Terminator Genisys (6/10): More like Terminator Reset.

“Come with me if you want to live.”

After four Terminator films it was about time someone actually hit the reset button for this fifth installment of the franchise directed by Alan Taylor. Now that the series has been refreshed we will be expecting at least two more sequels, but fortunately James Cameron will be back to direct them because these films haven’t come close to the high standards set by the first two. Terminator Genisys opens with a lot of promise as it begins as sort of a prequel where John Connor and Kyle Reese are fighting as part of the Resistance against the machines. As they are about to destroy Skynet, the machines send back a T-800 to kill Sarah Connor, and in order to protect her Kyle volunteers to go back (which explains the events that took place in the original Terminator), but a series of unexpected events take place and the original timeline is altered so everything has been reset. Screenwriters, Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier, came up with an interesting premise for this sequel which takes into consideration much of the Terminator mythology. It does however take a huge risk considering it basically erases the canon set by the first two Terminator films. Unfortunately what began with promise started to lose its appeal near the end as the action and the pacing began to drag while the twists kept on piling on each other. This sequel will satisfy those audience members who are simply looking to have a good time and marvel at the special effects, but those who are hoping it to match the quality of the original two films will be left very disappointed. I’d argue that this film doesn’t even want to compete with them, but rather simply stand out as a forgettable fun blockbuster sequel, and it does.

Emilia Clarke takes over Hamilton’s role playing the iconic Sarah Connor, while its Jason Clarke’s turn to be John Connor (the fourth different actor to do so in the same number of films). Jai Courtney gets to take on the role of Kyle Reese, who also happens to be the narrator of the film. Arnold Schwarzenegger is also back as the young T-800 who is sent back in time to kill Sarah and as a Guardian who is sent to protect her when she was a child in the alternating timeline. The film begins in 2029 as the Resistance is facing off Skynet and then it jumps back to 1984 when Terminator and Reese are sent to the past, but once the timeline has been altered they travel to 2017 where most of the film takes place. The plot may be a bit confusing for some since there are many twists and eventually it hurts the film. The third act involving a bus in the Golden Gate Bridge followed by a helicopter chase does get a bit ridiculous, but I guess those are the scenes many people pay money to go see.  

There is something about the premise in all these sequels where there are so many alternating timelines developing that it eventually hurts the franchise because you come to expect that no matter what the heroes do to prevent Judgement Day there will always be some alternative for it to resurface again, and the same could be said about saving Sarah Connor. After a while you’re simply watching these action scenes and thinking to yourself what’s the point because even if they succeed there will be something else they will have to do in the next movie to prevent Judgement Day from happening all over again. So most of the emotional thrills from the original films gets lost here because there isn’t much more at stake. What this film does succeed at is in its inclusion of some humor revolving around Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character and J.K. Simmons. Each time the action sequences or the drama began to drag the film down, the light touches of humor made it more bearable. I was really looking forward to what Emilia Clarke could add to the character of Sarah Connor considering I love her performance in Game of Thrones, but surprisingly it was Jai Courtney who got most of my sympathy. It might not be fair to blame Clarke considering Sarah Connor is such an iconic character, but Clarke never manages to reach the same level Linda Hamilton did. Having said that however I still did like her in this film, but she never steals the show. Courtney on the other hand is an actor I’ve never really liked, but in this film he shows some potential and carries each action scene he’s in. Schwarzenegger is the best thing about Genisys and it was great to see him having fun playing the character that turned him into a star. He delivers each one-liner better than any machine could ever do. He makes the film worth it. 

The Cider House Rules (7/10): Choosing your own destiny or the one drawn for you

“Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.”

Michael Caine’s second Oscar win came from his 1999 supporting role in The Cider House Rules, and despite delivering a solid performance I wouldn’t even rank it amongst his best work. The true standout here was Tobey Maguire who delivers a very subtle performance and is the main reason why the story works so well. I’d say it’s the best performance of his career. The film is old-fashioned (and the references to Dickens’ David Copperfield reinforce that claim even more) as it manages to capture the humanity in the story with a wonderful adaptation from John Irving of his own 1985 novel. The film isn’t afraid of tackling some moral dilemmas such as abortion and incest, and it does so without forcing a point of view on the audience. Lasse Hallstrom directs this film with his characteristic beautiful visual style although at times the melodrama can be a bit too sentimental. I felt like the film was much more similar in style to his prior film, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, as it focuses on several family dynamics and various subplots in a similar way. This is also as close as a Dickens movie we will get set in America. The film isn’t perfect however and there are several relationships that feel forced, but I assume it has to do with trying to fit the most important elements of the novel into a two hour movie. 

The film opens with a voiceover narration from Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine) explaining how he became the orphanage director at St. Cloud, Maine. He takes special interest in a young boy named Homer Wells who is returned back to the orphanage immediately by every foster parent who attempts to adopt him. After a while it becomes evident to Dr. Larch that Homer will stay with them for a long time so he begins to teach him everything he knows about being a doctor. After several years, now Homer is a grown man (Tobey Maguire) who becomes Dr. Wilbur’s assistant in the orphanage. When Lt. Wally (Paul Rudd) and his pregnant girlfriend Candy (Charlize Theron) show up at the orphanage to have an abortion that Dr. Larch is willing to do, Homer decides it is time to explore the outside world and leaves with the young couple. Wally offers him a job at his family’s apple farm which he gladly accepts. Before heading back to war, Wally and Candy take Homer to see the ocean for the very first time and this is just the first of many first time experiences that Candy will go on to introduce him to. Meanwhile, Dr. Wilbur has hopes that Homer will return and carry on the work which he has groomed him for, but he refuses to consider himself a doctor and seems to be enjoying life picking apples and spending time with Candy. 

There are a couple of strong supporting performances from Delroy Lindo as one of the men in charge of the apple picking group and Erykah Badu who plays his daughter. Jane Alexander and Kathy Baker are two of the nurses in the orphanage who work with Dr. Larch. Some of the child actors playing orphans deliver some strong scenes as Kieran Culkin, Erik Per Sullivan, and Paz de la Huerta specially stand out. My greatest complaint with the cast however is that J.K. Simmons is given absolutely nothing to do here playing Candy’s father. He seems to be only in a couple of montage scenes, but they completely misuse him. One of the strengths of the film however is that despite a shocking discovery surrounding Delroy Lindo’s character, he is never portrayed as a one dimensional character. There is some complexity to his character and he isn’t simply portrayed as a villain. On the moral dilemma surrounding the issue of abortion we have two characters with differing points of views, on the one hand Dr. Larch is very much for it, while Homer who has more faith in humanity is against it. The film may take a slightly pro abortion stand, but it doesn’t feel heavy handed considering the main issue here is Homer’s struggle to discover his own identity or follow the destiny Wilbur has traced for him. 

Whiplash (9/10): One of the best films of 2014

“I think being the greatest musician of the 20th century is anybody's idea of success.”

Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash is one of the best films of 2014. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t much of a music fan (I’m not), because there is much more going on here than the simple premise of a young drummer trying to achieve perfection. I don’t know much about jazz or music, but somehow Chazelle managed to make one of the most intense films of the year. Who would’ve thought that a film focusing on a relationship between a young drummer and his mentor could be so intense and have you at the edge of your seat during the final ten minutes of the film? It was quite a memorable experience. This is Chazelle’s sophomore film (his debut film was Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench) and you can already conclude he’s a brilliant director and one to look forward to. He’s as determined as the main protagonist of the film. When he wasn’t able to come up with the funding for this film he decided to make a 20 minute short which debuted at Sundance in 2013 and after garnering attention from critics he was able to finance this film. Perfection comes at a great cost and it requires discipline and practice. Chazelle makes sure we understand that this pursuit of perfection comes at a great cost and he lets the audience decide wether it’s worth the price or not. Whiplash is one of those rare films that leaves you with many different things to think about. It raises so many questions: Does the end justify the means? Is the pursuit of perfection possible? Is it really worth all the sacrifice? and the most important question in my opinion; what is our definition of success? The young drummer in this film played brilliantly by Miles Teller (who had a breakout year in 2013) seems to have his mind made up of what success really means, but is he right? The director avoids taking sides and lets the audience come up with their own conclusions. There is a brilliant scene where Teller’s character is courting a girl and telling her about his goals in life, and his reaction is brilliant when the girl (played by Melissa Benoist) doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life. He is so determined and focused that he finds it confusing that someone could live without this sort of ambition. These small scenes are what makes this movie so great because it allows us to learn new things about each character through these interactions.  

The core of this film is without a doubt the relationship between this aspiring young drummer and his abusive mentor. It is very different from most other mentor-student relationships explored in movies in the past and it avoids falling into similar formulas and cliches found in other films. This isn’t the cool teacher, this is someone whose personal philosophy is about pushing his students to sacrifice everything in their lives to pursue greatness and the only way to do so in his opinion is by pushing and bullying his students to the point of breaking them. It is the opposite of what a mentor like Professor Keating in Dead Poets Society is like towards his students (and most films take a similar approach having an inspirational and caring mentor). But in Whiplash J.K. Simmons’ Fletcher is the complete opposite and he psychologically terrorizes his students. You can feel the fear he installs in the students and his presence alone every time he enters a room is felt. Simmons’ performance is the best I’ve seen all year and he delivers in every scene he’s in. He is the main reason why the film is as intense as it is because every time Teller’s Andrew gets in front of the drums we feel that anxiety and tension. We want him to succeed, but at times the cost seems too high. Simmons’ presence is terrifying  and even when he seems to be cooled down we know that he can burst in any moment with a missed note. The way he verbally assaults and demolishes his students is also a troubling part of the film because as an audience we know that it is wrong but we can’t help but chuckle at some of the things he’s saying. His character is almost cartoonish at times, but it is part of his persona because he thinks it is the only way to push his students to become the best. As good as Simmons is in this film, Miles Teller doesn’t allow him to steal the spotlight. Teller is the lead character in this film and even when Simmons isn’t on screen we are engaged with the story. The moments he is interacting with Nicole, the girl he is dating, and with his father (played by Paul Reiser) are also incredibly well constructed and they say a lot about who each character is. These relationships give us a glimpse of who Andrew really is and what drives him. Teller’s performance is solid and even his drum skills are amazing in this film. The entire cast is fantastic, but of course Simmons receives most of the recognition because his presence on screen is just amazing here. 

Whiplash shows us that fine line between perfection and obsession. Andrew sacrifices so much and is always pushed to the limits by Fletcher and it leaves us wondering if it really is worth it. It’s such a powerful film and I’m sure jazz fans will love it even more because the music here is great. The film has a breathtaking ten minute finale as well that will leave your heart pounding. There are so many other aspects of the film that work so well, like the rapid editing that goes along with the jazz beats. The cinematography is also gorgeous. Everything about this film is great and the performances simply elevate it all. The only reason why I’m not calling it a masterpiece is because it does have some issues during the midsection of the film with some rather implausible scenes, but other than that this is a perfect film. I may be demanding too much out of this film like Fletcher is with his students, so it barely misses the perfect note but it is one of the best films of the year. The more you think about it the more you take out of it. I even found an interesting metaphor out of this pursuit for greatness comparing it to with how the American military works trying to build the perfect army because in a way Fletcher’s techniques are similar to those that generals use (therefor the comparisons of Simmons performance to that of Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket).

Men, Women & Children (4/10): Reitman's sermon against social media lacks subtlety

“Like it or not, for the moment The Earth is where we make our stand.”

Jason Reitman’s latest film, Men, Women & Children, left me speechless but I don’t mean that in a good way. I was a huge fan of Reitman’s first three films: Thank You for Smoking, Juno, and Up in the Air so I went into this movie with high expectations despite his recent misses with Young Adult and Labor Day. Juno is one of my favorite films so I still look forward to what Reitman is working on next, but I sure hope he teams up with Diablo Cody soon because his scripts lack that sharp and witty dialogue. The greatest problem with this film (which failed to connect with audiences in the theater making less than 1 million at the box office) is that it feels too preachy. Reitman screams out his message about the dangers of social media in the most clichéd ways. First, he establishes several familiar characters that play a certain stereotype with the purpose of getting his message across. For instance you have the over protective mother who is highly exaggerated in the way she controls what her daughter is doing and who she is chatting with, then you have the other extreme where a mother is managing her daughter’s life in order for her to become famous by uploading sexy pictures of her in a website, and finally you have a father who has trouble communicating with his son and basically lays off of him after his wife has abandoned them. These characters all play certain stereotypes and have no personality whatsoever. Reitman also tries to tackle other familiar social issues like porn addiction, unfaithfulness, anorexia, and video gaming by portraying how social media has changed the way we live our lives. The message is heavy handed and we’ve seen it portrayed many times in the past in better films. Another issue I had with Men, Women, and Children is that it lacks subtlety in the way the message should be delivered. It is also heavily one-sided and never tries to portray the positive side of social media. My final complaint has to do with Reitman’s decision of including a voice narration from Emma Thompson with scenes of a satellite traveling across the galaxy showing how small our planet is in the vastness of our universe. It was too ambitious for a film that never feels authentic or groundbreaking. 

Perhaps the greatest thing about Men, Women, and Children are the performances from the impressive cast. Adam Sandler and Rosemarie DeWitt play a struggling married couple very well. Sandler gives a very restrained performance as he has done in past dramas and once again proves that he has a range when it comes to acting. Reitman could have taken a similar approach with this film and been more subtle and restrained in the way he was trying to deliver the message. Jennifer Garner and Judy Greer are given perhaps the most exaggerated characters in the film so many people might have a problem with their performances, but I thought they delivered strong roles despite the poor material they had to work with. Breaking Bad fans will also be delighted to see Dean Norris on screen again as he delivers in his supporting role. The teens in this film also give convincing performances beginning with Ansel Elgort who is the football star of his High School, but decides to give up on playing the sport and becomes addicted with online video gaming. Kaitlyn Dever, who was great in Short Term 12, delivers once again as the teen whose interactions are overseen by her overprotective mother. Olivia Crocicchia plays the sexy teen who is encouraged by her mother and dreams of becoming famous. Elena Kampouris plays the anorexic teen who is searching for acceptance from her crush. The performances are all solid and despite the fact that there are many different storylines they all get sufficient screen time. The only problem is that they all play familiar stereotypes and I didn’t find a distinct personality in anyone of these characters. They all seem to be playing a specific role in order to deliver a message. J.K. Simmons, who frequently collaborates with Reitman, also has a small role in this film but he is underused. This drama failed to connect with me perhaps because the timing of the film was a bit off and it also lacked subtlety. 

My Review: jOBS (5/10)

"If you don't share our enthusiasm and care for the vision of this company. Get out! You're done."

How could you make a biopic about an inspirational and visionary man in such a bland manner? The film lacked the very elements that made Steve Jobs such a creative entrepreneur. It's a shame because the subject matter alone almost guarantees you will watch a great film. Jobs has altered our lives; at this very moment I'm writing from one of his Mac computers while my brothers are chatting on their iphones and listening to music on their ipods. Somehow such great material got lost along the way and this Joshua Michael Stern directed film simply looks like a made for TV biopic. It is one of those movies that are so uninspired and consist of bad writing that you simply thought it was made for TV. Take for example The Social Network, a film about the creator of Facebook, a biopic I thought beforehand was going to be dull and boring, but was completely blown away by Aaron Sorkin's script. He made Mark Zuckerberg look completely appealing. But here we have a much more visionary person like Steve Jobs whose story we all want to see told on film and the result from Matt Whiteley's script is completely uninspiring. The film could be called Apple Inc because it felt like it focused more on his creation than on the creator. There is nothing innovative about this biopic, but the good news is that Aaron Sorkin is working on a script for another Steve Jobs biopic that hopefully will make justice of such an inspirational man. I can't even blame Ashton Kutcher for the failure of this film, because the main problem here was that the script  was so bland that all we had were one dimensional characters having uninspired dialogues. If I had never heard of Jobs before I would've thought that this visionary and charismatic leader was simply a dull and unloving person. You simply don't care for the Steve Jobs that's presented here.

The film begins by introducing us to Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) as he is presenting his latest creation, the ipod which will change the way people listen to music everywhere (as we already know). That is as far as the film goes as we jump back to the past and see Steve dropping out of college sometime during the 70's. He attended some creative classes simply as a drop in, but he spent most of his time getting high with his friend Daniel (Lukas Haas), with whom he also travelled to India for a spiritual visit. Back at the US, Jobs worked at Atari where he had trouble getting along with his coworkers. He was offered a special deal to create a circuit board and that is where he got his friend Woz (Josh Gad) to help him out. After having success, Jobs and Woz partnered together selling circuit boards and founded their own small business in his parents' garage. Along with Daniel and Woz, Steve hired Rod Holt (Ron Eldard) to help out with the engineering of the first Apple computer. Their next challenge was to get the funding needed to build the company, which they finally got from Mike Markkula (Dermot Mulroney). The film then goes on to focus on Apple's early success and later Steve's trouble getting along with the company's CEO, John Sculley (Matthew Modine), his forced retirement from his own company and then his return to Apple several years later. 

It's a shame the film focused so much on Jobs's turmoil years and left out the most creative period of his life: his successful return to Apple. I was OK with the fact that it showed his early beginnings at his garage because that is where the dream was born, but I wish the film would've focused more on his successes. Jobs wasn't portrayed as a saint either, and that is a plus, we see how turbulent and erratic his behavior was at times as a temperamental manager. Ashton Kutcher wasn't terrible as Jobs, he got some of his posture right (the scene where he walks across the hallway at Apple is near perfect) and at times the tone of his voice was also right, but I also felt that there were several scenes where he lost that voice and simply became Ashton Kutcher again. The narrative structure of the film didn't work either. I felt there were so many moments that seemed disconnected at times and rushed. It's like they got some details right, but the motivation behind Jobs' work was left out. His character lacked depth and so did everyone else's who simply come in and out of the film to set the next stage. I don't think that the perfectionist "Father of the Digital Revolution" would've approved of this movie if he were alive today. The biopic simply scratches the surface of Jobs' life, but stays away from his heart and what really motivated him to be the visionary innovator he was. I'll be looking forward to Sorkin's take on his life.

My Review: Contraband (8/10)

¨You were the best of the best, but the proudest day of my life was when you turned legit.¨

Contraband was one of those surprisingly good action thrillers which I really wasn’t expecting much considering we`ve seen several heist movies like this before and the director was the relatively unknown, Baltasar Kormkakur from Iceland. He might be popular in his country, but this is the first film he`s produced in Hollywood. Mark Wahlberg has proven before that he can make great heist thrillers, and this film is just as surprisingly entertaining as The Italian Job. Wahlberg gives a really great performance in the lead role and I`m guessing by now that he can star in these films blindfolded. He also had a strong supporting cast that made this film even better, but what I enjoyed the most about this film was the script. Yes, some twists were predictable, but it kept my interest and had me at the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie. Contraband was actually a remake of the 2008 Icelandic film, Reykjavik, which starred Kormkakur in the lead role. The script was adapted by Aaron Guzikowski and the action now takes place in between the United States and Panama instead of in Rotterdam. Contraband really worked for me as an entertaining thriller with a couple of twists and surprises (some more predictable than others, but well constructed). I really enjoyed this film.

Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) is happily married to Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and they have two children together. He used to be a very successful smuggler, but turned his life around after meeting Kate. They are very happy together, and Chris`s former smuggling partner, Sebastian (Ben Foster), with whom he is still very close is also getting his life back on track. Everything seems to be going really well until Kate receives a call from her brother, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), who is at the hospital after having been beat up by a drug dealer named Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi). Andy had been smuggling cocaine on freighters for Briggs and had to dump the last package after the DEA had ambushed them. Briggs will kill Andy, if he doesn’t get his money back from the deal, but Chris promises to repay him before any more harm is done. Chris decides to smuggle counterfeit currency from Panama in order to repay the debt, but in order to do so he will have to form a team in the freighter which will allow him to buy more time, while his family is being threatened by Briggs and his gang.

  

Mark Wahlberg is a true actions tar and he is really entertaining in this movie, but he also had a great secondary cast including Kate Beckinsale who looked lovely as usual, Ben Foster who is always really creepy, Giovanni Ribisi who is always very unpredictable, JK Simmons who has a more serious role despite the fact that he always makes you laugh, and Diego Luna who plays a Panamanian criminal. I really enjoyed Luna`s short performance, his scene was really interesting and one of the highlights of the film. Contraband begins to accumulate the tension as we reach the final climatic scene. I thought it played out perfectly and that the film was really well edited and choreographed. The movie was entertaining from start to finish, it was a well constructed heist thriller (not perfect, but fun nonetheless).

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com

My Review: Extract (5/10)

¨If I don't get home before 8, she puts on the sweatpants. And once the sweatpants are on, I get nothing.¨

If I say that Mike Judge directed this movie, then you probably don`t know who I am talking about, but if I tell you that it is directed by the guy who brought us Office Space, Beavis and Butthead, and King of the Hill then we are all more familiar with his work then we thought we were. Office Space was a huge success and became a cult movie, but I don`t think Extract will reach that same status because it isn`t a very funny commedy. It has been 10 years since Judge wrote Office Space and this time with Extract there are some interesting and ok moments, but the movie falls short from its predecessor. The supporting cast is far more interesting than the main characters and that sometimes is a bad sign. Extract is not a terrible movie either, it does have its clever moments or classic work related jokes that we are all familiar with and will bring a couple of smiles to our face, but it isn`t a laugh out loud movie. Judge is good with work related themes and jokes, but in Extract the main events occur outside of the office, and the most interesting characters aren´t even from the workplace. The pace of the movie also seemed a little slow at the beginning and it took me some time to get into it and care for the characters. I just wished more time could have been spent inside the factory developing the employee characters that were just one dimensional. A lot of things happen in this movie in a very short time, the film only lasts about one and a half hours and I think they could have done a better job developing these characters.

Joel (Jason Bateman) owns a vanilla extract company that he has built from scratch, the problem is that he is unhappy with his married life because he hasn`t had sex with his wife, Suzie (Kristen Wiig) in over a month. His best friend is Dean (Ben Affleck with long hair and a beard) who owns a Bar and is always giving Joel some bad advice and recommending him to take drugs in order to forget his problems. Joel also has to deal with his employees from the factory: Brian (JK Simmons) is one of the managers who can never remember any of the names of his workers, Step (Clifton Collins Jr.) is a hard worker who is very close to becoming the new floor manager and takes his job seriously, Hector (Javier Gutierrez) is the recently hired mexican, Mary (Beth Grant) and Gabriella (Lidia Porter) have worked in the factory for years and are constantly complaining about everything, and then there is Rory (T.J. Miller) who is learning how to drive the forklift, but who only really cares about his rock metal band. Besides dealing with his employees, Joel also has a very bothersome neighbor, Nathan (David Koechner), who never seems to shut up. To make matters worse one day at the factory there is an accident and Step loses one of his testicles. He is going to receive a lot of money from the insurance company and decides not to sue Joel. Cindy (Mila Kunis) is a con artist who reads about the accident in the paper and seduces Step in order to convince him to sue the company for a million dollars. Cindy gets a temp job at the factory and Joel falls for her. Dean tries to convince him to have an affair with her by trying to get his wife to have an affair with someone else first. So he convinces Joel to hire a gigolo named Brad (Dustin Milligan) to try to seduce his wife. The movie develops from here and takes all sorts of turns.

JK Simmons is a very funny actor and he is very dependable in any role, but in Extract he really doesn`t get much screen time. Ben Affleck gives a pretty funny performance playing this laid back friend who can`t seem to give the right advice never and only complicates things. Mila Kunis is always a delight to see on screen, but for me she wasn`t enough this time to save the movie. Clifton Collins Jr. was excellent, in my opinion he gives the best performance in the film, but he doesn`t get enough screen time either. Jason Bateman is a good actor, but I just didn`t find his character very funny. For someone who built a pretty modest company he let himself be convinced too easily by Dean and was easily decieved. The movie could have been much better if it focused more on the life inside of the factory, which is what Judge seems to be better at, creating these characters we can relate too from an office or a factory. I wouldn`t reccomend this film unless you are a Ben Affleck fan and want to see one of his funniest performances. David Koechner was also pretty funny and good at being an annoying neighbor. If you happen to come across this movie on TV then it could be a good watch, but I wouldn`t recommend renting it.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/