Cindy Prascik's Review of Snowden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas to check out the latest from Oliver Stone: Snowden. 

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. Convinced the US government's spying has gone too far, a CIA consultant steals information to expose its secrets. Snowden is awards bait at its most obvious. 

 

Timely, contentious subject matter combines with decorated talent to peg it an early contender, but that doesn't necessarily make it a great movie. 

 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is compelling as Edward Snowden, though his deliberate method of speech is nearly as distracting as his French accent was in The Walk. Rhys Ifans and Nicolas Cage turn in terrific performances as Snowden's CIA mentors, and Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, and Tom Wilkinson are fantastic as the journalists who helped break Snowden's remarkable story. 

 

While Snowden's tale is undoubtedly fascinating, the movie seems to drag. Your attention isn't likely to wander too far, but you'll be getting mighty fidgety by the second act. A political story by default, Snowden may annoy both sides of the aisle equally. 

 

Unlike last weekend's pristine cinema hero, Sully, Ed Snowden is no squeaky-clean good guy; his reasons were brave and selfless, but he still broke laws intended to protect the country he loves so much. Is he a heroic villian? A villianous hero? The movie asks the questions, but isn't all that convincing in its answer. Snowden is distractingly desperate for awards, but there are some great moments to be found. 

 

A scene where a video-screen Ifans looms cartoonishly-large over Levitt's doubting Snowen is particularly effective. 

 

The film maintains tension throughout, but a cheesy ending leaves you feeling like it was all for naught. Snowden clocks in at 134 minutes and is rated R for "language and some sexuality/nudity." Snowden is a reasonably entertaining outing, but its heavy-handedness is ultimately its downfall. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Snowden gets five and a half. 

Fangirl points: Timothy Olyphant! Until next time... 

 

MOVIE REVIEW: UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Ken Scott's comedy Unfinished Business stars Vince Vaughn as a struggling businessman trying to get his fledgling company off the ground. To do so he must travel with his partners (Dave Franco and Tom Wilkinson) on a foreign business trip in order to land a huge client. Unexpectedly, our hero discovers that he is competing against his former boss, and his attempts to show the prospective clients the best night of their lies leads to a number of unexpected complications. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Director: Ken Scott     

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, James Marsden, Nick Frost

Release Date: Mar 06, 2014     

Rated R for some strong risqué sexual content/graphic nudity, language and drug use    

Runtime: 1 hr. 31 min.     

Genres: Workplace Comedy, Comedy     

Review:

Unfinished Business is a lazy uninspired comedy that’s a mish mash of various things while never really coming together at all.  The film seems like its fertile ground for the comedy but it just never pulls itself together.  As a result you’re left with various dead spots which make the relatively short film seem incredibly long.  Throw in an oddly shoehorned anti-bullying subplot and you have a strangely unfunny film even though Dave Franco and Tom Wilkinson are trying their hardest to pull something out of the film.  Vince Vaughn does his usual shtick looking more haggard than usual, probably how you’ll feel by the end of the film.

D

Cindy Prascik Reviews of Selma & Taken 3

Dearest Blog, this weekend my cinema surprised me with three new(ish) releases. In an attempt at responsible behavior, I saw two of said new releases rather than just seeing The Hobbit again. Since I can be just SO responsible, you know it was always gonna be Taken 3 and whichever awards hopeful worked best with Taken 3, which happened to be Selma.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

First on my agenda was Selma.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in an attempt to assure equal voting rights.

Well, dear reader(s), I don't really have adequate words for Selma, other than to say it should be required viewing for everyone, period. Based on actual events that are often difficult to watch, the movie still manages to entertain as it inspires.

The performances are extraordinary, with David Oyelowo leading the way in an Oscar-worthy turn.

Tim Roth is also especially noteworthy as Alabama Governor George Wallace.

The story moves at a good clip and is peppered with rousing monologues. There were times I actually jumped in my seat at the violence, even knowing what was coming. The movie's historical accuracy has been called into question a bit, but there's no denying Selma is a fantastic film with a vital message.

Selma runs 128 minutes and is rated PG13 for "disturbing thematic material including violence, a suggestive moment, and brief strong language."

Whether it wins any of the big prizes remains to be seen, but Selma is likely the most important movie you'll watch this year.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Selma gets eight and a half.

Next up was the final (?) installment in Liam Neeson's Taken trilogy.

Accused of murder, Bryan Mills sets out to clear his name and protect his family.

So...you say "Taken 3" and people just kinda roll their eyes.

How many times can this happen to the same guy, right? If you're willing to suspend your disbelief, though, Taken 3 is self-aware good fun. Liam Neeson is in top ass-kicking form, managing lots of awesomely ridiculous escapes and delivering plenty of crowd-pleasing kills.

The rest of the cast--including Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker--is fine, but, if we're being honest, they could be marionettes for all it matters; it's Neeson's show and as long as he's outsmarting baddies and beating them to a pulp, you don't much care about anything else.

The movie has spectacular action sequences, well-choreographed fight scenes, a fair few laugh-out-loud moments, a satisfying--if predictable--final act, and is smart enough not to wear out its welcome.

With even half-reasonable expectations, you're guaranteed a fun couple hours.

Taken 3 runs 109 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of violence and action, and for brief strong language."

If you're in the market for a bit of brainless entertainment, it doesn't get much more brainless or much more entertaining than this.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Taken 3 gets six.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: SELMA

David Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King Jr. in this historical drama set during the height of the American civil-rights movement, and depicting the marches from Selma, AL, to the state capital of Montgomery to secure voting rights for black people. Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey produce and Ava DuVernay (I Will Follow, Middle of Nowhere) directs. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Ava DuVernay 

Cast: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Carmen Ejogo, Alessandro Nivola, Giovanni Ribisi

Release Date: Dec 25, 2014

Rated PG-13 for Brief Strong Language, A Suggestive Moment, Disturbing Thematic Material and Violence 

Runtime: 2 hr. 8 min. 

Genres: Drama 

Review:

Selma is an excellent film which captures the 60’s civil rights movement but feels timely at the same time.  Ava DuVernay’s direction, helped by some beautiful and evocative cinematography, provides immediacy to the entire story.  As a result the film rarely drags even though there are a few moments where it could have been trimmed, just a tad.  At the center of it all is a mesmerizing David Oyelowo who delivers a career making performance as King.  Oyelowo captures King’s voice inflections perfectly but it’s more than just mimicry.  The script gives us a King that’s very human and Oyelowo brings that to the screen perfectly.  We see the passion, some of the failings and pain King went through along with some wonderfully engrossing reenactments of famous speeches.  The rest of the cast was strong with nary a weak link in the cast even though I’d love to have seen a bit more of King’s relationship with his wife, played well by Carmen Ejogo.  Selma is a sure fire awards candidate, it’s also the type of film that may make your eyes well up on more than a few occasions.

A-

Cindy Prascik’s Review of The Lone Ranger

Dearest Blog, yesterday I trekked to the cinema to see The Lone Ranger. Should have been The Lone Ranger and Despicable Me 2, but, alas, the lure of Star Trek remains too strong, so Gru will have to wait.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

A reluctant masked hero and his Native American sidekick seek justice in the Old West.

Now, dearest Blog, my great affection for Johnny Depp might reasonably lead reader(s) to assume I'd have a positive bias towards this film, so I must stress that nothing could be further from the truth. I was flatly against this movie from the outset, and prayed every bump on its troubled production path would be the one that kept my adored team of filmmakers (Bruckheimer, Verbinski, Elliott and Rossio) from embarrassing themselves with what seemed like the mother of all bad ideas. When trailers started popping up, I was relieved it didn't look quite as bad as I'd feared. Yesterday at the cinema, to my great surprise, I was in love from the first frame.

The Lone Ranger is not without flaws, and, since I always prefer to get my bad news out of the way first, we'll go ahead and start with where it goes wrong.

Regular reader(s) won't be too stunned to hear me complain about the length. At almost two and a half hours, The Lone Ranger is 30-45 minutes longer than it needs to be. Bad enough when a complex drama or some epic fantasy runs long, but it's inexcusable in a summer popcorn flick.

The Lone Ranger derives much of its humor from cheap sources: horse manure, a guy in a bonnet, a dead bird. Not that I didn't laugh, but at some point that kind of thing does wear out its welcome.
Mostly, though, as an idea, The Lone Ranger seems too broadly drawn to be updated effectively for 21st-century cinema; such a vanilla good guy is almost a joke by current standards. Having said that, the original intent was sincere, and for a different time, so playing the bumbling hero for laughs feels like an insult to the source, as does the extreme violence in the film.

Onto the positives, starting where I always will, with the cast. Ahhh, this cast! Armie Hammer stars in the title role and does a fine job of it, despite being relegated to sidekick in his own film. Hammer is the perfect leading man, a solid actor with a flair for comedy--painfully good looking to boot--and this kind of "white hat" role suits him to a T. Johnny Depp enjoys top billing as Tonto, his Tonto portrayed as the wise one who (reluctantly) guides the Lone Ranger on his path. I am the truest of true Depp fans, so I desperately wish he'd return to roles that remind people why he's the best actor in the world, but he's entertaining in a part that does little to tax his extraordinary talent. The Lone Ranger's chief baddie is the amazing William Fichtner, and wow, what a baddie! I think the last time I was this in love with a villain was Fichtner in Drive Angry. Tom Wilkinson, Helena Bonham-Carter, and Barry Pepper turn in terrific performances in supporting roles, and I give myself full marks for picking out favorites James Frain, W. Earl Brown, Stephen Root, and Leon Rippy despite their having limited screen time and being covered in dirt and/or fake hair!

For my money, there is no genre that suits the big screen quite so magnificently as the Western. Everyone knows I love big explosions and big effects and I'll pay my money any day for great monsters and huge spaceships and sweeping shots of superheroes overlooking their fair cities, but none of it quite compares to a panorama of rock and sand and galloping horses. But for one wonky CGI shot near the beginning, The Lone Ranger is a glorious feast for the eyes, the likes of which I've not seen in some time.

The humor is effective, though, as mentioned, mostly lowbrow, with some solid physical comedy thrown in for good measure. My packed cinema was roaring with laughter throughout.

Despite The Lone Ranger's excessive runtime, I was never bored, never inclined to check the time, never wished it'd just get over already. That doesn't mean it's not too long, and it certainly would have been a more-effective and better-regarded 100-minute movie, but it never stopped entertaining me.

Finally, The Lone Ranger's final act boasts one of the best action sequences in recent memory, exciting and beautifully filmed. Any problems the with rest of the film are quickly forgiven and forgotten once that train gets a-rollin'.

The Lone Ranger is taking a critical drubbing and will undoubtedly be considered a "flop" by this team's usual standards, but I think its worst enemy is those who are so swayed by what they've heard that they can't just enjoy the movie for what it is. I'm not talking about low expectations, which I firmly contend are the key to a happy life; I'm talking about people who are so determined to hate it that they've left themselves zero chance of being pleasantly surprised. Much like 2009's The A-Team, I understand why everyone won't love The Lone Ranger, but the film does NOT deserve the pure spite being leveled at it.

The Lone Ranger clocks in at 149 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of action and violence, and some suggestive material." As certain as I was that it would be awful, I'm delighted and surprised to call it one of my favorite films of the year so far.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Lone Ranger gets seven and a half.

Until next time...


All the evil awards all the time to you, sir!