Eden Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews

Eden

Eden is a French film directed by Mia Hansen-Løve, and it stars Félix De Givry, Pauline Etienne, Roman Kolinka, Greta Gerwig, and Laura Smet. The film follows a young man named Paul (De Givry), as he becomes a DJ in the early 90s, with a group of his friends working with him as a label. The film follows Paul from the early 90s all the way to 2013, chronicling his life, and his experiences with his friends throughout the years. 

The acting in this movie is kind of difficult to describe, as there aren't a lot of scenes involving heavy acting here. There are some emotional moments sprinkled throughout, but what makes Eden special is the slower moments, which the actors here sell extremely well. And the writing goes hand in hand with the acting, the dialogue is incredibly natural and real, never being too bombastic, or too dramatic, or really too anything. The characters in this movie are incredibly real characters, and this movie feels immensely real, to the point where this was an incredibly surreal experience as a film.

Another thing that adds to how amazing this movie is, is just how profound it is. Sure, it's mostly about a DJ following his ambitions, but at it's core, this movie covers so many things a lot of movies don't even touch on. If you have just about any kind of ambition or aspiration, or you have had goals at a point in your life, you will relate to this movie. Beyond that, this movie will resonate with just about anyone who watches it. But more than ambition, this movie has a really simple theme, which is life. This movie tells a story about life, and about friendships, relationships, and it tells it in an incredibly real way.

However, front and centre, this movie is about a DJ, which leads me to the music and soundtrack of this movie. I can honestly say, even having just recently seen Straight Outta Compton, that Eden has one of the best soundtracks in a film this year. It's catchy, the music is really good, it works with the scenes and the tone, and the raves and clubs work with the music in an incredibly surreal way.

Final Rating

I hadn't heard much of Eden, however I'm glad I decided to see it. It's absolutely one of the best movies of the year, up there with The Gift and Mad Max. It's characters are amazingly real, and the writing and acting work together unlike anything I've seen since Boyhood. The soundtrack is fantastic. This movie is incredibly surreal, it's thought provoking, and it anyone who watches it will be able to relate to it. Which is why I think absolutely everyone should go see it, it's a masterpiece. 

Straight Outta Compton Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews

Straight Outta Compton

Straight Outta Compton is a biographical film about the controversial rap group known as NWA. It has all five members, but the key characters of the movie are Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and Dr Dre. The story follows them through the start of their careers, rise to fame, Ice Cube leaving the group, and the years following the group splitting up as a whole. It stars O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube (he's also Ice Cubes son, which makes sense), Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Cory Hawkins as Dre, and Paul Giamatti as their manager.

With the exception of Paul Giamatti, I hadn't heard or seen any of these other actors in other films, and they all do a really good job. O'Shea Jackson Jr. is playing his dad in this movie, and he did a fantastic job selling the role. It's also worth noting that, being Ice Cubes son, he looks almost exactly like Ice Cube. Cory Hawkins is also really good as Dre, most of the cast of this movie did a really good job. The best performance in this movie was Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, who was arguably the emotional centre of the film. Since he plays such a major role for the movie, his role was probably one of the toughest ones to play as well, and he does a great job with it.

This movie changes up the plot and pace a few times throughout the movie, often switching between the three separate storylines. The first act of the film mainly follows Eazy-E, as he basically leads NWA. The second follows Ice Cube, as he left the group. The last bit is mostly about Dr Dre, years after the group has disbanded, and his work with artists such as Tupac and Snoop Dogg. And what's great about this movie is how seamless the transition is between each part of the timeline, and the fluidity between scenes with a lot of humor, and more dramatic moments. I said in my review of Ricki & the Flash, it's not that common that a movie really blends comedy and drama, and Straight Outta Compton manages to blend the two. The only downside to this is that so many stories to cover lead to the film stretching longer than I'd have liked.

Now, there's one part of this movie that I'm sure everyone who saw this movie was looking forward to, and that's the music. Any scene with music playing, be it in a studio, on a radio, at a party, or at a concert, there is so much energy in this movie. Like I said, it stretches a little long, almost 3 hours long in fact, but the positive vibe this movie has stops you from worrying about all that. Something this movie does that I can honestly say is a rarity with most movies, even ones I love, is that this movie captivates it's audience. When you're watching this movie, you're in it, it's almost like nothing else is even happening.

Final Rating

Straight Outta Compton is a fantastic movie, I loved it, despite it taking a while to wrap up (especially near the end). The actors were fantastic, I'm seriously looking forward to seeing these guys in other movies. F. Gary Gray, the director, delivers his best movie since The Negotiator, and it's one of the most memorable films of the year so-far. It's not a perfect film, but it's certainly worth your time regardless of whether or not you're familiar with NWA.

The Gift Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews 
The Gift

The Gift is a thriller following this married couple, Simon and Robyn, as they move to a new neighbourhood in a new city. While here, Simon stumbles upon Gordon, a "friend" from high school, who it turns out is a little creepy. Gordon continuously makes unannounced visits, lets off just a bunch of red flags, and it's all because of something that happened a long time ago. The film stars Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, and Joel Edgerton, and is also Joel Edgertons directorial debut. And as far as directorial debuts go, damn good job.

So if anyone here saw any of the marketing for this movie, you would think it looks bad. To my surprise, The Gift is one of the best movies of the year so-far. First off, Jason Bateman shows off a lot of dramatic acting talent in this movie. He completely sheds his comedy and plays a really complex protagonist for this movie. Rebecca Hall is also great, better than you would suspect. There's a lot of emotion to her character, and she completely sold it. Joel Edgerton was also fantastic, from the trailer I totally thought he was going to be this over the top stalker guy. That's not what happened, he played it perfectly, he was creepy, he was subtle. If this movie can be described with one word, it's subtle.

The Gift goes between two different tones between the first and second act. The first half of this movie is mostly a suspense/thriller. As a thriller director, Joel Edgerton seems to know how to keep you at the edge of the seat for most of the movie. The camera movements and shots are delicate, and really well placed, so while you're watching there's this build up of suspense, when nothings happening. Just the unsettlingly quiet and slow shots to keep your blood pumping. And it totally works, the first half of this movie is really creepy and unsettling.

However, the first half isn't what makes The Gift such a great film. The second half of this movie is where this movie gets a little more complex, and it's fantastic. You start to find out more about Simon and Gordons past, and this portion of the movie builds into one of the most engaging films I've seen all year. You start to question whether or not the main character is a good person, all these characters become really three dimensional characters. A perfect description for this movie would be that it's like if the American remake of Oldboy was as good as the original Oldboy. And yes, this movie is just as good as Oldboy.

Final Rating

Guys, I cannot stress this enough, go check out The Gift. Make sure this movie beats out Fantastic Four at the box office, this is a movie that truly deserves to be seen. It's chilling, it's disturbing in some parts, and incredibly complex and well-written in others. Unless you can't handle some disturbing or hard to watch scenes, absolutely go see The Gift. It is hands down the biggest surprise of 2015 so-far, and it's absolutely one of the best movies I've seen all year.

Ricki & the Flash Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews

Ricki & the Flash

Ricki & the Flash is a drama/comedy from director Jonathan Demme, and it stars Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Marmie Gummer, Sebastian Stan, and Rick Springfield. It follows this guitarist for a band, called Ricki & the Flash, played by Meryl Streep, who has to somehow get back in touch with her disfunctional family following her daughters divorce. She's also got stuff going on in LA with her band that she has to deal with.

Now, going into this movie, I knew Meryl Streep was going to be the highlight of this movie. And she was, she's a fantastic actress, and like any other movie she's been in, she totally kills it here. What makes her performance here special is the fact that, in most of the guitar related scenes, she's actually playing the guitar, and singing the songs. While you're watching the movie, you can totally tell that she's fully commited to the role, and it pays off in another awesome Meryl Streep performance. Along with Streep, Kevin Kline and Marmie Gummer were also pretty good in this movie.

One of the problems I usually have with films in the drama/comedy genre is that a lot of them have trouble blurring the line between drama and comedy. Some films, like 50/50 or Her can do it, and make it seamless. However, Ricki & the Flash isn't one of those films, and some of the shifts between drama and comedy are rather sudden. A scene will go from a comedic moment to a dramatic moment, but without any build up. The individual dramatic and comedic moments themselves are really good, the only issue is the transition between them.

Ricki & the Flash is one of those movies that isn't made for everyone. I don't mean that in the sense where Snowpiercer is way too dark for some people, I mean Ricki is specifically made for people in their 40s-50s or older. Now, I'm 18 and I could still enjoy the movie, and I think most people regardless of age may like the film, but I feel like it's important to point out that this movie has a specific target audience. If you weren't alive when the various 80s rock bands featured in this movie are brought up, it may not connect with you as well as it would with other people. 

Final Rating
Ricki & the Flash is entertaining and for some people, nostalgic film. It has some flaws, but nothing I couldn't get over to enjoy it. Meryl Streep, as expected, is fantastic and absolutely steals the show. If you're a part of this movies key demographic, you'll totally enjoy it. If not, well that's really a matter of opinion. I can't say Ricki & the Flash is a movie you need to rush to the theatres to see, but if you're interested in it then go for it.