Pitch Perfect 2

The big winner of the weekend is Elizabeth Banks. Who? The director, producer, and supporting star of the sequel to 2012’s surprise girl-power comedy hit. Budgeted at just $29 million, it has a domestic gross of $64 million in its first weekend, blowing away Mad Max: Fury Road, and knocking Avengers 2: Age of Ultron from its box office perch. Pitch Perfect 2 is primed to do well internationally as well, and looks to destroy 2012’s $115 million take (variety.com). Not bad for a directorial debut.

PP2 picks up three years after the first installment. Beca (Anna Kendrick) and her crew of a Capella debutantes are fresh off of three straight collegiate singing championships. A mishap in front of President Obama and the millions of Youtube hits that follow leave the Barden College Belles banned from competition with one caveat. Win the worlds, and get reinstated. They pick up a new recruit, a Belle legacy named Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) and battle the German uber-group, Das Sound Machine, who are the singing equivalent of Ivan Drago.

The film follows the formula of the first very closely. Light and fluffy is a safe way to play it with lots of catchy songs, some mashed up and some just done with vocal flair. Sticking to a riff-off (with some nice cameos), some comedic romance, and a modest amount of character conflict, there isn’t much surprising or even clever about the plot. There is the big finale with groups showing their best stuff, and I must say, Journey’s “Any Way You Want It” performed in different languages has never been better.

The draw for me isn’t the humor, but the music. I can’t be the only one who has the secret karaoke fantasy that is the lives of these ladies (and gentlemen). I was a little disappointed in some of the selections, but a 36 year old man clearly isn’t the target demographic. They threw me a bone with some early 90’s hip hop, Journey, and Pat Benatar. Musically, the German super group bullies the Belles, but there is always more comedy than competition between the crews and that keeps the tone of the film in line with its predecessor in terms of positivity and fun. Throw in the Green Bay Packers in a scene that parodies an illegal underground gambling ring hosted by David Cross, and you know it’s a good time.

Keegan Michael-Key and John Michael Higgins steal the show in my opinion. Key plays Beca’s boss with his typical sharp-tongued wit, constantly denigrating his interns. He’s honestly one of the funniest guys around. If you haven’t seen Key and Peele, and you’re into sketch comedy, check it out. Higgins brings the vapid podcast commentator to another level with his racist, sexist, and generally inappropriate comments.

The rest of the cast is mostly filler, with Adam Devine getting a bit more screen time as Bumper, and Rebel Wilson’s Fat Amy as the butt of most of the jokes. The fat jokes get old, even if most of them are self-deprecating and not mean-spirited. The Belles are still the motley crew we saw in the first film; the hot sexually aggressive one, the black lesbian, the Guatemalan who is always one-upping the sob stories, the creep Asian girl who barely talks, and the bubbly optimistic blonde. It’s an eclectic bunch, but they work well together.

There are absolutely no surprises when you walk into Pitch Perfect 2. You get what you pay for, and it delivers music, comedy, and a genuine feel good experience. It’s a bit of fun, but I can’t imagine a third film in the franchise. Of course, stranger things have happened. 6/10.

Mad Max: Fury Road

What a film. What a lovely film.

It’s been exactly 30 years since George Miller delivered his last genius blend of psycho-apocalyptic anarchy and mesmerizing bleakness. A visionary cinematic landscape of dust, mayhem, religious zealots, and carmageddon all in the name of Earth’s waning resources. Sure, he’s the director behind Babe: Pig in the City, Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2, but doesn’t that kind of kill the buzz surrounding this epic of horsepower and carnage?

Fury Road isn’t quite a movie as much as an immersive experience. From the throaty engine starting behind the opening credits, until the climactic finale, there is hardly time for a pit stop. We meet Max (Tom Hardy) standing in a barren landscape speaking more words in his monologue than in the whole rest of the movie. He’s lost everything that he loves, and now his life is simply about survival. Not even a full minute into the film and we have a group of bandits who capture him and cage him like an animal and make him a blood donor for the gonzo cult leader, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). It’s not long before he’s tied up to the front of a car with a transfusion going to the driver, Nux (Nicholas Hoult), who does an incredible job personifying the blind devotion that he and the countless nameless minions have to Joe. It’s religious at its core, with nods to Viking lore and references to Valhalla, but it’s also a convenient explanation for the berserk disciples who sacrifice themselves without a second thought, with dreams of a jihadi afterlife. The chase begins, to catch Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a war rig driver who commandeers the truck with the cargo of Joe’s bevy of beautiful slave/breeder wives. They cross the wastelands looking for “the green place” but really the whole plot is an excuse for horsepower and explosions. And then more horsepower and more explosions. The viewer is given a peek inside the mind of the preposterous George Miller with men jumping from car to car, tossing explosive spears, dirt bike jumps, chainsaw-wielding swinging stunt men, and demolition derby carnage. It amps up as the film goes on to a roaring crescendo, and when the dust settles, you’re left feeling like a Nascar racer who just ran out of gas.

One or two bloggers and self-proclaimed movie critics have slandered the film for its alleged blatant and even gratuitous feminism. Hogwash. Make no mistake, Charlize Theron is the star of this film and Tom Hardy’s Mad Max plays second fiddle, but it is calculated. Max met the right woman, and what better plot than the five wives of the evil ruler running away and being chased to the ends of the earth by the desperate husband? It shows vulnerability and strength. It’s genius.

George Miller is the reason that Mad Max: Fury Road even exists. The creator of the original Mad Max trilogy (and our introduction to a 23 year old Australian named Mel Gibson) created a cult following, and arguably the mainstreaming of a genre that has spawned numerous successful films over the years. There’s something a bit more authentic to Miller’s take however, and nothing quite compares to his unique unmatched style.

Fury Road has its flaws. It is absurd, drags on a bit too long without much beyond quirky characters and high octane super-vehicles exploding, jumping, flipping, and traversing an endless desert leaving the mother of all dust clouds in its wake. But it’s cool. It’s a breath of fresh air even though it’s the resurrection of a franchise that has been waiting to be brought back from the dead for 30 years. Only time will tell if George Miller has any gas left in his tank for another go round.

Mad Max: Fury Road is something different, and it is cool. It is the first true hit of the summer, and it’s about time. 9/10.

Ex Machina

The future of advanced technology comes at a steep price. So says Alex Garland, the acclaimed writer of The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and the eagerly anticipated, but ultimately unlikely to come to fruition Halo film based on the gargantuan X-Box video game franchise.

Garland makes his directorial debut with Ex Machina, a sci-fi cautionary tale about the unintended consequences of artificial intelligence. Sharp, understated performances highlight this curiously eerie film with a feel of originality devoid of pretension. Where it could easily fall into the trap of conformity, Ex Machina has a unique feel that boldly stays true to the writer's vision. Garland is hit or miss, but this seems to be a passion project and his work has paid off.

Computer coder Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) wins an intra-office contest and is flown to the secluded island compound of the mysterious recluse founder and CEO of the company Blueprint, Nathan, played by the incredibly talented Oscar Isaac. Blueprint is the equivalent of what Google could be with a bit more R&D and a more sinister agenda. Right off the bat, something doesn't seem quite right, but Caleb warms up to Nathan and is explained the real purpose of his week long vacation. Or is he? Nathan is testing an artificial intelligence creation named Ava, who is learning human behavior more every day. Every character has secrets, and it isn't until the very end that the truth is revealed in a chilling turn of events.

Rounding out the cast is Alicia Vikander as Ava. She is more human than machine, and although the human pieces raises questions about the "how" more for the outside than the inside, it is easily forgivable in the name of science fiction. Becoming more human as the film goes on amps up the tension, and the simple plot, hidden in a fog of science and strangely plain characters adds to the effect. Nathan and Caleb are not especially deep characters. They have flaws and in many ways are opposites, but they aren't the focal point. the elephant in the room is Ava. Ava is curious but cool and confident. She is entrancing despite her obvious mechanical components, and for that, Vikander deserves kudos.

Oscar Isaac is the wild card. A genius recluse is a bit cliche, but his character is given an interesting personality. You never get the impression that he is a genius except by inference. His demeanor and manner of speaking is more spoiled rich kid than anything else, and he has a very cool and composed attitude. Throw in the alcoholism and the fact that he's a self-made man and you have a very interesting character. Garland doesn't delve too deeply into the development, but, as the idiom goes, "the devil is in the details".

Domhnall Gleeson is a deer in the headlights for most of the film. Too happy to be in the presence of AI and his employer to break out into any sort of memorable character. It fits though, as he's not the focal point any more than Isaac is. The true star is the haunting reality that artificial intelligence may truly be possible, whatever form it takes. And that all of the doomsday nightmare scenarios and unforeseen moral and ethical dilemmas may soon really be facing humanity. Obviously it won't be like Ex Machina, but technology is creeping dangerously close to the possibility, and that's what makes this such a cool movie. The ending is interesting, but not altogether surprising.

What is different about Ex Machina is that the ending is hidden in plain sight the entire film. There is no attempt at a fancy twist or clever red herring. Would I have enjoyed that a bit more? Of course, but it is also enjoyable simply for what it is; something different, and a pretty well done science fiction story. 7/10.

It Follows

It Follows is a grass roots horror film by a fresh writer/director named David Robert Mitchell. The subtlety, tension, curious setting and characters, suspenseful timing, and simplicity are what may end up being his calling card in any future successful endeavors. This is his third film, the first a short, and the second an American Graffiti/Dazed and Confused type drama, but this is his foray into the horror genre.

It Follows starts in suburban Detroit in an eerily implacable time. Fashion and scenery could be out of the 1970's, or modern day Eastern Europe, but it's impossible to tell. I found myself second guessing the country of origin for the first twenty minutes or so, but is indeed America. References to Detroit, 8 Mile, and some distinguishable landmarks confirm this suspicion. The ambiguity may not be entirely intentional, but it certainly impacts the tone of the film in a big way, and adds to its unique and refreshing feel. We follow an ensemble of typical early twenty-somethings, languishing in the economic wastelands of suburban Detroit. Their lives are bleak and directionless, but not apathetic and indecisive. It's the black hole of poverty that leads to community college and waiting tables (no disrespect). The lead, Jay (Maika Monroe), is a nobody just sleepwalking through her life until she meets Hugh. After a night of passion, she awakens bound to a chair, and Hugh explains the rules of this particular horror film (convenient for the audience). He tells her that "it" will follow her until she passes it along to someone else. Like the nightmare of all sexually transmitted diseases, this shape-shifting apparition will slowly walk toward her, and she needs to keep moving. If it catches her, she dies. If she dies, it goes after the last person who had it, hence the need for Hugh to explain it to her. It's the deadliest game of sex tag ever.

The beauty of It Follows is that the only ones who see "It" are those who have been followed or are currently being followed, although it does take up physical space and can be hit by other people (or shot). Jay struggles with the knowledge of this curse, and debates the moral dilemma of passing it along to the next unsuspecting victim or keeping the curse. Her friends are skeptical, but eventually come around, and as the slow-moving specter keeps coming, they must find a way to stop it. Or die.

I have said before that Sci-fi and Horror are the two most difficult genres to do well. Entertain they might even without quality, but artistic integrity is hard to come by. There is something special about It Follows, and it starts with the setting. It moves along with the nameless, faceless characters, and wraps things up with the simple, yet chilling story. Filmmakers have struck horror gold by capitalizing on certain universal fears like darkness, creatures, psychopaths, and demonic spirits. It Follows offers an equally frightening fear; having death slowly hunt you down with no way out but to hurt someone else. I suppose the practical solution is simple. Go to a prostitute and let the long line of people create the buffer between you and the evil spirit. Too easy? I suppose. Anyway, as universal as some of these fears are, finding the way to defeat them is equally intriguing.

David Robert Mitchell uses low budget, classic techniques to achieve its goal with the execution of an old pro. Silence, dark hallways, cover of night, tight spaces, sexual tension, and prolonged camera shots where you're just waiting for the arrival of the phantom. There is no fanfare or special powers, just good old fashioned suspense. No special effects or twists, just primal fear. That's what makes the film such an effective example of the genre done well. The plot isn't overly complicated, the characters aren't too deep. It's just a scary movie. I walked away satisfied, which is really hard to do within the horror genre. I want to say The Conjuring was the last one I was impressed with for the fear factor, Cabin in the Woods the last for creativity and fun. Nice work, David Robert Mitchell. I have the feeling this might be a one hit wonder, but I'll keep an eye on his work in the future. 8/10.