Month: December 2014

Released: September 2013

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Run Time: 153 Minutes

Cast:
Hugh Jackman: Keller Dover
Jake Gyllenhaal: Detective Loki
Terrence Howard: Franklin Birch
Paul Dano: Alex Jones
Melissa Leo: Holly Jones
Maria Bello: Grace Dover

Before I begin with this one, let me ask a question:  If you had a child and that child disappeared, and the only suspect in the possible crime is either unable or unwilling to cooperate, how far would you go to get answers?  What measures are you prepared to take to get your child back?  These are some of the questions that are asked of the audience in 2013’s crime thriller, Prisoners.

The story begins in a forest when Keller Dover(Hugh Jackman)is taking his son hunting.  When they get home, they prepare to have Thanksgiving dinner with Dover’s friend, Franklin Birch(Terrence Howard)and HIS family.  Birch’s and Dover’s daughters go outside to play, and when the time comes to sit down and eat, the girls are nowhere to be seen.  Frantically searching Dover’s house AND Birch’s house, they find no trace of the girls.  Detective Loki(Jake Gyllenhall)is called to investigate.  He finds a lone suspect in an RV which matches the description given by Keller’s son, and they take the suspect into custody.  Unfortunately, the RV contains no evidence that links the suspect, Alex Jones(Paul Dano),to the crime.  Keller isn’t so convinced.  As time wears on and desperation sets in, Keller is forced to take desperate measures to find the missing children.

Before anyone asks, this movie is not a Taken-style of movie, where the protagonist tears apart the town and beating the daylights out of people that are responsible for his daughter’s abduction.  This is not an action film.  It’s slow, methodical and deliberate.  It’s also dark and bleak.  Outside of some of the opening scenes, there really isn’t an ounce of humor to be found here, and that’s ok.  When you’re dealing with the abduction of little girls, all the jokes go out the window as it is an extremely serious matter.  This is not just a drama, but it is also a police procedural, and thriller all mixed into one and it works very well.  I won’t spoil the film, but I can tell you that after the girls are abducted, the story takes on a life of its own and pushes many of the characters to the breaking point.  Taking the lead is Hugh Jackman, who plays a fairly normal person that happens to be caught in the middle of something tragic and sinister.  I’ve always been a big fan of Hugh’s ever since appeared in X-Men.  This guy has really evolved as an actor, as evidenced by some of the movies he’s been in.  Keller is a guy who is driven the edge of madness, because he fears for his daughter’s life and over the course of the film, you start to see the desperation set in and watch him change into a different kind of person.  Gyllenhall’s Loki is the foil to Jackman’s Keller.  While Keller is willing to do whatever it takes to find his baby girl, Loki is more concerned about how to do it properly.  He’s just as concerned about the abduction as Keller is, but is far more patient and methodical about dealing with it.  I’ve never really thought much about Jake Gyllenhall before Prisoners.  I thought he was an o.k. actor, but he really pulls out all the stops in Prisoners.  You see his character constantly blink as if he was on a caffeine high, and how he deals with potential suspects gets pretty brutal.  It’s obvious, that Loki has his own issues that he’s dealing with and throughout the story, you begin to see the cracks as he becomes desperate.

Caught in the middle of all this is Terrence Howard who plays Franklin Birch, who’s daughter was also stolen from him.  He’s as desperate to get his daughter back, but when he and Keller abduct Alex Jones, it doesn’t really agree with him.  Howard is an interesting actor and he brings a very emotional depth to his character that really makes you feel for him.  In some ways, he’s suffering more than Keller, because Keller is willing to torture somebody to get answers, but Franklin isn’t.  It’s an interesting dynamic that really allows the two to shine together.  Paul Dano is really good as Alex Jones, a man who doesn’t appear to be quite right in the head.  All the actors in this movie, including Maria Bello who plays Keller’s wife.  Even though Jackman and Gyllenhall are at the front, everyone gets their chance to shine, and that’s what helps give this movie a life of its own.

For some people, the two and a half hour run time may seem a little….long.  Personally, I like it.  The longer it gets, the more it gets under your skin, and that’s why it’s an effective thriller.  The desperation of looking for a lost loved one really helps anchor the film.  It’s also done in a fairly realistic manner, even though there are some strange coincidences.  With all the twists and turns in this film, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where it’s going to go next.  I will be honest here:  This movie goes to some very dark and uncomfortable areas.  But i think that really help gives the film its unique….flavor, if you will.

This is French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s first English language effort, and it’s masterfully done.  It is one of the most intriguing thrillers that I’ve ever seen.  By the time the credits roll, you are left with a very thought-provoking film that stays with you long after you switch off the TV.  I would imagine that a movie like this would be more intense for people who have children, because it deals with a parent’s worst nightmare.  It’s an intense film that is a slow-burner, but the payoff is worth it.  With Oscar-worthy performances, a great story, and some very unique twists and turns, this is film that I can EASILY recommend to anyone who’s a fan of mysteries and thrillers.  10/10 is my final verdict for Prisoners.  Comments, suggestions?  Let me know.

Released: May 2014

Director: Bryan Singer

Run Time: 131 Minutes

Rated PG-13

Cast:
Hugh Jackman: Wolverine
James McAvoy: Charles Xavier
Michael Fassbender: Eric/Magneto
Patrick Stewart: Older Charles Xavier
Ian McKellan: Older Magneto
Halle Berry: Storm
Ellen Page: Kitty Pryde
Jennifer Lawrence: Mystique
Peter Dinklage: Bolivar Trask

For many comic book fans, the X-Men are some of the most well-known characters.  Wolverine, Storm, Cyclop, Professor X, Magneto and Mystique are all part of a universe that is both diverse, amusing and thrilling.  During the 80’s, there was a story-line in The Uncanny X-Men which garnered praise from many comic-book fans: Days of Future Past.  Taking place in both the future and the past, Days of Future Past showed a dark future with mutants and humans like on the brink of extinction.  They’re only hope is for someone to go back in time to prevent a war with mutant-hunting Sentinels from ever happening.  When the live-action films started coming out, people were wondering if we would ever see the Days of Future Past story-line put on the screen.  With Bryan Singer returning to the director’s chair for the latest X-Men film, the live-action version of Days of Future Past is now a reality.

In the not-too-distant future, we witness a world that has been ravaged by nuclear war, and we see people both human and mutant alike being forced into concentration camps by large robots known as Sentinels.  Most of the mutants and mutant-sympathizers have been eradicated, and it’s up to a small band of mutants to try and turn the tide.  Leading the X-Men are Professor Charles Xavier(Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy), Magneto(Ian McKellan and Michael Fassbender), Wolverine(Hugh Jackman), and Storm(Halle Berry).  Magneto and Xavier have put aside their differences to combat this world-ending threat and their last hope is to send Wolverine’s consciousness into the past to prevent Mystique(Jennifer Lawrence)from assassinating Dr. Bolivar Trask(Peter Dinklage), the very man who created the Sentinel program during the 70’s.

The X-Men comics, at their very core, was their message about racism and fearing/hating those that are different from the rest of us.  It’s that message that tends to resonate with audiences world-wide.  The first two films did an admirable job of bringing the characters and their fight against prejudice to the screen, the third film: The Last Stand, threw all that out the window in favor of spectacle.  What Days of Future Past does, is that it addresses a lot of the issues in some of the past X-Men films and comes to a conclusion that not only advances the story, but wipes out previous mistakes.  In many respects, this film is both a sequel AND a reboot.  D.O.F.P(Days of Future Past) brings back many of the original cast members from the previous films including, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart in their respective roles.  We’re also introduced to new mutants, such as Bishop(Omar Sy), Quicksilver(Evan Peters), Blink(Fan Bingbing) and Sunspot(Adan Canto).  The main villain at the core of the picture is Dr. Bolivar Trask, played by Game of Thrones star, Peter Dinklage.  His short stature masks an impressive ability to deliver a very compelling and, at times, sympathetic performance.  You don’t truly hate him the way you hate Brian Cox’s William Stryker from the second film.  Throughout the film, we get to see Wolverine try to convince the younger Professor X of the coming war and subsequent end of the world.  Hugh Jackman IS Wolverine.  His character has evolved over the years.  From a wandering loner to reluctant leader, he is now forced to try to convince and guide Professor Xavier to becoming the Professor X that the world needs him to be.  All the performances in this movie are fantastic.  Jennifer Lawrence really inhabits the role of Mystique, while Michael Fassbender has his own agenda as the younger Magneto.  Unlike many of the previous X-Men films, this one isn’t about Wolverine.  Oh, no.  This movie centers on Professor X, Mystique and Magneto.  James McAvoy portrays Prof. X as a man who has been broken by the departure of not only his best friend, Magneto, but by the mutant he grew up with, Mystique.

For fans of the comic book story, there are some changes that were made, even though the majority of the story-line is intact.  The biggest change, is that instead of Kitty Pryde going back in time, it’s Wolverine, because he’s the only mutant that can physically survive the trip.  That’s the biggest change.  Another one, is that the target of assassination was Senator Kelly.  But in the first X-Men film, Kelly was killed, so to maintain some kind of continuity with the other movies, they had to find another target, Peter Dinklage’s character, Trask.  Honestly, the changes actually make sense when you watch the other movies.  The action sequences are stellar.  One of the highlights is Quicksilver’s moment in the Pentagon, when they’re trying to free Magneto.  Because the character moves so fast, it seems like time slows down, and it’s both exciting and funny.  The scenes that take place in the future are dark, bleak and absolutely stunning when the X-Men make their final stand against the Sentinels.

Composer/editor John Ottman returns to give X-Men: Days of Future Past an exciting score with some very familiar themes.  It gives the action sequences a very frenetic pace, and the character-development moments an intimate and sympathetic feel that draws you in.  In a film like this, music is extremely important and ends up becoming a character itself.  So, how does this entry stack up to the others?  It’s better than Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, for one.  Honestly, it’s one of the best ones.  X2 is still number one on my list, and Days of Future Past comes in at number 2, with First Class taking the number 3 spot.  Days of Future Past has been designated the second film in the First Class trilogy.  So, we’ve got one more movie on the way, tentatively titled: X-Men Apocalypse.

Overall, X-Men: Days of Future Past is probably one of the best action movies this year and offers up some extremely compelling performances from it’s lead actors.  With outstanding direction by Bryan Singer and some of the most visually striking action sequences I’ve seen in years, we have a movie that actually lives up to it’s name-sake.  It’s a great story with an extremely satisfying conclusion.  It’s not a perfect movie, though.  One of the actors from the previous movies, Anna Paquin doesn’t even make an appearance in this version of the movie, even though her name is on the list.  Apparently, they are releasing another version of the film next year that has Paquin’s character, Rogue.  That seems like a pretty silly decision.  However, those little tidbits don’t really detract from the experience as a whole.  It’s an amazing experience.  It comes highly recommended at 9.5/10.

Directed By: Josh Trank

Released: February 2012

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 82 Minutes

Cast:
Dane DeHann: Andrew
Alex Russell: Matt
Michael B. Jordan: Steve
Michael Kelly: Richard

The found-footage genre is a strange genre.  It doesn’t work unless it’s used with another genre: science fiction, horror or war movies.  The term refers to the technique that involves the movie being seen from a first-person perspective via video camera.  The first film to feature this technique was the controversial film, Cannibal Holocaust.  The most well-known found-footage film was 1999’s The Blair Witch Project.  More often than not, these types of films are hit or miss, but mostly miss.  Movies like Paranormal Activity are being churned out every year and it’s not as interesting anymore, since most of them generally involve the paranormal.  There are a few notable exceptions:  Cloverfield was basically a found-footage Godzilla movie which was pretty effective.  Into The Storm is a very recent one that has the audience on the ground with the storm-chasers.  It was pretty awesome.  There are a lot of these films out there, but most of them don’t cut it.  In 2012, up-and-coming director Josh Trank gives us Chronicle.  It’s a superhero movie, but it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before.

The film begins as soon as Andrew turns on his camera.  We see him in his room, and then we hear his drunken father banging on the door.  At this point, Andrew decides to record EVERYTHING.  From his life at home to his experience at school, we witness Andrew being abused and bullied with only his cousin Matt to keep him sane.  After a party, Matt’s friend Steve convinces Andrew to check something out that he and Matt found.  Under the ground is an usual glowing object.  As soon as they touch it, everything blacks out.  Later, we discover that Matt, Andrew and Steve have developed unique “abilities.”  At first it’s telekinesis, then super-strength and finally, the ability to fly.  Superhero movies are nothing new.  They’ve been around for decades.  But nobody had actually tried to see things from a superhero’s perspective.  Chronicle does just that.  Granted, towards the beginning, these kids are just discovering their powers and having fun with them, but they learn that there are consequences to using them.  Dane DeHann’s characer, Andrew, has a bit of a darkness to him.  He’s been abused and bullied, and he’s put up with it for years.

Story-wise, Chronicle is predictable.  It definitely utilizes a lot of the characteristics of other superhero movies.  But it also dares to ask the question:  What would you do if you had these powers?  We see early on after getting these powers, the kids are playing pranks in a local store.  When you watch that, it’s hilarious.  It’s funny, because it’s probably something that I would do with those gifts.  The interactions between Andrew, Matt and Steve are fantastic, because these are kids just out trying to have fun and discover what they can do.  There’s definitely a lot of light moments in the film, but it does take a darker turn.  It’s kind of predictable, though.  The whole found-footage aspect in this film works surprisingly well.  You can definitely see what’s going on, but it also changes perspectives from time to time, giving us a different look at what’s happening.  If it’s not from another person’s camera-phone, it’s from a security camera or a cop car camera.  When things hit the fan, they really hit the fan.  The last act of the movie is exactly what you would expect from a superhero flick.  It’s awesome.

Dane DeHann is one to watch.  His performance as Andrew is fantastic.  Andrew is an introvert, shy, and spends a lot of time by himself and generally out of view of other people.  I like the character because he’s somebody I can relate to and sympathize with.  While I fortunately don’t have a drunken and abusive father, I do spend a lot of time keeping a distance between myself and other people.  It’s natural that some people tend to gravitate towards these kinds of characters.  It’s kind of like looking into a mirror, only without superpowers.  Alex Russell plays Andrew’s somewhat nerdy cousin who actually cares about Andrew.  Michael B. Jordan plays the stereotypical sports guy.  In conjunction with the other two, Jordan can be downright hysterical.  Michael Kelly plays Andrew’s drunken father.  I can’t imagine it’s really that hard to play a drunken jack-ass, but Kelly does it pretty well.  The relationship between him and Andrew is obviously very antagonistic and ends up leading to one of the least surprising, yet satisfying confrontations in the movie.

The action is absolutely fantastic, and given that it’s taken from nearly a first-person perspective, it’s exhilarating at times.  There’s a scene in which the three kids are flying around in the sky, so being able to see that from a certain perspective is exciting.  There’s definitely a good chunk of destruction(not on the level of Man of Steel, mind you), but it’s done on such an intimate level that it’s genuinely thrilling and not as over-the-top as you would expect.  Unfortunately, a lot of the visuals are CG, so it kind of takes you out of the experience a little bit.  Also, with Chronicle being a found-footage movie there’s a lot of shaky cam going on, so those with motion-sickness may want to avoid the film.  At 82 minutes, Chronicle doesn’t overstay its welcome and moves along at a brisk pace.  The other thing I noticed was the near lack of music.  There’s no bombastic superhero theme going on at all.  In fact, most of the music is done through the radio and background noise.  It adds a little more ambiance to the whole experience, and it really works.  This movie is a lot better than it should have been, but not quite as good as it needed to be.  There are a few hiccups here and there, and it’s still a teen drama in the middle of it all.  But Dane DeHann’s performance sells the whole thing.  I think he’s got real potential.  Chronicle gets an 8/10, mostly for doing something different with the superhero genre.  I think it’s definitely worth a watch.

Released: August 2014

Directed By: Patrick Hughes

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 127 minutes

Cast:
Sylvester Stallone: Barney Ross
Jason Statham: Christmas
Dolph Lundgren: Gunner
Randy Couture: Toll Road
Harrison Ford: Drummer
Wesley Snipes: Doc
Mel Gibson: Stonebanks
Kellan Lutz: Smilee
Ronda Rousey: Luna
Antonio Banderas: Galgo
Kelsey Grammer: Bonaparte
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Trench
Jet Li: Yin Yang
Terry Crews: Caesar

There was an idea several years ago that involved getting some of the biggest names in action movies together for an ensemble movie that nobody had ever seen before.  Under the direction of superstar and director Sylvester Stallone, The Expendables was released in 2010.  The Expendables featured a cast that included such names as: Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Terry Crews, Jet Li, Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, and Mickey Rourke.  The result was a very solid action-adventure that was gritty, intense, and a whole lot of fun.  With big explosions, gunfire, and fight scenes, it was definitely a blast from the 80s past.  The big names like Stallone, Lundgren, and Rourke were definitely 80s action movie icons.  In fact, there was a scene in which Arnold Schwarzenegger had a cameo.  The scene also featured Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone.  It was a very small scene, but we got to see the three biggest action stars on screen together for the first time.  The Expendables was pretty decent success, so a sequel was commissioned: The Expendables 2.  The biggest draw for these movies is seeing all these action icons on screen together.  The second film featured the additions of Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van-Damme.  Norris hadn’t been seen in a big screen film since Top Dog.  Like the original The Expendables 2 was a powerhouse action flick that delivered on what it promised.  It was spectacular.  The third film in the franchise was released earlier this year and features the largest roster of action stars yet.  With the addition of Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, and Antonio Banderas, it was shaping to be the most action-packed film of the bunch.  Did it deliver?  For the most part, yes.

The Expendables 3 takes off with the titular crew attempting to retrieve an old comrade of theirs, Doc, from a black-ops prison train.  Afterwards, they take on a merciless weapons-dealer.  They soon discover that the weapons-dealer is none other than Conrad Stonebanks, one of the founders of the Expendables.  With one of their crew critically injured, Barney Ross, with intel provided by Harrison Ford’s Drummer, he decides to take on a new crew to go after Stonebanks.  When it comes to The Expendables, the story is pretty much secondary to everything on screen.  It’s just an excuse to blow stuff up, and that’s just fine with me.  That’s not the only reason to watch these movies.  Watching them interact with each other is sublime.  It’s absolutely hilarious at times.  Banderas’s character is probably the coolest of the bunch.  He certainly talks a lot, but when the chips are down, he’s as tough as the rest of them.  Wesley Snipes is also fun to watch.  Seeing him on the big screen again after years of prison time and direct-to-video crap, its astounding.  He’s still got it, and we get to see him utilize his martial arts skills a little bit.  Harrison Ford is clearly having a ball in this movie, as he plays Bruce Willis’s replacement.  Mel Gibson is an absolute hoot as the villain, Stonebanks.

The younger crew ain’t too shabby, either.  Kellan Lutz, despite the fact that he played in the worst Hercules movie ever, proves that he’s actually not terrible in an action movie.  Women’s MMA fighter, Ronda Rousey makes her big screen debut as Luna, the only female Expendable.  She’s definitely got the physicality and the beauty for the part, and she’s awesome.  Overall, it’s an interesting mix of new and old that mostly works.  Unfortunately, the old crew doesn’t see as much screen time as they used to, as Stallone’s character’s looking for younger blood to take out his old comrade.  Kelsey Grammer appears in the film as additional comic relief and he’s good.  He’s definitely funny at times, but doesn’t actually see any action.  The action in this movie, like the others, is completely off-the-wall crazy.  The opening train sequence is totally ludicrous.  Any pretense of realism is promptly thrown out the window.  Some of the explosions are CG, but don’t seem out of place.  The action sequences are absolutely fun and well-handled, and the stunts are nuts.  The final battle at the abandoned casino towards the end of the movie is nothing short of epic.  It goes without saying that Expendables 3 is the biggest of the bunch and the longest,  yet it moves at such a quick pace you hardly notice the run time.

The Expendables 3 is the first of the franchise to be rated PG-13.  When Stallone announced, there was an immediate backlash.  The first two movies were rated R because they were VIOLENT.  Violent and gory.  This isn’t the first time that a third entry into a franchise was turned into a PG-13 film.  Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is one of the prime examples, but that movie suffered because of it.  Terminator Salvation, was also rated PG-13, and yet it still managed to entertain.  The rating doesn’t make the movie, despite what people say.  It’s the content of the film:  The writing, the casting, the cinematography, the script; it’s all supposed to come together to form a cohesive product.  The rating of a film allows certain things to happen while limiting others.  A PG-13 sequel to an R-rated film can reach a larger audience, sure, but it can also alienate the franchise’s core fans.  Stallone wanted a PG-13 film to reach a wider audience, but I don’t think he really needed to do that.  He already had his audience, so that was a strange decision.  Make no mistake about it, The Expendables 3 is a very violent movie.  It definitely pushes the PG-13 envelope.  It’s just as violent as the first two, only without the gore.

Growing up watching the action movies of the 80s and early 90s, it was just awesome to see so many of my favorite action stars in one movie together.  I would’ve loved to see Mickey Rourke come back, and maybe he will at some point, but I wasn’t disappointed at how well it all came together in this franchise.  The character interactions are definitely part of what makes the whole thing work.  Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone, antagonize each other in humorous, yet respectable way.  Those two are funny together, but its Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes that steal the show.  As I said before, it’s a real treat seeing Snipes on the big screen again.  I honestly hope that gets to play Blade one more time.  He’s pretty damn good.  Going into The Expendables 3 you have to have a certain mentality:  Either you love what Stallone managed to accomplish in these movies or you don’t, it’s as simple as that.  At first, I was hesitant to see The Expendables 3 because of the rating, but I’m glad I did see it.  It’s a lot of fun.  I know that people don’t like these movies because they feel that the old-timers have had their time.  My opinion?  They can stop when they’re damn good and ready to stop.  Arnold Schwarzenegger has a new Terminator movie coming out, Stallone’s got Rambo V in the works as well as another Expendables film, and Harrison Ford has Star Wars.  If these guys look like they’re having fun, that means that WE’RE going to have fun.  Like I said above, the old crew doesn’t get as much screen time, and some of the CG is very obvious.  I’m nitpicking, the film is a really solid entry, and I don’t think it deserves the hate that it gets.  This one gets an 8.5/10.