Movie Review - "The Grey" (2012) ****1/2

     It's times like this that make me enjoy movies so much. I love going in to a movie with one set of expectations and then having those expectations blown out of the water. I've seen a few survival films over the years and while the stories tend be intriguing for the most part, often times the whole product is a bit of a letdown. Sometimes we know ahead of time what the outcome is, and then there are times where we don't know ahead of time but after a few minutes into the movie we can easily predict where things are heading. So I headed to an advanced showing of The Grey thinking this may be an okay movie but it looked like one where the previews gave away quite a lot of the story. What transpired instead over the next 2 hours was a film that was a lot more thought-provoking and dramatic than I had anticipated.

      The movie stars Liam Neeson as Ottway, a lonely man fighting depression who works with a group of roughnecks and ex-cons at an oil-drilling facility in Alaska. Ottway's job is as a sharpshooter killing wolves who have come on the property and threaten the workers. At the end of a work stint, all of the men are heading home for a long vacation. During the flight, the plane becomes damaged due to the harsh weather conditions and crash lands in the remote Alaskan wilderness. Only about 8 men survive the crash and Ottway is the only who seems to have any survival training so he immediately proves his worth to the team with the only real resistance of ideas coming from Diaz (Frank Grillo), who learns quickly that his ways are not best. It's one thing to face the harsh, cold weather of Alaska and try to survive, but the guys are about to learn that things are even worse than they initially appear when a group of wolves show up at their camp and threaten them, eventually killing one of the crew members. Ottway knows the wolves well and he fears that they have crashed near the wolves den so he advises the men they should head to a patch of woods nearby where it should be easier to defend themselves. The survivors make it to the woods following more attacks, but their nightmare is only beginning and it will require the men to band together to face the extraordinary circumstances they are confronted with. Along the way, each mans will and faith will be put to the ultimate test.

     I think The Grey is a really fantastic film. The movie is billed as an "action-packed adventure", and to a certain extent that is correct. There are some great action sequences here, the plane crash is one of the most frightening I have ever seen on film. It seemed very real for some reason; there's no way this movie will ever be shown as the movie on your next long-distance flight, just saying.  Other than the action though, this film has a few surprises up it's sleeve. There are times when it's a borderline horror movie. The wolf attacks often come out of nowhere and there was more than one occasion when the audience jumped at the shock. But outside of the action and the thrills, I was mostly surprised by the dramatic elements of the movie. Some of the best scenes in the movie occur as the guys are sitting around a campfire discussing faith and survival. It becomes very talky at points and that will scare some people off as talky often translates to boring. But that is not the case, at least it wasn't for me. I was happy to see this movie touching on elements like this because I think if we put ourselves in this situation, we would find times where we would question our faith and life. It's the Why Me? syndrome that is just natural for most humans. That is dealt with at length and not just simply glossed over. By the end of the movie, we feel like we are there with the guys and struggling through this with them. We connect to the characters. For that, the kudos go to director and screenwriter Joe Carnahan and co-screenwriter Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, who refuse to follow a specific formula for these types of movies and instead create something that is much more thought-provoking. I would also be at fault here if I didn't mention the cinematography of Masanobu Takayanagi. This is a beautiful film to look at, when it's not scaring you. Some of the shots that are captured are breathtaking with British Columbia, Canada standing in for Alaska.

      I would be remiss if I did not talk about Liam Neeson, the glue that holds this film together and really makes it work. I've always been a fan of Neeson's. His role as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List is a performance that will stay with me forever, and I loved him as Qui-Gon Jinn in the Star Wars saga. Lately he has become a bit of an action star as evidenced by this movie and the terrific thriller Taken, but he pulls it off because he brings an instant credibility to every performance. I was reading on IMDB that Bradley Cooper was originally slated to play this role and I found that interesting because after the movie was over I was thinking about who else could have pulled off this role and I can't really think of anyone honestly. Someone like Cooper, or his like, could have done a decent job with the action in the scene but I don't think they could have pulled off the dramatic elements near as well. And it's those scenes that make this movie rise above the rest. This movie was released in the first month of the year, so come Oscar time next year I'm sure it will be forgotten, but that's unfortunate because Neeson should get serious consideration for Best Actor. He does that well. The rest of the cast including the previously mentioned Grillo, as well as an almost unrecognizable Dermot Mulroney (I had no idea it was him until I saw his name in the closing credits), all do admirable jobs here. We get to know each guy pretty well and while Neeson is clearly the highlight, the other actors deserve a job well-done salute. It's odd that this is just the second movie I have seen this year that was officially released in 2012, I have a feeling it will remain the best film I see this year for a good while.

     

   

2012 Oscar Nomination Predictions

     Being a big movie fan, the Oscars are always a big event for me. I will break out a scoresheet every year, make predictions and then pull for my picks, just like it was the March Madness basketball tournament. More times than not, my selections do not win but I still pull for them. The thing I love about the Oscars, and the awards season in general, most is they introduce me to movies I might not normally catch. Every theater will have the big-budget, special effects laden blockbuster when it comes out, but there is a whole slew of movies that are not seen by movie going audiences unless you live in one of the major metropolitan areas. The one exception for a lot of these films is if they get attention during awards season which will lead to most of these films being released to a broader audience, and that is a good thing. So I encourage people that if you have never heard of some of these movies, do some research on them and look deeper, you may just find something that knocks your socks off. That being said, a lot of these films I have not seen either. If I hear of a movie getting strong Oscar talk, I will usually hold off on seeing it, especially if it is getting Best Picture talk. The reason I do this is because of the AMC Best Picture Showcase, which has become a highlight of the movie year for me. AMC shows all of the nominations over the course of one or two weekends for one price. I have participated in this the last 3 years and I look forward to this year as well. Even though I haven't see a lot of them, I do intend to, and because I keep up with all the critics and guilds awards leading up to the Oscars, I think I can make some pretty decent predictions as to what will happen. So without further ado, let's break out our crystal ball and see what we think will happen tomorrow morning (Tuesday, the 24th) at 8:30 am.

BEST PICTURE:   This category is different than it has been in the past. For a long time, there were 5 nominations each year. Then the last two years, they went to 10 nominations. Well, this year, there can be anywhere between 5 and 10. A movie must receive a first place vote from 5% of the Academy voters to be nominated. The general consensus is that there will be 7 or 8 nominations. Due to the dominance so far of two movies during awards season, I'm going to predict there will be 7 nominations. The Artist and The Descendants are no-brainers. Both have cleaned up during awards season so far and are the odds on favorite heading into Oscar night. I also feel like The Help and Hugo are pretty safe as well. That gives us four. The Academy loves Woody Allen so I'm going to make Midnight in Paris my fifth choice. After that it gets tricky. One movie I have seen this year, and absolutely loved, was Moneyball.  It has lost some of its momentum but I still think it sneaks in there. That leaves one more film. I'm going to go out on a limb and say The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo gets the spot over War Horse, The Tree of Life and Bridesmaids.

BEST DIRECTOR:  The director nominations tend to fall hand-in-hand with the Picture nominees. Martin Scorsese (Hugo), Alexander Payne (The Descendants) and Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) are locks. Once again, the Academy loves Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) so I look for him to pick up the fourth spot. For the final nod, I'm going to go with David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). A lot of people feel he was robbed last year for The Social Network (me included), so while he has no shot at winning, I think they will reward him with a nomination.


BEST ACTOR:    This is really a 3-man race for the prize, but four actors look to be locks for a spot. George Clooney (The Descendants) has been racking up most of the early awards. Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), and Michael Fassbender (Shame) also appear to be set. The last spot is a toss-up. I think the Academy is finally going to reward Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). If it's not him, Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar) or Ryan Gosling (Drive) could benefit.

BEST ACTRESS:    This will be one of the real mysteries come Oscar night. Three ladies have split the victories in the early awards season. Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) and Viola Davis (The Help) will battle it out on the big stage. This will be one of the toughest predictions of the night. Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin) should be rewarded with a nomination even though she has no chance. The final spot is a tough call. I'm going to go with Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), but watch out for Charlize Theron (Young Adult) and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids) as possible spoilers.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:   This is one of the few awards that appears to be locked up already. Christopher Plummer (Beginners) has pretty well swept all the awards so far and an Oscar looks to be in his future. Jonah Hill (Moneyball), Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn) and Albert Brooks (Drive) seem like sure bets also. For the final spot, I'm going to say Nick Nolte (Warrior) over Viggo Mortensen (A Dangerous Method).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  Octavia Spencer (The Help) has been on a role this awards season and should be the favorite on Oscar night. Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) and Jessica Chastain (The Help) will try to pull off the upset. For the last spot, I will go with Berenice Bejo (The Artist).

Movie Review - "Remember Me" (2010) **1/2

     Here's a movie that was never on my radar when it was released but at the request of a good friend, I decided to give it a shot. It's not the type of movie I typically enjoy but as I was watching it, I felt myself being pulled in every now and then. There are some good things here, unfortunately it ultimately falls apart and comes up just short of a recommendation for me.

     The movie stars Twilight heart throb Robert Pattinson and LOST alum Emilie de Ravin as Tyler and Ally, the two parts of a brooding romance that does not start out that way. Tyler is a rebellious New Yorker who spends his days mostly drinking and smoking. His parents have divorced following the suicide of his brother, the result of which has led to a strained relationship between Tyler and his father, played by Pierce Brosnan. The only member of his family that Tyler seems real close to is his younger sister, Caroline (the cute as a button Ruby Jerins), who pleads with her brother to clean up his act. We get the sense that Tyler loves her a lot and will do anything to protect her. Ally has a troubled past as well. She witnessed her mothers murder on a subway platform when she was young. Her father, Neil (Chris Cooper), is a police sergeant who was called to the scene the night his wife was murdered and spent his time since then being protective of his daughter. Neil ends up arresting Tyler one night when he gets in a fight outside a bar. Tyler's friend, Aidan (Tate Ellington), finds out that Ally is Neil's daughter and talks Tyler into taking her out and then dumping her to get back at Neil for arresting them. Tyler goes along with this plan but he eventually starts having feelings for Ally and decides not to go through with it. Over time, Tyler and Ally start sharing their deepest secrets with each other and both find a reason to change their outlooks on life.

     As I stated at the start, there are some things here I like. Don't even get me started on Twilight, but Pattinson is....ok here. Not great, but he's not terrible either. de Ravin is a delight on the screen and she is one of the main reasons I miss LOST so much. I loved her as Claire on that show, and she is good here as well. The out-of-nowhere acting highlight for me is this young Ruby Jerins, who plays Tyler's sister. I think this girl could be a young actress to watch over the years if this performance was any indication. When she was on the screen, I was hooked into this movie and I would have liked to of seen more with her and Pattinson. Now the bad...the pacing of this movie is glacial at times. I've always said that if I look at my watch during a movie it's an automatic half star deduction from my ratings. I was checking the time often, not a good thing. The biggest gripe I have with the movie though is the ending. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a twist ending so I don't want to spoil anything but I thought it was exploitative and a complete miss for me. It was just an easy way to get a cheap reaction from the audience and I didn't buy it at all and it ruined the movie for me. A stronger ending would have probably earned that extra half star and a mild recommend for me. But I can't overlook the faults of what is there and I had to knock it. I think there is a good movie here and in the hands of a strong writer it could have been a lot better. It can't overcome its faults though and that's unfortunate.

Movie Review - "Horrible Bosses" (2011) ***

     If you have been in the workforce long enough, it's almost natural to have a time or two where you wished ill will against your boss. While I have been lucky and had pretty good bosses my entire work career, there have been a couple of exceptions and there have been moments where I wanted to toss them out a window. It happens. But the majority of us are sane and never actually consider carrying out our malicious thoughts. So we are given the movie Horrible Bosses to do that for us.

     The movie focuses on three characters who represent a microcosm of what most of us do on a daily basis. Nick (Jason Bateman) is moving up the corporate ladder and feels he is close to a big promotion. The only thing holding him back is Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey), the boss from hell. He's the kind of person that freaks out, even if you are one minute late, and will hold it over your head every chance he can get. Kurt (Jason Sudeikis), actually likes his boss but when his mentor passes away, the coke addict son (Colin Farrell) takes his place and every decision he makes is meant to make more profit to support his drug habit. Dale (Charlie Day) is a dental assistant who is looking forward to marrying his fiancee. There's one problem though. His boss, Julia (Jennifer Aniston), is a sex addict and spends most of the day making unwelcome sexual advances towards Dale. Sexual Harassment are not words that exist in her dictionary. After a night out drinking, and some shady advice from a "hitman" named Mother****er Jones (Jamie Foxx) (this is not a movie for kids by the way!!!!), the trio decide to murder each others bosses, ala Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men don't always work out, and with these bumbling criminals the odds of everything going right are nil.

      Horrible Bosses isn't up to the level of The Hangover, but if you enjoyed that movie you will probably enjoy this too. The story is pretty basic, and the ending is a big letdown, but the buildup has some very funny scenes and I found myself laughing a lot. The director, Seth Gordon, hasn't done many films but he did make the excellent documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, a must-see for any video game enthusiasts out there, so I like the body of work he has going so far. The actors in this movie are the real stars though. For whatever flaws the script has, the actors do a great job with what they are given. Has Jason Bateman ever been in anything bad?? I'm less familiar with Sudeikis and Day, but they have a good rapport with Bateman and when those three were on screen together the movie really works. Jennifer Aniston drops her girl-next-door persona and provides some of the raunchiest, and funniest, moments of the film. (Once again, this movie is NOT for kids) Kevin Spacey, and an almost unrecognizable Colin Farrell, also are great over-the-top fun in their roles as bosses who you hope you never have. Horrible Bosses is not a great movie but if you are looking for something to watch one night and want a few good, raunchy laughs, you can do a lot worse.

Movie Review - "Red Tails" (2012) ***

     This is a tough one for me. I have been anticipating seeing this film for a while now. I have kept up with it off and on as it is a project from George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars saga. Lucas has been working on Red Tails since 1988 and has had trouble finding support from studios, which ultimately led to him fully financing the project himself. Lucas has stated in recent promotional interviews for the film that it is his belief that a movie with a primarily African-American cast has scared off many studios from wanting to back the picture with the money necessary to fund the project. I do not know if this is true or not but I think it could be a valid argument. In recent years, movies with a high percentage of black actors tend to only fall in the comedy category. This is unfortunate, but it does seem to be a reality. So I was intrigued to see how the cast would do, and I'm also a fan of World War II history in general, therefore Red Tails was high on my must-see list.

     The movie is about the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American fighter pilots who fought during World War II. The group served their country honorably even though they faced racism and prejudice from many of their fellow soldiers. As the movie opens, the group is already stationed in Italy and is running routine missions to destroy trucks and tanks because the military leaders at the Pentagon do not trust them with more important tasks. We are introduced to a group of four pilots and it is these individuals that the movie focuses on during it's duration. The group is led by "Easy" (Nate Parker) who is a great pilot and leader but has issues with alcohol. His three wingmen are "Junior" (Tristan Wilds), "Joker" (Elijah Kelley) and "Lightning" (David Oyelowo). The group has a good rapport and they perform their tasks well, but "Lightning" is considered one of the best pilots even though he has a tendency to not follow orders. He and "Easy" butt heads over this several times but they are held together due to the presence of Major Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr.), the leader of the group while stationed on the ground. Stance reports to Colonel Bullard (Terrence Howard), who spends much of his time in Washington D.C. trying to convince the military hierarchy to put their trust in his men and send them more worthy assignments. They are eventually assigned a task that will have them see dogfight action and after succeeding with ease, they become a valuable asset to the military. They are asked to provide escort support to a group of bombers and it is during these missions where the Tuskegee Airmen earn their true stripes.

      I said at the beginning of the review that this was a tough one for me. What I meant by that was the fact that this movie disappoints me some. If you peel away some of the bad stuff and look at its core, there is a GREAT movie lurking here. The action scenes are very well done and I felt like I was up in the skies flying with these guys during battle. Even though Lucas didn't direct the film, you can see his touches during the aerial combat scenes, it's obvious Star Wars was an influence here. However, when the movie is on the ground it is a hodgepodge of hits and misses, unfortunately it's mostly misses. I believe the acting is fine in this film. Nobody really stands out and gives a tremendous performance, but there is not a lot wasted either. I think everyone pulls their role off admirably. Unfortunately, they aren't given much of a script to work with. There is a romance element installed in the movie and it is completely unnecessary and drags the movie down. I was reminded of Pearl Harbor, another war movie that had great action scenes but it gets bogged down in a ridiculous romantic angle that kills the pace of the movie. I also wish the movie would have gone for a bit more of a dramatic tone and focused on some of the issues these gentlemen faced. I'm sure the decision by Lucas and director Anthony Hemingway was to go lighter to appeal to a wider audience, but I think that was a mistake. There is a brief scene where several of the men are sitting around at base discussing why they are performing their duties even though they are not respected, but it only lasts a couple of minutes and then isn't brought up again. I wanted more of that. I wanted to see more scenes where the men faced difficulties from white soldiers. It's touched on but not enough. The movie frustrated me because of this, I came away thinking it was a missed opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a good film and I am recommending it. The war scenes are fantastic and it is a great opportunity for people to learn about a group of men who were heroes to their country, even though their country did not believe in them at first. I just wish it would have gone to the next level and been a more thought-based experience.

Movie Review - "Carnage" (2011) ***1/2

     Have your ever been to a kids sporting event, perhaps a little league baseball game or something similar, and you see "those" parents. I'm talking about the ones that are just a little bit too invested in their childs performance during the game and they tend to forget that it's just a game and they need to backup and let the kids play. You know what I'm talking about. Well if people like that get on your nerves and you feel they deserve to be mocked, Carnage may be a movie that you find appealing.

     Carnage is based on a French play titled "God of Carnage" and the film is very much like a stage performance. It takes place almost entirely in one location with only four characters getting any screen time of note. As the film opens, we see a brief incident on a playground where a couple of kids get into an altercation, and ends with one of the kids hitting the other with a stick. We see this from a distance, and hear no dialogue, so we don't know the context of what happened, and that's important to the story. This opening scene is very brief and is one of only two times that we are outside of our main setting. We then proceed to our primary location, the home of Michael and Penelope Longstreet (John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster). Their son, Ethan, was the kid hit by the stick in the playground scene. He has suffered some physical damage and Michael and Penelope have invited the family of the other kid, Zachary, to their home to discuss the incident. Zachary's parents are Alan and Nancy Cowan (Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet). The discussion between the couples begins very cordially as they agree in writing to what happened between their children. We believe things are going to end well when Alan and Nancy start to leave, but then something is said that leads to more conversation between the couples. It's here where things slowly start to fall apart as the two sides start to splinter. The disagreements start out simple enough but eventually things deteriorate and when alcohol is introduced into the mix, all hell breaks loose. Can these 4 "adults" work out their differences or will human nature lead to carnage that will claim each of them?

      Based on that brief description, Carnage may seem like a serious film. And while there are some underlying lessons here about being an adult, this is really a comedy as we see just how childish adults can be at times. I found myself laughing a lot during this film and there were a couple of scenes where I was almost in tears. This is a testament to the acting in this film, which is really what makes this film work. It's an actors movie, pure and simple. Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet are two of my favorite actresses and while both have been more memorable in other roles, they both show the enormous talent that they possess here, especially when they are going head to head on screen. Christoph Waltz is the actor I'm least familiar with but he more than holds his own here as an attorney who can't seem to stay focused on the task at hand due to the numerous distractions on his cell phone. John C. Reilly is a great actor and he is a catalyst for much of the comedy here. Of the four performances, Reilly's is the one that I will remember the most from Carnage. This is not a movie that will be for everyone. It's more of an artsy picture and while it is funny, it's not slapstick comedy which is more appealing to a wider audience. A lot of people will also be disappointed with the ending as we are not given clear cut answers to everything. You have to think about the closing scene a bit but if you pick up on the irony of it, you will enjoy the film more. If you don't, you may walk away going "Huh??" I got it and therefore I enjoyed the movie and recommend it.

Movie Review - "Senna" (2010) ****

     I have been a big fan of NASCAR racing since I was a young kid. I grew up cheering for one of my idols, Terry Labonte, and when he retired I became a fan of Jeff Gordon, one of Terry's teammates. I root for these guys almost as much as I root for my favorite baseball or football team. While I love racing, I have become well aware of the dangers that the sport can provide. I can't imagine what I would feel like should one of my two favorite drivers die while on the race track. I suspect that I would be emotional about that. In 2001, Dale Earnhardt, one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history was killed in a last-lap wreck at the famed Daytona International Speedway when his car collided head-on with the wall and Earnhardt sustained massive head trauma. I was not a fan of Earnhardt, while he was idolized by many, he was also the biggest antagonist on the track to many fans, me included. But his death did bother me and I felt bad for quite a while after. Just this past year, the Indy Car racing series lost arguably its best driver, Dan Wheldon, in a crash that occurred at the Las Vegas Speedway. I am not a big fan of that style of racing but I just happened to be watching live when it happened that fateful day. It took a good long while for Wheldon to be pronounced dead but if you have been watching racing for a long time, you just sorta of know when things are not normal. I knew that crash was bad and it was likely to result in the loss of Wheldon, but you always keep your hopes up that it will turn out okay. Usually it does, but when it doesn't you just feel terrible for the driver, his family and the racing community.

     While Earnhardt and Wheldon were arguably the top drivers in their respective circuits at the time of their deaths, there was no such argument for Ayrton Senna, a Formula 1 3-time champion from Brazil, who died in a wreck in 1994. The documentary Senna by director Asif Kapadia, compiles actual footage from Senna's career including many in-car camera shots from his races, including the race which claimed his life. Senna himself, along with other family members and colleagues, provide the soundtrack tracing Senna's roots in go-kart racing as well as his brilliant ten-year career in the Formula 1 racing circuit. During his decade in the sport, Senna won three championships, was robbed of a fourth and set many records which still stand to this day. The documentary details his strained relationship with fellow competitor Alain Prost, a French driver who worked the politics of the sport better than Senna, a fact which Senna resented during his entire career. Senna was of the belief that politics should not be a part of the sport and the drivers should battle to win at all times. Prost is not seen merely as an enemy, just simply a guy who approached the sport differently. If there is an antagonist in the film, it is Jean-Marie Balestre, the President of Formula 1 racing, who did bring politics into the sport on too many occasions and does not come out looking great at the end of this film. You get the sense on several occasions that Senna was fighting the people off the track more than he was battling with other drivers on the track.

     The film also shows the great impact that Senna had on his home country of Brazil, which was strife in political corruption and poverty during this decade that Senna ruled the sport. He was so beloved by ladies that there are a couple of instances shown when female reporters almost couldn't do their jobs because they were overcome by being near him. Some of these scenes are kind of funny and you realize what a huge figure Senna was. While not well-known here in the US outside of racing fans, he was an icon in Brazil and other parts of the world. During his funeral, the streets of Brazil are lined by spectators for many miles. He gave much of his wealth back to the community and in return, they showed him the ultimate gratitude of love.

Senna is one of the better documentaries I have ever seen. It's a genre I really should embrace more since the ones that I usually try out, I tend to like more often than not. While race fans, especially those of Senna or Formula 1, will get the most of this movie for obvious reasons, I still think there is enough here that would appeal to the casual viewer as well. The movie is an hour and forty-five minutes long and that was about the perfect length. It tells its story without getting bogged down in minutiae. I highly recommend it. I can remember watching the NASCAR race the same weekend that Senna died. Dale Earnhardt won the race and in victory lane he dedicated his win to Ayrton Senna. Looking back on that now, I like to think that the two of them are up in heaven somewhere talking about racing.

Movie Review - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011) ***1/2

    "The feel bad movie of Christmas" That's a tongue-in-cheek tagline used to describe the newest release from talented director David Fincher, known for some pretty dark movies such Se7en, Fight Club, and Zodiac. It is an understatement to say the least. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has a lot of good going for it, but geez, you feel like you want to take a shower after seeing it. It's a bit grimy. The movie is based on the first book of a 3-book series by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. The books were released posthumously and have gone on to be multimillion bestsellers. I have not read the books so I can't give an honest comparison but after seeing the first film I may get around to it. All 3 books have already been made into Swedish films which received primarily positive critical acclaim. I have not seen these foreign adaptations so I cannot compare this film with its predecessors either. It remains to be seen if the other two films are going to be made for the American audience but it appears the movie is going to do well so I fully expect the sequels to come here in the next couple of years.

      I'll give a fairly basic plot summary but I can't go into much detail. The movie is a mystery and it would be very easy to spill the beans on some of its secrets, all of which should be witnessed without spoilers. The movie stars Daniel Craig as a disgraced journalist named Mikael Blomkvist who is hired to investigate the 40-year old disappearance of a wealthy patriarchs grand-daughter. The girl, Harriet, disappeared from the family's island during a family function and has not been seen or heard from since. The grandfather, Henrik (Christopher Plummer), cannot let this go because every year he receives a gift, the same gift that his granddaughter gave him before her disappearance. Henrik is convinced that the person sending the gifts is responsible for the disappearance of Harriet. Most of the family members still live on the island and are an eclectic mix of people. One of the best lines of the movie is spoken by Henrik when he says, "But what you'll really be doing is investigating thieves, misers and bullies - the most detestable collection of people you will ever meet - my family."

     Mikael starts off investigating by himself but he is eventually joined in his investigation by Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), the title character. Lisbeth, at first glance, is someone a lot of people would take one look at and walk the other way. With multiple piercings, tattoos and an unkempt look she is ripe for prejudice. Lisbeth is actually a very smart investigator and computer hacker herself who uses her appearance as a defense mechanism due to a troubled past. She has lots of trust issues with males and this is only complicated when her current guardian abuses and rapes her. She overcomes these issues and is able to work with Mikael in the investigation and the two make a really good investigative team. They pour through documents and photos from the day Harriet disappeared and slowly they start to put the pieces together and see the big picture of what really happened to Harriet.

     I know that plot summary is pretty vague, but it really needs to be. It's too easy to spoil parts of this movie and I would hate to do that. There is a lot of good in this movie. The detective work by Mikael and Lisbeth is very intriguing as they weave their way through this complicated family and their pasts. Rooney Mara, who had a small part in Fincher's The Social Network last year, is really the highlight of this movie. Her role is so vulnerable and tough at the same time and Mara could very well earn herself a Best Actress nomination at this years Oscars. Craig can be a bit bland at times but I liked him here in this starring role as Mikael. Stellan Skarsgard and Robin Wright play supporting roles well also.  Fincher is one of my favorite directors and while I didn't like this film quite as much as I did some of his others, I could see a lot of the marks that make him a genius behind the camera. He just has a way of creating dark suspense that can unsettle you. The script by writing guru Steven Zaillian has some hiccups but overall I was really impressed. So why do I not have this movie rated higher? I wanted to go 4 stars on it and there is a large section of this movie that is worthy of that rating, even higher possibly. The problem is, this film clocks in at about 2 hours and 40 minutes. The bulk of the mystery is in the 2 hour middle portion of the film and that is top notch. But there is roughly 20 minutes at the start and 20 minutes at the end of this film that I mentally checked out. It takes a while to get going. Once the mystery is solved, there's a 20 minute epilogue that I know why it is in here, but it just didn't work for me. I thought it fell flat compared to the rest of the film. Perhaps it's just me but I almost wish it wasn't there. Also, without spoiling things, I thought part of this mystery was pretty easy to figure out. There's a specific reason why, but I don't want to go into that here as it would possibly spoil things. But there was just a decision made that I didn't like. Talk to me about it in person if you want to know what I'm talking about. These things added up and I wasn't able to go to that fourth star, but don't let that distract you. I really enjoyed this movie, and while it will not be for everyone due to some of the subject matter, it is worthy of the praise it has been receiving.

Movie Review - "Crazy, Stupid, Love." (2011) ***

     I'm as guilty as anyone of prejudging movies I guess. You see a couple of previews and many times you decide right then whether you will like the movie or not. I guess it's just human nature, because I do this quite often, even though I should have learned my lesson. I've seen many films that I went in with the highest of expectations, only to walk away disappointed. The opposite is also true, and it's because of these films that I continue to love watching movies. When are you going to see the next movie that exceeds your expectations and surprises you? You never know. Crazy Stupid Love (I'll be ignoring the head-scratching punctuation marks in the title for the remainder of this review) is a movie that fits this description for me. It resides in that dreaded genre for me, the RomCom, or Romantic Comedy. When it comes to prejudging, I tend to do it with this genre more than any other. Is that fair? No, probably not, but it's just the way it is. I've seen too many of these movies that are just completely brain dead and do absolutely nothing for me that I can't help myself sometimes. On occasion though I have to give one a chance and I'm glad I did so with this film as I was pleasantly surprised.

      Crazy Stupid Love wastes no time getting to its premise. We meet married couple Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) as they are having dinner in a restaurant. When Cal asks Emily what she wants for dessert, she quickly blurts out "A divorce"....and then proceeds to let Cal know that she has been sleeping with another guy. At this point, Cal's life is turned upside down. He finds himself separated from his high school sweetheart, the only woman he has ever loved, and their children. Cal tries to blend back in with society but he hasn't dated since high school and he is not exactly the most "smooth" guy in the bar. It's here where Cal meets Jacob, the ideal womanizer, who seems to go home from the bar every night with a different woman of his choosing. He can say just a few words and women fall head over heels for him. He is the exact opposite of Cal. Jacob is played by Ryan Gosling, an actor I'm only familiar with in a few roles but I can already tell he's one of the best actors going today. There's just something about him that he owns the screen whenever he is on it. I've enjoyed him in Ides of March and Blue Valentine and I have heard is performance in Drive is superb as well, so that movie is definitely on my radar. 2011 has been his breakout year and what a year it's been. As for the character here, his Jacob finally gets Cal comfortable talking to ladies and Cal is able to score a night with Kate, played by the very funny (and oh so beautiful!!) Marisa Tomei. They have a great night together which knocks Cal's confidence through the roof and he is soon courting a different woman each night, just like his "teacher" Jacob.

     It's here where the movie could easily fall into a few standard storyline traps and become just another film in a myriad of raunchy, brain-dead romcom stereotypes. But Crazy Stupid Love proves it's smarter than that and has more to offer. Underneath the comedy here is a movie with actually a pretty good message about soul mates and finding the perfect person. Everyone has that soul mate out there and you never know when or how you will meet them. It also questions that if they are truly a soul mate, how hard will you fight for them when things aren't perfect. I enjoyed this third act of the film when we slip into drama a little bit more but the film doesn't stop being funny. It toes the line carefully and in the end I feel it really worked out. The honor for doing that goes to the screenwriter, Dan Fogelman, and directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. They realized they had something here and didn't ruin it. Kudos to them.

      Crazy Stupid Love is not a perfect film, it has its flaws for sure. But compared to many other films of its like, I really enjoyed it. So many movies like this fail to make me laugh. This movie succeeded there, I laughed quite a few times and there were a couple of really great scenes. Marisa Tomei isn't on screen much but when she is she is simply a delight and has some of the best comedic moments in the movie. Gosling is at his best in the first half of the movie when he is working with Cal. He shines as the ultimate womanizer without being obnoxious, that's hard to do in a role like this. Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton and Jonah Bobo are all young actors who give supporting performances worth of recognition. I don't really want to go into what each of their roles are because there is actually is a slight twist in the movie and I don't want to ruin it. I thought it was pretty funny and I want the viewer to experience it for themselves. Steve Carell and Julianne Moore both give decent performances. Neither is at the top of their game, but they do just fine in the starring roles. While not perfect, Crazy Stupid Love is 2 hours of your time which shouldn't be offensive and you may find some good laughs, as I did. It's a nice surprise and I'm glad I saw it.

Movie Review - "Warrior" (2011)

     Welcome everyone to the Mind of Mickster's first ever two-person review. This past weekend my friend Justin and I got the opportunity to watch the film Warrior starring Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte. I hope you enjoy this dual review, which could turn out to be an actual duel since I know Justin and I can have some different taste in movies. I hope you enjoy.

     Warrior stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as brothers who have been estranged from each other for many years. Tommy Conlon (Hardy) is an ex-Marine who has recently returned from Iraq and has a secret past from his time in Iraq which is slowly revealed to the audience over the course of the movie.  Tommy was a superb amateur wrestler growing up, but his life was turned upside-down due to a broken household caused by his father's alcoholism. When his mom split and left their father, Tommy decided to go with her but her death left Tommy without a family. Tommy's brother, Brendan (Edgerton), decided to stay with their father, leaving the brothers relationship to be strained. As the movie opens, the father, Paddy (Nick Nolte), is 1000 days sober and regrets his past. He is surprised to arrive home one night to find Tommy waiting for him. Tommy is in town to start training for Sparta, a $5 million winner-take-all MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) tournament. Tommy earns a spot in the tournament by beating a local MMA tough guy at the gym during a sparring session. He turns to his father to train him, but makes it clear from the get-go that their relationship is strictly teacher-student because of trust issues that Tommy still has with his father. Paddy agrees to train him and while doing so, tries to prove himself to his son.

     Brendan is an ex-fighter as well who has given up the sport to be a high school teacher. He is happily married to Tess (Jennifer Morrison) and is a loving father to his kids. He has nothing to do with his father or brother and the family hasn't seen Paddy in years. When financial problems threaten the foreclosure of his home, Brendan secretly fights at unsanctioned events that take place in a parking lot behind a strip club. Brendan easily wins a fight and collects a small payday, but this information makes its way to the school principal who has to dismiss Brendan from his job. With his family in a deep financial hole, he goes to Tess with the option of him returning to the ring to fight in the Sparta tournament. Tess remembers Brendan's past and how the sport almost killed him and will not give him her blessing. Brendan does what he must though and seeks out his former trainer, Frank Campana (Frank Grillo), to get Brendan back into fighting shape. 

     I'm not spoiling anything by saying this, you'd have to have never seen a movie before to realize that it's inevitable that these two brothers will end up face-to-face in the ring. But this movie has a lot of surprises up it's sleeve and the outcome may not necessarily be what you think it is. So let's see what Justin and I thought about the movie.

Justin's Take:    **

      If I had to recommend a feel-good movie that is right for the entire family, this would fit into that category. It has the age old American dream story written all over it. The acting wasn't that bad. But one of my pet peeves is that if an actor starts out having an accent, they should be able to maintain it throughout the entirety of the film. Hardy and Edgerton seem to have an Irish accent in one scene, and then an American accent in the next scene. Other than that, it's a movie that the entire family can sit down and enjoy as decent entertainment for one evening.

     I am a huge MMA fan, which is primarily what this movie is about.  So from that standpoint, I have some different views. I think overall it doesn't give MMA a bad image. Brendan is a teacher and as a lot of MMA fans know, Rich Franklin, a prominent fighter in the UFC, was a Math teacher himself. Tommy was in the military and this is another background which a lot of fighters tend to have. So there is some authenticity there. The problem I had is one that occurs in a lot of sports movies, the lack of realism. In most of the fights in this movie, one fighter usually takes a severe beating when in reality, almost all of these fights would have been stopped by the referee before getting to this level. The other negative I found was in the style of fights and the money awarded to the participants. The Sparta tournament in this movie takes place over a couple of days but in reality, fighters generally take several months to train for just one fight. The other thing was the portrayal of the money these fighters win. Most Middleweight fighters, the level depicted in this film, don't make anywhere near the millions of dollars awarded in this tournament. George St. Pierre, the most famous middleweight fighter and current UFC champion in that weight class, makes approximately $450,000 per fight and may only fight twice a year. But most fighters never approach even that level of money.

     Overall, I would tell someone to watch the movie and accept it for what it is, a decent action film with decent acting and a decent storyline. I think Nick Nolte did a fair job thought I don't think he was as exceptional as some people are making him out to be in this role. I feel people sometimes are given extra credit just for playing a certain type of role, such as the alcoholic. I feel he was just fair in this movie. I give the movie 2 stars out of 5.

Mickster's Take:    ****

    Justin, Justin, Justin. I agree with a lot of the things you said in your review but as an overall movie experience, I got much more out of this than you did apparently. I saw a movie that has some flaws, some of which you pointed out, but I think there is a five star film here that is a few flaws away from being a classic film experience. I was sucked in by the story of these two brothers and their troubled father. The movie could have easily ventured over into a sappy category, but it avoids those pitfalls and when the movie ends I have seen a movie that has tugged at my emotions, but doesn't veer into tearjerker territory. I'm not sure what it is about boxing/fighting movies, but they just have a way of working more often than they miss. Rocky, The Fighter and Million Dollar Baby are all classic movies with a fighting theme that made my top 100 list of all time. Warrior isn't quite up to the level of these masterpieces, but it comes pretty darn close.

    I agree with you on Nick Nolte, regarding his performance here. I think he is fine and he does have one great scene in a hotel room with Tom Hardy, but I don't get where all the Oscar talk is coming from for him as a possible Supporting Actor nominee. It's just not Oscar worthy in my opinion. Fine, but not great. I actually preferred Hardy as an actor in this movie, and he's the one I feel if anyone was a dark horse for an Oscar from this film, it would be him. I certainly don't think he will get one, but I did enjoy his performance here. Edgerton is fine as well, he pulls the role off, but when I think of this movie down the line it won't be because of his performance. But it's admirable nonetheless. I also agree with Justin on the realism of the fights. I do consider myself an MMA fan now, and though I haven't been following it as long as Justin, even I pointed out that most of these fights would have been stopped well before they actually are. But I agree that this is a good promotional movie for the sport as I don't feel it portrays it in the negative light that it sometimes receives. One issue that I had with the film that Justin didn't point out is that there are a couple of plot lines which are never fully satisfied when the movie ends. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil anything, but there are loose ends that just weren't tied up well enough for me and one of them in particular was kind of glaring. But these are minor quibbles and didn't mess with my enjoyment of the movie too much.

    After seeing the film, I looked up the name of Gavin O'Connor, the director of this movie. I was surprised to see that while he doesn't have a lot of credits to his name, one of his few previous directing roles was for the Kurt Russell movie Miracle, a movie that made my top 100 list. I think with these two films on his resume, he's a director that I would like to see more of when it comes to making movies, especially sports-themed ones. I think he has a lot of talent. I really enjoyed this film and while it's flawed I felt satisfied at it's conclusion. I was refreshed to see that if you can look past the violence a little bit, there's actually a decent family movie here for people with kids who are a little older. Some of the fighting may be too intense for younger kids though. If this movie was on your radar and you missed it, go rent it the next time you are looking for something to watch. If it wasn't on your radar, it should be.