The Place Beyond The Pines (***1/2 out of ****)

Director Derek Cianfrance has done something special here. It feels like far to often times a director just looks to their next project as simply their next movie. Cianfrance gives the impression of a man who looks for nothing less than working his hardest to contributing to cinema. A film divided into three acts the story sweeps across the ages. This is a showcase for acting but treats the actors as part of the story and not work for their celebrity personas. The film is a true epic that does come off the rails every now and then, but for the most part it is a striking force of film.

Luke (Ryan Gosling) is a motorcylce stunt man at a traveling amusment park. He returns to Synecdoche New York after a year on the road and is greeted by Romina (Eva Mendes), a woman he had a fling with during his last visit. However he finds out that while away, she had his child. Luke wants to be there for his child, unlike his own father. However Romina has a boyfriend and starting a a new life. Luke has no skills outside of his riding abilities, which he decides to use for a life a crime. Rob a bank and use his talent to get out of the area as fast as possible. This sets him on a collison course with Avery (Bradley Cooper), a local cop. Avery has dreams of doing actual justice in town and Luke may be the catalyst to all of this. There is also two teenagers (Dane DeHaan and Emory Cohen) that will play a massive role on the story.

The film has a true scope of it's goals. Telling a story of father/son relationships and the effect they have on one's life. An attempt to look beyond the traditional looking glass in to the raw emotion that fuels people. There is a lot happening here, I'm sure there is a lot I missed (religious symbolism), so the film has a strong rewatch capability. There are several beautiful and meaningful shots namely two following from behind two different characters on bike via an aerial view. All the actors give it their all here, making it a roller-coaster of emotion  The Place Beyond The Pines tries hard to tell story of some magnitude and for the most part succeeds in its ambitious drive.


***1/2 out of ****

The Host (*1/2 out of ****)

The Host commits many sins, these leads to the film being not just bad, but nearly a waste of time. It's contains quetionable acing, mostly bland visuals, a non-engaging story, cheesy and is very slow (and not the good kind).

Earth has been taken over by aliens. They are known as Souls and are parasitic lifeform that takes over the human's body and now the Souls live a normal life on Earth. I would secribe the souls as a ball of light with a vague shape of some sort of sea urchin. Melanie Strider (Saoirse Ronan) several years after the invasion is found by Jared Howe (Max Irons). Two good looking teenagers find each and love, it's so heartwarming. That is until Melanie is captured and has a Soul placed in her body. The Soul is known as Wanderer and Melanie and Wanderer often yell at each in the apparence of a yound woman yelling at the voices in her head. Wanderer eventually goes in search of Mealinie's realitives and thus begins the love square of Jared, Melanie, Wanderer and Ian (Jake Abel), te boy who falls for The Soul. William Hurt plays Mealinie's uncle who belives that a person can still live in a body taken over by a soul and Diane Kruger plays a Seeker (Soul cop) who looks to hunt any surviving humans down and preventing our oh so dear love square, she's the square! The plot is more stupid then it is complicated.

A sci-fi movie in the in the vain of maintaining one's will with a hint of Invasion of The Body Snatchers could have been cool, having Andrew Niccol direct with Ronan, Hurt and Kruger lending their acting talents could have made this a good movie. Yet the source material based on a Stephenie  Meyer book is so weak the film leaves no impression. The movie moves at a snail's pace and there are very few scenes of interest to break on the mundane fair. The romance is nothing beyond the "you live on the opposite side of town but we can fall in love anyway" cliche. The most redeeming qualities is the movie is that the music is hauntingly lovely and bad sci-fi is normally somewhat entertaining. Still The Host is so meaningless in execution that I have no need to remember it rather than actually want to block it from my brain.

*1/2 out of ****

Trance (**1/2 out of ****)

Danny Boyle has never made two similar movies. Every film is different in story. Yet they are all connected through the man's kinetic style. A mad dance through cinema. Trance is not one of Boyle's better films, in fact it's closer to the bottom of the man's collection. Still Trance is often wicked fun and engaging.

Getting started on describing the plot on Trance is a tricky thing. How much is too much to give away? James McAvoy plays Simon, an art auctioneer who gets invloved ona heist for very valuable painting. He sustains a blow to the head however and forgets much of what happened during the event, including where he hid the painting.Yet Frank (Vincent Cassel) and his team of criminals won't let amnesia stop them. Simon in order to recall where he hid the painting goes a hypnothearpist to unlock his mind. The thearpist is Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) who will make things interesting and complicated.

Boyle has a made a neo noir of the mind. Leaping around in narrative, Trance is quite intoxicating but often confusing. There are far more plot holes then there should be. While the actors are all very good, they lack chemistry with one another making their realtiionships somewhat dull. This leads to the problem of the plot feeling forced rather than organic. Boyle and the cast do their best with a weak script and often make up for its short comings. Quick editing, camera work shifting to what is happening in the film, and the always dazzling Boyle's choice in soundtrack lend a helping hand here. Trance is messy film, but a well made one


**1/2 out of ****

To The Wonder (*** out of ****)

Terrence Malick films are one of much debate. Some would claim his films are pretentious and the lacking a narrative approach is boring. I fall on the side where the director creates rapturous and euphoric films. Some of the most stunning images, intriguing reflection ad pure love I've seen in Malick's career. To The Wonder is his first completely  contemporary film but not one of his better ones.

Neil (Ben Affleck) is in love with Marina (Olga Kurylenko). The two enjoy blissful emotions while in France. They one day visit Mont Saint-Michael, a monastery that stands high upon a beach in Normandy. The place represents the plateau of their love, but also sets the idea of isolation. Malick looks to find symbolism in the most basic of concepts and images. Marina and her daughter from a previous marriage move with Neil to Oklahoma where things become more difficult. The nature of the countryside creates a vastly different feel then France and Marina reacts to it. Neil in his troubles reconnects with a woman from his past Jane (Rachel McAdams). Javier Bardem also plays a priest with a shaken faith in the lord and love, but his story seems very disconnected from Neil and Marina.

I appreciate the way Malick works with actors. The unique way of using them as models to express emotion and story instead of just letting actors playing a role. Malick tells a sometimes beautiful and sometimes devestating love story here. However in his lack on narration, the director creates some confusion, which distracts from the attachment. Another aspect of Malick's style I marvel in is the way the director can take a simple story and tear apart its basics to create something unique. To The Wonder spoke to me, not as much as other Malick moves but still I will never not long for the next film in this wonderful director's career.

*** out of ****

Evil Dead (**1/2 out of ****)

Sam Raimi's original Evil Dead is a horror classic. An unsettling gory feast, it's an over the top violent romp. However then a man decided to remake that movie, he was named Sam Raimi. The director remade his original with Evil Dead II, a comedic "Three Stooges" like joy. So decades later comes a somewhat blessed remake of the original film. Those looking for the fun Raimi saw later in his horror career should stay away, but for those looking for nauseating effects of the original, you won't be really disappointed.

Once again five young adults come out to a cabin in the woods. They are there for Mia (Jane Levy), who has sworn to kick her drug addiction and this remote location will serve as the "perfect" place for her to ride out the withdrawals. Her brother David (Shilo Fernandez) hasn't been always there for her and is making attempt to make up for it. This is all before they find "the book". Next thing you know  reading the ancient language inscribed in the pages begins and all hell breaks looks. Possession, tree rape, demons, the whole shebang.

The remake succesds in some ares but fails in others. In production of the film, practical effects were given a priority. So the gore has a sick pleasure in it. Problem is it sometimes becomes all to obvious when they touched up those effects with CGI. Yet still when the blood flies is just as disturbing as before. There are several callbacks to the original film, and for the most part (it's always hard with today's horror genre) finds ways to show love for what inspired this adaptation. However the film does have it's faults. The supporting characters don't add too much to the film, just bodies in the way. You'll still see characters behaving stupidly (it's almost a horror movie requirement now). What it comes down to is the era of horror films we live in, so many of them just feel the same. Even in Mama, which I enjoyed greatly, still can't escape all the cliche scares. There are still very good horror movies out there (Ti West is doing some fine work), it's just the average movie becomes so forgettable. In the end Evil Dead is a decent remake, has some scares, a lot of blood, but just isn't anything special in the now classic franchise.

**1/2 out of ****

Olympus Has Fallen (** out of ****)

I mean what did you expect? A stellar action movie that would match Die Hard in quality? I mean coming close to a feat like that would be even ludicrous. Olympus Has Fallen suffers from nearly all the problems seen in pro-american thrillers, they just come off as so artificial. The amount of eye roll worthy moments in the film would be a record high for such a type of film. Just because you have the president of the United States in the film, it doesn't make him an interesting character.

Gerard Butler plays a former secret service member who after a incident is transferred away from the president's service (Aaron Eckhart). During a visit from the Souther Korean Prime Minister, North Korean soldiers look to strike. launching a ridiculous assault on the White House they look to capture the president to get his hands on a special code that could destroy the country. The assault on the White House is pretty entertaining if look past all the stupidity involved by the guards there. Gerard Butler is alone in the ruined capital and must save his country (well sort of, I mean an Irishman playing a patriot).  he's not trapped in with the North Koreans, but they're trapped in their with him (it's that kind of cheesiness you can expect). Also Morgan Freeman plays the Speaker of the House, he's just there to make the wrong decisions and say things about how much in distress the country is. It's not all bad , some of the action is quite fun and the destruction looks great. Still the film is just a nothing special action movie. I mean how special can it be when there is a nearly identical movie coming out this summer with White House Down.

** out of ****

Stoker (***1/2 out of ****)

Something is wrong, in the household of the Stoker family and also a bit in the audience. Director Chan-wook Park takes full control in making this a uncomfortable and yet devilishly delicious experience. The film equivalent of a spider crawling up your body.

It is on India Stoker's (Mia Wasikowska) eighteenth birthday that her father is killed in an automobile accident. At his funeral service, India meets the uncle she never knew she had, Charlie Stoker (Matthew Goode). The feelings of confusion and annoyance from his appearance is only worsened when India's mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) invites Charlie to stay with them for an indefinite amount of time. Charlie is unsettling, there is something he's hiding, his intentions are a mystery. India has just no idea what Charlie entering her life means.

It is in the attention of detail that Stoker most thrives. Heightened sounds and an unusual palette of color (some times absolutely luscious in scope and others bland but never mute) makes it a wonder to the senses. Stoker is a movie looking to create literate. There a vast array of symbolism and troupes at work here. It is a dizzying joy to point each one out. Stoker is a complicated film, there are a lot of layers to the film, not everything is clear at first. In reflection the film only becomes more impressive.  A terrific cast just make it all the better. It is an atmospheric treat. People are born with control over their lives, they are given to it by the parents. It is only in accepting this can freedom be attained.

***1/2 out of ****