In Remembrance of Ray Manzarek

Ray Manzarek passed away Monday morning. Ray is the second member of the psychedelic-blues band, The Doors, to pass after lead singer, Jim Morrison, died in 1971. Manzarek gave The Doors its unique sound with his grandiose keyboard playing. Morrison may be the face of the band, but Ray was essential in forming the group and his mind was behind some of their biggest hits.

You may be wondering,"Why are you writing about a musician on your film review site"? The reason I felt the need to express my thoughts on Manzarek and The Doors. First, The Doors are, without a doubt, my favorite band of all time. The reason why is because their music is so theatrical. Ray and Jim were film students at UCLA together and every one of their songs is dramatic on a scale usually reserved for film. I was hooked the first time I ever heard Jim's voice or Ray dancing on the ivory. They didn't make music for music people, they made music for people who love film.

Second, some of the most memorable scenes in film use The Doors. Who could forget the first time they saw  the opening scene from "Apocalypse Now"? The whir of the helicopter rotors as napalm dropped on the jungles of Vietnam as Jim crooned the lyrics to 'The End' is chilling every time. The Doors montage during Forrest's tour in Vietnam is as memorable now as it was in 1994. Even Oliver Stone's Doors biopic, which was released to lukewarm reception, had great scenes set to Doors songs, such as the Riders on the Storm intro.

Ray Manzarek was a rock-n-roll legend. One of, if not the, greatest keyboardists in music history. It is a tragedy that he was taken by such a terrible disease such as cancer. At the end of this post there is a link to donate to the American Cancer Society. Thank you, Ray, for opening the Doors of Perception.

https://www.cancer.org/involved/donate/donateonlinenow/index

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

4/5

I'm going to start this review by stating one thing: I am not a Trekkie. I've seen a few episodes of the original series and that is it besides "Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan". That being said, "Star Trek Into Darkness" is a damn fun movie. J.J. Abrams returns to the director's chair for this sequel to the 2009 reboot/alternate timeline to the aforementioned series and in great form too. Among the returning cast there are a few standouts among them. Simon Pegg is a comic gem as always and Karl Urban as Bones channels DeForest Kelley in the most perfect way. On the other hand, there are some moments that are not so great. The greatest offender being during what the writers probably believed to be the emotional high point, I can only describe what I experienced as a "cringe-laugh". It was really funny in a very bad way.

Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) has been captain of the USS Enterprise for some time at the beginning of the movie. After a failed expedition on an uncharted planet, unforgivingly reported by Spock (Zachary Quinto), Kirk is stripped of his captainship of the Enterprise. Meanwhile, a terrorist act destroys a classified Starfleet headquarters and the commanders convene to discuss the correct course of action. Kirk discovers that the culprit is John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), a former Starfleet agent. After a second attack, Harrison escapes to the Klingon planet of Kronos. Kirk, and the crew of the Enterprise, must infiltrate hostile territory to bring the fugitive to justice. But is it possible that everything is not as it seems?

I have a problem when I watch a movie. No matter which one it is, I have difficulties turning my brain off for big Summer tentpoles. For some reason, though, it was never a question with this movie. As soon as I sat down in the cold theater my brain just went to sleep and let me have my fun. This movie was never meant to be analyzed. It was meant to be escapism, pure and simple, and in that it succeeds. So go, get some popcorn and Coke, and just let it take you away for two hours to the final frontier.

The Lives of Others (2006)

5/5

William Shakespeare once said that "all the world's a stage". These words ring especially true in Florian Henckel von Donnersmark's debut film "The Lives of Others" (Das Leben Der Anderen). The brain child of Donnersmark, "The Lives of Others" was directed, written, and co-produced by the German filmmaker. The Academy nailed it on the head when they awarded this the Best Foreign Language film and it really does have something to say about Germany's place in the film industry after the renaissance they have had the past 13 years with such films as "The Edukators", "Goodbye, Lenin", and "The Baader Meinhof Complex". "The Lives of Others" is the superior to these films, but they are all very good in themselves and have made Germany my go to for foreign films.

Set in 1984 in East Berlin, Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is a professor at Potsdam University who also dabbles in work with the East German secret police, the Stasi. His colleague and friend Anton Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur) invites him to the premier of playwright Georg Dreymen's (Sebastian Koch) latest play. Grubitz remarks how Dreymen is one of the few writers of East Germany who is faithful to the state. Wiesler, however, is not sold on this fact. He views Dreymen as an arrogant artisan, the kind he warns his students about. Grubitz brings this up with his boss Minister Hempf (Thomas Thieme) who authorizes a full wire tap of Dreymen's apartment. Wiesler is assigned to monitor the taps and during his surveilance slowly becomes more and more involved in their lives and their secrets.

I don't even know where to begin with this film. There is almost neigh a problem with it. The score is hauntingly intimate, Ulrich Mühe is a revelation in his role that is played with such a quiet intensity it's almost unsettling, in fact the whole ensemble of actors are fantastic, and Donnersmark's script is perfect from beginning to the final frame. A problem most movies have is that by the end they've fallen into so many cliches that it all feels so derivative. "The Lives of Others" has an ending that could only be sold by the talent that is Mühe and it works in such an unreal way.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

3/5

Baz Luhrman's "The Great Gatsby" is a colorful adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's magnum opus. While colorful in the right dose can be wonderful and vibrant and make the film come alive, Luhrman had decided to overdose the audience in his love of flashy exuberance.

Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) has moved into a small groundskeepers shack in West Egg on Long Island, a retreat for the new money of the booming 20's. He is cousin to Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), the wife of old money Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Nick's mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) throws many lavish parties during the summer. One day Nick receives an invitation to one of Gatsby's upcoming affairs. At the party he finally meets Gatsby and the two soon become friends. However, Gatsby has a favor to ask of Nick: Reunite him with the love that he lost five year prior, Daisy. Nick struggles with the idea of putting Daisy's marriage at risk, but there is something about this Gatsby that he just can't refuse. Maybe it's hope.

You know a movie is really fantastic when you forget that it is exactly that, a movie. All films should strive for this feeling, yet "The Great Gatsby" makes a habit of pulling you out of the story. Luhrman may have thought that putting Beyonce and Jay-Z into the soundtrack was hip or stylish or that it drew a parallel between the mindset of the partygoers of the 20's and the people you meet in a nightclub, but it really just makes the film much too chaotic. In it's quiet moments, when the stars are allowed to shine, they really do a pretty good job. Leonardo DiCaprio is the highlight of the whole show, but I'd also like to point the spotlight at the biggest surprise this film had and that is Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. She is utterly fantastic and steals every scene she is in. I see big things for her in the near future. If I had to say anything about this movie it is this: It's an improvement over the 1974 Robert Redford Gatsby. But not much of one.

The Debt (2010)

3.5/5

"The Debt" is an American remake of an Israeli film of the same name. It follows the hunt of a Nazi war criminal by a team of Mossad agents and the cover up following their failure to bring him back to Israel. Featured are Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain as Rachel Singer in 1997 and 1965 respectively. The ensemble cast includes Sam Worthington, Ciarán Hinds, Marton Csokas, and Tom Wilkinson.

After claiming to have killed 'The Surgeon of Birkenau' during a mission in East Berlin in 1965, Rachel Singer leads a life of a lie. Her daughter eventually writes a book about her mother's time in East Germany. Everyone believes her. Why shouldn't they? She and her team are national heroes. When one of her team members kills himself, Rachel finds out that her target from 1965 is living in the Ukraine in a psychiatric hospital. He is also going to leak the story of Singer's failed mission to the press. Rachel's past has come back to haunt her and she must finish what she started.

This movie, while being enjoyable, is also a tad slow. The pacing feels very off after the second act. Rachel is played fantastically by both Chastain and Mirren. However, it felt like Sam Worthington was disinterested the whole time he was on screen. Ciarán Hinds, in the same role as Worthington, is so much more interesting to watch and it really is a shame that he had such little screen time because I truly believe that Hinds is the most underrated actor in the industry. 

Eventually everything catches up with us. Rachel found this out only after the pressure of keeping their secret had taken the life of one of her friends. You can't bury the bad and hope it stays dead. It will come back. 

Iron Man 3 (2013)

3/5

Shane Black has breathed new life into the Iron Man franchise after the less than stellar second installment, yet it all seems a little lackluster when it's all taken in. Robert Downey Jr is his usual smart aleck, quirky self and, again, it works well. He is able to carry the film even after, what I believe to be, one of the worst twists in mainstream cinema. All of the series regulars (Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle) to a movie  that makes them much more likeable. Guy Pearce is introduced into the Marvel Universe as Aldrich Killian, a scientist studying a biological research project known as Extremis.

Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr) demons are catching up with him. He has insomnia and in his spare time he makes more and more improvements to his suits. After the incident in New York he has developed a bit of a post traumatic stress disorder. Tony's biggest fear is bringing harm to the ones, or one, he loves.  In other parts of the world a terrorist, known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), is wreaking havoc on various targets. After one of The Mandarin's bombs takes out Stark's bodyguard/friend, Happy ("Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2" director, Jon Favreau). Tony vows revenge against the madman and in doing so seals the fates of everyone around him.

 "Iron Man 3" accomplishes a few things needed to get over "Iron Man 2"; It keeps the comedy coming that we got from "The Avengers". It has made the supporting cast not seem so dull. It also made Tony Stark seem more human. He was much more vulnerable in this movie than he has been in the past. All of these things work in the favor of the franchise. I cannot stress enough, however, how disappointing The Mandarin actually is. Ben Kingsley was perfect for the role and did what he could, but this movie didn't appear to want to take itself very seriously. It's possible Shane Black was trying to comment on our culture of fear, but in the end it really falls flat on its face.

Citizen Kane (1941)

5/5

What is there to say about this film that hasn't been said a thousand times before? It is one of, if not the, single greatest achievements in cinema. Orson Welles accomplished at age 25 what filmmakers hope to be able to recreate their entire careers. "Citizen Kane" is, without a doubt, one of my favorite films of all time. I love every second of it. Every scene oozes with the confidence of Welles.

Unofficially, but obviously, based on the life of newspaper mogul, William Randolph Hearst, the film begins with the death of Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles). The news shocks the world as journalists attempt to not only tell the story, but let people know who Kane really is. What better way to discover who this man was than to learn the meaning behind his final words, "Rosebud". Through flashback from various figures from Kane's life we are told of how he was to become a larger-than-life figure and his eventual downfall into a life of recluse. It's a story of a man with everything and nothing.

Everyone should know of this movie. Everyone should own it. Everyone should be talking about it. Everyone should see it. It is a true treasure of filmmaking. Welles set the bar here and very few have been able to match this genius. I doubt anyone who has would ever admit to it. There is a respect held for "Citizen Kane" that is, without a doubt, valid, but moreover, earned. If you've never experienced this movie, please, drop what you are doing and see it!

Pain & Gain (2013)

2.5/5

Michael Bay's "Pain & Gain". Where do I begin. On one hand I loathe the man. He has lowered my expectations for anything he could ever possibly put out. I have never enjoyed a single moment of any of his movies. On the other hand "Pain & Gain" is probably his best movie since "Bad Boys". Now that doesn't mean much to me, but it shows he has learned to tone everything back and stop taking himself so seriously. The movie is obnoxious, juvenile, and often annoying, but I could tell it was having fun with itself. Many of the Bay essentials are here, gratuitous slow motion, all the buxom women the teenage boys crave, and the unbelievable characters that we really don't care or root for. Yet, there is something about this movie that doesn't make me loathe every second of it.

The movie begins with Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) doing upside down sit-ups on top of a roof when all of a sudden police swarm the area. In a panic, Lugo attempts to put as much distance between him and the police. As he is running through the street he is hit by an oncoming police car. We then go back about six months as we are told that the following is based on a true story and that it all took place in Miami between 1994 and 1995. Lugo is applying at the gym of John Mese and explains to him that he has a criminal past and that he had been in white collar prison for scamming people out of their money. Lugo also promises to triple membership in three weeks. Through a variety of different methods he is able to accomplish this feat. Free memberships for strippers seems to have brought in enough people to please Mese and give Lugo a promotion. Lugo explains that you can only succeed if you are willing to go out and grab it for yourself. In reality, though, he is displeased with his current life situation. A glorified spotter at a gym doesn't exactly rake in the money. Lugo is then assigned as the personal trainer for Victor Kershaw (Tony Shaloub) a rich and greedy businessman who likes to rub it in everyone's face. He is cocky and arrogant and Lugo has had enough.

In an attempt to better himself he attends a self help seminar by Johnny Wu (another dreadful cameo by Ken Jeong). Wu is a brash self made millionaire who is scamming people out of their money for his cockamamie business advice. However he has enthralled Lugo into developing a "Three Finger Plan", which Lugo has taken upon himself to assume that he should kidnap Kershaw and extort him for everything he owns. He believes he is righteous in doing so because Victor is a bad man, who doesn't appreciate what he has. Daniel convinces his co-workers Adrian (Anthony Mackie), a steroid abusing muscleman, and Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson), an ex con who used to worship cocaine, but now worships Jesus. Together they make what has to be the worst case of idiots leading idiots.

After a few bungled kidnapping attempts they finally succeed. Kershaw is now in their grasps and everything is going according to plan. That is until he is able to figure out that it is Lugo who has masterminded this whole operation. In the back of his mind Lugo knows they are eventually going to have to kill him. First they have to get him to sign over all of his belongings to them. Torture is there answer to this. They burn, maim, and hang him upside down to get him to finally break down and sign the papers. Lugo takes it to the bank feeling like he is on top of the world. The contract, however, has to be notarized or else they are just meaningless papers. Daniel goes to his boss, Mese, who just happens to be a notary. He won't do it because he needs to witness the signing himself. Lugo then offers to sponsor his recently cancelled weight lifting competition with the money and just like that they have the money.

Now comes time for them to bungle the killing of Kershaw. They get him drunk, put him in a car, crash it into a construction site. Only for him to be alive when they check. Next course of action is obviously to set fire to the car. The car explodes, yet Kershaw miraculously is able to walk away with minor burns. Thinking quick they attempt to run him over, but fail at that endeavor as well. Kershaw is now on the ground as Paul backs the car over him. Thinking they have finally finished him off they flee the scene. Kershaw is taken to the hospital and interviewed by the police who dismiss his wild, drunken story. The three criminals make off without a hitch.

Daniel gets the house and lawn he has always wanted, Adrian gets married, and Paul snorts his money away. Kershaw has to hire a private detective because the police won't investigate. Ed Dubois (Ed Harris) is the one to take his case. A gumshoe detective who can see right through Daniel, Adrian, and Paul. However he cannot prove a kidnapping took place and the property transfer has Kershaw's signature so it is all legal and binding. He takes it to the police and tells him he should deal with it now before they strike again. The police chief blows it off because Kershaw is known to have criminal connections.

After a bungled robbery of a bank truck, Paul shows up to Adrian's wedding with plans to scam a "douche" he met at the club. This douche is Frank Griga, a millionaire with a busty girlfriend. They catch his attention with a made up telecommunications project in India. They invite the two over to Adrian's house where Daniel, after being called an amateur, accidentally crushes Frank's head with a weight. They tranquilize the girlfriend and eventually kill her too. They then go to his house to empty his safe. When they get there they find that they have the wrong combination so they steal his exotic sports car instead. They load the bodies into their van and take them back to the warehouse. They chop the bodies up and attempt to dissolve them in barrels. They throw the barrels into the swamp and wash their hands of the crime. Dubois is hot on their trail and eventually convinces police to arrest them. This brings us back to the beginning on the roof. After being hit by the police cruiser Lugo is able to escape onto one of Kershaw's speedboats and book it down to the Bahamas where he believes Kershaw has offshore accounts filled with money. In reality it has personal belongings such as photographs and the like. At that moment Dubois shows up and has Lugo arrested, after a needless drive through a marketplace. Lugo and Adrian are sentenced to death and Paul receives 15 years for his confession.

Now it all begs the question of 'who are we pulling for'. These three are our protagonists yet they have no redeeming qualities. Kershaw is the one being extorted, but he's such a pompous ass that we don't care about him either. Is Dubois really our hero? It's all sort of a letdown. Maybe it's Bay's way of saying the world isn't black and white. But probably not. Because this movie isn't that subtle. It's loud, in your face, and in the end not that great.