My Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (9/10)

"So here we are: a thief, two thugs, an assassin and a maniac. But we're not going to stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy."

Before I actually get into the review of this film I want to get my emotions out of the way first. All the wait and the hype for Guardians of the Galaxy was finally over and I was not disappointed for one second. This was exactly what I was looking forward to and what all Summer blockbusters should feel like. It was a fantastic experience with great action sequences, interesting characters, and hilarious dialogues with plenty of pop cultural references. I actually enjoyed the comedy more than the fantastic action scenes and found this to be the funniest film of the year. It kind of builds on what Whedon did with The Avengers, but I think James Gunn took it to another level and delivered a rare superhero film that I actually wouldn't mind revisiting over and over again. Although more than a superhero film this seemed like it belonged to the Star Wars franchise, and I felt like a geek all over again. I was blown away by this despite some minor issues and I would rank this as the best Marvel film to date. It was fresh, witty, cool, and despite having many characters they all get sufficient screen time and a distinct personality of their own. Seven months into 2014 I can say this is my favorite film of the year so far just ahead of X-Men Days of Future Past. This was purely entertaining and had some wonderful performances as well.

Before this film I had no prior knowledge of this comic so you can imagine how pleased I was with the way each character was introduced and how easy the story was to follow. The film has a lot of heart as well and each one of the characters have flaws which give them a more humane aspect. Chris Pratt has always been an actor that stands out in his secondary roles, but here he is given a lead role which he absolutely nails. Just like Robert Downey Jr. personified Tony Stark with incredible charisma, Pratt does the same with Peter Quill (aka Star Lord). He is irreverent and full of energy. The supporting cast is also strong. Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper do fantastic voice work with their CGI created characters, Rocket and Groot. Vin Diesel really didn't have to say much, but the way he delivers the same line over and over again made for some funny moments. Dave Bautista really impressed me as Drax because I thought he would basically be the muscle of the film and focus on the action scenes, but his character is funny mostly because he takes things literally all the time. He was great. Zoe Saldana as Gamora was also a stand out as she had some great action scenes and wasn't just in the film to be the girl that needs saving all the time. The way these characters came together was part of the unique experience this film provided. The villains may have been weak, but I didn't really care much because my attention was on the interaction between the heros and seeing them come together. I also want to give a shut out to John C. Reilly and Michael Rooker who provided for even more funny scenes.   

I wasn't really a fan of director, James Gunn's previous superhero film, Super, but I did appreciate his unique sense of humor and how different that film felt from other superhero films. Guardians of the Galaxy is a huge step forward and he really delivered the entertainment here. The soundtrack was amazing and I enjoyed how he combined that music from the 70's with this modern action film because it's not something you usually see in a movie like this. It was just such a fun experience all together and can't wait to revisit it again. It had the type of humor I enjoy and each one of the characters delivered perfect notes. The two hours fly by thanks to an excellent paced film and a well written script. It was charming and if you haven't seen it than please do!

My Review: Carnage (6/10)

¨A new comedy of no manners.¨

Roman Polanski is a great director, there is no denying his trajectory (Rosemary`s Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist), and his latest film, The Ghost Writer, was amongst my favorite movies of last year, but Carnage was a bit of a disappointment for me. Perhaps I was expecting more going into this movie considering Polanski was directing it and knowing it had a spectacular cast: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, and Christoph Waltz. Carnage was nowhere near as good as I thought it would be, but it still isn`t a bad movie. It has some witty dialogues, several funny scenes, and of course great performances. There is nothing wrong with the cast; they all did a great job with their characters and Jodie Foster should receive an Oscar nomination for her role; the problem I had was mainly with the story. It takes place entirely in an apartment building and the conversations made me feel so awkward and unsteady that I couldn`t wait for the couple to leave the room. They seem to continue going on in circles criticizing one another, while slowly escalating their tones. Of course there are several really funny moments and John C. Reilly steals most laughs, but the film just felt too simplistic. Another problem I had with it was the length; it lasts less than 80 minutes. I suspect Carnage worked much better in the theater since it was based on the play written by Yasmina Reza (The God of Carnage), but it just didn’t translate really well in the big screen. Reza and Polanski both worked in the adaptation of the script. Carnage is a funny, simple movie, but not very memorable.

The premise of the movie is pretty simple. We have two couples that decide to meet at their New York apartment after their kids had a big fight and one of them lost two teeth in the process. On the one hand we have Penelope (Jodie Foster) and Michael (John C. Reilly) Longstreet who`s child (Ethan) was the victim, and on the other we have Nancy (Kate Winslet) and Alan Cowan (Christoph Waltz) who`s child (Zachary) was responsible for beating the other with a stick. At first they decide to meet cordially and try to solve the issue in a friendly matter, but the tone begins to escalate after Penelope asks the Cowan`s if they could bring Zachary over to apologize for the incident. Nancy says she could bring her son over, but Alan has no intention of coming back since he sees the entire issue pointless. All he cares for is getting back to work and that is why he is constantly on the phone. Penelope on the other hand wants to solve the issue peacefully, but she is more of an idealist than a realist. The entire conversation begins to heat up and after a couple of drinks the violent words begin to cross from one point of the room to the other. The entire movie takes place inside this apartment, although in the beginning we get to see the incident between the kids in the park from afar.

Carnage is a movie that points out human behavior. While we`re kids we seem to have no trouble at expressing our feelings and emotions. Kids fight all the time. When we grow up and become adults it seems like we leave those child ways behind; or at least we try to contain our emotions and we put on our masks to act like everything is fine. That is the case with both couples in the movie. They meet in order to solve a conflict that began with their kids, but they blow it way out of proportions after their own masks become falling off. Adults can be violent as well, perhaps they won`t grab a stick and hit someone in the face, but they do curse at each other and begin a verbal war. Carnage is a verbal war that begins cordial and ends with violent outbursts and infantile behavior. We try to act like adults, but when we reach our boiling point we end up acting worse than the kids. Perhaps the only character that never wears a mask in Carnage is Alan who always shows his disinterest in the entire situation. At times I felt the same way he did towards the movie, but I did enjoy the witty dialogue at others. All these characters were really unlikeable people and as the minutes went by they just got worse. The performances were really great despite the fact that we could care less for the characters. Carnage isn’t a bad movie, it`s funny, but it won`t rank among Polanski`s best work. If you’re a fan of him or any of these actors than you might want to check this movie out.

  

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My Review: Cedar Rapids (7/10)

¨There`s a separation between religion and insurance. It`s in the constitution.¨

Who would`ve ever thought that a comedy could be made about a bunch of insurance people gathered at a Convention in a small city named Cedar Rapids? Miguel Arteta (Youth in Revolt and The Good Girl) certainly did, and he did a great job with directing this film putting the emphasis on the characters and not so much on the story. It`s a character driven comedy and the cast was really perfect for this sort of comedy; even the small city, Cedar Rapids, becomes an important character in the movie. Phil Johnston should also receive plenty of credit for writing an interesting and original script. He was able to create good characters and they are developed really well in the short 90 minutes the movie lasts. Cedar Rapids is an unconventional comedy, but it works nonetheless; there are very funny moments and great performances from Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. They all worked really well together and were able to deliver a very funny comedy which sort of mixes the buddy comedy with road trip with the classic fish out of the water scenario. Cedar Rapids is a very interesting and modest small film, just like the small city in Iowa is. It`s not a perfect comedy, but Cedar Rapids is much better than most comedies that I`ve seen recently, and it stands out from the rest.

The main character of the film is Tim Lippie (Ed Helms) who has dedicated his whole life to the insurance company he works for. He`s lived his entire existence in Brown Valley, Wisconsin and has a relationship with his seventh grade teacher, Macy Vanderhai (Sigourney Weaver), with whom he is ¨pre-engaged.¨ He believes to be living a good life, but things turn around for him when the star insurance man of Brown Valley passes away after a freak ¨accident.¨ Lippie`s boss, Bill (Stephen Root), asks him to replace his former co-worker and travel to the insurance convention in Cedar Rapids to represent the company and try to win the Two-Diamond Award for Excellence for the third year in a row.  It is the first time in his life that Lippie is going to travel on a plane and stay in a hotel, so things are very new for him. He will soon realize that not everything is as it seemed, and that life can get pretty wild in Cedar Rapids. Lippie has to share his hotel room with two other insurance men who have already been to dozens of these conventions: Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly). Ronald is a nice African American who makes Lippie feel at home. Dean is also a great guy, but he is very outspoken and behaves unethically at times. Lippie is shocked at first by his behavior and attitude, and tries to stay away from him because his sole mission is to win the award and impress the judge, Orin (Kurtwood Smith), who is a firm preacher of ethics. Lippie also befriends a female colleague named Joan (Anne Heche) with whom he gets romantically involved. Lippie`s life will change in Cedar Rapids, and he`s going to have the experience of his life.

The film works really well because of a couple of factors: First of all Ed Helms did a terrific job with his character and he proved that he can be a lead man in a comedy. His performance was truly hysterical as he played the typical naïve and innocent sort of guy, and it balanced out really well with John C. Reilly`s outspoken and know it all character. The chemistry between both actors was excellent, and Reilly played his role to perfection because he wasn’t the typical loud character; he had much more heart and was carrying at times. Anne Heche also delivered her role really well, but the funniest character in the film for me was Isiah Whitlock who really delivered the greatest laughs with his dry humor and The Wire personating. The scene where the guys interrupt a party in order to rescue Lippie is probably one of the best ones of the movie. The success of the film really relied on the performance of these actors, because Cedar Rapids was a character driven film. The characters were believable and true, and not simply characterizations and stereotypes; they had a lot of depth. I`ve got to give the credit to Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, and Isiah Whitlock who all played a big part in making this as funny as it was. This is not your typical comedy, but I still recommend it.