Cats

Cats (2019)

Starring Francesca Hayward, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Laurie Davidson, Robbie Fairchild, Rebel Wilson, James Cordon, Jason Derulo, Steven McRae, Danny Collins, Naoimh Morgan, Ray Winstone, and Taylor Swift

Directed by Tom Hooper

Written by Lee Hall and Tom Hooper

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - The Gunman

The Gunman (2015)

Starring Sean Penn, Ray Winstone, Mark Rylance, Jasmine Trinca, Idris Elba, and Javier Bardem

Directed by Pierre Morel

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

While not as awful as the poor reviews made it out to be, the biggest flaw of The Gunman is that it lacks originality.  After initially attempting to play out like an environmental/sociopolitical message movie (and seeing that it was co-written by Sean Penn, that's not a big surprise), the film thankfully shifts to an all-out action piece.  While that change of pace is certainly welcome (because the preachy heaviness of the film's opening minutes isn't amusing in the slightest), it's also the center of the flick's problem.  Director Pierre Morel also helmed Taken, and The Gunman feels like that film's sibling as an older man seeks revenge against people who are out to take him down.

Sean Penn is Terrier who in 2006 was a member of a assassination team who killed Congo's Minister of Mining and then is forced to go into hiding to prevent his identity from being revealed.  (The mining aspect is where the political and environmental concepts rear their heads, but that's fortunately abandoned rather quickly.)  Eight years later, Terrier is working for an African mining company when a group of vigilantes arrives at his worksite intent on killing him.  Terrier escapes, but must set out to find who wants him dead and why they've waited so long to do him in.

Surprisingly, Penn is capable of being the action star, bringing a bit of inward turmoil to Terrier that we don't often see in flicks like this.  That said, the character doesn't quite feel as developed as he should be.  Sure, he's given some odd quirks and a dire medical diagnosis that he must overcome, but I lacked a connection to his plight that could've come from a bit more deepening of the character.  The action sequences are well shot and well-paced, but I began to lose interest in the film's final act which is never a good sign for a film in this genre.  The supporting cast -- Ray Winstone, Javier Bardem, Mark Rylance -- is solid and certainly add to the quality of the film, but in the end The Gunman doesn't quite develop into the piece it could've been.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Noah

Noah (2014)

Starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Douglas Booth; with the vocal talent of Frank Langella and Nick Nolte

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

I go to church.  

I also go to movies.  

When I go to movies, they don't need to reflect any of the teachings that are espoused in the church, but if they do, I prefer not to be hit over the head with them.  I'm an intelligent enough guy to read between the lines and grasp any philosophical or religious undertones.  You won't ever catch me heading to the insanely (though perhaps dubiously) popular God's Not Dead for this very reason.  Blatant religious proselytization is a complete turn-off to me perhaps because it's not how I live my religious life.  (I'm one who you'll never find preaching my beliefs to others -- which perhaps makes me a bad Catholic, but I can't help but feel my beliefs are my own.)

The reason for that preface is to illustrate the point that those who are ragging on Darren Aranofsky's Noah for "taking liberties" with a Bible story that is two pages long don't know what they're talking about.  The criticisms lobbed at this one are utterly unfounded and quite honestly paint "religion" in a bad light.  Then again, I'm one of those religious folks who believe most aspects of the Bible are simply "stories" that present "how to live one's life" as opposed to "actual happenings."  But you Noah-complainers can go on believing that Noah lived to be 950 years old...

Noah is a beautiful film told by a talented director headlined by a movie star giving what could very well be the best performance of his career...and it espouses the overall tone of the biblical story of Noah to boot.  All of those reasons are why Noah is a success.  Granted, the film doesn't quite hit all the right notes -- Aronofsky (who also co-wrote the film with Ari Handel) throws in a "bad sheep" subplot revolving around one of Noah's sons Ham that proves to be the biggest issue -- but I greatly appreciated the film's attempt to display a man's religious convictions and how they shape his life.  While it's true that Noah may "go off the deep end" a little bit in the film's third act as he attempts to bring an end to all mankind as he feels that was God's plan for him, the film more than justifies that stance while also supplying an appropriate ending and epiphanic-type moment for the title character to realize the error of his interpretation of God's word.

Everyone knows the story of Noah (played by Russell Crowe) and his ark, but Aronofsky and Handel expand upon the short tale in great detail and with significant "free reign."  I'm pretty certain the Transformers-like Watchers -- six-armed stone creatures who protect Noah as he builds his ark -- didn't make an appearance in the Bible.  Nor was there an epic battle between Noah and the descendants of Cain headed by Tubal-cain (Ray Winstone) who desperately want to find refuge on the ark to live through the water apocalypse.  Personally, I found that this expansion of the biblical Noah story added depth, heart, and even strengthened the religious aspects of the tale.

Noah is a man who wants nothing more for his family to live a life at peace with the Earth and the creatures and humans who inhabit it.  When we first meet Crowe's Noah, he's a humble, quiet man who we can tell deeply cares for the well-being of his family and has a strong faith in the Creator.  (This "Creator" nonsense is perhaps the biggest "uproar" the movie caused.  With only one mention of the word "God," opponents of the film are up in arms.  This criticism is utterly unfounded.)  However, when he "hears" God speak to him, telling him to build an ark to safely shepherd his family and two of every creature through the approaching storm, his calmness shifts to diligence and steadfastness to the Creator.  However, upon seeing the Creator's wrath upon humanity, Noah admittedly starts to go off the deep end, feeling that this horrific event imposed upon humans must mean that God doesn't want them to inhabit the Earth anymore.  (This religious fervor that Noah feels is essentially mirrored in the religious folks who don't want you to see this film.  To me, they're eerily similar in that they both feel they are fully aware of what God would want from them.)  Nevertheless, Aronofsky's Noah character is a tricky one and Crowe absolutely succeeds at portraying every aspect of the complicated and thought-provoking character.

Jennifer Connelly as Noah's wife Naameh and Emma Watson as Noah's adopted daughter Ila also provide powerful performances in a film that also heavily focuses on the women in Noah's life.  In fact, it's when the film attempts to shift to the trials of Noah's two oldest sons Shem (Douglas Booth) and Ham (Logan Lerman) that the film falters.  Their "love triangle" of sorts with Ila is disappointingly trite and Ham's attempts to undermine his father oftentimes feel cheap and overly dramatic.

As far as the cinematic aspects of the film are concerned, despite the subject matter this is most certainly Darren Aronofsky's most "mass appeal" film to date.  After the quick cuts of Requiem for a Dream, the somewhat erotic Black Swan, and the inward "simplicity" of The Wrestler, Aronofsky allows the story to take center stage (despite having a much bigger budget for this one than any of his other features).  That isn't to say that there aren't some typical trippy moments -- the "creation" story Noah details in the third act is beautiful in that it stands in such stark contrast to the rest of the aesthetic of the film while still feeling like it naturally belongs in the piece -- but this is the "least Aronofsky" Aronofsky film I've seen.  Personally, I love what he brings to the table and I think he created a very thoughtful big budget flick.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Eddie Marsan, and Toby Jones

Directed by Rupert Sanders

The more financially successful of the two Snow White flicks released in 2012, Snow White and the Huntsman is certainly darker than the lighthearted Mirror Mirror (which is now available to stream on Netflix), but they're essentially telling the same story we're all familiar with since our childhood.  Shockingly enough, I found both oddly enjoyable to watch in their own ways with both ultimately creating interesting enough twists on the well-known tale to make them never fall into the been-there-done-that realm.

Despite being called Snow White and the Huntsman, the film certainly revolves around the evil Queen Ravenna who is played with wicked abandon by Charlize Theron.  Sexy and alluring, but frighteningly menacing, Theron sinks her teeth into the dark side and goes for broke rather successfully.  When she isn't on the screen, you want the film to shift back to her.  [It should be noted that I said the same thing about Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror so the role is obviously ripe for scene-stealing.]

But, despite the focus on the Queen, the film's title certainly implies that we're probably going to spend a bit of time with those two title characters, played in this film by Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth, both of whom are perfectly adequate, but undeniably bland.  Hemsworth fares better than Stewart, but that really shouldn't be a surprise considering that I've yet to see Stewart show any smidgen of realistic emotion onscreen in anything.  Here, I'm not sure she even utters fifty lines -- most of the film is her simply reacting vaguely and emptily to things -- but she still manages to prove irksome to this reviewer.

Still, despite the fact that the character of Snow White in a film called Snow White and the Huntsman is a bit of a dud, the film's delving into magic and eerie fantasy is a welcome addition to the tried and true story.  Sure, the Evil Queen has always dipped her hand into the dark arts, but here that's amplified by several degrees to great success and helps to add just enough variations to the tale.  Also amusing, the dwarfs here are typical "munchkin" height, but are played by some fairly famous faces -- Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, and Toby Jones to name a few -- which allows for some more solid acting than we're likely used to seeing from these smaller statured figures.

Overall, the comparison of Snow White and the Huntsman to Mirror Mirror ends up being a bit of a wash.  I'll admit that most will like this version better, but I can at least recognize that for more light-hearted kiddie fare, Mirror Mirror is a solid picture as well.  Neither are fantastic films, but both are acceptable interpretations of the fairy tale.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Edge of Darkness

Edge of Darkness (2010)

Starring Mel Gibson and Ray Winstone

Directed by Martin Campbell

It's certainly gauche in this day and age to say that one likes Mel Gibson.  Say what you will about me, but I must admit that I truly enjoy watching the guy onscreen.  Putting aside his anger issues and his bigotry, Gibson has a presence that pulls you in.  

In Edge of Darkness, Gibson takes on a role he's played a few times before -- the vengeful father.  Similar to Ransom and The Patriot, Gibson must avenge the wrongs that have been committed against his family -- and he's not a guy you want to mess with.  Here he's Thomas Craven, a Boston police officer whose twenty-something daughter is murdered right on his doorstep.  While he initially believes that the murderer intended to kill him, he soon discovers that his daughter was involved in a huge corporate and governmental cover-up with gigantic ramifications for the United States.

The problem with movies like this is that oftentimes the secrets are revealed much too easily and that's certainly the case here.  Everything seems to fall right into Craven's lap -- one thing after another.  It's actually a little surprising considering that the film was cowritten by William Monahan who penned a similar-type flick in The Departed.  Considering the expertise on display in that Academy Award-winner, Monahan was kind of lazy here.

Somehow, though, despite the faults in the script and the sometimes cheesy directorial choices, this film works.  I was caught off guard multiple times by some crazily crafted deaths that, while certainly there for "shock value" alone, had my mouth agape in disbelief.  It's not a perfect movie by any means, but it was an enjoyable one.

And it certainly helps that Gibson plays the raging furious guy so well.  I mean, he's had some practice apparently...

The RyMickey Rating:  B-