Entertainment Maven

RIPD Review (Kirk Haviland)

New in theaters this weekend from the director of “Red” Robert Schwentke is the latest multimillion dollar extravaganza vying for your money, R.I.P.D. Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds headline as two cops dispatched by the otherworldly ‘Rest In Peace Department’ to protect and serve the living from an increasingly destructive array of souls who refuse to move peacefully to the other side.

R.I.P.D

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, James Hong, Marisa Miller and Kevin Bacon

Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi

Directed by Robert Schwentke

Veteran sheriff Roy Pulsifer (Bridges) has spent his career with the legendary police force known as R.I.P.D. tracking monstrous spirits who are cleverly disguised as ordinary people. Once the wise-cracking Roy is assigned former rising-star detective Nick Walker (Reynolds) as his junior officer, the new partners have to turn grudging respect into top-notch teamwork. When they uncover a plot that could end life as we know it, two of R.I.P.D.’s finest must miraculously restore the cosmic balance, or watch the tunnel to the afterlife begin sending angry souls the very wrong way.

The biggest issue with RIPD is perhaps that nothing seems to happen in the film. All the actions play out without a morsel of interest and the impact of what the characters are supposed to be doing, saving the world, never registers for a second. The stakes and consequences in the script feel as flat and uninterested as some of the actors in the film. What Jeff Bridges is doing, other than cashing a paycheck, is baffling. His Roy comes off as a very sad mix of Col. Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, the drunkest moments of the ‘Dude’ Lebowski and a poor impression of Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday from “Tombstone”. Ryan Reynolds delivers exactly the same performance we always get from Reynolds, but the poor script and dialogue means his affable charm becomes uninteresting and downright terrible in parts. The only actor that brings anything to the screen is Mary-Louise Parker as the gruff superior officer Proctor. Parker is mesmerizing, but sadly appears in less than a third of the 95 minute film, leaving the audience awaiting her return every time she leaves.

The CGI effects work is actually pretty well done, the more comic based unrealistic look of most of the ‘popped deados’ certainly look good onscreen, but how they are used is what becomes the issue. The action apes the early “Men in Black” films, but the first of those was almost 20 years ago and looks dated upon re-watching, without the tongue in cheek winks and nods to the screen. The big action sequences seem so surreal and ineffective within the world that they occur in and the lack of impact in the world of the film translates to the audience. Kevin Bacon’s Hayes proves to be a very lackluster villain that leads to another action packed yet lame and uninteresting finale. Lastly, and perhaps even most egregious, the big mystery of the film that Roy and Nick have to unravel is evident from the very first moments of the film and never that much of a mystery.

R.I.P.D. misses the mark on many points. Any of the film’s funnier moments are packed into the marketing of the film and then stomped to death in the film, the use of the avatars that Roy and Nick have being the biggest example of this. In a summer that has been packed with many solid blockbusters and some surprising ones, “White House Down” and “World War Z” for example, that turned out to be more fun than what was expected, R.I.P.D. underperforms on the below average expectations the film entered with.

Till Next Time

Movie Junkie TO

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Byzantium Theatrical Review (Kirk Haviland)

New in theaters north of the border this week is director Neil Jordan’s newest take on the Vampire mythos, Byzantium. Jordan returns to the genre he took on almost 2 decades ago with the Anne Rice penned Interview with a Vampire, but this time around he has a new take on the entire history of the vampire phenomenon.

Byzantium

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley, Caleb Landry Jones and Johnny Lee Miller

Written by Moira Buffini

Directed by Neil Jordan

After fleeing their latest living quarters after an unforeseen attack, two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara (Arterton) meets lonely Noel who provides shelter for her and her daughter Eleanor (Ronan) in his deserted guesthouse Byzantium. Eleanor, an eternal schoolgirl, befriends Frank (Landry Jones) and tells him their lethal secret. They pair are actually mother and daughter, were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.

Byzantium takes a completely different spin on the Vampire story as there is no allergy to sunlight and girls roam free in the bright sun, fangs are never sprouted on screen, instead a protruding fingernail is used to open the victims jugular, and new vampires are not sired through bite and blood transfer. That last point is the biggest, most drastic change from Vampire lore as in Byzanitum it is a cave on an island that transforms humans to vampires. Looking suspiciously like a womb, this vampire transformation has been guarded for decades and only men have been allowed to enter.

Arterton is fantastic here, playing a girl with a terrible teenage encounter that drastically alters her life forever, as she mesmerizes the men in her life and the audience alike with her charm and charisma. Clara has been a hustler all 200 years of her life and this is all old hat for her. Sadly Arterton severely outshines her co-stars as Ronan comes of flat and at times uninterested, Landry Jones seems content to channel an ineffectual Wiley Wiggens from Dazed and Confused and Johnny Lee Miller’s thankfully small role is sloppy overacting at its finest.

The film has pacing issues as well, keeping a slow methodical pace through the main middle section of the story, yet rushing to tie up all the loose ends and get to its brutal and bloody ending as quick as it can in the last 25 minutes. But the bloody and brutal part is actually one of the shining stars of the film as Jordon utilizes as much practically driven and realized effects as he can in the filming, giving a grounded feel tot the story and distancing itself from the Twilighty inspired CGI packed pretenders that do not work as well.

There is a lot that can be said about the feel of misogyny that seemingly drips off the film – cave is like a womb yet women are not allowed to sire vampires and because of what Clara did she is hunted mercilessly, after 200 years of living Clara falls back to making a living off her back as she has always done – but these arguments can be made better by others. The practical effects are great, and so is Arterton, and that packs just enough appeal and charm to make the film a positive experience in the end.

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Movie Junkie TO

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Despicable Me 2 Review (Kirk Haviland)

The writing and directing teams behind 2010’s smash hit “Despicable Me” have returned, minions in tow, with a follow up that furthers the transformation of former super villain Gru into all around good guy in “Despicable Me 2”. Universal and Illumination studios definitely know what worked best the first time around and have spent the time in the sequel to advance those storylines instead of just rehashing the original’s premise.

Despicable Me 2

Starring the voices of: Steve Carrell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Russell Brand, Ken Jeong, Elsie Fisher, Dana Gaier and Kristin Schaal

Written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud

In Despicable Me 2, Gru (Carrell) is recruited by the Anti-Villain League, rather forcibly by agent Lucy (Wiig), to help deal with a powerful new super criminal. The mission has Gru going undercover to find out who has taken a very deadly substance inside a shopping mall. Of course Gru’s minions and girls, Margo (Cosgrove), Edith (Gaier) and Agnes (Fisher), are all back attempting to help him out, and help him find love in the process. Meanwhile, Margo’s first boyfriend has Gru seeing red.

The filmmakers behind Despicable Me 2 know exactly what the audience wants and they deliver in spades. Fans of the first film will be delighted with the sequel though the film has a much less original story than the first and because of that is not a strong a film overall, but part 2 may actually be funnier than the first. Despicable Me 2 is also the perfect launch pad/lead off point for the spinoff “Minions” movie that is slated for late next year. Gru and his minion’s antics seem to be front and center in this film, which leaves less time for the girls in this adventure and I suspect they will barely show up in the minion spin-off as the filmmakers have clearly identified that the minions are what the fans seem to want most.

The 3D in the main film has its moments but is hardly necessary, but as with the first film the credits sequence filled with minion antics is crucial for 3D, in fact it’s some of the best 3D gag work ever put on film as it really pushes the boundaries of what ‘jumping off the screen’ really means. The animation style has not changed, and why would it, but still manages to remain sharp and crisp. The gadget aspect of the first film has also taken a back seat here a more simplified spy plot. The work from the voice cast is very good though, Carrell seems completely comfortable in Gru’s skin, Wiig is a flighty delight and Bratt is excellent as the restaurateur who may or may not be the long thought dead legendary super villain and professional wrestler from Mexico ‘El Macho’.

While the story may be weaker, Despicable Me 2 delivers the laughs throughout providing some of the biggest laughs of the year and delivering a musical sequence at the end that rivals the equally hilarious “This is the End’s” final sequence for best musical based number of the year. If Despicable Me 2 is any indication of what will come with the “Minions” movie, then you can be sure to see this movie junkie in the front of the ticket line.

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Movie Junkie TO

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The Bible Blu-Ray Review (Kirk Haviland)

The Bible Blu-ray Review

Starring: Diogo Morgado, Darwin Shaw, Roma Downey and narrated by Keith David

Directed by Crispin Reece and Christopher Spencer

From executive producers Mark Burnett (Survivor) and wife Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel) and Fox Home Entertainment comes the near 7 ½ hour TV miniseries in a 4 disc Blu-ray set, The Bible. The sprawling epic series played earlier this year on the History Channel in 10 1 hour parts and now arrives in a Blu-ray set for the purchase. With further plans now in place for a 3 hour theatrical release about the life and times of Jesus Christ from this same team, the question is do they manage to pull this ambitious project off?

Narrated by Emmy winning actor Keith David, The Bible features a stunning international cast including Portuguese actor, Diogo Morgado as Jesus Christ and beloved actress, Roma Downey as Mother Mary. And for the first time since their award winning collaboration on Gladiator, Oscar and Grammy winning composer Hans Zimmer reunites with acclaimed vocalist Lisa Gerrard to create the majestic musical backdrop for this epic production.

The Bible plays out as a ‘greatest hits’ of the tome as the episodes jump sections of the Bible at a tie to arrive at what the screenwriters conceive as the best moments to proceed with. The first 5 episodes are unofficially the Old Testament and 6-10 dealing with the life and times of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament through to Revelations. Many of the actors in the series for the first half of the series are only around for one episode as the story shifts drastically from episode to episode, it’s not until the second half of the series that we get any character and story development that carries over a multiple episode arc. The production also does not fear to use a multicultural cast, Samson is portrayed by ‘African British’ actor Nonso Anozie and Jesus by Porteguese actor Morgado to name a few.

The effects work is decent enough for a television production of this magnitude, expecting $100 million dollar film budget level effects here being quite unrealistic, as big set pieces like Noah and the Ark and Moses parting the Red Sea are effective. While others, like Samson’s demise, may be a little underwhelming as the temple stones are not convincing for a second. Shooting mainly in Morocco, and some other Middle East locales, the set design and location shots look excellent and are one for the strengths of the series as they set the audience in the right mindset for the series.

The Blu-ray comes packed with special features to enhance the entire series. ‘The Bible: Genesis’ is a behind the scenes exploration of the filming and ‘The Cast of The Bible’ highlights the casting decisions that make up the international cast. ‘The Bible: Creation’ is a three-part journey that goes further into the making of The Bible while ‘Scoring The Bible’ examines composer Hans Zimmer’s work with award-winning soloist Lisa Gerrard. Finally ‘Believing in Miracles’ and ‘The Bible: Visual Effects’ finish off the disc.

A highly ambitious and epic mini-series, coming in just under a 22 million dollar price tag apparently, The Bible delivers for the masses who believe as well as the audiences who may be curious. The non-linear writing style of the series may throw some off is watch the sprawling epic in one sitting, but when breaking the series down into chunks to watch it may actually be beneficial. There is more than enough strong work here to give the series a recommend.

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Movie Junkie TO

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Fast and Furious 6 Review (Kirk Haviland)

Fast and Furious 6

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Godot, Jordana Brewster, Gina Carano, Elsa Pataky

Written by Chris Morgan

Directed by Justin Lin

Crashing into theaters this weekend is the latest entry into the billion dollar franchise that has morphed from a gear head fantasy into all out crime caper action/comedy, but still keeping its fair share of vehicular mayhem intact, Fast and Furious 6. Or as the title card on the film suggests, Furious 6, keeping the ever changing moniker of the series intact. This time around the crew is on the right side of the law as the series goes back deep into the past to close any loose ties and connections that still exist, and even resurrect on character from the dead.

Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian’s (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin’s empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam has left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. But Dom and Brain`s payment request is a large one, full pardons for all.

Fast 6 is an insanely ridiculous over the top romp that delivers massive thrills and keeps the audience engaged and on the proverbial ‘edge of their seats’ for the entire running time of the time. Never believable as characters perform incredible Superman like feats without a scratch, Fast 6’s script is something that may be best defined as being ‘extremely smart at how dumb it is’. On top of this the film never steps back to rationalize any of the actions that happen, it just pushes forward through amazingly preposterous set piece to set piece, including one with a tank and another with a cargo plane, in the most fantastic way possible.

Most of the gang are back here, minus Tego and Rico last seen blowing all their Fast Five money in a casino in Monte Carlo, and not all of the gang may survive as the bigger the stakes become the group are finally seeing that their actions may have consequences. Slimming down the group is a good move franchise wise as well as constantly adding without subtracting was what made the Ocean’s films, clearly the direction this series is headed, feel bloated and ineffectual by the third installment. Diesel and Walker slip into their sparring twosome act very nicely as Brewster takes a step back this time with the birth of Mia and Brian’s son. Tyrese and Ludacris benefit with the scaling out of Tego and Rico as their bantering become a little more prominent and provide a nice handful of laughs. The Han and Giselle romance of Sung Kang and Gal Godot, already doomed we know because of the actions in Fast 3 which occurs after Fast 4-6 in storyline, takes a big step forward as the pair get very romantically involved at the beginning of the film, only to come crashing down at the end. Dwyane Johnson is excellent as usual, his Hobbs less sweaty that Fast Five yet just as dynamic, and the return of Rodriguez to the fold is a welcome act that also helps tie the film back to the very beginning.

Fast and the Furious 6 is the perfect mix of insane stunt work, ridiculous melodrama and explosive fight effects work that makes a summer blockbuster worth spending your time inside the theater instead out enjoying the sun and fun outside. Never taking itself serious enough to stop and realize whether it has gone too far, Director Justin Lin revels in pushing everything to the limit. And the film leaves you on the amazing final note that lays out Fast 7 right in front of you.

4 ½ out of 5

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Movie Junkie TO

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