The Reel World

“You’re not just an analyst anymore. You’re operational now.”

Witness the birth of-- actually make that rebirth of --one of the most popular action heroes in literature. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has been a character of many jobs and many faces over the years. Baldwin, Ford, and Affleck have all stepped into the role of the man who has been a soldier, analyst, an operative, and a president. Now Chris Pine looks to fill the shoes left behind by some of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters and try his hand at a retelling of the legendary character which also stars Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley, along with Kenneth Branagh who doubles as the film’s director. There are two clear differences between Pine’s circumstance and the others who have played Ryan: the story has been modernized to fit today’s setting, and Pine’s story is the only one not to be based off a popular Clancy novel.

“There is a storm inside of us. I’ve heard many team guys speak of this. A burning. A river. A drive. An unrelenting desire to push yourself harder and further than anyone could think possible.”

To understand the significance of this movie, I feel that it is important to give a little background about the true events that this movie covers. Now there is no doubt in mind that every American has heard something or other about 19 brave souls lost and the one survivor. (Of course I am ashamed to admit that the first time I heard anything about this was with the announcement of Lt. Murphy being award the Medal of Honor, sometime after the event of things). During 2005, the United States Navy took part in covert mission codenamed Operation Red Wings. Red Wings was a mission to travel behind enemy lines into Kunar Province and eliminate a Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah. A four-man team was chosen to carry out this mission: Lt. Michael Murphy, SO2 Marcus Luttrell, SO2 Curtis Axelson, and SO2 Danny Dietz. Of the original four men sent to carry out this mission, Luttrell was the only one to return; this is the story of what happened.

With the holidays behind us and a new year already in full swing, most of us are recovering from all the holiday spirit and quality family time that this time of year seems to demand of all of us.  At some point I’m sure most families have suffered through heated exchanges and emotional turmoil that only our kin can pry out of us.  August: Osage County is about that family turmoil, and skeletons in the closet but ramped up to the point where some viewers may need some counselling of their own by the time the credits roll.

With the exception of a few moments throughout, the film is isolated within the confines of the Weston home in Oklahoma. The setup is simple; a family comes together after the disappearance of their father, and as the family comes together dreading the impending fate of their father, resentment and secrets come spiraling out as the family disintegrates before our very eyes, and we see the harm that words and the truth can inflict.

You know exactly what's going on here. It's Rocky Balboa vs. Joe La Motta, and they're not exactly in their prime. For reasons of property rights, of course, this really isn't Rocky or La Motta, but you and I know it is. The film takes great pains to remind us of each of these iconic characters. Sly's character tries to take a shot at some hanging meat after drinking a glass of raw eggs. De Niro's character is found telling boxing jokes in his own club, just as the real-life La Motta did after his fighting days were over. Both of these actors played iconic fighters in their day. It's safe to say that both the characters and the actors themselves are beyond their physical prime. Sly is just three years shy of 70, while De Niro reached that milestone back in August. And that's what makes Grudge Match a better film as a comedy.

It's been 30 years since Pittsburg's greatest fighters Henry "Razor" Sharp (Stallone) and Billy "The Kid" McDonnen left the fight game. They faced each other twice in their careers, splitting the victories. For each, the other was their only loss. A rubber match was going to happen, but Rocky Razor decided to retire before the fight. Since then, La Motta The Kid has not been able to let it go. He wanted to show the world he was best. It doesn't help that they had an issue out of the ring.

“Some of this actually happened.”

 It’s the quote that opens a film that I don’t just consider the most enjoyable experience on the big screen this year, but one of the best films to be released in years.  It’s a comedy, it’s a love story, it’s all a giant con wrapped in the world of the mid 70’s that David O. Russell captures with flare and detail and often at times feels as though it could be a sister film to Goodfellas.  By no means is this a gangster film (although the mob is present), but this is a film about characters who are all trying to do the right thing only the method by which they go about accomplishing the task is morally questionable.

You already know Mary Poppins is one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time. But did you know it also holds the record for most Oscar nominations (13) and wins (5) for a movie released by Walt Disney Studios? Audiences...critics...everybody loves Mary Poppins, right? Well, unless you follow movie history pretty closely, you may not know the film had a famous, formidable critic in P.L. Travers, the author of the “Mary Poppins” book series.

Saving Mr. Banks is at its best when its dramatizing the alternately petty, amusing and emotional struggle between Travers (Emma Thompson) and none other than Walt Disney himself (played by none other than Tom Hanks himself) to bring her creation to the silver screen. The film opens with a familiar bit of narration reinforcing the idea that “what’s to happen all happened before.” We catch up with a reluctant Mrs. Travers (she insists you call her that) in 1961, right before she’s about to travel from London to Los Angeles to decide if she will grant a determined Walt (he insists you call him that) the rights to turn her film into a crowd-pleasing musical. Not surprisingly, the severe, stubborn Travers comically clashes with her collaborators, which include screenwriter Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford) and legendary songwriting siblings Robert and Richard Sherman (B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman).

"There are dark spirits, old and full of hate...The world is in great danger."

A trilogy is a hard animal to pull off. Even when you have a popular franchise, it is extremely difficult. All of the pieces have to work just right or you could have a disaster on your hands. It is even harder when you've already beaten the odds once and delivered a trilogy that is both loved and a huge box office success. You run into an almost insurmountable mountain of expectations. Your pieces must somehow fit together so that they can be viewed as one whole product. They also need to match the world and production style of the previous trilogy even though technology has changed quite a bit in the decade that separates the two. Lightning doesn't often strike the same place twice unless you happen to live in Florida or, apparently, New Zealand, where Peter Jackson has managed to do the impossible...so far.

Director Scott Cooper made his directorial debut with the much critically acclaimed film Crazy Heart.  It was an impressive first film that managed to get Jeff Bridges an academy award.  With Out of the Furnace, Cooper again has a film on his hands that may gain some award recognition due to the many great performances sprinkled throughout the film.  But aside from the great performances, how does the actual film hold up?  It’s something I’ve been pondering for a bit.  The film wastes no time showing us its dark side right from the start.  Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson) is out on a date and heaving outside his car at a drive-in theater.  This isn’t the Woody Harrelson we’re used to.  He’s rough-cut and mean.  When his date talks back him, not only does he seem to enjoy degrading her, but like a vicious dog he snaps and attacks her.  When an on looker walks over to help, you already know this won’t end well for the man who simply wants to do the right thing and help a woman in distress.  This scene plays out as one of my favorite introductions to a film’s villain in quite some time.

As for the star of the film, Christian Bale, he plays Russell Baze, a working-class man who works at the town steel mill barely making ends meet, but he’s content.  The same cannot be said about Russell’s little brother Rodney (Casey Affleck); he’s a veteran who is back from Iraq and is struggling to get back on his feet.  He doesn’t want a life in the mill but the town has little to nothing to offer which leaves Rodney with little choice but to spend what little he has (and borrows) on gambling.  Russell wants to help his brother, but Rodney, whether through pride or stupidity, simply won’t take help when it’s offered regardless of the circumstances.

This is a film that was sitting on a few shelves for quite some time. It was first a novel by Chuck Logan back in 2006. Sylvester Stallone liked the idea and put together a screenplay. It was intended as a vehicle for him, but that's where the whole sitting on a shelf thing comes into play. The movie never really got off the ground, and before long Sly was a little too long in the tooth to do the role. It's not like he was a spring chicken when he wrote the thing, which could account for, you know, that sitting on a shelf business. The screenplay has finally gotten off the shelf and into our movie screens. After careful consideration, I'm looking for that shelf again.

The movie isn't anything we haven't seen before. It begins as Agent Phil Broker (Statham) is infiltrating the Sons Of Anarchy...The Outcasts motorcycle club. It appears that cooking meth is more profitable than cruising on the highway. So much for the whole Born To Be Wild ideal. The takedown goes a little bad, and the son of the club's leader Danny T (Zito) gets killed. Danny T vows the typical revenge as he's being carted away.