Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan, Vanessa Kirby, Wes Bentley, and Alec Baldwin

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Written by Christopher McQuarrie

Summary (in 500 words or less):  When his team's mission fails, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his crew (Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg) are forced to be shadowed by CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill) at the behest of CIA director Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett).  At odds, Hunt and Walker attempt to track down missing plutonium before it falls into the hands of a terrorist group known as the "Apostles" who want to create several nuclear weapons and cause massive damage across the globe. 

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Pete's Dragon

Pete's Dragon (2016)

Starring Oakes Fegley, Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oona Laurence, Wes Bentley, and Karl Urban

Directed by David Lowery

The original 1977 Pete's Dragon doesn't hold a particularly fond place in this Disney fan's heart simply in that it wasn't a staple in my household growing up.  I was hoping that would bode well for the prospects of Disney's 2016 remake, but unfortunately the updated version was a bit of a disappointment.  Although it was well acted, I found the film to be rather dull, lacking enchantment considering the somewhat whimsical subject matter.

While driving with his parents through the forests of the Northwest United States, a horrible car accident occurs and leaves six year-old Pete the only survivor.  Wandering the woods with no one to help him, Pete comes across a green, furry dragon whom he names Elliot and the two become close friends.  Six years later, an eleven year-old Pete (Oakes Fegley) is discovered by Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), a national park ranger, who brings the young boy back to town.  Despite having the luxuries of modern-day conveniences, Pete misses his friend Elliot, but he has a difficult time convincing people that his dragon/friend/caretaker is real.

Throw in some bad (though not necessarily "evil") loggers, Grace's somewhat kooky father (played by Robert Redford), and a bit of an unnecessarily destructive climax involving a bridge collapse and you end up having a film that feels like it needed a little more focus in order to succeed.  As mentioned, the acting across the board is quite good, but the cast isn't given much to work with here.  This is a kid's movie about a dragon for goodness sakes -- it should scream "fun" and "enchanting," but director and co-writer David Lowery's film lacks any charm and fancifulness.  While Lowery crafts a film that looks good and creates a believable atmosphere for its characters (including the computer-generated Elliot) to inhabit, I found myself not wanting to spend all that much time with them with the heavy dreariness that seems to permeate throughout the piece.

Once again, as is often the case, Disney's live-action remake machine disappoints.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - We Are Your Friends

We Are Your Friends (2015)

Starring Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, Emily Ratajkowski, Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, Alex Shaffer, and Jon Bernthal

Directed by Max Joseph

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

I'm typically not a fan of movies that glorify a drug-filled slacker lifestyle, but color me surprised that something clicked with We Are Your Friends, a film that unjustifiably garnered one of the lowest opening weekend (and grand total) box office grosses ever for a wide release film.  We Are Your Friends is by no means a film without flaws (the film's climactic ending, as an example, comes off more laughable than dramatically effective) but the drubbing it received from the public is a bit surprising seeing how this coming of age film seems like it would've hit home with the college age "finding yourself" crowd.

We follow young twenty-something Cole (Zac Efron), a San Fernando Valley DJ, who spends his free time perfecting his craft by hovering over his computer and hanging out with his trio of slacker friends (Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, and Alex Shaffer) who all do what they can (including selling drugs) in order to make ends meet.  One evening at a club event where he is DJ'ing, Cole meets James (Wes Bentley), an older, more experienced spinner who invites Cole out for a night on the town, after which they become friends.  The mentor/mentee relationship begins well, but starts to falter when Cole finds himself falling for James's girlfriend Sophie (Emily Ratajkowski) and an infamous cinematic love triangle begins to form.

The film makes much use of music, detailing how DJs gradually amp up their rhythms to get the crowd in a never-ending groove.  First-time feature film director Max Joseph utilizes a rampant pulsing beat throughout many of the film's scenes that while creating a music video atmosphere also perfectly depicts the places inhabited by the characters in the film.  The frenetic club sequences are nicely balanced by some quieter, more dramatic and character-developing moments and the two distinct filmmaking styles and tones mesh quite seamlessly with one another.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the film's disappointing box office returns (and, quite frankly, one of the reasons I misjudged the flick) is that it stars Zac Efron.  While I'm certainly not saying his performance here should've garnered any modicum of awards fervor, I think the time has come to realize that he's grown into a completely capable and compelling star.  Looking back on my reviews of the young man, he's more than proven he's got what it takes to hold his own onscreen. The days of High School Musical are behind him and perhaps he needs to be taken a bit more seriously.  The rest of the cast is also quite good -- and, with full knowledge of the sexist nature of this upcoming remark -- Emily Ratajkowski is stunningly gorgeous (and holds her own with her slightly underdeveloped love interest role).

It may seem like I'm overpraising We Are Your Friends given the grade it'll be receiving below, but it's not without a few large faults.  By the time the film comes to its conclusion, I never got the sense the character of Cole had gone through a huge growth arc and I think that's supposed to be the emotional core.  The flick's final scene is supposed to be a pivotal moment for the character and the way director/co-screenwriter Joseph has filmed and wrote it, I couldn't help but chuckle a little.  Still, this is his first film and overall I think that there are huge amounts of promise in the director.  Sure, We Are Your Friends oftentimes mimics a music video, but that aspect of it never overstays its welcome.  This one was a bit of a sleeper for me that I almost bypassed -- I'm happy I didn't.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Welcome to Me

Welcome to Me (2015)

Starring Kristen Wiig, Wes Bentley, Linda Cardellini, Joan Cusack, Loretta Devine, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Thomas Mann, James Marsden, Tim Robbins, and Alan Tudyk

Directed by Shira Piven

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

While I must admit that I laughed quite a bit during Welcome to Me, after nearly every chuckle I found myself cringing that I was finding what I was watching humorous.  Sometimes it's a good thing when a movie makes you question your innate emotional reaction, but by the end of Welcome to Me, I ended up just feeling unpleasantly uncomfortable because the film disappoints in creating a well-rounded lead character.

The problem lies in the fact that star Kristen Wiig is playing Alice Klieg -- a woman with Borderline Personality Disorder who wins an $86 million dollar lottery and immediately abandons her meds -- as if she were a caricature from a Saturday Night Live skit rather than a well-rounded person.  That isn't to say that Wiig isn't funny.  As Alice, who obsesses over Oprah Winfrey's feel-good talk show and decides to spend millions to create her own lifestyle low-budget cable access show, Wiig has many moments that elicit laughs.  However the script and Wiig's portrayal full of jittery physical motions and dazed eyes are one-note, attempting to define a character only by a psychiatric disorder and the idiosyncrasies that accompany the disease as opposed to other aspects of life.

Oddly enough, however, despite this obviously major problem, I actually didn't dislike Welcome to Me altogether because the premise was certainly unique enough to warrant its existence.  With a supporting cast of many well-known names -- who really aren't given much to do -- the actors countering Wiig do a nice job of trying to keep the film based in reality.  As mentioned, I laughed during this one, but by the time the film ended, I found myself thinking back on it disappointed as opposed to pleased due to the fact that there was potential there for something only to be hindered by a script that fails to help its lead character.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Pioneer

Pioneer (Pionér) (2014)

Starring Aksel Hennie, Wes Bentley, Stephanie Sigman, Jonathan LaPaglia, Ane Dahl Torp, Jorgen Langhelle, André Eriksen, and Stephen Lang

Directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg

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

During the early 1980s, the Norwegian government was in the midst of beginning its program for oil harvesting.  During a test dive, Petter (Aksel Hennie) and his brother Knut (André Eriksen) are involved in a terrible accident.  Upon resurfacing, Petter discovers that this accident may not have been coincidental and may be the start of a large conspiracy involving the Norwegians and Americans' attempts to gain control of the massive amount of oil below the ocean's surface.

While a little slow moving at the start and quite a bit repetitive in the middle, Pionér is intriguingly based on a true story and this reality carries an inherent interest that makes even the dullest moments more watchable.  Aksel Hennie -- so good in Headhunters which is also streaming on Netflix (watch it!) -- more than ably anchors the film and creates a character whose paranoid demeanor following his brother's accident never seems forced or over-the-top.

Unfortunately, Erik Skjoldbjærg's film meanders, hitting much of the same dramatic notes over and over.  While the director more than adequately crafts the underwater scenes with tension, his surface-based suspenseful moments don't land as well.  Pionér is a worthy film with an interesting true premise, but it's not as successful as it probably should be.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Interstellar

Interstellar (2014)

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley Mackenzie Foy, John Lithgow, Timothée Chalamet, Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Topher Grace, Ellen Burstyn, and Michael Caine

Directed by Christopher Nolan

I was extremely wary about Interstellar.  During its theatrical run, I found myself avoiding it due to its nearly three-hour running time and the much-gossiped about notion that its story was too talky and too befuddling.  So, with trepidation I sat down to watch director and co-screenwriter Christopher Nolan's Interstellar in one sitting not expecting to enjoy myself.  Obviously, this lede is insinuating that I liked the film and that intimation would be true.  While not without its faults, Interstellar is a surprisingly action-filled drama that, while certainly "deep" and a bit convoluted, is much easier to comprehend than I expected.

To make a (very) long story short, Earth is dying and within several years, it will be uninhabitable.  While driving around with his daughter one evening, former astronaut Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) stumbles upon a secret NASA facility wherein scientists are building a spaceship that can send a crew to explore the far regions of space to look for another planet that can sustain human life.  Much to his daughter Murph's (Mackenze Foy) chagrin, Cooper agrees to take part in the mission which will likely take him away from home for several years.  This connection between father and daughter continues to take shape as the film progresses with Murph aging into a young woman (played by Jessica Chastain) and Cooper still out in space.

Interstellar works best when it finds itself in space.  There's a harrowing sense of anticipation and excitement in nearly every story element as Cooper and his fellow astronauts (Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentlely, and David Gyasi) desperately struggle to find a place where the human race can survive for eons to come.  As they journey from planet to planet, they're forced to make some tough decisions which are intellectually complex, though at the same time fathomable to the general movie-going public.

Unfortunately, Insterstellar takes a long time to actually get Cooper up into space.  For nearly an hour, we find Cooper and his family bemoaning the state of the Earth and then debating whether Cooper should take on the space mission.  I remember about forty minutes in looking at how much time was left and getting antsy that there was still nearly two hours to go.  I recognize the need to set up a father/daughter relationship in the first act, but Nolan and his co-screenwriter brother Jonathan fail to keep things moving and the languid pace weighs down the entire film.

As mentioned, though, once we're in space, Interstellar becomes an intriguing film.  The special effects are top notch and the sound design (which got dinged a bit by critics who watched the film in theaters) works fine on a small screen sound system.  The acting is solid, but I had a few qualms with Matthew McConaughey's lead performance as Cooper.  First, I wanted him to open his damn mouth when he talked because multiple times it sounded as if he was talking with a handful of marbles in his mouth.  Perhaps more importantly, though, I felt that he looked bored for most of the flick.  Unlike other characters who were desperately trying to save their planet and complete a successful mission, McConaughey's Cooper didn't convey that sense of urgency.  While there are certainly moments in space during which McConaughey successfully showcases his emotions as a father longing to be reunited with his children, overall I felt that Cooper left me longing to connect with him seeing as how he was the crux of the whole film.

Despite some qualms, Interstellar actually provides a rather enjoyable experience.  Did I understand everything that happens at the end as the film veers into some weird metaphysical stuff?  Nope.  But I at least didn't feel like I was completely oblivious to the proceedings.  If you were wary like me to see this because of these fears of confusion (or simply because of the film's length), let me brush those aside for you and beckon you to give Interstellar a chance.

The RyMickey Rating:  B