Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

Starring Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, Jeffrey Donovan, Angela Sarafyan, Dylan Baker, Brian Geraghty, Haley Joel Osment, Jim Parsons, and John Malkovich

Directed by Joe Berlinger

Written by Michael Werewie

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B

Okja

Okja (2017)

Starring Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, An Seo Hyun, Byun Heebong, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Yoon Je Moon, Shirley Henderson, Daniel Henshall, Devon Bostick, Woo Shik Choi, Giancarlo Esposito, and Jake Gyllenhaal

Directed by Bong Joon Ho

Written by Bong Joon Ho and Jon Ronson

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less): Teenager Mija (An Seo Hyun) has raised a genetically engineered super pig for nearly a decade in the mountains of South Korea, but when the Mirando Corporation headed by Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) comes to take their pig back in order to begin selling its meat, Mija takes matters into her own hands with the help of an animal rights organization.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: D+

To the Bone

To the Bone (2017)

Starring Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves, Carrie Preston, Lili Taylor, Alex Sharp, Leslie Bibb, and Liana Liberato

Directed by Marti Noxon

Written by Marti Noxon

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Artist Ellen (Lily Collins) enters an experimental treatment facility for eating disorders run by a doctor (Keanu Reeves) whose unique methodology proves difficult with which for Ellen to oblige.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Rules Don't Apply

Rules Don't Apply (2016)

Starring Alden Ehrenreich, Lily Collins, Warren Beatty, Matthew Broderick, Annette Bening, and a slew of other people in cameo-length roles

Directed by Warren Beatty

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

Howard Hughes was a bit of an eccentric loon who, thanks to his significant entrepreneurial endeavors, was able to have his hands in a multitude of business ventures ranging from creating aircraft to producing motion pictures.  Rules Don't Apply focuses on the latter aspect as an aging Hughes (played by Warren Beatty who also wrote and directed the film) shifts his romantic focus to a young aspiring actress from Virginia named Marla (Lily Collins) who recently moved to Hollywood at the request of Hughes.  Upon her arrival, Marla begins to fall for her driver Frank (Alden Ehrenreich), a Howard Hughes employee, who himself is engaged to be married but also finds himself enraptured by Marla.  This romantic love triangle starts the film off in an engagingly old school 1960s-esque cinematic fashion, but the film quickly starts to fall apart after it introduces its key players.

Filled with a multitude of well-known actors in cameo-style roles, Rules Don't Apply is well-acted by Lily Collins and Alden Ehrenreich, but their "will they or won't they" romantic story isn't enough of a story to sustain the film's long nearly 150-minute runtime.  Writer/director Warren Beatty seems to recognize this hence the introduction of his Howard Hughes character about thirty minutes into the film, but he fails at making Hughes' storylines captivating.  When Hughes comes into the picture, Rules Don't Apply can't seem to tell who its central character is - Hughes or Marla or Frank - and this leads to oddly edited sequences that create one the most boringly manic all-over-the-place films I've seen in a long time.  A passion project for Beatty who spent a long time getting it to the screen post-production, Rules Don't Apply has some great production values and does feel fittingly 1960s in tone and style, but it ultimately fails in the story and directing department.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - The English Teacher

The English Teacher (2013)

Starring Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, and Nathan Lane

Directed by Craig Zisk

***The film is currently streaming on Netflix***

When Jason (Michael Angarano) returns to his small Pennsylvania hometown after spending a few years in New York City trying to make it as an aspiring playwright, he's greeted kindly by his former high school English teacher Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) who is thrilled to have a student who has gone on to write a play (despite the fact that it's never been produced).  After meeting with her school's drama teacher Carl Kapinas (Nathan Lane), Linda decides to produce Jason's play with Carl for their high school dramatic production.  Along the way, however, Linda and Jason begin to have a relationship beyond teacher-former student and complications arise that may affect Linda's typically mundane and rote life.

Unfortunately for Julianne Moore, she's yet to star in a comedy that I've really enjoyed (yes, that includes The Big Lebowski which I think I highly overrated when I watched it several years ago).  The English Teacher does nothing to change this thought of mine.  Moore herself isn't the problem -- I think she could do decent with comedic roles if she'd only choose comedies that were actually funny.  All of the actors here are actually game and try their hardest in their roles, but even their significant acting chops couldn't elicit a single laugh from me.  Moore's facing a mid-life crisis, Angarano's trying to figure out his path in life, and Kinnear's attempting to become a better father to Jason, but none of these plot points are funny -- and therein lies the problem.

There's a sweetness that permeates through The English Teacher that is moderately enjoyable, but director Craig Zisk's first feature film is too trite and ultimately too bland to merit your time.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Stuck in Love

Stuck in Love (2013)

Starring Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins, Logan Lerman, Nat Wolff, Liana Liberato, and Kristen Bell

Directed by Josh Boone

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

The Borgens family has some issues when it comes to love.  Dad Bill (Greg Kinnear) and Mom Erica (Jennifer Connelly) have recently divorced, but Dad can't get over Mom.  Daughter Samantha (Lily Collins) has become affected by her parents' separation believing that love isn't possible so she moves from guy to guy for one night stands to fulfill her sexual desires.  Son Rusty (Nat Wolff) takes the opposite approach of his sister and longs to find a true love to last for a lifetime.  Together, this foursome navigates the ups and downs of romance, trying to figure out how this elusive emotion works exactly.

Stuck in Love is more than adequately acted -- all four of the aforementioned actors plus Liana Liberato as Rusty's troubled girlfriend, Logan Lerman as a truly nice guy who tries to change Samantha's brashness, and Kristen Bell as a confidante of Bill make the most of Josh Boone's first script and directorial debut.  However, Boone's screenplay is a tad uneven -- its lighthearted nature works much better than its stabs at trying to be serious.  As a matter of fact, when the tale veers into any bit of a solemn moment, it proves to be too melodramatic as if Boone was searching for a way to make us connect with these characters.

That isn't to say Stuck in Love is a dreary piece of work. In fact, Boone shows potential in this genre and I'd be interested to see what he can bring to the table in the future.  He certainly can direct actors in a way that makes them believable and interesting.  There was potential for more here, but for a first time attempt at directing and writing, Boone's Stuck in Love is solid enough.

The RyMickey Rating: C+ 

Movie Review - Mirror Mirror

Mirror Mirror (2012)

Starring Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, and Nathan Lane

Directed by Tarsem Singh

No one was more surprised than me to discover that Mirror Mirror wasn't nearly as bad as its heinous trailer advertised it to be.  A case of lowered expectations certainly worked in this film's favor, so take this review with that in mind, but for what this movie is -- a slightly re-imagined, humorous take on the Snow White tale aimed at kids and their parents -- Tarsem Singh's visually gorgeous and sumptuous spin is inventive and unique enough to make you feel as if you're not watching the same tired fairytale over again.

Rather than anchor the film around Snow White, Mirror Mirror certainly places its emphasis on the Wicked Queen, played here in an over-the-top scenery chewing performance by Julia Roberts.  Obviously hamming it up and seemingly having a blast, Roberts appears to be relishing this opportunity to play evil.  Clothed in some of the most ambitious, colorful, and flamboyant costumes I've seen in years (courtesy of the late Eiko Ishioka), anytime the Queen wasn't onscreen, you longed for her to return.

And given that this film is, at its core, a story about Snow White, the lack of creating an interesting story for Snow herself is perhaps the film's biggest disappointment.  Lily Collins plays Snow White as innocent, yet with a modern-day spunk that is typically attributed to princesses in films today (think Rapunzel in Tangled) and she's quite good and absolutely engaging in the role.  In fact, she's almost about as perfect as one can get in terms of casting the "ultimate image" of Snow White.  However, despite having a bit more independent take on the character, the screenwriters couldn't give Snow nearly enough of an interesting storyline to compete with her wicked stepmother.

The rest of the cast of characters we've come to expect from Snow White tales are present as well.  Armie Hammer plays a suave yet smarmy Prince with much exuberance and the Seven Dwarves are given a bit of an interesting spin as they turn into thieves stealing from the rich.  There's also a nice sidekick role for Nathan Lane that provides a bit of humor (although he's certainly overshadowed by Roberts in their scenes together).

But the real star of the show (beyond Roberts' performance) is the previously mentioned costumes (which deserve an Oscar nomination...and likely an Oscar win) and rather ingenious production designs.  Director Tarsem Singh is known for his attention to detail when it comes to these areas and Mirror Mirror is no different.  For those reasons alone, Mirror Mirror is worth a watch.  It's not without its flaws and its humor does skew a bit young, but with the nice performance from Julia Roberts and the fantastic visuals, you likely won't be disappointed with a rental of this one.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Abduction

Abduction (2011)

Starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Michael Nyqvist, and Sigourney Weaver

Directed by John Singleton

I should have known that in the first scene when high school senior Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) and his two buddies get excited about going to the home opener of the Pittsburgh Pirates season that Abduction was going to be lacking in realism.  I mean, it's the Pirates...does anyone get excited about them?  Still, I told myself to suspend disbelief for a few more minutes and give what was one of the worst reviewed movies of 2011 a chance.  In the end, and I've used this criticism before, Abduction is a movie that I can't help but feel I could've written in my childhood "novel" writing days where dialog was cheesy, characters were ill-conceived, and plots were by-the-book.

I'm only familiar with Taylor Lautner from the Twilight films and I always thought that he was the strongest part of that series -- I confess that I was probably quite wrong in that assessment.  Lautner here is simply painful.  Mugging for the camera and overly mannered, he's the opposite of charming and charismatic.  Here, Lautner is Nathan, a typical high school senior.  When working on a research paper with his childhood friend Karen (Lily Collins), he comes across a picture of his four year-old self on an internet site for missing persons.  Just as he confronts his folks (Jason Isaacs and Maria Bello) about his discovery, their house is broken into by some foreign baddies and Nathan and Karen are forced to go on the run.

How a film so obvious and surprise-deficient managed to snag people like Maria Bello, Alfred Molina, and Sigourney Weaver to join the cast is beyond me.  None of those names are given anything to do here and it's completely obvious this was a "paycheck only" movie.  Lily Collins comes off as okay -- I'll reserve judgment on her until I see a bit more.  She's certainly attractive, but she isn't given a whole lot to do here and what she is given is mind-boggingly bland.

But the biggest problems with Abduction are the "star" Lautner whose faults I mentioned above and the director John Singleton who has done such a poor job crafting this movie that I have to think someone off the street could've done better.  Fight scenes are poorly choreographed and edited, transitions are abysmal, and Singleton fails to get a good performance from his lead.  To me, despite the simplicity of the plot, the fault with this movie lies squarely with Singleton who is to unable to bring anything to the table.  Abduction may not be the worst movie of the year as some may have called it, but it's certainly not any good.

The RyMickey Rating:  D