HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT screens in St. Louis Friday through Sunday at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium at 7:30pm
Review by Stephen Tronicek
A great alternative name for Kent Jones’s explosively entertaining HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT would be “Reasons Why Alfred Hitchcock was Awesome.” It may seem unprofessional to go about it like that, but that’s what the film truly is. It’ll play better to those who actually care about why Hitchcock was awesome, but to those that do it’s a slice of encouraging and fulfilling documentary filmmaking.
HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT is a film buff’s movie but the blend of analysis, and interpretation of all of Hitchcock’s work is quite exciting. There’s an optimistic energy that fuels what makes filmmaking such a viable and entertaining craft behind HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT . On top of that the fact that interviewees like Martin Scorsese and Wes Anderson show up to share in this makes the film even more entertaining. Hitchcock clips are exciting by themselves, but when you have directors that are preaching to the choir the entire time the clips transcend their original conception. That said it’s probably better if you are a member the choir. There’s also a palpable optimism in the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock, and Francois Truffaut. The documentary is based on Truffaut’s own book on Hitchcock written off a series of interviews between the directors. They became good friends and all the synergy of filmmaking and their friendship is on camera.
It’s this warmth that fuels an otherwise low key documentary. For all the narrative and tonal jest of the film – and the pedigree that is behind it– HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT is surprisingly visually bland in its approach to documentary filmmaking. This visual style contrasts how creative Sacha Gervasi’s HITCHCOCK was in its portrayal of events and its stylistic choices. Of course the dramatic portrayal of Gervasi’s film would automatically be more compelling, but there still could have been a more creative use of imagery in HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT. The energy here is enough to hold the audience, but the visuals are not.
HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT provides some of the most satisfying Hitchcock worship that one can find. It holds the excitement and beauty of film and highlights the triumph of one of the greatest directors of all time.
WaterTower Music has released a 90 second sample track titled “Men Are Still Good (The Batman Suite)” from Zack Snyder’s upcoming film, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE.
In case you missed the first track released, listen to it below.
WaterTower Music has announced the March 18 release of the soundtrack to the upcoming feature film BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, a collaborative effort by film composers Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL (aka Tom Holkenborg).
Available digitally, on CD, 2-disc deluxe CD, and on Limited Edition 3-disc deluxe vinyl. The album is available for preorder now. The 2-CD deluxe package, the digital deluxe version, and the 3-disc deluxe vinyl set feature over 90 minutes of music, five bonus tracks, and exclusive fold-out poster and liner notes from the composers. Additionally, the vinyl set features etched vinyl art and an album download card.
“Junkie XL is an incredibly insightful film composer. It was a perfect idea for us to work together on the ‘Batman v Superman’ score,” explained Academy-Award-winning composer Zimmer. Grammy nominee Junkie XL showed equal excitement at the pairing, saying, “Hans has an incredible legacy, and I was extremely thrilled when he approached me to work on ‘Batman v Superman’ with him.”
The composers discussed their close working relationship with director Zack Snyder. “Zack allows us to try things we haven’t tried before. He’s very supportive of the eccentricities that we bring to this,” says Zimmer. Junkie XL concurred. “He’s very open and accepting of our ideas, and infuses the creative process with an energy that inspires you.”
“Hans and Tom (Junkie XL) created an incredibly compelling and interesting new musical world for Batman, while continuing to expand on the amazing world and themes Hans had previously created for Superman,” noted director Zack Snyder. “By aligning their vision with my perspective and seeing the characters anew through the lens of the film they were able to support the visual aspects of movie in a way that elevates the film to another level. In so many ways, they become the final texture, the final note in the process of creating the world.”
“This electrifying collaboration brings us such brilliant new character themes,”
commented WaterTower Music head Jason Linn, “While we’ve been fortunate to work several times with both composers individually, this experience has been uniquely thrilling.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be released March 18. It is now available for pre-order at iTunes, at Amazon, and can be preordered on Vinyl. The tracklist is as follows:
Beautiful Lie
Their War Here
The Red Capes Are Coming
Day Of The Dead
Must There Be A Superman?
New Rules
Do You Bleed?
Problems Up Here
Black and Blue
Tuesday
Is She With You?
This Is My World
Men Are Still Good (The Batman Suite)
Blood Of My Blood (Bonus Track)**
Vigilante (Bonus Track)**
May I Help You, Mr. Wayne? (Bonus Track)**
They Were Hunters (Bonus Track)**
Fight Night (Bonus Track)**
** On deluxe versions only
From director Zack Snyder comes BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, starring Oscar winner Ben Affleck (“Argo”) as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent in the characters’ first big-screen pairing.
The film also stars Oscar nominees Amy Adams (“American Hustle”) as Lois Lane, Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”) as Lex Luthor, Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”) as Martha Kent, and Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It”) as Perry White; Oscar winners Jeremy Irons (“Reversal of Fortune”) as Alfred, and Holly Hunter (“The Piano”) as Senator Finch; and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. Snyder directed from a screenplay written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer, based on characters from DC Comics, including Batman, created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, and Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The film is produced by Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder, with Wesley Coller, Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer serving as executive producers.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, an Atlas Entertainment/Cruel and Unusual production, a Zack Snyder film, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The film opens nationwide in RealD 3D, and in 2D, and in select IMAX 3D theaters on March 25, 2016.
It has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of violence and action throughout, and some sensuality.
Check out the new images of Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman from director Gavin Hood’s EYE IN THE SKY.
The film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival to a standing ovation and rave reviews.
The upcoming thriller about a top secret military operation that escalates into international crisis opens in select theaters Friday, March 11.
Alan Rickman stars as Lt. General Frank Benson.
Phoebe Fox (left) stars as Carrie Gershon and Aaron Paul (right) stars as Steve Watts.
(Left to Right) Actress Phoebe Fox, director Gavin Hood and actor Aaron Paul on the set of EYE IN THE SKY.
Phoebe Fox (left) stars as Carrie Gershon and Aaron Paul (right) stars as Steve Watts.
Director Gavin Hood (left) and actress Helen Mirren (right) on the set of EYE IN THE SKY.
Barkhad Abdi stars as Jama Farah.
(Left to Right) Daniel Fox as Tom Bellamy, Iain Glen as James Willett and Jessica Jones as Kate Barnes.
EYE IN THE SKY stars Helen Mirren as Colonel Katherine Powell, a UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground intel, Powell discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.”
But as American pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of US and British government over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.
Also starring Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi, Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen and Phoebe Fox, the film is directed by Gavin Hood (TSOTSI) and written by Guy Hibbert (“Prime Suspect”). Producers are Ged Doherty, Colin Firth and David Lancaster.
Maggie Smith brings an irresistible irascible charm to her role as a homeless woman who parks her van the driveway of playwright Alan Bennett and then stays for 15 years, in THE LADY IN THE VAN. Although this is a far different character from her role as the Dowager Countess, “Downton Abbey” fans will delight in finding a similar comic brilliance in Smith’s Miss Shepard, with the same sense of her own importance and an iron determination to have her own way. The quirky and charming THE LADY IN THE VAN showcases Smith’s considerable skill in dominating every scene – in fact, the whole film.
Nicholas Hytner, who also directed HISTORY BOYS, brings a lot of dry, self-deprecating British humor to this screen adaptation of Bennett’s partly biographical play. Although the story is narrated by and told from the point of view of playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings), it is Smith’s eccentric, maddening character that steals the show.
The film manages the difficult task of walking a line between comedy and pathos by not sentimentalizing Smith’s Miss Shepard. Reprising her stage role, Smith is a delight as this difficult yet intriguing old woman. Hytner also brings in some cast members from his HISTORY BOYS, such as Dominic Cooper, in small roles.
To its credit, the film avoids sentimentalizing homelessness or mental illness,in part by keeping a distinctly British dry-humor tone. An early scene deals in a frank, funny way with an inescapable consequence of living in a van without a shower. As Bennett describes it, the mix of odors trailing in Miss Shepard’s wake are distinctive, including the onions she is fond of eating and the lavender powder she is equally fond of using to disguise the onions and other smells. As delivered by actor Alex Jennings as Bennett, the observation is both pointed and very funny.
The story mixes fact and fiction, which Jennings’ character bluntly tells the audience. Bennett’s character is divided into two parts – the writer and the private man – which allows the actor to engage in comic conversations with himself – about his work, his flagging personal life, his conflicted feelings about his aging mother and the lady in the van living in his driveway.
The story is set in 1960s London, a time when tolerance towards the homeless has become a fashionable attitude but being gay is still something the playwright might keep under wraps. The eccentric, bossy lady living in the van, Miss Shepard, had taken up residence already on the leafy, prosperous street when Bennett bought a house. The neighbors express a pitying tolerance of the homeless woman while silently hoping she would move on. Strong-willed, rude and odd, the old lady parks in front of one house after another, until the homeowners irritate her into moving down the block. Those irritations include by playing music or interrupting her with offers of food, which she takes but for which she never thanks them.
When street cleaners pester her to move her now-non-functional van, she basically browbeats the playwright into letting her park the van in his driveway. Temporarily, of course. For 15 years.
Despite having little hesitation about manipulating people to get her way, Miss Shepard is surprisingly secretive about her past and even who she is, telling people she is “incognito.” A man who appears creeping around one night, Mr. Underwood (Jim Broadbent), hints at a sinister secret but we learn little about her history until late in the film. An early scene suggests a traffic accident is part of why this secretive old woman is living in a van.
The reserved, almost reclusive Bennett is struggling in his work as a playwright, and also with what to do about his clinging aging mother, who would like to move in with him. It is a prospect the playwright dreads, although he ends up with another old lady, a stranger, camped out on his doorstep. Trying to establish a personal life, the gay Bennett brings home a series of nice looking young men but never seems to be able to quite speak up and make a connection.
The story contrasts Bennett’s relationship with his mother and the lady in the van, as well as coping with his own struggles as a writer and to build a personal life for himself. Miss Shepard is never forthcoming about her past although there are intriguing hints that she was once a nun and has a special connection to music. Despite her rudeness, Bennett becomes protective of her, even possessive, and begrudgingly fond.
Bennett’s two-part character, both played by Jennings with perfect low-key humor, provides a running comic dialog, while expressing Bennett’s inner thoughts. Sometimes those inner thoughts are to stand up to Miss Shepard, who bullies him mercilessly, although the polite, reserved Bennett never does. Despite their long acquaintance, the pair only ever call each other Mr. Bennett and Miss Shepard, and Bennett even bristles at a social worker who is assigned to the old woman, when she calls her Mary, informing her that it is not her real name which he has learned is Margaret – he thinks. In some ways, the social worker prompts Bennett to learn more about the woman who lived in his driveway all these years.
The film takes a turn towards whimsy at its end, which might irritate some viewers but fits well with determinedly unsentimental and comic tone. For those who relish low-key British humor, THE LADY IN THE VAN provides a pleasant ride, especially with the incomparable Maggie Smith at the wheel.
THE LADY IN THE VAN OPENS IN ST. LOUIS ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5
MILES AHEAD is a wildly entertaining and moving exploration of one of 20th century music’s creative geniuses, Miles Davis, featuring a career defining performance by Oscar nominee Don Cheadle in the title role. Working from a script he co-wrote with Steven Baigelman, Cheadle’s bravura directorial debut is not a conventional bio-pic but rather a unique, no-holds barred portrait of a singular artist in crisis.
Check out the trailer for the film opening in New York and Los Angeles April 1st.
In the midst of a dazzling and prolific career at the forefront of modern jazz innovation, Miles Davis (Cheadle) virtually disappears from public view for a period of five years in the late 1970s. Alone and holed up in his home, he is beset by chronic pain from a deteriorating hip, his musical voice stifled and numbed by drugs and pain medications, his mind haunted by unsettling ghosts from the past.
A wily music reporter, Dave Braden (Ewan McGregor) forces his way into Davis’ house and, over the next couple of days, the two men unwittingly embark on a wild and sometimes harrowing adventure to recover a stolen tape of the musician’s latest compositions. Davis’ mercurial behavior is fueled by memories of his failed marriage to the talented and beautiful dancer Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi). During their romance and subsequent marriage, Frances served as Davis’ muse. It was during this period that he released several of his signature recordings including the groundbreaking “Sketches of Spain” and “Someday My Prince Will Come.”
The idyll however, was short lived. The eight-year marriage was marked by infidelity and abuse, and Frances was forced to flee for her own safety as Miles’ mental and physical health deteriorated.
By the late ’70s, plagued by years of regret and loss, Davis flirts with annihilation until he once again finds salvation in his art.
What compelled Cheadle to make the film:
“I’ve been steeped in Miles Davis’ music since the age of ten. He is so many things, not the least of which is an indefatigable symbol of creative energy and power; someone who was never afraid to step out of his comfort zone; someone who was totally uncomfortable with stasis.
“Over the years I was approached by various people, some of whom were close to Miles and others who just wanted to see a movie about him; and they said that if anyone should play him it was me. I’d already been in a number of standard bio-pics and I had no interest in making another since I found them full of contrivances and fabrications. You know, “based on a true story.”
“Shortly after Miles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame I was approached by his family. They pitched me several different takes but I didn’t spark to any of them. To me, they didn’t go far enough in trying to capture his enormous creativity and dynamism. So we shook hands and promised to keep in touch. As I pondered it further, I began to imagine a film that would capture Miles as who he was, a man full of drive and forward momentum but also mercurial and dangerous, the real O.G. original gangsta. And I realized that it would never happen unless I wrote it. So I asked the family if they were okay with that and they said “Cool. Do it.” ”
Photos by Brian Douglas, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
A kidnapping is at the center of some of the Coen Brothers’ most indelible pictures. From RAISING ARIZONA to FARGO to THE BIG LEBOWSKI, someone goes missing and it’s through this unfortunate victim’s disappearance that characters are revealed. You can now add HAIL, CAESAR! to this list. However, while most of these kidnappings spawn a colorful cast of characters where hilarity and morality often sway from the light to the very dark, HAIL, CAESAR! doesn’t exactly use the taking of the half-wit Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) as the catalyst to propel most of the characters and the story. In fact, it becomes simply just another piece of this collage that the Coens have assembled that is equally both an ode to classic cinema and a biting satire showcasing a facade of what many believe to be what Hollywood is really like.
As studio fixer for Capitol Pictures (a Marvel-esque shared universe nod to the studio in the Coen’s BARTON FINK), Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) struggles with Catholic guilt, a neverending workload, and a smoking habit he’s trying to quit. Nevertheless, none of that is going to stand in his way as he deals with the disappearance of the title character in the studio’s new film, saving actresses from late night photo shoots, securing alibis for actresses with out of wedlock children (Scarlett Johansson), and arranging couples for the gossip columnists (Tilda Swinton in two parts).
The Coen Bros. newest madcap dash through their clever collective mind feels like the most Coeny, Coen film you have seen yet. You have a self-reflective and imperfect main character, an allegory about the hardships of the creative process, conversations about faith and the search to describe “God,” and elements of film noir all heavily dropped right at the onset. And although I would classify myself as a worshipper at their self-aware and sarcastic altar, none of these scenes early on truly connected with me. It was as if HAIL, CAESAR! was playing like a greatest hits collection of the Coens and I was only hearing a brief snippet of the melody without hearing the entire song.
But something happened about halfway in. Everything seemed to make sense even though it didn’t entirely at all. So many of their previous films are connected by a central plot that I was grasping to find and never found with HAIL, CAESAR!. It wasn’t until Alden Ehrenreich was standing in the middle of a Hollywood street adorned in his signature cowboy shirt and hat and swinging his lasso in circles with palm trees behind him and a limo to his right, that I suddenly understood the fantasy that was being painted for me. Sure, we had previously seen Ehrenreich as the glum but lovable Hobie Doyle sing his folky tune during one scene and then later corrected over and over again in an instantly iconic scene opposite Ralph Fiennes’ as the director Laurence Laurentz (“Would that it t’were so simple.”), but it was during this simple moment that the film began to win me over. Although many might complain how random scenes such as this only contribute to the random and disconnected way HAIL, CAESAR! unfolds, I think anyone who sees the film will walk away thinking a star is born from Alden Ehrenreich’s silent but strong performance.
What also shines in the film are two classic film within a film moments expertly choreographed and staged like classic films of the 50s. The jaw-dropping water ballet in the style of Busby Berkely is beautifully filmed by the great Roger Deakins. This is followed later by a romp of a number showcasing Channing Tatum’s dancing abilities (the boy indeed has the MAGIC) along with a crew of sailors getting rowdy in a bar. Fans of classic cinema will find these two scenes an absolute delight, resulting in a grin ear to ear.
How some of the characters evolve or not evolve is one of the biggest things holding this film back from being a great Coen’s film. Mannix is meant to be the nervous, hardworking hero, but we never quite feel the weight of his job or the stress that seems to come with the tasks he’s been given. Not unlike the Coen’s childish and unsuccessful BURN AFTER READING, a large cast of familiar faces populate this world. While some of the known talent elevate their roles to more than just a bit cameo (Frances McDormand is remarkable in a scene that shows her comedic timing while highlighting the sad fact that men called the shots back then – and still mostly do), others feel like an attempt to use their star power to bolster the film (Sorry Miss Johansson).
Amid the not so subtle gay subtext of the sailor routine and the corporate suits running around tinsel town pulling the strings behind the curtain and the cigarettes Brolin’s character hides from his wife, lies a film about rumors and lies. More specifically, it shows what outsiders want Hollywood to be like because it’s what they always suspected. They don’t want the truth per say, they simply want proof to what they believe Hollywood is really like. The Coens have constructed a picture that paranoia driven pundits will no doubt point at and exclaim with complete sincerity, “See! I told you that Hollywood is filled with a bunch of two-timing, no-good, lying communists!” What they’re missing is that the joke is in fact on them. The Coens are smarter than they are and have openly acknowledged this in their sly (albeit, slightly rambling) script. What is the name of the communist group that kidnaps Clooney: The Future. What year is mentioned that a secret contract will be finally revealed to the public after decades of secrecy: 2015. Although the setting is 1950s Hollywood, HAIL, CAESAR! pokes fun at the modern day grand illusion – a world that is as far-fetched and full of twists and turns as the stories that are depicted on screen.
HAIL, CAESAR! is a social satire of the highest order. Through showing a zany world of forced romantic setups, secret child adoptions, and Commie leftist writers (complete with a Soviet submarine, of course), the Coens have fully embraced the cliches and rumors that are often associated with the Hollywood system. Even though it’s a regular issue throughout the film, it’s safe to assume that Mannix lying about not smoking cigarettes to his wife might be the least disingenuous thing that occurs in a film that revels and has fun with the presentation of a false reality.
Overall score: 4 out of 5
HAIL, CAESAR! is now playing in theaters everywhere
Zombies make everything better! Jane Austen devotees needn’t worry that the makers of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES have ridiculed her perennially popular story of love among the British upper classes. They’ve merely added zombies to it – an improvement if you ask me! I’ve never had the inclination to read Austen’s novel (I’ve heard it’s good), but I once saw a big screen treatment starring Keira Knightly. This high-concept hybrid adapted from novelist Seth Grahame-Smith’s revisionist tome is one of the more interesting horror movies I’ve seen in a while. Not only does director Burr Steer skirt the edges of camp with PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, he accomplishes a wonderful sense of surrealism and whimsy missing in much modern horror. Here’s a movie that delivers on exactly what its title promises. There are the unmarried Bennet sisters, as well as Mr. Darcy and various other suitors, and they do indeed battle the living dead for a great portion of the film. Adapted for the screen by the director, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES is absurd, outlandish, and even ridiculous in concept, but thanks to a team of filmmakers who take a straight-faced (but not entirely serious) approach to the material, it works. It’s as if the producers gathered and said “This is already going to be silly, so let’s just try to keep it from being stupid.’ They succeeded. Rarely is a film this silly also this clever.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES is the story of the Bennet family and their lives in England amidst a mid-19th century zombie apocalypse. In the tradition of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice we still have Mrs. Bennet (Sally Phillips) on a quest to marry off all of her daughters while Mr.Bennet (Charles Dance) makes sure his girls have been to China to train in the art of eliminating the walking dead. In a world filled with the dead devouring the brains of the living, one would think it a low priority to find love, yet the two older Bennet sisters do. The eldest Jane (Bella Heathcoat) falls for Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth), not for his money but for his affections. The more headstrong Elizabeth (Lily James) puts her pride and the prejudices that she had against Mr.Darcy (Sam Riley) aside, and after a furniture-smashing knife duel, finds she loves him too.
If you’ve read Austen’s book (or seen a movie version), you immediately recognize how faithful PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES is in regards to the romantic pairings and matrimonial deal-making – then there’s that whole zombie thing. This crazy concoction rests on the shoulders of these charming young actresses, and they carry the film exceedingly well. There are numerous quiet moments in which leading-lady Lily James (as instantly likable as she was in CINDERELLA) strikes a strong chemistry with Sam Riley’s Darcy as does Bella Heathcoat with Booth’s Bingley. Every plucky action heroine, especially ones introduced tucking their weapons into corsets and garters and bustiers, deserves some capable support, and this is a rather winning ensemble. As head antagonist we have a hissable Jack Huston as George Wickham, and he’s fun, though I wish they had fleshed out another villain or two. Lena Headley is an over-the-top hoot as one-eyed warrior woman Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the most famous zombie killer in all of Britain. Matt Smith plays the insufferable Parson Collins, the Bennet girls’ creampuff clergyman cousin with remarkable style and wit, handily stealing every scene he’s in. There’s not a weak link in this scrappy cast, and that’s no small feat for a risky flick like this.
Directed with high-octane energy by Steers and consistently eye-pleasing thanks to the cinematography by the excellent Remi Adefarasin, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES is a candy store of genre treats. I thought the bleary, red-stained zombie point-of-view shots were a nice touch. Those, along with some pulpy-but-quick decapitations, and bloodless brain-eating, were a creative way to keep the violence within the PG-13 parameters. The film does sag a bit in a mostly zombie-free middle section. The screenplay is so intent on hitting so many of Austen’s original plot points that the horror elements at times seem an afterthought. But why snipe at a couple of minor complaints when this mishmash is presented so craftily? Call it “better than it should have been,” a “pulpy matinee,” or (gasp) a “guilty pleasure” if you must, but it only seems right to give PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES a pat on the back for getting so much right.
2016 is five weeks old, so the new model is rolling off the assembly line. You might think I’m referring to an automobile company like Ford or Lincoln. Well, we are dealing with a brand name, one associated with popular novels instead of cars. Stephen King is still king of the horror/suspense novels, John Grisham has the legal thrillers, and Nicholas Sparks is best known for the swoony, sweeping romance paperbacks that fill the spinner racks at airport gift shops and often protrude from the tops of canvas beach bags. His best sellers quickly grabbed the attention of the movie studios, and almost a dozen have been translated to the big screen (easy to see why since they don’t require costly CGI action set pieces or big name superstars since Sparks is the name that draws ’em in). Back to the assembly line reference, there’s been a new film adaptation annually for the last five years. Last year was THE LONGEST RIDE, and the 2016 edition is THE CHOICE. Will it be a lauded critical smash like THE NOTEBOOK or a campy guilty pleasure like SAFE HAVEN? That choice will soon be made…
The story begins in the usual Sparks backdrop, sunny North Carolina. To be precise, it’s the picture perfect coastal town of Beaufort. Hunky Travis Parker (Benjamin Walker) steers his fishing boat while grimly contemplating…the choice (title!). Flashback jump seven years to his carefree bachelor days as his married pals marvel at his luck with the ladies (a real playa”), but are concerned when his “on-again, off-again” paramour, the raven-haired beauty Monica (Alexandra Daddario) flits back into his life. Back at “casa de Travis” he hosts a loud cookout, which disrupts the studying of his new next door neighbor, medical student Gabby Holland (Teresa Parker),who’s working at the local hospital alongside her beau Dr. Yan (Tom Welling). During the course of their first conservation Gabby berates Travis for his loud music (“Black Betty” fer’ gosh sakes!) and accuses his dog, good ole’ Moby, of knocking up her sweet pooch Molly. He recommends a local animal health clinic as she storms off. Observing this, his sister (Maggie Grace) remarks, “You are in trouble!” When Gabby takes Molly to the clinic, she’s stunned to learn that it’s run by Travis (he’s a vet?!) and his kindly widowed papa, Shep (Tom Wilkinson). She sees a softer, kinder side of him and when Ryan goes to Atlanta on business, she joins Travis, Steph, and their married buddies for a day on the boat. Which leads into a late supper, which leads to….But what will happen when Ryan returns, since this is more than a fling for this “good time” good ole’ boy? This romantic crisis will eventually lead to that present day “choice”.
The strength of these romances depends on the couple at its center, and these two talented actors make a noble effort to bring the tale to life (the bar was set impossibly high with McAdams and Gosling in THE NOTEBOOK). Walker (perhaps best known as ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER) exudes lots of laid back southern charm, but he’s more believable as the smitten suitor than the “can’t miss” ladykiller (the early scene of him talking up a couple of blonde bikini babes seems forced since he doesn’t have great “game”…talking about your dog’s swimming ability? uh huh). Still he’s got the longing, soulful looks down pat, although he often seems to be a cousin of them Duke boys than a pet doctor. And what is with those wisps of hair blocking his ears? Either grow a pair of 70’s sideburns or shave! Sorry it distracted me. Palmer (WARM BODIES) is a radiant screen presence, her blond locks almost a halo around her dazzling smile making her early scenes feigning annoyance with Travis a tough sell. We just know that her defenses will melt in the NC sun. Their romantic rivals aren’t written strong enough in order to be threats to this couple. We’re told that Daddario’s flighty temptress plays with the heart of Travis, but in her random appearances (Monica just shows up unexpectedly like Stratham in FURIOUS SEVEN) she’s pleasant (and actually instigates the exit that brings the T & G back together). Welling also seems a nice enough fella, certainly undeserving of his treatment. He’s the embodiment of that “rom-com” cliche made famous by the flick THE BAXTER, who has little to do aside from looking great in a lab coat and getting brushed aside. Wilkinson essays a Sparks mainstay, the older character played by a screen vet (Alan Alda in THE LONGEST RIDE, Gerald McRaney in THE BEST OF ME, etc…) who has to talk some sense to the ‘young-uns and make sure they end up together. He’s always a terrific addition to any film, but aside from a hesitant romance with a “dogmamma” divorce’, he never gets to shine.
This highlights much of the film’s problems: everybody is jes’ so nice. Neither one of the leads is trapped in awful relationships till they meet (cute). Monica and Ryan are okay (hey, maybe they end up together after the final fade out). I will credit Sparks for doing away with a couple of clichés that pop up in several flicks. There’s no evil ex-hubby or suitors (or parents) conspiring to keep the couple apart. And , thankfully, no little kids in jeopardy (SAFE HAVEN, THE LUCKY ONE), but he does get this couple drenched in a sudden shower (THE BEST OF ME, etc.), along with the wonders of old record albums. Can’t give up all those sure-fire, go to moments, I guess. One sequence circles spirituality (when his mum passed Travis rejected religion while Shep embraced it) briefly, perhaps in a bid for the growing faith-based film audience, but it’s dropped by the film’s last act concerning the big “choice”. It’s a delicate ethical one, which the film glides pass in order for a “feel good” finale. The location, and actor, are pretty, but without any palpable chemistry between the two leads and little conflict the movie’s bland. Eliminating many of the campy Sparks trademarks, THE CHOICE, is more believable, but ultimately forgettable. Maybe the 2017 model will be a better ride.
Many big screen biographies are often accused of taking…liberties…with the facts, often to help the finished film’s pacing. After all, unless it’s a TV mini-series, it’s difficult to compress a remarkable life into an evening at the movies. Film makers will frequently switch the order of events along with the popular practice of using composite characters (a little bit of this fella’, and a bit of this old pal, and…), even inventing supporting roles, or tagging real folks with invented names. And then there are fantasy tales using a real person (and elements of his life) as the story’s heroic center. In Hollywood famous true Western outlaws like Billy the Kid and Jesse James were the leads in many fictional flicks (hey, those two “met” Dracula and Frankenstein’s daughter!). Those on the opposite side of the law like Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson got their share of screen time, to say nothing of the Davy Crockett craze created by Walt Disney is the 1950’s. Lawmen of later years were also at the center of media franchises like Elliot Ness in “The Untouchables” and Buford Pusser in “Walking Tall”. Well, a similar film and TV feeding frenzy has been going on for the last dozen or so years over in China with the legend of a real man named Yip Kai-man, perhaps known best as Ip Man. He was the martial artists master (his specialty was Wing Chun) who trained silver screen icon Bruce Lee. Ip was the subject of 2013’s Oscar nominated THE GRANDMASTER. And since he was not a fictitious (and copyrighted) figure, many other Asian studios have made competing flicks (even a weekly TV show). The most popular may be the film series begun in 2008 starring Donnie Yen (BLADE II, and the upcoming ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY). The current (and supposedly final installment) takes us into the master fight trainer’s time in 1950’s Hong Kong with IP MAN 3.
To be precise, it’s HK circa 1959 and Ip Man (Yen) is running a martial arts training center while sharing a home with wife Cheung Wing-Sing (Lynn Hung) and seven year-old son Ip Ching (Wang Yasn Shi). After a scene in which an aggressive young man tries to become one of Ip’s students (we find out later that he is really…no spoilers from me!), we see Ching engaged in a schoolyard smack down with another classmate. When Ip and his wife are called into the principal’s office (the other lad’s pop is stuck at work), Ip has the boys shake hands and invites the other boy, Fung, to their home for dinner. After the meal, Fung’s father, Tin-chi (Jin Zhang) arrives to pick up his son. Tin has a rickshaw service, but hopes to open his own training center (he compliments Ip on his skills). Later we find out that Tin supplements his income by fighting in a black market boxing match organized by gangster Ma King-sang (Patrick Tam), who also works for a “foreign devil”, a shady American property developer named Frank (Mike Tyson…yes that ole ear-chomper!). Franks has his eye on some land , namely the school where Ching and Fung attend. When Ma and his gang of thugs try to strong-arm the principal to sign over the deed to the school, IP intervenes. His policeman pal, Sergeant ‘Fatso’ Po (Kent Cheng) can offer little help: the force is short-handed and his commanding office, another foreign devil, is in Frank’s pocket. Ip, along with his students, will guard the school. This time away from home makes Wing feel neglected and contributes to her worsening health. Ip tries to keep his family together as his duty brings him into a showdown with Frank and eventual rival Tin.
While the aforementioned GRANDMASTER was the art house/critical darling, this would be the more family friendly version of this real life icon, perhaps one that could easily play on TV (hmmm, makes me wonder about the actual Ip TV show). The two recent RAID films brought back a real sense of danger and brutality to martial arts movies with deadly, bloody bone crunching blows causing true damage to the battlers, but here no one appears to get terribly hurt. The school principal has some jaw bruising and one of Ip’s pals has his arm in a sling. The highly planned fights nearly remind one of the 60’s Batman TV show, with the bad guys getting knocked out quickly (we almost expect animated stars and cartoon birds circling their noggins). Another almost camp element is the near endless army at Ma and Frank’s beck and call. Once Ip and his cohorts take a battle stance, endless streams of thugs come charging from every alley and doorway (a cliche so expertly parodied in the “A Fistful of Yen” segment in 1977’s KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE). The US ads feature Tyson prominently, but he has just around five or six minutes of screen time. And yes, he does speak English most of the time, with a few Chinese phrases tossed in (luckily it’s all subtitled for us). Still, he’s an impressive, scary screen presence, although it’s doubtful that his brute force could match Ip’s speed and skills (prior to this showdown, he has easily taken out dozens of men). But their three-minute brawl is not the film’s showcase scene. Rather it’s the finale’s throw down with Tin as they go from swinging long “dragon poles” to “butterfly swords” (right from the chefs at Benihanna) and finishing with precise hand to hand combat. Happily some of the action is slowed down, but never excessively so we can appreciate the swiftness of the very impressive Mr. Yen (for a fella’ in his fifties he’s still got the moves). Though the story gets a tad goofy at times (Ip will repair his marriage by learning a newskill…ballroom dancing!), “chop-socky” fanatics should enjoy the action set pieces cause in IP MAN 3 “everybody’s kung-fu fightin'” and they’re “faster than lightnin'”.
2.5 Out of 5
IP MAN 3 opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Wehrenberg’s Ronnies 20 Cine
Based on the critically acclaimed, bestselling novel by Jojo Moyes, New Line Cinema’s and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ ME BEFORE YOU stars Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) and Sam Claflin (“The Hunger Games” series), under the direction of Thea Sharrock, making her feature film directorial debut.
Oftentimes you find love where you least expect it. Sometimes it takes you where you never expected to go…
Get the tissues ready before you watch the first trailer.
Louisa “Lou” Clark (Clarke) lives in a quaint town in the English countryside. With no clear direction in her life, the quirky and creative 26-year-old goes from one job to the next in order to help her tight-knit family make ends meet. Her normally cheery outlook is put to the test, however, when she faces her newest career challenge. Taking a job at the local “castle,” she becomes caregiver and companion to Will Traynor (Claflin), a wealthy young banker who became wheelchair bound in an accident two years prior, and whose whole world changed dramatically in the blink of an eye.
No longer the adventurous soul he once was, the now cynical Will has all but given up. That is until Lou determines to show him that life is worth living. Embarking together on a series of adventures, both Lou and Will get more than they bargained for, and find their lives—and hearts—changing in ways neither one could have imagined.
The film also stars Charles Dance (“The Imitation Game”), Jenna Coleman (“Dr. Who”), Matthew Lewis (the “Harry Potter” films), Vanessa Kirby (“About Time”), Stephen Peacocke (“Hercules”), Brendan Coyle (“Downton Abbey”) and Oscar nominee Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs,” “Tumbleweeds”).
Sharrock directs from a screenplay by Jojo Moyes and Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (“The Fault in Our Stars”), based on the book by Moyes.
Set for release on June 3, 2016, ME BEFORE YOU will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
