Charlize Theron – People Talking

Movie Review – ‘Atomic Blonde’ – “Sound and Fury…”

Directed by David Leitch
Written by Kurt Johnstad, based on the Oni Press graphic novel series “The Coldest City” written by Antony Johnston and illustrated by Sam Hart
Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Sofia Boutella, Bill Skarsgård, Sam Hargrave, Til Schweiger, Daniel Bernhardt
Soundtrack: Tyler Bates

When I first saw the trailer for Atomic Blonde, I wasn’t buying it, but, as time went on, it grew on me, and eventually I realized there was quite a lot to be excited for.

Behind the camera, you’ve got the uncredited co-director of the original (and still superior) John Wick, and, based on the trailer for this film, it looks like he had enough sense to pull the lens back far enough to effectively capture the action (avoiding a Jason Bourne-type situation). You’ve got one of the screenwriters of 300, someone with an understanding of adapting stylized graphic novels to the big screen (also worth noting that Tyler Bates did the musical score for 300 and both John Wicks). And, you’ve got a highly respected cast of actors dedicating themselves to what appears to be a genre piece.

So, does it work?

Well…not really, no.

I’d very much compare my experience seeing Atomic Blonde to my experience seeing Carnage Park, in that it lost me, eventually won me over, then lost me again.

I should have absolutely loved this movie: period piece, Cold War, Berlin Wall, East and West Germany, spies, Charlize Theron throwing it down, little nods here and there to other films, but, overall, it just didn’t click.

First of all, almost the entirety of the narrative is framed within a debriefing/interview/interrogation, which just feels tired (a bit film school-y at this point, honestly), but the biggest problem is that the plot is so convoluted (and needlessly so, especially for a film of this type) that by the end I didn’t even care what happened, I was just glad it was over.

Frankly, I don’t think the movie quite knows what it is. At times it feels like it’s going for a John Wick-type vibe, but it’s not quite cool enough or emotional enough to make that work, and other times it feels like it wants to be a real-life clever spy movie, but it doesn’t have enough intelligence to make that work, so, ultimately it’s just stuck in the middle of the road.

As far as the performances go, I think everyone in the cast does okay with what they’re given; nobody strikes me as an albatross, but nobody really stands out either. Even Wonder Woman had at least one character that stuck with me, even if I didn’t particularly enjoy the movie.

In terms of what works, there’s one sequence in particular in this film that people are already talking about, and it is fairly impressive in its own right, but I hesitate to call it truly groundbreaking. Beyond that, I like a lot of the trappings (production design, costumes, period television clips, cool Eighties tunes), but there’s not much else for the film to hang its hat on.

In the end, I didn’t dislike Atomic Blonde enough to give it a failing grade, because there are some good bits, but not enough to justify a theatrical experience.

Ultimately, it feels like a rental (even matinee feels high).

I’m so sorry.

Rating: ★★½ (out of five)

P.S.
There’s no stinger, just in case you decide to not heed my advice.

Movie Review – ‘The Fate of the Furious’ – Stylistically Designed To Be That Way

Directed by F. Gary Gray
Written by Chris Morgan based on characters created by Gary Scott Thompson
Cast: Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Luke Evans, Elsa Pataky, Kristofer Hivju, Scott Eastwood, Patrick St. Esprit, Olek Krupa, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Helen Mirren
Soundtrack: Brian Tyler

I can’t imagine all the way back in 2001 when Rob Cohen was directing The Fast and The Furious that he had any idea his little “Point Break with street racing” movie would eventually evolve into a series of roided-out Italian Jobs (fun fact: the 2003 remake was also directed by F. Gary Gray), let alone whatever The Fate of the Furious is (not to mention F&F is the most successful franchise in Universal’s history). At this point we’ve gone past full-circle and have left orbit on an entirely new trajectory, one that, frankly, I’m not entirely comfortable with.

Again, “Most movies have problems unless you’re Ghost Busters or The Rocketeer,” but The Fate of The Furious has some deep issues.

First of all, I said in my review of Furious 7 that I hope the series doesn’t continue on without Paul Walker, and I now feel completely justified. His absence is painfully obvious, and a reference to him by the characters is only salt in the wound. It’s a tough spot to be in, but, I can’t help thinking it should’ve been handled better.

Secondly, this movie finally manages to go too far in a few places (in a bad way), namely shakycam, magical hacking, and scenes that just make you wonder, “How did we arrive here with this franchise?” I mean, I’ve looked the other way on certain square pegs being hammered into round holes to make these movies fit together, but there’s a limit, and F8 reached it. I don’t mind hand-to-hand combat and gunplay in my action movies, but there was an inappropriate amount of it for this crew.

Worst of all though, this movie got too dark for me (sometimes literally), at least in terms of what the franchise is. For sure, serious things have happened before in the F&F universe (characters have been killed, family members threatened, etc.), but, again, this one went too far. I’m a little tired of the dark, gritty Nolan-ization of Hollywood in general (not that I don’t love Christopher Nolan, but not everything has the be The Dark Knight), but I never expected Fast & Furious to go that hard in the paint. At a certain point, I actually said to myself while watching F8, “I’m not having fun anymore. Remember when these movies were fun?”

All that said…

Just when I thought I was out, THEY PULL ME BACK IN.

Despite all of its flaws (including a lackluster performance from Charlize Theron, though I don’t necessarily blame her), I think I did enjoy this movie overall. I certainly didn’t feel ripped off in the end. It’s obviously flawed, and it’s on the bottom end of Fast & Furious movies, but there’s enough total entertainment value (aka things that are over the top in a good way) for me to give it more than a non-recommendation, provided you know what you’re getting into going in.

Catch it on a matinee if you want to be safe, but I won’t talk you out of seeing it.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

Twofer Movie Review: ‘Green Room’ and ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ – Dark & Stormy

So, we’ve got two movies this weekend, one not quite yet going wide and the other going full spread; both look like they could use a little boost.

Green Room

Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Mark Webber, Imogen Poots, Taylor Tunes, Macon Blair, Eric Edelstein, David W. Thompson, and Sir Patrick Stewart
Soundtrack: Brooke Blair and Will Blair

I know this movie’s really good because I already want to go see it again.

Let it be said that writer/directer Jeremy Saulnier likes what he knows and knows what he likes, namely hardcore punk, grisly violence, and ratcheting up tension.

This was true in his sophomore effort, ‘Blue Ruin‘, and it’s even more true for ‘Green Room’.

Everybody knows that horror is not exactly my bailiwick, but ‘Green Room’ is my kind of serious bloody thriller: no stupid jump-scares, no dumb CGI monsters, and no torture porn. It’s just a simple story about a punk band in the wrong place at the wrong time. As much as I enjoy big movies with big struggles (gotta save the earth, again), I also enjoy movies where small things become dramatic elements (like in ‘A Most Wanted Man‘, I never knew how important someone merely signing a piece of paper could feel). ‘Green Room’ revels in the small details. There are no waves of nameless, faceless drones; everything is personal.

Now, it’s not like we haven’t seen this kind of movie before (‘Assault on Precinct 13‘ comes to mind), but what makes ‘Green Room’ unique is the cultural setting (hardcore punk scene), and the performances, namely of one Sir Patrick Stewart as a neo-Nazi club owner. He has such presence in general whenever he appears on screen, but in this case he’s that villain you love to hate. I think he truly relished the role and it shines through in every frame he appears.

Order of the British Empire aside, I’d be remiss if I didn’t praise the efforts of our band of survivors, Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, and Imogen Poots. I’m not saying there’s anything Oscar-worthy happening here, but they all put in solid performances as, punk aesthetics aside, otherwise ordinary people in an extraordinary situation.

Ultimately, I like ‘Green Room’ because it’s a movie that punches above its weight class. It’s small and not too flashy, but it delivers big. Whether you’re into more slasher type horror or traditional Hitchcockian thrillers, or if you just like hardcore punk, you should definitely see it, although I bet it’ll make you think twice about stepping foot in a skinhead club ever again.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin, based on characters created by Evan Daugherty
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost, Rob Brydon, Sam Hazeldine, Sam Claflin, Ralph Ineson
Soundtrack: James Newton Howard

I’m not sure what’s up with all these fairy tale movies and TV shows the past few years, other than the usual trope of Hollywood selling literally anything people recognize (including but not limited to board games), but at least ‘Snow White and The Huntsman‘ tried to interject some original ideas. The biggest problem with that film, despite how great it looked (way better looking than that ridiculous ‘Hobbit’ trilogy), was it was pretty much just dark and brooding the entire time.

In comparison to its predecessor, ‘Winter’s War’ (which is both a prequel and a sequel; for good measure, I suppose) is bloodier, sexier, and, most importantly, has more humor. Most of the laughs come from the natural comedic chemistry of Rob Brydon and Nick Frost, but plenty of other characters have moments as well. This is not to say that ‘Winter’s War’ is a comedy, but it’s nice to have a chuckle once and a while to ease the tension (even Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ Trilogy had moments of levity for the audience). After all, this is by and large a general audience movie, not some kind of horror film.

Now, I’m not going to put ‘Winter’s War’ in the must-see category, but if you just feel like going to the movies sometime in the next month, it’s an acceptable choice, and even if you haven’t seen the prior film, I’m sure you’ll follow along just fine. It’s got a good cast, fairly state-of-the-art visuals, and provides enough entertainment to take a flyer on. Plus, it’s a rare sequel that trumps the first movie.

(I mean, seriously; when are Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, and Jessica Chastain ever going to be in the same movie again?)

Rating: ★★★½

Movie Review – ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ – The Thirst is Real

Directed by George Miller
Written by George Miller & Brendan McCarthy & Nick Lathouris
Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, John Howard, Richard Carter, iOTA, Angus Sampson, Jennifer Hagan, Megan Gale, Melissa Jaffer, Richard Norton
Soundtrack: Junkie XL

Among the ultimate compliments I can pay this film is that after leaving the theater I had an insatiable desire to make my car’s engine ROOAAARRR.

And so I did. As often as I could.

Made it home in record time.

Anyway, if you’ve seen the trailer for this movie (and if you haven’t, just click the picture above), you might wonder if the film can possibly live up to its own brilliantly edited preview. I can say with certainty that Mad Max: Fury Road does live up to its trailer, and perhaps even surpasses the expectations it sets.

What I cannot say for certain is whether this movie is a sequel or a reboot, a question that simultaneously does and does not matter.

One of the beauties of any Mad Max film is that you need not see the previous installment in order to understand the movie you’re currently watching. However, there are little rewards for being caught up, so I was glad I watched the original three films before heading down Fury Road. There aren’t too many explicit callbacks in this new Mad Max, but there are a lot of subtle echoes that fans of the franchise will appreciate (not to mention Hugh Keays-Byrne, aka “The Toecutter” himself from the 1979 original, plays the main baddie in this one, although it’s definitely an entirely separate character; no confusion here, unlike when Bruce Spence played two different pilots in two different movies).

I know that George Miller originally wanted to make this film in the early 2000s, starring Mel Gibson (before a lot of things fell through, making this the Duke Nukem Forever of action movies for a while), so that fact would suggest sequel, but almost everything else points to a reboot, especially “Max” himself; and not just the fact that it’s a different actor, but the character as written on the page. Tom Hardy’s “Max” has definitely had more of his humanity stripped away than Mel’s ever did. I guess this isn’t a bad thing, it’s just an adjustment for anyone already familiar with the franchise.

Other than that key character difference though, my main criticisms of this movie are its length and its questionable protagonist. To be sure, I wouldn’t say that Fury Road ever drags or feels boring, it’s just a little bit of an ice cream headache by the end of its two hour running time (in comparison, Mad Max 1 and 2 are about 90 minutes, and Beyond Thunderdome is around 100 minutes). And as far as ambiguous protagonists go, Fury Road isn’t nearly as bad as, say, The Hobbit trilogy, but there are some long stretches where Max feels like just a passenger in this story (regardless of whether or not he’s physically driving). When your title character doesn’t behave like a title character, well, it just creates a little bit of a disconnect.

But hey! Who cares about all that mamble jamble!?

All you really want to know is whether this movie will totally rock your socks off, right!?

Well, let me tell you, it will.

Whatever minor weaknesses Fury Road has in story and characterization are more than made up for by the visuals. It’s the Maddest Max of them all; equal parts aesthetic beauty and visceral brutality. Quite frankly, in terms of pure cinematic grandeur, it’s the biggest and boldest thing I’ve seen since Interstellar. Not only do I want to see this movie again, I want to see it on the largest screen I can find.

You’ve got to hand it to George Miller. The man knows how to capture desolate places in the most gorgeous way possible, and, despite the fact that Fury Road is basically one-long-full-blast-high-octane-action-scene, I hope it gets some love from the Academy come Oscar season. Sure, it’s not likely to earn a Best Picture nod, but in terms of cinematography, costume and production design, editing, sound, and visual effects, it deserves top marks. It’s especially impressive given that it “only” cost $150 million, seeing as how many of the biggest movies these days are being made for well more than that.

And did I mention the ridiculous cars? If you thought the vehicle design in Furious 7 was gratuitously awesome, wait til you see what Fury Road has in store for you.

My ultimate point is that going to the movies is an expensive proposition these days, and more and more people are becoming more and more picky about what they actually pay money to see in theaters. Well, my friends, Fury Road is definitely one that’s worth the cost, because this Mad Max might just go down as The Greatest Show of 2015. It’s an incredible spectacle.

And, if you’re someone who doesn’t just want an “experience”, but something deeper, there’s plenty of material for you to work with here. I just didn’t pay it all that much mind, what with all the explosions and everything.

Is it the best Mad Max of them all? Hard to say. I think The Road Warrior will always be my favorite, but maybe the question doesn’t even matter.

All that does matter is that you see this movie as George Miller intended, because it’s totally worth it.

“I live. I die. I live again.”

Rating: ★★★★½

P.S.
Speaking of $200 million movies, there’s almost a handful of nouveau X-Men alumni in the cast: Nicholas Hoult (Young Beast), Josh Helman (‘Lil Willie Stryker), Zoë Kravitz (Angel Salvadore), and even Hugh Jackman’s personal double, Taris Tyler, had some involvement. This is totally irrelevant to Max Max: Fury Road, but as an avid moviegoer it was definitely something I noticed.

Carry on.