Noah

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From its inception, the film adaptation for the story of Noah’s Ark proved to be a daunting task. Not only is it one of the oldest, most recognizable, and well-known stories in the history of mankind, but for billions of people, it represents a piece of their faith, which defines their very existence. Mess it up and all Hell breaks loose.

The story is known on a basic level by most living people today. Disappointed with the path man has followed, the Creator decides to wipe clean the Earth and start anew with two of every animal. To ensure their survival, the Creator visits the good-hearted Noah in a dream, telling him of his plans and recruiting him to build an ark that would keep everyone on board alive until the waters settle.

 

In this version of the tale, Noah (Russell Crowe, Gladiator) brings his wife, Naameh (Jennifer Connelly, Blood Diamond), and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japeth, to visit his grandfather (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs) for advice. Grandfather Methuselah gives Noah a seed to plant an enormous forest that supplies him with wood for the ark, while providing effectively enjoyable comic relief in all of his appearances. With the help of fallen angels turned stone giants and a little girl left for dead named Ila, Noah and his family spend the next decade building the enormous ark.

Barbaric descendants of Cain come to demand their place on the ark, forcing Noah to explain to them that they’re the reason the flood is coming in the first place. The group retreats with the intention of fortifying an army to claim the ark. Meanwhile, Noah’s son Ham (Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) becomes angry for not having a wife, while he witnesses the love between his older brother Shem and Ila (Emma Watson, Harry Potter).

As the storm nears, Noah begins to believe God wants all humans, including his family, dead. This complicates things when Ila gets pregnant. But Noah’s first and primary task is guaranteeing the survival of the animals on board his ark, which becomes difficult as the descendants of Cain come to battle right as the storm starts.

When a story is written more than 2,000 years ago, it doesn’t matter how “timeless” it is – it will need some sort of update(s) if it’s going to cater to modern movie audiences. Because of that, it’s no surprise that a few changes were made to the story to add some excitement and to keep the interest of the 21^st century viewers. Not all of these changes went over well in my eyes. The one that stuck out most to me was turning Noah into somewhat of a villain.

Noah has been considered a hero for millennia, and in this movie, he makes many decisions that cost the lives of many innocent people, and almost claim those of two others. Giving a man still held in such high regards a rather villainous and evil spin, regardless of your belief in the man’s true existence, was a bold move that I didn’t see as successful. His actions become so upsetting that his own two sons try to kill him, and in a moment of subpar acting by Connelly, is told by his wife that his actions will push away everyone he loves. Another detractor was the movie’s decision to imply anyone who eats meat is an inhumane being who is considered unworthy in the eyes of God. I mean, did PETA sponsor this movie?

Where Noah succeeded most was in the decision to make the story reliant on visuals, almost turning the movie into a popcorn flick. Although the line between real story and cinematic beauty sometimes became blurred, Noah boasted highly impressive and creative designs for its visual effects without going to the graphic extent of such films as 300 or Sucker Punch. Not only that, but the costumes, set design and filming locations made the movie’s optical appeal its most commendable aspects. And while the epileptics in the audience might suffer through it, the creatively unique creation scene is worthy of a positive mention.

So even though Noah takes an unnecessarily dark turn towards the end of his own movie, the film itself benefits from mostly strong performances, visual innovation, and a fitting musical score. Making this story into a page-by-page adaptation from the Bible wouldn’t have been the best way to appeal to modern audiences, so by taking a respectably serious but less firm approach, Noah became one of the best biblical film adaptations I’ve ever seen. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Joe

Indiewire

Soon after watching Mud for the first time, I read online that the film's young star, Tye Sheridan, had starred in another southern drama, this time with Nicolas Cage. I soon began checking on the film's status to see when it would reach a wide release. Seven months later, I finally can say that I've seen Joe, but sadly, I didn't get all I was hoping for.

In the movie, the title character (Nicolas Cage) is an ex-con trying to make an honest living by managing a forrest clean-up service. He employs a squad of locals and is asked by 15-year-old Gary (Sheridan) for a job for him and his father. Joe hires the teen and is quickly impressed with his work ethic and good attitude. His father, on the other hand, spends his time on the job smoking and slacking off, causing Joe to fire the both of them.

When Gary goes to Joe's home later that night to beg for a second chance, Joe sympathizes for the boy and gives him a second chance. Joe discovers that Gary's family is homeless and squats in a condemned, beaten-up house. Gary basically serves as a buffer between his abusive alcoholic father and his mother and younger sister.

Joe shows Gary how to drive (with a beer in hand, of course) and helps his family get by, giving them extra food and money. Gary and Joe start spending more and more time together, and the best parts of the movie are when they are together. Although his performance in Joe doesn't compare to his work in Mud, I give props to Tye Sheridan for continuing to hold his own alongside veteran actors like Cage and McConaughey. If he can emerge from being typecast in southern dramas for the rest of his career, we'll see him in bigger and better places than where he's already been. Nicolas Cage, known more recently for his roles in critically unimpressive mainstream movies, amazes in a fully immersive performance. He was Joe's biggest asset.

While the performances don't disappoint, the film could've succeeded more as a whole if it had better pacing and more of an idea of what it wanted to do. Sporadic scenes show prolonged and awkward breakdancing showcases. Misleading music causes us to think something important is about to happen when all that occurs is Joe going to his house to get his dog.

And while Joe's fictional universe contains about a dozen characters, we really are only exposed to five - Joe, Gary, Gary's dad, Joe's sort-of girlfriend, and a loser who went through a windshield at 4:00 am. How are we supposed to feel bad for Gary's mother if we don't see more of what goes on in their home? And how can we feel the sense of urgency we should be feeling when Gary's father tries to sell his daughter to a deviant when we don't know anything about the daughter except for the fact that she doesn't talk?

Gary's father - while an interesting character - was written in a way that assumed viewers understood his backstory. We don't. So when he hits his son mercilessly, yeah, we understand he's a low-life drunk. But when he kills a homeless man with a wrench, shouldn't we get a motive? Did he kill him for his alcohol? His money? Is he just a sociopath?

The ending scene features a showdown between Joe, Gary's father, and the aforementioned loser. During this scene, tension lacked, and everything wrapped up far too conveniently in a negatively noticeable way, effectively suspending my suspension of disbelief.

I enjoyed Joe most of the time. There were attention-grabbing scenes, most notably when Joe faces off with police officers who follow Joe around, expecting him to break the law again. And most of the flaws I mentioned were easy to overlook when you're watching Nicolas Cage deliver one of the best performances of his career. I went into this movie with high hopes. I thought it would be fantastic - and I really wanted it to be - but while recommendable, Joe was a bit underwhelming. Side note: could they have thought of a better title?

Rating: 3/5

Joe is available to rent on iTunes