2015 @ The Movies Archives - February

Monthly Movie reviews originally published on Facebook - YEAR 2:

February 3 2015 through February 28 2015:

2015 @ the Movies take 17 : “The Loft" ($5 Tuesday!) This remake of a Belgian thriller is a casting disaster. It is sometimes hard to believe in a character portrayed by an actor that is strongly associated with a previous role. It becomes unbearable when 4 out of the 5 leads are in that situation. This movie brings together McCoy from the Star Trek reboot, Cyclops from X-Men, Cameron from Modern Family and the lead from Prison Break. We are supposed to believe they are now a gang of macho yuppies because they stopped shaving a week ago and one wears glasses. Even the talented Matthias Shoenaerts (who reprises his role from the Flemish version) seems at a loss in the midst of this unlikely crew. Soon coming to a grocery store near you in the $2.99 DVD impulse-buy bin conveniently located by check out line #9. Experienced at Regal College Station Stadium 14 In Auditorium 5.

2015 @ the Movies take 18 : “A Most Violent Year” After “Margin Call” & “All is Lost”, J. C. Chandor brings us his most accomplished film to date. He continues to explore the devastating power of pride, but this time in the context of a gangster film. However, this slow pace character study quickly deviates from usual tropes of the genre. The moral corruption of the lead character, Abel, is a slow journey of decay paved with good intentions. All served by great performances by Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. This smart crime drama is to be put on the same shelf as the overlooked “The Drop” from last year. It is really a shame both movies garnered no Academy recognition. Experienced at Wehrenberg Campbell 16 Cine in Auditorium 11(which is pretty nice) with Susie & Kurtis and nobody else.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o87gG7ZlEAg

2015 @ the Movies take 19 : “Jupiter Ascending" (3D) is a grandiose spectacle about capitalism gone awry far beyond puny Wall Street on an intergalactic scale. This visually stunning tale is, however, plagued by very incoherent casting (pitting Mila Kunis against Eddie Redmayne is downright cruel…) and a corny love story. That was my first take on the film.

Then I came across a thought-provoking review by French film critic Simon Riaux. He sees the film as a hybrid of traditional children stories: Cinderella + The Three Little Pigs, hence explaining some of the apparent corniness. For a movie obsessed with genetics, it seems fitting that its narrative structure would be a hybrid. Mila Kunis portrays a toilet-scrubbing Russian immigrant who is really the lost queen of the universe. According to Riaux, she functions like a Cinderella archetype unaware of her royal genes, and in the end she even gets magic flying shoes. Channing Tatum, as a human/wolf hybrid genetically engineered for war, is both Big Bad Wolf and Prince charming. In order to rescue the lost queen from her 3 evil siblings, he will, by three times, destroy each of their space palace. Of course, the 3 siblings echo Cinderella’s evil cousins, but they are above all three capitalist pigs from space! Nicely thought through Monsieur Riaux! Like “Cloud Atlas”, “Jupiter Ascending” is flawed, but still a fascinating object to pick apart. Experienced Regal College Station Stadium 14 in tiny Auditorium 11 (Good thing we sat close to the screen) with Susie (wishing it was on IMAX) and Kurtis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEunxzlC5Yg

2015 @ the Movies take 20 : “Oscar Documentary Shorts” (Program A) Overall, this year offers a very dark selection in terms of subject matter that pushes the boundaries of traditional documentary filmmaking in terms of form.

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 (USA) the most conventional piece in the selection that ends up feeling like a long informercial about crisis center management.

Joanna (Poland): A young mother dying of cancer prepares her young son for life after her passing. This piece is beautifully shot and edited without straying from its vérité and never falling into pure pathos or sappiness. 

Experienced at Moxie Cinema in theater 1 with Susie & Kurtis.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F92LJDtSmM

2015 @ the Movies take 21 : “Oscar Documentary Shorts” (Program B)

White Earth (US): Think about it as “The Overnighters” the short children version. Kids of migrant oil workers in North Dakota share their experiences. Unfortunately, this short lacks focus and, despite stunning visuals, doesn’t accomplish much.

The Reaper (La Parka) (Mexico): Imagine David Lynch filming the mind of a man killing 250 bulls a day in a Mexican slaughterhouse. The blood splatter on a dirty wall and the grease dripping from a row of meat hooks take on the guise of a twisted modern art piece while the empty gaze of the slaughterer at the dinner table of a derelict house surrounded by nine children punches us back to reality. Wait, this is the upbeat part of program B...
Our Curse (Poland): I am not sure why this one is the last piece shown in the program, but it feels almost too much at this point: a young couple welcome their infant son home for the first time. The baby boy suffers from a very rare incurable condition that causes him to stop breathing once he falls asleep. Should I say more? Let’s point out a strange line that might be due to a translation error. When describing the condition, a doctor calls it a “cool challenge”… I really hope this is not Polish dark humor.
Experienced Moxie Cinema in theater 1 with Susie & Kurtis.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG3jRxKBu38

2015 @ the Movies take 22 : “Still Alice” A film exploring the plight of the Alzheimer disease once more should come with something new to offer whether in story or form. The central motivation for this film seems to be giving Julianne Moore a shot at the golden statue - as if we needed confirmation of her talent as an actress. Plus, making Julianne Moore shine by surrounding her with a boring cast delivering very flat performances feels cheap. The unique perspective of the patient as a linguist is also barely explored. More so, her plan to to orchestrate her suicide via a system of messages to here debilitated future self is left hanging with no comment. As I mentioned in a earlier post, Bille August’s “A Song for Martin” (2001) accomplishes much more on the same topic. Experienced at Moxie Cinema in theater 2.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrXrZ5iiR0o

2015 @ the Movies take 23 : “Kingsman: The Secret Service” As it was aptly put by Eddie Izzard, when one buys a ticket to see a British film, one expects a dose of Edwardian sophisticated ennui and dexterously moved matches in a dimly lit room overlooking the Arno. However, what is somewhat true of UK cinema, does not apply at all to British comic books. They have more in common with Sid Vicious than James Ivory (Who is American, but knows how to arrange matches like a true Anglo). Kingsman is adapted from one of these cheeky Brit funny books. In an effort to demonstrate that comics book are not a kiddy-only fare, UK comic writers have been notorious for pushing the envelope so far up “there" that the most stoic Royal mailbox would turn a shade redder. Attempting to adapt these comics to the screen is nearly impossible, remember “Kick-Ass” - same problem. The subversive comment they offer on the medium of comics is lost. It is also downright misguiding to repackage them as the latest quirky dog-loving James Bond off-shoot. Experienced at Regal College Station Stadium 14 auditorium 3 with Kurtis &Susie. Let's stay away from the trailers... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjC3R6jOtUo

2015 @ the Movies take 24 : "Fifty Shades of Grey" (IMAX) I demand immediate reparation for this travesty (lower lip bitten once). We are nowhere near 50 shades. We barely got two: Mr. Grey fully dressed holding a red rope (lower lip bitten twice) and Mr. Grey shirt less holding another red rope of a slightly shorter length (lower lip bitten thrice). This spectacle was as titillating as a sardine caught in a net gasping for air (lower lip bitten twain times more). I was definitely hoping to channel my 14 year-old self seeing the French dub of "9 1/2 Weeks” for the first time (lower lip now bleeding) as part of a family movie outing, but it fell flat. Quel Dommage! Experienced at Springfield 11with Susie & Kurtis. Check out Mickey Rourke’s French voice at 0:25, it is the same guy who dubs Bruce Willis, hilarious. Also, revisiting this 1986 vintage soft-porn might be perilous. It ain’t like French wine in terms of ageing.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi1SxXQ39d4

2015 @ the Movies take 25 : "The Warriors" (1979) Mondo Moxie! a beautifully absurd tale where gangs of paramilitary clowns wedge a war for an imaginary domination of a territory they cannot control. Kudos to the Moxie crew for showing a beautiful restored version of this cult classic. Experienced in  Moxie Cinema in Theater 2 with Kurtis "The Orphan" Foster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAUMri0mv8M

2015 @ the Movies take 26 : "The Lazarus Effect” A ridiculous pseudo scary movie that makes incoherent attempts at startling the viewers, so they will not fall asleep. I do not understand why Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde & Donad Glover ended up in this DOA stinker. Experienced Regal College Station Stadium 14 in Auditorium 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDwTT37YBcE