Cruella

 Cruella (2021)

Starring Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Mark Strong

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Written by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

The Favourite

The Favourite (2018)

Starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, and Joe Alwyn

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Battle of the Sexes

Battle of the Sexes (2017)

Starring Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, and Jessica McNamee

Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

Written by Simon Beaufoy

Summary (in 500 words or less):  In 1973, former professional tennis player Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) challenged the popular Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) to a tennis match.  This battle of the sexes received much media coverage with the outspoken and braggadocios Riggs certain he'd prove victorious against the quiet, resolute King who was battling her own demons at the same time as she contemplated her sexuality when she begins to fall for a hairdresser (Andrea Riseborough) traveling with the ladies' pro tennis tour.

• Great performances from both Emma Stone and Steve Carell are the highlights of Battle of the Sexes.  Together, they lift this otherwise generic biopic to a greater level.
• The flick works very well during its first half as we get to learn about the private lives of Bobby and Billie Jean, but the actual Battle of the Sexes tennis match which makes up a large chunk of the final third feels a bit anticlimactic as most in the audience will already know the ending.  Tension never really mounts and the film unfortunately suffers because of the (admittedly necessary) emphasis on the titular match.
• Nice production design definitely creates a 70s aesthetic that proves quite charming

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - La La Land

La La Land (2016)

Starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons, Finn Wittrock, and Tom Everett Scott 

Directed by Damien Chazelle

A few years ago, a movie musical called The Muppets topped my list of Best Films of the Year by tapping into nostalgia and creating a flick that put a smile on my face the whole darn runtime.  "Leave your worries outside that theater door and enter a world of happiness and exuberance," so said Kermit and Miss Piggy.  Five years later, a new duo of stars in Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone asked me to do the same thing with a new and completely original movie musical and I obliged, albeit a little nervously as I was hesitant that the hype surrounding their film La La Land would hinder my enjoyment.  My fears were completely unfounded because once Stone and Gosling popped up onto the screen, that oddly euphoric feeling I felt during The Muppets popped up here as well.  Exquisitely directed by Damien Chazelle, La La Land is a true cinematic musical treat that will get a second viewing by me to see if it can tick up that one level from "A-" land to the mystical world of the hard-to-get "A".

La La Land is certainly not reinventing the wheel in terms of plot.  It's a simple story of boy meets girl and the relationship that ensues after a meet-cute.  The boy -- Sebastian, in this case, played by Gosling -- is an aspiring jazz pianist who adores music icons of yore like Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong, but is finding the modern day crowd reticent to listen to that style of jazz.  It's a struggle to find his place in the music world of Los Angeles which is ready to leave him behind.  The girl is Mia (played by Stone), an aspiring actress who moved to LA from a small town in Nevada, but is finding herself working at a Hollywood studio coffee shop admiring the actresses who come in for a drink instead of actually being an actress herself.  Our boy and girl meet and eventually fall in love, pushing each other to pursue their dreams across a Los Angeles landscape that is pushing against them succeeding.

The simplicity of the story is enhanced twofold.  First, the chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone is incredibly palpable with the two radiating joy in nearly every scene.  The repartee between the two is utterly charming and often comedic, reminiscent of 1940s Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant flicks (Bringing Up Baby is even mentioned in the film).  Stone and Gosling have shown us their comedic chops and their chemistry before in the wonderful Crazy Stupid Love and the duo doesn't disappoint here.  They nail every emotional iteration their characters are supposed to experience and honestly as soon as they meet in the film, I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear whenever they were together onscreen.  This is essentially a two-charater piece (hence the lack of a Screen Actor's Guild ensemble nomination) and the duo succeed at every turn.  Their singing isn't too shabby either -- granted, neither would win American Idol, but that's part of the charm of the film.  We get more emotion from the lack of perfection in their voices than we ever would from a spot-on singer crooning these tunes.

Secondly, the simple tale is elevated by the glorious direction of Damien Chazelle -- he of the fantastic Whiplash two years ago.  Nothing in the intense and cinematographically dark Whiplash would've keyed me in that Chazelle had this old school-Hollywood romanticism in him, but with the exception of one four-letter word (and the use of cell phones and Priuses and other modern technology), La La Land feels like it could've been made in the golden era of Hollywood musicals.  Odes to Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (the latter not a Hollywood musical, but you get my drift) are everywhere as a rhapsody of Technicolor hues and stunningly gorgeous lighting are present in nearly every scene which are themselves filled with beautiful costumes and production design.  That aforementioned smile plastered on my face -- part of that was simply from the imagery and colors flashing across the screen.

Admittedly, and perhaps a bit surprisingly, where the film falls the tiniest bit short is in the "musical" aspect in part because there are really only six songs in its 130 minutes.  While the characters are certainly breaking into song, I couldn't help but want more.  I initially thought the film got a little slow in the middle, but upon reflection that was really only because of a lack of songs not because the film itself was actually slow per se.  The songs by Broadway songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are lovely, some soaringly exuberant and some achingly painful, but all (with the exception of an odd opening number that feels the tiniest bit out of place) are intrinsically helpful in advancing the plot.

Then again, the songs are just one key musical element of La La Land as Chazelle not only utilizes lyrics, but also some lovely dance sequences to enhance the musicality of the piece.  Incredibly reminiscent of the extended dances in the aforementioned Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris, Chazelle allows dance to advance his simplistic plot, elevating our character's emotions and feelings through this form of media which is obviously something the modern moviegoing audience doesn't see everyday.  Admittedly, these moments in the 1950s Hollywood films always fell flat for me (the titular ballet scene in An American in Paris puts me to sleep), but thanks to the dazzling original score by Justin Hurwitz which melds old Hollywood and jazz along with extended takes with few cuts and edits by Chazelle, I was onboard.

I was hoping that Damien Chazelle was a director to watch after the intensely exciting Whiplash, but with La La Land he shows us a completely different side of his aesthetic.  The romance, humor, and happiness that jumps off the screen allows us to leave any troubles outside the confines of the four walls of the theater and embrace an old school cinematic mentality that is far too uncommon in modern film.  The simplicity of the story elevates Chazelle's visuals, Gosling and Stone's chemistry, and the music itself in La La Land with all aspects melding into a gorgeous cinematic treat that I'll certainly be exploring again in the near future.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Movie Review - Irrational Man

Irrational Man (2015)

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey, and Jamie Blackley

Directed by Woody Allen

No one will ever mistake Irrational Man for being one of Woody Allen's masterpieces, but it's certainly not one of his disasters.  A middle-of-the-road dramedy, Irrational Man is Allen's somewhat comedic take on Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.  Here, troubled college philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) moves to a new university to begin teaching a summer session where he meets engaging graduate student Jill Pollard (Emma Stone).  Although Jill is dating fellow student Roy (Jamie Blackley), she immediately falls for Abe's intelligence and what she perceives as power despite the fact that Abe himself is facing internal strife and what he believes to be an existential crisis.  While Abe doesn't initially return Jill's affections, one afternoon while lunching at a diner, the two overhear a woman desperately complaining to her friends about the unfair judge presiding over the custody hearing concerning her children.  Upon hearing this, Abe thinks that helping this woman whom he doesn't even know may be the key to getting him out of his funk.  And how should he help the woman?  What about carrying out the perfect crime (seeing as how there is zero connection between Abe and this unknown woman) by killing the judge presiding over her custody hearing?

Therein is the Hitchcockian spin in Allen's latest feature film which, when it occurs about halfway through, lifts the flick up from a bit of a slow, predictable start.  Phoenix fits right in to the Woody Allen landscape with his downtrodden professor a perfect match for the actor himself who is quite adept at playing depressed men with a bit of anxiety.  (It wouldn't be a Woody Allen film without anxiety creeping in, right?)  While Emma Stone's Jill doesn't stretch the actress in any way, it's a much better character than her somewhat over-the-top role as a kooky psychic in Allen's last feature Magic in the Moonlight.  In fact, everything about Irrational Man is better than that prior feature, despite the fact that this flick, as mentioned, takes a little while to actually get to the meat of its story.  While Phoenix and Stone certainly try to make their relationship patter click in the film's first half, it really doesn't end up mattering much to the overall story which is no fault of the two actors.  Still, Irrational Man falls into the upper half of the Woody Allen flicks I've seen in terms of quality and story, and, while not perfect, creates an engaging atmosphere that comes into its own as the film progresses.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Aloha

Aloha (2015)

Starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Jaeden Lieberher, Danielle Rose Russell, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin

Directed by Cameron Crowe

There are moments of clever wordplay in director-screenwriter Cameron Crowe's Aloha that pinpoint that this lauded filmmaker (by others, not myself) has an ear for dialog that evokes a sense of spontaneity and naturalness while still feeling somewhat elegant and eloquent.  However, these small moments aren't enough to make a film work or carry a story and Aloha is a near disaster in the story department.  An hour into the film I found myself pondering what in the hell is the main storyline here?  The flick was a jumbled mess until that point and, quite frankly, doesn't get much better in its second half.

In the end, I think Aloha is trying to tell the tale of a beginning and an ending (how clever in that "aloha" can mean "hello" or "goodbye") when it comes to relationships for its main character Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper), a hired defense worker who is employed by the filthy rich Carson Welch (Bill Murray) to do computer work (I think?) on Welch's new space communications satellite launching off the coast of Hawaii in the near future.  Hawaii used to be Brian's home and while living there, he was in a serious relationship with Tracy (Rachel McAdams) who is now married to Air Force pilot Woody (John Krasinki) with whom she has two kids.  Brian's return to the 49th State creates a bit of havoc in Tracy and Woody's relationship with long buried feelings resurfacing between the former couple.  Also thrown into the mix:  pilot Allison Ng (Emma Stone) who is tasked with escorting Brian around the island and begins to fall for him;  Tracy and Woody's son Mitchell (Jaeden Lieberher) believes that Brian's arrival signifies the beginning of some Hawaiian lore that will cause volcanic eruptions and new islands to form; and, just for kicks, Tracy and Woody's daughter Grace (Danielle Rose Russell) may or may not be Brian's biological daughter.

While another film may be able to balance all these storylines, Aloha is unable and proves to be a painful experiment to watch.  As mentioned, sixty minutes in, I had no clue what was supposed to be the "big" storyline here.  I figured it would be the love triangle between Brian, Rachel, and Allison, and while that proves ultimately to be true, this segment is so poorly laid out and structured in the film's opening hour that it's impossible to feel any connection to these characters or have any desire to see this plot point reach its conclusion.  Instead of honing in on this three-cornered relationship, much of the film's beginning is focused on Brian attempting to convince native Hawaiians to allow Carson Welch to build a bridge through their land along with a huge emphasis on "mystical" and "mysterious" ancient Hawaiian folklore.  And the kicker -- neither of these two concepts make much of an appearance in the film's second half.  Throw in some incredibly weird, purportedly comedic moments that just stick out like a sore thumb (or an extra toe which literally makes an appearance here) and Mr. Crowe's script just proves to be laughably bad.

Given the mediocrity of the script, the typically solid cast isn't given a lot to work with and they find themselves floundering for motivation.  McAdams and Krasinski fare the best, but their characters are supposed to be incredibly unhappy with one another and this never comes across despite the actors' best efforts.  The typically charming Cooper is all over the place in a role that never determines whether it's supposed to be comedic or dramatic or a mix of both.  The equally typically charming Stone is like a cartoon character, never once feeling real or based in reality.  Aloha is a huge miss and one that I couldn't wait to say "good-bye" to nearly as soon as I had said "hello."

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Magic in the Moonlight

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

Starring Eileen Atkins, Colin Firth, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, Emma Stone, and Jacki Weaver

Directed by Woody Allen

I've come across Woody Allen rather late in my life and I've admittedly still got a lot of catching up to do with his repertoire. While I've kept up to date on his current pieces, his supposedly "good" era of the 1970s and 1980s still is strongly underrepresented in my filmgoing experience.  Nevertheless, Magic in the Moonlight is Allen's latest directorial and penned piece and while it's light and amusing, it's almost too airy for its own good.

Colin Firth is Stanley, an illusionist whose stage act as Chinese magician Wei Ling Soo is renowned across Europe.  Stanley also happens to be well known for debunking soothsayers, fortune tellers, and afterlife believers and he is called upon by his good friend Howard (Simon McBurney) to head to his friend's house in France where a beautiful psychic named Sophie (Emma Stone) is working her charms on Grace and Brice Catledge (Jacki Weaver and Hamish Linklater), a mother and son who find hope in the young woman for different reasons -- one is amazed at Sophie's ability to purportedly contact her dead husband and the other is amazed at Sophie's ability to make him fall in love with her.  Upon Stanley's arrival, he is adamant that he will debunk Sophie's powers, but as he spends time with the psychic, he finds himself being taken in by her charms and begins to think his entire philosophy on life may need to be readjusted.

There's a charm present throughout Magic in the Moonlight and it certainly is thanks in large part to the actors, all of whom exude a 1920s flapper-esque joie de vivre.  Unfortunately, charm doesn't make a movie completely sing and there's not much else the film has going for it.  Allen's film is supposed to be a comedy, but the laughs are few and far between.  Sure, you may smile at Colin Firth and Emma Stone's repartee, but in the end what they're saying is rather inconsequential.  Then again, I always appreciate Woody Allen's use of music in his films and even when his jokes fall flat, his film soundtracks don't.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Birdman

Birdman (2014)

Starring Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, and Lindsay Duncan

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Talk about overhyped Oscar bait.

Birdman is the story of Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) who, in the early 90s starred in a series of popular comic book movies in which he starred as Birdman, but has found his career in a downturn after he refused to partake in the fourth entry of the series decades ago.  Now, in an attempt to revitalize his career and make himself relevant, Thomson is adapting a Raymond Carver book -- "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" -- to the stage by acting, directing, and starring in the production, but is finding the process much more difficult and much less rewarding than he expected.

Of course the "meta" self-referential aspect of Birdman and how it relates to Michael Keaton's own Hollywood trajectory has been much discussed and that's certainly an intriguing aspect to director/co-screenwriter Alejandro González Iñárritu's film.  However, a film needs a little more substance than "meta" in order to work.

Birdman works best and is most interesting when it details the inner workings of putting on a Broadway show and how an actor's dramatic process works.  The script is good at not taking itself too seriously all of the time and the comedic jabs at the entertainment industry and the sometimes self-important Hollywood actors and drama critics are enjoyable.  Unfortunately, whenever the film focuses on Riggan's sense of worthlessness -- which is the key element of the film -- I found myself being bored and completely uninterested.  With his lawyer/agent (Zach Galifianakis) pressuring him to soldier on with the play in order to make much-needed money, his just-out-of-rehab daughter (Emma Stone) hating her job as her father's new assistant, his ex-wife (Amy Ryan) showing up to support him in his new Broadway endeavor, and his current girlfriend (Andrea Riseborough) sharing the stage with him and announcing that she's pregnant, Riggan's world is chaotic.  Despite the constant cacophony, however, there's not much there there.  The script tosses in an element of weird telekinesis thing with Riggan and various objects that I'm sure means something about the guy's emotional state, but just read kooky to me and not the least bit interesting.  (I could delve more into meaning if I desired, but I don't desire.)

Iñárritu presents the film as one continuous take and the technique is admittedly impressive and surprisingly not detrimental to the production.  Rather than stand out, the lack of cuts allows us to constantly be in the moment with the characters, giving a naturalness to the events of the film.  Despite this unique cinematic technique, I was thoroughly impressed with the fact that it never "felt" like a technique.  Kudos for that.

Kudos also to Edward Norton who is the most impressive member of the cast, taking on the role of Mike, a famous Broadway actor who joins Riggan's play at the last minute when one of the cast members is rendered incapable of performing.  Mike butts heads right away with Riggan, and Norton and Keaton's scenes together are the best in the flick.  However, Norton's so good that he makes Keaton look like a bad actor.  Then again, maybe that was the point.  I wasn't all that impressed with Keaton's Riggan, but maybe I wasn't supposed to be.  Maybe he wasn't supposed to be a fantastic actor after all.

I don't know.  I feel like there's so much I could say about Birdman, yet I've funnily enough got nothing to say about it at the same time.  The film is...interesting...but it's not the least bit riveting (a la Whiplash) or touching (a la The Fault in Our Stars) or simply entertaining (a la Gone Girl).  I didn't hate the experience, but I wasn't won over by any aspect of it.  While the behind-the-scenes moments provided a glimpse into a world we don't often see, the characters of Birdman didn't really intrigue me.

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 Croods

The Croods (2013)

Featuring the vocal talents of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman, and Clark Duke

Directed by Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders

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

When a movie like The Croods gets nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature instead of a movie like Monsters University, I can't help but shake my head.  One-note in its story about a father who "can't let go" of his growing daughter, any attempt for heart and emotion here is thwarted by the fact that the writers (who are also the directors) hit us over the head so many times with this notion.  Having heard the Nicolas Cage-voiced Grug tell his daughter Eep (voiced by Emma Stone) to "be afraid of what's out there beyond our cave" for seemingly five times during the film's first act, I checked out right away.

Animation-wise, The Croods is solid in terms of its main character design (although the humans are slightly blocky in nature and aren't anything overly special) and the voice acting is all fine considering the fact that the script is so lukewarm, but the story just falls flat.  After an earthquake boots them out of their safe cave home, the Crood family -- headed by patriarch Grug, his wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), their eldest daughter Eep, son Thunk (Clark Duke), toddler Sandy (who rabidly attacks everything like a dog), and mother-in-law Gran (Cloris Leachman) -- are forced to explore the rest of the Earth.  Their travels eventually lead them to meet a young man named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) who convinces most of the Crood family -- excepting Grug --  to follow him into this new fascinating world outside of their cave.  With Guy and Grug at odds with one another, it shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Grug's rough exterior and his inability to allow his family to take risks will eventually be softened.  It's this constant bickering between Guy and Grug that gets to near-monotonous levels and fails to allow the story to grow beyond its basic premise.

I won't even explore the fact that this film takes place during prehistoric times -- an era that featured a multitude of fascinating creatures -- yet contains a vast array of Dr. Seuss-ian landscapes filled with animals that would be right at home in his books.  Why create fake animals?  Just another one of the story flaws that is a bit mind-boggling to me in its stupidity.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Gangster Squad

Gangster Squad (2013)

Starring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, Mirielle Enos, and Sean Penn

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Los Angeles.  1949.  Gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) and his goons have taken control of everything and everyone.  The cops.  The politicians.  The drug dealers.  Even a good cop like Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is being told by his superiors to let Mickey be.  However, police chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) hasn't been bought by the mob and he commissions O'Mara to form a gangster squad of cops under the table to infiltrate all aspects of Cohen's shady dealings.

I must say that two-thirds of the way through the "based on a true story" Gangster Squad, I was digging the slight buddy comedy-retro action vibe that was going on amidst O'Mara and his cronies played by Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, and Michael Peña.  There were enough hints of humor, drama, and action that it made each scene leading up to the final act interesting enough to not feel so derivative of movies past.  However, when the final act kicks in and the Gangster Squad actually comes face to face with Cohen, the film falls apart for me.  The action scenes prove to be bland and the big showdown with Cohen himself is a bit of a letdown.  No one was ever going to say Gangster Squad was fantastic, but it had potential that it somewhat squanders in the end.

However, the film has a real solid cast going for it.  I wanted to dislike Sean Penn immensely because I can't really stand the pretentious guy in real life, but he makes a decent bad guy here, and Mirielle Enos brings just enough of a stock character to life in her role as O'Mara's wife, helping to humanize and give a more well-rounded portrayal of her husband.

The stars, really, are Josh Brolin and his gang.  Brolin's actually the lead here (despite the fact that I thought this was going to be Ryan Gosling's show all the way) and he steps up to the plate in a role that, in a better written film, may have had potential to be something really special.  Still, as it stands now, he's completely compelling and makes his quiet scenes with Enos have just as much meaning as the ones with his cop buddies.  And it's in those scenes with his cronies that the film really springs to life.  Brolin, Gosling, Ribisi, Patrick, Mackie, and Peña really make each other better and play off each other quite well.

Like I said, though, the film flounders in the final act.  Perhaps it's because the film's end was reshot after 2012's horrible Aurora, CO, movie theater shooting and the whole thing just didn't come together, or perhaps the screenwriter just didn't have a solid way to conclude the flick.  While the first two-thirds certainly aren't perfect (a love story between Gosling and Emma Stone should've really been left on the editing room floor), Gangster Squad is a fun ride for about seventy minutes and a bit of a letdown in its final thirty.

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 Help

The Help (2011)

Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Cecily Tyson, Mary Steenburgen, and Sissy Spacek

Directed by Tate Taylor

While no one will mistake The Help for a great piece of cinematic art, there's something endearing and all-together crowd-pleasing about Tate Taylor's second stab at directorial work.  Thanks to one of the best casts assembled for a film in 2011, the ladies of The Help raise what may have been a rather fluffy piece about the civil rights movement in 1960s Mississippi into something much more compelling.

Twenty-three year old Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) is an aspiring author who, in an attempt to win over a well-to-do big city publisher (Mary Steenburgen), decides to write a book filled with the musings and daily routines of the African American maids in her town in Mississippi.  Naturally, because of racial tensions a half century ago, Skeeter has to keep her meetings with Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) -- a maid and nanny to her employers with a strong, yet seemingly silent personality -- and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) -- a sassy gal who after being fired by the uppity Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) finds herself working for the eccentric Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) -- a secret.  Yes, I've thrown out a lot of names there, but the crux of the story remains the same -- we're looking at race relations between whites and blacks in 1960s Mississippi and for most those relationships still weren't ideal.

This is territory we've seen explored before in movies and it's not that The Help does anything particularly unique.  It uses stock characters (Bryce Dallas Howard's bitchy Hilly is particularly one-note despite attempts to add depth thanks to an enjoyable performance by Howard), a grooving 60s soundtrack, and feels like something right out of the Steel Magnolias or Fried Green Tomatoes early '90s era in looks and tone.

However, the film succeeds thanks to a cast devoid of one bad egg.  Even when the story falters -- let's just leave the attempts at Skeeter trying to find love on the cutting room floor in the director's cut, shall we? -- the ladies simply compel you to keep your eyes fixated on the screen.  Emma Stone is charming in what is one of the lesser developed characters in the script.  Jessica Chastain (Hollywood's It Girl in 2011) was a hoot as Celia, getting opportunities to showcase her comedic and dramatic talents.  The movie kicked into high gear once Chastain's character was introduced and she lit up the screen whenever she appeared.  Similarly, Octavia Spencer provides some light moments, too, and once Chastain's Celia comes in to the picture, the character of Minnie is given a much greater depth than the rather one-notedness she had the beginning of the film.

Still, when one remembers The Help, their mind will immediately shift to Viola Davis who gives a moving, quiet, and powerful performance.  There's a fierceness in her eyes throughout much of the film -- a pain and anguish that she doesn't really express vocally, but is intensely felt nonetheless.  This type of understated performance is the opposite of showy, but demonstrates why Davis is worthy of all the Oscar buzz she's been receiving.

I really don't have a whole lot bad to say about The Help which I must admit surprises me.  Even if the film was a bit flawed here and there, it's still overwhelmingly enjoyable to watch.  Sure, writer-director Tate Taylor doesn't take too many risks, but he culls some amazing performances from a talented group of ladies.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Crazy, Stupid, Love

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Starring Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, and Kevin Bacon

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

I know full well that Crazy, Stupid, Love contains a ton of the typical romantic comedy clichés and I know full well that this fact should annoy me.  Instead, somehow screenwriter Dan Fogelman (who wrote my #2 film last year, Tangled), directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, and a winning cast came together and have crafted a smaller-scale American version of Love, Actually that works just as well as that modern British classic.

The film opens with forty-something Cal (Steve Carell) being told by his wife of over twenty years Emily (Julianne Moore) that she has had an affair and wants a divorce.  Cal's completely devastated and heartbroken and finds himself drowning his sorrows at a trendy bar where he meets the suave and debonair playboy Jacob (Ryan Gosling) who (when he's not going home with a different lady every night) attempts to assist Cal in regaining his manhood after having suppressed it for so many years as a married man.

Cal's not the only one with love troubles...in fact that apple doesn't fall far from the family tree as his thirteen year-old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) finds himself crushing on his seventeen year-old babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton).  Of course, things can't go smoothly in a romantic comedy and, in this case, Jessica is herself crushing on an older man...Robbie's father, Cal.

Our final tale revolves around Hannah (Emma Stone), a law student who is in a relationship with the rather serious Richard (singer Josh Groban).  Despite prodding from her best friend (a quite funny Liza Lapira who makes the most of what is essentially a throwaway role), Hannah refuses to move on from Richard even when the sexy and charming Jacob (remember him from Storyline #1 above?) hits on her.

Not surprisingly, and in the grand tradition of romantic comedies like this, these storylines will intertwine and yield some interesting results.  Fortunately, Crazy, Stupid, Love is successful in its interweaving and screenwriter Fogelman reveals things and brings things together at just the right times to make this flick flow at a great pace.  Fogelman should also receive credit for crafting a film that is all about sex and the feelings behind the act, but never slips into raunch or debauchery.  This is a comedy about adult situations and emotions and the film refreshingly allows the characters to all act as adults.  Yes, some are a little wackier than others, but the comedy doesn't stem from gross-out humor, instead coming from realistic reactions to unfolding situations.

Helping the directors achieve their humorous success is a fine ensemble of talented actors with nary a dud in the bunch.  Steve Carell is certainly at his finest here, playing Cal as a guy who's genuinely in disbelief that his lifelong love has found solace in the arms of another man.  He's pissed off at his wife, but in his eyes (and in a monologue he states as the film progresses), you can see that he's angry at himself for allowing things to slip to the point where she felt the need to cheat.

Equally appealing is Julianne Moore who brings a believability to her role that rings true to me.  The fact that we don't hate her Emily is a testament to the fact that she somehow manages to make us comprehend why she'd cheat on Cal even if we don't approve of her indiscretion.  

As if those two lead performances weren't enough, Ryan Gosling probably just captured RyMickey's "Best Rising Hollywood Actor" award after his back-to-back completely opposite-spectrum performances in this and last year's Blue Valentine.  Here, Gosling certainly evokes the most laughs as the sometimes over-the-top lothario, but his Jacob has a shocking amount of heart.  Roles like this sometimes grow irksome very quickly, but despite Jacob's take charge attitude when it comes to "making over" the unkempt Cal, we never once get the feeling that he's being condescending to the guy (which would typically be the way every other screenwriter would've crafted the character).

I could go on and on and write paragraphs about the lovely Emma Stone, the sexy Marisa Tomei, the charming Analeigh Tipton, and the lovelorn Jonah Bobo who all manage to make there never be a boring, bland moment in this flick.  But I've already rambled on too long.  Instead, I'll just say that despite a treacly ending (that still somehow manages to work), Crazy, Stupid, Love does enough other good stuff that I'm willing to give it a little bit of a pass on its denouement.  This is a movie that admits love can come with its share of frustrations, but also carries with it passion, sincerity, meaningful connections, and a whole lot of heart.  Yes, it's perhaps overly optimistic about love (very much the antithesis of the aforementioned Blue Valentine), but the fairy tale notion of love that is sometimes depicted here isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Without a doubt in my mind, this is a movie that I can't imagine won't be near the top (or perhaps even claim the top spot) on my year end list.  Yes, it's that good.  Get yourself to this one...you'll laugh, you'll find yourself caring about characters you've never met before, and you'll just plain and simply feel good after watching it.

The RyMickey Rating:  A

Movie Review - Easy A

Easy A (2010)

Starring Emma Stone, Penn Badgely, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Alyson Michalka, Malcolm McDowell, and Lisa Kudrow

Directed by Will Gluck

A case of raised expectations seems to have ruined Easy A for me.  The heaping praise from nearly all the critics upon its release had me thinking this was going to be much better than it actually was.  Sure, there were great performances all around and some wit was on display, but in the end, it felt like a story that never really went anywhere and never really caught my attention despite the presence of the cute and charming Emma Stone.

Like a modern-day Scarlet Letter, Emma Stone is Olive (the Hester Prynne of the film), a high schooler who is pressured into saying she had sex in order to make herself "look" better to her best friend (Alyson Michalka).  Rumors spread quickly in high school and soon the clean cut (though witty and wry) Olive is finding herself enjoying the attention she's receiving.  Instead of trying to squash the rumor, she begins to make the lie even bigger, pretending to become the school slut because at least "the slut" has a place at the school rather than her old role as "just another face in the crowd."  Needless to say, things get out of hand and start getting hurtful to the good-hearted Olive and she must attempt to climb her way out of the hole she dug for herself.

The problem with the film doesn't lie with Ms. Stone who, in her first major starring role, is certainly an amusing and funny presence onscreen.  Perhaps my biggest issue with the film is with the characters surrounding Olive.  While it's true that none of the actors playing the caricaturish supporting players are bad, their roles are laughably one-note.  Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson bring great humor to the roles of Olive's parents, but their characters seemed so incredibly fake.  Similarly, all of the students at Olive's school -- from the Christian goody-goody (Amanda Bynes) to Olive's gay friend -- are characters we've seen before (and written better) in other films.  Once again, great acting from everyone all around, but the characters they had to inhabit were simply disappointing.

The film flounders and wanders aimlessly and its short 90-minute runtime feels about 30 minutes longer than it actually is.  Overall, Easy A was a disappointment that doesn't deserve the praises that were bestowed on it earlier in the year.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Zombieland (2009)

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and Amber Heard
Directed by Ruben Fleischer

There's nothing wrong with having fun at a movie every now and then. Zombieland doesn't take itself too seriously, it doesn't overstay its welcome, and its simply a zippy movie about killing some undead creatures.

The story is short, sweet, and to-the-point -- the world has been overtaken by zombies and there appear to be only four human survivors left. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is the dorky twenty-something guy; Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is the take-no-prisoners gung-ho down-south good 'ole country boy zombie killer; and Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) are devious sisters who seem to be only looking out for themselves. These four people meet, join forces (maybe), and travel cross-country in hopes of finding some zombie-less area of the US.

What I found neat about this film is that it's totally a commercial product -- this isn't an indie flick by any means -- but it really only had four characters in it the whole time. Sure, there's a really great cameo by a movie star, but it was just these four characters and their interactions that made up the movie. You don't see that much in big budget Hollywood productions and that made this stand out. Sure, they were killing a bunch of zombies, but there were only six speaking roles here. Unusual.

Of course, that's helped by the fact that three of the four actors here were actually good. Eisenberg was playing the same character he played in Adventureland (scroll down two blog posts for that one), but it worked here in this context. Harrelson was a hoot -- funny and surprisingly touching. Emma Stone is hot and a decent actress...can we make her a star? Unfortunately, little Abigail Breslin proves once again that she really isn't all that Oscar nomination for Little Miss Sunshine cracked her up to be.

What can I say? I laughed out loud. I actually jumped at a certain point. What more could I ask of from a horror-comedy hybrid?

The RyMickey Rating: B