Can't believe it's been over 5 months since the last movie review post. I hope I have them all. Starting from the most recent (mere minutes ago).
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Wonderful storytelling and travel cinematography. A very pleasant surprise - heartfelt, warm, humourous with spectacular splashes of action. Beautiful job by Stiller, superb cameos and a lovely performance by Wig. As a once good boarder, I loved the skateboarding bits. Oh, and a great soundtrack, incl. Junip and Gonzalez.
9/10
Searching for Sugar Man
The rave reviews were justified. Wonderful story and music. Amazed that we still don't hear him on the radio (but then again, it took me a long time to find him too). Immediately downloaded his original two albums. All the grit of woodstock era folk, but still sounds contemporary to me.
9/10
Chef
A little bit of edge but lots of well rounded tasty goodness. Fantastic cameos that almost steal the show, but Favreau carries the emotional journey well and we get to enjoy probably one of his real life passions - food. Great music, laughs, locales and not to mention a couple of gorgeous ladies.
8/10
Inside Llewyn Davis
Beautifully acted and produced. Had forgotten it was a Coen brothers' film until the credits ran - and then it made sense. Goodman cameo, weird character interjections, pattern threads and the sobering story.
Subtle, but wonderfully crafted. A time capsule piece that left me a little flummoxed on the appeal of traditional folk music in the very hip village. Loved the reference to Reggio's, a fave of mine that may still be there on McDougal Street.
8/10
Transcendence
Interesting premise that got a little silly. Pretty disappointing actually.
6/10
Pretty funny, but not as good as the first one. Great cameos at the end - nice finish to poke at the state of news on tv.
7/10
I'd heard personal reviews about the intensity of this modern day war film, it was was deserved. Wow. It makes you believe that a tough soldier can actually sustain numerous bullet wounds, not to mention the inconvenience of broken bones and shrapnel. Incredible story of strength and bravery, and not just for the frogmen but for the Afghans fighting the Taliban. Impressive cultural glimpse into the traditional Afghan code of honor known as the Pashtunwali.
8/10
Wasn't exactly blown away. Much more subtle an experience that I expected. Experience is a pretty good way to describe it. And of course it was watching someone grow up and I felt I was there for the little things and the big events. He reminded me of my son quite a bit, with similar looks and the typical scarce dialogue of a teenage boy. But there is something very special behind their eyes. The chapters of years flow beautifully and very naturally. I can relate, the mix of excitement and sadness as my son leaves for university in a matter of weeks (at the time I saw this movie and wrote this review).
Superbly acted, directed and filmed.
I blogged a little while ago about a life movie, seeing the value of all the moments of a life put into a movie. Well, Boyhood appears to have done just this. A life drawn out across 12 years and just under 3 hours has plenty of memorable moments. You just have to recognize their beauty as it unfolds with you.
8/10
Predictable so so plot with great digital effects. Horrible accent for foster, plenty of questionable sci-fi details, but Copley was a great baddy. Over use of the F word throughout and some decent gory bits gave it a R rating, but happy to enjoy the action with my son.
7/10
Really enjoyed the fresh twist on the old fairy tale. Beautifully created, great cast and intriguing plot. Sure, there were a few gaps and questions, but for the most part, highly entertaining.
8/10
Artistic and well acted. But I couldn't understand a lot of the dialog - have no idea if that's how kids talk or whether it was created for effect. Very confusing plot. Almost gave up on it a few times. Can't really see how these are supposed to be high school kids. It was off from the start for me. I have to give it a low score but can almost see what other people liked about it.
6/10
Very novel idea. Why is it all alien invasion happen in modern times ? Great cast and Harrison Ford was surprisingly good. Good action, but scarier than the title makes out. But when it comes down to it, it's a western. I hadn't seen one in a while, I didn't realize I missed the genre. Entertaining for sure.
7/10
