The Gift – 10
Every now and then you walk out of the theater knowing
you’ve just seen a classic. I remember
being wowed by The Sixth Sense, by Star Wars, and a few others. That feeling is why I love movies, when you know you've just surrendered and been taken in by a story.
That’s the feeling I had after watching The Gift, a
psychological thriller written and directed by Joel Edgerton in his debut behind the wheel.
Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall star as Simon and Robyn who
are moving from Chicago to Southern California.
It seems to be a career move for Simon, who is from the area, and a
little bit of an escape for Robyn. Soon they run into Gordo, a guy who Jason
went to high school with.
Gordo is played by Edgerton, and he seems to be a little
clingy, like one of those guys who is just a little too friendly. He soon brings a gift to the couple, and it's game on.
And that’s all I’m going to tell you. To give you one more nugget of information
would be to spoil this perfectly realized thriller. Nothing is what it seems and nobody is whom
they seem to be other than like everyone else alive they have a haunting from
their past. It unfolds as not just a
thriller, but a character study of three individuals trying to get past
something.
This is the movie that “Gone Girl” wanted to be. The problem was that “Gone Girl” was high
budget, big stars, high expectation, and half of the people in the theater had
read the (allegedly great) book, so they knew what was coming.
Believe me, you won’t guess what’s coming here. If Hitchcock were alive today he’d be proud
of Edgerton’s simple story-telling that sets an apprehensive mood. I’m pretty good at predicting plots and
figuring things out. Not this time. I had no clue what was going to happen. Nothing quite like a movie sneaking up on
you. I’d seen the previews and they
didn’t excite me. But when I left the
theater I sure was.
Let me put it another way.
This is real movie making.
Transformers 4 is not.
Mission Impossible:
Rogue Nation – 9
Every now and then we get someone who is at the absolute top
of their game. Maybe it’s Tom Brady
rescuing a Super Bowl (with a little Mississippi help). Maybe it’s Madison Baumgartner dominating a
post-season run like baseball has never seen.
Maybe it’s Meryl Streep in her latest chameleon turn. Maybe it’s Taylor Swift dominating pop
music. You may not be a fan, you may not
be rooting for them, but you have to give them credit. When someone’s hitting on all cylinders, you know
it.
Maybe it’s Tom Cruise.
Because he is certainly at the top of his game. Yea, I know he’s got a crazy set of religious
beliefs, but you’ve got to respect the fact that he can put a movie together,
like only a handful of pros can. He
commissions a script, picks a director, hires a cast, and turns it all loose on
screen. He did it last year with Edge of
Tomorrow, and he even tops that this year with the 5th installment
of his Mission Impossible franchise.
The action ramps up from the first minutes with an airplane
ride that nearly everybody has seen. Can’t
keep that pace up, right? Wrong. Soon, he’s an outcast, and the CIA wants to
dissolve the Mission Impossible team and Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is on the run. But, he’s on the run with a purpose – to
bring down the super-secret Syndicate, which no one believes exists. He picks up the help of a mysterious female
agent played terrifically by Rebecca Ferguson, and while her allegiances waffle
back and forth, they team up to retrieve information and save the world, or
something like that.
Amazingly, the tension never wanes for two hours and Cruise
and crew run through one action sequence after another. There is no way that I can think of that they
could improve this movie. When it comes
to action, it doesn’t get much better than this.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E – 5
In contrast, almost everything is wrong with The Man From
UNCLE. This was my favorite tv show when
I was a kid, yes even ahead of Star Trek.
Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, was the super slick secret agent
with the karate chop, and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) was his cerebral
sidekick.
Mistake # 1.
Director/writer Guy Ritchie decides two James Bonds is better than one,
and turns Ilya into a rival super spy of amazing athletic skills.
Mistake # 2. The
setting is sometime in the 50’s. So
rather than show us an amazing array of modern weapons that UNCLE would be
employing today (like let’s say the Kingsmen) we get old and tired
stuff. That includes the plot, the
villains, the cars, the weapons – need I go on? The movie is so dated that it falls flatter than a pancake.
Mistake # 3. They add
a girl to the team. Alicia Vikander, who
was stunning in Ex Machina earlier this year when she brought life to a robot,
is well, too robotic for her role as Gaby.
She seems to have voice problems and is hard to understand – a huge
disappointment for someone whom 6 months ago I thought would be a superstar.
Director Guy Ritchie is much of the problem here. When I heard he was directing, I was worried,
and he delivers the low expectations.
All of his movies lack wit and panache, and that’s what is missing here. His movies are like sitting through blunt force trauma.
I can’t remember much about the Man from UNCLE except my
fondness for it, as it is rare to see it rerun.
I will try to forget this movie as fast as possible.
Scanning the Satellite
Show Me A Hero - 9
I admit it. I am late
to appreciate David Simon. After I
watched his Treme on HBO, which was a love letter to New Orleans, I went back
and binge-watched The Wire, which some have hailed as the best show ever to
grace the small screen. So, I was happy
to watch his latest, on HBO. You’ve got
to say this about Simon – he doesn’t do any easy stories. This one is about housing disputes in Yonkers
New York in the late 80’s, when a judge orders low income housing to be built
in places where it’s not welcome by the neighbors. It’s heartbreaking and relevant,
unfortunately.
You’re the Worst – 9
I’ve watched 8 episodes about a vulgar, maladjusted couple
who are mismatched to the world, but may be perfect for each other. The writing and acting are perfection, but
the show is so disgusting and tasteless that I can’t believe it’s on a cable
channel, FXX, whatever that is. Not for
the faint of heart, but if you can stomach it, there are a lot of belly
laughs. May be a classic someday, or it
may be censored. But it really should be
following Shameless on Showtime – that would be the perfect spot for it.
Mr. Robot - 7
This is an atmospheric story of a corporate computer hacker/security wonk. At times brilliant, at times maddening, especially with the voice-overs, it's still worth watching, even when it takes a "Fight Club" turn towards the end of the first season. Brooding, dark, and a welcome addition to the TV landscape.
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