May 2014 Micro-Reviews

Well, folks- I've dropped the ball once again. Even though I've seen tons of movies during the first month of summer, I have failed to review most of them as of late. I promised that I would review every new movie I saw this year, nonetheless, so here is my roundup of all the films I've seen in May of 2014. I hope these micro-reviews will give you a good summary overview of how I felt about these pictures, and in the event you want any of them clarified and/or elaborated, I would be more than happy to discuss them more in depth with you.

So, without further adieu, here is the summer movie season's first month's reviews, presented in chronological order by release date:

Belle (Asante, 2014)

There's a recurring theme with this particular crop of films; no, they don't share the same morals, and certainly are very different from one another. But what combines these movies is there tendencies to just be... ok. A lot of them have really intriguing premises, and end up just falling short of the mark in some way or another. Take Belle for example. It's a wonderful little movie, with the beautiful and talented Gugu Mbatha-Raw playing the titular black character stuck in a whites-only Victorian society. She has to make sacrifices, and risk her inheritance and future marriage, just because of the color of her skin. But something about this film just didn't pop for me. It screams Oscar bait, yet besides the stellar cast, which also includes Tom Wilkinson as Belle's guardian and Sarah Gadon as her sister, there's not much else to this tale. It's a true story, bred for cinematic treatment, but for whatever reason, Belle didn't impress me as much as I wanted it to. Maybe it's because they played it safe, and kept a PG rating that told a story similar to 12 Years a Slave in a much more family-friendly fashion. Or perhaps because it was a costume drama that had little else besides gorgeous costuming and fine actors who wore them. The dialogue was overly cheesy, and should have given its heavy-handed messages in a much more subtle way. In any situation, I was disappointed, because I realize what Belle could have been.

Neighbors (Stoller, 2014)

I'm not the biggest fan of Seth Rogen, or any of the Judd Apatow crew for that matter. Which is why last summer, This is the End surprised me because of how genuinely hilarious these actors can become when given a sharp script and some satirical material with which to work. As such, I was excited to see many of the behind-the-scenes elements in play once again with Neighbors, a frat comedy with Rogen, Rose Byrne, and their baby becoming stuck as the next-door neighbors to Zac Efron's loud, partying fraternity. It seemed to have a lot of the right parts necessary to make a hilarious comedy, and it certainly did entertain in many respects: Neighbors made me genuinely laugh from beginning to end. Rogen and Byrne were great together, and while he still cannot act to save his life, Efron did a decent job as the story's antagonistic frat president. Dave Franco commits a solid performance as the intelligent vice president of the fraternity, and there's a fun little cameo by Lisa Kudrow as the university president. There's some interesting collegiate themes in the movie, about the importance of fraternities in the rest of your life, and learning how to cope once the partying ends and real life begins. The film, however, is largely forgettable; it fails to make any lasting impression on the viewer, and as such, audiences will hardly regret or appreciate their time watching Neighbors. It's just not a very memorable experience, and out of all the movies I've seen this year, this one shocks me with how little I remember it. I have already forgotten all the jokes, which shows how shockingly un-quotable this film remains. Not a good sign for a comedy.


Million Dollar Arm (Gillespie, 2014)

Once again, here's a movie that could have been so much more, if it weren't already so average. Million Dollar Arm is a very Disney-esque sports drama, which means lots of comeback tales and character trait switches, and has a morally upstanding message about following your dreams and being the best person possible. Jon Hamm is good as a sports agent who's office is lacking in the clientele department. He and his friend Aash (Aasif Mandvi, who shares great chemistry with Hamm) come up with an idea to turn two Indian cricket players into American baseball stars, which of course has its share of cultural boundaries and tough times. Of course, the two kids they find (Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal) are socially awkward, and have a rough time getting along the isolated Hamm. Oh, and did I mention Hamm has a sexy female neighbor who he doesn't get along with? Yes, it's a good story, but Million Dollar Arm is just one cliche after another. It's retread after retread after retread, and every step forward is two steps back in the plot. It does provide some interesting views of the world of sports agency, but if you want that in a better sense, go watch Jerry Maguire. I found myself bored and not very invested in this particular picture, if only because I feel like I've seen it before dozens of times.

Godzilla (Edwards, 2014)

I went in expecting Jurassic Park, and got The Lost World. Let me clarify: part of the thrill that comes with seeing a monster movie is the payoff one gets when they see the beast for the first time; the reason Jaws and Jurassic Park are so scary is because they take forever to show the shark and the T-Rex. The Lost World, on the other hand, shows the dinosaurs right away, bringing the amount of terror down to a minimalistic level. Godzilla, while surprisingly a really good movie, takes time building up the world's most famous monster, until out of the blue is just sort of appears. This ticked me off at first, but in hindsight, it's a personal preference that just annoyed me while I watched the film. From an objective critical standpoint, however, Godzilla is exactly what you want it to be: a rock 'em, sock 'em monster slugfest that pits the giant lizard against horrific flying bat-things. It's visually spectacular, with the Godzilla effects being used to peak efficiency; I was personally blown away by the sound, as every time Godzilla roared, the theater seats shook. I was also very happy with the wide scope of the whole thing, which features death-defying drops into the clouds and close ups of the monsters. It's some of the best use of 3-D I've seen in a blockbuster, and Gareth Edwards is a great new name in directing. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen's love story was actually sweet and not typically annoying, Ken Watanabe brings the rightful Japanese vibe to the narrative, and Bryan Cranston pretty much delivers his usual awesomeness in a small but showy role. I saw it in IMAX and was not disappointed; the bigger the screen you see it on, the bigger Godzilla is, and even though he's revealed in the wrong way, isn't that why you'd come to see Godzilla anyways? (Oh, and I guess you'd see it because it doesn't star Mathew Broderick. Let's pretend that disaster doesn't exist, shall we?)

Chef (Favreau, 2014)

Chef is a tasty treat, with just the right amount of ingredients to create a delicious tale about the necessity of trying new things and realizing where your tastes come from. (Ok, no more food metaphors, I promise!) Jon Favreau writes, directs, and stars in an authentic tale about a middle-aged chef who's unhappy with his routine cooking job and struggling family life. He wants to get his passion for cooking once again, and desperately needs to reconnect with his 10-year-old son (Emjay Anthony, who should get every juvenile award thats coming to him). But when his boss (Dustin Hoffman) fires him for trying to do something different, and a food critic (Oliver Platt) pans his latest dish, Carl Casper goes on a downward spiral of madness. His ex-wife (Sofia Vergara) wants to help him, however, and arranges for him to get a food truck, so that he, his sous-chef (John Leguizamo), and his son can rediscover their love of the art and each other. Also starring no less than Robert Downey, Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, this is an ensemble worth seeing at least once together. Friends off the set as well, they each bring their electric chemistry to the forefront here, which makes up for the movie's sometimes slow pace and jumpy editing. It may be a little overcooked in the message oven, but overall it's a juicy concoction of wondrous flavor that proves how mushy life can and should be on the inside (dang it, did it again!).

Maleficent (Stromberg, 2014)

As many of you may know, I'm a huge fan of Disney villains, and Maleficent in particular represents the pinnacle of darkness. In fact, see where I ranked her in my list of Top 10 Movie Villains of All Time and you'll see just how important she is to me. This is why I was so excited when Disney announced they were making a feature film just about her, giving her her own long-overdue solo outing. And I'm happy to report that I wasn't disappointed. While the character may be different from what Disney originally intended, Maleficent is still an incredibly layered character, with intrinsic and sympathetic motivations for every evil deed she commits. The film is beautifully animated, with some of the most realized environments since Avatar represented in the Moors. Elle Fanning plays a much more interesting Aurora than the original film, and Sharlto Copley is a good antagonist as the king of the humans. My biggest issue with the film is that it has zero narrative focus, and can't decide whether it wants to be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, an original tale, an origin of Maleficent, or something else entirely. It bites off more than it can chew in that department, and I blame the visually-inclinded director for that one. However, everything else about the film shines bright: it's reads like a fairy tale, and it is quite fantastic in terms of epic battles and solid music (including the gleefully creepy end credits cover by Lana Del Ray). However, the real reason to go see Maleficent is because of the evil fairy herself: Angelina Jolie is spectacular in this role. It's the sort of delicious villainy that the actress doesn't often express, and she chews the scenery around her wonderfully. Every line, every movement seems authentic to this great Disney character, and reminds us why Jolie got famous in the first place, before her tabloid-friendly life took center stage for her. No other actress could have played Maleficent, and Jolie looks and acts the part beautifully. It may not be the character you remember, but for what Maleficent is, it works. Come for the character, stay for Jolie, and walk once upon a dream again.

There's my May wrap-up for 2014! Hopefully, I can churn out reviews better than I have been so far. If you want to discuss any of the films above, I'm more than willing to talk about them in the comments below!