The Grey - 9
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. to be frightened
b. the feeling of impending doom
c. Arctic adventure
This movie is so graphic and harrowing If you don’t avert your eyes at some point from what is on the screen, you are either very oblivious or a glutton for punishment. This is one strong movie.
A suicidal sniper, played by Liam Neeson in his bi-yearly adventure role, picks off the wolves threatening workers at some kind of arctic drilling site. A group ships out one morning on a small airplane. The plane crashes in the arctic wilderness in one of the great film depictions of a plane crash, shot entirely from inside the plane. That’s the beginning of the fun.
The small group of survivors, led by Ottway (Neeson), tries to make their way to safety. Unfortunately, they begin getting picked off one by one by the elements or the animals. It’s almost too realistic and bloody, although the wolf attacks are the blurry action you’ve come to expect from Hollywood. The real surprise is that the director Joe Carnahan develops each character nicely while suggesting you not get too attached to them.
This is one hell of an adventure tale. I swear although I didn’t look for wolves when I exited the theater, my feet were freezing and I had no desire to visit Alaska until this movie is a distant memory.
Chronicle - 7
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. Teenage Angst
b. The bizarre
c. Hand held cameras
This is the story of three teenagers dealing with high school. Steve Montgomery is black, popular, and running for Class President. Matt Garety is responsible. His cousin Andrew Detmer is an outcast. He’s socially awkward, gets picked on a lot, and has a terrible home life. His mother is dying and his unemployed, alcoholic father bats him around like a piñata.
The gimmick of the movie is that it is filmed by Andrew with his camera. We see his high school, his home, and his friends through his virtual eyes. The three of them navigate through the parties, the fights, and the sexual encounters of high school in a fairly realistic manner. It’s teenage angst on today’s stage and the trials and tribulations of what it must be like in high school today.
Oh, there’s one more thing. They can fly.
You see at one of the parties they stumbled upon a meteor-like hole in the ground, wandered into the abyss, and left with powers of telekinesis. They gradually harness their new-found power to move things, eventually learning to move themselves through the air – a pretty neat premise as an excuse to get them flying around.
As you would expect they gradually lose perspective and begin to abuse their power, particularly the volatile Andrew. As their relationships and lives deteriorate things get out of control, both personally and special effects-wise.
All in all it’s interesting and bizarre, with the hand-held camera bit getting old and restricting the action a little. But, it’s pretty ingenious and you’ve got to give the filmmakers credit for a pretty original take on that age old horror story – high school.
Driver – 8
You’ll like this movie if you like:
a. Taxi Driver
b. Ryan Gosling
c. Fast Cars
Ryan Gosling plays Driver, a man with no name and what has to be a questionable past in this atmospheric drama. He’s a movie stunt driver of limitless talent who also uses that talent on the side as a robbery getaway driver. The tone and the mood reminded me of the classic Taxi Driver, and that’s a good thing.
Driver is silent and deadly. His veneer begins to crack when he begins to become of enamored of his neighbor, played by the marvelous Carey Mulligan, and her young son. When her husband returns from prison, Driver feels compelled to help him payback his prison debts by doing “one last job,” always a bad idea. The robbery goes bad, and Driver finds himself tangled in an impossible web.
Gosling and the cast are perfect and you can’t help but admire the vision. Cool movie and much like Taxi Driver it peaks in some graphic violence that will leave an impression.
Faster (2010) – 6
You’ll like this movie if you like:
a. The movie above
b. Revenge
c. The Rock
Guess what? Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson plays a character named Driver. First he’s driving an old GTO, then a Chevelle SS 396. They don’t make powerplants like that anymore. He’s on a mission to get revenge for his brother’s murder at the hands of a rival gang after a robbery. They murder Driver with a bullet to the back of the head, but he miraculously survives it and 10 years in prison.
Then he’s after the bad guys. Other bad guys and various cops Carla Gugliana (easy to look at) and Billy Bob Thornton (hard to look at) are chasing him.
Nice cast in a stripped down action thriller. Pulp Fiction on wheels. Great song over the closing credits.
THE ACADEMY AWARDS
The Oscars will be awarded Sunday night and never has there been a blander gathering of movies to choose from.
My Predictions:
Best Picture:
Will win – The Artist
Should win – The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo, which incredibly was not even nominated, and was the only truly great movie I saw all year. Of those nominated I had Moneyball rated the highest but this is one very average group of nominees.
Best Actor
Will win – George Clooney
Should win – Brad Pitt by a hair over Clooney.
Best Actress
Will win – Viola Davis
Should win – Michelle Williams but can’t complain about Viola winning
Best Director
Will win – Michael Hazanavacius (The Artist)
Should win – David Fincher, not even nominated for the Girl in the Dragon Tatoo. Hazy is as good as any nominated.
Best Supporting Actor
Will win – Christopher Plummer
Should win – Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid Love, not even nominated. Of those nominated I only saw Jonah Hill and Kenneth Branaugh and wouldn’t call either statue-worthy.
Best Supporting Actress
Will win – Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Should win – Bryce Dallas Howard in The Help (not even nominated) but without her as the evil Hilly, The Help doesn’t work as well as it did.
Of those nominated Jessica Chastain was pretty remarkable in The Help as well.
Best Original Screenplay
Will win and should win – Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Best Adapted Sreenplay
Will win – The Desendants
Should win – Moneyball
The Night's big winner – let's hope it's Billy Crystal.
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