Touchy Feely (3/10): Better not touch it!

“Due to some unforeseen circumstances I will not be seeing clients for the time being.”

I was a huge admirer of Lynn Shelton’s film, Your Sister’s Sister, and I even included it on my list of the best movies of 2011 so I was eagerly anticipating what she would do next. I loved the way she captured those characters in such an authentic way and I was onboard for her mumblecore experimentation once again. Knowing that Rosemarie DeWitt was going to be back for the lead role was one of the main reasons I included Touchy Feely in my most anticipated movies of the year list. It didn’t hurt either that Ellen Page was going to play a supporting role since I was a huge fan of her work in Hard Candy and Juno. Everything about Touchy Feely had my expectations high rocketed to the sky, but then 2012 came and poor word of mouth lowered my expectations to such a degree that I never ended up seeing it until now. It was a major letdown and it made Lynn’s previous film, Laggies, seem like a masterpiece next to this. This is a dramedy that feels completely uneven and the plot doesn’t seem to go anywhere. I didn’t like any of the characters here and their motivations were hard to understand at times. The film was a mess and the pacing was so slow that this 90 minute film felt like it was three hours long. For a film trying to explore the interrelationships between these characters there was nothing to be said or discovered. Even the actors seemed to be lost and not fully understanding what their characters motivations really were. 

Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt), a successful message therapist, and her boyfriend Jesse (Scoot McNairy) are enjoying a lovely dinner at her brother Paul’s (Josh Pais) home. Paul, emotionally distant and a bit depressed, lives with his daughter Jenny (Ellen Page) who has sacrificed her personal dreams to assist her father at his dental practice, which isn’t exactly flourishing. Abby on the other hand is sought after for her great hands and seems to be going through a good moment in her life. She recommends his brother visit her Reiki instructor, Bronwyn (Allison Janney), who has done amazing things for her. Things take an unexpected turn in the family dynamics however when Abby suddenly develops a strange aversion towards skin which affects her work life. After Paul helps one of his patients recover from a terrible tooth pain, his dental practice begins to flourish due to the positive word of mouth his “healing hands” are receiving. While his relationship with his daughter seems to be getting stronger, Abbie’s new aversion to skin affects her relationship with Jesse.

Despite the pretty original premise the film fails to explore Abby’s problem. It’s just a technique used to shake the interpersonal relationship in the family, but there is nothing that Lynn is trying to explore with her new found aversion. I really didn’t understand why her character didn’t simply explain to Jesse what she was going through because I’m sure he would’ve understood. He seemed like a pretty comprehensive type of guy. The introduction of Ron Livingston’s character only feels like a filler and doesn’t do anything to build the story. Ellen Page delivers a solid performance once again, but her character is trapped inside her emotional wall which doesn’t allow her to fully blossom. Pais and DeWitt are the true stars of the film and their performances are the highlight of this forgettable film. Pais especially captures the eccentricities of his character in a rather natural way. I found the New Age mysticism in the film a bit too preachy and the indie quirkiness a bit too familiar. The tone of the film just dragged it down for me and I had a hard time relating to the characters or caring for any of them.  

Black Sea (5/10): A submarine thriller that fails to deliver on the thrills.

“I lost my family because of this job.”

A thriller that fails to keep me at the edge of my seat is always a bad sign, especially when it’s from a director like Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) whose work I’ve appreciated in the past (with the exception of The Eagle). I could forgive the lack of thrills if at least there was some investment in character development, but other than Jude Law’s lead character there wasn’t any depth in the rest of the cast. To make matters worse, there are several characters that seem to make terrible and unreasonable decisions. Everything seems to go wrong for the misfit crew members of the submarine during their quest in search for gold in the Black Sea and they don’t make matters easier by making dubious decisions. There is so much at stake for these men, but considering there was very little effort put to give them some depth I didn’t really care if they survived or not. Macdonald tries to make this a claustrophobic film about desperate men who are forced to these extreme conditions because they’ve been wronged by their employers, but it is hard to care for these people or even root for them and that is perhaps the main reason why I never felt the tension. The greatest dangers they face are themselves rather than the typical external conditions because there is a lot of suspicion and division. 

Jude Law is Robinson, a submarine Captain who has recently been fired by his employers after 30 years. One night at a bar, his friend tells him about a sunken treasure rumored to be lost somewhere in the Black Sea. Apparently during the Second World War, the Russians were sending Hitler several tons of gold to pay him off so that the Nazi’s wouldn’t invade their territory. The treasure never arrived and Robinson’s friend seems to know where it is. Funded by a wealthy businessman named Lewis (Tobias Menzies) he forms a crew to go in search of the gold. Of course since the gold is rumored to be under Russian waters he must hire several Russian crew members, which of course will affect the interpersonal relations between them. He also hires Fraser (Ben Mendelssohn), one of the best divers he knows although he is completely unreliable and Tobin (Bobby Schofield) a young teenager who Robinson has taken under his wings. Lewis also sends his personal assistant, Daniels (Scoot McNairy) to make sure they report all the gold to him, but he has no experience in a submarine and suffers from claustrophobia. It is implied from the very beginning that the misfit crew members aren’t going to get along too well, but if they want to find the gold they must learn to. 

I don’t know why the film failed to deliver that sense of tension that the trailers promised. I just never found the characters interesting. Jude Law has a strange Scottish accent that I honestly found distracting. Mendelssohn is a terrific actor, but his character makes so many unreasonable decisions in this film that it is hard to understand his motivations. Scoot McNairy is given the role of the nagging character who is always worried about everything. He is in charge of passing on the fear to the audience because everything he worries about ends up happening. His character is simply here in order for us to understand what is going on because he is the new guy who they have to explain things to. I simply wasn’t a huge fan of this thriller and I think that it had potential to be much better. It was tedious at times and I didn’t enjoy the ride as much as I thought I would. The cinematography however was solid and Macdonald does a great job of creating a claustrophobic atmosphere.    

Frank (6/10): An exploration of the relationship between mental illness and artistic creativity

“I love your wall. Put your arms around me. Fiddly digits, itchy britches. I love you all.”

Lenny Abrahamsson directs this offbeat tragicomedy inspired by comedian Chris Sievey’s comedy character Frank Sidebottom. I had never heard of him, but this film isn’t actually a biopic because it only takes that concept of the character and applies it to a musician who always wears a mask around his head. It is a film that very subtly has a lot to say about the relationship between artistic creativity and mental illness among many other things. Frank is a film that I respect more than I actually enjoy considering I found the pacing a bit tedious at times and wasn’t engaged with the characters. I didn’t actually enjoy the music either, but of course it isn’t meant to be entertaining, but it would probably have a little fan base considering their creative approach towards music. I also found it way more clever than funny. I didn’t find myself laughing as much as I had hoped for. Frank is actually a short film running under 90 minutes and for about the first hour I wasn’t really into it, but the last 30 minutes did draw me in and by the end I even enjoyed Frank’s last song. From the  moment the band travels to the SXSW concert I finally began to engage with some of the characters. The film is offbeat and weird at times sort of like its central characters and it reminds us that there is a very thin line between artistic creativeness and madness. Most of the film takes place in a cabin in Ireland where the band is recording their next album over the course of an year. You get the sense that what they are doing isn’t just searching for inspiration. They actually are like of a support group in a way considering they are all mentally unstable (with the exception of Gleeson’s character who plays like the fish out of the water here). Frank is a very odd film, but creative nonetheless with some touching moments near the end.

It’s impossible not to talk about Michael Fassbender when reviewing this film. I truly believe he is one of the best actors living today, but having him wear a gigantic papier-mâché head covering his entire face could seriously restrain his performance. It didn’t because it is Fassbender who we are talking about and he can pull anything off. So without his facial expressions he was forced to use his voice and body language which he did perfectly. His posture and the way he uses his hands convey a lot of meaning. Even his voice was restrained by this gigantic head so he really did basically do it all with his body language. If there was anything that got me trough this film during the first hour it was his performance. The lead character of the film however is Jon Burroughs (played by Domhnall Gleeson) who runs into the eccentric band members at the right time and is offered a chance to play the keyboards for them. Jon has always wanted to write songs, but he doesn’t quite fit into this group of misfits. He is more interested in becoming famous than actually being creative and in a way begins to influence Frank and trying to make him sell out. The rest of the band members are played by Maggie Gyllenhaal (who is perhaps the oddest character of them all), Francois Civil, and Carla Azar. Scoot McNairy is sort of the manager of the band. Jon discovers early in the film that these are all troubled people and so he begins to develop a theory that artistic creativity comes from living traumatic experiences. So considering he has never been able to write a decent song, he believes it is necessary to go through some sort of trauma with the rest of the members in order to find his creative genius. With Frank however that concept is turned upside down and it reminds us that art isn’t a product of traumatic events. It is a way of healing and coping with them through music. The film can be absurd and strange at times but it does convey the message in a very subtle way which makes the ending all that much better. 

My Review: Gone Girl (9/10)

"What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What have we done to each other? What will we do?"

David Fincher has exceeded my high expectations once again with this brilliant thriller starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. I have so many things to say about Gone Girl that I simply don't know where to begin. First of all, anyone who loves movies knows how stylish Fincher's films are and how meticulous he is with each project. He creates interesting characters and he knows how to set the right mood for his films. In Gone Girl he does just that creating a tense and moody thriller which all of a sudden switches gears on us with unexpected twists and genre shifts. In one moment you are watching a suspenseful thriller and then all of a sudden you find yourself laughing at the dark humor presented in the story with each new dark revelation. It is a unique experience for the audience and I enjoyed every second of its 150 minute runtime. It is very close to being another masterpiece from Fincher, although Se7en and Fight Club still remain my favorite from his rich filmography. Bringing back his usual collaborators for the musical score, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, also played a key role in the success of this film which helped improve the mood to an already suspenseful and eerie atmosphere. Jeff Croneweth's cinematography also stands out in Gone Girl making every shot gorgeous to look at. The film is also perfectly edited, but that is something I will mention in the next paragraph when I credit the narrative structure of the movie. Fincher doesn't disappoint for one second and treats the audience to a wickedly entertaining film with several disturbing ideas exploring new grounds with the thriller genre. It is a must see for all film lovers out there.

I've given David Fincher a lot of credit for his work because he is one of the most talented directors in Hollywood right now, but I also have to give praise to Gillian Flynn's wonderful screenplay adaptation of her own novel because it is outstanding. A lot of the success this film is receiving is due to the wonderful narrative structure Gone Girl has. The way it is presented in non-linear fashion is beautifully paced together. The first half of this film begins like your ordinary forensic mystery investigation where you try to guess what may have happened or what motives were behind the disappearance of the female lead character. As the investigation goes on, we get flashbacks narrated by this missing person where she explains how she met her husband and how everything unravelled after those first few years of marriage where everything seemed perfect. The less you know about this film before going into it, the more you are surprised by it. I am glad I hadn't read the novel before because it was a pleasure to experience how the narrative structure of the film unfolded before me with every twist and shift of tone. Flynn has written a crazy novel which plays out as a satire and a social commentary on marriage and the effect the media has on public perception. It is a story about perceptions and how we put on masks to pretend we are something we aren't in front of others. It has a few things to say about marriage and how couples try to change each other or pretend to be something they aren't in order to win the other's affection. As you watch Gone Girl you can't help but imagine how much fun Fincher and Flynn were having as they dissected some common problems couples have in marriage. Of course everything is overblown in this satire and you will find yourself laughing at several of the situations presented (especially in the second half of the film), but it does have an underlying message and a purpose. I thought it was quite a witty commentary on marriage and society, and for that I have to give Flynn credit for the wonderful story she has written, and of course Fincher takes advantage of that and creates a stylized and fun trashy film that is beautifully shot and edited.

When you go into a Fincher film you know you will get great performances out of him because he brings the best out of his actors. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are superb in the lead roles. He is perfect as this enigmatic husband who is lacking empathy in the publics eyes. Pike gives an icy and memorable performance as her character is hard to decipher at first and our perception of her shifts as the movie moves on. She is simply great. As much as I enjoyed the lead performances, I have to say that what really surprised me here were the secondary actors. Who would have thought that Tyler Perry could have pulled off his role as the charismatic lawyer so well. He has several funny scenes and he was a great addition. My favorite performance in this film came from Carrie Coon (who I really like in The Leftovers series) who plays Affleck's twin sister. She had some strong dramatic scenes and had great on screen chemistry with Affleck. I hope she receives a nomination for her role here because she absolutely pulled it off. Kim Dickens who plays the detective in charge of the investigation was also great. These were all interesting characters who played key roles in the success of this moody thriller. Many people complained about Neil Patrick Harris's performance, but I think the main issue I had with him wasn't his performance, but his character. There are also some over the top violent scenes that didn't work too well, but for a satire Fincher pulls it off just fine because he knows that this is an exaggerated pulpy film and lets the audience have fun with it. Gone Girl was one of my most anticipated films for 2014, and after watching it I have to say it exceeded my expectations; I had a crazy fun time with it and it deserves all the praise it's getting.

My Review: The Rover (6/10)

"The only thing that means anything right now is that I'm here and he's not."

David Michod followed up his critically acclaimed Australian film, Animal Kingdom, with this post-Apocalyptic western starring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. It is a very slow paced film with very little dialogue and several monotonous scenes involving close ups of characters staring into the desertlike wasteland. As I was watching The Rover, I couldn't help but recall the stunning cinematography and the atmosphere of The Road. This film has many similarities with it considering it also deals with a post apocalyptic world where humanity seems lost. The few social encounters that take place between the characters show us how indifferent these people are towards each other in this bleak and harsh world portrayed by Michod. There is no mention as to what happened other than that there was a collapse ten years ago. That collapse hasn't affected the landscape as much as it has affected people's inner lives. There seems to be a lack of purpose in every character's life and there is no room for laughter or hope. It's not the world that has gotten darker, but the people who are simply trying to survive in it. We've seen this sort of bleak world portrayed in many other films before, and the monotony can turn many audiences off. The young girls who are drawn to this film for Robert Pattinson will be disappointed considering the dirt filled desert has taken its toll on him and the rest of the characters. No one looks good in The Rover, there is no reason to, they are all simply trying to survive and move on in this desolate land. The tone and mood of the film is very dark and harsh which will also turn many people off. This isn't a film for everyone, but the drama does manage to keep you in suspense.

Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson are the sole reason why I was able to stick with this depressive and lonely world painted by Michod (with the assistance of Joel Edgerton who wrote the story in which the film is based on). Pearce gives a solid performance as this tough loner who will stop at nothing to find the men who have stolen his car, even if it means getting killed in the process. Along the way he encounters Rey (Robert Pattinson), who is the brother of one of the criminals who have stolen his car. Apparently Rey was left for dead after a shootout that took place right before the criminals decided to escape in the wrong vehicle. The two continue the search together. Once Pearce and Pattinson are on screen together the film picks up and breaks the monotony from the opening minutes. Pattinson is the stand out here playing this dimwitted character who doesn't seem to have a chance of surviving in this world on his own. He sells his southern accent very well and even delivers some much needed comedic relief once in a while. He is almost unrecognizable in this film and I believe it is probably his best performance to date. The violence in this film is also shocking at times as it hits you pretty hard and doesn't romanticize it at all as some Hollywood films tend to do. The gunshots are loud and quick and probably say much more about The Rover than any of the characters do. I wasn't a fan of the score of this film which was a bit repetitive and wasn't necessary in my opinion considering the tone was rather monotonous on its own. Despite its slow pacing, The Rover managed to sustain the tension up to the very end.

My Review: Monsters (6/10)

"We've located one man and one female, We're headed there now. Come on, it's not safe, let's go."

Director, Gareth Edwards, would've never had the opportunity to direct Godzilla if it weren't for the success of his 2010 small indie film, Monsters. With a pretty interesting premise and some strong visual effects, Edwards managed to direct a low budget sci-fi film with a small crew and amateurish equipment pretty effectively. The location chosen for this film was also perfect and the scenery helped create a realistic atmosphere of this apocalyptic world. I actually enjoyed the performance from the two lead actors, but I have to admit the film did drag at times and despite its short runtime it still felt a bit long and tedious. I'm not one of those people who complain about not getting to see much of the monsters as long as I'm given an interesting and gripping story, but this film lacked that emotional engagement. I still have to give Edwards a lot of credit for managing to make a good looking sci-fi film with so little. He had an ambitious idea and he got excellent results from it. As a fan of the latest Godzilla remake, I have to give Monsters credit for giving Edwards the opportunity to show his talent with a bigger budget. I will definitely be looking forward to what this director does next. 

The title cards during the opening credit scene states that "Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A space probe was launched to collect samples but broke up during re-entry over Mexico. Soon after new life forms began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an Infected Zone. Today the Mexican & US military still struggle to contain 'the creatures'." In the very next scene we are introduced to an American journalist named Andrew (Scoot McNairy) who is sent to Costa Rica to help escort back his wealthy employer's daughter, Samantha (Whitney Able), who suffered a minor injury in an incident involving one of those creatures. While trying to head back to the United States they encounter a series of difficulties and are forced to go through the dangerous infected zone. 

If you weren't familiar with Scoot McNairy before this film you will know his name by the end of this year because he has four films coming out (Non-Stop, Gone Girl, The Rover, and Frank). He gives a pretty decent performance here without standing out. The same could be said for Whitney Able although some scenes weren't very convincing. The human drama isn't really the strong point of this film, but the premise is interesting enough to keep us engaged and the visuals are satisfying. Unfortunately the best scenes can be seen in the trailer (like the one involving a jet floating in the river). The best moments for me weren't actually the scenes where the monsters could be seen, but rather the quiet scenes of the destruction and devastation they left behind. I enjoy the way in which Edwards teases his audience with these small moments, but unfortunately the execution never fully worked in the big scale of things. There were also some interesting allegories on the US immigration issue during the border crossing scenes although Edwards has admitted that it was unintentional. Monsters is unique and original, but if I had to compare this film to another one I would say it shares some similarities with District 9 although I don't think it's as great. The greatest thing about it is the atmosphere Edwards managed to create with such a low budget.  

My Review: Non-Stop (6/10)

"We're midway across the Atlantic. How do you kill someone in a crowded plane and get away with it?"

That is the same question I asked myself before going into this new Neeson thriller. The premise sounded a bit silly, but the trailer had me at Liam Neeson. I will watch any action film he stars in nowadays. Neeson plays a very similar character in every one of these films (Taken, Unknown, The Grey) and they simply should've made a franchise with all these movies similar to what they did with James Bond or Mission Impossible so people will stop complaining he plays the same role (and at least this time there is an excuse for his Irish accent). Non-Stop is a fun mindless action film as long as you don't stop and analyze the plot. For the most part it really worked for me because Neeson delivers and keeps your mind off some of the plot holes, but once the final act arrives there is not much he can do to save this film. The final ten minutes are a huge let down and it almost ruined all the fun I was having during the rest of the movie. I still enjoyed this film more than Neeson's previous collaboration with director, Jaume Collet-Serra, Unknown. The cast is strong enough to carry this film past all the plot holes, and I'd rather see Neeson in a mindless action thriller over pretty much any film that has been released this year. 

Non-Stop is John Richardson and Christopher Roach's first film screenplay which stars Liam Neeson as Bill Marks, an air marshall who is going through a depressive and alcoholic stage. What appears to be a routine flight from New York to London ends up being a nightmare for Bill as he begins receiving threatening messages on his secure phone line. The message states that a passenger will die every 20 minutes unless 150 million dollars are transferred to a specific bank account. Bill decides to talk to the other air marshall, Hammond (Anson Mount), who tries to calm him down by telling him it has to be a prank. When 20 minutes go by, Bill realizes this is no prank and with very few people on the plane he can trust he has to enlist the help of the flight attendant, Nancy (Michelle Dockery) and the person sitting next to him on the plane, Jen Summers (Julianne Moore), to help him locate who the terrorist might be. 

The premise might be a bit silly, but for the most part I was still enjoying this thriller thanks to the interesting cast. The action scenes were also entertaining and for a movie that takes place almost entirely in a plane it was engaging. If you aren't demanding a film with logic, you might enjoy this mindless action film as much as I did. It's a shame that Lupita Nyong'o didn't get a heavier role because she proved in 12 Years a Slave to be a very talented actress. In this film she doesn't get to do much, but it's OK because we get to see Liam Neeson doing what he does best for most part of this film. The way its audience receives the weak final reveal at the end is probably what makes the difference in this action thriller. It is very far fetched, but as I mentioned above, it is much better than most January or February releases. I enjoyed this film because despite it not making any sense it was still an engaging and fun ride. The truth of the matter is that Neeson is the one that holds this film together and doesn't allow it to crash.

My Review: Killing Them Softly (5/10)

¨This guy wants to tell me we're living in a community? Don't make me laugh. I'm living in America, and in America you're on your own. America's not a country. It's just a business.¨

Killing Them Softly is Andrew Dominik’s latest film which was nominated for the Palme d’Or in last year’s Cannes film festival. I really had high expectations for this film, but was disappointed with this noir action film. The entire film was a political allegory, but I really didn’t enjoy it all, and felt the political messages were a little too heavy and tiring. The highlight of Killing Them Softly was Brad Pitt’s performance, but in the first half of the film he gets very little screen time. This is the second time that Pitt works with Dominik after having worked with him in the critically acclaimed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. That film was more beautifully shot in my opinion, but of course this being a sort of noir film the cinematography was much dirtier. It was shot using Kodak’s 500T 5230 film stock which gave the film a much darker and grayish tone to help set the mood of the story. Killing Them Softly was loosely based on George V. Higgins novel, Cogan’s Trade, and adapted for the screen by Dominik himself. The film has a lot of dialogues going on and little action, which isn’t exactly a problem for me considering I enjoy Tarantino films, but the dialogues in this movie were just not that entertaining, and the characters weren’t really memorable. Dominik was forcefully giving the film a political message and it was just too heavy handed for my taste, but I know many people enjoyed it so I can’t say Dominik failed. I’m simply not into political movies so I didn’t appreciate this very much. If you enjoy politics then you might appreciate the political allegory behind this action thriller, which in my opinion didn’t add anything new to the genre. It was very predictable.

Johnny Amato (Vincent Curatola) hires two amateur criminals, Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) to perform a heist at a Mob poker ring operating in New Orleans. Markie (Ray Liotta) is the proprietor of the place, and when the two amateurs rob him, the mafia blames Markie for the heist since he has had a similar history in the past and the local criminal economy has collapsed. The mafia’s messenger is played by Richard Jenkins who we only know as the driver. He hires a hitman named Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) to kill everyone responsible for the heist in order for balance to be restored amongst the mob world. While all these situations are taking place we have several voiceovers playing in the background (television or radio ads) with political messages from Bush and Obama, in order to make sure the viewer understands the political allegory that is taking place here. The plot is pretty simple and not much happens between each dialogue that is taking place. James Gandolfini also has a funny role in this film as an alcoholic hitman.

The true star of the film is Brad Pitt who delivers each line in a very cool way without overdoing himself or going overboard with his character. He seems like a man who is in control. In one of his speeches he mentions how he doesn’t like it when his victims get all touchy and feely about being killed so he prefers killing them softly from a distance, thus the title for the film. That line and the last one he shares with the driver are perhaps the best scenes in this movie. I also have to say that Scoot McNairy gave a pretty good performance in the supporting role. He really seems like the main character of the film during the first half and he gives a solid performance. I really wasn’t familiar with his work although I do realize he was in Argo, but had very little screen time there. Overall I really was disappointed with this film and felt it didn’t present anything new to the neo-noir genre. There were few action scenes, but I really didn’t care much for the characters so I wasn’t immersed into this world that Dominik was trying to suck us into.

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