Tag: Patrick St. Esprit

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)

Movie Review – ‘War Dogs’ – Nothing is Coincidence

Directed by Todd Phillips
Written by Stephen Chin & Todd Phillips & Jason Smilovic (screenplay), based on the Rolling Stone article “Arms and the Dudes” by Guy Lawson
Cast: Miles Teller, Jonah Hill, Ana de Armas, Kevin Pollak, Bradley Cooper, Shaun Toub, JB Blanc, Gabriel Spahiu, Patrick St. Esprit, Wallace Langham, Eddie Jemison, Julian Sergi, Barry Livingston, David Packouz (cameo)
Soundtrack: Cliff Martinez

After a solid decade-and-a-half making generally successful funny-type movies (including Old School and The Hangover Trilogy), it seems that writer/director Todd Phillips is finally branching out the way he wants to.

It’s only fair, given that his comedic contemporary Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers) won an Oscar for last year’s The Big Short, but compared to that film, War Dogs is less comedic, less concise, and less explicit about what it’s commenting on, though that’s not to say it isn’t a good movie in its own right.

Based on the crazy true story, as outlined in a Rolling Stone article, War Dogs is about David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli (Miles Teller and Jonah Hill), a couple of twenty-something stoners who go from comparatively small-time arms dealers to being on the business end of a $300 million Department of Defense contract.

The premise alone is enough to keep you going for the runtime, but there are problems with the story structure and pacing.  The whole movie is essentially told in two extended acts and then a quick wrap up.  In other words, what should have been a full third act is breezed over in about five to ten minutes, which is frustrating.  Also, given that the movie is very much a going-into-business story, it might have been nice to see the machinations of our boys closing on more than just a couple of significant deals.

However, War Dogs does absolutely shine in the performance department, because everyone is believable.  Maybe Miles Teller doesn’t do anything special, but he puts in a good shift, and definitely works well as an audience surrogate type of protagonist.

As for Jonah Hill, I’m not afraid to say that this is the finest performance of his career so far (at least as far as I know).  The evolution of how you feel about his character as the movie progresses is rather incredible, and leads me to believe that he could pull off a dramatic lead role in the future if he so desires.  Perhaps if the movie was released a bit closer to awards season, he’d pick up a nomination or two, but I have a feeling he’ll be overshadowed by the time we get there.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Bradley Cooper, who, despite only appearing in a few scenes, makes quite an impression.

On the whole, I’d say that War Dogs is worth seeing, just don’t expect another Wolf of Wall Street or Big Short; it’s a step down from either of those, but the story is interesting enough and the acting is strong enough to help get your money’s worth, not to mention some pretty solid laughs along the way.

Rating: ★★★½