Mike Goes To Movies

Booksmart (2019) Booksmart is an interesting film as it is not altogether different from many of the teen comedies/coming-of-age films we have seen over the past 10-15 years, however, it takes that proven formula and updates it to meet many of the progressive outlooks that our world (or, at least, the liberal parts of it) now enshrine. Don't get me wrong, the film is very well-made - it is well directed (by first-time director, Olivia Wilde), well written, well acted and very funny - however, much of the humour has been seen before and the film plays out not altogether dissimilar to a female version of Superbad. The film is built upon an excellent and topical premise wherein the protagonists, Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are two high-schoolers who are academically-driven to the point that they look down upon and snub their fellow classmates. In their minds, they do this for good reason as they are ensuring their own future successes, such as getting into t...

The National - I Am Easy to Find (2019) So this post is not the norm for me, but it happens to relate film to one of my other passions - music - and, additionally, it encompasses an interesting story about the fantastic band, The National. According to recent interviews, The National had recently become burnt-out and was on the verge of taking a break (/possibly breaking up) when director, Mike Mills (20th Century Women), contacted them asking if they would be up for him directing a music video for them. That music video turned into the short film, I Am Easy To Find, which Mills wrote a screenplay for and directed, and the band wrote the music for (which they developed into their new album). Mill's story for the short is centred around the life cycle of a woman (Alicia Vikander). Interestingly, the band - whose normal dark, rhythmic and melancholic sound hinges upon lead singer, Berninger's, deep, baritone voice - felt that they had to change up their style for this femal...

Mid90s (2018) I really wanted to like this film, I really did. It is not a bad film by any means, but it becomes apparent about halfway through that its tone and direction is fairly misguided. At times, the film plays out like the grungy faux-doc films of the 90's/early-00's by Larry Clark and Harmony Korine that centred on youth cultures. Director/writer, Jonah Hill's, inspiration by these predecessors is quite apparent from the relatively no-name cast, the grainy film style, the improvised dialogue sequences, and the small cameo by Korine himself. However, it is, perhaps, Hill's Hollywood sensibilities that restrain him from taking the film to that next (and difficult) level that the earlier films, Kids, Bully and Gumbo, were able to reach. As one would surmise, Mid90s is about the youth of the 1990s, specifically here, a boy on the cusp of teenagehood, Stevie (Sunny Suljic), who tries to escape his violent brother (Lucas Hedges) and often non-present mother (Ka...

The House (2017) The House is quite typical for what you would expect from a Will Ferrell / Amy Poehler comedy these days. It has the same type of humour, plot and tone as many of their other recent and relatively uninspired outings. There is the usual plethora of 'subversive' comedy that centres upon crude jokes, gross-out gags, and Ferrell and Poehler's well-known exaggerated performances. This is one that will still entertain (if you are in the mood for it) but is overall very forgettable and will, as quickly as it came, disappear into the history books. The film is about Scott and Kate Johansen (Ferrell and Poehler), the parents of Alex (Ryan Simpkins), who have just learned that a local fund that was being used for college scholarships is now going to be used for a public swimming pool development. With Alex's prospects of going to college now eliminated, Scott and Kate team up with their zany, gambling-addicted friend, Frank (Jason Mantzoukas) to start their...

Maudie (2016) Maudie is a moving, intimate and expertly-made biopic by Irish director, Aisling Walsh, about Nova Scotian folk-painter, Maudie Lewis. The film takes place in the 1950/60's in rural Nova Scotia (that's east coast Canada) that follows the difficult life of Maudie, here incredibly portrayed by Sally Hawkins. Maudie's hardships began early on as she developed rheumatoid arthritis at a very young age, affecting her mobility and use of her hands. As a female with this kind of disability in a mid-1950's rural community, Maudie was stripped of much of her autonomy and often looked down upon by her community. However, she was resilient, constantly pushing back against her physical and social obstacles and fought to gain work as a house-maid for a local fish peddler, Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke). As the film shows, Everett was not an easy man himself and though he and Maudie ultimately married and had a loving relationship he was also equally hard on her througho...

Burning (2018) Burning is the kind of masterful film that stays with you long after it ends - its deep, contemplative layers slowly seep into your subconsciousness, imparting you with new meaning and emotion that you may not have picked up during the actual viewing. Normally, I am the type of filmgoer who will wait a decent amount of time before watching a film again, regardless of the film. However,  Burning is that rare exception that made me desire to rewatch it very shortly after finishing it so that I could once again observe the beauty of the shots, the compelling story, and try to, once again, uncover the treasures hidden with. The film is somewhat difficult to discuss as its seemingly straightforward plot becomes much less so as the film proceeds, and to talk about it would be to ruin some critical developments and twists. This may not be all that surprising because the film, by famed Korean director, Lee Chang-dong, is loosely adapted from Haruki Murakami's short sto...

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019) And so, here it finally is, the highly-inevitable first live-action film of the gargantuan 20+ year old phenomenon that is Pokemon. It's a testament to the brand that I, who still remembers receiving the original Pokemon Red from my parents when I was eight years old for the holidays, now close to thirty, is still going out to see this film. The filmmakers clearly recognize this as well, because though the film is primarily directed towards younger audiences, it still contains a good portion of humour that only older audiences (such as the first generation of Pokemon fans - see what I did there...) will understand and enjoy. Additionally, the plot has a somewhat meta-aspect in that the main character, Tim (Justice Smith), is a somewhat older male who has since become disillusioned from his earlier dream of becoming a Pokemon trainer. It still is a bit difficult to reconcile why such an obscure game like Detective Pikachu was chosen to becom...

The Player (1992) Oh, how Hollywood loves to make films about itself. The Player is very much such an example - a tight and darkly comedic thriller (with the requisite steamy side-plot) about a big-time studio executive who gets caught up in a murder investigation while dealing with a case of personal blackmail and inter-studio politics. As with so many of the late-great Robert Altman's films, this one has an utterly stellar cast, starring foremost, Tim Robbins, and supported by Peter Gallagher, Whoopi Goldberg, Lyle Lovett, Richard E. Grant, Fred Ward, and Greta Scacchi. The film also features a (remarkably) veritable 'who's who' of cameos of the biggest stars of 90's Hollywood - but I will not spoil the list as spotting the stars throughout the foreground and the background of scenes creates some of the film's fun appeal. The script, written by Michael Tolkin, and based off of his own novel, is self-aware and entertaining, giving an insight into the inne...

Movies About Dystopian Futures! Okay, so for this list I tried to really hone in on the true meaning of 'dystopian'. These films are not just dark sci-fi films, but, these are films that are truly dystopian: where the end of mankind is more-or-less at-hand. Nevertheless, you will see that within this parameter that the films below are still quitevaried; there are large-scale blockbusters, action films, intimate thrillers, and even an animated family film! And, as with all great dystopian sci-fi, each of these films, in their own ways, has a unique and interesting message to impart on us viewers about the potentially catastrophic direction our world may be headed towards - duh duh duhhh!  As always, let me know your thoughts below! Note: Matrix would be on here but I've already highlighted enough on this account... for now...   Other notables: The Hunger Games (2012-2015), The Matrix (1999),  Gattaca (1997),  Metropolis (1927), Akir...

Swiss Army Man (2016) Firstly, do not let the above picture deceive you, this film is 100% a comedy, and it's likely one of the most absurd ones you will ever watch. The film stars Paul Dano, a very talented actor who's penchant for odd roles is whole-heartedly utilized here. Opposite Dano is Daniel Radcliffe who seems to be taking the furthest role possible from his recent, and famous stint as Harry Potter. Here, however, he is not The Boy Who Lived, but more aptly, The Farting Boy Who Died. You see, the film is about Hank (Dano), a seeming castaway who is on the brink of suicide. All that saves him is a corpse that he finds that has washed ashore (Radcliffe). The corpse is very much a corpse, except it has the unique quality of... being able to fart... constantly. Yes, you read that right... Throughout the film, Dano finds that the corpse (whom he names Manny) may also have some other equally-absurd talents that may just help him survive in the wilderness, hence the tit...

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Yes, this might get a lot of flack from the masses who either love or hate this movie, but I figured I would give my two cents anyways, because I wasn't yet reviewing at the time of its release. To quickly put it out there, no I did not love The Last Jedi, but I did like much of it, and, in fact, I think the film has a couple of the best moments in all of Star Wars.  Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. Similar to most, I am not a fan of the Canto Bight sequence. I felt that it is overly long, detracts from the film's main narrative and momentum and ultimately has no pay off as the whole plan fails. I get that this ending is Rian Johnson imparting the real-world spin into Star Wars, that things don't always go as planned, and sometimes fail, even for the heroes. However, I don't think such a large amount of time needed to be given for this message, as well, that the inclusion of Benicio Del Toro and his characte...

Enemy (2013) Another day, another psychological thriller. The setup: a man, Adam Bell, discovers, what he perceives to be, an exact doppelganger of himself living in his own city. What follows is a back-and-forth cat and mouse involving each man, their families and livelihoods. One cannot be sure whether all of what is happening is even real or not, especially when it takes place in a city (my own city of Toronto), which seems to be horrifyingly consumed by spiders. Based upon a Spanish novel, Enemy is an expertly made and thought-provoking film by the great Denis Villeneuve. Interestingly, Villeneuve filmed Enemy rather quickly in-between the also-great Incendies and Prisoners (which also starred Gyllenhaal). At only 90 minutes, Enemy is a taught thriller that never lets off the accelerator. The film is also a showcase for the true talent that is Jake Gyllenhaa,l who plays Bell and his mirror image, Anthony Claire, and it is evident by the film's end that Gyllenhaal really...

Spoiler Discussion - Avengers: Endgame (2019) Now that a week has passed since the mammoth release of Endgame, I feel I can now go into a more-spoilery discussion about the film, and about the general ending to the Infinity Saga. Disclaimer: Spoilers for Endgame Below! There are two particular reasons why I so immensely liked Engame. No, it is not perfect at all, but these two elements of the film let me see past the flaws and elevate it to great heights in my eyes. Firstly, is the final battle scene - truly a cornucopia of amazing moments and fan-service. From the appearance and inclusion of almost every hero of the MCU - amazing team-ups and interactions - to a few specific moments, such as Cap's long-anticipated wielding of Thor's hammer and Iron Man's use of the Infinity Gauntlet (with his iconic line), it has to be one of the most epic battle scenes in film history. The second, and even greater, reason why I thought Endgame was so fantastic though, was because ...

Black Swan (2010) This is a film that I remember liking very much when I saw it in the theatre almost a decade ago, however, for whatever reason I don't actually think I've seen it since then. As time passes with films like this, you start to question whether the memory you have of the film is actually accurate, which leads you to finally dust off the DVD case and gave the film a long over-due watch. After watching Black Swan last night, I can now confidently say that this is a remarkable film. I loved pretty much everything about it - the dark atmosphere juxtaposed with the beauty and serenity of ballet, the twisted and gruesome decay of Nina's mental-state, the cinematography of the ballet sequences, and, of course, the absolutely stellar performance by Natalie Portman. Portman, in particular, really blew me away. I originally saw the film prior to her winning the Oscar and so it was always in my mind that she was very good but now being able to go back to the perfor...