Movie Review - The November Man

The November Man (2014)

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Korylenko, Bill Smitrovich, Lazar Ristovski, Caterina Scorsone, and Will Patton

Directed by Roger Donaldson

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

Blah.  The November Man isn't bad, but isn't particularly good either and because of that I find myself struggling to give a damn in terms of this review.  Pierce Brosnan is retired CIA agent
Devereaux who is asked to return to the fray by his old boss Hanley (Bill Smitrovich) for a particularly personal mission involving an old flame of his who is infiltrating the Russian political scene.  When Deveraux's sneaky task goes awry, he finds himself being hunted by the CIA and his former pupil Mason (Luke Bracey) seeing as how Hanley kept the mission under wraps from those within the agency.

The problem with The November Man is that it's so generic, so "been there, done that," and so obvious that it's tough to get excited about anything it presents.  The acting is okay, but no one does anything special.  The action sequences are adequately directed, but they never really create any excitement or tension.  The story kept my interest, but my interest never piqued with true vigor and anticipation of what was around the bend.

So, in the end, The November Man just gets a "blah" from me and nothing more.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - To the Wonder

To the Wonder (2013)

Starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem

Directed by Terrence Malick, 

I don't think anyone could say that To the Wonder doeen't look fantastic.  Granted, it doesn't quite have the cinematic beauty of Terrence Malick's last film The Tree of Life, but my only two experiences with the director prove that he does have an eye for creating visual eye candy where even the most mundane and everyday images (like a Sonic drive-in restaurant) take on an appealing look.  However, images are only one aspect of a film...story is another and, in my eyes, it's a fairly important one.  To the Wonder is essentially all told via voiceover dialog.  We see images that are pieced together to tell a story, but hardly anyone speaks.  It's an interesting method, but one I was never sold on as I felt like it gave too much credence to the visuals as opposed to the narrative.  After about thirty minutes this thing feels like a really expensive make-up commercial starring a famous celebrity.  [You know, those weird ones where someone like Charlize Theron says "J'adore" a bunch of times.]

At its core, To the Wonder is about finding love whether that be in a more sexual context with a lover or a spiritual one with God.  The film looks at four individuals and their intertwining paths to aforementioned emotion which we all long to covet.  Neil (Ben Affleck) has fallen for Marina (Olga Kurylenko) while in Paris and the two decide to bring themselves and Marina's daughter Tatiana back to Neil's native Oklahoma.  As they spend time together, their romantic life begins to unravel and Marina ends up taking herself and Tatiana back to Paris.  Neil reconnects with a former love Jane (Rachel McAdams) only to have Marina want to come back to the US to try and work things out with him.  Meanwhile, Father Quintana (Javier Bardem) is finding himself in a crisis of faith, unable to find solace in his work.

For all four of our characters -- who actually remain nameless throughout the film (names are mentioned only in the credits) -- love isn't easy or pleasant.  It's a bitch, actually.  What starts with twirling around the landscape with long flowing clothing (which is all that Olga Kurylenko's Marina does in nearly the entirety of the film) turns into solemn looks and throwing things around in anger (which is all that Olga Kurylenko's Marina does when she's not twirling around in her long flowing clothing).  For a film with next to no dialog, even the visual representation of the story gets incredibly repetitive.

To the Wonder is one of those films that exudes pretentiousness.  While The Tree of Life emitted the same affected and artsy aire, it at least had a bit more of a story to go along with it (along with better cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki who also contributes here).  Filmophiles fall head over heels for Malick, but so far this director hasn't become "must see" for me in the slightest.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Oblivion

Oblivion (2013)

Starring Tom Cruise, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman, and Melissa Leo

Directed by Joseph Kosinski

I saw Oblivion on a whim on its last day of release in theaters and the only thing I really knew about it was that some article I read said that most audiences would find it too complicated to comprehend -- "You really have to pay attention," it stated.  I'm all for something deep and intricate, but I found myself bracing for something rough.  All I can say is that it'd be a shame if people read the same article as me and shied away from seeing this flick like I almost did because Oblivion is one of the best science fiction films I've seen in a long time.

In 2017, aliens known as the Scavengers destroyed Earth's moon which wreaked havoc on our atmosphere, causing earthquakes, tsunamis, and other weather-related disasters.  Seeing our weakness, the "Scavs" invaded Earth, and while we managed to defeat them it was only via nuclear warfare which left most of our planet inhabitable.  Sixty years have passed and the humans that survived the ordeal now find themselves living on Titan, one of Saturn's moons.  Their new colony is powered by giant energy stations that sit atop Earth's oceans and Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and his partner Victoria "Vic" Olsen (Andrea Riseborough) live atop and run station #49, reporting back daily to Sally (Melissa Leo), their mission commander back on Titan.  One day, while Jack is out fixing a drone that protects the power stations from the few remaining Scavs on Earth, five pods fall from the sky containing humans including a woman named Julia (Olga Kurylenko) whom Jack has been seeing in his dreams -- a woman whose past may hold secrets that could change Jack's future.

Director Joseph Kosinski helmed Tron: Legacy three years ago and while I enjoyed that film, I felt that the action sequences weren't quite up to par, making me wonder if the then-first-time director had what it took to craft a special effects-heavy film.  Oblivion erases any questions in my mind about Kosinski's capabilities as he not only gets solid performances from all his actors and corrects any pacing issues I may have had with his prior work (this film moves along exceedingly well), but also creates a fantastic world here for the characters to inhabit.  Granted, considering that the film takes place only sixty years in the future, it is a little bit difficult to fathom the seemingly amazing advancements this plot believes that we as a civilization would have made (especially considering we would have been making said advancements in the midst of an alien invasion), but once you get past the notion that incredibly complicated hovercrafts and flying metallic autonomous drones are commonplace, Kosinski's Earth is a pretty nifty one.  All of the effects here are top notch and are really seamless -- they deserve to be remembered at year's end.

Tom Cruise has his ups and downs in my opinion, but for every Rock of Ages, there's a an action film like this one and I think this is the genre where he succeeds the most for me.  For a good portion of the film, it's just Cruise onscreen alone and he completely holds our attention.  Granted, the film isn't exactly asking for a lot from the guy, but he does a nice job.  Andrea Riseborough (whom I saw live on stage in a play in New York several years ago) is a presence I'd like to see in movies a bit more often.  This was her first big budget film and despite her character's cold exterior, she lit up the screen for me.  I thought there was something special about her when I saw her onstage and I think that's certainly the case.

The film's one disappointment is Olga Kurylenko whom I didn't love in Quantum of Solace and I wasn't a huge fan of here either.  It's not that Ms. Kurylenko does anything drastically wrong, it's just that I've yet to see her bring any modicum of enthusiasm or spark to her acting.  She's a pretty face, but she might have been better off sticking to her earlier modeling career.

Nevertheless, Oblivion surprised me for sure, providing me with one of the best science fiction moviegoing experiences I've had in a long time.  When this one eventually makes its way to Blu Ray, I highly suggest giving it a go.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Giancarlo Giannini, Gemma Arterton, and Jeffrey Wright
Directed by Marc Forster

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD FOR CASINO ROYALE

After a great first experience with Mr. Bond in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace had quite a bit to live up to and, unfortunately, it didn't really come close.  Taking place mere hours after the start of Casino Royale, Quantum is a quasi-sequel in that James Bond is still somewhat reeling (in that reserved British sense of "reeling") over the death of his lover and he finds himself on a mission to enact revenge on those who caused her death.  In and of itself, that would've been a good film, but we're given a eco-friendly villain (Mathieu Amalric) that I really couldn't care about -- the malevolence of taking away clean drinking water from the poor just isn't as much fun as world domination -- which doesn't help matters.

However, the biggest issue with Quantum of Solace is that director Marc Forster has no clue how to properly direct action sequences.  What I love about Casino Royale is that even the most ludicrous of action sequences are believable because of the way they are fluidly shot.  Forster resorts to the quick cuts that are so prevalent in action flicks today and there were several moments where I simply didn't comprehend what was going on.  Right from the opening scene in which two nearly identical black cars are involved in a chase, I knew I was in for disappointment.  When you can't tell which car is being driven by your protagonist and antagonist, you're in for trouble.

Here's hoping Skyfall is more like Casino Royale than this second Daniel Craig-starring venture.

The RyMickey Rating:  C