Oculus review

                It’s no exaggeration to say that haunted-house movies are in vogue right now.  Why, probably because they are cheap to produce and boo-scares are easy to manufacture. Unlike a slasher flick or a gore-fest, ghost thrillers can remain relatively bloodless, thus allowing for that coveted PG-13 rating that can bring in as many young mall-dwellers as possible.  “Oculus”, however, was bought at this year’s SXSW festival and later released by the same producers who brought us “Sinister”, “Insidious” and “The Conjuring”—three reasonably scary movies in a currently overplayed horror sub-genre.

                Unlike most of it's contemporaries, “Oculus” boasts an ambitious screen-play full of brilliant shocks, and tricky sequences of psychological editing. Within every scene the movie is working on multiple levels. It’s a satisfying gotchya shrieker, a wildly structured procedural thriller, and thoughtful allegory about domestic abuse and childhood trauma.

                Tim Russell (Brenton Thwaites) has recently been released from a mental institution and on high-alert by his care-takers and therapists. After years of convincing himself that the brutality he experiences in his past is explainable in natural terms, his older sister Kaylie (Karen Gillen) decides to bring him to the house where they grew up to take on their past-demons face to face. Over the night, the two argue about what’s real, what’s memory and what’s impossible.  With many cameras and safeguards in place, Kaylie is determined to convince his brother that he isn’t crazy and that they can destroy the evil that savaged their family 11 years prior.

                “Oculus” is an efficient little horror movie that cleverly keeps the audience fighting between hiding behind their palms and leaning into their chairs to keep up with its complex, puzzle box plot.  Shifting back and forth from past to present, this duel narrative builds in a psychological spring-loaded trap, where, without even realizing it, by trying to figure it out you end up within its grasp. Actors Brenton Thwaites and Karen Gillen look and behave like television actors and much of the first third is spent trying to get the audience to forego their obnoxiously milk-toast appearance. But as the movie dives deeper into the abyss, the scares are delivered in a way that both offsets the goofy Twilight Zone set-up and televisual appeal of its younger cast.

                In the flashback sequences, the main players, led by Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff and Argo’s Rory Cochrane, are much stronger. The pain of the family’s deterioration is palpable and even if you can’t buy into the plot’s mystical conceit the tragic subtext is wrought with emotional truth. The movie ties together fuzzy dream-like memory with supernatural terror expertly and ends in a somewhat depressing but thematically satisfying way.

                Written with consideration and shot with economic skill, “Oculus” is a tight little genre treat that nobody asked for but will ultimately please those who take a chance on it.  It tries something new and mostly gets away with it. Even as some of the cast are annoyingly nondescript the material doesn’t allow them to be boring.

               

Grade: B+

Originally Published in the Idaho State Journal/April-2014

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty review

                 Ben Stiller, an actor most commonly associated with embarrassing-parent movies, released a remake of a somewhat forgotten 1947 movie called “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” It’s a congenial film about a timid guy who learns to take control of life instead of letting it pass him by. It’s nothing special, but actually, Ben Stiller—when he wants to be—is a pretty talented director. “The Cable Guy” is a massively underrated dark comedy, “Zoolander” is a near perfect farce of fashion culture, and “Tropic Thunder” was the high water mark in modern comedy until it was regrettably dethroned by Todd Phillips’ “The Hangover.”

                …But back to this Walter Mitty business. It’s fine. I mean, it’s sappy, and sentimental, it plays to least adventurous portion of the lowest common denominator, and the product placement is so blatant that it might as well be a feature length commercial for Match.com and Papa Johns, but it isn’t unwatchable.  What it is, unfortunately, is mundane and simple; two words I would have never attributed to Stiller’s previous directorial work.

                Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a humble photo developer at Time magazine who often dreams of a better life where he can travel the world like his rock and roll photographer Sean O’ Connell (Sean Penn) and where he can muster up the gumption to ask out his workplace crush Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig). In real life, however, he can’t even get his online dating profile to work, and he hasn’t done enough with his life to complete its comprehensive questionnaire.  When his new boss—a cartoonish, condescending tool, played by “Parks and Recreation” actor Adam Scott—comes in to inform the company that they will be printing the last issue of the magazine, the pressure is put of Walter to locate a missing frame from Sean O’Connell’s negative.  Walter is then forced to track down the techno-illiterate photographer to the ends of the earth in search of the mysterious image.

                Wallter Mitty goes on a journey. But it’s not just a geographical journey, you see; it’s a journey of life, love and self-discovery, which would be fine, if we had any investment in his character at all. Ben’s performance as Mitty is thoroughly wishy-washy and one dimensional. The arc of his development through the story, even though it is being literally forced in the most absurd ways possible, is never clear or satisfying, and that’s a problem for a film about self-discovery.

                There’s an aesthetic choice by Stiller to blur the line between reality and fantasy. Walter’s day dreams seem to manifest into full plot by the middle of the picture, only to drift back into believability whenever the movie sees fit.  I have no problem with this sort of ambiguity in theory. Certainly, Terry Gilliam made good use of this idea in films such as “Brazil” and “The Fisher King”. But Stiller seems to use this trope not as a way of expressing the needs and hopes of Walter, but rather as a lazy device to move the story along. And in the end, because he can’t keep track of his own narrative rules, the character’s goals are empty and the romantic resolution with his crucially underdeveloped love interest feels unearned.

                Walter backpacks a snowy mountain, he’s saved from a shark in below-freezing waters and he skateboards down a winding street in Iceland, but in all of this action the movie never lifts out of its mopey, naval-gazing tone and embraces the adventure of its premise.  Photographed like a Nissan commercial, and paced like a travel channel special, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” probably aims for the life-affirming warmth of “Stranger than Fiction” or the lovelorn idiosyncrasy of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, yet, with all the depth of a motivating office poster, at best, what it ends up being is something closer to a dude-centric, “Eat Pray Love”.

Grade: C -

Originally published in the Idaho State Journal/Jan-2014

The Best Movies You Didn't Watch This Year

                Being a writer for a southeast Idaho publication, I have tried to review and discuss films that are going to play to the southeast Idaho audience.  But, being a movie fan, I have also been watching plenty of other movies that I didn’t get a chance to weigh in on. With the year coming to a close, I would feel remiss if I were to deny Journal readers my recommendations for the amazing output in this year’s limited releases. Though many of the films in this article may have not played first-run in our region, the year’s most interesting, groundbreaking and entertaining films, released in independent, foreign, and/or boutique markets, are now or will soon become perfectly available through rental or streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

                 Early in the year we were treated with a smattering of interesting crime movies that not only broke the traditions of their genre but also broke the predictability of the typical three-act movie structure. Director Danny Boyle reteamed with his old “Trainspotting” screenwriter John Hodge and released the tenchnodelic brain caper “Trance” and reminded people that complicated plots and disappearing MacGuffins are not nearly as precious if you have three capable leads like James McCavoy, Rosario Dawson, and Vincent Cassel to carry you through. You’re never sure if what you are watching is actually happening or what character’s perspective you’re viewing the events through, but Boyle’s energy never lets up and the movie never gets boring. Similarly, Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers”—perhaps the most controversial and divisive film of the year—transforms a simple good-girls-gone-bad heist thriller into a fragmented, neon nightmare parable. James Franco makes a peculiar but refreshing turn as a white-trash, rapping Big Bad Wolf and Disney tween actors (Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez, respectively) stand in as a satirical representation of the hopelessly duped and shallow Gen-Y marketing demographic.  In a more sober representation of American hopelessness, Derek Cianfrance’s “The Place Beyond the Pines” tells an intricate collection of stories about families, fathers, murder, and secrets, highlighting an ambitious screenplay that manages to fit all the drama and operatic tension of the Godfather trilogy in just one feature.  

                This has also been a terrific year for movies about women.  Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha”, a modern black and white indie about a young New Yorker (Greta Gerwig) who can barely make ends meet or even hold on to a stable living situation in her post-academic life, perfectly captures the plight of the overqualified, jobless 20-somethings of our era. “Enough Said”, with Seinfeld’s Julie Lewise Dreyfus and James Gandolfin in his last role, is a warm and clever rom-com throwback about middle-aged second chances. In Woody Allen’s latest, “Blue Jasmine”, he wisely gives Cate Blanchett a meaty enough character and a light enough screenplay to let her take hold and command the screen for its entire ninety-eight minutes. Blanchett plays the complicated Jasmine with heartbreaking sympathy and sociopathic wit in such a way that the movie, refreshingly, never condemns the character or begs the audience for her redemption.

                If you’re like me than you probably can’t resist a good coming of age movie.  “Mud”, by Jeff Nichols, frames a criminal-on-the-lam plot with a teenage story about first loves and broken homes. Matthew McConaughey continues his impressive winning streak and Nichols’ southern world-building feels fully realized and lived in, creating something like a cross between “Huckleberry Finn” and “E.T”.  “The Spectacular Now” is a confident coming of age film about a young alcoholic (Miles Teller) who, in trying to mend a freshly broken heart, finds companionship in a geeky loner girl (Shalene Woodly) from his high school. In giving her the confidence she needs to make things happen in her life, he also exposes her to his most destructive tendencies. It’s a real film about real teenagers and it doesn’t promote or judge the character’s choices. Of course, when it comes to this category, one can’t not bring up the lyrical beauty of the French, Palme D’Or winner “Blue is the Warmest Color”, a young love story that isn’t afraid to take its characters or its actors anywhere.  Unlike many American coming-out dramas, this doesn’t end after our heroine figures out her sexual orientation gets the girl. Instead, the movie continues to follow both the pragmatic Adele (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and her artsy, bohemian lover Emma (Léa Seydoux) as they learn about who they are and what they need out of a long term commitment. Both leads give fearless performances and by the movie’s end you will feel like you have gone through the couple's most intimate highs and lows.

                Lastly, this year has also treated us too some wonderful oddball, genre-bending films such as the horror-comedy “John Dies at the End”, a film that crosses the slacker, pizza-breath vibe of “Wayne’s World” and “Idle Hands” with the shadowy and nonsensical terror of films such as “Donny Darko” and “Lost Highway”. And then, in what is probably still my favorite motion picture of 2013, one should not miss seeing the tragic sci-fi romance “Upstream Color”, about a young couple who find each other after unwillingly undergoing a psychic treatment that involves pigs, worms, orchids and the writings of Henry David Theroux.  It’s a puzzle box narrative without an instruction booklet, but it’s hard work pays off in an intensely interior and emotionally engaging way.  Self financed and self distributed, “Primer” director, Shane Caruth, not only makes one of the most impressive sophomore efforts by an indie filmmaker but he practically creates a whole new cinematic language in which to tell his story.  It’s on Netflix. And you’re welcome.

                 So, even though I have spent a lot of time ragging on the Hollywood blockbusters and the star vehicles from this year, 2013, film for film, has proven to be one of the most engaging years in movies. I also want to remind readers that I chose not to spotlight the obvious awards-season indies such as “Inside Llewyn Davis”, “Dallas Buyers Club”, or “Nebraska” because, while all of those films are fantastic and deserve your attention, they certainly don’t need my help. Also also, I want to remind those who may think my tastes lean so far left that I can’t enjoy a popcorn movie anymore, that Alfonso Cauron’s “Gravity” deserves just as much praise for its expressive storytelling as it does its special effects and sometimes it feels like I might be the only person left who will admit to unabashedly loving “Star Trek into Darkness”. So there.

Originally published in the Idaho State Journal/Dec-2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug review

               First of all, I want to say that as someone who has always struggled with his weight, I think it's great that Peter Jackson has been able to successfully shed much of his excess body mass and find ways to remain healthy and lean. I only wish that he could apply the same kind of discipline to his filmmaking. 3D, wicked-high frame-rates and motion capture have become his new indulgences and these technologies have apparently now taken precedent over coherent storytelling and character development.  

                As a fan—and sometimes defender—of Jackson’s ambitious Lord of the Rings trilogy, I’m at a loss at how the same man behind that behemoth of a juggling act, who, for three films, was able to keep all of his balls in the air at the same time, now can’t manage to competently tell a simple point-A to point-B plot.  I left last year’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” with the bare-minimum level of satisfaction and a heap of better-luck-next-time reservations.  Within “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”, despite spending its entire running time throwing CGI things at the camera, whatever story was set up in the first film has now been shoved aside for a two hour and forty minute, fantasy, tech-demo.

                The plot of this second installment—as it barely exists—continues to follow Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and his merry gang of dwarves, led by the brave but stubborn Thorin (Richard Armitage), as they make their way through the dangerous pockets of Middle Earth on the way to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim their home and treasure from a massive dragon named Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).  On the way, they run into an army of Orks, racist wood elves, and a downtrodden fishing community, ruled by a corrupt master (Stephen Fry). 

                Seems modest enough, right? Well, added in, we also follow the wizard Gandolf (Sir Ian McKellan) as he is sneaking around caves and forests in search of a non-related prophecy, as well as a wooden will-they-or won’t-they, romantic strand dealing with Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and an arrow-wielding elf named Taurial (Evangeline Lilly).  All of these story bits, along with the main journey, struggle for air between a number of bloated, video-game action set-pieces. 

                Despite Jackson stretching this relatively short novel into three separate films by including side-mythology from Tolkien’s other writings, this movie couldn’t be less interested in the story.  Through most of the it the characters are bounced from one set-piece to another with hardly any narrative tissue holding them together.  There are far too many goofy names and magic scrolls and foretold something-or-others to keep up with, and the film’s complete inability to slow down and let the plot breath prevents any of these elements from progressing.  We don’t even have a particular interest in Bilbo’s involvement in the story anymore since the movie continually shifts the center of consciousness, digressing into uninteresting and irrelevant subplots and over designed and aggressively choreographed green-screen action sequences.

                What will inevitably trick audiences into thinking they got what they paid for is the fantastic, well-paced conclusion of the film, involving the dragon Smaug; a completely believable and awe-inspiring CGI creation that steals the entire show. Cumberbatch’s voice is used to good effect here and the scene, unlike the rest of the movie, is based in its characters and their interactions.

                Back in 2005 I would have never called “The Lord of the Rings” series subtle, but compared to these exponentially disappointing Hobbit prequels they now feel like Ken Burns documentaries.  Whereas those films knew how to use their long running-times to build brooding atmosphere and explore the different character dynamics, this movie just feels like being led on a track through a spook house, passing one visual thing after another, in way that seems arbitrary and inconsequential. 

Grade: D+

Originally published in The Idaho State Journal/Dec-2013