Starring: Ziyi Zhang, Leehom Wang
Directed by: Dennie Gordon
Not Rated
Running time: 1 hour 45 mins
China Lion Films

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Sophie (Zhang) is a dreamer. While working her dull, unexciting job selling vacation packages over the phone she longs for the adventures she dreams up and home and puts on paper. Sophie likes to draw comics and submits them for publication. The latest one features a handsome, suave secret agent, whom she fantasizes about meeting one day. When she wins an all expense paid trip to Singapore that day comes sooner than expected.

Deftly directed by Dennie Gordon, who also used her skill to help make David Spade appealing in “Joe Dirt,” “My Lucky Star” is James Bond-lite – from the opening credits on- with a twist. Here the smart one is Sophie herself, with the occasional help provided by the object of Sophie’s attention and imagination: David (Wang). The story deals with a diamond (the “Lucky Star” of the title) Sophie thinks she won as part of her vacation package. The diamond is being kept in a case built to withstand an atomic blast. When Sophie tries to obtain the diamond she is made to luck the case so that she can only open it. She does this by kissing the case shut, which makes it bad luck for anyone interested in the contents of the mysterious case.

What is amazing about “My Lucky Star” is that it takes what is really a one note concept – artist begins to live her drawings – and turns it into a film that not only holds your imagination but helps to fuel it. Zhang, currently helping to kick box-office butt with the martial arts biography “The Grandmaster,” is perfect as Sophie. Curious as to what life has to offer, Zhang gives Sophie a true sense of naiveté that those around her recognize. Her life is a comic book and she does her best to fit in. In a way, Sophie is a lot like John Cusack’s character, Hoops McCann, in “Better Off Dead.” Zhang is also surrounded by some great on-screen talent, including the handsome Wang, who gives off an aura of coolness with just a glance.

Technically the film is solid. Director Gordon keeps the story flowing smoothly and the photography, by cinematographer Armando Salas, is picture perfect. From Beijing to Macau to Singapore, not an inch of screen time is wasted.

“My Lucky Star” is currently in limited release in the following cities: Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and the Washington, D.C.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano
Directed by: Denis Villenueve
Rated: R
Running time: 2 hours 23 mins
Warner Brothers

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Keller Dover (Jackman) is a hard working family man. He does his best to provide for his family: wife Grace (Maria Bello), son Ralph (Dylan Minnette) and young daughter Anna (Erin Gerasimovich). He does his best to protect his family as any father would. This Thanksgiving they are visiting their neighbors, Franklin and Nancy Birch (Terrence Howard and Viola Davis), and their children. Anna and little Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons) ask if they can go to the Dover home. Keller tells them to make sure they take one of the older kids with them. Lesson one, kids: always listen to your parents.

Directed with the skill of a master, “Prisoners” is the best thriller to come down the pike in a decade. The credit here is three way. First, an almost flawless first time original screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski, whose only other writing credit was for his adaptation of the Icelandic film that became the Mark Wahlberg hit “Contraband.” Second, the outstanding direction of Canadian filmmaker Villenueve. Villenueve, an Academy Award and BAFTA nominee for his 2011 film “Incendies,” delivers one of the greatest Hollywood debuts I can remember in recent history. Thirdly, a cast of past Oscar nominees and winners that deliver some of the best work of their careers.

Jackman, an Oscar nominee last year for “Les Miserables,” digs deep into the darkest portion of his soul in order to give Keller both the rage that you fear and compassion that you admire. When the police arrest, and then release, a man they suspect of the crime (Paul Dano), Keller and Franklin abduct him and keep him prisoner, beating the hell out of him in the hopes that he’ll tell them where the girls are. On the side of law and order is detective Loki (Gyllenhaal), a man with obvious demons of his own. His neck covered in a tattoo that resembles a badge and his face a non-stop series of tics, Gyllenhaal gives the performance of a career here. He and Jackman are matched by Dano (“There Will Be Blood”) as a quiet kid that may or may not know the girls whereabouts. As the neighbors who are also mourning the disappearance of a child, former Oscar nominees Howard and Davis display a quiet dignity that you would expect from a couple under those circumstances. As the hunt for the girls continue Keller becomes less and less patient with his captive, doing whatever he feels is necessary to get the answers he requires.

Villenueve crafts and molds the story into a thing of beauty. His pacing is brilliant, giving the audience just enough clues to keep them guessing at every twist and turn. Is Dano the man responsible? Or is he just the type of misunderstood, quiet young man whose very reluctance to speak paints him with the brush of guilt? You’ll have to see the movie and learn those answers for yourself?

Related Content

• Film Review: Fist Fight
• Film Review “Oasis: Supersonic”
• Film Review “Victor Frankenstein”
• Film Review: “Trespass Against Us”
• Film Review “99 Homes”

Directed by: Jeff Renfroe
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Bill Paxton, Kevin Zegers
Studio: RLJ Entertainment
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running time: 93 minutes

Our Score: 2 out of 5 stars

When I saw the poster for “The Colony”, I figured it looks like a low-budget rip-off of “The Thing”. I saw the pretty impressive cast including Laurence Fishburne (“The Matrix”) and Bill Paxton (“Aliens”), which was enough to sell me. The film started off pretty good but ended up becoming quite a mess around half way mark. The visual effects are pretty decent creating this frozen world. I found myself yawning until the final act, which for me never paid off. Might be worth a rent but nothing memorable.

Official Premise: As an endless winter engulfs Earth, humans struggle to survive in remote underground outposts. When Colony 7 receives a distress call from a nearby settlement, Sam (Kevin Zegers) and Briggs (Laurence Fishburne) race through the snow on a dangerous rescue mission. What they find at the desolate base could mean mankind’s salvation—or its total annihilation.

Laurence Fishburne is one of my favorite. He has been a great addition to the cast of TV’s “Hannibal” recently as well. But even though he is prominent on the poster, he isn’t really the main character. Same goes for Bill Paxton since he is missing from the whole second act of the film. His character also has a really weak arc and seems like it was piece together poorly. Obviously, I should have known this well marketing trick but fell for it this time. I wish they would have spent a little more time on fleshing out the background story and fine tuning the characters and this might have actually been worth watching.

Starring: Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones
Directed by: Luc Besson
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hour 50 mins
Relativity Media

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Seemingly always on the move, the Blake Family arrives at their new home in Normandy, France. Excited about the next day, young Warren asks about his new school. He has another question: “Do we have the same names?”

Sometimes hilarious, “The Family” tells the story of the former Manzoni family. Father Giovani (DeNiro), now known as Fred, is a former mafia crime boss who ratted on his associates and now finds himself in the witness protection program. Unfortunately Fred has made some very powerful people angry and the family is constantly being moved for their protection. Mother Maggie (Pfeiffer) is the calm one, doing her best to keep the family strong and urging them to be low key. Of course, this doesn’t prevent her from blowing up a local grocery store when she feels insulted. The kids, Warren (John D’Leo) and his older sister, Belle (“Glee’s” Diana Agron) do their best to adjust to their new school and classmates, though not without some bumps. The Blakes’ FBI handler (Jones) decides that the best way to get the family acquainted with the neighborhood is to throw a giant barbecue. But even a good cook-out can have its problems.

Well cast and sharply directed by Besson, who also co-wrote the script, “The Family” flows easily for the first half. Unfortunately though, once the Blake’s whereabouts are discovered by the bosses back home, the film turns into a very serious and violent drama. Now instead of laughing along with the family’s antics you’re hoping they don’t catch a bullet in the head. It’s such a 180 degree turn that you’re caught off guard. It really through off my enjoyment of the film, which is a shame because there are some great moments. One of my favorite concerns a scene where Fred, who has introduced himself to his neighbors as a writer (he uses the ruse to write his memoirs as a crime boss) is invited to help discuss a popular American film. However, when he gets there the wrong film has been shipped. The new film is one of the best “in” jokes I’ve seen on film over the past few years and “The Family” is almost worth the price of admission just for these few moments.

On a scale of zero to five I give “The Family” ***

Related Content

• Film Review “The World’s End”
• Film Review “Only God Forgives”
• TV Film Review “Our Wild Hearts”
• Film Review “Rushlights”
• Film Review “Detour”

Directed by: James Wan
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins, Barbara Hershey
Distributed by: FilmDistrict
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 105 minutes

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Man, I really wanted to LOVE this film. “Insidious” is easily one of my favorite horror movies of all-time. Yes! I really like it that much. Over the last two years, I have seen it probably 10-15 times and it consistently continues to scare me and to be honest sticks with me for days after watching. That to me just shows that you have a good scary movie on your hands. The visual aspect of the film is like nothing that I have ever seen before. It is amazingly creepy and really keeps you at the edge of your chair and biting your nails. Unfortunately none of that is true with “Insidious: Chapter 2”. The film tries to achieve this larger scale and falls fast into working with typical boring horror cliches.

“Insidious: Chapter 2” starts off in a flashback to 1986 where we see a younger Josh Lambert during his first meeting with Elise Ranier in order to control his astro-projections and save him from the woman in the wedding dress. From there we get taken to the night after the events of the first film, which is where we continue from. Josh’s family is suspicious about him when he starts behaving differently after that night (and if you’ve seen the first film we assume that his physical body was taken by the old woman in the wedding dress). So the family needs to find out what really happened that night after Elise was murdered.  They also realize that these ghosts that are haunting them do not seem to be finished with them.

After James Wan delivered the amazing “The Conjuring”, I thought this guy was a force to be reckoned with. This film as much as it pains me to say feels like a cash in on the popularity of “Insidious”. The story tries to act as a prequel and sequel at the same time yet crams too much in to flow well. It sacrifices critical plot points in order to fit in the back story.  The first film works so well since it has this very minimalist approach. There is also more back story behind the old woman in the wedding gown that we were introduced in the first film. I thought that she was creepy as well in the first film but as they gave the brief back story, she became less scary. In terms of scares, they are almost non-existent. There are maybe one or two decent jumps. Most importantly the ghosts especially do not have that same eerie presence that they did in the first film.

The focus of the film was steered from the main characters Josh and Renai Lambert (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) while they tried expand the story with the rest of the cast and like I said it all just feels too busy. There is much more focus on Barbara Hershey’s character Lorraine Lambert and also more focus on the comedy duo Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson). I am sure that was a fan request…and I love their characters in the first film but I feel like in this one they were really trying to get too many laughs. In the first film the comedy was very well-blended and with the sequel it was more laugh-out-loud, which I felt didn’t work with the tone of the film.

I know that I was going into this film with very high hopes, so the anticipation was crazy high. I normally do not like doing that since then the ratio for failure is higher. When it comes down to it though, sometimes movies just don’t really need a sequel. I know the first film was left with a pretty big cliffhanger but it was a good cliffhanger. After you watched it, you continued to think about it and it messed with your head. This film does not achieve that same feeling. I should have known better than to think that a horror sequel could top the original. I will just stick with the original film and I suggest you do the same.

Starring: Vin Diesel, Karl Urban and Katee Sackhoff
Directed by: David Twohy
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hour 59 mins
Universal

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Is there anything Vin Diesel can’t do? He’s helped save Private Ryan, given voice to an Iron Giant and driven some sweet cars pretty fast and furious. He returns this week for the third time as escaped prisoner and suspected murderer Richard Riddick in the appropriately named action film, “Riddick.”

We find our hero after having been marooned on a desolate planet. Well, it’s not too desolate. There are many different creatures lurking about and, in the first ten minutes of the film, Riddick manages to do battle with each of them. He also proves his toughness by setting his own hideously broken leg. He actually does pretty well because soon he’s running and jumping as if he and the film’s continuity person forgot he even had a broken leg. He comes upon an old outpost and triggers a beacon to summon help. What he gets are two different space ships. The first contain bounty hunters, the second, a crew inquisitive about Riddick’s past. Oh, and more creatures.

With a standard “Action Film 101” script and some impressive visual effects, “Riddick” is everything you think it is. Some witty banter, a little T & A to keep you on your toes and a surprisingly engaging performance by Diesel, who pretty much sleepwalked through this past summer’s “Fast and Furious 6.” I’ve always found Diesel to be an interesting character. When he’s not out proving he’s a badass he’s actually turned in some solid work. Here he appears to be having fun and his familiarity with the character makes you worry about what is going to happen to him next.

The rest of the characters are pretty stock: the bounty hunters who secretly want nothing to do with their prey, the cool blonde chick (Sackhoff) with a trained eye and an incredible figure, the gang leader whose determination to put Riddick’s head in a box is such that you hope he hurries up and takes care of the job. As mentioned above, the script is pretty much by-the-book, with much of the film narrated by Diesel. “There are bad days,” he comments, with most of the action dealing with him and those sent to find him. Thankfully they’re not all bad.

Directed By: Morgan Spurlock
Rated: PG
Running Time: 92 minutes
TriStar Pictures

Our Score: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Let’s be up front. I don’t like One Direction. When it comes to music, if I don’t like something, I still try and see it for it’s artistic value. There are very few bands or artists that I feel are just flat out bad and have no redeeming musical qualities. One Direction is not one of them. I feel under the casually generic top 40 pop lyrics of love and loss, there’s actually some decent rock buried under their pop ballads. So with that said, I went in ready to judge the movie as a movie and push my dislike of the band out of my head. With “One Direction: This Is Us”, there are a limited number of positives if you’re not a screaming hormonal middle school girl.

“This Is Us” is a concert film mixed with footage and one-on-one interview detailing the lives of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, the five lads who make up One Direction, on their global tour. Of course by detail, it really only shows us their humble beginnings on “The X-Factor” up until their current tour. I’ll go ahead and say that there’s some decent positives in this movie. The concert footage in 3D is actually really well shot and has a bounce to it. There’s a couple of artistic touches added to the footage and I would love whoever shot this to film my favorite bands. The shenanigans by our five stars are fun to watch. Especially when they actually decide to pull pranks on their adoring fans entering the arena.

Outside of that, we have multiple shots of gratuitous shirtlessness and sometimes pantsless moments of the five members. There are obvious reasons as to why this movie has included those moments that I don’t feel like articulating. It also becomes a bit repetitive watching a new batch of wild fans being interviewed or shown for the camera. Also get use to every band member pointing out the fact that the mere sight of their face sends the crowds of women outside the venue into a screeching wall of noise. The so-called look at the backstage crew is nothing new if you have any basic knowledge of how shows are put on. With how much detail goes into their lives shows, you’d think they would have nabbed an interview with someone who actually designed the set and gone over thought processes of the video lit city on stage.

It wasn’t that this movie was terribly made. It just becomes increasingly evident as times goes on that there are plenty of missed opportunities and a lack of interest in it’s subjects. Unless of course we need them to be silly or need them to cause the female heart to skip a beat. I’m not even sure the acclaimed documentarian, Morgan Spurlock of “Super Size Me”, had much input and was simply just a name to add to it’s credentials. If you’re a fan of “One Direction” or maybe even slightly interested in them, you’re gonna fall in love with this movie.

There’s a small taste of a movie that would have been more interesting at the halfway point. A couple of the members muse what they would be doing if they weren’t in the band and if things will ever actually be normal in their lives. Even when they make a trip back home, they wonder if it’s really all worth it since they’re missing out on quality time with their family and friends. There’s plenty of interesting questions to be asked, but instead of a real in-depth look, we have fodder for fans. I would love to watch the movie that may turn off fans because of how raw and honest it is with the subject material. I knew we weren’t going to get any of that when Simon Cowell’s name popped up as producer as well as the band’s manager Will Bloomfield as executive producer. It’s a very vanilla look at One Direction that simply wishes to strengthen it’s fanbase and nauseate others. If you’re one of the unfortunate souls dragged to this movie, you’ll wanna bring some ear plugs and Ambien.

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez and Jon Voight
Directed by: Courtney Solomon
Rated: PG 13
Running time: 1 hour 30 mins
Warner Brothers

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Christmastime in Bulgaria. While decorating the tree Leanne Magna (Rebecca Budig) hears a knock on the door. When she opens it she is pushed back inside, thrown around for good measure and taken away. Across town, her husband Brent (Hawke), a former professional race car driver, receives a call on his cell phone. The voice on the other side (Voight) tells him to steal a certain car from a certain location. Or his wife will die.

With more quick-cut editing then the entire Edgar Wright “Ice Cream Trilogy,” “Getaway” plays more like a live action video game then a film. From the moment Brent steals the car mentioned above, a sweet Shelby Super Snake Mustang, the action is non-stop from beginning to end. But, like a video game, there really isn’t much of a story. In a nutshell, the “voice” wants Brent to spend his night driving like a bat out of hell while eluding the local police authorities. Not an easy thing to do but “the Voice” insists. Every 15 minutes or so Brent is given a mission to complete. After one of them has been completed he is suddenly joined by the Kid (Gomez), a too smart for her own age smart aleck who claims the car Brent stole is hers. Seeing her in the car (the Voice has wired the interior of the car with cameras and microphones) he insists that Brent take her with him on his high speed demolition derby. The Kid said she had the car specially made so apparently she’s the one that told Ford not to put an air bag in it. The plot holes are huge, most notably one that the writers stole directly from “Speed.” Doubling that error is the fact that Brent and the Kid continue to speak out loud inside the car coming up with the next plan apparently unaware that the Voice is STILL listening and now knows what your plans are. And if you’re apparently the ONLY Shelby Snake Mustang in Bulgaria it might be a good idea not to drive it up and down the main drag of the city hoping to avoid attention.. The plot also makes sure that the Kid is a virtual “Rain Man” and by the time she reveals all she knows about the secrets of international banking I can only hope you make your “getaway” from the theatre.

On the positive side the film features some dynamite car chases filmed by apparently 10,000 cameras! I hope they use this process for the next “Fast and Furious” film. Of course, I also hope they don’t make another “Fast and Furious” film so we’ll have to see whose hopes are more important!

Starring: Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Patrick Warburton, Mary Kay Place
Directed by: Jacob Vaughan
Distributed by: Magnolia Pictures
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 84 minutes

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

I have been a fan of Ken Marino dating back to the early MTV days of “The State”. He is incredibly funny in everything that he has done since including “Wet Hot American Summer”, “Veronica Mars”, (one of my favs) “The Ten” – with the very quotable line “I was spoofing” and of course his most recent role in Adult Swim’s “Children’s Hospital”. In “Bad Milo!”, he gets to take the spotlight front and center. When I saw the poster for this film, I literally what “What the F*ck” and knew that I immediately had to see it. Not suprised after watching this film I had the exact same reaction. This was easily some of the most fun I have had watching a movie all year. It is a great blend of horror and comedy. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a good time. I see this become a cult classic for sure!

The film follow Duncan, whose life is really in the shitter…literally.  He has a boss is taking advantage of him, not to mention trouble at home with his mom dating a much younger man and pressure from his wife to have start a family. Due to this his life is filled with stress and it is starting to take a turn on his body including extreme stomach pains. When he takes his wife’s suggestion to see a hypnotherapist, he discovers that his pain is actually a creature living in his ass. No you did not read that wrong, a creature lives in his ass.  It comes out of Duncan when he is stressed and “takes care” of the people that aggravate him. Duncan attempts to understand why this is happening while at the same time trying to keep Milo’s (yes, he gets named) appetite at bay.

“Bad Milo!” features some quite impressive creature effects. I loved the look of Milo and thought that he was creepy yet he still kinda cute…is that weird since it is an alien that came out a guys ass? If I am not mistaken there is a little bit of digital effects as well but it is well-blended to not take over the creature effect. Besides Marino, the rest of the cast is also pretty awesome as well.  Patrick Warburton (“Rules of Engagement”) is always fun at playing the douche bag and he does it quite well here as Duncan’s boss. Peter Stormare (“Fargo”) plays Duncan’s hypnotherapist and is a riot as well. If that is not enough, Stephen Root (“Office Space”) plays his stoner father with a secret of his own. I should just mention that as this film goes on it also gets stranger and stranger yet at the same time more fun, so sit back let go and just enjoy.

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Martin Freeman
Directed By: Edgar Wright
Focus Features
Rated: R
Running Time: 109 minutes

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the fantastic ‘Cornetto’ trilogy, it’s don’t let Edgar Wright near your pub. Beginning with the climatic zombie destruction of The Winchester in 2004’s Shaun of the Dead through the collateral damage of all of Sandford’s local establishments in Hot Fuzz and now here in the eleven pubs leading to the twelfth and titular The World’s End, no barstool has been left unsplintered or unweaponized in one man’s struggle against a violent collective. It’s fitting that the oft tapped beer in this final installment is called Crowning Glory as Wright pulls out all the stops to deliver not only another great original action-comedy, but also a heartfelt conclusion to a trio of films that asked their audiences to face up to adulthood even if that also meant facing undead or intergalactic threats along the way.

In this case, the man on a mission is Gary King, a gloriously wild-eyed, drunken Simon Pegg. King brings us up to speed regarding an attempt him and his four mates made on their town’s Golden Mile pub crawl—five guys, twelve pubs, sixty pints. In 1990, they couldn’t complete their mission and King’s never lived it down. While his four friends have grown up into normal lives, King retains all the trappings of his youth from his Sisters of Mercy tee to the mix cassette in his car’s tape deck. Getting no reaction to his epic pub tale from his Alcoholics-Anonymous-like support group, Gary resolves to get his men back together for another try. He faces the harshest resistance from Andy (Nick Frost), his one time best friend, but having duped the other three men (Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Martin Freeman) to get on board first by lying about his complicity, Andy grudgingly joins in.

In their hometown, the friends find everything the same and yet strangely alien. The pubs    have lost their individuality, the town center marred by Modern Art (a statue that looks like Thor‘s Destroyer, which can’t be a good sign). Worst of all, none of the residents seem to recall or acknowledge any of Gary’s crew. Either the residents of the town are not themselves or they never really cared at all to begin with. The first of many illuminating realizations for Gary is that the discovery the residents really aren’t themselves because of a robotic threat is actually a relief compared to the alternative. At the very least, it keeps King’s crew united in battle right at the point in Gary’s desperate mission where they’re all just about to go home.

The action scenes are the most creative you’re likely to see this year with Gary’s other worldly opponents offering plenty of surprises while not being completely invulnerable (sometimes a problem in your summer action flicks). There’s a video-game like playfulness to a couple of the best sequences that I can only think were strengthened through Wright’s Pegg-and-Frost-free work on Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Similarly on the human side, every man brings their own skill set to the struggle from Andy’s simmering Hulk-like rage, to Gary’s one-handed defense of his glass of beer. It translates to the physical comedy actually maintaining the level of rapid fire laughs that Wright’s writing is known for.

In between the drinking and the brawls, the men gradually fall into the roles of their teenage selves in the group which allows for touching emotional moments as they confront their own unfinished business completely separate from the pub crawl. Particularly moving and early in the film is Eddie Marsan’s Pete reacting to the utter indifference shown to him by his once school bully.

Fitting for the film, I remember my own sixteen year old self doing my best to get the word out on Shaun of the Dead in my high school newspaper and am elated to report that this trio of films has never dipped in quality. What a relief that we’ve made it through so many other apocalyptic films  this year unscathed in order to get to Wright’s crowning glory.

Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley and Jennifer Jason Leigh
Directed by: James Ponsoldt
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hr 35 mins
A24

Our Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

It’s been done a hundred times on film. Cool guy meets quiet, nerdy girl. Romance ensues. “She’s All That.” “Pretty in Pink.” “16 Candles.” Those are the first three that popped into my head. They are also three of the better ones. Now it’s time to add another film to the list. And it might be the best one yet.

Sutter Keeley (Teller) is THE party guy. As he works towards completing his senior year in high school he maintains a set schedule. School. Work. Party. And no matter where he is (school, work or party) he’s always accompanied by his trusty flask. Sutter has a problem. When his girlfriend dumps him he compounds that problem several times over only to wake up on the lawn of Aimee Finicky (Woodley), a classmate he doesn’t even know. Aimee likes Manga (Japanese comics) and is planning on going to college. Sutter barely plans for the next day. But despite their obvious differences the two seem to connect in a way that will change both of them.

Based on the novel by Tim Tharp, “The Spectacular Now” is a heartfelt look at love and life told honestly through the eyes of those experiencing it. I had some reservations at the beginning of the film. Sutter was working his friends like Jonah Hill in “Superbad” and, for a brief moment, I resigned myself to watch another standard teen comedy. Then he meets Aimee. Both of them grew up without a father and that fact gives them a bond. Sutter tells Aimee his father is an airplane pilot and never around. Sutter lives with his mother (where have you been Jennifer Jason Leigh) and works at the local men’s clothing store. Aimee’s home life is similar, except her job is covering for her mother on a paper route. Needing help in class to pass Sutter asks Aimee to help tutor him. Of course the time spent together brings them closer. But sometimes you have to lose the things you love to appreciate them.

I really loved Miles Teller when he played Willard in the remake of “Footloose.” He showed a lot of promise for a long career. He lost a lot of that, in my opinion, in this past March’s “21 and Over.” But he earns it back, in spades, here. We see behind Teller’s eyes the pain he’s trying to drink away. When Aimee finally does get to meet good old dad (an outstanding Kyle Chandler) it’s easy to see why Sutter has problems. What’s amazing here is that Sutter understands he has a problem. When his boss (Bob Odenkirk) tells him he needs to stop drinking or lose his job Sutter doesn’t hesitate to tell him he can’t stop drinking. He just quits. “I guess if I were your father I’d begin lecturing you now,” his boss tells him. “If YOU were my father you wouldn’t have to,” is Sutter’s reply. Equally as good is Woodley, who was robbed of a much deserved Oscar nomination a few years ago for “The Descendants.” Here she strips away all pretense (like the rest of the cast, Woodley wears no make-up) to give a performance that is raw and nuanced. First love is an amazing thing. And credit the filmmakers for not dramatizing the fateful “first time.” In so many films it’s portrayed as serious and painful, almost like a punishment. Here it is shown the way I remember it…nervous banter and a lot of giggling.

Last month we were treated to “The Way, Way Back.” August gives us this gem. Oscar night is going to be fun this year.

Related Content

• Film Review “Non-Stop”
• Film Review “Oldboy”
• Film Review “Insidious: Chapter 2”
• Film Review “Stolen”
• Film Review “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin and Sally Hawkins
Directed by: Woody Allen
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Sony Pictures Classic

Our Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I enjoy “people watching”. There’s always been a fascination about other people’s lives, especially when you have nothing in common with that person yet you already have some predetermined notions about them. “Blue Jasmine” is the most intense version of “people watching” one could ever hope to achieve and a lot of fun. It has a quirky start, but once the pieces begin to fall into place, it’s off-the-wall charms turn into a strong drama with powerful performances.

Jasmine Francis (Blanchett) is in an alcoholic stupor. She downs Xanax like Tic-Tacs, verbally mumbles conversations she’s had in the past without realizing it and her emotional strings are pulled between depression and nervous breakdowns. Her sister, Ginger (Hawkins), has taken her in even though her life is in rebuilding mode. Jasmine has been on a tumble in life since her ex-husband, Hal (Baldwin), was arrested for his Bernie Madoff-esque activities. She’s gone from being the fashionable socialite of New York to tearfully debating her next move in life in San Francisco. The movie cuts back and forth from Jasmine’s previous life with Hal to her present predicaments. Both events unfold in a very smooth motion and the cuts from past to present are flawless.

Jasmine would be a sympathetic character if she wasn’t oblivious to the fact that people are trying to help her out. People around her hope to propel her forward with optimism as she criticizes and critiques everyone else’s life, behaving as if she was still being catered to in a mansion. Oddly enough, the most honest and truthful perspective in the movie comes from Ginger’s grease monkey boyfriend, Augie (Andrew Dice Clay). Instead of facing the harsh realities, she lies and manipulates her way through her new surroundings.

The entire cast of this film is at their peak, highlighted by a surprise performance by Andrew Dice Clay. Cate Blanchett perfectly portrays the pretentiously arrogant side of Jasmine as well as fully acting out her quivering moments after a healthy slap of reality. This is the first Woody Allen movie I’ve ever seen so I can’t really say that it’s his best work to-date or deliver any other comments of that nature. I will say that this is one of the more intelligent dramas I’ve seen in recent memory. Awkward scenes have a bit of light humor. Sometimes the laughs are uncomfortable. Even moments of melancholy are punctuated with a bizarre joy. The movie has an analytic feel about all of it’s characters without revealing too many of their motivations. Each character unravels, but only a few towards the end truly come out clean.

I get the sneaking suspicion that by the end of the movie, there will be a divide among audiences. Not straight down the middle, but a small minority that will feel sympathetic to Jasmine. The majority of others, like me, will have a morbid smile in watching things spiral out of control. The movie doesn’t portray her as good or bad, but instead just portrays her as human. She may be arrogant and self-absorbed, but when she’s knocked down she’s still scared and broken. Even though I took a certain glee in her misery, I found myself not wanting too much suffering to head her way. What makes her unlikable, but enjoyable to watch throughout, is the fact that she’s a constant fuel source and igniter for drama. It makes “Blue Jasmine” a rare treat at the theatre and a movie you’re sure to see in multiple awards categories at the end of the year

Directed by Adam Wingard
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Barbara Crampton, Rob Moran
Distributed by Lionsgate
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 94 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

After watching the trailer to “You’re Next”, I thought that this film was going to be terrifying. The idea of having deranged killers running around with farm animal masks on their face is creepy and very effective. After viewing the film, I was really taken back because it was not what I expect at all. But that was a good thing. The film starts off as a very creepy horror film with some fantastic scares and then it completely shifts gears to a kick-ass revenge thriller with some great and creative kills. When it comes to original ideas, “You’re Next” will have the audience jumping and yet at the same time also cheering at the screen! Fun time to be had here! Definitely recommend.

The film centers about the Davison family who while getting together to celebrate their parents anniversary get much more than they expect this this family reunion.  They all meet at a remote house in the woods but soon find out that they are not alone.  Shortly after getting settled and sitting down to dinner, they find that they are being hunted by a group of masked, ax-wielding psychos. When say masked by the way if you haven’t seen the posters, they are animal masks, which makes it even creepier. Being trapped in their house the family needs to fight to get a way out and plenty of secrets are up-rooted in the process. Let’s just say the family will never be the same after the night!

Let’s talk about Sharni Vinson, who I have been in love with ever since she was in “Step Up 3D”. Yes, I love that film and she was rocking in it. She also kicked some major shark ass in “Bait 3D”, which was also awesome. I think people both male and female are really going to dig her in this role. She is tough, sexy, bad-ass and knows how to use a blender like no one I have ever seen! See the movie to get that last part. If she doesn’t blow up big in Hollywood after this film, I will be completely surprised. But besides Sharni, the rest of the cast work well together as well, especially Joe Swanberg, even though I said I couldn’t wait for this guy to die the minute he was introduced in the film.

Director Adam Wingard has really been making a name for himself in the horror genre in the last few years, since his film “A Horrible Way to Die”. He has contributed to a few horror anthologies as well including “V/H/S”, “V/H/S/2” and “The ABC’s of Death”. Keep an eye out for this guy because he has a unique vision in this genre and I can see him easily taking over. Next let’s talk about the film’s insane and amazing score by Mads Heldtberg. This guy really packed a super solid 80’s inspired edge-of-your-seat score. I literally leaned over to my sister twice during the film and said “Totally love this score”. It really added a lot to the film and sets up the creepy atmosphere. In the flooded marketplace of reboots and remakes, “You’re Next” is is stands out as it is very clever and entertaining.

Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower and Robert Sheehan
Directed By: Harald Zwart
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Screen Gems

Our Score: 1/2 out of 5 stars

I can understand that some movies will always have clichés or that some movies will have to rely on other writer’s imaginations. That being said while watching “Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”, one could easily make two lists. One list would be all the tropes and the other could be all of the stolen movie ideas. If you’re somehow stuck in a movie theater with this movie rolling on the screen, you may consider turning those two lists into a drinking game, but I must warn you. You could die of alcohol poisoning before the halfway point of this flick.

Clary Fray (Collins) is a hip teenager. At least this movie would like you to believe that because she frequents coffee shops with her best friend, Simon Lewis (Sheehan). Recently she’s been seeing a weird symbol everywhere, even scribbling it out on paper and hanging it up all over her room. As she begins to question her sanity, she sees it at the entrance to a nightclub and heads inside to investigate. Next thing you know, she’s witnessed a tall dark stranger by the name of Jace Wayland (Bower) seemingly murder someone in plain view of others. Next thing you know, her mother (Lena Headey) is kidnapped, she’s attacked by a grotesque dog creature from “Resident Evil” and she’s told she’s a shadow hunter (even though they refer to them as demons). Next thing you know, I don’t care anymore.

In the first 20 minutes, I’m already beginning to wonder what I did in a past life to be punished in this manner. The story is muddled, the characters are incredibly stale and the plot laughs at creativity and embraces predictability like an old friend. Every serious moment meant to punctuate a revelation was incredibly comical. That means every attempt at humor in the movie was met with a groan (although I give them credit for a “Ghostbusters” reference). The writers for this movie must have gotten dialogue lessons from one too many ABC Family movies during Halloween. The studio must have hoped those eagerly waiting for the next “Twilight” franchise would eat up every shirtless scene with Bower. They probably also hoped that the romance between characters would once again melt tween hearts across the country, but instead it caused a tremendous pain in my groin. At times tears welled up in my eyes from stifling a laugh at how much this movie took itself seriously.

The dull characters are dressed like they’re about to hit up a gothic S&M bar. Apparently they’ve dressed this way so that they can fight demons who have made an effort to apply eyeliner before heading out. As the plot develops, characters make bone-headed decisions and let pre-pubescent emotions control their actions. The most enjoyable performance in this flick was by Lena Headey. She had very few headache causing lines, but that’s only because her character was in some form of a coma for the majority of the film. In fact once Jared Harris is revealed as the tutor for all these young warriors, you feel embarrassed for him. As for the other actors, they may want to leave this movie off their resume. Tell people this absence from movies was a time of self-discovery and reflection about where you were in life.

This movie, as well as the book series it is based on, is aimed at the “young adults” audience, but I don’t see “young adults” enjoying this movie. The imagination usually accompanied by this genre is missing and the only thing anyone might take away from this movie is a temporary crush on one of the actors. I love fantasy, but this movie abuses that title. This movie is so painful to watch, they should force prisoners to watch it. I know I’ve been incredibly harsh in everything I’ve said above, but I did take away one positive thing. This movie will make a great future Rifftrax.

Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford, Amber Heard and Richard Dreyfuss
Directed By: Robert Luketic
Relativity Media
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 109 minutes

Our Score: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Paranoia, paranoia, Gary Oldman’s coming to get me. Or is it Harrison Ford? Unfortunately it really doesn’t matter in the film Paranoia as this amazing cast’s greatest weapons are sadly their cell phones and techie babbling.

The film centers on Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth), a young employee at a major tech company whose group is about to propose a smart phone concept to the intimidating Nicolas Wyatt (cockney Gary Oldman). The proposal’s a failure and Adam’s entire peer work group are abruptly fired. Immediately they all turn to heavy drinking on the not-yet-cancelled corporate credit card. Despite his stupidity in this decision, Wyatt decides Adam’s just the man to infiltrate the company of his equally tech-savvy rival, Jock Goddard (Harrison Ford). Helping Adam on his mission is that in his drunken celebration he just happened to have sex with the rival company’s marketing woman, Emma (Amber Heard). Of all the bars in all of New York…Also coincidentally, Emma has the highest level of access in the Pentagon-level security surrounding Goddard’s new smart phone. If you’re already questioning a lot of the logic in this setup, you get the gist of what you’re in for. The questions never stop piling up.

I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that a film titled Paranoia is actually fairly self aware but blatantly stating it’s own flaws as when Goddard calls out protagonist Adam for being nothing but “a tool, an empty vessel” in his fight with Wyatt seems a bit much. Even if director Luketic’s usage of Hemsworth seems to actually be something akin to a man fatale to exec Emma. This emptiness in our hero isn’t the only lack of personality in this film, virtually no one here is playing a real human. Richard Dreyfuss appears as Hemsworth’s sickly father whose care drives Adam’s financial need to work for Wyatt. He’s there to be used as bait and do little else, though he does manage to wring some laughs out of his curmudgeonly character. Likewise, while it’s exciting to think of Harrison Ford having a snarl off with Gary Oldman, when they’re both saddled with the specs of fictional smart phones, you actually get really bored. In one scene, cell phones were treated with such over the top suspicion that I was tempted to thinking the film had been sent through that controversial process E.T. underwent some years back where guns were actually replaced with walkie talkies for the family audience. Unfortunately not the case.

Finally, despite all its late in the film twists, Paranoia remains completely predictable. For this reason the movie unfortunately lives down that mid-August/end of summer of mainly just being forgettable.