Jayne Mansfield's Car

Jayne Mansfield's Car - Dir. Billy Bob Thornton (2013)

Billy Bob Thornton won a wealth of awards and critical acclaim for his directorial debut Sling Blade. His follow-up was an ambitious adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel All the Pretty Horses. Thornton butted heads frequently with then-Miramax head Harvey Weinstein over the final cut, which was heavily truncated. After that, his last directorial effort was the low-budget dramedy Daddy and Them while the last screenplay he penned with writing partner Tom Epperson was 2000's The Gift. Now, Thornton has returned to the director's chair for Jayne Mansfield's Car, a generational drama set in 1969 that has very little to do with the titular actress's infamous death.

Robert Duvall is Jim Caldwell, a crotchety patriarch living in a small Alabama town with his three sons Jimbo (Robert Patrick), Skip (Thornton), and Carroll (Kevin Bacon). Caldwell is a WWI veteran with an obsession for car accidents. He monitors the police frequency and surveys accident scenes like a tourist at Disneyland. His sons also served in the military during WWII. Jimbo is the closest in personality to his father, but was never deployed overseas, a source of much contention. Skip was a Navy pilot, who sports physical and psychological scars after surviving a hospital fire. Carroll has become a long-haired hippie protesting the conflict in Vietnam after witnessing the horrors of war as an Army medic.

Jim receives word that his ex-wife Naomi (Tippi Hedren whose scenes were deleted) has passed away due to cancer. Naomi left him some time ago and moved to England where she eventually married Kingsley Bedford (John Hurt). Now, Kingsley is coming to the States for the funeral long with his adult children Phillip (Ray Stevenson) and Camilla (Frances O'Connor). The two disparate clans bond in unexpected ways. Jim and Kingsley swap old war stories about their military service and their marriages. At one point, they visit a nearby fair where Mansfield's car is on exhibit. Skip finds himself smitten with Camilla while Phillip fends off the amorous affections of Jim's daughter Donna (Katherine LaNasa), who is married to an obnoxious car salesman (Ron White).

Jayne Mansfield's Car unfolds like a low-key Tennessee Williams play. It moves at a comfortable pace as if it were leaning back in a rocking chair with a fan in one hand and a mint julep in the other. The film primarily deals with the effects of war and the somber realization that the mistakes of one generation continue on to their children and their children's children.

Thornton has gathered together a powerhouse cast to bring the story to life. Duvall is pitch perfect as a good old southern boy who keeps his emotions close to the vest. He shares some welcome screen time with another vet in John Hurt. It's also a treat to see Ray Stevenson in a strong role that doesn't require him to kill a bunch of people. Thornton has one of the film's most solemn moments when he recounts the events that led to the burn marks across his body. He also participates in the most bizarre scene in which he masturbates while Camilla recites The Charge of the Light Brigade in the nude. This is the only over-the-top sequence as the movie generally finds the right balance between heavy drama and light comedy.

Ultimately, the script is too scattershot to emphatically succeed. There's not a strong enough narrative through line and the dialogue is painfully on the nose. Simmering tensions boil over during a stormy night, but things get smoothed over a little too easily by the time the credits roll.

Jayne Mansfield's Car is a noble attempt at an epic drama that misses the mark on several occasions. The array of talented actors, at least, makes it worth a rental.

Rating: ** (*****)

Immortals

Immortals - Dir. Tarsem Singh (2011)

"Today, we are offered something we would never have. Today, we fight for honor!"

Tarsem Singh's films may be a narrative mess, but they pack a visual wallop. Singh melds his unique style to the legends of Greek mythology for Immortals. He cites influences as varied as Caravaggio and Baz Luhrmann though most movie-goers will see it as 300 meets Clash of the Titans.

The evil King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) seeks vengeance against the gods for ignoring his prayers and allowing his family to die. His armies lay waste to all of Greece in search of the Epirus Bow, a weapon of mass destruction that has the power to free the Titans imprisoned under Mount Tartarus. The only mortal who can stop them is Theseus (Henry Cavill), the son of a peasant woman murdered by King Hyperion. Theseus escapes and finds allies with fellow slave Stavros (Stephen Dorff) and the virgin oracle Phaedra (Freida Pinto).

Immortals is a feast for the eyes if you find its brown, earthy tones to be appetizing. There's a definite Zack Snyder feel with action sequences punctuated by slow motion. At times, the film is grimy and grisly, particularly a fight scene between Theseus and the Minotaur (played by former pro wrestler Robert Maillet aka Kurrgan), re-imagined as a massive soldier wearing a helmet shaped like a bull's head. At other times, it's downright garish, particularly when it comes to the realm of the gods. Working under the assumption that omnipotent beings wouldn't want to look like old bearded guys, the Greek pantheon are portrayed as vain Calvin Klein models. Each one is dressed as a golden gladiator on their way to the discotheque. Casting towards youth means you lack the gravitas possessed by veteran actors such as Sir Laurence Olivier or Liam Neeson. Luke Evans (who appeared briefly in Clash as Apollo) is solid as Zeus, but the others (Isabel Lucas as Athena, Kellan Lutz as Poseidon) don't do much, except stand around and look pretty.

Zeus has decreed the gods shall not directly intervene with the affairs of the mortals. In the end, that's exactly what they do, providing a deus ex machina for the climactic battle against the Titans. The Titans themselves hardly live up to the moniker. They're more like zombies with really ashy skin and finned helmets.

This is Henry Cavill's first leading role in a major blockbuster. He has the good looks and the size to be an action hero, but we may have to wait until Man of Steel to get a better feel for his skills as a thespian. Mickey Rourke makes the one-dimensional villain entertaining simply by being Mickey Rourke. Of all the characters, Hyperion has the most ludicrous costume, horned headgear as if he were the kid from Where the Wild Things Are fully grown and in a permanent roid rage.

Immortals should only be enjoyed as a campy throwback to the sword and sandals pictures that dotted the B-movie landscape of 1960's Italy.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Dir. Tomas Alfredson (2011)

"We're not so very different, you and I. We've both spent our lives looking for the weaknesses in one another. Don't you think it's time to recognize there is as little worth on your side as there is on mine?"

John le Carré became a prolific author of spy fiction, who was inspired by years of working for British intelligence. Unlike Ian Fleming's James Bond series, le Carré's spies aren't dapper agents clad in expensive tuxedos jet setting around the world and sipping on martinis. In his acclaimed novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, there are no megalomaniacal supervillains bent on world domination or exotic locales. The murky events transpire under the equally gray and murky skies of London, England. Tinker Tailor had previously been adapted into highly regarded BBC mini-series starring Sir Alec Guinness as protagonist George Smiley. Tomas Alfredson, the director of Let the Right One In, and the husband-wife screenwriting duo of Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor (who passed away in 2010 of cancer) had the unenviable task of turning le Carré's incredibly dense narrative into a feature-length film. The results are absolutely stunning and, if not for Drive, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy would have been my pick for best film of 2011.

Set in the 1970's, the film opens with a botched mission in Hungary when Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) is shot and captured by enemy agents under the guise of contacting a defector. The failure and embarrassment leads the head of British Intelligence, known only as Control (John Hurt), to retire in disgrace along with his right-hand man, George Smiley (Gary Oldman). In their place is a new inner circle consisting of Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), and the obsequious Toby Esterhase (David Dencik).

Following Control's death, Smiley is called back into action when it is discovered that Control had been attempting to root out a mole within their highest ranks. Each suspect is given a codename taken from the nursery rhyme, "Tinker" (Alleline), "Tailor" (Haydon), "Soldier" (Bland), and "Poorman" (Esterhase). Smiley himself was not above Control's suspicions, having been tagged with the nom de plume of "Beggarman."

One of the most striking qualities of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the overwhelming aura of authenticity that starts with the colorful terminology used by le Carré. British Intelligence is referred to as "the Circus," the CIA are "the cousins," and interrogators are "inquisitors." It also helps that the plot is loosely inspired by the real-life events surrounding the Cambridge Five, a group of intelligence agents who were secretly working for the Soviets. To top it off, there's the immaculate direction of Alfredson and the production design by Maria Djurkovic. These aspects go beyond accurate fashion, but the way in which every shot is so precisely composed. When we are taken into the den of the Circus, we see a series of winding staircases and endless shelves as if the building were designed by M.C. Escher. The labyrinthine offices symbolize how easily it is for these men to become lost the deception and politics of their work.

Each of those men is brought to life by a wide array of talented British thespians that include noted character actors like Ciarán Hinds, Mark Strong, Simon McBurney, and Stephen Graham. At the center is Gary Oldman, who earned his first ever Oscar nomination for his portrayal of George Smiley. Oldman is known for playing wildly over-the-top villains, but his Smiley is the epitome of understated. He hardly ever raises his voice and the one time he does will snap you to attention. In one of the film's most gripping moments, the camera closes in tight on Oldman's weathered face as he flows into a monologue about his one encounter with his Russian counterpart, the spymaster codenamed Karla, whose face is never seen. Also never seen is Smiley's adulterous wife, Anne. Both are like looming specters in Smiley's life and constant testaments to his personal and professional failures. Then, there's Colin Firth as Bill Haydon, who is handsome and suave, everything Smiley isn't. Firth is the master at playing these smooth Brits.

Younger actors also get their chance to shine with the vets. It's hard to take your eyes off Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr, a fugitive agent (and a bit of a scoundrel), who initially revealed the existence of the mole. Benedict Cumberbatch from BBC's Sherlock is another actor to watch out for. He had a strong 2011 with the second season of Sherlock. a solid supporting turn in War Horse, and an excellent performance here as Tarr's handler, Peter Guillam, who becomes Smiley's protégé during his investigation. Cumberbatch is a part of one of the film's major set pieces and it doesn't involve a car chase, a shootout, or hand-to-hand combat. The sequence sees Guillam attempting to sneak documents out of the Circus's archives.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy explores the effects of Cold War paranoia on the men and women charged with protecting the Western world from the Communist menace as a richly layered and engrossing potboiler. It's the rare picture that reveals more of itself upon each repeated viewing and gets better every time.

Rating: **** (*****)

44 Inch Chest

44 Inch Chest - Dir. Malcolm Venville (2009)


Don’t take the title of this film the wrong way. 44 Inch Chest is not about a buxom starlet by the name of Chesty Larue or Hootie McBoob. No, this film is all about men. Manly men. Manly men who speak with British accents. That’s how you know someone is a badass when they speak with a tough British accent.

44 Inch Chest comes to us from director Malcolm Venville and screenwriters Louis Mellis and David Scinto who penned the amazing gangster pic Sexy Beast. That film gave us Ben Kingsley in his anti-Gandhi performance as a maniacal criminal who refuses to take no for an answer. Kingsley isn’t anywhere to be found, but Ray Winstone is back with an all-star collection of English hard men. You’ve got Ian McShane, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, and Stephen Dillane. Prepare to choke on the testosterone.

Chest opens stylishly and succinctly sets the tone for the rest of the picture with Winstone as Colin Diamond laying nearly-catatonic amidst the wreckage that was once his home. Harry Nilsson’s cover of Badfinger’s “Without You” plays on a loop. Colin’s wife, Liz (Joanne Whalley), has dropped a bombshell on him. She doesn’t love him anymore and is leaving him for another man.

He returns home from work when his wife, Liz (Joanne Whalley), drops a bombshell on him. She’s no longer in love with Colin and she’s leaving him for another man. Colin runs a gamut of emotions from despair to remorse to anger. From there, he does what any man would do. Colin rounds up a group of his buddies to abduct the man having an affair with his wife. Archie (Wilkinson) is the most level-headed of the bunch, a nice guy who still lives with his mother. Archie’s polar opposite is Peanut (John Hurt), a misogynistic and homophobic septuagenarian on a constant conniption fit. Playing as a foil to Peanut is Meredith (McShane), an ultra-sophisticated and gay gambler. Finally, there’s the suave Mal (Dillane) who may or may not have had his own fling with Liz.

The unfortunate individual that is the target of Colin’s hatred is a hunk of beefcake only referred to as Loverboy (Melvil Poupaud). He never says a single word in the movie, but he’s young, handsome, and, dear lord, he’s French. The gang has Loverboy locked up in a wardrobe before tying him up to a chair where he’s subjected to verbal and physical abuse.

That’s the loose summary of the plot. The main narrative is broken up with various flashbacks and fantasy sequences. The most bizarre and disturbing moment has to be seeing John Hurt’s head on Joanne Whalley’s body. Another wonderful sequence finds Meredith smoothly recounting a winning night at the casino. The dialogue is one of the highlights of the film. Everyone speaks with hard R words that sound like David Mamet filtered through Harold Pinter.

The title evokes images of men bowing up with their chests puffed out. For Colin, it’s all about regaining his manhood after the utterly emasculating dissolution of his marriage. Each of the friends he’s gathered seems to represent different aspects of his psyche. Some cool and collected others hot-headed. However, much of the male bravado is a showy falsehood. Never is this more evident than in Peanut whose bark is far worse than his bite. The façade shatters when Peanut launches into another of his profanity-laced tirades and his dentures drop out of his mouth.

Let us not forget the woman at the center of all the controversy. Joanne Whalley looks exceptionally gorgeous in this film. Surrounded by wafting cigarette smoke and clad in a slinky, black dress, she looks like the femme fatale out of a classic film noir.

44 Inch Chest is a mixed bag. The dialogue is sharp and the acting is excellent with McShane and Hurt being particularly entertaining. However, Chest can’t shake the feeling of being little more than a play in front of the cameras. The script also feels a little light then padded out to be feature length.

Rating: ** ½

V For Vendetta

V For Vendetta - Dir. James McTeigue (2005)


"Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the Gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder treason ever should be forgot."

Controversy has surrounded V for Vendetta and not just because of its content. The source material was a black and white comic series first published between 1982 and 1985 by Warrior, a British anthology comic. Vendetta went unfinished in its initial run, but was later reprinted and finished in color by DC Comics. With David Lloyd doing the art, writer Alan Moore created a totalitarian future that acted as a rallying cry against the conservative administration of Margaret Thatcher. Moore, a groundbreaking creator who has pushed the boundaries of what can be done in the comic medium, has wanted little to do with this or any other Hollywood adaptation of his work. And who could blame him? His Jack the Ripper opus, From Hell, was diluted, while The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was dumbed down into a ridiculous mess.

Producer Joel Silver erroneously claimed that Moore gave his endorsement to the film. When Moore's demand for a retraction fell on deaf ears, he ordered his name be removed from the credits and pulled any future projects he had on tap at DC (owned by Warner). Next, the original lead actor, James Purefoy, dropped out during production for undisclosed reasons. To top it all off, the original release date was Nov. 5, 2005, to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes Day. It was pushed back supposedly to allow more time for post-production work, with speculation that the recent London bombings may have had a little to do with it.

Set in the year 2020, war and disease have allowed a fascist regime to assume control of the British government. Minorities, homosexuals, and political dissidents have long been rounded up and exterminated in concentration camps. John Hurt channels Hitler as the maniacal Chancellor Sutler (John Hurt), who runs the show like one, forceful body. His Gestapo are known as the Finger, constantly on the pulse of the public. The Eye and the Ear are always watching and listening, while the Mouth spews Sutler's spin doctored propaganda.

And who will stand up for the meek and oppressed? A mysterious masked man with a flair for the theatrical who goes by the nom de plume V (Hugo Weaving). He lives in an underground bunker (dubbed The Shadow Gallery), surrounded by outlawed literature, art, and a jukebox of jazz music. His mask assumes the visage of Guy Fawkes, a Catholic extremist who attempted to blow up Parliament in 1605. Throw in a pageboy wig, enhanced strength & reflexes, a bunch of knives, with a touch of Errol Flynn and the Phantom of the Opera, and you have yourself a lean, mean freedom fighting machine.

We meet V through the eyes of Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) as she is picked up by Fingermen for breaking curfew. V indoctrinates Evey into his world with a little Tchaikovsky and a whole lot of explosives and fireworks. V begins picking off Sutler's underlings one by one, all the while preaching chaos and revolution. His motto: "People shouldn't be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." V's tragic past is unveiled as a police detective named Finch (Stephen Rea) investigates both V and his own superiors.

Having been adapted and produced by the Wachowski Brothers, one wonders if the film would have the emotional depth of the original comic or would it be filled with the metaphysical mumbo jumbo that plagued the "Matrix" sequels. The result lies somewhere in between. Characters tend to wax philosophical on numerous occasions, but never with the overbearing pomposity found in Matrix Reloaded or Matrix Revolutions.

While the comic was made in the 80's, set in 1997, and was a parable for the conservative British government of the time, the film has been updated to reflect current politics in a not-so-subtle fashion. Nuclear arms give way to biological warfare. A "war in America" is said to have spilled across the Atlantic and into England. The public must keep a watch against potential terrorists. The forceful allusions tend to distract from the goings-on. The Wachowskis seem to forget that the message should come from the story and not the other way around.

Does the film lend itself to further discussion? Not particularly. There's never a question of whether V is a terrorist or a freedom fighter. He fights to topple an obviously evil power. The real question comes in a moment that occurs early in the film. Hijacking the television signal, V puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of the people. Who voted these people into office in the first place? Is it not our fault for giving up a little freedom in order to sleep a bit easier at night? We barely get a chance to digest this little morsel, before we jump into the next scene.

There's a lot going on in V for Vendetta and just not enough time to delve deeper. There's V, his mission, and his backstory. You've got Evey and her backstory, Finch's investigations, and the government's attempts to maintain order. Before we can get into one scene, we're pulled away into the next. A lot of exposition and detours off the main path cause the middle of the film to slow to a crawl. Luckily, it picks up in time for the third act.

No one ever accused the Wachowskis of being visually bland. Here is where the film excels. While they took a step back this time, their influence can be seen in director James McTigue, a former second unit director for The Matrix. Incidentally, the Wachowskis do the second unit work for Vendetta. A stunning action sequence sees V dispatching a group of secret police in slow motion. Even a scene of toppling dominoes is engrossing.

Weaving, the former Agent Smith, took on the daunting role of V in mid-production. Using only his voice and body language, Weaving does his best to inject life into the slightly off-kilter V. But, the story truly belongs to Evey Hammond. Portman got plenty of attention for shaving her head for a sequence where she is imprisoned and tortured. It's the most powerful and memorable segment from the comic and it remains nearly intact for the film. It almost makes you forget her stilted accent.

V for Vendetta isn't quite the action-packed extravaganza you might expect from the makers of The Matrix. Yet, it doesn't get bogged down by the self-indulgent discourse of those same makers. This is the kind of film that usually kicks off the summer blockbuster season. It's popcorn filmmaking for those who don't mind a little style over substance.

Rating: ***

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom...

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Dir. Steven Spielberg (2008)

Harrison Ford dusts off the old fedora and whip as he plunks Indy right into the middle of a 1950's B-movie.

Descends into one long, CGI-fueled carnival ride with plenty of missed potential. Yet, still a fun popcorn film.

Don't go in with high expectations.