Tag: Kaitlyn Dever

Thanksgiving Smörgåsbord: ‘The Front Runner’ – ‘Creed II’ – ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ – ‘Robin Hood’ (2018)

One of these things is not like the other…

Let’s get it on.

Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by Matt Bai & Jay Carson & Jason Reitman, based on the book All The Truth Is Out by Matt Bai
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J. K. Simmons, Alfred Molina, Sara Paxton, Mamoudou Athie, John Bedford Lloyd, Bill Burr, Kaitlyn Dever, Molly Ephraim, Josh Brener, Mike Judge, Kevin Pollak, Ari Graynor, Mark O’Brien, Alex Karpovsky, Toby Huss, Tommy Dewey, Spencer Garrett, Nyasha Hatendi, Steve Zissis, Chris Coy, Jennifer Landon, Oliver Cooper, Courtney Ford, Jonny Pasvolsky, Randy Havens, Steve Coulter, Jenna Kanell, Gabriel Manak, Evan Castelloe
Soundtrack: Rob Simonsen

The Front Runner has gotten mixed reviews, and I think I know why (Rorschach test-type situation), but ultimately I don’t understand why.  Given that we live in the Golden Age of the Documentary, and based-on-true-story movies often fail to justify themselves, this one was a refreshing exception.

I’ll admit that I haven’t seen a Jason Reitman film since Thank You for Smoking, which I enjoyed and which The Front Runner compares favorably to, though they are distinct from each other, but to me you can’t really ask for more from a non-fantastical film-making perspective.  It’s a period piece that takes itself very seriously in that regard (which I appreciated to no end), it’s slick, the performances are by-and-large very good if not excellent (a few questionable casting decisions, but nothing unforgivable), and, at least in my opinion, it lets you make up your own mind (which is perhaps why some people are down on it).

Truthfully though, this is the Hugh Jackman show.  Not that he doesn’t have plenty of help (Vera Farmiga in particular is her usual wonderful self), but it’s certainly among the best performances I’ve ever seen from him, maybe the best so far.  I don’t know if it’ll be “impressive” enough to earn him awards season love, but it would not shock me to see him earn some nods.

It may not be an entirely life-changing experience (although it is about not only a life-changing experience, but a societal-changing experience), but given how down this year has been for movies, I have no problem giving The Front Runner a quality recommendation.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Directed by Steven Caple Jr.
Written by Sylvester Stallone (story and screenplay), Juel Taylor (screenplay), Sascha Penn (story), and Cheo Hodari Coker (story)
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Wood Harris, Russell Hornsby, Andre Ward, Phylicia Rashad, Jacob “Stitch” Duran
Soundtrack: Ludwig Göransson

Alright, Rocky IV: Part 3-D.  Let’s do this.

It’s crazy, because the main fulcrum of Creed II is like something a couple of kids would have thought up on a playground thirty years ago: “What if Apollo Creed had a son and Ivan Drago had a son and they fought each other?”

And yet, it works.  As predictable as it may be at times, as a sequel to a sequel to a sequel will be, Creed II still has enough in its core to be satisfying.

Story-wise, it’s not as cohesive as I remember its predecessor being, but it brings out just as much emotion (cribbing good story elements from Rocky II, III, and IV helps with that), and, frankly, from a visual standpoint, I actually think it’s a better looking film (I can’t find any numbers, but I’m guessing this had a bigger budget than the $35 million for Creed, which would be one explanation why).

In terms of performances, not everybody gets a whole lot to do (even Stallone seems to have less screen-time than in the last one), but I can’t think of anyone who sticks out in a bad way (except maybe for Max “Where’s My Camera” Kellerman).  Even Dolph Lundgren (who I like more than most other people seem to) brings his fair share to the table.  And, he only gets about three scenes, but I really liked Russell Hornsby as the fight promoter.

I know I rag on Hollywood’s lack of originality these days quite a bit, but at the same time I try to judge every movie I see on it’s own merits, and I like what Creed II brings to the table, especially as a Rocky IV fan.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Directed by Phil Johnston & Rich Moore
Written by Phil Johnston (story and screenplay) & Pamela Ribon (story and screenplay), Rich Moore (story), Jim Reardon (story), Josie Trinidad (story)
Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson, Bill Hader, Alfred Molina, Alan Tudyk, Ed O’Neill, Flula Borg, Hamish Blake, Ali Wong, GloZell Green, Timothy Simons, Ana Ortiz, Jason Mantzoukas
Soundtrack: Henry Jackman

On the one hand, I want to hate on Ralph Breaks the Internet for being a giant corporate self-pleasure session (which, to be fair, it is).

On the other hand, it’s a lot of fun and it tugged at my heartstrings.

Life is complicated sometimes.

I don’t remember why I didn’t see Wreck-It Ralph in theaters, I think I was just too skeptical to pull the trigger, but eventually I came around to it on DVD and was pleasantly surprised; and the sequel is an even more pleasant surprise because it might actually be better than the original.

Does it go too far sometimes with the references for references’ sake?  Most certainly yes, but, strip all of that away (and, honestly, sometimes it is handled in clever and humorous ways, especially the princess elements), and you still have a solid story of friendship.  Simple, but solid.

It might seem obvious, given that it’s an animated film, but beyond the voice performances, which are by-and-large on point, and the music, the movie’s biggest strength is it’s detailed visual creativity.  Little things like how players in the not-Grand Theft Auto game move with a little lag as opposed to the free-flowing non-player characters, and just overall in how the Internet as a setting is portrayed, as I said, it’s a lot of fun.

Will Ralph Breaks the Internet hold up in ten to fifteen years?  Maybe, maybe not, but somehow it feels more substantial than a lot of other “time-capsule” movies.  I mean, it’s clearly geared towards Disney fanatics, of which I am not one, and I still give it a high recommendation, so, take that for what it’s worth.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Directed by Otto Bathurst
Written by Ben Chandler (screenplay and story) and David James Kelly (screenplay)
Cast: Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Tim Minchin, Jamie Dornan, Paul Anderson, Josh Herdman, Cornelius Booth, Björn Bengtsson
Soundtrack: Joseph Trapanese

Hey, remember Batman Begins?  That was a good movie.

No, but seriously, as much as this version of Robin Hood wanted me to hate it, I can’t say I hated it.  I wouldn’t say it’s good, but it’s not all bad either.

I don’t know that it entirely works or makes sense (in fact, it’s a bit jarring at times), but I don’t fault the filmmakers for trying to do something different in terms of visual style and fight choreography.  After all, when you’re the fifty-seventh (numbers approximate) Robin Hood movie in film history, you’ve got to do something to distinguish yourself.

Honestly, even story-wise, I wouldn’t say things are entirely poor, but there are moments when the writing is so awful you can’t even believe it.  Add to this a dose of ham-fisted social and political commentary (The War on Terror is the new Crusades!  The Church is evil!), which is no surprise given that one of the producers is Leonardo DiCaprio, and some related tonal inconsistencies (much of the movie is played pretty straight, but then there are scenes, in order to paint people as cartoonishly evil, that are like The Hunger Games meets Mad Max), and you go from a pretty good movie to something you’d randomly find in a Redbox.

As I keep saying though, it’s not all bad, and most of the good comes down to Taron Egerton as Robin Hood.  Occasionally there’s a line or two that not even Laurence Olivier could make good, but on the whole his performance is charming and enjoyable, yet deeply human.

Still though, as most remakes are, 2018’s Robin Hood isn’t really worth your time or money.

You might even say that it’s a Thanksgiving turkey.

Rating: ★★½ (out of five)

Movie Review – ‘Detroit’ – Life During Wartime

(Yes, the title of the post is specifically a Talking Heads reference.)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Written by Mark Boal
Cast: John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Jack Reynor, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben O’Toole, John Krasinski, Anthony Mackie, Joseph David-Jones, Laz Alonso, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Chris Chalk, Jeremy Strong, Samira Wiley, Tyler James Williams, Amari Cheatom Karen Pittman, Chris Coy, Frank Wood
Soundtrack: James Newton Howard

Despite my unpopular opinion that Point Break is overrated, and despite the fact that I have seen neither The Hurt Locker nor Zero Dark Thirty (and probably won’t anytime soon; my reasons are my own), it is my considered opinion that Kathryn Bigelow is generally a high-quality filmmaker, and Detroit is another high-quality film.

She’s done multiple period pieces before, fictional and factual alike (The Loveless and K-19: The Widowmaker, respectively), and as Detroit is her third consecutive collaboration with screenwriter (and former journalist) Mark Boal, it’s clear her last two films have some influence on the present, but if you’ve ever seen 1995’s Strange Days (which, judging by the box office numbers, you probably haven’t), you know she’s no stranger to the topics of racial tension, sprawling urban violence, and police brutality (it may sound crazy because Strange Days is a sci-fi film and not a true-life story, but I think there are parallels nonetheless; it’s also shockingly relevant more than two decades later).

Detroit is a dramatized account of the Twelfth Street riot that shook the city fifty years ago (one of the most devastating of that Long Hot Summer), sometimes mixing in real footage amidst the reel footage, with a specific focus on the Algiers Motel incident, those involved, and the aftermath.

Like anything that even touches on hot-button issues these days, I think this film will piss people off in both directions, for “going too far” or “not far enough”, but I’ll tell you, as a movie, it works exceedingly well.  For a film with a nearly two-and-a-half hour runtime, there was only time where I thought to myself, “Oh no, this is lagging; please don’t lag,” but I can’t even remember what the moment was because everything afterward just flew by.

This is not to say that Detroit is a “fun watch” (there’s a sprinkle of diffusive humor here and there, more towards the beginning, but by-and-large it’s straight ahead).  It’s a deadly serious film about deadly serious subject matter, but it’s undeniably compelling, even darkly hypnotizing at points.  This is largely thanks to the high grade of performances across the board.

I may as well highlight John Boyega and Will Poulter because I think they get the most screen-time and do a great job (no bad accents here either), but the well runs deep.  There are so many newcomers that I can’t even keep up, but I can’t recall anybody doing anything to take me out of what I was watching, which, for a large cast in a long, intense (and I do mean INTENSE) movie, is quite impressive.  The fact that everybody is so young is pretty mind-blowing as well.

On another note, it’s no secret how much I’m over the neo-vérité, Paul Greengrass-esque style of shooting and editing, which I was somewhat concerned about when I saw Barry Ackroyd’s (cinematographer) name attached to this film, but it’s fairly reigned-in; certainly a far cry from Jason Bourne in terms of headache inducement.  I’m still taking points off for shooting a period piece digitally instead of on film, but, at least I didn’t get car sick.

Lastly, not that I’m an expert, but the production design feels impressive as well.  I can’t say if everything was perfect (especially since not everything was shot in Michigan on account of the state’s film tax credit being phased out), but, much like the cast, there was nothing that took me out of the movie.

As I’ve said, political satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) aside, Detroit is a tremendous dramatic work, and, despite the age of the story (in a similar-but-different way to Dunkirk), it still has things to tell us today.

Just don’t expect a happy ending.

Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)