Sam Hazeldine – People Talking

Movie Review – ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ – Stuck in the Middle With You

Directed by Patrick Hughes
Written by Tom O’Connor
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek, Elodie Yung, Joaquim de Almeida, Kirsty Mitchell, Richard E. Grant, Rod Hallett, Georgie Glen, Michael Gor, Tine Joustra, Sam Hazeldine, Alan McKenna, Joséphine de La Baume, Ori Pfeffer
Soundtrack: Atli Örvarsson

If you’ve ever wondered, “Whatever happened to the spirit of Cannon Films?” you need look no further than executive producer extraordinaire, Mr. Avi Lerner (NOT to be confused with Marvel’s Avi Arad; they are, in fact, different people).

Lerner got his start at Cannon in the mid-Eighties, and in the wake of Golan-Globus’s demise founded a new production company called Nu Image, which later gave birth to a subsidiary, Millenium Films, which later produced The Hitman’s Bodyguard.

Essentially, for better or worse (mostly worse), The Hitman’s Bodyguard is a modern day Cannon movie, just without the charm of having been shot on film thirty years ago (not to mention no Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris, or Michael Dudikoff).

Honestly, and maybe it’s just me, I associate Millenium FIlms with movies I get from Redbox, which is about what I’d rate The Hitman’s Bodyguard. It’s not the worst movie ever, there’s actually a decent percentage of elements I like, but its biggest problem is that it’s a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster: different parts assembled together but not truly fitting.

Film lovers often talk about the importance of tone and the consistency thereof, but it is possible for a movie to carry different tones and still work (e.g. Gremlins, which is legitimately funny at times and scary at others; see also: Ghost Busters), which I think this movie was trying to do, but it’s not very successful in that regard. I like to think that no subject is truly off limits for comedy, but it’s extremely difficult to reconcile scenes of a dictatorial war criminal with a serious tone with scenes of people flatulating (and other such cheap “humor”) with a farcical tone.

I know it’s downright unfair, but I couldn’t help but wonder how a filmmaker like Edgar Wright would handle this material (Midnight Run meets John Wick meets…Spy?). There’s enough juice in the concept, and even in the script, that it could have been something truly special, but the execution is just so middle-of-the-road (especially the score; it feels like an afterthought), despite the natural star-power of Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson.

Now, what did I think was good? Well, I actually enjoyed a lot of the action for action’s sake, which is extremely rare. The Amsterdam canal chase in particular gave me some Roger Moore-era James Bond 2.0 vibes, which I’m fine with. There’s a revealed backstory to Sam Jackson’s character that I thought was cool on its own (but doesn’t necessarily work in this movie). There’s also some song-based humor (a la Guardians of the Galaxy) that I thought was funny, but might not work for everyone. Lastly, I appreciated that the violence had a harder edge to it than a lot of other action movies these days, but again, I don’t know how appropriate it was in this movie.

So, there you have it. Personally, I was entertained enough that I give The Hitman’s Bodyguard just barely a passing grade, but it’s a long way from a full price recommendation. If you’re really curious, catch it at a matinee, or just wait for it to hit that Redbox.

You know, like all those other Millenium Films.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

P.S.
There’s no stinger, but there’s a long outtake at the end of the credits; if you’re still interested by then.

P.P.S.
I know I keep taking the piss out of Millenium FIlms, but The Iceman is actually a great little dark true crime movie.

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: ‘The Monuments Men’ – It Just Doesn’t Work

Directed by George Clooney
Written by George Clooney & Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter
Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, Bob Balaban, Sam Hazeldine
Soundtrack: Alexandre Desplat

You’re probably wondering why I’m choosing to talk about a film that isn’t a box office success, critical hit, or, most importantly, a new release, but this whole talking about whatever thing has to start somewhere, and I have strong opinions about this particular movie, so here we go.

First off, for the record, as a film enthusiast and someone with a history degree, I really wanted to like this movie, so it pained me dearly at the close of the film to have to admit that it just wasn’t very good, and that I wouldn’t recommend it to general audiences.

But, before I get too far in my criticism, I do want to praise this movie for what it does well, and that comes especially in the visual department. First of all, as far as I can tell, Monuments Men was shot on actual film, rather than digitally. I never imagined I’d ever be giving a movie credit for such a choice, but these days it seems as if shooting on film is viewed by most major studios as going above and beyond, which I can understand, as digital technology is just so convenient for so many reasons, not the least of which being cost; but no matter how far digital cameras have come, there are just certain projects that should be shot on actual film, period pieces especially.

(Just don’t tell that to Michael Mann. As much as I respect the guy for movies like Heat and Collateral, I’ll never understand his choice to not only shoot Public Enemies digitally, but to make that choice so obvious. I mean, would he have shot Last of the Mohicans digitally if he’d had the choice? I hope not. But I digress.)

So, from a cinematic standpoint, Monuments Men looks great: the depth, the color, etc. And what enhances this is the attention to detail paid in terms of the costumes, props, vehicles, and visual effects. I don’t know how much CGI was used in the film, but it certainly doesn’t feel like all that much, and it’s used effectively and appropriately. Frankly, I think the filmmakers made every effort to carry on without it as much as they physically could, and I commend them for that as well.

Unfortunately, other than looking great and feeling real in the visual sense, there’s not much else that Monuments Men gets right. The crux of the problem is a general lack of focus in the writing and directing, and that comes down primarily on George Clooney’s shoulders. I understand this was a passion project for him, and it’s hard to give up control of something when it’s your baby, but I think he did the movie a disservice by taking on too much responsibility.

I haven’t read the book the film is based on, so I can’t comment on the quality of the adaptation, but from a creative perspective, the movie is trying to be too many things at once (and I think it assumes the audience has read the book). It wants to be an Old Hollywood light-hearted propaganda film, while also being a by-the-book historical film, while also being a poignant commentary on the nature of war and the importance of art in our lives, and so on and so forth, to the point that the varying concepts simply collapse under their own weight, and you’re left with a flat-as-a-pancake story and characters, with very little to connect to from an audience perspective.

To put it another way, one of the biggest areas where Monuments Men fails is in the emotions. Despite a great cast, we’re not given enough time or reason to connect with the characters; so when each actor gets their individual moment to shine, none of the scenes move us, and so these moments stand in service of nothing.

In comparison, I think of a movie like Memphis Belle. There are ten men in the crew of the titular aircraft, which means there are ten men for us to care about, which can be a stretch for an audience if not handled correctly, but in Memphis Belle we’re given enough time with and information about the characters: where they come from, their personalities, and their dreams for after the war. So, when things get dramatic, we actually feel it as an audience because we know and care about these guys.

This is where choosing someone else to direct Monuments Men would have solved a lot of problems and given us a better film. Frankly, I think Steven Soderbergh would have been the perfect choice. He’s worked with George Clooney many times before, but more importantly I think he would have established one clear and consistent tone for the film, whether more straight-laced and objective, like Contagion, or a more light-hearted ensemble piece, like the Ocean’s 1X series; he certainly wouldn’t have let the movie wander around trying to be everything at once.

Alternatively, perhaps Monuments Men would have worked better as a mini-series than as a two hour movie. As I said, I haven’t read the book, but I know that certain material just doesn’t work when condensed down to such a degree (for example: most of John Le Carre’s novels). More screen time certainly would have helped to solve the issues of shallow characterization and a rushed conclusion. And as the story focuses far more on saving art as opposed to taking lives in combat, a Monuments Men miniseries could have run on an over-the-air network without concern of having to water down the violence for regular television. I can’t imagine many executives foresaw this movie doing much business overseas, so from a financial perspective I think a miniseries would have made as much sense as a feature film, if not more.

In the end, The Monuments Men is yet another movie that leaves us with the question of what might have been had different choices been made along the way. I can’t recommend it to general audiences because it’s not very good, and the average person will probably find themselves bored while watching it. But, if you’re into history like I am, or you’ve read the book and you’re curious about it, I’d recommend it as a rental. At the very least, I can say Monuments Men is not another cynical Hollywood cash grab, and though it fails in many regards, it at least tries before getting there.

★★☆☆☆
(★★½ if you’re into History)