Tully

Tully (2018)

Starring Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass, and Ron Livingston 

Directed by Jason Reitman

Written by Diablo Cody

Click here for my Letterboxd review

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 - Breathe In

Breathe In (2014)

Starring Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan, and Mackenzie Davis

Directed by Drake Doremus

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

A bit too subdued for its own good, Breathe In treads a familiar path -- older married man (Guy Pearce) falls for a much younger teenage high school student (Felicity Jones) -- but finds itself buoyed by some nicely mannered performances.  Pearce and Jones certainly make Drake Doremus' film watchable, but its slow pace and slight payoff leave a little to be desired.

When British exchange student Sophie (Jones) boards with a suburban New York family for a semester, husband and wife Keith and Megan Reynolds (Pearce and Amy Ryan) and their teenage daughter Lauren (Mackenzie Davis) look forward to being able to show the young woman what the United States has to offer.  A rather advanced pianist, Sophie finds herself placed in Keith's high school music class where her talent and focus is a turn on to the struggling cellist Keith who wants to leave his teaching career behind and earn a coveted spot in a world-renowned orchestra.  Heretofore, Keith certainly never seemed unhappy in his marriage to Megan, but Sophie's interest in his interests invigorates him with the two eventually finding themselves bonding a bit more than they should.

Rather interestingly, Doremus and his co-writer Ben York Jones keep things as innocent as possible for as long as possible and even when Keith and Sophie turn towards romance, their feelings are depicted as more like lustful puppy love as opposed to lustful abandon.  While this is certainly an intriguing idea to keep things more "clean," it also doesn't quite provide the spark that a movie like this really needs.  Once again, Pearce and Jones have a palpable chemistry that makes their burgeoning relationship work and I guess there's kudos to be given to the duo for making the whole situation not feel "icky," but Breathe In doesn't quite overcome its overarching sense of dullness.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - That Awkward Moment

That Awkward Moment (2014)

Starring Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, and Jessica Lucas

Directed by Tom Gormican

At least Miles Teller has given the cinematic world his performance in Whiplash because his character of Daniel in the purported comedy That Awkward Moment rehashes the same fast-talking frat boy we've seen from him so many, many times before.  Mr. Teller isn't alone, however, as Zac Efron takes on Jason, the pretty boy sleaze bag ladies' man -- a character that he tackles in any comedy in which he partakes.  But Mr. Teller and Mr. Efron being carbon copies of former acting roles are just the beginning of the problems in That Awkward Moment -- a flick that has no idea whether it wants to be a raunchy comedy, a relationship drama, or a coming-of-age tale and this melange of ideas fails to allow any one of them to work.

I understand that movies need to relay the broad spectrum of personalities that are evident in the world, but when you choose to place conniving, manipulative man-whores as your main characters, I have a tendency to check out right away.  Maybe it's because I'll never understand how women fall for a-holes like these, but I can't get behind caring for characters whose only goal in life is to get a woman into bed as soon as possible.  I know these types of guys exist in real life (and I know for some otherworldly reason some women are drawn to them), but they're not the type of friends I'd like to hang out with, so when I see them onscreen, I get a little disgusted.  That Awkward Moment attempts to appease my concerns with the character of Mikey (Michael B. Jordan), a smart married doctor who discovers his wife is cheating on him.  Mikey is the polar opposite of Daniel and Jason -- longing for meaning in a relationship and not searching for a one night stand.  This, in turn, however, makes me ponder why in the heck Mikey would be friends with guys like Daniel and Jason which therein defeats the purpose of even having him in the film.  Not only am I disturbed by Daniel and Jason's womanizing, but I'm ticked off that Mikey simply shrugs it all off and coddles their infantile shenanigans.

As far as a plot goes in That Awkward Moment -- there isn't much of one.  "Hey guys.  Let's make a pact to not have any meaningful relationships.  Just sex and that's it," says one of the guys at some point at the beginning of the film.  "Okay," say the other two guys.  Does it come to any surprise that all three of these guys will find themselves falling in love and then trying to hide it from their buddies?  Does it come as any surprise that these guys will end up being pricks to their women in order to hide their burgeoning relationships from their bros?  Does it come as any surprise that these women will accept their guys back after they do horrible things to them?

Predictable, obnoxious, unfunny (I didn't laugh once), and a bit repulsive are the words I'd use to describe That Awkward Moment -- care to watch it?

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - What If

What If (2014)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Megan Park, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, and Rafe Spall

Directed by Michael Dowse

I've started many a review with something along the lines of "I'm a sucker for romantic comedies," and this statement continues to ring true with the absolutely charming What If, a tiny indie flick that was released in a theaters for a quick and decisively financially unsuccessful run this past summer.

Who knew Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe had the wit in him to portray a dryly humorous, self-effacing, and hopeless romantic like Wallace, a med school dropout who meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan) at a party thrown by his best friend Allan (Adam Driver).  Upon walking her home, Wallace learns that Chantry has a longterm boyfriend in Ben (Rafe Spall) and wants more than anything else to simply be friends with Wallace whom she's hit it off with right away in terms of their likes, dislikes, and personalities.  The two were made for each other -- it's obvious.  Unfortunately, Chantry really loves Ben.  Also unfortunately, Wallace finds himself falling for Chantry more and more with each passing month, yet he also drifts further and further from being able to tell her his true feelings as they shift deeper and deeper into the "friend zone."

The film of course veers down an expected path which, I was surprised to discover, I found a tiny bit annoying.  I was hoping for maybe a "twist" at the film's conclusion, but writer Elan Mastai chickens out just a little bit.  Admittedly, I would've probably written the same ending as that's what's totally expected of a film like this, but as the flick came to a close I was hoping I'd be in for something a little off the beaten path.  Still, Matsai succeeds at creating two characters whose wit and dry humor are a perfect match for each other and also truly amusing to watch.  Radcliffe and Kazan are both fantastic in their roles, displaying a great amount of chemistry.  While Radcliffe was quite the surprise (I wasn't a fan of the Harry Potter series, so I was impressed here), Kazan proves once again that she's someone to watch.  I thought she was great in 2012's Ruby Sparks (a very different romantic comedy), but I was quite pleased to see her onscreen again as she hasn't done much since then.

Much like the "sucker for romantic comedies" line, I also tend to pull out the "but it doesn't reinvent the wheel" clause more often than I probably should.  That said, it's an apt phrase for What If...but that doesn't really matter.  What If will win you over with two sweet performances and a youthful cast that imbues humor into a story we've certainly seen portrayed many times before.

The RyMickey Rating:  B