Spy Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

 Title: Spy
Year: 2015
Director: Paul Feig
Country: US
Language: English

Spoof:
- Forgery of goods or documents
- A type of satire, specifically a parody, in which an original work is made fun of by creating a similar but altered work.
- Australian slang for semen
Regardless of which definition fits, Spy is not a good

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency's most dangerous missions. When her partner falls off the grid and another top agent is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global crisis.

Spy makes Goldmember look like a shining beacon of master art. It's full of vulgar humor that is delivered without comic timing or subtlety. We hear every variety of the word "bitch", but have no real punchline.  Ha! She's a potty mouth! Perhaps the shock factor of poo, vomit, fart and sex jokes would work on an Elementary School playground but as an adult I find it dull, poorly written and lazy. I wasn't a fan of Edgar Wright's The World's End, but at least he knows how to do physical comedy well!

I did like Jason Statham's character however; he does a good job at satirizing his usual onscreen persona. Statham acts like a badass, but is completely incompetent and is always at the mercy of his foe. Overall the film didn't do much at all to set itself apart from every other spy movie. Its plot is very formulaic (underdog gets heroic role, underdog screws up, good guy is actually bad guy, end helicopter scene, bad guys lose) and it isn't sly/meta enough to be forgiven.

If Spy Hard (1996)  and Casino Royale (1967) aren't enough to satisfy your need for hilarious thriller spoofs, then I recommend 21 Jump Street (2012). Really, do anything you can to avoid the eternal stench of this lame attempt to be feminist. Piss on it! 1/5

Trumbo Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Trumbo
Year: 2015
Director: Jay Roach
Country: US
Language: English

James Dalton Trumbo (Dec 9, 1905- Sept 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter and novelist. He is most noted for winning two Oscars (Best Writing for Roman Holiday & Best Writing for The Brave One) and being part of the Hollywood Ten during the Communist Scare of the 1950's. The Hollywood Ten refers to 10 motion-picture producers, directors, and screenwriters who appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)  in October 1947, refusing to answer questions regarding their communist affiliations and ultimately being blacklisted by the Hollywood Studios. Most were never again employed by Hollywood again, but a few wrote under pseudonyms. After the scare ended in the 60's Trumbo and another writer wrote scripts under their real names once again. 

Trumbo recounts how Dalton used words and wit to win two Academy Awards and expose the absurdity and injustice under the blacklist, which entangled everyone in Hollywood. 

Trumbo is a good film, but not great. I love how this film is so adamantly against the blacklist, but I would have enjoyed more complicated antagonists. Exposing communists during the cold war was more of a difficult decision than just "I love America and Freedom!" (at least one would hope). Elia Kazan had such mixed feelings about "naming names" that he had to make On the Waterfront to get it out of his conscious. 

There's no denying that the Hollywood blacklist did destroy lives however, and the film does show the physical and mental decay of Dalton Trumbo very well. When he rants to his dying friend about "exposing the studio" we think the character has gone insane; it certainly doesn't help that he is addicted to pills and booze. Trumbo's great depiction is in part due to clever writing and in part due to Bryan Cranston's phenomenal performance. He embodies every aspect of the tortured writer, even getting offbeat patterns in the man's speech down to a tee.  

I would have liked the film to be less of a hagiography and less bias in favor of the writers. The heroes and villains of this story are drawn with such black and white lines. Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) reminds me of Cruella Da Vil in her comic-book like villainy. "CATCH THOSE COMMIES!" I also wish the film would have focused more on the lives of the other writers and how the blacklist affected them, but I suppose Trumbo was the most successful/interesting of them? Overall it's an entertaining film that has potential within its story. 3.5/5

The Squid and the Whale Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

 Title: The Squid and the Whale
Year: 2005
Director: Noah Baumbach
Country: US
Language: English

The Squid and the Whale is a semi-autobiographical comedy drama about Director Noah Baumbach's Brooklyn childhood and the effects of his parents' divorce on the family in the 1980's. In an interview, Baumbach said of the film, "Sometimes when I think about the whole experience of this, it starts to become a joke within a joke within a joke. The film is not only inspired by my childhood and my parents’ divorce, but it was also the first script I didn’t show to my parents while I was working on it. It’s not that I wanted to protect them from anything. I just wanted to keep it my own experience.

The dysfunctional family of pseudo intellectuals composed by the university professor Bernard (Jeff Daniels) and the prominent writer Joan (Laura Linney)  split. Bernard is a selfish, cheap and jealous decadent writer that rationalizes every attitude in his family and life and does not accept "philistines" - people that do not read books or watch movies, while the unfaithful Joan is growing as a writer and has no problems with "philistines. Their two young kids take sides and battle lines are drawn.

The best thing that can be said about this film is that it is well-written. The dialogue can go from witty to cut throat in a heartbeat. The characters are well crafted; each one I can relate to & see myself in. I don't find it easy to empathize with the main child, Walt Berkman (Jesse Eisenberg) because it is easy to be envious of the life he has. If only everybody's biggest problem in life was the divorce of their parents. However, suffering is suffering; not every man can have problems the magnitude of Spartacus. 

The Squid and the Whale is essentially about how we grow up by absorbing what is useful in our parents and forgiving what is not.  Joan cheats on her husband, but has an optimistic view of marriage & romance whereas Bernard has a pessimistic view of marriage & encourages his son to "play the field" but never thinks he should be cheated on. Ultimately Baumbach we shouldn't blame our on difficulties on our parents, because we can make choices. We can choose to let go of the negative and learn from the positive. Overall a well made picture with a very important message. Praise it! 4/5