12 YEARS A SLAVE REVIEW

'12 Years a Slave' is directed by Steve McQueen and is the true story of Solomon Northup, a free man who is kidnapped and sold into slavery prior to the Civil War.

Solomon Northup is played marvelously well by Chiwetel Ejofor and he will receive some Oscar attention.  Solomon is an expert violinist and an educated, married man.  He is sold into slavery and the audience is taken through the atrocities that occurred on many plantations in the South at that time.  Solomon is sold to many slave owners and despicable people throughout the film but none worse than Edwin Epps and Mistress Epps, played brilliantly by Michael Fassbender and Sarah Paulson.  As an audience member, I feared and hated these two characters.

This leads me to my issues with the film.  This movie feels very much like a brutally accurate documentary.  That would be fine if the film was in fact a documentary but it is not.  '12 Years a Slave' is a narrative film and I didn't feel like I knew Solomon Northup.  I was appalled and disturbed by what he went through but I wasn't emotionally attached to him because I didn't know him.  There wasn't enough development in his character.  While watching the film, I thought of 'GLORY' and how much I cared and learned about Denzel Washington's character.  That type of emotion was lacking in '12 Years a Slave'.  The movie has a 2 hour 13 minute running time, but that time felt doubled.  Overall, the film has some amazing performances and at times marvelous direction by McQueen.  The cinematography by Sean Bobbitt is beautiful.  In the end, '12 Years a Slave' is a very mixed bag. It shines in some areas, but falls flat in some as well.
3/5 Stars

- George McCann

ALL IS LOST REVIEW

'All Is Lost' is Written and Directed by, J.C. Chandor and the film stars Robert Redford.  This film is the tale of a man (Redford) who's sailboat is hit by a floating container on the Indian Ocean.  When the man's boat begins to flood, he must try to stay afloat, battle the elements and survive.

I really enjoyed 'All Is Lost'.  The film only has about three lines of dialogue.  The rest of the film is all emotion and physical actions.  This film is a dramatic survival thriller.  'All Is Lost' is remarkably tense and beautifully directed.  I must say, the sole reason this film works is Robert Redford.  I don't think any other actor could do what Redford did in this film.  He was incredibly compelling to watch and although he rarely spoke, I felt a deep connection to the character.

That being said, this film has issues.  The movie is a bit too long.  There are some scenes that are repetitive and could have been cut.  Even though Redford was great, I wanted more depth to this character and that issue falls on the shoulders of the writing.  There were also a few continuity issues that took me out of the film.

Having said all that, 'All Is Lost' is a very intense and beautiful film that I thoroughly enjoyed.  The film begs the question, what would you do to survive and where is your breaking point?

I give 'All Is Lost' 3.75/5 Stars.

- George McCann

Why 'The Walking Dead' is a Dead Television Show

‘The Walking Dead’ was once a very good show.  It was a good show when Frank Darabont was the show runner in Season 1.  The show had a way of captivating you, scaring you and making you feel, and I mean, REALLY feel for these characters in a completely unrealistic situation… the zombie apocalypse.  The show was atmospheric and edge of your seat.  Then Frank Darabont left the show for what I am assuming (this is pure speculation, not fact) was creative differences.

The reason I feel there were creative differences is because in Season 2 this show slows down…to a halt. The pacing became beyond slow. At this point, I believe Glen Mazzara had taken over as show runner.  Glen Mazzara is a writer for whom I have a massive amount of respect. Season 2 picks up about half way through the season and got really good, the pacing got going and the story propelled but it was never Season 1.  What I mean by it was never Season 1 is the show wasn’t AS captivating, not to say it wasn’t good but something was off.  As Season 2 ended, there was a great possibility for the show to get back to Season 1 material.

As Season 3 kicked off, I felt like the show hit a stride.  We were back to Season 1 and it was awesome.  After the first 3 episodes, the show died.  (At some point in this process, Glen Mazzara left as show runner. That means by Season 4 of this show, there have been 3 different show runners.  That is a big indication that something is wrong.)  ‘The Walking Dead’ had become a dead television show.  The episodes were filled with filler (meaning scenes that waste time and don’t further plot or characters) and the dialogue became off kilter and stale.  This show is based off of some amazing source material and only the 1^st Season did that justice.  In Season 3 new characters were brought in, important characters from the graphic novels AND NOTHING HAPPENED.  Season 3 was the most anticlimactic Season of television I have ever seen and the finale was the worst finale in the history of television.  The show tried to build up to something fantastic and failed.  It failed miserably.  I remember watching the finale end and I turned to my Father and said, “Well that sucked.”  My Dad nodded in agreement.

So last night, Season 4 of ‘The Walking Dead’ premiered.  What we got was a lot of walking (literally), a lot of awful dialogue and blood.  This show has become reliant on blood and action as opposed to story and character.  That pisses me off!  This show started as an amazing character driven story with action and violence to further the story and characters.  Now, that is gone.  There are no more characters.  They are all interchangeable and one dimensional.  What once was fantastic has become stagnant and honestly, boring.  It saddens me to say this but ‘The Walking Dead’ has literally become The Walking Dead.  There is no longer any meat on the bone with this show.  The meat left with the great writer/creator, Mr. Frank Darabont.

   -  George McCann

GRAVITY REVIEW

GRAVITY REVIEW

‘Gravity’ is the new film from Director Alfonso Cuaron, who also co-wrote the script with Jonas Cuaron.  ‘Gravity’ tells the story of astronauts, Ryan Stone (played by Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (played by George Clooney).  Kowalski is a veteran astronaut, on what may be his last mission and Stone is a rookie who seems to be on one of her first.  They are up in space fixing a satellite when debris begins flying in every direction, destroying their ride home.  Now these characters must survive in space with nothing but each other.  Both of the characters balance one another very well and Bullock and Clooney have great chemistry.  Although the acting is great, the beauty and heart of this film really lies in the hands of Cuaron.  This film is a visual masterpiece and is directed remarkably well.  There is not one scene that looks fake.  That says A LOT about this director because the ENTIRE film is in space.  During the course of watching this movie, my jaw literally dropped, twice, due to how stunningly beautiful the film is; it’s gorgeous.  This film also has a marvelous script that has a lot more to say than meets the eye.  ‘Gravity’ is a thriller in every sense of the word and possibly one of the best in the past 15 years.  If you have the time, I HIGHLY recommended seeing the film in both IMAX and 3D.  I give ‘Gravity’:

5/5 Stars         

   -  George McCann 

Let Me Clarify My Thoughts on "Breaking Bad"

My thoughts on the now finished AMC Television Series “Breaking Bad” have been the topic of much controversy lately; both in my personal life and on social media.  So here’s the deal.  Everyone and I mean EVERYONE  I know, urged me to watch “Breaking Bad”.  “George, you gotta watch this show.”  “George, you are going to love this show.”  “George, this is the best show of all time.”  “George, as an aspiring writer, it’s an obligation that you watch this show.”  Those were just a few of what my friends had told me.  So I started watching the show…

Here is where the trouble began.  Now before I go any further, I want to say, ON RECORD, overall “Breaking Bad” is a remarkably well written, directed and acted show.  That is not in dispute.  I do feel that Season 1 was a little bit weak but that’s not the point.  The point is this; I don’t like the show.  I don’t enjoy it.  Although the show is filled with remarkable talent across the board, I don’t enjoy it.  I feel like that is the key word here, enjoy.  The subject matter in the show I find to be sad, disturbing and overall it just puts me in a bad mood.  I don’t enjoy watching Walter White go through hell with cancer, lie to his family AND himself and then go cook crystal meth.  It doesn’t make me want to watch the show and it doesn’t make me like the main character.

Walter White is a man who feels like he’s been screwed over his whole life; so after he gets cancer and can’t afford treatment, he decides to cook meth?  Friends offered to pay for his treatment.  He wouldn’t accept due to pride.  I get it.  The fact remains, this man is dealing drugs, killing people and slowly dying inside.  Not a cheery day at the office. 

Some people say to me, “George you love “Sons of Anarchy”; isn’t that the same thing?"  My answer is, no.  It is not.  “Sons of Anarchy” is an over the top, pulp action show.  It is so over the top that it is not based in reality.  You can’t take it too seriously.  The same cannot be said for “Breaking Bad”.  I understand the quality of this show is phenomenal but I also understand that much of it feels real.  Maybe too real for me and while it is fantastic television, it’s too much for me. 

   -     George McCann

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS REVIEW

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS REVIEW

“Captain Phillips” is the latest film from acclaimed Director, Paul Greengrass.  The film tells the true story of Captain Richard Phillips (played exceptionally well by Tom Hanks).  Captain Phillips is the captain of a container ship sailing around the horn of Africa delivering food and water.  He has clearly been doing this for a while and he runs a tight ship.  He knows exactly what he is doing.  This all changes when his ship is boarded by armed Somali pirates, led by Mose (played by Barkhad Abdi, who gives a riveting supporting performance).  Once this band of pirates board the ship, Captain Phillips plays a cat and mouse game trying to get the upper hand and stay alive.  This film is marvelous on many levels.   Paul Greengrass shows the Somali point of view, which I found to be a bold and riveting move that pays off big time for the film.  The film does have its issues.  It is 134 minutes and at times you feel it; although the film does pick up with a vengeance.  Also, there are a few scenes that just missed the mark and felt very unnatural.  However, all in all, “Captain Phillips” is a very strong film with great performances and great direction.  Paul Greengrass is the only director who makes shakey-cam work and brings the tension full force with this film.  “Captain Phillips” is definitely a film worth seeing.

4/5 Stars

“Captain Phillips" is released on October 11^th.

   -   George McCann  

PARKLAND REVIEW

PARKLAND REVIEW

‘Parkland’ chronicles the day of the Kennedy Assassination and the three days that follow.  The film is written and directed by Peter Landesman.  This movie is very interesting because it goes beyond the conspiracy theories and just goes through the emotions of ordinary people in an extraordinary situation.  ‘Parkland’ tells the story through multiple points of view specifically, Abraham Zapruder, the man who filmed the famous footage of the assassination.  Zapruder is played very well by Paul Giamatti.  Another one of the main characters in this HUGE ensemble film is Jim Carrico, a young surgeon thrust into performing surgery on President Kennedy after the shooting.  Carrico is played by Zac Efron and, let me say, he is not just a “Disney actor”.  Efron gives a strong emotional performance in this film, one of my favorites.  Out of the many characters in the film, my favorite storyline is of Robert Oswald, played very subtly, emotionally and beautifully by James Badge Dale.  However, there are issues with the film.  Due to the fact that there are so many interwoven storylines and characters, there are a few weak links in the acting.  Also, if you are not a huge fan of the history, you may not be as engaged as I was.  That being said, I loved this film and think it is absolutely worth the price of admission.  Peter Landesman did a remarkable job, mixing both real footage with the film he shot and that is a testament to the direction, editing and cinematography.  This film also stars Billy Bob Thornton, Marcia Gay Harden, Ron Livingston, Tom Welling and Jacki Weaver.  I give ‘Parkland’:

3.7/5 Stars.

‘Parkland’ is released in theaters on October 4^th.

   

     -  George McCann