Today the world of cinema lost one of its best character and method actors, Eli Wallach. I was first exposed to Mr. Wallach when I saw him as Calvera, the Bandit Leader, in one of my favorite films of all time, 1960's The Magnificent Seven. In his first scene he comes with his men and just starts casually talking to the village's leader as if they were old friends, and that he and his men aren't doing anything wrong. He is so sure of himself and he just steals every scene. Even in a scene where he first meets the seven and showing resistance, but by the end you get the idea that he isn't used to this sort of thing. Every line he delivers adds so much to the character.
But of course, I'm sure most of you know him for his role as Tuco Benedicto Pacífico Juan María Ramírez aka "The Ugly" in Sergio Leone's masterpiece, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This was another performance in which he stole every scene. The way he dives into the role of this manipulative, two-faced, yet engaging bandit, truly does highlight how great an actor he was. Leone is best known for having the camera stay on the actor's face and letting their expressions speak for them, and Wallach was perfect in every scene. One of the best scenes in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is when Wallach's character is cornered while taking a bath by an opponent he faced early on in the film. The adversary goes on and on about how he's going to kill him, and Wallach just goes and shoots him, and delivers one of the best lines in any films, "When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't Talk." Even before that, the expression of Wallach's face says so much about what his character is thinking. It is amazing.
Mr. Wallach career expanded decades and has worked with some of the best minds in the film business. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his breakthrough film performance in Baby Doll (1956, Dir. Elia Kazan), he was one of hundreds in the Western epic How the West Was Won (1962, Dir. John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall), he was in romantic comedy The Holiday (2006, Dir. Nancy Meyers), and was in Mr. Freeze at one point on the 60's Batman series. I'll end this post with the video of Mr. Wallach's speech when he received his Honorary Oscar in 2010. Rest in peace, Mr. Wallach. We'll never forget you, and your movies.
Another double featured article this week. This weekend we have the big screen version of the hit Broadway show, Jersey Boys, and the new Nicolas Cage movie, Joe.
Jersey Boys D: Clint Eastwood W: Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice S: John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza, Christoper Walken Clint Eastwood directs the big screen version of the hit Broadway show, Jersey Boys. The story is about the legendary vocal group The Four Seasons and the trials they had to go through during their career. This is a very basic biography film about the group, it tries to throw in several different things that happened, mainly about Frankie Valli. You've got their rise to fame, the growing tension between the members and the debt they had with the mob, Valli's failed relationships, the tragedy involving one of Valli's daughters, and so on. Because of this, the film does suffer a little bit in the script department, but only by a little. The strongest aspect is the script is the one involving the formation of the group and the trouble they got in with the mob. The real highlight of the film is the performances. There is not a dull one in the bunch. John Lloyd Young, who won a Tony for his portrayal of Frankie in the original Broadway show, gives a flawless performance in big screen debut. The chemistry he has with the other members is simply stunning, and it doesn't come off as just him doing a stage version of his character, he makes a great transition to the film. I can see this guy doing a lot of great work in the future. Eastwood does a great job at adapting this stage show to the big screen. Now grant it, I haven't seen the stage show, but this does work well for the screen and doesn't come off as them trying desperately to adapt make the movie like the show. Eastwood knows when to place in the narrations, from the show, by the characters and does a great job using a single long take for their narration. The only time when it seems like a musical is that the very end just as the credits start to roll, they have all the actors come out and dance in a big elaborate number.
Also, Eastwood does a really good job at placing the music. The music does come in a lot, but the larger numbers only happen for the bigger hits of the group. There are full musical numbers when they sing Sherry, Walk Like a Man, and Can't Take My Eyes Off You. Again, Eastwood knows what he's doing. The guy has had experience with music before. Yes, he was in Paint Your Wagon (1969, Dir. Joshua Logan), but I'm referring to the music he has composed for his movies. Check out the music he composed for his 1992 Oscar winning film Unforgiven.
This is a definitely a movie to check out if you're a Four Seasons fan, and if you're not, it's still a pretty good film. Check it out.
Oh and for the record, my favorite Four Seasons song is December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).
Now onto the latest film starring Nicolas Cage. Joe D: David Gordon Green W: Gary Hawkins S: Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan Nicolas Cage stars in the new Southern Gothic movie, Joe, based on the novel by Larry Brown. In this movie Cage plays the titular Joe who is an ex-con and blue collar worker who ends helping a 15-year-old boy (Mud's Tye Sheridan), but at the same time finds himself in situations that tempt his patience and tries to avoid getting in trouble.
In recent years, Nicolas Cagehas become sort of punchline in the movie world. A lot of that is because of the film roles he has taken (the remake of Wicked Man is the biggest example), but watching this film it sparked in my mind, "Oh, that's right. Cage is a good actor." His performance in this movie is amazing, there are few times when he does his trademark crazy antics, but it works given the situation and the motivation for the character. One thing I really liked about his character is that he isn't some shady, brooding loaner who doesn't want any human contact, he's a regular Joe (I couldn't resist the pun) who is just trying to stay out of trouble and trying to live his life. We see him interacting with not only the kid, but also his co-workers and various members of the community. It's a great touch, and it shows that he is trying his hardest to stay away from a violent and mentally destructive life.
Two more performances I have to give praise to is from Tye Sheridan and Gary Poulter. Tye Sheridan, as I stated before, was in the movie Mud, and he gave a genuinely great performance, and his performance here is another great example. Hopefully we see a bright future with this guy, and not the tragic life that happens to some child/teenager actors. Also Gary Poulter, who plays Sheridan's Dad in the movie, gives a haunting and rather tragic performance in this film, it's especially great considering how Poulter has had no acting experience before this, he was a homeless man. He was a local of the area where director David Gordon Green was filming and he got a fantastic performance from him. It is tragic to note that Poulter died shortly after filming was complete.
It was after watching this film I began to realize that I love Southern Gothic stories, and a big reason because of characters and the setting. Now I grew up in Ohio, and I've lived in Ohio all my life, but I did grow up in a forested and country environment, and so seeing this stuff used as the setting thrills me, because it can change and represent the characters and story so well. With this film we see Joe working with a group whose task it is to clear a section trees by inserting them with poison mixture so they die and make it easier for the lumberjacks to cut them down (I think that's what the task was). It's a perfect place to set up that the main character surrounded by dying environment which essentially represents Joe's inner thoughts and feelings. And when you watch the film and see the ending it comes full circle, and you'll see what I mean by this environment representing or symbolizing the character's thoughts and stories.
One final note that I have to praise is a song written for the film by Ryan Bingham. Bingham is a country/Americana singer who had previous movie success when he co-wrote and performed the Oscar winning song The Weary Kind, for the Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart (2009, Dir. Scott Cooper). Bingham hits another bull's eye in my opinion with his song For Anyone's Sake..
So in case you couldn't tell, I highly recommend this movie as well.
Do you agree? Do you disagree? Share your thoughts, share the article as well.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 D: Dean DeBlois W: Dean DeBlois S: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Djimon Hounsou, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, Kit Harrington, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig
Hiccup and Tootless return in the sequel to the 2010 hit animated film How to Train Your Dragon (2010, Dir. Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders). This time around the dragons and vikings are the best of buddies, with each viking having their own dragon that they can fly and play games with. With this new found friendship, Hiccup (voiced again by Jay Baruchel) takes to the skies and discovers new lands, and his long lost Mother (voiced by Cate Blanchett). But all is not well in this world as our heroes find out that an evil dragon hunter named Drago Bludvist (voiced by Djimon Hounsou) is hunting down dragons to create an army to take over the world. Of course!
Just a brief review of the first film. I thought the first film was a well written, smart, and fun animated film. The real highlight of the film was the animation, you really do get the feeling of flight and the grand scale oF it through though shots. The sad part of this is that I saw it on DVD and not on the big screen. When I heard about the sequel I vowed to not miss it on the big screen. Another great thing about the film is John Powell's Oscar nominated score. My words can not properly describe how AMAZING the music is, so I'll just post a link. By the way, all my friends out there who jog, it is great music to listen to while you're jogging.
One more thing I have to say before I get to the review, I absolutely LOVE Toothless the Dragon. It is such a great design and he's able to display his emotions and characteristics vividly. He's got the stealth and fierceness of a Panther, but is cute and lovable like a Labrador. I think I speak for everyone by saying, we all want a Toothless in our life. Seriously, look at him. D'awwww.
NOW... onto the squeal. This was everything that the first film was and more. It is spectacular. First off, YES you should totally check it out in 3D, this is a rare case when the 3D compliments the movie and gives it a third dimension.
I love how in this film it isn't just a retread of the previous film, it takes everything to the next step, in one aspect it's about Hiccup maturing and becoming the Chieftain of his village. But it takes another step in the story with its message. In the previous film it was pretty much about discrimination against the unknown, in this movie it's about the animals and the influence people can make on them.
It parallels a philosophy that myself and many others have regarding dogs, "There's no bad dog, just bad owners." The movie looks at how to gain an animals trust and make a connection, with Hiccup he had developed a trust with Toothless by giving him time and showing him that he was nice. Whereas Drago Bludvist (by the way, that's an awesome villain name) just forces them to join him, he traps them, and sends out others to trap them. He's using them to just gain his own power. It's a great aspect of the film and it even puts Toothless and Hiccup's friendship to the test at one point.
There isn't that much to complain about this movie except for, ugh... I really wish they did get a better voice selection for Hiccup. Jay Baruchel isn't bad, but his shtick of "Um well I'm sort of awkward and uh... yeah I guess I'll improve a lot my lines," does get a bit annoying for me. I mean at this point he's suppose older and probably more mature. Also why don't he and the other kids do Scottish accents? I don't know, this is probably me just nitpicking.
Also I felt that the other kids could've been handled better. Most of the time they're just kind of annoying comic relief, except for Astrid (America Ferrera) and Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), but some of the others were trying to hard to be comic relief when it wasn't necessary. We already have Craig Ferguson, don't really need any others.
Seriously, I freaking love this guy.
But like I said, there's not much to complain about. It's fun, energetic, heartfelt, and is a definitely more than worthy begin seen in 3D. Go check it out.
Another double feature weekend. This weekend I checked out the Tom Cruise science fiction thriller Edge of Tomorrow and the much anticipated adaptation of John Green's young adult novel, The Fault in Our Stars.
Edge of Tomorrow D: Doug Liman W: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Christopher McQuarrie S: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson
Let's start off with a film that is a combination of Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars, and Groundhog Day (I never thought I'd review a film like that), Edge of Tomorrow. In this film Tom Cruise plays a military officer who is duped into the front lines of a D-Day like invasion to defeat an alien invasion force consisting of creatures called Mimics. But as Cruise storms the beach he and the rest of the soldiers are slaughtered, he then finds himself back on the previous day, reliving the same day. He gets help from a special forces soldier (Emily Blunt), who had been through a similar situation. As they train they try to figure how to stop the Mimics from destroying Earth.
First off, yes this is a movie with time travel elements in it, it more or less suffers the same problems a lot of other stories have, but I am more than willing to put all that aside. The main reason is because of the high energy, clever editing and storytelling, and spectacular action scenes are so well done that I can forgive it. They wisely decides to not show us the same exact thing every time Cruise travels a day, we get just basic repeats. The film also doesn't give us an exact number of times this is happening, for all we know these events could have happened over a billion times. The credit for that goes to both the editing and storytelling, but also to Cruise's performance.
The only thing bad things I can think of is that there isn't that much development for the supporting characters outside of Blunt and Cruise's characters. Also the time travel stuff can get a little.... well....
Yeah, that. Thanks Doctor. But as the film stands it is a solid enough action/sci-fi film. A good summer flick for a drive-in.
The Fault in Our Stars D: Josh Boone W: Scott Neustadler, Michael H. Weber S: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe I'm almost certain that this is the review most people are waiting for me to release, well here it is. Based on the monstrously popular young adult novel John Green, the story is about a cancer stricken teenager girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) who, at the request of her parents, goes to a cancer support group at a local church. While there, she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), who also had cancer, and had a leg amputated. Through out the film their friendship blooms into a romantic relationship. Let me just be blunt, this film was pretty damn good. For the record, I'm speaking as someone who hasn't read the book. Though it is on my to-read list. Some of you are thinking, "Come on John, this is just a sappy teeny romance film." Well there are moments in the film when it felt a little schmaltzy to me, but this film avoided a lot of the HUGE cliches that plague these films. The trailers for this movie do NOT do the film any justice, what so ever. The trailer shows them romantically dancing, and kissing and all that stuff you see in movies. Some of those scenes are in the first five minutes, and during that time Hazel (the narrator for the film) pretty much says, "Yeah, that's bull s**t." Speaking of Hazel, this was my first exposure to Shailene Woodley and I must say, she is absolutely amazing. She just fits into this character so well and I believe every emotion that she displays. I honestly want to go out and get every film she has been in so far (especially The Descendants). By the way, speaking of emotion, the emotions in this film feel very genuine, coming from real people. Also the crying in this movie, that's real crying that they're. The crying in this movie is not the sexy cry, you know a single teardrop going down their cheek, no this is full blown crying. Puffy red eyes, water works, and in a few cases snot work (sorry, got a little gross for a second). Speaking of crying, if you're one of those people who is an ugly cryer, you may want to wait for this to come out on DVD, or at the very least go to an extremely early showing. And yes I did teary eyed. I hold no shame in saying that. Another thing I liked is the parents. Normally in these types of movies, the parents are WAY to protective and one parent (usually the Dad) is like, "you stay away from daughter, because... just because!" That is not the case in this film, and thank goodness. The only faults (pun not intended) that I can think of that it does get a little schmaltzy for my taste, and the Augustus's confidence can get a bit annoying, but those things are tiny and it never took me out of the film. So yeah, this was really good and I think I preferred this over Edge of Tomorow. You heard me right. Also, check out John Green's videos at Vlogbrothers and at Mental Floss. Any man who likes Mr. Rogers is good and my book. It would be awesome to meet him, and I certainly hope he's nothing like Peter van Houten (I bet he isn't).
