The Quick & Dirties - Summer '18

You might have noticed the lack of reviews on here, lately. I've been watching lots, just not writing much. Well here's a look at a few of the movies that have occupied me this summer.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

(2018)

A group called The Apostles have stolen some plutonium and plan to sell them to international nutjob John Lark. The mission of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team, should they choose to accept it, is to get the plutonium back before that sale happens. As usual, if anything happens, and it will, the government will disavow any knowledge of Hunt and his actions. However, because this case has close ties to a failed mission from the past, Agent Walker (Henry Cavill) is sent along to babysit and handle the situation himself if needed. Spectacularity ensues. Without any of the pressure, overwhelming hype, or crazy expectations of 2018's Marvel releases, the latest M:I flick manages to be more fun than any of them. Whether or not it's better is open to debate, but this is just a pure adrenaline rush. It doesn't break the mold nor do anything different than previous movies in the franchise, it just improves on everything. It's kind of like making pancakes. The first couple are a bit of a struggle and don't come out right. After a while, you get into a groove and each one is more perfect than the last. We're definitely in the groove with Fallout. The first few M: I movies didn't come out quite right. The franchise got really good with Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation. This is better than those and just perfect for popcorn munching. The story works well enough. The chemistry between Tom Cruise and his crew (Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg) is as fine-tuned as that of a team that's been together for a long time should be. The performance by Sean Harris as bad guy Solomon Lane is delectable. Finally, there's what really makes this movie - the action. Many of the stunts are organic and jaw-dropping. And to make sure you see it all, this film boasts some astonishing cinematography. There's a shot in the trailer of Lane trying to lean away from oncoming water inside the back of truck that has just been submerged in a lake. That doesn't do it justice. The bottom line is I love this movie.

Skyscraper

(2018)

The Pearl is just finished construction and is now the tallest building in the world at an insane 225 stories. The guy who made it happen, Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han), understandably wants to make sure it's safe. To that end, he's brought in security expert The Rock, I mean Will Sawyer, to check things out. Long Ji has even let Sawyer's family stay in one of the condos. This includes Will's wife Sarah (Neve Campbell) and their two kids. We'll just call them the boy and the girl. Will assures Long Ji that everything looks AOK, then everything goes sideways. Someone is pissed at Long Ji so they set their plan in motion to take over the building by setting fire to it. One other thing you need to know, Will lost one of his legs years earlier while at combat with the Marines and walks around on a prosthetic. In other words, Die Hard with One Leg ensues. Every frame of this thing drips with stupidity. And it's glorious. If you so happened to set foot in the theater anticipating something other than the most ridiculous movie ever that should change rather quickly. Remember, I told you Will is walking around on one leg and a prosthetic. This thing is amazing. And it's not even one of those souped up ones made for racing or otherwise athletic endeavors. Nope, it's just regular plastic. You know what it stops him from doing? Nothing. This includes one of the very first stunts. The Rock takes of running along the arm of a crane and ungodly amount of feet off the ground then jumps off the tip of this thing, and flies about 30 feet into a window. Along the rest of the way, The Rock kicks lots of ass, and so does Neve Campbell, reminding us she survived four sets of serial killers in and around Woodsboro. Then we get to the ending. Sigh. The way the day gets saved, uh, it's dumb as hell. I mean, it's set up in the first few minutes, but it's so unbelievably simple you're thinking there's no way THAT'S what they're going with. No way. But yeah, that's exactly it. File this in the so bad it's awesome category.

Equalizer 2

(2018)

We start with McCall (Denzel Washington) in full-blown vigilante mode and get reacquainted with him aboard a passenger train on a mission of some sort. He wraps that up, we get an extended commercial for Lyft, then get into the actual plot. A supposedly super-secret operative and his wife get murdered overseas. McCall's bestest buddy Susan (Melissa Leo) goes to investigate and, mini-spoiler, she comes down with a severe case of death. Obviously, this means McCall has to spring into action and figure out who's behind this. By the way, he's simultaneously the self-appointed mentor of a troubled but talented youth living in the same apartment building he does. It's a fun movie, but it comes with a number of narrative issues. For starters, the two storylines I mentioned work together in the clunkiest of ways. Either could've made a fine film on their own, but don't necessarily belong in the same production. The main plot feels like it flows organically from the original. The subplot tries to use the same tools as the first movie, but does so far less effectively. That's because it's ham-fisted commentary on saving young Black men with nothing new to say about that particular issue. It would've been weak back when its predecessor came out, but in a post-Get Out world, it's shockingly thin. Luckily, the main point of the movie is Denzel kicking ass. He does that though it could've and should've been more. That's because the film occasionally goes out of its way to actually avoid violence. Luckily, ninety-eight percent of what is there is fantastically brutal. The other two percent? Not so much. They're still worth mentioning because there are a couple of wide shots that instantly caused me to say to myself, " That's not Denzel." Sigh. EQ2 is watchable and entertaining, but not necessarily good. Put me down for a solid "meh."

The Big Sick

(2017)

Stand-up comedian Kumail Nanjiani plays himself in this movie based on his real-life courtship with his wife Emily, here played by Zoe Kazan. They have a meet-cute in the club where he performs, begin a relationship, and break up because he has issues with honesty. The reason he struggles to tell the truth is that his mother is constantly trying to set him up with women he has no interest in. More importantly, he knows he will be disowned by her and the rest of the family if he doesn't marry a Pakistani woman. Of course, Emily is white, hence the lies. Soon after their break up, Emily winds up in a coma and Kumail is the first person at the hospital.. Soon, he's hanging out with her parents as the girl he's still in love with recovers. This development makes this a fairly unique romantic comedy. Despite the female lead literally being a stage prop for the entire second act and much of the third, it manages to maintain its momentum which is no small feat. The humor is decent, but not gut-busting. Holly Hunter steals the show as Emily's mom. Her performance is powerful and gives weight to everything around her. Ray Romano plays Emily's dad and is nearly as good for the same reason. This creates a problem. The love story between Emily's parents is far more interesting than the one between our two main characters. When the focus is on the parents, the film is heartfelt and has depth. When we're focused on Kumail and Emily it's much more paint-by-numbers, thus, far less compelling. Therefore, this movie isn't as amazing as its slew of critical acclaim would have you believe, but it's still one of the better rom-coms out there.

The Little Hours

(2017)

We meet a quartet of young nuns in a convent during the Middle Ages: Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza), Alessandra (Alison Brie), Marta (Jemima Kirke), and Ginevra (Kate Micucci). They're more frienemies than actual friends and all of them are struggling with emotional issues, temptation included. Any man who dares say so much as hello to them gets verbally, and possibly, physically assaulted. Meanwhile, Massetto (Dave Franco) is a servant at a rich couple's place nearby. After he's caught banging the wife, he flees to save his own life. He then takes a job at the convent while pretending to be a deaf-mute. Antics ensue. This is a case of the idea being better than the execution. It stems from the decision to portray our female characters as millennials without them having gone back in time, or any other trickery. They're just naturally that way. Since the males are clearly of the times they're dressed for, it's jarring. I get that it's taking aim at the archaic patriarchal system and organized religion. However, it does so in a manner that's more confusing than compelling. There are some laughs to be had and some performances to cling to. Our four "leads" aren't bad, just trapped in the wrong movie. The very strong supporting cast elevate the movie. Lauren Weedman, as the rich guy's wife manages to transcend the prison of being a character that doesn't match her time period with wonderful comic timing. Unfortunately, she's underused. Her co-MVP is Fred Armisen as Bishop Bartolomeo. The two of them get to deliver the film's best lines. Also in the cast is John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Nick Offerman, and Paul Reiser. I give the film extra credit for being a pretty ambitious undertaking, but it doesn't quite hit its mark.

The Fundamentals of Caring

(2016)

Ben (Paul Rudd) takes a job as a caregiver to Jodi (Alex Huff), a teen bound to a wheelchair due to having muscular dystrophy. Jodi has a set routine which includes eating waffles and sausage for every single meal and only leaving the house once a week to go to a nearby park for a few hours. His favorite hobby is marking off the crazy attractions he learns about from television on a map of the United States and imagining what it would be like to actually see them. Let's add a few factors to help you write it yourself. Yes, you. Give the kid an overbearing mom, and a thing for cute girls but no confidence in talking to them. That, of course, means casting Selena Gomez as the cute girl and give her an ever-present cigarette to make her "edgy." Finally, have Rudd constantly dodging people his wife sends to serve him divorce papers. You can give the kid whatever personality you want, but in this he's kind a dick who gets off on making his caregivers think he's dying right that moment. It's all pretty straightforward sick-kid dramedy. Rudd's charm and his chemistry with Huff makes the film what it is: a pleasant coming-of-age story for the kid and a nice redemption tale for the adult.

Waffle Street

(2015)

After James (James Lafferty) makes a ton of money for his company through some barely legal, but not too ethical means, his new bosses throw him a big party. Then they fire him. Knowing his lucrative career in finance is over, James decides he doesn't just need a job, but a purpose. He manages to get himself hired at the local Waffle Street despite having never before worked in a restaurant. He starts off busing tables and quickly decides that his new dream is to own his own Waffle Street franchise. James pursuing this dream while straining his marriage ensues. This is based on a true story. It tells that story in a nice enough, if not exactly riveting manner. There are enough humorous moments for the movie to coast on. Nice supporting turns by Danny Glover and Dale Dickey help fill in the gaps in intrigue with gravitas sorely missing from the rest of the cast. Their work aligns itself with the film's overall sweet demeanor to help the movie breeze by. On the flip side, it's predictable from the very first second. Nor does it challenge us to think of our subject as three-dimensional. Instead, he's just an awe-shucks kind of guy whose only fault is trying too hard. That tends to happen when the movie is based on the main character's memoirs, as is the case here. Still, it's a nice time-passer, but nothing too deep is going on.

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