Welcome to Marwen

Welcome to Marwen (2018)

Starring Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Merritt Weaver, Janelle Monáe, Eiza González, and Gwendoline Christie

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Written by Caroline Thompson and Robert Zemeckis

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Inflitrator

The Infiltrator (2016)

Starring Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, Yul Vazquez, Juliet Aubry, Elena Anaya, Olympia Dukakis, and Amy Ryan

Directed by Brad Furman

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

During the 1980s, the Medellin Cartel smuggled 15 tons of cocaine a week into the United States.  Special agent Robert Mazur (Bryan Cranston) went undercover in 1985 Tampa in order to become a trusted confidante of drug lord Pablo Escobar's men as they attempted to launder money in America.  The Infiltrator details this true story with a solid -- albeit rote -- exploration of Mazur and his intense dealings with some very bad people.

The Infiltrator doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's not exactly a film that has to do that anyway in order to succeed. What it does need is performances that capture the audience to carry them through the type of story that we've seen before and fortunately, The Infiltrator has that in spades.  Anchored by a compelling Bryan Cranston, the central cast of Diane Kruger, John Leguizamo, and Benjamin Bratt create an atmosphere that more than makes up for the somewhat convoluted screenplay which in its opening third takes a little too long to get the ball rolling.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (2013)

Featuring the voices of Cate Blanchett, Thomas Kretschmann, Diane Kruger, Sebastian Koch, Connie Nielsen, and Josh Radnor

Directed by Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

In the late 1920s, budding philosopher Friedrich Ritter was fed up with the world and escaped with his girlfriend Dore Strauch (both were married and having an affair) to the abandoned isle of Floreana in the Galapagos Islands chain.  The two resided on Floreana alone for quite some time foraging for their survival by finding what they needed from the land only being visited by a sea captain and his crew every now and then.  When word about their secluded paradise hit the newspapers, Heinz and Margret Wittmer (and their teenage son) believed it to be the perfect escape for them as well seeing as how they worried about living in what they believed to be a deteriorating society.  The Wittmers landed on Floreana in the early 1930s much to Freidrich and Dore's dismay, but the two groups eventually figured out a way to deal with one another despite the fact that Friedrich was very discomforted by the notion that he wasn't living out his dream of solitariness anymore.

Shortly thereafter, the rich Baroness Von Wagner and two of her male confidantes landed on the small island of Floreana with the goal to build a hotel for visiting Americans and Europeans.  Needless to say, while Friedrich and Dore made do with the fact that the Wittmers landed on the island, at least that family shared his desire to be secluded from the rest of the world.  With the Baroness now attempting to capitalize monetarily on Friedrich's small piece of paradise, things inevitably were going to take a turn for the worse.

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden is an interesting documentary that utilizes original writings of all the involved parties to tell its tale.  Through voiceovers by the likes of Cate Blanchett and Diane Kruger taking on the roles of Dore and Margret respectively, we get intimate knowledge about each family's feelings towards one another.  This aspect of storytelling is certainly compelling despite the fact that as things veer into disturbing territory, the original journals seem to be less than descriptive and often contradictory as each family attempts to "cover their ass."

Unfortunately, when the filmmakers attempt to showcase life on the other isles of the Galapagos chain by conducting current interviews of elderly folks who were around in the 1930s and younger folks who currently live on the islands, their film sometimes comes to a screeching halt.  These conversations aren't particularly compelling and don't add much to the overarching mystery of what happened on Floreana in the late 1920s/early 1930s.  Still, The Galapagos Affair is a decent portrait of a certainly little known historical anecdote.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Host

The Host (2013)

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, Max Irons, Boyd Holbrook, Chandler Canterbury, Frances Fisher, and William Hurt

Directed by Andrew Niccol

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

After the hell that was the Twilight series -- five movies equaling over ten hours of my life that I'll never get back -- I have no idea why I subjected myself to The Host, a sci-fi flicked based on a novel by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer.  I think the only reason is that I had some faith that Andrew Niccol -- writer of the fantastic The Truman Show -- was scripting and lensing the piece and I hoped beyond hope that he'd bring something beyond a teen romance to this piece.  Well, I couldn't have been more mistaken.

Instead of vampires and werewolves, we're subjected to a race of aliens who have taken over Earth.  Parasitically, they've invaded human bodies taking on the appearance of us, but are identifiable because of a silver ring that appears around the eye.  At the start of the film, human Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) has been captured by a seeker (Diane Kruger) and implanted with an alien life form.  However, Melanie is a strong one and she refuses to have her psyche leave her body.  As the alien sets out on a mission to find other humans to take over, Melanie is constantly yammering and pleading (in an awful Southern accented voiceover) to stop their invasion and find peace with the human race.  There's an awful love triangle that ensues when the alien inside Melanie finds Melanie's younger brother, uncle, and boyfriend -- all of whom have trouble dealing with the fact that the person in front of them looks like Melanie but isn't her at all.

Ugh...to be honest, I'm having trouble writing this one simply because I don't give a damn.  The constantly painful voiceover of human Melanie inside of the now alien Melanie makes this story nearly unfilmable.  Not that it would've been good on paper, but at least in text you can "believe" it a little more.  Here, there's really nothing unique or redeeming about this concept whatsoever.  Seriously, don't make the same mistake I did.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - Unknown

Unknown (2011)

Starring Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Aiden Quinn, January Jones, and Frank Langella

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

Jaume Collet-Serra's last directorial effort, 2009's horror film Orphan, ended up on my Top 20 list of the year.  His 2011 flick Unknown will not share that same prestige, however.  Unknown, starring the newly-turned bad-ass Liam Neeson as a man who, after a horrible accident, falls into a coma then wakes up to find his wife and friends acting as if they don't know him, is a film that just never reaches any levels of excitement.

Collet-Serra tries to formulate some action sequences, but between himself and the screenwriters, there's nary a new idea brought to the screen.  The whole affair just felt like a rehash of any number of movies previously created.  Neeson is a little too nonchalant and bland for a man whose life is being turned upside down and Diane Kruger as the taxi driver who unwittingly was the cause of his coma joins him in that blasé club.  Sure to find a spot on the worst acting of the year awards is January Jones who plays Neeson's wife who appears to have somehow turned on him following his accident.  I don't watch Mad Men, but if her absolutely wooden performance here is any indication of her acting prowess, then I have no need to add that show to my Netflix queue.

After the amusing Taken, I was hoping Unknown would be a nice follow-up somewhat in the same vein (and therein may lie a problem with the promotions department of this film who made it seem that it would be).  Unfortunately, it's not even remotely as enjoyable.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-