Coco

Coco (2017)

Featuring the vocal talents of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach,  Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía, and Edward James Olmos

Directed by Lee Unkrich

Written by Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich

Summary (in 500 words or less): Twelve year-old Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) is passionate about music and he dreams of being famous like his idol, the late musician/actor Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Brett) who was one of the most popular Spanish icons in his grandmother Coco's (An Ofelia Murguía) era.  On the Day of the Dead in which homage is given to family members who have passed away, Miguel discovers a picture of Ernesto standing next to his departed great-grandmother and he immediately believes that he is related to his idol.  Miguel visits the mausoleum of Ernesto and breaks in, grabbing Ernesto's prominently displayed guitar.  However, when Miguel strums a note on the instrument, he is transported to the land of the dead...and the only way to escape is to find his deceased family members to assist him.

• Coco is a return to form for Pixar, capturing the heart that feels as if it's been absent for a few films.  This film is all about the importance of family and it touched me.
• The vibrant colors are pleasingly eye-popping, creating a visual landscape that never disappoints.
• The Hispanic vibe is a new look for Pixar and comes across much more stylistically appealing than the somewhat similarly themed Book of Life from a few years ago.
• The Academy Award-winning song "Remember Me" is ingenious in its simplicity, able to be reworked into multiple versions as the film progresses, ending with a heartbreaking rendition by Miguel and his grandmother that nearly brought a tear to my eye.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Rosewater

Rosewater (2014)

Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Nasser Faris, and Shohreh Agdashloo

Directed by Jon Stewart

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

Being held captive against your will by a corrupt government must be horrible.  There's no denying the agony that something like this would put both the captive person and his or her family through, fearing that death is always an imminent possibility.  Because of how horrid this circumstance would be, I can't help but feel incredibly guilty that while I was watching Rosewater I found myself saying that Iranian-Canadian journalist Mazier Bahari's plight wasn't all that bad while he was detained by Iran for 118 days.

Don't get me wrong -- it was awful.  I know it was awful that Bahari was taken in after a Daily Show interview was looked upon as "truthful" by Iranian officials as opposed to the "satire" it was meant to be.  I know it was awful that he was kept away from his pregnant wife for nearly four months.  I know that it was awful that he was kept blindfolded in a small cell while interrogated for hours on end about his purportedly treasonous ways.

Yet, somehow his plight didn't feel "movie-worthy."  I recognize the callousness of this.  I know I'm wrong.  But first-time director-screenwriter Jon Stewart doesn't make Bahari's horrible condition compelling enough to warrant celluloid.  While there were certainly moments that show some potential in Stewart's eye and from his pen and the director gets a nice turn from Gael Garcia Bernal as Bahari, Rosewater lacks compelling action and the languid state of the piece doesn't work in its favor.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - The Loneliest Planet

The Loneliest Planet (2012)

Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Hani Furstenberg, and Bidzina Gujabidze

Directed by Julia Loktev

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

The Loneliest Planet is a gorgeous film to gaze upon as director Julia Loktev with the help of cinematographer Inti Briones capture the beauty of the Caucusus Mountains in the eastern European country of Georgia.  Beyond the Georgian vistas, however, The Loneliest Planet is a nearly two hour slog to sit through and, despite my best efforts to enjoy the odd nature of the film, I simply can't find myself recommending this one.

Boyfriend and girlfriend Alex and Nica (Gael Garcia Bernal and Hani Furstenberg) are traveling through the former USSR with nothing much more than two backpacks.  In the film's initial moments, it's obvious they're in love and director Loktev does a nice job of establishing their relationship with even the simplest of hand gestures or knowing glances.  The two decide to trek through the Caucusus mountain range and hire Dato (Bidzina Gujabidze) as their guide.  And the next 105 minutes is just them walking and talking and walking and talking.  About halfway through, "an event" happens that is so quick that you could blink and miss it.  After the event, there's more walking and decidedly less talking, but it's obvious that the mood has decidedly changed amongst the trio.

Experimental is definitely the wrong word to describe The Loneliest Planet, but the lack of dialog or any real substantial story to follow makes it stand out from other films and at first I found it an admirable quality.  However, after "the event" happens, I just wanted some conversation to be had or some emotion to be expressed and instead we get silence.  While there's part of me that applauds the decidedly un-cinematic quality of the film, there's another part of me that says there was no need to capture this story on video.  I don't necessarily watch movies for a cinema verite style and this film somewhat tries to achieve that quality.

For what they're given to work with, all of the actors do a decent job, but I wished they had a little more to bite into here.  The Loneliest Planet is an interesting experiment, but it ultimately doesn't make for a very exciting film.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - The Limits of Control (2009)

Starring Isaach De Bankolé, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, and Bill Murray

Written and Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Edited 230am 5/21/09
Peer pressure forced me to head up to Philadelphia and watch some movie I had no desire to see earlier today. Despite the fact that I told my two "friends" (the quotation marks are there because I'm not sure I can forgive them for the two hours I wasted today) that I had read that the movie was horrible, I was suckered into going.

At first I thought I was maybe in some allergy-induced haze (as my allergies are hitting the peak of awfulness right about now) that was hindering my ability to fully concentrate...I would later realize that wasn't the case at all. I'd love to tell you what happens in this movie, but that would mean that I myself would have to create a story because there was no story here. I guess there's a guy who's some type of hit man who meets a bunch of different people and then kills Bill Murray for reasons unknown (spoilers be damned!).

This is a movie that if anyone tells you that they like it, they're lying to you because they want to look smart. It was ridiculously awful. I think that the film is trying to say that censorship of the arts is a bad thing (the film spends ample time discussing art, film, music, and dance)...but I could be totally wrong about that. Who the hell knows? The movie sure doesn't know what it's talking about.

Yes, the film actually looked nice cinematography-wise, and there were decent performances from Tilda Swinton and the main guy (Bankolé), but overall, it was just utter garbage.

Two people got up and walked out during the screening we saw if that tells you anything (although, admittedly, one came back in after being gone for 40 minutes...he didn't miss anything).

Part of me is happy I saw it, if only for the fact that I now feel I can force the two said "friends" to see something they have no desire to see...

EDITED---
I originally had this rated an 'F', but after seeing two other movies tonight (one in particular), I realized that this movie isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was. Still, it was no good, but it was not deserving of an 'F' if only for the cinematography and Tilda Swinton. Plus, the fact that I'm still thinking about it 12 hours later has to say something, right?

The RyMickey Rating: D-