Posts by Gino Sassani

Andy Serkis is mostly known for pioneering the industry of motion capture performance. Most of you may not know that he's worked a bit behind the camera as well. He's led a few second units as director but had not actually directed a feature film. Breathe is his first effort, and while it has some truly nice moments, it looks like a first effort. I have no doubt that Serkis will be eventually demand notice as a director. He demonstrates an incredible base of knowledge when it comes to filmmaking. He certainly understands how to make an emotional connection with characters that aren't really there. The skills are evident. But I suspect Breathe won't be called upon in a future list of Andy Serkis masterpieces.

Robin Cavendish (Garfield) is an active adventurer who revels in physical activity, whether it be tennis or hiking in Kenya. He meets and marries Diana (Foy), who shares his adventurist life. They live a rather idyllic life until Robin is diagnosed with polio and given a short time to live. At first he falls into the expected depression and suicidal thoughts, but Diana manages to inspire him to make something of his life in spite of the terrible diagnosis. His friend Teddy (Bonneville) is a skilled engineer who develops a chair that offers more than just mobility. It has the respiration equipment he requires. Robin uses this new mobility to again travel and have adventures where he eventually becomes an inspiration and advocate for others who are disabled. He ends up living longer than anyone predicted.

Based on a true story. We see those words preceding a lot of films these days. It's almost as if we've started to chronicle our big moments via the cinema. If a story is tragic enough or portrays outstanding bravery or courage, you can expect it to eventually get a feature film. I can almost predict the big films of 2020 or so just by looking at the headlines in 2017. It's become a little overdone for my tastes and can often appear exploitive in nature. These films are often devoid of originality. Of course they are. They're based on something that real life has already written. I've seen bumper stickers that say "God is my co-pilot". I'm waiting for him to get some screenplay credit or a chair in the writer's room. Of course, he'd be expected to start paying dues to the Writer's Guild. There's also the added problem that the audience already knows how the film is going to end. Ron Howard faced the same problem when he directed Apollo 13. He managed to keep us on the edge of our seats anyway. Only the Brave isn't going to keep you on the edge of your seat. But it will sneak up on you. I knew how it was going to end, but that didn't stop director Joseph Kosinski from finding a way to blindside me anyway. It's a trick Houdini would have been proud of. How did he do that? Now, that would be telling.

Eric Marsh (Brolin) is the superintendant of Crew 7 in Prescott, Arizona. They are a team of firefighters, but they aren't the usual "structure" crew. They fight wildfires. It has been Marsh's dream that his team become certified as Hot Shots. The term means that they can actually fight these blazing demons from the front lines. Without the certification they are forced to act as support and work the "back-end" of the fire by digging trenches, clearing debris, and monitoring progress. The town is behind him, from the mayor to the fire chief, Duane Steinbrink (Bridges). If they can pull it off, they will become the first municipal fire crew to earn the distinction. They are currently a couple of men short.

Action heroes are very much like sports superstars. So much of what they do is tied to their physical ability, and eventually time catches up to them. For sports figures they either try and accept it and go out on top, or they taint their legend by trying to hang on. The same can be said for action heroes, except there is a third alternative. Some action movie actors learn to adapt their material to their current skill level. Clint Eastwood, while not really an action star, was known for physical roles. He found a way to age quite well on screen with films like Unforgiven and Gran Torino. Jackie Chan appears to have learned that lesson, and The Foreigner, while not in the same stratosphere as Clint's last staring efforts, does a good job of redefining the actor and giving him something he can do well going forward. With a different kind of smoke and mirrors than the wirework and stunt choreography of Chan's prime years, this is a film you will find enjoyable and maybe walk away seeing less than you believed you saw.

The film isn't exactly original. You can take any of a dozen Charles Bronson films and fill in some gaps to get the plot of The Foreigner. Jackie Chan plays Quan. He came to England after the Vietnam War and now owns a quiet little restaurant. His daughter ends up a casualty in a terrorist attack by a new generation of the IRA. The loss sends him into a deep depression made worse by the lack of answers to the violent attack. Pierce Brosnan delivers an incredible performance as Liam Hennessy. Liam is a former leader of the IRA who has now found new life and a kind of redemption as an official liaison between the British Government and his former brothers in the movement. His efforts have delivered 19 years of peace that is suddenly threatened by this bold attack. Liam finds himself caught in the middle of the government and his allegiance to his old comrades. It's about to get much worse for Liam. Quan has identified him as the man who can get the names of the people who killed his daughter, and he sets out as a one-man army to "convince" Liam to provide that information. Quan can't get revenge on the men responsible (yet), so he concentrates his efforts on Liam. It turns out Quan once led a not-so-quiet life once and has some pretty serious skills.