Monthly Archives: January 2014

REVIEW: “All is Lost”

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ALL POSTERPerhaps not since “Cast Away” has a movie been more concentrated on a single performance than “All is Lost”. And it’s interesting that this film also features survival elements involving the sea. But unlike “Cast Away” there is no supporting cast. There is no interaction between characters. There is only 77-year old Robert Redford in what may be the most physically demanding role of his long career.

The film opens with an unnamed man reciting what sounds like a short goodbye note. Moving back eight days, we see the man is awoken when his yacht collides with a cargo container in the middle of the Indian Ocean. With a hole in the hull and water gushing into his cabin, the man immediately tries to fix the problem. This launches our time with this character as he faces one challenge after another for the next eight days – challenges brought on by the sea and the elements.

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“All is Lost” is unique in that we get no backstory whatsoever. We are never told who this man is or why he is so far out at sea by himself. We do glean small fragments of information throughout the film. For example the opening narration leads you to believe there is a family he has left behind. We also get scenes that show a wedding band on his finger. Could he still be married? Could his wife have recently died? Writer and director J.C. Chandor doesn’t take us by the hand and spell everything out for us. His film allows us to put these pieces together in our minds and come up with our own solutions.

Chandor’s first film was 2011’s ultra-talky “Margin Call”. This movie couldn’t be more different. Aside from the short opening narration, Redford has only three lines of dialogue (if you can call them that) in the entire movie. The bulk of his performance is physical and through expression. It’s truly marvelous work. Unlike most, I have always been a bit mixed when it comes to Redford’s movies. There’s no apprehension here. Redford is great. He gives an ‘every man’ performance without an ounce of his once prominent ‘golden boy’ artifice. He tells us so much through a gesture or an action. It’s a remarkably understated performance that doesn’t rely on big showy scenes or spotlights.

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Now we do get some of the familiar plot developments – shark attacks, punishing storms, depleted supplies, etc. Yet despite that the film feels remarkably fresh and invigorating. Perhaps it’s the connection we have with Redford’s character. Maybe it’s the circumstances which we are thrown into. I was wrapped up in all of it and even though some of the plot devices were conventional, there is still an undeniable attraction to this ‘man versus sea’ tale.

Hats off to J.C. Chandor for creating a small but gripping picture that may embrace familiar devices but that brilliantly carves its own path. With only a man, a boat, and the vast sea Chandor shows his versatility as a filmmaker by embracing the confines of his environment and making a movie that feels grander than it may be. But to be honest, I love it’s simplicity. I love it’s focus. And I love the performance from Redford. “All is Lost” may not work for everyone, but it sure worked for me.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “The Way, Way Back”

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I love it when a movie really surprises me. Such was the case with “The Way, Way Back”. This one-half comedy and one-half drama is a wonderful and entertaining stew that caught me off guard. Written and directed by the team of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, “The Way, Way Back” is a warm and authentic coming-of-age picture. It’s a smart and funny film that at times dances close to cliché but then always turns and goes in a more smart and believable direction. It really worked for me.

Liam James plays Duncan, a sullen and awkward 14-year old who is trapped in a world of selfish, adolescent adults. He is forced to accompany his divorced mother Pam (Toni Collette), her jerk of a boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell), and his daughter Steph (Zoe Levin) on a vacation to Trent’s summer home in a small New England beach town. Duncan’s life is full of complications. He is disconnected from his emotionally needy mother and at constant odds with the annoying and disingenuous Trent. Then there are the assortment of oddball characters from his new summer neighborhood none of which give him a feeling of belonging.

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But things change a bit when Duncan meets Owen (Sam Rockwell), a laid back water park manager. Owen takes a liking to Duncan and actually connects with him on a level that the struggling teen desperately needs. Rockwell is fabulous here and he gives arguably the funniest performance of the year. He’s obviously a naturally funny guy and you’ll swear you’re watching improvisation as he delivers one quick-witted funny line after another. Faxon and Rash along with Maya Rudolph have small roles as fellow water park employees and they round out what becomes Duncan’s sanctuary. It’s where feels free. It’s where he feels he belongs.

One of the film’s great strengths is that the story is told almost entirely from Duncan’s perspective. We see his perception of dysfunctional adults, broken marriages, and juvenile behavior from those who should be anchors of support. It really is the adults who are the irresponsible and objectionable ones. As one equally frustrated young character describes it – “It’s spring break for adults” and not in a good way. But there are always cleverly injected bits of humor that keeps the tone a tad lighter than it may sound. Much like their previous Oscar-winning work on “The Descendants”, Rash and Faxon’s script takes on serious life situations and laces them with subtle bits of comedy. It’s great writing that will have you laughing one minute and feeling deep empathy the next.

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This is a character-driven movie and the performances don’t disappoint. The relatively unknown Liam James is just what the lead role needed. He’s restrained and grounded which allows for so much truth to flow from the character. I also really liked Steve Carell in a role that is drastically different from what we’re used to seeing him do. It’s interesting that the biggest comedian in the entire cast has the most serious role in the film. Allison Janney is a lot of fun as a spacey next door neighbor and Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet are delightfully insufferable as two of Trent’s close friends.

The story of an insecure socially displaced youth isn’t new, but often times it’s told using the same overused formulas and contrivances. “The Way, Way Back” doesn’t exactly carve a new path but it does stay out of the usual trappings. It’s refreshingly honest and surprisingly funny. There are also some fabulous characters brought to life through some good acting led by Rockwell. His performance was a real eye-opener for me. The soundtrack, the perfect pacing, etc. As I said, it’s a wonderful and entertaining stew and I was hooked from the first scene. What a nice surprise.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

The 5 Worst Movies of 2013

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Friday I listed what I thought were the best movies of 2013. Now it’s time to talk about the worst. I normally don’t like piling on movies that miss their mark. But call this a Public Service Announcement. It’s a warning of sorts that points out what I felt were the real stinkers of 2013. Of course this is based on the movies I’ve seen. There’s plenty of garbage that I was lucky enough to avoid. Still, these five dandies are certainly worth missing.

#5 – “The Lone Ranger”

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Unlike many, I felt “The Lone Ranger” had tons of potential. Sure it was based on an old television western that may not connect with younger audiences, but it was still a good concept with plenty of star power behind it. I certainly wasn’t expecting the overly long and bloated mess that we got. The film runs at a gasping 150 minutes and suffers from huge shifts in tone and almost no energy whatsoever. And Armie Hammer is as stiff and unsure as anyone else I saw last year. I don’t agree with some of the gripes thrown its way (racism, revisionist history, etc) but there are still plenty of other problems to point to. What a missed opportunity.

#4 – “Now You See Me”

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Speaking of missed opportunities, “Now You See Me” was a film built around a pretty cool concept. It’s too bad the script was so darned ridiculous. Four street magicians are hired by a wealthy financier to perform elaborate bank robberies. All of that sounds good. But the story becomes unhinged once it starts to twist and turn. Some of the reveals are downright silly and then there is the whole weird secret society thing called “The Eye”. I really like Ruffalo, Caine, Harrelson, Eisenberg, and especially the wonderful French actress Laurent. But they can’t make up for the goofy and scatterbrained script. This should have better.

#3 – “After Earth”

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This should hardly be a surprise to anyone. The universally panned “After Earth” was a film well deserving of the thrashing it took from critics. At a cost of nearly $250 million (including marketing), “After Earth” should have never been as bad as it was. But with the fading M. Night Shyamalan at the helm and two truly horrendous performances from Will and Jaden Smith, the movie never had a chance. The story fumbles along never providing an ounce of energy or excitement. It’s boring and sometimes laughably bad. I can’t see this movie helping the careers of any of the three people I cited. As a matter of fact, I can see this as a career killer.

#2 – “White House Down”

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Roland Emmerich has become a master of the obnoxious, silly, overstuffed action picture. “White House Down” may be his crowning achievement in the area of stupidity. This movie screws up everything. The story is unoriginal. The characters are boring and cliche. The action is dull and repetitive. The acting is absolutely terrible. The CGI is poorly done. It’s waaay too long and sitting through 130 minutes of it is mind-numbing. I could go one and on. Emmerich’s politically correct action thriller has no exciting action and it isn’t the least bit thrilling. Even its attempts at humor fall flat as a pancake. Watching this was a chore.

#1 – “Grown Ups 2”

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It’s hard imagining a movie being worse than the first “Grown Ups” film. Well this sequel is worse in almost every way. The same idiotic juvenile humor is apparently all that Adam Sandler knows and it has never been more on display than in this film. Cheap and unfunny toilet humor along with moronic slapstick never drew a laugh out of me. I sat stone-faced through this poor excuse for a comedy constantly wondering how this thing attracted the audience it did. It’s relentlessly stupid and the jokes feel as though they were written by some hack looking for a payday. And there is practically no plot whatsoever. This was clearly a cash-in movie for Sandler and his pals and sadly they laughed all the way to the bank. At least someone was laughing. I sure wasn’t.

So there they are. Do you agree or disagree with any of my choices? I would love to hear your least favorite movie of the year. Please drop a comment in the section below.

The Top 10 Films of 2013

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A light painting of the year 2013 written against a black background

It’s hard to believe it’s that time again. It’s the time where I get to reflect on the movie year that was. This is the third Top 10 of the year list I’ve done and I have to say I love them. Some people don’t care for these things, but I always enjoy reading other people’s favorites and revealing mine. 2013 was a really good year at the movies and while only one film received my highest rank of 5 stars, there were a number of others that gained really high marks and deserve a mention. So before we get to my Top 10 here are my #11 through #20 (Click the title to link to the full review of the film):

#20 – “Stoker”
#19 – “Oblivion”
#18 – “Frances Ha”
#17 – “Man of Steel
#16 – “Prisoners”

#15 – “The Conjuring”
#14 – “12 Years a Slave”
#13 – “Captain Phillips”
#12 – “Star Trek: Into Darkness”
#11 – “To the Wonder”

Now without further ado, here are my Top 10 Movies of 2013

MUCH ADO#10 – “Much Ado About Nothing” – I love it when a movie surprises me and that was certainly the case with Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. This was the film which reminded me that the romantic comedy genre could be great when good performers are given a smart script. And Whedon really surprised me. I haven’t been his biggest fan but this film really changed my mind. And what a great cast. Amy Acker blew me away and the supporting cast of Whedon regulars hit every note. Whedon leaves the original Shakespeare language intact but melds it beautifully into the modern setting. Gorgeous black-and-white, sharp direction, a romantic and funny script, and great performances make this film a real treat.

HOBBIT#9 – “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” – This is another film that really surprised me. I had fun with Peter Jackson’s first “Hobbit” picture although I felt it fell well short of my expectations. “The Desolation of Smaug” was a much better film and it avoided the traps that the first film fell in. The danger and peril is certainly amped up which gives the central quest a greater sense of importance. I also loved the deeper tie-in to the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Some intriguing new characters are introduced and some old favorites show up. And what a great ending. Unlike the first film, this time we are left with a feeling that things really do hang in the balance. What an adventure and I can’t wait to see where things go from here.

WWZ#8 – “World War Z” – This was a movie that was one of my most anticipated of the year in January. But after news of delays, rewrites, and a new ending surfaced my expectations dropped. What a surprise it was to see the finished product. “World War Z” may be the movie I had the most fun at this year. An undefined zombie epidemic breaks out and ravages the planet. Brad Pitt, giving a surprisingly subdued performance, is thrust into the search for a cure. “World War Z” features one of the most intense openings of the year and possibly the most thrilling scene as zombies breach Jerusalem’s wall and invade the city. This was a load of fun and I never expected it to be so effective.

UPSTREAM#7 – “Upstream Color” – I promise you, “Upstream Color” is a movie unlike anything else you have seen this year. It’s a very abstract and unique film that features a flowing visual style akin to the work of Terrence Malick. It’s impossible to put “Upstream Color” into a box and giving away too much of the plot would ruin the experience. And it truly is something you experience. It challanges you while also fascinating you with its hypnotic appeal. Shane Carruth served as director, writer, co-producer, co-star, cinematographer, editor, and even composed the score. This small independent film is definitely his movie but it’s also a stunning accomplishment. “Upstream Color” isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I absolutely loved it.

BOOK THIEF#6 – “The Book Thief” – Of all the films on this list this is the one I wish more people had seen. It didn’t make many ripples at the box office and critics were pretty lukewarm towards it. Personally I loved it and it was one of the most moving experiences I had all year. Set in a small German village during the days leading up to World War 2, the story shows us the life of young Liesel. She’s raised by foster parents (played brilliantly by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) and is exposed to a harsh evolving world that no child should experience. It’s a heartbreaking yet invigorating film featuring top-notch performances and one of the best scores of 2013. It flew under many radars but I adore this movie.

HUNT#5 – “The Hunt” – Mads Mikkelsen is one of my favorite actors and after hearing the tons of praise he received for his work in “The Hunt” I was instantly excited. It finally made its United States debut and it was so worth the wait. Mikkelsen gives what may be the performance of the year as he portrays a school teacher wrongfully charged with sexual misconduct involving one of his student. Thomas Vinterberg directs this searing indictment of some of our worst impulses and it’s impossible to watch this film and not be effected. It’s one of the best scripts I’ve experienced this year and when you combine it with Mikkelsen’s towering performance and the sheer emotion of the material, the result is one of the year’s best films.

NEBRASKA#4 – “Nebraska” – My hat is off to Alexander Payne for bringing us one of the funniest yet honest films of 2013. “Nebraska” is an amazing movie that deals in real life emotions and situations while injecting a smart and grounded bit of humor. Bruce Dern should get serious Oscar consideration for his work as an elderly man who thinks he’s won $1 million. “Nebraska” is soaked with funny characters and memorable lines. But there is also a subtle but effective examination of family dynamics that seldom get honest looks in the movies. I wasn’t as smitten with Payne’s work on “The Descendents” as most were, but this movie really won me over. And even with it’s few flaws, it remains one of the year’s best.

WAY WAY BACK#3 – “The Way, Way Back” – I can honestly say that this film caught me off guard. It was never on my radar but once I caught up with it I knew I had watched something special. “The Way, Way Back” is one part comedy and one part coming-of-age drama and the competency in which co-writers and co-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash bring it all together is great. It’s very touching but it’s also very funny thanks in large part to Sam Rockwell who gives a spectacular performance. He had me constantly laughing and he steals every scene he is in. There is a ton of heart in this movie and while it gets close, it never becomes conventional or cliche. What a great film.

MUD#2 – “Mud” – This was my most anticipated movie at the start of the year and it’s so satisfying that the film ended up being one of my favorites of the year. This is such a great movie from writer, director, and fellow Arkansan Jeff Nichols. He has shown himself to be a masterful southern gothic storyteller. But “Mud” is much more than that. Nichols creates a live and vibrant environment that sucks you in. He tells his story through the eyes of a young boy played wonderfully by Tye Sheridan, but for me Matthew McConaughey is the shining star. Talk about getting lost in a role! McConaughey has a magnetic presence in this picture. Jeff Nichols has turned into one of my favorite filmmakers and “Mud” is a prime example of why.

GRAVITY#1 – “Gravity” – In terms of sheer experience, nothing I saw in 2013 matched the experience I had watching “Gravity. It was possibly the most exciting and visually stimulating movie I’ve ever watched on the big screen. Director Alfonso Cuaron creates a special effects masterpiece that hooks you from that first amazing shot. But this isn’t just a flashy technical accomplishment. There is a deeper emotional story that unfolds as the film moves along and while some have saw it as slight, I think it works very well. Sandra Bullock is fantastic and George Clooney gives Cuaron exactly what he needs. It all adds up to be the only 5 star score I handed out in 2013, but it’s a well-deserved one. I love “Gravity”.

REVIEW: “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

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I’m no card carrying Ben Stiller fan but I was really interested to see his vision of “Walter Mitty”. This is the second film based on the 1939 James Thurber short story and some doubted it would ever see the light of day. Various versions of the script were tossed around and actors such as Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, and Sacha Baron Cohen were all in line to play the lead role. But after years in development limbo, it was Stiller who was signed to not only star in but direct Steve Conrad’s final script.

Stiller and Conrad use Thurber’s vision of Walter Mitty as a reserved average Joe who experiences the life he wants within his vivid world of daydreams. But the movie ends up pushing that aside and goes off on its own, becoming a film about fulfillment and self-discovery realized through a pretty remarkable journey. I was fine with that as long as it served the picture well. There are moments of greatness in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and there are scenes that really drew me in. But there was also something missing – something that holds the film back and keeps it from being the great movie we are often teased with.

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In this modern telling, Walter Mitty (Stiller) works in the ‘photo negative assets’ department of Life magazine. One morning the employees get news that the publication will be turned into an online-only magazine making many of their jobs “nonessential”. Acclaimed photojournalist Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn) sends the magazine a negative that he believes to be perfect for Life magazine’s final cover. But Walter misplaces the negative. So with his job on the line and the pompous transition supervisor (Adam Scott) breathing down his neck, Walter sets out on a globe-trotting adventure to find O’Connell and hopefully the negative.

Walter’s journey takes him to some gorgeous locations including Greenland, Iceland, and The Himalayans. Stiller and cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh draw us into these places sometimes with breathtaking perspective. They invigorate Walter’s journey and in some ways substantiate his personal transformation. But I also struggled with certain aspects of his adventure. There are so many obvious questions that the film prefers you not ask. And there are also an insane amount of conveniences that aid Walter’s quest. Regardless of the situation there is almost always a perfect out for him. Perhaps there is a deeper meaning to it but it isn’t hinted at from the story.

“Walter Mitty” also seems to have a small identity crisis. There are some pretty funny bits early in the film but then there is a long stretch where it takes things pretty seriously. The humor is back-burnered and it becomes a casually paced drama with a fair share of high points and lulls. It lacks a consistency that great films have but it also had an unexplainable attraction that I never could shake.

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As for Stiller’s work in front of the camera, I was really impressed. In a year featuring a number of towering performances, I wouldn’t call Stiller’s the best. But there is a legitimate sympathetic charm to what he brings to the Walter Mitty character. I was really drawn to him and personally sympathized with his perception of himself and his inadequacies. Stiller magically captures all of that. He does lose some of his attraction as his character changes towards the end but I still love this performance. I also thought Kristen Wiig was good but underwritten as the proverbial ‘girl of Walter’s dreams’ and Shirley MacClaine is good in a smaller role. Adam Scott is harder to gauge. His performance isn’t that bad but the writing makes this typical corporate bad guy a little too on the nose.

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is a tough movie to score. It certainly gets points for its visual style and gorgeous locales. It also gets points for Stiller’s fine performance and the sweet infectious charm of his character. Unfortunately it is an uneven film with a few too many contrivances and the occasional lulls. But yet there is something about the movie that I can’t dismiss. It has stuck with me and left the impression that I really need to see it again. That’s usually a sign that a movie works, at least on some levels.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Nebraska”

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In the comedy/drama “Nebraska” Bruce Dern plays an elderly man named Woody Grant from Billings, Montana. Woody receives a marketing flyer in the mail that convinces him he has won $1 million. All he needs to do to collect is travel to Lincoln, Nebraska and claim his prize. The problem is his two sons and his cantankerous wife all know it’s a scam. But Woody is determined that he is going to Lincoln even if he has to go on foot. To appease Woody, David (Will Forte) agrees to drive him to Lincoln and hopefully have some bonding time with the father he barely knew.

That’s the main story, but this is an Alexander Payne film so you know there is a lot more under the surface. Payne has always been interested in characters and this is a character-driven picture. “Nebraska” touches on a variety of real life subjects including alcoholism, greed, family dysfunction, and declining health of the elderly among others. And while there’s nothing inherently funny about these things, Payne and writer Bob Nelson don’t allow the movie to drown in its seriousness. In fact at times it’s a very funny film – that near perfect mix of comedy and drama.

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One of my favorite things about “Nebraska” is its authenticity. This could easily have been a conventional comedy featuring a stereotypical old codger. Instead it’s a very real story featuring real characters and set around a very real depiction of small-town America. With a few small exceptions, “Nebraska” never hits a false note. The majority of the time the characters feel just right and the Nebraska locations seem yanked out of real life.

I also love the choice to shoot the film in black-and-white. While it wasn’t popular with the studio, Payne and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael saw it as an intricate part of their storytelling. I think it was a brilliant choice. It creates a very gloomy and bleak look that is perfectly in tune with much of Woody’s story. But it also works in the film’s portrayal of America’s dying small towns. There is a striking parallel between Woody and these rural locales that I found fascinating and the black-and-white made it all the more powerful. But at the same time there is a beauty to the look of this picture – a classic beauty that I don’t think color could provide.

That hints at another facet of the movie that really worked me. As someone born and raised in a place very similar to Woody’s hometown of Hawthorne, I was impressed with the film’s accuracy in capturing the essence of the small town. Payne, a Nebraska native, was able to show the sad side of what these places look like now while also painting a beautiful picture of how they once were.

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But once again it’s the characters that gives this film its life. Bruce Dern delivers one of the most earnest and committed performances of the year. Woody is a captivating character with more layers than you may think. He’s deeply flawed yet genuinely sympathetic. He can be unintentionally hilarious yet also sad and depressing. There is also a cloud of mystery that surrounds Woody. We get hints that he’s battling some form of dementia but it’s never clearly stated. Also, through the eyes of his wife and sons, we see Woody as a pretty bad husband, father, and man. Yet we learn new things about him from the people in his hometown that tell a slightly different story. There are numerous other nuances to this character that I loved.

The great film critic Leonard Maltin noted that “Payne has a Fellini-like eye for great faces”. I couldn’t have said it better. Much like a Coen brothers film, there are an assortment of memorable faces which add so much character and detail to the setting and the story itself. Everywhere you look there is one small character that feels a part of the fabric that makes up “Nebraska”.

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There are also an assortment of other great characters many of which are comic spark plugs. Perhaps the most talked about is June Squibb as Woody’s mean and degrading wife Kate. She undoubtedly has some of the movie’s funniest moments, but she also exposes one of the film’s only problems. Payne takes her snarky, belligerent, and sometimes foul attitude a bit too far. Don’t get me wrong, I laughed my butt off at some of her antics, but Payne overdoes it. Here’s an example. There’s a great scene where Kate, Woody, and David are visiting family grave sites at a small country cemetery. It’s a fantastic scene with the right mix of drama and humor. That is until the Kate character suddenly does a vulgar act clearly intended for a cheap laugh. It really hurts what could have been a brilliant scene.

While Payne does overplay his hand which hurts the movie a bit, I still found “Nebraska” to be one of the strongest films of the year. Not only is it a piercing examination of some very real issues, it’s also one of the funniest movies of 2013. And if Bruce Dern doesn’t get a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his phenomenal work, it will be hard to take the category seriously.  It is smart and fresh filmmaking that I really hope gets rewarded this awards season.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS