Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Southpaw & Pixels

Dearest Blog: The weekend's bad news: The cinema schedule was impossibly awkward, forcing me to stretch my new-release double-bill over two days. The good news: The crappy timing allowed me to sneak in a second screening of Spy yesterday, and extra Statham isn't exactly a hardship.

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

On Friday's agenda, the Kurt Sutter-penned boxing drama Southpaw.

A former world champion boxer has to rebuild his life after his wife's murder sends him into a downward spiral.

If I had to describe Southpaw in one word, it would be "intense." I don't think Sutter is a great writer, but he is an exciting writer, and it's to his credit that I was a nervous wreck for the duration of the movie, despite being relatively certain I knew how it'd play out. (In the interest of remaining unspoilery, I won't say whether or not I was correct in that assumption.)

Southpaw's boxing scenes are extremely real, and sometimes difficult to watch. The personal drama is equally so. Performances are superb in roles large and small, and Jake Gyllenhaal is amazing in the lead. Gyllenhaal is frustrating and sympathetic, inspiring and heartbreaking, and ridiculously fit, handling all his own boxing chores in the interest of realism. (My movie popcorn and soda have never, ever made me feel more guilty!) July is hardly a hotbed of awards contenders, but hopefully folks won't forget Gyllenhaal's incredible performance when awards season rolls around.

Southpaw is marked by Sutter's characteristic violence, family angst, and anger issues. The movie is predictable and broadly drawn at times, but it moves at a good clip and has no problem holding your attention right up to the last minute. By the end I was so wound up I was talking to the screen just like I would while watching a real sporting event. (Thank goodness for almost-empty weekday theatres!)
Southpaw runs 123 minutes and is rated R for "language throughout, and some violence."

You don't have to love boxing to love Southpaw; it's a straight-up great film.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Southpaw gets eight.

On the docket for Saturday, Adam Sandler's comedy/adventure Pixels.

Aliens mistake video of an arcade competition for a threat, and attack Earth in the form of 80s video-game characters.

I make a point of not reading reviews before I write mine, but, being online as much as I am, I couldn't miss the fact that a lot of people think Pixels really stinks. I'm here to ask those folks, in the immortal words of the Slowskys, "Why don't you like fun?"

I do not like Adam Sandler, not even a little bit. On occasion I like a movie despite Adam Sandler, but never because of Adam Sandler. I continue to give Adam Sandler chances to win me over, because I felt the same way about Ben Stiller before Tropic Thunder, and I figure everyone deserves a second, tenth, or 250th chance, right?

I won't pretend Pixels should sweep the Academy Awards or anything. Much as I enjoyed it, I even understand a little bit why critics are bashing it, though I'd bet some of them didn't bother watching it before doing so. I'm pretty sure you lose your Official Critics' Card if you say anything nice about a movie starring Adam Sandler. For the rest of us, though, Pixels has more than a few things going for it.

As with many Sandler vehicles, the nostalgia is laid on thick and heavy. If you're in the 40-60 age range, you're almost guaranteed to love the movie based solely on the musical selections and pop-culture references. The first half of Pixels is consistently laugh-out-loud funny. The second half is more action heavy, and, if the laughs taper off a bit, they're replaced with truly marvelous special effects. Due to time constraints, I saw Pixels in 2D, but you can bet I'm seeing it again in 3D as soon as humanly possible, and I have no doubt it's going to be worth it.

The look of this film is TOP-NOTCH. Pixels isn't going to change your mind about its cast; you'll enjoy the actors you already like, and continue to be annoyed by the ones you don't. To Sandler's credit, he only does one (1) of his trademark stupid voices the whole time, making him at least 95% less irritating to me than he normally is.

Pixels clocks in at a quick 105 minutes and is rated PG13 for "some language and suggestive comments."

It's possible Pixels won't connect with people of a certain age, but young kids are sure to love the action and eye-popping effects as much as we older folks do the tunes and 80s jokes.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Pixels gets seven.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: SOUTHPAW

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as troubled boxer Billy Hope in this high-stakes drama from director Antoine Fuqua and Sons of Anarachy creator Kurt Sutter. At the height of his fame and success, Hope is convinced by his loving wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) to retire from the sport in order to spend more time with the couple's daughter Leila (Oona Laurence). On the night of his retirement announcement, a rival boxer calls out Hope and an altercation breaks out, killing Maureen. Hope's self-destructive behavior worsens, and Leila is taken away by child services. In order to redeem his life and get his daughter back, Hope must return to boxing under the tutelage of hardened trainer Titus "Tick" Willis (Forest Whitaker). ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Rachel McAdams, Curtis Jackson, Rita Ora

Release Date: Jul 24, 2015

Rated: R for some Violence and Language Throughout

Runtime: 2 hr. 3 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Southpaw can best be described as reverse Rocky.  Billy Hopes riches to rags to riches never really feels fresh just predictable.  Antoine Fuqua’s film mines better boxing films for material so the films plot feels inevitable instead of engaging.  Thankfully Jake Gyllenhaal delivers an engaging performance that carries the film on multiple levels.  His body is transformed into a believable junior middle weight boxer and the boxing sequences are some of the most realistic ever put on screen.  His intensity is ever present and makes the entire thing watch able.  Forest Whitaker joins the film about halfway through its runtime and it’s all the better for it.  Gyllenhaal and Whitaker make for an interesting pair even as the film rolls towards a predictable finale.  Southpaw isn’t the worse or best boxing film I’ve ever seen but it’s a solid mid range melodrama.

B-

Cindy Prascik's Review of Marvel's Ant-Man

Dearest Blog, today it was off to the cinema to tick off another item on the "Superhero Movies I Have to Get Through Before They'll Give Me Another Batman" list. On the docket: Marvel's Ant-Man.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

An ex-con looking for a new path finds good things really do come in small packages.

(Sooooooooooo...anybody else get a li'l misty every time that Star Wars trailer runs? Just me, then?)

Somehow Ant-Man never seemed to generate the kind of excitement Marvel's gotta be pretty used to by now. Sure, there's a built-in audience that's always going to be wound up about a genre picture, but to me Ant-Man just doesn't sell itself to the random box-office walkup like Captain America or Thor.

My own anticipation was far greater when it was flying under the "Written & Directed by Edgar Wright" flag, but I'm pleased to report Ant-Man is a thoroughly enjoyable movie, and much of it still feels quite "Wright," if you'll pardon the terrible pun. (Wright retains writing and producing credits.)

As fits the Marvel brand, Ant-Man is mostly light, and often wanders into flat-out hilarious territory.

It's got a lot more going for it than you might think, but the humor is, by far, its best attribute. The movie's got some sweet effects, too, though I did grow a little tired of the big bugs/tiny person sequences. (We get it, he's an ANT man!) Ant-Man mostly moves along at a good clip and is smart enough not to wear out its welcome, but it occasionally it tries too hard to explain itself, and I could feel the crowd around me getting restless at times.

Some of the Avengers references started to feel a little bit Agents-of-S.H.I.E.L.D. desperate, too: "Guys, this might not be as good as our other stuff..better throw in an Iron Man joke so people remember that's us too!" If you're a Paul Rudd fan--and I can't imagine there's anyone who isn't--you'll be delighted at how perfectly he fits into Ant-Man's tiny boots.

I was a little nervous, but I needn't have worried; Rudd is ideally suited to the character and the movie. The supporting cast is pretty terrific from top to bottom, too, though I'm still not sold on Evangeline Lilly. If pressed to say my favorite part of the film, it'd have to be the trio of Michael Pena, Tip "T.I." Harris, and David Dastmalchian (or, as I call him, "that crazy guy from The Dark Knight who did the Wendy's commercial"), who provide laugh-out-loud moments every time they're onscreen.

Ant-Man clocks in at 117 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sci-fi action violence."

I think the lone other patron who waited out the credits with me put it best when he said, "Well...I liked that better than Age of Ultron!"

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Ant-Man gets eight.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: TRAINWRECK

Since she was a little girl, it’s been drilled into Amy’s (Schumer) head by her rascal of a dad (Colin Quinn) that monogamy isn’t realistic. Now a magazine writer, Amy lives by that credo—enjoying what she feels is an uninhibited life free from stifling, boring romantic commitment—but in actuality, she’s kind of in a rut. When she finds herself starting to fall for the subject of the new article she’s writing, a charming and successful sports doctor named Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), Amy starts to wonder if other grown-ups, including this guy who really seems to like her, might be on to something.

 Director: Judd Apatow

Cast: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn

Release Date: Jul 17, 2015

Rated R for strong Sexual Content, Nudity, Language and Some Drug Use

Runtime: 2 hr. 2 min.

Genres: Comedy

Review:

Amy Schumer, comedy’s IT girl at the moment, first film is a solid romantic comedy.  Yes, there’s here trademark vulgarity and wit but at it’s core it’s a rom-com anyway you cut it.  That’s not a knock but you notice all the same beats in you’ve seen in every rom-com.  In Judd Apatow’s hands its funny and sometimes insightful look into relationships and growing up to a certain extent.  As with all Apatow films it’s overlong by a good half hour and there are some steady bits of deadtime.  That being said, Schumer and Hader have good chemistry together with both settling into their roles comfortably.  Schumer’s voice is rarely lost in the film which, outside of a weird love hate relationship with sports, is a good thing.  Especially since a lot of comics can get sucked into becoming a parody of what made them famous.  Trainwreck doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it just shows you that when done right, it does roll along just fine.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: ANTMAN

The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man.” Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Director: Peyton Reed 

Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Matt Gerald, Corey Stoll

Release Date: Jul 17, 2015 RealD 3D

Runtime: 1 hr. 55 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Family

Review:

I have no issue saying that I expect the worse when I heard Antman was announced to the docket of Marvel films being made.  First of all, the concept is one of those ridiculous conceits that probably play better on the page than in real life.  Secondly, there’s all the behind the scenes drama with Edgar Wright leaving the project and Peyton Reed coming and having to rewrite part of the script with Paul Rudd.  It just seemed ready made for a disaster, so was it?  No, it’s a fun movie that’s hilarious in parts and enjoyable throughout.  The sillier part of the concept is pulled off with impressive ease and Paul Rudd fits the role perfectly.   A solid supporting cast, anchored by a very engaged Michael Douglas, makes for an all around good time.  It’s the type of Marvel film you come to expect and it doesn’t throw any major curveballs.  There are a few Marvel universe bits thrown in and it’s not as shoehorned as they’ve been in other film.  Minor issues like Evangeline Lilly’s wig and Corey Stoll mustache twirling villainy, I still half expected his toupee from The Strain to pop up, are digestible.  Antman is a solid entry to the ever expanding universe and worth seeing for impressive action set pieces and a surprisingly sharp script, be sure to stick around for the two stingers at the end.

B  

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Self/Less & Minions

Dearest Blog, today the sun came out in the Ohio Valley, so I escaped to the cold darkness of the cinema. On the docket: Self/Less and Minions.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing the trailers haven't already given away.

First up: Self/less.

A wealthy, terminally-ill man (Ben Kingsley) undergoes a secret, controversial procedure to transfer his consciousness into a healthy young body (Ryan Reynolds).

Well, dear reader(s), if you've done any Internetting since yesterday, you've probably already seen Self/less bashed every which way from Sunday, called a flop, and held aloft as further proof that Ryan Reynolds just doesn't put butts in the seats. None of that is probably far off the mark, but it's perhaps more harsh than the movie--and Reynolds--deserve.

The basic premise of Self/less--the idea of putting our minds, our personalities, our "souls" (if you believe in such things) into another vessel when our existing ones expire--is not revolutionary, and the movie's means of tackling it is neither new nor special. It feels ho-hum from the outset, and things don't exactly pick up quickly. Laying the groundwork takes a good 45 minutes. Once the film gets moving, the tension is solid and there are a couple decent twists.

The writing is a bit awkward, and any foreshadowing is so obvious they might as well have run a crawl across the bottom: "Pay attention! This will be important later!" Most performances are wooden at best, though Reynolds is as earnest as always. For my part, I think he does the best he can with the material. Matthew Goode is also okay, but there's just not much to work with. Surprisingly, I was never really bored, but I couldn't fairly call it a good movie, either.

Self/less runs 114 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of violence, some sexuality, and language."

Self/less probably isn't *quite* as bad as you've heard, but please don't mistake that for a ringing endorsement.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Self/less gets four and a half.

Next on the agenda, Minions.

Bet you didn't even know you needed an "origins" story for Despicable Me's lovable little yellow fellows, did ya?

B.G. (Before Gru), the Minions do time with other super-villains.

The Minions are my favorite part of the Despicable Me movies, but even I wondered if their gibberish routine wouldn't wear thin over a full 90 minutes of it. The good news: Minions are still a lot of fun.

The bad news: the story is paper thin and barely holds up for even such a short movie. The voice talent features big names like Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Alison Janney, and Michael Keaton, but nobody is all that interesting. There are a few good laughs, and, for the older fan, some tips of the hat to the time period in which the film is set (including some terrific tunes), but mostly I was fidgeting in my seat and checking the clock.

Minions clocks in at 91 minutes and is rated PG for action and mild rude humor.

Minions are still pretty lovable, but your money would be better spent on a cute, plush Kevin, Bob, or Stuart than on a ticket to this movie. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Minions gets three.

Until next time...

Banana!