The Lego Movie (2014) **1/2

I've come to have high expectations for animated films. Spoiled as I am by a decade of Pixar films like “Wall-E” and “Monsters, Inc.,”I have little tolerance for weak plots and acting. “The Lego Movie” and all of its hype crashed into those expectations, and the results were rather disappointing.

“The Lego Movie” tells the story of Emmett (voiced by Chris Pratt), a generic, Lego construction worker who spends his days with the other workers, building things exactly according to the Lego instructions. Everyone in Legoland follows the instructions, in obedience to Lord Business (Will Ferrell), an OCD, control-freak micro-manager. Emmett is the most boring Lego person in town, with absolutely nothing to distinguish him, but he gets thrust into an adventure when he accidentally finds a legendary hunk of plastic called the Piece of Resistance. Rebel Lego-people bring Emmett into their movement, believing him to be the prophesied Master Builder, who will use the Piece to defeat Lord Business and save Legoland.

Given that all the characters and backgrounds are made up of Legos, you might think this would be a true stop-action animated film. Nope, this is another CGI-fest, which freed the animators up to make “The Lego Movie” one long, frenetic action sequence. Oh, every now and then they slow down for a brief lesson about “believing in yourself,” but mostly everything just MOVES, exhaustingly.

It isn't until the end, when Emmett meets the Man Upstairs, that things get really meta and interesting. At this point, all your assumptions about the story get turned on their heads, and the movie becomes quite open to interpretation. This segment explores the value of play and creativity versus structure and control. It would be possible to find some commentary here on regimented societies like China versus individualistic, more chaotic societies like the U.S. Going deeper, one could view the relationship between the Man Upstairs, his son, and the Lego world as an allegory of Christian theology. Truth is, there's all kinds of potential religious symbolism in this film. Emmett, himself, could be viewed as a Christlike figure, a promised savior who turns out to be different from what the people were expecting. The film also asks whether prophesy is real or just made up to serve as a self-fulfilling guide to future generations. Some might find the movie to be Existentialist. I can't divine, though, whether the filmmakers intended all this subtext or not, because they can't seem to wait to get back to the mind-numbing action. That's the problem with “The Lego Movie,” they don't slow down to offer any thought or meaning until it's too late,your mind is already mush from all the seizure-inducing kinetics.

When I first heard they were making a Lego movie, I thought it was the dumbest idea ever. Then I started hearing positive reviews and buzz, and my expectations rose to Pixar levels. Now, having seen it, I feel pretty “meh” about it. The ending does somewhat redeem the movie and provides some interesting fuel for discussion. Truth be told, though, I was bored while watching it, and for a movie like this, being boring is the one unforgivable crime. Even worse than not following the instructions.

2.5 stars out of 5  

Mud (2012) ***1/2

One thing you can count on is that when Hollywood sets a movie in Arkansas, it isn't going to be about lawyers, or university professors, or company executives. It'll be about backwoods, country-talking, toothless rednecks. “Mud” is no exception. That's my only real complaint about “Mud,” however. It's a funny, strangely entertaining coming-of-age tale.

Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) are a couple of 13-year-old boys whose lives are wrapped up with the Mississippi River and its tributaries in the Arkansas delta. Everything in their lives is covered in mud, but the movie is named for a drifter (Matthew McConaughey) they meet on an island in the river. The boys sneak out to the island to check out a boat that has been lodged in a tree by floods. They find Mud living in it, and he ropes them into his world of superstition and romance. Mud is hiding out, waiting for a chance to meet up with his trashy girlfriend (Reese Witherspoon). The boys, especially Ellis,can't help but be impressed by such a romantic situation. They help Mud out, even when doing so runs them afoul of the law and a gang of bounty-hunters.

I like that “Mud” isn't about any big issue or theme. It's just a good story, well-told. Matthew McConaughey has fully left behind his lightweight, pretty-boy rep. He does take off his shirt in “Mud,” but he also sports bad teeth, looking as greasy and dirty as anyone should hiding out on an island in the summer. Equally fearless is Reese Witherspoon as Mud's trampy girlfriend, Juniper. She trashes up even better than Blake Lively did in "The Town." It's the teen actors who really impress, however, especially Tye Sheridan. Sheridan only had one movie role before “Mud,” playing in Terence Malick's “Tree of Life,” which is not a bad start, artistically. Jacob Lofland had even less experience. “Mud” was his first movie role; he was chosen because he is an Arkansas boy who knows how to ride a motorbike and drive a boat. Both actors have been working steadily since.

It's true that “Mud” is overly optimistic, and certainly predictable, but the humor of the movie makes up for any weaknesses of story. The boys riding around town trying to sell fish, Ellis's fumbling attempts at romance, and Neckbone's wetsuit-wearing uncle are all comedy gold! It's also a testimony to how much love, or the lack of it, can mess you up. It's like the song says, “Love is like oxygen. You get too much, you get too high. Not enough, and you're gonna die.”

3.5 stars out of 5

American Psycho **Spoilers** (2000) ****

There's no way I can discuss this film without giving some things away. If you haven't seen it yet, then I recommend you watch it before reading any further. And I do HIGHLY recommend you watch it. It's an adeptly drawn modern fable full of dark humor and social satire.

Christian Bale plays wall-street trader Patrick Bateman. We know Bateman is on Wall Street because he tells us, but we never see him actually doing any real work. This is part of the story, that Bateman and his “friends” are all about spending money in the most extravagant ways possible, but none of them produce anything of value. These 20-something suits spend their days going out for expensive meals and drinks, one-upping each other with fancy stationery, and cheating with each others' Ivy League girlfriends. These alpha males live in a world devoid of any trace of human connection or empathy. Bateman narrates our journey through this world, describing to us his exercise and skin-care regimens, ultimately telling us:

“There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me: only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable... I simply am not there. “

Bateman deals with his emptiness through violent fantasies and possibly bursts of murderous violence, and this is where the film gets vague, because it's hard to tell where fantasy leaves off and reality begins. Viewing the storyline literally, we see Bateman abuse prostitutes, then later murder them. He murders a colleague and hides the body, making everyone think the guy disappeared on a trip overseas. We eventually see that he has filled an apartment with dead bodies, and he finally engages in a shootout with police in which he wins by blowing up a squad car with a single shot. It's here that it becomes obvious (even to Bateman, who looks disbelievingly at his pistol) that some contact with reality his been lost.

I will try to leave off here in describing the plot, because I really don't want to ruin the delight of watching this fable. The upshot is that Bateman is clearly psychotic, and there are a variety of interpretations as to how much of the violence is real versus what takes place in his mind. I prefer to believe that it all takes place in his head, and that Bateman is in reality just another bland, American male, going through his day having one violent fantasy after another. What separates him from the rest of us is not the content but the extremity of his thoughts, and his growing inability to distinguish them from reality. This would make “American Psycho” a scathing commentary on the Western, male mind.

As it happens, director Mary Harron has indicated that she regrets making the plot so vague, and that we were really meant to understand that Bateman is an actual murderer. With this more literal interpretation, the film is still a hilariously dark send-up of '80s, Wall Street culture, but I like my interpretation better. The good thing is that the film works either way. Art, after all, is not what the artist creates, it is what happens when you experience the artist's creation.

In the perfect end to the film, it is made clear that nothing real matters in Bateman's world. Even a confession of murder is considered interesting only as an ironic jest. Nothing matters except an Ivy League pedigree, a good suit, and picking the right restaurant.

4 stars out of 5

Arbitrage (2012) **1/2

The definition of arbitrage is:

“The simultaneous purchase and sale of an asset in order to profit from a difference in the price. It is a trade that profits by exploiting price differences of identical or similar financial instruments, on different markets or in different forms.”

In other words, arbitrage is yet another way of making money without actually producing anything of value. In the film “Arbitrage,” securities trader Robert Miller (Richard Gere) has grown rich this way, but his latest scheme has not worked out well. In order to hide the losses from a bad bet that was against his own company's rules, he is selling the company. With altered account books and with secretly borrowed money in the bank, he hopes to fool his potential buyers and leave them with the losses. Miller needs everything to remain stable and quiet until the sale can go through, but fate is against him. First his daughter becomes suspicious of the company's books, then Miller gets into a car accident in which his mistress dies. This random mistake threatens to kill the buyout deal, which would leave Miller with no way to cover his losses, and ultimately lead to jail time for fraud. With the clock ticking, Miller scrambles to protect a web of lies that grows to threaten his family, his friends, and his freedom.

“Arbitrage” would never work without an actor of Richard Gere's caliber, because, really, there is nothing to admire about Robert Miller. His self-image and the image he projects to the world is of this patriarch, this wise lion of the financial industry. Really, though, he's just a guy who gambles with other people's money and likes to screw a young woman on the side. He's a fraud, and cheering on his efforts to maneuver his own labyrinth is ultimately an un-rewarding experience. Robert Miller is surrounded by people who are much better human beings than he is, but alas, he is the protagonist, so it's him we have to follow as the sordid tale wends its way. More unfortunate is that while Miller is lousy, he isn't evil enough to be really interesting. Even with Richard Gere trying desperately to liven the guy up, he isn't nearly as compelling as the Frances Underwood character from “House of Cards.”

As ably acted and directed as it is, “Arbitrage” is ultimately a milquetoast thriller. Nothing in it will make you groan, but there's nothing in it to compel you to watch it either.

2.5 stars out of 5

Pacific Rim (2013) **1/2

I don't usually like movies that go for spectacle over substance, but I'll make an exception for “Pacific Rim.” Despite the banality of its storyline, I found myself enjoying the action. “Pacific Rim” gets credit for delivering what it promises: giant robots battling giant monsters.

The plot, such as it is, involves a near-future earth in which an inter-dimensional portal has opened up in the ocean floor, letting massive, nightmare beasts into our world. These beasts, called Kaiju in Japanese (think Godzilla), trash a few coastal cities before people decide that the best way to fight them is not heavy artillery or tactical nukes, but giant Rock'EmSock'Em Robots. Driven by humans, these robots dispatch the monsters partly with special weapons, but mostly using good, old-fashioned fisticuffs. As stupid as it sounds, it's hella-fun to watch.

It's shocking that they didn't get Michael Bay to direct this. I suppose there was hope that Guillermo del Toro (“Hellboy” “Pan's Labyrinth”) would class this thing up, maybe add some intangible element that would make it more than just an action movie. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Despite some decent supporting actors (Charlie Day and Burn Gorman as wacky scientists, and Ron Perlman as a shady gangster), every scene that doesn't contains giant robots or monsters basically sucks. There's even a predictable yet unbelievable and completely unnecessary love story involving the sole female character in the movie. Del Toro should be ashamed of himself.

Despite these failings, “Pacific Rim” gets kudos for visual effects. The robots and especially the monsters look really cool duking it out. Kaiju movies like the Godzilla films have traditionally looked pretty cheesy, but the beasts in this film look as bizarre and beautifully horrifying as you could want. If you want to see giant robots fighting giant monsters, this is the movie for you.

2.5 stars out of 5

Spring Breakers (2012) *

     I was expecting “Spring Breakers” to be a trashy, hot mess of an exploitation flick, and that was going to be acceptable.  James Franco's performance as a drug dealer was supposedly worth seeing, and frankly I was curious how much clothing former Disney starlets Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez would remove. Even with those low expectations, however,“Spring Breakers” managed to disappoint me.

     The film is a mash-up of one of those Spring Break, Girls Gone Wild videos and an artsy, hand-held camera movie. Mingled with footage of gyrating, young women having cheap beer poured over their boobs is a story of four college girls who pull a robbery to get some cash, then head down to the beach for some spring break debauchery. The film is very poorly edited. The same scenes and conversations keep getting replayed, until you are just stunned at how boring a movie with this many naked breasts can be. I gave up after about 30 minutes, so I didn't even get to see James Franco other than a brief appearance on a stage as a rapper. I did read some reviews, and it turns out that Hudgens and Gomez keep their bikinis on throughout the film, in case you were interested.

     To me it's surprising how well-reviewed this film was. A 65% fresh rating on Rottentomatoes.com is pretty good for a movie that feels like a self-indulgent, film-student project. The film does attempt to comment on the emptiness of hedonism, while at the same time exploiting it. I actually think there might be an interesting movie hidden in there, if only a decent editor had gotten hold of it. As it is, they made a red-blooded, American male turn off a movie about pretty girls in bikinis, which I guess is its own kind of artistic triumph.

1 star out of 5

Nebraska (2013) ****

Every few years somebody makes a movie about an old man or woman going on a journey.  There was 1985’s “The Trip To Bountiful,” 1999’s “The Straight Story,” 2002’s “About Schmidt,” and so on.  It’s life-affirming to see a story about an elderly person pursuing one last dream, not giving up just yet.  This year’s offering is “Nebraska.”
David (Will Forte) is a sad sack living in Billings, Montana, saddled with a crappy job and a demented, alcoholic father, Woody (Bruce Dern). When Woody becomes convinced that his junk mail is a real notice of a million dollar prize, he is single-minded in his efforts to get to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect the money.  David finally gives in and agrees to drive the old guy to Lincoln.  This is harder than it sounds, as anyone who cares for an elderly relative knows.  Old folks need lots of bathroom breaks, and demented people tend to wander off.  This is all exacerbated by Woody’s alcoholism.  Despite the slow progress, David detours them through Woody’s tiny hometown.  It’s the kind of town where everyone knows you and your history, and it isn’t long before everyone is celebrating Woody and his coming “riches.”
“Nebraska” is the kind of awards-season movie that people think they “should” watch, but have trouble getting around to.  A black & white movie about some old codger and the state of Nebraska just doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.  I’m here to tell you, “Nebraska” is better than its title.  Despite its poignant subject, the film is full of comedy, as when Woody’s wife (June Squibb) hikes up her skirt in front of an old beau’s grave, saying, “See what you could have been gettin’ if you hadn’t talked about wheat all the time.”  Ultimately, this is a heartwarming movie, as David learns to accept the things about his father that he can’t change.  “Nebraska” isn’t a tearjerker, though, and there’s no cheap sentimentality here.
One thing this film will not do is boost Nebraska tourism.  While everyone in the movie is excellent, the state of Nebraska comes off looking like, well, Nebraska.  The band Soundgarden once sang about “Looking California, but feelin’ Minnesota,” but let’s face it.  You could easily sing about “Looking Minnesota, but feelin’ Nebraska.”  I hate to rag on a place, but I’ve driven through Nebraska more than once, and it really is as flat, windy, and often bleak as the movie depicts.  Even if “Nebraska” had been filmed in color, it still would have looked like black & white.

4 stars out of 5

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) ***

     It seems like there have been a bunch of movies about the end of the world the last few years. Maybe this is a big, unspoken anxiety in our society right now. Anyway, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” is a fairly good, semi-serious exploration of the theme.

     Steve Carrell plays Dodge, a sad sack insurance salesman in a loveless marriage. We meet Dodge as he hears the news that NASA's final attempt to stop an earth-bound asteroid has failed. Humanity must resign itself to destruction, and people react to this in a variety of ways. Some opt for hedonism, others for suicide. Many leave their spouses, including Dodge's wife. Dodge just continues to show up at his insurance job, not because the work has meaning anymore, but simply because he is too depressed to imagine doing anything else. Friends try to set him up with a woman, but he isn't interested in such a meaningless, end-of-the-world fling.

     Then he meets Penny (Keira Knightley), his flighty, attractive downstairs neighbor who is in the midst of her own breakup. They wind up agreeing to help each other on their individual quests. Dodge wants to re-unite with an old girlfriend, and Penny wants to get back to England to spend the Apocalypse with her family. You can figure out the rest.

     This kind of story could easily descend into treacle, and unfortunately, that is what happens at the end. For most of the film, though, Carell and Knightley have enough charm to create some real fun and humor, with help from an excellent supporting cast. My only complaint, other than the sappy ending, is that the film really doesn't explore very deeply the inner life of the characters as they face impending annihilation. They dip their toe into these waters at times, and the story is certainly thought-provoking, but the movie ultimately feels shallow. I guess that in the asteroid-apocalypse genre (e.g. “Deep Impact” “Armageddon”) this qualifies as a pretty deep movie, though.

3 stars out of 5

Gravity (2013) ***

    If there's one thing you can say for Alfonso Cuaron's “Gravity,” it's that it is a stunningly filmed depiction of life in orbit. You have to keep saying it over and over, though, because there is very little else to say about it.

     Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a physician-astronaut on her first mission, aided by Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and some other faceless players. She is responsible for installing some new kind of sensor in orbit. What does it do? We are never told. What is her relationship to the other astronauts? Did they train together? How long have they been in orbit together? We never know. We are first introduced to them all during a spacewalk which is quickly disrupted by a speeding cloud of space debris. Hundreds of chunks of space junk batter the astronauts and shuttle, sending Dr. Stone spinning of into space in her suit. Fortunately, Matt is flying a jet pack and is able to chase her down, link up, and get them both back to the shuttle. When they find their shuttle completely gutted and useless, they have to set off together, jet-packing from one orbit to the next to get to a space station that might contain a way back to earth.

    It isn't that Gravity doesn't try to be more than a great-looking, action set-piece. The story attempts some character development with the revelation that Dr. Stone lost a young daughter to an accident a few years before the mission. This has apparently left her depressed, or reticent, or walled off or maybe single-mindedly driven. It's never really clear. We just know it had an EFFECT, and now it's part of what she has to work through to survive. As she does this, “Gravity” dips it's toe into Existentialism, but we are never allowed to care enough about the characters to make the philosophy matter. As far as we know, only human beings have Existentialist crises, and Dr. Stone is more a cipher than a fully-fleshed human character. The same is true for the action. There is lots of flying through space with earth in the background, bashing into space stations and grappling madly for a hand-hold, and it all looks awesome, but there never seems to be much at stake. Neither astronaut seems to care much whether they make it or not, and I never cared much either.

     In spite of that, Alfonso Cuaron probably did earn his Academy Award for Best Director. “Gravity” is stunningly filmed, with fast-paced, zero-gravity action that would keep you on the edge of your seat if it were happening to characters in whom you had any investment. Sandra Bullock is as good as always, but George Clooney seems to phone this one in. In any event, neither is given very much to do. 

     For me, I suppose, “Gravity” suffers from its own hype. Had I come into this film without expectations, I might have been wowed. It is a pretty cool film if you just view it as a 90 minute short. As a full-length feature, however, “Gravity” lacks, well, gravitas.

3 stars out of 5

Viva Cuba (2005) ***

This one got me back on track with my Spanish-language films.  Featuring good child actors and beautiful footage of Cuba, “Viva Cuba” is a simple story that is very engaging to watch.
Malu and Jorge are around ten years old, and best friends.  When Malu’s mom gets a long-awaited opportunity to leave Cuba, the kids are heartbroken at the prospect of being separated.  Out of desperation, they hatch a plan to travel the length of Cuba to find Malu’s estranged father and get him to prevent the move.  Traveling by train, bus, ox-cart, and foot, they cover a gorgeous cross-section of Cuba, while their parents and the police search frantically.
“Viva Cuba”  touches lightly on Cuban social and political issues, but the focus is mainly on the kids and how they sort through these differences.  It’s a nice reminder that if we can manage not to blow the planet up, our kids may do some things better than we did.  The film’s third star is Cuba itself.  From the cities to the oceans to the forests, the country is featured beautifully.   The movie is nothing to write to your abuela about, but it’s a sweet, little coming-of-age tale that is fun to watch.

3 stars out of 5