The Town

Ben Affleck's sophomore effort is no slump. He solidifies himself as a director to be reckoned with at the helm of the star-studded film The Town. Set in Charlestown, a neighborhood in Boston that is notorious for its disproportionate number of bank robberies, Affleck is back in his element, letting the accent run wild and donning the cinematic Boston uniform like a bastard; the wicked track suit and hoody. (I had to try). Boston's sports team logos are given as much screen time as the stars, but I can't hold that against a guy.

Affleck runs a crew of very good bank robbers and locks horns with a zealous and a little bit shady, but in a respectable way FBI agent played by John Hamm. The tension builds, surprisingly through dialogue and character development more than traditional cops and robbers action and end up in a suspenseful standoff worthy of Michael Mann's approval.

In a move that is very Eastwood-esque, Affleck takes the starring role and although he does a commendable job, his talents are better served behind the camera, although he did manage to give himself the gratuitous shirtless workout scene and he got ripped for the role. Jeremy Renner stands out as the gritty best friend with a chip on his shoulder and a proclivity for violence. He pulls off Boston pretty well for a California kid, and and is truly becoming a strong leading man after his breakthrough role in The Hurt Locker last year. He has no less than three huge projects lined up for the next two years: Teaming up with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible IV, working with Paul Thomas Anderson (Top 2-3 directors around today) and Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master, and playing Hawkeye in the heavily anticipated 2012 Marvel flick Avengers. Didn't I call a rise to stardom after SWAT?

John Hamm takes a break from Mad Men to play the FBI agent tracking the robbers, and he is given the best lines of the bunch. This is the role that must have been coveted in Hollywood, and as much as I enjoy Hamm as Don Draper, I would have chosen someone a little older and a little more intimidating. That role itself could have propelled someone to an Oscar and the film itself to the top of the awards pile.

The rest of the cast is just average save one brilliant five minute cameo. Pete Postlethwaite, Rebecca Hall, and Blake Lively contribute to the film, but it is Chris Cooper who plays Affleck's imprisoned father who owns the screen in a prison visitation scene. He is simply captivating.

Critics tout this as being The Departed meets Heat, and I couldn't disagree more. The only thing it has in common with The Departed is the setting. Heat? Perhaps, just without the epic appeal, cat and mouse, and prolonged gunfight sequences. The Town is less cerebral and more visceral. The characters have nothing to lose and seem to be magnetized to their neighborhood with some sort of pride and sense of obligation that is completely lost on me. It is a pathetic criminal existence that brings up a lot of questions.

There was one particular flaw in the development of this story that made me scratch my head a little. If an area of town truly had the reputation as the bank robbery capital of the country, wouldn't there be some sort of additional precaution taken by the banks or armored transports? More armed guards or a heightened state of alertness? Wishful thinking that would have decimated the effectiveness of the movie.

I liked this movie very much, and respect the hell out of Affleck as a director and a writer (although the word range is yet to be added to his lexicon). It may have been released prematurely to be seriously considered, but it was definitely the first contender out of the gates. Go see this for Renner, Cooper, and the suspense of the last thirty minutes alone, appreciate the story and the action. 9/10.

The Expendables

Sylvester Stallone. 64 years old and still kicking ass in his own cinematic style. The man behind Rocky and Rambo assembles an all-star action cast in a nostalgic throwback to the cheesy, yet magnetic mercenary films of the 1980's. I have to admit, the twelve year old in me has been excited about this one for almost a year, and I wasn't disappointed.

Stallone approaches his projects with one sole objective in mind; entertainment. Rambo, Rocky, Staying Alive. Wait, scratch that last one. All kidding aside, this film delivers exactly what it advertises and more. Macho male bonding, brilliantly ridiculous one-liners (particularly Dolph Lundgren in what may be a career role; did you know he speaks English?), and fast-paced unbelievable action sequences.

The story plays to each of the actor's strengths (which are all kind of the same). Jet Li gets his martial arts scenes, Terry Crews gets to show off his enormous muscles, Stallone gets his slow motion run-and-dive scenes, Mickey Rourke gets to pontificate with his low, gravelly voice, and Dolph Lundgren gets to be... big. Jason Statham is typical Statham; probably the only one of the bunch who is capable of carrying a big-budget action movie on his name alone.

Randy Couture and Steve Austin round out the muscle, and Eric Roberts gives an exceptionally giddy-inspiring performance as the bad guy.

The unexpected angle is the ultra-violence, but that also leads to much of the juvenile cheers and the high energy level of the film. From the opening sequence (Warning Shot!) to the grand finale, the explosions and blood pours out from the screen. It is a classic action movie the way that it's meant to be.

Don't expect greatness, but you may be pleasantly surprised how accurately this film transports you back to the height of action cheese. There is even the obligatory cameo by Schwartzenegger and Bruce Willis to cap off the testosterone.

Go see this movie for one reason. It is fun. Dream team of a cast as well. The only two missing were Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme. 8/10.

Predators

Do you ever have one of those movies that you are super excited to go see on opening day, even though you know it will be a major disappointment? Predators is that movie for me this summer. A true fan of the Alien and Predator franchises (and admittedly their retarded hybrid children as well), I thought Robert Rodriguez would bring life back into this series and make the sequel that we have all been waiting for since 1987. Unfortunately it's not so much a sequel as a remake.

The plot can be surmised from watching one of the previews. A group of warriors and one doctor (I know, Topher Grace in an action flick?) are dropped on an alien planet to serve as prey for three predators who are probably on safari. You have the Russian heavy gunner, the death row inmate, Yakuza assassin, African freedom fighter, Mexican drug enforcer, etc. and finally, Adrien Brody.

I know, Adrien Brody? This is his first try at action to the best of my knowledge, and he overplays the gravelly accent worse than Christian Bale's Batman, though he did add some considerable weight for the obligatory shirtless climax battle scene.

The rest of the cast is recognizable, but not memorable. Laurence Fishburne is an absolute waste of screen space as a crazy hermit surviving in this alien planet, and Topher Grace and Walton Goggins are thrown in for comic relief, but both of their roles seem a little out of place when contrasted with the rest of the killers, especially Grace. I am still scratching my head as to why he was there in the first place. There is no real explanation aside from an opportunity for a flat twist.

It wasn't all that bad though. The music was almost identical to the original, and there are many references to that film throughout this one, either through dialogue, homage, or just plain imitation. In the jungle, die one by one, leader takes his shirt off, man defeats the predator. Just not the most likely of stories.

They could have done a lot more with the alien planet. It seemed like a typical jungle with some photoshop done to make plants look extra exotic. They also added some new creatures and technological advancements on the predators, but they were unimaginative and needed a little more screen time. You would think I hated this movie by this point, but it was the second best of the series...

Brody will take a little getting used to, and he needs better dialogue and delivery if he wants to make it in action (my advice to an Oscar winner...). Arnold he is not, but it looked like he had fun doing it.

Perhaps the bar was too high, or perhaps I expected more from a director whose best work so far is a toss up between Vacancy and Armored. There just is so much potential with this franchise and this story, and it keeps disappointing. Oh well, I will still go see the sequel. 6/10.

Inception

Chris Nolan's latest endeavor places Leo DiCaprio and his team in a Matrix-like world where dreams can be shared and influenced by the visitors. Sounds a little hoky and confusing? Perhaps a little redundant or overly ambitious? It's actually not.

Unlike the Matrix, which relied on breakthrough visual effects and incredible choreographed fight sequences, Inception follows a more mainstream approach with a deep, layered story and A-list actors. The sci-fi element is unbelievable, but they do a nice job masking that with the dialogue and acting.

Inception refers to planting a seed of an idea into a dreamer's head thus deliberately influencing their subconscious into making decisions that benefit the client. Leo plays Cobb, an expert extractor, or team leader who goes into other dreams to get valuable information. His supporting cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Michael Caine, Cilian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, and Tom Hardy.

Most of the film is setup for the big extraction, or in this case the inception, and the introduction of the various characters and their roles in the job. There is the architect, the chemist, the dreamer, etc.

Particularly effective are Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Leo's right hand man, Arthur, and Tom Hardy as Eames, a sort of chameleon operator. Levitt is a rising star even though he is approaching 30. He's been cast in some choice roles lately, and will continue with an upcoming action flick, and a Seth Rogen cancer comedy (that's not a typo). Hardy on the other hand, has been on my radar since his stunning role in the little known 2008 biopic titled Bronson, about a psychopathic inmate with a serious penchant for violence. He is a great actor, and gives Inception just the right jolt of action and some quick one-liners.

Leonardo DiCaprio, one of my favorites, just seems to go through the motions with this one, overshadowed by Nolan's haunting score and vivid scenes (see Dark Knight) the true beauty of this film lies in the dreamworld visual effects and the intrigue of the story. The supporting characters pick up the slack (if you could even call it that) and are the perfect assemblage of talent.

Truly original and suspenseful, the viewer gets sucked in as the team dives deeper and deeper into dreams within dreams, until the brilliant climactic conclusion. Some people may balk at the Sopranos-like ending, but it was perfectly complementary to the style and tone of the rest of the film.

All in all, this is a great film. If you enjoy the mindbending entertainment and can put on your disbelief suspenders, you will love it. We haven't seen a story this original in the action genre since the original Matrix, and probably won't again anytime soon. It was an excellent project for Nolan to slip in between Batman's, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with for that one in the next couple of years.

My only complaint, albeit a minor and insignificant one, is that Ellen Page seemed wildly miscast as the young, cynical architect joining the group. I can't get her cute, silver-tongued Juno out of my mind, and I really think the film would have benefited from a young male actor. This would have obviously cut women almost completely out of the picture, which was clearly a conscious decision on the Nolans' part, but I think for the story it would have been both more appropriate and more believable (take that very lightly).

I really enjoyed this film. Great film to kick off July. 9/10.

The A-Team

The latest Hollywood nostalgia remake project is Joe Carnahan's possible ticket to the big show, and if you are looking for a mindless action romp with some A-list stars, the A-Team is for you. The cast is a makes you scratch your head a little, and they stick to the absolutely ridiculous nature of the show, but there is a lot of light-hearted action comedy that makes this a perfect summer movie.

Headlining the film are Liam Neeson as Hannibal (he's done better), the journeyman military strategist who just loves it when a plan comes together, but doesn't seem to be as smooth as people think he is. Bradley Cooper is in his element as Face, the good-looking ladies man who always seems to be the point man in the operations, but who isn't particularly intimidating. The infamous Mr. T role is played by Quentin "Rampage" Jackson, and you can imagine how that goes. Only so many times does him saying "Oh, Hell no" seem cute. He plays BA Baracus, arguably one of the most cherished television action character of the 1980's as a complete idiot meat head. The mohawk is a little more 21st century, and the gold chains are gone, but the bad-ass attitude remains. I'm a little sad that he lost his fight recently against Rashad Evans, because Jackson's acting career is going nowhere.

Sharlto Copely of District 9 plays Murdock (my favorite). His South African accent comes out a few times, and he even gets a chance to show off his Swahili. He does have some great lines (more about that later). Jessica Biel is quickly reaching her acting expiration date. A terrible actress through and through, she looks good at times, and extraordinarily average at others. Finally, Patrick Wilson plays the villain.

Wilson has been a favorite up-and-coming actor of mine ever since seeing him in Little Children and Hard Candy. He has traditionally played more serious roles with underlying psychological disorders. This role is much more fun, as he plays the nameless CIA agent with an attitude, and ends up with most of the comic relief for the film. He ends up as the villain (obviously) and is still a rising star with a good eye for role selection.

The writing and dialogue is hot and cold. Much of the military-speak is cliche and banal, but many of the jokes are right on and the mood stays light and entertaining. The action is intense and over-the-top and to be honest, it kind of brought me back to the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard days. There haven't been enough successful action flicks in the last few years of that nature, and I'm glad that the A-Team worked out.

Obviously this is not at all realistic, and the story is ridiculous topped with ridiculousness. The audience will appreciate the wistful aura, especially fans of the original series. 8/10.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

With the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise getting stale, Bruckheimer and Disney have turned to a new project (No disrespect to National Treasure, but it's weak). This potential series is about an orphaned Persian adopted by the King named Dastan who must protect a mystical dagger with the power to turn back time. The first problem is Jake Gyllenhaal. His doe-eyed Caucasian look seems somewhat out of place, and coupled with the unrefined attempt at a British accent just makes him the wrong choice for the role. Maybe I am being too picky, but one of his brothers is more Greek while another is all Scandinavian, so I guess the attention to geographic consistency in casting is a conscious oversight. I will say that Jake bulked up his physique considerably, and that feat in itself is impressive to say the least.

Ben Kingsley looks like the reincarnation of Flash Gordon's nemesis and does his best to make it appear that he isn't trying very hard. Gemma Arterton plays the princess convincingly, but it's hard to keep the redhead images of her as James Bond's tart, Strawberry Fields out of my mind. The chemistry is deflated by the ambiguous direction of their romance, and Jake's laughable accent.

The effects were secondary to impressive stunt work, and the time shifting sequences were less original as they were annoying. A sixty second reverse is all it takes to avert certain death, a poisonous snake attack, and to prove the powers of aforementioned magical dagger. The climax takes us back to the beginning of the film where the evil plot can be foiled by Gyllenhaal and his newly acquired knowledge. It's a pretty linear story without much imagination or originality.

I am easily excited by summer blockbusters and Oscar dramas alike, and to be honest, this film caused me to doze off a little due to the slow moving plot and the boring characters.

The one high point was the use of assassins and their trickery with projectile weapons. There were some cool fight sequences but the overall action factor was low. I typically like Jake Gyllenhaal, but to be honest, he is no action star. Stick to the Independent dramas and more serious fare.

I am ready for the summer season, and Iron Man 2 was impressive, but I'll wait until A-Team for the next potential source of entertainment. 6/10.