[Review] Enemy

Director Denis Villeneuve enlists Jake Gyllenhaal again for his follow-up to last year's visceral and heartwrenching Prisoners. Enemy is more of a a subdued suspense drama. Still bleak, but significantly detached and way less heavy and tragic.

The film opens with the quote "Chaos is order yet deciphered." And after a strange, hazy and flickery dream sequence involving a naked pregnant woman and a tarantula, we're introduced to Adam (Gyllenhaal), a history professor. There's a scene early on, where one of his colleagus asks him, "Are you a movie guy?" Jake replies, "I don't really get out much", and his colleague answers with "You don't have to go out to see a movie." This exchange almost feels like a clever fourth wall break (considering Enemy has primarily been a VOD release), but it also incites the story. Adam ends up renting a film, and he notices someone who looks exactly like him in it. This rattles him, and naturally, he invistigates. As you can imagine, things get very weird as he seeks out his doppelganger.

It all unfolds in Hitchcockian fashion, sparking plenty of intrigue and making you scratch your head up until the very end. But unfortunately, it isn't always head-scratching in the best way. The plot gets muddled in the final act and the steep ambiguity leaves more to be desired, even though the final shot is pretty amusing. Gyllenhaal is very impressive, essentially giving two separate performances, and often having to talk to his "other" self.

Enemy is a woozy and confounding thriller, but you probably won't feel the need to watch it twice.

6.5/10

[Review] Captain America: The Winter Soldier

In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, our hero is welcomed into the 21st century with chaos. This new Marvel adventure packs on the expected action, but the story firmly hinges on real world issues, making it equal parts conspiracy thriller, relevant commentary on surveillance in the digital age, and a plight for defending freedom.

Winter Soldier's plot is incredibly expansive, but it ultimately revolves around Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) uniting with fellow agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and new friend Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in order to take down HYDRA, an internal corruption operating within the S.H.I.E.L.D. agency. HYDRA has a mysteriously masked assassin and extraordinary powerful warrior on their side, known as The Winter Soldier. Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, and Robert Redford plays a villain with a politically savvy demeanor. The story piles on the twists; it's a game of who's who and a question of where to place your trust (if there is anywhere).

The action scenes and special visual effects are top-notch, delivering some intensely choreographed setpieces. Whether it's a spy mission, a shootout, a chase, or some good old fashioned hand-to-hand combat (usually all in one sequence), it all feels so purposely crafted due to the constantly crucial stakes and turns, rendering it more than just pure spectacle. Or in other words, it's not just a high volume of explosions and incomprehensible shit flying around on screen.

The emotional roots that the first Captain America film planted emerge here, greatly enhancing all that's taken place. And the flashbacks and callbacks add some sweet nostalgia, while simultaneously complicating the way you'll view the predecessor. There also are plenty of well-timed comedic relief moments sprinkled throughout, and the witty exchanges between Rogers and Romanoff never fail to amuse.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier might be the most well-balanced and strongly executed entry into the Marvel movie catalog, to date.

9/10

[Review] Mistaken For Strangers (Documentary)

Tom Berninger is the brother of Matt Berninger, lead singer of acclaimed indie rock band, The National. The two bros are presented as polar opposites. Matt is an esteemed songwriter, fronting a band that has transcended the indiesphere, now playing their brand of beautifully melancholy music across the world in front of thousands of people. He wears a suit and sips wine on stage. Tom is a metalhead, a shaggy slacker who still lives at home with his parents, and he isn't really a huge fan of the music his brother makes. Tom gets invited on The National's tour to be a roadie/assistant manager, and he decides to bring a video camera along in order to make a rock doc--that actually doesn't turn out to be a rock doc.

While there is still a fair amount of live footage and behind-the-scenes looks at The National, the core of this documentary is about two brothers on divergent paths. Tom walks through the city streets and no one pays attention; Matt follows behind as dozens of people stop him for photographs. Matt rocks a stage in king-of-the-world fashion, while Tom gets yelled at backstage for not doing his job correctly. Tom is on the outside looking in, and he expresses this in his commentary.

The film veers into even more personal territory during the second half, as the dialogue about Tom and Matt's differences comes to the forefront, journeying back to their childhood. Even their parents get interviewed. The fraternal dynamics elevate Mistaken For Strangers above being just a music profile about a rising band, and it also works as a documentary within a documentary, which adds a meta element that expounds the creative process. Tom's motivations for making the film become clear in a genuinely heartfelt and humanistic manner.

Mistaken For Strangers is a wonderfully layered documentary, and it definitely deserves some attention.

Recommended Doc

[Review] Nymphomaniac: Volume I & II

Danish filmmaker and provocateur Lars von Trier extends his controversy with Nymphomaniac, the four-hour plus, two volume portrait of a self-diagnosed sex addict.

The film opens with a prolonged black screen and transitions to a drippy and dark alleyway where we see a woman lying battered and bruised on the concrete. This is Joe (Gainsbourg), the story's protagonist (Stacy Martin plays the younger version). Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard) finds her and invites her into his home.

Joe begins telling her life story while Seligman intently listens. Shown through explicitly detailed, chapter-divided flashbacks, Joe recounts her sexual experiences--from early exploration, various hook-ups, a train game (I'll let you guess what that is), to her on-and-off relationship with Jerome (a greasy Shia LeBouf).

Seligman responds with fascination. He waxes intellectual, and incredibly (and somewhat hilariously) attributes Joe's episodes to the topics of fly-fishing, Fibonacci numbers, musical notes and more. The final chapter of Volume I ends with Joe having sex and distressingly proclaiming, "I can't feel anything!" This sets up Volume II as Joe's quest to regain her feelings of pleasure, leading to some more "experimental" territories.

The discussions between Joe and Seligman provide some interesting framework. But it's difficult to decipher whether the device is an outlet for von Trier to clearly express his intentions while refuting accusations of misogyny by constructing a loosely feminist position and turning the moral hypocrisy of society on its head, or if he's just criticizing his critics and making a joke of analysis. Or both. Or none of the above.

If you're wondering about the extent of its graphics, it isn't all that shocking in a post-porn world. The visual boundary pushing is more-so the idea that these unsimulated acts and close-ups of genitalia are being presented on a very large screen.

Nymphomaniac proves to be more than just a snuff fest, but the moments of striking engagement are too sparse over the course. And while it's rich, complex, and ripe for interpretations from all angles, the monotony and repetition drabs it down. Even when the volumes are viewed on separate occasions, the film is tiresome, tedious, floppy, and limp, no matter which lens you view it through.

5/10

[Review] Noah

It comes as no surprise that this film is very, very wet.

Director Darren Aronofsky makes a tentpole leap with the retelling of the biblical story of Noah's Ark. Compared to recent outings like The Wrestler and Black Swan, Noah is colossal in scope (and budget). But Aronofsky's touches are still fully apparent as he employs plenty of arthouse visuals (but now very expensive ones), while also provoking complex emotions. The film has a dark edge and a dystopian setting with a tone that is way closer to The Road than Evan Almighty.

After an impressionistic montage of the Garden of Eden (the first of many stroby time-lapse sequences), we meet Noah (Russel Crowe) and his family in surreal landscapes under strange skies. The family consists of his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly), three sons, and an adopted daughter Ila (Emma Watson). The performances are strong all around.

Noah has these nightmarish premonitions about the world catastrophically flooding and wiping away the sinful human race. With the major aid of his wise, magical grandfather (Anthony Hopkins) and The Watchers (fallen angels that transformed to beings of stone), he starts constructing the ark (this version of the massive boat is super rectangular) in order to save all the species on the planet. When the monumental migration comes, it's a very cool moment, but unfortunately the creatures don't take up much screentime. I wish the animals were shown more throughout the film, because animals.

Major conflict arises when King Tubal Cain (a grizzly Ray Winstone) shows up at the building site, which leads to an eventual battle. Absolute chaos ensues when the storm hits and the king's army charges the ship while The Watchers attempt to fend them off in Treebeard fashion. The entire sequence is tremendously impressive and is the most exciting part of the film, so in a way it feels like an early climax. However, the story turns over to a more contained family drama with enough dilemmas to keep matters complicated and tensions high, amidst the now grey and cloudy abyss of the world and an unsure future.

No matter what your expectations are going in, or what your fundamental beliefs are, there's no denying that Noah is an astonishing sight to behold.

8/10