THE EXPENDABLES 2

Photos courtesy of Lionsgate Films

Slyvester Stallone and his band of action heroes reunite again in the sequel THE EXPENDABLES 2.  

Barney, played by Stallone, gets the gang back together again after he’s called on to repay a favor to Mr. Church, played by Bruce Willis.  The favor is the retrieval of a device that contains valuable and secretive information, and its located in a remote location well beyond America’s borders.  

The same crew joins Barney in action, with stars Jet Li, Jason Stratham, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and Randy Coulture on board for another mission.  In addition to the old timers, a young sniper, played by Liams Hemsworth, and Maggine, one of Church’s cohorts played by Nan Yu, are also along for the ride.

                                                                             

THE EXPENDABLES 2 ramps up the fire and star power for the second installment, and the body count as well.  

In spite of the additional screen time for Hollywood action mega-stars Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and the addition of Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme to the cast, as well as the exponential growth of ammo, artillery and deaths, THE EXPENDABLES 2 is a lot of noise and mayhem without much excitement.  

THE EXPENDABLES 2 offers less character development and backstory, which is appreciated considering the thin-nature of the film, but the additional action scenes aren’t any more exciting than the original, serving up standard shoot’em up moments that don’t derive any tension of suspense.  They’re the equivalent to the big-screen version of the original Nintendo video game Contra.  

Although the cast is a who’s who of action stars, only a few bring real charisma to their roles, and they’re in supporting roles.  Schwarzenegger effectively hams up his few moments, as does the Satanic-infused Van Damme, as The Expendables villain.  The rest of the cast seems along for the ride, resigned to their dumb-witted characters, even Dolph Lundgren, whose Gunner Jepsen holds a PHD in nuclear physics.  

With the bulging biceps, high body count and gunplay, you’d think there’d be enough machismo for two films, but director Simon West and collection of story and script writers, including Stallone, splatter the film with blood, guts and an exclamation point of a finish that left me feeling angered and saddened.  

THE EXPENDABLES 2 is an over indulgence of violence and mayhem.

Grade: C-

PARANORMAN

Photos courtesy of Focus Features

A teenager speaks to the dead in the Focus Features animated film, PARANORMAN.  

Norman isn’t your average teenager.  Oh, he loves horror movies, isn’t understood by his parents and fights with his old sister, but he also communes with the dead, whether it's his deceased grandmother or other townsfolk.  

His unique gift is viewed as an abnormality by his family, but even more so by his classmates, who ridicule Norman.  No one believes that Norman can communicate with the dead, and it isn’t until Norman is visited by his estranged uncle, that he realizes the purpose of his gift.

                                                              

Bullying is as prevalent today as it was some 25 years ago when I was Norman’s age. Yet unlike yesteryear, bullying is taken more seriously today, and the attempts to combat it are more evident and effective.

PARANORMAN is very humorous and even creepy at times, but the central focus is on the ill effects of bullying and equally important, an examination of how to rebuild oneself after the damage has been done.  This message for adolescents is wrapped around a standard, but entertaining tale, and a collection of odd, but funny characters who fit many junior high and high school stereotypes.  

Although the characters fit a familiar formula, PARANORMAN still provides an eclectic mix of personalities.  The voice work is well done, with familiar, but tough to recognize voices.  

The look of the film is terrific.  Utilizing stop-motion animation, PARANORMAN has its cake and eats it too.  The freedom of animation is utilized for both comedy and thrills, but the realistic nature of the characters moments and mannerisms also gives this teen tale a sense of realism.  

PARANORMAN is a rare, and oddly moving film for teens.

Grade: B

HOPE SPRINGS

Photos provided by Sony Pictures

Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones attempt to rekindle their romance after 39 years of marriage in the comedy-drama, HOPE SPRINGS.  

Streep and Jones are Kay and Arnold, a not-so-happily married couple who no longer sleep in the same bed or eat breakfast together, and more or less live two separate lives under the same roof.  After reading a book on marriage and romance by Dr. Feld, a marriage counselor played by Steve Carrell, Kay decides it’s time for her and Arnold to pay a visit to Dr. Feld in his hometown of Maine.  

After much reluctance and grumbling, Arnold decides to make the trip for couple's counseling.

                                                               

Dissecting relationships, let alone senior citizens, is not something Hollywood is accustomed to.  The boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back story line is an ironclad one which has been safe, profitable and an overall winning formula for studios and their audiences.  HOPE SPRINGS breaks the mold, exploring what has happened to boy and girl after the wedding vows, kids, biological changes and other transformations in a married couple’s relationship.  

Funny, smart and observant HOPE SPRINGS does what most comedies and romances fail to do, finding the humor and heart in life’s smaller moments.  Whether it’s Arnold’s tight financial ways or Kay’s reluctance to speak up, writer Vanessa Taylor and director David Frankel embrace the humor found in these two former lovers systematic approach to the institution of marriage.  

It doesn’t hurt that HOPE SPRINGS casts the two most ideal candidates for the lead roles.  Streep, who has recently played domineering roles from Margaret Thatcher to Miranda Priestly, shows her softer side again, as a heartwarming, but no less insistent wife.  Jones isn’t as rugged and tough as his movie mantra has been in the past, but he still taps into the stubbornness that is evident in all of his roles.  Pride still comes to the forefront in Arnold, but is reflected as a weakness, one which Jones milks for not only sympathy, but laughs.  

HOPE SPRINGS is a refreshingly frank, honest and humor-filled look at a couple that’s trying to find that loving feeling again.

Grade: B

THE CAMPAIGN

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros

Funnymen Will Ferrell and Zach Galifinakis square off for the rights to a North Carolina congressional seat in the comedy THE CAMPAIGN.  

Ferrel is Cam Brady, the Democrat incumbent who squares off against Republican Marty Huggins, a small town tour guide played by Galifinakis, who has always envisioned himself running for office, but finally gets the call to serve when a major corporation decides to foot his campaign’s bill.  Although Marty is an idealist, his campaign is backed by two men who envision the congressional district as a perfect place to relocate a Chinese sweat shop.  

As with most campaigns, this congressional horse race turns ugly.

 

                                                        

 

Modern politics is a farce on its own, so making a movie about the insanity is ripe for the picking.  

Director Jay Roach, of AUSTIN POWERS and MEET THE PARENTS fame, hits home on a few issues, particularly an over-the-top Super PAC television spot, but more or less employs a broad sense of crude humor that nearly hits all the right notes.  

The political spoof rests on the broad and humorous shoulders of the talented and often odd Ferrell and Galifinakis, and these two comedic heavyweights don’t disappoint.  Ferrell’s facial expressions are nearly enough on their own, but his commitment and sincerity as the sexually infused and no-holds barred Brady make for a perfectly pompous politician.  As Ferrell is egotistical and arrogant, Galifinakis’s Huggins is equally humble and eccentric.  His dorky and socially awkward nature is effectively endearing thanks to the character actor’s willingness to sell Marty’s sweetness and naiveté.  

Co-writers Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell keep the jokes coming at a consistent pace, with many more hits than misses, and their only mistake is an over-reliance on absurd and profane statements coming from the most unlikely of sources.  

Roach keeps things all in order, allowing the humor to come from the performances and the writing, and by permitting Ferrell and Galifinakis the freedom to improvise, but not so much as to re-write the script.  

THE CAMPAIGN is a well-executed comedy, and one of the funniest of the year.

Grade: B

THE BOURNE LEGACY

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Jeremy Renner takes over where Matt Damon left off, on the run from the US government, in the action-thriller, THE BOURNE LEGACY. 

Renner is Aaron Cross, a current member of the United States military who awakes in the cold in the middle of nowhere with little knowledge of his current status or mission.  After discovering another soldier’s reclusive whereabouts in the frigid confines, Cross begins to further question the motives of his fellow soldier and his own future.  

He soon discovers he’s a target of the government, and following a near death experience with a drone, Cross decides it’s time for answers.  He travels to visit Dr. Marta Shearing, a researcher who experimented on Cross during a highly confidential scientific study.

                                                            

Although loosely tied to its superior predecessors, THE BOURNE LEGACY feels like a toned down version of the Damon-led action-thrillers.  

In spite of a few white-knuckle moments in the film’s latter third, this BOURNE installment lacks the drive, adrenaline and lightning-fast pacing of the original three pictures.  Most of the film is set-up, including a sluggish first-third.  This third has Cross navigating, exploring and surviving rugged and frigid confines, cut between boardroom and quiet-quarter chatter scenes with high-ranking government officials.  

Considering Cross’s predicament, and the nature of the series, the danger should always feel imminent, and the boardroom talk should be minimal.  Instead too much background is provided regarding Cross and the government’s failed plan, and this over explanation of events and motives not only slows the film’s pacing, but drains much of the mystery and suspense.  

Although the BOURNE series has always had an element of surprise and revelation, the driving force behind IDENTITY, SUPREMACY and ULTIMATUM was the break-neck pacing and exhilarating action sequences.  It isn’t until a late chase scene, and an exciting high-speed motorcycle chase that writer-director Tony Gilroy delivers the action goods.  

THE BOURNE LEGACY seems to be trading on its name. 

Grade: C

 

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight

A young girl and her father attempt to survive the rising waters in BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD.

Hushpuppy and her father Wink reside in the swamplands of The Bathtub, an area south of the equator that is constantly threatened by mother nature.  The impoverished area is treasured by its residents, Hushpuppy and Wink included, and they resist the urge to dwell with the land folk on the other side of the fence.

In addition to poverty and environmental factors, Bathtub residents also know that the previous rulers of the land, boar-like beasts called aurochs, still lurk in a frozen state.

 

                                                              

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is an original, vague, compelling and frustrating film centered around an authentic culture.  

The context of its culture and undefined structure create an air of uncertainty and intrigue, building suspense and drama through fear of the unknown.  This mystery remains throughout, down to the very last frame, leaving BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD as an unfulfilling and rather pretentious art house exhibition.

The early scenes are the most captivating.  Navigating through the grungy confines of The Bathtub and Hushpuppy and Wink’s lair builds a curiosity for their condition, one which is never fully explained or understood.  

Another bafflingly brutal aspect to BEASTS is the father-daughter relationship between Hushpuppy and Win.  Wink rules with an iron fist, sometimes literally, and the awkward nature of their relationship teeters more towards abuse than tough love.  

The societal statement is also blurred by first time writer-director Benh Zeitlen.  Although Bathtub residents live in a post-Katrina land of swamps, moonshine and poverty, they’re content, actually ecstatic, with their poor living conditions, resisting modern amenities and technology.  Compare this to life on the other side of the fence, and a greater explanation must be given to establish the film’s framework. 

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is an intriguing picture, one whose ambitious reach seems just out of its grasp.

Grade: C

THE WATCH

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

                             

A neighborhood watch group gets more than they signed up for in the comedy THE WATCH.  

Ben Stiller’s Evan, a Costco manager, forms a neighborhood watch group after the murder of Antonio, a security guard at the store.  The rag tag group is composed of Bob, a dad looking for a good time, played by Vince Vaughn; Franklin, a failed police academy recruit played by Jonah Hill; and Jamarcus, a Brit who has dreams of his own, played by newcomer Richard Ayoade.  

The group gets together to find Antonio’s murder, and also keep the neighborhood safe, but soon finds out that Antonio’s killer is out of this world.

                             

Two of Hollywood’s favorite conventions, male angst and extraterrestrial mayhem, meet in THE WATCH.  The results are a mixed bag, with Vaughn and Hill’s impromptu work serving as the film’s strength and also as its Achilles heel.  

The film, co-written by Evan Goldberg, Jared Stern and Seth Rogan, seems intent on having its actors carry the comedic burden, and director Akiva Shaffer is more than willing to oblige.  At times this works brilliantly, particularly a laugh-out loud montage following a victory celebration of the group’s first alien kill, but more often than not the improvised dialogue is awkward and bogs down an already flimsy story line.  

Vaughn, typically the best part of his mediocre films, is as much to blame as anyone.  His wisecracking, smart-witted comments are missing in long stretches, and are substituted with forced and outlandish statements that fail to amuse.  

In between the actors amusing themselves, the collection of screenwriters lace together sub-par sub-plots from Vaughn’s protective paternal instincts to Stiller’s sterile situation.  THE WATCH  teases at times with big laughs, but inevitably fails due to its over reliance on its stars improvisational skills.

Grade: C

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

America’s favorite web-slinger gets a new look with THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.  The film franchise made popular by actors Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco and director Sam Raimi, now features THE SOCIAL NETWORK’s Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and director Marc Webb.  

The new Spidey starts from ground zero, with an introduction to Peter Parker, played by Garfield, and his new love interest, Gwen,  played by Stone.  This time around Peter is a full-fledged high school student, dabbling in photography, and at the outset of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN he still has both of his parents.  

After the death of his parents, early in the film, Parker wants to discover what led to their deaths and he begins by investigating his father’s scientist colleague Dr. Curt Connors, played by Rhys Ifans.  After a visit to Connor’s laboratory, full of information and a spider bite, Parker’s senses are extremely astute and his strength overwhelming.

                                                                       

Minus the effective melodrama and bigger names, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN serves as a worthy reboot to one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes.  

Webb captures the excitement and wonder of a high school student obtaining superpowers, and weaves an entertaining tale based on Stan Lee’s comic book adventure.  Although sometimes distracting due to the similarities between the original film SPIDER-MAN, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN establishes its own identity with a slightly different Parker, a fresh face and character in Gwen and a backstory that could be more compelling than Raimi’s films.

Garfield’s Parker isn’t as obviously nerdy as Maguire’s, but he is still far enough from the fray of high school normalcy to be a compelling underdog.  The romance that instills between he and Gwen works, thanks in large part to Garfield and Stone, but also due to the fact that these characters aren’t polar opposites when it comes to popularity, intellect or appearance.  

Ifans is also a nice fit as Connors, aka The Lizard.  Although veering on insanity, Ifans delivers a broad, but relatively dark performance, a welcomed surprise from the typical comic relief role he provides.  

The film also delivers fun and thrilling moments from Parker’s basketball moves disrespecting the school bully to a nail-biting scene between The Lizard and Spidey on a hanging bridge.  THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does deliver a sometimes funny and often entertaining comic book movie.

Grade: B-

MAGIC MIKE

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

              

Director Steven Soderbergh turns his independent sensibilities and attention to the world of male stripping in his latest MAGIC MIKE.  

Magic Mike, played by Channing Tatum, is a 30-year old stripper, a construction worker, a small business owner and an aspiring furniture artist.  Although Mike’s night life is spent entertaining ladies at the Xquisite Male Dance Revue, he envisions himself as a 21^st century entrepreneur.  

Mike views his evening escapades as a way of paying the bills and investing in his business dream of creating one-of-kind, vintage furniture.  This isn’t to say he doesn’t enjoy the fringe benefits.  

Enter Adam, aka The Kid as Mike has dubbed him, a co-worker Mike befriends while working construction, and eventually convinces to join the ranks at the Xquisite.  Mike not only teaches Adam a few tricks of the trade, but also guides The Kid during after hours.

                                               

Although Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey’s abs and other extremities will draw many adoring fans into the theater, Soderbergh’s examination of the industry and Tatum’s surprisingly grounded performance will leave viewers with a lasting impression.  

As Soderbergh did with this year’s HAYWIRE, he expands upon with MAGIC MIKE, delving into his performers past and current professions with a curiosity and interest rarely shown by directors as accomplished as he.  With MAGIC MIKE, Soderbergh throws all pretensions aside, and grants Tatum and the industry as a whole a level of respect rarely seen on screen.  

This isn’t to say that MAGIC MIKE doesn’t give the ladies what they are looking for, complete with McConaughey shirtless in every scene he’s in.  The film does provide a fairly reflective look at a man who is drifting through a fantasy world of women, money and instant gratification.  Mike’s life is viewed through several prisms, as an on-stage heart-throb, a working class Joe and as a player who might not be as smooth as he thinks.  

Tatum is good, utterly convincing as a stage performer, while equally empathetic as a leading man.  McConaughey also does a nice job channeling his inner David Wooderson, ala DAZED AND CONFUSED.  

Soderbergh seems completely at ease with MAGIC MIKE, delivering a completely commercial picture, while still bringing his artistic awareness to the table.  MAGIC MIKE delivers both on-stage antics and off-stage substance.

Grade: B

BRAVE

Pictures courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

        

A rebel redhead defies her culture’s marital tradition in order to determine her own fate in the latest Pixar creation, BRAVE. 

Princess Merida, a spunky and free-spirited young archer, is slated for a suitor which will come from one of three lord’s sons.  Each son will attempt to win a competition, one determined by Merida, and in winning the event, will claim the Princess’s hand in marriage.  Merida selects an archery competition, and proceeds to best each of her suitors in the event, staking her claim to determine who she’ll marry.  This doesn’t sit well with her controlling mother, Queen Elinor, and Merida flees to the woods.  

In the woods, Merida meets a witch, and requests that the witch place a spell on her mother to make her mother change.  Merida’s wish is granted, but it doesn’t turn out the way the princess had expected.

                                                           

Conflict between parent and child is nothing new to Disney or Pixar, and needless to say, neither is a princess-centered tale.  

In spite of these similarities, Pixar’s BRAVE finds something distinct in its myth, a heroine-centered children’s yarn, one which benefits from a change of scenery.  This Scottish fable feels fresh due to its remote woodsy setting, characters dialect and the head-strong nature of Merida.  

Past Disney heroine’s from Belle to Mulan, have been strong in spirit, but never so eager to slash from convention and strike out on their own.  Merida’s confidence and independence enable her to take chances and risks that veer out-of-bounds from ordinary kid fare.  

The remainder of BRAVE’s characters aren’t as inspiring.  Elinor is as conventional as Merida is original, leaving little personality or gusto to the other central figure.  Merida’s father King Fergus is a jolly ole soul, both a brute and a goof, and her three brothers are equally ornery, but their impact is minimal both in terms of laughs or relevance.  Even the witch, who’s reluctance to assist marks a nice change, serves as merely a plot device to progress the internal family struggle between Merida and Elinor.  

BRAVE doesn’t break any new ground for the genre or studio, but it does create a real original in Merida, a character who’s as memorable as any past princesses.

Grade: B