Godzilla (2014)

3/5

Gareth Edwards's Godzilla reboot is not really a monster movie; it is a surprisingly well-constructed and engaging story that just happens to have some monsters in it. The acting is first-rate, the camerawork is top-notch, and the computer-generated creatures feel believable. But for all the things it got right, it got one big thing wrong.

The most glaring problem with this movie is the same one I found in The Shining: there's a lot of build-up without any follow-through (until the last few minutes of the movie anyway). It's exhausting and frustrating, not exciting and tense. Imagine thinking, "Something's gonna happen, something's gonna happen, something's gonna happen," and then nothing happens. Over and over again. I can't imagine watching it again; I'd just be skipping through the first 75 minutes because it's a lot of nothing followed by more nothing.

A pretty good movie otherwise.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831387/

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

3/5

Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer is an unexpectedly thrilling crime/courtroom drama. Mick Haller (McConaughey) is the titular lawyer who takes on the case of Louis Roulet (Phillippe), a wealthy playboy accused of assaulting a prostitute. Roulet is unwilling to take any deals or plead anything besides not guilty, so Haller considers it a challenge worthy of his skills. However, Haller discovers some information that makes him doubt Roulet's honesty and innocence, which ends up putting him in quite the pickle as he debates breaking attorney-client privilege.

The opening credits were well-done, evoking an authentic 70's feel that unfortunately was never carried through to the rest of the film. Likewise, the story started with enormous potential, but it quickly whittled its way down to the predictable and expected. Connelly's writing is exciting, but not particularly original or mind-blowing. The pacing unfortunately turned out to be one of the movie's weaker suits. The characters' motivations were revealed too early, which just left you waiting for events to unfold instead of having you sit on the edge of your seat wondering who was telling the truth and who was not.

All in all, the movie has its ups and downs, which balances it out to about 3 stars. McConaughey does a fine job as the lead, but there's something about him I just don't like in this film. I think it's his gaunt eyes and cachectic face that ooze a sense of unease and distrust. His character might be a little sleazy, but I don't think I'm supposed to find him so eerily unsettling. Some of the supporting actors are spectacular (viz. William H. Macy) while others are not (viz. Ryan Phillippe). For a mindless piece of entertainment, The Lincoln Lawyer is decent, but that's about all I'll give it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1189340/

Argo (2012)

4/5

Ben Affleck's Argo recreates the Iran hostage crisis of 1979/1980 with remarkable visual accuracy. After protestors overtake the US Embassy in Iran, 6 would-be hostages escape out a back entrance and hide in the Canadian ambassador's house. Meanwhile the US government is planning a daring "exfiltration" operation led by Tony Mendez (Affleck). Mendez creates a fake movie called Argo, gets Hollywood effects expert John Chambers (Goodman) and producer Lester Siegel (Arkin) to back the ruse, and flies into Iran with fake passports for the fake film crew. As this is going on, the Iranian military within the US Embassy are piecing together shredded documents that contain pictures of the missing employees.

The movie is well-made in terms of its cinematic technique, and Goodman and Arkin deliver knockout performances, but the movie as a whole just doesn't have a clear focus. It starts as a thrilling historical drama, with tense intimate situations and riveting political narratives. But when it turns to the Hollywood scenes, it becomes almost farcical in its tongue-in-cheek joking. It's quite funny, but the humor doesn't seem to fit. The two parts never quite match up, as if they don't belong in the same movie. Argo had no unifying mood to carry us through both halves of the film, and we are left with a jarring disconnect during each transition. Still, the movie is entertaining and exciting, and it's one of those rare movies that allows us a fascinating glimpse into an important piece of history through its storytelling.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/

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/

Contagion (2011)

4.9/5

Steven Soderbergh's Contagion is a phenomenal, finely-crafted film. This doomsday thriller uses an exquisitely contagious pathogen to intertwine the lives of people around the world. The movie starts with Beth Emhoff (Paltrow) after she develops an annoying cough. She flies home from China to meet her husband (Damon) in Minneapolis and manages to spread it across Kowloon, Guangdong, Chicago, and San Francisco within days. Scientists at the CDC (Ehle, Martin) and WHO (Cotillard) are racing against the clock to find patient zero and treat the disease. Dr. Cheever (Fishburne) and Dr. Mears (Winslet) begin isolating known contacts, quarantining the sick, and dealing with the press while an internet blogger (Law) proclaims the miracles of a homeopathic drug. Seemingly minuscule actions rapidly spiral out of control and we cannot help but try to follow along at its breakneck speed.

There is an intensity and urgency to everything about the movie; its feverish pace is electrifying. The film manages to pack a lot of content into its 90-minute running time, and luckily this movie has some very intriguing thematics and hypotheticals from every sphere of society for you to ponder. Technically, the filmmaking is exceptional. Soderbergh switches between storylines swiftly and smoothly without it feeling startling or obnoxious. The acting is pristine and believable, which is difficult to do considering the somewhat alien and unpredictable scenario. The writing is equally authentic. The challenge in medical films is getting the science right, but Contagion does it with aplomb. There is nary a misstep in sight, despite a few improbable stretches of the imagination for the sake of artistic license. It's not quite a perfect movie, but Contagion has just about everything you could want in a movie and I can't wait to watch it again.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/