Review: Chef (2014)

Snap Judgment: A feel-good film about a down-on his luck chef whose entire life gets revitalized by the power of the food truck. John Favreau - the writer, director, and titular chef - is probably better known as the producer/director of the Iron Man franchise. As the chef, he works at a fancy restaurant, but his artistic dreams are constantly crushed by the overcontrolling restaurant owner who demands he play it safe. When a reviewer/food blogger - who is apparently the Stephen Colbert of the California food world - calls him out on his cooking being boring, safe, and insecure, the Chef loses it. Although, strangely, the reviewer is only saying what has been clear to the Chef all along - he is constrained and dulled by the restaurant owner's control (the reviewer says these things with a lot more personal insults, so I can see how the Chef takes it too hard). It takes far too long, but the Chef finally decides to start that food truck that his ex-wife has been encouraging him to get all along. He picks it up in Miami and drives it back to California, bonding with his preteen son along the way. Yes, it is one of those feel-good films, where the loving but struggling dad reconnects with his adorable moppet. This particular adorable moppet is incredibly media-savvy, and his social media promotion helps make the food truck a success as it drive cross country.

Review: The Double (2014)

Snap Judgment: A surreal film set in an Orwellian pseudo-Soviet land based on Dostoevsky's novella of the same name. Jesse Eisenberg is a cringing doormat, trying so hard to be accommodating that everyone wants to either ignore him or be cruel to him. He's sweet and well-meaning, but incredibly timid. He's got a crush on his co-worker, Mia Wasikowska, who barely registers his existence. Then his doppelganger appears. This Jesse Eisenberg is suave, charming, and selfish. He takes what he wants, and he doesn't care what anyone else thinks - including seducing Mia Wasikowska right under his double's nose. No one else sees any resemblance between the two Jesse Eisenbergs, which makes the orignal(?)/good(?) Jesse Eisenberg wonder if he's gone crazy.

The performances are kinetic, especially Jesse Eisenberg in both his roles. The film is highly stylized, which makes the film even more surreal. It is also surprisingly funny at parts, like in this conversation between the two Jesse Eisenbergs:    

Evil doppelganger: When you're walking with a woman, or standing next to one of them, you want to put your hand on their lower back. Not the ass - they sometimes get upset about that - but just above it. It shows that you're interested, but that you can push them down the stairs at any moment.

Good doppelganger: Why?

Evil doppelganger: Because you've got the leverage. 

Grade: B

Final Verdict: A stunning performance by Jesse Eisenberg that should've garnered more attention from the awards folk, but was not to be because this is a small, semi-obscure film (also, it is listed as 2013, although it did not premiere outside of film festivals until 2014). It's weird and artistic, and should not be watched for the plot so much as the performances. 

If You Like This, Watch: Night Moves, Locke, Only Lovers Left Alive

Review: Into the Woods (2014)

Snap Judgment: Take a bunch of popular fairy tale characters (Little Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella – plus a twist on the standard fairytale of the childless couple with The Baker and His Wife). Give them everything they want in the first half. Make them really live with their choices in the second half (remember kids, what you think you want and what you actually want are not always the same thing; wishes are tricksy things). Add lots of music. Make sure you use the Grimm versions, so toes are chopped off and eyes are pecked out.  Voila - Into the Woods.    
 

I was in middle school when I first heard about Into the Woods. Fascinated by fairy tales and their deconstructions, but with no play versions in my area (and unaware that there was a VHS version), I ordered a copy from the library and read it. I loved it – the happily ever afters in the first half, and their dismantlings in the second half. I think it’s a testament to the writing that I could enjoy a musical as a paperback play. I finally saw the stage version in college, and I was honestly a little underwhelmed, although it was nice to finally put a tune to the lyrics.

This is to say – I’m not a diehard Into the Woods Sondheim fan, but I’ve got a little exposure to the non-Disneyfied version.  The film’s first half is the strongest. The acting is, of course, delightful, as you’d expect when you hire people like Meryl Streep (evil witch) and Emily Blunt (baker’s wife). Even the kid actors (Little Red Riding Hood & Jack) are solid. 

Review: Happy Christmas (2014)

Snap Judgment: Based on nothing but the poster, I looked forward to a light-hearted romantic comedy about two sisters, the uptight one (who learns to relax!) and the carefree one (who learns how to follow through!). Like a Hallmark Holiday movie, with slightly better writing and more famous actors. 

This is not light-hearted nor a romantic comedy nor are the two ladies on the poster sisters. Happy Christmas is in fact a minimalist mumblecore - meaning that people look and sound like they are in a home movie, or maybe just stumbled in front of a camera.

Melanie Lynskey (the nice stepsister from Ever After) and director/actor Joe Swanberg are a young married couple with an adorable 2-year old. Joe Swanberg's little sister Anna Kendrick whirlwinds into the couple's lives upending little but being terribly immature, irresponsible, and allergic to responsibility (& apologies). Although Anna Kendrick bonds with Melanie Lynskey while helping her write a romance novel, she continues to muck things up by turning to alcohol and weed whenever anything difficult glances her way. 

About 20 minutes in, Z turned to me and asked, "Is this even a movie? Nothing is actually happening." And then he gave up and stopped watching. Because, yes, nothing happens. Everyone fumbles around and mumbles around and the ending is an abrupt halt that pretends to resolve the dynamics, but really cuts off without any actual character growth. The only things I appreciated about the film were (1) the scenes where the ladies sit around and plot their romance novel & (2) Lena Dunham being surprisingly likeable and not the entitled, inappropriate one.

Joe Swanberg's last film was Drinking Buddies, which both Z and I liked considerably more, because it had a recognizable plot. This one is more suitable for background noise, when you can't find an episode of Law & Order to fill the silence.

Grade: B-

Final Verdict: For an entertaining movie about a young married couple confronted with rowdy twenty-somethings, watch Neighbors. For better mumblecore, watch Drinking Buddies. For some meandering mumbling, watch this. 

If You Like This, Watch: Frances Ha, Drinking Buddies, Your Sister's Sister, Tiny Furniture. Jeff, Who Lives At Home    

Review: Top Five (2014)

Snap Judgment: A very different movie than what is promised by the trailers (just because you think the trailer’s amusing, doesn’t mean you’ll think the movie is). Like all comedies, Your Mileage May Very based on what kind of jokes you find funny. There’s racial humor and two very drawn-out sex jokes that fell pavement-to-face flat for me.

  

Top Five is a dramedy where the drama worked much better than the comedy. Chris Rock is an alcoholic comedian who has been trying to pursue a more “serious” career since he sobered up. His attempts at prestige flicks have fallen flat with audience members and critics, including Uprize, a terrible-looking Haitian revolt period piece which he is on a promotion tour for. Chris Rock has some clever things to say about celebrity and if the film had kept a focus on this, it could have been a more enjoyable movie. Instead, Chris Rock decides to shoe-horn in a very traditional romantic comedy with Rosario Dawson. No complaints with Dawson’s performance – she’s sharp as a smart, tenacious New York Times journalist who bonds with Chris Rock over their shared struggles with alcoholism.  But all the romantic comedy tropes weigh the movie down, including the Seeing the Love Interest In a New Light After Meeting Family/Friends and the Misunderstanding That Causes a Brief Break-Up and the Evil Boyfriend/Fiancée Who Is Clearly Not Right For the Lead(s). Gabrielle Union is criminally underused as Chris Rock’s reality TV starlet fiancée. Gabrielle Union always brings sympathy and intelligence to her roles, and it’s a shame that Chris Rock didn’t spend more time exploring celebrity using Gabrielle Union’s desperate, hungry fame seeker.    

Grade: B-

Final Verdict:  Personally, some of the jokes jumped the spectrum from unfunny to downright uncomfortable for me, which dulled my enjoyment of the film. If jokes about an unwanted foursome with two prostitutes and Cee-Lo Green and a really long sequence about things (wanted and unwanted) going up butts don’t turn you off, then go ahead and see this. Otherwise, give it a pass. 

If You Like This, Watch: Down to Earth, I Think I Love My Wife, Funny People, Everything Must Go      

Review: The Imitation Game (2014)

Snap Judgment: A cinematic biopic that may rewrite history to deliver the story it wants (see Slate's excellent article on the movie's accuracy), but is forgiven because of its compelling storytelling. Benedict Cumberbatch is Alan Turing, a focused and eccentric genius lacking in people skills (in other words, a 21st century hero). Turing is part of a team seeking to crack Enigma, the Nazi encoding machine. If the Allies can break Enigma, they can read every secret message that the Nazis send out and save lives and win the war (spoiler alert: the Allies win the war). Cumberbatch is brilliant as Turing, unsurprising as the Turing character is basically Cumberbatchian typecasting. The rest of the cast is also strong, and will be full of a hey! it's that guy/gal! for anyone who watches any amount of British TV (hey! it's George Wickham from Death Comes to Pemberly! hey! it's Tom from Downton Abbey! hey! it's Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones!). Kiera Knightley is the lone skirt, a brilliant cryptanalyst who is briefly engaged to Alan Turing. Wait, what - wasn't Alan Turing gay? Yes, yes he was, and he still is in this film. He really was engaged to Kiera Knightley's character. The movie plays the Turing/Kiera Knightley dynamic not as a sweeping romance, but as a friendship between two people who enjoy each other's minds. Kiera Knightley gives a Kiera Knightleyish performance (she's still thrusting out her jaw to display emotion) and your appreciation of it depends on how you generally view her acting.

The tone of the movie is a general inspiring biopic - a misfit genius who is initially misunderstood but eventually is accepted and whose leap of brilliance pays off. The end is less feel-good, of course, as Turing is convicted of indecency and sentenced to chemical castration for being a homosexual. It's a sad end-note, but I'm glad the movie went further than the breaking of Enigma, as leaving the movie with an uplifting ending would ignore the tragedy and horror of criminalizing homosexuality.          

Grade: A

Final Verdict: A very Hollywood biopic with strong acting that hits all the right notes.

If You Like This, Watch: The King's Speech, The Duchess, The Queen, 42, The Young Victoria, A Single Man, Enigma

New Year, New Resolutions

I've been neglecting this blog for far too long. I'm still watching movies, but not getting the reviews up. Luckily, a new year is the perfect time to get back on track. One of my resolutions for this year is to update every Monday and Friday. I may update more often (especially as I catch up with my 2014 movie reviews), but Monday and Friday for sure. The blog format will remain mostly movie reviews, with occasional entries on TV. 

Anyone who knows me knows I love lists. So I'm eagerly making my list and checking it twice on the best films of 2014. There's still some major movies in 2014 that I need to see (Into the Woods, Selma, etc.). So look out for that list at the end of January. Before that, I will look ahead at 2015 and share which movies I'm most looking forward to (spoiler: sequels to The Avengers and Pitch Perfect will definitely be on that list).