Film Catch-up: Side Effects, Beautiful Creatures, Here Comes the Boom, Taps

Four short reviews, since I've been behind on writing entries on this blog and need to get caught up.

Side Effects
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Genre: Drama
Source: USA (2013)
Rating: R
Location/Format: Glynn Place Stadium Cinemas
Grade: A-

Steven Soderbergh has been somewhat hit and miss for me in the past, but I loved Side Effects and its metamorphosis from psychological drama to psychopharmological thriller to noir. Rooney Mara and Jude Law are excellent, and Soderbergh plays with film conventions in ways that are not outlandish but are effective, such as the bookending of the film's opening and closing shots, to the disturbingly modern colors, to the effective use of cuts and perspective to layer the meaning of scenes and events. Add to that the realization that the film is particularly interested in the gray areas that motivate human behavior--and the question of what limits we are willing to transgress to fulfill our ideas of happiness--and you've got a smart, thoughtful, and highly watchable film. One of my favorites of the year so far.

Beautiful Creatures
Director: Richard LaGravenese
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Source: USA (2013)
Rating: PG-13
Location/Format: Glynn Place Stadium Cinemas
Grade: B

I have no real excuse for enjoying this movie as much as I did. It totally looks to be in the vein of Twilight--silly supernatural teenage love story. Not even my teenage students had any interest in seeing it when I had my weekly "weekend movie wrap up" with my film class on a Monday. But when your parents, who don't see R-rated movies, are in town, and want to go to a movie, and you're in the dark film release months of January and February, sometimes you suck it up and go to a magic teen romance. And sometimes you're pleasantly surprised. The mythology behind this movie is silly and convoluted--and frankly forgettable, since I'm not even clear on how the supernatural angle was "resolved" by the end of the film--but the actors seem to be having such a good time that it's hard not to enjoy yourself. Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, and a surprisingly beautiful Emmy Rossum all acquit themselves well, but the standout performance here is by Alden Ehrenreich, a kid I'd never heard of before. When his narration begins I was ready to roll my eyes and go to sleep (I'm not sure where he learned his Southern accent, but it was all over the place) but he proved to be exactly the charismatic, likable, and funny lead the movie called for. He came across as sincere, smarmy, spoiled, and special all at the same time--in fact, he reminded me of some of my students. My parents and my wife all agreed that his film was much better than we expected, and was a good--if forgettable--popcorn movie. And that is much more than I was expecting.

Here Comes the Boom
Director: Frank Coraci
Genre: Comedy
Source: USA (2012)
Rating: PG-13
Location/Format: Blu-Ray
Grade: B-

Mark this film in the same category as the above-mentioned Beautiful Creatures--a shot in the dark at a non R-rated film that my parents might enjoy. Granted, I have a soft spot for Kevin James, but as a teacher this utterly cheesy movie kind of (dare I say) inspired me. James's unlikely rise in the ranks of the UFC in order to save his school's music program is silly, movie-fantasy stuff in which every problem can be solved and everyone comes together in the end, but the desire to motivate your students, to find passion and strength for your job in the fires you seem them lighting within themselves, really gets me. I know UFC is the new boxing for inspirational sports movies, and this movie can't hold a candle to the much better Warrior, with which it shares a few subplots, but it is enjoyable fare that had me rooting for James despite my initial cynicism. I liked it.

Taps

Director: Harold Becker
Genre: Drama
Source: USA (1981)
Rating: PG
Location/Format: Netflix Streaming
Grade: C+

It's very difficult to imagine this film being made today, when concerns about school violence and disturbed youths seem to be at an all-time high. But I also thought it served as an interesting (though far inferior) counter to typical "inspiring boys school" fare like Dead Poets Society (one of my personal favorites) in which the students seem to take their mentor's words far too literally. When the Valley Forge Military Academy is scheduled to close, and when a terrible accident hastens the school's closing by several months, a group of cadets steal the weapons, take over the campus, and demand that the institution remain open, even as the national guard and the local police try to force them to surrender. The film was very 80s--in both good and bad ways--and was even more fun than I would have otherwise expected thanks to the performances of very young versions of Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, and Timothy Hutton. Tom Cruise in particular was a lot of fun to watch since this film was made before he was Tom Cruise Movie Star and his stature is obvious--in fact, I think the director played up his height, as he seems to be suffering from some "little man's complex" in regards to the stronger figures around him. An interesting film, though not a must-see by any stretch.