We, as a society, seem to have a fascination in creating something artificial from an natural source, and in most cases, the object is that of another human being, and believe we can get away with it. We've seen many incarnations of this in films: "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" '01, "Godsend" '04, "Ex Machina" '15 plus others. This concept of film ideas basically came from "Frankenstein" '31 and has not let up since to the point that we have yet another in the form of "Morgan".
A corporate risk-management consultant, Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) must determine the fate of a mysterious bioengineered artificial being called Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy), which has begun evolving at a faster rate than anticipated. When Morgan inexplicably attacks one of her creators, Dr. Kathy Grieff (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the group including Dr. Simon Ziegler (Toby Jones), Dr. Amy Menser (Rose Leslie), Dr. Lui Cheng (Michelle Yeoh) and others surrounding her are pressed to make a decision. They even attempt to bring in an outside psychiatrist, Dr. Alan Shapiro (Paul Giamatti) to assist in their findings, but eventually to no avail.
Others to round out the cast are Michael Yare as Ted Brenner, Chris Sullivan as Dr. Darren Finch, Boyd Holbrook as Skip Vronsky, Vinette Robinson as Dr. Brenda Finch, Brian Cox as Jim Bryce, Crispian Belfrage as Charles Grimes and Jonathan Aris as David Chance.
One thing I've noticed about newer directors and writers is that they are either very good or very bad in their execution. This was remarkably well directed by Luke Scott ("Loom" (short) '12) plus TV. Of course, his father being that of famed Ridley Scott, some of his talent had to of rubbed off on son, Luke. The emotion (or lack thereof) that he was able to exude from actors Mara and Taylor-Joy was phenomenal. I am interested in what he will be handed next. It was written by virtual newcomer Seth Owen ("Peepers" '10) plus TV. Again, considering the lack of theatrical experience, this script was well thought out. Surely, there were some areas of choppiness and slowness, but certainly not enough to distract from the premise at hand. The real stunner here was Mara's role as the cold, calculating risk management consultant. She absolutely made that role just off the pages of the screenplay. And Giamatti's small but pivotal role as the psychiatrist was one of his best.
As with the other films, this certainly teaches us that we can't and should not attempt to alter anything that is natural, whether it be in cloning, artificial intelligence, or even genetically modified organisms (GMO), lest we run into a plethora of problems that we should come to expect.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: R 92mins.
As the summer film season is slowly coming to an end, it's time for Hollywood to start rafting out their certain dose of dramas--mostly smaller productions. Case in point is that of "The Light Between Oceans" whereas its core premise centers around a younger couple and their desperation in having a family and will do just about anything to obtain one. We've seen films of this type before, but not as carefully crafted as this one.
An Australian World War I veteran, Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender) takes a position as a lighthouse keeper in the year 1918 on an isolated island off the coast of Western Australia. He meets his future wife, Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander) at a social function her parents, Bill Graysmark (Garry Macdonald) and Violet (Jane Menelaus) are giving at the nearest coastal town, and the two hit it off almost instantly. Soon they wed and the two start their new life alone at the lighthouse. Once settled, they notice a small dinghy that washes ashore with a newborn inside, and after much discussion, they decide to raise the infant as their own. This obviously brings in a barrage of questions: who is this infant? Even though the father appears to have died, where's the mother? Should they tell the authorities?
Others to round out the cast are Rachel Weisz as Hannah Roenfeldt, Florence Clery as Lucy-Grace, Bryan Brown as Septimus Potts, Jack Thompson as Ralph Addicott, Emily Barclay as Gwen Potts, Thomas Unger as Bluey Smart, Anthony Hayes as Sgt. Vernon Knuckley and Leon Ford as Frank Roenfeldt.
This was painstakingly well delineated by writer and director Derek Cianfrance ("Brother Tied" '98, "Blue Valentine" '10, "Cagefighter" (Documentary) '12, "The Place Beyond the Pines" '12) plus shorts and TV documentaries. The subtleness of the different character emotions, given certain pivotal scenes, were incredibly realistic, however with actors such as Fassbender and Vikander, it certainly helps. His writing of this was cleverly honed with such pathos from his characters that one felt that you were eavesdropping into someone's life. And really other than a couple of small places of slowness, this seemingly ordinary couple living lives with good and bad times just jumped off its pages and certainly kept my attention throughout this two and a quarter hour running time. I don't want to give too much away, but suffice it to say this story certainly lives by the old adage, "oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive". You be the judge.
If fine acting, directing and writing is your passion, this is the film that will appease that yearning, however if something shallow, back-stabbing, conniving is more your thing, this film is something that not only you might not like, but even more to the point, it probably is a film you shouldn't see as well.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 133mins.
We are nearing the end of the summer film season, so what better type of film to be in the offing but "Mechanic: Resurrection"? The next installment to 2011's "Mechanic" is fraught with all the trappings of the quintessential summer flick-- explosions, action, high adrenaline, sex ,revenge all with a good vs. evil plot. Can you say get those 18-34 year old single males in those theater seats, ca-ching? I thought you could.
World renown hitman Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is forced out of retirement, and through a formidable foe, Crain (Sam Hazeldine), has to commit three extremely difficult assassinations of some very bad men, Krill (Femi Elufowoju Jr.), Adrian Cook (Toby Eddington) and Max Adams (Tommy Lee Jones) in order to rescue his kidnapped lover, Gina (Jessica Alba). The hardest part of this challenge? He must make all the killings appear to look accidental. Bishop has just so many hours in which to succeed this demand. Will he succeed as he's fighting the clock, or are the cards stacked against him?
Others to round out the cast are Michelle Yeoh as Mei, John Cenatiempo as Jeremy, Anteo Quintavalle as Frank, Rhatha Phongam as Courier and Bonnie Zellerbach as Headmistress.
This was intensely and grittily directed by Dennis Gansel ("Girls on the Top" '01, "Before the Fall" '04, "The Wave" '08, "We Are the Night" '10, "The Fourth State" '12) plus shorts. This film was presented in a slick, fast, energized way that definitely comes from the direction. No doubt that this filmmaker has four other projects in process. FOUR! Considering his imminent future, to say he'll go far is obviously an understatement. This was written by Philip Shelby and Tony Mosher based on a story by Shelby which is based on characters created by Lewis John Carlino. After I viewed approximately 20 minutes of the running time, I could tell these writers were not well-honed, and after I researched this film after watching it, I was surely right. Both writers have limited experience, which doesn't necessarily constitute poor writing. Have you ever heard of naturals? But these guys are not naturals, however given more experience in, let's say, TV, then they definitely will be able to make that mark. The problem with this is it becomes too busy in spots so the script gets a bit bogged down. There are some places where it gets strategic, but it still falls into the predictable fare. Mosher does have a screenplay coming in 2017, so we'll see how he does with that. The real star here is the stunt coordinator, Allan Poppleton in which the stunts were seamless.
If action-packed fluff with an escape clause is your thing, this will rock for you. However if you're looking for something a little meatier--just a little, you might opt to Netflix this installment of the Mechanic series.
Out of 4 Stars: 2.5 Rated: R 109mins.
Boxing centered movies, whether based on an actual boxer or a boxer created by a Hollywood writer is often fraught with grit and intensity which makes them excitable and mesmerizing. Whether it be "Rocky", "Raging Bull", more recently "Southpaw" and "Creed", one can surely respect what punishment these guys went through regardless your views about the sport. With this concept, it makes it that much more appealing when "Hands of Stone" hit the multiplex.
This biopic about boxing legend Roberto Duran (Edgar Ramirez) follows his rise from a two-fisted street urchin in Panama back in 1971 to a gifted amateur known for Round 1 knockouts all under the coach Carlos Eleta (Ruben Blades). Along the way he gains fame, riches and a love for Felicidad (Ana de Armas), but a chance meeting with boxing coach legend Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) takes his fighting to a level where he can defeat American champion Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond IV) in January, 1980. The lessons Arcel teaches his protégé about psychological cleverness in and out of the ring carries Duran through the darkest part of his career, when the notorious 'no mas' rematch against Leonard threatens to derail his entire legacy.
Others to round out the cast are David Arosemena as Duran (as a kid), Ellen Barkin as Stephanie Arcel, Ray's wife, John Turturro as Frankie Carbo, Drena De Niro as Adele, Ray's estranged daughter, Romulo Moran as Chaflan, Yancey Arias as Benny Huertas, Pedro 'Budu' Perez as Plomo, Ilza Rosario as Clara Samaniego and Roberto 'Chavo' Duran as Toti.
This was interestingly written and directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz ("Ships of Hope" 2000, "Secuestro express" '05) plus TV. Although his theatrical film experienced is limited, he was able to convey a sense of believability with the characters he developed. Even though these characters are based on real people, an effective filmmaker still has to realistically convey this to an audience that either has never heard of this person or are not sure who he is. This he conveyed without a hitch. The only problem I might have had a with this film was the feel of some choppiness going on and with that a bit of lack of cohesiveness developing. However, even with these small flaws, do not underestimate this filmmaker--he has raw talent like I've never seen, and if this is only his third film to his credit, I personally can't wait to see what he's going to produce next, and there will be a next time. Of course, when a filmmaker has actors like De Niro and Ramirez to work with, how much wrong could a filmmaker do? Ramirez was mesmerizing!
Whether one is into boxing centered films or not, there's something for everyone in this story of this boxer who came from nothing to get to the place he reached because of the supportive people he had around him. At the end of the day, one truly knows who's there for you and who is not.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: R 113mins.
We've all seen animated flicks a plethora of times--typical animated, Claymation and now we have one produced in the stop-motion format in the form of "Kudo and the Two Strings". This is sort of the "Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger" of animated films, and with that, it has a clear message that we all can learn from in life.
This epic action-adventure centers on clever, kind-hearted Kubo (Art Parkinson) who ekes out a humble living, telling fantastical stories to the people of his seaside town. After accidentally summoning an ancient spirit, Kubo becomes separated from his mother and embarks on a journey to discover the truth about his late father. Through a kind-hearted monkey (Charlize Theron) to guide and protect him, and a beetle (Matthew McConaughey)
they encounter along the way, he must retrieve the magical suit of armor worn by his late father who was a Samurai warrior in order to defeat the vengeful Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) and two evil twin sisters (Rooney Mara) with Kubo's Shamisen, a magical stringed instrument.
Others to round out the cast are George Takei as Hosato, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Hashi, Brenda Vaccaro as Kameyo, Meyrick Murphy as Mari, Minae Noji as Minae, Alpha Takahashi as Aiko, Laura Miro as Miho and Ken Takemoto as Ken.
Although Travis Knight, the director of this film, only has this film to his directing credit, he has plenty of animation supervising experience on several other films. With this other experience, he has proven he can handle the director's chair with ease. His pacing and staging are concise and methodical. He will go far. It is creatively written by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler based on a story by Shannon Tindle and Haimes. As with the directing, the two writers of this, Haimes and Butler have only one other film each to their credit in the feature film experience, and other than a couple of places of slowness and choppiness, this screenplay was better than most seasoned screenwriters out there today. In fact, when I was doing my research for this review, I was stunned to realize of these writers limited experience. Again, these guys will go far as with the director. I would be interested to see what they will write next. The animation done by Laika Entertainment was absolutely seamless. The stop-motion animation was incredibly done with expertise.
This film is executed so well that I wouldn't be surprised it being nominated for best animated film come Oscar time. If you're an animation affictionato, you will be in heaven, and who else would even bother to go to this genre of film than those who appreciate animation? Even with some flaws in script, this film has so much to offer--heart, action, self- awareness and redemption all in less than a 2 hour time slot.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG 102mins.
There are films based on true stories, then there are films based on extremely over-the-top, difficult to believe true stories. You've seen them-- "Pain & Gain" '13, "The Wolf on Wall Street" '14 and the like. Somehow it seems if the audience isn't stimulated, the film won't capture box office bucks, so Hollywood has given us, yet, another one of those wild and crazy films based on a true story in the form of "War Dogs".
This story based on true events back in 2005 which centers on two friends in their early 20's, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller) living in Miami Beach during the Iraq War exploit. This is a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. Military contracts. So Diveroli and Packouz start a business in order to apply for these contracts. Starting small, they begin raking in big money and are living the high life. But the pair gets in over their heads when they land a 300 million dollar deal to arm the Afghan Military-- a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people including Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper) and not the least of which turns out to be the U.S. Government.
Others to round out the cast are JB Blanc as Bashkim, Ana de Armas as Iz, Packouz's wife, Shaun Toub as Marlboro, a guide, Kevin Pollak as Ralph Slutzky, a silent partner of AEY, inc., the name of Diveroli and Packouz's company, Patrick St. Esprit as Captain Philip Santos, Jeremy Tardy as Kip, an interpreter and Julian Sergi as Rosen.
This was directed by Todd Phillips ("Road Trip" 2000, "Old School" '03, "Starsky & Hutch" '04, "School for Scoundrels" '06, "The Hangover" '09, "The Hangover II" '11, "The Hangover III" '13) plus documentaries. This filmmaker usually has two different types of emotions in his films-- over-the-top and subdued, probably because the two are so extremely different which can make for a different brew of humor. He succeeds tenfold in this and puts him on the map as an effective director. It was written by Stephen Chin, Phillips and Jason Smilovic based on the Rolling Stone article "Arms and the Dudes" by Guy Lawson. With the exception of Phillips, the other two writers only have one theatrical film each to their credit for experience and I'm afraid the outcome of this movie shows that. As with other films of this type, it starts off with a promising premise, and then slowly ends up circling the drain. What actually helped this was the fact that it wasn't necessarily a comedy, but a drama with comedic parts shoved into it. If this was totally a comedy, my forgiveness would've been absent, however since it was written as a dramedy, there's more forgiveness of the script. The silver-lining of this film was that of Bradley Cooper's Henry Girard character. That deadpan comedic approach that Cooper can do so well is what really made this story tolerable. Both Teller and Hill have done better projects than this, so it makes me wonder why they felt they had to stoop so low as to act in this film.
Again, this had an intriguing premise in which to work-- where the truth is stranger than fiction, but then got bogged down with having to focus too much on drugs, four-letter words and crassness to such a gratuitous state that it came to a point that it was actually tough to feel sorry for either of these guys, especially Diveroti. If one likes this sort of fare, enjoy, however if you want a more sophisticated plot and dialogue, I'd pass on this one.
Out of 4 Stars: 2 Rated: R 114mins.
Crime drama films are about as plentiful in Hollywood as stars themselves. We've seen these films based on true stories, fictional, period, based in a city or a rural setting, and while they can be entertaining depending on the story, they are so plentiful, originality can and does take a back seat. With "Hell or High Water", the storyline isn't expressly original, but it is certainly like the audience is eavesdropping on people's lives since it being so painstakingly realistic.
This is a modern action crime drama set in Western Texas where the distinction between honest men and outlaws has blurred beyond recognition.
Two desperate brothers-- one a divorced father, Toby Howard (Chris Pine), the other a hard-living ex-con, Tanner (Ben Foster)-- commit a string of bank robberies in order to raise the money needed to protect their family farm from foreclosure. You see, the brothers' mother passed away about three weeks prior, so they have to appease not only the mortgage but a reverse mortgage as well. Meanwhile, an aging sheriff, Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) tracks the heists in an attempt to hunt down those responsible. As he starts digging for clues, he begins to suspect the culprits more and more, little by little.
Others to round out the cast are Gil Birmingham as Alberto Parker, Sheriff Hamilton's police partner. Marin Ireland as Debbie Howard, Toby's ex-wife, John-Paul Howard as Justin Howard, Toby's son, Heidi Sulzman as Ranger Margaret, Joe Berryman as Bank Manger, Dale Dickey as Elsie and Amber Midthunder as Vernon Teller.
This was subtly directed with finesse by David Mackenzie ("Dirty Diamonds" '94, "The Last Great Wilderness" '02, "Young Adam" '03, "Asylum" '05, "Hallam Foe" '07, "Spread" '09, "Perfect Sense" '11, "Tonight You're Mine" '11, "Starred Up" '13) plus shorts and TV. Although these actors are consummate pros, especially Bridges, still Mackenzie's staging and pacing along with his ability to get his actors to emit the subtleness of emotion was near perfection. It was brilliantly written by Taylor Sheridan ("Sicario" '15). The marvel here is how is it that a writer with only one other feature film to his credit can create a script as delineated as this one is? Sure, the premise isn't an overly original one, but the nuances and subtleties in which made these characters extremely real and authentic was pure genius. This is one of those films that one must see to experience the way the script was handled and how these amazing actors pulled it off. If you want to see more of this writer's work, "Wind River" is in post production and "Solado" is in pre-production. This is a writer to contend with.
This is definitely a film for anyone who appreciates fine directing, writing and acting. But even if you're solely looking for the entertainment factor, this will still fit the bill, because watching these actors is amazing for they make these characters come alive.
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: R 102mins.
We, as a society, seem to have a fascination in creating something artificial from an natural source, and in most cases, the object is that of another human being, and believe we can get away with it. We've seen many incarnations of this in films: "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" '01, "Godsend" '04, "Ex Machina" '15 plus others. This concept of film ideas basically came from "Frankenstein" '31 and has not let up since to the point that we have yet another in the form of "Morgan".
