mother! (2017)

What an utterly baffling movie. What's really frustrating is that I think I understood the allegory with my basic knowledge of the Bible and yet I was still baffled. Javier Bardem is God. And the house is Earth. That much I'm sure of, but Jennifer Lawrence is a little trickier. Is she the mother Earth? Is she the nature spirit? Is she Mary? Is she also Christ? I think there's probably a degree of truth to all those identities. That's what was confusing. Pick a metaphor and stick to it.

The movie itself defies categorization. It's marketed as a horror film, but it's not actually scary. What is scary is just the sheer number of people in the house and what terrible guests they are. But it's not really thrilling either. It's just uncomfortable. I will concede that the last twenty minutes of utter chaos is pretty impressive. It's an immersive, visceral experience. 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

It's good to see an Asian in a leading role! And she's a cool character. Admittedly, Rose and Finn's (two minorities owning the screen!) plot on the casino planet of Canto Bight is kind of irrelevant to the grand scheme of the plot. It's a beautifully designed planet and the chase scene on the streets of Dubrovnik is incredible. There is an anti-war, anti-weapons (slash class warfare) message that is a little on the nose, but I think it's a necessary and welcome addition to the Star Wars galaxy.

They really talk a lot about the Force in this one. It's a good refresher on what the Force actually is. And this one really stretches the limits of the Force. We see new the Force do new things we've never seen before. I can see why the fans might be complaining about this. But I don't think these new powers are too out there.

The movie is quite long. There were a few times I thought the movie was going to end. That has to do with the many subplots having to be contrived together. But they do come together and then culminate in a battle--it is war after all. The final hour of the movie is very exciting. Laura Dern's character gets a brilliant plot that terminates in the most stunning shot of the film, a silent and still frame.

The direction is a clear departure from the previous films, it's artsier. The solid colors stand out: Laura Dern's hair and garb, and the deep red of Snoke's lair, and the red soil against the white dust. Though the movie is clearly a call back to The Empire Strikes Back. It's a little darker, more pessimistic for the Resistance. I won't spoil it all, but what was supposed to be fan service, catering to the fans by recalling the greatest Star Wars movie and then they didn't like it... You know it's a strange world when the critics praise Star Wars and the super fans are the critical ones. I, for one, enjoyed it. 

The Revenant (2015)

This is a monstrosity of a movie. Grueling, uncompromising, and incredibly painful--to film and to watch. We feel their pain too. It is a visionary achievement in film making with breathtaking nature shots and violence galore. The characters are crazy and the filmmakers are a little crazy too for being so ambitious. This movie is two and a half hours of agony and torture but you can't look away because it is beautiful and visually stunning. Though the run time is way too long. I could have done without the Powaqa subplot. I think the subplot tries to give motivation for all the killing but at the same time I got the sense that the film uses the wild west as an excuse for the violence.

Let's start with the opening battle. Inarritu and Lubezki have already proved that they are masters at the tracking shot (see Birdman) and this super complex battle scene looks like one long bloody take. The shot moves fluidly between the forest and the river, even dipping in and out of the water. I happened to notice some really intricate sound mixing as well. The ambient score sort of just waits in the background, and all of sudden maybe a few minutes before the end of the scene, the music overcomes the dialogue and the sound effects and this music is the epitome of the sound of bloodshed. And then the music fades back. Throughout the film, the music enhances the atmosphere of doom and the untame wildnerness. And there is an excellent balance between the music and the dialogue and the sounds of nature, each alternating their turn in the limelight. The strict use of natural light and colors enhances the outdoors-y wildnerness aura. You see Leo's warm breath in the cold air fog up the camera lens

Then there is the bear scene we have all heard so much about. It is excruciatingly painful to watch. And Leonardo DiCaprio wails and screams like there was a real bear mauling him (it is so lifelike and he is tossed around so violently that you really think twice about this bear). This scene is devoid of music. You hear just the natural surroundings. You feel like you are in the scene, being attacked by a grizzly bear. And if there is any mistaking the audience being entrenched in the action, in the final shot Leo stares right into the camera, and we hear his familiar labored breathing.

Leo is a man unmistakably dedicated to his craft. For much of the movie he acts without words, just enduring pain in his eyes. He went through hell and back, rising from the dead to portray this character. He ate the raw livers and slept in the dead carcasses. He suffered for his role visibly. And the whole cast and crew suffered great pains to make this vision a reality, to fulfill Inarritu's insane and indeed monstrous vision. 

Brooklyn (2015)

Brooklyn is a beautiful film about the immigrant experience in 1950s Brooklyn. It is tough at first but life gets better for Ellis Lacey, no doubt a reference to Ellis Island. The movie feels authentic. It paints a picture of Brooklyn that is diverse, with the Irish (played by Irish actors) and Italians interacting daily (and I love the accents). Despite the big city feel, she finds an immigrant community that is supportive. The costumes and the sets look like they come straight from the the middle of the century. It is a very believable story--Ellis has problems that an immigrant girl would have being homesick and missing her family and feeling alone. Saoirse Ronan plays Ellis brilliantly. She comes into her own as a strong young woman, growing up with her character in the span of the film.

What is perhaps most extraordinary about this movie is that it is simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. Nick Hornby wrote a very emotional screenplay that is deeply moving and sometimes quite funny. It is a story about home (it's where the heart is) and community and love. Overall, it is a gorgeous story that is really well done.

Unbroken (2014)

Louis Zamperini had quite an incredible life. There are three phases in the movie that represent very different parts of his life. And it doesn't even get into his PTSD after returning home. The first phase plays out like a typical sports movie. It follows a young boy who goes into sport as a means to keep himself out of trouble and he runs all the way to the Olympics. The second phase is a lot like All Is Lost with talking. And the third phase is pure war from inside a POW camp. I think the movie tried to squeeze in a little too much. I feel like I would've gotten the same story without the track story line.

Miyavi plays the Japanese corporal in charge of the POW camp. He is devilishly cruel and has a look that inspires fear. There is a scene in which he implores Zamperini  to "Look at me!" and I couldn't help but think of Captain Phillips. The aerial fighting scene in the beginning is well done and it provides a good introduction to the war half of the story. 

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Star Wars will become the biggest movie of the year, without a doubt, maybe even the biggest movie of the decade.  This seriously has Avatar potential.  What the two movies share in common are fun and visually thrilling action movies in galaxies far, far away.  JJ Abrams made a movie that is exactly what the fans have asked for. It is a movie that lives up to the fans' expectations, and as we all know, Star Wars fans care very much.  And it shows that Abrams put care into this movie too so as not to disappoint. The movie has gotten some criticism  for copying the original too much, but I see it more as an homage to the source material. It opens on a desert planet Jakku, not unlike Tatooine.  The key to the Resistance (no longer Rebellion) movement is tucked away in a droid that is found by the protagonist.  And without revealing too much more of the movie, rest assured there are a lot more parallels to A New Hope--the most glaringly obvious of which is the new and improved Deathstar-like weapon.  I personally loved the hiding underneath the floor of the Millennium Falcon, a throwback to Han Solo and Chewbacca.

The movie brings the same type of drama that the original trilogy did that is simultaneously exhilarating and emotion.  Reliable John Williams returns and wrote a rousing score that echoes the familiar themes.  And at the end of the massive credits, the chimes play the theme one final glorious time at a slowed down pace.  2015 brought with it modern special effects that show how far Star Wars has come since 1977.   This is a Star Wars for a new generation creating a new young following.

The characters from the original trilogy are back. They're a lot older but we are all so glad to see them. The audience at the IMAX theater literally applauded Han Solo and Chewbacca. And the returning characters all have plausible story lines that make sense for their characters following the close of the original trilogy. But this is about the new characters. Daisy Ridley plays Rey and it is refreshing to have a strong female lead. John Boyega is a reformed Storm Trooper, finally putting a (likable) face to the foot soldiers of the Dark Side.  And the new face of evil is Kylo Ren with his newly designed light saber.  He makes a formidable foe for a formidable sequel to America's cinematic treasure.

    

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.