February-mid-March
Movie Roundup
The Merc, The Dragon Warrior, The Man Who Wants To Be A Woman,
The Hostage, and the Aliens
Because of a number of obligations, including Master’s
degree homework, karate, and a growing desire to watch UFC fights instead of
movies (but mostly homework), I haven’t reviewed any movies since January, not
even the hit superhero flick Deadpool,
which I saw opening weekend and which nearly everybody loved. I’ve seen a
couple other films recently, too, including one on video last night and one in
theaters earlier today. These won’t be full-length reviews, but here’s a quick
look over the titles that have made an impression on me over the past few
months.
DEADPOOL Grade: B+
When I first reviewed Marvel’s big summer 2014 hit Guardians of the Galaxy, I described it as
a hip, scrappy younger brother of the more grown-up prestige Marvel flicks like
Captain America and Spiderman. If that’s true, than February’s
Marvel release Deadpool is like the
crude, drunken uncle of those movies, the one who shows up at family reunions
and who your parents try to keep you away from despite the fact that his rowdy,
profane stories crack you up. From a sharply-satirical opening credits sequence
that indicates the movie stars A Big
Star, A Hot Chick, and A British
Villain and was directed by Some
Overpaid Dick, to a crude, yammering smart-aleck narration that lasts the
entire movie, Deadpool, right out of
the gate, is clearly not your average superhero movie.
And that’s good because, with the exception of a few real
standouts like Captain America: The
Winter Soldier, Marvel movies are starting to become a dime a dozen—bright,
colorful, feel-good flicks about witty, good-looking people with cool powers
who always save the world no matter what. But Deadpool—not only is it the first R-rated Marvel film, but it’s
probably also the first one where the initial thing you think of when recalling
the movie is not the actors, the special effects, or even the action, but the screenplay; you could easily watch this
movie three times in a row and pick up something new every time, there is so much chatter. Indeed, the screenplay
(penned by the writers of the 2009 cult classic Zombieland, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick), is so crude, witty, and
nonstop talky it feels like it easily could’ve been created by a group
consisting of Quentin Tarantino, Aaron Sorkin, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Judd
Apatow, and the creators of Cards Against
Humanity. This was seriously one of those movies where it’s really funny
but you’re scared to laugh because you know, in laughing, you’ll miss the next
funny line.
That’s not to discount the action or the actors. The action is
brilliantly-choreographed, jaw-dropper-type stuff, and the actors are great.
Ryan Reynolds nails his long-awaited star turn as Wade Wilson, a former special
forces operative turned low-rent mercenary. Wade runs jobs for an underground
mercenary ring organized by Weasel (snarky director T.J. Miller), where Wade meets
Vanessa (Brazillian Morena Baccarin), a gorgeous but snappy prostitute. They
fall in love (or, at least, they hook up a lot, given a surprisingly-graphic
montage offering peeks into their very active sex life), but they appear to be
missing out on a happy ending when Wade is diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer
throughout his body. Wade doesn’t want the lively Vanessa to suffer with him as
his body deteriorates, so he leaves her, and, when a mysterious man offers him
the opportunity to be healed through secret science, he jumps at the chance.
But it turns out to be a trick, the secret science merely meaning being tortured
endlessly by cold-eyed Francis, AKA Ajax
(Ed Skrein), a fierce mutant who wants to provoke the mutant genes in his
victims by any means necessary. Eventually he does provoke Wade’s gene, but it’s
more than either of them bargained for, and when Francis kidnaps Vanessa, Wade gets on the warpath, with a red
suit and weapons and all, and seeks to save his best girl and become, well,
maybe not a “hero”.
Bottom line: Like
its titular hero, Deadpool is fierce
and feisty, with lots of laughs, endless wit, wild action, and some fine
performances. It is, however, a hard R, with graphic nudity and sex, lots of
swearing, and some gory details. As previously mentioned, this is not your
father’s or even your older brother’s superhero movie. It’s crazy entertaining,
though.
Deadpool is rated R
for strong, bloody violence and gore, constant profanity (including graphic sexual
references), graphic nudity and sexuality, and disturbing images including
scenes of torture
KUNG FU PANDA 3 Grade: B+
I wasn’t planning on seeing Kung Fu Panda 3—in fact, I rolled my eyes and sighed when I first
heard it was actually being made (“oh please, another sequel?”), but my dad, my younger brother Will, and my
little sister Addie and I have a Kung Fu Panda
tradition, so I went along when I heard they were going to see it. And—surprise!—it
was actually pretty great. Like the other films (the original came out in
2008, Part 2 in 2011), it was brightly-colored, quickly-paced, exciting, funny, and populated
with lively, likable characters. Oh, and—as was also true of the other films—it
improbably had quite the sentimental streak, with a strong emotional chord
audiences can appreciate.
In Kung Fu Panda 3,
a notorious villain of old, General Kai (malevolently voiced by the
always-terrific J.K. Simmons), escapes from the spirit realm and returns to
China seeking to capture all power and rule. His abilities include super
strength and the ability to suck the chi (energy) out of his opponents and use
it for himself. He immediately sets his sights on the Jade Palace China . When
these warriors hear Kai is on his way, they prepare to fight, but Poe is
distracted when his biological father appears. A panda named Li (finely-voiced
by the gravelly Bryan Cranston), Poe’s father is anxious to bond with him and
even give kung fu a try, but Poe isn’t sure about this, and neither is the
adoptive father who raised him from childhood, the snippy goose Mr. Ping (James
Hong). Poe is brought back to the panda village from whence he came, but his
two fathers are butting heads and he’s questioning everything about who he is
and who he’s supposed to be, and it’s right as Kai begins a
seemingly-unstoppable assault on all the country’s greatest warriors.
It’s a pretty similar recipe to the first two go-rounds. A
scary, impressive villain seems unstoppable until Poe figures out an unlikely
way to stop him, which includes persuading his warrior friends to try things
they never imagined they’d try. It’s not super original, but, like Poe’s
schemes, it ends up working. And the voice work, from all these current and
former A-list stars, is a treat.
Bottom line: There’s
a lot of laugh-out-loud humor, catchy sentiment, impressive villainy, and
bonding moments that warm the heart. It’s not Pixar-level animated greatness,
but it’s not trying to be. It’s clear some thought went into it, though, and,
for a third animated sequel, that means a lot.
Kung Fu Panda 3 is
rated PG for some intense action and peril, rude humor, and some scary moments
THE DANISH GIRL Grade: B+
If Poe the Kung Fu Panda was questioning who he was and who
he was supposed to be, his internal conflict still has nothing on the internal
conflict of the titular character of The
Danish Girl, a prestige drama released late last fall by Academy-Award
winner director Tom Hooper. Based on a 2000 historical fiction novel by David
Ebershoff—which was itself loosely based on real events—Girl is about Einar and Gerda Wegener, a married couple of painters
living in Copenhagen
circa 1926. Einar (the always-fine Eddie Redmayne), is a celebrated painter of
remarkable landscapes. Gerda (26-year-old Swedish actress Alicia Vikander) is a
portrait painter who has long been overshadowed by her husband and who hasn’t
had the success or the breakthrough opportunities he has. Despite this slight
conflict in success, they are quite happy, modeling for each other, causing
friends to swoon with their love stories, making love constantly and dreaming
of starting a family.
However, one day, when Gerda’s model friend (Amber Heard)
fails to show up for a portrait session, Gerda persuades Einar to sit for her,
wear a pair of stockings and shoes, and hold a dress up to himself to provide
her a subject. Gerda paints Einar as a woman, and the gender-ambiguous subject
becomes a hit and finally gets her the big break she’s always sought. However,
this role play also awoke a long-dead inner voice inside Einar, one that
suggests he’s not exactly who he should really be. These feelings are furthered
when Gerda happily and unknowingly persuades Einar to dress as this female
model for a gala they’re attending, and Einar is flirted with, and then kisses,
a man. When a shocked Gerda confronts him later, Einar admits that, though part
of him is as surprised as she is, part of him always knew that side was
present. He calls it Lili. To Gerda’s surprise and consternation, Lili not only
doesn’t go away but, soon, is present more than her husband is. Soon, her
husband, Einar, is a complete stranger who she doesn’t see anymore, and Lili is
her constant companion. However, as devastated and shaken as this turn of
events feels, Gerda can’t make herself hate Lili. She refuses to let doctors
tell Einar/Lili she is insane, or schizophrenic, or in need of a good shock
therapy or a straitjacket. And when they find a doctor who can actually perform
a sex change surgery, she doesn’t stand in the way of Lili becoming who they
both soon believe she was always meant to be.
While I’ve read that a lot of real-life details were fudged
both in Ebershoff’s book and in Hooper’s film—for instance, I read that Gerda
and Einar’s relationship deteriorated quickly once the Lili persona appeared—The Danish Girl is an undeniably-moving
and powerful film. While real-life transgender cases (Caitlyn Jenner, the
Wachowski siblings) have made this a Movie of the Moment kind of deal, even
traditional viewers can glean lessons from the drama. Much like star Redmayne’s
last film—the Stephen Hawking biopic The
Theory of Everything, which won him the Best Actor Oscar—the movie dares
you to consider what you would ultimately do for someone who you say you love.
Would you stand in the way of them finding themselves? Would you allow them to
pursue their own ultimate happiness at the expense of yours? And, conversely,
is it right and acceptable to pursue a course of action for yourself you feel
is right when it threatens to undermine and even shatter the happiness of
another person? Is it selfish? Where is the line between selfishness and
giving?
Like Hooper’s last two celebrated films—2010’s The King’s Speech and 2012’s Les Miserables—The Danish Girl contains music, drama, and acting of the highest caliber.
Redmayne is arguably even more impressive here than he was in his chameleonic
turn as Hawking last year—his portrait of the kind, sensitive Einar turned
kind, gentle, and yet more than slightly-selfish Lili is a bold, brave,
powerful piece of work. There’s a reason there was conversation about Redmayne
possibly winning back-to-back Best Actor Oscars this year. And yet, for the
second year in a row (after Felicity Jones last year), Redmayne is equaled if
not bested by his primary female costar, with Vikander doing sensational work
as the brave and supportive audience surrogate, Gerda. Like Jones did, Vikander
makes you feel the pain of someone wanting to be completely selfless and
supportive and yet falling back on basic human needs and desires as well. Just
like Lili, Gerda deserves to be happy. It’s a wonderful performance, one that
well-deserved the Best Supporting Actress Oscar she won for it last month. The
two leads are given fine support by Ben Whishaw as Lili’s coy, shy love
interest, Sebastian Koch as the doctor who finally offers the right answer, and
an outstanding and unrecognizable Matthias Schoenaerts as Einar’s lifelong
friend (and potential love interest for Gerda), Hans.
Bottom line: A
fine, old-fashioned drama, The Danish
Girl could have offered a few more details but, with two remarkable lead
performances and a resonant, relevant, powerful emotional story, it’s an
undeniably-affecting film.
The Danish Girl is
rated R for graphic nudity and sexuality, some language, and disturbing images
including a brief scene of violence
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE Grade: A
Just months ago, a taut suspense drama about a young woman
kept locked in a confining structure made the rounds at end-of-year awards
ceremonies. 10 Cloverfield Lane
I won’t say more except to say that, thankfully, 10
Cloverfield Lane
Bottom line: It’s
hard to imagine a more straight-up intense movie this year. 10 Cloverfield Lane
DEADPOOL (2016)
Directed by T.J.
Miller
Screenplay by Rhett
Reese and Paul Wernick
Based on the character
created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld
Starring: Ryan
Reynolds, Ed Skrein, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Stefan Kapicic, and Gina
Carano; with Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead
Rated R
Length: 108 minutes
KUNG FU PANDA 3 (2016)
Directed by Alessandro
Carloni and Jennifer Yuh
Screenplay by Jonathan
Aibel and Glenn Berger
Featuring the Voices
of: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, J.K. Simmons, James Hong, Angelina Jolie,
Randall Duk Kim, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Kate Hudson
and Dustin Hoffman
Rated PG
Length: 95 minutes
THE DANISH GIRL (2015)
Directed by Tom Hooper
Screenplay by Lucinda
Coxon
Based on the 2000
fictional novel by David Ebershoff
Starring: Eddie
Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard,
Sebastian Koch, and Adrien Schiller
Length: 119 minutes
Rated R
Directed by Dan
Trachtenberg
Screenplay by Josh
Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, and Damien Chazelle
Starring: Mary
Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallagher Jr.
Rated PG-13
Length: 103 minutes
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