A Most Violent Year

First Hit:  The acting, especially by Jessica Chastain, is superb.

This story takes place in the 1960’s, in New York and in the highly competitive home heating oil business. Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) has built his business with hard work and in a short period of time.

One struggle is that his drivers hurt when his trucks are getting hijacked by someone unknown to him. He’s also trying to buy a piece of riverfront property to give him a leg up on his competitors. His growth and the whole sleaziness of the industry is being monitored by a politically hungry DA name Lawrence (David Oyelowo).

Morales' wife Anna (Jessica Chastain) has a background in the mob and it shows with her attitude, actions and strength of character. She occasionally alludes to her ties to the family with threats to Abel that she wants to bring in the family in to resolve the hijacking as well as other things. The exchanges between Abel and Anna are wonderful and charged.

The scenes of Abel teaching how to sell their service is powerfully priceless. The addition of Albert Brooks as Abel’s lawyer Andrew Walsh was an amazing selection because he brings intense pointed guidance to both Abel and the film.

Isaac is very strong and he exudes drive to make it all work. Chastain is sublime, she is so strong that you know she is the foundation that makes Abel’s business (and the film) work. Oyelowo is good as the DA trying to “clean up” this industry but also seeing where his future bread could be buttered. Brooks is phenomenal. J.C. Chandor wrote a very strong script capturing the time and industry well. His direction was clear and concise and he made his script work for him.

Overall:  I’m glad the film wasn’t as violent as the title but the intensity was surely represented.

Match

First Hit:  Because Patrick Stewart is so much better than rest of cast the film comes off very uneven.

Stewart playing a former ballet star and current Juilliard ballet professor named Tobi Powell is being interviewed by Lisa (Carla Gugino) and her husband Mike (Matthew Lillard) under the guise of a dissertation on the history of dance in New York City in the 1960’s.

As the interview proceeds it is clear this isn’t historical research on dance but of something else. Most all of the film takes place in Powell’s apartment. This means that the dialogue and acting must be crisp, meaningful and dynamically interesting.

Unfortunately the actors are not well matched and therefore this film becomes uneven quickly. Only Stewart seems to get the importance of making the dialogue dynamic.

Stewart is the standout in this film. Gugino is OK but doesn’t bring enough to her role to make it work. Lillard makes attempts to match Stewart’s level but I think the script falls a little short. Stephen Belber both wrote and directed this film. From a scripting point of view the idea is a good one but the unevenness of the script and execution by the actors brings down this film.

Overall:  In the end this film fell a little flat.

American Sniper

First Hit:  An extremely well-crafted film.

Killing in war is sometimes justified by the beliefs of a country and its people.

Settling into this film, one has to set aside any beliefs (especially political) about right or wrong because this film is about how one man processes killing other humans when he believes what he is doing is right and is doing it for his country.

This story is about Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) an SEAL sniper who did 4 tours in the middle-east and is credited with over 160 kills. He became "The Legend". Kyle is married to Taya (Sienna Miller) and in-between the first 3 tours she becomes pregnant with a son and daughter, whom Chris loves dearly. Kyle is very controlled and is tightly wound. Around home he is quiet and distant. With the guys in Iraq he’s fearless and engaged.

The pacing of the scenes along with the setups were very strong. The decision making of whether to take a shot we’re well measured and reflected in the actor, screenplay and director. Visually it was a very strong and the edits only added to the action as it transpired.

Cooper was extraordinary in all ways. His controlled looks and measured actions were reflective of someone who had a lot of built up stresses. Miller was very good in her portrayal of a loving wife who wanted her husband back. Jason Hall wrote a wonderful screenplay. Clint Eastwood showed why he is a very strong, precise, and effective director in bringing this story to life.

Overall:  It is an excellent film.

Inherent Vice

First Hit:  It started reasonably strong and faded to boredom quickly.

The opening 15 - 20 minutes I found myself laughing at quips, turns of phrases, and drug induced behavior.

However, it began to wear on me as the film progressed and with the storyline being as confusing as the drug addled Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), the path to enjoy the film dissipated into the realm of forgetful fantasy. By half way through, I found myself waiting for the end to arrive so I could leave. I don’t believe that is the intention of a filmmaker.

The best moments that kept the film somewhat alive were the bombastic statements from police Lt. Christian F. “Bigfoot” Bjornsen (Josh Brolin). He was funny and a great foil to Doc. I also thought the romantic scene between Shasta Fey Hepworth (Katherine Waterston) and Doc was interestingly and erotically well done.

Phoenix was oddly both interesting and mediocre. I kept thinking that a light would go on and he’d shine (the interest part) but it never did (the mediocre part). Brolin took this role by grabbing the bull’s horns and made it his own. At times it almost seemed like he was in a different film. Waterston was the most interesting character. Owen Wilson as Coy Harlingen was good in his limited but pivotal role. There was an amazing cast – but all seemed lost and faded into the montage of vignettes that were loosely aimed at an unclear plot. Paul Anderson both wrote and directed this film. Some of basis for his view of the drugged addled era he was projecting were not experienced based but story based and it showed. However, I loved “4012 The Strand” address was as a child I grew up in that area and recall “The Strand” well.

Overall:  I got bored early and couldn’t wait to leave.

Selma

First Hit:  Not as engaging as I had hoped.

The Selma, Alabama march was a seminal moment in our nation’s history.

The film follows Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo) through the process, thoughts and actions leading to the successful decision by President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to push an equal vote for all while King led a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama securing the rights for blacks to vote.

Although I loved the story and remember it fondly, the portrayal of this story was only good at times. I thought there were long moments of waiting and indecision by the director which created a slowness in this film that wasn’t needed.

To set up the issue, the film begins with Annie Lee Cooper (Oprah Winfrey) trying to register to vote. The voter registrar clerk, finds ways to reject Cooper’s form. The point is the unreasonableness of the registrar’s office against blacks.

The film spends a little time with King being at home with his family. Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo) is strong willed, supportive of her husband, and also keeps the family together with her strength. There are a number of historical characters in this film from Andrew Young (Andre Holland), Presidential Advisor Lee White (Giovanni Ribisi) to Gov. George Wallace (Tim Roth) which give a fair amount of context to the story – especially Wallace.

Pacing of this film was methodically slow and, to me, it made this film much longer (by 20 – 30 minutes) than needed.

Oyelowo was good as King, but I never felt moved by the documented speeches as spoken by David. Wilkinson was good as LBJ, however I’m wondering about the dialogue used to represent him. For some reason it didn’t ring true with the same person who pushed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Winfrey was solid as Cooper, however in two of the closing still pictures, she seemed to be the focal point by being in the center – seemed a bit egotistical. Ejogo, as Coretta, provided the strongest acting of the bunch. Holland was good as the young Andrew Young. Ribisi was OK as White. Roth was powerful as Wallace. Paul Webb wrote a good script, but needed some trimming. Ava DuVernay directed this film which had pacing problems. However, the look and feel of the time was wonderfully represented.

Overall:  I was disappointed in the result of this film.