BradWesley123's Movie Journal- July 2014

Beautiful CGI

Harmless but cloying-as-hell dramedy featuring some solid work from it's legendary leads. Your grandparents will love it.

It's overlong, overstuffed, and utterly predictable, but The Best Man Holiday has a certain charm that makes it easily watchable, and a very game cast.

There's really no good way to try and describe this movie; It's just one big mind-fuck. Luckily, it's a pretty entertaining one, with strong direction, another excellent performance (or performances) from Gyllenhaal, and numerous shocking plot turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Admittedly though, it does get a bit too cryptic for it's own good, but never enough so as take you out of the movie.

Linklater once again proves his cinematic range with Me and Orson Welles, one of the best and most intriguing films about theater ever made. The biggest problem the film has is one that several biopics have; the lead character. Zac Efron is fine in the lead role of an anxious newcomer mingling with Orson Welles and his troupe, but you have to wonder how much more interesting the movie would've been had they bypassed his character, and the love triangle he has with Welles and Claire Danes character, and focus on Welles himself. Christian McKay is so electrifying in the role of Welles that I wanted to see more of him, and understand him more. Still, this is a very fun, old-fashioned picture.

What else can I say about Planet of the Apes that hasn't already been said? It's a classic.

It's pretty slow, and more than a little opaque, but Certified Copy has so many intriguing concepts that you can't help but keep watching. Binoche and Shimell are both great in the leads, with a natural chemistry that so much of the film's mysteries hinge on.

Bateman does solid work behind and in front of the camera, with confident, sure-footed direction and an against-type performance, but the movie never really breaks free from the numerous movies of it's ilk (i.e. Bad Santa). There are a number of funny moments, largely due to Bateman and a strong supporting cast, with a breakout turn from child actor Rohan Chand. The main issue with the film is the script; most of the time it's cruel, adding shock value for it's own sake, the plot runs out of steam somewhere in the second act, and Bateman's character's reveal at the end doesn't pay off enough to negate the cruelty that came before.

To go through all of the ways that Walk of Shame is awful would be a repetitive chore, so I'll just say that it is totally awful, and borderline unwatchable.

There's nothing really new to be found here, but it does pretty well with the pre-existing formula, adding a few twists and general frankness. Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent are the main attraction, giving their characters a lived-in quality that's completely believable and quite human. Jeff Goldblum pops up too, adding some much needed levity to the film by doing his best Jeff Goldblum impression.

While it is at times too slow and meandering, a lot of Eastwood's screen time could be cut and the movie would probably flow better, A Perfect World is ultimately a thoughtful film about the nature of violence, and the way the past never quite lets go.

Behind the Candelabra is flamboyant and, at times, hammy as hell, but it's also oddly honest and sincere, and incredibly fun. Douglas and Damon are excellent, and this is some of the best cinematic work that Soderbergh has done in years. And I can't go without noting the superb production; from costumes to makeup and so on, this is a wonderfully made film.

Killing Kennedy is a pretty well-made movie, but a completely dull and pointless one as well. It brings nothing new or revalatory to JFK the man, or to his assassination. Even at a slim 87 minutes, this still feels like an overlong chore.

More a movie that you respect for it's craft and ambition than actually like. Relentlessly abstract and completely mesmerizing, Under the Skin is a movie that's essentially been crafted to have every frame analyzed and discussed by the film going community, with ample pretension abound. It's also a movie that you really can't turn away from; one that's meticulously crafted from the ground up. It should be stated that the film likely wouldn't work without Scarlett Johansson's powerhouse performance, easily the finest of her career so far.

Patriot Games is an intermittently entertaining, but mostly plodding exercise. The plot is really muddled, with just a collection of scenes and no real sense of momentum. The climax, however, is pretty intense and thrilling, but not enough to make up for the slog that came before.

Much of the commentary and satire on reality television didn't really land, but it mostly works as a family dramedy. The cast is all pretty strong, though I think Gandolfini was slightly miscast. He's good in it, but I think the character didn't really come together. Otherwise, solid but no to surprising.

Though a huge improvement of it's predecessor Patriot Games, Clear ad Present Danger is fairly uneven. The action is solid, cut it's not quite enough to make up for the run-of-the-mill plot.

The film starts out as a very fun, pitch-black crime comedy, but loses steam when it tries to get sentimental, which it does (overly). Jude Law is clearly having a ball in the lead role, and even when the film loses momentum, he doesn't. He can't quite save the movie, but he certainly keeps it watchable, and occasionally entertaining.

Blue Rain is a mostly smart, but fairly predictable indie crime thriller. Director Jeremy Saulnier has a sure hand behind the camera; crafting an engaging flick that keeps you on the edge of your seat. My only real gripes are that it goes through a couple slow patches in the middle section, and the conclusion is pretty predictable, though, to the film's credit, it's still very thrilling.

The Art of the Steal is occasionally fun, the faux flashback/urban legend in the middle of the film is inspired, but incredibly generic, and wastes a strong cast.

It's quite handsomely made, but The Ghost and the Darkness is an incredibly bland and tiresomely dull movie. The type of movie that every insomniac should watch.