Jersey Boys (2014)

I have not seen the acclaimed Broadway musical, but I imagine it must be better than the film adaptation.  One of the distinctive features of the stage version is that the play is divided into four "seasons" each telling the story from a different point of view.  There are, of course, conflicting accounts of how the famed Four Seasons rose to and fell from fame.  The innovative Rashomon-effect in the stage version gets lost in the movie.

The movie features Tony-winner John Lloyd Young from the original Broadway cast reprising his role as Frankie Valli.  He nails that legendary falsetto, hitting all the high notes.  Christopher Walken provides some comic moments and looks much more comfortable in this movie with music as opposed to the NBC live musical Peter Pan.  Jersey Boys does come off as movie with music, not featuring enough of the great music to really be called a musical.  It has its high moments of musical excitement, but there are too much dramatics in between (in thick Jersey accents).  Clint Eastwood does a good job of capturing an old feel of 1950s/60s New Jersey.  And he makes a cameo appearance in the movie (see if you can spot him).

The Interview (2014)

I readily admit that I probably would not have seen this movie had it not been for all the controversy brought by the cyber-terrorist attack.  It is important that the right to free speech be preserved and protected and that no one, let alone cyber-terrorists, be allowed to decide what may be said.  Political satire has been consistently protected by the Constitution--it is the Constitution not terrorism that dictates law in America.  

The movie just as much a satire on the North Korean regime as it is on the American media.  It presents an interesting idea about politics.  How does a regime fall?  The initial plan is to kill the Supreme Leader, hoping that a better leader will usurp power.  But of course there is a Plan B.  Plan B shows the full potential of the media in its power to affect change and to make the public aware of what has been kept secret.

That being said, it is not a great movie.  It has its funny moments, mostly in the beginning of the film (I appreciate a good Hobbit reference).  As the movie progresses, the jokes get old.  We don't know too much about Kim Jong Un, so Randall Park runs with his portrayal, playing a shy, not-very-charismatic leader.  His depiction of the Supreme Leader is almost as funny as Margaret Cho's portrayal of the late Kim Jong Il in 30 Rock.  I've come to rather like Seth Rogen who is quite likable, but James Franco just comes off as annoying.    

Still Alice (2014)

Julianne Moore is a top contender for the Academy Award for Best Actress this year with very good reason.  Her performance as a Columbia professor with early onset Alzheimer's disease is touching.  We watch Moore transform as her disease progresses in some very emotional, but not overly sentimental, scenes.  One of the most poignant scenes comes when Alice gives a speech at an Alzheimer's conference, resourcefully overcoming her disability to give a beautiful speech.  The movie is not just about deterioration of a brilliant mind, but also has its own moments of joy as life does.  The movie's depiction of Alzheimer's is brutally honest but it refrains from being cliched.

I came into the movie expecting  an excellent performance from Julianne Moore, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a very good supporting cast as well.  Alzheimer's affects the whole family and Alice's children and husband each react in their own ways.  It is interesting to see the different responses of Alice's two daughters, one of whom is played by Kristen Stewart.  She has broken out of her restrictively flat Twilight character to surprisingly show some real depth in a few scenes. Keep an eye out for more good work from Stewart. 

Manhattan (1979)

This Woody Allen classic is a love letter to the great city of New York that so many of his films take place in.  But Manhattan is not just the setting, it is a character in and of itself.  It is a character that Isaac (Allen) "adores" in his quotable opening monologue.    Allen's musings on life and art are narrated over awe-inspiring black-and-white shots of New York and Gershwin's incomparable Rhapsody in Blue.  The shots are timed perfectly with the music, culminating in fireworks exploding on the beat.

The black-and-white photography gives a vintage look to some of the dark scenes, such as the iconic scene by the Queensboro bridge in which the audience sees only in shadows against the night.  The scene in the planetarium is so dark that the viewer can just barely make out the outlines of the characters in a beautifully romantic scene.

Allen delightfully depicts intellectual, upper-class life, epitomized by Diane Keaton's character (a different kind of character than Annie Hall).  But the best performance comes from young Mariel Hemingway, who has the most complex role.  She plays a character more mature beyond her years and it is her performance that keeps the plot grounded    

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

I still maintain that the Hobbit did not need three films to tell a complete and satisfying tale.  In the novel, Bilbo misses the majority of the climactic battle, resulting in a battle that only lasts a few pages. Comparatively, this battle lasts for over two hours.  The movie is mostly this one gigantic battle, and it gets a little old.  The whole movie is literally battle scenes without much room for plot, not that much plot was left after the second film. That being said, this is the shortest film in either trilogy, rightfully so.

Nonetheless, this movie is the culmination of over a decade of work by Peter Jackson.  This is the capstone on JRR Tolkienn's imaginative masterwork that is Middle Earth (I don't see Peter Jackson making a film version of the Silmarillion).  It is a fitting end to an excellent series.  If the series was characterized by epic battles, this movie certainly epitomizes epic battles.  If Peter Jackson was a master of visual effects, the opening sequence in which Smaug the dragon destroys the town is stunning.  Remember that magical score by Howard Shore from the original trilogy?  The final scene in the Shire (coming full circle) closes with the theme we know and love.  The ending credits have a familiar voice in Billy Boyd (Peregrin Took from the original trilogy) who fittingly sings "The Last Goodbye."  Goodbye Middle Earth...  

  

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman both give Oscar-winning performances in this movie that relies on good actors bringing a strong screenplay to life.  On its face, the movie is about a divorce and its effect on the family, culminating in a custody battle.  At its core, the story is about the evolution of the boy's relationship with his father.  Phenomenal acting from both father and son (Justin Henry is the youngest Oscar nominee ever at age 8) show the changing dynamics of their love.  The story is very touching and raises a lot of thought provoking questions about gender roles in the 1970s.  

Nightcrawler (2014)

Nightcrawler is a devilishly stylish thriller.  Jake Gyllenhaal plays a troubled man who films crime scenes and sells footage to news stations.  The idea is novel and the execution is superb.  Jake Gyllenhaal keeps you on the edge of your seat, guessing what conniving thing he'll do next.  He's a fast talker with a unique outlook on life, which he voices often.  He says his lines straight faced, deadpan in all seriousness, even when the words coming out of his mouth are twisted.  Most of the action takes place at night, and the darkness amidst the lights of Los Angeles adds to the noir feel and atmosphere.  

Get On Up (2014)

The James Brown biopic is helmed by Chadwick Boseman who plays the Godfather of Soul convincingly.  He nails the huge ego and personality, the at-times-unintelligible speech, the dance moves, and the unforgettable singing voice.  However, a good performance can only carry the movie so far.  There is a lot of unnecessary time jumping and I think it would have been more appropriate for such a biopic to go through his life chronologically, to simply follow time linearly.  The movie is mostly about Brown's ego and how it affected his personal relationships.  I think we had enough of that; instead we were shorted on music in a movie about one of the greatest musicians of all time.        

Boyhood (2014)

Epic.  This sprawling tale about growing up in America is epic in scope.  Over a span of twelve years, Richard Linklater slowly put together his masterpiece.  At the outset of this project, he had major plot points in mind, but the script was not fully written; in fact, it was updated every year, partially based on how the actors developed.  A beautifully intimate character study, the movie follows two siblings and their divorced parents.  The audience watches these characters (and the actors) grow up.  It is fascinating to watch Mason Jr. and the actor Ellar Coltrane mature. It is heart wrenching to watch the parent-child relationships evolve and to watch life progress uninhibited.

The film has been described as a coming-of-age story of a young boy, which it is, but it is so much more.  While the focus is Mason Jr., we watch life go by for all of the characters.  The experiences the characters go through paint a detailed picture of American life in the twenty-first century.  Having the joy of watching their lives unfold is emotionally touching for the viewer.  Linklater's narrative lets the viewer empathize, relate, and reminisce.. and this experience is epic.