Tower Heist
Plot: When Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) screws his employees out of their money, Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) leads a group of disgruntled workers in stealing their money back. The crew includes Charlie (Casey Affleck), his brother-in-law; Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), a down on his luck former Wall Street executive; Enrique Dev’Reux (Michael Pena), an electrical engineer dropout; Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe), a safe cracker expert; and Slide (Eddie Murphy), a former convict teaching the gang the ropes. Hot on their trails is Special Agent Claire Denham (Tea Leoni), who strikes up a friendship with Josh.
Review: Brett Ratner caught heat for his comment, “Rehearsal is for fags.” Not only is it a classless and insulting comment, it’s also very unprofessional. Not just the slur, but axing rehearsals, as well. They’re an important part of a film, especially comedies. They show what works and doesn’t and tightens the film.
Watching “Tower Heist”, it’s clear rehearsals were never had. Most of the dialogue is ad-libbed, with only Eddie Murphy striking gold. Gabourey Sidibe and Michael Pena hold their own, but are suffocated by the likes of Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick and Casey Affleck. Good actors who can be funny, but not without a good script. They haven’t mastered the art of improv and it shows.
That’s not to say “Tower Heist” is a horrible film. Far from it. It’s just a bland time waster that only occasionally stirs some laughs. Even then, they aren’t huge. The cast seems to be having a blast, but the audience is left in the cold. It may have been a party on the set, but it’s labor for the rest of us.
Final Rating: C
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Plot: After reuniting with her sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) is haunted by tragic memories and increasing paranoia. Her past is told in flashbacks, revealing why she suffers from schizophrenia.
Review: A thriller like “Martha Marcy May Marlene” relies heavily on the actress portraying the lead role. To keep us glued, we need someone strong and commanding to keep the film afloat. One false move or misstep and the story crumbles. Sean Durkin takes a huge risk with Elizabeth Olsen and it pays of stupendously.
Olsen carries herself well, portraying the fears and anxiety to a tee. She bounces off of the flashback style of filming tremendously, never forgetting which role she’s in; a brainwashed cult member or disturbed sister. She shows no fears, stripping down to her birthday suit when need be. With this stellar of a performance, she can easily break away from being the “other” Olsen sister.
As for Durkin, he proves himself in his first full-length directorial effort. He builds suspense well and never panders to the audience. He lets the viewer come to their own conclusions as opposed to spelling everything out. This will cause a difference of opinion between many, which plays to the film’s strengths. The ending especially, which I thought was ingenious. He’s crafted a supremely chilling and satisfying thriller.
Final Rating: A-
The Big Year
Plot: Kenny Bostick (Owen Wilson) holds the record for most seen birds in one big year (a staggering 732). Two bird enthusiasts, Brad Harris (Jack Black) and Stu Preissler (Steve Martin), attempt to break his record and become the world’s best birder.
Review: If you go into “The Big Year” expecting a lot of laugh out loud moments, you’ll be disappointed. It’s understandable to expect such, given three comedy heavyweights are the main attraction(s). This just isn’t that type of comedy. It still has it’s fair share of laughs. Just in a form you wouldn’t expect.
This is a tender, lighthearted comedy. One that could be watched with the family (given it’s PG rating), though not geared towards that crowd. It’s a comedy that focuses more on the characters instead of the punch lines. You could label it as a dramedy, as it has dramatic elements to it. It’s just not as heavy as, say, “50/50”.
It does take a bit to get comfortable with. David Frankel takes the bird watching material seriously (and elegantly). He’s not poking fun at birders; he’s embracing them. More and less, he’s embracing their passion and drive. We all have an obsession. Something we spend insane amount of hours with. For me, it’s a mix of both film and wrestling. Others may look at us and laugh at our “addiction”. We have our reasons for loving it, just like Kenny, Stu and Brad do with birding.
Frankel also dissects the men’s personal lives. Stu is trying to retire, only to be constantly coaxed back into the field by his partners (Kevin Pollak and Joel McHale). Brad has tension with his father, Raymond (Brian Dennehy), while also trying to win the heart of fellow birder Ellie (Rashida Jones). Kenny is tasked with staying loyal to his wife, Jessica (Rosamund Pike), who is pregnant with his child. The fear of losing his credibility as the best birder in the world complicates his marriage.
It’s easy to blow this movie off. It’s not hysterical and does play it safe sometimes. The reason to give it a chance is for it’s simplicity and beauty. Pay no attention to the birding if it throws you off. Take notice of the characters and how relatable they are. When you do, you may just fall in love with it like I did.
Final Rating: B+
Project Nim
Plot: James Marsh chronicles the life of Nim, a chimpanzee taken from his mother and raised by humans. His life starts out wonderfully with Stephanie LaFarge, but slowly takes a turn for the worse as the experiment (to see if he can successfully be taught sign language) begins to take over and eventually ceases operation,
Review: It may be clichéd to refer to “Project Nim” as a real version of “Planet of the Apes”. It’s heavily touted as such as it mirrors that film. More specifically, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. It may not end with an ape uprising, but it comes pretty close. Just like the blockbuster starring James Franco, it starts off sweet and earnest with a loving relationship between ape and man. Once testing and lab experiments kick in, it becomes heartbreaking.
It should be noted that the experiment to teach Nim sign language isn’t cruel whatsoever. Some of the classes may have been boring and mentally torturous for Nim, but nothing inhumane. It’s when the experiment is closed and Nim is shipped away for lab testing that the real horror begins.
The documentary does drag a bit before that lab testing kicks in (which unfortunately sounds terrible). Though it’s heartwarming to see and hear the connection some of the humans have with the loveable ape, it does become redundant. Their words don’t truly strike a chord until the disastrous testing kicks in.
“Project Nim” is most interesting on how it makes you feel about apes. At the beginning of the film, I desperately wanted my own as a pet. The longer the film went, the more I shied away from wanting one. As loving as they can be, their temper can get out of control and dangerous. Sometimes, that ties into our treatment of them, which Marsh highlights effectively.
Final Rating: B+
Goon
Plot: Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) is a bouncer who hasn’t amounted to much in his life. When he and his friend, Ryan (Jay Baruchal), go to a local hockey game, a fight breaks out between him and one of the players. After knocking the player out, he’s recruited and eventually rises to the ranks of the Halifax Islanders. A showdown between him and Ross Rhea (Live Schreiber), another tough goon, is highly anticipated.
Review: It’s always been a running gag in hockey that the fights are the highlights. That the only reason people go is to see the bloodshed. Racing has a similar stereotype, where the crowd simply wants to see the crashes. Michael Dowse builds off of that with a script written by passionate hockey fan Jay Baruchal (as well as Evan Goldberg).
This gag works for a bit, but loses steam quickly. Dowse levels this out by showcasing Doug’s extreme kindness and building laughs off of that. This too begins to sour as time rolls on. The major problem for both ends is that they only amount to small jokes. Little things that don’t build up to a bigger picture.
Even the big showdown between Doug and Rhea isn’t built up well. There are signs in the beginning, but Dowse loses track of it until the back end. He gets distracted by the obligatory love interest of Eva (Alison Pill), which is admittedly cute. A side story of angst between Doug and teammate Xavier LaFlamme (Marc-Andre Grondin) peters out as soon as it starts.
“Goon” isn’t a bad comedy. It has some laughs to it’s credit. It just doesn’t have enough to sustain it’s hour and a half running time. It runs on two simple quips: violence and Doug’s politeness. These only work sporadically, leaving a sense of emptiness in the film. “Goon” has potential, but never quite realizes it.
Final Rating: C+
Detachment
Plot: Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) is a substitute teacher at a chaotic High School with the lowest test scores in the county. He drifts from class to class trying to teach and uplift the students, while interacting with the emotionally detached teachers. He’s also dealing with his grandfather’s critical health and is playing guarding to a young prostitute named Erica (Sami Gayle).
Review: Tony Kaye has a lot to say and only an hour and thirty-seven minutes to do so. His greatest goal is to impregnate the viewer with a sense of depression and detachment. He’s taken a script, by Carl Lund, that heavily depicts society and, more importantly, the school system, as a crumbling wasteland. Where we all just struggle to survive.
There’s nothing wrong with attempting this. It’s admirable and, if done right, can be highly efficacious. While “Detachment” doesn’t fail, it doesn’t quite live up to the goals it makes. It overflows itself with too many messages and can force them upon the viewer too heavily. Kaye has a lot of determination, but not enough restraint. He doesn’t let the film breathe and stand on it’s own two legs.
He does hit a few good notes. He’s got a splendid actor in Adrien Brody to carry the baggage, as well as a strong supporting cast (James Caan, Lucy Lui, Christina Hendricks, Blythe Danner, Marcia Gay Harden). He’s also struck gold in securing a confident performance out of the young Sami Gayle. These performances help realize the heavy material at hand.
There’s a great film lying inside of “Detachment”. It’s sitting patiently, waiting to be let out. It peeks it’s head out every now and then and makes quite an impact. It’s then shuffled back into it’s hiding spot to not be seen again. Kaye tries to befriend and work with it, but makes a few missteps due to his sheer certitude.
Final Rating: C+
Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury
Plot: In 1990, Saint James St. James (Ross Patterson) directed two “Poolboy” films, “No Lifeguard on Duty” and “Drowning Out the Fury” starring Jan Van Hammer (Kevin Sorbo). Deemed too controversial, both films were put on the self. The first was destroyed, while the sequel collected dust. After twenty years, the studio has allowed James to release it.
Review: This spoof of direct-to-video action movies is quite funny and spot on in it’s depiction of the genre. From terrible editing to repeated use of stock footage, Garrett Brawith has a firm grasp on his satire and has his tongue firmly placed in cheek. All of the actors get the memo and ham it up, never taking themselves seriously.
The plot for “Drowning Out the Fury”, the film within this spoof, follows Vietnam Veteran Sam Bando on his mission to save America from immigrants. He wages war with Caesar (Danny Trejo), whose family has taken over the pool cleaning business that Sam was once the king of. Many racist jokes and stereotypes follow, though they’re all done to poke fun at racists, not glorify them.
The film is packed with jokes, which means not all of them will hit. Some are too obvious and others simply fall flat. The running gag of Saint James St. James interrupting the film to give trivia produces some clever moments, but becomes a distraction after awhile. A lot of the fun in “Poolboy” is watching the lost movie unfold. That’s when this spoof really works.
Final Rating: B
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