Category Archives: Film Fodder

“Dead Man Down” is an intriguing love story wrapped in violence

Victor (Colin Farrell) and Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) develop a twisted and tender romance in "Dead Man Down". Photo by John Baer.

With its recent slate of releases, WWE Studios clearly wants to be taken just as seriously in the film world as it is in the realm of sports entertainment. And with the stylish gangland romance Dead Man Down, WWE is pulling out all the stops to prove that it can be associated with films that have more depth than your average action or horror thriller.

With his American theatrical debut, Danish director Niels Arden Oplev (best known for directing the original Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) creates a dark and twisted love story centered on the vengeful motives of two scarred souls. Colin Farrell plays Victor, one of the top members of a gang led by Alphonse (Terrence Howard). Unbeknownst to Victor, the alluring Beatrice (Noomi Rapace, who starred in Oplev’s Dragon Tattoo), who lives in the skyscraper across from his, has not only been watching him, but caught one of his violent acts on camera. Rather than turn him in, however, she uses this footage to blackmail Victor into helping her seek revenge on the drunk driver who received minimal legal punishment after causing the accident that left half of her face (and much of her psyche) horribly scarred.

Alphonse (Terrence Howard) is a gang leader receiving cryptic messages in "Dead Man Down". Photo by John Baer.

But Victor’s already has a plot of his own in the works as he pits rival gangs against each other as he picks off the guys who killed his family and unwittingly left him alive. As Victor and Beatrice’s emotionally-driven desires to kill become more entwined, they develop a morbid (yet tender) attraction for one another that looks as if it will climax just as they carry out their dirty deeds. It’s not the best recipe for love, but it seems to work until Victor’s plan begins to fall apart and Alphonse gets closer to figuring out how close his would-be assassin is.

The entire cast puts in commendable performances, including Dominic Cooper, who plays the overzealous rookie who unknowingly causes Victor’s plot to unravel, and current WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, whose presence as Alphonse’s lead henchmen is quite imposing. The film culminates with a spectacular shootout that, despite a glaring continuity error, is both captivating and poetic. If Dead Man Down is the type of film we can expect from WWE Studios in the future, it could become a championship contender in Hollywood before long.

www.deadmandownmovie.com

“Jack the Giant Slayer” rises much higher than you might expect

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Elmont (Ewan McGregor), Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) and Jack (Nicholas Hoult) plot to escape the giants in "Jack the Giant Slayer". Photo by Daniel Smith.

Jack the Giant Slayer looks like a terrible movie. The fact that it’s based more on the Jack and the Beanstalk folk tale than he 1962 film Jack the Giant Killer was a bit of a letdown from the get-go. Not because there’s anything wrong with Jack and the Beanstalk, but just because I was really hoping to see a remake of a film that includes a leprechaun in a bottle and Ray Harryhausen-like stop motion effects. Despite my reservations, however, it turns out that Jack the Giant Slayer is a really fun adventure movie that blossoms from the moment it begins thanks to clever dialogue, amazing costumes, better-than-expected computer effects and commanding performances by an understatedly all-star cast.

Recently seen as a lovable living dead guy in Warm Bodies, Nicholas Hoult (read my recent interview here) stars as the farm boy simpleton Jack, whose head is full of adventure that his real life doesn’t normally live up to. Though it is forbidden for a commoner like Jack to associate with the princess, it turns out he and Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) are both very imaginative people looking for ways out of their current predicaments. When Jack stumbles into the type adventure he has previously only read about in the form of worthless bag of beans, and when the princess flees the castle to avoid an arranged marriage to Lord Roderick (Stanley Tucci), the two unexpectedly end up in Jack’s shack one night. With all the ingredients for adventure now in one place, just add water for instant fairy tale excitement.

Elmont (Ewan McGregor) is about to be a snack for the giants!. Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.

Good thing it’s a rainy night, which makes it easy for one of Jack’s mysterious beans to come in contact with water after falling through a crack in the floor. The beanstalk that erupts, carrying his house (and the princess) to the land of the giants in the clouds, is just the type of adventure starter they’ve both been awaiting. The king (the always delightful Ian McShane) sends Elmont (Ewan McGregor in a dashing suit of armor) and his men up the beanstalk to rescue the princess. During this treacherous climb, Roderick’s intentions to usurp the throne become evident (especially to Jack, once Roderick realizes he has the magical beans). And once they reach the top of the beanstalk, they soon realize that those legends about battles between humans and giants have been real all along.

After Roderick assumes power over the giants (thanks to a crown that has powers similar to The Hobbit‘s ring), Jack becomes the unlikely hero tasked with rescuing the princess and warning the king of Roderick’s plot. The king, in the meantime, has reluctantly ordered his people to chop down the beanstalk (after Jack and Elmont send an afroed giant plummeting to his demise), potentially sacrificing his own daughter in order to save his kingdom from a giant invasion.

Fallon, leader of the giants, is voiced by Bill Nighy and John Kassir in "Jack the Giant Slayer". Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.

The race to save the princess before the beanstalk falls is like a cross between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Wizard of Oz, with the surviving adventurers traversing gigantic terrain and avoiding becoming dinner for their slovenly superiors. But the head giant (a two-headed monstrosity voiced by Bill Nighy and John Kassir) isn’t as dumb as he looks and figures out a way to take his battle back down to his diminutive enemies. The scenes where giants dispose of humans can be pretty brutal, but Jack ends up with the best kill as his inventiveness makes for the best use of a bean you’re likely to ever see in a film. The fairy tale ending is suitably unpredictable (something director Bryan Singer has done well with previous films such as X-Men and Superman Returns) and even though there is no leprechaun in a bottle, there is a brief appearance one of fantasy filmdom’s most famous little people, Warwick Davis.

www.jackthegiantslayer.com

“West of Memphis” reveals chilling new details in the case of the West Memphis Three

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Damien Echols looks on from behind prison glass in 'West of Memphis". Photo by Jeff Dailey, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

To say that the case of the West Memphis Three is an example of a corrupted justice system failing us would be the understatement of, well, the past 20 years. Following the murders of three 8-year-old boys in the small Arkansas town of West Memphis in 1993, teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. were convicted of the crime the following year, mostly because of their love of heavy metal, aversion to Southern societal norms and collectively rebellious demeanor. If only they’d known that listening to Metallica and wearing black clothes would have resulted in them spending almost 20 years in prison for a crime they almost certainly did not commit.

This story has been well documented previously, namely in the HBO trilogy of Paradise Lost documentaries. But the findings presented in West of Memphis make it clear that Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin were innocent of these horrendous crimes. The most unsettling evidence, however, is the more recent discoveries making it almost undeniable that Terry Hobbs, stepfather of one of the young murder victims, seems like the most likely suspect. And with no indication that he will ever be tried for these crimes, the fact that the West Memphis Three spent the better part of their young adult lives behind bars becomes more unforgivable than ever.

Lorri Davis met and married Damien Echols while he was still in prison, as seen in "West of Memphis". Photo by Olivia Fougeirol, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Ever since the West Memphis Three were first arrested in ’93 they’ve garnered a good deal of support from the entertainment community, and West of Memphis is yet another attempt by musicians and filmmakers to let the rest of the world know why these guys should be set free (and should never have been convicted to begin with). Produced by The Lord of the Rings trilogy director Peter Jackson (as well as Echols and his wife, Lorri Davis) and directed by Deliver Us from Evil director Amy Berg, the film features appearances by the likes of Eddie Vedder, Henry Rollins, Johnny Depp and Patti Smith (with a soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis). But West of Memphis isn’t about movie stars and rock stars with some sort of political agenda. All of these people have volunteered their time and talents over the years to help justice be served. Oddly, while this film was being made, the closest thing to justice that could have happened did happen as the three men were finally released from prison (though that didn’t come without compromise as the plea that got them out basically forced them to admit some level of guilt).

West Memphis Three supporter Henry Rollins talks to "West of Memphis" director Amy Berg. Photo by Olivia Fougeirol, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Aside from evidence that Hobbs may have likely been the actual murderer (including his confession of this “family secret” to his own nephew), West of Memphis provides more than a reasonable doubt of the West Memphis Three’s guilt. So where were the three teens during the time of the murders? According to many townspeople, they were “at wrasslin'” that night. And if satanic rituals weren’t the cause of the genital mutilation and other abuse to the bodies of the young victims, then what was? Well, it turns out that the various scrapes and cuts were clearly done after the boys were already dead since there is no evidence of bleeding. And since their bodies were in a creek, turtles most likely nibbled on their softer parts (lips, ears, genitals) after their bodies were dumped in the ditch. That’s not even touching on the flawed investigation tactics of the local police, Hobbs’ abusive past and the on-camera regrets of a few people who now admit to having lied in their testimonies against the West Memphis Three.

As grim as all these details are, West of Memphis offers hope for the three men now that they have been released. It’s a moving story that just happened to have a somewhat happy ending, though there was no way the filmmakers could have known that when they started filming. And even though the fight still isn’t (and probably never will be) completely over, at least these guys have an opportunity to experience something akin to a normal life that doesn’t involve shackles and jumpsuits.

www.westofmemphisfilm.com

The Rock is a working class hero trapped in a superhero’s body in “Snitch”

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John Matthews (The Rock) urges U.S. Attorney Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon) to let him do whatever it takes to free his son. Photo by Steve Dietl.

For The Rock, the Road to WrestleMania 29 entails more than just fending off challengers to his WWE Championship. With Snitch, the first of four new films over the next few months for the man otherwise known as Dwayne Johnson, The Rock goes toe-to-toe with the likes of Susan Sarandon, The Walking Dead‘s Jon Bernthal and Boardwalk Empire‘s Michael Kenneth Williams. But even though he holds his own in a more dramatic role than we’re used to seeing from his WWE and action movie career, Snitch still leaves a few things to be desired.

Though it’s marketed as an action movie, Snitch is more of a drama about John Matthews (The Rock), a construction business owner determined to free his teenage son (Rafi Gavron), who is wrongfully arrested when he reluctantly receives a package containing drugs from a friend. The Rock’s performance is convincing, as he decides to put his own business and life at risk by using his company’s new semis to infiltrate the local drug underworld, offering to transport illegal substances in order to keep his struggling business afloat. But the biggest problem is that he’s a working class hero trapped in a superhero’s body, making it somewhat hard to believe his trepidation considering he could easily crush the thugs he is now encountering. I suppose anyone would be afraid of suddenly entering a world populated by a bunch of gun-toting gangsters, even if you’re carrying The Rock’s muscular guns. But it’s still a bit unconvincing to see a man as imposing as The Rock flinching at his much punier aggressors.

Malik (Michael Kenneth Williams) and John (The Rock) make arrangements in "Snitch". Photo by Steve Dietl.

After enduring some decidedly cheesy dialogue (I’d like to think it is intentionally bad, but that doesn’t really fit with the otherwise serious tone of the film) from the menacing drug dealer Malik (Williams), The Rock proves that he has what it takes to help bring down some of the biggest criminals around. So he makes a deal with U.S. Attorney Joanne Keeghan (Sarandon) to help bring in Malik in exchange for his son’s release from prison. Thus begins his Smokey and the Bandit-like adventure, only the load he’s carrying is a lot more valuable (and dangerous) than Coors.

Once he realizes he is being taken advantage of by Malik and Keeghan alike, Matthews is forced to improvise in order to save himself and to protect those he has inadvertently dragged into his plot. And the resulting chase scene, in which The Rock finally fires back at his aggressors while steering his truck at full speed, is reminiscent of a similar scene from The Road Warrior, resulting in a climactic crash that leaves The Rock upside down on the side of a highway.

John (The Rock) gets banged up in his heroic adventure. Photo by Steve Dietl.

The Rock clearly has plenty of charisma, which definitely helps carry Snitch to something more than just another fast-paced action film. Considering that the point of the film is to illustrate the harsh (and sometimes unfair) laws against first-time drug offenders in comparison to crimes such as rape and murder, Snitch doesn’t really need to be an over-the-top adventure. Aside from being way too physically intimidating to adequately portray the everyman he is meant to be, The Rock clearly knows his role here. And rather than shut his mouth (to continue borrowing from one of The Rock’s own catchphrases), he puts the muscle flexing aside and lets his charisma shine in new ways.

www.snitch-movie.com

“Safe Haven” is more than just another Valentine’s Day love story

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Alex (Josh Duhamel) and Lexi (Mimi Kirkland) get to know Katie (Julianne Hough) in "Safe Haven". Photo by James Bridges.

It’s based on a book by the same guy who wrote The Notebook and Dear John. It’s release date is Valentine’s Day. It stars Julianne Hough in her first non-dancing/singing film role, and Josh Duhamel. So, of course, all signs point to sappy chick flick centered around a touching love story.

Technically that is the case with Safe Haven. After all, romance is at the heart of this tale of a big city girl from up North who relocates to a small coastal Carolina town. But not many people seek out such a town, which is the first indication that Katie (Hough) has something to hide. And when she comes into the general store that Alex (Duhamel) runs, he’s intrigued. First it’s just because she’s easy on the eyes, but then he becomes curious about the mysterious past that has caused their paths to cross.

Mutual mysteries bring Katie (Julianne Hough) and Alex (Josh Duhamel) closer in "Safe Haven". Photo courtesy Safe Haven Productions.

In much the same way he has done with previous films such as Chocolat, Dear John and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (read my review here), director Lasse Hallström takes what might otherwise appear to be a simple love story and creates something that is just as much about something other than love. In this case, Safe Haven is as much a mystery as it is a love story. And as details about Katie’s past lead the viewer in one direction, things take a swerve in an entirely different direction once we find out what she is truly running from.

After a climactic moment of both tragedy and triumph, Katie and Alex are left with a clean slate that allows the couple to truly let each other in. But before they reach the proverbial safe place they’ve both been searching for, Hallström unveils one last surprise that was really there all along for those paying close enough attention.

“Beautiful Creatures” stars Thomas Mann and Zoey Deutch talk about love, intolerance and more

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Based on the book of the same name, the new supernatural teen romance movie Beautiful Creatures is about a girl named Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert) who moves to the small Southern town of Gatlin just before her 16th birthday. But with strange occurrences following her arrival, it looks like it will be a bittersweet 16, at best. The townsfolk (particularly Ethan, played by Alden Ehrenreich) take notice of this young enchantress and the mystical abilities she begins to conjure. While Ethan’s intrigue is affable, the rest of the town (namely resident mean girl Emily Asher, played by Zoey Deutch) is ready to burn this witch at the stake. As this supernatural love story opens in theaters on Valentine’s Day, Wrestling with Pop Culture talks to Deutch and Project X‘s Thomas Mann, who plays Ethan’s best friend Link.

When superanatural occurences happen in class, Emily Asher (Zoey Deutch, left) and Link (Thomas Mann, center) pay attention in "Beautiful Creatures". Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.

Did you read the book before filming the movie based on Beautiful Creatures?

Mann: She did, but I did not. When I first met with Richard [LaGravenese, director], he told me about the books and how the script varied a lot from them. When you adapt a 600-page book, you have to consolidate a lot of things and he didn’t want me to get things confused. He was like, “You can read it if you want, but I’m not asking you to read it for the movie because it’s a different take on it.” I didn’t want to get anything muddled in my brain, so I just stuck with Richard’s vision and read the book after.

Having read the book after you finished filming, is there anything you wish you had done differently with your character now?

Link (Thomas Mann) became known as "the hat guy" on the set of "Beautiful Creatures". Photo by John Bramley.

Mann: The appearance of the character in the movie is different from the character in the book. He’s kind of a punk rocker in the book and in the movie he’s just kind of a groovier guy who wears a lot of vintage clothes.

Deutch: He was the hat guy.

Mann: Wardrobe kept trying to put this hat on me and I was like, “I don’t want to wear that. I don’t want to be the hat guy.” I was trying to lose it on purpose, but they’d bring it up every time we started shooting. Then is just became part of the character that I really liked. But it’s just a different thing and I trust Richard’s vision. We had a lot of talks about what kind of person we wanted Link to be and it’s definitely still Link. His personality is there all the same. Link is a total horndog in the book, too. In the movie, not so much so. There were a few differences, but I’m happy with it.

You guys worked with some heavyweights like Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson in this movie. What was it like working with them and what did they share with you?

Mann: It was really intimidating at first.

Deutch: The idea of them is intimidating. They’re not intimidating.

Mann: Once you meet them and start working with them on set, it really is the best acting class you could ever ask for.

Deutch: We got paid to go to acting class!

Mann: Pretty much. They’re all so smart and have so much life experience to share with you. It was really nice because Emma Thompson would give me direction instead of the director and he’d be like, “Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s do that.” You’re not going to say no to Emma Thompson. It was just amazing getting to be near Jeremy and Viola [Davis] and I just feel very lucky.

The conservative views in the movie, especially with Zoey’s character, seem almost foreign to those of us who haven’t spent time in small Southern towns like this one. Do you feel like that intolerance was exaggerated at all in this movie or do you think that’s how people might really react to a teenage witch today?

Emily Asher (Zoey Deutch) is the mean girl in "Beautiful Creatures". Photo by John Bramley.

Deutch: I’m Jewish, so I had no idea that any of that existed. Emily is evangelical, so she’s religiously extreme. I went to a lot of evangelical churches and talked to a lot of people and tried to understand that perspective. In no way did I judge it because if you judge the character’s viewpoints, feelings and community – that’s what religion is is a community – then it’s not going to feel real to you or the audience. The people I met, it didn’t seem forced or exaggerated.

Mann: I would say the fictional town of Gatlin specifically just seems like it’s stuck in the past. I don’t know if it’s exaggerated for how things were a hundred years ago, but it is a heightened version of that and the movie has a lot of social commentary about fitting in, right or wrong, good versus evil. It helps build a strong, tense atmosphere.

Deutch: The idea is that it’s so closed-minded that it’s been built up to this craziness. It’s not even their fault because they have no other perspective.

Mann: That’s all they know and they’re just so ignorant that they can’t even see it.

There have been lots of movies and books lately that deal with the supernatural and love often gets intertwined along the way. What do you think sets Beautiful Creatures apart from those other stories?

Mann: I haven’t seen the Twilight movies, but I hope this movie stands on its own as something really special. The aesthetic of the movie is very strong and there’s a lot of humor in the movie, which I think people aren’t expecting. It doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Deutch: It’s sophisticated in this weird way. I think there’s something to be said about the fact that there are these incredible actors of such extreme notoriety.

Link (Thomas Mann) and Emily (Zoey Deutch) are somewhat conflicted classmates in "Beautiful Creatures". Photo by John Bramley.

Mann: There’s a real maturity to the movie that you don’t find in a lot of these other teen romance movies.

Deutch: It’s told from the perspective of a teenage boy, and the girl has the powers. So it’s the guy going after the girl finally. I appreciate that and I think that’s what makes it unique and will allow for guys to really like it as well.

Mann: Alden Ehrenreich, who plays the main character Ethan, is not a brooding movie [character]. He’s a typical everyman. He’s so funny and is just not the leading man you would expect, which is really refreshing.

Do you think you’re ready for Twilight-like stardom if this movie launches you into that?

Mann: I don’t know. I hope people like the movie, but I can’t really think about that. I guess the answer is no. But Zoey’s ready for it!

A big theme in the movie is the transition into adulthood. Since you’re both making similar transitions in the acting world, how did working on this film compare to what you’re going through as up-and-coming actors?

Mann: As you grow up, your interests change and when you read a script you start relating to different characters. A script I read four years ago and loved, now I’m like, “I don’t understand this kid anymore.” So you just change as a person and I think that informs your decisions and the kind of roles you want to do. I’m no longer going to school, so a character feeling insecure in high school doesn’t mean as much to me as it did several years ago. You just have to be aware of your life changing.

beautifulcreatures.warnerbros.com

“Side Effects” may include shocking discoveries that require multiple viewings

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Martin (Channing Tatum) helps his wife Emily (Rooney Mara) through her readjustment period in "Side Effects". Photo by Peter Andrews.

Steven Soderbergh has long since proven himself to be one of today’s most competent directors, especially with recent releases such as Haywire (read my review here) and Magic Mike (read my review here) where he turned seemingly banal concepts into engaging films. But with Side Effects, Soderbergh has really outdone himself by creating a captivating mystery that unravels like the details of a bad dream or repressed memory.

Rooney Mara plays Emily, a cute young woman whose simplistic world is upended when she is swept off her feet by Martin (Channing Tatum) only to be upended yet again when Martin is sent to prison for insider trading scams. Having all of her dreams suddenly come true only to just as suddenly be destroyed has a troubling effect on Emily, especially upon Martin’s release and return home. As if readjusting wasn’t already hard enough for the couple, things get even more complicated when Emily’s anxiety causes her to do things like inexplicably drive full-speed into a concrete wall. The only explanation for Emily’s episodes seems to be an experimental drug she has been prescribed by Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) that results in Emily’s anxieties manifesting themselves during sleepwalking trances that she is unable to recollect. But when she awakens one day to find Martin stabbed to death in the living room and her fingerprints on the knife, Banks comes under fire by the media, his colleagues and Emily’s former therapist Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones) for prescribing such an unpredictable remedy to her psychological ailments.

Dr. Banks (Jude Law) consults with Dr. Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones) in "Side Effects". Photo by Peter Andrews.

As Banks’ life falls apart personally and professionally, his mental acumen remains intact and he begins to find inconsistencies in Emily’s story. But his suspicions come across as crazy conspiracy theory talk to his peers and family, leaving him to uncover the truth by using his own, sometimes unscrupulous, methods. As he continues to evaluate Emily’s mental state while she is institutionalized, Banks’ paranoia reaches Hitchcockian heights while Emily’s mental instability begins to resemble Edward Norton‘s portrayal of a similarly distraught (and deceptive) character in Primal Fear. But even as some of Banks’ suspicions prove to be true, new surprises emerge that lead the viewer down very unexpected psychological paths (especially concerning Zeta-Jones’ character, which is definitely a bit of a departure for her). And by the time all the details are revealed, it’s a hard pill to swallow for those who thought they might literally get away with murder.

www.sideeffectsmayvary.com