Joe

Joe
(2014)
Director: David Gordon Green (IMDB)

Did you know there is a website called One True God with devoted followers who worship Nicolas Cage? If you Google search "One True God" it's the first thing that pops up. I think Nic Cage is a divisive actor, and for me,  I fall on the worship side. I love the dude. Raising Arizona, Bad Lieutenant POC, Wild at Heart, Con Air... the list goes on. When I found out he was teaming up with David Gordon Green for a new film, I was a little excited.

Synopsis: Joe (Nicolas Cage) is an ex con who runs a tree killing business. He befriends a young boy (Tye Sheridan) after hiring him and soon finds out about his troubling family life.

Joe is a very solid drama and much better than David Gordon Green's last installment Prince Avalanche, you can read my thoughts on that HERE. The film immediately reminded me of other films, especially Mud, mainly because of the location and Tye. Still, I enjoyed this a little more than Mud and found the relationship between Joe and the boy to be genuine. I loved the use of non actors (especially the boy's father and the manager of Joe's work crew) backed against pros like Cage and Sheridan.

Joe is beautifully shot and the score runs pleasantly within the world created on screen. The film paces itself well and the ending, although a little predictable, was satisfying enough.

Joe is available on VOD now. Give it a go, it's worth it.

Prince Avalanche

Prince Avalanche
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: David Gordon Green [IMDB]

I haven't given David Gordon Green enough of my attention on this site and for someone I admire as much as him, I really should start throwing more of my time his way. I've seen every one of his films and dug them all... now comes Prince Avalanche. Based off the trailer, it looked fantastic, now I'll tell you if it held together.

Synopsis: Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch are two roadside construction workers in Texas... this is their story.

I found Prince Avalanche to be boring overall and a bit of a let down. It's a film with very little story and not much happens throughout it. I find with films of this nature, if you're going to take out traditional elements of storytelling you need to fill the gap with someone else. Prince Avalanche is extremely well shot and a beautiful film. It also is tightly constructed and has a soothing score, but it wasn't enough. I feel like the characters, while not horrible, just weren't that interesting and didn't help cement the cracks from the loss of story.

I wish I could say I liked this as much as I do all of DGG's other films, but I don't.

Your Highness

Your Highness
(2011) [Trailer]
Director: David Gordon Green (IMDB)

I remember really wanting to check this out last year, but it slipped through the cracks for me. Then I saw all the bad reviews it received and I almost felt kind of happy that I missed it. After I checked it out last night I realized something, I shouldn't listen to the critics.

A knight (James Franco) is accompanied by his slacker brother (Danny McBride) on a quest to help save a damsel (Zooey Deschanel) from a evil wizard. Somewhere along the way Natalie Portman gets into the mix.

I actually liked this, all the naysayers can bite me. If you're a fan of David Gordan Green (Pineapple Express and Eastbound & Down), I think you'd dig this as well. It takes movies like Clash of the Titans (the original), Willow, Krull, and blends in stoner comedy to make a pretty successful film. I understand it could be a lot better, but it's definitely not bad. James Franco is awesome as always and Danny McBride plays a good version of his normal shtick. There's lot of really funny moments, especially the Minotaur scene and the Great Wise Wizard scene . There are unfortunately a lot of lulls and I found myself bored from time to time... but it was late... and I had a few glasses of wine so..... who really knows. I would recommend this, it's on HBO on demand right now. Go for it!