'American Made' Review

[This review was originally written in October 2017 and is now being published to coincide with the digital home media release. For an explanation of this, visit my Fall 2017 Important Update post.] 

American Made jettisons off the runway to tell the true story of Barry Seal, a TWA pilot recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance photos of the developing Communist threat in Central America. The covert operation quickly spirals out of control when Seal's piloting prowess catches the attention of the Medellin Cartel, and he becomes embroiled in flying guns, drugs, and Contras across borders in an operation that'd later be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.

American Made marks the second teaming of director Doug Liman with star Tom Cruise after Live. Die. Repeat. (or Edge of Tomorrow... just call it whichever title you prefer at this point I suppose). While I'd seen that pairing work wonders before, I was still skeptical considering Cruise's recent streak of stinkers: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and The Mummy (2017). If there's one thing to said about Cruise though, it's that the man always gives his all, regardless of the quality of the film surrounding him. And it's the dynamic combination of Cruise's electric performance and Liman's dedicated direction that are able to charge American Made, and then some.

The film utilizes voice-over narration and visual graphics of maps to explain all the intricacies of the affair, similarly to how War Dogs and The Wolf Of Wall Street explained the logistics of gun running and the stock market. I liked this technique because it simplified the more complicated elements that would have been completely lost on me otherwise. It's also worth noting that Liman interwove actual footage of the events along with the film itself to grant the biopic a documentary-eque aesthetic. This technique is then mirrored in César Charlone's cinematography when certain scenes are shot with less discipline and underscored by rocking tunes to add further credence to this out of control narrative.

I'm glad that Linman sought to tell this story in a fun fashion, because otherwise we'd have been stuck with a boring biopic. Gary Spinelli's script playfully flies from one screwy situation to the next, ensuring audiences remember how messed up this all is by constantly reminding them of the severity of Seal's actions. Spinelli also remembers to keep things grounded and accounts for the measured details of how the entire ordeal affected Seal's personal life. This could have easily became uninteresting, but audiences will have likely been won over by Cruise's charm at this point, so they'll be reasonably invested in the characters and willing to stick around for the long haul (family and all). 

If there was one thing holding everything together though, it'd undoubtedly be the sly performance from Tom Cruise. Cruise appears to be having the time of his life making this movie, and it really shines through his captivating, roguish portrayal of Barry Seal. Every moment of Cruise's screen time is an utter delight, regardless of whether he's in the middle of a cartel shootout or riding away on a child's bicycle covered in cocaine. Very few actors could pull off such strange scenes as those, but Cruise consistently comes out on top.

At Cruise's side, Sarah Wright imbues Seal's wife with a kind, compassionate, and loving heart. Wright handles her dramatic bits quite well when push comes to shove, but for the most part is relegated to a stock supporting capacity.

Elsewhere, Domhnall Gleeson's kooky CIA operative 'Schafer' stands as a refreshing departure from the serious stint of his career (Brooklyn, Ex Machina, mother!, The Revenant, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Gleeson is toned down in comparison to Cruise's kookiness, but still stands out as an eccentric onscreen presence. Caleb Landry Jones, Jesse Plemons, and Jayma Mays also deserve mentions for their swell supporting roles as a dim-witted redneck, small town sheriff, and a relentless government official respectively.

So I suppose you're all wondering if American Made's outlandish true story was made for Americans... Well, thanks to Linman and Cruise, American Made is a wild ride well worth boarding regardless of where you're from!

Film Assessment: B+

'Brooklyn' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Actress; Saoirse Ronan, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Brooklyn is now the seventh of the eight Best Picture nominees I will have reviewed, leaving just The Big Short for me to see and review. Brooklyn is a 1950's period period piece that follows an immigrant's journey to America based on a 2009 romance novel. Brooklyn is a very well made film but nothing in particular real stood out to me, not to say there isn't any enjoyment to found in the film, but rather the film seemed like a generic romantic period piece. The direction and cinematography are well reserved and so neither stood out and fascinated me. The film's greatest strength is in fact the performances, which are all terrific. In particular, Satires Ronan makes for a great female lead bringing such a great layer of humanity to the role and never seeming too fictional but rather "very authentic". Emory Cohen and Domhnall Gleeson, who portray the two love interests to Ronan's Eilis, are both great in their limited screen time and each have a few moments to shine with some great charisma. In retrospect, I did in fact enjoy the film but probably won't ever feel compelled to watch it again, or purchase it, and I don't quite agree that it should have been nominated for Best Picture when there are so many other films that were released last year I felt were much more deserving of a nod. (ie.  Inside Out, Sicario, Creed, The Hateful Eight, Ex Machina, and maybe even Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Overall, I can say that as a whole it's a very well made performance piece that does have some entertainment value but I wouldn't quite recommend it unless you want to see all the Best Picture nominees or are a huge fan of romantic period piece films.

Film Assessment: B-

'The Revenant' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Alejandro González Iñárritu, Best Actor; Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Supporting Actor; Tom Hardy, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.

Won: Best Director; Alejandro González Iñárritu, Best Actor; Leonardo DiCaprio, and Best Cinematography.

The Revenant tells the story of American frontier fur trapper expedition that quickly goes awry after an indian assault and the expedition's navigator Hugh Glass undergoes significant trauma, both physically and emotionally, and then is left for dead. The remainder of the film follows his quest for vengeance against those who wronged him (I won't go into details because I'd rather refrain from spoiling the film). 

Alejandro González Iñárritu directs The Revenant hot off of his Best Director Academy Award victory last year for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) and I can confidently say that Iñárritu has now been cemented as one of my favorite directors working today as I loved both Birdman and now The Revenant. Iñárritu's proven he's quite a visionary director looking to stretch the boundaries of filmmaking and once again teams with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki to create a visual pièce de résistance after their collaboration on Birdman. 

All of the cinematography in the film is breathtakingly gorgeous and very awe-inspiring. Something interesting to note about The Revenant is that it was filmed using only natural light, which lead to a prolonged production period since the cast and crew depended on sunlight to create the film. Iñárritu and Lubezki manage to bring some incredible sequences that borrow from some of the techniques used in Birdman, where in The Revenant one of the beginning action sequences appeared to be filmed in one take, rather than be piece milled together. 

All of the performances on display are terrific and in particular Leonardo DiCaprio just needs to be handed a golden statuette already (of course I'm referring to the fact that he has yet to win an Oscar). DiCaprio is given an opportunity to bring a unique more physical performance as Hugh Glass and he is spectacular. One scene in particular that I felt I should touch on in the review is one involving a gruesome bear attack on Hugh Glass. DiCaprio's dedication is present as he's so convincing in the scene making you actually believe that Glass was being brutally mauled by a bear. 

Tom Hardy portrays the film's antagonist John Fitzgerald and he certainly becomes a despicable human being. Hardy's infamous The Dark Knight Rises Bane voice slips in at some points along with some of his grunting seen in Mad Max: Fury Road but gives a outstanding performance nonetheless. The remainder of the main supporting cast Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter are superb each bringing great supporting characters to the film. 

The Revenant is not only a visual delight but is involves some sensational direction and performances that will maintain interest in it's two and a half hour runtime. I recommend it for fans of DiCaprio and  Iñárritu's work but be forewarned that there are some gruesome gory violence and blood so if you're sensitive to this, then I'd be wary of watching The Revenant  I loved the film and as of now it's one of my favorites amongst the film award contenders and certainly hope it will be appreciated by the Academy as well but we'll see in the coming weeks as nominations are announced, which I will cover  in a few blog posts including the announcement of the nominations, my predictions and the actual results. Once again, The Revenant is a phenomenal film that fans of cinema will certainly appreciate. 

Film Assessment: A+

'Ex Machina' Review

Nominated For: Best Original Screenplay and Best Visual Effects.

Won: Best Visual Effects.

Ex Machina managed to slip under my radar as I didn't begin to hear about it till around December despite it's April release, and I can say that Ex Machina certainly lived up to the buzz. Alex Garland, writer and director, makes his directorial debut and certainly made a huge splash. The film follows a futuristic society in which a young computer coder is invited to a research facility owned by his company's CEO to test an Artificial Intelligence. 

The film centers on a very central core cast of only three characters and all three actors where phenominal. Domhnall Gleeson is essentially the audience's voice throughout the film as he expresses his amazement regarding this technical feat and attempts to rationalize the logistics of artificial intelligence making his character the everyman who is instantly relatable and somewhat likable. Oscar Isaac provides a terrific performance as a very conflicted, foreboding eccentric billionaire that maintains this foreboding mysterious presence throughout. 

Alicia Vikander was so convincing as Ava, the artificial intelligence, providing this neutral realm between human and robot as she must portray an artificial intelligence that is so lifelike yet doesn't quite understand humanity. The visual effects on display in this film were mind boggling. The effects used to create Ava looked really realistic and it was believable that Alicia Vikander was actually this AI inside a humanoid robotic body. One interesting aspect is that the film walks the fine line between science fiction and science exploring something that could certainly happen in real life. 

The moment the credits started rolling I began to consider one of the central themes present regarding the difference between humans and artificial intelligence. The best description I can provide for Ex Machina is that it was a very thought provoking film with incredible visual effects, terrific performances, and a very intriguing premise.

Film Assessment: A