Jungle Cruise

 Jungle Cruise (2021)

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

Written by Michael Green, Glenn Ficcara, and John Requa

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Wild Mountain Thyme

 Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)

Starring Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Jon Hamm, Dearbhla Molloy, and Christopher Walken

Directed by John Patrick Shanley

Written by John Patrick Shanley

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place (2018)

Starring John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe

Directed by John Krasinski

Written by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

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 - The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train (2016)

Starring Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Edgar Ramirez, Laura Prepon, Allison Janney, and Lisa Kudrow

Directed by Tate Taylor

When I first saw the trailer for The Girl on the Train, I felt a tinge of excitement.  Was this going to be another successful modern-day Hitchcockian thriller along the lines of the glorious Gone Girl?  I then proceeded to read the immensely successful book and realized that The Girl on the Train was unlikely to be a cinematic treat because the debut novel by Paula Hawkins was a bit of a bust.  Sure enough, the movie ends up being a bust as well, despite a solid performance from Emily Blunt as the titular character.

Blunt is Rachel Watson, an alcoholic divorcée who spends her days riding a train from the suburbs to New York City and back again.  The train passes by her old house which her husband Tom (Justin Theroux) now shares with his new wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and their baby.  Naturally, the train also passes by the house of Tom's neighbors, the Hipwells.  Scott and Megan (Luke Evans, Haley Bennett) seem like a happy, young couple, but one morning Rachel spots Megan on the porch in the embrace of another man.  Shortly thereafter, Rachel hears on the news that Megan has gone missing and, in her drunken haze, Rachel sets out to investigate.  Unfortunately for Rachel, she herself has no recollection of what she was doing the night Megan was last seen...and the police headed by Detective Riley (Allison Janney) seem to think Rachel may have something to do with Megan's disappearance.

The book was largely an internal piece with the story told through the inner monologues of both Rachel and Megan.  The film tries to tackle this with voiceovers, but voiceovers are always a tricky proposition in movies and having to base a large majority of your plot around them is a bit tiresome.  Emily Blunt is successful in creating the depressed Rachel and nicely embodies the character I envisioned whilst reading the book.  Unfortunately, the screenplay isn't any better than Paula Hawkins' novel with the culprit behind Megan's disappearance surprisingly obvious about halfway through in both iterations.  In the end, what good is a mystery if you can solve it at the midpoint?

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Sicario

Sicario (2015)

Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, and Daniel Kaluuya

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

A taut and tense look at the drug trade between the US and countries south of our border, Sicario creates some of the most exciting moments captured in 2015 cinema.  It's unfortunate, though, that those edge-of-your-seat segments are interspersed with some dour, dreary, somewhat boring scenes that certainly advance the plot, but do so without the drive and vigor that carries the rest of the film.  Don't mistake this disappointment with detestation, however, as director Denis Villeneuve's flick is well worth a watch with some nice, un-showy, realistic performances from a solid cast.

At the crux of Sicario is Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), a quiet, though strong FBI agent who, after uncovering an horrific drug-related discovery, is approached by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), a CIA Special Activities Division officer, to join a task force to pick up a high-profile Mexican drug lord.  Also part of the team is Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro), a Colombian partner who holds a great many secrets that cause Kate to doubt the CIA's intentions and her place in their plans.

Admittedly, the less said the better about the plot of Sicario which, while not necessarily confusing or full of out-of-left-field surprises (both positives, for sure), is best seen not knowing about the tension-filled scenes that are to come.  Denis Villeneuve is quietly becoming the go-to director when your film needs to create a sense of palpable human anxiety as his three English-language films have thus far proven.  (See also Prisoners and Enemy for these similar emotional tones.)  With a script by Taylor Sheridan that gives Villeneuve some stellar set pieces with which to build dismay and distress and a pulsing score by Jóhann Jóhannsson that adds excitement, there are many reasons Sicario works.  As I mentioned previously, however, there are too many lulls in the story that drag the movie down.  Villeneuve has yet to create a flick (that I've seen) where he fully harnesses the nervous apprehension present in the script, but he's come awfully close several times.

Emily Blunt takes on the tough gal role again here (after having much success embodying that tone in Edge of Tomorrow) and she proves a worthy lead.  We can see her mind always questioning her surroundings, cognizant of the fact that the people who are supposed to protect her may just cause her downfall.  Benicio Del Toro's character seems quite one note at the start, but as the film progresses, we see deeper layers culminating in a final scene for his character that truly resonates.  Josh Brolin brings a smarminess to his CIA agent role, but he's quite watchable here.  (I say that as Brolin has never been a favorite of mine, but he tackles this role with just the right amount of smug egoism.)

Despite a few issues, Sicario is a really solid piece of cinema.  There are moments in the film -- a great many of them, actually -- that would've landed this film an 'A' grade, but in the end Villeneuve doesn't quite get everything to gel together perfectly...but he's still a director I'm keeping my eye on in the future.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Into the Woods

Into the Woods (2014)

Starring James Corden, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, Billy Magnussen, Mackenzie Mauzy, and Johnny Depp

Directed by Rob Marshall

Note: The Disney Discussion will return soon.  In its stead, a review of Disney's latest fairy tale musical -- in live action form this time around.

"Once upon a time in a far off kingdom, there lay a small village at the edge of the woods.  And in this village lived a young maiden, a carefree young lad, and a childless baker with his wife."  The opening line of Into the Woods sets up a broad view of composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and playwright James Lapine's Broadway classic, but the film delves deeper into a world where some of the most well-known fairy tale characters interact with one another popping up into each others' familiar stories and creating some havoc.  Director Rob Marshall does a fantastic job allowing each character's storyline to shine, giving life to Sondheim's tricky lyrical melodies, and creating a film that flows effortlessly from one tale to another.

We have Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) whose evil stepmother (Christine Baranski) and nasty stepsisters (Tammy Blanchard and Lucy Punch) won't allow her to attend the Royal Ball of the Prince (Chris Pine).  Then there's Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) of Jack and the Beanstalk fame whose mother (Tracy Ullman) forces her son to sell his only friend -- Milky White, a cow -- in order to add to their measly income.  The third storyline deals with a Baker (James Corden) and His Wife (Emily Blunt) who have heretofore been unable to conceive a child.  They discover in the film's opening song, however, that the haggard and ugly Witch (Meryl Streep) has placed a spell on the Baker and His Wife which the couple can break if they bring her "the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold" before three midnights pass.  Add in Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy), a giant, and a horny wolf (Johnny Depp) and you've got a menagerie of characters.

The Baker, His Wife, and their plight are the impetus of much of the film's plot as they weave in and out of the various other characters' story lines in order to retrieve the objects from their Witch-sponsored scavenger hunt.  The first half of the film generally follows the familiar fairy tales in their typical fashion, however, as the flick progresses, things start to take a dark turn with these tried and true characters forced to do things that we typically aren't used to seeing them have to undertake.  Ultimately, Sondheim and Lapine seem to be telling us that life can't always be a fairy tale, but we still have to face the good and bad times in the best way we know how.  Yes, these are fractured fairy tales, but they're interesting twists on classics.

Sondheim's songs aren't exactly hummable and with the exception of the title number, you may very well not remember any of them upon the film's conclusion.  However, that's not necessarily a bad thing.  The film is filled to the brim with singing and the numbers flow effortlessly into one another and that's certainly attributed to Sondheim's songs, Lapine's book/screenplay, and Rob Marshall's direction.  Marshall isn't exactly a prolific director, but this is certainly his best film since his Chicago debut.  The film appears richly atmospheric (kudos to the costume and production designers) and places its audience squarely in the titular woods.

Sondheim's lyrics are a tricky beast to wrap your tongue around, but the cast gamely takes on the task of giving life to his words (and his uniquely syncopated rhythms).  James Corden and Emily Blunt are charming, witty, and carry the film admirably.  Lilla Crawford and Daniel Hiddleston are exactly what their young characters need to be -- adventurous, yet longing for guidance.  Meryl Streep hardly ever delivers a bad performance and this is no exception.  Award worthy?  I'm not quite sure, but she doesn't disappoint in the slightest.  Two of the film's best moments, however, belong to Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine whose romantic relationship as Cinderella and her Prince isn't exactly the epitome of perfection.  As Cinderella flees the ball, time stands still and Kendrick sings a lovely tune about how she's unsure of what she wants for her life.  Pine also gets a similarly-themed number about longing, although his slimy, though utterly charismatic and charming Prince has quite a different spin on his wishes and desires.

I will admit that I was expecting to be a little let down by Into the Woods.  Musicals are tough sells sometimes, often feeling hokey or corny unless the right tone is set right at the film's open.  However, from the opening two minutes, I could tell that Marshall was giving us a piece that wasn't ashamed of the notion that it was a musical.  It embraced the genre and, in turn, is the best live action musical since The Muppets in 2011.

It should be noted that I've been holding off writing this review for over a week now.  This is one of those movies that I really liked, yet can't quite get comfortable with expressing my thoughts on it.  Don't let my bland review (which flows so disappointingly for my taste) discourage you from seeing this one.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, and Brendan Gleeson

Directed by Doug Liman

***viewed in 3D***

Reviews have called Edge of Tomorrow an action-oriented version of the 1990s comedy classic Groundhog Day and that's certainly an apt comparison with Tom Cruise the Bill Murray equivalent here -- a man who is forced to keep living the same day over and over again.  Cruise is Major William Cage, a military man who is the media relations guy for the United Defense Forces, a NATO-fronted organization who finds themselves (in the near future when our film takes place) on the forefront of fighting an alien race known as Mimics who have taken over most of Europe.  Unfortunately for Cage, he's summoned to meet General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) who orders Cage into combat -- an arena that Cage has never found himself in before and one in which he has no desire to take part.  Despite his qualms, Cage is sent to ship out, taking part in a D-Day style Normandy-esque invasion against the aliens in France.  During the invasion, Cage is killed -- however (and this is why that isn't a spoiler), before he dies, Cage is covered in the "blood" of one of the more "sophisticated" aliens which causes Cage to live this same day and this same battle over and over again.  (There's a reason that I'll leave this vague on purpose.)

What Doug Liman and his trio of screenwriters successfully accomplish in Edge of Tomorrow is providing a unique experience each time Cage ends up reliving his day and, because of this, the film never once becomes the slightest bit boring.  Mixed with humor, Edge of Tomorrow actually ends up being one of the better science fiction-action flicks I've seen since in a long time.  Tom Cruise is certainly charismatic as Cage and does a nice job balancing the action and comedic sides of his character.  Emily Blunt plays Cage's confidante on the battlefield -- a warrior woman who, fortunately for Cage, once experienced the same exact thing he finds himself facing, only to lose the ability to relive the same day through an unfortunate (or perhaps fortunate) event that Cage himself needs to be wary of occurring.  Blunt is certainly the "straight man" to Cage's confusion and humor, but she holds her own as the tough gal in what I believe is her first action role.

I'm not quite sure why Edge of Tomorrow did so poorly at the box office although I'm sure it was a mix of things -- the title sucks, the trailer was very weak and unappealing, Tom Cruise himself isn't a draw and hasn't overcome the Oprah couch-jumping thing despite putting out a string of solid movies as of late (last year's Oblivion as another example).  It's rather unfortunate because, despite a "Hollywood-ized" ending (the film's only fault), Edge of Tomorrow is a perfect summer action flick that rocks and rolls its entire run time, keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Arthur Newman

Arthur Newman (2013)

Starring Colin Firth, Emily Blunt, Sterling Beauman, and Anne Heche 

Directed by Dante Ariola

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

I don't know if I have a false recollection of the trailer for Arthur Newman or if this is one of those films where the marketing people attempted to try and trick everyone into seeing it, but I thought this flick was supposed to be a comedy.  Needless to say, it wasn't.  Even though I wasn't prepared for the film's more dramatic tone, I'd like to think that were a movie good enough, I'd be able to look past the false advertising and see a silver lining amidst the lies.  This one isn't good enough for that to happen.

Colin Firth is Wallace Avery, a middle aged guy who hates his job at FedEx, doesn't really care much for his girlfriend (Anne Heche), and has become so estranged from his teenage son (Sterling Beauman) that his offspring runs away from him whenever he tries to visit.  With nothing to lose, Wallace decides to end his life.  Well, he decides to end Wallace's life by purchasing a new identity and starting fresh.  After offing his old self by drowning in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, Wallace transforms into Arthur Newman -- an amateur golfer who did some time playing on the Asian golf circuit.  With this new identity, he hopes to start anew and find more reason to relish life in general.

On his first night as "Arthur Newman," Arthur meets Micheala (Emily Blunt) -- a bit of a loony who was nearly arrested for stealing some guy's car.  Mike (as she likes to be called) is not only a loony, but also a bit of a crook who manages to find an ID card with Arthur's old name on it.  She kinda sorta blackmails him into allowing her to tag along on his cross-country trip and, of course, the two inevitably fall for one another as their journey progresses.

The problem with Arthur Newman is that the film doesn't quite know what it wants to be.  The film does begin with comedic undertones, but it abandons them after about twenty minutes and ends up becoming something much darker than its musical score, dialog, and general aesthetic make it appear to be.  This dichotomy causes the film to never really gel and it forces its two leads to never really grasp their characters' motivations.  It certainly doesn't help matters that the romantic relationship that transpires between Arthur and Mike as they become a very low grade (and non-violent) Bonnie and Clyde-ish type couple never once felt believable as played by Firth and Blunt -- two actors whom I typically always like, but appear very out-of-place and emotionally awkward here.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Your Sister's Sister

Your Sister's Sister (2012)

Starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, and Mark Duplass

Directed by Lynn Shelton

Essentially a three-character comedy -- one that could easily have been a stage play prior to this cinematic incarnation -- Your Sister's Sister tells the tale of Jack (Mark Duplass) whose brother died a year prior.  While Jack tries to make it seem as if he's come to terms with the death, he still finds himself emotionally struggling with the heavy ordeal and after he overreacts at a party commemorating his brother, Jack's best friend and his brother's former girlfriend Iris (Emily Blunt) invites him to stay at her father's isolated cabin in the woods.  Jack agrees to some alone time, but when he arrives at the cabin, Iris's sister Hannah (Rosemarie Dewitt) happens to be there seeking some alone time for herself.  The two chat it up over tequila and, despite Hannah's lesbian tendencies, the two sleep together.  The next morning when Iris surprisingly shows up, Jack and Hannah try and hide their romp in the sack, but the three find themselves piling lie on top of lie.

Buoyed by three nice performances, Your Sister's Sister has a natural rhythm to it that I found very much echoed Humpday, the previous Lynn Shelton directed and written film I've seen.  Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, and Mark Duplass seemingly improvise many of their lines and (even if that's not the case) make nearly everything they say believable for their characters who are rather complex despite the film's comedic leanings.  Ultimately, it's the layered characters that make the film successful.

The film takes a twist towards the end that knocks the realism down a few notches and while Blunt, Dewitt, and Duplass do their best to make it not seem far-fetched, they simply can't make the storyline work.  It's a bit unfortunate because prior to the last thirty minutes, I was thoroughly involved in the proceedings.  Don't get me wrong -- the final act doesn't ruin things, but it just turns an otherwise great indie film into a better than average one.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012)

Starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked, and Kristin Scott Thomas

Directed by Lasse Hallström

Let's be honest here.  With a title as odd as Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and a premise that seems almost too farfetched to be believable, this Lasse Hallström flick was facing an uphill battle.  The trailer seemed to be attached to every Oscar-bait movie last year and it conveyed nothing but boredom to me, hence the reason I never ventured out into theaters to check it out.  Much to my surprise, however, I found this light romantic dramedy quite enjoyable with its story being just different enough that it manages to hold one's attention despite its inherent silliness.

[I will say that there may be a slight favorable bias to films that take place in and around London for the next year or so for me.  After my trip over there this past summer, I find it infinitely cool to say, "I walked across that same bridge they're walking over!" which is something I certainly couldn't say six months ago.  Still, I don't think it adds a whole lot to the experience...it just maybe makes me pay a bit more attention to things than I did in the past.]

Yemeni Sheikh Muhammed (Amr Waked) has grown fascinated with salmon fishing while staying at his residence in England and longs to introduce the sport to his homeland at any cost.  He enlists the help of his financial advisor Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt) who, in turn, seeks assistance from a member of the British Fisheries and Wildlife department, Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor), who finds the project silly and frivolous, insisting that the climate conditions are not adequate to sustain the foolish whims of the sheikh.  However, after an explosion in Yemen that paints England in a poor light, the Prime Minister's press secretary Patricia Maxwell (Kristin Scott Thomas) sees this as a perfect opportunity to strengthen British-Yemeni relations and forces Dr. Jones to assist in the project.

While the whole thing seems nearly impossible to base a movie around, I found the entire plot to be surprisingly interesting and actually completely believable.  In fact, after the film, I looked up whether the film was based on a true story (it's not) which just goes to prove that screenwriter Simon Beaufoy sold me on the weird concept.  The film certainly ends up delving into the romantic side of things as Dr. Jones and Ms. Chetwode-Talbot end up slowly becoming enamored with one another despite complications in their love lives that should prevent romance from blossoming.  While this is certainly the weakest (and most obvious) part of the film, Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor sold me on it thanks to their charm and pleasant screen presence.  It's tough not to smile when they're onscreen here.  Kristin Scott Thomas also proves to be an absolute hoot as the overzealous, pushy, and often obnoxious press secretary.  That said, there are moments where the director maybe should have reined her in as she goes a bit too over-the-top at times which awkwardly changes the tone of the flick, but it's still nice to see her take on a comedic role -- something the actress rarely does.

I honestly can't believe I'm going to say this, but you really should give Salmon Fishing in the Yemen a chance.  I legitimately had no real desire to see it, but I found myself completely entertained by the flick which is certainly a shock to this reviewer.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Looper

Looper (2012)

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Piper Perabo, Paul Dano, Pierce Gagnon, and Jeff Daniels

Directed by Rian Johnson

Why did I wait so long to see Looper?  Everyone raved about it.  It's directed and written by a guy whose last film I greatly admired specifically for its direction and story.  It stars the guy who was in my favorite scene in one of my favorite movies of 2011.  And yet, I waited.  And the buzz built.  And the movie could never live up to the hype.

But it did...and now I wished I had seen it sooner as it may have gotten me excited and interested about seeing movies again in theaters.  One great movie can do that you -- pique your interest enough to make you realize that not all movies are schlock.  Don't get me wrong.  Looper isn't without its faults (it's first act drags on a bit too long, but it has a second and third act that more than make up for it), but it's an original piece of cinema that is directed with a keen eye and acted with precision from the youngest member of the cast to the oldest.

By 2074, time travel has been invented, but the concept is controlled by someone who has never been seen and is known only as The Rainmaker -- the head of a crime syndicate.  When The Rainmaker wants to get rid of someone, he sends them back thirty years and has them killed by "a looper."  Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a looper in 2044 and he gets paid well for his job, but like all loopers, The Rainmaker will eventually decide to "close his loop" and eliminate Joe's job, allowing him to live a good life for 30 years before he's forced to "close the loop" by killing his future "older Joe" self.  [This sounds confusing, but it really isn't in the slightest when you see it acted out.]  However, when Old Joe (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to be killed, he refuses to let it happen which puts Young Joe in a bit of a predicament for if he doesn't kill Old Joe, the future will irreversibly change perhaps to great effect.

That summary involves only Act I and the remainder of the film really should be left to simply let unfold before you.  It's not that it contains surprises, but it's a film that only knowing the science fiction basics really allows the rest of the "human" story to flesh out naturally.  Rian Johnson has two tales layered together here -- one would fit perfectly into a Star Trek or Twilight Zone episode involving time travel while the other pushes all of sci-fi to the side and allows a romance to blossom between Joe and a tough farmhand named Sara (Emily Blunt, oddly unrecognizable at first and talking without a hint of her British accent) who comes with some baggage in tow with her young son Cid (the fantastic Pierce Gagnon).  Neither side of the story is given the short shrift and because of that and Johnson's intricate way of melding the two, one finds oneself rapt the whole time with the proceedings.

Although set in the future and certainly peppered with inventions to which we are not yet privy, Looper almost feels retro (much like the tone set in Johnson's former work The Brothers Bloom).  Gordon-Levitt plays Joe as a 1950s James Dean-type guy and, in fact, he's even called out on his old-fashioned stylings by his boss (Jeff Daniels), the head of The Rainmaker's loopers in 2044.  I will admit that it took me a little bit to warm up to Gordon-Levitt's Joe -- I felt he was "playing a character" more than "embodying one" -- but I later grew to appreciate his approach.  As mentioned above, Emily Blunt is quite good here, un-prettying herself and getting a bit grittier than we usually see her.  I love the fact that she can usually elevate comedic fluff to something better, but in Looper she shows that she's also quite a talented dramatic actress.  And her young son, played by five year-old Pierce Gagnon is wonderful.  His role is an interesting one and he manages to be both child-like and adult with such ease that he helps elevate the film's second half to something quite special.

I wasn't a fan at all of Rian Johnson's first film Brick (but then again I'm kind of snob when it comes to good film noir), but I found The Brothers Bloom a pretty fun piece of work.  With Looper, he proves that he wasn't a one-trick pony.  Hopefully, he can continue this upward momentum and we don't have to wait another four years before his next work comes around.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Movie Review - The Five-Year Engagement

The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

Starring Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, Mindy Kaling, Mimi Kennedy, David Paymer, Jacki Weaver, and Kevin Hart

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

I don't understand why comedies in this new century can't seem to find the money to pay for an editor.  I think Judd Apatow single-handedly harmed the genre in the last eight years or so with his inability to make the necessary trims to create a properly paced laugher.  It should come as no surprise that Mr. Apatow produced The Five-Year Engagement, yet another one of his films to clock in unnecessarily at over two hours.  It's a bummer, too, because the film is pretty goshdarn charming.  Yes, it's an R-rated flick and has its moments of raunch, but there's some serious heart here and the comedy stems naturally from those realistic and sometimes touching moments (which, I'll admit, is the one thing Apatow does really well).  And yet the producers and co-writer/director Nicholas Stoller make me have to knock this down a few notches because it just doesn't know how to move things along.

Co-writer and Muppet lover Jason Segel is Tom who meets the lovely Violet (Emily Blunt) at a New Years' Eve costume party.  After dating a year, Tom pops the question to Violet who immediately accepts and the two begin the process of planning their wedding.  A few unforeseen circumstances present a few roadblocks, the biggest of which is Violet's acceptance into the University of Michigan's graduate program for psychology.  Tom, who has a great job as a chef in their current home city San Francisco, agrees to move with Violet for the two years it will take for her to complete the program.  Two years, however, turns into a bit more and Tom finds himself wallowing in disappointment unable to find ways to better himself and his career in the small 'burbs of Michigan.  While they don't call off the wedding, their planning for the event shifts to the wayside as Violet's schooling takes precedence.

Part of the film's problem, however, is that the time spent in Michigan could have been condensed by at least thirty minutes, if not a little more.  While I enjoyed the many (many) side characters that the writers introduced, they were completely unnecessary and literally did nothing to advance the plot.  At a certain point, the scissors need to come out and the trimming needs to be made, but this is the whole Apatow attitude and mindset and it's why I've really never found myself loving many of the films he's had his hands in (Step Brothers and Bridesmaids being two notable exceptions).

Segel and Blunt (whom I admittedly find incredibly charming and attractive) work very well together which for some reason surprised me.  Perhaps it was wrong of me to think the two actors wouldn't connect at all, but they proved to have nice chemistry.  Alison Brie and Chris Pratt are also given sizable supporting roles as Violet's sister and Tom's friend, respectively, who meet at Tom and Violet's engagement party and end up marrying each other soon after.  Both known best for their work on NBC sitcoms, Brie and Pratt were certainly nice additions to the cast.  And the rest of the supporting cast is also fairly top notch, but unfortunately most of them, as mentioned above, just didn't need to be in the movie.

I really wanted to give this movie a better rating.  There were moments while watching it where I thought this was quite possibly the best movie I had seen so far in 2012 (it's been a really weak year thus far).  And then the second hour hits and the film bogs itself down with extra characters and a more dramatic tone and it loses me.  Granted, it didn't lose me completely -- there's still much about this film to enjoy -- but it makes me wonder whether I should head out to Hollywood for an editing job.  There must be positions open since films like this don't seem to utilize that role to its fullest potential.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Gnomeo and Juliet

Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)

Featuring the voice talent of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, and Patrick Stewart 

Directed by Kelly Asbury

Romeo and Juliet is a story that has been told many times, and while it may never have been told through the eyes of stone garden gnomes, it certainly wasn't begging to be depicted in that capacity.  Gnomeo and Juliet is a film that simply doesn't work from a story perspective and it's pretty obvious why this flick which was formerly under the "Disney" banner went out under the company's "Touchstone" banner.  The animation folks at Disney knew it just didn't succeed.  [Of course, Disney released Mars Needs Moms under the Disney banner and that was an utter failure at the box office, so maybe they need to re-evaluate things in general.]

Saying that Gnomeo and Juliet doesn't work as a story isn't a knock against the source material.  At its core, the tale of star-crossed lovers pulled apart by their feuding families is successful.  However, taking this very adult story and trying to shoehorn it into a cutesy plot about garden gnomes for kids just doesn't fit.  When you take the family infighting of the Montagues and Capulets and simply turn things into Red Gnomes thinking they have a better garden than the Blue Gnomes, this becomes an animated film that may work fine for kids, but doesn't translate well in the least to adults.

The voice acting is lukewarm at best.  Although everyone was serviceable, James McAvoy and Emily Blunt didn't bring anything exciting or invigorating to the two title characters.  They were simply "Generic British Voices" thrust into the film.

The animation is fairly poor.  While a movie like Toy Story amazingly gave plasticized items a heart and soul, Gnomeo and Juliet doesn't even come close to creating life behind the stony eyes of its characters.  Sure, there were some cute moments, but nothing was really great to look at from a visual level.

When the best part of your film is trying to pick out what Elton John song variation is playing on the film's score ("Oooh, is that a bit of 'The Bitch Is Back?'"  "Hey, isn't that "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word?'"), you know your film's in trouble.  For some reason, Gnomeo and Juliet was a fairly successful venture in theaters, but it's quite a disappointment for anyone over the age of twelve.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

Starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, and John Slattery

Directed by George Nolfi

I've never had any real "connection" to The Twilight Zone.  I didn't watch it in repeats as a kid and, frankly, I've probably only ever seen five episodes at most.  Still, I'm kind of fascinated by the premise and the execution of those said episodes.  The Adjustment Bureau (much like 2009's The Box) certainly has that Twilight Zone-retro feel.  However, despite some decent turns from Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, the whole affair fell amazingly flat and left me clamoring for a better story to go along with the surprisingly effective romance between the two leads.

David Norris (Damon) is running for senator of New York City.  As one of the youngest-ever candidates, he's got the buzz, but unfortunately, he doesn't necessarily garner the respect of the general public and he finds himself losing the election.  While preparing his concession speech in what he believes to be an empty men's room, he meets Elise (Blunt), a free-spirited gal who crashed a wedding at the locale and is hiding out from security.  Nearly immediately, there's a connection between the David and Elise, but they're quickly pulled apart without either being able to give each other their contact information.  

Cut to a couple of months later and, by chance, David meets Elise on a bus as he travels to his new job.  The connection is still there between them and this time the duo exchange numbers.  However, immediately after the meeting, David arrives at his office and stumbles upon a group of mysterious men who work for the equally mysterious Adjustment Bureau which David soon discovers attempt to control nearly every major event that occurs in the world.  Leaving nothing up to Fate or Chance, the hat-wearing members of the Bureau state that David and Elise are not supposed to be together.  While the group attempts to pull the two lovers apart, David desperately tries to stay with the woman he knows he's meant to spend his life with.

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt admirably try to make this film work and the scenes depicting their budding romance are the best part of the movie and a breath of fresh air.  However, any scene dealing with the men of the Adjustment Bureau (including the incredibly wooden acting of Anthony Mackie and John Slattery) is a failure.  The constant exposition in these moments in which the screenwriter (George Nolfi, who is also the director) feels the need to explain everything -- and do so multiple times -- is simply painful.  The repetitive nature makes the film endlessly drag in the middle hour, and while it seemed to be heading towards an edge-of-your-seat ending, the promise of excitement is never delivered.

Two disparate storylines -- one of which works and one which doesn't -- are the downfall of The Adjustment Bureau.  The palpable chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt is charming, but the retro science fiction aspect of the titular group responsible for controlling the lives of everyone is nothing less than an epic failure.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - The Wolfman (2010)

The Wolfman (2010)

Starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Hugo Weaving

Directed by Joe Johnston

When the scariest thing about a monster movie is the eerie sense of foreboding created by a promotional item -- that poster to the right -- you've got a problem.  The 2010 remake of an old-school monster flick The Wolfman just exudes "boring" from every single frame.

The story is simple -- a guy turns into a wolf when there's a full moon and wreaks havoc on a British town.  This version of the film sets up this awkward father-son relationship between Benicio Del Toro's Lawrence and his father John played by Anthony Hopkins.  From the onset, it's absolutely obvious where the film is going with these two characters, and when they reveal the "surprise" secret about midway through, it comes as an enormous letdown. 

The film is certainly not helped by the brooding Del Toro who is so ungodly boring to watch.  It's like watching a heart monitor on flatline -- no emotional ups and downs to his character at all.  Gloominess is all that crossed his face. [That in and of itself really shouldn't be a surprise because I'm not entirely sure Del Toro as an actor can play a role anything other than glumly.]  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Hopkins hams it up in a laughably awful manner.

I understand that an inherent characteristic of gothic horror is to be moody and morose, but there wasn't an ounce of life in this flick which makes it quite a chore to sit through.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

Starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Clifton Collins, Jr., and Jason Spevack

Written by Megan Holley
Directed by Christine Jeffs


Little indie movies always have to work harder for me to enjoy them for some reason. They need to overcome the smaller budget and grainier look with a stellar story. The main storyline of Sunshine Cleaning -- dealing with two sisters who form a business specializing in cleaning up after crime scenes -- is entirely amusing. Unfortunately, it is the secondary plots that cause the movie to falter a bit.

Amy Adams is quickly becoming an actress that I would see in anything. She has a charisma onscreen that is winning and captivating, and as Rose she absolutely becomes the character. Similarly, Emily Blunt as younger sister Norah was Norah...I never felt like I was watching actresses onscreen at all. Steve Zahn and Clifton Collins, Jr., also provided some good supporting work. On the other hand, in the case of Alan Arkin (as the two ladies' father), I couldn't help but think I was watching an actor. Arkin was simply playing the same character he played in Little Miss Sunshine. It certainly didn't help that the subplot surrounding Arkin's Joe trying to find success in various odd business ventures dragged down the movie. I didn't care at all about Joe. The same could be said for the subplot surrounding Lynn (Rajskub) as a woman who Blunt's Norah befriends after the two sisters clean up after the suicide of Lynn's mother. Completely unnecessary, it completely brought the movie to a halt whenever Rajskub was onscreen.

Those subplots are incredibly unfortunate because the general story is a great one and had such comedic potential. The movie was fairly short as it was, but I feel like if it was 30 minutes shorter without the extraneous secondary stories, it could've been a great movie. Unfortunately, it was only an average movie bolstered by winning performance from Amy Adams.

The RyMickey Rating: C+