World War Z

Plot: A highly contagious disease is spreading across the world, and it is turning people into zombies. UN trouble-shooter Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family get out of Philly and fight their way to an UN ship in the Atlantic. Gerry soon goes off in search of a cure in Korea, Israel and Wales. He battles ravenous zombies along the way. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: World War Z is a fast moving story with rapid-fire zombie action. It spends time to set up Gerry's home life, and he is always calling home to remind us that he is a real guy. Unlike Captain Phillips  whose wife isn't in the movie after the opening scene.

In the latter 80% of the World War Z , Gerry is killing zombies and getting hints at a cure --- but mostly killing zombies.

The sound track is good. The fighting scenes are exciting, but a little campy: comic enough that they were never scary. There is very little blood, and whatever blood there is miraculously disappears before the next scene.

Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos

Directed by: Marc Forster; very roughly based on the novel by Max Brooks

Rating: 2.5 stars:  Rapid-fire fun. Gross, but good for what it is. 

 

More: The UN is like the world government in WWZ. I can't think of another movie where the UN so active -- I wonder if this is a transparent ploy to appeal to a world wide audience. I know that there is a posse of UN haters in the USA, and this movie probably irks them. 

Even more: Why do zombies start so many fires?

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Captain Phillips

Plot: Captain Phillip's (Tom Hanks') container ship is bringing fright to western Africa. It gets boarded by Somali pirates, and the crew tries a few things to fight them off.  Somali pirate captain Muse (Barkhad Abdi) is determined, and manages to board the ship, and find the crew. Phillips and the crew negotiate the swap of the ship for the Captain, and soon Captain Phillips and the pirates are motoring slowly to Somali.  In time, the Navy shows up leading to the climatic conclusion.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: A slow paced, naval hostage drama that may double as a Navy recruitment film.  It has fine acting and pretty pictures, but it isn't that much fun.

Highlights were the realistic naval scenes which give a flavor of living on a freighter, and the cool, competence of all US Navy Sailors. In a scene where the Navy Seals are getting dressed, they look like superheroes they are so muscled up.

Lowlights were the long and repetitive scenes of Phillips and the Somali guys on the lifeboat. I didn't need endless scenes Somali guys arguing with each other. Another lowlight was filler material after the climatic battle -- why do we need to see Phillip's medical check up? Just end the movie!

Hank's acting was great -- you knew it would be. Amateur actor Abdi does a fine job as the terrorst -- he seemed convincing through-out.

Cast: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi

Directed by: Paul Greengrass

Rating: 2.5 stars

  

More: Here is the real Captain Phillips.  

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Gravity

Plot: Astronauts Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are working on the space telescope when a disaster strikes. Suddenly their shuttle is wrecked, Stone is floating by herself in space, and they can't radio earth. Stone and Kowalski try to survive as circumstances continue to deteriorate. In time, Stone begins to reflect on her death, and the struggle to live.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: A suspenseful, nail-bitting movie where I always felt identified with Bullock's astronaut Stone and her panicked struggles. While Ryan slowly manages to save herself, every step forward comes with two steps backward. Gravity looks like a sci-fi, but it is really a disaster movie.

The suspense is continuous, but there are a lot of solitary scenes, and most of the dialog is Astronaut Stone with herself. Her performance is wonderful, and Clooney's is also strong. Bullock has enough range that we don't get tired of her.

Stone brings up the big issues of life as Job-like disasters keep unfolding: life vs suicide; her daughter; her inability to pray; whether anyone will mourn her death.

In the disasters, people die. In Gravity, people  seem happy before they go. Father and son writers Alfonso and Jonas Cuaron seem to be saying that happiness at the time of death makes dying better.

The movie is spectacular: a great use of 3D. The scenes of the spacecraft floating above the earth are beautiful. The scenes of Bullock floating through the space station seem effortless and realistic. Very nice. 

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron; cowritten with son Jonas

Rating: 3.5 stars: suspenseful, thoughtful, well-acted, enjoyable.

 

More: It is wrong to criticize science-fiction movies for realism -- so I won't. No Hollywood movie is realistic, even the so-called true stories, for example The Butler.  A better question is if they could have set-up this plot with more realistic premises.  

Even more: My DW thought it was the best movie of the year because she liked the weighty end-of-life themes.  This film is a little short of perfect for me. The philosophy doesn't seem that substantive and I value good dialog a little more. 

Rush

Plot: James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruehl) meet as talented young drivers in Europe, and try to beat each other into big-time Formula One racing.  Once they get to Formula One, their rivalry intensifies.  Soon both are contenting to be the Champion driver on the circuit. Hunt is a fun-loving risk-taker, and Lauda is a careful technician. Racing is full of accidents and break-downs, and these figure into a climatic turning point and then a suspenseful conclusion. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Rush is a focussed on the rivalry between two characters, Hunt and Lauda, and all the other characters are secondary. They are different archetypes, and so everyone understands the talented playboy, and the relentless geek.

Director Howard tells the story visually with pictures at least as much as words -- indeed a lot of the story is in German. Some of the photography is clever and poetic. On the other hand, the soundtrack is weak.

I liked Rush a lot because it was a good story that was well told. It was exciting and emotional. Always interesting, and occasionally fun. The weakness is the ending, which just was not satisfying. I suppose that is what happens with "true stories."

Cast: Chris Helmsworth, Daniel Bruehl

Directed by: Ron Howard

Rating: 3.25 stars: Well made and entertaining: occasionally fun. If the ending had been stronger, it could have been a contender. I feel bad giving it a quarter star rating like I am indecisive. In fact, I looked at my honor role for the year, and I think this film lacks the extra oomph for the top group. Not quite creative enough. Dialog not quite good enough. Still a strong movie. 

   plus 1/4

More: There is one Formula One race in the US every year, the US Grand Prix, and it is in Austin in 2013. The Formula One cars burn gas, but Indy cars burn ethanol. This means the Formula One cars have 700 horsepower vs 650 hp for Indy cars. Indy cars use fuel injections, but Formula One cars have carburetors. Indy cars are 90 kg heavier.

Even more: The real life Hunt and Lueda look strangely like Helmsworth and Bruehl. All the actors have a remarkable likeness. Check it out. 

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Prisoners

Plot: Two girls are kidnapped, and Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) investigates. One of the girl's fathers, Keller Davis (Hugh Jackman), tries to find the girls his own way using torture.  There is time for many suspects, deadends, and plot twists. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Intense. So much high emotion so often. And Oh! the torture scene was awful-- I had my fingers over my face. This is a top thriller -- at least I'd think so if I could get that torture scene out of my head. 

And thoughtful. When is it OK to torture someone? Maybe if two young girl's life's hang in the balance? It reminds me of Jack Bauer on 24 torturing terrorists to get secrets. What if you have the wrong guy? What about killing someone to prevent that person from killing innocent people? Prisoners has many pairs of prisoners and jailers, and sometimes trading places. Very clever writing from the fairly new writer Aaron Guzikowski. 

Well directed from young director Denis Villeneuve.  Great performance from Jake Gyllenhaal -- I loved it. Photography pretty standard. The soundtrack was dull. The set decoration was interesting because it was so realistic. 

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Written by: Aaron Guzikowski

Rating: 3.0 stars:  A top thriller, but too intense for most people; including me. It would have been a top movie at 3.5 stars, but I dropped it 1/2 due to the torture scene.  

 

More [SPOILER]: The priest killed a man to prevent him from killing children; was that the right thing to do?

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The Butler

Plot: Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) saw his father shot on a cotton farm, and was taught to be a house servant by the shooter's mom. When he was older, he worked in a hotel, and then eventually joined the staff at the White House, serving Truman and all the presidents until Reagan. He was married to Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) and had two kids. One son, Earl (David Banner), became a Black Panther and later a politician. The work life of Cecil Gaines is based on the life of Eugene Allen, a former White House butler, however most aspects of his personal life are fictional.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: The Butler tells the story of a movement, and a whole people's struggle through the story of one man. The scope of the story gives epic sweep and therefore power. Being a white guy, I experienced it in my own way. It made me think about how difficult it was to be a black person in the south immediately in the 40's, 50's and 60's. It was interesting to see the civil rights struggle through this lens. 

There apparently was a tradition of black house servants in the White House, and it is interesting that this tradition lasted so late into the 20th Century.  

I liked first 90 minutes a lot. The interesting parts were the little things in how black and white people treated each other. Whittaker's butler has so much dignity, and seems true to character. Oprah has a fine performance including some excellent physical gestures and emotional reaction; a great job for an inexperienced actress. 

Writer Danny Strong wove in the Martin Luther King and the civil rights struggle using the device of an invented son. This generational aspect gave the movie a nice flow, and allowed the older generation to react to the younger. The invented character helped the story telling, and made the movie more impactful and enjoyable. On the other hand, I felt tricked when I found this fundamental aspect of the plot was fake. They should not have claimed it was based on a true story.

There are a few great visual images. The soundtrack was mostly from the period, and not very noticeable.

The tone is interesting and epic, but at the end it gets preachy, and voice-over narration is used to make sure the audience gets the points. I wish it would have ended with the same tone it started with. 

Cast: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey

Directed by: Lee Daniels

Rating: 3.0 stars: A grand story with epic sweep that makes me feel good at the end. 

 

More: [SPOILERS]  As mentioned, there were numerous fictional liberties taken in the screenplay. Part of the power of the movie is that it teaches history. To the extent, that the history is false, I feel cheated.

For example, the older son, who went into the Black Panthers, was fictional. The actual butler, Eugene Allen, grew up in Virginia rather than Georgia, which makes his job in DC, more understandable. The younger son did not die in Vietnam, and is still alive. There is no record that Allen asked for a raise on behalf of the staff.  

Even More: Director Lee Daniels seems to have negotiated to have his name in the title as in "Lee Daniel's The Butler", but that is not right. The writer's name can be in the title, but not the director. The director's name can be advertised on the poster with the title, or whereever the graphic designer can put it. The director did not create the movie, s/he only stages it. The screenwriter created it, thus Danny Strong's The Butler would have be OK.  

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The Spectacular Now

Plot: High school senior Sutter (Miles Teller) just broke up with girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson), and he quickly gets involved with the less popular, less flashy Aimee (Shailene Woodley), who turns out to be interesting and attractive in her own way.

Sutter drinks a lot, doesn't study, and lives in the Now, in the Eckhart Towle.  sense of the word. Because of his short term focus, he does not manage his affairs well, but people love him because he has such a big heart. Eventually he learns that "each Now leads to another Now tomorrow, and it is time to start making them count," which is a lot like living in the Future instead of the Now, and that is the point.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Spectacular Now is an indie film about high school romance that has an overlay of pop psychology -- specifically rejecting the Eckhart Towle New Age precept to "live-in-the-Now." Spectacular Now is a morality play showing that, at least for teenagers, it is important to live in the Future too. 

The film is almost entirely conversation about relationships between the teens and with their parents. There is a heart-pounding, first-time, sex scene that is done well.

Near the end, suddenly the cinematography steps up a notch. There are a few great images of Aimee through a  window, and some great driving sequences. I am not sure why the change in style, but that was welcome.  

The best part was the performance by Shailene Woodley, who shows us some excellent facial acting. Miles Teller has a more than adequate performance. The dialog is solid but not exceptional. 

Spectacular Now is about the importance of planning along with the importance of loving people. The story is pleasant. The characters were likable. It is not super-fun to watch, but it is worthwhile and interesting.  

Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley

Directed by: James Ponsoldt based on the book by Tim Tharp.

Rating: 2.5 stars; the purposeful message gives this pleasant film extra points. 

 

More: I am not sure what the title means, that is "What is spectacular about Now?" 

Even More: Spectacular Now has Sundance Festival buzz since it is an indie film and because it has a clear meaning and purpose. It is trying to take part in a societal conversation.  While old people can benefit from focusing on the Now; young people need to focus more on the Future. 

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