Friday, April 24, 2015

Movie Review: The Age of Adaline


Lee Toland Krieger (Celeste & Jesse Forever) gives us the best looking 107 year old you'll ever see with The Age of Adaline.

Adaline (Blake Lively, The Town) was born in 1908.  When she turned 29 she had a car accident, and by all the right elements aligning themselves (as described to us by a droning narrator....more on that later), lightning strikes the car as she lay freezing in the water and voila.....no more aging.  Science!  To keep this a secret (from the government) she moves every couple decades and doesn't get close with anybody.  This of course means that she stays away from the boys too, because she wants to avoid long term relationships.  It's a rough life being young and beautiful forever.  Then, she meets the boy whose wily charms break through her icy façade.  I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

The biggest downfall of this film is that they took some interesting ideas about not aging and how that could affect one's life and glossed over a lot of the interesting aspects of it and turned it into your basic romantic drama.  There was one thing that they did not gloss over, however, and that is her relationship with her daughter.  Most of the film takes place in 2015, when her daughter (Ellen Burstyn, Draft Day) is getting up there in age.  Some of the best scenes in the film are when Lively and Burstyn are interacting.  The other stuff that seems to get glossed over is done so by flashbacks and a series of scenes that are narrated by Hugh Ross (For Love of the Game).  The narration is just salt in the wound because it's very bland and matter of fact, like he's narrating some nature documentary on PBS.  Luckily we only get the narration for a little bit on both ends of the film.

The other thing that bothered me a little were the coincidences.  I get that the stars have to align just right to make this one person the only one in all the world to not age anymore.  I can buy that to give us the plot point that drives the story.  It's everything after that where it gets to be a bit much.  One such incidence involves who finally helps convince her to let someone into her life.  It could have been someone more random to make her new relationship feel a little less awkward.  There's no way this relationship lasts after this reveal.  That's as far as I'll go with that so as not to spoil.  They might have been trying to say something about things coming full circle or some crap like that, but for me, the sheer magnitude of coincidences just didn't work.

What does work well for the film is the bit in the middle.  Like I said before, this is essentially just a romantic drama at heart, and in that aspect it's pretty well done.  Unexplored themes aside, having the aging problem is what gives the old romantic formula just enough twist to keep it different.  Aside from the twist, it is also the acting that gives it boost.  Lively does a fantastic job at playing the conflicted Adaline who wants to be with someone, but can't get herself to come out of her shell.  The love interest, Ellis (Michiel Huisman, World War Z) does a fine job too.  Harrison Ford did not have quite as big a role, but he actually came out to play for this one.  I feel like he's just been going through the motions lately, but he looked like he actually gave a damn in this film.  This gives me hope for that next little project he's doing in December.....something about a force and some war in the stars.  But I digress.

All in all, if you're looking for some heavy commentary on how not aging would affect someone's life in our society, you'll get a little, but it will seem lacking.  If you are looking for a decent romantic film with good acting and a dash of sci-fi, then this might be for you.  A few flaws and some unexplored themes aside, this is a charming little film that is good for a date night with your significant other.

Rating: ******---- (6 out of 10) [rental]

Memorable Quote:
Adaline: If you've seen one, you've seen them all.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Movie Review: It Follows


David Robert Mitchell (The Myth of the American Sleepover) brings us a deadly new STD with It Follows.

This is the film you show your kids if you want to deter them from having sex.  Everyone who watches horror movies know the old clichés about who's going to get killed off first in the films.  They were popularized in Wes Craven's Scream.  Don't do drugs, don't say "I'll be right back", don't assume the killer is dead, etc.  Well, the killer in this film has a laser focus on just one of the rules....don't have sex.  Jay (Maika Monroe, The Guest) has found herself in a new relationship with a boy named Hugh (Jake Weary, Zombeavers).  After a couple of dates they have sex in the back of his car, like ya do.  Only he finishes the date by knocking her out with chloroform and tying her to a chair.  She wakes up and he explains to her that he has passed something on to her through sex.  "It" will follow her relentlessly until either it kills her, or she passes it on by having sex with someone else.  "It" can take the shape of any person, but it will always be slow and always be walking directly towards her.  She will also be the only one who can see it.  The boy then skips out on her, and it turns out he was using a false name.  Jay, with the help of her friends, tries to track down the guy while also trying to escape the thing following her.

If you are looking for gore and jump scares, you've come to the wrong place.  If you are looking for a well shot, well executed film with a mounting sense of dread and tension, then this is the film for you.  There have been many films trying to give the feel of the old horror films of the 80's lately with varying degrees of success.  This is one of the more successful.  It has a weird aesthetic, in that it is set in modern day (use of a cell phone, and one character has some weird e-reader shaped like a seashell or something), but it completely feels like it could have easily been shot in the late 70's/early 80's.  I mean this in the best possible way.  It feels natural, rather than cheesy and forced.

There is one film in particular that you can see that it borrows heavily from, and that is John Carpenter's Halloween.  The killer moves slowly and yet it seems that the lead can't ever get far enough away.  Like Carpenter, Mitchell uses the space in all of his shots effectively.  He'll have wide shots panning across a crowd of people, or even an empty space, and you're constantly waiting and searching to see if the killer is there somewhere.  There is an establishing opening scene in the film that gives you a sense of just how dangerous "It" is if it gets a hold of it's victim, and that's what makes this work even when there is not much more death to be found in the film.  The other thing that makes it all work that also seems to be influenced by Halloween and countless other early slasher films is the heavy synthesizer soundtrack.  Come for the movie, stay for the score.  Being synth heavy is dated enough that it could have fallen flat on it's face, but it fit in with the aesthetic of this film so well that it just engulfs you and adds to the sense of tension.  It Follows does borrow a lot from Halloween and others, but it does so without feeling like a rip-off.  Mitchell took these influences and injected them into a film with an original and intriguing premise.

The film is not completely without it's faults though.  I thought the actors all did a competent job, but there were no standouts or anyone real memorable. Some of the dialogue was a little hokey, too.  Maybe this is something Mitchell also borrowed from earlier films, but it's something that could have been left in the 70's/80's.  Also, as well as he used the space in his shots there was still work to be done in that department.  Some of his panning shots were a little quick and also went in a complete 360 which I found unnecessary.

It's hard to say if this film is giving any sort of commentary on sex and the dangers of STDs (yeah, "It" follows you if you've had unprotected sex, but you know how you get rid of it.....more unprotected sex).  Whatever the case may be, it's a great little throwback to the horror films of yesteryear with a modern sense to it and an original idea. A solid second feature that has me intrigued to see what Mitchell does next.  Also, crank it up for the score.  Just don't take a date to this film and expect to get lucky any time soon.

Rating: *******--- (7 out of 10) [second run theater]

Memorable quote:
Hugh: Do you guys see that girl?

Friday, April 10, 2015

Movie Review: Furious 7


James Wan (The Conjuring) takes the wheel for the latest in the Fast & Furious series, Furious 7.

Brian, Dom, Letty, and the rest of the crew are back.  After taking care of Owen Shaw in Fast & Furious 6, the crew is trying to settle down and keep it low key for a while.  Well, little did anyone know, Owen had an older brother who is quite protective of him and wants revenge.  Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham, The Transporter) is furious (see what I did there) about what happened to his little brother and decides to take out revenge by trying to kill off our beloved band of misfits one by one.  This revenge plot seems to be where the film is leading, until we take a sharp left turn into crazy town.  Deckard is ex-military and has pretty much become a ghost, so the crew doesn't know where he is or when he'll strike.  They're pretty defenseless.  Enter another ghost, who's actually currently in the military.  Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell, The Thing), is a government agent who is trying to rescue a kidnapped hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel).  She's created a program called God's Eye which can hack into any and all electronic devices in the world with a camera or microphone.  Perfect for locating the ever elusive Deckard.  Because for some reason the military is not capable of doing this themselves (?), Mr. Nobody seeks out the aid of the F& F crew to help retrieve Ramsey and her program.  In return, he will let them use the God's Eye to find Deckard.  This leads to traveling the world, dropping cars from planes, crashing through the air between skyscrapers, and finally an all out war between the crew, the kidnapper (Djimon Hounsou, Guardians of the Galaxy), and Deckard that pretty much levels half of LA.

If you've seen the rest of the Fast & Furious series, I'm going to guess you've already decided whether you're going to see this or not regardless of this review.  If you haven't seen the rest of the series, I recommend it for some good adrenaline pumping fun.  There's a couple misfires in there, but for the most part it's a good time that just progressively gets better.  When the series started, it could get a little ridiculous, but still managed to stay low key.  By the time six rolled around, they were driving a tank down the interstate and holding a cargo plane down with a group of sports cars.  If you're more inclined towards the craziness of the last two films, then this one will not disappoint.  It takes all the crazy from 5 and 6 and throws in a couple kitchen sinks.

Furious 7 almost goes too far with the insanity.....almost.  It ends up giving just the right amount.  Does most of it seem completely implausible? Hell yes.  Do you enjoy every last second of the action anyway?  Hell yes.  The God's Eye storyline is a bit much, but you just have to accept it because it is the catalyst for all the crazy stunts they do with the cars.  This is James Wan's first crack at this series (and only his second non-horror feature), and I think he does a fine job with it.  There are a few lengthy fight scenes because Jason Statham and Ronda Rousey are in it.  They all seemed fairly well filmed and choreographed.  Also, tension is a big part of both action and horror, but in different ways.  Wan has now proven he can do both.  Most of the stunts are utterly ridiculous, but Wan does so well with developing tension that I found myself forgetting that and sitting on the edge my seat wondering if they were gonna make it.  This was the longest movie in the franchise and yet there were very few gaps in the action, so it felt like the quickest.

The actors in this film are a big part of what makes it work as well.  There is definitely some talent in there, but I wouldn't go out and say they are all great actors.  What they do have though is genuine chemistry.  Most of them have been doing this since the first couple of films, and it shows.  Even when the dialogue is hokey, they all seem to genuinely be having a good time just hanging out with each other, and that makes it work.  As for the newcomers, I didn't think Ramsey brought much to the table.  She felt like a third wheel since she was a hacker and they already have Tej for that role.  Jason Statham was a lot of fun as a kick-ass bad guy.  The best newcomer would be Mr. Nobody though.  He and Dom played off of each other well.  I'd really like to see him return in any future installments (which you know there will be), since, sadly, Paul Walker is no longer with us.  As for Walker, he was never bad, but he was also never the greatest actor in the world.  What he did have though, was charisma and just a naturally likeable personality that came through in his performances.  He'll be missed, and I think he left us on a high note with his performance in this film.  Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that they also give him a touching send-off at the end of the film that just felt perfect.

The story and the stunts are both absurd, but you just can't help enjoying yourself at this movie.  Between this and Kingsman: The Secret Service, the popcorn-poppin' action flicks have been a whole lot of fun so far this year.  I'm ready for the summer blockbusters.

Rating: ********-- (8 out of 10) [matinee]

Memorable Quote:
Dom: This time it ain't just about being fast.