Girl Week 2018: The Hate U Give

Captain America: Civil War

Ant-Man

Black or White: A Collection of Stereotypes

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.

2014. Rated PG-13, 136 minutes.

Cast:

Chris Evans

Scarlett Johansson

Samuel L. Jackson

Robert Redford

Anthony Mackie

Sebastian Stan

Frank Grillo

Cobie Smulders

Emily VanCamp

Hayley Atwell

Like Thor and Iron Man we find Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Evans), trying to piece his life back together "after New York," or the events of The Avengers. In case you haven't kept up with what's going on, Cap has an additional hurdle. He's not long been woken after having been frozen for nearly seventy years. He has a lot of catching up to do. Of course, that has to wait because there's a world to save. Some bad folks, I won't say who, have taken over SHIELD. They plan on restoring world order, and running things, by eliminating every person in the world they deem to be a threat. This numbers some twenty million people. Yes, Captain America, Black Widow (Johansson), and Nick Fury (Jackson) are included in that group. Superhero stuff ensues.

One thing we notice early on is that the tone of this movie is different from just about every other in Marvel's shared universe, with the first Captain America being the closest one. The rest go out of their way to make us laugh. While there is some humor here, that certainly isn't the case. Things don't quite veer into The Dark Knight territory, but it is a fairly serious minded superhero flick. The movie uses this to tremendous advantage by creating tension sooner and rarely diffusing it. Action scenes are given more oomph. Combine all this with the fact that neither our hero nor the people helping him are actually invincible and that tension is increased a bit more. We feel like there's something on the line.

Captain America himself is a big asset. Chris Evans has found the hero he should be playing. As The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four series, he was too much. He got to be real annoying, real fast. In other things, I've usually found him too bland to make me care about whoever he was playing. The character of Captain America calls for a certain level of blandness. Like Superman, he represents the cheesy ideals of a simpler time. He is also a physical specimen superior to the rest of us. Evans embodies all of this. We believe him when he expresses confliction over the politics at play within SHIELD and elsewhere. Unlike Superman, and what ultimately makes him a better fit for the movies, is that he is not indestructible. As enhanced as he is, he will still succumb to many of the same things we will. Granted, none of us are jumping out a plane with no parachute and landing unharmed, but he can still be taken out by a gunshot or be cut by a knife.

Helping us psychoanalyze our hero are Black Widow and Sam Wilson, aka Falcon (Mackie). Both ask him tons of personal questions. Black Widow does so mostly in an effort to help him kick start his love life. Meanwhile, Falcon tries to help him fill in the blanks created by seventy years of sleep. It's a cool way for us to get to know a little more about Cap, and inject some laughter into the proceedings. Johansson gives her best performance of the character, to date, and Mackie does a very nice job with his role. He is an actor I've admired for a while now, so I'm happy he's getting a chance at becoming part of a huge franchise on a recurring basis (hopefully). Speaking of our supporting cast, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Samuel L. Jackson. He continues to make Nick Fury his own.

All of these performers come together to tell us an intriguing story. It's the saga of a prodigal son returning, but not sure what to, and if he still belongs. It's the self-examination of a man who is struggling with his sense of right and wrong. His feelings are egged on by his lack of trust in the powers that be. These are issues he never had to deal with during his World War II days. Eliminating the enemy was easy because everyone knew who they were. With evil-doers more clandestine than ever and their identities rapidly changing, Cap has a lot tougher job than he once had.

Examining our hero's mental state is fine and dandy, but it all would be for naught in a boring movie. See Ang Lee's Hulk for proof. Luckily, this one not only has tons of action, it has tons of good action. The battles Cap gets into are some doozies. His hand-to-hand combat is shot in a way that owes a lot to The Bourne Identity. The camera is a bit shaky and closer than normal. It works to emphasize the force and speed at which our hero is moving. His best fight is one with a person who has a very interesting identity. However, the best action scene of them all might be one that doesn't include Cap at all. Instead, it features Nick Fury trying to escape with his life. It's Fury's finest scene in any movie, period.

One of the negatives in all this awesomeness is something this movie imposes on itself and wouldn't change. That problem is that it's "just" a Captain America flick. Marvel's shared universe concept comes back to bite them. By that, I mean we already know that this is a world where Thor, Iron Man, and the Hulk exist. The conflict of this movie certainly seems like a big enough issue to get their attention. Alas, none of them are even doing a fly-by to see if Cap is okay. This is by no means a deal breaker. However, it just feels a bit odd that so big a problem get such a limited response. On the technical side, there were a couple of hard to ignore continuity issues. These mainly involve just when and where Falcon is able to access his wings. He seemed to just get them out of nowhere on occasion. Again, not a deal breaker, but an annoyance.

The bigger negative is Captain America's abilities. I mentioned them as a positive, earlier. I also exclaimed how great it is that he isn't immortal. Still, just how enhanced he is is a bit vague and inconsistent. Remember that chuteless sky-dive? It looks really cool, but leaves us a bit puzzled when something of much lesser impact than landing that jump hurts him. It's a problem the character has been dealing with since long before he made the leap from the comic book pages to the big screen. Therefore, I won't knock the movie too much. It's really hard to. To be honest, this is arguably the best Marvel movie of this whole shared universe thing.

Million Dollar Baby

Directed by Clint Eastwood.

2004. Rated PG-13, 132 minutes.

Cast:

Hilary Swank

Clint Eastwood

Morgan Freeman

Jay Baruchel

Anthony Mackie

Brian F. O'Byrne

Margo Martindale

Michael Pena

Mike Colter

Lucia Rijker

Riki Lindhome

Maggie (Swank) has been boxing for a while and is looking for a trainer to help her learn the proper techniques and possibly take her to the big time. She walks into the gym owned by grizzled vet cut-man turned trainer Frankie Dunn (Eastwood). Dunn manages and trains Willie Jones (Colter), an up-and-coming fighter on the cusp of a title shot. The place is actually kept running by Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris (Freeman), Frank's bestest buddy. Frank tells Maggie he doesn't train girls and tries to ignore her. However, after Willie moves on to a new manager, and at Eddie's urging, Frank reluctantly takes her on.

Right from the beginning, Million Dollar Baby establishes that every relationship it depicts will be a battle of wills. The most prominent of these is that of Maggie and Frank. Frank is the immovable object trying to stave off Maggie's irresistible force. Irresistible being the key word. She is a big ball of warm and fuzzy. Frank is not. The differences don't end there. As a man whose been burned on numerous occasions by the sport he loves, Frank is overly cautious. His gruff exterior belies the fact he's deathly afraid of taking chances. this is something Maggie has no issues with. Being careful appears not to be in her nature. Consequences be damned, she's going after what she wants with both fists flying. It stems from her one true fear, ending up with a bushel of children and grandchildren while being dependent on welfare, like her mother (Martindale). I don't recall even a mention of her father. This makes seeking out Frank's expertise a matter of gravity, not logical thinking. Frank is similarly pulled. He sees qualities in her that he wishes he had. More importantly, she becomes a stand-in for his estranged daughter. Whatever happened in the past between he and his own child is something for which he desperately wants to atone. Maybe Maggie holds the key to his salvation. She is sure he holds the key to hers. It is their separate needs that binds them. However, Frank resists as best he can. This makes the exchanges between the two cinematic gold as each plays their role perfectly. Swank deservedly took home an Oscar for her work, here.

As I've alluded to, Frank and Maggie's battles is hardly the only one playing out before us. There is Frank and Willie, Frank and Eddie, and also Maggie against her own mother. Perhaps most intriguing, aside from the main event between our two leads, involves two seemingly expendable characters: Shawrelle (Mackie) and Danger (Baruchel). Shawrelle is a pro fighter who hasn't been terribly successful. Around the gym, though, he's a motor-mouthed bully. Danger is his exact opposite. He dreams of becoming a champion, but has no boxing ability whatsoever. He just hangs around the gym pantomiming his imaginary victory over fight legend Thomas Hearns. He's also Shawrelle's favorite target. On the surface, it's an extraneous, if fun, subplot. Juxtaposed with our protagonist, it becomes the breathing embodiment of the journey Maggie's spirit makes. The name Danger represents the arduous road she chooses to travel. They share highs and lows. her real life triumphs prove as fleeting as Danger's made up ones. Their defeats work in concert to illustrate the point Eddie makes to Danger after she suffers a very real and painful loss: "Anybody can lose one fight." This leads us back to Maggie. We know that she loses one fight. The question is does she lose the fight after that, as well. Whether she does isn't easily discerned. It could be argued both ways. Even if you accept her as victorious in the end, you know it's not an indisputable fact.

Eastwood's direction holds it all together in a tight package that never rushes, but also doesn't meander. It moves from setup to action to climax at a wonderful pace. the entire time it is pulling us deeper into Frank and Maggie's world. there is one little, but troubling plot hole for fight fans that might turn some off to the movie as a whole. It's the way our heroes first meet. Given all we're told of her skill level a short while later, it makes no sense. However, it's small enough that the removal and/or changing of just a few lines of dialogue would fix the issue. The bigger problem for those of us with a decent amount of boxing knowledge are the fight scenes. The choreography of them is just horrible in that all-too-Hollywood way. Each pugilist takes turns beating their opponent from one side of the ring to the other with seemingly endless successions of landed punches. Either that, or someone gets knocked in about five seconds. It just doesn't work like that. It's the one artificiality that snaps me out of the movie on several occasions. Thankfully, the narrative snags me from the brink of tuning out each time and swaddles me in layers of its fabric. Once we get beyond all the fight scenes, it never lets me go.

Pain & Gain

Directed by Michael Bay.

2013. Rated R, 129 minutes.

Cast:

Mark Wahlberg

Dwayne Johnson

Anthony Mackie

Rebel Wilson

Tony Shalhoub

Ed Harris

Ken Jeong

Rob Corddry

Bar Paly

Michael Rispoli

Daniel Lugo (Wahlberg) knows that you'll never get anywhere in life without going after it, full throttle. He's a personal trainer tired of the dead-end position he holds at the gym where he works. Knowing that he's capable of much more, he talks his way into a better job at Sun Gym which is barely keeping its doors open. Within six weeks, he triples its membership, turning the place into the latest fitness hot spot. He still trains some of the clients himself. One of those people is Victor Kershaw (Shalhoub), a millionaire deli tycoon. Lugo befriends him and then hatches a plan to kidnap and extort him. To carry it out, he recruits his bestest buddy Adrian (Mackey), a body builder trained by Lugo who also happens to be impotent thanks to all the steroids he takes. That's the easy part. The hard part is getting a third party to join in. He manages to convince Paul Doyle (Johnson), an ex-con/body builder who has recently given his life over to Christ, but is in desperate need of income. Since none of the three is a criminal mastermind, things fall apart quickly. Blood and wackiness ensues. Oh, almost forgot, it's based on a true story. Mostly.

I'll just go ahead and say it right off the bat. This film is much better than it has any right to be. Let's keep it real. The first of this post, directed by Michael Bay, doesn't inspire confidence in me. I get a sense of dread when those words flash across the screen. That said, he has made a few movies I enjoy. I thought the first of the Transformers flicks was damn good, and so was The Island. I didn't hate The Rock, either. And sue me, but I'm an apologist for both Bad Boys movies. Ironically, seeing the first Bad Boys is a drawback going into Pain & Gain. That may be because I've seen Bad Boys way too many times, but the two films are way too similar looking. Lots of P&G is shot through the same orange filter. Many of the same establishing shots of the city are used. In fact, he repeats so many it often appears he's using stock footage. Finally, the way he shoots his characters is drenched in the familiar Michael Bay style, lots of low angles with the camera swirling around them. While those things detract from the movie, it's where Bay goes against his own grain that the movie excels. He lets the story breathe, giving us something to contemplate, and thankfully cuts way back on the explosions.

Helping that story sink its teeth into us are three very fun performances from this group of stooges. Lugo is clearly the Moe of this group. He's smarter than they are, but not anywhere near as intelligent as he thinks. The somewhat thoughtful Doyle is our Larry with Adrian stepping into Curly's shoes. Granted, this is a seriously demented version of the comic legends, but they pull off the act nicely. They have a nice chemistry that is glued together by Mackie. His character is a dim bulb that manages to make us laugh nearly every time he speaks. The Rock is also an underrated comic actor, and does fine work here. Of the three, he plays it straightest, giving Doyle an obliviousness that serves the movie well. Wahlberg, also underrated in the funny business, treads similar territory to his work in The Big Hit, Three Kings, and, most recently, 2 Guns. The major difference being that Lugo is easily recognizable as a slug right from the start and is just not likable.

As good as those guys are, the best performance in the movie belongs to Tony Shalhoub as their victim. He's also a disagreeable person. However, being that he's the one kidnapped and tortured we sort of feel for the guy. Sort of. Shalhoub plays it as a sweat soaked ball of slime. Really, it's that bad. Of course, bad means good. He causes a serious conflict in the viewer. We know we should sympathize with him, but he himself is so despicable we have to fight the urge to wish him harm.

We're not sure how we should feel about any of this. This is part of the movie's charm. We see things happen and laugh at them as we are appalled by them. When people get into tight situations, we want them to be punished AND to get away with it. At least early on. As the movie goes on, these people shred the hope that there is anything redeemable about them. This is where some people will be turned off. If you're looking for someone to root for here, you're watching the wrong movie. The two who come closest to fitting that description are Rebel Wilson in a hilarious turn and Ed Harris as our voice of reason. We like her because she's an innocent bystander in this outlandish turn of events. We get behind him because he is the de facto good guy. He's not fleshed out enough for us to really care about him, but we know he wants to see the right thing done.

Pain & Gain is not an easy movie to watch. As mentioned, it's a bunch of stupid and unlikable people doing stupid and unlikable things. Starts off sleazy, and only descends further from there. Much of humor is of the juvenile sort and, thanks to Adrian's impotence, is built upon an endless string of dick jokes. Somehow, in the midst of all this, it gives us a film provokes some thought in us even as we might be recoiling from all the scummy behavior. I'm not trying to tell you this is some high-minded drama worthy of Oscar praise. I will say that it is an enjoyable, if twisted adventure.

MY SCORE: 7/10

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov.

2012. Rated R, 105 minutes.
Cast:
Benjamin Walker
Dominic Cooper
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Anthony Mackie
Jimmi Simpson
Rufus Sewell
Marton Csokas
Erin Wasson
Jaqueline Fleming
John Rothman
Alan Tudyk

So you think you know all about Abraham Lincoln (Walker), don't you? I betcha didn't know he was a vampire hunter? Me neither. As the story goes, his mother was killed by a vampire when Abe was just a little boy. One thing leads to another and Honest Abe eventually finds himself under the tutelage of Henry Sturges (Cooper). After getting coached up in the ways of killing blood-suckers, our hero starts taking out all the local vermin in hopes of eventually getting to the one that made a meal out of his mom. Well, Abe soon finds out that his adversaries not only want to control the country, but slavery has provided the monsters with easy pickings. When faced with the seemingly impossible task of stopping an unstoppable enemy what else is a vampire hunter to do but run for President?

As ludicrous as it sounds, I’m actually rather accepting of the premise. After all, you don’t go into Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter expecting an accurate re-telling of our nation’s history. Still, the movie doesn't quite deliver what the title promises. Don’t get me wrong, Lincoln does plenty of vampire hunting and killing. The problem is it’s strikes a rather joyless tone as if it really were recounting a somber episode from our collective past. Maybe it’s my fault for reading too much into the title, or for not reading the novel this movie is based on, but I was expecting something more fun. I thought I was going to get a movie that understands how silly it is and just goes for broke right out the chute. Instead, I got a film that gives a serious effort at making its goofy plot work.

The filmmakers are to be commended for giving it a go. Unfortunately, the story doesn't hold together well enough to pull it off. The revenge motif that starts things is typical. It’s transition from personal vendetta to country saving mission is clunky. The big twist regarding one of Abe’s pals is telegraphed from the moment we meet this person. The Mary Todd (Winstead) storyline is awkward. Finally, Harriet Tubman (Fleming) is shoehorned in merely for the sake of including her. There is no context provided as to why she is of any importance for viewers who may not have a clue about her. As if to emphasize she’s in the movie, other characters keep calling her by her full name.

As fast and loose as AL: VH is with the historical side of things, it is with vampire lore. For starters, it gets into Twilight territory with regards to daylight. Thankfully, there’s no sparkling but the sun is no issue. Why it isn't is less than halfheartedly explained away. Don’t look for anything about crosses, wooden stakes, or holy water to be mentioned, either. Instead, we steal from werewolves and make silver their lone weakness. Of course, this is so that Abe can wield an axe with a silver-tipped blade.

Honestly, the axe gives us whatever enjoyment there is to be derived from sitting through AL: VH. It’s a sick weapon (sick the way the young’uns say it, geezers). It does all sorts of cool stuff. Therefore, the movie is at its best when it dispenses with everything except Abe in his axe-twirling, vamp killing glory. His fight scenes are fun and contain some interesting visuals. Some of the battle scenes between union troops and vampires dressed as confederates are solid as well. The climax, involving a train, is interesting but too predictable to carry a real charge.

In the end, AL: VH is a movie where whether you like it or not depends entirely on how much weight you give the action scenes. It’s too-serious tone invites us to pay attention to the story, but that part of the movie bogs down under the strain of trying to mix real history with pure fantasy. Had it not undertaken that massive task, simply put its tongue in its cheek and shown some self-awareness it could’ve been a campy cult classic. Instead, it’s just another movie whose ambition outreaches its ability.

Man on a Ledge

Real Steel

Directed by Shawn Levy.

2011. Rated PG-13, 127 minutes.
Cast:
Hugh Jackman
Dakota Goyo
Evangeline Lilly
Anthony Mackie
Kevin Durand
Hope Davis
James Rebhorn
Karl Yune
Olga Fonda

Charlie (Jackman) is a former prize-fighter who now makes his living in the world of robot boxing. Making a living is overstating things. Generally, he ducks the people he owes money to after whatever robot he’s picked off the scrap heap gets destroyed in a match. Along comes news that an ex-girlfriend, and mother of his child has passed away, leaving behind Max (Goyo), the son he’s abandoned. The kid’s wealthy aunt Debra (Davis) wants custody but needs Charlie to sign over his parental rights. Never one to miss an opportunity, Charlie brokers a deal with Deb’s husband Marvin (Rebhorn) to sell them his rights for a load of cash. One strange caveat to the deal: in order to keep Debra in the dark about the exchange of money, Charlie has to keep Max for a few weeks while his rich soon-to-be guardians are out of the country.

Once Max actually appears we know precisely how it will play out between him and his deadbeat dad. Ditto for Charlie and Bailey (Lilly) and their very PG love affair. The only possible surprise isn’t one if you’ve seen the trailer. It involves Atom, a seemingly inferior fighting robot with a very unique feature. Suffice it to say this part of the story is yet another re-working of Rocky. It comes complete with a physically superior champion and his villainous handlers.

If it isn’t obvious, there is pretty much no effort put into the plot. It’s completely perfunctory, taking no risks, holding no surprises nor posing any challenges. In a brief moment or two of artistic integrity, the filmmakers threaten to throw one wrinkle into things. We get a couple hints that there is more to Atom than meets the eye. Yes, the reference is intended. Anyhoo, they totally drop the ball on that idea to remain in the safety zone, give us more of the cheese borrowed from other cheesy flicks. In short, they want you to like this movie even though you’ve likely seen it quite a few times before.

Predictability be damned, there is only one real question to be answered: is Real Steel fun to watch. The answer is yes, in its own corny way. It moves at a brisk pace despite an unnecessarily bloated runtime of over two hours. It plays cute with the father/son angle and the final act contains lots more of the ‘bot fighting people likely come for. Jackman gives us Wolverine-lite, a less surly than the mutant and sans cigar. It’s a character we know and either somewhat like or somewhat dislike. The same can be said of Max and every other character in the film. By the way, Max is more of an adult than any of the other characters, too. Even my nine year old picked up on that. Max’s maturity aside, all of these people are just bland caricatures. They’re here to fill in the portions between fights not be too much of a distraction from them. The end result is an overwhelmingly OK movie that young boys will love watching with their dads. Boys of my age will wonder how it is possible that this isn’t called Rock’em Sock’em Robots.

MY SCORE: 5/10

Half Nelson

Directed by Ryan Fleck.
2006. Rated R, 106 minutes.
Cast: 
Ryan Gosling
Shareeka Epps
Anthony Mackie
Jeff Lima
Nathan Corbett
Eleanor Hutchins
Tristan Wilds
Tina Holmes

Dan Dunne (Gosling) is a junior-high teacher struggling with drug-addiction and a newly-formed bond he has with Drey. She is one of his students who has her own troubled life and who accidentally sees her teacher/basketball coach Mr. Dunne getting high one night. This is about as far-removed from the normal teacher-saves-ghetto youth tale as you can get. The teacher in question tries to be that guy, but for obvious reasons can't. There's no magical tear-jerker or stand-up and cheer moments. It just trains an eye on these people and doesn't blink. What it becomes is an exhibition of people who perceive right or wrong based on their own circumstances. Since their circumstances, perception of those circumstances and whether "right" will be advantageous to them changes, how they feel about right or wrong also changes. Gosling is outstanding in the lead and Mackie is intriguing as a low-key neighborhood drug-dealer who is not your typical Hollywood thoroughly evil, flamboyant kingpin. He's just a guy who happens to have a somewhat dominant, but never over-the-top, personality and a skewed set of morals. Epps, as the little-girl caught in the middle, handles things with the believable non-chalantness of a 13 year-old but you sense there's some complicated things going on inside of her. When it’s all said and done, its a well-done movie that refuses to sugar-coat things. However, that also makes it a rather depressing experience. This is not one to watch if you're suicidal, easily upset or are planning a fun movie night at the house.

MY SCORE: 9/10

The Adjustment Bureau

Directed by George Nolfi.

2011. Rated PG-13, 106 minutes.
Cast:
Matt Damon
Emily Blunt
Anthony Mackie
Michael Kelly
John Slattery
Terrence Stamp
Amanda Warren

Like tons of movies before it and what I’m sure will be tons more to follow, The Adjustment Bureau is about a boy chasing after the girl of his dreams. He meets her and for some reason or another she keeps getting away. This is the plot of TAB in a nutshell. Widening the scope reveals a religious debate on the free will of man vs. God’s master plan.

The boy is David Norris (Damon). At age 24, he became the youngest person ever elected to Congress. Now in his thirties, he’s working on a run for the Senate. It looks like it is going to be a successful one until an impulsive mooning incident is caught on camera. Just before he is to give his concession speech he has a chance meeting with the girl, Elise (Blunt). At least we think they meet by chance. Along with David, we soon learn that everything happens according to The Chairman’s plan. Yes, we very quickly surmise The Chairman is the name we’re using for God, even if David doesn’t.

David wasn’t supposed to learn of the plan at all, but one of the adjusters literally fell asleep on the job. This allows our hero to see other adjusters at work. Adjusters make seemingly random things happen to keep us following the plan. Of course, when they’re spotted by David they quickly get a hold of him and reluctantly fill him in on the whole plan thing and let him know two things. First, if he ever reveals the existence of the Bureau, even by accident and regardless of whether anyone believes him, his brain will be permanently wiped clean. He’ll know nothing nor be able to remember anything, an instant vegetable. Second, he’s never to see Elise ever again. That just isn’t part of the plan. Of course, this begs the question if they could completely wipe your brain or adjust your reasoning as they do to Charlie (Kelly), David’s best friend, couldn’t the adjusters simply remove his memory of them and the girl? That would certainly be more effective than hoping he does what he’s supposed to. Who am I kidding? If they did that, we’d only have about a 30 minute movie. So off he goes back into the world armed with knowledge he was never supposed to have.

As we all know, the flesh is hard to deny and our hero is determined to get the girl. Whenever he manages to get near her, the adjusters are never far behind. Throughout all this, one of them develops a soft spot for David. His name is Harry. He’s played adequately by Anthony Mackie. Harry is important both within the confines of the film as well as outside its boundaries. What he means to the story is fairly obvious. He pretty much serves as David’s guardian angel. This makes him another in Hollywood’s (and American Lit’s) long line of the archetype known as “The Magical Negro.” This is an African-American character with unnatural abilities who’s sole purpose is to aid the white protagonist. If you think I’m thoughtlessly playing the race card think about The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Matrix, The Green Mile, Bruce Almighty, Ghost, Percy Jackson & the Olympians…I could go on for a long time. It’s troubling because it is such an oft-recurring stereotype that seems harmless but reeks of subjugation. It’s also jarring in movies where that is only black character as Harry is here.

Still, I don’t deem TAB a success or failure solely based on my views of harry. He’s just one item in a very mixed bag. It’s a solid movie with an intriguing premise and fun chase scenes. It’s almost like Damon were playing Jason Bourne again, constantly on the run. The difference is David doesn’t engage in hand to hand combat and nothing blows up. It also has a spiritual aspect the Bourn movies never aspire to. This can lead t o deep, philosophical discussion, which is always good. However, it also defies its own logic for the sake of a clean ending. I have to give it credit because it ends with a brave stance if you think about what it’s saying.

Notorious

Notorious
2009. Rated R, 114 minutes.
Director: George Tillman, Jr. Starring Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Angela Bassett, Antonique Smith, Marc John Jeffries, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Amanda Christopher, Naturi Naughton, Anthony Mackie.

Plot: The life and times of Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G.

The Good: Even better than simply not making our hero a saint, the movie doesn't try to justify his indiscretions. It's content to show him as a guy who often has to learn the hard way. It also manages to show him as thoughtful, if a bit selfish. Woolard in the title role is simply note-perfect. Unfortunately, he's so good and has a look enough like Biggie I can see him struggling to land other roles. Actually, the title role is shared by Woolard with Biggie's real-life son, Christopher Jordan Wallace, who ably plays his dad as a kid. The movie also makes effective use of Biggie's music as both a score and a soundtrack.

The Bad: I've often complained about movies, especially comedies, that simply run too long. However, I'm a firm believer that biopics should be at least two hours long. This one is a bit shy of that mark and suffers because of it. In particular, his various attempts at reconciliation with the women in his life are either glossed over or just plain left out as things between he and them go from bad to good instantaneously. It also limits character development in others who should/could have had major roles. Lil' Kim (Naturi Naughton) suffers the most as the script makes her completely selfish, lacking any compassion and most other human emotions besides anger. The circle around Biggie known as Junior MAFIA also suffers, only depicted as flunkies and hangers on when by most accounts he did have real friendships within the group. Even his friendship with Puffy is never dealt with.

The Ugly: How he gets "inspired" to make his hit song Juicy.

Recommendation: This is a pretty good biopic that sticks to the headlines from its subject's life. For hip hop fans, it's a worthy first entry into the genre. It could've used some more fleshing out to be great. Even though it's no disappointment, one can't help but wonder how much better a movie about Biggie's friend turned nemesis, the more interesting and dynamic personality Tupac Shakur, could be.

The Opposite View: Rob Daniel, Sky Movies

What the Internet Says: 6.0/10 on imdb.com (4/27/09), 50% on rottentomatoes.com, 60/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 7/10