Films that pertain to time travel have that common problem with a thing called paradoxes, so it's really difficult to find a well delineated script which has little or no paradoxes in them. Well, I must say that if "Looper" has any paradoxes in it, I'm hard-pressed to find them.
In the year 2044, a man, Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) working for a group of killers headed up by Abe (Jeff Daniels) called "Loopers" (they work for the mob and kill people who are sent blindfolded back in time from the year 2074 by their bosses) recognizes a victim as himself 30 years in his future (Bruce Willis). He hesitates resulting in the escape of his older self.
While trying to escape from his boss, Abe, because he didn't kill his target, Joe runs into Sara (Emily Blunt) and her son, Cid (Pierce Gagnon), but this isn't just any chance meeting, for there is a connection with Joe's being this Looper and with Sara and her son and with his older self is certainly planned.
Others to round out the cast are Paul Dano as Seth, a fellow Looper, Noah Segan as Kid Blue, a henchman of Abe's, Piper Perabo as Suzie, Summer Qing as older Joe's wife, Tracie Thoms as Beatrix, Frank Brennan as Old Seth, and Garret Dillahunt as Jesse.
This was intensely written and directed by Rian Johnson ("Brick" '05, "The Brothers Bloom" '08). One thing I can say for Johnson is that even though he doesn't produce that many projects, the ones that he has done are fresh, original, and entertaining. For an over done topic for films as time travel has been in the past, this certainly has been the most original take on that topic bar none!
If you're really into time travel in a thrilling format with tons of originality, this film will be the right ticket for you. Even the certain Bruce Willis squints that Levitt conveys even adds that much more to the belief that they could be one and the same person 30 years apart. This has it all-- suspense, entertainment, action, some romance, in a great cat and mouse chase.
Out of 4 stars: 3.5 Rated: R 119mins.
The need of another cop film in Hollywood is like the need of ice cubes in the Arctic. We have seen a plethora of cop movies-- drama and comedy. Each time one is made, the more realistic they seem to get, and "End of Watch" is no exception.
Two young 'top gun' type of officers, Brian Tyler and Mike Zavala (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena) are inseparable police partners, sharing their lives on and off their police watch. Mike has a beautiful wife, Gabby (Natalie Martinez) and kids, and Brian has a beautiful, fun-loving girlfriend, Janet (Anna Kendrick).
During a routine traffic stop, they suspect that these guys aren't exactly 'kosher', so they stop them and end up confiscating a small cache of money and firearms.Little do they know that they become marked for death after this arrest, because the guys they stopped were members of a notorious cartel. Will they survive or will they have the back-up they need?
Others to round out the cast are David Harbour as Van Hauser, fellow cop, Frank Grillo as Sarge, America Ferrera as Orozco, fellow rookie, Cody Horn as Davis, fellow rookie, Cle Sloan as Mr. Tre, and Jaime FitzSimons as Captain Reese.
This was grittily and intensely written and directed by David Ayers (directing- "Harsh Times" '05, "Street Kings" '08, writing/screenplay- "U-571" 2000, "The Fast and the Furious" '01, "Training Day" '01, "Dark Blue" '02, "S.W.A.T." '03, "Harsh Times" '05). I realize this is a police drama about the grit, intensity, brutality of cops working in one of the most crime-ridden sections of L.A., but in, at least, two scenes in this, the 'F' word must have been used for half the scene-- literally. Profanity, graphic violence, blood, I realize is all part of this horrific world, but com'on, don't these people know any other words? And, yes the brunt of the profanity was by these evil criminals, but still, it was just over kill. To give Ayers credit, this was well written, but if he left out even most of the profanity, he'd probably come up with a 45 minute running time. One thing is for sure: this gave me a whole new respect for the men and women in blue.
This is a film that was tough to watch, but I'm sure this was purposed, because it shows us, in very graphic ways, what it's like to be on the streets of this and any large city, and if you can stomach this kind of intensity, you will leave the theater a changed citizen.
Out of 4 stars: 3 Rated: R 109mins.
Clint Eastwood films have that certain flavor about them in that his characters he plays are so crusty that he'd rather just shoot you than to look at you. You can especially see this trait in his last 20 or so years of making films when, you know, he's gotten older. When it comes to "Trouble with the Curve", his pattern hasn't skipped a beat.
Gus (Eastwood) is an aging, well known baseball scout with apparent eye problems. His vision has blurred in places of the sight range and can come and go, and he's just not willing to admit it. So when his good friend of 30 years, General Manager, Pete Klein (John Goodman) comes to visit him, he realizes all too well that his ability to scout could be in jeopardy. There is a new baseball player, Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill) that he wants Gus to scout as a number one pick, but is Gus up to the task?
Enters Gus' daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams). She gets a phone call from Pete to go with her dad to help with his eye judgment. Not having the best relationship with her dad, she reluctantly tries to help. She puts off her attorney position for a short while in order to do this. After they've seen a couple of games, Gus runs into Johnny (Justin Timberlake), a baseball player that Gus knew that left baseball to be a scout, because of a torn rotater cuff. Can Gus make the right call so he will be able to renew his contract in 3 months, or will he just be put out to pasture?
Others to round out the cast are Matthew Lillard as Phillip Sanderson, Robert Patrick as Vince, Bob Gunton as Watson, George Wyner as Rosenbloom, James Patrick Freetly as Todd, Scott Eastwood as Billy Clark, Peter Hermann as Greg, and Jay Galloway as Rigo Sanchez.
This was directed by Eastwood's longtime First Assistant Director, Robert Lorenz, who has a ton of assistant directing under his belt, but this is his first solo directing spot. Eastwood knows directing, so I'm sure he must have realized that Lorenz was ready to 'leave the nest', and he was correct. This being Lorenz's first directing project, he should excel from this point. This was written by virtual newcomer, Randy Brown, who has no other writing credits. This is amazing, because even though this wasn't an Oscar worthy screenplay, it's difficult to believe that Brown has no other writings. I've seen worse from seasoned writers. What a natural!
Eastwood plays a guy in his mid-eighties, and I believe he's basically the same age bracket,
so it's amazing he's still able to act as well as he can given the gruelling schedule in this business even if you're not doing the directing, although you know he had to have a certain amount of input. Nothing seems to get this guy down.
If you are an Eastwood fan, you'll revel, because this is exactly what you'd expect out of his performance-- the crusty, aging, bitter, cantankerous old guy that can be vulnerable given the situation. So even though we've down this road before, it's familiar territory that will have you cheering for this guy and wondering why.
Out of 4 stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 111mins.
Paul Thomas Anderson films, by his very resume, puts the 'W' in weird. Either the premise is really 'out there' or his characters odd and dysfunctional at best. With his new work named "The Master", both premise and characters are equally obscure, especially the latter.
After returning from the Second World War, a charismatic intellectual, Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) creates 'The Cause', a faith based organization in an attempt to provide meaning to his life. He becomes known as "The Master". Dodd comes across Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a Navy soldier from the war, and decides to use him as a guinea pig and protege. Later, as Dodd's right-hand man, this former drifter begins to question both the belief system and The Master as the organization grows and gains a fervent following thanks to assistance from Dodd's wife, Peggy (Amy Adams), his daughter, Elizabeth (Ambyr Childers) and his son-in-law, Clark (Rami Malek). The only one here that doesn't seem to be 'drinking the cool-aid' is Dodd's son, Val (Jesse Plemons) who, at one point, tells Freddie, during one of Freddie's drunken outbursts, that is Dad is just making this up as he goes along.
Others to round out the cast are Madisen Beaty as Doris Solstad, Lena Endre as Mrs. Solstad, and Kevin J. O'Connor as Bill William.
This was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Knights" '97, "Magnolia" '99, "Punch-Drunk Love" '02, "There Will Be Blood" '07). The direction was amazing in that the way he got his actors to show such pathos and intensity was consummate. The writing was fraught with grit and intensity, however there were places where it just moved a little slow-- the running time could have been a bit shorter, and some places where it had a tendency to wander. It kind of drops you at the end, and comes to no conclusion by films' end, but sometimes life has no conclusions either.
The acting by both Hoffman and Phoenix was absolutely consummate, and by Oscar time they could garner a nomination as could Anderson for directing.
If you're looking for a 'normal' film with a nice tied bow ending, you will be sorely disappointed, however if you're into obscure, weird, with dysfunctional, twisted characters and an odd ending, you will revel!
Out of 4 stars: 3 Rated: R 137mins.
Summer is ending soon and "Finding Nemo in 3D" is the last animated feature of the season. This is that much awaited 3D version of the 2003 original version that was simply a gem as this version is also.
A clown fish named Marlin (Albert Brooks) lives in the Great Barrier Reef and he ends up losing his son, Nemo (Alexander Gould) to a diver from a boat passing by and ends up in a dentist office in Sydney. So while Marlin ventures off to try to retrieve Nemo, Marlin meets a blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a fish suffering from short-term memory loss. The companions travel a great distance, encountering various dangerous sea creatures such as sharks, anglerfish, and jellyfish, in order to rescue Nemo from the dentist's office, which is in the Sydney Harbor. While the two are doing this, Nemo and the other sea animals which consist of Gill (Willem Dafoe), Bloat (Brad Garrett), Peach (Allison Janney), Gurgle (Austin Pendleton), and Bubbles (Stephen Root), in the dentist's fish tank plot a way to return to Sydney Harbor to live their lives again.
Others to round out the cast are Vicki Lewis as Deb/Flo, Joe Ranft as Jacques, Geoffrey Rush as Nigel, Andrew Stanton as Crush, Elizabeth Perkins as Coral, Nicholas Bird as Squirt, Bob Peterson as Mr. Ray, and Barry Humphries as Bruce.
This was brilliantly directed by Andrew Stanton ("A Bug's Life" '98, "WALL-E" '08, "John Carter" '12) and Lee Unkrich ("Toy Story 2" '99, "Monster's Inc." '01, "Toy Story 3" '10). It just clipped right along effortlessly. It was written by Stanton, Bob Peterson, and David Reynolds, based on an original story by Stanton. As I've stated before, how do these guys take such a simple premise-- a father trying to find his lost son, and make it poignant, relative, and fresh? Pure genius!
This film is already a great film and the 3D just made it even better.I'm not usually into the 3D process in a lot of films, mostly because I feel they put films in 3D to make more money, but this process actually enhanced the film. If you want to see more Pixar Animated Studios future work, look for "Monster's Inc." in eye-popping 3D come December, and expect to see "Finding Nemo 2" sometime in 2016. Aah, something to look forward to.
Out of 4 stars: 4 Rated: G 100mins.
Inspirational films by and large are affirming, well-intentioned outlets to 'talk with an audience to eventually make them feel better', hence the word inspirational. I believe, in these trying and challenging years, we have seen a resurgence of this type of film-- "Facing the Giants" '06, "Fireproof" '08, "Soul Surfer" '11, "Courageous" '11, to mention a handful. Well, now we have "Last Ounce of Courage" to add to that list.
This heartwarming film tells the story of a local war hero, Bob Revere (Marshall Teague) who is the town's mayor, whose son goes off to war. His new wife, Kari (Nikki Novak) brings Christian, his first son, into the world while the young hero is away at war earning metals for valor. However, the tragedy that ensues on a cruel battlefield will change everyone's life forever as Tom Revere is laid to rest giving his ultimate sacrifice for freedom.
Fourteen years pass and the young baby grows to be a teenager, Christian Revere (Hunter Gomez) who, with his mom, Kari, comes back to the small town of Mount Columbus nestled in the Rocky Mountains during the holiday season to be with his family. Christian disconnects with his grandfather, Bob, as they both are going through the pain of losing a dad and the loss of a son by Bob. In this beautiful story of love and forgiveness, they discover a way to unite and to make a difference in their community with Bob's co-workers, with Greg Rogers (Rusty Joiner), a good friend of Tom's, and by claiming their freedom of expression which is so important for all.
Others to round out the cast are Jennifer O'Neill as Dottie Revere, wife of Bob, Fred Williamson as Warren Hammerschmidt, Jenna Boyd as Mattie Rogers, daughter of Greg, and Darrel Campbell as Renaldo Boutwell, the school's director of the holiday play.
This was well directed by virtual newcomers to feature films, Darrel Campbell and Kevin McAfee. For their little experience, the pacing and the emotion they were able to get out of their actors was amazing. It was written by Darrel Campbell ("Dojo Kids" (TV movie) '96, "Redemption of the Ghost" '02), and even though there were a couple of inconsistencies in script, it wasn't enough to distract from the true meaning of the story. This was based on a story by Richard & Gina Headrick and Campbell.
We all have belief systems in which we hinge on to, and I think these guys were trying to convey to us that whatever we believe, we must have the freedom to be able to voice these freedoms, lest we become enslaved in the process. We claim we're free, but when we quelsh each other for fear of not being PC, or fear of being belittled, or even of fear of being told we're breaking a law. This is not freedom, it's fear with a capital 'F'.
Out of 4 stars: 3.5 Rated: PG 101mins.
I have a great deal of respect for message films in that they can really give one food for thought. Of course, it does help if you believe in what they are trying to 'sell' you. As with the case of "Branded", the premise or message, in this case, was spot on, however the implementation definitely needed polishing.
Set in a dystopian future, a dark-minded journey into a surreal society takes place where corporate brands have unleashed a 'monsterous' global conspiracy to get inside our minds and keep the population disillusioned, dependent, passive, and complacent. One man's, Misha Galkin (Ed Stoppard) passion to unlock the truth behind the conspiracy will lead an epic battle with the hidden forces that really control our world. His girlfriend, Abby Gibbons (LeeLee Sobieski) tries to understand him when he confides in her of what's really going on, but she believes that he just needs help. Both have come from the advertising industry, but Abby just believes that it's pure manipulation through ads is all it is. Her uncle, Bob Gibbons (Jeffrey Tambor), like most in the industry, have been busy 'drinking the cool-aid', but Misha knows better and is out to prove it in whatever way he can.
Others to round out the cast are Ingeborga Dapkunaite as Dubcek, and Max von Sydow as Marketing Guru.
This was very strangely written and directed by Jamie Bradshaw and Alexander Doulerain. The strange part was more in the writing. As mentioned above, the premise of the film was spot on-- Madison Avenue scum manipulating and essentially brain-washing us so as to conform us to a world that they want us to believe so as to make profits galore no matter whether it hurts us or not, has so much juicy material for a great, creative screenwriter, that I'm surprised by the outcome of the script. I'm not sure what these guys were on, or how much they had to drink, but the screenplay was all over the place, it was so over-the-top that one couldn't get past the weirdness to even get into the premise. These guys' direction was as well as could be expected, but they really should have gotten someone else to write it. The first hour went so slow, it could practically lull you to sleep.
'Big brother' movies have been peppered throughout Hollywood's history, but when you are trying to get the audience's attention on a topic you feel is so important, I think it would be better to put it in terms for your audience to understand, or you'll just lose them at the gate.
Out of 4 stars: 1.5 Rated: R 106min.
Thrillers with an espionage twist to them are usually done with enough interest to keep you right at the edge of your seat, and we've seen a plethora of them. I must say, "The Cold Light of Day" certainly has enough twists in it to keep that interest going.
A young Wall Street trader, Will Shaw (Henry Cavill) arrives in Spain from San Francisco for a vacation with family on the family sailboat. He is picked up by his father, Martin (Bruce Willis), who works in various different countries for the government.
While Will is off the boat to run an errand, he comes back only to find his family has been kidnapped and is subsequently confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents, Carrack and Gorman (Sigourney Weaver and Joseph Mawle) looking to recover a mysterious briefcase. With no one to trust, Will ends up befriending a young local woman, Lucia (Veronica Echegui) to help him find his family while avoid being caught by a different array of people.
Others to round out the cast are Caroline Goodall as Laurie, Will's mom, Rafi Gavron as Josh, Will's brother, Emma Hamilton as Dara, Josh's girlfriend, Oscar Jaenada as Maximo, Michael Budd as Esmael, and Roschdy Zem as Zahir.
This was adequately directed by Mabrouk El Mechri ("Virgil" '05, "JCVD" '08). I believe with more theatrical experience, this guy will excel well. It was written by Scott Wiper and John Petro, and the script had you going all the way through keeping you right on that edge. And with the exception of a couple on inconsistencies, it had me riveted. Cavill gave a strong presence. It will be interesting to see how he pulls off his Superman role in the upcoming "Man of Steel".
If you like films that are real nail-biters, with some great car chase scenes, this is the film for you. This film was like a one, two punch dragging you right along and having fun as this film continues to unfold.
Out of 4 stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 93mins.
Films with multi-layered messages can be interesting if not certainly challenging. "The Words", as it turns out is a sort of self-redemptive study of a man who makes a terrible choice in his life, and it basically comes back and bites him in the buttocks.
Young, aspiring writer, Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), after many publisher rejection letters, finally achieves long sought-after literary success after publishing the next great American novel. There's only one catch-- he didn't write it. His wife, Dora (Zoe Saldana) sees the novel on his laptop, and raves to him about how brilliant it is. While she's basically stroking his ego, he starts feeling guilty and perplexed. But through the kudos he is receiving, he soon becomes 'comfortable' with his final choice to say nothing.
As the past comes back to haunt him and his literary star continues to rise, Jansen is forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for stealing another man's, an older man's work. And this old man (Jeremy Irons) confronts Jansen in a park to tell him a story and, of course, the story is the book.
This story is told in narrative by writer, Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid) and goes back and forth between the 'real' world-- Hammond's and this story involving Jansen, Dora and others.
Others to round out the cast are Olivia Wilde as Daniella, a young, aspiring writer, J.K. Simmons as Mr. Jansen, Rory's dad, Ron Rifkin as Timothy Epstein, a publisher, Ben Barnes as Young Man, Nora Arnezeder as Celia, Young Man's wife, Michael McKean as Nelson Wylie, and John Hannah as Richard Ford.
This was brilliantly written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal. The way they were able to work a story into another story which is again worked into another story without ending up convoluted was simply amazing. Each story definitely had a connection with one another that allowed you to see more of the layers involved. And considering the minimal feature film experience they have, these guys will get more work, and extremely quick also.
All the cast in this were very talented, but the one who shined here was Cooper. His performance was so intense and real, especially at those times when being expressive was only needed. He was able to speak volumes with his expressions-- particularly his eyes so well that you felt Cooper was going through something so similar in his own life.
This is one of those films where the selling slogan should have read, "Honesty IS the best policy". Watching this man rise to the status that he yearned for so much, to groveling for absolution at film's end was a transformation he not only needed, but one in which he truly wanted to enable him to right this wrong.
Out of 4 stars: 4 Rated: PG-13 96mins.
There have been so many documentaries in recent past that it's given us a vast array of knowledge, and in some cases, in very entertaining ways. We've seen documentaries in the likes of "The Corporation" '03, "Super Size Me" '04, "Murderball" '05, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" '06, "Waiting for Superman" '10, all of the Michael Moore documentaries, and even this year's Disneynature' s "Chimpanzee. Well, we have yet another to add to that coral, and that's in the form of "Searching for Sugar Man".
South African Stephen 'Sugar Man' Segerman, treks out to discover what happened to his unlikely mystical hero, the mysterious, virtually unknown 1970's rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez. Being from Detroit, Michigan, he eventually found an audience in, of all places, South Africa. Here, however, he was a puzzle to audiences. Not many had heard of him, yours truly included. His style was somewhat akin to Bob Dylans's style in that it had a folksy side to it also. Back then, audiences didn't really go for Latino style music, even though it wasn't traditionally Latino. He made it to some local music labels, but where he received his true notoriety, was in South Africa. They loved Rodriguez, couldn't get enough of him. This chronicles his life, mostly through his family and his music, told mostly through different music producers i.e. Clarence Avant, Dennis Coffey, Steve Rowland, which worked with him.
This was written, edited, and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, and the way he composed this project, was like was a piece of art unfolding before your eyes. This was shot with intensity and grit by cinematographer, Camilla Stagerstrom,fsf. And, of course the original songs in this were by the consummate, Rodriguez.
I love documentaries, and this has got to be one of the best projects of that genre I've seen in a while. This man is hugely talented, and I'm so glad to see him represented here with such honesty and grit. Trust me, you will love this so much that you will want to get your hands on one of his CD's as soon as you leave the theater.
Out of 4 stars: 4 Rated: PG-13 86mins.
Action films are what all younger guys live for during the summer season, and the more explosions, fights, car chases, and adrenaline, the better. In 2010, "The Expendables" made the scene and was surprisingly good. Well, now comes "The Expendables 2" to fill that adrenaline need that its predecessor did in spades.
Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) is approached by CIA man, Church (Bruce Willis), who wants him and his team which includes Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Hale Caeser (Terry Crews), Toll Road (Randy Colture), and Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth), to go to the former Soviet Union to retrieve something that was on a plane that crashed. Church doesn't tell him what he is getting, so Church sends a woman, Maggie (Nan Yu) with him to make sure he gets it. They find the plane and retrieve the object, but some men, Villain (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Hector (Scott Adkins) take one of Barney's men hostage and the leader (Van Damme) tells Barney to give him what they got or he'll kill the hostage. They give the object to him, but kills the hostage anyway. After pressuring her, Maggie finally tells Barney the object shows the location of a Russian plutonium mine. Barney decides to track Villain down and deal with him. They track them down only to realize, at this point, that Villain is the leader of a group known as The Sangs and they have taken all the men from surrounding villages to work in the mine. As one man slows down from exhaustion and is subsequently shot, he is simply replaced. So Barney et al have to save these men and retrieve the plutonium back.
This was effortlessly directed by veteran, Simon West ("Con Air" '97, "The General's Daughter" '99, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" '01, "When a Stranger Calls" '06, "Purple Mountain" '08, "The Mechanic" '11, "Stolen" '12). By his very resume, this guy knows how to get around an action film. It was written by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone based on a story by Ken Kaufman, David Agosto, and Wenk, which was based on characters created by David Callaham. At the end of the film, I had to ask myself if that was a drama or a comedy. There were so many comedic moments with cheesy, over-the-top lines, that I wondered. Because it was written this was, I have to believe it was purposed, because there was so much of these comedic moments in it.
In any rate, I got what I thought I would get out of it, in that even though it was your typical 'guy flick', cheesy lines and all, it was still somewhat entertaining, not quite as substantial as its predecessor, but still one that will have you cheering for these older, has-been soldiers as they save the day, guns, bombs and all.
Out of 4 stars: 2.5 Rated: R 103mins.
Films that pertain to time travel have that common problem with a thing called paradoxes, so it's really difficult to find a well delineated script which has little or no paradoxes in them. Well, I must say that if "Looper" has any paradoxes in it, I'm hard-pressed to find them.
