REVIEW: I, Frankenstein

By Chris Luckett

½ star out of 5

Photo: Lionsgate

You’d be forgiven for thinking, from the title, that I, Frankenstein is a retelling of Mary Shelley’s gothic story of Dr. Frankenstein creating his reanimated monster. Instead, it’s an incredibly loose sequel to the story that turns the monster into a brooding hulk, caught up in a centuries-old war between demons and gargoyles.

Yes, gargoyles. It turns out every gargoyle is actually an angel in disguise, able to animate themselves when humans aren’t looking, so that they can wage a war against Satan’s cast-down demons. Frankenstein’s monster, later dubbed Adam, is of great importance to both sides, who take turns trying to convince him to join their team.

Photo: Lionsgate

I, Frankenstein feels more in the vein of the vampires-versus-werewolves movie Underworld than Frankenstein, which makes sense; they were both co-written by Kevin Grevioux. It’s not just the writing, either. The movies even look the same.

The familiarity of the visual style and the supernatural war could be forgiven, if I, Frankenstein bothered to make any sense at all. It maintains a level of stupidity throughout that seems almost unbelievable. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, but so many things about I, Frankenstein are so poor, it’s hard to believe the filmmakers weren’t trying to make a bad movie.

Photo: Lionsgate

Aaron Eckhart has no personality as Adam, and grumbles every line like he learned acting by watching Christian Bale as Batman. Yvonne Strahovski, playing a bland scientist who aids Adam, makes for one of the least believable scientists this side of Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough. Only Bill Nighy (on loan from the Underworld series) shows the slightest bit of a performance as the demon prince Naberius – but even he can only do so much.

If you saw the commercials or trailers for I, Frankenstein and thought the movie looked really cool, you’ll probably get exactly what you want and be satisfied with the final product. If your first impression of I, Frankenstein was that it looked pretty bad, trust your instincts and don’t bother. It’s even worse than it looked.

SPECIAL: The Performances Oscar Forgot

By Chris Luckett

This year, almost all the actors nominated for Oscars truly deserved the nods. Even so, there were many brilliant performances that didn’t get any attention from the Academy. These ten (listed in alphabetical order) all deserve just as much attention as the twenty actors ultimately nominated for Oscars this year.

Honourable Mentions: Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness), Alexis Denisof (Much Ado About Nothing), Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Hugh Jackman (Prisoners), Brie Larson (Short Term 12), Carey Mulligan (Inside Llewyn Davis), and Joaquin Phoenix (Her).

Daniel Brühl (Rush)

Rush’s advertising made the movie seem like Chris Hemsworth was the star of the movie, but Brühl was his equal in every way and gave a layered performance as the egotistic and brilliant F1 racer Nicki Lauda.

Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Colour)

Few performances covered as much territory, time, and emotion as Exarchopoulos’s in Blue is the Warmest Colour. Playing a young woman discovering and exploring her sexuality while also experiencing the pains of first love, Exarchopoulos was stunning.

(Warning: NSFW language)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners)

Playing an obsessed detective on the trail of a child abductor, while also dealing with a tormented father (Hugh Jackman) and his own psychological issues, Gyllenhaal was a living time bomb. His character’s tic of blinking when he’s stressed about something was an especially brilliant choice.

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

As Captain Phillips went from beginning to end, it became a greater and greater movie. The same can be said for Hanks’s performance, which started out excellently and ended with one of the most riveting scenes in 2013. His work in Captain Phillips was some of his best.

Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Struggling folk singer Llewyn Davis is such a grumpy, self-centered jerk that few actors could really have made him bearable. Isaac did it better than anyone else probably could have, giving Davis a resigned attitude and misanthropic sardonicism that skilfully walks a line between evoking pity and admiration.

Scarlett Johansson (Her)

In the past, there have been vocal performances that have stirred up the idea of nominating voice acting for an Oscar, but they were all for relatively simple performances in animated movies. Scarlett Johansson managed to create a three-dimensional, believable, and memorable character with just her voice, as the artificially intelligent Samantha in the live-action fable Her.

Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt)

Known to most North American audiences as the villainous Le Chiffre in the 2006 James Bond reboot Casino Royale, Mikkelsen gave a heartbreaking and haunting performance in The Hunt as a kindergarten teacher falsely accused of sexually assaulting a child.

Robert Redford (All is Lost)

Arguably the greatest acting all year was Redford’s in the nearly silent, slow-burn, one-man-show that was All is Lost. As the only actor on screen for the entire movie and with barely two minutes of talking, Redford gave a physically and emotionally powerful performance as a man fighting against the odds to stay alive, adrift at sea.

Sam Rockwell (The Way Way Back)

The single funniest performance all year was Rockwell’s portrayal of the layabout manager of a seaside town waterpark who takes a mild-mannered and bullied teenager under his wing and mentors him on life, while not doing much with his own. It’s a great role and Rockwell was cast perfectly in it.

Shailene Woodley (The Spectacular Now)

Two years after crying underwater in The Descendants, Woodley returned with an even more interesting performance as the perpetually optimistic Aimee. At first, her character seemed like the smart, quiet love interest in every other teen movie, but much like The Spectacular Now itself, she became more and more interesting as her story unfolded.

(Warning: NSFW language)

VIDEO REVIEW: Nebraska

SPECIAL: The Best Trailers of 2013

By Chris Luckett

Every year, superstars like Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Leonardo DiCaprio star in brilliant, two-minute movies. The fact that these short films are also advertisements for other movies and that they precede “feature presentations” at the theatre doesn’t stop some of them from being works of art in their own right. Of all the trailers that were released in 2013, these are the very best.

10. MAN OF STEEL (“Official Trailer 3”)

The first two Man of Steel trailers weren’t especially impressive, both because Marvel has raised the bar so high and because the movie’s trailers failed to capture the true essence of Superman. The third time was the time. The tension and music slowly build over the first two minutes of mythology and setup, before exploding in a fury of fast cuts, crescendos, and catchphrases that show a lot of the film without spelling out everything that happens.

9. AMERICAN HUSTLE (“Trailer 1”)

Following an opening scene with Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper, American Hustle’s trailer revels in its movie’s ‘70s soundtrack, fashion, and indulgent ideals. Set against Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times,” the trailer for David O. Russell’s new movie shows a cast of Russell alumni from The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook involved in some kind of big con. By the time the trailer’s finished, you still don’t know what the movie’s about, but you certainly know what the feel of it is going to be.

8. X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (“Official Trailer 1”)

The first trailer for the new X-Men movie knows it can sell itself to fans through its subtitle alone, but still takes the time to let audiences piece together the ramifications of its cast-combining concept on their own. Very smartly employing John Murphy’sevocative score from 2007’s Sunshine, the first minute features the modern X-Men cast talking of changing the past and joining forces. The dramatic juxtaposition of shots of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender against those of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen unexpectedly raises the bar and hints at the possibility for this hybrid to be the Avengers of the X-Men universe.

7. THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (“Teaser Trailer”)

Subverting the expectation that every major Ben Stiller movie featuring lots of spastic slapstick and frantic humour, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’s trailer was one of the most hypnotic and riveting of the year, and all with only three lines of dialogue. The teaser for Stiller’s latest presented a general idea of what The Secret Life of Walter Mitty would be but let its visuals and subtle concepts – married against the apt lyrics of Of Monster and Men’s “Dirty Paws” – sell the movie, instead of dialogue, narration, or Stiller’s usual manic energy.

6. UPSTREAM COLOUR (“Theatrical Trailer”)

The sophomore release of Shane Carruth, the writer-director-composer-editor-actor of Primer, was the most hypnotically confusing and puzzlingly weird movie of last year, and its theatrical trailer perfectly captured that same tone. If this trailer bothers or disinterests you, you know not to watch Upstream Colour. If, however, you’re intrigued, fascinated, or just can’t shake the weird music and imagery hours later, you know to definitely check it out. Either way, the trailer tells you absolutely nothing about the movie yet conclusively sells you on it or turns you away.

5. HER (“Official Trailer 1”)

The light, delicate score lures you into Her’s first trailer at the start, and the question-and-answer period with Joaquin Phoenix’s character perfectly introduces his character to audiences in mere seconds. The futuristic story comes off as an amusing and heart-warming tale of a broken man learning to enjoy life again – right up until the 1:30 mark. Suddenly shifting gears completely and giving effective tonal whiplash the first time anyone sees it, Her promises a very weird love story that should look stupid, but darn it if it doesn’t look fascinating.

4. GODZILLA (“Official Teaser Trailer”)

Much like the trailers for 2009’s StarTrek reboot, the first trailer for 2014’s Godzilla knows it has an uphill battle and that its brand is working just as much against the movie as it is for it. Set against a foreboding speech from David Strathairn, a spectacular, military skydive, and an ominous audio track that feels lifted from 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s not until after the one-minute mark that the trailer gives you a glimpse of the fact it’s a Godzilla movie. By that point, the trailer’s earned a fair chance to impress, which it uses its remaining running time doing with aplomb.

3. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (“Official International Trailer”)

Director Wes Anderson and his movies are known to most people for their magnificent casts and their inimitable visuals, and his latest movie looks to deliver both in spades. The antiquated, full-screen ratio of the trailer and its bold colour scheme attract your attention from the first frame onward. The dry humour of the first third turns darker and quirkier by the trailer’s middle, before breaking into a manic score that advertises the comedy’s gargantuan cast in rapid-fire succession. After the dizzying effect of its climax, the trailer brilliantly comes to a sudden stop with a laugh-out-loud one-liner punctuating an abrupt finish.

2. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (“Theatrical Trailer #3”)

Now this is a trailer. Perfect from start to finish, with the opening 20 seconds establishing the grumpy and curmudgeonly folk singer Llewyn Davis. As soon as the wondrous, melancholy tones of Oscar Isaac and Marcus Mumford’s “Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)” kick in, half of the trailer’s work is done. It toggles through glowing reviews of the movie and random scenes that tell no linear story but give an excellent snapshot of the general tone of the Coen brothers’ new movie. The song crescendos alongside the trailer, before both fade into silence. Inside Llewyn Davis’s third trailer doesn’t make a single wrong movie. In fact, it would be the greatest trailer of the year, from start to finish, were it not for one other movie...

1. GRAVITY (“Official Main Trailer”)

Just as flawless as Inside Llewyn Davis’s third trailer but even more impressive, Gravity’s second trailer is two-and-a-half minutes of visual wonder and psychological terror. Starting with ten seconds of text against a black background and utter silence, the trailer explodes in an instant, submerging you right in the middle of a mind-blowing action sequence that raises your adrenaline and tightens your chest. The tension keeps ratcheting through the trailer as the music rises to a near-deafening volume, before dissipating at the end – only to quickly rebuild in time for a second climax, which is abruptly interrupted at its tensest point by the seven-letter title on a simple black background. It’s insanely effective, it’s remarkably grand, and it’s the best movie trailer to be released in 2013.

VIDEO REVIEW: Her

VIDEO REVIEW: Inside Llewyn Davis

OSCARS 2014: Snubs and Surprises

By Chris Luckett

Every year when the Oscar nominees are announced, a few movies get shockingly ignored and a few are surprisingly recognized. 2014’s Academy Award noms proved to be no exception.

Photo: Paramount Pictures

With all of the controversy surrounding the glorified excess of Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, many expected it would get just a few token nominations in minor categories. Instead, it wound up with five major nods, including for Best Picture, Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), and Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill.)

The Wolf of Wall Street’s inclusion meant some expected movies didn’t make the cut, like the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, which went from an expected major contender to an almost-shutout.

Photo: Universal Pictures

The same went for Ron Howard’s Rush, which was nominated for Best Picture and Supporting Actor (Daniel Brühl) at the Golden Globes but didn’t receive a single Oscar nom.

Despite the lukewarm reception of August: Osage County, Meryl Streep still received a Best Actress nod, resulting in assumed-frontrunner Emma Thompson being shut out for her lead role in Saving Mr. Banks.

Thompson’s co-star, Tom Hanks, was snubbed not one but twice. Some expected him to get nominated for both Saving Mr. Banks and Captain Phillips, but he received attention for neither – possibly due to votes being split between his two performances.

Photo: Lionsgate

One of the bravest and most intense performances of the year, from screen legend Robert Redford in the lost-at-sea drama All is Lost, was also left off the list of finalists, to the surprise of many. It had been 40 years since Redford received his only acting nomination (for The Sting) and his name had been included in most people’s predictions.

Just because the nominations are out now doesn’t meant the surprises are over, either. As Argo’s late, groundswell victory for Best Picture last year (following Ben Affleck’s snub for Best Director) proved, anything can happen at the Academy Awards. With the winners not being announced until March 2, it’s still anybody’s race.

OSCARS 2014: Nominations and Prediction Results

By Chris Luckett

Despite there being only a dozen of so films in major contention for the Oscars this year, while I was right about many nominations, I also misjudged a number of them. Inside Llewyn Davis, Rush, All is Lost, and Saving Mr. Banks all proved less loved by the Academy than they’ve been by other award groups and guilds. Philomena, Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Dallas Buyers Club also proved even stronger bets than I initially thought.

I did better with my predictions in the major categories than in the more technical fields, but then, the more technical awards are usually more unpredictable than the main eight, anyway.

My worst predictions were for Best Documentary Feature, Best Original Song, and Best Short (Live-Action), with only 40% accuracy. My best predictions were for Best Adapted Screenplay, where I managed to correctly predict all five nominated movies.

BEST PICTURE

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

The Wolf of Wall Street

(Unpredicted: Philomena)

Verdict: 8/9. I correctly predicted there would be nine nominees this year and got eight of the nine nominations right, but I overestimated the Academy’s love of the Coen brothers and Inside Llewyn Davis’s chances. And while I knew that Judi Dench was a shoo-in for her performance in Philomena, I didn’t expect it was beloved enough to secure a spot in the Best Picture race.

BEST ACTOR

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

Robert Redford (All is Lost)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

(Unpredicted: Christian Bale [American Hustle], Leonardo DiCaprio [The Wolf of Wall Street])

Verdict: 3/5. I expected a margin of error of 1, with all the last-minute buzz for Bale’s performance in American Hustle, but I didn’t expect DiCaprio would also get a nod this year, with the race being as tight as it is. Between Hanks’ two well-received performances last year, it seemed that unlikely for him to receive at least a nomination for Captain Phillips, his more impressive of the two. Despite rave reviews and what surely was one of the greatest performances of the year, Robert Redford has been absent from much of the awards-season promotions and All is Lost has been present less often, as of late. I kept hoping Redford would still receive a nomination, but this late in the changing game, it was just wishful thinking.

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)

(Unpredicted: Amy Adams [American Hustle])

Verdict: 4/5. I expected Thompson was a surer bet than Dench or Streep this year, but the quickly cooling consensus about Saving Mr. Banks (possibly coupled with an anti-Walt Disney speech Streep made recently) allowed American’s Hustle’s Adams to sneak in, on a wave of late support.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Daniel Brühl (Rush)

Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

(Unpredicted: Jonah Hill [The Wolf of Wall Street])

Verdict: 4/5. Support for The Wolf of Wall Street landed Jonah Hill his second Oscar nomination in three years, simply leaving no room for Brühl’s impressive turn in Ron Howard’s Rush.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)

Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

June Squibb (Nebraska)

Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)

(Unpredicted: Sally Hawkins [Blue Jasmine])

Verdict: 4/5. While The Butler’s Forest Whittaker had already all but fallen out of the Best Actor race, I expected Winfrey would still get a nomination in the weaker Best Supporting Actress race. Sally Hawkins was a complete surprise.

BEST DIRECTOR

Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)

Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)

Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)

David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)

(Unpredicted: Alexander Payne [Nebraska])

Verdict: 4/5. Assuming that Hanks would land a Best Actor nod as well, I expected Greengrass to get recognition from the Academy for Captain Phillips’s direction. Nebraska seemed more likely to get nominated for its screenplay, but the Academy has shown their affection for Alexander Payne in the past, as well, so it does make sense.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

American Hustle

Blue Jasmine

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

(Unpredicted: Dallas Buyers Club)

Verdict: 4/5. I thought Dallas Buyers Club had a good shot of getting nominated, but just thought Inside Llewyn Davis’s script had a better one.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

12 Years a Slave

Before Midnight

Captain Phillips

Philomena

The Wolf of Wall Street

Verdict: 5/5. Note to self: stay humble.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Frozen

Monsters University

The Wind Rises

(Unpredicted: Ernest & Clementine)

Verdict: 4/5. I expected the Academy’s love for Pixar would secure Monsters University at least a nomination. Apparently not.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

Prisoners

(Unpredicted: The Grandmaster, Nebraska)

Verdict: 3/5. I thought Nebraska could displace Captain Phillips, but I figured 12 Years a Slave was going to get a spot, especially over a lower-profile movie like The Grandmaster.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

The Great Gatsby

Inside Llewyn Davis

Saving Mr. Banks

(Unpredicted: The Grandmaster, The Invisible Woman)

Verdict: 3/5. Inside Llewyn Davis and Saving Mr. Banks were soft choices, to be honest. The Grandmaster and The Invisible Woman simply seemed too far off the Academy’s radar to me.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

20 Feet from Stardom

The Act of Killing

Blackfish

Stories We Tell

Tim’s Vermeer

(Unpredicted: Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, The Square)

Verdict: 2/5. I thought the audience appeal of Blackfish, Stories We Tell, and Tim’s Vermeer would fill the slots after 20 Feet from Stardom and The Act of Killing, but voters steered more obscurely this year.

BEST FILM EDITING

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Rush

The Wolf of Wall Street

(Unpredicted: 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club)

Verdict: 3/5. Thinking Rush would be nominated for a few Oscars, this seemed like a likely category in which for the movie to be recognized. The modern feel of The Wolf of Wall Street, especially from an old-school filmmaker like Martin Scorsese, seemed like it would be a sure thing. 12 Years a Slave’s sweep and love for Dallas Buyers Club proved stronger.

BEST FOREIGN-LANGAUGE FILM

The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)

The Great Beauty (Italy)

The Hunt (Denmark)

The Notebook (Hungary)

Omar (Palestine)

(Unpredicted: The Missing Picture)

Verdict: 4/5. Having seen neither The Notebook nor The Missing Picture and knowing little about either yet, I’m not beating myself up about this one.

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

American Hustle

Bad Grandpa

Dallas Buyers Club

(Unpredicted: The Lone Ranger)

Verdict: 2/3. I wasn’t completely sold on American Hustle getting a slot, but I didn’t expect it to go to The Lone Ranger.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

12 Years a Slave

All is Lost

The Book Thief

Gravity

Saving Mr. Banks

(Unpredicted: Her, Philomena)

Verdict: 3/5. With All is Lost’s win for Best Score at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, I thought it would get a nomination, at least. I forgot that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have no overlapping members whatsoever. I’m surprised 12 Years a Slave didn’t land a spot, though. I didn’t expect either Her or Philomena to get nominated here, but I’m not shocked, either.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Let it Go” (Frozen)

“Ordinary Love” (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

“Sweeter Than Fiction” (One Chance)

(Unpredicted: “Alone Yet Not Alone” [Alone Yet Not Alone], “Happy” [Despicable Me 2], “The Moon Song” [Her])

Verdict: 2/5. Not only did I figure there’d only be three nominated songs this year, I expected the Academy wouldn’t pass on the opportunity to have the youthful and popular Taylor Swift – who sang “Sweeter Than Fiction” – performing on March 2’s televised broadcast. I was quite off in my read of this category this year.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

The Great Gatsby

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Saving Mr. Banks

(Unpredicted: Gravity, Her)

Verdict: 3/5. I’ve got no excuse for not thinking that Her would get nominated here. I totally should’ve seen that coming. As for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, I didn’t expect it would be forgotten in this category. Of all of Gravity’s nominations, this one feels the most surprising.

BEST SHORT (ANIMATED)

Feral

The Missing Horse

Get a Horse!

Mr. Hublot

Subconscious Password

(Unpredicted: Possessions, Room on the Broom)

Verdict: 3/5. This category, like the other Best Short categories, was a toss-up, like usual.

BEST SHORT (DOCUMENTARY)

CaveDigger

Facing Fear

The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

Recollections

SLOMO

(Unpredicted: Karama Has No Walls, Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall)

Verdict: 3/5. See above verdict.

BEST SHORT (LIVE-ACTION)

Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)

Dva (Two)

Helium

Record/Play

Tiger Boy

(Unpredicted: Avant Que De Tout Perdre [Just Before Losing Everything], Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? [Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?], The Voorman Problem)

Verdict: 2/5. Oh, those tricky short film nominations.

BEST SOUND EDITING

All is Lost

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Iron Man 3

Rush

(Unpredicted: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Lone Survivor)

Verdict: 3/5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’s nomination doesn’t surprise me. Lone Survivor’s nomination does.

BEST SOUND MIXING

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

Rush

(Unpredicted: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Lone Survivor)

Verdict: 3/5. See: Best Sound Editing.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

Pacific Rim

Star Trek Into Darkness

(Unpredicted: The Lone Ranger)

Verdict: 4/5. Very surprised The Lone Ranger got nominated here. I could’ve seen Pacific Rim being displaced, but not by The Lone Ranger.