[Review] A Million Ways to Die in the West
Seth MacFarlane made a name for himself with his various TV outings, practically single-handedly overtaking Fox's Sunday night TV programming with Family Guy, American Dad!, and The Cleveland Show. While each show has its fans, the "MacFarlane" brand of humor has, at times, run long in the tooth. What was once edgy and a legitimate alternative to The Simpsons (paired with the show's decline in quality over recent years) became stale, uninteresting, and too sophomoric for its own good.
2012's Ted, MacFarlane's film debut, was a test to see whether or not the writer/director/actor's brand of humor could translate not only to a live-action setting, but also sustain a feature length film. Almost $550m and generally positive reviews later, the answer was yes. To follow up, MacFarlane's comedy/western A Million Ways to Die in the West is grounded as much to reality as a MacFarlane project can be. However, did luck strike twice for MacFarlane, or did A Million Ways to Die in the West suffer the sophomore slump?
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A Million Ways to Die in the West
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Rating: R
Release Date: May 30, 2014
Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane) is a sheep farmer living in 19th Century Arizona where there are "a million ways to die." Out of the myriad ways in which people can die, one of the most common ways is during a duel. Rather than face another man in a duel, he withdraws, causing his girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried), to leave him for another man, the mustachioed Foy (Neil Patrick Harris). Down on his luck, he befriends a new woman in town, Anna (Charlize Theron).
While their friendship begins as Albert uses her to make Louise jealous and to increase his masculinity, the two inevitably fall in love with one another. Unbeknownst to Albert, however, is that Anna is married to Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), the most notorious gunslinger in the West. When Clinch discovers Anna has been galavanting around town with another man, Albert must do what he can to survive an encounter with him or else face a gruesome death.
As a fan of Seth MacFarlane, I say this as bluntly as possible: MacFarlane's work is very gimmicky and one-note: Ted featured a talking teddy bear, Family Guy lampoons the dimwitted husband/nuclear family thematic, American Dad! follows a Conservative paternal figure, etc. A Million Ways to Die in the West beats its audiences over the head with the characters' awareness to its setting. Sometimes, the jokes work; often, they don't. While some of the perilous dangers that the film's characters face are humorous, they're really nothing more than forgettable sight gags. However, that's not to say that there aren't real jokes in the film; far from it. Rather, you'll more than likely end up chuckling over the occasional joke rather than gasping for air. There's a lot of toilet humor (both literally and figuratively) in A Million Ways to Die in the West, so if you're into poop and pee jokes, you're in luck.
Whereas Ted felt like a natural progression from MacFarlane's Family Guy, A Million Ways to Die in the West feels like nothing more than a long episode set in the 19th Century West. The soundtrack will sound familiar to Family Guy fans, as the showtunes-esque score is very akin to the one MacFarlane uses on the show. There's even a long musical number that was one of the highlights of the film, thanks to the participation from Harris. In fact, if there could only be one highlight for the film, it's the stellar cast that MacFarlane put together.
While MacFarlane makes for a promising lead, his performance shows promise for future films, but doesn't quite hit the highs you expect. Thankfully, the ensemble cast more than does its part to keep the film afloat. The supporting cast of Sarah Silverman, Harris, Neeson, and Giovanni Ribisi are enough to bolster MacFarlane's subpar performance. Naturally, every scene in which Harris' Foye plays a primary role steals the spotlight away from any other character, whether it's from the aforementioned musical number, his character's subtle quirks and ticks, or his sense of physical comedy. To a slightly lesser degree, Silverman's naive Rose, a prostitute, allows MacFarlane a natural way to punch in edgy sex jokes; what would a MacFarlane project be without a handful of semen jokes, anyways?
A Million Ways to Die in the West showed promise with its early trailers. However, it really is nothing more than a long wild, wild West-set episode of Family Guy. It has its moments, and the supporting cast brings in as much as they can, but the film doesn't bring as many laughs as you'd like. Sure, you'll get the mustache song stuck in your head, you'll never be able to look at Neil Patrick Harris the same again, and you'll geek out with your friends over the pop culture easter eggs MacFarlane threw into the film, but they don't add up enough to cover an otherwise disappointing experience. Ultimately, A Million Ways to Die in the West isn't able to escape the one-note joke of its setting. However, there's enough present in the film to keep expectations positive for MacFarlane's next film, whenever that may come about.
[Review] Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton
Every influential movement always comes from humble beginnings. Formed in 1996 as simply a means to release a memorable, emotionally important album between two friends, Stones Throw Records has established a cult following for its catalog of classic, independent hip hop (and in more recent years, experimental indie). In Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton, director Jeff Broadway tracks the history of Stones Throw and its founder, Peanut Butter Wolf (nee Chris Manak), over its near 20-year history in a well-packaged documentary that will attract the most ardent of Stones Throw fans.
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Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton
Director: Jeff Broadway
Rating: N/A
Release Date: May 27, 2014 (VOD - Purchase Here)
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton begins with a young Chris Manak, the San Jose-based DJ/producer who would eventually become Peanut Butter Wolf and introduces some of Manak’s childhood friends that would play huge roles in the formation of Stones Throw, namely Jeff Jank, Baron Zen, and Charizma. Following the untimely death of Charizma in the documentary’s narrative, Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton jumps around in time to highlight major moments in Stones Throw’s history with very defined chapter breaks.
The documentary is bolstered not only by interviews with current and former Stones Throw artists, but also by artists that were influenced by or fans of the record label, including ?uestlove, Earl Sweatshirt, and Kanye West. While it’s great to have heavy-hitting stars share their thoughts, it would have been nice to see reactions and testimonies from fans, as well. Also included in the documentary are archival footage featuring never-before-seen videos of Peanut Butter Wolf and Charizma during the early '90s, videos from the studio including Madlib and J Dilla's first meeting, and more. The historical goodies are what will attract long-time Stones Throw fans, as well as the soundtrack featuring new tracks from Madlib himself.
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton, in a way, follows the same ethos Manak does for Stones Throw. Towards the end of the documentary, Manak says, "there's probably three or four handfuls of people who, when I put out a record, I want them to like it. Beyond that, I don't care." In essence, Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton caters to Stones Throw fans; they're the circle that will get the most out of this documentary. However, the entire package is put together so well (and entertainingly so), that it'll capture interest from those with a cursory familiarity with the label. If you consider yourself a fan of independent hip hop, Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton isn't necessarily a must-see, but definitely a documentary worth catching when you come across it.
[Review] God's Pocket
[This review was originally published as part of our SXSW 2014 coverage. It is being re-posted to coincide with God's Pocket's theatrical release.]
God's Pocket
Director: John Slattery
Rating: N/A
Release Date: January 17, 2014 (Sundance)
Dark comedies sometimes appear to be the easiest genre to work in. They can be gruesome, violent, brutal, unforgiving, eye-opening, over-the-top, exaggerated, complete satires of a film that, for better or worse, get a bit of a pass due to its branding. Is this lazy? Perhaps. When done right, we get films like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Mishandled, however, and the result is like the endless amount of straight-to-DVD films that have followed in Vincent and Jules' wake.
With his feature length directorial debut, John Slattery (Mad Men's Roger Sterling) delivers God's Pocket, a neighborhood-driven film in which an assortment of pratfalls present conflicts to the characters in precarious manners. Which side of the "dark comedy" spectrum does God's Pocket fall on? Read on and find out.
Mickey (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a God's Pocket transplant, a small neighborhood in Philadelphia where the natives stay native generation to generation. He runs small-time jobs with his friend (John Turturro) for a mob-esque figure, his wife, Jeannie (Christina Hendricks), doesn't care much for him, and his step-son, Leon (Caleb Landry Jones), is a racist pig. When an altercation at Leon's job leaves him dead, Jeannie's Motherly intuition suspects something is amiss. While Mickey turns to his mob friends for help, a famed local reporter (and heavy alcoholic), Richard Shelburn (Richard Jenkins) takes it upon himself to discover the truth... and much more.
The focus of the film isn't so much on Leon's death, but on the various characters residing in God's Pocket. Everybody from the funeral director (Eddie Marsan) to the local barkeep portray not characters, but caricatures that play into the overall plot... for better or worse. The problem is that, outside of Hoffman and Turturro, every character is a gimmick, an empty shell lacking real personality or character. The tone of the film shifts between a dark comedy and a psuedo-noir genre, but isn't able to find its identity. It's unfortunate, too, because Hoffman's performance in God's Pocket is great in spite of the uneven writing.
[Review] Neighbors
[This review was originally published as part of our SXSW 2014 coverage. It is being re-posted to coincide with Neighbors' theatrical release.]
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Neighbors
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Rating: R
Release Date: March 8, 2014 (SXSW)
Nicholas Stoller has been making a name for himself in the comedy scene for years, writing and directing some decent comedies (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Five-Year Engagement). Neighbors, his most recent feature, takes some of the best parts of any Judd Apatow-related film, but adds in Stoller's own style that makes it one of 2014's best comedies of the year thus far.
Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) are two young parents that move into a brand new neighborhood after putting their life savings into a house. Everything seems well and idyllic until a fraternity moves into the building right next door. Wanting to get on their good side, Mac and Kelly introduce themselves to the fraternity's two leads, Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco). After hitting things off well, the relationship between them quickly sours after Mac and Kelly call in a noise complaint. Feeling betrayed, the fraternity declare a war of pranks and shenanigans on the couple, creating chaos in an already chaotic life. With no real options left to them, Mac and Kelly must fight fire with fire to ensure they aren't displaced from their own neighborhood.
Neighbors takes a simple premise and runs with it to great comedic effect. What could have been nothing but a raunchy, lightweight comedy ended up being one of the year's early comedy hits. Considering the nature of the premise (fraternity vs. developmentally-arrested young parents), the raunch level was always going to be present. However, it's used in good taste and contextually well within the frameworks of the film. For example, most college-themed films like to include as many topless girls as possible to give off the "college" feeling. Neighbors, however, keeps the breasts to a bare minimum, only turning to them when appropriate or for a well-placed joke, essentially empowering the importance of bare breasts to great effect.
One major slight against Neighbors is a pacing problem. While the film starts off with some great jokes and keeps the momentum going, there's a noticeable section of the film where the jokes and setups are halted for an extended period of time. Within the context of the film, this was all meant to lead into the otherwise hilarious third act, which is understandable, but unfortunately too much of a lapse to easily brush aside. When the jokes are on, though, they're on, whether it's extended "Who's the real Batman?" exchange, dildo molding, or a long breast milk gag.
Everybody in the cast brought their A-game to Neighbors. Zac Efron's been on this high trajectory, and I was happy to see him get the chance to work alongside both Stoller and Rogen. Franco, too, needs more roles like his in Neighbors, not only because of his comedic prowess, but to also show what he can offer outside of older brother James' shadow. Of course, Byrne stole the show with her jokes. It just be the accent, but Byrne was on it for Neighbors, perhaps building off of the great chemistry she and Rogen shared.
Neighbors won't be out in domestic theaters until May 9th, and indeed, the SXSW cut of the film still was an unfinished one, needing some extra polish, sound mixing, and overall post-editing. Hopefully, the edits they make can help the aforementioned lull in pacing towards the end of the film, plus cutting a few jokes or two wouldn't be a bad idea (including a gruesomely unnecessary Obama joke that didn't land at all). However, despite the extra work that'll be made on the film, I still stand my ground by labeling Neighbors one of 2014's best comedy offerings.
[Review] Chef
[This review was originally published as part of our SXSW 2014 coverage. It is being re-posted to coincide with Chef's theatrical release.]
Chef
Director: Jon Favreau
Rating: N/A
Release Date: March 7, 2014 (SXSW)
Over the past few years, director Jon Favreau has been known for his big budget sci-fi films (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Cowboys & Aliens). However, his career began with earnest in low budget indie darling films, most notably Swingers alongside Vince Vaughn. Since then, Favreau's trajectory has skyrocketed, culminating with the aforementioned Iron Man films, which themselves helped establish Marvel's dominance in the film industry. However, wanting to create something personal on a smaller scale, Favreau brought Chef to this year's SXSW in which he directed, wrote, and starred. Would all of the years spent working on big budget Hollywood films affect his ability to create films that were driven more by personal stories than grandiose concepts? Read on and find out.
Early in his career, chef Carl Casper (Favreau) was named one of the most exciting chefs in the restaurant business. After establishing a residency at a Los Angeles restaurant for many years, Casper's creativity began to suffer. In an attempt to reinvigorate both himself and his cooking staff, he set out to create a special menu to accommodate LA's most notorious food critic. However, the owner of the restaurant (Dustin Hoffman) prevents Casper from deviating from the established menu, resulting in a domino effect of events that lead to a scathing review of Casper's talents and his own ouster from the restaurant. With his future prospects out the window, Casper sets out to Miami to start a food truck business with his best friend and former line cook (John Leguizamo). Also along for the ride is Casper's son, Percy (Emjay Anthony) who had been inadvertently ignored due to Casper's busy schedule and the divorce between he and his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara).
Chef is split by its two halves. The first half of the film focuses on Casper and his professional fall and rise. The conflict is driven not just by the obvious man vs. man conflict, but also man vs. self as Casper has to re-adapt his life and find what's been missing inn his personal and professional careers. The second half focuses more on Percy and his reconnection with Casper. The transition from the light comedy/drama of the first half to the road trip/buddy film in the second half was a bit rough, but welcome at the same time.
In a way, Chef is simple, and that's okay. Much like Favreau's Casper went on a journey to find the spark he once lost, Chef could be Favreau's proverbial food truck. It won't be for everybody, and some might expect more from the writer/director/actor, especially with the film being his first feature since the Hollywood film predecessors. The drama's light and nothing too expository, but the true heart of the film is in the comedy. Favreau's writing is pointed and direct in its nature, relative to both the restaurant industry and the Latino flavor of the film. Complementing the Latin tone of the film is the spectacular soundtrack that features covers of notable songs from Merengue to Salsa to Bachata and everything in between.
Chef is a light, good-hearted film that definitely benefited from being SXSW's opening film. It's charming, has jokes that are actually funny, and is supported by a great cast. If you're looking for a laid-back night out, Chef will be the perfect complement to a nice, candlelit dinner.
[Review] Friended to Death
Do you ever have them nights where you're sitting around, hanging with your boys Ben and Jerry, and question everything in your life? No? Oh yeah, me neither... Anyway, for those of you who may have, perhaps you thought about a lot of things, like "Why aren't any of my friends texting me?" or "Should I order pizza too or is that too extreme?" Maybe you even thought deeper down into a dark place where you grow a curiosity for the hypothetical. In this state, you may have thought about death, but did it ever cross your mind to think about who would be at your funeral? Friended to Death, the latest dark comedy from Sarah Smick and Ian Michaels, tells the tale of a man who goes to extreme lengths via Facebook to find out. While it may not have been the most amazing comedy to be put on the market, I found an appreciation for the lighthearted nature of a topic that could be taken down an extremely serious route.
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Friended to Death
Director: Sarah Smick
Rating: R
Release Date: May 2, 2014
Michael Harris (Ryan Hansen) is a ticket-crazy Los Angeles parking enforcement officer who is just as obsessed about posting his ticketing adventures on Facebook as he is about administering tickets. What seems like a perfect day for him turns into a downward spiral with unemployment and the loss of a very good friend. However, Michael isn't the kind of guy to do nothing about this. With the help of friend Emile (James Immekus), he creates an alter ego of sorts using Facebook, the one thing he trusts the most in order to gain back the attention of Joel (Zach McGowan), the friend who left him to bite the dust. For a man who seems to be extreme, it only seems appropriate that he would go to the length of faking his own death in order to see who actually cares about him.
If you're looking for a comedy that will keep you laughing out loud to the point where you can't breathe and you regret buying popcorn because now you're choking on that, you probably won't get that out of this. Regardless, it should be kept in mind that that wasn't the goal of this film. It's very tounge-in-cheek, and I appreciate the cheesiness that emulates from it. With a character as ridiculous as Michael, it's not something that is supposed to be taken seriously, and I think it is a nice way of bringing to light a big social media addiction that seems to be rising up around the world.
This was Sarah Smick's first feature length directing gig, and I think that she was able to capture this character's ridiculousness and antiheroism in a way that left you somewhat pitying and relating to him on a level. I think that's a pretty impressive task considering not too many of us would go to the lengths this character did to pretend he is no longer alive. Talking about the cinematography, I think the colors are awesome. It's a very vibrant, cinematic film, and it really does justice to adding to this 94 minute satire. No, you won't see wild angles that have never been done before, but why would that be the point of making this anyway? I really think that the coloring of this contributed to this film in a very refreshing manner.
While I thought that the film was nice in its lighthearted selections, there was a point in the film in which I was kind of twiddling my thumbs because I was almost too annoyed by this guy's antics. It felt like he was going on with this for too long of a portion of the film. If there were to be improvements made, I would hope for a really big curveball that would seem impossible for him to get out of. This isn't to say that I didn't find enjoyment from watching how this all works out for Michael, but I think something needed to save me from my impatience.
Overall, I would definitely say that this film captured the light I was expecting to feel from it. Poking fun at the issues that many people are facing everywhere when it comes to social media and its addictive qualities, I would say it is just a film defending something I really like to rant about. I hope to see more from Sarah Smick and Ian Michaels as they create more movies, and I think they will only get better over time.
[Review] Fading Gigolo
When I write my reviews, I feel as if it seems like I hate most romantic movies. However, that definitely isn’t true; rather I had yet the opportunity to see something recent and noteworthy in this genre. Without a doubt there remains a very simple essence to these kinds of films, and I dread the kind of movies that drag out the predictable end. I am a firm believer that good cinema exists in every genre. It’s only by those who can challenge the normal standards who will find progression. Fading Gigolo, with John Turturro and Woody Allen, maybe follows somewhat of a formula, but each scene describes the essence of just what it’s like to find your soulmate with the utilization of original thought and idea.
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Fading Gigolo
Director: John Turturro
Rating: R
Release Date: April 18, 2014
Fiorvante (Turturro) agrees to becoming quite the Don Juan due to his lack of financial sources after Murray (Allen), who is also an older man was just looking for a bit of cash. The attraction of women into this industry was simple enough with the charm of a few of Woody’s kind words, and his capability to get them to tell their darkest desires put him in line to be Fiorvante’s own “manager” or “pimp” of sorts. Like most things, though, money can’t buy a person love, and the pair finds themselves caught in between the cross fire of both the desire for money and love.
I thought this movie was absolutely beautiful. Turturro nailed every little detail about the film. A movie full of sex, lust, and love, it seemed only appropriate that the cinematography be utilized in order to keep the overall color of the film a sensual, sunset-like tone. And the soundtrack was perfect as well, for each song properly captured that optimistic feeling of the fall and dating around in New York City. The acting was impeccable as well. Woody Allen and John Turturros’ characters just bounce off of each other with an undeniable chemistry, where as the females in the film (Vanessa Paradis, Sharon Stone, and Sofia Vergara) have a fantastic delivery of their roles as well. I think that the film took the essence of something so seemingly simple and made it its own with such ease, and it’s hard to not like the slight charm throughout.
As much as I loved this movie, there are a few things that could use a few improvements. The biggest issue I noticed, however, was the seemingly abrupt ending. Now, I have no intention on spoiling it, but the final minutes of the film were the least expected. Sometimes surprise is nice, but little to no support as to why Turturro chose to end it how he did left a lot of viewers, including myself, wondering why he went down the route that he did. All of this aside, I think that the filmmaker’s project has evolved into something that can be remembered well by all of those who get the chance to see it.
[Review] Tasting Menu
I’m a huge fan of cooking, but have never found myself to enjoy films that center around someone who enjoys the same hobby as I do. Regardless of my stubborn belief, I always do my best to keep an open mind to things that I have already labeled as pointless by giving them another try. On this note, I decided to view Tasting Menu, and just like with my food, I was disappointed when I discovered the lack of spice this film brought to me. It’s attempt at complexity was diminished with the over-utilization of plot lines, and to be honest I still have no idea what I was supposed to take away from my viewing.
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Tasting Menu
Director: Roger Gual
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: April 18, 2014
At the height of her success, Chef Mar Vidal (Vincenta N’Dongo) has decided that she is going to close down her world famous restaurant. Marc (Jan Cornet) and Rachel (Claudia Bassols) made a reservation at this restaurant a year beforehand without the knowledge that it would also be the last night of the establishment’s existence. The event, for this reason, makes the occasion even more important, yet Marc and Rachel are no longer together. The dinner is the first reunion between the pair since their split a year earlier, and neither of them were stubborn enough to give up their seats at the coveted restaurant. The night is still young, and it seems that everyone in the restaurant is going to have a memorable experience on this evening of conclusions.
The initial premise of this film sounds kind of charming. A couple rekindling their lost fire of a relationship over a once in a lifetime opportunity dinner seems like something that a person could relate to in one way or another. However, on top of this plot there’s a lot of other minor ones, such as a widowed countess who was close friends with the chef and two Japanese men escorted by a Spanish girl who becomes interested in Marc. Not to mention Rachel’s boss shows up with the hopes of extending their relationship to a very new level. Because of all of these different plot lines, I endured the whole film hoping that they would all come together to make one. To my dismay, I felt as if I endured a whole 90 minute introduction into what could potentially be a few good movies. In fact, it felt like I was just getting a few samples from a Tasting Menu of the whole film.
I thought that there were a lot of ideas from this film that could have been very great as different films. The countess’s relationship with the chef would have been a nice coming of age film about sharing old experiences with youth, the escort of the Japanese men could have possibly been the other woman in a shaky relationship with a woman and her ex, or it could have solely centered around the woman and her ex. Regardless, these are all very strong plot points that might just have been too independent to bounce off one another. In the end, the movie came off to me as a collection of cliches, and unfortunately I still have no idea what I was to take away from my viewing of it. Potential lies underneath the surface of all of these different plots, but it’s too scattered to follow. A bit of narrowing in topic choice would turn this film that was very bland and two-dimensional into a work that is a bit more full of life.