Michael Haffner

NEED FOR SPEED – The Review

Aaron Paul is used to sitting shotgun in star driven vehicles. Outside of BREAKING BAD, Paul played supporting roles in 2009’s remake of LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and 2012’s indie drama SMASHED. However, he’s never had the opportunity to lead a project of his own. NEED FOR SPEED finally gives the actor the opportunity to take the reigns. Although he is certainly part of the problem, there are actually plenty of issues holding this film back. Speed isn’t the only thing this film needs.

After serving time for a false conviction of vehicular manslaughter involving a close friend, Aaron Paul’s character Tobey Marshall sets out on a race across country to prove his innocence and to bring the real culprit (Dominic Cooper) to justice. Cops and rival racers both have it out for our hero and his team of mechanics that are in tow to help him along the way. The final destination is an elite race along the California coast hosted by a wealthy and mysterious internet celebrity that goes by the name “Monarch” (Michael Keaton).

I must admit to not having watched a single episode of BREAKING BAD. As the show has increased in popularity, a rabid cult of Aaron Paul worshipping fans has sprouted up around me to which I haven’t quite conformed. Having finally witnessed his acting chops at work, I’m not sure if I want to join the masses just yet. It seems that he’s attempting to evoke some form of James Dean in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE in his quiet but tough, leather jacket wearing performance in NEED FOR SPEED. He’s a man of few words that seems guided by his emotions much like Dean in the iconic film. Thankfully Paul isn’t given any long monologues in SPEED or the already lengthy film would be even more exhausting. Each sentence he delivers seems drawn-out and spoken in the same low and grizzled tone. It feels like minutes pass while he attempts to finish one sentence. Thankfully the rest of the cast does much better. Dominic Cooper plays a sleazy businessman/ car-racer that you love to hate. He’s appropriately intimidating even if his real-life British accent makes for some ‘huh’ moments when he attempts some form of Yankee accent.

The star of course is . . . No, not the fast cars, but veteran scene-stealer Michael Keaton. While he mainly serves as a plot device to get our hero and villain to race against one another in the finale, the energy he puts into the loudmouth millionaire makes him roar even louder than the sports cars on-screen. His character comes across as a hybrid of Rush Limbaugh and Charlie Sheen – which in itself would be a lot scarier if it weren’t for the fact that it’s Michael Keaton. I’m not one to endorse needless sequels to average films, but if the producers were to craft a sequel with the plot of the 1975 film DEATH RACE 2000 and have Keaton act as the announcer for the cross-country race, I would probably watch that film on an endless loop.

What should have been an easy, straightforward ride feels like its constantly changing lanes due to a lack of consistency. The film begins with covers of classic songs like “Fortunate Son” and “All Along The Watchtower,” then transitions into a completely misplaced dramatic score, before finally capping it all off with a modern rap song. Conflicting musical cues are just one glaring example of how confused the film seems to be. In terms of tone, at times it wants to be more of a light and fun car film like SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY. A goofy extended chase through the streets of Detroit midway through the film is a prime example of this. While other times it aims to be more of a pseudo-dramatic film about revenge and redemption. During these scenes the score swells with sweeping music that would be more fitting in a period piece or some feel-good sports drama.

Catching nods to 60s and 70s car films will be appreciated by some of the older gear heads. Steve McQueen’s classic chase in BULLITT can be seen early on during a sequence at a drive-in; because apparently that’s still the hot spot to be on a Friday night in 2014 (sigh). Yet this slice of nostalgia is served alongside a heavy dose of melodrama that doesn’t necessarily mix well. A loose adaptation of a video game – which seems really just by name only – should never feel this confused. With a title like NEED FOR SPEED, one would expect a lean, mean, and swift film that knows exactly what it is. The destination may be pretty clear once the story kicks into gear, but NEED FOR SPEED doesn’t know the best way to get there.

Movie: 2.5 out of 5

Michael Keaton in the movie: 4 out of 5

DIVERGENT Stars Christian Madsen And Ben Lloyd-Hughes Walk The Red Carpet At St. Louis Screening

Even though the people that occupy the future-set world of Veronica Roth’s novel are separated into different factions with different characteristics, all of the people at the Ronnie’s 20 Cine in St. Louis Tuesday night were clearly all gathered for the same thing: DIVERGENT. The young adult series that has spawned three books and a legion of fans is making its way into theaters with the film DIVERGENT on March 21.

Fans of all ages came out to see two of the actors from the film for a red carpet premiere Tuesday night in St. Louis. Some of these fans were even lucky enough to be the first to see the highly-anticipated film.

Christian Madsen who plays Al and Ben Lloyd-Hughes who plays Will received a warm reception from fans who waited hours to meet the stars behind their literary heroes. Groups of young girls squealed with excitement when the two handsome actors made their way down the red carpet – meeting fans, taking photos, and signing books and movie posters. We Are Movie Geeks was there to talk to the duo about the upcoming film. Read below what they had to say about DIVERGENT.

Outside of becoming familiar with the source material, what other sort of training or preparation did you do both mentally or physically for the role?

Ben Lloyd-Hughes:

We had two or three weeks of physical training. We had a boot-camp and rehearsals with the director as well. What was great was that we could sweat together and feel the pain of training together. We got into the group effect where we had to look out for each other and we became as strong as only our weakest component.

Christian Madsen:

We did about two weeks of stunt training with the cast. It was sort of this Muay Thai fight style. Other than that, I read some books. I read MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING. It’s super heady but I wanted to sort of evoke this idea of staying happy in this terrible environment. I also read A FIGHTER’S HEART by Sam Sheridan which is about this guy who just picks up and goes to learn all these different fighting styles. He goes to Thailand to learn Muay Thai. He goes to Brazil to learn jiu jitsu. So I wanted to put myself into what he was thinking.

Ben Lloyd-Hughes

What was the one thing about the film that made you want to take on the project?

Ben Lloyd-Hughes:

I would say it’s the idea of choosing your future as a young person. It’s such a brilliant metaphor that was created in the book. There’s something so appealing about that world where you can choose who you want to be.

Christian Madsen:

I mean . . . I was being evicted at the time, so it helped me to stay in that apartment and stay in LA. But really, this is a dream of mine, to be an actor and . . . it was fading. So this was a light at the end of the tunnel. It had been dark for awhile. It was nice to have this dream be a reality. This is it.

Christian Madsen

Are you more nervous to hear what fans of the books have to say about the film or people who aren’t as familiar with these characters and this universe?

Ben Lloyd-Hughes:

I’m more nervous about the die-hard fans because the people that aren’t familiar don’t have images already in their heads of who these characters are or who they want them to be. I luckily haven’t read too much online about who they’d rather cast. I’m hoping they won’t be disappointed and hopefully they’ll be pleased.

Christian Madsen:

I’m not nervous with fans as much because Veronica (Roth) was on-set the whole time. I know we did a good job telling the story from the book. For the non-fans, I just hope they understand that this is a book about growing-up. This is a book about getting over hurdles. This is a female’s journey in the story, but I can connect with what she’s going through. I’ve been through stuff like this in high-school. For me, Al (the character) was the one I connected with the most. I sort of grew-up since then (high-school), I’m taller and bigger but I didn’t take the sports route. I decided to do theater instead. So yeah . . . there’s a lot of elements to the story I connect with.

On-hand for the festivities was former St. Louis Cardinal Jack Clark and writer Ridley Pearson. One of Pearson’s works is about to open in St. Louis at the Peabody Opera House this Friday.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is a Tony award winning stage adaptation of a novel that Pearson wrote along with Dave Barry. He spoke with me about his love of the play and how “it feels like the book.”

He went on to claim, “I’ve seen the show 26 times but I will be there Friday night!”

Ridley Pearson with his daughters.

The red carpet St. Louis premiere was capped off with a packed-house screening of DIVERGENT. Look for the official We Are Movie Geeks review of the film in a few weeks. For now, I will say that judging by many responses after the film, it sounds like the film may have enlisted quite a few new recruits to DIVERGENT’s fan-base.

DIVERGENT is the first installment in the Divergent Trilogy, which were the top three best-selling books of 2013 according to USA Today.

The story is set within a future world where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities, and Tris Prior, played by Shailene Woodley, is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all Divergents, she must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it’s too late.

DIVERGENT is directed by Neil Burger from a screenplay by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor, based on the novel by Veronica Roth. The film stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Cortney, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, and Kate Winslet.

DIVERGENT OPENS IN THEATERS & IMAX MARCH 21, 2014

For more updates on DIVERGENT:

Official Site: http://DivergentTheMovie.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Divergent
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Divergent
Instagram: http://instagram.com/Divergent
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/Divergent/
Google+: https://google.com/+Divergent

POMPEII – The Review

Going into a film from the director of MORTAL KOMBAT, RESIDENT EVIL, and AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, one has to put aside any hope that POMPEII will be anything more than a mindless 3-D adventure. I mean . . . look at the title. The inevitable volcanic eruption is far from just hinted at in the advertising for the disaster flick. And while one could argue that the film is quite a bit late to the whole disaster film crazy unofficially reignited by Roland Emmerich, the film’s director seems to be a slave to a script that attempts to be much more than just the kitschy spectacle that the film’s title would imply.

POMPEII wants to have its dramatic cake and explode it too. The film takes itself way too seriously instead of embracing the ‘B-movie’ style that it should. For the first hour we are treated to the recycled story of a young boy being thrown into slavery and earning the approval of the common people. Milo, played by GAME OF THRONES veteran Kit Harington, unexpectedly falls in love with the princess of Pompeii (Emily Browning) while being transported to the city for gladiatorial combat. When we’re not witnessing him brooding in a cell or trying to avoid revealing his real name to his cell-mate, we are forced to witness some pseudo-political plot involving Carrie-Ann Moss, Jared Harris, and the truly unbelievable, Kiefer Sutherland. I say this only because he has reached a new level of unintentional goofiness that only Nicholas Cage can claim throne to. His sniveling one-note act as the obvious villain is at least entertaining partly due to his struggle to maintain an accent that seems inspired by Jeremy Irons’ “Simon” from DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE even though it sometimes sounds like Val Kilmer doing Doc Holliday.

To properly critique Kit Harington’s performance would imply he actually delivers a performance; such is not the case. Harrington is consistently on-screen during much of the film’s duration, but I’m left to wonder if he really, truly was there. I can only assume his emotional range must have been eclipsed by all the hard work he put into achieving his six-pack abs – which clearly was more of a priority than anything else. His chemistry with Emily Browning is no better. This wouldn’t have been as much of an issue for me if POMPEII wanted to just be a fun, explosion filled ‘B-movie.’ However, it tries to reach the emotional heights of TITANIC while incorporating the epic journey that we have seen in SPARTACUS, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, and GLADIATOR (just to name a few of the films POMPEII liberally borrows from). Anderson, whose strength lies in creating spectacle rather than igniting our hearts seems far more comfortable once the films settles into the last act. I looked at my watch and it was past the hour mark before the real main “character” bursts forth from the screen. As you would expect, fires erupt and volcanic rocks are thrown at the screen. The visuals that accompany the final 25 minutes are occasionally entertaining and are even a bit brutal given the film’s PG-13 rating – we are treated to civilians set ablaze and characters frequently stabbed or impaled. But have no fear, barely a drop of blood is shed in all of the catastrophic proceedings. I guess it’s ok to simulate fear, death, and destruction but to show any real effects would not be Paul W.S. Anderson’s style.

The poster displays the tagline “No warning. No escape.” As evident by the several occurrences where characters react to loud rumblings and large cracks in their GGI environment, this is obviously not the case. There are clear warnings to the characters and yet they repeatedly stand still, looking up at the fiery beast as if they have a chance at beating it. As filmgoers, we too should heed to the warnings that accompany most of Paul W.S. Anderson’s disposable video-game flicks and run from the imminent danger. Run as fast as you can.

OVERALL RATING: 2 OUT OF 5 STARS

ENDLESS LOVE (2014) – The Review

It states in the credits that ENDLESS LOVE is based on a novel by Scott Spencer. Some may even remember Brooke Shields in a film in the 80’s also by the same name featuring the iconic hit song by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. Though I doubt that the majority of the people who will see this new version of the film will know that this story of young love is taken from those sources. Even those who are familiar with them will have a hard time acknowledging that this is the same story. Outside of the names of the characters and the title, Shana Feste’s 2014 film ignores many of the darker themes from the source material in-lieu of a more accessible romance for today’s younger audience.

David (Alex Pettyfer) has always longed-for Jade Butterfield (Gabrielle Wilde) from afar during high-school. Now that the summer before college is upon them he decides to finally make his move. Her quiet and standoffish ways are quickly dropped as the two begin a summer of love. But her father’s imposing views on the world and his desire for her to be with someone more from high society seems to be getting in the way. Now it is up to Jade to decide what path she wants for her life.

For the first twenty minutes or so there are moments where you do begin to get enveloped in their relationship. Given the trend we often see in this genre, much of their actual love story is condensed in 30-second increments to the tune of a catchy indie rock song; I guess it’s good that I happen to like many of the songs featured here. But ENDLESS LOVE promotes such an ideal version of falling in love that you never truly see any form of the anxiety, apprehension, and awkwardness that typically accompanies young love. Having both teens be mostly normal and wholesome may not be a bad thing for the audience that this film will most likely attract. However this picture perfect couple is a far stretch from the disparaging reality of today’s high school life. The film is so squeaky clean that even when a group of teens say that they’re going to go get high and break into the zoo you don’t even see them smoke pot. Pettyfer’s working-class “bad boy” is anything but the bad apple you’d expect. But who needs harsh reality when you can watch slow motion montages and broad gestures of love. All of this almost becomes as tiresome as the hoops the story seems to jump through to create some form of drama for the hopelessly in love couple – because we all know parents just can’t accept young love. This tired plot device makes the majority of this film seem to drag on much more than it should.

One good thing is that the whole cast is actually better than you would think. Well . . . all except for one: Alex Pettyfer. The fact that he doesn’t even look close to the 18-year-old he is supposed to play is something that I never could get past. Even as the film progresses I was consistently reminded of this. On the other hand Gabriella Wilde has such a waifish and frail frame that she easily passes for the part – even if she’s technically older than Pettyfer in real life. She plays the part with rolled shoulders and a barely escaping smile at the onset, but as her character becomes more comfortable living life for herself, she seems to shed a new skin and practically glows on the screen. Even David’s buffoonish friend played by Dayo Okeniyi does a surprisingly good job and is somewhat memorable in the few scenes he’s given. Who helps elevate the melodrama in the last half of the movie the most though is Joely Richardson as Jade’s mother. Her characterization of a woman doubting her life decisions is a bit richer than the standard mid-life crisis that the script gives her to work with.

Shana Feste gives the film just enough heart to make this love affair not completely hopeless and directs the mediocre script with much style. I would say you kind of fall for the couple as they start to fall in love in the first third of the film. It’s just that my love for the film didn’t last for the whole drawn-out duration. Every requisite cliché you would expect in a film like this is put on display and made all the more dramatic through the not-so-subtle script that hits you over the head with it themes. That being said, I’m fully aware that ENDLESS LOVE wasn’t made for the film critics or for the married late twenties audience. Teenage girls will drag their high-school flings to the theaters this weekend in the hope that they too have captured the “lightning in a bottle” romance put forth on the screen. And although the two main characters aren’t as offensive or as vapid as some films of this nature, we still have to watch them go through the customary acts of love that we’ve all seen before . . . like make love next to a roaring fireplace in the middle of May. (sigh)

ENDLESS LOVE is in theaters Friday, February 14th, 2014

Author: Michael Haffner