Gifted

In this day and age of big-budget, huge visual effect films, we can still sit back and enjoy a small drama about the human condition on a much smaller scale instead of the issue being a global 'gotta save the world' premise. The small film at hand is that of "Gifted", where the issue here is something that we all can relate to, if for no other reason than it involves a problem that brings the issue back to a human scale.

Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy--his spirited young niece, Mary (McKenna Grace) in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plan for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old's mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank's formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. As difficult as it is for Frank to think about losing Mary, he has Roberta (Octavia Spencer) who is Frank's landlady and best friend to both Frank and Mary and Bonnie (Jenny Slate), Mary's teacher to help him out. And as Bonnie, who is a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle, she is still instrumental, along with Roberta to 'be there' for Frank through thick or thin.

Others to round out the cast are John M. Jackson as Judge Edward Nichols, Glenn Plummer as Greg Cullen, Frank's attorney, John Finn as Aubrey Highsmith, Elizabeth Marvel as Gloria Davis, Candace B. Harris as Carly Rosen and Jon Sklaroff as Seymore Shankland.

This was directed with such emotion and pathos by Marc Webb ("500 Days of Summer" '09, "The Amazing Spider-Man" '12, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" '14) plus TV, shorts and videos. Truly, the mixed media this director has been involved in through the years has only served him well in the helming of this film. It appears that he gravitates toward either big- budget films or low-budgeted independent films, hence his resume. Not many filmmakers make this transition, but this guy handles it with finesse and grace. It was surprisingly well written by Tom Flynn ("Watch It" '93, "Second String" (TV movie) '02). I say surprisingly because with the limited writing experience (feature film or TV), this script was concise, tight and somewhat unpredictable, which one doesn't see in this type of film too often. His experience ranges over a vast amount of time--not sure why; possibly being choosy? Not sure, but for whatever reason, it seems to work for him. Don't get me wrong, there were a couple of slow places in script, but certainly not enough to detract from this story at hand.

It is nice to see something to showcase what Evans can do instead of his usual fare of superheroes he plays all too often. He can play 'smaller' roles--he's played them before, so maybe he can start playing roles like this a bit more. This was a film about love, fear, anger and redemption in which we can learn from on so many levels of our own alives.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                   Rated: PG-13                                      101mins.

Ghost in the Shell

Typically when we see films that are either post-apocalyptic or set in a future of some time, we often get a grim premise at best. Although being grim, they are often intriguing in their premise. Whereas "The Fifth Element" was a drama with some comedic moments, "Ghost in the Shell", which has a similar feel to Element, is a drama with no real comedic moments.

 

In the near future, Major Motoko Kusanagi (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible terrorist attack who is cyber-enhanced but with a transplanted human brain in order to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major Kusanagi is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major Kusanagi discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was actually stolen. She and her colleague, Batou (Pilou Asbaek) will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this and stop them before they do it to others.

 

Others to round out the cast are Takeshi Kitano as Aramaki, Juliette Binoche as Dr. Ouelet, Michael Carmen Pitt as Kuze, Chin Han as Togusa, Danusia Samal as Ladriya, Lasarus Ratuere as Ishikawa, Anamaria Marinca as Dr. Dahlin, Yutaka Izumihara as Saito, Tawanda Manyimo as Borma and Peter Ferdinando as Cutter.

 

This was stylistically directed by Rupert Sanders ("Snow White and the Huntsman" '12) plus shorts. Although this director doesn't have a tremendous amount of experience in the director's chair, his style is exceptionally distinctive. The way he was able to get Johansson to convey human emotions with robotic characteristics was subtle and conveyed well. He will go far in this field. It was cleverly written by Jamie Moss, William Wheeler and Ehren Kruger based on the comic "The Ghost in the Shell" by Shirow Masamune. The experience of these writers run the gambit from one to many films to their credit. Kruger has the lion's share of the experience and it shows with this screenplay. Sure, it does have a couple of very small places of slowness, but this storyline is cohesive, tight and well thought out. It is as slick as the glossy overtones it emulates. And Johansson is superb in her role as Major. Visually, it is stunning as were the costumes.

 

This sci-fi flick is slick and moves right along keeping the audience glued to their proverbial seats. Production values as well as the story is entertaining and keeps one's attention all in a 4DX format is that is something you might want to try out.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                       Rated: PG-13                                     107mins.

 

Going in Style

In this day and age of slapping a movie together, Hollywood has stooped to presenting to its audience either a banal of mediocre originals stories to franchises or reboots to a never ending pace. And we, the audience, falls prey to the manipulative marketing that comes from the Hollywood machine. Usually reboots turn out to  be lackluster versions of the original, even if the original was mediocre itself. Very few turn out to be the same quality or even better quality than that of the original, but when I viewed "Going in Style", I can say that as I was walking out of the theater, I felt that this version was every bit as well executed as its 1979 version counterpart.

 

Lifelong buddies Willie (Morgan Freeman), Joe (Michael Caine) and Al (Alan Arkin) decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty. Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money. Since they obviously had no experience in robbing a bank, Joe was able to find a guy, Jesus (John Ortiz) to show them the ropes since he was considered an unsavory character. With his help, they weren't perfect, but maybe, just maybe, they might be able to pull it off. Actually the idea of the bank robbery came to them when Joe's bank was robbed and the crooks were never caught. So as Special FBI Agent Hamer (Matt Dillon) continues to investigate that robbery, they must be expressly careful that their plans aren't thwarted by anyone, especially Hamer. 

 

Others to round out the cast are Ann-Margaret as Annie, Peter Serafinowicz as Murray, Joey King as Brooklyn, Christopher Lloyd as Milton, Maria Dizzia as Rachel Harding, Joe's daughter, Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Mitzi, the waitress, Kenan Thompson as Security Guard and Josh Pais as Chuck Lofton, bank manager.

 

This was directed well by Zach Braff ("Garden State" '04, "Night Life" (TV movie) '08, "Wish I Was Here" '14, "Self Promotion" (TV movie) '15) plus TV and shorts. This filmmaker being an established actor--"Scrubs" TV series, certainly knows what it takes to get his actors to work well with each other as well as emitting the most effective emotion needed to 'sell' the character they are playing. It was originally directed by Martin Brest who was one of the directors of the day, and Braff was every bit as talented as Brest. It was crafted well by writer Theodore Melfi ("Winding Roads" '99, "St. Vincent" '14, "Hidden Figures" '16) plus shorts based on the 1979 story by Edward Cannon. It was fairly similar to the original, however with a more modern kick to it. In this version, this seems to be a commentary of the 2008-09 financial debacle that caused poverty to so many people, and it's certainly making a statement of how the elderly are not respected in this society. Melfi is a very diverse writer and obviously chooses his projects with caution, so with this film, it's one more project where he can take an otherwise original screenplay and put a spark into it. And what can I say about Freeman, Caine and Arkin? These guys are consummate pros in their field, and certainly helped make this film sing, which makes it pure joy to see these actors do what they do best.

 

If you like comedies, as I do, you'll love this, especially considering it's not inanely written like a lot of comedies today. It's funny without being gross, and leaves us with a great message about the geriatric crowd without hitting us over the head. Grab the popcorn for this one.

 

Out of four Stars: 3.5                              Rated: PG-13                                 97mins.

 

The Zookeeper's Wife

Ever so often we are offered a sobering film that wakes us up and forces us to look at our lives (problems and all), and realize we have it made considering what unfolds on the silver screen. We've seen many: "The Color Purple", "Schindler's List", "Amistad", "12 Years a Slave", "The Pianist" and the like to mention a handful. So, that time comes again in the form of "The Zookeeper's Wife".

 

Poland, summer of 1939. All is well at the Warsaw Zoo. Caretakers, Antonina and her husband Jan Zabinski (Jessica Chastain and Johan Heldenbergh) are enjoying the reaping of their zoo. Antonina loves her animals and they are happy. Poland, September 1, 1939. Germany invades Poland with a vengeance bombing several areas, including parts of the zoo.

This true story tells of one working wife and mother who became a hero to hundreds of Jews and animals during that invasion and throughout World War II. Antonina and her husband Jan covertly helped the Resistance--out of their Warsaw zoo. One of Antonina's colleagues, zoologist, Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl) is forced to join the Reich and is appointed their chief zoologist. He then is sent to the Warsaw Zoo to collect the best specimen of animals for the Reich to protect them, or so he says. He basically starts running the zoo with an iron fist, so Antonina gets on his good side and offers to raise pigs for meat for the men. He agrees and then Antonina and Jan begin their plot. This is a true cat-and-mouse game.

 

Others to round out the cast are Timothy Radford as Ryszard Zabinski (Younger), Antonina and Jan's son, Efrat Dor as Magda Gross, Iddo Goldberg as Maurycy Fraenkel, Shira Haas as Urszurla, Michael McElhatton as Jerzyk, Goran Kostic as Mr. Kinszerbaum, Val Maloku as Ryszard Zabinski (Older), Martha Issova as Regina Kenigswein, Daniel Ratimorsky as Samuel Kenigswein, Frederick Preston as Miecio Kenigswein and Viktoria Zakharyanova as Stephania Kenigswein.

 

This was emotionally and compassionately directed by Niki Caro ("Memory & Desire" '98, "Whale Rider" '02, "North Country" '05, "A Heavenly Vintage" '09, "McFarland, USA" '15) plus TV and shorts. The pathos and the amount of subtle passion she was able to extract out of her actors, especially Chastain was perfection. However, by her very resume, one can see this. It was equally well written by Angela Workman ("War Bride" '01, "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" '11) based on the book by the same name by Diane Ackerman. Even though this writer doesn't have a ton of experience, the continuity, and the flow of the script was spot on. She has as many as four other projects in the works--three of which are in preproduction, so it will be interesting to see how those films are executed. The cast in this was truly well performed, especially Chastain, Heldenbergh and Bruhl. Chastain could be looking at a nod come Oscar time. This story certainly speaks to the heart in that if we, as a society, could treat each other to more the positive as much as treat each to the negative, we would be able to solve so many more of our problems.

 

If you are a war buff, this will be right down your alley, but even if you're not, this is not as much a war film as it is a commentary on the human psyche and condition societally. If it shows us anything, it shows us how much we are in imperative need to reach out to one another a lot more than we do.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                        Rated: PG-13                                     127mins.

 

The Boss Baby

When we start seeing animated feature films, we know that the summer movie season is ready to explode. There's still about another month to go, but DreamWorks Animation's "The Boss Baby" is certainly a summer fare flick that is ripe for one to get their movie-going juices ready.. After seeing the trailer on this film, I felt it was going to be a smartly produced film that will suit the young and old at heart, and it lived up to that premise.

 

A suit-wearing briefcase-carrying baby (Alec Baldwin) pairs up with his seven-year old brother, Tim (Miles Bakshi) to stop the dastardly plot of the CEO, Francis Francis (Steve Buscemi) of Puppy Co.

This story about how a new baby's arrival impacts a family, Dad (Jimmy Kimmel) and Mom (Lisa Kudrow), told from the point of view of a delightfully unreliable narrator, involves a wildly imaginative boy named Tim. Tim has his life turned upside down by his new baby brother who has the brusque manner of a businessman. However, the two are forced to get past their initial antagonism when they must work together on a mission involving the rivalry between babies and puppies.

 

Others to round out the cast are Tobey Maguire as Adult Tim/Narrator, James McGrath as Wizzie/Elvis impersonator, Conrad Vernon as Eugene, ViviAnn Yee as Staci, Eric Bell Jr. as Triplets, David Soren as Jimbo, Edie Mirman as Big Boss Baby and James Ryan as Story Bear.

 

This was freshly and humorously directed by Tom McGrath ("Madagascar" '05, "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" '08, "Megamind" '10, "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" '12) plus TV. Obviously, this filmmaker is no stranger to animated films, hence his resume, so his ease in how to handle this kind of film shows in his work every time he sits in the director's chair. His characters simply come to life no matter what the subject matter and characters involved. It was creatively written by Michael McCullers ("Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" '99, "Undercover Brother" '02, "Austin Powers in Goldmember" '02, "Thunderbirds" '04, "Enough About Me" (TV movie) '05, "Baby Mama" '08, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" (add'l. screen. mat'l) '14) plus TV. Unlike McGrath, this writer has written not only for animated films, but for live-action as well. Although the live-action films are live, they certainly have had a cartoonish quality about them. The premise of this story was fun-filled, inventive and captured your attention. And even though their were a couple of very small slow areas in plot, and a couple of places where the continuity could've been a bit better, this film surely was hilarious. The sad commentary here is that in order to see a good comedy these days, I typically have to resort to watching animated films. Maybe Hollywood should be hiring the writers on animated films to write more of the traditional comedies. Just food for thought. As I suspected, Baldwin as the Boss Baby was brilliant casting. He was born to play this role. A smart-alecky baby played by a wise-cracking actor. These type of roles has been the trademark of Baldwin's career.

 

If you like animated films, you'll revel, however, whether it be animated or not, the premise of this film along with the execution of Baldwin's performance is why you'll be watching this. And it's all presented with a great family message to boot!

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                  Rated: PG                                    98mins.

 

Power Rangers

As the decades have gone by, we have seen a plethora of films based on comic books, TV shows, video games and the like. The list is endless: "Batman", "Spider-Man", "Captain America", "Ironman", "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Dr. Strange", "Pacific Rim", "Thor", etc. Once again, we have yet another film based on a TV show in the form of "Power Rangers".

Five teenagers, Jason/Red Ranger (Dacre Montgomery), Kimberly/Pink Ranger (Naomi Scott), Billy/Blue Ranger (RJ Cyler), Zack/Black Ranger (Ludi Lin) and Trini/Yellow Ranger (Becky G.) become super-powered warriors in this reboot of the long-running kids' action franchise. The outcast teens are thrust into battle against the evil witch and former Ranger Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks)in a fight for the fate of the world.

Of course, before all this happens, the green Rangers must go through a rigorous training period taught by Alpha 5 (voice of Bill Hader) and lead up by nemesis of Repulsa, Zordon (Bryan Cranston). Their powers came from inadvertently finding a strange spacecraft and obtaining these abilities. Through Zordon and Alpha 5, the teens must harness their abilities in order to save the world as we know it.

Others to round out the cast are David Denman as Sam Scott, Jason's father, Matt Shively as Damo, Cody Kearsley as Hawkeye and Robert Maloney as Ted Hart.

Considering the limited feature film experience in the director's chair, Dean Israelite ("Project Almanac" '15) plus shorts and TV definitely caught the angst of these outcast teenagers so they seemed so real. Through proper staging and pacing, these five teens seemed to connect well as they continued getting to know one another--this is good direction. It was cleverly written by John Gatins ("Summer Catch" '01, "Hardball" '01, "Coach Carter" '05, "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story" '05, "Reel Steel" '11,  "Flight" '12), based on a story by Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney based on "Power Rangers" created by Haim Saban which is based on "Power Rangers" created by Shuki Levy. After seeing the trailer of this film, I had great trepidation of this--the trailer did not sell it, but after viewing it, it was certainly much better than I ever thought it would be. Of course, Gatins is a seasoned writer and I'm sure this had everything to do with it. This had a couple of slow places in script and it was a bit predictable, but given the premise, a small amount of predictability can be forgiven. If you like this writer, he is slated to write "Reel Steel 2" which has been announced. And the visual effects predominantly created by Digital Domain, Method Studios and Scanline VFX were stunning and actually helped tell the story.

Certainly the audience demographic here is that of the child to teenager bracket, but there's something for everyone here--interesting plot, good writing and knockout visual effects. This is true and pure escapism at its best. Grab the popcorn!

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                  Rated: PG-13                                   124mins.

Life

The genre of sci-fi is not exactly one of my favorite ones, except ones that are based in some sort of reality--i.e. based in or around Earth or isn't centuries in the future, etc. Even if they have regular type people, then it can work for me, so when I saw my first trailer of "Life", I thought this was going to be one of those sci-fi flicks I can sink my teeth into, and I definitely got my money's worth.

 

Six astronauts including David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson), Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds), Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare), Ekaterina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichaya) and Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki Sanada) aboard the international space station in order to retrieve and examine a specimen from Mars that could provide evidence for extraterrestrial life on the Red Planet. The crew determines the sample contains a large, single-celled micro-organism--the first example of life beyond Earth. But... things aren't always as they seem. As the crew begins to conduct research, their methods end up having unintended consequences, realizing the life form proves more intelligent than anyone ever expected. All of a sudden, the specimen shows signs of aggression, threatening the entire mission. Discovery turns to primal fear when they realize this rapidly evolving form was what caused extinction on Mars, and now threatens the crew and all life on Earth.

 

This was intensely and grittily directed by Daniel Espinosa ("Babylonsjukan" '04, "Outside Love" '07, "Easy Money" '10, "Safe House" '12, "Child 44" '15) plus TV and a short. This filmmaker definitely knows intense hence his resume, and his ability to get his actors to emit the pathos and emotions needed for a particular scene is amazing. You could feel the pain, fear and desperation these actors were displaying, and this is talented direction. It was creatively written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick ("Zombieland" '09, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" '13, "Zombieland" (TV movie) '13, "Deadpool" '16). For not being based on a novel, this was incredibly creative. If I had to akin it to any other film out there, it would be "Alien" '79. And with that, it was more than a homage than a copy. There were differences in this as opposed to :Alien", but there were enough similarities to understand and be really OK about. This premise is totally far-fetched, but has great fodder for a intriguing plot. If you like this screenplay, not to worry, because these guys have teamed up, once again, and have written both "Zombieland 2" and "Deadpool 2" which are both in pre-production. And, of course, the visual effects predominantly designed by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and Double Negative are seamless and awe-inspiring. You feel as though you're looking at a space station orbiting Earth, not to mention the interior of the station is designed so realistically. Not to spoil anything, but you will not see the end coming! It is a mind-blower personified.

 

Certainly if sci-fi is your favorite genre, the liking of this is a no-brainer, however if you're like me and am not really fond of them, this will still be intriguing just by the way this is written, directed and acted. And it's all in a nifty IMAX format to boot!

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                Rated: R                                    104mins.