Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

I am not a huge fan of a capella in the first place, but I was at least able to enjoy the first one.  On the other hand, the sequel just was not that funny.  Rebel Wilson is more naturally funny in a self deprecating way, and she gets most of the comedic lines.  Perhaps some of the magic has worn off this time around. At least the last one painted a plausibly honest picture of college life.  This one was just ridiculous and unrealistic.

As for the music, Anna Kendrick has a bizarre, interesting, genuinely enjoyable duet with Snoop Dogg singing Christmas carols.  The original movie had a huge hit in the song "Cups" which is reprised in this film with less fanfare and notably without the eponymous cup.  In the sequel, I think the audience was supposed to latch onto the song "Flashlight" by Jessie J, which is posed as an original written by Haley Steinfeld's character.  However, the song just isn't as catchy as cups and lacks the novelty of the percussion.  Haley Steinfeld proved that she could sing in last year's Begin Again, but she really did not stand out singing in an a capella group.

The Tempest (The Public Theater) (2015)

Shakespeare in the Park is one of New York's most treasured traditions.  Every summer, The Public Theater stages two free star-studded productions at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, a peaceful amphitheater amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.  The Belvedere Castle provides a majestic backdrop to the stage.  I won the virtual lottery this year, so I didn't have to wait in line early in the morning like last year when I saw Much Ado About Nothing, which in itself is a whole experience. Shakespeare is difficult; there is no doubt about that.  To a speaker of modern English, it is sometimes difficult to follow all of the dialogue in the play, especially in the scenes involving the shipwrecked crew.  But that is not to detract from the excellent acting and staging, which gives the audience plenty to go on. 

The first thing I noticed when I took my seat was the set.  It was quite minimal, with an ocean backdrop and a black spiral staircase to a second level.  It was nowhere near as impressive as the Italian estate created for last year's production.  The Tempest, taking place on a magical island, lends itself to an imaginative set, and so the audience is made to use its imagination.  What it lacks in scenery it makes up for with atmosphere.  A percussionist in the corner of the stage played a variety of instruments throughout the play creating an air of mysticism, a storm of sound, and a rhythm to which the actors recited their lines.  For me, the percussionist really brought the whole production together.  And of course, in an open-air theater, we are exposed to the elements.  As forecasted, and in accordance with my bad luck, it rained lightly for about ten minutes.  But the show went on.  I got a little wet, but it was nothing to complain about.  In fact, it enhanced the atmosphere of the play, for I genuinely felt like I was in the tempest.

Finally, I have to address the actors.  Sam Waterston is a Shakespeare in the Park veteran, returning to the role of Prospero after 41 years.  He has a commanding authority over Shakespeare's prose and it is a joy to watch him perform.  Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays the jester Trinculo.  Just as he has proven in Modern Family, he has great comedic timing.  Caliban and Ariel are two counterweights in the play, one a barbarous creature, the other a graceful spirit.  Both actors are superb in these roles (also helped along by the percussionist).

Rosewater (2014)

In Jon Stewart's debut film, he does a respectable job honoring journalist Maziar Bahari, who was detained in Iran for 118 days at Evin Prison following an appearance on the satirical "The Daily Show" hosted by Stewart.  The satire was lost on the Iranian regime, who accused Bahari of espionage amid the 2009 presidential elections.  The movie draws attention to the plight of journalists, who risk their lives to expose the truth in dangerous situations.  Stewart uses actual news footage to bring the audience back to 2009. Gael Garcia Bernal plays Bahari, a man subjected to psychological torture, but whose hope is not crushed.  He is very good, bringing a range of emotions, keeping all 118 days engaging. Perhaps this is a glimpse into Stewart's post-"The Daily Show" life--will he become a filmmaker?  If so, I think we have a lot of good things to look forward to.

The Woman in Gold (2015)

This movie is dramatization of a true story of Nazi art theft and the legal nightmare that Maria Altmann went through to recover the paintings that were stolen from her family.  These five Klimts include the iconic Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which exemplifies Klimt's golden phase.  This movie combines two things that I like: legal drama and fine art, all set against the backdrop of the Holocaust.  Not only is the story fascinating, it is devastating. The movie is driven by themes of legal right versus cultural right. Klimt has come to be representative of Austrian culture, and his artworks are national treasures. Altmann hires a family friend to be her lawyer, an inexperienced Randol Schoenberg, the grandson of the famous Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg. Altmann came from a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna that hosted the Austrian intellectuals of the day in a renowned salon.  Both characters are steeped in twentieth century Austrian culture, but their families were lain victim to the atrocities committed by Austrians complicit with the Nazis, yet the Austrian government has the audacity to suggest a cultural right to the paintings.

Helen Mirren is excellent as always as a woman torn between the rush of terrible memories Austria reminds her of and the pursuit of what is legally hers.  Tatiana Maslany convincingly plays a young Altmann, whose story is told in stylish black-and-white.  Ryan Reynolds plays the inexperienced lawyer and he comes across as kind of awkward, which is not necessarily a bad thing.      

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes) (2014)

This Argentine comedy is an anthology, composed of six short unrelated films of increasing length.  We don't see too many anthologies, a novel idea, but this works extraordinarily well. These stories go together because they all share a theme of vengeance. Each story is brilliant and entertaining in its own right.  Each one cynical, slightly deranged, but so funny, even in a foreign language. Because there are six short stories, the movie holds your attention constantly with something new. My favorite short is the first one entitled "Pasternak" in which the people on board a flight discover that they all share something in common. Each short benefits from good camerawork, solid acting, and unpredictable writing.  This movie rightfully earned a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at last year's Oscar ceremony, and to be quite honest I thought it was better than Ida, the eventual winner from Poland.  Admittedly, they are two entirely different films, but Wild Tales (an accurate title) achieves a refreshing level of creative comic storytelling.

Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro (2015)

Tig Notaro is brilliant, probably one of the best stand-up comics today.  She rose to fame in 2012 after Louis CK released a recording of her now-legendary set performed at Largo in Los Angeles in which she joked about the cancer diagnosis she had received the week before.  She took a very dark experience in her life and shared it with her audience through comedy.  Her style of comedy is deadpan, personal storytelling, and is refreshingly unexpected.  She makes comedy out of the slightest things--the best scene in this stand-up special is one in which Tig imitates the sound of a clown horn repeatedly much to the delight of one particular audience member.  The premise of this stand-up special is that Tig and fellow comedian John Dore tour the country playing in the homes and backyards of regular people.  They perform at arms length from the audience , forcing a level of intimacy that feeds their comic genius.  This is simultaneously a comedy special and a road trip documentary.  I understand that Tig needed a partner to tour with, but I honestly think she could have carried the show all by herself, after all her sets were funnier than Dore's.

Ex Machina (2015)

This is a thriller that achieves its thrilling aspect without action sequences.  This is a more psychological thriller.  It does not slack on an intellectual level at all, embracing the "science" in science fiction--explaining the computer science behind Ava and the complexities of a Turing test.  The movie is one long thought experiment that waxes philosophical provokes the audience into contemplating artificial intelligence.  How can it be achieved? What will it look like? What will it be capable of? How will we know when it becomes self aware? Can we distinguish between artificial intelligence and natural intelligence? Where is technology going?

The story takes place in a secluded estate in the middle of the woods in an environment that resembles Fallingwater.  This is a state-of-the-art facility with security cameras everywhere, ominous lighting and an ultra-modern stylish design to match a stylish movie. The twist at the end is somewhat expected, but extremely well executed and highly satisfying.

The acting is all superb.  Oscar Isaac plays the rich and eccentric Nathan, the CEO of a large search engine, who lives far away from civilization alone with his maid.  Isaac leaves the audience questioning his motives throughout the movie.  Domhnall Gleeson, too, is excellent as an inquisitive, curious Turing test administrator.  But Alicia Vikander steals the show as Ava, Nathan's AI creation. She is simultaneously robotic and human, blurring the already thin line between technology and humanity.

Gigi (1958)

This movie musical won the Oscar for Best Picture back in 1958, along with all eight other awards for which it was nominated, which was a record at the time. Ben-Hur won eleven the next year.  And in 1987, The Last Emperor tied Gigi for most wins in every category for which it was nominated for (until The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King swept the 2003 Oscars with eleven statues).  The Last Emperor would also be the next film to win Best Picture without any acting nominations.

My first critique has to be about the music.  Andre Previn's instrumental score is gorgeous.  But as far as Lerner and Loewe music goes, it falls short.  The singing is mostly rhythmic talking.  While the underlying instrumentals have a melody, most of the lyrics are not melodic.  The title song "Gigi" is probably the best one but the opening number "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" is underwhelming and the lyrics are a little creepy sung by the aging Maurice Chevalier.  The framing is a little awkward too, with Chevalier smack in the center of the shot sitting still just staring into the camera.  His is the only character that breaks the fourth wall at the beginning and end of the film to introduce the scene and to close the story.

The actors all put on French-ish accents, but to me they all sound quite different. Chevalier's accent sounds the most traditionally French.  Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan both sound kind of stuffy and maybe a little more British than French.  And they all live a stereotypical French lifestyle.  Caron plays a quirky, awkward, and naive girl that sort of flails around.  The premise is that her grandmother and great aunt have the immense task of taming her and transforming the clumsy Gigi into a lady.  It happens in the end rather suddenly, seemingly missing something in the middle.  The movie is also pretty blatantly sexist to a modern viewer, reinforcing gender roles and subverting Gigi's sense of freedom.  There's not too much depth to the story; it's rather light and predictable.

Lastly, what the film does best is in the art.  The movie makes great use of the French scenery. And the lavish sets and costumes are beautifully extravagant, notably Gigi's red themed apartment.    

The Maze Runner (2014)

The latest dystopian teen drama based on a book series has an intriguing premise.  A group of teenaged boys is trapped in the center of a giant maze and a few designated runners are tasked with mapping the maze to find an exit.  Immediately the audience is thrust into this world with Dylan O'Brien as Thomas knowing just as little as he does.  Is this some social experiment, or sadistic torture, we have no idea.  Who is he--well, not even Thomas can answer that.  Its one downfall is that this is just the first in a series of films and so it answers very few questions and leaves the audience wondering.  This movie is missing some closure, though I suppose if the goal was to leave me wanting more then they succeeded in what the latest Hunger Games movie failed to do, entice me.  The grievers are fantastic creations as part-robot, part-scorpion monsters.  And the most refreshing thing this movie has to offer is diversity.  Though the protagonist is a white male, the leader of the community is black, and the leader of the runners is Korean.  They both have roles with plenty of lines and authority and their characters kick ass.   

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

It is not Woody Allen's finest movie.  The premise is not entirely enticing.  Colin Firth plays a magician who is attempting to defraud Emma Stone as a mystic.  The story is kind of silly and I had a tough time investing in any of the main characters, though Hamish Linklater's rich yet lovelorn singer is kind of funny.  All the action, or lack of action, takes place in the majestic French Riviera as Allen continues to make non-New York films in his later years.  He also continues to make romantic comedies featuring upper class older men and younger women, perhaps a bit of art imitating life.  Colin Firth is a good actor, and he carries the movie.  Emma Stone retains her quirkiness in this role and her wide eyes are fitting for a psychic.  She will get another go at a Woody Allen film later this year. Hopefully she will have some better writing to work with.       

You Can't Take It With You (1938)

This best picture winner by director Frank Capra is based on the Pulitzer prize-winning play of the same name.  The majority of the action takes places in a large house owned by Grandpa Vanderhof that houses a strange variety of eccentric family members that do whatever they please.  The family includes a wannabe ballerina, an aspiring accidental playwright, and a fireworks manufacturer.  This family is all about having a positive, happy life doing what you love with your friends and that money does not buy happiness as the greedy villainous banker finds out.  I suspect this was a refreshing message back in 1938 during the Depression.  Frank Capra was supposedly known for making movies about themes such as this one in this era.  Although the movie is a comedy, it is not laugh-out-loud funny.  But it is still a charming story that has its moments that made me smile.

The Tonys 2015

This is an exciting year for the Tonys with some close races.   Fun Home and An American in Paris lead with twelve nominations each.  Finding Neverland, the Harvey Weinstein backed production, received no love from voters (Weinstein isn't used to that).  Alan Cumming, fresh off of his Tony-winning run in Cabaret, is sharing hosting duties with Kristen Chenoweth, who is nominated for her role in On the Twentieth Century. The two of them will surely have a fun show.  I have only seen one of the nominees so far, On the Town, but here goes nothing:

Best Play
Will win: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch out for: Wolf Hall Parts I & II

Best Musical
Will win: Fun Home
Watch out for: An American in Paris

Best Book of a Musical
Will win: Fun Home
Watch out for: Something Rotten

Best Musical Score
Will win: Fun Home
Watch out for: The Last Ship

Best Revival of a Play
Will win: The Elephant Man
Watch out for: Skylight

Best Revival of a Musical
Will win: The King and I
Watch out for: On the Town

Best Actor in a Play
Will win: Alex Sharp (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch out for: Bradley Cooper (The Elephant Man)

Best Actress in a Play
Will win: Helen Mirren (The Audience)
Watch out for: Ruth Wilson (Constellations)

Best Actor in a Musical
Will win: Michael Cerveris (Fun Home)
Watch out for: Biran d'Arcy James (Something Rotten!)

Best Actress in a Musical-- the closest race
Will win: Kelli O'Hara (The King and I)
Watch out for: Kristen Chenoweth (On the Twentieth Century)
Also watch out for: Chita Rivera (The Visit)

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Will win: Nathaniel Parker (Wolf Hall: Parts I & II)
Watch out for: Micah Stock (It's Only a Play)

Best Featured Actress in a Play
Will win: Patricia Clarkson (The Elephant Man)
Watch out for: Sarah Stiles (Hand to God)

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Will win: Andy Karl (On the Twentieth Century)
Watch out for: Christian Borle (Something Rotten!)

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Will win: Judy Kuhn (Fun Home)
Watch out for: Sydney Lucas (Fun Home)-- she's only 11!

Best Director of a Play
Will win: Marianne Elliott (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
Watch out for: Jeremy Herrin (Wolf Hall: Parts I & II)

Best Director of a Musical
Will win: Sam Gold (Fun Home)
Watch out for: Bartlett Sher (The King and I)

Best Choreography
Will win: Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris)
Watch out for: Joshua Bergasse (On the Town)

Best Orchestrations
Will win: An American in Paris
Watch out for: Fun Home

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Will win: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch out for: Wolf Hall: Parts I & II

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Will win: The King and I
Watch out for: An American in Paris

Best Costume Design of a Play
Will win: Wolf Hall: Parts I & II
Watch out for: The Audience

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Will win: The King and I
Watch out for: An American in Paris

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Will win: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch out for: Wolf Hall: Parts I & II

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Will win: An American in Paris
Watch out for: Fun Home


Update: I scored 18/24.  I went 0 for 4 in the featured acting categories, but to be fair they were all toss ups.  Fun Home and Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time were the big winners with five wins each, including the top prizes.

A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune) (1902)

This 1902 silent French classic is a landmark in world cinematic history.  The movie was lost and rediscovered in the late 1920s when Melies's importance was recognized.  In 1993, a hand-colored print was found incomplete and it is this version that was restored and screened at Cannes in 2011.  The black-and-white prints were colored by hand to fill in the missing scenes.  To be honest, the coloring was a little distracting, kind of trippy as the shades kept changing ever so slightly.  The restoration also features strange music by the French band Air, which is very twenty-first century.  It did not match 1905 at all, but it did fall in line with the psychedelic colors.  I also saw the pure black and white version, featuring a piano score and some awkward narration.

What is the significance of this film? It pioneered entertaining narrative storytelling in film,  primitive special effects, expensive production value, and "long form" movies (~15 minutes).  The most famous scene is one in which the camera seemingly zooms into a moon with a face.  The special effect is a mechanical rigging system in which he moved the moon toward the camera.  Some substitution splicing lets the capsule rocket ship magically/fantastically appear in the moon's eye.  This is all brought together by a very overly theatrical cast that sort of scrambles about the set in a comical fashion. All filmmakers owe everything to Melies and this film.

Dear White People (2014)

Justin Simien's debut film is not as funny as I was expecting--to be sure, it is a comedy-drama, mostly drama.  And I think that is a bit of a detraction from the film.  At times in the middle, the movie takes itself a little too seriously.  Granted, this is serious material, but some of these dialogues are a little too blunt and soapbox-y. Maybe Simien is a little too intelligent, assuming his audience is at the same level.  Most of the movie, however, is very tactful in getting its message across.  That message is very important and much needed.  Race is a touchy subject in this country, but Simien stares unflinchingly at this issue and confronts race in the context of our top universities.  Simien is brutally honest about the systemic racism that pervades our population.  Simien's message is helped along by a strong cast.  Tyler Jesse Williams is perfect as a black homosexual student and Tessa Thompson is excellent as a charismatic student activist and host of "Dear White People," a campus radio show that just might be what our schools need in 2015.