Review: ‘Hot Pursuit’

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Hot Pursuit is thornier to review than I had anticipated. It is highly flawed, but hard to hold in extreme contempt thanks to an angle that casts it in a different light.

Legacy policewoman Rose Cooper (Reese Witherspoon), stuck in the purgatory of the property clerk’s office after making a very wrong judgment call in the field, is assigned to work with Deputy U.S. Marshal Jackson (Richard T. Jones) on a special mission. The trial of drug lord Vincente Cortez (Joaquin Cosio) is about to begin and two witnesses need to be placed into protective custody, former henchman Felipe Riva (Vincent Laresca) and his wife Daniella (Sofía Vergara), which necessitates a woman’s presence.

Already this rings false. Why isn’t someone more qualified chosen for this? Are there really no other female law enforcement officials in the area? Or, since this is a high-profile case that warrants the involvement of the U.S, Marshals, the entire country?

Anyway, they arrive at the Riva residence. Cooper is with her charge as she packs up (those items of course being clothes, clothes, and, what else, clothes) when things go pear-shaped. Hitmen show up and in the shootout Jackson and Mr. Riva are killed. The women flee, but news about the shooting soon spreads and both are blamed for it.

It’s all not very funny. The running gag of news reports gradually decreasing Cooper’s height and increasing Riva’s age is really the best it has to offer, and that was already in the trailer. Add to that poor direction, a wasted supporting cast, and slapdash plotting.

But what throws in wrench into coming down hard on it is that the featured heroine is a type rarely if ever depicted in film. With her vast knowledge of police regulations that she can recite instantaneously and difficulty in picking up on social cues (among other such traits), Cooper is clearly coded as having Autism or Asperger’s. And as one of the scant few high-functioning characters in a story where the condition is not a defining aspect (and the main character at that), it’s an admirable development, especially when one keeps in mind that the other half of the team is also from a marginalized group.

It is therefore highly unfortunate that this movie is meant to be comedy, and as such a lot of the supposed humor is made at this character’s expense. Many audience members are going to simply see her as stupid and not have any understanding or sympathy. Not helping matters is the script going back and forth on her level of job proficiency. In one scene she’ll be making a Columbo-level detective observation, and in the next unable to interpret a simple drawing that she herself made.

Had this been a straight action thriller, it would’ve turned out much better and perhaps quite solid. Witherspoon has extraordinary dramatic prowess and did recently return to form quite nicely with Wild. For a long time I’ve wanted to her play a cop; she is certainly credible in the role and could really have brought something were it with more serious substance.

Vergara on the other hand is just playing Gloria Pritchett again. That’s not anything in reference to her acting, but the character is written the same way, complete with the Colombian criminal “jokes.” There’s some attempt to give her character greater depth and motivations, but it’s all too forced.

“What could have been…” can apply to most any disappointing film, but Hot Pursuit screams it much more than most. Those interested in the portrayal of individuals with Autism/Asperger’s might want to look into it to evaluate, but those interested in comedy should keep looking.

Review: ‘Jurassic World’

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In 1973, Michael Crichton gave us Westworld, a sci fi action thriller in which robots at a theme park break free of control and attack the visitors. In the story there were actually several parks similarly specialized and titled (“Romanworld,” “Medievalworld,” etc. ). There was also a follow-up a few years later, Futureworld. So it’s only fitting that when done with dinosaurs, it would be called Jurassic World.

The fourth Jurassic Park film had spent such a long time in development that it might as well have been 65 million years in the making. But here at long last, the wait was worth it.

As Richard Attenborough had passed away, so too has John Hammond. He’s bequeathed the park to billionaire Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), who along with operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) revamped it into the titular place, complete with an all-new logo (with the original as being regarded as in bad taste).But even with all the wonderful attractions they have, they still aren’t happy with things. Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong) has stuck around and with his help they develop an all-new breed of dinosaur: the Indominus Rex.

Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), a former Marine who’s on hand to train the velociraptors, is soon brought in to make sure that the exhibit will be safe. But of course, things go very wrong and the I-Rex escapes into the park. Having previously been raised in isolation and thus non-socialized, it will be a great danger to both humans and fellow dinosaurs.

Oh, and Claire’s nephews (Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins) who she hasn’t seen for three quarters of a decade are visiting over Christmas break (yes, it’s supposed to be Christmastime but there’s oddly zero mention of it once the boys leave home). Handed off to an assistant (Kate McGrath) who gets separated from them in no time at all, they find themselves off the beaten path when the story gets serious.

Anyone who’s a big fan of the series or even just the first film is going to be very pleased. Despite the not-so-hidden subtext of improving on a predecessor, it feels very reverent of what’s come before. Actually, it can perhaps be discerned that that subtext is in fact asserting the original’s place as a well-loved institution, as the point in the story is that the efforts to outdo and replace what’s already working well lead to disaster. But the film as a whole represents the park as it was beforehand, dedicated to realizing the vision of its originator.

The action is thrilling and engaging, with the final sequence as a standout. There’s certainly no way of replicating the experience of the first movie and the awe of seeing those dinosaurs for the very first time, so World does the next best thing and brings the park itself to life. The place is quite a wonder and somewhere that you’d really want to go to if it existed (and that’s factoring in the chance you might not get out alive).

However, there are some problems at the script level. The beginning is incredibly repetitive; scenes and scenes are devoted to setting up the story, but just get regurgitated when Grady enters the picture. A plot hole comes up at the end where two characters aren’t on the same page when they really should be. And there’s comic relief at very ill-fitting moments.

Crichton died years ago and it would be impossible to speak for him even if he were alive, but I’d like to think that Jurassic World carries on the spirit of his work. His is truly a legacy that won’t go extinct.

Review: ‘Gone Girl’

Ben Affleck

Review: ‘Gone Girl’

 

Now that the fall movie season is underway, the hype machine has gone into overdrive. In the case of Gone Girl, it can for the most part be believed.

It doesn’t measure up to Frantic and much less to The Lady Vanishes, but Gone Girl is a very solid work and definitely superior to recent similar films like Gone and whatever’s being made for basic cable.

It is the day of the fifth anniversary for Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) when the latter disappears. The house shows signs indicative of foul play and the cops (Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit) are brought in, but then the case goes public in a big way. Amy’s parents (David Clennon and Lisa Banes) are famous for a series of children’s books in which the character is based on their daughter, so the situation garners nationwide news attention.

Intercutting are flashback scenes from Amy’s diary in her voice. We see how the two met and the dating period, through the early part of the marriage, and to their present status.
From there it’s a twist-a-thon through many turns. Some can be easily anticipated, while others are very shocking. It’s all held together well by a script from the author of the novel, Gillian Flynn. This adaptation is a very faithful one; the story remains perfectly intact but so do the bigger themes relating to the media’s effect on the public, the disparities or lack thereof between the haves and the have-nots, and the expectations for husbands and wives in American society.

Director David Fincher is fully in his element. He excellently composes the scenes for maximum effect, heightening the dread and granting levity at the right moments. Along with him here are composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their third go-round, and again deliver a great score.

Pike is extraordinary; at this stage, it would be an injustice if she doesn’t at least receive a Golden Globe nomination. This wouldn’t be half the film it is if it weren’t for her. Tyler Perry is fantastic as a Johnnie Cochran-esque lawyer who helps Nick play the talk show circuit; it’s a shame there weren’t any courtroom scenes.

Affleck is most often one of the worst things in his movies (especially true of his horrendous and very racist turn in Argo), and this one is no exception. Granted the character is supposed to be something of a bad actor – it’s practically meta when someone else remarks how wooden he is – so he is a good fit in that regard, but he is easily outshined by every other actor.

Unfortunately, there are some other issues as well. Gone Girl suffers a bad case of stupid cop syndrome. As soon as the film ended, I knew of at least a half-dozen obvious clues that went overlooked, and came up with more afterwards. It would be one thing if the characters were meant to be this way, but since the story builds them as competent and driven, it’s a considerable defect.

Also the ending comes as a bit of a letdown. The film loses its thriller rhythm for slow drama, and it’s far from satisfying. This is also why the stupid cop syndrome is so problematic. Because if they were more capable, their findings would change the course of the story and the result would be all the better.

Fincher and Flynn will be working together again on an HBO series. If this effort is of any indication, it has great, great potential. And their next cinematic projects, whether alone and collaborating, can very much be looked forward to.

Review: ‘No Good Deed’

Idris Elba

Review: ‘No Good Deed’

 

As a horror/thriller fan, I couldn’t help but groan as soon as the logo for Screen Gems appeared. While a few of their films in this genre are pretty good to okay, the rest are really, really bad. No Good Deed, for the most part, shakes out on the okay side. Despite the material being elevated by its stars, there are still a number of flaws.

Colin Evans (Idris Elba) has been incarcerated for 5 years on a manslaughter charge. Although he is suspected of numerous other murders, nothing was ever proven. In front of the parole board, he pleads his case, claiming to have reformed. One board member though doesn’t buy it, and since the decision to grant needs to be unanimous, Colin’s bid is denied. On the ride back, he takes the news as well as one reasonably can, by killing the guards and escaping.

He boosts a car of course, but when night falls and the rain comes down hard, he crashes in the woods and then goes to what’s seemingly the closest house for help. This is where Terri (Taraji P. Henson) lives with her two children, as well as husband Jeffrey (Henry Simmons) who isn’t there at the moment. Terri gives Colin the benefit of the doubt and lets him in until the tow truck that he supposedly called for arrives. However, as is apt to happen in these situations, the friendly façade isn’t kept up indefinitely.

There’s some decent suspense here and it can be brutal at times (though it would have greatly benefitted from an R rating and going all the way), but ultimately it’s too routine, right down to the clichés we should be long past. The heroine makes the same stupid mistakes as so many others before her. And seeing as how this character is established as being a former ADA, it makes no sense for her to act this way.

But that didn’t stop the actors from bringing their A game. Elba is terrific, deftly handling the sociopathic complexity of his role. Matching him at each turn is Henson, which makes it all the more disappointing that her character was shortchanged. Leslie Bibb also shows up as a friend of Terri’s; though she’s great in the part, it’s a little too stereotypical of the horror movie best friend.

Much is being made about an ending plot twist. It’s an unpredictable one, but it does not amount to very much. It doesn’t upend the trajectory of the story in any real manner; the events that play out were going to happen with or without it. Was it something I didn’t see coming? Yes. Was it a game changer? No. Was it worth cancelling screenings for? Absolutely not.

While No Good Deed is nothing exceptional and has errors that could easily have been avoided, fans of the actors owe it to themselves to check it out. As for Screen Gems, this doesn’t do much to help their average, but given how really awful their output in this genre has been, it’s a step in the right direction.

Review: ’22 Jump Street’ (SPOILERS)

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum

Review: ’22 Jump Street’ (SPOILERS)

One thing that 2014 is sure to be remembered for is the year the film world began paying attention to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The directing team snuck up on us earlier this year with The Lego Movie, a genuine delight in which everything is awesome. Now, not even half a year later, they hit us with 22 Jump Street.

The sequel to the 21 Jump Street revitalization that they also handled, 22 is a very rare comedy successor that matches the laughs and quality. The key? Not fixing what isn’t broken.

Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) try their hand at an out of school assignment to bust and apprehend a drug lord (Peter Stormare), but fail miserably. Their superior (Nick Offerman) decides to just let them do what they succeeded at the last time and transfers them back to Captain Dickson (Ice Cube). Given their exact same undercover identities, they are sent to a college to investigate the death of a student in relation to drug dealing.

Unlike the first however, the campus social environment is like that of their initial high school experiences. That is to say, Jenko easily falls in with the jocks and frat boys, while Schmidt finds an in with the beat poetry scene. This ends up fitting for the case, as Jenko’s crowd involves suspects while Schmidt gets close to a friend (Amber Stevens) of the victim.

The central conceit again is the meta awareness, being as much a commentary on making a sequel to 21 Jump Street as it is just that. Offerman’s lines are just about interchangeable with what a studio executive might say (he even uses the term “reboot”). And the introductory sequence works because it doesn’t work. For example, Schmidt’s undercover identity as a Hispanic caricature is so cringe-inducing it’s practically minstrel. But of course they know this full well, the whole point being for the audience to want this mission to end so they can go back to doing what they do best.

Plenty of gut-busting jokes and comedic skills abound. Tatum and Hill prove once more what a great team they make. Ice Cube is given more to do in this installment and is a standout. But it’s Jillian Bell as the roommate of Stevens that ends up stealing the picture. Taking an instant suspicion of Schmidt, she is delightfully acerbic and the cutting barbs exchanged are some of the best material in the film.

But the similarity to the first means that the same issue hangs over this one: the fact that it’s a comedy at all in the first place. The 21 Jump Street TV show was serious and gritty; a proper film adaptation would be akin to something like The Substitute. What the makers were going for is certainly done well, but was this really the best choice of material to have done it with?

Lord and Miller have got all eyes on them now, and if they were to move on and leave Jump Street behind, 22 is a very high note to go out on. And given the film’s (hilarious) coda, it would be best to let it end here.

Review: ‘Edge of Tomorrow’

Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise

Edge of Tomorrow is about someone who starts out incompetent but gets better overtime. The movie itself however has huge problems from the start, never improves from them, and finishes off in even worse shape.

Some years into the future, the Earth has been devastated by alien beings called mimics. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is an army PR man who General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) pulls from recruitment campaigns to fight on the front lines. His attempts at avoiding duty prove useless, and he’s deployed to a large full-scale battle with the mimics. And he dies.

But in Groundhog Day/Source Code/Twilight Zone/Outer Limits/Day Break fashion, he just starts the day over and all those typical rules apply. Everything plays out just the same, he’s the only one that’s cognizant of the repetition, death is not an escape, etc. He’ll have to learn to improve his skills to last longer in battle, as well as seek out help from super soldier Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), who seems to know more about what’s happening to him.

First thing’s first: the casting of the protagonist is beyond wrong. The movie is based on a novel called All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, in which the main character is a Japanese young man that’s a recruit. Here, he’s a white man over 50 and a career military officer. And there’s also a couple supporting characters – a Brazilian-Japanese man who’s a commanding officer and a mechanic that’s a Native American young woman – that have also been turned into older white men. Now I’m sure someone now is thinking of replying back “They want to make money and need a big star!” Well, their greed getting in the way of doing the material right and proper representation for marginalized groups is not something that should be condoned. That what is tantamount to yellowface is still happening in the year 2014 is downright reprehensible.

That said, Cruise isn’t terrible, but it’s obvious at every turn just how wrong he is for this role. Seeing his rise from zero to hero, going from student to master, just does not resonate as it would if he were a young man.  He can play the full course of the emotions well certainly, but is still a square peg for a round hole. Blunt, who is the right race and age as her character, does fit and play the part well. She’s the shining spot in the film.

Also on the plus side, it’s never really boring. Director Doug Liman perfectly pinpoints when audience interest might wane and fast forwards when the next loop begins to where we want to be. This lends to a few intriguing moments later on when it’s unclear whether Cage is lying about knowing what’s ahead or he’s been there and we were just never shown. And the story concept itself is engaging and interesting.

Action-wise, it’s exciting at times, but on the whole disappointing. A hook has been made out of getting to see Cruise die in various ways, but none of these are particularly brutal or otherwise notable. Even when compared to other PG-13 pictures, it’s tame; the recent X-Men: Days of Future Past was quite graphically violent (and to great effect). This is one that really should have went for an R rating, as the level of violence does not do even a decent job of illustrating the nightmare that the soldiers face.

Which brings me to the ending, where they really screwed the pooch. I’m not going to go in depth on the exact events in the books and film, but will describe their tones. That’s enough of a spoiler in my book, so considered yourself warned.

The novel’s ending wasn’t the rosiest in the world, but it carried thematic weight in communicating the author’s messages about the horrors of war and the effects it has on soldiers. This one though, is the rosiest in the world and the absolute worst possible way it could’ve ended. The whole point of the story gets thrown right into the toilet and flushed down the drain.

To sum things up as succinctly as can be done: read the book instead. Edge of Tomorrow is an utter failure at handling All You Need is Kill.