A MONSTER CALLS
My rating: 7.8/10
Synopsis (c/o Focus Features): A visually spectacular and unabashedly emotional drama from director J.A. Bayona (THE IMPOSSIBLE). 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) is dealing with far more than other boys his age. His beloved and devoted mother (Felicity Jones) is ill. He has little in common with his imperious grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). His father (Toby Kebbell) has resettled thousands of miles away. But Conor finds a most unlikely ally when the Monster (portrayed by Liam Neeson in performance-capture and voiceover) appears at his bedroom window one night. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth that powerfully fuses imagination and reality.
My review:
I love movies that successfully combine very mature themes with a storytelling motif that makes those ideas much more accessible for the audience. Recent favorites like IT FOLLOWS and THE BABADOOK stand out for their creativity and boldness and ability to do so, and they may soon be joined by A MONSTER CALLS, a stirring and beautiful tale of a young boy struggling to come to terms with his mother's impending death by illness.
A MONSTER CALLS wastes no time sweeping the audience into its mythology and its many grinding gears. From the jump, we are introduced to Conor, who is a very sad young boy dealing with a very sad thing: his mother is dying of cancer. Conor has no friends or elders he can turn to for counsel in this situation; his mom seems to have been his only real friend. One night, at 12:07, Conor is visited in his bedroom by a monster made of branches and leaves from a nearby yew tree. The monster's purpose (at least, on the surface) is to tell Conor three tales, and eventually, hear a fourth told by Conor himself. In between visits from the monster, Conor is faced with the authoritarian behavior of his grandmother, the confusion brought about by his mixed feelings for his absent father, and a brutal bully at his school.
The monster serves as a well-utilized way for Conor to process his grief, as the stories he tells Conor all somehow relate to the young boy's life and thoughts and feelings. The monster is also an audience for Conor: with the monster, Conor is able to be destructive and loud and upset and sad, whereas he tends to be closed off around his mother and other family. The film ushers in very adult ideas, most notably, the very human urge to wish for pain to be over even if it is at the expense of others. We see Conor struggling to accept the reality of his situation, which is that -- as much as he loves his mother -- he can't bear the pain of knowing she will soon die. His awareness of this feeling brings about very tangible embarrassment and anger, but the monster encourages him to embrace this thought process despite how difficult it may be to do so.
For some, this may be a very difficult film to watch. If you've ever known someone with a terminal illness, the film definitely hits the same notes as movies like ME & EARL & THE DYING GIRL, and it touches heavily on the importance between parent and child, but the film is much more affecting in its moments where it recalls how hard it is to grieve, regardless of whatever you've had to grieve. It's a very thematically mature film, but its ideas are handled very gracefully and delicately, and you're sure to be moved quite heavily because of this.
Elsewhere, the film excels in other technical aspects. There is a gorgeous animated element of this film that reminds me of the "Tale of the Three Brothers" sequence in the penultimate Harry Potter film. The animation isn't cheesy or overdone; in fact, it's understated and visceral. Transition from live-action to animation isn't jarring, either, which is a nice accomplishment on the film's behalf.
The acting here is lovely and heartbreaking at times. The cast is small, and so its easy to understand each character and their feelings, which makes for several very emotional encounters between Lewis MacDougall and Felicity Jones, whose performance is thorough and superb. She pulls off the type of performance that lingers in every scene, even when her character is not on screen (which is much of the film).
A MONSTER CALLS is a jolt of a film, but it's a very welcome one. To see grief, especially a young child's grief, brought to life so vividly and realistically on the big screen is very refreshing and encouraging that perhaps there will be more stories that can capture what this film does.
Friday, January 6, 2017
'Hidden Figures' Review
HIDDEN FIGURES
My rating: 7.2/10
Synopsis (c/o 20th Century Fox): HIDDEN FIGURES is the incredible untold story of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) -- brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.
My review:
From among more heavy-handed, emotionally intense awards juggernauts comes HIDDEN FIGURES: a safer, more approachable crowdpleaser that breathes life into a story never told during an era in American history that has been covered in film countless times.
Director Theodore Melfi uses the general lack of public awareness of this story to his advantage to create three distinct characters all with equally compelling tales to tell. As Mary Jackson, Janelle Monae is a firecracker; lively and dynamic, it's hard to peel your eyes away from her whenever she's on screen; as Dorothy Vaughan, Octavia Spencer reminds audiences of the same control and authority she brought to such roles as hers in THE HELP and FRUITVALE STATION; and as Katherine Johnson, Taraji P. Henson is the bona fide star of FIGURES, and is given much more to do than most other "smart" female characters are in these kinds of films (contained, restrained biopics), and she handles her responsibilities with grace and poignance. HIDDEN FIGURES isn't afraid to put complicated math and engineering on display, and performers like Henson and Monae step readily up to the plate to convincingly be the conduits for such complex matters. Each actor (including Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and Jim Parsons in supporting roles) gives a straightforward, solid performance; none too showy, none underwhelming.
Apart from its performances, the other huge strength HIDDEN FIGURES has going for it is its genuineness. At the film's core is a massive beating heart, and it's obvious in each scene that this film was orchestrated with love and care. There is an energy to the film that is empowering and awe-inspiring; so much so that at the end of the film, the audience I was with burst into applause.
While there's no denying this film's charm, it isn't without flaw. My biggest issue with this movie is how safe it is. Seeing as this story is so criminally unheard of, the writers and director had a lot of creative leeway to expand upon the history of these women or the fucked-up things going on at NASA or in the STEM field across the country at that time. Sure, the film touches upon racial tension within NASA and the state of Virginia, but brief scenes like one featuring Kevin Costner demolishing a "colored ladies room" sign with a crowbar make it seem like the movie doesn't want to delve too much into those issues, but that it will address them to an extent. And I get it: this movie is about the successes of these women, but considering it also makes a point of the significance and prominence of discrimination in the workplace, HIDDEN FIGURES doesn't do much to address that subject differently than other recent films set in the Civil Rights era.
I would have loved to know more about the personal lives of each of these women. There are little glimpses into the lives of Johnson, Vaughan, and Jackson, sure, but they're just that -- little. I found myself wondering a lot about Katherine's adult life before motherhood; about Mary's time in class at an all-white school (a plot point that is sadly overlooked in favor of taking better care of Katherine's storyline); about what specific moments in her life made Dorothy so driven and ambitious.
But I can't review the movie I wish I'd gotten, and the movie I was given is pretty great on its own merits. Charismatic and pleasant from start-to-finish, there's much reason to recommend HIDDEN FIGURES. It's informative, entertaining, funny, and at times, very emotional. Well worth its price of admission, in the case of HIDDEN FIGURES, there's something for everyone here.
My rating: 7.2/10
Synopsis (c/o 20th Century Fox): HIDDEN FIGURES is the incredible untold story of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) -- brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.
My review:
From among more heavy-handed, emotionally intense awards juggernauts comes HIDDEN FIGURES: a safer, more approachable crowdpleaser that breathes life into a story never told during an era in American history that has been covered in film countless times.
Director Theodore Melfi uses the general lack of public awareness of this story to his advantage to create three distinct characters all with equally compelling tales to tell. As Mary Jackson, Janelle Monae is a firecracker; lively and dynamic, it's hard to peel your eyes away from her whenever she's on screen; as Dorothy Vaughan, Octavia Spencer reminds audiences of the same control and authority she brought to such roles as hers in THE HELP and FRUITVALE STATION; and as Katherine Johnson, Taraji P. Henson is the bona fide star of FIGURES, and is given much more to do than most other "smart" female characters are in these kinds of films (contained, restrained biopics), and she handles her responsibilities with grace and poignance. HIDDEN FIGURES isn't afraid to put complicated math and engineering on display, and performers like Henson and Monae step readily up to the plate to convincingly be the conduits for such complex matters. Each actor (including Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and Jim Parsons in supporting roles) gives a straightforward, solid performance; none too showy, none underwhelming.
Apart from its performances, the other huge strength HIDDEN FIGURES has going for it is its genuineness. At the film's core is a massive beating heart, and it's obvious in each scene that this film was orchestrated with love and care. There is an energy to the film that is empowering and awe-inspiring; so much so that at the end of the film, the audience I was with burst into applause.
While there's no denying this film's charm, it isn't without flaw. My biggest issue with this movie is how safe it is. Seeing as this story is so criminally unheard of, the writers and director had a lot of creative leeway to expand upon the history of these women or the fucked-up things going on at NASA or in the STEM field across the country at that time. Sure, the film touches upon racial tension within NASA and the state of Virginia, but brief scenes like one featuring Kevin Costner demolishing a "colored ladies room" sign with a crowbar make it seem like the movie doesn't want to delve too much into those issues, but that it will address them to an extent. And I get it: this movie is about the successes of these women, but considering it also makes a point of the significance and prominence of discrimination in the workplace, HIDDEN FIGURES doesn't do much to address that subject differently than other recent films set in the Civil Rights era.
I would have loved to know more about the personal lives of each of these women. There are little glimpses into the lives of Johnson, Vaughan, and Jackson, sure, but they're just that -- little. I found myself wondering a lot about Katherine's adult life before motherhood; about Mary's time in class at an all-white school (a plot point that is sadly overlooked in favor of taking better care of Katherine's storyline); about what specific moments in her life made Dorothy so driven and ambitious.
But I can't review the movie I wish I'd gotten, and the movie I was given is pretty great on its own merits. Charismatic and pleasant from start-to-finish, there's much reason to recommend HIDDEN FIGURES. It's informative, entertaining, funny, and at times, very emotional. Well worth its price of admission, in the case of HIDDEN FIGURES, there's something for everyone here.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Top 10 Movies of 2016
It's the end of the year! So, like I did last year, I compiled a list of my 10 favorite movies that were released this year in hopes that you may find some enjoyable, resonant ones that leave a mark on your life the way they did mine.
I didn't get to see every 2016 release I would have liked to (primarily "20th Century Women," "Silence," "Elle," and "A Monster Calls"), but that's because those movies don't get wider distribution (aka they don't come to the Midwest) until 2017.
I saw nearly 90 films that were released in 2016 (nearly 200 films in total this year), so this was a tough list to make! 3 films specifically -- "Other People," "Manchester-by-the-Sea," and "The Lobster" -- slid on and off my list for a while, so you should definitely check those out if you can...but these 10 are musts from me.
10. KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS -- the only animated film that makes my list, and probably my favorite animated film since "The Incredibles." I love when an animated film can use its illustrations to be just as compelling as the story it tells, and KUBO really stunned me with how it was able to do so. It combines its talented voice cast (Rooney Mara, Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew McConaughey) with gorgeous nods to the importance of storytelling and impeccable stop-motion design. Other animated films this year like "Zootopia" and "Finding Dory" were great, but KUBO made me cry, so.
9. JACKIE -- "movies that made me cry" is probably a solid subtitle for this list, as JACKIE managed to do so three times (as further explained in the review on my facebook). It would have been easy to dismiss a biopic like this as exploitative and to dismiss a performance like Natalie Portman's as an impression had JACKIE been a poorly-made film, but thanks to a real vision from director Pablo Larraín and true conviction and heft from Portman, this movie ends up as a real technical and visual triumph.
8. CHRISTINE -- I really wish more people had seen this movie! In fact, it was only in Kansas City for one week and at one theater. CHRISTINE actually grossed just under $300,000 nationwide. But box office is no indication of how good a movie is (2016 is a good example of how true that is), and CHRISTINE is a damn great movie!!!!!!!!!!! It is an examination of the transition of journalism from "meaningful" stories to sensationalism; it is a very raw depiction of mental illness; it is a character study of a very ruthless, broken, and complicated woman. It is also on iTunes, so please watch it. (Got teary-eyed in this one, as well)
7. CERTAIN WOMEN -- very muted and not at all showy of what it has to offer. Told in vignettes, CERTAIN WOMEN is really a quiet and intimate little movie about 4 women living their daily lives. Granted, those 4 women happen to be Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, and Lily Gladstone (all in character, of course), but the movie pulls itself off as a realistic and engaging portrait of life in the state of Montana. Didn't know I needed it, but I guess I did!
6. A BIGGER SPLASH -- I'm so obsessed with this movie, and it's the only one on this list released before the summertime, so it's really stuck with me. This one's directed by Luca Guadagnino, who directed "I Am Love," so I knew I was in for a visual treat, but the high energy and sexiness were a pleasant surprise. A BIGGER SPLASH features one of my favorite acting ensembles of recent memory (Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts), all of whom deliver fantastic turns, but Ralph Fiennes truly electrifies here. The movie is melodramatic and operatic and one big orgy and I love it.
5. MOONLIGHT -- similar to CERTAIN WOMEN, this movie is quiet and finds it strength in how the story builds up over time. The way this film balances its themes of masculinity and race and sexuality is so moving, and heartrending performances from Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, and a sweet one from Janelle Monae add a great deal of grounding and depth. The third act of the movie is one of the greatest cinematic experiences I've ever seen. Really, the whole movie is. (Cried in this one, too)
4. THE NEON DEMON -- for the longest time, this was my favorite fucking movie of this year because holy (!) shit (!) this (!) movie (!). It is obscene and absurd and campy and decadent and twisted. It is a runway from hell brought to life. I usually like to latch on to a rich story or intriguing characters, but THE NEON DEMON is mostly enthralling because of its gloss and its glamor. And its last 20 minutes. Damn.
3. ARRIVAL -- I will entertain assertions that Meryl Streep is the greatest actress of all time, and comments that Cate Blanchett or Julianne Moore or Isabelle Huppert are next in line for such a superlative, but you will see me sitting curtly in the corner ready to pounce with my case for Amy Adams. This movie has been rightfully described as palindromic, and there is really no better way to explain the front-to-back punch this movie -- and Amy's performance -- packs. It is a brilliant sci-fi flick, but it is also a story of grief and of motherhood and, interestingly, language. I find it hard to believe any other performer could have pulled off what Amy Adams does in this movie, and although she carries it, the film is amazing enough in its other aspects. Duh, I cried here.
2. NOCTURNAL ANIMALS -- stylish and eery and gripping and artful, to think that NOCTURNAL ANIMALS is only Tom Ford's 2nd film is nearly impossible. The way he is able to tell (at least) three different stories that all seamlessly intertwine is masterful. Every minute of the movie is impactful, whether it be through the gorgeous costumes or the stunning production design or the shocking script or great performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Amy Adams. This movie just lands immediately and drives its head and heart home. Another one this year I really have a huge obsession with.
1. LA LA LAND -- plainly put, this is the best movie of the year. Technically, it dazzles from start to finish. The costumes are impeccable; the score and soundtrack are infectious ("City of Stars" and "Audition" move me to tears every time); the cinematography (shot by one of my favorite DPs, Linus Sandgren) is luminescent. But apart from the fact that this film is perfect on a technical level, there is something about it that just feels infallible. Its heart is its biggest strength, and its ability to grab its audience and inject life into a story you think you've seen before is unmatched. The whole movie is breathtaking, but its final 20 minutes will truly stop your heart. This movie transcends expectations and standards to become a truly great film. I can't sing its praises enough. It's quickly become one of my favorite movies of all time, and I didn't think a movie could do so as quick as this one did.
And for fun, my 10 favorite performances of the year (not ranked):
- Amy Adams, ARRIVAL
- Emma Stone, LA LA LAND
- Michelle Williams, MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA
- Molly Shannon, OTHER PEOPLE
- Naomie Harris, MOONLIGHT
- Ralph Fiennes, A BIGGER SPLASH
- Rebecca Hall, CHRISTINE
- Natalie Portman, JACKIE
- Lily Gladstone, CERTAIN WOMEN
- Nicole Kidman, LION
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