Ant-Man

Ant-Man (2015)

Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, and Michael Peña

Directed by Peyton Reed 

Click here for my Letterboxd review

Click here for my previous RyMickey Review

My current RyMickey Rating:  B

West Side Story

 West Side Story (2021)

Starring Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Corey Stall, Brian D'Arcy James, and Rita Moreno

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Written by Tony Kushner

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

The Seagull

The Seagull (2018)

Starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Corey Stoll, Elisabeth Moss, Mare Winningham, Jon Tenney, Glenn Fleshler, Michael Zegen, Billy Howle, and Brian Dennehy

Directed by Michael Mayer

Written by Stephen Karam

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B

First Man

First Man (2018)

Starring Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Pablo Schreiber, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas, Shea Whigham, Olivia Hamilton, Brian d'Arcy James, and Ciarán Hinds

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Written by Josh Singer

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A look at Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and the struggles he faced -- both familial and professionally -- to become the first man to walk on the moon.

 

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: A

Movie Review - Café Society

Café Society (2016)

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Corey Stoll, Jeannie Berlin, and Anna Camp

Directed by Woody Allen

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

Café Society is a nonstarter when it comes to a Woody Allen movie.  There's nothing about it that really pops, but there's nothing about it that's bad enough to rouse hatred.  In the end, it's just a middle-of-the-road flick from a prolific auteur who has maybe run out of ideas when it comes to comedy despite still having some life in him when it comes to writing and directing dramas.

It's the 1930s and Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) isn't happy working for his jeweler father in New York City so he decides to move to Los Angeles where he gets a job running errands for his uncle Phil (Steve Carell) who is one of the biggest agents in Hollywood.  At his uncle's office, Bobby meets secretary Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) and immediately becomes infatuated with her.  Unfortunately for Bobby, Vonnie happens to be secretly seeing her married boss, Phil, but she's aggravated that he won't leave his wife despite promises that he will.  With Phil leaving her in limbo, Vonnie acquiesces to Bobby's advances, but their relationship eventually causes some tension between Bobby and Phil, leaving the young man to head back home to New York City where a whole second half of the story begins involving a ritzy supper club.

And therein lies the biggest problem with Café Society -- it's two disparate stories that don't really mesh together as well as they should.  The film really is broken into two halves and while neither half is disproportionately worse than the other, it just doesn't really click as a whole.  Fortunately, Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart have nice chemistry (in what I believe is their third film together) which helps Woody Allen's words come to life.  Anna Camp, Parker Posey, and Blake Lively take on cameo-sized roles and inject a lot of character into them as well.  In the end, though, Woody Allen may have been better served if he just chose one half on which to focus.  Still, Café Society isn't the worst of Allen films, but it's certainly not the best.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Bourne Legacy

***Movie #4 of BOURNE Week***
The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach, Oscar Isaac, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Donna Murphy, Corey Stoll, Zeljko Ivanek, and Joan Allen

Directed by Tony Gilroy

As we discovered in the previous Bourne films, Jason Bourne was just one of many men recruited by the CIA to violently act out missions for the agency.  The Bourne Legacy leaves Matt Damon behind (likely because they couldn't offer a big enough paycheck) and focuses on one of the other men -- Aaron Cross -- part of another black ops group Bourne and Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) were trying to uncover in earlier flicks.

The Bourne Legacy opens with many of its scenes running concurrently to the final moments in The Bourne Ultimatum.  Director Tony Gilroy (the co-screenwriter of the previous Bourne films as well as this one) picks up the reins from Paul Greengrass and nicely ties Aaron Cross's story into Jason Bourne's timeline with this concurrent opening.  Smartly, Gilroy plants Aaron Cross (played by Jeremy Renner) into a different CIA black ops program -- one that forces its recruits to take pills in order to maintain their stamina, strength, and intelligence.  This allows for a different background and starting point for Cross than Bourne and it plays well throughout the film, feeling like a somewhat different animal...which is a good thing.

The repercussions of the actions of Bourne and Landy, however, permeate throughout The Bourne Legacy, as Cross finds himself being hunted down by CIA agents as they try to cover their tracks about the government's black ops agencies.  This leads Cross to Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a biochemist who has medically tested him in the past and who Cross uses to help him evade those coming after him.

The Bourne Legacy works really well as a continuation of the overarching political conspiracy story that runs rampant throughout this cinematic series.  Where it falters, however, is in a few of the film's action moments, including a very ill-conceived final action sequence with some laughable reaction shots from Weisz that ends things on a decidedly disappointing note.  Renner is more chipper than the dour Bourne (at least as chipper as one can be when being hunted down by the CIA) and his interactions with Weisz, while more generic than Bourne's interactions with his female contacts, are pleasantly conceived.  However, Renner is actually a little too high on charisma -- a fault that I almost can't believe I'm writing.  He didn't quite sell me on the "operative on the run" aspect of his character.  Still, it was pleasant to put a different face front and center in the series even though it didn't quite match the success of its immediate predecessor.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Dark Places

Dark Places (2015)

Starring Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Christina Hendricks, Corey Stall, Tye Sheridan, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Drea de Matteo

Directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner

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

Gone Girl is perhaps my favorite film of the decade thus far -- a brilliant Hitchcockian piece of cinema crafted with a deft hand from director David Fincher and a biting screenplay from Gillian Flynn adapting her own novel.  So, when I saw that another novel of Flynn's was getting a feature film adaptation, I had to check it out.  Disappointingly, there was a reason for Dark Places to get an extremely limited release last summer as writer-director Gilles Paquet-Brenner is unable to create any modicum of suspense with his story or direction thereof.

When Libby Day was eight years old, she saw her mother and sisters be brutally murdered in their Kansas house.  Libby's testimony put her brother (Tye Sheridan as a youth, Corey Stall as an adult) behind bars for the crime, but thirty years later, an adult Libby (Charlize Theron) is compelled to reexamine the murders thanks to a young true crime "enthusiast" (Nicholas Hoult), realizing that her memories may not be accurate depictions of that horrific day.

Ultimately, Dark Places fails at creating a compelling storyline.  At its center, Charlize Theron's Libby lacks the emotional gravitas to be placed front and center due not so much to Theron's performance, but moreso because of the character's forlorn and malaise-filled life.  Sure, Libby has certainly been through a lot and has every right to lead a depressing life given her past, but her journey becomes tiresome rather quickly and lacks a payoff that excites.  The twisted humor and sensibility that runs rampant through Gone Girl and elevates it beyond the typical "thriller" is nonexistent here.  Instead, we're treated to a bland story with even blander characters and even blander twists and turns.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Ant-Man

Ant-Man (2015)

Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, and Michael Peña

Directed by Peyton Reed

Congratulations are in order to Marvel Studios who has managed to consistently deliver films that audiences clamor to see at the box office.  Having tackled their marquee superheroes, they've begun heading into the lesser known characters starting with 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy and continuing with 2015's Ant-Man, the tale of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a thief who is released from prison and finding it tough to make a living outside in the real world.  Desperate to reconnect with his daughter (Abby Ryder Fortson) but without any money to provide child support, Scott agrees to take part in another heist at the home of the rich Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).  Unfortunately, upon breaking into the home's safe, Scott discovers simply a suit rather than any money.  He takes the suit and ends up trying it on, only to shrink to the size of an ant.  Pym finds Scott and asks him to go on a mission to infiltrate the workplace of Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) who is trying to use the shrinking technology that was created by Pym to create weapons of war.

Ant-Man is a perfectly acceptable film and all aspects of it -- from the acting to the direction to the script to the special effects -- are enjoyable, but I didn't find myself fawning over it which, admittedly, is the case with many of the Marvel films for me.  Rudd is engaging as the lead character and it's nice to see Michael Douglas take a central role in a popular movie.  Corey Stoll is amusingly evil as well and his final showdown with Ant-Man is actually one of the best final battles yet in a Marvel film simply due to the fact that director Peyton Reed doesn't take things too over-the-top and allows the flick to breathe a little bit rather than feel like a nonstop unending action sequence.

But still, considering the raves this one got by people over the summer, I was perhaps expecting a bit more.  Don't mistake me -- Ant-Man is one of Marvel's better efforts, but I longed for a little more.  Perhaps when its sequel rolls around and we're given less of an origin story (which always tend to be boring), we'll be in for more of a treat.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Black Mass

Black Mass (2015)

Starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, David Harbour, Adam Scott, Julianne Nicholson, and Corey Stall

Directed by Scott Cooper

With an impressive cast, Black Mass is a solid mob pic that's impressively shot, but lacks a real riveting storyline.  That isn't to say that Black Mass is particularly boring, but it didn't quite lure me in as much as I wanted despite very good above- and below-the-line aspects.

Johnny Depp tackles the lead role in this true story as James "Whitey" Bulger, brother to state senator Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) and also one of South Boston's nastiest and violent criminals from the 1970s through the 1990s.  Not only a crime boss, Whitey ends up being "recruited" by FBI agent (and childhood friend) John Connelly (Joel Edgerton) to be an informant, spilling beans on other crime gangs throughout Boston.  As the film details a variety of Whitey's crimes, we also witness his ability to twist things in his favor, most evident by the coercing of Agent Connelly into allowing crimes to be committed with the agent's knowledge.  This manipulation (to which Connelly knowingly acquiesces) makes up some of the best aspects of the film.

Much has been made of Johnny Depp's performance which finally brings the actor back to a serious role after many years of comedy, action, or Tim Burton-esque weirdness.  The praise is warranted with Depp pretty darn scary as the headstrong, violent, and downright nasty Bulger.  He's matched by a solid supporting cast none of which give a bad performance, but none of which can really hold a candle to the admittedly electric charisma Depp has onscreen even behind his character's somewhat harrowing make-up job.

While good, Black Mass never quite reaches levels of greatness.  There's a been there-done that quality that make the film feel not quite as unique as I'd have liked.  Director Scott Cooper does a solid job here, but the film feels as if it meanders a bit in the middle and its conclusion involving the uncovering of some of Agent Connelly's actions doesn't quite land as satisfyingly as expected.  Overall, it's a bit rote and by-the-book, and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn't get me overly excited about the piece as a whole.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - The Good Lie

The Good Lie (2014)

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jay, Kuoth Wiel, and Corey Stall

Directed by Philippe Falardeau

In 1983, a civil war broke out in Sudan over religion and various natural resources, leaving many southern villages ravaged by northern armies.  Orphaned children fled on foot as many as one thousand miles to Ethiopia and Kenya in hopes of finding a safe refuge.  More than a decade later, 3600 Sudanese refugees relocated to the United States.  The Good Lie is the story of four of them and their incredible journey is uplifting and inspirational.  

While Reese Witherspoon gets top billing here, this "based on true events" amalgamation isn't her tale at all which I actually found oddly refreshing.  Eschewing the typical Blind Side savior aspect, The Good Lie places its focus squarely on the Sudanese refugees themselves -- Mamere (Arnold Oceng), Jeremiah (Ger Duany), Paul (Emmanuel Jay), and Abital (Kuoth Wiel).  The quartet of siblings (though not all necessarily through blood, but rather through spirit) win a lottery to travel to the US and find support from Carrie (Reese Witherspoon), a job placement specialist in Kansas City, Missouri.  Although they slowly but surely begin to grow accustomed to American social cues, the three brothers long to be reunited with their sister Abital who was sent to Boston to live with a family there.

As mentioned, The Good Lie is the refugees' tale -- Witherspoon doesn't even come into the picture until close to 35 minutes in.  Rather, we get a detailed story of the quartet of refugees as youths as they make their incredibly long and dangerous trek through Sudan to safe harbor in Kenya.  By connecting with them as kids, we grow to understand the familial bonds they form despite the fact that only Mamere and Abital are actually related.  The film unfortunately falters a bit when it initially makes it to the US as it falls into the stereotypical fish out of water moments that we've seen before -- "What's this 'McDonald's'?", mistaking a telephone for an alarm clock, how do you use a straw -- but this lighthearted overused element shifts rather quickly back to the bigger story at hand.

While Witherspoon is certainly solid in her portrayal, The Good Lie belongs to the Sudanese quartet. Thankfully, the actors portraying them -- three of whom are actual Sudanese refugees themselves -- are more powerful than I could've expected.  The feelings depicted by the quartet all feel genuine and we never get the sense that this is one of the first acting gigs for most of them.  This is by far the most impressive aspect of the film and director Philippe Falardeau deserves kudos as much as the fresh-faced actors for being able to believably deliver and elicit the wide range of emotions needed for these refugees' stories to spring to life.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - This Is Where I Leave You

This Is Where I Leave You (2014)

Starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stall, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Dax Shepard, Debra Monk, Abigail Spencer, and Jane Fonda

Directed by Shawn Levy

When their father dies, the Altman family -- siblings Judd, Wendy, Paul, and Philip and their mother Hillary (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stall, Adam Driver, and Jane Fonda -- gather together at their childhood home to sit shiva (a seven day Jewish period of mourning) in honor of their dad.  Old sibling rivalries and current spousal struggles rear their ugly heads as the Altmans learn to cope with their patriarch's death.

A completely believable familial banter isn't as easy to come by in films as one would think and the repartee that Bateman, Fey, Stall, and Driver have with one another in This Is Where I Leave You feels genuine.  While Fonda's role is a little over the top, I appreciated that her eccentricities appeared to have at least influenced her grown children's emotional states, helping to further craft authentic characters.  Solid performances by Rose Byrne, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, and Abigail Spencer add to the great cast.

While I would've liked to have had a bit more heart imbued into the flick, I still found myself engaged and interested in each sibling's highs and lows.  This Is Where I Leave You admittedly treads similar paths of typical familial dramedies, but with a stellar cast, director Shawn Levy's flick proves to be a nicely paced, pleasant sleeper that surprisingly balances its myriad of story lines with ease -- some prove a little more successful than others (and a particularly out-of-left-field "surprise" at the film's conclusion seems simply added for shock effect), but the overall result is quite successful.  

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Decoding Annie Parker

Decoding Annie Parker (2014)

Starring Samantha Morton, Helen Hunt, Aaron Paul, Alice Eve, Marley Shelton, Rashida Jones, Corey Stoll, Bradley Whitford, and Richard Schiff

Directed by Steven Bernstein

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Anyone who knows me knows my teenage infatuation with Helen Hunt.  Quite possibly the only teenager to fall for the Mad About You actress, Ms. Hunt still holds a special place in my heart.  And she's probably the only reason I even thought about watching Decoding Annie Parker.  Debut screenwriter-director Steven Bernstein's first feature film details the true story of Annie Parker (played by Samantha Morton), a Canadian wife and mother who has had her share of tragedy in life with multiple members of her family succumbing to breast cancer.  When she is told that she also has breast cancer, Annie sets off on a mission to learn all she can about the disease, trying to fight the then-popular opinion in the 1970s that there was no genetic familial connection.  In her research, Annie uncovers works by researcher Mary-Claire King (the aforementioned Hunt), one of the few scientists attempting to link breast cancer to genetics.

Bernstein's film bounces back and forth between Annie and Mary-Claire's stories and also meanders to and fro in the realms of comedy and drama.  The opening line of the film is a quote from Annie -- "My life was a comedy.  I just had to learn how to laugh." -- and despite the subject matter, Bernstein attempts to lighten things up.  Unfortunately, he doesn't quite succeed in creating an adequate balance and his script never quite elevates to anything more than a tv movie.

That being said, however, thanks to a nice performance by Hunt and an even better performance by Morton, Decoding Annie Parker manages to be a little better than the sum of its parts.  Helping as well is the true story of Dr. Mary-Claire King, an undersung hero in the field of genetic research whose contributions to the medical profession are nicely documented here.  It's still nice to know that movies have the ability to open our eyes to certain aspects of our history that we know nothing about.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Non-Stop

Non-Stop (2014)

Starring Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, Corey Stall, Scoot McNairy, Nate Parker, and Lupita Nyong'o

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

As loyal readers are well aware, it took me quite a while to get through 2013 movies this year which admittedly put a crimp in my 2014 movie-watching.  "Let me hold off on 2014 movies until I finish 2013," I'd say.  In the back of my mind, however, I'd look forward to watching things like Non-Stop for the shear inanity of it -- I wanted something without substance to sink my teeth into.  Whether that set up unrealistic expectations for Non-Stop, I don't know, but this Liam Neeson actioner felt like a rehash and conglomeration of every other Liam Neeson picture since his star turn in Taken.

This time, though, Neeson's character federal air marshal Bill Marks is not saving his family, but an entire plane's worth of people as some crazy nutcase attempts to blow up an aircraft over the Atlantic on a non-stop flight from New York to London.  Or is Bill the one who's actually doing the terrorizing?  Someone appears to be setting him up as the terrorist, but is that just a clever cover for Bill to extort money from the US government while holding a plane's worth of people hostage?

The film's twists and turns ultimately just feel like a screenwriting team attempting to contort things just for the sake of movie-making and I found myself growing tired of the script's attempts to pull the rug out from under me.  Neeson's character is interchangeable with any one of his other characters from Taken or Unknown or Taken 2 or even The Grey -- his problem is all his roles as of late simply have "gruff" as a defining characteristic.  It's not that he's ever bad, it's just that he's become so predictable even in better films.

Non-Stop throws in some "I know that person" faces in the form of Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery, House of Cards' Corey Stall, and Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o (who has about three lines and obviously completed this film before 12 Years a Slave was on anyone's radar) as well as the bigger name of Julianne Moore, but none of these people or their characters really add depth to the script -- they just add to a seemingly unending list of red herrings that are thrown our way.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Ramblings on House of Cards

I don't usually discuss television at all on this blog, but I just wanted to throw a few thoughts out there about Netflix's House of Cards.  Anchored by a fantastic performance by Kevin Spacey, much has already been said about this being Netflix's first foray into series television and if this is the type of show the company bankrolls, I'll have to check out everything they bring to the table (except Arrested Development -- I tried...I just don't get it).

Spacey is Francis Underwood, a Democratic senator from the South who despite being promised a big position within the new presidential administration finds himself passed over for the job.  This doesn't sit too well with Underwood who sets out to do all that he can to enact revenge and better his position in the process.

What I truly enjoy about House of Cards is that it doesn't ever stoop to the lowest common denominator in any area.  Foul language is used when necessary, but not overly so.  Violence is depicted, but not in any graphic manner.  Sex and nudity sometimes make an appearance, but not to any exploitative degree.  Instead, the producers allow the story to naturally unfold rather than hit us over the head with "THIS IS NOT NETWORK TV!!!" like pay cable stations HBO or Showtime (or even fX) seem wont to do.  We're still being treated to a drama aimed squarely at thinking adults, but it's not risqué just because it "can be."

There are great performances across the board.  Spacey is fantastic.  I loved how they decided to have him speak directly to the camera at times allowing the audience to see the character's true personality amidst the façade he's putting on for those around him.  Robin Wright is also very good as Underwood's wife and I must say that I was truly shocked that her character Claire is given the weight and importance that this series grants her.  As the head of an environmental group, Claire isn't just a trophy wife and the tricky relationship that she shares with her husband is one of the reasons this show proves to be unique.

We're also given some great turns from Michael Kelly as Underwood's right-hand man, Kate Mara as an intrepid reporter, Corey Stall as a senator from Pennsylvania who is being manipulated unbeknown to him by Underwood, and Kristen Connolly as the PA senator's girlfriend/chief of staff.  Quite honestly, there wasn't a bad actor cast here from the top to the bottom.

I worry a little bit that this show will be able to sustain itself as I wonder just how many manipulative moves a character like Underwood can make without subjecting himself to the wrath of his fellow politicians.  I also question whether a surprising turn of events in episode ten was a too-much-too-soon moment for Underwood.  What he does isn't necessarily surprising given what we'd come to know about him, but it does seem like it may have come a tad early in the series.

Still, House of Cards has me rooting for the "bad" guy and the complex life he leads.  Part of me wishes the thirteen episode first season would've ended on a bit more of a cliffhanger note, but I'll still be pulled back in for season two which I'll likely binge watch over the course of three days much like I watched season one.

Movie Review - Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Nina Arianda, Kurt Fuller, and Mimi Kennedy

Directed by Woody Allen

It should be noted that there are moderate spoilers below...I call them spoilers in the broadest sense of the word because the trailer, rather ingeniously, did not give away what this movie is about in the slightest.  Perhaps rather foolishly, my fellow moviegoer and I had no concept of a completely major aspect of the plot because of a lack of reading reviews for this and only seeing the trailer.  While I don't reveal any major plot points, just be aware that I'm "giving away" more than you'd see in the commercials.

UPDATED 2/15/12 -- I don't know if it's the fact that now that it's garnered Oscar nominations, I'm looking at the film differently and perhaps a little more critically, but I recently rewatched Midnight in Paris and boy, was my "B" rating way too high.  I found the whole flick this second time around rather pretentious.  While lovely to look at and acted fine by the leads (although Kathy Bates is really painful), it was almost a chore to sit through it a second time.  My adjusted rating will appear below.

Midnight in Paris is pleasant to watch...and that's simply it.  It's a pleasant film that doesn't try to be anything more than that.  And there's nothing wrong with that.  But all this talk about how it's one of writer-director Woody Allen's best films in ages seems rather unwarranted to me.  It's a satisfying romantic comedy, but the awards buzz surrounding this film boggles my mind.  Heck, Allen's Whatever Works was a more satisfying film and failed to get any traction in the Oscar race two years ago.

When the film opens, we meet former screenwriter-turned struggling novelist Gil (Owen Wilson taking on the "Woody Allen" role, but in a thankfully much less neurotic manner than is typically characteristic of Allen's films) who is visiting Paris with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents John and Helen (a somewhat scene-stealing Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy).  After hanging out for several days with two friends of Inez's, Paul and Carol (Michael Sheen and Nina Arianda), Gil grows tired of Paul's know-it-all, booksmart, and arrogant nature and finds himself separating from the group walking the streets of Paris alone at night.  While contemplating both his career and his relationship, a clock in a small Parisian square strikes midnight and Gil finds himself magically transported back in time to the 1920s where he finds himself trading one-liners with folks like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali.

Owen Wilson is one of the biggest reasons Midnight in Paris garners the "pleasant" moniker.  He's in nearly every scene and his Gil is a guy that you can't help but root for.  Oftentimes, the "Woody Allen doppelganger" is such a nebbishy whiner, but here Wilson dials down the crankiness...and it's much appreciated.  Wilson is evenly matched by Rachel McAdams who takes on a slightly different persona from the sweet gals we've seen her play recently (think back to her Mean Girls days as a reference point for this role).  With the exception of the overrated Marion Cotillard (an actress whose appeal I just don't get in the slightest) as Gil's 1920s muse, all of the supporting performances (including the aforementioned comedic chops of Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy as the conservative-skewing parents of Inez) are pleasant surprises and help elevate the flick.

Nostalgia is really a key plot point and overarching theme of Midnight in Paris.  Unhappy with his current state of affairs, Gil can't help but think that the Paris of nearly a century ago is the solution to all of his problems.  But is it?  In the end, I'm not sure the film answers that question and it kind of left me feeling a bit empty at its conclusion because of it.  I'm honestly not sure whether I'm supposed to be thinking "Yes, the past is better than the present" or "Learn from the past and shape your present with that knowledge."  (It should be noted that there's a rather interesting read on this conundrum here.  Finding myself confused by what I was "supposed to feel" at the end of this, I tried to do a little research and found that essay that doesn't really answer the question either and contains quite a few points I'd disagree with including calling Gil "anti-nostaligic," but at least is rather intuitive.)

Still, Midnight in Paris is a pleasant watch, and as I mentioned before, there's nothing wrong with simply being pleasant...just go into it trying to suppress the "Oscar talk" and you'll be fine.

The "Original" RyMickey Rating:  B
The "New" RyMickey Rating:  C