Jeremy Renner – People Talking

Movie Review – ‘Wind River’ – Frontier Justice

Written and Directed by Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Kelsey Asbille, Julia Jones, Teo Briones, Apesanahkwat, Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal, Eric Lange, Gil Birmingham, Tokala Clifford, Martin Sensmeier, Tyler Laracca, Ian Bohen, Hugh Dillon, Matthew Del Negro, James Jordan, Jon Bernthal, Blake Robbins
Soundtrack: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

In a span of less than two years, Taylor Sheridan has proven himself to be one of the great screenwriters of this decade, having previously penned Sicario and Hell Or High Water; and now he proves himself to be a fine filmmaker as well.

Equal parts harsh and beautiful, like the cold western landscapes it so revels in, Wind River is a quiet, mature thriller with genuine emotional depth and down-to-earth characters.

The story is not particularly complicated, a girl’s been murdered on an Indian Reservation and we need to find out who did it, but I don’t mind in this case. Sometimes overly twisty plots can take you right out of the movie if they’re not done with the proper touch, so I applaud the restraint here (aka not everything needs to be The Usual Suspects).

In terms of performances, I’ve had a soft spot for Jeremy Renner since I first noticed him all the way back in 2003’s S.W.A.T. He’s a fine actor who does well with everything he’s given, but he hasn’t gotten many opportunities to truly shine. Wind River is one such opportunity.

Given its August release, I’m not sure how much faith the studio has that Wind River will be major awards bait, but make no mistake, this is the best Jeremy Renner performance we’ve seen in some time. True, it’s very much in his usual understated fashion, but let’s just say he carries a lot of weight in this one.

Naturally, Elizabeth Olsen puts in a good shift as well (what a delight she’s been since seemingly coming out of nowhere in 2011; even if she was in that awful American Godzilla…), and the supporting characters really help fill everything out, particularly Graham Greene and Gil Birmingham (the scenes between he and Renner are among my favorite in the film).

I also give this movie a lot of credit for its realistic and darkly beautiful portrayal of grief (I put it up there with the original Edge of Darkness mini-series), which is something we don’t get enough of in our media across the board (too often it’s played way up, either melodramatically or for comedy’s sake, depending on the context).

Wind River is also remarkably successful at being laid back but never boring, which I attribute to Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay and story structure, dolling out information at a steady enough rate to keep the audience constantly engaged.

Other than that, I don’t have much else to say, good or bad, but if I do have one small criticism, it’s that I felt like this movie could have been more cinematic in its look (sometimes I got a real TV vibe from what I was seeing), but that’s about it.

All-in-all, Wind River is an impressive “debut” from Taylor Sheridan, on par with the classic Coen Brothers noirs (just played a little straighter, as most Coen films are dark comedies at heart), and a fine addition to what continues to be one of the best movie summers I can remember for a long time.

Check it out.

Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)

Movie Review – ‘Captain America: Civil War’ – Counting the Cost

Directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (screenplay), based on the comic book by Mark Millar & Steven McNiven, based on characters created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Florence Kasumba
Soundtrack: Henry Jackman

I’m not going to spend too much time on this because the reality is you’ve most likely made your mind up already, and that’s fine.

Captain America: Civil War is the latest offering in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is now up to 13 movies (and counting) since Iron Man first hit the screen in 2008. It’s basically another Avengers movie because almost everyone is assembled except for Thor, Hulk, and Nick Fury, though the plot does mostly focus on the eponymous Captain. Marvel also wisely brought back the Russo Brothers to direct the film, after their successful turn with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which I highly rate in terms of the MCU).

I do have some issues with the movie. For one, it’s overly long. I’m not even saying it drags, though many may have that opinion, but I do have a problem that all the big Marvel movies are becoming 2.5 hours long. It’s not like the Nolan Batman series where it’s a closed trilogy and you need to pack in as much as you can, Marvel has these planned out til Infinity [Wars]; maybe they could find a way to be a little more economical with the storytelling? ‘Winter Soldier’ wasn’t that long.

Also, and this is likely related to the previous point, there are some scenes that I suppose are in the movie to connect it to future movies, but in the movie at hand they feel like superfluous vestiges (like your appendix, you can live just fine without it). Dare I say, we may be seeing the first real signs of fatigue from the MCU, but then Dr. Strange might revitalize things a la Guardians of the Galaxy, so I don’t know.

Overall, Civil War holds a good balance of fun, action, and more serious themes of power, friendship, and the intersection of the two. It has a great cast giving solid performances (though some appearances are little more than cameos), and I actually found myself invested in the story outside of the action set pieces. Most importantly, there are no giant blue lasers shooting into space.

If you’re already into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ll probably like it quite a bit. If you’re coming in fresh, I don’t really know what to tell you, but I’m sure you’ll get something out of it.

Rating: ★★★½

P.S.
These pint glasses from Alamo Drafthouse are incredible.

P.P.S.
In terms of new characters, I was underwhelmed by Black Panther, but I loved Spider-Man.

Movie Review – ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ – The Well Runs Deep

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Written by Christopher McQuarrie (story and screenplay) and Drew Pearce (story), based on the television series created by Bruce Geller
Cast: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin
Soundtrack: Joe Kraemer

It’s been a little over three-and-a-half years since the last Mission: Impossible movie was released, and I still can’t figure out if “Mission: Impossible Fans” are even a thing (I mean, I’m definitely one), but I know they should be. Over the span of nearly two decades, one of the best action film series in existence (and certainly one of the better film series in general) has slowly but surely been dosed out to us, and I really don’t think the movie-going public has fully appreciated it. It’s time they come ’round.

My own personal journey with this [movie] franchise began in earnest in 2011, as a means to an end. Sure, I had seen the first one on TV a bunch of times (gotta love USA Network), and the second one in theaters back in 2000 (the third one I missed completely, probably thanks to being in college at the time of its release), but when I learned that they’d be showing footage from The Dark Knight Rises ahead of IMAX screenings of Ghost Protocol, well, as Master Shake would say, “Now what you’re saying is interesting.”

It was then decided, my best friend and myself would watch I, II, and III on the opening day of the fourth installment, and so we did. “Mission: Impossible Day”, as we naturally called it, was not an exercise without merit, after all, Ghost Protocol had callbacks going all the way back to the first one, but it was that fourth film in the series that really sold me on the franchise. The original is objectively the best film (and might be my favorite Brian De Palma movie; I know that sounds crazy), but Ghost Protocol remains my favorite, because Brad Bird and company absolutely nailed that perfect mix of “serious stakes” and “fun and enjoyable” (pretty much the same tone as Ghost Busters, though with much less ectoplasm…I hope).

So, where does Rogue Nation fit into all of this?

Well, it’s not the best one, and it’s not my favorite one, but it’s very, very good.

Performance-wise, everybody’s fine all around, though not everyone is given much to do. Cruise, Ferguson, and Pegg are decidedly the stars of the show, with Renner, Rhames, and Baldwin solidly in support. For those characters with unsure allegiances, they do a great job of keeping you guessing throughout the run time, which is especially appreciated in a movie about espionage. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Sean Harris (who you might recognize from Prometheus). He’s not an all-time villain by any stretch, but he brings about a nice mix of menace and creep factor that an evil spy should.

One aspect of the series I’ve always appreciated is that each movie has a different director at the helm, and Rogue Nation gives us longtime Bryan Singer-collaborator Christopher McQuarrie (perhaps most famous for writing The Usual Suspects). In terms of overall filmmaking, McQuarrie wisely decided not to try to out-top the last installment, opting instead to go smaller and more intimate, relatively speaking (the scope of the story still spans the globe). The result is something darker and generally less humorous than I expected, but the laughs are still there, and the action and accompanying stunt work is definitely still there (arguably never better, as that is actually Tom Cruise hanging onto the side of a real plane). It’s almost like a nice medium between new tough-realistic James Bond and classic over-the-top James Bond.

McQuarrie’s screenplay also features some clever self-reflection on the series itself, referencing past events, and even going as far to say that Ethan Hunt is the embodiment of “destiny” (or something to that effect). All-in-all, it was refreshing to watch a big movie that, while it certainly had the global market in mind, was made with more than a 5th grade level of intelligence. There’s some product placement I could complain about, but it’s mostly in the first reel, so it’s not a distraction throughout.

Honestly though, perhaps lost in all of the spectacle, the five different directors (i.e. J.J. Abrams), and the myriad of producing partners (i.e. J.J. Abrams), is that this whole film franchise is really Tom Cruise’s baby; because Paramount may have held the property rights, but it was fan of the TV show Tom Cruise that actually got the ball rolling. Not only has he been the star of each film, but he’s produced them all as well. In fact, Mission: Impossible was the very first movie released under the banner of his production company, Cruise/Wagner Productions.

So, go ahead and say what you want about the man personally, but Tom Cruise continues to give us the gift of a great action franchise, arguably at the time we need it most, and Rogue Nation is a worthy addition to it.

Whether you’re a “Mission: Impossible Fan” or not, I’m betting you’ll have a good time (though if you’ve not yet seen Ghost Protocol, I recommend checking that one out first, but I’m not making it a requirement).

Rating: ★★★★☆

P.S.
Have you seen Kingsman yet?