The Old Man & the Gun

The Old Man & the Gun (2018)

Starring Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, Tika Sumpter, and Tom Waits

Written by David Lowery

Directed by David Lowery

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B

A Ghost Story

A Ghost Story (2017)

Starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara

Directed by David Lowery

Written by David Lowery

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

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A man (Casey Affleck) dies and returns as a silent ghost to see how is wife (Rooney Mara) copes with his death.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Movie Review - The Finest Hours

The Finest Hours (2016)

Starring Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Holliday Grainger, Ben Foster, Eric Bana, Kyle Gallner, and Josh Magaro
Directed by Craig Gillespie
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Based on a true story, The Finest Hours details a 1952 Coast Guard rescue of the crew of the SS Pendleton during a horrible winter storm off the New England coast.  Buoyed by some nice special effects, the film is well-acted, yet never quite does enough to escape the generic nature presented by director Craig Gillespie.  Nothing about The Finest Hours stands out in any way which isn't to say that the film doesn't work.  The flick is perfectly watchable, yet it never once feels special, unique, or important in any way.  (Sort of like this generic review which is just one of many of a backlog of reviews that have been sitting in my drafts section for weeks now.)  The Finest Hours is a perfectly streamable film, but you won't walk away feeling the need to rave about it to anyone.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Manchester by the Sea

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol, C.J. Wilson, Tate Donovan, and Matthew Broderick

Directed by Kenneth Lonergan

Having high expectations doesn't always hinder one's cinematic experience (see La La Land as a case in point), but Manchester by the Sea is the unfortunate victim of this odious psychological conundrum.  It's not that writer-director Kenneth Lonergan's film is bad in any way, it's just that after months of talk about fantastic performances and gripping drama and depressingly tragic moments, I found myself the slightest bit let down by what I saw onscreen.  While a nice "slice of life"-style film (albeit with some severely sad scenes), Manchester by the Sea rarely grabbed me on an emotional level in the way that I feel it should have particularly given the subject matter.

Casey Affleck is the anchor here as Lee Chandler, a young thirtysomething janitor living in Boston.  His mundane life is interrupted one snowy afternoon when he receives a phone call that his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) has suffered a fatal heart attack.  Lee makes the two-hour journey to Manchester - his hometown - where he finds himself forced to relive his past and the reasons he left the town to begin with, all the while becoming the new father figure to his sixteen year-old teenage nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges) whose mother (Gretchen Mol) abandoned him and his father nearly a decade prior.

There is a heartbreaking backstory that oppresses Lee in his present life and it has weighed heavily on him for years.  Lee's past is revealed to us in spurts by Lonergan in a way that feels natural -- sometimes flashbacks can take away from the current tale, but Lonergan's spacing out of Lee's past adds to the sullen man's characterization.  Casey Affleck nicely balances Lee's past and present, creating two distinct personalities that evolve into one another believably.  His Lee is wrought with pain and desires nothing more than to essentially be punished for his sins, but he also realizes, upon his brother's death, that he is needed to step up to the plate and become a reliable figure in young Patrick's life.

Newcomer Lucas Hedges is a nice counter to the depressed Lee as his Patrick deals with his father's death in a different manner, deciding to act strong as if it doesn't affect him which ultimately leads to one of the better scenes in the film as the gravity of his situation begins to manifest itself.  Michelle Williams has a small, but critical role in the piece and she's given two heartbreaking scenes that give us not only an understanding of her character's plight, but also add a great deal of depth to the character of Lee as well.

Ultimately, though, I wanted to be moved more than I was with Manchester by the Sea.  Given the subject matter -- which you must understand I'm not fully detailing here -- I wanted to be grabbed by Lee's plight and I never quite got there.  Technically, Kenneth Lonergan delivers a somber, intimate film that looks pretty, but the film lingers too long -- at 137 minutes, it's got about forty minutes of lifelessness that could've been left on the editing room floor. While I can't say I was bored per se, the length of the film did affect its dramatic effectiveness.  Sure, Manchester by the Sea has a lot of things going for it -- it's well shot, well acted -- but in the end, it didn't get that guttural emotional response from me that I can't help but think it wanted.  At times, I was moderately moved, but I wanted more.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Interstellar

Interstellar (2014)

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley Mackenzie Foy, John Lithgow, Timothée Chalamet, Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Topher Grace, Ellen Burstyn, and Michael Caine

Directed by Christopher Nolan

I was extremely wary about Interstellar.  During its theatrical run, I found myself avoiding it due to its nearly three-hour running time and the much-gossiped about notion that its story was too talky and too befuddling.  So, with trepidation I sat down to watch director and co-screenwriter Christopher Nolan's Interstellar in one sitting not expecting to enjoy myself.  Obviously, this lede is insinuating that I liked the film and that intimation would be true.  While not without its faults, Interstellar is a surprisingly action-filled drama that, while certainly "deep" and a bit convoluted, is much easier to comprehend than I expected.

To make a (very) long story short, Earth is dying and within several years, it will be uninhabitable.  While driving around with his daughter one evening, former astronaut Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) stumbles upon a secret NASA facility wherein scientists are building a spaceship that can send a crew to explore the far regions of space to look for another planet that can sustain human life.  Much to his daughter Murph's (Mackenze Foy) chagrin, Cooper agrees to take part in the mission which will likely take him away from home for several years.  This connection between father and daughter continues to take shape as the film progresses with Murph aging into a young woman (played by Jessica Chastain) and Cooper still out in space.

Interstellar works best when it finds itself in space.  There's a harrowing sense of anticipation and excitement in nearly every story element as Cooper and his fellow astronauts (Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentlely, and David Gyasi) desperately struggle to find a place where the human race can survive for eons to come.  As they journey from planet to planet, they're forced to make some tough decisions which are intellectually complex, though at the same time fathomable to the general movie-going public.

Unfortunately, Insterstellar takes a long time to actually get Cooper up into space.  For nearly an hour, we find Cooper and his family bemoaning the state of the Earth and then debating whether Cooper should take on the space mission.  I remember about forty minutes in looking at how much time was left and getting antsy that there was still nearly two hours to go.  I recognize the need to set up a father/daughter relationship in the first act, but Nolan and his co-screenwriter brother Jonathan fail to keep things moving and the languid pace weighs down the entire film.

As mentioned, though, once we're in space, Interstellar becomes an intriguing film.  The special effects are top notch and the sound design (which got dinged a bit by critics who watched the film in theaters) works fine on a small screen sound system.  The acting is solid, but I had a few qualms with Matthew McConaughey's lead performance as Cooper.  First, I wanted him to open his damn mouth when he talked because multiple times it sounded as if he was talking with a handful of marbles in his mouth.  Perhaps more importantly, though, I felt that he looked bored for most of the flick.  Unlike other characters who were desperately trying to save their planet and complete a successful mission, McConaughey's Cooper didn't convey that sense of urgency.  While there are certainly moments in space during which McConaughey successfully showcases his emotions as a father longing to be reunited with his children, overall I felt that Cooper left me longing to connect with him seeing as how he was the crux of the whole film.

Despite some qualms, Interstellar actually provides a rather enjoyable experience.  Did I understand everything that happens at the end as the film veers into some weird metaphysical stuff?  Nope.  But I at least didn't feel like I was completely oblivious to the proceedings.  If you were wary like me to see this because of these fears of confusion (or simply because of the film's length), let me brush those aside for you and beckon you to give Interstellar a chance.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

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 -I'm Still Here

I'm Still Here (2010)

Starring Joaquin Phoenix

Directed by Casey Affleck
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

In the winter of 2009, Academy Award-nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix went on Late Show with David Letterman and acted like an ass.  No other term to describe it, really.  Phoenix had decided to quit acting and become a rap superstar.  Folks weren't sure if this was all a large-scale Andy Kaufman-esque hoax or if the guy was genuinely serious.  If anything, I'm Still Here unequivocally states that it was a joke, but the faux-documentary also is one heckuva enjoyable film with an incredibly amusing performance from Phoenix as he slowly deteriorates into a humorously frightening version of himself. 

Phoenix and director Casey Affleck say that they created I'm Still Here as a riff on reality tv, playing off of the idea that people genuinely believe that reality isn't scripted for the purposes of entertainment.  In order and try and create the most believable "fake Joaquin" persona as possible, for nearly a year, at every public appearance made by Phoenix, he "played" the role of drunken, drugged "celebrity" who had seemingly fallen off of his rocker.  Admittedly, even to me who only saw clips of Phoenix in passing, it seemed that he truly had decided to pursue this rap career.  On film, however, it was pretty obvious from the get go that this whole shindig was scripted.

Somehow, though, this weird scripted mockumentary works and it's in large part due to Phoenix totally inhabiting this character.  He's a nut...it's obvious...but it never seems over the top.  Phoenix is never the person that makes this "documentary" seem fake.  It's the other celebs around him and their "scripted" comments that clue the viewer in on the veracity of the film's agenda (that and the fact that there's a cast list in the credits that lists "Joaquin's Father" as an Affleck which should have clued a good bunch of the critics in on the elaborate piece of performance art they just witnessed).  Also cluing me in to the "unreality" of the situation is the fact that Casey Affleck does a much too eloquent job directing for the whole thing to be fake.  Once again, this isn't a fault of the piece.  In fact, the direction is very good, but the smoothness of the whole thing and the completely obvious set-ups for camera shots makes me amazed that critics didn't understand this film for what it was.

Honestly, I was expecting to despise this film.  I remember watching The Man in the Moon many years ago which depicted Andy Kaufman's life and thinking that the guy -- a full-out performance artist known for his elaborate hoaxes and jokes -- was a complete jerk.  I didn't get the humor in his "art."  In I'm Still Here, though, I was thoroughly amused.  I'm not quite sure Phoenix and Affleck (the co-writers of the piece) necessarily made their point about the "perils of celebrity" and the "deception" that is reality television, but I was amused nonetheless.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+