Michelle MacLaren to Direct 'Wonder Woman:' Tokenism & Other Thoughts

The lack of opportunities for female directors is such a major problem that when a female director signs on for a major Hollywood blockbuster, it's news. Such is the case for Emmy winning director/producer Michelle MacLaren, who was just announced as director for Wonder Woman (out in June 2017). The film, starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, is the fourth film in the DC Comics Shared Universe.

Best known for her work on Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, MacLaren is an acclaimed director and many of her fans (myself included) were just waiting for her to be brought into the Hollywood like so many top TV directors. Personally I was hoping she would be handed a potential Black Widow movie starring Scarlett Johansson for Marvel but this news is pretty awesome as well.

'Gone Girl,' Gothic Horror & the Power of False Narrative

WARNING: Massive spoilers for David Fincher's adaptation of Gone Girl below. If you have not seen the movie, stop reading and go see it. Then come back and read this (and share it with your friends). 

When I first saw the 2nd trailer for Gone Girl, man, I was hooked like a fish. Here it is below:

After seeing the movie twice, man, I love it even more. The trailer does a great job selling the film with a montage of cryptic moments from the film. The trailer sells Gone Girl as a "woman trapped by dangerous husband" Gothic horror story in the vein of Gaslight, Suspicion and in some ways Rosemary's Baby (all great films you should absolutely watch). I have to admit I find the Gothic horror story very effective and seductive.

And so when I actually saw the movie, I was just blown away by just how much the trailers lied to me. The idea of false narrative, not entirely new to cinema or fiction for that matter, is a very powerful one nonetheless. It plays with viewer expectations. Because of course we are quick to believe in the Amy presented in the diary (which I'll call Amazing Amy from here on out)--the beautiful blonde victimized by her violent husband. It's a narrative that plays on societal expectations for how these stories go.

INTERSTELLAR: Flawed but Magnificent Space Epic

I'm going to give a wildly contradictory statement: Interstellar is not one of Christopher Nolan's best films but you should absolutely go see it in theaters (in IMAX if you can bear it). The issues I have with the intergalactic melodrama don't undermine the visual beauty or hard effort behind the film. The spectacle of the film is betrayed, however, by an emotional throughline that does not capture the imagination as well as the film's technical achievements.

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, John Lithgow, Mackenzie Foy and Michael Caine, Interstellar is the 9th feature film from Nolan and his followup to The Dark Knight Rises. Written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan, the film features stunning cinematography by Hoyt Van Hoytema (Her), wonderful music by Hans Zimmer (12 Years a Slave) and crisp editing by Lee Smith (The Dark Knight),

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"Come find me when you wake up:" Gender Equality in 'Edge of Tomorrow'

This weekend I saw the Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt sci-fi aciton movie Edge of Tomorrow for the second time. It's one of the most underrated summer blockbusters from 2014. Unfortunately it did not set the US box office on fire (although it did make almost $370 million worldwide) and that was for a few reasons (poor marketing, bad release date, tough competition from Maleficent and The Fault in Our Stars). Edge of Tomorrow is one of the most pleasing, visually gorgeous and thrilling movies to come out. And the cherry on top of the sundae: it very subtly promotes gender equality.

This movie is not the feminist ideal: it fails the Bechdel test and has few women both behind and in front of the cameras. But the relationship between William Cage (Cruise) and Rita Vrataski (Blunt) as well as their roles within the film are a welcome change from the usual macho-driven explosion-fest.

The best part of Tomorrow is how Vrataski and Cage work together. Vrataski's past in the time loop that Cage is now stuck in makes her the dominant one in their relationship at first. She has to train him and he relies on her skills, expertise and knowledge to further their shared goal of saving the world.

It has to be noted that her gender does not play into their dynamic at all. There's no hint that Cage feels weird being in a submissive role to Vrataski. Her past battle victories define her, not her womanhood. Usually in an action movie with a male/female dynamic, the woman is the one who is learning from the (older) male; the woman is reliant on the male. Tomorrow reverses that without making a big deal out of it. And so the film can be seen as majorly progressive.

Well, sort of. Vrstaski goes by two nicknames within the world of Edge of Tomorrow: Angel of Verdun and Full Metal Bitch. Both present her as 2 opposite extremes: the pure, maternal protector and the cold, distant killing machine.

Both names on their own are somewhat problematic. "Angel" and "bitch" are hardly names you would call a male war hero and they are explicitly informed by her being a woman. But the film allows Vrataski to peel back layers and reveal a 3 dimensional woman behind the archetypes of "angel" and "bitch."

Not only that but because this is a major Hollywood blockbuster starring Tom Cruise (which honestly would not have been made without Cruise's name attached), Emily Blunt is in a supporting role. And the film has Cage manipulate certain events when it becomes clear that Vrataski dies in a certain time loop. He does that because he cares for her, yes, but also because he needs her help to complete his mission.

Even so, Vrataski could easily have been just a romantic prize or played by a man with Blunt as some romantic interest. But Edge of Tomorrow is a bit smarter than that. Cage and Vrataski have an equal partnership, where they both offer ideas and make sacrifices. And that is one of the many reasons Edge of Tomorrow is one of the best films of the year.

Obsessed, Scary Jake Gyllenhaal in Electrifying 'Nightcrawler' (Review)

I like Jake Gyllenhaal for a lot of reasons. He's movie star handsome but hasn't really exploited his good looks. He prefers to do dark, offbeat movies instead of blockbusters (I think we can all forget Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time). And he's not scary intense like Christian Bale or Russell Crowe. Off the screen, that is.

In character, my boy Jakey G. has delivered some powerful performances in films like Zodiac, Enemy, Prisoners and Jarhead. But he tops himself in Nightcrawler, the directorial debut of screenwriter Dan Gilroy (brother to Tony "Michael Clayton" Gilroy and husband to Rene Russo). The film also stars Russo, Riz Ahmed and Bill Paxton. The film features a moody score by James Newton Howard (Hunger Games, The Dark Knight) and cinematography by Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol).

Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, an out of work LA guy who finds himself working as a nightcrawler, a person who listens for crimes on police recorders, tapes footage and sells them to news shows. Lou sells to Nina's (Rene Russo) show, the lowest rated program. Lou is extremely motivated. He's obsessed with doing well, reciting lessons he learned from online business classes, negotiating mercilessly and always looking out for his goals. He hires an assistant Rick (Ahmed) and sets out to become the best.

Nightcrawler functions on two levels: it is a satire of media sensationalism and a scathing look at a guy with sociopathic tendencies and an obsessive drive for success. While the film succeeds mostly on both levels, I have to say that it works better when focusing on the latter. We've seen media satires before (Network, Sweet Smell of Success, and the comedy Morning Glory come to mind). It's easy, low-hanging fruit to explore how news media want to show more blood and screaming victims than actually to report the truth.

Luckily, the film has an incredible protagonist in Lou Bloom and a powerhouse leading man in Jake Gyllenhaal. Lou is a manipulative self-starter so bent on success, that he isn't above blackmail and other shady dealings. We've seen Gyllenhaal go intense before like in Prisoners. But his performance as Lou goes even further off the deep end. His voice gets steely, his eyes fixate and it's really menacing.

There's a fabulous scene where Lou is giving a list of demands to Nina and with each item he takes a step closer to the camera and finishes the monologue with an ending line that got a "dayummmmmn" type response from the audience (fine, guys, just me).

If I recall correctly, then this is the first time Gyllenhaal is playing a villain/anti-hero type character and it suits him well. He has a such a boyish, charming persona that using it for such a horrible character is unsettling.

Rene Russo, after being a total boss in Thor: The Dark World, continues her comeback with another great acting job. While I enjoyed her performance, I wish her character had a bit more backbone. The character seems too passive and complacent as the film goes on. Riz Ahmed is fine as a young innocent who gets trapped by Lou. His nervous energy and desperation come through when tested by Lou. Bill Paxton is underused as a potential rival for Lou but gets a few choice scenes.

I love the look of the film. Dark but full of artificial light. The cinematography is exceptional. Gilroy makes a lot of great directorial choices, especially in the driving scenes. Some people have compared this film to the Ryan Gosling starrer Drive. It's a fair comparison (nighttime LA movie with lots of driving) but this film is going for more visceral thrills whereas the 2011 film was a melodrama with action hanging over it. Both are great films but Nightcrawler is a bit more effective.

I'd highly recommend Nightcrawler. Because it came out in Oscar season, there's been some Oscar talk. I think both Gyllenhaal and Russo are definitely in the running for Best Actor and Supporting Actress respectively. The cinematography and the script can also find their way into the nominees' list. However, I also think this movie is too dark and weird for old school Oscar voters. In the end, it doesn't matter. Nightcrawler does not need Oscar attention to get viewers. It's the type of film whose audience will seek it out and and love it all on their own.