Aloha (2015)

Have you ever fallen asleep during a movie, just for like 15 minutes, and then wake up and wonder if you've missed something significant? That's how a good portion of Aloha felt like. Hell, the first 15 minutes of the movie I was wondering if maybe I had missed something. Was I late to the movie?

I can see why Aloha has been getting beat up by the critics. It's so scattered and disjointed. Most of the movie I'm trying to tie things together that the movie should be doing. I have no problem with having to figure things out on your own, but this was a case where it was just too distracting. It felt like large chunks of the movie and character interaction was missing. Left on the editing floor perhaps?

It's also super melodramatic, which is magnified by the fact that you don't have a deep understanding of all the character relationships. It's all forced and felt rushed. It's like when they bring out your entree at that same time as your salad and appetizers. Don't force feed me everything at once.

This also had the distinction of have a fantastic cast, but somehow nearly everyone (except maybe for Rachel McAdams) felt miscast. It's a shame because I felt like the actors were trying, but the direction, or the script, or the editing really let them down. On the other hand, can you imagine Emma Stone or Rachel McAdams instead of Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire?

I will admit that I kind of liked the ending. It was surprisingly emotional, but in a better movie where I was more invested, it would have affected me more. I also really liked the music, but that doesn't give the story a pass.

Aloha is one of those films that feels a lot longer than it actually is. I thought I'd been watching the film for well over two hours by the time it was all over (it's a hour and 45 minutes).

It's not the kind of bad where you feel insulted or anything like that, it just doesn't work as well as you'd like. This is a rental. Maybe if we get a director's cut it might flow a little better, so hopefully we'll get something like that. Otherwise, watch The Descendants instead. It's a better movie set in Hawaii.

2 (out of 5) Death Stars

The Monuments Men (2014)

I heard the working title for The Monuments Men was Monument's Eleven.

Okay, I didn't actually hear that, but that's the vibe I got while watching The Monuments Men. George Clooney assembles a team, albeit an older one, but still happens to include MATT DAMON, to steal back a bunch of stolen art from some asshole. Sound familiar? Same general story, different locale.

In this case the asshole was Hitler, who had the Nazis going around Europe stealing works of art. So, not only was Hitler a genocidal maniac, he was a selfish hoarder. A team led by Lt. Frank Stokes (Clooney) is tasked with finding, recovering and returning these works of art. There's also concern that Hitler will destroy it all when they lose the war (since this is based on true events, we all know it's not going to go well for Hitler). Plus, the Russians are also trying to loot the art for their own collection.

Joining Stokes' team is Bob Balaban, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville and Bill Murray. It's a great cast and they play well off each other, but we spend so little time with any of them that it seems like a waste. I can't recall many movies where I felt like Bill Murray was underused, but it happens here. Everyone is off in smaller, two man teams, rarely spending any time together as a full group. We barely learn anything about the Men as a result. Much like I complained in Lone Survivor, I could hardly remember any character's name by the end of the film.

Matt Damon spends most of his time with Cate Blanchett, but can you blame him? I'd much rather spend time with her than a bunch of guys. Blanchett plays a French national working at the Louvre who also wants to recover the art, but doesn't trust Damon and the American's intentions. Like the rest of the cast, Blanchett was underused, and it's a shame to get someone like her and have her do so little. She's not even on the poster, so it's not like she was cast for her star power or box office draw. There's nothing in the role that they couldn't have just gotten a lesser known, French actress. This isn't a knock on Blanchett, but more the lack of development in the characters.  Nobody is really required to do any heavy lifting.

The Monuments Men also runs a tad too long. After many, many scenes series of them driving back and forth, going through various art caches, it gets a little repetitive. Some scenes felt totally unnecessary. The narrative is very scattered as it randomly jumps around without any rhyme or reason.

There's very little tension (again, we know how it's going to turn out), and many of the moments where they attempt to build some suspense are immediately diffused with humor. It's surprisingly light, despite being framed around World War II and people dying around them. There are many times where it tries to pull on the heart strings a little, but fails to connect and comes off as sappy, especially with the overstated score.

I can see how George Clooney was trying to make a statement about the importance of art as their grander purpose, but this gets lost in the inconsistent tone of the film. Of Clooney's directed films, this is the weakest I can recall and felt like more of a pet project where he assembled a few friends to make a film.

The Monuments Men assembles a great cast and is pleasant enough, but substitutes charm for a compelling story or characters. It's ultimately forgettable, but the kind of film you'd probably enjoy if you caught on cable when flipping channels. Nothing you need to rush out and see, but not that bad either.

2.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) - Movie Reivew

If I told you a movie begins with a former President getting a hand job, which President would you guess was receiving it?  Clinton?  JFK?

No, I'm not kidding.  In the opening moments of Hyde Park on Hudson we see a very awkward scene of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Bill Murray) getting a hand job in his car from his fifth-cousin Daisy (Laura Linney).  You read that part right, too. His fifth-cousin, a distant relative.  I was initially kind of thrown off by the fact they were even keeping track that far.  Perhaps that's a thing of the past, but I usually don't hear of people mentioning any relation past the 2nd or 3rd cousin these days.  Maybe that's not a good thing we aren't keeping track anymore, or simply a reflection of how many more people there are, and how diverse the gene pool is getting.  Besides all of that, I though it was kind of sick that there was any relation between the two at all, as well as being kind of a disrespectful way to look at a former President.

Enough rambling.  Awkwardness abounds in Hyde Park on Hudson.  That really is the theme of the film.  You have an awkward beginning in a movie full of awkward humor and moments.  There's so much of it that I think it undercut the film.

While the movie begins with the affair between FDR and Daisy, the central, and more important, event of the film is that King George VI (Samuel West, who plays the same, stuttering King from The King's Speech) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) are coming to visit FDR at his family estate.  King George was the first reigning monarch to visit the United States, and it was presumed that he was going to ask for the US's aid leading up to WWII.  It's a pretty important event, but the movie divides it's focus between this and FDR's affairs.  The film is partially based on personal letters between Daisy and FDR found after her death, and the movie is also narrated by her character.

I wish I could tell you what kind of movie this was supposed to be.  It varied throughout between a light comedy, a historical drama, and then it would spend time as a character piece showing FDR's character flaws regarding women.  It's very choppy, and it suffers from really poor pacing.  I was shocked to see that the film was only 95 minutes, as it felt like it was well over two hours.  Director Roger Michell really couldn't decide on a tone or consistent direction.  His most recent credit was 2010's Morning Glory, another movie that I thought suffered from not knowing what kind of film it wanted to be.

There are some funny moments, but they primarily revolve around the cultural differences between the US and England, so you get a lot of those awkward, 'fish out of water' moments.  The humor fell pretty flat though, and I don't recall the movie getting more than just a light chuckle out of me once or twice.  Richard Nelson's script really needed some life to it, but I also think it was a mistake to base the screenplay off of Daisy's personal letters and diaries.  Outside of being someone FDR was having an affair with, there's really no significance to her character at all, and she has no impact on the outcome of the film.  Plus, if we're going to compare Presidential affairs to someone like JFK, then Daisy is certainly no Marilyn Monroe.

Even though Daisy narrates the film, she's not in it for large parts of the movie, or is relegated to a background role, as she doesn't have much to do with the larger events that are going on.  I've always liked Laura Linney, but I didn't think this was one of her stronger roles.  I don't think it's the fault of her performance necessarily, it's just not a very strong character.  Even Eleanor Roosevelt (Olivia Williams) is barely a side character in the film.

However, I thought Bill Murray was very charismatic as FDR, but when isn't Bill Murray charismatic?  He's the strength of the film and it really suffers when he's not on screen.  There's a scene that really made me take notice of this where King George and FDR are having a drink together and sharing stories.  They're just talking as men, and it's the kind of thing that made you wish the whole movie would have just been about their developing relationship and the historical impact of it.

While Hyde Park on Hudson has a charismatic performance from Bill Murray as FDR, it suffers from really inconsistent tone and very poor pacing.  It's a hard movie to recommend even for die-hard Murray fans or those that like historical biopics.  It's a rental at best.

2 (out of 5) Death Stars

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - Movie Review

I really would love to know what goes on in Wes Anderson's head or where his mind goes to come up with this stuff.

Moonrise Kingdom is the story of young love, but as with many Wes Anderson films, is fleshed out with unusual characters, situations and dialog.  Similar to other Anderson films, the movie feels more like fairy tale than something that could actually happen.

The story takes place in the 60's on a small island.  Two young pre-teens, Sam and Suzy, meet and decide to run away together.  They plan this over a series of letters for a year.  Sam (Jared Gilman) is an orphan and really isn't able to bond or relate to anyone from his "Khaki Scout" troop, where Suzy (Kara Hayward) also feels like she doesn't identify her family.  Once it's discovered that they've both run away, this causes a panicked search by Suzy's parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand), the scout troop and scoutmaster (Edward Norton), and local policeman Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis).

If it wasn't so tastefully done, I might have been creeped out more by the burgeoning love between Sam and Suzy.  We are dealing with kids here and during some of their more intimate moments it can be a little uncomfortable to watch.  It works because you actually become invested in their adventure and want to see them prevail against the odds. The whole movie hinges on whether or not you like them.  Anderson made a bold choice going with two newcomers in his lead roles, but Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward were both adorable and sympathetic.  Who doesn't remember their first love or crush?  Their portrayal is very heartfelt and I'm impressed Anderson got these this kind of performances out of two kids, let alone kids in their first film.  It's a testament to his skill as a director.

The adults are really secondary characters here.  Of course Bill Murray is back; you can't have a Wes Anderson film without him, but I didn't feel like he had all that much to do.  His character goes through the movie seemingly depressed, contrasted with Frances McDormand's frantic portrayal as Suzy's mother.  Ed Norton and Bruce Willis both were fantastic.  I love seeing actors play against type and they both did a great job here.  Ed Norton plays his scoutmaster with an earnestness that defines his character.  Willis gives a more subdued performance as he bonds with Sam, and eventually butt heads with Social Services (Tilda Swinton).  There are many other fun, smaller roles, but I won't spoil those for you.

There's a great use of color, music and attention to detail that really makes this feel authentic. Anderson has always had a very distinct visual style and his films feel like they are from a different time.  This time we actually know they are in the 60's, but it doesn't feel forced into that period.

Moonrise Kingdom does start out a little on the slow side, but it continues to build and get more unusual along the way.  It's only 93 minutes, so the pacing overall was good.  It never felt like it was going to run on too long.

The script by Anderson and Roman Coppola is full of the deadpan and quirky humor you've come to expect.  Anderson's films have never really been for everyone, so I can see people complaining that this it too cute or too quirky.  This isn't the film that's going to win you over if you haven't been a fan of his previously.  If you aren't familiar with him, then this is a good starter film into his universe.

After a few lackluster movies, Moonrise Kingdom shows that Wes Anderson is as strong as ever.  If you're a fan, then I think you're going to really love this.  It's a cute story about first love that has all the charm, humor and great performances you'd want.  This is in limited release, so it might not be playing near you, but don't hesitate to go a little out of your way for this one.

4.5 (out of 5) Death Stars