Puzzle

Puzzle (2018)

Starring Kelly Macdonald, Irrfan Khan, David Denman, Bubba Weiler, Austin Abrams, and Liv Hewson

Directed by Marc Turtletaub

Written by Oren Moverman and Polly Mann

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C

Movie Review - Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina (2012)

Starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Olivia Williams, and Emily Watson  

Directed by Joe Wright

Oh, what a conundrum Anna Karenina places me in.  It's not really a conundrum, I guess, so much as disappointment.  Considering all that is good about this re-telling of the classic Leo Tolstoy novel (of which I was entirely unfamiliar with), it pains me to not be able to recommend this one.  Despite some ingenious direction and a career-best performance from Keira Knightley, this flick just can't get past the fact that there's not enough story -- or at least not enough interesting story -- to cause the audience to give a damn.  I'm not quite sure there's anything director Joe Wright could have done -- and he certainly tries -- to have made this late 19th century soap opera appealing to a modern audience.

I knew absolutely nothing about Anna Karenina prior to venturing into this film.  In fact, I'm not even sure I saw a complete trailer for the movie, let alone cracked open a Cliffs Notes version of the book.  However, I knew going in (and this was probably incredibly helpful) that director Joe Wright had rather cleverly set up the film as if it was all being performed on a stage.  Sets move in and out fluidly.  Cast members are sometimes seen playing different roles in the background.  We see stage props and the unfinished backsides of backdrops.  This stylized, grandiose approach certainly kept my attention throughout and provides many glorious scenes that I truly loved.

Unfortunately, this story is just too formulaic and too banal to have any reason to be filmed.  Maybe the novel was a revelation in 1877, but now the whole thing reads as a trite soap opera elevated to importance only because people speak in British accents (despite the fact that this takes place in Russia...but that didn't bother me in the slightest).  Keira Knightley is the title character, a young mother who is seemingly stuck in a marriage with a husband, Alexei (Jude Law), who monetarily provides for her, but fails to express love for her and her son.  While on a visit to see her brother (Matthew Macfadyen), Anna meets Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and instantly becomes mesmerized with him (as he does with her).  They begin a rather torrid affair that isn't exactly kept as secretive as it should be.  With Anna already in a marriage and Vronsky set to be betrothed to the young Kitty (Alicia Vikander), this doesn't sit well with the community and Anna finds herself being ostracized and looked down upon by all.

Had the Anna-Vronsky-Alexei triangle been all that we had to worry about, I may have been okay with the premise.  However, we then get sidetracked to a forlorn Kitty, sullen and upset that Vronsky left her, falling into the arms of the less wealthy Konstantin (Domhnall Gleeson).  Frankly, despite a decent effort by the actors to convince me otherwise, I couldn't have cared less about the Kitty-Konstantin angle and found that it slowed down the movie to uncomfortable levels.  It certainly doesn't help that Anna's now-ruined life is drawn out seemingly ad infinitum as well.

And the shame of it all is that Keira Knightley is pretty fantastic.  Even in her better roles (like last year's A Dangerous Method), Ms. Knightley still relied on her ever-present crutch of jaw-clenching to express frustration, anger, or fear.  Somehow, she's grown quite a bit as an actor and her director (whom she's worked with twice before) has nixed that jutting jaw of hers.  Anna is her most mature role yet with Knightley exuding passion, sexiness, heartbreak, and maternal instincts.  It really is a well-rounded performance in a movie whose story doesn't permit her character to soar the way it deserves.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Brave

Brave (2012)

*viewed in 3D*

Featuring the voice talents of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connelly, Julie Walters, and Emma Thompson

Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, and Steve Purcell

From a strictly visual standpoint, Pixar is simply the best animation studio working today.  They have a way of animating movement that is just stunningly accurate and beautiful to watch.  From the opening scene of their newest venture, Brave, their expertise is on display again.  The company really is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of their slick, vivid, and stunning animation.

Story-wise, Pixar is well-known for their heartfelt tales and Brave is no exception.  Focusing on a female lead for the first time, Brave's story is shockingly simple and that's its one slight flaw.  We get a princess tale here (which has drawn some unwarranted criticism) and while the wheel isn't reinvented, it's perfectly fine.  However, Princess Merida's adventure does lack the originality that we've come to expect from the company and despite its rather short running time, the film manages to drag on a tiny bit during its middle act.

Still, there's a good movie here well worth seeing.  Teenage Merida (Kelly Macdonald) is an independent free spirit who finds herself being tied down by rules and proper royal etiquette by her mother Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) who only wants to prepare her for the future rule over their Irish land.  The time has come for Merida to be betrothed, but the three men vying for her hand are all lacking in multiple departments.  Much to her mother's chagrin, Merida takes things into her own hands refusing to wed causing quite a rift between the young woman and her mother that even King Fergus (Billy Connelly) is unable to right.  After a tiff, Merida runs into the nearby woods where she comes across a rundown house inhabited by an old woman (Julie Walters) who also happens to delve a bit in the mystical realm.  Needless to say, this crone's magic ends up weaving quite an interesting turn of events for Merida which makes her begin to realize that her life may not have been as bad as she made it out to be.

As I mentioned, the film looks beautiful (Merida's long-flowing locks alone are amazingly well-crafted) and the voice acting is top notch as always, but Brave surprisingly has a "been there-done that" feel to it, culling much of its story from Disney flicks of the past.  Granted, that's not necessarily a bad thing -- Disney animated films are classics for a reason -- but there is something oddly unoriginal which, for Pixar, is a first.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Merry Gentleman (2009)

Christmas Movie a Day #1
The Merry Gentleman
Starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Macdonald
Directed by Michael Keaton

It's always pleasant to watch a movie that you know next to nothing about and are able to come away from thoroughly engaged and surprised by how much you enjoyed it. That's the case with The Merry Gentleman. Heck, I didn't have a clue that Christmas was even involved in the plot until I watched it (hence the late addition to the CMAD list).

Kate Frazier (the charming Scottish Kelly Macdonald whom I fell in love with after I watched the BBC movie The Girl in the Café a few years ago and furthered my love with No Country for Old Men) is in an abusive marriage and, having had enough, decides to run away to a new city. One evening, she spots a man on a rooftop who appears to be ready to jump and commit suicide. She screams and he slips backwards onto the roof. Little does Kate know that the man, Frank Logan, is actually a hit man who just finished off one of his jobs. Frank seems to become entranced with the lonely Kate and he begins to watch her and eventually runs into her at her apartment where he helps her carry a Christmas tree up a few flights of stairs. A friendship begins to blossom between the two, with Kate unaware of Frank's secret line of work, and Frank unaware that Kate is being pursued romantically by the very police officer assigned to investigate his most recent hit.

The pace is slow in the flick, but it's not the least bit boring. The story is actually quite lovely and almost seems as if it could've been made in the 1940s (minus the sniper rifles and blood splattering on windows). Both Macdonald and Keaton play loners, but their sadness is palpable and resonates throughout the movie. Keaton, in his directorial debut, crafts a pretty nifty movie. There are several shots that are beautiful to view. I was also impressed that the film doesn't shy away from religion. Macdonald's Kate is quite religious and the film takes on faith and spirituality seriously...not in an overbearing way, by any means, but I'm always kind of surprised in this day and age when any movie weaves in religion. (Saying these last few lines may make folks shun the flick...it's seriously not religious or preachy...it's just that the flick has a religious character...that's it...don't make that be a reason not to see the movie).

Still, a pleasant flick (despite the subject matter), and a darn good directorial debut for Keaton.

The RyMickey Rating: B+
The Christmas Spirit Scale: 5/10
(The Christmas Spirit Scale is a totally pointless rating that is simply my feeling about how "Christmas-y" the movie felt to me)