Quick Hits

I saw several movies this past week and thought I’d given you a quick rundown on what I thought of them.  Enjoy!

Child 44

Released:  April 17^th, 2015

Rated:  R

Distributor:  Summit Entertainment

Starring:  Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Jason Clarke, Vincent Cassel

Directed by:  Daniel Espinosa

Written by:  Richard Price

Personal Bias Alert:  likes all of the cast, was turned off by the thick accents in the trailer

3 of 10

            There’s an obvious place to start with Child 44, and that’s the plot.  I’m guessing that the novel it’s based on (which I haven’t read) is a twisty, layered piece that takes a broad look at the problems plaguing Soviet Russia through the eyes of MGB Agent Leo Demidov.  A movie doesn’t have the time to examine all of this and still pull off the crime investigation at its center, and screenwriter Richard Price seemed to get lost in the quagmire of the large plot.  Child 44 never attains a clear point, jerking wildly from event to event instead of weaving them into a streamlined tale.  Director Daniel Espinosa also shows off his shortcomings in a series of poor choices that produced a film with a dull color palate, in-your-face accents, and an inability to grasp its main character.  The actors stumble with this poor material, especially Noomi Rapace, who is sidelined for most of the film, and Joel Kinnaman, whose accent comes and goes within sentences.  Avoid this one, which shouldn’t be difficult as it’s already dropping from theaters.

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Ex Machina

Released:  April 10^th, 2015

Rated:  R

Distributor:  A24

Starring:  Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno, Oscar Isaac

Directed by:  Alex Garland

Written by:  Alex Garland

Personal Bias Alert:  has a budding love of A24, likes smart sci-fi

7.8 of 10

            The most buzzed about film right now that doesn’t rhyme with lavenger is undoubtably this slice of classic sci-fi.  The story of man achieving A.I. opens a big can of existential worms, and while Ex Machina treads over questions we’ve seen posed before, it’s slick story and stellar style makes up for the lack of originality. 

Alicia Vikander plays the beautiful robot, or at least the face and hands, with the rest of her body appearing as a translucent mass of human-like machinery that’s censored in just enough places.  The care that the filmmakers put into her design can be seen in every aspect of this film’s visuals, from the carefully selected costumes, intricate set designs, and immaculate lighting.  Everything feels like it could exist now or a few years in the future given the limitless amount of money Oscar Isaac’s character has and that it’s all exactly what would make each character tick.  Vikander and Isaac are excellent in their roles despite the fact that the foreshadowing they’re forced to play reveals too much about what’s to come.  Domhnall Gleeson has a sort of thankless, straight-man role which he’s suited for but doesn’t push to anything great.  As in much of sci-fi, their characters are secondary to the plot, and while their performances and the lean way in which the story unfolds is appealing on the surface, there’s a constant sense of how little lies beneath.  This is a wonderfully appealing film, but it lacks the staying power of truly smart sci-fi.

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Clouds of Sils Maria

Released:  April 10^th, 2015

Rated:  R

Distributor:  Sundance Selects

Starring:  Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lars Eidinger

Directed by:  Olivier Assayas

Written by:  Olivier Assayas

Personal Bias Alert:  salivated over it for almost a year after missing it at TIFF, doesn’t hate on K-Stew

8.4 of 10

            Movies don’t get much more meta than this.  For the sake of time, I’ll leave it to you to look up the many ways the story overlaps with the lives of those making it, but I recommend you look up the actor’s and director’s backgrounds before you see this film.  It adds a level to this already multi-layered film that I believe you’re expected to get, although your head will likely be spinning even without this extra nuance.  Clouds of Sils Maria is ostensibly about an actress returning to the play that jump-started her career but in the role of the older woman.  It quickly turns into a much larger meditation on aging and the difference between how you interpret the passage of time in your life versus how others see it, with a heavy sprinkling of commentary on ageism in an industry that has clear-cut expectations for women both young and old.  In other words, it’s thick stuff that leaves you wanting to see it again, if only to unravel the loose ends that it leaves flitting in your mind.

            The cast, led by the always impeccable Binoche, navigates the mired plot with a surprisingly firm grasp of character.  Certainly this reflects the thorough work of writer/director Olivier Assayas, but the trio of actresses are the ones who latch on to every aspect of these complex and personified characters, remarkably getting across the larger ideas without a hint of the writerly artifice that Binoche’s character at one point denounces.  Stewart, as you may have heard, is the most surprising here.  It’s the scenes between her and Binoche, isolated in a cabin and feverishly prepping for the play, that crackle with fraught meaning, and it’s here that the audience and the characters rub up against the open wounds that the film is exploring.

            As with many pieces this ambitious, there are moments when its reach stretches farther than its grasp, and Assayas isn’t always as artful about his visuals as he is about his words.  On a technical point, there’s annoyingly poor continuity here, with glasses and cigarettes constantly shifting around the frame, but these are nothing more than momentary quibbles in a dizzyingly smart film.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Released:  July 11th, 2014

Rated:  PG-13

Studio:  20^th Century Fox

Staring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Directed by:  Matt Reeves 

Written by:  Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver

Personal Bias Alert:  grew up on original series, not a fan of CGI-fests

8.2 of 10

            All hail the summer movie season of 2014.  It’s not often we get treated to this many great blockbusters, and I’m far from the first one to point this out.  Still, there’s been a slew of thrilling, well-written, big-budget films that are respectful of their audience, which is something that is, sadly, not often produced.  “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” joins this year’s standouts and will be touted not only as an example of this summer’s greatness, but also as a high point in an eight-film franchise.

            “Dawn” focuses on Caesar (Andy Serkis), the super smart ape leader with a healthy respect for humanity’s diametric nature, and his struggles to lead his group through their early encounters with a decimated human civilization.  The plot follows a familiar pattern, drawing the basics from 1973’s “Battle for the Planet of the Apes” and structuring it as a straightforward blockbuster.  That’s never detrimental, though.  The story of civilization clashes are as old as storytelling itself, and the entertaining plot finds a heart in Caesar’s attempts to save all those worth saving.

            Serkis, as always, delivers a grand performance while wearing the motion-capture suit, and he’s found an equal in Toby Kebbell, who plays a mutilated former laboratory monkey named Koba.  They’re the most complex characters in the film, and their tumultuous relationship is the driving force thematically.  A misstep by either, or by the digital effects team who rendered their performances, would have spelled disaster.  Instead, we get a timeless tale of deeply scarred individuals who will never see eye to eye.

            The other characters, both human and ape, don’t fare as well.  Malcom (Jason Clarke), a peacekeeping human who works closely with Caesar, and Caesar’s son Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston) are filled out enough to serve their pieces of the story while the rest of the characters walk around with one or two vague traits.  The cast is filled with quality actors, and their talent is largely able to smooth over this flaw.  Only the most egregiously one-note character, an ape-hating jerk named Carver (Kirk Acevedo), actually took me out of the film.

            Weta Digital continues to advance motion-capture technology and here shows an astounding leap forward from their work three years ago on “Dawn’s” predecessor.  No matter how realistically rendered, I had never seen a motion-capture creature that appeared to exist in the same world as its flesh and blood counterparts.  They always seemed somewhat removed, as if something in their texture revealed the algorithms that gave them life.  Watching “Dawn,” for the first time, I was convinced that these creatures actually existed.  They were as present in the scenes as the humans, which removed what would have been a constant reminder that I was watching a film.  That’s what makes this such a grand achievement.  It pushes what is possible in reality-based storytelling further than ever before.

            The original “Planet of the Apes” film series was highly allegorical, wearing its culturally significant commentary on racism and nuclear fears on its sleeve.  The rebooted series is much less interested in modern social commentary, preferring to deliver highly entertaining pieces centered on timeless ideas.  By comparison, the newer series might seem less important than its originator, but that comparison is unfair.  Each series has succeeded at its respective goals, and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” has earned its place in this revered science fiction franchise.

            Other Notes:

Ø  The beginning falls prey to some clunky plot points.

Ø  When Koba rode out through the flames, the lines from Caesar’s speech in “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” ran through my head.

Ø  I’m okay with James Franco being gone, but could we at least bring back Frida Pinto?  And maybe give her something to do?

Ø  You can’t have a line like “ape not kill ape” scrawled across a wall and not have me think of “Animal Farm.”