Film of the Month: July

I'm slowly catching up. I'll do it soon enough. For now, I'm looking at the film of the month for July. I saw a good amount of great movies this month as well, and I'll be detailing those eight here.

Oh, and I'm getting rid of the Youtube clips. Seems less cluttered that way.

Film of the Month: Once (2007)

Directed by John Carney.

Starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.

I've expressed my distaste for musicals in this blog multiple times, and yet here I am, picking one as my favorite movie I saw in July (not to mention All That Jazz, a runner up from June). What's going on? Well, there's a few things that this musical does right that almost all musicals manage to screw up. For one thing, the actual songs don't feel forced at all. The main characters are musicians, and the songs they sing in the film are explicitly stated as songs. Yes, they express emotion and depth between the characters, but they're playing music, not just dancing around and singing dramatic lines. Another positive of Once is that the songs are damn good. Those terrible covers in Moulin Rouge and Across the Universe basically ruined both films for me, and even musicals without original stuff tend to suck (see Repo). On the other hand, these songs are powerful and beautiful. As soon as the film ended, I downloaded all the albums by the two main characters (they are actually in a real band called The Swell Season). On top of all this, Once is just a great story. The characters are engaging and real and the plot is touching. I'm probably jumping to rash conclusions, but I'll summarize everything by saying this: Once might be the best musical I've ever seen.

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About a Boy (2002)

Directed by the Weitz brothers.

Starring Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and Rachel Weisz.

Man, Rachel Weisz is so sexy. I think I have a problem. Anyways, back to the actual movie. About a Boy is surprisingly good. I always kind of looked down on Hugh Grant movies because they are usually chick flicks and teenage boys aren't supposed to like that stuff. However, after seeing this and Four Weddings and a Funeral, I'm starting to doubt my childhood opinion. These movies are genuinely funny and Grant is funny in them.

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Black Death (2011)

Directed by Christopher Smith.

Starring Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, and Carice van Houten.

If you follow my blog (lol) or check my Great Movies list on Facebook, you already know how much I enjoyed this hidden gem. Check out my review if you're interested, and then check out the movie.

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Boys Don't Cry (1999)

Directed by Kimberly Peirce.

Starring Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, and Peter Sarsgaard.

This movie moves a bit slow at times, and apparently some of the facts from the true story are a bit twisted in the movie, but damn that ending was intense. Amazing acting from Swank and Sevigny. This is a fairly graphic movie, so I'll warn you before checking it out about that, but it's also a really great movie that everyone should see.

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Crazy Stupid Love (2011)

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

Starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and Julianne Moore.

I love smart romantic comedies, and Crazy Stupid Love is definitely that. Check out my review to read more about it. Or just watch it. That's a good option too.

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The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Directed by Wes Anderson.

Starring Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Adrien Brody.

The best word I can think of to describe how I feel about Wes Anderson is weird. Of the four movies of his I've seen, I'd put Darjeeling as my second favorite, behind the flawless Fantastic Mr. Fox, but I enjoy them all. Darjeeling is hilarious and the leading trio work perfectly as brothers. There's also some great camera work. Don't forget to check out Hotel Chevalier, the short film that precedes Darjeeling, when you see this movie. It's an excellent short film.

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The Great Dictator (1940)

Directed by Charlie Chaplin.

Starring Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard.

I'm glad I finally got a chance to check out The Great Dictator. It's a hilarious caricature of Hitler, made even funnier by the fact that Chaplin made this in the middle of World War II. The man had balls. The slapstick is great, but what will bring you back is his genius take on the Nazis.

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The Jacket (2005)

Directed by John Maybury.

Starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, and Daniel Craig.

The Rotten Tomatoes synopsis says that The Jacket suffers from "style over substance". That may well be true, but only because The Jacket is very cool. I found the content to be quite interesting and substantial, if a bit creepy. Then again, I love time travel movies, so there's that.

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Other (Good) Films From July

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Hamlet (1948)

Piranha (2010)

Quills (2000)

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2011)

Ricochet Reviews: Crazy Stupid Love, Cowboys & Aliens, Captain America, & ROTPOTA

So I've decided that I put too much effort into these things and also that anyone who actually comes across them isn't going to read multi-page essays about these movies, so I'm reverting to mini-reviews for everything I see for the rest of the year. I'll still try to cover everything that I feel needs to be covered, and if a movie is amazing enough, I'll give it more room to breathe. Other than that, I'm sticking to this format from now on.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Director: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa (I Love You Phillip Morris)

Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei

Currently In Theaters

I went into Crazy with pretty low expectations. I really didn't know anything about it except that it had a bad title and it was rated PG-13. Luckily, neither of those things detracted from the movie at all. Crazy is very funny throughout with one or two hilarious scenes that will stick with me for quite a while. Ryan Gosling stands out in this ensemble as the "player" who helps Carell get over his wife, who is divorcing him. He oozes confidence and charm, and it is impossible to dislike him no matter how misogynistic he gets. Marisa Tomei also left quite an impression on my memory, although I think that had more to do with her just being a sexy beast than anything else. Crazy gets a little sappy towards the end, and the story is wrapped up a little too neatly, but overall, this was one of the better films of the summer and you should check it out.

Cowboys & Aliens

Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Zathura, Elf)

Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde

Currently In Theaters

Unlike Crazy Stupid Love, Cowboys & Aliens was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I love westerns, and I especially love when people try to do something new with the genre. In these two ways, Favreau succeeded with Cowboys. He captures the look and feel of a western perfectly. You can taste the grit in every scene and the panoramic shots are gorgeous. The sci-fi elements of the film are also interesting. The idea of cowboys trying to defeat such a superior force is very cool to me. Everything on the surface of Cowboys is wonderful. However, when you actually stop and think during the movie, it gets a bit funky. None of these characters are anything more than a caricature. Harrison Ford plays the Grumpy Old Man. Daniel Craig is channeling The Man With No Name as much as he can here. The problem is that Blondie was basically given no story at all, while Cowboy's entire purpose is to figure out who Craig is. The worst part of the film, though, is Wilde's character. I still have no idea why she was put in, other than to say there was a woman in the movie. She's not really a love interest and she doesn't really have anything important to say. Overall, though, I enjoyed Cowboys. It is loaded with action and it's beautiful to look at. Just turn your brain off and you'll have fun.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Director: Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III, Jumanji, Honey I Shrunk the Kids)

Starring: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving

Currently In Theaters

Honestly, I'm tired of superhero movies. I've been watching 3-8 a year for the past decade of my life. I'm pretty burned out on them at this point. I only even checked out Captain America because my brother kept bugging me until I went with him. After seeing it, I guess I need to give my bro some props. It isn't the greatest movie I've ever seen, but it's definitely worth checking out. Instead of spending the entire film on Captain America's backstory, like many first films in superhero franchises, Captain America wraps all that up in the first half, leaving the second half for some great action sequences. Acting-wise, Chris Evans is a great choice for a superhero. He just looks and sounds like a superhero should. Atwell, his love interest, is great in her role. The standout of the film, though, is Jones. Every single time he came on screen, I was cracking up. His lines and his delivery are perfect. The story revolving around Weaving's character, though, was much less successful. Every time he came on screen, I found myself impatiently waiting for the story to go back to Captain America. My biggest problem with the film, though, was the wimpy CGI character they created for Evans before he turns into Captain America. It looks awkward and silly, kind of like CGI Jeff Bridges looked in Tron Legacy. Still, Captain America is a good movie worth checking out if you like superhero stuff.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Director: Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist)

Starring: Andy Serkis, James Franco, John Lithgow

Currently In Theaters

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is easily the biggest surprise of the year thus far. While the original Planet of the Apes was pretty good, it isn't some classical piece of film. The CGI from the trailers also looked a bit sloppy at points, and there was also a rumor that Franco was badmouthing the movie before it had even come out. Having said all of that, Rise is one of the best movies I've seen this year, and it is mostly carried by Andy Serkis and his character, Caesar. Without even speaking, Caesar conveys more emotion than most other films can. Serkis brings Caesar to life perfectly, from his facial expressions to his walk. The relationship between Caesar and Franco is touching as well, though I found myself wanting more of their backstory. The action sequences at the end of the film are amazing. Specifically, that battle on the Golden Gate is one of the better scenes of the year. However, the film isn't flawless. All of the human characters except Franco are one-dimensional. Freida Pinto, Franco's love interest, literally speaks 3 lines and kisses him, and that's her entire role. Lithgow is a bit more fleshed-out, but I still knew nothing about him except that he has Alzheimer's. I really wish that the first half of the film was longer so we could have gotten to know those characters more. Having said all of that, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of the best movies of 2011 so far.

Film of the Month: June

Man, I've gotten behind again. In this and in the 2011 reviews. Oh well.

I've decided to stop mentioning the worst film of the month. I don't really care to talk about it and it's just more work that I don't care enough to do. Instead, I'm going to let the size of the list fluctuate by month depending on how many truly great films I saw that month. This month, there happened to be nine.

Film of the Month: The Tree of Life (2011)

Directed by Terrence Malick.

Starring Brad Pitt, Hunter McCracken, Jessica Chastain, and Sean Penn.

My love of this film is fairly well documented. Rarely does a movie affect me in any significant and lasting way; The Tree of Life managed to affect me in multiple ways and I'm still talking about it two months later. For more commentary, see my review of it.

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Honorable Mentions

All That Jazz (1979)

Directed by Bob Fosse.

Starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, and John Lithgow.

In my opinion, 9 out of 10 musicals are terrible and stupid. I see very little advantage for a story to be told by people prancing around and singing instead of simply saying their lines. However, those 10% of musicals that actually work are really good. Singin' in the Rain, Chicago, and, of course, all of those old Disney musicals are part of that 10%, and now, so is All That Jazz. In Jazz's case, it manages to overcome the lameness of having to watch people sing by being extremely dark, by incorporating its musical elements into logical spots, and by just simply being a damn good movie.

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Biutiful (2011)

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Starring Javier Bardem.

Another great movie from 2011. To save me some time and effort, I'll just link to my review of it and mention that, although it is quite tedious in spots, Biutiful is very rewarding and has one of the better performances I've seen in a movie.

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Chasing Amy (1997)

Directed by Kevin Smith.

Starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee.

To be honest, I'm not a very big fan of Kevin Smith. Not that he makes bad movies; he just doesn't really make good ones, either. Every single time I've seen one of his films, I walk out thinking, "eh, it was alright. I laughed I guess." Zack and Miri broke this mold by being memorable simply for its nasty poop jokes and funny sex scenes. Having said all of this, Chasing Amy is by far the best movie by Smith I've seen. He mixes in some mature themes with his idiot jokes and these mature themes elevate the film to a new level. I never thought a Kevin Smith movie would make me think, but think again: I think I thought about it. But seriously, it's great.

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Teri Garr.

I have no idea how Close Encounters slipped through the first 23 years of my life, but I'm so glad I caught it in year 24. It's a genius (if sappy) take on alien invasion. It's beautifully shot and the story is great, but what I love best about the film is that it isn't afraid to hold some things back from the viewer. Most alien movies feel the need to "reward" us with adequate amounts of scares or alien screen time, but Spielberg was confident enough to limit them both.

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Gone with the Wind (1939)

Directed by Victor Fleming.

Starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and Hattie McDaniel.

Haters gonna hate. Yes, I realize it's a 4 hour movie. No, I don't think I'll ever watch it again. Neither of these things make it bad, and Vivien Leigh being "whiny" doesn't either. It's a great film. Historically, this was the pinnacle of film's first 30 to 40 years and it's worth watching simply to admire those aspects. It also has a very engaging plot and some fine acting. Clark Gable is one of those old actors that nobody mentions anymore, which is a shame. He's made some amazing films. If you haven't seen GwtW yet, and you find yourself with a spare 4 hours, check it out.

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Junebug (2005)

Directed by Phil Morrison.

Starring Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, and Benjamin McKenzie.

I feel like Junebug was supposed to be taken more seriously than I ended up taking it (it's one of those serious comedies), but I was cracking up throughout the film. That may have been because the family in the movie reminded me so much of my own: southern, set in their ways, and very family-oriented. Amy Adams puts in the best performance I've seen from her here, and I'm a fan of her in general. There's one scene in particular, near the end, that was very touching, and I respect her more as an actor from that single scene than everything else I've seen her in combined.

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Super 8 (2011)

Directed by J.J. Abrams.

Starring Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Riley Griffiths.

Yet another film from 2011. Super 8 is like a mix of Stand By Me and Close Encounters, but instead of feeling like a cheap ripoff, it manages to keep the feel of those films while carving out its own unique feeling. See my review for more.

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X-Men: First Class (2011)

Directed by Matthew Vaughn.

Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Kevin Bacon.

Few films (none of them superhero-related) are able to really capture the feel of an era of the past. First Class really felt like it took place during the 60's, and this was its most impressive feat in my opinion. If you'd like to read more about the film, just check my review.

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Other (Good) Films From June:

25th Hour (2002)

Barney's Version (2011)

The Green Hornet (2011)

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

The Last Emperor (1987)

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

30 Day Movie Challenge Part III

Welp, this is the end. This part will cover days 21-30.

Day 21: Your favorite action movie.

My Choice: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

This one was fairly easy. Terminator 2 is one of those perfect movies. Not really, but it's about as close as you can get in something written by James Cameron. The characters (especially that kid) say some really cheesy things, but it doesn't matter. Let's count the reasons why. You've got Arnold running walking around, breaking hands, wearing sunglasses, and just being an all around hardass. You've got one of the saddest endings in an action movie. You've got the atomic bomb scene, pictured above. And you've got the T-1000, one of the coolest characters in film history. That CGI still looks great, 20 years later. If you don't like Terminator 2, you need to get your pulse checked.

Day 22: Your favorite documentary.

My Choice: Grizzly Man (2005)

This one was a bit closer (Dear Zachary is another beautiful documentary), but Grizzly Man wins out simply for being the only documentary that I've gone out of my way to watch more than once. Grizzly is not only informative and interesting, but it's also entertaining, a very hard combination to do right in documentaries. I felt sympathy for Treadwell's plight as well as his mission, and at the same time I questioned the decisions he made. It's a touching story with some great video from his actual treks in Alaska, and it's well worth a watch, even for people who hate documentaries.

Day 23: Your favorite animated movie.

My Choice: Bambi (1942)

Bambi always has been and always will be my favorite animated movie. We owned it when I was a child and I watched it countless times. It never lost its emotional impact, even as an adult. In fact, as an adult I can appreciate it even more because of its technical feats. For example, the Disney guys created this sense of depth by using three different color plates placed at different distances from the camera. Even without the technical side of the film, though, it's one of the greatest films of all time. Lots of people have made fun of me over the years for how much I love Bambi, but for my money, it doesn't get any better than this.

Day 24: A movie you wish you could live in.

My Choice: Jurassic Park (1993)

As a child I was obsessed with two movies. The first of these was Jurassic Park. After I saw it, I became completely obsessed with dinosaurs for a year or two. My bedsheets were dinosaurs, my toys were dinosaurs, my coloring books were dinosaurs. Hell, back then I probably could've told you the Latin names of a lot of the dinosaurs. That's the main reason I'd want to live in Jurassic Park: because, more than any other movie, it defined my childhood. Also, dinosaurs are badass.

Day 25: The funniest movie you've ever seen.

My Choice: Anchorman (2004)

Again, it comes down to replay value. I lost track of how many times I've seen Anchorman about 4 years back, and the reason it's the funniest movie I've ever seen is because, even after all of those watches, it's still funny. Almost every joke in the movie works, from the gang trying to woo Veronica to the Funky Town animation to the News Crew gangfight. The greatest part of Anchorman, though, has to be Brick. He steals every scene he's in with his oblivious attitude. It may not be my favorite comedy of all time, but it's definitely the funniest.

Day 26: A movie that you love but everyone else hates.

My Choice: Cloverfield (2008)

I copped out a bit with this choice. I don't actually love Cloverfield. It's a good, original movie with some great sequences, but it's definitely a flawed movie. And I also don't really know anybody who actively hates it. I just honestly couldn't think of a movie I truly love that people hate, and I remember when Cloverfield first came out, there was a fairly strong backlash against it because of its handheld style and handling of the alien. I never understood the negative reviews then, and I don't now. It's a very good monster flick.

Day 27: A movie you wish you had seen in theaters.

My Choice: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

To be honest, I'd never even heard of the books before the first movie came out. Give me a break, I was 14. And when I saw the trailers, it reminded me a lot of what my brother had been telling me about his Harry Potter books, and since he liked Potter I had to hate it. Therefore, I wrote off Fellowship until it came out on video. Of course, I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and subsequently saw the other two in theaters. Because of this, I feel like I missed a crucial experience by not seeing Fellowship in theaters. There's just something about seeing your favorite movies on the big screen that amplifies the awesomeness to a grand scale.

Day 28: Your favorite movie from your favorite director.

My Choice: Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957)

Actually, 2001: A Space Odyssey is my favorite movie from Mr. Kubrick. However, I've already used 2001 for a different entry, so I went with another of my favorites from him. Paths of Glory is one of his lesser-known films, which is a shame, because it's also one of his greatest. An anti-war film before the genre existed, Paths was actually banned for a while in France because of its negative depiction of French soldiers. It may be a bit dated in its presentation, but it is still one of my favorite movies of all time. Then again, I could say that about a lot of Kubrick's filmography (Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, and A Clockwork Orange, for instance).

Day 29: A movie from your childhood.

My Choice: Puppet Master (1989)

Puppet Master is not a great movie by any definition. The bad guys are stupid, the good guys are killer puppets, and the movie is filled to the brim with cheesy 80's dialogue and hairstyles. The only reason I love this movie is because it was that one movie from my childhood that none of my friends had ever even heard of, let alone seen. I shared it with no one but my brother, although I've told a few people about it more recently. Even rewatching it as an adult, I was entertained simply by the memories it brought back. I really can't seriously recommend this movie to anyone who didn't see it as a kid, but then again, that's the point of this entry.

Day 30: Your favorite movie of all time.

My Choice: There Will Be Blood (2007)

I'm gonna cheat here a little bit. Anybody reading this will already know my feelings on There Will Be Blood, and to be fair, it's not really my favorite movie. It's one of ten or fifteen (we'll see how many I come up with) that make up my favorite movies of all time. Therefore, I'm gonna end this blog with a list of those other favorites of mine, for anyone interested. I'll keep it to one movie per director, too. In alphabetical order.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Bambi (1942)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)

Goodfellas (1990)

Grizzly Man (2005)

Life is Beautiful (1998)

The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

The Thin Red Line (1998)

Toy Story (1995, 1999, 2010)

Unforgiven (1992)

WALL-E (2008)

The Wrestler (2008)

Hope you enjoyed it!

Ricochet Reviews: Hobo with a Shotgun

Hobo with a Shotgun

Director: Jason Eisener (debut film)

Starring: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth

On Blu-Ray + DVD: July 5, 2011

You know, for a movie called Hobo with a Shotgun, I sure do wish there was more hobo. And a hell of a lot more shotgun.

Rutger Hauer stars as a hobo who rides a train into a new town. For unknown reasons, this town is in even worse shape than Sin City, with weird, 80s-style violent reality shows and policemen who laugh when you turn in criminals. After spending a few days in this city and getting assaulted by a gang (and the police), Hauer buys a shotgun and gets to killing.

Had the plot stopped here, I would've been perfectly content with it. A movie titled Hobo with a Shotgun shouldn't even try to be serious. It should set up a basic storyline, and then just let the absurdity of its idea carry it through. Honestly, that would've been enough for me, and it baffles me that more action movies don't embrace their silliness.

And the violence in this section is wonderfully over-the-top. A couple of examples are Hauer shotgunning a pedophilic Santa Claus in the face and a car filled with people being squished, causing a fountain of blood. Damned or not, I laughed loudly at these scenes, and I wish there were more of them. Hauer is a charismatic hobo, and his presence help make his violent actions seem defensible.

Sadly, though, the plot kept going, and it is the plot that inevitably sinks this film. Interspersed in Hauer's rampage are two pointless and annoying subplots. The first involves a prostitute (Dunsworth) who lets him stay in her house. Dunsworth is very annoying and, at least here, a terrible actress, and I loathed every single time she came on screen. The story that Eisener tries to drag out of her and Hauer's relationship is extremely tedious and unnecessary. The second subplot is this family dynamic involving the evil leader of the city and his two sons. These are probably the worst scenes of the entire film. The things they say to each other are idiotic (especially that of one of the brothers), and their relationship doesn't really make much sense.

It may sound like I'm overanalyzing the plot to a movie that I just finished saying needed no plot. Maybe I am, but the reason I put so much focus on the plot is because the film itself does. While I kept waiting for more action and over-the-top violence, Eisener kept shoving his story down my throat. It's not a good story, it never was, and it single-handedly destroys this otherwise entertaining movie.

Hobo with a Shotgun has some entertaining aspects. If you like your movies gory (and I mean lots of gore), you'll probably want to check it out. Hell, you'll probably like it better than I did. However, I went in expecting a film with little to no story and was given a film with a drawn-out, terrible story. Drive Angry had this same problem. The next time someone tries to make a grindhouse movie, just make a damn grindhouse movie. Leave the plots out of it and just give me some action.

Is that too much to ask?