Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
This
is Movie Night!
Hello and welcome to Movie Night, YouTube's #1 movie review show, I'm your host, Jonathan
Paula. Tonight we'll be reviewing three brand new films currently playing in theaters, beginning
with "42"
This biographical sports drama by director Brian Helgeland was released on April 12,
2013 - and already grossed back its $40 million dollar budget, breaking the opening weekend
record for a baseball movie. Sharing the remarkable, and real-life story of Major League Baseball's
first black ballplayer, this 128 minute feature follows the rookie year of Jackie Robison
- played brilliantly with subtly and determination by Chadwick Boseman, in his first starring
role. Opening with a quick history lesson, we're immediately transported back to a meticulously
recreated 1940's-era Brooklyn: from the costumes, music, cars, and dialects. Appearing in his
first supporting role since 1988's "Working Girl", Harrison Ford delivers his best performance
in years, playing the Dodger's general manager; a profit-seeking equal opportunist who gruffly
explains to Jackie, "I want a player with the guts not to fight back." Andre Holland,
Christopher Meloni, Nicole Beharie and John C. McGinley as a fast-talking broadcaster
round out the supporting cast with immense talent. Filmed with steady and traditional
cinematography, the relaxed pace of the story recounts Robison's struggles against the adversary
of racism. Thankfully, Boseman has the temper and patience to endure, especially in an emotional
sequence where he breakdowns under the enormous pressure. Backed by the triumphant horns of
Mark Isham's score, a very enjoyable cat-and-mouse sequence has Boseman stealing his way around
the infield during his first minor-league apperance. Impressive visual effects seamlessly
recreate the famed Ebbets Stadium in downtown Brooklyn, much like the rest of the authentic
scenery. Reducing its dramatic effectiveness, the film unfortunately bogs down and repeats
itself during the middle. The story behind the only number retired by all of baseball
is certainly an important one: representing a turning point during a dark part of American
history - one that shares many parallel's with today's headlines concerning the first
possible gay player in professional sports. An educational and entertaining experience
for sports fans, or otherwise: this bio-pic is definitely worth seeing once. Containing
all of the shining moments of a great period piece, but hampered by the pitfalls of your
average sports picture, this is an interesting, inspirational, and well-acted movie: but rarely
a unique or impressive one. "42", "Not quite a home run." Now lets see what you had to
say in the YouTube comments.
Our scores for "42" on the rate-o-matic... an EIGHT and a SEVEN. Calling it inspirational
and faithful to the real-life story, but a bit unfinished and predictable, you rated
this a GREAT. I definitely enjoyed this picture, but a lot of it was mostly forgettable, I
thought it was COOL. Now, from a story that takes place 65 years in the past to one that
takes place 65 years in the future, lets review "Oblivion"
This Joseph Kosinski science-fiction mystery film was released nationwide on April 19,
2013 - and quickly recouped its 120-million dollar budget. The second feature from the
Tron: Legacy director is similarly a visual masterpiece: the imagery of a desolate war-torn
Earth, with the remnants of a ruined lunar rock circling in orbit are beautiful and stunning.
An intriguing cold open narrated by leading man Tom Cruise introduces us to the year 2077:
where mankind attempts to rebuild off-planet, while he and Andrea Riseborough stay behind
as the "mop up crew", lamenting on the outcome of a violent alien invasion: "We won the war...
no we have to leave." The age-less Cruise is endearing, charming, and entertaining as
the last man on Earth; convincingly demonstrating emotional range even in the thickest of action
sequences, or when he's questioning his very existence. His on-screen chemistry with Riseborough
falls entirely flat though, which although a product of the story itself, made an early
love-making scene in a floating swimming pool less romantic than it could have been. Without
giving much away, the PG-13 dystopian story also features Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman,
and Melissa Leo in supporting roles: and although they're all great, I'd be lying if I said
their performances were memorable. While Tom surveys oceans of dirt for broken drones in
his extremely sleek space ship, the mood is hopeful and nostalgic, yet it remains consistently
haunting. The original, and atmospheric score by electronic pop band M83 is a loud and ominous
one... beating like a heartbeat as our hero outruns a pack of scavengers in a destroyed,
underground library. As the mystery broods during this 124-minute adventure, many of
the major plot twists and reveals aren't very surprising - especially if you've seen Duncan
Jones' "Moon" - a sci-picture I reviewed here on Movie Night with an extremely similar setup.
As fascinating as it is, the story here really is the weakest component: overshadowed by
marvelous effects and thrilling action sequences: particularly a flying drone chase through
a rocky canyon littered with waterfalls. Famous New York landmarks are visited, but their
state of decay after 60-years seems curiously uneven from place to place: MetLife stadium
is all but gone, but the telescopes on the Empire State Building are in pristine shape.
And why does Tom's fancy sky-mansion have three chairs in the dinning room? Plot holes
aside: this is a slow-paced experience that blends inspiration from "Beneath The Planet
Of The Apes", "Independence Day", "2001", and the aforementioned "Moon" - resulting
in a fun and attractive picture that isn't nearly as intelligent as it set out to be.
"Oblivion", "Beautiful visuals, but rarely engaging." Now let's check out what you had
to say in the YouTube comments.
Our scores for "Oblivion": two SEVENs. Mixed opinions here, and many faulted the plot for
being dull, complicated and familiar, while unanimous praise was given to the breathtaking
visuals, ranking it COOL. While the music and effects were top-caliber, it's a shame
the story puttered along with unoriginal elements. I thought it was COOL as well. Tom Cruise
has had a very prolific 30-year career, so for tonight's poll question - what's your
favorite film he's done? Top Gun, Risky Business, The Firm, A Few Good Men, Mission Impossible,
Minority Report? Leave your response as a comment below. Lastly tonight, let's discuss
"Pain & Gain"
Amazingly based on a true story, this Michael Bay action-dark comedy-crime film was released
on April 26, 2013 - and at a cost of $25 million is Bay's cheapest feature since his debut
effort, "Bad Boys" in 1995. Playing a gang of muscle bound gym rats eager to move up
in the world by kidnapping Tony Shalhoub's poor character - Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson,
and Anthony Mackie star as bumbling idiot knuckleheads, whose reach far exceeds their
grasp. Wahlberg's acting ability is notoriously inconsistent: he's pitch-perfect in this film
though: playing a personal trainer in Miami, turned ambitious criminal, declaring in an
early voice-over, "the way you prove yourself is to better yourself". Meanwhile, Johnson
delivers a supremely entertaining role as a born-again softie struggling with a ***
addiction: it's a huge departure for his action-centric roles, and he absolutely kills it. Mackie
continues to make a name for himself as well: bouncing from sadistic criminal to caring
husband effortlessly in his supporting role. Shalhoub, Rebel Wilson, Rob Corddry, and Ed
Harris are similarly memorable in their smaller roles: each brining to life very specific,
and decently developed identities. The story, set in 1995, is told via Bay's trademark fast
and flashy style - mashing together dolly moves, jerky handheld, Dutch angles, wide
shots, over-saturated colors, slow-motion, and extreme close-ups with almost reckless
abandon. Although this otherwise quickly-paced picture loses a great deal of its urgency
and tension for the middle hour, a scene where the trio hastily attempt to cover-up a crime
scene with an impromptu trip to Home Depot is morbidly fun - playing out like a twisted
adaptation of "The Three Stooges". Backed by a generic score from Steve Jablonsky that
wisely incorporates some classic rock stapes. Indeed, some of the film's best scenes, like
when Johnson is literally grilling a pair of severed hands on a portable grill while
the "Rolling Stones" blares, play out like a poor man's Goodfellas, or Scarface... if
Tony Montana was a steroid-popping idiot, anyway. Lined with a sick sense of humor,
the R-rated movie uses everything from testicles, oversized ***, and breast milk for punch
lines: which helps maintains a light mood, despite the violent subject material. Cross-cutting
multiple narrations between the complex characters, it's difficult to identify a clear-cut hero
or villain in this story, but despite his law-breaking practices, audiences shouldn't
have any issue rooting for Wahlberg to out-run the police in the end. As many twists and
turns as this film takes however, it's impossible to fault it for being unrealistic or familiar,
and I certainly wouldn't mind watching it at again. "Pain & Gain", "Dark, unique, fascinating,
and funny."
Now for my score on rate-o-matic... an EIGHT. Over the years, Michael Bay has gained a reputation
for crafting content to appease the lowest, dumbest common denominator: and while aspects
of that hold true here, this was a surprisingly fresh and entertaining picture with plenty
of laughs and excitement. If you're a fan of his other films, you'll definitely enjoy
this one. And if you not, this wouldn't be a bad place to start. I thought it was GREAT.
Finally tonight, let's check out some of your Tweet Critiques.
If you see a new movie in theaters, Tweet your review with the #JPMN hashtag to have
it featured on the show. Next week, in honor of "Star Wars Day", also known as May 4th
-- I'll finally give a proper, and thorough review of that entire saga. And since we've
already covered "The Phantom Menace", this seems like a perfect time to watch the films
in the so-called "Machete" order -- you start with "A New Hope" and "Empire Strikes Back"
- preserving the introduction and splendor of the originals, as well as their plot twists
- then you watch "Attack Of The Clones" and "Revenge Of The Sith", as a sort of two-film
flashback, which, when watched after the originals, ensures the jump to computer effects isn't
as jarring. Finally, we finish our movie marathon with the its proper conclusion, "Return Of
The Jedi". It's an interesting viewing-experiment that maintains the magic of the series in
the best possible order, but I encourage you to check out the link below, and read up on
the analytic theories behind why this concept works. Star Wars is an all-time favorite of
mine, so I'm really looking forward to this special: but it doesn't work without your
input, so please vote in the polls below, and/or leave a comment review. And check out
the Movie Night Archive channel for exclusive trailer commentaries, and an organized library
of all our past reviews. Once again, my name is Jonathan Paula - thank you for watching
Movie Night, I hope to see you, right back here for the next Friday!