reviewsbycaleb

The Martian is one of the best movies of the year and let me tell you why.

What Ridley Scott (Director), Drew Goddard (Screenwriter), Andy Weir (Book), and Matt Damon do with this movie is so unconventional and smile inducing, that it may redefine how some movies mix genres. I threw this under the category of Drama, but it wasn't a drama. I thought of possibly putting it under the comedy or thriller section, but The Martian is not a comedy or thriller nor is it just a mere mixture of genres to create a new Sci-Fi movie. So what am I trying to say? The Martian is a mixture of numerous elements that are authentically blended in a way that few movies can attest to. Consequently this makes it significantly harder to put a genre on it, but in this case, I think it's a good thing.

The Martian is straight forward in its plot. Mark Watney (Damon) is stranded on Mars during an emergency evacuation due to a massive storm. The other crew members (Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie) think he is dead after they see him get struck by debris from the ship and so they are forced to leave him behind. Damon's character is then stuck with the seemingly impossible task to stay alive on Mars with limited resources and a 4 year time period until NASA's next mission to mars.

With a premise like this, you're most likely asking yourself, "Why is the first line of my synopsis 'Hilarious'?". The answer is found in the witty writing and amazingly charismatic performance of Matt Damon. Damon's character in the movie has a line in which he says "I'm going to have to science the S--- out of this". He must have looked at the script and said the same thing, only replacing science with charm. Watney is an overtly intriguing character even though there is virtually no background given to us about him. Weir and Goddard resist the cliché of giving him a family in order to heighten the stakes so that we care about Watney more (even though it would have been very easy and realistic to do). Instead, we rely on Damon's charm and delivery of the character to hold the stakes.

The Martian also did not go for outlandish Sci-Fi lore in the obvious far or near future or a super realistic drama with buzz kill characters. Instead it went for a superior inspiration of a slight detachment from present realism. The situation, the people, and the overall movie has an ideal outlook where the best is made of every hardship, and out of every character. You are aware that it is kind of outrageous and not completely in touch with what realistically would have happened, but in the end that's why The Martian is so great. Damon may have had too good of a time on mars and because of this his dread may never have been completely realized. Executives of NASA and others are VERY selfless (not just in action but in actually caring for Watney) and use extreme measures and resources in the rescue attempt of Watney. However, in real life that may sadly be a bit far fetched. Maybe this is just what we need and are drawn to by the Martian though, watching people on screen see a massive need and doing all they can to relieve it.

The Martian is one of the best movies of the year, why? Matt Damon gives one of his most compelling performances and The Martian is a straight up good time while also intriguing to the mind. The film is also a great study on the nature of humanity and our desire to help one another.

"If nobody sees it, it didn't happen" - Whitey Bulger In the words of Whitey's devilish advise, I wish, for me, that Black Mass didn't happen. It's not that Black Mass is a bad movie, but it was just so dang boring. One of the year's best casts, stories, and overall opportunities for greatness is wasted with this dull, and minimalist gangster bore.

Black Mass, essentially is a canvas for Johnny Depp to re-thrive his recently deadbeat career. Depp, as one of the most infamous gangsters of all time, does not disappoint. The control and maturity of the performance is applaud worthy, and maybe award baiting during next year's Academy Awards. Along side him Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch and the rest of the cast gives terrific performances. Director Scott Cooper also gives a dark tone and effective camera work that is noteworthy. The screenwriters also give a moderately air tight story that I wouldn't call a weakness, despite the at times over dedicated dialogue. So what went wrong with Black Mass? Let us first get to some plot first.

Whitey Bulger's rise from small time gangster to FBI's most wanted man is a well known fact, but not a well known story. How he got there is the primary purpose of Black Mass, I think. When FBI agent John Connolly (Edgerton) moves back into his hometown, he reacquaints himself with a childhood friend who was "very good to him" growing up, Whitey. The problem here is that this is not a simple childhood reunion, due to Bulger being a motivated, psychopathic gangster, and Connolly being a morally corrupt FBI agent. Together Bulgar and Connolly get rid of each others competition and "rats" in order to rise up their respective ladders to a not so respectful end. Black Mass does not focus on the business side of Winter Hill Gang's operation, but instead almost solely on dealing with the FBI, competition, and Bulgar's own paranoia. Him and his goons kill quite a few people in this movie, and you can see most of the executions coming from far away. There is one stand out scene, taking place in a parking lot, that was the only excitement or suspense in this entire movie. Everything was predictable. Everything was boring. The story format was intriguing, especially at the beginning, with Bulger's colleagues informing against him, then flashing back to the crimes being explained. A really interesting development was the refrain from making Depp's Bulgar, "cool". One of his guys who was informing the FBI against him explained Bulger as "just a criminal". Cooper and the writers make sure to not commit the all too common mistake of having people leave the theater praising a serial killing gangster.

So what went wrong? The lack of cohesiveness of all the minimalist parts drowning the movie of all excitement or intrigue. Over control and nuance kills this movie. Black Mass did not compel me or bring me into this world of South Boston in the 70s and 80s. I knew I was watching a movie the whole time. While being well made and acted, Black Mass completely fails at being even remotely entertaining or immersive.

Stylish movies always pose the question, What is the value of style over substance? Some movies get ridiculed for it and others get praised ( Quentin Tarantino for instance). The director of The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Guy Ritchie is divisive in this argument due to his trademarked energetic style all his movies are marked by. One could argue though, that there (I'm one of those) is significant substance to warrant the blatant style in his best movies like Snatch. and Sherlock Holmes. So the real question is, where is the substance in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.? Characters. This film at its core is driven by a plot of an over told and bland spy story that is covered with effective and ineffective style, and ultra intriguing characters, namely The KGB stud Illya who is played shockingly well by Armie Hammer. One disturbed and complex look off of Mr. Hammer's face holds more depth and weight than the whole plot. The other characters are Solo, played also surprisingly well by Henry Cavill, and Alicia Vikander's Gaby. Vikander is what you would expect, a marvel. She made her name known by her brilliant portrayal of a robot that achieves AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Ex Machina, All three of these characters meet in the first few minutes. Solo goes to a garage in East Berlin, where Gaby is a car mechanic. Solo tells the story of her real father, a man forced against his will to build atomic bombs for the Nazi's. I won't get into the plot too much because how bland and conventional it turns out to be, but we have to hit this first twenty minutes because it is fantastic. In their attempt to get Gaby out of East Berlin they run into KGB's best Illya, and in a stunningly amazing set piece, Solo, Illya and Gaby play a cat and mouse game that is a brilliant intro to this film.

Style. As said before, the first 20 minutes or so of The Man from UNCLE was such a great start, before getting bogged down by its familiar plot exercises. The real reason was because of Ritchie's incorporation of style into the action scenes that worked effectively.The problem with the style of the rest of the film was instead of laying off the gas slowly from what was shown in the beginning, Ritchie hits the gas and beats his style into the audience in a rather hit and miss way. Some scenes it worked, and some scenes it failed....miserably. Ritchie, probably recognizing the weakness of the story that he co-wrote, overcompensated at times with style that was so bold and gutsy that I applaud with chagrin in the same moment of feeling sick and overwhelmed.

A place with a complete lack of substance was in the end, and the way it was told lacked creativity, which Ritchie lacks very rarely does. No spoilers so don't worry. In the end there is a scene that the fate of main characters is discussed over the phone, and Ritchie gives us information in an incorrect order to try and add weight to a 5 pound dumbbell. The misappropriation of story and the chopping up of a 5 minute scene and revealing it in that same 5 minutes was a poor attempt at clever story telling. Also, the conclusion and purpose of the phone call was an insult to the audience, and characters intelligence. You had a feeling with the whole ending Ritchie...struggled, and struggled to close it. The redeemable scene in the later parts was an effectively shot and built up (throughout the film) scene between the two lead male characters. The characters and their relationships for the most part, made up for the unimpressive ending, and the whole story in general.

Humor. Guy Ritchie really knows how to make me laugh, UNCLE was hit and miss for me in that department. During a set piece where Solo, and Illya are getting chased by boat, Solo jumped off the boat and escapes rather easily while Illya keeps getting shot at for a few more minutes. Solo is eating and drinking with a front row seat. It was hilarious and in the end, a big scene for some character development. There's a couple other scenes with big laughs, but others that drop a bomb.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. tells a forgettable story, but gives us memorable characters. Ritchie hits and misses with style, humor and action set pieces, and straight up miss fires all together with the plot. The actors work hard, and mainly achieve at making up for this sin, with powerful acting and great chemistry. I'll see a sequel, if someone else writes the story.