Begin Again (2014) Movie Review

Pirates of the Caribbean 12

Anyone that knows me knows I love movies about music. It's my musical theatre upbringing. If I can find a reason to be singing after a movie, it's a good thing. Hence why I watch all the Disney movies. And I loved Inside Llewyn Davis. I love music. Can I sing? Yes. Is it good? ..No, it isn't. I'm not a good singer. But whatever. I don't need your judgement. Anyways, it's rare that I watch a movie and have a big stupid grin on my face through most of it. But that's just what Begin Again, the latest effort from writer/director John Carney, does so damn well to me.

Dan (Mark Ruffalo) is an executive working at a popular record label. But the thing is, he hasn't brought in a good act in years, and is kind of a mess of a human. Gretta (Keira Knightley) is a songwriter who has lost the inspiration that made her good, and has reached the end of her rope living in New York. One night Dan hears Gretta at an open mic and loves her songs and knows he can turn it into something special. And so they agree to work together, and start the journey of trying to make a record.

Ruffalo and Knightley are both excellent in the lead roles. Dan is the type of guy who you know cares about the music, but has become tired and jaded. He loves music, but hates what the music industry has become. And it's a testament to Ruffalo's performance that we can sense everything he is feeling, as Dan keeps trying to build himself up again. Knightley, who I have admittedly never been a big fan of, is equally as good. Performing all the songs herself, she brings a natural vulnerability to Gretta that instantly makes you root for her, despite how she may sometimes act. Gretta is someone who believes in herself, but isn't sure anyone else does, and Knightley does a fantastic job bringing out her subtitles

The supporting cast is also very good. James Corden, who I'm pretty sure is my white counterpart, as Gretta's friend Steve brings the right amount of levity to scenes and is the supportive fat friend we all love to have. Adam Levine is also surprisingly quite good as Dave, Gretta's boyfriend, who is a big time musician working on his big follow up album. Then there's Hailee Steinfeld and Catherine Keener as Dan's daughter and wife, who he is currently not living with, but who both clearly need him. Both actresses are their reliable best, especially Steinfeld. And then there's Cee-Lo Green, who I'm pretty sure is my black counterpart, as a rapper named Troublegum, who owes his whole career to Dan. Classic Troublegum.

John Carney, who also wrote and directed the always wonderful Once, gives another movie that feels totally believable. He creates fully formed characters, who have their own traits and lets them live in this world. The fact that he makes you invest in these characters and root for them is something that is totally underrated nowadays. Yes, he probably could have directed a couple of scenes better. The opening scene I didn't find particularly well done, actually. But the film plays out in a way that feels natural and honest, and never tries to trick you or cop out. I think this is due to Carney's work. Also, go see Once on Broadway. I heard the show is really good.

Ultimately, Begin Again is a movie that rewards you for investing in its characters. It's a film that is partially about redemption, but also about finding your place in the world. Because sometimes, what you think of yourself, and what the truth is, are two completely different things. Also, did I mention I love movies with singing? Right. Now let me annoy my roommate with my raspy dungeon troll voice.

Grade: A

Nightcrawler (2014) Movie Review

Wait, this isn't X-Men

Have you ever believed your own philosophy so completely that you were willing to go further than you ever thought possible in order to achieve your self perceived destiny? What if you not only subscribed to that ideal, but also were willing to do whatever you needed to do, whether it was lying, stealing, manipulating or just being a regular ol' motherfucker. That's what you get from Nightcrawler, the directorial debut from Dan Gilroy, a movie so full of ideologies and anarchy that you'll have a hard time believing what is happening.

Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a hard worker. He's the type of guy that spouts lines like "If you want to win the lottery, you have to make the money to buy the ticket". When Lou figures out that he has a knack for being a freelance stringer, (guy who records events at a crime scene right when they happen, then sells it to a news station), he sets himself down a dark road of blood, twisted metal and, potentially, murder. You see, when you're a stringer, blood sells. So with the help of his assistant, a homeless man named Rick (Riz Ahmed), Lou sets out to record as many gruesome things as possible, and perhaps impress Nina (Rene Russo), an executive at the local news station, along the way.

First and foremost, this movie does not function without Jake Gyllenhaal. Looking gaunt and a tad terrifying, Gyllenhaal gives, perhaps, a career best performance. We've seen him play vvulnerable damaged, charming, witty and earnest. But the thing that separates Lou from every character that Gyllenhaal has ever played is that Lou is unhinged. He's a psycho, and he comes across as a ticking time bomb. He's terrifying, unsympathetic and has a stare that will cut right through you. It's a masterful, restrained performance from one of the best actors of his generation, and one that should garner some serious awards buzz.

Also very strong are the supporting cast, made up of, the aforementioned, Riz Ahmed and Russo, as well as Bill Paxton as a rival stringer named Joe. All three are great; Ahmed seems to effortlessly play Rick as a bohemian who gets caught up in Lou's fantasy and feels like he's getting in too deep. Russo is at top form as Nina, who will just as quickly praise your work, as she will call you out on bullshit. And it seems like Paxton is having a mini character actor resurgence. He was great in small roles in Edge of Tomorrow (Or is it Live. Die. Repeat?) and Million Dollar Arm, and he's fantastic here as Gyllenhaal's foil. I don't know what to call his mini-comeback. Paxtonnaisance sounds gross.

Writer/director Dan Gilroy, brother of Tony Gilroy (writer/director of Michael Clayton), crafts an interesting story that often plays on our morals. Is what is happening right? That's what I asked myself a lot of the time. The dialogue is crisp and feels real, and his direction is very good for the most part. At times, it feels like things could have been a bit tighter, though. However, it's a strong debut, and one that I hope he can follow up. 

The film mainly suffers from being a tad overlong, and has a bit of trouble finding it's footing in the first 20-25 minutes. What particularly bothered me was the score, by James Newton Howard, because it simply didn't fit the tone of the movie during that stretch. The score during the final two thirds is great, but the first little while feels like something you'd hear in an episode of Friday Night Lights.

Ultimately, I ended up enjoying the movie. Yeah, it sounds like I had issues with it, but I loved the way the story ended up playing out. And, oh yeah, Gyllenhaal acts so damn well it makes my nuts hurt. It's a story of greed that plays out well thanks to Gyllenhaal's grandstanding performance and my love of self-serving monologues.

Grade: B+

Interstellar (2014) Movie Review

What happens when the world is dying? When the human race is given their doomsday clock, and we have the slimmest chance for survival, does man fight for his existence, or simply walk hand in hand into extinction? The beauty of Interstellar, the latest film from Christopher Nolan, is that it asks you questions, then sets out to answer those questions. And it makes you, not only want, but need to talk about the film after you leave. I found myself thinking about aspects and concepts and ideas late into the night. What Interstellar made me ask myself (and the local Cineplex patron who, then, asked me politely to leave) is “If a big budget blockbuster can be this polarizing and ambitious, why do we settle for anything less?”

Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a farmer living off his corn production, in a world where the planet seems to slowly be dying. Earth seems to be rejecting our attempts to save it, and our end may indeed be in sight. There is dust everywhere, increasing as the planet becomes less habitable. Thing is, Cooper is also an engineer, capable pilot, and a man of science. He seeks to explain everything logically, trying to instill this nature into his son Tom (Timothee Chalamet) and daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy). When Cooper and Murph notice something off with the way dust settles in Murph's room, it sets them on a path that sends Cooper into space in search for human survival. It is really hard to talk about the plot of this movie generally, because so much of the plot relies on specifics, and I don't want to spoil anything.

What Christopher Nolan is able to, in terms of pulling you into this world and accepting the questions the characters are asking, and the stakes with which they live, is nothing short of extraordinary. The film is clearly a love letter to films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, and, like that movie, it is truly an experience. There are moments of true beauty that Nolan mines, whether it is a ship passing by a planet, only illuminated by the faint light of the sun, or glimpsing into a wormhole, or simply the embrace of family. I can't remember a movie that gave me such a sense of wonder and phenomenon. It's a blockbuster movie that seeks to stimulate you, and test you, as it never feels like Nolan is pandering, instead feeling like he is asking you to rise to his own level.

The performances in the film are all universally strong. Leading the charge is McConaughey, who gives a wonderfully layered performance. Cooper is a complex man who strives for simplicity, and it is fantastically embodied. One particular scene, in which he catches up on things he's missed will leave a lump in your throat. Equally as good is Jessica Chastain, who has made a career out of playing strong-willed women, as the adult version of Murph. There isn't a lot to say about her performance without ruining key points within the movie, so I'll just say it's quite good. Same goes for Anne Hatheway, playing Brandt, who is another astronaut going along with Cooper. The supporting performances from the likes of Casey Affleck, John Lithgow, Matt Damon, Topher Grace, Wes Bentley, Bill Irwin and Michael Caine are all strong as well. Not really a weak performance in the house, as is generally the deal with a Nolan movie.

Written by his brother Jonathan Nolan, and with the advisory of American theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, this is a beautiful and full realized film about space exploration that also uses accurate scientific (as far as I can tell, still waiting for Neil Degrasse Tyson to call bullshit on something). It totally invokes a sense of wonder, while giving full realized characters and ideas to explore. Also, it's pretty damn hilarious at times. Interstellar is shot wonderfully by Hoyte Van Hoytema, and Hans Zimmer brings the entire thing to life with another excellent score (though, at times, it was incredibly overpowering).

Yes, the movie suffers from problems. It's probably 20 minutes too long for most people. And the last 35 minutes or so could have been handled better. But those did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the film. And for those worried about the close to 3 hour runtime, if you immerse yourself into the movie, you won't notice it. And while I've heard people say it was boring, or too complicated, I would easily watch a movie willing to take risks and explore large ideas on a large scale than another Transformers movie (which we are getting because you fuckers won't stop seeing them).

Ultimately, this is unlike any film Nolan has made before; it's not a cat-and-mouse game like Memento and Insomnia, or a mind-bending thriller like Inception. It's a look into human nature and how we, as a species, will always seek to survive. At it's heart, Interstellar is a love letter to grand filmmakers of the past, seen through the veil of a man's journey to see his daughter again.

Grade: A

*Note: If you do plan on seeing it in theatres, see it in IMAX.