St. Vincent

Expectations:
While I certainly do not dislike Bill Murray, I have never been able to understand exactly why he is so universally loved. Sure, he is quite hilarious, but why does his humor bring so many people together?... Who knows!... Regardless, my hopes were very high, going in to St. Vincent, due mostly to the fact that Jaeden Lieberher absolutely cracked me up in the trailers. If there is one thing that I love more than a good dramedy, it is a funny, intelligent child actor! So, while Bill Murray was the draw for most viewers of St. Vincent, my main draw was 81 years (approximately) younger than Murray...

Plot:
While I did expect St. Vincent to provide numerous laughs, I did not expect the film to have such a heart. There is no doubt that this was the most emotional that I have seen since Short Term 12, and, in case you don't know me, emotions aren't my strong suit! However, by the end of the film, I was struggling HARD to keep the tears from flowing! Most of the emotions were brought on by the relationship between Bill Murray's Vincent and Lieberher's Oliver, which was just perfect. The end of the film was a bit rushed, but, for the most part, St. Vincent did a great job of making me laugh and (almost) cry with nothing but a simple story about a little boy and his old, grumpy neighbor!

Characters:
St. Vincent was anchored very well by Bill Murray, who was absolutely perfect for the role. However, I don't quite think he is worthy of the Oscar buzz that a few folks are throwing his way. Again, my lack of awe at Murray is showing, but I just don't quite get it!

Negatives:
One actor who was terribly under-utilized and awkward-looking was Terrence Howard, who played Zucko, a horse gambling friend of Vincent's. While Howard may not be the most respected actor in Hollywood, he isn't typically horrible. From a different angle, I did not really like what the film did with Oliver's school-enemy, Ocinski (played by Dario Barosso). Unfortunately, I can't say too much without giving away the plot, but I just thought the progression of his character was a bit under-utilized.

Positives:
As expected, the child actor rules them all! Jaeden Lieberher was absolutely hilarious as Oliver, and I truly wanted him to be my child. The age and size of both the actor and his character were absolutely perfect for this film, and I can't wait to see what this youngster does in the future. Additionally, great performances were handed in by both Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd. While McCarthy has (rightfully) taken a lot of heat for some of her recent roles, characters, like Maggie, allow her to show her range across the comedic and dramatic spectrum. O'Dowd, on the other hand, can always make me laugh, no matter what! His character of Brother Geraghty did a great job of poking fun at religion without tearing down its significance in both the film and his life. Great character!

Conclusion:
Although the likelihood of another 2014 film topping The LEGO Movie is quite slim, St. Vincent certainly did a great job of sticking its foot in the door, as one of the best dramedies of 2014. With a great cast and an emotional storyline, St. Vincent had most of what I ask for in a film. The only thing it lacked was Jonah Hill! Anyway, I'm quite hopeful that this film starts a great career for Jaeden Lieberher and begins a new era in the comedy of Bill Murray (and maybe Melissa McCarthy, too!). Kudos to new director, Theodore Melfi and the entire cast for entertaining me and given me enough proof, for the next year or two, that I have emotions! I give St. Vincent 3.56 out of 5 stars.

Prisoners

 

Expectations:
The first time that I saw the trailer for Prisoners was sometime in July, and I must say that it hooked me. Hugh Jackman's great screaming and the film's mysterious aura were enough to convince me that this film may actually have something more to it than most of your typical kidnapping, whodunit mysteries. However, as we moved from July to August to September, I had seen the trailer about 11 bazillion times, and I began to question whether the film really had anything else to offer, aside from the dramatic moments in the trailer. The same thing happened with me and World War Z, over the summer, and I still have yet to see that film. Luckily for Prisoners, I had not been to the theater in almost ONE WHOLE MONTH, and I was having serious withdrawals. Thank goodness that Orange is the New Black was there for me, as I attempted to retain my sanity throughout September. So, anyways, I was reluctant and not expecting much, but the movies really needed me... and I wouldn't wanna leave them hanging.

Plot:
There is no doubt that Prisoners had one of the most unpredictable storylines of the year. Not that the outcome was totally out of left field or anything, but I don't think anyone watching the film could have been absolutely certain of what was going to happen. Personally, I don't think of unpredictability as an overly exciting quality of a film, because I don't try to figure movies out. I just let them happen to me. So, the one aspect of the film that everyone seems to love just doesn't really matter to me. However, throughout the entire film, the drama was very, very real, and that I do appreciate. The only real problem that I had with the plot was how slowly they dwelled on each piece of the plot, making for an unnecessarily long run time. Other than that, kudos to the filmmakers for keeping it dramatic and interesting.

Characters:
Everything I read says the same exact thing... "Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal are great!" and "Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, and Paul Dano are underused!" I'm sorry, but I disagree (for the most part). As I said already, the run time was waaaaay too long, so I don't believe that anybody was underused. Sure, Viola Davis and Paul Dano are great actors, but that doesn't mean that they HAVE TO be the leads or steal the show. Also, Jake Gyllenhaal was NOT great! Was he bad?... No... But he wasn't great.

Negatives:
The only performance that I did not care for was that of Melissa Leo, who played Holly Jones, the mother-figure of Paul Dano's Alex. Her makeup and hair just didn't look real at all, so I couldn't take her seriously. That's probably all it was, though.

Positives:
Following his Golden Globe winning performance in Les Miserables, Hugh Jackman did not disappoint as crazed, confused father-figure, Keller Dover. Prisoners contained a lot of emotion, but no other character's emotion was brought into the spotlight as much as Keller's. Additionally, Maria Bello, who played Keller's Wife, Grace, was absolutely phenomenal. Of the parental characters, no one showed a wider range of emotions than Grace, which made Bello's performance all the more impressive.

Conclusion:
Although I didn't absolutely love Prisoners, I would definitely suggest it for those of you who like to try to figure stuff out. Just make sure that you use the bathroom before you go into the theater! Jackman definitely has a shot at another Oscar nom with his performance in this film, so congrats to him. Maybe his newfound success will help him steer clear of Wolverine, after Days of Future Past is finished. We all know he needs to hang up that towel! I'm just glad that I finally had something to go watch! Even though my birthday is in September, it sure sucked to be without movies to watch for a month. If you want a slow, mellow film that is quite dry, rough, and dramatic, Prisoners is for you. It just wasn't enough for me to have sacrificed 2.5 hours of my life for it. I give Prisoners 3.14 out of 5 stars.

Iron Man 3

 

 

 

After a tough, tough week of finals, it's so great to get back to writing on here. Sorry to keep you all waiting, but I will be playing catch up over the next couple of weeks, so check in regularly for new posts!

Expectations:
After the disaster that was Iron Man 2 and the amazingness that was The Avengers, I didn't really know what the heck to expect with Iron Man 3. The first Iron Man film was great, and Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect Tony Stark. However, once you have a bad sequel, you tend to follow that bad sequel with another bad sequel, and I thought Iron Man 3 may just be another bad sequel. From the trailers, I was not at all convinced that The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley, was going to be intimidating at all, and I cannot stand Guy Pearce, so the villains did not intrigue me whatsoever. My only confidence was found in Robert Downey Jr., who isn't a bad person to have confidence in.

Plot:
Iron Man 3 brought with it a lot of twists and turns, and that excitement is what keeps people returning to the theater for these type of action shows (along with the millions in marketing and such). Amazingly, the twists in this film were actually pretty well done, particularly the utilization of the previously under-utilized Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). With a much calmer, less cocky Tony Stark, the door was opened for his relationship with Potts to become more than just an excuse for Iron Man to have a girl. Also, the scene of him going into space ("never to return") in The Avengers really made me care about their relationship, in a dorky "I like comic book films" kind of way. The conflict with the villains did seem a bit insignificant, particularly now that we know Iron Man just has to call his Avengers friends if he really needs help. Nevertheless, the focus of this film was not the conflict with the villains but rather the relationship between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. A much simpler Iron Man made for a much simpler story, which aided in the twistiness of the twists.

Characters:
For the most part, I either really loved or really disliked the characters in Iron Man 3, so I didn't have a very hard time figuring the positives and negatives...

Negatives:
As I said before, I cannot stand Guy Pearce. I don't really understand why I don't like him, but I don't. Unfortunately for him, my opinion of him did not change after his performance as scientist-turned-baddy, Aldrich Killian. He just wasn't very frightening nor was he cool or clever. The villainous roles were just a big miss for me, with Iron Man 3... and that rhymes. Also, while some people may be fans of Don Cheadle's Rhodes character, but I just don't care for him in that role. Terrence Howard was much better in that role, but, really, War Machine is a boring sidekick, in my opinion. Lastly, I thought the focus that was given to Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan was unnecessary and did nothing but ad to the length of the film.

Positives:
Of course, as expected, Robert Downey Jr. was his amazingly hilarious self, and, if anyone else ever plays Iron Man, they will not do the role justice. He has, single-handedly, taken Iron Man from an average super hero to Marvel's go-to guy, and overcoming Spiderman is not an easy task. Additionally, the huge increase in screen time for Paltrow's Potts really helped both characters become more than they could ever be alone. Even with the greatness that is Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr., my absolute favorite part of this film was Ty Simpkin's Harley Keener, who became Iron Man's little minion and had the same sarcastic attitude as Tony Stark. As a sucker for child actors, I thought he did a really great job in the role, and I can't wait to see him in future films.

Conclusion:
Few things make me happier than to see the theater filled to the brim with butts and excitement. Iron Man 3 will probably have the biggest opening weekend of the summer, if I had to guess, and, as a result the theater was a happening place last Friday night! Actiony, super hero films would not be nearly as good without the enthusiasm of a large crowd, so that definitely improved my Iron Man 3 experience. Also, it did not hurt that the movie was really great. Downey Jr. fit the mold perfectly, yet again, and I hope that he chooses to play Iron Man again in the future. Usually, by the time of the third film of a franchise, I am ready for the towel to be thrown in, but Iron Man is unique. Not only is Downey Jr.'s super hero portrayal great, but, unlike most super heroes, Iron Man brings so many laughs, much of which is attributed to his wit. With the scientific background and the charm of a multi-billionaire, Iron Man is more able to ground himself in reality than most (non-Batman) super heroes. He is able to accomplish this without the "dark"ness of Batman, and that is something that should be recognized. I give Iron Man 3 3.54 out of 5 stars.