Cindy Prascik's Review of The 33

Dearest Blog: today it was off to Marquee Cinemas for an uncommon treat: Lou Diamond Phillips on the big screen in The 33. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or the news. 

 

A mine in Chile collapses, trapping 33 miners underground for over two months. 

 

Dear reader(s), make no mistake: This is a fascinating, inspiring story that's more than worth hearing. 

 

Shame somebody couldn't do a better job of telling it. 

 

For The 33's purposes, it's not good enough that these men survived such extraordinary circumstances. 

 

Not good enough, the genuine angst of family and friends camped out waiting for any small bit of news. Not good enough, the folks whose great leaps of faith ensured hope was never abandoned. 

 

The melodrama is laid on so thick that connecting to any real emotion is...well...about as easy as finding a bunch of guys buried under thousands of feet of solid rock. The miners' personalities are so broadly-drawn they're little more than caricatures, and the dialogue is just plain cheesy. 

 

That's the bad news. The good news is, an excessive runtime doesn't really feel like it. Despite a well-known outcome, the movie still expertly maintains tension as the audience waits with the miners' loved ones for any positive sign. We West Virginians are no strangers to holding our collective breath through such events, and the painful experience is effectively portrayed onscreen. 

 

There's some strong work among the supporting cast, even if most of the headliners are quite over the top. Lou Diamond Phillips is amazing, because Lou Diamond Phillips is always amazing. (That's a scientific fact.) There are some good laughs and some cheap ones--the good ones lightening the mood at just the right moments--and James Horner's score is terrific. 

 

Overall, an imperfect exercise, but still worth a look. The 33 clocks in at 127 minutes and is rated PG13 for "a disaster sequence and some language." The 33 isn't a terrible movie, yet it's hard not to think such a great story deserves better. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The 33 gets five. Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of The Peanuts Movie & Spectre

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the latest offerings from a pair of iconic franchises: The Peanuts Movie and Spectre.

 

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

 

First up: Hapless Charlie Brown tries to reinvent himself in The Peanuts Movie.

 

As animation goes, The Peanuts Movie is classically cartoonish, nothing revolutionary. If you pay to see it in 3D, you've probably wasted your money; you'd do better to put the extra two bucks towards a second 2D screening. That out of the way, The Peanuts Movie is otherwise PERFECT. The story is classic Peanuts: luckless Charlie Brown attempts to impress the Little Red-Haired Girl. 

 

That sounds pretty thin, but the film--even including an Ice Age short--is barely longer than your average TV special, and the main storyline is spelled by chapters of the WWI Flying Ace's never-ending battle with the Red Baron, so it holds up just fine. There's nothing in the movie that requires viewers to have previous Peanuts knowledge, but if you're a fan...boy are you going to be happy. 

 

This movie has absolutely everything a Peanuts lover could want...Vince Guaraldi's musical themes, Lucy's "Psychiatric Help" booth, Schroeder's Beethoven obsession, and "Sirs" and "Blockheads" to spare...hell, even Marcie and Franklin get a decent amount of screen time! Nostalgia is laid on good and thick, but not in a patronizing way that detracts from what's overall a delightful film for the entire family. The Peanuts Movie also bears a lesson about self-worth that's important, but never overbearing. My theatre gave the movie an enthusiastic round of applause as the end-credits rolled.

 

The Peanuts Movie runs 93 minutes and is rated G.

 

When classic properties are remade or rebooted, the Internet is fond of saying: "Childhood: ruined;" however, in the case of The Peanuts Movie, it's more like Childhood: regained. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Peanuts Movie gets eight.

 

Next on the agenda, James Bond's latest outing: Spectre.

 

Bond's past haunts his present as he tries to derail a sinister foe's dastardly plan.

 

Dear Internet Blurbs: Spectre is no Skyfall, we get it. It's still pretty great, though, eh? Well, at least I thought so.

 

Spectre is looooooong...like, almost-two-and-a-half-hours long. I'm always the first to cast the stinkeye at any runtime that exceeds two hours, but in this case it would be an unfair complaint; I'm sure the movie could have been trimmed here or there, but it never feels like it should have been. 

 

The spectacular opening scene--beautifully set in Mexico City during a Dia de los Muertos celebration--sets the tone for what follows: a sexy, funny, sometimes cheesy (in the best way), fast-paced thriller that does the 007 franchise proud. Craig's Bond is on point as both super-spy and ladies' man, with a healthy dose of "haunted by the past" thrown in for good measure. 

 

The supporting cast is terrific, though the always-wonderful Christoph Waltz is MIA for most of the first hour, and I'd hoped for a bit more Ben Whishaw. *sigh* Well-placed humor lightens the tone amid frenetic action sequences, all set against the backdrop of some of the world's most beautiful locations.

 

Spectre clocks in at 148 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality, and language."

 

Spectre may be a less perfect outing than its predecessor, but it's still a lot of fun. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Spectre gets seven and a half.

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: SPECTRE

A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

Director: Sam Mendes

Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris

Release Date: Nov. 6, 2015

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and language

Runtime: 2 hr. 28 min.

Genres: Action, Adventure

Review:

Spectre is a totally serviceable Bond film that hits all the expected beats but rarely surprises.  Coming after Skyfall, which is probably one of the best Bond films, doesn’t help Spectre since the comparisons are unavoidable.  Skyfall felt fresh and had a strong sense of immediacy something Spectre lacks.  Spectre delivers all the globe trotting set pieces and love interest required for a Bond film.  Its biggest issue is that it feels rather paint by the numbers throughout.  Even the big reveal feels kind of perfunctory when it should be a jaw dropping moment.  In lesser hands this would be a total miss but Sam Mendes is an incredibly talented film maker.  He delivers a beautiful film that has some great moments with the opening sequence in Mexico City and a thrilling chase in the Austrian mountains leaving the biggest impression.  For all the grumpiness during the press tour, Daniel Craig delivers another strong performance as Bond.  I’ve always enjoyed the level of intensity that he’s brought to the role, something that’s been missing from previous incarnations.  Bond’s supporting cast gets some slightly expanded roles with Ben Whishaw bringing some much needed to energy to the middle portions of the film.  Sadly, some of the new faces like Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, doing her best Eva Green impression, and Monica Belluci are woefully underused.  Christoph Waltz was born to play a Bond villain but he’s left on the sidelines for the better part of the film meandering runtime.  Spectre has a steady sense of finality for Craig’s run as Bond which is a shame on so many levels.  Sadly, Spectre stands closer to Quantum of Solace instead of a worthy follow up to Skyfall.

C+

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Our Brand is Crisis & Burnt

Dearest Blog: Welcome to Awards Season, where every film feels vaguely like it *could* be based on a true story. Thus, yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for two stories that kinda sorta seem like they maybe could be a little bit real: Our Brand is Crisis and Burnt.

 

First on my agenda: Our Brand is Crisis.

 

An American political strategist reluctantly becomes part of an unpopular Bolivian presidential candidate's team.

 

Our Brand is Crisis probably isn't a bad movie for any other time of year, but plunked down in October, when everything either hopes for an Oscar or hopes to scare the pants off of you, it seems an inexcusably poor offering. Crisis is hilarious at times, yet the premise is so depressing it feels wrong to laugh. 

 

The film never really earns your full attention, and, sadly, there's no amount of humor that could buoy this all-too-real real depiction of politics with no soul. If there's any good news to be had, it's that the movie boasts uniformly strong performances. Sandra Bullock has a few bravura moments that might justify another Oscar nod, Billy Bob Thornton is an able adversary, and the delightful Anthony Mackie is solid as always. The real star of the picture, though, is Bolivian actor Reynaldo Pacheco, whose earnestness single-handedly salvages what's otherwise a depressing exercise in cynicism.

 

Our Brand is Crisis clocks in at 107 minutes and is rated R for "language including some sexual references."

 

It provides a few good laughs, but Our Brand is Crisis is a mostly-discouraging look at the political process. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Our Brand is Crisis gets five.

 

Next on the docket: Burnt.

 

Bradley Cooper stars as Adam Jones, a brilliant chef who is so messed up he does nothing but hurt the people who care for him, and you'll be too distracted by those baby-blues to really care.

 

Dear reader(s), I don't mean to belittle chefs, as nobody--and I mean NOBODY--has a greater regard for food than I do (as my profile photo will attest), but I am unsold on any attempt to portray a chef, even the world's greatest, as some kind of rock star worthy of a feature film. I'm something of a rock star, myself, when it comes to secretaries, and last I looked, Angelina Jolie wasn't queuing up play me on the big screen anytime soon. 

 

Thus Burnt starts out at an insurmountable handicap: it's just not that great a story. The high-emotion, high-stakes kitchen scenarios may accurately portray behind-the-scenes action at the world's finest dining establishments, but the drama seems plain silly (is it *such* a tragedy if the scallops are a bit overdone?), and the rest of the story is so done-to-death you won't care about any of it for a single second. Bradley Cooper swaggers his way through the film like an actual rock star, and, to his credit, makes the dull exercise almost watchable. 

 

Daniel Bruhl is terrific as Jones' supportive and long-suffering friend, and Matthew Rhys is outstanding as his top rival. Sadly, though, fantastic performances can't save a lame premise that's predictably executed.

 

Burnt runs 101 minutes and is rated R for "language throughout."

 

Much like the pretentious dishes whose preparation it depicts, Burnt is far more interested in collecting awards than it is in actually satisfying anyone. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Burnt gets four.

 

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Concert Movie Review of Ed Sheeran Jumpers for Goalposts

Dearest Blog: If ever a person were worth a 90-minute drive on a Monday night, it'd be Ed Sheeran. Thus I found myself in Morgantown last night for Ed's concert movie Jumpers for Goalposts.

 

Spoiler level here will be...um...I dunno, really? 

 

I wrote down the set list. Is that a spoiler? 

 

Read on at your own risk then, I guess.

 

Jumpers for Goalposts kicks off with a full 45 minutes of "‪#‎edcarpet‬" coverage from the movie's London premiere, including a segment that features Sheeran responding to fans' Twitter questions and performing acoustic versions of Tenerife Sea, Bloodstream, and Thinking Out Loud. 

 

The alternate versions of his hits are enjoyable, but it's otherwise an awkward exercise. Sheeran is visibly uncomfortable with the Q&A--as are many performers when they're in the public eye but not performing--and I'm thinking maybe suit-and-tie premiere attire wouldn't be his first choice. 

 

The cute, good-natured presenter also does a bit too much buttering up, so it begins to feel fake despite the fact Sheeran *is* widely regarded as one of the nicest guys in the business. Overall, this opening act is far too drawn out; 20 minutes of it would have been more than enough.

 

Once the film finally gets to the Wembley residency, there are pieces from all three nights cut with behind-the-scenes footage, which may look familiar to US fans who will have seen much of it in the NBC special that aired over the summer. Sir Elton John makes a surprise appearance, joining Sheeran for a performance of his old hit Don't Go Breakin' My Heart (Ed in the Kiki Dee role!) and a bit of Afire Love. 

 

John serves as a sort-of mentor to Sheeran, and amusingly names Ed the heir to a pop-music crown that hasn't been his to hand down for many, many years. John is not alone in his gushing praise, both of Sheeran's talent and of his kindness and loyalty. It's a recurring theme that, again, is so often raised that it starts to sound somewhat put-on. Not debating for a minute that Ed Sheeran is one hell of a nice guy, just that...well...eventually maybe they'd do better to just shut up and play another song.

 

As with the times I've seen Sheeran in concert, I was lucky to count my two favorites (Bloodstream and I See Fire) among the songs that made the movie's set list. The special guest was enthusiastically received, but, since the Elton John songs I like don't seem to be the Elton John songs everyone else likes, I was a bit ambivalent. Guess there's noplace for a would-be Kiki Dee in Madman Across the Water...go figure. Much camera time is devoted to crowd shots: singing and dancing fans, weeping teenagers, and two (2) marriage proposals that I counted. Having sold more than ten million units of his latest record, it's clear Sheeran's music speaks to a generation. Of course, some will always roll their eyes at any artist who moves that much product, but Sheeran is a solid singer/songwriter, and there's a fire in his live performance that doesn't begin to translate to his studio recordings. This film gives something of a feel for it--particularly an aggressive rendition of You Need Me (I Don't Need You)--but I enthusiastically encourage everyone to get out and see Ed Sheeran live for the full experience. I promise you will be impressed.

 

Jumpers for Goalposts full set list: I'm a Mess, Lego House, Photograph, Bloodstream, I See Fire, Don't Go Breakin' My Heart, Afire Love (partial), Thinking Out Loud, The A-Team, You Need Me (I Don't Need You), Sing. 

 

Jumpers for Goalposts runs 150 minutes (including premiere coverage) and is unrated. 

 

Dubious content is limited to references to drugs/drinking and a few f-bombs (some are censored; some made it into the finished product). 

 

Jumpers for Goalposts will be released on DVD/Blu-Ray November 13th, and is now available for pre-order at edsheeran.com or your favorite online retailer.

 

While it's not quite on par with an actual live performance, Jumpers for Goalposts boasts some great tunes while providing an entertaining look at one of the world's biggest and most talented pop stars. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Jumpers for Goalposts gets seven.

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: STEVE JOBS

Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.

Director: Danny Boyle

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Seth Rogen, Katherine Waterston, Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels

Release Date: Oct 09, 2015

Rated R for Language

Runtime: 2 hr. 1 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

Danny Boyle’s electric biopic of Apple’s cofounder and CEO crackles at a steady pace throughout.  Aaron Sorkin’s script is excellent as expected with Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet excelling at the requisite walk and talk throughout the film.  Boyle’s direction and his filming techniques, he uses 3 different film stocks for each section, keeps the dialogue heavy film moving at an impressive pace.  It rarely lags, an impressive feat for a 2 hour film that doesn’t have much going on outside of a series of conversations.  Fassbender disappears into his role especially as the film moves into the final act.  He’s magnetic for the entire run time.  Kate Winslet delivers equally impressive work in a supporting role with Jeff Daniels and Seth Rogen making the most of their limited screen time.  Daniels and Rogen both get excellent exchanges with Fassbender that you just have to sit back and appreciate the level of talent on display.  Steve Jobs is sure to litter the awards docket with Fassbender leading the charge with a best actor nomination.

A