Thursday Movie Picks: Snowy Winter Movies

Deadfall

Happy Thanksgiving, folks!!! I couldn't let the day pass without an appropriately themed movie, so today you get Deadfall. It's not exactly going to give you the warm and fuzzies, but...well...let's just get into the review...

Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky.

2012. Rated R, 95 minutes.

Cast:

Eric Bana

Olivia Wilde

Charlie Hunnam

Kate Mara

Kris Kristofferson

Sissy Spacek

Treat Williams

Patrick Kerton

Allison Graham

We meet Liza (Wilde) and her brother Addison (Bana) as they are riding along a snowy road in the getaway car after a casino heist. Our movie watching experience tells us that when a movie starts inside a vehicle, something bad is about to happen. And so, it does. As they tend to, a deer runs out into the middle of the road, which the driver slams into. We won’t be seeing either of them again. As for Liza and Addison, they survive. Since the car did not, they have to find a way to the Canadian border to complete their escape. Addison decides they will split up. Liza is to hitchhike her way to someplace safe. He will have the money and call her later tonight to find out where she is and get there any way possible. As an unsuspecting police officer who happens upon the crash site learns, killing anyone in the way is certainly an option for Addison. Something else we learn about him is that his relationship with his sister is probably a lot different than yours with your siblings. They take the phrase “keep it in the family” way too literally. Anyhoo, Addison takes off through the woods, taking a chance he’ll freeze to death, while Liza manages to get a ride from Jay (Hunnam). Unbeknownst to her, Jay has not only just gotten out of prison, but he is also on the run. Of course, they discover they kind of like one another. Hmmm, wonder what Addison thinks of all this. We find out over a rather tense Thanksgiving day feast.

The movie alternates between Addison’s countryside adventure and Liza’s road trip with Jay. It also lets us get to know Jay’s parents: his loving mom June (Spacek) and his grouchy dad Chet (Kristofferson) who won’t speak to him. Local cop Hannah (Mara), who grew up with Jay and now works under her overbearing father Sherrif Becker (Williams), is also in the mix. With all of this going on, Deadfall manages not to feel cluttered. It ably bounces around the various subplots and keeps them well tethered to the larger narrative. The motivations of each person is revealed in no uncertain terms. Within each, a different aspect of family dynamics plays out. Unfortunately, this also renders them all rather flat. We get the idea we know what any of them are going to say before they actually speak.

Addison is the one person who manages to escape the trap of predictability. Sure, his ultimate goal is transparent, but he gives us surprises along the way. This makes whatever is going on with him the most interesting thing in the movie. Eric Bana has some issues with his southern accent, his character is from Alabama, but is otherwise great. We get that this is a guy with a warped sense of morals. It is certainly understood that his screws are rolling around unfastened to anything in his noggin.

The elders in the cast:  Spacek, Kristofferson, and Williams are all excellent. Spacek is particularly good. Where her male cast mates all huff and puff through much of the movie, she gives a very nuanced performance. Our pair of instant lovers doesn’t fare as well. Olivia Wilde is actually solid, giving off enough naivete to sell her roll. Unfortunately, she shares most of her scenes with Charlie Hunnam. He gives the type of performance that makes it difficult to believe he has a pulse.

What Deadfall has going most for it is the way it all comes together at the end. Leading up to the finale things are a bit uneven. It’s fun when Bana is on the screen and the dynamics betwee the various characters works. During our time with the lovebirds the movie doesn’t sizzle the way it wants. However, from the moment Bana shows up in Spacek’s kitchen, the tension is ramped up and carries us through the third act. The actual ending is on the predictable side, but it works. It takes the movie from being one we could go either way on to the one that’s not too bad.

MY SCORE: 6.5/10

Hanna

Directed by Joe Wright.

2011. Rated PG-13, 111 minutes.
Cast:
Saoirse Ronan
Eric Bana
Cate Blanchett
Tom Hollander
Jessica Barden
Vicky Krieps
Tim Beckmann
Jason Flemyng
Olivia Williams

Hanna (Ronan) is not your typical teenage girl. Being raised in the forest by only your father in complete isolation tends to have that effect. We very soon learn there’s a lot more to it than that. Dad, Erik Heller (Bana) seems to be training her for a very dangerous mission. She fluently speaks numerous languages, has cat-like reflexes even in her sleep, fights viciously and is scarily proficient with firearms. We’re not the least bit surprised when she tells dad that she thinks she’s ready. With that, he digs up something that looks like he’s about to call Batman, shaves, cuts his hair, throws on a suit, gives Hanna a few last minute instructions and bails out. Apparently, the simple fact he’s alive is a threat to national security. Naturally, shortly after Hanna’s flipped the switch on the makeshift batphone a small army of government agents are making their way inside the cabin where she lives with guns drawn looking for pop. They only find her and she disposes of a few of them before letting herself be corralled and hauled off to a very sanitized facility for questioning.

At this point, we still don’t know what it is she’s ready for and why dad took off ahead of the action. Marissa (Blanchett) is wondering the same thing. She pretty much runs things in this particular government operation. The Heller’s plan slowly comes into focus for us while the action occurs rapidly enough. Our young heroine winds up on the run after some death-defying feats, death inducing to a number of those in her way, while dad is on an excursion of his own. Hanna’s introduction to the modern world and lack of social skill serves as comic relief. What exactly her father is doing and Hanna’s quest to reunite with him gives us both the action and the drama. It’s all woven into an intriguing and exciting tale. It's also full of wonderful visuals that keep our eyes dazzled.

Detractors will note that Hanna engages in lots of hand-to-hand combat with grown men. Rest assured, all is explained. I might add that what we’re shown is well depicted. It never feels anywhere near as ridiculous as it might sound. It helps that Ronan handles the lead role superbly. She is a perfect mix of naivete and ruthlessness. The plot does its part by being mysterious enough to keep us interested, but not so much that it feels cryptic. There are some spots where it drags a bit, but the pace feels solid overall. It wisely borrows from another recent action movie with a female lead. If Salt is basically The Bourne Identity starring Angelina Jolie then Hanna is Salt with a teenager. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Mary and Max

Directed by Adam Elliot.
2009. Rated PG, 80 minutes.
Cast:
Toni Collette
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Eric Bana
Bethany Whitmore
Barry Humphries
Renée Geyer
Ian “Molly” Meldrum

Mary Daisy Dinkle (Whitmore/Collette) is an eight year old girl living in Australia in the 1970s and is often left to her own devices. She develops lots of hobbies, eats lots of condensed milk straight from the can and watches lots of her favorite show, “The Noblets.” Unfortunately, her mom is drunk most of the time, her dad is usually at working or enjoying his own hobbies in the shed and Mary has no other friends. To change this, she decides to get a pen pal. To decide who the lucky, unsuspecting person will be, she randomly picks a name out of a New York City phone book. That name is Max Horowitz. She eagerly writes the first letter and mails it off.

Max is 44 years old, lives alone in New York and in many ways, is child-like. Like Mary, he spends lots of time eating his favorite food, in his case chocolate, and watching “The Noblets.” He also attends “Overeaters Anonymous” meetings and plays the lottery ever day, always the same number. When he receives Mary’s letter he’s taken aback, at first. Soon, he musters enough courage to return the gesture.

The pair continue to exchange the letters for the next three decades, through all the ups and downs of their lives. This long distance relationship frames their existnces, eventually coming to define them. Through the letters, they get to know each other in ways most people don’t. They truly become friends. The welcome side-effect is that we get to know them intimately, as well. They become our friends. We’re happy when they’re happy. We hurt when they do. A key moment comes when we find out that Max indeed has a diagnosed mental disability. However, this isn’t revealed to draw our sympathy. The real value is showing what effect this has on Mary. The heights and depths of her adult life seem to all stem from knowledge of Max’s affliction.

The question we desperately want answered is will they ever meet face to face? How this plays out is a brilliant and touching piece of film making. It’s not something we arrive upon easily, either. It’s truly a moment many years in the making. If you’re prone to crying at movies, keep the tissue handy. If you’re looking for hyperkinetic action, toilet humor and talking animal sidekicks, you’re in the wrong place. If you want to see two fabulously intertwined character studies, stay.

Star Trek (2009)

Funny People

Directed by Judd Apatow.
2009. Rated R, 153 minutes.
Cast:
Adam Sandler
Seth Rogen
Leslie Mann
Eric Bana
Jonah Hill
Jason Schwartzman
Aubrey Plaza
Aziz Ansari
RZA
Torsten Voges
Justin Long

Plot: Comedian/movie star George Simmons (Sandler) hires still wet behind the ears comic Ira (Rogen) to write material for him. He’s also just found out he’s dying. Bromance ensues.

The Good: For director Apatow, this is pretty easily his most mature and complex work. The same can be said for Seth Rogen and possibly for Sandler, as well. Despite it being about comedians, it isn’t necessarily the funniest movie for any of them. Believe it, or not, that’s a good thing. Instead of spending time being outrageous and crass simply for the sake of it, we actually get character and relationship development. As a result, we’re more interested in what happens to them. Adam Sandler gives his bravest performance, parodying himself.

The Bad: Its way too long. As usual, Apatow is sorely in need of an independent thinking editor. Two and a half hour comedies tend to drag and this is no exception. There’s no doubt in my mind, it could get to its point about 30 minutes quicker. However, if the movie could use more of anything, it is George’s relationship with his own father. It’s talked about and built up as if it’s coming to some dramatic climax, but it never does.

The Ugly: Ira (Rogen) going ballistic on Daisy (Plaza) for cheating on him. You have to see it to understand.

Recommendation: Given the track records of nearly everyone involved, this is a movie bound to disappoint many and surprise others. If you’re looking for a gross-out comedy built on a foundation of four-letter words, look elsewhere. There are plenty of cuss words but they seem organic to the conversations, not just there for effect like in Apatow’s other work. It’s an involving piece of work that a lot of people just won’t like.

The Opposite View: Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

What the Internet Says: 6.8/10 on imdb.com (9/28/10), 68% on rottentomatoes.com, 60/100 on metacritic.com


MY SCORE: 7.5/10