“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” – Review

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reg_634.TheHobbit.jc.092312Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Guillermo del Toro; based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien
Cast: Martin Freeman & Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Ken Stott as Balin, Graham McTavish as Dwalin, William Kircher as Bifur, James Nesbitt as Bofur, Stephen Hunter as Bombur, Dean O’Gorman as Fili, Aidan Turner as Kili, John Callen as Oin, Peter Hambleton as Gloin, Jed Brophy as Nori, Mark Hadlow as Dori, Adam Brown as Ori, Andy Serkis as Gollum, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Hugo Weaving as Elrond, Christopher Lee as Saruman, Sylvester McCoy as Radagast, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
Rated PG-13
Running time: 2 hours 49 minutes
IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/
Plot: Sixty years before The Lord of the Rings, happily respectable hobbit Bilbo Baggins finds himself on a dangerous quest with 13 dwarves and the legendary wizard, Gandalf.

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There are two versions of me reviewing Peter Jackson’s latest trip to Middle-earth.  One is the proud geek who became an obsessive J.R.R. Tolkien fan after seeing Jackson’s movie of The Fellowship of the Ring.  The other is the professional film critic of 15+ years whose job is to analyze every cinematic effort I see (whether I really want to or not).

The critic version says this: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey takes its sweet time, luxuriating in the fact that there are two more movies to come, and Jackson can pretty much do whatever he wants.  He overindulges in pretty vistas and a very awkward flashback/narrative structure involving Bilbo talking to Frodo just before the events of Fellowship take place.

The geek version says: The more Middle-earth, the better!  I’d happily stare at a 20-minute establishing shot of Rivendell, so watching people walk across a field for a few extra seconds isn’t going to bother me.  And Jackson has earned the right to be overindulgent.

You can see my dilemma.

I appreciate the tricky task of giving a 300-page children’s book the same epic feel as the Rings movies, and Jackson succeeds at that more often than not.  We get to see battles that are only talked about in the book, and the sweep and scope of Middle-earth are still breathtaking.  The book hints at a larger, more detailed universe – the movie shows it.

That means including material from non-Hobbit sources (see my article in The Kansas City Star), and Jackson integrates it well with the lighter, more insular quality of Bilbo’s adventure.  It’s too bad Jackson couldn’t have made The Hobbit first, but legal issues made that impossible.  So, he keeps the silly humor (hello, idiot trolls!), while setting up the darker deeds that everyone has already seen.  Like all prequels, it fills in gaps instead of introducing anything new, but it does so with the style and affection we’ve come to expect from Jackson and his equally brilliant collaborators.

If the tonal shifts are a mixed bag, they’re nothing compared to the experience of seeing the film at its intended 48 frames-per-second projection speed.  The technique is great for action scenes, eliminating the blurry quality that so many 3D movies have whenever anyone moves.  It’s also great for interior and low-light sequences, which gain a new visual clarity.  Not so effective are the static daylight scenes, which take on a cold, airless quality that is extremely disconcerting.  Maybe we’ll all get used to this, just like previous generations adjusted to sound and color in their movies.  The technology is bound to improve over time, too.  Until then, I’ll be rewatching this at 24fps, and probably in 2D.

There’s almost no point in commenting on how great the cast is, how beautiful the movie looks, how much sheer fun it all is.  What else would you expect?  I will give a special shout-out to the great Andy Serkis, who reminds us all what a terrifying little bastard Gollum can be.  The scene where he and Bilbo trade riddles in the dark – and Bilbo finds a pretty golden ring – is marvelously chilling.

So, there you have it.  The critic says this is worth the ride, but has some notable flaws.  The geek says to hell with the critic.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey doesn’t feel like a long, arduous trek to distant lands.  It feels like coming home.

“Hitchcock” – Review

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Hitchcock-2012-Movie-PosterHelen Mirren and cast will leave you spellbound, but the plot is for the birds.

December 6, 2012
By LOEY LOCKERBY
Special to The Star

 

 

 

 

Thirty years after her death, Alma Reville is still overshadowed by her husband. That’s not just a crack about Alfred Hitchcock’s famously round profile, either. Reville was married to “Hitch” for more than five decades and was his screenwriter, editor and all-around creative partner, something he acknowledged and appreciated openly. Yet, when the spotlight finally shines on her in Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock — in the form of Helen Mirren, no less — she can’t even get her name in the title.

She’s the best thing about the movie, too.

The film portrays the ostensible main character (Anthony Hopkins, under distracting prosthetics) as an aging auteur looking for a new way to give audiences a jolt. He finds it in Psycho, a risky project that he has to finance himself, and that the usually on-the-nose Alma finds distasteful.

While he juggles on-set difficulties, she takes a side job with writer Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston), leading to speculation about her fidelity, both personal and professional.

When Gervasi focuses on the way Hitchcock made his masterpiece, he offers an entertaining look at how Hollywood was changing in 1959, and how one director shook things up when some people thought he was past his prime.

Gervasi and screenwriter John J. McLaughlin (adapting Stephen Rebello’s Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho) cast the supporting roles convincingly, providing Scarlett Johansson (as Psycho star Janet Leigh) and Jessica Biel (as co-star Vera Miles) with the best material they’ve had in a while.

And James D’Arcy (Cloud Atlas) absolutely nails Anthony Perkins’ shy, nervous insecurity. People in the screening audience actually gasped when he appeared, so if anyone ever makes a Perkins biopic, this is the guy to call.

Hopkins doesn’t look or sound much like Hitch, so you never forget whom you’re really watching, but he does convey his subject’s perverse, borderline sadistic sense of humor. He hints at other perversions, too, as references are made to a voyeuristic obsession with blond actresses.

Unlike the recent HBO movie The Girl, which makes Hitchcock a more sinister character, this film treats his behavior as a harmless middle-aged indulgence. It makes him more likable but a lot less interesting.

The decision to have him hold imaginary conversations with Ed Gein, the real serial killer who inspired Psycho, is similarly misguided, playing more like a sick variation on Harvey than anything else.

Alma pushes through all this to emerge as the strongest figure in the story, by far. She’s intelligent, patient and talented, and although the domestic drama is poorly written, Mirren’s performance brings depth to the soapiest moments.

Hitchcock may be a muddled and shallow portrait of its actual title character, but it shines a much-deserved spotlight on the great woman behind this particular great man.

“Silver Linings Playbook” – Review

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Silver-Linings-Playbook-Poster‘Silver Linings Playbook’ mines gold from mental illness | 3 stars

November 20, 2012
By LOEY LOCKERBY
Special to The Star

★ ★ ★

 

 

 

 

How fine is the line between a volatile temper and full-blown mental illness? That question is at the heart of Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell’s latest entertaining ode to lovable characters you should probably be afraid of.

Several people are, in fact, afraid of Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper), who has just been released from a psychiatric hospital after viciously attacking his wife’s lover. Armed with a bipolar diagnosis and a determinedly positive attitude, Pat moves in with his parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver) and tries to get his old life back.

Of course, it’s not that easy. As his therapist (Anupam Kher) keeps reminding him, Pat does not have a real strategy for self-improvement. He can’t let go of his failed marriage and is oblivious to how much he has damaged his other relationships. He’s also reluctant to take the medications that seem to be the only means of moderating his outbursts.

Things start to improve when he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a young widow whose own emotional damage nearly matches his. They make quite a pair, as they argue and push each other toward a semblance of recovery. She even persuades him to participate in a dance competition, an odd plot twist that turns out to be surprisingly charming.

That’s a good way to describe the whole movie. This is hardly traditional romantic comedy territory, but Russell (adapting Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel) somehow infuses gallows humor with genuine warmth. This pertains not only to the dynamic between Pat and Tiffany, but also to Pat’s interactions with his family, especially his dad. Pat Sr. has his own problems (including a temper), but he’s a loving man who doesn’t know how to help his son. It’s the best role De Niro’s had in years.

It’s no surprise to see Lawrence do great work with a difficult character, but if you only know Cooper from his Hangover-esque efforts, prepare for a revelation. The energy he brings to all those slick comedies transfers remarkably well to Pat’s manic desperation.

He gets an assist from Russell’s dynamic, almost jittery direction, which reflects how Pat experiences the world without sending the audience running to the psych ward. That’s no small accomplishment, but the man who made The Fighter and Flirting With Disaster can certainly pull it off.

In fact, it’s hard to imagine another director so unflinching while remaining so funny and humane. It’s no wonder Russell and his cast are already getting Oscar buzz.

The desire for a Hollywood ending eventually takes over, softening some of the rough edges that make Silver Linings Playbook so unique. It’s a noticeable flaw, but not a fatal one. If Russell wants to give his characters a little sugar to help the Seroquel go down, he earns that right, because he makes them earn it, too.

 

“Skyfall” – Review

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Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: John Logan, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade; based on the book series created by Ian Fleming
Cast: Daniel Craig as James Bond, Judi Dench as M, Javier Bardem as Silva, Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory, Naomie Harris as Eve, Bérénice Marlohe as Sévérine, Ben Whishaw as Q, Albert Finney as Kincade
Rated PG-13
Running time: 2 hours 23 minutes
IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1074638/
Plot: A ruthless cyberterrorist named Silva hacks into MI6, endangering Britain’s entire security apparatus.  As James Bond tracks down this new enemy, he learns unsettling things about M’s past with the agency.

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Hot damn, he’s back!  After the boring mess that was Quantum of Solace, James Bond gets his groove on – and then some – with Skyfall.  It even has a plot you can follow, which is only true of about 1/4 of all the Bond films, anyway.

Director Sam Mendes has a terrific partner in cinematographer Roger Deakins, and just when you think they can’t top themselves, they do.  There’s a chase through the streets (and on the roofs and trains) of Istanbul, a fight in a Shanghai skyscraper, a nighttime battle in rural Scotland.  Even over-filmed London looks fresh and exciting.

Craig cements his status as the best of the Bonds (yeah, I said it), mixing epic badassery with emotion and a dry sense of humor.  We even learn a little about 007′s background.  Bardem adds another scary,  hairstyle-challenged villain to his repertoire, one whose own story fits nicely into the franchise’s mythos.  And while the Bond Babes don’t have much to do, Dench’s M owns this thing.  She may be a tiny English senior citizen, but she easily dominates every scene she’s in, including the ones with Mr. Shirtless Hunk and The Crazy Guy.

Since Skyfall coincides with the 50th anniversary of the film series, it’s full of little winks to the audience, most of them amusing.  It gets a bit too on the nose at times (I almost groaned at a couple of references), but it doesn’t wallow in bad puns and self-referential jerking-off just for the sake of it.  It’s a tribute to its own cinematic legacy, not a lazy riff.  It’s also freaking awesome.

This might remind you of:  GoldenEye, by far the best of the Pierce Brosnan Bond films.  It, too, deals with the changing nature of the spy game (the end of the Cold War vs. Skyfall‘s techno-terrorism) and makes things personal for MI6.  Plus, it has a great, charismatic villain in Sean Bean.

Watch Casino Royale as well:  Craig’s first outing was like a shot of adrenaline after a trio of lackluster efforts.  It’s leaner, meaner and more exciting than the series had been in years, and set its star up to be Sean Connery’s rightful heir.

 

“Cloud Atlas” – Review

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 Directors & Writers: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski. Based on the 2004 novel by David Mitchell
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, Zhou Xun, Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant - all playing multiple roles
Rated R
Running time: 2 hours 43 minutes
IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/
Plot: Six interconnected tales reveal the connectedness of life and the consequences of even the smallest actions.

 

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There must be some mass existential crisis going on in Hollywood.  From The Tree of Life to Melancholia to Prometheus, aging directors are contemplating the mysteries of existence at a record pace.

Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis are a bit younger than the makers of those films, but that didn’t stop them from tackling a nearly 3-hour philosophical fantasy, with six distinctive stories and actors playing multiple roles (of varying ages, races and even genders), based on a book that many people consider unfilmable.  Cloud Atlas doesn’t always work, but it doesn’t always have to.  It pulls you along through the sheer force of its mad ambition.

The stories intertwine and impact each other throughout the film, and do so with varying degrees of effectiveness.  The weakest is a post-apocalyptic tale, in which island villager Hanks leads a benevolent outsider (Berry) to a mountain that the locals deem mystical and dangerous.  Filled with nearly incomprehensible dialogue (thanks to the characters’ pidgin English dialect), it’s also got silly costumes and an imaginary devil figure (Weaving) who shows up at random intervals to verbally abuse Hanks.  It’s almost as bad as it sounds.

Much better is Berry’s starring segment, in which she gives a no-nonsense performance as a reporter investigating energy company corruption in 1973 San Francisco.  Tykwer (Run Lola Run) turns this into a taut, gritty thriller, and conveys the movie’s message in a way that’s clear without being preachy.

The Wachowskis get to do what they do best in the story set in 2144.  Bae and Sturgess play freedom fighters in a glittering, deadly Neo Seoul, and it gives the Matrix siblings a chance to indulge in their favorite themes: Freedom, oppression, and the role of technology in facilitating kick-ass action scenes.

Tykwer handles a darkly funny caper involving Broadbent as a publisher who gets committed to a nursing home against his will, then leads a daring escape attempt with a crew of elderly accomplices.  Broadbent also has a sizable role in a decent (not great) ’30s-set story about competition and scandal among composers.  Also in the middle quality range is a drama about a young American in 1849 who learns about the evils of slavery.  That one is simply too predictable, and even lets its villain fall into the Fallacy of the Talking Killer trap.

Cloud Atlas is surprisingly easy to follow, given its constant narrative back-and-forth and endless game of “spot-the-actor.”  Sure, it’s self-indulgent, and not everyone is up to the task of playing every character they’re given.  But it’s also self-aware, with a wicked sense of humor (something the Wachowskis never get enough credit for) and an assumption that the audience will get it.  When so many movies assume – even celebrate – viewer stupidity, it’s exciting to see one that rewards both intelligence and a desire to use it.

This might remind you of: The Fountain, another time-hopping philosophical meditation with actors in multiple roles.  This is Darren Aronofsky’s contribution to the genre, and as divisive as Cloud Atlas is likely to be.  I loved it.

Watch The Tree of Life as well: If you want EPIC, try Terrence Malick’s rumination on life, the universe, and everything.  As a bonus, you’ll also get to see what may be Brad Pitt’s best performance.

 

 

“Alex Cross” – Review

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‘Alex Cross’ at cross purposes: Good cast, mediocre director | 2 stars

October 18, 2012

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

Tyler Perry doesn’t need to prove anything.

The man made a fortune by packing his 6-foot-5-inch frame into a dress to deliver gospel-tinged wisdom as sassy matriarch Madea. How could he possibly top that?

By taking on a role once played by Morgan Freeman, that’s how.

In Alex Cross, a rebooted adaptation of James Patterson’s crime novels, Perry takes the character back to his beginnings as a Detroit psychologist and detective. He acquits himself well as a serious actor in something that doesn’t have his name in the title.

With his partners Tommy Kane (Edward Burns) and Monica Ashe (Rachel Nichols), Alex chases down bad guys, eventually running afoul of an unnamed assassin (Matthew Fox of Lost), who enjoys torturing his victims.

Dubbed “Picasso” for the charcoal drawings he leaves with the bodies, the killer is targeting wealthy businesspeople, including the head of an international company (Jean Reno) with plans to revitalize the city.

Although much of the film was shot in Cleveland, director Rob Cohen does capture some of Detroit’s decaying grandeur, most notably in scenes shot in the old Michigan Theatre, now the world’s most decorative parking garage.

That sequence also highlights Cohen’s severe limitations. He’s used to helming big, dumb movies like XXX and The Fast and the Furious, but a hand-to-hand fight in a dark, crumbling building is beyond his abilities. Cohen shakes the camera constantly, even in the film’s quieter moments, but this scene should come with a seizure warning.

Cohen’s handling of actors is equally shaky, and the presence of writer-director-actor hyphenates like Perry and Burns is the only thing that saves the dramatic material. Alex’s relationship with his family is sweet and genuine, and he and Tommy have a nice buddy-movie vibe. One can’t help but wonder if the two stars clandestinely took over when Cohen was busy blowing things up.

Fox doesn’t fare as well, blinking and twitching manically in a generic psycho role. “Picasso” is physically and mentally superhuman, with no backstory, so Fox overcompensates with a performance that combines Max Cady from Cape Fear with Dracula’s giggling henchman Renfield (minus the bug-eating, but just barely).

As an attempt to establish another franchise, Alex Cross is modestly successful, but the series will need directors with more finesse than Cohen. And while Perry will never be another Morgan Freeman, he should continue to make a convincing Alex Cross.

“Looper” – Review

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Posted on Fri, Sep. 28, 2012

‘Looper’: Time-travel thriller ramps up the action | 3 stars

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

When it comes to time-travel stories, it’s best not to get hung up on details. As Joe (Bruce Willis) reminds his younger self (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in the trippy sci-fi Looper, you’ll just end up sitting in a diner for hours, drawing “diagrams with straws.”

With that in mind, writer/director Rian Johnson (Brick) dispenses with the mechanics early. In the 2070s, time travel is invented, and criminals use it to send their enemies back 30 years, where an elite group of assassins will take them out, no questions asked. Joe is one of those assassins, and he’s living the high life until he has to close his “loop” by killing his future self.

For most of his buddies, this is just another, final job — they don’t even realize who they’ve popped until they remove the bag from the corpse’s head. But older Joe has other ideas, and he leads himself on a chase involving a telekenetic child (Pierce Gagnon) who lives on a farm with his mother (Emily Blunt).

Johnson’s script is surprisingly tight for the genre, and he finds creative ways to utilize his premise. One vivid sequence portrays a man’s tortured death by showing its effect on his older self (one finger goes missing, then two … again, don’t try to work out the details).

The final confrontation between the two Joes is all about the significance of a single act, to individuals and the world at large. It’s thought-provoking, if a little simplistic, and presented with the same gripping energy as the action scenes.

Gordon-Levitt looks nothing like Willis, and the weird prosthetics he wears make the problem worse, not better. They’re both very good in the role(s), but it’s never entirely possible to believe they’re the same person. Joe is also the only interesting character in the movie, aside from the little boy, who’s a cross between Carrie and that kid from The Twilight Zone who sent people to the cornfield.

Everyone else is just a crime-movie stereotype, from the mob boss (Jeff Daniels) to the kind-hearted prostitute (Piper Perabo). Blunt is singularly miscast, chopping wood and wielding a shotgun like a supermodel. She’s supposed to have been hardened by life in the city and the country, but she always looks like she just got back from a day at the spa.

Looper is so fast and intricate, it doesn’t give the audience a chance to worry about any of this. That doesn’t excuse its failings, but it does make them much easier to accept. Johnson knows what he wants you to think about, and he expects you to relax and enjoy the rest. You can draw the diagrams later.

* * *

Rated R | Time: 1:58

 

“Lawless” – Review

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‘Lawless’: This liquor is strong | 3 stars

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

‘Lawless’ ★★★

1 hr., 50 min.

During Prohibition, Franklin County, Va., earned a national reputation for its moonshine.

Illegal liquor fueled the economy (and the occasional car), while law enforcement either ignored the bootlegging or helped it along.

The Bondurant brothers were Franklin County legends, and director John Hillcoat (The Road) has turned their story into a gripping, if unambitious, crime drama.

Lawless is narrated by the youngest Bondurant, Jack (Shia LaBeouf), whose coming of age forms the narrative backbone. Considered soft by his two older siblings, Jack is always told to wait in the truck while Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke) handle the dirty work. Desperate to prove himself, Jack starts making side deals with gangster Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman), leading to a protracted showdown with a government agent (Guy Pearce) sent to keep the locals in line.

Scripted by musician Nick Cave (who also wrote The Proposition for Hillcoat), Lawless blends brutal realism with the glossy sheen of Hollywood mythmaking. The screenplay is based on the novel The Wettest County in the World by Jack’s real-life grandson, Matt Bondurant, and the movie is firmly on the side of the outlaws. They’re just nice boys trying to make a living, even if that means committing acts of horrific violence once in a while.

In what may be his best performance to date, LaBeouf plays Jack as a shrewd businessman whose sensitive nature can’t quite handle the gruesome realities of his job. Forrest and Howard are epic tough guys — rumors abound that Forrest is actually unkillable — but Jack couldn’t even slaughter a pig when he was a child. Hillcoat shows that incident in an opening flashback.

The supporting characters are essentially appendages to the Bondurants, including the love interests played by Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska, who both deserve better.

At least Pearce gets to enjoy himself. Special Deputy Charlie Rakes is a prissy psychopath whose biggest concern is getting blood on his nice suits when he’s beating someone to a pulp. It’s never clear why Forrest and Howard don’t go after Rakes as soon as he arrives, although they seem slightly afraid of him, too. Pearce doesn’t have the physical heft of Hardy (aka Bain in The Dark Knight Rises) and Clarke, but he makes up for it in explosions of pure sadism.

Rakes may or may not have been this vile in real life, but it doesn’t matter. Lawless is about the wild adventures of the Bondurant brothers, as they fall in love and face down their enemies. The fiction may not always match the reality, but it offers one heck of an exciting ride.

Posted on Tue, Aug. 28, 2012

“The Bourne Legacy” – Review

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‘The Bourne Legacy’: Plenty of action, not clarity | 2½ stars

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

★ ★   1/2
Rated PG-13 | Time: 2:15
The Bourne Legacy is an odd combination of sequel, spinoff and reboot.

It’s a Bourne movie without Bourne, but with continual references to his exploits. It follows up on events from the previous films but takes off in its own direction. It introduces Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Avengers) as a bona fide action star, ready to take over the franchise, James Bond-style.

In other words, it’s chaotic, but still kind of fun.

The sequel part deals with the fallout from Jason Bourne’s efforts to bring down his shady government bosses. A program called “Outcome” is in the crosshairs, panicking the offices of Eric Byer (Edward Norton) and his top-secret cronies, led by an intimidating retired admiral (Stacy Keach). Outcome places medically enhanced agents in trouble spots around the world, and Byer reluctantly orders their deaths to prevent exposure.

That doesn’t sit well with the star of the spinoff, Renner’s Aaron Cross. Cross is an Outcome agent who manages to escape assassination, then tracks down Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a doctor whose work helped create the enhancements — and whose own life is in danger.

Together, they reboot the series by running around a lot, evading Byer’s attempts to kill them while digging deeper into the Outcome program. This opens up all sorts of possibilities for future stories, as Cross’ superpowers can combine with Shearing’s expertise to mix it up with any range of high-powered threats.

Renner is a terrific tough guy, handling the abuse inflicted on him by director Tony Gilroy (who, after scripting the three previous Bourne films, co-wrote this one with his brother, Dan). There are countless fights and shootouts and a delightfully insane extended chase sequence through the streets of Manila. Like most modern directors, Gilroy likes his shaky-cam, but he at least holds still long enough to let viewers see what’s going on.

As befits its hybrid nature, The Bourne Legacy never feels like a single, cohesive film. There are plots and subplots everywhere, characters who only appear long enough to provide violence and/or exposition, and pages of jargon-laced dialogue.

If you haven’t seen the other Bourne movies in a while, you may want to hold a refresher marathon, too. You won’t need it to understand this one, but if it helps cut through the clutter, that can only be a good thing.

Posted on Thu, Aug. 09, 2012

 

 

 

“Klown” – Review

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Director: Mikkel Nørgaard
Writers: Casper Christensen & Frank Hvam
Cast: Frank Hvam as Frank, Casper Christensen as Casper, Marcuz Jess Petersen as Bo, Mia Lyhne as Mia, Iben Hjejle as Iben
Rated R
Running time: 1 hour 29 minutes
In Danish with English subtitles
IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1680136/
Plot: To prove his fatherhood potential to his pregnant girlfriend, Frank takes his nephew, Bo, on a canoe trip.  They are joined by Frank’s friend Casper, who refuses to let Bo’s presence interfere with his hard-partying plans.

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Up until now, my knowledge of Danish filmmaking has been limited to Lars Von Trier’s acid trips and the neo-realist Dogme 95 movement.  Who knew they had their own version of The Hangover?

The gross humor in Klown is tempered by its deadpan Scandinavian attitude.  Hvam and Petersen are perfect sad-sack foils for Christensen, who has a blast playing an irresponsible party animal with a heart buried deep beneath his horniness.  I felt sorry for Bo throughout the film – the poor kid goes through hell – but he seems to turn out OK in the end, and Frank shows genuine affection for him as the story goes along.

Klown is still incredibly predictable, and seems to be ripping off any number of crass American comedies (aim higher, guys).  A Hollywood remake is in the works, of course, and it will almost certainly be louder and broader.  I can see Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn in the leads, with any generic pretty actresses cast as their frustrated, yet absurdly forgiving, wives.

In spite of their general uselessness, you develop a soft spot for these losers and hope they don’t screw up the rest of their lives the way they screw up their canoe trip.  The final scene suggests otherwise, though, and opens up the possibility of further adventures. Let’s just hope they keep their antics in their own part of the world – we already have enough of that sort of thing here.

This might remind you of:  Big Daddy, The Hangover, Without a Paddle….what won’t it remind you of?

Watch American Pie and Judd Apatow’s movies as well:  If you’re looking for gross-out comedy with heart, and don’t want to read subtitles, these are the best options out there.

 

“The Dark Knight Rises” – Review

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Despite some eye-popping action, muddy final installment can’t match the previous ‘Knight.’

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

★ ★  1/2 out of 4
Rated PG-13 | Time: 2:44

When it comes to superhero movies, the third time is never the charm.

From Superman III to X-Men: The Last Stand, they hit a creative pothole after the second installment. If anyone could change that, it would be Christopher Nolan, whose Batman adaptations have ranked among the best genre films of all time.

But while The Dark Knight Rises is much better than most third entries, it’s still flabby and convoluted.

It has been eight years since the events of The Dark Knight, and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has gone into seclusion, allowing the late D.A. Harvey Dent’s supposed heroism to inspire a successful crackdown on Gotham City’s organized crime. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) is still keeping the truth to himself, and the Batman has become a half-remembered villain among the populace.

The calm is shattered by the arrival of Bane (Tom Hardy), a hulking madman with an army of devoted followers and a shadowy connection to Bruce’s old mentor-turned-nemesis, Ra’s Al Ghul. Bane presents himself as a revolutionary who wants to take back the city for “the people,” a Robespierre-like figure turning genuine grievances into a reign of terror. His real goal is indiscriminate destruction, and his motivations get murkier — and sillier — as the movie progresses.

Nolan (scripting with his brother, Jonathan) spends a good hour on exposition, putting all the pieces carefully into place before allowing any forward movement. He introduces not only Bane, but Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), rookie cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and pretty socialite Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard), who play important roles alongside the many new and returning characters.

Some of them are interesting, but they aren’t developed fully. Selina is a slick, fearless con artist, and Hathaway almost reaches the Catwoman standard set by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns. John has a haggard nobility that Gordon-Levitt seems to absorb from Oldman in their scenes together. Even Miranda gets a backstory beyond “generic love interest.”

Bruce/Batman isn’t completely bereft of development — his decision to bring his alter ego out of mothballs leads to a rift with Alfred the butler (Michael Caine) that gives the actors a couple of emotionally affecting scenes. Their debates about sacrifice and responsibility rehash material from the previous films, but they at least provide some thematic focus.

Once the action finally gets going, it obliterates everything in its path, including boredom and narrative cohesion. Nolan can stage an epic blow-out like nobody’s business, especially in IMAX. He gives the audience a taste of what’s to come in the opening stunt that introduces Bane, and the rest of it is worth the wait. Nolan loves his crazy gadgets almost as much as Bruce and tech genius Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) do, so there’s no shortage of excitement when he pops open the toy box.

It’s overwhelming, though, and that need to make everything as huge as possible is at the root of the film’s problems. This might be the last one in the series (Nolan has indicated as much), so the impulse is to include every idea that didn’t make it into the first two.

That invariably leads to far too many digressions involving far too many characters. We don’t need to see Bruce looking over X-rays with his doctor. We need to see how he pulls off a pivotal escape that otherwise seems to bend the rules of space and time.

The Dark Knight Rises is equal parts overstuffed and underdeveloped, with moments of brilliance that survive the mayhem, because Nolan is simply too talented to screw this up completely. But if even he can’t break the third-movie curse, there’s little hope for other franchises.

Iron Man, you have been warned.

“Magic Mike” – Review

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These strippers are sexy and funny — too bad they can’t get serious.

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

‘MAGIC MIKE’

* *  1/2 out of 4

Rated R | Time: 1:50

For the past month, every straight woman who knows I’m a critic has been asking if I’ve seen Magic Mike yet.

If that’s an indication of its box office prospects, we may soon see a wave of male-stripper movies to rival the sparkly vampire craze.

It’s unlikely any of them will have a director like Steven Soderbergh. He can be raunchy without being juvenile, something very few filmmakers would even attempt in a movie about people taking their clothes off.

Channing Tatum’s own pre-acting strip-club gigs inspired Magic Mike. He plays the title character, who entertains the ladies at a Tampa, Fla., establishment called Xquisite. He also does the books for the club’s owner, Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), a charming egomaniac with a plan to relocate and expand his business in Miami. When Mike befriends 19-year-old Adam (Alex Pettyfer), Dallas sees an opportunity to bring some new energy to the show, and Adam becomes part of the Xquisite “family.”

Soderbergh explores the temptations and absurdities of this lifestyle with easygoing wit. The guys earnestly rehearse and try out new material, while enjoying the many perks of the job. The cast includes former wrestler Kevin “Diesel” Nash and TV hunks Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Matt Bomer (White Collar) and Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami), so there’s no shortage of eye candy.

What sets Magic Mike apart is that the hotness is equaled — occasionally even surpassed — by the humor. The dialogue is funny, if a little over-improvised (Soderbergh’s direction must have consisted of, “Keep talking until I say ‘cut’ ”). When the actors hit the stage, they have a great time with their over-the-top routines, showing off what God and their personal trainers have bestowed upon them.

Soderbergh and screenwriter Reid Carolin have greater ambitions, going for a scope and seriousness that don’t quite work out. Adam’s youthful foolishness leads to a downward spiral that Mike fails to notice until it’s out of control. This complicates Mike’s budding romance with Adam’s sister, Brooke (Cody Horn), who isn’t too inclined to hook up with the man who introduced her little brother to drug-fueled orgies.

We don’t get to know any of the characters that well, so these scenes have less emotional impact than they should. The relationship subplot is even more cursory — Horn seems bored most of the time, as if she’s not sure why Brooke exists, either. Soderbergh starts out in his kicky Ocean’s Eleven mode, then tries to turn the film into something closer to an indie drama like Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Those are two great things that don’t go together at all.

Tatum has great comic timing (and killer dance moves), but he struggles with the dramatic elements. In fairness, it’s hard to imagine anyone doing all the things Soderbergh asks for in a two-hour feature. Maybe Magic Mike should be turned into a cable television series, where it would have time to play out properly.

I apparently know several women who would get HBO just to watch it.

“Prometheus” – Review

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‘Prometheus’: Ridley Scott’s astro knot | 2½ stars

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

‘PROMETHEUS’

* *  1/2 out of ****

Rated R | Time: 2:04

If you happen to be among the first humans to visit an alien planet, here’s a useful piece of advice: The sentient goo creatures are not pets.

Don’t go poking around and trying to make friends with them. Those things will eat your face.

After what he did to poor John Hurt in 1979’s Alien, you’d think director Ridley Scott would stop having his characters engage in such foolishness.

But Scott has bigger issues on his mind in the uneven Prometheus, which means logic is thrown out of an airlock pretty early on.

Set in 2093, Prometheus starts off with archaeologist Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace of the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) finding evidence that humans may have been created by alien visitors.

When their likely planet of origin is discovered, Elizabeth travels there with her scientist boyfriend (Logan Marshall-Green) and a ragtag crew-for-hire, under the supervision of Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), who represents the mysterious Weyland Corp. Meredith’s agenda is unclear, as is that of David (Michael Fassbender), an android whose lack of human feelings leads to some strange and disturbing interactions.

Elizabeth and David are the only characters with any particular personality, both fearless explorers whose quest for knowledge overrides every other concern. David is simply programmed that way, but the deeply religious Elizabeth is motivated by spiritual — more than scholarly — curiosity. She is searching for nothing less than God himself.

This is the real story of Prometheus. Its preoccupation with the meaning of human existence calls to mind Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, with spaceships instead of dinosaurs.

Scott’s philosophical mood caused him to hand off Jon Spaihts’ original script to Lost honcho Damon Lindelof, who pared down the numerous Alien references to go for something more self-contained.

Of course, Lindelof had six seasons to untangle his TV show’s mysteries and still left fans with plenty of unanswered questions. With Prometheus, he gets only two hours and has to make enough of an action-packed blockbuster to appease summer movie crowds.

The result is certainly thought-provoking, asking viewers to consider the compatibility of faith and science and wondering if we really should be so eager to discover our origins.

Scott handles the epic scale masterfully, so even the slower scenes have a terrifying beauty and momentum. It all feels half-formed, though, as if plot and character development were mere afterthoughts.

On balance, the experience of watching “Prometheus” makes up for the movie’s flaws, but you’ll still spend a lot of time being frustrated.

In space, no one can hear you yell at the screen.

Posted on Thu, Jun. 07, 2012 03:02 PM

“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” – Review

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A bouquet of talent | 2½ stars

‘Marigold’s’ fine cast and exotic setting almost make up for a predictable story.

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

 
2  1/2 stars out of 4Rated PG-13 | 2:02

Watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket — as you careen down the street in an overcrowded bus.

By dropping a classic “Brits abroad” story into modern, urban India, Marigold brings chaotic energy to what would otherwise be merely cozy and predictable.

Director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) has put together a remarkable cast, led by Judi Dench as Evelyn, a widow who has learned that her husband left her drowning in debt. Looking for a change of pace that doesn’t involve moving in with her son, she accepts a chance to live at a hotel in Jaipur that caters to retired expats.

She’s joined by Muriel (Maggie Smith), an unabashed racist coming for a cheap, quick hip replacement (assuming she can stand to have the locals touching her). Also along for the journey are a miserable married couple (Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton), a pair of on-the-make singles (Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup) and a former judge (Tom Wilkinson) with a very personal connection to the city.

The hotel’s likable young owner, Sonny (Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire), has fudged a bit on the brochures, and his guests arrive to a rundown building with missing doors and birds flying around bedrooms. As he scrambles to keep the business together, Sonny pursues romance with a pretty call-center employee (Tena Desae), against the wishes of both their families.

Adapting Deborah Moggach’s novel These Foolish Things, screenwriter Ol Parker (Imagine Me & You) wittily captures the varied ways people respond to change, especially when it involves aging. Each character has a clear backstory and a chance to evolve, and this MVP team of British thespians is incapable of hitting a false note.

You can almost literally see where the plot is heading at every moment, but it’s more comfortable than clichéd, like a nice cup of (spicy chai) tea.

Posted on Thu, May. 10, 2012 01:00 PM

“Marvel’s The Avengers” – Review

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Director & Writer: Joss Whedon; based on a whole bunch of Marvel comic books
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Cobie Smulders as Agent Hill, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Stellan Skarsgard as Dr. Selvig
Rated PG-13
Running time: 2 hours 22 minutes
IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/
Plot: Thor’s brother, Loki, steals an artifact that could power the world – and destroy it. In response, Nick Fury assembles a team of squabbling superheroes to prevent Armageddon.

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Yes, we’re supposed to call it Marvel’s The Avengers, presumably so no one expects Uma Thurman to show up in a catsuit.  That job is for Scarlett Johansson and Cobie Smulders, who strut around in skintight outfits while the hunky men show off their muscles.

That’s not the only eye candy, either.  The 3-D on this thing is stunning – clear and properly lit, with realistic depth.  On a massive IMAX screen, it’s even more impressive.  I don’t usually recommend paying extra for those perks, but it’s completely worth it with here.

So, how is the rest of it?  It’s as much fun as you would expect from a movie featuring several of Marvel’s greatest characters, written and directed by The High King of Geekdom, Joss Whedon.  In other words, it’s spectacular.

Not perfect – with this many lead characters, some are bound to get short shrift, although Whedon juggles the ensemble as well as anyone could.  Hawkeye and Black Widow don’t get as much attention as their more famous counterparts, and The Hulk is used a little too sparingly.  But they’re all still on the same side (mostly), and that philosophy ensures that even the non-superheroes make important contributions to the fight.

The idea that isolated, oddball characters can find purpose as part of a team is essential to all of Whedon’s work, and it gives Avengers a little more weight than one might expect from an action-packed blockbuster.  And, damn, is it action-packed.  If you’ve ever had a Celebrity Deathmatch argument about Thor and Iron Man, you’ll get your answer here.  You’ll also get some choice wisecracks and plot twists, two other things Whedon is a master of.

I’m not a comics aficionado, so I’m sure there were references I didn’t get, and I had to have a couple of things explained to me (there’s a “stinger” scene during the end credits that apparently sets up the next movie in the franchise, but I had no idea what was going on).  Anyway, it doesn’t matter if you can’t tell Captain America from Captain Crunch.  You are guaranteed the kind of good time that only a roaring, epic blockbuster with lots of talent behind it can provide.

This might remind you of: All those monster mash-ups that Toho Studios used to put out.  Think of Cap and Iron Man as Godzilla and Ghidorah, and you have the general idea.  But with much more convincing special effects.

 Watch the lead-up movies as well: That’s the two Iron Man films, plus Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor & the Edward Norton version of The Incredible Hulk (Ruffalo took over the role for Avengers). That is, of course, if you haven’t seen all of them several times.

- Loey Lockerby

“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” – Review

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The Pirates!’: Film’s delights too easily washed away | 2 stars

The delights of ‘Pirates’ wash away too easily.

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

2 stars out of 4
Rated PG | Time 1:27

The Pirates! Band of Misfits takes place in a nasty little alternate universe. Queen Victoria is a raving psychopath. Charles Darwin is an idiot. And the guy who steals for a living is a lovable outsider, mostly because he doesn’t go around randomly stabbing people like his “Pirate of the Year” competitors. He does aspire to their “greatness,” though.

Because it was made by Aardman Animations, creators of the legendary Wallace & Gromit series, Pirates has its charms. They tend to come from the aptly named hero Pirate Captain (voiced by a near-unrecognizable Hugh Grant) and his oddball crew, whose members carry monikers like the Albino Pirate and the Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens.

Ostracized by the mean kids of the swashbuckling world, these misfits literally fall into the study of a depressed Darwin (David Tennant), who recognizes Pirate Captain’s “parrot” as the last surviving dodo bird. This leads to a scientists’ competition in London, which is only slightly less deadly than that of the pirates. It also puts them in the path of Her Majesty (Imelda Staunton), who has her own interest in the captain’s pet.

Veteran Aardman directors Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt fill the screen with the expected clever visual details, and Gideon Defoe, adapting his book The Pirates! in an Adventure With Scientists, offers similarly inventive dialogue.

All the good stuff is around the edges, though, or zooming by so fast, you don’t have time to enjoy it. Take Darwin’s trained chimp, who expresses himself by holding up signs, many of which contain amusing comments on the action. He could have been the movie’s break-out star. Instead, he’s constantly upstaged by all the cutaways to people getting hit in the head (or worse).

As it races frantically to its conclusion, Pirates becomes more mean-spirited than funny, undermining any attempts at a positive message about loyalty and friendship.

There’s nothing wrong with putting some grown-up material in a kids’ movie, but it should ultimately support the family-friendly tone — not scream in its ear while pummeling it to death.

3-D or not 3-D?

Aardman’s stop-motion brilliance is clearer and more detailed in two dimensions.

Posted on Thu, Apr. 26, 2012 01:00 PM

“The Forgiveness of Blood” – Review

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Director: Joshua Marston
Writers: Joshua Marston & Andamion Murataj
Cast: Tristan Halilaj as Nik, Sindi Lacej as Rudina, Refet Abazi as Mark
Unrated
Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes
In Albanian with English subtitles
IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1787127/
Plot: Nik, a teenager in rural Albania, gets caught up in a “blood feud” between his family and a neighboring clan.
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You think mafia families can hold a grudge?  They’ve got nothing on Albanians, apparently.  An ancient code called the Kanun regulates life for traditionalists, and it’s a tough piece of work.  When Nik’s father gets involved in a murder, it doesn’t matter if he did the killing, or even if his actions were in self-defense.  The Kanun demands that the entire family must suffer, trapped in their home, with their livelihood – and their lives – subject to the whims of the people they’ve supposedly wronged.  Joshua Marston, an American who also directed the Colombia-set Maria Full of Grace, once again mixes insightful cultural reportage with engaging fictional storytelling.

In some ways, Nik is a typical small-town teenager, attached to his home and family while desperately wanting to get out of Nowheresville.  The blood feud makes his isolation literal, and pushes him to actions that are incredibly stupid, yet completely understandable.

The real hero of the story is Nik’s sister, Rudina, who is allowed to continue their father’s bread-delivery business, and expands it into something more profitable.  She’s just as frustrated and fearless as her brother, but much less self-absorbed about it.  As the situation heats up, she’s the one who keeps her cool.  Most of the characters are sympathetic, and Nik is ultimately the one whose actions make the biggest difference. But Rudina represents the stubborn, youthful resourcefulness that could save a family.  And a country.

This might remind you of: The Oscar-winning Iranian film A Separation, which similarly explores a culture that most Americans have little knowledge of, with emotional realism instead of judgment.

Watch Gomorrah as well: Matteo Garrone’s Italian crime drama offers another searing look at how a country’s violent traditions can derail the dreams of its young people.

- Loey Lockerby

 

“Pariah” – Review

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‘Pariah’: Heartfelt story of liberation | 3 stars

By LOEY LOCKERBY

Special to The Star

Rated R | Time: 1:26

“I’m not running. I’m choosing.”

That statement of liberation comes late in Pariah, but it describes every moment of Dee Rees’ semi-autobiographical drama, an expansion of her 2007 short film.

In fact, it’s a better description than the actual title. This isn’t the story of an outcast but of a young woman growing into who she really is.

Alike ( pronounced “a-LEE-kay,” played by Adepero Oduye) is a 17-year-old lesbian trying to reconcile her own self-acceptance with the deep denial of her parents, Audrey and Arthur (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell), who have problems of their own.

She lives in Brooklyn, which gives her access to New York’s welcoming gay community, and nobody at school seems to mind. But when she comes home late from clubbing with her best friend (Pernell Walker), she changes into a “girly” shirt and earrings, hoping to avoid the inevitable questions from her devoutly religious mother.

In nearly every way, Alike is a model teenager, a decent, likable straight-A student whose transgressions are in the usual range of breaking curfew and arguing with her younger sister (Sahra Mellesse).

Arthur dotes on her and defends her against Audrey’s attempts to change her with shopping sprees and forced friendship with Bina (Aasha Davis), a “good” girl from church. Bina isn’t quite the pure influence Audrey thinks, however, and the relationship pushes Alike to make some life-altering decisions.

Wayans, best known for acting in comedies with her siblings, is a revelation as a woman whose faith offers both hope and blind judgment. Several actors reprise their roles from the short, including Oduye, whose warm, subtle performance earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination (and should have snagged one for an Oscar).

Pariah is one of those loosely paced films that takes a while to get moving, but Rees has a remarkable grasp of human nature. The characters are relatable, even in their worst moments — perhaps especially in those moments. That is, after all, when the costumes come off and the most honest choices can finally be made.

Posted on Thu, Mar. 08, 2012 04:00 PM

“The Viral Factor” – Review

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Director: Dante Lam
Writers: Dante Lam & Jack Ng
Cast: Jay Chou as Jon Man, Nicholas Tse as Man Yeung, Lin Peng as Dr. Kan, Andy Tien as Sean, Liu Kai-chi as Man Tin, Crystal Lee as Champ
Unrated
Running time: 2 hours 2 minutes
IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2063011/
Note: The advance screener I viewed was in multiple languages: English, Mandarin, Malay & Arabic (those were just the ones I could differentiate)
Plot: Jon Man, a Chinese security officer, travels to Malaysia to stop a former colleague, who plans to unleash a deadly virus, hoping to profit from sales of the vaccine and antidote. While there, Jon meets up with his long-lost brother and father, who are local low-level criminals.

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I have no idea what the hell happened in this movie.  There’s a super-virus, a bunch of crooks and corrupt cops, a few honest cops, multiple kidnappings, and some sappy family melodrama. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to care about all those details, so I won’t worry about them.

The Viral Factor is, first and foremost, an action flick, and it delivers on that point, if nothing else.  Lam starts the action in Jordan, where a convoy navigates a maze of booby-trapped streets, while bullets fly indiscriminately.  Then it’s on to Kuala Lumpur, whose skyscrapers and train stations provide ideal backdrops for the madness (a game of helicopter hide-and-seek is truly nutso-brilliant).  Chou may be best known stateside for playing Kato in the Green Hornet movie, but he’s a huge star in Asia, and he jumps into the fight scenes with bone-crunching gusto.  It actually hurts to watch these guys go at it, although you never worry about them, because they seem to be made of some quick-healing synthetic material.

Don’t expect much else.  Lam and Ng spend too much of the script on Jon’s tangled (yet strangely boring) family history.  Even the great action scenes are undercut by idiot plot mechanics – if this movie is to be believed, Malaysia has the worst security in the entire freaking world.  We’re talking Death Star bad.  It is not a flattering portrayal.

But, hey, a lot of stuff blows up real good, and our superhuman heroes save the day.  You weren’t looking for anything else, were you?

This might remind you of:  An early John Woo movie, with a Brosnan-era James Bond plot. That’s a very back-handed compliment.

Watch an early John Woo movie instead:  Maybe Hard Boiled or The Killer – anything with Chow Yun-Fat.

- Loey Lockerby