Paper Towns

            “Paper Towns” is the newest film adaptation of a John Green novel. The movie was directed by Jake Schreier, and the screenplay was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. It stars Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Austin Abrams, Justice Smith, Halston Sage and Jaz Sinclair. I was very excited to see this movie.

“Paper Towns” is my favorite John Green book, and I was thrilled that there would be a movie version. I thought that the adaption of “The Fault in Our Stars” was well made, so I was expecting the same with this movie. That was not the case. It was just an average teen movie. The only reason I even slightly enjoyed it was because it was based off of a book that I love. It is rated as a rotten movie on Rotten Tomatoes with only a 55 percent. The story is not the problem though. It’s the way it is presented.

In the film, Quentin or Q (Wolff) has been in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman (Delevingne) since they were young kids. They saw a dead body together, which sparks an interest in mysteries for Margo. Ever since then, she has been very adventurous and has even become a bit of a mystery to everyone who knows her. After a night of pranks on her friends who did her wrong, Margo disappears. Quentin takes it upon himself to find her. The outcome provides a very important message.

This message makes sense throughout the reading of the whole book. However, it doesn’t fit the movie very well. The ending was changed in the movie in order to get the point across. It doesn’t make sense at all when looking at the rest of the movie. If the whole movie matched the tone and feeling of the end, it would have been much better.

I think they did a good job of including most of the parts the fans of the book really wanted to see, but it wasn’t done well. They only showed one fast pit stop scene and left out some of the fantastic comments the characters made in the process. They showed the “great white wall of cow,” but they never actually called it that or included the best lines from the characters about it. I was also very disappointed about the way they removed the one eyebrow. My favorite part about that was wondering if he would remove the other eyebrow or draw on the one that was removed. It’s all those little humorous moments that I missed the most.

           Speaking of humorous moments, Ben was so hilarious in the book. They tried to showcase that in the movie, but failed. I was completely let down by Abrams. I didn’t find him funny in the film, and that ruined some of the best parts for me. Drunk Ben in the movie was not good at all, it was just sad. I thought Wolff did a pretty average job, but he was much better in his smaller role in “The Fault in Our Stars.” Smith was also nothing special in his role. The girls did pretty well though. I can’t say I was that impressed by Delevingne, but Sage and Sinclair’s performances were enjoyable. Sage did a good job and was my favorite part of the movie, even though she had a smaller role. She was actually believable as Lacey. Sinclair surprised me. In the book, Angela stood out to me the least. I liked her, she just wasn’t as memorable. Sinclair brought Angela more to the forefront of the group.

          All of these things took a toll on the film. I wish it had lived up to my expectations, but it definitely did not. If you are thinking of watching the movie, please read the book first. If you watch the movie first, it could ruin the book for you. That would be tragic because the book is fantastic. I am so disappointed with the way it turned out. Sadly, this is not a movie you need to see.

Home

      The DreamWorks film “Home” was directed by Tim Johnson. The screenplay was written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, and Adam Rex wrote the book. The film stars Jim Parsons, Rihanna and Steve Martin. It’s a pretty cute animated movie. It was quite average, which is probably why it was rated as a rotten film on Rotten Tomatoes with a 46 percent rating. The plot didn’t help. It was very predictable, but still cute.

      In the movie, Oh (Parsons) and his alien race, ruled by Captain Smek (Martin), invade Earth to make it their new home. Oh accidentally sends their location to their enemy, which turns all of his people against him. He has to live life on the run and meets Tip (Rihanna), a human girl, who is trying to find her mom. In order to escape, he agrees to help Tip find her mom, but he’s really trying to help himself. Tip teaches him what it means to be a human and that mistakes are okay. He also learns about friendship along the way.

      The plot and moral of the film is nothing new. Two very different characters develop a friendship while working as a team to accomplish a goal.They also learn that everyone makes mistakes. It’s what you do with them that matters. These have been used time and time again. It is a nice message though for young children, who haven’t already seen this done to death.

      The biggest reason I watched this movie is because of Parsons. He did not disappoint. His voice acting for Oh was pretty funny. It was a lot like Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. The main difference of the two is that Oh is more energetic all the time. The tone Parsons used, plus the misuse of the english language, made the character so likable. I also personally enjoyed the word-play.

      Another character I liked a lot was Tip’s cat and the way it interacted with Oh. The sight of the cat always sitting on Oh’s head makes me smile. Also, Martin was entertaining as Captain Smek. He was a fun addition to the cast. The Tip character was pretty typical though. There really wasn’t anything about this character that stood out to me, except that I liked her name Tip was short for Gratuity.

      I think the animation was done just as well as DreamWorks’ past films. The aliens looked right at home in this film. In fact, the aliens seemed to fit into that world more than the humans did. Maybe that was because there were many more aliens than humans throughout.

      I also didn’t think the music was anything special. It was fine, and it fitted the film well enough. The music just wasn’t very memorable. The only reason I remember anything about the music is because it was promoted so much beforehand.

      In general, “Home” was pretty average. It’s a light-hearted, rainy day type of movie. It is much more suited for young children than for everyone else. This is not something you need to rush to see.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

           Studio Ghibli’s “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” made its American debut in 2014. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata. Some of the voice actors include Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan and Mary Steenburgen. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. I liked this movie very much, and it looks like the critics agree. This film has a 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Part of this is because of the unique story.

Princess Kaguya comes into the world from the middle of a bamboo stock. A bamboo cutter finds her and brings her home, where she starts growing rapidly. The man believes her to be a princess and thinks she is his blessing from heaven. He also finds a lot of gold and material to create beautiful clothes in bamboo stocks. The Bamboo Cutter, along with his wife, uses these treasures to turn the girl into the real princess he believes her to be.  Princess Kaguya has a hard time dealing with the process of becoming a princess. She is expected to act according to certain rules, but she is a free spirit. This creates a situation no one expected.

The story is augmented by the incredible visual aspects of the movie. Everything was created by hand, and each frame could stand alone as a beautiful picture. It definitely adds to the magic of their world. My favorite part of the movie is when the princess runs away during a celebration in her honor. It gave me instant goosebumps. She flys across the screen, her anger unmistakable. At one point, she sheds several layers of colorful robes. It moves so fast, and it’s so gorgeous to look at. The lines of the scene are scribbled in order to create the fast-paced action.

 Another of my favorite scenes to look at involves the princess turning in circles under a cherry blossom. It has a similar visual technique. It took me back to when I would spin around when was little. I remembered how fun and freeing that felt. Because of the amazing movement and beauty of the scene I could share in Princess Kaguya’s disappointment when that sensation came to an end. Not only does the visual experience affect the movie, but also the voice actors themselves are really important to portraying the story in the correct way.

 I started watching the movie in english. However, the voice acting of Caan (The Bamboo Cutter) was too distracting to me after only about five minutes. It didn’t really seem to match well with the flow of the film. The lines were really choppy. I liked it better in Japanese. The movement of the characters and the tone matched the Japanese voice actors. In addition, hearing a movie that takes place in Japan in the Japanese language makes it seem more believable. It puts the audience in the world easier.

 I watched some parts of the movie in english afterwards to see how that affected the scenes. Moretz (Princess Kaguya) sounded good on the parts of the film where the princess is speaking quietly and slowly. However, on the faster speaking parts, the princess spoke exactly the way Moretz usually speaks. That distracted me, and it took me right out the scene. I think the tone she used matched the tone of the movie really well though. For me, if a voice is too recognizable, it takes away from the character I’m watching on the screen.

              Another thing that made a difference in the tone of the film was the music. There is a song in the movie that the princess knows a second verse to that no one else does. This song comes up several times and ties into the big plot point of the movie. The other music that is played during the movie amplifies what the characters are doing. There are some wonderful quiet moments that the characters don’t speak. The music speaks instead.

              Because of these things, I couldn’t help but love “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.” It is now one of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies. I hope more people watch it, so they can have the same great experience as I did.

Gone Girl

     The newest David Fincher movie, “Gone Girl,”  is based on a book written by Gillian Flynn. Flynn also wrote the screenplay, which is probably one of the reasons why the movie is so good. It stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris. This movie gets better the more I think about it. I give it four and a half stars. “Gone Girl” has a 87 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I’m a little surprised it’s not higher, but I can see how some people might not enjoy it.

      At the beginning of the film, Amy (Pike) goes missing on the day of her fifth wedding anniversary. As the investigation continues, the town starts to suspect that Nick (Affleck) killed his wife. While details unravel, information about the not so happy marriage gets out to the media, making the townspeople more and more suspicious. The movie takes the audience through the intense investigation and reveals the unbelievable details.

     The story is fantastic. I didn’t read the book, and I don’t feel I missed anything by not reading it. However, it makes me wonder what I would have thought about the movie if I had read the book first. I thought the twist was great. I had a feeling the movie would turn in a different direction, but I didn’t know just how much. It definitely makes me think twice about trusting people. The characters were fascinating, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.

     Affleck played the role of Nick well. There’s a mixture of innocence and violence that he mixes perfectly to make the viewers unsure whether he killed his wife or not. At certain points, he draws sympathy, and in others, he brings fury. I love the character of Amy even more. Pike did a great job portraying so many different emotions, some real and some fake. She makes the movie absolutely bone-chilling. I also really enjoyed what Carrie Coon did with her role of Margo, Nick’s sister.

     I think “Gone Girl” was well directed by Fincher. The lighting, the tone, the music and the setting all came together to really sell the story. He did not shy away from the graphic scenes. Fincher had to show just how far these characters would go in order to get the intended impact on the audience. The whole movie seemed to have a little darker lighting than normal or maybe duller colors. This brought out even more of the dark tone of the plot and characters.

     The ending of “Gone Girl” is quite divisive. Some people love it and some hate it. I personally love it. I feel it’s the only ending that works for this interesting story. Nick and Amy are a very unique couple. They challenge each other. They excite and terrify the other, making a complex relationship. Therefore, the ending should be just as complex. Also, the uncertain ending adds to the intensity and draws me in even more. It makes me keep thinking about it.

     I had a good feeling I would like this film based on other Fincher movies I’ve seen, which include “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Fight Club” and “Se7en.” I saw Affleck in “Argo,” “Extract,” “State of Play,” “He’s Just Not That Into You,” “Smokin’ Aces,” “Jersey Girl,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Dogma,” “Shakespeare in Love,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Chasing Amy” and “Mallrats.” I also enjoyed Pike in “The World’s End,” “Surrogates,” “An Education,” “Fracture” and “Pride & Prejudice.” The work of these three individuals came together well to make a fantastic movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy

    “Guardians of the Galaxy” is the newest Marvel superhero movie to hit the theaters. It was directed by James Gunn. The movie was written by Nicole Perlman and Gunn from the comic book written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. It includes stars such as Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper. I couldn’t wait to see this movie and with good reason. It was fantastic. It’s very funny, full of action, and has an all around feel good tone. Rotten Tomatoes has it listed at a 92 percent fresh rating, which is very high.

    This film is about a man named Peter Quill a.k.a Star-Lord (Pratt). He’s in the business of stealing and ends up stealing something many dangerous people are looking for, including Ronan the Accuser. Quill is captured along with a few others who are looking for the stolen orb. He befriends his fellow criminals to escape. The way they become friends seems quite realistic to me. Star-Lord and his new friends Gamora (Saldana), Drax (Bautista), Groot (Diesel), and Rocket (Cooper) go on a mission to save the galaxy from Ronan and the dangerous powers of the orb.

    In all, the story is pretty simple. There’s not much unusual about the plot. It’s very straight-forward. A guy gets in some trouble and meets some new friends that help him fix the problem. Of course, there is also a little romance thrown in. This story might have been terribly boring in a typical movie. However, the skilled humor and action make this story exciting.

    Pratt was the perfect choice for Star-Lord. He’s one of my favorite comedy actors. He’s hilarious without even trying. I have been a fan of Pratt since Everwood.  My favorite part of the movie is the opening credits. Pratt walks/dances his way to steal the orb while singing along to “Come and Get Your Love.” He grabs a creature from the planet he’s on and sings into it like a microphone. Much of the movie has the same type of humor.  Saldana also did a good job as Gamora. She’s become an action movie staple. The other actors added to the humor with their own talent. Groot had a couple of my favorite moments. After he takes down a bunch of their captors, with a little more enthusiasm than was needed, he turns around and gives the best smile. I also loved Groot’s dancing.

    All this dancing made complete sense with the amazing soundtrack for the film. The oldies songs are not only great alone, but they bring another upbeat and fun element to “Guardians of the Galaxy” making many parts even funnier. It’s definitely a main character. Music isn’t just used as another fun element to put the audience in the right mood. It’s part of the plot. Quill’s mother died when he was a young boy. He had a cassette tape of the songs with him when she died and is only of the only souvenirs he has from his time living on Earth.

    Gunn did a great job with this movie. The only other thing I’ve seen of his is the “Scooby-Doo” movie, which I mildly enjoyed. I am more familiar with his brother Sean Gunn, who played Kirk in “Gilmore Girls.” Sean Gunn also played a minor role in this film. Besides Everwood, I’ve also seen Pratt’s work in “Parks and Recreation,” “The Lego Movie,” “Delivery Man,” “Her,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “What’s Your Number,” “Moneyball,” “Bride Wars” and “Wanted.” Other movies I’ve seen Saldana in are “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Star Trek,” “Avatar,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “Drumline” and “Center Stage.”

    I loved this movie, and I can’t wait to see the next one. Also, I’m excited to follow the work of Gunn and the actors to watch how they develop in the future. “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a must watch.

Boyhood

            A 12 year movie making process gave us “Boyhood,” which was directed and written by Richard Linklater. The stars include Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke and Lorelei Linklater, who is the director’s daughter. I absolutely loved this movie. The story, acting and movie creation are great. It even has a near perfect 99 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I definitely encourage every person to see this movie. There is nothing else like it out there so far.

I am just amazed how these actors and Linklater dedicated themselves to this project for 12 years. It’s fantastic to be able to actually watch the characters grow older and change over the course of the film. Everything from the haircuts and clothing to the music and Harry Potter showcase the passing years. I loved watching the boy’s haircuts over the years. They changed so drastically, whereas his sister’s didn’t. It’s the opposite from what I thought would’ve happened. These haircuts also helped me see the different periods of time easier.

This film follows the lives of a family, how they deal with some very rough challenges and how these challenges shaped their lives. It’s about Mason (Coltrane) growing up with his sister Samantha (Linklater) and their mom (Arquette). Their father (Hawke) spends time with them and is really interested in talking to them about their lives and getting to know them. Even though he is not with the mother, he plays a big part in their lives. The problems don’t feel like they were staged just to make everything more interesting.The story unfolds like real life and the audience gets to be a fly on the wall. There’s more that happens in this family’s life. We just get to see a portion of it.

The acting was really good. With so many years together, the actors have a real connection and feel like an actual family. They’ve had a lot of time with the characters, and the movie includes a lot of popular things during those years, so it feels like a true story. Hawke does really well in these roles lasting for a longer period.

Another great role was the music, which almost seemed like another character. As I mentioned earlier, the way music was used added a lot to the film. It helped distinguish what time the scenes were taking place and what that time was like. The changes in music went along well with the changes of the characters, showing everything’s evolution over time. Music is a very important tool to get the right tone of the film and get the audience more involved with what’s happening on screen.

“Boyhood” is two hours and 45 minutes long. It’s a little longer than an average movie, but I’m impressed Linklater got 12 years of filming down to this length. The movie doesn’t feel too long while watching it. However, it’s long enough to make the viewers feel all twelve of those years.

I have loved watching other Linklater films including “Before Midnight,” “Before Sunset,” “School of Rock” and “Before Sunrise.” Another movie of his, “Bernie,” I didn’t enjoy as much. I think it was well made, but the plot with that pace just wasn’t for me. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Linklater.

            Hawke worked with Linklater in his “Before” trilogy, which were also fantastic. I’ve also seen Hawke in “New York, I Love You” and “Dead Poets Society.” The only other film I’ve seen Arquette in is “Holes.” This is the first thing from Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater I’ve seen. Now that this big project is over, I’m looking forward to seeing this cast in more movies.

The Wind Rises

            “The Wind Rises” is the newest Studio Ghibli film and is said to be the last one written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese Production Company that creates animated movies. The original version of this movie is in Japanese, but it has a dubbed version in English with the voices of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt and several other well known actors.

            I love Ghibli films. Seeing the style for the first time could turn some people away because it’s so different from what we are used to seeing in American animated movies. It can take some getting used to. After getting over the style difference, it’s easier to focus on the great storyline and the amazing way the animation looks. I find both of these elements in every Studio Ghibli film I see. “The Wind Rises” is very good and I urge everyone to see it. Rotten Tomatoes has this movie listed at an 88 percent fresh rating.

            This movie is about Jiro Horikoshi (Gordon-Levitt), who dreams about designing airplanes. This is based off his real life story. During the course of the film, major Japanese events take place. Another big plot point is that Jiro falls in love with a woman who is very sick. He has to spend his time worrying about her while also trying to complete his life’s dream of creating a great airplane.

            The storyline of this film is a little controversial. Jiro strives to make a great fighter plane for Japan to use in the big war. Although the movie is showing how the fighter planes were made that caused a lot of destruction in war, I believe the film is focusing on the man following his dreams. The other part of the plot that seems to be causing some division is the love story. It’s very enjoyable to watch, but at one point in the film, it seems the movie veers into a completely different direction. It goes from showing all about Jiro working on his dream to him falling in love. They seem like two completely different movies. However, it does tie both parts together in the third part of the film. Another thing that helps explain the sudden jump in storyline is a line Jiro’s friend says in the first part of the movie. He explains how it’s necessary to have a family to go home to in order to work.

            Something else that I believe makes a difference in the story is the language. I saw the Japanese version of the film with English subtitles. I liked seeing “The Wind Rises” in its original form. Seeing the film in Japanese made it feel more real, since the movie takes place in Japan during some historical times. I’m interested in seeing “The Wind Rises” again in English though to see if that changes the effectiveness of the story. I wonder how the English would influence my feelings about Jiro making the fighter planes. Also, I’m a big fan of Gordon-Levitt. I’d like to see the difference in the delivery of the lines and if it would change the emotional impact.

Along with the story, the way this movie looks is fantastic. I haven’t seen anything else like the Ghibli films. There are so many little details that make it seem so realistic. However, that’s combined with clearly animated features. For example, the sounds of the airplanes are obviously made by people making noises with their mouths. It’s an interesting combination that somehow works.

If this truly is the last film by Miyazaki, I suggest everyone see it in theaters if possible. Other great Studio Ghibli movies I’ve seen include “From Up on Poppy Hill,” “The Secret World of Arrietty,” “Ponyo,” “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Spirited Away,” “Princess Mononoke,” “Whisper of the Heart,” “Grave of the Fireflies,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Castle in the Sky.” I encourage everyone to watch these movies and experience this fantastic production style.