Written by: Kevin Berge
I watch way too many movies, and I still find myself struggling to keep up with the best of the best. Especially over the past few years where I've kept a list of all the movies I want to see only to end up getting to only half of them. That leaves me a massive backlog.
These next four films are all a part of that backlog. They are generally well regarded movies that intrigued me enough to give them a chance. I just wasn't immediately inclined to go out and see them when they first released.
The four movies I'll be covering here are the slow burn depressing drama Manchester By the Sea, the chess biopic Pawn Sacrifice, the midlife crisis drama Brad's Status, and the intense modern war film Lone Survivor.
None of the reviews will contain spoilers, focusing primarily on the quality of the films and their running themes.
These next four films are all a part of that backlog. They are generally well regarded movies that intrigued me enough to give them a chance. I just wasn't immediately inclined to go out and see them when they first released.
The four movies I'll be covering here are the slow burn depressing drama Manchester By the Sea, the chess biopic Pawn Sacrifice, the midlife crisis drama Brad's Status, and the intense modern war film Lone Survivor.
None of the reviews will contain spoilers, focusing primarily on the quality of the films and their running themes.
While this movie can be blamed for pushing sad Casey Affleck on the film industry, it did at least also introduce Lucas Hedges to the world, so... trade off. (Image Courtesy of: eastbayexpress.com)
***These reviews will not contain spoilers beyond basic story set-up focusing on the essential themes and elements of the movies rather than the plot details.***
Manchester By the Sea
Manchester By the Sea feels like depression filmed for the screen for 2 hours. It is not much of a complete story, but it is an emotional ride with the lead character Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) who is a mess of a human being who is highly self-destructive.
This story focus on Lee as he returns home when his brother Joseph (Kyle Chandler) dies. He realizes he is back to try and manage Joe's grieving and troubled son Patrick (Lucas Hedges), and he is not sure that he can do it with his own issues coming up including his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams) returning.
I wish there was more story here because there are many emotional moments throughout. Director Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count on Me) makes the everyday moments in this film feel strong and impactful, but they lack a clear reason to be watched at times.
If nothing else, the reason to watch this film is the climactic scene where Lee and Randi get a moment alone. Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone) and Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) are absolutely brilliant here, and honestly this would probably have been a defining role for Williams if she was in the film more.
In the end, this comes off as a vehicle for Affleck which works, but it could have been more if the plot had any clear development. It is more of a slice of life drama that drifts along depressingly with strong direction behind the whole experience.
It took me a while to see this one despite it being highly acclaimed critically, and I don't know that I really regret taking that much time to see it. It is good enough, but the only reason I would re-watch is Affleck and Williams' main scene together.
This story focus on Lee as he returns home when his brother Joseph (Kyle Chandler) dies. He realizes he is back to try and manage Joe's grieving and troubled son Patrick (Lucas Hedges), and he is not sure that he can do it with his own issues coming up including his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams) returning.
I wish there was more story here because there are many emotional moments throughout. Director Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count on Me) makes the everyday moments in this film feel strong and impactful, but they lack a clear reason to be watched at times.
If nothing else, the reason to watch this film is the climactic scene where Lee and Randi get a moment alone. Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone) and Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) are absolutely brilliant here, and honestly this would probably have been a defining role for Williams if she was in the film more.
In the end, this comes off as a vehicle for Affleck which works, but it could have been more if the plot had any clear development. It is more of a slice of life drama that drifts along depressingly with strong direction behind the whole experience.
It took me a while to see this one despite it being highly acclaimed critically, and I don't know that I really regret taking that much time to see it. It is good enough, but the only reason I would re-watch is Affleck and Williams' main scene together.
Grade: B
Who can't relate to rich white-guy problems? Only the majority of the world. (Image Courtesy of: steelfrogblog.com)
Brad's Status
Brad's Status is an art house dramedy in a very traditional sense. It has a lot to say but not a lot room to present its ideas. Much of the film is driven by the inner monologue of Brad Sloan (Ben Stiller), a somewhat successful nonprofit owner who is going with his son Troy (Austin Abrams) on a college tour.
The movie had a lot of potential with a great self-loathing performance from Stiller (Zoolander) and a quietly composed perfomance from Abrams (Paper Towns), but it is just so dreary and unlikable thanks to its primary focus.
Brad is an entitled white middle class man, who has grown so self-centered that he cannot see anything but himself in anything. He projects his entitlement subtly at times, but it's easy to understand from even the opening scene that Brad is not someone to be liked.
The whole story is about him coming to terms with his own failings through the success of his classmates and old friends, who have far surpassed him. Played by great actors including Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex), Luke Wilson (Old School), and Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows), these friends come off people to hate yet strive toward.
The movie is aware of itself, which makes it an interesting experience to ponder. Brad ultimately must come to some terms on who he is and how he sees himself, and there's a message here for the audience on entitlement that is certainly explored. It just comes off so drab and direct.
If this movie tried to be funnier or tried to be more unique, it could have been great, but its monologue use feels hammy and forced like it was originally meant for a novel. The whole experience of watching the movie feels uninspired, and the message it presents feels fairly obvious within the opening act.
The movie had a lot of potential with a great self-loathing performance from Stiller (Zoolander) and a quietly composed perfomance from Abrams (Paper Towns), but it is just so dreary and unlikable thanks to its primary focus.
Brad is an entitled white middle class man, who has grown so self-centered that he cannot see anything but himself in anything. He projects his entitlement subtly at times, but it's easy to understand from even the opening scene that Brad is not someone to be liked.
The whole story is about him coming to terms with his own failings through the success of his classmates and old friends, who have far surpassed him. Played by great actors including Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex), Luke Wilson (Old School), and Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows), these friends come off people to hate yet strive toward.
The movie is aware of itself, which makes it an interesting experience to ponder. Brad ultimately must come to some terms on who he is and how he sees himself, and there's a message here for the audience on entitlement that is certainly explored. It just comes off so drab and direct.
If this movie tried to be funnier or tried to be more unique, it could have been great, but its monologue use feels hammy and forced like it was originally meant for a novel. The whole experience of watching the movie feels uninspired, and the message it presents feels fairly obvious within the opening act.
Grade: D
If you look real close, you can see one of the rarest of things in a movie: a legal chess position. (Image Courtesy of: entertainment-focus.com)
Pawn Sacrifice
I am a big chess fan. I grew up playing competitively, and I met many of my best friends through the game. I still play it regularly online and have spent time teaching younger kids about the game. One of the most exciting players to study when learning about chess is Bobby Fischer.
The greatest player of his era and a man who made the game exciting in a more casual sense, Fischer's rise and fight against the Russian dominance over chess was always going to be a story worth exploring, but Pawn Sacrifice seems to not be quite up to the task.
This movie stars Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) as Fischer and Liev Schreiber (Spotlight) as Boris Spassky, primarily focusing on their world championship showdown. The story follows Fischer as he becomes a star and gets just enough help to get to a stage where he can fight the world champion.
Where the movie shines is its view of Fischer's steadily declining mental state. While he was a genius, he was not mentally stable, further affected by his overwhelming focus on chess. The great American fell so far into the rabbit hole of various conspiracies and the world of the game that his reign as champion ended sooner than it should have.
The problem with this movie is it simply never takes any risks. It just relies on the story alone, and it doesn't add much. Macguire and Schreiber are fine in their roles, but they don't stand out. Moreover, this is a film that just doesn't seem to know how to address the actual game.
Director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) just lets the game of chess be presented as a flurry of moves stated by the players. While it will always be tough to portray the game of chess to interest a wide audience, this would have been the movie to try it.
The greatest player of his era and a man who made the game exciting in a more casual sense, Fischer's rise and fight against the Russian dominance over chess was always going to be a story worth exploring, but Pawn Sacrifice seems to not be quite up to the task.
This movie stars Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) as Fischer and Liev Schreiber (Spotlight) as Boris Spassky, primarily focusing on their world championship showdown. The story follows Fischer as he becomes a star and gets just enough help to get to a stage where he can fight the world champion.
Where the movie shines is its view of Fischer's steadily declining mental state. While he was a genius, he was not mentally stable, further affected by his overwhelming focus on chess. The great American fell so far into the rabbit hole of various conspiracies and the world of the game that his reign as champion ended sooner than it should have.
The problem with this movie is it simply never takes any risks. It just relies on the story alone, and it doesn't add much. Macguire and Schreiber are fine in their roles, but they don't stand out. Moreover, this is a film that just doesn't seem to know how to address the actual game.
Director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) just lets the game of chess be presented as a flurry of moves stated by the players. While it will always be tough to portray the game of chess to interest a wide audience, this would have been the movie to try it.
Grade: C+
Somehow this was the movie that launched Mark Wahlberg as a superstar but left Taylor Kitsch struggling to find good roles. (Image Courtesy of: defensemedicanetwork.com)
Lone Survivor
This was the first of many Peter Berg-Mark Wahlberg collaborations, and it is often cited as the best. Where this movie shines is its simplicity. This is just a story of a small unit fighting to survive. It does not try to get fancy or add unnecessary drama to a scene.
The movie also does not hide its own outcome. It's in the title. It's in the opening scene. This is all about the ride to get to the end, and it is harrowing. You can feel the pain and paranoia that drives the actions of these soldiers as they barely escape every firefight.
While the movie works in the action, it is less successful in portraying the characters. The movie starts slow but does not use that time effectively to build these people up. I could not tell you the names of any of the characters and barely got a sense of what role they each played.
This is not because of the actors. The line-up includes Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, and Ben Foster, and they are all good here. They add a realistic layer to the action even if I often found myself defining them by the actor playing the role rather than whatever character traits had been established.
There are several moments in this movie that genuinely got to me. Several death scenes are unforgettable. I just cannot shake the feeling that there was more here that could have been done. Berg could have dived deeper to establish these real people rather than adding a credit roll that made clear these men were real.
Everyone should see Lone Survivor that enjoys war films. It is among the most cerebral war flicks I have ever seen. While it could have better, it stands out even to this day for its no-nonsense approach.
The movie also does not hide its own outcome. It's in the title. It's in the opening scene. This is all about the ride to get to the end, and it is harrowing. You can feel the pain and paranoia that drives the actions of these soldiers as they barely escape every firefight.
While the movie works in the action, it is less successful in portraying the characters. The movie starts slow but does not use that time effectively to build these people up. I could not tell you the names of any of the characters and barely got a sense of what role they each played.
This is not because of the actors. The line-up includes Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, and Ben Foster, and they are all good here. They add a realistic layer to the action even if I often found myself defining them by the actor playing the role rather than whatever character traits had been established.
There are several moments in this movie that genuinely got to me. Several death scenes are unforgettable. I just cannot shake the feeling that there was more here that could have been done. Berg could have dived deeper to establish these real people rather than adding a credit roll that made clear these men were real.
Everyone should see Lone Survivor that enjoys war films. It is among the most cerebral war flicks I have ever seen. While it could have better, it stands out even to this day for its no-nonsense approach.
