Wild

Released: 2014

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 1 Hr. 55 Mins.

This movie surprised me on several levels.  For one, I did not know "Wild" was a double-entendre: it refers to the "wild" where Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) hiked and the "wild" lifestyle that she lived up to the time of that hike.  I thought this would be a female rehash of "Into the Wild", especially considering that the title is virtually identical.  You can't escape the similarities of two movies about an individual escaping their lives into the wild, but they were two very different films.  As we join Cheryl's story, she is about to embark on a hike up the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada.  There is no indication she has any experience taking any long hikes before this.  Her motivation for the hike is told in flashbacks, starting with some childhood issues, moving to her mother's (Laura Dern) battle with terminal cancer and culminating with a divorce from her husband (Thomas Sadoski).  Prior to this hike, she seemed to deal with adversity in her life with lots of drugs and lots of sex (Witherspoon does a surprising amount of nudity in this film).  When the sex and drugs method costs her her marriage, she decides to embark on this head-clearing hike of discovery.  A nearly two-hour movie about someone walking seems ripe for lots of slow sequences, but they do a very good job interspersing flashbacks to take you through how she gets to this point of her life.  The music interwoven in the film also helps move the plot along.  In her travels, she meets quite a few different types of people, mostly men, and Witherspoon does an excellent job showing you her apprehension as some of these encounters seem destined for disaster.  I honestly was on the fence about even watching this, but I found myself really enjoying it.  I'm also not a huge Witherspoon fan (I don't dislike her, just never really had any opinion one way or the other), but she was very strong in this, so I'm more of a fan than before watching it.  "Wild" is definitely worth checking out.

Grade: B

Julia

Released: 2014

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 1 hr. 35 mins.

Julia (Ashley C Williams) is a mousy, under-stated woman who goes on a date one night with horrific results.  This is how the movie opens.  After having her world devastated by the incident, she meets a woman, Sadie (Tahnya Tozzi), who lets her know about a therapist who has a radical program to help women who are trying to deal with rape.  She meet the therapist and soon finds herself involved in some strange cultish group who, um, REALLY hate men.  At first glance, it seems like a rehashing of the storyline of "I Spit On Your Grave" (which I have not seen, so I can't speak directly to that), but it goes in some very unique and strange directions.  The film was well-written, well-directed and, actually, very well-acted, but I thought it had some major problems.  First, the main character of Julia is in just about every scene, but has very little dialogue.  I get that she starts 

off mousy and is later dealing with major trauma, but it just bothered me that she had so little to say. 

It became just too much of a distraction to me.  Add that they did the old movie trope of "take off the glasses and let her hair down and SURPRISE!, she's beautiful!". The other major issue I had, and I'll try to word this carefully, is that the rape scenes (mostly shown in flashbacks) are less brutal than they should be.  Don't get me wrong, the scenes fall short of actually being titillating, but I didn't really feel the horror of rape was there.  The final issue was that the movie was at times just too stylistic.  Some of the set design and lighting tried too hard to seem like it was portraying the seedy underbelly of New York City.  Overall, though, the silence of the main character took me out of it the most.  

Grade: C

Top Five

Year Released: 2014

MPAA Rating: R

Run Time: 1 hr. 42 mins

"Top Five" was written, directed and stars Chris Rock as Andre Allen, an immensely successful comedian/movie star.  As we join Allen's story, he has decided he wants to make more serious films and is doing a press junket for his first major dramatic release, "Uprize" about a Haitian slave rebellion.  Allen is back in his hometown of New York City, which brings him back to the people he grew up with and still calls friends.  The main plot device of the film is Allen being interviewed throughout his day by Chelsea Brown (Rosario Dawson), a writer for a publication that viciously trashed his previous film.  I had heard that Chris Rock had consulted with Louis CK prior to writing this and you can sort of see elements of Louis' style throughout.  It is an interesting look behind the curtain of what a press junket is like as you see him spend his morning at Sirius XM moving from show-to-show (One of the funnier scenes is when Allen is cutting promos for a Sirius radio show, being coached by the producer, played by the great Brian Regan), and then doing phoners with radio stations around the country, all while preparing for his upcoming wedding to a reality TV star (Gabrielle Union) and being followed around by Brown, who is hitting him with her interview questions throughout.  Allen is also struggling with sobriety after a stint in rehab, so the stress of the junket and lukewarm reception to his dramatic turn makes things even more trying for him.  "Top Five" is not one of those "laughs per minute" comedies as it tells a real story but it is a funny film.  The movie is absolutely peppered with cameos from comedians that Rock has worked with in some capacity at some time in his career and probably the funniest sequence is a flashback to Allen "hitting bottom" when on a bender with Cedric The Entertainer, who plays a manager of some comedy function he is attending at the time.  Although it wasn't quite as funny as I might have hoped, the human aspects of the writing more than made up for it. Allen is someone you genuinely root for as you wonder if he can stay on track while all seems to be going wrong for him.  Rock did a really nice job writing this and directing a who's-who of modern comedy stars.  

Grade: B

The Woodsman

Released: 2004

Rated: R

Run time: 1 Hr. 27 Mins.


This is one of those movies that I avoided for so long because I feared where they would or could go with this subject matter.  To illustrate, here is the synopsis:  Walter (Kevin Bacon), a convicted child molester, is released from prison at the end of his sentence and returns to his hometown to try to pursue a normal life.  My fears were that they would portray a child molester as a sympathetic character, a misunderstood loner.  Well, my fears were partially realized, but I was able to go along for the ride.  "The Woodsman" referred to in the title is the woodsman from the Little Red Riding Hood story that saves her from the Big Bad Wolf.  As the movie opens,Walter is just released and begins to get his life together.  He gets a job, finds an apartment (across the street from a school!) and gets counseling to help his return to normal.  As you would expect, he is met with some resistance as his co-workers learn what he was in jail for and his sister has completely disconnected from him.  His only connection to his family is his brother-in-law (Benjamin Bratt), who visits him fairly regularly.  He also has to deal with a detective (Mos Def), who drops by periodically to check up on him and is absolutely unconvinced that this man can be reformed.  This is a great performance by Bacon, who really walks the tightrope between making this guy a sympathetic, almost heroic character and not shying away from how disgustingly creepy the character really is.  The dichotomy is illustrated beautifully by a sequence where he stands up to a man he suspects is targeting a kid at the school across the street, followed shortly later by a scene in which Walter has a discussion with a young girl on a park bench that may be the most uncomfortable, horrifying scenes I've ever seen.  So, I was able to get past my problems with the subject matter and enjoy (not sure that is even close to the right word!) the film for what it was: a bit of a peek into the mind of a monster...even if that monster really doesn't want to be a monster.  The only problem I really had with the finished film is that it was too short and ended rather abruptly.  I assume they felt they got across the elements they needed to get across and left it at that.  As a character study, it worked very well, but left me wanting a bit more.  This is definitely worth watching for Kevin Bacon's performance alone.  Interestingly, this movie was released shortly after Megan's Law was passed, making some of the story elements obsolete (the community not knowing there was a child molester among them, living next to a school!).  I also liked the relationship between him and his brother-in-law, who tried so hard to stay friendly but finding it more and more difficult, especially since his own daughter was the perfect age to fall prey to him.  Bacon's real-life wife, Kyra Sedgwick, also has an interesting role as his co-worker/girlfriend who stands by him even when she learns about his past.

Grade: B

The Canal

Released: 2014

MPAA Rating: R

Run time: 1 Hr., 32 min.


"The Canal" is an Irish horror film that has just the right mix of mystery and ghost story.  A film archivist, David (Rupert Evans), learns his wife, Alice (Hannah Hoekstra), is having an affair.  Shortly after his discovery, she turns up missing and is found dead and he, of course, is the prime suspect.  He learns of other murders that occurred in and around the home they own and becomes obsessed with proving that some mysterious force is responsible for her murder.  Evans does a really nice job playing David as a sympathetic, grieving husband who is determined to prove his innocence, while also showing you the methodical unraveling of his psyche.  While the film plays as a pretty good ghost story, it also leaves you with just enough to make you wonder: Did he do it? Is he going completely insane? You are really never sure.  The film also does a really nice job of letting you see his character through the eyes of those around him.  From the police detective who is determined he is responsible to the nanny and the woman who stands by him, you see his unraveling through their eyes.  The exasperation of the two women is portrayed perfectly as they begin to try to separate themselves from his madness, while trying to stay close to him to protect his son, who is clearly innocent in all of this.  What I loved about this movie, but what might bother others, is that it doesn't really commit to whether it is a ghost story or a descent into madness and you can certainly make the case that it is either or both of those.  At times, it borrows heavily from some of the Japanese horror classics like "The Ring", but it is still very much its own film.  It is a slow build horror film that doesn't rely too heavily on jump scares (although there are a few) and let's the story do the scaring.  All of it builds to one final scene that is just chilling. 

Grade: B-

Wild Card

Released: 2014

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 1 Hr, 32 min.

I'll get this out of the way first:  I like action movies and, among action stars, Jason Statham is one of my favorites.  It's not like I automatically love everything he's in, but he's a favorite.  "Wild Card" is a remake of a Burt Reynolds (also a favorite...showing my age) movie called "Heat".  Statham plays Nick Wild, a Las Vegas bodyguard, who finds himself involved in two separate situations.  First, he is hired by a young, mild-mannered internet millionaire (Michael Agnarano) to protect him while he gambles.  While it becomes clear he doesn't really need protection, Wild is called by a female friend of his, Holly (Dominik Garcia-Lorito, who tells him she was picked up by and abused pretty horribly by a man named Danny DeMarco (Milo Ventimiglia) and would like Nick's help in getting revenge.  This sets the stage for Nick to find himself squared directly against the mob that Danny is affiliated with.  As Statham movies go, this was a good one.  Statham gets to do his usual martial arts ass-kicking and tough guy gimmick, while managing to get a chance to act.  The movie takes some time to actually develop the characters involved and we learn a lot about Nick Wild's weaknesses and obsessions.  He declares that he wants to get out of Vegas for good and find a more relaxing life, but begins to find the only person standing in the way of that dream is himself.  There are some extremely far-fetched gambling sequences, but they are there to set up a bit of a plot twist.  Overall, I liked it a lot.  It moves very quickly and clocks in at just over 90 minutes, so it's not a huge time investment.  Statham gets to do what he does best while mixing in some actual acting.  It's the type of movie that made me a Statham fan.

Grade: B-

Horns

Released: 2013

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 2 hours

AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX

 You may not know that Stephen King's son, Joe Hill, is also a novelist, writes in the same genre as his dad and actually writes so much like his dad that I find myself wondering whether Stephen King writes the books FOR him!!  "Horns" is one of Joe Hill's novels which was made into this movie, which could also be called "Harry Potter Goes To Hell"..  Daniel Radcliffe stars as Ig Perrish, whose long-time girlfriend has recently been found murdered, for which he is the prime suspect.  After a long night's sleep, Ig wakes up with devil's horns protruding from his head.  As he tries to figure out what they are and where they came from, he finds that everyone he comes to contact with feels the need to tell him their darkest desires and then go ahead and indulge those desires.  This makes for some real uncomfortable meetings with friends and family members.  Ig finds himself trying to rid himself of the horns while simultaneously trying to clear his name for the murder he is accused of.  Radcliffe does an excellent job in the role portraying all the emotions Ig is dealing with: grief, rage, confusion and the quest for vengeance.  Being the hated man in a small town is not a lot of fun for him, especially when it may be unwarranted.  I remember seeing some mention of this movie before it was released and then it came and went without fanfare.  I thought the film deserved better.  It was pretty well-written, well acted and well directed.  Perhaps the story seemed silly to some, but it's one of those stories where you just have to accept the premise of the "horns" and give in to it.  If you do, I think you'll find an entertaining story about small town jealousies and how one murder can send a community into a tailspin.  Rod Serling had equally ridiculous premises on "The Twilight Zone" all the time and no one really had a problem buying into them because Rod Serling is a master storyteller. Now, I'm not ready to put Hill in Serling's class (or even his father's), nor am I saying this would make a great "Twilight Zone" episode, but I enjoyed the premise and the movie was a fun ride.  

Grade: C+

Buy Horns on Blu-Ray 

Foxcatcher

Released: 2014

Rated: R

Running Time: 2 hrs, 12 min.


In a very rare case, I will open with this remark:  The movie was much better than the book.  Foxcatcher is the story of the eccentric (that's wealthy for "bat-shit insane") John Dupont (Steve Carell), his obsession with wrestling and his eventual murder of David Schultz (Mark Ruffalo).  This is portrayed mostly through the eyes of David's brother, Mark (Channing Tatum). As the film opens, we find Mark in a frustrating time of his life.   He is an Olympic gold medal winner who seems to be having trouble finding anything other than wrestling to do.  He also lives in the shadow of his brother, David, who is also a gold medal wrestler, but has more name recognition both in and out of the sport.  Enter John Dupont, who offers him an opportunity to run his entire wrestling program, which is set up to become the backbone of USA Wrestling for years to come.  The offer, actually, is made to both brothers, but David wants no part of uprooting his family and turns it down.  This sets up the weird triangle we get for the rest of the film as DuPont repeatedly tries to get Mark to convince David to join them.  Mark continues to feel under-appreciated and out of place.  As Mark is drawn into DuPont's world, he gets deeper into DuPont's oddness, including a developing cocaine habit.  That is the stage that is set for the drama that unfolds.  The performances are excellent and, in fact, I think Tatum's performance was even better than Carrell's.  There is always huge hype when a comedic actor nails a dramatic role and Carell does that here, although I think the role was not all that impressive to begin with.  Tatum has the heavy lifting of showing different levels of pain and frustration without ever verbally expressing it and hits it out of the park.  The movie is slow, but interesting throughout.   I mentioned earlier the eccentric vs. insane perception that wealth buys you and this film illustrates that beautifully.  DuPont seems to have his fingers in a lot of pies (wrestling, law enforcement), but doesn't really seem to possess any knowledge about any of them.  This is where Carell does a beautiful job of portraying the blank stare of a man who has no idea who he really is.  Ruffalo has the smallest part of the three leads, but is excellent in every scene he is in.  The sibling rivalry is such a central aspect of the story that it almost seems odd how it all comes to an end.  If it didn't really happen, it wouldn't make sense, and, in fact, doesn't make sense. My only negative is the slow pace of the movie, but I did find myself interested in just about every scene.  In regards to the book, as I mentioned in the opening, it spends the entire first half discussing Mark Schultz's life in wrestling.  If you're really into wrestling (real wrestling, not WWE), it may interest you, but if not and you want to read it, start in the second half!



Grade: B

 Order Foxcatcher on Blu-Ray here