[Review] We Are Your Friends
Close your eyes and think back to all of the various stages of your life, and I can almost guarantee you that each one is segmented into the type of music you were listening to, whether it was a specific band, genre, song, or what have you. Needless to say, music plays an important role in all of our lives. Recently, we've seen EDM gravitate towards the top of mainstream music genres with EDM DJs headlining all types of festivals across the country. Adversely, the genre's popularity also attracts unwanted notoriety as the scene's culture is linked to partying and drugs, especially in regards to EDM's mainstream media coverage.
With that said, what better way is there to tell a contemporary coming-of-age film set within the EDM scene? Writer/director Max Joseph's We Are Your Friends tells the story of an aspiring DJ's attempts to make it big with his friends, but his rise is constantly threatened by personal events. Unfortunately, the film derails way too often, leaving audiences a messy film struggling with its identity.
[youtube id="gZzAeYWXFpk"]
We Are Your Friends
Director: Max Joseph
Rating: R
Release Date: August 28, 2015
Cole (Zac Efron) is an aspiring DJ living in the San Fernando Valley with his best friends Ollie (Shiloh Fernandez), Squirrel (Alex Shaffer), and Dustin (Jonny Weston). Together, they all dream of leaving the Valley for the riches and lights that Los Angeles has to offer, and they do so by promoting at a local club where Cole DJs.
Thanks to a chance encounter, Cole begins a mentorship with an established DJ, James (Wes Bentley), who helps Cole with his mix and offers him a gig at a large music festival. However, as life is wont to do, various circumstances are thrown at Cole and his friends, whether it's a dead-end job or the sexual tension between him and James's girlfriend, Sophie (Emily Ratajkowski).
There are so many elements at play in We Are Your Friends, but that's not a good thing... definitely not one for this film. Had it stuck to one genre, this film would have been far better. However, Joseph shows his ambition by attempting to create a film with a legitimately compelling story beyond the standard we've come to expect from similar music films. And for this, I applaud him; it's just unfortunate that his ambition ultimately led to the film's downfall.
There are many subplots going on within We Are Your Friends that help move the film along, but they all lack the payoff in the end. Take, for instance, Cole's three friends - the relationship between the four of them is that of ride or die brothers who would all have each other's backs. However, when Cole begins his friendship with James and Sophie, he essentially turns his back on them, as illustrated in a party scene where the trio embarrass themselves at James's party with no support from Cole whatsoever. Leading up to the film's final act, the friends are all eventually phased out to increase the spotlight on Cole's relationship with James and Sophie. There's a bit of a twist or a surprise that leads into the third act, but the immediate fallout from it is so tone-deaf and unrealistic.
However, this in itself is so unbelievably realistic and fairy tale-like. I can get behind Cole's sudden rise in the way fictional films tend to work out. What I can't get behind is the love triangle between Cole, Sophie, and James. Spoiler alert: Sex and fights are involved. I can't get too into this point without actually spoiling the film, yet the film's ultimate failure is rooted in Cole's narrative and how absurd it is.
Simply put: You can't attempt to create a drama that, through no believable elements whatsoever, allows the protagonist to come out on top unaffected and unchanged.
As far as the performances go, I've become a bit of an Efron fan in recent years, and he has his moments in the film. Unfortunately, his range is held back by the film's script and direction. Nevertheless, he makes the most of what's given to him. Wes Bentley also holds his own, but much like Efron's situation, he's held back from truly showing off what he can do. Ratajkowski's role as Sophie, however, is cause for concern.
Joseph attempts to create a truly-realized character with emotions and thoughts and dimensions beyond the obvious, and it truly is admirable. However, she's sorely underwritten and underutilized despite Joseph's attempts. For a film like We Are Your Friends, an attractive female lead is basically needed for the male protagonist to woo and romance on his path to the top, yet I truly believe building on the dynamics of Cole and James's multifaceted relationship would have been a better decision.
There are glimmers of light here and there in We Are Your Friends, whether it's Joseph's ambitions or Efron and Bentley's performances. However, they're too few and far between to justify seeing the film in theaters.
Brie Larson Destined for Breakout in Room Trailer
[youtube id="6C6fZ-fwDws"]
Brie Larson has been close to breaking out in practically every one of her films over the past few years. She stunned audiences with her beauty and comedic wit/timing in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, played a small but pivotal role in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut, Don Jon, was a highlight in Miles Teller's The Spectacular Now, was a scene stealer in Judd Apatow's Trainwreck, and cemented herself as one of Hollywood's most talented actresses in the sorely overlooked Short Term 12.
With Room, however, Larson may just be on the path towards the breakout she was destined to experience back in 2013. Directed by Frank's Lenny Abrahamson, Room is a gripping emotional/psychological drama/thriller about a young woman, Ma (Larson), and her five-year-old son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay), escaping from a 10x10 shack they were held captive in. Room is very reminiscent of the Saoirse Ronan-led Stockholm, Pennsylvania, but with notable and important differences. Room is adapted from the novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue.
This could be the performance to put Larson over the top, and I can't wait to see it happen when Room is released into LA and NY theaters on October 16th with a wide release on November 6th.
[Review] Felt
This review for Felt is being re-posted to coincide with the film's VOD release.
In an age where rape culture is more visible than ever thanks to film, television, and the Internet using the aggressive act as a plot device, it's apparent now more than ever we need narratives that help break down the emotional and tragic consequences of sexual aggression. Felt is the next, necessary step in the conversation and should help bring about a change.
Felt is a revolutionary piece of art that transcends all modern convention. A mesmerizing and dark story of loss, identity, and power that never loses track of its humanity. Don't miss this one.
[youtube id="0L3utCNuOw8" autoplay="no"]
Felt
Director: Jason Banker
Rating: NR
Release Date: June 26th, 2015, July 21st, 2015 (VOD)
Felt exists in a tumultuous state. A tantalizing fog of fact and fiction, Felt is the creation of director Jason Banker and experimental artist Amy Everson whose experiences and art the film is based on. Everson's "character" Amy is dealing with a traumatic event in her past which has left her a shell of her former self. As a way to cope with an overtly male world, she creates these suits in order to dress herself in a grotesquely male dominant form. Although there definitely is a bigger theme at play, Felt is wonderfully subdued in its narrative. While its fast and loose nature might turn some off, Director Banker makes sure every scene is highlighting something special. With a concise run time, not a single second is wasted.
At this point in the review, I'd usually try and focus on a few bullet points on why I liked or didn't like a film, but I'm struggling to narrow Felt down to a core. Even though it's been a few days since I've seen the film, I still don't feel like I've processed it as much as I needed to do it justice. After my initial viewing, I sat their stunned. Unfeeling, unmoving, I had no idea what to do with myself next. A cold chill just ran over my body, and it's just the tip of the iceberg. I've seen and read about dozens of sexual violence incidents, and while they've always struck a chord with me, no narrative has ever encapsulated the pure tragedy of the acts so well. For the first time, we finally have a proper window to the experience that's utterly real.
As Amy has trouble rediscovering her sense of self, Felt also follows suit. At times, scenes feel aimless and longing. The ambiguous cinematography will no doubt be a turn off for most, but that's where the film's genius truly lies. Tackling such a huge theme like the after effects of rape can be a sticky situation, and that awkwardness is blown out of proportion to wonderful effect. You see, there's a constant battle of agency at play. As Amy struggles to accept her new, identity-less self, you struggle to accept her as well. If you divert your gaze away from the film, or diverge from the intensity of the emotions at large, then, as a viewer, you're succumbing to the power of the male gaze and taking away Amy's agency. The second you refuse to accept Amy and her suit as she trapses through the forest, the second the aggressor wins. Felt is all about introspection and the expression of personal issues through new avenues of art. Regardless of how different or off putting it is, just take the time to absorb it whole.
None of this would've worked, however, without Amy Everson. Everson is a performing dynamo. Seemingly lethargic, charming, manic, humorous, and attention grabbing all rolled up into an innocuous package. She's so enigmatic on screen, it's hard to look away. You can feel bits of her soul in each performance as it cries out to the world, and it makes her character work seem even more palpable. There's just something so intrinsically human about her performance which makes the film that more effective. Coupled with the striking imagery of her false skins and penises, her performance blurs the lines between the ludicrously tragic and the tragically ludicrous. There's something special here, and it's sad that I can't find enough words to explain it.
This is most likely the least "critical" sounding review I've ever written. The more I ramble on, the less effective this'll be, but at the end of the day nothing I say will even matter. This isn't a story about me. Felt is a small window into the experience that encapsulates all of the intensity of the situation herein, and if this is what a peek looks like, I'm not sure I can handle the whole thing.
I've cried, I've laughed, and I'm completely at loss for words. There just isn't a word in our language to perfectly capture how powerful Felt is.
Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone Team Up in Trailer for Rocky Sequel, Creed
[youtube id="fCBzWLVQgk8"]
Director Ryan Coogler is reuniting with his Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan for the upcoming Rocky spin-off sequel, Creed, and if this trailer is any indication, we're in for a promising new entry in the Rocky legacy.
Jordan stars as Adonis Creed, son of the late Apollo Creed. Despite never knowing his father, he has the drive of a true fighter coursing through his veins. After relocating to Philadelphia to pursue a boxing career, he reaches out to Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) in hopes his father's famous rival and best friend can train him to be the best boxer he can be.
The duo of Coogler and Jordan showed how amazing they could be in Fruitvale Station, and the tone in this Creed trailer is so incredibly on point. It treats the subject material with reverence, sends a quick nod and shiver to long-time Rocky fans with Rocky's transition as Adonis's trainer, yet holds its focus on Adonis's journey. As I said yesterday about Chiwetel Ejiofor being set for a breakout year, so too is Jordan with both Creed and Fantastic Four set for 2015 releases, ensuring he covers a wide spectrum of films that will get both casual and dedicated film audiences talking about the young actor.
Funny enough, Creed is scheduled to hit theaters on November 25th, 40 years to the day of Rocky's opening scene.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts Star in First Secret in Their Eyes Trailer
[youtube id="TD_IlSSFVX4"]
Chiwetel Ejiofor just might be one of my new favorite actors. The Academy Award nominee (for his role in 12 Years a Slave) has received some of Hollywood's highest accolades, but he's not a household name just yet. However, with an amazing performance in August's Z for Zachariah and a role in Matt Damon's The Martian coming out in October, Ejiofor is destined for stardom. Now, with the trailer for his next film, Secret in Their Eyes, now out, Fall 2015 just might be what it takes to propel Ejiofor to the next level.
Written and directed by Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games), Secret in Their Eyes is about a tight-knit FBI duo Ray (Ejiofor) and Jess (Julia Roberts) and their supervisor, District Attorney Claire (Nicole Kidman) who are assigned to a murder that ends up with Jess's daughter as the victim. Thirteen years later, Ray stumbles upon a lead that can finally close the case and find the murderer. However, the secret that's kept the mystery open for so long might have irreversible effects on the trio.
Secret in Their Eyes is like an old school Hollywood drama/thriller that I haven't seen since Gone Girl, which should be a good change of pace from the typical superhero films and sex comedies. Secret in Their Eyes is out in theaters on October 23, 2015.
[Review] The Face Of An Angel
British director Michael Winterbottom may be many things, but consistent isn't one of them. Despite his prolific output, it's impossible to know which version of the director will show up: the dry, subtly effective helmer of The Trip miniseries; the bold revisionist who adapted Tess Of The D'Urbervilles in India for Trishna; the composed, naturalist eye behind Everyday; or, less encouragingly, the indulgent provocateur of 9 Songs and tonal blunderbuss who wasted a fine cast in The Look Of Love.
Unfortunately, the Winterbottom helming The Face Of The Angel is the same man behind the insufferable 9 Songs. Any veneer of artistic boldness is wiped away by insufferable indulgence, demonstrating little genuine purpose beyond attracting attention through provocation and needless visual gimmickry and turning a potentially fascinating real-life murder investigation into an excuse for narcissistic self-meditation. The movie may be dedicated to the memory of Meredith Kercher, but the only person its director seems genuinely interested in exploring is himself.
[youtube id="ag_I15RBl-0"]
The Face Of An Angel
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Rating: R
Release Date: June 19, 2015
The story is ostensibly a fictionalised examination of the Meredith Kercher murder through the eyes of an English film director as he slowly loses his mind while seeking inspiration for the most appropriate way of telling the story. The most oft-repeated theme is whether it is better for art to depict the literal truth or offer a fictionalised perspective through which truth can be interpreted, examined and perhaps eventually, clarified. The story does not attempt to untangle the Kercher case so much as look into the way it was reported and what it says about both those doing the reporting and those they were reporting to. Thomas, the director played by Goodbye Lenin's Daniel Brühl, is coming off the back of a flop and needs a hit to revitalise his career. A murder committed in the picturesque Tuscan city of Siena by an American student and her Italian boyfriend offers compelling material for his financiers, but he struggles to find an original take on a case around which most people seem to have already formed a version of the truth in their heads.
Turning a real-life murder into the story of a director's creative crisis feels a little tasteless, but such issues could be easily overlooked had the movie any original insights into the situation and what it says about the social circumstances in which it played out. The media's determination to spin their own versions of what happened is a potentially fertile source of inspiration, yet Winterbottom offers the idea little more than lip service. Supporting characters parrot on about the dividing line between truth and fiction, yet Thomas' mental state is the real centre of attention. That one character even comments on this, suggesting the story shouldn't be turned into that of a middle-aged director losing his way, highlights rather than mitigates that indulgence through commentary. Thomas isn't even interesting enough to hold attention. His meandering through the streets of Siena, pontificating about parallels between the case and the Inferno section of Dante's Divine Comedy (much to the bemusement of his backers), all the while hallucinating and doing copious quantities of drugs, is neither as deep or original as Winterbottom seems to think it is. There is none of the self-loathing or subversive humour which anchored Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation, the 2002 film to which Face Of An Angel owes a clear debt.
The cast is solid enough, though supporting characters struggle for definition in the wake of Winterbottom's focus on Thomas, whom even the usually dependable Daniel Brühl cannot salvage into anything other than a tiresome mope. Kate Beckinsale's Simone exists solely within the context of her relationship to him, while Genevieve Gaunt's Amanda Knox analogue, Jessica Fuller, is never explored beyond other characters telling us what a media-savvy star she is supposed to be. The Kercher figure, Elizabeth Pryce (Sai Bennett), is an afterthought at best. Surprisingly, the one who emerges from the film with far and away the most credit is first-timer Cara Delevingne, who takes a nothing role as a twenty-something art student, Melanie, and infuses it with a liveliness and warmth all her own. There's a valid argument that she is simply playing herself, but she manages to pack considerably more into her limited character than more experienced actors like Brühl and Beckinsale. The movie becomes more interesting and likeable every time she pops up, with none of it down to the staid writing and directing.
Outside Delevingne's inspired casting, Winterbottom struggles to find any sort of spark to bring the movie to life. He dallies with themes he has tackled more successfully in movies past, but just as Thomas finds himself wandering aimlessly through Siena's dark and foreboding streets, so too does Winterbottom repeatedly head down thematic and narrative blind alleys. The incessant meet-and-greets which take up so much of the movie's running time feel like filler while the director tries to make up his mind which undercooked gimmick to deploy next, whether demonic hallucinations or thriller-ish hints at the secret motivations of a morbidly philosophical local, all reliant on a blunt musical score to overemphasize moments of intended impact. However questionable the taste of tackling a murder case still fresh in the memory, the story is one so interwoven with juicy strands of social and cultural commentary that it's remarkable how little ends up being said. Entire movies could be built around the Kercher case's sexual dynamics, the media's depiction of women, or holistic connections to youthful hedonism in the modern age, yet the most interesting take Winterbottom can come up with is perfunctory, winking self-flagellation for his own lack of inspiration.
[Trailer] DOPE
[youtube id="strEm9amZuo"]
DOPE was one of the biggest hits out of Sundance this year, receiving offers from at least six production companies (eventually receiving domestic and international distribution from Open Road Films and Sony, respectively). With a cast that features names like Zoe Kravitz, A$AP Rocky, Casey Veggies, Tyga, Vince Staples, Rick Fox, and more, DOPE was almost guaranteed to find distribution from the festival circuit. It also didn't hurt that Forest Whitaker, Pharrell, and Puff Daddy also had their hand in producing the film, as well.
However, names are one thing - what matters most is the actual film itself. If early reviews from Sundance are any indication, DOPE more than lives up to its celebrity-filled cast. Shameik Moore stars as Malcolm, a '90s hip hop geek and singer for a high school punk band. While the straight-A student is typically perceived as a geek at his Los Angeles high school, he finds himself attaining "dope" status after attending an underground party. However, at what lengths will he go to becoming dope, especially if some of those lengths ultimately change who he is?
DOPE will be in theaters on June 19th.
[Trailer] Unbroken
[youtube id="_OEyRSoegIc"]
Angelina Jolie certainly hasn't faltered from being omnipresent in the film scene in recent years. It seems that there's always something coming out soon with her name attached to it, and usually the viewer's response is pretty positive after watching. In fact, her most recent film Maleficent has been her highest grossing project of all time, and the reviews seem to be reflecting that fact of the matter. As if she weren't already successful enough, I think it's safe to say that she just may have put herself in the running for an Oscar or two with her latest directorial work Unbroken.
Starring Jack O'Connell (Skins fans, get excited), the drama is based on the true story of Louis Zamperini. Once a child with a heavily rebellious side, he decides to turn his life around by working to improve his running skills for the track team. The years pass, and his discipline evolves into him becoming an Olympic champion. However, just when things seem to be going great, the demand of World War II calls for his service, and he is taken as prisoner by Japanese forces.
A true story of triumph and survival, I think that this will be one of the films that will be on my overwhelmingly long list of things to see come December. There are a lot of actors on the rise within its frames, including Garrett Hedlund, who I personally think is going to blow up soon enough. As if there weren't enough reasons to see this movie already, it was also written by Joel and Ethan Coen, who I believe are legends themselves. Unbroken will be in theaters December 25, so if Santa disappoints, head out and see it instead.