22 Jump Street (2014)

3/5

The sequel to the TV show reboot that took the world by storm is more of a mixed bag than the slam-dunk repeat formula success story that I'm sure its producers wanted. The writing, which combines raunchy humor with bromance and heart, is adequately funny but never feels emotionally honest. The jokes feel recycled, as does the overall plot progression. The novelty of 21 Jump Street is entirely lost. It's a great piece of entertainment, but it's also an empty, forgettable one.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294449/

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

4/5

I have trouble reviewing movies I grew up watching, especially ones that have the cachet of Spielberg and the nostalgia of youth behind it. The Lost World is one such example. It is a remarkable but imperfect piece of filmmaking, yet all its flaws are ignored when remembering it 15 years later. Not quite the breathtaking, innovative escapism that Jurassic Park was, this sequel somehow manages to be both more mundane and more extravagant. Industrial Light & Magic's CGI here is astounding, even by today's standards. But all the special effects are front and center, with a spotlight shining down, instead of simply existing as a tool in the storyteller's arsenal. Though the plotting is as richly intricate and textured as the first one was, it puts too much emphasis on the spectacle of the dinosaurs. It makes the Tyrannosaurus Rex the protagonist, without humanizing it enough to make it feel like King Kong for a new generation. Like the 2005 King Kong remake, it centers on special effects instead of story, action instead of characters, and that is where it misses out on its full potential. The Lost World loses the awe that Jurassic Park had. The thrills excite, the jokes lighten the mood, and the movie reaches its inevitably satisfying conclusion, but not nearly as well as the first one did.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119567/

The Big Lebowski (1998)

4/5

The first time I saw The Big Lebowski, I was a bit underwhelmed. I had heard the superlatives thrust about in zealous reviews, but at that time I was unfamiliar with the Coens and I didn't know "what it was that they did." Now I know, and I am truly impressed by their work here. Their inimitable style--from the precisely-crafted dialogue to the beautifully-envisioned compositions--is in full force in this movie. Unforgettable characters have emerged from forgettable roles. Simple phrases have become generational mottos. This is a movie that will remain in the collective cultural memory for a long time to come.

The humor finds itself in what the characters do and do not say and how they say it; it finds itself in their actions but more importantly in their motivations; it finds itself in the times, the places, and the moods of these individuals we slowly grow to appreciate if not love (thanks to narration by a "stranger"). While it is not particularly rare for me to laugh during a movie, it is hard for me to remember laughing so loudly, forcefully, and obnoxiously before this one.

Even so, the animated dream sequences are dated. I really don't like special effects that don't hold up over time. But there is a far more significant underlying problem I have with the film. As when I saw it the first time, I have trouble finding a point to it--something I can apply to my daily life more than simply quoting hilarious lines and/or putting them in my movie quotes quizzes. Maybe this movie is just entertainment, but I think the Coens should do more than that. I certainly know they can. But the question is whether or not I got anything more out of it than hearty laughs and good memories; and what is the answer? Does anyone have an answer in the affirmative, because I very much would like to love this movie more than I already do, and that is one major hurdle it must jump. Still, I would pop this movie in the DVD player in a heartbeat if I ever needed a quick laugh. And it's definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it already.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0118715/

Fargo (1996)

5/5

Fargo is an American classic. The darkest, funniest one I've seen--next to No Country for Old Men. Set in the folksy Midwest, it is the story of a pathetic man (William H. Macy) who hires second-rate criminals (Peter Stormare and Steve Buscemi) to kidnap his wife while the chief of police Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) tracks them down. As events spiral wildly out of control, we catch a glimpse at just how far men will go to save themselves. And yet we laugh. At the most morbid moments. The Coens manage to integrate the holy and profane with aplomb, seemingly reckless abandon for "proper" emotional or comedic timing. Tension coexists with humor, the banal with the bizarre. The crime story is electrifying and gripping while the dialect brings an unrelenting charm to every scene. Fargo is unique and inimitable--in a word, unforgettable.

The cinematography and editing are spot-on. The snow is beautiful and evocative, the fades unobtrusive and descriptive. The writing and acting are indelible. Their accents and mannerisms are tattoos, inseparable from the characters. The technical achievements are amongst the best film has to offer. And yet we see the movie's genius in the smallest moments--the moments other writers wouldn't have envisioned and other producers wouldn't have kept. The ones that define the places, the characters, and life as a whole. We see lonely desperation as it turns to inexplicable, irreversible mistakes. We see how common sense and hard work can be all you need for success. We see the tallest reaches and deepest depths of humankind, and are shocked by them both. The ending is one of the most tender, uplifting ones I have witnessed. And not to be missed.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0116282/

Premonition (2007)

2/5

Premonition follows Linda and her husband Jim as their marriage is slowly dissolving. One day she answers the door and a cop tells her that Jim died in a car accident. The next day she wakes up in bed with him alive, and the next day it's his funeral. And back and forth. The reasons for this constant shift in time remain unexplained. It's an empty gimmick to get your attention during marketing so you pay for a ticket, but nothing really happens with it except muck up the plot line with impossible paradoxes. The plot is seriously awful, filled with holes and meandering, unrelated side stories. It is painfully obvious how the movie tries to capitalize on the techniques Memento popularized. The cinematography for most of the movie was abysmal. Two scenes in particular were like The Bourne Supremacy only ten times worse--yeah, that shaky.

I have to say though that there were actually a couple things I liked about this movie. The mood was exceptional; it kept you on edge and constantly looking for an explanation. Unfortunately, none came. Some of the dialogue wasn't bad, raising questions about morality and guilt, but when it did it felt completely out of place. Most of the time the dialogue acted simply as a lazy way to advance the plot. And I didn't mind the acting for the most part. Anything seemed Oscar-worthy after the dross I saw in House of Games. The editing was surprisingly good. The separation of the days of the week helped make sense of the unnecessarily confusing time shifts. Each day was given approximately the same amount of time and felt just as important as the others. After the first couple of days, however, when we figure out what's going on, it's simply a matter of time waiting for the event/ordeal to end. But the poster for this movie is amazing. Absolutely stunning. It has nothing to do with the movie, but still. Anyway, very unrecommended, although it is not completely without merit.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0477071/