Side Effects (2013)

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum

Overall Rating: 90.0

As Steven Soderbergh begins his retirement, he leaves his fans and the movie world with one final mainstream film with an indie vibe with "Side Effects", and he leaves on a very good note.

Soderbergh has always been known as an actor's director, giving challenging dramatic roles that showcase dialogue and emotion over Hollywood fluff, and "Side Effects" shows us the Soderbergh that won him an Academy Award back in 2000 for "Traffic".  It's sad to think that this will be the final feature film that Soderbergh makes, but it's also just as hard to believe he's truly done for good.

"Side Effects" shows the dark side of prescription drugs and focuses on the "prescribe rather than treat" mentality of a growing depressed population.  Feeling blue?  Pop a Zoloft.  Need to concentrate?  Try Adderall or a beta-blocker.  It's a billion dollar industry that requires the doctors that we trust to work for the pharmaceutical companies to get rich off of our pain.

After her husband returns home from a 4-year jail stint for insider trading, Emily Taylor (Mara) finds herself growing more and more depressed as they try to put the pieces back together.  She knows she must put on a strong face for him, but inside can't help but feel trapped in a dark cloud.  After an intentional car accident, Emily finds herself under the care of Dr. Jonathan Banks (Law) who tries different anti-depressants to block out the sadness.  When she tries a new drug, Ablixa, she suddenly feels on top of the world.  The couple's sex drive is back, she's not sad anymore, and everything seems to be going well except for the fact that she sleepwalks.

After a tragic accident, the film shifts quite suddenly halfway through.  While the first half of the film is a dramatic take on finding happiness, the second half quickly becomes quite the suspenseful thriller with twists and turns along the way.  Despite a run time of 106 minutes, the film keeps you engaged throughout, making it seem like a much longer epic.

One of the primary ways we're kept engaged is through the brilliant performances of Rooney Mara and Jude Law.  Mara (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) stays with her bread-and-butter performance range of the dark, yet fragile woman who can change an entire scene with a simple stare.  She commands the emotion of this broken down housewife with perfection.  She constantly makes you feel empathy towards her struggle, yet fight to try to understand what she's going through.

Law on the other hand, plays multiple iterations of his same Dr. Banks.  Without giving too much away, Law manages to take on the role of the caring doctor, paranoid conspiracy theorist, and conniving genius all in an hour and a half long movie, and play each part superbly.

Teaming up once again with screenwriter Scott Z. Burns (Contagion), Soderbergh and Burns continue to tell deep, complex stories without having to explain too much.  While the world of pharmaceuticals and prescription drugs to a non-user can seem complicated on the surface, Burns' words and Soderbergh's direction gently dip the audiences toes into the steaming waters below.

"Side Effects" is a dark, cautious tale wrapped up in a suspenseful thriller.  It's a shame to see Soderbergh step away from the lens, but with as many quality films he's put out over the past 15+ years, he's earned some quiet time.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 9
Dialogue: 8
Acting: 10
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 7

Week in Review (Feb 16 - Feb 22)

New Ratings Added to Database:

Seven Psychopaths (2012) - 89.9

New Reviews Added:

Casino (1995)
Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Casino (1995)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone

Overall Rating: 97.1

"Casino" stands out as a quintessential Martin Scorsese gangster movie.  It epitomizes everything that is great about Scorsese: crisp writing, over-the-top personalities, and an Italian charm mixed in with ultra-violence. 

The story follows gangsters Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro) and Nicky Santoro (Pesci) as they move to Vegas to try to take over the town.  Rothstein using his skills as a bookie and oddsmaker gravitates towards legitimately taking over the Tangiers casino, while Santoro prefers the old-style beat-downs and thuggish takeovers to assert power. 

After meeting and falling for the Vegas strip hustler Ginger (Stone), Rothstein and Santoro begin growing apart.  As the decades switch from the 70's to the 80's, even more complications ruin what was once a powerful crime empire.

The beauty of "Casino" is the narrative storytelling.  The audience is shown a storyline, but given two different narratives through the voice-overs of De Niro and Pesci, each telling their own sides to the story.  Scorsese manages to take Nicolas Pileggi's (Goodfellas) great screenplay and turn it into a moving novel, never focusing on one character too long without giving a taste of another.

Across the board, Scorse always manages to get the most out of his actors. While Sharon Stone got the most awards buzz, including an Oscar nomination, it's Pesci's fireball Santoro that steals the show.  His brutal tactics make you fear him, but ultimately respect him.  De Niro may not give his best performance when you look at his entire resume, but considering "Casino" came out the same year he was wrapping up "Heat", he still managed to have one hell of a year.

While Casino may seem like a sequel to "Goodfellas" with many of the similar actors and overall tone, each film manages to highlight it's protagonists in different lights.  While Goodfellas focused on the 50's and 60's "good ol' days" of the Italian mafia and the family of it all, "Casino" helps transition the decades of decadence in the 70's and 80's, the greed that went behind each, and every man's fight for their own survival.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 10
Dialogue: 10
Acting: 9
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 9

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken

Overall Rating: 89.9

In his second feature film, director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges), reaffirms himself as a dialogue driven, dry humor style of filmmaker.  The one factor that McDonagh seems to be struggling with is his marketing team.  With "In Bruges", the film was tag-lined as a hilarious romp, which it in no way was.  For "Psychopaths", the main trailers were focused on the story of a group of bumbling idiot dog-nappers, which it is not.

Instead, "Psychopaths" takes the tongue-in-cheek approach to film-making, where we as the audience are watching the leading character writing the story in front of our eyes.  Similar to films like "Adaptation", the leading character Marty (Farrell) is a Hollywood screenwriter with an idea for a new movie called "Seven Psychopaths".  As he struggles to find his creative voice, his friend Billy (Rockwell) attempts to help him along, pitching ideas for different psychopaths for his movie.  Over the course of the film, we learn that the ideas for the psychopaths end up being real characters (in the movie at least) and directly influence the writing of the screenplay we're watching on screen.

While yes, the story kicks off with Billy inadvertantly kidnapping a crime boss's (Harrelson) dog, the story that follows after is anything but predictable.  Each character is introduced in a very one dimensional way, but as the film progresses, each character just gets layers and layers added to them until each has their own unique voice and personality.

"Seven Psychopaths" is one of those films that makes you wish you were an actor, as you can just tell how much fun everyone had making the film.  With a smart dialogue, each actor gets their chance to just let loose and enjoy the scenes they are in, rather than spewing out forced words.  The charismatic Rockwell and Walken each bring their signature styles to their performances, and Farrell even surprises with a bit of "everyman" portrayal of his screenwriter.

The supporting cast all steal their scenes, whether through Gaborey Sidibe as the dog-walker who loses boss's dog, Harry Dean Stanton as the ghost-like Quaker, or the flat out amazing performance by Tom Waits as a classifieds-answering, self-proclaimed psycho, each dominate the screen during their time on it.

"Psychopaths" is an unconventional comedy, but still a comedy.  With McDonagh's smart Brit wit and the great comedic performances by the likes of Rockwell, Walken, and Harrelson, the film takes you through a myriad of environments and timelines, but entertains you every step of the way.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor:9
Dialogue: 10
Acting: 9
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 8

Week in Review (Feb 9 - Feb 15)

New Ratings Added to Database:

Scream 4 (2011) - 64.8

New Reviews Added:

Scream 4 (2011)
Zodiac (2007)

Zodiac (2007)

Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo

Overall Rating: 98.0

Based on the true story of the Zodiac Killer during the 70's, "Zodiac" is David Fincher's homage to not only one of the greatest serial killers in U.S. history, but the lives of those tasked with tracking the notorious killer and the effects felt even by those who weren't victims.

The beginning of "Zodiac" feels like any other suspense thriller about a serial killer: dark road, unseen figure, murdered teenagers, etc.  However, as the audience soon realizes, "Zodiac" isn't necessarily about the Zodiac Killer, but rather the people whose lives were forever tormented by the killings in an indirect way.  The newspaper reporter who unknowingly finds himself as a target, the police detectives who see years go by without any new leads, and the cartoonist who has a penchant for cracking codes and puzzles all obsess in their own destructive ways about finding this mysterious killer.  

Based on the book by Robert Graysmith (the aforementioned cartoonist who ultimately cracked Zodiac's code), the majority of the film follows Graysmith's character (Gyllenhaal) on his quest to uncover the killers identity, if only for himself.  Along the way, Graysmith creates bonds with Paul Avery (Downey), the popular San Francisco Chronicle reporter following the case and Dave Toschi, the lead detective on the case throughout the years. 

It's these relationships that carry the suspense of the film.  Sure, when the audience is occasionally shown the killer and his victims there is plenty of suspense, but those scenes primarily lay the foundation as to why the other characters feel the need to catch this man.

Taking place in 1970's San Francisco, director Fincher manages to stay ultra-realistic in his setting.  This being Fincher's first "period piece", everything seems appropriate in its setting.  While it is the 70's, and especially San Francisco, Fincher avoids the use of hippies, flower power, and tie-dye, and instead sticks with his trademark darkness.  There are plenty of visuals to take you back to the time, including the clothing the detectives wear, the automobiles, and even a time-lapse of the Transamerica Pyramid building in downtown S.F.

David Shire's soundtrack also completely encompasses the suspense of the subject matter, and allows the audio to pour out of the screen.  Right off the bat, Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" sets the immediate tone for the film.  Plenty of under-appreciated songs of the 70's make their way into the film, each providing an ample tone for the scene they represent.

"Zodiac" takes the role of the murder-mystery and completely encapsulates the audience into asking questions.  Every time you as a viewer think they've found the missing piece to the puzzle, you realize the piece in question was to a completely different puzzle all together.  "Zodiac" keeps you guessing until the very end, and even though the film takes a few liberties based on Graysmith's theories involving the murderer's identity, knowing the actual killer was never identified only makes the suspense of the film stand out so much more.  It's a gripping drama that makes you feel for the characters, but also engulfs you in the mystery of the identity of the killer.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 10
Dialogue: 9
Acting: 9
Direction: 10
Audio/Visual: 10

Scream 4 (2011)

Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox

Overall Rating: 64.8

After an 11 year layoff, Wes Craven returns to the universe of the Ghostface killer with "Scream 4".  While staying true to the 90's slasher flicks made famous by the franchise, "Scream 4" manages to throw some a few curveballs to seeming cliched horror scenes to not only parody itself, but also to keep the audience guessing.

The 4th installment picks up with the famous survivor of the first three films, Sidney Prescott (Campbell), returning to Woodsboro for the anniversary of the first murders and to promote her new book.  To absolutely nobody's surprise, as soon as Sidney arrives in town, people start dying.  This time, the latest incarnation of Ghostface seems to want to torture Sidney by killing everyone around her, rather than go directly after the heroine. 

Included in those being targeted is Sidney's cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts) and the newest class of all-good-looking, no-minorities-in-sight class of Woodsboro High.  Back once more are "Scream" staples Sheriff Dewey (Arquette) and wife/reporter/writer Gale (Cox) to try to use the pattern of the first killings to hunt the newest killer.  Only this time around, the stereotypical murder patterns that the Scream franchise became famous for mocking are all backfiring on the investigators, as Ghostface always seems to be one step ahead.

While "4" does manage to turn the founding principals of the first 3 installments on their heads, it still ends up a bit cheesy overall.  One of the big problems is the fact that the body count seems to be much higher this time around than in previous films.  The original was truly revolutionary because it wasn't "how is this person going to die", but "will this person die?"  In "4", the focus seems to be more on the killings than the characters, and that causes the overall tone of the movie to shift from the slasher movie roots to the cheap jumpy thrills.  While the overall theme of the film is focused on upgrading the slasher genre into the new millennium, we still get the same cliched kills and each victim can be seen coming well in advance.

While it's somewhat of a nice change of pace from the super-serious horror films of today, I can't help but feel that the brightly lit colors of Woodsboro could have changed their tones ever so slightly.  While it's been over a decade since we last saw Sidney Prescott run from knife-wielding maniacs, "Scream 4" still feels like it was made in the late 90's.  In some ways, it's a nice retro feel, but in others, it just feels played out and unnecessary.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 6
Dialogue: 5
Acting: 4
Direction: 6
Audio/Visual: 6

Week in Review (Jan 26 - Feb 1)

New Ratings Added to Database:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 (2011) - 76.7
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 (2010) - 66.3

New Reviews Added:

Gattaca (1997)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 (2010)

Gattaca (1997)

Directed by: Andrew Niccol

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law

Overall Rating: 96.1

"Gattaca" manages to create a world so vivid and unbelievably realistic, that you forget that the film came out in 1997.  Director Andrew Niccol has made a name for himself by making smart, inventive futuristic sci-fi movies (director of "S1m0ne" and "In Time", writer of "The Truman Show"), and he was given space to stretch his creative legs after his debut work of "Gattaca" simply wowed audiences.

"Gattaca" tells the tale of a future where genetic modification and DNA examination of a young child's DNA can lay out their future for them.  Even after just being born, parents can see any early defects that might occur later in life, or modify their child's genetics to ensure they are placed in a higher class of society.  The theme of "class" is something that plays throughout not just "Gattaca", but all of Niccol's work.

Vincent (Hawke) had the misfortune to be born without the use of technology, causing him to have a lifelong heart condition that could have otherwise been prevented.  Vincent's ultimate goal was to be an astronaut, but given his less-than-perfect DNA, knows it's a dream that will never occur without breaking a few rules.

Cue the genetically perfect Jerome (Law).  Jerome was a physical specimen, but was depressed and after unsuccessfully attempting suicide, found himself permanently residing in a wheelchair.  After a chance meeting, Jerome and Vincent concoct a plan to give both men purpose in their life by transforming Vincent into Jerome.  Vincent would appear to be genetically "valid" enough to be accepted into the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation, while Jerome's perfect genetics would be put to good use.

The film does a great job of depicting just how far someone is willing to go to achieve their dreams.  By no fault of his own, Vincent was dealt a bad hand at birth, but refused to believe he was invalid and incapable of achieving greatness.  One of the most memorable moments comes towards the climax of the movie, where during a swimming competition in the ocean, Vincent tells his competitor who is scared of not being able to make it back to shore alive, "You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it. I never saved anything for the swim back."  It's this heart over physicality mentality that makes Vincent seem and feel invincible, and keeps his coworkers at Gattaca all the none wiser that "Jerome" is actually an invalid.

Visually, Niccol creates this futuristic world that is both inventive, but grounded in reality.  The cars all make stereotypical futuristic sounds, but resemble their modern counterparts.  Throughout his lifespan of directing, Niccol tends to favor the color green (even more so in 2011's "In Time"), and "Gattaca" helps lay that foundation with a hint of green shading in the majority of key scenes.

"Gattaca" manages to take the sci-fi genre, and add a deep layer of emotion and drama within.  As most great sci-fi storytellers tend to do, Niccol uses the futuristic elements of his film as foundations, but leave his characters to tell the story.  The story isn't about the future or sci-fi wonder, it's about the fight of a young man wanting to achieve his dreams.  For this reason, Gattaca stands out as an essential must-watch.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 10
Dialogue: 10
Acting: 8
Direction: 10
Audio/Visual: 9