Chappie

Plot: Robot designer Deon wants to upload his consciousness program into a spare police robot, but his boss (Sigourney Weaver) won't let him, so he steals the robot and does it anyway. The robot fall into the hands of counter-culture bandits Ninja (Ninja), Amerika (Jose Pablo Cantillo), and Yolanda (Yo-Landi Visser). Yolanda falls in love with the childlike Chappie (Shallto Copley), and he calls her Mommy. 

Deon's rival at the robot company Vincent (Hugh Jackman), disables all the police robots to make Deon look bad. Deon struggles to fix Chappie, and in the meantime all the criminals rampage around the city. 

Ninja and America take Chappie to rob an armored car, and lie to Chappie because he is programed not to break the law. 

In the end, Vincent and Chappie face-off, and the movie veers off in an unexpected direction.[imdb]    [photos]

Review: Chappie was quite a ride. Set in an absurdist future Johanessburg, the beginning is light and dull as we meet the outrageous and silly outlaws. It gets darker as Chappie gets beaten up, and tricked into crime. A major turn happens when Chappie starts thinking about his death, which is when he runs out of batteries. The pace picks up, the philosophical allegories pile on, and we get science fiction action. 

There is a term paper worth of philosophical ideas in Chappie. Obviously Chappie is a like a slave, but he also like an entitled police officer oppressing the poor people. The idea that Chappie has a soul despite being a machine says something about religious views of the self. There is also a science fiction version of immortality similar to Battleship Galatica. 

Hugh Jackman is a highlight. He played an outstanding villain, and he looks so happy when he was operating his evil robot. Dev Patel plays Deon earnestly, but his character doesn't have enough interesting dialog. 

Chappie is very mis-represented by its trailer, which look like Short Circuit, but it is violent, and not funny, although it is absurdly & surreal. 

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Ninja, Yo-Landi Visser, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp who also directed Elysium, which I liked, and District 9, which was only ok.

The Music: Hans Zimmer's soundtrack was great. I wish I could buy that opening song.

The Visuals: The art direction, especially the graffiti, was very cool. They even put out a book on it. 

Rating: 2.5 stars: Chappie is mostly dull, but it has fun parts, and it has some thoughtful ideas. This is a 2 star movie that I barely recommend based, but kicked up 1/2 star because of its ambition and ideas. It is not fun enough to watch for 3 stars. 

More: Yo-Landi is a South African singer and rapper. She wears the same T-shirt in the movie as she did in one of her videos. 

.

Jupiter Ascending

Plot: Jupiter (Mila Kunis) works for her family's house cleaning business, but soon gets picked up by outer space people who conclude she is a reincarnation of a dynastic Queen who ruled many solar systems. The main plot is that Queen Jupiter's family is not happy to have her back instead they use stratagems to claim the inheritance for themselves. One son hires two mercenary soldiers Cain (Channing Tatum) and Stinger (Sean Bean) to capture her. [MINOR SPOILER FOLLOWS] Cain begins to protect and rescue Jupiter instead, and this becomes the central love story. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Cool. There are a lot of cool visuals in Jupiter Ascending. I loved the steam-punk future and the dramatic spaceships. Steam punk devices might be the best part of the movie. This future is cool, not realistic. Early in the movie, I was all on board.

In the middle of the movie, the actions scenes become like a cool video game, as cartoony CGI characters get shot up. This would have been okay in small doses, but there was too much.

Later the action ramps up, and visually the scenes get cluttered. It doesn't help that the anti-gravity technology make all the spaceships and devices multiple pieces of free-floating gear. In high speed action, this becomes a blur.  It is hard to see what is happening and stay plugged in.

At the end the emotional blankness of the sons, couple with Tatum's poor performance, to make the final scene hollow. Channing Tatum isn't likable or relatable -- despite his great performance in Foxcatcher -- he can't seem to be an interesting tough guy. 

Mila Kunis plays an regular young woman who all this weird stuff happens to. It would have helped if she felt scared, but she always seem willing jump from the frying pan back into the fire. I suppose 21st Century heroines can't be scared. 

Jupiter Ascending has a workable plot, but it gets the emotional notes wrong. I wonder what some re-editing and a new soundtrack would have done.

Cast: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, 

Written and directed by: Andy and Lana Wachowski

The Music: Michael Giacchino: I loved the choral parts. It needed some rock and roll, like The Matrix had. 

Supervising art director: Charlie Revai: great design

Rating: 2.5 stars: The beginning was cool, but the film loses its way and its coolness. 

More:  What is the deal with Cain being part wolf? The only wolf-iness I saw was the pointed ears. Great pointed ears though -- world class pointed ears. 

Even More: I liked the idea of an aristocracy fixated on immortality, and the immortality being based on killing innocent people. It is a good science fiction, and it works allegorically.

.

Cake

Plot: Claire (Jennifer Aniston) is in pain, and is very bitter and bitchy. Her friend Nina (Anna Kendrick) from her pain management support group killed herself. Nina returns as a ghostly hallucination to taunt or maybe tough love Claire.

Claire can't care for herself, and Silvana (Adriana Barraza) is her housekeeper and helper. Claire is stuck in her recovery and Nina's visits shakes things up. Claire goes to visit Nina's house, and befriends Nina's husband Roy (Sam Worthington). She flirts with suicide, and with help from Silvana she slowly begins a recovery. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Cake is black comedy about recovering from disaster, and in watching it I felt some cathartic good feeling. I smiled about how unashamedly bitchy Claire was. She was wallowing in it, not recovering. I worried as she regressed, got piles of pills, and got stopped at the border.

Claire is saved by Nina's ghost and by the deep heartedness of her housekeeper Silvana. Adriana Barraza's performance is subtle and strong. Just as good as Jennifer Aniston's. I really liked her Spanish language rant. Funny to me even with my awful Spanish.

Jennifer Aniston started very bitchy, but Claire grows subtly, slowly, and painfully. I'd have nominated her for an Oscar.

While Cake is slow-moving and serious, I liked it. The characters are realistic, and the action made sense.

Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington

Directed by: Daniel Barnz

Cinematography: Mostly its talking heads, but I liked the visual of Nina on the bridge.

Rating: 2.5 stars: Slow-moving but worthwhile. A film festival movie.

More:  One of the attractions is seeing the famous Jennifer Aniston, all dressed down and unattractive. The fans of the movie think that is the coolest part. I am trying to look past that. 

.

American Sniper

Plot: Sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) picks up Taya (Sienna Miller) in a bar, and marries her three days before going to Iraq for the 2nd Iraq war. Chris does a great job protecting soldiers in urban warfare situations. He comes home, makes a baby, and goes back to war. He does that a three times. He becomes famous for killing so many enemies. The last time he comes back with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he helps himself by working with distressed veterans.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review:  American Sniper is fairy tale of a war movie. It looks news-reel real with drama pasted from TV news videos. but even in the theater one can see the heavy hand of the Hollywood scriptwriter. Later on the internet, the myth shows itself as a mirage.

American Sniper has a shiny heroic hero coupled with heart-throbbing sentimentalism, for example, home-side scenes with a crying wife to give hero Chris something to fight for; the wedding with guests whispering about pending war; some buddies getting killed. In the moment, it is moving and inspiring.

When the movie works, it's a portrait of Chris Kyle who I admire for his idealism and selflessness. I liked the first Iraq deployment. 

Most of the writing and plotting are not good enough: it is a stereotype of war movie. I did not like the movie after the first Iraq deployment. The home visits were especially sappy. 

Fact: this movie has a problem with facts. Kyle's autobiography is exaggerated Link , and director Eastwood's script has multiple Hollywood scriptwriter tricks.  Link The most dramatic scenes were false; there was no "Butcher" character; the sniper; the war breaking out during the wedding.

The urban warfare scenes in Iraq were conflicting because the poor Iraq people were being harassed by the soldiers. It was hard not to sympathize with the people being invaded. Later in Afghanistan the Taliban were more soldier-like, and it seemed more like a regular war. This conflict was probably intentional. 

Rating: 2.0 stars: What I loved was believing in heroes who selflessly help others and protect us all. I liked believing this is true. What I hated was knowing it was fake. It's a fairy tale. When I realize it is a lie, I feel tricked. I feel someone is telling there is a Santa, but you know... there isn't. And I feel dumb and disappointed. 

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller

Directed by:  Clint Eastwood

Based on the autobiography by:  Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. 

More:  Bradley Cooper gained 40 pounds and beefed by working out four hours a day. I suspect steroids, but he denies it. 

Even More: I don't know why American Sniper & Bradley Cooper are up for Oscars. It doesn't seem

deserved to me.

Foxcatcher

Plot: Billionaire John DuPont (Steve Carell) is a olympic wrestling fan, and he opens a training camp for the US wrestling team at his estate. He invites brothers Dave and Mark Schultz (Mark Ruffalo & Channing Tatum) to join the team. Dave is older and more of a coach, and Mark is the Olympic prospect for the 2008 Games.  John Dupont is doing this to prove himself to the public and to his mother (Vanessa Redgrave.) John's passions push Foxcatcher to its surprising conclusion. The film is based on a true story. 

[imdb]    [photos]

Review: Foxcatcher starts like a sports drama, but after the 2008 Olympics it becomes a psychological thriller as DuPont's weirdness or mental illness becomes evident. 

The pacing is very slow, and the music is spare -- many scenes are quiet. The pacing makes Dupont's mental state creepier and gives the audience time to think. In my view, the pacing was too slow in the first sports movie part of the film, and it was okay in the later psychologic thriller part.

The only worthwhile performance was Mark Ruffalo, who is always great. Channing Tatum plays a tough guy and it is a pretty dry role. Steve Carell is playing way out of his type, and he is dry and understand. He telegraphs is inner turmoil more by his actions than his facial expressions. In my view, Steve Carell was miscast. A better actor might have done more with it. How about Daniel Day Lewis or JK Simons?

What was this movie about? It is a meditation on a the personality of single crazy person. Perhaps it is equally a commentary on a society where mentally ill people can run amok. I left going, "What a weird guy."

Cast: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo

Directed by: Bennett Miller based on the book by wrestler Mark Schultz

The Music: By Robert Simonsen Very spare. Many one note piano meditations. Slow. A few 1980's pop songs.

Cinematography: The visuals are nothing special. There is two points where the world gets fuzzy suggesting that the Foxcatcher estate is a dreamworld. 

Rating: 2.0 stars: Not recommended. Too slow. No payoff.

More: Foxcatcher has a lot of male/male touching and hugging, and I wondered about homosexuality in the wrestling camp. Reportedly, duPont had his testicles removed after a horse riding accident, and was not interested in sex of any kind. 

The real John E duPont

Spoiler - Seriously Don't Read This: DuPont plead insanity at the trial. Witnesses said claimed he was Jesus, a Russian Czar, and the Dahli Lama. The jury found guilty but mentally ill, which is called 3rd degree in Pennsylvania.

Wild

Plot: Cheryl(Reese Witherspoon) is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to clear her head after her mom (Laura Dern) died, her divorce, and recovery from drug use. She meets people along the way, and the people help her process her previous trauma. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Wild is a road movie with episodes happening all along the journey, and each one advances the interior journey inside Cheryl. The plot moves slowly, but occasionally the incident is intercut with multiple flashbacks--so the incident is happening in real life and in her mental live. 

Because of Cheryl's journey is more mental than physical, her pace down the path is lathargic -- this makes the visuals sleepier than they could have been. 

Cheryl encounters a fox regularly who is her spirit guide, and perhaps also the shade of her mother. 

The best parts of the flashbacks where we make the connections between her past life and the current crisis on the trail. There wasn't enough of this for me. 

I saw this movie because of the Oscar buzz around Reese's performance, and it is excellent -- a lot of range. I can see why she'd be nominated. 

Music and photography: The music  is all pop songs -- mostly 70's pop. I liked hearing Glory Box by Portishead, and I'd rather be a Sparrow than a Snail by Simon and Garfunkel. There is some good landscape photography especially of moss covered trees -- not as much as you'd expect.

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern

Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallee

Based on the book:  Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed

Rating: 2.5 stars:.Worthwhile. More interesting than fun. 

More: Here is the real Cheryl Strayed: 

Even More.

.

The Skeleton Twins

Plot: Milo Dean (Bill Hader) survives a suicide attempt, and goes to stay with his twin sister Maggie (Kristen Wiig) in New York state. Maggie is married to Lance (Luke Wilson,) and she is equally troubled. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Skeleton Twins is a black comedy about how troubled kids become troubled adults. There are a few wry smiles due to the absurdity of it all, and a few sitcom laughs especially those with their Mom (Joanna Gleason.) The clever dialog was the best part which was smart and penetrating.

Kristen Wiig gives a good dramatic performance, and was unlike her comic persona. Her character was more interesting to me because she seemed normal, but was actually very troubled. Bill Hader was more obviously troubled, and he was less interesting because he was weirder. I thought the gay man stereotype limited the range of emotion or interests that Milo could have.

I was glad I saw The Skeleton Twins and while slow moving, it was always interesting. 

Cast: Bill Hader, Krisen Wiig

Directed by: Craig Johnson

Rating: 2.5 stars: worthwhile, but a little slow 

More: The Skeleton Twins has won a few film festival and critics awards. It can win people over with its earnestness. 

.