014. Review - 12 Years a Slave

Fox Searchlight Pictures

With each passing year come the annual historical dramas, some dealing with smaller autobiographical struggles, like The King’s Speech, others tackling larger generational events, like Letters from Iwo Jima.  They vary in subject and in scope, but their sense of prestige is a relative constant.  However, in the past several years I cannot think of a drama as powerful, as epic, and perhaps even as important as Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave.  Retelling the shockingly true writings of Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York who was abducted and sold into slavery during the 1840’s, the film presents the age with an unfiltered sense of sadness and rage, the monsters that preserved it and the people that miraculously endured.  It is by no means an easy film to watch, but it is a necessary one, telling the remarkable story of a survivor as well as serving a just indictment of one of America’s darkest periods.  Unlike other recent dramas, which often fade from view after awards season has ended, 12 Years a Slave has undoubtedly made an unforgettable and memorable mark on cinema.   

013. Review - The Spectacular Now

A24

When it comes to high school movies, you’ve usually got the choice of one of three roads: the shy nerd who branches out, learns to live his life, and gets the girl, the rowdy party guy who gets a reality check, learns to be a bit more responsible, and gets the girl, or the underdog sports flick.  The pronouns can change, the era can shift back and forth, but the basic outline usually remains the same.  However, every once in a while, you’ll get something that breaks from the mold, like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or, in this case, The Spectacular Now.  Directed by James Ponsoldt and written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the film follows two teenagers, the brash Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) and the quiet Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley) as they try to navigate each other and the world around them during their last month of high school.  While the tagline sounds typical, the great script, amazing directing, and incredible performances make the film a real wonder, an honest, endearing, and painful snapshot of young life.

012. Review - Blackfish

Magnolia Pictures

Growing up in Connecticut, my school or family would take a trip every few years to the Mystic Aquarium, where we’d see a rainbow of fish, an octopus that would never come out of hiding and, most importantly, the beluga whales. These whales, pearl white and somewhat bulbous, would swim around in their small lake, sometimes passing by the glass with a fin waving, and they seemed a bit lonely and a bit bored.  They wouldn’t do shows – that arena was reserved for the sea lion - but even then, those Mystic shows paled in comparison to what they’d deliver at the king of all aquariums, SeaWorld.  Shamu the whale and all his friends, jumping through hoops and flipping trainers through the air; it all seemed so fantastical, on television and in magazines, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to see one of those killer whales up close.  After watching Blackfish, a documentary highlighting the dark secrets SeaWorld has swept under the rug over the years, specifically about its orca program, I’m glad I never did.

Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Blackfish is an extraordinary journalistic examination of the maritime theme park chain SeaWorld, most famous for its orca shows and especially the park “mascot” Shamu the whale.  While claims of education and research have often been made at both SeaWorld’s whale-trainer “spectaculars” and through the party line, Cowperthwaite digs deeper into the company’s most famous program and finds something shockingly sinister.  Through interviews with orca experts, former SeaWorld trainers, and others involved with orcas at various levels, she uncovers capturing and training methods employed towards these creatures that are nothing short of inhumane, if not illegal.  While the narrative of the documentary weaves through different orca tales, both inside and outside of captivity, it anchors the film on one particular whale – Tilikum, a male killer whale responsible for the deaths of three people, including Dawn Brancheau, one of the most respected whale trainers in the business.  By following his life from his initial capture off the coast of Iceland to his sad state of affairs at SeaWorld Orlando, we see the profoundly torturous and even deadly effects captivity has not only on these highly intelligent creatures but the trainers that dare to go into the water with them.

One of the most important facets of the film is the interviews, and while some documentaries, especially those going after corporations, might employ those that have a vendetta or a grudge against said corporation, the trainers and the scientists in Blackfish are just as much if not more for the safety and protection of the orcas as they are against the tactics used by SeaWorld.  Great length is gone to show the animals not only in captivity but out in the wild, some gorgeously shot and enchanting scenes, and that distinction in demeanor, nature, and kinship makes the incidents at various theme parks that much more shocking.  On that end of the spectrum, what makes Blackfish truly stand out is the startling amount of video evidence, the somewhat-morbid yet utterly fascinating highlight of the film.  Other documentaries might’ve used dramatic reenactments of the orca attacks, but this film provides the actual footage from parks and eyewitnesses, taking the suspense to a whole other level.  Some footage cuts away before any true gore is shown, but others keep rolling for a harrowing amount of time, reminding the viewer of the danger these trainers face every day; one particular sequence in the latter half of the film is nothing short of mesmerizing, seeming so much longer than it actually is, the kind of “I can’t believe it” scene that is frightening because it’s so very real.  While there are certainly some moments of beauty, it’s the moments of terror that are the most captivating part of the film.

 

A good documentary sticks, lingers around in the back of your mind for days after you’ve left the theater or your television or your laptop, and Blackfish passes that test with flying colors.  The message here is one we’ve all heard before, the profound ignorance the human race holds thinking it can or should “control” nature; we’ve seen it in countless nature documentaries such as Grizzly Man and Project Nim.  There’s something a bit different about Blackfish, though, something a bit more pointed.  From the opening scene to almost the very end, the film is a specifically calculated, piece by piece dissection and destruction of SeaWorld, something that might’ve become preachy if the whole project wasn’t executed with ruthless finesse.  From the comprehensive research to the emotional interviews to the shocking videos, the film is damn near flawless as a journalistic expose.  It made me upset, it made me angry, and it made me want to hurl bricks at the mega-aquarium’s entrance.  It’s a film that demands to be seen, and rightfully so.  With any luck, this tale of majestic orcas and criminal companies will travel to as many eyes and ear as possible. 

Grade: A

011. Review - Fruitvale Station

The Weinstein Company

In the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009, 22-year-old Oscar Grant III was shot and killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit policeman at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California.  The ensuing days were filled with protests both peaceful and violent, and the police officer’s trial captivated a city and a nation filled with sadness and anger.  Fruitvale Station, the first feature film by Ryan Coogler, documents and dramatizes the last day of Grant’s life, with the lead role played by Friday Night Lights and Chronicle star Michael B. Jordan.  The film, which premiered at Sundance in 2013 and went on to win both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award, is quietly powerful, an honest and heartwarming slice of life that turns to tragedy in slow motion.  Also starring Melonie Diaz as Grant’s girlfriend Sophina, Octavia Spencer as his mother, and Kevin Durand as the officer that takes his life, the film arrives at an especially appropriate time in our nation, making it not only a great drama but, in a sense, an important cultural touchstone.

010. Review - The To Do List

CBS Films

NBC’s Parks and Recreation has raised the status of many of its stars over the past several years, from the loveable Chris Pratt to the stoic Nick Offerman.  Amongst the women in the group, however, the breakout star has arguably been Aubrey Plaza, playing intern-turned-assistant April Ludgate with a surprising balance of acidic wit and genuine warmth.  After bit parts in programs like Portlandia and NTSF:SD:SUV and a successful lead role in the sci-fi dramedy Safety Not Guaranteed, Plaza is trying her hand at headlining a comedy with The To Do List. Directed by Maggie Carey, the film stars Plaza as Brandy Klark, the virginal valedictorian of the Boise High School Class of ’93, who spends her summer doing her sexual “homework” to prepare for her first year of college.  Filled to the brim with 90’s nostalgia and innuendo, The To Do List is an earnest, fun, and light directorial debut for Carey, a film that has a lot of bark but unfortunately lacks the bite to back it up.

009. Review - Pacific Rim

Warner Bros.

In today’s cinema landscape, Pacific Rim is nothing short of an endangered species, an original big-budget action film based on no existing properties.  There is no prequel or sequel, no comic book or video game or young adult novel to adapt from; just the imaginations of director Guillermo Del Toro, of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth fame, and screenwriter Travis Beacham.  Drawing inspiration from giant monster movies and Japanese anime, the film introduces us to an Earth under assault by otherworldly beasts from the deep known as kaiju.  However, as the movie’s tagline says, “To fight monsters, we created monsters”, and so the Jaeger program was born, with nations constructing colossal human-piloted robots to combat the invading forces.  Such is the basic “giant monsters vs. giant robots” conceit as the marketing as delivered, and yet there is certainly more to the film than meets the eye.  With gorgeous visuals, thrilling set pieces, and a whole lot of heart, Pacific Rim smashes the year’s other blockbusters to become the most entertaining film of the summer.

008. Review - The Bling Ring

A24

The E! Network has always been known for its classy television, and one of the many jewels in its repertoire was 2010’s Pretty Wild, which followed Los Angeles socialite Alexis Neiers and her sisters Gabby and Tess.  The show was initially yet another attempt at replicating the popularity of Paris Hilton and yet it took a surprising turn when, halfway through the first episode, Alexis was arrested in connection with the so-called “Bling Ring”, a group of teenagers that were robbing celebrity homes in the Hollywood Hills.  While the program was soon cancelled, the Vanity Fair article that resulted from the teenage thievery, “The Suspects Wore Louboutins”, caught the attention of Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford and director of such films as Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette.  She acquired the rights, wrote a script, gathered a cast, and thus The Bling Ring was born, a stylish and tense and curious film.  Following this year’s surprise trend from Spring Breakers and Pain and Gain, it highlights the quiet depravity of our culture, albeit in a much more elegant manner.