Bad Shakespeare's Favorite Movie of 2015

             

            There have been a lot of good movies this year.

            I know I haven’t seen even half of the movies that have been released, but wow, it seems like there’s a lot. And while that might disqualify me from picking a favorite movie of the year pretty much any other time, this is the internet age, when all you really need to be a movie reviewer is to have a keyboard and have seen a movie. You don’t need much else. And apparently you don’t even need to get the facts right, just pick the part of the movie that outraged you, then go ahead and spew that outrage.

            Whew. Moving on. I should note one of my resolutions is to stop looking at so many manufactured controversies about movies on the internet.

            I do love movies, that that above little outburst is from the trend recently that just about every movie needs to have a hidden message, and the need to dissect a movie ten seconds after viewing. Look, I’m not going to claim to be an expert on them, I’m a guy who loves movies… so I go see as many as possible. And I like to pick my favorite movie of the year as part of… well, my blog. And I try to put in a little bit more analysis so I’m not just reviewing the movie, but trying to point out why I like it a little bit. It’s all for you, the reader, is what I tell myself as I’m sitting through my ninth movie of the day.

            This year was difficult, because there have been so many great movies, stuff I genuinely liked. A few of them are on top ten lists, one of them in particular isn’t on any end of year lists, and it has been rattling around in my brain for a few months now, so, I’m giving this particular movie the edge.  As for my criteria, it has to be a movie I enjoy, something that I thought was kind of unique, and something that I viewed multiple times. Ultimately, I ended up with four movies that really hit me. So, this post is going to be my top FOUR movies of the year.

4. The End of the Tour.

I went back and fourth as to whether or not I enjoyed this movie, or if I found it to be an exploitative cash grab based around a less-successful writer who got to write about a really successful writer. The movie is about the interview of David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) by David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg). It’s based on Lipsky’s best selling memoir, which is a series of interviews Lipsky conducted following the publication of Infinite Jest, a novel so wonderful that early scenes indicate that Lipsky would like to eat it out of sheer jealousy.

            The movie, however, is deeper than I gave it credit for early on. It’s a fascinating look at fame and who we are. Wallace never really wanted that fame, he wanted his words out there, and the scenes where he’s being interviewed or where he has to be “on” are almost uncomfortable to watch. It’s about friendship, and who we consider a friend, and what that means. Wallace is comforted by his dogs. Lipsky, can’t wait to tear open a package from Wallace late in the film. This is a movie made up of so many tiny scenes, it’s like one of those giant LEGO tapestries.

 My best compliment I can give, however, is that about 10 minutes into the movie I no longer felt I was watching actors, but the characters themselves. Eisenberg and Segel fade into their characters so perfectly that the entire movie watches more like a really well done documentary without having to cut away. I enjoyed this movie the more and more I think about it. I just want to keep studying it, see if I can’t find more of a way to approach it. I will be watching this movie for years to come.

It was enough to make me add a fourth slot to my “Film of the Year” post, after all.

3. Mad Max: Fury Road

            Oh, what a lovely day. Of course this had to make the list. Yes, I’ve heard all of the complaints and this is one of the films that makes it difficult to love movies in the internet age, as it’s dissected before it’s on the screen, but it’s movies like this that make me LOVE movies.

            I could go over the plot again, but hell, it’s been discussed a lot. Go read one of those. I love the fact that despite Tom Hardy taking over the role, we still have the basics about Max that make things important: Max wants to survive, and he gets drawn into a larger plot that he really doesn’t care about. But with over the top practical stunts, costumes, and characters in a word that is fully imagined, it’s difficult to not include this movie on my best of list. If the previous movie is an example of what makes characters in movies great, this is an example of what makes a movie great: attention to detail that other movies need. Each scene is crafted lovingly by an artist who knows what he wants to convey.

            There’s also the actors, who don’t treat this like they’re in a “dumb science fiction movie” but treat it with all of the respect that a movie like this deserves. It’s incredible the way the actors treat each scene in a jaded, yet still hopeful manner. In some ways they’ve given up, in others, they’re still fighting as agents for change.

            It’s a fantastic look at what makes movies… well, movies.

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

            Duh. This was going to make the list. It was a late-breaking addition, one that almost… ALMOST supplanted my number one, but I just couldn’t do it. I’ll be completely honest with you. But I have very unique reasons for adding this to the list.

            This is another movie that’s frustrating in the age of Internet critics. I’ve heard it compared to A New Hope, basically saying they’re the same movie. Of course, saying that The Force Awakens is the same as A New Hope is like saying that Harry Potter and Hamlet are the same because they both take place in a castle.

            What makes The Force Awakens work is that is manages to take what we loved about the original movies, and address them in some way. There’s no parting shot of  Dameron Poe and Rey Last Name Probably Skywalker getting their medals as they’ve defeated the First Order’s Death Star Starkiller Base. Instead we get a real serial (You remember when you were happy that these were Space Serials, George Lucas) cliffhanger ending where Rey goes off to find Luke Skywalker. Yes, a young woman with cool Jedi Powers (visible from her first scene, FYI) is found on a desert world, mirroring the introduction of two other Jedi, but her story is very different, as she doesn’t want to leave that world.

            This is very much a story of a young woman not wanting to change her destiny, despite the fact that everything is forcing her in that direction. People love to point out… BB-8 got the plans to find Luke, just like R2 got the plans for the Death Star! But like to forget that not only were the circumstances different, but the outcome was different as well.  BB-8 was given his own journey, not to find a mystical space Wizard. And it shows in his personality, he’s not a lone droid stranded on a planet, he’s part of a larger mission. The best thing this story does: whereas A New Hope is presented as a story that sorta knew a little bit about what maybe happened in the past, The Force Awakens gleefully accepts that every person on their knows the legend of Luke, Han, and Leia, albeit in a twisted manner.

            This is where The Force Awakens succeeds. In taking elements that are familiar to us, but giving a new spin to it. Even Kylo Ren is fighting his natural urge away from the Dark Side of the Force.  The even darker implication is that his part of the story is twisted, as he looks towards Darth Vader for strength, forgetting that he turned his back on the Dark Side for his family. All the similarities are presented as a way to put together a story that is obsessed with legends in a new and unique manner.

            Also, space wizards and light swords.

            So, we’ve come to my final pick for movie of the year. And it very much is movie of the year for me. It’s my favorite movie I’ve seen, and one I quite frankly felt didn’t get the respect it deserved this past year, dumped early in February after changing positions from a more prominent release date last year. But to me, it’s a very well put together movie that is, above all else: Enjoyable. It’s also probably only going to make one person’s list, and that’s mine, so revel in it.

            Bad Shakespeare’s movie of 2015 is…

1         

                         Kingsman: The Secret Service.

For a while, each one of the aforementioned movies were in my top spot for movie of the year. It was also briefly Creed (which barely didn’t make the list but didn’t quite exceed The End of the Tour)  and Avengers: Age of Ultron (Because of the many manufactured controversies around it, I wanted to give it some love) but at the end of the day, I keep going back to this well put together class drama wrapped up in a brilliant spy parody.

For those who don’t remember, this was the one with Samuel L. Jackson as a lisping supervillain who can’t stand the sight of blood, the lady with the bionic legs of death, and Colin Firth in his least Colin Firth role in years as spy Harry Hart, who takes the young “Eggsy” under his wing.

For me, this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in years. With a conspiracy that’s timely (Climate Change) and a villain who’s not just over the top, but reminiscent of the celebrities we worship today. Throw in some cool action sequences, and you have yourself a fantastic movie.

What put this movie over the top for me was the extreme attention to detail the filmmakers put into everything. The fight scene gets a lot of love for it’s five minutes in a single take action, but for me the scene that will be one of the best of 2015 is the Harry Hart/Valentine sit down where they talk about old spy movies. It’s a little on the nose, and I doubt any other actors other than Samuel L. Jackson or Colin Firth could pull it off as well.  But it’s a scene that’s tense and comedic, all at once.

There’s also the aforementioned commentary on class, which has it’s obvious parts, but also it’s extremely subtle moments as well. Eggsy may be from a lower class than these spies that consider themselves high class (who ironically all came from a serving class) but when Michael Caine threatens Eggsy while dying, you get the little reminders that he may not be as high class as he thinks himself. Accents and language are used heavily in this movie to give us a subtle look at class structure. It was really well put together.

Simply put, this is just a well-constructed, well-acted, and sadly overlooked movie, that is worthy of your time. I doubt I’ll get it right like I did last year with Birdman, but hey… I’d rather be happy than right.

Whelp, that’s it for this year’s Movie of the Year. 2016 looks to be an epic year with Ghostbusters, Star Trek Beyond, and of course, Batman v Superman. All declared to be flops by the internet, months before they come out. But hey… I’m going to go enjoy them. Because like I said, my vow this year, and it should be yours, is to avoid manufactured controversies, ignore movies that “are so gonna suck” and just go see them. Enjoy movies, because they’re movies. Because they’re fun. And I’m looking forward to analyzing them with you this year, too.

            Oh, I’m also looking forward to Star Wars: Rogue One and Deadpool. There’s also another Kung Fu Panda. Really I should just get a job where I can watch movies all the time.

AKA We're Scared of Admitting We're A Superhero Television Show

             

            I love comic books. I’ve made that very clear in my many, many posts where I’ve stated something along the lines of “I love comic books.” I think the recent glut of comic book movies to be a good thing (although it’s not as much of a glut as people seem to think… more on that in another post. Maybe. In another day.) But you know the one thing that really got me excited about comic book movies and T.V. Shows?

            The Avengers.

            I mean the movie the Avengers. The bringing together of the biggest superhero names that starred in their recent adventures, having them all meeting up and fight in a movie, then go off on their own ways. Man, for all of Phase One, of what has become to be known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I loved this idea. I even talked about it in my review of Ant-Man, how Phase One embraced this, then managed to throw in little references, like Iron Man holding up a prototype Captain America Shield, Thor’s Hammer showing up to distract Agent Coulson, Tony Stark taking the time to recruit Thunderbolt Ross into the Avengers...

            Then Phase 2 got scared. James Gunn talking about how Guardians of the Galaxy wasn’t going to work with the Avengers, going so far as to scrap planned Iron Man and Hulk Cameos. Someone saying “When are we going to talk about the Avengers” and getting waved off.  (One rumor was that they were afraid audiences would get confused as to why Thor wasn’t helping Iron Man out of his latest jam, as if they should all be hanging out in a clubhouse all the time.)

           

            Which brings me to the extension of the MCU, the Defenders.

            For those of you who don’t know, Netflix has decided to get into the Superhero game, taking on four of the lesser known (but still high ish profile) superheroes with the intent of bringing them into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. The idea being that these “street level” superheroes would eventually team up, taking on street crime in an Avenger-Like Fashion in a team called the Defenders. In the comics, the team was never really an official “team” like the X-Men or Justice League, but rather a random assembling of heroes who sprang into action.

            Netflix has already debuted Daredevil to some wonderful reviews, and I just finished up watching Jessica Jones, which also had some wonderful reviews. I have to agree, as a realistic television show that deals with superhumans, it’s probably one of the best television shows I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

            Unfortunately for a show set in the MCU, it’s terrible. It’s scary, even, as it’s one of the first signs that Marvel is starting to slowly abandoned their shared universe, the very thing that made them unique.

            The show is about a private investigator, named Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), with superpowers. The story as to why she received them isn’t really important, but one night while using her powers to save people, she’s discovered by a villain named Kilgrave (Played by former 10^th Doctor David Tennant) who has the ability to control people into doing his will. He uses her powers as part of his criminal empire, and controls her into a relationship with him. What follows (and what the show is about) that is a strong allegory about survival, rape, and PTSD. Like I said, a heavy show, but a fantastic one. I highly recommend it for anyone that would like to watch a standalone television show that loosely follows the comic.

            The problem is the part where I say, “Loosely.”

The powers that be established JJ was going to take part in this larger MCU. That’s a lot how it was sold.  You know what they had the option to do? Not have her take part in this larger world. They could have easily made a stand alone TV show... DC comics is famous for separating out its Television and movie properties.  And had they kept her separate from the MCU, it would have been a lot stronger show. Marvel could have easily said. "Hey, we have our strong rape allegory… let’s go for it and blow some minds!” but instead, they sold this as part of the Street Level Defenders show.

I get Tony Stark, Captain America, or the Hulk not showing up - that was the POINT of Daredevil, the world that this show was supposed to share. There are bad guys that can rip apart mountains with their bare hands, and there are super powered heroes who are going to stop them, but there's always going to be that guy who steals a purse, or tries to rob a bank. Daredevil was a show that said, "hey.. I have superpowers... I'll help the little guy." This could have been an entry to further that idea, rather than Jessica Jones vs. A well known Daredevil villain, it could have shown how a severely damaged woman, one getting over her own demons having been raped, gained her footing to help the people that needed it. (it should be noted that in the comics, The Purple Man aka Kilgrave an't influence Jessica or Daredevil. In fact, it's his hatred for Daredevil that got him so riled up as to send Jessica off into the world to go kill him. Unfortunately he doesn't phrase things properly, and, let's just say Jessica can't defeat all of the Avengers at once.) Instead we got not just a cynical world, but one that openly rejected the idea that it was part of this larger world, or one that was even a superhero show.

              The show's desire to neglect the fact that it is a superhero show, much less one in a shared universe, is the most constantly frustrating thing about it. "Hey, I know a guy who can help wink wink"  says a nurse who appears in Daredevil says in one scene. But it's quickly waved away when they don't want to admit that the show dare stand alongside Daredevil.  Yes, this is supposed to be a show about Jessica Jones, one that needs to establish her. But they didn't allow a chance to draw a connection between the characters, to establish that Daredevil has powers (a major plot point in Luke and Jessica meeting) or that he was the vigilante that everyone was concerned about until the television show, Jessica Jones. It provides an odd disconnect that is jarring, having watched both shows.

            The problem is that this show actively hates the fact that it's a superhero show, and that's a problem.

             The show was a slew of missed opportunities to connect it to a larger world. Hey, how about Jessica getting a call about a vigilante roaming the streets. Hey, how about the words "Wilson Fisk" … you know that huge crime lord who's name was being whispered everywhere and then was suddenly exposed… being brought up. Daredevil didn't have to pop up every episode, but Jessica and Luke were so excited to find someone else like them that maybe - just maybe - the guy wearing the red suit running around the same 10 block radius deserved a mention. He didn't even have to show up in any episode, but the end of Daredevil made it appear as if he was watching over Hell's Kitchen… so why don't the people trying to stop the murdering rapist think to mention him? Even if it's to say, "We can't get him close to Kilgrave because we don't know what will happen?" What about the fact that several of the characters actually work in a law firm? Or that one of them was going to look for a defense attorney to protect her from the super-powered attack she suffered? "Hey look up Nelson and Murdock, they specialize in cases like this" one human being could have said. But they didn't. It was as if they went out of their way to keep from mention the "D" word. Even the Avengers get reduced to nicknames that display sheer disgust at the idea that they may actually exist. The problem is that the show's need to avoid mentioning or establishing that this character is out there hurts it.

To put it in perspective: Did you ever watch Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and it’s spinoff Angel? These were separate shows. They didn't spend a lot of time saying "Wow, Buffy would…" or "Wow, where's Angel." They death with heavy issues… growing up, rape, PTSD. But they acknowledged that they shared a world. There's an episode where Buffy dies in season 5. (Well… "dies" as much as anyone does on that show not named "Tara") during that time Angel was in another dimension. When he got back, he's talking with his buddies, opens a door, and Willow is sitting there. Fade to black before she says anything. Watch Buffy? Great you know why she was there. Don't watch Buffy? You don't know, but it took up literally one minute of the episode. Affects nothing for the casual viewer, adds something cool to remind everyone that it's a shared world. Particularly for a show that was concerned with justice, maybe two lawyers, one of whom with superpowers, could have walked behind someone in a scene. Or a reference to the law firm.

The reason Jessica Jones scares me as a continuation of Marvel's grand vision is it's blatant rejection of superheroes. What happened to her was tragic but the show took someone who was damaged then made her more damaged. The comic took someone who was happy, someone who was a hero. She wore that costume, fought crime, and could fly… and showed what that damage could do. She was raped by Kilgrave for MONTHS in the comic. Her will as a person was broken and her will as a hero was broken. A large section of her recovery was a realization that she didn’t know what was Kilgrave’s will and what was her will, and this scared it. It was a deep look into not just PTSD, but the deconstruction of a superhero. The show skips over that. She's already too cool for tights the second the show gives her superpowers. They openly mock the idea of Jessica becoming a superhero. Not just a superhero, that specific superhero that she was in the comic. The smiling, pink-haired woman who could fly. And this happened before Kilgrave set foot on the screen. The two friends are sitting around, drinking wine, and discussing superheroics. All this as the costume she would wear lays on the couch, being mocked, destroyed, disrespected.  It's not a problem that she doesn't want to fight crime in a suit. It is a problem that her character is rejected for the sake of creating one that is disgusted by the idea of being a hero. Part of the point of Jessica Jones is the shocking change in character after spending 8 months being raped. Not just 8 months of being raped, but by having her will broken down. It's supposed to send a more powerful message. But here's a character that was already pretty much the way she is when we first see her, even in flashback. It takes away from the core of the character. 

The fact is, deep allegories or not, this takes place in a world of superheroes. At the time that she was rejecting all of these things in the show, their was already a very public battle that involved costumed heroes – she could have joined them. But she didn’t have to. They didn’t have to establish a superheroic past, the show works without it. But the inclusion of this into the show is almost hateful to the source material. It’s saying “we’re better than this.” It’s mocking the very reason these shows exist. And as a fan of comic books, it kind of scares me. I’m not saying that superhero shows/comics can’t be dark. Quite the opposite. I’m saying that the removal of what made the character unique in the first place, you’re weakening the case for the character. They didn’t take a happy character and break her, then tell a story of redemption. They told a story where a deep, dark character was hurt, and then… what? Got darker? You remove the superhero aspect of the show. And this gets to a larger problem at the heart of every time a superhero tries to cover anything important: you can either have the colorful costumes, or you can have the serious discussion. If you have the serious discussion, it seems you have to mock the idea of being a superhero.

Maybe we’ll see more. There are still three more series to see before we get to the next show: Luke Cage (we probably won’t hear the phrase “Powerman” unless it’s ironic, I’m guessing). There’s Iron Fist, which is held up as it deals with more fantastical elements. And another season of Daredevil, which had it’s own issues of being afraid to acknowledge it’s legacy as a Superhero Show. and is currently filming with the addition of two other characters deeply entrenched in comic book lore.  But we’ll have to see. I certainly hope they aren't treated with the same disgust as Jessica Jones treats her comic book connections.

            Like I said, I don’t want to rain on how great Jessica Jones is as a standalone television series. It is fantastic. You should watch it. You should stop reading this and watch it now in fact. But it’s embarrassed to be one based on a superhero comic, and that oozes from the screen. And that part… that’s a little scary for the future of the MCU.

Fall Movie Season: The Night Before (Analysis)

           There are many go-to stories that writers seem to like. The Prince and The Pauper is a pretty popular premise for writers to purloin. Zombies seem to be back “in”. But as much as people seem to say “hey… isn’t just the rewrite of X” there’s one story that people like to retell as much as possible.

            A Christmas Carol.

            It’s been remade, revamped, modernized, traditionalized, applied to the Fourth of July for some reason, used in sitcoms, TV Dramas, superhero stories… you name it, three ghosts have shown up at some point and scared some dude into accepting Christmas (or the Fourth of July… seriously, what was up with An American Carol? Did anyone stop and ask what madness that was at any point in the production?)

            While Scrooged, despite being set firmly in the 1980’s, still remains the superior version of A Christmas Carol, there are still attempts at making a new version of it. And in the most recent movie, The Night Before, they seem to succeed in taking the formula and playing with it in a fun way.

            The Night Before is about a young man stuck in the past. Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a man-child who refuses to grow up following the death of his parents at the hands of a drunk driver. His buddies, Chris (Avenger Anthony Mackie) and Isaac (Perpetual Man-Child Seth Rogen) always ensured that he wouldn’t spend Christmas Eve alone with a series of traditions. Traditions that sadly, become endangered, due to his buddies moving on with their lives, Chris becoming a famous athlete and Isaac having a kid. They set out for one last night of sheer epic fun.

            Of course, you could have gotten all of that from the trailer and zero of that has anything to do with A Christmas Carol, so why am I comparing the two? 

            (Spoilers to follow… or as may spoilers that can show up for a movie that’s not really a mystery. You just have one question: Is James Franco in it? Answer to follow as well.)

            What separates out The Night Before from a traditional comedy, and what makes it sort of a remake of A Christmas Carol without the Ghosts or old dude screaming at kids to buy him geese for Christmas Dinner as if that’s something of a resolution, is how it deals with all the same material as Dickens’ classic without copying it word for word.

            This is a movie that’s very rooted in the past, present, and future of these young guys’ lives. Ethan is stuck in the past, dwelling over not really the death of his parents, but the fact that he’s going to lose these guys to what looks like bright, promising futures. For one, Isaac is having a kid, and seems to be calm, cool, and collected… but is freaking out. He’s constantly worried that he’s going to mess up his kid’s life. Chris is making it as an athlete, but not only at the expensive of his friends, but also at the expensive of himself – he’s using steroids and is obsessed with getting in good with the popular members of the team.

            So… Isaac, representing the future, Ethan, representing the past, and Chris, representing the present, all are looking for this giant party where naturally, everything is going to come to a head. The movie covers the ground for everyone: they all have to maintain that past, present and future without losing who they are in the process.

Or maybe they want to lose who they are?

For someone stuck in the past, Ethan is relatively well adjusted. He needs to move on from his fear of settling down. It’s not until he can get past that (with a grand move and guest appearance from Miley Cyrus) that he really can move on from the past, but an epilogue shows us: he manages to still maintain his friendships.

Isaac is afraid of the future, while looking cool. It’s only once that he accepts that future, and that he’s afraid of it, that he’s able to work with his wife. It’s actually one of the better “man child grows up” roles from Seth Rogen, because he never really is a “child” the way he is in some of his more frustrating roles. He starts this very mature, and only devolves when he’s afraid that maturity is eating him up and turning him into someone new.

Then there’s Chris. I found Chris to be an interesting character. Not only because hey, what’s Falcon doing with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen? But because he is the one that we see in the most pain right away – shooting up while talking to Ethan on the phone. This immediately puts the past and the future in a better position than the present. While the past is messed up, and the future is in peril, they are relatively together for the time being.

In fact, the closest this movie has to a ghost figure is in the enigmatic Mr. Green, (Michael Shannon), a pot dealer who seems pretty mystical. And I’m not being cryptic, he’s mystical in that all of his hits seem to give these guys visions of what’s going on in the past, present, and future. The only thing that really bugged me is when he turned out, quite literally, to be an angel as opposed to just a mysterious figure that dispensed advice.

There’s a lot going on in this movie. A lot more than the trailers would indicate from the few trailers of Seth Rogen freaking out on drugs, and Anthony Mackey being “Home Alone’d” at one point. It was one that really did tackle the idea of growing up, and that loving or hating Christmas may be due to the fact that it is a recognizable milestone. We all have Birthdays or some other event that marks time on a planet that, quite frankly, doesn’t mark time the way we think it does. But Christmas is loud. It’s in your face. It’s a celebration that signifies that the end of the year is very close. It’s difficult to escape. These three men have to face the passing of a new year in a very loud manner.

One of the best things about this movie is the closing shots of all of them together, celebrating Christmas. Although they aren’t running around the city, looking for a mythical party or  adhering to all their old traditions – the idea of their traditions ending holds heavy over most of this movie – they are still enjoying each other, and that doesn’t have to end, no matter what the age.  As long as you have good friends and family to spend the time with, that’s where the importance lies. And that’s really the message of A Christmas Carol (And this movie) – it’s the people that we choose to spend our time with that make things better. You can’t really spend time dwelling on what you’ve lost, or what’s going to happen, you have to make the now that important.

Not bad for a movie that includes Miley Cyrus in a duet with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.