Michael Clayton - 7 stars out of 10

Michael Clayton - 7 stars out of 10

“Michael Clayton” is a decent movie but if you are valuing a film by its Oscar nominations, this one is overrated.  The story focuses on a “fixer” who uses his connections to help clients avoid legal issues.  His life is derailed when a fellow fixer can no longer live with his guilt and forces Clayton to reevaluate his livelihood.  The concept has great potential as a thriller but its pacing makes it feel more like a slow-moving drama.  Despite a few thrilling moments, I find the film’s nominations for Best Director and Screenplay to be a misrepresentation of the final product due to the frequency of moments that drag on.  If their intention was to make this a drama, they could have strengthened the titular character by exploring his family more.  Considering the amount that they influence his actions, the script fails to show us why he values them so much.  The film’s redemption is the incredible acting of George Clooney (Oscar nominated), Tom Wilkinson (Oscar nominated), and Sydney Pollack.  They kept me engaged and invested in their characters, with Wilkinson in particular giving the performance of a lifetime.  He would have won the Oscar any other year but I can't argue against Javier Bardem's win for "No Country for Old Men."  On the opposite end of the spectrum, I was completely let down by Tilda Swinton’s performance.  I had a high expectation knowing that she won an Oscar for this performance but I believe that her masterful roles in “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and “Snowpiercer” were much more deserving than this one.  Still, the overall acting throughout the film is fantastic.  “Michael Clayton” is a movie that is absolutely worth watching.  Just don’t expect the story to be as thrilling as the synopsis implies or the film to be worthy of 7 Oscar nominations.

[Pictured: Clooney and Wilkinson are reason enough to watch this film]

Avengers: Infinity War - 9 stars out of 10

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 9 stars out of 10

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most impressive undertakings in cinema history.  The scope of this project that totals 11 years can only be compared to Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood.”  It has all built up to this moment: “Infinity War.”  But don’t assume that the series’ climactic film will give you a resolution.  First, I feel a bit hypocritical in enjoying this film because I have been so vocal about my frustrations with Marvel oversaturating every film with too many superheroes.  I believe that every film should work as a standalone film (even if it is a sequel) and this series is the antithesis of that.  Black Panther should not be introduced before his own feature film was even produced, Tony Stark should not take a predominant role in Spider-Man, and a Captain America film shouldn’t bear his name just because he gets to kick more butt than the other dozen featured superheroes in the film.  However, “Infinity War” allows us to view the previous EIGHTEEN FILMS as a series of chapters in a long book instead of a book of short stories.  It is amazing how 11 years of interconnected stories and mid-credit scenes have culminated in the complex relationships and story elements that drive this epic.  The most frustrating part of the film is that its cliffhanger ending robs us of the opportunity to either start OR end the film with a sense of stability.  It is literally open-ended.  I find it to be similar in nature to “The Empire Strikes Back” but Empire’s predecessor didn’t feel like it was the culmination of a series.  With all of the preparation required of audience members for this film to make sense, they needed stability on one end or the other.  As far as the characters are concerned, the writers’ handling of literally dozens of superheroes and the largest all-star cast of all time is admirable.  The storytelling is reminiscent of Star Wars, moving back and forth between various missions across the galaxy until all of the characters come together in an epic battle sequence.  Captain America is probably the least represented character and I was surprised at how vital of a role Dr. Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy played, thus confirming that there isn’t much that can be skipped if you want to understand the film.  Especially when characters like Black Widow, Vision, and Scarlet Witch randomly appear in other characters’ films without receiving their own backstory.  Jeremy Renner was noticeably absent from the film and credits even though he filmed scenes for both “Infinity War” and the sequel.  I’ll be interested to see how they’ll incorporate him back in after cutting him completely.  With so many all-stars in the cast, the acting is at a very high level.  Josh Brolin brings the necessary amount of evil to Thanos and all of our returning heroes successfully deliver the expected Marvel brand of comedy to ease the tension throughout the film.  They also know when to ramp up the emotions, giving the story a constantly oscillating contrast between laughing and crying.  The film delivers all of the realistic action sequences, emotional moments, and special effects that we have come to expect from Marvel.  It is amazing to see this complex story play out.  I was worried that “Avengers: Infinity War” could never live up to the hype and anticipation surrounding it but its success is evident in the heightened emotions of every Marvel fan.  The story did what was necessary to provide a big payoff; after all, the most important battle in the history of the universe comes at a price.

[Pictured: It is surreal to see so many superheroes onscreen at once]

Red Lights (2012) - 3 stars out of 10

Red Lights (2012) - 3 stars out of 10

“Red Lights” has a lot of star power but not a lot of script power.  Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, and Robert De Niro team up for a psychic thriller.  The script caters to each actors trademark personality (Weaver as a strong-willed skeptic, Murphy as an emotionally-driven hero, and De Niro as an arrogant jerk), but the story doesn’t flow.  The idea of trying to disprove a money-grabbing psychic has great potential and the film gets off to a good start.  The real issue lies in spending enough time with each character to help us connect to them and properly pacing each character’s piece of the story with the others.  The characters come off as static in spite of the great actors who play them.  My favorite part of the story was the media machine behind De Niro's success.  This was another missed opportunity where they could have strengthened De Niro's role as the villain by fleshing out some additional characters and exploring this aspect of the story.  The single reason to watch this film is the twist at the end.  I saw the first twist coming a mile away but the second twist was very clever; unfortunately, the presentation of the latter twist was clunky and ineffective, ruining the effect of the big reveal.  I like all of the actors in “Red Lights” but its script issues make this another easily forgettable thriller.

[Pictured: "Red Lights" has the concept and actors that typically results in a great film, but the script got in the way]

Chicken Little - 4 stars out of 10

Chicken Little - 4 stars out of 10

“Chicken Little” is all in the eye of the beholder.  If we view the film through the lens of Dreamworks or one of Don Bluth’s ventures, it doesn’t look too bad.  The quality of the animation is very good, the main character is likeable, and there is a large appeal for kids.  However, if we hold this film to Disney standards, it is easily one of their weaker releases.  My main issue with this film is the story.  Unlike the sweeping epic of “The Lion King” or the tender love story of “Lady and the Tramp,” this story offers... a baseball-playing chicken that encounters aliens.  How can these films even come from the same company?  I found that the film lacked a strong moral or theme to tie the events of the story together.  The half-hearted theme of family sticking together (which typically makes me cry without much effort) was completely underused in favor of a pig fighting a vending machine and a brief, awkward romance between two friends.  I didn’t feel anything at the end of this film except for sensing that the film focused on 3D animation and not a cohesive, meaningful story.  This may not be fair, but compare “Chicken Little” to Disney’s Oscar-winning “Zootopia” that would premiere 11 years later.  This film, also featuring a society of anthropomorphic animals, creates an amazing allegory of racism and privilege while developing a poignant story of friendship.  Its humor is clever, it will remain relevant forever because it doesn’t rely on pop culture references, its characters are relatable, and its heavy themes cause you to walk away as a changed person.  “Chicken Little” is the opposite with an overuse of slapstick humor, pop culture references to The Spice Girls that are already irrelevant, goofball characters that we don’t connect with, and a silly story whose moral doesn’t really stick.  I’m not trying to hate on the film – I honestly laughed a lot at the puns and one-liner jokes.  But when I hold it to the standards of Disney, it isn’t worthy of being listed alongside the majority of Disney’s animated catalogue.  It is a shame because the film has a great cast of voice actors who really shine.  Joan Cusack’s voice is perfect for a teenage ugly duckling, Don Knotts is hilarious as an unintelligent turkey, they paired together Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara in an homage to Christopher Guest‘s mockumentaries, Patrick Warburton gets a cameo, and Adam West is the reason that the ending situation works so well.  They had all of the right puzzle pieces but the screenwriters assembled them in the wrong order.  “Chicken Little” is an interesting modern take on a fable but Disney should stick to what it does best: classics and original modern tales that feel like classics.  It is doable for family movie night and is better than what a lot of other animation studios create; still, share the rest of the Disney canon with your children before settling for this one.

[Pictured: "Chicken Little" does a lot right when it comes to character design but it does a lot wrong when it comes to storytelling and oversaturation of pop culture references]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) - 7 stars out of 10

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) - 7 stars out of 10

The turtles are back in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” and there is just as much nostalgia in this one as Michael Bay’s first installment.  They go all out with incorporating classic TMNT characters into the story with Casey Jones, Baxter Stockman, Krang, and most importantly our favorite boneheads Bebop and Rocksteady.  The latter two provide great comedy throughout the film while Krang is significantly more disturbing (in a good way) than in the cartoons.  I appreciate the character development given to Casey Jones and the Turtles’ struggle to be accepted by humans is an interesting theme that makes this more than an episodic adventure.  The script still has a lot of cheesy dialogue and some of the acting is questionable but it is good for what it is.  Besides, we finally get a glimpse of the technodrome!  I truly believe that the writers wanted to create a movie for the childhood turtle fans, allowing us to see all of our favorite parts of the cartoon in live-action.  I liked Stephen Amell as Casey Jones, Will Arnett’s personality fits well with the newly imagined Vern, Megan Fox is an excellent April O’Neil, and Laura Linney was a nice addition to the cast.  I’d be interested to see what these actors could do it a better script, though the story as a whole does a good job of cohesively incorporating the turtles into their real-world surroundings.  “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” isn’t going to win any Oscars and non-lifetime-fans probably won’t understand why we love it, but who cares because this film is a fitting tribute to every piece of Turtles fandom from our childhood.

[Pictured: Bebop and Rocksteady are reason enough to watch this movie]