Wild Tales

What can I say? This is an Argentinian/Spanish production of a collection of vignettes. Think of it as short stories with great twists. It is one of the best movies I've seen in the past year, because the past year had such bad movies that I almost totally quit reviewing. You, as a likely American, will only recognize a couple of these actors (notably the guy from Nine Queens), but that is what really  helps. You don't need to care about what a celebrity is looking like these days- you don't know these people. I'd say ABSOLUTELY see this, or see it when it comes out on Netflix. It is as fun as it gets.

American Sniper

I waited to post this- when I saw the film, I was so touched and sad that I cried at the end and my poor husband had to stand in a hallway and hold me in his arms until I could compose myself.  Knowing it is a true story, and knowing that we ask men and women to go to foreign lands and put their lives at risk because that is HOW IT IS in our world- well, maybe we really are just apes in clothing. There will never be world peace- and we may always be the last hope of the beaten and raped women, abused children, and mutilated humans who are victims of dictators and need someone, somewhere to try to stop it. But we also deserve the right to protect the troops who are sent in, and Chris Kyle was the best protector who lived. He wasn't just a man-he was a heroic man. Whether you agree or disagree with war and fully wish to keep everyone in the middle east under dictatorships subject to murder and cruelty, well, that is up to you. But if I had to go to war, I would like to have at least one Chris Kyle on my side. Bradley Cooper gained a lot of muscle for this- gone is the metrosexual from the cover of People. We see a deeply humble man who is just doing his job because SOMEONE has to be that soldier. This movie felt so real because the story is so real.  I believe in men behaving like men- protecting the women and children against the vile and savage of the world. So did Chris Kyle. We can't all be heroes, but we certainly should respect the people who are. I am giving it 4 stars because it is a solid statement, well acted and heart rending. I don't apologize for anything that I think is right. And Chris Kyle was right.

Top Five

Top Five is more liked by the audience reviewers than the critics. Chris Rock is really an enigma. He is from the school of comedians who can't decide who they  are.  They want to confront race, but they make an awful lot of money from white people to be complaining. They hang on to their integrity and try to be honest about it, but usually they just turn bitter and angry with age. Not poor, just angry.  Chris Rock was the guy everyone liked when he was a young comedian. But now, what shines through for me is a deep sense of loss from him. I don't think he knows what kind of comedian he is, or even IF he is a comedian anymore. If you get past the raunchy, improbable stuff in the movie, you see a very complex and deeply sad man. He's at an age where raunchy seems uncomfortable to the audience. It's like an American Pie reunion- now they just look creepy. Rock claims to have been beaten and bullied while attending a white high school- I don't deny it but he should confront those people so he can get over some of it. His parents removed him and let him get a GED. That is too bad that they didn't find a way for him to at least try college, because he doesn't seem to have a lot of tools to cope with life and maybe going to a non-white college would have given him that sense of camaraderie that he seems to need.  It is impossible to review this film without going into Chris Rock because he is the center of it all. The story is about a stand-up comedian who has lost his drive to perform. He goes through the mire of his life and meets up with a reporter who is struggling to stay away from the booze. (Keep in mind that Rock lost an older brother to alcoholism). He is engaged to a reality star thus keeping the fake real all around him. It was okay- but I think if Rock is going to make a movie about honest things, then he has to get honest himself. This is not a comedy to me. Not at all. The serious parts are serious indeed. But if you like Chris Rock, and you miss him in general, this might be your movie.

The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game is, as you know, a widely anticipated movie with some mixed reviews, but mostly good, just like this one. If you don't know what the enigma machine is and what it did, well, you are poorly educated and shouldn't go to movies at all because you will think everything you see in every movie is true anyway. Here is what is true- Alan Turing was brilliant with a dose of functional autism and his invention, a computer that cracked the enigma code, saved millions of lives and shortened WWII. Mr.Turing was also a homosexual at a time when that meant jail or a "chemical castration" with estrogen shots. Alan Turing was one of those  British boys who did not do well at boarding school with the bullies and dumbasses that seem to frequent those places. The movie doesn't side step that. It is told in flashbacks. Now, you should read up on what the machine is and why it and Turing's work to solve it were important before you go, because that is what gives the film the minimal suspense it has. The movie takes liberties with the roles of the others at Bletchley though. It adds a few characters and gives one a job as Soviet spy (which did not actually exist). I sort of resented that since it was totally unnecessary to add that to the movie- Hollywood is incapable of sticking to the story in biopics. Dumb. Now people who can't read will think that really happened that way. And, somewhere in heaven, Joan Clarke is looking down and marveling that Kiera Knightly is playing her. If they make a movie about me, I'd say "I'll settle for Kiera Knightly"- especially since someone FINALLY broke her of that annoying pout she'd make to show emotion.  It is a very touching film. You'd have to be a tad cold in spots of your heart not to shed just ONE tear at the end. Not because Turing was gay- but because it really must be a special hell to be brilliant. I'll never know.
Anyway, the movie can be slow in spots. It is the last half hour that really is best. And the other moral question about who lives and dies, well, it is a sad dilemma indeed.

Foxcatcher

Anyone of a certain age may remember the way things unfolded for John E DuPont in 1996. I thought everyone knew, because it was such a big story- but it was clear that at the end of Foxcatcher, the audience was surprised. So I won't ruin it here, and it is up to you to ruin it for yourself looking it up.
You can also check online for the accuracies and inaccuracies if you want, but in general, except for a few things (like 7 years of time missing), it is more accurate than most Hollywood "based on a true story" films are.
At first, Steve Carell looks just odd. Why would they try so hard to make him look like John DuPont if most people have no idea anyway? It's not like Carell didn't all ready HAVE a big nose. Oh well. I found it a distraction to make his face look so odd. A haircut and some dye would have been okay by me.  He might win some awards, but if you are aware of how really crazy John DuPont was for YEARS, you don't get the aura of insanity off of Carell that you should. You know he's weird, and that he is strange and a little crazy, but not schizophrenic and unpredictable.  He should have channeled more of that. Even without it, the audience knows something is terribly wrong with the guy.
Then there is Channing Tatum playing an Olympic gold medal winning wrestler. He is really amazing. This is a highly physical role, and he really makes it believable. Unfortunately, though his character graduated from college, he is played as if he were an idiot meathead. It is hard to believe even OU would give a degree to someone who was that much of a dolt.  That's not Tatum's fault. The director made it that way.
But the big surprise here is Mark Ruffalo. He plays the Olympic gold medal in wrestling brother of Channing Tatum. At first it is natural to go " oh no, it's Mark Ruffalo being Mark Ruffalo acting like Mark Ruffalo does again". And yep, for a short time, that's true. But then he morphs into the star of it. He comes into the movie late, and he changes everything.
Why? Well, because this movie starts out as a snoozer- no kidding- if it went any slower you'd be watching backwards. And it goes on that way for over an hour.  I have no idea why. Maybe if they'd spent a little time with some action showing how damn crazy DuPont was, there'd have been some action. If you see it, you'll know what I mean.
I'm not going to give it 3 stars because the script was really not that good. I'll give the actors 3.5 stars. But the movie itself gets a 2.5.