Review- Seven Psychopaths

At the Theater - Seven Psychopaths - The buildup's much, much better than the payoff in Writer/Director Martin McDonagh's (In Bruges) offbeat, dark, ensemble comedy about two dog-nappers (Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken) and a struggling screen-writer (Colin Farrell) tangling with a vicious gangster (Woody Harrelson) hell-bent on retrieving his beloved Shih-Tzu.  The film is frequently very funny and occasionally extremely bloody- it's not for the squeamish and recommended for those with a twisted sense of humor who appreciate great dialogue.  I wish a little more thought had been invested in the ending, but it's still well worth a watch for those interested.

Although Colin Farrell (S.W.A.T.) headlines the flick, it's the energetic Sam Rockwell that steals the show outright- the actor's putting in great work in pretty much everything he's been in for quite some time now, whether it's as a bit-part character actor (Cowboys & Aliens) or as leading man (Moon- highly recommended).  His "Billy" is very funny, quite likeable and decidedly insane here, delivering the vast majority of the film's best lines. His input regarding the screenplay that Farrell's "Marty" is trying to write is often hilarious.

Christopher Walken, as "Hans", is very good here, though I wasn't too keen on how his character "played out"- he has a few of the more poignant, touching scenes in the first two acts and I was disappointed with how the script utilized him in the conclusion. A great opportunity was either missed or ignored...

Woody Harrelson makes a solid bad-guy, though, again, there's a bit of a misfire as far as the comeuppance that audiences might expect (or desire) involving his character. 

There's a scene in the film in which a character points out how underwritten all the females are in "Marty's" screenplay - one could say the same for all of the female roles in this film, with Olga Kurylenko (Quantum Of Solace) and Abbie Cornish (Limitless) wholly misrepresented by the ensemble character posters circulating about and having less than 4 minutes screen-time combined.  That may be by design as an in-joke, but it's disappointing, nonetheless.

Other supporting appearances include: Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Musician Tom Waits, Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) Zeljko Ivanek (HBO's Oz), Michael Pitt (HBO's Boardwalk Empire) Kevin Corrigan (Pineapple Express)  and Harry Dean Stanton in an extended cameo.  Bonny the Shih Tzu is a helluva cute dog, but doesn't have much of a personality- she's a rather subdued pooch (that's not necessarily a complaint as I've witnessed some rather annoying Shihts...).

McDonagh needs to polish up his endings- where I'd give this film's conclusion a close, but no cigar triple, it's much better than the absolute strikeout conclusion featured in his previous film, In Bruges. I felt Seven Psychopaths lost quite a bit of momentum at or around the time our three protagonists take refuge in the desert, and it never fully recovered.

Seven Psychopaths is for those who enjoy their films with a mix of quirky humor and shocking violence- it's similar in tone to the likes of Get Shorty, Snatch, Jackie Brown, Fargo, Lucky Number Sleven, Payback, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Barton Fink and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang- but much, much bloodier than all of those films.  Fans of the films of Tarantino, The Coen Brothers and Guy Ritchie should check it out.

7.5 out of 10

***Of Note*** This film's Writer/Director is the brother of John Michael McDonagh- the Writer/Director of a fantastic little gem entitled The Guard- it's highly recommended.

Review- Argo

 At the Theater - Argo - "The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States in which 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian Revolution... On the day the hostages were seized, six American diplomats evaded capture and remained in hiding at the Swedish and Canadian embassies. In 1979, the Canadian Parliament held a secret session for the first time since World War II in order to pass special legislation allowing Canadian passports to be issued to some American citizens so that they could escape. In cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency who used the cover story of a film project, the six American diplomats boarded a flight to Zürich, Switzerland, on January 28, 1980. Their escape and rescue from Iran by Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor has come to be known as the "Canadian Caper". The subject of the six escapees and what went into the planning and execution was also covered in the 2012 film Argo, directed by Ben Affleck." - Taken from Wikipedia.org

Argo depicts the true-life account of the six American diplomats who evaded capture and eventually escaped the country as the result of a joint effort with the CIA and Canadian Parliament during the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979. The mission played out under the guise of a film production crew scouting locations for a  fake film.  That established, there's one scene depicting a stateside script-reading involving costumed actors- don't go in expecting an elaborate fake film production playing out or a large film crew traveling around Iran.  Some may feel misled by the trailers...

Although Director/Star Ben Affleck does an efficient job of covering the events (with a few notable inaccuracies) and providing an air of authenticity with an impressive time capsule feel (have fun pointing out the props/product placement/movie memorabilia of the late 70's), I came away from this Drama/Thriller feeling underwhelmed.  The film is rather topical in nature- it's missing that one shocking moment that would have established the deadly-seriousness of the matter in a story where tension-building and suspense should have been top priority.  Furthermore, none of the characters are fleshed out  to the degree where I would even begin to mention any performance therein as highly-memorable or "award-worthy" in a film that has that "built-for-awards" type of feel.  Maybe I missed the point, maybe I wanted a story about the 52 individuals who were held captive for 444 days as opposed to the 6 who were in hiding (in relative lavish surroundings) for somewhere around 80 days***...

Ben Affleck stars as covert CIA specialist Tony Mendez- the actor's performance is solid yet subdued. Most of his screen-time is spent looking somewhat concerned, with relatively little dialogue and very little physical demand to speak of. Don't expect to see his character running around toting a gun as the character never even touches one (that's not a complaint, just establishing the nature of the character- Tony Mendez's life was quite interesting, and I would suggest that those interested should spend 5 minutes and look him up on Wikipedia). With that, I believe Affleck (as a Director) fails to capture a full character arc involving the lead role - there's nothing really dynamic with the Tony Mendez portrayed/presented here that anyone should find particularly memorable.  I felt it was the one role that should have outright powered the film yet ended up as an underwritten missed opportunity.

Alan Arkin is pretty much the comic relief here as a gruff (would you have Alan Arkin any other way?) producer who is approached to act as a stateside cover for the CIA's mission- he's likable in what appears to be a fictional role, at least as far as his character's name is concerned.  John Goodman portrays John Chambers, the makeup effects artist who's best known for his work on the Planet Of The Apes franchise of the 70's.  Goodman's serviceable in screen-time that probably clocks in at less than 4 minutes.

Bryan Cranston (AMC's Breaking Bad) occasionally pops up as a CIA Supervisor, while Kyle Chandler (Super 8) makes a couple of brief appearances as Hamilton Jordan, President Jimmy Carter's Chief of Staff. 

Clea DuVall (Identity), Tate Donovan (Memphis Belle), Kerry Bishé (Scrubs) and Rory Cochrane (Dazed and Confused) are the faces you may recognize as 4 of the six in hiding, while Victor Garber (Alias) is Ken Taylor, the Canadian Ambassador to Iran who helped hide them.

Taylor Schilling appears for a mere several seconds as Tony Mendez's wife while Michael Parks (Kill Bill) has a cameo as comic book artist Jack Kirby.  Richard Kind (Spin City) makes an appearance as a producer while Adreinne Barbeau passes by to essentially wink at the camera. 

It's an interesting story (for those who are uninitiated) but a rather forgettable film that has that safe, "made as an A&E original" feel...

***The film only briefly touches upon the ineptitude of President Jimmy Carter during the 444 days the 52 hostages were held while failing to mention Iran's peculiar decision to release them on the very day that President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office...

Rated R for language

7.0 out of 10

Review - End Of Watch

At the Theater - End Of Watch - Although this film has a few notable flaws (most movies do), this might just be the best "Uniformed Officers on Patrol" buddy movie ever made (for the record, Riggs and Murtaugh were plain-clothed...).  The natural dialogue and undeniable, brotherly chemistry between leads Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena (Crash) powers the film.  Pena should garner quite a bit of talk come Oscar time and deservedly so.   It's about as funny, tense, involving and altogether entertaining as a smaller-budgeted Drama/Thriller could be. 

I'll comfortably say that End Of Watch is Writer/Director David Ayer's (Training Day, Harsh Times, Street Kings, Dark Blue and SWAT) most complete effort to date- shot entirely in Los Angeles, it's obvious that the filmmaker (who grew up there) is familiar with the city's rougher element.  The majority of the movie covers the daily lives of two police officers, on and off duty, and Ayer does an excellent job of showcasing the daily drama, conflict and outright horrors involved with policing such a crime infested area.  The trailers for the film, which were somewhat misleading, established that the two officers featured therein stumble upon something which makes them marked men by a powerful Mexican Cartel- that particular plot turn doesn't really come into play until the final 20 minutes or so of the film.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena are gold while onscreen together- I actually felt that I was watching some kind of reality travel-log featuring lifelong friends. The give-and-take performances between the two rank up there with the best of them.  Although Gyllenhaal is very good, and does nothing but solidify his growing status as a leading man, Michael Pena seems more comfortable and far more likable without becoming the cartoonish, wise-cracking sidekick- It's really one of the better performances from a Latino actor in film history.  You actually care about these guys- that's quite an accomplishment given the overall lack of foundation, depth and layers given to most of today's leading characters in films of this nature and genre.

Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air) and Natalie Martinez (Death Race) portray the love interests of the two Officers- Kendrick is given more screen time and does the most with it to provide one of the actress's more personal performances, while Martinez is very good- there's far more to her here than the obligatory eye candy roles I've seen from her in the past.

Frank Grillo (Warrior) plays the understanding "Sarge" while David Harbour (The Green Hornet) is the burn-out, "Van-Hauser."  America Ferrerra (ABC's Ugly Betty) and Cody Horn (Magic Mike) make a few appearances as fellow patrol officers- I have a strange feeling we may see them featured in a spin-off or sequel of sorts...

Complaints- I'm certain that the plot and filming gimmick of a patrol officer carrying a handheld camera around on a disturbance call would never fly- it's dangerous (I would want a free hand in a life-or-death situation, especially with my weapon drawn) and wholly unnecessary as far as the structure and story is concerned.  The vast majority of the film is from a third-person perspective- so what function does the "cop with a camera" footage really serve here?  All of the inherent dangers of the officer's exploits are well served without the "found footage" gimmick that Hollywood seems so infatuated with at the moment.

An opening shootout feels a bit too quick and staged for my tastes- I've never seen dash-cam evidence of Police officers calmly walking directly into fully automatic gunfire when there's perfectly suitable cover about.  I also wasn't buying the segment when one of the two officers removes his badge and weapon in a perpetrator's house and enters into an "off the books" fist fight.  I've listed the issues above because I believe they are ignorant and highly unrealistic lapses in a otherwise well-written and structured film. 

Check it out for the performances of Gyllenhaal and Pena- those who are interested in the general subject matter should find plenty to appreciate.  It's one of the better films of the year.

Rated R for violence, profanity and gore

8.5 out of 10

A Photo List - All Time Favorite Films - #26 through #50

26. Red River
27. The Professional
28. True Lies
29. Fright Night
30. Amelie
31. Tarzan and His Mate
32. Drive
33. Tombstone
34. Saving Private Ryan
35. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
36. The Longest Day
37. The Blues Brothers
38. The Big Lebowski
39. As Good As It Gets
40. THEM!
41. Silverado
42. Yojimbo
43. The Road Warrior
44. The Train
45. Young Frankenstein
46. The Usual Suspects
47. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
48. The Wild Bunch
49. Zulu
50. An American Werewolf In London

A Photo List - Top 25 Favorite Films of All Time...

Top 25 Favorite Films Of All Time:

1. Jaws
2. Die Hard
3. John Carpenter's The Thing
4. Braveheart
5. The Bear
6. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
7. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
8. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939
9. Aliens
10. Once Upon A Time In The West
11. Seven Samurai
12. Roman Holiday
13. Predator
14. The Empire Strikes Back
15. King Kong 1933
16. Gunga Din
17. Star Wars
18. Blood Simple
19. Unforgiven
20. Curse of The Demon
21. Halloween
22. Robocop
23. Last Of The Mohicans
24. Beau Geste
25. Lethal Weapon

#'s 26 through 50 will be coming soon...

Review - Looper

At the Theater - Looper - For those who complain about a lack of originality from Hollywood, Looper is a strange but inspired mixture of science fiction, action and crime drama with several doses of left-field weirdness- it's an involving time-travel tale that's skillfully directed, featuring a healthy amount of humor and several small, humanistic, golden touches that often propels it into greatness territory. The film is brutally violent and yet surprisingly touching, exciting and yet though-provoking, with a refreshing minimum of predictability- it never gets too big or unwieldy, maintaining a personal approach throughout.  

Loopers are a squad of hitmen in the year 2042 who are required to execute and dispose of marks sent back from 2072- time travel has been invented then, but deemed illegal, with a powerful, unnamed crime syndicate using a makeshift machine for their unsavory purposes. The story establishes (though somewhat superficially) that it's nearly impossible to get rid of the evidence involving murder in the 2070's because of advanced technologies- targets are captured alive, bound and hooded, then sent back along with a payment of silver to 2042 to be dealt with by the Loopers.  Every so often, Loopers are faced with "closing their loop", an event which involves executing their future selves and subsequently retiring with a handsome payment of gold- all the while knowing that their lives will end 30 years later.

Talented Writer/Director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brother's Bloom) provides an undeniable directorial flair and a firm grasp on story-telling that helps to quickly reel a viewer in- he's definitely a talent to keep tabs on. Expect some well-written dialogue, an obvious love of Film-Noir and a handful of innovative action sequences.

Joseph Gordon Levitt ((500) Days of Summer, The Lookout) plays the younger version of Joe- a Looper and functional drug-addict who's faced with the dilemma of tracking down and terminating his future self (Bruce Willis) once his loop-closure appointment goes awry while also trying to evade forces hell-bent on punishment. It's an understandably conflicted role, with Gordon Levitt doing an excellent job of acting under a thin layer of makeup effects that the filmmakers decided to apply in order to deal with resemblance issues (he looks like a younger version of Willis, though with maybe a bit too much eye-liner...) The character is about as flawed as one can get, yet you can't help but feel sympathetic for him.

Bruce Willis gives one of his better performances as "Older Joe" here. The action star is given a few brief moments to showcase his emotional range and the results are decidedly positive. Fans will be happy to find that there's also a couple of segments in which Bruno utilizes various hand cannons and machine guns to mow down a good number of henchmen.

Emily Blunt's (The Wolfman, Wild Target) character arrives at the midpoint of the story as a single mother managing a sugar cane farm who takes the "on the lam" Younger Joe in. Her "Sara" is one of 10 percent of the future population, called TK's, who have developed a small amount of telekinetic powers- there's good reason for this supernatural embellishment, as it plays an important role in the plot's proceedings. Blunt makes the most of the role, she's a strong, independent, caring mother who's harboring a dark secret and desperate to protect her son.  I haven't seen a bad performance from the actress yet. I'm quite positive that most viewers will remember the little boy named "Cid" (Pierce Gagnon) in this...

Jeff Daniels makes a few appearances as the crime lord/watchman sent back from the 2070's to keeps tabs on and govern the Loopers, making sure they play by the rules and follow through on "closing" their respective loops once the event presents itself. He's clearly a villain, but strangely likable- then again, isn't Jeff Daniels always likable? I wish there had been much more of him.

Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) plays a prostitute dancer that "Younger Joe" has designs for while Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine) is a fellow Looper who fails to close his loop- things don't end well for his character in a segment that's rather grotesque. Garret Dillahunt (FOX's Raising Hope) rounds out the notable cast as a Gat, a sentry out to kill both the Older and Younger Joes- his lone scene is quietly explosive... ;)

Complaints- distinguishing viewers are likely to point out more than a few possible plot holes, logistical leaps and sketchy details when it comes to the reasoning behind the existence/function of Loopers, their eventual Loop closures and events of the far future that appear to contradict the rules.  Although I'm normally not the type to give in to contrivance (and there's a good helping of that here), I found myself more immersed in the immediate, onscreen story, the excellent performances and inherent directorial flair- in short, I enjoyed so many other aspects of the film that I was able to forgive it for it's flaws. Others might not find themselves as forgiving and I could definitely understand that.

The trailers for this film were a bit misleading, as there are essentially two very different storylines that eventually interconnect- one of which did not appear to be touched upon in the various previews and TV spots (at least not in the many that I bore witness to).  That's a good thing, in my opinion, as a large portion of the second half of the film comes largely as an unexpected surprise. I'll only reveal that it involves a small child who throws some rather impressive temper tantrums...

All things considered, I think Looper is one of the better films of the year and comes highly recommended.

8.5 out of 10

Review- Dredd

At the Theater - Dredd - Absolutely nothing like the campy 1995 Stallone film, Judge Dredd- this is as gritty, bloody and as deadly serious as a futuristic action film gets. Think the tone of 1987's Robocop (without the satirical commercials) mixed with the premise of 1988's Die Hard (and very similar to this year's The Raid: Redemption)- shut off completely from outside assistance, the titular hero and his rookie empath, Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), must ascend to the top of the fortified and crime-infested "Peach Trees" tower block and bring the vicious drug-lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey- "Queen Gorgo" in 300) to justice, all the while dispatching countless heavily armed thugs. 

The entirety of the story unfolds over the course of several hours while 95% of the film is set in the aforementioned "Peach Trees" high-rise- it could have easily been retitled: A Day On Patrol With Judge Dredd. It's a simplistic yet fully functional approach. The action and effects are very well filmed and staged, with the 3D aspect of the film kicking into high gear during sequences in which the designer drug Slo-Mo come into play- users find themselves experiencing reality at a fraction of it's normal speed, making for some visually striking segments that I found rather impressive.  Be forewarned: this film is extremely bloody, with a few moments of outright gore that had me actually wincing.

Karl Urban is perfect in the role as "Dredd"- he's got presence to spare and portrays the character with control and determination, without any ego to speak of and never feeling it necessary that audiences must know that it's actually him under the helmet- yes, the helmet never comes off in the film. Very cool. The suit here is also a definite upgrade over the '95 film.

Olivia Thirlby (Juno) surprised me in that the actress shows some verve- her character here is fully worth-while, well-utilized and with purpose.  "Anderson" never falls into "wise-cracking sidekick" or "damsel in distress" mode and I appreciated that.

Leana Heady, as the scarred villainess Ma-Ma, is effectively grungy and chilling in her scenes- though I would have appreciated a couple more "hands-on" segments in which her character takes more of a direct role in the proceedings. Her comeuppance is rather memorable...

Wood Harris (Remember The Titans), as one of Ma-Ma's top-tier underlings, rounds out the notable cast.

Dredd is a smaller-budgeted affair by Hollywood's theatrically-released standards, but surprisingly centered and perfectly efficient for what it's worth- one might think of it as one of the largest budgeted fan films ever made. It's obvious that the film was crafted with the input of those who appreciated and respected the character and comic. It's a great re-introduction of the character that "gets it right" this go-round.

Sadly, it appears very few wanted to see this film in theaters as it has pretty much bombed here in the U.S. - there's no good reason for that as it should eventually take it's place amongst the absolute best Rated R comic book movies ever made.

Highly Recommended for fans of the subject matter.

Dredd - 8.0 out of 10



FWIW - Judge Dredd (1995) - 5.0 out of 10