Ocean's 8

First Hit: Lackluster plot, poor direction, and mediocre acting make this film barely worth watching.

The original 1960 Ocean’s 11 film with Sammy, Frank, Dean, Joey et al, wasn’t a great film, but seeing these musical and comic icons together in one film in the early Las Vegas days was fun mainly because of who the actors were outside of the characters they played.

When a re-boot of the Ocean’s series came along starting in 2001 with Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Roberts, and others, we were treated with an irreverent kind of attitude that made the story fun.

With hope, I looked forward to seeing some of the best female actors in the world come together in a story and script worthy of their talent. However, I left the theater thinking, what happened. This film barely gets across the finish line.

Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) is the sister of now deceased Danny Ocean (who was played by George Clooney). First question does this mean Clooney cannot play Danny anymore?

The opening scenes show Debbie in a parole hearing having served five-+ years of a longer prison sentence. She was double-crossed by her, at that time, lover and art dealer Claude Becker (Richard Armitage) for faking art purchases of fake art. What is troubling about this opening scene is that Debbie is so good looking, clean and made up there’s no believability that she’d been in prison for five years. The story just doesn’t ring true from the beginning.

Seeking to make money and take revenge, Debbie gets close friend Lou (Cate Blanchett) to help her put a crew together to steal the Toussaint necklace worth $150,000,000 at a gala at the Met in New York City. Finding the crew was done is a flippant manner and only the recruiting of Constance (Awkwafina) as a thief and Nine Ball (Rihanna) held my interest.

To get the Toussaint to the Met, they hire a quirky fading dress designer Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter) to request that Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) a top celebrity wear the Toussaint to the Met. This part of the story is a reach in the way it was told, however Hathaway was a blast to watch.

There is more to the story and let’s just say that revenge and the theft of the Toussaint aren’t all that happens during the big theft scene but by that time, who really cares?

Bullock was OK. She didn’t look anything like a prisoner and from that opening scene it’s a push to make her believable. I did enjoy her shopping spree right after she gets out of prison. Blanchett was wasted in this small, supportive role. Hathaway was the best part of this film. I loved her celebrity attitude and then, when she’s cut in for the loot, her looks are perfect. Mindy Kaling, as jewelry cutter Amita was OK. Nothing to write home about. Sarah Paulson as Tammy the fence, was funny. The tour of her garage was hilarious. Awkwafina was one of the better aspects of this film. She captured the screen with her intensity. Rihanna as Nine Ball the computer genius of the thieves, was very good and one of the better characters and parts in this film. Carter was oddly the same character she’s been in most all her latest films, quirky. Gary Ross and Olivia Milch wrote this milquetoast script with little character development and a non-palpable reason for the heist. Ross did not elevate his and Milch's  mediocre story and in the end, it felt lifeless.

Overall: This film will fall to the bottom when people rate the Oceans’ series of films.

12 Years a Slave

First Hit:  A very powerful film about a man’s abduction into slavery.

Despite serving active time in a war, it is hard for me to believe man’s inhumanity to man, as expressed in this film.

In this film, we are witness to a true story of how Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a “free black man”, was abducted in Washington DC, shipped to Louisiana and sold to a southern slave owner. Northup is intelligent, talented and strong in spirit, and to stifle himself while submitting to slavery so that he doesn’t get beat to death is difficult. The story follows Northrup as he is transferred from owner to owner while being beat, ostracized by fellow slaves and then admired by his fellow slaves because of his ingenuity. All the while he keeps wondering how he can escape and get back to his family in upstate New York.

The acting of slave owner Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) and his wife (Sarah Paulson) is outstanding. Tibeats (Paul Dano) and Freeman (Paul Giamatti) are also impactful in their roles as managers and traders of slaves.  Then there is transcendent acting in the roles of Patsy (Lupita Nyong’o) and Ejiofor. That is not to say anything less of the acting by the rest of the crew – it was brilliant.

Letting the story settle within me over the last 18 hours, I realize how profound the story reflects how far we’ve come as a country and how much farther we must go.

The taglines of the film stating that the people who abducted and held him illegally escaped punishment were profoundly disappointing.

Ejiofor embodied the character so fully and completely that when he finally comes home his tears were his and all of ours for the injustice we do to each other. Fassbender, in an unenviable role, was amazing at being the selfish, arrogant, and self-centered slave owner. Paulson as Fassbender’s wife carried her frustration and meanness towards her husband’s fondness to Patsy perfectly. Dano in a brief but important role was perfect. Giamatti was amazingly cruel as the seller of slaves. Nyong’o was sublime as Epps’ slave love interest. All the acting in this film was amazing. John Ridley wrote a profoundly detailed script from the real Solomon Northup’s book. Steve McQueen expertly directed this film. My only criticism of the film was its length but I couldn’t name a scene that I’d remove.

Overall:  This is an Oscar caliber film and it will be honored so at the Academy Awards.

Mud

First Hit:  A well-crafted film with excellent performances.

Where “To the Wonder” tried to show love and didn’t speak about love, “Mud” evoked a story around what love can drive people to do or not do.

This film evoked the feeling of Arkansas, the difference between town people and river folk, and how love can confuse young and old alike. We’ve got two young boys Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his close friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) finding a boat in a tree. It got there through one of the horrific storms that come through the south.

While exploring their new found treasure, they run into Mud (Matthew McConaughey) who has commandeered the boat for his own purposes. Listening to him talk you get a sense that he skirts the truth while embracing wives tales and superstitions when they serve his purpose. He convinces the boys he’s there to meet his love Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) whom he’s loved his whole life.

He’s also hiding out because he killed one of Juniper’s boyfriends for hitting her. Now the boyfriend’s family and police are after him for revenge. Ellis has an idealistic view of love and it is congruent with the devotion Mud has for Juniper. However his mom Mary Lee (Sarah Paulson) and dad, Senior (Ray McKinnon), are talking divorce and Ellis sees his life falling apart. He’s a strong willed kid and when he stops a guy from pushing a girl he likes by hitting him, he becomes enamored and hopes she like him. He and Mud connect in this way.

This film is not fast paced and, at times, I wanted it to make it go faster, but then I exhaled and let the film continue its elegant unfolding.

Sheridan was sublime by evoking strength, compassion and mindfulness. He was extraordinary. Lofland was equally superb and as a friend to Sheridan he was perfect. I would be surprised if I learned they are not real life friends as well. McConaughey was amazing. As his recent films have shown, he’s really choosing parts that work for him and that he can bring good things to the director of the film. Witherspoon is great in this role because it reminded me of the intensity and power of her early “Freeway” role. I loved her in that film and can still feel the intense scenes with Kiefer Sutherland. Paulson is really good and I loved her presence in the film as the woman struggling and needing to change her life. McKinnon is good, especially as the film moved on. Sam Shepard (as Tom Blankenship) is strong as Mud’s closest friend and surrogate dad. Michael Shannon (as Galen), Neckbone's uncle and caretaker was really good and it was good to see him in this role. Joe Don Baker has a minor and pivotal role as the father of the man Mud killed. Jeff Nichols wrote and directed this film with patience and a great eye for bringing out the south.

Overall:  Although slow at times – it was well worth it.

New Year's Eve

First Hit: I don’t know how Garry Marshall created such a vapid film about a great subject with great actors.

New Year’s Eve is a perfect subject and so many things can or don’t happen on that infamous night of nights.

Here we follow various people and their experience of this storied night. You’ve got Tess and Griffin (played by Jessica Biel and Seth Meyers respectively) in a race to win $25K for having the first baby of the new year against Grace and James (played by Sarah Paulson and Til Schweiger respectively).

You have Ingrid (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) who is a homely, afraid and not living her life. She breaks away, quits her job and hands her to do list to Paul (played by Zac Efron) who is a bike messenger. They climb on his scooter and he, being creative, finds ways to deliver all of Ingrid’s dreams in one night.

Then there is Kim (Sarah Jessica Parker) who works all the time and is very protective of her daughter Hailey (played by Abigail Breslin) who wants to be trusted to meet up with her friends. Kim tells her "no" but Hailey steals out of her room anyway and heads down town with Kim desperately following and trying to find her.

There is Laura (played by Katherine Heigl) a caterer preparing food for the most famous and luxurious New York New Year’s Eve party where the entertainment is being provided by her former boyfriend Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi).

Also there is Claire Morgan (played by Hilary Swank) who is in charge of the famous ball drop and who is linked to a dying Stan Harris (played by Robert De Niro). There are more many more stars in this movie but to be quite frank this is what killed the film. Too many actors vying for limited shallow parts having limited characteristics and story lines..

Biel had a couple funny lines as a pregnant wife. Meyers was mediocre as Biel’s husband. Paulson was the better pregnant wife as was Schweiger as her husband. Their story was more interesting. Pfeiffer was hard to watch as she played Ingrid too close to the chest. Efron was the best of all the actors and he made the film interesting. Parker was useless to watch and was uninteresting. Breslin was OK as the teenage girl wanting to experience her first New Year’s Eve kiss. Heigl was alright as the jilted woman. Jovi was more or less just being himself, a musician. Swank was in the worst role I’ve seen her in, in quite some time. De Niro gave the worst dying person act I’ve ever seen on film. His eyes were too alert and his actions too fast to be on his death bed. Katherine Fugate wrote a painfully soft, sophomoric, and generic script. Marshall’s direction shows he needs to retire. How can one direct so many wonderful actors (and there were more that I didn’t mention) into a wastefully sentimental uninteresting film.

Overall: This film goes for the easy sentimental story and in doing so made me wish it was over sooner than later.

Martha Macy May Marlene

First Hit: Interesting idea but the slow paced execution left me wanting to understand more.

The idea of how someone is affected by living in a cult community and then deciding to leave and go back to their family is a very interesting one.

This film gives only the perspective of Martha (played by Elizabeth Olsen) as we see her leaving the compound where she has lived for 2 years. She calls her sister and goes to live with her.

During the two weeks she is with her sister Lucy (played by Sarah Paulson) and Lucy’s husband Ted (Hugh Dancy), her involvement with the commune/cult is flashed back upon. Her first sexual experience was with Patrick (played by John Hawkes) the leader of the commune while she was drugged and passed out.

Patrick sexually enters all his women from behind, which I found telling about him and what he teaches his followers. For someone who demanded others to be open and upfront with everyone, only to have his most intimate actions with the women of the community from behind so that his face isn't seen was poignant.

We learn, as the film moves along, that Lucy and Martha’s mother died when Martha was in high school and Lucy was in college. Lucy feels guilty because she didn’t come back and take care of Martha when their mother died. What didn’t happen in this film was storyline around what was Martha’s decision making process as to how and why she found herself in Patrick’s community.

What was very effective was how Martha portrayed this lost young woman caught between two different lifestyles, right and wrong, and how to find her path through life.

Elizabeth Olsen was very strong and believable as a young girl trying to find herself and what her role in life is. Sarah Paulson was very strong as Martha’s sister. She portrayed the right mix of love, concern and repulsion at her sister’s actions. John Hawkes was effective as the cult leader who uses guilt, intelligence and guile as a base of power. Hugh Dancy is good as Lucy’s husband who has had enough of Martha’s antics. Sean Durkin wrote and directed this film and it seemed to me that this was a good attempt but for such a complex idea there needed to be additional background information.

Overall: This was a valiant attempt to portray a very interesting subject but the execution lacked background to validate the basis.