Baby Boom

Baby Boom (1987)

Starring Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard, Harold Ramis, Sam Wanamaker, and James Spader 

Directed by Charles Shyer

Written by Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: D+

Movie Review - Midnight Special

Midnight Special (2016)

Starring Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, Sam Shepard, and Adam Driver 

Directed by Jeff Nichols

***This film is currently streaming on HBO Now/Go***

I legitimately had no clue what I was getting into when I started Midnight Special.  Maybe I'd seen a trailer...maybe...but with the exception of knowing that it was directed by Jeff Nichols -- whose film oeuvre I find decent, yet slightly boring -- I really was coming into this blind.  By the time the credits rolled, Midnight Special lands in that same realm of Nichols' other films -- decent, yet slightly boring although it admittedly is a bit more ambitious in scope than Take Shelter, Mud, or Loving.

Honestly, I'm not going to summarize this one all that much.  I think the lack of knowledge concerning the storyline helped me become immersed much more than I would have otherwise.  Needless to say, the overall gist is that two men (Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton) have seemingly kidnapped a young boy named Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher) who may or may not possess some special powers or secret knowledge that multiple entities including the US government want.

The mix of science fiction, chase film, and family drama surprisingly meld together quite well with Nichols planting the viewer right into the action from the opening scene and gradually revealing the various layers of mystery as the story progresses.  Michael Shannon is surprisingly captivating in a role that requires a bit of heart rather than the typical scary intensity we see from him.  Jaeden Lieberher is also successful as the young boy who may be more than he seems.

Nichols takes his time to craft his characters and in doing so they prove to be fully developed.  He certainly excels in carving out an atmosphere for his economically lower-class characters to inhabit.  It's just unfortunate that his films oftentimes feel so slowly paced.  While a little more plot-driven than his other works, Nichols is still proving to be a director that meanders his way through things.  While I've yet to truly dislike anything he's brought to the screen in his young career thus far, I keep waiting to be blown away and I thought it might've happened with this one.  The first hour is tense and full of edge-of-your-seat moments.  Unfortunately, it devolves a bit in the second half where the pacing becomes a bit of a slog.  Still, Midnight Special is Jeff Nichols' best work yet and he's a director to keep an eye on in the future.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Cold in July

Cold in July (2014)

Starring Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Vinessa Shaw, Wyatt Russell, and Don Johnson

Directed by Jim Mickle

East Texas 1989.  Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall) kills a home invader only to have the criminal's father Russel (Sam Shepard) begin to stalk Dane and his family.  Although Cold in July begins with this premise, the flick shifts about a third of the way through and despite some plot holes which probably should've bothered me, I found the gritty film noir a rather enjoyable mystery.

This is again one of those flicks that I almost gave up on.  The opening act does tend to plod along -- how many scenes of Russel skulking around the Dane house can we witness before we start to go a little crazy?  However, things definitely kick into a little higher gear -- or at the very least a different direction -- and the unexpected change of events gives the film a bit of a refreshing angle.  Jim Mickle brings a grittiness to the flick that is certainly befitting of the plot and Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, and a humorous (though not overly so) Don Johnson all feel natural in their surroundings without feeling hokey which sometimes happens in film noirs.

I'd like to talk more about Cold in July, but to do so would be a moderate spoiler, so I'll leave this review as simplistic as it is.  While not mind-blowing and certainly containing a few flaws, Cold in July proved to be better than I expected given its rather lukewarm beginning.

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Movie Review - August: Osage County

August: Osage County (2013)

Starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregory, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Misty Upham, and Sam Shepard

Directed by John Wells

I must admit that I avoided August: Osage County in theaters because I had a disappointing experience with the Pulitzer Prize-winning play upon which the film is based.  Four years ago, I remember heading up to Philadelphia on my birthday excited to see both the Phillies play a day game (this was when they were still moderately good, whereas games now are sometimes greeted with exasperation when I have to go) and then go see August: Osage County on stage at night.  The play had garnered gushing rave reviews and won a slew of awards when it had played in New York City, so I told my family that it had to be good.  It wasn't (and my review reiterated this).  I was greeted with a three hour-and-twenty minute soap opera that seemingly kept trying to one-up itself with ridiculous "surprises."  Needless to say, this previous experience with playwright Tracy Letts' material didn't have me awaiting with bated breath his re-working of his own play for the silver screen.  Color me surprised then when I finally put the Blu-Ray into the player and discovered that Letts pared down his play by over an hour and created something that is still steeped in GREAT melodrama, but works a bit better on the screen than it did on the stage.

With a huge esteemed acting ensemble in tow, August: Osage County tells the story of the Weston family whose patriarch Beverly (Sam Shepard) has gone missing at the film's start.  Ailing matriarch Violet (Meryl Streep) calls her three daughters -- Barbara, Ivy, and Karen (Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, and Juliette Lewis, respectively) -- back to their old Oklahoma home to help their cancer-stricken mother find their father.  Taking place almost entirely in and around their childhood home, the three daughters find themselves having to deal with their abrasive and over-medicated mother, her somewhat crazy, though lovable sister Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale), and their own significant others all of whom are creating trouble for their own personal lives.

This is a film that despite being nearly balanced in terms of the gender make-up of the cast is all about the women.  While Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney, Chris Cooper, and Benedict Cumberbatch may try to act like they're important, the core relationship this film is focusing upon is that of Violet and her three daughters and all four of the actresses portraying those characters hold their own.  Of course, Meryl Streep is quite good, playing the incredibly off-putting and sharp-tongued no-nonsense Violet.  In my opinion, however, she's upstaged by Julia Roberts who brings a quiet resilience and strength to Barbara, a character who, in my opinion, is just as much a lead as Violet despite the fact that the film and play may try and convince you otherwise.  Unfortunately (and this isn't Roberts' fault as I felt this was an issue in the theatrical production as well), the character of Barbara is a tiny bit flawed.  [Moderate Spoiler:  Tracy Letts attempts to make us feel that Barbara is "becoming" her mother in terms of personality, words, and actions, but I never was convinced of that.  Despite literally being told, "You're becoming our mother," Barbara is much more grounded than we ever see Violet and, I believe being the oldest daughter, she feels simply that she needs to smack a little bit of sense into her sisters considering that she's had her own troubles and doesn't want to see her siblings fall down a dark path.]

August: Osage County isn't a perfect film, but its flaws abound from the Pulitzer Prize-winning (for some reason) script.  This is absolutely a convoluted family soap opera -- epic almost in its laughable plot twists at times.  Still, thanks to a fantastic cast of actors -- not a single one of whom disappoints in the slightest -- they elevate this sometimes silly material and make us give a damn about this crazy Weston family.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Mud

Mud (2013)

Starring Tye Sheridan, Matthew McConaughey, Jacob Lofland, Sam Shepard, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon, and Reese Witherspoon

Directed by Jeff Nichols

Mud is a tale of two movies for me.  One film details the coming-of-age story of a kid named Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his buddy Neckbone (Jacob Lofland).  The fourteen year-olds are struggling to deal with their strive for independence from their families as well as attempting to navigate the choppy waters of teenage love.  The other film deals with these two teens meeting a mysterious man named Mud (Matthew McConaughey) who befriends them, but seems to be hiding more than a few secrets.

The first film focusing on the kids which takes place during the first hour works...and works incredibly well.  I found the normalcy of the everyday trials of these Southern teens oddly riveting despite the fact that there was perhaps a mundane aspect to it.  Part of the reason for this half's success are the great performances from Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland.  Together, these two young talents more than held their own and their relationship and repartee with one another was wonderfully natural and believable.

Unfortunately, the second half of the film shifts much of its focus to the character of Mud and despite McConaughey's charm and charisma (coupled with a fine performance), I just found myself not caring about his plight of trying to win back his girl Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) and the chaos that surrounds his shady character's secrets.  Rather oddly, whenever Mud places its attention on its title character, it becomes much more bland.  The film's final moments (including a very oddly staged "action" sequence) prove to be more laughable than anything else and stand in stark contrast to the "reality" that the script provides for its two teen characters.

This is the second film I've seen from writer-director Jeff Nichols (after Take Shelter) and I appreciate his development of characters.  He's also quite adept at culling nice performances from his actors who, considering the aforementioned development of characters, have a nice script to sink their teeth into.  However, I do think that as Nichols grows as a filmmaker, he needs to get a bit more of a discerning eye when it comes to his work as I found Mud a bit meandering and unfocused especially in its flawed second half.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-