REVIEW - 'Blue Is The Warmest Color'

 'Blue Is The Warmest Color' (NC-17) ***1/2
Adele's (Adele Exarchopoulos) life is changed when she meets Emma (Lea Seydoux), a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself.

As I have said in an earlier blog post, this time of year I tend to see a fair amount of art house/independent movies that I usually don't go see.  Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad, other times they're 'eh'.  Originally titled "La Vie d'Adele:  Chapitres 1 & 2" ("The Life of Adele:  Chapters 1 & 2") this movie took the Cannes Film Festival by storm, winning the top prize by a unanimous decision.  So, with this movie being in French with English subtitles and clocking in at 2 hours and 59 minutes, what did I think of it?  Honestly I thought it was very very good, and honestly one of the better movies I've seen this year.  The two lead actresses are extremely good in their roles.  And that's another great thing about the movie:  For the most part, much like (most of) 'Perks of Being A Wallflower' and 'The Spectacular Now' it's realistic.  You can actually see these characters existing and acting this way and talking this way in real life.  Sure it's about lesbians but that doesn't take away from the realistic look at the blossoming of, and the trials and tribulations of, a relationship.

Honestly there aren't many negatives to talk about for this movie.  Despite it's running time of 2 hours and 59 minutes for the most part it never really drags, except for the final 15 or so minutes.  Some scenes could have been trimmed or cut entirely, but I'll be ranting about that later on in this review. 

I have not read the graphic novel on which this movie is based, nor had I even heard of the graphic novel until reading about the movie a few weeks ago.  Once again we have here an adaptation that I can't compare to the source material since I haven't read it.

Now apart from winning the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival this movie has had a lot of controversy here in the States surrounding it's NC-17 rating and the lengthy, explicit (but simulated) sex scenes.  Other critics have argued that since sex is apart of Adele and Emma's relationship than it's perfectly fine, graphically showing Adele grow emotionally in her physical relationships as she figures out who she is as a person.  Others critics concur, but at the same time they have felt that the sex scenes go on for far too long and that it goes from artistic merits to having more prurient interests.  I can understand the first group of critics argument but at the same time the sex scenes could have been edited quite a bit (with some removed entirely) and still have gotten the point across.  It got to a point later on in the movie that whenever a sex scene popped up about half of the audience in my theater started laughing.  We don't need to see EVERYTHING, nor does a sex scene need to pop up almost every 15 or so minutes and go on for a prolonged period of time.  

'Blue Is The Warmest Color' is an unnecessarily explicit but realistic look at love and relationships anchored by great performances from the two lead actresses, which greatly helps the nearly 3 hour running time go by.  



TRAILERS

'August:  Osage County' - Ensemble drama based on the play of the same name that features Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor and Benedict Cumberbatch among others.  It doesn't look horrible, just not exactly something I'd go see.

'Kill Your Darlings' - I saw this same trailer in front of 'All Is Lost'.  Once again, not exactly something I'd go see.

'The Invisible Woman' - Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes, who also directs) has an affair with a younger woman.  It looks very well made, but also looks a little dry and boring.  It looks like something I could find on BBC or PBS.

'Philomena' - The titular character (Judi Dench) goes on a journey with a journalist (Steve Coogan, who also co-wrote) to find her son who she had been forced to give up for adoption.  I chuckled a few times during the trailer.  

'Nebraska' - An aging, booze-addled father (Bruce Dern) makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son (Will Forte) in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.  If this comes to Muncie during the next few weeks I might check this one out.

REVIEW - 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'

'The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire' (PG-13) ***

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.  After going on a victory tour through the various districts they soon find themselves being chosen for the 75th Hunger Games, with the competitors being chosen from previous victors in the Hunger Games.  

There are a lot of things to like about this movie.  First and foremost, on a technical level thankfully there is no shaky cam in this movie at all.  While I didn't mind it in the first movie I know a common complaint about it was the shakiness of the camera throughout much of the action scenes in the Games.  I'm usually not a fan of shaky cam ('Quantum of Solace' in particular) but thankfully there is none to be had in this movie. 

Moving on to more important things other than the much improved camerawork, we do get to explore a lot more of Panem than we did in the first movie.  Now this isn't exactly a world that I'd want to live in but it is interesting to watch this futuristic, totalitarian nation of Panem with it's utopian Capitol.  The musical score was again is great to listen to.  It has an even darker, bleaker tone than the first movie had.  Another thing I like is how downplayed the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) is.  Sure it's part of the story but it never gets obnoxious nor does it detract from the rest of the movie.  Reading the book, yes, sometimes I was rolling my eyes whenever the love triangle popped up but thankfully it's downplayed in the movie.

But the strongest part of the movie though is the acting.  Jennifer Lawrence, fresh off of winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for 'Silver Linings Playbook' (great movie), gives another great performance as Katniss that even improves upon her performance from the first movie.  She never gets too over the top when she does start having an attack,  Throughout the movie she is suffering from PTSD due to the events of the previous Hunger Games.  In addition to those episodes of PTSD she also is quite reluctant of being someone that, for better or worse, has sparked a possible rebellion against the Capitol due to her defiant actions in the first movie.  She never wanted to incite a rebellion, she never wanted to be looked up to...she just wanted to survive a deadly game.   

The new characters are also fun, from new Head Gameskeeper Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) to the new tributes that we actually do get to know including Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin, from the fourth 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie and 'Snow White & The Huntsman"), Beetee Latier (Jeffrey Wright, from 'Casino Royale'), Johanna (Jena Malone, from 'Sucker Punch'), and Mags (Lynn Cohen from 'Sex and The City').  Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland each get more to do with their roles of Haymitch, Effie and President Snow respectively. 

Yet for all of it's positives, their are still some nagging negatives that can't really be ignored.  Once it get's into the 75th annual Hunger Games the movie starts to drag a bit and the ending is quite abrupt.  Having read the book I knew about the abruptness of the ending, but it bothered me more during the movie.  It definitely has a cliffhanger 'Part 2 in a trilogy' ending, which makes me even more mad that they're $plitting the next book 'Mockingjay' into two movie$...

For once I can actually compare an adaptation to it's source material!  For the most part new director Francis Lawrence ("I Am Legend", "Constantine", "Water for Elephants") and new writers Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire", "127 Hours") and Michael Arndt ("Little Miss Sunshine", "Toy Story 3") do a fairly good job of adapting the book and still make it for it's intended young adult audience.  Let's face it:  If the "Hunger Games" movies were completely 100% faithful adaptations, they'd be rated R.  I mean a satire about reality TV that has kids killing kids and the entire nation is forced to watch?  That has 'R' all over it.  

As far as comparisons to the first movie go, I keep going back and forth between whether or not it's better than the first, on par with the first, or not as good as the first.  In many ways it's better than the first movie but in some ways its not.
             WHY IT'S BETTER:  Darker tone, more exploration of Panem, better overall story, less shaky cam.
             WHY IT'S NOT:  Pacing during the Games, and the ending.  At least the first 'Hunger Games' had an ending...


'The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire' is a solid, well-acted continuation of the 'Hunger Games' storyline that once again is headlined by a great performance from Jennifer Lawrence.  If you liked the first movie or you've read the books of course I recommend it.  You didn't like the first movie, this one won't exactly change your mind about the series. 








TRAILERS
'Divergent' -Another young adult novel being adapted for the screen.  It seems to have an interesting premise, but I don't know.  It could be good, it could suck.

'Endless Love' - First of all, this is a remake.  Secondly, this just looks creepy.  Last but not least, NO.

'American Hustle' - Still looks great.

'The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug' - What can I $ay that I havent $aid already about thi$?  I will $till go $ee it.  It could be better than 'Unexpected Journey'.  Then again it would be much better a$ one movie in$tead of being $plit into three.....$till un$ure of the rea$on$ for thi$ $plit.........

'Maleficent' - A 3D retelling of the 'Sleeping Beauty' legend with Angelina Jolie looking pitch perfect in the title role.  I'm a bit iffy on Disney's retelling of classic tales (Disliked 'Alice In Wonderland', liked 'Oz') so who knows.  

'I, Frankenstein' - Aaron Eckhart as Frankenstein's monster fighting demons?  This could be awesome or it could be really dumb, though it's definitely leaning more toward the latter than the former....

NFL Week 13 Pick 'Em

The teams that are supposed to win aren't winning......that about sums it up.  What is up with the Colts?  And Denver lost that game more so than New England won that game....


Packers @ LIONS
Raiders @ COWBOYS
STEELERS @ Ravens
DOLPHINS @ Jets
PATRIOTS @ Texans
Titans @ COLTS
Cardinals @ EAGLES
BEARS @ Vikings
Buccaneers @ PANTHERS
Jaguars @ BROWNS
Falcons @ BILLS
Rams @ 49ERS
BENGALS @ Chargers
BRONCOS @ Chiefs
GIANTS @ Redskins
SAINTS @ Seahawks

Last week:  7-7, 50%
Overall:  100-76, 56.82%

Well, as long as I don't get to 100 losses I'll be fine.  I never said I was any good at this. 

Im doing so so at this whole prognosticating thing but at least my fantasy team BUCKSKIN (9-3) is still doing very well....my other fantasy team the Muncie Alcoholics (5-7) not so much...

REVIEW - 'All Is Lost'

"All Is Lost" (PG-13) ***1/2
After a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful, unnamed sailor (Robert Redford) finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face.

Think 'Life of Pi' without the animals or the 3D, made in the minimalist vein of 'Gravity' (once again without the 3D) and '127 Hours'.  And when I say 'minimalist', I mean it.  Robert Redford is the only actor in the entire movie.  His character doesn't really have a name, being listed as "Our Man" in the ending credits.  We barely know anything about him, barely learn anything about him and he barely talks.  He radios for help once, shouts for help a few times, yells the f-word once, and has an opening narration.  That's the only dialogue in this movie.  Allegedly the script was only 31 pages long.  Most of the time we are watching Robert Redford react to certain dangerous situations in the middle of the Indian Ocean almost in total silence for 100 minutes. 
  
Tangent aside this is a very good, almost great movie.  If Robert Redford isn't nominated for an Oscar I will be surprised.  Sure he barely verbally speaks but his expressions and body language during every situation do a lot of the talking and clearly convey everything his character is feeling.  The score and the camerawork are both top notch, with plenty of beautiful shots of the Indian Ocean and of various sunsets and sunrises.  Whenever a situation arises, it gets very tense, very unpredictable to an extent and at times downright terrifying.  Sure Robert Redford does make some dumb decisions later on in the movie (one of which I might include in a future 'Movie Nitpicks' post) but he does these acts out of desperation, being pushed beyond his limits to try and survive this unimaginable ordeal.  

'All Is Lost' is very well made, very well acted with an Oscar worthy performance from Robert Redford, and quite tense.  If you liked 'Gravity', you'll probably like this movie.  If you didn't like 'Gravity', this will probably bore you to tears.  


TRAILERS
The Book Thief - Looks like Oscar bait...but it doesn't look bad.  

Gloria - A Spanish language comedy from Chile that as the trailer advertised is that country's entry for contention to being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.  I mean it doesn't necessarily look bad and I chuckled a few times during the trailer but it just doesn't really look like something I'd go see.  

Inside Llewyn Davis - The latest from the Coen Bros., whose work includes the 'True Grit' remake, 'Big Lebowski', 'O Brother Where Art Thou', 'No Country For Old Men', etc., etc.  It actually looks pretty good and had a nice catchy folk song playing during the trailer.

Kill Your Darlings - Even though he's playing American poet Allen Ginsburg in this movie, Daniel Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter.  With that aside, this doesn't look terrible.  Once again just not necessarily something I'd go see.  

Cesar Chavez:  An American Hero - Biopic of Cesar Chavez.  It looks like it could be good, but also kinda looks like Oscar bait.

NFL Week 12 Pick 'Em and Some Other Stuff

Usually I don't post these until tomorrow, but tomorrow I will be busy all day with a book to read and four papers to write.  Procrastination at it's finest.  When I'm less busy with school stuff I'll finally be able to sit down and type up a review for 'All Is Lost', which I saw last Saturday.  This Saturday I will be catching up with Katniss and the other citizens of Panem for 'The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire'. So that's whats coming up.

On with the sports talk and picks.....


As much as I love seeing the Patriots lose, I am not a Cam Newton fan.  And that was defensive pass interference.  Now, are the Panthers legitimate Super Bowl contenders?  Well, we'll have to wait and see how well they do in their match-ups against division rival Saints.


SAINTS @ Falcons
Jets @ RAVENS
STEELERS @ Browns
Chargers @ CHIEFS
BEARS @ Rams
VIKINGS @ Packers
Buccaneers @ LIONS
Jaguars @ TEXANS
PANTHERS @ Dolphins
COLTS @ Cardinals
TITANS @ Raiders
COWBOYS @ Giants
BRONCOS @ Patriots
49ERS @ Redskins

 

Last Week:  7-8, 46.67%
Overall:  93-69, 57.41%

....as long as I don't get to 100 losses I'll be fine.

REVIEWS - 'Pacific Rim' and 'Grown-Ups 2'

All right, I was hoping to type this up yesterday but I was not able to.  So might as well give myself a break from typing up a 300-500 word book report for my Middle East history class and a 7 page paper on dementia for my Sociology class. 



REDBOX
'Grown Ups 2' (PG-13) *3/4
So originally I was going to watch this as part of BSU UPB's 'Friday Night Filmworks' series.  But due to the three hour lockdown last friday at Ball State this got moved to Saturday night.  I wasn't able to go to it on Saturday night, so since I had a free Redbox rental I decided to use it on this.

Anyway, 'Grown Ups 2' takes place three years after the events of the first movie with Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock and David Spade hanging out and cracking jokes with each other as school is over for their kids and summer vacation starts.  Shenanigans ensue that involve deer, bullies, medicated bus drivers, a car wash, driver's ed, a frat, an ice cream shop, first loves, ballet, crazy people, and an 80's themed costume party.  For every 1 joke that made me chuckle there were approximately 1,834 jokes that made me just stare blankly at my TV screen.  A few of the jokes were groan inducing but I was never mad or frustrated at it.  Then again I didn't really like the first 'Grown Ups' all that much either so I'd say it's comparable to the first.  If you liked the first one, you'll like this one.  If you disliked the first one.....this won't exactly change your opinion of the 'Grown Ups' franchise.

Now, am I one of those people that hates Adam Sandler?  No.  I think he can be a good actor and be very funny.  Most of the time, I like Adam Sandler movies....although I've avoided 'Jack & Jill' like the plague.  Anyway, here's a quick rundown of the Adam Sandler movies that I have seen:

LIKED:  'Happy Gilmore', 'The Waterboy', 'Mr. Deeds', 'Funny People', 'The Longest Yard', 'Click', 'Bedtime Stories', 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry'
MEH:  'Anger Management', '50 First Dates', 'Hotel Transylvania'
DISLIKED:  'You Don't Mess With The Zohan', 'Grown Ups', 'Grown Ups 2', 'That's My Boy'
HATED:  'Eight Crazy Nights'



'Pacific Rim' (PG-13) **1/2
As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures known as Kaijus wages on, former pilot Raleigh (Charlie Hunnam) and trainee Mako (Rinko Kikuchi) are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon known as a Jaeger  in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.  Also features Idris Elba as a commander in charge of the Jaegers, Ron Perlman as a Hong Kong black market businessman, and Charlie Day as a Kaiju-obsessed scientist.  Sure, that is the plot, but who cares about that when all we want to see is giant robots (the Jaegers) fight giant monsters (Kaijus)?  The special effects are great and the visuals of the movie in general are great.  Apart from that, the movie is just kinda 'eh'.  This was directed and co-written by Guillermo del Toro, whose other movies (including the 'Hellboy' movies, 'Blade 2' and 'Pan's Labyrinth') also have great visual styles to them.  If you haven't seen 'Pan's Labyrinth' I highly recommend it.  It's a fairy tale that is NOT for children (violent and bloody, that's all) and it's all in Spanish, but it is a great movie nonetheless. 

NFL Week 11 Pick 'Em

Well, I had a horrible week for picks.  But on the bright side the 2008 Detroit Lions can pop open the champagne, bust out the cigars, pour the wine and cut the cheese because their legendary feat of 0-16 will not be matched this season as BOTH the Jaguars and the Buccaneers won last week.  You know, just like how everyone predicted they would....


COLTS @ Titans
JETS @ Bills
RAVENS @ Bears
Browns @ BENGALS
Raiders @ TEXANS
CARDINALS @ Jaguars
Redskins @ EAGLES
LIONS @ Steelers
FALCONS @ Buccaneers
CHARGERS @ Dolphins
49ers @ SAINTS
Packers @ GIANTS
Vikings @ SEAHAWKS
CHIEFS @ Broncos
PATRIOTS @ Panthers

 

Last Week:  6-8, 46.15%
Overall:  86-61, 58.9%

REVIEWS - 'Despicable Me 2', 'Purge', 'Olympus Has Fallen'

In between paper revisions, football games with horrible outcomes, sleeping, I managed to watch a few more movies this weekend.


FRIDAY NIGHT FILMWORKS
'Despicable Me 2' (PG) ***1/2
So here at Ball State the student-led University Program Board (UPB) sponsors various entertainment events on campus.  Among these is 'Friday Night Filmworks', which shows movies that are out of theaters and usually haven't been released on DVD/Blu-Ray yet.  I will usually go if it's a movie that I haven't seen yet.  This semester the one's I hadn't seen in the theater were 'The Purge', 'Despicable Me 2', and 'Grown Ups 2'.  I wasn't able to go to watch 'The Purge' and since I missed it I made sure to get it from Redbox as soon as it became available (more on 'Purge' in a bit).  So after I got off work on Friday I immediately headed over to Pruis Hall to watch 'Despicable Me 2'.

Gru (voice of Steve Carell) is now raising Margo (voice of Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (voice of Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher) and is retired from being a villain, instead starting a line of jams and jellies that he has his Minions and Dr. Nefario (voice of Russell Brand) make.  But he is soon recruited by the Anti Villain League and forced to team up with Agent Lucy Wilde (voice of Kristen Wiig) to try and stop a new super villain who has stolen a chemical that can make any living organism into a nearly indestructible, extremely aggressive monster.  Simply put, I loved this movie and liked it a lot more than the first movie.  It's extremely funny and extremely cute.


REDBOX
'The Purge' (R) ***
Like I said earlier, 'The Purge' was being offered at Friday Night Filmworks a few months ago but I wasn't able to go.  So since I missed it I decided to rent it from Redbox whenever it finally came out.  So purging myself of the awfulness of the Notre Dame/Pitt game I sat down and watched this.

It's 2022.  Crime is at an all time low and unemployment is at 1%.  Poverty is almost non-existent.  This is a result of the Annual Purge, which the leaders of the United States enacted to save the country and make it reborn.  For 12 hours, all crime is legal.  All emergency services are shut off.  Putting blue flowers in front of the house shows your support for The Purge.  James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is a wealthy home security salesman living in a nice, gated community with his wife Mary (Lena Headey), daughter Zoey (Adelaide Cane) and son Charlie (Max Burkholder).  After the Annual Purge has started and the family's house is on lock down, Charlie sees a bloody stranger out on the street (Edwin Hodge) yelling for help.  He lets him into the house, much to the chagrin of his family.  This causes the bloody strangers pursuers to show up at the house and demand that the family hand over the bloody stranger or else they will be forced to enter the house and kill everyone.

Simply put, I liked it and thought it was very original and pretty suspenseful in parts.  Of course the whole idea of a 'Purge' is completely ludicrous and many characters make really dumb decisions, but it's a solid rental and Ethan Hawke gives a pretty good performance. 


NETFLIX
'Olympus Has Fallen' (R) **1/4
Disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack; using his inside knowledge, Banning works with national security to rescue the President (Aaron Eckhart) from his kidnappers.  It's basically 'Die Hard' in the White House, only not as much fun as 'Die Hard'.  Sure the whole movie is pretty dumb, but the first half really sets the bar low.  It picks up once the White House has been taken over and overall the movie's okay.  Since I've watched this I guess I gotta go watch 'White House Down', since from what I've heard these are practically the same movie. 

REVIEW - 'Thor: The Dark World'

'Thor:  The Dark World' (PG-13) **1/2

Phase 2 of Marvel's Cinematic Universe continues as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) fights to restore order across the Nine Realms…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) returns to try and plunge the universe back into darkness with a weapon known as the Aether.  Thor's battle with Malekith reunites him with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and forces him to team up with Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is sitting in an Asgardian prison after the events of 'The Avengers'. 

Simply put, I just felt kinda 'eh' about this movie.  Not exactly an uber deep analytical interpretation, I know, but that's how I felt.  It has some fun action scenes and good special effects.  Everyone does an adequate job in their roles, particularly Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki.  It's fun listening to their back and forth banter.  Malekith as a villain was kinda fun, kinda sinister, but also kinda 'eh'.  And while overall I just felt kinda 'eh' about this movie I will admit that it is a very funny, even funnier than some "comedies" I went to see this year (Here's looking at you 'Scary Movie 5', 'Hangover Part III', 'Incredible Burt Wonderstone').  Loki has some good one liners and there's even more fish out of water humor when Thor returns to Earth.  Stan Lee makes his usual quick, funny cameo appearance.  Another cameo caught me completely by surprise and was also very funny, but I won't reveal who it was.  It is a different director this time around (Alan Taylor, who has directed episodes of HBO's 'Game of Thrones', taking over from Kenneth Branagh) but other than a darker overall tone it doesn't feel to much different than the first movie.  It's hard to pinpoint exactly why I felt 'eh' about the movie, but one main negative that I actually can put a finger on is the romance between Thor and Jane.  It felt forced in the first one and guess what?  It's feels forced again.  Not quite forced to the point of eyerolling but it almost got to that point.  I saw this in 2D after being disappointed with the 3D while watching the original 'Thor' two years ago and it was fine.  And much like 'Avengers', this has two scenes after the movie.  One is during the credits and sets up another movie in Phase 2, and the other is just a very funny scene tacked on after the credits. 

Now how does it compare to the first?  It's funnier than the first 'Thor' but it's not necessarily a better movie, even though I also felt kinda 'eh' about that movie as well.  As far as comparisons within Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes, I liked 'Iron Man 3' a lot better.  It's also darker in tone, quite funny, but I was able to stay invested with that movie and there wasn't a forced romantic subplot.  'Thor:  The Dark World' had a few scenes that had me invested, but even those scenes and the sense of humor in the movie still couldn't shake off the 'eh' feeling I had.  I'll still go see 'Captain America:  The Winter Soldier' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy', but I'd much rather just fast forward to 'Avengers:  Age of Ultron'.
  

TRAILERS
All right, lots of trailers to talk about.

'Captain America:  The Winter Soldier' - This looks like it could be okay.  I was 'eh' about the first movie so I'm just hoping that this one will be better.  Much like all of the other Phase 2 movies, this looks to be a little bit darker in tone.  I'm sensing a pattern....

'X-Men:  Days of Future Past' - I know it connects the characters of the original X-Men trilogy with the characters from 'First Class' and it involves time travel.  I loved 'First Class'.  This looks like it could either be really good or really dumb. 

'Robocop' -Yep, the remake of 'Robocop'.  I haven't seen the original, so based on this trailer it just looks kinda 'eh'.

'The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug' - It look$ better than 'Unexpected Journey'.  'The Hobbit' $till didn't need to be $plit up in to three movie$.....can't quite put my finger on why Peter Jack$on would $plit it up.....

'The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire' - This actually looks great.

'Delivery Man' - It looks like it could be funny.  

'Ride Along' - This also could have potential.  I think Ice Cube can be very funny, but I don't think Kevin Hart is funny.  At all.  The episode of 'Saturday Night Live' that he hosted last season was honestly one of the most unfunny episodes of 'SNL' that I have ever seen.  I know humor is all subjective and I know plenty of people who think that Kevin Hart is hilarious....I'm just not one of them.

 

NFL Week 10 Pick 'Em

A great week for picks is followed by a mediocre week for pics.  Oh well.  How about them Colts?

REDSKINS @ Vikings
SEAHAWKS @ Falcons
BENGALS @ Ravens
LIONS @ Bears
EAGLES @ Packers
Rams @ COLTS
RAIDERS @ Giants
Bills @ STEELERS

Jaguars @ TITANS
Panthers @ 49ERS
TEXANS @ Cardinals
BRONCOS @ Chargers
Cowboys @ SAINTS
DOLPHINS @ Buccaneers

Last Week:  7-6, 58.85%
Overall:  80-53, 60.15%

REVIEW - '12 Years A Slave'

Okay, so this movie was listed in my October preview for movies coming out.  Every advertisement I saw for it said "October 18", so I was anxiously awaiting the 18th to go see this movie.  Earlier that week on a film blog I follow it had an article stating that '12 Years A Slave' was starting a limited run on October 18 (NY and LA), expand somewhat the following week (other big cities), and be released nationwide November 1.  I was disappointed that I had to wait a little bit longer, sure, but I was still excited to see this movie.  November 1 comes along....it's still not in Muncie.  I looked up Anderson....it's not there.  I looked up showtimes for a few smaller, more arthouse/independent theaters that might have it....and the closest one was in Indianapolis at the theater inside the Keystone Fashion Mall.  I used to go to that mall and the Sheraton hotel connected to it for FBLA state conventions in high school so I had been wanting to go back there sometime.  Now I have an excuse to stroll down memory lane, even though it is a little under an hour away and the movie will probably be coming to Muncie sometime within the next few weeks, but oh well.  It was worth it.

'12 Years A Slave' (R) ***1/2

Based upon Solomon Northup's autobiography of the same name, '12 Years A Slave' follows Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man living in New York who is also an accomplished violinist.  He is lured to Washington, D.C. under the guise of a possible entertainment gig but instead is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the south.  Now being forced to go by the name of "Platt", he is first under the ownership of William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), a Baptist preacher and plantation owner.  After a run-in with an evil overseer (Paul Dano), he is transferred to the plantation of the cruel, abusive, drunken Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender).  Also stars Paul Giamatti as Freeman, who sells Solomon to Ford, Brad Pitt as a Canadian abolitionist working at Epp's plantation, Sarah Paulson as Mrs. Epps, 'Saturday Night Live's Taran Killam as one of the men who kidnaps Solomon, and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o as Patsy, a slave who is always under the lustful eye of Epps.

This is a very well made, extremely good/almost great movie.  Nearly everything about this movie is top notch.  It has some great cinematography and the overall look of it is fantastic.  Not enough praised can be heaped on the performances in this movie, particularly Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, and Sarah Paulson.  Ejiofor's Solomon Northup wants to escape, but at the same time he realizes that if he spoke up about his life before being enslaved he will more than likely be killed.  He is forced to lie about being able to read and write, but he still gets into the good graces of a few plantation owners by playing the violin.  He endures much cruelty and hardships, but he is not letting himself fall into despair.  A strong performance.  Fassbender's Epps is cruel beyond belief.  At one point he drunkenly stumbles into the slave's cabin in the middle of the night and forces them all to dance in his house for his own drunken amusement.  He forces Solomon Northup to whip another slave (more on that scene later).  There are other acts of cruelty that he does but I won't list them hear.  It's a sinister, snarling, evil performance.  Almost as sinister and snarling is Sarah Paulson as his wife.  She's more stern and collected than her rather volatile husband but that doesn't make her any less cruel, particularly towards Patsy.

 As far as negatives go, well, for the most part I don't really have any.  The few negatives I can think of about the movie are simply nitpicks.  I never really got a sense that twelve years had passed throughout the movie.  I know that that much time had passed only because the title told me so.  Before he's kidnapped it does say that the year is 1841, but then there is nothing else to indicate how much time has passed or what year it is.  Solomon Northup's hair gets a little bit grayer and at one point Epps is parading around and doting on a young black girl who I assumed to be an illegitimate child of his, but other than that there wasn't anything to indicate how much time was passing.  There was also an event early on in the movie in a slave cabin that didn't really feel necessary, but that event and the sense of time during the movie are both nitpicks in an otherwise very very good movie. 


This movie also left me unsettled and honestly left me at a loss for words.  After leaving the nearly packed theater once the movie was finished I just kept thinking about this movie and most of my car ride back to Muncie was also spent in silence as it was still resonating with me.  Even today as I type this review up I've been having a hard time trying to come up with words to express all of my thoughts and feelings about this movie.  Usually I'm able to crank a review out hours after watching it.  And this review was mostly written with just the positive section and the wrap-up sections still to go.  Since the wrap-up is a conclusion, of course I'm going to leave that section for last.  But the positives section I've kept starting, typing, re-typing, deleting....nothing just felt right that could fully convey my opinion.  Clearly I've been able to come up with something since this is now posted, but that's not the point. 

Now what exactly left me unsettled?  The entire movie and the cruelty that Solomon Northup endured during his enslavement.  There are many powerful scenes in the movie, but here are two that in particular left me very disturbed:

• After waking up from a drunken night in Washington, Northrup discovers he was tricked as he realizes that he's laying in a dark cell chained to the floor.  As one of his captors confronts him, the captor constantly repeats to Northup in a sinister, casual manner "You're not a free man.  You're nothing but a Georgia runaway".
• At one point Epps forces Northup to whip another slave.  The slave only went to another plantation to get a bar of soap so that they could be clean for once, as Mrs. Epps never gives this slave any soap.  After the whipping is all done and over with the camera pans down the whipping post and focuses on the bar of soap lying in the dirt and blood.  Now I have seen some extremely graphic depictions of violence in movies, but the one thing that makes me cringe every time I see or hear it is the sound of someone getting whipped and seeing the scars that the whip leaves behind.

I can't exactly compare it to the book on which it is based since I haven't read all of it.  In my Civil War class this semester we read a few chapters of it for a quiz but that was it.  But I can (kinda) compare it to Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchained' since both deal with slavery in the United States, albeit in different ways.  'Django' is a bloody spaghetti western/revenge movie that is basically "History of Slavery In America According To Quentin Tarantino", similar to how 'Inglourious Basterds' is basically "World War II According To Quentin Tarantino".  It's fictional, brutal, exaggerated, completely over the top and filled wall-to-wall with anachronisms (the music in particular).  '12 Years A Slave' is a fact based story of one man's actual kidnapping and twelve years of enslavement before he could finally get his freedom.  It's not an exaggerated history of an unfortunate time period in American history told to fit the twisted vision of the director.  In both movies yes slavery is rightfully depicted as being extremely cruel and the n-word is tossed around liberally in both movies, but the similarities stop there.  The actions of Michael Fassbender's Edwin Epps make the actions of Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie look like the nicest guy in the world.  

'12 Years A Slave' is a disturbing, cruel movie that will resonate with you for awhile and left me speechless for awhile.  It is extremely well made, well acted and one of the best movies I've seen this year.  While I do recommend the movie, I will admit it's not for everyone. 


TRAILERS/PREVIEWS
I'll try and keep this as a usual feature to my reviews.  I try to just talk about what I saw as opposed to what they're supposed to be about, but some of these I had to look up further info about them when I got back to Muncie.  

"Mandela:  Long Walk To Freedom" - Another Nelson Mandela biopic, with Idris Elba (the "Thor" movies, "Pacific Rim", "Prometheus") in the title role.  It looks okay.  Definitely had an Oscar-bait feel to it.  

"All Is Lost" - Looks like a cross between 'Life of Pi' and 'Gravity'.  Based on that alone it could be worth checking out.   

"Blue Is The Warmest Color" - Half of the trailer for 'Blue Is The Warmest Color' were snippets of reviews praising it.  They were boasting about the acting, the love story, and how it won the top prize earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival.  Looking up stuff online, apparently it's a three hour NC-17 French lesbian love story.  

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" - this is the latest from Wes Anderson, the director of "Moonrise Kingdom", "Fantastic Mr. Fox", "Darjeeling Limited", "Royal Tenenbaums", "Life Aquatic", etc., etc.  Out of all of those I've only seen 'Moonrise Kingdom' (weird) and 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (also weird).  This one has the same weird, eccentric feel of those but it also looks pretty funny.  Maybe I'll check in at some point....