2014 @ The Movies Archives - July

Below is a monthly compilation of my 128 2014 film reviews originally published on Facebook:

July 4 2014 through July 31 2014:

2014 @ the movies take 66: “A Hard Day's Night (1964)” The digitally remaster is a superb: gorgeous picture and clear as day soundtrack. The movie is so Britishly whacky it calls back our attention to the fact The Beatles were so much of their culture before being this quasi-universal juggernaut. I like how it even prefigures the Monty Python and comments on the pop-culture industry as it is inventing it. Also, notice how everyone is freaking out about their coiffures that could lead the youth astray, but not even bat an eyelash at the fact that they are smoking and swigging beer throughout :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWbiVqlSMgc

2014 @ the movie take 67: “Snowpiercer” A brilliant philosophical tale about the breakdown of a system. It’s like Plato’s cave set on a train with sushi and angry amputees - what’s not to like? Also, check out the 1980’s French Graphic Novel it is based on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5PwfEMBM0

2014 @ the movies take 68: "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” A great Ape-centric opening sequence (you gotta love Maurice the language teaching orangutang). Interestingly enough, the movie goes downhill when the humans show up with their uber-obvious plot-twists and Ape-hating dam specialists who should have stayed locked up in the car. Not to mention an gun-loving Gary Oldman whose self-sacrifice seems mostly motivated by a strong urge to end the movie and go home. After a tepid “Rise" and a lukewarm “Dawn”, I am not sure if I should look forward to “Late Morning of the Planet of the Apes” or the other possible Ape-quels “Brunch of the Planet of the Ape” “Mid-Afternoon snack of the Planet of the Apes” and the final reboot chapter “Planet of the Apes From Dusk till Dawn."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf5e7Xc1Hwk

2014 @ the movies take 69: “The Immigrant” This film cultivates an intriguing ambiguity that sets it a part from the typical 1910’s immigrant story. You never really know who to love or hate. A shattering of perspectives perfectly illustrated by the last shot of the film that frames the characters in a mosaic facing forward and going in different directions at once. As bonus the set design is impeccable in its recreation of the heyday of New York City’s tenement buildings - a keeper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MsJYEIiIfs

2014 @ the movies take 70: “Supermensch: the Legend of Shep Gordon" Informative if you didn’t know - like me - who Shep Gordon is. However, the doc feels a bit too hagiographic and often turns into a gallery of encounters with celebrities. It doesn’t fully explore the role of the agent in the manufacturing of fame. It’s an A&E production, so the driven showbiz shark turned enlightened retired island dweller in his twilight years (after a dire health crisis) must be a prerequisite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd0VOkPOrV0

2014 @ the movies take 71: “Begin Again” It is like the electric New York version of “Once” also by writer/director John Carney. It’s sunnier and bit more of a feel-good film, but it cleverly avoids all the pitfalls of sap neatly laid out in the trailer. The cast is perfect and the clever editing choices enhance a solid script. It also manages to slide in a comment on the music industry in its during-the-end-credit sequence. Bonus: film-buffs watch for some Godard-inspired jump cuts in a couple of scenes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTRCxOE7Xzc

2014 @ the movies take 72: "Lucy" Luc Besson has pretty much been making the same movie since  his 1990 masterwork "Nikita" (Dubbed "La Femme Nikita" for the American francophiles) : vulnerable female becomes super fighting queen and saves the day, or the universe. Sometimes it's great (The Professional, 5th Element) other times not so much (Joan of Arc, Angel-A). This time it starts strong and rapidly peters out into a mess of sci-fi clichés (Morgan Freeman expository voice overs, anyone?). The last line of "Nikita" was "We're going to miss her" and it was true. The last line of the god-like "Lucy" is "I am everywhere" - and nobody cares. A missed opportunity considering Scarlett Johansson's A-game in "Her" & "Under the skin", "Lucy" could have been the smart sci-fi trifecta... And I will not mention the pointless Korean gansta crew in blood-stained silk shirts...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVt32qoyhi0

2014 @ the movies take 73: "A most wanted man" a brilliant street-level Euro-centric spy caper where the enemy is a result-driven paranoid bureaucracy. Phillip Seymour Hoffman steals the show as a wise thoughtful slow-mo Jack Bauer from the Fatherland. The film is a reminder that the complexities of the international war on terrorism cannot be addressed in 24 hours. It is also bittersweet to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman in one of his last roles - he is definitely a most wanted actor. :(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUyYBrlF_W8

2014 @ the movies take 74: "The Signal" A visually stunning indy sci-fi mystery that struggles with its ambiguities and self-destructs in fireworks of boring clichés during the last 5 minutes which turn the movie into an unfunny Guardians of the Galaxy prequel... :( Casting tip: stay away from Lawrence Fishburn when casting a key mystery character: the half-digested red pill under taste lingers still, Mr. Anderson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwgfeR2pMuE