June 28th in Chicago. Director Sebastian Junger's follow up his 2010 documentary Restrepo. It looks like an additional film was made out of the leftover footage from Restrepo, if that's the case, it doesn't matter. This film continues the tale of the soldiers who served in this combat unit in a forward area in the Korengal Valley. This during the war, this was not a fun place to be. This film deals with the same soldiers talking about life in this valley during their 15 month tour of duty. If you're not a soldier (and I am not one, the military didn't want me when I was 18), then there is some subject matter that may be offensive or even appalling. But this is how things go in a war zone. The rules of society are tossed out the window.
Much like its predecessor, this is a film that all Americans should watch. Very powerful. I do not believe that Junger has an agenda other than telling the story of a group of young men fighting for their country under brutally difficult conditions.
June 26th in Chicago: A lot of the 8 films I've seen so far are big "Hollywood" films. There are some exceptions but I needed to see more smaller independent films (that doesn't always mean they're better btw). This has a running time of 105 minutes and stars Guy Pierce (who was brilliant in The Proposition, if you haven't seen it then do so), who's excellent in Australian films but it also stars Robert Pattinson, whom I don't think is all that talented but this looked to be a departure from the role of brooding vampire Edward that made him famous. The film is directed by David Michôd, whom I've never heard of but he's pretty acclaimed in Australia. I took a chance.
Let me start off by saying this; the film is brutally violent, dirty and whatever else comes to mind in a dystopian setting. The characters are not pretty. They sweat, bleed and DO NOT maintain their freshness. The film takes place 10 years after the "collapse." The film doesn't mention what the "collapse" is but society is a little more lawless and Australian currency isn't much good in the Outback, American cash is. It's not post-apocalyptic but let's just say thing are bleak (though in the Outback I doubt they were much different before the "collapse"). It almost looks as if this world would be a foreshadowing of the things to come in The Road Warrior.
The film opens with Guy Pierce pulling into a roadside bar (remember things are bleak out here). As he enjoys a beverage, a car hurdles out of control by the window. The three occupants are apparently getting away after a commission of a crime, one man is bleeding from a gun shot wound and they have left a man behind (the brother of the wounded dude, who is Pattinson). Their vehicle gets stuck and being pressed for time, they opt to take Pierce's wheels. This act does not sit well with Pierce who manages to free the getaway car and gives chase. Pierce manages to force a standoff with the crew but finds himself on the losing end and is temporarily stranded. He gets going again but is at a big disadvantage but he's determined to get his car back (if these guys had killed Pierce like they threatened, the film ends here, so their mercy is a huge plot line).
Pierce rolls into the next "town" to look for some information. He meets some weirdos, kills a dude while purchasing a firearm and runs into Pattinson. Pattinson was left for dead but he was apparently just "mostly dead," which as a we all know is "slightly alive." Pierce needs information so he finds a doctor to patch him up. I would think that it would be very difficult to find quality health care in the Outback under prosperous circumstances but in this setting, not so much. The doctor patches up Pattinson but in the morning, the friends of the gentleman Pierce shot are looking for revenge. After an exchange of bullets, Pierce & Pattinson hightail it out of there to continue the search for Pierce's car. Pattinson knows his brother's location and they have a small window of time to get there.
When Pierce and Pattinson meet up with the crew, Pattinson is a little put off by the fact his brother left him behind. Needless to say the plan doesn't go very well and a lot of blood is spilled. Pierce gets his car and drives off. Why was the car so important? Because Pierce's dog was in the back and he was going to give it a decent burial.
Here's the thing with this film; there's not a whole lot of dialogue. Which means there isn't much of a back story. Why is Pierce so determined to get his car back? He tells a soldier that he killed his wife and her lover and he expected to be taken into custody. No one came. No one cared. That coupled with the collapse, hardened him and made him bitter. Pattinson's character is the younger brother and worships his brother but being left behind puts a bad taste in his mouth. He takes a liking to Pierce probably because he's unrelenting and dispenses cold, unforgiving and thought provoking advice. Pattinson even rescues Pierce after Pierce is taken into custody. In return, Pierce feels sorry for Pattinson and kind of takes him under his wing, reluctantly of course.
This was an interesting no frills film. It reminded me of a late 60's/early 70's spaghetti western. The main difference is in those films, the title usually gave you a sense of what was going to happen (in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly you knew there was going to be something that was going to be good, bad and ugly). What the hell is a rover? That's all good as this looked to be a small budget film so the story is not going to be too elaborate. The only thing that bothered me was why Pattinson played an American. He and his brother were probably from Texas of somewhere. For some reason Pattinson decided to play his character like Karl Childers. What two brothers from the American Southwest were doing in Australia (the Outback no less) is anyone's guess. So if anything, Pattinson's performance annoyed me but that's it. This type of film is not for everyone but it was a good film. To be honest, I am now going to make an effort to check out some of Michod's past work. Thank you for your time.
June 20th in Chicago: This is the 8th film I've seen so far and I was on the fence about it. My interest in seeing Tom Cruise films has waned over the last few years. Especially his action films. I didn't think much of Oblivion and Jack Reacher brought nothing new to the table. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was good but again nothing new except grander stunts. Cruise is an actor who care a lot about his craft and wants his films to be seen by everyone. That's why he gets a producer credit in and he does his own stunts. He wants his films to be successful and he doesn't phone it in (Mel Gibson's performance in The Patriot comes to mind).
I was on the fence about this film. Mostly because of Cruise and aliens invading Earth is getting a bit long in the tooth (let's be honest, any species that has the technology to travel millions of light years across galaxies would have no trouble wiping out human resistance. They probably wouldn't get their feet wet. We can discuss that at another time). However, Tomorrow offered the mecha battle suit.
Quite frankly, how does one not like mecha battle suits? Not possible is it. The concept is nothing new for sure. My first memory of the "battle suit" was in Aliens when Ripley had to battle the giant queen...
Though not technically a "battle suit" per se, Ripley does use it in hand to hand combat against the queen. I remember this scene when I saw this film back in 1986, the theater went crazy when she walked out in it. Anyway, battle suits are nothing new and they got really cool in Avatar and so on. The point being, battle suits are cool and I have a tough time not wanting to see them in action. There you go.
Cruise plays Major William Cage, a Marine p/r man trying to drive up recruitment for the United Defense Force. Earth is under attack by an alien force bent on the destruction of the human race. Cage is in London to meet with the Commander of the UDF General Brigham (Brandon Gleeson) an after the meeting, Brigham informs Cage that he will be imbedded with the soldiers in tomorrows Normandy invasion. This is not what Cage wants to hear (he's a p/r guy not a soldier) and he gets arrested for desertion and wakes up in the forward base and is assigned to a combat unit.
The troops are dropped in on Normandy and it is a disaster. The invasion was supposed to be a surprise but the "mimics" (the term used for the aliens) were waiting for them. Cruise as one might suspect is useless on the battlefield. With no training he doesn't even know how to switch the weapons safety off. His squad is cut down while still on the beach and Cruise manages to kill a mimic while fumbling about but dies in the process. Cage wakes up back at Heathrow on the tarmac as if it was all just a dream. During the reset of the invasion, he meets up with Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt, channeling her inner Linda Hamilton from T2). Vrataski was the "angel of Verdun" where she killed hundreds of mimics and the UDF won the battle. Which led to her other nickname, "Solid Metal Bitch," obviously because she's so bad ass.
During one of the meetings Cruise explains what's going on with him and she tells him to find her when he wakes up. Repeat (the tagline to the film is Live. Die. Repeat. in case you were wondering and haven't seen a trailer or a poster for the film). So as Cage keeps repeating the day, he becomes a more efficient killer of mimics but he realizes that the invasion is a waste and nothing will ever be done unless they get off it which they can't. During the repetition process, Cage finds out that he got this "power" because he killed an Alpha mimic. The same thing happened to Vrataski at Verdun. Mimics have 3 types: drone, alpha and omega. Vrataski & Cage are helped with the science aspect of the film by Dr. Carter (Noah Taylor, who played Wolodarsky in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) who is now a weapons technician after he drummed out of the defense research program for his crazy theories about the mimics (for which he was correct).
The mimics can control time. They day is reset because it brings them closer to eliminate the powers from the likes of Cage and Vrataski. It's all about the blood. When Cage killed the alpha (they're very rare about 1 alpha per 1 million drones) it's blood mixed with Cage's blood and thus the power. Vrataski lost her power when she received a blood transfusion. In order to reset, Cage has to die (again the film's tagline) and each time Cage dies, he gets a little better and is able to gather more intelligence).
So cage is caught in the loop and he goes through the varying emotional displays; he tries to save his pals, he gets better at killing mimics, he loses hope, deserts, watches London get destroyed (it's here where he realizes that the mimics are up to something sinister), refocuses, stops caring about his pals and falls for Vrataski.
With a cool sword like that. Who wouldn't?
Cage gets so emotionally attached to Vrataski that even decides not to meet up with her and opts to go it alone to where it's believed the Omega is hiding out (a dam in Bavaria. It came to Cruise during a science moment in the film complete with a science device). When Cage arrives to kill the Omega he finds that...
There's an alpha waiting for Cage but luckily he dies and gets to reset. It soon learned that the Omega is hiding out in the Louvre in Paris. The plan becomes to destroy it before the invasion ever happens. Enlisting the aid of Cage's squad of misfits from earlier in the loop the make last ditch effort. Because Cage had a blood transfusion while escaping from the authorities during the science moment with the science device. So Cage can't reset. This is it, no one is coming home.
One by one the minor characters are picked off until only Cage & Vrataksi are left. Vrataski lures an alpha away so Cage and attack the Omega. Suffice to say we win. The ending is a bit tricky but I don't have the where with it all to go into it in detail without doing a lot of research. So I'll let these guys handle it. The article contains more spoilers than I revealed so be advised.
He's come a long way since Swingers back in 1997 but director Doug Limon, does a very nice job with the pacing and the action. The film doesn't slow down, at best it changes speeds and revs it back up again. The film is based on a Japanese novel, All You Need Is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (which I have not read much less knew about). This was a fun film to watch in the theater; cool effects, cool stunts, explosions, mecha battle suits and aliens. The story, well that's something else.
You don't get too far into the film before you start thinking, "wow, this is kind of like Groundhog Day meets Saving Private Ryan with a bit of ID4 thrown in."I would also thrown in a little Source Code from 2011 as well because of the concept that the hero, stuck in a time loop, does a little better each time he goes through the day. I've said before that I don't like to mess with the science part of science fiction but I can only go so far before I feel the need to speak up. I'm all for a good time travel plot piece but a lot of the time it gets used to cover up discrepancies or other bad plot lines. The film also doesn't break any new ground here as well.
Since I never read the book I have no frame of reference for it. In terms of the film, it's a lot of different films thrown together in addition to the ones I mentioned prior. These days that's going to happen more often then not but it makes me feel like I'm so cool because I've seen all this films (though it's not like I can trace scenes back to the original obscure film where scenes were "borrowed" from). All action films follow the same premise and that's the way it's been from Star Wars through today. Not being completely original is not a deal breaker for me but I can be finicky from time to time. Didn't bother me too much here. What did bother me was that once we again an alien race that should have no trouble erasing humans from the universe gets defeated because of their "hive" mentality. Kill the brains and the the drones just wither up and die. The mimics were able to travel the vast distances of space but they don't have an elaborate chain of command or contingency plan? Apparently that's the trade off for being so technologically advanced. Plus the mimics can FUCKING CONTROL TIME! That power alone should be enough to squash us like bugs.
My other problem was the ending. Again not a deal breaker but enough of an issue to mention it. We get the typical Hollywood ending. Every now and then I wouldn't mind seeing a movie end when the job is done. Here, Cruise clearly dies in the process of killing the Omega (SPOILER ALERT!) but he magically gets brought back to life (the blood of the dead Omega plays a big part). In the final act of generosity, the Omega resets the time to just prior to Cage's arrival and subsequent shanghai-ing into combat. Yet he gets to keep his memories. The invasion will not be a slaughter and Cruise goes over to where Blunt is training and he's got that "I'm so gonna score with you" look on his face. I didn't like the way time was "reset" after X-Men: DOFP and I didn't like it here. However I must acknowledge that it was entirely possible that after the Omega was killed, the film did end there but the test screening audience wondered why Cruise had to die so they altered the ending (it's a solid theory and wouldn't be the first time that's happened).
All in all this is Cruise's best action film since the last MI film. It was a fun time. I hope this helps. Thank you for your time.
Summer is in full swing and more blockbusters are set to be released. There are also some interesting smaller films. Most of my information comes from RottenTomatoes or imdb.com. If you're going to see a film, do a little research first. It's a good habit to get into, it can save you a few dollars and keep you from losing two hours of your life that you won't be getting back.
July 2nd
Tammy: Melissa McCarthy wrote the screenplay and stars as the title character in this highly predictable comedy that also stars Kathy Bates and Susan Sarandon. Tammy loses her job at a fast food restaurant and for whatever reason brings her grandmother (Sarandon) on a road trip. Hi jinx ensue. There's not a whole lot of originality in this one. McCarthy has a scene where she sings along with an 80s hit while driving (Identity Thief), she hits an animal with a car and the animal gets even (Tommy Boy & Me, Myself & Irene) and then there's the deviant grandmother trope. McCarthy's character seems like a an amalgamation of s few of her past characters, so at least she's on familiar ground.
Earth to Echo: Some diverse, nerdy teens come across a friendly alien. Family film.
Deliver Us From Evil: Eric Bana plays a hardened NYC cop who doesn't believe in the supernatural. Until weird shit starts to happen to him and his family. Veteran creepy movie director Scott Derrickson is at the helm and he's got a good history with this sort of film. There's a little of a Se7en feel since it's always dark in the trailer. It looks gritty and dark but as with most scary films, pay attention to the buzz as the opening approaches. These can have a tendency to be a dime a dozen so exercise caution.
School Dance: Nick Canon writes and directs this homage to 80's high school films cliches & tropes. With a cast filled with funny people like Mike Epps and Kat Williams, there's no shortages of jokes that stopped being funny in the Clinton administration. Bobb'e Johnson wants to join the coolest clique in school and all he has to do is get the panties of the hottest chick in school (sound familiar?).
Premature: How to explain this travesty. In the trailer there's a review that says "Groundhog Day meets American Pie." Dorky high school kid has a crush on the hottest chick in school (who is clearly not a teenager) on the same day he interviews for admission into Georgetown. He repeats the same day until he "gets it right." That means nail the interview and the love of life. Who by the way is so hot she would be dating college guys in real life. Weird because I was under the impression that the title had something to do ejaculation but I could only stomach about half of the 2 minute trailer.
Faced with a life or death decision of having to see either School Dance or Premature would be a tough call. School Dance does have a potentially funnier cast (actual stand-up comics) but it has dancing. The cool clique Bobb'e's character wants to join, is a group of modern urban dancers (only way I know how to describe it as I'm a caucasian in my 40s). In Premature it's a less culturally diverse cast with an unbelievably non-original plot. Death could be the way to go.
July 4th
This being the huge holiday of the summer there isn't a whole lot here. Martin Scorsese executive produces Life Itself, a documentary about legendary film critic Roger Ebert. Then there's Beyond the Edge, a pseudo documentary/re-enactment of Sir Edmund Hilary's ascent up Mount Everest.
July 11th
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Sequel to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Caesar and his intelligent apes have taken refuge in the forest by the Golden Gate Bridge and their community is thriving while the virus massacres the human population. The apes and humans try to coexist but we humans being the bitter, vengeful jerks that we are, aren't having it. Caesar continues to evolve and has juicier dialogue in this installment. Trailer looks cool and I liked Rise so I will be checking this one out.
Boyhood: Richard Linklater directs this family drama that traces the life of Mason from age 5 to 18. Mason's parents (Ethan Hawke & Patricia Arquette) are divorced and do their best to raise him and bestow upon him life's lessons. He probably falls in love too. Linklater has a history of directing poignant films about life. This will most likely get a small release and it looks like a nice change. Worth a look.
A Long Way Down: Three Brits (Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette and Imogen Poots) and one American (Aaron Paul) find themselves on a rooftop in London all looking to end their lives. While on the roof they group opts not to kill themselves and they actually convince each to go back to live their lives. Things get a little weird when the media catches wind and the group gets famous. The film is based on a book by Nick Hornby, who's works have made some good films (High Fidelity, About a Boy) so this could be worth seeing.
Rage: Heavy drama starring Nicolas Cage as a parent concerned about the disappearance of his teenage daughter and how the police are handling the investigation. No wait, Cage is a reformed ex-con who's daughter is kidnapped over something he did years ago. Cage tries to let the cops handle it but he gets is old crew together to bring her back. There's a lot of seedy guys getting beat up, explosions and firefights. If the premise sounds familiar get yourself a cookie. This is more suitable for Redbox or HBO.
Honour: British thriller about a young Muslim girl who is on the run from her family because of an insult. The girl, Aiysha Hart, has shamed her family and they have to kill her in order to save face. An "honour killing." Tough subject matter that has been covered on shows like Law & Order: SVU but probably not as graphic.
July 18th
The Purge: Anarchy: Only a year went by for this sequel. If you're familiar with the first installment, it's pretty much the same. Set in LA, a young good-looking white couple just happen to run out of gas on a bridge moments before The Purge is about to begin. Luckily they run into a Punisher-like fellow, who's out on the street looking for revenge on the guy who killed his son. You can see how this goes. Not much original here although at the end of the trailer there's seems to be some sort of gala event with wealthy people about to execute the poor people or something. There's a message in there I'm sure. Another societal breakdown film. The first one was ok but I will take a pass on this installment.
Sex Tape: Cameron Diaz & Jason Segel team up again in a comedy where the title says it all. They make a sex tape and Segel forgets to erase it and lo and behold it finds its way to the internet. Hilarity ensures when the try to get it back. Now I understand that they wanted to put a spark back into their marriage but why not just pretend to film everything. When Diaz wakes up she tells Segel to erase the tape which leads me to believe they had no intention of watching it again. In all honesty, Diaz looks HOT! and even Segel looks good as he dropped a lot of weight.
Planes: Fire and Rescue: Disney's follow up to 2013's Planes except this time the purpose of the characters is to fight wild fires. Family film.
Wish I Was Here: Zach Braff writes and directs this pseudo mid life crisis drama about a family man whose life starts to hit a few speed bumps and he tries to guide his family through it. There's an estranged brother, a dying father and a troubled pre-teen daughter. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that there's a happy ending. There's probably a soundtrack that sets the emotional tone of each scene and so on. Donald Faison has a cameo (in a very good cast) so we get the JD/Turk reunion that no one was clamoring for.
I Origins: Written & directed by Mike Cahill, this film is about a molecular biologist (he's wears a lab coat and looks into a microscope so you know that science plays a big part in the film) who falls in love with a women's eyes on a billboard in NYC. As luck would have it, the woman lives in NYC and they fall in love. The couple are played by the usually creepy Michael Pitt (Ian) and Astrid Berges-Frisbey (Sofi). After a whirlwind romance they get married and the tragedy strikes. Heartbroken, Pitt's lab partner, Brit Marling (Karen), finds an exact match on Sofi's eye pattern that sends Ian to India. The underlying theme is spiritual, Pitt belives in the cold hard facts of science whereas Astrid is more of a "follow your heart" kind of person. Perhaps there might be a supreme being about if there is an exact match for Sofi's eye pattern. If Ian fell in love with the eyes before meeting Sofi, what would've happened if she wasn't that attractive? Just saying.
July 25th
Hercules: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays the mythical Greek hero in what will be a big sword, sandals and pecs fest. Johnson is usually fun to watch in a lot of his films. This may be a guilty pleasure and it's entirely possible that I end up in a cineplex to view this film.
Lucy: Luc Besson is back and still trying to get mileage out of La Femme Nikita. Scarlett Johansson is Lucy, an unwilling participant in a smuggling operation. It turns out the substance she's smuggling got into her system and is slowly giving her superpowers. The film covers similar grounds as Limitless did a few years ago but it goes a little further as Lucy can actually warp reality or something. For those people who want to see ScarJo in a Black Widow stand alone film, this is the closest you're going to get.
Magic in the Moonlight: Woody Allen writes and directs a period piece (1920's perhaps) set in France with all star cast. Colin Firth is Stanley, a performer who has knack for sniffing our spiritualist frauds (like Houdini) and he's sent to the French Riviera to debunk Emma Stone's Sophie. Who may or may not be trying to scam his aunt. Stanley is unsuccessful at his attempts to prove Sophie a fraud and the more time he spends with her the more he thinks she might be real and of course falls for her (it's Emma Stone, what man 20 years her senior wouldn't?). I am not here to defend Woody Allen the person (I can't) but he can still make a good film. It's understandable why someone would boycott his work.
A Most Wanted Man:Anton Corbijn directs an all-star cast in a film adaption of a John Le Carre novel. If you liked Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (and I did) then it's possible you may like this a little more since it's set in modern day Europe. Philip Seymour Hoffman is an agent trying to get a hold of some information before a bomb is set to go off. The trailer looks pretty intense and is definitely worth a look. Excellent direct and a solid cast.
Very Good Girls: Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen are two college bound pals who would like to lose their virginity before heading off to college. It's not a raunchy comedy but a coming of age drama as both fall for the hunky stud ice cream guy on the boardwalk. The film boasts a solid cast and is directed by Academy Award nominated screenwriter, Naomi Foner (Jake & Maggie Gyllenhaal's mom).
Happy Christmas: Ana Kendrick is Jenny, a 20 something party girl who decides to move with her brother Jeff (writer/director Joe Swanberg), his wife and 2 year old son in Chicago. Jenny has responsibility issues and has trouble trying to adapt to the domesticity her brother's family has, she still like to drink heavily. Swanberg did a nice job with Drinking Buddies from 2012 and this might be fun to watch if it hits your town. Since it's an indie film, don't count on a wide release but it's possible iTunes may carry it.
Good People: James Franco & Kate Hudson are struggling financially in London when they discover that their downstairs neighbor has been dead for quite some time. Tom Wilkinson is the detective sent to investigate the murder as the neighbor was a bit shady. Later Franco stumbles on a bag full of money totaling over 200,000 English pounds. Instead of turning the money over, Franco & Hudson opt to play it as if nothing has happened and use the money to slowly get out of their crushing debt. The problem with finding drug money is the someone always seems to want it back, you know since that individual or group worked for it. Omar Sy is that person personified. Suffice to say Franco & Hudson are a bit out of their league. This looks interesting but it also has a feel of A Simple Plan mixed together with a bit of Straw Dogs. Plus I don't think Franco is all that great.
The Kill Team: A documentary about soldiers in Afghanistan and some not so flowery subject matter. My feeling on these films is that they should be watched whenever possible regardless of the subject matter. These things happen and people like me are shielded from it. It would be easy to judge but the military didn't want me when I was 18 and I would hope to just understand a little.
Beneath: A group of caucasian teens decide it's a good idea to go out on a lake and party in a secluded area. While making out and merrymaking on the boat, they are attack by a fresh water monster bent on a delicious meal. The monster eats the oars and puts a whole in the boat sending it adrift. The teens slowly start to unwind as a group and it doesn't look good. Sounds familiar right.
