The Little Prince (2015)

Repeat after me: you’re not better than. No, you’re not. This should be an obvious thing, and yet, again and again, we see stuff like this movie, where someone takes an acknowledged classic and tries to “improve” upon it by telling the story their own way, or even their own story piggybacked on top of the original tale. It never really works, and while this film represents a valiant effort, and one where a certain reverence for the original material is evident, the effort is not entirely successful here, either. The movie is at its best in the scenes where, in expertly rendered stop-action animation, it relates the core of Saint-Exupery’s fairy tale. In the CGI animated frame story, the work is less effective, probably because that part of the proceedings looks and feels too familiar (the character and world designs are straight out of the now-standard computer animation playbook) in contrast to the older yet somehow fresher look of the stop action, which hews more closely to the style of the original author’s “decorations.” That’s not to say the frame is without any impact; certain aspects of the more modern tale hit home with the viewer. But it just doesn’t compare to the creative vision that lies at the heart of the fable. The wind, sand and stars are, indeed, essential elements of the world, and you just can’t improve upon them—even if you think you’re so much better than those who walked the earth—or any asteroid—before you. 

The Disaster Artist

The astounding achievement here is not the meticulous reproduction of scenes--or mis-scenes, if you will--from Tommy Wiseau's disasterpiece The Room; it's the level of sympathy and understanding that the Franco brothers are able to produce for the unyieldingly idiosyncratic auteur. They clearly admire something in the determination--or, perhaps, chutzpah--of the severely untalented would-be movie star; maybe they recognize some piece of themselves in Wiseau, a sense of "there but for the grace of God..." Indeed, by making a comedy about the making of the unintentional comedy, the brothers, one could argue, have actually been derivative of a work that would otherwise be a target of sheer mockery. As for this movie, it is funny, though not non-stop laughs; occasionally, the recreation is cringeworthy, sort of like watching scenes from the UK version of The Office (Wiseau and David Brent have a lot in common). All in all, the whole package is entertaining enough to make this film a good watch, especially if you stick around for the ending--when clips from both films are played side-by-side for comparison--and the post-credits scene, where the doppelgangers meet. Hopefully, everyone who is this hopeless can have his or her moment of triumph--and perhaps this flick can light that way.

Sausage Party

Is this a case of the munchies gone out of control? It sure seems like it. With Seth Rogan’s meaty, stoned fingers all over this movie, one would be forgiven for assuming that’s the case. The film does, in fact, display a certain amount of impaired judgement; everything that the filmmakers assumed would be riotously funny only hits that mark on rare occasions. There are a number of good, laugh-out-loud moments, but probably not as much as these folks were expecting. While I’m not one to shy away from crude humor, this movie overdoes it. A bit of well-placed smuttiness can work wonders for a comedy, but in the volume displayed here it becomes overwhelming, almost numbing to the funny bone. Finally, this movie shows the downside of the now ubiquitous product placements in films; the generic nature of the food products that star in this show--a once standard industry practice--now comes across as weirdly artificial and distracting. You pretty much expect to see brand names on all the featured foods, and it actually hurts the film that they’re not there. (Contrast with the Toy Story movies, where the familiar toy brands and models provide shortcuts to the audience recognizing the characters and their natures.) Overall, there’s laughs here, but not enough, and too many places where things just go wrong. Making a truly adult animated comedy was worth a shot, but this one ultimately misses the mark.

The Interview

You have to give Seth Rogan and James Franco credit for being willing to look really ridiculous for their art. The farce here is so broad that it’s probably stretching it to call this movie ‘art,’ but it delivers enough laughs that I suppose the guys should be given the benefit of the doubt. The only weird thing is, for all of its comedic intent, the film actually veers into some pretty violent territory now and then--a jarring lack of consistency which demerits the project overall (and may have been the reason that some people took the thing a little too seriously back when the movie was about to be released). Overall, this is a pretty good, funny movie; a little refinement would have gone a lot further.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The movie is much like the featured primates: it starts off quite stupid, then it gets a boost midway through and starts looking smarter. It's hard to resist rolling one's eyes at the early parts of the film, especially the very paint-by-numbers plot points about corporate greed being the root of the evil (not that it doesn't ring true; it's just not very well presented here). There's also some character inconsistency that comes across as false and jarring as the story progresses; ironically, it's mostly the apes who stay true to character. And then you get plenty of good monkey mayhem towards the end. Satisfying, but definitely in the "leaves room for improvement" category.

Spring Breakers

An unusual premise for a movie: make your story about some very unlikeable characters, then make them even more unlikeable, then put them in perhaps the most hateful setting our society has to offer--Florida during THAT time of year--and then make them even worse still. I'm not sure I get it. On the other hand, I must admit that this is a highly skilled presentation; there's art going on here, almost to a fault (director Harmony Korine's flair for visuals and oddly syncopated storytelling sometimes gets in the viewer's way), and that fact does redeem, to some extent, what would otherwise be an ugly and pointless exercise. Ultimately, I'm not sure what end this movie serves, or if I really get it, or if there's even something to get. You're on your own here, I guess.

Oz the Great and Powerful

The crux of the matter here lies with the source material. To wit: are we seeing a faithful representation of Baum’s work, or is this a Disneyfied version of the extended world of Oz? Having only read one of the Oz works--that one--I can’t say for sure; maybe the weaknesses are Baum’s and not those of the Disney people or director Sam Raimi. Even with a certain obviousness to the story--it’s a tale that practically wallows in stereotypes--you can still get a good, old-fashioned movie-viewing experience out of this film. It all depends on how high your critical threshold is; demanding types, stay away, but those more open will probably have a decent time.

This Is The End

Here’s a wildly terrific concept for a movie: famous funny people, playing themselves, get stranded together when the shit goes down. And I mean, when the shit really goes down. The results are great, in places howlingly funny, and seriously entertaining throughout (though the very very end comes across as weak, especially compared with the rest of the show). Highly recommended.

127 Hours

Director Danny Boyle pulls every trick out of the filmmaker's bag in order to give movement and energy to a mostly static tale. In a few places, the holes in that cinematic curtain show through, but for the most part the effort is successful, resulting in an entertaining, impactful, almost riveting movie. Not to be missed.

Date Night

I was all set not to like this movie, but the combination of appealing lead actors and a well-rounded supporting cast--with one or two pitch-perfect cameos--put an otherwise run of the mill movie over the top.

Spider-man 2

Yes, I think it is better than the first. A world of credit goes to the cast for an entire collection of wonderful performances, all deep and emotionally resonant. And it helps that the script is more interested in questions about personal identity and responsibility than in blowing things up. I'd go along with a third in the series, if they're willing to keep up the quality.

Spider-man

Great fun. A spectacular yet emotionally true summer movie, one that (at time of release) in many ways revived the then-moribund superhero genre. The effects never overwhelm the story; some movie-makers could learn a few things from that fact.