Tag: Rachel McAdams

Movie Review – ‘Doctor Strange’ – Escher’s World

You didn’t think People Talking was dead because there hasn’t been a post in three weeks, did you?  I certainly hope not.  Vacation is a wonderful thing, but, it’s time to get back to the movies.

 

Directed by Scott Derrickson
Written by Jon Spaihts & Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill, based on the character created by Steve Ditko
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Soundtrack: Michael Giacchino

So, what happens when a Marvel movie about a Buddha is helmed by a Christian guy who makes horror films?

Well, apparently you get one of the better movies of the year.

I had no idea what to expect from ‘Doctor Strange’ going into it.  I knew absolutely nothing about the character or the comics, and all I could glean from the trailers is that it looked like the lovechild of ‘Inception’, ‘The Matrix‘, and maybe some ‘Harry Potter’ (which, from a cinematic perspective, is true, and I’m more than okay with that).

I get nervous sometimes when I see that a movie is receiving overwhelmingly positive reaction, but, in retrospect, I should have believed the hype, because recent history has shown that the Marvel Cinematic Universe does well when it’s not afraid to get a little weird (e.g. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Ant-Man’), and, well, this one has “Strange” right in the title.

I’m not going to talk about the plot (it’s an origin story), because you either know what it is already, or it’ll be there for you to discover, but, the movie, as they say, is a trip, and not the bad kind.  It may not boast the same level of visceral realism as, say, ‘Interstellar’, but I’d be lying if I said the visuals weren’t impressive and clever in their own right, which is important in a film as ambitious as this one (at least relative to other superhero movies).

Also important are the performances, and I can honestly say I didn’t spot a poor one in the bunch.  Rachel McAdams is a stand-out despite minimal screen time, Mads Mikkelsen is a proper villain without being a scenery-chewer, and, controversial casting choice aside, I think Tilda Swinton knocks it out of the park as The Ancient One.

However, if you’re wondering where my praise for Benedict Cumberbatch is, I think he’s more than serviceable, it’s just that in my opinion he doesn’t establish himself as indispensable in the titular role.  Part of this is not his fault, because he’s following in the footsteps of Hugh Laurie, but, because he’s a British actor playing an American doctor, it’s difficult not to imagine him merely doing a “House, M.D.” impression, and thus I can’t help but wonder how someone else (perhaps, I don’t know, an American actor?) might have played the role.

Similarly, Michael Giacchino delivers a fine score, but the melody of the main theme sounds suspiciously similar to his recent work on the Star Trek films.  Whether this is a case of temp track fever, self-plagiarism, or something else, I don’t know, but it definitely gnawed on me throughout the movie.

Realistically though, these are minor criticisms compared to the movie as a whole.

In the end, ‘Doctor Strange’ is an enjoyable adventure that’s balanced out with the right amount of fun and serious stakes.  Certainly one of the better movies of 2016, and one of the better Marvel movies ever made.  Kudos to writer/director Scott Derrickson and everyone else involved.

Rating: ★★★★½

P.S.
As usual, thanks to Alamo Drafthouse [Yonkers] and Mondo for the swag and for getting into the spirit of the thing.

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Movie Review – ‘Southpaw’ – I AM PREDICTABLE

Southpaw

Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Written by Kurt Sutter
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Oona Laurence, Forest Whitaker, 50 Cent, Naomie Harris, Beau Knapp
Soundtrack: James Horner (God rest him)

What a disappointing week.

First, the USMNT gets knocked out of the Gold Cup by Jamaica, and now I have to talk about this movie.

Let me say this first: if, for some reason, you have not seen the trailer for ‘Southpaw’, but still want to see it, do it; you have my blessing, but do not, not, not watch the trailer before paying to see it.

Because, for whatever reason, the people marketing this film decided to put all of us moviegoers in a Catch 22.  They wanted to draw us in by capturing our attention with the trailer, but, unfortunately, seeing this movie after seeing the trailer is a largely futile, and, dare I say, boring experience.  I hate using the word ‘boring’.  I like to think my attention span is better than the vast majority of people out there, but ‘Southpaw’ forced my hand on this.

I hope I’m making myself clear here.

I desperately wanted to like this movie, I really did, and it almost, kind of, sort of won me over in the end, but not enough to recommend it; because right off the bat I spent more than 55% of the running time feeling my buttocks go numb, because no matter how hard the movie tried to grab me by the heartstrings, it just couldn’t, because I almost always knew what came next, because the trailer had already told me.

And it really is a waste, because, by and large, ‘Southpaw’ is well done.  It’s competently shot, the performances are pretty good all around, and they did a great job of getting the real world of pay-per-view boxing (including HBO’s Jim Lampley and Roy Jones, Jr.) into the film, but there’s nothing special enough to transcend the predictability of the script.  To be sure, it starts to get better in the second half, and eventually it did tug on my heartstrings, but it took way too long to get there, and for that reason I can’t recommend people seeing this theatrically if they’ve already seen the trailer.

The production values are certainly better than most direct-to-video garbage out there, but, unfortunately, ‘Southpaw’ is barely worth a rental.

Rating: ★★½ out of five

P.S.
Despite being a movie about a boxer, I would not call this a “sports movie”.  It’s more of a straight drama that happens to be about an athlete.  Just to be clear.