Selma

An unfortunately relevant movie for the current time we live. This movie shows that non violence can be a force for change and put on more political pressure than reactionary violence. Is it an absolute travesty that Selma received so few Oscar nominations, including snubs for Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. The portrayal of Martin Luther King by David Oyelowo magnificently showed Martin Luther King as the magnificent hero we all know as well as the flawed hero that he was. Martin Luther King is currently held to an impossible standard of being the perfect non-violent leader following his convictions and never second guessing his actions. Selma brings Martin down off that high pedestal and makes him more of a tragic hero than ever. By showing that King had the same issues and self doubt as you and me, Selma shows that he was better than all of us by putting those things aside and fighting for his civil liberties. Through this humanization of MLK, director Ava DuVernay has made Martin more of a Christ like figure but not so that it is the focal point of the film. It is more of a side note, with the comparisons being so subtle that many may miss them. This comparison reminds us that he is human and also suffers from human sin. One of Martin Luther King's legacy’s biggest detractors is that he was unfaithful to his wife. The film faces it head on simply acknowledging that he is a man who makes mistakes and is not perfect. One of the most moving portions of the film is when Martin Luther King visits the grandfather of an African American young man who was murdered by police. The emotion he shows and the effect and the toll it takes on him, in this scene we can see that every African American death that he may have been the cause of he takes personally. It is only from comfort and support from his wife and supporters that he continues for his fight for black equality. This is a must see for the conscientious citizens. 4 out of 4 stars.

The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

The long-awaited finale that no one was looking forward to has arrived. Peter Jackson Takes us back into the world of The Hobbit with another long exhausting adventure that was completely unnecessary. The only way that this film would be a good movie is if the entire thing were a battle of the five armies, which it was not. Jackson fills in details on the book that were not needed. He has completely forgotten what made the Lord of the Rings trilogy awesome.  He seems to believe the fans went to the theater to see fancy special effects when in reality they wanted detailed characters and good fight scenes. In this finale he goes over the top with all of his CGI characters that make no sense. He even goes so far as to CGI Orlando Bloom in order to make him appear younger which actually made him look older. Because Jackson failed miserably in the previous films to develop characters that people actually like, the first hour and a half of the film is boring character development that is come too little too late.  Then when the action begins it comes as a complete disappointment. There are no characters that you care enough about to draw you into the action. The only time there is drama or emotion is when the mounts of the characters are killed. Another aspect of the battle that is disappointing is that it is completely unrealistic. The amount of orcs and goblins far surpass the amount of humans, elves, and dwarfs combined. Had this battle actually taken place not in Hollywood, the villains would have won by sheer strength of force. Now you might say that all Lord Of the Rings battles are like this and this may be true, the difference is that in those films there is an explanation as to why the smaller force can defeat the larger one, be it reinforcements, better tactics or just blind luck. In Battle of the Five Armies, the eagles show up and we are supposed to assume that 10-15 eagles can take out an army 10,000 or more strong. While it could happen, we are never shown the finale, all we get is a dust over after the climactic disappointment of a battle between Azog and Thorin. Only those who enjoy bloated convoluted money grabs need spend their time seeing this movie in theaters.

½ star out of 4

Saving Mr. Banks

3 pipes out of 4

Who’d a thunk that Marry Poppins would still be relevant 50 years after its original release? With a star studded cast Disney gives the outside world a fresh look at the magical nanny and how she came to the big screen. The dynamic between the people person Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) and the antisocial P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) is intriguing. A warning to the wise, make sure to watch this movie with a group of people, be it alone but with others in the theater or with a group of friends. I watched this movie twice, once completely alone and the second with a moderately filled theater and my, what a difference it made. Alone all I could think about was how mean and awful Travers was to everyone and I never saw her redeeming herself because of how terrible she was. On seeing it with others in the theater I was able to see more of the comedy of her animosity and the issues she was truly dealing with.  It also helped with having others around to add to the emotion of the movie making it much easier for Travers to be redeemed. As the story goes it is quite fascinating how Travers agreed to the script and how actual parts of the movie, in particular songs, where based on the interactions of Travers and the screenwriters. The one downside is that there is little in depth analysis of Walt Disney and he comes across as almost a faultless character. The film saves face by demonstrating a few faults but based on what was known about him, it is a little hard to believe that he was always cheerful and respectful to his employees. While it is a strong and emotional film and may get a little buzz around the Oscars, the only real chance of an award comes from Emma Thompson’s portrayal of a conflicted and emotionally damaged Travers. Strongly recommended for those interested in a film based on history and in need of some nostalgia. 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

1 pipe out of 4

What a disappointment. Two and a half hours of dwarfs and a hobbit running around only to not complete any type of the journey. I have had feelings about this for a long time now but this film finally proves it, that Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit series is simply a money grab. He adds random characters that have no business being there, ads aspects that virtually nullifies the first half of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and takes forever to do it. What seemed like an amazing idea of having Bennedict Cumberbatch be the voice of Smaug turned out to be wasted by the horrible interaction he has with Bilbo. The Hobbit also rehashes the issue of trust between Thorin and Bilbo that was supposed to be solved at the end of the first Hobbit. There were a number of cool but completely unnecessary action and chase scenes. The white orc is also relegated to the background after dominating most of An Unexpected Journey which is aggravating because it is an obvious attempt to drag out the storyline till the final film. Jackson also creates tension in the group of Dwarfs and even breaks them up when none of that happens in the book, simply to create unneeded tension and provide an opening for his addition of a female elf and Legolas. The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey had changes from the book but that was to be expected and they were not incredibly drastic. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug goes in the opposite direction, basically defecating on the source material and changing the whole essence of the book. This film is only recommended to be watched at home so that you can multitask because sitting in a theater for a two and a half hour movie was trying.

Captain Phillips

3 ½ pipes out of 4

Tom Hanks is back in true form with his brilliant portrayal of cargo freighter captain Phillips whose ship is taken over by pirates. Jumping right into the controversy, yes there probably are many inaccuracies and maybe Phillips was not as heroic as he is portrayed in the film but that does not take away from the film itself. As a disclaimer in every movie similar to Captain Phillips, they state that they are BASED on true events. They do not say that it is all true; they simply take the idea of the events and they hollywoodize it. If Paul Greengrass had portrayed the actual events of the pirate hijacking, he wouldn’t have a very interesting film. With what he did portray, he has an extremely interesting film. Tom Hanks plays the titular character and is the biggest name in the film rightfully deserving the acclaim that is coming his way but as the Golden Globes showed, () has a shocking break out role as the Somali Pirate Captain. What Greengrass does with the portrayal or the Somali pirates completely took me by surprise. He still shows them as the main villains of the movie but he shows how they got to the position that they are in and almost makes us feel sorry for them, almost. This depiction of Somali Pirates may change the mind of many on how they are perceived; it certainly has changed my view. The true meat of the film doesn’t come until the last 45 to 30 minutes when Hanks is trapped in the small rescue dingy with the pirates in close quarters. The best acting that I have ever seen comes from Hanks in the final three minutes of the film. It is compelling and truly heartbreaking. Another fantastic film created by director Paul Greengrass and Tom Hanks.

American Hustle

3 pipes out of 4

America has been hustled. In every commercial designed to market American Hustle it is projected as a comedy when in fact it is not. There may be a few funny moments but it is much more of a drama. The marketers even hustled the Golden Globes winning Best Picture for a comedy or musical. What if fear is the case is that the main comedy of the film was supposed to come out of the situations and actions of the characters. The problem with this was that while these actions and actions may have been designed to be funny, when compared to the whole film and the desperation of the characters, they are not actually that funny. Had American Hustle been billed as a serious drama I would have come out of the film much more satisfied but being a comedy I was expecting to feel happy and energetic when all I felt was depressed. Don’t get me wrong, Christian Bale pulls of an acting masterpiece along with Amy Adams, with Jennifer Lawrence doing a superb job as bale’s deranged wife. Bradley Cooper on the other hand simply does an adequate job in his role not really stretching his acting from his other roles, most similarly in The Silver Linings Playbook. A theory has floated out there that Cooper can only act well when he is surrounded by good actors and I am beginning to agree with this theory. Cooper did well in A-Team alongside Liam Neeson, Sharlto Copley and Jessica Biel and he did his best work in The Silver Linings Playbook alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Deniro and Jackie Weaver. His lone projects such as The Hangover Part II and III as well as Limitless have been terrible. But I digress, as long as you know what you are going into American Hustle is a must see before the Oscars because it has a good chance to win big.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

3 pipes out of 4

The odds appear ever in the favor of the makers of the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire continues the tradition of remaining faithful to the books while keeping things interesting. Unlike Hunger Games which was faithful to the book but seemed to drag on, Catching Fire is authentic with action all the way. Authenticity is huge to the fan base when it comes to books being made into movies and the folks at Lionsgate have figured out the formula. The cast is back with Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch. There are some interesting new additions of Jeffery Wright and academy award winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman’s interactions with Donald Sutherland are surprisingly compelling considering they remove the audience from the action of Games. Having these two Oscar winners play off of each other’s vindictiveness is truly awesome. The romantic relationship of Peeta and Katiniss is expanded as they tour through the districts with Panem on the verge of revolution. While Gale (Liam Hemsworth) is rushed into romantic feelings of Katniss, Peeta is given the slow burn, gaining traction with Katniss as well the audience. Gale is put on the backburner and essentially ignored except for a few brief moments where he tries to guilt Katniss into having feelings or him. Once the games begin twists are thrown left and right keeping you on the edge of your seat with the connection between tributes increased tenfold from the previous film. The ending leaves the audience wanting more although it was vaguely reminiscent of the ending from Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 but definitely worth seeing.