5ally5 Movie Reviews: January 2014

January 30, 2014

Frozen

2013 - 0/5
(I gave it 0, but like the temperature in the movie, its actually -10)

I wanted to watch something light hearted, and I knew a Disney movie would do the trick. And now that I’ve watched it…

In order to flush a review out, I guess I’ll start with the pro’s…
-it looked really nice, but not as great as Classic Disney

Okay, now moving onto the con’s…
-the musical aspect (you can apparently see this movie in the sing-along version *insert raised eyebrow*)

-the voice over’s (Kristen Bell does not have a knack for voice over’s or singing)

-the characters (they were all so boring and mediocre at best)

-a lot of things that went unexplained (why Elsa had powers and no one else in her family did; why Kristoff didn’t tell Anna or Elsa that he saw them as kids)

-the trolls were stupid

In conclusion I’d like to say 2 words about this movie: cash grab.

January 26, 2014

The Book Thief

2013 – 0/5

I’ve always wanted to read The Book Thief, and when I heard there was going to be a movie, I knew I had to read it first. I finally got around to reading the book, and I can see why there is so much hype around it… but, it was soooooo boring. The storyline wasn’t that great, and the content was so dry. So after having read the book, I felt as if I should watch the movie while the books still fresh in my mind.

So let me just start this review with my first gripe about this movie. It should have been in German with English subtitles. This movie was set in Germany, with German characters. Why would you answer with ‘nein’ then continue to speak English? Same goes with the curse words. Why it was in English is beyond me (aside from the obvious fact that the director/producer wanted to actually make money; unfortunately there are people who wouldn’t see a subtitled movie). And frankly, taking into consideration the content and the underlying message of the movie (more so the book) itself, it would have had more of an impact if it were subtitled!

When it comes to the narrator, well, that was the entire reason I wanted to read the book. I was curious to see how that would translate on screen. I’ll tell you this much: it didn’t. The narration sucked. It was terrible. It was pointless. The book was written in the point of view of Death; the movie had a narrator that sounded more like a voice over for a boring documentary, not Death.

My favourite character had to be Rudy Steiner – and he wasn’t even a main character! I didn’t really like any of the actors that were cast and their horrible accents. None of them suited their roles, and they didn’t look the part at all. Especially the guy that played Max. His ‘acting’ was the worst. The connection that was being made between Liesel and Max was really forced.

Moving forward… the book is always better than the movie right? Right! No doubt about it that the book was by far better than the movie. So, so, so many things were left out of the movie. The movie wasn’t put together well at all. They took what seemed like bits and pieces from the book and just made a movie out of it without explaining any of it. You had to make the connections yourself; luckily I read the book, so I knew what was going on. This made the movie really choppy. I hate to say this because I didn’t think I’d have to, but the movie sucked.

January 24, 2014

Prisoners

2013 - 3/5

I don’t know why, but I can’t bring myself to write a proper review, so point form it is.

I really hate movie rain. It always looks terrible because its always overdone.

I like Jake Gyllenhaal and I thought that he’d make a great detective.

I’m not a huge fan of Hugh Jackman, but I think he was fine for this role. A bit too aggressive though for a ‘normal guy’.

I had noooo idea Paul Dano was in this. He looked gross and creepy. I know him from The Girl Next Door and Little Miss Sunshine. After seeing this, I will say that he has acting range! Since LMS I’ve always thought he’s one of the most underused and under appreciated actors. That’s not to say that he’s flawless with what he does, he’s still got some work, but he’s always consistent.

It was a movie that was very well put together (editing, scene transitions)

Not to gloat, but at the 50 minute mark, I pieced it together. I was still curious how it would end, but I got the bigger part of the twist.

***SPOILER ALERT***
I defiantly did not enjoy watching a mentally disabled man get beaten and tortured. I think that was overkill.

I think adding religion into the mix gives the directors an easy way out for the reasoning behind actions; this I’m not a fan of.

I don't understand why the Keller's friends daughter (in the hospital after she was recovered), said that Keller was there. What did I miss?

January 16, 2014

Rush

2013 - 4/5

I’ll come right out and say it: before this movie, I had zero interest in Formula 1 racing… and I still don’t. A movie won’t change that. However, where this movie gets me is the fact that as soon as it was over, I immediately googled Niki Lauda and James Hunt. Mind you, I was only looking through the pictures, but nonetheless, I looked into it. I think that says a lot about a movie.

This movie was 2 hours long and it did not feel like it; it was perfectly paced. And by perfect, I mean PERFECT. Everything happened in a manner to which it didn’t seem like nothing was left out and nothing was shoe-horned in for the sake of filler. This leads me to my next point…

When I think of a supporting cast, there really isn’t one. I guess you can consider Suzy (Olivia Wilde) and Marlene (Alexandra Maria Lara) as the closest things to, but in the end, its all Niki Lauda and James Hunt. That’s it, that’s all you’re going to get. And I’m fine with that. Ron Howard put this movie together so well that that’s all you need. You don’t need other people and their side stories. From what I read on IMDB, the writer of this movie, Peter Morgan structured the film as a race of sorts between the two main characters. And it shows!

This movie is so character driven that I would have been content with just that. But the races were an added bonus. The story is the rivalry between Lauda and Hunt. As it progressed, you watch the movie as them as rivals, but what you actually get from it is 2 guys pushing themselves further to come out on top. You get the sense that they don’t hate each other; that they actually very much respect one another. It came across to the viewer so well. To me, that was the intent of the movie, and it was displayed so well.

Because this movie is based on 2 main characters, you end up getting 2 perspectives. This would be a great time to mention that the amazing camera angles that actually gave you a glimpse of what Luada or Hunt sees. There are times in which you side with one driver, but a bit later, you’re rooting for the other. As I was watching this, I felt that Lauda and Hunt were both on an even playing field. Ron Howard did a great job with not giving one of the drivers a lopsided advantage in the eyes of the viewer. You end up liking both characters. Lauda and Hunt for sure have different tactics and styles. And its because they’re so different that you are Team Lauda one minute, then Team Hunt the next. You really enjoy both characters and how they go about their job and their lives. Hunt is arrogant, cocky and an asshole. Lauda is professional, methodical, and also an asshole.

It’s the connection they have to one another that keeps you watching with anticipation to see how things unfold. This is probably one of the best character driven movies I’ve ever seen.

January 10, 2014

The Wolf of Wall Street

2013 - 1/5 & 2.9/5

With regards to this movie being based on a true story, I give it 1/5. This movie for pure entertainment, I give it 2.9/5. So why the discrepancy? I just can’t give a movie based on manipulation and fraud of people who worked hard for their money anything higher than a 1. To quote one IMDB reviewer, “It is NOT OK to rip people off; it is not OK to molest/rape women (wives included); nor is it OK to smack them around; it is not OK to drive under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol”.

When it comes to DiCaprio and Scorsese collaborations, I’ve only (now) seen 3 out of the 5 movies. I loved The Departed, hated Shutter Island, and have no desire to watch Gangs of New York or The Aviator. As for The Wolf of Wall Street, this movie looked like it would be really good. Scorsese is a very stylistic director and that’s one thing I really liked about The Departed. I was hoping that The Wolf would have that quality to it as well. Luckily enough, it does... perhaps even more.

The thing is that this movie didn’t feel like a 3 hour long movie; it felt like a long movie. By no means does it feel like it was only 90 minutes long, but it also doesn’t feel like it was 180 minutes. A happy medium was achieved, and some parts were much better than others. There are several times in which you think you’re watching the same thing you did 5 minutes prior.

The breakdown for me would go something like this: in the first hour of the movie, when Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) was recapping how he got to where he was it was perfectly paced (there were a lot of things being thrown at you story wise and visually). It slowed down a bit in the second hour and slowed down even more in the third hour.

There were a lot of obscene parts, to which I think that a certain amount of it would have been fine, however, Scorsese took it over the top. There was an overflow of debauchery that truly had no purpose and could have been left out. I’m not saying it should have all been taken out, I’m just saying that had it been done to a tasteful level, it wouldn’t have removed me from the movie as much as it did.

I read some reviews on IMDB in which people said that they would have liked to known what happens to the victims of Belfort’s fraud, however, I was content without it. I went into this movie expecting to watch the glorification of Jordan Belfort’s real life story of him building his company from the ground up. That’s what I got. I didn’t think it was necessary to add another hour to this movie just to see what happens to the victims – it’s the assholes story that I wanted to see. I hope its obvious that I don’t support fraud, however, when it comes to a 3 hour long movie, I’d like to be entertained.

Although I did love all the actors and thought that they all played their parts very well, there actually wasn’t any character development for pretty much every character; including Jordan Belfort.

I had no idea that Matthew McConaughey was in it. He didn’t have a big role, but he looked the part for sure. I was surprised to learn that he improvised some of his lines!

Jonah Hill was another solid actor in this movie, but when it comes to the character himself, there wasn’t much there. I also want to mention that the make-up/outfit that he wore was weird and didn’t really work for me. There was something about it that didn’t sit right with me.

I said this about DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby, and I’ll say it again about him in this movie, he was a bit too old for the part. Its obvious that they tried to make him look for youthful, but his age does come through. His [old] looks aside, I think he did a fantastic job as Jordan Belfort. There were some parts of the script that were really good; mainly when Belfort was delivering his speeches. You cant help but hang on to every word. I loved his voice over and the fact that he did at times talk directly to the camera. I felt that he was talking to me; and it worked for this movie. He has that charisma that just draws you in; and that’s what a con man does.

After 3 hours of staring at a screen my eyes hurt. There was so much visuals on screen that I had to focus on, that I turned my laptop off when the movie was over.

January 3, 2014

Drive

2011 - 4/5

I was in the mood to watch something suspenseful and thrilling, that also had a lot of tension/drama. Pretty much exactly what I thought the movie Rush (2013) would be. Well, I couldn’t watch that, so I picked Drive; probably because it involved fast cars like Rush would have been.

Usually I can tell if I like a movie with the first 20 minutes. I only needed 5 for this movie for me to know that I will like it. With that being said, my first instinct is to say that I’d recommend this movie to everyone! After reading a few reviews on IMDB, I was surprised to find out that a lot of people thought it was a boring movie. Well, good thing this is my review; so yes, I would still recommend this to everyone!

This is what you get when everyone that worked on this movie actually put effort into what they were doing. The movie as a whole was simplistic. Less was defiantly more. That’s not to say that it didn’t have its gruesome moments, but that aside, the vibe that LA exudes came across in the movie too. The scene transitions were smooth and the editing overall was good. It has some good camera angles (when you see the other car through the back window; when you see the mask in Driver’s shades).

I liked the first song and I ended up loving the rest of them too. Great soundtrack! The music married up with what was on screen so well.

When it comes to the acting, there was no weak link. Like everything else with this movie, the acting was great!

I didn’t know Bryan Cranston was in this. I have pretty much liked him in everything I’ve seen and this has been added to that list. It seems as if the he doesn’t even know he’s being filmed. He’s such a natural actor.

Anything and everything that Driver (Ryan Goslings) did was great: his demeanor, his style, the smirk, the toothpick…yes, even the toothpick! He was slick!!! Everything he did was so calculated and meticulous. Gosling plays the part of a quiet guy so well, but you still feel that there is something darker behind those eyes. You want to know what he knows. You want to be able to do what he did.

This is for sure a movie that will have its cult followers, which is fine by me. I love seeing the artwork that’s created. I could have very easily added several more pictures to the end of this review, but I refrained myself from doing so… that’s not to say you shouldn’t look into it for yourself.