Netflix Marvel Series Mini-Reviews, Part I

As part of my Marvel re-watch, I'm watching all the Marvel Netflix series in order for the first time.  Here are some thoughts on the seasons as they progressed.

Daredevil - Season One - April 2015

Expected things to be gritty, but didn't expect it to be totally as violent as it was.  Not complaining about that aspect, but I was admittedly a little surprised.  The series has some high points -- Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk and his burgeoning relationship with art dealer Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), Deborah Ann Woll's Karen and her connection with Vondie Curtis-Hall's newspaper reporter Ben (complete with a shocking conclusion to that relationship that I was NOT expecting in the slightest.  But there are also some low points as well -- Charlie Cox is one-note as the titular character, the need for every episode to have a big fight grows weary and tiresome.  As I'd soon discover is typical in all of these series, thirteen episodes feels too long and too drawn out.  Disney gets is right with their Disney+ series going shorter in their episode counts.  Nonetheless, a decent start.

Jessica Jones - Season One - November 2015

I'd heard very good things about Jessica Jones and it never lived up to my expectations.  I think the crux of the problem was Krysten Ritter as the titular character -- I don't say this often in my reviews, but something about her acting just felt awkward and forced, making it quite difficult to initially make my way through this.  As her character got fleshed out a bit more, the series got a little more interesting.  Rachael Taylor as Jessica's adopted sister and David Tennant as the evil Kilgrave were standouts, but even the latter fell victim to the thirteen episode length and the repetitive nature of things.  The finale was also hugely anti-climactic to me for some reason.  This is considered by some to be the top season of all of the Netflix Marvel series, but this just didn't work for me.

Daredevil - Season Two - March 2016

This one just delved too much into the supernatural for me to really get into it as much as I wanted.  The subplot with an Asian group attempting to create some all-powerful being was too over-the-top for my tastes.  That said, the addition of Jon Bernthal's Punisher and Élodie Yung's Elektra both added oomph to a second season that could've felt like a retread of the first.  Again, too many episodes draw this out and cause it to be a struggle.  In the end, I think it's maybe not as good as Season One, but it would be a close race in large part because of Bernthal and Yung who add some flavor to this that season one didn't feel like it had.  On the other hand, the lack of a central villain hurts this.

Luke Cage - Season One - September 2016

This one was a huge surprise.  I started off not thinking I could get into this one because, once again, we have a central character who is a bit of a bore on the acting front.  However, everything else about this season was fantastic.  A mid-season surprise in relation to Mahershala Ali was a game-changing shocker.  Rosario Dawson gets a chance to finally shine, Simone Missick is strong as cop Misty Knight, and Alfre Woodard is a gas as she slowly becomes Lady Macbeth.  Add in some strong cultural notes regarding Harlem (and the most realistic villain) and this was excitingly fun to watch -- the first one of these that didn't feel like a struggle to get through thirteen episodes.

King Richard

 King Richard (2021)

Starring Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal, and Tony Goldwyn

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green

Written by Zach Baylin

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Starring Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Ray McKinnon, and Noah Jupe

Directed by James Mangold

Written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Baby Driver

Baby Driver (2017)

Starring Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez, Jon Bernthal, and Jamie Foxx

Directed by Edgar Wright

Written by Edgar Wright

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Baby (Ansel Elgort) has worked as a getaway driver for a series of heists headed by kingpin Doc (Kevin Spacey) for several years.  However, he calls it quits until Doc pulls him in for one more crime that ends up being a bit more than Baby bargained for.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Accountant

The Accountant (2016)

Starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow, and Jean Smart

Directed by Gavin O'Conner

***This film is currently streaming via HBO Now/GO***

I can't say anything particularly bad about The Accountant, but I can't say anything particularly good either.  That damning middle ground is never a good thing.  Ben Affleck is the title character, a seemingly mild-mannered accountant from a small town outside of Chicago.  Little do his clients know that Christian Wolff, the meek, high-functioning autistic man hiding behind thick-brimmed eyeglasses, is actually a trained hit man who runs the accounts of several of the world's most infamous criminals.  When he's hired by the Living Robotics Corporation headed by scientist/creator Lamar Blackburn (John Lithgow) and his sister Rita (Jean Smart) to determine how they're leaking money, Christian and LRC's internal auditor Dana (Anna Kendrick) find themselves in the midst of a huge conspiracy that will lead them into a world of danger.

Much like his role as Batman, Affleck's Christian is depressingly emotionless which is credited to his character's autism, but ends up creating a very bland main character.  There are moments of humor that pop up adding a much needed perk of energy to Affleck's performance, but in the end, it's a rather monotonous portrayal which is perhaps the reason I can't quite throw a ton of support behind the movie.  Fortunately, the rest of the cast perks things up, with a particularly intriguing performance from Jon Bernthal as a fellow hit man.

Surprisingly violent (not that there's a problem with that), The Accountant meanders back and forth between an action piece and a drama and the balance is never quite perfected by director Gavin O'Conner.  While it's a better than average film, I wanted to like it more than I did, but the sum of its parts don't quite add up to a solid whole.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - We Are Your Friends

We Are Your Friends (2015)

Starring Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, Emily Ratajkowski, Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, Alex Shaffer, and Jon Bernthal

Directed by Max Joseph

***This film is currently streaming on HBO Now***

I'm typically not a fan of movies that glorify a drug-filled slacker lifestyle, but color me surprised that something clicked with We Are Your Friends, a film that unjustifiably garnered one of the lowest opening weekend (and grand total) box office grosses ever for a wide release film.  We Are Your Friends is by no means a film without flaws (the film's climactic ending, as an example, comes off more laughable than dramatically effective) but the drubbing it received from the public is a bit surprising seeing how this coming of age film seems like it would've hit home with the college age "finding yourself" crowd.

We follow young twenty-something Cole (Zac Efron), a San Fernando Valley DJ, who spends his free time perfecting his craft by hovering over his computer and hanging out with his trio of slacker friends (Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, and Alex Shaffer) who all do what they can (including selling drugs) in order to make ends meet.  One evening at a club event where he is DJ'ing, Cole meets James (Wes Bentley), an older, more experienced spinner who invites Cole out for a night on the town, after which they become friends.  The mentor/mentee relationship begins well, but starts to falter when Cole finds himself falling for James's girlfriend Sophie (Emily Ratajkowski) and an infamous cinematic love triangle begins to form.

The film makes much use of music, detailing how DJs gradually amp up their rhythms to get the crowd in a never-ending groove.  First-time feature film director Max Joseph utilizes a rampant pulsing beat throughout many of the film's scenes that while creating a music video atmosphere also perfectly depicts the places inhabited by the characters in the film.  The frenetic club sequences are nicely balanced by some quieter, more dramatic and character-developing moments and the two distinct filmmaking styles and tones mesh quite seamlessly with one another.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the film's disappointing box office returns (and, quite frankly, one of the reasons I misjudged the flick) is that it stars Zac Efron.  While I'm certainly not saying his performance here should've garnered any modicum of awards fervor, I think the time has come to realize that he's grown into a completely capable and compelling star.  Looking back on my reviews of the young man, he's more than proven he's got what it takes to hold his own onscreen. The days of High School Musical are behind him and perhaps he needs to be taken a bit more seriously.  The rest of the cast is also quite good -- and, with full knowledge of the sexist nature of this upcoming remark -- Emily Ratajkowski is stunningly gorgeous (and holds her own with her slightly underdeveloped love interest role).

It may seem like I'm overpraising We Are Your Friends given the grade it'll be receiving below, but it's not without a few large faults.  By the time the film comes to its conclusion, I never got the sense the character of Cole had gone through a huge growth arc and I think that's supposed to be the emotional core.  The flick's final scene is supposed to be a pivotal moment for the character and the way director/co-screenwriter Joseph has filmed and wrote it, I couldn't help but chuckle a little.  Still, this is his first film and overall I think that there are huge amounts of promise in the director.  Sure, We Are Your Friends oftentimes mimics a music video, but that aspect of it never overstays its welcome.  This one was a bit of a sleeper for me that I almost bypassed -- I'm happy I didn't.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

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 - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

Starring Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Katherine Hughes, Jon Bernthal, Molly Shannon, and Connie Britton

Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

There's no hiding the fact that Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a movie about a disease.  In this case, it's cancer and the dying girl in the title is Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a high school senior who is diagnosed with leukemia.  The "Me" in the title is Greg (Thomas Mann), a wry, witty loner of sorts who has managed to make his way through high school by being pleasant enough to every single clique or group, but never really joining any of them.  This casual sense of invisibility has proved to be very successful for Greg, but it's also made him a bit of a loner with the exception of his friend Earl (RJ Cyler) with whom he makes hilariously ridiculous recreations of art house films.  When Greg's mom (Connie Britton) forces her son to visit Rachel after she's been diagnosed (with whom he's said very little to in the entirety of high school), Greg connects with Rachel's wry sense of humor and no-nonsense attitude and the two begin to form a friendship.

As I said, there's no hiding the fact that Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a disease movie.  It places cancer squarely at the forefront.  However, the film doesn't create a two-hour mope-fest.  Instead, screenwriter Jesse Andrews and director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon have created one of the funniest films I've seen this year.  There's a hip, irreverence imbued in both the dialog and the way the film is shot and acted that immediately clicked with me.  I belly-laughed multiple times (mostly at Greg and Earl's homages/recreations of films), yet still think the film does a nice job at balancing the humor with the pathos.

That said, despite great turns from RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, and Thomas Mann (who is quite captivating and oddly charming as the lead), Me and Earl and the Dying Girl didn't quite click with me emotionally.  Considering the subject matter, I was expecting to be a little more affected.  Granted, this flick doesn't carry the maudlin overtones of something like A Fault in Our Stars (a film which I like quite a bit), but perhaps because of that lack of gravitas, I found myself oddly unmoved as the film reached its conclusion which ultimately felt like a little bit of a letdown.

In only his second film, director Gomez-Rejon shows much promise.  Sure some of the adults (particularly Molly Shannon as Rachel's mother) feel a little too one-note (which is a fault of the script in part) and he doesn't quite hit the bullseye emotionally in the end in the way the way he really needs.  However, there's a freshness to what he's brought to the screen that's refreshing and inviting.  Me and Earl and the Dying Girl doesn't hit quite all the right notes, but it comes darn close.

The RyMickey Rating: B

Movie Review - Fury

Fury (2014)

Starring Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, and Jon Bernthal

Directed by David Ayer

April 1945 -- less than six months until the end of WWII.  The Allies are making one final push into Germany in order to bring an end to Hitler.  Throughout the war, it had become evident that German tanks were infinitely superior to the Allied machinery, but with nothing else in their arsenal, the Allies were still forced to fight using their inferior warcraft.  Fury follows the story of one tank crew detailing several small-scale (though intense and life-threatening) battles as they continue their mission to end the Nazi's reign.

Director and screenwriter David Ayer creates a tense atmosphere throughout which is a bit surprising seeing as how Fury feels as if it's 80% battle sequences -- a notion that could easily wear thin (and does for a tiny bit during its first act), but ends up being surprisingly effective.  The film's final lengthy stand-off is easily the best battle scene and while not entirely realistic, it does a fantastic job at conveying the horrors of close combat warfare so evident in WWII.

Unfortunately, Ayer doesn't quite succeed in creating well-rounded, non-stereotypical characters.  Pitt as Don "Wardaddy" Collier is the leader of the tank quintet that we find ourselves focusing on and while he does a perfectly adequate job, I felt very little attachment to him and that's the fault of the script moreso than anything else.  Similarly, Logan Lerman plays the young, new-to-battle Norman and all the typical characteristics are present for him -- always nervous, unwilling to kill, quiet, the requisite vomiting shot when he sees something disgusting.  It's all there.  The film attempts to create a bond between Collier and Norman and while it somewhat successfully does so thanks to a moving scene in which duo invade the apartment of two German women, the teacher/student relationship between these two didn't flourish the way I would've liked.  Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, and Jon Bernthal make up the rest of the crew and while all seemingly give realistic portrayals of war torn soldiers, I wasn't swept up by their plight.

While I'd typically find this lack of connection a somewhat major problem, the other elements of the film create enough of a positive effect that I'm able to overlook these character flaws a bit.  Fury provides an engaging look at an aspect of war that isn't typically filmed and for that it deserves a bit of credit despite its shortcomings.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-