The Mist (7/10): Frank Darabont and Stephen King reunited once again!

“You don't have much faith in humanity, do you?”

Frank Darabont’s third adaptation of a Stephen King novel proves without a doubt that he is the best director at bringing the writer’s words to film. The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile were both fantastic films, although not the typical horror novels you’d expect from King. The Mist however is much closer to the horror genre we’d expect from him, and Darabont manages to successfully adapt his work for the third time. Not that there haven’t been other successful King adaptations from other director’s such as Kubrick’s direction in The Shining, Reiner in Misery and Stand By Me, and De Palma in Carrie, but most of the time the adaptations don’t seem to work as well. But when it comes to Frank Darabont he has always managed to impress us with the way he brings those novels to the big screen. I honestly have no idea why I never got around to watching this film considering how much I loved Darabont’s previous work, but I think much of it had to do with my confusion over the 2005 film The Fog. The name of that film was translated in Spanish as “The Niebla” which was the same name they gave The Mist so I thought I had seen this film before and hated it. When I finally realized these were two separate films I decided to watch it and what a pleasant experience it was. The Mist is a fantastic homage to 50 and 60’s monster horror films, but at the same time Darabont seems to be reminding us that no matter how dangerous and ugly these things might be, the true enemy is our own humanity. No matter how much fun the ride was, the ending is what will really stick with you. You will love it and hate it at the same time. 

David Drayton (Thomas Jane) is an artist who is working on his latest Hollywood poster painting from his comfortable home in Maine. He is unexpectedly interrupted by a storm and quickly seeks refugee in the basement with his wife and five year-old son, Billy (Nathan Gamble). The next morning they see the damage the fallen trees have left on their home and along with his son and their neighbor Brent (Andre Braugher) they head to the market to buy supplies. There is a heavy mist that seems to be approaching and while they are on their way to the market several firetrucks and army vehicles seem to be heading towards the opposite direction. Once they arrive at the supermarket the mist has already caught up to them and a few minutes later an old man named Dan (Jeffrey DeMunn) runs in half scared to death claiming that there is something in the mist taking people. There are more than 50 people in the market who begin to panic and they decide to close the doors and wait inside for help. David decides to check the generator along with some of the men there including a store employee named Ollie (Toby Jones) and a client named Jim (William Sadler) but what they experience leaves them completely horrified. Some sort of gigantic creature’s tentacles begin to slide under the loading dock door and the men immediately have to shut it. There is no doubt in their minds now that there is definitely something out of this world in the mist. According to Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), the town’s religious fanatic, they are all experiencing God’s wrath for their sinful nature. At first no one pays attention to her, but as the strange creatures begin to creep into the store, she begins to have more followers. David will not only have to look out for what is terrorizing them from the outside, but worry about the growing hate that Mrs. Carmody is sowing in everyone’s hearts. 

In a way, The Mist is sort of The Walking Dead reunion since there are three actors from that series (Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Melissa McBride) in this film. It comes as no surprise since Darabont is one of the producers and directors of that series as well and DeMunn has always worked with him in his other King adaptations. If you are a fan of that series, you will definitely want to check this film out because there could be a clue as to how that series might end. Darabont always has a surprise in store and he is deeply influenced by his good friend Stephen King so you know you can’t expect a cliched finale. As much as I enjoyed this film I did feel that the two hour length was a bit tiresome at some points. The film could’ve been cut a good 20 minutes and the experience could’ve been much better. The Marcia Gay Harden character also got on my nerves and I think they gave her too much screen time. The religious fanatic element was an important plot point but Darabont emphasized it a bit too much. The Mist is still a lot of fun and it delivers several suspenseful moments. 

My Favorite Collection: Mystic River (10/10)

“We bury our sins here, Dave. We wash them clean.”

     

Mystic River and Unforgiven are my two favorite Clint Eastwood films and depending on which one I see last I tend to put in first place. Right now I’m inclined to declare Mystic River as Eastwood’s best film, but that is subject to change anytime (perhaps even before I finish writing this review). Nominated for six Academy Awards, the film won two: Sean Penn for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Tim Robbins for Best Supporting Actor. I was rooting for Brian Helgeland’s wonderful screenplay adaptation from Dennis Lehane’s novel, but it lost out to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Helgeland had previously won an Oscar for his adaptation of L.A. Confidential, which is another wonderful thriller. Lehane’s novel adaptations have always translated well to the big screen and I recommend each one: The Drop, Shutter Island, and Gone Baby Gone. So when putting these two great writers together you are guaranteed an intriguing story with rich characters, which is one of the reasons why I love Mystic River. On a side note I just want to say that Lehane’s novel, Live By Night, is being directed by Ben Affleck and will be released some time next year. It’s already my frontrunner for Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards without knowing anything else about it. 

Mystic River’s underlying theme is the loss of innocence. The story centers around three childhood friends whose life is forever changed when one of them is abducted and molested for several days before he manages to escape. The film centers on these three characters now that they are adults. Dave (Tim Robbins), the victim, is now a married man, but he is clearly traumatized by the abuse he received. Sean (Kevin Bacon) has become a homicide detective, while Jimmy (Sean Penn) is an ex-con who is now a loving father of three. When Jimmy’s daughter goes missing and is found dead, Sean takes over the investigation, but Jimmy is not going to let whoever committed this terrible crime go unpunished. 

Mystic River stands out for its clever screenplay, and that usually translates to fantastic performances. Sean Penn delivers one of his best performances and the scene where he finds out his daughter has been murdered is heart-breaking. Tim Robbins is also fantastic playing a traumatized man whose life was changed by that terrible event during his childhood. Sean Penn is perhaps given the most straightforward scenes as the detective, but even he shares some powerful scenes with Sean Penn. Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden also have some intense dramatic scenes. The film stands out thanks to its powerful performances and the surprising dark reveals along the way. It could even stand out on its own for the detective story, but it is carried to another level thanks to the impressive performances and Eastwood’s solid direction.

“The last time I saw Dave…That was twenty-five years ago, going up this street, in the back of that car.” That quote left me with goosebumps all over my arms and a quick chill run through my spine.

Magic in the Moonlight (6/10): More of Woody Allen's recycled characters, but still a charming film

“She won’t fool me.”

Woody Allen is a talented writer who simply never stops working. Every year we get a new film from him and of course that means that his films are not all going to be Award worthy. In that sense Magic in the Moonlight might be disappointing because it’s not going to win any award, but I still found it to be a charming and light hearted film. I’ve actually enjoyed all of his recent films although they really never blow me away (with the exception of Midnight in Paris which is my all time favorite Woody Allen film). I have a fun time with the dialogue and the characters he creates, although I know most of them are recycled and tend to appear over and over again in his films. The characters in Magic in the Moonlight are characters we’ve seen before in his previous work and there isn’t anything fresh or inventive about this movie, but I am sure Woody Allen fans will appreciate his work. This time Allen takes us to the gorgeous French riviera setting the film in the 20’s. The cinematography by Darius Khondji is gorgeous and the lighting is perfect, giving the film an almost fairytale look to it. The score is also very playful, similar to what Allen does in all his films. Magic in the Moonlight is beautiful to look at, it has the familiar comedic pacing from Allen, and of course he includes some of his personal philosophy and ramblings through his characters. The romance might feel a bit forced, but the performances elevate the material and make this an enjoyable experience. Of course the dialogue feels very theatrical and explanatory at times as Allen tries to set things up and introduce every character in the narrative, but that first act is probably the one I enjoyed the most. Allen’s films are recognizable and familiar, but I’d still prefer this over most other romantic comedies released these days.

The cast in this film is wonderful. Colin Firth is given the rather difficult task of making his narcissistic character likable and he pulls it off really well. I usually tend to dislike these characters, which make me feel disengaged, but Firth’s natural charm managed to keep me interested. Emma Stone is also sweet and delightful in this film. The romance might not be memorable, but the way these two actors played off each other was remarkable. The tone of this film might be light, but it is still charming thanks to these two actors who keep us engaged and entertained. I can see how some audiences might feel disappointed considering this is a Woody Allen film and it doesn’t live up to his best work, but I still found it to be a quite pleasing and fun film. Marcia Gay Harden, Simon McBurney, and Jacki Weaver are charming as well in their secondary roles and add to the overall light and entertaining mood of the film. There are some funny moments and the film does get off to a strong start, but unfortunately it begins to drag as we approach the end. It’s far from being memorable, but it still manages to be an entertaining watch.

My Review: Parkland (7/10)

¨It's the first time that the secret service has lost a president under its watch.¨

I'm actually surprised I enjoyed this film so much considering the bad reviews it has been receiving and my lack of knowledge on the historical details about the assassination of John F Kennedy. There have been many films made about this specific event, but very few have taken this approach where you get to experience things through the eyes of secondary characters and people behind the scenes like the Parkland medical staff that had to attend the president, or Oswald's brother who is shocked to hear his brother has shot the president. The apparently small scaled moments of this tragic event (like how the medical staff decide to keep the president's boxers on during surgery to preserve his dignity, or the urgency with which the Secret Service agents were trying to get a film of the assassination developed, or how Robert Oswald reacts when he hears that his brother is the prime suspect of the murder) are what truly make this film gripping and unique. The film has its flaws such as failing to have narrative cohesion and the characters are underdeveloped at times, but I think it worked really well considering everything happened so fast and these people had to make split second decisions. The overall feeling of chaos and messiness of the events that took place really transcend here as everything happens so fast and the film is reduced to a length of merely 90 minutes. The film follows a semi documentary style that totally works because you can feel the tension and urgency with which they had to deal with during such a catastrophic event. Parkland is Peter Landesman's first feature film and somehow the movie touched me in a way that apparently hasn't touched most audiences or critics. I didn't expect to like this film as much as I did, but I really felt engaged from the very opening scenes up to the very end. It doesn't offer new insight to a popular historical event, but it does tell the story differently. As we approach the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death this might be a movie worth checking out (just don't go into it thinking you are going to get another Oliver Stone JFK). The film's strongest strength relies on this sense of urgency and how it depicts the events in real time as everyone had to make life changing decisions in a matter of seconds. But it also seems to be its weakness as many consider it to be a little too over the place and chaotic with little cohesiveness.

The film follows the tragic events that occurred in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 involving the assassination of President John F Kennedy. The story focuses on the perspective of the people in the sidelines that witnessed the event first hand like the medical staff in Parkland Hospital that were there that tragic day. Young Doctor Jim Carrico (Zac Efron) was the resident doctor that day in Parkland, and some of the nurses that were there to assist him were Nurse Doris (Marcia Gay Harden) and the emergency room nurse played by Mallory Moye. We get another perspective of that day through the eyes of a small businessman named Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti), who happened to capture the assassination on his Super 8 camera. We also see things through the eyes of Dallas's chief of the Secret Service, Forrest Sorrels (Billy Bob Thornton), an FBI agent named James Hosty (Ron Livingston) who was investigating Lee Harvey Oswald (Jeremy Strong), and Lee Harvey's brother Robert (James Badge Dale) and mother (Jacki Weaver) who react differently to the news about the murder. All these different perspectives are weaved together giving us an engaging film and different insight into what was going on. Tom Welling, Mark Duplass, Colin Hanks, Jackie Earle Haley, and Kat Steffens all play secondary characters in this star studded cast. 

There were some strong performances in this film although not really Oscar worthy. I specially liked James Badge Dale in this film who gives a quiet but brave performance, while Paul Giamatti rings true with his emotional performance as he has to deal with the pain of viewing the horrific event he captured on camera. The rest of the cast didn't really stand out considering they all had very little screen time, but it was good to see some of these talented actors working together. Jacki Weaver is a talented actress and she proves it once again in this small role. The cast is solid and the script is also pretty engaging. I was glad everything was depicted so fast and that the film didn't run too long.

My Review: Detachment (8/10)

¨A child's intelligent heart can fathom the depth of many dark places, but can it fathom the delicate moment of its own detachment? ¨

Detachment is a very interesting film although I wouldn’t say it`s entertaining. It raises a lot of questions and social issues without giving many answers, but it does make us aware of many problems that our society is facing when it comes to the educational system and parents lack of involvement in it. I thought Detachment was a beautiful film and despite it being a narrative it didn’t seem like one; it is sort of poetic at times and has some great use of imagery. Adrian Brody is such a talented actor, and despite winning the Oscar for his brilliant work in The Pianist, I think he is very underrated in Hollywood. He is so good in this movie, and in my opinion it`s his best performance since The Pianist. He was one of the reasons why I wanted to see this film; the other being that it was directed by Tony Kaye, the man responsible for American History X, which is on my list of favorite films. His films are powerful, thought provoking, and Detachment is not the exception. He can make memorable films although you wouldn’t necessarily call them entertaining. In Detachment we are introduced to a very common problem: education. Kaye makes us wonder whether or not education is the teacher or parent`s responsibility. Probably both, but unfortunately neither seem to be doing a great job and our society is losing its educational battle. Kids seem to find values somewhere else and base their self worth on what their friends think of them, meanwhile parents and teachers seem to do nothing about restoring their value. Parenting and teaching are great responsibilities, and as Brody says in one of his monologues in the movie there should be prerequisites to parenting and not anyone should be allowed too.

Adrian Brody plays a substitute teacher, Mr. Barthes, who believes he has the perfect job because he doesn’t have to carry the burden of identifying or carrying for his students. He can travel from one school to another. He is a lonely, quiet, and sad man who doesn’t like attaching to anyone. He seems to have some disturbing memories about his past and doesn’t like to talk about his problems so traveling from place to place is a good way to remain detached to society. His life will change when he gets his latest assignment at a very problematic school run by Principle Carol Dearden (Marcia Gay Harden). The students in this school give the teachers a very hard time and many of them seem to be going through a living hell. Mr. Barthes identifies with some of the teachers and students here. Mr. Seaboldt (James Caan), Ms. Madison (Christina Hendricks), Ms. Perkins (Blythe Danner), Mr. Wiatt (Tim Blake Nelson), and Dr. Doris Parker (Lucy Liu) are all part of the school faculty and all seem to be going through some sort of personal hardship. Mr. Barthes begins to identify himself with some of these people like Ms. Madison who seems as lonely as he is. He also begins to give special attention to one of his students named Meredith (Betty Kaye) who despite being talented doesn’t really value herself. Another person who begins to influence Mr. Barthes is a young hooker named Erica (Sami Gayle) who he picks up from the street and begins to care for as a child. As much as Barthes wants to remain detached to people he begins to identify with many of them and without realizing it attaching to them.

Detachment has a great cast. As I mentioned before this is Adrian Brody`s best work since The Pianist, but I also have to give a lot of credit to young Sami Gayle who delivers a powerful performance as the lonely hooker who is taken advantage of and really has no self worth whatsoever. Director Kaye seems to raise this issue quite a bit since there are many characters who have little or no self value and in a way Brody`s character tries to teach them that they have value and don’t have to live based on the expectations or values given to them by others. James Caan and Christina Hendricks also give believable performances as part of the faculty. They are very different in character, but I think we all can identify them to some of the teachers we`ve had in the past. There are some very strong performances in this film and also some great dialogues. The script was written by first time screenwriter, Carl Lund, and it really is thought provoking. The imagery that Kaye uses is also very beautiful. There is a sense of claustrophobia as we see these long shots closing in on the school hallway, and emptiness when we see the abandoned classrooms. Detachment might not be an entertaining film you can watch with your friends, but it is a very interesting and thought provoking film.

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My Review: Whip It (8/10)

¨The last time I wore skates, they had Barbies on them.¨

The last time I watched a movie about skating was probably when Emilio Estevez was coaching the Ducks, and that was perhaps the last time I wore my skates as well. No matter how long it has been, this movie will leave you wanting to go out and skate all over again. Whip It is Drew Barrymore`s directorial debut and she has crafted a very original and fun movie mixing sports with family drama. It also has to do with searching for what you enjoy in life and following your dreams. All familiar subjects in movies, but that combine very well with a sport most of us have never heard of: Roller Derby, which gives this a unique and original look. This film is actually better than most other movies Drew Barrymore has acted in. Shauna Cross wrote the novel and screenplay for this movie and it is actually based on her life since she was a former roller derby skater for the Los Angeles Derby Dolls. Most of the characters in this film are actually real life skaters, Cross`s alter ego name in the rink was Maggie Mayhem which is a character in this film. Other characters based on real life derby skaters were Iron Maven and Krissy Krash, who actually have a role in this film as the Monson sisters. The coach of the Dolls was also based on a real life Skate coach named Brian Gallagher although his name is changed to Razor in the movie. Before this movie, I had no idea that roller derby was a sport, but after seeing it I discovered a new favorite sport of mine.

The film takes place in a small town in Texas named Booden where Bliss (Ellen Page from Juno) lives with her parents Earl (Daniel Stern from the Home Alone movies) who is a huge sports fan and Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden from Mystic River) who is very feminist and loves beauty pageants. Bliss is tired of life in this small town and is always forced by her mother to participate in Beauty Pageants along with her little sister who enjoys it much more than she does. Bliss feels misfit in this place and the only person who understands her is her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat from the Arrested Development series) who also dreams of getting out of Booden. They work together as waitresses in a small restaurant where most of the clients are old people who are driving by. One day Bliss`s life will change when she goes shopping to Austin and runs into three girls who leave some flyers about a roller derby tournament in the store. Bliss picks one up and is immediately drawn to the event and she forces Pash to come along with her without letting her parents know what they are up to. Once they return to Austin, Bliss is introduced to the Derby world where an exhibition from the players takes place and we are introduced to the game. Here Bliss meets some of the players such as Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis from Natural Born Killers), Rosa Sparks (Eve from The Barbershop), Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell a famous stunt double), Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig from Adventureland and SNL), and Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore). They invite Bliss to come back for tryouts and she discovers her new passion. She meets the team`s coach, Razor (Andrew Wilson, Owen and Luke`s older brother) who is very passionate about the sport and he decides to include her in the squad. Bliss finds true happiness in this new world where she makes new friends and even falls in love with a young rocker named Oliver (Landon Pigg). Bliss will have to learn how to keep this new life a secret from her parents because she knows they won`t approve it. Jimmy Fallon also has a supporting role in this film as the Derby commentator Johnny Rocket and is very funny in this movie as well.

I really enjoyed this movie and was entertained from the very beginning to the final credits. I really love Ellen Page and think she is one of the best young actresses in the industry. She is great in this movie once again and she counted with a very talented cast as well. Andrew Wilson, Jimmy Fallon, and Daniel Stern were extremely funny. Julliete Lewis is such a great actress and she is really one of the surprises of this movie. It has been a while since I`ve seen her have a good role and I hope this movie helps her get better offers because she is extremely talented. Kristen Wiig is also great and she stands out once again like she did in Adventureland. She is perhaps one of the funniest actresses to come out of SNL in recent years. Whip It combines comedy with drama very well and I wish more people had a chance to watch this movie. I agree that it is very formulaic, but the Roller Derby brings something new to the film that we haven`t seen before. I have to congratulate Drew Barrymore because she did a great job with the direction of this, her first feature film as a director. Whip It is a lot of fun and I recommend this movie!