My Review: The Family (7/10)

"I didn't kill him, I took him to the hospital."

Luc Besson is a director whose work I respect and tend to enjoy. The Family doesn't rank amongst his best efforts, but I still had a great time with this dark comedy. It isn't a film for everyone because it mixes some violent action scenes with comedy and has some major shifts of tone, but it worked really well for me. The Family counts with a very strong cast including lead performances from Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, and supporting performances from Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron, and John D'Leo. They were all great in this film and I especially enjoyed the small scenes between Tommy Lee Jones and Robert de Niro. The Family isn't exactly innovative, we've seen this sort of film before, and De Niro even starred in another similar movie: Analyze This. We've seen him make fun of the vary roles that made him such a huge star (Goodfellas and The Godfather II) and here he does it once again. Even Michelle Pfeiffer agreed to play the wife of a mobster once again. It was fun to see these Hollywood stars make fun of their stereotypical roles even though they'd done it before. Luc Besson did a great job adapting Tonino Benacquista's novel, and some of his classic trademarks can be found in The Family. Next to Leon and The Fifth Element, The Family really doesn't live up to its predecessors, but it still is an entertaining watch. The film is hit and miss and superficial at times, but it's still worth a watch thanks to some very exciting and funny scenes. Besson also pays homage to Scorsese's gangster films in his own satirical way. The cast makes this worthwhile, especially the beautiful Dianna Agron who is just menacing here. 

The Family focuses on the Manzoni's, a former Mafia family that has been relocated to the small french town of Normandy under the witness protection program. Fred (Robert de Niro) and his wife Maggie (MIchelle Pfeiffer) along with their two children Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D'Leo) have had trouble in the past adapting to these new locations due to the fact that bad habits die hard. They always end up trying to solve the problems around them on their own and that makes CIA Agent Stansfield's (Tommy Lee Jones) job more difficult as he continuously has to relocate the family. They are under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob and therefore have many gangsters searching for them so they will have to be on their best behavior in this new town  if they don't want to attract attention their way.

The Family doesn't add anything new to the film genre and will probably not be mentioned in any of the actors' resume, but I still had a fun time and was entertained. The film never aspires to be an artistic one, it just puts its strength on the cast and lets them entertain us by playing with their stereotypes and tonal shifts. Besson relies heavily on the performance from the cast and in my opinion they make this film an entertaining one. They just bring so much energy into their roles that it comes through in the film. I even enjoyed the climatic final scene which most have criticized, and the film was energetic enough to make me care for these characters and their outcome. 

My Review: Scarface (9/10)

"I always tell the truth. Even when I lie."

Brian DePalma's Scarface has become such a classic film over time and its main character (Al Pacino as Scarface) is such an iconic pop cultural figure that few people would believe that he was actually nominated for a Razzie for Worst Director in 1984. Scarface is yet another film that was perhaps misunderstood when it came out, but has built a solid cult following over time (it influenced a lot of rappers and hip hop artists during the 90's) and is recognized by the IMDB as one of the top 250 films. When it comes to gangster films this might not be as perfect as The Godfather I, II, or Goodfellas but it still ranks among the top 10 in the genre and it has become more popular over time. Despite having never seen the film in its entirety before, I was familiar with the ending. Everyone knows where the phrase "Say hello to my little friend" comes from despite never have seeing this film because the ending of Scarface is perhaps one of the best known scenes in cinema history. Scarface has so many memorable quotes that it's hard to choose one, and that is thanks to the great script written by Oliver Stone who loosely adapted it from a prior film. It is also such a memorable film thanks in most part to Al Pacino's masterful performance as Tony Montana. He has made so many great films in his career, but I think this character will always stand out a bit above the rest. For some critics his performance may be over the top, but I think he nailed it and that is why Montana has become such an iconic figure over time. There is something about him that has transcended time and cultures. It is an epic and ultra violent stylized film and that is why Al Pacino's over the top and loud performance worked so well. Scarface is about 170 minutes long but it never ceases to entertain for a second.

During the Mariel harbor opening in Cuba more than 100,000 Cuban refugees were sent to the United States, one of those refugees happened to be communist hating ex military Tony Montana (Al Pacino). He has big dreams and high ambitions but upon his arrival he has to start off low. He and his friend, Manny (Steven Bauer) begin washing dishes when they are contacted by Omar Suarez (Murray Abraham) to make a business deal with some dangerous Colombians involving some drugs and money. Tony and Manny survive their mission and Omar introduces them to his boss, Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia), a drug kingpin in Miami, who hires their services. Frank has it all: a big mansion, nice cars, and a beautiful wife named Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer); everything that Tony dreams of having in this new country. Tony is convinced that he will not stop until he gets what he wants and in doing so helping his sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) with whom he had been separated during his prison stint in Cuba. The only problem is that he will have to make a lot of enemies on the way to the top.

I really don't know what DePalma's true intentions were for Scarface. I don't believe he was trying to glorify Scarface because he was portrayed in a dark and negative light, but over time he has become sort of a role model for some people. Perhaps Al Pacino's performance was so strong that it made it easy for audience's to relate to this ambitious character. DePalma was able to make the audience care for this unstable and explosive character. On the one hand he refused to kill women and kids, but on the other he was able to kill his best friend without hesitation. Scarface does seem to walk a fine line between glorifying the character and showing how destructive ambition and excesses can be. This bleak mood set in the film can be seen through Pfeiffer's character, someone who has it all but seems completely unhappy with life. Even Tony himself once he achieves his goals seems to lose himself completely by these excesses. He hates seeing his sister with other men involved in the same business because he knows how ugly this life is. That is why I think DePalma was never trying to portray Scarface in a glorifying light, but over time his character has become admired by worldwide audiences. The film has a lot to say about ambition, loyalty, and betrayal, but above all it is a stylized ultra violent film that lacks the technical achievements that The Godfather had. It still remains as one of the great gangster and immigrant films of the 80's.

My Review: People Like Us (9/10)

¨My last image of my dad are taillights while he drove away to his other family.¨

People Like Us is a wonderful drama that will have you smiling in one scene and crying in the next. It´s a very emotional film with strong performances and an excellent script. This is one of my favorite films of the year. Many critics have said it has too much melodrama and feels like a soap opera, but I disagree completely. I found it to be very authentic and true to life; yes maybe a little too calculated, but it worked because it had a strong message. I loved the ending of the film as well; I left this movie completely satisfied and wanting to rewatch it. This is the first feature film by Alex Kurtzman who is known mostly for writing and producing films like Star Trek and Cowboys & Aliens and creating TV series like Fringe. This is a whole different genre for Kurtzman and he has made a wonderful and powerful film about family. He not only directed this film but wrote the powerful screenplay along with Roberto Orci and Jody Lambert and also produced it. I was really blown away with the movie, especially by the performance from Elizabeth Banks which in my opinion is her best work to date. She was great in this film and has such a powerful chemistry with Chris Pine. When I saw the poster for this movie I thought this was going to be another chick flick with the two leads playing love interests, but what a surprise it was to find out this wasn’t actually a romantic film, but a very thoughtful and emotional film about family. I believe that there are moments in our lives that deeply mark us and change us, and that is exactly what happened to Pine´s character who was a complete selfish prick and ended up being such a great guy that the audience could relate too. Many critics might think this was manipulative or too calculated, but I thought it rang true.  I loved the way how each of the characters were developed and matured as the film moved on.

The film begins by introducing us to Sam (Chris Pine), a business facilitator who seems to be great at closing deals but not so much in following through with them. After making his biggest sell of the year he hears from his boss that his latest transaction went sour and that he must repay the troubles he has caused with his recently earned commission money. To make matters worse when he arrives home his girlfriend, Hannah (Olivia Wilde), informs him that his father has passed away. He wasn’t very close to his father and is basically forced by Hannah to fly to his mother´s home for the funeral. His mother, Lillian, played by Michelle Pfeiffer gives a very convincing performance of a grieving widow who has spent the last year in and out of hospitals due to her husband´s cancer. Once home Sam discovers that his father has left him with a task: He must find a woman named Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) and give her and her son Ted (Michael Hall D`Addario) 150,000 dollars and look out for them. Sam has no idea who this person is, and is really upset about not receiving any money, but his curiosity leads him to search for this person and discover who she is. He´s also tempted to keep the money, but when he realizes that Frankie is his sister things take a turn in his life. He befriends her without letting her know who he really is and their friendship begins to blossom. All these events begin to change Sam`s perspective about life and his estranged relationship with his father.

We discover in the very beginning that Frankie and Sam are brothers so I´m not giving away any important plot elements here. The importance of the film revolves around the relationship that blossoms between them and how Sam begins to realize why his father acted the way he did. I already mentioned the incredible chemistry between Pine and Banks and how fresh it felt that it wasn’t a romantic one but rather more of a bonding between a brother and a sister. Michelle Pfeiffer is also great here and has some important scenes with Pine that also felt very real. The kid in this movie playing Ted was also excellent and his chemistry with Pine also played out really well. Every single piece seemed to fit in perfectly in this small movie thanks to a very good screenplay. There were several touching and emotional moments and the film really builds up to a sweet and satisfying climax at the end. I have no doubts this movie will end up in my list for the top films of the year and Elizabeth Banks performance is one of my favorite female performances of the year. I absolutely recommend this movie.

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My Review: Dark Shadows (6/10)

¨It is said that blood is thicker than water. It is what joins us, binds us... curses us. My name is Barnabas Collins, and this is my tale.¨

Dark Shadows is the latest collaboration between director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp; it happens to be their eighth time working together. The bond between them just might be thicker than blood. Their friendship began when they worked together in Edward Scissorhands more than 20 years ago and it has developed from there on as they`ve collaborated with each other repeatedly, making some great films together and others not so much. Dark Shadows will be one of those films that fall in the not so great category and may perhaps be a sign that their collaboration together is getting old and repetitive. We all know how great of an actor Johnny Depp is and he`s always enjoyed to play these kind of eccentric characters. That is why Tim Burton seemed to be a perfect fit for him as a director because he`s such a great art director who is able to paint an eccentric vision of the world. Actually that is the only element that worked in Alice in Wonderland, and is what saves Dark Shadow from being rotten: the fantastic art direction. Burton takes us back to the 70`s with some wonderful visuals and recreates a small fishing town to perfection. Johnny Depp also gets to play a very eccentric character once again as he`s a vampire who`s just awoke from the 18^th century, so it plays out as the classic fish out of the water tale. But just like in almost every Burton film, you can`t fit his movie into one specific genre as it mixes dark comedy with horror, fantasy and some romance. Dark Shadows at times fits in all of these categories and at others it’s just hard to figure out what Burton was trying to do.

During the 18^th century the Collins family leaves England and arrives in America with the prospect of building a fishing empire. They do so and end up having the town named after them: Collinsport. They build an enormous mansion and have several servants working for them, but they fall under an evil curse when their son Barnabas (Johnny Depp) breaks the heart of a witch named Angelique (Eva Green). He tells her that he doesn’t love her and ends up falling in love with the beautiful Josette (Bella Heathcote). Angelique curses the family by killing Barnabas`s parents, Josette, and turning Barnabas into a vampire and burying him alive inside a coffin. The story then jumps to the year 1972 where we are introduced to the surviving members of the Collins family residing in the very same mansion which is now in evident decay: Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her teen daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz), Elizabeth`s widowed brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller) and his tormented son David (Gulliver McGrath), and their staff which consists of David`s psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley), and Mrs. Johnson (Ray Shirley). Barnabas is released from his coffin by accident when some construction workers find the coffin and open it. He returns to the mansion which is now in ruins and after convincing Elizabeth of his true identity promises that he will restore the family to its former glory. What he doesn’t know is that the town is run by Angelique now he is still very much alive and hasn’t aged one bit.

The first half of the movie worked for me as a very dark comedy. I actually enjoyed the film, until the final act which just went a little too far in its bizarre act and eccentricities (even for Tim Burton standards). The final act was a disappointment, but I did enjoy most parts of the story. Johnny Depp played his usual strange self and Michelle Pfeiffer was great in her role. She claimed to be a fan of the original soap opera that took place during the late 60`s and 70`s which this film is actually based on. Despite the television show not being a comedy, this film actually plays out as one in the same way most 70`sand 80`s TV series are being turned into in recent years. I am a big fan of Chloe Grace Moretz and have followed her since her work in 500 Days of Summer, Kick Ass, and Let Me In. I wish she had been given more screen time because she is always a delight to watch on screen and had an interesting character. Dark Shadows is a very weird movie and definitely not for everyone; it won`t be ranked among Burton`s best work either (not even close) so I don`t know if fans will actually enjoy this film, but I did have enough of a good time during most of the film to give this film a passing grade.  

  

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My Review: New Year`s Eve (5/10)

¨It only happens once a year: New Year`s Eve. It`s a time where the hopeless can be romantic.¨

New Year`s Eve is director Garry Marshall`s follow up to Valentine`s Day. It has a very similar premise where you have a series of romantic stories that over the course of the film intertwine with each other, although this time the story takes place in New York instead of Los Angeles. Marshall worked once again with screenwriter Katherine Fugate and also teamed up with Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, and Hector Elizondo who also worked with him in the previous film along with several other A-list actors such as Robert de Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Halle Berry, Seth Meyers, Katherine Heigl, Sofia Vergara, John Lithgow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Abigail Breslin, Hillary Swank, Josh Duhamel, and rock star Jon Bon Jovi among others. It`s probably easier to mention who isn`t in this movie. Despite having so many great actors the story falls flat because it`s just impossible to follow all the different stories in such a short period of time. It`s like if Marshall was trying to jam in several romantic movies all into one and we never get to fully relate with any of the characters. There is no time to get inside any of the character`s skin and know what they are thinking, they are all one dimensional. There were just too many stories and things going on, that the movie really lacks depth. There are some strong emotional moments and good dialogue scenes, but they are just too far spread out in a multi storyline. Some of the stories are interesting and would`ve been a much better movie on their own, but instead Marshall seems to take us from one story to another right when we were getting interested in the first one. It`s too bad because there is a whole lot of talent involved in this project.

  

It`s the last day of the year in New York and everybody`s eyes are on the NY Times square ball which will drop at midnight to announce the arrival of the new year. Hillary Swank plays Claire Morgan, the vice president of the event and she`s in charge of making sure the ball falls on time. She is a little nervous, but very excited because she always looks forward to this night. Her good friend Brendan (Ludicrous) is by her side making sure she remains calm as head of the police security personnel. They do experience some setbacks however when the ball gets jammed halfway up the pole. The only person who can help is Kominsky (Hector Elizondo), who they recently fired a few weeks ago. There are seven other stories going around that in some way or another connect with each other. There is Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) who decides to quit her job in order to fulfill her New Year`s resolution. She enlists the help of a messenger named Paul (Zac Efron) who decides to help her in exchange for exclusive tickets for a special party. Then there is Paul`s roommate, Randy (Ashton Kutcher) who could care less about all the hype of New Year`s, but ends up getting stuck in the elevator with his new neighbor Elise (Lea Michele) who has to rush to work because she`s a backup singer for pop star sensation Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi). Jensen has a gig that night and is trying to make amends with an ex fiancée who he ran away from: Laura (Katherine Heigl) who happens to be in charge of the food catering in that same party. There are several other stories as well involving a couple expecting at a hospital (Seth Meyers and Jessica Biel), a man lying in his deathbed wishing he can see the ball drop one last time (Robert de Niro), another trying to make it in time to New York for a speech he has to give and a girl he might meet (Josh Duhamel), and a single mother (Sarah Jessica Parker) who wants to spend the night with her 15 year old daughter (Abigail Breslin) when all she wants is to go out with a boy from school she`s interested in.

So there you had the extensive plot which deals with so many storylines that it seems a lifetime just to get to introduce each one. That is my major complaint about this movie which could have been better if dealing with two or three less storylines. Some of the performances were alright, but nothing memorable. I had a decent time with this movie, sometimes it`s just fun to see all these stars together but with so many things going on it wasn`t really worth it. The ending wasn`t really what I was expecting either. Whereas in Valentine`s Day I was surprised at the end with who one of the main characters was expecting to hook up with, in this one it just didn`t really make much sense who Josh Duhamel`s character was waiting all along for. Marshall should not get too preoccupied about enlisting so many actors for his next film, and just worry about recreating a good, strong story. It`s too bad because I actually found some of the lines in the film quite heartwarming, like when Hillary Swank gives her televised speech. A forgettable movie, but perhaps the ladies will enjoy it since there are so many great actors involved.

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