Double Movie Review: Inherent Vice (2015) and Blackhat (2015) - Another hey sorry I took so long to pump these out kind of review

Well, as we continue on down the road into January I find myself in more dire straits when it comes to what movies to watch. Originally the plan this weekend was for Mordecai but the early reviews came in and it looks like Johnny Depp is about to have his third stinker in a row. So I went a little bit abstract this week with what to watch, finding myself in two theatres where there were a total of five people there between the two of them counting me among them, twice! In case you missed the title of this post the two movies in question were Inherent Vice and Blackhat, so let's get into it shall we?

Inherent Vice Review

Plot Summary - At the start of the 70's Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is visited by his ex-girlfriend Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston) who asks him to help her current boyfriend Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts) from being put into a mental ward. From there Doc finds himself going up against gangs, skinheads, the police, the FBI, cults and anything he comes across in his effort to find out what's really going on.

Pros - Well, the cast is fantastic and the directing is great, but that's not really the thing people are talking about when it comes to this movie.

Cons - It is, by an intents and purposes, really hard to follow what's going on. Now, not to brag, but I was able to go along with it for the most part, but even I found parts kind of confusing and I even ended having to talk parts of it over with someone who knows it better than I do. Now, I'm not holding it as a personal con against the movie, but I like to think I can speak for the masses with this blog so I'm counting as a con for everyone else. Does this bring down the rest of the movie? Not really, as most of it gets explained well at the end and I still left the movie mostly satisfied with what I saw.

Final Score - 8/10

It might be hard to follow at times, but for the parts you can it's a hell of a trip man.

Blackhat Review

Plot Summary - After a hacker takes out a Chinese nuclear plant and manipulates the american stock market, a joint task force between the Chinese and American governments bring in a man named Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth) to find the hacker and bring him down.

Pros - Michael Mann's direction with the film is fantastic as the movie is visually awesome no matter what kind of scene is happening on the screen. The acting for the most part holds up as well but it's always hard to judge in spy thrillers like this because everyone has to take what's going on seriously. The most surprising thing though is how better than average the romantic subplot is.

Cons - While the visuals may be interesting, the story that it's actually trying to show you is not that compelling. You can only see so many scenes of people frantically typing keyboards before it gets kind of old. Also, it's 2015, do we really have no better way to show something being hacked instead of just following an electrical signal traveling through a wire? it was old in the 80's and it's even worse now. Hell they had better five second segments that could've done the job for them and it still convey that something is being hacked. Not to mention that the story is full of conveniences and a couple of bizarre moments and awkward dialogue. Hell there's one guy who follows them for most of the movie and he barely speaks at all and its really weird.

Final Score - 4/10

Honestly, if it wasn't for the Romantic subplot being as good as it was, this probably would've gotten a lower score despite some really good work out of Michael Mann. I'd recommend you skip this and re watch Heat or Collateral.

Now, I do have a couple of other reviews in the works, but the main thing I want to announce is I'm going to another Film Festival. If you live in Canada, Cineplex Cinemas is having it's Great Digital Film Festival next week, and there's five movies playing I want to see  (mostly because I've already seen the rest of the movies they have playing) and they just so happen to all be playing on the same day. So, expect 5 retro reviews in the coming weeks.

Until then, I'll see you folks at the movies.

Movie Review: American Sniper (2015) - I guess the question is, does the movie hit it's mark?.......I'll see myself out

Well, I just want to say firstly I’m sorry for the delays, I’ve been ill for the past few days and this just happened to be the first chance I got to see anything new. Before I get started there’s a couple of things I wish to clarify about anything I might say going forward with this. So,

    1.     I am not judging Chris Kyle the real person, I am judging Chris Kyle on how he is portrayed in a fictional version of real events. I know the real Chris Kyle had some controversies surrounding him and I am not here to talk about those, nor judge him on the things he did during his tour of duties. As they said in the film, he’ll stand before his creator and answer for every one of those shots.

    2.     This is not an endorsement of the war in the Middle East. I have no opinion of them one way or the other only to say that my father did two tours, so I have tremendous respect for anyone willing to go over there and do what he did.

     3.     The short answer to what I think about the film, is that it’s just okay. Once again, I am not judging the man nor what he did I am merely judging the film on its interpretation of its characters and events. I wouldn’t judge Martin Luther King Jr. based on David Oyelewo’s performance I’m not going to do the same here okay? So can we all be cool about this? If so, we can begin.

Pros – While Bradley Cooper does do a good job playing Chris I honestly have to give more credit to her for playing his wife, as she tries to be both the voice of reason and his reason for coming home. Clint Eastwood also does a good job directing, going with a more simply shot film for a more simply told story. A couple of moments in the film too were quite emotional, and the way they do the ending of the film was I think the best way they could have done it.

Cons – I wish Sienna Miller had more to do in the film, and I also can’t help but feel like they could have tried to make more of the scenes have a real good emotional kick to them. The beginning of the film is also a bit slow but you do manage to get back into for the most part when it picks up again.

Final Score – 7/10

Solid acting and a steady hand make this a simple story told simply. While I wish they would’ve done more with it I can appreciate it for what it is and what it was trying to do.

I have a plan tomorrow to try and see a couple of other movies, so I either might do a double or space them out. Also, since there is only one movie coming out on Friday I want to see I should be caught up in no time.

Until next time, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

2015 Academy Award Nominees and Predictions

Well folks, it’s that time of the year again, the time of the year where the academy awards nominees are announced, and everyone on the internet bitches about the fact that it’s mostly old white dudes doing all the voting. My opinion on it? By the time I make movies that good that’ll probably have changed, so I don’t care. Besides 2014 was such a shit year I honestly think this’ll be the least memorable awards year yet by default.

Anyways, getting to the heart of the matter, the way this is going to work is like this: I’m going to post the nominees in every category (don’t worry I’ll post the more interesting ones first) and choose which one I think either will win, or deserve to win and why, and comments on a few others as well. So let’s get started.

Best Picture

American Sniper

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma – Truthfully it’s a coin flip between this and The Imitation Game, but if I had to pick a solid choice I’d go with Selma, it’s the kind of thing the academy likes and it’s actually a really good film.

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash – I liked Whiplash, I’m shocked it got nominated.

Best Director

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Alejandro González Iñárritu – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Richard Linklater – Boyhood: This is one for me wouldn’t surprise me either way.

Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher: Foxcatcher may not have been a favorite of mine despite being a really good film, but I honestly think he did the best job.

Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

Best Actor

Steve Carrell – Foxcatcher as John Eleuthère du Pont: Steve Carrell should win. Without a doubt in my mind.

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper as Chris Kyle

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game as Alan Turing

Michael Keaton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) as Riggan Thomson: Michael Keaton as a man whose career went flat after a superhero film, what a stretch /s (don’t get me wrong though he was actually really good I’m just being a dick.)

Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything as Stephen Hawking

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night as Sandra Bya

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything as Janet Wilde Hawking

Julianne Moore – Still Alice as Dr. Alice Howland

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl as Amy Elliot-Dunne: I honestly want Rosamund Pike to win mostly because hers was the only role where it feels like she wasn’t trying to get an Oscar. What I’m saying is, it feels the most honest.

Reese Witherspoon – Wild as Cheryl Strayed

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall – The Judge

Ethan Hawke – Boyhood

Edward Norton – Birdman: I really want Norton to win this…..

Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher: …But I feel like Ruffalo is the one that will win it.

JK Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood: Since I can’t make up my mind, I’m just gonna say 33% chance

Laura Dern – Wild 33% chance

Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game 34% chance

Emma Stone – Birdman: I liked Emma Stone in this, but she really one gets one really great scene.

Meryl Streep – Into the Woods: Obligatory Meryl Streep Nomination is Obligatory

Best Original Screenplay

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr and Armando Bo – Birdman

Richard Linklater – Boyhood

E Max Frye and Dan Futterman – Foxcatcher: The Realistic Choice

Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler: The Idealistic Choice

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jason Hall – American Sniper

Graham Moore – The Imitation Game: 50% Chance

Paul Thomas Anderson – Inherent Vice: I still have to see it, but I’ve been told it’s really good so it gets my Idealistic vote.

Anthony McCarten – The Theory of Everything: 50% Chance

Damien Chazelle – Whiplash

Best Foreign Film

Ida

Leviathan

Tangerines

Timbuktu

Wild Tales

Yeah, I got no idea so your guess is as good as mine.

Best Documentary

CitizenFour – Regrettably, this will probably win mostly because people will NOT SHUT UP ABOUT IT!

Finding Vivian Maier

Last Days in Vietnam

The Salt of the Earth

Virunga

Best Animation

Big Hero 6 – This is the one I want to win, and realistically the most likely option as foreign animation rarely wins.

The Boxtrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Song of the Sea

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Best Original Song

Everything Is Awesome (music and lyric by Shawn Patterson, performed by Tegan & Sara feat The Lonely Island) – The Lego Movie: This should win mostly to make up for let it go winning last year.

Glory (music and lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn, performed by Common and John Legend) – Selma

Grateful (music and lyric by Diane Warren, performed by Rita Ora) – Beyond the Lights

I’m Not Going to Miss You (music, lyric and performance by Glen Campbell) – Glen Campbell ... I’ll Be Me

Lost Stars (music and lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois, performed by Adam Levine) – Begin Again

Best Documentary Short

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

Joanna

Our Curse

The Reaper

White Earth

No idea.

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki – Birdman: This one, mostly because the fact that it looks really great, especially since they made it to look like it was one long shot.

Robert Yeoman – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski – Ida

Dick Pope – Mr Turner

Roger Deakins – Unbroken

Best Editing

Joel Cox and Gary D Roach – American Sniper

Sandra Adair – Boyhood

Barney Pilling – The Grand Budapest Hotel

William Goldenberg – The Imitation Game

Tom Cross – Whiplash

Honestly, this one is hard to call, but I know for sure that American Sniper is the least likely to win.

Best Sound Editing

Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman – American Sniper

Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock – Birdman

Brent Burge and Jason Canovas – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Richard King – Interstellar

Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro – Unbroken

Again, hard to call, but I think it’ll either be Interstellar or The Hobbit.

Best Sound Mixing

John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin – American Sniper

Jon Taylor, Frank A Montaño and Thomas Varga – Birdman

Gary A Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten – Interstellar

Jon Taylor, Frank A Montaño and David Lee – Unbroken

Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley – Whiplash

I’d say, either Birdman or Interstellar

Best makeup and hair

Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard – Foxcatcher

Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White – Guardians of the Galaxy: Yeah this one should win. You should know why.

Best original score

Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game

Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

Gary Yershon – Mr Turner

Jóhann Jóhannsson – The Theory of Everything

Once again, no idea. I’m worse at this than I thought.

Best production design

Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Maria Djurkovic and Tatiana Macdonald – The Imitation Game

Nathan Crowley and Gary Fettis – Interstellar

Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock – Into the Woods

Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts – Mr Turner

Either Grand Budapest or Into the Woods.

Best visual effects

Dan Deleeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould – Guardians of the Galaxy

Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher – Interstellar

Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer – X-Men: Days of Future Past

I’d be happy if any of these won except for Interstellar

Best costume design

Milena Canonero – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Mark Bridges – Inherent Vice

Colleen Atwood – Into the Woods

Anna B Sheppard and Jane Clive – Maleficent

Jacqueline Durran – Mr Turner

I wanna say Grand Budapest, but they’ll probably give it to Maleficent

Best short film (animated)

The Bigger Picture

The Dam Keeper

Feast – As the only one I saw, I’d go with this one

Me and My Moulton

A Single Life

Best short

Aya

Boogaloo and Graham

Butter Lamp

Parvaneh

The Phone Call

No idea.

So yeah, that’s the list and my choices. That took longer than I thought, we should return to our regular thing probably tomorrow.

Until then I’ll see you folks at the movies.