Logan Lucky
Dir. Steven Soderbergh
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Much to the dismay of movie fans everywhere, in 2013 Steven Soderbergh announced his "retirement" from directing after his fantastic HBO Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra (my #6 pick of that year). However, we all kind of knew that phase would be short lived, and what do you know - the director of all three Ocean's Eleven flicks is back in the game with another heist flick. Only instead of the glitzy world of Vegas casinos we're traveling to the backwoods of West Virginia and "NASCAR country." So, after all the false promises of throwing in the directorial towel for good, I was expecting Logan Lucky to be something special enough to at least save Soderbergh the embarrassment of so soon saying: "I'm back!" Though I don't think this film is the earth-shattering comeback for its director that might be expected, it's still a reliably good time from one of my favorite filmmakers working today.
Logan Lucky follows a divorced West Virginian dad, Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), who's been laid off from his construction job at the Charlotte Motor Speedway due to a limp. Now desperate for cash to help provide for his daughter (Farrah Mackenzie), Jimmy hatches an elaborate scheme to break into the vault of his former workplace. To pull off the job, he hires a rag-tag group of country bumpkins, including: his one-armed, war veteran brother Clyde (Adam Driver), his hair stylist sister Mellie (Riley Keough), and a notorious, imprisoned safecracker named Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), along with Joe's two dim-witted brothers (Brian Gleeson and Jack Quaid).
Most of the cast doesn't elevate above being cartoonish and quirky caricatures (not that there's anything wrong with that; this is the funniest and most watchable Daniel Craig has ever been), but it's Driver and Tatum that make their characters feel the most like real people. They both have a very endearing, blue collar quality to them; they're just a couple good guys down on their luck, one limping and the other literally without a hand, and are illustrative examples of a post-recession America wanting to "go against the man." Even if the accents are all over the board and NASCAR culture is lampooned and stereotyped somewhat, it's still a fun, simple, matinee-worthy lark.
Though it feels a little anticlimactic being the "return" of a great director, Logan Lucky is yet another entertaining flick from Steven Soderbergh, who I think could direct grass growing and it would still be interesting. Let's hope that any future "retirement notices" are just more empty threats!
Rating: B
The Hitman's Bodyguard
Dir. Patrick Hughes
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In the 1980s and 90s, interracial buddy cop movies were IN. The one thing that seemed to bring black and white people together in harmony were car chases and gun fights. 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop, Die Hard with a Vengeance - heck, even Men and Black - all played to that formula beautifully. The Hitman's Bodyguard is a similarly styled, old school "buddy cop" movie - only without all the magic that made those previously listed films so wonderful: a solid story, a smart script, complex characters, and a genuine camaraderie between the two leads. The Hitman's Bodyguard is instead a hollow exercise in genre filmmaking that feels dated, unfunny, and totally rote. Save for a couple of action sequences, this one's a real stinker.
The story follows the world's BEST protection agent, bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds), who's hired to protect a Japanese arms dealer [eye-rollingly] named Kurosawa. However, that job gets botched and two years later Agent Bryce still can't find work. Meanwhile, in a Dutch court the prosecution needs someone to testify against a dangerous arms dealer Dukhovich (Gary Oldman), but everyone is too afraid to provide evidence because they might be killed. The prosecution's last hope is hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), who agrees to testify at the Hague to exonerate his wife Sonia (Salma Hayek). During the convoy ride to the courthouse, however, they're ambushed, and Bryce's ex-girlfriend Amelia (also an agent) and Kincaid make it out alive. The rest of the film is then Amelia, Kincaid, and Bryce basically getting into antics, running away from and beating up bad guys, trying to still make it in time for the trial. The plot is needlessly complicated and boring, as it's all a roundabout way for Reynolds and Jackson to go on the road together.
The Hitman's Bodyguard really didn't need to do much to be a competent movie. It has so many "buddy movie" precedents to draw from in both film and TV, and the natural charisma of Reynolds and Jackson alone should have been enough to make it a fun time. But the cliches are cringe-worthy and rack up fast (Jackson shouting "MF-er" over and over can only go so far), and especially after Deadpool, which succeeds at being the over-the-top, violent, anarchic action-comedy The Hitman's Bodyguard desperately wants to be (even down to the ironic 80s soundtrack), this film just falls flat across the board. Other than one crazy action sequence in a hardware store, there's absolutely nothing particularly inventive, fresh, or worth-watching about this movie.
Rating: D+
The Glass Castle
Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
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Based on the 2005 memoir of the same name, The Glass Castle is the latest drama from director Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed the indie-favorite Short Term 12 in 2013, introducing many of us to the powerful acting chops of a pre-Room Brie Larson. Now the director/actress duo is back to make us cry yet again, with a story about Jeannette Walls, an author and journalist whose childhood was spent squatting in homes, living in poverty, co-habiting small spaces with her big family (mom, dad, 2 sisters, 1 brother), and dealing with her alternately peace-loving and violent-drunk father (played by Woody Harrelson). It feels similar to last year's magnificent film Captain Fantastic (my #7 of 2016), but a little more rough around the edges.
While it was Larson who outshone her costars in Short Term 12, it's Woody Harrelson who's the MVP in The Glass Castle. As the patriarch of the Wallis clan, he constantly distracts the kids with magical stories and grand "plans" to build a glass castle to keep their minds off of their dire situation. He's a flawed human being, but Harrelson convincingly brings a pitiable, endearing quality to a character who could otherwise be seen as an outright monster. Naomi Watts plays Jeannette's mother, an artist destructively loyal to her husband, but unable to fall out of love. The kids are all likewise great, with Ella Anderson adding to 2017's amazing child actor performances as young Jeanette; though not the oldest, she often ends up as the reluctant caretaker of her parents and siblings, and Anderson beautifully portrays Jeanette's torn insides regarding her situation, understanding that she needs to escape this life, but never cutting that thin string of love between her and her family.
While I can't comment on how the story was handled in the book having not read it, I really liked the flashback structure of the film, jumping between Jeannette's childhood traumas as well as her modern life, complicated between her relationship with her father and her well-to-do fiance. I think the ultimate message of the movie is that your parents can be both the "best" and the "worst" part of your life, but I don't think the movie convincingly sways the delicate balance enough towards the "best" side. Harrelson's character, in my opinion, does some pretty unforgivable acts here (one taking place at a swimming pool), bordering on straight-up abuse.
I think Captain Fantastic, with Viggo Mortensen's character, does a much better job of challenging the audience with a complicated character who is almost equally enriching and destructive toward his kids. That being said, I was still absorbed in the conflicted relationships all the family members had with each other, and the acting alone is worth strongly recommending The Glass Castle.
Rating: B
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
Dir. Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk
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More than ten years ago, former Vice President Al Gore gave one of the scariest PowerPoint presentations ever delivered with An Inconvenient Truth - his scientific breakdown of the global climate crisis which ended up winning an Academy Award. With An Inconvenient Sequel, we're checking back into the state of affairs, where Al's gone since the last film, and what - if any - improvements have been made since then. While it's not quite as bleak as ten years ago, this movie indicates that we Americans still need to get our shit together!
The film follows Gore both in his private moments and on stage as he tirelessly struggles to gain a following to fight global warming and international climate policies. Although it's not as propulsive or cinematically engaging as the first film, and we do see how things have slightly improved, this sequel is every bit as important and relevant to watch because "better" is far from "ideal." Look no further than the freak weather we experience all the time; Gore interviews a number of people whose lives were destroyed after these record-breaking storms clearly caused by rising atmospheric temperatures. I also like how Gore presents this issue not as a political one, but a global one (in fact, one of the most promising moments of the film shows the mayor of a very "red" town having adopted a nearly total conversion to alternative, green energy sources). I just wonder: will this movie actually inspire change, or will we continue not to heed the warnings, dooming us all? The cynic in me is pointing toward doom.
If Gore's goal is to educate the public, gain followers, and start a movement to prevent global warming, I really wish he had released this documentary online for free. By releasing this movie into theaters - with a limited run at that - he's pretty much preaching to the choir here. If you're paying to see this movie, chances are you're already on board, while the nay-saying "deniers," who could stand to learn something from this, will have no way of seeing it. As a result, An Inconvenient Sequel feels more like a movie about Al Gore's struggles to get things done than an urgent, educational exposé, but I still thought it was a well-done doc filled with great information and interesting behind-the-scenes footage (it also doesn't hurt that Al Gore's voice is as soothing as an August breeze).
Rating: B
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