The Gambler: It should be noted that The Gambler is not
the slick, tension-filled crime drama that it's marketed as. This
misleading advertising has pissed a lot of people of and led to a
downright terrible reception of the film. What The Gambler actually
is an atmospheric character study about Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a college professor that has had his life completely destroyed by his degenerate gambling habits. Wahlberg gets a lot of flack for his lack of emotion and range
as an actor, but he kills it here. Wahlberg portrays the miserable
shell of a person with bravado and understated grace. Bennett is a man that has become emotionally numb because of his gambling
problem. He's severed the ties with everyone close to him and everyone that's still in his life is just a pawn that he uses for some kind of personal gain. A lot of the
power of this performance seems to gotten have lost because Bennett is such a soulless prick that's damn near impossible to root for, but for me at least, how overwhelmingly unlikable the character is a testament to the sheer strength of Wahlberg's acting. Supporting players
John Goodman and Michael K. Williams also excel in limited screen time.
Goodman gives the film a sharp comedic edge as a loan shark who could
potentially save Bennett from his massive debts while Williams hams up
the screen as one of the many powerful criminals Bennett owes money to. The Gambler certainly
never reaches its full potential as it reduces great talents like
Jessica Lange and Brie Larson to minimal, pointless roles, has some
serious pacing problems and contains a script from William Monahan that
is more than a little rough around the edges. Even with its treasure
trove of flaws, The Gambler is still a beautifully-shot and exceptionally acted
film that's worth checking if you're a fan of grimy character study's.
3.5/5 Stars
Top Five: After
20+ years of making movies, Chris Rock has finally made a film that
matches the hilarity, energy and overall genius of his stand-up. Rock
was clearly hungry to prove himself as a filmmaker/writer/actor after years of being chastised for his film choices ,and Top Five is
about a strong of a statement as you could possibly make. The film
centers around Andre Allen (Rock), a stand-up comedian turned movie superstar who's fallen on hard times
after he enters rehab for alcoholism, and chooses to follow up a string of stupid comedy
blockbusters with a film about the Haitian slave rebellion. To promote
his new film and desire to taken seriously as a dramatic actor, he
reluctantly agrees to do an interview with a New York Times reporter
(Rosario Dawson). Over the course of spending a day in New York getting interviewed and visiting with a number of family members and childhood friends, Allen gains some clarity on his career and who he really is as a person. The premise may seem simple on the surface, but Rock
is able to explore a lot of serious subject matter gracefully throughout
film. Rock's script has plenty of smart commentary on
dealing with alcoholism, self-doubt, the pressures of remaining relevant
in the ever-changing landscape of Hollywood, American culture's
obsession with reality television and above all, the importance of
meaningful relationships. Being able to richly develop all of these vastly
different themes in one linear story without making then feel forced is a
major accomplishment. Rock is never given enough credit for how
intelligent he is, and hopefully people will start to realize just how
brilliant he is after watching this film. Of course, Top Five isn't
strictly about making strong statements about serious subject matters,
the film is also freaking hysterical. The jokes don't come a
mile-a-minute like your average comedy, but when they do, they land with brute force. There was
numerous times in Top Five where I was keeled over in my seat
with tears in my eyes and left short of breath from laughing so hard.
No one besides Rock or Dawson (who are both excellent) is on screen for more than 10 minutes, so
Rock calls on a lot of his talented friends to make extended cameos to
generate laughs. The likes of Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Jerry
Seinfeld, Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones, Adam Sandler, and a certain
notorious former hip-hop superstar that shall remain nameless for the
sake of surprise all kill it in just a scene or two on-screen. In all my years of watching films, I've never seen a comedy make better use of a revolving door of minor characters. Top Five is
the rare comedy that not only produces side-splitting laughs , but
also tells a thoughtful story with very well-developed characters. This is easily one of the best and flat-out under-appreciated films of 2014.
4.5/5 Stars
The Interview: The
film that almost got the United States nuked may be entirely unworthy of the
controversy it created, but that doesn't mean it's not still a highly amusing film. Anyone
expecting a lot of hard-hitting political commentary on the state of
North Korea and Kim Jong-Un's mass oppression of his people is going to leave The Interview sorely disappointed. The Interview
is nothing but Seth Rogen and his cronies going outside of the box to
make a dumb comedy with a brilliant albeit absurd premise that's rooted in reality. Just like Pinapple Express, The Interview is driven by the rapport that Rogen and James
Franco have with one another, and their ability to come up with so much great material on the fly. Their ability to play off each other's dialogue so naturally and effortlessly makes them a joy to watch every time they're on screen together. While the style of humor and Rogen and Franco's chemistry is expected, there are still a few surprises along the way. The Interview serves as the perfect coming out party for little-known talents Randall Park and Diana Bang. Park (The Five-Year Engagement, Veep) lights up the screen with his portrayal of Un as a goofy, misunderstood guy who just happens to be a ruthless dictator while Bang shows impeccable comic timing and a knack for deadpan delivery as one of Un's top aides who helps out the bumbling Americans carry out their assassination attempt. While The Interview is certainly not a comedy classic and doesn't come even remotely close to touching Rogen's best work, it's still a frequently hilarious and ridiculously fun film. At the end of the day, I'm just glad Sony reversed course and released this film after all.
4/5 Stars
Foxcatcher: Foxcatcher might as well also be known as "the film that showcases the dramatic acting talents of actors that no one thought had dramatic acting talent." Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum, and to a lesser extent, Mark Ruffalo go well out of their established comfort zones here and deliver. Carrell's turn as John du Pont, the psychopathic loner benefactor who wants to be the face of American wrestling is easily the most well-publicized of the three lead actors. And for good reason- as he makes the biggest transformation of the trio. Carrell's work as du Pont is worthy of all the pre-release critical hype it received. Carrell makes you uneasy every time is he on-screen and fearlessly delves into the complexities that made Du Pont such a sketchy yet intriguing person. Carrel portrays du Pont as a man that was desperate to be seen as an American icon that inspired the wrestlers he coached to be better human beings and successful athletes that made their country proud. It's a startling, transformative performance from Carrell and it's a well-deserving of an Oscar nomination. Tatum and Ruffalo are just as vital to the film's success as the Schultz brothers, who are both former Olympic gold medalists and help make du Pont's disillusions of grandeur a reality. Tatum is appropriately naive and vulnerable as the younger Schultz brother Mark, who is so desperate to escape his brother's shadow that eagerly buys into du Pont's vision without even thinking twice about it. Ruffalo's work as Dave, the wiser older Schultz brother who is initially adamantly opposed to working with du Pont's before he eventually changes his mind once he sees the damage du Pont has done to his brother's psyche. Ruffalo isn't given much to do in the first half of the film, but he steps up to the plate majorly in the second half of the film, and ends up delivering the most powerfully understated performance in the entire film. The acting really is the backbone of the film that distracts the viewer from the film's pretty large narrative issues. Director Bennett Miller's choice to make a heavily atmospheric film out of this true-life story is strikingly powerful at times, but it also holds him back from really cutting deep into the central relationships that drive the story and the character's motives for their actions. If the film had spent more time working on establishing a genuine dynamic between du Pont/Mark and Mark/Dave and in the latter half especially, given the audience a firmer understanding of what drives these character's choices instead of putting in an unnecessary amount of contemplative shots of the character sitting in silence, drawn-out shots of the interior and exterior of du Pont's Foxcatcher estate, etc., it could've easily been the masterful psychological drama it so desperately wanted to be. Foxcatcher is worth checking for the excellent, nuanced performances from its leads, but I fully understand why this film's pre-award season Best Picture buzz has all but completely died down.
3.5/5 Stars
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