CHEF
God, I love Jon Favreau. Us Marvel fans owe him a great debt for essentially kick-starting the Marvel Studios film franchise in the grandest fashion. And maybe it’s a put-on, but he genuinely seems to be one of the nicest people working in Hollywood today. In the wake of his big-budget filmmaking debut, Favreau has toned it down tremendously, opting to write, direct and star in what is clearly a major passion project for him. Chef might leave you starving for some a great meal by its conclusion, but your appetite for a great movie should be totally satisfied.
I don’t want to delve too much into its plot; I knew next to nothing about Chef going into it and I’d like to extend the same courtesy to you. All you need to know is that Chef is heartfelt and hilarious, an instant charmer with a great cast and a superb screenplay/direction. It delves dangerously close to sentiment in its conclusion, but by that point you’ll be so invested in the characters you won’t even care. One of the best movies of 2014 thus far.
FINAL RATING: 4.5/5
EDGE OF TOMORROW
It pains me that we live in a world where Transformers: Age of Extinction made more money in its opening weekend than Edge of Tomorrow has in its entire domestic run. While Transformers 4 may mark the age of extinction for cinema, movies like Edge of Tomorrow give me hope for a brighter future. It’s exciting, full of breathtaking action sequences and, to top it all off, it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Doug Liman, after running into a couple of slumps with Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Jumper, is back in spectacular form. Aided by an intelligent screenplay written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Christopher McQuarrie and the impeccable talents of Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow is basically the sci-fi action movie equivalent of Groundhog’s Day and what’s not to love about that? This is sure to go down as one of the best sci-fi entries of the 21st century.
In the wake of the upcoming summer release schedule, Edge of Tomorrow will probably be swept aside in the fray, but if you get a chance, make your way to the theater as soon as possible to support this gem. It’s well worth your time.
FINAL RATING: 4.5/5
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
I was a bit hesitant to see this one at first. Nothing against the source material, which was very well-received, but it definitely appeared to be catered towards a certain kind of audience. One I very rarely find my views aligning with. After hearing it was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the same pair who wrote 500 Days of Summer and The Spectacular Now, my interest was kindled. I’m quite happy to say that The Fault in our Stars is rather wonderful. It’s sweet, genuinely funny and rather moving. It doesn’t quite manage to avoid its sentimental tendencies entirely, but, thankfully it isn’t too cloying.
That’s really its greatest strength - it doesn’t pander to a particular demographic. Sure, the male love interest is a bit too perfect, giving the female audience cause to swoon and dream in the hopes that they might find their own Augustus, but the story does not in any way dress up the pain and suffering that comes with cancer. It keeps the story grounded, even when the love story seems a bit too perfect to be totally realistic. And how about that cast? Shailene Woodley turns in another fantastic performance as Hazel Grace; Ansel Elgort is almost nearly her equal, delivering a charming and, at times, rather heartbreaking performance. They are the heart and soul of this movie and their honest performances make it very easy to invest in their characters’ journeys.
It may not be perfect, but The Fault in Our Stars gets by with strong performances, a solid script and great direction. If you haven’t seen it by now, you probably never will. But, don’t be put off by the target demographic; The Fault in Our Stars is really, really good.
Okay?
Okay.
FINAL RATING: 4/5
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
How to Train Your Dragon 2 doesn’t quite live up to the lofty standards of its magnificent predecessor, but it gets the job done with great gusto. It’s certainly one of the better sequels out there and a fine continuation of this proposed trilogy. It deepens its characters, darkens the mood and continues to deliver heartfelt animated storytelling of the finest quality.
Taking place five years after the first film, How to Train Your Dragon 2 follows the exploits of Hiccup, now a young adult, and his dragon Toothless. Their village Berk has adapted to life with dragons in the most splendid fashion, integrating them into all their daily activities. Hiccup is next in line to be the village chief, but he’s not quite sure he’s ready for the responsibility or if it’s something he even wants to do. Things become more complicated when Hiccup and his friends get involved in a maniac conqueror's plot to rule the world using a dragon army.
The storyline mimics its predecessor in that it’s essentially about Hiccup re-finding his place in the world. I think there’s a line near the beginning of the movie where Hiccup flatout says, “I might have figured out who I am, but now I have to figure out who I am all over again!” It’s not particularly subtle about its lack of new ideas and despite some really great twists and turns along the way, this sequel doesn’t really push the franchise in any new directions.
Despite retreading a lot of the same character beats as its predecessor, How to Train Your Dragon 2 still manages to entertain, enthrall and stir the emotions. That it feels more calculated is to be expected, but the pleasant surprise is that it manages to rise above its shortcomings, becoming a worthy continuation of this excellent series. Sign me up for #3!
FINAL RATING: 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment