Tis The Season... "The Night Before"

The Night Before (2015)

Rated R

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie, Michael Shannon, Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell, Lizzy Caplan, Miley Cyrus,

Directed by Jonathan Levine

The Story:

Ethan (Gordon-Levitt) lost his parents in a tragic accident at Christmas. 2 friends, Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie) supported him and spent those Christmas Eves with him trying to make him happy and move past the pain. As the boys grew older, their nightly excursions got wilder as they attempted to find the greatest Christmas party, ever! Always close, but never finding it, the guys are getting ready to call it quits because they're older now and need to move on. So it's one last night on the town, and things are about to get really crazy.

To explain this movie in any greater detail takes away some of the charm, or weirdness, that it has going for it.

There will be sex, drugs and rock and roll.

There's magic drugs.

Angels.

Tracy Morgan as Santa Claus.

Seth Rogen and James Franco sexting one another.

Miley Cyrus even shows up to attempt to save the day!

Yes, this film pretty much has it all, and then some.

They literally throw everything at the wall to see what sticks.

And there are enough genuinely funny moments to make this one worth a viewing.

Especially Rogen's drug-induced visit to a Catholic Midnight Mass where he realizes that the guy in the big Jewish sweater is to blame for the crucifixion. His freak out is worth the rental.

:)

Also, there's just enough heart under all the crudeness as Ethan realizes it's time to grow up, and that sometimes the best families aren't the families you're born into, but the family that you choose to build because you want them in your life and they want to be there with you.

Final Grade: C+

Return To "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For"

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014)

Rated R

Starring Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson, Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jessica Alba

Written and Directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez

The Story:

Marv (Rourke) is back along with many of the other denizens of Sin City. Using an original story interwoven with Miller's A Dame to Kill For, the two stories intertwine as new characters cross-over with some returning characters.

As it is crime noir, I don't want to mention who does what, or who gets killed...

But if you saw the first one, you know that pretty much anyone is going to be fair game for shooting someone else in this movie or getting shot before the film concludes.

Still, great direction and camera work by Rodriguez and Miller, but not quite as strong of a narrative as the original film.


It probably didn't help much that they waited almost a decade between installments of this franchise.

That said, if you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one.

Possibly just not as much.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: It was okay, and like the original, worth a watch, but no reason to revisit for me.

Quest for Oscar... "Lincoln"

A movie so inaccurately named, it's not even funny.

The Story:

President Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) has just been re-elected.  The Civil War is still raging, and Lincoln is on a mission.  He needs to pass the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, once and for all.  He fears that while the Emancipation Proclamation was a great idea, it was issued during a time of war, and once war ends, which seemed to be imminent, slavery would simply return.  He had to convince Congress to get behind the measure and push it through...by any means necessary.

Seriously, this movie should have been called... "Amendment" or... really, anything other than Lincoln.

The truth of the matter, the movie really deals with the political mechanics of getting the Amendment pushed through Congress.

I cannot vouch for the validity of the claims, but it seemed like Lincoln's goal was to make sure the Amendment went through before any chance of peace with the South was broached.  He knew the war was coming to an end, and wanted to ensure slavery was abolished legally forever.

By far, the interest and intrigue comes in the movie by Lincoln's dealing with Congress and his cabinet.  And Congress dealing with each other and Lincoln.

Tommy Lee Jones once again takes center stage and you lean to him to see the real story unfold.

In fact, the weakest part of the story, or at least for me, the part I really could care less about was Lincoln and his family.  When the focus shifts to Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field) or worse still, Robert Lincoln (Joseph Gordon-Levett)... for me the movie shifted into snooze control for a few moments.

But when it shifts back into the debates, the movie fires on almost all cylinders.

The other issue with the movie: Spielberg didn't know when to say "cut".

He had the perfect ending for the film... but because he slapped the name "Lincoln" on it, he felt the need to follow through with the assassination.

Mistake.

It wasn't needed, nor was it executed (no pun intended) very well.  There was nothing added by any scene after Lincoln walked down the hallway when the movie SHOULD have ended.

I'm giving the movie a final grade of B-, and I'm being generous because there were easily enough things that didn't click to drop this to " C level ".

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Zero interest in needing to see this again.

The Bane of My Existence..."The Dark Knight Rises"

The trilogy concludes...

The Story:

8 years have passed since Batman went into seclusion.  The streets of Gotham are safe, thanks to the Dent Act.  But when trouble rolls into town in the form of sadistic mercenary Bane, all bets are off, and Bruce Wayne decides to dust off the cowl and go back into action as...

Batman!

Has it been 8 years?

I honestly don't know.

In fact, aside from knowing that I saw the 2nd film, I really don't remember much about it.

Perhaps I was still too depressed that Heath Ledger killed himself, but I really don't remember much about that film.  Other than everyone loving it.

I'm not even sure if I own it, I'll have to check my DVD case.

But anyway, back to the film...

So the cast grows with the arrival of Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and a cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt...again...) who both figure strongly in Batman (Christian Bale) and Commissioner Gordon's (Gary Oldman) fight to save Gotham from Bane (Tom Hardy, unrecognizable under the mask).

And much like props to Karl Urban for his willingness to be masked the whole film for Dredd, kudos to Hardy for taking a role that hides his face and muffles his voice for 98% of his entire screen time.


I was pleased with the Catwoman performance this go-round.  Never saw Pfeiffer's version, but this is a huge leap in the right direction after Berry's debacle from years back.


In fact, as an action film, this was actually a pretty good movie.

That said...

By this point in time, with the arrival of The Avengers, and Marvel stepping up their movie business with hit after hit, my kids had absolutely no desire to even watch this one.

So DC, you better step up your game if you have any chance of putting butts in the seats, at least with my family.


: )

I see how they set up for the eventual sequel/franchise reboot or whatever...


Meh.  I can handle another Bruce Wayne actor... not thrilled with what they have seemingly decided on though.


Final Grade: B

Would I Own It: I'll probably pick up a copy eventually on the cheap, but no big hurry. 

Marvel > DC.

: )

Trying too Hard to Deliver a "Premium Rush"!

When it absolutely positively has to be there within the same day...


The Story:

The Bike Messengers of New York City live a dangerous life.  Weaving in and out of traffic and pedestrians to deliver those packages that need to be somewhere within the city within the same day (or sometimes within the hour...).  If that isn't dangerous enough for these guys, imagine when Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) picks up a package that suddenly makes him the most wanted man in the city?  It seems that a very interested party is going to kill him if he has to, to get his hands on what he's carrying.

Oh my!

I'll give them credit, for the most part they stretch out this film over the duration of 90 minutes with some exciting chases through New York City and attempt to keep the viewer glued as we wonder if Wilee will deliver the package in time, or if he'll be caught by the psycho or killed in the process.

The movie successfully maneuvers through flashbacks that fills in the backstory of who's doing what, and why.

The bad guy (Michael Shannon) is indeed a certifiable creep and scumbag.  His quest to retrieve the package is borderline certifiable.

The main flaw I had with the movie was Wilee's ability to "see the future".  In this fast paced movie, it's a bit hard to swallow that at the last possible second, he's able to see what's going to happen in so many choices, and then executes the safest one he can see.

Yes, I know what they're trying to show, my thought was it seemed like a bit of a stretch that 2 seconds before execution, he's able to spend 15 seconds processing which direction to ride.

Minor quibble really, just a bit distracting after the first few times.


Final Grade:  Flipping a coin, going with a C+ over a B-.  Worth a spin more than worth avoiding.

Would I Add it to the Collection: Meh.. if it's on sale for 2 bucks in the future... : )

If "Looper" Gets Higher Than a D-... Then You Know I've Successfully Altered the Future!

Time traveling hitmen!

Mostly...

The Story:

In the future, time travel hasn't been invented  yet, but it will.  In the future's future.  But for now, folks in the past kill bad guys in the future and dispose of the bodies.  One day, they will kill themselves, and then enjoy 30 years of life until such time as they go back in time and are killed by themselves, thus closing the loop.

Got it?

Good.

The problem: our hero, Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) pauses long enough when Old Joe (Bruce Willis) arrives without the customary hood and bound hands and Joe hesitates long enough to not kill him. 

Old Joe has arrived to change the future, providing he doesn't stop himself from doing it in the first place.

I think I failed myself with this film.  I let the overheard hype of its greatness, plus the fact of Bruce Willis' awesomeness set me up for failure.

The movie was good, if not a bit rambling and long.  20 minutes trimmed could have tightened this film tremendously.

So yes, good, but not great.

The performances by Levitt and Willis are just fine.

The time travel conundrums posed in the film are fine, and the way to change the future is well done at the end of the film.

Recommended for a viewing, but I cannot endorse a purchase for this film at this time.


Perhaps that will change when I come back from the future and convince myself that this film deserves a higher grade.


Final Grade: B-

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 25 ~ 10 Things I Hate About You

Today's movie is a modern-day twist on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew".  10  Things I Hate About You did the right thing though, and kept the intent of Shakespeare's play, and dialogue as needed, but otherwise updated the language so that it played like "normal teenagers" talking.

More or less.

I've seen other Shakespearean adaptations that try to bring the Bard to "now", but insist on keeping his speeches intact.  While I appreciate what they are trying to do, it normally fails in execution and really can pull you out of the moment.

For those that are not familiar with the play, or the movie... sheesh... how do you summarize this plot without giving away all of the fun?

The new guy in school, Cameron, wants to date the prettiest girl he's ever seen, Bianca.  Except that she cannot date, unless her older sister, Kat, is also dating.  Needless to say, Kat is not interested in dating whatsoever.  So Cameron and his best friend enlist the aid of the rich ne'er-do-well to pay someone else, Patrick Verona, to take Kat out on dates.  He does this, thinking that he will have a shot at dating Bianca, but Cameron is hoping to secretly win her heart.

Eh, close enough, right?

So, let's see, starring as Cameron was Joseph Gordon Levitt, the "It" Guy of the moment.  I remember him from Angels in the Outfield, but this would really be his big silver screen moment.

And no, I didn't watch Third Rock from the Sun, so there's that for the rest of you.

Next up, Julia Stiles as the Shrew, Kat.  For me, this is her finest role, because otherwise, I'm just not that big a fan of hers.

Quite possibly, the biggest star at the time, was David Krumholtz as Michael, the best friend.  He was Bernard the Elf from The Santa Clause, so his was a face I was already familiar with.

My favorite character would have to be the dad, as envisioned by Larry Miller, I laugh at every scene he's in.

Finally, what can I begin to say about Heath Ledger?  File him under the same category as Chris Evans or Ryan Reynolds.  This was the first movie I saw Ledger in, and I was an instant fan.  As Patrick, he is funny, sensitive, angry and a very complex character.  Everyone thinks they know him, but no one is even close.

A Knight's Tale came very close to making this list as well, really on the strong performance that he gave in that role as well.

Sadly, a talent taken too soon from movie fans around the globe.  It would have been a tremendous body of work he could have created over the next 30-50 years...

But, don't dwell on the negative.  Enjoy the fun body of work that Ledger and company created here.  Their big breaks, in a lot of cases.  And one that is a blast to watch and holds up just as well today.

You have to give some credit to Shakespeare I would imagine.

: )