Top Gun Double Feature

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Set Locally (North Carolina)

Hey folks! Here we are, once again, on Thursday, that beautiful day before the day before the weekend officially starts. It is on this day every week I suggest some movies based on theme selected by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves.

Let's pause for a second.

Join us. Swing over to Wanderer's site, check out the meme, and post your own Thursday Movie Picks. Do it.

Okay. Let's get back to it.

This week's theme is 'Movies Set Locally.' Here's the deal. It's up to the blogger to pick their own location.

Hmmm...

There were only three places I even thought of when I saw this topic. The first was Queens, New York, where I grew up. The second was Hawaii, where I lived for two years. Neither quite suited my fancy, so I went with my third choice: North Carolina, where I currently live. For those of you who don't do maps, yes, that is North Carolina in the pic at the top of the page. However, North Carolina has a tricky relationship with the movie making world. Tons of movies (and TV shows) come here to film, particularly to the city of Wilmington, but NC usually winds up as a stand-in for some other place. Wikipedia has a pretty good list of stuff that's filmed here. That means not a ton of movies are actually set here. Of course, there are some. These are my faves...

Kiss the Girls

(1997)

Here, Morgan Freeman plays detective Alex Cross, who usually does his work in Washington, D.C. This time he heads down to Durham, NC because his niece, a college student in the area, has been reported missing. Shortly, he joins forces with Kate (Ashley Judd), who managed to escape from being kidnapped, herself. The added bonus for me is that a number of scenes are set not far from where I live.

The Campaign

(2012)

Okay, so I'll admit this one isn't an all time great. Still, it's fun. The short story on it is that it covers the election for the congressional seat in North Carolina's (fictional) 14th district. The two candidates are Cam Brady (Will Ferrell), the incumbent and Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), who has literally been plucked from obscurity to run for office. Does this have lots of sharp, biting, wit? No. It did make me laugh, though. (Full Review Here)

Bull Durham

(1988)

I mean, how could this not be here? The math is simple. I'm a huge baseball fan. I'm obviously a movie buff. This is one of the greatest baseball movies ever made. This one follows the Durham Bulls, and more closely the team's catcher, Crash Davis (Kevin Costner). He strikes up a romance with local baseball groupie Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) and tries to mentor hot, young pitching prospect Nuke Laloosh (Tim Robbins). It's a movie that just works wonders every step of the way. I live within minutes of where the actual Bulls play, which is a gorgeous minor league park that they often fill up, by the way. Watching games there is a blast. If you're ever in Durham during the summer, check 'em out.

Click here for my other Thursday Movie Picks.

Morgan Freeman Week: The Shawshank Redemption

There are a few different things going on in the universe right now. Though we're nearing the end, it is still Black History Month. I haven't mentioned it before now. Instead, I sheepishly put up a review of Lee Daniels' The Butler yesterday. Next weekend is Oscar Weekend. Still having not seen most of the nominated films, I won't be doing any big Oscar preview like a lot of my fellow bloggers. So, in a trivial nod to both Black History Month and Oscar Weekend, I will dub these last few days of February, and the first couple of March, Morgan Freeman Week. In case you've never seen a movie and somehow missed the pic above, yes he is Black. He has also been nominated for five Academy Awards. He won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Million Dollar Baby which we will not be reviewing this week. We'll start with perhaps his most famous role. It did earn him one of those Oscar noms, but unfortunately, he didn't bring home the gold. That movie is none other than The Shawshank Redemption...

Directed by Frank Darabont.

1994. Rated R, 142 minutes.

Cast:

Tim Robbins

Morgan Freeman

Bob Gunton

Clancy Brown

William Sadler

James Whitmore

Mark Rolston

Gil Bellows

When Andy Dufresne (Robbins) is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, for which he will serve consecutive life sentences, he is sent to Shawshank to spend the rest of his days. Shawshank is the type of place where a vicious beating from the guards is to be expected for just about any indiscretion. Of course, there are also some rough and tumble characters who try to take whatever it is they want from whomever may have it. As you might suspect of a guy whose been a clean cut banker his whole life, he has a tough time of it early on. Eventually, he joins a small circle of friends. Among them, he is closest to Red (Freeman). Over the next couple decades we watch as their friendship grows and both men go through lots of trials and tribulations. This is based on a Stephen King novella entitled Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.

Perhaps, the most remarkable thing about this movie is how well it holds together. Every piece of it seems to fit perfectly into the whole. Therefore, even when it does things that seem counter-intuitive, such as having a group of convicted felons as our heroes, it works. Of course, if the cons are the good guys, the warden and the guards are the villains. That's not at all a new thing in cinematic history, but it's never been done better than it is right here. Bob Gunton as Warden Norton and Clancy Brown as Capt. Hadley are so thoroughly detestable it gets to the point where we feel some of the same fear as the inmates whenever we know they're coming. There may be no worse or more helpless feeling than when the persecuted knows that their persecutors are acting with impunity. This is what makes Norton's and Hadley's a tremendously effective combination of antagonist and henchman.

On the other side of things are the guys we love. As Andy, Robbins gives arguably the best performance of his career. He's a guy who seems aloof at times, but really has the best interest of others at heart. Yes, there is a bit of selfishness present. He wants his fellow prisoners to experience as many things as possible that people in the free world enjoy. Freedom, and the pursuit of it, is an enormous theme in this film. This pursuit helps him feel normal. He likes feeling normal. He also likes thinking. There is always something going on beneath the surface. Robbins clearly shows this. As his main cohort, Freeman is just wonderful. His easy-going way, and ability to get stuff, make him a perfect companion for Andy. We see the two men become much more than business associates without really saying so to each other for a very long time. The look on Red's face often shows us this. Most interestingly, Freeman uses a variety of smiles to subtly create emotion. These aren't clownish grins and obvious acting tactics, but sly positioning of his facial features that suggests something different than the smile he wears a scene before or later. It's an amazing piece of work by Freeman.

Across the board, the acting is outstanding. This includes a never-better William Sadler and James Whitmore, part of the small circle of friends that includes Andy and Red. But acting isn't all there is here. The story just moves along so effortlessly it's impossible not to get pulled along. Then, somehow, it suddenly injects mystery in the third act. Usually, movies can't do this effectively. It's either suspenseful from the start or not at all. Here, things just seem to be moseying along, albeit not in our guys' favor, then we're suddenly not sure what will happen next. It works good enough that what Andy does tends to be the only part of the film most people remember.

Following Andy's escapades, the movie goes on a little while longer. I can see why some think it goes too long and that it's entirely too sappy. It is sappy. In this case, however, it works because we've come to know these guys so well that we yearn for it to work out this way. Truthfully, it could have ended earlier. I am a guy who is quite okay with a less than happy ending. Some films just have to have a feel good ending, though. This is one of them. Do I believe it's the best movie ever made, as readers of imdb.com have ranked it? No. However, it is certainly a modern classic and I wouldn't fault anyone who did have it as their number one.

MY SCORE: 10/10

Click here for more Morgan Freeman related stuff!

Green Lantern

Directed by Martin Campbell.

2011. Rated PG-13, 114 minutes.
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds
Blake Lively
Mark Strong
Peter Sarsgaard
Tim Robbins
Angela Bassett
Jay O. Sanders
Temuera Morrison
Clancy Brown
Michael Clarke Duncan

Abin Sur (Morrison) is the most celebrated member of the intergalactic police force known as The Green Lanterns. When he is fatally wounded by all-powerful villain Parallax (voiced by Clancy Brown) he manages to make it to the nearest inhabited planet before perishing. Of course, that planet is Earth. Once landing, Abin Sur commands his magical ring to go forth and choose his successor in the Green Lantern corps. It chooses loose cannon, ultra sarcastic playboy test pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds).

Shortly, Hal is whisked away to the planet Oa (pronounced like Noah, but without the ‘n’). This is HQ for all the lanterns and he’s there to get some quick training. That means he gets an explanation on how the ring works and what it does. For the uninformed, the ring can instantly form anything he thinks of. It also allows him to fly and breathe in outer space. We’re never actually told this last bit, but roll with it. Hal doubts that he’s worthy, goes back home, saves a few lives and really gets thrust into the action when Parallax comes looking to make a snack out of Earth’s inhabitants. Meanwhile, Dr. Hector Hammond (Sarsgaard) suddenly develops telepathic and telekinetic powers and goes crazy after examining Abin Sur’s body. A piece of Parallax lodged in the dead alien’s chest infects the doc. In short, Dr. Hammond becomes the tune-up villain for our hero before the big smog (Parallax) comes to Earth.

Although it’s an origin story, Green Lantern is not one of those slow movers where we have to wait an hour before the action starts. It’s a fast-paced affair that gleefully zips along in a relentless attempt to make each action sequence a bigger spectacle than the last. It seems to be trying to make you say “Ooh, he just made a machine gun! There’s a giant racetrack! Ooh, the giant cloud of dust is zapping people!” And so on. By the way, I haven’t even mentioned the steadily increasing size of Dr. Hammond’s head.

For kids and others who just want to see lots of superhero stuff, this is a fun ride. “Stuff” happens all the time. For more discerning viewers, particularly overly critical fanboys, it will be a neon green tinted mess. Sure, lots of stuff keeps happening but much of it makes little or no sense. It feels like they just keep throwing things against the wall to see what sticks. Instead of developing the story, it rushes to the next action scene. This, combined with a tone that’s way too reminiscent of the Fantastic Four movies and a hero that acts more like Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark than the comic book version of Jordan gives the whole film a very cheesy feel. I’m not necessarily calling for “dark and gritty” like fanboys tend to do when criticizing the movies based on their favorite characters. However, if memory serves The Green Lantern comic books was more serious in approach. That helped offset some of the inherent silliness of a hero that forms a bunch of green things with his magic ring, has a serious problem with yellow and follows the command of a group of rather large-headed blue guys.

The silliness extends to our villain and the movie’s concept of the size of the galaxy. Creatures that can eliminate entire planets of people are difficult to translate to the screen. They gave a valiant effort but weren’t consistent with what Parallax could or couldn’t do. This is mostly a problem because he flat refuses a couple opportunities to kill our hero. Judging by the ending, our villain isn’t too bright, either. This little bit of ridiculousness involves the sun. I’ll just leave it at that. Still, in comparison to The Fantastic Four again, this movie does a better job with a similar bad guy. We get a far better representation of Parallax than the second FF flick has of Galactus. As far as the galaxy goes, I just find it funny that while no one beams anywhere like in Star Trek, anyone can get anywhere in a matter of minutes. It’s like Earth and Oa are next door neighbors.

I could go on for days about the problems with this movie. There are lots to choose from. However, it does one thing well. It gives us super hero action. It also does it at a pretty rapid rate. If this is enough for you, then you’ll enjoy GL. Be honest with yourself about your feelings for those Fantastic Four flicks. Better than I, that will likely help you decide if you think this is part of the brightest day or blackest night.

MY SCORE: 5/10

City of Ember

City of Ember

2008. Rated PG, 95 minutes.

Director: Gil Kenan. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook, Tim Robbins, Toby Jones.

Plot: When the Earth's surface becomes unlivable for human life, survivors relocate to the underground city of Ember. The founders leave instructions on how to get back t o the surface to find out if conditions have gotten better. They've locked them in a box set to open in 200 years. Fast forward those 200 years and Ember is falling apart as the city's aged generator is failing. The box has been lost and the city's collapse seems inevitable.

The Good: There are a number of chase scenes that add some fun to the proceedings. This also helps move things along quickly. Our two teenage stars, Ronan (as Lina Mayfleet) and Treadaway (as Doon Harrow) give earnest performances and make us feel like they're really trying to save a dying city.

The Bad: There are plotholes everywhere. One of them literally runs around the movie eating people. Or slithers around, I'm still not sure because it looks like a giant rooster but I didn't see any legs, but nevermind. The script is incoherent. It tries to borrow from too many other, better movies and fails to assimilate them in a manner that makes any sense. The movie's more known actors whiffed. Perhaps realizing he's in a crappy movie, Bill Murray (as the mayor of Ember) seems to be constantly thinking of his next tee time. Tim Robbins (as Doon's dad) appears to be overcompensating but at least he gives it the old college try. Finally, if you're going to make a silly movie with lots of cgi, at least have good cgi. Sadly, the special fx range from barely adequate, at best, to downright shoddy. It's shoddy more often than adequate so there's no "wow" factor.

The Ugly: What eventually happens to the mayor.

Recommendation: It tries to dazzle kids with lots of excitement but it forgot to write even a decent story. At the very least, it should've given them something easier to follow then maybe it might engage them enough to care. You and the kids might sit through it all but it will likely be forgotten by the time you take it out the DVD player.

The Opposite View: Cammila Albertson, TV Guide

What the Internet Says: 6.5/10 on imdb.com (4/25/09), 51% on rottentomatoes.com, 58/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 2.5/10