The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: FENCES

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: 

on FENCES (2016, 129 minutes, PG-13)

The Quick of It -

There is nothing like sitting down for a serious and attention-grabbing film in the late hours with an empty theater, a soft pretzel with cheese, and a cold drink.  That is until you realize that you’ve had too much to drink and have to get up in the middle of the story to use the restroom.  Yes, I had the privilege of a private showing, of sorts.  And, if nothing else, FENCES deserves that special consideration.

Denzel Washington sitting in the director’s seat will always motivate me to make time for a heartfelt drama.  This being his third major film, to include THE GREAT DEBATERS and ANTWONE FISHER, you have to take the opportunity when presented.  He is a consummate professional when it comes to the industry and revered by most.

Then you add August Wilson to the formula.  This gentleman won the Pulitzer Prize for ‘Fences’ as a Broadway play.  Once you see this film, you will know why.  And you will understand how Denzel was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and why Viola Davis won the Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture.  This recognition is well-deserved.  Denzel didn’t get the nod for director, but I believe Wilson would really be the contributor that deserves that credit, so I imagine the ‘Globe Peeps’ looked elsewhere.

The story is about an African-American family in the 1950s.  Denzel plays Troy Maxson, a blue-collar father trying to make a living in a period when major changes are occurring in America.  His past is plagued with horrible circumstances; broken home, time in prison, and surviving World War II.  His wife, Rose, is played by Viola Davis (of SUICIDE SQUAD, THE HELP, and PRISONERS).  Their interaction is one that makes you feel like you are witnessing life at its realist in that time period.  Being based on a play truly helps the dialogue, but can sometimes seem overwhelming, but it is all worth the journey.  The supporting cast was not filled with fluff either – Russell Hornsby (known for ‘Grimm’) and Stephen Henderson, who also appeared in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, another Golden Globe standout film.  Mykelti Williamson is another spectacular actor added to this ensemble and should be recognized as such.  He plays Gabriel, Troy’s brother, who was severely wounded in the war and has a metal plate in his head.  His character is reminiscent of the tree-chopper in DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS, another highly recommended Denzel film.

It’s interesting that the film was not recognized for the Globes, as it was shot in a singular style.  You get the sense of a bridging between theater and film.  The scenes were mostly tight frames like a stage, and character approaches were walkthroughs to create a sense of introduction.  The final translation is something of a feat rarly achieved, to give a unique portrayal as if limited to the stage and not implementing any number of storytelling techniques available to the silver screen. 

FENCES may not be high on your list but you should reconsider, as it will bring Broadway to you.  And, if nothing else, it will make you reassess a number of things about life and where you stand in it.

Grade: A-

'Blu-ray or Bust' - MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN

'Blu-ray or Bust'

MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016, PG-13, 127 minutes, 20TH CENTURY FOX)

Tim Burton knows how to tell a good story. His unique visual style is the earmark of several films that you easily recognize as his work. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, BEETLEJUICE, and PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE are classics of cinema, and all showcases of the magnificently odd.

PEREGRINE is no exception; it blends his naturally creepy side with an author who delved into creepy via old photographs of weird kids. Ransom Riggs’ 2011 young adult novel, which at times reads like a strictly adult one, captured the curiosity of those old, age-worn pictures and pieced together a lovely tale of spooky children and menacing, monstrous adults. Now Burton shows you what Ransom intended visually, and it mostly pays off.

PEREGRINE tells the story of teenage Jake (Asa Butterfield—you’ll remember him as the intense “Ender” from ENDER’S GAME), a socially awkward (weren’t we all) young man caught up in an awkward stage of life. His recently departed grandfather, who told him tales of the titular home of living oddities as a boy, bids him seek out the place for answers concerning said grandfather’s life—and death. The journey from there is ripe with signature Burton touches (he designed the bad guys, and there is even a moment—a rather intense and awful moment—when dolls are brought to life not with the usual CGI, but with the director’s preferred style of stop motion animation). Miss Peregrine herself is played with a confident vitality by Eva Green (Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful”, CASINO ROYALE); she is a no-nonsense caretaker of the children known as “Peculiars”, and her fierceness is that of an over-protective mother. A direct interpretation of the falcon she represents in human form, and a fine portrayal it is.

While Burton chose actors that all fit their roles quite nicely, this is a big budget, effects riddled film, and you lose some of the typical practical effects he was always such a fan of using. These are the moments when the film seems less Burtonesque and more…well, Disney-like. And this ain’t your typical Disney fare.

By hiring on screenwriter Jane Goldman (KICK-ASS, KINGSMAN) to adapt Riggs’ books, Burton shows the confidence he has in other auteurs; by not sticking to the first book scene for scene, there are other opportunities created that clearly dictate this not as a franchise, but more of a complete tale. The ending of the film is entirely different than that of the original work, and there have even been some changes to some of the characters. Diehard fans of the written series might be irritated, but I applaud the changes. No need to suck the public’s pockets and patience dry with five films when you can pack a whole lotta story in an allotted screen time and not waste time with extraneous and unnecessary scenes.

The special features offer something rather unique as well; author Riggs was allowed on the set, and spends an ample amount of time in the first documentary being a fanboy and explaining how he not only accepts the changes made to his material, but his shock at being included in much of what went on. There is also an hour devoted to the Peculiars, and a much lesser amount given to Samuel L. Jackson and the rest of the baddies.

It is refreshing to see Burton still respecting tales created by others, and to see that he is still an author himself, creating visual stories and worlds with the knowing hand of a man who revels in the peculiar. Next, he’ll be revisiting the world of BEETLEJUICE; let us hope his style, and voice, stay intact.

Film Grade: A-

Special Features: A+ (seriously—you give an author the opportunity to peek around the set that you built, based on a world he created, and you’re gettin’ an “A+” from me every time)

Blu-ray Necessary: Indubitably

-- T.S.Kummelman

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: ROGUE ONE

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: 

on ROGUE ONE (2016, 133 minutes, PG-13)

The Quick of It -

Welcome to the universe that should be. 

To start, fair warning… I am not a huge Star Wars fan.  I have enjoyed the films to certain degrees and I believe George Lucas became a blight to the story in his later years, as was proven with EPISODE I to III (and what happened to Indy, I will never forgive him for that). 

With that said, I believe this to be the best film to date… to include EPISODE VII.  In the hands of a quiet but seemingly exceptional director Gareth Edwards (MONSTERS and GODZILLA), we experience a strong story filled with many ‘memorable’ characters.  The character development and plot progression was a balancing act to quickly build what was given within the short timeframe of one film.  I will admit the breaking away from some of the Star Wars traditions, such as the scrolling intro, felt odd.  This also included some of the music, which they teased a few similar pieces at times.  It wasn’t horrible, but seemed distracting for all the wrong reasons.  Don’t train us like Pavlov’s dog is all I’m sayin’.

The cast was probably at its best for the roles portrayed.  Felicity Jones (of THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and INFERNO) as Jin Erso may not have been ideal but she was surrounded by strong personalities, so may have been drowned out.  She plays a stereotyped bad-girl, a challenger of authority, and is asked to aid the Alliance in finding her father at the start.  Diego Luna, who will be the lead in the upcoming remake for FLATLINERS, carried much of the core story’s heart and interest.  He played a crafty and duty-driven spy, Cassian Andor, who was accompanied by the story’s comedic element, droid K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk, of ‘Firefly’ fame).  Cassian has been asked to do many horrible things to further the rebel cause, but now finds himself able to do something worthy of his skills and a means to redemption.  They pull together a small force of rebels to infiltrate an Imperial base to steal the Death Star plans.

Although knowing the outcome, the plot keeps you quickly moving forward to an epic encounter.  The finale seems to act as a compilation of all those awesome battle scenes you’ve ever wanted in a Star Wars film.  X-Wings flying over sparkling beaches, AT-ATs blasting through Rebel ground forces, and stormtroopers hitting their marks.  There was no holding back, and it made for better storytelling.  Hopefully, this is a defining moment and will raise the bar for later films.

Grade: A-

PS - Vader does kick some serious butt!

‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - JASON BOURNE

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

JASON BOURNE (2016, PG-13, 123 minutes, CAPTIVATE ENTERTAINMENT/UNIVERSAL)

I have an issue with every Bourne film that followed the first.

Call me nitpicky, call me boring, call me Shawnita and tell me I’m a horrible hooker—just don’t call me crazy and ignore my complaint. ‘Cause it’s kinda valid, and it is something that has become an underlying problem with almost every action franchise on the market. And, there are plenty of other reasons for calling me “crazy”.

In the first film, THE BOURNE IDENTITY, Bourne, who awakens with amnesia, spends the entire film figuring out that he used to be a government assassin.

In SUPREMACY, he is framed by the CIA, the agency he used to work for.

In ULTIMATIM, the CIA is trying to kill him (again) while he tries to figure out how he was made.

In BOURNE, the CIA head wants him dead because… honestly, does it even matter anymore? CIA this, CIA that; I’m beginning to believe that director Paul Greengrass (of the last two “Bourne” films, and CAPTAIN PHILLIPS) thinks that “CIA” stands for “Completely Ignorant Asshats”. Every film is an agency conspiracy, just like with the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE films, in which the Impossible Missions department gets shut down every film. It's getting’ old, kids.

Sure, there is plenty of action. There are three main action films within this two-hour flick, which are all strung together with plot-like material. Greengrass is a master at creating riveting action scenes, but by the time you get to the end, you are left exhausted and slightly bewildered. It’s almost action movie overload, and, with actors of this caliber, you wonder how anyone had any time to act.

And if one more movie uses Tommy Lee Jones as a government official, I’m going to punch myself in the mummy-and-daddy bits. Like, REALLY FREAKING HARD. I understand typecasting is a problem in Hollywood, but, seriously, would someone please hire this man as a grandpa already? Why pigeonhole the poor guy after so many years in the industry? And car chases… must they always include someone driving on the wrong side of the road? Seriously. GIMME SOMETHING NEW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT, FER CRYIN’ OUT LOUD.

There are several special features, the most entertaining of which breaks down those looooonnng action sequences. As Matt Damon is not only the star of the film, but also a producer, he introduces most of the featurettes. Almost seems kinda contrived, but the man is proud of the film they made, which he should be; Bourne is an older character now, and who knows if there is going to be another.

If there is, he should team up with Tom Cruise, and they can shoot each other’s fictional agencies into oblivion and save us all from yet another formulaic excuse to film some decent action scenes.

Film Grade: C-

Special Features: B

Blu-ray Necessary: If you must, and only if you promise to hit yourself in the spleen really hard.

-- T.S.Kummelman

‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016, PG-13, minutes, COLUMBIA PICTURES)

Approximately five thousand and two people were shot in the making of this western.

Seriously. At one point, “Sam Chisolm” (Denzel “If You Need My Filmography You Shouldn’t Even Be Watching Movies” Washington) walks into the middle of a dusty, lifeless street. He is surrounded by corpses, both townsfolks and bad guys alike, all deader than doornails. And it looks like there are roughly five thousand corpses in the background.

I’m not complaining; the old west was, apparently, a really violent place, and we are lucky anyone made it out alive to continue the human race. In Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the 1960 classic of the same name, you get the feeling that there was an R-rated film lurking in here, but it got lost in the marketing stratagem. I mean, all them dead folk, you’d expect a bit more blood on account of it being so dang violent. Don’t get me wrong—I’m all about a good shoot-‘em-up. But there isn’t a whole lotta new in this modern-day retelling of a group of gunslingers coming together to fight off bad hombres.

The original film, written by SEVEN SAMURAI legend Akira Kurosawa, was about American cowboys saving a Mexican town from banditos. This one is about seven cowboys fighting off an evil land baron in America; it doesn’t have the same heroic feel that the first film did. Granted, there are some beautifully shot scenes, and the writing is tight enough. But again: there is not much new on display here that you haven’t already seen in other, better westerns. Also, the camaraderie amongst our heroes isn’t fleshed out enough; much of it is assumed, and most of those assumptions are based on stereotypes. There is a certain underlying bigotry to that age and time, and it is glossed over much more than it is paid attention to. Basically, there are not a whole lot of socially redeemable moments amongst a band of hired guns that are made out to be BFF’s, and it is kind of obvious in its lacking.

And the moments of intimate death…it’s as if new screenwriters Richard Wenk (16 BLOCKS, THE EQUALIZER) and Nic Pizzolatto (“True Detective”) were trying for a SAVING PRIVATE RYAN feel, but pulled back on actually dictating the violence. The cinematography by Mauro Fiore (TRAINING DAY, AVATAR) is exceptional, but at times reflects the hesitancy you feel from the rest of the film.

There are several special features, each about eight minutes long; while it is fun to see Pratt making jokes, what is more entertaining is seeing the cast giving props to real life gunslingers. Yes, they also tend to go on about each other, but the fact that all of them seem appreciative of being able to re-make such an iconic film is refreshing, despite the finished product.

While it is nice to see such an eclectic cast together, sometimes the result isn’t what you’d hoped for. Fuqua has a number of documentaries in the works, and of course Washington, Pratt, and Vincent “Kingpin” D’onofrio are stars in their own right, I cannot imagine this being a springboard for any of the other actors. It wasn’t because of their performances, but is because of what Fuqua did with those performances: not much.

Film Grade: C

Special Features: A

Blu-ray Necessary: Recommended, if you must

-- T.S. Kummelman

‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - SUICIDE SQUAD

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

SUICIDE SQUAD (2016, PG-13/NR, 123/134 minutes, WARNER BROS./DC ENTERTAINMENT)

When I first saw SUICIDE SQUAD in theatres, I, like many others, was disappointed.

The editing was too jumpy, the story seemed unfocused, and it just didn’t feel as fun as the trailers had been. I enjoyed Will Smith’s “Deadshot”, Margo Robbie’s “Harley Quinn”, and Viola Davis as The Meanest Woman in the World. Everyone else felt… well, kinda bland.

Thank The Sweet Baby Hey-Zeus that DC and Warner Bro’s are committed to a director’s visions. As with the previous release of BATMAN V SUPERMAN’s “R-rated” cut on Blu-ray, another film exists—one better than what was released in theatres, one that nails all of the previous flaws it exhibited in theatres. But like the last Superman film, I worry that it is too late.

The story itself is about a bunch of villains forced to team up to save the world. What has become a regurgitated idea is a bit more fleshed out with the extra eleven minutes, and gives us more insight into what makes these people as bad as they are. Harley, for instance, gets more screen time; her street psychoanalysis of her teammates is truer to the nature of her comic book character than all of the well-timed one-liners she has in the film. Smith as “Deadshot” is even better than you would expect; his is the conscious of the film, a deadly Jiminy Cricket that knows he’s bad, and has reasons for being so. He might be a serial killer for higher, but he has an all too human side to him.

Then, there is Jared Leto’s “Joker”. While I still believe that Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the iconic madman was truer to the “Batman” TV series, and Heath Ledger’s was a pure exercise in insanity (a brilliant one, mind you), Leto comes closest to the comics than anyone else. Like, EVER. He is a maniacal, violent, sadistic genius who needs no backstory. He just is.

The rest of the characters are perfectly cast, right down to Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s “Killer Croc”. If anything, this is quite a diverse cast, and is deserving of respect at least for its use of great character actors from so many different cultures and peoples. While much of Hollywood can still be accused of white washing (see every freaking movie about ancient Egypt for examples), DC opened up a lovely bag of ethnicities this time around.

The special features are plentiful, and all are worth the watch. The story behind the original Suicide Squad comics, and how the filmmakers got to this version, is an interesting watch; it is refreshing to see a studio take the time to interview the original creators, and give them an equal say in the development of their characters.

Despite the negative reviews, SQUAD made more than enough at the box office to garner a sequel—of sorts. Robbie will reprise her role as Harley with another off-shoot of the DC Universe called “Gotham City Sirens”. Writer/director David Ayer will be back as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Leto reprise his role. The other characters, however… while a direct sequel may not be necessary, as a fan, I would appreciate a continuation in the series. It is good to know that the studio didn’t drop Ayer and his vision completely; they just waited to share it for the video release.

Grade: B+

Special Features: A

Blu-ray Necessary: Most definitely

-- T.S. Kummelman

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: MISS SLOANE

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: 

on MISS SLOANE (2016, 132 minutes, R)

The Quick of It -

MISS SLOANE is not a simple film in any aspect by any means.  I would say there are many ways to potential interpret what you are seeing.  Talking with someone who had not seen the film and heard about some blurb saying that, “this is the film that the NRA ‘does not’ want you to see,” I realized the brilliance of the film.

Directed by John Madden (of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, and THE DEBT) and written by Jonathan Perera, amazingly the only writer, puts you in the heart of the lobbyists’ playground and sends you quickly into a tailspin.  The story centers on Miss Sloane, who is a well-renown lobbyist, who takes on supporting a bill that goes against one of the most powerful entities in politics, the NRA and 2^nd amendment ‘enthusiast’. 

With such an impressive cast, there still were a few standouts.  Jessica Chastain (of THE MARTIAN, ZERO DARK THIRTY, and THE HELP) as Miss Elizabeth Sloane is commanding and attention-drawing.  You cannot look away for fear of missing her next play and catch those softer moments, which were quite rare.  To compliment her is Gugu Mbatha-Raw (CONCUSSION, FREE STATE OF JONES, and JUPITER ASCENDING) who has shades of innocence and driven by pure heart.  One other crucial binding element is Mark Strong (of KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, and SHERLOCK HOLMES).  He plays Rodolfo Schmidt, the president of a small law firm championing for the bill, who convinces Sloane to leave her prestigious company to aid him in this herculean task. 

Now, you would believe that a film centering around anti-gun ideals, it really is only a peripheral piece to the whole.  In fact, both side get a fair shake on their arguments, not actually taking a full side.  The bill, featuring the Heaton-Harris Amendment, is to add more to the current process in purchasing a gun, wait days and the requiring a background check for all purchases.  The topic remains slightly grayed rather than pushing an agenda.  And that my friends is the beauty of the picture.  The plot is driven by Miss Sloane and the process of acquiring votes for a bill, not a bunch of fluff and single-minded psychological warfare to sway your opinion. 

This pick for my film to review was a difficult choice since I try to avoid anything overly political.  But, I was proven a wuss for doubting.  The story was told so well that it did borderline on having that ‘based on real events’ feel.  They would have only needed to change the tone on a few subplots and add a bit more ambiguity.  So you might consider pushing this one up higher on your ‘to watch’ list.

Grade: B-