Review by-Jarrett Leahy
In search of a better life in America, Ewa Cybulska and her sister Magda arrive at Ellis Island after setting sail from their native land of Poland. The two however are forced to separate when it is discovered that Magda is suffering from tuberculosis and must be quarantined in the island infirmary. Penniless and alone, Ewa falls prey to Bruno, a predacious, smooth-talking hustler whose salacious, vaudeville style theater show is used as a front for his more nefarious business. Desperate to raise enough money to get Magda off Ellis Island, Ewa becomes Bruno’s prized working girl. A chance meeting with the gregarious magician Orlando offers Ewa the opportunity she so desperately desires to reunite with Magda and escape the squalid existence of living under Bruno’s thumb.
The Immigrant is a beautifully frustrating movie experience. I recently stumbled across an article on Vulture.com about the supposed talents of director James Gray that tried to downplay the fact that “some critics look at Gray’s films and just see prettier versions of movies they’ve seen countless times before.” I found this comment quite amusing for that was precisely how I felt while watching The Immigrant. The film’s striking cinematography had that aged, yellow hued familiarity reminiscent of similar styled period dramas. Right from the opening scene, you are transported to 1920’s, prohibition era New York City. Unfortunately, the authentic look wound up being the film’s only distinct highlight.
There’s little doubt that Joaquin Phoenix is one the most gifted actors of this generation. With The Immigrant being the fourth film he and director James Gray have made together, I had high expectations for his portrayal of pimp Bruno Weiss. Unfortunately, Phoenix’s erratic performance felt disappointingly inferior when compared to his recent astounding efforts in P.T. Anderson’s The Master and Spike Jonze’s Her. Originally scripted as a strictly menacing oppressor, it was reported that Phoenix convinced Gray to allow him to play the character with a softer, more conniving touch. This decision led to an awkwardly manic, mercurial portrayal that frenetically swings from an icy, forbidding bully to an erratically unbalanced brat. Phoenix, however, was not the only gifted actor to offer an unusually sub-par portrayal. Seldom have I been so apathetic to a performance given by the esteemed French Oscar winner Marion Cotillard. Sadly, her portrayal of Ewa slowly slips from understandably frightened to an irritatingly whiny helplessness as she becomes the object of affection of both these obstinate suitors.
Rarely does a film’s discourse ever become such a glaring weakness the way The Immigrant’s wound up being. Shockingly, the script’s middling, inept dialogue managed to make three highly accomplished actors look flounderingly insipid. Some conversations at times felt distractingly substandard with a lack of any real emotional inflection while others were wildly melodramatic to the point of farce. The biggest offender of this was unfortunately Jeremy Renner. Because Gray’s script left him with so little to work with, Renner, a two-time Academy award nominee, was forced to slip into an uninspired, glib delivery that felt as if he were simply going through the motions.
For many months I’ve read news that The Weinstein Company, the U.S. distributors of The Immigrant were having difficulties deciding how best to release this film. There were even rumors they were discussing the possibilities of straight-to-DVD release. This was quite perplexing until I finally experienced the film for myself. Suffering from inferior dialogue, The Immigrant is a rich, elegantly-shot period drama whose legacy will disappointingly be: what could have been.-JL
Grade: C
Edited by-Michelle Zenor
Review by-Jarrett Leahy
With this latest effort, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill have officially joined the annals of memorable buddy cop partnerships. Overtly tongue-in-cheek and playfully irreverential, these two are unafraid to be the butt of the joke. Tatum’s doltish, dumb jock delivery offers surface humor but also masks a more undertone message about acceptance and the dangers of bullying his kind has historically been known for inflicting on others because of antiquated beliefs. In comparison, Hill character’s satirically explores another of the college’s lifestyle conventions, the art crowd. Not into the the frat scene, these new acquaintances sit around the art building drinking wine and having intellectual conversations. Schmidt, in an attempt to impress Maya, an art major with a thing for the husky type, improvs a slam poem at an open mic night that can only be described as dreadfully genius. Their eventual dating leads to an epic confrontation that I can say with little doubt is the most comically entertaining moment of the film.
Similar to the way Bridesmaids (for better or worse) formally introduced Melissa McCarthy to the comedic world, I foresee 22 Jump Street being the official coming out party for Workaholics star Jillian Bell. Her perpetual barrage of callous insults thrown in the general direction of Schmidt’s tender heart is the textbook definition of a scene stealer. And she was so kind to grace us with one of the most awkwardly epic fist fights ever recorded on film between a guy and girl.
A dynamic dyad themselves, 21 Jump Street directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have teamed up yet again to create this even zanier second effort. Lord and Miller, who also directed The Lego Movie, this year’s early Oscar frontrunner for Best Animated Feature Film, have a gift for unleashing cloyingly astute humor that still manages to push the envelope. For instance, clever ending credits have recently become all the rage. But if there was ever proof that truly ingenious ones could boost up a movie’s grade, look no further than 22 Jump Street’s. Spoiling the parodic epicness of these images would surely take away a portion of their amusement factor, so just be sure to stick around for a few extra minutes of hilarity.
Review by-Jarrett Leahy
Director Doug Liman, whose 1996 cult comedy, Swingers, put him on the Hollywood map, has since become better known for his filmmaking abilities in the action genre, most notably his work on the Bourne series and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Borrowing narrative elements from other films, Liman has managed to create an intense and rousing original storyline in the well-represented action sub-genre of alien invasions. As we are dropped into the front line with Cage, the film uses just the right amount of C.G.I. to create a terrifying battle experience without sacrificing that realistic feel that overuse of computer graphics can sometimes cause. Edge of Tomorrow also skillfully manages to utilize the “Groundhog Day” effect. I appreciated how Liman was able to infuse some subtle humor into a handful of these loop restarts as a way to break up the dire intensity of the situation these two soldiers find themselves in.
Say what you want about his personal life, but Edge of Tomorrow proves yet again that Tom Cruise knows how to make a smart, thrilling blockbuster. Ever since his 2012 divorce, it’s obvious that Cruise has channeled his energies back into his film career. It was reported that he began working on Edge of Tomorrow only mere weeks after wrapping on his previous sci-fi effort, Oblivion. At age 51, Cruise still has the endurance to perform his own exhausting and demanding stunts, offering a much more authentic feel to his character.
Emily Blunt was simply a badass, a smoking hot badass. Some actresses when cast in demanding action roles have a difficult time truly embodying the physicality required to sell their character. Blunt had no such problem. According to People magazine, she used a regimen of Krav Maga martial arts training, sprint training, gymnastics, yoga and weight training to get physically prepared for the daunting requirements of Sergeant Vrataski. Her hard work paid off tenfold, as she WAS the Angel of Verdun. Combined with Looper and The Adjustment Bureau, Blunt has begun to create quite the resume of fresh, imaginative sci-fi movies.
Together, Blunt and Cruise make an exceptional partnership on screen. Her matter-of-fact acceptance about putting a bullet in an injured Cage during training offered an amusing form of morbid humor. And Cruise, in all his movie star glory, never was afraid to play second fiddle at times, allowing Blunt’s character to shine.
Review by-Jarrett Leahy
Over the last decade, Canadian clown prince Seth Rogen and his oafish chortle has taken over the mantle of top juvenile humorist from Adam Sandler, giving us a varying range of stoner, man-child type roles, highlighted by hit romantic comedy Knocked Up. In Neighbors, Rogen ventures only slightly outside his go-to persona, as his character Mac Radner is a thirty-something who is slowly coming to grips with the idea that his partying days are all but over now that he has a baby girl. As for Rose Byrne, who plays Rogen’s wife Kelly, this isn’t her first venture into the rude and crude world of 21st century comedy. Rose starred as Helen in the Kristen Wiig 2011 box office hit Bridesmaids and also showed off her uninhibited side playing the pop nympho Jackie Q opposite Russell Brand in Get Him To The Greek. In Neighbors, Byrne channels her inner naughty girl as she attempts to sabotage the brotherly bond of the fraternity house with her hoes-before-bros strategy. Together, despite the overwhelming disparity in levels of attraction, these two actually make a fairly entertaining couple.
Zac Efron has come a long way since his time as the Disney heartthrob in the High School Musical films. With charming good looks and chiseled physique (one that is unremorsefully compared to Rogen’s flabby breadbasket whenever possible) Efron perfectly embodies the pretty-boy allure of Teddy Sanders, the beloved president of the legendary Delta Psi Beta fraternity. Playing his right-hand man and Delta Vice President is Dave Franco, younger brother of James Franco. For better or worse, these two, along with Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin in Superbad), embrace every stereotypical convention ever ascribed to the fraternity lifestyle to create the ultimate frat haven.
Fraternity humor is generally a testosterone infused barrage of dick and fart jokes, and gags of this nature are not always good-humored. Neighbors’ cringeworthy and/or disturbing moments include but are not limited to: any sex scene involving Seth Rogen (and there are surprisingly more than you’d ever anticipate would be agreed upon; I guess they really wanted to see Rose Byrne straddle and grind), Rogen and Efron drunkenly sword fighting with their streams while urinating together in an outdoor fountain, baby Stella gleefully playing with a rubber found on the front lawn after yet another all-night bacchanal, the milking of engorged mom breasts, the group fraternity activity of creating molds of their junk to create “toys” to sell as a house fundraiser, and Dave Franco’s unsettling talent for conjuring an instant erection simply through rousing mind control. If I said I staunchly avoided chuckling at any of these scenes I’d be lying to you, but I’d certainly understand if anyone else used the term repugnant to describe them.
Neighbors is chock-full of sheepish smile and shake-your-head moments. You can decide whether that is a good or bad thing. Rogen and Efron play well together, and Dave Franco manages to actually steal a few scenes. Neighbors, in all its brainless glory, is destined to join the list of go-to drunken entertainment in fraternity houses across the nation for many years to come.-JL
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