The Reel World

Most action pictures have an aura of super-seriousness, or they are filmed as comedies and everything is meant to be ridiculous. It definitely is a difficult task to mix the two effectively. On some level most action pictures are ridiculous, since most of us will never experience the close proximity to death and danger that is depicted on the screen. Also, life and death are often cheapened with high body counts but little consequence for our hero. In 3 Days To Kill, all sorts of elements are brought to bear in order to reinforce the average everyday family experience and not the lone killer. Early on, a different sort of danger affects our hero. It's not bullets and bombs but a rare disease that is likely to kill him in the very near future. As a spy, he has always neglected family to the extent that his teenage daughter barely knows him. Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is intent on changing that.

3 Days To Kill is a nearly even mix of comedy, explosive action, and sentimental family drama. It may seem like too much to attempt, but the effect is so wacky as to be winning. The film is directed by McG and written by Luc Besson, both filmmakers with impressive credentials, but I'll get back to that later. The real focus is Kevin Costner as an aging and battle-weary veteran CIA agent who is always counted on to take out whatever targets are assigned him. During a particularly explosive encounter in a Serbian hotel, he begins to get dizzy after chasing one surviving member of a gang. He is subsequently hospitalized and told he has maybe six months to live, and thanks for his service. He leaves the hospital determined to reconnect to his wife, Christine (Connie Neilsen), and daughter, Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld).

In 1983, a massive 672-page novel by Mark Helprin called Winter's Tale was published. In 2006, The New York Times Book Review named it one of the 22 best books of the last 25 years. It is an almost universally acclaimed book, and one that is nearly impossible to translate into any one movie because it covers many characters over a long period of time. Screenwriter/Director Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code, I Am Legend) has taken on this difficult task. Some of his famous friends have joined him. He has admitted in interviews that he had no choice but to cut many large sections and story lines from the sprawling book. I have no problem with this when someone does their very best to honor and respect what was clearly a great work. I think it is unrealistic to say that a large and complex book can't be made into a movie. They are different experiences, and if you object, then read the book again and avoid the movie.

Winter's Tale is being released on Valentine's Day because it heavily emphasizes the romance inherent in the book. It is a tragic and doomed romance, but one that is laced with magic and a cosmic significance that extends across the cosmos. The movie tells the story of the burglar, Peter Lake (Colin Ferrell) who does not die despite being surrounded by demons disguised as thugs who throw him off the Brooklyn Bridge. He rises from the water 100 years later in modern New York trying to remember his past. The main demon who pursues him is Pearly Soames, played by Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind). Soames has magical powers of his own but answers to the Judge or Lucifer played by Will Smith (I Am Legend). Soames has a driving need to destroy miracles and is pursuing Peter Lake because he feels his miracle is near. But both Soames and Lucifer must play by certain rules. Peter Lake has found a white horse to help him which turns out to be angelic being drawn to Peter by his grace. The woman he falls in love with is dying from consumption (Jessica Brown Findlay, Lady Sybil Crawley/Branson from Downton Abbey).

“What are we fighting about now?”

About Last Night isn’t the first — and certainly won’t be the last — movie about adults taking clumsy, tentative steps toward commitment. Heck, it’s not even the first movie called “About Last Night” to tackle the subject. The film is one of a whopping *three* remakes of 1980s hits descending on screens this week. I could easily bemoan the general lack of imagination in Hollywood, but by now that sort of rant is almost as unoriginal as all these remakes. Besides, I’d rather spend my time talking about this engaging, formulaic, frequently funny movie.

There have been complaints that there are not enough films that have decent lead roles for women. There are those that say that Hollywood does not make enough movies for women. Then when they do, critics tend to dismiss them as “Lifetime” movies (a term that is dismissive because of the cable channel that churns out generic movies for women). It seems far easier to accept excessive violence or male-oriented films with sexual content. If a movie tries to legitimately capture real situations from a woman's point of view, it can be patronizingly categorized as pap and schmaltz.

I see an awful lot of movies, and what disappoints me most about many of them is the insincerity of the experience. We get to see a lot of violent movies and a lot of funny movies, and if they seem halfhearted, I shrug it off as the norm. If I see romantic comedies that seem like weak rip-offs of movies made years ago, I assume they just don't know how to make them anymore, but an even rarer commodity is a serious romantic movie that works. Today that usually means it has to be laced with cynicism and anger.

The title refers to the junction in every romantic relationship when a couple has to decide between moving forward and moving on, but That Awkward Moment could also describe the dicey transition between squeaky clean teen star and legitimate adult performer. (Hi, Miley.) To his credit, Zac Efron has already dipped his toe — and other body parts — in provocative waters. (Including Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire.) But That Awkward Moment is the star’s first big, commercial, R-rated swing. The real awkwardness happens the moment you realize the movie isn’t nearly as clever or subversive as it seems to think it is.

Fortunately for Efron — and his two on-the-rise co-stars — the film’s talented, likable performers are its major saving grace. Efron stars as Jason, who can charitably be described as a man-whore lothario. When we meet Jason, he’s sitting on a frigid park bench for reasons that will become clearer over the next 90 or so minutes.

One of the most famous men who ever lived is responsible for over 200 movies and TV shows, yet there has never been an autobiographical film until now. He has been loved and revered for over 100 years, but much of his life is shrouded in privacy due to the constraints of the times in which he lived. The books Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol and others are towering achievements in English literature. We finally can now see what Charles Dickens might have really been like.

Dickens was a good-natured, goodhearted, and hardworking author who seemed to be always in motion and focused on producing and being positive. He had 10 children, and his memories of a difficult period in his youth always motivated him to be earning and never be poor. He achieved his goals but stayed on track to always try to maximize his impact and effectiveness. As a result he was like a rock star of the late 19^th century in the level of his popularity.

“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.