Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 Reviews Part Two

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Capsule Reviews 2013

REVIEW:  Blue Jasmine ****

A woman married to a wealthy business executive finds her life unraveling when she discovers his shady dealings and philandering. She sets out to rebuild her life, while staying with her working-class sister, but struggles to adjust. Superb performances by Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins help make this one of Woody Allen's best recent releases.

REVIEW:  Captain Phillips
****

Intense, suspense-building story of Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) and his crew combating a take over of their cargo ship by Somali pirates in 2009. The film provides us with a battle of wits between Phillips and the pirate's captain Muse (played with an occasional flash of humor by Barkhad Abdi), who takes to calling his counterpart "Irish." Done with an almost documentary style, much like his "United 93," director Paul Greengrass again brings the audience along on a realistic yet incredible ride. Tom Hanks hasn't been this good in a very long time, probably not since at least "Road to Perdition" in 2002.

REVIEW:  Curse of Chucky
**

Chucky returns to take revenge on a family he has held a grudge against for many years. As far as Direct-to-DVD titles go, this is actually pretty decent. Director Don Mancini, the creator of the franchise, opts more for suspense before playing up the gore. Some developments are predictable, and there are a few one-liners thrown in that don't quite work (though one victim predicts fate by saying "see you in the morning... at the cemetery"), but fans of the series will likely be surprised that this isn't bargain-basement quality. You could do worse for your Halloween-season horror viewing than to rent/download/stream/ whatever this installment.

REVIEW:  Elysium **

Heavy-handed allegory where a future sees the haves enjoying their own space station away from the have-nots. The effects are good and Damon makes an easy-to-like hero. On the other hand, Foster's villainous Defense Secretary character is sort of a dead-end and the whole thing ends up feeling like countless other sci-fi action movies.

REVIEW:  Gravity ****

Involving, well-crafted story of the struggle of space engineers to survive after their work is interrupted by a catastrophic strike from debris. Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) finds herself basically alone in space, with only the reassuring presence of the more experienced astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) to guide her through the harrowing experience of trying to find a way back to Earth's surface. Once everything goes haywire, she must race time or face the real possibility of never getting back. Superb performance from Bullock, with Clooney likable as her guiding voice.

REVIEW:  Pacific Rim **½

Humans fight giant bug-like aliens while manning huge machine gear in this exciting, if a bit cliche, action story. Technically impressive, as it should be -- coming from "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Hellboy" director Guillermo Del Toro.

REVIEW:  Prisoners ***½

Intense, well-acted thriller stars Hugh Jackman as a man who becomes unhinged when his daughter is abducted and the law (represented here in the form of a detective played by Jake Gyllenhaal) seems slow in its investigation. In his frustration, Jackman takes the law into his own hands under the assumption that a particular suspect is guilty. If the third act, which reveals some answers to what happened, seems a bit too neat it is largely because of the escalating tension built through the rest of the film.

2013 Reviews Part One

REVIEW:  All is Lost ***

Worthwhile, if a bit too solitary, tale of survival at sea. Robert Redford gives a sturdy (and nearly-wordless) performance in a physically demanding role. Some of the visuals are striking, such as when we see schools of fish under the life raft Redford uses. Nevertheless, there is an element of emotion missing until late in the film, when the situation has finally led to a realization of doomed fate closing in. Still, it is an interesting time spent with one man fighting against the odds in an uncontrollable environment.

REVIEW:  Frozen ****

After a fairly disappointing year for animation, compared to recent times, we have a real winner in "Frozen." Taken from Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale "The Snow Queen," it is centered on a pair of sisters torn apart when the elder sister Elsa (Idina Menzel) accidentally hurts the younger Anna (Kristen Bell) using her ice-manipulating magic ability while the two play.

Their parents are told by a wise wilderness troll that Elsa's powers must be kept under control, which leads to her nearly total isolation from everyone else for fear that her power would be destructive. Increasingly lonely and frustrated by these circumstances, made worse by the death of their parents, Anna sees an opportunity to try to make up for lost time when Elsa's coronation ceremony occurs.

Unfortunately, an argument over a young man's proposal sets off a chain of events, leading to Elsa fleeing to the mountains and leaving the kingdom under an icy eternal winter. Not one to give up Anna follows, determined to make things right. Along the way, she encounters a man named Kristof (Jonathan Groff), his sidekick reindeer Sven and a lovably goofy snowman called Olaf (Josh Gad). This delightful animated musical was directed by Chris Buck (1999's "Tarzan" and 2007's "Surf's Up") and Jennifer Lee (2012's "Wreck-It-Ralph"), with music by Christophe Beck and songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Don't miss it!


REVIEW:  Still Mine ***½

Craig Morrison and his wife, Irene, have been married for 61 years. They live a comfortable life together, but Irene is increasingly ill from the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. After a series of events, Craig decides to build a new house on their 12-acre property that can accommodate his wife's needs. But there is a problem.

The local building authorities inform Morrison that he needs a permit to build on his own property. His initial reaction is incredulous, but he plays along and pays the $400 anyway. He continues to build. Before long, the regulators come back to tell him he is violating their code standards. He must submit blueprints for his plans. Again, he plays along, but doesn't stop creating his new home. There isn't time, the reasoning goes. His wife isn't getting better.

Eventually, Craig is brought into court for these violations. He has already pleaded with these people, showing them he has experience building, and even having the new place inspected. All to no avail. So now it is up to a court to send him to jail or allow him to keep the new home he has built.

James Cromwell, best known for his Oscar-nominated role as the kindly farmer in "Babe" (1995), gives an affecting performance as the aging husband trying to make sense of an awful situation. Genevieve Bujold also is lovely as his increasingly suffering wife. They both play their roles realistically, and without succumbing to the trap of sentimentalizing their circumstances.

The film, directed and written by Michael McGowan, reminds us that life doesn't necessarily get easier in old age, and that a true bond can remain strong through even the toughest trials. It is worth seeking out at your local cinema.
REVIEW:  Wadjda ****

Lovely film about one girl's gentle defiance of her country's traditional placement of women in society. Wadjda (Waad Mohammed) is a young school girl who longs for the seemingly simple joy of racing a bike with her male friend Abdullah (Abdullrahman Algohani).

Her mother (Reem Abdullah), knowing how society will frown on Wadjda for riding a bike, refuses to buy it. So the independent-spirted 11-year-old girl decides to raise the money herself through means that make her school's headmistress suspicious. Then she discovers a Qur'an recital competition and determines to win the prize money to pay for the bike.  Meanwhile, Mother is distracted by the looming possibility that her husband will take on a second wife and does not realize the situation.

"Wadjda" tells its story gently, and brings forth the political issues in a straightforward manner that allows us to focus on the innocent quest for a moment of childhood joy forbidden by a society with many contradictions.

Included in those contradictions is the fact that a society that doesn't allow women to drive and bans movies has produced a female director, Haifaa Al Mansour, whose film is the first from Saudi Arabia ever submitted for consideration for the Academy Award Foreign Language category.  [UPDATE:  'Wadjda' did not make it to the final ballot for the Oscars, whose nominations were announced January 16, 2014]