Star Trek: Into Darkness

3 out of 4 Pipes

Benedict Cumberbatch finally has his break out role in American Cinema with the masterful portrayal of the mysterious villain opposite James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto). In what is likely to be J.J. Abram’s last Star Trek due to his Star Wars commitment, He sends us off with an amazing sequel that was well worth the wait.  With the set up from the previous film being this new Star Trek is an alternate universe to the previous films, Abrams does a wonderful job intertwining original story lines into this new universe in diverse ways. Kirk takes his overconfidence too far and results in severe consequences and he must regain his faith in himself in order to save his crew. Spock on the other hand is still getting in touch with his human side instead of being dominated by his Vulcan logic. There is not much more that can be said without ruining a wonderful plot with twists and turns left and right keeping you on the edge of your seat all the way through. Alice Eve was a nice addition to the Enterprise crew adding a much needed sexiness to the crew without ruining it with a relationship with a crew member  Into Darkness is not a perfect film as there are a number of instances were Abrams simply kills a character simply to get them out of the way but it is still a phenomenal film. One can only hope that either Abrams returns to continue the franchise or a new director is brought in to replace him as the door is left wide open for future films. 

Lincoln

4 pipes out of 4

Daniel Day-Lewis tackles one of the most ominous historical figures of all time, Abraham Lincoln, and does so masterfully. He fully deserved the Oscar that he was given and the film itself deserved Best Picture instead of Argo. Day-Lewis humanized Lincoln for the common man after centuries of heroification. He brings out Lincoln’s faults showing us that Lincoln was a normal man pushed into abnormal situations. What was truly amazing about the film is that it focused on the little known aspect of the 13^th amendment freeing all slaves in the United States. Because Lincoln was assassinated before he could sign the amendment it is often thought that he had little to do with it. While Lewis does a wonderful job as Lincoln he is absolutely engulfed with superb supporting actors from Sally Field as Mary Lincoln to Tommy Lee Jones as Senator Thaddeus Stevens with many in between.  The script is both dramatic and witty, relieving tension with a snide remark or long winded story by Lincoln. The movie follows Lincoln in the final months of the Civil War and how he manipulated the Senate as well as the South in order to get the 13^th amendment passed. There are a number of instances that crack the indestructible moral man shell of Lincoln leaving the question did he do the right thing? Do the ends justify the means? Steven Spielberg skillfully directed the cluster of big name actors to get everything out of them, even after some might already be in the moonlight of their careers. Sitting at a whopping 2 ½ hours with only a brief battle in the beginning, it might seem to get a bit lengthy but the history and intrigue draw you in from start to finish.

The Last of the Mohicans

4 pipes out of 4

At first glance The Last of the Mohicans is simply another white take on the Native American story, glorifying the white and keeping the Native American story hidden. Upon closer inspection it helps share both the plight of the Native American while placating the mostly white audience. Daniel Day-Lewis plays a white man who was adopted by a Mohican father after both his parents were murdered at a young age. While Lewis does a masterful job as he always does in his films, it is his Native American father and brother who steal the show. Their portrayal is both honest and heartbreaking, giving the audience a partial view into the Native American colonial life, caught between war and famine, slowly being eradicated. The true relationship to watch in this film is not Day-Lewis’s character Hawkeye and the daughter of a British Colonel Cora (Madeleine Stowe), but the Native American brother Uncas (Eric Schweig) and Cora’s younger sister Alice (Jodhi May). One is obvious that will happen while the other develops slowly and with subtle cues, giving us hope for the future between Whites and Native Americans. If we take our cues from Alice and Uncas then a resolution can be found between these two parties. The film develops around the French and Indian war in the Colonies prior to revolution. There are a number of instances where the film plants the seeds of why the colonies declared independence, for instance the inability to leave their post while their homes and families were burned and murdered. The love relationship between Hawkeye and Cora seemed slightly rushed but the message behind the film and the development of the relationships between the other characters far exceeds it. The development of the villain character Magua (Wes Studi) was extremely well done in that while remaining the villain and not seeing reason, the audience gets a view into what has caused him to become this way. The Magua character demonstrates that there are no clean hands when it comes to the Native Americans be they French, British, Colonists or even Native American.

Iron Man 3

3 pipes out of 4

When you think that Jon Favreau has exhausted the broken Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Shane Black, director of the Lethal Weapon series, throws a curve and reinvents the character. Unlike Favreau who focused on Stark’s personal faults, Black looks at the effect of New York in the Avengers took on Tony. Instead of fighting alcoholism, Stark fights anxiety. Instead of overcoming egotism, Stark must come to terms to which Iron Man really is the man or the suit. The one drawback is that again Tony and Pepper Potts’ (Gwyneth Paltrow) relationship is heavily strained by Tony’s internal battle. This seems to happen in every Iron Man film and the only reprieve where we see a happy couple is in The Avengers. Granted in this case it helps the story heavily and unlike Iron Man 2 Pepper is much more understanding as is Stark. The overall theme of Iron Man 3, as you are introduced to it in the very beginning with a voice over flashback to 1999, is that you create your own demons whether you mean to or not. Guy Pearce plays a wormy head of a think tank looking for investors believing humans where meant to evolve far beyond what we currently are. Ben Kingsley gives an interesting take on the villain the Mandarin while Rebecca Hall, who you might recognize from The Town or her golden globe nominated role in Vicky Christina Barcelona, plays the jilted lover of tony Stark and a biologist specializing in regenerative technology. Don Cheadle reprises his role as Colonel James Rhodes who is getting kind of annoying how loyal he remains to an obviously corrupt government. There are a number of twists and turns that are completely unexpected, some being refreshing and some bearing slight disappointment but they keep you invested in the story along with the characters. The main highlight of the film is Stark’s interaction with a young boy who has been abandoned by his father similar to Tony. Their cynicism towards each other and continual bickering provides constant laughs. Going onto this film not much was expected but much was received thanks to an amazing revival of the franchise by Black. Due to Black’s masterful reinvention, there now can be true excitement for what will happen in Avengers 2 and green light an Iron Man 4. 

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

1½  pipes out of 4

Incredible in name but too many detractors inhibit Burt Wonderstone to live up to it. An intriguing dark comedy about the aging magician duo of Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) trying to get their energy and awe back. This would have been good enough except writers John Goldstein and John Daley team with director Don Scardino to take things too far with the addition of Steve Grey (Jim Carrey). Carrey’s character is meant to be a satire of today’s magicians performing extreme acts instead of performing actual magic. Besides almost all of his tricks being physically impossible, Carrey’s character is a complete waste of screen time and deflates most of the comedy before it can get going. There is a point that Goldstein, Daley and Scardino is trying to make which is today’s society is more into brutality and reality than theatricality and awe, but like most of Carrey’s characters, it goes way over the top, even going so far as to make fun of rape by calling himself the ‘Brain Rapist’. Alan Arkin follows up his Oscar nominated role in Argo to supplement Carell and actually is a highlight of the film. He just seems to get better with age. Olivia Wilde plays Jane, an aspiring magician who once idolized Wonderstone but upon meeting him, becomes disillusioned. From the get go one can see that this relationship will be the romance of the film but it just feels wrong. From the way they portray Carell with his makeup and hairdo, he is easily 50 years old while Wilde portrays the young 20 something assistant. The age gap is just too wide to bridge without awkwardness. There were a number of comical moments in the film, most of which come from the interactions between Carell and Buscemi whose chemistry is phenomenal. Over all this is an ok movie which could have been much better without Jim Carrey and his character.

The Croods

3 pipes out of 4

While The Croods may be prehistoric, the story is beyond its time. Being a direct response by DreamWorks to the popular Ice Age series by Blue Sky Studios, at first glance it appears simply to be a repeat and redundant. But once you dive into the story that follows a human family instead of animals, you find a much more endearing characters and much a more relatable storyline. Emma Stone offers her husky voice to the young Eep, pushing the boundaries of her overprotective father Grug. With any other voice this may have been an ok character but Nicholas Cage brings every line to life with hilarity. Ryan Reynolds completes the hilarious trinity as Guy, the innovative love interest. The supporting cast is nothing to laugh at with veterans Catherin Keener, Cloris Leachman along with the comedic idiosyncrasies of Clark Duke. DreamWorks has revolutionized animation in the past and they continue to move in new directions, creating a character that is funny and dynamic while not uttering a single word. They also create a wonderful world with just the right amount of realism with while suspending the belief of the audience, with flying turtles and crocodile dogs. Director Chris Sanders lends his voice to my favorite character the pet of Guy, a sloth who has an eye for the dramatic giving his signature ‘dun dun dun’ in sometimes not the best places. Expected to be an Ice Age rip off, the Croods evolved into a world of its own, giving the whole family something to enjoy.

Olympus Has Fallen

1½ pipes out of 4

Olympus has fallen and it can’t get up. Even with an all star cast of Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Gerard Butler and Ashley Judd, it just can’t seem to get off the ground. Besides the fact that the premise that the White House could ever be taken in 15 minutes is ridicules, Olympus Has Fallen appears to be a bad rip off of the original Die Hard. It is complete with all of the action movie clichés, with the classic double cross, there being only one person that can save the day and a hard nosed general who hates the protagonist for being better at life than he is. There are so many similarities it could be viewed as a Die Hard reboot to the naked eye. Another interesting fact is that while Morgan Freeman makes a descent president, he continues the trend in Hollywood if having a black man as the acting president whenever there is a horrible tragedy, remember deep impact? The 5^th Element? 2012? Aaron Eckhart plays the original president who gets taken hostage and has to show his bravado of everyone else can give up their codes to the nukes because he won’t give up his. Since he won’t give up his there is no point for others to resist, by this logic the fate of the entire world rests on one man when it could have remained on 3. Ashley Judd makes a brief appearance as the First Lady until tragedy strikes and Gerard Butler, head of secret service security detail to the president, is demoted to a desk job. Soon after, all hell breaks loose at the White House and Butler is called upon to unleash is inner BAMF. One thing that the film does have going for it is that Rick Yune does a wonderful job portraying a genius yet insane villain with realism, going so far as executing a hostage on camera after a failed attempt by the Navy Seals to retake the White House. The action is relatively nonstop which does help disguise the discrepancies making this a nice film to curl up on the couch on a Saturday night with popcorn and the $1 price of red box.