The Girl on the Train (2016)

Directed by Tate Taylor

Written by Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay) and Paula Hawkins (novel)

Starring Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, and Justin Theroux 

     *spoilers for those who haven't read the book*

     A thrilling movie based on the book by best selling, world renowned author, Paula Hawkins- that still manages to be somewhat of a let down despite the books tremendous success. It has everything to be almost as successful as Gone Girl, with a riveting storyline adapted from best selling books- however it falls short of being anything like Gone Girl. This being director, Tate Taylor's first thriller, I can't say I was expecting much- although with how much everyone loved the book I still had some hope for the film adaptation. 

     It all starts with the protagonist and narrator, Rachel (Emily Blunt). She is an alcoholic who spends her days riding the train for long stretches, back and forth into New York City. Along the trains route is a beautiful house, with her idea of a picture perfect couple: the pretty blonde Megan (played by Haley Bennett who looks shockingly similar to Jennifer Lawrence in this film) and her husband, Scott (Luke Evans). Rachel adores this couple she has never met, in a somewhat creepy manner at times. She hopes the best for their love, which is why she is enraged when she witnesses Megan embracing in a passionate kiss with her therapist, Dr. Abdic (Edgar Ramirez). Through many confusing flashbacks, we learn that before alcoholism consumed her marriage- Rachel once lived a few houses down from Scott and Megan. Her ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux) now lives in her old house with his new wife, Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). Things start to get tricky for Rachel when the apparent adulteress, Megan- disappears. To make matters worse, she disappears on the same night that Rachel decided to confront her on her infidelity. Because of a drunken black-out, Rachel does not have any memory of that night, leading her to be a suspect in the disappearance. 

     As more "twists" start to unveil throughout the course of the movie, I can't say I had any big "no way!" moments. Everything is presented in such a manner that my suspicions of the outcomes of the plot, were just confirmed. I was never really surprised. The movie takes places over a 6 month time period, and the constant flashbacks between the past and present gave me whiplash. 

     Emily Blunt's performance is impressive despite the sometimes messiness of the movie. Her portrayal of this alcoholic woman relays back and forth between tortured victim and scheming lunatic. She has a strong performance that leaves little room for other characters to share the spotlight. Despite the importance of the supporting characters in the book, Erin Cressida Wilson portrays them in a pretty one dimensional, cliche manner. Theroux plays the controlling ex-husband, Ferguson plays the stuck-up new wife, and Bennett plays the damaged goods who ends up the victim. The film brings some more big names to the film like, Laura Prepon, Lisa Kudrow and Allison Janney but they all have such minuscule screen time you could blink and miss them. 

     Despite all my criticism, this was a thrilling movie and I was never bored. Although the flashbacks may have been confusing, and the depiction of the story may gave been predictable- it was still a story that I wanted to follow. 

I give The Girl on the Train a...

6/10

The Hunger Games (2012)

Directed by Gary Ross

Written by Gary Ross (screenplay), Billy Ray (screenplay) and Suzanne Collins (screenplay and novel)

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson and Liam Hemsworth

     The Hunger Games film had a lot of hype to live up to after the major success of the book written by Suzanne Collins. It also came into the lime light after the end of two very popular movie franchises came to an end that same year- Harry Potter and Twilight. This dystopian themed thriller definitely filled whatever 'movies based on teen-fiction books' void, I had. Granted, I was a big fan of the series when they first came out and I read all three books in three weekends- my bias does not take away from the entertainment this film provides for any audience. 

     The movie is set in what we're to assume is the future, and catastrophe has destroyed North America. From the ashes rises a new colony named, Panem. Panem is ruled by the powerful Capitol which is rich and elegant- while the surrounding 12 districts that make up the rest of Panem are powerless and poor. Each district is forced to surrender a young man and woman for the annual Hunger Games- where 24 "tributes" fight to the death in an arena until one is left standing. This is supposed to maintain peace amongst the districts and essentially remind them who is in charge. Oh, and the best part of all this- its televised for everyone to watch! 

     The story centers around the brave Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) who represents the female from the poor, coal mining district of 12. Her and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are chosen at the annual "reaping" and are immediately snatched from their families and on a train headed to train at the capitol. Katniss and Peeta are joined by the representative for their district from the Capitol, the peacocky Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and their mentor- a former winner of the Hunger Games from their district, Haymitch (Woody Harrelson). Prior to the broadcast of the games is a lot of build-up to the showdown. The tributes all get interviewed on a talk-show hosted by the eccentric Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) and also get to train in front of the game-makers where they are given a score based on how well they did. Once the games begin, its a vicious fight to the death (but not too vicious because of the PG-13 rating). Katniss and Peeta are left to fight for their lives against all odds in the arena, and the results are action packed and intense. 

       This movie brings some very interesting characters, but Jennifer Lawrence leads the pack with her heroic female lead. Katniss is a very independent young woman who is forced to provide for her family via hunting. Lawrence sheds her natural blonde hair for this film and packs on the intensity for this role. Hutcherson and Hemsworth kind of fall into Lawrence's shadow and mostly serve as pretty faces. Peeta has a rather puppy dog tendency to him which only further heightens Katniss's bravery and strength. Aside from those three, the supporting cast is a slue of recognizable names who play interesting Capitol inhabitants. Wes Bentley plays the head game-maker and supports the most intricately designed beard I've ever seen. Donald Sutherland plays the menacing, President Snow who looks like he could kill you with one glance. 

  For those who weren't already fans from the novel, I can see how the movie might be a bit slow going at first. The actual "games" themselves don't begin until about an hour into the film. There is a lot of crucial information and character development in the first half of the film, however. The build-up the games is definitely worth the watch to get to the suspense of the arena. 

I give The Hunger Games an... 

8/10

     

Wild (2014)

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée 

Written by Nick Hornby (screenplay) and Cheryl Strayed (memoir "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail")

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Gaby Hoffmann

     Wild is a rare film about self-discovery and taking a "journey" to "find yourself" that is not a disappointment. I may be a bit bias since I was a huge fan of the memoir that this movie is based upon- "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail." However, that is not to take away from the overall greatness of this movie. This movie is based on the real events in Chery Strayed's life that led up to her ultimately deciding to hike 1,000 miles on the PCT from the Mexico border to Canada. 

     The movie opens with a gruesome and raw scene of Cheryl Strayed (portrayed by Reese Witherspoon) sitting on top of a mountain on the trail, ripping off a toe nail and subsequently accidentally knocking her shoe off the side of the cliff. If this intense opening scene doesn't immediately drag you into the following storyline, than I don't know what will. Cheryl enters this extremely strenuous hike in which she is neither physically or mentally prepared for- following the death of her beloved mother, Bobbi (Laura Dern). The film follows Cheryl's journey across the trail, and every obstacle that she overcomes- with reoccurring flashbacks. Flashbacks show us Cheryl and her brother (the real life Cheryl also has a sister who was not given a character in the film) growing up poor, but rich in love. Their mother is constantly shown as a beaming ray of hope and optimism. She loves her children more than her arms can stretch out, she goes to college with Cheryl, all while maintaining her super mom persona. Things take a depressing turn as we see flashbacks of Bobbi finding out she has terminal cancer. After her death, Cheryl becomes involved with drugs and begins sleeping around with anyone who will ask. Finally, she decides to "put herself in the way of beauty" and hike herself to who her mother always thought she was, and would be. 

     Hornby did a brilliant job at transforming the heartbreaking and inspiring story from Cheryl's memoir- into an equals as awe-inspiring film. Cheryl is forced to overcome unbearable grief following the death of her mother. The method she chooses to conquer that grief, and become who she was always supposed to be is nothing less of impressive. This movie is all about perseverance and as corny as it sounds, finding your true best self and holding on to it. One of my favorite parts about the film was how it often used Simon & Garfunkel's song, "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" as a bridge between obstacles Cheryl was facing on the trail to things from her past. 

     As far as acting goes, Reese Witherspoon nailed it. This was such a fresh, new role for her. She normally plays very fluffy, sweet characters- but Cheryl is rough around the edges. Witherspoon does an amazing job of portraying this real life character who has gone through such devastation loosing her mother. She has many intense scenes with raw emotion that left me with goosebumps. Lara Dern had a heartwarming supporting role. Her character's intense optimism never died down even after the news of her imminent death. Witherspoon and Dern both earned Academy Award nominations for their performances. 

     I love Wild for many reasons. It met my expectations after reading the memoir and then seeing the movie. The story itself is so inspiring. The acting is incredible. You would think after seeing the intense physical and emotional pain Cheryl goes through on this hike, that you would never want to hike again- but this movie just makes me want to go on a similar intense hike. Overall great movie. 

I give Wild a...

9/10

Room (2015)

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson 

Written by Emma Donoghue (screenplay and novel) 

Starring Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, and Joan Allen

     A movie that will make you happy cry, sad cry, and audibly rejoice throughout the 2 hours. Director, Lenny Abrahamson makes his big time debut with this drama adapted by the novel Room written by Emma Donoghue, who also wrote the screenplay. Donoghue perfectly transitions her masterpiece novel into a screenplay without leaving viewers repeating to themselves, "the book was better." 

     19 year old woman, Joy (Brie Larson) is abducted off the streets, taken captive in a garden shed and continuously raped by her captor (Sean Bridgers). After two agonizingly depressing years for her in captivity, she gives birth to a boy- Jack (Jacob Tremblay). With Jack growing up in this tiny room, he has no knowledge of the world outside of room. When Jack turns five, his Ma becomes increasingly more aware of how his growth effects their perilous situation. Ma then devises a plan of a great escape with the help of naive little Jack. The plan involves Jack playing dead, all rolled up in a rug as the captor who they call "Old Nick" removes him. Once Jack enters the outside world via Old Nick's truck, he jumps out and retrieves help from the first person he finds. With the assistance of the police, they find Ma and cue the hugging and crying as the two are reunited in the outside world. I watched this movie with my boyfriend and at this point he was waiting for the credits to start rolling not having read the book. This movie does not end on a note of optimism. 

    The second half of Room continues on with Ma and Jack's life outside of the four tiny walls of their once home. Although their life inside room is a major aspect of this film, the most important aspect is the post kid-napping return to normality. Like Donoghue's book, the movie is told from Jack's point of view of how he perceives the world. In room, Ma has sheltered Jack from the cruel reality of their situation by making him believe that the "world" is what exists behind the closed locked door of the shed they are kept in. Jack believes that everything he can see through their skylight is outer space, and that nothing on the television is real, and Old Nick is magic and comes from the fake television world. In the second half of the movie we see Ma struggle with their sudden freedom as Jack flourishes. Jack is seeing so many things for the first time, and Ma is stuck on all the wasted time she lost. 

     The screenplay differs from the novel in that we get to see a much more prominent role from Ma. Watching Brie Larson take on this intricate role is breath taking. Her acting in this movie is effortless and unforced almost as if this were a candid filming of an actual circumstance that happen to her. She plays her sons image of her - Ma. Not this un-hinged captive woman always seeking a way out. She's living everyday as Jack's Ma in what he thinks is their world. Larson had the role of her career in this film and scored an Academy Award win for it. Her performance was admirable and she perfectly portrays my expectations from Ma in the novel. Jacob Tremblay is eight years old. Every time I watch this movie I am reminding myself that. It is so incredible to watch his performance. Its not like any other child actor. I am shocked he didn't get an Oscar nomination for this. Joan Allen provides a strong supporting role as Joy's mom. 

     With such a horrific backstory, Room is surprisingly uplifting. The transition from captivity to reality is not one of peace and prosperity. It is honest and it is dark at some points and that is what sets this apart and makes it amazing. With true and real and impeccable acting performances from the two lead roles and an incredible adaptation from book to movie, Room is one of the best movies of the decade. 

I give Room a... 

10/10

The Help (2011)

Directed by Tate Taylor

Written by Tate Taylor (screenplay) and Kathryn Stockett (novel) 

Starring Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard

     "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." These candid compliments have the power to repair any mended ego and build your self confidence and will be forever stuck in your mind like a commercial jingle after you see this film. This drama set in the 1960's is based on the critically acclaimed novel written by Kathryn Stockett and brought to the big screen by Stockett's childhood friend from Mississippi, Tate Taylor. Jackson native, Taylor makes his big directing debut with a film that tackles issues of prejudice and racism in Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. Stockett and Taylor conquer a story that has been told before in film, and make it an unforgettable emotional story that is driven by an impeccable cast that brings awareness to what was going on in this time period, with an appropriate level of humor to leaven the drama.
     Recent college graduate, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) gets her first job of writing a cleaning column for the Jackson Journal. Skeeter approaches local housewife friend of hers, Elizabeth (Anna O'Reilly) in hopes of interviewing her maid, Abileen (Viola Davis). Skeeter starts to become more aware of the injustice these maids are facing at a local card game with her socialite housewife friends lead by the iron grip of Hillie Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard). Hillie refuses to use Elizabeth's bathroom because she allows her colored help to use it. Dismayed by this, Skeeter decides write a book from the maid's point of view, with the assistance from the reluctant Abileen. Employed by Hillie Holbrook, the sassy Minnie (Octavia Spencer) very reluctantly joins Skeeter and Abileen after she loses her job for using Hillie's bathroom during a violent thunderstorm. Eventually, dozens of other maids join the battle and Skeeter gets her book anonymously published.
     The Help brilliantly tells the story of racial prejudice and bigotry through the point of view of the black maids. Normally we hear these stories from this time told by the privileged white men and women who employ these maids, and when that happens their actual stories get lost in translation. Tate Taylor brings us the remarkably talented Davis and Spencer to play these noble black maids who are experiencing issues of injustice and poverty.
     This film portrays all black people as humble and kind and all white people as ignorant and racist, with a few exceptions. One of these exceptions is Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) who is viewed as this outcast "trailer trash" to the other bigoted socialites. Celia eventually employs the recently fired Minnie, and breaks all the racial boundaries created by society during this time. Chastain plays a role that was so fun to watch. I found myself feeling sad for her as she was an outcast that just wanted the attention of her community members, white or black. Celia Foote saw no racial difference between her and Minnie and mostly hired her to help her impress her husband as she was very new to the housewife scene.
     Aside from Chastain's oscar nominated supporting role in the film, we get a heartfelt performance from Emma Stone as the protagonist. Stone's performance is mainly fed by Davis and Spencer, as she mostly serves as the pen that records all of their experiences. Viola Davis was Oscar nominated for her leading role in the film, as Octavia Spencer gained her first Oscar win for her supporting role. I mean, how could she not win an Oscar after her delicious pie that she makes for Hillie Holbrook.  Bryce Dallas Howard's role as the venomous queen B was fun to watch as well. Allison Janney has a minor role in the film as Skeeter's mom, which was comical at some points as she played a fierce, sometimes over the top local socialite who is sick with cancer.
     The Help is dominated by strong female performances which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. It was't some fuzzy female empowerment movie about friendship. It was a powerful film covering important issues from the past, told by empowering female characters.

I give The Help an...

8/10     

The Martian (2015)

Directed by Ridley Scott

Written by Drew Goddard (screenplay) and Andy Weir (novel)

Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig

      A gripping sci-fi story brought to the big screen by writer, Drew Goddard and adapted by novelist, Andy Weir, The Martian will leave you at the edge of your seat, mentally and audibly cheering at every small victory that gets astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) one step closer to getting home. Directed by the exquisitely aged mind that brought us other science fiction films such as Alien (1979), this film has a refreshing splash of comedy thrown throughout to leaven the sometimes confusing dialogue filled with lots of astro physics and chemistry. However this film did have me bragging to my friends after that I know how many Earth days equals a Mars sol. 

     Set in the near future, Mark Watney and his fellow Hermes crew members lead by Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), are on a routine walk when a storm strikes the dry planet and sends the crew in a frenzy as they hustle to get back to their ship. The impending situation leaves the crew with no other choice but to evacuate, but while doing so Watney is struck by flying debris and left stranded on Mars while the rest of the Hermes crew presumes him as dead. Talk about some bad luck. Mark wakes impaled by a metal rod and still on Mars. With enough food rations to last him about a month, and stuck in a small life habitat not meant to keep humans alive for very long, his death seems imminent. With the tireless efforts of NASA and Watney's own brilliance, he perseveres and we witness humanity unify as we "bring him home."

     Brilliantly casted, the real beauty behind The Martian lies behind the importance and fluidity that every cast member brings to this storyline. There is no evil NASA scientist secretly plotting against Wateny's heroic return to Earth. Everyone in this film comes together and is genuinely sincere over the efforts to send this astronaut home, and their acting performances show this. Damon's role scored him an Oscar nomination for best lead actor and won him a golden globe. Matt Damon brings a very personable character to the screen that we all cant help but relate to and root for. He doesn't have some sob story of his wife and kids that he needs to get back home to. He's just a man who was doing what he loves and suffered a terrible accident that no one could've predicted. He bring's a very astonishing level of intelligence matched with a dry sense of humor that makes this one of my favorite roles that Matt Damon has played. 

    Aside from Damon, this movie brings us a cluster of strong supporting cast members riddled with Oscar nominees and winners. Jessica Chastain has always and will always be one of my favorite actresses after her roles in The Help (2011) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), so seeing her play this intellectual commander of the Hermes ship that had a manned mission on Mars was so different than her other roles but she did a stellar job. You can really feel guilt for leaving Mark behind but admire and believe her conviction in getting him back. The rest of the Hermes crew (Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, and Aksel Hennie) all contribute to the collective greatness of this film. The most prominent NASA crew member was Vincent Kapoor played by the growingly talented Chiwetel Ejiofor. Ejiofor's character, along with Kristen Wiig's character, give us faith that everyone on ground control is doing everything in their power to help Watney. Donald Glover plays astrophysicist Rich Purnell and brings some comical moments to the film. 

     Screenplay writer Drew Goddard beautifully made a film that could've been 142 minutes of confusing science diction and boring scenes that tend to drag on, into something that is brimming with humor and really appeals to a wide audience. I left the film shocked that over 2 hours had passed because every minute had me intrigued. I especially enjoyed the music in the film and found myself downloading lots of old songs that The Martian re-surfaced (Like David Bowie's "Starman"). With a cast that is out of this world (had to throw at least one space pun in there), tremendous visuals, and an unforgettable storyline, The Martian will undoubtedly be deemed a Science Fiction classic. 

I give The Martian an...

8/10