The Personal History of David Copperfield

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020)

Starring Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Peter Capaldi, Aneurin Barnard, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rosalind Eleazer, Morfydd Clark, Darren Boyd, Daisy May Cooper, Paul Whitehouse, Ranveer Jaiswell, Gwendoline Christie, and Ben Whishaw

Directed by Armando Iannucci

Written by Simon Blackwell and Armando Iannucci

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B+

Little Joe

Little Joe (2019)

Starring Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox, Kit Connor, David Wilmot, Phénix Brossard, Sebastian Hülk, and Lindsay Duncan

Directed by Jessica Hausner

Written by Jessica Hausner and Géraldine Bajard

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B

Mary Poppins Returns

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, Joel Dawson, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury, and Dick Van Dyke

Directed by Rob Marshall

Written by David Magee

Summary (in 500 words or less):  The iconic Mary Poppins returns to help Jane and Michael Banks save the family home on Cherry Tree Lane.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - A Hologram for the King

A Hologram for the King (2016)

Starring Tom Hanks, Alexander Black, Sarita Choudhary, Sidse Babett Knudson, and Ben Whishaw

Directed by Tom Tykwer

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

When businessman Alan Clay (Tom Hanks) travels to Saudi Arabia to hawk his company's holographic telecommunication system to the country's king and government, he's leaving very little behind in the States.  Divorced with a college-aged daughter who wants little to do with him, Alan throws everything into this presentation, but Saudi Arabia isn't exactly the most modernized locale as Alan discovers when his team faces a lack of wifi and sandy floors in their tent located in the desert supplied by the Saudi Arabian king.  The pressure to deliver causes Alan to begin to lose it a bit, coming face-to-face with a late mid-life crisis that unfortunately for him occurs in a foreign country quite different from the one he knows.

A Hologram for the King is well-acted by Hanks and the rest of the cast, but after about forty-five minutes, the film's lack of a decent plot does it in.  Some weird dream-like sequences that begin to populate the film as it progresses set up some weird tonal shifts...and that's followed by a third act that feels full of some unnecessary side plots that purportedly try and resolve Alan's emotional crises, but end up seeming oddly out-of-place.  In the end, the amiable Hanks can't save the "kitchen sink"-type plot and direction that fail to set up a consistent mood.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - The Lobster

The Lobster (2016)

Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, John C. Reilly, and Olivia Colman

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

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

I was so on board with director/co-writer Yorgos Lanthimos' weirdly offbeat The Lobster throughout most of its first hour as its surreal tale begins to unfold.  David (Colin Farrell) has just gotten divorced and in the strange land in which The Lobster is set that means that he must find someone to fall in love with him in forty-five days lest he be turned into an animal.  Yep...I said it was weird.  David heads to a hotel run by a manager (Olivia Colman) who sets up a variety of activities to set people up with someone they can love.  As his days dwindle down and romance seems less likely, David ponders whether an escape is necessary...and that's where the story drastically changes and grows increasingly uninteresting in its second hour.

The comedic satire in the film's opening half creates a world with new rules that are fully embraced by both the film's characters -- which include John C. Reilly as a lisping loner and Ben Whishaw as a limping lover -- and the audience.  I bought into the insane set-up that people would actually turn into dogs or horses or even lobsters if they failed to fall in love, and I found the set-up unique and engaging despite the bleak and sometimes melancholy sadness that permeates the inhabitants of the hotel.  The second half, however, removes us from the hotel setting and things fall apart.  The comedic aspect fades away and the tone of the film shifts into something that disappoints.  (I'll admit to being vague here to avoid spoilers.)

Kudos to Colin Farrell for carrying the film and giving a solid performance as the depressed David who finds himself forced to find true love in a short amount of time.  Creatively, Lanthimos at least envisioned a dystopia that we haven't seen before.  Unfortunately, he can't sustain a two-hour film across this land set up in the way he has.  There was promise here that unfortunately didn't pan out.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - In the Heart of the Sea

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, Tom Holland, and Brendan Gleeson

Directed by Ron Howard

On a rainy night in 1850, young Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) arrives at the home of the grizzled Tom Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), a seasoned seaman, who tells the aspiring author about his time on the whaling ship Essex in 1920 and the horrible events that led to its sinking.  Nickerson's memories about his time as a young boy (played by Tom Holland) capturing whales for their oil alongside the Essex's first mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) and captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) paint a vivid portrait of sea life for Melville.  Of course, with Melville being known for the epic tale of man vs. nature Moby Dick, it's easy to see that In the Heart of the Sea isn't always a pretty picture -- sometimes nature wins out.

Shockingly, Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea was one of my most anticipated films of 2015 thanks to a fantastic first trailer.  It was due to be released early in the year, but was then pushed back to December which many assumed was a ploy to garner awards recognition.  Well, it came up empty with every awards body, Star Wars ate up all the screens at the box office in mid-December, and In the Heart of the Sea didn't even stick around for the holiday season.  So, with my palette failing to be satiated in a theater, I recently rented the film and found it a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

While the film isn't without its faults -- some of the special effects on the sea disappointed, the production design of the New England towns often appears fake, and Chris Hemsworth's accent veers heavily from Bah-stonian to his native Australian oftentimes within a single scene -- its story is a fascinating one, more than holding my interest throughout.  Ron Howard does a great job of placing the audience on the boat, squarely in the middle of the action.  We palpably feel the excitement as we go whale hunting and we certainly become anxious and tense when the inspiration for Melville's novel comes into the picture and begins to wreak havoc on the crew.

I genuinely didn't know how the film was going to end -- although I could have seeing as how this was all based upon a true story -- so as the story unfolded, I was riveted as I watched the crew attempt to survive.  This flick was unjustly maligned by both critics and the public upon its release and while In the Heart of the Sea may not necessarily land on my awards charts either, it didn't disappoint.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Danish Girl

The Danish Girl (2015)

Starring Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Ben Whishaw, and Matthias Schoenaerts

Directed by Tom Hooper

Talk about Oscar bait -- every single solitary thing about The Danish Girl just screams "GIVE ME AN OSCAR IN ANY AND EVERY IMAGINABLE CATEGORY!"  From the cinematography's soft lighting to the musical score's dramatics to the direction that is sometimes laughably mannered to a leading actor who seems to be trying so desperately hard to "inhabit" a role, all aspects of The Danish Girl seem to have been made with the hope of claiming film's most coveted prize.  Needless to say, director Tom Hooper's film is so utterly disappointing and bland in nearly every aspect -- save one -- that I hope the Oscar voters don't take the obvious bait.

Based on a true story, The Danish Girl tells the tale of Dutch artist Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) who was born and lived life as a man, but feels that he is truly meant to be a woman.  Back in the 1920s, terms like "transgender" weren't known and Wegener certainly didn't know what was "wrong" with him in terms of his inability to truly feel his natural self.  His wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander), who is also an artist, has seemingly always known of Einar's proclivities to femininity and she embraces it, thinking that it will make their relationship better also presumably completely unaware of Einar's true feelings.  One evening, Gerda convinces Einar to attend an art gathering dressed as a woman whom they name Lili and Einar's world is turned upside down as he realizes that being a woman is who he truly longs to be.

In the grand scheme of things, buying into the story of The Danish Girl isn't particularly difficult, but the film makes it impossible to give a damn about nearly everything we see unfold.  Director Tom Hooper takes Lucinda Coxon's bland and watered-down screenplay and drags things out interminably.  There's really not much that happens here plot-wise and yet somehow I feel like Hooper and Coxon failed miserably at creating soul and dramatics around this life-changing moment in Einar's world.

Of course, Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (who was so fantastic in The Theory of Everything) is also a huge reason as to why the film lacks emotional connection as well.  Rather than really dig into the role, Redmayne's mannered performance feels paint-by-numbers and studied rather than natural.  Granted, some would say that Einar is learning how to be a woman so of course he would feel uncomfortable, nervous, and mannered at first.  I'd certainly agree with that which is why it may seem unfair to say that every moment of Redmayne's performance felt as if he was "acting" rather than "inhabiting" (since Einar is kind of, sort of "acting" at first, too), but there wasn't a single moment here where Redmayne breathes life into Einar/Lili.  Even towards the end when Lili is finally coming into her own, it's as if we're watching a soft-spoken, one-note audio-animatronic rather than a real person onscreen.  To say Redmayne is a disappointment here is an understatement.

It certainly doesn't help that for every lack of insight in Redmayne's eyes, we see the exact opposite of that from Alicia Vikander who is the only good thing going for this film.  Vikander is compelling as Gerda and she does her best to make things as compelling as possible.  There are scenes where you get a sense of desperation, sadness, and yet understanding of her husband's plight (which becomes her plight as well seeing as how her world will drastically change), but none of that emotion is reciprocated to her by anyone else onscreen.

The Danish Girl is truly a disappointment.  With the pedigree behind it -- I truly enjoyed Hooper's The King's Speech -- I can't help but say I was hoping for something more than softly-lit scenes of softly spoken words being whispered to one another by characters as they run their fingers over pieces of clothing or make brushstrokes on a canvas.  Rather than artfully tell a story, this film reeks of desperation to win awards moreso than any other film I've seen in a long time which in part would be acceptable if it was any good which The Danish Girl is certainly not.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Spectre

Spectre (2015)

Starring Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Dave Bautista, Rory Kinnear, Andrew Scott, Monica Bellucci, and Ralph Fiennes

Directed by Sam Mendes

While Spectre never hits the exciting levels of Skyfall, nor reaches (or even really tries for) the emotional peaks that its Sam Mendes-directed predecessor achieved, Mendes' return to the James Bond series is still a solid entry into the Daniel Craig-era of the super spy pics.  Whereas Skyfall was a character-driven piece that focused not only on Bond, but also the people and fellow agents closest to him, Spectre places the emphasis squarely back on the suave, debonair, and kick-ass British agent. Here Bond receives a message from someone in his past who tells him that a large heretofore unknown organization named SPECTRE is up to some sinisterly deviant deeds.  With the '00' sub-sector of the British Intelligence Agency under attack by "C" (Andrew Scott), "M" (Ralph Fiennes) is forced to allow Bond to try and uncover SPECTRE on his own without the aid of those who've helped him in the past.

Spectre works in nearly all aspects, but its ultimate "problem" is that it's not as good as Skyfall in any facet -- action scenes, emotional scenes, villain, character interaction, title song.  That's not to say that any of those aforementioned qualities are bad in any way, but Skyfall was so good that nothing quite reaches its levels in Spectre.

Still, what Sam Mendes brings to the Bond table is something that most action franchises would kill to have in their repertoire -- a director who understands how to capably film action sequences in a way that adds excitement while also allowing the audience to completely understand the visuals of high intensity quick-motion sequences.  The opening scene of Spectre as an example showcases Mendes' talent -- we get a very long single take shot that obviously adds to the tension (impressive in and of itself), followed by an explosion, and ending with a stellar sequence shot in a helicopter that had me hankering for more when it was finished.  Throughout this entire opening scene (which must have lasted close to fifteen minutes), Mendes displays a variety of different techniques in making an action scene work -- one of which being a slow burn followed by intensity -- all the while making every single obviously implausible aspect seem totally believable and absolutely comprehensible to the viewer.  Just try watching a Transformers movie or even The Avengers (I know, sacrilege to say such a thing about the latter) and really tell me if you can comprehend every single moment of every single action sequence.  Mendes has really elevated the entire genre with his two Bond films and considering this wasn't even the type of film he was known for helming prior to this, it's even more of a coup for him.

I, for one, will miss Daniel Craig as James Bond should Spectre be his last film, but I must admit that Daniel Craig is the only James Bond I've ever known as I've yet to watch any other Bond flick.  Still, Craig brings a debonair demeanor that seemingly masks a darker side of Bond which we've come to discover over these last two films in particular.  His Bond has been given a lot of depth beyond being just another ladies' man and while credit is certainly due to the writers for exploring this aspect of the well-known character, credit must also be given to Craig himself.

Still, the film doesn't quite achieve the levels of Skyfall -- the villain Blofeld played by Christoph Waltz is one of the larger reasons for this.  Waltz is playing the exact same character we've seen him play in seemingly every other movie he's been in over the past eight years since he really popped onto the scene.  Calmly maniacal, I'm tiring of his same-old schtick and while it's not necessarily his fault that his character is so squarely in his wheelhouse, it is his fault for not expanding his own wheelhouse.  The lack of Judi Dench here also is a bit of a detriment (but one that we're going to have to get used to) and the film doesn't help this loss much having Bond be separated from the new M, Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), and Q (Ben Whishaw) for long periods of time, missing the witty repartee Bond has had with these characters in the past.  (Seriously, the next film needs to expand Naomie Harris' role...please...she shows such potential and she's nearly wasted with nothing to show.)  However, Spectre is a solid action picture and one that shows that the Bond franchise is still alive and kicking.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Suffragette

Suffragette (2015)

Starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw, and Meryl Streep

Directed by Sarah Gavron

There are certain movies that seem made purely to garner awards attention.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes the "importance" of a piece can too highly overshadow a film's cinematic values and that's unfortunately the case with Suffragette, a film that never succeeded in bringing me into its story.  While it certainly tells an important tale as it deals with the British suffrage movement in the late 1910s, Suffragette suffers from relying too heavily on contrived predicaments in order to emphasize the struggles facing women a century ago.  While the heavy-handed plot lines our characters face may very well be based in reality and truth, when placed into a film setting, they can't help but feel piled on in order to achieve a desired emotional impact.

Carey Mulligan is, as always, doing excellent work as Maud Watts, a married laundry worker and mom of one who stumbles onto the suffragette movement one afternoon when she spots co-worker Violet (Anne-Marie Duff) tossing rocks into a store window in an attempt to have civil disobedience bring awareness to their cause.  However, as great as Mulligan is at taking us on her character's journey that begins with nonchalance towards the movement and ends with staunch advocacy on behalf of equality for voting rights, it is Maud who is inherently the film's problem.  A fictionalized character, screenwriter Abi Morgan piles heartbreak after heartbreak onto this women which, while once again may have truly happened to some in the 1910s, feels in a cinematic setting as an easy way to emotionally tug at audiences' heartstrings rather than resonate as realistic.

Morgan's script isn't helped by Sarah Gavron's pedestrian direction which, given the subject matter, fails to rouse the audience to join the cause in any way.  Weighed down in grays and browns with production design that always seems as if we're on a set rather than in a natural setting, Suffragette keeps the viewer at a distance rather than involving them in the plot despite its obvious intentions to do just the opposite.  While Gavron consistently gets good performances from key cast members -- including a nice turn from a subdued Helena Bonham Carter as a leader in the suffragette movement -- they're not enough to save this one from being a disappointment.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Paddington

Paddington (2015)

Starring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, Jim Broadbent, and Nicole Kidman

Featuring the vocal talent of Ben Whishaw, Michael Gambon, and Imelda Staunton

Directed by Paul King

Those who read this blog know that I am not afraid to give adequate credit to a kid pic that does its job well.  (The Top Twenty placement of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in the 2014 RyMickey Awards is evidence of that.)  Because of this, it's a bit disappointing to say that I wasn't completely captivated by Paddington, an admittedly charming film that feels a bit too choppy and episodic to make a big impression.

Through a rather odd and off-putting prologue, we learn that British explorer Montgomery Clyde discovered a new species of bear upon his travels to Peru.  While he had to leave South America, Clyde befriended the bears who learned English and he told the ursine creatures to visit him someday when they were able.  Cut to years (decades?) later and a terrible earthquake ruins the bear's Peruvian home and young Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is sent to Britain by his Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) in order to live a better life.

Upon his arrival in London, Paddington finds himself adrift in the Paddington subway station only to be discovered by the Brown family headed by dad Henry and mom Mary (Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins).  With it difficult to acclimate to suburban life, Paddington finds himself at odds with Henry who wants the bear out of his house.  With this apparently not enough of a story, Paddington also must avoid being captured by a rather sadistic taxidermist named Millicent (Nicole Kidman) who wants to stuff the rare bear for her collection.

If the summary seems rather at odds with itself and a conglomerative mess, that's because it kind of is.  There are too many "episodes" without a really singular captivating storyline to carry the film.  That isn't to say that the film disappoints entirely.  Director and co-screenwriter Paul King has made an innately "British" picture with much of the film's charm and laughs coming from Paddington's experiences with this new culture with which he's attempting to assimilate.  Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins are both delightful in their roles and Nicole Kidman succeeds with her rather underwritten and seemingly unnecessary character.  Additionally, the special effects that create Paddington himself are quite good and meld rather seamlessly with the bear's human counterparts.  However, overall, Paddington just doesn't quite cut it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Lilting

Lilting (2014)

Starring Ben Whishaw, Cheng Pei Pei, Andrew Leung, Naomi Christie, and Peter Bowles

Directed by Hong Khaou

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

Whenever I see an actor or actress in a live setting, I feel like I have this weird sense of parental fascination with them.  Scarlett Johannson in A View from the Bridge (and not so much from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof).  Kristin Chenoweth in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.  Gone Girl's Carrie Coon in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  I end up rooting for these people simply because I paid substantial money to see them on a stage.  Way back in 2010, I was somewhat dragged to an Off-Broadway play called The Pride (that was actually pretty good) that starred Hugh Dancy, Birdman's Andrea Riseborough, and Ben Whishaw -- three actors who all have proven themselves on the cinema landscape in subsequent years.  Because of this weird urge to watch things with these people with whom I've had some "live connection," the little indie flick Lilting was added to my Netflix queue upon its arrival to streaming.  Perhaps it was just the early morning hours in which I watched director and screenwriter Hong Khaou's first feature film, but my focus could not be kept once the film hit its halfway point and it kept rehashing the same emotional beats over and over and over again.

Whishaw is Richard, a young man struggling with the fact that his boyfriend of five years Kai (Andrew Leung) has passed away.  Kai was very close with his mother Junn (Cheng Pei Pei), a Chinese immigrant to Britain who struggled to provide a good life for her son.  However, Kai kept his homosexuality a secret from Junn which sets up an awkward situation for Richard who wants to make sure that Junn is cared for in her later years as she lives at a retirement home.  As Richard and Junn get to know each other -- while still keeping some big secrets from one another -- their relationship travels a rocky road.

The problem with Lilting is that until the film's final ten minutes, the film keeps repeating the same emotional moments.  How many times can we see Richard uncomfortably meet with Junn, pondering whether to tell her about his true relationship with Kai?  How many times can we see Junn not give Richard the time of day?  How many times can we see in flashbacks Richard trying to convince Kai to come out to his mother?  Nearly all of the film's scenes play these same notes again and again.   While both Whishaw and Cheng are solid, their characters go through minimal arcs and even at the film's conclusion, I never felt the emotional connection I probably should have.  By the time the film's final half hour began, I had checked out because I didn't care about anyone.  It's a shame because I think there was some semblance of an interesting story here, but it just doesn't come together in a satisfying way.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Doona Bae, and Keith David

Directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski

"Our lives are not our own.  From womb to tomb we are bound to others past and present.  And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future."

The epic, nearly three hour Cloud Atlas can be summed up in the quote above that comes at the film's end.  As actress Doona Bae said the words, it was immediately obvious that she was spouting the film's thesis as set forth by its trio of writer-directors Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski.  And after that line is said, I found myself asking this question: Is it possible to really like a movie even if you feel like its deep underlying meaning isn't fully realized despite the fact that its screenplay tries to hammer it home over and over again?  The answer I've realized is yes because Cloud Atlas is a film that may not be perfect, but is wholly original, visually appealing, and surprisingly compelling throughout its lengthy run time.

Essentially six separate stories, the overarching point of Cloud Atlas is to tell us that all of our current actions affect those that come after us which is why the stories here -- spanning the centuries from 1849 to 2321 -- are somewhat connected to one another, some by tenuous strands and some by significant plot points.  With each story undertaking a different genre -- there's comedy, suspense, romance, sci fi, historical drama -- it's as if we're watching a bunch of separate movies that are held together by both the film's theme and the interesting, entirely successful gimmick of having the members of the cast play different roles in all of the storylines.  So, as an example, while Halle Berry is the lead in the suspense segment, her role as a different character in the romance tale is a minimal one.  The same goes for Tom Hanks, Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant, all of whom make up a very nice ensemble and get the chance to play a variety of roles.

The film looks expensive and for a movie spanning so many genres and centuries, it's good that things don't look as if they were done on the cheap.  From the special effects to the scenic design to the nice score, all of the technical aspects of Cloud Atlas deserve praise.  Directors Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings have really crafted something that I found rather intriguing on the visual side of things.

Overall, what prevents the film from thoroughly reaching its ambitious intentions is the fact that some of the stories just don't carry the gravitas of, as one character put it, showing "the consequences of one's life rippling through eternity."  As an example, I loved the comedy segment of the film featuring Jim Broadbent as a book editor who, after running afoul with one of his clients, is forced to go on the run and finds himself locked up in an old person's home.  I thought the story was well thought out, humorous, and completely entertaining.  However, I don't quite understand how it fit in with the six other stories.  Yes, there is a brief mention of Broadbent's character in the sci fi segment, but for the heftiness of the overarching theme, it doesn't quite work.  Granted, I understand that many people on this planet will only affect others in small ways, but I'm not quite sure for the scope and grandeur of Cloud Atlas that we should've been focusing on these people in this movie.

Still, while that may seem like a somewhat large "problem," it really isn't.  While it knocks the film down from a perfect level, Cloud Atlas is still a fascinating film that I'm still thinking about days after watching it.  Moreso than many of 2012's films, this is one that I look forward to watching again a few years in the future.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Skyfall

Skyfall (2012)

Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Albert Finney, and Ben Whishaw

Directed by Sam Mendes

After seeing my first James Bond flick in Casino Royale a month ago, I finally got around to checking out Skyfall and am pleased to report that it's a return to glory for 007 after the disappointment of Quantum of Solace.  Thankfully ditching the director of Quantum whose camerawork made that film's action scenes nearly incoherent, Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes takes the helm here and, with the help of his screenwriters, guides a surprisingly low key and much less frenetic Bond film to success.

I was perhaps most amazed by the fact that the action scenes that I've come to associate with Bond films after my initial viewings take a backseat to character development in Skyfall.  After a fantastic and adrenaline-pumping opening sequence involving the unsuccessful capture of a criminal who has confiscated a hard drive with all of the true identities of MI6's undercover agents, we watch James Bond (Daniel Craig) seemingly plunge to his death from atop a huge fall off of a train.  Cut to London and M (Judi Dench) is now preparing an obituary for 007 and also needing to face the fact that her MI6 is in serious trouble since that hard drive was not recovered.  After a meeting with Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the Chairman of the British Intelligence and Security Committee, M finds herself under intense pressure to resign which she refuses to do, insisting that she will bring MI6 back from its current dark place.  However, upon returning from her meeting with Mallory, MI6's headquarters are attacked and six agents are killed thanks to someone hacking into M's personal computer systems.  Mr. Bond, who happened to survive his steep fall and had taken the opportunity to retire and secretly slip away from duty, hears about the London attack on a news broadcast and decides to return to England to help out M who made him a success.

But who is the culprit seeking revenge on MI-6 and why is he focusing solely on taunting M?  While I won't spoil any motives, I will say that Javier Bardem plays supervillain Raoul Silva with slimy gusto.  Honing in and capitalizing on the uncomfortable humor that sometimes comes hand in hand with a great villain, Bardem reinvigorates the film once he first appears about ninety minutes in.

Not that the film necessarily needed a jolt to reinvigorate it, but Skyfall is definitely a more character-driven piece than I was expecting.  This film is as much about the emotional roller coaster of being an undercover agent (or running an agency responsible for those agents) as it is about the action sequences.  Rather brilliantly, the movie is able to successfully balance both disparate spectrums thanks to Sam Mendes.  His action-oriented scenes are taut and exciting -- the opening fifteen minutes are just stellar -- and his more intimate moments carry more weight than most dramas out there today.

Mr. Mendes is of course aided by Judi Dench whose M takes on a much more significant role here than in the other Bond films I've seen.  She brings a weathered intelligence to every scene and she gives Daniel Craig's Bond a real emotional and deep attachment to care for rather than the Bond Girls he leaves after one romp in the sack.  Supporting turns from Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and a ravishing Naomie Harris definitely showcase the promise of future Bond movies for sure.

I'm over 24 hours removed from watching Skyfall and I'm still finding myself thoroughly enjoying its thrills and somewhat ballsy dramatic turns.  The James Bond franchise was certainly not one that I eagerly looked forward to every three years or so when a new movie would be released, but I'm happy to say that I'm onboard the bandwagon and look forward to more in the future.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Theatre Review - The Pride

The Pride
Written by Alexi Kaye Cambell
Directed by Joe Mantello
When: Saturday, February 13, 2010, 2pm
Where: Louise Lortel Theatre
What: Drama, Off-Broadway

"Hey. Do you wanna go see this play with really cheap tickets that stars two British guys that I'm sure you've heard of?"

"Sure, I'll go."

"Yeah, I have no idea what the play's about, but the tickets are only $20, so let's go."

That was essentially the conversation that occurred between myself and a friend prior to deciding to head up to NYC to see this Off-Broadway show. After a bit of research (of course, after the tickets were purchased), I discovered that the play was a look at gay relationships in the 1950s and the aughts. I'm not gonna lie (and if this makes me a bad person, so be it), I was a little uncomfortable going into this one. It probably didn't help that sitting down in the theater, I was definitely in the minority in terms of sexual orientation (the leather sex shop next to the theater and the gay pride flag I saw coming out of the subway were a big clue).

But, once the play started, I was completely drawn into the rather interesting premise. The Pride essentially tells two different stories in two different time periods with two different sets of characters who happen to have the same name in both stories. In the 1950s, Philip (Hugh Dancy) and Sylvia (Andrea Riseborough) are a married couple. Sylvia is a failed actress who has turned to illustrating children's books and Oliver (Ben Whishaw) is her employer. Oliver comes over to the couple's home one evening and there's immediately an odd connection between the two men -- a connection that Philip wants to ignore but is intrigued by. While it's not even stated that Oliver is gay, his dialogues hoping for an age of equality allow the audience to infer such a thing.

Suddenly, and initially rather awkwardly, the play jumps to the present time in which Oliver (a different Oliver than in the 1950s setting) and Philip have recently broken up. Oliver can't seem to control his sexual urges, promiscuously cheating on Philip with unknown men. As the aughts setting opens, Oliver and Philip's relationship is kaput and mutual friend, Sylvia, a somewhat successful actress, tries to help each of them through their difficult time.

In the end, I'm not 100% sure what message the play is trying to get across other than the fact that times have changed. Whereas homosexuality was veiled in the 1950s, it's more "out in the open" today. That's not exactly a life changing revelation there. That being said, the time bouncing and unique use of the same character names allows us to really see a compare/contrast quality that playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell is putting on display.

By far, what makes this play shine is the great acting. Of the two main male characters, Ben Whishaw comes off a little better simply because his two Olivers are really two completely different people. He gets to play both the shy, timid type and the aggressive one. I liked Whishaw quite a bit in this year's Bright Star (had him on my Best Actor list for a while) and he was enthralling in this. Hugh Dancy (perhaps the better known of the two actors) was perfectly fine and it's not as if he was upstaged by Whishaw in the acting department, it's just that his Philips are a little underdeveloped in comparison.

The star of the show, however, was the lovely Andrea Riseborough (who, at times, was a spitting image of Kate Winslet). Her 1950s Sylvia has more emotional oomph -- there is a scene in which she discovers her husband's infidelity and confronts Oliver that was heartwrenching. Her 2000s Sylvia doesn't quite have the same impact, but she's the epitome of fun and provided quite a few laughs. I don't know who this lady is, but she was great to watch.

The play actually contains one more actor -- Adam James -- who plays three different distinct characters -- The Man (who, let's just say, has a thing for S&M), Peter (a straight editor of a men's magazine), and The Doctor (whose purpose is a little bit of a spoiler so I won't mention it here). He creates three distinct personalities for each of these characters, and actually provides quite an emotional moment when, as Peter, he reminisces about his late gay uncle.

Suffice it to say, The Pride is buoyed by four great actors. And considering that this is playwright Campbell's first play, there's definitely some promise on display. While it's doesn't quite work completely and, in the end, seems a little too obvious in terms of what it's trying to say, it works nonetheless and was worth the "uncomfortableness" to see my first Off-Broadway play.

Movie Review - Bright Star (2009)

Starring Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox, and Paul Schneider
Directed by Jane Campion

I had to look over the list of movies I had watched in 2009 to be sure, but I can wholeheartedly say that Bright Star is the most romantic movie of the year. Buoyed by four incredibly strong performances, director Jane Campion weaves a tale of passion without the least bit of luridness -- a relationship based on actual love rather than simply something physical.

Newcomer (to me, anyway) Abbie Cornish is Fanny Brawne, a seamstress/clothing designer, who, despite her young age, certainly has her own set of opinions and isn't afraid to make them known. This being the early 19th century, her opinions are not always greeted with enthusiasm from male counterparts, including Mr. Brown (Paul Schneider), an aspiring poet and friend of John Keats (Ben Whishaw), another aspiring poet, who both share a home with the Brawne family. Fanny and Keats soon embark on a romance that isn't greeted too fondly by those around them -- Mr. Brown feels that Fanny is stunting Keats' creativity, and Fanny's mother (Kerry Fox) believes that a poet cannot provide financial support for a spouse.

We've certainly seen this type of story depicted before and it's not that director Campion does anything over-the-top. In fact, it's the subdued style of the film that helps the four actors mentioned above stand out from the beautiful scenery. Still, despite the lack of camera trickery, the film is a joy to look at, with "nature" itself playing yet another character, echoing the emotions of the actors, which, while it sounds corny, works incredibly well.

Abbie Cornish is stellar here as Fanny. She creates a vulnerable young woman, unafraid to love, but well aware of the hurt that comes from that emotion. To me, crying and completely breaking down onscreen oftentimes can come off as corny and/or scream "OSCAR BAIT!", but the final ten minutes of this film are a showcase for Cornish's talent. Some excellent work on display, for sure.

And Cornish is balanced wonderfully by Ben Whishaw. Keats is perhaps an even tougher character to play here than Fanny. He needs to be intelligent, but doubtful of his talent. Romantic, but uncertain why anyone could love him. Wistful and dreamy, but grounded. He's a man full of contradictory emotions and Whishaw is, for lack of a better word, elegant here. He's absolutely subdued, but completely holds your attention.

And Cornish and Whishaw together -- what a couple! They work so well together and made every moment they shared completely believable. There wasn't a moment I doubted their characters' love for one another.

And I didn't even discuss the brilliantly mean Paul Schnieder (the only actor here I was actually familiar with) as Keats' friend and the kindly Kerry Fox as Fanny's mother. All the actors in this movie (even those I haven't mentioned) proved they deserve to be on the big screen. One of the best ensembles of the year.

So, with all this good, it's a shame that the movie moves along a little too slowly. I really can't think of any scene I would've even wanted Campion to have cut, but there were moments here and there where I was a little bored.

Still, this is an intelligent romance, filled with some beautiful poetry (stick around through the credits to hear Whishaw recite one of Keats' works over a lulling melody) and some great performances.

The RyMickey Rating: B+