for me.  I will admit I was eagerly looking forward to this one because of the fact that it seemed to be a different type of entry into the Marvel canon, and while it is unique, it doesn't quite work.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Secret in Their Eyes

Secret in Their Eyes (2015)

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Dean Norris, Alfred Molina, Michael Kelly, Joe Cole, and Zoe Graham

Directed by Billy Ray

In 2002 in the months following the September 11 attacks, a group of Los Angeles investigators find themselves keeping a close eye on a mosque for any signs of terrorist activity.  One afternoon, they are called to a parking garage adjacent to the mosque to investigate a girl's body found in a dumpster.  Upon arrival, Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discovers that dead girl is Carolyn (Zoe Graham), the daughter of Jess (Julia Roberts), a fellow investigator in his office.  Devastated, Ray sets out to find out who committed this heinous act, but he's met with resistance within his office as his prime suspect - Marzin, a young Russian man (Joe Cole) - is a mole within the mosque.  With his boss (Alfred Molina) and the new district attorney Claire (Nicole Kidman), Ray seeks out justice on his own, but unfortunately doesn't succeed.  Thirteen years later, Ray, now an independent investigator, has never stopped looking for Marzin, whom he believes is Carolyn's murderer, and he may have discovered his current location.

Thus is the story of Secret in Their Eyes, a remake of a well-regarded Argentinean film from 2009.  Spanning more than a decade and told in two parallel-running time frames, director-writer Billy Ray's film doesn't achieve the emotional resonance that a revenge-driven story should innately contain.  The heaviness accompanying the piece is understandable - I mean, we're dealing with the murder of a teenager - but the film never converts the hefty drama to palpable emotional connections with the characters.  We're given three talented actors in Ejiofor, Kidman, and Roberts, yet their scenes together lack oomph.  Something just doesn't quite click here which is unfortunate because this is the kind of movie - steeped in tones of film noir - that I'm inherently drawn to appreciate.  Perhaps I should watch the original...but I'll wait a few years to get the memory of this disappointing flick out of my mind.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Z for Zachariah

Z for Zachariah (2015)

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, and Chris Pine

Directed by Craig Zobel

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

In Z for Zachariah, a catastrophic radioactive event has seemingly killed everyone except for Ann Burden (Margot Robbie), a young woman from a Southern town nestled between two mountains.  Her family went out to search for other survivors...but that was a long time ago and they've never returned, so Ann spends her days with her dog trying to do as best she can alone in the world.  One afternoon, she spots someone removing a radioactive suit after his geiger counter tells him the area lacks radiation.  Ecstatic, the man runs to a nearby watering hole only to be greeted by Ann who tells him that the water where he is bathing comes from outside the mountain range and, thusly, is radioactive.  The man, John Loomis (Chiwetel Ejiofor), becomes deathly sick, but Ann nurses him back to health and the two become close friends, ready to do what is necessary in order to reignite civilization.  However, Ann and John's blossoming relationship is soon tested when another man, Caleb (Chris Pine) enters the picture and the three survivors must deal with jealousy, anger, and love - emotions that the trio had all but stricken from their psyches when they assumed they were the sole survivors.

I feel as if I've been watching a lot of slow-paced character-driven pieces over the past few days and Z for Zachariah is no exception.  While it's a tad too methodical for its own good, the allure of the film stems from the fact that there are only three actors and their chemistry and interactions with one another make up the entirety of the film.  Ejiofor and Robbie continue to prove that they are rising stars in the industry by taking on this small, indie piece to show us their considerable acting chops.  Pine, who I typically like, doesn't fare quite as well, but his character is the least developed so his intentions and motivations are the least explored.  Still, director Craig Zobel deftly explores the trio's emotions utilizing simplistic direction and production design in order to let his characters really be the defining aspects of the film.  The flick lacks forceful momentum and its heavy premise bogs things down, but it's an interesting, thoughtful, and well-acted piece.

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Movie Review - The Martian

The Martian (2015)

Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, and Chiwetel Ejiofor

Directed by Ridley Scott

A huge success this fall, I avoided The Martian until the final week it was in theaters (heck, it's being released on Blu-Ray in less than a month) because of a lengthier running time in a genre that I don't dislike but isn't particularly my favorite.  Science fiction flicks oftentimes feel so heavily bogged down with jargon or "deep thinking" that they just don't seem fun.  (I'm talking to you, Interstellar - a film that I didn't mind, but at times felt like a chore to watch.)  While The Martian certainly has hefty scientific details running through it, director Ridley Scott's film is surprisingly witty, full of some charming performances, and has a story that is briskly paced and immensely enjoyable.

Matt Damon is, for all intents and purposes, the title character.  In 2035, botanist Mark Watney is left behind on Mars by the crew of the Ares III after he is struck by debris during a gigantic dust storm and unable to be found.  All indications according to the life support systems in Mark's suit point to him being dead so the crew (Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, and Aksel Hennie) -- forced to make a difficult decision as the huge storm will soon make their ship unable to function -- start their three year journey home saddened for Mark's apparent death.  After the storm dissipates, Mark wakes up to find his suit impaled by an antenna which took out his biometer, but also, when mixed with Mark's blood, formed a seal on the suit keeping Mark alive.  Mark returns to the Mars astronaut base and begins to analyze his next moves.  Unable to communicate with Earth, Mark figures out a variety of ingenious ways to keep himself alive in hopes that at some point, he'll be able to get back in touch with NASA.

Meanwhile on Earth, satellite analyst Mindy Park (Mackenzie Davis) notices that there is movement on Mars in the area where the Ares crew lived while on the planet and determines that Mark is actually alive.  She immediately informs NASA director Teddy Sanders, NASA media relations head Annie Montrose, and Mars mission director Vincent Kapoor (respectively Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, and Chiwetel Ejiofor) and plans are put into place to attempt to get Mark back.

Undoubtedly, The Martian is one of director Ridley Scott's best films -- and certainly his best in over a decade.  Quite frankly, I'm amazed at how involved I found myself in the story.  While not as solitary as a film like Cast Away in which Tom Hanks was essentially the only character onscreen, for huge portions of The Martian Matt Damon is the only actor onscreen.  Rather cleverly, screenwriter Drew Goddard has crafted a device where he has Mark talk to a computer screen in a video diary-type set-up which allows the audience to get into Mark's head and allows for quite a few comedic moments as Mark contemplates how to survive.  Combined, Scott's direction and Goddard's script keep things moving at an incredibly solid and tremendously surprising clip, creating a film that's hugely pleasant to watch.

While I certainly don't have anything against the actor, Matt Damon has never been a favorite of mine, but I must admit that the actor is quite captivating here.  There's a charm he brings to Mark that's intensely watchable, handling the humor and drama quite well and balancing both with ease.  The rest of the cast is also quite solid with not a bad egg in the bunch, but even though folks like Jeff Daniels and Chiwetel Ejiofor figure in quite a bit story-wise, this is really Damon's film and he holds our interest much more than I ever thought he would.

Admittedly, the film's big set piece that makes up the conclusion seems a little far-fetched, but despite the ridiculousness of it, I still found the denouement quite compelling and excitingly lensed.  Quite honestly, though, what's most intriguing about The Martian is how the science of what keeps Mark alive is placed so squarely front and center and seems shockingly plausible (with the exception of that seemingly ludicrous conclusion).  Not only is The Martian funny, but it's also surprisingly smart...and somehow it's still enjoyable.  Kudos to the entire team behind this one as I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one nearly as much as I did.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Scoot McNairy, Taran Kiliam, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, Alfre Woodard, and Brad Pitt

Directed by Steve McQueen

Director Steve McQueen is fairly new to the feature film scene, but his fantastic 2011 flick Shame put him onto my radar so I came to 12 Years a Slave with high expectations.  McQueen absolutely has an eye behind the camera that I find interesting, but this film lacks a tiny bit of drive to push the story along which knocks the otherwise well-done film down a notch or two.

Based on a true story, 12 Years a Slave tells the tale of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a freed black man living quite well in New York in the 1840s with his wife and two children by his side.  A musician by trade, Solomon is approached by two men (Scoot McNairy and Taran Kiliam) who desire to hire him to play music on tour with their traveling circus.  Solomon agrees and travels to Washington, D.C., where the two men wine and dine him one night to the point of Solomon getting drunk and passing out.  The next thing Solomon knows, he's chained in a dark room and his two new "employers" are nowhere to be found.  Solomon quickly comes to the realization that he was drugged and, despite his pleas, he is sold into slavery and shipped down to New Orleans where he's given the new name of "Platt" to try and conceal the fact that he was ever a free man.

The film then follows Solomon through a series of owners.  The first, William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), is a good man who recognizes the intelligence and education of Solomon.  Despite Ford's kindness, Solomon still finds himself working the field under the watchful eye of the nasty John Tibeats (Paul Dano) who resents the fact that Solomon is so respected by Ford.  Eventually, things get to such a boiling point between Solomon and Tibeats that Ford decides he must sell Solomon in order to keep unity amongst the slaves and the ownership.  Unfortunately for Solomon, his new owner Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) isn't nearly as benevolent as Ford.  Epps, who owns a cotton plantation, could care less about Solomon's education -- he only wants to know how much cotton he can pick in a day.  Adding to the tension, the married Epps is having an affair (however one-sided it is) with female slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o) which doesn't sit too well with Epps' wife (Sarah Paulson) and causes moments of chaos on the plantation.

I fully understand that this is a true story of a horrific journey of one man's life -- so who am I to knock it.  I will say, however, that the episodic nature of the tale -- as evidenced by the summary above -- does make the film feel a little disjointed and doesn't quite allow it to ever gain a driving momentum.  Once we finally get to the climax of one tale (the Ford chapter, as an example), we're sent to the next segment where we essentially have to start things all over again.  It's not as if either story isn't worth telling -- they certainly show the varied lives slaves may have endured in the 19th century -- but the screenplay by John Ridley, while good, doesn't quite succeed at keeping the story moving at a typical movie's pace.  Then again, maybe it's this screenplay's slow pace that attracted Steve McQueen to the project.  Many would say his previous film Shame had that same methodical tone to it and I wouldn't necessarily argue with them.  Shame was telling one story, however, whereas 12 Years a Slave almost feels as if it's telling two or three.

Still, despite my qualms, I don't want my criticism in any way to make it seem as if I didn't like the film.  This certainly is not a chore to sit through and I found the story rather fascinating in that Solomon Northup's tale of a free man being resold into slavery is something I'm not quite sure we've ever seen captured on film before.  McQueen doesn't shy away from the hardships slaves faced on a daily basis and the director seals his status as a filmmaker to watch with an incredibly long and unceasingly uncomfortable single-take scene towards the film's end of a brutal beating.  Although this long take filled me with an uneasy dread, I was fascinated by McQueen's technique, forcing the viewer to "stay with" the scene never allowing us to turn away to get a respite from the horrors endured by some African Americans in the 19th century.

There's an understated demeanor to Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance that endears him to the audience.  Behind his eyes, you can always see the longing to return home to his wife and children, but the fear that it may never happen.  Ejiofor gives a strength to Solomon that is admirable and is a commanding presence despite the character's oftentimes repressed nature.  Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender are two of today's most talked about actors and here they're playing complete opposite sides of the spectrum in slave owners Ford and Epps.  The audience immediately admires Ford's humanity which stands in stark contrast to the bitter anger that permeates seemingly through the pores of Epps.  Fassbender is at his best in scenes involving Sarah Paulson as his wife and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o as his lover.  Fassbender excels at radiating jealousy and he's near perfect at playing such a nasty guy.  However, Paulson and Nyong'o are equally as good at playing the two women he loves.  Paulson's bitterness is spot-on (albeit incredibly nasty) and Nyong'o's pain at being forced to accept being raped on a regular basis is absolutely painful.  I will say (and this harkens back to the screenplay's problems a tad), I wish Nyong'o had a little more to do.  This actress is certainly forced to run the spectrum of emotions (brutally so, at times) and I realize this is Solomon's story, but I wanted a little more depth for Nyong'o to sink her teeth into.

12 Years a Slave isn't an easy watch, but it certainly illustrates a point in our history that needs to be remembered and explored.  I'm happy that Solomon Northup's bittersweet tale has been told and it's a film that's so close to being great, but misses the mark a tiny bit in just a few key areas.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Salt

Salt (2010)

Starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schrieber, and Chiwetel Ejiofor

Directed by Philip Noyce

It's not a shocking statement to say that Angelina Jolie is considered one of the hottest women on the planet.  And while I don't think she should top the Maxim 100 list or anything, she's certainly attractive.  So if you have an incredibly attractive woman starring in a full-blown action pic, why wouldn't you play that up a bit?  Sure, it's probably sexist for me to say it, but one would think that we'd get to see some modicum of hotness emanating from Ms. Jolie in a fun summer movie. 

That's never the case in Salt.  Instead, we see Angelina in an awful blond wig and later dressed up like a man...neither get-up falls into the "hot" category.  I'm not faulting the flick for this, but I just found it odd.

Jolie is Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent who is accused by a Russian spy she is interrogating that she herself is a Russian spy infiltrating the American agency to discover government secrets.  Her fellow agents immediately want to question her, but Salt escapes and finds herself on the run.

Overall, I'm just really lukewarm on the flick.  The action sequences were actually well-shot by director Philip Noyce.  There were a few surprises that I didn't see coming.  But, in the end, the film didn't excite me in the slightest.  

And I think that the problem lies with Jolie herself...not in her lack of hotness, but in her lack of emoting.  There was never a moment in Salt where I felt the least bit concerned for the title character.  As a spy, one would assume that Salt was trained to hide her emotions, but in a movie, an emotional disconnect just doesn't allow for an audience to give a damn.  Jolie just appears to be moving right through the movie, accepting her big paycheck, but not really doing much beyond running really fast.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - 2012 (2009)

2012 (2009)

Starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, and Woody Harrelson

Directed by Roland Emmerich

Most disaster movies are horrendous.  Characters have one specific attribute or mannerism to distinguish them from the hordes of other characters, none of whom you can even remember their names after the movie is over.  Crowd scenes are set up with the sole purpose of creating mass destruction.  Dialog is silly.

All of that is true in 2012, but for some insane reason, I wasn't the least bit bored watching this.  Yes, I laughed out loud at the ridiculous first ninety minutes when loving father John Cusack (as I mentioned above, character names are irrelevant here) and his family utilize a variety of modes of transportation to narrowly escape exploding volcanoes, huge tremors, and giant clouds of smoke.  Yes, the scene where the President of the United States gets mowed down by an aircraft carrier was inane.  Sure, the scientific technobabble blabbed by geologist Chiwetel Ejiofer was mind-numbingly ludicrous. 

But, this movie is what it is.  It's a disaster movie along the same lines as The Poseidon Adventure and Armageddon, and while no one would call those two films cinematic masterpieces, I'm up for their silly fun every now and again.  (Unfortunately, the special effects in those two aforementioned flicks were much better than what was on display here.  In fact -- and this is a huge detriment to this film -- the fx were really awful.)

Certainly helping 2012 is the fact that I actually enjoyed watching several of the actors (despite their idiotic dialog and the impossible situations they finagle out of).  Cusack, Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, and Thandie Newton all did the very best they could with what they were given.  Certainly, there were some actors -- Oliver Platt and Woody Harrelson -- who chewed up the scenery with their over-the-top antics, but overall, the acting was better than it needed to be.

Is 2012 a good movie?  No.  Will I ever watch it again?  Probably not.  Would I recommend this two-hour-and-forty-minute flick to anyone?  Not a chance.

But I still had a moderately enjoyable time watching it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-