Tag: Zero Dark Thirty

Geekscape Movie Reviews: The Zookeeper’s Wife

by MCDave

Ever since her near-Oscar win for the role of CIA Operative Maya in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, Jessica Chastain has built a career portraying strong female characters in the films she’s tackled. This trend continues in Niki Caro’s World War II drama, The Zookeeper’s Wife. But even with the feature’s amazing true story and its formidable lead actress, Caro’s work lands as an early-year release and not an Oscar-season contender for a reason.

As Nazi Germany begins its invasion of Warsaw, Poland in 1939, Zoo-owners Antonina and Jan Zabinski (Chastain and Johna Heldenbergh, respectively) lose many of their animals due to the bombing of their facilities. And as the Nazi occupants begin rounding up Jewish residents and relocating them to an enclosed ghetto, the Zabinskis devise a creative plan to help these persecuted individuals escape from the ghetto and take refuge in their Zoo. But under the watchful eye of German soldier Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl), the Zabinski family finds themselves taking an enormous risk.

Considering the film’s heavy-handed source material, The Zookeeper’s Wife sadly elicits only artificial emotion that feels expected rather than earned. Perhaps this vital flaw emerges because the audience never truly believes that the Zabinski family is at risk of being exposed. This unforgivable omission of necessary conflict leads to a flat dramatization filled with weakly developed characters that ultimately fails to break ground on the often highlighted World War II era. Thankfully, though, The Zookeeper’s Wife manages to tell a fascinating story that deeply examines the methods of the Zoo-owner’s harboring. Jessica Chastain delivers another fine performance, but one that seems very unlikely to linger deep into the awards season run. Niki Caro adapts an exceptional true story in a very mediocre and sluggish way, leaving plenty to be desired with The Zookeeper’s Wife.

GRADE: 2.5/5

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Geekscape Movie Reviews: Captain Phillips

by MCDave

It’s been more than a decade since Tom Hanks has landed a swoon-worthy kind of role for the Academy to recognize. With back-to-back Oscar wins in the Best Actor category for marvelous performances in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, Hanks spent much of the 90s and early 2000s nestled comfortably at the peak of the awards season mountain. The brilliant artist returns in 2013 with a pair of highly anticipated true-story roles as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks and Paul Greengrass’ self-titled Captain Phillips. As it appears, the stars have aligned once again and Tom Hanks is finally back atop the proverbial mountain.

Richard Phillips (played by Hanks) is a hard-nosed and dedicated Captain of the cargo vessel Maersk Alabama. On a typical voyage to deliver food and supplies around eastern Africa and the middle east, a band of Somali pirates hijack Phillips’ ship and unarmed crew. Desperate to keep himself and his team out of harm’s way, Captain Phillips demonstrates remarkable heroics throughout this trying ordeal.

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Relentlessly tense and nerve-racking beyond belief, action guru Paul Greengrass summons one the most suspenseful movies of the year. Captain Phillips is a lengthy journey filled with highs, lows and just about everything in between. But rather than catering to an all-too-easy “good vs evil” approach implemented by many run-of-the-mill directors floating around Hollywood these days, Greengrass and writer Billy Ray mold together an honest and multi-layered film. Not only does Captain Phillips venture through the minute-after-minute terror experienced by the hijacked crew, the feature also dives deep into the desperate mindset of the vessel’s captors. The ambitious attempt to witness the entire story surrounding this historic event allows Captain Phillips to develop into a more authentic and believable thrill ride.

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Despite crafting a captivating and gut-wrenching encounter, Greengrass misses the mark on a few key areas. For starters, the well-rounded director over-extends every single aspect of the film. He could have easily attained his goal by cutting many of the feature’s scenes in half. Whether it’s the intense bickering and power struggle between the pirates or the Red Light/Green Light back-and-forth by the Navy Seals team near the film’s conclusion, Captain Phillips is filled with anxiety-overkill and its clearly a deterrent. Furthermore, the movie’s third act rings all too familiar to last year’s Best Picture Nominee, Zero Dark Thirty. Therefore, being so fresh in our minds and far superior to this rehashed effort, Captain Phillips becomes a poor man’s version of Kathryn Bigelow’s hit … but still worth the price of admission.

Tom Hanks has always been a magnificent performer, and his role in the action/drama Captain Phillips reiterates that notion. It doesn’t matter if he’s winning Golden Statues or not, Hanks is one of the greatest actors of all-time. And once again, you won’t be disappointed with this one. If you can handle the anxiety and withstand the suspense, then you can’t go wrong with Captain Phillips.

GRADE: 4/5

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MCDave’s 2012 Movie Awards

by MCDave

In honor of the Academy Award Nominations which will be announced on Thursday January 10th, I give you my personal 2012 year-end movie awards. 2012 proved to be an extraordinary year in cinema (view my top ten films of 2012), one that will certainly leave its mark in history. Having seen nearly 100 new releases over this past calendar year, here’s my top 5 picks for each of the 6 major races:

Notable films I missed in 2012: Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Skyfall and Rust and Bone

 

Best Supporting Actress

#5 Sally Field – Lincoln

#4 Amy Adams – The Master

#3 Helen Hunt – The Sessions

#2 Pauline Collins – Quartet

and the winner is …

#1 Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

 Much like the Academy is sure to do in late February, I reward Anne Hathaway with the Best Supporting Actress role of 2012. For all of the focus on Jean Valjean’s character in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, it’s Anne Hathaway who serves as the film’s heart and soul. Her emotionally-crushed rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” will live on as a Hollywood highlight reel forever, making her the clear cut winner here.

Best Supporting Actor

#5 Benicio Del Toro – Savages

#4 Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master

#3 Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths

#2 Ezra Miller – The Perks of Being a Wallflower

and the winner is …

#1 Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino’s Spaghetti Western Django Unchained stood out as one of the year’s funnest movie experiences. The film’s most lovable character was Dr. King Schultz, played by Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz. While I am starting to feel as though Waltz will be the odd man out in the Best Supporting Actor category when Oscar nominations are announced on Thursday (read about my 2013 Oscar Nomination Predictions), it would be a shame for the Academy to omit his transcending performance.

Best Actress

#5 Helen Mirren – Hitchcock

#4 Naomi Watts – The Impossible

#3 Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks

#2 Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

and the winner is …

#1 Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

After storming onto the scene in 2011 with a handful of unforgettable roles, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Jessica Chastain was a star in the making. Taking home my 2011 Best Supporting Actress Award for Take Shelter, Chastin raises the bar again with her phenomenal portrayal in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain’s character transforms throughout the feature and her development becomes a valuable aspect of the narrative. Although she finds worthy Oscar competition from my runner-up, Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Chastain gives the most decisive female performance of the year.

Best Actor

#5 Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

#4 Denzel Washington – Flight

#3 Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

#2 John Hawkes – The Sessions

and the winner is …

#1 Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

This race feels like the biggest “no-brainer” to me. For as many brilliant lead actor performances as there were this year (and believe me there were a TON), none of them were even in the same stratosphere as Daniel-Day Lewis’ once in a life time portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. Every chance I get to watch Day-Lewis deliver groundbreaking role after groundbreaking role, it becomes more apparent that I’m experiencing greatness. Steven Spielberg’s Best Picture contender, Lincoln, survives solely on the shoulders of the actor’s performance. There’s no question who deserves this win.

Best Director

#5 David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

#4 J.A. Bayona – The Impossible

#3 Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

#2 Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty

and the winner is …

#1 Ben Affleck – Argo

The Best Director race was the most difficult for me to decide. The Kathryn Bigelow/Ben Affleck debate becomes very difficult to dissect. The direction’s outstanding in both Zero Dark Thirty and Argo, but the difference-maker was Affleck’s ability to conjure up a multi-dimensional movie experience. Bigelow’s feature is more of a character based journey, while Affleck focuses on bringing a remarkable true story to life. Distinct opposites in approach, both films are premier examples of modern day filmmaking. However, I just happened to enjoy Argo slightly more than Bigelow’s gripping manhunt tale.

Best Picture

#5 Perfect Sense

#4 The Sessions

#3 Zero Dark Thirty

#2 The Impossible

and the winner is …

#1 Argo

No one can question the abundance of top tier films released in 2012. It was a difficult decision and very close, but I’m going with Argo as the Best Picture of 2012. A roller coaster ride of emotions, Ben Affleck’s Argo interweaves between espionage thriller and comedy. The pacing and tone is perfect, making Argo the most enjoyable film of the year. Its Oscar hopes are still very much alive, despite a major December-long onslaught of competitive releases. Affleck continues to solidify himself as a bonafide filmmaker and gives us Argo, 2012’s Best Picture.

*** Where am I right and where am I wrong? Leave a comment and spark a debate. You can view other work by MCDave at Movie Reviews By Dave

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Zero Dark Thirty

by MCDave

Academy Award Winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s brand new film, Zero Dark Thirty, opens with a disclosure stating the the movie is based on first-hand accounts of actual events. This sets the stage for one of the most authentic and realistic motion pictures in recent memory. Politically unbiased and emotionally charged, Zero Dark Thirty completely delivers on its marketing tagline: “The greatest manhunt in history”.

Jessica Chastain stars as Maya, a fiery young CIA Analyst who, in some ways, believes she’s destined to find the United States’ Most Wanted Fugitive, Osama Bin Laden. Hired by the U.S. government fresh out of High School, Maya is sent to Afghanistan and Pakistan to take part in detainee interrogations and gather vital intelligence after the tragic events of September 11th. Throughout a tireless decade long search for the fugitive, Maya follows a seemingly unlikely lead that ultimately results in the May 2nd, 2011 execution of Osama Bin Laden.

Gripping and relentless, Zero Dark Thirty is the epitome of top-flight modern day filmmaking. Bigelow’s follow up to her 2009 Best Picture winner, The Hurt Locker, faces its critics and audiences with a humble sense of entitlement that whispers “repeat” for the director and film. One of the most commendable aspects of Bigelow’s work is Zero Dark Thirty‘s ability to slowly shift the picture’s focus from start to finish. What begins as a nation’s quest for justice, filters itself down to one woman’s unyielding battle for resolution, and that woman is brilliantly portrayed by Jessica Chastain. The 2012 Academy Award Nominee’s towering performance is unrivaled by any other lead female’s work over the past calendar year. Therefore, I would expect to hear Chastain’s name called in late February when they hand out the Oscar for Best Actress. Screenwriter Mark Boal’s well-crafted character development is brilliantly executed by Chastain and it adds an enormous dimension to film. Alongside Maya, the audience grinds through the highs and lows of a ten year search. For as exhausting and intense as the ride is, the night-visioned finale provides a gratifying and tempered conclusion. By demonstrating admirable restraint, Bigelow’s respectful and never overly-patriotic ending packs an even bigger punch. With an unfathomable amount of decisions to be made, Bigelow seems to make all of the right ones and the final product is one of 2012’s greatest achievements.

Back in the Fall of 2012, Zero Dark Thirty was nothing more than a quiet dark horse on the road to the Oscars. But now that the feature has finally reached theatres in Los Angeles and New York City, it’s clearer than ever that Kathryn Bigelow’s masterpiece is a force to be reckoned with. The only minor flaw with the film appears during a short lull in the third act. As a movie where the end result is predetermined, the whole “Maya vs. the world”  subplot is taken the smallest bit too far. The entire audience already knows that President Obama eventually gives the green light on the raid but after investing over two hours into the film, Bigelow continues to harp on the notion that many higher ups involved questioned Maya’s certainty. Just as the feature begins a slight decline, Zero Dark Thirty abruptly refocuses and gets back on course with an edge-of-your-seat finale.

While some will inevitably rummage through Zero Dark Thirty in hopes of finding a political agenda, the truth is one doesn’t exist. Yes, the movie touches on the idea that enhanced interrogation techniques were used in order to obtain valuable intelligence, but who can argue the greater effectiveness of such actions? Yet, Zero Dark Thirty mindfully avoids addressing the even bigger question, is it worth it? Acknowledging some Hollywood dramatization, it’s important to view the film in an entertainment-only context. Although we will never know the whole truth behind the decade long hunt for Osama Bin Laden, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty gives us a captivating and realistic story to cling to. Due out in theatres all across the country on January 11th, 2013, this is one Oscar contender you won’t want to miss.

Grade: 5/5

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First Trailer For Kathryn Bigelow Directed ‘Zero Dark Thirty’

by Scott Alminiana

Here’s the first trailer for Zero Dark Thirty from Oscar winning director Katheryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker (and the awesome Point Break). The film tells the story of Navy SEAL Team 6’s hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

The film stars Jessica Chastain, Chris Pratt, Joel Edgerton and Mark Strong and opens December 19th.