The Normal Heart (2014) Movie Review

How would you react to seeing your friends, the people you loved, and anyone you really identified with, dying without any end in sight? That is the focus at the center of The Normal Heart, the new HBO film by Ryan Murphy. Set in the early 1980's at a time when gay men finally felt comfortable with their sexuality, and love. However it is not long before they start to get sick, unable to do anything to stop the AIDS virus from spreading. At the heart of this problem is Ned Weeks, an openly gay screenwriter who is fighting anyone and everyone who stands in his way to find a cure. Except the government seems to be absent when it comes to funding, despite overwhelming research conducted by Dr. Emma Brookner (Julia Roberts). So the war wages on while an epidemic threatens to wipe out an entire generation.

Originally performed as a stage play written by Larry Kramer, The Normal Heart definitely feels like a play. It's full of monologues, features a tight ensemble and is over two hours long. But, like a play, the performances shine through in it. Mark Ruffalo has never been better as Ned, pouring his heart and soul into every fit of rage, powerful monologue and emotional breakdown. Julia Roberts is equally good, bringing the sense of frustration and loss over not being able to do anything to treat these dying men, but never losing hope. Alfred Molina does strong work in a handful of scenes as Ben, Ned's brother, who wants to help but still isn't sure about this whole gay community yet. Jonathan Groff is also strong in a few scenes as Craig, Ned's close friend.

However, the performances from Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons and, particularly, Matt Bomer are what surprised me. Kitsch, known for Friday Night Lights and John Carter, is fantastic as Bruce Niles. He brings an honesty to the character, one who is still in the closet because he is in the army, yet doesn't know how to take in everything happening around him. His scenes with Ruffalo were always good. Parsons was a massive surprise for me. As someone who doesn't care much for The Big Bang Theory, he shows a lot of range as Tommy. While his natural cadence mirrors Sheldon Cooper a tad much, the underlying sadness and loneliness his character felt, along with a particularly moving funeral scene, won me over. 

But it was Matt Bomer who I think deserves some serious looks for Emmy voters. Known primarily for the show White Collar, as well as Magic Mike, Bomer gives a gut-wrenching performance as Felix Turner, Ned's lover. He plays into the fact that he's very handsome, but throws you off with a vulnerability, and later, a sense of looming fear and death that gave me a lump in my throat. That, along with the grueling transformation he went through, showed me an actor looking to get his hands on more substantial work.

Make no mistake though, this film isn't for everyone. If homosexuality makes you uncomfortable in the least, you will not like this movie. There are sex scenes, plenty of kissing, and nudity to go along, and the movie does a good job of normalizing it for the viewer, instead of making a big deal of it. Also, a dude with a giant dong walks by in the first five minutes, so if you can't hang through that, you'll be okay.

While the film mainly suffers from pacing problems, and a needlessly long running time (the first half of the film feels long), it is still something that should be watched. Showing the destruction the AIDS virus caused, even at the beginning, and the lives it tore apart put a lot of things into perspective. It is a reminder that the war against it is not over, and needs to keep being fought.

Grade: B

Enemy (2014) Movie Review

Double dose of Jake Gyllenhaal aka Handsome McBeardy-Face

How can we really know who we are? Are we everything we perceive ourselves to be, or simply different figments of an unrealized whole? That is the driving force behind Denis Villeneuve's film Enemy, a slow-paced, mind bending, character study into a man who has found his doppelganger. Adam Bell (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a disgruntled, lonely professor in Toronto, who goes about the same routine daily. Teach, grade papers, get drunk, and have sex with his girlfriend Mary (Melanie Laurent). One day, at the recommendation of a colleague, Adam rents a movie, and seemingly spots himself in the movie. Confused, he searches and finds out there is an actor named Anthony St. Claire, who looks and sounds identical to him. From there, Adam begins to obsess over Anthony, taking himself down a path of self destruction. Or is he?

While the movie makes you think and try to solve the mystery behind the characters, it is squarely placed on the handsome shoulders of Jake Gyllenhaal to carry the film. And carry it he does. Playing the double roles of Anthony and Adam, Gyllenhaal brings a subtly and nuance to both performances that is undeniable. As Adam, he is refrained, quiet and constantly hinting at a deep underlying rage. And as Anthony, he is confident, arrogant and seemingly ready to blow given the opportunity. The fact that I actually forgot that it was the same actor, and simply viewed them as two characters is a testament to his performance and also helps to  give both characters a certain air of ambiguity.

Laurent is also good as Adam's girlfriend, sick of his borderline disinterest in all things except sex. Acting more as a tool to take out Adam's sexual aggression, Laurent still brings her usual level of performance, garnering the right amount of sympathy for a part most seen, and not often heard. Sarah Gadon is also very good as Anthony's pregnant wife, who seems to love Anthony to a fault, but is also tired and frustrated of his arrogance, both members of the marriage ready to start yelling at the drop of a hat. I read people complain about how their characters feel underwritten, but in the grand context of the film, it makes sense why we know what we know about the characters, and how they behave.

Being his second film of 2013, after the critically acclaimed Prisoners (also starring Jake Gyllenhaal), Denis Villeneuve is a filmmaker who is more interested in making a good, interesting film, than something accessible to everyone. Where Prisoners was hard to watch because of it's brutality and dark subject matter, Enemy is a very confusing slow burn. While he creates a sense of despair and paranoia among the characters, he excels at driving a film forward. The driving force being that, as a viewer, I genuinely had no idea what was going to happen next. So many intricate details are lightly sprinkled throughout the film, that it was on a second viewing that I began to put together more of the puzzle.

And make no mistake, the movie is a puzzle, ultimately, with no right answer. A lot of viewers enjoyment of the movie will hinder on their interpretation of the ending, and the subsequent mystery. And despite some flaws, the main one being the God-awful pacing of the film, it a film for those of use who like our films to live in a constant grey area.

Grade: B+

Godzilla (2014) Movie Review

Andy Serkis with ping-pong balls

The first time I saw Monsters starring Scoot McNairy, what really caught my eye was the attention to character that director Gareth Edwards put into making the viewer care about humans in that monster movie. Even while working on a very small budget, he was able to evoke a sense of dread and constant unnerving that many big budget summer films fail to do. So when I heard he would be directing the new Godzilla, my expectations were somewhat lifted. The last time Hollywood tackled Gojira, we got Mama Godzilla protecting her babies in Madison Square Garden. Fuck you Roland Emmerich. But then I started seeing trailers and promotion for this film and got excited. While it may not live up to the hype, it is still an engaging film.

Starting in the 90's in Janjira, Japan, the Brody family, consisting of Sam, Joe (Bryan Cranston) and Sandra (Juliette Binoche) begin their days like anybody else. When what seems like an earthquake hits the nuclear plant that Joe and Sandra work at, Joe must leave the plant and go to his son. Fast forward 15 years, with Joe being a broken shell of a man, convinced what happened at the plant wasn't an earthquake, and Sam (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in the army, tired of his father spouting conspiracy. When Joe is arrested in Japan, soon after Sam returns to his wife (Elizabeth Olson)  and son after a tour of duty, Sam must go and retrieve Joe. Little do they know, scientists Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) have been doing some of their own exploration, and when the same pattern of earthquakes, from 15 years before, shows up again, Joe's conspiracies no longer seem so far fetched.

I feel like that is the least spoilery plot synopsis I could give, seeing as we all know Godzilla is in the movie. What director Gareth Edwards does so well is not ruin the reveal of the titular monster. He ratchets up the suspense and tension, so that when we do finally get to see it in all it's glory, it feels well earned. He also has a keen eye on how to shoot action, with the HALO drop sequence looking outstanding. What he accomplishes is shooting the action and monster from the human perspective, making everything that happens feel larger and more epic. I feels like you are a human immersed in the experience, rather than someone simply watching from far away.

Another staple of Edwards work is his focus on character. While Monsters simply had two characters to follow, Godzilla offers much more of an ensemble piece. While Ken Watanabe and Aaron Taylor-Johnson take up a bulk of the screen time, and are fine within their roles, it's Bryan Cranston who gives a performance full of heart and agony. The character arcs suffer when he isn't on screen, as he gives the type of performance you expect from a character drama and not a summer blockbuster. 

I do wish they would have given Watanabe and Elizabeth Olsen more to do, as Watanabe is relegated to looking mistified by Godzilla, and Olsen plays the damsel in distress. I can't stay mad at Olsen though, as I love her and all. Oscar nominees Sally Hawkins and David Strathairn are fairly wasted, as Strathairn plays an army general used to update the viewer on the army's plan for Godzilla and it's progression, though he is given some nice scenes before the climax of the film. Hawkins plays a throw away role that could have been played by anyone, bringing little to the plot, and working as a device to inform the viewer about the science aspects of the film.

But obviously, what we come to a big budget summer movie about monsters for is the Fuck-Shit-Up aspect of the film. And boy, do things get wrecked. Cities are destroyed, people are killed, and it gives an authentic feeling to how people would react to a giant monster in their city. First, a sense of awe, instantly followed up fear and panic. Edwards knows how to make Godzilla cool again, and there were several moments where I turned into a child and just went "That was so freaking cool!". 

While not a perfect film by any stretch, Godzilla is a lot of what we can expect from a good monster movie. It makes the monsters cool, scary, and awesome, and makes the people feel real and adds stakes to the film. Yes, it suffers from being about 15-20 minutes too long, and the occasional illogical coincidence, but those can be forgiven in favour of an entertaining film. This feels like Pacific Rim for the more passionate film watcher, as opposed to a general audience.

Grade: B-

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) Movie Review

Ringo, John and Paul

How far would you have to go to stop your own annihilation? That is the question prompts the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past. When the mutants of the present are on the brink of extinction, being wiped out by the seemingly indestructible Sentinels, Professor X and the rest of the remaining prominent mutants decide that going back in time to 1973 and stopping the Sentinel Program from ever being operational is the best bet. However, having your mind sent back in time is a process is pretty rough, so it's decided that Wolverine is the only one who can stand doing it. Once you get past the somewhat confusing aspects of time travel, Days of Future Past is an excellent film that may be the best X-Men film yet.

Being helmed by X-Men and X2: X-Men United director Bryan Singer, Days of Future Past is a huge return to form for the franchise. While I really enjoyed X-Men: First Class, many of the mutants felt underwhelming and not well thought out, and while there are a few new faces (Blink, Warpath, Sunspot, Bishop) that don't get much of an introduction, their powers and the fight scenes with them more than make up for it. In particular, Blink (Bingbing Fan) was pretty cool. Also, Warpath was played by a guy named Booboo Stewart. I just want you to think about that. Anyways, what Singer does is balance the timelines of the film, dedicating just enough time to  the present day situation to keep us emotionally invested, while letting us see how the past plays out. Along with writer Simon Kinberg, they manage to put forth two engaging story lines that are ultimately part of one cohesive story.

Part of that cohesive story is delving deeper into the relationship between Professor X (Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy) and Magneto (Ian McKellan and Michael Fassbender). While First Class showcased the dichotomy of their friendship, this goes into their history as friends and enemies, both wanting to mend old wounds, but not wanting to budge. While we know that McKellan and Stewart are sublime actors who bring gravitas to these roles, McAvoy and Fassbender really make them their own as well. McAvoy is great as a young Charles no longer able to deal with pain and loss, while Fassbender has charisma for days and makes you see why people would follow him into the Brotherhood. McAvoy, in particular, has a scene where he confronts himself that is sublime. We really get to see what makes him who he is.

While we get our regularly scheduled dose of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) throughout (don't worry, he's as good as always, if not a little subdued), it was nice to see a much more expanded role for Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), which is obviously due to her becoming the most popular actress in the world, and an Oscar winner to boot. But she handles her scenes well, showing someone who, through pain, anger and betrayal, has lost their way. Beast (Nicolas Hoult) also gets more time to shine, and does a good job. But I have to end this paragraph by talking about Quicksilver (Evan Peters). When pictures came out with his look for the film, fans protested and booed. Fear not, nerds, he's awesome. Though only being in a couple of scenes, he easily steals the movie in one of the best scenes in the entire movie, and Peters finds the right mix of humour bewilderment to nail the character.

I feel like I could keep talking about this movie, because honestly there's so many people I haven't mentioned yet. Mutants such as Storm (Halle Berry), Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), Colossus (Daniel Cudmore) and Havok (Lucas Till) all return, as well introducing us to William Stryker (Josh Helman), and Bolliver Trask (Peter Dinklage). Your connection to the returning mutants and their plight is dependent on whether you've seen the previous films or not. All the actors are good, though I wish they would put in more of an effort to show how bad ass Colossus can be. 

If there was one thing that was missing, it was a central antagonist, such as how Sebastian Shaw was in First Class. But the more I think about it, the more I like that the mutants biggest enemy was themselves. Perhaps that's me simply  reading too much into an underwritten villain, but it was an interesting approach.

Ultimately, I'm excited to see what Singer can do in his next outing, as he's been confirmed to direct the next one. X-Men: Days of Future Past is a film that is fan service. Not in the sense of winks or nods to Easter eggs, but more-so that it is a superhero movie done right. Balancing strong acting, great action and an engaging story, this is a film worth seeing.

Grade: A