I've caught quite a few films in the past few weeks, but I haven't really had the time to write full-fledged reviews for them. Here are my thoughts on Inside Llewyn Davis, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, I, Frankenstein and Her.
Inside Llewyn Davis: The Coen Brothers strike gold once again with Inside Llewyn Davis. The film serves as a powerful character study of Llewyn Davis (Oscar Issac), a talented folk musician who just can't catch a break in New York's Greenwich Village in 1961. Davis's inability to make it seems to be karma's way of getting back at him for treating everyone around him like absolute shit. He knocks up his friend's wife (Carey Mulligan), loses another friend's cat and heckles other performers at the famous Gaslight Cafe without even a single ounce of guilt. The film's simplicity is beautiful as it doesn't follow a traditional plotline and makes Davis's life the sole focus of the film. Despite it's straightforward storytelling, Isaac's strong performance, brilliant dialogue and depth of Davis as a character give this film a deeper core than a lot of films with more intricate narratives. The overall tone is certainly melancholy, but amidst the bleakness the Coen's profess their love for the Greenwich Village folk scene. The Greenwich Village folk scene is pretty much forgotten in the modern era and the Coen's bring the whole scene back with the somber atmosphere and raw emotion that folk music captured while also recognizing just how much of an impact the movement had on the overall landscape of music. Inside Llewyn Davis has all the dark humor, excellent acting and cynicism you've come to expect from the Coen Brothers film. I still can't believe the Academy all but completely ignored this film.
4/5 Stars
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit absolutely is Mission Impossible lite, but it still manages to be a service spy flick despite its lack of originality. The story is engaging and the cast headlined by Chris Pine as the titular character and Kenneth Branaugh (who also directs) hamming it up as the villainous Russian CEO/terrorist Ryan has to track down, give spirited performances. Ironically, where Jack Ryan stumbles is in the action scenes. Branaugh's eye for action he displayed on Thor is not duplicated here as he opts for cuts that are so quick you can't tell what's going on most of the time. Thankfully Jack Ryan is refreshingly low on action relying on the strength of the story and cast to carry the film. I probably won't remember Jack Ryan come the time summer starts, but for an early-year spy flick, this will do pig.
3.5/5 Stars
I, Frankenstein: I, Frankenstein is a completely absurd film. The demon/gargoyle war plotline is pretty muddled and every single actor delivers their lines with such stone-faced seriousness you would think this was a Jane Austen period piece. In spite of this, I, Frankenstein never gets boring. Writer/director Stuart Beattie know his way around an action sequence and the pacing is appropriately breakneck. There's something oddly commendable about a film that manages to get so many things wrong and remain mildly entertaining. Kudos to I, Frankenstein for defying the odds of what traditionally makes enjoyable cinema.
3/5 Stars
Her: Writer/director Spike Jonze deserves a lot of credit for taking a concept that could've been so pretentious and stupid and making it a truly beautiful film that captures the state of relationships and human attachment to technology in the present day with honesty and grace. The script is pretty consistently sharp with a lot of heart-wrenching monologues and moments of pure hilarity to break up the film's serious message. Jonze's vision is enhanced by brilliant performances from Joaquin Phoenix as the vulnerable, depressed recent divorcee Theodore and Scarlett Johansson, who manages to give an emotionally affective with just her voice as the operating system that Theodore falls in love with. The script from Jonze is strong, but it's performances of Phoenix and Johansson that really give Her its soul. The ending is overly sappy and the film does a drag a little bit at times, but for the most part Her is a highly intelligent reflection on modern romance that resonated with me long after the credits rolled.
4/5 Stars
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