The Equalizer

The Equalizer – Dir. Antoine Fuqua (2014)

It's been well over a decade since director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington first collaborated on Training Day, a movie that earned the latter an Academy Award for Best Actor. While Washington has been churning out a combination of action and drama, Fuqua's output hasn't been quite as fruitful. He's helmed a couple of arguably decent action flicks (Shooter, Olympus Has Fallen) and some forgettable fare (King Arthur, Brooklyn's Finest). Now, the pair has teamed up for the second time for a film that is most definitely not Training Day.

The Equalizer is based on the 80's television series about Robert McCall (originally played by Edward Woodward), a former CIA agent, who became a freelance troubleshooter for anyone in need. Think of him as a one man A-Team. Washington easily steps into the role with McCall's background much more mysterious this time around. What we do know is that he's retired from his former life and now living in a Spartan, one bedroom Boston apartment. He's the manager at a Home Mart (a Home Depot-esque megastore) and offers kindly advice to those around him. He spends many sleepless nights drinking tea and reading all those novels people tell you to read at a 24hr diner straight out of Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." There, McCall befriends a young girl named Alina (Chloe Grace Moretz) who is forced to work as a prostitute for particularly nasty Russian gangsters.

McCall quickly dispatches with the villains after Alina is nearly beaten into a coma. Too late does he find out that they weren't lowly pimps, but integral cogs in the east coast arm of the Russian Mafia. The powerful head of the organization, Mr. Pushkin (Vladimir Kulich), sends in his chief enforcer Teddy (Marton Csokas) to clean up the mess. Meanwhile, McCall keeps himself busy dealing with a stick-up man and two dirty cops.

The Equalizer isn't about shattering genre conventions, but wallowing in them in the best possible manner. This is the type of movie where cargo ships and oil tankers explode as Denzel calmly walks away without ever looking back. He dispatches bad guys quickly and efficiently with the fighting style we've seen plenty of times in the Taken and Bourne films. In a nice touch, McCall generally uses whatever is handy to kill his enemies. This is especially spotlighted during the climax inside the Home Mart, which plays out like an R-rated version of Home Alone.

While the action is fun, there's no flair to it. Fuqua's direction is surprisingly pedestrian. Even the sequences where McCall goes into Equalizer-vision, slowing things down and assessing the situation, were done far better by Guy Ritchie in Sherlock Holmes. Only occasionally do the visuals pop, such as when Fuqua references Rear Window in a scene where Teddy claims another victim. The screenplay by Richard Wenk (The Mechanic, The Expendables 2) doesn't grasp the concept of subtext. The novels McCall reads, like The Old Man and the Sea and Don Quixote, serve as obvious commentary for the various acts of The Equalizer.

At 59, Denzel doesn't look his age at all. Along with Liam Neeson, he's got the presence and instant credibility to serve as an action hero. Here, Denzel dials it down and underplays the role to enhance the character's cool demeanor and ordered lifestyle. It's a stark contrast to Marton Csokas playing it as an old school, menacing Bond villain with tattoos of devils across his torso. Melissa Leo and Bill Pullman are a welcome sight as they pop in quickly as McCall's former CIA handlers. There's definitely a Taxi Driver element to the friendship between McCall and Alina, but Chloe Moretz disappears for a majority of the movie when it decides death and destruction are more interesting.

The Equalizer is a perfectly acceptable compliment to similar action movies such as Man on Fire, Taken, and Jack Reacher. The basic elements are enjoyable enough to forget that Fuqua and Denzel do little to transcend clichés.

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

The Skeleton Twins

The Skeleton Twins - Dir. Craig Johnson (2014)

Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig have proven themselves to be exceptional comedic talents. They've branched out since leaving Saturday Night Live and occasionally appear in a film together. Most notably were their scene-stealing turns as the managers of an amusement park in Greg Mottola's Adventureland. It shouldn't be surprising that an enterprising filmmaker would choose the pair to headline their picture. What might be surprising is that The Skeleton Twins isn't an uproarious comedy, but a somber mix of light and dark subject matter.

Wiig and Hader play estranged siblings Maggie and Milo Dean, who haven't spoken to each other in over ten years. Milo has moved to Los Angeles where he waits tables while trying to make it as an actor. Meanwhile, Maggie has remained in upstate New York where she works as a dental hygienist and is married to nice guy Lance (Luke Wilson). Both are repositories for all manner of emotional damage.

The Skeleton Twins opens with Maggie about to down a handful of pills. Her suicide attempt is postponed when she receives a call that Milo has been hospitalized after slitting his wrists. Milo reluctantly agrees to stay with Maggie and along the way we find out just how damaged these two are. Their father committed suicide when they were kids and their mother (Joanna Gleason) is no peach. She's a new age self-help guru who was too busy with an "insight retreat" to attend her own daughter's wedding. Maggie's seemingly blissful marriage isn't all it's cracked up to be. She's been secretly taking birth control pills in spite of Lance's desire to have children and she's been having an affair with her handsome scuba instructor (Boyd Holbrook). As for Milo, he resumes an obviously doomed relationship with a former high school teacher (Ty Burrell) with whom he had an affair when he was only 15.

The Skeleton Twins was directed by Craig Johnson, who also co-wrote the script with Mark Heyman, one of the writers for Black Swan. The movie has all the earmarks for an indie comedy, right down to Mark & Jay Duplass receiving executive producer credit. Johnson relies heavily on the murky imagery of water; a trope that should have been retired after The Graduate did it so well. Johnson never quite nails the nuances necessary to convey the themes of the story. As a result, many scenes are hindered by dialogue right on the nose though that didn't stop Johnson and Heyman from winning the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance.

Leave it to Hader and Wiig to elevate the material. The SNL alumni effortlessly portray the shorthand communication that comes from siblings due in no small part to their familiarity off-screen. Some of the movie's best moments are when the two are simply riffing with one another, such as when they goof around after sniffing nitrous oxide or dress in drag for Halloween. Hader and Wiig also make the most of the clichéd bonding session over a kitschy pop tune. In this instance, it's Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," which goes from insipid to inspired thanks to Hader's energy in contrast to Wiig's deadpan facial expressions.

Wiig and Hader aren't the only winning cast members. Kudos go to a wonderfully understated Ty Burrell and Luke Wilson, who brings all the earnest charm you've come to expect from the Wilson clan.

The Skeleton Twins isn't an altogether successful film, but the engaging performances by Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader are well worth a look. The protagonists find just the right mix of pathos and humor.

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

Obvious Child

Obvious Child - Dir. Gillian Robespierre (2014)

Obvious Child has reductively been referred to as the abortion rom-com. Yes, the subject plays an important part in the film, but the movie shouldn't be defined by it just as the protagonist shouldn't be defined by one act.

Obvious Child began as a 2009 short film written and directed by Gillian Robespierre and starring Jenny Slate. Robespierre is a first time director while Slate spent a season on Saturday Night Live and had recurring role on Parks and Recreation.

Slate stars as New Yorker Donna Stern, who works at a bookstore during the day and performs as a stand-up comic at night. It should go without saying that she's barely scraping by in the Big Apple. The comedy club she frequents could hardly be considered a metropolis of mirth. Donna's material usually involves intimate details from her love life, which angers her boyfriend Ryan (Paul Briganti), who breaks up with her in a dingy co-ed bathroom. To add insult to injury, he also admits to cheating on Donna for several months.

Donna deals with the situation about as well as expected. She clumsily attempts to stalk her ex, and then awkwardly rambles about the ordeal on stage. She tops off the evening by getting blazing drunk and engaging in a one-night stand with the clean cut Max (Jake Lacy). Upon discovering she's pregnant, Donna ultimately decides to have an abortion, but finds it exceedingly difficult to break the news to Max.

Mainstream movies have generally avoided the hot button issue of abortion like the plague. It's flippantly brought up for the briefest seconds in Knocked Up while the title character in Juno is sent fleeing from a clinic. The only film in recent memory to deal with the subject with any dramatic weight is Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. It goes without saying that Obvious Child is on a completely different spectrum.

Robespierre's screenplay has all the earmarks of an indie comedy with plenty of cutesy, twee moments such as Donna and Max sharing a romantic piss in an alley or a fresh take on the clichéd pregnancy test scene. Robespierre doesn't treat the subject with kid gloves. Yet, she avoids sermonizing or demonizing her characters. Donna's decision isn't painted as a right or wrong one, just a decision that she makes without agonizing over it. It's a bold choice on Robespierre's part and one that will undoubtedly irk some.

Jenny Slate deserves credit for imbuing a potentially unlikeable character with such winning charm. Donna could have easily been an annoying hipster, an aimless millennial in a post-Lena Dunham world. But, no, there's a gentle quality to her in spite of a filthy stand-up act cut from the same cloth as Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer. There's also a sweet romance blossoming between Donna and Max, the latter of whom might have been relegated to the role of bland nice guy in a more conventional rom-com.

Obvious Child is an uneven comedy and Robespierre may have been better served trimming a few bits and pieces. A scene involving David Cross as a loathsome lothario feels quite superfluous. Still, Obvious Child is a welcome change of pace to all the lowbrow comedies and effects extravaganzas cluttering the shopping mall multiplexes. The picture hinges on a solid performance by Jenny Slate and a supporting cast that includes Gaby Hoffman and Richard Kind.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

Life After Beth

Life After Beth - Dir. Jeff Baena (2014)

Zombies have always worked well as metaphors for hot button issues, such as rampant consumerism or the darker side of humanity. It's not surprising that a few ingenious filmmakers decided to use the zombie apocalypse to deal with romance and relationships. Edgar Wright did it best with Shaun of the Dead while 2013's Warm Bodies had fun with the premise in our post-Twilight era of cinema. Life After Beth mixes the genres of undead horror with young romance, but in a different manner. Whereas Warm Bodies is set years after the fall of civilization and told from the point of view of the handsome zombie boy, Life After Beth takes place just before the outbreak and told from the point of view of the relatively normal Dane DeHaan.

DeHaan is Zach Orfman, whose entire world has been shattered following the death of his girlfriend Beth Slocum (Aubrey Plaza). She died of a rattlesnake bite while hiking in the woods by herself. Zach is hit just as hard by the lingering regrets he feels because Beth was going to break up with him. There were a lot of things he could have done to improve their relationship like going on a hike with her.

Everything changes when Beth returns, alive and well, with no memories of her death or romantic problems with Zach. Her parents, Maury and Geenie (John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon) aren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. They're more than content to accept that she's been resurrected though Zach is obviously freaked out. Then, he realizes he's been given a second chance with Beth to do all the things they only talked about. Although, there are little instances that Beth isn't quite right. For example, she has a predilection for sleeping in the attic and listening to smooth jazz. She's also prone to fits of rage and feats of incredible strength. And that skin complexion doesn't look quite right…

Life After Beth was written and directed by Jeff Baena, who also co-wrote David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabee's. There's a similar quirkiness on display in "Beth" with the film set in a heightened version of milquetoast suburbia. The story is almost a prequel to the zombie apocalypse showing the initial return of the dead and their subsequent transformation into a ravenous horde. Baena does an interesting job in setting the parameters of the world, but he never delves further than surface level.

Zach is a blank cipher, a largely reactive protagonist who comes off on the whiny side. Baena hardly gives his supporting characters much beyond what's written on the page and leans heavily on his actors. Luckily, he's cast a wealth of talent accomplished enough to make something out of the one-dimensional denizens of Life After Beth. This includes John C. Reilly, Paul Reiser and Cheryl Hines as Zach's parents, and a throwaway cameo by Garry Marshall. Molly Shannon is pitch perfect as Beth's sweet-natured mom, even maintaining her ultra-sunny disposition after having a hand eaten off. Matthew Gray Gubler is cast against type as Zach's older brother, Kyle, a rent-a-cop with delusions of grandeur and a hard-on for his Desert Eagle .50. Kyle is nothing more than a cartoon thrown into the mix to be quirky for quirky's sake.

Aubrey Plaza is great as Beth, getting a chance to play character outside of her usual sarcastic tone. Anna Kendrick pops in for a handful of scenes as a childhood friend of Zach's. You can't help but imagine the possibilities of a buddy comedy starring Plaza and Kendrick with the former's sardonic humor pitted against the latter's adorable perkiness.

Life After Beth had an intriguing premise with an excellent cast, but never lived up to its potential as a hybrid of horror, comedy, and romance. Unfortunately, the movie decomposed quicker than its title character.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Purge: Anarchy

The Purge: Anarchy – Dir. James DeMonaco (2014)

The Purge was one of the surprise hits of 2013. Produced on a meager budget of $3 million, it went on to rake in over $89 million worldwide. The general consensus from critics was that the film had an interesting premise that was never fully realized.

In the near future, United States has been restored by the New Founding Fathers of America, who have instituted the annual Purge. For 12 hours out of the year, all crime, including murder, is legal. The NFFA expound the virtues of the Purge for lowering crime rates, unemployment, and poverty. Of course, they fail to mention that the poor are easy prey while the wealthy remain safe and sound in their mansions. The first film established the parameters of its high concept with Ethan Hawke as the patriarch of an upper middle-class family with a high-tech security system under siege when they give sanctuary to an injured stranger.

The Purge: Anarchy expands upon the world beyond the walls of a single suburban home and into the streets of Downtown Los Angeles. It shows just how everyone participates in the Purge, or at least, tries to survive it. The homeless hunker down in the subway tunnels praying no one finds them. The elite one-percent don't even leave their homes to purge, not when they can simply order take out. Human beings are delivered directly to them to be hacked to bits by machete. Or they're rounded up and hunted in an arena like a homicidal version of lasertag. Meanwhile, a fiery revolutionary named Carmelo Johns (Michael K. Williams) hacks into broadcast signals to spread his message of bringing down the New Founding Fathers.

For Eva Sanchez (Carmen Ejogo) and her daughter Cali (Zoe Soul), the Purge means they board up the windows and hide in their apartment until the night is over. Shane and Liz (played by real-life married couple Zach Gilford & Kiele Sanchez) are more concerned about how to tell their family that they are breaking up. However, a creepy gang of masked thugs have cut their fuel line leaving them stranded in the city just before the Purge commences. Sgt. Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) is fully prepared for the Purge. He's bulletproofed his muscle car and loaded it with a stockpile of weapons. The Sarge is on a mission of revenge against a man who killed his son in a drunken driving accident.

Their paths cross when a government-sponsored death squad busts into an apartment complex and drags Eva and Cali onto the streets for execution. Turns out, people aren't killing the lower classes in large enough quantities so the NFFA have sent out their own squads equipped with body armor, automatic weapons, and surveillance equipment tapped into the city's traffic cameras. Sarge becomes the reluctant protector for this frightened quartet

Writer/Director James DeMonaco is clearly influenced by the works of John Carpenter with The Purge owing a debt to Assault on Precinct 13. Not surprising since DeMonaco penned the script for the 2005 remake. Anarchy is reminiscent of Escape From New York as well as The Warriors. Don't worry, there's no need to see the first film to understand the sequel. Edwin Hodge, who played the stranger, is the only returning cast member.

DeMonaco gets to play with triple the budget of the previous movie though that's still barely a drop in the hat compared to big Hollywood blockbusters. Yet, Anarchy looks impressively slick with DeMonaco setting the mood with several slick aerial shots of the city at night. And there's a lot of other cool imagery to compliment them, such as a pair of 18-wheelers roaming the empty highways for unsuspecting targets. A woman, armed with a machine gun and a bullhorn, expounds the wrath of god as she picks off random passersby. At one point, the protagonists drive by a dazed girl covered in blood and looking just like Carrie. One character jokes, "Maybe he deserved it," when he sees a stock broker strung up in the banking district. By the way, the banks have moved their money to undisclosed locations in preparation for the Purge.

Beneath the visuals is a story that lacks any nuance. DeMonaco hammers home his message with the subtlety of the Gatling gun used by the main antagonist. The rich and powerful are preening Caucasians dressed in tuxedos or prep school uniforms while the resistance fighters are obvious allusions to the Black Panthers. Shane and Liz are the least interesting of the protagonists, mostly there to state the obvious when they aren't serving as the bickering Bickersons. At least Eva and Cali grow beyond their designation as damsels in distress. Frank Grillo really is the anchor of Anarchy. As the Sarge, he's Charles Bronson, Kurt Russell, and the Punisher all rolled into one. It's a shame he wasn't able to take the lead in Joe Carnahan's proposed remake of Death Wish, Grillo is a throwback to the action heroes of gritty 70's era action flicks.

The Purge: Anarchy is a marked improvement over its predecessor. This is a lean, mean action movie harkens back to the exploitation genre of the 1970's.

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

Sharknado 2: The Second One

Sharknado 2: The Second One - Dir. Anthony C. Ferrante (2014)

Once upon a time, they were known as the Sci-Fi Channel. Then, they became SyFy and attempted to diversify their programming with reality shows and WWE wrestling. Throughout it all, one thing has remained constant with SyFy and that is the cheesy, made-for-TV monster of the week movies. D-list celebrities like Antonio Sabato Jr. or Lorenzo Lamas are forced to do battle with mutated insects are monsters resurrected from the prehistoric age. The majority of these movies treated themselves deadly serious, despite the fact that they were met with a round of chuckles. It took a while before SyFy got in on the joke and the tipping point was probably Sharknado.

Improbably, the low-budget picture about a tornado full of sharks launched itself into the pop culture stratosphere. No surprise that a sequel, Sharknado 2: The Second One was immediately greenlit.

In case you missed it, Sharknado featured Ian Ziering (of Beverly Hills 90210 fame) as Fin Shepard, a surfer who saved Los Angeles from the threat of a tornado that had swept through the Pacific Ocean and spread bloodthirsty sharks throughout the city. Fin even managed to win back the heart of his ex-wife April (Tara Reid). The sequel begins with Fin and April on a flight to New York City as part of their book tour for the best-selling How to Survive a Sharknado. Suddenly, the plane hits bad weather…bad weather filled with man-eating sharks. Faster than you can say, William Shatner, Fin spots a shark on the wing, but nobody believes him. Heck, he hardly believes it himself. How can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?

The weather becomes even deadlier as two tornadoes threaten to converge in the heart of Manhattan. Fin must not only save the city, but his family as well. His sister, Ellen (Kari Wuhrer), and niece, Mora (Courtney Baxter), are visiting the Statue of Liberty while her husband, Martin (Mark McGrath), takes in a Mets game at Citi Field.

Sharknado wastes no time in getting the carnage going. Whereas the first film had to introduce the protagonists and the concept of the sharknado, the sequel starts right away with sharks being scooped up by Mother Nature. The prologue is basically Sharks on a Plane though Ian Ziering never shouts, "Get these motherf'n sharks off my mother'fn plane." What a missed opportunity. There's a lot more ridiculousness to follow with Martin and his son immolating sharks with super soakers filled with napalm. Or how about Tara Reid replacing her left hand (which was bitten off by a shark) with a buzzsaw?

The popularity of the original Sharknado meant that numerous celebrities were knocking on SyFy's door, each one looking to be a part of the film. Sharknado 2 includes cameos by Wil Wheaton, Andy Dick, Kurt Angle, Kelly Osbourne, Biz Markie and Jared from Subway. You've also got Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Kelly Ripa, and Michael Strahan all portraying themselves. The movie is loaded with just as many winks and nods to other movies and TV shows. Judd Hirsch has a brief role as a cab driver in a reference to his role on Taxi while Robert Hays captains another doomed flight ala Airplane. Fin's family is named Martin and Ellen Brody with Billy Ray Cyrus popping in as a doctor named Quint.

By no means is Sharknado 2 a cinematic classic. The special effects are horrendous and most of the actors are just as bad with Tara Reid being particularly wooden. The screenplay by the gloriously named Thunder Levin makes several sad attempts at fleshing out his one-dimensional characters. Levin wastes valuable shark chomping time with an unrequited love story between Ziering and Vivica A. Fox.

Rating: ** (*****)

A Million Ways to Die in the West

A Million Ways to Die in the West - Dir. Seth MacFarlane (2014)

The ubiquitous Seth MacFarlane has branched out far beyond his animated empire of Family Guy, American Dad, and the recently cancelled Cleveland Show. He's the closest thing we have these days to an old-fashioned song and dance man. He's hosted the Oscars, performed a concert tour, released a jazz album, and even executive produced the educational science series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. In 2012, MacFarlane wrote and directed his first feature film, Ted, the story about a man and a talking teddy bear who has long worn out his welcome. MacFarlane also performed the voice work and motion capture for the titular Ted. For his second feature, A Million Ways to Die in the West, we get MacFarlane in all his live-action glory as meek sheep farmer Albert Stark.

It's the year 1882 and Stark lives in the little town of Old Stump. He spends most of his time bemoaning how just about everything can kill you in the Wild West, from wild animals to unsanitary medical care. The most dangerous of all just might be murderous gunfighters. Albert is a sheep farmer and a pretty lousy one at that. His flock is scattered all over the place and when one of them grazes on another man's property, Albert is challenged to a showdown. Albert chickens out, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried), who promptly for Foy (Neil Patrick Harris), the proprietor of the local Moustachery.

Albert thinks about packing it up and moving to San Francisco when he meets the gorgeous Anna (Charlize Theron). Both of them share a common disdain for everything dirty and backwards about the West. Anna also teaches Albert how to shoot a gun in order to challenge Foy and win back the fickle heart of Louise. Unfortunately, it turns out Anna is married to Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), a notorious outlaw who doesn't like anyone making moves with his wife.

A Million Ways to Die in the West wears its influences on its sleeve. Naturally, MacFarlane shoots quite a bit in Monument Valley, the gorgeous setting for so many classic John Ford Westerns. There's a nod to Terror in Tiny Town, an infamous 1938 movie starring an entire cast of little people and a lively dance number honoring facial hair that recalls Oklahoma. Of course, as a Western comedy, A Million Ways to Die in the West is cut from the same cloth as Blazing Saddles. Whereas Mel Brooks chose to do one long fart joke during the campfire sequence, MacFarlane spreads his flatulent humor throughout the film. And while Brooks was focused on race relations, MacFarlane takes a decidedly de-romanticized look at the Old West. He borrows the fish out of water aspect from Paleface and Son of Paleface starring Bob Hope. If you've watched Family Guy, then you'll know MacFarlane's reverence for hook nosed comedian thanks to the "Road to…" episodes with Stewie and Brian as Hope and Bing Crosby.

Albert makes numerous anachronistic observations about the time period. He looks at the violence and disease through modern eyes. He's reminiscent of Frank Grimes, the tightly wound character driven mad by the absurdity of The Simpsons. Sure, MacFarlane is a bit one-note in the lead, but he makes it work with his wry observations and off-the-cuff non sequiturs. Luckily, Million Ways has itself a terrific supporting cast with Neil Patrick Harris really asserting himself in the role of an annoying fop. Sarah Silverman is perfectly cast as Ruth, the proverbial hooker with the heart of gold, but with a twist. Silverman made a name for herself on the stand-up circuit with bawdy material that belied that sweet, pixie voice. Here, she's a prostitute openly engaged in outlandish sexual acts, yet she's in a chaste relationship with Albert's best friend, the virginal Edward (Giovanni Ribisi).

There are cameos galore in Million Ways. Blink and you might miss Ewan McGregor, Ryan Reynolds or Kaley Cuoco. Being set in the 1800's means MacFarlane can't rely on his usual arsenal of pop culture references. His one indulgence is the appearance of a certain time-traveling doctor and not the one who rides around in a police box.

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

The Rover

The Rover - Dir. David Michod (2014)

"You should never stop thinking about a life you've taken. That's the price you pay for taking it."

Aussie director David Michod gained a reputation for his gritty crime drama Animal Kingdom and his long awaited follow-up has finally arrived. The Rover could be described as a post-apocalyptic thriller involving cars and the dusty Australian outback. Images of Mad Max will immediately pop in your head, but The Rover doesn't take this possible future to those extremes. Michod's sophomore effort looks like something that could feasibly occur without too much difficulty. Its set ten years after a global economic collapse and, without question, those on the fringes of society have been affected the worst.

After a robbery gone wrong, Henry (Scoot McNairy) has been shot in the leg and his cohorts have forced him to leave behind his younger brother Rey (Robert Pattinson). The gang has an accident on the road and grabs the nearest car they see. Unfortunately for them, that car belongs to a gruff and scruffy loner played by Guy Pearce. In the credits, he's referred to as Eric, but no one calls him that and he never bothers to introduce himself. He's the proverbial man with no name, cut from the same cloth as Clint Eastwood. Eric is determined to get his damn car back, come hell or high water. Along the way, he runs into Rey and convinces him, in not-so-polite fashion, to help him find Henry.

Michod and collaborator Joel Edgerton have done an incredible job in creating the world of The Rover. This is a movie that was shot on film and the cinematography by Natasha Braier captures the sun-baked desolation of the outback and every layer of sweat and grime that cakes its inhabitants. Michod never delves into bulky exposition, so we never get a full explanation of the hows and whys, which is perfectly fine. We do get glimpses of just how things have changed. Wary vendors will only accept American dollars and a kindly doctor (Susan Prior) keeps stray dogs locked in cages because she's afraid people will kill them for food. When Eric strolls into an old woman's home, she doesn't react with shock or anger. Instead, she nonchalantly pimps out her teenage grandson.

There's a pervasive sense of gloom and nihilism to The Rover. The outback has become a largely lawless place where even the scant soldiers that patrol the area don't particular care about justice. They just want to get to paid. Eric is most definitely not a hero, evidenced by the casual way in which he kills people.

Pearce is perfectly cast as the taciturn protagonist. It's clear the thieves have chosen the wrong car to jack from someone quickly revealed as an Australian Terminator. He's unrelenting, but there's a deeper sense of tragedy to the character. Robert Pattinson, inexorably linked to the Twilight franchise, puts away any notions of sparkly vampires with his turn as the mentally challenged Rey. This is a character that can be tricky to perform. To quote Tropic Thunder, you can't go full-on retard. Yes, Pattinson's performance is mannered and he pushes the Southern accent a little too hard. However, he's believable and complex in the role. At times, his Rey is almost heartbreaking as someone so simple-minded that he couldn't possibly survive alone in such a harsh environment. At other times, he reveals himself to be more than capable of sudden violence.

The Rover doesn’t quite hit it right out of the park. The movie hinges on a couple scenes where the characters must behave foolishly just to move the plot forward. There's no real explanation as to why Henry's crew don't just drive off with their truck and Eric's car. At the very least, they could have slashed his tires.

As he did in Animal Kingdom, Michod utilizes a pop song as an ironic counterpoint to the bleakness portrayed in the film. Lit solely by the dashboard light in his car, Rey waits and tries singing along to Keri Hilson's "Pretty Girl Rock." The scene hearkens back to happier times when sitting in your car and listening to the radio was a luxury.

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

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy - Dir. James Gunn (2014)

"They call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy."
"What a bunch of a-holes."

When Edgar Wright famously departed as director of Ant-Man, the fanboy nation decried Marvel Studios for no longer being willing to take risks. After all, their entire cinematic universe was built on a risk. Iron Man was not a character in the mainstream consciousness. Jon Favreau had no experience in directing big-budget action features. Finally, Robert Downey Jr. had his own baggage and was not considered a bankable star. Yet, Iron Man performed well beyond expectations and allowed Marvel to grow into a juggernaut with The Avengers quickly becoming one of the highest grossing films of all time. If Guardians of the Galaxy is any indication, Marvel is clearly willing to roll the dice and gamble big.

The Guardians first appeared in 1969 as a team of superheroes gathered from across the galaxy and living in the 31^st century. In 2008, writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning revamped the Guardians with a completely different line-up of characters that had faded into obscurity. They have since become a cornerstone of Marvel's cosmic universe. The property is even less known to the general public and the movie features no huge stars in leading roles. Then, you've got writer/director James Gunn, a filmmaker who cut his teeth on the low-budget schlock of Troma Pictures. Somehow, it all came together and Guardians of the Galaxy has gone on to become one of the biggest hits of the year.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens in 1988 as a despondent boy named Peter Quill watches his mother succumb to cancer. As he runs out of the hospital, a spaceship whisks him away to the farthest reaches of outer space. Flash forward to an adult Quill (Chris Pratt), who now calls himself Star-Lord and survives as a thief. On the planet of Morag, Quill attempts to steal an orb before being caught by Korath the Pursuer (Djimon Hounsou), a henchman in the employ of Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Turns out, the orb is an Infinity Stone, a gem of immense power, which Ronan wants to use to wipe out his mortal enemies, the Xandarians.

Quill just wants to sell it to a fence on Xandar Prime and has now knowledge of the orb's true nature or how everybody in the quadrant wants it. His former comrades, the Ravagers, want it for the cash value. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) sees the orb as her chance to escape the clutches of her adopted father Thanos (Josh Brolin), the Mad Titan responsible for the Chitauri invasion of Earth. As Quill and Gamora tussle over the orb, a pair of bounty hunters is looking to cash in on the handsome reward on Star-Lord. These bounty hunters just happen to be Rocket (Bradley Cooper), a talking bipedal raccoon, and Groot (Vin Diesel), a tree-like being who can only speak three words, "I am Groot."

If the story sounds familiar, it's not déjà vu. Guardians is almost identical to the plot of Thor: The Dark World and shares many elements with previous Marvel movies. There's a big bad who gets his hands on an Infinity Stone and threatens to wipe out an entire civilization. The good guys must defeat him and place the Infinity Stone in the safe hands of a third party. While it's a necessary evil to plant the seeds that will inevitably lead to The Infinity Gauntlet, you do wish Marvel would shake things up a bit.

Guardians surmounts its shortcomings thanks to a wealth of compelling characters. Oddly enough, the two best characters are the ones that were completely fabricated through special effects. Indeed, Rocket and Groot represent the heart of the movie. Bradley Cooper truly gives one of his best performances ever as Rocket, an adorable bundle of fur, anger, and sarcasm. Rocket provides plenty of comic relief, but there's tragedy to the character when he briefly alludes to the twisted experiments that brought him into being. Vin Diesel gets the most mileage out of repeating the same three words again and again. His voice work is eerily reminiscent of The Iron Giant, which isn't a surprise given that there's child-like innocence to both the Giant and Groot. Even Drax the Destroyer has a lovable naiveté with his unwavering quest for vengeance and his inability to grasp metaphors. Then, you have a star making turn (no pun intended) from Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, a scoundrel cut from the same cloth as Han Solo. Pratt is pure charm and his comedic timing is right on the mark.

Not every character gets their chance to shine. Gamora and Nebula have an interesting relationship, but neither character is given the enough screen time. We meet Gamora in one scene, and then she's already turned against Thanos in the next. Much like Malekith, Ronan is a one-note villain. While Lee Pace does a terrific job chewing the scenery, his acting is almost inconsequential when he's buried behind layers of make-up. It is a shame that actors like Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly, and Djimon Hounsou weren't given more to do, but the fact that Marvel is able to get thespians of that caliber for bit roles is incredible.

Credit goes to Marvel for not handcuffing their chosen director. If anyone is familiar with Gunn's filmography, you'll know he has a penchant for gruesome imagery and off-kilter humor. Obviously, some of that was reined in. Still, Gunn brings a healthy helping of comedy to weave Guardians into a lighthearted adventure. Though his action set pieces may not be mind-blowing, Gunn still manages to direct some memorable sequences, such as Nebula resetting her broken bones, the Nova Corps forming an energy net, and Groot lighting the way with luminescent spores.

Adding another unique dimension to Guardians is an eclectic soundtrack of pop tunes from the 70's and 80's, everything from Motown ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough") to punk rock ("Cherry Bomb"). "Hooked on a Feeling," which was a major component of the trailers, undercuts the brutality displayed when Quill is beaten by prison guards. David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" is effectively played as the Guardians arrive at a mining operation inside the immense head of an ancient cosmic being. After the heartbreaking prologue, Gunn cuts to an adult Quill as he retrieves the Orb (shades of Raiders of the Lost Ark) while joyously dancing to Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love."

Guardians of the Galaxy is easily one of the best blockbusters of the year and one of the best offerings from Marvel Studios. It ranks right up there with Iron Man and The Avengers.

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

Locke

Locke – Dir. Steven Knight (2014)

Would you like to spend 85 minutes alone in a car with Tom Hardy?

There have been numerous films made featuring a single protagonist trapped in a single location with tension generally the result of incredibly high stakes. In Buried, Ryan Reynolds was buried alive by terrorists while Colin Farrell was at the mercy of a crazed sniper in Phone Booth. Tom Hardy's life may not be at stake in Locke, but it is certainly in jeopardy of being turned irreparably upside-down.

Hardy plays Ivan Locke, a construction supervisor, who, on a normal night, would be heading home from work. His wife Katrina (Ruth Wilson) has prepared a special dinner for him while his sons are eager to watch the big soccer game with him. The next day, Ivan is scheduled to head up a massive concrete pour in Birmingham to build the foundation for a new skyscraper. The concrete pour is described as the largest pour in Europe outside of military and nuclear power plants. However, none of that is going to happen because Ivan is on the expressway to London.

Months ago, Ivan had a one-night stand with a woman named Bethan (Olivia Colman) and she is now giving birth to their child. Bethan is alone at the hospital without any family or friends. While Ivan doesn’t have any strong feelings for her, he sees it as his responsibility to be there with her. Behind the wheel of a BMW, Ivan uses his Bluetooth device to juggle several phone calls to deal with his disappointed kids, an angry wife, and a furious boss. All the while, he is still trying to make sure the concrete pour will go off without a hitch, including giving detailed instructions to an overwhelmed assistant (Andrew Scott aka Moriarty on BBC's Sherlock).

Locke was written and directed by Steven Knight, who previously wrote Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises. Knight made his directorial debut with Hummingbird (released in the US as Redemption), a somber drama starring Jason Statham. It's the rare movie where Statham doesn't solve all his problems by beating everyone's brains out. No surprise that Knight gets another remarkable performance from another actor known for his physicality. This is the same man who broke Batman's back, remember? And who could forget his flamboyantly ferocious turn as the titular convict in Bronson.

With his physical presence limited, Hardy relies solely on facial expressions and steely Welsh accent with the aristocratic air of Hannibal Lecter. Hardy remains calm throughout the ordeal in spite of dealing with a whirlwind of emotions. Hardy is also the only actor we ever see on film. The movie unfolds in real time with the actors calling Hardy's vehicle from a hotel conference room. The cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos (Thor) is reminiscent of Collateral with a yellow tinge and a cold color palette. Knight and Zambarloukos make exquisite use of reflections and passing headlights in the distance.

Knight's noticeable slip-up is the clumsy externalization of Locke's own relationship with his estranged father. From time to time, Locke will have conversations with an invisible figure riding in the backseat.

Locke is more than just a one man show. Knight finds a way to make a seemingly un-cinematic subject utterly cinematic through slick cinematography and a gripping performance by Tom Hardy.

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