Bryan Caron's Blog, page 13
January 28, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Quick Takes
Hostiles — 2017; Directed by Scott Cooper; Starring Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, John Benjamin Hickey, Wes Studi, Jesse Plemons and Ben Foster; Forever My Girl — 2018; Directed by Bethany Ashton Wolfe; Starring Alex Roe, Jessica Rothe, Abby Ryder Fortson, and John Benjamin Hickey
The only new major release out this week was Maze Runner: The Death Cure, but since I didn’t get a chance to see it, I decided I’d give everyone quick takes on a couple of movies I did see this weekend — one that came out last year and just now went wide enough for me to check out, and one holdover from last week I didn’t intend to see.
Hostiles
There’s no denying Christian Bale is a great actor, able to immerse himself completely into each and every role. And although he’s surrounded by a team of outstanding supporting actors, not even his hardened facade could save Hostiles from slipping into a wasteland of boredom. Bale plays Joseph Blocker, an Army captain assigned to escort what he considers to be a ravenous Cheyenne family back to their tribe through treacherous Comanche territory. He despises everything the Native Americans stand for, but begins to see the truth behind his own biased hatred after spending several days with them. Along the journey, they meet up with a broken woman (Rosamund Pike) who just lost her family to a gang of Comanche warriors.
Every actor provides the film with some devastating, at times morose performances. Yet, I didn’t feel an iota of connection to any of the characters, which made the journey feel quite tedious and unimportant. We’re supposed to believe the relationships between each of the characters grows deeper the longer they’re together, but because of writer/director Scott Cooper’s dreadful pace (one that feels as if honey is being poured down a hill made of molasses), there is absolutely no emotional impact to the moments that are meant to matter the most, making each and every performance feel like a waste.
My Grade: C-
Forever My Girl
The previews for Forever My Girl tout that, “if you love Nicolas Sparks movies, you’ll love Forever My Girl.” As many may know, I’ve never once seen a Nicolas Sparks movie, so that sentiment did nothing for my interest in this film; in fact, it nearly turned me away. However, I have enjoyed many films that could have used the same moniker, and since Forever My Girl revolves around a country singer, I thought I should at least give it a chance.
Alex Roe plays Liam, a hot country music star who stood up the love of his life, Josie (Jessica Rothe), at the alter eight years ago. After one of his good friends dies in a tragic accident, Alex returns home to find out that he has a daughter, Billy (Abby Ryder Fortson, a precocious joy who I have no problem believing will have a long, lucrative career). Most of the film follows your typical romantic tropes and I’m not sure I buy the typical happy ending, but the music stays true to the nature of its intended audience and is overall a sweet, charming little love story that will keep you warm snuggled next to a roaring fire with a loved one on a cold winter night.
My Grade: B+
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Next week, new movies include Winchester and Bilal: A New Breed of Hero. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
January 21, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Den of Thieves
Den of Thieves — 2018; Directed by Christian Gudegast; Starring Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and O’Shea Jackson Jr.
Gerard Butler has worn many masks throughout his career. After breaking into the zeitgeist as a six-pack wielding warrior, he’s taken on a menagerie of roles in many different genres, most prominently in action and romantic comedy. I’ve enjoyed the vast majority of them (the most obvious exception being Gods of Egypt), and am generally excited to see what he’s got up his sleeve next. Why? He’s not a character actor like Gary Oldman, who’s able to disappear into a role with ease, and tends to play the same rugged, sarcastic chap across all of his films regardless of genre, but the honesty of knowing he’ll never be an Oscar winning actor carries over on screen, reflecting the passion he has for whatever project he’s in, no matter how good or bad it may be.
Which is what makes Den of Thieves, Butler’s newest crime thriller, so hard to pin down. On one level, Butler is pushing the “tough, gritty” cop idea a little too far, showing hardly any nuance to his otherwise broken character, Nick Flanagan. At the same time, he tends to hit all of the right notes with his aggressive, yet self-harming tactics. He’s a man pushing hard against the boundaries of law enforcement, but doesn’t seem to know how to turn that gritty meat grinder arrogance off in his everyday life. Butler tries to find the balance between these two mindsets, but in so doing, creates identifiable flaws in what could have been a masterful performance.
It’s not all Butler’s fault. He does a good job bringing all of the conflicting emotion to life from a script that, much like it’s lead character, can’t figure out how to make all of the pieces fit. Under the hands of director Christian Gudegast (who also wrote the script), Thieves tries hard to give Nick a backstory that explains his tired, harmful defiance, as well as a team of cops that not only play into this overt testosterone, but feed off his destructive energy while at the same time fueling it. What Gudegast can’t seem to pin down, though, is how to make these ideas fit into the plot in a way that doesn’t make them feel superfluous.
With all that said, for whatever reason, the movie works as a decent crime thriller, and I believe its due to the villains that populate the other side of Nick’s coin. As he and his team hunt down a master bank robber known only as Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber), Merrimen brings his crew together for one last major heist — robbing the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve. It’s a tricky play, as it’s one of the most secure buildings on the planet, but with over $30 million in clean bills just sitting there waiting to hit the shredders, they’re willing to take that risk. The plan starts with the robbery of an armored car, a scene that opens the movie with a taut flair, not only introducing us to this band of thieves, but setting the stage for what to expect throughout the rest of the film.
In contrast to Butler, Schreiber does a wonderful job showing menace without going over the top. But I also have to give a lot of credit to O’Shea Jackson Jr., who brings a lot of gravitas to the proceedings as Levi Enson, one of Merrimen’s new crewmembers. Having been seen with Merrimen, Nick believes he will be the key to getting inside and taking Merrimen down once and for all. After Nick’s team abducts Levi, they use him to feed them intel on Merrimen’s crew. Jackson sinks into his role with a scalpel like confidence, playing into the fears of the character while posing for the camera at the same time.
But admit it. What we’re all really waiting to see with a film like this is the heist (and how they adjust to unforeseen circumstances). At the moment the heist goes into effect, the film hits on all the right cylinders. I don’t know if that’s because of the way Gudegast creates tension as all the pieces start to fall into place, or whether it’s because Butler is basically removed from the proceedings for the majority of it all, but it works on every level, leading to a finale chase sequence that pumps as much adrenaline into it as it can muster, and an end that is well earned, but not quite deserved. Every piece is set up beautifully in order to pull it off (though there are a couple of moments that make it more obvious than it needed to be), but because of all the loose ends, and moments that don’t really amount to anything, what the end does is show us all how much better the movie could have been.
As you can see, I’m still not sure how to feel about the film. There are a lot of great moments and set pieces, and when Butler and Schreiber are on screen together, the energy and machismo are magnetic. But Gudegast’s script make the film feel weak and unsure of itself. If only Butler had managed to dial back some of his unwarranted hard-ass masculinity and provide a slightly more subtle pain to highlight his emotional arsenal, it may have helped earn the grade everyone involved most likely deserved.
My Grade: B+
Bonus Reviews:
12 Strong isn’t the best true story of our military heroes, but it still holds you captivated at how the first team into Afghanistan was able to bring factions of the country together for a shared purpose. A-
Paddington 2 once again captures the same whimsy and charm as the original, but finds a way to surpass its predecessor’s plot and provide an enjoyable journey of self-discovery and kindness. B+
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Next week, new movies include Maze Runner: The Death Cure and Hostiles. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
January 14, 2018
Movie Mayhem – The Commuter
The Commuter — 2017; Directed by Juame Collet-Serra; Starring Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson and Sam Neill
A few years back, at the ripe age of 56 years young, Liam Neeson turned the tide of his illustrious career and became a household name for a second time — as an action star! It wasn’t as if he wasn’t unfamiliar with action, having starred in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Batman Begins, but up to this point, the majority of his films had been more romantic fare and dense drama. Then Neeson claimed his “particular set of skills” and started kicking villainous butt across the silver screen. Some of them were high-octane thrillers that kept us glued to our seats, and others… not so much. At 65, you wouldn’t think he’d be continuing to pound the grindstone like he has, but he must know a good thing when he sees one, as Neeson is once again back in reluctant hero mode in The Commuter. How does this action-thriller stack up against to the rest? Let’s find out.
Neeson plays Michael McCauley, a loving husband and father who goes to work everyday as a life insurance broker. Director Juame Collet-Serra begins the film with a sequence showcasing Michael running through his morning routine, going through the motions on repeat with very little change over the course of what could be weeks or months. The whole situation creates a subtle attachment to Michael, as who can’t relate to this type of mundane situation? When we finally get to his place of work, we’re finally able to settle into one day, signifying that the rest of this particular day is going to be anything but typical. After putting in almost a full day of work, Michael is unceremoniously fired and his phone is stolen just as the doors to the commuter train home close in front of him.
Enter Joanna (Vera Farmiga), a talkative psychologist who asks Michael a very intriguing question: if you were offered $100,000 to do one small thing (in this case, locate someone on the train who doesn’t belong and put a GPS tracker on their bag), would you do it? With Michael’s current money situation (being laid off, having to pay his son’s college tuition), he’s quite intrigued, but his moral center — his gut, if you will — fights the chance for easy money. Unsure if the question was hypothetical, he heads to the bathroom to find the $25,000 “deposit” left for him as acceptance of the proposal. He figures he can just run with the cash and be done with it, but Joanna has other plans — if Michael doesn’t find the person she’s looking for by the time they arrive at their stop, his family will be killed.
It’s a good thing Michael is also an ex-detective!
Like Neeson’s Non-Stop (which took place mostly on a plane), the majority of The Commuter takes place on this one train, so Collet-Serra has to find unique ways to keep Michael’s search from becoming too repetitive. He does a decent job of this by providing us with some colorful suspects, as well as some regulars that Michael can talk to while he makes an effort to find the person he’s looking for. Though he’s able to identify several suspects right away, and he’s got a general sense for this type of work, it becomes clear pretty quickly why Michael is no longer a detective — he’s not very subtle about anything. He’s a normal person who tends not to observe the smaller details all that well, and can’t separate his own fear of losing his family with the cold calculations needed to complete his task without suspicion.
What this lack of discretion sets up, though, keeps Collet-Serra from truly captivating us with the intrigue needed for a thriller like this. Every time Michael talks to a new suspect, or finds a new clue as to who the target may be, the lead-up and follow through to those moments don’t seem to have enough bite to them. Neeson does a good job of reacting to each new character and misdirection, and keeps his emotions a mixed bag of fear, anger, confusion, and adrenaline, but Collet-Serra can’t seem to find a balance among all of the twists and turns the film takes to keep us guessing.
But he does keep us guessing, leading to one reveal that works really well, and another that any hardcore movie lover can see coming like a freight train. It’s fine, though, as there are bound to be some clichés throughout a movie like this, and is forgivable due to the caliber of acting on display. What isn’t forgivable are some of the horrendous special effects sprinkled throughout that create a very unbelievable environment. In movies like Taken and Unknown, there’s at least a semblance of reality that keep the films from feeling too far-fetched. Unfortunately, there are so many things in The Commuter that are so over-exaggerated and enhanced, that it rips you right out of the film, making you wonder how a big-budget thriller like this could be so careless.
If you like Neeson, and you like his previous action-thrillers, you’re most likely going to like The Commuter. It gives off just enough noise, emotion and intrigue to whet your whistle until the next action thriller comes along to provide your adrenaline fix. If you don’t care for Neeson, or find his films a little too unbelievable, you’ll probably want to pass on this one, since you’ll be bored by the poorly rendered effects and some action sequences that are simply a poor copy of what’s come before. (As an example, Collet-Serra attempts to do a fight sequence in one shot, but unlike the stairwell fight in Atomic Blonde — which is probably the most brutal, exciting and realistic fight sequence ever filmed — the one in The Commuter feels utterly fake and generic in comparison.)
All-in-all, The Commuter has its highlights and it has its lowlights. It’s not the best thing Neeson has done, but it’s not his worst. It’s a disposable film that might find traction on video, but will most likely be forgotten by year’s end, as we all move onto Neeson’s next trip through a slew of bad guys out to hurt someone he loves.
My Grade: B
Bonus Reviews:
I, Tonya is probably the only way you could ever really convey the twisted honesty of such an insane true story. A
Steven Spielberg makes every frame of The Post — a breezy, quiet film highlighting the days leading up to the unprecedented publication of government secrets by the Washington Post — worhtwhile. A
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Next week, new movies include 12 Strong, Den of Thieves and Forever My Girl. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
January 7, 2018
Movie Mayhem – Best & Worst of 2017
I saw ten more movie in 2017 than I did 2016 (that’s 117 for those who are counting), and the reason I bring that up is because there was one less movie (57 as opposed to 58) that earned a grade at A- or above. (I’ll let you be the judge of what that actually means!) Like all year-end lists of the past, this one will only include films I saw in 2017 (or that came out in 2017, but earned award recognition), which means films like Molly’s Game (which, after seeing it, would have landed in the #4 spot had I seen in two weeks ago), I, Tanya and The Post weren’t considered, but films such as Patriot’s Day (which was officially released in 2016) were. With that said, here is what made going to the movies in 2017 both great and a bit terrible.
Top 10 Best
Bonus Choice (#11) — Wind River
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Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner
Wind River surprised me. I wasn’t sure what I was going to be getting when I went to see it, but the film was able to draw me in with nothing but its hypnotic atmosphere. It’s a quiet film that uses a murder mystery to paint a portrait of two people who have been broken by their pasts and are looking for some type of redemption, even if that’s as simple as accepting the truth they’ve been hiding from. Much of the credit goes to both Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, who hold our attention with great chemistry and nuanced performances that make it feel as if a whole lot happens, even when it doesn’t.
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Chris Hemsworth
It’s probably inevitable that at least one Marvel film makes this list every year. Last year, both entries into the Marvel Cinematic Universe ended up in the top ten, and with three films this year, only one missed the mark by a hair (that being Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, mostly because it came off a little too cartoonish for my taste in a few spots). This opened the door for Thor: Ragnarok, which finally found the perfect formula for a Thor film — third times the charm, I guess! Everyone is having a blast, including Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, who together form a terrific new comedic duo. Add in a twist that will change Thor’s life forever (not to mention set up a few key points in this year’s Infinity War), and Taika Waititi is welcome back to give his unique voice to future chapters anytime.
#9 — Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
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Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black and Dwayne Johnson
When I first heard Hollywood was green-lighting a reboot of Jumanji, I was extremely disgruntled. Then it was announced that Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black and Kevin Hart were cast, and I became intrigued. Then it became a pseudo-sequel, and I became a little more okay with it. Then I saw the trailer and found myself hooked. By the time the credits rolled on the actual film, I was a believer. The core four players have a terrific chemistry, all while performing against type playing high school characters that are each actor’s complete opposite. This leads to some very fun scenes that never get tired. Although the villain feels a bit out of place, the experience is nothing more than sheer, gleeful fun.
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Coco
A lot of people might say that Pixar was hitting a bit of a slump, and it was feared that with the subject matter, Coco would finally break Pixar’s winning streak at the box office. But when a film tells a great story with endearing characters, none of that should (or did) matter. When you wash away all the opinionated rhetoric, Coco is seen for what it is — a well-written, well-acted journey with a terrific message about why your heritage should never be forgotten. Directors Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina provide a beautiful backdrop to support the story of Miguel, who accidentally upsets the spirits during the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos and must earn forgiveness from his long dead relatives in order to return to the living. But more importantly, what Coco proves to any naysayers out there is that Pixar knows how to make a quality film that will make you laugh, love and, of course, bawl your eyes out!
#7 — It
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Bill Skarsgaard
Much like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, I wasn’t all that excited by a return to one of Stephen King’s most acclaimed novels. Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown was a staple in my youth — who could possibly upstage him? It turns out, Bill Skarsgård could; not by upstaging him, but by turning the comic sarcasm of Curry into a frightening darkness, morphing this adaptation of the first half of the novel into a smart, gritty masterpiece. The kids they cast as the loser’s club are all excellent, and although I wasn’t sure about a couple decisions toward the end, the film left me salivating for part two.
#6 — War for the Planet of the Apes
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Caesar
War for the Planet of the Apes is a great example of a how to end a trilogy. Where Rise of the Planet of the Apes helped shape the origin, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes gave us the first opportunity to relate to the plight of Caesar and his family, War provides a tribute to the original films while ending Caesar’s journey the only way they could — with aggressive anger, integrity and flair. Andy Serkis continues to provide a stellar motion-capture performance (alongside a biting Woody Harrelson and a subtle turn by Amiah Miller, who is able to imbue her character with a remarkable amount of emotion without ever saying a word), and the artists at Weta Digital create incredibly authenticity in not only every hair on each ape, but with every small hint of emotion.
#5 — The Wall
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Aaron Taylor-Johnson
One of the smaller, independent films that came out this year was The Wall, a movie that stays locked in one location but feels so wide and grandiose. It’s incredibly hard to make a film wherein a single person is alone for the majority of the film, but when it works, it can be as intriguing and suspenseful as any big-budget action flick. Aaron Taylor-Johnson does a great job keeping our interest as a soldier desperately attempting to contact his superiors while avoiding (and locating) the gun of a militant hiding somewhere in the distance. Although it’s nearly an hour and a half of Taylor-Johnson hiding behind a wall, The Wall was one of the most gripping movies I saw all year.
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James McAvoy
Major plot twist aside, Split shines as a stand-alone psychological thriller. M. Night Shyamalan finds a way to continue to work in his distinct style while delivering a compelling study of a mental illness that has its ideas rooted in reality, but allows it to blossom into much more exaggerated comic book surrealism. Most of the praise, though, has to go to James McAvoy, who turns in four stellar performances by giving each personality a unique touch, as well as an anguish that keeps them fighting to prove their overwhelming capacity for control.
#3 — Patriots Day
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Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg have developed a great rapport with one another, delivering a great wealth of compelling films based on true events. Following Lone Survivor (one of the best films of 2013) and Deepwater Horizon (which made my top ten list last year), Wahlberg and Berg once again find the humanity among the tragedy with the heartbreaking and inspirational look at the Boston marathon bombing. Much like Horizon before it, the reason Patriots Day works so well is because Berg doesn’t focus on the tragedy itself, but on the people and the heroes that lived through it. I don’t know how many more times this duo can make outstanding films together, but you know I’ll be there waiting with open arms when they do.
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Tom Holland
Funny, clever, exciting. These are just three words that best describe the newest installment of Spider-Man. With Marvel taking back the reigns of one of their most popular characters and pulling him into their growing cinematic universe, Marvel has delivered an origin story that really has no origin. Tom Holland gracefully moves through what is essentially a coming-of-age story as Peter Parker, a fifteen-year-old kid who continues to seek the adrenaline rush of fighting alongside (and against) the Avengers, but feeling sidelined by people he believes are trying to keep his talent from blossoming, even as he continually causes most of the problems he has to fix. Seeing a young kid grow and mature into the superhero he is destined to be (and all the growing pains that come with it) is what makes this Marvel film one of the best of the year. (Oh, and having Michael Keaton on board doesn’t hurt either!)
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Daisy Ridley
Watching Rey and Kylo Ren’s relationship grow into a contradictory mesh of heightened expectations and failed attempts at pulling the other to their side sums up the perspective of fans arguing over the merits of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. My bias aside, I understand most of the naysayers’ issues, but it seems to me that most of the problems people bring up in regards to why they absolutely loath the film are because their personal expectations weren’t met. That’s all well and good, but it shouldn’t be the sole reason you despise a film. When you take a step back, realize that there is one more film to go that may add context and depth to the ideas presented here, it may change your tune as to why things were done the way they were. Although I will say that the casino side trip could have been handled better, and there were a couple of moments I felt they could have altered in different ways, I trust the producers know what they’re doing. (Did we know anything about Palpatine in Return of the Jedi before he met his end? No. Did it matter? Not at all!) There are a lot of excellent visuals, terrific performances and the conclusion of a character arc that many will argue went against type, but which I felt fit into the character’s growth and animosity toward what he’d been through quite well, and who was given a fitting end to an incredible journey.
Top 5 Worst
#5 — Before I Fall
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Cynthy Wu, Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage and Medalion Rahimi
One of two Groundhog Day-style films to be released this year, this YA adaptation had a good concept behind it, but came off incredibly disingenuous. Where Happy Death Day had a least a few fun moments while the character trapped in the loop investigates the mystery, no one in Before I fall feels real or authentic, and do everything they can to be tiresome cringe-inducing high school bully stereotypes who add nothing to Zoey Deutch’s Samantha’s journey or her character. Not only that, but the lesson Samantha is supposed to learn is arbitrary; I never felt Samantha was trying to learn anything, even as she “changes” for the better, and the end didn’t feel at all earned.
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Matilda Lutz
Because I was a fan of the first two Ring films, I was intrigued by a new sequel that would continue the mythology of that dastardly video tape and its freaky inhabitant. But then they had to go screw things up by making everything incredibly generic with a complete lack of respect for the audience. Director F. Javier Gutiérrez spends so much time making sure his characters do stupid things while keeping information to themselves until the very last minute to add arbitrary suspense, you almost miss the fact that a lot of what’s being presented may contradict what’s come before. Add in a new section of the video that’s been hiding for all this time, and you get the reason why some movie franchises are best left in the depths of the well where they were found.
#3 — King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword
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Charlie Hunnam
I’m always up for a good King Arthur story — except when it takes the mystical fun and smashes it into the mud. In the hands of Guy Ritchie, the story of King Arthur and his rise to power after pulling the sword from the stone (a moment that fails to garner any intrigue, even as the camera angles, music and effects try their very best to add plenty) becomes a bland review of a story that deserves so much more. Charlie Hunnam isn’t bad as Arthur, and Jude Law does his best with what he’s been given, but the overly-bloated story doesn’t know what to do with itself, leading us to gorge on an overly-produced artsy story that demystifies any sense of legend.
#2 — Wilson
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Woody Harrelson, Isabella Amara and Laura Dern
Woody Harrelson appeared in six movies in 2017, and in most cases, was able to create vivid characters that we could relate to, if not completely like in the end. But with Wilson, Harrelson felt lost as a lonely, middle-aged man who finds out he has a daughter. He tries to give the title character a sense of sarcastic wit and “old-man” honesty, but it only comes across as a desperate attempt at being funny, and in so doing, distances himself from the audience, pushing us away to the point that we hope he never finds his daughter or gets back together with what we’re supposed to believe is his soul mate. For what we know Harrelson is capable of as a comedian and actor, this film is a major misfire in both regards.
#1 — Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
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Charlie Wright, Jason Drucker, Alicia Silverstone and Tom Everett Scott
I’m not quite sure why I went to see this film. Based on the previews, it looked like it was going to be a disaster, but a couple of the other films in the franchise weren’t terrible, and I always say you never know until you actually see it. Well, it turns out I was right about the movie being a horrible mess. I don’t care much for Alicia Silverstone as an actress, but even I felt sorry for her having to lower herself to this tripe. The film washes itself with all of the family road trip clichés and relies heavily on every gross-out humor trope it could get its hands on. The child actors don’t seem to be having any fun, and although Tom Everett Scott tries to hold everything together, you could almost feel he knew this was destined to be nothing but roadkill.
What do you think? Did I exclude any? Did I add something that never should have made the list? Give me your top ten lists in the comments below.
January 2, 2018
New Things Are Coming in 2018
Hello Internet and the world. This is Bryan coming to you from sunny California with a wee bit of an update on all things me, your personal Creative Genius
!
To begin, let me explain a little about why I was all but missing from this blog and social media over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to finish a grand masterpiece of writing; that was sadly put on the back burner. No, the reason I was MIA for the better part of the last fiscal quarter was because I was focusing on rebuilding my website and figuring out ways to improve my presence on this very platform.
As some of you may know, I am pretty reserved when it comes to putting myself out there, so I’ve always been tentative about social media. I’m going to attempt to subvert that a little this year. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still not going to divulge a lot of personal things about myself, tell you where I am at all times of the day, snap pictures of every meal I eat, or go on extreme political tirades. What I am going to do is attempt to deliver more content to a wider audience. Along with my continued movie and book reviews, I’m going to be a little more vocal about my work — reporting on my progress, showing samples, and possibly (when it’s deemed appropriate) giving people a behind the scenes look at the process. I’m also going to attempt to deliver more thoughts on writing, design and the world at large, and be more attentive to others, hopefully showcasing a few more businesses, authors and the like.
But none of this will happen until I officially unveil my new website on January 26! Here’s a quick taste of what’s to come:
The entire site has been redesigned to be be more sleek, easy to navigate and completely responsive!
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First look at the home page of Phoenix Moirai’s new website.
I’ve also completely overhauled the portfolio page to give it a much more dynamic feel.
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First look at Phoenix Moirai’s new portfolio site.
And finally, I will be adding a separate subdomain specifically for weddings.
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First look at Phoenix Moirai’s new wedding site.
Once this is complete, I will be working to get both my author site and my film site completed. The author site will go live alongside the publication of my new book.
Speaking of my next latest and greatest, before I stopped writing to concentrate on my website, I was about 65% done with the first draft (which in terms of writing, means I am about 5% done with the book as a whole)! I will begin divulging more info over the next year leading up to the release, but all I can say right now to whet your whistle is that it’s a metafictioanal sci-fi/fantasy which I have tentatively titled, “Threads.” I am hoping for a November release, but we’ll see how the year goes. (Who knows, we may get to see it this summer!!)
That’s it for now. Again, look for more updates here on my blog as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Until then, live life as if you won’t see tomorrow.
December 23, 2017
IndieBooks Review – Eomix Galaxy Books: Identity
Eomix Galaxy Books: Identity by Christa Yelich-Koth
When you end a book, movie or an episode of a television series in a way that informs the reader or viewer that the story will continue, speculation, especially now through the use of the Internet, can run quite rampant. People who enjoyed your work may begin to dissect everything that happened and devise their own theories about what’s to come and what should happen to the characters they love, leading to high expectations that more than likely will be crushed under the hammer of the author’s plans. One recent example of this phenomenon is Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which subverted a lot of fan theories and upset a lot of people because it didn’t go the way they thought it should. This is a tricky thing to navigate for writers, but that shouldn’t stop them from telling the story they are inclined to write. It is up to the reader to subvert their own prejudicial expectations; if they can’t, there’s nothing the writer can really do about that. But when they can, it becomes a much richer experience for the reader as they enjoy the evolution of the story the way it was meant to be told.
In my review for Christa Yelich-Koth’s novel, Eomix Galaxy Books: Illusion, I thought it was a little off-putting that the book didn’t feel complete; the story abruptly ended without any real closure on the events that happened. My feelings haven’t changed after reading the second half of the story, Eomix Galaxy Books: Identity, which does a good job of bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion. The thing is, had the two books been combined into one larger piece, a lot of what feels superfluous and repetitious could have been stripped, leaving behind a story and pace that would have made the entire thing that much more riveting.
Identity picks up a few days after the events of Illusion, but the focus of the book dramatically shifts from the trials and tribulations of our original heroine, Daith, to a rescue mission orchestrated by her friend, Torrak. This shift might be somewhat jarring for those who are more interested in Daith and how she handles the events of the last book, but where I thought Daith and her journey was the most exciting part of Illusion, her storyline becomes quite flat for the first two-thirds of Identity, giving way for Torrak and his adventure to become the highlight of this chapter in the Eomix Galaxy series.
Because Torrak was a witness to Daith’s abduction by Trey Xiven, the commander of the Aleet Army, he is now a target of clean-up attempts by Xiven to hide what happened. When Torrak wakes up in the hospital, he quickly learns that he’s the only person who remembers Daith. Not even her own sister can remember (and when she starts to, the mind-altering drug she was given causes her to forget once again). So it is up to Torrak and his best friend Kalil to find out what happened and rescue her from Xiven’s nefarious plans. Along the way, the two unlikely heroes run into a bevy of colorful characters who help Torrak track her across the galaxy in one form or another, while being pursued by one of Xiven’s assassins.
Meanwhile, Daith continues her struggle to find peace with her new life. She still isn’t quite sure who to trust, and her determination for revenge grows stronger as Xiven and the Aleet Army get closer to their ultimate destination. To prepare her for the eventual war on Xiven’s home planet of Sintaur, Daith begins training with a new mentor, Cenjo, who starts to have reservations about where everything is heading. He isn’t quite sure Xiven is on the up-and-up, so he keeps a watchful eye over the both of them to hopefully prove himself wrong.
A lot of what happens with Daith feels a bit repetitive as she continues her training and fights her daemons — in this case, her dreams — for control over her powers. At the same time, some of what happens to Torrak feels like a waste of time, as it doesn’t do anything much for the story. Take for example a scene in which Torrak stops on a planet to fuel his ship. Though this is an example of grounding the story in reality, the entire moment of him landing and fueling takes up about a page or so where nothing at all significant happens. Something like this could have been mentioned in one quick sentence in passing and no one would have batted an eye as to the realities of space travel.
It is instances such as these when I wish Illusion and Identity would have been combined into one book. This way, the timeline could have been condensed so it didn’t feel so stretched out, and both Daith and Torrak’s stories could have been told simultaneously, making the pace much quicker and keeping our interest more contained.
But with all of that aside, the last third of Identity almost makes up for everything. Christa does a terrific job setting up all of the character arcs to lead to an explosive finale that is written with an extraordinary flair, wrapping everything up in a way that was wonderfully unexpected, giving weight to Daith’s character and ending Torrak’s wild, fun adventure on a high Illusion failed to achieve.
My Grade: A-
Christa Yelich-Koth is an award-winning author and graphic novelist, and co-founder and head of submissions for Buzz & Roar Publishing. Born in Milwaukee, Christa graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, which helps her when writing creatures and worlds in her science fiction. She writes because “I love creating something that pulls me out of my own world and lets me, for a little while, get lost inside someone or someplace else.”
Check out all of Christa’s social media platforms:
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Christa Yelich-Koth
If you are an independent author and would like your book reviewed, let me know in the comments section with a link to where I can purchase the book. If I find it intriguing, and it’s something I think I’d like, I will purchase a copy and add it to my reading list. I will be doing one independent book review per month, so not all requests will be accepted.
November 26, 2017
Movie Mayhem – Coco
Ever since they revolutionized animation with Toy Story — the very first fully computer-animated feature-length film — back in 1995, Pixar has been a pillar of creativity. With twenty-two years and nineteen movies under their belt (not counting shorts and spinoffs), they haven’t been perfect every time, but even their worst outing tends to be better than the majority of films that hit the multiplexes these days. Aside from pushing the boundaries on photo-realistic animation and their incredible consistency (kudos to keeping John Ratzenberger employed!), the one component that makes Pixar such a powerhouse in the animation world is their insistence on telling a good story above all else. To do this, they populate each and every story with strong characters and an amazing heart, allowing them to pull at your heartstrings like a master puppeteer. Not only that, but they aren’t afraid to take risks. A kids movie with an old man at its center? A space opera where two words take up the bulk of the dialogue? A tasty treat about rats in Paris? A colorful tale dealing with death and protecting your heritage?
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Coco — 2017; Directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina; Starring the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt and Alanna Ubach
That last one refers to Coco, Pixar’s latest film inspired by the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos, in which deceased relatives are able to return for one day each year to spend time with their families. The holiday has been captured in several films, most notably Twentieth Century Fox’s 2014 outing, The Book of Life. The film deals with a lot of the same ideas as Coco, but it didn’t do all that well at the box office, and I believe it was because they lacked key ingredients that Pixar was able to include in their interpretation of the holiday: sincerity and heart.
Right from the first frame, Pixar jumps directly into its central conflict. Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) is a young boy living in a family with a long history of despising music after Miguel’s great-great grandfather abandoned his wife, Imelda (Alanna Ubach), and daughter, Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía), to pursue fame. For three generations, the family has forbidden any music to touch their ears while building an empire in shoe-making. But Miguel is the black sheep of the family and wants nothing more than to play music and become a star like his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). After discovering that Ernesto is actually his father, his desire to play intensifies, leading him to break into Ernesto’s mausoleum and “borrow” his guitar.
Now there are rules to the Land of the Dead:
1) Only those spirits whose family has placed a photo on the ofrenda (or alter for the dead) to welcome them home may cross the bridge to the living;
2) When the last living relative forgets you or passes on, you ultimately cease to exist; and
3) When you steal from the dead on this very sacred day, you are sent to the Land of the Dead where you must earn a blessing from one of your deceased relatives in order to return home.
After taking Ernesto’s guitar, Miguel immediately meets his past relatives, including Imelda, who isn’t at all happy to hear of his desire to play music. She agrees to give Miguel her blessing, but only if he agrees to stay away from music forever. He can’t do that, so he seeks the help of Héctor (Gael García Bernal), a wayward soul trying desperately to cross the bridge, to track down Ernesto so that he may gain his blessing to become a musician.
This setup may sound familiar — a character gets trapped somewhere they aren’t supposed to be and teams up with another outsider in order to find their way back home. It’s been done countless times by Pixar themselves, but you can’t really fault them for falling back on a successful formula, especially when it works so well with a variety of characters, locations and themes. This time around, their message is in the quality of understanding your past, remembering those who came before you, and not allowing them to slip into obscurity. Your past is your past whether you like it or not, and to forget elements of it because it hurt you is to forget what essentially made you who you are.
This message is one that everyone, especially in this current political atmosphere, should take to heart. Whether good, bad or ugly, history should never be forgotten or altered as that may lead to misconceptions that may ultimately hurt you and those that you love. Directors Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina do a terrific job at encapsulating this idea in Miguel’s journey, adding layers upon layers to the story we’re told at the beginning as he learns more about his family’s past and what led them to where they are today. Are the people his family have all but banished from their memories as bad as they may seem, or are the secrets of the past hiding a better future for not only Miguel, but for the aging Coco as well?
Regardless of who you are, what your heritage is, how you were raised, your biases or prejudices, or political leanings, Coco is a film every family can and should enjoy. The visualizations are as brilliant as ever, the music is heartfelt, the characters are fun and engaging, and the story is universal. Everyone has either lost someone they loved, have had dreams and aspirations, have family members that push you to be someone you aren’t, or all of the above. These elements are told in a gentle, sincere way throughout the film and will no doubt leave you wanting to honor the past, honor your heritage and reach for the stars. But aside from all of that, nothing beats the heartwarming (and heartbreaking) climax involving Miguel and Coco in a scene that will leave even the strongest heart weeping like a little baby.
My Grade: A
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Next week, no major releases are scheduled, so if you’d like to see a review for a film I have yet to review, please respond in the comments below.
November 19, 2017
Movie Mayhem – Wonder
Feel-good movies always walk a fine line between inspirational and exaggerated schmaltz. On one level, they present a rosy picture of the world, a near-utopia where nothing too terrible ever happens, and when it does, it’s resolved rather quickly, and on another level, they do everything they can to motivate you to be an overall better person, but try do so without sounding intentionally preachy. This mix often leads to over-the-top sentimentality, or pushes the film to become so unrealistic, you just can’t buy its sincerity. When done right, though, they leave you emotionally cleansed, joyous and hopeful for the future. With Wonder, the newest entry into the family-friendly inspirational drama based on the novel by R.J. Palacio, this line is extremely thin, yet expertly teeters on both sides without ever going too far one way or the other.
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Wonder — 2017; Directed by Stephen Chbosky; Starring Jacob Tremblay, Owen Wilson,Julia Roberts, Izabel Vidovic and Mandy Patinkin
August “Auggie” Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) was born with a rare disease that has forced him to undergo several surgeries in his young life, leaving his face disfigured. He is protected from the cruel world by his loving, adorable (sometimes too adorable) parents: Nate (Owen Wilson), your typical fun dad who lives on a dream while not having much say in anything that happens; and Isabel (Julia Roberts), your typical doting mom, afraid of what might happen to her son when he finally ventures out into the real world. Up until now, she’s home-schooled Auggie, but with a new school opening in the area, she feels it’s time to test the waters to see if her baby can find his own path.
Tremblay is quite good in the lead role, portraying Auggie with fear and sadness over what others may think or say behind his back, but doing his best to cover it up with a mask of confidence and hope that he one day hopes to obtain. He wants to put himself out there, to develop life-long friendships, yet he’s always on guard about anyone reaching out to become his friend, as he’s never really sure if they’re doing so because someone made them or if they genuinely want to get to know him. We all know kids can be cruel, and the movie doesn’t shy away from throwing a few bullies (both young and old) in Auggie’s path. Director and co-writer Stephen Chbosky does a good job diving into the mindset of someone who would defend or condemn an outsider who may not fit in with normal social standards by showing that a lot of times, the influence of parents has at least some bearing on the attitudes and actions of their kids.
One thing that threw me off a bit while watching the film was the structure, which takes a few odd detours to show what’s happening from the point of view of different characters, including Auggie’s sister, Via (Izabela Vidovic), who loves her little brother despite being constantly ignored by her parents. She’s the epitome of someone who wants so desperately to be loved, but puts her own selfishness aside for the betterment of someone else. Auggie’s first, and best friend Jake Will (Noah Jupe) also gets a quick aside to provide context to the evolution of his not wanting to be a part of Auggie’s life in any way to picking a fight with another student in defense of his friend.
Finally there’s Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell), Via’s longtime best friend who cares just as much for Auggie as his own family. She delivers a somewhat out-of-place voice over to explain why she’s ignoring Via and has all but abandoned her since returning from summer camp. I’m not sure I bought her reasoning, not because it didn’t make sense, but because it comes very late in the film and the movie doesn’t do a whole lot to prove what she says, or lead into her actions in a bid at reconciliation.
And that seems to go for most of the film, which attempts to stay so idealistic, it doesn’t ever get itself dirty enough to warrant a lot of the changes the characters go through. Kids do things that go against their character’s, attitudes change on a dime, and forgiveness is given without a whole lot of turmoil or explanation. These elements do lead into some of the better moments in the film, but the passion behind those scenes could have been much more powerful had Chbosky delivered them with slightly more grit. Kids are smart; they don’t need to be coddled. It wouldn’t have hurt the film to dig just a little deeper to pull those emotions out and really drive a sense of dramatic tension throughout.
With that said, the film still holds a warmth that keeps you engaged, mostly due to the sincerity of the Pullman family. Wilson commands every scene he’s in by simply being himself, delivering every line with goofy earnestness; Roberts does a great job of being Wilson’s foil, providing the family with a much needed jolt of trepidation and insecurity; and Vidovic proves to be a powerhouse of subtlety, being their for Tremblay while traversing her own sense of loneliness, change and yearning for acceptance.
The film is not without its flaws, but with the vitriol that courses through every fiber of our world today, it’s nice to see a film every now and then that tries to bring out the best in all of us, to provide us with a sense of right and wrong, that, as Auggie’s teacher (Daveed Diggs) says, “If you have the choice between being right and being kind; always choose kind.” Perhaps there is hope for a future that focuses on bringing us together rather than tearing us apart. We’re all human despite our differences and until we can accept that diversity and fight those who may want to punish us for being different, nothing will change, leaving us all to live in a nasty, divisive world.
Oh and points for whoever was able to get past the Fort Knox that is Disney and Lucasfilm and acquire the rights to use Chewbacca throughout the film. You thought the illusive Bill Murray was hard to get; try licensing anything from Star Wars!
My Grade: A-
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Next week, new movies include Coco, Darkest Hour and Roman J. Israel, Esq. If you would like to see a review for one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.
November 12, 2017
Movie Mayhem – Murder on the Orient Express
Disclaimer: I have not seen any of the previous iterations of Murder on the Orient Express, nor have I had the pleasure of reading Agatha Christie’s novel on which the films are based. This review is based solely on Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation.
What makes a good mystery? First and foremost is a great lead detective who an audience can relate to, have fun with and feel invited in to join them on their quest to solve the puzzle. Second is an eclectic cast of suspects; each one with their own distinct personality and secrets lying in wait to be discovered and move the detective closer to his final revelation. Third is a bevy of overt and subtle clues and misdirections strewn about that help guide the detective through the case. And finally, there must be a great reveal, one an audience doesn’t see coming but should have with all the clues and information that have been openly provided for all to digest. Kenneth Branagh, director and star of the newest adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel, Murder on the Orient Express, does everything he can to include every one of these pieces, yet forgets one very key ingredient: a blanket of intrigue.
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Murder on the Orient Express — 2017; Directed by Kenneth Branagh; Starring Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz and Josh Gad.
Orient Express has a lot going for it. There are some fantastic shots that give us a sense of both detachment and claustrophobia; it has plenty of humor and gleeful fun; and it does a nice job of setting up the characters to give each one an air of mystery as it begins to tie all of the pieces together. The problem is, the more the pieces begin to make sense, the more the film loses its fascination. In other words, as all of the clues mount up to the final product, the picture that’s revealed seems extraordinarily dull and uninspired, even though it really isn’t.
That goes to the direction of Branagh, who seems to be running on fumes toward the end of the film. His character, Hercule Poirot, is introduced as a meticulous sort who needs everything around him to be perfect, from the tie you wear to the eggs he eats. This fits well into his skills as a detective, as he has an incredible knack at seeing what doesn’t belong — basically, he knows a lie when he sees one based on his observations of his surroundings and the small details that make up the bigger picture.
He also has a very particular pride about himself, especially when it comes to his very stylized mustache, which he wears a mask over to protect its perfect form while he sleeps. This, too, goes to characterize him as someone who needs everything in his life to be perfect — no flaws, no exceptions. At the same time, Poirot is tired, seeking respite in a long overdue holiday that will hopefully bring peace to the madness he encounters every day. Unfortunately, the world never stops moving, and as he seeks a few days rest traveling to a new case, his train is derailed by a freak avalanche at the same time one of the passengers is murdered. So much for a quiet trip. Though at first he doesn’t want to get involved, because of his prideful, studious nature, he has no other choice but to solve the case before the station agents can dig the train out of the snow.
As Poirot starts to put the pieces together, and his morality is put to the test, fatigue sets in, and not just for the character. Branagh’s own fatigue shows in his direction, which leads to a final reveal that feels more tacked on than anything else. Branagh tries to spin the narrative one way to divert us from the truth by making one of the characters reveal themselves to be the killer to protect another passenger, but then we instantly jump ahead to the final reveal without any coherent transition that helps us understand why Poirot doesn’t believe this passenger or how he ultimately came to his final conclusion.
Branagh aside, everyone else involved is on point throughout the film. Michelle Pfeiffer purrs with sexiness, Johnny Depp finally breaks from his most recent mold of pasty-white caricatures, Daisy Ridley (looking very much like Keira Knightley) and Penelope Cruz add just enough flair to make us care for their characters, and Josh Gad proves that he isn’t just a funny face, delivering one of his best performances. And though Willem Dafoe and Judi Dench aren’t given much to do, what they do with it hits all the right notes, helping build a believable cast of characters that lead perfectly into the final revelations, only to be utterly wasted and sidelined when that revelation happens, unable to provide any support to the accusations whatsoever.
I will say that the first half of the film is intriguing, but not even the ticking clock Branagh puts on the film can save it from losing steam. With all of the talent involved in this project, you’d think it would rise to the challenge and deliver a mind-blowing, killer finale, but instead, the film goes out with a whimper and doesn’t seem to give anyone any true closure, especially Poirot, who’s left to rest on his laurels and defend a decision that he’ll have to live with the rest of his life… one that I’m not sure fits with the character Branagh developed over the course of the film. Whether this film is anything like the book, I don’t know; but as an intriguing mystery, its setup and characters are beautifully crafted while the revelation is poorly executed.
My Grade: B
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IndieBooks Review – Eomix Galaxy Books: Illusion
Eomix Galaxy Books: Illusion by Christa Yelich-Koth
There’s been a debate among authors and readers of independent books for quite a while in regards to the etiquette surrounding a book series. As more and more authors choose the independent route over traditional publishing, there seems to be a mindset that you can’t be successful unless you’re writing a book series. One of the major points of contention is how to end the initial book in a series. Some say that if it’s a series, then we should know that everything may not wrap up properly; others will say a first book in a series should stand on its own. If you look at some of the more successful book series, such as Harry Potter or The Dark Tower, the answer tends to be the latter — the first book in the series may have an overarching goal that isn’t necessarily reached, but the book itself has a complete story. Only in the later books do the stories start to intermingle and become less structured, but by then, we’re already heavily invested. A lot of times, having a first book in a series that doesn’t have a complete story makes it feel as if the author opted to divide their story in two because they feel it was easier to sell two 300-page books as opposed to one 600-page book.
I’m not sure what Christa Yelich-Koth’s process was as she wrote Eomix Galaxy Books: Illusion, but even before you begin reading, you already know this is only the first book of at least two, so either it was planned that way or it was split for the sake of, in my opinion, an arbitrary word count. Either way is fine, so long as there is a complete story arc that doesn’t make the novel feel incomplete. Sadly, Illusion feels more like a movie studio splitting a novel into two parts simply to extend a series past it’s expiration date. Christa slowly and expertly leads her story on a path to a specific destination, but then pulls the rug out from under us by providing no closure without spending more money on the next book.
Illusion follows Daith Tocc, a normal girl living a quiet life until she’s abducted and has her memory completely erased by Trey Xiven, commander of the space vessel, Horizon. It’s quickly learned that Trey believes Daith to be the daughter of his former commanding officer, Jacin Jaxx, a very powerful being in the universe, and is hoping to use Daith as a weapon to secure peace in the Eomix Galaxy. To do so, he recruits his brother, Dru, to run several tests on her in order to find out if she truly is what he thinks, and whether she harbors the same power her father did.
The reason I felt there wasn’t any closure is because there aren’t any full character arcs. As Daith goes through her trials and discovers a few breakthroughs in her powers, nothing actually happens to solidify a change in her or any of the other characters. In other words, she learns how to tap into her skills, but with the exception of a few smaller moments and revelations, she doesn’t ever have a chance to utilize them the way I hoped she would (or in the way she eventually will in the next book).
That aside, the book does have some intriguing concepts and a few interesting characters. Both Daith and Dru are extremely likeable; together, they have some of the best parts of the book. Whenever Christa stepped away from them to focus on Trey, I wanted to get back to Dru and Daith and their budding relationship. For whatever the reason, Trey never really connected with me. I’m not sure if it was because of the character, how he was written, or because most of his focus was on the life of Jacin Jaxx, most of which fell a little flat for me. I was much more interested in Daith and how she was going to handle her newfound gifts than I was in learning the history of Jacin Jaxx and how he handled his powers.
Which brings up another interesting topic in the structure of the story itself. In the first chapter, we’re introduced to Daith before she gets her mind wiped, which is all well and good, but with a story like this, a lot of the intrigue comes with not knowing who she was before her memory was erased. By this I mean, the urgency of Daith’s predicament isn’t as strong as it could have been. Had we, the reader, woken up with Daith on the ship without knowing anything about her or her past, and were able to learn everything right alongside her, we would have been able to connect with her more than we already do, heightening an air of mystery that is non-existent since we already know why everything is happening.
Don’t get me wrong, the majority of Illusion is well-written (there are some moments that feel a little stale and dialogue that gets a little stunted), and Daith’s storyline kept me interested, I just wish we would have seen a better, more developed arc that led Daith to examine her powers beyond the mere accident or test that fill the majority of the book.
My Grade: B+
Christa Yelich-Koth is an award-winning author and graphic novelist, and co-founder and head of submissions for Buzz & Roar Publishing. Born in Milwaukee, Christa graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, which helps her when writing creatures and worlds in her science fiction. She writes because “I love creating something that pulls me out of my own world and lets me, for a little while, get lost inside someone or someplace else.”
Check out all of Christa’s social media platforms:
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Christa Yelich-Koth
If you are an independent author and would like your book reviewed, let me know in the comments section with a link to where I can purchase the book. If I find it intriguing, and it’s something I think I’d like, I will purchase a copy and add it to my reading list. I will be doing one independent book review per month, so not all requests will be accepted.
