Gone Girl - Review

Gone Girl.

DISCLAIMER: I did NOT read the book before or since seeing the film so this review is based solely off of the film.

Gone Girl is a mystery film directed by David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club) based on Gillian Flynn's book of the same name. The story follows Nick Dunne played by Ben Affleck who finds his wife is missing and becomes a prime suspect and public enemy number one in the process of trying to find her.

The main thing that this movie has going for it is the real suspense of knowing whether or not Dunne murdered or had to do with the disappearance of his wife Amy. Dunne is the first character we meet in the film and we gravitate toward him and see him as a protagonist and unconsciously believe he couldn't have killed his wife. The movie is absolutely excellent at making you doubt the prior statement and really begins to make you question whether or not he did and takes you along for the ride like you're a detective in the case. Once this suspense is lost, the movie and the story begin to drift.

The second thing this film has going for it is its performances. Everyone did a magnificent job, Affleck and Rosamund Pike (Amy Dunne) included but I wanted to mention someone I never thought I'd mention in the same sentence when it comes to the phrase "good acting": Tyler Perry. Yes, the man behind all of the Madea movies has some real acting chops. Perry impressed me and from what I've read from other critics, I'm not the only one. As a big shot lawyer who agrees to take on Nick Dunne's case, Perry convinces Nick and the audience that somehow, everything will be alright. Also my man, and everyone's man, Neil Patrick Harris is in the film and while he was great in his role, I felt the role was too small and rather underdeveloped for as good of an actor as Harris is. This criticism is based off of his character we get in the film as I'm sure the character in the book got more development than what was able to be shown.

The first act of this movie is phenomenal and if it was a short film of just the first hour, this would one of the best short films ever. The second act is questionable as the decisions made by the author were ones I did not like and the third act of this story really doesn't do much for me. Without giving anything the end of the movie was less than perfect and I've had multiple conversations about it with multiple people and it does succeed in getting you to talk about it long after the movie is over. There's not much that can be said without spoiling major plot points and in the honor of my "no spoiler' decree on my blog, I won't spoil anything.

Replay Value: 1/5, honestly, after Gone Girl ended, I had no intention to ever watch it again. Once it ends and you know how it all unfolds, it takes away from the original viewing experience with the cat and mouse game played up in the first act of the film. Re-watching would take away all of the suspense and all of the mystery surrounding the missing girl that would really take away from the movie's strongest points.

Rating: 3/5

Unbroken - Review

Unbroken.

Unbroken is the second film directed by Angelina Jolie starring Jack O'Connell as Louie Zamperini an Olympic runner who ends up fighting in World War II as a bombardier. After a near fatal crash landing that claimed most of his crew, Zamperini and two other survivors spend 47 days out in middle of the Pacific Ocean. After 47 days they get rescued by a Japanese boat and get taken prisoner and held in detainment.


Jack O'Connell's portrayal of Zamperini was phenomenal as was Mutsuhiro "The Bird" Watanabe played by Takamasa Ishihara also known by his stage name Myavi who is a singer-songwriter from Japan making his first venture into international acting with Unbroken.

First off, this movie is fantastic and running at about 2 hours and 20 minutes, the fact that I never even thought about glancing at my watch is feat in its own right. There's really not much to say about this movie because it's hard to talk about without giving spoilers but it's not only as good as it looks, it's better. Unbroken is enjoyable, inspirational and one of the best movies of the year.

Replay Value: 2/5, Unbroken has a pretty low replay value because much of the movie hinges on the "what's going to happen next?" question running through your brain; it also has pretty disturbing moments that you would rather not see again. This is similar to last year's 12 Years a Slave in that it's not a movie I'll watch very often but it's a movie I believe everyone should see.

Rating: 4.5/5

Somewhat of a Rant: I'm extremely happy that Angelina Jolie was the director to bring this story to life because as a 2014 survey discovered, only 6% of major movies are directed by females. In the 86 years of the Academy Awards only four times has a female director been nominated for Best Director and only once has a female won: Kathryn Bigelow in 2009 for The Hurt Locker. Of all of the major movies scheduled for release in 2015 only two notable films are being directed by women: Fifty Shades of Grey by Sam Taylor-Wood and Pitch Perfect 2 by Elizabeth Banks. These two films come from a list of major and nationally planned film releases that didn't consider indie movies in its list. Unbroken may be the catalyst that Hollywood needed in bringing out more women to direct more films as it has a well known member of Hollywood, Angelina Jolie, at the helm; and it was released on Christmas Day which is one of the biggest release days of the year in cinema and usually means a film is worthy of Oscar buzz. Jolie winning Best Director for this would be huge as she would be the second female ever to do so and the second in just 5 years which hopefully is a trend we will continue to see. This movie is fantastic and hopefully it opens more doors for female directors in Hollywood to being their visions to life.

Saturday the 14th: The Possession of Michael King - Review

The Possession of Michael King.

The Possession of Michael King is a 2014 found footage(ish) horror movie based around a man who is an atheist. The movie is directed by first time director David Jung who also wrote the film. The man, Michael King, is a recent widower and now single father to his young daughter. As stated earlier, King is an atheist and pretty much challengers either the Devil and his demons or God and his angels to prove they exist and take ahold of him. What ensues is a story in which at times you think he's actually possessed and at other times that it's all in his head and he's going insane; the movie keeps this debate going for quite a while and it's for the better.

Acting: The movie consists mainly of Shane Johnson portraying Michael King; Johnson, an unknown with mostly TV and extra work to his credit is given the helms to carry this movie as his character is alone for a good chunk of the movie. All other characters play small roles with maybe 15 minutes of screen time. Shane Johnson plays this role beautifully, this movie would fall flat on it's face if he couldn't hold his own but thankfully he does. It's not an Oscar-worthy performance but it's a better performance than I've seen in most nationally released horror films, especially in the last few years. I don't know if there's a horror award show but he deserves some type of award for this because he kills it, especially for a newcomer. Everyone else does well but honestly most of their characters aren't in it enough to make or break the movie.

But Is It Scary? Short answer: yes. This movie is scary definitely but it's more of a creepy type of horror. The film doesn't rely on jump scares which is rather refreshing in the horror era we're in. It has a good amount of visuals that stick in your head far after the end of the movie. Scariest movie of the year? Probably not. But it's definitely scary.

Is There Anything I Haven't Seen Before?: Short answer: kinda. The last decade of horror films has been riddled with possession stories and truthfully it's getting old. We've also seen 800(not an actual figure) "found footage" movies since the first Paranormal Activity came out back in 2007. This film separates itself from the pack by first making it more of a documentary style movie instead of a true found footage movie which is a nice change. Secondly, and most importantly, the movie tells the possession story from the viewpoint of the person being possessed instead of the people around him. This becomes incredibly interesting once the possession-like symptoms begin because it really makes you think whether or not it's real. It's a shame this movie wasn't released nationwide but it's currently on most video-on-demand services and to buy on DVD, if you don't want to commit to a physical copy I highly recommend renting it on demand as it's one of the most worthwhile horror movies of the year.

Overall: A great horror movie that any horror fan should enjoy that has enough story to entice horror detractors. You might have to go somewhat out of your way to actually find the film but I promise you it's well worth it. I was intrigued until the very end and couldn't keep my eyes off the screen or from guessing what was coming next and sometimes actually being wrong. Definitely best viewed at a loud volume in a dark room, for full effect of course.

Rating: 4/5, By far one of my favorite horror movies of the year that could very sneak into my top 10 films of 2014 depending on how Oscar season goes. Regardless of Oscar season I can't see this movie not being in my top 3 horror movies of the year, trust me, it's that good. Instead of going to see Annabelle this weekend, spend $5 on video-on-demand and watch this movie, I can assure you it's much better.

The Gambler - Review

The Gambler.

The Gambler is a film centered around Jim Bennett played by Mark Wahlberg who is an English professor who leads a hidden life in the high stakes gambling world. Without saying too much, Bennett gets in too deep and owes way too much money to too many people and has to find his way out of this alive.

One of the problems with this movie is that the supporting cast is stellar yet they get very little screen time. John Goodman and Michael Kenneth Williams absolutely stole the show; Goodman is beyond perfect for this role and Williams is just menacing as hell but somehow also gives a side of his character that is likable which is impressive as he threatens to kill Bennett multiple times. These are the two main "villains" of the movie and for how well the actors portrayed them, I wish we got to see them some more. Jessica Lange of American Horror Story fame plays Bennett's estranged mother and she's great in the role but like Goodman and Williams she's in maybe 3 or 4 scenes and you almost get the feeling that her talent might've been a little wasted. Brie Larson plays a student of Bennett and while she gives a good performance and it's good to see her getting more roles, her character really could've been played by almost anyone.

Another problem with the movie is that like Nightcrawler, it's dark, mildly disturbing and really makes you question your morals and the morals of the protagonist. Bennett isn't the most likable guy and does some incredibly unlikable things and at times makes it hard to really be on his side with everything going on.

All of that being said, I liked this movie quite a bit. As I said earlier, the supporting cast is stellar and Mark Wahlberg gives a great performance. I keep referring to Nightcrawler from earlier this year but the movies are pretty similar in a few ways; like Jake Gyllenhaal disappeared in his role in Nightcrawler, Wahlberg disappears in the role of Jim Bennett, you forget that you're watching Marky Mark and I'm telling you, he killed this role. The story might as well be a PSA for anti-gambling as it shows how dangerous, addictive and how quickly one persons addiction can bring in multiple people and get them in trouble as well.

Overall, the movie is supremely acted, well directed by Rupert Wyatt, director of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and with an intriguing story The Gambler will have your eyes glued to the screen. Some of its flaws definitely take the movie down a few pegs but the acting is what really saves this movie from letting its flaws ruin it. Mark Wahlberg may walk away with an Oscar nod for Best Actor but it's not an Oscar winning role in my eyes, that being said, it is one of his finer performances and them movie is well worth the price of admission.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Interview - Review

The Interview.

The Interview is a comedy starring Seth Rogen, James Franco and Randall Park centered around an American television personality (Franco) and his producer (Rogen) attempting to interview and assassinate Kim Jong-un (Park). If you haven't heard about the controversy surrounding this movie then you've clearly been living under a rock as the movie caused Sony to be hacked and later pulling the film from release which caused massive backlash from politicians and many working in Hollywood; Sony released the film to around 300 theaters along with online sites such as YouTube, GooglePlay and the Xbox marketplace. As a huge fan of Seth Rogen and James Franco separately and even more so when they work together, I was pumped to see this movie as soon as I saw the first trailer. Once Sony pulled it, I made it a personal mission to get my hands on this movie, I had to see it.

All of that being said, I really enjoyed this movie. This by far isn't the best comedy of the year, as 22 Jump Street set the bar pretty high but it's definitely funny. If you know Seth Rogen and James Franco and their brand of comedy, you should know what to expect; and if you like their brand of comedy you'll enjoy this movie. The movie is pretty much absurd, tasteless, stupid and really funny, just like every other Rogen/Franco venture. For me, that's a good thing as I love these two together, for others, they hate it.

There's really not a ton to say about this movie, as I said earlier, if you like Seth Rogen and James Franco, you'll like this movie, if you don't then you won't. The first act of the movie is definitely the funniest as it's normal shenanigans for Rogen/Franco, act two is pretty funny as it consists a lot of Franco and Jong-un becoming friends and getting into their own shenanigans and then act three is relatively when the shit, for lack of a better word, gets real. I really liked the movie, I thought it was funny and I thought they actually were able to bring up the issues of North Korea in a decent manner without being tasteless toward the people that live there.

Rating: 3.5/5