Captain America: The First Avenger

 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Starring Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Dominic Cooper, and Stanley Tucci

Directed by Joe Johnston

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Click here for my (current) Letterboxd review

Click here for my prior RyMickey Ramblings review

The (current) RyMickey Rating:  B

Thor

 Thor (2011)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zach Stentz, and Don Payne

Click here for my Letterboxd review

My Previous RyMickey Review

The current RyMickey Rating:  B

Hop

Hop (2011)

Starring James Marsden, Kaley Cuoco, Elizabeth Perkins, and Gary Cole

and Featuring the vocal talents of Russell Brand, Hank Azaria, and Hugh Laurie

Directed by Tim Hill

Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, and Brian Lynch

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

New Year's Eve

 New Year's Eve (2011)

Starring Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sarah Paulson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Hilary Swank, and Sofia Vergara

Along with James Belushi, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Carla Gugino, Cherry Jones, John Lithgow, Ryan Seacrest, and Nat Wolff

Directed by Garry Marshall

Written by Katherine Fugate

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: F

Movie Review - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

-- Mission: Impossible Week --
Please note that all Mission: Impossible Week film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor, and Léa Seydoux

Directed by Brad Bird

***The review below was originally published on May 27, 2011.  Reading it over, my feelings are pretty much the same now as they were then.  Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is a really solid film and the best film in the Mission: Impossible series.  By far the funniest flick of the bunch (I laughed out loud when the machine that makes the famous Mission: Impossible face masks broke down), Ghost Protocol is also filled with great action sequences -- some of which should be noted for their surprising lack of weaponry and combat, but instead for their ability to create tense moments from something as simple as a desert dust storm.  Enjoy my original review below.***

Although Mission: Impossible II was one of my least favorite movies the year it came out, I don't utterly detest the Mission: Impossible series of films.  Maybe it's just the catchy theme music -- which really is one of the best tv theme songs ever created -- but it's probably more that I like the gadgety spy vibe that runs throughout.  I had heard really good things about animation director Brad Bird's first foray into live action filming.  Fortunately, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol did not disappoint and is probably the best action flick to come out of 2011.

Part of the reason for its success is that this Mission: Impossible has an odd joyfulness to it that I don't remember at all in previous incarnations in this series.  There's a humor here that I wasn't expecting and it added a breath of fresh air to the typical explosions and chase scenes that are part and parcel of a film of this ilk.  Certainly much of the chuckles come thanks to Simon Pegg who is the gadget guru Benji, part of the special team headed by Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, who after being rescued from a Russian prison finds himself on a mission (impossible) to hunt down a Swedish nuclear weapon expert (Michael Nyqvist) deadset on starting a world war.  Aided by Jane Carter (a very solid [and sexy] Paula Patton), Ethan and his team travel from Moscow to Dubai to India tracking down the baddie.

It also helps matters that the story is very straightforward -- read: easy to comprehend.  Sometimes spy films like this tend to throw more info at you than you really need -- red herrings here, ridiculously convoluted background information there.  MI4 doesn't do that at all and I don't mean this as an insult to it.  Don't think that things are overly simplified -- it's just that Brad Bird and his screenwriters have pared things down to be exactly what is needed to make this story fly by.  Bird also crafts his action sequences without the superfluous quick edits and nonstop explosions that are so prevalent in movies today.  There are some genuinely exciting moments here that rely on tension rather than rapid movement to succeed and that's often a rarity nowadays.

Unfortunately, I think the film falters a tiny bit in two areas.  One, Jeremy Renner's character of a government official who is forced to become part of Ethan's team seemed to simply be there to attempt to craft future movies around him.  He isn't really given a lot to do and although he's fine in the role, this is the one point in the movie that probably could've been fleshed out a bit more.  Secondly, the final act of the movie seems almost unnecessary.  When the team moves to India, I couldn't help but think things could've ended in Dubai to much greater effect -- not all movies need to be two hours and ten minutes long.  The final action sequence (which was genuinely tense and exciting) could so easily have taken place in Dubai that the move to India only screamed "Look at our budget!" to me.

Still, those are actually minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things because Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol really excels in all areas -- acting, directing, writing -- where most action movies nowadays fail miserably.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Margaret

Margaret (2011)

Starring Anna Paquin, J. Smith-Cameron, Mark Ruffalo, Jeannie Berlin, Jean Reno, Allison Janney, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Broderick, and Matt Damon

Directed by Kenneth Lonergan

2006 was when Margaret was made.  2006.  That means this film was delayed five years before its release which is typically never a good sign.  However, after this film ended up being the number one movie of 2011 on an awards site I frequent and enjoy reading, I was looking forward to seeing this.  Instead of being treated to what some have called the best of last year, I slogged through 150 minutes of an odd tale with tons of loose strands filled oftentimes with bad acting, stilted dialog, and an overall stuffiness that never fades away.  I simply can't fathom that the director's original cut was over three hours.

Maybe I just don't get it, though.  There's supposed to be some deep connection to 9/11 here, but that just flew right over this reviewer's head.  Then again, lots of things in this movie just boggled my mind.  The story itself is relatively simple and the fact that it's stretched out to an epic length is, to me, simply a directorial folly.  While out on the streets of New York City looking for a cowboy hat for a trip to a ranch with her father, teenage Lisa (Anna Paquin) witnesses a tragic bus accident that kills a woman who just so happened to be crossing the street.  She can't help but feel that she is partially responsible for the event, feeling that she distracted the driver (Mark Ruffalo).  Lisa is a spoiled brat whose mom Joan (J. Smith-Cameron) is a burgeoning Off-Broadway actress and their relationship was already on shaky ground prior to the accident, but now it's falling off the deep end with both females at each others' throats.  Lisa eventually decides to try and seek some type of redemption for the woman who was killed by attempting to legally go after the bus driver, but that's the extent of the "plot" of the film.

Beyond what was laid out to you, the film meanders through a bunch of subplots that don't go anywhere and don't add anything to the story.  Joan starts dating some foreign guy (Jean Reno) who loves opera.  Lisa decides to lose her virginity not to the nice guy who genuinely cares for her, but to the druggie "cool" artist (Kieran Culkin) who deflowers her and then is completely abandoned by writer-director Kenneth Lonergan for the rest of the movie.  Lisa flirts with her math teacher (Matt Damon) which causes their relationship to slowly shift to shakier ground, leading to absolutely one of the worst scenes I've ever seen in a movie in which -- SPOILER ALERT -- in the film's final moments, Lisa rushes up to him and says that she's had an abortion which we have no clue is true (and if it is true was he responsible for it?) or simply retaliation for something.  This was so out of the blue that my eyes rolled and I let out a huge guffaw.  END SPOILER ALERT

Margaret just goes on and on, not knowing when to end.  It certainly doesn't help that it's peppered with uneven performances which are likely in part disappointing thanks to some of the most awkward dialog I've heard in recent years.  Anna Paquin -- even a "six years ago Anna Paquin" -- just plays the high school Lisa so awkwardly it's uncomfortable.  Her opening scenes lacked any modicum of believability that I was immediately disconnected from the film.  Admittedly, she does get better as the film progresses, but I still found her very off-putting.  It doesn't help that her character's motives for seeking retaliation against the bus driver are barely laid out and seem selfish rather than selfless.  Jeannie Berlin who plays the dead woman's best friend is playing things very naturalistic...almost too much so for a movie.  I realize that's an awkwardly-worded criticism, but I have no other way to describe it.  There were some emotional moments where I thought Ms. Berlin was rather brilliant and very effective, but in the simpler scenes where she's asked to recite basic dialog, I found her odd and almost too harsh to watch.  Similarly, the rest of the cast was just misguided by Lonergan.  His way of writing just didn't click for me.

And the less said about his direction and his lack of skills in the editing department the better.  Margaret was a real disappointment for me.  It's not even one of those movies that I can say was an admirable failure.  I just didn't get what I was supposed to take away from it.  It's a very basic story drawn out to a nearly epic length that simply doesn't work.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - In Time

In Time (2011)

Starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Vincent Kartheiser, and Olivia Wilde

Directed by Andrew Niccol

In Time takes us to an Earth in which money doesn't exist, but instead time is the most precious commodity around.  Here, humans are given twenty-five years of existence, but when their twenty-sixth year rolls around, they stop aging and a digital-type clock implanted into their forearm clicks on with a decreasing timeclock of one year.  Everything we normally pay money for is paid for with time -- a cup of coffee, for example, takes four hours off of your clock (and your life).  You're paid for labor in hours as well, so it's not as if you're absolutely dead in a year.  In fact, just like our current monetary system, there are some very wealthy people with hundreds -- even thousands -- of years to go.

With such an intriguing concept, it's a shame that writer-director Andrew Niccol shifts focus halfway through the movie into an updated Bonnie and Clyde/Robin Hood reboot with Justin Timberlake as the "poor" Will Salas teaming up with the "wealthy" Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) to redistribute Sylvia's father seemingly infinite stash of time to the less fortunate.  Things were going so well until we drifted down this path we'd seen before and it's unfortunate that the unique premise is watered down to something we've seen time and time again.

Surprisingly, Timberlake more than holds his own in this film.  While I don't think he'll ever be mistaken for a great thespian, he definitely embodied the character and abandoned his celebrity persona.  Granted, he still needs some work (one scene in which he's forced to cry just proves laughable), but overall, I think he's got some talent in the acting department.  Ms. Seyfried, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about.  It's not that I dislike her as an actress, but in the last few films I've seen her in she seems to be simply phoning in her performance.  She doesn't bring any depth to her character here and it's a little bit disappointing, although I'm not sure whether it's her fault or the fault of the script.  She's walking on thin ice at this point...her next film may make or break her for me.

Still, this is rather fun film (which also contains a nice performance from the heretofore unmentioned Cillian Murphy as a futuristic "cop" who is in search of the two "criminals") and it's worth giving it a chance.  I'm sure this was a case of low expectations making something appear to be a bit more promising than it actually is, but In Time wouldn't be a waste of your time should you choose to watch it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Devil's Double

The Devil's Double (2011)

Starring Dominic Cooper and Ludivine Sagnier

Directed by Lee Tamahori

I am quite sure that Uday Hussein -- Saddam's son -- was a wild and crazy guy, living in excess and quite literally doing everything, anything, and anyone he pleased.  I am also quite sure that there is a good movie to be told about this guy, particularly about the fact that he hired a high school classmate to be his "look-alike" double and attend various events for him.  The Devil's Double is not that movie.

Director Lee Tamahori fails to find an appropriate balance between the excesses of Uday and the seriousness of the situation for his double Latif Yahia.  Given no choice but to become Uday's double, Latif (played by Dominic Cooper who tackles both distinct roles) is forced to adhere to Uday's every command for fear of his family's safety.  That's a scary proposition and one worth exploring, but whenever the film presents Uday to the audience it's as if we're watching "Sacha Baron Cohen as Uday Hussein!"  There's a comedic quality on display that is simply too jarring when put next to Latif's genuinely nerve-wracking situation.

I can't help but think that the offputting differences in tone between the two characters isn't the fault of Dominic Cooper, but rather the director's concept of presenting two similar-looking people with incredibly distinct personalities.  Cooper does an admirable job exploring the pathos of Latif, but when it comes to Uday it oftentimes veers into the realm of a Saturday Night Live sketch.

It's all rather unfortunate since I really do think this true story was worthy of a decent movie.  The bones of a good plot are there, but this just felt oddly fake and unrealistic in many scenes.  Even if Uday Hussein was as eccentric, wild, and insane as this film makes him out to be, with a more realistic tone, this would have been much more successful.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Coriolanus

Coriolanus (2011)

Starring Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Jessica Chastain, Brian Cox, and Vanessa Redgrave

Directed by Ralph Fiennes

Shakespeare.  Right off the bat, uttering that word limits the marketplace for Coriolanus, the directorial debut of Ralph Fiennes.  The knowledge that Fiennes decided to keep the old world dialog in tact narrows the audience even further.  And choosing a play of the Bard's that no one in the world is familiar with is sort of the last straw.  Fortunately for Fiennes, the update of the work to modern times helps alleviate some of the marketable problems with a film like this, but in the end, there may very well be a reason this is one of Shakespeare's least performed works.

It's not that what is onscreen in this adaptation is bad by any means, but the story itself lacks depth.  Fiennes is the title character, a Roman soldier who has succeeded in helping his country in many of their battles.  However, he's not loved by the people and when he attempts to make his way into politics, the public tosses him out of the country forcing Coriolanus to befriend his biggest enemy, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), a general in the Volscian army.  The two men team up to wage war on Rome and its people and regain control.

Ultimately, Shakespeare has crafted a solid beginning and a good (though not great) conclusion, but the work suffers greatly in the middle.  Perhaps it wasn't explained well enough in this version, but I never understood (or cared, for that matter) why the Roman people had such a huge problem with Coriolanus.  Somewhere in there, we discover that Coriolanus despises the concept of "public rule" and the right of citizens to elect their representatives -- at least I think that's what happens -- but that never really seemed like enough of a reason (especially considering the film was updated to current times) to toss a guy out of the country.  Because of this awkward and "under-explained" middle, I found myself lost and losing interest quite a bit.

It's no fault of the actors as everyone is very good.  Fiennes is tough and nasty and makes a solid "action star" which this role almost requires of him.  Butler is fine as well, although his character really isn't given a whole lot to do.  Even in the final act when Coriolanus teams up with Aufidius, Butler's character almost seemed to be simply a higher paid, glorified extra more than anything else.  Vanessa Redgrave got a lot of praise for her role as the demanding and almost Oedipal mother of Coriolanus and it is deserved.  She's strong, forceful, and quite a presence, and the Shakespearean words roll off her tongue effortlessly.

While I've criticized the movie a bit, it's certainly an interesting look at a very underseen and underperformed play of William Shakespeare's and for that reason alone, this is worth a watch.  Ralph Fiennes certainly doesn't skimp on the violence and he has rather slyly turned this into an action film with Old English dialog.  Unfortunately, I just don't think the play's all that good to begin with which hinders what can be done with it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Swell Season

The Swell Season (2011)

Starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová

Directed by Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, and Carlo Mirabella-Davis

I'm a huge fan of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's musical group The Swell Season and I'm an even bigger fan of their Oscar-winning movie (and Tony-winning Broadway musical) Once.  Because of my fandom, I longed for this documentary chronicling their now-defunct real-life romance to be charming and heartbreaking.  Instead, I found The Swell Season to be one of the most tedious pieces of cinema I've sat through this year...and it hurts me terribly to admit that to myself.

While it wasn't exactly the whirlwind romance I thought it was -- Hansard actually knew Irglová for quite a bit prior to them filming Once although this tidbit of information (and the creation of Once itself) isn't explored in the slightest -- the two found always found themselves spiritually connected to each other through their music.  As Irglová got older and the two spent more time together, the musical connection became a more romantic one, really coming to its peak around the time immediately after their Oscar win.  Hansard, who had toiled for years while touring with his band The Frames, was finding his newfound success a joy, but Irglová struggled greatly being thrust into the spotlight.  Eventually, the tables almost turn with Hansard questioning whether success is all it's cracked up to be, and the two find themselves more at odds with one another rather than really feeling a romantic connection.

The problem is the whole thing is just boring and lacks anything the least bit revelatory.  That paragraph I wrote above just about put me to sleep writing it and this movie tested my patience quite a bit.  There's some nice music, but having seen the duo live, all it did was make me long for them to tour the Philly area again.  A concert wasn't what I was looking for in this film (even though it does showcase Hansard's brilliant soulful grit).  I wanted insight into their relationship and I didn't really get it.  In the end, maybe that's the point, though.  The two struggled with a public image that was thrust upon them when their little indie film found unexpected success and the guarded nature of this project may be fitting.  There are certainly some beautiful moments (mostly coming from sit-down interviews with Hansard's mother and father which are quite touching), but overall, The Swell Season was a big letdown never really building to anything worthy of actually being filmed.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Higher Ground

Higher Ground (2011)

Starring Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, Dagmara Dominczyk, Nina Arianda, Taissa Farmiga, Norbert Leo Butz, Donna Murphy, and John Hawkes
Directed by Vera Farmiga

Movies about Christianity often fall into one of two categories: films made by and for the faithful, thus having a tendency to cater only to that religious viewpoint; or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, movies that poke fun at faith and its believers.  Director and star of Higher Ground Vera Farmiga makes note of this on the blu-ray commentary of her directorial debut, hoping that her film doesn't fall into either of those two groups, instead presenting a look at one woman's view of the positives and negatives offered up by "faith."  Farmiga succeeds at that and while she doesn't quite have a perfect film on her hands, she has helmed a movie that never condescends religion or its followers, but also questions the simple act of "following blindly."

Taking place over three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s, Higher Ground follows the life of Corinne Walker from ten to about forty years old.  Pregnant as a young teen, Corinne (played at this stage by Taissa Farmiga, Vera's real-life sister) marries her childhood sweetheart, and after a near tragic event that almost kills her newborn, Corinne and her husband turn to religion and give themselves wholly over to faith.  We jump ahead in time to Corinne's adult life (in which she is played by Vera Farmiga) and discover that she and her husband (Joshua Leonard) are well-respected members of an evangelical church presided over Pastor Bill (Norbert Leo Butz).  Corinne becomes good friends with one of the female members (Dagmara Dominczyk), a Polish gal who opens Corinne's eyes up to other methods of becoming one with God, much to the chagrin of Corinne's husband and her Christian congregation.  As time passes, it soon becomes obvious that the strict conformity of Pastor Bill's church is forcing Corinne to question her faith and that is disturbing to her as she still strives to believe in a higher power.

Shockingly, the film rarely portrays its religious figures as insanely devout as we're prone to see in many films (including one that place in my Top Five screenplays of the year) and it's a welcome relief.  Yes, they're sometimes overzealous in their faith, but they felt real for the most part.  Broadway actor Norbert Leo Butz gives a particularly welcome portrayal of Pastor Bill, presenting him as a man of God who stands for what he believes in, but never allowing the pastor to stoop into bombastic cinematic caricature or stereotype.

In addition to Butz, supporting performances all around are quite good, including nice turns from Donna Murphy and John Hawkes as Corinne's mother and father who go through rough times of their own, recent Tony winner Nina Arianda as Corinne's wild child sister, and the aforementioned Dagmara Domincyzk who helps bring some comic relief to the film thanks to her character's friendship with Corinne.

Vera Farmiga herself is always a pleasure to watch onscreen and I've said before that she's one of my favorite actresses working today.  There's a genuineness and a sense of calm about her that's always very unassuming, but she still manages to always be a presence whenever she's onscreen.  As a director, she does an admirable job, but does have a difficult time trying to balance the comedic lightness and dramatic heaviness that she tries to create here.  While I appreciated the humorous moments she tries to infuse into the film, they oftentimes felt out of place with everything surrounding them (the less said about the unsettling toe-licking scene the better).  Still, this is an interesting and thought-provoking work that provides a respectable questioning of faith that we don't often see in movies.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Tyrannosaur

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Starring Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, and Eddie Marsan

Directed by Paddy Considine

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

I apparently had saved one of the better acted 2011 films until the end.  As the RyMickey Awards are heading towards their conclusion, it's entirely possible that Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman may find themselves in the acting races for their roles in the indie British flick Tyrannosaur -- and, no, unfortunately there are no extinct dinosaurs in the flick.

Instead, the title could very easily refer to Joseph (Mullan), a widowed alcoholic whose temper easily turns him into a beast on a dime.  After a rough night, he wanders into a thrift shop run by Hannah (Colman) and becomes oddly entranced by her.  Outwardly, Hannah seems to have it all together, but her devout Christianity is hiding the fact that she's involved in an absolutely horrible marriage with a husband (Eddie Marsan) who, like Joseph, can't control his temper.  While Hannah tries to help Joseph deal with his demons, she has no one other than God to help her with her problems and since the Man upstairs seems to have forgotten about her, she slowly finds herself going secretly to liquor to drown her pain.

This is a film all about damaged souls and Tyrannosaur so easily could have become an incredible downer.  However, first time director Paddy Considine keeps things going at a good clip (the film clocks in at under ninety minutes) and shifts the emphasis between the characters just enough that it never becomes too bogged down in depression.  That said, don't mistake this for a happy-go-lucky film.  We're in the emotional trenches here and Considine takes us on a journey with a few unexpected moments that elevate this beyond the norm.

The true reasons the film succeeds, though, are the performances of Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman.  Once I got used to Mullan's strong accent (there's no shame in using the captions Netflix provides, is there?), I found myself rather fascinated with his character even though there is something rather rote and by the book when it comes to the self-destructive Joseph.  He's the rough alcoholic with a heart we've all seen before, but Mullan doesn't allow Joseph to ever stoop to stupidity.  He's a smart drunk...he knows wholeheartedly why he's angry and you can see the clarity in his glazed-over eyes.

Almost on the opposite end of the spectrum, Olivia Colman must attempt to hide Hannah's true emotions, trying to tell us that everything's okay, while deep within experiencing immense amounts of physical and emotional pain.  Colman is effortlessly able to achieve this difficult task and when the script finally allows Hannah to let her unfetter her emotions, she lets loose with an agony that palpably resonates with the audience.

Tyrannosaur's Joseph and Hannah have buried their pain, anger, and frustration much too deep within themselves.  When the emotions are finally "excavated," glimpses into the past show how their present has been shaped and a difficult, though engaging, film is the result.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Warrior

Warrior (2011)

Starring Joel Edgarton, Tom Hardy, Jennifer Morrison, and Nick Nolte

Directed by Gavin O'Connor

Prior to watching Warrior, I knew absolutely nothing about the world of MMA -- Mixed Martial Arts -- a boxing/wrestling/karate-type sporting event in which two men enter a hexagonal ring and duke it out until one of them is either knocked out or admits defeat by tapping his hand on his opponent's body or the floor.  Perhaps wrongly, I felt that I would have no desire to witness this sporting event on film, but if I'm being honest, Warrior not only proved to be a better film than I imagined, but made me interested in a sport I heretofore couldn't have cared about in the slightest.

When Warrior came out, I chalked it up to being 2011's version of The Fighter...and it is.  That doesn't necessarily make it less worthy to be made into a film, but facts are facts and both films deal with a broken family that has surrounded themselves in the world of competitive fighting for decades.  They both feature a brother who's gone down the road of addiction -- in this film's case that role goes to Tom Hardy as Tommy Conlon -- and a brother who has things together -- here played by Joel Edgarton as Brendan Conlon.  Both films feature a parent who has pushed his kids hard and has been through tough times on their own although Warrior gives the parent -- Nick Nolte in an Oscar-nominated performance --  the added arc of being a recovering alcoholic himself.  When the two brothers who are both down on their luck in terms of money hear of a sixteen-man five million-dollar worldwide MMA battle, they both instantly want in and somehow (by the magic of the movies) they both succeed.  In the March Madness-like tournament bracket, the two brothers find themselves on opposite sides and is it really any surprise who the final two are going to be?

While Warrior is really a slightly watered-down version of The Fighter, it still manages to hold its own thanks to some solid performances from Edgarton and Hardy.  However, the film really shines thanks to some incredibly intense fight scenes.  Director Gavin O'Connor also directed the hockey flick Miracle and he has a keen eye in terms of building suspense when it comes to sports movies which often have a tendency to become sappy and overly "inspiring."  Here, we find ourselves right in the middle of the caged ring and it's a frightening place to be.

Yes, The Fighter is a better movie than Warrior, but not by much.  Both are worthy glimpses at the rough world of hand-to-hand sports combat and both are well worth your time.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - We Need to Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Jasper Newell, and Ezra Miller

Directed by Lynne Ramsay

A woman loving life in her late twenties/early thirties perhaps reluctantly decides to settle down with someone with whom she's fallen in love.  She gets pregnant, but finds herself not feeling the maternal instinct kick in like other moms-to-be.  In the back of her mind, though, she thinks that maybe when she finally gives birth, she'll finally experience what she's "supposed to feel."  However, that innate propensity to love your offspring never kicks in for her and although she attempts to bond, it's obvious to her and obvious to her child as he grows older that this young being was never wanted.

While this all sounds like an impossibility, I'd have to imagine that it occurs more often than we'd think and We Need to Talk About Kevin explores this seldom discussed psychological phenomenon which, in this story's case, comes with great and horrific ramifications.  For Eva (Tilda Swinton), she could have never imagined that her difficult relationship with her son Kevin (Ezra Miller as a teenager and Jasper Newell as a young boy) would result in him committing the unthinkable act of going on a murderous school rampage days before his sixteenth birthday, but their tumultuous relationship appears to have been the impetus for just that.  

Fret not, I'm not spoiling anything with this important "reveal" above.  Director and co-screenwriter Lynne Ramsay pieces together Eva's life like a puzzle jumping around and sometimes staying with scenes for mere seconds before jumping to another.  Admittedly, this technique, while interesting, is off-putting at first if only because as the film progresses, Ramsay decides to stay with moments longer, trying to tell a story rather than trying to showcase a "directorial flourish."  The opening act, unfortunately, starts things off as more of a director's showcase instead of placing the story center stage which is pivotal in a film that is incredibly reliant on shaping complicatedly distraught and disturbed characters in order to progress the tale.  Couple this quick-cutting, jump-editing technique with Ramsay's near-incessant and blatantly obvious use of "red" to foreshadow Kevin's inevitable attack and I couldn't help but think the director brought this flick down a couple of notches from where it could have ended up.

Tilda Swinton is, as is the case most of the time, truly wonderful.  She can convey an incredible amount of emotion with nary a word.  Her eyes oftentimes appear blank and lifeless, yet on a second glance reveal more of the inner workings of her character than words ever could.  She's coupled onscreen by John C. Reilly as her husband Franklin, the more affable and parental of the two.  Reilly is quite good playing the most dramatic role I've seen him attempt and he manages very well.

The character of Kevin, however, is a bit of an anomaly to me.  I understand that the script wanted to present him as a "problem child" of sorts from the very beginning -- a kid who never received the love he so desperately needed from his mother -- but I couldn't help but think I was watching a modern-day reincarnation of Damien from The Omen.  He does some really whacked-out things (particularly as he grows older) and I just couldn't help but think that these parents wouldn't have been on the same page that something was dreadfully psychologically wrong with him.  Then again, the film is called We Need to Talk About Kevin and there's a difference between "needing to talk about" and actually "talking about" Kevin which I guess explains why their communication is next to nil.  The two young actors who portray Kevin do an admirable job, but I feel like they just weren't given a whole lot to work with beyond "You're a bad kid...don't show any emotions other than pent-up anger."

I'm sure the anticipation of this film may have built up something that couldn't be reached -- and, in fact, I was waiting to see this before starting the annual RyMickey Awards -- but I can't help but think another film released in 2011 about this exact same topic -- Beautiful Boy -- told a better and more realistic story.  Granted, that film dealt entirely with the aftermath of a school shooting whereas We Need to Talk About Kevin deals almost entirely with what comes before such an attack, but the little seen Maria Bello-starring picture deserves a bit more respect than Lynne Ramsay's pic which garnered more acclaim when awards season came around.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Shame

Shame (2011)

Starring Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, and Nicole Beharie

Directed by Steve McQueen

Shame is perhaps best known as the film in which Michael Fassbender bares all.  For some reason, him going nude got all the press and the movie itself was shafted to a certain extent.  In the end, that's a real shame because Steve McQueen's moving character study about a man's addiction to sex is heartbreaking and touching with a riveting performance from Fassbender and absolutely beautiful direction from McQueen.

The story itself is fairly simple.  As stated above, the film focuses on Brandon Sullivan, a thirtysomething low-level executive in Manhattan who outwardly seems to have everything together, but inwardly finds himself ravaged by his addiction to sex.  Whether it be looking at porn on the internet, hiring a prostitute to fulfill his needs, or simply not being able to make it through the workday without heading into the bathroom to pleasure himself, Brandon has a problem.  And he's well aware of it.  Sex isn't about a "connection" for him...it's about a release that he hopes will be fulfilling, but is always completely empty.

Brandon's not a bad guy, though.  He's good looking and could do seemingly well with women if he wanted, but he is a bit shy which is evident in a lusciously filmed scene about halfway through the movie when Brandon and his co-worker Marianne (a delightful and sexy Nicole Beharie) sit down at a restaurant for a first date.  In a continuous take, we see the two simply talking about the typical "first date" stuff, but we begin to see for the inner workings of Brandon's mind as he explains to Marianne how he never wants to get married and doesn't understand the meaning of monogamy.  It's starting to crystallize in the audience's mind that Brandon, despite his need for sex, is ultimately unable to connect with someone.  His addiction has robbed him from being able to love...yes, that's perhaps an oversimplification of a much larger psychological issue, but that's Brandon's problem at its core.

And not only does this affect Brandon's life sexually, but this inability to love and connect with others also plays a huge role in his relationship with his family including his troubled sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) who, despite Brandon's best efforts, moves into his small, sterile apartment in NYC after a falling-out with her boyfriend.  Sissy herself (whose odd story arc and relationship with Brandon is the one minor problem with the film) isn't without her share of pain (much of it seemingly self-inflicted), but she brings out the worst in Brandon...she makes him feel shameful of his way of life and it ends up spiraling him out of control in ways that I really never saw coming.  Towards the end of the film, Brandon's addiction leads him to places that may shock and appall the audience, but they never once rang untrue or felt unrealistic.

The more I think about Shame, the more I grow to be thoroughly fascinated with what I saw onscreen.  I imagine several scenes will pop up in the "Best Scene" category of the "RyMickey Awards" (coming in June) and I'm sure this film will make an appearance in many other categories including Best Actor for Michael Fassbender.  Admittedly, I went into this without many expectations.  I expected to be bored by the story and bombarded by "shocking moments" simply there to provide unnecessary provocation and titillation.  That wasn't the case in the slightest and that's a huge credit to Mr. Fassbender and director Steve McQueen.

Together, they have crafted a movie that doesn't necessarily provide answers or tie things up in pretty bows, but they have created an intimate character study about a man who knows his faults, attempts to correct them (fully realized in a riveting and heartbreaking scene with the aforementioned Nicole Beharie shortly after their characters' first date), but ultimately doesn't succeed.  Towards the end of the film, Brandon finds himself in the midst of a threesome (which he paid to be a part of) and after focusing initially on the writhing bodies, McQueen plants his camera squarely on Fassbender's face...and in his face and in this moment, we see everything that Brandon is and everything he wishes he could be.  This menage a trois is the furthest thing from a pleasurable experience.  To him, an orgasm is full of pain, anguish, and ultimately self-inflicted shame.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Movie Review - Dream House

Dream House (2011)

Starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, and Naomi Watts

Directed by Jim Sheridan

Dream House tries to be a slightly more adult-skewing ghost story, but it unfortunately lacks any scares or tension and the "surprise" twists are telegraphed from the opening moments (and were apparently spoiled in the trailer of which I don't have any recollection).  After watching the film, I discovered that director Jim Sheridan (who crafted a slow and plodding film here) was at odds with the production company throughout most of the filming and neither he nor stars Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz agreed to do any amount of press for the flick upon its release.  They knew they had a stinker on their hands...and they weren't wrong.

Although I could easily spoil things for you as the movie doesn't attempt to hide its secrets, I'll simply state that Dream House revolves around a family who moves into a new home only to discover that several years ago the former owners were killed in a horrible fashion.  Seeing as this is an "attempt" at a horror film, it's no surprise that the events from the past begin to slowly wreak havoc on the events in the present as husband and wife Will and Libby (Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz) must do what they can to keep their family safe.

Ultimately, it's obvious that no one really had fun whilst filming and it shows onscreen.  Everything about Dream House feels heavy-handed, uninspired, and insipidly dull.  Despite an admirable attempt at creating a modern-day adult-centric horror movie, this venture doesn't work in the slightest.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Shark Night

Shark Night 3D (2011)

Starring Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, and Donal Logue

Directed by David R. Ellis

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

I have no one to blame but myself for watching Shark Night 3D -- yes, even when it's not seen in 3D, its extra-dimension moniker still remains attached to the title.  I was hoping for the winking absurdity of Piranha 3D which, even though it's not even remotely close to a good movie, at least set out to make a purposefully corny film.  Unfortunately, while Shark Night 3D is probably well aware of the fact that it isn't a good movie, it doesn't ever embrace its corniness in the way it should have.

I could summarize the movie for you, but all you really need to know is that there's a bunch of sharks terrorizing a group of college kids, chomping them to bits one by one.  There's nothing else you need to know...and there's really nothing else to know.  Movies like this aren't heavy on plot.

Nor are movies like this known for being acting or directing showcases and that isn't the case here either.  Granted, I've certainly seen worse horror movies, but this one really isn't worth the 90 minutes of your time even for a cheap laugh.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Retreat

Retreat (2011)

Starring Thandie Newton, Cillian Murphy, and Jamie Bell

Directed by Carl Tibbetts

On the brink of divorce, husband and wife Martin and Kate (Cillian Murphy and Thandie Newton) take a trip to an incredibly small island off the coast of England.  With only one house on the isle and with no communication with the outside world except for a rickety CB radio, the couple hope to reignite the passion that's been missing from their marriage ever since Kate miscarried.  However, shortly into their stay, Martin and Kate discover a battered and bruised man (Jamie Bell) who washes up on the shore.  When the man comes to, he relays to the couple that a terrible airborne virus has wreaked havoc on Europe and that the only way to save themselves is to seal up their small island home and try to wait out the outbreak.  Without any form of communication, Martin and Kate are placed into a difficult situation and must make a decision as to whether they can believe this man they just met.

To me, Retreat has a great concept and while it doesn't necessarily succeed fully as a movie, there is enough promise that should the film pop up on Instant Viewing on Netflix, it'd be worth a watch.  Essentially a three-character piece, the overarching premise of the movie works.  Where the movie drops the ball is in the development of the characters -- particularly the couple Martin and Kate.  With conveniently dropped tidbits of information to give us their backstory, any background characterizations we get of the couple are terribly forced and completely unnatural to the storytelling process, providing eye-rolling groan-inducing moments in the film's opening act.

Fortunately, for the most part, the trio of actors is successful at creating the tension needed for this claustrophobic film to succeed.  Jamie Bell (best known for the title role of Billy Elliott over a decade ago) brings out just the right amount of paranoia to always have the audience questioning whether his character of Jack is nuts or legitimately truthful in his panic concerning the virus.  Cillian Murphy is also quite good as the rather subdued husband.  Not wanting to create a stir, his Martin is the more levelheaded of the couple and Murphy allows his character's actions to always seem believable.

Thandie Newton, on the other hand, is an actress that has fallen out of my good graces in recent years.  Last year, she landed on the the RyMickey Awards' Worst Actress list for her work in For Colored Girls, but she's certainly better in Retreat than she was in that Tyler Perry flick.  However, the same critique of Newton that I mentioned when discussing her Worst Actress "award" -- that she "plays anger and frustration with this incredible screechiness that is so overpoweringly unbelievable" -- still rings true here. Granted, it's not nearly as bad here, but it still rears its ugly head.  She's a beautiful woman, but when Newton is forced to get really gritty, she just can't succeed.

Still, while Retreat may not be without its faults, it's still a movie that is worth a watch.  I was a bit worried that with the premise, I was inevitably going to be disappointed with the ending, but to its credit, the film manages to provide an satisfying conclusion that surprisingly appeased this reviewer's rather critical palette.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Albert Nobbs

Albert Nobbs (2011)

Starring Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, and Janet McTeer

Directed by Rodrigo García

Albert Nobbs is, quite possibly, the most boring film released in 2011 -- and in the year of J. Edgar, The Iron Lady, and Anonymous that's saying something.  However, unlike J. Edgar which had a decent performance from Leonardo DiCaprio, The Iron Lady which had a worthy Oscar-winning turn from Meryl Streep, and Anonymous which had some interesting visuals, Albert Nobbs has absolutely nothing going for it.  Nothing at all.  This "dream" project of Glenn Close is dreadfully monotonous and torturous to sit through and without even a captivating performance with which to breathe life into it, Albert Nobbs is a period piece that really shouldn't even exist.

Sorry, but the raves that came in for Glenn Close's Oscar-nominated performance as the title character -- a woman who has dressed as a man for decades in order to keep a job -- were completely unwarranted.  As Albert Nobbs, Close is emotionally one-note, appearing "stoic" throughout and very little else in terms of notable characteristics.  As Albert struggles to find a woman to spend his life with, training his eye on young co-worker Helen (Mia Wasikowska), I found my eyes wandering around the close quarters of my plane home from London.  Not even the Oscar-nominated turn from Janet McTeer as a fellow woman who lives her life as a man (with a heckuva lot more charisma than Close) can do anything to save this film from simply floundering.

With awkward direction and a horrible subplot involving Wasikowska's character and her relationship with a conniving young handyman (Aaron Johnson), this is a movie in search of itself.  Seemingly as much time is spent on the young lovers storyline which goes nowhere as is spent on Albert's -- and neither of them are worth paying any amount of attention to.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - A Separation

A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin) (2011)

Starring Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, Sarina Farhadi, and Kimia Hosseini

Directed by Asghar Farhadi

From the opening scene of A Separation -- a long, unmoving, single take of an Iranian couple in a family court discussing the wife's desire for a divorce from her husband -- I knew that this narratively simple story was going to pull me in with some winning performances.  Even watching it on a screen the size of my hand and surrounded by strangers on an airplane, Asghar Farhadi's Academy Award-winning film drowned out my less-than-ideal moviegoing atmosphere and fully captured my attention.  This Iranian film -- which I was incredibly wary of seeing when it was at the local arthouse for fear of boredom -- has managed to become one of my favorites of 2011.

With conditions in Iran worsening, Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to take her eleven year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) and leave the country.  However, unable to convince her husband Nader (Peyman Moadi) to come with her and abandon his Alzheimers-inflicted elderly father, Simin files for divorce.  When the judge fails to grant her request, Simin moves out of their house causing Nader to hire Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to look after his father while he is at work.  With her family's income hurting, Razieh keeps her job a secret from her husband (Shahab Hosseini) since Muslim customs state that no woman shall be in a house with a another woman's husband without her own husband or another woman present.  Unfortunately, a series of small events balloon into something much more major and a seemingly "innocent" separation of a husband and wife could lead to a tragic set of events for a father trying to do his best to provide for his fracturing family.

Admittedly, I knew very little about this movie going into it and that's why I've attempted to leave the summary above as vague as possible.  It's not that there are surprises around every corner -- the story is actually quite simple -- but it's riveting in its realism.  There's a naturalness on display here that isn't present in many films.  It is as if we're watching a real family going through a difficult time and that's certainly a credit to the actors who all appear so genuine that they convince us completely of their feelings towards one another -- whether that be compassion or distaste or a tricky combination of both.

It's also extremely interesting to get a glimpse at both a modern-day Iranian Muslim family and the court system of that part of the world.  Granted, were I familiar with either of those topics, A Separation may have lost a bit of its freshness, but since I'm not knowledgable on either of those subjects, it was a bit eye-opening for me and an intriguing look at everyday life on the opposite side of the world.  Still, in the end, I keep coming back to the simplicity and the naturalness of everything here -- the direction, the story, the acting.  Everything in A Separation has an authenticity to it and, as a film, it doesn't attempt to make judgments as to who is right and who is wrong.  Writer-director Asghar Farhadi allows the audience to try and make that determination on their own which, at times, is an incredibly difficult decision to make which further is a credit to his ability to craft a realistic portrayal of family life.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-