Lincoln

Lincoln
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Steven Spielberg [IMDB]

Oscar season is right around the corner and in preparation I'm trying to wrap up viewing all the remaining contenders on the list for best picture, sure they haven't released that list, but a Spielberg biopic about Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis... let's be honest, it'll be in there.

Synopsis: This biopic locks in on Lincoln's struggle passing the 13th amendent to the US Constitution.

Lincoln is a solid film and I like that they didn't start from his childhood into adulthood, instead they just focused on one part of his life. Daniel Day-Lewis looked and preformed brilliantly. Tommy Lee Jones also deserves props for his role in the film, I thought he was great.

Lincoln's downfall is the overkill of dialogue. It feels like they took Lincoln's speeches and read them verbatim, sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. It felt emotionally disjointed, with the family dynamic hitting most of the passionate moments and the political meetings falling flat.

Everything else you've come to expect from Spielberg is apparent here.... a great score by John Williams and Janusz Kiminski killing it on the cinematography. Overall, I felt like it could be better, but  it wasn't a huge let down either.

Playback

Playback
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Michael A. Nickles [IMDB]

I'm starting out 2013 with a review of the worst movie of 2012. It's not the worst in terms of quality, but in terms of performance. The internet was set ablaze yesterday with the news of Christian Slater's new film Playback's poor showing in 2012, only raking in a meer $264. I decided to sit down with some friends last night and check it out for free on Netflix, because I'll be damned if I'm gonna help this movie make another cent.

Synopsis: An evil spirit trapped in a video possesses the souls of all those who watch it.

This film isn't that good, but I've surely seen worse. It's soundtrack is awful and the editing is a nightmare, not in a scary way. It's pretty much a cast of unknowns and Christian Slater, who actually doesn't have that big of a roll in the film. Everyone kinda sucks, one kid looks just like a young Dolph Lundgren, minus the muscles. There was a decent amount of blood, a few jump scares, and storyline that worked well for the genre. It wasn't good, but I didn't loathe it either.

Les Misérables

Les Misérables
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Tom Hooper [IMDB]

I will start this review out with a disclaimer: I am not a fan of musicals. The only musical I like, that I can think of, is Little Shop of Horrors. That said, Les Mis didn't hold much promise for me, but as an open minded dude, I thought... Sure, why not.

Synopsis: A guy jumps parole and is hunted by a lawman through France during the Revolution.

First and foremost, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway are amazing singers and performed above and beyond what I expected of them. Les Misérables is also a technically sound and visually pleasing film. Now that all of the pleasantries are out of the way... this was one of the worst movie going experiences of my life.

It was brutal. I was so bored throughout this film, I couldn't wait for it to end. There is maybe 3 minutes of actual dialogue, the rest is singing. I found myself tuning out and eventually all the songs just started to sound the same. It got to the point where I wasn't even sure what the hell was going on... Is this guy dead? Is he sleeping? Why is Hugh Jackman lurking on this girl in the woods? Why is Hugh Jackman sick? I'm sure the answers are in there in the songs, I just lost interest. Russell Crowe was also pretty bad, I think they could have cast a stronger voice if that's the main focus of this film.

I don't know, call me uncultured or whatever, but I need some down time in between all the music to ground everything. Maybe a little character building and exposition... ugh... never again.