A Most Violent Year (2014)

4/5

JC Chandor's A Most Violent Year takes place in New York City in 1981. A rising oil businessman (Isaac) finds himself at a difficult crossroads. His drivers (Gabel) are being carjacked and he is losing thousands of dollars in stolen oil; the DA (Oyelowo) is looking into his company for criminal misconduct; and he risks losing a $1 million deposit on property after the bank backs out of a loan.

Whether you call it an homage or piracy, the movie takes a number of cues from The Godfather, which I won't enumerate here. But it does it all in a different era; it's learned from its predecessors. It feels like what The Godfather Part III wanted to be.

It is visually and thematically rich, polished and perfected by studies of the countless gangster movies that came before. Soft sepia tones belie an unspoken intensity and slow pacing hides an unrelenting momentum. This movie defies expectations--violence is not the same as action--but rewards the patient viewer. The powerful finale perfectly encapsulates the entire movie: a quiet moment of reflection punctuated by a gut-wrenching act of violence, a striking visual composition with enormous emotional resonance, and a morally ambiguous denouement to leave the saga ever unraveling.

The acting is spectacular--there is nuance and subtlety, even in loud moments of vitriol and rage--and the cinematography is breathtaking. But it is not a perfect movie. Some early scenes felt off kilter; a few sideplots felt unnecessary and unresolved; and parts of the movie felt boring. But on the whole it's a much more mature project compared to Chandor's earlier Margin Call, and it's definitely a film worth watching.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2937898/

Finding Nemo (2003)

4/5

Finding Nemo is another home run for Pixar, filled with expectedly charming anthropomorphic ocean creatures, superb writing, and exciting action. A family film about a clownfish named Marlin (Brooks) searching for his son Nemo (Gould) in the Great Barrier Reef, it has memorable characters and funny situations that will delight and surprise you. And despite what I say in the next paragraph, it is a fantastic movie that would be hard not to recommend to just about anyone. But it didn't light a fire in me.

The problem with the movie is that it lacks a propulsive premise. It has a cohesive, all-encompassing arc with effective character development and plot progression, but it feels too episodic. This would have been better served as a miniseries or television show. Every step on Marlin's journey is a random aside, a small comedic sidestep, none of which contribute much to the overall narrative. Some games have minigames that add to your enjoyment of the primary game; Finding Nemo feels like it has nothing but minigames. Because of that, we as viewers are lost in the same expansive ocean, pulled forward unaware. In certain movies this can be exciting and enthralling; in this one it merely serves to frustrate. And though it seems like I'm complaining, would anybody have objected to seeing these characters reprise their roles weekly on the Disney Channel, becoming ever more complex, fascinating, and endearing?

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266543/

Drive (2011)

2/5

Drive is an over-stylized mess of a movie without a clear focus, although it's directed as if it had one. The threadbare plot is too simple and pointless to warrant a sentence reiterating it; suffice it to say it's about crime, revenge, and a little bit of driving (but not as much as the title would lead you to believe). Ryan Gosling plays the strong, silent superhero who "doesn't carry a gun" but has no qualms with stomping skulls in. He plays it well--his acting is probably the best part of the movie--but he does it under misguided direction from Refn. He alternates between stoic and angry and child-like on a dime, but doesn't do it in a convincingly personal or meaningfully complex way, just on the whims of the plot so we can see some sensational yelling or killing at random intervals.

Refn directs the movie like a comic book, with striking visuals and superb juxtaposition telling the story in place of dialogue. The 80's synth music and pink typography give it a retro feel, but it feels a little out of place. I commend the style, but I guess I came into the theater expecting the maturity of a novel. I typically don't like violence without a purpose: I want a movie to give me something back to make up for assaulting my senses. But Refn's goal with Drive seems simply to shock and appall you without any substance beneath the special effects. All in all, I cannot recommend this movie.

Also, it stole its tagline from No Country for Old Men.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

4/5

The Simpsons Movie is fantastic and fun the entire time. I loved seeing this movie! My mouth was open the entire time. Literally. The jokes were so rapid-fire that if I tried closing my mouth, I would have to open it again before it shut completely so that I could laugh at a new joke. It is unbelievably funny and a worthy addition to the Simpsons name. It's so much better than the average new episode coming out on TV and highly recommended. In addition to the many, many clever gags, there were uncountable subtle references to movies I know and love (like Independence Day, when the shadow came and covered the town). Also, the animation was great: brilliant yellow as you've never seen it before! And in hi-def! But perhaps what I liked most about seeing the film was the heartfelt emotion that doesn't always find itself so honestly in the series. After growing up with these characters for the better part of my youth, yes, I found myself choking up at some parts. And then I laughed.

But for hardcore fans, of which I do not consider myself one, it seems it was a bit of a letdown. It was especially disappointing after seeing the absolutely incredible first twenty minutes of the film and getting their hopes up. They recycled many jokes, situations, and plot devices; where was the fresh, edgy humor the show was first known for? Personally I was a bit put off at the rather limited inclusion of Mr. Burns, Apu, and other relatively minor characters. I didn't like how they added an evil bad guy just for the movie, especially considering they could have made him Hank Scorpio in the exact same role and it would've worked even better and been even more hilarious. Also, the abundance of jokes, trying to cram every last thing into this movie, got a bit tedious at the end. You're just waiting for the movie to be over. And in all honesty, laughing for 90 minutes straight has to be bad for you in some way; that can't be healthy. I hate saying these negatives 'cause I loved the movie and absolutely recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in the Simpsons or American culture through media. It is exemplary.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0462538/