Category: General News

So, we’re well past Summer and you action fans will have to wait many months before you can get your high-octane testosterone film fix. Nothin’ but serious, Oscar-bait prestige cinema out there, eh? Not quite! Thanks to an unlikely union of two action icons, you can snap that wishbone and then head to the multiplex for a whole lot more bone-snapin’ fun. That “Transporter” titan Jason Statham is zooming through those high-brow films this “turkey day” weekend. And he’s doing his thing right here in the US of A (or as he might refer to it “the colonies”). So, who’s that other icon? None other than his EXPENDABLES partner, Sylvester Stallone. According to reports, Sly had adapted the script as a starring vehicle for himself several years ago, but never got around to it. So, now it’s been dusted off, updated, and fashioned for the glowering Brit. Let’s see how Jason fares when faced with some Bayou-bred badguys as he defends the HOMEFRONT.

The film begins three years ago as undercover DEA man Phil Broker (Statham) takes down a drug-dealing biker gang led by “Danny T” (Chuck Zito). Flash forward to today as newly widowed Broker has retired from the force and has moved with his grade school-aged daughter Maddy (Izabela Vidovic) to his late wife’s bucolic Louisiana hometown. One day Maddy uses the self-defense methods learned from Daddy to take down a bully at the school playground. When Phil is called into the school, the bully’s mother Cassie (Kate Bosworth) harasses him and goads her hubby into trying to “sucker punch” Phil (much to the hubby’s humiliation). This sends Cassie to her Meth-dealing brother “Gator” Bodine (James Franco) and pleads with him to put a scare into the new town arrival. After two of his goons are pummeled by Phil, “Gator” breaks into the under-renovation Broker homestead and finds his old arrest files (including the big Danny T bust). This gives “Gator” an idea. He uses his old drug-dealer girlfriend Sheryl (Winona Ryder) to contact the still incarcerated Danny and give him the whereabouts of the man he has sworn to kill (and perhaps he’ll invite them into his even bigger drug ring). Soon Danny sends the remnants of his old biker gang lead by the vicious Cyrus (Frank Grillo) to the sleepy burg. Can Phil protect his little girl from this blood-thirsty pack of killers?

Well, as if! Statham is his usual glaring, cool, tightly wound hero who can unleash a flurry of blows while barely blinking. We wait in anticipation as he surveys the scene and mentally works out his moves as the thugs fail to intimidate him. He always gives the goons a chance to walk away, but do they listen? Unfortunately he’s not nearly as compelling when Broker attempts to bond with his daughter (“I miss Mommy too”) or cracks wise with his house-fixin’ pal. It’s just long intervals waiting for him to do his thing. Happily those intervals are broken up by Franco’s goofy,loopy take on a B-movie kingpin (is he checking off from a to-do list? “co-star in superhero franchise, check!” “star in classic kid flick, check!” and so on) as the wonderfully named “Gator” (“let’s combine the title of a 70’s Burt Reynolds classic with the last name of a TV hillbilly nitwit!”). His introductory scene as he gleefully pummels some teenage junkies with a baseball bat is inspired. For the rest of the film, Franco slinks about while squinting with oily menace. He seems to be enjoying his walk on the wild side, as do the actresses involved. Ryder exudes an earthy sensual vibe as Franco’s trashy bar maid/moll while Bosworth is a shrieking, motor-mouthed harpy as the angry, junky mother. The lovely Rachel Lefevre works well with Statham as a sympathetic school counselor (and potential love interest) but the character abruptly disappears before the last third of the flick. Grillo makes a convincing adversary while Clancy Brown is his usual engaging screen self as the town’s ineffectual sheriff.

Director Gary Fleder keeps the story moving forward and gives us a great view of the man-to-man matches while avoiding repetitive slow-motion and over-frenetic whiplash editing. In other words, we always know just what’s going on and who’s punching who. And the New Orleans scenery is pretty nice.Yeah, this is a goofball, grindhouse flick (and I think the producers know it) with an above average cast, but if you’re just looking to relax your brain after surviving the big family feast then HOMEFRONT may be just as tasty as Mom’s warm pumpkin pie (and a lot less fattening).

3.5 Out of 5

It’s Christmas time at the multiplex once again, this time a bit closer to the end of November. And like that early starter, this film has primarily an African-American cast. But unlike the “Best Man” group, this one’s a bit darker in tone. The folks in this new film aren’t frolicking in an NFL-funded grand mansion in New Jersey. For this new story we head to NYC, Harlem to be exact. Well, though the earlier flick did tackle the holiday beyond the colored lights and presents, the newest release spells it out right in the title. Let’s embrace the spirit of the season in BLACK NATIVITY.

Before we head to those cold Harlem streets, the film begins on the mean streets of Baltimore. There we meet a teenager named Langston (Jacob Latimore). He’s a good kid living with his single mother Naima (Jennifer Hudson), but times are tough. They’re going to be evicted from their cozy apartment soon after the holidays. In order to scramble several jobs in an effort to save their home, she puts her son on a bus to New York to spend the holidays with her estranged mother and father (he’s never met them or his own father). After a misunderstanding involving the law, Langston is welcomed into the home of his grandfather, the Reverend Cornell Cobbs (Forrest Whitaker) and his grandmother Aretha (Angela Bassett). As the days count down to the big Christmas Eve celebration at the family church, the young man meets a cynical, ex-con working at a nearby pawn shop, “Loot” (Tyrese Gibson), and is tempted to help his mother by criminal means. Will the spirit of Christmas direct him toward the right path?

The film is really told through the eyes of Latimore as the conflicted and often angry Langston. Poor guy never seems to catch a break as he’s uprooted and planted onto unknown dangerous soil. The gifted performer is able to handle the heavy dramatics and soulful singing expertly. Hudson’s role as his determined Mom is a bit heavier on song stylings as she conveys her desires to be with her boy at the holidays. But the real anchor of the story is Whitaker’s elegant take on the intelligent, thoughtful pastor who harbors a shameful past. His scenes with Latimore inject the film with a real spark. Gibson gives “Loot” a palpable sense of danger, especially as he growls the nickname “Lunch Money” at Langston. Later the tough guy softens considerably as he also faces up to his past mistakes. Bassett’s part as the doting grandmother/peacekeeper doesn’t give her much of a chance to display her singing or acting skills. Although featured predominately in the ads, Mary J Blige and rapper Nas really have brief cameo roles. More impressive in a brief scene is Vondie Curtis-Hall as the wise, incorruptible pawnbroker.

Screenwriter/director Kasi Lemmons (EVE’S BAYOU) gets great work from the aforementioned cast and has a keen eye in showcasing areas of the Big Apple not often seen on-screen (the decorations truly make the streets sparkle). But the plot verges on the theatrical with characters frequently making speeches instead of really conversing. Many of the songs feel like they’re clumsily shoe-horned into scenes while the extras freeze or roam about. Some of the stage mechanics continue as a noble street couple become Joseph and Mary in a dream sequence set in Times Square. Plus the big reveal/confrontation ending in front of the stunned congregation is unwieldy and awkward. The film makers have great intentions, but BLACK NATIVITY never frees itself from its literary and stage shackles. My Christmas wish is that these talents re-unite for more compelling cinematic efforts.

2.5 Out of 5