22 Jump Street [USA, 2014]

Nine Things about the Movie 22 Jump Street

1. In 2012, “21 Jump Street” was released, which was surprisingly funny, and kind of freshened up the buddy cop genre, 

2. Here’s “22 Jump Street”. I was afraid this movie would fall victim to the problem that plagues comedy sequels - that the filmmakers only had enough good material for one movie, so that the sequel sucks. But this movie does not have that problem.

3. Channing Tatum returns as Jenko, and Jonah Hill returns as Schmidt, and their bromantic partnership takes them undercover at a college looking for the source of a new synthetic drug.

4. Jenko meets a football player frat guy named Zook, and they immediately hit it off. Jenko’s new bromance (actually, they are lambros) causes Schmidt to feel rejected. He finds solace in dating an art major with a super bitchy roommate.

5. Honestly, there isn’t a lot of thought given to the actual investigation part of the story. It doesn’t make sense and it kind of just repeats the basic plot of the first movie. It’s pretty worthless.

6. Luckily, nobody goes to see the “Jump Street” movies for the plot. The rest of the movie is hilarious. Tatum and Hill have awesome chemistry together. The humor ranges from dumb physical comedy to insightful jabs at society and modern culture.

7. The movie has no problem making fun of itself, and there are some wonderful meta-moments, where characters are speaking in the movie, but you realise that they are actually speaking *about* the movie. There are also various sly jokes in the background that are fun to find.

8. The credits are just as funny as the rest of the movie.

9. Whether you like your comedy smart, or dumb, or a mix of both, you’ll find something to laugh at here. This is a rare comedy that I am willing to pay for in the theater, instead of waiting for Netflix.


Warning: This is the Red Band trailer. NSFW

Nymphomaniac [Denmark, 2013]

Nine Things about the Movie Nymphomaniac

1. This is the third film Lars von Trier’s Depression Trilogy, after Antichrist and Melancholia. It’s a 4-hour movie that was released in theaters in two parts. The original version is over 5 hours long, but, as of the time of this writing, has never been released anywhere. It’s the most straightforward and easily understood of the three films, but it still requires focus, stamina, and an open mind.

2. While all three films can be seen as stand-alone films, they should be seen in order, as “Nymphomaniac” shares the casts of the first two movies, and brings the themes full circle. There are several explicit references to “Antichrist” in this movie.

3. Charlotte Gainsbourg returns once again in the third episode, exposing herself in new and humiliating ways. This time, she plays a sex addict that is found beaten in the street by a kindly, intellectual old man who brings her home. She tells her life story to him.

4. The movie makes the claim that sexuality is the single most powerful force in a person’s life. As a consequence, this is an extremely sexually graphic movie - all of the main actors had to employ body doubles (which means porn stars) when filming the actual sex scenes.

5. In this movie, sex is described not only literally, but also in metaphors. Music, fishing, mathematics, delirium, religion, and systemic violence are some of the perspectives through which the movie looks at sex.

6. Von Trier deconstructs sex and love and shows that they are really manifestations of loneliness, emptiness, and meaninglessness. They are sometimes useful distractions, and sometimes destructive forces, in a random and coincidental world that cares nothing for us.

7. The anti-woman themes that many people see in “Antichrist” are explored and expanded in this film, which is a raw and anguished cry of a woman’s struggle with her natural power.

8. The acting in this movie is uniformly good; Shia LaBoeuf does a great job (although his accent sucks), and Uma Thurman delivers a jaw-dropping performance of an abandoned wife. But Jamie Bell almost steals the whole movie in his portrayal of a sadistic man offering his services to discerning women.

9. This movie is a long, angry look at the hypocrisies and social inheritances in modern life. I would hesitate to recommend this movie (or the other two films in the trilogy, for that matter) to anyone who has never experienced Lars von Trier before. But for those that are ready for this scorching, sexual, existential howl, it’s a fascinating conclusion to a remarkable trilogy.

WARNING: This trailer is NSFW.

The Fault in Our Stars (USA, 2014)

Nine Things about the Movie The Fault in Our Stars

1. This film is based on the young adult novel by the same name. It's about a girl with cancer that falls in love with a boy she meets at a support group. I never read it, because that's just not my kind of story. But friends that did read it were frothing at the mouth, proclaiming how good it was. So when the movie came out, I decided to give it a try.

2. A romantic drama about kids with cancer screams exploitation. Exploitation of cancer, and exploitation of the audience. I expected an emotionally-manipulative, sugar coated piece of crap that would give me diabetes.

3. I was so wrong. The movie knows what the conventions are for this kind of movie, and deliberately subverts them. It's a smart, clear-eyed look at terminal love.

4. The burgeoning relationship is handled well. The girl, Hazel, and the boy, Gus, struggle with their feelings for each other, knowing that the relationship can't go anywhere.

5. The movie stares death straight in the face. Hazel admits to an existential loneliness, while
Gus struggles to find a deeper meaning to his life.

6. There's a subplot where the two travel to Amsterdam to visit their favorite author (played with acidic gruffness by Willem Dafoe). The meeting does not go as well as the two had hoped, and the resulting feelings ripple through their world-views.

7. Hazel is played by Shailene Woodley and Gus is played by Ansel Elgort. They also played brother and sister in "Divergent". Woodley and Elgort are astounding in their portrayal of the characters. It's some of the best acting I've seen this year.

8. There are several times that the movie has the chance to veer into the typical romantic angst, or a depiction of courage in the face of impossible obstacles. But each time, it refuses to go there, staying on a more realistic path.

9. This movie sparkles with intelligence and wit and sorrow. Especially considering it's targeted at young people, it openly struggles with the harder truths about life, and doesn't flinch when it gives sad answers. I can see some parents having problems with letting their kid go see this. But the realistic trajectory of the movie is exactly what gives the movie a real heart, so when it does get emotional, it feels much more natural, not exploitative, to go with it.

Melancholia [Denmark, 2011]

Nine Things about the Movie Melancholia

1.This extraordinary film is the second in director Lars von Trier’s Depression Trilogy, after “Antichrist”. It’s not a sequel, it is a companion film. It examines similar themes, although this time in a science fiction genre. This movie is not as extreme as “Antichrist”, and is easier to understand. But that doesn’t mean this movie is a walk in the park. After all, it is Lars von Trier.

2. Von Trier wrote the movie based on a depressive episode he actually had, and the insight that depressed people tend to be more calm in situations of high pressure - because they are already prepared for the worst result.

3. The opening sequence of the film is a breathtakingly beautiful, surreal montage of scenes that represent themes explained during the course of the film. These scenes are juxtaposed with images of the destruction of the Earth as another planet collides into it.

4. The first half of the movie takes place at a wedding reception for Justine and Michael at a secluded country estate. The reception slowly unravels, partly because so many attendees make the evening about themselves. But the main problem is that Justine suffers from a debilitating depression, and is unable to hold herself together.

5. The second half of the movie takes place at the same country estate, shortly after the wedding. Justine is living there with her sister Claire and Claire’s family. A rogue planet, aptly named Melancholia, is making a near approach to Earth.

6. Claire is terrified that the planet will hit Earth. Her husband tries to convince her that the planet will miss Earth. Justine is calm in her knowledge that Melancholia will actually destroy our planet.

7. Charlotte Gainsbourg, who starred in “Antichrist”, plays Claire here. Her two roles in these movies make fascinating counterpoints. Kirsten Dunst almost burns a hole through the screen in her portrayal of Justine. It might be her best performance ever.

8. Von Trier wasn’t concerned with making the collision of the two planets scientifically realistic - his point was to illustrate the behavior of the human psyche under extreme circumstances.

9. This movie is a gorgeous, intimate apocalypse. Von Trier is telling us that whether it’s a brain problem or a cosmic one, we are all alone in this universe. Nothing we do ultimately matters, and we’re all helpless to control our own fate. We are just thrown around by forces greater than us until we die. But it’s still beautiful.

If that’s not a message you want to hear, then you should stay away from this movie.

Blue Valentine (USA, 2010)

Nine Things about the Movie Blue Valentine

1. This movie is a brave portrayal of the last part of a relationship, when “Happily Ever After” turns out to be false.

2. It was written and directed by Derek Cianfrance. It stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Three years after this move was made, Gosling and Cianfrance paired up again for “The Place Beyond the Pines”.

3. The movie moves back and forth between two times: The first is the “love at first sight” period when they genuinely believe they will be together forever. The second is the disintegration period some five years later, when they realize “for better or worse” is not what they expected.. The genius here is that eventually you realize you are sometimes seeing almost the same scene being depicted in each period...but with different circumstances.

4. Gosling and Williams have a genuine, believable chemistry. You believe that they are in love, and you believe the bitterness that grows between them. They should have won some kind of acting award for their performances.

5. To make it more realistic, Gosling and Williams acted like a couple before filming the downhill slide. They rented a house together, and lived according to their characters’ budgets.

6. In some of the scenes, Gosling and Williams went without scripted dialogue; they improvised it as they were being filmed.

7. The power of the movie comes not only from the big arguments the couple has, but the small moments, too: the ignored caress, the eyes that hide the truth, the awkward silences.

8. At first, the film got an NC-17 rating, for it’s depiction of Michelle Williams receiving oral sex. The rating was appealed, and Gosling accused the ratings board of sexism and misogyny, noting that plenty of movies depict males receiving oral sex, and it’s not considered a big deal. The rating was changed to R.

9. None of the relationships in the movie are happy, not even the long-lasting ones. Everyone is dealing with the death of love in some form or another. Well, unless they are admitting that they never felt it in the first place.

Antichrist [Denmark, 2009]

Nine Things about the Movie Antichrist

1.This is the first film in director Lars von Trier’s remarkable “Depression Trilogy”. I had to watch it twice to really start unpacking it enough so that I could start writing my thoughts about it.

2. It’s not really about the Antichrist. At least, not as most people think of it.

3. The “Prologue” is one of the most gorgeously tragic and sexually explicit opening sequences in film history.

4. It’s about a therapist and his wife whose child has died. The wife is undergoing extreme grief over the loss, and her husband tries to help her by taking her to a secluded cabin in the woods. Once they get to the cabin, he starts getting visions of things like foxes eating themselves. She thinks the ground burns her feet. It just gets worse from there.

5. The cinematography is entrancing, trippy, and gorgeous. The soundtrack is surreal and disconcerting.

6. Nick is the only named character in the movie, and he’s dead five minutes into the film. The husband and wife (played by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsborg) are never given names. In fact, every other person in the movie actually has their faces blurred out.

7. This film is an examination of many things - death, grief, internalized misogyny, the evil of human nature, and the meaninglessness of everything. It requires a lot of reflection to make sense of what’s actually going on. Von Trier does not make easy movies.

8. This movie was quite controversial when it was made because of it’s extreme sexual imagery and violence. A few scenes were filmed with porn stars taking the place of the main actors.

9. This movie is definitely not for everyone. It’s a difficult, brave, important, psychosexual nuclear bomb. It’s not a horror film, but it uses horror movie conventions to make the point that the real horror is life itself… and maybe our own souls.

Charlie Countryman (Romania, 2013)

Nine Things about the Movie Charlie Countryman

1. The original title of the movie (and the title that appears onscreen) is “The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman”.

2. For some reason, mainstream critics tore this movie apart, perhaps because it denies easy classification. I don’t know. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t deserve the hate that was heaped on it.

3. It’s kind of a violent, drug-fueled, romantic drama wrapped in magical realism.

4. Shia LaBeouf stars in it, and I think this may be his best performance ever. LaBoeuf plays Charlie, a depressed young man who has a tendency to talk to people even after they’re dead.

5. Charlie’s dead mother tells him to take a trip to Bucharest, where he meets a cello player with a dead father and a psychotic husband. Charlie falls in love with her, and he gets drawn into her problems.

6. The guy that played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, Rupert Grint, does a good job here playing an over-eager druggie. He’s definitely not at Hogwarts anymore.

7. The movie is bafflingly good at capturing that “damn-the-consequences-I’m-in-love” feeling that young people tend to fall into.

8. The soundtrack fits the movie perfectly. The original score meshes well with tracks from Moby and M83 to keep the slightly hallucinatory, dreamy atmosphere going through the whole film.

9. The ending wraps everything up a little too neatly, but this is an oddly beautiful film that needs to be better appreciated.

Edge of Tomorrow (USA, 2014)

Nine Things about the Movie Edge of Tomorrow

1. This movie is basically the "Groundhog Day" of alien-invasion films.

2. Tom Cruise gives a strong performance as Cage, a craven military officer forced into battle against a supremely powerful alien species that had been dominating Earth for the past five years.

3. When Cage is killed in battle, he mysteriously respawns the day before. He must figure out what's going on, and how it's involved with a living battle legend, Rita Vratasky (played by Emily Blunt).

4. The acting is solid all around - Tom Cruise can still pull off a movie when he wants to (and he still does his own stunts). Emily Blunt is great as the bitterly fierce war icon.

5. The aliens are genuinely creative and threatening. The action scenes are gorgeous and well choreographed.

6. The filmmakers do a good job of moving the story forward, but you do need to have some patience as the characters go through some scenes repeatedly as a result of the time loop. And speaking of the time loop, don't focus too hard on why the time travel is happening - you just have to accept their explanations and go with it

7. The movie was clearly influenced by other space military movies, especially "Starship Troopers" and "Aliens". Bill Paxton is even in it.

8. The battle suits were based on actual designs of powered exoskeletons being developed by different companies.

9. This is one of those rare creatures - a blockbuster with brains. Although there are a few problems with the story, the movie as a whole is a clever, interesting science fiction action film.

Maleficent (USA, 2014)

Nine Things about the Movie Maleficent

1. As a kid, my all-time favorite classic Disney villain was Maleficent, from “Sleeping Beauty”. When I heard about this movie, I was pretty intrigued.

2. This movie is a complete reinvention of the fairy tale. Other than a few original elements, this is pretty much a new story.

3. It also gets rid of almost everything I liked about the original Maleficent character. Originally, Maleficent was truly malevolent. In this movie, she has a broken heart, which makes her bitter and childish, but not evil.

4. As a stand-alone movie, it’s pretty good - it’s a simple, imaginative fairy tale. Just don’t compare it to anything else.

5. This is Angelina Jolie’s movie. All the other actors in the film might as well be cardboard when they are on screen with her. She commands your attention and almost pops off the screen.

6. Visually, the movie is beautiful. The special effects are great, and the fairy land called The Moors is mesmerising to watch..

7. There is a nice little commentary on the cliche concept of “love at first sight” and “your true love’s kiss.” That does make it a little predictable, though; halfway through the movie, I knew who would wake Sleeping Beauty up.

8. The climactic battle in the cartoon was just as good, if not better than, the climactic battle in this movie. But this version does have a cool dragon, though.

9. This is a fun, entertaining flick that most people will enjoy. It just left me feeling a little empty - they wasted a chance to make this a truly epic film.