It: Chapter Two

It: Chapter Two (2019) 

Starring Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, and Bill Skarsgård

Directed by Andy Muschietti

Written by Gary Dauberman

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:

Molly's Game

Molly's Game (2017)

Starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp, and Brian D'arcy James

Directed by Aaron Sorkin

Written by Aaron Sorkin

Summary (in 500 words or less):  The true story of Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) who runs an underground poker ring after a failed Olympic mogul skiing career.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Movie Review - Miss Sloane

Miss Sloane (2016)

Starring Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alison Pill, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jake Lacy, David Wilson Barnes, Dylan Baker, Christine Baranski, Sam Waterston, and John Lithgow

Directed by John Madden

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

There's certainly an undeniable anti-gun tone that squirms its way through Miss Sloane, a seedy look at the art of lobbying in Washington, D.C., but even this conservative is okay with that as I tend to agree that we need some greater from of oversight when it comes to our firearms in this country.  So while I was personally able to look beyond the slant, others may be less inclined.  With that in mind, Miss Sloane does take us inside the cutthroat world of lobbying, but it's a tad too emotionally detaching to really succeed at sucking me in.

That lack of emotional connection comes from the sheer brittleness of its headstrong, ballsy, and determined titular character Elizabeth Sloane played by Jessica Chastain.  Sloane is emotionally attached only to her job -- every relationship is sidelined, every waking minute is spent trying to advance what she's lobbying for at the moment.  Chastain is an actress who has the strength to take on a role like this -- a role where emotions are waylaid for gritty steadfastness.  Yet, as is the case with many of Chastain's roles, the lack of warmth in the character of Miss Sloane makes it almost difficult to really become invested.  Chastain is always an admirable performer, but the brittleness she brings to Miss Sloane is a bit disarming and admittedly harmed the film a bit for me.

(Sidetrack:  Would I say this about a male in this role?  Is it unfair that I make this comment about a female performance?  Maybe it's time to be a bit introspective, because I'm honestly not sure.  Do I need a female lead to have a more emotionally resonant character because I'm used to females being a little more emotional onscreen?)

That isn't to say that Chastain isn't successful in creating an interesting character -- she, along with Jonathan Perera's screenplay do just that.  The problem is that Perera's screenplay has one too many manipulations and oneupmanships by Sloane and her adversaries to really feel truly believable despite a game cast doing their best.  Sure, I'm certain underhandedness runs rampant throughout our nation's capitol, but that doesn't mean it always translates into a believable cinematic experience.  There's a convoluted nature to the film that director John Madden isn't able to wrangle and the flick suffers from a lack of brevity.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak (2015)

Starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Gorgeous to look upon, Guillermo del Toro's gothic horror flick Crimson Peak is sumptuously designed, but considering its ominous appearance, it disappoints by neglecting to create suspense or elicit any sense of dread or fear that should accompany a film like this.  With some of the actors seemingly told to amp up the camp factor, Crimson Peak ends up being a film that had potential, but doesn't achieve what it sets out to accomplish.

Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is a young American woman with dreams of becoming a great author someday.  When British entrepreneur Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain) visit Edith's father Carter (Jim Beaver) in Buffalo, New York, in order to try and secure money for a clay-mining tool, Edith is drawn to Thomas's mysterious demeanor.  Carter senses something off with the Sharpes and forbids Edith to start a relationship with Thomas.  However, when tragic circumstances arise, Edith ends up marrying Thomas and travels to England to the Sharpes' huge, though run-down estate Allerdale Hall.  Unfortunately for Edith, Thomas and Lucille may be hiding some deep secrets from their new family member, the least of which being that Allerdale Hall may be haunted with ghosts of the Sharpe family's past.

From the outset, Crimson Peak excels in all areas related to design with larger than life, though realistically detailed sets by Tom Sanders and luxuriously extravagant costumes by Kate Hawley (both overlooked by the Academy last year).  However, once one moves beyond the way things look, the film feels empty and fails to deliver on its promise of suspense.  Director and co-writer del Toro can't maintain tension via his story and direction, and considering the foreboding production design it's disappointing that the gothic nature of the horror aspect of the tale falls flat.

While Tom Hiddleston plays things relatively straight, Mia Wasikowska's Edith is too much of a blank, emotionless slate to really carry the film on her shoulders.  Jessica Chastain fares worse, however, as she almost laughably chews up the scenery with her character's chilly vibe.  Some may find her role a bright spot in the film, but I found her performance misplaced amongst the rest of the cast as if she was acting in a different movie than everyone else.  Yes, her portrayal feels very old school 1940s film-esque, but it just doesn't mesh with everything else.  The lack of cohesiveness in the performances is certainly mirrored in the lack of del Toro's ability to amp of the drama and suspense in a film that so desperately requires that tension to exist.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - The Martian

The Martian (2015)

Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, and Chiwetel Ejiofor

Directed by Ridley Scott

A huge success this fall, I avoided The Martian until the final week it was in theaters (heck, it's being released on Blu-Ray in less than a month) because of a lengthier running time in a genre that I don't dislike but isn't particularly my favorite.  Science fiction flicks oftentimes feel so heavily bogged down with jargon or "deep thinking" that they just don't seem fun.  (I'm talking to you, Interstellar - a film that I didn't mind, but at times felt like a chore to watch.)  While The Martian certainly has hefty scientific details running through it, director Ridley Scott's film is surprisingly witty, full of some charming performances, and has a story that is briskly paced and immensely enjoyable.

Matt Damon is, for all intents and purposes, the title character.  In 2035, botanist Mark Watney is left behind on Mars by the crew of the Ares III after he is struck by debris during a gigantic dust storm and unable to be found.  All indications according to the life support systems in Mark's suit point to him being dead so the crew (Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, and Aksel Hennie) -- forced to make a difficult decision as the huge storm will soon make their ship unable to function -- start their three year journey home saddened for Mark's apparent death.  After the storm dissipates, Mark wakes up to find his suit impaled by an antenna which took out his biometer, but also, when mixed with Mark's blood, formed a seal on the suit keeping Mark alive.  Mark returns to the Mars astronaut base and begins to analyze his next moves.  Unable to communicate with Earth, Mark figures out a variety of ingenious ways to keep himself alive in hopes that at some point, he'll be able to get back in touch with NASA.

Meanwhile on Earth, satellite analyst Mindy Park (Mackenzie Davis) notices that there is movement on Mars in the area where the Ares crew lived while on the planet and determines that Mark is actually alive.  She immediately informs NASA director Teddy Sanders, NASA media relations head Annie Montrose, and Mars mission director Vincent Kapoor (respectively Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, and Chiwetel Ejiofor) and plans are put into place to attempt to get Mark back.

Undoubtedly, The Martian is one of director Ridley Scott's best films -- and certainly his best in over a decade.  Quite frankly, I'm amazed at how involved I found myself in the story.  While not as solitary as a film like Cast Away in which Tom Hanks was essentially the only character onscreen, for huge portions of The Martian Matt Damon is the only actor onscreen.  Rather cleverly, screenwriter Drew Goddard has crafted a device where he has Mark talk to a computer screen in a video diary-type set-up which allows the audience to get into Mark's head and allows for quite a few comedic moments as Mark contemplates how to survive.  Combined, Scott's direction and Goddard's script keep things moving at an incredibly solid and tremendously surprising clip, creating a film that's hugely pleasant to watch.

While I certainly don't have anything against the actor, Matt Damon has never been a favorite of mine, but I must admit that the actor is quite captivating here.  There's a charm he brings to Mark that's intensely watchable, handling the humor and drama quite well and balancing both with ease.  The rest of the cast is also quite solid with not a bad egg in the bunch, but even though folks like Jeff Daniels and Chiwetel Ejiofor figure in quite a bit story-wise, this is really Damon's film and he holds our interest much more than I ever thought he would.

Admittedly, the film's big set piece that makes up the conclusion seems a little far-fetched, but despite the ridiculousness of it, I still found the denouement quite compelling and excitingly lensed.  Quite honestly, though, what's most intriguing about The Martian is how the science of what keeps Mark alive is placed so squarely front and center and seems shockingly plausible (with the exception of that seemingly ludicrous conclusion).  Not only is The Martian funny, but it's also surprisingly smart...and somehow it's still enjoyable.  Kudos to the entire team behind this one as I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one nearly as much as I did.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - A Most Violent Year

A Most Violent Year (2014)

Starring Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Elyes Gabel, and Albert Brooks 

Directed by J.C. Chandor

I must say off the bat that A Most Violent Year is a different movie than I was expecting.  For some reason, I had this notion that it was going to be about this corrupt guy and his attempts to get to the top of his game by any means necessary.  While it's certainly about a business owner striving to succeed, he's a man of character (though not without some major flaws) and his struggles are met with perseverance.

That isn't to say that A Most Violent Year is a film that's all sunshine and lollipops.  Far from it.  It's New York City.  1981.  Abel Morris (Oscar Isaac) is an immigrant who came to the US and found success in the home heating oil industry.  He married the boss's daughter Anna (Jessica Chastain) and eventually inherited the business where he's had moderate success.  Abel desires to expand and while in the midst of placing a down payment on a huge tract of land next to the ocean that will allow him easy access to oil rigs as well as tons of storage capacity, he finds himself under investigation by the authorities (led by David Oyelowo) for fraud.  On top of that, someone is terrorizing his oil truck drivers by hijacking the vehicles and stealing the oil inside of them.  Things are looking shaky for Abel who always felt he did the "right" thing and attempted to take the high ground.  Will he stoop lower in order to save his family business?  His lawyer (Albert Brooks) and his wife think he may have to, but Abel questions if that's the way he wants to earn a living.

I continue to make Abel sound a bit too perfect in that summary and it should be known that he's not an angel.  There's a grit and determination in his demeanor brought to realization by Oscar Isaac that is absolutely palpable.  He's matched onscreen by Jessica Chastain whose performance is surprisingly layered.  Seemingly the Lady Macbeth to Abel's moldable and impressionable "king," Anna definitely will do what is necessary in order for her family to survive, however, she also has limits to how far she's willing to stoop.  The question is can her biting demeanor cause enough tension amongst her enemies to make a difference.

J.C. Chandor's three directorial efforts have all shown much capability in directing actors and this film continues that trend.  While many praised 2013's All is Lost, I found it lacking a bit in terms of character development.  Granted, that film focused squarely on one person, but it still was a bit of a let down.  In A Most Violent Year, Chandor takes on the grander scale of a family and makes it feel soap operatic and intimate at the same time, while also placing the film squarely in the time period of the early 1980s -- a tricky tone to land, but one that is necessary for a film of this ilk which feels almost gangster-y and an ode to the Coppola and Friedkin films of the 1970s.  This is Chandor's best work yet on the page and on the screen and I look forward to his next venture in the years to come.

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 - The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014)

Starring Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Nina Arianda, Viola Davis, Bill Hader, Ciarán Hinds, Isabelle Huppert, and William Hurt

Directed by Ned Benson

I can't deny that The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them teeters on slow-paced boredom at many times throughout its run time.  However, at its heart is an interesting glimpse at how one married couple deals with a horrible tragedy.  After being ripped apart as they find the need to deal with the aftermath in different ways, can they ever be reunited in love?  However, rather than place a large amount of emphasis on the tragedy (which is admittedly mentioned only in passing a few times and only takes center stage in one quiet, yet power-packed scene), first-time director and screenwriter Ned Benson instead pushes his lens into the depth of what pulls apart and pushes together a couple that cares deeply for one another.

Interestingly enough, the entire summary of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them is pretty much encapsulated in that opening paragraph.  As we get to know Eleanor and Conor (Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy), we realize that the couple who seemed so lovingly enraptured with one another in the film's opening scene have suddenly been torn apart by the time scene #2 rolls around.  There's a lot of quiet contemplation and friends and family try to help both deal with the estrangement, but the film is really about time for reflection -- for determining what is really wanted from life.  Chastain and McAvoy are both quite good in a film that's all about their relationship but features less than five scenes with them actually together.  It's an interesting concept that doesn't quite come together, but it certainly isn't for lack of trying on the actors' part.

It's the slow burn of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them that brings the thing down a bit.  I'm all for a slower pace in romantic films as it allows us to further get to know the characters, but here the heaviness of the proceedings start to wear on the process about halfway through.  Ned Benson's concept behind The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is actually quite an interesting one.  He actually made two films -- The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her.  Both were released in theaters in sort of a double feature, with Him obviously focusing on Conor's reactions to their relationship and Her concerning itself with Eleanor.  To be somewhat commercially viable, Benson created Them which clocks in at two hours -- about an hour and ten minutes less than Him and Her combined.  With the pacing of Them being what it is, I'll admit that I'm not quite sure I'd have been able to handle a viewing of Him and Her.  Once again, this isn't a bad film by any means, but it's just a bit too heavy to be enjoyable.  

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Mama

Mama (2013)

Starring Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, and Daniel Kash

Directed by Andy Muschietti

I had heard some good stuff about Mama, a film that came out at the height of Oscar season and was buzzed about because Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain was making an appearance in a "lowly" horror movie.  Well, Mama is okay, but I think Chastain's appearance in it raised its actual worth in most critics' eyes...but not this critic.

Following some horrible financial/stock market crash, a distraught guy Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) kills his business partners and wife and then runs away with his two young daughters.  After their car crashes on a snowy road, Jeffrey takes his two girls into a deserted cabin he finds in the woods.  However, inside this cabin a spiritual entity resides, killing Jeffrey when he attempts to shoot his young girls before turning the gun on himself.

Five years pass and Jeffrey's brother Lucas (also played by Headhunters' Coster-Waldau) has never given up on finding his nieces Victoria and Lilly (Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nélisse) and, because of his relentless effort, the two are found living seemingly alone in the same isolated cabin to which their father took them a half decade ago.  Victoria and Lilly move in with Lucas and his wife Annabel (Chastain), a guitar player in a punk band who has to give up her lifestyle in order to help her husband with the new additions to their family.  Victoria and Lilly don't adapt to the new lifestyle very easily.  In fact, they constantly act as if someone named Mama is always around.  While Lucas, Annabel, and the child's psychiatrist seem to think Mama is just a figment of the girls' imaginations -- a person they formulated to help them make it through the five years in which they were abandoned -- perhaps Mama is more than that.

Mama is nicely shot and contains a few clever camera techniques that elevate it beyond your typical horror film.  Debut director Andy Muschietti certainly doesn't embarrass himself in that department.  However, his debut script does leave a lot to be desired.  For some reason, the film just never felt tense or scary to me.  Granted, I don't think the film was ever trying for those clichéd "jump scares" (at least not often), but if it was attempting to build tension through overall eeriness like a good ghost story should, it never achieved that either.  One of the biggest reasons for this is the disappointing special effects of Mama herself.  There's a cartooniness to her and her movements that never rang realistic (or as "realistic" as a ghost can get) and that certainly doesn't aid in making her a scary specter.

While it's true that Chastain puts in a solid performance here and likely elevates Mama a bit more than another actress might've been able, she's not given a ton to work with in terms of a character.  Perhaps writer-director Muschietti should've kept Mama in its original form as a short film as I'm not quite sure the story was adequate enough to stretch the creepiness out over 95 minutes.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Lawless

Lawless (2012)

Starring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Dane DeHaan, and Guy Pearce

Directed by John Hillcoat

Although based on the true story of the three Bondurant brothers who, in the midst of early 1930s Prohibition, ran a very profitable moonshine business in a small Virginia county, Lawless is one of those films that you watch and simply ponder why it was brought to the big screen.  Why was this tale deemed exciting enough to be told?  And if it was worth retelling, what went wrong in its adaptation to the cinematic form?  Because, unfortunately, not much went right in this bland and boring flick directed by John Hillcoat (who also brought us the lukewarm The Road, a film which in retrospect I feel I overrated back in 2009).

Jack, Forrest, and Howard Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke, respectively) are known throughout Franklin County, Virginia, for creating some of the best moonshine around.  Selling to the local cops, they seemingly have it made until a bigwig Special Agent from Chicago, Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce, overacting to the point of laughable ridiculousness), comes to the county and demands a share of their profits in order to allow them to continue their illegal shenanigans.  Well, the Bondurants don't want anything to do with that and their refusal leads to some violent outbursts from folks on both sides of the law.

When Lawless gets violent, there's actually some life in the story, but whenever there isn't a gun firing or a fist making the most out of hitting someone's face this is one of the most boring films released in 2012.  John Hillcoat is tasked with directing a misguided screenplay by Nick Cave that meanders all over the place.  Neither the director nor the screenwriter are able to reel in the story and give us the necessary dramatic ebb and flow to create a decent film.

Although I think Shia LaBeouf is obnoxious offscreen, I must admit that he's the best part of Lawless by far.  His scenes are the only ones worth watching and the only ones that have any modicum of life breathed into them.  Even the ridiculous romantic subplot he's shouldered with involving his character's fascination with an über-religious young gal (Mia Wasikowska) is better than it deserves to be because of his presence.  Unfortunately, when the film isn't in LaBeouf's hands, yawns are induced. Tom Hardy follows up his Dark Knight Rises mumblings with an even more incoherent performance here.  Seriously, open up your frickin' mouth when you talk, dude!  I liked you in Warrior and Bronson, but this marble-mouthed inarticulation is getting old.  And poor Jessica Chastain is just wasted here with nary a single character trait or meaningful plot point applied to her role as a former stripper with a heart of gold.

Even her unnecessary nudity couldn't save this one.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Reda Kateb, Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, and James Gandolfini

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

It is an inevitability that people are going to compare director Kathryn Bigelow's Afghanistan and Pakistan-based Zero Dark Thirty with her fantastic Best Picture-winning Iraq-centric The Hurt Locker.  Whether that is a fair comparison or not, I'm not going to say, but Ms. Bigelow (and her reunited screenwriter Mark Boal) doesn't stretch much from her comfort zone of Middle Eastern-set war movies.  With such a powerful first glance at this landscape a few years ago, hopes were set high for Zero Dark Thirty and unfortunately it's simply not as good as her previous effort.

In my Hurt Locker review, I stated that the film contained "edge-of-your-seat excitement" and I know many would scoff at that remark thinking that the film actually moved at a rather slow pace.  Somehow, though, Bigelow managed to achieve great amounts of tension for me despite deliberately pacing the film.  In Zero Dark Thirty, the pacing is still slowly deliberate, but the tension simply isn't there.  Is it because we already know the result in that Osama bin Laden is killed?  I think that's part of the issue, but not the sole problem.

The film is slowly building for nearly two hours to the invasion of bin Laden's hideaway in Pakistan and while there are moments along the way that create tension, Bigelow isn't able to create a steady escalation which, in retrospect, almost makes the bin Laden raid (which is shown rather interestingly in an almost first person-"you are one of the soldiers" style of filmmaking) a bit of a letdown.  For the entirety of the movie, we watch as CIA agent Maya (Jessica Chastain) fights her superiors on almost every step of the way in the hunt for the terrorist leader.  The movie is much more about the character of Maya and her struggles, and, to be quite honest, I never found myself caring about her.  It doesn't help that the script gives Chastain nothing to work with.  She's told to be averse to torture at first, but then slowly come around to embracing it.  She's told to look steadfast and resolute at all times.  She's told to be strong and not break down.  She's told to never waver in her desire to catch bin Laden and her belief that she is right in terms of his location.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm thrilled that this woman existed in real life (although I've read that "Maya" isn't based on any one specific person, but is an amalgamation of several), but I'm not quite sure this is a character to build a movie around.  The character is such a one-note figure only doing what the film's plot requires of her rather than actually having her own journey and I feel that this is another key reason why the film isn't quite a success.

Zero Dark Thirty isn't a bad film.  The story certainly kept me interested and despite my issues with the film, Bigelow is still a better director than most out there (and Mark Boal's screenplay is still a smart adult drama albeit with some problems).  Perhaps it's unfair to compare a film like this to Bigelow and Boal's earlier work, but as I said above, I think it's inevitable, and Zero Dark Thirty just comes out significantly below their fantastic collaboration in The Hurt Locker.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Coriolanus

Coriolanus (2011)

Starring Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Jessica Chastain, Brian Cox, and Vanessa Redgrave

Directed by Ralph Fiennes

Shakespeare.  Right off the bat, uttering that word limits the marketplace for Coriolanus, the directorial debut of Ralph Fiennes.  The knowledge that Fiennes decided to keep the old world dialog in tact narrows the audience even further.  And choosing a play of the Bard's that no one in the world is familiar with is sort of the last straw.  Fortunately for Fiennes, the update of the work to modern times helps alleviate some of the marketable problems with a film like this, but in the end, there may very well be a reason this is one of Shakespeare's least performed works.

It's not that what is onscreen in this adaptation is bad by any means, but the story itself lacks depth.  Fiennes is the title character, a Roman soldier who has succeeded in helping his country in many of their battles.  However, he's not loved by the people and when he attempts to make his way into politics, the public tosses him out of the country forcing Coriolanus to befriend his biggest enemy, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), a general in the Volscian army.  The two men team up to wage war on Rome and its people and regain control.

Ultimately, Shakespeare has crafted a solid beginning and a good (though not great) conclusion, but the work suffers greatly in the middle.  Perhaps it wasn't explained well enough in this version, but I never understood (or cared, for that matter) why the Roman people had such a huge problem with Coriolanus.  Somewhere in there, we discover that Coriolanus despises the concept of "public rule" and the right of citizens to elect their representatives -- at least I think that's what happens -- but that never really seemed like enough of a reason (especially considering the film was updated to current times) to toss a guy out of the country.  Because of this awkward and "under-explained" middle, I found myself lost and losing interest quite a bit.

It's no fault of the actors as everyone is very good.  Fiennes is tough and nasty and makes a solid "action star" which this role almost requires of him.  Butler is fine as well, although his character really isn't given a whole lot to do.  Even in the final act when Coriolanus teams up with Aufidius, Butler's character almost seemed to be simply a higher paid, glorified extra more than anything else.  Vanessa Redgrave got a lot of praise for her role as the demanding and almost Oedipal mother of Coriolanus and it is deserved.  She's strong, forceful, and quite a presence, and the Shakespearean words roll off her tongue effortlessly.

While I've criticized the movie a bit, it's certainly an interesting look at a very underseen and underperformed play of William Shakespeare's and for that reason alone, this is worth a watch.  Ralph Fiennes certainly doesn't skimp on the violence and he has rather slyly turned this into an action film with Old English dialog.  Unfortunately, I just don't think the play's all that good to begin with which hinders what can be done with it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Texas Killing Fields

Texas Killing Fields (2011)

Starring Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Jessica Chastain

Directed by Ami Canaan Mann

Admittedly, I only watched Texas Killing Fields because 2011 was the year of Jessica Chastain and I figured I'd give as many movies of hers a shot that I could.  Good Lord...not only was this the worst of the five Chastain movies I've seen thus far, but this is one of the worst movies released last year period.  Weaving a tale about a series of unsolved murders in Texas City, Texas (apparently based loosely on true events), Texas Killing Fields focuses on three cops -- Sam Worthington with a sometimes unintelligible mumbling country accent, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a cop with a conscience, and Jessica Chastain as the stereotypical take-no-prisoners tough as nails female officer -- and their investigation into the killings.  Along the way, various storylines are thrown at us that have no discernible connections, manage to bog down the movie with a heaviness and emotional emptiness the likes of which I haven't seen in a movie last year, and fail to come together at the conclusion in any satisfying manner.

Director Ami Canaan Mann (daughter of director Michael Mann) is no whiz behind the camera.  The film looks alright, but the pacing is so mind-numbingly boring and the movie is so choppily edited that while it seemed to be in chronological order, it very well may have been told in some oddly spliced together manner because, quite frankly, scenes failed to make any sense when placed next to one another.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - Take Shelter

Take Shelter (2011)

Starring Michel Shannon and Jessica Chastain

Directed by Jeff Nichols

I appreciate a slow-moving drama every now and then.  One that takes its time to depict its characters and slowly roll out its key plot points.  That said, moreso than other flicks, I've got to be in the mood to watch a movie that is methodically paced.  Last year's Meek's Cutoff comes to mind as a movie that fits this description -- the pace was slow as could be and I venture to guess that had I watched it on another day, I may have despised the film.  Take Shelter falls into the same category of slow-paced, character-driven dramas and, admittedly, I stopped watching after twenty-five minutes because I wasn't connecting with the piece at all.  However, once I resumed the film two days later, I found myself intrigued by the interesting character study on display...but still fully cognizant of the fact that this two hour movie was stretched a bit too thin for its story.

Michael Shannon plays Curtis LaForche, a loving husband and father, who is holding down a decent construction job that will provide the health insurance needed to have an operation to help his hard-of-hearing young daughter.  However, seemingly out of the blue, Curtis begins having horrific nightmares that begin affecting his ability to function while he's awake.  He begins to have premonitions of a storm of near-biblical proportions and sets out to build a storm shelter to keep his wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and daughter safe.  Soon, Curtis finds himself living in a constant paranoid state which makes him anxiously nervous considering the fact that his mother was diagnosed as a schizophrenic at the same age as Curtis is now.

Rather effectively, Take Shelter is both a character piece and a horror film.  In terms of the former, we follow Curtis (Michael Shannon is in every scene) and watch his slow, rather devastating, slippage into possible mental illness.  In terms of the latter, this is a "horror" film only in that there is a palpable amount of tension built by director and screenwriter Jeff Nichols, forcing the audience to question whether Curtis is in fact going insane and, if he indeed is, what type of damage he will cause to those he loves.  By showing us Curtis's dreams and then the aftereffects, Mr. Nichols creates an ominous tone that permeates the entire film and, as the film neared its conclusion, I was legitimately on the edge of my seat wondering which way the flick was going to turn.

Michael Shannon is fantastic and, although I don't know how my Best Actor nominations will turn out when I tackle them in the annual RyMickey Awards in May as that seems to be a strong category for me this year, he was robbed of the buzz that he rightly deserved in the months leading up to the Oscars.  I'm surprised more critic organizations didn't extol his forceful and intense performance.  Once his nightmares begin to rear their ugly heads, he became a scary guy that seemingly could come unhinged at the drop of a hat.  Additionally, Jessica Chastain has more than proven herself in 2011 and is very nice and understated here.  Although her role certainly isn't given as much depth or screen time as Shannon's, she still manages to be quietly powerful in the film's final scenes which proves that she made an impact on me as the movie progressed despite playing things subdued and under the radar.

Take Shelter is a nice film -- given an R rating only for one scene of language -- that if only it had been trimmed down a tad would've been a great film.  Still, it's one worth renting as a good psychological tension-filled drama with a great performance from Michael Shannon.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Debt

The Debt (2011)

Starring Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Jesper Christensen, Marton Csokas, Ciarán Hinds, and Tom Wilkinson

Directed by John Madden

Despite liking the overall premise and enjoying the acting, something didn't quite click with me after watching The Debt.  I think, ultimately, the "payoff" doesn't quite measure up to the "build-up" and that's always a bit of a disappointment.  Plus, an oddly underdeveloped romantic subplot thrown into the mix doesn't do anything to increase the tension despite attempting to do just that.

The film jumps back and forth between two time periods.  In 1965, we meet the twentysomething Rachel, Stephen, and David (played by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington) -- young Israeli government agents sent to East Berlin to kidnap the infamous Doktor Bernhardt (Jesper Christensen), the Surgeon of Birkenau known for performing heinous medical experiments on Jews during WWII.  Ideally, the trio will be bringing back Bernhardt to Israel to stand trial for his crimes.  Needless to say, entanglements inevitably arise putting a damper on those plans.

In 1997, we are introduced to the elder Rachel, Stephen, and David (played by Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, and Ciarán Hinds).  Thirty years have passed and the group has been celebrated as heroes for decades thanks to their work involving the horrible doctor.  However, the three former agents harbor a great secret known only to the trio and no one else...or so they thought.  When the truth behind their secret runs the risk of being revealed, it may be time for the now senior citizen former agents to head back into the dangerous world of espionage.

As I mentioned, the premise is altogether promising and enjoyable.  And there are also some really nice performances from Jessica Chastain and Helen Mirren, both of whom give their respective portrayals of Rachel much greater depth than I expected.  Still, I can't get over the fact that a love triangle between the three principals just doesn't work and failed to get me invested in any angle of the attempts at amour.  Plus, the older generation's story just doesn't capture the attention like the younger generation's tale.  Although the film jumps around in time (to nice effect actually), the end plays only to the 1997 aspect of the tale and, although it brings the story to a resolution, it proves to be a bit too anticlimactic given the tension achieved in the 1965 segment of the tale.

The Debt certainly isn't a bad film, but it's not one I could really tell anyone to rush and see.  It's adequate, but that's about it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Help

The Help (2011)

Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Cecily Tyson, Mary Steenburgen, and Sissy Spacek

Directed by Tate Taylor

While no one will mistake The Help for a great piece of cinematic art, there's something endearing and all-together crowd-pleasing about Tate Taylor's second stab at directorial work.  Thanks to one of the best casts assembled for a film in 2011, the ladies of The Help raise what may have been a rather fluffy piece about the civil rights movement in 1960s Mississippi into something much more compelling.

Twenty-three year old Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) is an aspiring author who, in an attempt to win over a well-to-do big city publisher (Mary Steenburgen), decides to write a book filled with the musings and daily routines of the African American maids in her town in Mississippi.  Naturally, because of racial tensions a half century ago, Skeeter has to keep her meetings with Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) -- a maid and nanny to her employers with a strong, yet seemingly silent personality -- and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) -- a sassy gal who after being fired by the uppity Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) finds herself working for the eccentric Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) -- a secret.  Yes, I've thrown out a lot of names there, but the crux of the story remains the same -- we're looking at race relations between whites and blacks in 1960s Mississippi and for most those relationships still weren't ideal.

This is territory we've seen explored before in movies and it's not that The Help does anything particularly unique.  It uses stock characters (Bryce Dallas Howard's bitchy Hilly is particularly one-note despite attempts to add depth thanks to an enjoyable performance by Howard), a grooving 60s soundtrack, and feels like something right out of the Steel Magnolias or Fried Green Tomatoes early '90s era in looks and tone.

However, the film succeeds thanks to a cast devoid of one bad egg.  Even when the story falters -- let's just leave the attempts at Skeeter trying to find love on the cutting room floor in the director's cut, shall we? -- the ladies simply compel you to keep your eyes fixated on the screen.  Emma Stone is charming in what is one of the lesser developed characters in the script.  Jessica Chastain (Hollywood's It Girl in 2011) was a hoot as Celia, getting opportunities to showcase her comedic and dramatic talents.  The movie kicked into high gear once Chastain's character was introduced and she lit up the screen whenever she appeared.  Similarly, Octavia Spencer provides some light moments, too, and once Chastain's Celia comes in to the picture, the character of Minnie is given a much greater depth than the rather one-notedness she had the beginning of the film.

Still, when one remembers The Help, their mind will immediately shift to Viola Davis who gives a moving, quiet, and powerful performance.  There's a fierceness in her eyes throughout much of the film -- a pain and anguish that she doesn't really express vocally, but is intensely felt nonetheless.  This type of understated performance is the opposite of showy, but demonstrates why Davis is worthy of all the Oscar buzz she's been receiving.

I really don't have a whole lot bad to say about The Help which I must admit surprises me.  Even if the film was a bit flawed here and there, it's still overwhelmingly enjoyable to watch.  Sure, writer-director Tate Taylor doesn't take too many risks, but he culls some amazing performances from a talented group of ladies.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life (2011)

Starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, and Hunter McCracken

Directed by Terrence Malick

Misfortune befalls the good...not just the bad...We are often uprooted like a tree...But we must go on.

Right off the bat, let me just say that I don't think I'm smart enough to watch The Tree of Life and fully understand it.  It's a movie that is in need of Cliff's Notes in order to fully get what director-writer Terrence Malick was trying to get across in his dream-like visual style.  In that respect, does anyone really want to go to a movie and feel like they're back in high school reading things like Shakespeare or Chaucer where you can't help but think you learn more by reading the notes that accompany the main works than the actual work itself?  I'm sure were I to watch the movie again, more details that seemed like they were throwaways in the initial viewing would take on more meaning.  Of course, any second viewing of a film reveals things that weren't noticed the first time, but I'm not sure where I stand on the notion that you should have to watch a film a second time in order to understand it's overarching themes.

It's not that I came away from The Tree of Life completely lost...I get that it's a film about grief, about relationships between children and their parents, and about faith.  I understand that at its core is the notion that death is simply a part of life that shouldn't be feared, but rather accepted.  And as I sit here typing out this review, I'm actually growing more and more appreciative of the film and the rather beautiful way it tackles these issues.  [I'm particularly impressed at the way it doesn't shy away from this notion of an all-powerful being (ie. God) and his role in Life.]

However, despite all this, I did find a major problem with the actual plot of the film -- yes, there is a plot, if you can find it amidst the interesting camerawork and incessant (though rather eloquent) voiceovers.  At its heart, The Tree of Life looks at the relationship between father and son and, in this film, we are supposed to take away that Mr. O'Brien (Brad Pitt) is much too harsh to his three boys, including Jack (Hunter McCracken) whom the film tends to focus on.  However -- and this is the major issue I have with the movie -- I never got the sense that Brad Pitt's character was a bad guy...in fact, there were moments where I felt he was oddly affectionate for what the viewing audience stereotypically thinks of when it comes to a 1950s father.  He wanted what was best for his sons and tried to show them how to be the best boys they could be.  Ultimately, this "tumultuous" relationship proved problematic for me because I never really got a sense as to why Jack was so angry with his father (and, in turn, his mother [played by Jessica Chastain] for putting up with what he felt were his father's faults).  The scars that the father left on his sons didn't seem legitimate.

I simply don't think this is a flaw that I'd be able to overcome on repeated viewings, but I can see myself taking on repeated viewings of this nonetheless.  I'm over a day removed from my initial watch and I still find myself thinking about the movie certainly because of the very vagueness that I critiqued in the opening paragraph.  I found much of the film beautiful to look at and I found the highly spiritual content welcoming and rather thought-provoking...SPOILER...the final scenes in which an adult Jack (Sean Penn) wanders around a heaven-like environment in which he learns that his family is still living on a different spiritual plane were particularly spiritually invigorating.  END SPOILER  However, in a film dealing with grief and the pain that comes along with that emotion, there is an odd detachment from the characters here.  I was never really moved by what I saw onscreen via the characters themselves, but the visual images were oftentimes quite thought-provoking.

Acting is decent overall with Brad Pitt continuing his rather positive year thanks to this and Moneyball. Jessica Chastain is seemingly in everything this year, but this is the first movie I've seen of hers and while she was perfectly adequate as the mother, I'll have to refrain from saying that she's the new "It Girl" as she is called in some parts.  Hunter McCracken was fine in his first acting role, but as I've mentioned before, I find the character a flawed one insomuch as I couldn't quite figure out why he despised his parents as much as he did.

Still, The Tree of Life is an interesting watch.  Kudos to Terrance Malick for creating a dream-like atmosphere containing minimal dialog and interesting camera cuts and movements.  It's for the visuals and the spirituality angle that would cause me to watch this again...and I just might in the near future.  I'll end with a rather simplistic, but beautiful quote from the flick that stuck with me for some reason post-viewing:

The only way to be happy is to love.  Unless you love your life will flash by.

The RyMickey Rating:  B