Boyhood - The best movie of 2014

Boyhood - Richard Linklater's epic masterpiece.

I just had the pleasure of finally seeing Richard Linklater's masterpiece, Boyhood, and I'm still in awe.  This is a movie that really hit home with me.  Perhaps it's because I am looking back at my own journey from boy to man (my wife would joke that I still haven't reached adulthood), or perhaps because I'm looking at my son and his upcoming life, but I absolutely loved this film, and I highly recommend it.

Looking back at the past, what do we remember about life?  We don't remember the day to day minutae.  We remember the moments, snapshots, and events that helped shape us into the people we end up being.  That's what I liked so much about this film.  It almost felt like a scripted documentary.  We are along for the ride as Mason (played brilliantly by newcomer Ellar Coltrane)grows from a little boy to a young adult about to enter college.  We see the highs and lows as we skip from moment to moment in a 12 year window in Mason's formative years.  Linklater used the same cast over more than a decade of filming, and the dedication really pays off.  We don't have to suspend disbelief that a kid in the beginning of he movie is actually the same person at the end.

Even though my experiences weren't the same as Mason's, I could really relate to this story.  I came from a family of divorce and so did he.  Like Mason, it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.  Heck, I graduated college and STILL didn't know what I wanted to do.  That's what felt so real about this movie.  Instead of being told how to feel, we were left to bring our own experiences to the film and interpret each scene how we wanted to.  Boyhood opens up with a Coldplay song that always brings me back to college.  We are reminded of major national events (9/11, the Iraq war, Obama's election, etc.) and yet they happen organically in this film.  They are only brought up to further a character's story line.  We don't have to relive the horrific events of 9/11, and yet we know they exist.  I was also able to relate to Patricia Arquette's matriarchal character.  She's a strong, exhausted woman who is just trying to do the right thing for her children.  Arquette gives a hell of a performance without being too over the top.  I was very sympathetic to her character because I was raised by a strong woman who did everything to raise her children.

This movie doesn't have a traditional plot.  Like I said, it's a collection of snapshots as we watch Mason grow from a boy to the cusp of being a man.  It's a refreshing film because it doesn't fall into any Hollywood cliches.  It exists as we exist.  Moment to moment.  Snapshot to snapshot.

The fact that it exists at all is amazing..  Filmed over 12 years, so many things could have gone wrong.  Any number of actors could have quit the production.  The studio could have lost interest.  But, amazingly, nothing went wrong an we are left with a perfect movie.

I'm giving Boyhood 4 out of 4 stars.  It should be the front runner for best picture this year.  It's out on DVD and download now.  Please find a way to see it.

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies - After nine hours, the Hobbit trilogy finally comes to a close.

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies

Movie Review

by Brian Wezowicz

I am a huge fan of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.  It may be my favorite trilogy in of all-time.  Each film in the trilogy has grown better with time, and the director's cut are actually BETTER than the theatrical versions (a cinematic anomaly for sure).  In a way, Peter Jackson is the anti George Lucas.  The more he adds to his movies, the better they are.  I own both the theatrical and the extended version of all three LOTR movies.  I've done multiple marathons where I've watched the trilogy in one sitting.  I can't get enough Middle Earth.

When it was announced that they were making not one but TWO Hobbit films, I remember being more than excited.  Then, when it was announced that they were making THREE Hobbit films, I nearly passed out like a teenage girl at a One Direction concert.  I've always said that a bad day in Middle Earth is still a pretty good day.  The first two movies have their highs and they definitely have their lows.  They do a great job of setting up this third and final film.  Whereas each Lord Of The Rings film could almost be considered a stand alone film that serve a larger story, The Hobbit trilogy is one long story that is broken into three parts.  Yes, the action lags at times, but when Peter Jackson gets it right, he really really gets it right.

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is not a perfect film by any means, but it's the best and most exciting film in the trilogy.  It suffers from the same shortcomings as the first two (parts drag at times), but amps up the action with an epic battle that only Peter Jackson can deliver.  The Five Armies picks up right where The Desolation Of Smaug left off... with Bilbo and his merry band of dwarves bearing witness to the seriously ornery dragon bearing down on the inhabitants of Lake Town after being dispatched from the mountain he inhabited for decades.  The dragon burns that mother down like the saucy little (er, huge) minx that he is.  I wouldn't want to tick off a thousand year old fire breathing dragon.  Smaug's destruction of Lake Town looks magnificent on screen.  It might contain some of the best (non Planet Of The Apges) CGI in a 2014 movie.  The downside to this scene is that it really should have occurred at the end of the previous film.  For such a big moment, it happens rather quickly.  Before you know it (spoiler alert) the dragon is dead and the fine folks of Lake Town are left to rebuild their lives.  They turn to the mountain and the piles (and piles) of gold inside of it for help.  The Dwarves inside it have holed themselves in their reclaimed homeland, and aren't exactly feeling charitable.  Thorin Oakenshield (the new dwarf king) has undergone a rather quick turn into crazy town.  In the span of, oh, five minutes, he's gone from courageous leader to Scrooge McDuck swimming in his bank vault full of gold coins.  He boards the dwarves in the mountain and closes them off from the outside world.  Before you know it, the elves and what's left of Lake Town have lined up outside looking for some help/cash.  This leads to a battle over control of the gold inside the mountain.  Also, the Orcs and Goblins  join in on the fun, and it's on.

This battle is the high point of the entire Hobbit franchise.  It makes you remember back to the epic battles of the LOTR films, while doing more than enough to stand on its own two feet.  I saw this movie in IMAX 3D and it was worth every penny of the extra cost.  There are few directors (if any) who can create this level of large scale battle sequences.  It was, by far, the highlight of the Hobbit trilogy.

The rest of the movie suffered from the same short comings as Hobbit 1&2.  It felt like they were stretching scenes out in order to justify the third film.  I'm always of the opinion that the more time I spend in Middle Earth is a good thing, but even I was checking my watch by the 9th Hobbit hour.  I don't think Peter Jackson could have fit everything into a single Hobbit film, but I definitely think there is enough pork to cut to have The Hobbit be a really good two film series as originally intended.

I'm giving this film 2.5 stars out of 4.  The actual battle of the five armies was spectacular, but the rest of the film was just fller between battles.  This film satisfied my Hobbit thirst nicely.  If you're a die hard Middle Earth fan you will probably enjoy this movie, but I would avoid it if  you aren't.

Until next time