No Law and Order In This County

"Lawless"

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman

Written by: Nick Cave

Directed By: John Hillcoat

115 Min

Rated R

Anytime a film boasts that it is 'based on a true story,' you can almost guarantee that it has been stylized for dramatic reasons.  Rarely is the reality of a historical event anywhere near as action-packed as the way it is reflected on screen.  Given that, I don't know how much the events of "Lawless" reflect the reality of Franklin County Virginia circa 1931, but that isn't the point.  More accurately, I believe "Lawless" portrays a prevailing attitude about the circumstances in Franklin County Virginia circa 1931.  An attitude about crime during prohibition, an attitude about family loyalties and an attitude about Government controls on particular commodities.  It plays with strong themes and has a stellar cast delivering riveting performances, but with a spotty narrative structure and an ending that doesn't play true to the rest of the film, it lacks the conviction of some of its own characters.

I've often wondered why people don't use the Prohibition as an example to show the great fallacy of Government "controls."  When a commodity (like alcohol, marijuana, guns, etc) is readily available, anyone, within reason, can acquire it.  There are licenses in place to moderate the sales and providers of guns and alcohol, but for the most part, nobody need resort to criminal behavior to access them.  Most certainly, alcohol can be a danger when consumed irresponsibly.  It can also illicit violent behaviors in certain individuals (a small percentage of them, in my experience and estimation).  Yet it occurs to me that a great deal more violent crime was committed when the Government banned alcohol in 1920.  When you ban something that a lot of people want, they will resort to extreme behaviors to continue to acquire it.  This includes murder, brutal assault, blackmail, bribes, pay-offs and intimidation.

"Lawless" plays around with these ideas and is provided a great screenplay by Nick Cave, who is collaborating for the second time with director John Hillcoat.  They worked previously on "The Proposition" which is also a bleak rumination on the nature of violence forced by circumstances.  "Lawless" lacks that film's perfect pacing and intensity, but still bares the mark of a talented creative team.  There is a particular look one imagines when considering the 1930s and "Lawless" captures that perfectly.  The film takes place in Franklin County Virginia, dubbed 'the wettest county in the world' due to the fact that everyone there was brewing some form of alcohol or another.  Particularly skilled at Moonshine production are the Bondurant brothers; Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (Shia LaBeouf, giving easily his best performance to date).  Forrest is the responsible one; strong and mostly silent.  He is built around a particular, but never too defined set of principles.  For instance, when Jack is brutally assaulted, Forrest calmly gives him a "man-up" sort of speech rather then foolishly seeking revenge. Howard is perhaps a bit unhinged, carrying around a grudge brewing just under the surface that he keeps at bay by constantly sampling their specialty product.  Jack, the youngest, desperately wants to impress his older brothers and carry his share of the weight, although he sorely fails to grasp what exactly that could entail.  Maybe he is too distracted by the comely Preacher's daughter (Mia Wasikowska).

Pretty soon, a tyrannical "Special Agent" comes nosing his way into the County.  This is Charlie Rakes (a sneering Guy Pearce), who quickly disrupts the flow of previous local arrangements by intimidating the local police, who were more than happy to buy from the Bondurants, but now torment them out of fear.  Gary Oldman plays local crime boss Floyd Banner, who is willing to oblige local competition as long as they don't step on toes.  Unfortunately, Oldman makes only a few brief appearances and his role is never made completely clear.  An always welcome Jessica Chastain plays Maggie, a new hire at the Bondurant restaurant, which serves solely as a cover for the real source of income.  Of course, once Charlie Rakes realizes who all the players are, he uses his sinister slickness to inspire a great deal of violence and retribution.  The best moments involve Tom Hardy's Forrest, who won't be muscled or pushed around by anyone; he'd prefer to just not be touched for that matter.  Indeed, Jack believes his eldest brother is tough to the point of being invincible.  As Jack, Shia LaBeouf abandons his usual goofy energy for a very subdued and vulnerable performance.  His arc is the most compelling in the film.

"Lawless" is an adaptation of "The Wettest County in the World," a novel by Jack Bondurant's grandson Matt.  Keep in mind a novel isn't exactly a diary of actual events, and I am suspicious that maybe much of what happens here is what Matt imagined as he was told stories of the Bondurant brothers of 1931.  Even so, it is compelling enough that these men existed, and intriguing to consider that even part of the way they are portrayed here might be based on reality.  Prohibition was a dark time for the entire Country, but if Franklin County really was the 'wettest' then I imagine things were pretty rough.  And that provides my biggest complaint of the feature; in such a viscerally violent film, boiling over with tension and bitterness, the ending plays it safe by churning out a standard Hollywood resolution.  Well, I suppose you could argue that it's bitter-sweet, but either way I didn't buy it.  I am not one of those who requires to be let off easy and I wonder if the studio execs ordered a re-worked ending.  Oh well.

"Lawless" is an entertaining two hours.  Its greatest strengths lie with the talented cast and crew and they have provided a mostly terrific period film about prohibition.  It could sit nicely alongside "The Untouchables" and "Road to Perdition" as one of cinemas' finer examples.  While there are some structural issues with the pacing, mostly due to some questionable character roles, everything else is good enough to distract from it.  But as I said, "Lawless" is more about attitude and in that regard, it superbly examines the violence that a misguided Government ban inspires.  I wonder how someone like Forrest would do as a gun runner or marijuana dealer.  Something tells me he'd be a great spokesperson advocating for the legalization of marijuana, although he wouldn't have to say much.  When the guy who has played a fierce MMA fighter, a hardcore moonshiner and Bane comes around, I'd do what I was told.

A living, breathing masterpiece.

"The Concept of Life"

Starring: Savannah Self, Clayton Self and introducing Evelyn Grace Self

Directed By: Dr. Sand, KVCH Nurses

Written By: Proud Parents

Rated: Perfect

Running Time: Forever Please

One of the great pleasures of being a brand new dad is that you are probably the only one in the room at the time of birth that gets to observe so many things at once.  Mom, valiant and courageous, is pushing through immense pressure and focused almost exclusively on delivering the life that has grown within her for 9 months.  The Doctor is expertly navigating that new creation through life's arrival gate.  There are Nurses and family members coaching mom; assuring her that the worst pain has indeed passed and that after just a few more breathless seconds, she will have her reward.  But fathers have varying levels of involvement.  Some might have a medical fascination with the process and may be actively engaged in the current pursuit to usher in a new life unharmed.  There are others that stand near mom's head, secretly hiding a racing heart rate and a million thoughts beneath a calm exterior.  While I can state firmly that I am in this latter category, it encompasses much more that it implies, and certainly more than could ever be expressed in written or spoken word.

Even as I sit writing this in the very room where my daughter's life began, watching her slowly rise and fall on my wife's chest, words escape me.  Breath comes only because life requires it and my brain tells my body to do it.  My entire consciousness rests symbolically within this tiny extension of myself, and the contribution of my genes is only half of what makes her a miracle.  Hearing the words of others, many of them the same, could never do this justice.  People use the common cliches to express happiness or strangely encouraging words of doom.  "Say goodbye to sleep as you know it" they say.  Maybe they see this is as a negative thing, but I think my heart stopped as our daughter took her first breath, and after that, who would want to waste time sleeping?  The hardest part to me is the feeling of helplessness every time she cries; or the way every touch betrays my lingering lack of confidence.  How do you bring this perfect being into the world, with all there is to understand, when you don't even yet understand it?  I know these fears will subside, but in the meantime they are contained in a single room, like a perfectly safe bubble surrounded by chaos.

There are several random bits of knowledge a man can take away from his first day of fatherhood.  Almost like chapters, the day of birth is punctuated by phases of emotion.  When I was told Savannah was dilated to 5 centimeters, no force on earth could have slowed me down from the speed at which I was scrambling to make sense of what was about to happen.  I have never taken LSD but from what I have read on the affects, this scenario may have been comparable.  On the way to the hospital, my hallucinogenic state made me perceive traffic as moving slower than it ever has.  Simple things like pressing the gas pedal suddenly had a manic sense of priority.  Luckily, the parking lot presented relatively few challenges.  Then immediately upon seeing my laboring wife, phase two started and the necessity to remain calm took over.

One of the fun parts amid all the fury of delivery day is the dictionary's worth of terms there are to learn.  Just having become used to the term "Lactation Consultant," which could potentially be the best job title in existence,  there are new gems like "Phlebotomist," which sounds ominously like some sort of mucusy circus performer.  Fortunately, for needle-phobes like myself, the entire delivery was carried out relatively needle free.  In fact, the biggest point of pride for the day was not even my own, as my wife braved intense contractions and 17 minutes of pushing completely free of medications or an epidural.  The only trouble came when the baby's heart rate dropped, momentarily spinning me into a panic as the medical staff instantly snapped into their successful routine that lead to a safe birth for both mom and child.  Then, at the very instant her head was fully visible and I first heard her cries, my heart stopped and my immediate tears told me all I needed to know.

Right now, more than 24 hours after Evelyn's birth, my arm is throbbing from a 'Tdap' vaccine; yet another small step to help the health of this new life I get to share responsibility for.  I am surrounded by the people who have always been most important to me and a new one who's value cannot be calculated, who's meaning cannot be measured and who's importance I will spend my life trying to live up to.  My heart now beats outside my body and it has never beat as strongly or as purposefully.  I feel that to adequately compile my entire range of feelings and thoughts, I would have to write something much more substantial in length, but it would take the better part of an eternity to read it.  Besides, the limitations of human expressions and vocabulary aren't enough.  Becoming a father has diminished every thought I ever had about what it truly means to be a man.  Lucky for me, I have the perfect example of human life breathing just a few feet from me and through her I will learn what it means for the first time.

More Like "The Bourne Addiction"

"The Bourne Legacy"

Written and Directed by Tony Gilroy

Starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton

PG-13

135 Min

"The Bourne Legacy" is either a sequel to the first three Bourne movies, or it is a spin-off.  I can't quite say which because while it works well enough as a spy thriller, it has some trouble incorporating the familiar Bourne brand name.  The problem isn't in the casting, which replaces Matt Damon's Jason Bourne with a new character named Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner.  Renner has been making the rounds in a great many blockbusters over the last few years, and he is a welcome presence.  The issue lies within the film's identity crisis.  The first hour or so is made up of scenes of Cross in the Alaskan wild, intercut with scenes we saw played out in "The Bourne Ultimatum."  Therein lies the rub; because even though the tone of this feature fits nicely into the established Bourne film universe, it is too tied down to the previous installments, and does nothing to move the story forward.

Obviously, if this is meant as a spin-off, we'd expect to be carried along by a new narrative that could stand independently of the previous films' events.  Instead, "The Bourne Legacy" bites off more than it can chew by attempting to branch off in a new direction, and simultaneously treads lightly with the new story in favor of leaning on the more compelling events surrounding Jason Bourne.  David Strathairn, Albert Finney and Joan Allen all show up very briefly to reprise their respective roles, which is all well and good, but they are gone so quickly that it makes us wonder why they were included at all.  We also see footage from "The Bourne Ultimatum" which conveniently leaves out any scenes of Matt Damon.  The result is a first half that almost forces the audience to distract themselves by trying to piece together events from the last movie, which takes us out of this one.

The new story involves Aaron Cross (Renner), an operative for the 'Outcome' program, which if I understand it right is a subsidiary of the 'Treadstone' program that Jason Bourne was a product of.  The difference here is, the Outcome agents are enhanced by pills that are taken at regular intervals.  There is a green pill for physical enhancements and a blue pill for cognitive improvement.  These 'chems,' as the screenplay calls them, are manufactured at a Government lab where Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) works.  For nearly the first hour, Aaron Cross is trekking through the Alaskan wilderness, apparently as punishment for insubordination or something.  He is running low on chems and seems to need a new dose really bad.  Meanwhile, as a result of Jason Bourne exposing Treadstone with the help of Pam Landy (Joan Allen) in the last film, Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn) fears that similar unsanctioned Government Operations may be at risk.  Retired Colonel Eric Byer (an always welcome Edward Norton) is informed of the situation and immediately decides to eliminate all the agents for Outcome.  This is done by replacing the agents' chems with a single yellow pill that brings death in the form of a left nostril nosebleed.  Since Aaron Cross is unreachable in Alaska with another agent (Oscar Isaac), Byer and his goons send a drone to explode things. With the help of some wolves (don't ask), Aaron is able to make it appear as though the drone was successful.

I've often wondered in these features why the best strategy for hiding the shady dealings of an unsanctioned Government Op is to leave a trail of mysterious deaths.  Since the brainwashing recruitment strategy has already been established, wouldn't it be more conducive to make the agents promise to never tell in case things go south?  But nevermind.  Aaron is able to make his way to Marta's home just in time to save her from some unsavory "mental health professionals" who intend to permanently remedy her trauma from a recent workplace tragedy.  Together, Aaron and Marta go on the run from everyone who wants them dead and this is where the film starts to lose its trajectory.  You see, Jason Bourne had amnesia when we met him in "The Bourne Identity" and part of the fun of following his journey was that he needed to find out who he was.  While Aaron Cross certainly has something to run from, he lacks a clear goal or motivation outside of drug addiction.  His whole reason for sweeping Marta along is so that he can get more pills; until Marta informs him that there is an injection form of each chem that can "viral off" the enhancements, making them permanent.  Even better.

Once they reach the lab in Manila and get the vaccines, then what?  "The Bourne Legacy" has a hard time answering that.  It spends the last act mixed up in rooftop parkour, motorcycle chases and shoot outs.  There is even an assassin sent to kill Marta and Cross who is so skilled that one of Eric Byer's colleagues has "never seen evaluations like this."  Mmmhmm.  So talented is he that after clumsily chasing them in plain sight, he is easily and brutally dispatched by none other than the timid Marta.  I give away this detail not to spoil your enjoyment, but to lower your expectations of anything as cool as what we've already seen in the first three movies.  While the action is exciting, it is brief and infrequent, and because we don't really understand what the main protagonist is trying to accomplish, it gives no sense that anything is at stake. Then, to top it all off, the movie just ends before setting up any kind of connection to let us know precisely what the "legacy" referenced in the title is.  What is clear is that sequels are intended; perhaps with Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner teaming up to take down the whole conspiracy.

Tony Gilroy, who has provided the screenplay for all the "Bourne" feature films, also directs this one.  At that, he is accomplished.  His "Michael Clayton" was one of the best pictures of 2007, and his smart writing takes center stage here in a very talky movie.  That would be great if there was a sense of momentum to what's being said.  Instead, we're given a competent action film, with little in the way of action, that relies too heavily on our enjoyment of the original three "Bourne" adventures.  No surprises if some viewers feel swindled when they walk out of the theatre.  I might give it another watch just to see if my perception is different the second time around.  Maybe I'll take one of those blue pills before going.

The Darkest Knight Yet

"The Dark Knight Rises"

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written By: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Rated PG-13

164 Minutes

The biggest problem facing "The Dark Knight Rises" is that it isn't "The Dark Knight."  Christopher Nolan's 2008 crime epic came out of nowhere to shock and delight audiences who weren't expecting the sequel to "Batman Begins" to be so sensational.  It caught everyone off guard and remains a nearly perfect film elevated by the iconic performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker.  The obvious expectation this time is that Nolan must justify the final chapter of his trilogy with something bigger and better than "The Dark Knight."  Mixed reviews might convince you to lower your expectations, but I think all it requires is different expectations.  In its first hour, "The Dark Knight Rises" may lack the initial visceral impact of its predecessor, but what slowly emerges from the perceived rubble is an absolute masterpiece.

This final entry in Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy is actually the most methodically structured of all three.  It hits the ground running by introducing all the familiar characters, and at least four new and prominent ones.  Having too many new characters in the concluding chapter of a trilogy can be the kiss of death if handled incorrectly.  Luckily, Christopher Nolan has 2 hours, 45 minutes to find something for each of them to do and casts big name actors to make sure that even in their briefest moments, they leave an impression.  Arguably the most significant addition is Selina Kyle, who is oddly well-defined for being such an ambiguous character.  Anne Hathaway plays her with a deep charisma masked by a playful tenacity and when we first meet her, she is posing as a waitress to sneak into Wayne Manor's east wing, where Bruce has been a recluse for several years.  He is so spiritually broken from the events of "The Dark Knight" that even The Batman hasn't been seen in 8 years.  This is Christian Bale's strongest performance as the character and will likely stand as the definitive one should somebody else snag the role in the future.  Michael Caine is back as well, providing some of his most emotional work to date as Bruce's ever-faithful Butler, Alfred.  In one conversation with Bruce, he rescinds on a promise he made to him in the first movie.  His reasons are sound, but the choice that he makes is probably the film's most heartbreaking moment; and there a lot of those.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) has been living under the weight of the lie he and Batman concocted to prevent the public from finding out the truth about Harvey Dent's crimes.  Oldman has played Gordon as a moral force for good in the previous films and with that moral compass bent just slightly too far, Gordon loses focus in some early scenes here, and pays dearly for it.  Under his command is a new Gotham City Police Officer named John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who knows a vital piece of information that he quite honorably keeps to himself.  There is also Miranda Tate (Marion Coutillard), an environmentalist and board member for Wayne Enterprises who has a hand in a vital clean energy project.  She works with Lucius Fox to keep this technology from falling into the hands of John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn), a Wayne Enterprises rival who has used his wealth and resources to bring a terrifying mercenary known as Bane to Gotham City.  Tom Hardy is absolutely ferocious as Bane, if not quite as memorable as Heath Ledger's Joker, or as well-defined.  What is clear is that Nolan and Hardy had different intentions for Bane altogether, and he holds in store a horrifying fate for Gotham City.  While the Joker's reign of terror had a great deal to do with the Batman, Bane will see his plans through whether Batman is around or not. 

This is all dense plotting in a film that initially feels too long with the first viewing.  Some characters drift in and out of the narrative, sometimes absent for significant stretches.  But the movie covers a lot of ground and I am certain that Christopher Nolan has left nothing to chance and made specific decisions for a reason.  Symbolically, he has structured the narrative to be a little jarring, to echo the overall sense of unease.  Then when things start hurtling toward the heart-stopping climax, Nolan reveals his hand, giving every character their due and placing them exactly where they need to be.  A vital part of the film's final act is the score by Hans Zimmer, which elicits a powerful emotional response to accompany the thrills of the plot.  Perhaps the title for the film was influenced in part by the trajectory of the score, which has taken a new direction from the previous films.  It is an elegant piece of work. 

The palette of the film itself is exponentially grander this time as well, with Wally Pfister returning as director of photography.  When Chicago stood in for Gotham city, he had a distinct color scale and framed shots so that a familiar city was creatively disguised.  This time, Gotham is a hybrid of New York, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles; and even though this provides a new look to the film, it successfully reflects the change of genre.  Nolan has stated that he wouldn't do a third Batman picture unless he could top the grandeur of "The Dark Knight." In terms of scope and scale, he has done exactly that.  If  "Batman Begins" is a focused, fear-driven, psychological character study; and "The Dark Knight" a bold crime drama; then "The Dark Knight Rises" is Chris Nolan's disaster epic.  Each film could stand independently and fit into a particular genre, and I think that's why Nolan chose to come back to the story twice; because each chapter of his Dark Knight saga has resonated with its own self-contained theme.  If he had restricted himself to making simple sequels, he would have had nothing new to offer and they would have played as needless rehash.  The brilliance of this trilogy is that it has spanned genres, becoming so much more than what its source material would suggest.

Even at 164 minutes, "The Dark Knight Rises" will reward repeat viewings.  It serves as a definitive end to be sure, but it still leaves excellent questions.  The last shot in particular must have been meticulously planned and it does a fantastic job of wrapping up everything that has come before while simultaneously leaving us with ideas about what the future will hold.  Chris Nolan will not be returning to the universe of the Dark Knight, but he has provided three films with a captivating interpretation of the character.  This could easily stand as one of the greatest trilogies put to film, and it goes without saying that it is the most significant in the comic book universe so far.  I just hope that audiences will not hold this final chapter under too much scrutiny in comparison with "The Dark Knight."  It is a different kind of film and should be allowed to stand or fall on its own merits.  One thing is for sure, from beginning to end, it rises to the most emotionally exciting climax I have seen in a long time.  There is a really nice moment early on where Selina warns Bruce that a storm is coming.  He wonders if she might be looking forward to it; to which she replies: "I'm adaptable."  Looking back over the director's relatively short list of films, she could easily have been describing Christopher Nolan.  Now that he has finished telling this story, with whatever he does next, I'll be looking forward to it. 

The Amazing...Peter Parker?

"The Amazing Spider-Man"

Directed by: Marc Webb

Written by: James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, Steve Kloves

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary

Rated: PG-13

136 Minutes

 

 

The big concern on everyone's mind with the release of "The Amazing Spider-Man" is whether the Spider-Man franchise needed a 'reboot' so soon after Sam Raimi finished his trilogy in 2007.  It could be easily argued that the best Spider-Man story was already told with Raimi's "Spider-Man 2" and while this new version may not convince audiences that this Spidey is better than the last, I believe where "The Amazing Spider-Man" earns its stripes and justifies itself is by absolutely nailing the story of Peter Parker.  Marc Webb has crafted a motion picture that does a pretty good job of mostly avoiding too many comparisons to the earlier films by wisely containing its scope to a more touching and streamlined human story.

Much of the appeal in "The Amazing Spider-Man" is the inspired casting of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.  Some may remember him from "The Social network" but his best role to date is in John Crowley's British drama "Boy A."  Garfield is 28, but has young features and carries himself just awkwardly enough to pass for a nerdy adolescent.  There would be little point in me reciting Peter Parker's defining moments because the origin story is largely the same, but is now told from different angles.  The most significant addition is the intriguing mystery surrounding the disappearance of his parents, who left him with Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) when he was just a boy.  This development is a catalyst for the tension and conflict between Peter and his Aunt and Uncle, because when Peter finds out they have been keeping secrets from him, he starts to keep a few of his own.  Of course the fate of Uncle Ben has always been a defining moment in the Spider-Man cannon and that remains true here.  The Raimi version diluted the emotional impact because it immediately transitioned into that film's first sensational web-swinging sequence, too much in a hurry to show off its visuals.  It's not that "The Amazing Spider-Man" is darker and grittier, per say, but it's a great deal more contemplative and pauses to allow Peter to really feel his anger and grief.

There are other familiar moments in Peter's life that are given a bit more heft here as well, such as his conflict with Flash Thompson (Chris Zylka).  Instead of being a caricature of run-of-the-mill high school bullies, this Flash is wisely injected with some humanity, and one of his confrontations with Peter provides one of the film's most touching moments.  The entire feel of the high school environment feels several shades more honest because instead of cliched moments with Peter being relentlessly tormented as a target of ridicule, he is more accepted and just kind of blends in.  His insignificance is more relatable than endless victimization.  He does manage to catch the eye of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), who works as an assistant under Dr. Connors (Rhys Ifans) at Oscorp.  Garfield and Stone are both accomplished actors for their age and they display a maturity here that elevates their chemistry.  Marc Webb's resume as a director may be shorter, but his experience helming the excellent "(500) Days of Summer" seems to inform his intimate focus on "The Amazing Spider-Man."

As for the action sequences and traditional Spider-Man elements, they are at least as good as anything that has come before.  I always thought the Raimi series felt a little light on its feet, especially with the disappointing third installment.  Now the action feels more grounded, more informed by physics that we can measure just by watching.  Spider-Man even makes better use of his powers while fighting, using his webs to pull himself out of harm's way, and taking advantage of the environment to get the upper-hand on his foes.  While there is a traditional montage of Peter assembling the various elements like the suit, the web shooters, etc., Webb doesn't let that overshadow the emotional journey involved in those steps.  The full Spider-Man garb doesn't appear until nearly an hour into the film, which is okay, because to rush through the broad strokes to quickly get to the finished product would be too reminiscent of Sam Raimi's approach. 

"The Amazing Spider-Man" isn't without its short-comings.  With the Lizard as the villain of choice, it bears a striking resemblance to so many other Spider-Man foes, who always seem to be well-intentioned scientists who fall victim to some experimental mishap; although that may be more of a reflection on the redundancy of the comics.  Nevertheless, some of the Lizard sequences are a bit too over-the-top for the more grounded approach.  More fascinating is the manhunt for Spider-Man led by Gwen's father, Captain Stacy (Denis Leary).  His character arc is slightly under-developed but still effective because of what it means for Peter and Gwen.  There is, however, one really sensational sequence near the middle of the film that bests a similar set piece in the first Sam Raimi movie.  It works well because it never feels like Marc Webb is trying to one-up Raimi on any front, but instead trying to respectfully acknowledge what made Spider-Man work before while still keeping him relevant now.

Where "The Amazing Spider-Man" will rank in a few years' time is hard to say.  Some will argue for the existing trilogy and some may find more to like in this update.  For my money, this iteration of Peter Parker is far and away more compelling than Tobey Maguire's take, who in "Spider-Man 3" was inexcusably annoying.  Andrew Garfield is the selling-point for this one and is successfully able to reel in Marc Webb's emotional focus.  There is plenty to like here no matter which version you prefer and even though "The Amazing Spider-Man" arrives so soon following the last cinematic outing, it is a respectful kick-start to a new story arc. Even if you feel like you already know it.  It also contains probably the best Stan Lee cameo to date, and if the creator himself is okay with a new version, who am I to argue?

All You Really Need Is One

"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World"

Written & Directed by: Lorene Scafaria

Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley

Rated: R

101 Minutes



By now, audiences must be overly familiar with the disaster film.  Countless blockbusters have invented ever-creative ways to depict the end of days, usually accompanied by spectacular CGI shots of colossal waves, nuclear explosions or planetary scorching.  Now there is "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," a disaster film without a single shot of the impending disaster.  Rather than CGI and global calamity, here is a film that is more concerned with the internal disasters of one's life, quietly examining what a person might actually do knowing the earth had three weeks of existence left.  The film's most poignant line also happens to be one of its funniest.  As a man's housemaid leaves after the day's work, and knowing what he knows, he quite casually observes "I regret my entire life."

"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" begins with probably its wisest move by informing us that a comet, 70 miles wide, is to impact earth in three weeks' time.  Not only that, but the last ditch effort to stop it has failed.  This information is provided via radio broadcast, as Dodge (Steve Carell) listens, almost no emotion on his face.  By starting with this, the movie plays fair by eliminating the expectation of a happy ending, thereby allowing the audience to relax without the distraction or tension of the unknown to come.  Don't get me wrong; if there is a happy ending, and the comet does not impact earth, it's a pleasant surprise.  If it does impact earth, well, we can't say we weren't warned.  Given the latter scenario, we don't really blame Dodge's wife, Linda (played by Carell's real-life spouse, Nancy), for fleeing the car, never to be seen again. 

The first thirty minutes or so are spent establishing what has become of everyday routines in the earth's final weeks.  Offices sit empty, save for a few employees who would rather stick to what they know, perhaps for the comfort of familiarity.  Dodge's occupation is ironic; he is an insurance salesman, and in one clever bit of dialogue, explains disaster insurance to a customer over the phone.  Yes, the premium is expensive, but hey, it includes comet coverage.  He returns home to find the maid (Tonita Castro) happily cleaning his apartment.  She informs him that he is almost out of window cleaner and that she'll see him next week.  When he tells her that won't be necessary, she humorously goes into a panic over losing her job rather than coming to the realization that it literally won't be necessary for her to return.  It is moments like this that earn "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" some nice laughs; they are quiet laughs, mind you, because this is humor that comes from the human spirit rather than raunchy behavior.  There are certainly some deviant methods of coping, but nothing plays as unrealistic, because how do we know what we would do under the same circumstances?

Dodge shuffles his way through a party with friends, who cruly inform him that Linda wasn't really happy in the marriage.  They try to hook him up with an overly-eager party guest (Melanie Lynskey) and even his friend's wife comes on to him.  All the while, Dodge just continues to look gloomily into the void, boldly unafraid to say that he doesn't know how to feel or what he wants.  That's the nice thing about the screenplay by Lorene Scafaria (who also directed); it allows the characters their moments of introspection and does not give way to exposition, which is just a way to pander to the audiences' need for easy understanding.  It feels as though the characters wrote themselves, and not having clear motivations every step of the way is a more honest reflection of real life.

Pretty soon, Dodge finds a downstairs neighbor crying outside on his fire escape.  This is Penny (Keira Knightley), who has just split with her boyfriend.  But the real reason she's crying is her missed opportunity to fly home to be with her family.  Penny tells Dodge she has been meaning to give him several months' worth of mail that has mistakenly been delivered to her apartment, and through this development we also discover a regret about Dodge that he didn't even realize he had.  He tells her he knows a man with a plane, and if she agrees to provide the car, he'll get her where she needs to go.  What follows is a middle act road trip movie that explores the vitality of human companionship.  As the two protagonists encounter all kinds of perplexing human behavior, they stay remarkably grounded by their quiet contentment to just have one another as company.

The remarkable thing about "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" is the fine balance of tone.  It stays just funny enough to be uplifitng without being inappropriate, and just poignant enough to be meaningful without being melodramatic.  There are beats of absurd comedy, as when Dodge and Penny encounter a nice traveler who has hired a hitman to assassinate him at an unknown time.  It is perhaps inevitable that he breifly mistakes Dodge for the assassin.  They also visit a restaurant called 'Friendly's' where the staff is intrusively friendly, indeed.  The nature of the place is perhaps a shade unbelievable, but that is wisely acknowledged by Penny and Dodge as well.  Needless to say, they don't stay for the, um, dessert.

Whether they get to where they need to be is beside the point.  Almost certainly, where they need to be is subject to change by the film's end.  It's the process of getting there that really matters, and what they can learn from one another along the way.  I mentioned earlier the lack of tension that helps the audience to relax.  Don't mistake that for a boring narrative.  The characters are so engaging and their developments so honest, that I couldn't help but feel that this would be a nice way to spend the end of days.  In one of the film's best moments, Dodge and Penny are forced to stop in the road, as dozens of people file toward some unknown destination.  Without a word, they silently join the group, only to find a clergyman of some faith providing baptisms in the ocean to anybody who desires one.  While they don't partake, they sit together and observe while having their own moment on the beach together.  It is a beautiful shot, and nicely respectful to the role of faith in conditions like these.

"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" emerges as an early contender for one of the best pictures of the year.  It is a sweet and deeply introspective feature that examines the hopefulness capable in all of us, even in the face of impending doom.  There are many who live life thriving off their social interactions and constant need for attention, and some who function better in solitude.  Here is a film that finds a nice balance by suggesting that true happiness is found in the close bond of love and friendship, even if you only have one.  The film's final shot conveys that thesis, I believe.  If you stop to think about it, there is really nothing left to resolve by the movie's conclusion.  Everyone is where they need to be and it ends with Dodge saying the only thing there is left to say.


*Note. The R rating is misleading.  While there is language, it is infrequent.  This is such a sweet-natured film and would be safe for anyone looking to be uplifted.

The Real Story Is Much, MUCH Better

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"

Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov

Written By: Seth Grahame-Smith 

Starring: Benjamin Walker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Dominic Cooper

Rated R

105 Minutes



Never before have I so vastly overestimated my desire to see a film.  Especially one called "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."  Knowing what I know about today's youth and how the public school system fails in teaching them, do we really need something like Abraham Lincoln hunting vampires to make history more enjoyable?  A much more entertaining film on Lincoln is Robert Redford's "The Conspirator," which has easily more tension than this one, and wouldn't ya know it, is based on actual history.

I will get the one compliment I can pay "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" out of the way right now: its star, Benjamin Walker, is a pretty engaging presence who actually looks somewhat like Lincoln, especially in the film's late passages.  Even more, he uncannily resembles a young Liam Neeson, and perhaps for that fact alone, he should have a future ahead of him.  Maybe he didn't know what he was getting into signing on for this picture.  I have not read the source novel it's based on, but my unwise assumption was that it was some sort of farcical and comedic take given the title.  Indeed, if this were something more akin to "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" I may have let my guard down more.  Alas, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" takes itself so seriously, that its re-telling of American History is unforgivably offensive.  To attribute the civil war to a conflict between vampires and humans is wrecklessly disrespectful to the men who fought in it.  The motivations of the Confederate soldiers were much more complex in reality than history would lead us to believe; and to simplify that and literally demonize the south by casting them as undead bloodsuckers is irresponsible filmmaking. 

Not that the vampires in this movie are all that terrifying.  As far as I could tell, they are capable only of screaming in humans' faces and scrambling about on train tops and horses.  One of the vampires (Marton Csokas) kills young Abraham's mother, and he devotes his life to the pursuit of vanquishing them.  A mysterious drifter named Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper) takes Lincoln under his wing with promises of undead justice.  Pretty soon Abraham is wielding his trusty axe and slicing and dicing his way to the Presidency.  And what else can I tell you?  There are brief moments where the movie actually pauses to acknowledge real events in Lincoln's history, such as the first time he meets Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).  His first foray into politics is muddled in some sort of middle act montage, I think, and does not resonate well.  Therein lies the problem.  The film would have us believe that Abraham Lincoln is defined by his lust for vengeance and that his political foundation was just a conveniant secondary choice to serve as the means to an end.

As directed by Timur Bekmambetov, whose "Wanted" was pretty good, the movie suffers from an over-abundance of slow-motion sequences that exist primarily to show you that something is actually happening.  The full-speed action is so disorienting that you would have no clue what is going on unless it slowed down and got right in your face.  So it does.  The editing is also problematic.  In an hour and forty two minutes, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" attempts to account for Lincoln's entire life, right up until the night he was assasinated.  Thankfully, the movie ends before he arrives at Ford's Theatre.  I'd hate to see what sort of supernatural beast they'd blame that tragic event on.  Werewolf, perhaps? 

I will not waste any more time trying to convince you not to see this movie.  It spends its limited, but still unbearable running time convincing you of that on its own.  There was a small portion of me that really wanted to enjoy the concept of something like this; but I totally misunderstood the nature of that concept.  "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is an atrocity of movie making that is without a single redeeming quality outside of its lead actor.  Cast aside all the grievences violating  Mr. Lincoln's history, and what's left is actually a pretty boring and benign CGI fest.  If that sounds like your thing, then by all means.  But when Willie Lincoln's death was attributed to a vampire bite, that's when I wanted to take an axe to the screen.