Movie Review: Crimson Peak

October 16, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

Crimson Peak would probably have been a much more effective film if it hadn’t telegraphed it’s ghost reveals so early into the story. I’ll say that right now. Most of the chills I expected to experience were watered down by my knowing exactly why the ghosts were there, and what they wanted.

But there’s some serious awesome here to take your mind off waiting for the climax. The dripping, oozing gothic mansion is a dastardly delight. Speaking of, Hiddleston, Chastain, Wasikowska and Hunnam all have solid careers in the gothic genre if their star-power careers ever bore them. Bonus points for casting Supernatural’s Jim “Bobby” Beaver as “Mr. Cushing”. That’s so cool on so many levels.

Peak is definitely overkill, from the hyper-stylized costumes to the hammy yet still engagingly creepy performances. And riffs on The Shining, Jane Eyre, The Haunting and many other classics sometimes feel a bit too obvious. Still, for all it’s bombastic excess, Crimson Peak manages to deliver a creepy good time, with director Guillermo del Toro spinning a Hammer films-like Gothic with a 21st Century heart. Good, bloody, chilling fun, and a perfect Halloween haunted house. Grade: B

“Everest” succeeds in hitting the heights

September 18, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

Everest manages to tell a true story without stooping to creative license add-ons. The characters may lack depth, but the mountain’s majesty — and the story’s horrifying heartbreak — more than make up for it. Grade: B+

First things first; Everest is not the feel-good movie of the 2015 awards season. The film — based on the nonfiction book Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer — is relentless, frightening and unnerving. Director Baltasar Kormákur gives no quarter, and there’s no rest from the horrors unfolding once the trek up Mount Everest goes wrong.

Another plus; the screenplay doesn’t stray far from the true story. William Nicholson’s work on Gladiator, Les Misérables and Unbroken and Simon Beaufort’s on 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire are evident here. Though the plot jumps from one group to another, it’s easy to follow and the tension doesn’t let up for a second.

And then there’s the cinematography. This is where you want to spring for the full IMAX 3D thing. Filmed in Nepal, Iceland and the Italian Alps, it’s absolutely breathtaking. There’s beauty, and a savage grace to the film, and while I could never get up the courage to scale Everest, I can see why so many attempt it. (Though I’d love to make it to Base Camp. Even before any real climbing or need for O2, it still looks like an amazing experience.) Might as well just put Salvatore Totino’s name in the Oscar pool, because a nomination for Best Cinematography is in the bag here. Everest seems like a “set up cameras and shoot” film, but I know there must have been a ton of production design that went into making everything look so natural. I’d love to dig deeper into that. The realism and attention to detail is staggering. Even little things like the prayer flags strewn everywhere, the oxygen tanks and other things left on the mountain, and the way the snow and ice freeze on people depending on the way the wind blows…it’s all done remarkably well. And shout out to the product placements; hey, North Face, Helly Hanson, Columbia et al. are stuff climbers/hikers actually use. In this case, I’m pleased they trotted out labels.

Onward, to the story itself. As this film deals with the disaster on Mt. Everest in 1996 — when several groups of climbers tried to climb at the same time, causing time delays that lead to many being stranded on or near the peak when a massive storm hit, leading to the deaths of 8 people — all these characters can also feel like a clusterbleep. But focusing on a handful of the characters helps lend a cohesiveness to the overall story. So do hardcore performances by Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Josh Brolin, and Jake Gyllenhaal, as some of the climbers. Kudos also go to the amazing Emily Watson and Keira Knightley as “base camp mom” Helen Wilton, and Jan Arnold, the wife of one of the climbers. Putting in my bet that this ensemble will get a tap for SAG’s Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Hint: the final scenes on the mountain, where one character knows he won’t make it and has one last satellite call to his wife? If you’re not tearing up, you’re dead inside.

From the first frame of Everest, you see how incredibly insane it is to attempt to scale this mountain; the majesty of Mt. Everest can’t be denied. Neither can the casual indifference of many of the amateur climbers that make the attempt. With Everest, it’s all here, and yet the film asks you to make up your own mind. Me? I’m still thinking. Maybe that’s the real end game for this film.

TwitView: The End of the Tour

August 14, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

Realistic, heart-wrenching and powerful. A look at what fame is, and what it means, as seen through the eyes of two highly dysfunctional individuals trying their best to deal with the world. Doesn’t matter if you’ve read the book; if you’re interested in digging into what makes people tick, see this film. Grade: A

The book Infinite Jest may be over a thousand pages and absolutely intimidating for the casual reader, but The End of the Tour is the kind of movie anyone can relate to. Everyone has, at some point, felt that sting of not truly fitting in, of trying to figure out how to live this life. David Foster Wallace’s uncertainty, mistrust and reclusive behavior may not be what everyone experiences, but Jason Segel breathes life into the character. He doesn’t make Wallace a loveable teddy bear in the performance, but you can understand Wallace. It’s uncomfortable to see and painful to watch sometimes, but you get it. Same goes for Jesse Eisenberg’s Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky. Lipsky has his own issues, and his own forces that drive him. And the clash between Wallace’s understanding of fame — “David, this is not real” — and Lipsky’s not-so-secret lusting after it, makes Tour a fascinating watch.

Not to say that this film is for everyone. It’s dialogue heavy and has an extremely sharp focus; secondary characters trot in and out of frame, and while their performances are equally good (especially Mamie Gummer as Wallace’s friend Julie, and Joan Cusack as chauffeur/Minneapolis tour guide Patty), nobody else is onscreen long enough to fully register. So if you’re not down with a borderline Waiting for Godot/I’m Not Rappaport-esuqe plot, you may be bored to tears.

For those ready to dig in as deeply as the actors do? You’ll be rewarded with an incredible look inside the creative process, and the minds that create/hope to create greatness.

TwitView: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

August 14, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

A gorgeous, fun-to-watch, muddled mess that brings back the very best of 60s spy films. Beautifully shot, and brilliantly acted by Cavill and Hammer. Ritchie knows how to frame and shoot a film to make it impossible for filmgoers to look away. And with that much pretty onscreen, why would you? The chemistry between Cavill, Hammer and Ex Machina‘s Alicia Vikander is amazing. I’m down for a sequel. Grade: A-

TwitView: Vacation

July 29, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

No. Just no. Don’t go. Grade: D

If someone took National Lampoons Vacation, Jackass, and a slew of poop, barf and ‘nads jokes, put ’em in a blender…it’d still be better than this film. Vacation manages to waste every opportunity to do something more than aim for the lowest common denominator, all the while telegraphing each joke so you know exactly what’s coming next. (Doesn’t help that the trailers spoil everything that could have been funny if I hadn’t already seen ’em over and over again on TV.)

You know the drill; Griswolds head to Wally World. The end. Yep, that’s it. Son/now-dad Rusty packs his wife and two boys into the obligatory hideous car and hits the road. Even with cameos from truly talented comics — not to mention the probably court-mandated scenes Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo were forced into — this never got more than a chuckle from me.

Caveat: Norman Reedus has a cameo that steals the show. He’s funnier in his silence than the rest of the cast are with their “jokes” and slapstick. I’m sure you’ll be able to hit up YouTube to catch that tidbit very soon — the Daryl Dixon Army is a strong one — if you’re curious. It’s the best part of a decidedly tepid rehash of cringe-worthy sight gags, sexism and shaming.

Many of the folks at the screening I attended guffawed through this travesty. Perhaps they were so glad they weren’t watching Pixels they’d laugh at anything.

Movie Review: Trainwreck

July 17, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

Judd Apatow and Amy Schumer are two great tastes that taste great together. Great. Now I want a Reeses.

I’m a big Inside Amy Schumer fan. I dig Apatow’s oeuvre, though some more than others. (Giving you the side-eye, Pineapple Express.) But I figured if anyone could nail down the weirdness of trying to overcome the trust issues and ingrained mistrust of the world that is dating in the 21st Century, it’d be these two. I was right. Boom.

In Trainwreck, Schumer plays Amy (obviously), a woman whose dad has told her that “monogamy isn’t realistic”. So all her life she’s been the stereotypical dude in the relationship, hooking up and skipping out before mattresses have even had a chance to spring back into shape. She’s a writer for a magazine that feels like a cross between Maxim and How To Be A Chauvinist Weekly. Her beautiful, too-cool senior editor Dianna (played by Tilda Swinton, with just the right touch of IDGAF) tasks her with writing a piece about a big-time sports medicine doc whose been credited with saving the careers of many high-profile sportsball types.

Dr. Aaron Conners (Bill Hader) seems like the perfect guy; smart, funny, a career he truly enjoys, and open to commitment. Amy tries to do the pump-n-dump, but finds herself attracted to him just as her father Gordon’s MS progresses to the point where dad has to be in assisted living. The fact that Amy and Aaron both want to be with the other is typically the end of a rom-com, but here it’s just the beginning. Trainwreck looks at a relationship past its first kiss, and into the first fight, the settling in, interacting with the family, and all of the other little things that make long-term relationships work…or not. Amy is all too willing to drop everything when things get rough, because that’s what she saw happen in with her parents. But Aaron isn’t willing to break up when things get bumpy. Can Amy handle that? Roll film! [Read more…]

Movie Review: Amy

July 10, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

A heartbreaking look at an incredible talent. Must-see. Grade: A

What: A documentary about the famous — and infamous — singer Amy Winehouse, chronicling her rise to fame, her fall from grace, and her tragic death.

Why: Loved her music? Intrigued by her all-too-public flameout? Fascinated by the whole “27 Club” thing? Then Amy is the documentary for you. It’s unflinching, gut-wrenching and pulls no punches. Warning: however jaded you may be going in, you’d better bring tissues. You’re gonna need ’em.

How: I loved it, if you couldn’t tell from the grade above. Director Asif Kapadia doesn’t grab your shoulders and shake you with his ideas. Instead, he lets footage taken before, during and after Amy’s rise to fame allow you to make up your own mind. And more than likely you’ll come to the conclusion most viewers have come to; Winehouse was given no help when she needed it most, and instead was used as a fame-stepladder-cum-gravy-train by almost everyone who was closest to her. Props to Yasiin Bey (called Mos Def in the documentary, as that was what he went by when he knew Winehouse), Mark Ronson, and Salaam Remi for trying to stand up and help her when she was down. Sadly, with the malestrom around her, it wasn’t enough. This film clocks in at just over two hours, yet the time flies by. The story is that powerful.

Movie Review: The Gallows

July 10, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton 1 Comment

A great concept hung up (heh) by a hackneyed use of “found-footage” film. Can we all agree that this “new, exciting” style is long past its sell-by date? Grade: C

What: On October 29th, 1993, a high school put on a production of “The Gallows”. But a set malfunction — yep, those gallows — causes the death of a cast member. Cut to October 28th, 2013, where the school decides to revisit this play. Why? Because they’re masochists. Why care about something that happened in ’13? Why indeed.

Why: Are you already amping up for Halloween, and in desperate need of a fear fix at the multiplex? Well, if you’re not too picky — and don’t need to care about the victim list in a horror film — this could fit the bill. A few creepy moments thanks to quality cinematography and effects keeps The Gallows from really dropping the ball. Plus, there’s a ton of sub-par horror garbage on Netflix lately, so hit up this film if you’re really jonesing for a fright.

How: An intriguing premise, but too muddled and enamored of its “found footage” format to really work. Perhaps that’s due to two directors — Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing– helming the film. That’d explain the lack of cohesion and disjointed feel of the plot. But that’s not the only problem here. There’s too much suspension of disbelief required to really dig into the horror that The Gallows tries to trot out. A school would be allowed to perform a play that caused the death of a student years before? Sure, because the school board and neighborhood folks would be fine with that. A high school where unknown folks can wander in to sit and watch the kids for hours? Of course, not creepy at all, and totally acceptable in this day and age. But most of all; drama class is MANDATORY? Um, as much as I’d love that, there’s no way in hell that’d fly. The Gallows doesn’t bother to flesh out any backstory beyond “wanna see how that kid died?”, so gaping holes in plot and characterization soon become the only thing to focus on.

The actors deliver decent performances, but they’re really only tasked with running around and screaming a lot. There’s no character development beyond “he has a crush on her”, “she’s his girlfriend”, “he’s a douche”. Screenwriters Cluff and Lofing (double duty!) write characters so boring, empty and vapid that there’s no reason to care about any of them, so much like the audience, these kids don’t have anything to sink into. When these characters start dying, it’s just one step closer to the film being over, rather than any true terror. The bright spots in this film are Edd Lukas’ cinematography and the makeup FX by Rachel Jenkins and Michael Needham, which go a long way toward making this film look a whole lot better than it has any right to.

The scariest part of the film was the end, where there was just enough of a BOOGABOOGA scare to hint at a sequel, if this film makes any kind of money. Brrr, now that’s scary.

Movie Review: Max

June 26, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

Sometimes all you want to know is “what is this?”, “why should I see it?” and “how did you like it?” So, here it is: the lowdown on Max!

What: Max is a film about a military working dog (named Max, obviously.) When Max’s handler Kyle dies during a firefight in Afghanistan, Max becomes uncontrollable…except for the immediate bond he has with his handler’s brother Justin.

Why: You like doggies? Happy-ending movies? Kids that feel like real kids rather than movie cliches? Or maybe you’re looking for a 4th of July film that you can bring your whole family to. Max will hook you up.

How: Gotta say that Max tugged all the right heartstrings for me. The wartime scenes felt real, and though the back-home scenes felt a little too movie-of-the-week, it still worked. You’ll see the happy ending coming from a mile away, but director Boaz Yakin manages to keep the thriller pace once the bad guys show up and threaten Max’s new life with Justin. Best part of the film? Getting introduced to Mia Xitlali, who plays Justin’s “Dog Whisperer” friend Carmen. (Though I could have done without the misogyny leveled at her by her cousin Chuy. Can we get past the Latino machismo stereotypes already?)

Grade: B

TwitView: Ex Machina

April 24, 2015 by Denise Kitashima Dutton Leave a Comment

Smart, intriguing, and not afraid to stare straight into the tough questions about AI. Genres wobble a bit at the climax, but it’s a well-executed film. Grade: B+

Blade Runner. A.I. Terminator. Transcendence. I, Robot. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Ghost in the Shell. There are scads of films out there about robots, artificial intelligence, and how man-made machines could one day become as “real” as we are. A metal-and-microchip Pinocchio, if you will. Ex Machina is the latest film that asks whether we should test those boundaries, and it’s a fascinating thinkpiece of a film.

Code monkey Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Weasley from the Harry Potter series) wins his company’s lottery; he gets to spend a week with the company’s owner/CEO, Nathan (Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year). Once Caleb arrives — after a very long plane ride into the depths of BFE Nowheresville — he’s asked to run the Turing Test on Nathan’s latest creation, Ava (Alicia Vikander, looking like a younger Natalie Portman). BTW yes, this test is named after the man on which The Imitation Game is based. Ava is a beautiful piece of machinery, with lifelike hands, feet and face. But the rest of her leaves no doubt that she’s 100% machine. As Caleb begins to question the incredibly human-like machine, he becomes fascinated, and Ava becomes attached. But what’s really going on; is she truly feeling something? Is he? And what does that mean?

As the film spools out, we learn a whole lot about Caleb’s motivation, and Nathan’s. And there’s a whole lot of Deep Thoughts fluttering around as well, from a human/machine’s ability to love, fear or lie…and what how we interact with others says about us as people, and as humans. These ideas come at you constantly, and though they are definitely topics worthy of consideration, there’s really no time to sit back and contemplate these as the story unfolds. Guess that’s better than long stretches of boredom that would afford such navel-gazing. Still, as these ideas slam into your personal cerebral cortex, it’s tough to absorb when scene after scene demands more of your brain-cell time.

Ex Machina does depend on a bit of the ol’ computer cliche characterization; Caleb is a guy that works and sleeps, with little social interaction. Nathan the computer savant would rather be researching than interacting with “real” people. AI Ava is curious about the outside world, and seems to long for the company of others; a 180 from her creator Nathan, who prefers a housekeeper that can’t speak English.

Writer/director Alex Garland (Never Let Me Go, 28 Days Later) manages to keep interest high while doling out bits and pieces of each characters motivations. Richarc Conway and the folks at Millennium FX create CGI that blends so well into its surroundings that it’s easy to believe the story. And cinematographer Rob Hardy is able to create gorgeous wilderness vistas as well as cramped red-lit underground bunkers/research facilities. And the actors deliver performances that are lifelike (Ava), compelling (Caleb) and subtly broken (Nathan).

Still, with all the good I had to knock my overall love down a notch for one reason; the climax. Ex Machina goes from a thinkpiece of a film to a flat-out thriller towards journey’s end. That helps things if you go see this with a group of friends and want to discuss what could possibly happen. It’s not Birdman in it’s “WTF just happened” vibe, but with the shakeup in pacing and story? I had more than one Scooby Doo head-shake moment as I tried to figure out when the film tipped into thriller category. (Gotta admit that Garland’s work on 28 Days Later does come in handy when he tries to deliver suspense. He’s definitely no one trick pony.)

If you dig AI films, catch Ex Machina, and then head home and re-watch Blade Runner for a double-feature about those that long for true existence. Ex Machina will definitely play with your feels, and make you really think about life and artificial life.

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