Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

StarTrekIntoDarknessPosterStarring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Alice Eve, Noel Clarke, Nazneen Contractor, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Morrison, Leonard Nimoy.

Director: J.J. Abrams
Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.)
Running Time: 132 Minutes
Release Date: May 16, 2013

Skydance Productions, Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures.

Written by: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof; based on the television series, “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry.
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Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

I cannot recite anything to you in Klingon. I am not intimately familiar with the layers and layers of storytelling that comprise all the various incarnations of Star Trek and its spinoffs, reboots, and parallel universe storytelling. I remember the mind-controlling eel creatures from Wrath Of Khan. I recall the whales. I may not have ever seen the four Star Trek: Next Generation films and if I did, I have lost any memory of them whatsoever. Watching the series on television was a rarity. I love George Takei and retweet and Facebook share his view of the world often. I do love me some Tribbles.

You see, at the end of the day I have no investment in the Star Trek canon, other than a fleeting knowledge of a few things Trekkie. I do not say this to appear high brow or somehow above the fray. Quite the contrary. I simply come to Star Trek Into Darkness as a regular moviegoer with nothing vested in the franchise. I really did have great fun with 2009′s Star Trek, J.J. Abrams’ thrilling and captivating reintroduction to the canon. Because of that film, I brought some high hopes with me.

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In The House (2013)

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

InTheHousePosterStarring: Fabrice Luchini, Ernst Umhauer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner, Denis Menochet, Bastien Ughetto, Yolande Moreau, Catherine Davenier, Jacques Bosc.

Director: Francois Ozon
Rating: R (for sexual content and language.)
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Release Date: April 19, 2013

Mandarin Cinema, Mars Films, France 2 Cinema, FOX, Canal+, Cine+ and Cohen Media Group.

Written by: Francois Ozon; adapted from the stage play, “El Chico de la ultima fila” by Juan Mayorga.
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Rating: ★★★½☆ 

What a pesky and unnerving little gem Francois Ozon’s In The House turns out to be. Is the film a thriller? A comedy? A psychological mind-bending mystery? In short, the answers are yes, yes, and yes, and at the end of the day, it could probably exist in a few other genres as well.

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What’s Seattle Saying? – May 10, 2013

Posted on May 12, 2013 by

WhatsSeattleSayingLogoEach week, Should I See It will be looking to its left and to its right, collating the thoughts of many of the film reviewers and writers located in and around the Seattle community.

OPENING/EXPANDING IN SEATTLE – MAY 10, 2013:

  • The Angels’ Share
  • The Great Gatsby
  • Tyler Perry Presents Peeples

See what the Seattle critics say about these films…after the cut! Continue reading →

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Great Gatsby, The (2013)

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

GreatGatsbyPoster3Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Amitabh Bachchan, Max Cullen, Jack Thompson, Adelaide Clemens, Gemma Ward, Kate Mulvany.

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Rating: PG-13 (for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language.)
Running Time: 143 Minutes
Release Date: May 10, 2013

Village Roadshow Pictures, A&E Television Networks, Bazmark Films, Red Wagon Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Written by: Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce; adapted from the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
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Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Long delayed and highly anticipated, Baz Luhrmann’s epic, bombastic and expansive take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is finally ready for its three-dimensional closeup. With its extensive trailering and marketing, moviegoers began drawing immediate comparisons to Luhrmann’s seminal work, Moulin Rouge!. Hearing that thunderous Jay-Z orchestrated soundtrack, seeing those dizzying camera sweeps and swirls, witnessing the opulence and grandeur of the set design; this Gatsby looked larger than life, timeless, big and bold and fearless. Primed to be an Oscar contender in 2012, the film was inexplicably pulled from the film calendar, delayed until the summer of 2013. Reports were that Luhrmann wanted more time to fine-tune everything after shooting the entire film in 3D. And now May 10, 2013 is upon us. Was it all worth the wait?

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What’s Seattle Saying? – May 3, 2013

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

WhatsSeattleSayingLogoEach week, Should I See It will be looking to its left and to its right, collating the thoughts of many of the film reviewers and writers located in and around the Seattle community.

OPENING/EXPANDING IN SEATTLE – MAY 3, 2013:

  • Iron Man 3

 

See what the Seattle critics say about these films…after the cut! Continue reading →

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Iron Man 3 (2013)

Posted on May 4, 2013 by

IronMan3Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Stephanie Szostak, Paul Bettany, William Sadler, Dale Dickey, Ty Simpkins, Miguel Ferrer, Ashley Hamilton.

Director: Shane Black
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content.)
Running Time: 135 Minutes
Release Date: May 3, 2013

Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures.

Written by: Drew Pearce and Shane Black; based on comic book characters and stories by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Jerry Lieber and Jack Kirby..
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Rating: ★★★★☆ 

I do not envy Shane Black. After Marvel finally realized its long-standing dream to bring their Avengers to the screen, both individually and as a collective, the bar for superhero films has been raised to an extremely high level. When one considers the recently concluded Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man films, and even Bryan Singer’s X2: X-Men United, the last thing I would want to do is try and bring a high octane, big budget, all eyes on me superhero movie to the big screen. For Black, that bar goes even higher as Iron Man 3 signifies a return visit to those pesky superheroes, following Joss Whedon’s Marvel’s The Avengers which banked a modest $1.5 billion in worldwide box office and is considered one of the greatest superhero films of all time.

Regarding the Iron Man canon, Black steps in for Jon Favreau, director of the first two Iron Man films and also co-authors a screenplay which attempts to balance all of the action everyone is expecting with the increased caustic sarcasm Robert Downey, Jr. has adorned Tony Stark with in each successive performance. By now, Downey Jr. has blurred the lines between his public persona and the Tony Stark character so frequently that they seem one and the same. And to his credit, no one has embodied a superhero character better than Robert Downey, Jr.

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Renoir (2013)

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

RenoirPosterStarring: Michel Bouquet, Christa Theret, Vincent Rottiers, Thomas Doret, Romane Bohringer, Michele Gleizer.

Director: Gilles Bourdos
Rating: R (for sequences of art-related nudity and brief language.)
Running Time: 111 Minutes
Release Date: March 29, 2013

Fidelite Films, Wild Bunch, Mars Films, France 2 Cinema and Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Written by: Gilles Bourdos and Jerome Tonnerre with Michel Spinosa; based on work by Jacques Renoir.
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Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

The quiet and rather unassuming Renoir could focus its energies in a lot of different places. For starters, we could learn about iconic French filmmaker Jean Renoir, who left an indelible mark on the world of cinema in the late 1930s and beyond. Attention could shift more towards Jean’s father, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, whose work with nudes and female body image late in his career transformed not only his legacy but presented the female body in a new and provocative, yet enlightening way, While director Gilles Bourdos does center his film on father and son, much of Renoir focuses on Andree Heuschling, a muse for Pierre-Auguste and Jean’s future wife. Renoir has a lot working in its favor, however it remains unsettled on what it wants to be and what story it wants to tell.

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What’s Seattle Saying? – April 26, 2013

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

WhatsSeattleSayingLogoEach week, Should I See It will be looking to its left and to its right, collating the thoughts of many of the film reviewers and writers located in and around the Seattle community.

OPENING/EXPANDING IN SEATTLE – APRIL 26, 2013:

  • Arthur Newman
  • The Big Wedding
  • Filly Brown
  • Mud
  • Pain & Gain

See what the Seattle critics say about these films…after the cut! Continue reading →

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It’s A Disaster (2013)

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

ItsADisasterPosterStarring: Julia Stiles, David Cross, America Ferrera, Erinn Hayes, Jeff Grace, Rachel Boston, Kevin M. Brennan, Blaise Miller, Todd Berger, Laura Adkin, Rob McGillivray, Jesse Draper.

Director: Todd Berger
Rating: R (for language including sexual references, and some drug content.)
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Release Date: April 12, 2013

Vacationeer Productions, Attainment Media Group, ARM Entertainment, Gordon Bijelonic/Datari Turner Films, Tip-Top Productions and Oscilloscope Pictures.

Written by: Todd Berger.
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Rating: ★★★½☆ 

You never know when the next movie surprise will find you and the second film from veteran actor and writer Todd Berger. Berger is a worthy and notable gem. Berger is a co-founder of The Vacationeers, a quartet of comedy writers and actors who raised some eyebrows with their 2009 film The Scenesters and have a dedicated following via YouTube and various other social media outlets. After watching It’s A Disaster, that YouTube channel of theirs has just become another time suck to spin me out of my more productive days to come.

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Arthur Newman (2013)

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

ArthurNewmanPosterStarring: Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, Anne Heche, Lucas Hedges, Sterling Beaumon, Kristin Lehman, David Andrews, Autumn Dial.

Director: Dante Ariola
Rating: R (for sexual content, language and brief drug use.)
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Release Date: April 26, 2013

Vertebra Films, Cross Creek Productions and Cinedigm.

Written by: Becky Johnston.
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Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

I am often asked about which films are the most difficult to review and write about. Generally, I hem and haw because any film can present a number of challenges in conveying a “Yes” or “No” in terms of recommendation. Watching Arthur Newman, the latest film to offer this paradox for me, it finally may have dawned on me. The unassuming, well-intentioned films, made from a labor of love which somehow never win you over, are the most difficult. There is pride and hard work and the best of intentions oozing out of every frame of Arthur Newman, but at the end of the day the film is just not very good. And it pains me to say that because I can tell Dante Ariola’s film tries really hard to do everything the right way.

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