Schindler's List

Schindler's List (1993)

***viewed in theaters for 25th anniversary release***

Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and Embeth Davidtz

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Written by Steven Zaillian

Summary (in 500 words or less): Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) attempts to save hundreds of Jews in danger of being sent to Auschwitz by hiring them to work at his factory during WWII.

 

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Movie Review - The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Chris Cooper, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Embeth Davidtz, Campbell Scott, and Sally Field

Directed by Marc Webb

While moderately better than 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man mainly because we're able to move on beyond the re-telling of Spidey's origin story, there's something about this title character that doesn't quite click with me.  If I remember correctly, there has always been some sly, comedic aspect to Peter Parker whenever he finds himself wearing the Spiderman attire and I find it oddly disconcerting.  When faced with evil villains like Electro (Jamie Foxx), a lowly worker at the Oscorp Power Company whose obsession with Spiderman takes a nasty turn, and the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan), who was previously Harry Osborn, son of the founder of Oscorp, Spidey just makes jokes.  Because of this, any potential for suspense is oftentimes mitigated.

When compared to the Tobey Maguire/Kirsten Dunst trilogy, I still think Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone fare better in the acting department as both Garfield and Stone more believably inhabit their characters' tumultuous relationship.  With the exception of Jamie Foxx -- who, admittedly, is given a bit more of a stock character type of role than those around him -- most of the acting is solid which certainly helps matters and makes things watchable.  However, I still find myself utterly uninterested whenever Garfield's Peter Parker puts on the Spidey suit.

Perhaps it's the lack of believable special effects.  I commented on this after watching the first film as well, but there must be something about having some guy fly around in a suit like Spidey's that makes things look incredibly fake.  Unfortunately, the fx wizards didn't fix things with this second film -- you're always well aware that you're watching animation onscreen and it's irritating, removing us from the story at times.  While there have certainly been worse superhero films, this new reimagining of the Spider-Man story doesn't really have the cinematic chops to make it worth continuing.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Paranoia

Paranoia (2013)

Starring Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, Amber Heard, Embeth Davidtz, Julian McMahon, Josh Holloway, Richard Dreyfuss, and Harrison Ford

Directed by Robert Luketic

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

Considering the thrashing Paranoia received from the critics (earning an abysmal 5% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes), I was expecting the absolute worst from this financial thriller.  Admittedly, the only reason I watched this flick is because I read the book (link here), but (and I recognize this is faint praise) it really wasn't as bad as I expected.  The problem with Paranoia is that the film puts Liam Hemsworth in the lead role and gives him a love interest in Amber Heard in an attempt to skew to a younger audience, but the film's story is about two large techie corporations headed by bigwigs Nicholas Wyatt and Jock Goddard (played by Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford) who are trying to one up each other -- a storyline that couldn't be further away from appealing to youths.  This juxtaposition places Paranoia in a bit of "no man's land" with a too-confusing plotline for the Twitter-verse, but a too simplistic tale for the older crowd.

The book upon which this film is based was admittedly a light, fun read, but skewing younger may have been the flick's downfall.  The aforementioned Hemsworth and Heard are both lovely to look at and are actually surprisingly confident in their ability to carry the film, but they just don't fit here.  Perhaps I'm remembering incorrectly, but the book seemed to focus on a thirtysomething guy who fits this high-tech, gadget-filled, "smart" environment a little bit better.  I can't help but think that a few more years and wrinkles on Hemsworth's character Adam Cassidy -- an up-and-coming techie who agrees to snoop on Goddard's company after he gets in trouble with his former boss Wyatt -- would've helped the believability factor a bit.

Undoubtedly, there are better films streaming on Netflix at the moment, but Paranoia moves along at a solid clip and if you're in the market for some mindless entertainment this may just fit the bill.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Europa Report

Europa Report (2013)

Starring Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Christian Camargo, Anamaria Marinca, Karolina Wydra, Daniel Wu, and Embeth Davidtz

Directed by Sebastián Cordero

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

Europa Report can't hold a candle to this year's other "lost in space"-themed epic Gravity, but this little low-budget found footage/documentary-style science fiction pic is actually well produced with surprisingly decent special effects and a interesting storyline that is smarter than expected.  Granted, as the film reaches its climax, it teeters out a bit getting too chaotically frantic for its own good, but it still musters up enough goodwill in its previous hour that it makes it worth a watch should its story appeal to you.

A six-person international crew is shuttling their way through space on the Europa One mission -- the first manned attempt to go beyond our moon and eventually reach one of Jupiter's moons, Europa, which is believed to contain water and, henceforth, perhaps additional life forms.  Much of the crew's privately funded mission has been aired on television, but six months into their flight, a solar flare knocks the crew out of communication with mission control.  They continue to proceed (though not without significant consequences) and eventually reach Europa at which point things expectedly take a turn for the worse.

Rather than tell its story in a linear fashion, director Sebastián Cordero and writer Philip Gelatt begin the tale as if we're watching a documentary.  We hear Dr. Unger (Embeth Davidtz), the CEO of Europa Ventures, as she narrates the tale of the six person crew.  We also hear first-hand narration from pilot Rosa Dasque (Anamaira Marinca) as she relays to us what was happening on board the shuttle while the mission was taking place.  With the documentary format and the premise that cameras were strategically placed within the shuttle for the reality tv aspect of the mission, Cordero and Gelatt jump back and forth through time, revealing pieces of the mission gradually.  Admittedly, this non-linear gimmick is probably the most disappointing aspect of the film and really is just a ploy to up the tension. Ultimately, it comes back to bite them as the film's final half hour is told linearly and feels a bit "out of place" amongst the rest of the film because of it.

Still, the director gets some nice performances out of all of his cast including District 9's Sharlto Copley and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's Michael Nyqvist being the "big names" in the group.  The cast of characters is never forced to do anything "stupid" for the sake of the plot and their actions and reactions feel genuine which is a pleasant treat for a movie that so easily could've tried to be a "thriller" or "horror" film.  The fact that Europa Report never went that route is quite admirable.  It never dumbs down its plot which is more focused on "science" than anything else and I'm sure that's the reason why it never made it out of the ten or so arthouses (if that) where it probably screened.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-