UNFRIENDED   2.5***

 

       Unfriended is about a group of teenagers whose normal social life on Skype (  video chatting  from computers, tablets, and mobile devices via the Internet) turns in a nightmare when a possessed Skype account begins making threats. Exactly one year earlier, a girl named Laura Barns committed suicide after an embarrassing video of her was anonymously posted on YouTube. These friends discover that the account being used belongs to the late Laura herself. After making some threats, "Laura" warns that she'll begin killing them if secrets aren't revealed and if justice isn't served. Unfriended takes a whole new approach to horror storytelling with the entire film being "set" and shown on a computer screen. It’s a strange approach but works well. It's a very gripping concept, and while we're all expecting jump scares, which do happen about once or twice, the tension builds up like all good horror films should...slowly and naturally.

 

The tension grows from  the scary feeling of a supernatural presence as well as some well-constructed creepiness, including Laura possibly being in one of the friends' rooms. Laura's threats progress into a game that brings up and reveals all kinds of rumors and secrets that this close group of friends have kept from one another. Although these characters aren't too thickly drawn, watching the truth unfold is disturbing and tension building. The fear is further heightened with  believable acting by a diverse group of unknowns….diverse in the sense of personalities.

 

The route the filmmakers take to tell their story is admittedly restrictive— we cannot see beyond the confines of what is happening on the computer screen, but they use this to its fullest potential and manage to weave in some memorable scenes. Redundancy does become an issue as the film chugs forward in its early stages. But in the special techno-world of gossipy high schoolers , it is believable. All of the actors  give fine performances, especially within the restrictions of the format.
 

Overall, "Unfriended", while not a slam dunk for the horror genre, is mildly inventive and there is enough creativity and craft to be mildly appreciated.

 

Clark

 

 

 

 

ex macHina  3.5***

 

    “Ex Machina” is the best science fiction film on artificial intelligence since “Blade Runner” which was an action thriller that relied more on its epic visuals to tell its story. “Ex Machina” is a dialogue-driven psychological thriller that slowly works its way under your skin. It is thought-provoking and quite suspenseful.

 

The story primarily involves only  three characters :  an employee (Caleb) of a Google-like search engine company who wins an "employee lotto" to spend a week with the CEO (Nathan) at his reclusive estate. The twist is that Caleb's real purpose in being there is to participate in an experiment with Nathan's newest invention:  the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the stunningly beautiful female robot Ava (Alicia Vikander) The experiment is for Caleb to determine through interaction with Ava whether or not Ava has real human qualities and feelings or whether she is only faking it. There's an ever growing sense of mystery and suspense as the story moves along  that someone is being played, though you’re not entirely sure who and why until near the end. The film also draws similarities to "2001: A Space Odyssey" and  “Her” though they are very different in tone and content.  

 

A top notch cast keeps you absorbed in this tense,  psychological thriller that blends big ideas with intimate character drama. Oscar Isaac is great as the enigmatic tech CEO, Nathan, a youngist bald and bearded, muscular alcoholic, who is brilliant but unpredictable. Domhnal Gleeson is likeable as Caleb, the geeky all around good guy computer programmer. But the star is definitely Alicia Vikander as the beguiling Ava, who absolutely passes for being 'almost human'. Her precise movements -walking, standing or stooping to seductively pull up a pair of stockings- have just that slight tinge of the uncanny about them to suggest a mechanical skeleton, yet she is undeniably seductive. You can really understand Caleb's mental plight as she begins to show signs of a sexual interest in him and he in her.

 

The ending is somewhat surprising and may not be what you would hope for but is in keeping with the unknowns ….the enigma of artificial intelligence .

 

Rated R for graphic nudity, language, sexual references and some violence.

 

Clark

 AMELIE  4.0***

     Not a lot of movies create their own special universe. These movies are so distinct and original that they fashion their own special place in the universe, untouched by anything else. You can add “Amelie” to that list. Here is a film so original, so funny, and so warm that it left me with a long lasting “feel good” glow.  

This 2001 French film tells the story of a young French woman Amélie (Audrey Tautou.) She is in her early twenties, works as a waitress at a small cafe in Paris,  and had a gloomy, lonely childhood.  Her life changes one day, in a unique moment of contrasting  tragedy and happiness, when she hears the news that Princess Di has died which causes her to accidently drop a  bottle cap that dislodges a wall panel in her flat where she discovers hidden therein an old box of a child’s treasures left by a dweller from the 1950s. She decides to anonymously return it to the owner. She  seeks out the man and when she witnesses his happiness in the treasures being returned, she decides that one of her missions in life will be to anonymously help people who are her acquaintances by using her fantasy and unique tricks. For instance she tricks her father into fantasizing about traveling abroad by having friends take pictures from all over the world of his favorite garden gnome; and she befriends her neighbor, a lonely outcast/recluse who paints the same masterpiece picture year after year. She also  plays delightful pranks on a mean-spirited man who badly mistreats his employee.   Amélie goes about her escapades of kindness with great success. One particularly wonderful scene shows Amélie helping a blind man cross the street while colorfully describing  what's happening around him to give him a picture of the world he doesn't get to see.   

As she continues enriching the lives of people around her, Amélie becomes challenged with the fact that if she only helps others anonymously, she may end up living her life alone and without the happiness she brings to others. Amélie's conflict is what rounds out the picture and makes it complete. The movie, though a comedy, takes Amélie's inner struggle seriously, but never too heavily. Brilliantly hilarious, "Amélie" has a wonderfully touching and funny script and is brought to life in a visual splendor by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet,   AND, most importantly,it has at its center the lovely enchanting Audrey Tatou as Amelie, giving one of the warmest, most sincere and funniest performances that you'll ever see . She, and the others in the film, are wonderful to watch - the camerawork is superb and most scenes are shot with a slightly golden filter that heightens the fairytale atmosphere. And because it's in French( with SUBTITLES), with French being one of the most lyrical of languages,  together with the excellent music, it's a pleasure to listen to as well.

The World needs a lot of Amelies so we can better appreciate the World’s endless beauty rather than just its materiality !!!

Clark

PS: I urge you to see  this movie…you’ll find it on DVD and through most movie outlets such as Netflix, Red Box, and TV movie sites. I promise you’ll feel good and feel better after seeing it.

It is rated “R” but should not have been… this is more a PG13.

        

THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL  2.5***

 

      The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is truth in advertising; It is second best. Compared to the first and BEST,  this film lacks the spark of originality and joy of the 1^st.. The film follows the usual Hollywood tried-and-true formula for sequels by bringing back its wonderful British cast of thespians and playing up the same colorful Indian locations and senior citizen problems. Nostalgia reigns foremost and although this sequel still entertains, what was once wry and am whimsical is now somewhat dry and dull.

 

Spun loosely around the concept of adding a second hotel, because the first is fully booked, the story shifts the main focus from the English residents to the Indian manager, his family, and the hotel's staff.  Dev Patel steps up with an exuberant performance as Sonny Kapoor, the eager, if slightly daft, hotel manager (though at times in the 1^st half of the film Patel goes over the top and becomes irritating). Sonny juggles preparations for his wedding, sparring with a perceived rival for his fiancée, and seeking financial backing for a second hotel, while still checking each morning with a roll call to make sure  none of the aging lodgers has expired during the night.  

The film still amuses, mostly due to the likable characters from the 1^st movie who are now living at the hotel.( Maggie Smith, Judy Dench, Penelope Wilton. Bill Nighy and Ronald Pickup).  Enter some new characters including David Strathairn, the CEO of the company that may make the loan for the 2^nd hotel and Richard Gere, a possible hotel inspector and  love interest for Sonny's mother, Mrs. Kapoor .

 

There is not much new to recommend except an excellent cast( which by itself is enough to make the film worthwhile), and a concluding Bollywood dance number that has plenty of energy and style.  I left The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel this time feeling that the accommodations were less than stellar and that the time spent there was far from memorable.

 

Clark

 

 

 WILD TALES  3.5***

               This is an Argentine film with subtitles that was nominated for Oscar’s 2014 Best Foreign Language Film . It is a movie comprised of a series of vignettes/short stories about human beings from all walks of  life who are all tested and taken to their limits ... until they finally lose control.  

 

I knew from the opening credits that “Wild Tales”, was going to be fun and “wild”.  Images of animals were associated with the actors' and Director’s names which prepares the audience for the wild animal-like behavior to come.

The film is comprised of six separate vignettes, short stories, if you will. These vignettes all begin innocently enough, passengers boarding a plane, a man driving through the desert, a restaurant on a stormy night, a wedding, everyday slices of modern day life. I especially enjoyed and was amazed by the wedding reception story which has to be the wildest and craziest one I’ve ever seen !!!! Something occurs to break the routine, the main character responds, then the scene escalates, and escalates, and just  when you think it’s reached its  peak, it escalates even more, and finally in the end reaches a weirdly strange balance of comedy and tragedy. In many ways the behavior reminds us of ourselves, both at our best and at our worst... and makes us squirm and laugh at the same time.

 

The film  is a masterfully crafted dark comedy of  shrewdness and wit. It can be hilarious, demented, violent, and more often than not just plain weird. The segments had in common the themes of revenge and the loss of control…. those inner longing we all have for letting go and being  carried away by our deepest  impulses but then  we never let that happen.  

 

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality.

 

NOTE: This movie would be hard to find.. it’s a limited release Independent movie. BUT try to find it on DVD or a movie channel or service.

 

RUN ALL NIGHT  3.0 ***

 

              “RUN ALL NIGHT” is another return to a form of sub-genre we’ll  call "LIAM NEESON ACTION FLICKS". Going into it I expected it to be a  reasonably entertaining action movie but nothing more. But ”Run All Night” turned out to be an exciting mob drama with a simple but effective plot, solid  acting and enough action to satisfy most anyone.   Set in NYC, Neeson stars as a low level aged-out hard drinking ex-mob hit-man Jimmy Conlon who works for his childhood friend, mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). A violent, random, encounter between their two sons puts these two old friends on opposite sides –much  mayhem ensues.

 

 What helps to elevates this flick  from just another Neeson action film is the emphasis on the effects crime has on family members, from Jimmy, who is suffering depression about all the people he has assassinated, to all the collateral damage his immediate family has suffered.
Yes, I'm perhaps making more out of this thriller than it may deserve, but at this time of year, I'm pleased with a few well-chosen words and a story I can identify with—family, family, it's all about the family. And I  enjoyed the cinematography, especially the sweeping camera shots starting high above the beautiful city  and then swooping in to a given location and vide-versa .  

        The movie has a compelling story that makes for an entertaining thrill ride including some bloody gunfights, car chases and brutal fist fights. Liam Neeson stands out as always and he makes you root for him even though his character has done awful things in the past. You want to see him  gun through the streets of NYC, kicking ass and delivering old style justice to the bad guys! The supporting  cast is quite good as well, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnamen,as the estranged son of Neeson, and even rapper Common as the rival Hit-man, all provide solid performances. Overall, one of the better Liam Neeson action films to have come out lately.  If you want a thrilling popcorn film to keep you entertained for a couple of hours at the movie or at home, check it out.

 

Rated “R” for strong violence, language including sexual references, and some drug use.

 

Clark

Kingsman  THE SECRET SERVICE 3.2****

 

    “Kingsman: The Secret Service" is a nostalgic throwback to the early Bond films of the 1960s and 70s..  This latest addition to the genre, based on a comic book,  tells of a spy agency so secret (though not connected with any government) that  other spy agencies, government or not, don't know it exists. Kingsman is made up of  highly trained, dapperly dressed "gentlemen" spies who consider themselves to be the descendants, at least in spirit, of the knights of yore (they've even given themselves code names like Lancelot and Galahad). Dapper they may be but also super “bad-ass”. That dapperest of these dapper gentlemen, Colin Firth, plays Harry Hart, aka Galahad, a veteran agent who recruits, Eggsy (Taron Edgerton) , a directionless youth from the streets (but  the son of an agent who years ago saved Hart's life)  to train in the art of spying .  Eggsy's first assignment is to stop the maniacal high-tech plot of a crazed gazillionaire, played by a Samuel L. Jackson.,  

 

The casts brings a lot of variety to the movie. Colin Firth (yes, the King from” King's Speech”) pumps the screen with adrenaline, which is quite unlike him, but enjoyable none-the-less. Michael Caine does what he always does but here doesn‘t have enough to do.. Samuel Jackson who has a lisp and is terrified of blood (yes, a villain who can't stand the sight of blood) is fun to watch even when he goes way over the top which is often. Taron Egerton proves to be an outstanding newcomer as he brings his young  character to life with an energizing vibe.

 

There is a good amount of violence which may  be a tad too graphic at times but the overall spirit of good cheer and fun triumphs in the end. Also, in most  "superhero” type films these days we find ourselves wondering what the back-story of the hero/villain is and why is he the way he is? But at the end of this film I realized that not once did I feel the need to fathom where all these characters CAME from. They were just THERE doing all these amazing stunts and looking so dashing in their suits. It is just PURE FUN.  Fans of Bond  are certain to love it since along with a rollercoaster of action, comedy and espionage, comes a bucket full of winks, references and nods to the world of spy movies, especially Bond. Included are many of the gadgets we have come to love from the Bond films.

 

Clark