Everest

Everest is based on Jon Krakauer's best-selling novel "Into Thin Air". Let me preface this review with a statement. I don't understand mountain climbing. I mean, I understand the thrill and challenge of battling nature, the beauty of the majestic vista, and perhaps the physical demands of the endeavor. No, I don't understand putting your life at risk to do something that is cold, arduous, and where all you get at the end is the prospect of turning around and doing it again in reverse. The top of a mountain is cool and all, but it's not worth it to me.

Anyhow, back in 1996, climbing Everest seemed to hit its peak in popularity as the extreme sporting event, and as a result, there were dozens of thrill-seekers lining up at base camp to see if they were up to the challenge. Krakauer (played by Michael Kelly) joins a guided tour led by the savvy and compassionate mountaineer Rob Hall (Jason Clarke). The group includes arrogant Texan Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin), nice guy mailman Doug Hanson (John Hawkes), and a small assortment of unnamed others. They are a group of experienced climbers and they spend a full month preparing and training once they reach Nepal. We quickly realize that there are just too darn many people trying to climb this mountain, including guides Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Guy Cotter (Sam Worthington). Now, there is a serious camaraderie among the climbers, even if they are competing for their livelihood (literally and figuratively). At one point, there is mention of a sixty-five thousand dollar payment for leading the climb, which illustrates quite a few things about the gravity of the ascent.

Ominous foreshadowing and a series of unfortunate events as well as bad decisions lead these climbers into the perfect storm, and all they have to rely on for survival is each other and their sheer determination.

The problem with this type of film, and when I say this type, I mean characters bundled up in a nearly unrecognizable mass of clothing (see also astronaut suits, military uniforms, scuba divers), is that once the action starts, it is difficult to keep track of the characters, which diminishes the tension and empathy. If it were me, I would have given each of the characters a bit of flair. Maybe not anything as obvious as a "Hello My Name is..." sticker, but some brightly colored object or something.

The cinematography and direction is beautiful, and the chill of the icy wind literally permeates through the theatre seat, leaving you feeling as chilly as the men with frost-covered beards wrapped in North Face jackets. Unfortunately, the character development is minimal and ultimately confusing as bundled men stagger through whiteout conditions, so their fate is less intense, and more "better you than me." I can't knock the acting or the direction, or the setting, or even the story. It's heroic and tragic. Man versus nature at its most gripping, but it is still self-inflicted punishment (see my opinion of mountain climbing). The reasoning given over and over for why they climb a death trap mountain isn't good enough for me. "Because it's there" is cute and macho, but not compelling.

In any event, I'm a bit conflicted on rating this film. It was beautiful, well-acted, and tragic. But the unsympathetic cynic in me thinks, "What do you expect when you climb a snow-covered rock 29,000 feet in the air with a summit temperature ranging between -20 and -35 degrees Celsius and 1/3 of your oxygen diminished by atmospheric pressure?" I mean, really. Throw in unnecessary roles by Kiera Knightley and Robin Wright, and you have a sadly over-ambitious artistic disaster film. It moves slowly, which provides ample mood, but also eliminates any opportunity for intense action sequences.

Overall, it was entertaining but a bit frustrating. The rating slip is based on my flaws, not the film's. 6/10.

The Visit

Why do we go to the movies? More particularly, why do we go to horror movies? Fear is as undesirable an emotion as, say, grief, or loathing. The answer is simple. Movies are evocative of emotions. We know this. They stir in us a range of emotions in an environment where it’s OK to close your eyes, and where you know that it will be over in a finite amount of time. There is the piece that it’s not real as well. Scary movies just do it for some people, and others can’t seem to stand them.

I’ve often said the hardest films to do well are sci-fi and horror, and M. Night Shyamalan has resurrected from a dismal sci-fi attempt (“After Earth”) to brazenly take on what he does best; horror. It’s hard to believe that it’s been sixteen years since the sensational “The Sixth Sense” which was an absolute horror juggernaut in both critical and consumer success. Well, after a string of less impressive fair (to be fair, “Signs” and “The Village” were fun), he’s back with a whole new original horror film, written and directed with his trademark quirk and a few upgrades.

Siblings Becca and Tyler are sent by their single mother to rural Pennsylvania (Shyamalan’s stomping grounds for all his films) to spend a week with her estranged parents. Things go fine until the geriatric couple begin exhibiting odd behavior. The upgrade on Shyamalan’s technique is that the film is done in the trendy found footage style, with Becca an aspiring documentary filmmaker, so the events are recorded through her trusty camcorder. Many of the more pivotal moments are shown in the trailers (unfortunately).

Keeping with tradition, Shyamalan hides a twist until just before the end, and maybe the massive anticipation made it a bit disappointing, but his imprint reverberates through the aftermath. Shyamalan is a cerebral thriller tactician through and through. I’m coining a term here; post-dated fear. What that means is that although the events in the film aren’t particularly remarkable, he forces you to reflect on what could have happened with hindsight, and if you knew then what you know now, the film is absolutely frightening.

This is what sets “The Visit” apart from every M. Night film except for “The Sixth Sense”. His others held twists; some clever (“Signs”, “The Village”), some a bit ridiculous (“Unbreakable”, “Lady in the Water”), but on the drive home, I literally shuddered.

Maybe I’m overthinking the whole thing, but I suppose that’s my job. If a particular scene or jump moment sticks with you, then that makes the writer or director happy. Job well done. But it’s rare that the whole premise of a film sticks with you and that’s what Shyamalan accomplished. It’s his rare talent, which I sincerely hope he continues to stick to his wheelhouse.

The casting was great. The elderly couple, Nana (Deanna Dugan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) deliver chilling performances in what must have taken an excruciating number of takes, and the kids, Becca (Olivia DeJong) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) are convincing as siblings with their witty banter and chemistry. A bit too precocious perhaps, but acceptable.

With a paltry five million dollar budget, this is a surefire box office smash. It’s a fun time if you like to see scary movies, but it won’t win any Oscars. Pay attention, and enjoy the fear factor after the film ends. 7/10.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E

Guy Ritchie takes a page from Steven Soderbergh in this hip, sleek spy caper based on another recycled idea. There is something nostalgic about the Cold War era on the silver screen, and although I never saw the original television show of the same name, the story has very generic qualities. KGB spy teams up with CIA to stop a nuclear threat in Europe. There are Nazi scientists, British Intelligence, deliberately placed outdated technology and vehicles, and beautiful exotic locales.

Uncle starts with a short, cleverly crafted Post-WWII history lesson in the form of the opening credits. Now that we're up to speed, we find Agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) rescuing an East German defector named Gaby (Alicia Vikander), while being pursued by the Ivan Drago of KGB agents, Illya (Armie Hammer). After some obligatory action scenes, the two professionals are thrown together and forced to collaborate in an attempt to prevent a nuclear war being propagated by a wealthy Italian shipping magnate. Hi-jinx ensue, and through twists and turns, double and triple crossing, and the contrasting suave Cavill and blunt Hammer keep reminding us of just how different the Cold War countries are portrayed on film, and perhaps the ideas that we have grown accustomed to without questioning.

Here's a riddle: What do British, American, Swedish, and French actors have in common? They play American, Russian, German, and Italian roles in this film. Only Hugh Grant plays his own nationality as the British Intelligence officer coordinating the United Nations of the Cold War spy game. I felt like I was watching Black Hawk Down (a mostly international cast playing Army Rangers and Special Forces). Cavill's American English is a bit too forced. Much like Christian Bale from American Psycho, his intonation and accents draw attention to his speech and not in a good way. By appearance, Cavill has the look of the next James Bond, and I don't make that comment lightly, but it's too bad he'll be busy playing Superman for the next half decade. Armie Hammer does his best Russian accent, and it works, but isn't entirely believable. He has the physicality of an action star, but every time I see him in a role, there is something preventing me from accepting him. It's possibly a personal bias, and he has a slew of films coming out in the near future, so I'll give him another shot. Alicia Vikander has come from seemingly nowhere to strike Hollywood hard this year. The amazing Ex Machina, working with Ritchie on UNCLE, the upcoming Oscar-bait flick The Danish Girl, and starring opposite Bradley Cooper in Burnt gives her an impressive year that will certainly lead to a strong acting presence in the future.

Guy Ritchie has a very unique style, but I have been disappointed by his slow decay into conformity. His first two films were brilliant; Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and Snatch. They reeked of freshness much like Tarantino's films did right around the time of Pulp Fiction. Unfortunately, Ritchie's budget increased, his ideas dried up, and his creativity stalled (Madonna?). His recent Sherlock Holmes films had some of his typical great camerawork, but otherwise sort of shunned his trademark edginess and dropped him down a notch in my book. The Man From U.N.C.L.E unfortunately continues this downward spiral. It's like if Steven Spielberg were to do a Will Ferrell comedy. Doesn't really work. I would definitely go see it, but it's not his wheelhouse. Guy Ritchie may be moving into a new phase as a director, and has a King Arthur revision coming out next year. I don't like it. I miss the garbled British slang, gangster crime stories from his early years, and maybe we'll see that again someday.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E is a bit of a head-scratcher for me all around. Cavill and Hammer didn't need to do this film, and Ritchie was the wrong pick. There had to be a feeling that it wouldn't be profitable, so the question is, what was so attractive about this project? Maybe it was the timing and the money, or maybe it looked better on paper. It's earned roughly half of its $75 million dollar budget domestically, and will likely make up the difference and more internationally, but it just didn't work for me. I do like Henry Cavill though, and would endorse his candidacy for the next James Bond. 6/10.

The Gift

The Gift shares hallmark traits with a laundry list of thrillers: a house with lots of windows, suspenseful moments that make you jump for no reason, a seemingly normal couple being tormented by a wolf in sheep's clothing, a dark and disturbing secret. None of these ideas are new, but The Gift delivers on its promise of a twist ending that you really don't see coming. Not exactly at least. Hitchcock would be impressed with this modern take on the dangerous blast from the past.

Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are the perfect couple. Moving from Chicago to LA to escape their past and start fresh, they have it all; He is a newly crowned sales executive, and she is a designing consultant. They choose the house with giant picture windows everywhere, eliciting the feeling of anxious voyeurism right from the opening scene. Of course, there are no shades, and as often accompanies the magic of film, the viewer is sucked right into the uncomfortable setting, and then Gordon (Joel Edgerton) enters, or more aptly, re-enters Simon's life. From there, things spiral from a friendly, if not awkward reunion into a frightening cautionary tale explaining why you should be nice to everyone in school.

Written and directed by Joel Edgerton, The Gift is a breath of fresh air in what has been a stale movie-going experience for most of the summer. From the very beginning, you know exactly where this will end, though you don't know exactly how. There are moments that make you jump, make you cringe, and most importantly, make your heart pound. The anticipation of the twist makes the experience worthwhile, and although it might not find everyone satisfied at the end, I found it remarkable that I am looking forward to whatever Edgerton writes in the future.

It may not be realistic. Stalker stories rarely are, but that's the rub. They are a form of entertainment well before they are meant to be believable. Scare me, entertain me, humor me, but please oh please, surprise me. There is nothing more satisfying in viewing movies than genuine surprise. The final sequence where Simon is opening the last of the gifts creates a swell of pride in a film well-written. For that alone, I must rave and give a solid 9/10.

Straight Outta Compton

The biopic of one of West Coast rap's pioneering groups, N.W.A, has finally been released. It was on the table for a few years, with John Singleton ("Boyz n the Hood", "Poetic Justice") attached, but as the screenplay came together, it wasn't a good fit, and F. Gary Gray ("Friday", "The Italian Job") took over. "Straight Outta Compton" was the debut record for who in retrospect is essentially a rap super-group. Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren, and DJ Yella comprise the controversial and innovative friends and unlikely collaborators who turned the music scene on its head in 1988, and sparked a new genre, influencing the legendary likes of Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Eminem, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, among others.

Rap wasn't mainstream in America until the late 1980's. It had pockets of followers on the coasts, but racial and socioeconomic tension was bubbling to a head, and the poor minorities weren't being heard. N.W.A gave a voice to the masses, and it wasn't received well by authorities. In the time of Rodney King, the Watts Riots, and rampant gang warfare, N.W.A was much more than just a quintet of rappers.

The film purports to be about the three most recognizable names and faces, but really centers on Eazy-E (Eric Wright, played by Jason Mitchell), who for all intents and purposes, was the face of the group. Although Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson, played by O'Shea Jackson, Jr.) was the lyricist, and Dr. Dre (Andre Young, played by Corey Hawkins) was the brains and the producer who made the dynamic group so successful, Eazy-E is the emotional center.. The group deals with the pitfalls of sudden fame, the mixed emotions of their old and new lives, and the hope of a more equitable and just future. The police brutality is highlighted, but played out without excessive drama, which I must give props to the screenwriters and director for their tact in that regard. The relationships of the men, however, remain the heart and soul of the vehicle. With tendrils reaching to all areas of hip hop, and recognizable names dropped throughout, the film is a welcome trip down memory lane, particularly with the doppelganger O'Shea playing his father with near perfect expression and clarity (think angry-faced Ice Cube). Paul Giamatti is perhaps the only recognizable actor in the film, as the questionable manager, Jerry Heller, and although his acting was solid, I just couldn't stop seeing him in a variety of his other roles. I think he was mis-cast, and that is really my only complaint of the entire film. At a lengthy two and a half hours, it almost doesn't seem to give the story proper justice. There is so much ripe material, and so many successes and tragedies connected through the magic of the time and the place. It could have gone on for another hour, which means that they weren't able to get to everything important.

N.W.A were visionaries for their time, pushing boundaries particularly with law enforcement and the First Amendment. They were endeared and embraced by their community in South Central Los Angeles, but more importantly, they exposed suburban white America to the raw and unapologetic plight of their lives. "Straight Outta Compton" is an excellent look at the historic rise of a musical genre, and the director and writers offer up a profound and unexplored look at a type of film that hasn't been explored before.

Although biopics are all the rage in Hollywood, this is a deserving story that is certainly worth watching, even if you're not familiar with the back story. Well written, well acted, and well directed. 9/10.

Fant4stic

It’s only been eight years since we last saw the Fantastic Four on screen. 2005’s attempt to spark the franchise and 2007’s sequel were ambitious, and cheesy in the way that Marvel superhero movies tend to be, but they were perhaps a bit ahead of their time effects-wise, and a bit too niche for the mainstream audiences. Well, audience tastes have become a bit more refined and a bit less fickle in the last ten years, and now anything superhero is palatable (See Ant-Man).

The film starts with the unlikely friendship between brilliant Reed Richards (Miles Teller) and the enforcer best friend, Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell). Their bond grows through high school, where they are recruited to work for a think tank because of their creation of a teleporting device that happens to go to a resource-rich planet in another dimension. Whew. Almost ran out of breath. Sue Storm (Kate Mara) works there too as a pattern recognition specialist, and Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) is brought in to weld to pay off his car. I know, right? Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey, whose voice puts James Earl Jones’ to shame) is running the think tank, so there’s absolutely no nepotism there. They bring in the genius but volatile Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbel) to assist, because there’s literally nobody else in the world who can complete this project except for Reed and Victor. They successfully make a machine, things go wrong in the other dimension, they get their superpowers, and then they fight the bad guy who really has no valid reason for being evil in the first place. The end.

This rendition of the F4 gives us a slightly different origins story, but still wastes more than the first hour showing us how they gained their superpowers. It was déjà vu all over again like I was watching another Spider Man or Batman. They spend way too much time on character development for five individuals who make up the core group. You just can’t waste that much screen time with an ensemble cast. We get it. Reed is a nerd genius. Johnny is a reckless hot-head, and his adopted sister, Sue is a computer whiz who is just as good as the guys. Ben is the strong, loyal friend, and Victor is the cynical megalomaniac. We don’t need over an hour to figure that out without any action.

The cast looks great on paper. Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell. All young, fantastic actors in their own right, but all tend to make some questionable choices in roles more often than they should. This is the type of film that might have seemed like a good idea, and probably earned a decent paycheck, but ultimately I think everyone knew it would bomb. What I’m trying to say is that all four lead actors were given a terrible script to make a lowball superhero remake way too soon. The bar was just set too low, and opening just a few weeks after Ant-Man seems like a head-scratcher to me, unless Marvel was trying to catch the tail end of the box office frenzy.

Director Josh Trank (Chronicle) does his best with the source material, but even the effects aren’t particularly impressive, which in 2015 is unacceptable for a film of this pedigree. Marvel should have shelved this one for a few years, minimum. It might make a little money, but it’s not worth the hit to the reputation in my opinion. Marvel has the right idea moving into the Netflix streaming series genre. They have some coming out in the next year or two that just might be worth watching. Stay tuned.

Writer Simon Kinberg takes the brunt of my frustrations with this film, although he had some help ruining it. Just because it’s a superhero movie doesn’t mean you get to cut corners. Obvious gaps in believability are irresponsible, even with some bending of the rules implicit in the genre, and there needs to be a bit more in terms of character flaw exposure, peril, and climax.

This is one Marvel film that you can absolutely skip. I give Fantastic 4 a generous 4/10.