At the Cinema - July 2015

Trainwreck – 9

I laughed.  I cried.  I held my bladder.

Like all Judd Apatow-directed movies, Trainwreck fears brevity – that a joke might be missed, that an opportunity to squeeze in one more one-liner might pass without exploitation.  Someday he’s going to helm a classic, and it will be when he takes a page from “Annie Hall” – you can do a great romantic comedy in about 90 minutes.

So that’s what’s wrong with Trainwreck. 

Everything else is just about right.  One of the hottest comedians on the planet, Amy Schumer, somehow found the time to write and star in this.  Although both she and Apatow are badly in need of an editor willing to use the scissors, she continues her winning streak by perfectly painting a picture of a young woman struggling to mature in the way that we are led to believe young women struggle today.  Amy (played by Amy) is promiscuous, often under the influence, and still successfully navigating a career.  Bill Hader as the love interest shows off real acting chops, and even LeBron James’ stunt casting kind of works, even though he could be lumped with a lot of other cameos that are in the movie for some reason.  Q:  Why is LeBron spending so much time in New York? A: He travels a lot.   Is there really a large Chris Evert fan base out there, (other than me?)

The humor is about as R-rated as humor can get, and when Amy and Judd get a “bit” going they beat it to death until every laugh has been wrung out of the subject, whether it’s oral sex or tampons.  That’s a blessing and a curse, depending on how provincial your taste is.  I saw a lot of cringing, but no one left the packed house (largely of women, which I found interesting.)  I suspect they knew what they were in for when they bought the ticket.  So, in raunch-com, Apatow terms, save the overly-long aspect, this movie is damn near terrific.  Even when they slam the comedy brakes on, and I do mean slam, half way through the movie, they seem to know what they are doing, even if it’s still just a too conventional guy gets girl, guy loses girl, guy gets girl story like every other romance ever filmed.  Let’s face it, the envelope-pushing vulgarity in this one will be tame 5 years from now.  By then, this may be a classic. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – 8
In the middle of special effects summer, here comes a movie with real, well fictional, but they seem real, people.  Other than a few cartoons thrown in, this is just a normal movie, and it’s a welcome addition after being avenged, terminated, faulted, and dinosaured to begin the summer.

“Me” is an awkward high school senior, (is there any other kind?) whose overbearing-to-the-point-that-I-wanted-to-runaway mother forces him to go be nice to a classmate who has leukemia.  They reluctantly become friends as they don’t seem to have anyone else, and their story proceeds through their senior year. 

Well, they do have Earl, his co-collaborator on a bunch of home movies that you will only appreciate if you are a movie buff.  This probably explains why this movie won the grand jury prize at Sundance.  Movie Freaks will love it.  Most will like it.  It’s heart-warming and sad, and happy, and kind of stupid.  Just like high school.

Ted 2 – 8

I’ve rarely seen such a tasteless display of filmmaking.  I also rarely laugh this hard.

This is a gross, vulgar, drug-infested piece of film making that had me in stitches throughout.

I liked the first Ted ok, as the bear gimmick seemed to be a vehicle for director Seth McFarlane to cram as much crudeness into an R-rated comedy as he could.  He somehow surpasses that threshold here, and the bits are often a case of piling on.

The audience was full of Ted-lovers, so I didn’t see anybody walk out like I would have expected.  You already know if you’ll like this movie.  You already know if you can tolerate it.   MacFarlane has the same gift as Amy Schumer, just not the nuance.  But, if you’re going to let a bear drive your car, guess there’s not much room for nuance.

Amy – 9

Amy Winehouse was not much equipped for life, much less fame.  This documentary, one of the year’s best, painstakingly tells the story of her rise and fall.  She just wanted to sing jazz, and get high.  Money, fame and the paparazzi increased her opportunity and torment and her descent was rapid.  Scarred by a family breakup, and enabled by some hangers-on, she lapsed and relapsed.  On the night she won a Grammy, she was sober and remarked winning wasn’t much fun because she wasn’t high.  As I watched this chronicle of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, I just didn’t understand how someone could abuse themselves this way.  Winehouse joined the 27 Club, when she died at that age, as did overdosers Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, and Jimi Hendrix as well as Kurt Cobain who committed suicide at that age.   What sets Amy Winehouse’s death apart is that its inevitability was captured on video, and is presented here for the world to learn from.  If it wants to.  The music is amazing, and the lessons are real.  Worth seeing for both.

Terminator:  Genysis - 6

For an old TV series on its last legs, people often point to a specific moment of incredulity and call it “jumping the shark” which refers to a Happy Days episode that featured Fonzie water skiing.  For me however I always watch for that what-if “dream” episode.  That’s a sure sign the writers are running out of ideas and the TV series is on its last legs.

When does a movie series jump?  If Terminator is an indicator, it’s when the writers start re-writing what has happened before in previous iterations.  I’ve never forgiven the writers of Star Trek 2 for making up a new destiny for Captain Pike, (in conflict with a legendary original episode) and now the Terminator series has gone off the rails. 

That’s not to say the movie isn’t entertaining and filled with terrific special effects and cool fights.  It is.

But, the storyline of time travel, with different Terminators flying back and forth through the years, has become so convoluted that it could be a parlor game.  Much like Star Trek, many years of back-story are now irrelevant and I can just see the writer’s table discussing this for a year, justifying their alternate history.  Bah Humbug I say. 

Therefore, I can’t even explain the plot of this movie, other than to say John Conner sends Kyle Reese back in time to save his mother, just like the first movie, only this time Sara Conner is a bad-ass and has been fighting with and against Terminators since 1973.  New actors are in the roles, and they’re not going to make you forget the original cast.  Then there’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has always been the centerpiece of this story.  In this movie sometimes he’s old, sometimes he’s digitally enhanced, sometimes he’s young, and sometimes he’s just searching for that next catch phrase.

We love Ahnold

He told us “I’ll be back” and he came back.

He told us “Asta la vista baby” when he thought we wouldn’t see him again.

He told us he was going to Sacramento and “terminate” and off he went.

He told us he needed a maid and we believed him.

Now we’ve got something to tell him.

Say “adios” to the Terminator series. 

Let it go.

Asta La Vista.

Please.

SCANNING THE SATELITTE

John Wick – 8

Keanu Reeves plays a retired kick-ass assassin whose wife has just died.  Three thugs steal his car and kill his dog.  Big mistake.  John Wick is willing to produce an incredible body count to avenge that dog.

This is just an action movie, no more no less.  It’s well done and Reeves has the moves that Tom Cruise showed off when he was the assassin in Collateral.   You know the genre – only one highly paid, highly skilled assassin can actually hit the target and he’s the star.  Great atmosphere, great action – well done.

Two Night Stand – 6

On-line hook ups get an hour and a half treatment in a movie I don’t think ever made it to theaters but is probably getting some play now because the young guy is played by Miles Teller, who was so good in Whiplash.  Of course, he’s not the reason to watch.  Analeigh Tipton is because she oozes cute all over the screen.  The main question in this movie is why do so many women (like Analeigh) get that writing tattoo on their back shoulder blade?  What’s the point?  Who reads this?  Their partner before they go to bed every night?  Is “spoon reading” a thing?  Seen this tattoo placement several times now.  Can someone explain, before I make a fool of myself by trying to get real close to some girl's back to read it.

True Detective – Season two – 8

True Detective is not any easier to decipher in season two than it was in season one.  But, the acting, writing, atmosphere, and story have pulled me in again, not to mention a shootout for the ages.  With five episodes down, and three to go, the series has been torn apart be the critics and the fans of season one, but they were never going to duplicate that buzz, so I’m enjoying this for what it is, HBO doing what it does best, taking chances.

Rectify – Season three – 10

I’ve made it my personal mission to beat the drum for the Sundance channel’s Rectify.

Rectify is the most authentic portrait of the south ever put on any screen. It’s a slow, meandering story of family complexities, and that it somehow captures everything from the pace of life to the accents is nothing short of miraculous.  It’s not an action series.  It’s about relationships, and every line is authentic.  If you’re not watching, go back to the 6 episode season one (Sundance channel or Netflix) and let this masterpiece slowly wash over you like a good book.  This story has progressed in season three to the point where I am in awe.  With patience, you will be enthralled.  It has won a Peabody Award, which is rarely presented to a TV drama.   It’s the story of a man exonerated by DNA evidence from being on death row for 19 years.  How he is received by his new and old family, and the community; and how he tries to fit in is remarkable story telling.  This is one of the series that 10 years from now we'll fondly remember as where we first noticed several stars-to-be, particularly Abigail Spencer who is so good it hurts.  (She's also in True Detective.) Bravo Sundance.