Jeff, Who Lives at Home (5/10): Overly sentimental and preachy with a conveniently forced climax

“Stay pure of heart and you will see the signs. Follow the signs, and you will uncover your destiny.”

And with that opening title card we basically get what this film is all about: a 30 year old man living in his mother’s basement awaiting for a specific sign to discover his destiny while he sits back in his couch smoking weed. This was the Duplass brothers fourth feature film working together as directors, although with a much bigger budget this time around which enabled them to hire well known actors. Their screenplay has its sweet and funny moments, but you can’t help but feel the familiarity of the story. For a film centering on looking for signs and following them, this movie does so in a very predictable and obvious way with stereotypical characters. Jeff, Who Lives at Home also manages to wrap things up in a neat and convenient way so I really didn’t find anything about the story very unique or interesting. As a fan of Shyamalan’s Signs I did enjoy the references Jeff makes towards it and how it basically dictates his own personal life, but I was expecting some surprises along the way.

In the very first scene of the movie we are introduced to Jeff (Jason Segel) and in only a few seconds we know exactly what kind of person he is. He is a man child who hasn’t quite figured out what to do with his life, but he doesn’t seem too worried about it either. He is waiting for the signs to point him to his destiny. When he receives a phone call of someone asking for Kevin he immediately takes it as a sign that he should search for a Kevin instead of just discarding it as a misdialed call. A few minutes later he receives another call, but this time it’s his mother, Sharon (Susan Sarandon), who is calling him from her office and asking him to go to Home Depot to fix something in the house. Sharon is worried about Jeff, and she wants him to get on track with his life. She asks his brother, Pat (Ed Helms), to encourage him, but he is going through some marital problems with his wife Linda (Judy Greer). Pat isn’t the ideal husband and he doesn’t even consider asking Linda for advice when it comes to big decisions such as buying a brand new Porsche. This of course brings friction to their relationship. On his way to the Home Depot, Jeff sees a young teen wearing a jersey with the name Kevin on the back, so of course he takes it as a sign and follows him. These signs inadvertently lead him to the exact place where his brother Pat is and while the two are catching up they discover Linda is with another man. Could this be the reason why Jeff has been led to his brother? To help him discover if his wife is cheating on him? From this point on a series of casualties ensue.

The film relies on the strong chemistry between Segel and Helms, two very talented and funny actors. They both play characters they’re very familiar and comfortable playing, Segel the childish and naive slacker son, Helms the uptight and career driven husband. The highlight of the film is watching these two great actors interact with each other despite all the schmaltz. The subplot revolving around Susan Sarandon’s character and her secret admirer didn’t really tie up to the story and only seemed to serve as a filler for the feature length time. Judy Greer is also comfortable in her role here, but she doesn’t really get much to do here other than be the victim who her husband never really listens to. Despite some scattered funny moments which can be mostly attributed to the talented cast, the ending felt way too sappy and convenient and ultimately hindered my appreciation of the film. It simply tried to force the underlying message of the movie of destiny and it only added to the overall sentimentality of the film. The cinematography was also distracting at times with too many quick zoom-ins on the characters faces.

Jurassic World (6/10): Leave it to Chris Pratt to rescue a franchise along with his raptor buddies.

“You just went and made a new dinosaur? Probably not a good idea.”

This review of Jurassic World is brought to you by Mercedes Benz and classy high-heel running shoes. After the success with his sci-fi indie film, Safety Not Guaranteed, Colin Trevorrow was given the reigns to direct the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise. With the help of his collaborator, Derek Connolly, he co-wrote the script based on Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver’s story. It was a pretty risky move considering Trevorrow hadn’t worked on a big budget film before, but with all the product placement included here you can tell he was probably very restricted and controlled by the executives. But I’m not going to complain about that because if you think about it Jurassic Park also had tons of product placement and that is one of my favorite blockbuster action films of all time. Jurassic World tries to pay homage to the first film ignoring most everything that happened in the sequels and once the dinosaurs are set lose it succeeds in doing so. The set-up was probably unnecessary and by far the weakest part of the movie as most of the characters here were uninteresting and we could’ve done without the introduction of so many of them. Fortunately Chris Pratt shows up soon enough with his domesticated raptors and saves the movie from derailing entirely from its rather stupid plot. He’s the new Indiana Jones and he can make the dumbest screenplay seem cool and entertaining. He delivers the perfect amount of comedic relief and has some great actions scenes to carry the movie. The dinosaurs are spectacular as always and there were a couple of thrilling scenes, although Michael Giacchino’s score never matches the brilliance of the original (there is a cool piano cover of the original Jurassic Park theme however that delivers plenty of nostalgia to fans). Jurassic World doesn’t live up to the high standards set by the original which was a masterpiece, but it’s as slightly satisfying a sequel as the rest of the films in the franchise. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it is better, but Chris Pratt does make it a lot easier to enjoy.

So Jurassic World is set some 20 years after the events of the original film. John Hammond’s vision of a dinosaur theme resort has been functioning for over a decade now in Isla Nublar. Unfortunately the attendance rates in recent years has been dropping as the enthusiasm and novelty of seeing these live beasts has died down a bit. The owner of the resort, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), has ordered his scientists to genetically engineer a bigger and meaner dinosaur knowing that this will spark more interest. Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) is in charge of organizing and managing the park and one of her responsibilities is making sure this new dinosaur remains contained. Simon asks her to talk to Owen (Chris Pratt), one of the on-site staff members who’s in charge of conducting behavioral research on Velociraptors, and ask him to give his opinion on the safety of the creature’s new home. Owen had no prior knowledge of what these scientists had been doing and is not happy about the management’s decision, but before he has time to do anything the creature escapes and now they must alert the thousands of people who are at the park that a dangerous dinosaur is on the lose. Claire’s nephews, Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson), happen to be visiting the park and of course they don’t pay attention to the warning and are left stranded near the danger zone. Claire asks Owen to help her find them and thus the thrills begin. 

There are several other characters in this film that aren’t given much depth. It’s a shame because a talented cast including Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, and Judy Greer are entirely wasted. Johnson has some fine scenes and it’s cool he got to wear a Jurassic Park vintage t-shirt, but his character didn’t have much to do really. The entire plot revolving around D’Onofrio’s character felt recycled from the first sequel and was quite silly. Omar Sy, I love him, but he wasn’t given anything remotely interesting to do. The two kids in this film are as exciting as watching two brothers who don’t get along. I’ve already said that Chris Pratt is the saving grace of the film along with the dinosaurs, but he also has some great scenes with Bryce Dallas Howard as well. She’s perhaps the only other redeeming character in the film although at times it felt like she was trying too hard to be Jessica Chastain. It’s kind of hard to feel that same level of suspense we all got from the first film when there aren’t many characters to root for here. Fortunately the film doesn’t take itself too seriously and it ends up being a lot of fun and the less you sit down to think about it the more fun you will have watching the dinosaurs hunt down the visitors. I think that Trevorrow knew the premise was silly and used the genetically engineered dinosaur story as an allegory as to what the audience wants from a sequel: They’ve already seen the dinosaurs and are getting tired of them, so why not give them a more threatening one, and so he did.      

Tomorrowland (6/10): An imaginative film that runs out of steam during the second half

“I want you to take me to the place I saw when I touched this.”

After having seen the trailer for Tomorrowland, I didn’t have very high expectations for it, but once I heard Brad Bird was directing this project I knew I had to see it because everything he had done up to this point was amazing. Ratatouille is one of my favorite animated films and The Incredibles was also an entertaining one. I have heard great things about his first animated film, Iron Giant, but I haven’t seen it. Tomorrowland is his second live action film after having directed the latest Mission Impossible sequel which was also quite impressive (that Abu Dhabi scene was breathtaking), so there was no reason for me to doubt Bird and I was ready to give him my full support. I’ve got to give him a lot of credit for taking a risk by directing this unique project instead of accepting to make the Star Wars sequel, and in a way Tomorrowland feels refreshingly original. Bird also co-wrote the screenplay along with Damon Lindelof (one of the writers of my favorite TV series, Lost) so I raised my interest again considering they were involved. Unfortunately this is by far Bird’s weakest film, but I still had a decent time at the movies. 

The film opens with Frank Walker (George Clooney) speaking directly to the audience and explaining what the future holds for the planet in a rather pessimistic tone, but he is constantly interrupted by a young teenager named Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) who wants him to be more optimistic. So Frank begins by explaining that the future wasn’t always as bad as it looks now, and in a flashback we are introduced to that time when as a young boy (Thomas Robinson) he invented a jet pack in order to try to impress a judge at a science fair named Nix (Hugh Laurie). The only problem was that it didn’t actually fly so Nix wasn’t impressed. However, he did catch the attention of a young girl, Athena (Raffey Cassidy), who gives him a special pin and asks him to follow them from a distance. What Frank discovers is a fascinating futuristic place where all dreams are possible. Somewhere along the way something goes wrong and we are back in the present where we are introduced to Casey’s story. She also discovers a pin similar to the one Frank was given and is fascinated by the visions she gets of this wonderful place. Destiny will lead her to search for Frank and try to find a way to return to this place, but along the way she experiences several setbacks as many people try to stop her from reaching him.

Tomorrowland begins with a very promising and gripping first half and I was completely engaged with the story. The visuals were impressive and the action scenes very entertaining. Britt Robertson was delivering a strong lead performance and the quest to reach Tomorrowland felt incredibly refreshing and unique. She shared a strong chemistry with George Clooney and her upbeat optimism contrasted perfectly with Clooney’s pessimism. There is no denying the level of ambition this film has, but unfortunately the second half of the film doesn’t deliver on the promising premise and the ending was very bland. My interest fell completely and I lamented the fact that the film couldn’t maintain that same level of intensity delivered during the first half. Hugh Laurie is a great actor, but as the antagonist he never really felt the part. The film ran out of steam and imagination pretty quickly and delivers a somewhat predictable and uninspired ending. 

The film is also pretty heavy handed in delivering its upbeat message (which is recurrent in most Disney movies) of never giving up on your dreams and being optimistic towards life despite all the negative things surrounding us. The fact that there have been tons of films reiterating the “you are special” message to young adolescents also hurts the movie quite a bit. But I did have a great time during the first hour of the film so I’m still going to give it a mild recommendation. Rafael Cassidy delivers one of my favorite performances of the film as Athena. Matthew MacCaull also has a couple of hilarious scenes playing a Secret Service agent. Tommorowland could’ve been a great film, but it runs out of imagination pretty quickly and settles for a lackluster ending. 

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: Dawn of The Planet of The Apes (8/10)

"Apes together strong!"

A decade has passed since the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Rupert Wyatt's 2011 film that successfully rebooted this once beloved franchise from the late 60's) and now we find ourselves in a completely different world. The genetically evolved apes have built a new home in the San Francisco woods and continue to be led by Caesar (Andy Serkis). They communicate through sign language and several can speak. The simian virus that broke out at the end of the first film has practically wiped out the human race and it's been two years since Caesar or any of the apes have seen any human activity. But there are survivors living in the ruins led by a man named Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) and in order to restore power they need to gain access to a nearby hydroelectric dam in ape territory. Caesar's lieutenant, Koba (Toby Kebbell) hates humans and recommends killing them, but Caesar is wise and wants to avoid war. He gives a few men, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), permission to work on the dam only for a few days, but this short lived time of peace hangs on a very thin thread.

Matt Reeves was given the director's chair for this sequel and he doesn't disappoint. It's just as entertaining and smart as Wyatt's Rise. There have been several strong blockbusters that have come out this year and Dawn deserves to be considered among the best. What this film does right is focus on the apes allowing us to sympathize with their cause. Andy Serkis delivers a powerful performance once again and he owns this movie, although I would have to say that Kebbell's Koba is so memorable that he may just be the best villain in a film this year. The humans don't get much attention in this film so of course there is very little character development going on with them. Jason Clarke plays the most sympathetic character and perhaps the only human worth carrying about in this film. I was a bit disappointed that Gary Oldman wasn't given more screen time or a heavier role. Reeves also cast Keri Russell and Kodi Smit-McPhee with whom he worked with in Felicity and Let Me In respectively, but they don't have much to work with here either. The true stars of the film are the apes and there is a significant upgrade in the CGI compared to Rise. The apes look and move in an authentic manner. Dawn has everything going for it, great visuals, a fantastic score, a smart script, and some fantastic action scenes. We spend so much time with these advanced apes that by the time we see them riding on horses and carrying machine guns the entire premise seems plausible. 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of those rare smart blockbusters where the action and visual aren't the only aspect of a film that has been given some thought. The apes are given personalities and the tension between the two sides is palpable. It isn't just a lame excuse to give us great visuals and cool looking action scenes; it is much more complex than that, and by doing so it creates much more tension. We are entertained just as much as we are forced to think. They have managed to turn a franchise I really didn't care for at first into an engaging and gripping one without ceasing to entertain the audience. When you spend some time creating believable and complex characters and combine them with cool looking action scenes you have the recipe for a successful movie that will leave audiences entertained and engaged at the same time. Their eyes won't be the only thing that are blown away, but their minds as well. And that is what Reeves and his team have managed to do with this franchise. It is sort of a Shakespearean drama combined with fantastic action scenes that are shot really well (there is a rotating shot from the point of view of a tank that was spectacular). I had a great time and I'm sure most audiences will as well.

My Review: Playing for Keeps (5/10)

¨How do you get to meet so many hot women? –I have an accent.¨

Director Gabriele Muccino has been successful in the past (The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds), but in Playing for Keeps he seems to have lost his touch. Everything that can go wrong in a movie goes wrong here with a very formulaic and cliché script, a predictable story, and some over the top performances. Dennis Quaid seems to be playing the same role he played in What to Expect When Your Expecting with a very eccentric approach that hurts the movie even more and presents it in a very cartoonish way. Gerard Butler is another talented actor who seems to have lost his touch as well in the recent years with some bad films. Not even the beautiful and talented ladies (Catherine Zeta Jones, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, and Judy Greer) were enough to save this terrible movie. The main problem was its script which was written by Robbie Fox who hadn’t written a screenplay since 1994 (the terrible In The Army Now) and shouldn’t have even considered making a comeback. What I can say about this film is that despite not being funny it is tolerable. It is not one of those films that bore you to death; but it is completely predictable and cliché. I wouldn’t say this is completely a family friendly film despite the happy ending considering the main character is kind of a playboy. Despite the interesting cast this film is completely lazy and empty.

The story centers on George (Gerard Butler) a successful soccer player who played in important clubs across Europe and ended his career in the MLS. He hasn´t had the same success in his retirement and has failed in a couple of business enterprises. George decides to move to Virginia where his ex-wife, Stacie (Jessica Biel), lives along with their young son Lewis (Noah Lomax). He wants to be a better father and therefore moves close to their home so he can spend some more time with him. Stacie is living with her fiancé, Matt (James Tupper), and they both agree that George be closer to Lewis. While George is trying to find a job as a sports anchor, he begins coaching his son´s soccer team. Since he was a well known player all the parents agree he should coach the team and they are all exited that he has decided to be involved, especially the moms which include Patti (Uma Thurman), Denise (Catherine Zeta Jones), and Barb (Judy Greer). Barb is an emotional recently divorced mother, Denise is a former successful TV anchor who offers to help George in achieving his goal, and Patti is a seductive woman who is married to the rich, but manic, Carl (Dennis Quaid). George´s soccer career might be over, but he finds quite a local fan base as a coach. His success with the ladies continues, but he doesn’t want that to be a distraction as he becomes more and more involved in the life of his son. He also discovers that he has feelings for Stacie, and we all know where this film is heading from there.

There is not much more I can say about this extremely formulaic film. Don’t be fooled by this family friendly film because it is kind of creepy in a way with the main character having all these moms stocking him. The impressive cast isn’t enough to save this film since it has a terrible script and the performances were really lazy. Jessica Biel received a Razzie nomination for her performance in this film along with her work in Total Recall, but who I think was really terrible here was Dennis Quaid. The only believable thing about the film was the soccer choreographies which were done really well. They didn’t seem as fake as in some other soccer movies. This is a very forgettable film, but it was tolerable and some of my family members had a good time.

  

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/