Eiza González – We Are Movie Geeks

AMBULANCE – Review

So, from this film’s title, you’re thinking it’s a “fly on the wall” documentary with the filmmakers doing a “ride-along” with EMTs on a typical day, full of drama and danger, right? Or maybe it’s a docudrama following a young emergency worker going from their training and studies right up to the first week of their hospital assignment (with maybe a romance with another “lifesaver”). Well, I can give a big “nope” to both presumptions. Sure, the title vehicle is the main focus of this film, but it’s the kind of loud, noisy, frenetic action thriller that we usually get sometime in the Summer. And was a multiplex staple of the 90s. Well just coincidentally (well, maybe not) this flick is directed by the “unofficial kingpin” of those blockbusters from that era (hey, if Adrian Lynne can come back with a sexy murder mystery, then…). So clear the aisle in the theatre and make room for a very fast AMBULANCE.

But it doesn’t all begin with that “hospital-on-wheels”. After a nostalgic daydream-like sequence of two young boys at playtime, the story shifts to the present as former soldier Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul Mateen II) is in “phone hell” trying to get medical coverage for his ailing wife. He needs that aid since he’s “between jobs”. A frustrated Will tells his wife that he’s going to the job center after she tells him that brother Danny has called (followed by her plea to not return those calls). Meanwhile, EMT vet Cam Thompson (Eiza Gonzalez) responds to a gruesome car accident involving a pre-teen girl as her rookie driver tries not to faint. After a trip back to the hospital she tells him that her concerns end after those rescued leave the vehicle. Cut to Will who, naturally, shows up at the “car storage center’ run by brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal). Will begs for a loan to cover the quarter-million procedure to save his wife. Ah, but Danny has a way for him to earn that…and a whole lot more. As if his “auto service” wasn’t shady enough, turns out that he’s put together a crew to grab some in-transit cash that’s being held temporarily at a downtown LA bank. Oh, that “grab” will net them 32 million bucks. Will agrees and is riding with the gang minutes later. Of course, things go sideways immediately. Will accidentally shoots a young cop, the getaway vehicle is destroyed, and the two brothers are fleeing on foot. Wouldn’t you know that Cam and her driver pick up the wounded cop, and are then hijacked by Will and Danny (after knocking out the driver). Thus begins a harrowing chase through the town via highways and side streets as the police try to stop them without endangering their ‘fallen brother”. A grizzled police captain (Garrett Dillahunt) must work with a preppy FBI agent (Keir O’Donnell) who has a personal connection to Danny. Meanwhile, he’s hoping to get some help from a pal of his late gangster father, a vicious criminal kingpin named Papi (A Martinez). With all the ensuing carnage and destruction can Cam keep her patient alive while also struggling to survive the desperate duo?

Oh, Mr. Gyllenhaal, you should be more selective than this. To be fair he does imbue Danny with lots of energy, swinging from motor-mouthed snarky goofball to hair-trigger lunatic. But really, didn’t you learn anything from PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME? Sure he’s believable as a whipsmart hustler, though his frenetic delivery just wears out its welcome. Mateen II is the calmer, more reflective counterpart, sort of “good thief/bad thief”, but he’s either tortured by guilt or straining to reign in Danny while matching his level of histrionics. Gonzalez breaks out of the “eye candy” mold as the often cynical healer who knows that she’s “in over her head’ trying to keep her “charge” alive, appealing to Wil’s “better angels”, and defusing Danny’s white-hot temper. She’s the anchor for the story’s many ludicrous missteps. An equally excellent supporting player, Dillahunt, has little to do but grumble and squint as the grizzled “hardcase-in-charge”. who must trade verbal barbs with the arrogant “fed” played by O’Donnell as a prickly alarmist whose pleas fall on deaf ears (or maybe it’s just the nonstop noise). Martinez attempts to inject some humanity into the sinister gang boss, but he’s reduced to a final act subplot.

You know you’re in trouble when the film’s director “name-checks” two of his previous films in the first 20 minutes. And that’s just what the aforementioned action flick impresario Michael Bay does. After finishing up five giant robot flicks, he’s back to trash loads of vehicles (makes THE BLUES BROTHERS look restrained) that can’t transform and speak. Well, their circuits might have overheated trying to process the clunky dialogue in the screenplay by Chris Fedak which adapts a 2005 Danish flick (no doubt much was lost in translation). The overworked Bay directorial touches are in overdrive here, almost to the point of parody. The big first reunion between the “brother’ has the camera in constant motion, spinning around the duo (pass the Dramamine). A few moments later, as the caper is put into motion, the millisecond editing begins its unending assault (I guess a shot can’t last more than two seconds). And now a new “toy” gets overused: the camera drone. Establishing shots must “loop the loop” before landing on the characters (more like cliches, really). The visual gymnastics are only briefly paused for a stilted scene in a therapist’s office involving a gay couple (now that’s some edgy comedy). It’s ham-fisted, heavy-handed, and just lazy (did I mention the infrared “body-heat” shots). The most jarring example may be from its final moments as we’re treated to another hazy silent “memory” of the brothers as boys playing “cowboy. Now there’s supposed to be, say 33 or 35, right? So were kids playing HIGH NOON in 1995, complete with a Sheriff costume that looks to be from the 1964 Sears catalog? That just adds to the irritation as this excruciating nonsense does its damage to our senses (think of a 137-minute pummeling to the head with a ball-peen hammer). After this endurance test (or torture) you might just wish your drive home from the multiplex was an AMBULANCE. Serenity…stat!!

1/2 Out of 4

AMBULANCE is now playing in theatres

GIVEAWAY – Win Tickets To See To SPIRIT UNTAMED – In Theaters June 4

THIS SUMMER, TAKE THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME! FROM THE STUDIO THAT BROUGHT YOU HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD, DREAMWORKS ANIMATION PRESENTS SPIRIT UNTAMED. RATED PG. ADVENTURE AWAITS IN THEATERS JUNE 4TH!

An epic adventure about a headstrong girl longing for a place to belong who discovers a kindred spirit when her life intersects with a wild horse, Spirit Untamed is the next chapter in the beloved story from DreamWorks Animation.

Lucky Prescott (Isabela Merced, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) never really knew her late mother, Milagro Navarro (Eiza González, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), a fearless horse-riding stunt performer from Miradero, a small town on the edge of the wide-open frontier.

Like her mother, Lucky isn’t exactly a fan of rules and restrictions, which has caused her Aunt Cora (Academy Award® winner Julianne Moore) no small amount of worry. Lucky has grown up in an East Coast city under Cora’s watchful eye, but when Lucky presses her own luck with one too many risky escapades, Cora picks up stakes and moves them both back with Lucky’s father, Jim (Oscar® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal), in Miradero.

Lucky is decidedly unimpressed with the sleepy little town. She has a change of heart when she meets Spirit, a wild Mustang who shares her independent streak, and befriends two local horseback riders, Abigail Stone (Mckenna Grace, Captain Marvel) and Pru Granger (Marsai Martin, Little). Pru’s father, stable owner Al Granger (Emmy winner Andre Braugher, Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine), is the best friend of Lucky’s father.

(from left) Abigail Stone (Mckenna Grace) riding Boomerang, Lucky Prescott (Isabela Merced) riding Spirit and Pru Granger (Marsai Martin) riding Chica Linda in DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed, directed by Elaine Bogan.

When a heartless horse wrangler (Emmy nominee Walton Goggins, FX’s Justified) and his team plan to capture Spirit and his herd and auction them off to a life of captivity and hard labor, Lucky enlists her new friends and bravely embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to rescue the horse who has given her freedom and a sense of purpose, and has helped Lucky discover a connection to her mother’s legacy and to her Mexican heritage that she never expected.

Spirit Untamed is the next chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s beloved franchise that began with the 2002 Oscar-nominated film Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron and includes an Emmy-winning TV series. The film is directed by Elaine Bogan (Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television’s Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia) and is produced by Karen Foster (co-producer, How to Train Your Dragon). The film’s co-director is Ennio Torresan (head of story, The Boss Baby), and the film’s score is by composer Amie Doherty (Amazon’s Undone, DreamWorks Animation’s Marooned).

https://www.dreamworks.com/movies/spirit-untamed

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I CARE A LOT – Review

This recent worldwide health crisis has been more than a “bump in the road” for increased lifespans. But let’s be a bit more optimistic…for now. If the vaccines do their intended job, and we adjust our social behavior, for the time being, the human race could be “back on track” to stick around longer than any time in recorded history. As I recall, one of the national newsweekly magazines from 2015 ran a baby photo on its cover and stated that the lil’ cutie could live to 142 years. So, that’s a good..no great thing, right? Oh yes, but there’s the dark side, mainly the failing functions of the mind and body. And, unfortunately, there’s no end of human vultures looking to swoop in and scoop up, unlike the animals it’s cash rather than flesh. One such scavenger is at the heart of this new, somewhat satirical, comedy/thriller. Of course, she denies her villainy, insisting that it’s not about that loot, and declaring that I CARE A LOT.

The caring lady in question is Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) who runs a nice little for (big) profit business as a court-appointed guardian for several (her office wall has thirty or so 8 by 10 photos tacked up) senior citizens who have been deemed by their doctor (“bought off” by Marla) unable to care for themselves. In the opening moments of the story, she squashes the court challenge of a man who has been denied seeing his mother who’s in a “skilled care” facility (also in cahoots with guess who). Naturally, Marla has taken over this lady’s finances, emptying his bank accounts and selling her car, house, and everything inside it. There’s no time to celebrate after the court victory, though. She gets a call from the “home” telling her that one of her “wards” has passed, so there’s a plum vacancy open (but Marla has to give him 2 grand to “hold” it for her). Time to call her pal Dr. Amos (Alicia Witt), who just happens to have a seventy-something “cherry”: a widowed lady with no relatives and a paid-off house in a prized neighborhood. Just a note from her is enough for Judge Lomax (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) to assign Marla as her legal guardian. Before the ink is barely dry, she and her (very) personal assistant Fran (Eiza Gonzalez) are escorting a sad and confused Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) out of her cherished home and checking her into her room at the “care facility” (after taking her cell phone, for safety matters naturally). As Fran and her helpers are emptying out and painting the Peterson place a bewildered cab driver shows up looking for Jennifer. Fran informs him of her hasty relocation. Ah, but this isn’t your regular transport “hack”. He conveys this to a powerful man surrounded by armed “muscle’ in his plush high-rise office. That shady individual, Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage) is most unhappy that his visit with Jennifer has been canceled. After getting a bit more intel, he sends his legal “shark” Dean (Chris Messina) to visit Marla, toss off some casual threats, and offer a case of cash (150K). But Marla declines, sensing that someone with very deep pockets is “on the hook”. Thus begins an all-out war, as Jennifer becomes an addled pawn in a most dangerous game. But just which type of criminal mastermind will triumph? And what of the sweet quiet lady in the middle?

Marla may be the most morally complex role that the gifted Ms. Pike has taken on since her breakthrough work as the “Amazing” Amy in 2014’s GONE GIRL. Early in the story’s ongoing narration, she states that “You’re either predator or prey.”, And though I’ve mentioned the feathered scavengers, Marla is most definitely a shark, an alpha one at that. She’s constantly moving, seeking out another tasty ‘ward” to gobble up. And in a couple of scenes, we see her strike back when the threatened males attempt to push her into a corner (she alludes to a brutal childhood). Somehow Pike makes her more compelling than repugnant with her confident body language and staccato line delivery. Luckily her passions are not all wrapped up in acquisitions, illustrated by her affection for Fran. Gonzalez makes her more than dangerous “eye candy”, though still exuding the same sultry siren call from her BABY DRIVER diva. Fran and Marla have a deep loving bond, perhaps united by their shared “hard knock” past and the thrill of being just inches (clients, really) away from the “sweet life”. The two make quite a dynamite duo. And they need that explosive energy when dealing with Dinklage’s sinister crime kingpin (from a one-sided phone call over “mules’ we know he’s just as exploitive and evil). Roman is a tight compact ball of fury whose can be “set off” with the most delicate announcement of bad news, really whatever blocks his path. And this raging monster is giving a heart due to his devotion to Wiest’s Linda. She grabs our sympathies immediately as she’s prodded and hustled with all manner of condescending attitude and physical interaction. With her furrowed brow and “welling up” gaze, Linda’s all of our dearest matriarchal figures, debased by the evils of the world. But then Wiest shows us her dark, dark side. Through the haze of the home’s forced medications, Linda spits venom at the startled Marla. Wiest shows us that the “cherry” is far from a helpless patsy. And though he’s only in a few scenes, Messina makes a strong impression as the smooth “mouth-piece” Dean Ericson, who’s quick to toss out a business card, while biding his time to formulate a subtle threat of violent retaliation. His perfectly coiffed exterior can’t quite disguise the tough street fighter who’ll slash you as you dart into an alley. He’s a formidable sparring partner for Pike’s Marla and their scenes in and out of the courtroom crackle with tension.

Writer/director J Blakeson has whipped up a most imaginative and unpredictable cautionary tale that’s a call to action and a rollercoaster thrill ride. In the first act, we’re nudged to feel outraged at the legal (in appearance) exploitation of the elderly by the “ice queen”-like Marla. But then she almost becomes an “anti-heroine” in the mode of WALL STREET’s Gordon Geeko using lives as commodities in a dark satire of modern avarice. Then the plot takes a near “U-turn” with the introduction of Roman (though the Russian mobsters are now a too easy “go-to” bad guy cliche), as we hope for Linda’s rescue and Marla’s comeuppance. But somehow Blakeson gets us rooting for Marla and Fran, as though they’re a modern, wealthier take on THELMA AND LOUISE. Then it’s apparent that the two opposing forces are united in their anger with society’s attitudes toward them (Marla and Fran for their gender, Roman for his size). It’s quite an impressive feat to completely steer audience allegiances so often over the story. Aside from the typical action flick Russian mob, Marla’s constant vaping (now film shorthand for “jerk”) almost veered the film into “parody-town” (guess it’s a modern take on the big macho Cuban cigars). Still when it works (the handling of Linda is blood-boiling fuel), you’re grateful for this inventive take on the crime/action “pot-boilers”. And though the “tacked-on” epilogue feels a bit like an ending that the 1930s Hayes Office (a film decency group) would have insisted on, I’m guessing that Blakeson, like his complex creation Marla, would tell all of us that, “I CARE A LOT”. And his passion shows.

3.5 Out of 4

I CARE A LOT streams exclusively on Netflix beginning Friday, February 19, 2021

BLOODSHOT – Review

Okay action flick fans, it’s still fairly early in the movie year but who’s ready for a high-octane thriller based on a comic book character? I’m guessing the answer’s a resounding yes, though the superheroes don’t generally invade the multiplex for several more weeks. So which comics publishing company is the print home of the possible subject of a new big franchise? It’s not the current “golden stable of stars” Marvel (now part of the “Mouse House”). Nor is it the older line that’s trying hard to “catch up”, DC (linked with Warner Brothers). Perhaps it’s Image, the upstarts that gave us Spawn? Nope, but you’re getting closer. One of its ilk from around the same era is Valiant Comics (Entertainment as they expand), part of the independent press explosion of the early to mid-1990s. Back then the readers were all over the heroes with big “guns” (ripply, veiny muscles and massive artillery). Well, after a quarter-century, here he comes, blasting out of the “four-color” pages and on to the big screen, the man known as BLOODSHOT.

As we meet his alter ego Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel) he is, indeed, toting a big ole’ gun as a “special forces”-type soldier on a covert mission in a hostile foreign land. After a brutal hostage rescue, he’s transported back to a US military base in Italy where he’s reunited with his lady Gina (Talulah Riley). Their romantic getaway is cut short the next morning when a squad of goons grabs them. When their leader, a grinning sadist known as Martin Axe (Toby Kebbell), doesn’t get the intel on Ray’s last mission, it’s “lights out” for the couple. When Ray awakens he’s on a metal slab in the high tech HQ of P.R.S. run by Dr. Emil Harting (Guy Pierce) and has no memory of his name or past life. He explains that Ray was indeed murdered and when no family claimed his remains, Ray was given to them for a risky experiment in which his blood was replaced by “nanites”, thousands of tiny insect-like robots. The doc grabs Ray’s hand and slices the palm open with a blade. To Ray’s shock, the “bugs” swiftly go to work, stitching, repairing, and closing up the wound in a manner of seconds. Plus he’s got enhanced stamina and strength, so he’s a super-soldier who can’t be killed. Again. Ray is then introduced to the doc’s previous “reconstructions” (he himself sports a robotic arm that replaced one lost to cancer). One man, Tibbs (Alex Hernandez), has an all-new visual system since he lost his sight, while Jimmy Dalton (Sam Heughan) has a pair of robotic legs that provide superspeed. Then there’s the lady, K.T. (Eiza Gonzalez), whose damaged lungs were replaced by a P.R.S. breathing apparatus that makes her immune to gasses and able to stay underwater a long time. One evening, as Ray shares a drink with her after training, a piped-in tune sparks a memory in Ray of his last moments. Brushing K.T. aside, he escapes the lab on a fevered quest for revenge. But is it all as simple as that? Could it be that random or is it part of a deeper plan?

Though he’s no doubt pleased to be out from behind the wheel of another super-charged auto and not having every other line of dialogue about “family”, Diesel seems to be doing a docile riff on the 1980s action film stars as Ray. We get to see a tear trickle as he endures his loss and learns the “big truth”, but his role is too much a wooden composite of iconic thriller SF characters. A touch of ROBOCOP, a pinch of THE WOLVERINE, and a big dollop of THE TERMINATOR as he just keeps comin’ at the baddies, only pausing for the “bug bots” to piece him back together. Aside from his weird glowing red chest and pale skin to signify his breakdown, there’s not much that Diesel contributes to making him unique. We keep hoping for him to team up with Gonzalez who makes a most formidable and sultry heroine, but she’s kept on the sidelines to bicker with Pierce’s devious doctor. As usual, he projects an aura of smug superiority, but Pierce never gets a chance to be more than the furious boss bellowing orders. Heughan appears to be having a bit of campy fun as the always sneering Dalton, but he’s reduced to another CGI-aided effect by the finale. Luckily the tone is lightened by the comic relief of Siddarth Dhanjayas Eric the main computer nerd (as Peter Parker’s buddy Ned would say, “The guy in the chair”) and a scene-stealing turn by Lamorne Morris as programming geek god Wilfrid Wigans, whose snappy comic timing and witty retorts makes us wish for a solo spin-off (doubtful).

Former special effects artist and first-time feature director Dave Wilson uses his visual skills to keep the flick moving though it seems to stall during the exposition exchanges in between the big action sequences. His reliance on the new action cliche of going really fast, then slow down for a bit (a spin on “bullet-time” from the now 21-year-old first MATRIX), then suddenly kicking back into double speed quickly becomes tedious. Some effort is made on providing an off-kilter look by using smoke. K.T. goes into battle holding canisters that release billowing red clouds. And Ray’s first big villain “take-down” is in a motorway tunnel turned into a white alienesque landscape due to an overturned semi filled with baking flour. Really? It feels more forced than original. We spared a lot of gore in order to snag the more teen-friendly PG-13 rating, but the carnage count is right up there with the JOHN WICK flicks, though without the sense of “over the top” comic irony. And because of the big “reveal”, we get to see rehashes of previous bits of business, making it seem as though the whole flick is “spinning its wheels” while going nowhere. It finally devolves into lots of noise, massive property damage, and pulsating pixels. Back to the garage, Mr. D. After two dull hours of this monotonous mayhem I felt dazed and truly BLOODSHOT.

1.5 Out of 4

WELCOME TO MARWEN – Review

The mysteries of the human brain have fascinated filmmakers (and filmgoers) since the earliest days of cinema. Of course, the subject has been fodder for countless horror and science fiction films with variations on iconic literature works such as Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr, Hyde. These also inspired comedies such as THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS and THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, among others. But there have also been several fact-based, or “inspired by real events” films centering on brain diseases and injuries, exploring how catastrophic trauma affects those individuals. CONCUSSION from 2015 dramatized the very real cases of veteran football players who took hits to the head that caught up to them years later. Then there are the injuries to the brain that, like a computer keyboard, “pushes the delete button” with delusions and fantasy replacing the horrific memories. That’s exactly what happens to the real man profiled in the new film. But rather than escaping to famous fictional locales like Oz or Pandora, he retreats to a place he created. To paraphrase the great late Rod Serling, “There’s the signpost up ahead”, proclaiming WELCOME TO MARWEN.

The story begins as a WWII bomber makes a rough landing, nearly engulfing the pilot in flames. As “Cap’n Hogie” jumps clear we see that he is actually a doll (sorry, action figure) who walks and talks on his own. As are the gang of Nazi soldiers that ambush him. Luckily Hogie has “back up’, a quartet of beautiful female resistance fighters who mow down the “goose-steppers”. Suddenly they freeze as we hear a click. Zooming out we see that the toys are being positioned and photographed by a man, Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell) in the field outside his upper New York state home, next to the miniature city of Marwen, Belgium that he’s constructed. A moving van at the house across the street has ruined his shot. Luckily the new neighbor is a lovely single lady named Nicol (Leslie Mann), yes no “e”. We learn Mark’s backstory by the photos and scrapbook inside his home. And that’s all he has left to recall his past life, the life before a gang of thugs (one had a swastika arm tattoo) beat him so badly outside the local bar, the Avalanche, that Mark lost his memories, his artistic abilities (he was an artist on WWII comic books) and had to learn to walk once more. Photos from the hospital stay show an Iraqui war vet, GI Julie (Janelle Monae) guiding him through rehab. The quiet is soon disrupted by Mark’s visiting nurse, the load forceful Russian woman named Anna (Gwendoline Christie). The rest of the day Marks divides between visiting the local hobby shop run by Roberta (Merritt Wever) who orders the special WWII models and figures for him, then returning to the Avalanche where he works as a janitor and helps the chef Carlala (Eiza Gonzalez), who aided him on that fateful night. He’s also preparing for an art show of his toy photos that Roberta has set up for him in an NYC gallery, as his attorney implores him to attend the sentencing hearing of his attackers so that he may read a victim’s statement. As the pressures build, Mark spends more time in the make-believe world of Marwen where he’s the heroic Hogie and all the above-named women are his fighting pals (just pals, though). As he becomes friends with Nicol, she also joins the adventures, but more than a pal. But the sinister sorceress Dejah (Diane Kruger) threatens Hogie’s new love. As the court date looms, can Mark break away from his fantasy and finally face the reality of his new life, and perhaps start over with Nicol?

With superb work most recently in BEAUTIFUL BOY and VICE, Carell has proved himself equally adept at both drama and comedy, so he’d seem a natural for this role which combines plenty of both. As Capn’ Hogie he gets to parody the square-jawed dashing hero of many a TCM marathon. Mark requires a delicate touch showing his vulnerability, while also portraying his struggle to overcome the many physical and mental challenges stemming from the vicious assault. Carell shows us his frustrations which can either shut all his emotions down (doing his art, he seems to enter another sensory plane) or cause him to panic and revert to “flight” mode. Outside of Marwen, Carell even gives Mark a charming suitor stance as he opens up to the understanding Nicol. Mann, working with Carell for the first time since 2005’s THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, has a sweet relaxed chemistry with him making for several natural quiet moments. But for all her welcoming qualities, Nicol is still a mystery. With the help of some photos and furnishings, Mann shows us that Nicol has also dealt with tragedy as she faces the future with hope and optimism. Unfortunately, the other fine actresses don’t have roles written as intriguing as her. Two time Emmy winner Wever tries to make the determined Roberta compelling, but she becomes the too accommodating doormat to Mark, who degrades her in his fantasy world (somehow her blouse is always torn). Two up and coming talents, Gonzalez and Monae have very little to do outside of Marwen (the later is only in human form for a few seconds). Then there’s the dazzling Kruger, who alternates between silky temptress and shrieking harpy as the witchy Dejah (and why does she share a name with Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Princess of Mars in the John Carter series).

Director of many classic film fantasies, Robert Zemeckis, tries to meld the fable and reality with wildly uneven results. After a few years respite, he returns to motion-capture (mo-cap) technology (THE POLAR EXPRESS, BEOWULF, and A CHRISTMAS CAROL) for the zippy, inventive WWII sequences which feel like a Rankin/Bass TV special based on Marvel’s “Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos” comics. The faces feel so alive while retaining that sculpted plastic sheen as their “ball and socket” joined arms and legs flail about and grip all manner of weapons as their stitched clothing flaps in the wind. They look especially great as they jump to life-size in a nifty courtroom battle scene. Ah, but the real world is not nearly as slick and fun, or…interesting. Without allowing us to get to know the pre-attack Mark, he’s fairly one-note. The script from Zemeckis and Caroline Thompson seems more content with making him a martyr, punished for his clothing quirks (ala’ ED WOOD). The attempts at pathos become mawkish and eventually dull. And what does Dejah really represent? His fears? Society’s hate toward misfits? And in a perplexing scene, she is tied into a clumsy “call back” to Zemeckis’s greatest movie triumph (as they say in that flick, “That’s heavy, Doc”). The whole thing just lurches and lumbers from one set piece to the next until it just skids and comes to a thudding halt. Maybe its documentary source MARWENCOL makes more sense because WELCOME TO MARWEN is more of a dull dramatic dead end.

2 Out of 5

Win Passes To The St. Louis Advance Screening Of WELCOME TO MARWEN

This holiday season, Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis—the groundbreaking filmmaker behind Forrest Gump, Flight and Cast Away—directs Steve Carell in the most original movie of the year. Welcome to Marwen tells the miraculous true story of one broken man’s fight as he discovers how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit.

When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp (Carell) and wipes away all memories, no one expected recovery. Putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation—a testament to the most powerful women he knows—through his fantasy world, he draws strength to triumph in the real one.

In a bold, wondrous and timely film from this revolutionary pioneer of contemporary cinema, Welcome to Marwen shows that when your only weapon is your imagination…you’ll find courage in the most unexpected place.

The epic drama is produced by Oscar®-winning producer Steve Starkey (Forrest Gump, Flight), Jack Rapke (Cast Away, Flight), and Cherylanne Martin (The Pacific, Flight) of Zemeckis’ Universal-based ImageMovers banner produce alongside the director. It is executive produced by Jacqueline Levine, as well as Jeff Malmberg, who directed the riveting 2010 documentary that inspired the film.

Welcome to Marwen – In Theaters December 21

Enter for your chance to win two free passes to the St. Louis advance screening of WELCOME TO MARWEN. The theatrical sneak preview will be on December 19 at 7pm.

Add you name and email in our comments section below.

NO PURCHASE REQUIRED. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house.

WEBSITE: www.welcometomarwen.com

RATING: WELCOME TO MARWEN has been rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned – Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13) for sequences of fantasy violence, some disturbing images, brief suggestive content, thematic material and language.

Win Passes to the Advance Screening of BABY DRIVER In St. Louis

“He’s a good kid, and a devil behind the wheel.”

That’s Baby (Ansel Elgort), an innocent-looking getaway driver who gets hardened criminals from point A to point B, with daredevil flair and a personal soundtrack running through his head. That’s because he’s got his escape route plotted to the beat of specific tunes that go from his well-curated iPod straight to his ears, and which translate into expertly timed hairpin turns, gear shifts and evasive maneuvers that leave his passengers on the ride of their lives.

Which makes BABY DRIVER, with its mixture of mph and music, the newest explosion of genre-crossing excitement from writer-director Edgar Wright, an action thriller unlike any other.

WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of BABY DRIVER on June 21st in the St. Louis area.

Answer the following question:

What is your favorite movie with the word ‘baby’ in the title (mine is ROSEMARY’S BABY!) It’s so easy!

TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWER AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.

2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house.

It is rated R by the MPAA for the following reasons: violence and language throughout

Baby works for Doc (Kevin Spacey), a kingpin on a lucky streak of brash daytime bank heists, thanks in part to his faith in Baby’s auto acumen. Doc’s go-to professionals include former Wall Street type turned outlaw Buddy (Jon Hamm), Buddy’s young, lawless and scandalous partner in crime Darling (Eiza Gonzalez), and the impulsive, gun-slinging Bats (Jamie Foxx), whose suspicions about Baby – from his attitude to his aptitude – begin to create a dangerous rift in an until-then smooth-running operation.

Baby’s outward appearance – the sunglasses, the aloofness, the ever-present earbuds — may suggest a kid in over his head, but his catch-me-if-you-can skills are second to none. And yet the encroaching demand for his talents, and what he’s doing with them, begin to weigh on his sense of right and wrong, especially when he falls for a sweet, kind-eyed diner waitress named Debora (Lily James), and a doomed job threatens his chance at love and happiness away from his perilous profession.

Full of reversals, rewinds, fast forwards and heart-stopping skips, and inspired by the types of crime-and-chase movies that have thrilled moviegoers since Steve McQueen in a revved-up Mustang changed car pursuits forever, BABY DRIVER is a game-changing, lane-changing, hard-charging blast only Wright could have dreamed up.

Written and directed by Edgar Wright, BABY DRIVER is produced by Nira Park through her Big Talk Pictures, and Working Title principals Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan. Executive producers are Edgar Wright, Adam Merims, James Biddle, Rachael Prior, Liza Chasin, and Michelle Wright.

BABY DRIVER stars Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”), Lily James (Cinderella), Jon Bernthal (“The Walking Dead”), Eiza Gonzalez (“From Dusk til Dawn”), with Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”) and Jamie Foxx (Sleepless).

For the creative production team, Wright assembled a high-octane team of collaborators both longtime and new. Emmy®-nominated director of cinematography Bill Pope (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The World’s End) joins fellow Wright regulars production designer Marcus Rowland (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End) and editor Paul Machliss (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End) and Jonathan Amos (Attack the Block, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and first-time Wright collaborators including costume designer Courtney Hoffman (The Hateful Eight, Captain Fantastic), visual effects supervisor Stuart Lashley (The Danish Girl, Mirror Mirror), and second unit director and stunt coordinator Darrin Prescott (Captain America: Civil War, John Wick).

A TriStar Pictures and MRC presentation, the film shot was shot in and around the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

BABY DRIVER has a running time of 1 hour and 53 minutes.

http://www.babydriver-movie.com/

WHO IS BABY DRIVER?

Cool but a little naive. Young but with an old soul. goofy at times, but all business when it counts. Thrillingly good at his given task, but not always aware of the consequences of what he does. That’s Baby, played by Ansel Elgort, a character Edgar Wright created as a way for moviegoers to live vicariously through a criminal, but also experience the very real fallout of that world.

“The movie is structured so it opens with the dream of being a getaway driver, and very quickly turns into the nightmare of being a criminal,” says Wright. “The opening chase is sort of positioned as a clockwork act of precision. Everything goes right. Then very quickly, with subsequent situations, things start to go wrong, and very visceral consequences start to bear down. The storm clouds have been gathering during the movie. At some point, Baby’s luck is gonna run out.”

The Baby we meet at the beginning of the movie – hidden behind sunglasses, dialed in to his iPod playlist, then a hellion at the wheel – is like the greatest gang apprentice ever. “This kid’s a hotshot, but he’s also on the fringes of the gang,” says Wright. “He literally sits as far away from them as he can, because he really doesn’t want to be part of the group. He thinks, wrongly, that he can be a getaway driver but not be a criminal Like, ‘I’m just the courier. I don’t have anything to do with the bad stuff.’ The action scenes are kind of like Baby’s day job, and I think a lot of people that work in a job sometimes shield themselves in a different persona. Then when they’re home, they’re a different person.”

When Wright was dreaming up the role, he envisioned a riff on the strong silent type personified by Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen, but with the tension that it might all be a front. “You meet him, and he’s a badass in his profession, and then immediately afterwards you start to meet the real kid. It’s an interesting dichotomy, that he’s really good at a job that he should not be doing.”

The music that drives the Baby Driver is, to Wright, indicative of his twofold persona. Blasting his favorite tunes while he does his job looks cool, but it masks a defect tied to a tragedy. “He has this hearing defect, tinnitus, a whine in his ear caused by being in a car crash when he was young,” says Wright. “It has the effect of him not wanting to talk too much, because people with hearing defects can feel more self-conscious talking. But the other aspect of that is to listen to music, to drown out the whine. It becomes a security blanket, and then a full-blown obsession. He literally has to soundtrack his entire life because he can’t really do things without the right music playing.”

Baby is encouraged by his elderly deaf foster father (CJ Jones) to get out of his life of crime. Meeting the friendly, beautiful waitress Debora (Lily James) further articulates for him how misdirected his life is, and how much better it could be. But Baby has to make that leap, and cut ties with his profession. What will it cost?

BABY DRIVER New Thrilling International Trailer Is Here

Buckle up. A brand new international trailer has been released for BABY DRIVER.

The film from director Edgar Wright was chosen as 2017’s SXSW’s Audience Award winner. The overwhelming enthusiastic response out of the Austin film festival prompted Sony Pictures to move the movie’s release date from August up to June.

Stars Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, Eiza González, with Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx.

A talented, young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. When he meets the girl of his dreams (Lily James), Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

In Theaters June 28, 2017.

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