Enough Said

Courtesy of Front Row Reviews

Enough Said is an honest, awkward, and appealing film. It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an actress whose comedic skill has showered her with acting awards. She plays Eva, a middle-aged divorcee and self-employed traveling masseuse. At a party, she meets the shy Albert (James Gandolfini) and is also introduced to fellow divorcee Marianne (Catherine Keener).

Over time, Albert asks Eva out, and after his odd nature and slightly insecure charm wins her over, the two begin seeing each other on a regular basis. Around the same time, Marianne hires Eva as her masseuse, and the two hit it off immediately. Eva starts enjoying life a little more, until she finds out Albert and Marianne are ex-husband and wife.

Conflicted, Eva doesn't share the news to either party when she realizes this. But she starts honing in on Albert's flaws (like not being able to whisper and never staying committed to a diet) and gets Marianne talking about where things went wrong with her ex-husband.  It's evident that almost everything Marianne says is wrong with her ex-husband is at the very least partially true, but behind those quirks is a vulnerable heart of gold in Albert, equally eager to love and scared to het hurt. So when the nagging on Eva's end starts, Albert isn't a happy camper.

The driving force of the movie is writer-director Nicole Holofcener's screenplay, which in and of itself is enough to give the film a recommendation. Julia Louis-Dreyfus solidifies her reputation as one of the world's finest and most talented comedic actresses, and the delicate intricacy of James Gandolfini will prove to be an admired credit to the actor's filmography that was tragically cut short. RIP.

I wanted a bit more from the movie. It was good - great, even - but never spectacular. That being said, the abrupt endings of some storylines are made up for by the genuine performances and admirable screenplay and dialogue. The film had a very real and relatable approach, making it all the more sincere.

Enough Said is a sweet and fully satisfying romantic dramedy. I embraced its awkward tone and it became one of the most simple and heartfelt enjoyments of the year. Its simplicity restricts it from ever standing out as a marvelous cinematic achievement, but the subtlety of it added a lot to the movie. It wasn't perfect, but I still loved it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rating: 4/5

Escape Plan

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Escape Plan draws our attention with an intriguing idea for its premise and two of Hollywood's most cemented action stars leading its credits. Once it has you, you probably won't be so eager to stay. Aside from some pretty cool action scenes, good production design, and a few laughs from its unintentionally cheesy dialogue, Escape Plan has nothing to distinguish itself from or out-do other action movies.

Sylvester Stallone stars as Ray Breslin, a former lawyer turned inmate-for-hire. He hires himself out to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (I just looked it up. It's actually a real thing.), testing the security of their penitentiaries by seeing how quickly he can break out. The CIA approaches Ray with a $5 million offer to test their off the books, high-security prison at an undisclosed location.

When he arrives at the prison, "The Tomb," Ray sees brutal guards, complete prisoner surveillance, and, all in all, a job he might not be able to complete. Fearing he might not make it out of this one, Ray gives the warden his evacuation code, which is used to let him out of his duties. The warden pays no heed, telling Ray he's been paid to keep him there permanently.

Expecting eventual defeat, Ray finds assistance when he teams up with fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger). The two plot to find their way out by discovering their location and calling in favors from the outside with the help of their infirmary's one and only doctor.

No aspect of this movie ever goes above the realm of "good," and almost everything else lingers on "okay," or even flat-out "bad." For example, the production design was good, Stallone and Schwarzenegger were somewhere between "good" and "okay" in their performances, and when we get to the writing and entertainment value, that's where we start treading in flat-out "bad" territory.

Although Escape Plan isn't a terrible movie, it's certainly not great, or even good for that matter. Oftentimes, it's boring, and it even contains several plot holes and loose ends. It tries to convey a "good-time at the movies" feel, but maintains too dark and dramatic of an atmosphere. As a result, it fails as both a drama and an action-comedy. The plot was promising, but at the end of the day, a nice idea for the plot isn't going to fill the theater. Escape Plan is simply a 110-minute plateau of slightly below average.

Rating: 2/5

Carrie

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Sporting a strong sense of the seventies, the original Brian De Palma Carrie really needed an update for the 21st century. Thanks to Kimberly Pierce, we now have one. Exuding a talented cast, the 2013 remake of Carrie has enough to satisfy its audience, but never impressed me to the extent that it could have.

For those unfamiliar with the story, this adaptation of Stephen King's novel is about high schooler Carrie White. In this version, she's portrayed by Chloë Grace Moretz. Daughter of a religious fanatic (Julianne Moore), Carrie grows up a social outcast, isolated from her peers. During a traumatizing moment of maturation, Carrie discovers she has telekinesis - the ability to move things with her mind. The entire movie leads up to a bloody massacre at her high school prom, where her cruel classmates drop pig's blood on her while she's on stage.

So where did Carrie go right? First and foremost, the casting was near perfect. Julianne Moore was hauntingly convincing in her role as Margret White, and easily gave one of the year's most noteworthy performances. Sympathetic and spiteful and the right times, Judy Greer was flawless in her role as Miss Desjardin, Carrie's gym coach. Carrie's most antagonistic bully is Chris, portrayed by Portia Doubleday, who brings the soulless high school girl to life in the most effective way. On the technical side, the camerawork was sleek and masterful, and the kills during Carrie's rampage were eye-popping and cringe-worthy.

On the negative side, I was hoping for a bit more of a tone of terror throughout the movie. Leading up to Carrie's prom, the mood could've been more impending, but wasn't. Furthermore, for about 20 minutes after the opening scene, Carrie was sort of put in the back seat to make room for the story of her bullies. In a movie called Carrie, is it so much to ask for Carrie to play a bigger role in the start of the movie?

Finally, this brings me to Chloë Grace Moretz, a young woman who is one the most talented actresses of our time. Having said that, I think Moretz was too young for the role. Furthermore, Carrie White is an extremely difficult role to play, and requires much patience on the part of her portrayer. Moretz did her best, but in my opinion, wasn't the best person to play the part at this age. But let me make it clear that just because someone is cast in a role that isn't right for them doesn't mean they are a bad actor or actress.

I'm glad that this movie was made. Could there have been a better director, a more horrific tone, a more unsettling prom scene, and a more appropriate casting choice for the role of Carrie? Yup. Furthermore, the movie felt very safe, and failed to take any risks, which is necessary if you want to make a great Stephen King movie. But while overall an average movie, Carrie delivers fine acting and a fitting take of the story for a new generation.

Rating: 3/5

Captain Phillips

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For years, some moviegoers have criticized the man-against-an-army movie (Die Hard, Air Force One, Taken) for its implausibility. For the skeptics, Captain Phillips is here to satisfy. Because it's based on the true acts of a real man, the movie is grounded and very realistic in its approach to the story. Nothing is ever overly-extreme or over-the-top. 

En route to Kenya to deliver supplies to poor African areas, Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) speculates that the dangerous African waters could lead to hijacking by pirates. To no surprise to those aware of Murphy's Law, pirates emerge from the coast of their Somalian village with AK-47s, ready to take the crew hostage. After a failed attempt, the pirates eventually secure their place on the boat. And when Muse, the pirates' leader, sees Captain Phillips, he stares him right in the eye, declaring "I'm the captain now." Phillips struggles to keep his cool during the invasion, while the rest of his crew fumbles around in the engine room trying to find a way out of their situation. 

There are essentially three parts to Captain Phillips: the part before the pirates are on the boat, the part where the pirates are on the boat, and the part where the pirates leave the boat and take Phillips hostage for ransom. Now, the movie is about 2 hours and 15 minutes long, and about an hour of the movie is dedicated to the third part. The result was a drawn-out and oftentimes uneventful hour. During this hour, I was still invested in the story of Phillips and whether or not he would survive, but not to the extent that I was at the beginning. Although a good part of the movies drags on, the final 15-20 minutes of the standoff between U.S. forces and the pirates brings all the intensity right back to the screen.

The scenes before and during the hijacking were firmly intense, and the film editing was superb. I would even say the film editing in Captain Phillips is comparable to that in Argo, which went on to win the Oscar in that category. Will Captain Phillips win this year? It wouldn't surprise me. It would be the second Oscar for film editor Christopher Rouse, who previously won for The Bourne Ultimatum.

The movie also excelled in the field of music. Henry Jackman's original score is a success in both its composition and its timing in the film. When it comes to Tom Hanks, it's arguably his biggest on-screen achievement since Cast Away or Road to Perdition, especially when the frailty and vulnerability of his character comes out in the final minutes of the movie. Skillfully directed by Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips is a tense and realistic drama-thriller.

Rating: 4/5

Gravity

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It wouldn't surprise me if the amount of kids who want to grow up to become astronauts largely diminishes as a result of Gravity. A survival movie, Gravity puts the audience in the viewpoint of Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (Geogre Clooney) as they make repairs on the Hubble Telescope. Debris from a wrecked satellite creates a chain reaction of destruction, orbiting around Earth and colliding with the astronauts.

Although unharmed, Kowalski and Stone struggle to find their way back to each other. After the debris storm destroys their ship and kills their crew, the survivors attempt to make it to safety at the International Space Station. Inconveniently, the debris re-arrives at their location every 90 minutes, making the duo's fight survival all the more improbable.

In my opinion, the best kind of sci-fi movies are the ones with a lot of heart. In Aliens, Ripley fights to protect the young Newt, whom she takes on as sort of an adoptive daughter. In Terminator 2 and The Matrix, the protagonist team fights for the survival of the human race. One of the most noteworthy aspects of Gravity is the humanity of its own characters. We are told Dr. Stone lives life one day at a time, doing nothing but sleeping, working, and driving, after a tragedy years ago leaves her virtually in solitude. Kowalski, however, reignites Stone's will to live, and the development of Stone's character is easily one the most uplifting character redemptions in cinematic history.

Another thing to note is the performances of these two actors. Both Oscar winners, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney seem to give effortless performances. The pair is so convincing - and practically bring you to space alongside their characters. They make it almost impossible to believe that they filmed these scenes with a greenscreen in a studio. With almost nothing these actors could work with except the script and their emotions, I don't think that there has ever been two people who made acting seem so easy when that clearly was not the case. This mainly applies to Sandra Bullock, who makes the transformation of Dr. Ryan Stone come alive in the most authentic way.

I doubt I can say anything that will give the special effects the amount of praise they deserve. They'll almost certainly go on to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. I saw the movie in 3-D, and believe me when I say that it was worth the extra $2. Every star shined, every explosion was truly explosive, and the cinematography stuck out in the best way possible. The story is strong enough on its own, and with the story, the stakes are quite possible higher in Gravity than in any other survival movie I've ever seen. But with the breathtaking effects and impeccable use of 3-D, Gravity ceases to be just a story, or even a movie for that matter. It is a cinematic experience like no other. And yes, it's cliché, but you really need to see Gravity to believe it.

Writer-director Alfonso Cuarón has created a masterpiece. Go see Gravity for its visuals and stay for the story, characters, and acting. Every aspect of Gravity will stay with you for a long, long time. It's the best sci-fi movie of the year, and maybe one of the best sci-fi movies of all time.

Rating: 5/5

Don Jon

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One of the taglines for Don Jon is "Everyone loves a happy ending." While for the most part that statement is true, unsatisfying endings don't often see a viewer leave the theater happy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a man who has vocalized his appreciation for high-quality movies, truly delivers the funniest and one of the smartest movies this year so far, not only through his award-worthy performance, but also with his ingenious writing and directing. Don Jon had an amazing start, and an amazing story to tell. But he had to include that last 60 seconds of the movie.

"My body. My pad. My ride. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn." Those are the only thing Jon cares about. A shallow and stereotypical Jersey-boy twenty-something, Jon has the ability to get with any girl he sets his eyes on. But due to the inconveniences of a partner's preferences, he'd rather watch porn than have sex. When he finally commits to his latest "dime" Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), she tells him one rule: "Don't lie to me." The way she says it fails to convey the attitude of "I've been lied to before, and I don't want to get hurt again," but rather "If you lie to me, I'm out, and there's no way you can do any better than me."

Keeping Jon on as unreasonably short leash, Barbara monitors Jon's internet history, makes him go to night school, and won't let him even discuss the idea of cleaning his own apartment - something she could never see a "real-man" doing. At Jon's night class, he meets Esther (Julianne Moore), an emotional and personally-invasive woman who has about 20 years on him. Anyone could guess where things could easily go with this character, and surprisingly, things go there.

The character of Esther is seriously flawed. A revelation about her past is made late in the movie, and her actions and behaviors in no way match up to the personality one would expect from someone with her issues. Taking a night class? Yup, that's conceivable. But shacking up with a kid, smoking pot, and giving out porno DVDs? Julianne Moore isn't what's wrong with this movie; her poorly conceived character is. Esther takes on too many personality traits and the details of her backstory don't keep Esther cohesive, and that's the problem.

I would whole-heartedly love to give this movie 5/5, and don it Best Movie of the Year. I would have been able to overlook the flaws of Esther had Gordon-Levitt not made it so clear he wanted the audience to take more away from her than the character offered. The last minute of the movie proves this and really end things on the disappointing note of how Don Jon could have been perfect. If you leave the theater 60 seconds before the movie ends, you'll be a lot happier than if you waited until the credits. Because of this, I can't give Don Jon any more than 4.5/5. But that's a solid 4.5/5. Go see this movie. You'll laugh a lot, be impressed by the performances, and if your love of Joseph Gordon-Levitt isn't strong enough, Don Jon will strengthen it.

Rating: 4.5/5