Winter's Tale Review

I saw Winter's Tale on February 17, 2014!!! Right off the bat I would like to say don't pay attention to critics. They think they're experts in movies and have ripped this apart left and right, but I'm going to do something refreshing and present it in the positive light it should be. I honestly really enjoyed this movie from beginning to end. The power of miracles and destiny is prevalent throughout this movie. I was really into the story from the beginning to the end. It's really split perfectly into three distinct parts: an origin of our main character, a middle part set in the 1900s, and a third act that ties into everything in modern times. It's a great fantasy romance for adults. Guardian angels and demons are both competing to either assist or detract our main protagonist Peter Lake from achieving his destiny. The cast was very good overall. I thought Colin Farrell did a great job as Peter-the thief that has a bigger purpose in life. Russell Crowe was excellent as the villain Pearly Soames-he really captured that demon persona. His obsession with stopping Peter from achieving his goal is interesting to watch. The color motif for symbols throughout the movie is amazing as well-red, white, and black all have significant roles.  Stars/constellations are also a big part of this movie which I liked. In this movie, they represent heaven and when we pass away our soul becomes a new shining star. The female cast members of this movie were excellent: I really liked the Beverly Penn character-she is played by the gorgeous Jessica Brown Findlay (who some may know from Downton Abbey). I really liked how even though she was dying from consumption, she still tried to stay positive, and Peter was a big part of that reason. The movie also featured Jennifer Connelly-who still looks incredible. Her role is important in shaping the completion of Peter's purpose in life in terms of who must be saved. I also really liked the role of Willa-McKayla Twigg. I thought Twigg did very well for such a young actress. Each character in some way shapes Peter's journey. Willa shows Peter where this must happen as well as expressing love for him and her family, particularly her sister Beverly. Will Smith had a pretty good cameo I thought as well. I probably would have cast somebody else in his role based on who its supposed to be, but it still worked. The interaction with him and Crowe was great. Overall, this is a powerful movie instilling in us the power to believe in something more. The story exploring miracles/destiny over the course of time, the cast, the characters, the visual effects, and the importance of color and symbolism truly make this a standout movie for me. It is a definite 5/5 for me. I know critics would balk at my positive remarks for this movie, but why would I take them seriously when they praise "illustrious" movies like About Last Night? Winter's Tale is a story with deep meaning that will tug at your emotions with interesting twists and a true battle between good and evil.

Vampire Academy Review

I saw Vampire Academy on February 10, 2014. I absolutely love Richelle Mead's characters and storyline. She actually researched the different legends of vampires in order to shape her books. I like her writing style a great deal. I thought that Daniel Waters and Mark Waters both did an excellent job of adapting the book to the screen. It was actually quite faithful to the book which was great to see. The descriptions for Dhampirs-guardians of the Moroi-half human/half vampire, Moroi-peaceful race of vampires-able to use magic whether its earth, fire, water, or air (however, there are occassions when one can channel spirit or specialize in all four), and Strigoi  (the undead vampires that we've all read about-bloodthirsty, killed by sunlight, etc)were handled very well. Key scenes and dialogue were included throughout the movie and the actors/actresses in the roles were really good, particularly Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, and Gabriel Byrne. The idea of friendship is presented over romance primarily in this series, and I was impressed at how well they were able to project it for the audience. I absolutely love Zoey Deutch. When I saw her in Beautiful Creatures, I immediately hoped to see her in more movies, and this is a perfect movie for her. She completely nailed the Rose Hathaway role. Rose is one of my favorite literary characters, and I think Deutch's personality really helped to bring it to life (amazing work by this great up and coming actress-more roles for her please!!). Not only did Deutch nail the personality and attitude of Rose, but she is absolutely gorgeous in my opinion. Where Deutch captured the looks and attitude of Rose completely entertaining me the entire time, Lucy Fry presented the regal look and physical presence of the Moroi princess, Lissa Dragomir. The chemistry between the two was well documented throughout the movie. Characters such as Christian Ozera and Dmitri Belikov were well represented by Dominic Sherwood and Danila Kozlovsky. In the case of Kozlovsky, it was great casting because the character is supposed to have Russian ancestry and he did a great job conveying that dark past. Gabriel Byrne was perfect for the role of Victor Dashkov. His character is important in many ways to the principle core of Rose's dedication to becoming a successful guardian for Lissa. The action sequences were well done, the look of St. Vladimir's Academy-uniforms, regal decorum, etc, as well as the genuine chemistry between the main characters presented a visual representation of what this series is about. I definitely give this movie a 5/5 as I genuinely was impressed with how well they presented the story, main characters, action, and comedic/dramatic elements.

American Hustle Review

I saw American Hustle on January 11, 2014!! Now while this movie may not have alot of action going on, it had great characters and an exciting plot. It follows the lives of con artists, FBI agents, and politicians. We look at the lives of Irving Rosenfeld, who was played perfectly by Christian Bale. He was probably my favorite part of the movie overall. I thought his physical appearance especially his ridiculous comb-over were hilarious, but Bale made that appearance work. That appearance combined with his eccentric personality was really fun to watch. Bale really stole the show throughout the movie. I felt like his presence in scenes made it that much better.  He is a very good actor, and I feel bad for people that only have seen him in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Check out performances like American Psycho, The Prestige, The Fighter, and definitely American Hustle. Along with Irving, we look at his relationship with Sydney aka Edith for conning purposes played by the gorgeous Amy Adams. She looked absolutely amazing in this movie, and in my opinion this was one of her strongest performances. The system they used early on showed that Sydney was the brains of the operation, even though Irving was the one that brought her into the con...okay, so maybe she overheard him talking about how he liked meeting her which led to their partnership, but still Irving wouldn't have been as successful without her involvement. FBI agent Richie DiMaso played very well by Bradley Cooper eventually comes into their lives and turns things upside down by throwing them into a world of corrupt politicians and casino gangsters. Richie has alot of ambition, and he believes he can take them down. The catch is: he needs the assistance of Sydney & Irving. Irving does not like Richie, while Sydney is caught in the middle. I thought Amy was really the glue between the two characters. Her acting has always impressed me. The tangled web of shenanigans that Richie gets them involved in has Irving worried, because one of the men Richie wants Irving to help bring down ends up becoming a good friend of his: Mayor Carmine Polito which Jeremy Renner did a great job with. Bale really did well dealing with the conundrum of conning him all along which may get him arrested in front of his wife and children. He really dislikes Richie for this reason and his closeness with Sydney. Irving loves Sydney, but is also married to a truly unlikable character in his wife Roselyn. The reason he stays with her is because he loves the son-which isn't biologically is, but he still loves. Besides Sydney, its the person he cares about most. Throughout this movie whether its dealings with the mob in a back room-great cameos by Robert DeNiro and Michael Pena or a huge face/off between Sydney and Roselyn, you really get into the scene. I loved Sydney, but loathed Roselyn. While I enjoyed Bale, Adams, Cooper, and Renner, I truly disliked Jennifer Lawrence's performance. Last year, she was incredible in Silver Linings Playbook. I thought she was way too over the top here and I didn't think she did well with the role at all. I rolled my eyes when she was miming to Live & Let Die as it threw off the seriousness of the dilemma Irving was in at that moment. I feel alot of people overrate her acting, because I don't think its as good as people say. I know a mob will now come and beat me up for saying that, but its my opinion and I'm entitled to it. The interactions with Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper were the best parts of this-Bale & Adams are two of my favorites and Cooper is a pretty good actor. The three of them together created some fun and intense moments at all times. I like that Adams & Bale are on the Golden Globe list, and I expect them to be on the Oscar list as well. I really don't feel Lawrence should be on the list for this, but I don't make the decisions. Overall, I would give this a 4/5. This is a very good character driven movie with some interesting plots, great twists, and, for the most part solid performances.

The Wolf of Wall Street Review

I saw the Wolf of Wall Street on January 10, 2014. I can honestly say besides Catch Me If You Can & Inception, this was Leonardo DiCaprio's finest performance. The movie is based off the life of Jordan Belfort from a wealthy stockbroker living the high life into a man involved with crime and corruption. Martin Scorsese is probably my all time favorite director. His stories have always been interesting to watch on screen. DiCaprio is my all time favorite actor. It's always interesting to watch his performances. He puts energy into every one of them. He gets himself into that character's mindset and that is what makes the performance so believable. His charismatic presence on screen made you believe that DiCaprio was Belfort. I liked watching the character starting out who had ambition and the temptation of greed early on inside of him. Once he learns the ropes, his career takes off where he gains wealth through a boiler room atmosphere selling penny stocks at higher prices to earn more commission eventually heading a company called Stratton Oakmont (the movie opens with a promotional video of the company). DiCaprio's monologues about greed, money, and the "good life" were so well done. It reminded me of when Patrick Bateman would have inner monologues to himself in American Psycho. On a sidenote, did you know DiCaprio was the first consideration for that role, but Gloria Steinem told him it would be bad for his image with teenage girls. It also had that Greed is Good atmosphere of Wall Street. However, where Wall Street tends to bore me, this movie just constantly flows with a great conversation or scene throughout. DiCaprio does such a great job of making you love Jordan one minute, but absolutely loathing him the next. With the amount of money he has coming in, he cheats on his wife and engages in drugs. Both women cast as his wives did a tremendous job. I felt his first wife Theresa played by Cristin Millotti was great for Jordan early on encouraging him and telling him not to give up when many people weren't hiring stockbrokers. She was almost like Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny-though not as animated. The other woman in Jordan's life Naomi played very well by Margot Robbie had excellent chemistry with DiCaprio through both good times and bad. Theresa represented the rise of Jordan's wealth, and Naomi represents the fruits of the wealth and eventual decline. I also need to point out that Jonah Hill gave the best performance of his career. He was great as Jordan's best friend Donnie Azoff, who eventually causes problems for Jordan. Working with DiCaprio gave him an opportunity to show how great of an actor he can be. Jordan Belfort is a perfect role for Leonardo DiCaprio. He went all out in every scene and I think its time the Golden Globes and the Oscars award this man for his incredible work in this movie. The incredible characters, dialogue, scenes, and performances by all people involved whether it was Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Kyle Chandler (FBI agent), Margot Robbie, etc. all did an amazing job creating true movie magic. This is one of Martin Scorsese's finest movies which in my opinion is a definite 5/5. I am really hoping DiCaprio wins Best Actor at both the Golden Globes and the Oscars. This is a man that has had consistent performances, especially from 2002 on. Witnessing his work in The Wolf of Wall Street made me realize just how incredible of an actor he truly is.

Dallas Buyers Club Review

I saw Dallas Buyers Club in November, but with awards season coming up I figured I would get around to writing the review for it. Dallas Buyers Club was a very good movie about the AIDS disease. It looked at the controversy of the early medications, and the efforts of Ron Woodroof to get that medication to himself and other patients to prolong their lives. I was very impressed with the performances of Matthew McConaughey, who proves that he can act. I've always liked McConaughey-seems like an easy going actor that loves shooting movies. He has really been doing well in the independent movie business, most recently in Mud. In this movie, it might be difficult to like the actual character of Ron, because his personality is pretty despicable early on. He's a womanizer, racist, etc. However, McConaughey is able to show signs of change in Ron's personality throughout the movie. I felt his chemistry with Jennifer Garner, who plays Dr. Eve Saks to be very natural, and her role is important in terms of discovering flaws in certain medications. Ron's medications are what the patients need. It's incredible to see the physical transformation of McConaughey in this. He really went all out for this role, and throughout the movie gave a tremendous performance which has earned him a nomination at the Golden Globes, and most likely the Oscars. As great as McConaughey was, I believe the star of this movie was actually Jared Leto. I couldn't believe how much he transformed himself in this to portray the character of Rayon. He literally looked like a woman, but he stole every scene he was in. Leto has always been great at portraying great characters. I always felt he was an underrated actor, and his performance here struggling with his sexuality and his father, as well as the dreaded feeling of being lonely made for a magnificent performance worthy of recognition. McConaughey and Leto worked so well with each other. They are such polar opposites in terms of their reputations as actors, but they really used that well here. The Ron & Rayon characters are so different, but similar as they're both judged for different reasons. This is a great example of two actors giving outstanding performances in a movie dealing with controversial material that ended up working well. Along with these performances you also have the direction of Jean-Marc Vallee combined with the writing of Craig Borten & Melissa Wallack to really create a positive achievement in movie making. I give this movie a 4/5 overall. The nominations for this movie thus far for awards season are well deserved.

12 YEARS A SLAVE REVIEW

Every few years, a movie comes out that one must see not just because its well done but rather due to its weight. This list would include Schindler’s List, Amistad and their ilk. 12 Years A Slave deserves to join this list.

The movie 12 Years A Slave is based upon the autobiographical book of the same name by Solomon Northup.  It chronicles the true-life story of Northup’s kidnapping and subsequent 12 years spent enslaved in South. Northup was a freeman of the North who lived in Saratoga NY. He had a family and vocation before he journeyed to Washington DC where he was captured, ransomed and sold to a plantation owners in the Southern United States. 

12 Years a Slave is the rare movie where everything is perfect because every little detail presented is important.  The use of audio-effects in this movie is unique compared to others I have seen in a long time. From the sounds of the tuning of a violin to the sound a whip makes and impacted on skin, you will experience every sound in context because it has meaning. For me, its been a very long time since I noticed every noise in a film without getting annoyed by their seemingly artificial addition to every scene. Here, the sounds amplified and flawlessly natural.

The use of panoramic shots was also very impressive.  The viewer gets the idea that the fault for the sin of slavery was a global issue and not isolated to the life of Northup. Director McQueen’s shots and angles showed it was a time when not just one group turned a blind eye to the plight of the other but when the slaves also turned ignored injustice for survive.

The movie is full of Cameos from actors whom I am sure they didn’t ask to be paid for their time. From Benedict Cumberbach, Alfre Woodard, Paul Dano and Paul Giamati to Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender.  Some appear for mere minutes or a few scenes in the film but you almost don’t notice them their “star power” they just fit.

As I started this post, I believe this movie to be very much like Spielberg’s Schindler's List. This will not be a movie I will own or possibly see more than 2-3 more times but it left an impact. It told a story not always understood because of its complexity and the sensitivity of the subject matter.  I will say, this will be a much-deserved Best Motion Picture for the Golden Globes and Oscars.  I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.

Frozen Review

I saw Frozen on December 2, 2013!! This is easily the best animated movie I've seen in a while. The last animated movie I actually liked was Wreck It Ralph. This movie captured the magic of Disney through incredible characters, amazing visuals, and an intriguing plot. The plot revolves around two sisters: Elsa & Anna. Elsa lives in fear because she has the ability to create ice and snow. As she gets older her powers get stronger and she wants to find a way to control it. We see how her powers can be fun and incredible, while also showing how dangerous they can be. Anna is her younger, free spirited sister, and we get a sense of how close they are in the early minutes of the movie. Emotions get the better of Elsa causing her to lose control of her powers turning the entire kingdom into endless winter, thus isolating herself from her subjects, her sister, and the rest of the world to be free. Anna feels it is her fault for pushing her too much, and is on a quest to find her and bring her home to rule her kingdom. With the help of Kristoff & Olaf, she endures extreme conditions to bring her back home where she belongs. They had a nice political side plot in terms of a rival country trying to find a way to overthrow Elsa's kingdom. Along with the fun dialogue among the characters and the incredible visuals throughout, there were also some good songs. One song I thought was absolutely amazing was Let It Go where Elsa finally feels free mid-way through the movie. As I noted, the theater was packed and we all applauded when it was over. Idina Menzel did an incredible job with that piece of music. She belted it out. It reminded me of Defying Gravity in Wicked-another song that Menzel made famous. The girl can sing, and her voice really worked for Elsa. Honestly, I have no idea how you can feel nothing after listening to this song. Kristen Bell worked perfectly for Anna, while Josh Gad's voice provided natural comedic flavor to Olaf. A big part of this movie is the importance of sibling relationships. It was really interesting watching the evolution of the relationship with Elsa & Anna from when they were young children to adulthood. I liked the spin they put on true love, and how it didn't revolve around the typical guy kisses girl to solve everything. I won't lie there were so many times in this movie where my eyes started watering up just because of how natural the emotion was. Each character had their moments to shine, but what I liked is that two strong female characters dictated the pace of this movie. Elsa & Anna are officially two of my favorite female animated characters and that covers a lot of ground. Ariel from the Little Mermaid is my favorite, but these two will be remembered for their sisterly bond/love & devotion to each other, and the interesting circumstances surrounding their characters, whether it is Elsa's powers or Anna's fun personality. Frozen should win Best Animated Movie at the Oscars this year for the characters/excellent voice casting, incredible visuals, amazing plot, and interesting twists throughout. Let It Go should also be nominated...and hopefully win the Best Original Song at the Oscars. All of the factors I discussed make this a 5/5. I highly recommend seeing this if you haven't. Animation is the pickiest genre for me when looking at movies, and I am telling you this is a special movie that all ages can appreciate.