Movie Reviews (Ant Man/The Gallows/Selfless/True Story)

Ant Man

Marvel’s latest release was one to raise the question over whether the studio would finally drop the ball given the film’s chaotic and long production history, usually bad signs. However, this comic book adaptation starring Paul Rudd as a former thief who dons a special shrinking suit to become the titular hero is actually one Marvel’s better efforts to date. With the film originally having Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright attached as writers (Wright was also the first person slated to direct) the film is understandably comedic in tone but that being Rudd’s milieu, he runs with it and the imagination of the film-makers runs along with him. Being more restrained in length than most Marvel offerings (it comes in just under two hours), the hurried pace does make the exposition a little fuzzy at times, but just sit back and enjoy the ride. Also features Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lily, Corey Stoll, Michael Peña, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer and a slew of Marvel-related cameos. **** (Pic Of The Week)

The Gallows

With an advertising campaign that evoked the likes of Friday The 13^th (1980) and Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), The Gallows talked a big game, which it sorely failed to live up to. Twenty years after a stunt failure lead to a student being hanged during a play, a group of teens break into their high school at night only to find spooky goings on. Inexplicably, the film is in the “found footage” subgenre (often seemingly a budget choice but this film really could’ve been done conventionally on a small budget with little difficulty, there’s also no real reason for the use of camcorders in the plot). The characters are bland, gratingly irritating or really bizarrely cast with one character being seen as being one of the less desirable girls being played a noticeably pretty actress. The film reaches for atmosphere but mostly relies too much on jump scares, the fart joke of the horror genre. If the film was more straightforward there may have been something here but this is sadly lacking. *

Self/less

Science-fiction action movie in which a dying Ben Kingsley decides to undergo a process of “shedding”, with his mind going into a replacement body played by Ryan Reynolds. However, seizures and other problems begin to take effect and it becomes clear that there’s a shady side to the shedding process. Drawn from the mould of Christopher Nolan (in particular Inception (2009)), Self/less is pretty by-the-numbers and unremarkable with the central twist being so predictable it barely seems a twist at all. There’s a decent cast who do well with the material and the film is meant to appeal more to the sense of fun than to the brain. Watchable but not exactly memorable. ***

True Story

Jonah Hill plays a journalist who discovers that a man accused of murdering his family (played by James Franco) is using his name and admires his work. Hill spies a writing opportunity and meets the enigmatic Franco and starts to try and figure him out as well as whether he’s guilty or not. There’s an interesting side to True Story, with the duplicity of its characters and their intentions but what is there is greatly let down by what isn’t there. Hill and Franco both do good jobs, even if the novelty of having two actors best known for comedies (three if you count supporting player Ethan Surplee) distracts from their performances. The problem is partly that Hill and Franco don’t have quite the amount of electricity together to aid the direction of the film that goes for atmospheric and sometimes comes off as just staid. Along with the film often being too vague about the actions of the characters and a particularly brutal and unfeeling worldview at times, True Story is a good enough film that could’ve been better. ***

Love & Mercy (2014, Dir. Bill Pohlad, USA) (Cert: 12a/PG-13) ****

Starring: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks

Love & Mercy is an account of the personal life and work of Brian Wilson (Cusack, Dano, Jeff Holman) who achieved international fame and recognition as a member of the Beach Boys. Here, the story centres on two particular periods of Wilson’s personal life; one as a young Wilson struggles to record the albums Pet Sounds and SMiLE whilst slipping into a psychological breakdown, the other showing a middle-aged Wilson and his relationship with a woman named Melinda Leadbetter (Banks) who tries to free a mentally and emotionally fragile Wilson from the influence of his domineering doctor/carer, Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti).

Biopics can be a tricky business; the means by which to take a real person’s life story and condense it into a film is difficult because of the sheer amount of experiences and is why biopics tend to be on the lengthier end when it comes to run-time. The idea of doing a film about the history of the Beach Boys, one of the most successful and turbulent pop groups of all time, would be out of the question (even a mini-series would be a stretch) as can be evidenced by Love & Mercy, a two-hour heavily-detailed film about Brian Wilson that only covers two specific periods in his life. It may only be a look at Wilson in two different periods, save for the odd diversion, but through these episodes we see a more elaborate picture of a man whose personal troubles made him something of an enigma, even now.

John Cusack and Paul Dano are the two main players in the role of Brian Wilson and both portray him somewhat differently, even when accounting for the change in personality that naturally comes with age. Paul Dano’s performance as Wilson is very much in Dano’s traditional mould; alternating between brooding and manic, with hyper-emotional freakouts being something of a Dano trademark, but he is clearly giving his all and there’s a vulnerability and naturalism to the portrayal that works. Cusack’s take on the role is equally vulnerable, if not more-so, but more soft-spoken and rather endearing. Both actors stand out but neither is clearly better or worse than the other though Cusack’s nuanced work does overshadow Elizabeth Banks’s love interest which is more of an inherent flaw with how the film works rather than anyone’s particular failing.

Paul Giamatti also stands out as Eugene Landy, Brian Wilson’s manipulative physician. Giamatti is one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood today and in particular has a habit of appearing in films based on real events (he is soon to also appear in Straight Outta Compton, a film about legendary rap group N.W.A), his performance as Landy is fully without sympathy or humanity, bordering on an absurd villain prone to dramatic outbursts and vile behaviour. Landy’s actions did have dire real consequences and feedback on the film from Brian Wilson himself has indicated that the portrayal of Landy was not an exaggeration, but whilst I have no reason to defend Landy (indeed, any semblance to his actions shown here would give no reason for thinking he was a nice guy) the very nature of the character seems one-dimensional. Brian’s abusive father Murry (played by Bill Camp) is similarly slimy but the adversarial nature of the relationship with fellow Beach Boy Mike Love (Jake Abel) seems the most grounded and reasoned.

In addition to the film using different actors to portray the different eras of Brian Wilson’s life, the aesthetic is also different, with the film being treated to look like it comes from the period in which the two separate halves were set (Dano’s half being the 1960’s, Cusack’s being the 1980’s) but also having slight differences in narrative. Whilst most of the film is fairly conventional in how the story is told, the footage of the Beach Boys recording in the studio has a raw pseudo-documentary vibe that is really where the film is at its most interesting.

There’s a lot to love about Love And Mercy; for all that it deals with some very tough subjects it is also something of a celebration of the Beach Boys and the wonderful music that they made, particularly with Pet Sounds (Paul Dano even has a handle on Wilson’s singing voice akin to Val Kilmer’s transformative turn as Jim Morrison in The Doors (1992)). As a portrait of Brian Wilson and his troubles it may be less satisfactory, but that’s a risk that still pays off a little in the film. The real truth is that when you hear the music of the Beach Boys you hear sunshine and joy despite their occasionally painful and tragic story. That may be an example of dissonance, but it also is rather heart-warming in how it gives a sense of cheery determination; a spirit that the film does well to serve.

Ted 2 (2015, Dir. Seth MacFarlane, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

After marrying his sweetheart Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), sentient teddy bear Ted (MacFarlane) slowly begins to find his marriage in trouble and decides to have a baby. Obviously unable to reproduce, Ted finds another obstacle when he realises that according to the government, he is not recognised as a person but as an object and so has no legal rights. Turning to his divorced childhood friend John (Wahlberg) and inexperienced young lawyer Sam Jackson (Seyfried) for help, Ted sets about proving his equal rights in society.

After making his name in television, writer/animator/actor/singer/whatever-takes-his-fancy Seth MacFarlane made the leap towards feature films in 2012 with his gross-out comedy, Ted, about a teddy bear who comes to life and becomes a foul-mouthed stoner. The film was a massive hit and so as logic dictates, MacFarlane follows up (after making another film, A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014)) with Ted 2 and as expected by its title and by a rather sobering element of truth, it’s not that surprising that Ted 2 is in many ways just Ted…again.

That’s not exactly a bad thing, entirely. MacFarlane’s brand of low-brow humour has always been something of 50/50 in terms of success. There’s intelligence and wit enough for it to often work and was a major reason why he was something of a startling young talent when he arrived on the comedy scene in the late-90’s with his animated sit-com, Family Guy. However, shock value in comedy done with wit and intelligence is rare. Shock humour for the sake of getting a cheap laugh is far more commonplace, easy and has slowly become more and more a problem for products associated with MacFarlane.  Ted 2 is no masterclass in humour and I have a feeling that Oscar Wilde would be turning in his grave (after making a catty remark about the lining of his coffin) if he knew of this film.

One common problem in particular is the clear idealism of what is being presented (MacFarlane has always been a staunch and unashamed liberal) being constantly undercut with jokes that are overly-offensive (homophobic in particular) and mean-spirited. A Million Ways To Die In The West spelled it out fairly clearly that MacFarlane seems to be particularly fond of Blazing Saddles (1973). Saddles was very politically incorrect, so much so that it would probably not be made today. However, for all the jokes about racism, it was very clear that the black protagonist was smart, capable and likeable whilst the racists were all a bunch of buffoons. Politically incorrect? Certainly. Racist? Certainly not. MacFarlane has the offense down, not the justification.

However, whilst many of the jokes don’t work there’s still some of the old sparkle that helps lift it and the bravado with which the film is performed and executed does mean that laughs are probably going to happen even if it’s despite yourself. On the subject of the actors, Mark Wahlberg does a good job reprising Ted’s human buddy John Bennett and Seth MacFarlane is reaching for something good in Ted’s occasional moments of sincerity even if the tone of the film means that the film struggles to be taken seriously. With the more earnest characters played by Amanda Seyfried and Morgan Freeman, who barely has a single joke, the performances fare better, even if Seyfried’s role is very predictable and seems to also substitute for Mila Kunis’ conspicuous absence following the first Ted that’s never satisfyingly explained.

If Ted 2 is guilty of anything, it’s not daring to go anywhere really new with its comedy. Yes it’s willing to say and do things that prissy and sensitive souls might tut and disapprove of, but it plays it safe and worse, it does it rather lazily. There are good things here and there with the film actually having some very enjoyable musical moments but with overused gags and no real sense of doing anything else but make people wince, the idea of a Ted 3 seems one that will test patience with worrying thoughts of just the same old gags.

Terminator Genysis (3D) (2015, Dir. Alan Taylor, USA) (Cert: 12a/PG-13) ***

Starring: Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Arnold Schwarzenegger

With the war between humanity and Skynet almost won for the human race, a triumphant group of soldiers including their legendary leader John Connor (Jason Clarke) and brother-in-arms Kyle Reese (Courtney) must now destroy Skynet’s own fail-safe of travelling back in time and cancelling out the events by killing John Connor’s mother, Sarah (E. Clarke) before he is born. Reese volunteers for the mission but Skynet sends its own Terminator back in time, but unlike previous events (from the 1984 Terminator film), Sarah is aware of her destiny and Skynet’s attempts to rule also have an affect on the “future” John Connor as well, who is attacked as Reece goes back in time.

Like the robotic creation that bears the franchise’s name, The Terminator seems to be nigh-indestructible when it comes to producing various instalments across all kinds of media, but especially where it was born, on the silver screen. Terminator Genysis is the fourth feature-length Terminator film and like many long-running movie franchises, the results on a film-to-film basis have been uneven. The 1984 film The Terminator was a stripped-down chase thriller that may not have been all that original (more of an urban take on Westworld (1973) with time machines thrown in) whilst the 1991 sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, largely hailed as the pinnacle of the franchise, was a stunningly intense action movie tour-de-force whose pioneering effects represent a leap forward in computer animation that has been arguably unequalled before or since.

The two subsequent films were spotty. Terminator Rise Of The Machines (2003) was dynamic but not very engaging and often got distracted by its own sense extravagance, whether that be the mindless action scenes or too much focus on the looks of Terminator-de-joure, Kristanna Loken, whilst Terminator Salvation (2010) paid more focus on the post-apocalyptic war with Skynet which is, dare I say, just not that interesting in greater detail.

With Terminator Genysis, the last two films have been largely disregarded. This isn’t the first time such a thing has happened. Superman Begins (2006) completely erased the movies Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987) (not that anyone complained about these being forgotten) but with Terminator, the time-machine element allows for a more convenient ret-con. The events of the third and fourth Terminator films have now seemingly been literally erased from history. A daring move that is partially justified.

Terminator Genisys owes a lot more to the first two Terminator films than its immediate predecessors. Early on, the film is effectively to the first Terminator what Back To The Future: Part II was to its 1985 antecedent. We revisit a slightly-altered vision of the 1984 Terminator and the blending is at times seamless, other times less so (the computer-manipulated younger Arnold Schwarzenegger still proves that we haven’t yet achieved photo-realism) whilst the ever-astounding Terminator model from Judgement Day, here played by Lee Byung-Hun, makes a welcome return. Perhaps inevitably this element of the story has to be left. There simply wouldn’t be enough to sustain interest for a two-hour film, but what comes in to replace it, is far more complex and far less interesting. It seems that the writers understood a lot of what made the first two films so great, but didn’t take away the moral that often less is more.

As far as casting goes, it’s likewise a mixed bag. Emilia Clarke and Jason Clarke (no relation) play Sarah and John Connor (actual relation) and make for two of the more polarising casting choices. Emilia Clarke may be the best choice for the respective role out of the whole ensemble. Despite the added trick of having to affect an American accent as Sarah Connor (something she clearly struggles with at times), Clarke’s casting seems almost too obvious, having become famous for playing another surprisingly tough and shrewd survivor as Daenerys Targaryen in Game Of Thrones but it’s obvious for a reason and it pays off expectantly even with the characters being very different in ways of temperament.

As John Connor, Jason Clarke often feels slightly unusual. Large and imposing, he has the look of a great leader but without the element of human frailty that actually strengthens how impressive he is and is such a strong element in other interpretations of the role as well as Sarah Connor. Likewise, Jai Courtney’s tough and muscular look does conflict in a negative way next to the more wiry likes of the original Reese’s Michael Biehn that once again takes away from the same impressive qualities of the Connors. Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger does deserve a mention in the role (well, it’s kind of the same role) that made him an icon. Of course Arnie doesn’t get much chance to display a great deal of emotional range, and the plot contrivance to explain his advancing years as a robot is lazy to say the least and probably not that sound, logically speaking. Still Arnie’s charisma is without question and you still take notice of him whenever he’s on screen.

James Cameron, franchise creator and director of the first two Terminator films, has come out in support of Genysis and it’s not that surprising why. This is after all probably the closest a Terminator film he hasn’t directed has come to displaying his vision and when it does that, Genysis works really well. However, when trying to add the inevitable changes, alterations and plot devices, the film falls apart like a T-1000 carrying too many machine guns. It can all get very noisy and even very impressive. It can also, at times, leave a heck of a mess.