Young Ones (6/10): It establishes an interesting futuristic setting, but lacks character development.

"Pray for rain.”

Gwyneth Paltrow’s younger brother, Jake, introduces us to a dystopian future where water is scarce  in Young Ones, his sophomore feature film. The film has style and it is also gorgeous to look at the empty vast dry land (filmed in South Africa, but taking place in an undisclosed American town), but unfortunately the characters did lack some development. This could well be classified as a sci-fi western centering on a family that is struggling to survive under the harsh dry conditions. The always fascinating Michael Shannon plays Ernest Holm, the father of two adolescents who has decided to stay in his dry land hoping he can find water to cultivate his once fertile land. His younger son, Jerome (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is always alongside him as they struggle to find a means for survival. With the help of a robotic donkey carrier, he sends supplies to the workers who extract water from deep wells. His relationship with his daughter, Mary (Elle Fanning), isn’t going too well. She has secretly been dating Flem (Nicholas Hoult), who isn’t someone his father trusts. Flem has plans of his own for Ernest’s land and he will stop at nothing in order to get his way. Aimee Mullins has a supporting role as Ernest’s paralytic wife who lives in the hospital where she can use special equipment to move. 

The film is divided into three chapters centering on each one of the three male characters. The first centering on Ernest, is by far the best thanks in large part to Michael Shannon’s incredible performance. It also sets the rules for this futuristic world and it manages to engage us. But the promising start of the film quickly dies down in the next two chapters with predictable character arcs and familiar storylines. It is a shame because the film did promise an inventive post apocalyptic setting, but other than the fascinating visuals it doesn’t deliver anything fresh. Despite not having much character development I did enjoy the performances from the talented young cast. Nicholas Hoult is solid as the villain, while Kodi Smit-McPhee once again finds himself playing a character in a desolated future (The Road). He delivers one of the stronger roles and did a decent job holding up his own in the scenes he shared with Shannon. Fanning is an actress I have always admired, but her character is the least developed this time and she doesn’t get to do much here. It is a shame Shannon doesn’t get more screen time because the film loses much of its appeal after that first chapter. He always brings an incredible fresh quality to each one of his characters and in a way Ernest was the reason why this dystopian world seemed so fascinating.

Young Ones is the third consecutive Western I’ve seen and each one has been very different. Once Upon A Time in the West is a masterpiece and a classic spaghetti western, while A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night was an Iranian vampire western that was more atmospheric than anything else. This futuristic western is also gorgeous to look at and introduces a rather interesting premise but it loses its appeal after the first part of the film and heads towards generic and familiar territory. I’d still recommend this film because there are some interesting qualities to it and there is also Michael Shannon of course who always delivers. I loved the landscape as well, but the pacing of the story does get tedious and predictable at times. 

My Review: Maleficent (6/10)

"Listen well, you all! The princess will indeed grow in grace and beauty. But before the sunset on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel, and she will fall into a sleep like death!"

Maleficent isn't a masterpiece and it actually has several flaws, but it was much better than I had anticipated considering the latest failed attempts at bringing a beloved classic fairytale to the big screen through live action. Snow White, Jack the Giant Slayer, Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel, Beauty and the Beast, all failed in their adaptations so I didn't have high expectations for Maleficent. They all seem to share something in common which is that they always incorporate a spin on the classic tale, and Maleficent is no exception as there is a big twist to the familiar story. They played it safe with the twist in Maleficent, and it was rather cliche, but it worked nonetheless. Despite not being a huge fan of this genre I decided to give this film a shot because I was looking forward to Angelina Jolie's comeback (her previous starring role in a feature film was in 2010's The Tourist alongside Johnny Depp). Jolie doesn't disappoint and she carries the entire film giving a strong performance. Many complained that they wished the film would've centered more on her character as a villain than a hero, but I actually enjoyed the duality in her performance and the struggle she faces while dealing with her betrayal. She owns this movie, but it didn't hurt that the she had a strong cast to work with; I loved Elle Fanning in her role as Aurora, Sharlto Copley as the ambitious King (if there was ever a film in which he could go overboard with his character this was it, but strangely he played it safe here), and of course I can't leave out Sam Riley who was great as Diaval. Perhaps I enjoyed this film more than others because I went into it with fairly low expectations, but compared to other recent fairytale adaptations this film is superior and one I'm sure the new generation will appreciate.

Maleficent is a retelling of Disney's classic animated film, Sleeping Beauty, although this time the screenplay written by Linda Woolverton centers on the villain. The film begins by introducing us to the young fairy named Maleficent (Isobelle Molloy) living an ideal and peaceful life in the Moors, which is full of magical creatures. On the other side of the Moors lies the human kingdom which is ruled by an ambitious King. One day Maleficent is warned by the forest guards that they have caught a human trying to steal a jewel from the Moors. Maleficent discovers that the thief is actually a boy named Stefan (Michael Higgins), who she kindly asks to return the jewel. She then escorts him out of the Moors, but when he returns the two bond and become good friends. As time passes the two fall in love, but their relationship doesn't last long once he becomes ambitious. The film jumps forward many years and now we follow the adult Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) as she continues to protect the Moors from King Henry (Kenneth Cranham) and his army. The adult Stefan (Sharlto Copley) happens to be serving the King now, and he and his men are ordered to kill Maleficent. Whoever does so will become his successor to the throne. Stefan heads to the Moors to warn Maleficent of the king's intention, but blinded by his ambition to become king he betrays her. This turns Maleficent's once pure heart into one full of hate and a desire for revenge. When Stefan becomes King, Maleficent curses his newborn infant Aurora and claims she will fall into a sleep like death once she turns 16 and only a true love's kiss will be able to break the curse.

The best thing Maleficent has going for it apart from Angelina Jolie's lead performance and the strong ensemble cast, is the fact that it was directed by Robert Stromberg who has a strong record as a production designer. Despite the fact that this was Stromberg's first feature film he has a lot of experience in the art direction department (actually winning two Oscars for his work in Acatar and Alice in Wonderland). Maleficent looks great and the art direction may be it's best asset. The visual effects and the fantastical creatures of the Moors are stunning. The screenplay may have its flaws and the story may fall into a predictable and cliched final act, but it always looks great. This may be yet another case of style over substance, but the cast elevate the material and make this a much better film than it has any right to be. The weakest elements of the film for me involve the portrayal of the three fairies who are tasked with taking care of Aurora and raising her. Those comedic moments felt a bit forced and the characters didn't have much substance to them. However, the scenes that Maleficent and Aurora share together are solid as Jolie captures the inner struggle she faces when she's confronted by Aurora's innocence and beauty. Sam Riley also shares some great scenes alongside Jolie and those were the best moments of the film for me. The film does suffer from a slow introduction and a weak final act, but the middle act was really strong and that is why I actually enjoyed Maleficent.

My Review: We Bought a Zoo (9/10)

¨You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.¨

2011 brought us some surprisingly great family films such as The Muppets and Dolphin Tale, but I think Cameron Crowe just won me over for the best one of the year with We Bought a Zoo. I`m a huge Crowe fan and have loved most of his films (I even loved Elizabethtown and am not ashamed of admitting it despite being hated by nearly every critic), especially Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire. I think this film is up to par with his best work despite being over sentimental at times. I think that what I like best about Crowe`s films are his dialogues. I think he`s a good writer and he creates some interesting characters. He usually writes his own stories for his films, although this time he based it on a true story and adapted the screenplay from Benjamin Mee`s biography, but he still should receive credit for his adaptation. The story isn`t the only thing that works, a lot of credit has to be given to Matt Damon for his performance in the lead role and to the rest of the supporting cast. Scarlett Johansson had strong chemistry with Damon and her performance felt believable, Maggie Elizabeth Jones was cuter than any other character on screen this year, Elle Fanning is almost as amazing as she was in Super 8 (she`s turning into my favorite young actress along with Chloe Grace Moretz), while Thomas Haden Church, John Higgins, and Angus Macfadyen provided most of the laughs in the movie. Colin Ford had to play kind of the rebellious teen son and he did a decent job although he perhaps had the least interesting character. The animals also play a huge part in the overall effectiveness of the film.   

The film is based on a true story about a father named Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) who after losing his wife has to raise his two children on his own in Southern California. His fourteen year old son, Dylan (Colin Ford, a young Bon Jovi lookalike) is going through a very dark time and is having trouble at school. He ends up being expelled for stealing some money and for painting a very dark mural. His seven year old daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) is a lot closer to her father and is cuter than any other girl her age. She is sweet and always smiling, a complete contrast to Dylan. Benjamin becomes tired of the city life and quits his job as a journalist and decides to buy a new home in the countryside. This new home is big, has lots of space, but it comes with one special responsibility: it is a zoo. Benjamin decides it`s time to begin a new adventure and decides to repair the zoo in time to open it for the public in the summer. The zoo is pretty much abandoned, but with the help of a few workers left Benjamin begins putting his life savings into it in order to restore it in time before the next inspection. Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) has worked at the zoo for several years and becomes his right hand helper, along with Peter (Angus Macfadyen), Robin (Patrick Fugit), and her thirteen year old niece Lily (Elle Fanning). Benjamin`s accountant brother Duncan (Thomas Haden Church) warns him about the financial risks involved, but he decides to go with his heart and live a new adventure.

If you`ve seen a Cameron Crowe film before then you know this won`t just be a family film. Crowe loves music and he always includes some really great soundtracks in his stories. He also manages to include one or two dialogues based on music. He makes a reference to Dylan being named after the great Bob Dylan, but later we realize he was really named Dylan for his dog. Just like the Crowe humor isn`t missing here, the romantic stories aren`t left out either. Crowe is a romantic at heart. We`ve seen some of the most famous romantic lines in movies like Jerry Maguire, such as ¨you had me at hello,¨ but here he also includes a few lines that will be memorable like the ¨twenty seconds of insane courage¨ one. The film is really worth a watch, it is for everyone, it has a love story, several funny scenes, an inspiring story, and several cute animals. Adults and children will enjoy this film alike. I was surprised to hear the characters in which this film was based actually had a cameo near the end of the movie. The real Benjamin and his two children were the first in line to climb the fallen tree in order to reach the zoo. Matt Damon is such a reliable actor; he has had a great year, but the true heart of the film here relies on the cuteness of Elle Fanning, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, and the animals. Yes this film might be over sentimental and cheesy at times, but it`s so cute that it`s hard to resist.

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My Review: Super 8 (9/10)

¨She used to look at me this way, like really look, and I just knew I was there, that I existed.¨

As a true fan of Lost (the best television series ever in my opinion) I was really excited about J. J. Abrams`s latest film, Super 8, which as usual he not only directed but also wrote. Abrams is one of my favorite directors and I`ve really enjoyed all his films. Add Steven Spielberg, who was one of the producers of this film, to the mix and this was perhaps one of my most anticipated films of the year. Fortunately, it didn`t disappoint and it even exceeded my expectations, although this didn’t even come as a surprise for me considering how well he managed to reboot the Star Trek franchise a couple of years ago. I was also a big fan of Cloverfield, which some people disliked, but I thought was really well crafted. Super 8 might be compared to Cloverfield in some ways, but I think it is a much more complete film in the sense that there is more character development going on. The whole mysterious monster thing was only a side story and the true heart of the film relied on the relationship between the kids and their friendship. Super 8 is really a nostalgic film that seems to pay homage to some of Spielberg`s early films like E.T., Close Encounter of the Third Kind, and The Goonies. That was the mood that Abrams kind of set with Super 8 and what makes it stand out from all the rest of the modern disaster/monster movies. Even the title suggests this nostalgic feeling considering that Super 8 mm film were one of the first formats used for home movies before the invention of video. The movie even has this dark and dirty visual style to it making you think you are actually watching an old classic (until you see some of the dazzling visual effects like in the train crash which remind us this is a modern movie).

The story takes place in a small town in Ohio during the summer of 1979. A group of young kids who are friends from school are making a super 8 movie about zombies. Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) is helping out with the make-up, Charles (Riley Griffiths) is directing, Cary (Ryan Lee) is helping out with the sound, Preston (Zach Mills) is filming, while Alice (Elle Fanning) and Martin (Gabriel Basso) play the main actors. One night the five kids are out by the tracks filming their movie when all of a sudden they witness a catastrophic train wreck. Several explosions take place and parts of the train fall everywhere, but miraculously the kids are unharmed. Joe tells his friends that this wasn’t an accident; he witnessed how a truck drove straight at the train in order to provoke the crash. While the kids were shooting their movie the camera kept rolling so they decide to develop the film the very next day, but have to wait at least for three more days until they can actually see the footage. Meanwhile some mysterious things begin to take place after the accident: the dogs all of a sudden have disappeared, motors from vehicles are missing, and even some people have gone missing as well. Joe`s dad, Jackson (Kyle Chandler), is the town sheriff so he begins to search for answers, but the US Air Force (to whom the train belonged to) seems to be concealing what was really inside the train. Jackson discovers that there was a lot more to the accident then what they are actually telling him.

The first hour really keeps the suspense and mystery building as we try to discover what was in the train. The relationship between the kids is actually the primary focus of the film and the mystery kind of works as a side story. Elle Fanning does a terrific job with this film and deserves an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress since she actually steals every scene she`s in. She is the heart of the movie, and her relationship with Joel Courtney`s character reminds us a lot of that first innocent love. The chemistry between both actors is actually very intense and far more believable than that of the lead characters from most of today`s romantic comedies. Super 8 manages to mix well the action and suspense with the drama and character development, while at the same time remaining funny. It`s all these mixed emotions that remind us of those 80`s Spielberg blockbuster action movies. I couldn’t help but think of Drew Barrymore in E.T. when I saw Elle Fanning in this film; watching the kids investigating the mysteries reminded me of The Goonies; it’s just all these emotions that the movie evoked that gave me this sense of nostalgia while keeping me entertained at the same time. I really enjoyed this film and loved the performance from the kids, especially from Elle Fanning. I was so interested in these characters that I actually enjoyed the first half of the film over the second which focused more on the monster and the action. Super 8 is definitely worth watching, especially if you were a fan of some of these early Spielberg movies.

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My Review: Somewhere (5/10)

¨I need you to take Cleo.¨

Sofia Coppola won the Golden Lion prize in the Venice Film Festival for Best Picture with Somewhere, a very small and simple movie about an actor struggling to find meaning in life. Francis Ford Coppola`s daughter has grown up in the industry and therefore knows quite a bit about some of the hardships these actors go through while at the same time trying to give everyone the impression that they live happy and successful lives. I don’t know if the film is actually based on any specific real life actor, but I´m pretty sure Sofia wrote the screenplay thinking about several of these actors she`s had the chance to grow alongside with. Coppola directed a very similar movie a few years back, Lost in Translation, featuring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. I really enjoyed that movie and thought she did a terrific job with the direction of that film, but in Somewhere I just felt that she tried too hard to repeat the success by telling us a very similar story with pretty much a same kind of relationship between the protagonists. I know this is an entirely different story, but I couldn’t help but think this was just another failed sequel which lacked some originality. Lost in Translation made me fall in love with Tokyo and its characters, but Somewhere made me want to stay away from Los Angeles and the movie industry. The only character I actually liked in this film was Cleo, the eleven year old daughter, but she didn’t have enough screen time to save the movie. Coppola tried repeating the same formula that gave her success in the past (I’m OK with that), but it just never truly works in this film as it failed to connect with me. It also lacked some of the comedy that Bill Murray was able to portray in the previous film.

The movie opens with a very long scene of a black Ferrari driving around in circles. We later see the man behind the wheels: Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff), a Hollywood actor who has recently finished his latest film and is promoting it. He has to do interviews, travel, and take photo sessions to help promote the movie. While he is doing all this he is staying at the Chateau Marmont, a well known Hollywood retreat hotel in Los Angeles. His life is really dull and he doesn’t find any fulfillment spending most of his time sleeping with girls, or getting exotic dancers to pole dance for him in his hotel room. His life is meaningless and he seems lost. The only meaningful relationship he has is with his long time friend Sammy (Chris Pontius) who comes to visit him often, and his eleven year old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) who only spends a few days with him every month. Despite spending very little time with her father, Cleo has a good relationship with him and looks up to him like any girl her age would. She is a bright little girl who loves to ice skate and cook for her dad. Johnny`s life will change when Cleo`s mom leaves her daughter for an uncertain number of days. Johnny begins to find some meaning while acquiring some parenting skills and spending more time with her daughter (although she seems more mature than him at times). They get to travel together to one of his film premieres in Italy and their relationship begins to grow.

There is not actually a lot of story put into this film, the dialogue is minimal because Johnny`s life isn`t actually rich in relationships or communication. He spends most his time having meaningless relationships with girls, going to parties, and promoting his latest movie. The true heart of the film is Cleo, who is sweet and innocent. Sofia does a good job at contrasting that sweet innocence during the scene where she is ice skating, in contrast to the scene where the two playboy girls are poll dancing for Johnny. He is a spectator for both these dances, but we know which one of these is really meaningful for him. Ironically he has spent more time with the pole dancers than with his daughter because apparently this was his first time seeing her ice skate (and she has been doing it for years). Sofia gives us several of these long shots and we get the point she is trying to get across, but I just think she emphasizes too much on Johnny’s depression and meaningless life instead of focusing on the brightness his daughter brings to his life. The scenes with Cleo should be the heart of the movie, but they are just too few because Sofia continues on focusing on his depression. It is like the opening scene of the movie where we see the car going in circles, she does the same thing with Johnny`s character making him go in circles over and over again when the audience actually got the point in the first ten minutes of the film. I really found this movie dull like Johnny`s life and thought it could have been so much better if Cleo had a more central role. The movie is minimalistic but several of the scenes just felt forced for me and I thought Coppola was just being too pretentious at times.

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