Ocean's 8

Ocean's 8 (2018)

Starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and James Corden

Directed by Gary Ross

Written by Gary Ross and Olivia Milch

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A group of female criminals team up to steal a $150 million necklace during the annual Met Gala fashion event.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

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 - Cinderella

Cinderella (2015)

Starring Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger, Stellan Skarsgård, Derek Jacobi, and Helena Bonham Carter

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

While director Kenneth Branagh's live action retelling of Cinderella certainly doesn't reinvent Disney's animated film to any great lengths, the story of our title heroine who falls in love with a charming prince while attending a lavish ball is given a little more depth in a screenplay by Chris Weitz that fleshes out the backstories to our title character, her prince, and her evil stepmother.  While this apparent trend of Disney remaking its animated films in live action form is a little worrisome and seemingly lacking in the imagination upon which Walt Disney founded the company, should any forthcoming reboots match the class and charm of this production, the company may win me over.

At the heart of Cinderella is an absolutely lovely performance of Lily James as the title character.  In the film's opening moments, we see how the deaths of her mother and father affect her, shaping her into woman who, despite adversity, still carries on the mission of her parents to be kind and generous to all.  This little bit of extra background makes Cinderella a much more well-rounded character and gives Ms. James a little bit of development to sink her teeth into.  The heartbreaking moments upon hearing of her parents death are handled just as nicely as when James is asked to look in awe upon an opulent ballroom or fall head over heels for a prince she just met.  To me, Lily James is the epitome of what Cinderella should be and she is one of the biggest reasons the film succeeds.

Of course, the counterpoint to Cinderella's kind heart is the conniving nature of her Stepmother played with gusto and on-point scenery chewing by Cate Blanchett.  Also given a bit of backstory, the audience is given the chance to discover why she becomes so nasty to her stepdaughter and this added bit of depth gives at least a little bit of reasoning behind her actions.  Cloaked in some elegant garb, Blanchett snarls and jabs at Cinderella yet still manages to avoid being too cartoonish.

Cartoonish may be a descriptor that could be ascribed to Helena Bonham Carter's Fairy Godmother, but Branagh and Weitz smartly decide to keep her role small, similar to the animated film.  Adding a nice amount of comedic relief in the middle to the film, Carter's quirkiness doesn't overstay its welcome.  We also get a nice turn as well from Richard Madden as the Prince who gets more screen time and more background than nearly any other Disney film prince we've seen before.

In this day and age of modernization and experimental reboots, Kenneth Branagh instead decides to play things old-fashioned -- and there's an unmistakeable charm that accompanies this decision.  Sumptuously designed and elegantly filmed, by eschewing the cynicism we may have come to expect in something like this, Branagh has crafted a rather timeless film in Cinderella that will last through the ages.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger (2013)

Starring Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, and William Fichtner

Directed by Gore Verbinski

The Lone Ranger isn't nearly as bad as its dismal box office numbers last summer would have you believe.  However, it's not very good either.  Director Gore Verbinski of Pirates of the Caribbean fame does know how to solidly lens an action scene and all of The Lone Ranger's souped-up special effects moments really excel, succeeding at not appearing the least bit computer-generated or post-produced.  For that, I give The Lone Ranger much credit.

Unfortunately, the film feels bloated and surprisingly empty on story considering its nearly 150-minute running time.  For a movie called The Lone Ranger, one would think that the title character would take top billing when it comes to story.  But seeing as how Johnny Depp is involved and isn't playing that title character, you know that scene-stealing has to take place on his part...and that's certainly the case here.  Depp is Tonto, the title character's trusty Native American sidekick who is quick with witty retorts and swami-like wisely sage advice.  No matter what he's saying, however, Depp decides to mumble his way through the words much like his Pirates of the Caribbean Captain Jack character only this time without the English accent and with less of a slurred/drunken vibe and more of a stilted/monotone one.

Unlike Depp, Armie Hammer actually has a presence that at least proves charming and watchable as John Reid (who later becomes The Lone Ranger).  His story about avenging some wrongs done to his family plays out in typical western fashion, but Hammer at least is somewhat captivating.  Unfortunately, the film pretends like it cares about him as a character, but really just wants us to place our attention on Tonto and that's just a premise I couldn't get behind.

Like I said above, Verbinski has lensed a nice looking film.  Unfortunately, the script does this one in.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Les Misérables

Les Misérables (2012)

Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit, Isabelle Allen, Daniel Huttlestone, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Helena Bonham Carter

Directed by Tom Hooper

Goodness, there really isn't any modicum of happiness in Les Misérables.  The title is certainly apropos, hinting about the miserable existence of the characters we'll meet, but I still expected maybe a hint of joy.  However, you certainly don't feel uplifted walking out of the film.  That being said, I mean that not as a slight towards Tom Hooper's adaptation of the long-running and tremendously popular musical version of Victor Hugo's lengthy tome.  Many claim that Hooper stole away David Fincher's Best Director Oscar when he triumphed over The Social Network with The King's Speech back in 2010, but my RyMickey Awards crowned Hooper the winner that year and Les Misérables does show that The King's Speech wasn't just a fluke.  More on Hooper later, though...

***Moderate spoilers ahead only if you've lived under a rock during this awards season***

The epic Les Mis is overarchingly the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a man imprisoned for over a decade for stealing a loaf of bread in early nineteenth century France.  When released, Valjean is told that as a parolee he must periodically check in or else face heading back to prison.  Valjean, however, wants to leave his past behind him and manages to find himself a successful businessman running a factory of sorts that employs a bunch of lower income women, one of whom is Fantine (Anne Hathaway).  It is soon discovered that Fantine has a young child which I guess implies she's a whore (although I found myself questioning this whole plotline), throwing the other ladies into a tizzy causing Fantine to be fired and thrown out onto the streets unbeknown to Valjean.  Forced to do whatever she can to provide for her child whom she has sent to live with others, Fantine sells all that she can (her hair, her teeth, and her body) and eventually dies, but not before Valjean meets up with her again and promises her that he will take care of her young child Cosette (Isabelle Allen).

Time passes and Cosette grows up (and is now played by Amanda Seyfried), but Valjean still finds himself constantly on the run from his former captor, Officer Javert (Russell Crowe) who is on a mission to get Valjean back behind bars for breaking his parole.  Every time Javert discovers their location, Valjean and Cosette are forced to move, but when Cosette sees the dashing Marius (Eddie Redmayne) across a crowded street, she instantly falls in love with him (and he with her), wanting to stay with him rather than travel elsewhere with Valjean. Marius is quite politically minded, wishing to overthrow the French government to provide a better environment for the lower classes (or something like that...it's probably a pretty important part of French history that's glossed over in terms of depth here).  We then add Eponine (Samantha Barks) into the mix who secretly loves Marius and also happens to have a connection to Cosette in that Eponine's father and mother (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter) were the ones who watched after young Cosette over a decade before.

Whew...that seems like a lot to take in...and it is.  However, with all that story and character connections, you'd think there'd be more depth and weight to the story.  Unfortunately, the fact that this is a musical takes away a bit of the gravitas that I imagine is present in the novel.  I am certainly someone who appreciates musicals and am definitely aware that most musicals utilize their songs in order to advance the story.  Because of this technique, oftentimes the plot in musicals is simplified, but Les Misérables is a story that shouldn't be simplified.  The songs, while beautiful (though perhaps not as memorable as I expected them to be seeing as how I was not familiar with this musical at all), made this heavy story seem more one-note than it should be.

For the most part, the performances were fairly solid.  Mr. Hooper did a smart thing considering the operatic nature of the piece in having his actors sing live rather than lip sync as is the case in most musicals.  This allows for quite emotional, real, and true moments to be present, best exemplified in Anne Hathaway's showstopping number "I Dreamed a Dream."  Utilizing one long take with the camera focused solely on Fantine, Hathaway won herself the Best Supporting Actress Oscar with a riveting and heartbreaking rendition of the only song I'd heard from this musical prior to watching the film.  For some reason or another, I had never listened to the lyrics clearly enough to comprehend the utter sadness and devastation that Fantine feels while singing this song, but Hathaway made me fully understand the pain of her once hopeful character.

The other standout to me in the ensemble was Eddie Redmayne who has a lovely voice and is also granted a Hathaway/Fantine-like moment at the film's conclusion with "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" as he looks back on the revolution of the lower class and the many friends he lost in the battle.  There is also nice work from West End performer Samantha Barks in her first film role.  Hugh Jackman has been a bit overpraised for his work here, but it was still perfectly acceptable, and, on the other end of the spectrum, Russell Crowe has been a bit too harshly criticized as I thought his gruffer voice suited his part fine.

Tom Hooper has done a nice job filming this operatic musical, but even he is unable to assist the hefty story not coming across with the importance it likely should.  That's just an inherent flaw of the musicalization of a work such as this.  When French Revolution aspects are thrown aside for a love story between characters simply because it suits the music better, there isn't much Hooper can do.  Yes, the film has a murky, grayish-brown quality that does grow a bit tiresome as it heads into hour two, but I fully respected Hooper's hand-held, close-up style that he's actually been taken to task for.  It does allow for the focus to be placed on the characters rather than their surroundings, bringing more emotional power to the songs.  Still, despite some nice music, I can't help but think Les Misérables shouldn't have ever been made into an opera as the story seems to call for much more plot than a simplified musical can allow...then again, millions upon millions of theatergoers will disagree with me on that one.

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Movie Review - Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows (2012)

Starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, and Chloë Grace Moretz

Directed by Tim Burton

Edward Scissorhands.  Ed Wood.  Sleepy Hollow.  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  The Corpse Bride.  Sweeney Todd.  Alice in Wonderland.  With the exception of Sweeney Todd, the pairing of director Tim Burton with his acting stalwart Johnny Depp have almost gotten a bit worse with each progressive film.  While Dark Shadows can't quite compete with the abhorrent trip down the rabbit hole that was their last collaboration, this redo of a 1960s vampire soap opera doesn't quite gel.  I see potential around every corner with the director's latest work, but the odd mix of comedy and horror is never humorous nor scary enough to successfully satisfy the cinematic requirements of either genre.

With an appropriately creepy Gothic prologue, Burton starts things off with a perfectly morose tone.  Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) was the twentysomething son of a wealthy fishing family whose riches were enough to have a town named after them back in the late eighteenth century.  After seducing and then breaking up with the Collins' maid Angelique (Eva Green), it is discovered that the maid was in fact a witch who through her dark sorcery kills Barnabas' parents.  Some time passes and Barnabas falls for the lovely Josette (Bell Heathcote) much to the chagrin of the jealous Angelique who concocts another spell that both kills Josette and turns Barnabas into an immortal vampire whom she then locks in a coffin buried for eternity.

After those first ten minutes, I asked myself why this film had gotten such bad reviews upon its release earlier in the year.  This seemed like it was going to be a nice little creepy flick.  And that's when the tone shifted.  Barnabas' coffin is unearthed in the early 1970s and rather than focus on horror, the next ninety minutes are all about Barnabas being a fish out of water.  A tv?  It's a magic box that must be destroyed.  A McDonald's?  That must be the hang-out of Mephistopheles because of the big 'M' that adorns the sign.  It's not funny written down and it isn't any funnier in the film.  Ultimately, there's some plot about Barnabas needing to save his family's reputation.  Angelique has managed to live for these nearly two centuries and has pushed the Collins family out of the fishing industry in Collinswood by creating her own fishery.  Barnabas will stop at nothing to prevent the witch from casting his family name into the gutters.

The biggest problem here is simply that the film isn't funny.  I didn't laugh once despite Burton trying to balance both comedy and light horror elements.  The two pieces never fit together.  I'm not quite sure why Burton decided to go this route considering that the 60s soap opera was decidedly not comedic (at least in the dozen episodes or so I ventured to watch a few years ago) except to think that he felt it matched his quirky aesthetic a bit better.  Needless to say, he should have dropped the quirk.

Eva Green is the only actor in the cast who fully embraces the humorous aspects of the film.  While I still didn't laugh at anything her character said or did, Green at least attempts to breathe some life into the comedic moments.  Johnny Depp is sleepwalking through the whole thing -- he's not particularly bad, but he certainly brings nothing to the table.  The rest of the cast -- Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloë Moretz -- aren't given any particularly memorable moments so critiquing anything involving them would prove fruitless.

There was some potential in Dark Shadows, but I think Burton's direction (and admittedly the screenwriter's lack of focus on a particular genre) is the film's downfall.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - The King's Speech

The King's Speech (2010)

Starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, and Helena Bonham Carter

Directed by Tom Hooper

Seeing as how I'm posting this review the day before the Oscars and this British period film has already made over $100 million at the box office, I'm sure anybody that wanted to see The King's Speech has seen it already and no review of mine will make a difference.  That said, The King's Speech is a lovely film.  Filled with wit, charm, and wonderful performances, it's easy to see why this connected with an adult audience longing to see smart films.

There's been talk this Oscar season of The King's Speech having "heart," hence it resonating with moviegoers more than The Social Network, and it's a statement that I can't deny.  I did walk out of The Social Network thinking that the whole affair was rather cold and detached, never letting me relate to any of the characters on a level I would have liked.  The King's Speech, however, is "feel-good" and contains characters we want to see succeed.  Don't get me wrong, I don't need my movies to be happy (heck, my number one flick of the year, Blue Valentine, is as depressing as it gets), but I can see where the Academy members give Speech an edge over Network because of the inspiring mood of the former.

Ultimately, I do think The King's Speech is the better movie of the two main contenders and a huge chunk of the reasoning behind that is the performances of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.  Firth is just great as King George VI, thrust into power even though he always found himself in the shadows of his father and brother thanks to his stuttering speech impediment.  Firth's role as a nervous and shy (future) king could've been played much showier which would have been much to the film's detriment.  As it stands now, Firth's rather subdued take on the monarch coupled with Geoffrey Rush's at times both snarky and sympathetic role as speech consultant-cum-psychologist Lionel Logue elevate the film to another level.  Two other men in these roles may have made the film run-of-mill and average, but Firth and Rush together play off of each other so brilliantly.

[I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Helena Bonham Carter as the King's wife.  This is probably the best I've seen Bonham Carter -- absolutely lovely.]

Credit also must go to director Tom Hooper who manages to make a period piece about British royalty not seem stodgy and uptight.  With some clever directorial choices and a surprising ability to keep things moving, Hooper deserves the kudos he's been receiving along the way this Oscar season.  Who would've thunk watching a five-minute speech would've been interesting and exciting?  Not I, but Hooper makes it so.

So, while I wouldn't say I saved the Best Film of 2010 for last, The King's Speech will definitely be a worthy winner of Best Picture should it take the top prize on Sunday night's Oscar telecast.  I, for one, would not be the least bit disappointed with it being victorious.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Movie Review - Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland 3D (2010)

Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, and Mia Wasikowska

Directed by Tim Burton

With a complete lack of whimsy and a rather heavy-handed joyless approach, Tim Burton's re-telling of Alice in Wonderland is just a dull bore.   Thirteen years ago, young Alice "fell down the rabbit hole" and entered the zany Wonderland.  Now, as a nineteen-year-old girl on the verge of womanhood, Alice (a bland Mia Wasikowska) happens to fall down the hole again.  While in Wonderland, she is told by all that she's the land's savior -- for, you see, the evil Queen of Hearts (played with gusto by Helena Bonham Carter) has taken over everything, forcing her sister, The White Queen (Hathaway) to be exiled, and causing some to live in a state of fear.

Yes, the whole premise of any Alice in Wonderland story hinges on "the odd," but it also always has a sense of childhood playfulness.  Everything in Burton's film feels so heavy-handed.  With the exception of the humorously nasty Bonham Carter, every other character feels like they were told to be as blasé as possible.  Mia Wasikowska didn't even seem like she wanted to be there -- not an ounce of emotion.  And the less said about Anne Hathaway the better.

That being said, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum is Johnny Depp who was given free reign to do whatever he damn well pleased and his Mad Hatter is a wreck.  Yes, I get that Depp was playing him as über-crazy and drugged-out, but when your character is so utterly incoherent, it just seems like painful overacting.  And I realize it's just a minor point, but let's not even discuss the Mad Hatter's "dance" at the end of the film (which they had been teasing throughout the movie) -- what an awful scene.

Granted, I've never been a big fan of any Alice in Wonderland tale, but everything about Burton's version seemed so utterly dark and joyless.  If you wanted to go that route, go all-out depressing (or even veer into the horror genre or something).  As it stands now, Burton's version is a dud.

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, and Jim Broadbent
Written by Steve Kloves
Directed by David Yates

The Potter movies have never been my cup of tea. My favorite (if you could even use that term) was Prisoner of Azkaban, and I didn't even think that one was better than average. I never made it through more than two of the books, either, so they hold no special place in my heart. So, I wasn't expecting a ton from this sixth movie. And, while it wasn't anything to necessarily rave about, it was definitely the best of the series.

Part of the reason for the winning nature of this flick is David Yates' direction and Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography. The film looks rich and decadent and there were some scenes that really did look beautiful. The muted tones and colors really create an eerie atmosphere, despite the fact that this seems to be the most lighthearted of all the Potter flicks.

It's that lighthearted nature that brings the movie down a bit. It's not that I didn't enjoy the high school melodramatic romances that are going on in this movie, but at 2 hours 45 minutes, I could've done with a ton less of the love triangle of Ron-Hermione-and some other chick. Once again, not like this aspect was bad, but it all just seems like filler...and then, when the really important stuff starts to happen, it feels like it's compacted within the last 20 minutes. Now, this could be what the book is like, too, but it doesn't make it good.

Still, despite my issues with the (lack of) plot, there are some winning performances here. Michael Gambon as Dumbledore is a treat to watch. I also love Alan Rickman's Snape...so utterly nasty that you can't help but love him. The best performance here is from Jim Broadbent. His dim-witted Professor Slughorn is great...a treat whenever he's onscreen. All the kid actors (who aren't really kids anymore) have come a tremendously long way since the first flick, particularly Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. If anyone still needs to work on their acting chops, it's the title character. Mr. Radcliffe is perfectly adequate, but he's such a dud onscreen. This could be an innate problem with the character, but Radcliffe's Potter is just boring.

So, overall, I'm pleasantly surprised with this Potter flick. It's still nothing excellent, but I have hopes that director David Yates can continue the improvements he made in this sixth film in the upcoming two-part finale to the series.

The RyMickey Rating: B-