Author: billc

Star Trek Into Darkness

Bill C’s Review – 3 out of 5

Star Trek Into Darkness is the second reboot of the original Star Trek series and occurs with the original characters prior to ‘5 year mission’ of the original series.

The movie will appeal to both fans of Star Trek and just generally sci-fi/action movies. For the most part, the special effects are pretty good (although the communicators that were so awesome almost 40 years ago seem sort of bulky by today’s standards and the phasers are also nothing special today). I liked the action sequences for most of the movie, but thought the ones towards the end were a little overboard and could have been done better.

For fans of the series, there is a lot of the familiar interaction and humor among Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Scotty, as well as the usual discussions on logic vs. gut decisions influenced by emotion. It did bother me a little that the last movie sort of wiped the slate clean of the original TV historical record, with characters going back in time and therefore changing history.

Zachary Quinto was spot-on as Spock and Simon Pegg always added some humor in a underutilized role as Scotty. Benedict Cumberbatch was excellent as the villain. They even brought Leonard Nimoy back for a cameo, but that was sort of a cop-out in my view that the young Spock needed help from the old Spock.

Overall this was a good movie, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Bill I’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

I was captured from the opening scene, with the way they immediately immerse you in the adventure, although I rolled my eyes when Spock was able to function in the middle of an active volcano. The story was good enough, bringing to life current issues that we face such as the legality of hunting and killing US citizens “abroad”, and the rogue government agents who become ruthless killers justified by some larger mission. The actors are terrific, the action scenes exciting (terrific editing by Maryann Brandon!), and the villian(s) relentless and heartless. At the end my eyes rolled again when Spock showed off his hand-to-hand fighting skills (and where did that come from?). Overall, a thrilling fun ride from JJ Abrams.

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Iron Man 3

Bill C’s Review – 3 out of 5

Iron Man 3 has a good combination of humor and action and makes a good, but not great, movie to start the summer movie season.

Robert Downey Jr. has the role of Tony Stark  down pat and does a great job with both the action and the comedy.   Ben Kingsley has the meatiest (and probably most fun) in a supporting role with a strong cast that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau, Guy Pearce and Rebecce Hall.

The action and special effects (including non-action sequences) were good.  Keeping the special effects fresh is a challenge for the third movie in a special effects driven series but they pulled it off.   I saw this in 2D but in retrospect I wished I had gone for a 3D viewing.

The plot was ok but but suffered a little from the James Bond plot device of never having the super villain take the easy solution when he has the opportunity.

Iron Man 3 is better than the second installment in the series but not as good as the first Iron Man.

Bill I’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

Thoroughly entertaining, with Robert Downey Jr. given lots of time out of his suit, and Gwyneth Paltrow playing a bigger part than in the past. The plot was a stretch for me, such as what’s the bad guy’s mission other than to exact revenge on the world for ignoring him when he was a wanna be inventor. And while Iron Man has developed a cool new feature that has his suit assemble itself onto him in pieces, it was hard to believe the pieces could travel 750 miles to do so. That’s some seriously precise guided missile technology. Rebecca Hall is a pleasure to watch as a former “love” interest, seen below:

while Don Cheadle is the buddy you can’t live without. The plot moves fast, and the 2 hours 20 minutes never seems too long.

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The Angels’ Share

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

This comedy/drama is my favorite movie since SXSW in early March.

Robbie, played by newcomer Paul Brannigan, seems to be headed to jail. Due to his impending fatherhood, he is given a lenient sentence of community service. Despite the sentence and his desire to turn things around, it appears the Robbie is doomed to a life of trouble. Things look so bleak for Robbie that his girlfriend’s father offers to pay him to leave Glasgow and never return.

In community service, Robbie befriends three other troubled souls without bright futures who are all helped by the leader of the group, Harry, played by John Henshaw. Most of the comedy is the interaction of these characters. Harry takes the group on a whiskey tasting excursion and Robbie’s burgeoning nose for whiskey provides a possible path to redemption and a better life for him and his family (so this is definitely a film to see for anyone really into whiskey).

This isn’t the funniest or deepest movie ever, but it just makes you feel good. It reminded me of The Full Monty…just a good comedy with some drama mixed in about someone with a future that doesn’t look bright, but who gives it their best. One other similarity is that The Angels’ Share features people who speak English, but whose accents make it very tough to understand at first. In this case the filmmakers were kind enough to provide subtitles.  After the first 15 minutes or so they weren’t really needed, but it was nice to have them there.

My two favorite parts of the movie were the very beginning and the very end (sweet), but I also liked the stuff in between. This is an art house movie that may be hard to find, but if you can, check it out.

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Graceland

Bill C’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

Graceland is a very good thriller set in the Phillipines.  When the daughter of the chauffeur of a politician mistakenly gets kidnapped the chauffeur will do whatever it takes to get his daughter returned safely.  He needs to deal with the kidnappers, police (who suspect him of being involved) and his boss (to getthe ransom paid).

The movie deals with the seedy, corrupt side of Filipino society – child prostitution, corrupt politicians and police. The story is well written with good plot twists and things are not always as they seem.

This one might be tough to find in theaters (it’s no longer in Austin) but is worthwhile if you can find it.

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The Heat

Bill C’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

The Heat doesn’t open until late June, but had a special free screening at ‘Girlie Night’ at the Alamo. As I take my responsibility to provide reviews to the masses seriously (and I like things that are free), I put up with Girlie Night and having to turn in my phone and get screened to ensure I wasn’t bringing in any recording devices to the screening.

The Heat is a buddy movie starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy and is directed by Paul Feig, whose last film was the mega-hit Bridesmaids. While The Heat is very formulaic, predictable, and probably a little longer than it needs to be, the bottom line is that this is a very funny movie and that’s all that really matters. Bullock plays the by-the-book, full-of-herself FBI agent. McCarthy is the do-whatever-it-takes, break-all-the-rules street cop. They get paired together to try to break up a drug ring and butt heads for a while, but eventually bond and unite to go after the bad guys.

McCarthy, as usual, is very funny and this movie has a lot more laughs than her previous movie, Identity Thief. I thought Sandra Bullock started a little slow, but she definitely warmed up and got into the fun as the movie went on. I felt they had a good rapport and liked that, in addition to the laughs, at the end you cared about their characters and their friendship.

This isn’t quite as raunchy as Bridesmaids, but it does have a fair amount. Unless that bothers you, this movie will definitely be worth seeing.

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Mud

Bill C’s Review – 4.5 out of 5

Below is the short review  I wrote after seeing Mud at SXSW.  It opens in Austin this week.  Definitely go see it!

This films reminded me a little of Stand By Me.  Two young teens are convinced to help an outlaw on the run.  Matthew McConaughy is great as the outlaw.  The two kids are great too.  The film also has Sam Sheppard, Reese Witherspoon, Joe Don Baker in small roles.  This is a good coming of age movie by Jeff Nichols,  the up and coming director of 2011′s Take Shelter.  Both Nichols and McConaughy were there for a Q+A after the film.  Definitely see this when you can!

Bill I’s Review – 4 out of 5

The plot is not important, it’s the characters that captivate and their relationships. I can’t remember the last time I saw such realistic portrayals of teenagers, and the complicated relationships they have with the grown-ups in their life. The impact of a troubled marriage, with both parents struggling to raise their son the right way, was amazing to watch. Reese Witherspoon was almost unrecognizable, not due to her appearance, but due to her character. McConaughy is terrific, coming off his great showing in Magic Mike. But the real star is the main teenage boy.

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42

Bill C’s Review – 3 out of 5

42 is the story of Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) breaking the color barrier in baseball in 1947.  It focuses on a relatively short time span, starting a couple of years prior to Robinson coming up when Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford!), the Brooklyn Dodger’s General Manager, decides to break the color barrier, and goes through Robinson’s first major league season in 1947.

For the most part, I liked the movie although there were certain parts where they took poetic license and factual liberties that were just unnecessary.  For example, in the movie Leo Durocher says his famous ‘Nice Giuys Finish Last’ line when talking to Rickey about whether Robinson was tough enough to make it with all the abuse he took.  I knew this wasn’t the proper context. There were other things like that, such as Branch Rickey miraculously showing up in the tunnel by the dugout at the precise moment that Robinson needs an inspiring speech. During the rest of the movie Rickey is comfortably seated in the stands. Gratuitously including things like this made me question more important part of the movie: were Ralph Branca and Pee Wee Reese correctly portrayed so positively or was it for dramatic effect?

For sports movies, the first thing that can ruin it is the quality of the sports scenes (think Gary Cooper in Pride of the Yankees). Here the movie did OK. The actors could all play pretty well. I think I did audibly groan however when Robinson got on base for the first time and started smiling as he prepared to steal a few bases.

I was surprised how much Harrison Ford looked and sounded like old clips of Branch Rickey I remember seeing, and I thought Boseman, for the most part, did a good job capturing the intensity of Robinson. The movie did a good job of showing the abuse Robinson must have taken (although I’m sure it was much worse) and the racism of the times from both the fans and the players..

The discrimination depicted in the movie is relevant in today’s world as demonstrated by recent discussions about whether men’s professional sports are ready for openly gay athletes.

Right now there are a couple of other movies I’d put ahead of this, but if you’re a big fan of history, sports or both, this film is worth considering.

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War Witch

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

This is another really good 2012 Academy Award Nominated Foreign Language film. The movie tells the horrific story of Komona, a 12-year-old girl who is kidnapped and forced to become a child soldier in her (unnamed) African homeland. Komona has a gift for sensing the presence of the enemy and hence the title of the movie and her value to the rebels. Komona goes through unimaginable horrors, finds some happiness and then it’s back for more horrors before the final hopeful ending as she comes to terms with what she’s been through so she can move on with her life..

The movie is anchored by a great performance by untrained actress Rachel Mwanza. The story is well-told and I’d recommend it for anyone who doesn’t mind some violence and subtitles.

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No

Bill C’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

‘No’ is the 2012 Chilean Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.  It tells the story of the the Chilean plebiscite that would determine if Augusto Pinochet would remain in power for another 8 years. Due to international pressure Pinochet allowed for the creation of political parties and 15 minutes of political ads on TV per day.

The film  uses a lot of archival footage (about 30%) and the fictionalized pieces are shot in a way that gives the whole film the feel of  a documentary.  The film centers on an advertising exec, Renee Saavedra (well played by Gael Garcia Bernal) and his desire to focus the campaign on returning the country to happiness instead of a  more serious theme that emphasized the atrocities of Pinochet.  This alienates many of the leaders of the ‘No’ camapign but once the happiness them gains traction the leaders of the ‘No’ campaign face dirty tactics and threats.  The story is well told and has both humor from the campaign and tension as the campaign unfolds.

The film has faced some controversy in Chile as many feel the film oversimplified the campaign by just focusing on the advertising campaign,  Here’s a good article from the N.Y. Times

This film is definitely worth seeing.  The film has English subtitles but even my subtitle hating wife enjoyed the movie.

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The Gatekeepers

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

The Gatekeepers is a very good but unfortunately depressing/pessimistic documentary that explores Israel’s war on terror through interviews with all surviving ex heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency.  The documentary does a great job of using (sometimes graphic) archive footage of some of the agencies successes and failures.

The movie goes through the history of Shin Bet focusing on the period after the 1967 war and issues that resulted with the Palestinian refugees.  The film also explores internal political conflicts within Israel that resulted in the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the derailment of the peace process.

The movie leaves a pretty pessimistic view of the future in the region.   It’s fascinating to listen to these interviews with Israelis who hunt and often times order killing of others with Israelis discussing the need to not just focus on security but also to resolve some of the valid grievances of the Palestinians, the difficulty to do that in Israel today and how Palestinians are at times more interested in inflicting pain upon Israel than reaching a long term peace that will benefit everyone. This is definitely worth seeing.

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