Jersey Boys (2014)

What a pile of suckage. Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation of the super successful Jersey Boys Broadway musical was agonizing and almost unbearable to sit through. I had the pleasure of watching Jersey Boys on Broadway, but I was always disappointed that I didn’t get to see the original Tony award winning actor, John Lloyd Young, play Frankie Valli on the stage. Rght after I stepped out of the theater, I remember thinking, “I hope Hollywood makes this in to a film…..”

Be careful what you wish for.

Eastwood hired three Broadway actors (John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, and Michael Lomenda) that played their own Jersey Boy characters on the stage. The film also included Boardwalk Empire actor, Vincent Piazza, and the great iconic Christopher Walken. Unfortunately, these talented stage and film actors couldn’t carry the burden of this mind-numbing film. The movie seemed to drag on and the constant bickering between the characters were boring.

The arguments were long-winded and extremely irritating, but that wasn’t my main beef with this film. The main issue I had was the music.

This is a sad moment when your least favorite part in a musical film IS the music. Call it personal preference, but I don’t particularly enjoy the “raw” sound of Jersey Boys, which is also the same sound method used in Les Miserables (2012). The actors in each of these films actually sing live on set and very little editing is done to the song in the studio. I like the idea of having an authentic sound to the film but unfortunately, it doesn’t sound as good as we all hope for. Film musicals NEED the studio magic so the audience doesn’t feel like they are listening to the actors sing in the shower or in a car.

PASS on the film and save your money. I think it’s safe to say that I would rather watch a shaky YouTube recording from an audience member sitting in the back row of Broadway theatre for Jersey Boys (which includes hearing the audience member laughing loudly into the camera microphone), than to sit through Clint Eastwood’s worst directorial film ever.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) didn’t open up to a huge box office weekend, but it doesn’t mean that this action-packed sci-fi film should get tossed in the trash with the likes of Waterworld (1995) and Battlefield Earth (2000).

Blame it on the marketing or maybe the weird buzz that spread around Hollywood for the movie’s original name, All You Need is Kill, which made some people pretty uneasy with the word “kill” in a movie title. Even though the title was changed (and re-branded yet again to Live. Die. Repeat.) the film’s performance at the box office was somewhat lackluster, which kind of sucks because Edge of Tomorrow was a pretty great sci-fi flick!

The film’s protagonist is Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) who gets marked as a deserter for trying to blackmail the General (Brendan Gleeson). Cage is a public affairs officer and is assigned to cover a combat in France where the evil aliens, called Mimics, are trying to take over the earth. Cage is thrown into a group of soldiers that are pretty much destined to die right away in battle. Cage makes a valiant attempt at running AWAY from the aliens but he actually ends up killing an Alpha mimic while succumbing to his own injuries and eventually dies on the battlefield.

The next scene shows Cage jolted back to life on the military base reliving the previous morning before battle. Cage tries to warn everyone that the invasion battle is a total epic fail, but no one believes him and Cage is sent to the battlefield to die again. And again. And Again.

It’s basically the Groundhog Day (1993) theory except there is more blood and less Punxsutawney Phil.

Edge of Tomorrow has some great action sequences and the plotline was engaging enough to keep me interested. How is Cage finally going to die for real?? Well, you have to watch the film to find out! As a side note, try to ignore the weird casting choices. Cage’s love interest, Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) had an awkward chemistry between them and the love story didn’t work for me.

I’m just going to put it out there but Tom Cruise has gotten old and hiring Emily Blunt to play his love interest felt completely unbelievable and gross. It’s not like Hollywood is unacquainted with casting female counterparts that are decades younger than their male leads, but something was super off with the chemistry in Edge of Tomorrow. I couldn’t get on board with Cage and Vrataski’s romantic love story. I tried to, but I just couldn’t do it.

But don’t worry about the awkward casting; I would still PICK this film for its outrageous Aliens/Groundhog Day storyline and the visual images are insanely good. It’s not a real shock to find out that nine different companies were hired to take on special effects and imaging because it clearly shows in the film. I’m going to predict that even though this film didn’t get much attention at the box office – Edge of Tomorrow will slowly gain a huge following over the years.

Neighbors (2014)

Neighbors (2014) is yet another film written by the Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogan duo. It’s not good. It’s not bad. It’s just….meh.

Meh pretty much sums up the whole movie critique where the film doesn’t have us in stitches from laughing like Pineapple Express (2008) but it also doesn’t have us reaching for our rioting pitchforks like the atrocious film, The Green Hornet (2011). Neighbors is just somewhere in the middle as a predictable, light-hearted, no-brainer comedy.

Yes, the film is VERY predictable but it should receive some credit for incorporating an interesting outlook on married couples that feel like they’re slipping off into the dark abyss of the domesticated mundane lifestyle. Mac (Seth Rogan) and Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) are new parents that are trying to fight the stereotypical image of the boring un-hip married couple, and who can help Mac and Kelly realize how uncool they really have become? Fraternity boys, of course!

Delta Psi Beta moves in next door and the fraternity president, Teddy (Zac Efron) is on a mission to throw the biggest party in Delta Psi Beta history. As charming and good-looking these fraternity boys are, and as much as Mac and Kelly want to party with the young kids – the fraternity lifestyle doesn’t fare so well with Mac and Kelly’s baby and early morning work schedule.

Teddy and his fraternity brothers could care less about Mac and Kelly’s domesticated woes and it becomes a battle between the neighbors. You could probably guess what happens in the end but there are some funny bits throughout the film.

Seth Rogan does what he does best – playing a stereotypical role as a goofy idiotic underdog. People give actors a hard time about typecasting but I don’t see it as a bad thing at all. In fact, the actor should play that same character until their blue in the face because I don’t want to see Seth Rogan playing a “hot” suave business guy (ew, gross) and I want to keep watching Liam Neeson hunt down his daughter’s abductors and kicking people’s asses on a plane (don’t mess with Liam Neeson).

ANYWAYS, I say PICK it because the film is pretty enjoyable especially if you are familiar with celebrity comedy circles that make random cameos in the film. Lisa Kudrow’s character as the college dean is by far the funniest character in the film, as well as MADTv comedian, Ike Barinholtz, who plays Mac’s best friend. Definitely give this film a shot, but don’t forget – meh.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

It’s pretty rare for a sequel to even match its predecessor film, but Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a THOUSAND times better than Captain America: The First Avenger. 

Now…..I can appreciate the first film’s gritty cinematography for its “authentic” history channel look, but unfortunately, the film was a complete snoozefest. I mean it was cool how the first film gave us that 1940s WWII History Channel style and I can appreciate the director’s visionary images. Unfortunately, Captain America: The First Avenger also uses the same concept as the History Channel where you have good intentions watching a special on the Third Reich, but you end up falling asleep 20 minutes in to the special.

But I’m not here to write a review on how terrible the first Captain America film was. Instead, we can all thank the first film for setting the bar real low for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which turned out to be an entertaining action-packed film. The Winter Soldier mimics the other successful Marvel films by incorporating the formula of action and humor into the film and mercifully taking out mind-numbly boring screenwriting. The storyline was also successful in developing the main characters Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), who are pretty much overshadowed by Iron Man and Thor in The Avengers. 

The Winter Soldier adds more depth to Captain America’s story and is centered around Captain America, aka Steve Rogers, and Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanoff, running from the compromised S.H.I.E.L.D. agency. The pair uncovers a secret hiding behind the agency’s corporate head quarters and Captain America discovers his deep-rooted connection with the dangerous assassin called the Winter Soldier.

I don’t want to give away too much about the movie in this review because there are quite a few surprise twists throughout the entire film. What I can say is that Robert Redford is in the film and it seemed somewhat pointless to have a great actor play the role of Alexander Pierce who seemed almost unnecessary and irrelevant to the film. On the other hand, Scarlett Johansson’s character gained relevancy in this film as Black Widow and she didn’t seem like painfully obvious eye candy compared to Black Widow’s representation in The Avengers. Although I am an insufferable critic about the annoying focus on female physical appearance in films; I couldn’t stop staring at Scarlett Johansson’s jersey shore spray tan in The Winter Soldier. Horrifying to watch in high definition.

Besides the Don Juan spray tan, this film is a PICK especially if you are in the mood for another superhero action-comedy. And if you’re like my partner, you are ALWAYS in the mood for that. Samuel Jackson makes an appearance as Nick Fury and Anthony Mackie does a great job in playing the superhero, Falcon. Please don’t let the first Captain America film turn you away from the sequel because The Winter Soldier adds new life and a much-needed refreshing makeover to the Captain America films.

Gone Girl (2014)

Oh…my…god…. Was my first reaction after I watched the traumatic, visually disturbing, ride of a film known as Gone Girl. I literally walked out of the movie theater in a complete daze and I wasn’t sure what the hell hit me. I hate to toot the postmodern horn but I kind of agree with the idea that movies tell the same old story and most films are somewhat predictable. This does NOT apply to Gone Girl. The film was intense, shocking, irritating, disgusting, and horribly gruesome.

It was perfect.

Gone Girl is a mystery thriller based off of author, Gillian Flynn’s New York Times Bestseller novel of the same name. Gillian also wrote the screenplay for the film adaption, which may have been one of the main reasons behind the film’s impeccable storytelling. But we all know that the film’s stunning images are all thanks to the one, and only director, David Fincher. The scenes were vivid and gave a haunting allure similar to Fincher’s Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Gone Girl begins with Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) narrating on his idea of marriage and trying to understand the thoughts that are running through his wife’s head (Rosamund Pike). The next day, Nick wakes up and drives over to his bar that he owns with his twin sister, Margo (Carrie Coon) and receives a call from his neighbor about Nick’s cat being loose in the yard. Nick drives back to his residence and there is something eerily suspicious with the home. Someone has broken into Nick’s house and his living room is in complete disarray with broken glass and strewn furniture. Nick calls out for Amy and searches the entire home for his wife. Amy is gone.

The first hour of the film truly proves that Fincher is one of the best directors in the industry with his ability to piece a story together in perfect order. The film cuts to flashbacks of the beginning of Nick and Amy’s relationship to the present day mayhem of Amy’s disappearance. Gone Girl shines a light on public reaction and media exploitation while adding in some good ol’ traditional detective work. On top of that, the film’s music score literally had me gripping the side of my seat and proves that Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor’s music was made for David Fincher films.

This film is a PICK and I say that without any hesitation. Rosamund Pike does a phenomenal job and her performance is beyond Oscar-worthy. But don’t expect much about the overhyped full-frontal Ben Affleck nude scene (I’ll ruin it for you now – it was a side shot and you will miss it if you sneeze. But don’t worry you won’t miss much.) The whole 2 hours and 39 minutes was THRILLING. This is a great film for anyone interested in morbid happily-ever-afters where married couples blackmail each other to stay together. You know, like in real-life marriages.

The Drop (2014)

The Drop is an underwhelming film for any movie-goer hoping to experience the same pure storyline bliss that any Tony Soprano fan longs for. As you can probably tell, The Sopranos left a big void in my heart (and every mob-loving fanatic) after its last episode aired in 2007. Although it’s a little unfair to compare The Drop to the cult classic HBO television series – you can’t help but hope that Gandolfini’s last film would give us an ass kicking, gun flailing farewell to one of the best actors in the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, if you were looking for closure, The Drop won’t give it to you.

The film is centered around Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) who runs a Brooklyn bar named after his cousin, Marv (James Gandolfini). The bar acts as a legit business but it is also an active site for money laundering where local mobsters “drop” (oh, someone cue in the title) money off to avoid the stinkin’ trails of dirty crime money (Hello, The Sopranos, anyone??). Bob and Marv are complicit to the drop and do whatever the crime boss tells them to do. As easily predicted, Marv is drowning in financial mayhem and it looks like he’s going to give into desperate acts to help pay for his father’s hefty life support bills. This is where the drop comes in to play and Marv finds himself on the other side of the Chechen’s own Tony Soprano wrath.

Marv doesn’t involve Bob in his attempt to rob the drop and it’s obvious that Bob wouldn’t go along with it anyways. Bob is portrayed as this meek character that seems like he wouldn’t hurt a fly, but he definitely has some weirdo vibes that you can’t quite put your finger on it. Is Bob a serial killer or is he a just a creepy version of Forrest Gump? Regardless of who he is, Bob spends a lot of his time trying to impress his dog sitter/potential future girlfriend, Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and she seems really dig his eerie ways. Sadly, Nadia has a crazy boyfriend that just got out of jail and is also looking for some creepy Nadia time.

Eric Deeds (Mathias Schoenaerts) is Nadia’s old boyfriend and rumor around the block is Eric is a cold-blooded murderer. So what does a murderer do to get his girlfriend back? He puts a half dying puppy in her trash because nothing shouts rekindled romance more than that. Bob and Nadia meet under this pretense and their relationship grows while mending the puppy back to life. Eric is pissed to say the least and he starts to hatch his own plans of revenge and blackmail. Eric meets up with Marv (not very surprising) and they devise a plan to rob the Chechen mobsters on the money drop’s most lucrative night – the Super Bowl. Marv urges Eric to curb his unpredictable crazy ways and warns Eric that Bob will be working the bar on night of the Super Bowl. Marv looks seriously at Eric and tells him to never underestimate Bob.

The premise of The Drop sounds interesting enough and I went into the film trying to get my Tony Soprano mobster hit for the year. To be honest, it didn’t even matter that James Gandolfini wasn’t playing his character we all love so much, I just wanted to see Gandolfini do what he does best – ACT. I have to admit that the character he did play was underwhelming and extremely boring. Even Tom Hardy’s performance was lackluster in his portrayal of Bob Saginowski and it was hard to believe that I was watching the final cut of the film. It felt like I was watching Tom muttering lines to himself, similar to watching a transient carry a conversation to themselves on a bus, but even that would’ve been more compelling.

James Gandolfini and Tom hardy are both exceptional actors, which made me wonder if this was the film director’s fault (Michael Roskam). But, whoever is to blame for Gandolfini and Hardy’s performance sure didn’t seem to influence Noomi Rapace who did a remarkable job playing her character. If you decide to watch this film, watch it for Noomi and her familiar edge-of-the-seat acting we watched in the Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

PASS on the film if you’re going to the movie theatre, but definitely spend a dollar for it once it comes out on Red Box. And to all of The Sopranos fans, save yourself the heartache and just re-watch the entire HBO series. It’s a better way to cope with your loss of Tony Soprano’s wifebeater and fuzzy bathrobe.