A Labor Day Weekend Guide to Summer Movies

I decided that I would post my summer wrap-up before Labor Day, just in case any of my readers were wondering what they should check out at the multiplex during the last weekend of the season.  While it was quite a disappointing summer for box-office, with only really one straight up blockbuster phenomenon (Guardians of the Galaxy), it was actually a pretty great season for film quality.  There were a handful of terrifically entertaining popcorn movies, Indie movies that ran the gamut from provoking to warm and homey, and everything in between with plenty of options for all tastes.

Which is why it’s hard to figure out why so many movies under-performed.  It could be that with so many “must-see” movies coming earlier in the year (the continued reign of Frozen, The Lego Movie, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier) that people were just movied out.  It could have been that the general populace was more in the mood to play in the heat of the summer than wait it out in an air-conditioned theater.  However, whatever the reason, far fewer people went to the theaters this summer, so if you were among the millions that avoided your local multiplex, let me fill you in on what you missed and what you might want to seek out on this final weekend of the summer movie season.

Instead of giving you a “best of” list, I’m going to share wish you some groups of movies to consider as you decide whether to spend some of your Labor Day weekend in an air-conditioned theater.

First the must-see movies:  Guardians of the Galaxy (exciting, hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (in my opinion, the best animated film in four years), X-Men: Days of Future Past (if X-Men were the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this would be their Avengers), Edge of Tomorrow (one of Tom Cruise’s best movies and an excellent example of intelligent sci-fi), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (if it didn’t involve apes, this would be recognized as one of the great modern war films).

If you’ve seen these, move to the following:  Belle (currently on DVD, if Jane Austen were to write a civil rights story, it would look just like this.  Not wholly accurate historically, but a beautifully written and acted film), The Hundred-Foot Journey (light and charming entertainment for grown-ups), Get On Up (if you’re a fan of modern music biopics, this is an easy recommendation with another star making performance from 42’s Chadwick Boseman, this time as musical legend James Brown),  The Fault in Our Stars (a thoughtful story that gives teenagers credit for being able to care about more than sparkly vampires), Million Dollar Arm (a sports film that isn’t among the best, but still provides the high points you’d hope for), Maleficent (easily the best of the Disney revisionist fairy-tales, which isn’t saying much, but it has a stellar central performance from Angelina Jolie), Godzilla (It’s the best Godzilla movie, but it is still unquestionably a movie about a giant monster stepping on buildings).

There are movies that were positively reviewed that I didn’t see.  This list includes: Magic in the Moonlight, Neighbors, Chef,  22 Jump Street, and the universally acclaimed Boyhood.

So, for this weekend, my hard and fast recommendations are Guardians of the Galaxy and/or How to Train Your Dragon 2.  Both are thrilling, beautiful, funny, entertaining, and heartfelt movies.  In other words, they’re pretty much perfect summer films.

Movie Review: The Hundred-Foot Journey

The Hundred Foot-Journey/Rated PG/Dir. by Lasse Hallstrom/Touchstone Pictures/122 min.

Many people in the world of film criticism view few terms as vile, as reprehensible, or as distasteful as the term "feel-good" and I've never quite understood why.  A happy film that shows flawed people learning to do kind things can still be artful, thoughtful, interesting, and entertaining.  Just because a movie makes no bold political statements or doesn't show humanity at its worst doesn't mean that movie is unworthy.  If anything, I believe that happy films that are well made with strong and inspiring messages are necessary to balance out the nihilistic and pessimistic output that Hollywood labels as high drama or Oscar-bait.

If there was ever a film to wear the "feel-good" label with warmth, style, and class, that film is The Hundred-Foot Journey.  While the film certainly deals with serious issues, including death, racism and social elitism, it never loses sight of the main goal, which is to uplift, inspire, and make you smile for two hours straight.  Oh, and to make you hungry.  Really, really hungry.

The Hundred Foot-Journey tells the story of Hassan Kadan (Manish Dayal), a young man from Mumbai, India who was taught all of the subtlety and depth of Indian cooking from his mother in their family restaurant ever since he was a young boy.  Even neighborhood marketeers favor the boy because he innately understands the art of transforming foods.

An unfortunate family tragedy forces the Kadan family, headed by Papa (Indian film star Om Puri), to move to Europe to find a new place to showcase Hassan's exceptional cooking talents.  After a car accident leaves them stranded in a small French village, Papa sees an old restaurant for sale and is convinced that this village needs to experience the spice and the heat of Indian food.  Unfortunately, the restaurant is right across the street (one-hundred feet across to be precise) from a highly respected restaurant of fine, classical French cuisine owned by the stubborn and snobbish Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) and a culture war is unleashed on the village.  However, Madame Mallory's prejudices begin to fade as she witnesses first hand the talent of the young master chef living in the Maison Mumbai.

Based on the best-selling book by Richard C. Morais and produced by not one, but two Hollywood titans (Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey), The Hundred-Foot Journey is precisely the type of brilliant counter-programming that the late summer needs and, in fact, thrives on.  Where years past have given us Julie and Julia and The Help, this year it's cuisine and learning to understand and appreciate different cultures that saves us from the unending explosions of summer movies.  It's certainly a film made for grown-ups, but one that is perfectly clean and family-viewing appropriate, which should play in its favor over the closing weeks of summer.

Few people can film food better than Lasse Hallstrom (the director that brought you the similarly themed Chocolat) and every stroll through the market, every careful preparation of ingredients, and every presentation of an impeccably mouth-watering meal is filmed with a lush grace.  This is certainly a film that you shouldn't view if you're hungry.  Unless, of course, you're going out to dinner afterwards.  Preferably for Indian or French food.

The acting in The Hundred-Foot Journey is uniformly excellent.  While the always superb Mirren is understandably the focal point of the advertising, this is Dayal's movie and he plays Hassan with a kind and natural warmth.  Thankfully, the film does not treat its characters as caricatures, a trap into which many American films dealing with Indian culture tend to fall.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is a movie more interested in winning hearts than awards and it's all the better for it.  The current mixed-reviews that this film is receiving is far more indicative of the cynicism prevalent in much of the film criticism community than it is of the quality of this purely delightful film.  I walked in the theater expecting an OK little movie and left with a wide grin and a full heart.  If you are tired of giant robots destroying cities and superheroes dealing with the existential crisis du jour, run to the theater and relish this delicious French pastry of a film.  It is a feel-good movie in all the best meanings of the phrase.

Grade: A

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy/Rated PG-13/Marvel Studios/Dir. by James Gunn/121 min.

Watch out Tony Stark.  Your title as King of the Cool in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has just been seriously challenged by a gruff talking raccoon and a barely talking houseplant.  With Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel once again shows that there's no risk too big as long as the right people are on the job and the creators of  this movie have delivered on the studios' faith big time.  Guardians is riotously funny, action packed, and heart-tugging in equal measure and it's the best movie the studio has produced that doesn't have the word "Avengers" in the title.

With a pre-credit sequence taking place on Earth in 1988, the movie feels different from the others in the MCU.  Rather than starting with an explosion, it begins with a heart-breaking scene that feels similar to the openings of Pixar's Up and Abrams' Star Trek.  However, the events in that scene set up every motivation for our hero, Peter Quill (fantastically played by Chris Pratt), a.k.a. Star-Lord, and once the action moves off planet, Pratt let's us know we're moving in quirkier Marvel terrain as he boogies through the opening credits across an alien terrain whilst using a small rodent alien as a microphone to the strains of 70's classic rock.  

Peter has been hired to recover "The Orb", the movie's McGuffin that is really interchangeable with The Avengers' Tesseract and Thor's Aether.  We just need to know that this small object contains a power that could destroy an entire planet and then, ya know, the universe.  Take that Emperor Palpatine's piddling Death Star!

However, he's not the only one looking for it.  Ronan (Lee Pace), a particularly nasty Kree, is searching for it on behalf of Thanos (Josh Brolin), the big bad we saw in the credit stinger during The Avengers.  Thanos lends him the use of his two daughters:  Gamora (the always great Zoe Saldana), his adopted daughter who is also his favorite, and Nebula (Doctor Who's Karen Gillan), his biological daughter who is clearly jealous of her adopted sister.   Factor into the mix a pair of unusual bounty hunters, the biologically engineered Rocket Raccoon (voiced vibrantly by Bradley Cooper) and a large walking tree named Groot (warmly voiced by Vin Diesel) and things are obviously going to get complicated.

The plot eventually forces the five "Guardians" (in addition to Quill, Gamora, Rocket and Groot is Drax, winningly played by Dave Bautista) to begrudgingly work together and form their own ragged group of heroes.  Imagine Han Solo battling the Empire with a few outlaws he found in the Mos Eisley cantina and you have a little idea of what's going on here.

The action sequences are stellar, bringing all the visual audacity of similar scenes in the Star Wars films, but none of the leaden dialogue and plotting found in the prequels.  Instead, the humor, drama, and action is all focused on the characters.  In fact, if the film has a fault it's that the plot really isn't the point.  The characters are and they're an instantly awesome group.

Director James Gunn is known for gritty and quirky genre comedies, including the oozy sci-fi/horror film Slither and the low-budget, darkly humorous superhero film Super, but here he shows not only his trademark humor, but a Pixar-ian level of heart.  With this movie, he's not only made his most mainstream film, but also his most rich, with characters filled with emotional layers that will be a delight to peal as the already announced Guardians' franchise continues.

The cast is clearly having a blast throughout the film and their joy permeates every scene.  Each actor is perfectly cast and each gets moments to shine both as action heroes and as individuals.  In fact, each character gets a moment to steal the show, with each getting moments that challenge the Hulk scenes in The Avengers for pure awesome.

For those of you wondering about 3D, it's worth it.  While not integral to the plot, the film uses 3D very effectively and the humor, action, and, in one scene in particular, the poignance, are very much enhanced by the way Gunn uses the 3D technology.

If you can't tell, I loved this movie.  For me, it was one of those "I could have turned around and immediately watched it again" movies.  It's exactly what a great summer popcorn movie should be and brings back the feeling of fun and discovery that Steven Spielberg mastered in the early 80's.  I can't wait to see how Marvel introduces these characters to the other heroes populating the MCU, but even if that doesn't happen for years, I'm just looking forward to following the Guardians on their adventures.  A great franchise is born.

Grade: A

Movie "Review" - Transformers: Age of Extinction

Transformers: Age of Extinction/Rated PG-13/Paramount Pictures/Dir. by Michael Bay/165 min.

Recently, I recreated what I thought that screenwriter Ehren Kruger's writing notebook for the Transformers movies might look like (click to enlarge): 

Well, the latest installment fits the pattern perfectly, and really, what else would you expect?  When you go to a movie with the word "Transformers" in the title, you go looking for cool f/x, silly humor, and roughly 1,382,658 explosions, so reviewing a Transformers movie in the traditional sense is a pretty fruitless endeavor.  Suffice to say, the new one is a Transformers movie.  Way better than the 2nd one, slightly better than the 3rd, about as good as the first, but still not what you could truly consider a "good film."  Fun?  Sure.  But not good.  They're sort of like the Big Macs of the cinematic world: clearly artificial, obviously not good for you in excess, but when you're in that rare mood, they kinda hit the spot.

So, rather than write a scholarly review about the latest incarnation of the series template, here are the bullet points:

THE GOOD

 - Mark Wahlberg is cooler than Shia LeBeouf.   Always.

 - Stanley Tucci is better than John Turturro.  Always.  (Plus, he never strips to his undies or gets covered in robot urine)

 - Regardless of how much screen time they get (it's quite little), giant robot dinosaurs are awesome.  Always.

 - In spite of the plot sticking to the same loose structure, it's the first of the series since the original to surprise me, with interesting production design and truly involving action set pieces.

 - The dialogue for the humans is slightly less inane than the previous installments.
 - NO RON AND JUDY WITWICKY!!!!  Woo-hoo! 

 - Things do go boom real good.  The visual "wow factor" is still high.

 - While the 2nd of the series to be released in 3D, it's the first to fully utilize the technology.  There are moments that are pretty cool in 3D.

THE BAD

 - The dialogue for the robots is still stilted at best, laughably bad at worst.

 - It's criminally overlong. 

 - The plot logistics that lead to the big boom scenes are still ridiculously contrived.

 - While the autobots are not as interchangeably without personality as before, their personalities are terribly shallow and stereotyped.

Final Word:  It's more of the same, just a little better.  In the world of actual, for real movies, this would get a C-/C, but in the realm of Transformers movies  it's a full grade higher.

Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train Your Dragon 2/Rated PG/DreamWorks Animation/Dir. by Dean DeBlois/102 min.

Referring to a sequel as the Empire Strikes Back of its franchise has become somewhat of a film criticism cliche.  It is, in essence, a quick shorthand meaning that the film is a) equal to or of higher quality than the original and/or b)darker in tone, while still maintaining a similar overall feel.  However, the comparison is apt for more than just those reasons when applied to DreamWorks' new animated sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2.  Yes, the sequel is at least equal in quality to the surprisingly excellent original (upon further viewings, I may even decide it's better) and, yes, it's unquestionably darker in tone while still keeping the fun and humor associated with the earlier adventures of Hiccup and Toothless, but there are certain thematic and plot development elements that are very much like Star Wars: Episode V.  Indeed, this IS the Empire of the Dragon series.

We begin five years after the events of the first film and thanks to the forward thinking of young Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), the vaguely Scottish Viking colony of Berk has been living in harmony with their former enemies, the dragons.  In fact, the Dragons have become regular members of the community with many of the facilities formally used for armaments now used as stabled for the beasties.  However, Hiccup is still not always on the same page as his rugged chieftain father, Stoick (Gerard Butler).  Now, the topic which they are most at odds about is Hiccup's destiny to become the clan chief.  Hiccup avoids talking with his father by flying with his dragon, Toothless, and discovering new lands and new dragons.  On one of these journeys he learns of new dangers facing the peaceful world of Berk, including a mercenary dragon hunter named Eret (Kit Harrington), a warlord named Drago (Djimon Hounsou) and a mysterious dragon rider whose intentions are shrouded in the unknown.

Of course, at the center of this story just as in the first film is the relationship between a boy and his dog, er...dragon and the connection between Hiccup and Toothless is one of the most touching depictions of the very real bond between man and animal.  Masterfully animated, Toothless combines the characteristics of a fearsome predator, a loyal puppy dog and a somewhat rebellious child, making him one of the most lovable animal characters to ever grace the silver screen.

The animation throughout is the best the studio has ever produced.  There are more images of jaw-dropping beauty than in any film since 2009's Avatar.  Director Deblois has created a film that is visually equal parts exciting and pure art and it all, especially the flying sequences, explodes in 3D.  The colors remain bright and vivid and the world expands around the audience in a way that shows that the 3D was not an after-thought, but an integral part of the creative process.

Adding to the overall experience is a terrific new musical score by John Powell, which expertly incorporates themes from his Oscar-nominated score from the first film while under-laying new themes and musical ideas to enhance the films' ever-expanding universe.

As mentioned above, the plot deals with similar themes as The Empire Strikes Back, and, without giving away any plot details, these events give Dragon 2 a depth and richness rarely found in animation.  The joys and the sorrows are real and heartfelt and don't come cheaply.  In fact, I can't think of another animated film after which my wife and I have spent this much time talking about subtle little plot points and visual cues that were delicately placed throughout.

To 3D or not 3D?:  If you can afford the 3D surcharge, this is an easy yes.  It has equal parts showy camera motion and subtle drawing in to the world.  However, if you find that financially it's a "2D or wait until DVD" type of situation, go with the 2D.  This is a grand, visually enveloping film that deserves to be seen on the big screen in all its glory.

Bottom Line:  How to Train Your Dragon 2 is the film to beat this summer and the best animated film since the Oscar Best Picture-nominated Toy Story 3 (and, yes, I'm including last year's wildly popular, Frozen).  Emotionally rich, narratively complex, and visually stunning, it contains more wit and depth of character than the last three Pixar films combined (and this is coming from a rabid Pixar fan).

Grade: A+

Movie Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past/Dir. by Bryan Singer/20th Century Fox/Rated PG-13/131 min.

The X-Men have sure had a bumpy road at the movies.  First, there was X-Men, Bryan Singer's first big budget movie and a film that really paved the way for the superhero revolution of the last ten years by proving a comic book movie could be good and popular without containing the words Superman or Batman.  Singer then followed up with X2: X-Men United, a movie that many still consider one of the best superhero films ever made.  Singer then left the franchise to pursue Superman Returns leaving the super mutants in the hands of one Brett Ratner, the mastermind behind the Rush Hour movies.  While his visual skills on X-Men: The Last Stand were actually quite impressive (the incident at the Gray household is still one of the most stunning sequences in the franchise), it also was a little too happy to unceremoniously kill off major characters and minimalized one of the most beloved story arcs in the comic books.  Then there was X-Men Origins:Wolverine, which....well....the less said the better.  Next was the obligatory prequel/reboot, X-Men: First Class, which ended up being a fantastically entertaining look at how Professor X and Magneto first met and started gathering mutants together.  For my money, this was the best of the series at that point.  Finally, 20th Century Fox erased the memory of the first Wolverine movie with the economically titled, The Wolverine, not a great film, but leaps and bounds ahead of Wolvie's first solo outing.

Well, the powers that be brought Singer back to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past, a story arc that would bring together both the original cast and the First Class cast and a film that is the highlight of the entire series.  More than just a big summer explode-fest, DoFP is a movie about characters and ideas that just happens to have some mind-blowing action set-pieces.

Starting in a dystopian future roughly 20 years after the events of The Last Stand, the X-Men are fighting for their lives against Terminator-like robots called Sentinels that can mimic any mutants powers and are built specifically to exterminate all mutant kind.  In a last desperate attempt to save themselves, they decide to have Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) use her powers to send Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) conscious back to his younger body in 1973 in an effort to stop the events that lead to the creation of the Sentinels.  This future works mostly as a bookend to the film with the majority of the film taking place in '73 with the First Class cast.  Wolverine must get Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) to work together in spite of their bitter differences in order to stop the chain of events that leads to cataclysmic world war.

In the family of superheroes, the X-Men have always been the super brainy, but brooding cousins.  The films are far more about ideas than just super battles and in Days of Future Past the ideas are largely about choice vs. fatalism.  There's the fundamental plot arc in which the hope of changing the future is inherent, plus there's the individual character struggles and younger versions prove that they are not necessarily destined to become the same people they were in the original trilogy.  The conceit of time travel is not only a great plot device to examine the cause and effect of single decisions, but it's also a great way to celebrate the film series while erasing the memory of its less celebrated moments.  

The performances are, across the board, terrific.  Fassbender and McAvoy get even more opportunities to stretch their emotive muscles, while Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique is expanded to a level fitting of her current popularity.  She's the perfect person to play this character, filling her with a confidence, yet a vulnerability that was not found in Rebecca Romijn's incarnation.  However, it's Evan Peters as Quicksilver that steals the entire show.  It's unusual in a film series that's been around this long to feel a sense of discovery and that's what this character is.  He's only on screen for about 15 minutes, but he owns the screen in that time and there's certainly a feeling of disappointment when he leaves.  Here's hoping Quicksilver can be a big part of the already announced X-Men: Apocalypse , coming to a theater near you in 2016.

I promise not to get spoilery, but the final scenes of Days of Future Past will elate any fan of the series.  There were audible sounds of crying, happy laughing, and involuntary clapping in the theater during these scenes and they elevate what was already a very good film to the level of epic.  Hopefully, Singer will continue guiding the series well past Apocalypse, because in his hands, the X-Men are certainly among the best that superhero films have to offer.

To 3D or not to 3D:  The 3D has some nice moments, giving depth to the future worlds while enveloping the viewer in the action, but it's not vital to the story.  If you enjoy 3D, it's an easy recommendation, but if you're not sold on 3D technology, you're safe to see the 2D version.

Bottom line:  This is the first great film of the summer and the best of the franchise.  If you have any vested interest in the X-Men or in great action movies in general, this is a must see.

Grade: A

Movie Review: Million Dollar Arm

Million Dollar Arm/Dir. by Craig Gillespie/Walt Disney/Rated PG/124 min.

Disney has a pretty terrific track record with sports movies.  Sure, they're all highly sentimental and they have similar scrappy underdog makes good plot arcs, but with the exception of 2006's somewhat pedestrian Glory Road, every one of them has tread the sports movie tropes masterfully.  In fact, I personally think that Remember the Titans, The Rookie, and Miracle stand with the best sports movies ever made, and I'm a sucker for a great sports movie.  There is something innately inspiring about watching an individual overcome physical and personal adversity to succeed in a make or break game.  It's the same thing that makes the Olympics so riveting to watch.  Such sporting events become metaphors for the human spirit and the watcher, be they athletes or not, can't help but relate.

Million Dollar Arm, the latest in the canon of Disney sports films is a bit of an odd duck.  Yes, it has a climactic scene of sporting prowess and it certainly hits all the emotional beats of a great sports film, but it's also a business drama,  a la Moneyball,  and an examination of differing cultures being forced to intermingle and younger generations learning to honor their heritage,  a la The Namesake,  and a story of a man realizing that the life of a solitary bachelor is perhaps not as fulfilling as he once thought, a la Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid, Love.  The happy thing is that in spite of all of these varying messages and plot arcs, Million Dollar Arm succeeds because of its solid direction, confident screenplay, and winning performances.

Million Dollar Arm tells the true story of J.B. Bernstein (played by Jon Hamm), a sports agent who sets up a game show in India in an effort to convert the most talented cricket bowlers into world class baseball pitchers.  The idea is that not only could they harvest unknown talent, but also gain a nation of over a billion fans for American baseball.  The winners of the competition are Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi) and Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mittal, Slumdog Millionaire).  Neither of them play cricket, but both of them has a fast enough pitch to justify training them for an MBL try out.  However, as the pair traverse the landmines of learning an entirely new culture in America, J.B. begins slowly begins to realize that his new investments are changing his life as much as he's changing theirs.

There are moments in Million Dollar Arm that feel a bit trite, particularly as it deals with the culture shock J.B. feels in India and the boys feel in America ("Look!  Indian food makes him sick and he hates the chaotic traffic!  Funny!  Look!  The kids from India have never been on an elevator and have never had pizza!  Funny!"), fortunately, the film gets past the more shallow fish-out-of-water jokes pretty quickly, moving to the more satisfying story of how these characters change each other.  

Like many of the best sports films, the movie hits its stride as it parallels the personal trials of the characters with their professional journey.  By the time the boys get to their final tryout, it represents far more than a mere shot at the big leagues for them and for J.B.

Million Dollar Arm is not perfect and it doesn't reach the giddy levels of enthusiasm that are found in Miracle, it's still a worthy entry into Disney's increasing catalog of sports films.  There are so few entertainments that truly uplift and I'm happy to report that Million Dollar Arm does just that.

Grade - B