Movie Review: Motor City

The last post on this movie review blog, "The Invite," was a movie that was 100% dialogue and violated the screenwriting mantra, "show don't tell". The new movie "Motor City" is the exact opposite, with about 8 words of dialogue, "all showing, no telling". In the history of moviemaking, Motor City very likely has fewer words of dialogue than since silent films, making production more of an experiment about trying something new than a viable new movie idea.

Motor City stars Alan Ritchson (John Miller), a man who has just been released from probation and works in a factory in Detroit, Michigan, in 1977. John has a girlfriend, Sophia (played by Shailene Woodley), who works as both a waitress and a call girl for an evil criminal, Reynolds (played by Ben Foster). The story that follows we have all seen before, as John Miller is arrested for a crime he did not commit and sentenced to 25 years in prison. How he was set up is explained, all without dialogue, through subtle scenes, facial expressions, and an engagement ring that makes an appearance in many scenes throughout this story. There are some impressive action scenes, with a climax between John Miller and another criminal in an elevator that looked like it took some time to choreograph. Unfortunately, this "no dialogue action movie experiment" did not work.

I agree with the low 66% ratings for this movie and do not recommend it.

Movie Review: The Invite

When it comes to screenwriting, the number one mantra has always been, "This is a movie, not a novel, show don't tell". The new movie "The Invite", directed by Olivia Wilde, written by Cesc Gay, Will McCormack, Rashida Jones, and starring only four actors, Seth Rogen(Joe), Olivia Wilde(Angela), Penélope Cruz (Piña), and Edward Norton (Hawk) - the entire movie takes place in one small New York City apartment - violating all aspects of the show don't tell rule. Movies like this one, which is a well-done dialogue-only movie, prove that the show don't tell rule should never be applied to all types of films.

The story starts with a married couple, Joe and Angela, who have who face many extreme marital problems, beginning with nonstop arguing and disagreements that continue through the first 20% of this film. The arguments start with Angela inviting two guests over for dinner, who are neighbors in their apartment building. Angela insists that she told Joe days ago that this dinner would be happening, and Joe does not remember this conversation - starting the "you never listen to me" standard marriage argument. Almost all of Joe and Angela's arguments are petty and ridiculous, which adds a strong element of comedy to this mostly comedic movie. By the time the guests arrive, Angela and Joe are still in extreme argument mode, which, for the rest of this story, which is almost 100% dialogue, mutates into arguments with their guests, finding out who they are, what they do for a living, and why Pina and Hawk really came over for dinner this evening.

This movie would never have worked if the dialogue and acting throughout this 1 hour and 47 minute unusual film were not so well done. The Rotten Tomatoes ratings are too high at 97% for a film like this, with my rating a solid 85% and a recommendation.

Movie Review: The Odyssey

Regardless of anyone's opinion of director and writer Christopher Nolan or his attempt to make this impossible movie, you have to admire the hard work, planning, and the 375 million dollar budget. For the first time in movie history, this film was shot using an IMAX camera 100% of the time. This required IMAX to make a new, lighter version, which weighed 300 pounds. The machine was so loud that it had to be put into an enclosure to mute the sound it makes. The original IMAX camera could not record sound, so workarounds had to be invented for this additional problem. Each scene had to be shot for three minutes at a time, so the actors had to freeze in place so that the film cartridge could be reloaded. Many of the scenes were filmed on the ocean, making all of the logistical problems even more challenging. For this film, the crew shot two million feet of IMAX film, over 91 days.

The star of this movie, Matt Damon (Odysseus), has said during interviews that this was by far the most difficult acting job he has ever taken. The main reason for this was that the majority of his scenes were about fighting in wars or soaking wet on a boat, constantly being doused with seawater. For someone worth 170 million dollars, going through six months of this level of hardship has to be respected. Other well-known actors in this movie include Robert Pattinson(Antinous), Elliot Page(Sinon), and Anne Hathaway, who plays Odysseus' wife (Penelope).

This movie is based on "The Odyssey" (Homer), which is over 2700 years old. To try to make a movie based on a book this famous, based on Greek Mythology, Christopher Nolan had to have scenes that included a giant 60-foot Cyclops, an Ocean Whirlpool, a giant Trojan horse, and many scenes of death, almost all due to swordfighting. All of these insane scenes added more challenges to the cast and crew of this film. To create the 60-foot Cyclops, Nolan actually built a giant puppet, because he prefers to use a minimum of CGI in all of his movies.

The acting in this movie is very good throughout, and this film will, of course, be nominated for best picture and best director, with Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway nominated for best actor and best supporting actress. John Leguizamo (Eumaeus) is also likely to get a best supporting nomination for his excellent performance as an almost blind shepherd in this film.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings are a very high 96%, with my rating a not-as-high 90%, due to the slow and boring parts in this story and the too-long running time of 2 hours and 52 minutes. I give this film a solid recommendation.