Draft Day (2014)

Ivan Reitman has directed many a great film, but seems to be on bit of a dry streak. There was hope that "Draft Day" would have pulled him out of it. Unfortunately, its melodramatic formula got in the way of what could have been the football equivalent to "Moneyball". Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph's script focuses too heavily on the personal problems of Kevin Costner's Sonny Weaver, Jr., the GM of the Cleveland Browns, and a lot less on the problems with the team. It never feels like you are in the moment with the draft, and the actual draft itself is only in about a quarter of the film. A few solid performances, from Costner, Chadwick Boseman (playing a potential draft pick), Frank Langella (as the Browns owner), and Ellen Burstyn (as Costner's mother), keep the film afloat and watchable. The dealings, however, become a little outlandish, and final resolution is too neat for such a chaotic concept. "Draft Day" amounted to nothing more than a fluff piece.

Grade: C+
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Frank Langella
Director: Ivan Reitman
Writer(s): Scott Rothman & Rajiv Joseph
RT: 109 min
Rating: PG-13 on appeal for brief strong language and sexual references

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Sure, this film had a couple of story issues, but what film doesn't? It is the most solid, most thrilling, and most overall well-made film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anthony and Joe Russo took the Marvel formula, and flipped it to create a spy thriller with great action sequences (including my new favorite car chase), and a stellar script that is a little transparent, but ultimately tense and funny. They were given a great leading cast, which they used to full advantage; not wasting a single talent on screen like a few others in the franchise have managed to do.

Chris Evans is utterly charming as Steve Rodgers (Captain America), he displays a idealistic innocence, even after surviving WWII and the "Battle of New York" from "The Avengers", that makes you instantly like him, and want to root for him at every turn. Samuel L. Jackson took his Nick Fury to a whole new level of badass, and Scarlett Johansson keeps making Black Widow one of the most well-rounded and intriguing characters in this universe. The addition of Anthony Mackie as the Falcon was very welcome. He has been the only interesting comic relief in the three Phase II films (the kid in "Iron Man 3" and Kat Dennings in "Thor 2" were unbearable).  The Russo Brothers even snagged a great performance out of Robert Redford, who is playing Nick Fury's mentor, and head of the World Security Council, Alexander Pierce. And any time I see Cobie Smulders on screen, I instantly melt... so, there is that. Did I mention this is my new favorite Marvel film?

Grade: A
3D: Meh. Not worth it.
Easter Egg: Two seems to be the new norm for Marvel Studios

Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie
Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writer(s): Christopher Markus & Stephan McFeely - Story - Ed Brubaker
RT: 136 min
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, gunplay and action throughout

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

There is literally nothing I didn't love about Wes Anderson's newest movie. His writing only seems to get sharper with every film. Dripping with a mixture of wry wit and low brow slapstick, it is one of the funniest he has produced, as well as (possibly) the most exciting. It is actually quite exciting that an actor as great as Ralph Finnes fits into Anderson's style so effortlessly. He plays M. Gustave H. so beautifully, that his Oscar for it should already be lining his shelf. Actually, this entire cast hits their marks with a vibrant glee, and award caliber perfection. From Wes' mainstays like Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, to more new comers like F. Murray Abraham (and his hilarious younger self played by Toni Revolori) to the ever delightful Saoirse Ronan, there isn't a character wasted in this entire film. I could go on and on about my love of Robert D. Yeoman's cinematography, and the brilliant decisions of switching between aspect ratios depending on the era the story is set in, but this review is supposed to be short, so I won't. Just go see this movie already.

Grade: A+
Easter Egg: No
3D: N/A

Starring: Ralph Finnes, Jude Law, Toni Revolori
Director: Wes Anderson
Writer(s): Wes Anderson - Story: Wes Anderson and Hugo Guiness - Inspiration: Hugo Zweig
RT: 100 min
Rating: R for language, some sexual content and violence

Veronica Mars (2014)

Life on "Mars"

It isn't often that the best thing about a movie is also the worst thing about a movie. Such is the case with Rob Thomas' "Veronica Mars", based off of his show of the same name. This movie feels like a 107 minute episode of the television show, which is both good and bad for it. It is good because it brings its core audience (the people who helped fund the movie via Kickstarter) back into the world they loved so much, and introduces a new audience to something they have never seen before. It is bad because it doesn't expand the world which these characters inhabited, but instead feels like Thomas should have saved this for a season on Netflix instead.

I don't want this to sound like I didn't enjoy the film, because I did. I laughed at many of the references to the show, and almost all of the cameos that got paraded in front of the camera (especially Ira Glass). The cast was really enjoying being back in their old shoes, and the writing was sharp and witty, so they had plenty to play with. There really wasn't much about the movie to not like. There was just a feeling like they could have done more with it, and that the stakes weren't high enough to warrant a big screen revival.

Grade: B+
Easter Egg: Mid-credits sequence
3D: N/A

Starring: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni
Director: Rob Thomas
Writer(s): Rob Thomas (also Story and Characters) & Diane Ruggiero
RT: 107 min
Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexuality including references, drug content, violence and some strong language

Pompeii (2014)

This was such a disaster of a disaster film, I was surprised not to see Roland Emmerich's name on it. Instead, Paul W. S. Anderson (3 "Resident Evil" films) directed this poor excuse for historical fiction, and instead of being the epic he obviously wanted it to be, it was just an epic waste of time. It took three people to write this goofy and horrifically unbelievable script, though I'm not completely positive it wasn't written by those hypothetical monkeys at their typewriters. On the bright side, everything is so lost in the cartoony CGI, that you hardly notice the scripting issue, because your eyes are busy envying blind people.

Kit Harrington is the film's lead, Milo, a Celt whose entire village is slaughtered in front him when he is child, and he later becomes a slave, forced into Gladitoring (that isn't a word!). His performance is one note, and full of complete awful. It wasn't as bad as Kellan Lutz in "Hercules" (by far the worst performance of this short year, so far), but coupled with the piss poor script, it isn't good in any way. Anderson also manages to waste a considerable amount of talent, Carrie-Anne Moss and Jared Harris among the roster. I'm not sure why Kiefer Sutherland was in this, but it surely isn't the first time he did something this far below his standards. I really wish that the Volcano scene would have happened roughly an hour and a half earlier.

Grade: D-
3D: Really, don't.
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Kit Harrington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Writer(s): Janet Scott Batchler, Lee Batchler, Michael Robert Johnson
RT: 98 min
Rating: PG-13 for intense battle sequences, disaster-related action and brief sexual content

Only Lovers Left Alive (2014)

I don't say this easily, but "Only Lover Left Alive" may be my favorite Jim Jarmusch film. I know! With "Mystery Train", "Ghost Dog", and "Coffee and Cigarettes" all in his filmography, that sounds ludicrous. I assure you, nevertheless, that even if it isn't your favorite, it may rank up there for any for any Jarmusch fan. His script is darkly comic and excellently written. Yorick Le Saux's cinematography is the most beautiful, and and brilliantly framed, of Jarmusch's entire career, including the stunning "Down By Law". Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton are so perfect together as Adam and Eve, a vampire couple who have been together for centuries. Their chemistry is undeniable, and their performances are the best have put on screen. So muted and so bare, with a wealth of depth. This is not only Jarmusch's best film, but possibly my favorite vampire film released in years. Possibly decades.

Grade: A
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowski
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Writer(s): Jim Jarmusch
RT: 123 min
Rating: R for language and brief nudity

RoboCop (2014)

The biggest problem with Jose Padilha's remake of "RoboCop" is the fact that, at its heart, it is a really boring movie. It is a very mild mannered action movie, that offers a couple of decent shootouts, and a couple of throwaway references to the original film (my favorite being Jackie Earle Haley summoning Bixby Snyder), but that is it. The story manages to focus too heavy on Alex Murphy's family, and makes them a facet in every decision of the film. Their mere presence drags the entire movie to a halt in many situations. Joel Kinnaman doesn't fare too well as Alex Murphy either. He felt more natural in the suit than out of it, because out of the suit, his monotonous voice and robotic emotions didn't work. Thankfully, most of the supporting cast picked up his slack, and made the film mostly bearable. Gary Oldman as Dr. Norton, the man who builds RoboCop, is predictably excellent, as is Samuel L. Jackson as a corporate stooge/media talking head. Michael K. Williams, on the other hand, isn't given enough to do. He spends most of the movie getting shot, or saying stupid lines like, "At least you're the right color." And, "No, bad cop, RoboCop." You know what? I take it back. The biggest problem with Jose Padilha's remake of "RoboCop" was wasting Michael K. Williams.

Grade: C-
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: The original "RoboCop" theme plays at the very end of the credits.

Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton
Director: Jose Padilha
Writer(s): Joshua Zetumer - Original Film: Edward Nuemeier & Michael Miner
RT: 108 min
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action including frenetic gun violence throughout, brief strong language, sensuality and some drug material