Anthropoid

First Hit:  This was a strong, well-presented, and interesting film about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich the architect of the holocaust.

The story follows a small group of men who parachute into Czechoslovakia with the goal of assassinating Reinhard Heydrich who had been sent to Czechoslovakia to ensure that the country supplies Germany with the war materials they expect.

There is a resistance movement in Prague which has been decimated by German soldiers publicly killing people who do not fall in line with German leader wishes. Heydrich had come up with the plan and process for killing all European Jews and was Hitler’s number 3 guy so he was Hitler's guy to get Czechoslovakia in line.

The film mainly follows two of the men, Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik (Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy respectively) who parachuted into the republic, and find themselves in Prague being helped by the resistance led by Uncle Hajsky (Toby Jones). Both Jan and Josef are coupled with two women Marie Kovarnikova and Lenka Fafkova (Charlotte Le Bon and Anna Geislerova respectively) as a way to help them blend into Prague city life while they plan the assassination.

The film is graphic about the struggle and occasionally uses actual footage. The scene of the actual assassination was well staged in that it felt risky and real. The suspense was palpable.

The end scene with the battle in the church was very well done and very heroic in nature. Watching this film was like watching an important piece of history, which means the filmmakers did an excellent job of bringing this story to life.

Dornan was wonderful as the guy who struggled to pull the trigger but when the chips were down he was a reliable member of the team. His romance and connection with Marie was palpable. Murphy was fantastic and the driver of the mission. His ability to be strong, yet apologize for his focus, was truly heartfelt. Jones was really good as the main contact and leader of the underground. Le Bon was really good in the way she was supportive of the mission and her love for Kubis. Geislerova was truly amazing. Her strength of character shone through in this role. Sean Ellis and Anthony Frewin wrote a very strong script and Ellis’ direction was spot on.

Overall:  This was a truly interesting and well-acted film about a historical event.

Bad Moms

First Hit:  Although it was quite crass at times, there were more than a few laughs, which made this film worth watching.

The story follows Amy (Mila Kunis) as she is taken advantage of by her young, uninformed, boy boss because she shows up each day although she only works their part time.

She has this demanding job, is a mom doing all the mom type running round, tries to stay active with the PTA, and wants to be a good wife. Her primary focus is to help her kids, including doing their school work, so her kids get good grades. After dropping the kids off at school, she shows up to work and is the only grown up in the company.

Her husband casually works, and Amy catches him, one day, having skype sex with a woman he’s never met. This online relationship has been going on for 10 months. She kicks him out.

The pressure to be a good mom and be active in the PTA, led by Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) is fierce. Amy meets and bonds with Carla (Kathryn Hahn) and Kiki (Kristen Bell), two other moms who struggle with the pressures of motherhood.

Carla is divorced and is man hungry. This is where most of the film’s crassness comes from. Carla is foul mouth and man hungry. This is the largest detriment to the film. It might have been better if this character was either cut or the role toned down somewhat.

Kiki, on the other hand becomes empowered through the film and this is nice to see. The three of them are fed up with the power that PTA President Gwendolyn and her henchwomen Stacy (Jada Pinkette Smith) and Vicky (Annie Mumolo) exude with prissiness and entitlement based on money and what they think is right for everyone.

The PTA is the battle ground and Amy decides to challenge Gwendolyn for the presidency of the organization. The film has lots of scenes that show the PTA in all its glory. It shows women deciding to take their lives into their own hands while juggling their children, and their lives outside of school.

I did think the crassness of Carla was overdone and had me wanting to cut her lines. I thought Amy’s relationship with her kids Jane and Dylan (Oona Laurence and Emjay Anthony respectively) was a strong part of the film. The most touching part of the film were the credits, as the actresses and their moms were revealingly interviewed.

Kunis was very good and her ability to carry multiple looks (mom, party girl, and responsible workmate) were strong. Hahn was good and I disliked the script for her. The man and sex hungry woman with a foul mouth didn’t work for me. It never works for me male or female. Bell was wonderful. She brings an engagement to her roles that is always watchable. Applegate was very good and she clearly knew this role. Laurence, for me, was the star of the film. It was a minor role, yet what she brought to it how she engaged each scene was wonderful. Anthony was good as the son trying to figure out his path now that dad was gone. Smith was strong as a henchwoman. Scott Moore and Jon Lucas, together, wrote and directed this film and outside of the overt crassness, it captured some of the life of moms.

Overall:  For the most part my experience was positive, but it wasn’t a great film.

Don't Think Twice

First Hit:  At times funny, occasionally awkward, and might have been better as a documentary.

The way this film begins it almost feels like a documentary, and there are segments that were documentary like, however it isn’t.

The Commune is a small group of improvisational comedians and this film follows them as they do performances that feel very authentic. Prior to each show the group riffs with each other, hug and reaffirm they have each other’s back, and touch a lucky charm before going on stage.

The theater is small and usually full and mostly because they are good and the seats are cheap. It is easy to see that this group loves improv and they are committed to each other. They barely make any money and live mostly together in shared housing and although one of the team might have access to family money, they take other jobs to keep themselves in food.

Their goal is to get on a television program called “Weekend Live” which is a takeoff of “Saturday Night Live”. Being on this program would mean fame and a regular, much larger, paycheck.

There is some competition among the group to get noticed by the Weekend Live staff. Some in the group are more talented, some are better bit writers, and some are more driven. However, there are others who just want to be in the cocoon of the group because it is where they fit.

The group consists of Miles (Mike Birbiglia) who is a teacher of improve at a school, Samantha (Gillian Jacobs) who loves the group and has a poor sense of time (in some ways), Allison (Kate Micucci) is one of the more introspective and talented member, Lindsay (Tami Sagher) is one who has access to money, but loves the bohemian lifestyle, Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) who wants fame the most and puts himself in place to make it happen, and Bill (Chris Gethard) who seems out of place, yet is a critical member.

The story is about how they react and support each other in finding a new place to create their form of art, how they act when someone gets noticed, and what they learn about themselves along the way.

Birbiglia wrote, directed and has a primary role in this film. Overall, his character is one that has to learn a lot about who he is and in this vein he was good. Jacobs is strong as the person who is clear about her wants, but has difficulty expressing them. Micucci, played a little like the character she has played on “Big Bang Theory”, which is the person unsure of her skills. Sagher is good as the girl who is trying to make her own way although the team knows her family has money. Gethard is good as the guy in the background who gets to express himself on stage. Key is very good as the big personality and the one who aggressively wants to make it big. He does well at showing his compassion for the others and engaging in his success. The writing was at times strong and other times seemed unclear of direction.

Overall:  This film didn’t seem quite focused enough to know where its strengths were.

Jason Bourne

First Hit:  Unnecessary shaky camera work got in the way of a sub-standard story about Jason Bourne.

I don’t mind shaky camera work when it adds to the excitement of a scene in a film. In some films it works really well (think “Breaking the Waves”). It can also be helpful when the audience is following someone who is running and other scenes like this. The technique becomes a mindless technique and distraction when unnecessarily used to create excitement.

The story needs to be exciting first and foremost. Paul Greengrass used a ton of unnecessary shaky camera work in this film. Examples abound, like when a sniper is setting up to shoot, the camera needed to be as still and calm as the in-breath and out-breath of a sniper making a clean shot. Internal and external landscape shots of an area so that the audience knows the the lay of the land instead of haphazard shots creating confusion for the audience.  

When I have the thought "why can’t the camera stop shaking", it is a distraction. The director doesn't want the audience thinking about why they cannot tell what is happening on the screen.

Greengrass may have used this technique because the story is less intriguing than the previous Bourne films (The Bourne Identity – 2002, The Bourne Supremacy – 2004, The Bourne Ultimatum – 2007, and The Bourne Legacy – 2012). The first three captured my attention mostly because the story was great, had passion, intrigue, and suspense. In the 2012 version, Matt Damon wasn’t playing Jason Bourne directly and therefore the film lacked the amazingness he brings to this franchise.

This version had Matt Damon back as Jason Bourne seeking to piece together his father’s death and involvement in Blackbriar while attempting to settle his own personal struggles of identity.

As an overall storyline it wasn’t the best, yet it did have a side story about today’s issue of using technology to track people and their actions. Here, the company creating software that can do this is lead by Aaron Kallor (Riz Ahmed). But the story and film are about Bourne and Damon is such a strong actor that he brings this character to life like no one else can. He makes Bourne complex, charming, physically capable, and chivalrous, or as much as a undercover CIA agent can be chivalrous.

The villain is still the agency as they believe he knows too much and will continue to expose their illegal covert programs. It was wonderful to see Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), his previous supporting agency agent, helping Jason to get additional information helping him to piece together the puzzle.

The film showing the kind of technology available to the CIA was very good and interesting. The new CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), as always, wants Jason eliminated. He uses an Asset (Vincent Cassel) to do the dirty work and like, Bourne he’s relentless.

Another bright spot was CIA Agent Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) who takes on the previous Pam Landy (Joan Allen) spot as head of the task force to bring Bourne in (or take him out). Lee, like Landy, connects with Bourne as a person and shows a level of compassion for his plight. One last note, I thought the car chase through downtown Las Vegas overdone and unnecessarily unrealistic.

Damon is Jason Bourne. In my eyes he’s the only guy who can pull off the character Jason Bourne because he created him. As usual, I loved his performance. Jones was OK as the crusty, old school, CIA Director but felt he was too crusty to run an agency that is filled with new progressive technology. Vikander was perfect for the part. Her strong, aggressive, and young female portrayal of a top CIA Agent in this world of progressive electronics was perfect. She was the opposite of Jones. Stiles was great to see again and her role really helped tie together Bourne and the new players in the agency. Cassel was perfect as the Asset. He does focused single minded action as good as anyone. Ahmed does a good job as being a software vendor who got into bed with the CIA and now wants out. Paul Greengrass and Christopher Rouse wrote a barely adequate script, but it was Greengrass’s direction that lowed the Bourne bar.

Overall:  Although shaky, it is watchable because Damon makes it work.

Café Society

First Hit:  I was disappointed in this film.

The first thing was I couldn’t get over how quickly Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) spoke his lines with rejoinders coming almost as fast in return.

It just didn’t seem like anyone (Director or Actors) wanted the let the words breathe and have some sense of feeling with them. It is reflective of a poor Woody Allen film. Eisenberg is no Allen (and I like Eisenberg's work) and speaking Allen’s words the way he was directed didn’t work.

Nobody does Allen like Allen (good or bad). With this overriding problem with the film, it seemed hard to get into the story. On a good note, I thought that Kristen Stewart (as Vonnie) was very strong. She was the only main character that seemed to feel her way into her character.

Steve Carell as Phil Stern was OK, but at times it just seemed as though he was straightjacketed as the big time movie producer. I never felt his attraction to either his wife or Vonnie, it all seemed for show. I did like the feel of the 1930’s set with the nightclub being especially embracing.

Eisenberg, either got poor direction or wasn’t right for the role in that his machine gun approach to the lines lacked depth and feeling. Stewart was the best character in the film and she continues to show why she is so much more than the “Twilight” girl. Carell was mediocre as the studio executive, and my sense it was the direction that failed him. Blake Lively was good as Bobby’s wife and the scene of their meeting was one of the better scenes in the film. Corey Stoll as the criminal element of Bobby’s family was also good. Woody Allen, narrated, wrote and directed this film and in all ways it seemed to lack heart and comedy.

Overall:  One film that is easily forgotten.