Selma (8/10): DuVernay delivers a gripping and powerful biopic.

“Our lives are not fully lived if we're not willing to die for those we love, for what we believe.”

Martin Luther King is a very popular figure, so the biggest risk for a biopic like this is simply retelling a familiar story, which is what most directors do turning films like this into history lessons. You are sort of expecting this inspiring and uplifting film that will have its emotional moments once King stands up and delivers his world famous “I Have a Dream” speech, but Ava DuVernay takes an entirely different approach. Instead of following a timeline and going through important dates in King’s life she simply introduces us to an important and defining moment in his life. And by doing this DuVernay allows us to center on the person that King was, learning about his struggles, fears, and so on. King is portrayed in a different and more humane light and isn’t simply a figure we idolize. It is something similar to what Spielberg did with Lincoln, but much more engaging this time. DuVernay is able to avoid falling into biopic genre conventions and centers the narrative on King’s efforts to organize a march in Selma in order to secure equal voting rights for all. In the large context it might just have been a short period in his life, but by focusing on this specific and detailed event we are able to learn who King was and how he was able to face each obstacle. It also reminds us that organizing a march isn’t as simple as one can imagine. In a general biopic about Martin Luther King this would simply take about five minutes, but here we get the specifics which at the same time allows us to learn the importance of what King was fighting for while we also get to finally see him portrayed with some depth. DuVernay was robbed by the Academy from a Best Director nod because she crafted a powerful film avoiding familiar clichés and melodrama.

Selma gets about everything right: the script by Paul Webb is solid and there are some fantastic dialogues and speeches throughout the film, the cinematography by Bradford Young is sharp, and the production design transports us to the 60’s in a very authentic way. But the film wouldn’t have worked without the right actor to play Martin Luther King. David Oyelowo delivers one of my favorite performances of the year as King. His transformation is impressive. Not for a second did I think that this was an actor playing the famous figure. Oyelowo is like a chameleon, able to transform from one movie to the next. This is a completely different person from the actor who played Yardley in The Paperboy. He portrayed King in a very different light from what we are used to seeing him. We’ve all seen and heard King deliver his speeches and Oyelowo personifies him in the same way with similar tones and pauses. But it is in the smaller moments where Oyelowo’s subtle performance stands out as he shines a more humane light on King, reflecting some of his fears and doubts as he second guesses himself at times. There are quiet moments where he doesn’t know what to say or how to react to situations. There is a scene where he has to comfort a family who has lost their son, and he seems to be lost for words. He also shares some great scenes with Carmen Ejogo who plays his wife, and Tom Wilkinson as President Johnson. The supporting performances are also strong as several popular and historical figures pop into the movie. Tim Roth delivers one of my favorite supporting performances as Gov. George Wallace, but many more stand out as well. Selma is a gripping film beautifully directed by DuVernay with a wonderful and memorable performance from Oyelowo.

A Most Violent Year (8/10): J.C. Chandor is three for three

“When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump, otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life, and that I can't do.”

Over the past three years director J.C. Chandor has delivered three solid films which in my opinion have been overlooked by mainstream audiences. In Margin Call I was surprised with how well Chandor had written the screenplay for his financial thriller with very fast paced dialogues. Then in his next project (All is Lost), Chandor directed a film with hardly any dialogue whatsoever and managed to keep me engaged with Robert Redford’s quiet performance as he struggled to survive at sea. And now in Chandor’s recent film, A Most Violent Year, he also delivers a unique crime drama which resembles other classic films like Chinatown and The Godfather trilogy. Chandor has now crafted three great films that are all very different from each other. Despite admiring Chandor for his great screenplays, my favorite film of his is All is Lost which didn’t really require any dialogue, so he doesn’t necessarily rely on that strength of his. A Most Violent Year stands out thanks to some fantastic performances from a talented cast, some beautiful grayish camera work from Bradford Young (Selma and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints), a great production design which recreates New York City in the early 80’s in a very realistic way, and of course a strong and gritty screenplay written by Chandor. This is a very slow paced film which delivers on the dynamics between each character more than on traditional action scenes. 

What stands out the most in A Most Violent Year is the atmosphere that Chandor is able to recreate. Sometimes it feels like not much is going on, but the way the characters interact with one another keeps us engaged and interested. The film focuses on Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) an immigrant and uprising owner of a private oil company who is trying to close a deal on an important property which would boost his business. It seems that his competitors aren’t very happy with his rise. The world of private oil companies is dominated by gangsters, but Abel wants to accomplish the American dream legally. Unfortunately his trucks are being hijacked and he’s losing thousands of dollars in the process. He is desperately trying to figure out which of his competitors is behind these actions, but Lawrence (David Oyelowo), the officer in charge, doesn’t seem to have a clue. He is more interested in opening a file against Abel’s company on federal charges for tax evasion. Abel tries his best to remain an honest man, but his wife Anna (Jessica Chasten), whose father is a mobster, will do what it takes to protect her family if Abel doesn’t take care of things. All these things threaten Abel’s determination to remain legit and find a way to stay afloat, but he is determined to do so. Albert Brooks plays his lawyer, Andrew Walsh.

The performance from Oscar Isaacs stood out for me. He reminded me of Al Pacino’s performance as Michael Corleone with is calmed and determined demeanor. Things go very wrong for him, but Abel tries to remain calm and confident trying to gain back control of things. Jessica Chastain is fantastic as his wife. There is a scene where she finds her daughter playing with a gun and her reaction was priceless. The strongest moments of the film are when these two characters interact with each other. She also has a great scene with David Oyelowo where she threatens him to leave her family alone. She may be married to an honest man, but her father’s blood runs through her veins. Albert Brooks was fascinating as well despite not being on screen very much. I enjoyed his scenes and his presence is sort of the balancing point for Abel who sometimes wants to do things too legit. The grey tone of the film builds the atmosphere of the story and maintains us engaged despite the slow pacing. There is a fantastic chase scene that takes place two thirds into the film that worked really well and moved the story along, but it was the small interactions between Abel and his wife, between him and other business associates that really make this film stand out. It manages to remain an engaging and gripping thriller without having much action going on thanks to the performances and the atmosphere of the film. A Most Violent Year is a stylish thriller that hits the mark once again for Chandor, and he shouldn’t be overlooked from now on.

My Review: The Butler (8/10)

"Everything you are and everything you have, is because of that butler."

Lee Daniels' The Butler is an ambitious film that has Oscar bait written all over of it. It may have an uneven and overlong narrative, but the impressive cast makes up for it. The film covers an extended period of time where political and racial history was being made in the United States, but it does so in a very quick and safe way. That is where some of the comparisons with Forrest Gump come in, but this film takes itself more seriously. I wasn't a fan of Lee's previous film, The Paperboy, but Precious was a solid movie. The Butler is not as good as Precious, but it's still a solid effort and an engaging film with some great performances. We get to see through the eyes of the butler how each of the historical events presented in the film affected his life and society as a whole. It can be manipulative and melodramatic at times, but the film does work and it's emotionally affecting. Many of the characters come in and out of the film so quickly that we barely have time to get to know them. The only three characters in this film that get some depth are the butler, his wife, and oldest son. That was enough to engage the audience and keep them hooked to the story despite the pacing issues. 

The screenplay was written by Danny Strong inspired by an article written by Wil Haygood entitled "A Butler Well Served by This Election." The film is very loosely based on a true story, but several liberties were taken for dramatic effect. It centers on the life of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) who grew up in the south as a domestic servant in the 20's. He later decides to continue his life on his own and becomes a hotel valet under the guidance of Maynard (Clarence Williams III) who teaches him everything he needs to know about becoming a servant. He does his work so well that eventually he's called to serve at the White House during the 50's. Beginning his service during President Dwight Eisenhower's (Robin Williams) term he observes the radical changes from the inside for decades serving seven more presidents in the process. His service eventually affects his family life including his relationship with his wife Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) who has a drinking problem and with his oldest son Louis (David Oyelowo) who becomes involved in the Civil Rights movement. The Butler allows us to experience the changes in America during the 20th century through his eyes and the effect it had on his family.

Despite being manipulative and playing it pretty safe, what The Butler does best is focusing on the duality of its main character and the inner struggle he must face. That is the key element in this film and what works best because there are several flaws with the pacing considering its ambition to cover such an extensive period of time. Cecil learns at a very young age that he must remain invisible and thus learns how to control his emotions and keep to himself. That is why he becomes such an efficient servant, but on the inside he struggles with the injustice despite remaining passive. His son, is the opposite, and that is where the duality is expressed as he represents everything his father isn't. The Butler works best when it centers around this conflict between father and son, and the conflict between the two differing ideologies. It was interesting to see this dynamic in play and it worked much better than the extensive and broad biopic that it was trying to be. The impressive cast also lifts this film and makes it seem much better than it really is. David Oyelowo is probably the best here, although Whitaker is receiving a lot of credit for his restrained performance as well. It was good to see him sharing a short scene with Robin Williams (since I was a huge fan of their 80's film Good Morning Vietnam, it had a nostalgic effect on me). The Butler isn't a groundbreaking film and as a period film it doesn't impress much, but it gets credit for trying to explore the duality in The Butler and his relationships.

My Review: Jack Reacher (8/10)

¨There´s this guy, he´s a kind of cop, at least he used to be. He doesn’t care about proof, he doesn’t care about the law, he only cares about what´s right. He knows what I did. You can´t protect me. No one can.¨

Jack Reacher was one of those films I went into with very low expectations, but came out pleasantly surprised with how entertaining the movie really was. Tom Cruise isn’t one of my favorite actors, but I can honestly say that I prefer his mysterious, quiet, low key approach much more than his eccentric and talkative characters (like in Knight and Day). There is no denying his on screen charisma and he really doesn’t have to do much in order for you to root for him and that is why I find his quieter performances much more thrilling and engaging. Jack Reacher has it all: it´s action packed, it has thrills, mysteries, twists, and even some comedy. I was entertained much more than I thought I would be with this Tom Cruise vehicle. The screenplay was adapted by Academy Award winner, Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) from Lee Child´s book One Shot. Although McQuarrie is known mostly for his work with screenplays, this is his second film as a director (the first being The Way of the Gun) and he does a great job with the action scenes here. I am not a big fan of car chases, I get tired of them very easily, but this film has one of the best vehicle chases I´ve seen since Ronin. The opening scene with the sniper point of view was also pretty gripping and inventive. I was really glad I got to see this film despite it not being groundbreaking or anything because it was entertaining. This mystery thriller worked really well thanks to some great comedic moments.

Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is a former military operative who has been living off the radar in the past year like a John Doe. He is the kind of person who can´t be found, but rather he finds you. The movie begins with a deadly sniper shooting five innocent victims in the middle of the city. The police identify the alleged murderer as Barr (Joseph Sikora), a former military officer who claims to be innocent. Detective Emerson (David Oyelowo) has a strong case against him, but all Barr says is ¨Get Jack Reacher.¨ Neither Emerson nor District Attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins) know how to reach Reacher, but he shows up after hearing the news. He begins investigating the case after the defense attorney, Helen (Rosamund Pike), convinces him to look into the supposedly locked case. She believes like everyone else that Barr is guilty, but wants to save him from the death penalty. When Jack Reacher begins to investigate the case he finds some evidence that leads him to believe that Barr is innocent and that someone had a specific target in mind and wanted to make everything look like a random killing. While Jack begins digging deeper some men begin to follow him and try to scare him off, but Reacher is the sort of guy who always gets to the bottom of things.  

Tom Cruise may have found yet another franchise in Jack Reacher as his character is very likeable by remaining very quiet, mysterious, calm, but at the same time very tough. He is the sort of guy who seems to always be in control and in cool. There are also some very interesting performances here from Robert Duvall, Alexia Fast, Jai Courtney, and the great director Werner Herzog who have a supporting role. Duvall brings some comedic relief and has great chemistry with Cruise, while Herzog and Courtney create some interesting villains. The film runs a bit long and there is some problem with the pacing of the film at times, but the great action scenes make up for it. Jack Reacher has some very smart one liners and always answers with some sort of quick remark, which were the comedic highlight of the film. There is a bathroom scene that feels a bit off from the rest of the movie, and the action here is sort of cartoonish but it was also another one of the funniest moments of the film. Despite not being a huge Tom Cruise fan I really did enjoy this film and recommend it.  

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My Review: The Paperboy (3/10)

¨He never did get over his first true love.¨

The Paperboy is an early contender for worse film of the year. This pulpy film noir thriller is so messy that it´s hard to make sense of everything that is going on. The story is just horrible with characters that are too hard to identify with. I couldn’t care less for what was going to happen to them because they were all dislikeable characters, and I really couldn’t figure out why they wanted to help each other out or why they were even together in the first place. The Paperboy tries too hard to mix everything together: a pulpy film noir, with some racial drama, a detective story (that never even solves anything), several anti-romances, and some unfunny comedy. This is just one of those trashy films that succeed in making you feel dirty, but you don’t get anything of real value out of it. I also hated the way that the film was narrated in some scenes trying to explain everything to the viewer like if we were stupid and needed everything pointed out at us (yes, we can all understand that Efron´s character was in love with Nicole Kidman because of his abandonment issues with his mother, there was no need to tell us that through voice over). The other problem I had was that the film tried too hard to shock us through several unpleasant scenes, like the close up of the gator being gutted, and these gross out scenes didn’t really connect with the movie. That is the reason why I felt this film wasn´t cohesive and was too messy. It is a shame because I loved Lee Daniels´s previous film Precious, but this is a huge step backwards from that movie.

  

The film was based on Peter Dexter´s novel of the same name and it takes place in South Florida during the late 60´s. The story centers around the life of a reporter named Ward (Matthew McConaughey) who decides to return to his hometown to investigate a case about an inmate on death row. Ward is trying to catch a big break on this story involving the murder of a local police officer and the conviction of the supposed murderer, Hilary Van Wetter (John Cusack). Apparently there were some irregularities in the trial and Ward has decided to investigate the case with his partner, Yardley (David Oyelowo). They heard about the story through Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman) who happens to be sort of a death row groupie, who corresponds with these men through letters. She falls in love with Hilary and believes he is innocent, so she contacts Ward and Yardley and convinces them to chase this career making story. Together they work on the case in Ward´s father´s home where his younger brother, Jack (Zac Efron), still lives. Jack becomes the driver for the group taking them to the different locations they are investigating and immediately falls in love with Charlotte despite knowing she´s attracted to the psychotic Hilary. The story is narrated by the house maid, Anita (Macy Gray).

The film does succeed in bringing the hot and steamy Florida weather on the screen and only watching the characters move make us feel hot and sweaty as well. This trashy film reminds us of some early 70´s film noir movies with Nicole Kidman playing this sort of modern femme fatale character. Her gritty performance stands in deep contrast to Efron´s sweet innocence. I had no problem with the cast. I thought they all gave strong performances, especially Nicole Kidman and John Cusack as these two sort of psychotic characters. I had never seen these actors in a role like this before. My major problem with the film was the messy story which ended up wandering all over the place and getting lost in the mix of everything. It is no wonder this film ended up getting booed at Cannes because it does fail to connect the major plot points. It was just a little too pulpy and steamy for my taste and it didn’t work at all because I really disliked all these characters.  

     

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