Movie Review - The Master

The Master (2012)

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Laura Dern

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Without a doubt, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is filled with beautiful direction and superb acting, but I can't exactly say it's overly enjoyable to watch.  In and of itself, that's not a bad thing, but the film which delves into the inner workings of cults, mind control, wartime post-dramatic stress disorder, and free will (or a lack thereof) is an odd duck.  While I grew fascinated with the characters, I couldn't help but notice an odd sense of detachment that runs throughout, never quite allowing me to fully enter the world that was created oscreen.  For some reason, there was just some odd disconnect with the film that less than twenty-four hours removed I can't quite explain yet.

I had heard some talk that there wasn't really a narrative throughout the film, but I thought there was a fairly legitimate through-line story...although "story" isn't necessarily the driving force of the film which may be why it doesn't quite settle in comfortably while you're watching it.  We meet Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a WWII vet who turns to booze to cope with his memories and finds that he can't quite keep the lowly jobs that have come his way upon return to the States.  One night Freddie stumbles upon a party on a yacht and sneaks aboard.  Upon awakening, rather than be booted off the boat, he's befriended by the man chartering it -- Lancaster Dodd.  Dodd's a charming man with a charismatic personality that easily switches from introspectiveness to bombast, but it makes him a difficult man to pin down by both the audience and by Freddie.  Dodd's the leader of a movement known as "The Cause" and believes strongly in the philosophies of past lives.  Through psychological and sociological experiments, Dodd seems to be a manipulator of sorts and for some reason does what he can to keep Freddie firmly under his thumb.  As the film slowly progresses, we see the relationship between Freddie and Dodd evolve and devolve and it certainly is the basis for any type of story we witness (however loose that story may be).

The film looks stunning.  There were shots that had me in awe of their simplicity, yet enthralled by their depth, richness, and gorgeousness.  And the acting is definitely top-notch, with Philip Seymour Hoffman actually impressing me a bit more than Joaquin Phoenix (the latter of whom is garnering much deserved praise for his role).  While I admired both of them, Phoenix's part simply seemed a little more "actorly" and a bit more gimmicky in his mannerisms and verbalizations.  I say that with great respect as Phoenix still managed to enthrall me throughout, but if I were to compare the two, Hoffman's role comes out a bit on top.  I think a large part of that is due to the fact that his character is still such an enigma to me.  A kind and considerate man, yet one who has great power and knows how to manipulate so easily that it's almost frightening, Hoffman as Dodd had me thoroughly intrigued every moment he was onscreen.

And yet something didn't quite click and, as I mentioned above, I'm not quite sure what didn't work.  I found myself checking my watch quite often throughout the film despite loving many scenes, being fascinated by the visuals, and enamored with the two main performances.  [I've left Amy Adams out of the conversation because while her role was good, I don't find it quite worthy of the unanimous effusive praise it's been receiving.]  I liked the almost behind-the-scenes look at the Scientology-based group "The Cause," but the film doesn't really take a stand as to whether this religion (or any religion, for that matter) is a help or a hindrance to society as a whole.  It also left me questioning why these two souls in Freddie and Lancaster mutually needed the contentious relationship in which they found themselves.  On Freddie's end, it's almost understandable -- a wayward drifter who found a somewhat steady hand to feed and clothe him.  But on Lancaster's side of the equation, was Freddie just a guinea pig for his attempts at strengthening his "Cause?"  The question is never really answered and, unfortunately, I think it's an important enough one that an answer is deserved.

The Master is certainly an interesting movie and one that has some beautiful moments, but it's also one that probably deserves to be watched again to more fully comprehend just what Paul Thomas Anderson was trying to say.  However, and perhaps rather unfortunately, it's not the type of film that you want to jump right back into to have another go.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Safe House

Safe House (2012)

Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Robert Patrick, and Sam Shepard

Directed by Daniel Espinosa

I can't say that Safe House is original in the slightest.  I feel like I've seen everything presented in this thriller before.  Still, thanks to some strong performances from Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, a quick pace, and a solid (if by-the-books) story, director Daniel Espinosa's first English-language venture is promising (and certainly entertaining) enough to indicate the possibility of success in the young auteur's future.

Matt Weston (Reynolds) is a young aspiring CIA agent stationed in South Africa.  Set to watch over a safe house, his days are filled with boredom, dreaming about the possibility of an upward move within the government agency.  One evening, Weston receives a call that a guest is coming to the house and when the visitor arrives, Weston immediately recognizes him as Tobin Frost (Washington), an ex-CIA operative who has since gone rogue and taken up some criminal activities.  Frost is on the run from some nasty fellows who want a microchip he has obtained and the only way of saving himself was to turn himself in to the US consulate in Cape Town.  Needless to say, the CIA safe house is soon compromised and the young Weston is forced out onto the streets of South Africa with the experienced and untrustworthy Frost where the young agent's skills are put to the ultimate test.

Safe House's biggest problem is that while it attempts to build drama by insinuating that there is a double agent within the CIA, director Daniel Espinosa foreshadows any type of surprises this revelation may have created via his camera work.  Fifteen minutes in, I already was well aware of how this movie was going to end.  That's not to say that there weren't some interesting twists and turns along the way, but the conclusion of the movie is ultimately too obvious and a bit of a letdown.

However, buoyed by some very nice performances from Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds (the latter whom surprised me by being totally believable in an action role) and a solid supporting turn from Vera Farmiga who rarely (if ever) disappoints, Safe House is a good action piece that deserves a look.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - John Carter

John Carter (2012)

Starring Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Daryl Sabara, and Bryan Cranston

Directed by Andrew Stanton

While John Carter may not be worthy of the ridicule that came its way thanks to its extremely high budget and disappointing box office returns, this Andrew Stanton-directed picture was already at a disadvantage in my book as its premise simply isn't up my alley in the slightest (remember, you're talking about the guy who's never seen Star Wars and likely never will).  Ultimately, the film's biggest problem is that there's way too much story here for 130 minutes.  We've got introductions to multiple alien races, at least two civil wars amongst rivaling sanctions on the planet we know as Mars (but known to the natives as Barsoom), and, perhaps the most intriguing aspect (yet least focused upon) that some Civil War-era American has been transported to Mars and rather nonchalantly becomes the savior of some of Barsoom's peoples.

I could delve into more plot, but if I did it'd just take too long, so that last sentence in the above paragraph will have to do.  That said, that last sentence is really the reason the film isn't successful.  I understand that this was likely setting up any future films (that will now never happen), but I'm still not sure why there was a need to place so many different plotlines into this first movie.  If anything, these various storylines fight for prominence and oftentimes become incomprehensible due to the plot's overly ambitious nature.  Ultimately, the fault lies in the director and co-screenwriter Andrew Stanton (to whom this was a pet project for years) for failing to either simplify (or at the very least condense) the various plotlines to create something a bit more enjoyable to watch.

I should say, though, that for Stanton's first foray into live action, he does a fine job in terms of creating an aesthetically pleasing landscape and he has quite an eye for mixing humor and action especially at the beginning of the film.  And, given the enormity of the plot he tries to present, the film's pacing is actually decent.  But in the end, there's simply too much story where there doesn't need to be.

Taylor Kitsch is fine, but bland, as the title character.  He's given very little to do despite being in nearly every scene.  I had hoped his character would've been given a little more emotional oomph considering this American got mystically transported to Mars, but after an amusing few minutes of Carter getting used to differences in gravity, the character almost acts as if this new planet is nothing he hasn't seen before.  The rest of the acting is par for the course.  Nothing exceptional, but about what is to be expected in a sci-fi/fantasy flick.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Theater Review - The Weir

The Weir

Written by Conor McPherson

Directed by Leslie Reidel

Where: Thompson Theatre at the Roselle Center for the Arts
(University of Delaware, Newark, DE)

When: Saturday, September 29, 7:30pm

Photo credit from the REP

It'd be easy to say that Conor McPherson's The Weir is just a tale of Irish men trying to impress an engaging and attractive woman who wanders into their bar by telling her increasingly more intense supernatural tales.  However, there is quite a bit more than just simple ghost stories on display (meaning, don't go into this expecting to be "freaked out" or scared, by any means).  What starts as simple pub talk shifts into a surprisingly emotionally wrenching story filled with grief and melancholic nostalgia.

And, I mean this with the highest bit of respect and admiration, the University of Delaware's Resident Ensemble Players are just the people to put on such a sad show that's peppered with moments of genuine humor.  Most of the cast of five are onstage for nearly the entirety of the intermissionless play's 100-minute run time and they have no problems holding our attention in the slightest.

While there isn't the glitz of fantastically intricate sets or costumes (even though what is presented by Stefanie Hansen and Andrea Barrier, respectively, is perfect in creating the necessary atmosphere), where The Weir excels is through some great performances, notably Ms. Kathleen Pirkl Tague and Mr. Stephen Pelinski both of whom balance the superfluous pub talk with heavy emotional monologues that manage to hit you deep down.

Tague (nominated earlier this year for a Barrymore Award [Philly's "Tony equivalent"] for her role in last season's The Skin of Our Teeth) has always impressed in her ability to so easily transition from comedy to drama and I'm still unable to tell which genre I prefer when it comes to her talent.  When she's required to reach deep down for moments of pathos as she is in this production in her role as Valerie, the new girl in town, she does so with such ease that it always elicits some awe from this theatergoer.  The Weir is a play filled with monologues and I'd often find myself staring at the rest of the cast during a character's story-telling speeches simply to see their reactions -- and Tague (and the ensemble as a whole) even impressed in these moments by naturally and effortlessly "listening" onstage.

Similarly, Pelinski shines here in what may be his best performance I've seen from him to date (and that includes his stellar work in Death of a Salesman).  Thanks to an unexpected and heartstring-tugging arc towards the play's end, Pelinski's Jack -- a curmudgeonly fellow with a softer side -- managed to resonate with me in a way that I didn't expect as the play progressed.  Like Tague, Pelinski brings a believable naturalness that never once made me feel as if I was watching an actor onstage.

With some nice performances from Michael Gotch and Mic Matarrese, the cast (for the most part) continues the excellent streak of performances that we've come to expect from the REP.  Also, it's always refreshing when the company does a more modern play (even one like The Weir that is steeped in ages-old folklore).  Although the play gets off to a little bit of a shaky start in terms of pacing, by the end, I didn't really want to leave these five characters we'd grown to know which is a testament to the playwright, the director, and the great troupe of actors.

Side Note:  Conor McPherson's film The Eclipse is streaming on Netflix and definitely worth checking out.

Movie Review - Elles

Elles (2012)

Starring Juliette Binoche, Anaïs Demoustier, Joanna Kulig, and Louis-Do de Lencquesaing

Directed by Malgorzata Szumowska

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

I guess Elles is supposed to be a provocative female-centric view of sexuality, but when you look beyond the graphic sex scenes, there's an odd story that I just can't comprehend.  Magazine columnist Anne (Juliette Binoche) has been doing research on college students willingly turning to prostitution in order to earn money to both go to school and make a decent living.  We join her for a day in her life as her deadline is fast approaching and she remembers back to her interviews with the French-born Charlotte (Anaïs Demoustier) and the Polish Alicja (Joanna Kulig).  As she remembers the accounts of some of the girls' escapades (which we see in explicit detail...although with surprisingly less nudity than I expected given the subject matter), Anne realizes that neither girl really has any regrets with their lives.  Sure, it has caused some tension with boyfriends and family, but their lives at the moment are okay.

This realization makes Anne ponder that her "suburban" lifestyle as a wife and mother is binding her to a more puritan mindset than she'd maybe like.  As she burns her hand with her wedding ring or slices her ring finger while doing the "wifely duty" of preparing a meal for her husband (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) and his boss, the symbolism of "marriage" equaling "pain" couldn't be more obvious.  In that regard, I just really didn't grasp what exactly I was supposed to be feeling after I finished watching director and co-writer Malgorzata Szumowska's film.  Is the freedom of prostitution supposed to be an ideal situation for a woman?  Is marriage a prison sentence?  Or is there an in-between that's more balanced and suitable?  Are the clients of a prostitute and the husbands in a marriage the equivalent in that they have control over the women in their lives?  And are women simply fooling themselves into thinking they're anything other than pawns of men, constantly dependent on them to maintain any type of lifestyle?

In the end, what I came away with was utter confusion.  I didn't know what Elles wanted me to feel after watching it.  The performances are fine (I particularly like Anaïs Demoustier whose character is given a bit more heft than her Polish counterpart), but they aren't spectacular enough to warrant a rave.

I will admit that as a guy, the only reason I even gave this a try was because of the subject matter.  A French film with an NC-17 rating has to equal nudity...and who doesn't want to watch that?  [Call me a sexist pig if you must, but I must also admit that this wasn't simply an "out of the blue" choice...I had read about it when it came to local arthouse, but didn't find the premise interesting enough to actually pay for it.]  But then when it finished, I couldn't help but think that it's a movie that has high aspirations of being something important and provocative (both sexually and intellectually), but fails to communicate its true intentions in any manner.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Casa de mi Padre

Casa de mi Padre (2012)

Starring Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez, and Nick Offerman

Directed by Matt Piedmont

Will Ferrell teamed up with some of his buddies from the website Funny or Die to craft Casa de mi Padre, a comedic homage to cheesy Mexican cinema.  If they learned anything from this venture, it should be that the crew at the oftentimes successfully hilarious website (just check out this Regis Philbin-Zooey Deschanel recent creation) should stick with three minute sketches rather than ninety minute movies.

Told nearly completely in Spanish with subtitles, Ferrell is Armando, the less respected son of rancher Miguel Ernesto (Pedro Armendariz, Jr.).  Always unfavorably compared to his more successful brother Raul (Diego Luna), Armando spends his days riding his horse and hanging out with his buddies, trying to avoid the constant stream of negativity he receives from his father.  When Raul returns home with the news that he is going to wed the lovely Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez), Armando becomes even more dejected seeing how much the impending nuptials have pleased his father.  However, Armando soon discovers that Raul is a rising kingpin in the Mexican drug industry and as he uncovers more of his brother's secrets, he begins to fall for Sonia who desperately longs to break away from the dangerous life led by her fiancé.

This melodrama is attempted to be played for laughs, but I'm not sure I chuckled even once during this thing.  It is honestly quite painful to sit through.  I almost expected Casa de mi Padre to be hammier and sillier, but despite the purposeful overacting, painted backdrops, and stuffed mountain lions, I couldn't help but think I should've been being constantly barraged with ridiculousness.  Instead, I'd find more laughs watching five minutes of a bad telenovela on Telemundo.

As a side note: poor Genesis Rodriguez stuck in two absolutely awful movies released in 2012 -- this and Man on a Ledge.  She's beautiful to look at and is one of the better parts of both of these very disappointing movies.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Theater Review - Nice Work If You Can Get It

Nice Work If You Can Get It

Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin

Book by Joe DiPietro

Directed by Kathleen Marshall

Where: Imperial Theatre, New York City, NY

When:  September 5, 2012, 8pm

Were I thirty years older, I may have been laughing as hard as the lady behind me, but seeing as how I am not yet sixty, Nice Work If You Can Get It is, to me, a tired Broadway trifle that shoehorns some lovely George and Ira Gershwin tunes into a story that is unworthy of their presence.  Songs in a musical exist as an extension of a character's personality or a way of furthering plot, but they absolutely must relate in some way to the overarching story.  Here, we get none of that with playwright Joe DiPietro simply tossing in classics like the title number, "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," or "S'Wonderful" seemingly at random, failing to have these oftentimes emotion-filled songs create any meaningful impact on the plot.  Ultimately, this dooms the musical and is where Nice Work falters the most.

The plot is a throwaway, but I appreciate the homage to 1930s movies/radio shows/Broadway that it strives to achieve.  Multi-millionaire playboy Jimmy Winter (Matthew Broderick...more on him later) is about to be married for the fourth time -- this time to impressionistic dancer Eileen Evergreen (Jennifer Laura Thompson).  After a drunken binge one evening in a speakeasy (for, you see, we are in the Prohibition Era), he runs into Billie Bendix (Kelli O'Hara...more on her later as well), a bootlegger who wears pants and a cap (which lets us know she's tough as nails with a likely heart of gold to match) to whom he reveals that he's really only marrying Eileen because it will make him look responsible to his mother who will then bequeath him the extensive family fortune.  While he tells his story, Jimmy reveals to Billie that he owns a huge mansion in Long Island that he rarely uses and Billie sees this as the perfect location to store her crew's supply of illegal booze from the police.  In the play's next two hours, we get multiple cases of mistaken identity, several instances of awkwardly newfound romance, and a few dance numbers thrown at us all of which are pleasant, but not quite enough to sustain the running time especially since the songs don't do a darn thing to forward the plot.

In fact, the songs that are the most successful end up being the throwaway numbers which utilize some of the lesser known songs in the Gershwins' catalog.  When the hoity-toity Eileen lounges in a bathtub and begins singing about how "Delishious" she is, a bevy of bathing beauties climb out of the same tub to dance with her and extol her great virtues -- a truly creative moment and one of the few successful times that a song tells us exactly what it needs to in regards to a character.  Or take Act II's "Looking for a Boy" sung by Duchess Estonia Dulworth (Judy Kaye) who, heretofore, has been the very definition of uppity, pompous, and prim.   When she unknowingly becomes intoxicated, the typically bluesy (and perhaps sultry) Gershwin number becomes a literal "swinging from the chandelier" moment that is a true showstopper and the obvious moment that single-handedly won Ms. Kaye this year's Best Supporting Actress Tony.

But the problem is that when the musical's main characters deign to burst into song, their numbers never hit home in the way they do for the secondary characters.  It's not Matthew Broderick or Kelli O'Hara's fault either, both of whom I couldn't help but think were truly enjoying their time spent onstage together.  Although neither were given the best plotlines, they both seemed to be be having a ball during their scenes together despite performing eight times a week.  Unfortunately, this evident genial rapport doesn't really translate to chemistry which I think is more a fault of their characters than the actors themselves.

I've seen Ms. O'Hara before in the wonderful South Pacific (which has greatly improved in my memory as time passes) and she has a lovely voice that simply isn't showcased to its best effect here.  She has a few nice numbers -- particularly when she's permitted to let her comedic side show like in the hilarious bedroom romp "Treat Me Rough" -- but her character of Billie simply doesn't have any substance for her to latch onto.  Similarly, Broderick's playboy character is one-note and the actor decides to play him with an oddly side-mouthed almost-lisp which faded in and out when he saw fit.  Despite that annoying tic, I had read several reviews that said the actor seemed to be phoning this role in, and while he certainly wasn't a revelation, he is serviceable in the part with an adequate voice (that worked well with the old standards that don't require a ton of belting to be successful) and a naturalness to his dancing that, while not well honed, was oddly pleasant to watch.  [Funnily enough, I was kind of reminded when watching Broderick of my long-ago high school production of Bye Bye Birdie...like me, Broderick was having fun, but likely realized he's not the best singer and dancer in the land.]

However, in the end, this musical is just an excuse to wrap some semblance of a story around a group of Gershwin songs.  There's no substance to the plot or heft to the characters.  Everyone simply trudges along to the show's inevitable ending which will undoubtedly lead to a standing ovation from the crowd.  [...Which is another irksome quality of theater nowadays -- I'm all for applauding at the end of a show even if you didn't care for it just to show respect to the actors, but not every single production deserves a standing ovation....You're diluting what a standing O really should stand for...End of Soapbox Rant...]  Nice Work If You Can Get It is pleasant, but it's simply not very good and "pleasant" just doesn't cut it when you're shelling out money to see a Broadway production.

Theater Review - Peter and the Starcatcher

Peter and the Starcatcher

Written by Rick Elise

Directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers

Where: Brooks Atkinson Theater, New York City, NY

When: Wednesday, September 5, 2pm

There is something revelatory and invigorating in watching the troupe of twelve actors in Broadway's Peter and Starcatcher tell a story.  We feel as if we've been transported back in time and are witnessing storytelling in its most basic form.  With some ropes, a pineapple, two small model ships, and very few other props, a prequel to J.M. Barrie's beloved classic Peter Pan is acted out in front of our very eyes and done so in such a manner that, with the exception of some brilliant lighting techniques, could have been done centuries ago.  Yet, there is a freshness and wonderful sense of ingenuity that feels more unique and exciting than some of the technological advances that currently grace the Broadway stage (I'm looking at you, Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark).

As our tale begins, we meet young teen Molly (played quite believably by twenty-something Celia Keenan-Bolger) and her father Lord Aster (Rick Holmes) as they embark on a sailing trip for Her Royal Majesty Queen Victoria.  Their job: deposit a chest filled with an secret, powerful item into the deep blue sea -- a place no one can ever access it.  Through a series of unfortunate events, Molly and her father find themselves on separate ships both of which harbor folks who will do all that they can to get their hands on this secret case, including the infamous pirate Black Stache (Matthew Saldívar).  Along the way, Molly meets three orphaned boys who attempt to help her both reunite with her father and prevent the Queen's cargo from being confiscated.

While Act I of Peter and the Starcatcher takes place on ships, Act II shifts to the tropical island of Rundoon, and despite the set utilizing minimal backdrops and, as mentioned above, very little props, you are always well aware of where you are in the story and what is going on.  The actors rely on sounds, lighting, and props such as ropes in order to convey everything that we need to know.  Humans become actual doors that are opened/pushed aside to reveal strange goings-on inside the rooms of the pirate ship.  Ropes are manipulated to become the small confines of a cramped chamber that houses both Molly and her nanny, Mrs. Bumbrake (Arnie Burton).  These ingenious techniques may not sound like much on paper and they are, in fact, very difficult to describe, but they work so fluidly and effortlessly and they convey exactly what they need to in order to make the show work.

Of course, part of the reason for the success is the brilliance of the acting ensemble.  Not only must they act out their roles, but they are essentially putting on a well-choreographed quickstep every night the likes of which you rarely see on a stage.  Celia Keenan-Bolger's Molly is perhaps the figure around which the story revolves and as the lone female in the group, she doesn't let the boys upstage her, blending in perfectly with the cast.  She's the perfect amount of precociousness, intelligence and wide-eyed wonder combining to create a wonderful character who is a pleasure to follow on her journey.

While Molly is very much the key figure of Act I, Act II shifts focus to one of the orphaned "lost" boys who, until this second act has remained nameless.  However, as Act II unfurls, Boy picks up the name of Peter and we slowly see this solemn boy's transformation into J.M. Barrie's most famous character.  Peter is played by Adam Chanler-Berat and, rather surprisingly, he's the weak link in both the story and the cast.  Chandler-Berat's Peter is quiet, subdued, and oddly wimpy -- nothing like the outwardly joyful and boisterous Pan we're used to seeing.  Granted, I understand this is the backstory that made Peter into the "Boy Who Never Wants to Grow Up," but he's so morose here that the character is too much of a downer amidst the whimsy elsewhere.  I'm sure Chanler-Berat is simply playing this dull character the way it was written, but his too-quiet line deliveries coupled with his oddly depressing interpretation make Act II a tiny bit of a letdown.  I understand that Boy's transformation into Peter is the emotional crux of the story and his journey from an abused orphan to ebullient youth is where the playwright roots the play's heart, but this solemn plotline stands in such strong contrast to the rest of the play (including an uproarious Act II opening song featuring the cast as mermaids) that it almost comes as too much of a shock to the system to deliver the full impact likely meant by the author.

I realize that the whole previous paragraph comes off as quite a disappointment, but the play overall is a joyous treat to watch.  And, shockingly, I've gone through this entire review only once mentioning the play's over-the-top and scenery-chewing villain -- Black Stache.  Played by Matthew Saldívar with gusto, the precursor to Captain Hook is, as one of my fellow theatergoers mentioned, Monty Python-esque in its sheer absurdity, yet the playwright and director manage to make this larger-than-life character mesh incredibly well with the rest of the cast.

Peter and the Starcatcher truly is a thrillingly "low-budget" piece of theater that really makes you appreciate what a talented group of actors and an incredibly adept director can do with very little other than their natural innate talents.  Mixing humor, drama, and a few cleverly placed original songs (which I failed to mention other than in passing, but added quite a bit to the affair), there is a reason this was the most Tony-nominated American play ever and its five Tony wins were likely well deserved.

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 - We're Not Married

We're Not Married (1952)

Starring Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen, Marilyn Monroe, David Wayne, Eve Arden, Paul Douglas, Mitzi Gaynor, Eddie Bracken, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Louis Calhern, and Victor Moore

Directed by Edmund Goulding

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

We're Not Married is absolutely mindless entertainment, but goshdarnit, it won me over shortly after it started.  Admittedly, I knew nothing about this flick, but simply added it to my Netflix Instant queue after I watched My Week with Marilyn earlier this year since this happened to star Monroe.  Little did I know that this short eighty-minute film would be a series of short ten to twenty minute vignettes revolving around the central premise of a newly appointed justice of the peace (a delightfully semi-senile Victor Moore) failing to properly marry five couples during his first week on the job.  Two years later, it's unearthed that these initial marriages are nullified and we soon discover what happens to each of the five couples after they get the letter detailing that they aren't really betrothed.  Will they want to stay together?  Or will they discover that this is an easy way out of an unhappy situation?

Not knowing this wasn't a full movie, but rather a series of short stories, I was surprised when the film shifted to a completely different "married" couple thirty minutes in and I worried that the movie wouldn't be able to sustain the humorous success it achieves in the first tale featuring Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen as a bickering twosome who only married in order to make a significant profit hosting a radio show posing as a lovingly hitched couple.  Fortunately, my worries were irrational and, for the most part, each tale manages to be amusing (although none quite match the comedic levels Rogers and Allen reach in the opening act).

You must keep in mind that you're watching a 1950s version of romance here...we're not delving deep in any shape or form, but we are treated to amusing sketches that are different enough to hold interest.  Sure, the flick could've maybe been trimmed by one tale (the third act in particular starring Eve Arden and Paul Douglas doesn't really add much to the movie as a whole), but We're Not Married is charming nonetheless and definitely worth a look if you're in the mood for an old-fashioned comedy.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Friends with Kids

Friends with Kids (2012)

Starring Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, and Edward Burns

Directed by Jennifer Westfeldt

After an incredibly promising opening act, Friends with Kids unfortunately takes a wrong turn about thirty minutes in and the very game cast is shoehorned into a slightly more adult version of a tv sitcom.  In and of itself, that's not necessarily a bad critique, but I found myself unable to buy into the premise being presented and that's ultimately an unacceptable notion in a movie like this.

With their two sets of single friends partnering up, marrying, and having kids, thirtysomethings and best friends Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) and Jason (Adam Scott) find themselves itching to be parents.  The only problem is that they aren't finding that special someone with whom to spend the rest of their lives.  It also doesn't help that their married friends Ben and Missy (Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig) and Leslie and Alex (Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd) don't seem to be incredibly happy anymore.  The kids have added loads of stress to their lives and all the spark seems to have diminished from their formerly loving relationships with one another.  This gives Julie and Jason the "ingenious" idea of having a kid together without dating one another.  They'll have sex only to get pregnant and walk away from each other with their friendship still intact.  In the end, they'll both have a kid (which is something they want) and they'll be able to share the joys of parenthood without the inevitable breakdown that occurs to married folks who produce offspring.

And this is where the whole movie falls apart.  What could have been an interesting (although not altogether unique) look at the differences between married couples and single people in their mid-thirties turns into some sophomoric premise that no two intelligent and sophisticated people would ever engage in -- and Julie and Jason are just way too smart to agree to this crazy concept.  Maybe if Jennifer Westfeldt (who directed and wrote the film) and Adam Scott were playing doofuses, I could jump on the bandwagon, but they're smart, witty, and successful folks who I never once thought would sign on to this crazy idea.  In the end, when the whole thing wraps up exactly the way you'd expect it to, I found myself rolling my eyes rather than feeling altogether satisfied.

Ultimately, it's a real shame that Westfeldt decides to take the film down this nutty path because I do think she's got a talent for writing witty and believable dialog and I found her direction quite adept for this being her first time behind the camera.  She manages to get really wonderful performances from Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Chris O'Dowd, the aforementioned Adam Scott, and her real-life longtime beau Jon Hamm while crafting a confident yet neurotic role for herself to tackle.  But it's all for naught in the end because the premise is just too kooky to be believed.

Yes, I laughed quite a bit and I enjoyed myself overall, but Friends with Kids could've been so much better than its finished product.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Paranorman

Paranorman (2012)

***viewed in 3D***

Featuring the voice talent of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elaine Stritch, and John Goodman 

Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell

Kid flicks today often seem sugar-coated or, at the very least, a bit more sanitized than the movies kids from the 80s grew up on.  The weirdness of The Neverending Story or Labyrinth or even Disney's The Black Cauldron just aren't present in movies that have a goal of appealing to kids.  In fact, at times, it might have often seemed that movies like those aforementioned, while made for the younger generation, almost held more interest for the adults dragged to the theaters with their young'uns.  Paranorman reminded me more of the movies of my childhood generation than much of what is released today (and I don't mean that in any demeaning way to today's family films).  Oddly off-the-wall, kooky, and entertaining, although I had to wonder if it would hold the interest of a kid.

Norman Babcock is a seemingly normal boy with one exception -- he can see and talk to ghosts.  Naturally, this doesn't sit well with his parents who want him to stop living in a dream world and it certainly doesn't help him at school where he finds himself bullied for his "gift."  With the whole New England town of Blithe Hollow thinking he's a nutjob, Norman finds himself quite the loner.  One evening, however, the town's crazy hobo (who also happens to be Norman's uncle) crosses paths with the boy and tells his nephew that it is up to him to stop a rising of the dead from occurring.  While he doesn't believe it, Norman eventually succumbs to his uncle's wishes, but finds trouble along the way that causes the dead to actually rise from their graves and begin invading the small town with only Norman having the ability to get the zombies back to their below ground residences.

In addition to the very nice stop-motion animation on display, Paranorman comes with a decidedly adult sensibility in tow filled with humor that will go over many a ten year-old's head.  I'm not talking about raunch here, but I am impressed with screenwriter Chris Butler's sensibility to not talk down to the kids in the audience (and the parents who accompanied them).  [There's a character "twist" at the end is shockingly ballsy -- even though it maybe shouldn't be in this day and age -- and further exemplifies the "mature-skewing" nature of the film.]  I'm sure the homages contained in this film are plentiful, but even something as simple as a slight rehashing of the Friday the 13th synthesizer score was enough to bring a smile to this reviewer's face.  Still, despite honoring some horror movies of the past, the film feels fresh and innovative, standing rightly on its own.

Somehow, though, Paranorman never quite allows us to connect to the characters in a way that Pixar movies do.  Those Pixar folks have seriously cornered the market on heartfelt animation and even when something like Paranorman attempts a tugging on the heartstrings, it never quite reaches the levels the Pixar guys manage to set.  That's not taking anything away from this movie, however, it does stop it from reaching the upper echelon of modern-day animated classics.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - 21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street (2012)

Starring Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, and Ice Cube

Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller

2012 seems to be the year of Channing Tatum, but 21 Jump Street is only the fourth time I've ever seen him act.  I'm not quite sold on the guy, finding him to have an onscreen presence that's rather arrogant and cocky, and the flick didn't really change my mind on the newfound star.  Still, this comedic reinvention of a dramatic 80s tv show (that I never watched once) has enough laugh-out-loud moments to make this worth checking out.

In 2005, Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) are both in their senior year of high school, but they are definitely on two different sides of the tracks when it comes to popularity.  Jenko is the popular school jock, while Schmidt can't find a date to prom.  Their lives barely intertwine and when they do, it's only for Jenko to throw a slightly demeaning joke Schmidt's way.  Cut to six years later and both young twentysomethings find themselves in the same class of recruits at Metropolitan City's police academy.  With Jenko failing miserably at the written exams and Schmidt bombing the more physical tests, the two team up to help one another and become good buddies.

Unfortunately, Jenko and Schmidt aren't given much respect and are relegated to patrolling on bikes through a typically serene park.  When they perform a drug bust that goes a bit awry, the young duo is sent on an undercover mission headquartered at 21 Jump Street in which Jenko and Schmidt will act as high schoolers in order to try and find the source of a new drug that is making the rounds amongst the teens in the area.

Though we get the standard comedic go-to's like mistaken identities, drug-induced hallucinations, and a bit of gross-out humor, 21 Jump Street is really a buddy comedy that works thanks to Hill and Tatum's chemistry with one another.  While I may not care much for either actor overall, together they are surprisingly appealing to watch.  Sure, I never got any sense that they were anything other than "Jonah Hill" or "Channing Tatum," but they both bring a nice sense of comic timing (a first for Tatum to display) to the affair.

What's perhaps most impressive and also quite promising is that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller's only other feature film is the charming and hilarious Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  For 21 Jump Street to be their first foray into live action is moderately astounding.  Yes, the movie isn't perfect -- a few of the scenes with the high schoolers fall a bit flat, some of the supporting cast like Rob Riggle as a gym teacher are a bit too over-the-top, and the whole thing runs about ten minutes too long -- but it's a darn good first try at live action.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Grey

The Grey (2012)

Staring Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo, and Dallas Roberts

Directed by Joe Carnahan

The cinematic equivalent of a Bear Grylls Man vs. Wild adventure, The Grey strands a group of oil workers in the cold Alaskan wilderness after a horrible plane crash.  Not that the extreme weather elements wouldn't have been enough, but the survivors are faced with the fact that they crashed in the midst of a large wolf den and the wild beasts are none too happy about their uninvited guests.  Fortunately for the survivors, they happen to have John Ottway (Liam Neeson) with them -- a man whose sole purpose at the refinery is to kill wolves before they attack the oil men.

For the most part, The Grey is a success.  Liam Neeson, who lately has seemingly been taking any film that comes his way for a paycheck, finally finds himself in a movie that's actually got some purpose and depth behind it and he takes on the headstrong Ottway with gusto.  His supporting cast is all incredibly strong as well with nary a one of them succumbing to the curse of stereotypes -- "The Quiet One;" "The Tough One;" "The Smart One" -- that often befalls ensemble flicks having characters with distinct personalities.

Of course, the actors are helped by a solid script co-written by director Joe Carnahan who manages to give each character a presence that isn't usually felt in movies like this.  Carnahan takes things slow and admittedly could have sped things up a bit as the film has a tendency to drag when it drifts into the pseudo-religious philosophizing of Ottway's mind, but I can't necessarily say that I ever found myself longing for the flick to be over.  Still, it should be noted that despite its "action" premise, The Grey is much more of a character-driven drama than anything else.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Man on a Ledge

Man on a Ledge (2012)

Starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Genesis Rodriguez, Edward Burns, Anthony Mackie, Kyra Sedgwick, and Ed Harris

Directed by Asger Leth

The cast of solid, but (let's face it) second-tier movie stars should've clued me in that Man on a Ledge wasn't exactly a high-caliber, but I was willing to give the thing a shot.  Unfortunately, the ludicrous plot and horribly written dialog ends up being a painful affair to suffer through.  The actors try, but are given an impossible task at which they simply can't succeed.

The film's title gives away a substantial amount of the plot, but why Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) is out on that ledge is the question that seems to take forever to answer.  We learn from a flashback that Nick, a former cop, was in jail for stealing a pristine and large diamond from stereotypical nasty rich guy David Englander (Ed Harris) -- a crime which he denies he committed.  When his father dies, Nick is able to obtain a day leave from prison to attend the funeral.  While there, he manages to escape only to find himself months (years? maybe days?) later on the ledge of a hotel building threatening to jump.  There's a well-thought out reason Nick's there involving some insanely convoluted plan involving his brother (Jamie Bell) and his sassy Latina girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) to prove his innocence, but the attempt to clear his name is so ridiculously ludicrous that it's utterly laughable.

It shouldn't have been surprising when I looked at director Asger Leth's imdb page that Man on a Ledge is his first feature film.  There's simply not a grasp at how to handle the action on display and he certainly fails at achieving any emotional attachment to the characters.  Then again, Leth really isn't the film's biggest problem which is an awful script from Pablo F. Fenjves who also happens to be having his first foray into feature films with this piece of junk.  One needs only to look at the extraneous sidekick cop character of Edward Burns or the completely unnecessary tv news reporter played by Kyra Sedgwick to know that both Leth and Fenjves were failures at learning how to edit themselves -- just two of the many things in this movie that could have and should have been left on the cutting room floor.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Starring Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry

Directed by Benh Zeitlin

Although you may not have heard of the little indie flick Beasts of the Southern Wild, rest assured that this film is the hot topic amongst cinephiles in the midst of this big budget-filled summer.  The Oscar buzz is already circling this debut feature of Benh Zeitlin featuring a cast of virtual unknowns, the huge majority of which are starring in their first film.  Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure the praises heaped upon this at its Sundance Film Festival premiere, its Camera d'Or best first feature film award win at Cannes, and its subsequent overwhelmingly positive critical reception are warranted.

In the Louisiana bayou is a place known as "The Bathtub" -- a small island community that is nearly completely blocked off from the rest of the United States attempting to live and without the everyday necessities we deem integral to our lives.  Us folks on the dry land are too caught up in the hectic hullabaloo of our fast-paced lives and the residents of "The Bathtub" have learned to appreciate the slower pace of things.  Our glimpse into this community comes via young Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), a young six year-old tomboyish girl whose mother left her at an infant and whose father (Dwight Henry), in between the bouts of heavy drinking (which is de rigueur amongst the Bathtub townies), epitomizes the meaning of tough love trying to help his daughter learn the lay of the land as he finds himself growing sicker and sicker with each passing day.

When a huge storm hits Louisiana (which we can all presume is Hurricane Katrina although that natural disaster is never mentioned), many residents of "The Bathtub" abandon the area, but a select few including Hushpuppy and her father stick it out and survive.  They soon find themselves facing the possible end of their simple existence.

The film seemingly is full of heartbreaking reality, but also abounding with the imaginative fairy tales of a young girl and I'm quite certain that the fantasy world is supposed to connect with the real world in some fashion.  In fact, I can one hundred percent guarantee that this movie is filled with all kinds of metaphors, but I'm not really sure what they all stand for.  And I'm not really sure I care.  Granted, I certainly was thinking about the flick after the movie ended, but it lacked the heart that a movie like this should have in order to make it truly enduring and endearing.  I never found myself connecting at all with young Hushpuppy and her poetic voiceover narration, her father, or the citizens of the Bathtub.  While I don't think it's the fault of the untrained and fresh cast who bring a sense of naturalism to the whole affair, there's something here that doesn't quite mesh.

Director Benh Zeitlin has crafted an oddly pretty looking film, but I can't help but think that he got lost somewhere between the reality and fantasy he attempts to bring together.  Neither world is successfully combined to create a cohesive whole as the increasingly overbearing heaviness of reality fails to balance with the Where the Wild Things Are-stylized imaginings of the young Hushpuppy, ultimately leading to a film that doesn't work as well as the Oscar bloggers and the majority of the big-time critics would have you believe.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black (2012)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, and Janet McTeer

Directed by James Watkins

I must preface this review by saying that it took me nearly two months to get through The Woman in Black.  That's not to say it's horrible (although I'm not saying it's good either), but I started watching this on a plane ride home from London and the little television screen and poor audio weren't doing this ghost story which relies heavily on far-off ghostly images and strange noises any justice.  So, twenty minutes in, I decided that it might be best simply to rent this one once I got home.  Two months later that came to fruition and I finally finished the tale.

I think there's a really good ghost story here -- one of those that you'd tell around a campfire and perhaps genuinely get scared.  In fact, The Woman in Black is an incredibly long-running, well-received, and apparently frightening play in London and I actually thought I might see it when I was over in the UK.  I didn't get around to seeing it onstage and unfortunately something doesn't quite click with the movie.  For only being ninety minutes long, there seems like an awful lot of boring exposition in the first half of the film which drags this thing down horribly.

Lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is sent to a remote village in England to a huge mansion to find the paperwork needed to sell a deceased woman's estate.  For years, many of the town's children have been dying heinous deaths and Arthur uncovers that the unfortunate occurrences stem back to the decades-old death of the young son of a woman named Jennet Humfrye.  Ms. Humfrye, who is also now deceased, feels that her son's death could have been prevented and has been seeking revenge on the youth of the town.

The huge positive of The Woman in Black is that it doesn't try to be anything other than a genuine ghost story.  There's no blood or guts, just old-fashioned scares.  Unfortunately, those scares are too often foreshadowed by director James Watkins' camerawork or Marco Beltrami's score.  We in the audience are conditioned to know in a horror movie that if an actor is standing towards the left of the screen with a large black space to his right, something is going to pop up in that area.  Sure enough, that happens all too often here.  It makes me wonder how this tale would work on a stage.  I can't help but think that it would be more successful than on film.

Daniel Radcliffe is actually fine, but doesn't exude any modicum of charisma (of course, he didn't do that in the Potter films either).  There's also a nice performance from Ciarán Hinds as the only member of the town to befriend Arthur.  In the end, it's kind of a shame things don't come together because the film picks up quite a bit halfway through and at least becomes enjoyable to watch, but it never really becomes "scary" or even "eerie" which ultimately is a disappointment.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Play Misty for Me

Play Misty for Me (1971)

Starring Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, and Donna Mills

Directed by Clint Eastwood

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

Play Misty for Me is one of those movies I heard about long ago and just never got around to watching.  Thrillers have always been my favorite genre -- they may not necessarily be the most cinematically deep, but they have always provided me with a lot of enjoyment (hence the Hitchcock Festival on this blog a few years back).  For some reason of another, I had heard of this 1971 Clint Eastwood-starring flick and when I saw in pop up streaming on Netflix, I instantly added it, finally getting around to watching it the other day.

Loyal readers know that I am no fan of Clint Eastwood's directorial oeuvre.  I find him annoyingly heavy-handed, not all that innovative in his by-the-book techniques, and -- perhaps worst of all -- boring.  When I saw Clint Eastwood's name pop up as the director of this, I immediately began to worry I was in for a rough ride.  However, while it's amazing to me that Eastwood has two Best Director Oscars on his mantel, he proves to be adequate enough at the helm of this -- his first directorial venture.  Yes, it reeks of late 1960s/early 1970s cinema -- groovy music montages and all (including an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable sex scene in a California forest set to Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") -- but it's an enjoyable little flick, albeit a bit too long (but that just shows that Eastwood has always had a problem in the editing department).

A precursor of sorts to Fatal Attraction, Play Misty for Me is a tale of a one-night stand gone horribly awry.  Dave (Eastwood) is a California disc jockey whose smooth voice coupled with smooth jazz has him rising in the ranks on the local airwaves.  One night after work, Dave heads to a local bar where he meets a woman named Evelyn (Jessica Walter, best known to me for her work in Arrested Development) and proceeds to have what he thinks will be a one night only roll in the hay.  Little does Dave know that Evelyn is a tiny bit off her rocker and won't stand for the fact that Dave's former girlfriend and "the one who got away" Tobie (Donna Mills) has just moved back into town.

While there's no boiling of rabbits, the comparison to Fatal Attraction is quite apt.  While that 1980s Glenn Close-starrer is a better film, Play Misty for Me is a pleasant enough genre flick that works despite overstaying its welcome and being and a bit too obvious for its own good.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

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 Avengers

The Avengers (2012)

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stellan Skarsgard, Paul Bettany (voice), and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Joss Whedon

Yes, I'm about sixty days late to the party here...and unfortunately the raves that I've been hearing for two months concerning The Avengers set expectations that were too high to be achieved.  While this is a decent comic book flick, it's still a part of a genre that I'm unable to really relate to because on a purely cinematic level I rarely am able to feel any modicum of tension for the formidable, unflappable, and nearly immortal main characters.

Seeing as how everyone has already seen this third highest-grossing movie of all time, I'm not going to waste time detailing a summary except to say that this gathering of Marvel's Superhero Elite does prove to be successful once it brings its cadre of power players together, but the round-up of these heroes is where the film lacks.  I must preface my "complaint" by saying that i watched The Avengers at the end of a three-movie, seven-hour marathon so that may have something to do with my lack of excitement for the product, but I do also think that I'm maybe using that simply as an excuse for my disappointment in the movie since everyone else seems to be fawning over it.  The whole thing eventually comes together rather nicely and the final ninety minutes really does seem to fly by, but I couldn't help but find myself in a state of ennui during the first hour.

It doesn't help that Robert Downey, Jr., is as annoying as heck in this.  His egotistical Tony Stark plays fine in a movie on his own where he's the main player, but when you put him amidst a group of other more unselfish folks, his character rings obnoxious more than anything else.  [Yes, I realize that's probably the point -- he's kind of a jerk unlike these other guys -- but it still didn't make his character any more tolerable to watch for extended periods of time.]  The less said about Chris Hemsworth's Thor the better (fortunately, his part was minuscule).  Oddly enough, it's the Iron Mans and Thor flicks that I found most successful in the Marvel universe so not caring for those characters here was a bit odd for me.

Mark Ruffalo kinda steals the show with his Bruce Banner/Hulk.  It's a shame the Hulk movie didn't star him as opposed to Ed Norton.  Surprisingly (considering my disdain for his movie), I found Chris Evans' Captain America a big improvement over his eponymous film.  It's also nice that a bit of the focus went to Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow as she's not only pretty on the eyes, but has a storyline that's at least a bit intriguing.

In the end, the whole thing is silly nonsense, but director and screenwriter Joss Whedon is able to at least direct action sequences without relying on Michael Bay-esque nonstop camera cuts and his script has a few witty moments which provide a needed boost.  Some may call this the greatest comic book movie of all time, but coming from a non-comic book fan, I didn't find it as impressive as the millions who did.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+