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

Love and Mercy

Love and Mercy, 2015
Directed by Billl Pohlad
Starring: John Cusak, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti

Love and Mercy tells the dual story of Brian Wilson. It of Brian Wilson in the 60's, making the album Pet Sounds. And it tells the story of 80's Brian Wilson, who has become broken and confused, and under the watch of his 24-hours a day therapist. The two stories run back and forth from each other, both exploring the genius and sadness of Brian.

I grew up moderately listening to the Beach Boys. My parents owned a Greatest Hits album, and my parents always loved beachy music. But I know extremely little at all about the Beach Boys, and knew virtually nothing at all about Brian Wilson, going into this. However, the simple inclusion of Paul Dano made me interested in this, especially after it started getting fantastic reviews.

The format is simple, the two timelines flip-flop back and forth from each other. The 60's side of the story is filmed almost documentary style, in a hand-held camera way. And the 80's timeline is filmed more like a regular movie, with steadied cameras. The use of these two styles were effective and used quite well. It was an interesting stylistic choice, but I feel it paid off without being too distracting. he pacing of the film is really quite good, and is extremely well-written. We get a great sense of both of these Brian Wilson's, able to understand his mania and his brokenness. Both sides of the story really get us into the head of Brian, but the 80's timeline also gets us in the head of Melinda Ledbetter, the woman Brian meets when buying a car, and decides to date. The characters are given good growth and depth, and are well-written.

As well, the acting in this movie was on point. John Cusak was surprisingly really good. Not that I've seen Cusak in much, but I found him really quite good in this movie. As well, Elizabeth Banks was really, really great. She's another actress I don't really think of as being a fantastic actress, but she impressed me here. But Paul Dano, for me, was definitely the stand out in this movie. Dano has always impressed me with every role he does, but this is definitely some of his best. Dano really immerses himself into the mind of Brian here, and really does some fantastic work. It never comes off as a caricature, and Dano treats Brian delicately, while still making him a human. I just really want to campaign really hard for Paul Dano to finally get an Oscar nomination for his work here. Any chance he could squeeze into the Supporting Actor field?

Anyway, Love and Mercy is fantastic. Definitely one of my favourite films of the year. It's the complete package of acting, writing, directing and style. The costumes are fun and fab, and there's great characters depth and story here. Even if you don't know anything about Brian Wilson (which I didn't!), it's definitely still a film you should see!

9/10

Black Mass

Black Mass, 2015
Directed by Scott Cooper
Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson and Kevin Bacon.

James "Whitey" Bulger is a notorious criminal in South Boston, whose brother is a senator and childhood friend now works for the FBI. Jimmy, as his friends call him, is tough, merciless and a psychopath. In 1975, Jimmy teams up with his friend John Connolly, an FBI agent in Boston, striking a "business deal". He claims he isn't an informant or a rat, but that he'll work with the FBI to help them bring down the mafia, in return for the FBI protecting them. But things spiral out of control as Jimmy's empire grows and Connolly finds himself being swept away by Jimmy.

I first became interested when Black Mass released it's first trailer. It's still such a fantastic trailer that really sets the tone for what Black Mass is. Or tries to be, anyway. Johnny Depp dives back into makeup and costumes, but this time to give us a much more subtle and nuanced performance as Jimmy. Jimmy is definitely a psychopath, but there is no hammy performance here. Depp brings his A-game and reminds us why he was regarded as such a fantastic actor, even if the character wasn't as three dimensional as others have made it out to be.

The acting is definitely the high point of this film. Everyone seems to be on their A-game here. Joel Edgerton was a surprise for me, as I've always found him to just be a little blah. But Edgerton is really able to submerse himself into the role of John Connolly, bringing just as much subtlety and nuance as Depp brings to Jimmy. Connolly was swept away with Jimmy as a child, growing up in South Boston together. And he's excited when he's able to strike a deal with Jimmy. But Connolly starts to get swept away with Jimmy all over again, letting murder, extortion and drug dealing (among many other things) happen. Connolly becomes entranced by the gangster life, while still staying an FBI agent, landing himself just enough information to be able to take down the Italian Mafia so that he can secure promotion after promotion.

The supporting cast are also all on point here. Benedict Cumberbatch, as Jimmy's senator brother Billy, also does good (though limited) work here. I pegged Cumberbatch as probably not able to pull off a convincing Boston accent, but I was left surprised. It was much better than I ever expected, even if it was much thicker and seemed to be trying much harder than others. Dakota Johnson, Adam Scott, Kevin Bacon, Corey Stoll and Juno Temple also have extremely small roles, though all are quite good.

The movie itself got off to an extremely solid start, but I felt things started to get a little less coherent and to lose control a little bit, only about 30-45 minutes in, around the time Jimmy starts dealing with his son. Things were fantastic and well paced until this point, but then things started to just become a little more blah. I can't place my finger on why. I had thought maybe we were starting to get to know these characters well, but it turns out we were still not brought closer than an arms length. The story itself, too, seemed to jump around. Again, I can't place my finger on what exactly was not so great about the pacing or story, but it just wasn't. The movie was extremely close to being fantastic, but settled for being just good.

The story itself was chilling and it does get across how horrific working for Jimmy would've been, and narrating what went wrong, that so many people in his gang are now informants on him. Jimmy is horrific and violent, but we never quite understand why or what his motivation is as a person. All we know is he is someone to be feared, and fear him we do. However, the relationship between Jimmy and Connolly is well grown and developed, and even though it spans over some 15 years and jumps periods at a time, Jimmy and Connolly's relationship is explored well.

Black Mass could've been great, but we still find refuge in the fact that the actors all step up to the plate and deliver their best. Even bringing some career-best performances from a few. However, Black Mass is still a well-made and shot film, eerily chilly and stone cold. Black Mass is by no means a bad movie, it just never quite lives up to how close it got to being fantastic.

Will there be Oscars in Black Mass's future? At this point, your safest bets stay solely in the acting categories. At this point, Depp is all but a lock for a nomination for Lead Actor, and Edgerton, too, is gaining Supporting Actor buzz, both of which have strong shots at nominations. How much more than that? At this point, that remains to be seen.

7/10