Movie Review Mother

Mother (2017) 

Directed by Darren Aronofsky 

Written by Darren Aronofsky 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer 

Release Date September 15, 2017 

Published September 14th, 2017 

I can’t decide if Mother(!) is Darren Aronofsky’s way of pleasuring himself on screen or if it is a legitimate work of art simply out of the grasp of my pea brain. The film has some seemingly obvious metaphors but they are metaphors that are so blatant that your brain fights the idea that they could be so simple to untangle. At least we can all agree that Mother(!) is a pretentious as all get out work of an egotist artist who’s either far too oblique for his own good or a complete troll.

Mother(!) is the title character played by Jennifer Lawrence who opens the film completely engulfed in flames before waking up in bed. Was it a dream? Stick around, the movie has a little something for you on that later. Mother and her writer husband, played by Javier Bardem, are living in an idyllic old home that has been recovered from a fire. This unique home sits in the middle of a field or perhaps a ‘garden,’ one might call it Eden-like.

The idyll of their country home is upended by the arrival of a snake-like gentleman, played by a skinny, leathery, Ed Harris, who claims to be one of the Husband’s biggest fans. Considering there is no place to stay for miles around they allow the man to spend the night. Then the next day his wife arrives played by Michelle Pfeiffer followed by their warring children played by Domnhall and Brian Gleeson who set about acting out a version of Cane and Abel inside these strangers’ home.

This portion of the film ends with a funeral and a finale in which Mother accuses her husband of not wanting to have sex with her to which he replies with what begins as attempted rape and then becomes a brief sex scene leading to a bizarre reveal and an even more bizarre final act of the film that I will leave you to discover on your own. The portentousness of the reveal is kind of fun and exciting but that pay off was a deal breaker for me, I was pretty much done with Mother(!) at this point and there was still a whole act of full on madness to come.

The lead up to the sex scene in Mother(!) basically states that a woman who is angry or unhappy with her husband to the point where she’s ready to leave him can be satisfied with a good sexing. This, to me, is such a gross and simplistic notion, so remarkably, ludicrously sexist that it seems like a provocation just to get that accusation. Unfortunately, Mother (!) doesn’t offer any rebuttal to this idea. Lawrence’s Mother is ready to leave her husband for not loving her, he attempts to take her by force, she eventually acquiesces because his forcefulness is a turn-on and the movie moves on. There is no attempt to satirize this notion, it is merely presented and that, for me, knocked me out of the movie.

Read my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. 

Movie Review No Hard Feelings

No Hard Feelings (2023) 

Directed by Gene Stupnitsky

Written by Gene Stupnitsky 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Natalie Morales, Matthew Broderick 

Release Date June 23rd, 2023 

Published June 23rd, 2023 

No Hard Feelings is absolutely hysterical. Starring Jennifer Lawrence as a struggling Uber driver trying to save her home after losing her car to an asset seizure, the film takes raunchy comedy on a ride that never stops being hilariously funny. As Maddie Barker, Lawrence finds herself in danger of losing her home unless she can find a way to get a new car fast. That's when serendipity strikes. A bizarre post online offers hope in a very unexpected way. A rich family is offering an older but still good looking mid-sized Sedan for a strange but reasonable price. 

What makes it strange? The price is dating the family's teenage son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman). And by date, Percy's parents, Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison (Laura Benanti), mean having sex with him. Helicopter parents to the extreme. As Laird explains, he had an experience when he was Percy's age that changed his life, brought him out of his shell, and led him to become rich, successful, and now happily married. He hopes that his son having a similar experience, even if it is paid for, will have the same effect on him. 

If this premise is a problem for you, then this movie is not for you. No Hard Feelings is uncompromising in the opinion that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Maddie trading sex for a vehicle. She's a grown woman who is in charge of her body and her decisions and she has no problem doing what she needs to do to save her childhood home. We live in a deeply screwed up version of capitalism that leads to this type of situation, one in which the poor have to fight for the scraps of the very, very rich by any means necessary, but this movie isn't about that, at least not directly. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Causeway

Causeway (2022) 

Directed by Lila Neugebauer 

Written by Elzabeth Sanders, Luke Goebel, Ottessa Moshfegh 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Bryan Tyree Henry, Linda Emond 

Release Date November 4th, 2022 

Published October 29th, 2022 

Apple TV 

12 minutes 49 seconds into Causeway... 

What have we learned?  Jennifer Lawrence is a former soldier dealing with PTSD. Having been shipped home to recover she'd entered a halfway house facility and was cared for by Sharon, a nurse. We don't know exactly what the nature of Lynsey's injuries are. We don't see any physical scars. We see her unable to walk at first. We see Sharon having to help her do tasks such as use the bathroom. We see her going through physical therapy and learning to walk again. 

And, before she leaves Sharon's care, Lynsey is running again and has recovered her physical capacity to the point where she thinks she's ready to redeploy. Sharon tells her to slow down. At the point where we have stopped, Lynsey is leaving rehab with Sharon and will be returning to her hometown. She claims that her mother will be picking her up at the bus station and that her brother may or may not be around as well. 

In terms of the filmmaking, director Lila Neugebauer favors dark, naturalistic interiors. The darkness of the cinematography is a visual companion to the darkness of Lynsey's mental state. Thus, when seen jogging and driving a car, and seeming happy, the lighting of the scenes is brighter, sun peeking through clouds, if you don't mind the metaphor. On the bus however, as Lynsey is riding home, we are back in the dark interior. Rain on the bus window, no lights on inside the bus, deep black shadows surrounding Lynsey as she takes a pill and darkness dominates the scene despite the fact that she's seated next to a window. 

Is 12 minutes 49 second long enough to be considered an opening act or do we have to wait a little longer to make that determination? These 12 minutes and 49 seconds are important to establishing who Lynsey is and what she's struggling with but are they merely exposition? They do seem to lack energy, though I can't imagine how one might get energy into such scenes. I'm curious but not wholly satisfied with the start of Causeway. 

Lethargy is part of Causeway but I don't mean that as a negative. Indeed, the tone matches the setting, a hot New Orleans summer. Lynsey gets a job as a pool cleaner and the hard work and sweat, paired with how generally tired Lynsey's brain injury has left her, the lethargy makes sense, it's part of the story. It also creates a tone of struggle and catharsis that presents physically while building to the emotional catharsis. 

Click here for my full length review at Geeks.Media. 

Movie Review Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playlist (2012) 

Directed by David O. Russell

Written by David O. Russell

Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jackie Weaver, Chris Tucker

Release Date November 16th, 2012 

Published November 15th, 2012 

Manic people can change the temperature of any room they are in with their mood. Not literally of course, but anyone who's been in a room with a manic personality has experienced the unbelievable warmth and good humor that moments later becomes an icy cold stare based on something only the manic personality is aware of.

The dramatic comedy "Silver Linings Playbook," written and directed by David O. Russell is the rare film to capture this unique change in temperature. Bradley Cooper's Patrick is a manic personality whose mood swings seem to control the very atmosphere of any room he inhabits.

White Knuckle Determination

Pat was once just a chubby Philadelphia schoolteacher with a struggling marriage and a mental illness he kept in check through white-knuckle determination. That determination was not enough to keep Pat from nearly murdering the man whom he caught having sex with his wife in his own home when he came home from work early one day.

Cut to eight months later and Pat is being released from a mental institution. Pat's mother Dolores has, against doctor's orders, decided to take legal responsibility for him and bring him home. Unfortunately for Dolores, Pat has no interest in following the rules of his release, including taking his meds and seeing a shrink. Instead, Pat intends to get in shape and win back his wife; regardless of the restraining order she has against him.

Manic, Filter-less, Motormouth

Pat's plan is altered greatly by the introduction of Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a manic personality in her own right, though not nearly as volatile as Pat. Tiffany's manic nature comes from the sudden death of her husband. Months of having people step lightly around her and her problems, Tiffany finds Pat's manic, filter-less motor-mouth refreshing.

Tiffany then sets her heart on winning Pat over. Here is where writer-director David O. Russell really begins to get comfortable with this story. The first 30 to 35 minutes of the film he establishes Pat's nature via his relationship with his parents, Dolores, the cheerleader and his father Pat Sr. (Robert DeNiro), who's own anxieties are a clear influence on Pat's nature.

A Lively, Strange Romance

Once Pat and Tiffany become the center of the story "Silver Linings Playbook" becomes a lively, strange romance with the off-beat rhythm of Russell's under-appreciated "I Heart Huckabees" and the rom-com warmth of his oddball romance "Flirting with Disaster." One can also see the commercial influence of Russell's greatest hit, the Academy Award nominated "The Fighter," in the late moments of "Silver Linings Playbook" and the combination is thrilling to watch.

"Silver Linings Playbook" is the perfect David O. Russell movie. The characters are a reflection of his interests, flawed, struggling human beings striving to be better while often standing in their own way. Pat strives toward what he calls a 'Silver Lining' and it is a credit to Russell that this aphorism is never really explained and only means something to Pat.

Appealing and Entertaining

Bradley Cooper's performance in "Silver Linings Playbook" can easily be overlooked. Much of Pat's manic personality is expressed through Russell's camerawork and the brilliant classic rock score that feels as if it is emerging from Pat's fevered mind. That said, it's Cooper who has to convince you fully of Pat's volatile qualities as wells as his relatable, lovable qualities and he does that in a most appealing and entertaining way.

Cooper is aided greatly by a generous performance by Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence. We find a strange sort of balance in Pat when he's with Tiffany and while we recognize it immediately, it's exciting to watch Pat slowly realize it throughout the rest of the movie. These two damaged souls are perfect together and unlike so many romantic comedy pairings, that perfection isn't forced into being but allowed time to breath and build.

The Return of Robert DeNiro

Add Robert DeNiro's finest work in years and you have quite a remarkable movie. Over the last decade, I had come to believe that DeNiro was coasting on his own legend. Watching some of DeNiro's recent work you see an actor not fully engaged, an old man too tired to do the work needed to transcend the way he did as a younger, fresher and more committed performer.

Something in the direction of David O. Russell lit a fire under DeNiro in "Silver Linings Playbook" and for the first time since maybe "Goodfellas" that twinkle in DeNiro's eye is more than just the memory of his past greatness. The passion and energy that DeNiro brings to Pat Sr. matches the volatility and sadness of Cooper's manic character and the father son dynamic they create is both awkward and illuminating.

Director and Character Unite

It's easy to suggest that "Silver Linings Playbook" comes from a very personal place for David O. Russell. Outside of his writing and directing Russell is known for his volatility with actors and critics. It's easy to speculate that Russell finds something of himself in the character of Pat and it gives him an insight into the character that others may not have. It would be foolish to diagnose Russell manic or bi-polar from afar but the evidence presented in "Silver Linings Playbook" indicates an insight others don't have.

Were Russell to share a degree of Pat's illness it would only serve to deepen the film's final act. As Pat finds something akin to peace, maturity and perspective, so has Russell seemed to gain something similar over the arc of his career. "Spanking the Monkey," "Flirting with Disaster,"Three Kings" and "I Heart Huckabees" were made by an uncompromising artist committed to a very specific vision and willing to physically defend that vision. Then, after reaching his most volatile with 'Huckabees,' a new perspective and maturity took hold and led to "The Fighter," his greatest success.

"Silver Linings Playbook" has the best of both of David O. Russell's worlds. The vision that made Russell an artist and the maturity that made him successful. The parallel journey of director and character in "Silver Linings Playbook" is remarkable to watch and part of what makes this one of the best movies of 2012.

Movie Review: X-Men First Class

X-Men First Class 

Directed by Matthew Vaughn 

Written by Matthew Vaughn, Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman 

Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, 

Release Date June 1st, 2011 

Published May 29th, 2011 

It's not a reboot or a re-imagination. Nor is it a sequel. "X-Men: The First Class" is that rare breed known as the prequel, a recap of events set prior to a previous story. In this case fans of the 'X-Men' movies get to go back in time and see where Professor X and Magneto came from and why they developed into mortal enemies.

A Traumatic and Dramatic Childhood

"X-Men: The First Class" takes us back to 1942 and recalls for us, as previous 'X-Men' installments have, Erik Lehnsherr's torturous childhood in which he survived a Nazi death camp. We've seen what happened when his parents were torn away from him, 'The First Class' shows us what happened next and the traumatic experience that created the monster Magneto.

Meanwhile, also in 1942, a young Charles Xavier, tucked safely away in his parents' upstate New York palace, begins to discover his talent for reading minds. It's a trick that comes in handy when a burglar somehow invades the home pretending to be Charles's mother. The intruder is actually a young mutant named Raven but we will come to know her as the assassin Mystique.

Erik Lehnsherr Nazi Hunter

Cut to 20 years later, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is a Nazi hunter torturing and killing his way up a list of Nazis on the run on his way to his long time tormenter, Dr. Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon.) Naturally, his search leads to Argentina, often thought of as a haven for ex-Nazis, and a scene for the former "Inglorious Basterd" Fassbender that evokes a little violent, Tarentino nostalgia, with the gore dialed down just a tad.

Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and his adopted sister Raven (Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence) are together at Oxford when Charles is approached by a CIA Agent named Moira (Rose Byrne) who accidentally stumbled across Dr. Shaw and his assistant, a telepath named Emma Frost (January Jones), plotting the start of World War 3 and a worldwide nuclear annihilation that only mutants could survive.

A Nod to the Faithful Fanboys

It would take far too long to detail what comes next with the discovery other mutants and their powers and the founding of the first X-Men team and to be honest, none of the young mutants is remotely as interesting as Professor X, Mystique or Magneto. This is their origin story and it doesn't help that of the other mutants in 'First Class' only Beast plays a role in the sequels and that is only a minor role.

The main flaw of "X-Men: The First Class" is too many characters and not enough interesting things to do with them. Director Matthew Vaughn in a nod of faithfulness to X-Men comic book fans, I'm guessing, has kept these peripheral young mutants in the story because they were part of the first troop of X-Men in the comic but the reality of the movie is, these kids only seem to get in the way of the action and bloat the film's run time to a butt-numbing two hours and 25 minutes.

Putting aside the film's flabbiness, there are enough effective scenes and compelling performances in X-Men: The First Class for me to recommend it. I mentioned earlier Fassbender's scene in Argentina, an effective and exciting bit of violence. Also excellent is the scene of Kevin Bacon's malevolent Dr. Shaw forcing young Erik to use his talent through torture and the astonishing aftermath of his cruelty.

McAvoy and Fassbender

Those and just about every scene between James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender elevate "X-Men: The First Class" above many other comic book movies. When these two exceptional actors stare each other down the air around them is charged, even during a friendly exchange. McAvoy's Professor X and Fassbender's Magneto are so perfectly matched that a whole movie of them talking to each other about revenge, morality and murder could be worth the price of a ticket.

I am recommending "X-Men: The First Class" for McAvoy and Fassbender and for the terrific atmosphere of early sixties paranoia and excitement created by director Matthew Vaughn. Yes, Vaughn should have been a little less faithful to the fanboys and spent a little more time in the editing bay but what he captured in the history of the 'X-Men' movie universe and in the relationship between McAvoy and Fassbender is really really terrific and highly compelling.

Movie Review: Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone (2010) 

Directed by Deborah Granik 

Written by Deborah Granik, Anne Rosselini 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Sheryl Lee, Tate Taylor 

Release Date June 11th, 2010 

Published July 4th, 2010

In the meth soaked outer reaches of the Ozarks, where cable TV and cell phones are out of reach, there lives a culture that remembers the Hatfields and McCoys not as cartoon caricatures but as blood relatives. Blood has mixed beyond where it likely ever should have in this area creating some uncomfortable familial bonds but the barriers that exist between families are still deeply protected and immersed in this conflict through birth is Ree (Jennifer Lawrence).

Ree Dolly has spent most of her 17 years trying to ignore the drug addled world around her. Ree lives day to day struggling to survive in a world without money or the comforts that money can bring. She lives by charity and wit; the gifts of a loving neighbor are accepted not with bruised pride but with a grateful resignation while when charity is not forthcoming hunting squirrels is a proper alternative.

This could be Ree's life for good until she meets the right meth cooking dealer and settles into her own life of addiction and solitude. No time to think about the future however as Ree has problems in the present. Her meth dealing dad has put their house on the line to get out of jail and has now gone missing. The law informs Ree that if dad does not show up for court the house will be taken away as collateral for his bond.

Now it's up to Ree to search the deep black heart of the Ozarks forest for her missing father all the while overturning stones that many don't want turned over. What begins as an impoverished character study evolves into an odd detective story where an amateur gumshoe stumbles into trouble investigating a crime that no one wants to see solved but them.

“Winter's Bone” holds a good deal of fascination throughout its 100 minute run time. Star Jennifer Lawrence gives Ree a hard won determination that captures the audience and holds it enthralled and in support John Hawkes delivers a character with born to lose tattooed on his very soul. Hawkes plays Ree's meth addicted uncle Teardrop and brings such an authenticity to this raw souled wretch that you feel his every appearance on screen like sandpaper on your skin.

Writer-director Deborah Granik captures these performances beautifully and matches the stark portrayals to her stark visual style in a marriage of overwhelming ugly truth. The muted colors match the muted wants of the characters in its desolation. Ree’s motivation is simple and straightforward, she just wants to not be homeless, as are the motivations of the people preventing her from what she seeks.

The background, the decaying trees and icy, windblown exteriors of home and pick-up truck alike match the lives of these characters in both their simplicity and minimalism. These characters aren’t going anywhere and are resigned to that fact but Ree at least will make the most of what little she has. Ree’s sad existence beyond this pseudo-detective story is communicated in devastating fashion by the barren surroundings. This will likely be the only important thing Ree ever does and the downcast settings underline that fact and give the film an all encompassing melancholy.

Yes, “Winter’s Bone” is as bleak as my description but that does not prevent it from being a gripping story told with exquisite skill and determination. Jennifer Lawrence is a revelation while John Hawkes has been an actor on the edge of a breakthrough as a character actor guaranteed to one day win Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. This might just be his year and indeed Ms. Lawrence’s as well.

Movie Review Like Crazy

Like Crazy (2011) 

Directed by Drake Doremus 

Written by Drake Doremus 

Starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence 

Release Date October 28th, 2011 

Published November 12th, 2011 

My eyes welled up with tears when I first saw the trailer for the indie romance "Like Crazy." So, if even a jaded film critic can be this deeply affected by a movie trailer it's fair to imagine that this must be one terrific movie right? Wrong. "Like Crazy" is a mumbling, stumbling, indie bore-a-thon about two exceptionally uninteresting people going through one of the least interesting romances of the year.

Don't ignore your visa

Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) met at college when she left a note on the windshield of his car. She writes lovely poetry and he draws pretty pictures and together they have a chance to be a pretty couple doing pretty things. Jacob even makes pretty furniture for a living while Anna, in the US on a visa that's near expiration, is studying to become a writer. That expiring visa is an important plot point as are the vagaries of US immigration post-9/11 so pay attention.

Long distance relationship

As Jacob and Anna fall madly in love she decides to blow off the fact that her visa has expired and stays an extra three months to be with Jacob. It's Anna's suggestion that they spend the summer in bed and a cute, chaste montage shows them doing exactly that until Anna must leave the country for a family matter. Having overstayed her visa Anna is prevented from returning to America. The two lovebirds try to do the long distance relationship thing but this is a universe that is apparently devoid of Skype and the ability to figure out time zones and so they continually miss each other's calls.

Hey look, it's Jennifer Lawrence

Eventually, Jacob and Anna give up and start seeing other people. At about the 45 minute mark of "Like Crazy" Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence pops up, seemingly from another movie, and for a moment things improve. It's as if the producers realized the film was getting stale and shoved Lawrence in front of the camera to save the day. It doesn't work; Lawrence's Sam is a sweetheart who with great effort falls for Yelchin's banal romantic lead but she can't compete with the memory of Anna who Jacob runs back to and marries before giving up again after just a few months.

Soul sucking banality

Watching "Like Crazy" is like being trapped in an elevator with a pair of angst-riddled hipsters attempting to overcome apathy long enough to actually break up. Will their effort lead to a resolution? I will leave you to discover that you should go against my recommendation and suffer your way through "Like Crazy." After watching the remarkable trailer for "Like Crazy" I was convinced that this could be the 2011 version of "Once;" a modest, heart-aches little indie romance that converses with our romantic souls. Then I saw the movie and I felt my soul being sucked from body by the utter banality of "Like Crazy."

A winner at Sundance

In fairness, maybe the expectations I placed on "Like Crazy" were too high. I have never before been choked up by a trailer and I allowed that fact to color my opinion of the film. With that said, the film was still a disappointment, a boring, full of itself master-class of indie self-indulgence. "Like Crazy" was a big winner at the Sundance Film Festival. If that makes you want to check it out don't say I didn't warn you. This is one of those movies where the disconnect between the festival audience and the general audience is vast.

Movie Review Passengers

Passengers (2016) 

Directed Morten Tyldum 

Written by John Spaihts 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Ray Liotta, Michael Sheen 

Release Date December 21st, 2016 

Published December 20th, 2016 

I really wanted to like Passengers, the new sci-fi adventure starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. I am a big fan of both Pratt and Lawrence, each of whom are veterans of the blockbuster genre having starred in Guardians of the Galaxy and The Hunger Games respectively. Unfortunately, Passengers sticks Pratt and Lawrence with one majorly flawed story choice that even their charm cannot overcome. 

Chris Pratt, dialing back on his usual Chris Pratt schtick to a welcome degree, plays Jim Spencer, a mechanic who has signed up to travel to a new space colony, a journey that is supposed to last 120 years. Jim is supposed to be in hibernation during the entire trip but a malfunction wakes him up after only 30 years. Alone, Jim at first tries to get his sleeping pod working again. When that fails he begins to get a tad stir crazy. 

With a robot bartender named Arthur (Michael Sheen) as his only friend, Jim begins to think about doing something terrible, waking up another passenger. He even has his eye on one in particular, Aurora, played by Jennifer Lawrence. After reading her file in the ship's archives, Jim begins to fall for Aurora but he knows that waking her up is basically a death sentence. 

I won't tell you whether it is Jim or some other circumstance that leads to it, but, indeed Aurora is awakened and after a short while of rehashing Jim's failed attempts at restarting the sleep pods, she resigns herself to Jim as her only companion and the two begin developing a relationship. Naturally, their idyll will have to be disrupted and when another pod fails we begin to find out just how much trouble our heroes are in for. 

The major flaw of Passengers is one that could have easily been avoided. A simple rewrite of the script, one simple decision by the writer or director, and a major flaw could have been corrected. Unfortunately, Director Morton Tyldum apparently preferred the forced and predictable drama of this flawed choice over something more satisfying and less damaging to one of our main characters. 

Sorry to have to dance around the problem so much but I don't feel it is my place to spoil this movie for people who still want to give it a chance. The film does still have two incredibly appealing leads and they are beautiful to look at, especially when they begin to fall for each other. There are other positives as well such as Michael Sheen's robot supporting player and the ship sets which have both a modern gleam and an old school Kubrickian-sci-fi majesty to them. 

In the end, Passengers is not a bad movie, just one that is ruined by one silly, kinda creepy, poor storytelling decision that leads to a lot of false, unnecessary and predictable melodrama, all of which could have been easily avoided. This movie could have played out in much the same way that it does without this one stupid plot contrivance.

Movie Review: Dark Phoenix

Dark Phoenix (2019) 

Directed by Simon Kinberg

Written by Simon Kinberg 

Starring Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence

Release Date June 7th, 2019 

Published June 6th, 2019

Dark Phoenix sadly, isn’t very good in the end. This latest adventure in the X-Men franchise has some quite good moments but the film fails in the end to sustain the good in the face of the bad. Former X-Men screenwriter and producer Simon Kinberg nails a few of the emotional beats, especially the bits about family, but his lack of experience with special effects and his often overly earnest beats are cringeworthy. 

Dark Phoenix picks up the story of the X-Men with the world in a form of detente between humanity and mutant-kind. The goals of Dr Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) have seemingly been achieved and mutants are allowed to live freely and thrive within society. Charles himself, even has a direct line to the President of the United States. Things look quite rosy indeed, even if Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) remains uneasy about the current peace. 

The story kicks in when the space shuttle gets trapped in some sort of energy field in space and slowly begins to be torn apart. The X-Men are called upon to save the astronauts on board and while Mystique finds the mission to be far too big a risk, she goes along with it for the good of the team. Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), senses her friend’s unease but heeds the call of Dr X anyway as lives are on the line and time is short. 

In space, the astronauts appear saved by the X-Men until they realize they had forgotten one of them. In returning to the space shuttle Jean Grey is able to provide the chance for the astronaut and her fellow X-Men to escape but finds herself engulfed by this bizarre and explosive energy form. Despite the power of this energy, Jean is able to absorb it and keep the rest of the X-Men from being harmed. That she emerges seemingly unscathed only serves to set up our real plot. 

Aliens. Yes, aliens are the real plot of Dark Phoenix. Why aliens? Only director Simon Kinberg and a few comic book fans know for sure. All I can say is, this is one of the many missteps of Dark Phoenix. There is zero need for aliens in this plot. Not one bit of the alien baddie played by multiple time Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain, is necessary to the plot of Dark Phoenix. The aliens are perfunctory and dull villains that even Jessica Chastain cannot render intriguing. 

The problem here is that Dark Phoenix already had a really great villain: Jean Grey. The desire to not allow Jean to be the big bad of Dark Phoenix is a huge failure. There is no need for aliens, Jean has all of the conflict, all of the power-mad vengeance, all of the deeply personal demons to explore. Make Jean Grey become consumed by Phoenix, let her wreak havoc and divide the X-Men into factions of Jean needs to be stopped for the good of the world and Jean is not really bad and can be reasoned with. 

That plot has all of the complex emotions necessary for a strong dramatic arc. Have Nicholas Hoult’s Beast join forces with Michael Fassbender’s Magneto in the kill Jean side of the argument and have Charles and Cyclops on the ‘there is still good in Jean’ sde of the argument and see where this plot goes from there. Chastain and her alien buddies merely muddy the water and get in the way. The plot does not need them and the superfluous nature of these unneeded villains drags down Dark Phoenix. 

The other thing that prevents Dark Phoenix from soaring are some seriously silly looking special effects. The effects in Dark Phoenix are rubbery and exist on the wrong side of the uncanny valley. The effect that allows Lawrence’s Mystique and Hoult’s Beast, to morphe endlessly from human and mutant comes off as cheesy in Dark Phoenix. The effect looks like something Windows Paint might have produced in the early part of this decade. 

I realize that Dark Phoenix is set in 1992 but that doesn’t mean the special effects have to look like 1992. Our eyes and our expectations for CGI and practical effects have become more keen, jaded, desirous of things that make a movie appear seamless. Dark Phoenix is far from seamless. The rubbery texture of the effects of Dark Phoenix make the movie look low rent and, at times, make the movie look like a parody of itself. 

I’ve been awfully hard on Dark Phoenix so let’s wrap up by talking about a few of the good things about Dark Phoenix. I really enjoyed the backstory and the developing traumas of Jean Grey. Sophie Turner has come a long way from her rough and uneven performance in X-Men Apocalypse. Given a meaty role to chew on in Dark Phoenix, Turner is impressive. The fierceness of her charisma sells the agony at the heart of Jean Grey. 

I also enjoyed the psychology of Dark Phoenix, the ways in which the film depicts trauma in Jean is very real and complicated and quite moving at times. When Dark Phoenix forgets about the aliens and focuses the attention on Jean and the growing tensions among the X-family, Dark Phoenix begins to get good. What a shame then when the lame effects and those darn aliens swing back into the plot and mess things up. 

I don’t have a strong dislike for Dark Phoenix, Sophie Turner is far too compelling for me to completely dismiss the movie. Sadly, I can’t recommend Dark Phoenix because too much of the rest of the movie is laughably unnecessary, especially those cheesy aliens. We already have mutants, why do the producers of Dark Phoenix insist upon aliens? The story is Jean Grey, not Jessica Chastain acting well below her remarkable talent and stature. 

Movie Review The Hunger Games Mockingjay Pt 1

The Hunger Games Mockingjay Pt 1 (2014)

Directed by Francis Lawrence 

Written by Danny Strong and Peter Craig 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks 

Release Date November 21st, 2014 

Published November 20th, 2014 

"The Hunger Games" could have been a revolutionary box office bonanza with a brain. Sadly, thanks to the greed of Lionsgate Pictures, it's become an ironic symbol of the greed that the film is meant to satirize. I’ve been told not to hold against "Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" how it came to be a “part 1.” But I must. Because what could have been a deeply impactful 2 1/2- hour epic finale has been beefed up into a bloated, four-hour-plus time waster that won't play out in full for another year. There was the potential for greatness in the "Hunger Games" series. 

"The Hunger Games" arrived on the big screen at nearly the same moment as the Occupy Wall Street protests dominated the headlines. It wasn't by design, but it happened that the plot about the desperate poor spoiling for war with the ruling elite coincided with an all-too-brief cultural moment. Of course, Occupy Wall Street had neither the marketing muscle nor physical will of the "Hunger Games" hype -- I'm speaking more of a fashionable attitude for revolution rather than an actual revolution. 

"The Hunger Games" was never meant to galvanize a movement. Still,  Gary Ross's original had an unmistakable edge with its themes centered on the “haves” and “have nots.” The denizens of the Capitol, first glimpsed in "The Hunger Games," are the picture of grotesqueness: Loud, proud fools adorned in their riches, flaunting everything in front of those who arrive with nothing. Those who arrive with nothing include our heroes, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). 

Sport fighting the poor for the amusement of the rich has a historic flavor to it – think “Christians and the lions.” While our modern society hasn't devolved to that point, who hasn't heard someone compare America to ancient Rome? The rich under-girding of the first "Hunger Games" is the potential for class warfare and why such warfare is justified. The second film, "Catching Fire," doesn't carry the metaphor as strongly. While Katniss is used as agitprop for the Capitol, we're left with a story about the games and not the people in them. Simply getting Katniss and Peeta to the arena seems to be that film’s goal, and the journey is a bit of a drudge. 

"Mockingjay - Part 1," on the other hand, goes too far back the other way. Katniss, now the agitprop of the revolution, spends the film mourning the poor and the dead in the class warfare that she inspired. The film fails to take flight as an adventure movie without the propulsive effect of the games. This isn’t because director Francis Lawrence is incapable, but because he's been handcuffed to two movies instead of a single film. 

"Mockingjay" should have been written as a thrill-ride epic, a finale that combined tears and compassion with the kind of rollicking rebellion the series should have built toward. 

What should be a whipsaw ride of emotion, excitement and catharsis is instead an exhausting, 2-year trudge to an overstuffed conclusion. What a shame. Commerce has defeated art in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1." While Katniss weeps for the districts, I weep for wasted opportunity for greatness.