"Gangster Squad" is a crime action/drama based on events in the 1940's and 50's in Los Angeles when the LA Police Department police chief (played by Nick Nolte) created a special unit called the "Gangster Squad" to combat gangster Mickey Cohen (played by Sean Penn). The Gangster Squad is led by John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and his men include Jerry Whooters (Ryan Gosling), Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi) and Navidad Rameriz (Michael Pena). Complicating the situation is Jerry's romancing Mickey's girlfriend Grace (Emma Stone). The Gangster Squad begins disrupting Mickey's operations while searching for the location of his wire gambling business, which is the heart of Mickey's empire. Mickey meanwhile attempts to grow the wire gambling business and find then punish the Gangster Squad for threatening his "progress."
Despite the big-name cast, this film is largely forgettable. Penn makes a good bad guy but he's up against a very bland hero in Brolin. Decent supporting work by Gosling, Mackie, and Ribsi in particular but the dull script really didn't give them much to work with. Characters were largely undeveloped, especially Stone's, and dialogue is stilted. Chemistry between Gosling and Stone is almost non-existent. The shoot-em up violence is greatly prioritized. On the upside there is nice cinematography and the 40's/50's in LA looks glamorous.
Nice-looking film with much more bullets than depth - D+
Monday, July 8, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
Movie Review: Django Unchained (2012)
"Django Unchained" is a western directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Jamie Foxx in the title role. Django is a slave just sold at auction when the convoy is stopped by Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a German dentist and bounty hunter, who offers to purchase Django once he affirms he can identify a trio of men Schultz is attempting to find. Violence erupts and the result is Django is freed and becomes Schultz's apprentice. The two work together as partners and then work to find Django's wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) who is a slave sold to Calvin Candie (Leo DiCaprio). Candie is a cruel owner of a large Mississippi plantation called Candyland. Django and Schultz attempt a ruse in order to gain access to Broomhilda and persuade Candie to sell her.
First of all this film is definitely a Tarantino-directed film in that there's violence aplenty (some of it directed towards slaves and some of it more of the shoot-em up variety). There's also plenty of language and this film is controversial for the very heavy use of a certain "N-word." The film is depicting a time period when this word was used much more and in particular by people referring to slaves, however the language is somewhat pervasive so please be aware. All that said, this film delivers on telling a different kind of story set in the slavery-era where a freed slave and a German bounty hunter can team up and have this quest to find a princess held captive in a castle so to speak. It's definitely entertaining and very different especially from other films on this time period. I thought the acting was great especially Waltz, who is certainly talented. Look out for a good performance as well by Samuel L. Jackson, who is amazing as Stephen, the head house servant at Candyland. I also liked Foxx in the lead here too and DiCaprio is a charming and cruel plantation owner. Something to listen for rather than watch for is the soundtrack, which I thought was unique and really complemented the film. It's a long film at 2 hours and 45 minutes of run time but the film moves well and doesn't seem over-done. Consider this time well-spent.
This film is not for everyone given the violence and language. If you can get past that then you're in for something pleasantly different - A-
First of all this film is definitely a Tarantino-directed film in that there's violence aplenty (some of it directed towards slaves and some of it more of the shoot-em up variety). There's also plenty of language and this film is controversial for the very heavy use of a certain "N-word." The film is depicting a time period when this word was used much more and in particular by people referring to slaves, however the language is somewhat pervasive so please be aware. All that said, this film delivers on telling a different kind of story set in the slavery-era where a freed slave and a German bounty hunter can team up and have this quest to find a princess held captive in a castle so to speak. It's definitely entertaining and very different especially from other films on this time period. I thought the acting was great especially Waltz, who is certainly talented. Look out for a good performance as well by Samuel L. Jackson, who is amazing as Stephen, the head house servant at Candyland. I also liked Foxx in the lead here too and DiCaprio is a charming and cruel plantation owner. Something to listen for rather than watch for is the soundtrack, which I thought was unique and really complemented the film. It's a long film at 2 hours and 45 minutes of run time but the film moves well and doesn't seem over-done. Consider this time well-spent.
This film is not for everyone given the violence and language. If you can get past that then you're in for something pleasantly different - A-
Movie Review: Side Effects (2013)
"Side Effects" is a thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Rooney Mara as Emily, a woman dealing with seemingly depression made worse by her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) getting released from prison. A suicide attempt by Emily lands her in the hospital where she meets Jonathon Banks (Jude Law), the on-call psychiatrist, who agrees to release her only if she begins seeing him for treatment. Banks begins trying Emily on different drugs in order to treat her depression while he learns that she previously was treated for similar symptoms by Victoria (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Emily begins to feel better after being prescribed a new drug called Ablixa but a side effect of the drug causes her to sleep walk. One evening Emily stabs Martin to death while under the influence of the drug and suddenly she is on trial and Banks finds his world crumbling as his credibility is questioned as a consequence of prescribing the drug.
I found Mara, Zeta-Jones, and Law to be effective in this film and was especially glad to see Zeta-Jones get a juicy supporting role. The direction and script were also very effective at creating a tight thriller with a fair share of twists and turns. The only thing I didn't like was Tatum, who seemed a little bland in his performance though in fairness his part wasn't the meatiest. The ethics of prescribing drugs and also taking money from drug companies was touched on lightly but is an interesting topic that could have been further explored.
Overall I think the casting was good and thought this was a nice thriller with enough twists to satisfy - B+
I found Mara, Zeta-Jones, and Law to be effective in this film and was especially glad to see Zeta-Jones get a juicy supporting role. The direction and script were also very effective at creating a tight thriller with a fair share of twists and turns. The only thing I didn't like was Tatum, who seemed a little bland in his performance though in fairness his part wasn't the meatiest. The ethics of prescribing drugs and also taking money from drug companies was touched on lightly but is an interesting topic that could have been further explored.
Overall I think the casting was good and thought this was a nice thriller with enough twists to satisfy - B+
Movie Review: Broken City (2013)
"Broken City" stars Mark Wahlberg as Billy, a NYPD detective cleared on murder charges but asked to leave the force by the mayor (Russell Crowe) and police commissioner (Jeffery Wright). Billy becomes a private eye specializing in tailing cheating spouses. Years later the mayor calls on Billy while in the middle of a heated battle for re-election and asks him to follow his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones). What starts as a simple cheating spouse job for Billy quickly spirals into something much bigger as he begins to unravel secrets that could impact the election and Billy's life.
With such a star-studded cast including Kyle Chandler in a supporting role, one would think this movie would stand a chance. I think despite the cast and a good turn from Crowe there's just not much here to recommend. The script is a major problem. It just feels like there's nothing new or fresh here in the story and the result is a film that feels forced and stale. Zeta-Jones is really wasted in her role as the mayor's wife and Wahlberg seems like he's going through the motions.
It's not terrible but there's nothing here to recommend - C-
With such a star-studded cast including Kyle Chandler in a supporting role, one would think this movie would stand a chance. I think despite the cast and a good turn from Crowe there's just not much here to recommend. The script is a major problem. It just feels like there's nothing new or fresh here in the story and the result is a film that feels forced and stale. Zeta-Jones is really wasted in her role as the mayor's wife and Wahlberg seems like he's going through the motions.
It's not terrible but there's nothing here to recommend - C-
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