Trying to Make it Big in the Big City

From left: Mike Birbiglia, Kate Micucci, Gillian Jacobs,
Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Gethard, and Tami Sagher in "Don't Think Twice"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

In terms of all of the different forms of acting you’ve seen, you’ll probably think of film, television, and Broadway, for the most part.  With the stories the actors have to tell, they have the benefits of scripts to help them bring the narrative to life and captivate their audiences.  However, there’s one form of acting that may sometimes go forgotten, and that’s the art of improvisation.  In these groups, the actors make up their stories on the spot and must keep the energy going with as little dead space as possible so they can keep their audiences entertained.  Given how this art form requires the actors to always have their imaginations going in order to build upon the skit they’re creating, it’s an admirable method of performance.

This is something that’s explored in director Mike Birbiglia’s comedy-drama, “Don’t Think Twice.”  With a natural bond throughout the cast and a story that displays the fun and hardships of trying to gain recognition as a performer, this film provides the emotions and laughs of a group of actors trying to make their breakouts into stardom.

In New York City, an improv troupe (Mike Birbiglia, Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Kate Micucci, Chris Gethard, and Tami Sagher) come together regularly to put on shows for an eager audience.  However, when two of them get the chance to audition for “Weekend Live,” a “Saturday Night Live” type of show, and one of them ends up being selected, the group eventually has to come to terms with the possibility that maybe not all of them are cut out for show business.

All of the cast members display a wonderful amount of chemistry, which helps us become invested in their bond when they’re performing on stage for audiences and dealing with their troubles when they’re off stage.  Everything about their characters rings painfully true, and their actions and emotions help in bringing this very realistic situation to life.  The way they exhibit the anxiety and jealousy that come with trying to make it big in show business is a major highlight of the cast and is genuine enough to put you on edge whenever the characters express any of those feelings.

Although we’ve seen a lot of these actors do comedic work in the past, one of the best things about the movie is how well they give themselves over to the drama of their predicament and must face the likelihood that they won’t always be performing together.  Seeing these actors stretch their talents from the comical aspects into the deeper drama of the story speaks to these actors’ understanding of the emotion and stress that goes into the star-making process.

One of the best aspects of Birbiglia’s screenplay is how he dedicates enough time to each of the main characters, as he allows us to get to know about each of their lives and how they commit themselves to trying to build successful lives as entertainers.  Whether through interactions between characters, or moments when the characters are apart from each other, Birbiglia offers a considerable amount of insight into each person and the dreams they hold.  As a whole, the screenplay is a detailed portrait of people wanting that glimmer of acclaim, hoping it will turn into something more, but also facing the possibility that they won’t be doing improv forever and must soon move onto different endeavors.

As a director, Birbiglia is able to find a balance between the comedy and drama.  He allows the cast to be funny, but also retains the tough reality of the situation with how success isn’t guaranteed for everyone.  “Don’t Think Twice” is a movie that never shies away from being true to life and showing the struggles of trying to build a career as a performer, and it’s that authenticity that makes this movie something special.

Final Grade: A 

Back to the Woods, and the Witch is On Another Hunt

From left: Brandon Scott, Corbin Reid, James Allen McCune,
Valorie Curry, and Wes Robinson in "Blair Witch"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

In 1999, directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez surprised audiences with their found-footage horror film, “The Blair Witch Project.”  The story followed a trio of young filmmakers who, in October of 1994, get lost while venturing in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland to film a documentary about the legend of the Blair Witch.  While it wasn't as scary as it was made out to be, you can’t deny the impact it had on found-footage films and the horror genre as a whole.  

A little over a year later, Hollywood released a sequel, “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2,” which was nothing more than an ugly case of a studio cash-grab to piggyback off of the success of the original.

Now, indie horror director Adam Wingard makes his contribution to the Blair Witch legend with the third film in the series, “Blair Witch.”  Although it’s easily better than the disastrous second installment, there’s hardly anything in the film to justify its existence.

The story follows James Donahue (James Allen McCune), who decides to venture into the Maryland woods under the belief that his sister, Heather, may still be alive after disappearing with her two friends while filming a documentary on the Blair Witch.  Not too long after starting their journey, James and his friends Lisa (Callie Hernandez), Peter (Brandon Scott), and Ashley (Corbin Reid), along with guides Lane (Wes Robinson) and Talia (Valorie Curry) soon figure out they are being hunted by the same evil James’ sister and her friends encountered on their ill-fated trip.

You can’t really judge the acting too harshly because the cast isn’t really given much to do except act terrified, scream, hyperventilate, and repeat.  Despite doing an okay job with their limited material, it’s evident rather quickly with what kind of performances we’re going to get, so there isn’t much need to describe them any further.

The screenplay by Simon Barrett, who wrote Wingard’s darkly comical slasher film, “You’re Next,” pretty much follows the same route as the original film, with a lot of the events in this movie being similar to those of the original, so there’s hardly anything new to present in the story.  Besides the lack of interesting occurrences in the narrative, that deficiency also extends to the characters.  Even though there are six main roles in the film, we learn the bare minimum about them, as the single important thing we know is that James is Heather’s brother.

One of the only interesting things in the film is how each of the four friends are given their own camera, mostly in the form of an earpiece device, with the movie usually going back and forth between each person.  This allows the story to break up the characters and see what each of them is up to, instead of having them altogether behind one camera.

What made “The Blair Witch Project” so alluring was seeing the amateur videocamera footage on the big screen and going through the experience of watching something that seemed real.  However, over the years since the release of the original, there have been countless found-footage films (including six “Paranormal Activity” movies between 2009 and 2015) that have flooded cinemas, so the novelty of the sub-genre has already worn off.

Considering Wingard’s success with “You’re Next,” I was looking forward to him directing a sequel to a hit horror property, a sequel that would be more in tune with the original.  He could have delivered some of the inventiveness of that film to “Blair Witch,” but the movie just ends up playing out like the original and most other found-footage movies we’ve seen over the last few years.  And it doesn’t help that he uses the same jump scare over and over again that involves the characters popping up in front of the camera.  Any average horror director could have done that, and I expected more from Wingard.  Although he’s able to give the tension a bit of a boost in the third act, it doesn’t last for long as it has already become obvious how the movie is going to end.  In the future, Wingard should stay away from something as tired as the found-footage genre and display his talents in other fields of horror.

Final Grade: C-

Just an Ordinary Day, Until You Have to Become a Hero

Tom Hanks (left) and Aaron Eckhart in "Sully"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com 

Whenever you watch the news, it’s always uplifting to see a story about the heroism of those who dedicate their lives to protecting us, whether it be a soldier, firefighter, police officer, or any other kind of protective force.  However, once in a while, we’ll get a story about someone who was unexpectedly thrown into a situation wherein they didn’t have any idea they would be saving people that day.

This is something that director Clint Eastwood observes in his biographical drama, “Sully,” in which he tells the story of U.S. Airways pilot Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and the “Miracle on the Hudson” that occurred over seven years ago.  With a terrific lead performance from Tom Hanks and a respectful recreation of the events of that day, Eastwood offers a film that’s a fitting tribute to this inspirational true story.

On January 15, 2009, Captain Sullenberger (Hanks) and First Officer Jeffery Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) land their plane on the Hudson River shortly after experiencing dual-engine failure a few minutes into the flight, and all 155 people on board survive.  While the nation celebrates this averted disaster, the National Transportation Safety Board are convinced Sully could have made it back to the airport unharmed.  With Sully facing scrutiny from the NTSB and trying to deal with being the topic of every headline, he tries to convince his naysayers he did what was best for his crew and passengers.

Tom Hanks delivers a dramatic, yet appropriately subdued performance as Sullenberger.  Throughout the film, Hanks displays the humbleness of being an everyday hero, while also showing an unwavering sense of calm when the higher-ups disagree with how his character should have handled the situation.  He’s someone who’s trying to get some grasp of normalcy back into his life, all while keeping his composure for his family and in front of the media, letting Hanks exhibit a thorough portrayal of what it means to reluctantly be put under a microscope.  One of the best things Hanks exemplifies about his character is how much he cares for his passengers, such as asking for a headcount after the landing and inquiring about injured passengers as he’s getting treated in a hospital.  The genuine concern he shows for the safety of these individuals lets Hanks bring across his character’s compassion for others, making him the definition of someone who cares about those he serves.

The screenplay by Todd Kormarnicki, which is based on the memoir “Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters” by Sullenberger and the late Jeffrey Zaslow tends to be rather thin on material in the segments that revolve around what happened in the days following the landing.  Although it’s engaging to see Sully react to being thrown into the national spotlight, the movie could have benefitted from a slightly deeper look into who he was.  We get a couple of flashbacks of his previous experience as a pilot, but with the movie being just over 90 minutes, a bit of extra time with his background would have been interesting to see, as well little bit more focus on Sully’s wife, Lorraine (Laura Linney), who also has to deal with the press.

However, the scenes from the day of the landing offer several angles pertaining to the people who were involved with the event, including moments with the air-traffic control, the crew of a New York ferry, and the NYPD aviation unit.  This all provides a view of how everyone came together to help those who survived the ordeal.  However, what’s most important is how the film allows you to get to know some of the passengers, often focusing on a couple of groups of them for a bit in order to let you get a glimpse of the lives Sullenberger and Skiles saved.  

After more than 40 years of directing movies, Clint Eastwood shows he still has what it takes to tell an emotional story.  Even though the movie is meant to be an inspirational narrative, he’s able to keep the film from becoming overly sentimental because he allows the events themselves to do a fine job extracting the sensations of relief and elatedness you automatically feel by watching Sully and Skiles’ heroic landing.  And even though you know everyone makes it out of the landing okay, Eastwood is still able to provide a tense portrayal of the events because of those little scenes were we get invested in and feel for the passengers, and this is all blended with his ability to capture the apprehension in the cockpit and cabin of the plane, as well as the bravery of what was seen on the Hudson.

When Eastwood goes to the moments that examine Sully’s character, the quietness and intimateness of these scenes make the movie an interesting study of a person who is quickly thrown into breaking news.  As you pair Eastwood’s legacy of directing with the stature of an actor like Hanks, the story excels, even if it has a few narrative shortcomings.  And with “Sully,” Eastwood and Hanks show that heroism can come from anywhere.

Final Grade: B+

A Young Storyteller Has an Adventure as Fantastical as the Stories He Tells

Monkey (Charlize Theron), Kubo (Art Parkinson), and
Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) in "Kubo and the Two Strings"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com 

Over the years, Pixar and Studio Ghibli have been two of the top studios who have given animated films that both wowed us with their gorgeous visuals and offered thoughtful stories.  Because of this, it’s understandable if you may have forgotten about another animation studio that has given us a share of their own inventive films and deserves recognition, and that studio is Laika.  Since 2009 with their first film “Coraline,” Laika has created a handful of stop-motion animation films that are memorable in their own right.  After “Coraline,” they gave us “ParaNorman” in 2012 and “The Boxtrolls” in 2014.

They now gift us with their fourth film, “Kubo and the Two Strings.”  Directed by Travis Knight, who served as an animator for Laika’s past three films, the filmmaker and studio bring us the best animated film of the year so far with an emotional story, beautiful visuals, and enchantment in every frame.

Kubo (Art Parkinson) is a young boy who lives with his ill mother in a cave on top of a mountain in ancient Japan.  Every day, he walks down to the neighboring village to tell stories to its inhabitants by manipulating pieces of paper into origami with the magic and music of his shamisen.  However, Kubo is told by his mother to stay in their home at night, or else his grandfather, the Moon King, will comes down and harm him.  One night, when Kubo is out late at a festival, the Moon King destroys his village.  Afterwards, Kubo wakes up in an unknown land and finds he is accompanied by Monkey (Charlize Theron), and later, a beetle-like humanoid named Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), who’s a samurai.  The group soon begins a quest to find three ancient pieces of armor that will help Kubo defeat the Moon King once and for all.

The three central characters make for a very colorful trio and are a lot of fun to watch.  Kubo is an energetic storyteller with the heart of a warrior, and watching him venture out into the world gives you a thrilling and emotional view of his coming-of-age journey.  Charlize Theron proves to be a superb choice for Monkey, with a voice that’s authoritative, protective, and full of wisdom, yet still manages to be funny in her deadpan delivery of the film’s more comedic dialogue.  Although Matthew McConaughey’s character acts as the film’s main source of comic relief, Beetle still manages to be a brave fighter who will do what he can to help Monkey guide Kubo on his journey.

The screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler offers a story that has an engrossing fairy-tale quality, offering us a sense of wonderment during the whole of the protagonist’s adventure.  Throughout the film,  Kubo, Monkey, and Beetle have scenes that involve them fighting monsters, exploring unknown lands, and transitioning into heroes, all of which help craft this film into an epic for all ages.  

With Kubo being a storyteller, we see his audience in the beginning being enraptured with his exciting tales as he tells them to the village, and we sit in the theater and mirror this sentiment as we become drawn into Kubo’s tales.  Similar to the villagers listening to Kubo’s fables, we’re eager to know what will happen next, and with all of the thrilling events that occur in the film, there isn’t any shortage of that feeling.

Because Travis Knight has a history with Laika, he’s able to use his experience with the studio to bring a visually and narratively beautifully film to life.  With all of the detail that goes into the animation, you can tell there was an abundance of dedication from the crew to make a film we will remember.  As you watch “Kubo and the Two Strings,” you can just sit back and lose yourself in the action, emotion, and humor as you cap off the summer-movie season with this example of stunning big-screen magic.

Final Grade: A