Notes from a Genius

"Wild" starring: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Keene McRae, Gaby Hoffman directed by: Jean-Marc Vallee written by: Nick Hornby and Cheryl Strayed (novel)  It's these time of movies that strike a nerve with me, because I envy the type of people that allow themselves to set out on an adventure of equal measures freedom and grueling mentality and physically. Every time I see these type of solo-adventure films, it makes me want to drop everything and go on my own trip; or I come up with some kind of task for myself, but really I want to become a traveler. Being a traveler is about stepping out of your comfort zone, into unfamiliar territory and pushing yourself to grueling extreme. Now, with that being said. I have made a couple of my own adventures. First, back in 2003, I traveled to Washington D.C. during my spring break and stayed in a hotel for an entire week, right outside of Georgetown University and walked all around the capital city. ...

"Ida" starring: Agata Trzebuchowska, Agata Kulesza, Joanne Kulig written and directed by: Pawel Pawlikowski This is a beautifully made black and white film about a young soon-to-be nun who has lived in a convent for almost her entire life because of the Nazi occupation and subsequent World War II. The film is set in 1960s Poland. It is a film about discovering who you are, but in a different way, because who you thought you were is exposed as an untruth. It is about what happens when you find out all that you thought you were built from is a deception. Anna (Trzebuchowska) is an orphan and novitiate nun on the verge of taking her vows. Before she does so, however, her mother superior insists that Anna visit with her only living relative, an aunt whose existence was unknown to Anna up until that moment. A naive and cloistered young woman, Anna has grown up in the nunnery, innocent to the world beyond its gates. Her aunt Wanda (Kulesza) is quite the opposite: She’s ...

"Frank" starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Scoot McNairy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Francois Civil, Carla Azar, Michael Fassbender directed by: Jon Abrahamson written by: Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan It's hard to come to terms with never becoming a genius, especially at something you are so passionate about, something say, like music (or any of the arts, I suppose). It is harder still, to be included in a project with one of those said geniuses. To be a genius, it could be argued leads to insanity, leads to a need/want for solitude and/or isolation, leads to feelings of nobody understanding you. The film "Frank" is an interesting look and study into the toll proximity to the likes of a genius can take on people of lesser skill. It's a cruel thing to be so close and yet so far away. We meet Jon Burroughs (played by Gleeson) as he works in an office and gets ideas for songs while walking home from work, burrows himself in his bedroom at his parents' house ...

"Dark Skies" starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton written and directed by: Scott Stewart Clearly Scott Stewart is a fan of the old-fashioned alien abduction films of the past. His technique and style is very similar to Steven Spielberg a la "Close Encounters" and even a little bit of "Poltergeist" with the inexplicable things that happen in and out and around the house. Then there's his attempt to pay homage to another scary film like "The Birds" and even possession-style character freak-outs thanks in large part to the "Paranormal Activity" franchise. The trouble with Stewart's treatment of the subject matter is that he never really attempts to make it his own or put his own spin on things. There's homage and there's rip-off (re: screws unloosening in the boards, heated lamps, birds dying kamikaze-style, etc.). We've seen it all before, so why should we care this time around? And that's when the family...

"Venom" starring: Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, D.J. Cotrona, Rick Cramer, Meagan Good, Bijou Phillips This is the kind of ridiculous horror that I just cannot buy into. When an average, yet spooky enough man becomes the villain solely because of voodoo and poisonous snakes- turning him into a larger than life angry, evil, blood-thirsty soulless creature- it just begs to be laughed at. But, the way the story and film is made, it seems as if everyone is kind of in on the joke and are laughing at themselves, too. They know this isn't a serious horror film. Thankfully. But it's still not really enjoyable. It's more of a waste of time. The poor, average Joe in question here is a truck driver named Ray Sawyer who stops on the side of the road one night to help an elderly lady who's car has been left teetering over the edge of the road and a bridge, hovering over water in the dark, misty bayou of Louisiana (I guess that's the only reaso...