Draft Day

Film: Draft Day

Starring: Kevin Costner (Man of Steel), Jennifer Garner (Dallas Buyers Club) and Frank Langella (Robot & Frank)

Director: Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters)

U.S. Release: April 11th, 2014 (Rated PG-13)

Genre: Drama

Runtime: TBA


My appreciation for cinema can't be overstated. But if there's one thing I love as much as film, it's professional sports. As a lifelong fan of the NFL and Kevin Costner's sports-centered filmography, I consciously scooted the notion of typical early-year blunders to the back of my brain and welcomed excitement for Ivan Reitman's Draft Day. Yet, there was one simple flaw in my logic that trumps everything. Reitman hasn't been able to direct anything of relevance over the past two decades.

Sonny Weaver Jr. (Costner) is the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns and it's the most important day of his sports career, Draft Day. With an owner (Frank Langella) desperate to make a gaudy "splash" and a coach (Denis Leary) who doesn't believe in his ability to field a winning roster, Sonny must weave and maneuver to rebuild a franchise in disarray. And if these set of circumstances aren't stressful enough for the GM, secretly dating the team's Salary Cap Specialist (Jennifer Garner) is starting to present complications of its own.

According to Harris Polls conducted on a yearly basis, Football is far and away the most popular sport in America. Its hard-hitting product appeals to masses at an ever-growing rate. And more than the Sunday ritual itself, fans continue to develop an interest in the behind-the-scenes aspect of the NFL. Enter Ivan Reitman's latest cinematic dud, Draft Day. While the film is almost guaranteed to draw a strong box-office, especially due to its perfectly timed release date in mid-April, Draft Day is an unrealistic portrayal of the NFL's inner workings. The movie crafts an inauthentic and unbelievable atmosphere that throws the entire film off balance. Reitman's attempt is both inexcusable and unforgivable, making Draft Day one of the worst big-budgeted sports movies in recent memory.

Not only is the feature an inaccurate depiction of general managing, Draft Day also suffers from a weak story and elementary dialogue. Desperate to enhance the dramatics, debut motion-picture writers Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph create flat subplots that are simply glossed over and unproductive. The only interesting aspect to the film is its relation to the NFL, which just so happens to be enough to get you to the finish line, but nowhere near enough to leave any semblance of a lasting impression. Draft Day surrounds Kevin Costner with a wide selection of unlikable and often irritating characters that make any connection between viewer and film absolutely impossible.

Outside of a few genuine laughs from Griffin Newman's intern character Rick, Ivan Reitman's Draft Day is a complete miss. The movie's impractical sequence of events and Disney-like conclusion make the experience almost unbearable. When the film reaches the big screen less than a month before the NFL Draft in early May, please don't waste your hard-earned dollars.


Stars: 1 and a half stars out of 4

Grade: C-

22 Jump Street (Red Band) and Adult World Trailers

One of 2012's funnies comedies came from the surprising reboot on an 80s show turned motion picture, 21 Jump Street. The film's overwhelming box-office success which grossed nearly $140 million guaranteed a sequel. In June of 2014 Channing Tatum and Academy Award Nominee Jonah Hill (I'm sure he appreciates that label) will reprise their roles in 22 Jump Street, but this time they travel to college.





Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013 was the crowd-pleasing satirical comedy Adult World. Emma Roberts stars as Amy, an aspiring poet who constantly faces rejection and finds herself accepting the only job she can find at an adult book store. Co-starring John Cusack and Evan Peters (Kick-Ass), Adult World appears to be an on-point look at what many recent graduates have to face in the real world today.

Oscar Update 1/26/14

The Directors Guild of America has officially handed their prestigious award to Gravity visionary, Alfonso Cuaron, and all hell has broken loose on the Best Picture front. With merely 5 weeks left to go until the final showdown on Oscar night, prognosticators are in a frenzy trying to dissect the DGA impact and a bunch of surprisingly close races.

Best Picture

As it's been for some time, the Best Picture race is down to three real finalists. The Golden Globe wins for 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle left many believing that Gravity was slowly fading from the rest of the pack. Then, the SAG awards recognized American Hustle as its Best Ensemble and the arrows started pointing in its direction. Now, a DGA victory for filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) and the extensive track-record that the Academy rarely splits Best Picture and Best Director, it appears that everyone is completely baffled by this race.

The way I see it, with last year being a recent example of the Academy splitting Best Picture and Best Director winners, maybe there's a new trend developing. Clearly, none of these films have emerged from the pack and perhaps the voting members don't mind splitting their picks. Gravity seems the unlikeliest of the three with American Hustle just a nose ahead of 12 Years a Slave in my opinion. 

Best Director

It's always "too soon" to crown someone a winner, especially with over a month left until the Oscars, but Gravity's Alfonso Cuaron continues to separate himself from the rest of the field in the Best Director category. There's still an inkling of hope left for Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), given that the Academy hasn't been too kind to the sci-fi genre in the past. However, it currently feels like Cuaron is a safe bet come March 2nd.

Best Actor

On the surface it looks as though Matthew McConaughey is a clear favorite in the Best Actor race, having swept just about everything outside of the BAFTAs (who ignored Dallas Buyers Club altogether). However, Leonardo DiCaprio could very well play the spoiler role on Oscar night. Many feel as though DiCaprio is well-deserving of his first win and that The Wolf of Wall Street may be the finest work of his career (although I would tend to disagree). Leo's been victorious in both the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice in the comedy category, as well as a nomination from the BAFTAs. Perhaps the British voters will throw their support his way and it could spell an upset for the presumed frontrunner, McConaughey. 

While DiCaprio and McConaughey seem to have the upper hand, it's worth noting that longtime actor Bruce Dern (Nebraska) has been hot on the awards season trail, trying his best to earn an Academy Award for the first time in his career. Although I believe that a win for Dern would be extremely unlikely, it's easy to imagine a niche group of voters leaning in the old-time's direction.

Best Actress

In the likeliest of scenarios, Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) will take home the Best Actress statue at the Academy Awards. She's got a career full of exceptional work and this is arguably her pinnacle performance. She's been a slam dunk in all of the early precursor awards and all indicators say she'll be victorious on March 2nd. Yet, there's one tiny obstacle in her way, and that's the Amy Adams (American Hustle) freight train which none of us saw coming. After her Golden Globe victory, it seemed as though no one was more caught off guard by her rapid surge than Amy Adams herself. It's storylines like this that voting members of the Academy swoon over. Although unlikely, Adams is the only competitor with a real chance of bringing down Blanchett.

Best Supporting Actor

Perhaps the safest selection to guarantee 5 weeks from tonight is a Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) win for the Best Supporting Actor category. He's taken the precursors by storm and the musician's powerful return to the big screen has proved to be a great story. Leto is on a rampage and I'm beginning to doubt the likelihood of an upset for many reasons. For example, Michael Fassbender's turn in 12 Years a Slave feels too villainous for the Academy to favor and Bradley Cooper's (American Hustle) performance doesn't offer the same level of significance as Leto's. Unless it turns out to be a wild night for Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street team and Jonah Hill shocks us all, it's impossible to suspect anyone other than Leto claiming the award. 

Best Supporting Actress

The second most interesting race outside of the Best Picture frenzy is the Best Supporting Actress competition featuring Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) and Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle). Despite Lawrence's catapult to stardom with a Best Actress victory just last year, I'm starting to view Nyong'o as the slight favorite. As we all know the Academy is completely enamored with a solid story and this being the Kenyan performer's first motion picture role, it doesn't get much better than that. Lawrence has become the new face of Hollywood and we all assume she'll continue her reign for years to come, but 2014 feels like the perfect time for Lupita Nyong'o to make her mark.

2014 Oscar Contest

Back by popular demand, co-writer Greg Rouleau and I will be running another Oscar Pool where you select winners in EVERY Academy Awards category. Different point values are assigned to the different races and the person with the most points wins a $25 gift card of their choice to either Regal/AMC.

It's completely free to enter, all you need is an e-mail address and to sign up by clicking HERE. After you submit an e-mail address and create a username use the following information to join the contest:

Pool Name: Greg's Academy Awards Pool
Password: flyers

You have until Sunday March 2nd to make your selections, so there's no immediate rush. Once again it's COMPLETELY FREE to join and a whole lot of fun for any fan of movies who plans on watching the Oscars anyway.

Note: You must live in the continental United States to be eligible for the prize.

2014 Sundance Film Festival Recap

Although the Sundance Film Festival is still screening until January 26th, like many other press and film critics, I've abandoned the hotel-life and returned to my humble abode. After 17 screenings spanning 5 days of movie-watching, I've decided to complete my 2014 Sundance experience with a tiny blurb about each film I watched. But before I begin, here's a look back at the extensive reviews for the films Whiplash, Blue Ruin, Infinitely Polar Bear, The Skeleton Twins, To Be Takei and Laggies. Also, feel free to check out my personal "Best of Sundance" picks as well.

God's Pocket - 3 stars out of 4 - B

Although something feels remarkably incomplete about John Slattery's Philadelphia-based God's Pocket, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Turturro, Richard Jenkins and Ray Donovan's Eddie Marsan all headline a fine collaborative effort. There's a small gangster film vibe in this drama about a man named Mickey (Hoffman) who goes through hell trying to plan a funeral after the accidental death of his stepson.

Song One - 2 and a half stars out of 4 - B-

A short-haired Anne Hathaway stars in the touching and sentimental drama Song One. After an accident leaves her brother in a comatose state, Franny (Hathaway) strikes up a relationship with his favorite musician, James Forester (played by Johnny Flynn). While the film is sweet and Johnny Flynn gives a breakout performance, the story is rather flat and simplistic.

Listen Up Philip - 2 and a half stars out of 4 - B-

Jason Schwartman is downright hilarious in this interesting examination of a young brash author whose actions ultimately push everyone away from him, except for a similar-minded elderly author (played by Jonathan Pryce). The film's mid-section takes Schwartzman out of the film for entirely too long and its pacing plays more like a marathon than a sprint. However, Listen Up Philip is still an enjoyably hysterical ride.

Hellion - 2 and a half stars out of 4 - B-

Kat Candler's Hellion attempts to be bold and daring, yet this slow-burning drama could benefit from a constant intensity much like its third act. Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul isn't as convincing as I'd hope, but youngster Josh Wiggins does a fine job in his leading role as a trouble-maker kid who finds himself one step away from being thrown into a Juvenile Detention Facility.

Happy Christmas - 2 and a half stars out of 4 - B-

While my opinion was on the less-populated side of Joe Swanberg's previous release, Drinking Buddies, I found myself enjoying his Sundance selection, Happy Christmas. Anna Kendrick is stellar as a recently single and irresponsible 20-something year old who moves in with her older brother (Swanberg) just before the holiday to get her feet on the ground. Her effects on his marriage are needed as much as the couple's effect on her. The story is a bit underwhelming and the pacing is slow, but Happy Christmas is still a well-executed drama.

Ping Pong Summer - 2 and a half stars out of 4 - B-

Michael Tully's Ping Pong Summer is a spot-on return to 1985. The set, production and soundtrack are all phenomenal in this ode to the second-rate 1980s underdog formula. The laughs are fairly consistent but the film never leaps into greatness. A solid youth-filled cast follows Rad Miracle (played by Marcello Conte) on his quest to take down the local bully in an epic game of ping pong. 

Calvary - 2 stars out of 4 - C+

I find it ironic how the films I was most excited to see at Sundance ended up being some of the most mediocre efforts. One such film was John Michael McDonagh's Calvary. As a huge outspoken fan of McDonagh's last effort, The Guard, I was disappointed to find his newest release as a humor-less and never-ending journey. More so an existential examination than a comedy, Calvary is beautifully shot and strongly-acted by Brendan Gleeson, but the boredom and lack of entertainment is too much to overcome.

Locke - 2 stars out of 4 - C+

Knowing myself pretty well, I can honestly say that there couldn't have been anyone as excited as I was to catch a screening of Locke. After receiving nothing except rave reviews following a 2013 festival tour, I was shocked to find Locke to be a constricted feature. The amazing Tom Hardy is the only actor you see during this 85 minute car ride where we witness his character's life slowly falling apart. It's a daring attempt from director Steven Knight, although it lacks thrills and intrigue.

Cold in July - 2 stars out of 4 - C

I was surprised to hear such praise given to Jim Mickle's Cold in July. Dexter's Michael C. Hall stars as a reserved man who unwillingly murders an intruder in his home one evening, only to discover himself at the center of a much deeper mystery. Cold in July is the tale of two films. What begins as a tension-filled revenge thriller that works quite well, ends up morphing into a tasteless gore-comedy that feels completely out of place. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the feature only to watch it steadily decline upon the introduction of Don Johnson's character. 

Life After Beth - 1 and a half stars out of 4 - C-

Zombie-mania has reached the "overkill" status much like the Vampire phenomena a few years back. However, Jeff Baena's Life After Beth merely uses the Zombie tag as a backdrop to a different story of regret and making up for lost time. After dying from a poisonous snake-bite on a hike one day, Zach's (played by Dane DeHaan) former girlfriend, Beth (Aubrey Plaza), mysteriously reappears from the dead. Appearing very much "alive" Zach plans to reconnect with Beth and take the time to do all the things he never did before. But much to his and everyone else's surprise, Beth is slowly transforming into a Zombie. Unfortunately, the laughs are almost non-existent in this comedy and, as a result, we're left with very little else to enjoy.

The Foxy Merkins - 0 stars out of 4 - F

I never walk out on movies, but this one was a struggle to get through. The very occasional laugh couldn't help salvage an otherwise unbearable look at two lesbian (or not?) hookers who are trying to survive being homeless in New York. The one joke they have going for them, a mockery of the clothing store Talbots, is beaten to death and overused, clearly illustrating that Madeleine Olnek's poorly shot film, The Foxy Merkins, offers no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

The Best of Sundance 2014

The rapid breakneck pace of the Sundance Film Festival forced me to cram 17 movies over the past 5 days. No matter how mentally and physically exhausting it's been, I loved the experience. Keeping in mind that I only watched 17 of these anticipated indie films, here's a quick rundown of the best movies, performances and directors the Sundance Film Festival had to offer in 2014.

Best Picture

Honorable Mention: Whiplash and Blue Ruin

#3. The Skeleton Twins

#2. Laggies

Winner - Infinitely Polar Bear

Best Director

Honorable Mention: Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) and Kat Candler (Hellion)

#3. Lynn Shelton (Laggies)

#2. Craig Johnson  (The Skeleton Twins)

Winner - Maya Forbes (Infinitely Polar Bear)

Best Actor

Honorable Mention: Bill Hader (The Skeleton Twins) and Jason Schwartzman (Listen Up Philip)

#3. Brendan Gleeson (Calvary)

#2. Miles Teller (Whiplash)

Winner - Mark Ruffalo (Infinitely Polar Bear)

Best Actress

Honorable Mention: Anna Kendrick (Happy Christmas)

#3. Anne Hathaway (Song One)

#2. Kristen Wiig (The Skeleton Twins)

Winner - Keira Knightley (Laggies)

Best Supporting Actor

Honorable Mention: Luke Wilson (The Skeleton Twins) and Johnny Flynn (Song One)

#3. Richard Jenkins (God's Pocket)

#2. Sam Rockwell (Laggies)

Winner - J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Best Supporting Actress

Honorable Mention: Kaitlyn Dever (Laggies) and Mary Steenburgen (Song One)

#3. Melanie Lynskey (Happy Christmas)

#2. Chloe Grace Moretz (Laggies)

Winner - Elisabeth Moss (Listen Up Philip)

Laggies

Film: Laggies

Starring: Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina), Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass) and Sam Rockwell (The Way Way Back)

Director: Lynn Shelton (Your Sister's Sister)

U.S. Release: Sundance Film Festival Selection (Not Yet Rated)

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 100 minutes


Writer/director Lynn Shelton is best known as an influential figure in the frequently coined "mumblecore" movement. This style of filmmaking often refers to a lower budget and the hefty use of natural improvisation rather than tightly sticking to a script. While the movement has gained a niche following and broader base, Shelton's latest go-around is far from the "mumblecore" label.

Laggies stars Keira Knightley as Megan, an unmotivated woman in her late 20s who has no idea of what she wants to do with her life. After watching her longtime friends and boyfriend of over a decade cleanly move on to adulthood, she struggles to discover her own identity. And after lying about going on a week-long career retreat, Megan instead shacks up with a new high school aged friend (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her skeptical father (Sam Rockwell) in order to take some time to figure out her future.

There's something strange and crazy about director Lynn Shelton's Laggies. For such an unorthodox story, the film is surprisingly heartwarming and honest. The writing and acting breeds an inordinate amount of purpose and identity to all of its characters. Some may refute that the feature's secondary characters are campy and embellished, but in the entire context of the film they work quite nicely. It all begins with a solid foundation from leading lady Keira Knightley. Her sweet and soulful performance enables the audience to connect with Megan on a deeper level and look past her periodically flawed judgment. And while Chloe Grace Moretz dishes out fine supporting work once again, there's two other names that need to mentioned. First, there's up-and-comer Kaitlyn Dever. The young actress gave a breakout performance in last year's unforgettable drama, Short Term 12 (one of my Top 10 films of 2013). Here she has a diminished role, although it's one that adds spice and bravado to the movie. Furthermore, we're given ANOTHER amazing turn from the vastly under-appreciated Sam Rockwell. From the moment he appears on screen, the film immediately picks up and dashes to the finish line. Rockwell is a true talent that's never given the respect he deserves. But thankfully for his game changing performance, Laggies ends up being a wonderfully executed drama.

Despite the feature's exceptional dialogue and charming wit, Laggies has its detractors. The first act has a noticeable drag, but Rockwell's introduction quickly takes care of that tiny problem. It's easy to disregard a bumpy beginning thanks to a lofty amount of perfectly timed humor and fantastic performances throughout. And while some of the decision making of its characters feels suspect and unrealistic at times, these simply become minor flaws in an otherwise fine feature.

Lynn Shelton has found budding success in her filmmaking career, but you can expect Laggies to launch her to a whole other level. The movie generates an unbreakable bond between its characters and the audience, one that lasts long after the credits role. Making Laggies one of the finest films at Sundance this year and one that you should look forward to in 2014.


Stars: 3 stars out of 4

Grade: B+