Ready Player One

As Ohio goes, so goes the nation? A quotation with political implications that typically accompanies primary election season, but in the realm of Ready Player One, it's all about the players involved. Notably, Steven Spielberg, 3-time Oscar winner and global box office behemoth, who's movies have grossed upwards of $9.4 billion, and Ernest Cline, the first time novelist, who's book started a bidding war back in 2010. Spielberg, the movie's director is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cline hails from Ashland, Ohio. But, maybe more importantly the film's setting is Columbus, Ohio in the year 2045, which perhaps provide a backdrop that isn't overtly familiar to the average American, insofar as it represents a place in people's minds of Middle American tastes and cultures that differ from those of locales closer in proximity to places like New York, Los Angeles, or Boston. 

I say all that to say that video games and video game culture create worlds on television sets and in our minds that provide a respite where many of us can and have spent hours of our lives, collecting coins, upgrading armor, slaying bosses, and whatever else that simply cannot be done in the real world. Much appreciation goes to Cline for his uncanny ability to pen a novel that touches on so many poignant moments in 1980's American culture that also connects to the modern world in what companies like Oculus are trying to do with virtual reality, to allow us to live in our video games. See Ready Player One, for its ability to bring out a lot of that nostalgia, while giving a wishful template for what modern VR headsets hope to achieve and for just being 2 hours of action, entertainment, and some laughs.   

Criticism has been lauded on this movie, which Spielberg was keen to refer to it as at a presser at Comic Con before its release, so as not to confuse it with his more high-brow fare like The Post, Lincoln, or Bridge of Spies, for its frenetic pace and its inability to create deeper connections with the incessant pop culture references and items of nostalgia that litter the movie like confetti on stadium turf after a world champion is crowned. But, for those having read Cline's book, they understand that the best apart about the novel was the hunt... Sure there was time during the novel to sort of sit back and reminisce as to why spending hours in a local arcade playing Pac-Man or some other 80's game was formative and provided life lessons that could be reflected back on thirty years later, but the coolest thing about the book was connecting the dots of an epic scavenger hunt where the stakes were so high, especially where being successful at the hunt required having knowledge of off beat stuff from popular movies to more obscure ones. It essentially gave self-proclaimed video game nerds and fan girls an opportunity to read about it what it would be like to excel at something that the whole world saw considerable value in. 

I was very impressed with how Spielberg and company were able to visualize this movie and bring it to life. My guess is that soooo much more than I'd expect in this movie is CGI, but it's not poorly done where it looks "too fake", it accompanies the actors especially well in the action scenes, particularly the opening race scene through NYC. The cast selected to play the roles was very on point with only Olivia Cooke seeming to me, to be not the most ideal pick to play Art3mis/Samantha, but they made up for this by playing up the role of Hannah John-Kamen's character, F'Nale Zandor, who pairs well with Nolan Sorrento's sinister tendencies and actions in trying to control the OASIS. Lena Waithe as Aech/Helen was a role that I was really looking forward to after I discovered that she had earned the spot, and she didn't disappoint. Although, it was disappointing that a particular story line involving her was left out of the movie. T.J. Miller as I-Rok provides a lot of high quality humor throughout the film, its a shame that they didn't give him a bit more screen time.  

    

Café Society

Café Society is an incredibly shot period piece from Woody Allen, or Monsieur Woody, as the French lovingly refer to him. It's a period piece that is set in the 1930s, in the Bronx and Hollywood. It follows the story of Bobby Dorfman after he comes out to La La Land to try to work for his uncle, hot-shot agent to the stars, Phil Stern. Jesse Eisenberg acts the role of Bobby and Steve Carell plays Phil. Jeannie Berlin and Ken Stott (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) play minor roles as Bobby's parents, Rose and Marty. Corey Stoll (House of Cards) and Sari Lennick round out the members of the Dorfman family, playing Bobby's brother and sister, Ben & Evelyn. Cafe Society is certainly a period drama depicting the glamorous life of a Hollywood agent in the 30s, but it's also a family drama as well which portrays the life of Jewish family doing their damnedest to make it in the Bronx.

Much can be said about the ensemble of talented actors that Woody assembled for this film, particularly that all of them were able to do very well with minimal material/screen time. Anna Camp, who plays a prostitute named Candy, comes to mind when she highlights a funny scene with Eisenberg. Parker Posey is convincing and amusing, in her role as Rad Taylor. Blake Lively supplies her Hollywood looks fittingly, as Veronica, who provides quite the catch-of-a-rebound for protagonist, Bobby. But, it's (surprisingly?) Kristen Stewart, as Vonnie, who has probably the most important role in the movie, as the juggled back and forth love interest of Bobby and his uncle, Phil. She delivers a rather stellar performance, portraying the vulnerabilities of a young secretary who's pursued by her much older boss, as well as sort of a delicate feline-like toying with naivete of new-to-Hollywood Bobby. She's really quite keen.

Some criticism has been laid on Woody for not trying to venture out of his comfort zone on this latest effort, and there is some merit to that, but if you go into Cafe Society hoping to be entertained for 90 minutes by a film that is a flashback to a different time in New York City and Hollywood, with a healthy serving of humor and wonderful sets, then I don't think you'll be disappointed. Just don't expect to see the most realistic plot resolutions.

The Jungle Book

Jon Favreau has had one of the more interesting, circuitous careers in Hollywood (Outside of Tinseltown as well): From his near completion of undergraduate studies at Queens College, to a short stint working for Bear Stearns on Wall Street, the son of a Russian Jew and a Catholic of Italian & French-Canadian ancestry hasn't been one timid of "getting their feet wet" in a particular discipline. So, it should come as little surprise that his entertainment career has been rather varied, in terms of genres, types of roles he's acted in, and his involvement in projects (Essentially whether he was just an actor, an actor-producer, an actor-director, or solely a producer or director).

He's acted in everything from Friends (As Monica's boyfriend during Season 3), to the Avengers, Rudy, Cowboys & Aliens, The Break-Up, and many others. He's written films like Swingers, Couples Retreat, and Chef. He's directed films like Elf, Made, Iron Man, and most recently the Jungle Book. He's truly an artist that knows improvisation and the value of not "pigeon-holing" oneself in a competitive industry like Hollywood.

This time around Favreau parked his keester in the director's chair and left the writing duties to Justin Marks and Rudyard Kipling, with the latter providing the skeleton of the story that Marks adapted quite well. It's a story that most American children are familiar with with, but it has certainly been freshened up with the addition of cutting-edge CGI and sound mixing that definitely wasn't available during the 1960s. It's a keenly-paced movie as well, with it's producers wise to the fact that audiences would be rather varied in age range. The running time is 104 minutes, but it truly doesn't feel "too long" and I don't feel that audiences will feel as though they were "jipped" because of the under 2-hour running time.

The casting for Mowgli was very well done, with thirteen-year old Neel Sethi performing the role with an authenticity that made up for the fact that all of the other roles were voiced and done by by CGI. That's not to say that there was a problem with the CGI, or any of the voice actors, but I felt like it would've been a little bit better to see some real backdrops and actual monkeys. It seems like all the large budget movies these days are so dominated by CGI and it would be nice to see a movie not so dependent on it. But, to each his own, I guess.

The Jungle Book is definitely worth a trip to the theater though, especially as the summer box office starts to heat up with movies like Captain America: Civil War just premiering at theaters this weekend.
   

Jimi: All is by My Side

John Ridley's, Jimi: All is by My Side is an ambitious effort that depicts the life of famed musician Jimi Hendrix. The leading role is played rather masterly by André Benjamin, of the hip-hop musical duo Outkast. Imogen Poots & Hayley Atwell act out the roles of Linda Keith and Kathy Etchingham, respectively. Both turn in fantastic performances revealing the multi-layered, nuanced nature of the two women who played pivotal roles in the life of Hendrix.

The setting for Ridley's film begins in Manhattan, in 1966. Benjamin's character has a chance encounter with Poots' character, who introduces Jimi to a few people, connecting with some influential and wise music industry folk, and before not too long he is convinced to go to London, where he's told that he will set the world over there ablaze. Poots' character is highly adept at acting with solely her eyes, letting them linger in scenes and communicating so much more than could be with only words. It's no wonder that Jimi follows her advice on testing the London music scene.

But, insert Atlwell's character, who comes into the film with the attitude and the familiar wear of that of a rock n roll groupie. An emotionally, likely alcohol/drug fueled spat leads to some major emotional and career decisions and Poots' character leaves Jimi to return to the States. Atwell very capably plays a role that is underminded by the premise that the nature of a groupie entails, one of sort of sucking the life from those who have truer intentions and more wholesome habits, but the role of Kathy Etchingham is no simple one to play, and certainly not one that had little importance in Jimi Hendrix's musical influences.

Biopics can be extremely difficult to produce, even when they are about high profile people like Jimi Hendrix. Major studios will typically scoff at the idea because of a lack of commercial appeal (Steve Jobs can be an exception to this). But, this indie picture which was reportedly produced on a budget of $5 million, and received generally positive reviews, did so because it didn't attempt to "do too much". It covered only a year of Jimi's career, albeit it was a short one, but it was able to capture some of the intricacies that made Jimi the man that he was.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

After a very, very long wait the first release of the newly rebooted Star Wars franchise has arrived. The $200 million movie, comes three years after Disney purchased the rights to the franchise from LucasFilm Ltd. for $4 billion, which many industry insiders scoffed at because it seemed like an exorbitant price to pay. Now, after only approximately 20 hours since early screenings began, an analyst from Edward Jones is predicting that it will only take about 2 years for that $4 billion to be recouped.

Money-talk aside, the movie is a rather lengthy one with a running time of 135 minutes. That running time may seem lengthy to those on polar opposites of the age spectrum, which are likely to be drawn to see the movie franchise created by George Lucas in 1977. It has all the elements though to draw audiences from all age backgrounds to it, it has breathtaking sets that evoke the feeling of life on a far away planet, it has a quick-witted, intelligent sounding script that original Star Wars writer, Lawrence Kasdan, wrote. Kasdan was accompanied on writing duties by the movie's director J.J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt. The dialogue between the main characters is paced well and peppered with more humor than expected, which was certainly a pleasant surprise.

Rick Carter & Darren Gilford, the production designers, are two men that deserve more credit for this major accomplishment than they will likely receive. Carter is the Oscar-winning production designer behind Back to the Future Part II and III, Forrest Gump, Avatar, Jurassic Park, and so many more. Last year he was recipient of the Art Directors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award. The work though that he did with his partner, Gilford, and the rest of his team on The Force Awakens was literally breathtaking (Especially on IMAX screens). From the desolate landscapes of Jakku, where the audience first meets Rey (Daisy Ridley) to the snowy forest landscape that plays host to the climactic light-saber battle, the production designing duo created a world, or multiple worlds, that each had a distinct feel which when matched with John Williams score evoked a different type of emotion that nicely tied the movie together.

Newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, play Rey and Finn who are the main characters, respectively. They do so well too, with a visible chemistry that naturally develops as the movie progresses. Adam Driver and Oscar Issac both have roles that allow their identities to be seen by the audience, but one plays a role that might surprise some, so I won't reveal it here. Andy Serkis is utterly sinister as Supreme Leader Snoke and Lupita Nyong'o is whimsical as Maz Kanata, who delivers a very powerful monologue that drives the movie forward and sets up its climax.

Reviews have been critical of the movie's formulaic nature and of it being a relative carbon copy of the original, but if one does agree with these criticisms they'll at least be happy to watch with a updated CGI and special effects. In Abrams', Kathleen Kennedy's (A producer of the film), and the rest of the teams defense when working with a movie as massive as this one, with a fan following as old and quirky, delicate care must be taken to entice them back into the theater after over thirty years since the original's release. This is probably why the screenplay seemed so similar to the first, and also why some of the familiar faces like Han Solo, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and Princess Leia receive so much on-screen time.    

All in all, The Force Awakens is one of the best action movies to come out this year, whether or not you consider yourself to be the type of person who likes "geeky science fiction" movies.

San Andreas

Late to the punch again on this one, and regretfully so. San Andreas certainly packs a blockbusting punch. Released during Memorial Day weekend earlier this summer, (Likely why I missed it, as I was enjoying the great outdoors that Maine has to offer) it premiered as the first major disaster movie in some time and as the natural movie one would go see after seeing Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson play a superhuman federal agent in Furious 7 the previous month.

Announced in 2011 by New Line Cinema, the movie has a plethora of writing credits from Jeremy Passmore and Andre Fabrizio, to Allan Loeb, who was brought in to polish the script, to Carlton Cuse (Lost) who re-wrote the script. One might assume that with all these writing designations and re-writes that this script was doomed from jump street, but I'm not sure if it was Cuse's re-write or somewhere prior but the final product is an often humorous script, that's paced well, includes obligatory emotional dialogue between the main players, but is also intelligent and witty.

Starring alongside Mr. Johnson are Carla Gugino and Alexandra Daddario, with the latter occupying more onscreen time, but the prior definitely showing that she is still able to hold her own. Daddario who plays the teenage daughter of Johnson and Gugino's characters, steals many a scene with her stunning expressions of shock and fear that light up in her eyes, which in turn light up the screen. Daddario certainly makes a case for being Hollywood's next femme fatale a la Angelina Jolie, as she utilizes adept survival skills scurrying for her life through earthquake ravaged San Francisco. Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Art Parkinson play a pair of British brothers, who's savvy casting adds a welcome dynamic to the movie.

The movie was shot in Australia, at Village Roadshow Studios, as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Bakersfield, CA. The result is very inclusive movie that leans effectively on the differences of these locales in making them pseudo-characters in the movie. Toss in some rather stunning CGI and the imagination and gall it takes to depict the destruction of popular, major metropolitan areas like LA and SF and you get a blockbuster that is more than worthy of seeing.

Jurassic World

Being that it has been nearly two years since my last post, I thought this blog could use a current movie review.. And why not review a summer blockbuster the week that fall just officially begun!?

I may be late to the party on one of the most successful movies of the summer, but the reason is because I was waiting for a particular friend to watch it with.. Low and behold she didn't wait for me though! 

Jurassic World, Universal Studios behemoth tent-pole of a movie, plays out on the screen similar to how you would expect a movie of it's background and budget to play out. There's of course the exotic locations, massive exterior cinematographic shots with hundreds of extras, and the nostalgic nods to the film's predecessors. But, the film is essentially a reboot of the franchise started in 1993 by Steven Spielberg and Co. 

Gone are familiar faces like Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, and others who joined the franchise after the success of the first installment. The reboot is in capable acting hands though with Chris Pratt (Community, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help), in the leading roles. They exchange pleasantries and reminisce on not so fond dating memories in a well-written, adeptly acted scene where Howard's character enlists the help of Pratt's character. 

The charm of Jurassic Park, at least for me watching as an adolescent, was experiencing the world that the film created through the eyes of its young stars. I'm sure many from my generation can attest to having nightmares from the infamous scene in the kitchen with the velociraptors. But, that novel charm is missing from this movie, instead the producer's and director, Colin Trevorrow, did what many (with deep film financing pockets) tend to do, they decided to spend voraciously on computer generated images that they believed would shock and wow audiences causing them to forget about what it is that made them love that Michael Crichton-adapted movie from the 90's. At time's this worked well enough for me, and others it did not, but ultimately it was a fun two hour ride.