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.
Every time I see a film based on a wartime true story with a horrific premise, I always leave the theater with a sense of awe and a gut-wrenching feeling, because they are presented in a way that are painstakingly realistic and graphic. Films such as "Schindler's List" '93, "The Pianist" '02, "Valkyrie" '08 and even "Monuments Men" '14 are films that test the psyche and one's emotional state.
This is the extraordinary story based on true events of Operation Anthropoid, the World War II mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich. The Reich's third in command after Hitler and Himmler, Heydrich was the main architect behind the Final Solution and the leader of occupying Nazi forces in Czechoslovakia whose reign of terror prompted self-exiled Czech and Slovak parachute soldiers Josef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) to hatch a top-secret mission that changed the face of Europe forever. The others that helped including Jan Zelenka-Hajsky (Toby Jones) decide to pair these two soldiers with Marie (Charlotte Le Bon) and Lenka (Anna Geislerova) as their lovers so as to fit in without causing suspicion in public, so they can infiltrate. However, soon they are overwhelmed by nervousness and fear over the importance of their assignment.
Others to round out the cast are Harry Lloyd as Adolf Opalka, Marcin Dorocinski as Ladislav Vanek, Bill Milner as Ata Moravec, Sam Keeley as Josef Bublik, Jiri Simek as Karel Curda, Mish Boyko as Jan Hruby, Alena Mihulova as Mrs. Moravcova, Brian Caspe as Antonin, Roman Zach as Father Petrek and Sean Mahon as Dr. Eduard.
This was directed with intensity and clarity by Sean Ellis ("Cashback" '06, "The Broken" '08, "Metro Manila" '13). The staging and pacing in this was delineated well and was where Ellis was able to get his actors to channel their emotions in just the right way at the right times. It was equally written well by Ellis and Anthony Frewin. This was written in a, for all practical purposes, real time format so one felt like you were privy of their plan at hand with all the nuances of ideas. Other than a cople of very small slow areas about a third way into the film, this script was tight and cohesive, not to mention gripping and intense.
If this film succeeds at all, it definitely tells us that war is hell and that it is amazing of how many ways we can create to torture and kill our fellow man. We have become a society in which we are far removed from what constitutes a 'bad day'. These people were, quite literally, under the gun wondering if they were going to live another day, where we have gotten to a point in our present day world where if we have a bad day at work or have a bad hair day or if we can't find our smart phone, we're having really a bad day. This film was incredibly sobering in that I and most people have no idea what really constitutes having a bad day is.
This is not a film designed for the mass audience appeal, but it's a film a lot of people should experience. After seeing this film, you will leave with the feeling of being so-o appreciative of what kind of life you have, especially living in a country that is as free as this one is.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: R 120mins.
We've all seen fantasy films that Hollywood has produced for decades--the list, suffice it to say, is limitless. And even though we've also seen a plethora of reboots in just the last 10+ years, some can be deemed as successes even though we'd like to think that a reboot is just a way out of originality. One of the most recent successes of a reboot I've seen was "Ghostbusters" which surprised me tenfold. So when I realized that Disney was rebooting their classic animated film, "Pete's Dragon" into a live version, I hesitated and then went to see it and I was amazed.
After his parents are killed in a car accident, a young boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley) finds an unlikely caregiver in the form of a dragon (whom he dubs "Elliot) living in a forest in the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest. Years later, a forest ranger, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) discovers Pete and takes him in. But his attempts to adjust to a normal life are complicated by a logger, Gavin (Karl Urban) who subsequently sees Elliot and decides to hunt him down. Even though Pete is eventually supported by Grace's husband, Jack (Wes Bentley), their daughter, Natalie (Oona Laurence) and Grace's father, Meacham (Robert Redford), living in a civilized setting simply proves inhospitable and impossible for Elliot to survive. What will it take to reunite this gentle giant and Pete--the only family Elliot has ever known?
Others to round out the cast are Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Sheriff Gene Dentler, Marcus Henderson as Woodrow, Aaron Jackson as Abner, Phil Grieve as Bobby and Steve Barr as Deputy Smalls.
This was certainly directed with such passion and compassion by David Lowery ("Deadroom" '05, "St. Nick" '09, "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" '13) plus shorts and TV. This filmmaker definitely can't be blamed in directing similar fare as with a lot of his directing counterparts. By his very resume, this guy is a chameleon, which takes a lot of guts, especially in this day and age of huge budgets and a good deal of politics in Hollywood these days. His ability to get his actors to emit a right amount of emotion without coming across as sappy was executed well. If you want to see this guy's true ability of fine directing, watch his "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" which is superb. It was equally written well by Lowery and Toby Halbrooks (shorts). Even though Halbrooks has limited experience at the laptop, this script was cohesive, well thought out and tight, especially with Lowery's experience. If you want to see more from these filmmakers, another version of "Peter Pan" has been announced for 2018 which is directed by Lowery and written by Lowery and Halbrooks. Truly, another version of "Peter Pan" is something we need like a hole in the head, but with these two guys spearheading it, I would be interested in seeing what they could do with a story that's been done and redone a bazillion times.
Unless one has absolutely no element of heart, this has got to touch even the most cynical. It has heart, adventure, redemption and reconciliation all because of this fantastical creature otherwise known as Elliot. Kudos to Disney and especially Lowery and Halbrooks for allowing this film to come to life.
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG 108mins.
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. 
