Divergent

Divergent - Dir. Neil Burger (2014)

"You're different. You don't fit into a category. They can't control you. They call it Divergent."

Summit Entertainment has the magic touch when it comes to turning young adult novels into blockbuster movies. While other studios have struggled to launch one franchise, Summit has been raking in the dough with Twilight and The Hunger Games. Now, the sparkly vampires have been put to pasture and the adventures of Katniss Everdeen are drawing to a close. Don't shed any tears; Summit already has their next money making machine with Divergent, based on the best-selling book series by Veronica Roth.

In the future, war ravaged mankind, but society settled into harmony by dividing its people into five different factions. Survivors have settled into the city of Chicago, now surrounded by a great wall that shields them from the untamed world. Candor is devoted to truth, Erudite to intellectual pursuits, and Amity to joy. Dauntless are the brave thrill seekers who serve as the city's security force. Abnegation is selfless. They live modestly and serve as the city's civic leaders. When the time comes, the city's children must choose their faction. Whatever their choice, they must remain in that faction, even if it means never seeing their families again. As they say, faction before blood. Those who don't fit in or wash out become factionless, the equivalent of being

Like most teenagers, Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Shailene Woodley) isn't sure where she belongs. She was born in Abnegation and her father (Tony Goldwyn) is a member of the faction's ruling council. During an Inception-style aptitude test, Tris discovers that she doesn't fit into one category, but all of them. She is Divergent and they are considered a danger to this utopian society.

At the Choosing Ceremony, Tris selects Dauntless and undergoes the rigorous training in hand-to-hand combat and knife throwing under the supervision of the sadistic Eric (Jai Courtney). Tris grows closer to another trainer, the handsome, but initially distant Four (Theo James). Together, they uncover a conspiracy by Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), leader of Erudite, who plots to use members of Dauntless to stage a coup and overthrow Abnegation.

Divergent will immediately draw comparisons to other YA adaptations as it shares many familiar concepts. The idea of factions and a choosing ceremony will recall the houses and sorting hat sequences of Harry Potter. Psychological tests involving virtual reality simulations are reminiscent of Ender's Game. At the center of it all is a special young girl who must save the entire world just like The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's nice to see Hollywood so willing to produce big blockbusters with a strong female protagonist. Without a doubt, women and teenagers are the core audience for Divergent, but other demographics might be drawn to the story.

Yes, there is a romance between Tris and Four, but it is not the central thread. More importantly, Tris is not utterly defined by her love life. She's not constantly pining for the brooding bad boy. There's enough action here to capture the attention of the males in the audience. As they did with The Hunger Games, Summit and Lionsgate hired a director known more for drama than action or sci-fi. In this case, Neil Burger, who also helmed The Illusionist and Limitless, was tapped to steer the first entry in the franchise. Burger's set pieces aren't spectacular or stylish, but he doesn't chop them into incoherence the way Gary Ross did in Hunger Games.

Divergent falters by building a foundation on top of a shaky concept. The idea of factions works as a heavy-handed metaphor for bullying, conformity, and teens struggling to find their place in the world. Yet, the notion makes less sense upon further inspection. Someone can be intelligent, but not selfless or brave? If you're happy, does that mean you can't be truthful or smart as well? Candor is the least fleshed out faction in Divergent. At least, Amity is shown to farm the fields. Maybe this is because telling everyone they DO look fat in that outfit isn't very cinematic. The pacing of Divergent takes a dip in the middle section as the film devotes a lot of time to exposition and training exercises.

On the other hand, Summit has rounded up a fine collection of young actors to elevate the staid material. Shailene Woodley is a natural in the lead role and there's good chemistry on-screen between her and Theo James. Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort, Woodley's love interests from The Spectacular Now and The Fault in Our Stars, co-star with Teller as a mean-spirited rival and Elgort as Tris's brother Caleb. There's also Zoe Kravitz as fellow Dauntless member Christina and Jai Courtney makes a great impression as the cocky and cruel Eric. Not faring as well is an assortment of established thespians who are clearly set up for larger roles in the sequels. That means Ray Stevenson, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Ashley Judd, and Tony Goldwyn aren't given a lot to do in their handful of scenes. At least, Kate Winslet gets to sink her teeth into a rare villainous role as the icy Jeanine.

At a runtime of 140 minutes, Divergent could have used a tighter pace and judicious editing as too much time is spent on building the perplexing world and its myriad of rules. Then again, I'm not the target audience. Devotees of the books will no doubt be thrilled to see all their favorite characters breathed into life.

Rating: ** (*****)

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: ** (*****)

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World - Dir. Alan Taylor (2013)

It wasn't too difficult for Marvel to get audiences to buy into an eccentric billionaire who designed a high-tech suit of armor to save the world. It was an uphill battle to get those same people to buy into a Norse god with a magical hammer that could summon lightning. Thor was the fourth picture from Marvel Studios and their first attempt to inject their new cinematic universe with sci-fi/fantasy elements. While not a runaway success like Iron Man, Thor was an entertaining romp and the character was a huge component to The Avengers, which shattered box office records. Riding high off the crest of The Avengers, Marvel kicked off Phase 2 of their cinematic universe in 2013 with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World.

When last we left the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), he defeated his evil brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) with help from his new allies on Earth. A year later, Thor is still trying to clean up Loki's mess as the Nine Realms have descended into chaos. Meanwhile, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) continues her search for Thor and stumbles onto an ancient weapon known as the Aether. In turn, this awakens the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim and their leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who vows to return the universe to its primordial state of darkness. When the Dark Elves lay waste to Asgard, Thor is forced to team with the ever-scheming Loki to save his lady love and all of creation.

In many ways, Dark World is an improvement on the first Thor. The world of Marvel's Norse gods has been expanded far beyond the scope of that tiny town in New Mexico. Asgard itself looks more organic rather than the glorified video game level it was in the previous picture. Alan Taylor has replaced Kenneth Branagh as director thanks to the strength of his work on Game of Thrones. Although Taylor is forced to work within the confines of the Marvel movie making machine, he's clearly able to handle the film's fantastical elements, which mix Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. The action is ramped up with the Dark Elves armed with ominous spacecrafts, laser rifles, and grenades that open miniature black holes. One sequence feels lifted right out of a heist movie as Thor and his allies attempt to escape Asgard. The climactic battle in London was the perfect antidote to the widespread destruction seen in Man of Steel and Star Trek into Darkness. Rather than the mind-numbing sight of skyscrapers tumbling to the ground, Dark World gets innovative with cracks in reality that unexpectedly teleport combatants between dimensions.

The Dark World also stands as one of the funniest Marvel movies to date. Of course, that depends on your tolerance for Darcy (Kat Dennings) the comic relief intern. She's at the height of her Darcy-ness here. While the film has a tendency to go over-the-top with the antics of Darcy and Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgaard), who has now become a kook prancing about without any pants, the best gags are understated. One involves Thor nonchalantly hanging his hammer on a coat rack and another sees the God of Thunder catching a ride on the London underground. Chris O'Dowd essentially reprises his role from Bridesmaids in a cameo as a blind date for Natalie Portman.

That's not to say this sequel is without flaws. Marvel has crammed a lot into their 2-hour blockbuster. The first half of Dark World is overloaded with exposition as characters explain the origins of the Aether, the Dark Elves, and the Convergence. That doesn't include a prologue that could have sprung from the mind of JRR Tolkien himself. With so much happening many of the supporting players don't get their fair due. The Warriors Three all but disappear into the background with Hogun the Grim (Tadanobu Asano) actually being told to sit this one out. Idris Elba's Heimdall also suffers this same fate though he does get a brilliant moment when he takes down an entire ship with only a pair of daggers. An intriguing love triangle between Thor, Jane Foster, and Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) is teased, but nothing ever comes of it.

Now that he's gone through the hero's journey, Thor isn't as arrogant or boastful, but Chris Hemsworth still has the brashness and charisma (not to mention physicality) to keep the audience enthralled. However, he and the rest of the cast are completely outshined by Tom Hiddleston. Marvel has hired a parade of talented actors to portray their movie villains, but the bad guys themselves haven't made a powerful impression with the exception of Hiddleston's Loki. That's never more apparent with the casting of Christopher Eccleston as Malekith. Eccleston is a fine actor, but he's buried under layers of make-up playing an antagonist whose sole purpose is to get punched by Thor. Things get infinitely more interesting once Loki gets into the mix. While the sequel delves deeper into his complexities, it still barely scratches the surface. Every subtle gesture Hiddleston makes registers. He also gets in on the comic relief with some sharp one-liners and a hilarious sequence where Loki utilizes his illusions during a chat with his brother. Marvel should really consider the sons of Odin on a wacky road trip as the plot of Thor 3.

The now ubiquitous post-credit stinger will have fanboys drooling as it sets up Guardians of the Galaxy and the possibility of the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers 3. Of course, the uninitiated will find it baffling, if for no other reason than Benicio Del Toro's eccentric performance as the Collector.

Thor: The Dark World might be the messiest Marvel movie since Iron Man 2. However, it still stands as a rousing adventure and another vital chapter in Marvel's cinematic universe.

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

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

G.I. Joe: Retaliation - Dir. Jon M. Chu (2013)

Any self-respecting child of the 80's who had the misfortune to catch G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, couldn't help but leave the theater with a foul taste in their mouth. Paramount's clumsy attempt at turning Hasbro's famed toy line into a live-action franchise played fast and loose with the mythology as it careened through a nonsensical plot riddled with idiotic dialogue. Rise of Cobra earned a little over $300 million worldwide, just barely turning a profit on its exorbitant $175 million budget. It was still enough to greenlight a sequel with the studio taking much of the criticism to heart. G.I. Joe: Retaliation serves as not only a sequel, but something of a reboot and catch-all apologia.

This time around, the Joe team consists of Duke (Channing Tatum), Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Flint (D.J. Cotrona), and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki). After retrieving a nuclear warhead stolen from Pakistan, the Joes are the victim of an airstrike that kills the majority of the team, including Duke. The attack was ordered by the President (Jonathan Pryce), who is actually Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) in disguise. Zartan proceeds to turn the country against the Joes and orchestrates the escape of Cobra Commander from a high-tech underground prison with the help of Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) and Cobra saboteur Firefly (Ray Stevenson). With the enemy now in the White House, Roadblock, Flint, and Lady Jaye seek the aid of the original Joe, General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis) to expose Cobra's Machiavellian plot. Meanwhile, Snake-Eyes (Ray Park) and his protégé Jinx (Elodie Yung) are dispatched to the Himalayas to hunt down Storm Shadow for the murder of their master.

Stephen Sommers and his brand of bland blockbuster filmmaking are gone. In his stead, Paramount has gone for an improbable choice in Jon M. Chu whose previous credits include Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never as well as the Microsoft Surface commercials. His experience with directing elaborately choreographed sequences serve Chu well when it comes to Retaliation's numerous action scenes. By far, the best set piece where Snake-Eyes and Jinx clash swords with a cadre of red ninjas while swinging around snow-capped mountainsides. It feels like an entirely separate film within the film. Most of the other scenes involving shootouts or fistfights suffer from hyperactive camerawork. The Himalayan sequence is also the only section that benefits of the 3D post-conversion that shelved the picture from its original release date in August 2012. Despite rampant rumor mongering, Retaliation did not go through any extensive reshoots.

Another aspect Chu brings is a genuine love of the property to the point he used action figures to storyboard the action. The screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland and unproduced scripts for Deadpool and Venom) inject the sequel with more humor and faithfulness than its predecessor. The story skews much closer to the Marvel comics by Larry Hama, including an homage to the iconic "Silent Interlude" in issue #21. The Joes are more grounded as a Special Forces branch of the military rather than the cartoonish global peacekeeping force from Rise of Cobra. The vehicles in the film resemble the toys you might have collected, such as the HISS Tank, the AWE Striker, and the Water Moccasin. Cobra Commander has ditched the god-awful plastic mask for his classic chrome faceplate. Roadblock being a former chef and a hint of romance between Flint and Lady Jaye are thrown in for the die-hard fans.

While the story gains in reverence to the source material, it completely lacks in substance and coherence. The plot unfurls at lightning speed through the 90 minute runtime with no gravitas to any of the film's major moments. The convoluted backstory between Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes is shoehorned into the standard Cobra threatens to blow up the world scheme. The entire city of London is destroyed with little bearing because we are ripped away to the next scene. At one point, Storm Shadow is imprisoned and the guards bafflingly bring along his swords, then leave them right out in the open. Nearly everyone from Rise of Cobra has been ditched with no mention at all to their fates. They aren't missed with the exception of Rachel Nichols as Scarlett. However, her role is supplanted by Adrianne Palicki's Lady Jaye though there is little done to differentiate the two. Developing fully dimensional characters is hardly a priority. It's clear a lot of that stuff was cut out during the hiatus.

Only Roadblock makes an impression thanks to the charisma of Dwayne Johnson, who has become the go-to guy to resurrect flailing franchises. Besides already looking like an action figure brought to life, Johnson has an easygoing charm that meshes well with the surprisingly funny Channing Tatum. The repartee between Roadblock and Duke are some of the most entertaining in the movie, which suffers following Tatum's departure. However, you can't blame Tatum for wanting to move on to bigger and better things now that he's starring in Steven Soderbergh productions. Jonathan Pryce, one of the few actors to return, gets a much meatier role with a dual performance as the disheveled president and the villainous Zartan. Pryce is clearly relishing the deliciously evil one-liners given to him ("They call it waterboarding, but I never get bored."). The same goes for Ray Stevenson and Walt Goggins as a somewhat sadistic warden. Don't expect to see the lively Bruce Willis seen in Moonrise Kingdom or Looper. As Gen. Colton, Willis can hardly muster up an emotion aside from mild bemusement. RZA wins the award for worst performance due to his wooden turn as the Blind Master.

Paramount still doesn't hit the mark the second time around. G.I. Joe: Retaliation won't be mistaken for high art, but the sequel accomplishes its modest goal of being mindless entertainment.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers - Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson (2011)

Paul W.S. Anderson is a name feared by all right-thinking film critics. Much like Michael Bay, M. Night Shyamalan, and Uwe Boll, when Anderson's name appears in the credits, nothing good can come of it. Anderson takes time away from video game adaptations for The Three Musketeers, in which he turns Alexandre Dumas's seminal swashbuckling adventure into a garish and modernized thrill ride.

The story begins in Venice with Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Aramis (Luke Evans), and Porthos (Ray Stevenson) breaking into the vault of Leonardo da Vinci in order to steal blueprints for an airship. They are betrayed by Athos's paramour, Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich), who steals the plans for Lord Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) in order to build a fleet of flying war machines.

A year later, the Musketeers are now living in disgrace. Athos has become a drunkard, Aramis is relegated to being a glorified meter maid, and Porthos lives off richer women. Along comes the hotshot D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) who hopes to follow in his father's footsteps as a Musketeer. They band together and uncover a plot by Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) and Milady to plunge France into war against England by fabricating an illicit affair between Buckingham and the Queen (Juno Temple).

The Three Musketeers lives up to the reputation of its director as a mindless spectacle that is light on intelligence and heavy on action. There's plenty of lavishly choreographed swordfights such as when the Musketeers face the Cardinal's guards with the odds ten to one. These clashes are broken up with slow motion flourishes in the vein of Zack Snyder or the Wachowskis. Anderson's wife, Milla Jovovich, gets her chance to shine once again performing Resident Evil-style stunts while wearing ornate 17th century gowns and tight corsets. Her Milady is part-Mata Hari and part-ninja assassin. It's all so ludicrous, but the movie is pushed into absurd boundaries when a steampunk element is introduced through the use of flying pirate ships armed with turrets and flamethrowers. And just when all this action builds to a crescendo, it sinks like the Hindenburg thanks to a non-ending that shamelessly sets up a sequel.

Matthew Macfadyen and Luke Evans give solid performances as Athos and Aramis while Ray Stevenson follows Thor by once again playing the boisterous member of a trio of warriors. Logan Lerman is far too white bread to leave any impression as D'Artagnan and his romance with Gabriella Wilde as one of the Queen's ladies in waiting is equally bland. Christoph Waltz is never given the chance to really shine as one of the movie's many villains. As the Cardinal's henchman, Rochefort, Mads Mikkelsen is easily the best thing in Musketeers, playing a one-eyed man for the third time after Casino Royale and Valhalla Rising. Orlando Bloom is the worst thing in the movie. His attempts at playing an over-the-top bad guy are awful and thoroughly unconvincing.

As he did with Resident Evil: Afterlife, Anderson shot The Three Musketeers in 3D, but the process hardly adds anything to the experience aside from a dimmer picture and the occasional blade pointed at your face.

The Three Musketeers cost $75 million and has so far barely scrapped together $20 million in box office gross. Surely, Summit Entertainment can find better uses for all those piles of Twilight money. Even with a strong ensemble cast, Musketeers can't offer the empty excitement expected of shallow popcorn fare.

Rating: * (*****)

Kill the Irishman

Kill the Irishman - Dir. Jonathan Hensleigh (2011)

"...if any of these maggots in the so-called mafia want to come after me, I'm not a hard man to find."

Cleveland is known as the home of the Indians and the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Most folks don't realize that the city was also known as a hotbed for the mafia back in the 70's. In fact, Cleveland earned the dubious nickname of "Bomb City, USA" due to the violent struggle between rival mob factions and their use of bombs as the preferred method of murder. Thirty-six explosions were set off in 1976 alone. Hip deep in the thick of things was an Irish gangster by the name of Danny Greene, who serves as the basis for Kill the Irishman, a fictionalized account of those violent events. Kill the Irishman was co-written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, who also wrote and directed The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane in the titular role. Oddly enough, the star of his newest film is Ray Stevenson, who took over as Marvel's premiere vigilante in the sequel/reboot, Punisher: War Zone.

Stevenson plays Greene as a physically imposing man with a barrel chest and a shock of strawberry blonde hair. His rise in the world of organized crime began as the head of the dockworkers' union. To consolidate power, Greene struck a deal with the Italians in exchange for goods pilfered from errant shipping containers. It was through this relationship that Greene met John Nardi (Vincent D'Onofrio), who would become one of his staunchest allies and the only Mafioso that actually liked the Irishman. A scathing news article exposed Greene's corruption and he was banned from the union for life. He escaped jail time by agreeing to become an FBI informant. In real life, Greene was one of the highest profile informants for the feds along with Whitey Bulger, the recently arrested mob boss who served as an inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed.

Greene would eventually work as a leg breaker for notorious loan shark Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken). A sour business transaction would end their relationship and ignite a blood feud between a mafia desperate to retain control of the city against Greene's gang, which was quickly consolidating power. After surviving multiple attempts upon his life, including an explosion in his home, Greene brazenly dared the mob to come after him during a televised interview. Of course, the all good things must come to an end.

Kill the Irishman is a familiar story told in a familiar way and full of familiar faces. To put it bluntly, it's a knockoff of Scorsese films and assorted episodes of The Sopranos. Hensleigh recycles plenty of ideas from movies like Mean Streets and Goodfellas. There's a montage showing Greene's rise to power and chart-topping pop songs ironically contrasting violent scenes. The dialogue consists of clichéd tough guy lines like, "Your enemies are my enemies."

Pretty much anyone who has ever played a gangster is in Kill the Irishman. There's Walken, D'Onofrio, Paul Sorvino, Steven Schirripa, Mike Starr, Tony Lo Bianco, Robert Davi, Tony Darrow, and Vinny Vella, along with Vinnie Jones (sporting an awful looking tan and an even worse Irish accent) and Bob Gunton. Linda Cardellini takes on the Lorraine Bracco role of the put upon wife who can only stand by her man for so long. Finally, Val Kilmer appears as Det. Manditski, a former childhood acquaintance of Greene's who serves as narrator. This cast of noted character actors is the film's sole saving grace and serves as fine support for a strong performance by Stevenson. The former Titus Pullo imbues the role of Danny Greene with a natural charisma, even if the character is thinly written. Greene is painted as a Robin Hood figure and a blue-collar underdog in t-shirts and jeans defiant against the elitist Italians in their tailored suits.

Hensleigh adds to the authenticity by dotting the narrative with archival news footage of the actual events.

Kill the Irishman fails to live up to the renowned gangster pics it tries so hard to emulate. It's neither original nor memorable, but is worth a look because of a game and talented cast. Hey, Christopher Walken is always fun to watch.

Rating: ** (*****)

Thor

Thor - Dir. Kenneth Branagh (2011)

Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

Summer movie season arrives with the booming sound of thunder and the blinding crackle of lightning. That raging storm heralds the arrival of Thor, the latest Marvel superhero to hit the silver screen. This isn't the Mighty Thor's first foray into live-action. He made a laughable guest appearance in the 1988 made-for-TV, Return of the Incredible Hulk, alongside Lou Ferrigno and the late-Bill Bixby. At one point there was talk of another made-for-TV picture with former pro wrestler and one-time Sabretooth, Tyler Mane, in the lead role. Thankfully, the project (which likely would have lived on in infamy next to David Hasselhoff as Nick Fury) never came to fruition.

Thor is arguably one of the trickiest comic book characters to bring to life. You can buy into a rich genius who builds a high-tech suit of armor. Even scientist who mutates into an irradiated monster is somewhat believable. A mythical god of thunder empowered by a magical hammer is a tough nut to crack. Marvel Studios proved they were up to the task by crafting a rousing adventure that seamlessly integrates into their shared cinematic universe.

In Thor, the Asgardians are re-imagined as an advanced civilization inhabiting a wonderland far off in the cosmos, rather than an ethereal realm. Eons ago, their king Odin (Anthony Hopkins) led the Asgardians into battle against the Frost Giants, driving them back to their icy homeworld of Jotunheim. An uneasy truce is established but threatened when a trio of Frost Giants sneaks into Asgard in an attempt to steal an ancient weapon known as the Casket of Ancient Winters. Disobeying his father, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) violently confronts their ruler, King Laufey (Colm Feore) and plunges both races into all-out war.

As punishment, Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth where he is to learn humility. He learns it in spades as the former godling suffers one indignity after another from getting tasered to being struck by a car twice. Thor is found outside a tiny New Mexico town by Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), an astrophysicist working in the fringes of science. She studies wormholes and alternate realities with her mentor, Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), and hipster research intern, Darcy (Kat Dennings). Meanwhile, Thor's brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), makes his play for the throne when Odin falls into a deep coma (the Odinsleep).

Marvel has enlisted their most accomplished filmmaker to date in Kenneth Branagh, an actor and director known primarily for his Shakespearean adaptations. The gods of Norse mythology are not too far removed from the words of the Bard with themes of patricide, betrayal, and jealousy running throughout the film. Much like Iron Man director Jon Favreau before him, Branagh is more concerned with the emotional core with special effects used as an enhancement and not a crutch. The current thought process with developing comic book movies is to utilize a realistic approach to the outlandish characters. Thor embraces its four-color roots and finds plenty of drama and humor from the culture clash between mortals and super-powered beings, from Asgardians in full battle armor walking a dusty Main Street to Thor's anachronistic bouts of gallantry.

As a first foray into big-budget blockbusters, Branagh equates himself well with some thrilling fight sequences and dynamic canted angles. The phenomenal special effects effortlessly capture the majesty of Asgard, which looks like a futuristic take on Lord of the Rings. In fact, an earlier draft of the script by Mark Protosevich set the picture entirely in Asgard and the Viking era. This is the genre ascended onto an epic scale. Asgard is a realm beyond mortal imaginings. The skyline is dominated by the golden, ornate halls of Odin's palace, which is complimented by the shimmering rainbow bridge known as Bifrost and the spinning observatory of Heimdall (Idris Elba), the near-omniscient watchman of the gods.

In the title role, Chris Hemsworth shines just as much as the Asgardian architecture. Primarily known for his brief role as Captain Kirk's father in Star Trek, Hemsworth gives a star-making performance as the impetuous and hot-headed Odinson. He follows a similar trajectory as Tony Stark in that Thor starts off as an arrogant jerk, yet conveys a boisterous charm throughout the story. Tom Hiddleston also gives a breakout performance as the scheming god of mischief. His Loki has much in common with Shakespearean antagonists like Richard III and Iago. This is a master of Machiavellian machinations who is always thinking several steps ahead of his opponents, building layers of lies upon lies. With only a cocked eyebrow and subtle eye movements, you can see the wheels spinning inside his head. Yet, at the heart, he is still a tragic character. He is the overlooked son, living in the shadow of a beloved older brother and desperate to live up tot the high expectations of a demanding father. Hiddleston's Loki is one of the best comic book movie villains, ranked right up there with Heath Ledger's Joker and Terence Stamp's General Zod.

Natalie Portman puts on one of her liveliest performances highlighted by unique line readings that breathe life into some rather pedestrian dialogue. The supporting cast is all excellent with Anthony Hopkins exuding the perfect bluster of the All-Father. As Thor's compatriots, there's Jaimie Alexander as the warrior woman Sif, Ray Stevenson as the hearty Volstagg, Joshua Dallas (channeling Errol Flynn by way of Cary Elwes) as the swashbuckling Fandral, and Tadanobu Asano from Ichi the Killer and Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi as Hogun the Grim.

Marvel sprinkles in plenty of Easter eggs for the fanboys, such as references to Bruce Banner and Thor's comic book alter-ego, Donald Blake. Stan Lee makes his obligatory cameo as does J. Michael Straczynski, one of the credited screenwriters whose run on Thor was heavily influential to the film. SHIELD Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns, picking right up from the Iron Man 2 coda. He is joined by SHIELD agents Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernandez) and Jeremy Renner in an uncredited appearance as Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. Despite his brief screen time, Renner deftly exhibits the roguish charm needed to play the Avengers' ace archer. A billboard hangs in the background emblazoned with the motto, "Land of Enchament…Journey Into Mystery," a reference to the title in which Thor made his debut. And was that the Eye of Agamotto displayed in Odin's treasure room? Of course, be sure to sit through the ending credits to catch a glimpse of just where Marvel is going with The Avengers.

If Thor has a weak spot, it is that the story feels as if there is a vital chunk missing. The movie unfolds in such a brisk pace that just when you think you've reached the midpoint, the film is already at the climax. There are moments when it seems as if Marvel is more focused on building towards their grand finale, instead of laying the foundation for a Thor franchise. These are only middling quibbles. Thor may not be on par with Iron Man, but it is the action-packed spectacle expected of a summer blockbuster. Long-time comic book fans will regress into giddy little children at the mere sight of Thor swinging his enchanted Uru hammer, Mjolnir. The beauty of Asgard glimpsed here will only serve to whet their appetites for the possibilities of future installments: Surtur the Fire Demon, Valkyrie, the Enchantress, the Executioner, the Absorbing Man, the Wrecking Crew, and maybe even Beta Ray Bill.

Bring it on Marvel!

Rating: *** ½ (*****)

The Other Guys

The Other Guys - Dir. Adam McKay (2010)


Riggs and Murtaugh. Tango and Cash. Add Hoitz and Gamble to the buddy cop pantheon.

The Other Guys opens in true action film fashion with a rousing car chase through the streets of New York City as top cops, Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson), run down the perpetrators. A massive amount of property damage is done to bring in a few crooks possessing a miniscule amount of marijuana. Back at the station house, Danson and Highsmith are greeted with a hero’s welcome. None of the accolades are thrown the way of Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) and Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell). They don’t blow shit up, they don’t get the girls, nor do they make the big arrests.

Hoitz could be doing those things, if not for an embarrassing shooting mishap, which relegated him to desk duty. His partner, Gamble, is a forensic accountant who gleefully enjoys paperwork and has no desire to see any action in the field. While investigating a minor oversight in construction permits, Gamble and Hoitz uncover a Bernie Madoff-style plot by millionaire mogul David Ershon (Steve Coogan) to embezzle $32 billion.

The main cast also features Michael Keaton as the precinct captain who moonlights as the manager of a Bed Bath and Beyond, Eva Mendes as Gamble’s inexplicably hot wife, Ray Stevenson as an Australian mercenary, and an uncredited Anne Heche as a corrupt CEO employing Ershon.

The Other Guys is the fourth collaboration between director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell following Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers. Other Guys isn’t as hilarious as the first two films, but it’s several notches above the somewhat crass Step Brothers. As a spoof of buddy cop films, it works better than Kevin Smith’s Cop Out. However, the genre has become such a self-parody of itself that McKay is simply beating a dead horse. Seeing Wahlberg in a slow-mo John Woo shootout isn’t as funny as it should be because the gag has been done to death.

Where the film excels is in the interactions between the lead actors. Wahlberg has given some terribly wooden performances recently in The Happening and The Lovely Bones. He’s better suited for action and comedy and he’s excellent as the hotheaded straight man. Ferrell’s idiot man-child routine wears thin so he wisely tones it down for Other Guys. There’s a slow burn for his character as they slowly reveal the darker side he’s hidden.

McKay tops it off with his own brand of absurdist humor displayed in many hysterical gags sprinkled throughout the film. Some of the funniest bits include: Coogan bribing our heroes with tickets to Jersey Boys, a run-in with a group of horny hobos led by a fellow named Dirty Mike (played by McKay himself), an ending credits sequence utilizing Powerpoint-style animation to explain Ponzi schemes and government bailouts, and Ferrell constantly being hit on by gorgeous women like Brooke Shields (wife of co-writer Chris Henchy).

Rating: ***

The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli - Dirs. Albert & Allen Hughes (2010)


The world has ended once again. In the past several months, it has been destroyed by zombies (Zombieland), vampires (Daybreakers), and Roland Emmerich (2012). This time around, we’re lucky enough to have Denzel Washington around to save us all. And if there’s anybody you want to have your back in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, it’s Denzel.

The landscape of Book of Eli has much in common with the recent Cormac McCarthy adaptation, The Road. This is a barren and desolate wasteland dotted by the rusting, abandoned husks of automobiles. Denzel is the archetypical hero of the Spaghetti Western. He is the mysterious, taciturn individual wandering what’s left of the world, armed with a machete and an iPod. He takes on the hijackers and cannibals who cross his path. He is the man with no name. Though the film is titled The Book of Eli, no one refers to him as such. The only reference is a tag in his backpack reading, “Hello, my name is Eli.” Some folks call him Walker because he walked into town.

Said town is ruled with an iron fist by the ruthless Carnegie, played with a villainous aplomb by Gary Oldman. He keeps his blind mistress Claudia (Jennifer Beals) under his thumb as well as her daughter Solara (Mila Kunis). Carnegie has his men searching the wastelands for a particular book and it becomes obvious he is on the hunt for a Bible. All known copies were destroyed following an alluded to war that decimated the world. Of course, Eli has it in his possession, reading it on a nightly basis.

As one of the only humans to remember what life was like before the end times, Carnegie knows the power of the book. He seeks to enthrall the masses with its words in order to rebuild the land in his image.

Rounding out the supporting cast are the Punisher Ray Stevenson as Carnegie’s right hand man, Michael Gambon and Francis de la Tour as elderly survivalists who’ve turned cannibal, and musician Tom Waits as a shopkeeper.

Don’t expect any deep philosophical debate about the influence of religion. Book of Eli has its feet firmly planted in the territory of genre film. It’s the kind of movie where Denzel quotes Scripture then decapitates a man with his machete. The Hughes Brothers debuted with the Boyz in the Hood contemporary, Menace II Society, but haven’t a film since From Hell, a poor adaptation of the Alan Moore comic which came out nearly a decade ago. While they’re keen on slow motion shots of Denzel striding confidently through a scene, the Hughes Brothers direct their action sequences with a strong hand. So many American directors chop action up into a jumbled mess with quick cuts, overly tight close-ups, and shaky cam. Here, the twin siblings allow us to actually see the fight scenes. The film’s first set piece is stylishly shot in silhouette with Denzel battling a gang of thugs underneath a bridge.

The script by Gary Whitta isn’t anything wildly innovate, but Denzel is charismatic enough that he could read the Yellow Pages for three hours and make it interesting. The same goes for Gary Oldman whose Carnegie is reminiscent of the crooked DEA agent from The Professional. Jennifer Beals and Mila Kunis look exceedingly gorgeous for two women living in a world without make-up or hair product, but I’m more than willing to accept that. What is hard to accept is the petite Kunis as badass, action heroine. It didn’t work in Max Payne (admittedly nothing worked in that damn movie) and it doesn’t quite work here. But, Denzel kicking ass for just under two hours is a more than satisfying experience.

Rating: ***

The Vampire's Assistant

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - Dir. Paul Weitz (2009)


It’s been a long standing tradition in Hollywood to copy somebody else’s successes. With the Harry Potter films scoring big box office, studios have been combing through the teen lit genre in search of the next franchise. Twilight has proven to be an enormous cash cow and along with True Blood has cemented the elite status of the vampire in current pop culture. British author Darren Shan’s Darren Shan Saga was probably a producer’s wet dream, being teen lit centered around vampires. Alas, nothing comes together at all in The Vampire’s Assistant and it seems destined to fall to the wayside alongside The Golden Compass.

While Chris Weitz handled the directing duties for Compass and the Twilight sequel, New Moon, brother Paul helms Vampire’s Assistant. The lead character is Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia) and am I only one who finds it oddly self-serving to name the character in the novel after yourself? Anyways, Darren is a straight-laced student with huge expectations hung on him by his parents. His best friend, Steve (Josh Hutcherson), is much more of a delinquent and isn’t well liked by teachers or Darren’s parents. One night, they attend a freak show whose orange-haired ringmaster is the vampire Crepsley (John C. Reilly). How do we know he’s a vampire? Because Steve saw Crepsley’s picture in his vampire book and that about sums up the deep level of thought that went into the plot. Darren is turned into a half-vampire (don’t ask) and is dragged into a centuries-old war between vampires who only sip the blood of their victims without killing them and the murderous Vampanese. Steve joins the dark side and there’s a bunch of stuff about prophecies and a chosen one just like every other film series.

Vampire’s Assistant tries to play around with vampire mythology, but offers absolutely nothing new to distinguish itself. There's a cool title sequence (think Catch Me If You Can by way of Tim Burton) and nothing after that is as visually stimulating. Cast against type, Reilly is one of the few actors in the film to bring something unique to the table. The film’s biggest fault lies with its lead actor, a blunder in miscasting not seen since Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace. Massoglia has no screen presence or charisma and an oddly shaped head. No offense, dude. Out of everything in the movie, the most interesting aspect is the supporting cast of freaks that include Salma Hayek as the bearded lady, 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski as a woman who can eat her own arms and re-grow them, and Flight of the Conchord’s Kristen Schaal as a woman with enormous teeth. I’d be far more entertained in a Geek Love-style film about the actual circus than I would be in a bunch of whiny emo bloodsuckers.

Rating: * 1/2

Punisher: War Zone

Punisher: War Zone - Dir. Lexi Alexander (2008)

”Somebody has to punish the corrupt.”

Or maybe somebody should punish the folks who can’t seem to put together a good Punisher movie. Out of all the comic book characters there are, the Punisher should be one of the easiest to pull off. No superpowers, no goofy outfit, no crazy comic book science to explain, and no need for $200 million in special effects. Just one mean badass with a shitload of guns. War Zone follows in the tepid footsteps of the no-budget Dolph Lundgren version and the so-so Thomas Jane vehicle. Was the third time the charm? It’s leaps and bounds ahead of the previous versions, but pales in comparison to The Dark Knight and Iron Man in terms of 2008’s comic book adaptations. It has more in common with testosterone-fueled action flicks like Commando or Rambo.

War Zone takes the Punisher back to his roots, plopping him down into the seedy streets of New York City (though it was actually shot in Montreal). Dark, cold tones with neon highlights, a far cry from the sunny beaches of Tampa. His origin remains much closer to the source material and is briefly seen in flashbacks so we can get right into the action. This iteration of Frank Castle is the brooding, taciturn killing machine he needed to be. The man doesn’t even speak his first lines until about half an hour into the movie. Who has time for action hero one-liners when you’re hanging upside-down from a crystal chandelier pumping several hundred rounds of ammo into the bodies of hapless goombas? This is a Punisher who doesn’t bother with Machiavellian schemes involving fire hydrants. Not when he can punch his fist through someone’s face or stab a man through the eye with a chair leg. The violence is like an Itchy & Scratchy episode. The film also features the best use of a rocket launcher in cinematic history. This is a Punisher who really does some serious punishing.

Ray Stevenson fits the role of Frank Castle perfectly. He’s big, mean, and looks like he’s seen some serious shit. Stevenson is the Bradstreet Punisher come to life. Even Wayne Knight (“Newman…”) has some good scenes with Stevenson as the Punisher’s tech-guy, Micro. The rest of the cast doesn’t fare so well on the other hand. Dominic West (McNulty!) goes over over-the-top as Frank’s facially mangled arch-enemy, Jigsaw. West switches from narcissistic mob boss to cartoon character in a heartbeat, a combination of Jack Nicholson’s Joker with a Dick Tracy villain. The same goes for Doug Hutchison as Jigsaw’s cannibalistic brother, Loony Bin Jim, an original creation of screenwriter Nick Santora. Julie Benz (who I usually adore) plays the same damsel in distress role as she did in Rambo, but now with a poor New York accent. In fact, nearly everybody in the film has a bad stereotypical accent, be it Italian, New York, Russian, or Irish.

The film also spreads itself too thin by throwing in far too many characters. The filmmakers mined Garth Ennis’s seminal run on the Punisher MAX series to fill out the supporting cast. There’s sad sack NYPD detective Martin Soap, Paul Budiansky (another NYPD detective in the comics, now an FBI agent), black Irishman Maginty, and Russian gangsters the Bulats. Despite this being his film, the Punisher becomes marginalized too often in favor of characters that are essentially cannon fodder. As a fan of the MAX series, I felt a lot of great villains were wasted. Nicky Cavella is turned into an undercover FBI agent, his psychotic henchmen Ink & Pittsy are now comic relief toadies, and the Bulats (from one of the best Punisher stories ever) are barely a blip on the radar.

In their zeal to create a sympathetic lead, the filmmakers tend to humanize Frank a little too much. Despondent over accidentally killing an undercover officer, he contemplates giving up his alter-ego. After all, we've never seen that in a comic book movie.

In his review, Roger Ebert called War Zone “one of the best-made bad movies.” That hits the nail on the head. Punisher: War Zone is a film for those who are looking for an hour and a half of mindless violence. It’s a throwback to the 80’s style action film. Taken at that level, it works. Lexi Alexander, a German-born kickboxing champion, joins a tiny club of female action directors whose only other member I can think of is Kathryn Bigelow. Alexander handles the gun battles and fight scenes well without relying on the Bourne-style of quick edits and tight close-ups. A guilty pleasure all the way.

Rating: ***