'A Working Man' A Review

A Working Man is an action revenge picture about former Royal Marine and current construction foreman Levon(Jason Statham) who's bosses daughter is kidnapped, big mistake!

Statham does what he does, nothing particularly new about this incarnation which he's been trading on since 2002's The Transporter. He's compelling particularly in the action sequences but he, and the movie as a whole, really struggle when it veers into actually taking itself seriously. The emotion doesn't really track, the feinting at actual human trafficking and drug issues really doesn't work. It seems writer/director David Ayer took the wrong lesson from the surprise success of last year's The Beekeeper, it wasn't the reality that made that movie fun it was that it was clearly heightened, clearly a fantasy. The cast is talented but there's clearly confusion about the tone and many of the European actors struggle with their American accents.

The movie looks good, gotta give Ayer that, he knows how to put together a solid flick on a mid-sized budget(Hollywood take note). Although it is clearly shot in the UK and is set in Chicago splicing in drone footage and dash cam shots of the actual city with locations that are clearly not in the US let alone Chicago. It's an odd choice and given the subject matter a bit insulting, the Chicago in the movie is painted like a Fox News lawless Thunderdome run by the Russian mob. This heightened portrayal wouldn't matter as much if there was some coherence in tone. Excellent, over-the-top action sequences are spliced with 'heartfelt' scenes of Statham and his daughter he's battling custody for, drugged up torture scenes follow grief-stricken scenes with Statham and Michael Peña(the father of the kidnapped teen). It's just bizarre and incongruous and on top of that at about two hours the pacing isn't great.

Still, not terrible, and nice to see more entries in the action genre at the mid-budget level. This will most definitely make a profit and serves as a reminder that exhibition needs variety and that that will be rewarded by the movie going public.

Currently in theaters.

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'Death Of A Unicorn' A Review

Death Of A Unicorn is a horror movie(billed as a horror/comedy) about Elliot(Paul Rudd) and his daughter Ridley(Jenna Ortega) as they travel to a remote lodge for a weekend business trip of Elliot's. On their way there they hit a unicorn and troubles ensue.

Rudd brings his patented aw-shucks affability to the role but it doesn't really play as his character, as written, is a shit and his shoehorned moment of redemption at the end is unearned and unmotivated. Ortega fairs better as the only recognizable human being in the entire cast but she is equally hamstrung by a script that feels like it was only in its first draft. The supporting cast have some spark- Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant- all playing terrible rich people and Anthony Carrigan as their obsequious servant is great. But there's simply not enough comedy and what of it there is lands inconsistently.

On a small budget the movie looks surprisingly good and it's judicious and effective with the CGI unicorn monsters where tension is well built, maintained, and paid off. The plot though and the characters inhabiting it are mostly bland, uncompelling, unbelievable, and at times grating. Writer/director Alex Scharfman fails at his #1 job which is to manage tone. The comedy almost categorically doesn't work, the attempts at social commentary(ie eat-the-rich) are confused, but the monster movie aspect is quite successful. All in all it's diverting but more streaming quality than cinematic.

A good idea with uneven execution.

Currently in theaters.

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Wondrous Momentum

Schedule
becomes routine
becomes discipline

and this serves

as bulwark

to the unexpected

propellent

in the face of trial

comfort

when distress looms

a track to follow

into life's unrelenting

forward progress

'Eephus' A Review

Eephus is a slice-of-life sports dramedy about the last game of a men's rec league before their field is demolished and replaced by a school.

Sporting a cast of incredible talent of mostly unknowns and perhaps some non-professional actors this 90's set Massachusetts small town is translated intricately, beautifully, and with a profound dignity. Through the course of the game, which comprises basically the run time, themes of time, companionship, ambition, aging, and of course sport are explored. It's artsy in its subtlety but it's unpretentious. A tone poem with humor, insight, joy, and a delicate melancholy. We get a full sense of the characters through their interactions and how they play the game but there is little to no exposition. Most of what we see and learn is on the field, as it should be.

Shot impeccably on location on film(it looks like, could be a digital approximation) it pairs perfectly with the story evoking a feeling of fall afternoons, camaraderie, fun, and a degree of introspection, of meditation, as well as place.

A crystalline, graceful, powerful piece of cinema. One of the best of the year.

Currently in theaters.

Don't Miss It.

The Hangers-On

Occasionally at a Meeting
you'll get a tourist

someone without a drinking problem

(or to use the current nomenclature

Substance Use Disorder)

who just wants some group therapy

or companionship

on the cheap

lonely, awkward, self-diluted

they meet

(or claim they meet)

the only requirement for membership

a desire to stop drinking

these people used to bug me

but over time

and with no small amount of effort

this gave way to a detached pity

for those lost searchers

who wind up in the rooms

because they have no where else to go

yet fail to grasp their purview or purpose

'Black Bag' A Review

Black Bag is an espionage thriller about a married couple both working at MI6. George(Michael Fassbender) is given a list of potential moles and tasked to root out the traitor. His wife Kathryn(Cate Blanchett) is on the list.

Fassbender and Blanchett are both in top form and have an instant and easy chemistry. Two of our greatest film stars doing what they do best without a lot of frills or distractions. Committed, precise, and compelling. The supporting cast is made up primarily of the other suspects range from good, Regé-Jean Page & Tom Burke, to great, Naomie Harris and particularly Marisa Abela who brings a needed chaotic electricity. Pierce Brosnan is in this too but it's essentially a cameo but still great to see him.

Visually, no surprise coming from director/cinematographer/editor Soderbergh, it looks great. It flows, has movement, has surprises, has a POV. Even if some of the soft focus shots don't exactly work, unlike so many modern movies, it's shot with the goal of having a style. The score effectively enhances the already solid script which is tight, has twists and turns, and still allows the actors to cut out some real, breathing characters. It's the kind of solid, meat-and-potatoes adult entertainment we used to get a lot more of.

Twenty years ago this kind of movie wouldn't be such a gem but given the ascendence of IP and studio focus on broad demographic appeal this is a must see.

Currently in theaters.

See It.

'The Electric State' A Review

The Electric State is a 90's set dystopian scifi adventure with a plot so convoluted and uncompelling it doesn't warrant a summary.

Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt sleepwalk through this AI generated slop in turns vacant and vapid yet always lacking any spark of humanity or vitality. The star studded cast is absolutely wasted and seem to have been given little or no direction(Stanley Tucci as the antagonist seems confused why he is there and what he is supposed to do).

Visually flat, uninspired, and borderline insufferable it plays like an interminable cut-scene from a rushed, over produced, obligatory late series IP video game. The worldbuilding and overall narrative are incoherent. The only actual emotion on display comes, rarely, from the robots. The product placement is excruciating. The whole experience is insulting in its clearly deliberate lack of any semblance of quality.

This is one of the most expensive movies ever made, at a budget of $320M one must ask, where did it all go? How many great movies or TV series did Netflix not make in order to make this...cinematic malignance.

It brings to mind that scene from Billy Madison when the principle says "Everyone is now dumber."

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Don't See It.