Review – Page 198 – We Are Movie Geeks

RACE (2016) – The Review

Hollywood knows that one genre is almost certain to get the audience’s blood pumping and pulse racing: the sports story. CREED certainly proved that a few months ago (you’d think audiences were watching a real live boxing match, judging from the all the cheering at the multiplex). Couple that on-screen excitement with a dramatic true story, and you’ve hopefully got a critical and box office hit. And while professional sports may be tainted and tarnished thanks to bad behavior and big bucks, the amateur athletes still have a purity and nobility about them. There have been plenty of college (WE ARE MARSHALL), high school (HOOSIERS), and even grade school (THE BAD NEWS BEARS) team tales, but for individual triumphs, the four-year spectacle, the Olympics, abound in stories of glory and drama. Well 2016 just so happens to be an olympic year, so the studios are launching the first of several such true tales of courage today. Next week I’ll be back with a charming, funny film fable from the 1988 Winter games, and in March we’ll get a raunchy fictional comedy set in that competitive backdrop. But for now, we travel all the way back to 1936, eighty years,for a film whose title has a double meaning: RACE.

The focus of RACE is the incredible story of that track and field wonder, African-American icon Jesse Owens (Stephan James). We meet him as he prepares to enroll at Ohio State University. Jesse packs his suitcase, dresses in his best (and only) suit, and says his goodbye to his family in their crowded rundown apartment in the slums of Cleveland. Ohio. And he also bids adieu to his longtime gal, beautician Ruth (Shanice Banton) and their two-year old (out-of-wedlock) daughter Gloria. Arriving on campus, he heads to the office of track and field coach Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis) to become part of the college team. Despite their awkward first meeting, Snyder is impressed by Owens’s school records and helps him land a part-time job as he trains him for the upcoming Big Ten meet in Ann Arbor (all while dealing with the rampant racism in the sports department). When Jesse breaks three world records(within an hour), his dreams of Olympic gold begin. Meanwhile in New York City, the United States Olympic Committee is engaged in a heated debate about the upcoming Summer games in Berlin, Germany. Jeremiah Mahoney (William Hurt) is horrified at the actions of Chancellor Adolf Hitler and believes the US should boycott the games, while Avery Brundage (Jeremy Irons) believes that the Olympics should put politics aside. It is decided that Avery will travel to Berlin and check out the atmosphere there. Meanwhile Jesse begins a fling with a nightclub regular, Quincella (Chantel Riley), that threatens to end his relationship to Ruth and derail his sports career. Luckily he gets his priorities straight while German officials assure Avery that all will be in order (this after he observes their brutal treatment of the Jewish community), and is introduced to the film maker that will chronicle the games, Leni Riefenstahl (Carice van Houten) for the feature film OLYMPIA. But will the local organizers keep their promises of “fair play” when Jesse and the rest of the American team arrive in Berlin?

As Owens, Stephan James projects strength and determination helping us comprehend the real man’s incredible achievements. Through his eyes and body language we see how this gifted man had to temper himself while navigating through a society that embraced his accomplishments while denigrating him for his color. Even as he takes a walk on the wild side with his “jazz baby” temptress, James still goes us a hero that we can applaud (the dalliance makes him more human) despite his foibles. Sudeikis breaks free of his motor-mouthed, wise guy comic persona as Coach Snyder. He’s a man of deep regret (we learn during a terrific monologue) who vows to guide Owens to fulfill the promise that Snyder himself squandered. All the while he becomes a surrogate father to Owens, one who bristles and barks back at the ignorant while Owens must remain silent. Irons as Brundage is all businessman as the sight of Nazi brutality disgusts him. His admiration for the Olympic ideals too often blinds him to the injustices behind the scenes. Ultimately, he submits too easily. Hurt shines in a role that is basically a cameo (despite the billing in the ads), his Mahoney knows that Hitler only wishes to use the games to glorify and promote his own agenda. Ms. van Houten, like James, is determined not to let her hard work and talents be exploited. Though Goebbels and his goons try to thwart her, Leni wants to tell the whole story with no filters.

Director Stephens Hopkins does a good job at keeping the story coherent while maintaining a steady pace. Unfortunately the script from Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel attempts to tell too many tales at once, any of which could have been made into separate movies. There’s the whole debate within the committee, the wheeling and dealing between Germany and Brundage, and certainly the making of OLYMPIA could make for interesting films. The constant interruptions detract from the Owens story. It doesn’t help that we only meet him after his teenage years, which doesn’t tell us just how his running and jumping prowess began (plus there’s the whole romance with Ruth plus their then scandalous behavior) . And aside from a brief mid credit scene, we don’t see Owens’s life after the gold medals (we know he’s part of a great joke in BLAZING SADDLES, but …). The 1930’s are expertly recreated with vintage fashions and autos, while CGI convincingly places us next to Jesse inside that massive studium with thousands looking down. Plus those track performances (especially the long jump) are inspiring in their visual power. Fewer subplot negotiations and more athletics would have made RACE as light on its feet as the miraculous Mr. Owens himself.

3 Out of 5

RISEN – The Review

RISEN is a modest but engaging riff on the old post-crucifixion Easter legend as told through the eyes of a non-believer. In 33 AD Jerusalem, Roman occupiers are under threat of a Jewish uprising. The Jews claim a Nazarene named Yeshua (aka Jesus – played by Clifton Curtis) is the Messiah, so Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) promptly has him crucified, then orders Roman officer Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) to witness the execution and help dispose of the body. Three days later Jesus’ corpse has vanished from its cave tomb, though the entrance was blocked with a boulder and watched by guards. Pilate orders Clavius and Lucius (Tom Felton), to find Jesus and his disciples at all costs, for fear that if they don’t quickly produce a corpse, the Jews will rise up. Thus begins a manhunt of biblical proportions.

RISEN is the latest Christian-friendly production from (now Sony-owned) Affirm Films, which has produced such churchy fare as FACING THE GIANTS and WAR ROOM. While these do well with their target audiences, they usually aren’t screened for critics, who tend to savage them when given the chance. A more ambitious and less preachy Christian story, RISEN should be somewhat better received. Presenting the story as a mystery is a clever move and showing it from the viewpoint of a character not found in the Bible is a good way of giving the familiar story a fresh perspective, forcing viewers to cast off their own preconceived notions of how this legend should be told. Director Kevin Reynolds has a proven knack for action and thrills, having helmed the underrated WATERWORLD (really!) and the overlooked 1988 tank crew drama THE BEAST. Clavius is introduced in a vigorously-directed (if bloodless) opening battle scene but Reynolds also does a good job in more quiet moments like the key one where Clavius first lays eyes on the smiling savior, surrounded by joyous disciples, who he had last seen dead on the cross.

Unfortunately, once Clavius is confronted with the reality of Christ’s return, RISEN becomes less interesting, settling into an episodic retelling of those Jesus miracles that we learned back in Sunday school. “Throw the net on the left side of the boat!” he instructs his starving followers, and sure enough, an abundance of fish magically appears. Then there he is laying hands on the leper. It’s the way in which the filmmakers try to extend the story that gives it the feeling of a film that really isn’t going anywhere at all. Nonetheless, Fiennes (who looks like he’s been hitting the gym since SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE) does a lot of good work with the material. He brings plenty of energy too, not just in the opening battle sequence but when he gets to deliver meaningful dialogue. He creates an intensity that really powers the whole story. New Zealand-born Maori actor Clifton Curtis is an interesting casting choice as Jesus, definitely the swarthiest depiction of Christ in recent memory. It’s not a big part, but Curtis is a powerful presence. Cinematography, costumes, and other tech credits are first-rate yet RISEN still can’t shake that bland, TV-movie sheen and shallow script that often plague these Christian films. But this won’t matter to its target audience, the ones that will likely make it a modest hit, and they will leave the film satisfied.

3 of 5 Stars

TOUCHED WITH FIRE – The Review

Review by Dana Jung

Two powerful performances dominate the new film TOUCHED WITH FIRE, which examines the sometimes blurry line between genius and madness. Carla (Katie Holmes, who also co-produced) and Marco (Luke Kirby, seen recently on TVs RECTIFY) are two creative and restless poets who are also bi-polar. They each display an almost obsessive need to write and perform their verse at local poetry bars. After a chance meeting attending group therapy in the mental ward of a hospital, the two find in each other a kindred spirit with a common bond—the burning need to create.

Though not really a film version of the book TOUCHED WITH FIRE, the film is informed by the basic themes of that work. Published in 1993, and subtitled “Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament,” TOUCHED WITH FIRE was written by Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University. Much of her work shows incredible insight into the condition of manic-depressive behavior (she herself suffered from the disorder, which she details in her other books), and TOUCHED WITH FIRE contains several case studies of famous artists, writers, and other creative people—including Lord Byron, one of the great Romantic poets.

Around these themes, writer-director Paul Dalio has made a thoughtful, touching, and beautifully acted film that asks many questions with no easy answers. What is the relationship between artistic expression and some types of dementia? Can we have true art without the influence of at least some sort of non-normal perception of reality? How responsible are creative people to live a life of normalcy, with the responsibilities of jobs, homes, and families? Almost mirroring the highs and lows of typical bi-polar behavior, the film tells the story from both sides. We see the “manic” exuberance of two people falling in love amid fantastical elements in lovely, visually wonderful scenes at the mental hospital. Later, we witness the depression and dark moods as the realities of parental pressure and the stress of a committed relationship deepen. Holmes is a naturally gifted actress who totally loses herself in the role of Carla. Wearing little makeup, with an almost haggard expression from her terminal sleeplessness, Holmes rides the mood swings of Carla with great depth and passion. From the scene of her first interaction with her mother (Christine Lahti in fine support), when Carla chokingly asks, “When did it start? What caused it?” we are rooting for her to find the answers we know she never will. Kirby is equally impressive, whether he’s spouting the most intellectual yet paranoid rap poetry we’ve ever heard, or trying to fight through his illness for the sake of Carla.

After the highs, when we come to the lows of the love story, the film raises its central question: Is manic-depressive behavior a gift, to be set free and nurtured, or is it an illness, to be medicated and controlled? TOUCHED WITH FIRE seems to see the value in both points of view, and even presents the notion that both may be necessary in some form in order to create lasting works of art. And as both an adult romantic drama, and as a study of the effects of bi-polar behavior on artistic expression, TOUCHED WITH FIRE succeeds admirably.

4 of 5 Stars

TOUCHED WITH FIRE opens February 19th in St. Louis exclusively at Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater

THE WITCH – The Review

When the title of a film basically tells you what to expect, it’s sometimes hard to be surprised or shocked by the content of a film. This is both an advantage and disadvantage in THE WITCH. Yes, there’s a witch(es) but how they function in the story is different than what you might expect. THE WITCH is less interested in showcasing occult rituals and cackling hags – though a few scenes brilliantly showcase this. It’s more interested in using the fear of a witch to illustrate paranoia and mistrust within a family. Robert Eggers strives for more than just straight-up horror in his directorial debut. Therein lies a minor problem for genre fans. Yes, as the title states, there is a witch(es). You just might be surprised that THE WITCH isn’t necessarily a terrifying tale of she-devils on the prowl. Then again… that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes fewer shocks can be a pleasant surprise.

William (Ralph Ineson), his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie), his daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), his son Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), his twins Mercy and Jonas (Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson) and baby Sam, are all banished from New England as the film begins. They start their own farm on the outskirts, but sadly, they fail to produce corn. Even worse, baby Sam is taken one afternoon right from under the nose of Thomasin. The family initially believes a wolf snatched the newborn and took him into the woods. However, fear of a witch in the woods quickly takes hold of the family, which then transforms into Thomasin being accused of signing the devil’s contract.

It’s hard to just say that THE WITCH feels authentic. The efforts put forth to make this film feel accurate is exceptional. From the ragged costumes, to the cobbled together barns, to the language spoken throughout, Eggers goes to great lengths to live up to the subtitle of the film, “A New-England folktale.” So much so that viewers might find it hard to understand the tense conversations between the family. The words are so deeply rooted in old-world phrases that it is often a struggle to decipher exactly what they are saying. Considering film is a visual medium, of course it’s easy to follow the story – it’s a simple enough plot. However, aspects of the theme and deeper meanings may be lost in translation.

Eggers draws stellar performances from his entire cast as he builds a subtle tale of isolation and fear. Each actor develops a fully formed character that is dealing with demons. Eggers is quick to point out that many of these personal fears stem from the Puritan, God-fearing religion that has been ingrained in them. This is especially true of the father figure played by Ralph Ineson. The heavy heart he carries and the responsibility he has to his family weigh considerably on him. Deep wrinkles are etched into his face and his eyes are filled with despair. He delivers each line with a deep guttural groan as he plays a ringleader of sorts to this talented cast.

Kid actors are always hard to cast. Often their inexperience hampers a film and makes it feel like they are acting on camera – not necessarily telling a story. All four children here feel like they were raised during this period. Anya Taylor-Joy carries the largest burden of the bunch. Aside from having the most screentime, she’s given the difficult task to make the audience speculate whether some of her family’s suspicions of witchy behavior are validated.

When THE WITCH conjures up the spooky imagery, it does so with such a pure and classic horror style. Without delving into too many specifics, some of the images seem like old wood carving prints straight out of that one book you weren’t supposed to look at when you were 10 yrs. old. Once again, Eggers gives the hair-raising imagery a look that is rooted in the time period without relying on modern horror cliches. The finale alone delivers sights that will haunt your dreams for a very long time.

THE WITCH drips with dread. What it lacks in scares, it makes up for in genuine fear. It’s the fear of the unknown; the fear of losing your family’s trust; and the fear of living in a world where religious rule is just as terrifying as what’s lurking deep in the woods.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

THE WITCH opens in theaters February 19

STOMPING GROUND – The Review

Review by Stephen Tronicek

STOMPING GROUND is a compelling and entertaining movie that still seems like a missed opportunity. It’s well acted, intense and uses the Jaws effect ( hiding the monster until the end), but it falls into the pitfall of just being good enough so easily that you realize why it could have been great pretty quickly.

However that’ll be saved for later since this is in fact a movie review not a movie “they should have done this,” and to that matter director Dan Reisner has crafted quite a good Bigfoot movie here. The film is about a Chicago guy, and his girlfriend who go to the Southern town she grew up in, and then camping to the woods with a couple of childhood friends in the interest of hunting Bigfoot. It sounds like the premise for some random 50’s horror film, and it’s pretty silly but the focussed emotions of the film help raise it up. The film is 80 minutes but doesn’t feel 30 because the central theme of the men fighting over the girlfriend stretches throughout the entire movie causing it all to gel. It’s good the focus is on that theme too. Every time something about Bigfoot is brought up the film takes on a silly veneer (it is Bigfoot after all), but the strong focus on this main plot makes for a more assured film than one might expect. The true acting skill required of actors John Bobeck and Tarah DeSpain makes for quite a show too. The film is so focussed on their central relationship that it becomes inherently important we believe it, and their chemistry is excellent.

But it’s the focus on this relationship that ultimately makes the film only good when it could have been so much more. All the possible drama comes from this relationship reaching a breaking point but the side characters don’t really get more to do then hit on the girlfriend and talk the crazy Bigfoot babble. All this leads to is the thought that there’s a wealth of potential drama that could have come from the group losing it under the pretense of a mythical monster being near them, but the film never goes that route. What’s there certainly isn’t bad but the film seems game for gore effects and this combined with more psychological horror could have made a great film.

STOMPING GROUND is a fine film, but it’s a film that might have be better if it had taken full advantage of it’s enticing premise. Still for 80 minutes it’s much better than any other Bigfoot movie you could come across.

TUMBLEDOWN – The Review

A rock journalist (Jason Sudeikis) obsessed with the death of musical idols and their legacy – a compelling argument could be made that Chuck Klosterman served as inspiration for the character – discovers that there is more to life than extending adoration long after death. Hannah (played in a strong and stern manner by Rebecca Hall) is the widow of the popular folk hero. Now with his passing, she has more time to focus on herself and her own writing without having to be in the shadow of her great singer-songwriter husband. When Andrew approaches Hannah about writing a biography about her late husband, she’s initially reluctant, but the two eventually agree and take a stroll down memory lane.

Desiree and Desi Van Til along with director Sean Mewshaw have written a tender story that occasionally waxes philosophical about the artistic process and life after death through two different viewpoints looking at the same person – Hannah who views him as a friend and partner and Andrew who sees a fallen musical idol. It’s a role that could have come across as too slimy and manipulative if it weren’t played delicately by Sudekis. He comes across as genuine and affable, thanks to him toning down his typically boisterous personality. I never really saw Sudeikis as a leading man type before – he always seemed more like the crude and obnoxious best friend in a sex comedy – but he really earns his romantic-lead stripes here.

Even though TUMBLEDOWN avoids some of the romantic pitfalls in lieu of a more thoughtful display of a woman coping with a terrible loss while attempting to find her own path, the film finally succumbs to a quintessential trope in the end. Sure, the path that the characters eventually go down was hinted at, but it would have been a far more compelling finale (not to mention, one that would be better fitted to Hannah’s personality) if she would have took the road less traveled.

The quaint Maine town creates a lovely backdrop for a story that mainly focuses on where to go next when you’re seemingly lost in the woods. Hannah’s strong survival instinct masks the vulnerable side that she hides away in her cabin isolated in the woods. Sean Mewshaw’s modest picture isn’t afraid to deal with real emotions and conflicting feelings about love, loss, and moving on. For the majority of its breezy duration, TUMBLEDOWN sidesteps being the type of book you read on an airplane to pass the time. To put it in musical terms given the subject, it would be like going to a concert and witnessing a carefully staged and crafted performance, and then the band ending on the greatest hits song that everyone knows and can sing along with that you have heard so many times before.

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

TUMBLEDOWN is now playing in select cities

WHERE TO INVADE NEXT – The Review

Filmmaker Michael Moore returns to a more comic touch with WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, an election-season-perfect tour of life in other developed countries which maybe Moore’s funniest in years. Moore’s last film, CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY, took a rather grim look at America’s economic system but WHERE TO INVADE NEXT recalls Moore’s earlier playful troublemaker, uncovering ironies and overlooked facts, as he did in BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE and ROGER AND ME, although this film continues some thoughts from previous films. In WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, Moore starts with the U.S.’s penchant react with military force, and fashions himself into a one-man army to “invade” various countries on America’s behalf in order to “take things we need.” In this case, those countries are other developed nations and those things are not oil or other resources but their good ideas to solving our myriad domestic problems. The odd thing Moore uncovers is that most of these good ideas actually originated in the good ol’ USA.

Michael Moore is a “love him or hate him” filmmaker. There are plenty of folks on the “hate him” side, who might steam at the very thought of Moore’s films, seethe at calling them documentaries or even call Moore “unpatriotic.” On the other side are those who delight in his satirical and stunt-filled style of uncovering of facts behind issues and see his version of lefty truth-telling as patriotic. Although Moore has little interest in presenting the other side’s view in his films, and some find Moore’s stunts irritating, there is no denying he often focuses on issues many people are thinking about and hits on a few unpleasant truths.

People who dislike Moore are unlikely to go see any of his films, and this one is no exception. But for those who take the opposite view of Moore, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT has much to offer.

The film opens with Moore “meeting” with the heads of branches of the U.S. military, and after noting their lack of success in winning wars in recent decades (“not even bringing back Iraq’s oil” – comments sure to enrage right-wingers), Moore offers his services as a one-man army, to invade other countries and “take what we need.” Of course, that is all comedy and what he means to “take” are good ideas to solve the nation’s domestic problems – such as failing schools, poor childhood nutrition, lack of access to healthcare, student loan debt, an overloaded prison system, and other issues.

Moore may have taken the idea for this film from the end of SICKO, where Moore “invades” Cuba in search of healthcare for all. Healthcare is part of this film too but this time Moore is looking for more. There is a kind of travelogue aspect to the film, as Moore “invades” Italy, France, Norway, and Sweden, among others – “countries with names I can mostly pronounce” and with a higher level of middle-class satisfaction than this nation has. In Italy, Moore finds happy employees with generous vacations and factory owners concerned about their well-being. In France, he finds grade-school kids who are served healthy, four-course meals (on real plates) by the “lunch ladies” as if they are dining in restaurants. In Slovenia, he finds free college education for all (even Americans living there), and in Norway, top-notch education in public schools where children are encouraged to play. Other countries have prison systems that aim to rehabilitate offenders or banking systems that punished the malefactors in the global economic melt-down and have been re-organized to benefit all citizens.

Moore also tackles the oft-cited issue of higher taxes in these other developed nations, correctly pointing out that residents of those countries get a whole lot of services for a little more in taxes, whereas Americans spend far more by paying for services like childcare and healthcare from private providers. Further, those other taxpayers get an itemized list of where their tax dollars go, something progressive and even some libertarians have been asking the U.S. government to do for years. As Moore’s film shows, such an American taxpayer receipt would reveal that, apart from Social Security and Medicare, about half the taxes Americans pay go to the military.

All this is done with an impish, flag-waving sense of fun, even though Moore is making some hard-hitting points. In an election year where voters on both sides are unhappy with politics as usual, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT provides an entertaining and thought-provoking look at how other countries solve these problems.

WHERE TO INVADE NEXT Opens Friday, February 12^th at the Plaza Frontenac and Tivoli.

OVERALL RATING: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS

ZOOLANDER 2 – The Review

If the sheer number of celebrity cameos could make a comedy funny, ZOOLANDER 2 would be hilarious. It is not. In fact, ZOOLANDER 2 is a dull, overloaded slog that it is more likely to evoke snores than laughs.

Even for those who loved the original, ZOOLANDER 2 (also known as “Zoolander No. 2,” in a little Chanel reference that illustrates the film’s level of cliche comedy) does not offer much and tops the list as candidate for this year’s most unneeded sequel. Oh, there are a few chuckles in this follow-up to Ben Stiller’s send-up of dim-witted models and the fashion world, but there are just not enough of them to keep the audience awake through most of this slow-moving, plot-heavy movie. The movie is basically made up of quoted song lyrics, and movie references and cliches, and several plots, all seasoned with a mind-boggling number of celebrity cameos.

ZOOLANDER 2 may have more cameos that any other recent film. These cameos feature not only actors but musicians, pop culture personalities, TV news figures and even actual fashion industry icons. The list ranges from Justin Bieber to Sting to Willie Nelson, from Benedict Cumberbatch to John Malkovich to Susan Sarandon, and from astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson to actual fashion icons Anna Wintour and Tommy Hilfiger (what are the odds a project would feature both Tyson and Wintour?). Actually, the film’s few comic moments are generally linked to these familiar names and faces popping up in some unexpected place. Some of the cameos are mere walk-ons but others are more extended, like Benedict Cumberbatch’s bit as a transgender fashion model named All. The vast array of cameos might entice some to see ZOOLANDER 2 but, remember, you have to sit through a whole dull film to see them.

In ZOOLANDER 2, “ridiculously good-looking” but dim-witted male fashion models Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) set out to get their fashionista mojo back after a decade and a half out of the business. The one-time top models’ style have not changed but the fashion world has moved on without them, as they discover when they show up to work a runway fashion show in Rome for top-designer Alexanya Atoz (Kristen Wiig). Before traveling to Rome, Derek had been in hiding, living like a “hermit crab,” after losing custody of his son, Derek, Jr. (Cyrus Arnold), following the death of his wife, who was killed when the building housing his “Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too” collapsed on her. Once in Rome, Derek and Hansel are contacted by Interpol, who are trying to figure out who is killing pop celebrities. They are assigned to Valentina Valencia (Penelope Cruz), an agent in the fashion division of Interpol (yep, the fashion police).

Of course, neither Stiller nor Wilson are “ridiculously good-looking,” which is part of the joke as Derek and Hansel lead us on a smirking if remarkably tame fashion-and-pop culture romp while the two has-been models try to bring their 20th century style back into fashion. Like the original, Ben Stiller directed and co-wrote ZOOLANDER 2, which reunites him and Wilson in their dumb-and-dumber fashion model shtick, with Will Farrell also returning as strangely-coiffed villain Mugato. The movie opens with perhaps its best scene, an action-movie chase that ends with Justin Bieber riddled with bullets outside Sting’s house in Rome, and an overwrought death scene that terminates with a dying Bieber sharing one last selfie before he goes. When Zoolander finally finds his son, he is horrified that the boy is fat – the ultimate fashion crime. The boy, who is smart, is equally horrified his father is so dumb.

All this preposterous stuff could have been fun but ZOOLANDER 2 both overloads the movie with too many plots and mishandles the comedy. Some scenes are played too straight or low-key,and the movie lingers too long on bits that are not working while tossing in new comic bits like pies flying through the air in a Keystone silent comedy, bits of humor that get buried before the film can exploit any actual comic potential. Rather than poking fun at the fashion industry, the fashion industry is in on the joke this time around. ZOOLANDER 2 mixes a James Bond-ish thriller with a redemption tale of reconnecting with Zoolander’s estranged son while the two models make a fashion world comeback. The movie also blends in bits of other movie genres and individual films, including a spoof of soul-searching dramas. The mashed-up story keeps adding twists, absurdities and song-and-movie references (as well as the ever-increasing number of cameos) until the whole overloaded mess topples over – like a 7-year-old’s build-it-yourself sundae, so loaded with toppings and whipped cream that it becomes an unappetizing sight.

If Ben Stiller’s aim is to transition to directing, this style of comedy might not be his best choice. Stiller does have talent, as shown in his subtler, more effective comic touch in Noah Baumbach’s “While We’re Young.” He might do better directing something in that sly, smart style of humor rather than this movie’s obvious, overworked vein of comedy. Or maybe go back to TROPIC THUNDER, for the silly side.

ZOOLANDER 2 is a true stinker, the kind of unfunny, nap-inducing comedy likely to be a future Razzie nominee. Even if you liked the first ZOOLANDER, and Ben Stiller’s work generally, film-goers might want to skip this one, unless they just feel the urge to nap in a movie theater.

ZOOLANDER 2 OPENS NATIONWIDE ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12

OVERALL RATING: 1 OUT OF 5 STARS

HOW TO BE SINGLE – The Review

Okay fellow film fans, are we ready for another flick attempting to replicate the BRIDESMAIDS box office bonanza? Hollywood has been frantically trying to clone that hit since it astounded the nay-sayers nearly five years ago. Back then none of the studio chiefs believed that audiences would flock to an “R” rated comedy that primarily focused on a group of woman (and mostly TV actresses at that!). Its success turned supporting player Melissa McCarthy into an “above the title” film star who headlines at one major comedy each year (she’s nearly a film franchise on her own). Now the execs want to tap into a slightly younger market, maybe the Rogen/Franco/Hill late 20’s crowd, but just a tad older than THAT AWKWARD MOMENT. And they’re banking on one of the minor BRIDESMAIDS players, the Aussie firecracker that stole scenes from lead Kristen Wiig, Rebel Wilson, who later headlined the PITCH PERFECT flicks. She’s now dishing out sage advice to Dakota (FIFTY SHADES OF GREY) Johnson on HOW TO BE SINGLE.

Wilson practically explodes off the screen when the film begins. As Robin she’s a one woman party, always on the move, and bouncing from club to club in NYC. But then the film abruptly backtracks to the story’s main focus, recent college grad Alice (Johnson). We first encounter her as a freshman when she has a “meet cute” with future beau Josh (Nicholas Braun). Jump to graduation as she tells a crest-fallen Josh that she wants to take a “break” from their relationship. After all, she’s moving to the “big apple” and wants to keep her options open. Josh begrudgingly agrees. Alice crashes at the plush apartment of her single big sis, Meg (Leslie Mann), a hard-working obstetrician, then begins a paralegal gig at a big law firm, where receptionist Robin introduces her to the singles scene, mainly the “do’s and the “don’ts”. One of the “do’s” is a hunky bartender Tom (Anders Holm). He’s slingin’ drinks while verbally sparring with the pub’s upstairs neighbor Lucy (Alison Brie). She’s taking advantage of the free Wi-fi essential to her determined online search for “Mr. Right”. Meanwhile Meg suddenly comes down with “baby fever” and searches for a “donor”. This later complicates her fling with the decade or so younger Ken (Jake Lacy). As for her kid sis, will Alice re-unite with Josh once she has “sewn her wild oats” or will she embrace Robin’s “wild style”?

Though Wilson is most prominently featured in the ads and TV spots, this is really the story of Johnson’s Alice (she takes over the film’s narration from Robin early on). The talented second (no, third) generation actress helped make GREY more tolerable than it deserved which serves this often sluggish script well. Her screen presence makes the flighty, impulsive Alice somewhat sympathetic. As mentioned earlier, Wilson is a comedic force of nature making Robin’s irresponsible antics (blacking out drunk and waking in a stranger’s bedroom is more dangerous than wacky) a touch more palatable. For several scenes she comes off merely as a less musical cousin to PITCH’s Amy (both make men turn to jelly). Unfortunately, like many award show comic hosts, she just disappears from the stage for great clumps of time (at lest 20 minutes it seems), making the producers guilty of “bait and switch” marketing. Mann builds on the mature, no-nonsense character she’s aced in her hubby’s flicks (especially THIS IS 40), and beams as the woman who decides to travel down a different path (and she can really draw blood with her verbal jabs). These ladies fare much better than the very talented Ms. Brie (so fabulous as Annie on TV’s “Community”), whose comic skills are wasted with the ludicrous, lazily conceived Lucy. Why can’t she be as sharp and smart as the other characters? And to top it off, just as in last year’s trifle SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE, Brie must again behave inappropriately in front of a gaggle of toddlers! C’mon! The male actors have even less to work with, script-wise. This hampers the gifted Damon Wayans Jr. as a “could have been interesting” suitor for Alice, whose story arc seems brutally cut short. Braun is an affable boy next door who at least gets to move past being Alice’s doormat (unfortunately right into “Jerktown”). Holm is never completely convincing as an irresistible “babe magnet” and seems like a revamp of TV’s sitcom stud Sam “Mayday” Malone, particularly in exchanges with Brie there’s a big “Cheers” vibe (but not nearly as clever). The best of the boys may be the energetic and charming Lacy (perhaps the only bright light of the dismal LOVE THE COOPERS) who has a real leading man comic charisma (check out OBVIOUS CHILD). May he find a film more worthy of his talents…the future of the “rom com” just may depend on him.

The best that can be said about the whole “she-bang’ is that it’s a bright candy-colored “infomercial” for Manhattan with cute shops and fun, safe bars on every corner and no piles of garbage in sight…ever! This helps peg this flick as the wilder kid sister of the SEX AND THE CITY films and TV series (heck, Meg references that HBO hit). The tepid direction is definitely high-end tube style (aside from a nicely framed shot of Alice alone on a fire escape) with far too many montages (Alice and Robin having fun shopping, Meg tends to her patients, Lucy endures lousy dates, Alice decorates her new digs) set to turgid pop tunes. Once again, just as in the PITCH flicks, Wilson is used as an easy laugh, to energize the flagging pace. When one scene falls flat cut to Robin, the boozing, toking, fornicating live action blond Tasmanian Devil. In the last act she is almost humanized by delivering a “wake-up call” to Alice (finally good advise!), but it doesn’t quite mesh with the previous debauchery. As I mentioned earlier, the sloppy subplot with Alice and David tries to invoke pathos, but it seems rushed. Perhaps the Lucy scenes could have been jettisoned (her desperate debacles are tiresome) to give it room to breathe and be truly moving. Or it might just feel as flat as most of the film. Rebel is often raunchy fun, but there’s really no need to mingle with HOW TO BE SINGLE. As they say in “speed-dating”…next!

2 Out of 5

DEADPOOL – The Review

There comes a point in any movie when there’s too much of a good thing. Even though the “Merc with a Mouth” won me over right from the beginning with a hilarious self-aware opening credits sequence, the film itself comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome. Thankfully though, I welcome this hard R take on the foulmouthed assassin thanks in large part to the devilishly charming Ryan Reynolds.

He’s talked about how he has tried to get this film made for seven years, and the enthusiasm Reynolds has for the character is evident in every second he’s on screen. Even when he’s hidden beneath the red and black spandex mask, Reynolds is bursting with energy and delivering the larger than life personality that the character demands. However, what might surprise those going into DEADPOOL expecting nothing but the tongue-lashing and butt-kicking that the title character no doubt delivers is the amount of heart that is at the center of the film. Sure, he calls Colossus a “chrome-plated cock-gobbler,” but he also has a genuine and loving relationship that makes DEADPOOL more than just Marvel’s R rated anti-hero.

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a mercenary who would rather look out for a girl being harassed than just killing for sport. But that’s not to say he doesn’t take great sarcastic joy in his sadistic work. When he meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) he has someone to provide light in his dark life. The light she brings starts to extinguish when Wilson is diagnosed with cancer. Through an experimental surgery that is supposed to help him, Wilson becomes physically disfigured but yet somehow granted extraordinary healing powers (why he can’t cure his burns all over his body is beyond me). He resorts to the moniker of Deadpool along with a red and black spandex suit so he can go after the men who did this to him while still hiding his ugly visage from his beautiful Vanessa.

I’ve seen my fair share of comic book styled action scenes already – even the more extreme sequences thanks to films like KICK-ASS and KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE. So what makes DEADPOOL stand apart is not the slow-motion blood spurts or impalings or shots to the head, it’s the elements that don’t necessarily rely on vulgarity that make this stand apart from the pack. The relationship between Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin is unorthodox but remarkably sweet. Their first interaction is a perfect analogy for the film as a whole – it begins with highly inappropriate lines of dialogue, but once the shock wears off you are genuinely enamored with the characters.

What also helps to break the monotony of the Marvel formula that I recently felt with the insufferable ANT-MAN is the the use of a broken timeline. Intercut with a slow-motion ballet of mayhem on a highway overpass, is the backstory of our punchy title character. Typically, you get the pre-superhero scenes, then the tragic accident, then the slow transformation into hero, then struggle then fight then struggle, and finally capping it all off with an epic battle. Most of those beats are still all here, but shuffling the deck a little bit adds slightly more suspense as to what will be revealed next.

Fans of the comic will love that the character still talks through the panel, or in this case the screen as well as openly talking about pop-culture references, other characters, or the fact that you are watching a Marvel film with so small of a budget that they couldn’t get any of the real X-Men to show up. The level of which the self-aware humor working for you will depend on how much fanboy glee you get from him making fun of Wolverine or other such examples likes the sacrilegious version of the character that showed up in a previous film. DEADPOOL borders on trying too hard, but Reynolds’ commitment to the role and his dirty comments are occasionally clever and frequently charming. The one-liners come at an almost dizzying speed, but it’s when DEADPOOL slows down that we see that it is more than just obscene… it’s obscenely marvelous.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

DEADPOOL is now playing in theaters everywhere

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OVERALL RATING: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS

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OVERALL RATING: 1 OUT OF 5 STARS

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