You've Got Mail

 You've Got Mail (1997)

Starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, Greg Kinnear, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle, Steve Zahn, Heather Burns, and Dabney Coleman

Directed by Nora Ephron

Written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Movie Review - Captain Fantastic

Captain Fantastic (2016)

Starring Viggo Mortenson, George MacKay, Samantha Isler, Annalise Basso, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks, Charlie Shotwell, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn, Ann Dowd, and Frank Langella

Directed by Matt Ross

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

The inhabitants of Captain Fantastic are people with whom I would never ever want to spend any time in real life.  Self-professed hippie Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) has taken his six kids out of the "normalcy" of society to live on their own private family commune in the middle of the Washington wilderness where they kill their own food, learn survival skills, live out of an old school bus, and learn about left-wing philosophies.  Leslie, the matriarch of the Cash family, was recently hospitalized for bipolar disorder and at the end of the film's first act, Ben learns that his wife has committed suicide.  With the kids devastated, Ben decides to put his children on the bus and travel to his wife's parents' home where he will try and convince them to acquiesce to his wife's wishes and cremate her rather than having a church ceremony and subsequent burial.

The bus journey makes up the bulk of Captain Fantastic and while it certainly showcases the bond Ben has with his six children, it does little to make me feel that what Ben is doing is good parenting.  While I recognize that my personal opinion is neither here nor there (Lord knows as a conservative-leaning movie-lover, I'd have to hate half of what Hollywood dishes out), the film wants the audience to believe that what Ben is doing with his wilderness living is the best thing for his kids despite the fact that the film shows us several times that it's not.  The film is inherently set up for us to root for the life of Ben and the kids to remain their current status quo, but we in the audience know that's not what's best for them and by Ben being so stubborn in his ways, I found myself losing interest about halfway through.  Granted, by the conclusion of writer-director Matt Ross's film, Ben eventually realizes that he needs to adjust his kids to some semblance of normalcy in order for them to survive in the real world, but it's a bit too little too late.

Still, despite this, Captain Fantastic is moderately engaging thanks to Viggo Mortensen at its core as the genuinely caring father whose disdain for modern life has transferred fully onto his children.  As for those kids, most of them do nice work helping Mortensen to carry the piece especially young Shree Crooks as the headstrong and inquisitive youngest daughter Zaja.  Obviously your mileage may vary, but something about the motivations of the characters made it difficult for me to buy into this film despite the good performances.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Featuring the vocal talents of Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Raymond Ochoa, Steve Zahn, Anna Paquin, and Sam Elliott 

Directed by Peter Sohn

As much as I say Pixar is without faults, churning out one hit after another, that's perhaps being overly generous, overlooking the fact that films that some people love -- Finding Dory, Up -- just don't hit the mark with me.  Unfortunately, The Good Dinosaur joins that lukewarm bunch.  While the scenic animation is gorgeous and incredibly photo-realistic, the character design is the most basic we've seen from Pixar yet and the story feels like a retread of better animated films of the past.  All in all, The Good Dinosaur is one of Pixar's biggest disappointments.

The story has some strong similarities to The Lion King, although it obviously pales in comparison.  A young dinosaur named Arlo (voiced by Raymond Ochoa) is the runt of his family with a brother and sister bigger and more capable than he.  His father (Jeffrey Wright) decides to take Arlo on a journey to try and make him braver and more confident in himself.  However, on this journey, a horrible flood rushes down a riverbed and carries Arlo's father away.  Pushed to safety in his father's final courageous act, Arlo finds himself on a journey home where he meets several unique creatures including a dog-like four or five-year-old human he names Spot who he befriends on his trek.

Yes, humans and dinosaurs co-exist here and I just couldn't help but think that the potential for this premise could've been more fully realized.  While it's true that Spot is the most engaging character in The Good Dinosaur despite the character not speaking a word, the co-mingling of these two species is disappointingly developed.  Obviously, it doesn't help that the film's main character - Arlo - is bland, paling in comparison to the amusing Spot.  Sure, Simba in The Lion King may not have been the funniest or most unique character, but we cared about his plight.  Arlo's plight lacks a captivating thread for some reason.

Although there are certain aspects of the film that are stellar - a great score by Jeff and Mychael Danna and some beautiful environmental imagery, the story (by a slew of people) and the design of the dinosaurs feel pre-schoolish which doesn't allow for anyone older than the age of ten to really connect with the proceedings.  The Good Dinosaur is a big disappointment and quite possibly my least favorite Pixar film to date.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Dallas Buyers Club

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Denis O'Hare, Dallas Roberts, and Steve Zahn

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée

Ron Woodruff is an electrician by day and a bull-riding rodeo wrangler by night.  He's a ladies' man, a guy's guy, and is filled with stereotypical Texas bravado.  So on a fateful day in 1986 when Ron is told by a doctor that he's contracted the HIV virus, he can't even fathom how that would be possible.  To him and all his buddies, HIV and AIDS were exclusively found in the homosexual community and Ron angrily refuses to believe his doctor's diagnosis.  However, after being given a thirty day life expectancy, Ron succumbs to the diagnosis, but starts researching his options on how to survive with HIV.  While the local hospital is experimenting with the FDA-approved drug AZT, Ron travels to Mexico to get a drug cocktail of sorts and the results are fantastic.  Seeing how poorly AZT is working within the gay community of Texas, Ron sets up his own medical distribution center of sorts -- the Dallas Buyers Club -- while constantly battling the government and the medical professionals since his treatments are faring better than what the FDA is providing.

And therein is the true story behind Dallas Buyers Club.  Unfortunately, the rather straightforward manner in which I presented the summary above without a lot pep, pizzazz, or vigor, is the way Ron Woodruff's story is presented to us as well in the film.  While the movie isn't a chore to sit through or boring per se, there's no momentum driving the film along.  The arc of Woodruff -- tough guy who hates homosexuals morphing into less of a tough guy who begins to feel compassion for the gay community -- isn't surprising in the slightest and leads to a film that doesn't really go anywhere since we know where it's going right from the outset.

Fortunately, the film is buoyed by a very strong performance from Matthew McConaughey who famously lost a lot of weight for his role as Woodruff.  McConaughey couples his smooth Southern drawl with an obviously chauvinistic demeanor to give us an initial impression of Woodruff that sets him up as a staunchly homophobic guy.  (I don't mean to imply that a Southern drawl equates with a homophobic mindset -- it's just the way McConaughey carries himself that gives us that idea of the character.)  Rather nicely, the film slowly allows Woodruff to come to the realization that his predisposed ideas about the gay community in Texas were perhaps wrongly skewed and I enjoyed McConaughey's quiet transformation he has Woodruff undergo as the film progresses.

Much awards buzz for the film has been centered around the performance of Jared Leto as Rayon, a transgender woman whom Woodruff meets in the hospital.  Wryly sarcastic and unafraid to fight back against Woodruff's homophobic jabs, Leto's Rayon provides some of the humor this heavy story needs.  However, considering that Rayon herself is fighting for her life having also contracted the AIDS virus, I was expecting to be moved by her story and I never was.  It doesn't help that the character of Rayon doesn't have a "moment" to me -- something that is seemingly important if you want to make it far in the awards race.  This is why it's rather surprising to me that Leto seems to be the early frontrunner in awards prognostications.  Simply dressing up as a woman isn't enough to impress and Leto's character wasn't given enough gravitas to warrant the buzz in my opinion.

The film has a nice, though underwritten, performance from Jennifer Garner as a doctor sympathetic to Woodruff's needs but unable to assist as she's tied to the FDA's regulations.  Denis O'Hare also is quite good as the head doctor at the Texas hospital who's seemingly in the pocket of the FDA providing a nice counterpoint to Garner's character.

Still, overall, Dallas Buyers Club doesn't have the emotional arcs I wanted in a film like this.  The film doesn't drive its story forward in such a way that felt exciting or impacting.  Woodruff's story -- if this film tells the truth (and I have no reason to believe it doesn't) -- is compelling and interesting, but it may have been better served as a documentary.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Escape from Planet Earth

Escape from Planet Earth (2013)

Featuring the voice talents of Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Ricky Gervais, Jessica Alba, Sofia Vergara, Sarah Jessica Parker, George Lopez, Steve Zahn, Craig Robinson, Jane Lynch, and William Shatner 

Directed by Cal Bruker

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

Ultimately, the question you're asking yourself upon seeing this post is "Why in the heck did you bother with this one?"  And, ultimately, the only answer I can give is "Because it was short."  Admittedly, I was looking for something light and super irrelevant as it was late at night and I wasn't quite ready to sleep yet and, unfortunately, Escape from Planet Earth seemingly fit that criteria.

Rather than delve into any review, let me just say that Escape from Planet Earth is a film that should consider itself lucky to have received any type of theatrical release because despite a cast that boasts a few second tier celebrity names, there's really nothing this film has going for it.  The animation is standard Nickelodeon fare and the story about a pair of fighting brothers who find peace with each other coming together to escape from Earth (hence the title) after being captured by an Area 51 agent is also sophomoric.

Just why bother?  I made the mistake...now you don't have to do the same.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Management (2009)

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, and Woody Harrelson
Directed by Stephen Belber

I'm mighty fond of Jennifer Aniston. Even in dreck like Love Happens, I'm a fan. In Management, the first shot we see of Aniston is of her posterior, and it's a mighty fine posterior. In one of the first scenes after this, her ass is the focus...and as you can see on the poster, Steve Zahn just can't keep his hands off of it. Lucky man.

Unfortunately, despite some admirable work from Aniston, this film just doesn't work after the first act.

I'll be honest, I wrote a longer review of this one, but for some reason it didn't save after the first two paragraphs and I don't feel like re-typing it simply because it really isn't worth my time.

The general idea of it was that the movie works for the first 30 minutes, but there's really no reason why Aniston would fall for the childlike Zahn who works as the night manager at his parent's motel. The final hour when Zahn's Mike follows Aniston's Sue to Washington state after she moves there to be with her ex-boyfriend (played by an over-the-top Woody Harrelson) just doesn't work at all. Mike meets a pothead Asian kid (Asian simply so that Mike can live in the kid's basement filled with soy sauce and rice because it's supposed to be "funny" and so we can hear the Asian kid's mother say "risitor" instead of "visitor") and the movie really just falls apart.

Anyway, the movie was a dud. Somebody give Aniston a good movie! (Then again, she produced this one, so I guess she's to blame).

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - A Perfect Getaway (2009)

Starring Timothy Olyphant, Kiele Sanchez, Milla Jovovich, and Steve Zahn
Written and Directed by David Twohy

This is one of those movies where they advertise a twist ending in the commercials and you can guess it before the movie even begins (Note to my brother...ding! ding! we have a winner! [sort of..]). Through some silly (or clever) writing (you be the judge if you see it), writer-director David Twohy (who also wrote The Fugitive...one of the best flicks of the last twenty years) managed to get me to doubt my initial thoughts, but I was right nonetheless. Regardless of the bitterness I hold for doubting my thoughts (and I'm a bitter, bitter man), the movie's failure lies in the fact that for a suspense flick, there's very little suspense to be had. A severe lack of tension is the flick's downfall.

Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich are a honeymooning couple in Hawaii...Zahn's the nebbish worrywart and Jovovich is the slightly more adventurous one (we know this because she talks about oral sex in front of other people...such great writing on display here). They plan to trek along some trail through the forests. They meet another couple played by Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez. He's the kooky war veteran, she's the daft Southern belle. When Zahn and Jovovich hear of a honeymooning couple being murdered on another Hawaiian island, they begin to wonder whether this new couple that they're hanging out with is the culprit.

It's tough to talk about this flick without spoiling anything (and the mere fact of me saying that there's a twist will probably ruin the flick for anyone that plans to see it, but hey, it's in the advertisements). Acting-wise, everyone seemed to be acting -- everyone felt like a character. Sure, there were a few good one-liners and Olyphant was the stand-out of the quartet, but even he felt like a caricature of a real person. Writing-wise, like I said above, Twohy tries to hide the twist, but in the end, his trickery just seems rather silly. I felt like nothing happened in this movie for the whole first 70 minutes (and nothing did happen). The final 20 is somewhat interesting, but even then I never felt like I was on the edge-of-my-seat.

The suspense genre is my favorite, so I often wonder whether I'm too harsh on these kinds of flicks, but when you don't have any sense of anxiety or dread in a movie like this, there's a problem. It wasn't awful, but, in the end, it was pointless.

The RyMickey Rating: D+

Movie Review - Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

Starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Clifton Collins, Jr., and Jason Spevack

Written by Megan Holley
Directed by Christine Jeffs


Little indie movies always have to work harder for me to enjoy them for some reason. They need to overcome the smaller budget and grainier look with a stellar story. The main storyline of Sunshine Cleaning -- dealing with two sisters who form a business specializing in cleaning up after crime scenes -- is entirely amusing. Unfortunately, it is the secondary plots that cause the movie to falter a bit.

Amy Adams is quickly becoming an actress that I would see in anything. She has a charisma onscreen that is winning and captivating, and as Rose she absolutely becomes the character. Similarly, Emily Blunt as younger sister Norah was Norah...I never felt like I was watching actresses onscreen at all. Steve Zahn and Clifton Collins, Jr., also provided some good supporting work. On the other hand, in the case of Alan Arkin (as the two ladies' father), I couldn't help but think I was watching an actor. Arkin was simply playing the same character he played in Little Miss Sunshine. It certainly didn't help that the subplot surrounding Arkin's Joe trying to find success in various odd business ventures dragged down the movie. I didn't care at all about Joe. The same could be said for the subplot surrounding Lynn (Rajskub) as a woman who Blunt's Norah befriends after the two sisters clean up after the suicide of Lynn's mother. Completely unnecessary, it completely brought the movie to a halt whenever Rajskub was onscreen.

Those subplots are incredibly unfortunate because the general story is a great one and had such comedic potential. The movie was fairly short as it was, but I feel like if it was 30 minutes shorter without the extraneous secondary stories, it could've been a great movie. Unfortunately, it was only an average movie bolstered by winning performance from Amy Adams.

The RyMickey Rating: C+