Prometheus

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

I used to love Tom Cruise (Edge of Tomorrow). He’s always been a capable actor, but I think people are reluctant to elevate him to the upper echelon of Hollywood elite when it comes to talent. Make no mistake, he’s an undeniable superstar – but that just means he’s popular and his movies do well. I think he’s talented, but his thespian skillset is overshadowed by the perception of him as action star. I credit him with a knack for self-deprecation and an overwhelming commitment to his craft, evidenced by the fact that he’s long performed his own stunts. Action movies are in his wheelhouse, so I was excited to see Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (aka Mission Impossible 5).

The franchise began with an emphasis on espionage and has since become more reliant on action. Additionally, there doesn’t seem to be much consistency with characters from one movie to the next, other than Cruise as steadfast superspy Ethan Hunt. This time around the IMF (Hunt’s covert employer) is on thin ice, with its leader William Brandt (Jeremy Renner, Avengers: Age of Ultron) clashing with CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin, Aloha) after a mission to recover a nuclear weapon is unsuccessful. The film’s opening sequence details Hunt’s attempt to stop a moving plane from absconding with the deadly missile. Intel reveals that a rogue “nation” known as The Syndicate has stolen the weapon in order to execute terror attacks against Western allies. Complicating matters even further is the fact that the head of The Syndicate, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris, Prometheus) has ties to British Intelligence and the IMF, utilizing disavowed agents from both agencies.

One such agent is Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson, Hercules), formerly of British Intelligence. She and Ethan both want to stop Lane, but we aren’t sure if she’s friend or foe. One minute she’s helping Ethan escape The Syndicate, the next minute it looks like she’s doing their bidding in an assassination attempt against the Austrian Prime Minister. In one of the movie’s better scenes, Ethan foils the assassination attempt at the opera; deftly battling spies atop a catwalk while the audience watches the performance, completely unaware. That scene reflected all that’s great about the franchise (action, clever plot development, suspense), but unfortunately that level of tension was not maintained throughout the film.

I thought the movie suffered in its third act, when it got a little too smart for its own good. There was one twist and turn too many, and little things just didn’t add up for me. I know that a good spy movie should keep you guessing, but the plot quickly went from simple to complicated, which wasn’t necessary. Ethan Hunt felt like a poor man’s Jason Bourne, and although the action scenes were top notch – I still found myself bored as the movie wore on. The interplay between Ethan and Ilsa was fun to watch, but for me the movie was a bit of a mixed bag. I wasn’t disappointed, but it wasn’t quite as good as I thought it would be. Grade: B

 

The Drop

As the summer movie season draws to a close, I look forward to better offerings in the fall. I’m optimistic about the films slated for release in the coming weeks, from Gone Girl to Kill the Messenger. I was disappointed with the summer selection, and it looks like studios are featuring some weightier movies in the next few months. The Drop’s trailer appeared promising, with multi-faceted Tom Hardy (Locke) alongside James Gandolfini (Enough Said) in his final film.

Writer David Lehane’s source material has given us some heavy, emotionally rich films like Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, and the same melancholy, gritty undertones of the working class were present in The Drop. Lehane adapted the screenplay from one of his short stories, and the movie pulsated with moments of electricity, despite an overall quiet tone. Of course, in criminal parlance, a “drop” refers to a place where illegal money is exchanged for a criminal act, or “job.” Enter ordinary man Bog Saginawski (Hardy), a solitary guy whose low-level criminal activities belie a warm heart. He works at a neighborhood bar called Cousin Marv’s, owned by Gandolfini’s character in name only.

Marv’s bar doubles as a drop spot for the local mob, a no-nonsense group of Chechens who ousted him as owner a decade prior. He runs a tight ship, keeping Bob in line and reminding him of whose name is on the door. The movie opens with Bob narrating an overview of the way money changes hands in New York’s underworld, especially at night and especially at places like Marv’s. We watch as Bob discreetly receives mysterious brown envelopes from an assortment of crooks and hustlers; and it’s business as usual until two armed, masked men hold up the bar one night as Marv and Bob are closing.

The film follows the aftermath of the robbery, as Bob and Marv contend with the police and the mob. An interesting subplot emerges when Bob develops a friendship with a neighboring woman named Nadia (Noomi Rapace, Prometheus) after they discover an abused pit bull puppy. The adorable puppy was a recurring use of symbolism throughout the movie, representing the duality of the vicious breed and the innocence of a baby. Bob’s character somewhat mirrored the dog’s, as his simple, peaceful exterior obscured a more brutal survival instinct.

I was drawn in by the performances, and I’m beginning to think Hardy is incapable of a bad showing. His character does a 180, but the shift felt authentic rather than disingenuous. He had a fraternal chemistry with Gandolfini and plaintive tenderness with Rapace as they were threatened by a menacing ex-lover from her past.The film was suspenseful and effectively dramatic throughout, although it lagged here and there. Patient viewers will be rewarded in the final act, where the plot twists unexpectedly. The trailer is a bit misleading, so you should be forewarned that this is a definitely an “indie” movie with a subdued tone. It won’t make much of a splash at the box office, but The Drop is worth checking out. Grade: B

The Counselor

Have you ever left a movie theater and asked yourself what the hell just happened?  Ridley Scott’s The Counselor left me confused and disappointed, despite a red-hot cast and seemingly entertaining plot.  The ingredients were top-shelf, but the final dish left me unsatisfied.  Let’s examine briefly why I thought this would have been a good movie, that way if you were intrigued by the same factors – I can save you the trouble of buying a movie ticket or even watching the bootleg.

Michael Fassbender (Prometheus) is a very talented actor.  He has the versatility to do mainstream movies like those of the X-Men franchise, but also the gravitas to take on movies like Shame, where he blew me away with a raw, intense performance.  Penelope Cruz (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) and Javier Bardem (Skyfall) are Academy Award winning actors, and Cameron Diaz has plenty of hits under her belt.  Brad Pitt is, well…Brad Pitt.  The cast clearly pulled me in, but I also like movies of this type.  Crime-themed, maybe a little on the violent and sexy side.  Check, check, and check.  Imagine my dismay when it became clear to me that The Counselor was a turd.

Fassbender stars in the title role, and we never get his real name.  Everyone annoyingly refers to him as “Counselor,” which stops being clever relatively quickly.  Cruz is featured as Laura, his adoring fiancé who is naïve to her lover’s questionable legal ventures.  Presumably to keep his beloved in the lifestyle to which she is accustomed, or perhaps just due to good old-fashioned greed – the Counselor decides to participate in a questionable transaction with a high-level drug kingpin.  Javier Bardem is Reiner, the client who helps broker the unseen deal.  Cameron Diaz (Bad Teacher) smolders as Reiner’s girlfriend Malkina, contrasting sharply with Laura.  Brad Pitt makes an appearance as a middleman for the deal.  And this is right about where I got lost – shortly after the movie began promisingly enough with an introduction to the main players.

The chief problem with The Counselor was not one of the performances.  The cast was powerless to elevate their roles above the source material, though Fassbender certainly gave it a go.  Actually, they were all rather alluring characters, in their own way.  But the movie was all over the place.  It’s almost like some scenes were deleted and we got a rough cut.  I’m talking plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon.  The script lacked cohesion, which led to illogical things happening.  I went to a late showing, so I wondered if maybe my eyelids got heavy at one point and I’d missed something.  Nope, the consensus is that it sucked.  Perhaps this movie will air on cable one night and you can laugh at the unintentional comedy.  That’s the only recommended viewing for this stinker.  Grade: D

12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave conflicted me greatly before I ultimately mustered the mental fortitude to buy a ticket.  Strength of content aside, I knew the film would be a difficult watch probably requiring ample Kleenex.  Based on the biography of the same name, the film tells the story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Salt), a free Black man from New York who was abducted and sold into slavery in 1841.  Director Steve McQueen (Shame) expertly crafts a horrific glimpse into a very ugly aspect of our shared American history.  The graphic depictions of abject cruelty rocked me to the core, but the film is undoubtedly an amazing piece of work.

When the movie begins, we see Solomon as a slave already.  Through flashbacks we learn that he was happily married with two children and that he owned his own home.  He maneuvered through his environment with independence and comfort, which must’ve been a rarity for the day.  A gifted violinist, Solomon often played his fiddle for White audiences at parties and other small events.  His talents drew the attention of two transient musicians who claimed to be seeking an addition to their circus show.  They convince Solomon to make a short trip to Washington to discuss the matter further.  After dining with the pair and having a few glasses of wine, Solomon awakes a short time later to find himself shackled and chained.  Overwhelmed with horror and disbelief, Solomon screams out for help, to no avail.  He has been sold to a slave trader, and a frightening new reality is revealed.  His life as Solomon Northup is over; he is now a fugitive slave named Platt and any reference to his former life will be met with swift and brutal consequences.

As a viewer, my sensibilities were assaulted throughout the course of the film.  The indignities Solomon suffered after being sold into slavery were unfathomable.  Any notions of modesty or basic human pride were stripped immediately, and I’ve never witnessed such a graphic depiction of the evils of the institution.  It was difficult to watch humans treated as property or animals, and I had to avert my eyes several times.  Children ripped from their mother’s arms, physical torture, psychological degradation and verbal humiliation were a daily way of life.  Solomon in particular must have been decimated psychologically, having tasted freedom and knowing nothing of the perils of subjugation.

The film is sweeping, covering Solomon’s life as he is sold from a slave trader to a relatively benevolent plantation owner named Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch, Star Trek Into Darkness), and ultimately as he ends up in the hands of a slave master named Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender, Prometheus).  Epps was a man so evil that I imagine only Lucifer himself could have a soul any blacker.  Fassbender was a monster, literally and figuratively.  His cruelty is particularly highlighted in his treatment of Patsey, a striking young slave woman who has unfortunately garnered his sick affections.  She is a thing to be possessed, perversely favored yet singularly tortured.  Newcomer Lupita Nyong’o marks her silver screen debut in the role, and her performance was a revelation.

12 Years a Slave is an overwhelming film.  I was overwhelmed watching it, and it is nearly impossible to dissect or encapsulate in a small blurb.  Should you see it?  Well, it’s an outstanding piece of cinema, but it’s not for the faint of heart.  Chiwetel Ejiofor gave the performance of a lifetime.  It was wrought with emotion and I believe that the actor laid himself bare, displaying astounding cinematic vulnerability.  The psychological transformation he brought to life was mind-blowing.  When we stand around the water cooler talking about movies and the actors “making noise” right now, his name needs to come up more frequently than it does.  This was a tour de force performance.  Director Steve McQueen has demonstrated an ability to elicit raw, soul-baring performances from his lead actors.  He did it in Shame and he’s done it again.  Aided by stark, austere cinematography and a visceral score, he brought the horrors of slavery to life in a manner heretofore unseen.  Grade: A.

This article first appeared at Poptimal and was reprinted with permission.

 

Iron Man 3

It’s time for the summer movies to start rolling in, the popcorn fare that entertains us during those dog days.  Iron Man 3, the third installment in Marvel’s popular franchise, kicks off what should be a promising season for super hero movies.  This time around we find Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) recuperating from the otherworldly showdown that capped off last year’s Avengers.  He is physically fine, but his shaken mental state leaves him in a reflective mood.

The movie opens with Tony thinking back to a chance encounter on New Year’s Eve 1999.  After attending a glamorous party with then girlfriend Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall, The Town), Tony runs into a scientist, a developer named Aldrich Killian, who wants to discuss some exciting new ideas for his technology company.  Aldrich (Guy Pearce, Prometheus) appears nerdy and disheveled, not the kind of person who leaves an impression.  Tony snubs the man, unwittingly setting him on a course of scornful retaliation.

Fast-forward to the present day, and Aldrich has reinvented himself.  Gone is the meek intellectual who could barely a muster a sentence. With a new hairdo and some much-needed dental work, he is confident and bold.  His intentions have grown more nefarious since Tony spurned him all those years ago.  He has created Extremis, a chemical that could restore limbs to maimed soldiers returning home from war.

Unfortunately, Extremis can have terrible side effects, including spontaneous combustion, which would sort of defeat the purpose of regenerating a lost limb, wouldn’t it?  These spontaneous explosions are related to a series of terror attacks that have been charged to a radical extremist known as “The Mandarin” (Ben Kingsley, Hugo).  His relationship with Aldrich isn’t immediately clear, but the pair is up to something fishy.  When Aldrich kidnaps the president in a misguided attempt to further their twisted terrorist agenda, Tony and his buddy Colonel James Rhodes (War Machine aka Iron Patriot) (Don Cheadle, Flight) come to the rescue.

Hope I didn’t give away too much; I tried to keep it simple.  Iron Man 3 was exciting and entertaining, and I understand why it opened at number 1, given its format and the time of year.  The special effects were cool; particularly the way the Iron Man suit strategically broke away from Tony and then quickly reattached itself, piece by piece.  The movie was funny, and even though he’s a billionaire, Stark is one of the more accessible superheroes because he doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously.  There were lots of one-liners, and Robert Downey Jr. will be missed if it’s true that this is his last outing.  You know what though?  I was rather underwhelmed.  I actually dozed off for a quick second.  I can’t quite put my finger on it, but maybe I like a darker protagonist.  This was a feel-good movie for all audiences, which is great.  I’m sure I have the minority opinion, but I just didn’t love it.  Good movie, but no big deal. Grade: B+