Double Feature: Doctor Strange (2016) & A Little Chaos (2014)

Welcome to a much more star-studded double feature! It feels like I don’t watch enough mainstream films anymore but as I am trying to catch up with the few Marvel films that I haven’t seen, I landed on Doctor Strange a few weeks ago but just couldn’t find a worthy pairing for it until well, A Little Chaos the other day which is a period drama but still has the weight of a bigger film to match up. I am working on a few filns that are supposed to leave Netflix in June so those reviews should be coming up.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Director: Scott Derrickson

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelsen, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins

While on a journey of physical and spiritual healing, a brilliant neurosurgeon is drawn into the world of the mystic arts. – IMDB

I am not going to lie that I had my doubts about Doctor Strange, but it ended up being surprisingly good. I have my issues with Marvel that everyone else doesn’t always seem to have especially in terms of The Avengers and Loki. I find that Marvel movies in general suffer from weak villains who don’t have enough presence to make them threatening. But then can we really blame a superhero film because we know the named superhero will become victorious in the end. However, as much as I still dislike using a bunch of Western actors in source material Asian roles seems ridiculous, I honestly do love Tilda Swinton as an actress because she is unique and then the villain is Mads Mikkelsen who did a fairly decent job as well. To be fair, Doctor Strange is a fun role as Marvel injects a lot of humor in their franchise which is a good approach. Benedict Cumberbatch, known for his Sherlock Holmes role definitely had what it takes for it since those roles other than the deductive abilities swapped into a superhero abilities were quite relatable.

The action here was different mostly because it was about shifting and illusions, something like what you’d see in Inception. There are lots of great moments and some comedic moments to lighten up the mood. Apparently the world of MCU is always on extremes of being on the brink of disasters, luckily the heroes always find their strength to make it a little better and in Doctor Strange’s world and his manipulation of time, things can just reverse itself. I may sound sarcastic or maybe a little tired of superhero films, but Doctor Strange is okay. Its fun but nothing outstanding in the MCU realm. The feelings I have towards Doctor Strange are starting to feel lesser and lesser everyday as I start to feel it being forgettable. I enjoyed it more than I expected so that gets a lot of points there. Plus, that ending was all about setting up for a next film or at least an upcoming villain perhaps.

A Little Chaos (2014)

Director: Alan Rickman

Cast: Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci, Helen McCrory, Jennifer Ehle

Two talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles. – IMDB

I’m going to be honest that I love believe that Alan Rickman is a talented man however, I have a lot to catch up in his filmography. With that said, it came as a surprise to me that A Little Chaos was his work as a director. I’m a big fan of period dramas. One of the main selling points is the costume design. In A Little Chaos, it delivers very well especially highlighting the contrast between Kate Winslet’s Sabine De Barra being her normal non-royalty outfits where she gets dirty and they are very basic compared to say the extravagant French royalty with their wigs and big dresses. Matching with the beautiful costume designs is of course my favorite thing about period dramas and that is the score. From the moment the score started in A Little Chaos, I was in love with it. It was so beautiful and matched the scenes so very well. Kudos to Peter Gregson on a great job!

Another really great point of A Little Chaos has to be for those beautiful period drama settings. In this case, it is set in France and the King’s Gardens of Versaille. I’ve been to Versaille back in 1994 and to this day, I still remember a lot of the beautiful environments there and I was just 8 years old back then. This movie has a lot of focus on the whole gardening aspect and the passion for it and how this brought together the two main characters. The cinematography and production set of it all is done really well. Aside from this, the cast here is lead primarily by some familiar faces like the ever so elegant and talented Kate Winslet who is stunning as this female gardener who breaks the societal norms of this period. Paired with her is the also very talented Matthias Schoenaerts who I love so very much not just for his charming appearance but his acting chops. Of course, acting as both director and the King Louis XIV is Alan Rickman and well, we also somehow always get these little supporting roles with Stanley Tucci. The cast here does deliver quite charming and beautiful performances for their characters.

Now, where A Little Chaos loses its appeal is really in the story. For most of it, it feel disjointed and to be honest, it can be boring because there isn’t anything too extreme about it. The romance is quite subtle where its just exchanges of glances and small conversations. It jumps to events that happen that don’t really seem to make any big differences but to bring in some circumstance for people to meet up. There is never any huge turning point that happens. I know what was meant to be that moment but it never feels like it had enough build-up to make it worth it. It just felt rather flat and disjointed and if it wasn’t for these charming talented cast on screen dazzling us with their performances, this would have been a snoozefest. Sad to say, but if the script was a little better, the outstanding character created for Kate Winslet’s character Sabine de Barra and the hints of chemistry between her and Matthias Schoenaerts who plays Andre Le Notre, the King’s gardener would have been quite the romance to watch. Still, it fell short of its potential.

Double Feature: A Bigger Splash (2015) & Baywatch (2017)

Time for the next double feature! I’m back on Netflix trying to get through some A-Z sequence, which I’ve failed the last few times due to different interruptions. I have a lot of catching up to do so here’s another go!

Let’s check it out!

A Bigger Splash (2015)

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson

The vacation of a famous rock star and her boyfriend in Italy is disrupted by the unexpected visit of an old friend and his daughter. – IMDB

A Bigger Splash is already set for success with its stellar cast. I’m personally a fan of everyone here, except maybe Dakota Johnson but that is only because I haven’t really watched anything from her or I don’t remember since I’ve a few of the titles listed on IMDB. I know she’s in Fifty Shades of Grey but I haven’t seen that either. I will however say that in terms of acting and the location, A Bigger Splash has set itself up with quite a nice touch. This cast acts their pants off (in some cases, literally) because its quite the psychological drama here as we dive into the relationships. The story takes place mostly in the present however, we still see the past of how Tilda Swinton’s character Marianne was when she was dating Ralph Fiennes character Harry and then how Harry sets her up with this younger director, Paul played by the incredibly handsome and talented Matthias Schoenaerts.

I can’t say that I was particularly charmed by the story itself so much as the characters themselves. The four characters here were distinctive in their own way and they each have their own mysteries and depth to explore. The contrast of the characters was what caused a lot of the friction. It was a test of tolerance and acceptance and just change in life that brought on different perspectives. In fact, that was the most thrilling part to watch the relationship and the tensions build throughout the film. However, it makes sure to have these diverse characters to still have these fun moments as much as the quieter moments.

Overall, A Bigger Splash is quite the movie experience. Its most attractive part is its visual location and its cinematography as well as its complex characters.

Baywatch (2017)

Director: Seth Gordon

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Priyanka Chopra, Kelly Rohrbach, Ilfanesh Hadera, Jon Bass

Devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon butts heads with a brash new recruit, as they uncover a criminal plot that threatens the future of the bay. – IMDB

For those who actually  had Baywatch, the TV series to compare with, they probably would have a lot of bad stuff to talk about. My husband definitely had his comparisons. However, I only watched maybe like 2 episodes of it in passing glance when I was young so I don’t really have anything to compare the source material. With that said, I am also a big fan of Dwayne The Rock Johnson because his films, no matter how dumb it may be, is always a harmless, entertaining time. Its mindless entertainment which happens to work in the beginning of 2018 as I’ve never been so busy and stressed before. With that said, there are obvious flaws with this film and it won’t be for everyone and its obvious it wasn’t since it got some incredibly low scores (aka 18% on Rotten Tomatoes).

To be honest, there is a lot of dumb jokes and bad humor however, in some really weird way, I spent a lot of time both laughing at the movie for its stupidity but also some time laughing at some of the other jokes. Is this my typical type of comedy film that I’d watch, or even a first choice? The answer is absolutely no. However, it was a surprisingly entertaining viewing experience. However, I do think that it is a movie that is in the completely mindless entertainment. Its for those who want to just shut off your brain completely and can enjoy some silly humor and extremely over the top action sequences. If that isn’t something you enjoy, then Baywatch is definitely not going to work.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

You gotta love Netflix when it has at least ONE Best Picture nomination available.  Not being sarcastic if thats what you are reading.  I’m pretty happy that there’s even one.  Seeing as I’ve been talking about seeing American Sniper and never actually made it to the theatres, maybe this week?

The Grand Budapest Hotel looks a little peculiar and that totally has to do with the fact that this is the first Wes Anderson film I’ll be seeing. Shocked? Don’t be…I still have a lot of movies to watch 😉

Let’s check this Oscar contender out!

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014)

Director: Wes Anderson

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tom Revolori, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham, Jeff Goldblum

The adventures of Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa (Tom Revolori), the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.-IMDB

Oh, the adventures Monsieur Gustave has! The Grand Budapest Hotel is a little peculiar to say the least, exactly the impression I got.  The deal with a peculiar movie is that it can either be to your taste or not, or should I say mine.  Although, I have to say that it takes a little time to adapt to and there was always this feeling gnawing at me a little that something was off, it was hard to not be charmed by this movie.  For one, look at the colors and the visuals, just wow.  The whole set was such a joy to watch.  I’m not just talking about The Grand Budapest Hotel itself, but also when him and Zero was on the train, the scenery of the mountains and the whole action plus the costumes.  Every component was thought through with so much detail that it was really hard to ignore.  However, I have to stay true that while it may be a favorite for many, I’m a little half-half on this.  While some 30% of the movie felt a little random and dragged out, the other 70% (mostly the second half) was really fun to watch, adding in bit of humor and just drowning in its own unique style. The atmosphere it sets for itself is definitely one thats artistic and quirkly but somehow still really entertaining.

The cast portraying each of the characters happened to be some of my favorites, let me elaborate a little.  For one, we start off with our narrators and how the recount of Monsieur Gustave H. was introduced during a dinner between an older Zero (who looks nothing like the younger version) and an author played by Jude Law.  This is where I first swoon a little.  Jude Law himself made me intrigued when this movie started.  He’s really just the backdrop of this event and the listener to the story that the elder Zero shares.  Right off the bat, the encounter already shows that this movie is going to be in the whole definition of awkward.

Let me clarify before we move forward that awkward doesn’t bother me, I watch a ton of movies like that and I like them.  What I’m saying is that if not for these characters who made the awkwardness convincingly fun, I would have just closed this 30 minutes in.

Another showstopper is our own Monsieur Gustave. Ralph Fiennes is a fine actor and we see it over and over again.  Sure, he’s not much of a comedian, which begs why he was chosen for this role but in his seriousness, we can laugh at exactly that because the movie itself really isn’t all that serious.  Which also makes this one of Ralph Fiennes best comedic roles surprisingly proving that he can do it.  Ralph is awesome (I’m sure most of us agree) and him as Monsieur Gustave is so much fun but that has to do with the interactions he has and the music they match with the scenes as well. Here’s where I need to talk about young Zero played by Tom Revolori.  I don’t know this guy at all but he made this hilarious expressions.  The relationship and interaction between Monsieur Gustave and Zero was another great aspect.

I personally think that Willem Dafoe is so underrated as an actor.  Has he won anything in his career? He is in a lot of really great roles, at least he has to talent to even make a role in a bad movie work out most of the time (at least what I remember).  As the assassin here, he has this dangerous feeling to him and yet, he plays well with the whole black humor portion.  His boss, being Dmitri, a rich boy played by Adrien Brody just charms my pants off.  I love Adrien Brody so much.  This guy needs to be in more movies (or I just need to search out more of his work).  Whatever it is, as horrible as those two characters are, gosh, they are some awesome bad dudes in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

There’s a huge talented cast here and I can’t possibly go through everyone (which I almost have).  Edward Norton is also in this as the military officer Henckels but his role is relatively small and Jeff Goldblum is the executor of the will (also a smaller role), but my focus right now was seeing Saoirse Ronan *double checks the spelling*.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Saoirse Ronan.  I’ve seen a lot of the movie’s she’s been in and she is just so talented.  Her role may not have been big as Agatha but she sheds this light on the movie that the other darker characters don’t have.  At the same time, it introduces the intricate details of Mendl’s desserts that I kind of wanted to pull out of the screen and taste.  Just to show the attention to detail to this quirky movie.

Overall, I’m not as big of a fan of The Grand Budapest Hotel as others may be, but there is no doubt that the visuals and style steals the show here.  The talented cast also lifts this movie into an incredible territory.  While the story and pacing of the story held me only a part of the time, there is no doubt that I understand why this is a contender for Best Picture.  Its extremely unique and there is a whole wow factor going on here.  Just the second half made me forget about even the little bit of problems I felt in the beginning. Is it a movie I’d revisit? Maybe not often but there is something here that deserves recognition.  I haven’t seen enough of the other choices to make my predictions, maybe as I get a few more movies in this week, I’ll have a clearer idea 🙂

Have you seen The Grand Budapest Hotel? What are your thoughts? Were you impressed with the cast in this? Did you love the whole set and atmosphere?

Halloween Marathon: We Need To Talk About Kevin & Absentia (Double feature)

I had originally wanted to do these two separately.  These both got third highest amounts of votes in the Halloween polls for psychological thrillers and everything else horror.  BUT, after trimming my movie rundown, I still have two movies that I really want to check out for this Halloween marathon so that means, mega movie night tonight. YUP!

I’m going to say right now that watching anything other than Friday the 13th sounds so refreshing.  I’ll have a huge recap on November 1st once I’ve gotten all the business taken care of. Friday the 13th made me forget what an actual horror movie felt like.  I never was genuinely scared in this marathon. Thats saying a lot because I’m so easily frightened.

Now, I needed to get myself in the right state of mind to watch these but I really wanted to, along with probably 4 other ones on the initial poll.  I’m sure I’ll fit those in eventually, just not in this marathon 🙂 Lets get the show on the road.  After all, we do have 2 movies to talk about!

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2011)

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, John C. Reilly, Jasper Newell, Ashley Gerasimovich

Kevin’s mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.- IMDB

I have no idea how to sum up the movie so I’m just going to use whats on IMDB.  However, as much as its showing the course of Kevin’s mother (Tilda Swinton) trying to love her son, its also about her trying to make sense of everything that lead to his final act.

We Need To Talk about Kevin is one of those psychological personality analysis of two people.  In this case, its Tilda Swinton’s character as Kevin’s mother flipping through the upbringing of his son’s life and figuring out why he did that final act.  What was the reasoning behind it and whether it was essentially her fault as everyone else seems to treat her like she’s the one responsible.  It a true look at the whole nature versus nuture story of what affects growth and development the most.  I get that as I’m watching it, except I feel that the material is a little too deep to be brought to the big screen.  Its the same reason I was happy to read Gone Girl or The Lovely Bones before seeing a movie.  I’m guessing the novel dives into a more balanced two sides of the story view.  In this one, Ezra Miller’s Kevin gets such a small part although the younger version of him really does bring out a little of his character already.  Being based on a source material that probably is pretty deep is hard to bring it to the big screen and now I really want to check that out and revisit this movie because I feel like I might appreciate it more.

Although, I do think the material is not shown appropriately or could possibly be more effective.  There is no doubt that the performances were all around amazing.  This is my first time watching everyone except John C. Reilly and I can’t even remember what I saw him in before. I know understand why everyone raves about the stellar performances by Tilda Swinton because she grasped her role very well.  I really understood her perspective of this and just the confusion and despair of being in her situation.  I’m in the stage of life where its almost time to decide when to have kids and this really clings on to make you wonder: who can predict how your child turns out.  Its funny because it makes me think about a Chinese saying about  how who you are at 3 determines who you will be at 80.  I guess, nature plays a role but nurture is also a big thing because the script always gets in a little bit about how there are a lot of similarities between Kevin and his mother.  On the other hand, I might have wanted to see more of Ezra Miller’s role but that ending definitely was thought provoking.

Not really a horror per se, but as a psychological thriller it does hit a few buttons with its awesome performances.

ABSENTIA (2011)

Director: Mike Flanagan

Cast: Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine, Justin Gordon, Morgan Peter Brown

 Its been seven years since Tricia’s (Courtney Bell) husband Daniel (Morgan Peter Brown) has gone missing.  Now, she’s pregnant and slowly learning to move on with her life as she prepares to file for his death certificate under the reason of absentia.  Her sister Callie (Katie Parker) drops by to help her pack up and move forward. This is when they realize that maybe  there’s something more to the disappearance of Daniel.

Goodness, thats a bad summary I wrote up there.  Its okay, I really just don’t want to say too much.  Absentia is one of the more creepy movies.  The first time a creepy scene came in I turned off the movie for a solid 5 minutes before deciding to turn it back on.  Because you know what? I need to tough it out since Halloween is literally around the corner.

Absentia can be split into two parts. The first part is creepy and builds up the story of Tricia and how she inner struggle while Callie is also finding herself and trying to be helpful to her sister.  At the same time, they both have some creepy incidents that happen.  The second half takes a abrupt turn and changes a few factors in Tricia’s life especially but pulls Callie into a more main role as she starts seeing that there might be more to the disappearance and may be linked to a bigger picture.

Absentia is very much an independent horror film and some of the shots and how they move around is obvious that fact but it has a kick ass story.  I was totally pulled in and even though the start scared me so much, I’m happy that I toughed it out because the director and writer Mike Flanagan is fantastic.  He knows how to put a story like this one into a movie and balance the right factors, giving the right scares and the perfect sound and silence and even when to reveal or not to reveal anything.

Maybe its because I’ve been sitting around watching campy movies for the last month that I’m even easier pleased and I was extremely jumpy but Absentia has an awesome story behind a good cast and the atmosphere that Mike Flanagan puts together feels so perfect. He takes you on twists and turns and times them really well.  I don’t usually rate horror harshly (unless its for Shitfest) but I do know when I have a great one and this one is a must-watch horror experience on so many levels.

Another double feature done!

Have you seen We Need to Talk about Kevin? What did you think of the performances? Which aspect was the best in this movie? Did you feel that there should’ve been a stronger emphasis on the grown up Kevin (although this movie was already pretty long)?

How about Absentia? Have you seen it? Did you like how it ended (because I did!)? Was it on some level creepy for you?