daveygandthekeyboard Reviews

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Funny and messed up and political and odd.

[9/10 · 17 July 2018]

Did not know what to expect walking in to this one, but I think the film had me at the part where protagonist Cassius Green tells the cashier at the gas station: "40 on 2"...and then drops 40 cents in the tray to "fill" his busted out Toyota. Can't say I haven't been there. Maybe not all the way, but I've at least been part of the way.

Cassius, or "Cash" Green (Lakeith Lee Stanfield) is having a hard time making ends meet, living in his uncle's (Terry Crews) garage while engaged to one Ms. Detroit (Tessa Thompson), who makes her own living as a sign twirler while creating her provocative visual and performance art. Cash ponders the point of it all while fantasizing about an easier life, perhaps even one involving giving up all freedom in exchange for security and a lifetime of crap work in a service called "Worry Free."

Instead, Cash lands a low level telemarketing job at a company called Regal View, where he succeeds beyond his wildest dreams by heeding the advice of a colleague (played by Danny Glover) to use his "white voice." Cash gets reluctantly swept up in an uprising by his fellow employees who want to unionize at Regal View...while he gets promoted to "Power Caller" and gets to move upstairs, where it is "white voice" all the time.

In his new role as Power Caller, Cash winds up being so good at this that it leads to another job. It then takes a dark turn as Cash's personal life and loyalty to friends takes a big hit, and goes even darker when he learns a terrible secret...

Wow. I really liked this. I kinda wish I'd written it myself. It says so much about corporate greed, race relations, politics, the "meaning of it all," the reality of just trying to get by, the intertwining of personal and business, loyalty to friends and loved ones versus survival, the nature of humanity and how excessive greed of giant corporations threaten our very humanity.

It's so funny and messed up and political and odd...it might be about 15 minutes too long, but it's probably the best movie I've seen this year.

Black Mirror: The National Anthem (2011) Season 1, Episode 1

What the hell, why the hell?

[1/10 · 23 October 2016]

A member of the Royal Family is kidnapped by terrorists and in exchange for her safe return, the PM of England is made to agree to performing a sex act act with a pig on live television. Attempts are made to find the people responsible (they fail) and an attempt is made to fool the kidnappers in a green screen CGI ruse (also a fail). So the question becomes: will he, or won't he?

The bigger question is, why the hell would anyone watch that? Why would anyone agree to that? What could possibly compel anyone to care so much about their job and approval ratings that they would do such a thing? Do this degrading act all for one lousy princess? Seriously?

I'm sorry. This was awful. I wanted to be a fan of this series, but when this is the lead-in, I just shudder to think of how bad it could possibly get. Pass.

Sully (2016)

OK Movie about an Extraordinary event.

[7/10 · 19 September 2016]

For 208 seconds, Sully is saving the lives of all 155 souls aboard Us Airway Flight 1549 when he undertakes an emergency water landing in the Hudson River in January of 2009. He emerges a hero at a time when the U.S economy was in the crapper due largely to the actions of many greedy short-sighted men making horrible decisions with your money, and heroes were at a premium.

The question is: how does this translate to a feature length movie? This can't stretch out two hours. You need drama, you need conflict, so how is this done?

The conflict at the heart of the movie is one that pits humanity versus the computer. Or human error versus those that second guess. Or those that do are criticized by those who don't. For according to computer simulations, done in non-life or death situations, Sully could have managed to land the plane on a runway, at an airport, and not have it become a total loss in the Hudson River. And it is because of this that the authorities investigating the crash (just doing their jobs) try to sully the heroic act of Sully (sorry, bad pun.).

We know how it ends, we know where it's going, and for what it's worth, Captain Chesley Sullenberger is without a doubt a hero of the highest degree. The inspiration that his cool-headedness under enormous pressure provided Americans is incalculable. I just wish the film had been able to communicate that a little better. I wanted there to be a resounding victory, a moment where you could cheer for the good guys. Unfortunately, the closest we came to this was the moment where Sully (played well by Tom Hanks, not my favorite actor but what can you do?) after proving his point about human speed and reaction time, says "DO you need any more tests?"

I miss the days when Tom Hanks was not such a serious actor. But the fact that he plays the part without the audience overly thinking about the fact that this is TOM HANKS is a tribute to his talent. Eckhart does a great job as his co-pilot and Laura Linney is always great, though it would be better if she had more to do than talk to Sully on the phone.

Overall, in terms of airplane related movies, I'd put "Sully" somewhere near "Flight" but not as good as "Flight 93." Or even "Airplane!" But it's still good.

A Thousand Words (I) (2012)

There are some funny parts in a by-the-numbers movie

[5/10 · 2 February 2016]

Eddie Murphy plays Jack McCall, a literary agent who doesn't read, who evaluates books by reading the first 5 pages and the last 5 pages. He is a selfish, self-absorbed, smooth talker with a good wife (Kerry Washington) a son, a house, and a decent life. He attempts to land a big client, a New Age guru named Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis) which somehow leads to the plot development that fuels the movie: a tree lands in his backyard which loses leaves every time he says a word. And somehow (not sure it is explained how he would know this) the death of the leaves on the tree will also lead to his own death. And boom, we have the title and the plot of the movie. He has a thousand words left, and the whole rest of the movie to figure out how to prevent this, or at least stave it off, to mixed results.

Clark Duke plays MacGee's assistant, and is pretty hilarious—I like the part where Murphy has him doing the talking in a big meeting, which of course is a total disaster. There are funny moments with Murphy trying to come up with ways to avoid using words: while doing his job, while trying to keep things straight with his wife, while ordering a drink from the confused but well-meaning Starbucks Clerk (Jack McBrayer). To avoid unnecessary speaking, he uses pantomime, he uses talking dolls, he makes drawings, but sooner or later he comes down to his last few leaves on the tree, which he must use wisely…There is also a sort of touching relationship with McCall's Alzheimer's suffering mother, and some back-story about the strained relationship with the deceased father. It would be OK if it didn't fit so neatly into the formula of this kind of movie which requires there to be redemption for the movie to be tidily resolved.

The whole premise is not meant to be taken seriously, but even with that said, this is pretty thin. It is a pretty standard by-the- numbers Hollywood movie, along the lines of Liar, Liar. It's not horrible. Clark Duke is pretty much the best thing in the movie, and I have to say, Eddie Murphy seems to do the best he can to make something with this pretty crappy plot. If the movie fails (which it kind of does) it is not the fault of the performers. It's just not a very good movie because it's not a good script.

I watched this movie as a captive audience at my last jury duty service. I made a deal with myself that if I did not get picked, I would review this movie. I didn't get picked. So here you go.

Rocky (1976)

for anyone who ever needed to just hang in there and still be standing at the end.

[10/10 · 19 January 2016]

I've probably seen this movie a hundred times. It almost defies review at this point. But I'll do it anyway.

Rocky is a small time fighter who gets a one in a million shot at the heavyweight title. On the way, he falls in love with the girl from the pet shop, and wins the heart of the city of Philadelphia as he seizes his one shot at proving that he is not just another bum from the neighborhood.

Rocky is a product of its time. Its series of events literally occur about 6 days after I was born. In many ways, one can point to the courtship of Rocky and Adrian as a quasi-creepy encounter, one that would not fly in 2016. One could look at Paulie and Mickey and wonder what the hell is wrong with them. And one could wonder why Rocky beat out Taxi Driver for Best Picture. But every time I watch this, I just love it. So many iconic scenes, so many moments that just make your heart race and make you love it so much more. It is inspiring, it is timeless, it is a film for anyone who ever needed to just hang in there and still be standing at the end. Rocky fights for anyone who has ever been down but not out, Rocky is anyone who ever made the most of a one in a million chance. And anyone who can say the last scene did not put a tear in his eye is either flat out lying, or not even human.

Rocky is so much a part of my childhood that I probably can never be completely objective about this movie, and maybe my 10 star review will not persuade anyone to watch this. But it is what it is. If it affects you the way it affects me, then maybe you have the power to hang in no matter what life throws at you.

Inside Out (I) (2015)

The troubles in the real world are even bigger in your head.

[9/10 · 16 January 2016]

A baby is born, she starts with Joy, is quickly joined by Sadness, and then as she grows up is joined by a whole range of other emotions, such as Fear, Anger, and Disgust, who work in the control center of a mind.

Inside Out's main conceit is that all behavior and actions are a series of events that occur within the mind that, no matter how small they may seem in the real world, are all vitally important. In this case, the action centers on an 11 year old girl named Riley whose family has moved from Minnesota to San Francisco. Moving at a young age is a traumatic experience, and in Inside Out, the move to a strange new city that serves broccoli on Pizza and doesn't get snow in the winter is the basis for a crisis that takes the girl away from her natural state of Joy. In fact, Joy is literally lost within the mind as Riley goes through this crisis, encountering issues which shatter the "personality Islands" of Riley's inner self, which are represented like sections of an amusement park, which go down after certain events occur within the real world.

It's an amusing take on the mind, and it is a lot to take in for an animated feature, but it is worth the time spent watching. It is all done in a way that is funny and touching, with some genuinely sad but not traumatic moments. There is loss here, but not the kind that will leave you crying for hours, if you are one of those that cry easily at movies. Very enjoyable film.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Star Wars: the Force Awakens works because it feels fresh and new yet still old and familiar.

[8/10 · 20 December 2015]

There aren't really spoilers in this but I will put up the spoiler alert anyway.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Without offering the much dreaded spoilers for the people who have yet to see this movie, I had a few thoughts.

• George Lucas was right to allow other people to steer his creation. JJ Abrams is pretty much can't miss these days, and the script is not nearly as clunky or dialog-challenged as some of the original trilogy or the prequels. There is humor throughout, which deviates from the sometimes grim seriousness of the prequels. The story, broken down to its most basic, is simple, and stays on course and urgent in a way that Episode One, with all its talk of trade agreements and midichlorians never did. It resembles many of the elements of New Hope and Return of the Jedi, and it calls back many of the characters that made the original movies so beloved. Fans are rewarded for being fans, and any person who may have never seen a Star Wars actually won't be lost here.

• The injection of new blood, in the characters of Finn, Rey, and Poe are very welcome. Rey is a strong female lead character, Finn is a great character whose transformation from storm trooper to resistance fighter comes early in the film, and Poe enters the series as an absolutely lovable successor to the Han Solo character.

• Harrison Ford plays older Han Solo who has the weight of the universe on his shoulders. Carrie Fisher returns as Leia, and of course there's Chewbacca and the droids. The whereabouts of Luke, the last Jedi Knight is at the heart of the movie. Suffice it to say, all the old favorites are represented.

It is far and away superior to Episodes 1-3, maybe up there with Episodes 4 and 5 (though personally, I feel that Return of the Jedi always gets short shrift—it was always a satisfying conclusion to the original trilogy.) Star Wars: the Force Awakens works because it feels fresh and new yet still old and familiar.

Creed (II) (2015)

A continuation of the Rocky legacy yet a movie that could easily stand alone

[9/10 · 7 December 2015]

A continuation of the Rocky legacy yet a movie that could easily stand alone, Creed is excellent, a movie I'd probably put in the top two of the Rocky series. The fight sequences are A-plus, shown largely through tracking shots that puts the audience right in the center of the action, which makes the boxing come off more realistically than ever before in a Rocky film. And while this is essentially a boxing movie, it is more character driven than driven by action, with the three main characters, Adonis, Bianca, and Rocky taking center stage over what is going on in the ring.

Michael B. Jordan is terrific as the young Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of the legendary Apollo Creed, who tries to make a name for himself apart from his famous father. It shows him as a young boy in juvenile lockup, getting into fights with other boys and getting his fair share of bruises, while bruising others. Adonis, it is fair to say, is a born fighter. His downstairs neighbor, Bianca, played by Tessa Thompson, serves as an effective counterpart to Adonis' drive in the ring, as she is trying to make a name for herself as a musician before time runs out. Their willingness to do whatever it takes to do the things that define them also brings them together.

Meanwhile, Rocky has tried to live his life largely away from the spotlight, and the ring, since his last fight (in the Rocky Balboa film). But in this movie universe where Rocky is a famous ex-champion, it is hard to stay completely out of the spotlight. And when he decides to train Adonis for the big time, it seems that Adonis cannot escape his famous father. But does he really have to? That this question is explored at all showed that this film did not simply try to cash in on a legacy, but develop it.

Not to take anything away from Stallone's achievements in the past movies, but I really feel that one of the strengths of this movie was his ability to cede the center stage to his younger co-stars. It is not all about Rocky anymore, and at this point in his (and Stallone's) career, it shouldn't be. Here, we are given a new character to root for who has his role in the Rocky universe. There are callbacks to previous movies, but even with those callbacks Creed still comes off as fresh.

If the Rocky series is about anything, it is about being true to what you are, and for hanging in there, getting back up when life beats you down. In that respect, Creed holds up very well.

Everest (2015)

If watching grim adventure on the big screen is your thing

[7/10 · 19 October 2015]

Everest is the tale of a 1996 ill-fated expedition to summit the highest peak in the world. When an untimely rogue storm hits, the already-dangerous task turns deadly. The events in this film are described in the Jon Krakauer book Into Thin Air, though this is not an adaptation of that book but a dramatization of the same event. (Krakauer figures into the story.)

In the same way that I saw Flight 93 and walked out knowing that I had seen a great movie that I would never want to see again, so goes Everest, which is pretty good but really sad at the same time (it's not as good as Flight 93 but comparable in the way it made me feel.)

At the heart of this movie is the question of the over commercialization of something as inherently dangerous as climbing the tallest mountain of the world. Personally, I feel that a feat so dangerous that it claims lives should be left to people who know what they're doing, not simply awarded to those who can simply afford the experience. There are definitely people in this world who look at thrill seekers and the "because it is there" crowd and shake our heads.

That said, when you push past this and get to the human stories, Everest is a well-done but gut-wrenching movie. The personal stories, while not overly dwelt upon, give a fairly basic picture of everyone's motivations for climbing the mountain. One man simply wants to inspire some school children back home. Another simply doesn't feel right doing anything else. And one woman is trying to complete the feat of having summited the highest peaks on every continent and has left Everest for the end.

There is a good 20-30 minutes toward the back end where this movie is totally engrossing, when it becomes a race against the storm and the threat of death is very real. You want to hope for the best, and in some cases that works out. In the end, Everest delivers the visuals you'd expect and tells the story it was going for and if watching grim adventure on the screen is your thing, then this may be the movie for you.

Ant-Man (2015)

Ant-Man is a Small Gem of a Movie

[8/10 · 21 July 2015]

"They must REALLY be running out of ideas," I said to myself when I first saw a trailer for this movie. Ant-Man? Could Aqua Man be far behind? The Wondertwins? But putting this aside, Ant-Man turns out to be one of the more enjoyable movies of the summer (ok, I haven't seen many). It pulls off the right tone and spirit even though it is a fairly ridiculous premise of a man (Paul Rudd) who uses his cat burglar skills to help an old scientist (played by Michael Douglas) keep his dangerous technology out of the hands of the bad guys. Rudd is pretty well cast, as is Evangeline Lilly as the scientist's daughter.

Ant-Man exists tangentially in the same Marvel universe as Tony Stark, Thor, and the Avengers, but this is not an over the top action movie in the same vein. It exists somewhere between action and comedy, and is a fairly nice blend of the two. The scene where Ant-Man fights an Avenger and apologizes every time he hits him is amusing, as it the climactic battle on top of a Thomas the Train Set.

Sure, Hollywood is always churning out crap, with unnecessary reboots and heroes that don't warrant their own movies. But sometimes they find a small gem at the bottom of that barrel they are scraping. And Ant-Man is a small gem of a movie.

Nebraska (2013)

Nebraska Gets the Indie Treatment

[6/10 · 20 June 2015]

Will Forte plays the son of a mildly deranged elderly man who believes himself the winner of a million dollar prize which he must travel across state lines to collect. It is a scam, of course, but the circumstances of the man's illness warrant a change of scenery for all the characters involved. Forte takes his father from his home in Billings Montana to claim his prize in Lincoln Nebraska, but along the way he stops at his boyhood home, and in doing so the old man's past is slowly revealed to the son. It is apparent that he has not made it this far in his life without upsetting his family and causing many to believe that he owes them a part of his "million" dollar prize.

Personally, this movie reminds me of all the things that annoy people about the elderly, and family in general. The dialogue resembles conversations I can imagine having with loved ones. The situation where Forte must placate the old man by taking him on this trip because it is the only way he will ever be satisfied feels very real.

The film is shot in black and white and at times comes off as the picture of Indie Cinema, as in, it can come off as pretentious and off-putting. It is a little slow, maybe 15 minutes too long and not as funny as I wanted it to be. I do think that if I lived in this region of the country I might not like the film's treatment of its people. But maybe it is accurate. And there were moments to enjoy, notably the elderly mother telling the money grubbing relatives what they can do with their requests. Overall, a mildly engaging film experience.

This Is Where I Leave You (2014)

Enjoyable, though exposing the difficulty of adaptation

[7/10 · 21 September 2014]

From the novel by Jonathan Tropper, This is Where I leave You is the story of how a dysfunctional family gets together for a week to conduct the Jewish ritual of sitting Shiva for seven days after the passing of their father, for whom this was his dying wish. Judd, played by Jason Bateman, is fresh off the shocking revelation that his wife has been cheating on him with his boss, while his 3 siblings are wonderful mess of their own problems. The mother, played by Jane Fonda, is an over sharing woman who published a book over 25 years earlier about their childhoods and their family secrets. For her, nothing is secret but for the adult children, the book stands as an obvious lasting scar.

After having read all of Jonathan Tropper's novels, it is hard to avoid the thought that they seem to have been written for the screen. His dialog, his wisdom, his humor and outrageous situations have always seemed destined to be made into films. When I saw that This is Where I Leave You was to become a film, I knew that if nothing else, it would reflect many of the same elements that make his fiction so much fun.

What I guess I didn't count on was the fact that while this is a very solid movie, it still exposes the difficulty of adaptation. Much of the wisdom and humor of the book must be conveyed in a series of one on one conversations between characters, which, after a while start to feel a little exhausting. Tropper, who did the screenplay himself, chose to stay away from doing flashbacks to convey back story, hoping to work the relevant information into the plot. It is not a bad choice, but it does deprive the audience of some of the information that we would like to know: like what exactly happened to neighbor/semi-adopted child Horry that caused him to be brain damaged? It is referenced but never fully explained, which would seem important because of the apparent role the Tina Fey character had in it. I can only think that maybe some bit of dialog somewhere was cut out of the final edit. The bit at the beginning with the birthday cake was underplayed in comparison to what happened in the book—probably not a terrible choice, though I might have enjoyed seeing the whole sequence end with something more explosive.

Still, This Is Where I Leave You had some great moments and the story and performances carried the day. Jason Bateman as Judd is a great everyman; Adam Driver wins an MVP for his role as the goof-up brother, Phillip; Corey Stoll as Paul, the brother who holds down the fort for the others yet has his manhood challenged at every turn; Kathryn Hahn as Judd's Ex and Paul's Current (awkward!) ; Jane Fonda is convincing as the overbearing mother; Tina Fey as the alcoholic sister; Rose Byrne as Judd's hometown love interest, Penny Moore and Connie Britton as the goof-up brother's older woman--all perform the admirable job of making this rather dark comedy enjoyable.

Her (2013)

"Her" teeters on the edge...and just about pulls it off.

[7/10 · 18 January 2014]

The story of a recently separated man living in L.A. about 20 or 30 years in the future, who falls in love with his Computer Operating system ("Samantha"), "Her" definitely teeters on the edge. If you accept the conceit of this kind of love being possible, then you accept what the film offers. If not, then you spend the rest of the movie fighting it (or maybe you walk out or shut it off). In my case, I fought it, at least gently, with my own prejudices and opinions about a society that has become too dependent upon technology—married to our gadgets and I-phones. Then I thought…well, why wouldn't falling in love with an operating system be the next step? Why wouldn't a society that spends much of its time in public immersed in a private world of technology ultimately wind up in a relationship with such a device? Given that logic, I was forced to accept the plausibility of the premise of the plot…which went somewhere maybe a little too sad and maybe wound up somewhere you might not expect.

The movie left me thinking, so in one respect, the film must have worked. I can't say that I loved it, I also don't imagine myself having repeat viewings. But if anyone other than Spike Jonze had made this, it could have been unwatchable. (I shudder to re-imagine this film with, say, Adam Sandler…) But Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, and Scarlet Johansson (as the voice of Samantha) are all terrific, and Her just about pulls it off.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

A visual pleasure with real warmth at the heart of it

[9/10 · 21 December 2013]

Ben Stiller makes what feels very much like a labor of love in the delightful "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." This is a visual pleasure that is also quirky and funny with real warmth at the heart of it. Days later, I recall scenes and how well they were executed, realizing that other than an awkward Benjamin Buttons parody (mostly it just doesn't fit), this film really clicks on all levels.

Stiller plays Walter Mitty, a daydreamer who "zones out" somewhat more often than the average person, most likely due to the stagnant nature of his life as a "negative asset manager" for Life magazine, which sounds like a horribly dull way of saying he develops pictures that other people take. He spends his working day in the dark basement of the Life magazine building with only his employee Hector to talk to. Lately his daydreams involve a coworker that he is smitten with, played by Kristin Wiig. But his time at the magazine is running out, as the new owners push to make the transition from print to online, thereby spelling the end of many jobs at Life. Mitty is tasked with producing the last cover photo, a "Negative 25" from a mysterious photographer (Sean Penn) whom Mitty has been handling for years, only to find that the negative has gone missing. The effort to recover this negative is the impetus for Walter to make a journey to find him, wherever that may take him. As it turns out, that journey leads him halfway across the world to an adventure that rivals his own daydreams, which begin to abate as he gets closer to the goal of finding out the secret of "negative 25."

TSLWM gets where it's going, offering many rewards throughout. The skateboarding in Iceland, jumping out of a helicopter into the freezing sea off the coast of Greenland, all the while talking to his Match.com representative who is trying to spice up his otherwise bland profile…it's just a pleasure to follow him on this journey. There's something to be said for getting there the long way.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Money is the Ultimate Drug

[20 December 2013]

I thought Scorsese owed me one after Hugo, which I really hated. TWWS only partly repays the debt of the two hours I lost to that previous film. It is a much better film than Hugo, but only a little more than half as good as The Departed, which, to be fair, was pretty darn close to being a masterpiece. TWWS is based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio a broker who made a fortune selling penny stocks, which are stocks sold for companies so far down on the corporate food chain that they cannot get listed on the stock market. These stocks are appealing to a man who is as addicted to money as Belfort is, as they bring the prize of a fifty percent commission, though it comes at the expense of people who maybe cannot afford it as much as the more well-heeled whales of Wall Street. Along with his right hand man, Donnie played by Jonah Hill, Belfort makes a killing and lives the life of debauchery that his wealth affords him, which includes drugs, boats, houses, cars, and of course, women. His long rise and subsequent downfall at the hands of a dogged federal investigator, played by Kyle Chandler form the narrative arc of the film, which is fairly profanity laced and full of sex and rampant drug use. The performances from Leo and Jonah are excellent, and it is good to see Dicaprio finally in a movie where he actually escapes a sinking ship.

A couple of problems I had: this movie is WAY too long. Because it goes three hours, it is of course not possible to maintain the level of energy it kept in the first half. I give a little bit of a pass now that I realize it is based on a true story. But still, it could really have benefited from a few less sales speeches from Belfort or a few less examples of bad behavior while on drugs. Speaking of the drugs: After the first few drug scenes, you start to get the point. Belfort is an addict. He does funny things while on drugs. But after a while, it starts to feel like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, with the "look what I'm doing while I'm on drugs!" punch line. It just seems like not all of these scenes were absolutely necessary. And much like other movies about somewhat unlikeable people (I'm thinking maybe Raging Bull), it is hard to root for anyone here. The characters give us an entertaining show, but at the end of the day, I have a hard time loving a film that I am not rooting for someone. This film is sure to earn nominations for Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, and I don't have a good argument for why that shouldn't happen. But that doesn't mean I have to love it.

Moneyball (2011)

Possibly the best baseball movie I have I ever seen.

[16 September 2011]

In a league where the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox regularly field teams with $100 million-plus payrolls, how do you field a competitive team with a payroll that is a mere fraction of that, at $37 million? This question could have been the basis for a dry documentary, only appealing to a legion of die hard statistical analysis baseball geeks, but instead, it forms the basis of a film that shows a great deal of heart and spirit which moves it into a statement I never thought I would be making, but here goes: Moneyball is possibly the best baseball movie I have I ever seen.

Granted, I've never seen Bull Durham or Major League, but even with that deficiency in my sports film-viewing I can say with some confidence that this is at least as good or better than Field of Dreams and at least as good or better than The Bad News Bears.

The answer to the conundrum of fielding a competitive team with a limited budget is in fact the one sought by Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics. In 2001, after sending a team to the divisional playoffs only to lose in a heartbreaking game 5 to the big market big money New York Yankees (who went on to lose the World Series to Arizona), he was losing three of his star players and he simply could not afford to replace them. He hit the realization that in order to compete, he had to re-think the way that baseball business is done. No longer could he think in terms of buying his way into the playoffs (as the Yankees seem to do every year), but instead he would devise a system that would revolutionize the way that baseball is played…or at least they way a team is constructed. To this end, he constructed an unorthodox and unconventional system which at the time was completely unheard-of. Suddenly, players were valued not for home runs or batting average, but for walks and runs scored. Under this system, 3 players making 250,000 each were worth the same as one player making 7 million. And in doing so, Beane managed to field a winning team who set an American League record for consecutive wins. Critics may point out that as yet, under this system, the A's still haven't won a championship. But they were always competitive, which is more than we can say for the majority of the teams in the league who also are not winning championships and are in fact spending a lot more money.

These ideas have been around for about ten years now and are now pretty much commonplace in baseball, but at the time Beane was ridiculed for trying them. The writing is excellent (Aaron Sorkin has a screenplay credit) and draws you in even without a lot of "action." We know that Oakland will not win that final game of the series, we know that Beane will continue to strive for that elusive championship, but we still have a lot to root for and cheer for. Even my personal feelings about my own team (sigh--long-suffering Orioles fan) did not in anyway prevent me from cheering the A's improbable drive toward history. The relationship between Beane and his daughter is a nice, and helps to drive in the fact that to some, baseball is more than a game. You might even argue that this film is not so much about baseball but about the effect our choices have on our lives and the lives around us--the supposed threat that unconventional thinking presents to the status quo.

Ultimately this film is the Bad News Bears of the new millennium--a ragtag group of veterans and rookies and cast-offs come together under the visionary leadership of a general manager who dared to think outside the box. It is possible that if you have absolutely no interest in baseball, you would still like this movie for its message about resisting the urge to do what is safe and easy in favor of what is odd and maybe even crazy...and works.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

After the execrable POTA remake starring Mark Wahlberg, something had to give

[19 August 2011]

ROTPOTA takes a different tack than the series of the late 60's/early '70's, opting to lend believability to an impossible premise while only asking for just a little bit of suspension of disbelief. The result, if you choose to suspend that disbelief, is pretty impressive, even if not exactly what you might be expecting.

James Franco plays a scientist who becomes immersed in a project to develop a drug to cure brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, which afflicts his father(played by John Lithgow), using apes as test subjects. After a disastrous incident in the lab that results in the death of an ape named "Bright Eyes," Franco finds himself taking care of her offspring, a cute little creature named Caesar. After they take Caesar in, he becomes a part of the family--less of a pet and more of a son.

They observe his amazing abilities as the result of Franco's wonder drug (which is also used to cure the father, at least temporarily), teach him sign language until ultimately the little guy grows into the dangerous beast he is meant to become. When you realize that apes are at least 5 times as strong as humans, it is logical to assume that it will only be a matter of time before his strength and potential ferocity (as well as his instinct for self-protection and the protection of his loved ones) will come out. After an attack on a neighbor, Caesar is brought to a primate facility, which turns out to have a more sinister motive than simply providing apes with a safe haven. This is where all hell breaks loose, and the movie moves from the slower pace of the first half into something resembling all out war between humans and apes (again, I did mention something about suspension of disbelief, right?).

Those who are familiar with the original series will note the uses of character names (Franklin, Caesar, "Bright Eyes", etc.) lines, and themes that are also present here. To some extent, it works. The scene on the Golden Gate Bridge where the mounted police chase down the apes is a great parallel to that famous first appearance of the apes on horseback in the original movie. But to another extent I found the references to the old series a little distracting--did we really need to see Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments on the TV of the evil primate research lab to remind us that he was in the original? Or did they really need to make use of all the great one-line gems from the original? Nobody, and I mean NOBODY can deliver the "Take your stinking paws off me…" line like the late Charlton Heston. But…I'm being picky, as I imagine a lot of fans of the original are being of this take on the series. Overall, this is probably not a good movie for the overly squeamish or those sensitive to the reality of animal cruelty. You will find yourself actively rooting against the humans in this film; you might, like me, wonder how far they are going to go with the whole transition from servile pet-like animals to the self-aware and highly evolved creatures that they had become in the first series. But maybe what you will wind up with is the thought that in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we have something new and different: a good film to carry on the tradition of a great series.

Super 8 (2011)

Like seeing an old favorite for the first time

[9/10 · 19 June 2011]

Super 8

Right off the bat, I have to say that this movie pays homage and reminds me of so many movies that I love: E.T, The Goonies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, District 9, Cloverfield (ok, I didn't actually see that one). It has a little bit of Lost thrown in, but all in all, it is a thoroughly enjoyable JJ Abrams creation. Super 8, set in 1979, is about a group of kids who are making a zombie film for a super 8 film contest. One night, in the middle of filming, they witness an extraordinary train crash, created by an apparently insane motorist who drives his truck on to the tracks, directly in the way of the oncoming train. There is a terrific explosion--one that actually seems too far-fetched to be plausible (I used to live 60 feet from train tracks and have seen the results of a derailment, so my BS meter was going off--but I held it in check--besides, there does turn out to be an explanation for this…) and this sets off the chain of events which involves a military cover-up and one very-angry-but possibly-misunderstood-alien who, as it turns out, really just wants to go home. If it doesn't sound like the first time you've heard this, well, it isn't. But ten minutes into this film, it won me over. The parallels to the movies listed above are obvious: an alien who wants to go home (E.T.), a conspiracy with a large dose of "what the hell?" happening (Lost, Close Encounters) a misunderstood alien who is ultimately a benevolent being (E.T., District 9), and a plucky group of young kids who save the day (Goonies.) Plus there is a sweet tale of adolescent first crush, first love set against the background of tragedy which is almost universal. Yeah--while I can't say I haven't seen any of this before, I find myself absolutely delighted by the way this all turned out. You could certainly do much worse than to pay homage to Spielberg. Super 8 is a wonderful film that is worth seeing if only to remind us of what it felt like to be a kid and to see any of your favorite movies for the first time.

The Prisoner (2009)

Slow, boring, not worth the buildup it got!

[3/10 · 4 December 2009]

When something is slow, boring and mysterious…does it really matter what the mystery is? Or what the twist turns out to be? I can't say this remake didn't try: Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen are certainly good actors and everything looked good enough. But after 6, long, droning, slow-paced episodes with not much investment in any of these characters and a plot that centers around…well, damned if I know, I just felt very disappointed. It was only my need to see it through once I'd started that got me to the end, which had it's own marginally shocking twist. And what I mean by that is, there's just so little to care about that even the moments that are meant to be most shocking or upsetting are simply moments where you say, "Okay, I may not have seen that coming, but why am I not caring more?" I hate to pan anything (I'm amazingly forgiving of most movies or TV shows, and will usually give at least a "fair" grade to most) but with all the buildup for this, it ended up feeling like a real waste of time. While I may stay up 'til the wee hours catching up on say, Lost or 24, this just didn't do it for me.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Don't Read this Review, Just see it!!!

[10/10 · 7 November 2009]

Don't read this review, or any review. Just go see it.

Okay. I just had to say that because I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it. I just knew that it was a scary movie that had "real-life" footage of the supernatural. So first and foremost, before you spoil your experience by reading reviews, (probably too late if you're already on this site) just see it. As a big fan of Ghost Hunters, I went into this taking it at face value, that what this unfortunate young couple did was take footage of their experiences at their home. It is done with one camera and apparently almost nothing for a budget and if you embrace it for what it is, it will scare the hell out of you. Of course, if you're a cynic and have already read up on this, or perhaps are less trusting than I am then you might just think it's stupid, and that would be a shame. It is a scary movie that the filmmaker takes pains to present as real--there are not even any screen credits, just a "thank you" to the families and the San Diego Police. It brings to mind everything we've ever heard about how people reacted to the Orson Welles War of the Worlds radio broadcast, and how difficult that might be to pull of now, with the internet and IMDb and an unfortunate need to be "tuned in" all the time which would instantly tell you everything you need to know about this film (yes, I understand the irony of me bemoaning this technology in this particular forum). This is why I commend the filmmakers for at least attempting to fool the audience. This story is told in a series of video clips, in which one actor or the other are holding the camera or leaving it mounted on a tripod while they sleep. As the story progresses and you see more and more of a demonic presence and its effect on the couple's lives--the scenes of Katie standing up and staring at Micah for 90 minutes at a time are especially chilling. It was only after it was over and my suspension of disbelief was lifted that I realized what I'd seen was only a movie, and I began to truly appreciate how brilliant this movie was.

The Cove (2009)

For those who are still horrified

[7/10 · 20 August 2009]

The man who gave us Flipper (who was actually played by 5 female dolphins) spends 10 years of his life launching a multi-million dollar dolphin industry, then spends 35 years trying to bring it down, which then leads us to the even more sinister plot about killing dolphins for meat. Welcome to the horrible world of whaling and dolphin-killing! Dolphins are trapped off the coast of Japan, picked over for sale on the market, then the less-desirable ones are taken to The Cove and killed for some heavily mercury-laden meat, which is packaged with other fish meat and in some cases even given to schoolchildren in Japan. This film is the story of how some brave activists have attempted to stop this, employing some covert techniques, such as making cameras that look like rocks and using free divers to set up underwater cameras. It ultimately plays out and results in a heroic achievement--not so much the movie itself, which is just fine-- but in what is actually caught on camera and exposed for all the world to see.

Anyone who has seen any of the string of documentaries that have come out in the last several years and been shocked and offended will probably be equally shocked and offended at how accustomed to this sort of thing we have become: people putting profit above all else and the consequences to the planet, the animals, even other people be damned. But The Cove works as a call to action for anyone who is still horrified.

District 9 (2009)

Thoughtful, violent, awesome sci-fi flick

[9/10 · 16 August 2009]

This movie starts off in a bit of a jarring style, like an episode of "COPS" meets "the X-Files" meets CNN as it fills in the background of the story: Alien ship hovers over Johannesburg, earth people eventually decide to intercept it, finding scores of malnourished and sick aliens aboard. These aliens are taken to the planet surface and interred at a fenced in area known as District 9. Twenty years go by, the aliens live among the trash in what has grown into a crowded slum. Enter the new head of the "eviction" process, Wikus Van De Merwe. This eviction is designed to move all these cat-food eating trash-dwelling aliens into a facility…well, a little further away from the city. What follows is then a terrifying story about transformation, violence, intolerance, and ultimately, salvation. At times this is a hard movie to watch, with all the vomiting and noise and very jarring narrative style. It settles in to a more conventional story about halfway through, as we see the main character and an alien named "Christopher" working together, and then we see the horror inflicted upon the aliens in District 9. There is a lot to like here. This is a visually interesting movie with a lot of real-world parallels, and it has many elements of other sci-fi: Alien Nation, Aliens, Transformers, The X-Files, and maybe any number of Outer Limits episodes come to mind. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but anyone who is into thoughtful science-fiction should definitely check it out.

Frost/Nixon (2008)

David Frost takes on a heavyweight.

[8/10 · 1 February 2009]

Frost/Nixon.

This movie is about the series of interviews by David Frost of disgraced President Richard Nixon, which are presented as "the trial Nixon never had." After Watergate, people were very angry at Gerald Ford for pardoning Nixon, in effect making sure that he would never pay for his crimes in the cover-up. The main conflict at the heart of this story: is David Frost (seen here as basically a puff-piece lightweight with no particular interest in politics) the right man to serve as de facto prosecutor of Nixon? The struggle he goes through just to get the interview is a conflict springing from his reputation as a lightweight interviewer, a TV "performer, " while Nixon is seen as an intellectual heavyweight not easily brought down. Can he get the interview, and more importantly, Will Frost be up to the task of giving Nixon that trial? The interview sequences are shown and compared to a boxing match, and the metaphor works well. Frost is initially outclassed by Nixon, the masterful stone-waller, who is able to monopolize the time and set the pace of his answers, while Frost is desperately out of his league. After a poor start, how will Frost come back? Can he prevail? This film is very performance-driven. Frank Langella as Nixon is buried in the part, as is Michael Sheen as Frost. The obvious comparison is "All the President's Men." Both are well-done films, and Frost/Nixon seems especially relevant in the wake of the Bush administration.

The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

who were they making this for?

[4/10 · 24 January 2009]

Oh, man....this was so disappointing. I kept waiting for this to kick into gear and return us to what made the X-Files show so great, but instead it was just this quasi-creepy and mostly silly plot about organ stealing. Mulder's reasons for coming out of retirement are flimsy, and it lacks any of the mythology that was so much of the series appeal. Which leads me to this thought: who did they make this for? The fans? Can't say they did, because there really isn't anything here for them, and the film is not interesting enough for non-fans to dig it. Many people did not like the first movie--it had it's flaws--but I was a fan and any fan who sees this might agree with me when I say that that first one was way more interesting than this.

Religulous (2008)

a refreshing discussion of religious doubt

[10/10 · 9 October 2008]

This film follows Bill Maher around as he interviews some colorful religious leaders or people who are involved in some wacky aspect of religion (such as a guy who portrays Jesus in a Holy Land theme park in Florida, or a Latin American man who thinks he is the second coming of Jesus). And ultimately he just wants to have his questions answered about the nature of faith and religion. He wants to stir up doubt in the institution of religion, which is steeped in certitude. He asks the question: what is so great about faith, which is meant to be blind and unquestioning, over rationality and reasoning? But this is not all serious stuff. Maher breaks it up with some on-screen kidding, a playfulness that at times made me laugh out loud. It is hard to listen to some of the people in here without wondering how anyone takes them seriously--like the people in the Creationism Museum or the church that advocates pot-smoking--but many do. My favorite part was Maher dressing up and getting up in Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park and spouting off crazy stuff while onlookers smile and laugh…meanwhile the subtitles show that everything he is saying is a tenet of Scientology. He sums it up at the end in nice little monologue that comes out on the side of a little old-fashioned healthy doubt. Maybe I just liked this because he's preaching to the choir, but I would really like to know how some religious people I know might react to it.