The Big Short

I never expected an Oscar-material picture from director Adam McKay. Silly and enjoyable, maybe, but nothing that would get the Academy's attention. But here he is with The Big Short, a story of banks behaving badly. And it's ready for some Academy attention.

McKay and Charles Randolph reworked Michael Lewis's non-fiction book of the same name into their screenplay. A lot of names were changed to protect the innocent and not-so innocent. But the anger you'll feel when you see what happened is real.

In 2005, Michael Burry (Christian Bale) realizes the housing market is broken. Burry decides to bet against the housing market to get rich once the market goes bust. Meanwhile, a few investors discover Burry's plan. These include Mark Baum (Steve Carrell), Charlie Geller (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock), and the film's narrator, Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling). They all want to try their luck. It takes a matter of time before they realize that once they win, the world economy itself will go bust. 

It's far-more restrained than The Wolf of Wall Street, another film about corrupt money men, by a country mile. But that doesn't mean it's a typical Hollywood story. The characters, especially Vennett, constantly break the fourth wall to explain themselves. Vennett introduces random celebrity cameos (like Margot Robbie) as themselves to explain big banking terms. There are even diagrams. The humor may throw off people most of the time. But I found a few laughs (highlight: one character's monolgue, in English, after we were told he doesn't speak it). 

But this was one angry satire. All the exposition helps us realize how inept big banks were in managing themselves. They brag about their accomplishments with no remorse. One banker will gladly buy rapidly-declining stock from a soon-to-implode Bear Stearns. Almost none of these quacks went to prison. These idiots would be entertaining if not for the consequences. There is righteous rage waiting for them.

And editor Hank Corwin is there to build up that righteous rage. We may know what happened, but to see it unfold on-screen is like seeing it in real life. A great example is near the end with a seminar concurrent with the collapsing Bear Stearns. Text messages say it all: down, down, down. The archive footage the film uses paints a picture of the time period it came from. 

The Big Short is all about the evils and stupidity of greed. At the end, our protagonists don't feel like celebrating their successes (except for Vennett). Don't let Adam McKay's filmography turn you off. This film's message is worth listening to.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Revenge of the Sith promised that the Star Wars saga was complete. But that was before George Lucas handed the keys to his Galaxy to the Walt Disney Company. So now the story of the "galaxy far, far away" is back in The Force Awakens. And it is the film fans are looking for.

The Galactic Empire is long dead, but the new First Order is here to continue its dreams of Total Subjugation. The only thing in its way is the rebuilt Galactic Republic and its Resistance force. The First Order has the Starkiller Base, a super-duper successor to the Death Star and aren't afraid to use it. Meanwhile, its resident evil Jedi Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has an incomplete map to the location of the recluse Luke Skywalker. He wants nothing more than to complete it.

Resistance Pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) had the last piece, but he gave it to his droid, BB-8, before Kylo Ren got him. Finn (John Boyega), a First Order Stormtrooper with a conscience, helps Poe escape. Finn gets separated from Poe on the desert planet Jakku. There, he meets BB-8 and a scavenger, Rey (Daisy Ridley), and escapes with them on the Millennium Falcon. When they meet Han Solo and Chewbacca, our heroes' jobs become much easier. Sort of.

Director J.J. Abrams went from one galaxy to this one and the results are spectacular. The new characters he introduces are destined to be franchise favorites. Their chemistry is entertaining and their personalities are excellent. The returning characters are sure to please the fans with their mere presence, even if some of them have mere presence.

The Force is strong with the crew. The visual effects don't overwhelm the screen like the prequel films often did. The creatures and places they create are part of the universe as much as the human actors. The action scenes are coherent and exciting. For every CGI advancement on-screen, there's proof that practical effects can do wonders (like an alien hippo!). The sound design combines old and new sounds seamlessly. And the always reliable John Williams is here to set these scenes to some rousing music.

The basic plot seems like a rehash of the first film. But it has enough twists to keep it from being a total rerun. The story works if you have the most basic familiarity with the older films. If not, the standard title crawl will bring you a bit up to speed. If there's one complaint I have, it's that the nature of Starkiller Base wasn't clear even after the exposition.

Overall, The Force Awakens moves along at a nicely paced 136 minutes. I was never bored once during the film. It's an exciting, well-written continuation to one of the greatest Space Operas ever made. It's sure to please both fans and newcomers alike. This was certainly worth the wait.

Room

No, not The Room. Room.

The first title is an infamous Independent F-Movie that inspired a book, The Disaster Artist, the film of which is in production now. The second is an Independent A-Movie by director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Emma Donoghue, who translated her own novel into cinematic terms.

All 5-year old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) knows is Room. That's where he and his Ma (Brie Larson) Joy live. That's where Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) brings them "Sunday Treats" like clothes and toys. That's where Jack sees TV, and sees things that seem imaginary to him. That's all he knows.

Old Nick is the pervert who snatched away Joy seven years ago. Jack came along two years later (you do the math). Room is Old Nick's garden shed. He tortures Joy every night, either in-person or not. Joy has a plan to get help and she needs Jack to pull it off. When Jack finally escapes, he's overwhelmed by the real world. But he gets used to it more than Joy.

The first half of the movie is within the freakishly claustrophobic confines of "Room." It's pretty normal when Joy and Jack are by themselves. But it's emotionally overwhelming when Old Nick shows up. He's such a scumbag that Room itself feels smaller when he's there.

It's not long before Jack and Joy find freedom. Jack's escape from Old Nick's pickup and the cops locating Joy from Jack's scant details was exhilarating (Stephen Rennicks' score helped a lot). Joy's father (William H. Macy) inability to acknowledge Jack as his grandson, for better or worse, was tense. Jack adjusting to the world was just nice. It gets sad when Joy can't do the same. All these mood swings and it's officially rated R for language?

Jack's narration makes the mood swings bearable. His naive viewpoint provides some needed comic relief. It's a miracle that Jack is actually well-adjusted, albeit stubborn, considering his upbringing. Joy earns the audience's empathy with her selflessness and intelligence. They feel like mother and son rather than actors playing mother and son. It's just that real.

Room is not an easy film to sit through. You can probably tell that from the premise alone. But its tone works because the dark scenes are followed by uplifting ones. The ending shows Jack and Joy leaving their past behind and hopping aboard the future. There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

In The Heart Of The Sea

JETHRO'S LOG

 DECEMBER 16th, 2015

The following is the account of the character, Jethro T. Cat. Not me, the author. 

So I'm walking out of the cineplex when an old-man comes up to me. "Call me Ishmael..." he says.

"I'll call you Ishmael if you call me a cab." I respond. "Because I need to get home from watching In The Heart Of The Sea yesterday."

"There was a ship, quoth he."quoth ... he.

Now you're quoting Coolridge.

Next thing I know, he takes my arm. "Unhand me, you grey beard loon!" I shout as I yank my arm away from him. I realize now I'm quoting Coolridge too. I proceed with the review.

FIRST PARAGRAPH

Director Ron Howard's sea-faring adventure In The Heart Of The Sea was supposed to come out back in March. But Warner Bros. decided to make it their December event movie. Why? I don't know. Let's see what I know about this movie.

PLOT

In the framing device, downtrodden Thomas Hickerson (Brendan Gleeson) reluctantly talks to author Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw). Melville has a whale of a tale to tell, one he calls Moby Dick. But he'd like to hear Hickerson's tale for more inspiration.

In 1820, the whaling ship Essex sets out for its latest voyage. The captain is George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), a stuck-up rich man. His first mate is Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), a humble farmer. Tom Hickerson (Tom Holland) is the cabin boy. They set out to fill 200 barrels of precious whale oil. When they reach the South Pacific, they find lots of moving targets. But they're really sitting ducks when they go for a certain White Whale. The Whale sinks their ship and leaves them stranded at sea.

What follows for the Essex crew is the worst three months of their lives. They starve, go insane and bicker. Meanwhile, the White Whale stalks them across the seas. Mr. Pollard and Mr. Chase have to co-operate if they want themselves and their crew to survive.

GOOD and BAD

The screenplay came from Nathaniel Philbrick's non-fiction book of the same name. It spends its first hour or so showing the "fine" details of whaling. It moves along quicker when Moby Dick shows up. The dramatic scenes give us plenty of characters who are mostly given little detail. That makes it hard to feel sad when they start dying. The tense relationship between Owen and George made the long parts watchable. But young Hickerson barely did much in the plot...

The chief attraction of the film is Moby Dick himself. His size is enormous but his temperament makes him terrifying. He stalks the crew even after he sinks the Essex and is so persistent that, for all we know, he might do the same to whatever ships pick them up. Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle captures his size perfectly, though the film's murky blue-yellow look might turn some off.

AND SO...

In The Heart Of The Sea is another well-meaning account of a fascinating subject. But its storytelling makes this voyage a slow boat ride to wherever. You might say its pace comes from its fidelity to fact, but it takes liberties with the facts too! But if you must see it, see it for the "real" Moby Dick. He may barely be in the movie, but Moby makes for an impressive movie monster.

EPILOGUE

And now if you excuse me, "Ishmael" is back.

Brooklyn

Last year, he translated Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild into cinematic form. Now, author Nick Hornby has done the same to Colm Tóibín's historical novel Brooklyn. As realized by director John Crowley, this is an engaging romantic story.

Around 1951, Eilis Lacey (Saorise Ronan) lives and works in her Irish town. Her sister Rose (Fiona Glascott) arranges for her to move to Brooklyn for a better job. She lives in a boarding house run by feisty Mrs. Kehoe (Julie Walters). But soon, Eilis starts missing her home and family. She then meets Tony (Emory Cohen), a good guy from an Italian-American family. They fall in love but are threatened with separation when home calls for Eilis.

That's the basic premise of the movie. And it works because of the characters. Especially so with Eilis. She's a hard-worker, but not exactly prepared for life away from home. The movie is all about her adjusting to life not just overseas, but in general.  The audience will like her every step of the way.

The supporting cast adds to the goodness. Mrs. Kehoe is hysterical and her other boarding house tennants are likable. Tony's brother Frankie was great comic relief. Crowley did right when he cast these roles. Everyone of them is a memorable character.

Crowley's crew helps visualize 1950's New York. Odile Dicks-Mireaux's costumes are eyecatching pastel designs. The photography by Yves Bélanger is just as pleasant as the sets and costumes. Speaking of sets, its depiction of Coney Island makes for an appealing promotion. The score by Michael Brooks sets the romantic mood well.

Brooklyn easily reminded me of An Education, which Hornby also wrote. Both are simple romantic stories told well by endearing characters. Seeing both protagonists wiser at the end was the payoff. When Brooklyn is done, you'll have gone through an endearing 112 minutes.

Spotlight

The 1994 movie Street Fighter is often dismissed as a dumb video game movie. In one scene, its character Dhalsim, paraphrasing Edmund Burke, said "when good men do nothing, that is evil enough." That phrase sums up half of why the Boston Archdiocese scandal was so devastating. That scandal is personified in Spotlight.

In 2001, the Boston Globe welcomes its new editor, Marty Baron. Its Spotlight investigative team is hard at work on its latest scoop. But Baron throws a new scoop on their desk. One of their other reporters covered the story of a Priest's unsavory activity across six parishes. Baron wants them to expand on the issue.

The members of the Spotlight team take up the scoop. They go through church records to find all the Priests on "sick leave." They interview the still-traumatized abuse victims and other involved persons. There were a lot of people who knew what was up but couldn't, or wouldn't, come forward. And it's Spotlight's job to illuminate their activities.

Director Tom McCarthy and his co-writer Josh Singer give the four Spotlight members their own part of the plot. Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Mike Rezendies (Mark Ruffalo) interview survivors while they struggle with their faith. Meanwhile, Rezendies struggles to get a hold of key documents. Matt O'Carroll finds himself a block away from the story. Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton) is the man holding them together. They all get decent screen-time and proper character development. Among the minor characters, Stanley Tucci as lawyer Mitch Garabedian stood out the most.

The screenplay will certainly outrage and darkly amuse you as the Church's transgressions come to light. You'll also pity those who couldn't come forward. It also humanizes certain people who wouldn't come forward. It also raises the issue that the crooked Priests were themselves abused. You'll definitely feel disappointment when the cycle of Karma Houdinis continues even after Team Spotlight exposes the scandal.

The technical crew also puts in equal effort. Production Designer Stephen H. Carter perfectly recreates the Boston Globe offices on screen. You wouldn't figure out that they were on a sound stage unless you were told. The music by Howard Shore is melancholic and memorable. The cinematography and editing, by Masanobu Takanayagi and Tom McCardle respectively, keep the serious mood going throughout its 129 minutes.

The end credits detail how many Church abuse scandals were exposed since Boston's. Let's just say there were a ton of them. Spotlight's focus is to remind people why they shouldn't stay silent when bad things happen. It was a very enlightening movie and worthy of the Oscar buzz it's receiving.

Creed

Sylvester Stallone's cinematic alter-ego, The Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa, has enjoyed a long cinematic life. Some might say it's been too long. But in his seventh round, Creed, he sits back and lets new talent call the shots. And it's a winner.

Adonis "Donnie" Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) is a desk worker by day and an underground boxer by night. Donnie is also the illegitimate son of boxing champ Apollo Creed, who died in the ring before he was born. He quits his day-job and heads to Philadelphia to go pro-boxing. His first and last choice for trainer is Rocky himself.

Old and weary, his friends and family either dead or estranged, Rocky doesn't want to get back in the ring. But Donnie's determination wins him over and soon, Rocky gets in his corner. Meanwhile, abrasive boxing champ Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew) is about to go to prison for assault. His managers want Ricky to have one last fight and they think the son of Creed will do. Donnie accepts the challenge. His father's shadow and Rocky's health threaten to derail Donnie.

Director Ryan Coogler goes 2-0 after his first film, Fruitvale Station. The story plays like an updated Rocky, even down to the conclusion. But the cast plays it out with sincerity. From Jordan's determined hero to Bellew's abrasive champ, the characters are well-rounded people. You'll understand and sympathize with them even if you wouldn't in other movies.

The boxing matches are intense and powerful. Although it's PG-13, the film gets downright brutal at fight time. They're masterfully edited by Claudia Castello & Michael P. Shawver, and shot great by cinematographer Maryse Alberti. The makeup effects adds to their impact. Ludwig Göransson's score makes great use of the franchise's signature theme, "Gonna Fly Now." The technical crew in Creed's corner was a great one.

The franchise that started with Rocky is in great hands now. Creed is a great boxing movie and a natural sequel for the Italian Stallion. If they keep the quality up in its own sequels, perhaps the filmmakers won't make moviegoers cringe at the thought of Creed 5 .... million!

The Good Dinosaur

As I previously stated, The Good Dinosaur was supposed to be Pixar's family event of Summer 2014. But it went back to the drawing board to revise its story, plot and even its cast. The end result is admirable even if the tone is questionable.

65 million years ago, a meteor zipped by Earth. The Dinosaurs went on with their lives. In the present day, Arlo the Apatosaur and his family run a good farm. Arlo wants to earn the right to put his paw-print on the family corn silo. He'll earn the right when he catches the "critter" eating their corn. He chickens out when he sees the critter, a feral human boy, and lets him escape. So Arlo is forced to join his Poppa Henry on a quest to find the thief, but a storm hits and Henry is washed away by the river.

Arlo's farm goes downhill without Henry around. When he next sees the thief, he chases him down to the river and they're both washed away. Far away from home, Arlo's only companion is the thief, who he doesn't like at first. But overtime, Arlo and "Spot" become best buds on a quest for survival.

Director Peter Sohn was brought in to replace Bob Petersen when the film stalled. He also voices the film's best bit-character: a weird Styracosaurus named Forrest Woodbush. The animals that rest on his horns are all amusing characters on their own. The film's best laugh is when Woodbush introduces one animal, but forgets her purpose for being there.

The animation department delivers on their Pixar quality. The cartoony characters can say as much with their eyes as they do with their mouths. That makes the Arlo and Spot interaction scenes easy to get behind. The digital scenery is some of the most photorealistic work Pixar's ever done. Woodbush's entrance, in which he appears camouflaged in a forest, is amazingly rendered. It's another artist's delight on-screen.

Unfortunately, the expressive animation gets too expressive when characters get hurt. It gets downright uncomfortable watching Arlo bruised, limping or getting conked on the head with rocks. On the writing side, the film goes from light-hearted to touching as Arlo and Spot bond. There's that scene where they trip out on berries ... weird. The film's physical antagonists, a trio of Pterosaurs, are so subdued and weird that they're frightening when they reveal their true colors. Inside Out knew what it wanted to be at least.

The Good Dinosaur is finally here after much uncertainty. It's not the best Pixar film, but it's an admirable effort that knows how to express itself. Just be prepared for a weird emotional roller-coaster.

The much anticipated short Sanjay's Super Team opens the feature. In it, a young Indian boy's love of American cartoons and his Hindi heritage culminate in a colorful daydream. It was an achievement of art design and made the feature worth it.