Frozen (2013)

3/5

Disney's Frozen is a commercially-successful princess movie chock-full of uplifting songs and adorable animation. And while it has its charms, it just didn't satisfy any of my expectations. For me, it's fairly middle of the road. I have a lot of issues with it--first and foremost being that a lot of it simply doesn't make sense--so I'll go on a short rant before I come to my conclusion.

1. The relationship between the sisters feels inauthentic. As if the mere fact that they are sisters is enough that they display unconditional love for each other. Maybe that's how Disney stories have always been and I haven't been paying attention, but it just didn't feel real for me.
2. Why are there trolls? Why do they possess certain magical properties and not others? What purpose do they serve? And, most importantly, what makes them "love experts"?
3. Why is Olaf the snowman so absurd? He is not merely comic relief; he is the epitome of non sequitur. How and why does he exist at all? Even visually, he seems out of place in the film. In terms of mood, he's even more nonsensical.
4. I find myself opposed to the morals of the film's conclusion. The suspicious character, who does not seem particularly bad, is imprisoned. The truly evil murderous villain, on the other hand, is simply sent back home for his family to punish. Is that really the message we want children to get out of this movie?
5. The songs feel more like Broadway songs than Disney songs. They're extremely dynamic with a full sound and mature voice behind them. They're fantastic songs, but they don't fit comfortably within the Disney canon.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the movie is perfectly adequate but not particularly special. It will entertain and it will delight, but it feels so haphazardly constructed that I cannot imagine it will stand the test of time. It's fine. Most people will like it. But it's ultimately a distraction; it is not Disney's reclamation of success.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/

The Debt (2010)

4/5

The Debt is a compelling mystery thriller about missed opportunities and making up for past mistakes. The plot follows three Mossad agents 30 years after killing the Nazi war criminal known as the "Surgeon of Birkenau" (Christensen). Rachel (Mirren), Stephan (Wilkinson), and David (Hinds) have been continually venerated for their contributions, giving talks to the military and television show hosts for years. The movie starts at a release party for a new book, written by Stephan and Rachel's daughter Sarah (Aboulafia), based on their perspective. It then backtracks several times to the events that transpired 30 years ago, and we get to witness the almost-romance between Rachel (Chastain) and David (Worthington) and the truth behind their legendary acts.

The movie works on just about every level it aspires to. It is gripping and tense, keeping you on the edge of your seat with your heart pumping adrenaline into every artery of your body. The directing and editing are calculated and precise, giving us just the right amount of story arc and excitement in each time period before switching back over. The story is thought-provoking and engaging. Though the details of their situation will almost certainly never come up in your life, everybody eventually must grapple with similarly complex ethical dilemmas. The characters are fascinatingly intricate, but hindered by uneven acting that felt too simplistic at times and too complicated at others. The poor casting decisions didn't help; there was a striking similarity between the old David and young Stephan that made it difficult to follow. And while this movie works as a character study, a mystery thriller, and a provocative parable, it is by no means a masterpiece on any of those genres. Still, The Debt is a well-made movie that scores high marks all around.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226753/

In Bruges (2008)

4/5

Martin McDonagh's wonderfully-crafted In Bruges centers around hitmen Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in Bruges following the former's botched first job. Ralph Fiennes plays their foul-mouthed boss, who has to go to Bruges himself when their second job there is botched. He also delivers a phenomenal line after he finds out they failed. The movie is, for the most part, a comedy. There is a bit of action too, and some tension, along with emotion and drama, but to say it is anything other than a comedy is difficult. But it's the great kind of character-driven comedy that delivers a complete appreciation of its inhabitants, their strengths and weaknesses, their steadfast morals and inescapable failures--all while laughing.

Visually, it was a real treat to watch. The cinematography, editing, and music were all exceptional. The plot progressed naturally and switched between moods effortlessly. The writing was exemplary, the acting even better. You truly get a sense of who these people are and miss them at the end. I did, however, find the accents extremely difficult to understand, and we had to turn on subtitles half an hour in. While it destroyed the punchline for a couple jokes, it also revealed quite a few more. While I liked the dialogue, I found the script on the whole a bit simplistic. The ending was a bit predictable and a bit of a let-down for me. It's not that everything was tied up in the end, it's that they added coincidence to tie it up so cleanly. All in all, I had a great time watching it. I highly recommend it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/

Margot at the Wedding (2007)

2/5

Margot at the Wedding is the reason I hate independent films. With mainstream movies, you more or less know what you're gonna get. With indie crap, they're always a risk: sometimes they pleasantly surprise you, but more often than not they disappoint you and waste your time. Throughout the movie, the characters echoed my sentiments at the bizarre actions of every other character: "What?" Confusion reigns supreme in this dreck. It tries too hard to be the weird, unique indie film for the sake of being that weird, unique indie film that it forgets to tell a story, any story. Strange things happen for no apparent reason. It tries to be a slice-of-life piece, but the characters are simply too unbelievable to exist in any life that can be sliced.

To its credit, I thought Kidman's transformation into an obscenely crazy person was impressive. And a lot of the jokes were really funny. My favorite line of the movie: "My scrotum's longer than my penis." Still, these are not enough to justify the rest of this movie. After seeing The Squid and the Whale, I thought I liked Noah Baumbach. I was very incorrect.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0757361/

There Will Be Blood (2007)

5/5

Wow. I expected There Will Be Blood to be good, but ... wow. That was a stunning cinematic experience. There is an intensity to every single frame that holds you rapt for the entire 160-minute running time; you cannot turn away for even a second. Much of the film's power stems from Daniel Day-Lewis's enormous, towering performance of Texas oilman Daniel Plainview. It is further amplified by the haunting, dissonant score by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. This is the ultimate American parable on capitalism and competition, ambition and greed, success and vengeance. As Plainview goes from miner to prospector to millionaire, with it comes all the trappings of fame and wealth.

Daniel Day-Lewis's acting is simply unparalleled this year. His subtle mannerisms reveal his distorted thought processes while his wild ferocity showcase an awe-inspiring bravura. We empathize with him, though we do not understand him. We want him to succeed, though we do not like him. He grips us tight and pulls us close. On the other end is Paul Dano's Eli Sunday in an unexpected yet equally stellar performance. Though he contains just as much silent fury and displays of grandeur, we are repulsed by him. For the sole reason that he is Plainview's competitor, and therefore his enemy. The tension between these two vile creatures keeps us glued to the screen--their explosive clash at the climactic finale is unforgettable.

Despite this glowing praise, I also had some legitimate complaints. First, although I was engrossed for the whole movie, that was only because I had never seen it before. Looking back, I remember a lot of unnecessary scenes and excessively long takes--ones that would more likely than not bore me if I were to see this movie again. Thirty minutes could have been shaved off with smart editing. Second, it can be a bit confusing. Little is explained and much is left for the audience to infer; this is great for thematics but awful for key plot elements. Third, I found the acting by Dillon Freasier in the role of Plainview's adopted son to be dramatically bad. Maybe it was just in comparison to the rest of the performances, but I just didn't buy it. Fourth, several important shots were blurry, as if the camera operator didn't know how to focus. It was both distracting and angering. Though this movie has its flaws, it succeeds on a visceral and emotional level. There Will Be Blood has the ability to show us the power of cinema at its peak.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0469494/

Miami Vice (2006)

4/5

I saw this with Sameer, Kyle, Joe, and Erik, and none of them thought it was very good. I, on the other hand, found Michael Mann's latest movie to be the flat-out best action movie so far this year. It had some of the most tense and taut scenes I have ever witnessed in any movie. The last hour was cinema at its absolute best. The soundtrack was consistently amazing--something that everybody in the group agreed on.

The middle part was a bit slow, but never boring. Half the time I didn't understand what people were saying due to accents, but it didn't really matter. It was about crime and being cool, not the plot. It was the mood that Mann captured perfectly.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0430357/

Road to Perdition (2002)

5/5

From start to finish, every frame of this film is jaw-dropping in its beauty. You will be stunned by the cinematography, which relegates the powerful script and precise acting to the back of your mind. Even so, it contains scenes of heart-stopping suspense to rival even Hitchcock's greatest works. It also manages to achieve a certain poignancy through Tom Hanks's quiet and restrained interactions with his son and equally quiet and restrained interactions with his father-figure (Paul Newman in a stellar performance, one of the best of his entire career).

The emotional impact of the film becomes somewhat muted due to its obligatory sense of fatalism, in the same vein as the film noirs of the 1940's. To me, the movie's cold, distant mood fits the piece exceptionally well. The terse manner in which the characters speak is also similar to noir, although the dialogue itself is vastly different (where those movies were flashy, Road to Perdition is earthy). Quite simply, it says all that needs to be said and nothing more.

Sam Mendes directs Road to Perdition with the same subtlety and artistic insight found in American Beauty, but the flourishes are more spectacular: A silent, slow-motion massacre in the rain that resembles a dance more closely than a murder, followed by the words "I'm glad it's you." A long take tracking Hanks as he shoots a man in his bathtub, the bright red blood on the white tile sharply contrasting with the pervading dark grey tones. You will remember these scenes; this movie is unforgettable.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0257044/