Drama

Citizenfour

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Citizenfour
  • IMDb: link

CitizenfourIn a film which will likely make you uncomfortable with the level of access the United States Government has into your private life, Laura Poitras documents Edward Snowden and his decision to reveal the NSA spying on law abiding American citizens without the warrants or even probable cause.

Citizenfour shows the meetings between Snowden, Poitras, and investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald and the Guardian intelligence reporter Ewen MacAskill who the intelligence officer handpicked to vet and leak the information to the public.

Despite the sensitive subject matter and worldwide manhunt for Snowden, Poitras is able to capture and present the story from her subject’s point-of-view crafting a shocking and detailed look at an unparalleled level of government access which caused Snowden to reveal the truth only to become a fugitive for doing so. Although presented from a specific point-of-view, Citizenfour educates and informs taking steps to explain not only the information which Snowden leaked but also the reasoning behind his actions and the cost of those decisions.

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Kill the Messenger

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Kill the Messenger
  • IMDb: link

Kill the MessengerBased on accounts written by Nick Schou and Gary Webb, Kill the Messenger offers a rather one-sided look at San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Webb’s (Jeremy Renner) investigation and publishing of a story concerning the CIA supporting the cocaine smuggling of Nicaraguan Contra Rebels and the sale of those drugs inside the United States.

After a brief set-up introducing Webb’s family and co-workers, the movie follows his journey uncovering the biggest story of his career, the initial success garnered by its publication, and his quick fall from grace as the media at large began to poke holes in the story (which the script suggests were at the behest of the CIA and the United States Government).

When Kill the Messenger is focused on the story itself it works well. When the focus shifts to Webb’s decline, making him, rather than his work, the story (going against the overall message of the movie), it starts to falter down dark conspiracies and paranoia. Unwilling to see the gloom to its inevitable conclusion the script by Peter Landesman simply stops offering an ultimately unsatisfying ending.

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Wish I Was Here

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Wish I Was Here
  • IMDB: link

Wish I Was HereTen years ago Zack Braff wrote, directed, and starred in a little film called Garden State. Over the next decade the actor continued to work in front of the camera but other than directing a few episodes of Scrubs left the work behind the camera to others. With the help of a Kickstarter campaign, Braff returns to the big screen with Wish I Was Here which features many of the same quirks of his Garden State while focusing on sensibilities that have evolved over time.

Despite having a similar slice-of-life take on a character not too far removed from his own (here Braff stars as a struggling actor with an overworked wife and demanding children), Wish I Was Here is far less effective than Garden State. Co-written by Braff’s brother Adam, the new feature provides some great individual moments (including reminding us that Kate Hudson can act when called upon to do something more than braindead romcoms), but fails in becoming more than the sum of its parts by offering an overly simplistic ending to a messy (and increasingly cliched) life seemingly freed of all troubles in under two-hours.

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Can a Song Save Your Life?

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Begin Again
  • IMDb: link

Begin Again

Written and directed by John Carney, Begin Again is simply a joy to watch. At times this tale of the mismatched pair of a record label exec (Mark Ruffalo) whose life is swirling around the drain and a young singer-songwriter (Keira Knightley) dealing with crushing rejection of her now-successful longtime writing partner and boyfriend (Adam Levine) comes dangerously close to being too cute for its own good. Thankfully Carney’s choice to ground the film in serious issues such as heartbreak, betrayal, estranged families, and politics of the music business balances the film’s hopeful tone and message to prevent the movie from ever becoming too cliche or sappy.

While Ruffalo provides both angst and humor, Knightley is the soul of the film. Having only seen her sing in short segments of The Edge of Love (a movie worth seeing more for her performance more than anything else), I was thrilled to find a her lilting voice the perfect match for the indie songwriter thousands of miles from home dealing the emotional yo-yo of immediate heartbreak and at the same time a once-in-a-lifetime record offer.

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Chef

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Chef
  • IMDb: link

ChefAlthough the storyline doesn’t veer far from well-established basic themes we’ve seen in countless films over the years involving reinventing your life, father-son dynamics, road trips, and overcoming adversity, with the right ingredients and cast writer/director/star Jon Favreau delivers a sumptuous treat as delectable as the various food on display. Calling on the help of a handful of his old Iron Man buddies, Favreau offers up his best film yet in front of, or behind, the camera.

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