I have found that it is an amazing experience that so many films based on a true story are fraught with a ton of seriousness and intensity. Even "Pain & Gain" was intense, however comical in so many other ways, that when you were taking this seriously, you just couldn't believe it. I've seen a plethora of 'true story' films, but "Walking with the Enemy" is incredibly grueling, sad and amazingly intense.
This film, based on a true story, follows the heroic lives of a world leader and a young man swept up in the horrors of WWII. Both men are from Hungary--a country and German ally that had been spared the atrocities orchestrated by Hitler throughout much of Europe. As the war reaches its climax, Germany begins to doubt the loyalties of the Hungarian leadership--in particular Regent Horthy (Ben Kingsley). The regent tries to navigate his country between the growing terror of Nazi Germany, mostly by Colonel Skorzeny (Burn Gorman) and Adolf Eichmann (Charles Hubbell), and the oppressive threat of communist Russia. He is ultimately faced with ceding power to another political party or accepting the execution of his son, Miklos (Shane Taylor). As the crisis unfolds, thousands of his citizens are forced underground or put into ghettos. One of them is a young man named Elek Cohen (Jonas Armstrong) who is separated from his family and determined to find them. Aided by the woman he loves Hannah Schoen (Hannah Tointon), Elek disguises himself as a Nazi SS officer and discovers the truth of Hitler's 'Final Solution'. In a race against time to save his family and thousands of his countrymen, he embarks on a journey filled with suspense and danger.
Others to round out the cast are Mark Wells as Ferenc Jacobson, Elek's best buddy, Flora Spencer-Longhurst as Rachel Schoen, Hannah's sister, Simon Dutton as Miklos Schoen, Simon Kunz as Jozef Greenberg, Mark Wingett as Sorenzi, Simon Hepworth as President Szalasi, Charles De'Ath as Lt. Krieger, William Hope as Carl Lutz, Andrew Brooke as Capt. Kovarcz, Patrick Toomey as Wisliceny, Richard Albrecht as Rabbi Cohen, Elek's father, Naomi Capron as Mrs. Schoen and Karl Backus as Colonel Weber.
This was directed with a certain amount of grit by Mark Schimdt. It was slightly stagy in a couple of places, but considering this is the guy's first theatrical film, this was an admiral attempt, and he will undoubtedly receive more work. It was written by Kenny Golde based on a story by Schimdt. With all that was going on here, this was extremely well cohesive. Only a couple of places were a bit choppy, but all in all, nicely executed. Frankly, the substance of the plot--the atrocities to witness of these incredibly oppressed people more than compensated for a couple of choppy places in script.
It was difficult to believe that this was based on a true story considering the gratuitous abuse of these oppressed people, but then we have witnessed other similar films based on true stories that were as gratuitous i.e. "Schindler's List", "The Pianist" and too many others to list, that this is yet another horror to endure. This is a tough watch, but one that will only remind us that violence, oppression, and abuse will never override love, sacrifice and redemption which this film presented in spades.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 124mins.
OK. What is the definition of the best written comedy? ...BUZZ! Times up. Answer? One that comes across almost seriously, but by the incredibly well-crafted script, it simply makes one laugh...BIG time. There are films that follow this recipe that come to mind: "The Odd Couple", "Being There", "Private Benjamin", "State and Main", "Thank You for Smoking", however "The Other Woman" doesn't fall into that list.
After discovering her boyfriend, Mark King (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is married, Carly Whitten (Cameron Diaz) tries to get her ruined, humiliated life back on track. But when she inadvertently meets the wife, Kate (Leslie Mann) Mark's been cheating on, she realizes they have much in common, and her sworn enemy becomes her greatest friend. Subsequently they realize Mark is cheating again with yet another woman, Amber (Kate Upton), and when they let Amber in on what's going on, all three women decide to team up to plot mutual revenge on their cheating, lying, three-timing SOB, all with him not even realizing, at first, what's going on.
Others to round out the cast are Don Johnson as Frank, Carly's dad, Taylor Kinney as Phil, Kate's brother, Nicki Minaj as Lydia, Carly's secretary/friend, David Thornton as Nick, Victor Cruz as Fernando, and Alyshia Ochse as Cece.
This was directed with the usual expertise one can expect by the incomparable Nick Cassavetes ("Unhook the Stars" '96, "She's So Lovely" '97, "John Q" '02, "The Notebook" '04, "Alpha Dog" '06, "My Sister's Keeper" '09, "Yellow" '12). He doesn't have a plethora of work considering the time span, but quality it is. His direction appears effortless--like the created characters actually exist. As mentioned above, the real culprit here is the writing by Melissa K. Stack. Considering this is her first theatrical film screenplay, it was not a bad effort, however if this film seems familiar, it should feel that way, because as I was watching this, it felt so similar to that of "Nine to Five" and/or "First Wives Club". These two films were exceptional films especially "Nine to Five" mostly because of their well-crafted writing by seasoned writers of the day. This film doesn't have that same quality, which makes this film lack. Now, I'm not throwing the baby out with the bath water--there were funny moments in this, especially when Mark finally 'loses' it, but the key word here is moments. Even if this wasn't so predictable, it would have helped, but then it wouldn't be so similar to others films at that point.
Certainly if you like comedies, you'll like this--even with the similarities. It is written better than most comedies today, however that doesn't give this any credit. But, if you're looking for a taught, well-crafted script, you might want to wait for the DVD on this one.
Out of 4 Stars: 2 Rated: PG-13 109mins.
As the summer movie season is starting to rev up--with only a week to go, the more we see those type of films that please the brunt of the fans--18-34 year-old single males, the more one can tell that summer is right around the corner. We've already seen some of these films: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", "300: Rise of an Empire", "Need for Speed", "Non-Stop", and now we have "Brick Mansions".
An undercover Detroit cop, Damien Collier (Paul Walker) navigates 'Brick Mansions'--a dangerous neighborhood that's surrounded by a containment wall with the help of ex-con, Lino (David Belle) in order to bring down a crime lord, Tremaine Alexander (RZA) and his plot to devastate the entire downtown area. Through amazing stunts--in and out of cars, Collier and Lino must fight off Tremaine's army including K2 (Gouchy Boy), Rayzah (Ayisha Issa) and looming large, Yeti (Robert Mallet) in order to reach Tremaine before time runs out for all--the good, bad and indifferent.
Others to round out the cast are Catalina Denis as Lola, Lino's girlfriend, Andreas Apergis as Berringer, Richard Zeman as Mayor Reno, Bruce Ramsay as Mayor, Frank Fontaine as Collier's Grandfather, Chimwemwe Dave Miller as Accountant, Bradshaw Anderson as Roy and Ryan Trudeau as Floyd.
This was directed with incredible rapid speed by Camille Delamarre. This is his first theatrical film helming this movie, but he has edited many other similar films which is the reason why the editing in this was top notch. He didn't edit it, but being director, his input toward the editing process is paramount. This was written by Luc Besson and Bibi Naceri based on their screenplay, "Banlieue 13". Besson's writings are usually written in a slick, tightly conceived way, and even though this is not what I would call one of Besson's best creations, there were still enough twists in it to make it compelling. This is not a literary type of film--it's an action, high-adrenaline packed film one would expect at this time of year. The real star here is actually the stunt coordinator, Alexandre Cadieux ("Frisson des collines" '11, "The Words" '12, "Deadfall" '12, "Before My Heart Falls" '12, "1er amour" '13, "Amsterdam" '13). The stunts in coordination with the directing and the editing were mouth dropping. As for Paul Walker, this was certainly not his best, by it wasn't the worst project he's been in, and being his 'swan song', this film is definitely a project one would think of if they were thinking of a film he would star in.
Look, this was never meant to be made as an Oscar contender, so with that established, this is a film worthy of viewing, as a great vehicle so guys out there can sit back and purely escape.
Out of 4 Stars: 2.5 Rated: PG-13 90mins.
I happen to love documentaries, because one can never learn too much, and they give us a plethora of information. One of the best franchises on the planet is that of the Disneynature corral. We have seen great films beautifully shot: "Earth" '07, "Oceans" '09, "African Cats" '11, "Chimpanzee" '12, and the upcoming 2015 "Monkey Kingdom". But first, their new film, "Bears" is a shorter film, running time wise, but just as informational and stunning as its predecessors.
In an epic story of breathtaking scale, Disneynature's New True Life Adventure "Bears" showcases the first year in the life of a bear family as two impressionable young cubs, Amber and Scout are taught, by mom bear Sky, life's most important lessons. Set against a majestic Alaskan Peninsula backdrop teeming with life, their journey begins as winter comes to an end and the brown bears emerge from hibernation to face the bitter cold. The world outside is exciting--but risky--as the cubs' playful descent down the mountain carries it with a looming threat of avalanches. As the season changes from spring to summer, the brown bears must work hard to find food ultimately feasting at a plentiful salmon run while staying safe from rival male bears and predators, including an ever-present grey wolf. They also are guided by a lone raven in the hopes of finding food. "Bears" captures the fast-moving action and suspense of life in one of the planet's last great wildernesses--Alaska!
This was effectively narrated by actor, John C. Reilly. I really didn't think he could pull it off, but I have to say, he gave it just the right amount of emotion--lightness, seriousness that's needed to take place in order for everything else in the documentary to work.
This was directed by master documentarian Alastair Fothergill ("Deep Blue" '03, "Earth" '07, "African Cats" '11, "Chimpanzee" '12) and by Keith Scholey ("African Cats" '11). It was co-directed by Adam Chapman. The principal photography was headed up by Warwick Sloss and included Sophie Darlington, John Shier and others. As with the other Disneynature documentaries, this was loaded with a ton of information such as the brown bear's sense of smell is seven times stronger than that of a blood hound, and that 50% of brown bears don't survive the first year. And without the patience and determination of the mother bear, that percentage would probably be that much less.
This is a film that must be seen by one and all--it's got it all: breathtaking photography, adventure, and action all rolled into a small 78 minute running time that will sure to inspire and possibly cause people to appreciate these wonderful creatures even more.
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: G 78mins.
Is it my imagination or has Hollywood gone religious? We have seen a plethora of spiritual/ inspirational films in recent past: "Son of God", "God's Not Dead", "Noah", and now we have "Heaven Is for Real" to ponder over. Is this a trend or could it be that Hollywood is just cashing in on films while we are in the midst of the Easter season? Not sure.
This film brings to the screen the true story of a small town father/preacher in heartland Nebraska who must find the courage and conviction to share his son's extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world.
The film stars Greg Kinnear as Todd Burpo and co-stars Kelly Reilly as Sonja Burpo, the real-life couple whose son Colton (newcomer Connor Corum) claims to have visited Heaven during a near death experience while in surgery. Four-year-old Colton recounts the details of his amazing journey with childlike innocence and speaks matter-of-factly about things that happened outside the operating room and before his birth... things he couldn't possibly know. Todd and his family are then challenged to examine the meaning of this unforgettable event.
Others to round out the cast are Thomas Haden Church as Jay Wilkins, Margo Martindale as Nancy Rawling, Jacob Vargas as Michael, Lane Styles as Cassie Burpo, Todd and Sonja's daughter, Thanya Romero as Rosa, Danso Gordon as Ray, Rob Moran as Dr. O'Holleran, Nancy Sorel as Dr. Charlotte Slater, Darcy Fehr as Lee Watson, Vivian Winther as Katherine Watson, Pete Hudson as Old Man Watson and Ursula Clark as Painting Girl.
This was directed by Randall Wallace ("The Man in the Iron Mask" '98, "We Were Soldiers" '02, "Secretariat" '10). And even though he hasn't a huge list of films on his resume, given the time span, it's still solid, committed work in which he believed in the characters he was directing--a quality we don't see too often coming from Hollywood. This was written by Chris Parker and Randall Wallace based on the book, "Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back" by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. OK, I realize that this script is taken from a source that is based on a true story, however, the only problem I have with this story is that these people in this town are, predominantly, Christians, so I was a bit perplexed of why these people would have had the problem grappling with the concept that this little boy visited Heaven--a place these people believe exists? Being a Christian myself, I would have been asking Colton all kinds of questions about Heaven out of curiosity, not questioning whether he, in fact, did visit Heaven or not. This is part of the story, so nothing against the writers. Kinnear played a very convincing role as this father trying to grasp this as did Reilly as the mother.
The best thing about this is that it causes one to think of where they are, is there a Heaven, and where do we go when we leave this planet? You be the judge.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG 100mins.
There have been many films made that are created with the premise of 'it's not whether we can do a certain thing, it's whether we should. Hum, "Jurassic Park" comes to mind as does "Lawnmower Man". Now we have "Transcendence" to mull over with that similar premise. Odd how all these films are usually based in the implausible, this film being of no exception.
Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of artificial intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists including Bree (Kate Mara) and Bob (Falk Hentschel), who will do whatever it takes to stop him. However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed--to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany) and colleague Joe Tagger (Morgan Freeman), all fellow researchers, the question is not if they can... but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Will's thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.
Others to round out the cast are Cillian Murphy as Agent Buchanan, Clifton Collins Jr. as Martin, Cole Hauser as Colonel Stevens, Cory Hardrict as Joel Edmund, Josh Stewart as Paul, Luce Rains as Roger, Fernando Chien as Heng, Steven Liu as Chiu, and Xander Berkeley as Dr. Thomas Casey.
This was adequately directed by Wally Pfister. If the name doesn't sound familiar, his resume will be. He was cinematographer for films like "The Italian Job" '03, "Batman Begins" '05, "The Dark Knight" '08, "Inception" '10, "Moneyball" '11, "The Dark Knight Rises" '12 and others. I suspect he's attempting the transition to the director's chair this being his debut as director. Another cinematographer that made the same transition directed "Speed" and "Twister" obviously otherwise very successful. Perhaps Pfister can succeed as well. It was written by Jack Paglen and he as well has no other writing credit. For this being his first screenplay, this was a decent script--he should receive more work. As aforementioned, this was totally implausible, but is one can put aside the implausibility, this was a intriguing story which smacks of morality, and 'you better watch out what you ask for, because you may get it' syndrome. To quote character Max Waters in the film, "We can love someone, but hate what they do, but a machine can't reconcile that".
The best thing I can say for films like this is that they can cause one to think, because even if this premise is implausible, it brings up the concept of... what if? You be the judge.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 119mins.
For this not being the summer movie season, we've seen more animated films than I certainly thought we'd see by now. We've seen "The Lego Movie", "The Nut Job", "Mr. Peabody & Sherman", even :The Muppets Most Wanted" if one even counted that. It being only April, we now have yet another animated flick in the form of "Rio 2" in the offing. With all these, how many will we see this summer?
It's a jungle out there for Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), Jewel (Anne Hathaway) and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel (Jemaine Clement) and also confronts Nigel's cohort Gabi (Kristin Chenoweth), and meets his most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law, Eduardo (Andy Garcia).
Meanwhile, Linda (Leslie Mann) and Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) who are now married go to the Amazon to bring a bird they nursed back to health to its natural habitat. While there, they believe other birds like Jewel and Blu live there. So they go on TV and mention they will find them and when they do, it will help to get the area declared a preserve. However, a logger (Miguel Ferrer) not wanting that to happen, tries to stop them. What happens when all converge?
Others to round out the cast are will.i.am as Pedro, Jamie Fox as Nico, George Lopez as Rafael, Tracy Morgan as Luiz, Bruno Mars as Roberto, Rita Moreno as Aunt Mimi, Pierce Gagnon as Tiago, Jake T. Austin as Fernando, and Natalie Morales as Newscaster (voice).
This was directed by Carlos Saldanha ("Ice Age" (co-director) '02, "Robots" (co-director) '05, "Ice Age: The Meltdown" '06, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" '09, "Rio" '11). Obviously, by his resume, this guy knows his way around an animated film. Knowing this, it's not tough to wrap one's head around the fact that the direction is spot on. The primary culprit of this were the writers. It was written by Jenny Bicks, Yoni Brenner and Carlos Saldanha based on a story by Don Rhymer and Saldanha, which is based on characters created by Saldanha. Even though the running time was only 101 minutes, it seemed much longer. Was it my mood, or did it take seemingly forever for this story to get off the ground? Once the story finally took, it just flew and the pace matched the excitement of what was going on here. Not sure if there were too many writers which can, at times, be a problem, but the beginning simply lagged. Where this film soared was in the amazing colorful animation by Blue Sky Studios.
Certainly if you liked "Rio", you'll like this installment--even with the slower pace nearer the beginning. However, on the other side of the coin, if you were non-committal about "Rio", this will probably not wow you.
Out of 4 stars: 2.5 Rated: G 101mins.
We've all seen a plethora of baseball films in our lifetime--the list is endless: "Black Sunday", Any Given Sunday", "Knute Rockne All American", "Leatherheads", "Friday Night Lights", "All the Right Moves", etc, etc, etc. Can you believe that we have yet another film to add to that never ending list? Yes, and it's in the form of "Draft Day".
On the day of the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns' general manager Sonny Weaver (Kevin Costner) has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He makes this trade with GM Tom Michaels (Patrick St. Esprit) of the Seattle Seahawks. The number one pick is for Bo Callahan (Josh Pence). With this trade everyone including his coach, Penn (Denis Leary) his QB, Brian Drew (Tom Welling) even his mom, Barb (Ellen Burstyn) are not exactly in agreement with the trade, except the owner Anthony Molina (Frank Langella) who only sees huge bucks. Really, the only support Sonny seams to have is from his girlfriend Ali (Jennifer Garner) who is also his financial person in the office. Weaver must quickly decide what he's willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection as the lines between his personal and professional life become blurred on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with dreams of playing in the NFL.
Others to round out the cast are Sam Elliott as Coach Moore, Sean Combs as Chris Crawford, Terry Crews as Earl Jennings, Chadwick Boseman as Vontae Mack, a rival draft pick, Kevin Dunn as Marvin, a team rep, Chi McBride as Walt Gordon, Arian Foster as Ray Jennings, another rival pick and son of Earl, Griffin Newman as Rick the Intern, W. Earl Brown as Ralph Mowry, security for the Browns, Christopher Cousins as Max Stone, Patrick Breen as Bill Zotti, Pat Healy as Jeff Carson, Brad William Henke as Tony the Trainer, and Wallace Langham as Pete Begler.
This was directed with such professionalism and finesse by veteran Ivan Reitman ("Meatballs" '79, "Stripes" '81, "Ghostbusters" '84, "Twins" '88, "Kindergarten Cop" '90, "Dave" '93, "Junior" '94, "Fathers' Day" '97, "Six Days Seven Nights" '98, "My Super Ex-Girlfriend " '06, "No Strings Attached" '11) plus others. He has an innate ability to direct a lot of comedies whereas the characters are like real people instead of your typical cartoon characters in order to extract a manipulative laugh from his audience. It was effectively written by Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph in that this is a story about the day in the life of an NFL draft and these guys were actually able to create a story around this process. That can't be easy to execute. There were a couple of areas that seemingly meandered, but, at the end of the day, this was a winner.
Whether you're a football fan or not, I think anyone will be able to relate to the pressures that Sonny went through, because part of life are the stresses, anxieties that are seemingly overwhelming until we figure out a way to make those proverbial lemons into lemonade.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 109mins.
Message films. Why do we have them? There are multi-faceted reasons including learning something about the past or maybe about someone of our past, but mostly I believe they exist so we can learn valuable social lessons about what we say and do so as to be able to correct ourselves to become a better people. The list of these type of films is longer than my arm: "Judgment at Nuremberg", "Inherit the Wind", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Dr. Strangelove", "The Color Purple", "Amistad", "Schindler's List", "Silkwood", "The China Syndrome", "Milk", "Outbreak", "Invictus", "The Ghosts of Mississippi", "A Time to Kill", and most recently "Dallas Buyers Club" and "12 Years a Slave". The list is truly endless, but another to add to that ever-important list is "Cesar Chavez".
Chronicling the birth of a modern American movement, Cesar Chavez (Michael Pena) tells the story of the famed civil rights leader and labor organizer during the years of 1962-1970, torn between his duties as a husband to wife, Helen (America Ferrara), and father mostly to son Fernando (Eli Vargas), and his commitment to securing a living wage for farm workers predominantly with colleague Dolores Huerta (Rosario Dawson). Passionate but soft-spoken, Chavez embraced non-violence as he battled greed and prejudice from many but specifically from Sheriff Smith (Michael Cudlitz), Bogdanovich, farm owner (John Malkovich), and grower, Jack (Ron Perkins), and he suffered the price in his struggle to bring dignity to many people. Chavez inspired millions of Americans from all walks of life who never worked on a farm to fight for social justice. His triumphant journey is a remarkable testament to the power of one individual's ability to change the world.
Others to round out the cast are Jacob Vargas as Richard Chavez, Cesar's brother, Yancey Arias as Gilbert Padilla, Wes Bentley as Jerry Cohen, Mark Moses as Fred Ross, John Ortiz as Eli Ordonez, Gabriel Mann as Bogdanovich Junior, Jack Holmes as Sen. Kennedy, Noe Hernandez as Juan de la Cruz, and Darion Basco as Larry Itliong, Filipino labor organizer.
This was directed with such passion and pathos by Diego Luna ("J.C. Chavez" (Documen.) '07, "Abel" '10, "Revolucion (segment "Pacifico") '10). With such a passion director Luna is, it would be easy to showcase these actors as almost cartoon characters, but with Luna's talent and actor's Pena, Dawson, Malkovich and Ferrara's professionalism, we have an effectively realistic view of what happened during that time. It was equally well written by Keir Pearson and Timothy J. Sexton based on a story by Pearson. The succession of this eight year span was delineated with precision timing and finesse.
If you don't see any other film this week, see this!. It says so much, especially with the immigration laws being such a hot-button item right now. It's ironic that there is a ton of correlation between Chavez's journey and the immigration problems we face today considering we're talking about a 40+ year difference. Haven't we grown up yet?
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG-13 102mins.
As the dead season for films is starting to wane, we see "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" already when movies like these usually are released no earlier than May. Hollywood must be rushing to capture the maximum number of box office receipts way early on. This installation basically picks up where the last one left off, so as to continue the saga.
After the cataclysmic events in New York with his fellow Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Chris Evans), resides in the nation's capital as he attempts to adjust to modern times. An attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) throws Rogers into a web of intrigue that places the whole world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow/ Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and a new ally, The Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Rogers struggles to expose an ever-widening conspiracy, but he and his team soon come up against an unexpected enemy.
Others to round out the cast are Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow, Maximilliano Hernandez as Jasper Sitwell, Emily VanCamp as Kate/Agent 13, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Toby Jones as Dr. Arnim Zola, Callan Mulvey as Jack Rollins and Jenny Agutter as Councilwoman Hawley.
This was feverishly and intensely directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo ("Pieces" '97, "Welcome to Collinwood" '02, "You, Me and Dupree" '06, "Courtroom K" (TV movie) '08, "Untitled Family Pilot" (TV movie) '09, "The Council of Dads" (TV movie) '11). They were true to the character development of existing characters, and gave it that shot in the arm enough with the new characters so as to not feel as though this was the first installment simply rehashed. It was written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and if these names sound familiar, they should considering they also wrote the first installment as well. It was based on a concept and story by Ed Brubaker which is based on the Marvel comic book by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Same writers equals same feel, but this is good because they were able to hand us some great new characters to add to the fray. Now this wasn't without choppy, slightly inconsistent areas--there was a lot going on here, but it certainly was able to capture one's attention enough to make that 135 minute running time go by in rapid succession. The visual effects were predominantly created by the granddaddy of visual effects companies, ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and by Scanline VFX, and they were, as one would expect, seamless. Hey, I looked for errors.
If you're going to see this one, you've got to see it on the big screen, lest it will lose everything on a DVD. And with the magnitude of this project along with an IMAX and 3D process going on, this roller coaster ride will have you begging for another go-around which will happen in 2016 with the third installment of this franchise. Break out the popcorn!
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 135mins.
I have found that it is an amazing experience that so many films based on a true story are fraught with a ton of seriousness and intensity. Even "Pain & Gain" was intense, however comical in so many other ways, that when you were taking this seriously, you just couldn't believe it. I've seen a plethora of 'true story' films, but "Walking with the Enemy" is incredibly grueling, sad and amazingly intense.
