“Paper Towns” movie review

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PaperTownsPretends to be more serious and deep than it actually is. Paper Towns is the latest movie based on a novel by best-selling author John Green who brought us last year’s The Fault in Our Stars. However, before you get too excited and begin to develop expectations of this current movie, this film falls short of the emotional roller coaster and deep introspective thoughts you may have had rushing through your head in last year’s movie. That being said, Paper Towns is very well acted and the coming-of-age story will likely keep you entertained; and may even evoke some nostalgic feeling of what it was like to be 18 and a senior in high school–or maybe the way you would like high school to have gone for you. With a solid cast and natural chemistry between friends and lovers, this film successfully brings the last month of high school alive for the audience. The cast feels like “real” people amongst a sea of the “paper” people often encountered in movies and even in real life.

Paper Towns is about the mysterious disappearance of Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne), the “it” girl, from a local high school in Orlando, Florida. Her cute-nerdy neighbor across the street Quentin (Nat Wolf) has been in love with her for over nine years–ever since her family moved in across the street. After Margo comes to Quentin’s window late one evening, she takes him on the ride of his life as she pranks and punks some of her former friends and ex-boyfriend who have been keeping secrets from her. Ending the night with dancing in a high-rise in downtown Orlando, it looks as if Quentin may have his girl. Not so fast. The next morning, she turns up missing, and a string of seemingly random clues may lead Quentin to where he can find Margo. Teaming up with his two best friends Ben (Austin Abrams) and Radar (Justice Smith), Ben’s high school crush Lacy (Halston Sage) and Radar’s longterm girlfriend Angela (Jaz Sinclair), they pile into Quentin’s mom’s minivan to trek across the eastern seaboard in order to find Margo.

This is one of those movies that will remind you of past films in the same sub-genre or vein, if you will. Immediately following the close of the movie, I could not help but think of the many elements and plot points that reminded me of movies such as Stand By Me, The Fault in Our Stars (not surprisingly), The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Kings of Summer. What do all these movies have in common? They are all type-A coming-of-age stories featuring characters who are trying to find themselves or their place in this world, typically occurring in the high school years, an often the last months of high school. Narratively speaking, Paper Towns shares many of the same tropes; but it is certainly not a reboot, remake, or simply a rehash of what’s been done before. It stands alone as unique in its own way. Unlike the endings of the aforementioned movies, the one thing that truly sets this film a part from the others is the ending–it is quite unexpected and, as a whole, unfortunately poorly executed and leaves the audience slightly angry and mostly unsatisfied. Can’t tell you what that is because this IS a movie built upon the premise of a mystery.

The brightest element of this production is the excellent casting. Honestly, these young people feel like they could be your neighbor’s kids or perhaps your friends. They are earthy, crude, funny, horny, selfish, and devoted. What really helps the story in this movie is the believability of the actors’ emotions and dialog. The writing is very natural, well paced, and usually takes us to the emotional highs and lows we need in the story. Both in appearance and in personality, the casting choices couldn’t have been better. I enjoy movies that take you back to when you were 17-18 and finishing high school. It’s like, ‘yeah, I remember going through that same stuff, talking about sex and alcohol, and our futures.’ The topics or discussion and the manner in which the characters engaged one another felt extremely natural and un-rehearsed. And, the little bit of romance between some of the characters is cute and heartwarming.

I was defintiely disappointed that the movie was so very close to hitting the emotional mark it needed to, but then fell just shy of it. It kind of leaves you in that awkward place that you may have found yourself in on a date when things lead right up to an intimate encounter with your love interest, and just before you hit the home run, it ends or plateaus. Emotionally, that is precisely what this movie’s plot does for the audience. Furthermore, the whole “paper towns” concept is never fully explained. That could be consciously done, but cinematically, I feel the analogy or symbolism could have benefited from deeper exposition. The audience is really left to draw many of their own conclusions and infer what the author or screenwriters meant by this or that. You can make sense of it eventually, but it would have been helpful for the movie to have explained it a little more clearly.

If you enjoy the movies I have referenced in respect to Paper Towns, then you will most likely enjoy this film. Definitely not really a group movie–more like one of those that you see with a significant other or maybe even alone. Unlike other movies that deal with the pains and triumphs of growing up, this one will not likely cause you to think too deeply about oneself or one’s life situations. BUT, this one is a movie to watch for the great acting and the interpersonal relationships between friends and lovers.

“Southpaw” movie review

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SouthpawA ‘champion’ of a movie! Move over Cinderella Man, and make way for an incredible story of prestige, loss, overcoming challenges, and triumph. Southpaw is a surprisingly fantastic movie with dynamic characters and an incredible story. Follow one man from being on top of the world to self-destructive behavior that costs him nearly everything. Ordinarily, I do not give sports-related movies a second thought because I don’t follow any particular sporting event; however, had I let this one pass me by, I would not have had such a great cinematic experience. To be honest, it’s not screaming ‘early Oscar nom contender,’ but there is the off chance it could get the recognition. Never having attended a boxing match before, I am unsure of the adrenaline that rushes through the bodies of the audience. But, if it is anything like what I experienced during the third act of the movie, then I can totally understand why sporting events, such as boxing, can be quite the visceral thrill.

Southpaw is about champion boxer Billy “The Great” Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his triumphs and tragedies. Holding the Light Heavyweight title, he is on top of the world in his professional boxing career. Furthermore, he has a beautiful and loving wife Maurine (Rachel McAdams) and an adoring daughter Leila (Oona Lawrence). After he decides–well, after being urged–to take time off from the boxing circuit, his agent is hell-bent on getting him back in the ring and sign a contract with HBO. Finding it difficult to ignore the fame and emotional high of the eyes of the world being on him, Billy turns down the opportunity to focus on his family. Following a speaking engagement at a New York City children’s home (the home both he and his wife grew up in), a brawl breaks out in the lobby and Maurine is shot. Devastated, Billy takes out his anger on nearly everyone except Leila. But, one drunken night, after he crashes his car in the front yard of his palatial estate, the court finds him unfit to be a parent and sentences him to rehab. Having lost his wife, and now his daughter, and all of his possessions, he must rebuild his name and career in order to win back his daughter despite the odds being against him.

The movie opens on a gritty scene during the championship for the boxing light heavyweight title. This intense opening is quite indicative of the entire movie. This is the type of movie that will rock you down to the very core. In many ways, the story is told through various perspectives. Believe me, it’s mostly objectively shot; but, there are definitely times that the camera gives us a subjective or point-of-view perspectives and other times the subjectivity is implied. This is an important element to the narrative because, from what little I know about boxing, it is a sport that is personally intense and highly affects the boxer physically, mentally, and emotionally. Unlike other sports which are not nearly as violating or invasive, the boxing ring is one that requires amazing stamina, discipline, and courage. Unfortunately, throughout his career, Billy was never one to focus on his defense. And this is a character flaw that transcends the ring into his life. On the subject of the coverage of the boxing matches, the cinematography is crafted so that it truly feels like you have been transported from the cinema into a great ring-side seat. This greatly increases the realism of the movie and grittiness of the plot.

Not surprising, the main focus of the plot is on Billy’s character development. But, not unlike Billy, both his daughter and his new trainer Titus “Tick” Wills (Forest Whitaker) also go through their own respective developments. In many ways, Leila and Titus embody some of the very same struggles and challenges that Billy is going through. Although Billy made decisions that lead to his fall from fame and glory, the tragic death of his wife affected him in ways in which no one is ever prepared emotionally. The writers and director of this movie were very successful is transferring the pain of Billy, Leila, and Titus from the screen into the minds of the audience. However, despite the fact that there are many elements that I appreciate about the movie, I do feel the Billy’s recovery time should have been a little bit longer and taken him to darker places in order to truly get to the very core of what his character must have been feeling and to better support the more inspirational aspects to the narrative. He went from rock bottom back to the top a little too quickly.

One of the refreshing parts to the movie was the inclusion of humor here and there. Due to the dark nature of the subject and the mental anguish experienced by Billy, it would have been all too easy to allow the low places of the film to be filled with utter despair and anger, but I was quite pleased that the writers included a little bit of humor sprinkled throughout the narrative. Wasn’t over the top, or tasteless, or thrown in there, it felt very natural and added to the believability of the story. In fact, the dialog as a whole, was well-crafted and allowed the characters to become real for the audience.

If you enjoy movies about overcoming obstacles, metaphorically returning from the dead, and the feeling of being on the edge of your seat, then you should definitely check out Southpaw. Even if you’re like me, in that you don’t typically watch sports-related movies, you should still see this fantastic story with excellent acting and character development.

Self/less movie review

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Self LessBrilliant plot that suffers from traditional shoot-em-up tropes. Self/less promotes itself as a psychological thriller but pulls the ol’ bait ‘n switch by giving the audience a generic semi-thriller with a lot of superficial gun battles. This is one of those films that there was so much potential with moral/ethical dilemmas baked into the plot; but instead of delivering a well-crafted dynamic movie, the audience is left wanting so much more than was served. Ideally, casting British film royalty like Ben Kingsley should increase the appeal and class of a film; but it turns out that any generic older and distinguishing-looking actor could have been cast. Ryan Reynolds proves to live up to his reputation for playing similar roles, and you get lots of shots of his gorgeous face and body; however, his looks just aren’t enough to cary this weak film. Although this movie has been out for a little while, I decided to watch it because of the plot. I probably would have been better off watching Minions.

Self/less is about a well-respected and enormously successful developer in New York City named Damian Hale (Kingsley) who is struggling with rapidly growing cancer. He and his partner Martin (Victor Garber) go to lunch in New Orleans one afternoon, and Damian has a severe allergic reaction to something in the food or coffee and falls over dead–or so we think. Turns out that it was all a setup to get him to the secret neurological research lab of Dr. Albright (Matthew Goode) in order to take part in a new method called “shedding.” This is the process by which the mind of the living is transferred to the brain of another body. Not long after the successful procedure, Damian, now known as Edward (Reynolds), begins to receive flashes of a not-so-distant past that cause him mental pain. Thanks to drugs prescribed by Dr. Albright, the visions are supposed to slowly mitigate. Unknown to Albright, Edward begins to suspect there is something wrong and will stop at nothing to solve the mystery of the distant, vague memories.

Movies about man’s lust for immortality are nearly as old as the medium of cinema itself. But, there are definitely far superior examples of this plot. When the previews first came out for this movie, I was definitely intrigued to see it. I should have known something was up when the movie has been out and I heard no one talking about it. Between Inside Out and The Gallows I totally missed the release date of Self/less. This should have been my canary in the coal mine sign. Prior to watching the movie, I wasn’t expecting a dynamic riveting experience, because this similar plot was used in the film The Island (2005) directed by Michael Bay–perhaps our film in question would have benefitted from his skill for superficial visual storytelling–after all, that is pretty well what we got anyway. The Island is about wealthy or desperate donors who sponsor clones of themselves in order to harvest parts as theirs breakdown. Some of the same ethical and moral dilemmas exist in both films. However, Self/less has a much better platform for really diving into these topics and exploring all the possibilities. Unfortunately, it is basically a popcorn movie.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet….just wait for it to come out on Netflix. I am sure it won’t be too long before that happens. In the event you just like Ryan Reynolds, you may find enjoyment in this film, but all the acting is quite sub-par for even this hybrid sub-genre of action/psychological/thriller.

The Gallows movie review

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The GallowsA new twist on the found footage genre. Blumhouse’s The Gallows is the movie adaptation of the urban legend that sprung out of the real accidental death of Charlie Grimille at Beatrice High School in Nebraska during a play. This is the type of movie that you already know is going to be built upon the concept of the jump-scare, but it takes the often overly employed plot device and actually couples it with sub-plots and proper pacing. Even for the avid horror film fan, this movie will definitely curdle your blood and send your anxiety level through the roof. Surprisingly, this found footage horror film deviates from some of the most common tropes appropriately associated with this horror sub-genre. Although any substantial narrative and dynamic plot lacks from the film, it still provides thrills, chills, and gasps. You may even find yourself resisting closing your eyes to avoid the horror on screen. Be sure to bring a friend or significant other along if you dare to watch!

The Gallows takes place during the final rehearsals for Beatrice High School’s production of the play The Gallows. Back in 1993, the school produced The Gallows but due to a prop malfunction, the character of August was actually hanged. Ever since then, the school until today, never produced the play again. Despite rumors and alleged sightings of paranormal activity in the school’s theatre, Pheifer (Pfeifer Brown) has decided to spearhead a revival of the cursed show. On the evening prior to the show’s opening, Pfeifer catches her co-star Reese (Reese Mishler), his douchey best friend Ryan (Ryan Shoos), and Ryan’s cheerleader girlfriend Cassidy (Cassidy Erin Gifford) dismantling the set. Unfortunately, this chance encounter inside the theatre, is the beginning of a night of terror and mystery.

Due to the very nature of the essence of a found footage movie, it is the type of movie that should be appreciated for what is it–some good scares for an hour or so. This movie genre is not produced to typify the art of filmmaking; but it’s produced for pure unpleasureable pleasure. So, given the goal of the movie, it was very successful in producing frightening imagery for the eyes and embedding terrifying thoughts in the minds of the audience whilst sticking to a coherent plot. I especially liked how the writers included subplots that underscored the more superficial narrative. This is something that is usually left out of found footage movies. Furthermore, the ending is definitely unique to what is typically expected in this sub-genre.

If you’re a fan of horror films, this is definitely one to check out! Even if you are not fond of found footage movies (as is the case with yours truly), you will still find a great deal of enjoyment in being scared for a short while. For further reading, check out the true story and urban legend that serves as the inspiration for this film. http://www.hauntedhovel.com/beatice-high-school-beatrice-nebraska.html and/or https://supernaturalinvestigations.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/the-charlie-grimille-case-beatrice-nebraska/

 

“Inside Out” movie review

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InsideOutThis is what we get from the creators of the beloved Disney-Pixar masterpiece Up? Prepare for a journey that not even Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus could take you on. Finally get up close and personal with those little voices in your head. Only, despite the prolific amount of “joy” in the movie, you will likely exhibit a moderate ‘meh’ following the close at the denouement when all is better for Riley. Unlike the emotional rollercoaster in Up, this is a pretty well a straight forward ticking-time-bomb structured movie. Fairly predictable and lacks the magic of past Disney-Pixar films. Think Cars 2. The only redeeming quality of the movie is Amy Poehler’s character of Joy. If you loved Parks and Recreation, then you will love the character of Joy because she is pretty much the effervescent Leslie Knope. There are no extreme highs nor extreme lows…the movie fails to arouse a great deal of emotion from the audience. You will definitely not find yourself crying like you did in Up, and the characters of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust won’t find a place in your heart like the cast from Toy Story. 

Inside Out is the latest movie from Disney-Pixar and is about Riley, an 11 year-old, girl from Minnesota who moves with her family to San Francisco in order for her dad to pursue a career with a startup company. Deep inside the conscious of Riley, the personified and anthropomorphic voices in her head are busy managing her emotions during this dynamic transition in Riley’s life. Joy (Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Anger (Lewis Black) all work together to see that Riley is feeling the way she needs to at any given moment while she is awake–or at least try to. Joy is the leader and attempts to see to it that Riley is joyous all the time. During a rough transitional period, emotions run haywire and Joy is unable to manage Riley’s feelings. Not meaning any harm, Sadness touches an otherwise happy core memory and the domino effect that leads to the destruction of feelings, memories, and emotions begins. After getting sucked from Headquarters into Riley’s longterm memory, Joy and Sadness must retrieve all the core memories and get them back to Headquarters before Riley retreats into a dark place and never returns.

This is Pixar’s big summer movie, but it feels more like a movie that should’ve been released during the spring or fall. It lacks that uniquely Pixar quality that we have come to love and expect from such masters of animated storytelling. The narrative struck me as something much closer to a DreamWorks film than a Pixar. Not that DreamWorks hasn’t had some hits–quite the contrary–they produced the Golden Globe winning film How to Train Your Dragon 2 last year and certainly had a major hit with Shrek and the first How to Train Your Dragon. But, typically Pixar movies stand as the epitome of the best in compelling animated storytelling. Visually, the film is quite colorful and personifies the voices in our head quite well. Unfortunately, the movie suffers from an inability to inspire the audience to fall in love with any of the respective characters; but the opposite is also true because there is not a deep dislike for the antagonist (which is essentially ‘time’) or opposition either. As most screenwriters will tell you, movies–even if time is truly the opposition or enemy–need the antagonist to have some type of physical representation. Simply stated, a movie needs a clearly defined external goal, and this film concentrates mostly on the internal goals.

Although not exemplary, we do have sufficient character development in Joy. She truly shows a great character arc that goes from someone who thinks she knows everything and how to keep Riley’s mind under control to knowing that all the various emotions need to work together in order to provide Riley with a healthy state of mind. The movie is definitely cute, and it has some great humor here and there. There are also many Easter Eggs from other Pixar movies as well. One of the funniest parts that most children will miss is the cliche imaginary boyfriend from Canada. In many ways, this movie feels like a filler movie to bridge the gap between movies until the highly anticipated Finding Dory and Toy Story 4. For those of you who really enjoy the Disney and Pixar shorts prior to the feature presentations, you will get a cute short film about two volcanos who fall in ‘lava.’ Although moderately entertaining, it was a cute way to begin Inside Out. The moderate cuteness and entertainment value in the short film is definitely indicative of the storytelling quality in the feature. It was a foreshadow of what was to be expected in Inside Out.

If you’re the parents of kids or you just love Disney-Pixar films, no matter the storytelling or entertainment value, then you will likely enjoy watching this movie. If you are looking for another Disney-Pixar movie to generate strong emotions and maybe even “joyous” tears, then this is may not be it. However, it has received high praise from other critics so far, so maybe there is something in this movie that I may have missed.

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