This
is Movie Night!
Hello and welcome to Movie Night, YouTube's #1 movie review show, I'm your host, Jonathan
Paula.
Tonight we'll be reviewing three brand new films currently playing in theaters, beginning
with "42"
This biographical sports drama by director Brian Helgeland was released on April 12,
2013 - and already grossed back its $40 million dollar budget, breaking the opening weekend
record for a baseball movie.
Sharing the remarkable, and real-life story of Major League Baseball's first black ballplayer,
this 128 minute feature follows the rookie year of Jackie Robison - played brilliantly
with subtly and determination by Chadwick Boseman, in his first starring role.
Opening with a quick history lesson, we're immediately transported back to a meticulously
recreated 1940's-era Brooklyn: from the costumes, music, cars, and dialects.
Appearing in his first supporting role since 1988's "Working Girl", Harrison Ford delivers
his best performance in years, playing the Dodger's general manager; a profit-seeking
equal opportunist who gruffly explains to Jackie, "I want a player with the guts not
to fight back."
Andre Holland, Christopher Meloni, Nicole Beharie and John C. McGinley as a fast-talking
broadcaster round out the supporting cast with immense talent.
Filmed with steady and traditional cinematography, the relaxed pace of the story recounts Robison's
struggles against the adversary of racism.
Thankfully, Boseman has the temper and patience to endure, especially in an emotional sequence
where he breakdowns under the enormous pressure.
Backed by the triumphant horns of Mark Isham's score, a very enjoyable cat-and-mouse sequence
has Boseman stealing his way around the infield during his first minor-league apperance.
Impressive visual effects seamlessly recreate the famed Ebbets Stadium in downtown Brooklyn,
much like the rest of the authentic scenery.
Reducing its dramatic effectiveness, the film unfortunately bogs down and repeats itself
during the middle.
The story behind the only number retired by all of baseball is certainly an important
one: representing a turning point during a dark part of American history - one that shares
many parallel's with today's headlines concerning the first possible gay player in professional
sports.
An educational and entertaining experience for sports fans, or otherwise: this bio-pic
is definitely worth seeing once.
Containing all of the shining moments of a great period piece, but hampered by the pitfalls
of your average sports picture, this is an interesting, inspirational, and well-acted
movie: but rarely a unique or impressive one.
"42", "Not quite a home run."
Now lets see what you had to say in the YouTube comments.
Our scores for "42" on the rate-o-matic... an EIGHT and a SEVEN.
Calling it inspirational and faithful to the real-life story, but a bit unfinished and
predictable, you rated this a GREAT.
I definitely enjoyed this picture, but a lot of it was mostly forgettable, I thought it
was COOL.
Now, from a story that takes place 65 years in the past to one that takes place 65 years
in the future, lets review "Oblivion"
This Joseph Kosinski science-fiction mystery film was released nationwide on April 19,
2013 - and quickly recouped its 120-million dollar budget.
The second feature from the Tron: Legacy director is similarly a visual masterpiece: the imagery
of a desolate war-torn Earth, with the remnants of a ruined lunar rock circling in orbit are
beautiful and stunning.
An intriguing cold open narrated by leading man Tom Cruise introduces us to the year 2077:
where mankind attempts to rebuild off-planet, while he and Andrea Riseborough stay behind
as the "mop up crew", lamenting on the outcome of a violent alien invasion: "We won the war...
no we have to leave."
The age-less Cruise is endearing, charming, and entertaining as the last man on Earth;
convincingly demonstrating emotional range even in the thickest of action sequences,
or when he's questioning his very existence.
His on-screen chemistry with Riseborough falls entirely flat though, which although a product
of the story itself, made an early love-making scene in a floating swimming pool less romantic
than it could have been.
Without giving much away, the PG-13 dystopian story also features Olga Kurylenko, Morgan
Freeman, and Melissa Leo in supporting roles: and although they're all great, I'd be lying
if I said their performances were memorable.
While Tom surveys oceans of dirt for broken drones in his extremely sleek space ship,
the mood is hopeful and nostalgic, yet it remains consistently haunting.
The original, and atmospheric score by electronic pop band M83 is a loud and ominous one...
beating like a heartbeat as our hero outruns a pack of scavengers in a destroyed, underground
library.
As the mystery broods during this 124-minute adventure, many of the major plot twists and
reveals aren't very surprising - especially if you've seen Duncan Jones' "Moon" - a sci-picture
I reviewed here on Movie Night with an extremely similar setup.
As fascinating as it is, the story here really is the weakest component: overshadowed by
marvelous effects and thrilling action sequences: particularly a flying drone chase through
a rocky canyon littered with waterfalls.
Famous New York landmarks are visited, but their state of decay after 60-years seems
curiously uneven from place to place: MetLife stadium is all but gone, but the telescopes
on the Empire State Building are in pristine shape.
And why does Tom's fancy sky-mansion have three chairs in the dinning room?
Plot holes aside: this is a slow-paced experience that blends inspiration from "Beneath The
Planet Of The Apes", "Independence Day", "2001", and the aforementioned "Moon" - resulting
in a fun and attractive picture that isn't nearly as intelligent as it set out to be.
"Oblivion", "Beautiful visuals, but rarely engaging."
Now let's check out what you had to say in the YouTube comments.
Our scores for "Oblivion": two SEVENs.
Mixed opinions here, and many faulted the plot for being dull, complicated and familiar,
while unanimous praise was given to the breathtaking visuals, ranking it COOL.
While the music and effects were top-caliber, it's a shame the story puttered along with
unoriginal elements.
I thought it was COOL as well.
Tom Cruise has had a very prolific 30-year career, so for tonight's poll question - what's
your favorite film he's done?
Top Gun, Risky Business, The Firm, A Few Good Men, Mission Impossible, Minority Report?
Leave your response as a comment below.
Lastly tonight, let's discuss "Pain & Gain"
Amazingly based on a true story, this Michael Bay action-dark comedy-crime film was released
on April 26, 2013 - and at a cost of $25 million is Bay's cheapest feature since his debut
effort, "Bad Boys" in 1995.
Playing a gang of muscle bound gym rats eager to move up in the world by kidnapping Tony
Shalhoub's poor character - Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie star as
bumbling idiot knuckleheads, whose reach far exceeds their grasp.
Wahlberg's acting ability is notoriously inconsistent: he's pitch-perfect in this film though: playing
a personal trainer in Miami, turned ambitious criminal, declaring in an early voice-over,
"the way you prove yourself is to better yourself".
Meanwhile, Johnson delivers a supremely entertaining role as a born-again softie struggling with
a cocaine addiction: it's a huge departure for his action-centric roles, and he absolutely
kills it.
Mackie continues to make a name for himself as well: bouncing from sadistic criminal to
caring husband effortlessly in his supporting role.
Shalhoub, Rebel Wilson, Rob Corddry, and Ed Harris are similarly memorable in their smaller
roles: each brining to life very specific, and decently developed identities.
The story, set in 1995, is told via Bay's trademark fast and flashy style - mashing
together dolly moves, jerky handheld, Dutch angles, wide shots, over-saturated colors,
slow-motion, and extreme close-ups with almost reckless abandon.
Although this otherwise quickly-paced picture loses a great deal of its urgency and tension
for the middle hour, a scene where the trio hastily attempt to cover-up a crime scene
with an impromptu trip to Home Depot is morbidly fun - playing out like a twisted adaptation
of "The Three Stooges".
Backed by a generic score from Steve Jablonsky that wisely incorporates some classic rock
stapes.
Indeed, some of the film's best scenes, like when Johnson is literally grilling a pair
of severed hands on a portable grill while the "Rolling Stones" blares, play out like
a poor man's Goodfellas, or Scarface... if Tony Montana was a steroid-popping idiot,
anyway.
Lined with a sick sense of humor, the R-rated movie uses everything from testicles, oversized
dildos, and breast milk for punch lines: which helps maintains a light mood, despite the
violent subject material.
Cross-cutting multiple narrations between the complex characters, it's difficult to
identify a clear-cut hero or villain in this story, but despite his law-breaking practices,
audiences shouldn't have any issue rooting for Wahlberg to out-run the police in the
end.
As many twists and turns as this film takes however, it's impossible to fault it for being
unrealistic or familiar, and I certainly wouldn't mind watching it at again.
"Pain & Gain", "Dark, unique, fascinating, and funny."
Now for my score on rate-o-matic... an EIGHT.
Over the years, Michael Bay has gained a reputation for crafting content to appease the lowest,
dumbest common denominator: and while aspects of that hold true here, this was a surprisingly
fresh and entertaining picture with plenty of laughs and excitement.
If you're a fan of his other films, you'll definitely enjoy this one.
And if you not, this wouldn't be a bad place to start.
I thought it was GREAT.
Finally tonight, let's check out some of your Tweet Critiques.
If you see a new movie in theaters, Tweet your review with the #JPMN hashtag to have
it featured on the show.
Next week, in honor of "Star Wars Day", also known as May 4th -- I'll finally give a proper,
and thorough review of that entire saga.
And since we've already covered "The Phantom Menace", this seems like a perfect time to
watch the films in the so-called "Machete" order -- you start with "A New Hope" and "Empire
Strikes Back" - preserving the introduction and splendor of the originals, as well as
their plot twists - then you watch "Attack Of The Clones" and "Revenge Of The Sith",
as a sort of two-film flashback, which, when watched after the originals, ensures the jump
to computer effects isn't as jarring.
Finally, we finish our movie marathon with the its proper conclusion, "Return Of The
Jedi".
It's an interesting viewing-experiment that maintains the magic of the series in the best
possible order, but I encourage you to check out the link below, and read up on the analytic
theories behind why this concept works.
Star Wars is an all-time favorite of mine, so I'm really looking forward to this special:
but it doesn't work without your input, so please vote in the polls below, and/or leave
a comment review.
And check out the Movie Night Archive channel for exclusive trailer commentaries, and an
organized library of all our past reviews.
Once again, my name is Jonathan Paula - thank you for watching Movie Night, I hope to see
you, right back here for the next Friday!