Movie Review: Stoker

Stoker (IMDb score: 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes 67% fresh)

Director: Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance)

Writer: Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield from Prison Break ha)

Cast: Mia Wasikowska (pronounced Vaas-Kaav-Ska), MatthewGoode, Nicole Kidman

Oldboy is on my list of foreign movies I’d really like to see, and it’s beloved by much of the film community that I read and respect so I was interested to see the director’s English language debut.  I walked into the theater without having seen so much as a preview, so I had no idea what to expect.  As the film progressed I was reminded more and more of how I felt watching Black Swan.  Both are beautifully shot and orchestrated well, but the tone is a sort of creepy melancholy where the audience knows something is disturbed beneath the surface.  Taking center stage is the Stoker family: India (Mia), her mother Evelyn (Kidman), and a previously unheard from Uncle Charlie (Goode).  It’s clear from the outset that India is highly introverted and off-putting in certain ways, and that she has a strange relationship to her mother.   Brilliant acting from Wasikowska and Goode on display here, she is totally convincing and heightens some already ruthless sequences with her cold, ethereal presence.  Meanwhile Goode is all mysterious charm. (continues after the jump)

Movie Review: Spring Breakers

Spring Breakers (IMDb score: 6.6, Rotten Tomatoes 70% Fresh)

Writer and Director: Harmony Korine (numerous short films)

Cast: Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, James Franco, GUCCI MANE!!!

Hopefully this movie isn’t taken too seriously by audiences, because it is completely devoid of any semblance of morality or realism.  Instead it combines two of the most idolized elements of American youth: partying and the crime culture often promoted by rap music.  The result of this concoction is a crazy, ridiculous, entertaining ride of a movie.  Three ladies and their younger friend are eagerly looking forward to, you guessed it, Spring Break, yet they have no $$$.  To solve this problem they cruise to a restaurant where Brit (Ashley Benson) and Candy (Vanessa Hudgens) violently rob the patrons.  Up to this point the movie was a haze of weed and booze and boobs, so this drastic change of tone worked to great effect.  The way this scene was shot was amazing, and I won’t spoil it here.  From a rookie director, I was quite impressed. (continues after the jump) 

Movie Review: Dead Man Down

Dead Man Down (IMDb score: 7.0, Rotten Tomatoes 38% Fresh)

Director: Niels Arden Oplev (Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Writer: J.H. Wyman (The Mexican)

Cast: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Terrence Howard

I’m struggling to understand the IMDb score for this movie, as it deserves a much lower rating.  This is a classic $2, sit-on-your-couch-on-a-Sunday flick.  Focusing on a scarred (literally and emotionally) woman on a quest for revenge and a mobster thug who is more than meets the eye, this is an entertaining but highly predictable affair.  Rapace and Farrell’s chemistry propels the movie as far as it can go on such a weak script, but unfortunately Terrence Howard is underused.  They could have made him much more sinister or ruthless, but instead I almost pitied him!  There are a few bloody and rather impressive action sequences which were enjoyable, but there’s little to no mystery about the whole thing.  In terms of plot this will seem like familiar territory for many viewers. (continues after the jump)

Movie Review: Oz the Great and Powerful

Oz the Great and Powerful (IMDb score: 7.0, Rotten Tomatoes 61% Fresh)
Director: Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spiderman Trilogy, Drag Me to Hell)
Writer:  Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Nine Yards, Romeo Must Die)
Cast: James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz

Attempting to create a prequel to one of the most essential and beloved Hollywood classics of all time seemed to me like a very dangerous undertaking.  Simple to screw up, hard to do well.  Despite this fact, the potential ROI of a film like this is astronomical and that’s what earned it the green light from the studio.  Imagine you’re Disney and you see Alice in Wonderland make over $1 Billion in 2010.  This is solid gold. EDIT: Well, after opening weekend it’s only made $155M worldwide against a budget of $215M so there goes that theory!  It should still make it to $500M. 

Thankfully, I was mostly happy with how Oz played out.  The story is shallow and somewhat underwhelming (like the original Oz when you think about it), but the world Raimi and the production and design teams created is brilliant.  I saw this one in IMAX 3D and it visually blew me away: amazing colors, breathtaking wide shots, and beautiful special effects.  The tornado sequence was intense and stressful, as it should be.  The original score complements the film well, helping to inspire a sense of wide-eyed awe. Overcoming the weaknesses of the plot and characters, if you get something out of incredible visuals, this one is worth seeing. (continues after the jump)

TV Review: Dexter Season 7

Hey everyone, I've been on a bit of a hiatus to help get ready for my dad to return home from the hospital, but I should be posting regularly from now on.  

WARNING: I will spoil a lot of Season 7 but not much from previous seasons.  Do not read further if this sounds like something you want to avoid!  I will say that this was a GREAT season, up there with Season 1 and Season 4 as the best the show can offer.  The review begins after the jump.