The doldrums of the summer movie season is over. “Jurassic World” broke records for the biggest opening and Universal Studios has already broken the highest box office gross by one studio for a year. In honor of the end of another summer, here is Odyssey’s Summer Movie Awards--the only awards worth noting on the web.
Note: My Summer movie season runs from May to August.
Most Ageless Star
Paul Rudd in "Ant-Man"
Courtesy of Marvel Studios
This award was really a tossup between Paul Rudd and Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”. The only thing that settled it was the wrinkle count which the staff here at The Odyssey carefully took note of during the two actors' respective, yet obligatory shirtless scenes. This year the 20th anniversary “Clueless," and Paul Rudd looks like he's only aged five years in those two decades. He might be Ant-Man, but pretty soon, we're going to discover he's really an Asgardian hero sent down to earth with the sole purpose of being a charming, likable everyman...now complete with six-pack abs. Also, it's pretty evident that “Ant-Man” was by far the best Marvel movie of the summer, which brings me to...
Movie Most Likely to Put You Asleep
"Avengers: Age of Ultron"
Courtesy of Marvel Studios
For some (including our Editor), this is an unpopular opinion. For others, this is truth. Joss Whedon’s follow-up to his superhero epic was a slog to get through. The movie had a terrible problem of revolving around too many characters while also being too shallow. Sure, Hawkeye gets some backstory, as does Black Widow, but the ultimate payoff is ugly action scenes. Whedon is far from a visual stylist and falls into the trap of the American method of action filmmaking. There is a barrage of cuts to simulate frenetic movement and to hide the fact that these actors cannot really fight. In the end, it just makes the film look unattractive and drab, despite the incredibly toned muscles. Eventually, all the stimulation just makes you want to turn off your brain and take a nap.
Best Intimate Music Documentary
Amy
Courtesy of Whatculture.com
Interestingly enough, this was a summer filled with musical docs. “Montage of Heck”, which focused on Kurt Cobain, probably got the most press as it was made with the use of Cobain's private journals and home videos. “What Happened, Miss Simone?” was more of a third person take on Nina Simone's life. The best of this summer's musical docs by far, was Asif Kapadia’s “Amy” about the short life of Amy Winehouse. Like his previous feature, “Senna”, Kapadia populates the film with a mix of archival and home footage whilst the talking heads remain unseen. The film is profound in its portrayal of Winehouse as an immensely talented performer who, due to self-destruction and circumstances, continuously made the wrong choices in her life. It's easy to deify a person through this type of documentary filmmaking, by Kapadia was able to relay a fully-formed human instead.
Movie That Will Make You Fall in Love with the Star
Greta Gerwig in "Mistress America"
Courtesy of Fox Searchlight
If you aren't in love with Greta Gerwig yet, first of all what's wrong with you? Secondly, watch “Mistress America” and defy Gerwig’s undeniable comic timing, energy and likeability. What makes it better is that she plays a character who is self-centered, aimless and exasperating, in her third collaboration with Noah Baumbach. Yet, Gerwig’s touch channels the physicality of the great screwball comedy stars of the 30’s, like Claudette Colbert, and places it in a modern setting. The results are one of Baumbach’s funniest and best films in recent years. What she brings to the role and the movie is an unmitigated chaos to what appears normal. This creates surreality to a New York and suburban Connecticut setting we all recognize. Also, I got to see her in person during my screening of this movie and she is just as lovely in real life as she is in the movie--this definitely did not skew my opinion at all.
Best Stuffy Period Piece about Feminism
"Far From the Madding Crowd"
Courtesy of Fox Searchlight
There were a surprising number of these films to choose from (I’m looking at you, “Madam Bovary”) and there are even more to come. By far the best was Dogme filmmaker Thomas Vintenberg's adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel. This is far away from the Dogme style of filmmaking as this film is filled with all the frills of a period piece, complete with the lush landscape of rural England and costumes to match. Though the film is a scant two hours condensing Hardy's original 464 page novel, much of the movie feels rushed. Thankfully it's saved by Vintenberg’s adept handling of the film and close-ups of Carey Mulligan, who takes the strong female lead and commands it with an iron will. Behind her multiple facades are layers of vulnerability, determination and strength. I usually loathe these types of movies but with the combination of direction and performance, “Far From the Madding Crowd” really resonated with a 21st Century heterosexual male.
Best Movie without a Plot
Magic Mike XXL
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
From the moment Channing Tatum began gyrating to Ginuwine’s “Pony,” I was all in. There are three set pieces in this movie with filler in between and that's really all we need. This movie is pure, unadulterated pleasure. The fact that there was a thin thread of plot was beneficial, though, in the end no one cares. Both the movie and Magic Mike’s crew share a similar philosophy and goal--to bring pleasure, and I had a smile throughout. It’s hard not to.
Worst Movie with a Plot
"Entourage"
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Now to something completely unpleasant...“Entourage”. I would say the only thing that I took away from this hour and 40 minute film is that there are verses to that Jane Addiction song that played in front of every episode. Everything terrible and disgusting about the original series is ramped up to 11 with the film. The misogyny in this movie was baffling. One of the main plot points is that the most moral character, E, is taught a lesson about sleeping with too many women by having two women to prank him; one is pretending to be pregnant and the other claims she has an STD. Also, it's incredibly weird to watch a movie that focuses half its script on advertising how beautiful Emily Ratajkowski is. Then again, that seems to be her purpose in every movie.
Most Likely to be a Cult Film
"American Ultra"
Courtesy of Lionsgate
From the “American Ultra” trailers, you get the sense that this Jesse Eisenberg film is a stoner action comedy--heavy on the action. While the film, written by the outspoken Max Landis, is indeed that, the trailers disregarded how incredibly weird and different this movie was. In the center of this genre mashup is a romance between Kristen Stewart and Eisenberg that I was surprisingly engaged in. The film treats these two with genuine sincerity which you don't typically expect from an action movie, giving it stakes that most other films in this genre would normally forget. It's got all the cult hallmarks like an over-the-top, homicidal maniac played by Walter Goggins, a constantly swearing Topher Grace and gratuitous violence everywhere. Although the film is considered a flop, its spirit is destined for the midnight movie houses
Most Overrated
"Dope" / "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
Courtesy of Fox Searchlight
These two teen-centric films came out of Sundance earlier this year with a lot of buzz. “Dope” markets itself as a genre mashup/comedy about an African-American teen trying to escape the traps of racial institutionalism of South Central LA. “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” is a riff on the John Green model, except its precocious teen is a cinephile who has to deal with the imminent death of his cancer-ridden female friend. Both films take hallmarks and stylizations from other films and both films failed to capture any type of authenticity which would make them remotely satisfying. The most aggravating aspect are the fans of these films who speak about them as if they represent some sort of Truth in the human ordeal, but all I saw was artificiality. By the end, I couldn't take it anymore.
They Tried
"Tomorrowland"
Courtesy of Disney
“Tomorrowland” is one of those films that had genuinely good intentions--all the right puzzle pieces, which, when put together, simply didn't work. Brad Bird was able to construct an original film based on a section of the parks at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, which centered on the importance of creativity, optimism and invention, with a female teen leading the story and George Clooney as the sidekick. Visually, the worldbuilding of Tomorrowland is grand and stunning. The biggest issue though, is that this worldbuilding dominates the film, with far too much set up and not enough time to space out every plot point. This, and the requisite villain giving a cliché speech, causes the whole film to bottom out. Because of the clear intention of the film, it was impossible to completely dislike, I just wished it was better.
