Review: Gravity

Despite what you may have heard, director Alfonso Cuaron has not reinvented motion pictures and has not forever changed the way movies will be made.  What he has done is crafted a film in Gravity that is visually stunning, utilizing 3D technology in a way that is legitimately a part of the narrative, rather than as a gimmick to charge you six dollars.  So if you are one of those people who shy away from 3D because you think it wil, hurt your eyes or you don’t like the way you look in those plastic glasses, you are going to want to put those reservations aside and go see this movie because Cuaron has put together a solid film.

The plot of the film finds Astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) on a routine spacewalk.  Kowalski is on his final mission before retirement, while Stone is on her first mission and in the middle of performing some technical alterations to a satellite when a storm of debris rains down on them.  The resulting damage proves critical and leaves the two scrambling to survive the perils of space.

Having seen the film, the single most important thought that I can convey is that it’s probably not nearly as fun without 3D technology.  That’s not to say it’s all about the 3D, but this is a movie that relies on the physical space and its effect on the senses.  And because this movie was shot for 3D (as opposed to a post-production conversion), it utilizes the technology to fully immerse you in the experience.  Those visuals and the clever use of sound bring to life the cold vastness that is space.

But like any good film, Gravity does not rely on visuals alone.  Cuaron uses isolationism and claustrophobia to craft a taut tense movie, which is ironic because the events are set against the infinite backdrop that is space.  And like many other narratives that place their protagonists at the edge of the abyss, the film delves into issues such as hope, faith, and love.  In this regard, it is not unique, but entertaining nonetheless.

It cannot be overstated how vital the work of every actor is in this movie, especially when it features just two.  Sure Ed Harris has a minor vocal presence as the voice of Mission Control and Paul Sharma and Amy Warren flash briefly onscreen as other astronauts on the mission.  But really, nearly every single frame of this film is dedicated to the performances of Bullock and/or Clooney.

From the moment you hear Clooney snap off some cagey banter in his typical breezy delivery it is immediately apparent that he is on his game.  It helps that the role doesn’t demand that he  do anything that resides outside his range.  Rather, the script calls for the veteran actor to play an incarnation of himself – and allows for the kind of dry wit upon which his reputation has been built.   It all plays into this character of Matt Kowalski, a seasoned astronaut enjoying his last few moments in the proverbial sun.

As for Bullock, she is not exactly a slouch in this film either, though I think there are some issues with how her character is portrayed.  At the outset, Bullock does a good job of crafting this new to space astronaut – more research oriented than field-tested.  It plays into her ability to convey self-repression and apprehension.  But as the events of the film ramp up and the challenges crescendo, there is a fundamental shift in Bullock’s Doctor Stone, and while it is completely by design, it also causes some inconsistencies in her performance.  So while she is not completely to blame, the combination of Cuaron’s script and her acting makes disbelief increasingly difficult to suspend.

As for the science of the film, is it always spot on and completely plausible?  Of course not, because it’s a movie designed to entertain, not educate.  And to this end, Cuaron manages to craft a film that engages you and makes you feel invested in the characters to such an extent that you’re willing to overlook the details that can at times leave you scratching your head.  And that he layers this manner of storytelling with a rich audio and visual experience makes the film all the better.

Again, Gravity is not a film that will revolutionize the movie industry.  And contrary to the usual knee jerk reaction by most media outlets, it’s not going to sweep all the Oscar categories.  What Gravity is, is an entertaining movie that offers the kind of experience that should coax you to leave the comforts of your home to see it on the big screen.  Sure, it’s going to cost you a few extra bucks, but you won’t be thinking about that as you exit the cinema.  What more can you ask for?

Standout Performance:  George Clooney.  His performances have included more than a few misses recently, but this one plants a check firmly in the hit category.

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Review: The Heat

The formula works.  The mismatched partners / buddy comedy routine is as tried and true as any cinematic paradigm.  You could dedicate a whole blog with hundreds of posts to waxing poetic about the countless films that have successfully worked this theme.  And while this brand of narrative has occasionally featured women, this sphere has for the most part been dominated by male protagonists.  In a lot of ways, Bridesmaids has come to represent a bit of game changer for these types of buddy films as it not only proved that female driven buddy romps could win big at the box office, but also that you could do it with a bit of raunchy flair.  The Heat starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy definitely falls into this bucket of filmmaking, but whether the creative team pulls it off well is highly debatable.

The plot of the movie thrusts an arrogant know-it-all of an FBI agent in Sandra Bullock into a rocky partnership with a hate-it-all police detective (Melissa McCarthy) to track down a mysterious crime lord who is taking over the streets of Boston.  As the two work the case, they find that their contrasting styles complement one another both personally and professionally and help them to realize their respective faults and shortcomings.

If you are thinking that maybe you’ve seen Sandra Bullock play this kind of character before (Miss Congeniality 2), then you are right.  And if the trailer has you thinking that Melissa McCarthy has played this exact role in pretty much every movie she’s ever been in, then you would definitely not be wrong. Therein lies one of the main issues plaguing this film; director Paul Feig has put together a film featuring two actors who are essentially reprising characters they’ve done before in a kind of narrative that has been done to death.  Simply put, nothing feels new about this movie. 

If that were the only issue with the movie, then it would still be fairly entertaining, but unfortunately the editing ensures that film simply will not come together as it should. On far too many occasions, scenes run far too long only to  accommodate some self-indulgent rambling ad lib, rather than focus on storytelling and pacing.  Sure, there are some dead-on huge laugh-out-loud moments in this movie, but the space between these gags are far too long and feel extremely flat.  That little attention is paid to the details of the film's nonsensical plots twists normally would feel incredibly damaging,, but ultimately is relegated to an afterthought because of the dull uneven nature of ninety-percent of the movie.

Like most out there, I thought Bridesmaids was entertaining and a good chunk of that is attributed to Melissa McCarthy.  However, her more recent work left me convinced that her five minutes had expired.  I have to admit though that in The Heat, she proves that perhaps the expiration date on her brand of humor has not yet come to pass.  Sure, the editing does her no favors as she is guilty of some flat jokes, but she offsets those misses by delivering the bulk of the laugh out loud moments.   That she can also turn a scene from obscene to heart-felt on the turn of the dime is purely a bonus.  McCarthy for so many reasons is the only redeeming element in this movie.

As for her partner in crime fighting, Sandra Bullock, she is bland and uninteresting in this film from star to finish.  There is never a moment where I feel like Bullock wants to be in this any scene or that she cares about the finished product.  Cruise control, mailing it in, laying down, paycheck project – whatever cliché, analogy, or idiom you can think of to project utter apathy absolutely applies to her performance.  This is always inexcusable but especially egregious when you get top billing.

As for the work of the rest of the cast, it’s the typical collective performance you would expect to find in an action/comedy of this ilk.  Michael Rapaport, Jane Curtin, Thomas Wilson, and Michael McDonald are seasoned actors and hit all their marks in unremarkable but satisfactory fashion.  Ditto for Marlon Wayans, who is affable enough in a supporting role, but contributes little-to-none in the comedy department.  Ultimately though, the work of the supporting players is rendered inconsequential by the missteps of both director and star.  Nothing any supporting player could lend to a film could overcome such obstacles.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you love Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, buddy comedies, cop comedies, or movies set in Boston.  Heck, it doesn’t even matter if you are related to anyone in the cast.  There is no reason to see this in the cinema.  It’s not worth the money, the cost of concessions, the gas used to drive to the cinema, et al.  At best, it’s a week night rental.  The movie will make you laugh heartily during the most random of scenes, but the mediocrity of the rest of the film will ensure that those comedic moments will quickly be forgotten.

Standout Performance:  Joey McIntyre.  For all the New Kids on the Block fans out there!

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Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I have never really been a fan of movies set against the backdrop of 9/11.  Well, I guess it is not so much that I am not a fan, but more that I have chosen to avoid such movies (i.e. United 93, World Trade Center, Reign Over Me).  I know people who were lost in the tragedy and that is most definitely a contributing factor to my reluctance.  However, I think the driving force behind my reasoning is that while I love movies, I don’t take them too seriously.  I don’t look to movies to learn about the world or to be educated – not even documentaries because the finished product is always the filmmaker’s take on a given subject matter – especially in this day and age when subjective reporting is a lost art.  But I digress.  For me, movies are about escapism and as a member of my own generation, nothing about 9/11 can ever offer a temporary escape.

So for the first half hour I did not particularly care for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and though that feeling never completely went away, I did become interested in seeing the protagonist Oskar Schell – played by Thomas Horn – find some closure to the task at hand and to an immensely painful chapter in his life.  The plot centers on this task of finding a key left behind by Oskar’s father played by Tom Hanks, who passed away in the 9/11 tragedy.  Discovering the mystery behind the innocuous key becomes a journey of emotional turmoil and learning for a young boy struggling with the question, “why?”

What worked best for me was the presence of Tom Hanks’ Schell even when he was just a voice on an answering machine or not even onscreen at all.  I am not a huge Hanks fan – I actually think that in his prime he was greatly overrated – but he does great work and in limited screen time makes his presence felt throughout the film.  He and veteran actor Max von Sydow – as the Renter – stretch their acting chops and offset the over-the-top histrionics of Thomas Horn.

What didn’t work for me was the execution of the plot.  His journey to encounter everyone in the five boroughs named Black is overwrought and the direction by Stephen Daldry falls into the trap of indulging the excess.  There are too many moving pieces, too many hidden lessons, and too many secrets that ultimately fail to deliver with the big reveal.  And while Sandra Bullock, Jeffrey Wright, and Viola Davis are all accomplished veteran actors, they fail to rescue the movie from the morass of neurotic emo-sentimentality that poor writing depicts as the cure to post 9/11 blues.

There are things that occur in this movie that make it worthwhile, but it is in no way a great product as some have dubbed it.  It’s a mid-queue Netflix rental at best that you should not watch when you are having a particularly good day, because no matter the outcome of the movie, the subject matter will leave you in a somber state. 

Standout Performance:  Tom Hanks.  It is probably his best performance in years.

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