31. Interstellar

December 24th in Chicago. Since this film is directed by none other than Christopher Nolan, it is a must see. Nolan directed, wrote and produced this nearly 3 hour film. There's a lot of science and physics involved. It's actually based on the theories theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, who served as a scientific consultant to the film and received an executive producer credit. My standing rule about science fiction films is that I try to stay away from the science aspect.  Since the filmmakers went to great length to try to keep the science real, so much so that Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dr. Michio Kaku have said some positive things. There were detractors given but this type of stuff always brings about debate. My goal will be to briefly describe the film without giving too much away. To be honest, I didn't understand the ending. I had to read this blog (I encourage checking it out) to at least say "oh, well that makes sense," but still not completely understand it. Here we go...

In the not to distant future, a worldwide crop blight has put humans in a bit of a pickle. Crops are failing all over the world and in the United States, only corn is growing and it's days are numbered (the blight aspect of the plot was criticized as it would have taken a really long time for this to happen). Enter Coop (McConaughey) a former hot shot pilot for NASA now a reluctant farmer. Coop lives with his father in law (John Lithgow) and his children; 15 y/o Tom and 10 y/o Murph (Mackenzie Foy). Murph thinks that her room is haunted by a ghost. After a dust storm, Coop and Murph deduce that there is "something" communicating with Murph through gravitational waves using a binary code. The binary code turns out to be coordinates to a secret NASA facility. Coop and Murph (who stows away in the truck) go out to investigate.

The facility is run by an old acquaintance of Coop's, Professor John Brand (Michael Caine), who fills Coop in on the fact that there were several Lazarus missions sent into a wormhole near Saturn to try to locate a new planet capable of supporting life. The wormhole was placed there by a mysterious "they." Ideally, Brand would like to see the Earth's population transported to the new planet but as a back-up, there are fertilized embryos for the repopulation of the species. Brand is planning a new mission to send a team for a follow-up on the beacons of 3 Lazarus missions (there were 10) that are sending back positive reviews of planets. It just so happens that Brand needs a pilot so he recruits Coop (here's where one can ponder the probability of a secret NASA facility so close to a former pilot's farm. The former pilot finds the secret facility and they just so happen to need a pilot, think about that one for a minute) and Coop agrees despite the fact that it will take him away from his family. Coop says goodbye to his family and Murph is none to pleased and she tells him so. It doesn't go well and Murph is really bitter.

The crew that's going into the wormhole consists of Coop; Amelia ( Anne Hathaway), also Brand's daughter; Doyle (Wes Bentley) and Romilly (David Gyasi). So here's the group that's been entrusted with the fate of humanity...

Wooderson

Catwoman 

The creepy neighbor kid from American Beauty

The guy most likely to die first because he's black. 

Through the wormhole, there are 3 planets to investigate. For some reason the choose the 1st planet that carries the greatest risk. The planet is very close to a giant black hole affectionately known as gargantua. One hour on this planet will be the equivalent of 7 Earth years. Wooderson, Catwoman and creepy neighbor kid from American Beauty will go to the surface, easy in easy out. No muss no fuss. Bad news, this planet is covered by water and is prone to giant tidal waves which hits the landing craft, kills Doyle and causes a huge delay. When they meet back up with Romily, 23 year Earth years have passed and Romily's old. There are also 23 years of messages from Earth. Coops kids are grown up (Tom is now Casey Affleck and Murph is now Jessica Chastain who now works with Brand back on Earth). After a debate, they decide that they will go to Mann's planet (Mann was considered the best of the Lazarus mission leaders) since his beacon is still emitting positive reviews. Turns out that Mann's planet is not all the great. Think Hoth from Empire Strikes Back. Turns out that Mann (Matt Damon) deliberately sent positive reviews over the beacon in order to get rescued (so much for his reputation) and sabotages his computer to cover it up killing Romilly in the process. While trying to kill Coop, Mann tells him that Brand's Plan A theory was never going to happen and Plan B was humanity's only chance.

Mann is unable to kill Coop (never send a scientist to do the work of a henchman) but does take the landing craft back to the Endurance (that's the craft that took them through the wormhole). Brand gets Coop and they chase after Mann. Not being a pilot Mann botches the docking procedure and damages the Endurance killing himself in the process. Coop is able to bring the Endurance under control. There's only enough fuel to explore the last planet and they'll also send the robot, TARS, across the black hole to transmit crucial data back to Earth that I don't understand. In order to lighten the ship and conserve fuel, Coop sacrifices himself and eventually gets sucked into gargantua. This is the part where you need to read the blog I referenced earlier. Let's just say that Coop is able to manipulate the time stream back on Earth and when the black hole spits him out, over 80 years have passed since his departure. He wakes up onboard Cooper Station, a space station (like the one from Elysium) named after Murph because she solved gravity, which allows for a successful Plan A.

Murph is over 90 years old and in failing health. She and her father have the goodbye they didn't have 80 years ago. Murph forgives him for leaving and tells him that Brand is still out there by herself. Coop, reunited with TARS, steal a ship head back through the wormhole to meet up with Brand, who is getting her colony started. Below is a chart that explains the adventure...

Hopefully that didn't give too much away. Some of the stuff I didn't like too much (like the fact that Coop more or less writes off his son because he's just a farmer) are things that probably didn't matter so much. It's a given that the secret NASA facility was going to be near Coop's home. If the "ghost" didn't tell Coop where the facility was then I'm sure that Brand would've paid him a visit when he was ready for a pilot. Who else was going to become

I liked this film a lot and I enjoy films that make me want to learn something or have discussions about it. This film did that. The visuals, the sound editing were spectacular and the acting was nothing short of excellent, McConaughey continues his run of brilliant performances dating back to 2011's Killer Joe. There's a lot of imagery that's similar to 2001 and that's not an accident. Nolan was noted as saying that Star Wars, Alien, Metropolis, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and even Blade Runner were also influences. I also couldn't help but notice that hope plays a big part in the decision making process. Much like Matrix: Reloaded, "Hope, it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness," hope forces rational logical people to make irrational decisions (Coop and Mann's desire to go home and Brand's hope that she'll meet up with Edmunds, a Lazarus mission leader who has a beacon still transmitting and her lover). Gravity came out last year, I liked that a lot but I think I like Interstellar a little bit more. If you're going to see this film, make sure to see it in the theater. We saw it in a theater that had assigned seating with the ass kickers in the seats. It was a cool experience. This is not the best film I've seen this year but it's in the top 5.

30. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

December 18th in St. Charles, MO. To be honest, I was neither hot nor cold on the 3rd installment of this trilogy and I only saw it to bring closure to the series. After the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the public wanted more of Middle Earth. Whether Jackson wanted to or not, he obliged by giving us the first installment of The Hobbit in 2012. Now The Hobbit is one book where the Lord of the Rings is three books. Just how (and why) was book stretched into 3 films? Greed (I saw all three pictures so I'm part of the problem). Since the filmmakers had to stretch the story out to 3 films, we got a Legolas backstory (that no one asked for) and a Legolas interest, Evangeline's character does not appear in the novels (someone probably felt that an elvish babe was needed a la Liv Tyler was crucial). There's all kinds of other discrepancies that to me are minor but Legolas is the biggest. It's as if the filmmakers or studios felt he had to be in there in order for box office appeal (there's no denying his ass-kicking abilities).

The plot is pretty straightforward. Smaug is killed after destroying Laketown and the survivors seek refuge in Dale. Thorin is becoming consumed dragon sickness as her searches for the Arkenstone. The survivors of Laketown team up with Thranduil's elves and his army digs in for an assault on the castle. Bilbo ends up with the Arkenstone and decides to give it to Bard and Thranduil to avoid bloodshed. Meanwhile in Dol Guldur, Gandolf gets rescued from the Necromancer and his minions (they're Ringwraiths) by the combined forces of Galadriel, Sauruman and Elrond (another Jackson creation). Legolas and Tauriel find out that there's an orc army led by Bolg heading for Erebor.

Things come to a head at Erebor. Thranduil is ready to storm the castle and Thorin is about to give in to the demands when his cousin Dain shows up with a dwarf army. With reinforcements Thorin tells Thranduil to shove it and the three armies get set to face off against each other. The three armies are the dwarves, the elves and the refugees of Laketown (who are refugees not a military force). Then Azog shows up and sends his orcs into Dale (army number 4) with Bolg's encroaching army rounding out the five armies.

The battle is joined and eventually Thorin decides to stop being a douche and enter the fray when the dwarf army is about to crumble. Legolas and Tauriel show up just ahead of Bolg and there is carnage all over the place. Legolas kills Bolg, Thorin kills Azog but is mortally wounded. Thorin and Bilbo make peace. Gandalf showed up too and killed some orcs as well. Thorin dies, without the Arkenstone and without restoring his kingdom. Legolas is sad because he defied his father Thandruil and no longer wants to go back. Tauriel is said because Kili was killed, which also saddens Legolas because Tauriel had a thing for Kili (love stinks). Gandalf and Bilbo head back to the Shire and the film ends into the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring (complete with Ian Holm reprising his Bilbo role).

This trilogy did a lot of things wrong. It didn't have the same feel as the LOTR. There was the painstaking detail of the production and there were actors portraying orcs. That's not the case here. It suffers from a lot of the same problems (in my opinion anyway) as George Lucas did when he came of with the Phantom Menace, too much reliance on technology. There's also very little chemistry between Bilbo and the dwarves or any chemistry at all compared to the characters from LOTR. One thing I did notice is how heavily armored people can go into a medieval battle with swords and large war hammers, kill hundreds of orcs and not get tired nor very bloody. Given that elves are bad ass when it comes to combat but dwarves and men are going to tire. With all the up close and personal killing, people (dwarves, men, elves and orc alike) are going to get really bloody. The ground will be soaked with blood and there will be body parts and entrails strewn about as well.

Five Armies is not a bad film, it's probably the best of the three but it cannot compare to Return of the King from the LOTR series. It will do well at the box office but I don't believe it will have the staying power as Return of the King did back in 2003. The acting is good overall and Martin Freeman is a good Bilbo. Richard Armitage (Thorin) also does well but he spends a lot of time brooding, monologuing and giving looks to the camera as if he were in a YA vampire film. I kind of felt that Ian Mckellan was going through the motions as Gandalf. His role did seem smaller in the Hobbit films than LOTR but he seemed bored. Legolas doesn't say much which only seems to strengthen the arguments that Orlando Bloom can't act. Luke Evans (Bard) did a nice job but I think his character wasn't developed at all.

All in all the film wasn't that great. It seemed to me that Jackson just got tired of all the work and cut corners. When he made the LOTR films, he was so consumed by its production that he lost a lot of weight. With the Hobbit trilogy, he let CGI take the forefront and phoned it in. The LOTR films were all great films culminating with Return of the King. The Hobbit films were ok at best and seemed more like a cash grab. 

29. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

December 12th in Chicago, IL. This film was and still is getting a lot of buzz. It currently holds a 93% on RottenTomatoes.com and has received a few Golden Globes. The film is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (he also receives a screenwriting credit), who has done some amazing work in the past and sports and all-star cast (Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton and ach Galifianakis to name a few). This is considered an independent film that's probably just getting a wide release now.

Keaton is the protagonist, Riggan Thomson. An actor who garnered success and fame as the main character of a superhero film franchise (Birdman) but he stepped down after the first few installments. After he left the cape & cowl, his career kind of took a downward swing. He's now trying to reinvent himself on Broadway by directing, writing and starring in an adaptation of Raymond Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." Thomason feels that this is his last chance at a redemption of his career (people only know him as Birdman). The other actors in the play include Mike Shiner (Norton), a douchey Broadway method actor; Laura (Andrea Riseborough), Thomson's girlfriend and Lesley (Watts), Shiner's girlfriend. Sam Thomson (Stone) is Riggan's fresh out of rehab daughter who's helping out around the theater and Jake (Galifiankis), Riggan's partner and attorney, are also spending a lot of time around the theater as they all get ready for opening night.

Thomson is on edge, he is dealing with the responsibility of getting ready for opening night as well as the stress of having a successful (it's his last chance and he's leveraged to the hilt) opening and trying to reconnect with his daughter. He's also got the added problem that his old alter-ego of Birdman is talking to him and occasionally showing up. Birdman tells him throughout the film to just return to the role that made him famous. Things get hectic as opening night approaches; Riggan and Shiner butt heads, Riggan locks himself out of the theater during a preview in his underwear and gets filmed walking around to the front of the theater, he finally has a heart to heart with Sam about what a cruddy father he was and he's informed by the one theater critic (played brilliantly by Lindsay Duncan) who can make his play a success that she despises Hollywood types trying to pass themselves off as real actors and that she will sink his play regardless.

During the opening night performance at the climactic scene, Riggan substitutes the prop gun for a real gun and shoots himself in the head prompting a standing ovation from the audience (the bitchy critic leaves in disgust). At the hospital it turns out that Riggan just shot his nose off. Jack tells him that the review was great and the play is all everyone is talking about. While in the hospital there's a scene where Riggan is in the bathroom checking out his wounds in the mirror and he spots Birdman sitting on the toilet reading a newspaper with a look of contempt on his face (my guess is that he realizes that Riggan no longer needs him so he's relegated to the toilet). Riggan then ventures to the window after hearing birds outside. Sam enters the room seeing that Riggan is gone and the window open. She rushed to the window and looks towards the street for a body and finds none. Puzzled she looks at the sky and smiles. Fade to black.

I thought this was a really good film, maybe not as great as people say but a real good film nonetheless. Excellent acting all-around, especially from Keaton. I felt that Norton's performance was spot on as a Broadway actor (or what I figure to be a Broadway actor). I kind of got the feeling that Duncan's role as the critic is what Broadway critics are really like: the only "true acting" is on the stage. That's probably why Riggan wants to have his career "last stand" on Broadway, to be taken seriously (finally!) as a true thespian.

The main characters are more or less largely unlikeable. Riggan is obsessed with his own success and a bit crazy. Shiner's a jerk. Sam plays the standard rich girl "daddy issues" type. Iñárritu also employed several long shots to give the feel of long continuous shots to make it more like a play (my theory) and it was really cool to see that. There was some stuff that I didn't think was very necessary, like when Riggan would periodically use telekinesis or exhibit other meta-human properties. I get it, he's got a real problem with the Birdman persona. It was not necessary for me to see that, I and I'm sure other, could see the madness trying to creep in. I guess the powers show that the Birdman persona is close to taking him over but what do I know. It would not surprise me if Birdman takes home a couple of Oscars come March. I look forward to seeing what Iñárritu comes out with next (The Revenant in 2015).

28. Blue Ruin

Saturday November 29th on Netflix. This is a good, solid no frills revenge film from Jeremy Saulnier who wrote and directed the picture. This is a minimalist film with a relatively unknown cast and a straight forward plot. The protagonist is Dwight (played by Macon Blair), a man who's living the life of bum out of his car on the beach in Delaware. Dwight lives hand to mouth and is prone to break into a vacationing homeowner's house to get a shower, hot meal and a change of clothes. One day while sleeping in his car, a policewoman rolls up on him and asks him to come into the station. It turns out, the man who killed his parents, Wade Cleland, is getting paroled form a Virginia penitentiary. So Dwight gathers his things and sets off for home.

Dwight drives to the penitentiary and follows Cleland and his family to a roadside bar where they will apparently celebrate Wade's release from the state. Dwight manages to get into the establishment unnoticed and waits for Wade in the bathroom (guy's gotta pee right?). Dwight ambushes Wade in the john and kills him. He then cuts himself while trying to disable the Cleland vehicle only to realize that he lost his own car keys in the bathroom struggle. Dwight's got to get out fast and he opts to take the Cleland vehicle with the flat tire. He doesn't get very far when he realizes theirs a teenage boy in the backseat. He ditches the car on the side of the road and makes his getaway on foot.

Dwight gets cleaned up and manages to get to his sister Sam's (Amy Hargreaves) house. This is where we learn that Dwight more or less just skipped town after his parents murder and trial. Dwight tells Sam that he killed Cleland but when the news of the murder isn't on the news, he realizes that the Clelands never called police and could be looking for him considering they have his vehicle. They may not know where Dwight is but they can find Sam. Dwight gets Sam and her daughters out of town and lies in wait for the Clelands to show up. Which is exactly what they do. In the shoot out, Dwight wounds and captures one of the Clelands but takes a crossbow bolt to the leg.

Dwight enlists the aid of an old high school buddy, now a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ben (played by Devin Ratray) for the use of a weapon. Dwight questions Wade's brother Teddy at gunpoint (Teddy explains that their mother was having an affair with Dwight's father and it was the senior Cleland who murdered Dwight's parent not Wade. The elder Cleland had cancer and Wade did the time) Teddy turns the table on Dwight and gets the gun only to be shot by Ben. The funny part (in a dark comedic way) is that Ben chides Dwight for being 2 yards away and missing his target.  Ben then tells Dwight that if he's going to kill the Clelands, it's best not to start monologuing.

Dwight tracks down the Cleland residence and hides out until they arrive. The Clelands live like standard stereotypical rednecks. Out in the woods, kind of off the grid or at least on the fringes of it and huge proponents of the 2nd amendment. They've got guns al over the place. When the Clelands arrive home, they're surprised by Dwight. Then Dwight starts to monologue which allows the youngest Cleland to shoot and wound Dwight but Dwight manages to disarm the teenage boy (who was in the back seat when Dwight took the car in an earlier scene). The boy, 15 years old, is Dwight's half brother. The product of his father's affair. Dwight tells the boy to get out. The Cleland matriarch (played by none other than Eve Plumb, that's Jan Brady!) grabs a Mac10 from under a recliner (the Clelands were probably waiting for a ATF raid due to Obama was coming to take their guns away, another redneck myth) and opens up on Dwight. After the dust has settled, the Clelands are dead and Dwight has been severely wounded. That's where the film ends.

As I mentioned above, this is a pretty straight forward story. There's not a lot of dialogue or character development. It's a straight revenge film. Its gritty, dark and gets right to the point. Even when Dwight learns of his father's affair, it doesn't change much, other than sparing his half brother. Dwight knew this probably going to be a no return trip.This is another film that is not for everyone, as it can sometimes move a little slowly and when there's violence, it's really violent. But I think that's where Saulnier capture the reality of situation. Exacting revenge takes time and it can be slow. Death by violence is a bloody mess. Blue Ruin got a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and I can see why. It never got a wide release but it's out there now and I recommend it though it's not for everyone. I look forward to Saulnier's next project.

27. A Most Wanted Man

This was another On Demand film over the Thanksgiving break that we viewed on Saturday November 29th.

Based on the 2008 novel by John le Carre, directed by Anton Corbijn and boasting a solid cast including; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Willem Dafoe and Rachel McAdams. Hoffman is Gunther, an espionage agent and in charge of a group that is developing intel in the Hamburg Muslim community. His group operates as part of a greater agency (that's never really mentioned but you get the idea that it's the German equivalent of the CIA). Gunther and his team are alerted to the presence of Issa Karpov, a Chechen national who the Russian suspect of having terrorist ties (despite the fact he was in their custody for a lengthy amount of time). Issa is taken in a Muslim family and gets put in touch with Annabel Richter (McAdams), an immigrant lawyer. Issa is in Germany illegally and needs Annabel's help retrieving a family fortune from a bank, a bank run by Tommy Brue (Dafoe).

Meanwhile, German intelligence officials and U.S. attache Martha Sullivan (Wright) begin to take an interest in Gunther's Karpov case. It turns out that Karpov is the son of a Russian general, via the raping of Issa's mother, who worked with Brue's father laundering money. The German officials want to bring Issa in but Gunther want to cultivate him as an asset and feels that bringing him in would leave them in a worse spot as he has his eye on a bigger prize, Muslim philanthropist, Dr. Abdullah. Abdullah is not an extremist and is very Western friendly except that he may be fronting money for Al Qaeda, but Gunther hasn't been able to put the pieces together.

Gunther manages to get everything in place, he's got Richter and Brue working for him. Issa doesn't want the money for his own use but gets convinced by Richter to donate the money to Dr. Abdullah so he can get it to Muslim charities. It's all going to go down at Brue's bank. They get the list of the charities and they all check out. When they deal is going down, Abdullah slips in a new charity, a shipping firm that will help get the aid to those who need. That's the link to Al Qaeda. Gunther has a plan in motion to bring Abdullah in and use him as an asset.

That plan falls apart as Sullivan and the official who was against Gunther ambush Gunther and capture both Issa and Abdullah. Gunther can only just walk away, dejected. He had been sold out by the Americans and you get the feeling this wasn't the first time.

This was pretty good modern day spy thriller. It moves a little quicker than le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and it's not as long. It's also not quite as intriguing as that film had a whole lot going on. The film gives a good portrayal (not that I would know) of how a person becomes an asset. Gunther is quick to point out to one informant that, he made the choice to inform and he was never forced. Which is true, only Annabel gets a strong arm treatment by being put into isolation for a brief period of time. Other than the redaction, she's never mistreated. She agrees to help Gunther when she's convinced that they're not after Issa.

The acting in this film is nothing short of excellent, even McAdams who I don't like all that much. Corbijn does a nice job with the pace of the film as it never really slowed down too much despite the lack of any real action. I remember seeing the trailer but it seems like this came and went really quickly. Which is too bad because this is a solid film.

26. The Babadook

Friday November 28th On Demand. This is a film has been in more than 1 blog/article about underrated horror films of 2014. It even had a short run at the Music Box in Chicago. My girlfriend digs horror films (mainly the possession genre) and since it was over the Thanksgiving break we decided to give it whirl.

This Australian horror film was written and directed by former actor Jennifer Kent, her 1st feature film. The film is about a single mother and her troubled 6 year old boy. The boy's father died in a car accident on the way to the hospital the day of his birth. Both the mother and father were classical musicians and since her husband's death, she works at a convalescent home to pay the bills. So one night Samuel (Noah Wiseman) wants his mother Amelia (Essie Davis) to read him a bed time story, Samuel is that kid who doesn't quite fit in. So he picks out a book with no information other than the title. The book has got some spooky images and Samuel naturally gets spooked.

It's clearly a creepy book.

Sure enough, weird stuff begins to happen after Amelia reads the book to Samuel. She tries to get rid of the book on several occasions and the book keeps turning up. Meanwhile, Samuel is acting really strange. He has a seizure in the car, gets in trouble at school and brakes the nose of his cousin. All because of the Babadook. Amelia doesn't believe Samuel and takes him to a doctor to get sedatives so both her and Samuel can get some sleep. Amelia's life is falling apart. She's lost her job, been abandon by her sister and when she starts hallucinating some creepy sh*t, she unravels.  The Babadook goes in for the kill by getting Amelia to kill Samuel. Samuel sets a trap for Amelia in the basement and eventually comes to her senses and they make a last stand against the Babadook and win.

Things are apparently back to normal. Samuel is back at school and Amelia is back at her job. They go in the garden and dig up some worms. While in the basement they lay out the worms in front of a dark corner. Like a chained up dog, the Babadook takes it's meal (part of the book says that once the Babadook is let in, you cannot get rid of it, it's written in a real creepy iambic pentameter).

This was a pretty creepy film and it is worth watching. It builds up nicely and never slows down. Noah Wiseman is really creepy as Samuel (if he was British then he'd be off the charts creepy!) and Davis is a great as the overwhelmed and helpless mother. Normally I don't go for these types of films because they're too hit or miss. The Babadook is a hit. It may not be a home run but it's an extra base hit for sure. If you're into scary movies then watch the film, it's worth it.

25. Filth

November 28th on Netflix. Based on the book by Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting, James McAvoy is Edinburgh Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson. To put it mildly, Robertson is a d*ck. He isa coke sniffing, alcoholic, evil misogynistic goon. Robertson is part of a squad of detectives that are up for promotion for the soon to be vacant Detective Inspector position. Robertson sees himself as the only viable candidate (which he probably is) and he will do anything to stack the odds in his favor. He needs to promotion to please his wife for some reason.

He gets tasked with investigating the brutal murder of a Japanese student. While he investigates the murder, he has an affair with a colleague's wife, insinuates that a fellow detective is gay, belittles a fellow detective and befriends a wealth lodge member only to steal money from him and make prank phone calls to his wife. He's a real piece of work. He's also got serious mental issues and probably has a bipolar disorder. We eventually learn that he was responsible for the death of his brother when they were kids. As the film goes on, his descent into madness speeds up.

While running down suspects in the murder he finds out that there was a witness to the crime (the murder takes place in the beginning of the film and the witness appears to be an attractive blonde woman who may or may not be a prostitute) but Robertson always seems to get sidetracked and is unable to follow through. Despite being a sh*theel, Robertson reluctantly helps a heart attack victim only to have him die while administering CPR. The wife of the man thanks him for helping when no one else would. This is the one selfless act he commits in the entire film. Everything he does is to put himself in the best position to get the promotion. Since most of his time is devoted to the theory of better living by chemicals, he hallucinates. The hallucinations get worse and worse over time.

Robertson gets so consumed with sabotaging everyone else's chances at the promotion, his police work suffers (the drinking and the drugs don't help either). He gets a particular bad hallucination with his psychiatrist (Jim Broadbent) its revealed that his wife in fact left him for another man and he has no access to his daughter. He's also started dressing like his wife in order to be closer to her (yeah, it was Robertson that witnessed the murder and that's why he never chased down the lead). When he runs into the the gang leader who killed the student he recognizes Robertson and beats him up (while in drag). He's about to kill him when Robertson throws him out the window. Now the cat is out of the bag and the promotion is out of the question. In fact he's been demoted to walking a beat.

Everything comes out, he was the one prank calling the wife of the wealthy lodge member (he bangs the wife too) and his affair with a colleague's wife leads to the suicide of the colleague. In act of redemption, he videotapes his confession of the prank calling and sends it to his friend (who eventually used the advice Robertson gives him and puts a spark back in his marriage). The film ends with Robertson committing suicide.

 This film reminded me a lot of Trainspotting for obvious reasons. Robertson is a despicable character who few redeeming qualities. I felt that having him dress up as his wife and prostituting himself was a bit strange but I never read the book and maybe that was important. The film was directed by John S, Baird, who has only directed 2 feature films since 2008. It would be easy for people not to like this film because Robertson is so hate-able and you're rooting against him or at least hoping that he doesn't get the promotion. This ins't a film for everyone but I thought it was interesting. It was grimy, very dark and it tried to be humorous at times. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Filth topped the box office in Scotland it's opening week but saw a very sparse release in the U.S. McAvoy does a very nice job as Robertson. He really did a great job of being unlikable. There was solid supporting roles turned in by Broadbent, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Gary Lewis and Eddie Marsan. I would be interested to see the next film from Baird. I thought the film was interesting but it's not for everyone.

24. Zero Theorem

Wednesday November 26th On Demand. The Thanksgiving break brought some time to try and catch up on some titles. I saw the preview for this film awhile  and was intrigued. What's not to be intrigued about? It's directed by Monty Python legend, Terry Gilliam, and stars Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton and a cameo by Matt Damon. The film is set in some kind of ironically Orwellian pseudo-dystopic society (I don't know how else to describe it, but it's similar to Brazil) where Waltz plays Qohen Leth a programmer who "crunches entities" for the corporate conglomerate Mancom. Qohen is a little off but he's the top "entities cruncher" that Mancom has but he no longer wants to come into the office to work and has repeated psych evaluations in an attempt to work at home which fail as he's deemed healthy to work but he gets the use of a Shrink-ROM (Swinton), a digital psychiatrist. You see, Qohen's problem is that he's waiting for a call from a higher power that bring him happiness and validate his existence. He's obsessed with the call.

His boss Joby, David Thewlis, invites him to a party where he can meet "Management." Qohen is socially inept and he runs into Management (Damon) but he botches up the meeting. As he's trying to leave the party he meets Bainsley (played by the lovely Melanie Thierry) who seems to take a shine to Qohen after she saves him from choking on an olive but he's scared off because he's such a social misfit. The next day work, Joby informs him that he has been chosen by Management for a special assignment and he will get to work at home. His assignment will be to solve the Zero Theorem, a mathematical formula of mythic proportions. Joby reveals to Qohen that he himself was tasked to solve the Zero Theorem once but he burnt out and was promoted to supervisor.

Despite his lack of social graces, Qohen strikes up a friendship with Bainsley and Bob (Lucas Hedges), the teenage son of management. Qohen is given an AI suit by Bainsley so that they can get together online. One day Bob shows up and tells Qohen that the Zero Theorem is i supposed to prove that life is meaningless. Upset, Qohen goes online with Bainsley and wants to elope with her but Bainsley disconnects suddenly and the suit is damaged. We learn that Qohen had a regulary type life with a wife and home but his obsession with the call eventually destroyed it. Bob repairs the AI suit and Qohen connects with Bainsley only to find out she's a webcam stripper, leaving Qohen a bit depressed. Eventually Bainsley visits Qohen and tells him that she's in love with him (despite the fact she was hired by Mancom to befriend him) and wants to elope, Bob even encourages him to go but he doesn't.

Not sure I'd agree with that decision.

Qohen finds out the Bob is in declining health and tries to help him when he passes out. Here he learns that Mancom has been under surveillance since he started working at home. In a rage, Qohen smashes the cameras and destroys his computer, prompting Mancom to send employees to remove Bob and Joby stops by to let him know that he got fired as a result of his actions. Qohen puts on the AI suit and is rendered unconscious by an overload. Now Qohen is in the Neural Net Mancive where Management informs him that he was chosen for this assignment because he devoted himself to a call that would give him the meaning of life, thus making his life meaningless. Enraged, Qohen starts destroying the Mancive and jumps into a black hole (???). Qohen now appears on a beach in the same virtual world where he hung out with Bainsley. He hears Bainsley calling him and we are left to wonder if he's going to join her or if this all a dream in his head.

So Terry Gilliam is not for everyone. I did not understand a lot of this but I understood the point of Qohen's quest for meaning left his life meaningless. I'm still not sure that I liked this but I definitely didn't not like it. I kept thinking i should watch it again to see if i missed anything but I think I'd still feel the same way. Zero Theorem is not as dark as Brazil but it's just as bizarre. The color and visuals are pretty spectacular and the acting is brilliant but unless you're a avid fan of Gilliam or you're a film connoisseur, this may not be for you. There's a lot of background stuff that doesn't make sense and I'm still not sure why Bob had to succumb to bad health. Was it supposed to mean something? Was there a metaphor I missed? Did Qohen die from the overload and what happened afterwards were his dying thoughts? Maybe I should've watched Brazil before I watched this. I don't know this but I feel as if this film may have run close to 3 hours but it got cut down to 107 minutes and maybe some of the questions I had were explained. Or maybe not. The thing is, Gilliam's film are usually not very mainstream so he's not making films for the mass audience.
 

23. Nightcrawler

November 15th in Chicago. Dan Gilroy makes his directorial debut in this Fincher-esque thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo (director's wife), Bill Paxton and Riz Ahmed. Gyllenhaal is Lous Bloom, a bit of sleazoid and budding sociopath. Louis is robbing a construction site  when he beats up (or kills maybe?) a security guard and takes his watch. While trying to sell his haul to a contractor he asks about a job and he's turned down because he's a thief. Louis stumbles upon a car accident and meets Joe Loder (Paxton), a freelance cameraman filming the accident. Louis has found his calling.

Louis steals a bike and trades it for a camcorder and a police scanner to go looking for trouble. Louis films the aftermath of a carjacking and sells the footage to Nina (Russo) at Channel 6. Amped up by Nina's advice, Louis hustles and gets some good stuff. He even hires an intern, Rick (Ahmed) to help him out. Nina likes his work and he gets better payoffs. He soon upgrades his camera equipment, scanner and gets a fast car. Louis' hustle and drive (he goes so far as to start staging accident scenes to make things more gory, "if it bleeds it leads.") are what separates him from the likes of Loder. Loder, who has given the ungrateful Louis a lot of tips, tries to hire Louis but Louis turns him down. Loder then scoops Louis and reminds him that it could've been him. Louis decides to tip the scales in his favor by sabotaging Loder's van so it gets in an accident. When the call comes over the scanner about the accident, Louis is there to film the badly injured Loder being extracted from his mangled vehicle.

Since the only female Louis has anything resembling a relationship with, decides to pressure her into sleeping with him by threatening to take his footage elsewhere. Louis' big moment is when he and Rick beat the police to a home invasion in an affluent LA suburb. Louis films the culprits leaving the house then goes inside to film the carnage. The triple homicide leads to police detectives requesting the edited tape from Nina and eventually Louis finds himself being questioned as well. It turns out that the incident was a result of a bad drug deal but Nina opts not to use the info and keep with the "terror in the suburbs" angle. Louis uses the footage of the killers, footage that he conveniently edited out of the footage he gave to Nina and neglected to tell the police about. His plan is for him and Rick to follow the killers into situation where an arrest will be worth filming. He follows the killers to a restaurant and dials 911. The cops show up, a shoot occurs and then a high speed chase that ends in brutal accident. Louis lures Rick by telling him its safe to film the dead shooter. The shooter still has some life left and he guns down Rick while the camera is rolling. The film ends with Louis giving a motivational speech to his new interns and his 2 new vans.

Gilroy, who has more writing credits than directing credits, does a real nice job of showing the dark, gritty and often morally ambiguous side of "nightcrawling," the freelance journalism of chasing down crime, accidents and fires. It's sh*tty work but someone's got to do it apparently. Excellent performances all around. Gyllenhaal is excellent is the sociopathic Louis who apparently memorized a self-help book. Once he gets going, nothing will stand in his way. I still think he killed the security guard he tussles with in the beginning of the film. Louis is a creepy guy that one should back away from when he enters the room and starts talking. Russo is great as the washed up reporter turned editor who's kind of down on her luck until she meets Louis. The footage that Louis provides give Nina's career a boost and she does some things that are morally reprehensible and I think she knows it. But she's all about her career, after all as Louis put it, she "works the vampire shift" at the worst rated news station in the city. What choice does she have.

This is a very, very good film that is worth watching. This is one of the better films I've seen this year. Check it out.

22. St. Vincent

November 8th in Chicago. Bill Murray is Vincent; a retired, gambling, alcoholic, bitter Viet Nam veteran living in Sheepheads Bay, NY. Vincent lives alone and the only relationships he has is with his bar pals, Daka (Naomi Watts) the pregnant Russian prostitute that visits him weekly and his bookie (Terrance Howard). After driving home drunk and sleeping it off on the kitchen floor, Vincent is awoken to the sound of a tree branch falling on his car caused by the movers bringing in Vincent's new neighbors, recently divorced mother Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and her son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher).

The story is pretty simple, bitter Vincent starts to look out for bullied Oliver. Vincent and Oliver begin to take a shine to each other. Vincent endows Oliver with some street smarts and Oliver gets Vincent to become a little less bitter. Now Vincent does not like people but he always seems to do the right thing. He has a wife that has Alzheimer's that he visits in the nursing home weekly. He seems content with showing the world what a jerk he is instead of a cantankerous old man with a good heart. Vincent suffers a stroke when his bookie comes to collect. Maggie, Oliver and Daka all pitch in to help Vincent. Oliver gets assigned an assignment to find an everyday saint from his parochial school and guess who he chooses? Turns out that Vincent was a decorated veteran who saved some his fellow soldiers in Viet Nam and he's been visiting his wife for years despite the fact that she doesn't remember him.

This was a good film and a nice role for Murray but he seems to play and older less affluent version of Herman Blume from Rushmore. Solid acting all the way around especially Lieberher as Oliver. The film was written and directed by Theodore Melfi. Melfi has 15 producer credits since 1998 and has a few shorts to his director credits. There are plot points in the film that come off as potential big moments but don't pay off. Vincent takes Oliver to the track and with advice from Oliver, Vincent wills the trifecta. Vincent gives Oliver a cut and opens a bank account for him. Vincent empties the account but nothing every becomes of it. He still gets to be "canonized" by Oliver. When Maggie's ex-husband forces a custody hearing, it comes out that Vincent has taken Oliver to the track and to the bar. Maggie's ex then gets visitation rights. Again no repercussions. I guess since it's Bill Murray, it's all good.

This is not a bad film but it isn't all that great either. There's not a whole lot that's new and it seems Melfi is trying to make a quirky, character driven film a la Wes Anderson. There are some flaws but its a good film with solid acting all around. Worth a view if your a Murray fan for sure. 

21. The Quiet Ones

This was another On Demand viewing (this is a nice system that I am taking advantage of) that took place on November 7th. My girlfriend and I dig scary films. Now, I am partial to the stalk/slash films (from my 80s childhood) but she's into more possession type films. We've done a few Netflix binges that had some decent films and some bad ones. Which is the problem with these particular films, they are hit or miss. They flood the market and all can look pretty cool in the trailer but it's a crap shoot.

The film is loosely based on the Philip Experiment, where a group of parapsychologists try to prove that the supernatural does not exist (that usually means that it does indeed exist and with dire consequences). Jared Harris plays Professor Coupland, the Oxofrd professor leading the experiment, rounding out his team are Krissi (Erin Richards), the group hottie, Harry (Rory Fleck-Byrne) and Brian (Sam Claflin). Krissi and Harry are students of Professor Coupland and Brian is the cameraman hired to chronicle the experiment. The subject of the experiment is Jane (Olivia Cooke) a young woman who's spent most of her life institutionalized for various alleged mental disorders. Coupland manages to get a hold of her, convinced that she's not crazy and has the ability to manifest weird sh*t when provoked.

Since the mental health laws are pretty lax in England in the 70s, Coupland manages to stash Jane away in a remote country manor (remote being equal to death). The group take turns keeping an eye on Jane and also trying to provoke her manifestations. Sure enough, weird sh*t begins to happen and it starts to freak everyone out.

This constitutes weird.

As the weirdness mounts Coupland and the rest start to come unglued. Brian starts to fall for Jane and decides to do some investigating as he questions Coupland's story about her origins. What he finds out (without the internet mind you) is that Coupland lied about a previous experiment with a patient that turned out to be his son and that Jane's manifestation, Evey, actually killed the members of the cult that worshipped her in a fire. Jane is really Evey (not too sure how this happened but it did). Allegedly. Jane/Evey uses her telekinetic powers to dispatch Harry and Krissi in gruesome fashion. Coupland subdues Jane/Evey and knocks out Brian when they argue over her. Jane is strapped down to  gurney as Coupland is going to give her a lethal injection to stop her heart long enough for the negative energy to dissipate and cure her, allegedly. Brian breaks free, beats up Coupland and revives Jane/Evey. Jane/Evey mentally removes Brian from the room, kills Coupland and sets herself on fire. The film ends sometime in the future with Brian clearly institutionalized being asked about the events of the fire (he's been blamed for everyone's death), he goes a little crazy and his hands start burning just like Jane's. Fade to black.

This film moved a little slow and quite frankly was not that good. It mixes the 1st person narrative with "found footage" and it doesn't work all that well. There are some genuine scary moments but it's not enough to overcome the drabness. Jane/Evey is a bit too derivative of Carrie White and Charlie McGee and the rest of the characters were cliche as well (not only is Krissi sleeping with Harry but she's seeing Coupland on the side as well, a bit too cliche and it does nothing for the plot). The Taking of Deborah Logan is a better film in my opinion.

20. The Taking of Deborah Logan

I saw this film on Netflix on November 1st. This film was released on October 21st, a Tuesday, which means that it was a direct to dvd. Allegedly. I am putting it on this list because this film is the very definition of a hidden gem. It was produced by X-Men director Bryan Singer and not some unknown person. Usually with these types of films I issue a warning because there's so many of them that get released, you never what can be good or bad. Especially the "found footage" types.

Mia (Michelle Ang) is going for her PHD, she decides to make a documentary about Deborah Jill Larson), a woman with Alzheimer's. Mia is going to document Deborah's deteriorating mental state. Deborah is cared for by her daughter Sarah (Anne Ramsay) who lets the film crew into her home mostly because she needs the money. The crew is rounded out by sound guy Gavin and cameraman Luis. Things start off nice but then the weird stuff starts to happen. It slowly builds up and it comes to a head when Deborah starts to hurt herself.

Things get escalate from bad to worse and the weird sh*t keeps piling up and things get downright scary. Deborah's doctor can't explain it, and she goes through a battery of tests but nothing explains the behavior. Things get even more weird when Harris (Ryan Cutrona) starts getting a little too protective of Deborah. After a strange incident where Deborah's old switchboard mysteriously starts working after 30 years, the crew starts doing some digging and comes to find out that there were 4 murders committed by the town doctor who was never apprehended. After another trip to this hospital Deborah abducts a young girl with cancer and disappears with her but is found after a search.

It turns out that the four murders were part of a demonic sacrifice that was never completed and the demon (which will grant immortality) still needs a body. Harris frees Deborah from her restraints, and get attacked for his troubles and she abducts the girl again and takes off to the cave where the murders took place 30 years ago. The crew goes after Deborah and manages to bring the girl back safely after subduing Deborah.

This happened. Very creepy.

Deborah survives but she is in a completely vegetative state when she goes to trial for the murders she committed during the abduction. The film closes with an interview of the girl who survived the abduction and the cancer. At the end of the interview the girl gives the camera a look where maybe when Deborah tried to devour her, something transferred into her.

This was a low budget thriller that borrows heavily from films that have come before it. Derivative? You bet but what film isn't? Especially these types of horror films. This film is currently available on Netflix and I recommend and taking the 90 minutes out of your night and watching it if you're into these types of films. 

18. Fury

October 24th in Chicago. Written and directed by the talented David Ayer  the film is set in 1945 where the allies are making their final push into Nazi Germany and it centers on a battle hardened tank crew that has been together since North Africa. Brad Pitt is SSG Don "War Daddy" Collier, the gritty NCO commander of the tank named "Fury." Here's the rest of the crew:

• Shia LaBeouf: Boyd "Bible" Swan, the gunner.
• Michael Pena: Trini "Gordo"Garcia, the driver.
• John Bernthal: Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis, the loader and token redneck. A real unlikeable character.
• Logan Lerman: Norman Ellison, the 30 caliber machine gun operator. The green replacement who is actually a typist.

The film opens as Fury is coming back from a patrol. The 30 cal gunner was killed on the last mission and they need to get their replacement. The replacement turns out to be Norman Ellison, a guy who's been in the Army for 8 weeks and he's been trained as a typist. On their next mission, the lead tank is ambushed because Norman, who has a reluctancy to kill, wouldn't open fire on children of  the Hitlerjugend. Collier chides Norman for the hesitancy and lets him know that this is life or death. Their mission is to relieve US troops that are pinned down and make it to the next town. After relieving the pinned down troops, Collier makes Norman shoot a German prisoner to "harden" him up. He goes so far as to put the gun into Norman's hands and helps him pull the the trigger.

After a brief respite in the occupied town (where there are some very intense scenes), Fury gets its next mission. The tank platoon is to hold a vital crossroad several miles away. En route to the crossroads the platoon comes across a German Tiger I (in reality the German Tiger Tank was the most feared tank the Germans had. It had an 88mm canon, the allied Sherman tank had a 75mm canon, and was heavily armored) that proceeds to knock out the other 3 tanks in the platoon. Fury gets off a few shots but its 75mm shells bounce of the frontal armor of the Tiger. Their only hope is to outmaneuver it to get a shot into the Tiger's rear section.

After narrowly escaping the Tiger ambush, Fury makes it to the crossroads and hits a mine, crippling the tank. Norman, now a hardened Nazi killer, goes out on recon as they are expecting a German counterattack while the rest of the crew try to repair the tank. It doesn't take long for Norman to come back with a report that there is a column of German troops on their way. The fact that the Germans are singing, leads Collier to believe that's the Waffen SS. Collier then makes the decision that he will stand and fight, the rest of the crew can pull back to a safer location. Naturally the crew decides to stick with Collier, he's led them this far. There is wave after wave of German attacks on the tank and the crew slowly gets killed off, leaving Norman as the last remaining crew member. Norman uses the escape hatch and is able to elude capture. As day  breaks, Norman is rescued by an American force, the point being, Fury's heroic last stand was the difference in overcoming the German counterattack. The final overhead shot is of the bodies strewn about Fury, remnants of a bloody pitched battle. The waves of men that were broken on the tank. The horrors of war.

There's a lot to like about this film. With a few exceptions, nothing's clean. The soldiers have been on the line for a long time and it shows. I have no idea what it was like to man a tank in WWII but after seeing this film, I have a pretty good idea. It was miserable and close quartered. Whatever beliefs you have, inside a tank they need to be thrown out because every member of the crew must rely on each other to survive. Pitt is the stereotypical archetype of the tough NCO. He is capable of compassion as well as severe brutality when the need arises. He states that his goal is to get his crew home in one piece (as well as kill Germans). At the end of the day though he is a soldier and soldiers follow orders. He was tasked to hold this crossroad and he will hold it goddammit! With or without a fully functional tank and by himself if need be.

The crew is a mash up of different characters. Each has varying levels of unlikeability. Bible is the uber-religious guy, Coon-ass is the very unlikeable hillbilly straight from the 19th century and Gordo is the hispanic driver who is probably the least unlikeable (Bible is unlikeable strictly because he's played by the very unlikeable LaBeouf). Norman is the fish out of water here, much like Coporal Upham from Saving Private Ryan. Collier kind of takes Norman under his wing (maybe it's his innocence) and shows him the ropes. Collier is very hard on Norman at first but softens in certain times in order to let him know that they're both still human beings. Collier has a sense of responsibility to make sure his crew gets home alive and even though Norman is new, he's part of the crew and the pact holds true. Norman must be trained to survive under hellish circumstances.

Ayer does a sensational job of painting a picture of serving in a WWII tank crew. I don't know what that would be like but that's got to be pretty close. It's hot, dark, cramped and smelly (the BO is probably off the chart and combine that with the exhaust fumes, it can't be that good). This is dangerous work and mistakes mean the difference between life and death. The battle scenes are very reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan in terms of it's realism in portraying how the tank hands out death and what happens when a tank's number is up. It's not pretty.

This is a film worth watching but it is not for the faint of heart. The killing is gruesome and the behavior of the US troops in some spots can be a little unnerving. This is what can happen in a brutal war. As Ayer is a director worth keeping an eye on. 

19. Kite

October 24th in Chicago. This was another On Demand viewing. It came down to this or another revenge style film, Falcon Rising. Kite was a bad choice. Based on a 1998 anime by Yasuomi Umetsu where a young girl has her parents murdered by a crime syndicate and she exacts her revenge as a teenager.

The film stars India Eisley as Sawa, the lead character who seeks revenge for the death of her parents. Sawa has got some issues to say the least. She's a drug addict and she's a very lethal assassin. Sawa looks like a pale version of Selena Gomez running around in titillating school girl outfits mercilessly killing gangsters (not a bad a premise right?). Samuel L. Jackson is Karl Aker, the cop who looks out for Sawa in her bloody quest for revenge. Then there's Oburi (played by Callan McAuliffe), he has a past with Sawa but she her memory is hazy on account of the drugs (she only remembers the death of her parents) she doesn't know who the hell he despite the fact that he's always willing to help her out.

The film is set in a dystopian future where the global economy has collapsed and organized crime rules with an iron fist. Despite the fact that the global economy has gone in the toilet, Samuel L. Jackson is a detective (a well dressed one at that) in an international police force. To be honest, none of this makes any sense. If crime rules, why do the cops, who are outgunned, care if a vigilante knocks off the bad guys? They can't control the flow of drugs, human trafficking or roving street gangs but a vigilante cutting off heads of organized crime members is a bad thing. Sawa's plan is usually simple, infiltrate a gang by posing as a teenage prostitute, pick up any intelligence on the mob boss who killed her parents (I can't remember his name) and when she has what she needs, she kills everyone in bloody fashion. Aker is covertly helping her out by keeping the cops off her back and with her drug problems. As you might expect, Sawa hacks her way to Mr. Big and exacts her revenge. Aker ends up betraying her and she's got to kill him. A wounded Sawa and Oburi ride off into the sunset.

This seems to be a clear case where producers took a piece of popular anime and made a live action rendition with a more caucasian friendly cast. The street gangs (copied character for character from District 13) are mostly youth based that spend their free time parkouring when their not engaged in criminal activity and everyone knows some form of martial arts. There's not a whole of originality here but I found it interesting that Sawa's origin is eerily similar to that of O-Ren Ishii's origin. The original Kite anime came out in 1998 and Kill Bill came out in 2003, is it possible that Tarantino based the Lucy Liu character on Sawa? I wouldn't be bothered by it since Tarantino "borrows" heavily from obscure films that most of us have never heard of. I just think its interesting. Anyway, I thought this film would be a good way to kill 90 minutes but I was wrong. 

16. Gone Girl

October 4th in Shaumberg, IL. This is a really good perhaps borderline excellent film. Based on Gillian Flynn's book, director David Fincher stays close to the source material. The acting is solid and the narrative sucks you in but can be confusing at times. I didn't read the book but when Fincher directs something, I am going to see it. What makes the film interesting is that it gets people talking. It sparks debate, "dude, she was crazy!"

I don't feel the need to delve into the plot too much but I will try to be brief but not give anything away. Ben Affleck is Nick Dunne, he meets Amy (played brilliantly by British actress Rosamund Pike) at a party in NYC and hit it off. They hit it off so well they get married. Why not? They're the two best best looking people in whatever room their in. Nick and Amy are both writers (explains why they're both so damn interesting!) but Nick is a regular guy and Amy is a trust fund New Yorker. Things go bad financially for both, then Nick's mom's cancer takes a turn for the worse so Nick decides to move from NYC to a St. Louis suburb. While in Missouri, Nick's mom dies, Nick and his sister put their dad in a home. Nick and Amy continue to live in Missouri and Nick takes a job as a professor at a community college. Surprisingly, Amy doesn't work and is living an empty, miserable life in the suburbs (as most trust fund New Yorkers would).

Since I'm trying to be brief, Amy concocts an elaborate plan to frame Nick for her murder. While "missing,"the town and media turn against Nick and he eventually hires a renown lawyer (played brilliantly by Tyler Perry) for help. Things don't look good for him as the noose begins to tighten around him. Amy is hiding out and since the case has captured the nation's attention, relishes in Nick's suffering. Eventually Nick figures out what Amy is doing and starts to go on the offensive. He digs into Amy's past before they met and starts to learn some disturbing things. Amy's plan hits a snag (she gets robbed) and turns to an old boyfriend (Neil Patrick Harris) for help. That plan didn't pan out and she finds her way back to Nick (in brutal fashion). Always the victim.

Fincher is an excellent director and the flows seamlessly and doesn't really slow down. Dark and noirish, it is a great psychological thriller that never gets too clever for its own good. The acting is top notch (I suspect that Rosamund Pike will become a household name) with all of the cast giving excellent performances. There's a lot of notable faces and some some not so familiar faces. This is a must see film in any venue.

As I said before, like this film or not (I liked it!) this film will get you talking. Much like Fatal Attraction did for extra marital affairs in the 80's, Gone Girl will do for couples who think the "know" each other. Nick is no saint. He cheats on Amy and that's what sets her diabolical plan for revenge in motion. Nick isn't very hard to figure out but Amy is complex. Very complex. Is she sociopathic? It was clear that Nick had no idea what was beneath Amy's intelligent and beautiful exterior when he approached her at party. She clearly had a history of manipulative behavior and always seemed to be a victim. Amy narrates the film, she tells a story of a wonderful romance that just turned sour after time. But as the film went on, I wondered what was the truth. She writes everything down in her journal which is used to put the screws to Nick. But how much of it was real. Fincher makes the audience figure it out on their own. The ending is similar to that of Presumed Innocent, when Ford finds out who the real killer was, he goes on as if what happened didn't happen. Nick is in a similar spot but Amy has kind of got him by the balls.

To me, the film seemed a bit like a shot at the media and society; a beautiful, white, blonde woman gone missing gets national attention. Then there's also something that Amy touches on in her narration, how people portray themselves. When Nick and Amy first get together they each put on their most interesting "faces." Nick portrays himself as a suave, cool and romantic guy. Amy in turn, portrays herself as the cool, beautiful yet somehow still down to earth woman (a long shot for her being a trust fund New Yorker who was probably raised by au pairs and maids). They both pull it off and when times are good, everything is fine. It's only when their lives start to get hit with misfortune (they both lose their jobs, Amy's wealthy parents are actually broke and need her trust fund) that their "true" selves come out. 

17. Felony

October 18th in Chicago. I saw this on demand. An Australian cop drama about right and wrong. The story focuses on three detectives: Mal (Joel Edgerton), the hero; Carl (Tom Wilkinson), the "old school" detective and Jim (Jai Courtney), the young "go-getting," crusader type. The film opens as Mal leads a bust on a drug ring and takes a bullet for his troubles, luckily the vest does its job. He and his unit are out drinking to celebrate their deeds and Mal decides to get behind the wheel and drive home. His blood alcohol level is well over the legal limit.

As Mal makes his way home, Carl meets up with his new partner Jim. Jim is the eager new detective who wants to please the old, bitter and hardened detective Carl. While out rousting a witness, Jim and Carl get a call about a traffic accident. Carl wants nothing to do with it but since Jim is a "go getter," he decides to go. Plus, the scene is relatively close. They arrive to find that a hit and run occurred between a car and a young boy on a bike. Mal is pulled over as a "witness." As Carl questions Mal, he realizes that maybe Mal is more than a witness and sends Jim away. Carl's instincts were correct, Mal is drunk and he struck the boy. Carl tells him to stick to the story. Since he's not a bad person, its ok to let him walk.

Mal is racked with guilt. He eventually tells his wife, a nurse, but she takes the, "what good would it do to come forth" approach. Meanwhile Carl and Jim are going after a pedophile. Carl is convinced the guy's a pedophile but Jim isn't so sure and begins to sour on Carl and goes so far as to start investigating the hit and run on his own. Jim doesn't like what he's finding and he starts to become more and more convinced that Mal is more than a "witness." Mal goes to Carl and tells him he wants to come clean but Carl wants to hear none of it.

The detectives kind of square off against each other, and eventually the boy dies. Mal speaks with Carl and Jim about confessing when it comes out the Jim has been making the moves on the boy's mother. Things get ugly and Carl winds up in the hospital with a lousy prognosis. Mal gets into a single car accident this time and finds himself on the boy's mother's doorstep (I don't want to give away the ending). The film ends with Jim and Mal being partner.

Very good film that was well directed and well acted. The only issues I had was that it sometimes moved too slow. Each of the 3 detectives is flawed in their own way, Carl being the biggest douche. You have to be in the right mindset to watch this film. The film is directed by Matthew Saville, who usually has done Australian sitcoms makes a huge jump to a heavy drama and does a really nice job. 

October 2014 Film Preview

October 3rd

• Gone Girl: David Fincher directs this adaption of Gilian Flynn's novel about a woman's (Rosamund Pike) disappearance. Ben Affleck is her husband who becomes the prime suspect in the disappearance. This film has gotten a lot of positive buzz. Since its directed by Fincher, I'll be seeing this one
• Annabelle: The doll from The Conjuring is gets her own spinoff.
• The Good Lie: Sudanese refugees get out of their war torn country and relocate to Kansas. Apparently they get by quite well despite the fact that Reese Witherspoon is helping them out. There is some difficult subject matter in regards to innocent civilians in war ravaged Sudan and there's the predictable fish out of water theme as well as the the refugees help Reese as much as she helps them. Brought to you by Ron Howard and Brian Glazer. Inspired by a true story. Be advised. I would wager that the real life people who got out of the Sudan is far more interesting than any dreck Hollywood could manufacture. There will be some tearjerking moments. Given.
• 7500: Flight 7500 from LA to Tokyo has 273 good looking, mostly white passengers. Some doofus decides to leave his electronic devices on during take off and things go bad. Someone decided to bring super-natural horror to the confines of a commercial airliner.
• Left Behind: Nicholas Cage stars in a rapture themed film. Cage is a pilot catching a lift on another flight when the hit some turbulence and passengers on the plane (as well as the crew) are gone. Apparently the turbulence was the rapture. Yadda-Yadda-Yadda. I stopped watching the trailer about halfway through. Cage is not starring in the film for the sake of art.
• A Good Marriage: Based on a Stephen King short story. Joan Allen and Anthony LaPaglia have a seemingly perfect marriage with a lovely home and family. Until Allen starts to find clues that make it look like her husband is a serial killer. Stephen King's books are usually excellent but sometimes they fall short when they hit the big screen. This one could be worth a look.
• Drive Hard: John Cusack is a bank robber who uses dumb cluck's Thomas Jane's driver's ed car as a getaway car. Perhaps the money they stole (over $9m which seems like a lot for the short amount of time he was in the bank) isn't just FDIC money but some sinister organization's. As they make their get away more groups seem interested in getting the case that contains the money. This seemed like a comedy action film but it looked stupid to me.

October 10th

• The Judge: A local judge (Robert Duvall) goes on trial for murder. He's defended by his son, Robert Downey, Jr. They have a strained relationship. They cast alone, throw in Vera Formiga, should  be worth the proces of admission. The only thing that makes me hesitate on this is that the director,  David Dobkin, has more of a comedy background. The plot of murder, father and son reconnecting while one is on trial and the other is the defense attorney doesn't scream big laughs. There's a lot of buzz around it though.
• Dracula Untold: Not necessarily another vampire film. Instead this film focuses more on the Vlad the Impaler aspect. This is the major directorial debut of Gary Shore.
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Day: Disney family film about a white upper middle class family with 1st world problems. Alexander is the middle son who's the ordinary kid in the family. The parents are Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner. In their one bad day of their lives, hilarity ensues.
• One Chance: Based on a true story...an overweight, bullied British kid grows up to become an overweight bullied adult. But he's got the voice of an angel as he goes out to become an opera singer. It's a feel good story.
• Addicted: Sharon Leal is married to studly Boris Kodjoe. They have a lovely home, family and are easily the two best looking people in any crowd. Yet that's not good enough for Leal who starts fantasizing about painter William Levy. Then fantasy becomes reality and the two start sleeping with each other and Leal can't stop. Turns out she's a sex addict or at least addicted to penises not belonging to her studly husband but other studly men. Interesting drama on how Leal's perfect life is torn apart by her need have sex with extraordinarily good looking men.
• Whiplash: Miles Teller is a prodigy of jazz drumming. He enrolls in a an elite school for jazz musicians and the instructor, JK Simmons, is the type that demands total perfection. Very reminiscent of R. Lee Emery's Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket. This film has gotten a lot of buzz and it could be worth a look but it may not be in wide release.
• Kill the Messenger: Jeremy Renner trades in the 70's haircut he had in American Hustle for an 80's haircut in this film. He plays an investigative reporter who is looking to blow the lid off the CIA army the Contras in Nicaragua. Throw in some cocaine and his life and the life of his family are in danger.
• Automata: Antonio Banderas plays a guy who works for a robotics company in the year 2044. Apparently someone is altering the programming of robots and that's bad. The trailer looks really cool but this looks a lot like a cross between Blade Runner and I, Robot. That said, I'll probably see this film because of my perceived connection to the former.
• Kite: This film is based on a Japanese anime where a young girl seeks revenge for the murder of her parents. Sounds a bit like Columbiana or even O-Ren Ishii's backstory. I'm a bit of a sucker for revenge films so who knows. 
• Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead: The sequel to the 2009 cult gem, Dead Snow is here! There are Nazi zombies with a purpose and lots of blood. The Nazi zombies even get a tank. Find a way to see this film.
• You're Not You: Hilary Swank is a concert pianist (or something like that but she lives a good life) with Josh Duhamel as her husband. Swank contracts ALS and "I do what I want" free-spirited college student Emmy Rossum becomes her caregiver. They both teach each other life lessons. Bring tissues if you're planning on seeing this.

October 17th

• Fury: This trailer is awesome and I will be seeing this film. David Ayer directs this WWII film about tank commander Brad Pitt and his crew behind enemy lines with the odds stacked against them. The fact that Shia LaBeouf is also in here is not a deterrent for me.
• The Best of Me: Yet another Nicholas Sparks adaption with a good looking white couple.
• Birdman: Michael Keaton is a washed up actor who hasn't recovered from playing an iconic superhero role 20 plus years ago. It appears that he snaps and tries to revive the character but in real life to bring his career/life out of the skids. This is similar to the 1980 film Hero at Large except grittier and with potential mental illness. Birdman has gotten some interesting buzz and could be worth seeing. All-star cast includes Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton and Zach Galifianackis.
• Dear White People: A satire about racial issues and topics at the fictional Winchester College. Think of this as a funny version of 1997s Higher Learning. The trailer was very captivating and touches on some interesting topics, "Dear white people, in order to not appear racist, the quota of black friends has been raised to two. Your weed guy Tyrone doesn't count." Poignant topics but delivered in a light hearted way but not so lighthearted where the message is lost. 
• Rudderless: William H. Macy takes his first directorial gig about a man (Billy Crudup) who's son is murdered. Embittered Crudup retreats from society to his houseboat and discovers that his son was a talented singer/songwriter. Crudup decides to go out and bring his son's music to the people one small venue at a time. Eventually he teams up with Anton Yelchin. Tearjerker alert!
• Felony: Australian film starring Joel Edgerton, Jai Courtney and Tom Wilkinson as detectives. Edgerton is the hero cop, Courtney is the up and comer and WIlkinson is the old detective past him prime. Written by Edgerton, one of them is involved in an accident that puts a child in a coma. One tries to to cover it while the other tries to find the truth. Guilt gnaws at the perpetrator.
• Young Ones: Set in the dystopian post apocalyptic future (my favorite kind) water is the most precious resource. Earth is barren and dying. There's some violence involved. Could be interesting.
• Listen Up Philip: Jason Schwartzman is a writer who's girlfriend is Elizabeth Moss but still sleeps around with other women but he seems unhappy. What the hell is it with films where the protagonist is an unhappy writer? Schwartzman is playing a 70s Woody Allen type. Moss is the girlfriend who doesn't like where the relationship is going. I don't know about this, it's got a solid cast but the plot seems worn out. I guess writers in film have the burden of being the last batch of pure intellectuals and the weight is too much to bear despite the fact they lead seemingly great lives with no source of income.
• Mall: A tale of several young suburbanites unhappy with where their lives are going that centers around a local southern California Mall. There's the stereotypical Columbine-esque loner who decides to shoot up the mall. The characters are unrelated but the one constant in their lives is the mall. All the characters seem pretty f*cked up. There's a lot of violence but some if it seems likes its in a dream sequence. Vincent D'onofrio stars as well as Pete Stormare. Gritty,violent and dare I say nihilistic film. 

October 24th

• Ouija: It' been nearly 30 years since Witchboard came out and Hollywood is giving those "spiritualist" Parker Brothers invention another go. Ouija stars some thin, white good looking twenty somethings who are playing high school kids. The pretty blonde stumbles across the ouija piece that people put their fingers on and it "moves" by itself and then dies in a very Final Destination manner. Her handsome but dim witted friends use the ouija and weird shit starts to happen to them. There's probably nothing original in this film and not worth seeing in the theatre. If it's any good, Netflix is a nice forum.
• St. Vincent: Bill Murray plays an aging veteran who's bitter, cynical and a bit of a drunk. That being said, he's the perfect mentor to recently divorced Melissa McCarthy's young son. This has a bit of Bad Grandpa feel except not as stupid. There's a lot of buzz around this film and I am going to see it because of Bill Murray. 
• Laggies: Keira Knightley has a nice life but when her boyfriend starts to propose, she starts to unhinge and disappears. She hooks up with high school student Chloe Grace Moretz and the two form such a bond that Moretz brings Knightly home. There Knightly meets Moretz's single father Sam Rockwell. If you don't feel like guessing, Knightly gives advice to Moretz and Rockwell starts to become infatuated with her. So we've got 3 people at crossroads in their lives all coming together. Knightly has a good life (white, good looking and upper middle class) but can't or isn't ready to face the responsibility of being grown up. Not my cup of tea.
• White Bird in a Blizzard: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green and a mustachioed Christopher Meloni are the Connors, a seemingly normal family with some dark secrets (think of the Burnhams from American Beauty). One day, Eva Green up and disappears. The trailer hints that Meloni may or may not have killed her or is a serial killer (there are clips of people opening a freezer and gasping). Thomas Jane plays the family counselor whom Woodley seduces. Heavy drama for sure but I will wait to see what the buzz is before making a commitment. 
• Revenge of the Green Dragons: This looks like an updated version of Year of the Dragon. Human trafficking by Asian street gangs in NYC is the basis. Ray Liotta is the obsessed cop trying to bring the gangs to justice and Justin Chon is the gang leader trying to get to the top without being too evil. The trailer looked cool and this may be worth watching. I was a big fan of Year of the Dragon 30 years ago.
• John Wick: Keanu Reeves is John Wick, a retired ass-kicking spy type who's dog gets killed, forcing him to get revenge. At least that's what I took away from the trailer. It'll hard to decide whether to see Keanu, Liam Neeson or Denzel racking up huge body counts.

October 31st

• Nightcrawler: Jake Gyllenhaal is a down on his luck creepy guy who finds his calling trying to beat cops to car accidents so he can film it and sell it to the local news outlets. Soon car crashes aren't enough and he escalates to crime scenes. There's been a lot of buzz about this film and it could be worth watching.
• Before I go to Sleep: Nicole has a memory problem. Due to severe head trauma, she has no long term memory and her short term gets erased when she wakes up. Colin Firth, her husband, has to remind of who she is and what they mean to each other. Enter Mark Strong who's telling Kidman that maybe Firth isn't such a great spouse. Ridley Scott is involved in this film and it looks interesting. It could be worth a look.
• Horns: Daniel Radcliffe plays a guy suspected of killing his girlfriend. The media pressure on him is intense and he eventually starts growing horns. I guess because people are calling him a devil and not in a Dennis the Menace kind of way. Radcliffe goes around searching for the killer and gets a boost of confidence from the horns as people are now frightened by him. There's some satire in regards to the media but it looks interesting. 
• Why Don't You Play in Hell: Japanese film about rival Yakuza factions who want to make a film about their gang war. At least that's what I took away from the trailer as there's a lot of action crammed into the two minutes and not a lot of plot hints. There's equipment, crew but no script. The film looks interesting but in all honesty I can't see myself viewing it in the theater. Maybe On Demand or Netflix. It does interest me a bit.