2017: The Year in Film: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" Review

2014's Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the most pleasant movie surprises in years. Readers of this blog will (or should) know that I'm something of an all-around Marvel enthusiast, and the original Guardians flick was one of the absolute best that Marvel has done. Equal parts fun, heartwarming, charming, and crazy, the 2014 original raised the bar for what a comic book movie could do, in that it was just so off the rails from your typical superhero fare. It had almost a sitcom feel while mixing sci fi with classic 70's pop songs, trippy visuals, and massive action sequences. So, expectations were high for the follow-up. Would it be more of the same or represent a regression for director James Gunn, Chris Pratt, and the rest of the cast?

Following the events of Guardians of the Galaxy, our titular heroes are out there taking jobs and basking in the glow of being renowned... galaxy guardians.  In between petty squabbles and rivalries between the crew, the larger mystery of Peter Quill's parentage is hanging out there as an unresolved mystery from the first installment.

The Good: the cast is incredibly likable and they all clearly have great chemistry. If anything, this flick is even funnier than the first installment and as the universe of the Guardians expands, familiar characters are brought into the fold in ways that make the whole film all the richer for it. It's irreverent, charming, funny, and occasionally touching, and ultimately the plot is a self-contained tale about family... what's not to like? All the first film's strengths are present here, and this is absolutely the most laugh-out-loud funny of any of the Marvel movies, including the original Guardians. The cast is solid, especially Pratt and Michael Rooker, with Kurt Russell continuing his tour through summer blockbusters as Starlord's mysterious father.



The Bad: Ultimately, I think the surprise of the original film was always going to be impossible to duplicate. In making efforts to top the original, this one occasionally comes off as trying TOO hard TOO often, with Baby Groot and Drax especially crossing the line into straight up crowd pleasing territory as opposed to actual characters as both were in the original film. There's a lot to like here, but ultimately the film's disparate plots don't all work and leave the film feeling at once overstuffed and also rushed, with some story lines and characters drawing the short straw because there's just so much going on all the time. Plus, I have to say it, the music just isn't as good here. The music is such a key part to these films and this time around it feels less inspired and more forced in. It's also very weird how expanded director James Gunn's brother's role was this time... I don't like nepotism, guys.

Ultimately, if you liked the original, you're going to like this one. It's not quite as good, but still an absolute blast, and the charming cast, great visuals, and rapid-fire dialogue won't leave you disappointed. Where the original Guardians is in the discussion for the best Marvel movie of all, this one is "merely" in the top half, but still well worth watching.

8/10.

2013: The Year in Film: "American Hustle" Review

Yep. This review is the latest thing ever. This movie isn't even new on DVD... I'm pretty sure I've owned it since March. Let's just pretend, shall we?

David O'Russell is on an insane roll lately, you guys. After an early career that included the insanely underrated Three Kings, since 2010 he's released The Fighter (so good, you guys) and Silver Linings Playbook, which is one of the best romantic comedies of the last 20 years and a pretty darn good sports movie to boot. So his latest film features an absolutely stacked cast, reuniting with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, who starred in Silver Linings, and Amy Adams and Christian Bale, who were great and perfect in The Fighter and adding Jeremy Renner in a fictionalized account of the FBI's ABSCAM operation of the 1970's.

The Good: the performances are, in a word, great. Christian Bale is understated and unrecognizable as a paunchy small-time con artist who finds himself forced to work with law enforcement. Amy Adams turns in a solid performance as his mistress and partner and Bradley Cooper once again proves that he's more than just a pretty face. Jennifer Lawrence, despite the fact that she's easily 10 years too young to convincingly play mom and housewife to Christian Bale, is incredibly likable, charming and often hilarious and almost succeeds in making you forget that she's 23 years old and playing a character who's probably supposed to be 35.  The film is often charming and funny, if a bit scattered, but the performances hold everything together. The settings, costume design, music and atmosphere are very convincing, and if the reaction of my parents was any indication, this film nails the 70's.

The Bad: this film wants SO badly to be "important".  It wants to be an instant classic in the vein of the golden age of American film. Unfortunately... it's not. That's not to say that it's bad, far from it, it's just nowhere near as significant and timely as it thinks it is. And that's fine. A film isn't required to be a classic in order to have value... but when a film is explicitly setting out to be "a classic" from the jump... that becomes problematic. Ultimately, this film is trying to say SOMETHING so damn hard that it almost ends up saying nothing at all. Were this a film by a lesser filmmaker featuring lesser talent that would hardly be a complaint, but unfortunately this film falls victim to the weight of its expectations, as unfair as that may be.



Ultimately, if you're a fan of David O'Russell and/or great acting across the board, you could do much worse than American Hustle and you'll probably quite enjoy it. Unfortunately, given the talent involved, you can't help but be a LITTLE disappointed by the whole thing.  It's good, it's just not amazing, and as unfair a standard that is to hold  film to, it's applicable here. The whole thing ends up feeling a bit picturesque, as if we're dropped in to get a portrait of the life and times of these people, who ultimately we don't care that much about. Great, great performances and an ultimately fun film, but in the end it has less poignancy about greed and American corruption than does another holiday awards favorite: The Wolf of Wall Street.

7.5/10.

2012: The Year in Film: "Silver Linings Playbook" Review

David O'Russell may well be one of the better American filmmakers working today... after beginning his career with the vastly underrated "Three Kings" and  the indie "I Heart Hucklebees", he returned with a vengeance with 2010's "The Fighter".. a film that was one of the best of the last several years and got some serious academy love.  He follows up that highly acclaimed flick with a much smaller dramedy he wrote and directed called "Silver Linings Playbook", adapted from a novel of the same name.

In Silver Linings Playbook (SLP for the remainder of this review) Pat, a 30-something former teacher has recently been released from a psychiatric hospital where he spent the last 8 months under court order following a violent incident.  Pat's parents want him to get back on his feet and cheer on the Eagles with the rest of the family but Pat is determined to win back his wife and his job through a fitness and self-improvement regimen.  As he moves back into his childhood home and struggles to adjust to life in his parents' home where he has no job, medication, therapy and a no-contact order with his wife, he gets re-introduced to an acquaintance named Tiffany, his buddy's sister in law.  Her husband recently died and she's dealing with mental illness and recent job loss as well.  Pat and Tiffany form a bond as Pat struggles to get back into his feet and find his titular "silver lining".

The Good: The cast is tremendous here.  Bradley Cooper (who I've been a fan of since he first hit the scene) gives the best performance of his career as he makes Pat convincingly troubled, charming and funny without escaping from the gravitas of what he's dealing with.  Jennifer Lawrence, well on her way to becoming one of the best actresses in Hollywood (don't believe me?  Watch "Winter's Bone") turns in a performance that should be well beyond her age of 22 years and comes away as charming and utterly convincing as the troubled, self-destructive Tiffany.  Robert DeNiro turns in what's probably his most vibrant and vintage performance in more than a decade as Pat's sort of crazy, gambling, Eagles obsessed father, Pat Sr., and is a shoo-in for a best supporting actor nomination.  It's great to have you back, Bob, and you turn in many of the film's best moments.  Chris Tucker (!) and Jacki Weaver are strong as well as Pat's friend from the hospital and mother, although they aren't given as much to do as Cooper, Lawrence and DeNiro.  Oh, and there's  Julia Stiles sighting too.  I didn't even know she was still alive.  The plot is fast moving and clever, and turns what could have been a generic indie romantic dramedy into a memorable, charming story about mental illness, family, sports, friendships and what brings us together.



The Bad: there isn't much bad at all.  This is a charming, tender, heartwarming tale that lets the talented people in front of and behind the camera walk the tightrope of a sensitive subject wonderfully.  If there is a drawback it's that the film wraps up a BIT too neatly, and at times risks making too much humor out of its subjects' struggles.  It doesn't do this offensively or very often, so it's truly not much of a criticism.  The ending does arrive with a bow in all of 20 minutes though.

In all, this film has a little bit of something for everyone.  It's sometimes hilarious, touching, heartwarming and wildly succeeds in delivering what may be the best sports movie of the year.  You can't help but root for Pat, even as you know that success as he sees it may not be what's best for him.  A sweet love story, convincing drama on the role of sports and family in blue collar American life, and above all a rousing success.  Cooper, Lawrence and DeNiro all deserve nominations and this is a film I know I'll come back to.  Kudos, David O'Russell.

8.5/10