OUR BRAND IS CRISIS 2015

As a huge Sandra Bullock fan, I went into the film knowing I would take away something enjoyable regardless of the actual quality of the film. Unfortunately, that is the only takeaway. She played the given role rather well. It was actual character and the story-line that seemed to lack some substance and very much needed passion.

Considering the story is about a Bolovia's nationwide crisis, and also knowing that it takes a child dropping an ice cream cone for me to be moved, I left concerned that I didn't experience more emotions during the two hours I was there. The clear effort to develop the characters is there, but doesn't translate well. There is plenty of opportunity for meaningful moments and for the audience to spend some intimate time learning more about the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of those on the screen.

For Bullock, this is a somewhat forgettable role and film, which is a shame because she certainly did her part.

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015) 2.9

The most impressive aspect of this film is how stylized and aesthetically pleasing the director made it. The first scene set the bar for the rest of the movie, and the last scene is the perfect portrayal of how the color and depth truly impacted the overall feel.

Starting at a Checkpoint in Berlin in 1963, Gaby played by Alicia Vikander is introduced to Solo played by Henry Cavill. She is perfect for the role; her "lethal combination of beauty and brain" and so much more. Most recently, her performance as Ava in Ex Machina is likely from where any viewers would recognize her. Breaking stereotypes, she is found working under a car as Solo approaches to take advantage of her bloodline and getaway car. The two are caught in a high-speed chase running from Illya who works for a Russian agency played by Armie Hammer. This car chase is definitely one of my favorite parts of the film with the use of clever strategy and the fact that the cars are considered antique cars to todays viewers.

Going into the back-story of Solo, we discover that he was once a notable criminal who specialized in stealing. After recognizing his skill set, he was picked up as an American agent with the determination that his talent would be wasted in jail. On the cusp of catching Solo and Gaby, Illya is approached by the KGB and flees from the scene. Pre-planning every move, Solo directs Gaby to drive down a tight alley way where the car will end up perfectly lodged, feet above the ground enabling them to seamlessly move from the car into the window of perfectly placed building. The two end up getting away from Illya, but not for long.

A man associated with the agency takes Solo to an undisclosed location for his next task. Before arriving, the man suggests, "What I'm about to feed you might taste a little bitter, but nevertheless you have to swallow." Solo is soon found in a bathroom with longtime enemy Illya. They are assigned a mission as partners to infiltrate the atom bomb organization. Comically, after the mission is revealed in a small cafe, every single "patron" gets up to leave revealing to us that everyone around them is planted because the two do not have an option to say no. This sense of humor is carried throughout the film and creates a light air that I definitely appreciated.

Setting the tone for their relationship Solo starts things off with a strong insult to Illya's past, including dissing his mother. Naturally, it will take some time for Solo and Illya to swallow the idea of America teaming with Russia. Gaby is also joining to make the perfect trio. She will take the role of Illya's fiancée, which will lead to the eventual introduction of Illya to her Uncle Rudy played by Sylvester Groth. The end goal is to introduce the agents to her biological father and the link to him is through Uncle Rudy.

Gaby puts effort into the planted engagement to Illya with a plan to make him smile and adorable, impulsive dancing as he resists due to his straight-laced demeanor. The first time the audience is convinced of any relationship is when Gaby claims, "so you don't want to dance but you do want to wrestle" as she pushes him down and pins him only to pass out completely intoxicated. This ignites a laugh and also leads to the first contribution of Illya to the relationship as he carries her to bed and tucks her in.

As the relationship of Illya and Gaby starts to build, the trust level of the supposed partners Solo and Illya could use some encouragement. Both of them are caught red-handed in the hotel hallway learning they each planted bugs in the other's room.

In the next scene, we are introduced to the real villain Victoria played by Elizabeth Debicki and Illya is set up to meet Uncle Rudy with nice Gaby and her architect fiancee Illya at the racetracks. Debicki has a very low amount of screen time, but does play the role very well. Later to be revealed, the driver of the car at the race is the husband of Victoria, Alexander played by Luca Calvani. Alexander is magnetically attracted to Gaby's way around an engine, and puts the moves on her as part of Debicki's ultimate scheme. Solo is also there with quick hands on his way to meet Victoria as he planned. As Solo is making a few mistakes sticking to his own ways, Illya is doing the same as he beats up a few punks in the bathroom for ignoring his request to use the sink. The trio runs home to avoid being caught creating turmoil.

Illya locks himself in the bathroom as he is attempting to develop photos as Gaby attempts to talk with him about why there was such a rush to leave. Upon day's end, Illya and Solo alike agree "I work better alone." The revelation of the photos determines their next move to break into the plant where the bomb is being manufactured. The huge fail here is the use of a cheesy photomontage to show what Solo and Illya are doing simultaneously; this is extremely tacky and even prompted a rather exaggerated eye roll from me.

The intrusion into the plant ends in a boat chase by the plant security. Solo predictably gets away and winds up in a stumbled upon truck drinking wine and eating a sandwich as Illya loses the chase on the water. As Solo sees that Illya is actually in some danger when the boat is in flames and sinking, he gets out of the truck and saves him.

Victoria is informed of the intruders and immediately knows Illya and Solo are at fault. The unanswered calls to their hotel rooms validates they are the ones to burglarize the plant. Immediately she goes to the hotel asking for their room keys as Solo and Illya sneak in behind her. Victoria finds them in their hotel rooms and is caught not able to blame them.

The next day Gaby gets a call from her uncle saying he would like to meet her at "twelve" to which she agrees because it will lead to her father. Illya calms her nerves for the meet taking on the role of her supposed fiancée by suggesting, "I'll be close by."

Not wasting any time at the meeting place, Gaby immediately confronts Uncle Rudy, "I know my father is here and that he works for you!" At the same time, Solo is in Victoria's office: "I'd say you put something in my drink." To which Victoria replies, "I laced all the drinks." As Solo passes out from the drink, Gaby is giving away Illya's cover in the woods. The story changes to reveal that Gaby has set up the two to blow their cover in order to protect her father.

Solo is then dragged by Victoria to the Doctor of the Apocalypse "the master of pain and fear" as he attempts to electrocute his next subject and enter it into the final page of his torture logs. Victoria immediately sails away on a boat. Illya eventually comes to save Solo as he had previously planted a tracker in his shoe, and the two changes positions. The Doctor ends up in the chair as the electricity kicks back on and burns him to a crisp but not before he has revealed too much information to Solo and Illya. Oddly enough this is a great example of humor as the two struggle to make a decision on what to do with the Doctor as smoke floods the room.

Gaby is then taken to her father and we learn that her father is not the actual enemy, but he has no choice but to follow direction for what he has been told to do with the atom bomb. Victoria catches on to the father daughter alliance that leads to the death of Gaby's father letting him know beforehand "She'll be joining you shortly." During this drama, Illya and Solo get new orders to get the remote at any cost: "Kill the American if you have to." "Kill the Russian if you have to." Again, the tacky split screen makes an appearance. This was so long it's impressive. It does lend itself to an old time feel but looks like a very cheap effect. To reflect, the use of this montage may have been to limit the amount of actual action on screen allowing the audience to focus more on the actual story at hand.

Gaby is taken with the man from the racetrack, Alexander with the atom bomb and the remote. This action scene involves two cars and Illya on a motorcycle coming from three distance locations. The aerial view with a few close up shots is very well done here. This allows the film to redeem itself a bit from the not one, but two montage features. As the chase ends in an extreme crash, we learn the bomb in that vehicle is a decoy and the real bomb is on the ship with Victoria, Diadema an old fishing boat associated with the mob Uncle Rudy has a connection.

Solo tracks down the ship calling to Victoria and getting a response when he reveals that he has killed her husband. He is able to keep the phone connection long enough to secure the location and launch a less powerful missile to sink the ship and end the capability of the atomic bomb being sold or launched by her.

Once again, Solo and Illya are plotted against each other to get the only other copy of the remote to the atomic bomb, which will lead their home country to be the most powerful on the planet. After all this time, while the two have not developed a solid friendship, they have fostered true respect in the other proving this to be a rather difficult challenge. Solo quickly catches on when Illya visits that he is doing so to follow orders and attempt to murder him.

In the final scene, the three are found on the patio watching the remote burn being told they have a new codename: UNCLE. The lighting here is beautiful as the last shot is a silhouette of the three. The music here is fantastic, and is likely my favorite aspect of the film. The variety of it and the fact that it is not overpowering is perfect. Overall, the film was decent. The storyline did try to incorporate too many twists and turns that allowed some aspects to be lost. If it would have stuck to a solid backstory and just one section of this plot, it may have been better. While the story was followable, there were way too many levels making it lose a bit of focus and impact.

THE GIFT (2015) 4.0

The plot for The Gift is solid, creative and features all kinds of twists and turns in all the right places. Without escaping the bounds of reality, The Gift left me puzzled at times and in horrid shock at others. To my surprise, within the first few minutes, we are already introduced to weirdo Gordo played by Joel Edgerton, also the writer and director of the film. He plays the role with the utmost conviction.  I think that most viewers will be able to relate to the story in that we all have a 'weirdo Gordo' in our lives; hopefully without the attached idiosyncrasies.

Playing Simon is Jason Bateman and his wife Robyn is Rebecca Hall. In my opinion, the pair is a bit odd and lacking chemistry. Where they do come together in a believable sense is as the movie starts to reveal Simon's past, which slowly coaxes out Robyn's angst towards her husband. We find that throughout his entire life, Simon has enjoyed many privileges. From class president in high school to his impressive office in California, Simon gets what he wants, even without saying "Simon says."

Setting the tone for the remaining 108 minutes at a casual dinner date, Gordo talks with Simon and Robyn about his past. As humbly as he can muster, he ends the evening by noting that "the bad things, they can be a gift." As soon as Gordo runs into Simon and Robyn, he showers them with gifts, starting with an innocent bottle of wine, then thoughtful glass cleaner, and eventually a school of fish to fill their pond and a DVD of Apocalypse Now. Gordo frequently encounters Robyn, as he stops by the house when she isn't home and lingers until he feels like there is a mutual welcome. Invited over to dinner, Simon and Robyn feel obligated to join and are convinced it will be tolerable learning another couple is invited. Last minute, the other couple cancelled allowing Gordo to have the two to himself until he urgently leaves the house for a "work call." Unable to resist the urge to snoop around, Simon and Robyn find many signs that Gordo has a family and children. When returning, Gordo confesses the call was his ex-wife and pulls on the heartstrings of Robyn. Simon immediately sticks to the plan telling Gordo, "I think it's better if you don't come to our house anymore."

This is the turning point of the film. Gordo continues to come to the house, but only without their knowledge to kill the gifted fish and temporarily steal the family dog, Bojangles. The police investigation reveals the fact that Gordo has a criminal record and the house they once visited was not actually his.

Gordo tries to mend the forced friendship with a letter and a few words of wisdom: "Let bygones be bygones." "It's really important to not look back." Simon and Robyn attempt to live their lives as they artificially were, but Robyn struggles with nightmares and constant paranoia. Soon, Robyn is pregnant and safety becomes an even larger concern. After her concerns are not taken seriously by Simon, Robyn takes matters into her own hands and talks to childhood friends of Simon about what really happened in school between the two. She learns of the rumor that Gordo was sent away from school after other kids were torturing him when they found his dad was caught molesting him in a car; this incident was reported by Simon. As Robyn takes a first hand approach at her investigation, Simon uses his connections to conduct an investigation of Gordo's past revealing arrest for attempting to kidnap a child and being dishonorably discharged from the military, leading him to file a restraining order against him but not make Robyn aware of this act.

Robyn finds the supposed secret background check on Gordo in Simon's locked desk drawer and truly loses all faith in her husband from this point on. She also learns after speaking with his school friends that Simon was (and still is) a bully, making up the entire story about Gordo and spreading rumors in school that he is gay. This led to issues at school and at home for Gordo, as his father tried to burn and kill him for hearing he was gay.

Forced to apologize, Simon attends trivia night where Gordo will be found resisting apology by suggesting, "You're done with the past but the past is not done with you," leading Gordo to be pinned in the parking garage. At this point, the true, ugly Simon is revealed convincing the audience to lose all hope in his innocence and good intentions. Soon after, the discovery surfaces that Simon framed Danny McDonald played by P.J. Byrne to get a promotion at work. In the midst of this revelation, Robyn goes into labor, which is where the plot line starts to race and the movie wraps up.

My main observance of the film is that it is a bit off balance with how the plot is revealed and when. It doesn't seem to follow a traditionally paced three-act film. The end is packed with action and huge "ah-ha" moments and the rest of the film leading up may have been better if it started working on these scenes early on. Despite the fact that the two just had a baby, Robyn tells Simon, "I don't want to go back to the house with you." When hearing this Simon leaves, as planned, to shower and grab a few things from home.

Upon his arrival, he finds a gift that will affect every day of his life. The gift is much more generous than it seems. Simon opens the 1, 2, and 3 gifts at home pushing him further into a feeling of guilt and shear anger as Gordo makes a surprise visit to the hospital to see Robyn. He brings with him a bouquet of congratulatory flowers along with scrapes and bruises from the parking garage encounter. At home, Simon slowly learns that his wife's paranoia was well-warranted, first listening to a recording of him and his wife speaking while he rushed away from their prior dinner plans, then viewing a video of an inappropriate violation of privacy.

The video reveals Gordo spying on the two, watching Robyn while she's sleeping and eventually breaking into the house on the day Robyn mysteriously fainted. Simon's fear comes to life as the video fades and Gordo (so we assume, as he is masked) drags Robyn's limp body to the bed and sits atop her. In tears, Simon views the scene and sprints to the hospital knowing Gordo has already made an appearance. The closing words from Gordo to Simon do not verify whether the violent sexual act happened, but rather leaves Simon to his own imagination saying "But a liar won't believe anyone else right?"

Closing the film is a sense of wonder for the audience to decide whether the baby is actually Simon's or Gordo's. My recommendation for the ending would be to add a flash forward to reveal the baby as a slightly grown toddler showing his hair color, as Simon and Robyn have dark brown hair, while Gordo's is red. The story line is impressive. The retaliation plan and the dedication to the role by Edgerton are well thought out and flawless.

Every baby is a gift, right?

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION (2015) 3.4

Entering the theater with literally no expectations of this film, I certainly walked away happy having spent 131 minutes on Mission: Impossible. The movie has solid action and a strong plotline that is effortlessly, clearly communicated. Playing the iconic role of Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise is found to be unstoppable and untraceable at the brink of IMF disaster. I was impressed to find that, at the ripe age of 53, Cruise most impressively completed all of his own stunts for the film.

Not being a die hard fan of the Mission: Impossible story, I found it extremely easy to follow and quickly became involved in the storyline. Hitting road bumps along the way, Hunt combines his efforts with William Brandt (played by Jeremy Renner), Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg), and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). Most memorable is Benji. He contributes a human aspect to this larger than life conflict by perpetrating a few innocent mistakes whilst maintaining a total awareness of others' well-being.

For me, most notable scene in this film is the high speed motorcycle chase. It takes a lot to hook me into action scenes because they've become somewhat of a norm in movies, but the bends, low turns and length of the chase was absurdly impressive. Ilsa Faust played by Rebecca Ferguson, is the leader of the chase and drives her chasers to the syndicate by attempting to fulfill her own assigned tasks. I have a feeling we are definitely going to see more of her to come; her appeal and self-assuredness make her moldable for numerous roles in the future.

Overall, this was a quality film. I was able to leave happy having seen the movie on a whim, or rather- another's plea.

PAPER TOWNS (2015) 3.2

My biggest mistake in entering this film was using John Green’s first novel adaptation ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ as a benchmark comparison. While Paper Towns was a pretty good movie, the dragging lull of the plot along with the difficulty of translating internal emotions to the screen forces it to fall short. That aside, if snippets of the film are dissected, there was really something meaningful within.

Shedding some light on what is to come, there is an amazing shot early on as young Margo rides her bike into the darkness. Make note, this lighting and gradual darkness is beautiful. Innocent Quentin, played by Nat Wolff is found doting over Margo played by Cara Delevingne from the moment they become neighbors. As they grow up, they predictably grow apart. Quentin is found most often with two loyal friends, and the “in” crowd surrounds Margo whether taking place in convertibles or raging high school parties. Margo discovers disloyalty among her closest friends and on one fateful night, unleashes the "Margo Roth Spiegelman Revenge Plot" to begin.

Creeping into Quentin's window at night, Margo uses him as a resource with a minivan to support her revenge plot. This is also an act to show how human she really is, as she encourages Quentin to push the envelope and act in confidence rather than hesitate constantly. Overnight, as the two act on Margo's anger, Quentin's close to the surface feelings about his perceived’ Margo miracle’ are ignited. Even the smallest acts give Quentin false hope about their relationship. After all, "tHe RuLeS aRe So UnFaIr To ThE lEtTeRs In ThE mIdDlE."

A day later, Quentin learns that Margo has become her own mystery, and he will align the stars to determine he is the one to solve it and trace all the clues to find her. His friends Ben played by Austin Abrams and Radar played by Justice Smith are there to help him along the way. Both characters are extremely memorable and have an effortless chemistry on screen. Ben is perceived to be the average teenage boy with hormones, verbalizing his every thought and decision especially when it comes to Quentin's mom. Radar plays it safe with a long-term girlfriend and parents who play a role without being on screen. Leveraged throughout the film is Radar's parents’ record-setting black Santa collection. The three create a nerdy trio relies on the Pokémon song as they follow Quentin's lead to trace Margo's steps.

The end of the film was unexpected. Quentin finds himself questioning his interpretation of Margo's every move since she climbed in the window that memorable night. While this confusion and disappointment is a struggle, it also comes at a perfect time in his life for him to learn who he is and he splits from his childhood friends for college.

Overall, the movie does a great job at forcing the audience to fall for Margo and feel that same sadness when Quentin finally comes face to face with her. My biggest criticism is the flow. It seemed like the film was too long for the story line and the screen time was a mere 109 minutes. Much of the movie struggled to truly allow the audience to capture Quentin's thoughts and emotions, and since the movie is told from his perspective, this is a major downfall. Regardless, if any of you are like me, I enjoy the book to screen movies so it may be worth your time.

"The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle."

VACATION (2015) 3.3

From Clark Griswold in 1983 to Rusty Griswold today, the humor in this film was hilariously expected, however cliché.  Ed Helms takes on the role of Rusty, the overly enthusiastic father who recognizes the important things in life being well beyond material items and career aspirations. As they venture to "Wally World" in order to replace some old memories with his own boys in the memorable bright blue Tartan Prancer, they hit some bumps (or should I say buttons) along the way. 

Christina Applegate, playing the role of Rusty's wife Debbie Griswold also steps up to the role as a middle-aged mother who has somewhat lost ambition as to the wonders of the world. While these two parents bicker and fight, most memorable in the film were the sons. James and Kevin played by Skyler Gisondo and Steel Stebbins have a notable chemistry in the film. I definitely anticipate seeing more of Stebbins to come, as he steals the role with his vindictive plots of vengeance against his softer older brother. James is seen often with his graffiti ridden guitar and a stack of diaries whilst Kevin has an iconic scene telling his brother to "Go to sleep!" as he puts a plastic bag over his head while the audience wonders if he's joking or serious. His character is that convincing. 

A welcomed side story is that of Audrey Crandall, Debbie's sister played by Leslie Mann and Stone Crandall, her husband played by Chris Hemsworth. The two make a perfectly obnoxious pair with dedication to PDA and gadgets that flash their worth and Stone's success as a local weatherman. 

There adventure comes with a side dish of many laughs and exaggerated scenarios to truly make the film a comedy. Often movies take scenarios one step too far that incite frequent eye-rolls and cause the film to lose validity (at least that's my opinion). Vacation knew what the limits were and stuck to them throughout. On an ironic note, a constant trigger of laughter was the actual car they rented for the trip, the Tartain Prancer. Constantly, the film relies on this car as a literal humor vehicle. 

Nearing the end of the 99 minute movie, Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo make an appearance as the parents of Rusty. Encouraging Rusty to get his family to "Wally World" no matter what it takes, the film ends as the Griswold family drives off in the memorable station wagon from National Lampoon's Vacation.

ANT-MAN (2015) 4.2

As a loyal follower of Marvel movies, my expectations for Ant-Man included a solid portrayal of the plotline, some light comedy, and of course, big action. Being an ant, the "big" part is the only expectation that was somewhat off just due to the nature and sheer size of Ant-Man. This movie is solid to the core with a tight story.

Playing Ant-Man and Scott Lang is of course, Paul Rudd. As a huge fan of Rudd, I will be honest in saying I did go into the movie questioning his ability to pull off this role. After seeing the film, there would have been no one better for the job. As Lang goes from having a Masters in Engineering to jail and even with a short stay at Baskin Robins, he fits in the role effortlessly. Upon being fired from Baskin Robins, a company who "always finds out," he is then set up to rob Dr. Hank Pym and eventually steal the Ant-Man suit. This ploy was well thought out with little introduction from Pym beforehand, as he considers Lang's crime with Vista Corp to be a strong skill set, allowing the audience to share the same ignorance Lang must have felt when learning about the plan to frame him.

Coining himself as a "cat burglar" Lang then commits himself to a heist for the intelligence that also powers his suit to avoid having the technology sold by villain Darren Cross played by Corey Stoll. Stoll plays the character with conviction, eventually also taking on the role as the Yellowjacket. However, I can't help but leave the film wanting more from him. As the Ant-Man and the Yellowjacket battle to the death, every tactic the Yellowjacket attempts to employ is somewhat forgettable. Not forgettable are their surroundings as they dual, most notably within a briefcase. Make note of this scene. Innovation and creativity is an understatement here. Further, in other battle scenes, the use of different species of ants is remarkable and a minute detail that must be appreciated.

One aspect audiences are sure to take away is the flawless and effortless use of comedy. From pointed jokes about the Avengers "dropping cities out of the sky" to the "three wombats" who assist Lang and eventually Ant-Man in the heist, the comedy is on point. During certain points in the film, there was definitely a laugh a minute factor that played a solid role, especially near the end. One of the "wombats," Luis played by Michael Pena, absolutely steals the show in this role. I would expect to see him in future Marvel movies to come.

Overall, this was a fANTasic film. Marvel absolutely can walk away with a win.