Suicide Squad has an On-Set Therapist and apparently really good marketing!

In Suicide Squad, the third film of the DC Cinematic Universe, director David Ayer is focused on dark realism, but has he gone too far, or is this a great marketing tool?

According to an article by E! Online, actor Adam Beach was asked about how dark the film would be and he answered that a friend of Ayer’s, a sort-of life coach, is on set to ensure that these performers, some of whom are known for going method, do not take their work home.

There is a story about actor Jared Leto sending a rat to Margot Robbie, bullets to Will Smith, and a hog to the rest of the cast, informing them that he was going deep into his role as the Joker. I’m thinking this may be involved in the reasoning to choose a life coach to spend time with the cast.

On the other side of this conversation is my belief that this is just more viral marketing for this film. I don’t believe for a second that Warner Bros. would let Ayer get his cast that deep and I also don’t think that the DC Cinematic Universe is going to head that dark. I remember hearing that the rules of the DC films are more action, more serious (why so serious?), and no jokes, but this is getting ridiculous.

My train of thought furthers itself to the belief that this story could blow up in their faces. We live in a day where everyone gets offended about everything. What happens when fans realize that this is somehow linked to Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight? And then what happens if they realize that the story is bullshit fabricated to sell tickets? I don’t think this story has a good ending for the marketing team.

What do you think? Do you believe this story? Do you think it is a good idea to have an on-set therapist? Do you think the film should go that dark? Let me know.

Suicide Squad opens August 5^th, 2016.

-Kyle A. Goethe

June 30, 2015 0

[Happy 10th Birthday!] War of the Worlds (2005)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins

Screenplay: Josh Friedman, David Koepp

116 mins. Rated PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images.

Academy Award Nominee: Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Academy Award Nominee: Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Academy Award Nominee: Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln) has always been an alien fanboy at heart. Periodically throughout his career, he continues to return to the genre of the extraterrestrial. He even owned a copy of Orson Welles’ original radio play for War of the Worlds. After many attempts to get a story off the ground, Spielberg was eventually able to do so in 2005.

Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise, Top Gun, Edge of Tomorrow) isn’t all that great of a father. He loves his kids, but he just doesn’t really know them. His daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning, Coraline, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2) and son Robbie (Justin Chatwin, TV’s Shameless, The Invisible) don’t enjoy staying with him. But when the Earth is attacked by forces from beneath and beyond the planet’s surface, Ray is forced to grow up and become the father he is supposed to be as the family evades invading extraterrestrials who want the world for themselves.

This is a very different film for Steven Spielberg. For starters, the plot runs in a very different way. Rather than unfolding as the film progresses and evolving based on the character choices, War of the Worlds is much more of an action onslaught like previous fare Mad Max: Fury Road. The plot is revealed rather quickly and then takes a step back to the high action spectacle that unfolds for our hero. It was new terrain for the filmmaker.

Tom Cruise does his best to play to his character’s weaknesses here. He isn’t entirely a likable guy but when greatness is thrust upon him, Ray needs to step up and protect those around him from harm. Dakota Fanning plays Rachel to the truest understanding that a nervous child would have during these events. Unfortunately, she is rather annoying in this film. I get that you’re scared, but she is always screaming! Then there’s Justin Chatwin, who has more of his father in him than he realizes as he is conflicted in what he thinks makes a man. Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, I, Frankenstein) gives serviceable work as the ex-Mrs. Ferrier and Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption, Welcome to Me) gives one of the best albeit small performances I’ve seen from the actor.

War of the Worlds benefits from having Spielberg’s terrific flair for capturing events on film. The sequences are well put together, so much so that you miss some of the inconsistencies in the flow of the film. The sound mixing and editing, for which the film was nominated for an Oscar, are also booming. The invader ships, or Tripods as they are referred, make this unsettling sound as they destroy humanity. That, mixed with the top notch visual effects, give this film a unique flavor and an intensity that continue throughout its runtime.

I wasn’t all that impressed with John William’s score here as it comes off as more sounds mixed into the film than a bona fide music track.

I can completely get why some didn’t enjoy War of the Worlds. Many called out the underwhelming ending, which is actually taken from the source material and considered one of the best endings ever. I enjoyed, but perhaps the reason is that I knew this was the ending going in. I think without the great irony of the film is that by knowing the ending, it makes it better but not necessarily as thrilling, but by not knowing the ending, it feels like a cop out but is entertaining throughout. My suggestion to best enjoy the film is to read the book first (seriously, this is me suggesting that you read, and that will anger some of you). The film doesn’t necessarily follow the novel’s story at all, but it retains the key themes that should enrich your viewing experience.

3.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

For my review of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, click here.

June 28, 2015 6

Mortdecai (2015)

Director: David Koepp

Cast: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Paul Bettany, Jeff Goldblum

Screenplay: Eric Aronson

107 mins. Rated R for some language and sexual material.

When Mortdecai’s first trailer was released, I was confused. I thought the movie looked horrible, but I couldn’t place why so many people would join this film. I thought to myself, “There has to be a reason” when it turned out that the film just plain isn’t good.

Mortdecai (Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands, Into the Woods) is an art collector with a fascination with growing a perfect ‘stache. His relationship with wife Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man 3, Contagion) becomes strained when he is tasked with finding a missing rare piece of artwork by MI5 agent Martland (Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting, Last Days in the Desert) who just happens to be in love with Johanna. Now, with the help of his personal handyman Jock (Paul Bettany, A Beautiful Mind, Transcendence), Mortdecai has to track down the culprit who stole the missing painting.

This film looks so cheap that I’m sure it would have been a VOD release had it not been for the star-studded cast who just butchers these roles. Johnny Depp’s performance is so annoying I didn’t even bother listening to the dialogue after a while. Paltrow’s accent work flops around like a fish on dry land. I did rather enjoy Paul Bettany’s Jock and the extended cameo from Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, The Grand Budapest Hotel), but overall the performances are cringe-worthy to the extreme.

Director David Koepp (Premium Rush, Ghost Town) proves that maybe he should just sit behind a desk and write stuff for better filmmakers. Seriously, how did he think this was going to be any good? I laughed maybe twice and I think they both came from me guessing what would happen next.

I think the most interesting piece of style in the film comes from the wacky transitions as they traverse the globe and the problem with them is that they don’t exactly fit every time they are used.

Mortdecai is an incredibly disappointing film that seeks to become the Johnny Depp Goofy Hour that actually lasts 107 minutes. Very few elements here even work and they work even less when smashed together. I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it. I’m fairly sure you won’t like it.

1.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

So what did you think about Mortdecai? Have you seen it? Did it steal your attention or was it artless? Let me know!

June 27, 2015 4

[Happy 90th Birthday!] The Gold Rush (1925)

Director: Charles Chaplin

Cast: Charles Chaplin, Mark Swain, Tom Murray

Screenplay: Charles Chaplin

95 mins. Not Rated.

Academy Award Nominee: Best Sound, Recording (1942 reissue)
Academy Award Nominee: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (1942 reissue)

iMDB Top 250: #131 (as of 6/25/2015)

Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times, The Great Dictator) was once asked about his career and what he was most proud of. He answered back that the film he wanted to be most remembered for was The Gold Rush, a 1925 silent film featuring Chaplin in his Tramp persona as The Lone Prospector, a man looking for his fortune in the Yukon. Along the way, he is confronted by two others looking to stake his claim for the gold, Big Jim McKay (Mark Swain, Pay Day, Tillie’s Punctured Romance) and Black Larsen (Tom Murray, The Pilgrim, Tramp, Tramp, Tramp). His adventure is further complicated by a beautiful woman named Georgia.

This is a masterpiece, whether you see the 1925 silent version or the 1942 reissue. I happen to prefer the 1942 version as it has aged better. Chaplin narrates the reissue of the film and it works pretty well. The added musical score is great as well.

But all that wouldn’t mean much without the perfect quadruple threat that is Charlie Chaplin. His directing is great, his performance is without doubt great, his writing is well-put, and the film shows how terrific his abilities are.

The film’s best sequences involve his interactions with the other prospectors, specifically when Jim and Larsen are wrestling for a gun while Chaplin’s character attempts to avoid being in the crosshairs. That isn’t to say that his scenes with Georgia aren’t fantastic. The iconic dinner roll sequence is still absolutely goofy and lovable and encompasses everything that made Chaplin one of the most important players in early cinema.

The Gold Rush is a perfect film. Charlie Chaplin’s filmmaking techniques utilized every element in the right way to create an absolute masterpiece that has withstood time. If you have a problem with Black & White Silent films, get over it and see this movie. Now.

5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

June 26, 2015 0

Jurassic World (2015)

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Vincent D’Onofrio, Omar Sy, B.D. Wong, Irrfan Khan

Screenplay: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly

124 mins. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril.

It has been 22 years since the events of Jurassic Park, and now John Hammond’s vision has been fully realized. Jurassic World has been up and running for about a decade, and has been run by Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Help, 50/50) to great success. Now, though, with declining numbers, the park’s owner Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan, Life of Pi, The Amazing Spider-Man) wants something new and bigger to boost attendance. He has enlisted Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong, Mulan, Focus) with the task of genetically hybridizing a new dinosaur species called the Indominus Rex, but this new species is much smarter than they could have realized, and now a raptor trainer named Owen (Chris Pratt, TV’s Parks and Recreation, Guardians of the Galaxy) must help Claire find her nephews, Nick (Nick Robinson, TV’s Melissa & Joey, The Kings of Summer) and Gray (Ty Simpkins, Insidious, Iron Man 3), who are missing in the park.

In this third sequel to the Jurassic Park franchise, we see something that has been almost promised for just as long: a fully functioning theme park, exactly what John Hammond would have wanted. It is a completely new experience for fans of the series, and it offers a cadre of new set pieces for director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) to completely destroy.

Chris Pratt gives another leading man performance that proves he has the chops to continue raking in the dough. Now Owen isn’t played as well to Pratt’s strength, and he comes off rather wooden at the beginning of the film before really finding his character beats as the film progresses. His chemistry with Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire is pretty strong, though the developed romance between feels way contrived in the grand scheme of the story.

The supporting players all mostly give in to the conceit of the film and perform admirably. Our child actors Robinson and Simpkins do enough to get by, though Simpkins underwhelms when compared to previous work in the Insidious franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Vincent D’Onofrio (TV’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Run All Night) is great as the slimy Hoskins who wishes to use Owen’s raptor skills to train the beasts for militaristic purposes. He is matched perfectly by Irrfan Khan’s Masrani, an eccentric billionaire very similar to Hammond and who wishes to follow in his footsteps and do right by him. The term “Spare No Expense” comes to mind several times.

B.D. Wong returns to the franchise from the original film as the genius Dr. Wu, a character much expanded upon from the original source novel by Michael Crichton. In this film, Wu defends his place in the history books as the clever mind behind many of the park’s greatest attractions.

Now the dinosaurs here as missing much of the Stan Winston touch that made them so magical in the 1993 film. They still look amazing from the terrific visual effects work, and some of them, like the mighty aquatic Mosasaurus, but it is something I missed. Looking back on Steven Spielberg’s original film, I still look in wonder at the magic on the screen, whereas here I know I am seeing CGI.

Michael Giacchino’s score is also a great feature of the film, subtly using John William’s original themes while adding notes of grandeur and chaos to reinvent it. When we first see the gorgeous set pieces accompanied by the original music, it made my heart skip a beat.

Flaws? Yeah, there are several. The use of the Gyrospheres being completely controlled by the attendees? Yeah, no safety features required there…not! This film makes several of the same mistakes that we’ve seen before, making the characters seem like they paid no attention to the mistakes made in previous installments.

Thankfully, the film is much saved by how great the wins are. There are several faults at play, but overall this is the best film in the franchise since the original. The little pieces of homage to the T-Rex, Spinosaurus, Mr. DNA, John Hammond, and Ian Malcolm help validate this film as a strong installment in the series that holds its own and opens new avenues for the future of the story.

4/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

So have you seen Jurassic World? What did you think? Did this film’s life find a way or go extinct in the process? Let me know!

For my review of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, click here.

June 25, 2015 9

Composer James Horner Dies in Plane Crash

Academy Award-winning composer James Horner has died. Horner, who won Oscars for his work in James Cameron’s Titanic, was 61 years old. According to Variety, Horner perished in a single-engine plane crash near Santa Barbara on Monday morning.

His body of work was immense, and below you will see a list of his most well-known films.

Selected Filmography:

Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
Wolfen (1981)
Deadly Blessing (1981)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
48 Hrs. (1982)
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
Krull (1983)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Cocoon (1985)
Commando (1985)
Aliens (1986)
An American Tail (1986)
*batteries not included (1987)
Willow (1988)
The Land Before Time (1988)
Cocoon: The Return (1988)
Field of Dreams (1989)
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
Glory (1989)
Another 48 Hrs. (1990)
The Rocketeer (1991)
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)
Patriot Games (1992)
We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story (1993)
The Pelican Brief (1993)
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
The Pagemaster (1994)
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Braveheart (1995)
Casper (1995)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Jumanji (1995)
Ransom (1996)
Titanic (1997)
Deep Impact (1998)
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
Bicentennial Man (1999)
The Perfect Storm (2000)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Enemy of the Gates (2001)
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Windtalkers (2002)
Radio (2003)
Troy (2004)
The Forgotten (2004)
Flightplan (2005)
The Legend of Zorro (2005)
The New World (2005)
All the King’s Men (2006)
Apocalypto (2006)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
Avatar (2009)
The Karate Kid (2010)
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Southpaw (2015)

Rest in Peace, Mr. Horner, and thanks for making the world a bit brighter.

So what’s your favorite score from James Horner? Let me know!

-Kyle A. Goethe

June 23, 2015 0

[Short Film Sunday] Monster (2005)

Director: Jennifer Kent

Cast: Susan Prior, Luke Ikimis-Healey, Trash Vaudeville

Screenplay: Jennifer Kent

10 mins. Not Rated.

This week, we will be looking at the short film that inspired the 2014 hit The Babadook when I review Jennifer Kent’s Monster.

In Monster, a single Mother (Susan Prior, Animal Kingdom, The Rover) cares for her difficult son (Luke Ikimis-Healey) as he constantly describes his encounters with a terrifying Monster (Trash Vaudeville). It isn’t long before the mother starts to realize that the monster is very real and is all around her.

I happened to prefer this short to the feature-length The Babadook. I like the simplicity of the monster here and I think the pacing was pretty spot-on, whereas The Babadook tends to drag on a bit. I liked the turn from Susan Prior before she made it to American films, and Australian director Kent’s placement of the camera is in the right places to get the most effective mood for the short.

Monster is a pretty solid short film that you can find quite easily online without much trouble. If you saw The Babadook or not, you should check it out. While the performance from the child isn’t nearly as engaging as Prior or even Trash Vaudeville as the monster, but this is the kind of short that provides perfect tone and is easily watchable and rewatchable again.

4/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

June 21, 2015 0

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2014)

Director: Tom Harper

Cast: Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine, Helen McCrory, Adrian Rawlins, Leanne Best, Ned Dennehy

Screenplay: Jon Croker

98 mins. Rated PG-13 for some disturbing and frightening imagery and for thematic elements.

Ah, the January movie dump bin…how tragic.

Decades after the events of the first film, Eve Parkins (Phoebe Fox, One Day, War Book) and Jean Hogg (Helen McCrory, TV’s Penny Dreadful, Skyfall) have taken their schoolchildren to the Eel Marsh House in Crythin Gifford as a place of refuge. Eve doesn’t fully understand, though, that a dark force still resides in the house and wants the children for herself. Now, Eve and her new friend Harry (Jeremy Irvine, War Horse, Beyond the Reach) must discover the horrifying truth about the Woman in Black (Leanne Best, TV’s Ripper Street, Salting the Battlefield).

Helen McCrory is kind of a bish in this movie. Yeah, I said it. Bish.

There are two classic types of characters in horror films. The first is the character that you want to live. The second is the character that you want to die. Then, there are the characters of The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, the type of character that you just want to be interested in, but you still don’t. Not a single character is performed in such a way that I cared about any of them.

Don’t even get me started on the look of this film. It certainly has less elegance to it than The Woman in Black, very poorly shot and very blurry during some of the sequences that should’ve been more exciting. The film was also very poorly lit. I couldn’t see a damn thing.

The question we need to be asking ourselves when seeing a sequel is: how are we progressing the story or taking the series in a new direction? With this bland sequel, we don’t have an answer. This film is unneeded and essentially rehashes the progression of the first film. We don’t move forward. We, in fact, move backward. I’m not even sure how that is possible, but it happened.

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death goes nowhere when it makes a smart move that explore new territory by moving the story forward years. It could have built on the story presented of the first film, and then it didn’t.

1/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

June 18, 2015 0

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden

Screenplay: Kelly Marcel

125 mins. Rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you my review of the highest grossing adaptation of a rip-off of a bad book series…of all time perhaps, Fifty Shades of Grey. No contracts to sign for this one, folks, so let’s jump in.

Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson, 21 Jump Street, Cymbeline) has been tasked with interviewing the mysterious entrepreneur Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan, TV’s The Fall, Marie Antoinette) for her friend’s school newspaper. When Grey starts to follow Ana and takes an extreme interest in her personal life, she begins to see that he has wants for more than she may be able to give. As Christian’s sexual fantasies take flight with Ana as a passenger, she questions what or who she really wants in the film from director Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy).

Let’s discuss our leads here. Dakota Johnson acts to the character well enough, but the character isn’t any good. She doesn’t give her character a path or any catharsis to lead to. Then there’s Jamie Dornan, who is absolutely dreadful as the billionaire playboy. Not only is the character completely unlikable, but Dornan plays him as a whiny baby. His character is a selfish prick, he doesn’t give anything to Ana in terms of her relationship needs. It is all take-take-take. Who would find him an enjoyable character to follow?

The only thing worse than the leads here is the chemistry between them. It is a shame to have some of my favorite character actors given so little screen time to bolster this film as they are squandered in the background. I’m referring specifically about Marcia Gay Harden (TV’s The Newsroom, Into the Wild), Andrew Airlie, and one of absolute favorite people Callum Keith Rennie. Our leads are incapable of driving this story forward, and it really doesn’t end.

So how good is the rest of the film? It isn’t particularly well shot, especially the poorly-shot initial love scene. It is almost as if the director didn’t watch the dailies, because the scene breaks even the simplest of guidelines around how to shoot a scene (I can hear my filmmaker friends telling me that there are no guidelines to shooting a scene, but I even they would agree with me). The film has a tonally broken look to it, similar to the book itself.

Then there is the sound and music editing. There are scenes with Anastasia typing on her new computer and she finishes typing before the sound stops. It is blaringly noticeable. Not to mention Danny Elfman trying his best to not be Danny Elfman, and he fails. The best decision made in this film is not using his score for the sex scenes and opting for some more sensual tracks from major artists. Can you imagine the Beetlejuice soundtrack during the lovin’?

Another great decision by the filmmakers is to avoid using the phrase “inner goddess” which E.L. James’ novel put into the triple digits. They still get away with the wretched “laters, babe” which made my breakfast churn in my stomach.

Eventually, Fifty Shades of Grey makes its way into classic romantic cliché and shtick with a side order of complete boredom. The film is somewhat slightly better than the original tome it is based on, but that doesn’t make it any good. Perhaps the adaptation that Bret Easton Ellis wanted to write would have been better. As too with less input by the dreck that is E.L. James. It takes a special kind of bad for me to wish for Twilight over this fan-fiction slop.

1.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

So have you seen Fifty Shades of Grey? What did you think? Was it so “Crazy Right Now” or did it reach your hard limits? Let me know!

June 17, 2015 1

[Happy 15th Birthday!] Shaft (2000)

Director: John Singleton

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Christian Bale, Jeffrey Wright, Richard Roundtree

Screenplay: Richard Price, John Singleton, Shane Salerno

99 mins. Rated R for strong violence and language.

Apparently, Shaft is one bad motha-“Shut Your Mouth!”

John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction, Avengers: Age of Ultron) has carried on the family crest from his uncle John (Richard Roundtree, Se7en, Speed Racer). When he responds to a racial attack and has millionaire rich-kid Walter Wade, Jr (Christian Bale, The Dark Knight, Knight of Cups) arrested in the death of a black youth. Now, with the help of Narcotics specialist Carmen Vasquez (Vanessa Williams, Eraser, Temptations: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor), Shaft must defend the woman who witnessed the attack from Wade who has now teamed up with drug lord Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright, Casino Royale, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1).

Shaft is surprisingly not terrible, though it seems to have forgotten a lot of what made the original so cheese-good.

The greatest idea put forth here was to make this incarnation of Shaft a sequel to the previous trilogy. We even get to see the Richard Roundtree as the uncle, also known as John Shaft. I love the idea of continuing the story. Too many films just go the remake route but this works so well.

Sam Jackson does a great job here, but he gets bogged down by the truly disappointing work from Wright and Bale.

I also felt this to be the tamest of the Shaft series. Literally, he doesn’t have any of the sensuality of the original character. Now, granted, as I said before, these are different characters, but I feel like it was a big miss from the film.

Shaft is good, but I can see why the franchise never continued. Singleton’s directing works in short spurts but this film didn’t really go anywhere. The film had several plotlines that didn’t go anywhere, for example the thread involving Dan Hedaya and that other guy becoming crooked cops. I just didn’t care. There were just a lot of chopping to be done to this film and a lot of elements missing here.

2.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

For my review of John Singleton’s 2 Fast 2 Furious, click here.

June 16, 2015 1