Jobs

So there I was, checking my iPhone for information regarding movie times.  I wasn't 100% sure as to which of this weekends "blockbusters" was the one that deserved my small fortune in ticket costs and there was much consideration and debate, both mentally and physically.  It seemed I was not going to be able to quiet the mind riot long enough to settle on my newest prey, that is until I looked over at the the illuminated Apple emblem on the back of my Mac Book; that ladies and gentleman is when lightning struck.  In case you haven't quite figured out my meaning, or have seen the title of this review, I will spell it out: J.O.B.S.

 Walk towards the light.

 This feature length film recaps the dramatic life of Steve Jobs, co-founder and "brain" behind Apple's huge technological fortune, which seems almost to capture the essence of a bio-pic/documentary.  We find ourselves yet again in our trusty Delorean time machines, whisked back to the 70's, and thrust into the life of Steve Jobs, played by Ashton Kutcher, as he wrestles with being a college drop-out and yearning for more out of his life.

 Dude where's my apple?

Through a very fast paced, pieced together script, we see Jobs receive his own epiphany, leading him towards a career in technology.  Tormented by his own ego and fears, Jobs continuously pushes every boundary he approaches, earning both resentment and praise, ultimately finding himself on top of the technology tough guy list looking down upon all those he left in his wake.

Come and join the revolution.

Now, this is something I struggled with throughout the film.  I must admit, I did not know a great deal about Jobs prior to viewing this film.  What knowledge I took away from this was that Steve Jobs was a passionate, inspiring, butt head, one who held himself in higher regards than any other person; larger than all, untouchable.  I can only assume that what was depicted on screen mirrored the reality off screen, after all, this film was all about Steve Jobs.  So having said that, again, while he was busy being passionate about his company and products, Steve Jobs was a butt head to everyone and anyone: friends, family, clients, co-workers, etc.  Literally to the point on throwing his pregnant girlfriend out on the street (has not been confirmed to occur in real life) and financially undercutting his former friends/employees/co-founders.  It made me want to take all of my Apple products and drag them into that little trashcan icon on the dock...I quickly decided against that.  After all, Steve Jobs wasn't the only butt head on the planet controlling products and industries which I regularly partake.

Command, Shift, Delete me, I dare you!

 As mentioned briefly above, this script seemed "rushed" almost; too many gaps in time and reason to make a whole lot of sense.  I understand that the film was more about the initial undertaking of creating a computer company in the early years of computers, fine.  However, this doesn't mean you can have a storyline bouncing all over the place, both in terms of location and year.  There were numerous times in this film where I found myself stopped, thinking long and hard about what was happening, who these people were.  The film would show things like Jobs, his wife and kids, without ever showing us who and where and when these people came from.  This aspect made the film difficult to follow, which basically started at the start and ended at the end.  Profound, I know.

Acting, on the other hand, was what made this film bearable.  That's right reader, even Kutcher brought his "A" game.  Now I have read some other comments (complaints) claiming the opposite, that Kutcher had no business being in this role.  Rest assured, he was more than competent and did a great job harnessing the essence of that turtle neck wearing butt head.  Kutcher went deep and got every mannerism, walking, hand talking habit which Jobs was known for spot on.  Actually, the entire cast was rather remarkably assembled from all corners of the acting community.  Josh Gad (The Internship) played Steve Wozniak, the actual brain behind the Apple start-up, and initially Jobs' right hand man.  Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding) played Mike Marrkula, Apple's original angel investor, and one of Jobs' biggest supporters.  J.K. Simmons (Juno) played Arthur Rock, the hard to please board member always trying to control Jobs.  Lastly (for me and this review) Matthew Modine (The Dark Knight Rises) who played John Sculley, the former Pepsi marketing guru turned Apple marketing head/CEO.  At every level of this film I found more and more depth in the acting.  As the film progressed through its entirety, the emotional turmoil/pain/hatred grew more and more palpable, eventually leading to breakdowns and downfalls throughout the company and the individuals, and my understanding.

Most of you know that this "fairy tale" of a life resembles more the Grimm version than the Disney.  It's an easy assessment to make, Steve Jobs' life was remarkable and unique, while being heinous and cruel; this film really hit that nail on the head.  As I was left astonished as to Jobs' behavior and cruelty, I too was amazed with his passion and his genius, and I'm not talking about the bar.

Do you have an appointment?

Final Words: Medium Popcorn 

I must admit, if it wasn't for the acting I think this film would have been a small.  Jobs is by no means a stand out film, but certainly one which deserves some credit.  Even though the script was shaky and on the flimsy side of things, the overall product was bearable, and insightful.  Check this one out on the cheaper side of things. 

Until next time, happy viewing!

Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large; 

films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz

Elysium

I went to see the mega-production of the month, Elysium, and was astonished as to what I witnessed.  I fully expected a fast paced action/adventure/sci-fi thrill ride, one which never lets go, since Elysium barely surpassed the 100 minute mark; a rather short length film for today's standards.  What was delivered was everything short of expected, and left me scratching my head and rubbing my eyes not only in disbelief but also frustration.


 The newest film from writer/director Neill Blomkamp, writer/director of District 9, seemed to have more holes than the Swiss, keeping this story from ever taking off.

Someone order a flimsy script?

For starters, the story seemed to have numerous plot points coming from left field.  An elite group of humans living on a space station where the air is clear and crazy medical beds heal and instantly eradicate any and all ailments, this utopia floats in space a mere 19 minute flight from Los Angeles. All the while, the Earth's surface is left littered with trash and destitute individuals all trying to find their way aboard Space Station Elysium.  

 Los Angeles 2154, or 2013?  I can't tell the difference.

 Elysium, snobby mc'snobsville, with their stupid trees and faces.

This made up the semi-understandable story.  The tippy top elite members of society, along with government officials, wanting to isolate themselves from the working class filth...that's not so far from reality.  The problem was that the motivation for total isolation seemed unsupported.  Elysium had these medical beds right?, while down on Earth, society was barely functioning with illness and injury.  Why not supply medical beds on Earth?  Elysium was created to facilitate its citizens living away from famine, disease, danger, etc.  Yet, Elysium also required assistance from the Earth's surface in the manufacturing of robots: medical robots, police robots, etc.  It would seem advantageous for Elysium to supply these miracle medical beds for the Earth's residents as well.  Also, if the human race had the knowledge and capability to create an isolated space station, and have robots to do the "heavy-lifting" and have magical beds to heal any and all problems, how were they unable to reverse the Earth's decline into chaos?  

Now, throughout this film we follow Max, played by Matt Damon, a former criminal turned honest working stiff.  Max lives in Los Angeles and, along with everybody, is trying to end up on Elysium.  Max works at this plant where the police robots are made, and one day accidentally gets exposed to a lethal dose of radiation.  Let me stop things here. 

 Do not pass go, do not collect radiation poisoning.

In a previous scene, we see Max going through his normal work routine.  He makes and installs some metal pieces for the bots, then pushes a pallet of them into a sealed off room, almost like a kiln.  We see and hear him pushing buttons in sequence while shouting out phrases: "Closing 34!" "Firing 34!" (something along those lines)  We clearly see him do a multi-step process in which the robots get subjected to radiation, for one reason or another.  Flash forward a day.  Max finds himself getting trapped inside this kiln, while trying to clear a jammed door.  Why wasn't there any override switch to open the door once the jam occurred?  Not only does the door continue to close, and no one is outside the room to support him in his efforts to clear this jam, even though his supervisor directed him to enter the room, but then the radiation kicks on.  Wait a second I said to myself, didn't we see Max hit two different buttons, one to close the door the other to set off the radiation?  Yes.  So then why when Max is trapped inside this room did the radiation start up on its own?  Then there is the fact about the alarms which started up.  Max's control board flashes a warning along with a siren: Organic Flesh Detected.  If there is a warning siren and message built into this system with the only goal of alerting the operators to the unpleasant issue of Organic Flesh inside the radiation chamber, then why wasn't there a built in shut off when this rare occurrence occurs?  Am I going mad?  

 Hey Neill, this doesn't work for me.

Now, after all this hullabaloo happens, we find Max, somehow alive in a isolated medical bay.  He is informed, by robot, that he has been subject to a lethal amount of radiation, and that his organs would be deteriorating over the next 5 days until his death.  What the heck is going on?  If Max received that much radiation to kill him in 5 days, how did he survive in the first place?  Seems to me that Max should have been dead within the first 20 minutes of the film, not capable of walking out and posing a threat to Elysium.  Instead Max finds himself amongst "gangsters" and no one seems too worried about this lethally radiated man within their personal space.  I don't know here people, seems way bizarre.

Honestly, at this point in the film, I was pretty annoyed.  I kept thinking to myself during the remaining hour plus, "Am I bored?", "Yes, I am bored.  This is boring."  It never got better either.  That above rant was honestly only 15-20 minutes of the film, yet it started the snowball of absurdity which filled up the remainder of the time.  Honestly, for a film only 100 minutes and some change, the story dragged so much, it felt like a 3 hour endeavor.  Part of the issue I feel must be attributed to the fact we got a writer/director issue.  As I discussed in The To Do List review, we potentially run into an almost "conflict of interest" when one individual occupies two creatively important roles; bad form.  I promise you I will not go into any more plot issues, because I don't want this review to end up the length of War and Peace.  Let me just assure you, this film is flimsy flimsy flimsy.  

Now, as you first saw when you entered into this posts realm, there was indeed a popcorn, not a trio of Z's.  I really must commend this film on a handful of things, which slightly earned this film a tiny bit of love and redemption from me.  For one, the acting in this film was rather good, surprisingly.   Even while the story dragged along like a zombie at midnight, the acting was sharp and to the point.  One truly felt the emotion conveyed on screen, just not the reason behind it.  The cast had some big names to support Matt Damon: Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley, to name a couple.  With these names come a certain level of talent even a bad script cannot decline.

Another aspect one can count on from Blomkamp, was the hyper realistic visuals and special effects.  We the viewer got quite an eyeful of some rather gruesome fight sustained damage and medical procedures.  Enough to make even the tough guys in the room squirm.  One can only look at a half exploded face, or disturbing exo-skeletal surgery for so long, you know?

Hold still Mr. Damon, you may feel a slight pinch.

Final Words: Small Popcorn 
All in all folks, this film was un-good.  As with my English in the last sentence, this film lacked reason and story, providing instead ammunition for question marks.  Some may find elements entertaining and worth while, but mostly finding themselves just as bored and confused as I was.  The small popcorn is specifically for the few aspects I mentioned above, and nothing else.  If you find yourself with a hankering to watch this film, do so in the most inexpensive way possible.

Until next time, happy viewing!

Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large; 

films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz

 

We're The Millers

Oh, hello reader, I didn't see you there, but I'm glad you are here.  I want to extend to you an invitation of sorts, one which will challenge your mind to accept a very unreal fact about our "relationship".  I want you to pretend for the next handful of minutes that I am not just an exceptional writer, but a relative of yours, perhaps a distant uncle or grandfather.  I'll give you a moment to decide what I will be...........................got it?  Good.  Now sit back, relax, and give your mind permission to follow along with your...(fill in the relationship blank) while I drop some knowledge on you about my newest review subject: We're The Millers.

For starters, HILARIOUS!, secondly, VERY HILARIOUS!  Hopefully this insight will help paint the picture for you.  This film follows David Clark (Jason Sudeikis), a.k.a Poppa Miller, and his "family": 

     Sarah "Rose" O'Reilly (Jennifer Aniston) a.k.a. Sarah "Rose" Miller,

     Kenny Rossmore (Will Poulter) a.k.a. Kenny Miller, sensing a theme are we??, and

     Casey Mathis (Emma Roberts) a.k.a. Casey Miller.

This pieced together team of vagabond, stripper, drug dealer, and weirdo (oddest A-Team ever) came together with one goal in mind: to smuggle a smidge and a half of marijuana from Mexico to Colorado.  Sounds like it should be easyish, right?  Well assuming, that is, you can make it past the border guards and their drug sniffing canines and automatic weapons, and don't become the targeted victim of drug theft by an evil drug kingpin and his massive mountain of a human.  Piece of cake, hire a fake family, travel back into America in an RV, and you're home free.  Oh, and let's not forget that one little detail, what exactly is a smidge and a half?

 2 tons to be exact!

At this point in my story ladies and gentleman, I would like to mention the fact that this film was basically all plot and story.  There was nothing overly spectacular about how the film looked, or any special effects used in the process.  It was a very standard film with a roughly standard story, however, using a very non-standard process and path to get to the ending.

What made this story so unique was having the main character consciously realize that the best way to get past the scrutinizing eye of the U.S. Border Patrol, was to give himself a beard.  No people, I am not referring to facial hair.  David Clark realized that by adopting the appearance of a typical American family, and acting the part, they instantly look less guilty than one man driving a large recreational vehicle into and out of Mexico solo.  Again, interesting and unique process.  What made this story "standard" was the fact that in the end, all parties have grown accustomed to one another and attached, thus leading to each one having a desire to continue their charade.  I found this to be rather bogus and cliche.  I believe that this whole trip, flying from Denver to Albuquerque, then driving from Albuquerque into Mexico, grabbing the drugs, Mexico into the U.S. and back to Denver was literally just a couple of days.  In fact, the film's clock only shows us 2 nights, yet somehow after these 2 nights, all parties who originally disliked the others, were now longing to continue their cover story.  Flimsy.  There was even a scene where David "Miller" Clark was describing each of his family members wholeheartedly, with admiration and adoration.  Again, seemed a little rushed for the small time period we were witness to.

Now, let's get away from semantics here, because we all know that films don't necessarily follow the path of realism.  Within the film world, there aren't really any more original stories.  In fact, some say that as a whole, original stories consist of only a handful of ideas, mostly films are adapting these ideas and tweaking them.  That is common practice since Hollywood big-wigs don't want a story which hasn't been tested, they want the safe bet, something they can bank on.  We're The Millers was a good example of the lack of original overall plot, but a perfect use of the tweak.  As I said above, for a standard ending, the path was very non-standard.  Yet, it was the path which gave this film all of its character.  The comedy was at times relentless in its pacing; one after the other after the other.  Sometimes the jokes were deliberate while others were indirect (things said vs. reactions).  Again one thing is definitely for sure about this film, you will not be disappointed.  You may actually find yourself wanting to get back into line for another go around, I know I did.

Final Words: Large Popcorn 
The minute you start laughing, you're stuck.  This film does not give up, instead gets more and more funny.  You will find yourself wanting more and more, and before you know it, it's over.  This film is vulgar and incredible inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18, and more importantly, anyone uncomfortable around sexual and drug innuendos and crude humor and language.  If that is not you, go see this film immediately, you'll thank me.

Until next time, happy viewing!

Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large; 

films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz

The To Do List

So I walked into a movie theater the other day, with little to no concern about my near future.  I purchased the ticket with ease, sat down in my assigned seat with ease, even breathed a sigh of relief to the notion that for the next 100 or so minutes I would have nothing to worry about besides trying to keep myself dry during the hysterical laughter I fully expected to ensue from the films start to finish.  Peace.  Let me tell you something reader, when it came down to it, The To Do List turned out to be the exact opposite of my naive expectations; the antithesis. 


Let me paint a little picture for you here folks, for starters I will need you to:
1. Jump into your Deloreon time machines.
2. Blast some Huey Lewis & The News.
3. Punch that accelerator until your speed pushes 88 mph (140 something kph for those of you loyal readers living with the metric system).
4. Hope/pray your Mr. Fusion is fully supplied.
5. Hold on to your butts.

 6. Don't' sue me for copy-right infringement.

Now, when you arrive and open your eyes, you will find yourself in the wonderfully beautiful year of 1993...disappointed?  Shouldn't be.  This is the marvelous decade/era/year we find ourselves reliving throughout The To Do List.  I'm talking Trapper Keepers, scrunchies, clear see-through telephones, and pagers!  Ah...the good ole days.  For those of you who don't know, this film is all about a very straight arrow girl named Brandy Klark, played by comedian Aubrey Plaza.  We follow Brandy as she graduates high school, starts a new summer job as a lifeguard and is preparing for her first year at Georgetown. The premise behind this film, is that little miss goody two shoes Brandy has realized that she is not as "well rounded" as she once thought when she realizes that she has missed out big time in High School.  While Brandy was getting straight A's in everything, her peers were busy learning "extra-curricular" activities of sorts.  Brandy decides to make a before college "To Do List" determined to tackle these new experiences just as she did school subjects.  This turns out to be an aggressive full-frontal assault on all the bases, and by bases I mean the sexual bases.  She wants to go from kissing all the way to sex, stopping everywhere inbetween.  Since I am trying to maintain a "family-friendly...ish" readership, I will leave the details out.  Needless to say, some of these things are normal and some are downright freaky.  So we follow Brandy as she moves from guy to guy in a nonchalant manner, crossing her conquests off of her written list as she goes.  We, I hate to say, are privy to quite a lot of visuals and awkward scenes, not to mention extremely vulgar language regarding these acts as well as some unnecessary "special effects"; I may never be able to eat an eclair again.   

 Leave me be you devil pastry!

Now, as above mentioned, this film struck me as the type in which I would never recover from the laugh pains, however, much of this film was delivered awkwardly instead of comically, leaving me searching for the punchline.  The To Do List had a very flat/one-dimensional story line where the plot never really got going and the comedy revolved really around one gag from start to finish: sexually awkward inexperience.  There wasn't much delineation from that.  Sure, there were a hand full, at most, of times where I found myself chuckling and laughing, but mostly I noticed I was shaking my head and frowning.  I'm not sitting here saying I'm a prude by any means, however, much of this film was too much, and at the same time, not enough.  The gags and situations that ended up being funny, seemed short-lived; not given enough pacing.  The gags and situation which were gross and unnecessary, on the other hand, were too much and lasted far too long.  All in all, not a good production.

I blame some of this on the fact that The To Do List was written and directed by the same person, Maggie Carey.  Looking over Ms. Carey's IMDB page I notice a common theme for most of her projects: she does the combo write and direct quite often.  Sometimes this can be pulled off without a hitch, however, I notice that a lot of the times when you have the same person occupying two highly important and creative positions, you end up with an issue.  When you have one person in these positions, no one is challenging the other, instead what the Writer wants the Director gets.  So we the viewer find ourselves seeing scenes which should have never made it off the cutting room floor, or characters with inappropriate motivation.  Either way, it has the potential for being disastrous, and in this case did.

Final Words: zzzzzzzz.
The To Do List was one of those films where you either find yourself in hysterics or you find yourself dissatisfied.  Between the vulgarity in language and the scenes is a character you really can't get to far behind because she was so flat, same with the story-line.  This film offered up a romp of a comedy, but instead fizzled before it could get off the ground.  Sad day to have to relive the 90's in such an unflattering way.

Until next time, happy viewing!

Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large; 

films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz

Town Red

I'd like to come out on record and say I don't review many independent films.  It's not that I have any adverse feelings towards these projects and I would be lying if I said I hadn't made my own zombie flick in the past.  It's just difficult to find a good Indy, one with the right mix of story and reason, one worth writing about and one that doesn't look like a college assignment.  So needless to say, when we here at the almighty Popcorn or Snore HQ were given the opportunity to watch and review Town Red, we were a little caught off guard but mostly honored!

Town Red was awarded with Best in Show at the Grand Rapids Film Festival and has recently been accepted into the very prestigious Cannes Film Festival.  When I watched Town Red (watched it a few times actually) I quickly discovered that the team behind this project meant business, and that they allowed their project to have huge potential for expansion of their idea.  Town Red was written and directed by Ryan Geiger, who also plays Patrick, the main protagonist.  This film revolves around a sleepy Kentucky town that undergoes a zombie outbreak in 1951. We follow Patrick over the course of a year as his life becomes less and less familiar and he becomes more and more oblivious to reality. What he used to hold so near and dear to his heart has quickly been replaced with blind emotionless complacency.  This newly discovered lack of drive lends itself to an almost psychotic behavior in our hero and consequently, near death experience.  As the world around him is crumbling down, he slowly becomes less and less human.  It is as though Patrick is simply going through life on cruise control with little awareness or care to most situations, which is evident in many of the scenes, as his emotions are absent or inappropriate.  PTSD anyone?

Patrick "suffers" from the best feature this short has to offer: flashbacks.  Multiple times we see Patrick's face go blank then a sudden scene change, and we realize that we are seeing Patrick from his own memory engaging in numerous day-to-day happenings.  This type of match on action really drives home Patrick's "paralyses" and gives the viewer more information into his past.  The visuals of these memories paired with the sounds blend beautifully back into the present day altercations.  One thing is for sure, Patrick is not okay.

Town Red brought together many aspects which helped beautify this experience.
1.  The cinematics and the locations were pretty damn good.  Many powerful sequences and images filling the one year gap between the opening scene and Patrick's downward spiral towards denial.
2.  As previously mentioned, the flashbacks were an ingenious essential story-telling tool utilized to near perfection.
3.  The locations were beautiful and appropriate for the characters and story.
4.  The score accompanying the montage-like cinematics for the missing year was hauntingly good.  Sad and scary song, but surprisingly up-lifting and spirited.
5.  The make-up and special effects were above par for most Indy films I've seen, took me back a little to the days of the Evil Dead...these guys did their homework.  Even their poster resembles the iconic Evil Dead Franchise.

 Me likey

Now....

As we all know, when creating any project odds are not every aspect will be golden.  Sometimes/many-times it's the little things which cause the most grief.  Things that easily get overlooked, whether it's from a lack of knowledge in that particular category, or it falls victim to a minimal budget.

1.  Some of the dialogue seemed forced, unnatural.  

2.  Some of the dialogue was a little cliche, i.e. Jeffrey saying he was cold as he bled out on the floor of the garage.

3.  I felt the adolescences in the first scene seemed a little too comfortable with the fact they were robbing a dead lady whom they both knew.  I would think they would be a little less at ease about that.  The only thing which could explain this is that more time had passed from the initial outbreak to this point in time, allowing these kids to become more familiar with the sight of friends and family dying; this was not specified.

4.  I wasn't on-board with how quickly and easily Patrick deduced Neil's master plan of killing both he and Jeffrey and stealing a car.  I think that was a little rushed, and with the expansion of this story could easily be explained.

5.  I did say how I liked the special effects, this is true.  I liked it all, I felt however, that the gunshots seemed muffled; again something easily fixable.  When a rifle or pistol is shot in the woods, or especially inside the garage, the echo would be horrible, unbearable.  All of the shots were softened and flat sounding.

6.  This last point is such a minor issue that most people will never catch it.  This issue is about the electrical receptacle's inside the garage by the bench vise.  I know a thing or two about hardware and this stuck out to me.  Such a minor detail, but since these type of outlets weren't around in the 50's, I thought I'd mention it.  It would be like having a 1964 Impala in the film...minor I know.

All in all I think Town Red is an exceptional film, one with loads of potential.  Town Red is a very interesting version of the "classic" zombie story.  It's rather refreshing to see this story taking place in the past and not modern time, like Cowboys & Aliens.  I would very much like to see this film expanded on and turned into a feature.  It would be interesting to know what caused this particular outbreak, and see a slower progression of the characters break-downs. 

Final Words: Large Popcorn 
This film was good, it has huge potential and for such a minuscule budget, it succeeded in impressive ways: flash-back sequences, make-up, cinematography, location.  The story would benefit from additional information, time and the expansion of the characters.  Do yourselves a favor reader and watch Town Red when you get the chance, who knows, maybe the world has been introduced to the next Sam Raimi and Evil Dead franchise.  If so...I'm in! 

Until next time, happy viewing!

Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large; 

films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz

 

The Way, Way Back

The Way, Way Back is one of those films that takes you back in time.  The kind that releases all sorts of childhood memories: good, bad and indifferent.  Even though this film takes place in present day, you get a sense from certain elements throughout the film that the story and actions are timeless.  Details ranging from cars to clothing to locations seem to not be bound to any one particular decade or structure, but rather all decades and structures; this is the beauty behind The Way, Way Back.


This film follows the journey of 14 year old, Duncan (Liam James), who is on vacation with his mom (Toni Collette) and her capitol D-bag boyfriend (Steve Carell)!  It took place during the summer in a semi-quiet beach town, probably New York judging by the clam-bakes.  What ensues is a bunch of societal break-downs from the parents/adults: pot smoking, heavy drinking, and a lot of amorousness...if you catch my drift.  As of now this film sounds more like an episode of MTV's Spring Break than normal parenting behavior, but that's what happens when you vacation in this town.

Rules go out of the window and while the adults channel their youth, the youth need structure and aren't exactly amused by their parent's bad behavior.  Needless to say, if you are a 14 year old in a new place surrounded by new people being "parented" by this capitol D, you aren't going to be too happy.

This is the story of Duncan's summer, he is at that point in life when you don't have your niche or your place to fit in.  As a viewer or an outsider to this story, we follow Duncan's path to self discovery, as he goes from loner boy to the pop n' lock'n man of the party.  This element allows us to quickly and very easily fall in love with Duncan; we share in his pain and struggle to find himself and are happy for him when he does.

We aren't just viewing Duncan's adventure in this film, we are reliving our own, which is why the small details of the story are not important to We the Viewer.  The most powerful aspect to film making, the thing which makes or breaks the whole darn film, is the story.  I've said this so many times I may need to start a counter.

Now usually yes, specific locations, times, names, etc. are key to a great script/story, however in the case of The Way, Way Back we are unaware and fine without needing such specifics.  This film doesn't need the specifics because We The Viewer are meant to insert our own memories into the film thus making the story our own.  This allows us to connect deeper to this story than most others because Duncan isn't bound the structures and guidelines given in a normal film; bellissima!  This breakdown of the norms of film making has me speaking in different languages!  This movie is not telling you anything new, it instead takes you on a journey through your own memories. This is what makes this film special and one worth watching, it is precisely why the specifics are not important.  Duncan's beach house can easily be the childhood beach house you visited in Anywhereville, The World.

One thing is for certain about the particulars of this adventure, and that is the cast.  As previously mentioned, this film stars Toni Collette and Steve Carell.  It also stars Allison Janney as the wacky drunk neighbor mom, hmm sounds like another memory doesn't it?  Steve Carell's best friend and best friend's wife, played by Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet, a couple of booze hounds who get a little too touchy.  As the movie plays out and Duncan begins his self discovery, he gets a job.  His bosses are played by Sam Rockwell and Maya Rudolph, two co-workers who add a little extra flirt and playfulness to the story.  So what can we take from the above mentioned names?  Variety, talent and depth.  Each of these names bring a different element or X factor to the table allowing each character to play to their strengths letting the viewer effortlessly watch this feature.  We have a group of comedians, along with super versatile actors, mixed in with big and small names.  The outcome is nothing short of right on the money.  From this acting pool we get performances both memorable and forgettable, powerful and weak.  I truly feel that this story and the acting drive home the fact that everyone at one time or another struggled with self identity and forced themselves on their own heroes journey, emerging out the other side a beautiful butterfly.  Not all trips down memory lane are fun, and this film points them out, and reconciles them, take the trip.

Other than the powerful story and acting, there isn't really anything else to take away from this film.  Visually speaking, The Way, Way Back is almost one dimensional.  You aren't treated to a cinematic masterpiece, lavish settings, or stunning light, instead most of the days seem gloomy and the settings and locations are dull to say the least.  Although I enjoy "Hero Cams", cameras which show things normally not seen i.e. going down a water slide, this films utilization of said hero cams was sloppy and pointless.  The main problem you find with these types of cameras is that their quality, although hi-def, is distorted when the image is blown up to fit with the larger frames and images of standard film cameras.  This separation of quality really acts as a visual blow, somewhat of a jolt to the optic senses; in other words crappy.

Final Words: Large Popcorn 
This film was not perfect, it lacked in cinematics, but it gained so so much in story-telling and character development.  Not only will this powerful plot pull you along on your own emotional roller-coaster, it will also keep you rooting for Duncan and subsequently, yourself.  This film has one of the most powerful stories I've experienced in a long time.  Do yourselves a favor, see this film, see it again, and then see it one more time, you won't be disappointed, maybe a little teary.

Until next time, happy viewing!

Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large; 

films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz

 

The Lone Ranger

Hi-ho silver away!!!.. and bring me back some popcorn!!!!  During a typical review I will rant and rant good or bad or both seemingly endlessly until just when your eyes and brain have had enough, I come out and say the magic "P" word.  In the case of this review's film, I couldn't help but blurt it out right from the get-go: this film is surprisingly good.

 Just a little tuneage to get you into the spirit

America needed a good, old fashioned western to grace its movie theaters.  A movie that channeled old America and old American film, The Lone Ranger did just that and was the film that America needed.  Only so many times can we see a Robot or Super hero movie.  The Lone Ranger went back to America's roots and was the perfect balance of an exaggerated old American "Cowboy vs. Indian" film.

Hey guys, take five!

We can say "thank you" to this film's producers, the same people who gave the world the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  The Lone Ranger was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer; a spectacular producer is key to the success of a film/franchise and Bruckheimer is one of those producers whose projects are followed and known: Pearl Harbor, Blackhawk Down, Bad Boys, Pirates of the Caribbean, CSI, etc.  Randomly throughout the years, Hollywood will attach a big name like Brad Pitt or Steven Speilberg to film as its "Executive Producer".  Usually those names don't really hold much creative clout, and instead it's more of a honorary role;  many times producers are practically anonymous to We The Viewer.  In the case of Jerry Bruckheimer, his name is well known on film and television projects, and his name forms lines around the block.  As we have high expectations for anything associated with the name "Jerry Bruckheimer", creating a film is a process that sits on the shoulders of a team, not one person.  Here are the other reasons as to why The Lone Ranger is a summer blockbuster and worth your money at the box office:

1. The Lone Ranger was backed by Disney, need I say more? Okay... some more reasons below.

 Thanks, Uncle Walt!

2. This film was directed by Gore Verbinski.  He is a guy whose name people may have heard of, but most probably aren't sure why.  He directed the Pirates films and Rango, he even won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film for Rango.  What most people don't know is that he also created the Budweiser Beer Frogs, and his Pirates movies have grossed billions of dollars world-wide.  Needless to say, he has quite an impressive resume, even if it's on the light side.

3. The Lone Ranger is based around a classic, iconic television show utilizing familair theme music and beloved characters reminding people why America loved this show in the first place.

Now one thing you can count on from any film associated with Disney is that the Special Effects, Costumes, Make-up, Cast, Crew and Story are all going to be stellar!  Think about the grandiose look and feel of the Pirates films...now put that "energy" into the wild west.  What's that get you?  The Lone Ranger indeed.  No expense was spared for this film, every minor detail was thought out and executed with precision, leading this film to be entertaining from start to finish.

Before Disney                          After Disney

Who are those guys?                We'll take it from here.

As most can assume, or have already heard/read/seen anything relating to this film, you know that this is yet another Gore Verbinksi/Disney/Bruckheimer/Johnny Depp film.  Depp hangs up his sword and rum for a dead crow and some face paint.  In this film Johnny Depp plays the iconic Native American side-kick: Tanto.  Now, I personally have been a little overly-Depp'd of late, however, I felt that he did a rather impressive job as the Comanche pal to our masked hero: John Reid played by Armie Hammer.  These two unlikely men find themselves paired up against a common enemy: outlaw scum Butch Cavendish played by William Fichtner (he's going to play Shredder in the upcoming Ninja Turtles film). These actors work great together and have great comedic chemistry, leaving the audience laughing at  all the situations they encounter.  Another actor to grace the screen playing a rather "unlikely" character was Tom Wilkinson.  All four characters come into contact with one another throughout the storyline and... yes, (spoiler alert) the good guys win.

As for the plot, The Lone Ranger had a unique story-line.  At times it seemed as though all the cards were on the table and that the adventure was flat, but it inevitably found a way to flip itself around and extract a new card.  In the end we were left with a very entertaining character arc for The Lone Ranger, Tanto, and a baddie.  Much of the plot twists were related to the process in which we were given information.  This film was told from memory by a first party individual.  All of the action, danger, comedy and adventure was shown through the eyes of the "narrator" but not necessarily in order. 

Final Words: Large Popcorn 
Grab your kids, get your movie tickets (fandango anyone?) and go enjoy this film with a large popcorn at the theaters.  You will be happy you did.  Depending on your age and your love of individual law men, this movie may just make you feel like a kid again! The Lone Ranger is the newest film to treat the senses to an exhilarating, hilarious, action-packed story.  The plot was nothing short of perfect to be honest.  The character arcs and evolution seemed to toe the line of perfection; again thanks to Disney.  To put this film into one word: fun!

Until next time, happy viewing!

Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large; 

films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz