Spotlight

Spotlight, 2015
Directed by Tom McCarthy
Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian d'Arcy James and Stanley Tucci

In 2001, The Boston Globe finds their editor retiring and now are receiving a new editor by the name of Marty Baron. Baron finds himself unsettled by a small story the Globe reported on, that a local priest had molested many children, in various parishes, over several decades and that Cardinal Law knew about it and did nothing. Baron goes to the Spotlight team, headed up by Walter 'Robby' Robinson. Spotlight is a small team of investigative journalists who research into large breaking stories for months at a time. Baron urges Robby to have the Spotlight team consider picking this as their next story. Reporters Mike, Sasha and Matt find themselves going deep into the Catholic backbone of Boston, and find out the scale of this sexual abuse scandal is much larger than first believed.

Spotlight is a film that is 100% focused on the investigation of the huge sexual abuse scandal that shook Boston (and indeed the world) in the early 2000's. This film felt like a movie that stayed so true to the facts, but also managed to make about that is purely about investigation (and little to none character side stories) an extremely interesting story. Spotlight's strength lies in the fact that it knows what to focus on and where the purpose lies. This film isn't about the people who cracked this scandal open, it's a movie about helping those who have been victims in the past. And as such, this film was treated with such delicacy and respect, but was still a compelling and damning film.

The film focuses on various different victims interviews and really underlies the facts and the feelings about these victims, but also focuses on the Spotlight team, and how they are connected with the Catholic church and this scandal. They share that so many of the victims were no longer alive to tell their stories. And that, in fact, this abuse was not just sexual abuse, but it was also spiritual abuse, too. Abuse like this, especially from a religious leader, can shake someone to their very soul and cause such permanent damage to their beliefs. As well, the movie doesn't place 100% of the blame on the Catholic church. Indeed, as one of the character states, "if it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one." This sums up the thesis of this movie so well.

I won't go into much more of the actual details of the story, because I'd love to leave you all to see it for yourself. Watching this movie was I expect reading the eventual Spotlight article was like. Information was dropped at a perfect pace, and it became so increasingly hard to believe. All you could do was sit there and shake your head, not really able to believe that everything that happened was true. In that, the writing of this film was really great. As I mentioned, the pace at which the pieces of the puzzle came together and that information dropped was perfect. The film was incredibly damning and it was just so heartbreaking to watch. The detail that we get from various victims shattered my heart for them. No moment feels like it's trying too hard to pull heartstrings. People are just stating the brutal truth, and it's there that it hurts.

The performances, to me, were not necessarily the strength of the film, but were still very good performances. Mark Ruffalo to me, was particularly very good. And Rachel McAdams, it's nice to see her finally get some great work. I hope this is a trend that continues for her as she's always had this potential, but has never really had a showcase for it until now. However, Michael Keaton was good, but I don't understand the hoopla, at this moment. To each their own. And even the smaller roles of Brian d'Arcy James, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci and Liev Schreiber were all on top form. There was no weak link in this cast. And while no one got hugely emotional or "Oscar-y" moments, everyone brought their A-game to their respective characters. Liev Schreiber, in particular, while his part was quite small, I was extremely impressed by him. Shame his role was not larger.

Spotlight is a masterclass in journalism film. It's a film that could've easily been much less good than it was. Indeed, unnecessary back stories could've been added, the film could've been much more dull, and it could've been less true to the story. However, Tom McCarthy carefully handles the direction of this and produces a fantastic and damning film. It's definitely an "important" movie, but it's also such a well-made film. It definitely deserves all the praise that's being heaped upon it. And while I don't know if I would rate this my #1 favourite film of the year, it's definitely one of the years most well-made and important, as this is an issue that is far from over. And it's frontrunner status as our Best Picture winner is incredibly deserved.

78.5/100

Acting- 8/10
Directing- 7.5/10
Screenplay- 9/10
Visuals- 7/10
Music- 7/10
Emotional Connection- 9/10
Entertainment- 8/10
Rewatchability- 7/10
Overall Enjoyment- 8/10
Overall Package- 8/10    

Total: 78.5/100

Mini Reviews: Ex Machina, The Gift, Dark Places, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spy

I've been kind of too busy to write full reviews for all of these, but thought I would post a few quick shot reviews of a few movies I've watched over the past month or so!

Ex Machina

Caleb, an employee at a large tech company, wins a contest to spend a weekend at the company's CEO's mountain retreat. But Caleb soon discovers that the CEO, Nathan, has other plans. Nathan has developed an AI and she is in the form of a beautiful female named Ava. Caleb is to perform Turing Tests on Ava and he soon finds things are not all that they appear.

I had heard so many great things about Ex Machina before seeing it, and I found I was not at all disappointed. The storyline is a slow-burner, but it's incredibly compelling, twisted and kept on the edge of my seat, not really knowing what was real. The performances here are all so perfect. Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac all deserve to be such bigger stars than they already are. All are fantastic here. As well, the writing really is incredible and the film itself it just really beautiful to look at. While I felt some of the scenes nudity was a little gratuitous the movie still asked some incredibly compelling questions about humanity and technology. Ex Machina is definitely one of the most interesting, compelling and just overall best film of this year. Shame more people haven't seen it or that it won't necessarily appeal to mass audiences.

9/10

The Gift

Simon and Robyn, a young married couple, have just moved into a huge new house in a new city. When they run into an old acquaintance of Simon's from high school, Gordo, things start to change. Gordo is unsettling, and amidst the unexpected visits and gifts he pay Simon and Robyn, a horrifying secret from the past is brought to light.

Again, this was another movie I had heard generally good things about. This film wasn't at all on my radar until I had seen the extremely high Rotten Tomatoes score for this, and wondered what exactly made Joel Edgerton's directorial debut so good? (Especially since he's an actor I've never particularly found interesting). However, this film kept me drawn in, wondering what exactly was happening. Robyn is our main character here and a lot of this through her eyes, as someone who didn't previously know Gordo and starts to find herself unsettled, and then terrified. I honestly wasn't sure where the film was going with the "dark secret" but it went in a slightly different direction than I thought it would. The results truly were disturbing.

The casting was also really great here. Jason Bateman as Simon was some fantastic against-type casting. Simon is someone who we discovers has an edge to him, something that I don't immediately think of when I see Jason Bateman. But he played Simon perfectly. As well, Rebecca Hall was great as Robyn. And even Joel Edgerton's small role as Gordo was really unsettling. All around, this movie was quite good and definitely an interesting, intellectual thriller.

8/10

Dark Places

Libby Day is the sole survivor of the brutal Kansas City Massacre that left her mother and two sister dead, and had her brother thrown in jail as the killer. It's been almost 30 years since the killings and Libby is almost out of money. She's never had a job and doesn't know what to do. But then she receives a letter from Lyle, asking her to do an appearance and get paid $500. This "appearance" is at a place called the Kill Club. It's a club with people obsessed with true crime. When Libby attends, she finds the majority of the members don't believe her brother, Ben, actually killed their family. The case has been fudged and not a lot adds up. At first Libby storms out, not willing to listen. But when she realizes that, should she investigate into this, she could make money from the group. So she sets out to discover the truth about what happened that night he family was destroyed.

I actually read this book, written by Gillian Flynn, a few months back. I quite enjoyed the book and the movie itself stayed pretty true to the book. However, the movie itself was just kind of blah, despite how faithful it was. I can't really put my finger on what made it so blah, but it just kind of was. The cast was pretty good, though I'm unsure if everyone really suited the parts they were cast in. However, Dark Places is not nearly as good as it should have been. Especially considering the careful direction Flynn's next book, Gone Girl, received last year. A film that had potential, but just didn't get there.

6/10

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner create an AI and want to develop it to create a peacekeeping program called Ultron. Tony had previously had a vision in which he saw all the Avengers dead, and Tony fears this vision will come true. However, Ultron comes to life while Tony and Bruce are absent, and Ulton sees the Avengers as a threat to the worlds peace. As well, he sees humanity as a threat to itself, and the Avengers must assemble once again, this time to stop Ultron before he destroys the world.

I have been increasingly disliking Marvel movies. They really just aren't up my wheelhouse and I find they often pander too much to their fans. While I did moderately like the first Avengers, this one just kind of felt like a hot mess. There was so many characters to try and give story and development and pretty much everyone felt short changed. As well, I'm just getting tired of the unrealistic placement of zingy one liners. They just aren't all that funny to me? I don't know, I just increasingly don't care for Marvel movies and this seems to be the prime example why. I do, however, commend Joss Whedon for somehow keeping this movie coherent. The story wasn't a terrible one, and Whedon was somehow able to give everyone enough screen time to both develop their characters but also set up the next 15 installments.

5/10

Spy
Susan Cooper is a desk bound agent at the CIA. She loves doing behind the scenes work for Bradley Fine, the field agent whom she has a huge crush on. However, when he dies on a mission, and when other agents have become compromised, Susan volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer and stop a global crisis.

To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Bridesmaids. And there haven't been many Melissa McCarthy movies I've seen or enjoyed (how wonder is she on Gilmore Girls though?). However, I actually really did enjoy Spy. Spy hits the right balance of being both an actual spy/action movie and being a comedy. There's so much awesome female power here and all of it goes unquestioned and I really, really liked that. There were just so many females who kicked butt just as much as men, and that's always so great to see. Spy is actually quite funny and Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne do some great work here. As well, Jason Statham was also really great, playing such a parody of all the characters he plays. His characters exaggeration was really funny and it was a great role for Statham.  This film was a surprise to me in that I actually did enjoy it.

7.5/10

November Blindspot: Citizen Kane

November Blindspot

Citizen Kane, 1941

Directed by Orson Welles 

Citizen Kane is very often and almost universally cited as the greatest film ever made. So obviously, this was top of my list to finally get around to watching. Because shouldn't every film fan see "the greatest film ever made"? However, I do not pretend to have really any knowledge of the history of the film or the stories surrounding it. I have heard smattering of how influential it is, but really have no idea. So I won't be saying anything particularly insightful in this arena, but just really want to share what I thought of this film. 

Citizen Kane tells the life story of Charles Foster Kane, a newspaper magnate. The film begins with his death, and we get the story of his life after a group of reporters, who are putting together the life story of Kane, want to figure out what Kane's last words meant. The film examines Kane's early life, his start in media, and his various marriages and wealth. 

Citizen Kane is a movie that doesn't feel all that old to me. I mean, I know it's old because of the time period, but the way the story is told, and even how it looks, it doesn't feel like I'm watching a movie that was made 74 years ago. Sure, it may be a little slower than some of the popular film of the days, but the way the story is told is one I've seen so many times before. And I believe all of that is in thanks to Citizen Kane. Being 74 years old, I can easily see why this film is regarded as so influential. While I haven't seen tons of movies from the 30's/40's, I still know that the way the story and life of Kane in unfolded is particularly revolutionary. The film starts with Kane's death and then we rewind back to the beginning via flashbacks.  Indeed, upon very minimal research of this films influence, this was definitely one of the numerous things that made Citizen Kane so influential and timeless.

Orson Welles not only directed this, but also starred as the titular character. His work as Kane got him an Oscar nomination for Best Lead Actor, which I feel is very deserved. Welles not only did some great work as a director here, but also gave a great performance as Kane. Welles was able to portray the complexity he gave to Kane, and played him in various ranges without feeling too much like a caricature. As well, Welles gave fantastic direction in this film. It's a film that you can tell the director is passionate about and is a story he finds worth telling.  

Besides being the "greatest film ever made", I actually did quite enjoy Citizen Kane as just a movie. It was a fascinating portrait of what makes a man. The narrative was done in an interesting style, and the big question of what "rosebud" means was also really great (and the meaning itself was indeed quite interesting). There was enough mystery and drama in Kane's personal and professional life that it was constantly interesting. While I don't know if I can say it's the "Greatest film ever made", I can definitely recognize who influential this film would've been when it was made, and why so many have copied it since then. 

Citizen Kane is a film with such a massive reputation. I'd love to learn more about it and how it influenced all of film after it, and how it didn't manage to win Best Picture back in it's day. A very, very good film with a huge presence, Citizen Kane is definitely not a film to miss for any film fan!

Room

Room, 2015
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Brie Larson, Joan Allen

Room is the story of Jack and his Ma. They live in Room and Jack has never known anything else. It's just Room, and outside Room is space where all the "TV planets" are. But Ma hasn't told Jack the truth- Ma and Jack are being kept prisoner in this tiny room by Old Nick and outside Room is a great big, huge world with people and houses and leaves and dogs. And Ma is fed up with being trapped. Ma devises a plan for her and Jack to escape, so they can finally rejoin the world that's been kept from them.

I'm going to say right now that Room never really got processed in my mind after I watched it. I went into this movie very, very frazzled (we arrived at the movie late due to various irritating circumstances) and left the movie promptly to have a flat tire. So this movie did get pushed out of my mind because of a somewhat crazy weekend. However, I will say that I did very much enjoy this film.

I did actually read the book a few months ago and I was so happy to see how faithful this adaption was. Yes, a few changes were made, but I liked those changes and felt they really added something to the story line.

This film is beautifully shot and filmed and really is a hopeful sob-story like all those commercials have said. I must've teared up at least two or three times. Jacob Tremblay, who plays 5 year old Jack so brilliantly, and Brie Larson who plays his Ma, are both so incredibly excellent on screen. It's incredible to me, that at this point, Jacob Tremblay isn't in serious discussion for an Acting Nomination. Tremblay captured the innocence of his childhood so well and just looked so natural up on screen. Brie Larson, who is, at this point, front runner to win Best Actress, is getting her much deserved praise. Ma's role was expanded somewhat from the book counterpart and the movie is so much better for it. Brie Larson gave Ma/Joy such strength and complexity. Her grief and fear always felt so real. I could watch Brie Larson on screen forever.

For me, I love the exploration of the "after" of escaping from a hostage situation. We've heard of way too many situation's like Ma and Jack's, being captured by gross people for years and years and finally escaped/discovered/freed. The story for us always stops there. But for these victims, their story isn't even close to over yet. The movie really did grapple with depression and how this 7 year kidnapping took it's toll on Ma, and how Jack, one of the results of her being kidnapped by Old Nick, is treated by Ma's family.

Room is a very touching and hopeful movie, despite sounding quite depressing. It's Jack, the very core of the movie, who gives the film hopefulness and inspires us. Children are so resilient and strong, and Jack really is the support of, not only Ma, but of the movie. Room will definitely make you cry, but will have you coming out of the film feeling hopeful. It's such a great movie with some fantastic performances, and has a lot to say.

(Also: did anyone else catch that moment near the end of the film where they deliberately show the Nathan Phillips Square ice skating rink in Toronto and then right after Jack says: "we live in a country called America". Maybe it's just because I live near Toronto and it's so familiar to me. Was just too hilarious, my husband and I couldn't help but laugh during the movie)

8.5/10

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, 2015
Directed by Danny Boyle
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Katherine Waterson

It seems everyone these days knows the name Steve Jobs. CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs was obsessed with revolutionizing technology through computers. And this film takes us behind the scenes, in 3 different acts, of Jobs' personal and professional life, and how they affected each other. These three acts are: the launch of the Macintosh (1984), the NeXT launch (1988), and the launch of iMac (1998). Each part is filmed in real-time and explores the goings on of Steve's life in the 45 minutes or so before each launch.

The use of the three acts, I found, was extremely well done. It made this less of a classic biopic and made it into something more interesting. It's an exploration of a man, and the world around him. It's about ego and family and success. Choosing to do three different acts in real time was a great choice, and I very much applaud Aaron Sorkin for choosing an inventive way to tell Jobs' story. I really love when films are shot in real time, so very much enjoyed seeing Jobs move from conflict to conflict before each launch.

Michael Fassbender was indeed quite wonderful in the titular role. I know I've heard many complain that Fassbender doesn't look much like Steve Jobs, but I don't really care because he really did do an amazing job in the role. I mean, pretty much anyone with talent can seem fantastic with a Sorkin script, but Fassbender was (unsurprsingly) very good. Considered by many the frontrunner for the Best Actor Oscar this year, I would be fine with him winning. It's a great role of a complex and unlikable man and would be a worthy role to have him win his first Oscar.

The supporting cast all had quite small roles, so there isn't a ton to say. Seth Rogen's role as Wozniak was smaller than I had anticipated, though Kate Winslet's role of Joanna, Jobs' "work wife" and head of marketing was larger than I expected. Rogen does his role fine, but I was impressed with Winslet. She really gives Joanna personality and a true voice, showing how complex her relationship with Steve was. As well, Jeff Daniels as previous Apple CEO, Mike Sculley, was still very much channeling his Newsroom character (though not surprising since that is also penned by Sorkin) and he did a good job as well.

The biggest complaint I had about this film was the ending. After exploring who Steve jobs is and how ulikable and condescending he is, the movie seems to go for something a little more hero-worship and a little too wrapped up for me to truly like it. It seemed like a bit too much of a copped out ending, taking the easy way out. It's disappointing that this is the direction that Sorkin and director Danny Boyle decided to take the film. The last 10 minutes felt conventional where the rest of the film felt unconventional. To me, it didn't make sense with the rest of the film.

Overall though, Steve Jobs was a movie I did quite enjoy. It was unconventional in the best of ways, and it's too bad that, upon opening wide, that it has been floundering at the box office. I don't know if this will hinder it's Oscar chances, as it seemed likely for a Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. However, we will have to wait and see if Michael Fassbender and crew remain contenders.

8/10

So Fetch Friday: Gilmore Girls + Catching up

I'm back! It feels like it's been forever since I've done one of these. It's just been a busy few weeks so I found I kept forgetting on Fridays.

Anyway, this week I finished Gilmore Girls! I feel a little lost now that it's all over. I'm quite happy with how it all ended, especially with Lorelai and Luke! Also, Rory turning down Logan was kind of a nice touch, too. It started to feel like he didn't actually know Rory that well, especially when he proposed at a party her grandparents hosted. But, just as I fnished this off, the world received the news that new Gilmore Girls episodes will be coming to Netflix! I'm sure you've all heard, but apparently Netflix has picked it up and will be doing 4 90-minute episodes/mini-movies. I'm crazy excited! Someone on tumblr pointed out that the original show started when Rory was 16 (the same age Lorelai was when she had Rory) and this show, if it does in fact premiere in 2016, will be 16 years after the original premiere and will have Rory the same age of Lorelai in season 1. How cool, right!? I'm excited to see what these episodes will bring. What is Rory doing now? Where did her job on Obama's campaign trail lead? Are Luke and Lorelai finally married? Are Laine and Zack's kids complete rockers? Did Rory ever get together with Jess? So many questions!

A few weeks ago (yes, it's been a while, I know) I finally watched Citizenfour. What an interesting film! It's definitely so creepy how much access the American government seems to have upon its citizens. I'd be interested to find out how much the Canadian government has? Or maybe I don't really want know at all.

We also got a hold of the 8th season of the Big Bang Theory and finally watched it. It's been a year since I've watched any TBBT and I've watched a lot of fantastic shows since then (Breaking Bad, Mad Men, New Girl, Friends, etc) and I found this season of TBBT extremely disappointing. The show almost gets into a few interesting conversations and topics but they end abruptly or are semi-resolved without actually having a good conversation. For example, there's an episode where Bernadette gets offered to do a photoshoot for a magazine that's covering the top Sexiest Female Scientists (or something of that nature). Bernadette is excited, but Amy is offended at the sexism of this and that female scientists should be respected for this minds, not their bodies. It almost starts to be interesting, but this storyline is buried underneath something else (that I honestly can't remember) and is only semi-resolved. We've also been watching New Girl (currently in the midst of Season 3) and I'm realizing that I think New Girl has been doing more itneresting and funny things than TBBT has been. Admittedly, I haven't watched the first few seasons in a long time, so this show could just be suffering because it's now season 8, but TBBT is really feeling old, and like it's reaching for plot.

I finally got around to watching Short Term 12! Yay! What a fantastic movie. I mean, it's just so interesting and treats mental health and these short term youth houses with so much respect. Brie Larson is so great, and it's fun to see John Gallagher Jr in this as well (who I also thought was really great).

Overall, I've just been really busy, like I mentioned before, and haven't gotten a whole lot of time to watch too many things. I'm still sporadically watching New Girl (which I'm enjoying! Nick and Jess are my favvvvvv, even though I know they'll break up for whatever reason soon), and watching Mad Men like once a week, as well as watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine when it airs on Sundays. However, I haven't watched too many interesting films, besides the ones I've reviewed. I'm hopefully going to see Steve Jobs on Monday, and then will be checking out Room after that (which I finished reading the book of, a few weeks ago, and I'm really looking forward to it).

Beasts of No Nation

Beasts of No Nation, 2015

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga 

Agu lives in war-torn Africa. His country is at war where he lives with his father, mother and 2 siblings. He's an imaginative and cheerful child, curious and mischievous. However, the war escalates and Agu's city is invaded. The men decide to stay behind to protect the city, while the women and children start a mass exodus. Agu is supposed to leave with his mother and baby sister, but there is no room for him in the few packed cars leaving the city. He is left alone with his older brother and father who still reside in the city. However, his family is discovered in hiding and Agu and his brother flee while their father is executed as a spy. Agu's brother is shot while fleeing. While Agu is hiding in the vast forest, he is recruited by a group of child soldiers. His commander is enthusiastic and fearful and persuades Agu that, by joining them, he can exact revenge on the men who killed his family. 

Beasts of No Nation is a beautiful and heartbreaking film. And I honestly expected no less from Cary Fukunaga, who plays director, cinematographer and screenwriter here. Fukunaga is best known for directed the entirety of True Detective's first season. I was a huge fan of True Detective's first season and was definitely curious about his decision to direct a film on this subject matter. 

This film is set in an unnamed West African country. To be honest, I know extremely little about Africa, or what is going on there. And while Fukunaga doesn't fully explain everything (he doesn't even particularly explain why the war is happening), he creates a film where we see everything through Agu's eyes, seeing the world as he sees it. And like 12 Years A Slave, this movie is filled with beautifully horrific moments, but also moments of hope. 

I honestly can't say enough about what Fukunaga has created here. He explores so many different themes in this movie, but it never feels convoluted. It feels raw and real, and I feel like I'm watching something that could actually be happening right now. The screenplay is complex and explores many different things. Masculinity, war, anger, brokenness... Particularly, there's this horrific scene of a character killing someone with a sword. The camera angle is perfect, with the characters lashing, but the camera cutting off right where the body would be. The blood is splattering the screen and we know exactly what is happening without fully seeing it. The sound is muted and the scene is slowed. It's beautiful and horrendous. 

As well, Abraham Attah was so natural and wonderful to watch. He brought such life to Agu and made him seem so completely real. Nothing ever felt forced and everything felt real. As well, can I talk about this film without mentioning Idris Elba? Elba here is just so fantastic. His character is evil and horrid, but you almost can't help but follow his lead. He's charismatic and persuasive, but is also so incredibly vile and awful. Elba is currently the frontrunner for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and I feel this is justified. Elba fully embodies this awful person and brings him such life, without ever turning caricature. 

I very much hope the Oscars embrace this movie. I feel like it should be much more of a force to be reckoned with. If it were up to me, this would definitely make it in to Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography. At the very least. Beasts of No Nation is a difficult movie to watch, but it's well worth the time. It's heartbreaking and is raw and real. I look forward to whatever Cary Fukunaga does next. 

9/10

October Blindspot: Pulp Fiction

October Blindspot
Pulp Fiction, 1994
Directed by Quentin Tarantino

I really don't know what I was expecting of Pulp Fiction. But it wasn't what I saw. As much as Pulp Fiction is a pop culture icon, I haven't heard a lot of what the movie is actually about, so I went into this pretty blind. Oddly, the only other Tarantino movie I've seen is Django Unchained. Maybe I expected something like that, but set in the 90s with John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in those suits?

Anyway, Pulp Fiction is a non-linear movie with connected stories of various characters. We have 2 hit men, a gangsters wife, a boxer and two robbers. These stories interconnect and are told non-linearly. I don't really know how else to describe this movie without describing the whole thing. It's almost as though this movie is a series of connected short films, all with a beginning and an end. And because this was truly not what I was expecting, I'm not 100% sure how I felt about this movie. Some of the segments I enjoyed, others (specifically the Bruce Willis one) I found a little unnecessary.

This movie was a mainly enjoyable, though somewhat long watch. Like I mentioned, I didn't care the Bruce Willis chapter of the film, though definitely did enjoy the opening, the "Bonnie Situation" and how it all tied up. John Travolta was actually really good in this. His character was someone I never really understood, but Travolta really seemed to embody Vincent and play him with enthusiasm. Samuel L Jackson was in this less than I would've liked, but he was stellar in his role. Also, Uma Thurman was in this even less, though she was also great.

Overall, I'm not sure I 100% understand why Pulp Fiction is considered the classic it is, but it definitely is a good movie. It's become a pop culture icon since releasing 21 years ago, and is considered Quentin Tarantino's best work. While it's not exactly my cup of tea (I'm definitely team Shawshank for the 1995 Oscars) it's a work I can completely respect and still have an appreciation for (especially the Bonnie Situation. That short chapter was perfect and hilarious!)

8/10

The Martian

The Martian, 2015
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Kristen Wiig, Sebastian Stan, Donald Glover and Mackenzie Davis

NASA has done several successful missions of sending humans to Mars. Ares III is the third mission to land and live for a small period of time there. However, 18 sols into the Ares III mission, a storm brews on Mars, a storm too strong for them to safely stay on the planet. They choose to abort mission. However, while walking through the storm back to their ship, one of their crew members, Mark Watney, is struck by debris and is presumed dead by his crew, and, after searching as long as they can do safely, they continue their abort without him. However, Mark survives but finds himself alone on the planet, while his crew, and the rest of NASA and the world think he's dead. It's 4 years until the next Mars mission and Mark is determined to survive until then and make contact with Earth to show that he's still alive.

The unique thing about the Martian is that it doesn't shy away from the technical and scientific side of being in space. The first thing we see Mark do after waking up alone on Mars is go back to the HAB and perform surgery on himself. He had an antenna impaled in his side and bits of it were still left after he pulled it out. It's grueling to watch but we get shown every step. And that's the first of what's to come. Over the course of the film we watch Mark try to grow food, create water, and do repairs and modifications on various things (his rover, the HAB, etc). The Martian is much more nerdy than your typical sci-fi, and it extremely benefits from it. It gives a sense of realism, and indeed, I've been told this is one of the most realistic sci-fi films. Even my husband, who always gets nitpicky about the science of things in movies, didn't have a lot to nitpick after the movie was over.

The film also benefits from it's humor. One of the things that struck me and made me love the book was just how funny it is. Mark is a hilarious and optimistic guy, and much of that is left in the film. In fact, this is one of the most faithful adaptions of a book I've ever seen. Some of the script is lifted straight from the book. Again, the film benefits so much from this. The book was just a fantastic read, and I'm glad that Drew Goddard (the screenwriter) realized this. Jokes about Commander Lewis's obsession with 70s TV and disco music, about "I can't wait to not die" and NASA telling Mark to watch his language. Also, the pacing in this film was extremely spot-on. The film never felt like it was dragging, but still gave the film time to breathe. Nothing felt rushed and nothing felt dragged out. The movie moved along at a perfect pace and nothing felt out of place story-wise. The screenplay and the pacing of the movie were definitely some of the highlights of this movie for me, and what made it as good as it was.

And how can I review this movie without talking about Matt Damon? Matt Damon does some great work here. He's able to convey all the humor and snarkiness of his character, but we still see how alone he is, and that he may perhaps be hiding how broken he feels. Matt's performance isn't anything like Sandra Bullock's in Gravity- we aren't given this huge emotional obvious-amazing performance, but he was pitch perfect casting for the role. Matt Damon is always great at playing the every man, and here he really shines. This is definitely some of the best work I've seen him do in a while. As well, the rest of the cast was really great, too. The cast was awesomely diverse. We had Latinos, Asians, Blacks, men, women, all working together for a common cause. Everyone was equally helpful and the women were able to avoid a lot of stereotypes and be actual characters. Everyone loved Mark and were willing to do everything to get him home. Jeff Daniels was still very much in The Newsroom-mode (which isn't a bad thing!). It's also great seeing more of Chiwetel Ejiofor, too. Jessica Chastain is always great, and the rest of the Ares crew had small parts, but were all in top form. As well, it's fun to see more of Donald Glover, who was essentially playing Abed from Community.

For me, The Martian is an extremely solid film. If I were going to make a movie out of this book, it would look almost exactly like what Ridley Scott made here. While the film probably could've been a bit more introspective than it was (the book isn't particularly introspective either, to be fair), but The Martian definitely still holds as one of the best space movies to come out in a while. It manages to avoid a lot of scifi tropes which, again, makes the film that much better. Pretty much everyone trying to rescue Mark is extremely smart and competent. There was no "villain" trying to stop Mark getting saved, and even Mars itself wasn't so horrible that it kept screwing Mark over. All the problems that happen along the way are all realistic and are solved, mainly, via common sense and science. It's refreshing to see there isn't any "villain" except some bad luck. Ridley Scott really is on top form here after not having made a really truly successful film in several years.

While the Martian didn't absolutely blow me away, it did do everything right. It had a fantastic diverse cast, a great lead performance, amazing visuals, perfect pacing and some really great writing. it's a story of hope and teamwork, and shows how much we can get done when we work together. The Martian is a story of common sense, ingenuity, science and humor, and that's what makes it so great and unique.

8/10

Everest

Everest, 2015
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Emily Watson and Kiera Knightly

Everest tells the real-life horror story of the most fatal year (until 2014's Nepal earthquake) on Mount Everest. Rob Hall leads a commercial business that takes everyday people up to the top of Everest. This business has been so successful that there are now several other teams like it, including Scott Fischer's team. So while all the teams are making their ascent on May 10th 1996 a severe storm strikes the mountain, causing extreme devastation to the teams of climbers.

As you can tell from the synopsis, and if you know the real story, you'll know Everest is not a happy story. I feel it's no spoiler to say that quite a few people died on Everest during this time. And I felt Everest was very respectful in capturing all of this. Everest is quite the ensemble piece, so we don't get to know everyone as well as we'd might like, but the film gets us close enough to them that we can empathize with their situation and feel the extreme loss with them.

The film launches right into the main story. We have Rob Hall and Helen Wilton (Everest base camp manager) leaving their home in New Zealand, Rob leaving his pregnant wife Jan behind. From there, we arrive in Nepal where Rob meets up with the rest of the group and they make their introductions. And then, not 20 minutes into the film, we're at the base camp of Everest. Everest is to the point and jumps into its story quickly, something I did appreciate about the film.

The visuals, as you can guess, are brilliant. Everest is something that's always very much interested me and I do have a basic knowledge of (actually, I did read Jon Krakauer's book based on this event called "Into Thin Air" around the time they started filming this movie, incidentally). The effects and visual are really just stunning. There's a fantastic panning in on this massive suspended bridge in Nepal which is so beautifully done. Sadly, I didn't see this movie on the biggest screen, but did see it in 3D. But really, it's just so beautiful.

The acting in this movie was fine. There wasn't anything spectacular or in need of an Oscar nomination here, but everyone does do a great job with their material. John Hawkes is really devastating as Doug, as was Keira Knightly in her limited role of Rob Hall's wife Jan. Jason Clarke was actually, I found, to be a very good choice for the role of Rob. Rob's role wasn't all that deep or even that explored, but Clarke did a good job of bringing intensity and likability to the role. Jake Gyllenhaal was a lot of fun but was also able to bring depth to his small role. You can really see the strain showing through on his face when Scott starts to struggle.

Also, Dario Marianelli is fantastic at making heartbreaking music, and this was no exception. Marianelli's work here is beautiful with the right amount of Asian violin cues for us to remember that we're in Nepal. The ending of the film especially has some fantastic and heartbreaking work.

Speaking of the end, it was incredibly respectful of the parties involved, and I really liked that. And the movie really understood that, what happened, there wasn't really a happy ending for a lot of people. Many people died and many others suffered terrible injuries from the cold/frost. While it feels for a moment like we may get our inspirational happy ending, that's only somewhat true. Everest realizes the gravity of the tradegy of the story it's telling and gives the proper ending to show that. Like I mentioned, Everest seemed to be very respectful of everyone and treats everyone with kindness.

I understand why some people may've found Everest underwhelming, but I disagree. I found the movie to be quite captivating and interesting. It helped that I was already very similar with the story, but it still had quite the impact all the same. Personally, I actually found the movies weakness to be when the storm hit. The preparation for the climb was well done and extremely interesting. Much during the storm was heartbreaking and so sad to watch. But again, it was respectful of those who had truly died and was never too graphic with any of these deaths.

While Everest may not have been the best movie I've ever seen, it was one I still very much enjoyed and would like to revisit again sometime.

8/10