Very few films are effectively unsettling, creating a sense of dread that permeates an entire film's aura and leaves the audience in a state of almost unending suspense. Green Room, the latest writer/director Jeremy Saulnier (whose breakout film Blue Ruin was a modest success a few years ago), is such a film, and whether or not you are the type of audience for that will influence how you feel about the film.
A 4-piece punk rock band, who are so broke they siphon gas just to make it to their next gig, end up at a skinhead bar in Southern Oregon for a scheduled gig. There, one of the members, Pat (Anton Yelchin), witnesses a brutal murder and the group ends up stuck in the venue's green room, fighting against the owner Darcy (Patrick Stewart) and his gang of Neo-Nazis.
It's an effectively simple set-up to a 90-minute thrill ride that increases the stakes ever more as our characters are locked away, scrambling to figure a way out of their situation. Set almost entirely within the same bar, the film makes great use of limited space, and finds fun ways to expand on the claustrophobic environment as the victims find a way to escape.
The cast is all fantastic, including Imogen Poots as a fellow prisoner, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, and Callum Turner as the other members of the band. Yelchin is fine as the lead, and Stewart is fantastic as always as the main villain, the man who has a shrewd plan for covering up the crime and framing the unwitting band in the process.
Like Saulnier's previous film, Blue Ruin, the film is a fine example of suspense ratcheted up. Only the director's third feature, this is the sign of an assured hand, one who knows how to slowly move the pieces along and keep an audience engaged. There is not much wasted time in this film, as it propels along with an urgent dread.
And while I admire Saulnier's talents, I didn't necessarily enjoy the film all that much. There are a few brutal moments that made my entire audience let out groans and shouts of horror, and while the moments are few and far between, they certainly make an impression. The movie itself is a rather depressing affair, and if you were hoping for any element of fun, there is none to be found here.
And plenty of people will flock to see this movie and enjoy it for those reasons. And I applaud any director that can effect my mood and create that sense of dread that never lets up. But this is a movie I would recommend cautiously. If you like suspense, and don't mind brutal violence, then you'll love this movie. For everyone else, they'll wonder if the director is this intense in real life, and who did what to cause him to want to make such dark, brutal tales.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
Richard Linklater has become the modern master of the laidback, casual hangout film. His films often feature a few characters talking for the majority of the runtime and philosophizing about life and our greater place in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes his movie has conflict; Boyhood (2014), his 12-years-in-the-making odyssey, had an ill-advised subplot involving an alcoholic father; the Before series (1995 - 2013) mostly featured 2 people talking; and Waking Life (2001) has a weird, abstract animated film about weird, abstract ideas.
Everybody Wants Some!!, his latest film, has been billed as a spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused (1993). Having not seen that film I cannot comment on how closely it mirrors that films style, but considering Dazed and Confused is set on the final day of High School, and Everybody Wants Some!! concerns the weekend leading up to the beginning of college classes, I have a pretty good idea of what lies in store.
And Everybody Wants Some!! is essentially a fairly laid back, enjoyable hangout film. Set in 1980, when disco reigned supreme and punk was being born, the film follows incoming Freshman Jake (Blake Jenner) as he arrives at college and the frat-style house he will reside in with his fellow baseball teammates. Over the course of the weekend Jake bonds with his new friends, gets laid, and generally has a pretty good time.
And that's pretty much it. In terms of drama and plot, its a thin movie. But that is what Linklater excels at, making films about characters hanging out and having a good time. His goal is for you to enjoy being with the characters, and leaving the movie feeling like you just had a good time at a party meeting some fun people and having interesting conversations. And he achieves that remarkably well.
The movie doesn't contain any cynicism, which is a nice, refreshing change of pace from most movies about college. The characters are at that point in their lives where seemingly anything is possible, and they face the future with the same glowing optimism that many of us contained back when we were entering college. These people are fairly carefree; life is not stressing them out yet, no bills or kids or mortgages. It's nice to remember that there was a time we were all like that, possibly, and it is fun to see that spirit recaptured. The title is taken directly from a Van Halen song, and according to Linklater means wanting to get laid, while also meaning wanting more out of life and what it holds in store.
Ultimately, I think Linklater succeeded very well at making a movie where you enjoy hanging out with the characters. He played College Baseball in the 80s himself, so the movie has a lot of personal elements he drew from, and many of the characters represent different facets of his personality. It's that personal touch that sells the film. Linklater has assembled a fun cast that has a great chemistry together, replicating the machismo nature of male competition (one-upsmanship is a constant game at their house) while staying true to the things that bring people together. It's a pleasant 2-hour visit with characters that remind you that at one time, life was full of promise. It's nice to reminded of that sometimes.
Everybody Wants Some!!, his latest film, has been billed as a spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused (1993). Having not seen that film I cannot comment on how closely it mirrors that films style, but considering Dazed and Confused is set on the final day of High School, and Everybody Wants Some!! concerns the weekend leading up to the beginning of college classes, I have a pretty good idea of what lies in store.
And Everybody Wants Some!! is essentially a fairly laid back, enjoyable hangout film. Set in 1980, when disco reigned supreme and punk was being born, the film follows incoming Freshman Jake (Blake Jenner) as he arrives at college and the frat-style house he will reside in with his fellow baseball teammates. Over the course of the weekend Jake bonds with his new friends, gets laid, and generally has a pretty good time.
And that's pretty much it. In terms of drama and plot, its a thin movie. But that is what Linklater excels at, making films about characters hanging out and having a good time. His goal is for you to enjoy being with the characters, and leaving the movie feeling like you just had a good time at a party meeting some fun people and having interesting conversations. And he achieves that remarkably well.
The movie doesn't contain any cynicism, which is a nice, refreshing change of pace from most movies about college. The characters are at that point in their lives where seemingly anything is possible, and they face the future with the same glowing optimism that many of us contained back when we were entering college. These people are fairly carefree; life is not stressing them out yet, no bills or kids or mortgages. It's nice to remember that there was a time we were all like that, possibly, and it is fun to see that spirit recaptured. The title is taken directly from a Van Halen song, and according to Linklater means wanting to get laid, while also meaning wanting more out of life and what it holds in store.
Ultimately, I think Linklater succeeded very well at making a movie where you enjoy hanging out with the characters. He played College Baseball in the 80s himself, so the movie has a lot of personal elements he drew from, and many of the characters represent different facets of his personality. It's that personal touch that sells the film. Linklater has assembled a fun cast that has a great chemistry together, replicating the machismo nature of male competition (one-upsmanship is a constant game at their house) while staying true to the things that bring people together. It's a pleasant 2-hour visit with characters that remind you that at one time, life was full of promise. It's nice to reminded of that sometimes.
The Jungle Book (2016)
Glorious, glorious remakes abound as Disney plumbs the depths of its animated film library to essentially remake everything they can in live-action, repurposing classic films for a new generation. Already done with Maleficent (which at least tried to see things from the villain's view) and Cinderella, now they remake the final film ol' Walt himself was alive for the production of, The Jungle Book.
By now the plot is fairly well-known; man-cub Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is found as a child by Bagheera the Panther (Ben Kingsley) and raised by wolves. Of course man cannot exist peacefully with the animals, as the fearsome man-killer Shere Khan (Idris Elba) has a vendetta against the man cub, and so Mowgli must venture back to the man village or else be killed.
To call this a "live-action" film is being fairly generous, since the only live-action thing in it is Mowgli, acting on green screen to animals that were placed in later. To be fair, the film is gorgeous, and the photorealistic jungle settings are sights to behold. The animals are, for the most part, fairly convincing. They are pretty clearly CGI creations, but the fact that they talk makes their artificiality forgivable.
The voice actors are all, for the most part, suitable to their roles. It's a little bit distracting at first, but you get used to Bill Murray as Baloo and Scarlett Johansson as Kaa. The only miscast is Christopher Walken as King Louie; he has such a distinct voice that I never really saw the massive orangutang, instead seeing the man behind the facade.
Neel Sethi, on the other hand, is not very good, and I hate saying that about child actors. He brings a great physicality to the role, jumping through trees and running through fields. But his line readings are terribly flat, although it's hard not to blame him. It must be pretty hard, being a kid and having your first big acting gig be entirely on a green screen stage, imagining all the creatures around you.
In terms of adaptation, the movie does a good job of hitting the familiar beats of the story as told by Disney (most audiences, myself included, are probably more familiar with the animated film rather than the book). There's enough that feels fresh here that makes the movie worth recommending. Not everything is exactly the same as the old one (no mop-top Beatles-lite Vultures), and the central conflict between Mowgli and Shere Khan is a little more interesting (although it is slightly boring that Shere Khan killed Mowgli's father and orphaned him).
My biggest gripe is with the songs; "Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You" are redone, but none of the other songs are. It's fairly odd when Baloo and Louie break out into song for no reason other than "this song was in the original and we have to redo because it's what audiences remember." The moments don't entirely work and pull me out of the world the movie has built.
But, otherwise, this is worth checking out. The visuals are stunning, and though I did not see this in 3D, I did see a trailer for it in 3D a while back and was blown away by it. In terms of remakes and adaptations, this is a pretty solid one. I'm not sure we needed it, and will be interesting to see how audiences receive Andy Serkis' version in two years, but for now, this is a solid piece of entertainment.
By now the plot is fairly well-known; man-cub Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is found as a child by Bagheera the Panther (Ben Kingsley) and raised by wolves. Of course man cannot exist peacefully with the animals, as the fearsome man-killer Shere Khan (Idris Elba) has a vendetta against the man cub, and so Mowgli must venture back to the man village or else be killed.
To call this a "live-action" film is being fairly generous, since the only live-action thing in it is Mowgli, acting on green screen to animals that were placed in later. To be fair, the film is gorgeous, and the photorealistic jungle settings are sights to behold. The animals are, for the most part, fairly convincing. They are pretty clearly CGI creations, but the fact that they talk makes their artificiality forgivable.
The voice actors are all, for the most part, suitable to their roles. It's a little bit distracting at first, but you get used to Bill Murray as Baloo and Scarlett Johansson as Kaa. The only miscast is Christopher Walken as King Louie; he has such a distinct voice that I never really saw the massive orangutang, instead seeing the man behind the facade.
Neel Sethi, on the other hand, is not very good, and I hate saying that about child actors. He brings a great physicality to the role, jumping through trees and running through fields. But his line readings are terribly flat, although it's hard not to blame him. It must be pretty hard, being a kid and having your first big acting gig be entirely on a green screen stage, imagining all the creatures around you.
In terms of adaptation, the movie does a good job of hitting the familiar beats of the story as told by Disney (most audiences, myself included, are probably more familiar with the animated film rather than the book). There's enough that feels fresh here that makes the movie worth recommending. Not everything is exactly the same as the old one (no mop-top Beatles-lite Vultures), and the central conflict between Mowgli and Shere Khan is a little more interesting (although it is slightly boring that Shere Khan killed Mowgli's father and orphaned him).
My biggest gripe is with the songs; "Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You" are redone, but none of the other songs are. It's fairly odd when Baloo and Louie break out into song for no reason other than "this song was in the original and we have to redo because it's what audiences remember." The moments don't entirely work and pull me out of the world the movie has built.
But, otherwise, this is worth checking out. The visuals are stunning, and though I did not see this in 3D, I did see a trailer for it in 3D a while back and was blown away by it. In terms of remakes and adaptations, this is a pretty solid one. I'm not sure we needed it, and will be interesting to see how audiences receive Andy Serkis' version in two years, but for now, this is a solid piece of entertainment.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Zootopia (2016)
Zootopia, the 55th official animated movie out of Disney Animation Studios, is a surprisingly relevant story with real world analogies that will get adults thinking and teach kids about tolerance. Disney has always been one to poke fun at its own formula as of late, and Zootopia continues this trend by featuring standard tropes with some nice twists.
Set in an anthropomorphic world where animals have evolved beyond their roles as predator and prey, the movie follows Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a bunny determined to be the first rabbit on the police force in the metropolis of Zootopia. Its the same "if you work hard, you can achieve your dreams" angle that is a favorite of the Disney stable, but rarely have they applied it to someone breaking the mold and tearing down stereotypes.
After she graduates as valedictorian and is assigned to ZPD (Zootopia Police Department), she moves to the big city from her humble small town and discovers that the urban environment is not very friendly, and that just because she was the best at her school, she will not get special treatment (her chief is a Ram played by Idris Elba, a great touch). Assigned to parking duty, she eventually snags a piece of a larger case involving missing animals, and sets out to solve the mystery or else lose her job.
The film plays draws interesting parallels to real world racial tensions; rabbits have preconceived notions about foxes as wily, sly, and untrustworthy, so naturally she teams up with a street urchin fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). Nick calls her "cute," and an interesting line she retorts with is, "Other rabbits can call each other that, but you can't." And the dynamic of predator and prey is put in the foreground, as the weaker animals grow fearful of what their more powerful friends could be capable of doing.
It's all fascinating stuff, and the world of Zootopia itself is a wonder to behold. Laid out very much like a theme park, the city features "zones" where different animals of different climates live (a rainforest zone, a snow zone, etc.), surrounding a central city where animals go to work and live a regular 9 to 5 life. An early chase scene moves from the regular city to a mouse sized neighborhood where our heroes suddenly become Godzilla sized monsters.
But, like many films out of the Disney Animation Studio, the film doesn't fully commit to its bold premise. Wreck-it Ralph (2012) has a great moment where the eventual villain convinces our hero that if he helps his friend, it could mean her demise. That's a great, nuanced story, but unfortunately it squanders that storyline for a more traditional villain. The same goes for Zootopia, where the central mystery is a fascinating analogy for real world race relations, but takes a turn I suspected, but hoped it wouldn't.
But that's the price of family-friendly entertainment. Zootopia proves that Disney's output has been overall stronger than Pixar's (although none of their films can hold a candle to Inside Out). But I hope Disney can move past the need for a villain in their movie. Pixar usually employs villains as well, but their motivations make sense and their defeat is sometimes surprising and unique. Zootopia's villain is a lame cop-out that I saw coming a mile away, and was an ultimately unnecessary edition to the story.
Still, this is a fun, delightful, and mostly very smart movie. True to most Disney films, it is one adults can enjoy as well as their kids. I just wish the movie did even more with its bold premise. Disney has been mocking its own formula for quite some time now; its time they actually broke it.
Set in an anthropomorphic world where animals have evolved beyond their roles as predator and prey, the movie follows Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a bunny determined to be the first rabbit on the police force in the metropolis of Zootopia. Its the same "if you work hard, you can achieve your dreams" angle that is a favorite of the Disney stable, but rarely have they applied it to someone breaking the mold and tearing down stereotypes.
After she graduates as valedictorian and is assigned to ZPD (Zootopia Police Department), she moves to the big city from her humble small town and discovers that the urban environment is not very friendly, and that just because she was the best at her school, she will not get special treatment (her chief is a Ram played by Idris Elba, a great touch). Assigned to parking duty, she eventually snags a piece of a larger case involving missing animals, and sets out to solve the mystery or else lose her job.
The film plays draws interesting parallels to real world racial tensions; rabbits have preconceived notions about foxes as wily, sly, and untrustworthy, so naturally she teams up with a street urchin fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). Nick calls her "cute," and an interesting line she retorts with is, "Other rabbits can call each other that, but you can't." And the dynamic of predator and prey is put in the foreground, as the weaker animals grow fearful of what their more powerful friends could be capable of doing.
It's all fascinating stuff, and the world of Zootopia itself is a wonder to behold. Laid out very much like a theme park, the city features "zones" where different animals of different climates live (a rainforest zone, a snow zone, etc.), surrounding a central city where animals go to work and live a regular 9 to 5 life. An early chase scene moves from the regular city to a mouse sized neighborhood where our heroes suddenly become Godzilla sized monsters.
But, like many films out of the Disney Animation Studio, the film doesn't fully commit to its bold premise. Wreck-it Ralph (2012) has a great moment where the eventual villain convinces our hero that if he helps his friend, it could mean her demise. That's a great, nuanced story, but unfortunately it squanders that storyline for a more traditional villain. The same goes for Zootopia, where the central mystery is a fascinating analogy for real world race relations, but takes a turn I suspected, but hoped it wouldn't.
But that's the price of family-friendly entertainment. Zootopia proves that Disney's output has been overall stronger than Pixar's (although none of their films can hold a candle to Inside Out). But I hope Disney can move past the need for a villain in their movie. Pixar usually employs villains as well, but their motivations make sense and their defeat is sometimes surprising and unique. Zootopia's villain is a lame cop-out that I saw coming a mile away, and was an ultimately unnecessary edition to the story.
Still, this is a fun, delightful, and mostly very smart movie. True to most Disney films, it is one adults can enjoy as well as their kids. I just wish the movie did even more with its bold premise. Disney has been mocking its own formula for quite some time now; its time they actually broke it.
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