Vice (2018)

Love him or hate him, Bale nailed Dick Cheney.

(2018) Biographical Drama (Annapurna) Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Alison Pill, Eddie Marsan, Justin Kirk, LisaGay Hamilton, Jesse Plemmons, Bill Camp, Don McManus, Lily Rabe, Shea Whigham, Stephen Adly Gurgis, Tyler Perry, Josh Latzer, Jeff Bosley, Camille Harman, Jillian Armenante, Matthew Jacobs, Alexander MacNicoll, Cailee Spaeny. Directed by Adam McKay

 

Dick Cheney is a polarizing figure. The former Vice-President is looked upon by many conservatives as an architect of the modern Republican party; liberals tend to see him as the boogie man. He is a man renowned for playing his cards close to the vest and as a result is something of an enigma.

Cheney is not so much portrayed as inhabited by Christian Bale, an actor noted for throwing himself feet first into his roles (he would win the Golden Globe for this one). He is accompanied, as all great men are, by a great woman, his wife Lynne (Adams, nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe). He becomes an aide to then-Senator Donald Rumsfeld (Carell), an association that would last through several administrations.

McKay presents this almost as a comedy; there are indeed some farcical interludes (like a false set of credits that role before Cheney decides to take the Vice-Presidential position) which seems like an odd call, but it works. Cheney is by his own admission not the most charismatic of men and how he rose to such a powerful position is something of a miracle of “right guy, right place and right time.” The humor helps lighten the movie which wouldn’t have worked as well as a straight drama.

I can imagine those readers leaning to the right will find this contemptible and disrespectful. I can’t disagree with the latter; McKay’s politics made it inevitable that this would not be a kindly portrait of the former V.P. Liberals of the more fire-breathing sort will say this doesn’t go far enough in excoriating a man that some believe paved the way for our current chief executive and his philosophy of absolute executive power.

But I’m not here to review the politics of the film, only the film itself. It is well-acted, highly entertaining and certainly worth a look, particularly if you are left-leaning. As I said, those on the right will likely not find this a laughing matter as I’m sure a similarly themed movie about, say, Al Gore, would be to folks like me.

\REASONS TO SEE: Bale and Adams truly inhabit their roles. Irreverently funny.
REASONS TO AVOID: Conservatives may not dig this, and everyone may find it a tad dry
FAMILY VALUES: There is a fair amount of profanity and a few violent images.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Bale has the same birthday as Dick Cheney does (January 30).
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango Now, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Redbox, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 5/26/20: Rotten Tomatoes: 66% positive reviews, Metacritic: 61/100
COMPARISON SHOPPING: W
FINAL RATING: 8.5/10
NEXT: Lionheart (1988)

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Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

You can’t always tell a Jungle Book by its cover.

(2018) Adventure (Netflix) Rohan Chand, Frida Pinto, Christian Bale (voice), Andy Serkis (voice), Benedict Cumberbatch (voice), Cate Blanchett (voice), Tom Hollander (voice), Matthew Rhys, Naomie Harris (voice), Peter Mullan (voice), Jack Reynor (voice), Eddie Marsan (voice), Louis Ashbourne Serkis (voice), Keveshan Pillay, Patrick Godfrey, Lorna Brown. Directed by Andy Serkis

 

Hollywood from time to time gets it in their head to make competing versions of similar stories, whether it’s of apocalyptic astronaut strikes, or remakes of beloved children’s classics.

Most folks are well-aware of the story behind this film, originally a group of short stories penned by British author Rudyard Kipling but not likely from reading the book so much as by seeing the 1967 Disney cartoon. Serkis’ version, which was actually filmed three years before it was released, is a much darker version that in many ways was closer to the stories that Kipling wrote but with enough family-friendly elements to lend confusion as to what this movie wants to be.

The motion capture is generally of facial expressions which becomes a bit of a liability; it’s kind of creepy to see snakes and wolves and bears looking quite that human. The CGI in general is pretty uneven, which considering the amount of post-production time that was available to them seems almost criminal. However, the vocal performances are uniformly swell and American-born child actor Chand shows some impressive athleticism and acting range in this role.

The film was intended to be the first of a trilogy of films establishing what Warner Brothers (the original studio behind the film – see Trivial Pursuit) a franchise but with Disney beating them to the punch doing what they do best, and with that version making like a kajillion dollars at the box office, there was no way this was going to end up as anything other than a footnote, which it really didn’t deserve. Certainly there are flaws, but despite the dark and sometimes brutal tone it is at least a different riff on a familiar tune.

REASONS TO SEE: Impressive voice performances. An interesting subplot about identity.
REASONS TO AVOID: The CGI is uneven. Neither a family film nor one meant for adults.
FAMILY VALUES: There is violence – some of it bloody – peril and some adult themes.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The movie was originally filmed by Warner Brothers to be released in 2016, but Disney’s own version forced them to push back the release a year, and then another as the effects proved more time-consuming than first thought. Only a few months before it was scheduled to be released in theaters, the film was sold to Netflix, the studio rightly thinking that their version would be unfairly compared to the much more family-friendly Disney version.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Netflix
CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/9/20: Rotten Tomatoes: 53% positive reviews: Metacritic: 51/100
COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Jungle Book
FINAL RATING: 6/10
NEXT: Capernaum

New Releases for the Week of January 24, 2020

THE GENTLEMEN

(STX) Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery, Colin Farrell, Henry Golding, Eddie Marsan, Hugh Grant, Jeremy Strong. Directed by Guy Ritchie

An Oklahoma entrepreneur who built a billion-dollar marijuana business in London looks to cash out while he still can. His intentions trigger a flurry of activity as a rogue’s gallery of characters try to steal his business out from under him. This is Ritchie returning to his gangster comedy roots.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Caper Comedy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for violence, language throughout sexual references and drug content)

63 Up

(BritBox) Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield. This groundbreaking documentary series from Michael Apted reaches its ninth edition as it follows a group of Britons, checking in with them every seven years from the age of seven – they’re 63 years old now.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Documentary
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: NR

Clemency

(NEON) Alfre Woodward, Aldis Hodge, Wendell Pierce, Richard Schiff. A burned-out prison warden develops a relationship with a death row inmate she is tasked to execute.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Cinematique of Daytona, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for some disturbing material and language)
 

The Last Full Measure

(Roadside Attractions) Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Jackson. An all-star cast headlines this story based on actual events in which a Pentagon staffer is tasked with investigating a Congressional Medal of Honor request for a soldier for his heroic actions 32 years previously in the bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War. As he digs, he discovers a government cover-up of a secret they want to keep buried along with the dead.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: True Life Drama
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Cinemark Orlando, Cinepolis Hamlin, Old Mill Playhouse, Regal The Loop, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for war violence and language)

The Turning

(Universal) Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, Joely Richardson. A beautiful young nanny is put in charge of two orphans in a mysterious house in rural Maine, only to discover that neither the house nor the children are what they appear to be. Based on the classic Henry James novel The Turn of the Screw.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Horror
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for terror, violence, disturbing images, brief strong language and some suggestive content)

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Detective Chinatown 3
Disco Raja
Gul Makai
John Henry
Que Leones
The Rescue
Street Dancer 3

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE/KEY WEST:

Cunningham
Detective Chinatown 3
Disco Raja
Disturbing the Peace
The Edge of Democracy
Elsewhere
Panga
Psycho (2020)
Que Leones
The Rescue
Shylock
Street Dancer 3

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG/SARASOTA:

Anjaam Pathira
Cunningham
Disco Raja
Panga
Street Dancer 3

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Panga
Raising Buchanan
Street Dancer 3

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

The Gentlemen
The Last Full Measure
The Turning

FILM FESTIVALS TAKING PLACE IN FLORIDA:

Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, West Palm Beach, FL
Sarasota Native American Film Festival, Sarasota FL

New Releases for the Week of August 2, 2019

FAST AND FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS AND SHAW

(Universal) Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Cliff Curtis, Helen Mirren, Elza Gonzalez, Eddie Marsan. Directed by David Leitch

Buff lawman Hobbs and military-trained outlaw Shaw have been reluctant allies in the past but never more so when they encounter a genetically-enhanced madman who has gotten hold of a bio-weapon that can pull a Thanos on the human race. With Shaw’s sister joining the fight, the two may have found a foe they couldn’t take out separately.

See the trailer, clips, video featurettes and an interview here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for prolonged sequences of action and violence, suggestive material and some strong language)

15 Minutes of War

(Blue Fox) Alban Lenoir, Olga Kurylenko, Kevin Layne, Michael Abiteboul. Based on a true story, Somali rebels in 1976 took a school bus of 21 French children and an American teacher hostage. In the face of mounting international pressure, an elite group of French snipers must figure out a way to get the kids and their teacher out of harm’s way before time runs out.

See the trailer and a video featurette here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: True Life Drama
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall
Rating: NR

Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love

(Roadside Attractions) Leonard Cohen, Marianne Ihlen, Judy Collins, Ron Cornelius. In 1960, a struggling young writer by the name of Leonard Cohen finds himself on the Greek island of Hydra in a commune of artists and musicians. There, he meets Norwegian single mom Marianne Ihlen who would eventually become his muse in a relationship that would span more than 50 years.

See the trailer and clips here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Music Documentary
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for some drug material, sexual references and brief nudity)

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Airplane Mode
Rakshasudu
 

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

A Score to Settle
Chal Mera Putt
Coyote Lake
Mike Wallace is Here
Rakshasudu
Three Peaks

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG/SARASOTA:

A Score to Settle
Madness in the Method
The Operative
Rakshasudu

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Clarita
Rakshasudu

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw

New Releases for the Week of December 28, 2018

VICE

(Annapurna) Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Allison Pill, Eddie Marsan, Jesse Plemons, LisaGay Hamilton, Shea Whigham. Directed by Adam McKay

Here’s the story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming Washington insider and bureaucrat who ended up as one of the most powerful and important Vice-Presidents in the history of America. Vice came out of nowhere to garner more Golden Globe nominations than any film this year and is a strong contender for a number of Oscar nominations.

See the trailer, video featurettes and a clip here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Biographical Drama
Now Playing: Wide Release (Opened on Tuesday)
Rating: R (for language and some violent images)

Holmes and Watson

(Columbia) Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall. An allegedly humorous take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective, this film has been getting absolutely savaged by critics thus far.

See the trailer, clips and a video featurette here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Wide Release (Opened on Tuesday)
Rating: PG-13 (for crude sexual material, some violence and drug references)

Simmba

(Reliance) Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Sonu Sood, Siddharth Jadhav. An orphan from the streets grows up to be a corrupt police officer and enjoys the high life and many perks of such a life. However he soon finds himself faced with choices that may transform him and send him down a more righteous path.

See the trailer here
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Bollywood Action
Now Playing: AMC West Oaks, Cinemark Universal Citywalk
Rating: NR

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Fantastica

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

The Charmer
The House That Jack Built
If Beale Street Could Talk
Kill Mobile
Natacha

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG:

None

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Fantastica

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Holmes and Watson
Vice

Deadpool 2

Deadpool: Superhero in training.

(2018) Superhero (20^th Century Fox/Marvel) Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Zazie Beetz, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Jack Kesy, Eddie Marsan, Terry Crews, Bill Skarsgård, Brad Pitt, Lewis Tan, Rob Delany, Nikolai Witschl, Randal Reeder, Shioli Kutsuna, Stefan Kapicic, Matt Damon, Alan Tudyk. Directed by David Leitch

 

The Merc with a Mouth returns for a second go-round (third if you count the abortion that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in a movie that takes nothing seriously, least of all itself.

In this blockbuster sequel, a despondent Wade Wilson attempts to kill himself which turns out to be impossible. He finds a reason to live when he befriends a 14-year-old sexual abuse victim who calls himself Firefist (Dennison). The kid seeks revenge against the headmaster (Marsan) of an orphanage who has tortured and abused him. When you can shoot fireballs from your hands, revenge isn’t all that hard to come by.

Standing in the way is Cable (Brolin), a time-travelling cyborg who has come back in time to kill the boy. Apparently in the future, a grown up Firefist kills his family and scorches a whole lot of the Earth. To fight the nearly indestructible Cable, Deadpool recruits a superteam of his own although they turn out to be short-lived. Extremely although Domino (Beetz) whose superpower is crazy good luck survives – which is a good thing because she’s one of the best things about the movie.

Nonetheless, Deadpool hopes to reason with Firefist and get him not to turn to the dark side while Thanos…I mean Cable…thinks that the greater good will be served by ghosting a 14-year-old boy. I gotta admit, I was rooting for him to kill the boy at times.

Like the first film there are plenty of occasionally gruesome action sequences. Also like the first film there is an explosion of meta-based humor, poking fun of everything from comic book movies (duh) to Barbra Streisand (Brolin’s stepmother) to every action cliché ever to Les Miserables. There are plenty of brief cameos, some of them virtually unrecognizable.

In short, it’s a hoot and a half. The humor is hit and miss at times but hit more often than not. The movie feels a lot more cluttered than the first but it also has much more scope than the first. The action is an improvement and there’s even a little bit of pathos to mix things up a little bit. I don’t think those who loved the first one will feel any less love for the sequel and I’m pretty sure that most of us will be eager for the threequel. Maybe they can convince Hugh Jackman to show up for the third. That would give Reynolds a whole new opportunity to riff.

REASONS TO GO: Reynolds continues to make Wade/Deadpool a compelling character. There are lots of fun celebrity cameos and Easter eggs throughout.
REASONS TO STAY: The movie is a little bit more cluttered than the first.
FAMILY VALUES: There is plenty of violence – some of it extreme, gore, profanity and a brief scene of drug use.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Dennison, who was 15 when the movie was released, was legally unable to see it in his native New Zealand.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, Fandango Now, Fios/Verizon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Movies Anywhere, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 8/22/18: Rotten Tomatoes: 83% positive reviews. Metacritic: 66/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Super
FINAL RATING: 7.5/10
NEXT: Blue Iguana

New Releases for the Week of March 16, 2018

TOMB RAIDER

(MGM/Warner Brothers) Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Kristin Scott Thomas, Derek Jacobi, Hannah John-Kamen. Directed by Roar Uthaug

The headstrong daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur and adventurer mourns the disappearance of her father. Honing her skills, she receives a mysterious message that brings her to the very island where her father was last seen – and smack dab into a conspiracy and mystery that may find the same fate awaiting her. This is the reboot of the popular videogame movie franchise.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, video featurettes and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard, 3D, DBOX, DBOX 3D, Dolby Atmos, IMAX, IMAX 3D, RPX, RPX 3D, XD, XD-3D
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of violence and action, and for some language)

7 Days in Entebbe

(Focus) Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl, Eddie Marsan, Nonso Anozie. In 1976, an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists to call attention to the plight of their people. The flight was made to land in Uganda whose dictator Idi Amin used the hijacking as a means to call international attention for himself as a world leader. When things looked bleak, the Israeli army staged a daring raid that still resonates today as one of the gutsiest rescue operations in history.

See the trailer, interviews, a clip and a video featurette here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: True Life Drama
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for violence, some thematic material, drug use, smoking and brief strong language)

Concert for George

(Abramorama) Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Dhani Harrison. On the first anniversary of the untimely death of George Harrison, a group of his family and close friends put on a concert in the Royal Albert Hall in London to celebrate the life and music of the ex-Beatle. Although the line-up was stellar, the concert film went directly to video and has been hard to find ever since. On the occasion commemorating what would have been Harrison’s 75^th birthday, a limited theatrical release has finally been arranged. It is playing at the Enzian as part of their Music Mondays series. You can read the Cinema365 review of the doc by clicking on the link in the Scheduled for Review section below.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Concert Film
Now Playing: Enzian Theater (Monday only)
Rating: NR

The Cured

(IFC) Ellen Page, Sam Keeley, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Stuart Graham. After a mysterious disease turns people into mindless zombies, a cure is eventually found but the world is badly shell-shocked. Those that have reverted back to humanity find themselves discriminated against by their neighbors and sometimes their own families. When the military tries to intervene, things take a turn for the worse.

See the trailer, video featurettes and an interview here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Horror
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: R (for violence, bloody images, and language)

Dear Dictator

(Cinedigm) Michael Caine, Odeya Rush, Katie Holmes, Seth Green. A teenage girl doing a school project on personal heroes chooses a British-Caribbean dictator who surprisingly begins corresponding with her. When he is overthrown by freedom fighters, he hides out at her home and gives her advice on how to handle the mean girls at her school.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: AMC Universal Cineplex
Rating: NR

I Can Only Imagine

(Roadside Attractions) J. Michael Finley, Brody Rose, Dennis Quaid, Cloris Leachman. This is the true story behind the hit MercyMe song “I Can Only Imagine” and the forgiveness and healing between an abusive father and his musician son.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: True Life Faith Drama
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for thematic elements including some violence)

In the Fade

(Magnolia) Diane Kruger, Denis Moschitto, Numan Acar, Ulrich Tukur. When a wife and mother’s family is killed in a terrorist bombing, she is distressed when those who perpetrated the attack are seemingly going to get away with it. This leads her to take her own revenge which in this case she equates with justice for her loved ones.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: R (for some disturbing images, drug use and language including sexual references)

Josie

(Screen Media) Sophie Turner, Dylan McDermott, Daeg Faerch, Lombardo Boyar. A beautiful but mysterious young woman appears in a small Texas town and strikes up romantic friendships with a punk outcast and a lonely neighbor. As the gossip grapevine goes into overdrive, soon there are signs that she may have a sinister agenda of her own once certain facts about her past come to light.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Suspense
Now Playing: AMC Universal Cineplex
Rating: NR

The Leisure Seeker

(Sony Classics) Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Janel Moloney, Christian McKay. An elderly couple goes on a last hurrah road trip in their faithful but falling apart RV they call the Leisure Seeker.

See the trailer and a clip here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Dramedy
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for some sexual material)

Love, Simon

(20^th Century Fox) Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Katherine Langford. A high school boy has been hiding a secret from family and friends – he’s gay. When his secret is threatened, he must find a way to break the news to those he cares about and along the way discover who he truly is. This is the first major studio film to deal with a gay teen romance.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, a video featurette and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Teen Romance
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements, sexual references, language and teen partying)

Loveless

(Sony Classics) Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Matvey Novikov, Marina Vasileva. A Russian couple undergoing a bitter divorce must put their differences aside when their young boy disappears. This was a finalist for the 2018 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for strong sexuality, graphic nudity, language and a brief disturbing image)

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Kirrak Party
Please Stand By
Raid

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels: A Haven in Havana
Kirrak Party
Mind Game
Mufti
Raid

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG:

Demon House
Raid

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

In Bed With Victoria
Kirrak Party

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

7 Days in Entebbe
Concert for George
In the Fade
The Leisure Seeker
Love, Simon
Tomb Raider

Atomic Blonde

This is what a femme fatale looks like.

(2017) Action (Focus) Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Sofia Boutella, Bill Skarsgård, Sam Hargrave, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Til Schweiger, Barbara Sukowa, Attila Arpa, Martin Angerbauer, Lili Gessler, Declan Hannigan, Daniel Bernhardt, Sara Natasa Szonda. Directed by David Leitch

 

Hitchcock famously had a thing about icy blondes; along comes a film that may have the best one yet. For one thing, Charlize Theron isn’t just a master manipulator – she can kick quantum ass. Here, set to a pulsing and throbbing soundtrack and a cornucopia of mayhem she becomes the coolest and sexiest assassin of them all – drinking, smoking and seducing her way to Bond’s title.

Theron plays Lorraine Broughton, an MI-6 agent in Berlin days before the Wall fell in November 1989 to retrieve a list of double agents that, should the Soviets get their hands on it, would mean the end of a goodly number of high-value assets, to use spy film terminology. Broughton, who also has an agenda of her own, is assisted by the none-too-trustworthy station chief who in the dry words of her MI-6 handler (Jones) “has gone native.” Basically she goes looking for the list and every step of the way she gets attacked by goons and beats the snot out of them while getting her share of lumps as well.

There are some amazing action sequences here, particularly one set in an abandoned apartment building that is as brutal and as realistic a fight as you’re ever going to see. Lorraine dishes out the pain but gets her own share of it as well and even though this is set up in many ways as a distaff Bond film, this feels more in tune with the real world. The soundtrack of mainly Euro-New Wave (heavy on the Depeche Mode, Nena and Siouxsie and the Banshees) will bring a smile to the face of anyone who was young during that era i.e. people my age.

The film, based on the graphic novel The Coldest City gets more convoluted as the film wears on but the pace is always frenetic and you’re never more than two or three minutes away from another breathtaking action scene. 2017 has been the year of the renaissance of action movies (and of horror movies as well but that’s for another review) and this one is right up there among the best of a year that brought us Baby Driver, Logan Lucky and The Hitman’s Bodyguard among others. That’s some fine company to be included in.

REASONS TO GO: The action sequences are stunning. The 80s soundtrack is perfectly matched to the action. Theron takes an unforgettable character and runs with it. As spy films go, this one is much more realistic.
REASONS TO STAY: The plot gets a bit convoluted and the ending is not unexpected.
FAMILY VALUES: There is plenty of profanity and violence as well as some graphic sexuality and brief nudity.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Charlize Theron cracked two teeth during the course of filming the action sequences for this film.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, Fandango Now, Frontier, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Movies Anywhere, Verizon, Vudu, Xfinity, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 12/23/17: Rotten Tomatoes: 77% positive reviews. Metacritic: 63/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Knight and Day
FINAL RATING: 8/10
NEXT: The Shape of Water

The Exception

Christopher Plummer is resplendent as Kaiser Wilhelm II

(2016) Historical Drama (A24) Jai Courtney, Lily James, Christopher Plummer, Janet McTeer, Ben Daniels, Mark Dexter, Kris Cuppens, Eddie Marsan, Anton Lesser, Aubeline Barbieux, Lois van Wijk, Stephanie Auberghen, Martin Swabey, Lucas Tavernier, Kurt Standaert, Martin Savage, Karen Leclercq, Frederik Lebeer, Stephanie Van Vyve, Daisy Bouliton, Verona Verbakel. Directed by David Leveaux

As the First World War drew to a close, it became painfully obvious to the German people and to those in power that their Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II had failed them as a wartime ruler and he was quietly forced to abdicate and fled the country for a life in rural Holland in a place called Huize Doorn. There he remained in exile for the remainder of his life, surrounded by a few loyal former military men, Dutch servants and his devoted second wife Hermine.

It is 1940 and the Second World War is in full swing. Germany is ruled now by the Nazi party and their military victories have been startling in their speed and ferocity. The former Kaiser (Plummer) keeps abreast of these with keen interest, expressing admiration for Hitler although not for the party. The Nazis get wind that there is a British spy operating in the area so they dispatch Captain Stefan Brandt (Courtney) to take command of the Kaiser’s personal guard.

He is assisted by Dietrich (Dexter), an SS officer who informs Brandt that transmissions had been intercepted by the SS and that all they needed to pin down the location of the transmissions was a truck able to triangulate the signal and pin down its location. He assures Brandt that one is on the way.

Brandt – who was wounded in the invasion of Poland – is something of a ladies’ man and his eye falls on the comely made Mieke (James). The two begin a torrid affair which is forbidden; discovery could get Lily fired and Brandt sent back to combat duty. Both of them are what you’d call damaged goods with horrors in their past; not exactly an easy place to build a relationship from.

When the announcement that Nazi bigwig Heinrich Himmler (Marsan) will be visiting, the entire household is in a tizzy. Hermine is certain that this means her husband will be summoned back to Berlin to take his rightful place in a restored monarchy (delusion can be beautiful in its own way). The Kaiser believes it too – but Himmler has other plans.

As the search for the spy begins to close the noose, Brandt begins to suspect that Mieke might be involved. He will have to choose between his love for her and his duty to his country. Given what his country has become that might not be a very hard choice at all.

This is a fictionalized account of the Kaiser in his final year of life and pretty much the history that it gets right is that there was a man named Wilhelm who was once Kaiser of Germany. Most of the rest is fiction so if you’re going to this movie thinking you’re going to get a history lesson, think again. The saving grace here is that Plummer inhabits the role so well, capturing Wilhelm’s ego and Prussian love for pomp but also the decent fellow that lay just beneath although most accounts of the Kaiser don’t reveal a whole lot of regard for anyone other than himself. Plummer however is just so magnetic that you can’t help but enjoy the performance even knowing it’s a bit of a sham.

Courtney has much of the burden for the film as he’s really the centerpiece (the title refers to him rather than the Kaiser) and that’s maybe not such a good thing. There are some things that Courtney does really well – he was one of the bright spots of Suicide Squad I thought – but this really isn’t the type of role that’s in his comfort zone and you can tell because his performance is far from assured. Part of the issue is that Courtney doesn’t really excel at expressing emotion non-verbally and we don’t get a sense of the struggle going on within the character; we just see him get into a situation where he’s having sex with a beautiful woman and we just assume it blossoms into love but the process is never apparent so when it comes time for him to choose between love and country we never get a sense that it is a struggle for him.

It also must be said that Courtney is far too buff for his role. We see him naked quite a bit and unfortunately Courtney had just finished filming Suicide Squad when he started up with this and he still had an action hero’s body which really doesn’t jive with a German officer’s body during World War II. There wasn’t a lot of pumping iron going on at that time.

There are some other things as well. The dialogue is occasionally clunky and even some of these seasoned performers deliver it like “this isn’t how people talk; how the hell am I supposed to say this?” is bouncing around their brain pan. The movie looks a bit stage-y in places which isn’t surprising since Leveaux has a Broadway background. Be assured though that the pluses outnumber the minuses by a comfortable margin. Plummer alone should be reason enough to make a point of seeing this. And quite frankly, the ending has a kind of grace to it that is all too rare in motion pictures. I won’t give you much detail on that score other than to say the ending does elevate the film.

 

So this is a strong recommend. It’s still playing in a few cities here and there (Orlando is one of them as of this writing) but if it isn’t anywhere near you or it’s been and gone, do check it out on VOD (Amazon Prime subscribers can see it for free). This isn’t going to be one of the best movies of the year but it’s better than the majority have been and will be – even if it is as fake as a three-dollar bill.

REASONS TO GO: Christopher Plummer is on a hot streak. The final scene is a nice touch.
REASONS TO STAY: Some of the dialogue is a bit clunky.
FAMILY VALUES: There is a bit of profanity, some nudity and plenty of sexuality.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Some of the filming took place at the Kaiser’s actual home at Huize Doorn.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 8/1/17: Rotten Tomatoes: 77% positive reviews. Metacritic: 60/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Anthropoid
FINAL RATING: 7/10
NEXT: The Commune

New Releases for the Week of July 28, 2017

ATOMIC BLONDE

(Focus) Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Sofia Boutella, Til Schweiger, Barbara Sukowa, James Faulkner. Directed by David Leitch

The most lethal assassin in MI6 is sent on assignment to Berlin to smuggle a dossier out of the city which has been destabilized by opposing forces. In a simmering cauldron of betrayal and murder, she is allied with the embedded station chief to navigate the back alleys and halls of power to get what Her Majesty’s government requires of her. She soon realizes that she has been betrayed from within and you know what they say hell hath no fury like. This is based on the Oni Press graphic novel The Coldest City.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, B-roll video and premiere footage here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for sequences of strong violence, language throughout and some sexuality/nudity)

A Ghost Story

(A24) Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Kesha Sebert, Will Oldham. Recently deceased, a ghost – complete with white sheet – haunts his beloved home while silently observing his grief-stricken wife. He is also able to see other inhabitants of the house both past and present. The latest film from director David Lowery has gotten much acclaim on the festival circuit.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Fantasy
Now Playing: AMC Disney Springs, Cinemark Artegon Marketplace, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for brief language and a disturbing image)

The Emoji Movie

(Columbia) Starring the voices of T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Patrick Stewart. Deep in the heart of your smart phone lies a place called Textopolis where all your favorite emojis live. Each one of them has but one facial expression – except for poor Gene who has many. Wanting to be normal, he and his friends Hi-Five and Jailbreak search the phone and all its apps to find the code that will fix Gene. When unwittingly they discover a greater danger threatening the entire phone, the resourceful emojis will have to use all their skills to keep the emojis from being deleted for good.

See the trailer, a featurette and premiere footage here.
For more on the movie this is the website
Release Formats: Standard, 3D
Genre: Animated Feature
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for rude humor)

The Exception

(A24) Christopher Plummer, Jai Courtney, Lily James, Janet McTeer. As the Second World War looms, Kaiser Wilhelm II lives in exile in the Netherlands. A German soldier is assigned to determine whether the Dutch resistance has a spy or spies in the former ruler’s household. In the course of his investigation he falls for a Dutch Jewish girl who may or may not be the droid he’s looking for.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Historical Drama
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: R (for sexuality, graphic nudity, language and brief violence)

OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Manifesto
Mubarakan
Vikram Vedha

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI:

13 Minutes
A Family Man
Imperfections
Lady Macbeth
Landline
Mubarakan
My Father’s Land
My Journey Through French Cinema
Vikram Vedha
Wolf Warrior 2

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA:

A Family Man
The Black Prince
Imperfections
The Last Face
Maurizio Cattelan: Be Right Back
Mubarakan

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE:

I, Daniel Blake
Mubarakan
Vikram Vedha

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

A Ghost Story
Atomic Blonde
The Emoji Movie
The Exception
Lady Macbeth
Landline