Ida - 6 stars out of 10

Ida - 6 stars out of 10

“Ida” is an atmospheric Polish film that paints a picture of the Nazi occupation of Poland through the eyes of an 18-year-old.  It could almost be considered a rite-of-passage story as this novitiate nun discovers the truth about her past and experiences a transformation of her perception of the world.  While the acting of Agata Trzebuchowska and Agata Kulesza is notable, the cinematography is what makes this film so special.  “Ida” truly feels as if it was filmed in the 1960’s, but not just because it is filmed in black and white.  The cinematographers chose to film this story using static shots taken from a distance.  These shots allow each moment to unfold naturally within the scenery instead of forcing a particular perspective on the audience.  The end result makes you feel as if you are looking through a series of living photographs.  The visual interest was enough to hold my attention but the plot moves slowly with little happiness or hope.  I wouldn’t call this one of these best film’s that I’ve seen but the visual interest of “Ida” makes it a strong nominee for the Best Foreign Language Film this year.

[Pictured: These distanced static shots give the film a completely unique feel]

Selma - 8 stars out of 10

Selma - 8 stars out of 10

“Selma” is full of powerful imagery that we’d like to pretend never happened but have a responsibility to pass on from generation to generation.  This film tackles this dark chapter in American history with tact and honesty.  While it has been met with criticism for its inaccurate portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson, director Ava DuVernay sends a powerful message of equality through this story.  The single factor that makes this a great film is the acting of David Oyelowo.  His portrayal of Martin Luther King, Jr. is magic.  The tone of his voice is a bit higher than King’s but the cadence of his speaking is so accurate that you would think that it was King himself.  It is hard to believe that this actor naturally has a British accent.  It is unfortunate that Oyelowo was majorly snubbed by the Academy and I am positive that he would've earned an Oscar nomination (and probably won) in a less competitive year.  His speeches after the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and at the end are absolutely chilling.  The other notable performance comes from Tom Wilkinson, portraying the tough position of the president when he’s caught in the middle of a very public debate.  There are several other big names in the film but the sheer number of characters allows many of them to only appear for a scene and then disappear.  I find the film’s nomination for Best Picture to be appropriate, but I also understand why it wasn’t nominated in any other major categories.  Its script doesn’t stand out as being anything too special and the other aspects of the film recreate 1964 Alabama without being flashy, but the true magic of “Selma” is Oyelowo’s on-screen manifestation of Martin Luther King, Jr.  It is as if King walked out of the history books and onto the screen to once again share his powerful message of equality.

[Pictured: You would think that David Oyelowo is a long-lost relative of King]

Maleficent - 2 stars out of 10

Maleficent - 2 stars out of 10

I am so angry about “Maleficent.”  What started as an interesting reinvention of the titular character quickly turned into an undoing of every key event from the original story.  This film started with so much potential to turn our perspectives inside-out by showing “what really happened,” but this only works if you rewrite the events within the context of the original storyline.  I’m a huge fan of experiencing a story from a different perspective, like when you rewatch “The Sixth Sense” after you know the twist, but this was more like experiencing an entirely different story.  I don’t understand why making the bad guy “good” required that some of the good guys to become “bad.”  I understand that Stefan chose power over love which leads to his bitter end, but his persona in the original is so likable that this doesn’t feel right.  As for Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, I didn’t find it necessary to modify their well-meaning-but-lovably-dim-witted characters into rude, selfish, and mean-spirited annoyances.  The animation of the three fairies was pretty magical, but I wasn’t digging the overly-computer animated forest creatures.  It had the same look as “Oz the Great and Powerful,” another Robert Stromberg film whose cartoony animation detracted from the story.  I also take issue with the casting of Elle Fanning as Aurora.  She is a fine actress, but I’m sure that there are 100 no-names that would’ve better embodied this iconic character, especially if they didn’t have black eyebrows [shaking my head]!  I could’ve gotten past most of these things if this film was done right… but then there’s the second half.  No.  Just no.  You can't rewrite the single most important moment in the entire movie.  These are professional scriptwriters.  They could've written the story in a way that would still preserve the ending but instead got too creative.  And then it continued to get worse.  My anger grew with each changed event, whether it was the dragon, the new character fates, or the final battle.  This was one of the greatest stories ever told and they killed it.  Perhaps the biggest insult is their attempt at justifying this complete debauchery of the story by saying "So you see, the story is not quite as you were told...”  No kidding, they would’ve been better off assigning new names to the characters and just creating a new story.  Why did they have to take away every piece of “Sleeping Beauty” that we love?  It would’ve been magical to see Aurora dancing with the forest creates to Lana Del Rey’s fascinatingly dark rendition of “Once Upon a Dream,” but they just pasted the song over the ending credits.  The only redeeming quality of this film is Angelina Jolie, who perfectly captures the mannerisms of Maleficent and effectively brings the character to life.  Other than that, the only practical application of this film is to ruin childhoods.

[Pictured: Angelina Jolie is truly the only reason to see this film]

The Judge (2014) - 6 stars out of 10

The Judge (2014) - 6 stars out of 10

“The Judge” is a decent courtroom drama that digs much deeper than just the courtroom.  I was leery of the sleazy-defense-lawyer-is-the-son-of-a-well-respected-small-town-judge concept, but it is actually the perfect circumstance to develop these characters on a deeper level.   There were a few pieces of the puzzle that seemed out of place, particularly the mentally retarded brother (who was well-acted but likely added an unnecessary 20 minutes to the film); still, the writers do a good job of subtly introducing pieces of information that become important as the film progresses.  They also manage to make all of the right things happen in the end of the story without a single moment of predictability.  All of the acting is good, particularly Robert Downey Jr.  While his character is arrogant and emotionless for much of the film, he interprets it without bringing Tony Stark/Iron Man to the Indiana courtroom.  He has great chemistry with Vera Farmiga, who is charming in this role.  Billy Bob Thornton also really stood out as the prosecuting lawyer, delivering a relatively small amount of dialogue but leaving a strong and memorable impression.  Of course, the highlight of this film is Robert Duvall as he delivers a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination.  He is one of those actors who is perennially great in every role and deserves nominations for nearly everything that he does.  He gets to play two characters at once: the crotchety, close-minded father and the sad, dying husband that just lost his wife.  Each is treated with a different set of emotions making his character unpredictable from start to finish; at the same time, I definitely think that this performance is a level lower than the others on this year’s Oscar ballot (particularly J.K. Simmons and Edward Norton).  I’m glad that his nomination will bring attention to this well-executed story, but this film wasn’t destined to win any Oscars.  If you enjoy courtroom dramas, “The Judge” provides a fresh look into the courtroom with a case that develops on multiple levels.  If court films aren’t your thing, the family aspect won’t be enough to hold your attention.

[Pictured: Interesting how Downey Jr. plays this role without resembling Tony Stark]

Wild (2014) - 4 stars out of 10

Wild (2014) - 4 stars out of 10

I had trouble getting into “Wild.”  Its stream of consciousness approach is difficult to follow as the film navigates through flashbacks of Cheryl Strayed's life with disregard to chronology or relevance.  I had a difficult time empathizing with any character since they sporadically disappeared and reappeared throughout the film.  It is amazing that this is a true story and I applaud Cheryl Strayed for her journey, but I did not need to know this many details of any person’s life.  The critics have praised Reese Witherspoon and this is the sort of role where the Academy loves to give a nomination for Best Actor/Actress; however, when you consider Tom Hanks in “Castaway” and James Franco in “127 Hours,” how can you put Reese’s performance in the same category?  It was gritty, she screamed the f-word a lot, and she did her own nudity, but the emotions fell flat in comparison with the aforementioned actors.  If you’re watching this because of Reese, try “Walk the Line” instead.  Likewise, I love Laura Dern but I am dumbfounded by this nomination for Best Supporting Actress.  The scenes are so short that we don’t see any of her emotions develop.  She didn’t even have “the scene” (a la Anne Hathaway in “Les Mis”) that is so moving that she earns an Oscar with five minutes of screentime.  If the Academy just really wanted her to have a nomination, Dern’s performance in “The Fault in Our Stars” would have made more sense.  Maybe the pool is pretty shallow for this category, but I’m insulted that this meager performance was nominated over Tilda Swinton in “Snowpiercer.”  The acting is good in this movie but I wouldn’t consider anybody to be great.  “Wild” tells an amazing story but is way too honest and detailed to be considered entertainment.

[Pictured: Too much honesty and too many f-words from America's Sweetheart]

Whiplash (2014) - 10 stars out of 10

Whiplash (2014) - 10 stars out of 10

“Whiplash” is an intense look at the competitive nature of conservatory training and the old-school teachers that fuel the fire.  The tone is set from the slow snare accelerando that opens the film over a blank screen.  While the language was brutal, this film tears down the glamorous image of show business and demonstrates what it really takes to be a professional musician.   Any person who plays jazz or loves to listen to it will enjoy the stories, the attitude, and the music.  I don’t understand how Justin Hurwitz didn’t receive an Oscar nomination for this incredible jazz-based score.  The complexity of the title song that begins in 7/8 and continually changes meters is accompanied by the tamer incidental music that keeps our minds on jazz from start to finish.  But the main reason to see this film is J.K. Simmons, who taps into a dark place that I have never seen from him.  He has forever been known as a character actor (my favorite role being Mr. Pancake in “The Ladykillers”), but this will slingshot his late career and probably win him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.  The character, based off of the director’s real life high school jazz band conductor, is a little overdramatic at times but embodies the old-school mentality of motivating through a demand for perfection.  The story has a few surprises, none of M. Night Shyamalan proportions, but its energy and intensity is enough to drive it from start to finish.  One of the most important aspects of the film is that the music is genuine.  Most of the cast is comprised of professional musicians and Miles Teller is actually playing these charts.  The combination of Teller’s own rock drumming experience and two months of “jazz drumming bootcamp” (ironically provided by Nate Lang, his rival in the movie), we see Teller’s real drumming chops every time that he is seated at the set.  But what about that incredible Caravan drum solo?  Editor Tom Cross “created” this drum solo by splicing together pieces of drum solos played by Teller over the course of TWO DAYS!  The solo itself gives this film a shot at an Oscar for Best Editing.  Even if Teller cannot play any of these pieces straight through, I am so thankful that director Damien Chazelle chose to cast legitimate musicians and add an extra layer of realism to the film.  The final product is stunning and will keep you on the edge of your seat as much as any action movie or sports drama out there.  It won’t win the Oscar for Best Picture, but it actually has a shot at Best Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing, even against “Interstellar.”  “Whiplash” tells a gripping story through great acting, intense dialogue, the intimidation that many of us have felt in a heated band rehearsal, and a truly awesome ending - Damien Chazelle has composed a masterpiece.

[Pictured: J.K. Simmons' intensity never faulters]

Inherent Vice - 3 stars out of 10

Inherent Vice - 3 stars out of 10

“Inherent Vice” has enjoyable acting performances but there are simply too many characters to keep track of from start to finish.  It would be one thing if they were all significant throughout the film, but many appear for two minutes and then become one of several names that get thrown around in conversation.  I can definitely see what the director was going for, but this story probably played out better as a book.  Maybe I just don’t react well to Paul Thomas Anderson’s storytelling style; afterall, I found “The Master” to be one of the most disappointing Oscar nominees that I have ever endured and "Punch-Drunk Love" to be the most painful Adam Sandler movie I've seen (and I sat through "Going Overboard"!!!!).  Or perhaps the cumbersome plot and relentless stream of profanity, drugs, and nudity were tough to swallow.  The music captures the 70’s style, but there are so many period pieces that are better than this one.  With so much star power (Phoenix, Brolin, Witherspoon, del Toro, Owen Wilson, Martin Short), you would think that this was a shoe-in for Best Picture or a few of the acting categories.  I agree with the Academy’s nomination for Best Costumes, but I even more strongly agree with this lack of nominations in the other categories.  “Inherent Vice” is classified as a crime comedy-drama, but I couldn’t find the comedy.  Watch at your own risk and prepare yourself for a confusing story, way too many characters, and a lackluster ending.

[Pictured: The only thing that I enjoyed was the fact that Katherine Waterston looks like she was transported directly out of the 70's.  Hated the movie, hope it wins the Oscar for Best Costumes]