Thursday Movie Picks: The Underdog

Thursday Movie Picks: Live-Action Fairy Tale Adaptations

The East

Directed by Zal Batmanglij.

2013. Rated PG-13, 116 minutes.

Cast:

Brit Marling

Alexander Skarsgard

Ellen Page

Toby Kebbell

Shiloh Fernandez

Patricia Clarkson

Aldis Hodge

Danielle Macdonald

Jason Ritter

Julia Ormond

Sarah (Marling) is a corporate spy, of sorts. The organization she works for gets hired by corporations to infiltrate and provide information on groups who perform terrorist acts against them. The East is the most notorious of these groups as their stunts make national headlines and are growing increasingly dangerous. After telling her boyfriend she's on her way to Dubai for an assignment, she dyes her hair, dons some grungy clothing, and heads off to where the local vagrants hang out in hopes of getting into The East.

The premise is an intriguing one, though I have no idea why she couldn't just be an actual federal agent rather than working in a completely made up industry (I think). It's irrelevant to the plot and everything she does, every step of the way winds up in the hands of the FBI. Still, the idea of going deep undercover in a counter-culture group like The East is ripe with possibilities. While the movie does explore many of them, it does so in a manner that feels rushed. Our heroine finds the people she's looking for, gets accepted by them after some hesitance on their part, falls in love with one of them, etc. However, it all happens so fast, it's not to be believed. On top of that, she's a lousy operative. At the first sign of trouble, she purposely blows her own cover. This presents the movie with a chance to movie in a more dramatic direction. Instead, the character that knows too much simply disappears from the movie, leaving behind only a cryptic message that everyone sort of shrugs their shoulders at when they see it. All together, we just be-bop along until we get to the inevitable Earth Day inspired finale. It's a commendable film, to be sure, but a heavy-handed and not particularly good one.

What keeps The East from being a complete waste is that there are some excellent individual scenes, and a pair of really good performances. The scenes where the group is executing their acts of terrorism, or jams as they call them, pique our interest. The second of these, involving the forcing of two corporate big wigs into waters their company polluted is emotionally charged. For my money, it's by far the best few minutes in the movie. This brings me to Ellen Page's phenomenal work. She sells the scene, and her entire role, for all she's worth. Whatever it was she thought she was going to get out of this part, she goes for it. I'll caution you to take my words with a grain of salt because I've become an apologist for the actress. No matter how good or bad the film she's in, I find her to be great. I like to think this is an unbiased opinion because I honestly don't find her physically attractive. The other good performance belongs to Brit Marling, who co-wrote this film, in the lead. It's nothing she should've gotten a statuette for, but it's wonderfully understated for most of the run-time. A lot of emotion comes through the looks on her face without her appearing to mug for the camera.

Unfortunately, most of Marling's and Page's work is negated by the underwhelming turn by Alexander Skarsgard as Benji, the group's leader. It appears the character is underwritten for what he's trying to do with it, and he doesn't have the charisma to pull it off, anyway. He, and maybe director Zal Batmanglij, clearly want Benji to be an equal to John Hawkes' unsettling, yet magnetic cult-leader in Martha Marcy May Marlene. However, he's a dollar store knock-off, serviceable, but nothing that's going to get us up in arms. It doesn't help that the next most important character, after everyone already mentioned here, is Doc (Kebbell). The movie's heavy-handedness shines most through him. His very existence is so manipulative, he's like a walking, talking public service announcement. He should just repeat the same line over and over. Whenever anyone says anything to him, he should stare directly into the camera and say "Stop corporate pollution, now!" And I'm not even joking.

Like The Purge, a movie that came out in close proximity to this one, the promise of its premise far exceeds what ends up on the screen. Instead of building a good movie about an undercover agent that works toward and finishes with a message, The East beats us over the head with that message and tries to fit the undercover stuff into whatever spaces are left. Since subtlety is lost, it brazenly attempts to manipulate our emotions. No matter how unsuccessful it might be at doing this, it continuously tries. Give it an "A" for persistence, I guess. What no one involved seems to realize, though, is that a more tactful and entertaining approach is needed, no matter how dire the situation is we're addressing. I mean, I assume we're all against Catholic priests molesting choir boys and I'll assume there are people who dislike Catholics, for whatever reason. Nevertheless, Sinead O'Connor on national TV holding up a picture of the pope and declaring "This is the real evil," was a turn off (youtube Sinead O'Connor SNL, young'uns). This movie definitely takes the Sinead approach.

MY SCORE: 5.5/10

Super

Inception

Directed by Christopher Nolan.
2010. Rated PG-13, 148 minutes.
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ellen Page
Ken Watanabe
Tom Hardy
Marion Cotillard
Cillian Murphy
Dileep Rao
Tom Berenger
Michael Caine

Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a unique sort of criminal. He’s often hired by companies to steal secrets from their competitors. What makes him uniqe is that he actually enters a person’s mind through their dreams to unlock these treasures. His latest employer, Mr. Saito (Watanabe), wants something different. Mr. Saito wants him to do the opposite and plant an idea in the mind of his biggest competitor’s son Robert Fischer (Murphy). Putting an idea into someone’s mind, we learn, is called “inception” and thought by most to be impossible. Cobb says he can deliver and sets out hiring a crack staff to help him do so.

At any given moment we are thrust into and kicked out of dreams. We watch land and cityscapes change before our eyes, often in impossible ways. We see how time operates on different levels of consciousness. We see Dom’s own sanity slipping as too much time spent in other people’s minds, along with the things going on in his own, take a steadily increasing toll on him and threatens his and the team’s ability to complete the mission.

This is far from a simple movie. Like many fantasy or science-fiction films, it asks us to accept something seemingly preposterous as a sort of reality. The difference between Inception and the majority of others is simple. For the two hours or so we’re watching those others, it’s mutually understood that the reality on screen is wholly separate from our own. We know that no amount of exposure to gamma rays is going to transform us into The Hulk. Here, we’re given cause to wonder about our own dreams and the odd events that occur during the portions we can remember. And what about those parts we can’t remember?

Amazingly, even with all the jumping in and out of dreams and playing with reality, Inception is not nearly as convoluted or complicated as it could’ve been. Like I said, though, nor is it simple. With incredible special fx, astute storytelling, enough action infused into the proceedings and another great performance by DiCaprio, it strikes a perfect balance between entertaining us and challenging us.

Speaking of DiCaprio, he’s becoming the go-to-guy for leading men with less than a firm grip of reality. Here, as well as in The Departed and most recently in Shutter Island, he plays a guy who struggles with the concept. Kudos to him for being brilliant in all three.

As I’ve mentioned, the special fx are also brilliant. Worlds coming together and falling apart as we watch provide splendid visuals. In particular, the city that folds over on itself is an awe-inspiring moment. My only gripe is that I didn’t see it on the big screen. I may not ever get to see it in a theater, but I definitely plan on seeing it on something bigger than my 32” television. Yes, I’m putting my pennies aside.

All of the great things Inception does would be for naught if it blew the ending. Thankfully, it does nothing of the sort. Surprisingly, it leaves us right where it tells us it will and somehow, it still works. It works because we hope against hope that that’s not how it will end. Still, when it does we’re left to wonder and debate what’s next. It’s a perfect ending that I hope isn’t ruined by a sequel.

MY SCORE: 10/10

Whip It

Directed by Drew Barrymore.
2009. Rated PG-13, 111 minutes.
Cast:
Ellen Page
Alia Shawkat
Marcia Gay Harden
Kristen Wiig
Juliette Lewis
Drew Barrymore
Jimmy Fallon
Eve
Carlo Alban
Ari Graynor
Zoe Bell
Landon Pigg

Plot: Bliss (Page), a small-town Texas high-school girl who hates the pageants her mother makes her compete in, discovers a new passion when she sneaks off to nearby Austin to join a roller-derby league.

The Good: Bliss feels like a real teenager. She’s not over-stylized and ultra-snarky like Juno (also played by Ellen Page). Nor is she super-happy and carefree. Her character is very well written as is that of her mom, played with stern faced resolve by Marcia Gay Harden. First time director Drew Barrymore paces her movie well. This enables the main characters to breath and places the roller derby scenes at nice intervals. And those scenes are quite fun.

The Bad: The relationship between Bliss’ parents is done a disservice. We get hints that there is much more below the surface, but we’re never shown. Basically, this boils down Dad’s reason for existence to one heroic action. Similarly, we learn curiously little about Bliss’ teammates on The Hurl Scouts. There’s plenty of potential for great characters and they’re given great names like Maggie Mayhem (Wiig) and Rosa Sparks (Eve) but it’s never taken advantage of. At the very least, we should’ve gotten to know the aforementioned Maggie a lot better.

The Ugly: Play number three.

Recommendation: It’s kinda the best of both worlds: a chick flick/sports movie. Sure, there are some clichés from both genres present, but it’s fun and engaging. Despite its faults, this is an enjoyable ride and a solid directorial debut for Barrymore.

The Opposite View: James Berardinelli, ReelViews

What the Internet Says: 7.1/10 on imdb.com (5/17/10), 84% on rottentomatoes.com, 68/100 on metacritic.com


MY SCORE: 7/10