Reviews: Labor Day and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

30. Labor Day
I could count on one hand the number of movies I've seen with my pass that were so unenjoyable that I wouldn't see them again even if a friend wanted to. "Labor Day" does not make that list (another film, which I'll discuss in my next movie update does), but that doesn't mean it was anything resembling a good movie. In fact, the ludicrousness of some aspects of the film may have even helped to make it watchable, as my constant eye-rolling made me an active participant.

The biggest problem with the film is that its timeline robs it of all credibility. The main story takes place, as the title indicates, over Labor Day weekend. The evolution of the relationships between the characters is impossible over this short time frame. Kate Winslet's character goes from being held hostage by Josh Brolin in her own house, to falling in love with him, to planning to run away together to Canada. Over the course of a long weekend. There's such a thing as suspension of disbelief, but this is ridiculous. While watching the film, I often assumed that several days had passed, until "Saturday" was superimposed on the screen, reminding me that it had only been one.

There is also some problematic overacting going on near the end of the film. Two of the characters are questioned in one scene by a suspicious police officer, and in another by suspicious bank employees. They respond to this with such over the top nervous behavior (stumbling over words, huge eyes, etc.) that in a movie with any realism they would be increasing suspicion instead of averting it.

31. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
I saw this back in November around the time it came out, and enjoyed it. I didn't feel an overwhelming urge to see it again, but it was still in theatres and my pass would let me, so I figured "why not".

My opinion of it stayed the same. It's a good movie, but didn't change my life in any way. I enjoyed it more than the first film, which had too many shaky cam shots for my taste. My viewings of this film also benefitted from being done long after having read the book. When I saw the first "Hunger Games" film, I had just finished the book. This made some alterations from the text, even when justified, distracting. I was able to enjoy this film without having the book excessively fresh in my mind.

I don't really have much else in the way of critique to say about this film. It does its job effectively, and is a solid, skillfully made movie. There's nothing major in it to criticize, but also nothing so incredible about it to warrant effusive praise.

I've gotten through the first of my two books for February, and I'll have a little to say about that in my next post.

Reviews: That Awkward Moment and Gravity

28. That Awkward Moment
This movie and others like it are the cinematic equivalent of going to a chain restaurant and ordering a cheeseburger. You go into it knowing what to expect and you leave satisfied, even if ultimately it is a forgettable movie/burger.

"That Awkward Moment" is consistently amusing and has a few good laughs, but there's nothing there to elevate it above its genre. It is incredibly formulaic. The general direction of the plot is evident from the word "go". There are also a few moments in the film that felt a bit contrived; they were only present to help the film move along its preordained track. In a movie with loftier aspirations, this would have bothered me more, but in this case I merely shrugged. Sure, some elements of the screenplay could have been handled with more subtlety, but this didn't have a huge negative impact on my viewing experience.

This probably isn't worth seeing in theatres for people who don't go very often, but it would make for a fine choice for an evening's entertainment once it's available for rental or on cable.

29. Gravity
I didn't use my Movie Pass to see "Gravity", as the pass doesn't work for IMAX or 3D screenings, and I'd heard that the film should be seen under those conditions. That turned out to be good advice.

The visuals in the film are amazing, and the use of 3-D feels merited. In some films I'll almost forget I'm seeing a movie in 3-D (in a bad way), but here I felt the effects of the extra dimension for the entire film. It was on these merits that the film held my attention. The story itself is effective, but nothing special or groundbreaking. It probably came across as better than it actually is due to how well the effects immerse the viewer in the world of the film.

Were the groundbreaking effects enough to justify the film's Best Picture nomination? I'm not sure, but they might be. It's certainly not at the bottom of my list now that I've seen all the nominees. And this movie highlighted better than anything else I've seen in a while one of the reasons to go to the movies. It's not always about seeing a complex story. Sometimes it's just about the spectacle of it all.

Next time: "Labor Day" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire".

Reviews: I, Frankenstein and Dallas Buyer's Club

26. I, Frankenstein
When my brother-in-law was visiting over the holidays, he saw a trailer for "I, Frankenstein" on TV and commented that the movie looked terrible. He wasn't far off. The film has an interesting premise, but fails to do anything with it. It never really comes together.

If the screenplay is any indication, this movie was doomed from the start. It is a series of scenes loosely connected into a "plot", and lazily written. At one point, Adam (the monster) sneaks into the bad guys' lair and walks around almost freely, getting hints as to what their Big Evil Plan is. The lack of security is ridiculous. The only reason he's able to walk around freely is because that's what needs to happen for the story to progress and the writer could not be bothered to make the situation any more believable.

It's also hard to care about what we're told is the imminent destruction of the human world, when the number of human characters could be counted on one hand. There aren't even any extras populating the world. When the characters do battle throughout the streets of the city, those streets are completely empty. One look at this empty city with its desaturated, bluish hues, and one wonders what human world they're trying to save.

27. Dallas Buyers Club
I was a little disappointed by this film. It was well made and featured some great performances, but it never really grabbed me, so I was not as invested in what happened to the characters as I could have been.

The film is oddly paced. It frequently skips time, jumping months or years into the future. Many films do this, but in "Dallas Buyers Club", the skips do not feel as natural because every time they take place, a title card pops up saying "Two Months Later". Such title cards can be used occasionally to good effect (there's an example in "The Wolf of Wall Street"), but when they show up all the time, they pull me out of the film. They create the feeling of distance between the viewer and the story, and when bad things happen to the characters, I find myself thinking "Gosh, that's a shame" instead of feeling the righteous indignation the filmmakers are probably aiming for. The film's ending is also strange. It has a climactic moment, yes, but not one that it feels like the whole movie has been building towards. Then, a final title card appears on screen and the movie is over. For me it was too sudden, but was also reflective of the film's failure to fully connect with me throughout.

None of this is to demean the performances however, some of which are likely to win awards on Oscar night.

Next time: "That Awkward Moment" and "Gravity".

Reviews: Captain Phillips and Gimme Shelter

24. Captain Phillips
If I hadn't gotten my Movie Pass, there is a good chance I would have never seen this film. I won't go into details, but from some things I've read, the filmmakers portray the lead character in a more flattering light than he probably deserves. This was enough for me to not want to spend money to see the film, but with my Movie Pass, I could see it for free. So why not? In spite of my reservations, I was able to judge the film on its own merits.

The first half of the film is very good. It gives an intense "you are there" feeling, especially during the brief time that some of the hijackers play a cat and mouse game with crew members still hiding on the boat. Unfortunately, this comes to an end much sooner than I'd expected. The second half of the film consists primarily of five people in a lifeboat. There are still intense moments in this half, especially near the end, but for much of the time the urgency is lost. I understand the need for the movie to take it's time here, even at the risk of getting a little dull. It needs to establish the frustrations faced by the characters who are cooped up in this small boat for days on end. It takes it a little too far, though. This section could have easily lost a good ten to fifteen minutes.

25. Gimme Shelter
This movie wasn't bad. I actually kind of liked it, but the story didn't have quite enough of a spark to justify the film's exhibition in a theatrical setting. Instead, it felt like a good TV movie. There are moments of drama. In fact, much of the film is quite dramatic, but these scenes are not arranged to create a palpable sense or "rising action" leading towards a conclusion. Perhaps television really would be the best medium to showcase "true stories" like this. When making any film, but especially one meant for the movie theatres, it is most important to make the material work as a film, even if that requires making changes to the true story or the source material.

Aside from lacking that crucial "spark", the film was well made. As a big fan of "High School Musical 3", it was fun for me to see Vanessa Hudgens deliver this kind of performance, where she changes her appearance, voice, etc. I wish the film had had a more solidly structured screenplay that gave her more to do with the character.

Next time: "I, Frankenstein" and "Dallas Buyers Club".

Reviews: Nebraska and 12 Years a Slave

As I've mentioned in my February Goals, now that I've seen almost everything in theatres, I'll be using my Movie Pass to see the new releases of each week, but won't be going to the theatre quite as much as I did in January. As a result, I'm going to start reviewing two films per movie post instead of three, as I have less to catch up on.

22. Nebraska
Sometimes a director will make a film so good that it is virtually impossible for him to ever top it. For Alexander Payne, that movie is "Sideways". I have never seen a movie more artfully walk the line between serious drama and laugh out loud comedy, both aspects of the film resulting from some brilliant performances.

It is clear while watching "Nebraska" that it is made by the same filmmaker. There are some sequences that would be right at home in a film like "Sideways". But this time I did not connect anywhere near as well with the characters, so these sequences did not have the same comedic or dramatic effect they would have had in the other film. They could still be amusing, but rarely rose above that. There were some isolated moments that truly had life and drew me in, but they were too few to elicit sustained interest. Also, I was not bothered by the film being in black and white, but do not see how this was as "essential" as Payne has claimed.

In short, I did not dislike this film, but did not particularly like it, either. "Sideways" was like capturing lightning in a bottle. Anything that follows is not likely to live up to it.

23. 12 Years a Slave
Before seeing this film, I had heard that it was good, but that it was a "homework" movie, something you felt you should watch, but wouldn't particularly enjoy. For me, the most important factor in a movie's "enjoyment" is whether or not it kept my attention. No matter how hard certain parts of a film are to watch, as long as I'm not bored, I consider the film to be enjoyable.

Based on that criteria, I enjoyed "12 Years a Slave" quite a bit. Yes, there were some acts of violence that were difficult to watch, but the film kept my attention for its entire run time. It is full of good actors, featuring many veteran performers in small roles (it was nice to see Paul Giamatti playing a nastier character than he usually does). Even knowing where the film was going (the title hints pretty overtly that the lead character's time as a slave has a shelf life), the strong performances kept me invested in what was happening to the characters in the present.

My only issue with the film is that some shots are held for a bit too long, especially some close-ups. The problem is that these shot lengths did not feel organic, and called attention to themselves. When I'm sitting in a theatre thinking "this shot has gone on for a long time", it pulls me out of the story a little.

Next up: "Captain Phillips" and "Gimme Shelter".

Goals for February

Here are the goals I've set for myself for February:

1. Watch at least 10 different movies in the theatre. This goal returns from January, where I exceeded it by quite a bit. It should still be a fairly easy goal to attain, but there's no way I'll be racking up the same numbers I did last month. One reason is that in January, every movie was an option. The Movie Pass only lets you see each movie once. Since I had never used it before January, I was able to see anything that was in theatres. Now, I've pretty much seen everything, so I'll just be using it to see the new releases of each week. Still a lot of movies, but not quite as many. Also, I'm performing in the musical "Once Upon a Mattress" with the Annapolis Chorale on the 14th and 15th of this month. We started rehearsals a few days ago, and will be rehearsing almost every day until the performances, so my schedule won't be quite as open to fitting in movie times.

2. Go to the gym every day. I'm making this goal to ensure that I stay on track. I've been going to the gym every day for a long time now, and wanted to ensure that I will keep it up even with the busy schedule I'll have during the first half of the month. Making it a goal seemed like a good way to make sure of that.

3. Read two books. Two summers ago I went on a reading binge, making my way through more than 10,000 pages in 3 months. I'm not going to do that again anytime soon (I was reading to the exclusion of almost everything else), but I haven't read anything in a while, so I figured this would be a good goal to make. I've been meaning to read "Dr. Sleep", the Stephen King book that came out last year, and this should be a good opportunity.

4. Do more screenplay prep work. Last, month I reached my goal for this, but I'm still, not 100% happy with what I have. My goal here is to just do a little more thinking/refining of my ideas so that I'll be ready to start actually writing in March.

In my next post, I'll be back to talking about the movies I've seen. This time I'll be discussing "Nebraska" and "12 Years a Slave".

January Goals Wrap-Up

Now that January is over, it's time to look at how I did with my goals for the first month.

1. Lose weight. I probably broke even on this, more or less. My jeans might feel a little looser, but I certainly didn't lose a whole lot of weight. I'll put it down as a marginal success for now.

2. Watch at least 10 different movies in the theatre. This goal, upgraded to 20 partway through the month, I blew out of the water. I ended up seeing 30 different movies in the theatre this month. I also saw a few movies a second time, making my total number of trips to the theatre 34. This is certainly the goal that I've had the most fun fulfilling.

3. "Index Card" a screenplay. I'm not entirely happy with what I've ended up with (it's a good start, but still needs some work), but I did complete this goal, and wound up with a rough blueprint of a screenplay.

In my next post, I'll talk about my goals for February.