The Lobster

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Doc

Okay, this one was weird.

One of the most highly buzzed about independent films of the year, The Lobster starred Colin Farrell as David, who has checked himself into a specialized hotel looking to find himself a mate.

Thing is… if he doesn’t find a mate in an allotted time frame, he is turned into an animal. Yes, that is what I said. In fact, he brings his brother Bob, the dog, along with him as a reminder.

The Lobster is a futuristic, science fiction film with some examples of a dystopian world; however, the film really is a film about love and the relationships that we struggle to maintain while finding love in unexpected places.

The setting itself is very strange. There are plenty of hints about what the world is like (such as it being a law that single people must find someone to marry), but the movie does not stop to explain these hints or tell you how they came to be. I like that fact. It is like the film is telling you to pay attention and that you will be able to piece together a reasonable explanation if you just listen. There are too many films, particularly of this genre, that feel like they have to explain every little minute detail instead of trusting that the audience is smart enough to figure it out on their own.

The Lobster is also extremely dark and extremely funny. There were a couple of times when I thought that I shouldn’t have been laughing, but there I was doing it. Humor can be found in many unfortunate situations, and The Lobster displays this expertly.

At one point, David ran away from the hotel to join up with a group called The Loners in the forest surrounding the hotel. The Loners was the group that was being hunted by guests of the hotel. Killing a Loner gave you another day onto your timeline to find a mate. It is here where David actually finds someone to love (Rachel Weisz); ironically, breaking the rules of the Loners prohibiting flirting, sex or kissing.

One of my favorite things from the forest was seeing all of the weird animals walking around these Loners. We see a camel, a flamingo, a peacock etc. These are obviously people who have failed to find a match and have been turned into animals and let loose in the wilderness. These animals are just there in the background, and their inclusion is very funny.

The film is wholly original and unlike most anything you have ever seen. It is weird, warped, tragic, funny and droll. The ending of the film is up in the air to what has (or will) happen and you will be sitting in the theater wanting to know, yet not wanting to know, what does happen.

Colin Farrell is excellent as the Milquetoast David and Rachel Weisz is his perfect match as the short sighted Loner. John C. Reilly’s Lisping Man provides a new and disturbing deterrent to masturbation while Ben Whishaw’s Limping Man spends time smashing his nose into objects so he can have something in common with one of the women (Jessica Barden) at the hotel whose nose bleeds without warning. Some of the most brutal (and at times funniest) material is provided by Heartless Woman (Angeliki Papoulia), Farrell’s first attempt at a hotel relationship.

The film is the study of why people get together and why they fail with relationships. It is one of the oddest experiences you will have at the movies this year, and yet, somehow, one of the most relatable.

3.8 stars

Now You See Me 2

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Doc

I have conflicting thoughts on Now You See Me 2, the sequel to a film from a couple years ago that I liked. Despite liking the original, I was not sure that a sequel to it was truly required.

Still, I went into this hoping to like the movie.

We pick up a year after the events of the previous movie where our Horsemen were in hiding, being pursued by the FBI, and awaiting orders from the powerful magic group, The Eye. When there is a product reveal of a phone that a company called Octa is releasing that will target people’s privacy, the Horsemen jump into action.

The problem is… it is a trap. The trap is set by our villain of the film, the bearded Daniel Radcliffe. Playing Walter Mabry, who previously faked his own death, Radcliffe kidnaps the Horsemen in order to use their magic/thievery skills to steal a chip that would allow someone a way to get into any computer on the planet. The Horsemen agree to steal the chip, all the while planning on turning it over to The Eye instead.

Meanwhile, Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) is trying desperately to find the Horsemen, despite being outed to the FBI as a mole. Dylan heads to see last film’s villain Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) because he indicated that he had information to be had. Breaking him out, the pair go in pursuit of the Horsemen.

The actors seem to have a good time here. Lizzy Caplan’s Lula replaced Isla Fisher’s Henley in the cast. I was not overly enamored by the dialogue the script had Caplan delivering. It made her sound very forced and fake. There was also some trouble brewing within the Horsemen as there was some problem between Dylan and Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg). This plot point felt like it was included because they needed a reason for some stuff to happen. It never felt true or organic.

And there is a twin that shows up in this film for absolutely no reason and is absolutely the worst part of this movie. I hated just about everything that this twin was involved in. (I won’t spoil it for you, but I really disliked that character.)

Having said that, I found myself becoming invested in what was happening during the film. Sure, the magic tricks were completely ridiculous and they stretched believably, but I was able to suspend that disbelief for most of them, and they never really pulled me out of the narrative.

However, the ending of Now You See Me 2 really pushed the envelope with me. The biggest problem I had with it was it completely undid the story of the first movie for really no reason. It felt like this film just wanted a twist ending, and what they did changed the first movie for the worse.

Mark Ruffalo had the best performance in the film as his character had the most effective character arc. Ruffalo never fails to deliver in his roles and he brings everything he can to Dylan as well. Looking back on the loss of his father was an effective way to bring more to the character of Dylan, and to show us why he made the choices that he had made.

Daniel Radcliffe is okay in the film, but his character’s motivation was lacking. The only reason I can find is that he lost some money because of the Horsemen. It is also never really shown why he wants this chip stolen. Radcliffe is charismatic and you can hate him pretty easily here so he works as a one-note villain, but there could be so much more.

Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco were all good here as well. They seem to be comfortable with these characters.

The film really is just a big, dumb movie that asks its audience to accept some outlandish situations at face value. Some of that works and some of it does not. I found myself enjoying more of this movie than I thought I would, only to be bothered by other parts. There are some stylish moments, but many of them lack substance.

I am very split over Now You See Me 2.

2.95 stars

Midnight Special

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Doc

Midnight Special came out earlier this year, but never came to a theater around here. The closest I came to this film was when I was in Des Moines for a conference for work, I saw that this was at the theater there. Sadly, I did not have the opportunity to get out of the conference to see a movie.

However, I found it on YouTube the other day, so I rented it there and gave it a look.

An Amber Alert was issued for a young boy named Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) who was taken from a cult-like compound by his birth father, Roy (Michael Shannon) and Roy’s friend, Lucas (Joel Edgerton). Right away, we know that there are special things about this child. He wore goggles all the time, they had to travel by night, and Alton could not be in the sun.

Roy reunited Alton with the birth mother, Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) and the three of them were trying to keep Alton away from the cult. However, there was more to worry about than just the cult. The Federal government had become interested in the boy and were in pursuit of him as well. Sevier (Adam Driver), from Homeland Security, was brought in as an expert, though he seemed as confused as anyone.

We would find out that Alton had special abilities that included eyes that lit up, the ability to control electronics, and to pick up radio transmissions. Eventually, Alton realized where he belonged, and his mother and father struggled to get him there.

We have seen this story in many other science fiction movies before. There are elements of ET the Extra Terrestrial here, with Alton playing the role of ET. There are also similar concepts in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Tomorrowland.

The strength of this film is in its ensemble cast. Michael Shannon is exceptional as a father desperate to save his son from all of the people who are determined to control the boy. Shannon brought a heart wrenching performance here, as it was clear that, in order to save the boy, he was going to have to give him up.

Also, this film would not work if Alton did not work as a character. Fortunately, Jaeden Lieberher, fresh off a great performance opposite Bill Murray in St. Vincent, brings it to this role. The young boy plays the confusion of Alton beautifully, and really transforms as he realizes where he belongs. Lieberher dominated a scene later in the film with Adam Driver and the young actor showed a great presence on screen.

Although, having the federal government chasing after the family seems kind of cliche for this movie. Maybe if it were only Adam Driver’s character doing the chasing, sure of what he believes, the plot element wouldn’t feel so used.

Then, the cult aspect of this film was a real failure. It seemed to be an important part of the first act, but the cult story fell along the sideline without any real pay off. It would have been more interesting to see the cultists, who believed that Alton was the key to their religious beliefs, pursue the boy and become a bigger piece of the story instead of the government.

Though much of this film feels like we have seen it before, the performances of the cast do a great job of overcoming some lapses in the story to create an emotional journey for Alton and his family. I am definitely glad that I finally had a chance to see this.