"About Last Night" Review

What makes a good romantic comedy? Several different ingredients. A smart script, chemistry between the actors, an blend of humor and emotion, and it needs enough weight to keep you invested.  As I mentioned with previous reviews, 2 out of 3 films are simply cookie cutters made with the same formula. But that 3rd is the one that finds its way through the sifter to become something different.

In this remake of the classic Rob Lowe/Demi Moore movie, About Last Night follows the story of Bernie, Danny, Joan, and Debbie. As the result of a one night stand between Bernie and Joan, Danny and Debbie begin a relationship. Over the next year, the four grow as people and explore their feelings for each other.

It doesn't really sound like too much of a story, but what makes it more interesting than the ordinary comedy is how smart the screenplay is. It is magnificently real, combining human emotion with natural comedy as opposed to the outlandish comedy with jokes that feel written. There is a remarkable amount of charm and heart in this movie. The characters and story develop organically in a way that doesn't come across as forced or disjointed.

True to life, no relationship is without it's problems, yet when two people are meant to be together, they find a way to make it work because above all other feelings, they truly care for each other. Unlike most romantic comedies where its painfully obvious that the couples are meant to be together and it will pull out the stops to push the message to you, this comedy doesn't sugar coat the relationships into "perfected oblivion." Rather it subverts the tropes into something uncompromising yet true.

Kevin Hart remains one of the most entertaining people in the world. And while his performance in Ride Along may have been less than rounded, here his electricity works to his advantage, especially when combined with Regina Hall, the only person I've ever seen to match his energy and not be pushed aside.  The back and forth between these two is wondrously entertaining without ever going over the top and feeling ridiculous. I would love to see these two paired together more often.

Michael Ealy is a perfectly charming antithesis to Kevin Hart. Where Hart is the bullhorn to the film, Ealy is the muffler that keeps the movie under control. And with Joy Bryant, the shy couple grounds the film and tells a brilliant and awe-inspiring love story. There is excellent chemistry all around in this film, but Ealy and Bryant are create some of the best i've ever seen.

If you and your significant other are looking for something romantic to watch, choose this. It's a deftly smart comedy and it rings so true.

B+

Andrew's 2014 Oscar Predictions

It's that time of year again. The moment that my reviews build up to every single year. Due to the death of my dear Grandma Bridie, I didn't release my predictions last year. As the anniversary of that  time approaches again, I both mourn her loss once more, and I understand that life goes on. So here we go.

As I did 2 years ago, I will not be calling every category, just the major ones. If you wish to inquire my predictions for categories not listed, simply message me here or on Facebook or Twitter.

Best Visual Effects- When Buzz Aldrin, a man who has actually been to Outer Space, says that the special effects in a movie are so eerily real that they nearly fooled him, the answer becomes a no brainer. Gravity is all but assured to float away with this one.

Best Adapted Screenplay- While The Wolf of Wall Street certainly had a great story to tell, it's length may be it's undoing.  Therefore, I'm saying that this one will most likely go to 12 Years A Slave.

Best Original Screenplay- There was certainly a lot of creativity this year with the original screenplays. Be it 1970s hustlers, the adaptation of Ron Woodruff's harrowing story, the return home to Nebraska, or Woody Allen's newest hit. But the thought provoking look at where our society is headed will certainly give Her a boost to grab the trophy.

Best Original Song- I'll be the first to admit that my music knowledge is not as strong as my movie knowledge. That being said, theres a good chance I'll be wrong in this one, and I'm certainly in the minority with my pick. I feel that "Ordinary Love" by U2 from Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom is most deserving of the trophy. However, there's a strong possibility that the award will go to "Let it Go" from Frozen. (Yes, I have heard Let it Go, but I still stand behind U2.)

Best Animated Feature: I didn't have to see it to know that Frozen will win.

Best Cinematography- There is nothing to rival the sheer brilliance of the camera work and cinematography in Gravity. The majesty of the sights and that 10 minute opening shot alone all but guarantee this winner.

Best Director- Above all, Gravity is a director's picture. Everything that Alfonso Cuarón was able to achieve makes him the most deserving candidate.

Best Supporting Actress- The female acting categories are more difficult to call then the male. Lupita Nyong'o was certainly a highlight in 12 Years A Slave, but voters seem to leaning more towards Jennifer Lawrence for her role in American Hustle. So while it could either way, expect the 23 year old to walk away with her second trophy in as many years.

Best Supporting Actor- For 2014, this is easily Andrew's 100% Guarantee. I am EXTREMELY confident that Jared Leto will take the stage for his mesmerizing turn as the transexual Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club. The other nominees did well, but this one is too easy.

Best Actress- This one isn't as close as the supporting category, but still anything is possible. Amy Adams was shone quite brightly in American Hustle, but most buzz is going towards Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine. So while Adams could pull an upset, this is Blanchett's to lose.

Best Actor- Leonardo DiCaprio will win an Oscar someday, just not this year. This one will most certainly be for Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club. This was certainly one of the better transformative roles in a long while, and McConaughey gave one of the most well rounded performances this entire year.

And Now Best Picture

This is way too close to call. But in my opinion, there are only three real competitors for the prize. Those would be American Hustle, 12 Years A Slave, and Gravity. 12 Years was a rich time spanning story with great acting and authenticity, even if it made some viewers a bit uneasy. Hustle is certainly a pride picture full of twists, turns, and extraordinary design. And Gravity is simply a mesmerizing self-exploration piece that is well handled in all respects. At this point, the trophy could go to any one of them. But if I had to choose, and I could be wrong, I would expect this one to go to 12 Years A Slave.

"RoboCop" Review

If I was to tell you that I had high hopes for the RoboCop remake, I would be a tremendous liar. Nothing about any of the trailers or promotional material inspired confidence. Not a single person I know, be they a colleague or a classmate had any faith that the film would do well. I've just come back from seeing it, and the fact that I was one of only four people in the theater leads me to believe that the film will not succeed. However, I do have to say those five words that can mean anything for a movie: It could have been worse.

This version of RoboCop tells Alex Murphy's story as he is blown up in a car explosion by vengeful gangsters. He doesn't die however, and his wife Clara elects to have what remains of Alex put inside an experimental robot body by the OmniCorp conglomerate. However, the human side of Alex can't be suppressed, and he tries to solve his own murder which leads him to discover a deeper tapestry of deceit.

I'm gonna stop right there. Read the beginning of that last sentence of the plot description one more time.

One of the most interesting aspects of the original 1987 RoboCop was the fact that Alex Murphy was awakened with no memory of who he was, and with a loss of his humanity. He isn't trying to cope with what he has become, he is a blank slate without empathy. Here, there is way too much back and forth of who Alex is now. They can't pin point any sort of balance on who the character is. He is so out of sorts, and we never really feel like we're watching a movie about a RoboCop. If anything, he becomes mentally comatose briefly. But his humanity never goes away. Part of that is the writing, the other part is the flattened performance of lead actor Joel Kinnaman. But i'll get to that in a minute.

Another part of the original that worked so well was how satirical it was of the society at the time. Be it the entertainment, or the news that they watched, it was making a mockery of 1980s society. This is an aspect that this film actually kinda got right. Mainly through Samuel L. Jackson's character Pat Novak. It serves as a delicious parody of political pundits on both sides of the spectrum such as Bill O'Reilly or James Carville. The media will take an issue and make you believe that if you believe anything less than their side, you are un-American. The politics of war and gun control are skewered in a way that doesn't come across as the director trying to force his beliefs down your throat. Again, it could have done better, but it also could have been worse.

Normally a prerequisite for a good film performance is showing emotion, but in the case of characters like RoboCop and Dredd, it's more about brooding and using the lower half of the face to fuel a performance. Peter Weller was able to do it magnificently 27 years ago. Karl Urban excelled 2 years ago. Joel Kinnaman not only fails to convince us that he is a RoboCop, he doesn't even come across as interesting. He is trying to be different in the role, but he just feels stale and two dimensional. Not even in a way that a robot should. He's frankly just boring and whiny.

Michael Keaton doesn't do his best in the role of OmniCorp CEO, but he is pretty remarkable. He comes across as a shady yet ambitious businessman. Not someone that you would trust, but not someone you would suspect of nefariousness. He puts his shaky Keaton stamp on the character, and he is pretty damn good.

Andrew's Standout is easy. Gary Oldman. Hands down, Oldman is the most interesting character. He is working to both help Alex, and his companies interests. He is conflicted, emotional character with a moral dilemma that doesn't feel like a waste of Oldman's time.

It doesn't justify itself completely, but RoboCop is far from the travesty it could have ended up being. Watch at your own discretion.

C+

"The Lego Movie" Review

As many have pointed out to me, I have never done a review of a children's movie. It is not out of a distaste for them, I very much enjoy them. The reason I have never done it before is because it tends to be slightly more difficult to review something targeted at younger audiences. You can't use the same microscope that you would judge something like Gravity or Inception. However, The Lego Movie is poised to be one of the biggest movies of 2014, so if there was ever a time to give it a try, it's now. (Yes, to the people that ask me, I will eventually review Frozen.) 

In The Lego Movie, Emmet is an ordinary guy in literally every sense of the word. He has lived his entire life by following instructions, and never doing something for himself. One day, when he stumbles across a mythical artifact, he is thrust into the world of creativity, and imagination. With new friends Wyldstyle, Vitruvius, Batman, Benny, Uni-kitty, and Metalbeard, he must stop the tyrannical Lord Business from gluing the world together permanently. 

I was skeptical when I first heard about The Lego Movie. I immediately pictured a two hour commercial for Legos. And I thought that Disney had pretty much cornered the toy-movie market with the Toy Story franchise. So, sufficient to say, I didn't have big expectations. In execution, I found the film brilliant. 

The film is original, creative, and subversive of all that has come before it. Nothing about this movie is as you would expect it to be. The gags and jokes are silly, goofy, yet at the same time they are so deftly smart. The slapstick that emerges cleverly parodies the various little quirks one will discover when playing with Legos. The sight gags magnificently take on the Lego companies own organizational patterns and child like pronunciation of words they don't fully understand. 

This movie has something for everyone. And by everyone, I mean EVERYONE. No matter what catches your interest, there is something here that will appeal to you. If you played with the toys as a child, you will undoubtedly recognize one of the mini figures. I happened to own the 2002 NBA All Stars set, and when Shaquille O'Neal popped up here, I like many got nostalgic. 

For a movie such as this, it is extraordinarily deep. Just when the film seems as though it is out of tricks, and is about to commit deus ex machina by conforming, it steers right into new territory and becomes something even bigger than it already was. There are no dull moments, no deceleration in the stories procedure, and nothing to make this movie feel anything other than genius. 

As for children, it comes out strong with the idea that you can build anything you want without arbitrarily following a set of directions. You should feel free to use your imagination when you play. Characters who you would never expect show up do, and they interact with ones you could only picture in playtime. It doesn't heavy handedly deliver it's messages, it does it subconsciously. If I was going sum this up in a kid's review, I would say that it is simply two hours of the best play time ever. 

Chris Pratt provides the voice of Emmet with the same innocence and wonder that made him so popular. But whereas in the past he has been immature and out there, he manages to ground his character in a way appropriate for children. 

Elizabeth Banks voices Wyldstyle in a way that goes against the grain of the average love interest. Like the movie itself she magnificently subverts the social norms while at the same time parodying it. Will Arnett is tremendous as the voice of Batman. In a way that pokes fun at the gruff voice Christian Bale so famously made, Arnett also plays off the more ridiculous aspects of the Batman character in ways that the live action movies don't. In a sense, this could be the truest incarnation of the character we've ever seen. 

The enormously talented Charlie Day voices Benny "the 1980's something space-guy" and rather than succumb to normal hyperactive character tropes, he plays him with a magnificent heart and keeps him interesting. Nick Offerman voices Metalbeard the Pirate in a fashion that shows that he can do so much more than simply play brooding, masculine Ron Swanson types. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Liam Neeson is interesting again as "Bad Cop," where he is able to parody his recent action badass persona, and playfully inhibits his Irish heritage. Morgan Freeman once again plays the aged mentor type, but this time around, he too gets to poke fun at his normal roles and hilariously reinvent himself.

Now we come to Mr. Will Ferrell. On the surface, his charter seems to be nothing more than your average super villain. Then, his villain makes intrusion into the common ideas of world domination and turns them on their side. Then finally, without giving anything away, Ferrell goes so much deeper in every respect. I would even go as far as to say that the is the best Will Ferrell performance I have seen since Everything Must Go. And given that Anchorman 2 just came out, that says something. 

You need to see this movie, then see it again. It is a movie that legitimately has something for everyone. It is full of fun and lessons for children, and enough substance to keep adults intellectually invested. 

A

"The Monuments Men" Review

George Clooney is an interesting subject. He's been at the top, he's been in Batman & Robin. He's been declared sexiest man alive by both women AND men. He can effectively pull double, triple, and occasionally quadruple duty on his films. The Ides of March was a thought-filled political endeavor in which Clooney was able to write a brilliant script, get the most out of his cast, and even play a magnificently devious supporting role. His latest film The Monuments Men isn't exactly up to the standard that he has set for himself in the past.

In the closing stages of World War II, Lieutenant Frank Stokes assembles a team to protect and recover works of art and monuments that have been stolen or lay in the path of the Nazis destruction as allied forces push them back towards Germany. They must also race against the Russian army who wishes to keep the art as tokens of repayment for the lives they've lost.

World War II was one of the most violent and dramatic conflicts in recorded history. Unfortunately, what Clooney has done is powdered a jovial dust to make much of the film light-hearted and fun. Not that it isn't entertaining, but inappropriate given much of the violence that he has also chosen to depict. Comedies can and have been made about World War II, such as Inglourious Basterds. But from the onset, they were meant to be comedies. When a military drama puts a little too much humor in it's formula, it simply feels out of place.

For the drama that is what it's meant to be, it is remarkably touching. The lengths that these men were  willing to go to preserve history is rather endearing. For the amount of comedy that Clooney has written, he did manage to give the movie some heart and make you feel for the characters. One particular scene involving Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, and a phonograph carries a significant amount of weight, and will absolutely tug at your heartstrings.

For his acting role in the film, Clooney does what he does best. He lays down his charm, smooth talks his way through sticky situations, and inspires confidence in his men. Say what you will about the man, he does have charm coming out of every orifice.

The entire cast plays to their strengths too, each imbedding their characters with a certain amount of emotion and heart. Matt Damon gives off the smooth player vibe that can either cause trouble or worm him an advantage. John Goodman plays the reluctant out of shape man, who will of course rise to the challenge. Bob Balaban is the quiet reserved man who pulls through when it's needed. Jean Dujardin is the slick Frenchman who may not know much about fighting, but is brilliant enough to play smart (Good to see Clooney doesn't harbor ill will about losing Best Actor to him in 2011). Cate Blanchett is the outsider who doesn't want anything to do with anyone, but is still a lasting symbol of female empowerment.

But if there is one man who rises above all as Andrew's Standout, it is Bill Murray. He can make you cry without even changing his face. His mere eyes can create a lasting impression that brilliantly exudes emotion. He is funny when it calls for it, stern when it needs to be, and more than anything, he is the heart of this movie.

The Monuments Men is your average World War II movie, that doesn't really stay within it's tone. But it still deserves a look.

B-

"Our RoboCop Remake" Review

Let me tell you a story. One of my favorite film franchises of all time is Die Hard. The original is so very high on my all time favorite films list. Last February, the fifth film in that franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard, was released and it was awful. It nearly ruined the entire franchise for me. So in response, I wrote my own version of the original film, shortened it to about 10-15 minutes, and performed it with my classmates live on stage as part of my Theater Workshop final at Ulster County Community College. It had Super Soakers, walkie talkies, I even died my hair to more resemble Bruce Willis. While it was hardly something I would call groundbreaking, my classmates and I did our best to keep alive the spirit of the original film to pay respect, and we received positive feedback.

The makers of Our RoboCop Remake, produced by David Seger, have done something along those lines, but on a much grander scale. In anticipation of the new RoboCop movie, and the perceived lesser quality it will have in relation to the original 1987 film, they have created a full length remake of their own. It compromises of several vignettes that both retell the story of the original film, and have fun with it at the same time.

Let me be clear, Our RoboCop Remake isn't going to change the world, make waves, or stop the general public from seeing the new film. But I will be damned if it isn't one of the most entertaining things I have seen in a while.

The actors and writers behind this effort clearly have a magnificent amount of passion and budding talent. While they could have simply done a shot for shot remake of the original film, they choose to skewer some of the more outlandish ideas and components resulting in a laugh riot, which at the same time is inspiring to someone attempting to pursue a career in the field, such as myself.

The amount of professionalism seen in the vignettes is astounding, particularly in the sketches by Team Tiger Awesome who choreograph a wondrously artistic representation of Alex Murphy's murder, Fatal Farm's magnificently staged rapist confrontation which includes some of the best use of squibs in recent history, and our good friends over at Screen Junkies who stage a hilarious convenience store robbery. The utilization of classic hollywood filmmaking techniques is very well appreciated.

It isn't perfect (then again, neither was the 1987 original) but I found myself wildly entertained by Our RoboCop Remake. Be sure to check it out. You can watch it here, FREE!

A-

"That Awkward Moment" Review

At least three times a month, there is a new romantic comedy released. At least two times a month, that romantic comedy is dull and ridden with a tried and true formula. That third movie will try something a little different, and it will hit or miss. In the case of That Awkward Moment, it tries to go in a different direction, but it doesn't quite get there. 

The film follow the exploits of three men in their twenties: Jason, Daniel and Mikey. Jason is the classic player who keeps his women on a roster. Daniel is the laid back man who uses his girl best friend as a wing-woman. And Mikey is a doctor who finds out his wife has been cheating on him. With her lawyer. These three friends all make a pact that they will stay single in order to be there for one another. But circumstances arise which cause each man to rethink that promise. 

While the film does its best to stand out among others of it's type, it still feels rigidly formulaic. The idea of a male centric romantic comedy has the potential to offer so much more than what we are given. But it simply sticks with it's stock of characters that fit the bill, and puts them in the situations that would make the 1980s sue for plagiarism. 

Don't get me wrong, this movie is funny. At times, it's very funny. Most of the good jokes revolve around bathroom and phallic humor. I'll admit that the jokes in those fields are pretty original, but they aren't really enough to carry the film past the premise. The film eventually gives into the sappy nature found in most films, and it loses all momentum. Given the talent in the leads, I expected more. 

Out of all the people who were involved with High School Musical, the one with the most talent and who is least likely to fall into obscurity is Zac Efron. In this movie, he doesn't break any ground. He is simply just another slacker that women want to change into that perfect man. I don't blame him for his characters dull nature, I blame the writers.

Miles Teller is the weakest link in this chain, as he does nothing except try to provide comic relief whilst trying to drive in a smidge of drama. It almost feels as though he is trying to channel Jonah Hill circa 2007. It literally feels as though he watched Superbad before filming, and tried his best to imitate Jonah. In a movie that already lacks originality, he is the least interesting.

Andrew's Standout for That Awkward Moment is easily Michael B. Jordan. As I mentioned in previous articles, he is one of the most promising new talents in Hollywood. This movie is no exception. Out of every character in this movie, Michael shows off the most depth, and the strongest emotional range. Rather than subvert himself in the traditional comedic stock, he is relatable and likable. I promise you. In our lifetime, Michael B. Jordan will be nominated for an Oscar.

For this movie, it's your choice. It certainly has enough humor to be entertaining, but it lacks anything original to keep it alive.

C+