Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - Dir. Lorene Scafaria (2012)

An apocalyptic love story is unique, but not an entirely new concept. There was 1988's Miracle Mile with Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham searching for one another in a chaotic Los Angeles under the threat of impending nuclear war. You could also count Don McKellar's Last Night, about intersecting lives in Toronto on their very last night on Earth. Written and directed by Lorene Scafaria (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a bit more bright and hopeful or as bright and hopeful as a movie can be when it's about Armageddon. Let's just say it's on the opposite spectrum of Lars von Trier's Melancholia.

Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck won't be saving anyone. The film opens with the dour announcement that a cataclysmic asteroid is about to collide with Earth and a last-ditch effort by NASA to divert it has failed. Insurance salesman Dodge Petersen (Steve Carell) gets another shock when his wife, Linda (played by Carell's real-life spouse Nancy) suddenly exits the car and runs off into the night without a word. Dodge stumbles into a numb daze while his friends throw wild parties. Eventually, he forms a friendship with Penny (Keira Knightley), the free-spirited girl next door. It turns out that Penny has been holding on to some of Dodge's mail for months, including a letter from an old flame.

As riots break out across the city, Penny agrees to help Dodge find his former high school sweetheart in exchange for getting her to England to be with her family. Accompanied by a scruffy little dog named Sorry, they embark on an epic road trip where they encounter an assortment of eccentric characters such as a trucker (William Peterson) who has decided to die via hired assassin and a military man (Derek Luke) fully stocked and prepared for the apocalypse.

It's a safe bet that no matter what Dodge and Penny will wind up together. The A-story may be a tad predicable, but Carell and Knightley make for a winning couple. They're likeable enough that you root for them on their cross-country adventure. Just as he's done in Little Miss Sunshine and Dan in Real Life, Carell gives an understated performance that mixes pathos with a dry wit. Knightley brings warmth to the role of Penny. Some critics have described her as the dreaded 'manic pixie dream girl,' perhaps because she totes around a collection of vinyl records like a safety blanket. Thankfully, Penny does not display the typical quirks of the archetype though she does resemble a pixie with her short hair and petite frame.

In addition to the leads, Scafaria has assembled a wonderful supporting cast that includes Rob Corddry, Connie Britton, Patton Oswalt, Melanie Lynskey, and Amy Schumer as Dodge's party pals. There's also Adam Brody as Penny's dim-witted musician boyfriend and Martin Sheen in an emotional turn as Dodge's estranged father. Gillian Jacobs and T.J. Miller cameo as the wait staff of a TGIFriday's type establishment that has descended into full-blown hedonism. But, some of the funniest scenes involve Dodge and his maid (Tonita Castro), who seems absolutely oblivious to the fact that all life on Earth is about to be wiped out.

Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back, world is destroyed by massive rocks from outer space. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a breezy and bittersweet romantic comedy bolstered by some terrific performances.

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

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man - Dir. Marc Webb (2012)

British journalist David Quantick coined the phrase, "Pop will eat itself," in regards to the way in which pop culture constantly recycles what came before. In more esoteric terms, pop culture is the Ouroboros, the symbolic snake that consumes its own tail. This leads us to The Amazing Spider-Man, Sony Pictures attempt to call a mulligan on its lucrative Spider-franchise.

It's only been ten years since Sam Raimi brought the wall-crawler to life with Tobey Maguire donning the red and blue tights in the titular role. Spider-Man is widely regarded as one of the finest comic book adaptations, but Raimi and company were just getting their feet wet. "Spider-Man 2" was the rare sequel that topped its predecessor in nearly every way. Unfortunately, too many cooks spoiled the broth that was Spider-Man 3. Despite pulling in nearly $900 million worldwide, the conclusion to Raimi's trilogy was lambasted for its slapdash script and overabundance of characters. Mindful of the criticism, Raimi was ready to make it up to the fans and went to work on Spider-Man 4 with John Malkovich attached to play the Vulture. But, studio execs weren't happy with the story causing Raimi and his cast to depart.

In Raimi's place is the appropriately named Marc Webb, whose only previous directorial effort was the rom-com (500) Days of Summer. The screenplay is credited to James Vanderbilt (David Fincher's Zodiac), Alvin Sargent (who worked on the previous trilogy), and Steve Kloves (Harry Potter). English actor Andrew Garfield, who turned heads with his turn as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network, replaces Maguire as Peter Parker. Raimi was an ardent admirer of the old school Spider-Man and his films captured the spirit of the Stan Lee & Steve Ditko era. The Amazing Spider-Man borrows from the Ultimate Spider-Man series by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, which rebooted Spidey for the modern era. Trouble is, it had been nearly forty years since readers had seen Peter as a teenager coming to grips with his newfound powers. For movie-goers, a scant five years have passed since Spider-Man was last seen in theaters. Sony would have been better off simply continuing the franchise with a new cast and crew. Changes in creative teams happen all the time in comics, after all. Instead, Sony has decided to start from the beginning with a new hook revolving around the mystery of Peter Parker's parents, his so-called "untold story."

The Amazing Spider-Man opens with a young Peter Parker being left in the care of Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). His parents, Richard (Campbell Scott) and Mary (Embeth Davidtz) disappear into the night before dying in a plane crash. Flash-forward to today and Peter attends Midtown Science High School where he harbors a crush on the beautiful Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Stacy is an equally brilliant student, who favors mini-skirts and thigh high boots. She interns for Richard's former colleague, Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), one of the top researchers at OsCorp. It is there that Peter receives his fateful bite from a genetically enhanced spider. If this all sounds familiar, it should.

All the major events that comprise Spider-Man's origin are present. Peter's bullying at the hands of Flash Thompson (Chris Zylka), the bite, and the death of Uncle Ben are told in slightly differing fashion from the source material and Raimi's films. These scenes may be different, but they are hardly unique. Amazing adheres too closely to the basic structure of Raimi's Spider-Man as well as other comic book movies. Gwen is now the romantic lead rather than Mary Jane Watson. Gwen's father, Captain George Stacy (Denis Leary) of the NYPD, fulfills the antagonistic role once held by J. Jonah Jameson. He is hell bent on arresting the masked menace known as Spider-Man. The primary villain, the Lizard, repeats what had already been done with Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborn. In Spider-Man, Osborn desperately injects himself with an experimental serum that drives him mad and turns him into the Green Goblin. In Amazing, Dr. Connors desperately injects himself with an experiment serum to re-grow his missing arm. The results drive him mad and transform him into a scaly and monstrous creature. Amazing even includes another sequence of rah-rah, post-9/11 patriotism as New Yorkers band together to assist their web-slinging hero.

The one element that is supposed to set the reboot apart is the mystery of Peter's parents. Their deaths have been touched upon in the comics, but none of those issues are well-regarded. Indeed, their subplot is one of the least interesting aspects of Amazing. It's also one of the many plotlines that are dropped halfway through the picture. Peter's search for the truth about his mother and father along with his quest for the killer of Uncle Ben are forgotten by the mid-point as Spidey focuses on defeating the Lizard. The former is no small loss as it seemed to hint that Richard Parker may have mucked around with his son's DNA. Other tidbits from the trailers and marketing materials have also been excised leaving the final product with a haphazard feel. Amazing is also a tangled web in terms of tone. The filmmakers want gritty and realistic, yet utilize cartoonish facets like the Lizard's dastardly plot to mutate all of New York City into reptilian creatures. And don't ask about the scene where Peter refines his Spider-agility inside an empty warehouse ala Kevin Bacon in Footloose.

The Amazing Spider-Man never finds its footing visually either, despite the improvement in technology since 2002's Spider-Man. Some of the effects are good. The way in which Spidey swings across the city and his contorted poses are reminiscent of Todd McFarlane's artwork. A brief POV sequence looks as if it came from a video game and NYC appears awfully artificial. The Lizard is by far the weakest screen villain in the Spider-Man franchise. Yes, weaker than Venom or the Sandman from Spider-Man 3. He's a clichéd baddie hampered by poor design work and shoddy CGI. Marc Webb is clearly out of his element when it comes to action. A moment where Peter confronts a group of thugs in a subway train is indicative of many American action movies. Too many close-ups and rapid editing that reduce the scene to a series of disembodied limbs.

The reboot's greatest strength lies with its cast. Andrew Garfield had the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of Tobey Maguire. Garfield looks more like the comic book version of the character, specifically the one drawn by Humberto Ramos with his poofy hair and lanky frame. Garfield's Peter Parker is less of a loser than Maguire's and has more confidence. He rides a skateboard and isn't afraid of standing up to a bully though he gets his ass kicked. He's also more of a wiseacre and more of a science whiz. This Peter has honest-to-goodness webshooters of his own devising, which should please sticklers upset by the organic shooters. Perhaps, we'll see the Spider-tracers in future sequels?

Garfield has excellent chemistry with Emma Stone and their scenes together are the best parts of the movie, particularly their first awkward steps towards a sweet teen romance. Their performances make you forget that they are too old to be playing high school students. While I think Kirsten Dunst is a fine actress (I enjoyed her turn in Lars Von Trier's Melancholia), Stone is an upgrade as the love interest. She's also not a helpless damsel in distress, but a strong female character assisting Spider-Man with her intelligence. The supporting cast is uniformly good with Martin Sheen being inspired casting for Uncle Ben and Rhys Ifans doing a splendid job as the tortured genius. Sadly, none of them get enough screen time to leave a lasting impression.

The Adequate Spider-Man may not have the same ring as The Amazing Spider-Man, but it is a far more accurate description. Most folks know that Sony must continue churning out Spider-Man flicks in order to retain the rights. One can't fight the feeling that the reboot merely exists as a blatant cash grab. It retreads old territory without offering anything distinctly original.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

The Double

The Double - Dir. Michael Brandt (2011)

The Double marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Michael Brandt, who has co-written 2 Fast 2 Furious, 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted with his writing partner Derek Haas. Together they have crafted a spy thriller inspired by Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy as well as classic flicks like 3 Days of the Condor. The Double has languished in development hell for over a decade and was previously acquired by troubled MGM. You'd think the script had been around even longer considering the main antagonists are Russian agents. Yet, the idea of Cold War remnants infiltrating American society isn't too farfetched considering the 2010 arrest of a Russian spy ring, which included the real-life Black Widow, Anna Chapman. Sadly, there are no redheaded femme fatales in The Double, just Richard Gere and Topher Grace.

It begins with the murder of a United States senator, whose throat was slit by a garrote wire. This method of death was the trademark for a Russian assassin code-named Cassius, long thought to be dead. CIA Agent Paul Shepherdson (Gere) is called out of retirement as he had spent much of his career attempting to capture Cassius and his conspirators. Shepherdson is paired with FBI analyst Ben Geary (Grace), a Harvard graduate who wrote his thesis on Cassius.

As much as it would like to be another Bourne Identity, The Double isn't much more than a nondescript espionage film full of tropes and archetypes we've seen a thousand times over. The protagonists are a generically mismatched pair with Shepherdson as the world weary veteran and Geary as the wide-eyed and determined rookie. Shepherdson lives a lonely existence while Geary is blessed with a loving wife (Odette Yustman) and newborn baby.

The Double also hinges on two major plot twists, the first of which occurs early in the film and is given away in the theatrical trailer. The twist is a fairly obvious one, unless you've never watched a movie before in your life. At least, the first twist makes sense and propels the story into the second and third acts. The climactic twist comes out of nowhere and only muddles the narrative rather than adding an extra dimension.

Though Brandt has written some really good action movies, he doesn't have a firm grasp of the genre as a director. Perhaps, it had something to do with the limitations of shooting on a low budget. The action sequences are brief, uninspired and only seem to exist as a vain attempt to bring a little energy to the lifeless drama.

Richard Gere is still pretty spry for a man who is sixty-two. His role in The Double isn't the usual genial character he's played in so many romantic comedies. It's a part that lies somewhere in between his turn as a corrupt police detective in Internal Affairs and his cynical beat cop from Brooklyn's Finest. Topher Grace has a knack for comedy and he shines in the film's lighter moments, but doesn't make much of an impression when he's forced to exercise his dramatic muscles. The cast also includes Martin Sheen as the Director of the CIA, Stephen Moyer as a Russian assassin, and the lovely Stana Katic from Castle as a prostitute.

There isn't a good reason for this movie to even exist. The Double feels unnecessary compared to recent spy films. It doesn't come close to matching the depth and complexities of the masterful Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. In fact, it doesn't even have half the thrills of Salt or even Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

Talk To Me

Talk To Me - Dir. Kasi Lemmons (2007)

Talk To Me is loosely based on the true life story of Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene, a disc jockey during the 60´s and 70´s who some have called one of the original "shock jocks." However, to label Greene as such would be an oversimplification of the man and his life´s work. Greene was born in Washington DC and grew up in the predominantly black Georgetown. After dropping out of high school, Greene joined the Army and served in the Korean War before being discharged for drug use. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for armed robbery in 1960. While serving out his time, Greene doing announcements over the PA system and played records sent to him by his grandmother. This would lead him on the path to becoming a disc jockey, television personality, and outspoken rights activist.

The film begins with Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the programming director for the DC radio station WOL-AM, visiting his brother, Milo (Mike Epps), at Lorton Reformatory where he´s serving a life sentence. Their visit is less than cordial as Dewey really wants nothing to do with his brother and only visits as a promise to their mother. Milo has mentioned his brother to Petey (Don Cheadle) who wants a job at Dewey´s station. The fact that he´s in prison is only a minor challenge. Sure enough, Petey wins over the warden and time off for good behavior after talking down an inmate about to commit suicide. Turns out, Petey actually spent six months trying to convince the man to go through with his plan.

Fresh out of the joint, Petey strolls on into the WOL offices expecting a job handed to him on a silver plate. Instead, his brash behavior and colorful language mortify Dewey and enrage the station owner, E.G. Sonderling (Martin Sheen). Thrown out of the building, Petey calls Dewey a sell-out and gathers a group of protestors outside the lobby. Nicknamed derisively by Petey as Mr. Tibbs, Dewey puts him in his place during a game of pool as he reveals that he too grew up in the projects and never forgot where he came from. Dewey convinces a reluctant Sonderling to put Petey on the air only to fire him a scant few minutes later after Petey calls Barry Gordy, the head of Motown Records, a pimp. Petey & Dewey lock Sonderling in his office the following morning and sneak into the broadcast booth. When the station´s phone lines are flooded with calls, Sonderling agrees to hire Petey on a full-time basis, but with some reservations.

Petey becomes the talk of the town, but his career takes a real jumpstart after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Seeing the city torn about by fires and riots, Petey returns to the station to plead for peace. Dewey sees big things in Petey´s future and they leave behind their tiny radio booth for the stand-up circuit and televised talk shows. It is at this point where the film makes a veers away from being a fascinating biopic to a becoming a tired fable about fame and celebrity. Petey becomes uncomfortable with the sudden attention and being pigeon holed as simply a stand-up comic. Dewey is oblivious and like a beauty pageant mother, pushes on, living out his own dreams through Petey. The tension between the two comes to a head as Petey walks off in the middle of an appearance on the Tonight Show. We watch as the pair goes their separate ways and eventually reconcile after years of estrangement. It´s a story that has been played out on the screen many times before, the recent Dreamgirls comes to mind.

Even with a lackluster second half, Talk To Me is worthy of a recommend thanks to an all-around strong cast. As Petey Greene, Don Cheadle easily conveys the bluster and swagger of his character, but it´s during the quieter, introspective moments that he truly shines. The movie starts off strong in the first half introducing us to its subject and using the radio booth as a microcosm of one of the most turbulent times in American history. However, it strays too far once it turns into a story about the downfall of a star.

Rating: **