Terminator: Salvation

Terminator: Salvation - Dir. McG (2009)

”Better than I thought it would be,” was the best compliment I could muster for the fourth Terminator film which takes place in the dystopian future the protagonists had so desperately hoped to avoid. Set nearly three decades after the original film, Terminator: Salvation is both a prequel and a sequel thanks to its Mobius strip premise of time travel.

The film opens in 2003 with a pair of characters facing death sentences. One is Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a convicted murderer waiting a lethal injecting. The other is Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter), a scientist for Cyberdyne who is dying of cancer. Dr. Kogan convinces Wright that he can do some good by donating his body for research. Jump forward to the year 2018 and Marcus awakens to discover a world of bombed out cities and gun-toting homicidal machines. Judgment Day has come and pass and the humans are now a ragtag army of resistance fighters against the mechanical forces of Skynet. An adult John Connor (Christian Bale) isn’t the chosen one just yet, but he’s getting there. Connor recently learns that Skynet is capturing human prisoners for experiments to create the T-800s that would eventually be sent back in time to kill his mother. He also discovers a deactivation code that can shut down Skynet’s robots which may lead to a decisive victory over the machines. Meanwhile, Wright wanders into the ruins of Los Angeles and meets a teenaged Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), the father of John Connor who must be protected at all cost lest his son never come into existence. Salvation also stars Bryce Dallas Howard as John’s wife, Kate; Common as John’s right-hand man Barnes; and Moon Bloodgood as a pilot for the resistance. Even a certain California governor makes a cameo appearance thanks to modern technology.

Terminator gets plenty right in terms of action and visuals. McG provides a surprisingly steady hand from the director’s seat in comparison to his usual flair for MTV-style theatrics. McG had cited Children of Men as an influence and you can see it in one of the action sequences which was filmed in one, long take. The look of the picture is a bleached out combination of sepia and metallic gray, giving the world a grimy, disparate feel. The action itself is more low-key than Terminator 3 which was driven by big, loud explosions. The acting is good with the notable exception of Common who gives several stilted line readings. Christian Bale is fine in the role of John Connor though he is repeating the same growling intensity he displayed as Batman. Bale is overshadowed by his co-stars Sam Worthington and Anton Yelchin, a pair of actors whose stars are definitely on the rise.

Worthington will also star in the upcoming remake of Clash of the Titans as well as James Cameron’s Avatar. Cameron himself recommended Worthington for the role. Yelchin who was great as Chekov in Star Trek plays the younger Kyle Reese just as tough as he was when played by Michael Biehn. Bryce Dallas Howard follows in the footsteps of Linda Hamilton as the mother of the future though she only gets a tiny amount of screen time. Michael Ironside, one of the best character actors ever, ups the growly gruffness as Gen. Ashdown, leader of the resistance.

Still, there’s something ironically mechanical about Terminator: Salvation. The practical effects revolutionized by Stan Winston have given way to CG-monstrosities inspired by Transformers. The story feels like it’s going through the motions without any true emphasis on the actual characters. The story seems more occupied with choking the audience in a cloud of macho testosterone. Themes are laid out questioning the humanity of the humans themselves, but those are explored in a pedestrian manner. Despite all the time travel and set pieces, there were still deeper things running through the first two Terminator films.

The original film was Sarah Connor on the path to realizing she was meant for something more. Terminator 2 was a coming-of-age tale and focused on the young John Connor and Arnold as his surrogate father figure. There really isn’t anything lying beneath the surface of Terminator: Salvation. The script was originally written by the duo of John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris who also wrote Terminator 3 as well as The Game and ::ugh:: Catwoman. The screenplay was extensively rewritten to boost the role of John Connor when Bale expressed interest in playing him rather than Marcus Wright. It passed through the hands of both Paul Haggis and Shield creator Shawn Ryan. It doesn’t have the written-by-committee feel that many Hollywood blockbusters have, but there’s no resonance.

The Terminator is a great film and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of my favorite films of all time. I can watch the latter over and over again, but I don’t have the burning desire to see Terminator: Salvation a second time. It’s a decent enough action film, but lacks the originality of the previous installments.

Rating: ** 1/2

Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons - Dir. Ron Howard (2009)

Sony Pictures takes Dan Brown’s prequel to the controversial bestseller, The Da Vinci Code and turns it into a sequel to the film adaptation. Angels & Demons finds Tom Hanks’ Professor Robert Langdon on the side of the Catholic Church he crossed swords with in the previous film. He also has a more sensible hairstyle than the modified mullet he once sported.

The Pope has passed away and as the Catholic Church prepares to elect a new leader, four of the leading candidates have been abducted. Meanwhile, an experiment with a massive Hadron Collider has yielded trace amounts of anti-matter, a canister of which is stolen. Both crimes have been committed by the Illuminati, a secret society long thought extinct. The Illuminati plan to murder each the candidates as they lead up to destroying all of Vatican City with an anti-matter bomb. Once their number included great minds like Galileo and Bernini until the Church persecuted the group for teaching ideals countermanding their religious doctrine. Their goal now is to strike back in the ultimate battle of science versus religion.

Langdon is called to the Vatican and must decipher an assortment of clues and mysterious symbols to track down the Illuminati’s secret hiding place and save thousands of lives. Langdon finds assistance from Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), the Italian scientist in charge of the experiment and the Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor), the Pope’s right-hand man and adopted son.

Many felt The Da Vinci Code lacked visual style and forward momentum with much of the film devoted to lengthy exposition. Director Ron Howard took that criticism to heart utilizing more flashy shots compositions and camera movement instead of the static, plain style of the original. He’s also picked up the speed considerably. The sequel is also more violent than its predecessor featuring scenes that include a man’s face being eaten by rats and at least two men set a fiery blaze. On the positive side, it has made Angels & Demons a quicker paced thriller. On the negative side, it just means those lengthy exposition scenes come faster and more frequently.

Ayelet Zurer inherits Audrey Toutou’s role as the sole female in the cast, but really adds nothing. She’s only there to explain things to the other characters (and the audience) when it comes to scientific and even medical elements. Despite the attempts to ground the story in reality, the plot still remains ludicrously absurd (or absurdly ludicrous, if you will). The villain, of course, has to come up with the most overly-Machiavellian plan possible when a simple ‘shoot the hero in the head’ would have sufficed. If only Howard could have found a way to film The Da Vinci Code with the pace and direction for the sequel. We might have had a halfway decent film.

At least, Code had Ian McKellan to add his presence and grativas to the ridiculousness around him. Here, Howard has to cast Stellan Skarsgard, Armin Mueller-Stahl and a genial Ewan McGregor to try and balance things out. Hanks performs well as an intellectual Indiana Jones, but gets no opportunities to display the trademark charm he has in the past. Angels & Demons is essentially your typical summer blockbuster masquerading as highbrow entertainment. It's a passable popcorn film that might be worth a rent on the weekends.

Rating: **

Star Trek

Star Trek - Dir. J.J. Abrams (2009)

Yes, I am a Star Trek fan. Like other Trekkies or Trekkers or whatever terminology is approved of, the thought of rebooting the original series must have been anathema. The idea isn’t completely unheard of as Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski wrote a treatment for a proposed remake series. Still, the very concept is like slaughtering a sacred cow. I approached the new Star Trek film with the same trepidation and disdain that I have with any other attempted remake from the Hollywood machine. I certainly didn’t consider J.J. Abrams to be the man that would be able to shepherd the franchise into the 21st century. Not to the mention the cast seemed as if they’d be more comfortable on a CW show than they would gallivanting through outer space. So it is with a great sense of surprise and satisfaction that I found the simply titled Star Trek to be a fantastic adventure film and the most fun theater experience I’ve had all year.

Abrams along with frequent collaborators Damon Lindelof (producer of Lost) and screenwriters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) take us back to a time when the iconic Trek characters were still fresh-faced cadets in Starfleet Academy. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is a farm boy from Iowa whose father was captain of a starship for a only a few minutes and saved the lives of nearly every crew member including his wife and newborn son. This Kirk has a lot to live up to in more ways than one. He’s shunned Starfleet in favor of chasing girls and picking bar fights until a man-to-man talk with Capt. Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Light years away on the planet Vulcan, Spock (Zachary Quinto) has grown up torn between his Vulcan and human halves. Though he’s chosen the logical, emotionally repressed ways of his father Sarek (Ben Cross), he still possesses the fiery spirit of his mother Amanda (Winona Ryder). Long story short, they find their way on board the Enterprise along with plenty of familiar names with all new faces. These include; helmsman Hikaru Sulu (John Cho), communications officer Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), the cantankerous Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban), and eventually engineer Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg).

The maiden voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise isn’t a smooth one as the crew must immediately go into battle against Nero (Eric Bana), a mad Romulan on a path to massive genocide. Nero has traveled back in time to avenge the destruction of his home planet by wiping out every world belonging to the Federation. Luckily for our heroes, an elderly Spock has found his way into the past to provide sage advice to the hotheaded Kirk.

Getting my nitpicks out of the way first, the script does feel rushed despite the film’s run time of over two hours. Kirk has an incredibly quick change of heart from rebellious youth to enlisting in Starfleet. From there, the story plays fast and loose as it assembles the famous crew of the Enterprise and gets them all in their proper place. Abrams manages to avoid the trendy shaky camera work that nearly everyone uses for action sequences in the wake of the Bourne trilogy. He does, however, utilize an awful lot of lens flare. It definitely works for many of the space scenes in accurately reflecting sun light off the hulls of the starships. I’m not so sure that it was needed for so many scenes, becoming quite distracting and obtrusive. Time travel probably wasn’t the most optimal choice for a storyline, but it was a necessary evil in order to placate the diehard fans in establishing this new Trek without wiping out or being beholden to previous continuity. It also allows Leonard Nimoy to take on a small role and symbolically pass the torch to this new ensemble. To their credit, the writers use time travel as a mere backdrop in order to avoid all the confusion and plot holes that usually comes with it.

The story, in and of itself, isn’t particularly original. It follows the basic journey of the protagonist into becoming the hero we know he will be while foiling the supervillain in his quest to destroy all life. Where the film shines is in its treatment of its characters and the actors who truly elevate the material they’ve been given. Chris Pine had the unenviable task of bringing life to James T. Kirk while the specter of William Shatner forever followed him. Pine captures the swashbuckling attitude of the original Kirk with a dash of Han Solo thrown in for good measure. His freewheeling ways stand in contrast to his restrained Vulcan first officer. Quinto not only looks the part of Spock, but captures his logical nature as well as the burning passions buried deep inside his human half. As expected, Simon Pegg provides the comic relief though neither he nor Sulu are given enough scenes to work with. Anton Yelchin nails Chekov’s Russian accent perfectly.

I’ve not been much of a fan of Eric Bana and found many of his performances a bit on the stiff side. I thought he was good in Munich though easily outshined by co-stars Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush. As Nero, Bana really relishes the villainous role and chews the scenery whenever he gets the chance. There are echoes of Wrath of Khan in Nero’s confrontations with the Enterprise along with a heavy influence from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Both characters suffered the loss of their family and people thus dedicating their lives to battling what they feel are injustice and imperialism. Perhaps, the best performance out of anyone is Karl Urban who shows off amazing comedic timing as the grouchy, wild-eyed Dr. McCoy. Urban, a self-professed Trek fan, practically channels the spirit of DeForest Kelly.

For the first time in a long time, we have a Trek film that was truly meant for the big screen. Abrams and company have fashioned a widescreen spectacle packed to the gills with action and excitement. Will it please every longtime fan? No. This is a Trek accessible to the masses and unencumbered by past mythology. Just like Bond and Batman, this is a reboot that works. This is a new Star Trek that still pays homage to its predecessor not just in spirit. There are several scenes and lines of dialogue that call back to past episodes and films. At the same time, the film frees up the franchise to boldly go where no one has gone before.

There are still detractors. I know some fellow Trek fans who absolutely refuse to see the film. I also know several people (friends and relatives) who’ve never shown an inkling of interest in Star Trek and are either dying to see this new version or have seen it and loved it. If someone went to see Iron Man, loved it, and wanted to read some of the comics, I’m all for it. If Abrams’ Star Trek gets new fans to watch the original series or Next Generation or any iteration, I’m all for it. I don’t agree with the viewpoint that the new Star Trek detracts from classic Trek nor does it erase what’s come before it. I’ve been more than willing to accept this new vision as an alternate reality far removed from the original. Consider Star Trek to be a flickering light in the corner of your eye and ignore it if you choose. Me? I’m more than happy to enjoy all versions.

I’m also happy to see that in the future go-go boots and mini-skirts are still in fashion.

Rating: ****

Fanboys

Fanboys - Dir. Kyle Newman (2008)


A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a pair of writers, Ernest Cline & Adam F. Goldberg, wrote a script called Fanboys. The screenplay was snatched up by Kevin Spacey’s Trigger Street Productions and the Weinstein Company. The film was scheduled for release in 2007, but in a rare move, the Weinsteins gave the filmmakers more money to shoot additional scenes. Internet circles were abuzz, but reshoots were delayed until all cast members were available. Even then, original director Kyle Newman was unavailable and reshoots were taken over by Steven Brill (Drillbit Taylor) whose lack of Star Wars knowledge and profanity laced emails (in response to fan attacks) won him no popularity contests. Harvey Weinstein stepped in, looking to excise a cancer storyline in favor of more nudity and crude humor which prompted fans to start a ‘Stop Darth Weinstein’ petition. The film was finally released in an extremely limited run at the beginning of 2009 before being dumped to DVD this May.

So, was it worth the wait? This fanboy says, ‘no.’

Fanboys stars a core group of four friends; Eric (Sam Huntington), Linus (Chris Marquette), Hutch (Dan Fogler), and Windows (Jay Baruchel). All of them diehard Star Wars fans eagerly awaiting the release of the upcoming of Episode I. Eric was once best friends with Linus before drifting apart after ditching their dream of becoming comic book creators for a safe job at his dad’s car dealership. Eric returns to the fold when he’s informed that Linus has cancer. The quartet make a pact to break into Skywalker Ranch and steal a print of Phantom Menace for Linus to see before its too late. From there, the movie becomes a standard road trip film as the boys get into all sorts of misadventures such as a brawl with Star Trek fans, taking peyote in the desert with Danny Trejo, and meeting an angry Harry Knowles (Ethan Suplee) in Austin, Texas. Along the way, the film is littered with cameos from Star Wars personalities such as Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, and Ray Park as well as Kevin Smith (who was the second choice to play Knowles after Lost star Jorge Garcia) and Apatow players Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson.

Fanboys acts as both an homage and send-up of obsessive geek culture. It takes a few jabs at the exceedingly high expectations that fans had for the new Star Wars films without actually commentating on its quality. Much like Phantom Menace, there was a lot of anticipation for Fanboys so it’s a shame that the humor is so unoriginal. Gags include characters arguing over incestuous feelings between Luke & Leia and a Trekkie (sorry, Trekker) angering our heroes by calling Han Solo a ‘bitch.’ I wasn’t expecting any deep insights into the thought processes of the average nerd, but I was expecting some inventiveness in the jokes. Fanboys won’t be very accessible to anybody who hasn't memorized every line from the trilogy.

Those of you familiar with Jay Baruchel’s gawky beanpole act in Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder will get more of the same. He provides some of the film’s most amusing moments including a funny Willow reference. Kristen Bell also shows some sparks as the token female of the group. Meanwhile, Dan Fogler sucks the life out of nearly every scene he’s in with his Jack Black-lite act.

Rating: **

Defiance

Defiance - Dir. Edward Zwick (2008)

James Bond, Sabretooth, and Billy Elliot team up to fight Nazis and save Jews. Sounds like a movie to me.

Comic book artist Art Spiegelman (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus) coined the phrase ‘holo-kitsch’ for the sentimentalizing of the Holocaust in the popular media. There’s been a recent spate of films centered on the Holocaust and World War II from big-budget spectacles (Valkyrie) to arthouse fare (The Reader) with each one focusing on a single individual within the scope of a larger story. Defiance falls into the first category with plenty of action, pathos, and a cast of name talent. It tells the little-known story of the Bielski brothers who protected over 1200 Jews from the Nazis while hiding in the Belorussian forest.

Daniel Craig takes the lead as the eldest brother Tuvia. He and his younger brothers Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell) discover their parents have been murdered by the local police chief, a Nazi collaborator. They find their youngest brother Aron (George Mackay) hidden in the barn and look for refuge in the forest. There, they come across dozens of other Jews also hiding from the Germans. Soon, dozens grow into hundreds as everyone looks to Tuvia for guidance in their makeshift community. They build shelters and make some sort of life for themselves with a few of the men taking on “forest wives.” While Tuvia is primarily concerned with protecting those under his watch, Zus has a burning desire for vengeance. The brothers bitterly part as Zus joins up with a regiment of Russian soldiers in their strikes against Nazi forces.

Director Edward Zwick is familiar with films about the personal conflicts in a time of war or struggle. Looking at his body of work, Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, you can see similar themes running throughout them. From a technical standpoint, there isn’t much wrong with the picture. The film is well crafted and well acted. The cast is superb. Craig with his piercing blue eyes is the foundation for the film. The guys from Knocked Up will be happy to know he again plays a Jew who kicks some ass. Much like Wolverine, Schreiber plays the more violent-minded brother who displays rare moments of sardonic wit. Their characters are painted as real people with flaws rather than superheroes. In one harrowing scene, Tuvia looks for revenge against the police chief who murdered his parents. He kills the man, but is also forced to kill his sons while the man’s wife watches and begs to be killed as well. It’s not at all the satisfactory sense of closure he had hoped for.

Where the film fails is through its by-the-numbers approach to storytelling. There are the usual Hollywood flourishes that have been added to make the story more cinematic. Zwick goes for the most melodramatic shots when possible as if he were fishing for Oscars. Daniel Craig gives the obligatory inspirational speech while astride a gleaming, white horse. The director even goes for a Godfather moment, intercutting between Asael’s wedding with Zus and the Russians attacking German troops. It makes Defiance a good movie, but not a great one.

Rating: ***

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - Dir. Mark Waters (2009)

Please understand I only saw this damn movie because I promised to take my sister to see it. I did not go to this fucking film of my own volition.

Matthew McConaughey showed promise once. He had a memorable turn as stoner David Wooderson in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. He had another strong performance as a small town sheriff in John Sayles’ Lone Star. Since then, McConaughey has been content to coast on his good looks, insufferable smirk, and Southwestern drawl through one god-awful picture after another. His most recent efforts include the festering turds that were Fool’s Gold and Surfer, Dude. At least he seemed to have some fun with his image in Tropic Thunder as Ben Stiller’s agent, a role originally meant for Owen Wilson.

McConaughey headlines yet another romantic comedy, playing up the cocky man-whore character that studios seem to believe audiences will flock to. This time around he stars as Connor Mead, a superstar photographer, in this modern day take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In the film’s opening moments, we immediately learn the depths of Mead’s douchebaggery. He strips a girl’s clothes off then has an archer shoot an apple off her head with a bow & arrow for a magazine cover, all without her consent. Mead STILL manages to worm his way into her panties even while he’s dumping three other girlfriends during a webcam conference call.

He returns home for his younger brother Paul’s (Breckin Meyer) wedding and is reunited with childhood friend Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner). There’s plenty of sexual tension between the two and an obvious flame carried by both, though neither would admit to it. After a few drinks, Mead spews some rhetoric condemning the concept of love and the institution of marriage. While taking a leak, he’s visited by the ghost of his late Uncle Walt, a loathsome lothario, played wonderfully by Michael Douglas as a cross between Hugh Hefner and Robert Evans. Uncle Walt is the Jacob Marley of the picture and warns Mead that he’ll be visited by three ghosts in order to save him from his loveless life of one-night stands. During one ghostly visit, we get a glimpse of the Walt Chamberlain level of boning Mead has devoted his life to as he sees every single woman he ever slept with. Taking into account the law of averages, it's a miracle he hasn't caught herpes, genital warts or even a bad case of the crabs.

Of course, Mead’s playboy image is a mask to hide his insecurities and fear of being hurt. We get the obligatory fight between the leads even though they’ll wind up in the end. It’s all so formulaic that I wonder if there were actual screenwriters typing this out or if they didn’t just cut and paste it from a bunch of other scripts. Looking at their credits on IMDB, writers Jon Lucas & Scott Moore were also involved in the stinkfest known as Four Christmases. So we have another cinematic abortion to blame them for.

Girlfriends Past isn’t a total loss. Jennifer Garner does her best even if her character is bogged down by uninventive and unconvincing displays of wit. Miss Garner does deserve better than to be trapped in the hell that is the female lead in every romantic comedy (AKA Meg Ryan). The film is saved by Douglas and another pair of funny supporting performances. The first from Emma Stone as the nerdy ghost of girlfriends past and the second by Robert Forster as a retired military man and father of the bride.

Rating: * 1/2

State of Play

State of Play - Dir. Kevin Macdonald (2009)

Just like Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, State of Play was based on a BBC mini-series. Having not seen the origin British production, I can’t speculate as to how the American remake matches up to it. I will say that State of Play is a perfectly acceptable thriller that tries to evoke the themes of 70’s classics such as All the President’s Men with a hint of The Parallax View.

State of Play begins with a young African-American male with a history of drug problems and felonies being murdered in an alley late at night. The police probably would have let this one fade away if not for a bicyclist witnessing the shooting and also being killed. Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe) is the veteran reporter assigned to the case by the Washington Globe and his tough-as-nails editor Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren). That very morning, Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), the beautiful aide to Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is killed in a supposed accident on a subway platform. Collins is a rising star in political circles as he heads an investigative committee looking into the inner workings of PointCorp, a private security firm and obvious stand-in for Blackwater. Young and handsome, he’s the type of TV-friendly politico that John F. Kennedy Jr. may have been if not for his premature death. Alas, Collins is more John Edwards than John John as it comes out he was having an affair with Baker. Robin Wright Penn plays Collins’ dutiful wife, Anne, who reluctantly chooses to stand by her man for the big press conferences.

McCaffrey was once Collins’ roommate in college and it’s hinted at that he also had an affair with Anne years ago. Lynne wants to use McCaffrey’s relationship with the tarnished congressman to assist in the story being written up by the Globe’s online blogger, Della Frye (Rachel McAdams). McCaffrey and Frye begin working together in an adversarial capacity. The elder journalist feels she is a glorified gossip monger and can’t stand that she has a high-tech laptop and doesn’t seem to own a pen. Eventually she takes on a mentor role and teaches her to get out from behind a desk and use old-fashioned legwork to get the scoop.

Though the film takes a uniquely American point-of-view to the proceedings, it is the Scottish Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) who helms the picture. Macdonald is backed up by a script written up by a team of crackerjack screenwriters all of whom are well-equipped to handle these ripped-from-the-headlines, twisty turny story. Among those who contributed to the script include Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom, Lions For Lambs), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), Billy Ray (Breach, Shattered Glass), plus an uncredited rewrite from Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon). They manage to find some balance between the wealth of characters and subplots. There are a few bumps in the road that may take you by surprise and a few you can see coming. Perhaps, the weakest point in the film is the third act resolution which tries to fit in a few too many twists while wrapping all the dangling plotlines far too neatly.

The political scandals may make up the meat of the story, but the underlying themes of print versus online media are a far more fascinating aspect to State of Play. The clash between the old-school and the new-school. Further on point is the added effect of the economic slump to the financial viability of the newspaper. My local paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, recently laid off just under 200 workers following similar layoffs last year. Filmmakers added an extra layer of resonance as we watch the latest headlines move through the massive printing press on its way to the public. If only there were a lame-legged newsie hawking copies on the local street corner, shouting ”Extry, extry.”

During early development, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were attached to the roles of McCaffrey and Collins, respectively. We may not have gotten a Fight Club reunion, but Russell Crowe is more believable as the weary, slovenly McCaffrey than Pitt. It’s not a surprising role for Crowe following similar ones in American Gangster and Body of Lies. Affleck has the good looks for Collins, yet lacks the range of Norton to bring the character truly to life. Some of his line readings are flat. The best performances out of the A-list ensemble belong to supporting players Jason Bateman as a sleazy, drug-addled PR man and Jeff Daniels as an oily elder statesman.

State of Play isn’t the ingenious thriller the cast and crew had hoped it would be. It is, however, a popcorn film for those seeking something deeper than expensive CGI and loud explosions.

Rating: ***

Crank: High Voltage

Crank: High Voltage - Dirs. Neveldine/Taylor (2009)


He was dead…but then he got better.

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor will never be confused with other dynamic directorial duos like the Coen Brothers. The films of Neveldine/Taylor are for the generation who shotgun Red Bulls for all-night sessions of Grand Theft Auto. The trash cinema tag team made their debuts with Crank, the closest a movie has ever come to being a live-action adaptation of a video game. Though it wasn’t based on any existing game, it unashamedly basked in the conventions of ultra-violent shooters and low-grade action flicks. Their next film, Gamer, appears to be a flawless fusion of the genres. The sequel to their first movie, Crank: High Voltage, provides more of the same.

The ever-grimacing Jason Statham returns as hitman Chev Chelios. In the first film, he was poisoned by Chinese gangsters and had to keep his adrenaline pumping in order to stave off the effects of the drugs. Chelios caused all kinds of mayhem and ran afoul of the Chinese, Latino gangbangers, and L.A. law enforcement. Despite falling out of a helicopter at the end of the original, someone apparently hit the continue button and Chelios is back. This time around, black marketers are planning on harvesting his organs and replaced his heart with an artificial one to keep him alive. Chelios breaks out and must keep his new ticker electrically charged. This means smashing people in the face while hooking jumper cables to his nipples. He even attempts to dry hump an old lady to cause static electricity.

Those of you expecting a subtle, heartwarming night at the movies must have wandered into the wrong theater. Crank: High Voltage is an assault on the senses with its hyperkinetic camerawork and whiplash style editing. There’s tons of nudity including a shootout in a strip club. One dancer gets shot in the implants causing them to ooze silicone. We also get an extended rapid-fire sex scene between Statham and Amy Smart (as Chelios’s girlfriend Eve) in the middle of a horse racetrack. An attempted girl-on-girl sex scene tells you exactly the audience they’re going for. Throw in a Godzilla-inspired Kaiju battle and this Crank sequel is the perfect fix for any pop culture junkie.

Though Crank: High Voltage can be a fun, no-holds barred action picture, it can also be unbearably embarrassing. Neveldine and Taylor obviously have a shallow bag of tricks and they dip into the same gags over and over again. Multiple characters are struck in the groin on numerous, painful occasions. A member of the supporting cast suffers from full body Tourette’s syndrome and goes into convulsions out of nowhere. These bits are mildly amusing at first, but get annoying when repeated ad nauseum. To top things off, Bai Ling (as a ‘Me so horny’ hooker) and David Carradine (as an old Chinese crime boss) play roles so stereotypical that they set Asians back by a hundred years. Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s was far kinder to the image of Asians everywhere.

I’ll give Neveldine/Taylor credit for going straight for the jugular with their Crank films. They won’t win any awards with high society, but if you’re looking for a pure, unadulterated B-movie experience you can’t go wrong with a Crank double feature. Statham may not be the most multi-faceted actor, but he excels in these roles as unstoppable ass kicker.

Crank: High Voltage is also packed with cameos galore including former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell as Chev’s mother, Lauren Holly as a horny psychiatrist, a sleazy looking Corey Haim (with mullet), and porn stars Ron Jeremy and Jenna Haze. Not that I’d know who those are…

Rating: **

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Dir. Gavin Hood (2009)


”I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn’t very nice.”

Wolverine has consistently been one of Marvel’s most popular characters for the past three decades, yet his origins have remained a mystery for most of that time. Little bits and pieces have come to light though the revelations that his memories were tampered with placed many of those stories suspect. He’d been given adamantium as part of a secret military experiment. He was part of black ops team with other mutants. He fought Nazis during World War II alongside Captain America. It wasn’t until 2001 that Marvel published Origin, a six-issue mini-series that definitively depicted Wolverine’s childhood. That series provided the genesis for the long-awaited spin-off film.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine begins with a brief prologue built around a tragic event in Wolverine’s childhood in the mid-1800’s. His father is murdered and a young James Howlette (later Logan) pops his bone claws for the very first time. He and half-brother, Victor Creed (who will eventually grow up to be Sabretooth), flee and promise to watch each others’ backs from then on. From there, we watch an opening credits sequence of Logan and Victor battling side-by-side in the Civil War, World Wars I & II, and finally Vietnam. Creed goes berserk in ‘Nam leading them to face down a firing squad. Both survive because of their mutant healing factors and are recruited by William Stryker (Danny Huston) for an elite squad of mutants. The group includes Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), Fred J. Dukes AKA the Blob (Kevin Durand), Chris Bradley AKA Bolt (Dominic Monaghan), the teleporter John Wraith (will.i.am), and Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). After viewing the atrocities committed by his teammates, Logan chooses to walk away and lives a quiet life as a lumberjack with his schoolteacher girlfriend Kayla (Lynn Collins). When Creed begins hunting for him, Logan volunteers for the adamantium bonding process in order to get revenge on the man he called ‘brother.’ During the course of the film, we’re also introduced to fan-favorite characters like Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), Emma Frost (Tahyna Tozzi), and a young Cyclops. Also, look out for cameos from Toad, Banshee, and Quicksilver.

If you thought X-Men: The Last Stand was a slapdash, disappointing effort in the franchise, then you’ll be similarly disappointed with Wolverine. The story attempts to rush through over a hundred years of Wolverine’s life in about an hour and forty minutes. The script by David Benioff (25th Hour, The Kite Runner) and Skip Woods (Swordfish) lacks any substance whatsoever. The opening prologue crams six issues of plot into a matter of minutes. The rest of the film is just a series of action set pieces with a few obligatory emotional sequences in between and wrapped around several predictable plot twists. The resolution is nothing more than a series of pathetic contrivances that are forced in so the prequel can loosely be tied into the other films.

Though the film is supposed to center around Wolverine, filmmakers made sure to stuff their production with as many characters as possible. None of whom get enough screen time to have any resonance and are only around so they can sell spin-offs and toys. It’s the same problem that plagued the third X-film as well as Spider-Man 3. Comic book fans will probably be disappointed that some of these characters weren’t faithful to the source material. For example, the Hudsons, the superhero couple that founded Canadian super-team Alpha Flight, are re-imagined as Ma and Pa Kent.

South African director Gavin Hood first caught producers’ eyes with the Oscar-nominated film, Tsotsi. Hood followed that up with the politically heavy-handed Rendition. This is Hood’s first attempt at a big-budget action spectacle and he seems completely overwhelmed. Hood chooses to go for the most melodramatic shots whenever possible. Characters leap through the air, land in a crouching position, and turn to the camera with a menacing look on their face. Half the film seems to be slow motion close-ups of people standing in action figure poses. On top of that, Wolverine suffers from awful and unconvincing CGI. Quite shocking for a film with a budget of $150 million. A simple scene of Logan scraping his adamantium claws together looks like a cheap cartoon.

On the positive side, much of the acting is well-done. Hugh Jackman has mastered the gruff charm of the Ol’ Canucklehead and he’s able sprinkle in a few light moments in the film. Both Danny Huston and Liev Schreiber are excellent in their roles. I almost wish there was a way to George Lucas X-Men and put him in as Sabretooth. Despite his prominence in the film’s ad campaign, Ryan Reynolds has only a tiny role in the film. Comic fans know Reynolds’ character as Deadpool the Merc with a Mouth, and he manages to accurately portray Wade Wilson’s gift of gab. It’s a shame he was so criminally underused and it’s doubly shameful that Deadpool was so massively mishandled.

X-Men: The Last Stand suffered much critical drubbing from reviewers and comic fans, but it received the biggest box office open of all three X-Men films. It seems Fox decided to use the same hackneyed formula for Wolverine. While it garnered a wealth of poor reviews, an opening weekend take of over $80 million won’t change Fox’s mind in regards to its handling of Marvel properties. Iron Man helped Marvel kick off last summer’s blockbuster season to rousing success, but Wolverine is a mediocre beginning for 2009.

Rating: **