Movie Review - Pompeii

Pompeii (2014)

Starring Kit Harrington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica Lucas, Jared Harris, and Kiefer Sutherland

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

Your guess is as good as mine as to why I watched the special effects disaster that is Pompeii.  I'm sure there's an interesting story dealing with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the desolation of the titular city in A.D. 79 -- it just isn't told here.  Instead, director Paul W.S. Anderson has created a film that looks like a horrible, cheap video game with hammy acting that rivals some of the worst you've seen in a major motion picture.  (Kiefer Sutherland chewing the scenery as the film's "baddie" and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's stilted spoutings as a "righteous slave" are equally bad.)  Tossing in an awkward romance between a slave and a member of royalty doesn't help matters either.  The fact that this was released in theaters and not straight-to-dvd is unfathomable to me.

The RyMickey Rating:  F

Movie Review - Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty (2011)

Starring Emily Browning and Rachael Blake

Directed by Julia Leigh

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

To the parent who accidentally rents this Sleeping Beauty instead of this one, good luck explaining to your kids what they're inadvertently watching.  This 2011 version of the tale has nothing to do with that classic French fairy tale about a girl who accidentally pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls asleep.  Granted, "pricks" are still prevalent in this tale, but the definition of that word is slightly different. [Too risqué, there?  If that "joke" turns you off, though, this movie is certainly not for you.]

Right off the bat, I need to say that I have no clue what this movie is trying to say.  I think it's probably some feminist-skewed morality tale about a chick who after falling into an odd form of prostitution comes to the realization that she's a better person than she gives herself credit for, but I'm really just grasping for straws to even come up with that.  Still, despite not having a clue as to what I was watching, I can't say I was bored (although there were certainly stretches that tested my patience).  I only wish there was a bit more of a complete thought in the midst of the vagueness depicted onscreen.

Emily Browning is Lucy, a college student in Australia struggling to make ends meet by working multiple jobs.  Right off the bat, we're aware that Lucy is "sexually adventurous" as she heads into a bar and sleeps with a man with whom she's known for less than five minutes.  Still, that doesn't quite prepare us in the audience for when Lucy takes a job at what is essentially an upscale escort service catering to people with odd sexual desires.  While the "madam" of the service (played by Rachael Blake) insists that "no penetration" will be allowed in the situations into which she places Lucy, the young woman is still subjected to some very odd sexual situations that (maybe?) eventually awaken her to what exactly she is putting herself through.  Still, despite being all about sex, there's a lack of titillation on display in Sleeping Beauty...rather, we find ourselves nervous for Lucy rather than being excited by her exploits.

Kudos to Emily Browning for being brave enough to be completely nude for quite a lot of the movie.  However, the film fails miserably at letting us get any glimpse into how Lucy truly feels for using her body in order to make a living.  Lucy is rather one-note and it's a character that screams for multi-dimensionalism.  This lack of any depth oftentimes makes Browning appear dry and bland, but I can't help but think that's more the fault of the script and direction (both by first-timer Julia Leigh) than Browning (although I will say that Ms. Browning has yet to really showcase herself in any role I've seen her in at this point, lacking that charisma oftentimes needed to carry a film).

While there are certainly problems with Sleeping Beauty, I was moderately intrigued by the whole thing.  Sure, I don't know what I was supposed to get out of it and it's certainly one of the oddest movies of 2011, but it manages to at least be different enough to be interesting.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch (2011)

Starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Oscar Isaac, Scott Glenn, and Carla Gugino 

Directed by Zack Snyder

Zack Snyder is the King of Style over Substance.  From 300 to Watchmen, Snyder finds a way to make stories seem pointless while transporting viewers into video game-reminiscent settings complete with a pulsing soundtrack. [Note:  This is coming from someone who actually didn't mind Watchmen.]  Sucker Punch is really no exception to the above characteristics and his stylized direction has worn out its welcome (if it was ever welcome to begin with).

In his latest assault on the senses, Snyder introduces us to Baby Doll (Emily Browning) who finds herself being forced into a mental institution after she accidentally kills her younger sister while trying to save her from their evil sexually abusive stepfather.  Unfortunately, after the surprisingly promising and genuinely exciting opening moments, things fall apart.  While in the institution, Baby Doll dreams that she, her fellow inmates, and all of the doctors work at a brothel.  Mirroring her thoughts in the loony bin, Baby Doll tries to rally her fellow hookers into escaping the clutches of the evil owner Blue (Oscar Isaac).  In order to do that, Baby Doll performs some sultry, sexy dance (which we the viewer never see) that puts all men into some sort of trance, thus allowing Baby Doll and her friends to steal the necessary supplies to bolt.

But wait...that's not all.  Instead of seeing Baby Doll dance, we go into her mind and see what she is imagining while she shakes her moneymaker.  And what she sees apparently is a war going on between her ladyfriends and Nazis, dragons, and futuristic robots.  It's these moments in particular (which take up at least half the film) that grow ridiculously repetitive and ultimately wreck Sucker Punch.  While I completely understand that none of these epically shot fight sequences are supposed to seem "real" since they're all occurring within Baby Doll's imagination, I couldn't help but think that the video game commercials I saw on the Blu-Ray prior to the film starting had better aesthetics and graphics.  Everything in these sequences (and the whole movie for that matter) is so washed out and hued in grays and browns that nothing is pleasing to the eye.  [This is a consistent problem for Snyder...for a guy that loves visuals so much, he manages to create worlds that are completely devoid of luminosity and appeal.]

While all of the ladies in the flick are certainly attractive, some -- Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone -- fare better than others -- Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung -- in the acting department.  Rather oddly, as the film's main character, Emily Browning is given absolutely nothing to do with her role.  She barely speaks and finds herself being told to stare blankly at things more often than not.  And the less said about Carla Gugino forcing out some laughable German or Austrian accent the better.

Not that I was ever on the Zack Snyder bandwagon, but Sucker Punch certainly knocked me off of it.  This writer-director needs to shake things up a bit and actually create a story that's worth telling and craft visuals to go with it that don't look so cheap.

The RyMickey Rating:  D