House of Gucci

 House of Gucci (2021)

Starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, and Jeremy Irons

Directed by Ridley Scott

Written by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Marriage Story

Marriage Story (2019)

Starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Julie Hagerty, and Merritt Weaver

Directed by Noah Baumbach

Written by Noah Baumbach

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

BlacKkKlansman

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Starring John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace, Jasper Pääkkönen, Ryan Eggold, Paul Walter Hauser, and Corey Hawkins

Directed by Spike Lee

Written by Chris Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, and Spike Lee

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B-

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)

Starring Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Elizabeth Marvel, Grace Van Patten, Candice Bergen, Adam Driver, Rebecca Miller, and Judd Hirsch

Directed by Noah Baumbach

Written by

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Trying something new here...uncovered a new website that's a bit of a film diary.  Contemplating switching over to it completely, but for the moment I'm going to link to things there.  Explore Letterboxd...maybe you'll want to join too and we can comment on movies there!

Click here for a link to my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2016)

Starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro

Directed by Rian Johnson

Written by Rian Johnson

Summary (in 500 words or less):  The Star Wars saga continues in this eighth installment of the original series.  Here, Rey (Daisy Ridley) trains with a forlorn and unpleasant Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on a secluded island where she tries to learn how to utilize the Force for good.  Meanwhile, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is becoming more powerful among his ranks, utilizing his commanding of the Force to communicate with Rey to try and convince her that the Resistance headed by General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) is a group she should want no part in.  

• I'm a relative newbie to the Star Wars films and I've yet to see Episodes I-III, but I wholeheartedly enjoyed Episode VII upon its release a few years ago.  The Last Jedi doesn't fare quite as well, but it still adds pieces to the overarching story that I found believable (even if several of the long-time fans were extremely disappointed).
• That disappointment stems from a development with Luke that many found antithetical to his character, but I found a welcome character trait that adds legitimate depth to his character.  Some found this plot twist casting quite a pall over this heretofore "flawlessy" good character, but I thought it worked quite well.
• Unfortunately, several other aspects of the film didn't work quite as well.  A ridiculous "space scene" involving Leia was laughable even for this Star Wars newbie.  Several characters introduced in the last film -- Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) -- are given very little worthwhile to do and their subplots just unnecessarily pad the runtime.
• The final battle sequence is a powerful visual experience and ends things on an up note, but this film -- much like my apparently sacrilegious opinion of the original trilogy's middle film The Empire Strikes Back -- takes a downturn.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Paterson

Paterson (2016)

Starring Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, and Barry Shabaka Henley

Directed by Jim Jarmusch

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

Paterson is very much a "day in the life" movie.  For a week, we follow the titular character (Adam Driver) as he wakes up at 6:15am, kisses his creative, yet overly ambitious wife Laura (Golshifteh Farahani), walks to the Paterson, New Jersey, bus depot where he drives a city bus until 5pm when he walks home, eats dinner, and then walks his wife's dog to the local bar where he chats up the elderly owner Doc (Barry Shabaka Henley) as he drinks his singular beer and then goes home.  This same pattern unfolds across the movie's two hours with minor changes that create just enough change to make Paterson's life feel different despite falling into the same old routine day in-day out.  It's a wonder that the film can sustain the audience's attention, but somehow writer-director Jim Jarmusch succeeds as I never found myself bored despite the very obvious fact that I so easily could have been.

Initially, Adam Driver's Paterson did seem like a bit of an emotionless blank slate, tired of his day-to-day routine or perhaps a bit defeated that this is the life that he has been destined to live.  While that admittedly doesn't change a whole lot as the film progresses, we do see sparks of life in part thanks to Paterson's love of poetry which allows him (and the audience) to see his mundane world in a different, more nuanced light.  Driver has some subtle moments here that give his dry character spark and verve and it's in those moments that we appreciate Driver's decision to highlight the typically humdrum nature of Paterson even more -- when we see those pivotal emotional moments, they end up resonating even more.

Paterson will not be for everyone.  It is a rather mellow film that doesn't have big story or character arcs, but for some reason, at 1am in the morning, this one worked for me which, I must admit, was quite a surprise.  I was fully expecting to turn it off about thirty minutes in, but somehow, I found myself drawn in to the mundanity of it all which is quite a surprise for me.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Silence

Silence (2016)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Yosuke Kubozuka, Issey Ogata, Tadanobu Asano, Shinya Tsukamoto, Yoshi Oida, and Liam Neeson

Directed by Martin Scorsese

I had heard of the epic boringness of Martin Scorsese's Silence and admittedly was hesitant to watch the nearly 165-minute flick, but the story of two Jesuit priests heading to Japan in the mid-1600s to attempt to spread Christianity was surprisingly gripping and beautifully shot and acted.  Could it have been trimmed a little bit more in order to move things along a tiny bit faster?  Definitely.  However, the film is a refreshingly original look at an aspect of life -- religion -- that is rarely explored in cinema by directors as well known and qualified as Scorsese.

The premise of Silence is very simple -- perhaps too simple for a film of its length -- as we follow two young priests Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver) on their journey to Japan as they search for Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) who has apparently apostatized (renounced his faith) after horrible torture at the hands of Japanese authorities desperate to eradicate Christianity from their country.  Forced to stay hidden in their search for fear of being caught by the Japanese and the man known as "the Inquisitor" (Issey Ogata) who leads the hunt against Christians, Rodrigues and Garupe secretly administer to the underground Christian community while trying to determine the location of Ferreira.

Scorsese (who directed and co-wrote Silence) has crafted an elegantly gritty period piece, fully realizing the mid-1600s Japanese environment.  Darkened secluded grottos and secret underground basements create a claustrophobic atmosphere that envelops the characters and the audience.  The horror of intense torture isn't sugarcoated making for some intense sequences that add to the seriousness of the journey of Rodrigues and Garupe and make their resolute steadfastness to Christian theology all the more admirable.  [At least it's admirable if you yourself believe in their cause...for others, the mileage may vary.]  While this isn't necessarily an actor-driven piece with any particular stand-outs, Scorsese's ensemble of American and Japanese actors is a very good one, keying in on the pain suffered by the Christians forced to hide their beliefs as well as the driven desire by the non-Christian Japanese to eradicate the religion from their island.

Silence does have a few too many moments of nothingness...a few too many moments of silence perhaps.  While I understand the purposes of these sequences in that they mirror the sequestered nature of the Christians living in Japan, this is still a movie and the momentum of the story is often stunted because of the slower pace.  However, Silence is a film that, in time, I'd like to give another look because these less-pulsing moments may perhaps be more integral to the story than I thought during my initial viewing.  Despite this qualm, Silence is an oftentimes riveting look at an aspect of Christianity that was unknown to me, filmed in a reverent and capable manner.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Midnight Special

Midnight Special (2016)

Starring Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, Sam Shepard, and Adam Driver 

Directed by Jeff Nichols

***This film is currently streaming on HBO Now/Go***

I legitimately had no clue what I was getting into when I started Midnight Special.  Maybe I'd seen a trailer...maybe...but with the exception of knowing that it was directed by Jeff Nichols -- whose film oeuvre I find decent, yet slightly boring -- I really was coming into this blind.  By the time the credits rolled, Midnight Special lands in that same realm of Nichols' other films -- decent, yet slightly boring although it admittedly is a bit more ambitious in scope than Take Shelter, Mud, or Loving.

Honestly, I'm not going to summarize this one all that much.  I think the lack of knowledge concerning the storyline helped me become immersed much more than I would have otherwise.  Needless to say, the overall gist is that two men (Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton) have seemingly kidnapped a young boy named Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher) who may or may not possess some special powers or secret knowledge that multiple entities including the US government want.

The mix of science fiction, chase film, and family drama surprisingly meld together quite well with Nichols planting the viewer right into the action from the opening scene and gradually revealing the various layers of mystery as the story progresses.  Michael Shannon is surprisingly captivating in a role that requires a bit of heart rather than the typical scary intensity we see from him.  Jaeden Lieberher is also successful as the young boy who may be more than he seems.

Nichols takes his time to craft his characters and in doing so they prove to be fully developed.  He certainly excels in carving out an atmosphere for his economically lower-class characters to inhabit.  It's just unfortunate that his films oftentimes feel so slowly paced.  While a little more plot-driven than his other works, Nichols is still proving to be a director that meanders his way through things.  While I've yet to truly dislike anything he's brought to the screen in his young career thus far, I keep waiting to be blown away and I thought it might've happened with this one.  The first hour is tense and full of edge-of-your-seat moments.  Unfortunately, it devolves a bit in the second half where the pacing becomes a bit of a slog.  Still, Midnight Special is Jeff Nichols' best work yet and he's a director to keep an eye on in the future.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Lupita Nyong'o, Peter Mayhew, Andy Serkis, and Domhnall Gleeson

Directed by J.J. Abrams
***viewed in 3D***

You must remember that I come at these Star Wars films as a complete novice, having only watched A New Hope a mere 30 hours ago for the first time as I type this.  And it's true that I've yet to watch (or subject myself to) Episodes I-III.  However, at this point in time, I'm going to just state the following:  Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens is, without question, the best Star Wars flick I've seen thus far (and likely the best that has been created if others' trashing of the newer trilogy holds true for me).  Nothing I've seen so far can compare in terms of story, acting, directing, and special effects (which, granted, have a leg up on the 1970s/80s predecessors in terms of capability).  It's a pretty darn good popcorn movie and while I certainly wouldn't consider myself a huge fan by any means, The Force Awakens has at least got me excited about what Disney has in the pipeline for this iconic series.

With the least amount of spoilers possible, the film opens with our typical scroll telling us that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has vanished and that a new villainous regime -- The First Order --has taken on the Empire's dastardly doings and will stop at nothing to find Luke whom they presume to be the last Jedi.  Now a general for the Resistance, Leia (Carrie Fisher) is desperate to find her brother and save the galaxy.  In an attempt to determine his location, Leia sends pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) to Jakku to do some research.  Poe's one of the good guys as is Rey (Daisy Ridley) -- a scavenger who may be a more important figure in the fight against evil than even she realizes -- and Finn (John Boyega) -- a Stormtrooper who sees the error of the First Order's ways and has a change of heart.  Our heroes along with returning favorites Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) set out to fight the bad guys, headed this time by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), General Hux (an over-the-top Domhnall Gleeson), and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who, like Darth Vader who came before him, carries off a black cloak and face mask complete with voice digitization quite well.

Director J.J. Abrams has created a film that obviously harkens back to the original trilogy, but also stands on its own as a jumping off point to further tales in the Star Wars landscape.  He eschews the light flares that he's been well known for (and well criticized for) as a director and has created a flick that looks beautiful.  The film moves along at a quick pace and although I still think, like its predecessors, some of the action scenes are a little muted in terms of excitement (light saber battles don't do it for me), Abrams has created a film that flows much better than those films that immediately preceded it.  (Although I will say Abrams only uses about two or three transitional scene-changing wipes.  I missed them a bit...)

It helps, of course, that the film is well-written, certainly with homages to the past, but standing on its own as well.  (Kudos to Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, and Abrams himself.) Filled with moments of wry humor and some taut drama, The Force Awakens doesn't really have wasted scenes which I feel hampered Episodes IV-VI a bit.  Abrams also, without a doubt, has found a cast that is quite adept, nicely walking a line between action, drama, and comedy without missing a beat.  With one exception in the aforementioned Domhnall Gleeson whom I usually really like but feel he was directed to go a bit manic, all of the newcomers were captivating, drawing me in to their own stories while also breathing new life into the stories of the "old regime" of Han, Leia, and Luke.

Rather nicely, Abrams doesn't overextend himself with the special effects.  Yes, there are a ton of them here, but they seem more natural and composed than the effects in IV-VI.  Obviously, this is partly due to advancements in technology over thirty years, but some of it also has to do with knowing the limitations of what looks organic onscreen and what doesn't and Abrams is right on target visually.  The addition of an incredibly amusing ball-shaped robot BB-8 - which most of the time is a practical and non-CGI effect - showcases the positive manner in which Abrams utilizes his visual effects to their fullest potential.

Needless to say, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens should not disappoint.  Fanboys should love the homages to the past, while non-fanboys should appreciate the new story lines that work surprisingly well.  This is a pretty great start to the reinvention of the Star Wars franchise.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Bluebird

Bluebird (2015)

Starring Amy Morton, John Slattery, Louisa Krause, Emily Meade, Margo Martindale, and Adam Driver

Directed by Lance Edmands

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

The first feature of director-screenwriter Lance Edmands, Bluebird shows hints of promise, but ultimately doesn't quite deliver despite an admirable effort on all fronts.  Heavy, dreary, yet captivating in its visual depictions of a black New England landscape, Bluebird captures the life of Lesley (Amy Morton), a Maine school bus driver, who makes a horrible inadvertent mistake one day that causes a young boy's life to hang in the balance.  Gripped by grief, Lesley's devastation affects both her husband (John Slattery) and daughter (Emily Meade) who are also forced to deal with the ramifications of Lesley's error.

The focus on Lesley's family and her emotional state carry Bluebird and are certainly the film's best aspects.  Unfortunately, the film also spends a great deal of time with Marla (Louisa Krause), the young early twentysomething mother of the boy in peril.  An unfit parent, the young child has been raised in part by Marla's aunt Crystal (Margo Martindale) who blames her niece more for her son's current state than bus driver Lesley.

As we watch Marla's struggle trying to suddenly become an adequate mother to her child, we find ourselves not caring nearly as much as when we spend time with Lesley.  Part of the problem is that Amy Morton is head over heels a better actress than Louisa Krause who, while not unwatchable, isn't enthralling in the slightest.  We palpably feel Lesley's grief thanks to Morton's solemn portrayal...the same cannot be said for Krause.

It also doesn't help that the screenplay decides to leave things hanging as the film comes to a close.  Rather than create a sense of intrigue as to how the lives of the film's characters will unfold, the abrupt conclusion left me ticked off which is never a good way to end things.  That said, Amy Morton's desolate and grim performance is almost reason enough to give this one a shot.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - This Is Where I Leave You

This Is Where I Leave You (2014)

Starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stall, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Dax Shepard, Debra Monk, Abigail Spencer, and Jane Fonda

Directed by Shawn Levy

When their father dies, the Altman family -- siblings Judd, Wendy, Paul, and Philip and their mother Hillary (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stall, Adam Driver, and Jane Fonda -- gather together at their childhood home to sit shiva (a seven day Jewish period of mourning) in honor of their dad.  Old sibling rivalries and current spousal struggles rear their ugly heads as the Altmans learn to cope with their patriarch's death.

A completely believable familial banter isn't as easy to come by in films as one would think and the repartee that Bateman, Fey, Stall, and Driver have with one another in This Is Where I Leave You feels genuine.  While Fonda's role is a little over the top, I appreciated that her eccentricities appeared to have at least influenced her grown children's emotional states, helping to further craft authentic characters.  Solid performances by Rose Byrne, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, and Abigail Spencer add to the great cast.

While I would've liked to have had a bit more heart imbued into the flick, I still found myself engaged and interested in each sibling's highs and lows.  This Is Where I Leave You admittedly treads similar paths of typical familial dramedies, but with a stellar cast, director Shawn Levy's flick proves to be a nicely paced, pleasant sleeper that surprisingly balances its myriad of story lines with ease -- some prove a little more successful than others (and a particularly out-of-left-field "surprise" at the film's conclusion seems simply added for shock effect), but the overall result is quite successful.  

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Tracks

Tracks (2014)

Starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver 

Directed by John Curran

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

"I'd like to think an ordinary person is capable of anything."

And with that quote, Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska) begins a 1700-mile trek across the Australian Outback on April 9, 1977, with some camels and a dog by her side.  With the exception of occasional visits by National Geographic photographer Rick Smolen (Adam Driver) -- whose magazine is monetarily sponsoring her trek -- Robyn is on her own, struggling to wind her way across the desolate land.

There are definite similarities between Tracks and 2014's Wild starring Reese Witherspoon -- the biggest being that they place their focus on a woman desperate to learn more about herself by spending time alone on a long journey.  I wasn't overly enthusiastic about Wild in that I thought the film weighed itself down by being overly intellectual.  That's not the case in Tracks at all (which is a good thing), but, unfortunately, I never found myself truly understanding why Robyn was making this trek across Australia.  There was never an emotional connection made between myself and Robyn, and in a movie in which the focus is solely on one person, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Mia Wasikowska is able to carry the movie without a problem exuding the strength needed for anyone to be able to complete this mission, but I felt she was underserved by a script that never quite fleshes out the purpose of this trip.  Let's be honest -- no one's doing this for kicks.  There must've been some deep underlying meaning for this and while the film touches a tiny bit on Robyn's relationship with her father being the impetus of the journey, it doesn't delve nearly deep enough to stir up the needed emotions.  The film looks great with its sweeping images of Australia, but it lacks an emotional core at its center.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - What If

What If (2014)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Megan Park, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, and Rafe Spall

Directed by Michael Dowse

I've started many a review with something along the lines of "I'm a sucker for romantic comedies," and this statement continues to ring true with the absolutely charming What If, a tiny indie flick that was released in a theaters for a quick and decisively financially unsuccessful run this past summer.

Who knew Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe had the wit in him to portray a dryly humorous, self-effacing, and hopeless romantic like Wallace, a med school dropout who meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan) at a party thrown by his best friend Allan (Adam Driver).  Upon walking her home, Wallace learns that Chantry has a longterm boyfriend in Ben (Rafe Spall) and wants more than anything else to simply be friends with Wallace whom she's hit it off with right away in terms of their likes, dislikes, and personalities.  The two were made for each other -- it's obvious.  Unfortunately, Chantry really loves Ben.  Also unfortunately, Wallace finds himself falling for Chantry more and more with each passing month, yet he also drifts further and further from being able to tell her his true feelings as they shift deeper and deeper into the "friend zone."

The film of course veers down an expected path which, I was surprised to discover, I found a tiny bit annoying.  I was hoping for maybe a "twist" at the film's conclusion, but writer Elan Mastai chickens out just a little bit.  Admittedly, I would've probably written the same ending as that's what's totally expected of a film like this, but as the flick came to a close I was hoping I'd be in for something a little off the beaten path.  Still, Matsai succeeds at creating two characters whose wit and dry humor are a perfect match for each other and also truly amusing to watch.  Radcliffe and Kazan are both fantastic in their roles, displaying a great amount of chemistry.  While Radcliffe was quite the surprise (I wasn't a fan of the Harry Potter series, so I was impressed here), Kazan proves once again that she's someone to watch.  I thought she was great in 2012's Ruby Sparks (a very different romantic comedy), but I was quite pleased to see her onscreen again as she hasn't done much since then.

Much like the "sucker for romantic comedies" line, I also tend to pull out the "but it doesn't reinvent the wheel" clause more often than I probably should.  That said, it's an apt phrase for What If...but that doesn't really matter.  What If will win you over with two sweet performances and a youthful cast that imbues humor into a story we've certainly seen portrayed many times before.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Frances Ha

Frances Ha (2013)

Starring Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Michael Zegen, Adam Driver, and Charlotte D'Amboise

Directed by Noah Baumbach

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

Reviewers are certainly telling me I should like Frances Ha, a black-and-white modern-day female-focused New York City-set Annie Hall-ish (or Manhattan-ish) take on our title character, a dancer struggling to make ends meet who lackadaisically sits around and talks about absolutely nothing that matters to her obnoxiously arrogant and self-important friends.  As you can likely tell by the tone of that run-on sentence, I'm not going to be fawning over Frances Ha.  Despite attempts by Greta Gerwig -- who co-wrote this film with director Noah Baumbach -- to charm the audience, I ultimately felt annoyed by her character's self-absorbtion...and I think that's the opposite reaction they were attempting to achieve.

Ultimately, Frances Ha has no story and what little story it does have isn't all that interesting because we don't really give a damn about anyone in it.  Admittedly, I summed the proceedings up in my initial sentence.  Frances is a dancer who's barely making ends meet and moves from friend's apartment to friend's apartment while she tries to get her life in order.  It's all well and good, but her friends aren't all that interesting and their conversations are even more boring.

Ugh.  Greta Gerwig tries and she has moments where she's captivating, but I can't help but think she's not an actress I'm going to enjoy.  This is movie #6 of hers that I've watched and I've yet to rank any of them as any better than average.  Frances Ha won't be the one to break that lackluster streak.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-