Exodus: Gods And Kings Review

Finally got to see Exodus: Gods and Kings

SPOILER FREE

Let me start off by saying I am a fan of the 1956 Charlton Heston classic The Ten Commandments, and also a fan of Ridley Scott. However I am a fan of his early work leading up until 2007. I greatly admire his work of Duelists, Alien, Blade Runner, Legend, Black Rain, 1492 A Conquest of Paradise Thelma and Louise, White Squall, GI Jane, Gladiator, Hannibal, Kingdom of Heaven, and American Gangster. I feel his more recent efforts though have been severely lacking substance even though they clearly have the style and visual impact. Prometheus was an amazing film to look at but was also a terrible film in terms of story structure and numerous plotholes. Robin Hood was disappointing when you look at the work Scott produced prior to it's release with Gladiator, and The Counselor was rather dull and boring. One can make a really good argument that Scott just simply isn't the phenomenal director he once was. Someone who took you on an epic journey with his characters but also made you think about their experience long after exiting the theater. What happened to this man? Going into Exodus I was fearful of how the film was going to turn out because I find it hard to trust him after his recent stream of failures, and having reasonable knowledge of the story of Moses. It also didn't help that the film got verbally bashed by critics and audiences. I had little hope for this movie. Now that I have seen the movie and had time to process it, I can now give my honest two cents on it.

I find it very shocking that this movie not only got the critical panning it received but even more striking that I actually liked it very much. I was expecting to totally despise and tear this one down when doing my review because that's how Ridley Scott's last three movies have left me feeling. Not only did I find Exodus to be visually stunning but it did a pretty decent job of bringing the story of Moses to life. That's not to say the film doesn't have any problems, it has quite a bit. Some of it's real serious ones are in the editing of the film, making the story often feel rushed at times and it beginning with no true introduction of the characters. That may be an issue that can be resolved with a directors cut on DVD/Blu Ray since Ridley Scott tends to always put one out of his movies after their theatrical releases. The story for Exodus centers around defiant leader Moses played by Christian Bale, who rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses played by Joel Edgerton, placing 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues. The film follows the basic storyline of the biblical tale, and has fairly good casting choices in the parts. Christian Bale gives an effective performance as Moses, showing both his denial, confusion, acceptance, and determination to embrace his true self and lead his people out of Egypt. Joel Edgerton gives a strong performance as Ramses, showing his lack of understanding and blindness to everything that's happening around him, and the wanting to keep order throughout Egypt. Ben Kingsley is terrific as the elderly Hebrew slave Nun, who knows of Moses true identity and instantly see's a leader deep inside the shell of the Pharaoh's son. Exodus works through the strong acting performances it delivers, the striking visual background of Egypt, and the powerful score that accompanies it. It's shortcomings range from poor editing decisions in certain parts of the film, making it feel as if more was actually happening but got cut out of the final cut. The film has no real introduction and artistic liberties have been taken with the story to make it more supernatural. An example is the voice of God being replaced by a young child who Moses see's in the desert and commands him to do what he ultimately ends up doing. Wouldn't it be more effective to have an actual voice of God speak to Moses from the Heavens? The film doesn't go off the rails with this freedom of artistic expression like Darron Aronofsky's Noah, but it does take certain directions at times that some audiences may or may not agree with.

Overall, Exodus is far from being the disaster it's being made out to be in the press, and is worth watching if you want an epic drama that does reasonable justice to the storyline of Moses. It should never be compared to Cecil B DeMilles classic 1956 film, but seen as it's own interpretation and reimagining. Bale and Edgerton give strong and powerful performances, and the film does hit the right notes when looking at the overall spectrum of the film. However, much of it's flaws will not be fixed unless Ridley Scott releases an official directors cut of the movie when it hits home video. There is much more to this story than what's being shown in theaters.

                                                                                                                                              7.5/10

Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb.

                                                                              

Finally got to see Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb

SPOILER FREE

Before discussing this one, it's probably best to revert back to the previous two installments in the popular family-oriented trilogy. The first Night at the Museum was a solid entertaining family film that had a neat concept to it while also carrying a healthy amount of heart to it. Ben Stiller was appealing in the lead role leading a supporting cast of iconic characters that are actual artifacts in a museum. The second film wasn't quite as good as the first but wasn't terrible, though by that time, it became abundantly clear the scripts were beginning to grow stale. Amy Adams brought a nice breath of fresh air to the film, and so did Hank Azaria as the villain. Now 9 years after the franchise started, we reach it's conclusion which is a sad one I might add with the recent deaths of Robin Williams and Mickey Rooney. I went into this film not allowing those two incidents to influence my opinion of the film and to judge the movie on it's own right. So how did Night at the Museum 3 perform you might ask?

For the most part, the movie succeeds as being a decent piece of entertainment, and a fitting end to a luxurious career that Robin Williams led. However, the film as a whole isn't that great and shows that the franchise was truly in desperate need of retiring. Usually by the time a comedic trilogy reaches it's third film, the jokes have grown to be quite stale. The same can kind of be said about this one. The plot of the film deals with the character Larry played by Ben Stiller, going across the globe uniting new characters while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever and his museum inhabitants return to being pure statues. What makes the story work for this one is it still carries with it a good ounce of heart, giving the audience the feeling that this is truly the end. These characters that you have grown to like since the first film are in the fight of their life and unless they can get back the magical tablet that allows them to roam free throughout the museum, they will be finished. Even though the storyline works, it feels underdeveloped at times like it could've and should've been bigger in scope. The whole subplot between Stiller's character and his son in the film leaves a lot to be desired in the audiences eyes, and a question mark looms of what happened with the fateful meeting of Amy Adams human form at the end of the second movie. Her absence is missed here, and a really good opportunity to see where Stiller's character ended up with his moment of good fortune at the end of the second film is wasted. Stiller gives an admirable performance as the kind and adventurous museum guard whose getting a real kick out of the magic he's unearthed but is heartbroken to see it all come to an end and having to move forward. Other actors who give strong performances are Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, making you just fall in love with his depiction of the iconic figure while also feeling an ounce of sadness to his character. Owen Wilson shines as Jedediah, Dan Stevens as Sir Lancelot, Steve Coogan as Octavius, and Ben Kingsley as Merenkahre. There's even a nice celebrity cameo involving Hugh Jackman in the films third act which is sure to bring in laughs from the audience.What starts off as a rather dry first part of the film gradually improves once the museum characters take off to search for the magical tablet, and concludes with a heartfelt climax. One of the film's best moments comes near the end when Teddy Roosevelt bids farewell to Larry, feeling almost like Williams is saying goodbye to the audience.

Overall, Night at the Museum 3 is a solid conclusion to a franchise that's directly aimed at young children and families. It may not be as good as it could've been as a series wrapper, but it is not the disaster that it could've been like another third film in a similar series called Mummy 3:Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor. If you want some decent laughs and a sense of adventure, then this film is recommended. If you're looking for something with a stronger script and more serious tone, then Exodus is the direction to head towards.

                                                                                                                                                   7/10

Breach The Devils Contract And Your Ass Is Fucked Night

 

Tonight's marathon is all about witnessing peoples experiences and dealings with the devil. There is only one pure simple fact that can be said about all of these experiences with him....If you breach his contract, then your ass is toast. Tonight we experience some of the most intense and powerful experiences people have when encountering pure evil, and realizing that in order to truly overcome and defeat it, one has to make the ultimate sacrifice. We have on our menu for this evening:

The Exorcist 1973, Constantine 2005, The Devils Advocate 1997, and End of Days 1999

We begin the evening with one of the scariest films of all time. The Exorcist is one of the last great horror films in cinema and scared the socks off millions of people since it's release in 1973. The Exorcist deals with a young teenage girls mother trying to seek help from two priests to perform an exorcism on her daughter after a strange entity takes possession of her body. The Exorcist is the perfect start for this marathon as it begins the theme of a young girl being possessed by the devil as a form of evil emerging from the darkness. Its essentially a classic tale of good vs evil with the fight to save one girls soul from being totally corrupted. The second film in the lineup is Constantine starring Keanu Reeves and Rachael Weisz. In this supernatural tale, an irreverent supernatural detective named John Constantine is an exorcist whose been to hell and back. His soul has been sentenced to hell and he tries to get on good terms with God by deporting demons yet God wants self sacrifice. Rachael Weisz's character investigates the mysterious suicide of her twin sister and goes out in search of the truth. Together Constantine and Angela battle the demons of the earth. This film is more over the top and sadistic than The Exorcist by showing us the first physical appearance of Satan played by Peter Stormare, It also begins a two part story arc involving Keanu Reeves hunting demons in this film and being manipulated by one in the next film. The third movie in the lineup is The Devils Advocate. The Devils Advocate deals with an exceptional Florida lawyer played by Reeves who always sets out to win every court case he takes. He is offered a job in New York City for a high-end law firm with a high-end boss propelling him to take the biggest opportunity of his life. However, that opportunity doesn't come without a cost which ultimately is to make a deal with the devil. Al Pacino gives what is probably the greatest performance of the devil in film history, and is the only film where Keanu Reeves showed some true acting talent. The final film of the evening is the action packed blockbuster End of Days starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Gabriel Byrne. End of Days begins at the end of the century in the year 1999 when Satan visits New York in search of a bride. It's up to an ex cop named Jericho, who becomes assigned to protect the man that's being controlled by the devil and protect the woman whose meant to be the devils wife to bear his child, that'll bring about the end of civilization. Gabriel Byrne gives probably the second best performances as Satan behind Al Pacino, and Arnold Schwarzeneggar gives one of his most humane performances here as a broken down cop whose experience loss at the hands of pure evil but while battling the devil, slowly rediscovers his faith.

Rescuing The Hostages Day

Tonight's marathon is a combination of some intense yet great stories about rescuing hostages from heist and terrorist situations. The situations range from being true events to completely fictional and great works of entertainment. The stakes get bigger with each film from a group of hostages in Iran being taken hostage to a 40 story building and an entire city becoming under siege. Whether you agree with this marathon lineup or not, all the films work brilliantly together to show some of the greatest rescue missions and prevention of heist robberies and terrorism ever put on film. We have on our menu for this evening:

 Argo 2012, Inside Man 2007, Die Hard 1988, The Rock 1996, and The Dark Knight Rises 2012

We begin the lineup with Ben Affleck's 2012 Oscar Winning thriller Argo. Based on true events, a CIA agent played by Ben Affleck, acting under disguise as a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, he launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S hostage crisis in Iran in 1980. Winner of three academy awards including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Film Editing, this film is exciting, suspenseful, well executed, and begins the theme of hostages being taken and rescued beautifully. The next film in the lineup is 2006's Inside Man, starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Clive Owen. Denzel Washington plays a police detective, Clive Owen as the bank robber, and Jodie Foster as a high-power broker, who all enter a game of high-stakes negotiations after the criminals bank heist turns into a hostage situation. Inside Man introduces the theme of a heist occurring inside a building and the police trying to negotiate the release of the hostages with the robbers. The third film in the lineup is the 1988 action movie classic Die Hard. This third film in the marathon is the movie that turned both Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman into overnight movie stars. Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a New York city police detective who got invited to a Christmas party by his wife Holly McClane played by Bonnie Bedelia. During the party, the guests are taken hostage by German terrorists in a heist led by Hans Gruber. It is up to John McClane to save the hostages including his wife while being trapped in a 40 floor building at Nakatomi Towers in Los Angeles. Die Hard is perhaps one of the greatest influential action movies of all time, and one of the cinemas most thrilling films. The film takes the theme of rescuing hostages, and preventing a major heist to the next level with rollercoaster action. Michael Bay's The Rock keeps this trend going with Alcatraz island being taken hostage in San Francisco. A mild -mannered chemist played by Nicolas Cage and an ex-con played by Sean Connery are left with the task of leading a counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco. Two actors that steal the show in this film are Ed Harris and Michael Biehn in the epic shower standoff scene between the marines and terrorists over whose in control of the situation. The final film of the evening is the biggest film of them all in terms of scope. Christopher Nolan's epic conclusion to his Batman trio with The Dark Knight Rises places Bruce Wayne/Batman fighting to save Gotham city from being taken under siege by a terrorist named Bane. The twist is a nuclear bomb is set to detonate and destroy Gotham city unless the citizens as well as Batman stand up against the army that Bane has created to bring justice to Gotham city. All the themes that run through this marathon such as fighting terrorism, saving hostages, and bringing justice are brought together with this films climax.

Musical Night

Tonight's marathon covers one of the more popular genres in film while at the same time being one of the most divisive ones. Tonight is all about exploring some of the more popular films in the musical genre of filmmaking. All four of these movies are critically acclaimed Oscar nominated films that blew peoples minds upon first viewing them. We have on our menu for this evening:

   Chicago 2002, Across The Universe 2007, The Phantom Of The Opera 2004, and Les Miserables 2012

Some of the themes of tonight's marathon that these musicals cover are greed, fame, orphaned children, regret, love, racism, movements in the 1960s, stealing, poverty, determinism vs free will, unfair social and political conditions, and obsessive behavior. Not only does the audience get some great musical set pieces but also get a powerful and ultimately moving experience with some of these characters. We begin the marathon with the Oscar Winning musical from 2002 titled Chicago. The film deals with murderesses Velma Kelly played by Oscar winner Catherine Zeta Jones and Roxie Hart played by Renee Zellweger finding themselves on death row together and fighting for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920's Chicago. Nominated for 13 academy awards and winner of 6, the film earned a win for Catherine Zeta Jones, as well as nominations for Renee Zellweger, Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. The next film in the lineup is Across The Universe, a visual feast that includes music from the legendary band The Beatles. Nominated for an Oscar in best achievement and costume design, the movie covers the era of music with the Beatles and the Vietnam War, coming together to form a backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist. The third movie in the lineup is Joel Schumacher's 2004 musical The Phantom Of The Opera. In this film, a young soprano played by Emmy Rossum, becomes the obsession of a disfigured musical genius played by Gerard Butler, who lives beneath the Paris Opera House. The music and performances are what drives this one towards being a worthy retelling of the classic story and is a far better effort than Joel Schumacher's prior directorial effort such as Batman and Robin. The final film of the evening is the 2012 musical drama titled Les Miserables. From the Oscar winning director of The Kings Speech, this critically acclaimed retelling takes place in 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. This decision changes their lives forever. When one thinks of this movie, two great performances come to mind. That of Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway. The latter had such a scene stealing presence that earned her the golden statue. Hathaway was amazing in this movie and her performance reached a core with the audience that no one else in the film was able to touch. The worst singer in this film hands down goes to Russell Crowe, a great actor but not an exceptional singer.

With all four of these movies paired together, one gets a solid pairing of musical films that represents the genre in some of it's greatest forms.

Nightcrawler Review

So I finally got to see Nightcrawler

SPOILER FREE

Let me start off by saying I am a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal. I think he produces a solid trackrecord of films and churns out strong performances in them such as October Sky, Donnie Darko, The Day After Tomorrow, Jarhead, Brokeback Mountain, Zodiac, Rendition, Brothers, Love and Other Drugs, The Source Code, End of Watch, and Prisoners. As you can see, his body of work is very impressive and he's got the acting chops to back it up. I also really like Rene Russo, enjoying her work in Lethal Weapon series, Ransom, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Outbreak. The combination of these two with a solid script equals a quality film in my eyes. Going into Nightcrawler, I expected nothing less than that and in the end I got just that.

The plot for Nightcrawler deals with Lou Bloom, a driven man played by Gyllenhaal whose desperate for work, finds himself in the world of L.A. crime journalism. Here he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his efforts is Nina, a TV-news veteran played by Rene Russo. The plot is solid enough to where it allows the movie to be exciting and thought provoking posing some very ethical questions. Examples are what would you do if you were in Gyllenhaals shoes if you had an opportunity to record a story or be apart of one for career advancement. His character is well aware of the power he holds on the news station because he is able to capture footage of crimes no one else can, and uses that to his advantage. Right off the bat, you can tell his character is off and that's further proven when he tries to make passes at his much older boss. The two strongest aspects of this film is are the performances from Gyllenhaal and Russo, and the script. The directing from Dan Gilroy, gives the film a slick atmosphere, allowing for plenty of nightly scenes and dark atmospheres in newsrooms or restaurants. What holds your attention with this film is the synopsis, and the wondering of what Lou is gonna do next. The suspense with his character continuously builds up until the shocking climax. He is such an interesting character that you find yourself wondering what his motives are ultimately. It is the performance of Gyllenhaal that makes this one thrilling and restless. You are captivated by his character and at times on the edge of your seat. Add with that the visual style of the film and a script that allows deep thought provoking questions, and Nightcrawler is one of the more intelligent films of the fall season. Here's hoping that Jake Gyllenhaal receives some Oscar nominated love come this award ceremony.

                                                                                                                                                    8/10

                                                     

Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies Review

So I finally got to watch The Battle Of Five Armies

SPOILER FREE

Before weighing in on The Battle Of Five Armies, I think it's appropriate to revert back to the other two installments of the Hobbit trilogy and Lord of the Rings briefly before discussing the newest film. Let me start by saying I absolutely adore the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. I never got to see those films in theaters during their initial runs which was a huge regret to me until they replayed them in a 2012 marathon upon the release of An Unexpected Journey. What makes them great to me is they take you on a journey with their characters in this truly incredible universe that was not seen before previously if you don't include the original Star Wars trilogy. To me those are the two greatest trilogies in the genre of fantasy. Lord of the Rings is a remarkable filmmaking achievement and one of the rare trilogies that gets better with each installment. My personal favorite film in that trilogy is Return of the King which currently sits in my top 15 movies of all time list. Having said that, I have some strong opinions towards the Hobbit trilogy. On one hand, I enjoyed the new series to a certain extent but also feel that it has certain flaws which hold it back from being as great as Lord of the Rings. I understand that both series are separate and The Hobbit is only 320 pages compared to the three books the original trilogy followed under, but I also feel that's where the problem comes in. How does 320 pages qualify as being its own trilogy? That was an issue on every fans minds going into the newer trilogy. Unlike most people who were disappointed by An Unexpected Journey, I really liked it. It kept the spirit of the original films and felt like another great adventure was starting up again. The soundtrack was also very Lord of the Rings utilizing many familiar musical tones while also creating some great ones of it's own such as Song of Lonely Mountain. The Desolation of Smaug I didn't enjoy as much as Unexpected Journey because it felt that the majority of it was just character and story filler to get to the real event of the film which was the introduction of the dragon Smaug. Smaug is truly amazing to look at visually but the problem lied with waiting two hours to get to the point where he shows up then cut the film right when his character's story arc was about to begin. Looking back now that all three films are linked together, that one doesn't appear to be as terrible now but is still my least favorite of all six. I guess you're all wondering how Battle of Five Armies did huh? Well here it is.....

I liked it. The film is not without it's issues such as the overuse of CGI, unnecessary humor during the battle sequences in the films third act and just an overall feeling that the trilogy as a whole doesn't compare to the greater one it gets linked too, but in the end its a good movie. Battle of Five Armies is the Return of the King of the newer trilogy giving it an epic and grand feel that feels more Lord of the Rings than Desolation of Smaug did. The plot of the film lies with Bilbo and the Company of the Dwarves being forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keeping the Lone Mountain from falling into the hands of a rising darkness. While at the same time, contending with the wrath of the mountains dragon named Smaug.The emotion with the characters is present here such as the friendship with Bilbo and Thorin that ends in tragedy. The film also contains more heart than the previous installment and feels more epic in scope. The opening sequence with Smaug destroying Laketown is phenomenal and one of the great high points of this new trilogy. Benedict Cumberbatch's voicing of Smaug is chilling yet terrific. Martin Freeman's performance as Bilbo Baggins is the most emotional of all three movies, and falls in line with Ian Holm's performance as the older Bilbo perfectly. Ian Mckellen does great as usual as Gandalf, showing us that no one else on Earth could've played this part better. He was born for this role. Richard Armitage as Thorin was at his best here and really captured the corruption the mountain of treasure was having on his characters state of mind. Orlando Bloom shines again as Legolas, though it feels a little weird that he's in this trilogy. His character attributes to some of the more glaring flaws of this film involving the overuse of CGI.

Battle of Five Armies directed by Peter Jackson feels more like LOTR in this film than the last one did. It's gritty, rich, grand, handled with great care and heart, and done in a way where it begins to take the shape and form of the movies that lay before it. Howard Shore's score for Battle of Five Armies marks a considerable improvement over Desolation of Smaug's soundtrack, adding more familiar tunes such as the one involving Bilbo and the Shire. Though one wishes that Shore and Jackson used the Lonely Mountain theme throughout the whole trilogy instead of just one film. To me, that was the theme that represented the entire Hobbit trilogy and became a wasted opportunity not having it in the latter films. It would've gone great here. The film has some touching moments such as the final scenes with Bilbo and Thorin reminding viewers of the friendship Frodo and Sam had in the original trilogy. I do wish that Jackson gave the film a little more of an emotional punch like he did with Return of the King. That's not to say the drama isn't there but it could've been more powerful. The movie's final moments do what Revenge of the Sith did for the Star Wars prequels, which is to bridge together the two trilogies by making sure all the puzzle pieces are in place. However, when one watches the final minutes of Five Armies, one gets the feeling that even thought he trilogy as a whole is a satisfying journey...it just doesn't compare to the greatness of the first films. I understand those who say you can't compare the two trilogies because the stories are different but in all honestly, it's human nature to do so especially if the same characters are used.

In the end, Battle of Five Armies provides a reasonable satisfying conclusion to The Hobbit trilogy, though the debate will always carry on whether these movies really should've been three films. Personally, Jackson would've done just as good or better with two movies. Having three movies is more of the studios doing than his own. If you were one of those people who loved Unexpected Journey but found disappointment with Desolation of Smaug, Battle of Five Armies will win you back as a fan. If you loved the first two going into this one, then you have nothing to worry about. If you are someone who feels the first two films are not on the same calibar as LOTR and feel disappointment, this movie will not bring you back to that level but it's worth seeing because it's a good finish to not just one but two trilogies as a whole. With this film. Peter Jackson bids farewell to a universe that he not only brought to the big screen, but over the course of 13 years has become one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons in movie history.
                                                                                                                                                8/10