Aloha

First Hit:  At times the story was whimsical, then thoughtful, and generally improbable.

This film seemed like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. Was it a romance? Was it about how rich people and their companies try to influence and deceive the government for their own gain? Or was it about the culture and people of Hawaii and how they been treated by the government?

It probably was supposed to be all three and it failed because, in the end, the film didn’t work. I enjoyed the relationship between Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper) and Allison Ng (Emma Stone). My heart was pulled by Gilcrest trying to put closure on his previous relationship with Tracy Woodside (Rachel McAdams).

The scenes between Brian and his friend John “Woody” Woodside (John Krasinski), Tracy’s current husband, were priceless.

The story about how the government is contracting satellite launches to private companies is real but the added piece that the contractor put a nuclear device on the satellite was improbable. This seemed to be part of the film so that there could be a hero. The part that would have made this story more interesting would have been to add scenes about native Hawaiians and how they viewed the land and the sky. Some of the more beautiful scenes were when Gilcrest and Ng were with the Hawaiians on their sacred land.

For the most part this film didn’t know what it wanted to be and the fault lies with the writer and director, Cameron Crowe.

Cooper was really good in moments in the film. When he’s working relationships, he’s superb, when it involves him working his job, his acting comes off as mixed and not embodied. Stone’s character was a little high strung for me and, I think, for her as well. It didn’t come off very well. When she settled down a little she created a wonderful character and it worked. Her chemistry with Cooper was great. John Krasinski was excellent as the silent quiet man who struggled with letting his feelings being shared. Bill Murray as the business man Carson Welch who was attempting to put the armed satellite into space was OK, but not really a great fit. Rachel McAdams, as Cooper’s old girlfriend and Krasinski’s wife, was good and her performance and believability was elevated when her daughter’s blood line was revealed. Best scene in the film? Probably when Gilcrest stands outside his daughter’s dance studio and they connect eye to eye. Cameron Crowe seem mixed in his ability to create and execute a cohesive story and film.

Overall:  Having the three stories in one film didn’t work and ended up creating a scattered, somewhat lifeless movie.

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

First Hit:  A wonderful set of 6 short films that are well done, interesting, to the point, and enjoyable.

From the opening film called “Pasternak” to the end film called “The Proposal”, all of them are intense, dark, and in the end funny.

The writing and direction by Damian Szifron exemplifies a bright creative mind and the wherewithal to deliver these ideas and stories through film. All of the actors in each of the films were great.

Overall:  This is a wonderful set of films, they are Wild Tales.

Far From The Madding Crowd

First Hit:  Strong acting on all fronts and with luscious photography this was a good film but its length took away from it being better.

This long famous Thomas Hardy novel has Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene;  a woman whose parents died while she was young.

She works on her Aunt’s farm, tills the soil and rides horses like a man; meaning in Victoria England women rode side saddle whereas Bathsheba rides straddling the horse. She is very strong, self assured, independent and wants to stay that way. Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), the sheep herder neighbor, is fully smitten by Bathsheba and after a few friendly visits, asks her for her and in marriage. She is shocked and says "no", explaining she doesn’t want to be married. She ends up inheriting a large home and land. After arriving she takes charge and immediately begins to make the land profitable.

Her wealthy neighbor William Boldwood (Michael Sheen) takes a liking to Bathsheba and also asks for her hand in marriage because he wants to take care of her (“provide safe harbor”). She turns him down as well. Then she becomes smitten by handsome and reckless soldier (Tom Sturridge) who touches her in more ways than one. She agrees to be married and soon regrets the decision. He fritters away her farm on gambling and eventually confides he loves another. This leaves Bathsheba to make some difficult decisions.

The movie is lusciously filmed and many details are exquisitely shared. The cast was well chosen, however the script is a little long winded in the way this story was shared.

Mulligan is very good. She definitely has grown as an actress and reverentially delivers this character role. Her semi-smile is her strong suit as it says so much. Schoenaerts is perfect as the noble, strong, silent, friend and suitor. Sheen is fantastic as the once spurned noble neighbor that sees and wants to have Bathsheba in his life. Sturridge is great as the charming, sexy soldier that has his way with Bathsheba. Jessica Barden is wonderful as Bathsheba’s assistant. Juno Temple as Fanny Robbin is great in the small and pivotal role as Sturridge’s true love. David Nicholls wrote an extended yet colorful screenplay. Thomas Vinterberg directed this well, just a little long.

Overall:  This was a film to just watch and luxuriate in its tone and tenure.

The Water Diviner

First Hit:  Although it lagged at times, it was a well meaning story and was thoughtful in the characterizations of specific individuals .

Connor (Russell Crowe) is an Australian farmer who learned water divining from his father. He looks and listens to what the land is telling him. He does this alone while his wife is at home. We soon learn that his three boys went off to war together.

The war was in Turkey and the specific battle Connor believes his boys died in, was Gallipoli. He decides he must go to Turkey and bring his boys' bodies back to Australia for a proper burial. However the English, who appear to running the cleanup effort tell him he cannot go into the area where the bodies were hastily buried.

He steals his way into the area and with the assistance of the Turkish Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdogan) is allowed to look for his boy’s bodies. His divining experience allows him to see where his boys died. The army digs up the bones of two of his boys. It the search for the third son that leads him on an amazing journey of longing, love and forgiveness.

There are scenes that are extraneous and obvious for additional and not-required emotional engagement.

Crowe is strong as Conner. Ergogan is wonderful as the Turkish major who understands Connor’s drive to find his boys. Olga Kurylenko is dynamite as Ayshe, a Turkish woman whose husband was killed in the same war and has a young son who takes a liking to Connor. Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios wrote a good script and I think it could have been cut a little and tightened up. Crowe directed this film and for the most part it was good.

Overall:  There are wonderful scenes with Kurylenko and Crowe and with Crowe and Ergogan.

Ex Machina

First Hit:  I liked it because it was a thoughtful look at Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a nerd programmer for the largest internet search company in the world. His company does 95+% of all searches.

The owner of the company Nathan (Oscar Isaac) lives in the middle of nowhere so that he can develop his AI ideas undisturbed by anyone in the outside world. He invites Caleb to visit him at his outpost home/lab to put his latest robot Ava (Alicia Vikander) through the Turing Test.

Upon arrival Caleb finds Nathan to be casual, yet precise clearly in-charge of what he wants and his home/lab exemplifies all this - especially with the security system. At one point we are shocked to see Kyoto (Sonoya Mizuno) serving them because we think Nathan is alone in the home/lab. She doesn't speak so the audience is left with a question about  her.

Caleb’s interviews with Ava are done through glass and it is clear this is a truly unique encounter for both of them. When we meet Ava she has a human typeface, hands and feet with the rest being see-through material and the rest is a weaved material. When asked about how Nathan programmed Ava he said he didn’t. He said he used all the decision making data people make on his internet browser which he collects and feeds into Ava. In other words she is the compilation of everyone’s choices and decisions. She analyzes these decisions and makes her decisions based on this. I found this fascinating.

Gleeson was fabulous. His curiosity and kindness help make this film move. Isaac is becoming a great actor. His previous role in “A Most Violent Year” was great and this one was even better. He uses his intensity and intelligence perfectly. Vikander was amazing. Her quizzical innocence and beauty was wonderful to behold. I was fascinated by the character. Mizuno was great and beautiful as the attentive robot. Alex Garland wrote and directed this film. He knew what he wanted and he delivered a thoughtful interesting film.

Overall:  I really enjoyed the thoughtfulness by which AI was presented in this film.