"Synchronicity" Movie Review

My review of "Synchronicity" starring Chad McKnight, Brianne Davis, AJ Bowen.

"Synchronicity"

Posted on Jan. 22, 2016 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing

“Synchronicity” (2015)

“Synchronicity” opens with a group of three scientists, led by Jim Beale (Chard McKnight), along with Chuck (AJ Bowen) and Matty (Scott Poythress), are working on a machine that they think will open a wormhole. Their hope is that they can send something they can instantly recognize as something unique, through the wormhole to themselves, therefore proving that time travel can happen. Jim hasn’t slept in days surviving on coffee/energy drinks and Matty keeps messing up the run-throughs. Due to the rarity of the power source of the time machine, they will only have one chance to prove that the machine works.

Their main financier, Klaus Meisner (Michael Ironside), shows up demanding to see the machine in action. Jim reluctantly agrees to a test, and he passes out as the test apparently fails. By the time Jim wakes up, Klaus has left the building. However, after viewing the video footage of the experiment, it looks as if the test was a success. Jim thinks he sees someone in the footage running from the time machine, and a very rare and expensive flower has suddenly appeared near the entrance of the machine.

Jim tries to catch Klaus and instead meets Abby (Brianne Davis), who just might be the figure that Jim saw running from the machine. The attraction between the two is apparent right away though their conversation is a bit confusing to the both of them. Little does Jim know that Abby will be the key to everything that happens from this point on.

“Synchronicity” is a low budget but excellent looking Sci-Fi movie that has a rather complicated love story at its center. It’s also a mystery, with more twists and turns that you could ever imagine. Some are slightly predictable, but more than once I was fooled and surprised where the film ended up going in an entirely different direction. Writer/director Jacob Gentry, who keeps the film moving with a quick pace, never lets the film drag or get static. The film does get a bit complicated at times, but it does an excellent job of keeping us in the know as the movie progresses. The film has a great synth score by Ben Lovett that perfectly sets the futuristic mood of the film and cinematography by Eric Maddison, makes the film feel at home in an ultra-modern world, right up there with other Sci-Fi films like “Blade Runner.”

I especially enjoyed the two leads of the movie. Chad McKnight, playing the determined scientist Jim, has a nice presence on the screen, bringing us a character that while the hero of the film is trying to save his machine from the clutches of Klaus, he is also ready to risk everything for love. He has great chemistry with Brianne Davis, who plays the mysterious and possible evil Helen. Davis has a quality about her that makes her the perfect femme fatale, bringing both an air of sexiness and smarts to the screen. Michael Ironside, while not playing a huge part, still brings his menacing style to the screen, making Klaus a man not to be messed with.

“Synchronicity” is a stylish Sci-Fi with a bit of film noir and mystery built in. It’s a film that any Sci-Fi fan can get into and truly enjoy. It will keep you guessing on how it’s going to end to very last frame.    My Rating: Full Price

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

The film is playing exclusively at AMC Southlake 24

"45 Years" Movie Review

My review of "45 Years" starring Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James.

"45 Years"

Posted on Jan. 22, 2016 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of IFC Films

"45 Years"  (2015)

Geoff (Tom Courtenay) and Kate (Charlotte Rampling) have been married for 45 years. They have a nice, settled life. Kate likes to take walks out in the country with their dog. Geoff is more of a homebody, taking lots of naps in the easy chair in the den. Due to illness, they were not able to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, so they are determined to celebrate their 45th anniversary in five days. It’s very apparent that they care for each other and have fun interacting although Geoff always seems a little slow to pick up what Kate is saying or doing. It’s obvious that Geoff isn’t as well as Kate, with Kate doing most of the heavy lifting in the relationship.

Geoff, out of the blue, gets a letter in German that tells him the body of an old love from before he Kate has been found.  They were hiking across Europe in 1962. While in the mountains, she fell, her body lost in the snow and rock.  It shocks Geoff who wants to go to Switzerland and help in the burial, since his former love might not have any surviving family members. This ghost from the past is going to test their marriage in ways that they never could expect and maybe break up this old, seemingly happy couple.

This is a film that moves slowly but brilliantly, as the relationship between Geoff and Kate starts coming apart the closer to the anniversary we get. Reliving the past is tough on Geoff as he retreats further into his thoughts and spends less time with his wife. He starts taking long walks into the local town, something that he wouldn’t have done before the letter. Kate becomes frustrated, as Geoff falls into a spiral of despair. Kate has to also come to terms with the fact that while she knew about his former love, she never knew how deep and meaningful it was to him. It kills her to think that their love isn’t as strong as the love he had for the other woman.

Director/writer Andrew Haigh, adapting a short story by David Constantine, has done a masterful job of bringing this moving and heartbreaking film to the screen. He creates tension slowly, as the couple deals desperately with the growing chasm between them as the anniversary party creeps closer day by day. Clocks seem to be in every shot, and Kate even contemplates buying her husband an anniversary watch but decides against it. It’s as if time is now the enemy of the couple, as the world they used to know and love slowly ticks away. Haigh’s directing is aided by cinematographer Lol Crawley, who creates a world that seems to be getting darker as the week progresses.

Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay are brilliant together on the screen. Their interaction makes it seem that they truly have been with each other for those 45 years. There is a brilliant scene in the film, where Kate comes home to find Geoff has cut his hand. We don’t know if we believe his story of trying to make a repair to the commode, or if he is covering up for attempting to find his old girlfriends letters in the attic. It’s a moving scene, their unspoken worries weighing down of them. Courtenay gives a masterful performance but this is Rampling’s film, and she dominates it as her character slowly gives away to the ache and agony of the situation. Rambling gives a complex performance that encompasses everything from confusion to pain and finally to jealousy. It’s a performance that is more than worthy of her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

“45 Years” is a touching film that will stay with you for a long time. There is a scene near the end of the movie where Rampling takes your breath away; the look she gives is just so painful to experience. We don’t know if their marriage survives this; we just know it will never be the same.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again 

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

The film is playing in the Atlanta area exclusively at UA Tara Cinemas 4

"Mustang" Movie Review

My review of the Turkish film "Mustang"

"Mustang"

Posted on Jan. 15, 2016 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group

“Mustang” (2015)

Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group

Sisters Lale (Günes Sensoy), Nur (Doga Zeynep Doguslu), Selma (Tugba Sunguroglu), Ece (Elit Iscan), and Sonay (Ilayda Akdogan) are orphans, living with their grandmother (Nihal G. Koldas) and uncle (Ayberk Pekcan). It’s the last day of school and after a rather tearful good-bye to Lale’s favorite teacher, the girls decide to walk home. Along the way, they meet some boys and head to the beach. The girls and boys play innocently in the water,  at one point the girls climbing on the boy’s shoulders to play a game of chicken fight.

The girls head for home and a greeted by their angry grandmother, who has heard from a neighbor that the girls have been behaving inappropriately with boys. The grandmother takes each girl into a room to see if they all have their womanhood still intact. Their uncle comes home, learns of what he believes could be a major transgression and takes all of them to a hospital to suffer the further humiliation of being examined by a doctor for proof they have not been violated.

Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group

The uncle with the help of friends and neighbors, decide that the girls need more supervision. The women of the neighborhood begin teaching the girls how to cook the local cuisine, and all the girls are made very drab, long sleeved dresses to replace their more modern clothes. The grandmother takes away any item in the house that might “tempt them,” removing their computer and their phones. The uncle forbids them to leave the house and commands them to stay away from any boy who comes by. Soon the uncle and grandmother are having prospective husbands for the girls come by with their families. It’s apparent that the uncle is determined to marry off the girls as soon as possible and break up the girls from their little family.

Director / co-writer  Deniz Gamze Erguven brings to the screen a tale that treats its subjects with caring touch, dealing with the subject of repression, but never quite delivers the emotional punch that you want. The film spends a considerable amount of time on the confinement of the girls and their various attempts to escape the home, as each attempt brings more barriers to the home, such as bars on the windows and locking gates, creating a prison from what once was a home. We spend too much time following the girls around the house as they try to fend off boredom, playing silly games. I did enjoy an attempt by the girls to travel to a nearby city to attend a soccer match that only women are able to attend. They miss the bus and talk a produce delivery driver to drive them far enough to catch up with the bus. The joy on Lale’s face (the one true soccer fan of the group) as they dance in the stands cheering on their team is fun and one of few scenes where the girls are happy. But the scene is brought down by an attempt of humor when the girls are caught on camera and the grandmother tries to do everything to turn off the power in the town so that the men don’t see the girls on TV. The scene is clumsily done and not funny.

I did like the cast, especially Günes Sensoy, who plays the youngest, the headstrong Lale. Sensoy brings believability to her role that she is determined to find a way to escape a life that she doesn’t want to live. Fortunately, as the film goes along, the movie more and more centers on Sensoy’s character, helping the film pick up a little speed near the end of the movie. Even so, this film feels far longer than its 97 minutes running time, and you come away with the feeling that we never really got to know the girls. All we know is that most of the girls don’t want to be forced into marriage at such an early age.   We never got to find out their hopes and dreams, what they wanted to do with their lives. If we had, it would have made the film a much richer viewing experience.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee 

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

“Mustang” is playing exclusively at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

“Mustang” Website

"The Revenant" Movie Review

My review of "The Revenant" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter.

"The Revenant"

Posted on Jan. 8, 2016 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

"The Revenant'  (2015)

In 1823 South Dakota, a group of fur trappers is guided by scout Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) and aided by his son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck). The trappers are led under the command of Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson). Their mission is to trap as many animals for fur as they can and then get back to the fort that houses the trading company where they work. It’s hard work, made harder by the harsh winter conditions and the constant threat of Indian attack. Glass is a man of few words, but he is a great scout, capable of finding the best places to trap and a man you want by your side during trouble.

Suddenly, the men are attacked by the Arikara tribe, and it’s very apparent that unless they act quickly, few of the trappers will survive such an attack. Glass and his son lead as many men as they can gather onto their riverboat to escape the merciless Indians. After getting away from the initial attack, Glass convinces most that the way home isn’t by boat, where they will be sitting ducks for any attack, but across the mountains to their fort. Some decide to stay with the boat, but most trust their scout, including Captain Henry. John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) is very vocal in his opposition to following Glass. Fitzgerald is not well liked by his fellow trappers, and he bares the scar of having been partially scalped in his past.

Glass hunts alone for food. Out in the woods he is savagely attacked by a bear that badly mauls him. Captain Henry sends men out to locate Glass and Hawk finds his father near death. The men drag Glass back to their makeshift camp and now Captain Henry must decide to either try and carry what he perceives as the dying Glass over an incredibly rough terrain or leaving him behind with a couple of men, giving them grave digging duty when he dies. Captain Henry decides to leave Glass with Fitzgerald, Hawk and another young man named Jim Bridger (Will Poulter). It’s a decision that all the men will regret for the rest of their lives, with some of those lives will be shorter than others.

“The Revenant” is a brutally violent movie, but that violence is not exploited like a “campy” horror film but is shown to illustrate how harsh the world was. The attack by the bear is horrific and goes on so long it becomes very uncomfortable to watch. Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu has created action sequences that are incredible to watch, especially with the knowledge that  it was done with a minimal amount of CGI special effects (mostly to animate the bear) and without “green screens.” The battle sequence between the Indian tribe and the trappers is one of the best war scenes I have ever experienced in a movie theater. The action flows in one almost continuous shot as we follow Glass as he navigates through all the fighting in an attempt to find his son and get him to safety.

The movie is beautifully shot as cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki used only available light to film the outdoor scenes. Lubezki makes the landscape seem gorgeous and threatening all at the same time. There are times the views are breathtaking as the white of the snow contrasts with the dark greens of the forest and landscape shots seem to go on forever. Lubezki also uses light to create moods, such as the ominous looking woods along the river, making us think we see an attacker behind every tree as the men try to escape in the riverboat.

Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of his most powerful and captivating performances of his career. If he does win the Oscar for this role, it won’t be because of the dialogue as DiCaprio has more lines in Pawnee than in English. DiCaprio gives the part his all, and we can see it in his face and eyes as he fights for survival in this harsh, cruel world. Tom Hardy, almost unrecognizable under a scraggly beard, partially scalped head and a voice that is more grunts than words matches DiCaprio’s intensity and commitment. He makes us hate his character from the start, spewing out venom to anyone who will listen. It’s the type of role that Hardy excels at, immersing into a character so deeply that we believe his character is that evil to the core.

“The Revenant” is not a perfect film and is let down by some dialogue that sounds downright wooden. I also did not like the numerous dream sequences that Glass has throughout the movie as he reminisces about his life when he was younger with his wife and young son. Iñárritu goes to those dream sequences too many times and making the film feel choppy and lacking pace.

Overall, this is a film that on one hand is beautiful and awe-inspiring, but also is a brutal movie to watch as we see men pushed to their very limits in a world that does not forgive. It’s a difficult journey to watch this film, but the performances of DiCaprio and Hardy make it worth the effort      My Rating: Full Price

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

“The Revenant” is now playing in Atlanta area theatres.

“The Revenant” Website