The Martian - Review

PG-13  |  141 min  |  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Review - Matt Mungle

**In theaters October 2, 2015**

Synopsis: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. 

Review: THE MARTIAN could be the front runner for film of the year. With that bold statement made and out of the way we can get down to the nitty gritty (as Nacho Libre would say) about why that is true. There will also be redeeming statements made to make up for referencing Nacho in this review. 

The film is built off of the best selling novel by Andy Weir of the same name. It starts off looking about as Sci-Fi as any film could. With visuals reminiscent of Gravity and Prometheus it immediately grounds you into the genre. But once the first 10 or 15 minutes have passed you soon realize that this film has few peers, if any, in the space arena. Much of that is attributed to Matt Damon who delivers the role of a lifetime. And he does it without straying too far out of the Matt Damon box.

The story is about Mark Watney (Damon) and even though there are exceptional characters supporting him; the film lives and dies by Watney. Every conversation, decision, and conscious thought is centered around him. So if Matt Damon does not give us an endearing, believable, and screen captivating performance? Then none the rest matters at all. It is important that you get that point. Because this is a fantastic film. One that is hard to find any fault in. And I am not sure that would be the case if not for Matt Damon. 

There are countless other things to geek out about in this film. There are three separate stories taking place simultaneously but all working together with perfect balance. There is Watney stranded alone on Mars. There is the NASA team back on Earth trying to figure out if/how to rescue him. Then there is his mission team on their way back to Earth. The left thinking he was dead.

The two stories other than Damon's character each have a powerhouse of acting talent. The NASA team includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, and Sean Bean. Plus a handful of others  who all, regardless if they are in 3 scenes or the majority, give us rich, vibrant characters. The mission team consists of Jessica Chastain,  Michael Peña, and Kate Mara. And they give off the essence of a true team. You never doubt for a moment that they have spent years together in space.

If you are a science geek then this one will have you sitting on the edge of your Bunsen burner. The attention to detail is also award worthy. The decision to bring in real NASA scientists to authenticate each element pays off in the script and the visual effects. Yet even with all the technical discussions between Watney on Mars and NASA on Earth the audience never feels talked down to or gets lost in the hugeness of it all. It is subtle writing that solidifies the facts and never disengages the viewer. Space is tricky to pull off. Granted there are no on location shoots on Mars. Yet. So it is important to feel like you are there. You do. And at the same time you have a front and center seat at the helm of NASA control watching it all unfold.

Now back to Damon. He spends the biggest portion of the film alone. Watney has been there for years and has to act like a man totally separate from other life forms. He has to keep his head about him and also hang on to his wit and sense of humor. To survive he has to never give up. You get the sense that Watney is behaving as if help is hours away and not years. As if that reasoning is what helps him keep a grip on his sanity. But all the while he is preparing for and accepting the long haul in front of him. His observations and outlook make the movie very entertaining. Damon brings all of those characteristics to life and delivers a solid, believable, and heartfelt performance.

THE MARTIAN is rated PG-13 for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity. There is nothing in this that is gratuitous or out of character. Every detail is spot on whether in action or speech. If there is an expletive it is because there was no other word that worked better. Same for content. It is completely safe for those 14 and up. I very rarely give perfect scores for a film and normally not more than one or two a year. This one easily gets 5 out of 5 rolls of duct tape. I tried to find something wrong with it but luckily for us there was nothing to be found.

THE 21ST ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS

A+E NETWORKS EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BROADCAST FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AND THE BROADCAST TELEVISION JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION TO COMBINE ‘THE CRITICS' CHOICE TELEVISION & MOVIE AWARDS’ INTO ONE UNFORGETTABLE SHOW

‘The 21^st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards’ TO SIMULCAST LIVE ON A&E, LIFETIME AND LMN ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 17 AT 8 PM ET/PT

New York, NY—September 30, 2015 — A+E Networks, home of “The Critics’ Choice Television Awards” and “The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards” for the past year, will combine the two shows into one star-studded three-hour event.  Together, the network and its continued partnership with the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) will showcase the achievements of some of the biggest names in television and film today. The announcement was made jointly today by Elaine Frontain Bryant, Executive Vice President of Programming for A&E, and Joey Berlin, BFCA/BTJA President. “The 21^st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards” will air live on A&E, Lifetime and LMN on Sunday, January 17 at 8PM ET/PT immediately following a live Red Carpet show at 7PM ET/PT.

Last year’s movie and television award shows were hosted by Michael Strahan and Cat Deeley respectively, joined by the industry’s biggest stars. The host for this year’s combined award show will be announced at a later date.   

"We are thrilled to bring the two Critics' Choice Awards shows into one super-show,” said Berlin.  “At a time when there are so many great movies and television shows to choose from - and so many spectacular performances - it is logical, appropriate and useful for America's leading film and television critics and reporters to collectively honor the best of the best at the start of the new year.  Bringing all these stars together in one room is going to create an incredible night of entertainment."

“Combining the television and film communities within one telecast of ‘The Critics' Choice Awards’ even further elevates this star-studded gala event,” said Frontain Bryant.  “We’re thrilled to be able to give viewers an up close look at so much talent together under one roof with this unique and enhanced awards show.”

“The Critics' Choice Awards” are bestowed annually by the BFCA and BTJA to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. The BFCA is the largest film critics' organization in the United States and Canada, representing almost 300 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public. BTJA is the collective voice of almost 100 journalists who regularly cover television for TV viewers, radio listeners and online audiences. Historically, “The Critics' Choice Movie Awards” are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.  

“The 21^st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards” will be produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment.  BFCA/BTJA were represented by WME and Dan Black of Greenberg Traurig on this deal.

About BFCA/BTJA

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing almost 300 television, radio and online critics. The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) is a partner organization to the Broadcast Film Critics Association. BTJA includes TV, radio and Internet journalists who cover television on a regular basis. For more information, visit: www.CriticsChoice.com

About A&E

Now reaching more than 96 million homes, A&E is the home to quality original content that inspires and challenges audiences to BE ORIGINAL. A&E offers a diverse mix of uniquely immersive entertainment ranging from the network’s original scripted series, including “Bates Motel” and “Damien” to signature non-fiction franchises, including “Duck Dynasty,” “Wahlburgers” and “Storage Wars.” The A&E website is located at aetv.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/aetv and Facebook at facebook.com/AETV. For more press information and photography, please visit us at press.aenetworks.com.

The Walk - Review

PG  |  123 min  |  Adventure, Biography, Drama
Review - Matt Mungle

**In IMAX houses across the nation on 9/30 and wide on 10/9**

Synopsis: In 1974, high-wire artist Philippe Petit recruits a team of people to help him realize his dream: to walk the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.

Review: There is much about THE WALK to enjoy and be inspired by. It is more than just the reenactment of a walk between two buildings. The infectious spirit of the main character should inspire all of us to grab our passions by the reins and ride them triumphantly into the sunset. Granted of course that your dreams aren't as life threatening and law breaking as these. 

Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a French performer always looking for a place to hang "his wire". He is an adventurous soul who, at least as portrayed in the film, is a fearless, positive and upbeat individual. Immediately you are drawn to his charisma and love for life. He lives to entertain. When Philippe sees an article about the new towers being built in NY he is possessed with the desire to string his wire and walk the void between. So with the aid of his girlfriend Annie (Charlotte Le Bon) and a few chosen "accomplices" he journeys to the states to begin this endeavor. 

In hind-site the 1970's seem like such a grand time to live. The music, fashion, and freedoms beckon us to put down our mobile devises and truly experience the sights and sounds around us. A story like this could never have taken place now. A covert operation of this magnitude needed the lack of big brother and the ability to move about unseen. Not to do something that is harmful or destructive. But rather to attempt something that is soul stirring and inspiring. Much of that feeling comes through in this film. People were different then. They trusted more.

NY is also a huge character in this film. The Twin Towers have come to symbolize so much in our country. To see them rising above the skyline is moving all on its own. Then to see them at the onset of their creation and watch a man bring them notoriety (maybe not like some would have wanted) and a bit of soul is captivating. Nothing else on earth could match them and they were so impressive that Philippe made them his ultimate performance goal. 

The characters in the movie are fun to watch and each so different. As Petit hand picks them to help in his operation you get the sense that nothing is going to work out. It is humorous and realistic though. These aren't trained experts. They are people caught up in the energy and zeal of the man. They want to be involved. As you watch you forget this is a true story; how could anything like this actually happen in the hands of these rag tagged individuals. 

To truly see this film one must experience it in IMAX or at the very least in 3D. The aerial shots of the Twin Towers and the expanse between them is breathtaking. You may find yourself holding the sides of your seat and clinching every muscle as Philippe moves about on the roof and eventually his wire. The cinematography is award worthy and takes you to new heights. Pun intended. 

The issue some may have is in the extreme use of CGI and obvious fabrication. There is a lot of superimposing - obviously - of the towers. Plus much of the film is as whimsical as Petit himself. This lends to cartoonish scenes and at times comes off as more fantasy than realistic. The voice over of Levitt as he perches on top of the Statue of Liberty to some will be off putting and to others enamoring. regardless you will not be able to downplay the character of Petit and cheer him on through out this fantastic trek. 

THE WALK is rated PG for thematic elements involving perilous situations, and for some nudity, language, brief drug references and smoking. That sounds like a lot for a PG film and yes, if it were aimed at younger audiences ti would be. Be this obvious adult story has nothing offensive about it. The language is very mild and the brief nude scene of the male bottom comes near the end at a time when you truly understand the nature of Petit. It is not sexual or lewd at all. But rather funny and as quirky as he is. 

I give the film a solid 4 out of 5 salutes. Though many may find nothing intriguing about the story and perceive the film itself as too fanciful; I was inspired and left feeling joyful and had my love of the human spirit rekindled. 

Sleeping with Other People - Review

R  |  95 min  |  Comedy
Review - Matt Mungle

**In select theaters September 18th*

Synopsis: A good-natured womanizer and a serial cheater form a platonic relationship that helps reform them in ways, while a mutual attraction sets in.

Review: Are Brie and Sudeikis strong enough character actors to salvage this meandering, poorly written, and completely uninspired sex comedy? Surprisingly, yes. In fact if you find yourself having to sit through this you will sort of gain a new respect for them both. But less for writer/director Leslye Headland. AS frustrated as you get with the repetitive scenes you find sympathy, somewhat, for the people in them.

Lainey (Alison Brie) and Jake (Jason Sudeikis) hook up for a one night stand in college and then do not see each other for over a decade. When they meet they find that neither has progressed at all in the world of dating and commitment. Lainey is still chasing after the same guy (Adam Scott) she was in love with in college and Jake just refuses to commit to anyone. They decide to become best friends with rule one being that they will not sleep with each other. Again. 

Both Brie and Sudeikis deliver solid and convincing roles. The subject matter could come off as campy or sophomoric but they both handle it with adult conviction. These are two people stuck in a friends zone but obviously destined for each other. They just have to find a way to see past all the other junk in their lives. 

It is written and directed by Leslye Headland who does a far better job directing than she does writing. The banter is too rehearsed and in no way believable. The wit comes across too thought out so that when delivered it seems deniable. The sexual moments may have seen cute and cutting edge in her head but play out as trite and out of place. 

This is an R rated adult film (for strong sexual content, language including sexual references, and some drug use) and I would not suggest it for a date night or to view with anyone you are not 100% comfortable with in a relationship. The dialogue and strong sexual content will be awkward for those newly acquainted or even certain mixed company. 

Interview with Karl Herbst - Hotel Transylvania 2

Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

PG  |  89 min  |  Animation |  25 September 2015 (USA)

I had the opportunity to chat with VFX supervisor of Hotel Transylvania 2, Karl Herbst. This guy is super legit in his field and I could have spent hours hearing him talk about his trade. But we take what we can get. Enjoy. 

Matt Mungle: Do you and your team have a special, personal celebration that you do opening weekend? Especially a film like this that so much went into. Is there something you guys do?

Karl Herbst: Unfortunately by the time we finish, everybody scatters. The team isn't together any more. Everybody is on to another film or even sometimes to another facility. Myself, Genndy [Genndy Tartakovsky - Director] and others who are on the film will text each other or email each other through the weekend as we're hearing the buzz and how audiences are responding. For the rest of the team unfortunately, everybody's moved on. The idea of everybody getting together and having a glass of champagne and say, "Hey, we did it." We end up doing that right as we finish and then we move on. Everybody moves on in some cases going right on to the next film that they're working on. 

MM: Let's go back in time a little bit then to that moment when your team put your final period on "Hotel Transylvania 2." Was there something in your mind when you first planned it, that you were, "Guys, we have to nail this. This is job one on this project." Then, at the end of the day going back and reflecting on that. Did you hit it?

KH: We obviously learned a lot in the first film. The first film was Genndy's first time doing full animation. He came in with a lot of reservations that we could actually get his style and do it. I think in some case he held back a little bit. By the end of that film, we knew that now from what we learned we need to go fix these areas, so that we can do this better next time. I think we hit some of them but not all of them. Part of it is letting the animators have a better sense of what Genndy's striving for. We worked on tools for that. 

Other areas were added support for cloth simulation, hair simulation. Those are very difficult to do in this style of animation. Then, we changed some of the rendering and lighting tools to not only the ... We're not trying to go for photo reel, but to give a little bit more sense of a live action lit movie when it's appropriate and then other times where it feels really graphic. Also, change our motion blur and not be physically accurate, so it gets more of the style of tree smearing that Genndy really likes from when he was doing stuff like "Samurai Jack."

MM: You talked about lighting which seems in most minds, it's like it's so ... Why would you have to light something that's animated? Is it so that we as an audience forget we're watching animation?

KH: Animation is drawing an outline and filling in, try it with color. In a lot of cases cell animation can take on having lots shadows cast in it and some sense of realism of how light would work. Computer graphics with the style that we're doing, we're building actual environments that are in essence scale modals of everything that you would have. We could actually build a scale model in reality of what this thing is and shine lights on it. That's what we do in the computer. A lot of cases though like in "Edge of Tomorrow," there you're trying to match physical reality. 

Here, we're trying to simplify that, so that we look at reality ... A really great thing is lens flares. Lens flares are something that happen when you shoot film or you shoot digitally with a camera. We want to use that because it's something that people know as a signature thing in movies, but we don't want one that feels like it happened for real. We want one that feels like it's designed. That's what we do. We try to simplify the shapes or designs the shapes to give us that affect of a lens flare that's done for animation. 

MM: Right. As we call them, the J.J. Abrams touch. 

KH: Yeah. Those were the real ones in those films. They use little laser lights that hit the lens with it to make certain types of blooms. Here, we're just designing our own to make that feel but not use reality so perfectly. 

MM: You touched base a little bit earlier when you were talking about hair and clothing. What were some of the obstacles and maybe some of the advancements in technology since the first one to this one that allow you to get that better texture so that it does look like you just draped the characters in something.

KH: Yeah. It's actually a combination of things. Again, we learned a lot on the first film. What we knew is that any sensibility to physical reality of how clothes work is not what he's [Genndy] looking for. That's a tall order for us because all of the things we use for cloth simulation especially are based on physics. We came up with a solution that's a blend of animation posing certain things and we might blend between that. We'll have the animation version of it where the animator actually sculpted it up into their pose. We'll run actual simulation just right out of the box without ... We're ignoring that. 

Then, we have tools where we can blend between the two. A leading edge of how a shirt [follow 00:05:25] across Johnny can be blended to the animation, but allow the back to flow. The difficulty with that Genndy style is the fact that anatomy doesn't mean much in the sense that Johnny can have really wide shoulders in one second and then have none at all twenty frames later. That would have basically turned his shirt into a potato sack that want to fall off of his body. We had to develop tools that could predict that stuff happening and re-setup what we call our sim garments along the way. It adapts to that so that the clothes wouldn't fall off or disappear. We're constantly learning, we're constantly adapting to whatever the goals are for our filmmakers. 

MM: From a personal perspective in what you do daily, has the technology made it easier or has it made it harder because it now makes you want to do more?

KH: It's both. I mean, there's areas that made it easier. The thing with it is, it's just a tool set. The artistry and the craftsmanship of what goes into these things is really ... You're always trying to make tools to make that easier but as you make that easier, the expectations of taking it farther goes up as well. Farther can mean lots of things.You can make a new piece of hardware that's twenty times faster and will bring it to its knees within three months. Right? We're always trying to go to that next level no matter what it is.

The craftsmanship in this film is a great example. We have a demo I think is going to go out soon that talks about how we animate in this movie, where it's three hours worth of work to make this one pose that Genndy really wanted for the mummy. We condense it down the three minutes, so you can see how much work goes into just getting this thing that's onscreen for three frames, four frames. 

You feel it when you watch it, but you have no understanding of how much work went into just that moment. Because to get that, you can't build rigs that can predict everything Genndy's going to want to do. There's a moment where the rigs that we do, the armatures that move our characters around, you can only go so far with those. Then, the animators are literally sculpting the model, it's like clay. That's where the complication comes in all the way through the pipeline which it brings up the artistry level for everyone else involved all the way down to where you light it and get it out in film. 

MM: It just seems like it would just be so laborious. There has to be an addiction and a drug, and something in this that drives you to go to the next project and go, "I want to do this again. As big a headache as this was and all the deadlines and the changes." What's that drug for you? When's that moment in the process where you go, "This is why I do it." 

KH: It really happens about the last third of the film. Because the schedules that we're on, how fast we're moving, it just feels like a massive adrenaline rush everyday. To be honest, those are days I can't wait to get to work. I can't wait to get in the screen room, see what we have for the day to talk about. Our days are long at that point. We go in the screen room at 9:00 in morning and not come out until 7:00 at night, just with a lunch break in between. I also know for myself personally, when we finish the film, I need two or three weeks to decompress. 

It took me about two weeks after I was out of the building when we finished that. You're standing there and you finally go, "Aaaaa," like that tension and get relief. That's also a time you start thinking about, "Okay, next time you got to this." You start applying that to the next project you're going to. I think we're addicted to improving image quality, improving the technology, makes that product and makes that performance better. We love it. Otherwise, I don't think we'd do it because it's really tough. It's a tough job to have.