Commitment

The teenage son (Seung Hyun Choi)of a failed North Korean spy, is given the ultimatum to work as a sleeper spy in South Korea or face death for he and his sister. Along the way, there are choices to be made. Commitment is not the best spy movie by far, but it has a certain fresh earnestness and heart to it, as exemplified in the performances of it's lead actors Seung and Han Ye-ri. There's a poetic kind of coming of age theme against the backdrop of the obvious hard life choices of the plot similar to a Le Femme Nikita.

A Hard Day

Writer and director Kim Seong-hun's A Hard Day is a pretty modest crime thriller starring Lee Sun-kyun as a crooked cop thrown into an even more crooked situation. At times, the plot is a bit bombastic and unfathomable, and Kim seems to relish in it by comfortably showcasing the black humor of it in moments against the  dangerous desperation of the characters.  Coupled with Lee's performance, it's that type of varied adeptness throughout that keeps the film thoroughly engaging to the end.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I remember standing in line as a kid to see the first Star Wars and the excitement that ensued in seeing it.  Star Wars: The Force Awakens is definitely the best one since the original trilogy. (Episodes 1, 2, & 3, forget about it really) The title is certainly appropriate on all levels, as it reboots and redeems the original story and turns it on its head. Much credit to director and co-writer  J. J. Abrams, who has certainly now proved again that he knows how to perform movie CPR on classic film franchises.  Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are the lead newcomers and they more than hold their own here. The villains here could have been more formidable, I thought. But bottom line, it was damn good, especially in a time when cgi, special effects, and other successful competing movie franchises dominate the waters.  It's an incredible feat to compete with those elements, but more incredible to compete with the original from 38 years ago and make it relevant to a new generation.

The Admiral: Roaring Currents

Starring Choi Min-sik (Old Boy) and directed by Kim Han-min (War Of The Arrows), The Admiral: Roaring Currents is another historical epic by South Korea that is superb in audience engagement and captivating naval battles and strategy. Yi Sun-sin, as would be expected, is great in the role of the weary and infamous Admiral Yi Sun-sin and the film moves in a heightened pace that is similar to John Woo's Red Cliff films. However, it could have taken a cue from Woo and benefited with a longer viewing time, as the battle strategy were very muddled in certain parts. Not to mention, a historically, subtitled account at the conclusion of the film to match the opening, would have rounded the film out all the better.

Kundo: Age Of Rampant

It's no Magnificent Butcher, but a mediocre and at times enjoyable Korean period tale that borrows heavily from the Kill Bill movies, spaghetti westerns, and other genres sliced together (pun not intended).

War Of The Arrows

It took me a while to finally viewing 2011's War Of The Arrows, (stuck in the my list of Netflix forever) but it proved to be a rewarding wait. Written and directed by Kim Han-min and starring Park Hae-il, Kim Mu-yeol, and Moon Chae-won, it's a great Korean period action drama in the tradition of Musa The Warrior. What sets it apart from other martial arts films, is the obvious delving into the world of the ancient Korean archer warriors and the engaging and suspenseful action of characters you actually come to care about. Where it lacks is in investing enough time in the backstory and interaction of the 3 primary characters and their relationship to each other. That certainly would have filled out the story even more on every level, without digressing from the film's nationalistic stance. Irregardless, it's a great film that to it's credit, is not overblown with the sometimes heavy handed trappings of Asian aesthetics that can over saturate and take away from everything else.  Story, character, setting, and action all serve to underline the themes here.

No Tears For The Dead

No Tears For The Dead is your typical hit man seeking retribution for his actions, type of Korean action film starring Dong-gun Jang (Dangerous Liaisons and Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War and written and directed by Jeong-beom Lee (The Man From Nowhere).  Considering it was made 4 years after The Man From Nowhere, I don't know if Lee was trying too hard to duplicate his earlier success with a similar story or what.  The international cast was used especially well here, too.  It has heart and great action, but throughout they are misplaced flashbacks and cuts that undermine much of the film's heart and plot particulars.  This left me to largely only relish in the nice action sequences and acting of Jang.

New World

It's another incredible Korean gangster film, taking a page from Infernal Affairs and turning it upside down.  The story, pacing, performances here are spot on with the best gangster films.  It's taut, riveting, operatic, action packed, gripping, and well directed by Park Hoon-jung. American gangster films can certainly learn something from this type of film making, as it seems a remake might be down the road.  2013's New World is a classic piece of film making, with an even mix of character performance, an intricate chess like plot, and unique and appropriate action sequences.

A Company Man

Starring Ji-seob So as a hitman who works for a company hell bent on eliminating him as a matter of policy for sparing the life of a new employee, Korea's A Company Man is an interesting enough action-drama, having an almost Shakespearean, cautionary tale, kind of a feel to it.  However, the story could have benefited from more fleshing out of the characters, particularly in building a more substantial romance with So's character to raise the stakes of the plot.  Maybe I'm thinking this, because it's very much in a way like a more serious Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

The Man From Nowhere

Oh my gosh, this was  a fucking amazing film.  The Man From Nowhere is already one of my favorite Korean films. Starring Won Bin and is directed by Jeong-beom Lee, this action thriller delivers on so many levels.  It has great action, great acting, heart, and soul.  I've never heard of the actor Won Bin, but damn can this guy deliver on screen.  Think The Professional, Taken, The Equalizer, etc. meets The Bourne Identity.  Add a splash of The Raid: Redemption, stir well, and this is what you get.  Superb! Yeah, it's that kind of a movie.  No wonder they wanna do an English remake.

Once Upon A Time In Shanghai

This was a 2014 remake of Boxer From Shantung and it was pretty good. It stars Philip Ng, Andy On, and Sammo Hung, all martial artist and choreographers.  As if that weren't enough credentials, it's choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping so the action is definitely pretty solid. The film is shot in a muted down, sepia color and the action sequences are very stylized. With the story centered on the invasion of China by Japan, Ng does get a chance to do his version of Bruce Lee taking on the Japanese. Great acting it's not, but there's no surprise there.  But, Once Upon A Time In Shanghai does get a refreshing face lift for a kung fu movie.

The Suspect

2013's The Suspect is a pretty good  Korean spy thriller in the vein of The Bourne Identity.  I've been saying for some time now that the South Koreans have been making pretty good quality films on par with Hong Kong, and this is no exception.  What it suffers from is a storyline, that is a bit too convoluted to follow in detail but I don't hold that against it given I was also reading the subtitles.

Get Hard

You've got Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart, so like what the fuck happened?  Get Hard just tries too hard perhaps with all of the dumb stereotypes milked to death so unrealistically in a cheap, shitty way.

Southpaw

Southpaw is a generic, cliche of a boxer's movie elevated primarily by a great cast with great performances in Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, and Rachel McAdams.  Only secondary, is the realistic action choreography that sets it apart from other boxing film with much credit given to director and boxing aficionado Antoine Fuqua.

Fading Gigolo

John Tuturro is one of the best actors period and not a bad writer or director, as is seen in Fading Gigolo.  Here, he's teamed up with co-star Woody Allen as the pimp to his gigalo in a small Jewish community of New York. Sharon Stone, Liev Schreiber, Vanessa Paradis,  and Sofia Vergara round out the cast.  It's a very charming dramatic comedy with relationships intersecting, small moments highlighted, and the nuances of life and love examined in a melting pot of a setting.

True Legend

2010's True Legend had all the makings of a good classic kung fu movie, but fell rather short in it's delivery. Directed by Yuen Woo-Ping and starring Vincent Zhao, it portrays the legendary story of the Drunken Fist kung fu style.  There are some moving moments in the story, that futily attempt to be a saga, but the pacing is such that it feels like too many stories are just not effectively pieced together.  Martial art movies need a good story, but if that gets lost then the fight choreography is it's only saving grace.  Here, the kung fu action is average, with maybe 2 or 3 fight segments where Woo-Ping does rise to the occasion.  Wire works and special effects are done rather too heavy handed in True Legend, as are the segments that too obviously borrow from other martial art films instead of being a respectable nod.  So, it's better than most kung fu films, but not by much given the production value.

Magic Mike XXL

The sequel to Magic Mike seems like a good time reunion for the cast alone, minus Matthew McConaughey.  Yet, it lacks much of the darker themes of the first film that made it a surprising sleeper hit. Character development is traded in too easily for easy going humor that limps the story along too long for a not so worthy finale more at home on youtube.

San Andreas

Starring Dwayne Johnson, San Andreas lacks a much needed multi-dimensional plot and credible acting, enough to make me not even care about the devastation and urgency of the earthquake.   Even tying it in to the notion of global warming is omitted.  Really? Decent special effects are sadly not enough here. 

Wolf Warrior

Jackie Wui and Scott Adkins star in 2015's Wolf Warriors, an unfortunate, shitty, Chinese military propoganda film that doesn't even deliver the kind of anticipated action its action stars are worthy of performing. Shitty acting, plot, and action make this the limpest action movie I've seen all year.

Ex Machina

One of the best and most original films I've seen this year and that will have me reverberating for a while is Ex Machina, starring Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander.  This sci-fi thriller was superbly written and directed by Alex Garland.  It's a very intellectually and philosophically far reaching film with deftly nuanced performances that are both visually charged and left me spellbound in anticipation. Technology meets humanity and they are boldly flipped around; and special effects are throughout, wisely left to a minimum.  If that wasn't enough, it's a masterful thriller with enough style, anticipation, and unexpected moments to instantly be committed to following through.  Comparisons to Blade Runner, Her, Under The Skin, and others are pretty obvious, but Ex Machina is a unique turn in a different direction.  One of the nice bits of this uniqueness is how the story was set in one location with only 4 characters and against the backdrop of a very picturesque (fun fact) Norway. It is truly, as my lovely friend says from time to time "Awesome sauce!" So, I'll let that sentiment speak for anything else I could possibly say about the film.

Spectre

The latest and much anticipated Bond movie, Spectre, reunites director Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig together again for what many of us were hoping would capitalize on the success of Skyfall. For the most part, it succeeds in doing this. There are the splendid locations and set pieces, a great choice in actors including protagonist Christolph Waltz, cool action sequences, and an attempt to delve deeper into the origins of James Bond. It's a winning formula that almost wins and the movie is more than long enough to showcase these things. Now let me be clear. Spectre is a great James Bond film and certainly much better than Quantum Of Solace. After nearly a decade, Craig certainly seems much more at ease in the role and with the cast addition of Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw, this latest distillation of Bond is arguably the best yet. While notably giving homage to the past, Spectre also manages to stay relevant to the present with issues of national security, privacy, and intelligence gathering all at the center. It's a very action driven Bond movie that is certainly reminiscent of the early Connery films. However, there are shortcomings and one of them is ironically the length; and I only say this because the story does noticeably lag on in pace at certain points. There's a slow buildup and a certain anti-climactic let down, that speaks to the ambiguity of Craig's return or not in the role. I was also not happy with Mendes' use of the supporting cast, particularly the women. Talented and beautiful Monica Belluci is in like only one or two scenes. Really? Moneypenny (Naoime Harris) could have had a more active role considering the stakes of the story. The lead female character, French actress Lea Seydoux, was not really memorable or convincing in her role and her hookup with Bond felt too contrite. Dave Bautista was certainly a muted and memorable villain, (think an updated Oddjob) but he certainly could have appeared more to bolster the ending. Even the performance of Waltz as the iconic villain mastermind Blofeld, was undercut by the pacing of the film. In fact, Bond's relationship origins with Blofeld were not touched on enough here.  There was not much surprise to actor Andrew Scott's character, C, especially to fans of the tv show Sherlock, but I still have the same misgivings of story pacing and character use. At certain points after the exotic locales were used up and everything was brought back to London to wind down, viewing Spectre seemed like watching an episode of BBC tv show MI-5, which is not necessarily a bad thing but still......  I reiterate that Spectre is a good Bond film, one of the best in fact.  But it's also a daunting task to live up to the expectation that culminated in Skyfall.

The Gunman

Sean Penn's The Gunman is about an ex Special Forces soldier who has to confront the sins of his past and navigate the love of a woman (Jasmine Trinca). Exploitation of the Congo by large multinationals, military, and others, are the conditions.  So I can certainly see why Penn, serving as both producer and additional screen writer, would be interested in a project with a subject matter like this as he is notoriously opinionated about such matters and a famous humanitarian.  However, The Gunman falls way short of this endeavor, instead being overshadowed by Penn's obvious time in the gym.  It's kind of sad, because Penn is a great actor with a great supporting cast, rounded out with the likes of Idris Elba and Javier Bardem. Unfortunately,  the only exploitation that seems to be focused on here, is pumping Penn up and giving him a second wind at miserably competing with Stallone and Liam Neeson. 

The Avengers: Age Of Ultron

The second Avengers installment has the team going up against the accidentally created artificial intelligence of Ultron (James Spader).  Cutting to the chase, Age Of Ultron is descent enough with the type of action we've come to expect from the Marvel world, but it's just like it's story and ever growing characters, a bit bloated.  There are good attempts by director and writer Joss Whedon to explore and further develop the characters, particularly with characters Banner and Black Widow, but even at 141 minutes, it's a far too ambitious undertaking, and so the allusions to the lapsed time period since the last fiasco, feel forced and campy, even with the rather good editing. Here, the cgi is way too obvious an effect however cool, as in the opening sequence which felt more like the trailer of an Xbox or Playstation game.  So it becomes a problem of how do you align that tongue and cheek humor and character development and growing conflict of the last installment among the Avengers, with the seriousness of the stakes at hand.  To it's credit however, Age Of Ultron does introduce us to some great new characters, minus Ultron who seems even in this age of technology to be improbable and disappointing as a foe.  But if the Transformers AI characters could do it, you'd think. Underlying themes of AI and what it means to be conscious and all the other deeper implications were not lost on me in the effort: but in this case, I wasn't impressed.   I also like that this installment seems like other movies to be taking story direction and character cues from films like 2009's Watchmen.  The strong and perhaps universal selling point for me was watching the Avengers all coordinate and work together, simple as that. It would probably be easy to conclude that I didn't like the movie and that would be wrong.  I just was expecting more quality and a better pacing, not everything thrown out there at once rather heavy handed in segments.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road is a hell of a reboot to the franchise. Writer and director George Miller of the orginal shows that after nearly 35 years, he still has the goods. Starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, Fury Road is a visual treat to behold with visceral old school action devoid of the heavy use of special effects. It is also Miller's use of old school, tried and true film techniques that allow the action to really carry the story along.  As the viewers may know, it was never about the dialogue in these movies or even the acting for that matter.  But if you're lucky enough to get great actors like Hardy and Theron (looking like a young Sigourney Weaver), then it's certainly a plus that comes through. Miller utilizes the best elements of silent films and spaghetti westerns to more than measure up to his original and it appears that there will be more to come.  That's what's up.

Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station starring Michael B. Jordan is a film that chronicles the last 2 days leading up to the tragic shooting of Oscar Grant by transit police. It is directed by upcoming director Ryan Coogler, who's also at the helm for the upcoming Creed film, also starring Michael B. Jordan.  Jordan here, gives his most powerful performance to date and it's really no surprise if you've seen his previous work in film and television. What makes this movie so powerful besides great performances, is how the ordinary life events and struggles of a young Grant and his family are captured amidst the unexpected violence of the new year. Fruitvale Station is certainly a movie of it's time and before in lieu of the still prevalent racial tensions and incidents of police brutality, but it gives a more personal and honest scope to the fragility of life, than become just another extended sound bite to capturing a tragic story.

Kung Fu Killer

2014's Kung Fu Killer (Kung Fu Jungle) stars Donnie Yen as a convicted ex police martial arts instructor who is released to help hunt down a serial killer (Wang Baoqiang) targeting martial arts experts.  Overall, it's a solid enough kungfu film with good use of a somewhat improbable plot and better than decent action scenes to move the story along.  As you would expect, Donnie also serves as the fight choreographer and so there's no surprise at the action quality.  At 52 years of age, Yen is still very viable and I give him much homage, especially in the last 8-10 years for keeping Hong Kong action movies viable, relevant, and always striving to maintain integrity and authentity to the martial arts genre. Much credit is also given to Wang Baoqiang for being formidable villain and martial artist to counter Yen.  

Unity

Focus

The only thing to focus on in Focus, was just the beautiful people and scenery.  Beyond that, it's is overwrought with unbelievably bad character development and poor acting that does nothing to meaningfully align itself with the convoluted plot.

Mortdecai

Starring Johnny Depp and Gwyneth Paltrow, this movie just sucks so bad. I like British humor and all, but come on.  Mortdecai is really, really horrendous and ill represents the talents of those involved. I got nothing else.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

It's basically a British version of Kick-Ass meets Wanted meets Austin Powers and Charlie's Angels, but with noticeably less kick than any of those films, even despite the good supporting cast in Colin Firth, Samuel Jackson, and Mark Strong. The deficiency, even amidst the acknowledged humor,  is rounded out by a rather good backstory that fails to be delivered in a better way via the performance of a rather flacid lead in Taron Egerton. Even for a loose and common spy parody, there are certain required expectations that must be met to inject some originality.  Kingsman: The Secret Service here, is nothing new and it's a good thing that only time waiting for the DVD to be released, was the only thing I was willing to be exchanged for it.

Jupiter Ascending

Starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis, Jupiter Ascending is directed By the Wachowskis of The Matrix trilogy.  The Wachowskis and supporting cast members Sean Bean and Eddie Redmayne are the only reason I took an interest in this film.  Kunis stars as basically a Cinderella orphan who with the help of Tatum, comes to realize that she is the inheritor/heir to an aristocratic and ancient class in ruling the Earth, which is just a small part of an intergalactic world muddled in the same power hungry, political trappings of Earth's history.  The premise and back story to her character are so fucking underdeveloped that it is hard to see how she comes to embrace this new found role and in a relatively short amount of time, come to love Tatum's wooden warrior Prince charming.  The Wachowskis, who also wrote the script, also can't seem to make up their mind or the marketing trailers, if Jupiter Ascending is suppose to be a serious drama or a comedy.  Well, it's neither.  I was simultaneously scratching my head and bored at this folly of clear uninspiring shit.  This was especially so, in lieu of the fact that 100% better alternatives like Guardians Of The Galaxy, which I think the film was trying in earnest to illicit the tone of, make this film look like a futile first draft at best.  Like damn, how much more of it did they want us to choke down, minus only decent special effects as a chaser?

American Sniper

Starring Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller, American Sniper is based off the book of the same name by SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, and chronicles his life. Clint Eastwood does a superb job in directing the adaptation and Bradley Cooper is superb in his acting transformation.  More importantly than just a war story, the film brings light to the current generation of veterans wrestling with the trauma of war and trying to navigating integrating into the civilian world. The film shows a man consumed by war at each passing tour of duty and the irony of how that consumption ended his life.  It's a straightforward non-preachy movie on the guise of a story of a hero, but within it is a cautionary tale with implications far reaching in our society.  It is to Eastwood's credit as a director, that he does a great job of just letting the story unfold in that manner.

The Age Of Adaline

I'm such a sucker for movies about time and The Age Of Adaline is a beautifully told film about a woman (Blake Lively) who has been blessed/cursed with the ability to halt her aging and the life of this woman in navigating the loves and losses of her life.  Having wanted to see this movie with my love for what seemed like forever, I was left a bit muted in my enthusiasm about it after viewing it online alone. Probably because the narrative had the potential to go in a host of different directions and be told from numerous angles.  Instead, it is rather straightforward in it's approach from director Lee Toland Krieger.  The ideas of love, time, space, eternity, reincarnation, and more are all intertwined here, but in such a charmingly accessible way that it leaves me a bit empty even with notable performances by Harrison Ford and Ellen Burnstyn.  My opinion, however, about The Age Of Adaline at this juncture is not complete without you and you know who you are.......

Blackhat

Michael Mann's Blackhat stars Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Viola Davis, Holt Mcallany, and Wang Leehom and explores the international world of  cybercrime and hacking. As is Mann's forte, he explores this world with his signature noir look of muted tones, sepia, and graininess along with a visceral soundtrack that substitutes for dialogue and pushes the narrative along. Blackhat is largely the hallmarks of Heat and the film adaptation of Miami Vice, set in mostly in China and southeast Asia.  The international flair and flavor of the movie is what I really enjoyed the most.  Though the plot isn't exactly new, the narrative suffers from being a bit foggy and aloof in the beginning and rather empty towards the end, as there isn't enough character exploration. It's near on par with Denzel Washington's Safehouse, but not quite. Hemsworth and the rest of the cast are great and more movies like this with international will hopefully be made. 

Dear White People

It's been 25 years since Spike Lee's School Daze took on the subject of race in a college.  Fast forward to now, and you have director and writer Justin Simien challenging that and then some in Dear White People. This is a great, honest, thought provoking satire that explores what it means to be Black in America through the prism of an Ivy League university. It's a seriously well balanced film that doesn't err on the side of letting the humor overshadow the subject matter or too serious enough to undermine the humor. There's a real need to have more films like this that are done honestly with class, humor, and realism and devoid of alienation. Bravo to Justin Simien and the talented cast.

Foxcatcher

This was a very tragic movie, with a chilling feel and twisted portrayal of multimillionaire and professed wrestling coach John  Dupont, played by Steve Carrell, who acted his ass off and was like totally unrecognizable. Other great performances were given by wrestlers Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo as the victimized Schultz brothers.

The Imitation Game

Benedict Cumberbatch's Oscar worthy performance in this true historical drama about Alan Turing, who broke the German Enigma code during World War II and accelerated the defeat of Hitler, is fascinating to behold. All the more fascinating, is the life of Turing, a homosexual, mathematical genius, an original pioneer of the computer, and the author the book The Imitation Game.  This movie adaptation does justice in uncovering one of the great important historical moments about a forerunner in computer technology that greatly effected the lives of others and is a commentary about the victims of social inequality.

A Most Violent Year

Written, directed, and produced by J.C. Chandor and starring Oscar Isaac as the owner of an oil company trying to make it big in New York, A Most Violent Year.  This was an unexpected kind of movie for it's title with a gritty 70's kind of feel to it. It challenges the assumptions we have of violence in the films we watch, the obtainment of the American dream, and all the while also being a story about immigration and class.  Isaac's performance was stellar and he has the same controlled and ambiguous kind of cool with a nod to Pacino's performance in The Godfather. Jessica Chastain and David Oyelowo, as usual, are at their very best.  It's a really taut kind of film with a slow pacing that is riveting to watch and with a tension that's kind of captivating to watch.

The Gambler

Mark Wahlberg stars as an English professor who moonlights as a hopeless gambler who gets into high stakes debts with 3 ruthless loan sharks. The Gambler has a nice script and is played with conviction by Wahlberg, but it fails to impress in the long run.

Furious Seven

I didn't think this franchise could get any better, especially on the wake of Paul Walker's untimely death, but boy was I wrong.  Furious 7 delivers and then some. With the addition of Jason Statham as the villain.....  Like the Fast & Furious just landed the Transporter guy, as if they needed to pump up the action star power any more. The fights, the action choreography and stunts, and locations are all mind blowing, but the obvious thing is not just the best thing. The way that Walker's character went out, was truly moving and an amazing tribute.  He will be sorely missed and he was great in this film. Ludacris and Tyrese are crazy hilarious and their humor certainly lightens the load. Other notables that really contributed in amazing ways were Tony Jaa Rhonda Rousey, Kurt Russell, and Djimon Hounsou.  One thing about the Fast & Furious movies that is undeniable and gets better with each installation, is that the films have an undeniable charisma.

Top Five

Chris Rock stars as a a famous comedian in the middle of a career crisis struggling to reinvent himself in the face of personal and professional struggles and the blazing glare of media taking it all in. Rosario Dawson is the reporter that helps him face it.  In addition to Rock, Top Five is also unbelievably peppered throughout with the most amazing comedians working today.  Part comedy, social commentary, and satire; it's an interesting look into the world of entertainment and media and the ideas and realities that shape it and our perception of it. The film is also directed by Rock and marks an interesting shift with a refreshing and honest boldness to the comedy genre.  Where Top Five falls short, is in not sufficiently exploring the darkness and struggle enough. Also, the sheer comedic star power  combined with a rather short running time, inevitably detracts from the story's scope.  That said, it still was a huge delight to watch.

Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers And The Emergence Of A People

This is a wonderful film that thoughtfully showcases the photographic images of Black America from the beginning of photography to the present.  How these images have shaped how we view a people and what it means to be Black in all it's complexities and social implications, are all explored in this documentary, as told through the words of Black photographers of both gender throughout the history of photography.  Something so powerful as image, that shapes every facet of our society, is given great justice in this multi-narrative film, that even this one film only scratches the surface. What I found lacking in this exposition, however, was how modern technology has drastically changed the narrative of Black photography even further and all the implications of that left un-examined. 

Kill The Messenger

Jeremy Renner stars in Kill The Messenger, a story about journalist Gary Webb who broke the story about the CIA's involvement in funding the war in Nicaragua with funds from the drug trade. It's a pretty compelling film and probably one of the best pieces of acting from Renner. Despite the great acting from a very nice cast, the film itself unfortunately seems to fall far short of the magnitude of it's subject matter.  It lacks in pacing and what should have been a more suspenseful buildup of the material.

Horrible Bosses 2

Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis are back again for another installment in Horrible Bosses 2.  The good news is that these guys still have that great chemistry and that it quite apparent that these guys are having fun making these films.  Movies about White guys who find themselves disenfranchised are funny, but like it's counterpart in the subsequent Hangover movies, it suffers from an overkill of the trio in nearly every scene that begins to get a bit stale with an overkill of Day and Sudeikis to Bateman's straight man.  It certainly helps to have the recurring characters of Jamie Fox, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Spacey to round out the cast, and newcomers Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine are a great addition. Yet Horrible Bosses 2 does nothing to develop these 3 guy's characters individually and seems to get away from what the original concept of what the films are suppose to be about all about with a preposterous kidnapping plot that never really feels real.

A Walk Among The Tombstones

Liam Neeson stars in this hardboiled thriller of an ex cop seeking retribution as private investigator who stumbles into a series of grisly murders.  Neeson, of course is a very good actor, but this films pacing drags and drags and drags on and on.  It's a sleeper without the hit.

John Wick

Yes, it's the age old action tale of a former hit man going for revenge, but it is refreshing in it's execution for an American film. Those who appreciate Asian action and martial arts films and the way that this genre of action is shot and stylishly choreographed, will give a much deserved nod to John Wick.  At the director's helm, are David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, whose background as stunt guys including work on The Matrix films, really injected a lot of umph into the film.  So with that said, Keanu Reeves is back in fine form racking up bodies, blowing up shit, and looking very cool doing it.  After all, Reeves has been away for a while insofar as action, so playing a former hitman out for revenge was just right for him. With the look and feel of a modern day crime noir with it's own set of rules, including homages to Hong Kong style notables like John Woo, John Wick is off to a great start with a sequel already in the works. 

Nightcrawler

As the name may imply, Nightcrawler is a modern film noir thriller that examines the state of today's journalistic business of sensationalism.  It is also a great character study of a man who grew up with those influences, and how he ambitiously and at all moral and ethical cost, rose up in the frantic and high paced world of video journalism.  Jake Gyllenhaal's performance is pretty electric in how he morphed into the character and I certainly put it on par with other films of a more satirical nature. Think Robert Deniro in Taxi Driver,  Edward Norton in Fight Club, or Christian Bale in American Psycho.  Like these films, Nightcrawler has the makings of a classic and I think it has been sadly overlooked by the mainstream thus far. 

Gone Girl

David Fincher's twisty Gone Girl is a delight to watch. Not since Basic Instinct had I seen psychological thriller of this sort, so entertaining.  It Stars Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, who is charged with killing his wife Amy, played by Rosamund Pike.  What ensues in this deceptive cat and mouse game, is a well crafted story that is candy in the hands of Fincher.  Not to overlook the rest of the stellar performances, but Rosamund Pike  really rises to the occasion on this one. What Gone Girl does suffer from, however, is a long overwrought last third of the movie that seems to unbalance the buildup of the first part despite it lending further clarification to the ambiguity of the title itself.

The Homesman

The Homesman,  starring Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank is a beautiful western  that centers on an unmarried woman (Swank) in the 1850's Nebraska territory who is tasked with transporting three mentally ill young women to the shelter of a church back east with the help of claim jumper (Jones) It's a straightforward story of simple life with the cinematic backdrop and vastness of the outdoors, that lend lots of contrast to the subtlety of the wonderful acting performances throughout the journey.  It's a large movie in the tradition of the old westerns, that focuses on how the ordinary deeds of others and the unforeseen events of life affect the very existence and character of people. The natural elements and passage of time, play to these points very well. Swank is so reminiscent of Katherine Hepburn and the obvious comparison to her in The African Queen, was not lost on me.

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan's Interstellar is a mind blowing science fiction film with a superb cast  (Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, and Casey Affleck). What makes Interstellar so great, is how the philosophical and technical merge together with the laws of the universe like gravity and time, in McConaughey's race to find a way to save the survival of mankind.  This race is punctuated perhaps too long in running time and albeit a bit heavy handed at times by a great building and tension driven soundtrack from Hans Zimmer.  Like Gravity, Inception, or The Trea Of Life, it tackles themes of humanity brilliantly with great performances, particularly Jessica Chastain.   The visuals and effects are superb, so no surprise there. Interstellar is wildly imaginative food for thought that manages to pull at your heartstrings, challenge philosophical and technical ideas with imagination, and still leave a satisfying cinematic experience that delivers.

Sabatoge

Sabotage stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a leader of a group of special operations undercover DEA agents being targeted one by one after a raid.  I won't say much  about this, because it's not even worth the extra typing. Sabotage sabotaged itself with a shitty built up of overdone action, feebly attempting to morph into not much of a thriller horribly mismanaged, and ultimately turn into a selfish Schwarzenegger farce that makes no fucking sense at all to the rest of the film or characters.  I hate to see director David Ayer blemish his resume with this mess, but that's exactly what he did. Now if you just want to see Arnold back with bullets and bravado and couldn't give two shits about plot, then push play and enjoy.

Omar

Omar is a thriller about a young Palestinian man who gets caught up in a cat and mouse game with the Israeli police, his two childhood friends, and the woman he loves. Written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad, it centers on the current situation in  Israel's Occupied territories.   Beyond the great performances by actors Adam Bakri (Omar) and Waleed Zuaiter (Agent Rami), is a taut and convoluted storyline that puts a special and realistic spin on the ideas of betrayal, trust, love, and innocence lost. There's a very nicely crafted tenseness in the performances and script, that play up very well against the beautiful camera work throughout, comparable to 2002's City Of God. Where it also excels, is in showcasing a story from a very misunderstood politically charged part of the world without easily falling into the overt one sided politics of what one would expect.  As the title would also suggest and foreshadow, it's very character driven instead.

Boyhood

Boyhood is a very unique coming of age film written and directed by Richard Linklater. It was put together over a twelve year period. For that alone, it deserves much praise.  With exceptional performances by Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, and Lorelei Linklater, it chronicles the complexities of the modern family shown through the eyes of Mason Jr. (Linklater).  The experience of watching Boyhood is very much like watching a documentary in ways, but more like viewing a moving scrapbook or video without consciously realizing it.  The passage of time never really feels dated as there are no obvious traditional markers. Yet that's also the unique quality of something like this, in that it forces the audience to also reflect on their own lives during that period and lends itself to much introspection.  Unlike most movies that mark the passage of time in a more obvious manner, Boyhood has a more seamless and patient method in letting the passage of time take the lead  in telling the story.  It's a fascinating way to film and perform, as it obviously bonds the characters together in real life and in a less rehearsed fashion that comes through in the performances.  So in many ways, it's a documentary of the actors themselves personally and professionally and the development of  their characters.  For a 4 million dollar indie film, Boyhood a wonderful and original classic that is groundbreaking on many levels.

Lucy

Luc Besson's Lucy is an action sci-fi drama starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. Johansson plays Lucy, a woman thrown into the middle of a drug war in Tapei with a Korean syndicate.  In the process of being forced to be a drug mule, she injest an overdose of this new experimental drug and quickly gains the capacity to expand the limits of the human brain.  Freeman plays a scientist who happens to study the limits of the mind and so becomes integral to the journey of Lucy.  The film is definetely a Besson film with his signature pace with action and story, camera look, and Asian influences. Adding a science fiction element on the level of The Matrix was very refreshing.  But it is also this over the top element embedded in the storyline of Lucy being pursued by the gangsters and international police, that is also it's undoing. At times, it is many of Besson's best movies and their urgency that we see within the film. Think The Transporter, La Femme Nikita, or Colombiana and if you've seen those films, than you've seen much of Lucy already.  Certainly a better actress in Johansson and an authenticity with Freeman were upgrades.  Yet the bombastic action starts to pale and get more cartoonish noticeably as the end of the film nears.  By this time, and as admittedly entertaining as it is, it's hard to decipher whether your looking at a typical Besson picture being overshadowed with an episode of the Neal deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos.  The character Lucy in exploring the mind and universe culminates all too neatly and comically in the end, obviously yanking us back and reminding us that it's just an action movie with a big flash drive.

The Equalizer

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington as Robert McCall, The Equalizer delivers some bad ass Denzel moments.  This movie remake of the old television series is appropriately on point and congruent with the recent trend of the older Hollywood actors making a shift into the world of straight action.  Of course the story isn't original, as it could just have easily been a movie like Leon: The Professional or any of the Taken movies. However, it's a very easy and inevitable shift for Washington, as he has been evolving towards this type of role anyway in his collaboration with Fuqua and other directors. Nonetheless, it's a joy to watch a nuanced performance even in this standard action fare from someone other than Liam Neeson go up against the likes of actor Marton Csokas, who plays the charismatic and sinister Teddy.

The November Man

This revitalized cold war caper starring Pierce Brosnan, is about as flat as they come.  Director Roger Donaldson manages to put a Bourne style feel and pace and look to it and sustains it for the most part halfway through.  But all that doesn't matter, as the double crossing story-line is not carried out by the best of actors, particularly by those who are the antagonists.  From then on, it limps along with lack of character development, that you just can't really give a fuck about at that point.  Quite frankly, when all clips are expended it, it felt like Pierce was slumming in this production.  Like at any moment, we could see Steven Seagal or Van Damme come out and help him with the baddies.

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

In this second installment of the Frank Miller graphic novel movie adaptation and after 10 years, Miller and Rodriguez return and do an admirable job.  It doesn't have the groundbreaking freshness of the first one, but for those of us who appreciate exaggerated film noir, revisiting the one that started it all is a treat. Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, and Bruce Willis are all back.  But the series is also injected with new fusion from Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Dennis Haysbert, Josh Brolin, and especially the dynamite starring performance of Eva Green as Ava.  Where it suffers from, is probably some wasted performances and misuses of cast, including Bruce Willis who really didn't need to be in this installment and was badly distracting; or Gordon-Levitt with an amazingly wasted performance to the storyline.

Under The Skin

Most people know of Scarlett Johansson from the Avenger films, but we forget how really great of an actress she actually is. Under The Skin is that reminder and also for the director and co-writer Jonathan Glazer who's previous work included the unique film Birth. An alien takes up residence in a female body and consumes the bodies of men she subtly seduces.  Sounds straightforward enough in plot, but Under The Skin is far more complex and surprising than that.  It's also a gritty and visually stunning movie, equally balanced by Johansson's nuanced performance that speaks to humanity and how we see ourselves.

Selma

Selma is a phenomenal film and Ava DuVernay is a director of the first order. Taking a closer look into the life of Martin Luther King (played by David Oyelowo) and those around him as they journey towards the goal of voting rights leading up into the infamous Selma to Montgomery march, it's an expertly crafted film that really effectively documents the sheer complexity of the struggle. Oyelowo, a superb actor already, has never been better in inhabiting a character.  All accolades aside, the controversial and obvious snubs by the Academy Awards in the area of direction and best actor are a shame and a shameful truth, that the struggles of racism and sexism does indeed still exist in this age. However, that controversy also serves to elevate the film and more importantly the issues.  

Annie (2014)

Courtesy of probably recent Asian hacking into Sony Pictures, I was able to view the latest film version of Annie starring Quvenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx, and Cameron Diaz on the last day of the 2014.  First of all, this version of Annie had all the understandable buzz and current talent that one could ask for in undertaking an update to the musical classic.  The problem was, however in the execution of the story and performances.  The musical numbers felt a bit limp and rather irrelevant to the not so heartfelt performances of the cast.  Cameron Diaz, in particular, just overacted to no effect; which also made her bad vocals that much more noticeable. What could have been a very good film, was just wasted on big names and budgets that ended up overshadowing the whole production and a varied storyline that felt too contrived even to be supplemented by rather weak musical numbers. Quvenzhane's raw understated talent as seen in Beast Of The Southern Wild was really exploited in here, and that's a shame.