"Non-Stop" Review

Airplanes are a very prolific subgenre in the disaster film category, as shown by Airport (1970) – which grossed over $100 million, spawned three sequels, and was the basis of parody movie Airplane! (1980). It’s a very understandable fear. At 30,000 feet in the air, nobody wants to hear that their plane is crashing. When you combine this with the McGuffin from The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), the results should be promising. Especially when you have all-star actors like Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, and Scoot McNairy. However, in the case of Non-Stop, an uninspired script prevents the film from really taking flight.

The beginning of the movie starts out slow. Liam Neeson’s character, Bill, is a federal air marshal – a controversial job as his car radio reminds you. The events that lead to the airlift are tedious and clichéd, with the film going so far as to include a bit about Bill being afraid of the plane’s takeoff. However, once the transatlantic flight begins, things get interesting. Bill gets a text threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into a bank account. The bank account is Bill’s though, and as the story begins to unfold, Bill is set up to appear as if he is hijacking the plane. The middle 50% of the film is intense and wildly entertaining. Unfortunately though, in the end, when the movie tries to explain itself, it falls flat. With numerous plot-holes and a downright cringe-worthy motivation for the villain, Non-Stop leaves you feeling unfulfilled.

Liam Neeson doesn’t do anything astounding in this film, but he gives a solid performance. His supporting cast does well with what they’re given, but at times what they’re given isn’t all that much. There aren’t too many awkwardly-delivered lines, and the extras (who, as most of the film takes place inside of a plane, were on set for weeks) all seem to be committed. Julianne Moore is great as always, and Scoot McNairy adds dimension to an otherwise cartoonish character. Recent Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o even has a bit part.

Setting the majority of a film in a confined space can lead to a claustrophobic feel, which is very effective for the bulk of the story. However, when the movie transitions from a thriller to an action film, the lack of space leads to bad fight choreography and an inability to see what is going on. The quick cuts only worsen the situation.

Walking out of the film, you’ll begin to notice an increasing amount of plot-holes and conveniences. While watching the movie, you’ll need to turn your brain off partially so as to not be distracted by the sheer ridiculousness, but not so much that you aren’t invested in the story. Non-Stop is an enjoyable film, but also pretty stupid. 6/10.

"About Last Night" Review

Whoever thought we'd see the day when Kevin Hart was in a film version of a David Mamet play. A remake of the 80s film of the same name (starring Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, and James Belushi), About Last Night is based off of Mamet's "Sexual Perversity in Chicago". The story follows two couples and their relationships after chance meetings.

The main characters are all black, but race doesn't play a large role in the film. Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant play the couple that the film spends most of its time with. Kevin Hart and Regina Hall play the supporting characters, the one-dimensional comic relief. A large portion of the film deals exclusively with these four characters, although there are some nice cameos from Joe Lo Truglio and Christopher McDonald.

The actors are all very charismatic and have great screen chemistry with each other. This, coupled with the wonderfully written dialogue, makes the film easy to sit through. Though there aren't too many sidesplitting jokes nor tearjerking emotional moments, the film is a fun watch.

About Last Night is episodic in nature, never really building towards anything. This approach keeps the audience in a somewhat passive role. I felt as if I were watching a lengthy highlight reel rather than a film. Not that it wasn't entertaining, but I found myself underwhelmed by the story. The ending was especially disappointing. While the majority of the film was a commentary on relationships, the finale seemed to be out of a fantasy world. To avoid spoiling anything, I'll just say that it missed the tone entirely.

Cleverly edited, About Last Night keeps a relatively fast pace the entire way through. It's competently made and enjoyable, but doesn't do anything revolutionary. Most of the film won't stay with you by the next day, but there are worse ways to spend 100 minutes than by watching About Last Night. 6/10.

"RoboCop" Review

The original version of RoboCop (1987) is a cult classic. So when I heard that the ultraviolent satire was being remade, I didn't know how to feel. On one hand, the original is a little dated. But would the remake have the same heart? The story focuses on a Detroit cop who is turned into a cyborg after he is critically injured. I became tepid about the film when I found out that the remake would be rated PG-13, and lost all hope when the trailer spoiled that Alex Murphy (RoboCop) was injured in a car bomb, rather than a brutal shoot-out.

RoboCop is the most frustrating 2014 release I've seen thus far. I was anticipating an absolutely horrific movie that I could make a couple "I wouldn't buy that for a dollar" jokes and forget about - kind of like the sequels. However, what I saw wasn't an atrocious degradation of the RoboCop character. In fact, it was actually kind of decent. It wasn't anything special, but it was okay. It pales in comparison to the original, but it's decent enough where I can't just dismiss it.

This remake has a lot of stuff going for it. For one, it's got a wonderful cast. While the lead, Joel Kinnaman, isn't exactly a household name, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel, and Samuel L. Jackson all have supporting roles. Oldman especially looked like he was trying his best. The effects were also great; the action scenes were generally pretty enjoyable, even if it was all toned down to account for the PG-13 rating.

While RoboCop had a lot of potential, nothing is really done with it. One of the best parts of the original RoboCop was the fact that it was a social commentary disguised as a silly robot action film. This remake is just a silly robot action film. While the movie verges on making a statement, especially with Samuel L. Jackson playing an eccentric news host, it never really commits to anything. The PG-13 rating prevents the language and ultraviolence that was prevalent in the original. The film opts for a dark tone, rather than a campy one, but struggles to create an emotional reaction. Significant deaths and events will occur without you feeling a thing - which goes against the theme of the film.

I don't blame the failures of this film on the director though. I think its biggest problem is that it's way too overproduced. I blame the studios for this. I feel like Director Jose Padilha's heart was in the right place. He and Joel Kinnaman fought hard for an R rating, but ultimately lost the battle to studio executives who hoped to recoup the sizable budget. In fact, during production of the film, Padilha phoned his friend to confide that making this film was "The worst experience of his life", and that for every ten ideas he brought to the project, the studio refused nine. 6/10.

"Monuments Men" Review

Initially intended to be released in December with the awards season in mind, Monuments Men was pushed back to a February release as the special effects weren't complete. Written, directed, and starring George Clooney, this film is a biopic about a WWII platoon tasked to rescue art from Nazi's.

Monuments Men has a big ensemble cast, including Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, and Jean Dujardin. It appears as if each actor is working hard with what they're given, but they aren't given much. All of the characters in the film are more caricatures than real people. The real problem is that the script doesn't give the characters enough time to develop. Almost immediately after they are introduced, they split up and start the mission. There's no opportunity to get to know the characters, and so you end up not feeling anything for any of them.

The script on a whole is very weak. The dialogue is mediocre, never settling on a tone. The pacing is unbalanced, as if the story doesn't know what plot points are important and what aren't. And it's not at all self-aware. It takes itself pretty seriously, so you have to be on board from the get-go, or else the film quickly gets uncomfortable. 

There's nothing particularly grating about Monuments Men, but there's just not a lot there. There are some nice moments, but an underdeveloped script prevents the film from eliciting a significant emotional response. If this is your thing, by all means check it out, but just remember to lower your expectations a bit. 4/10.

"The Lego Movie" Review

Directed by comedy/animation duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who also directed Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and 21 Jump Street (2012)), The Lego Movie is the 60 million dollar animated feature about an ordinary Lego® minifigure who is mistaken for a "MasterBuilder" and recruited to join a quest to stop the evil Lord Business.

The cast for this movie is absolutely stacked. Actors who contributed their voice talents to the film include Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman (in his first animated role), WIll Arnett, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Nick Offerman, Will Forte, Dave Franco, Jonah Hill, Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Daniels (reprising his role as C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Reprising his role as Lando), and Channing Tatum. If for nothing else, the enthusiasm of the actors helps make this movie fun.

The Lego Movie was animated digitally, but stylized to look like stop-motion. This, on top of the fact that everything in the film was designed to look as if were built out of Lego® pieces, contributed to a nostalgic feel. However, during action sequences, the film wasn't pulled down by normal limitations of stop-motion. As much as I was impressed by the animation though, I thought some of the sound mixing was rather amateurish. The character dialogue often didn't flow, or was at the wrong volume. That might be nitpicking, but every time it happened, I was taken out of the movie.

The script for The Lego Movie was very good. The dialogue was very well written, with jokes for both kids and adults. There was some commentary on individualism and mass-consumerism - a pleasant surprise. And although the story was formulaic, it was also self-aware. Given its message of ingenuity, The Lego Movie spends a long time on the verge of hypocrisy, but saves itself by the end, with a heartwarming twist.

Overall, The Lego Movie doesn't leave too much room for emotional attachment, but it's well put-together, and wildly entertaining. It's one of the better animated films I've seen in a while. 8/10.

Don't Trust the Academy

On March 2nd, 2014, Ellen Degeneres will host the 86th Annual Academy Awards, capping off this year's awards season. Last year, 40.3 million people watched the telecast - nearly 4 times the number of viewers for the series finale of Breaking Bad. The goal of the Oscars, like the numerous awards shows that have been going on since December, is to recognize the best achievements in film for the previous calendar year. And we shouldn't take them very seriously.

The fact of the matter is that the awards season is all a business. If you want people to watch your show, or care about the results, you need to have films that people will recognize. All of the films that have been nominated for a major category have a reasonably sized advertising budget. You don't find too many indies vying for the top prize. Sure, The Weinstein Company usually has a top competitor, but calling The Weinstein Company an independent studio is like calling Taylor Swift a Country musician - technically true, but also pretty ridiculous. These smaller films aren't necessarily worse than the large Hollywood films, they just don't have as many resources to reach out to voters. This year, controversy struck when the song "Alone Yet Not Alone" was nominated for Best Original Song. How could this have been possible? Nobody saw that movie! Well, the song has been eliminated from the competition now. It just so happens that the composer of the song was a former governor and current music branch executive committee member. He emailed his colleagues to alert them of his submission, which was evidently going too far. But really, how different is that from all of the other advertising that goes on during awards season? CNN reported last year that more than $100 million is spent on Oscar campaigns alone. If all the songs were actually put on the same playing field, would people realize how horribly clichéd "Let it Go" is?

The Academy had 289 films on their reminder list this year. That's not including films that didn't meet requirements or didn't bother to apply (See: Upstream Color). It's almost impossible to see that many movies in a year. Hence, if your studio can send out screeners to get as many voters as possible to see your film, your odds are a lot better. 

From here, the question begs, why do studios care about these accolades? Well, when a film gets a nomination, it's free publicity citing the quality of the film. This translates to increased sales. According to IBISWorld, after a film is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, it grosses nearly another $20 million at the box office. Another $18 million if it wins. This business incentive dilutes the awards season from recognition of the best of the year, to a simple way to make some extra cash.

The films tend to be reasonably good, but also quite safe. Notice how you don't see too many controversial films nominated. Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave has been a big awards contender this year, but his last film, Shame (2011), was mostly shut out of many of the large shows. Why? Well its NC-17 rating may have been a factor. At last year's Cannes Film Festival, Blue is the Warmest Color won the Palme d'Or award. A drama about two lesbians, the fact that it had a 3 hour runtime and an NC-17 sticker may have hindered its chances for a Best Foreign Language Film Nomination. One of the most talked about documentaries this year was Blackfish, but it didn't get a nomination; could it be that SeaWorld doesn't want a film that puts their company in a bad light to get any more notice than it's been getting

Awards Shows can be fun though. We're competitive by nature, and trying to find a winner just seems natural. We must realize though, we can't truly grade art. I know, this is ironic coming from someone who has been doing just that this entire year, but any opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. Film is incredibly subjective, and so finding the "best" is an impossible job. I'm not advocating a boycott on the Oscars, but just don't take them too seriously.

Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts

From Best to Worst:

1. Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything): This French film about a mother leaving her abusive husband doesn’t treat you like you’re stupid. It leaves you in the dark and then slowly reveals details, all the while increasing in intensity. It feels completely real, and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

2. The Voorman Problem: This film from the UK, starring Martin Freeman and Tom Hollander, is about a psychiatrist examining a prison inmate who believes he is god. Though somewhat one-note, it’s darkly funny and incredibly entertaining.

3. Helium: This Danish short film about a janitor who tells a patient about a magical fantasy world is produced by 5-time Oscar nominee Kim Magnusson. The special effects are incredible, the performances are very good, but it’s a touch overlong.

4. Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?): This 7-minute Finnish film about a family late for a wedding builds towards a well-delivered albeit predictable joke. It’s entertaining, but there’s not much to it.

5. Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me): This Spanish film about African child soldiers starts off strong, but then quickly loses steam until it’s dealing entirely with cliqués. By no means is it bad, it’s just the weakest of the bunch.

Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts

From Best to Worst:

1. Possessions: This Japanese entry is about a man who encounters a plethora of possessed household items while seeking shelter from a storm. It’s wildly engaging, surreal, and beautifully animated. It’s the only one of the bunch that I genuinely did not want to end.

2. Mr. Hublot: This story about an eccentric recluse who takes in a robot dog is visually stunning. Unfortunately, a contrived story takes away from the unique world that’s created.

3. Room on the Broom: This adaptation of the children’s book of the same name has a varsity vocal cast - including Simon Pegg, Timothy Spall, and Sally Hawkins. The claymation looks great, but at a repetitive 26 minutes, it should probably be reserved for kids only.

4. Feral: This black-and-white entry about a wild boy being integrated into society starts off as artsy, and finishes as pretentious. A bland story and lack of closure leave you feeling unfulfilled.

5. Get a Horse!: This nostalgic Disney cartoon is likely the most well-known of the lot, having appeared before Frozen (2013). However, the mixture of classic Disney and mediocre 3-D animation is awkward, and the forced story makes the mere 6-minute runtime seem like an endeavour.