Lockout Review (Kirk Haviland)

Lockout (2012)

Alliance Films

Starring Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Vincent Regan, Joesph Gilgun, Lennie James and Peter Stormare

Written by Stephen St. Leger, James Mather and Luc Besson

Directed by Stephen St. Leger and James Mather.

Busy time for releases this weekend with Friday bringing the revival of the Three Stooges back to big screens, The Cabin in the Woods (my pick for best film of the year so far) and the Guy Pearce Sci-Fi/Snake Plisskin wannabe vehicle, Lockout. St Leger and Mather, two new filmmakers under the tutelage of Luc Besson, have clearly watched a lot of Neveldine and Taylor productions and have set out to deliver a similar non-stop action romp to those of the Crank films. What follows is a completely irrational, implausible and downright nonsensical 90 minutes that defy the rules of common sense and logic gleefully. It’s all wrapped up with a very fun and funny Guy Pearce performance that’s 100% bravado and ego, and a formidable psychopath villain with an itchy trigger finger.  When it works it works very well, when it misses, it misses terribly.

We start off in the middle of Snow (Pearce) being interrogated, and physically abused, over a job gone bad by the effectively slimy and hate-able Secret Service agent Langral (Stormare). Langral claims to have seen Snow kill another former CIA agent, like himself, during a meet in which Snow was brought onboard as backup by one of his best friends. Snow escapes with a brief case, during a particularly awful looking motorcycle chase, which he passes off to his partner Mace (Tim Plester) who hides the case prior to being arrested by the police himself. Snow is convicted and sentenced to spend his time on MS1, a high security prison in space where prisoners are kept in cryostasis for the duration of their sentence. On MS1, the president’s daughter Emilie (Grace) visits and a jailbreak is triggered from recently revived Hydell (Gilgun), a nasty little psychopath who figures out how to open all the pods and then the chaos begins. So of course Snow is recruited and given orders to rescue the President’s daughter, before it’s too late, in exchange for his freedom. Snow’s friend Shaw (James) also informs Snow that Mace is on MS1 as well. As the convicts start running the asylum a true leader among them emerges, equally capable of Hydell’s flair for violence yet much more mentally stable; Alex (Regan) manages to organize the cons and soon realizes how special one of his hostages is, but not before Snow gets her first. What follows is a cat and mouse race throughout the space station and beyond, with an ending so ludicrous I dare not describe it here.

Pearce’s performance here makes you wonder why he’s not chomping on a cigar a la Hannibal Smith, blowing holes in space with a Colt .45 a la Dirty Harry or wearing that infamous eye patch of the aforementioned Snake Plissken. He’s unrelentingly ego driven with no apologies. Grace is nothing much more that background here as the privileged daughter of the president who has decided to take up her cause of the week, this week being prison reform. Stormare does well as the stubborn and entitled Secret Service agent who believes he knows the best action for everything going on around him, while James is the laid back agent whose known Snow for years and never doubts him for a second. Of the baddies it’s Gilgun who steals the show and chews scenery left and right as the psychopathic Hydell, obsessed with Grace’s Emilie. Regan plays well off Gilgun as the brains behind the Convicts actions.

Lockout is crazy, stupid fun, emphasis on the stupid. This is the type of flick you throw on at 2 am at the house party where everyone is drunk and you want to watch something crazy. This is the type of film that becomes a guilty pleasure. I assure you this, if you go into this film expecting any semblance of an intellectual script or engaging plot you will hate this film. But if you just want to be entertained by the sheer lunacy of it all, with some fun action set pieces, improbable as they may be, then Lockout may be a fun 90 minutes in the dark.

Til Next Time

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The Cabin in the Woods Review (Kirk Haviland)

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Starring Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Amy Acker.

Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard

Directed by Drew Goddard

 

Let’s face facts right up front here. Cabin in the Woods was shot in 2009 and finished in 2010. Hearing this you may feel this is yet another movie dump like the Eddie Murphy vehicle from earlier this year, A Thousand Words, which like most movie dumps was terrible. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Cabin in the Woods was slated for a late 2010 release until MGM filed chapter 11 and pulled everything from their release slate. Through negotiations Lionsgate acquired the finished film for release and then tinkered with a 3D post conversion, against the strongly expressed wishes of writer/producers Whedon and Goddard.  Thankfully we finally get to see this film, non-3D conversion, in theaters starting this weekend. What we get is a brilliantly conceived interpretation of the genre as a whole, a genius view of the contentions and as the Scream movies point out “The Rules” of the genre and how there may be more behind what we really are seeing than we previously may have thought. But before I go any farther, a warning: if you want to see this movie and have not yet, and you really should, STOP READING NOW. I know shocking right? Do not continue to read if you want to go in to the movie unspoiled, because even with me trying not to spoil, it will be spoiled. Go in knowing as little as possible and you will be very thankful you did. Then come back and read this and let me know what you think.

YOU WERE WARNED! We open in a vaguely developed government facility with Sitterson (Jenkins) and Hadley (Whitford) discussing the upcoming mission in broad terms with Lin (Acker) and relating the failings of other outposts around the planet. We then are introduced to Dana (Connolly) and Jules (Hutchison), 2 college roommates who are gearing up for a trip to the titular Cabin under the assumption that Jules’ boyfriend Curt’s (Hemsworth) cousin has recently purchased it. Dana has recently broke off an affair with her professor, something Jules is determined to get her past by setting her up with Curt’s book smart / lacrosse playing friend Holden (Williams). Also along for the ride is the resident substance abusing sidekick Marty (Franz) and his amazing smoking utensil, a joke I will not give away here. We soon learn all things are not as they seem as the government officials have a very detailed amount of information at their disposal about all of these students and seem to be in control of each move they make. We start to realize there is much more at stake behind what is happening as the group ends up deciding their own fates, literally. There is also much more going on in the government facility and we find out just how connected to the events of the weekend they really are.  Twists and turns abound as the film builds to a unpredictable climax with deadly implications.

Cabin in the Woods is blessed with a brilliant script and vision that Goddard and Whedon have fought tooth and nail to protect. And the audience is the benefactors of their passion. An amazingly original take on a whole genre that feels fresh and new, while paying homage and borrowing from the past, Cabin succeeds where so many others have failed. The cast works well together, Whitford and Jenkins are brilliant in their government bunker overseeing the activities with Acker trying to be a voice of reason in the background. Hemsworth and Williams both show why they have achieved their levels of success outside of Cabin. Connolly and former Power Ranger Hutchison, in a role extremely far removed from her children’s show beginnings, work well as the female leads. Franz brings the caustic wit he brought to his character in Whedon’s Dollhouse to the role of Marty, who like Acker, is one of a few of Whedon’s regulars peppered throughout the film.

The way Whedon and Goddard play with the stereotypes and conventions of traditional slasher fare and the manipulation of such with respect to the story is such a brilliant concept it begs the questions as to why it took so long for someone to think this up. I’m just glad that Whedon and Goddard have finally figured a way to play with these traditional slasher roles in a whole new way and present a daring and original vision along the way.

Easily the best film I’ve seen this year and I’ll be surprised if it’s not in my top 10/15 films by the end of the year. Get out there and see this, then come back and tell me what you think.

 

Til Next Time

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The Grey Review (Matt Hodgson)

The Grey (2011)

Starring Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, and Frank Grillo

Screenplay by Joe Carnahan

Directed by Joe Carnahan

I’m sure that I’m not alone when I say that since Taken (2008), Liam Neeson has a special place as one of the baddest men on the planet and I mean that in a good way. Let me try to explain how bad he is. If Liam Neeson wanted my last fruit cup, I would give it to him. If he picked a fight with me, I would punch myself in the face repeatedly, while also apologizing profusely for the un-Neeson-like strength of my punches. If I heard a rumour from a friend of mine who was notorious for making up rumours, and the rumour was that Liam Neeson didn’t like my review of The Grey…then I’d probably look into personal funeral options, immediately. Anyone know the number of a good undertaker?

MINOR SPOILERS

The plot of The Grey is quite simple and potentially very effective. A group of men contracted to work in Alaska are on their way back home for a two-week vacation. All that’s left between them and their destination is a plane ride that turns bumpy and eventually crashes in the great white middle of bloody nowhere. Most of the passengers have perished in the crash, but a small group of men find themselves in the unwelcoming position of having to collect what few mental marbles they have left and think of a plan that could lead them out of this wintery hell. A troubled but knowledgeable man named Ottway (Neeson) proves to be the best leader out of the group of survivors. However, even if they follow Ottway and listen to his every order, there is still no guarantee that these men will survive to see their families again, let alone the morning. If the cold doesn’t kill them, then a pack of bloodthirsty predators pursuing them will certainly try. It seems like these tired and hungry humans are a poor combative match-up against these deadly beasts.

I thought that The Grey started out perfectly. Neeson’s character is cold, hardened, mysterious, and deadly, just like the environment that the group of survivors find themselves in. The film gets right to the point as it feels like the plane crash happens within the first 15 minutes of the film. Also, there are some excellent dream sequences which effectively utilize the common intrusion of sensory experience on our dreams. I can’t believe I’m actually praising dream sequences as they are usually one of my least favourite narrative devices, but at the beginning of The Grey they really are quite impressive. Unfortunately, this pretty much sums up what I think are the positive elements of the film.

I’ve heard complaints about The Grey regarding the story’s believability, but I don’t find this to be a very valid criticism. Sure, a lot of what happens in The Grey is pretty outlandish, but it could happen, and it’s also not a discovery channel survival documentary…it’s a movie. My personal problem with The Grey is that I didn’t care about the fate of the characters after about twenty minutes. This was mainly due to some very questionable plot decisions that may leave you scratching your head. I think The Grey uses a different type of logic than the one I’m familiar with. So often throughout the film, obvious decisions for the characters were anything but obvious to me. A particular scene on the edge of a cliff really made me wonder if the characters had smoked some exceptionally powerful crack before arriving at their conclusions.

Finally, the editing during the action sequences derailed much of the excitement for me as I tried to figure out who or what I was looking at. From what I could tell it seemed like the filmmakers used a combination or CGI and puppets for the predators. It was nice to see something besides CGI being used, but unfortunately it wasn’t very effective as the most often used puppet seemed to be a head with sharp teeth that would literally fill the screen during many of the attack sequences, adding to the confusion of these scenes as it was impossible to see anything else.

I wish I could have written a more positive review for this film; I was very excited for its release and as I have said, I’m a big Liam Neeson fan, but some questionable decisions with the script and some confusing editing during the action sequences make it difficult to be very excited to watch this one again.

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans (Photo Review)

Nic Cage fighting the good fight. Not even an inexplicable vocal change from the Cagemeister halfway through could stop me from wanting to tear off all of my sensory organs during this one. How the IMDB rating rests nearly on a 7 is beyond my feeble human comprehension. Is bad the new good? What a philosophical mystery.

American Reunion Review (Kirk Haviland)

American Reunion (2012)

Starring Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kay Thomas, John Cho, Natasha Lyonne, Dania Ramirez, Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge.

Written by John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg based on characters created by Adam Herz

Directed by John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg

 

Back in 1999, a bunch of teens took the summer box office by storm with a raunchy little laugh fest called American Pie. The cast were all relative unknowns with a first-time director and first-time writer at the helm. What they managed to produce was not only an over-the-top, no holds barred, bombastic comedy that became a box office smash, but they also created memorable characters with heart and passion that have stood the test of time. After a solid sequel and a not so memorable third, Universal decided to keep the franchise going, without the original cast, with a slew of direct-to-video follow-ups (One very funny film, one okay film and two utter disasters) that ran the series into the ground (especially after the god awful Book of Love). So when the announcement went out that Universal was going to bring back the original gang for another theatrical outing I was excited. But could they really pull off a solid sequel after so much time. And unlike American Wedding could they get EVERYONE back?

American Reunion opens with now married parents Jim and Michelle Levenstein (Biggs and Hannigan) in a funny sequence that shows just how much of a rut having a child has put their love life into (featuring a cameo from Jim’s infamous white sock). We then catch up with Kevin (Nicholas) who has basically become a housewife as his wife makes sure to save shows like The Bachelor and Project Runway so they can watch them together. Kevin is desperate for some time with the guys and has arranged for Jim, Oz and himself to go to the reunion three days earlier to reconnect, minus Stiffler who they fear will ruin things. Next we catch up with Oz (Klein), who has become a minor celebrity due to his being a sportscaster for a local station and having competed in a “Dancing with the Stars” type reality show. He has a model for a girlfriend who is constantly trying to make sure they are keeping their standing in the public eye. Oz turns down a public appearance with Mario Lopez because he really wants to go to his reunion and see the boys. Next up is Stiffler (Scott), who we see barreling through an office building and quickly realize he has not changed or grown up one bit. Not surprisingly things with Stiffler are not all what they seem and he may need the guys more than anyone else. The boys all get to town and meet in front of the bar when low and behold the long lost and nowhere to be found Paul Finch (Thomas) shows up and the group is complete. As the boys swap stories and meet Selena (Ramirez) again, Michelle’s now smoking hot former band geek friend from high school, the Stiffmeister sulks into the bar and see all the guys having a great time. The guys quickly claim they invited him and he must not have got their messages and Stiffler is so happy to see the crew together again that he lets them believe he buys it and proceeds to get everyone smashed. From here on in the same old crazy antics are back and the boys are in for another wild weekend in East Great Falls.

All the old characters show up as Vicky and Heather (Reid and Suvari) confuse the issue when their appearances stir up old feelings in their exes Kevin and Oz. We also find out that Jim’s mom has passed three years earlier and Jim’s Dad (the always brilliant Levy) is still having a hard time with it. John Cho returns in a bigger role than he had in either of the first two films, yet still billed as Milf Guy #2. Natasha Lyonne is unfortunately relegated to a small cameo, but with the amount of characters already added this works fine. We also get similar cameos from other favorite characters from the first films I will not ruin here. There is a sub-plot revolving around a now teenage girl who Jim used to babysit as a child and how she is determined to have Jim help her “celebrate” her 18th birthday.  This leads to a very funny house invasion set piece, a feud, and of course more marital problems once Michelle inevitably finds out.

American Reunion is just the perfect mix of nostalgia, raunchiness and genuine laughs that you would hope it would be. Writer/Directors Hurwitz and Schlossberg bring the same sensibilities from their other creation Harold and Kumar (explaining the more extended use of Cho) to the American Pie gang and it works beautifully. There are real heartwarming scenes in here, especially with Jim and his Dad, that elevate this film and really make you appreciate getting to see these characters after a nine year absence. For fans of this series it’s really satisfying to see this reunion take place and feels right to be able to see how these characters have matured and grown up since we last saw them.

The ending of the film leaves a definite possibility for more in the series, and after they rebooted the Fast and Furious series so successfully I’m sure Universal had this in mind when the project started. As long as we can expect more films like this and less like “Wedding” and the other poor sequels, I will gladly line up to see what further antics Jim, Stiffler and boys get up to.

 

Til Next Time

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