"World War Z" - Film Review

World War Z is about a man doing everything he can to protect his family. Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former U.N. employee, is called in to look into the cause of the viral spread that led to humanity’s crisis. The military will only allow his family to remain on an offshore naval base if he makes himself useful. And so despite how little interest he has in this, he sets out to try to find Patient Zero, the first person to have been infected. This takes him first to South Korea and then Israel and finally Wales. The film is a somewhat globetrotting one, but the film never overstays its welcome in any one location; it stays long enough for it to get in the story it needs without making us lose interest before moving on.

The film is somewhat uneven. The transitions from one part of the story to the next are poorly handled. As is, World War Z feels like a number of different stories mashed together. These different vignettes are all pretty fun in of themselves but they don't always add up to the most cohesive of films.

Not all of the action and horror in World War Z is successful. There’s a scene where zombies form a ladder and climb up over a defensive wall, and it not only stretches plausibility but isn’t all that interesting (it doesn’t help that the CGI here is pretty crappy). But much of it is rather effective and occasionally pleasingly inventive. There’s a great scene midway through upon an airplane that is one of the single best uses of zombies I’ve seen in a long time. There’s an even better scene at film’s end that is super intense and suspenseful where our hero has to grab medical supplies from a sealed off portion of a research facility. The film draws this out with engrossing and thrilling results.  

What I was most struck about World War Z was how effectively it found a story within what was at times huge zombie action taking place. The film focuses in on a few people and it makes the drama and our investment based in these handful of people, and it does this well. We start the film in the home of Gerry with his family. The story follows them out into traffic, where they get caught in the middle of a zombie invasion into Philadelphia. And we keep following these people, seeing the drama through their eyes. In this way the action never becomes all-consuming or distracting, like say in Man of Steel. Though a number of these characters never really get developed enough, Brad Pitt gives an assured performance as Lane. 

There are weaker and more questionable moments, and it's uneven in places, but World War Z is largely entertaining.  

Grade: B-

"Starship Troopers" - Film Review

Starship Troopers is a film that’s often hard to read. It’s intended as a satire but it’s satirical in a genre, sci-fi, that rubs up against this tone in strange ways. The film is so often peppy and upbeat in the face of its carnage and its macho action. This makes it sometimes hard to wonder whether you’re supposed to be simply be bemused or actually laugh at things. Enough content is played straight that it could be mistaken as serious. But it becomes clear from the strange interspersed “television clips” from the programs played in this far flung futuristic society (these are some of the film’s most hilarious moments).

Like other films by director Paul Verhoeven, such as Robocop, Starship Troopers is having fun at the expense of its excessive violence. The blood, guts and goo is played up for some delightful excess. The troopers find themselves fighting some villainous insect aliens. The film’s other excesses come in the form of society’s military complex which has come to engulf everything (fascistically so). Jingoism runs amok in the Starship Troopers universe. 

The film drags in spots, especially towards the end which repeats a number of earlier ideas to diminishing returns. But on the whole Starship Trooper’s satire is thoroughly unique and consistently funny. The production design is filled with intentionally chintzy and silly elements that add up to a sort of campy, lovable charm. Though because of how Verhoeven plays so much of the material, it’s often hard to know what to make of what we’re seeing, it’s at least never boring.   

Grade: B

"Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" - Film Review

Director Russ Meyer was the King of Sexploitation in the 60's and 70's. When he teamed up with Roger Ebert to make Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, he created one of his best remembered films.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a weird, goofy, trashy film that went on to become a cult classic. Sexploitation, the genre of film-making Meyer's worked in, called for lots of violence and nudity, and there's plenty of both on display here. The film is sexy, displaying ample amounts of objectification (of both men and women - but mostly women). Much of the film is allowing attractive people to simply be attractive.

Despite how trashy and exploitative the film is, it's also smarter than that. Meyer and Ebert's script provides the film with a fair amount of satire and social commentary, and though some of it isn't entirely graciously handled, it gives even the sillier and limper moments a sense of purpose they otherwise might not have had. The film is very much of the time in which it was made. Made in 1970, the film is clothed in the vibe and style of the swinging 1960's that had just come to pass (at times laughably and awkwardly so), and much of the commentary looks forward to the conflicted 1970's America.

Though whatever greater messages about corruption, exploitation and understanding in the film might have devolved, especially in the surreal and silly ending, and are too frequently undercut by the film's sensibilities, the film is at times pretty fun. This is occasionally merely due to a camp factor. But there are still aspects that hold up. Plus there's splatter effects and hot bods.

The film's story of a girl rock group's rise to fame and the cost that comes at remains to be, in the words of the characters, groovy. Even if it is frequently for reasons not necessarily intended by the film. This a trashy, schlocky, at times pretty bad film, but it's also one where a lot of real affection shines through and it remains entertaining even if it's due to just how strange and poorly handled it so often is.   

Grade: B-

"Despicable Me 2" - Film Review

Despicable Me 2 is a film that is very much like its predecessor. This is both its blessing and its curse. This is still a rather fun and entertaining family movie. But it’s also a film that plays so many of the same cards that the first film played. The film has a familiarity that is never entirely played against or that the film tries to elevate itself above.

The studio realized that much of the success of the first film came from the adorable, scene stealing sidekicks to Gru (Steve Carell) called the Minions. The tiny, fuzzy, yellow, intelligible creatures are given even more screen time than the last outing, and it’s a decision that isn’t entirely ill chosen. The Minions remain to be the funniest and most adorable aspects of the film, even if the film does lean a little too heavily on them. Some of this material doesn’t land, but the film also uses them in unexpectedly new ways that honestly the film could have used more of.

After the last film, what story is there left to tell about Gru? There really isn’t much. It’s cute to see Gru fumble in his attempts to raise his adopted daughters. But there’s only so much story to be mined from this, and the writers seem to know this. A plot is added at the center that turns Gru into a spy working for the government, attempting to take down a villain. Then Gru falls for the partner assigned to help him and the romantic subplot is used to show a surprisingly vulnerable side to the character.

Despite that there’s little reason to tell more story here and despite how very jumbled the storytelling is, the film remains to be fun. I laughed a lot (and that’s saying a lot from me – I’m a robot). The film disappointingly lacks the depth of the first film, and this sequel is far less emotional and cleverly told. But as a kid sitting in the row ahead of me shouted as the Minions appeared on screen, “This is the funny part!”  And there enough of those moments, funny, fun and sweet, that it largely doesn’t matter that this isn’t as strong of an outing. This is some fine animation and some solid family friendly entertainment   

Grade: B-

"Before Sunset" - Film Review

Before Sunset is a sequel that could so easily feel unnecessary or cheap. Before Sunrise told such a sweet and perfectly encapsulated story that to move beyond it could come off as trite. Before Sunset works so well, perhaps even better than its predecessor, by deepening the emotions that it explores. The film keeps returning to the events of Before Sunrise, but they’re no longer purely romantic with hindsight. There’s bitterness, sadness and longing underlying the film, and the emotional maturity of the story makes it all the more powerful and satisfying.

Before Sunrise told the story of an American man and a French woman (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy) who meet by chance on a European train and decide to spend one day together in Vienna where they walked around the city and talk about love and life. They fall deeply for eachother over the course of the day. Before Sunset is set nine years later where by chance Jesse and Celine meet eachother once more, this time in Paris, where Celine is now living. Jesse has written and published a semi-successful book fictionalizing the events of that one night he had with Celine, and Celine stops in on a book signing. We learn what happened at the planned six month later meet up discussed at the end of Before Sunrise, and more importantly we learn where the two stand about that one day they spent together. 

The two almost immediately fall back into their easy patterns of discussion as if a day hasn’t passed by. The films dialogue (written by Delphy, Hawke and director Richard Linklater) is something special; casual, smart, witty, sad, and quite unlike that of any other film. They walk around Paris, discussing what’s happened to them in the time intervening their meetings. It’s here that the film finds its strongest material. If Before Sunrise was about two young people involved in romantic idealistic yearning, then Before Sunset is about two people who have become more cynical and bitter about romance and love. They’re older and wiser. And yet they can’t shake hold of that one night they shared together, which is the subtext of everything they talk about and feel in this second encounter.   

Before Sunset is a beautiful movie. It’s bittersweet and somber, but much like these two people who seem destined to meet only in brief walkabouts around famous European cities, there’s a spurned romantic at its core. And in between the longing for what once was and what is the film finds some poignant truths and some lovely observations about life and love. 

Grade: A

"Celeste and Jesse Forever" - Film Review

Celeste and Jesse Forever is a romantic film masquerading as something more unusual than your typical rom-com. And to an extent it is a different film, showing a divorced couple who still acts like not much has changed … until they’re forced to confront the nature of their relationship. This is an interesting premise that plays out with some messy results, but it’s not nearly as messy as it could have been. The film relies on lots of clichés. Granted the tropes it utilizes are often handled well, and the film finds a lot of charm in its formulaicness. This primarily comes from its performers who are all very likeable and funny.

The film actually becomes more about Celeste (Rashida Jones) as Jesse (Andy Samberg) starts to get over the break up more readily than her. This is perfectly fine as Rashida Jones is ready to carry the screen time and makes her break down come off as more amusing than sad. The film was co-written by Jones and it’s quite possible the role was written with herself in mind.

The film handles its subject matter a tad too neatly but there’s still lots of funny, sweet, and occasionally even surprisingly deep material here. The slighter elements (including a turn by Emma Roberts as a trashy popstar) are ultimately overcome by some good performances and an amiable, breezy tone. 

Grade: B-

Thoughts on Season 1 of "Justified"

 Spoilers Below:

Justified took a drips and drabs approach to its serialization in its first season. In an age where every show, and especially dramas, is expected to have stories carry across episodes, this could feel frustrating. The pilot episode of Justified seemed to suggest a heavily serialized program ready to charge right out of the gate. Instead, the show took its sweet time doling out long-term storylines, parsing them out little by little in each episode. But as the isolated one-off stories and the season long arcs began to dovetail more and more and the standalones became pretty damn fun in their own right, the show proved that it had made the right decision not going gung-ho with its serialization.   

Justified used the early going of the show to establish its world, its tone, and its thematic interests. And the show then brought them together more forcefully in its back half of the season leading to some excellent results. Part of the frustration over the procedural episodes was that the premise of Justified seems ripe for some exploration. U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) looks and often acts like he belongs in the Old West. He wears a Stetson and adheres to a doggedly rigid code that doesn’t always strictly align with the letter of the law. The first scene of the series shows Raylan confronting a drug cartel member in a Miami country club. He’s given the guy 48 hours to get out of town, but the man has ignored the advice. Raylan all but murders the man, warning him he’d kill him if he didn’t exit the state. Raylan sums up the incident as, “He drew first. I shot him. End of story”. 

For his questionable behavior, his punishment is to be sent back to his hometown in Harlan county Kentucky. He hasn’t been back home in years and for good reason: there’s bad blood between him and many of the townsfolk. This includes father, Arlo (Raymond J. Barry), a crafty conman that Raylan would prefer to have nothing to do with. There’s also the shady Crowder clan, a prodigious family with their hands in countless criminal enterprises in Lexington. One of the most prominent of the Crowder clan is Boyd (played with awesome relish by Walton Goggins) who, like so many characters, has a complicated past with Raylan. Boyd pretends to be a white supremacist and later a religious zealot in order to win over cult-like followings to perform unquestioned criminal activities for him. 

Raylan also has to deal with the women in his life. He meets Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter) once again after she shoots her abusive husband Bowman Crowder. Despite being a number years his junior, Raylan is infatuated by the down-to-earth Ava, and they start a relationship that could (and does) screw with the case against Boyd and the Crowders. Raylan also has to revisit his relationship with his ex-wife Winona (Natalie Zea), who has since remarried to a much different, meeker man than her former husband. There’s still lingering feelings between them, but there’s also bitterness. 

Justified is its writing and its acting. The show is based on crime author Elmore Leonard's short story “Fire in the Hole”. Leonard has a very unique style of prose that’s both utilitarian and fun, advancing the plot while revealing character details, and doing both with flourish (For those unfamiliar, Quentin Tarantino adapted one of his books into Jackie Brown). His stories also give a significant level of prominence to the criminals being pursued. This means we spend a fair amount of time with those being sought after by Raylan and the Marshall’s office. But the criminals prove to be often as entertaining and laconic as our protagonists. 

The dialogue is one of the treasures of the series. And it’s rather enjoyable to see it recited by the many actors and guest stars featured in the series (The show has done a great job of hiring a number of wonderful character actors in supporting roles).

Justified’s first season wasn’t the show its pilot promised and in some ways that made it not nearly as good as it could have been. But the show continually demonstrated itself to be lots of fun. Its mix of old fashioned justice and present day criminal dealings and police proceedings proved to be an environment with plenty of opportunities. The show seems to be just getting started.