Escape Plan

Directed by Mikael Hafstrom.

2013. Rated R, 115 minutes.

Cast:

Sylvester Stallone

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Jim Caviezel

Faran Tahir

Vincent D'Onofrio

Amy Ryan

Vinnie Jones

Sam Neill

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson

Caitriona Balfe

We meet Ray Breslin (Stallone) just in time to see him escape from a maximum security prison. Then we find out that this is his job. He runs a company that literally puts max security institutions to the test. The people who run these places hire him to go inside undercover as a prisoner and try to break out. He always does. It's made him a legend in "the industry." Yeah, apparently there is an industry and he is a legend in it. Um, yeah. It's an industry built on a pretty poor business model, if you ask me. Our boy Ray has three other employees, but none of them ever go inside even though jobs take months, maybe even a year to complete. On top of that, its dependent of the institutions that hire him, presumably all part of the public sector, having to come up with a couple million bucks to pay him. Since this is a movie, I suppose we have to let all that slide. Anyhoo, the CIA soon comes calling with an extra special job for our hero. They want him to break out of a place that's not only maximum security, but so "top secret" that they won't even tell him where it is. The inmates there are so dangerous none of them has been afforded due process. Various governments from around the world just snatched them off the streets and shipped them here. These guys are not allowed any contact with the outside world whatsoever. Ray will be treated accordingly.

As action flick set-ups go, this one is totally ludicrous, but interesting. Once we hear what this job entails, our wheels immediately start turning. Where could they be taking him? How is his team going to help him? Lastly, with such bad guys around, will Ray even survive long enough to try an escape? Okay, we know the answer to that last one. Still, we ask the question. That's good. It helps us get engaged in the movie. This isn't The Godfather, or anything, but we're interested. It helps tremendously that throughout the movie, the story manages to maintain a sense of impossibility to the task at hand. We really do feel for our hero when he finds out where he is.

Another thing that helps keep us entertained is Sly's larger than life co-star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. While never known as a great thespian, Arnie's been a movie star for most of my life. For those of us who grew up during the 80s and 90s, having him in a movie with Stallone is something we clamored for, but never thought we would actually see. That it comes all these years later adds to the film's charm. Back then, the debate among action lovin' boys was over which was better. If you argued in Schwarzenegger's favor, you certainly weren't celebrating his acting skills. So, what is it about him that made him such a huge star? There were plenty of other big brawny dudes out there saving the world. What sets him apart is his amazing screen presence. It is on full display in Escape Plan. He simply dominates the screen, no matter who else is on it, Stallone included. He's also completely comfortable in his own skin, nowadays, which has made him a better actor. He says everything with a hint of humor and understands that's how it should be. He delivers one of those bound to be underappreciated performances. I really enjoyed him here, but I know people will dismiss his work because of who he is.

As the movie goes on, however, it gets mired in action flick cliches. Of course, there's an evil warden, rival factions, and money-grubbin' turncoats. All of them go through pretty standard storylines. There is alos the predictable hand wringing of Sly's cohorts as they work feverishly from the outside to help their boss. By working feverishly, I mean verbally accosting the one person we know is guilty, over and over again. This portion of film includes a bland performance by Amy Ryan and a poor one from 50 Cent. What's worse is that as clear as it is what's going on just based on the events occurring, someone will always be along to explain it to you. Additionally, there's the problem of trying to make a bunch of guys labeled as the most dangerous in the world into a lovable band of misfits. We're told repeatedly how bad these people were in the outside world, therefore, it's hard to build up much sympathy for them.

Overall, Escape Plan is fun as it plucks along. The action, while not exceptionally frequent, works. Among the treats is the long awaited fight scene between Arnie and Sly. It's at least twenty-five years late, but I'll take it. Kudos to Stallone, by the way, for looking less like a botox monster than he has recently. He performs exactly like we'd expect so no surprises, there. The rest of the cast? A number of the performances are hammy, but work within the framework of the movie. Plus, Schwarzenegger is a blast to watch. On the downside, it wastes the good will it builds early in the picture by failing to escape genre restrictions.

MY SCORE: 5.5/10

Dallas Buyers Club

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee.

2013. Rated R, 117 minutes.

Cast:

Matthew McConaughey

Jared Leto

Jennifer Garner

Denis O'Hare

Steve Zahn

Kevin Rankin

Michael O'Neill

Dallas Roberts

Griffin Dunne

Deneen Tyler

Our saga starts in Dallas, Texas in 1985. Back then, AIDS was still thought of as something that affected primarily, exclusively by some, homosexual men. So of course, shock and disbelief are the first emotions felt by Ron Woodroof (McConaughey) when he is told he has acquired the disease and will probably die within the next thirty days. After all, he's a hard drinkin', coke sniffin', rodeo ridin' cowboy/electrician that strictly into women. Two at a time, if he can get them. It doesn't help that the gay community was openly frowned upon, more likely to be attacked than welcomed into a bar where straight folks hung out. Therefore, it's no surprise that once Ron's friends learn of his plight they ostracize him. He can't even hold onto his job. However, he's an enterprising sort. Despite it not yet being approved by the FDA, he manages to get his hands on the AIDS treatment drug AZT while it is in its developmental stages. When that doesn't work, he finds himself in Mexico where a shady doctor has prescribed him a cocktail of vitamins and drugs from other countries. When that works, keeping him alive well beyond thirty days, he enters into business with the doctor and begins smuggling these things into the U.S. and selling them in Dallas. As his local business partner, he surprisingly takes on Rayon (Leto), an openly gay man who also has AIDS and is hoping to save enough for a sex change. Less surprisingly, he also takes a liking to Eve, the doctor who cared for him when he was first diagnosed. Eventually, Ron takes the FDA head-on about their practices and which medicines should and should not be approved. This is based on a true story.

A lot has been made of the acting in this movie. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto took home Oscar gold for their roles. I won't begrudge either of them as they both performed excellently. McConaughey's physical transformation is nothing short of startling. He really does appear to be withering away. More than that, he fully embodies the character. Woodroof's backward views, as they are shown here, come spilling out of him even when he isn't saying anything. That isn't often, because he says a lot and never bites his tongue. He's also a guy with a quick temper. More than any of that, he's a survivor. We feel his hustler's spirit as he does whatever is necessary to go on living. On the other hand, Rayon is trying to survive, but he has some quit in him. He needs Ron to push him and make him continue fighting. It's a battle that bonds the two even as it constantly wages. Leto completely disappears within the character. For my money, he is by far the most sympathetic figure in the movie.

The fact that I feel more for Rayon than for Ron is where my problems with this film begin. I don't like Ron. Truth told, I don't have to like the protagonist to like the movie. In this case, however, the movie is kind of dependent on the viewer getting in his corner and rooting for him because he's become such a great guy. That's hardly the case, at least the way its depicted here. He's a guy who acquired a disease and exploited other people with the same affliction for profit. At no point, do I feel like his mindset has changed. Therefore, his actions and the end don't quite match up with the man he seems to still be. He still appears to be homophobic, a bit racist, and all greed even as his cause eventually takes on a magnanimous tone. Sure, he cares for Rayon, even takes up for him in public in occasion. However, it doesn't feel like he's changing his attitudes towards gays, but that this is his one gay friend. It feels much the same as a white racist not understanding he can be called such when he has one black friend. By the time his battle with the FDA escalates it feels more to me like a guy trying to keep himself both alive and out of jail rather than a man that is working for the good of the people.

Because of my issues with Ron, Dallas Buyers Club is a very uneven watch for me. On the one hand, I have to marvel at the performances turned by McConaughey and Leto. Both men turn in amazing work. From a technical standpoint, many other things work well, too. The movie has a great look to it, and the tone is spot-on with what's going on. Still, I can't equate what this man accomplished with heroism the way the movie wants me to. Did he do some good things? Sure. It would be foolish to say that he didn't or that they weren't impactful. They were. The fact they were helpful to many people seems to be something that happened to come along with the fulfillment of his own selfishness than any truly altruistic intentions. At making me believe otherwise, the movie fails. To be fair, the movie does an excellent job of painting the FDA in a negative light. Their greed is also readily apparent. I just didn't see what Ron was doing as entirely different. What it all boils down to is that while I recognize a number of good things going on, including the simple fact that what happened is important, the film as a whole doesn't connect with me.

Blue is the Warmest Color

Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche.

2013. Rated NC-17, 179 minutes.

Cast:

Adele Exarchopoulos

Lea Seydoux

Salim Kechiouche

Aurelien Recoing

Catherine Salee

Benjamin Siksou

Mona Walravens

Alma Jodorowsky

Anne Loiret

Benoit Pilot

Adele (Exarchopoulos) is your typical high school student. She seems to be a fringe member of the in-crowd. this isn't some all-powerful elite crew like in movies for teenagers. It's just a group of girls who seem like they're the cool kids. They hang out together at school, talk a lot about their sex lives and exert a bit of peer pressure on each other about it. So when they tell her that a cute guy has a crush on her, the news comes with advice on how she should handle the stiuation. She pursues him and sure enough, winds up in bed with him. In the immediate aftermath, we see that something's amiss. She seems conflicted about the event. Her issue isn't whether or not she should've done such a thing. We can presume she was not a virgin before this. It appears she's not sure she really enjoyed it and doesn't know why.

Things would soon change. Adele decides to hang out with a gay male friend from school. He takes her to a nightclub full of guys where she stays for a while. Eventually, she wanders off on her own and finds herself in a lesbian bar. There she meets the blue-haired Emma (Seydoux), a budding artist and college student. The two hit it off right away. Emma pursues our heroine and before you know it, the two are in a committed relationship. We follow them for an unspecified number of years, well into Adele's adult life.

One thing that sets this apart from other movies about same sex relationships is that that is not the focus of the narrative. Early on, there is some hesitance on Adele's part as she comes to grips with her sexuality and a bit of cruelty suffered at the hands of her school friends when they only suspect she's a lesbian. However, that passes quickly. For the rest of the film we focus on fairly universal themes. Adele struggles with her place in Emma's life as Emma advances in her career as an artist, has friends more sophisticated than her, and an uncomfortably chummy relationship with an ex. She fears being left behind as Emma outgrows her. At times, she also feels neglected. On the opposite side of the coin, Emma is driven, climbing the ladder of success, and proud to have Adele in her corner. Unfortunately, she's somewhat oblivious to Adele's concerns. Adele hasn't verbally communicated her feelings and Emma hasn't picked up on them. Both Exarchopoulos and Seydoux give wonderful performances conveying their characters' emotions and motivations.

Normally, watching a three hour movie has me looking for things that should've been cut. I'm speaking to you, Peter Jackson. In this case, I actually found places where things could be added. Most important of these is finding out how Adele's parents feel about her relationship. I've already mentioned that the fact the couple in question is a lesbian one is not the movie's main focus. However, judging by the reaction of Adele's friends, the climate toward homosexuals isn't completely friendly, either. This is confirmed by the fact that Adele hides the fact that she is in a lesbian relationship when she introduces Emma to her parents. She presents it as a platonic friendship between two straight girls. Following this scene, her mom and dad just disappear from the movie. I'm not saying they have to disapprove of their daughter's lifestyle to create some massively melodramatic scene, but they should at least have knowledge of it and acknowledge it in some way. Without their input, there seems to be a gaping hole in the narrative of Adele's life. This is especially true when, just a short while later, we're shown that she has moved in with Emma. We're left to assume her parents are still in the dark about her relationship. This doesn't seem logical unless it were something that was expressly communicated to the viewer.

Delving into the parents' feelings may have placed more emphasis on the fact that our lovebirds are of the same sex than what was wanted. However, that is clearly the visual focus of the film. There are a number of sex scenes and they are almost all lengthy and graphic. It gets dangerously close to all out porn, if it isn't already that. It's hard to believe we aren't seeing actual sex. The way these scenes are shot, I wonder how it's possible that they are not doing what it looks like they are. Even during the one hetero sex scene we're shown something not seen in American movies outside of the adult industry: an erection. Cinematically, if there is a place to shave the runtime, it is here. Most of these scenes can be cut in half, if not reduced by two-thirds and change absolutely nothing about the movie. Of course, my inner-pig won't let me actually suggest that, so deal with it.

When the closing credits roll, we realize we might not be at the end. Ignoring the obvious, that we're told this is chapter one of two, the film concludes in such a way that suggests there could be more. I say could because if this were to be a standalone film then it functions as a fully self-contained unit. We've ridden the roller coaster of a relationship and come to a satisfactory finish. On the other hand, we can see there is possibly lots more to tell. What closes the movie could be interpreted as the chance for a new beginning, or at least a restart. We enjoy the ride we've had up until now and hope there is more to come.

Happy Father's Day, 2014

I just wanted to wish a Happy Father's Day to all of my fellow dads. I hope you get to enjoy it however you wish.

Since I've been doing this blog, I have reviewed a movie or two, or more on the joys of fatherhood, or something to that effect.

Click here to find movies about dads.

Battle of the Year

Directed by Benson Lee.

2013. Rated PG-13, 110 minutes.

Cast:

Josh Holloway

Laz Alonso

Chris Brown

Josh Peck

Ivan "Flipz" Velez

Jon "Do Knock" Cruz

Jesse "Casper" Brown

Sawandi Wilson

Richard Maguire

Caity Lotz

I love the women in my life. My wife is still the apple of my eye. My two daughters take turns wrapping me around their fingers. It only makes sense that I would say yes and plop my ass on the couch when begged asked to watch Battle of the Year with them. This is pretty much how I've seen every dance movie they could get their hands on over the last decade. Will I ever learn? Probably not.

So what's going on with this one?

Glad you asked. It's like this:

Every year, Paris hosts "Battle of the Year." It's an international b-boying competition, or break dancing contest forthe unhip, featuring teams from around the globe. A team representing the good o'l U.S. of A. has not won in a dozen years. Dante (Alonso), the super rich multi-media mogul who sponsors the team, decides its time to shake things up. He reaches out to Jason (Holloway), one of his old homies from around the way, to coach this year's squad. Jason is not super rich or a multi-media mogul. He's a reclusive drunk whose been drowning his sorrows in a bottle ever since his wife and son died in a car wreck. He reluctantly takes the job on the condition that he be allowed to do it "his way." Dancing and arguing ensues.

Why the arguing?

It's simple, really. When Jason shakes things up, he really shakes things up. After one look at last year's team, he kicks them all to the curb and decides to hold a mass audition. Once he's picked  the best twenty-something dancers, he takes them to what looks like an abandoned college dormitory from fifty years ago where he works the dog crap out of them in the name of molding them into a team. Of course, there's a catch. There are nine weeks left until "Battle of the Year." Each week, our drunken dance coach will send one of the boys packing.

Hmm...where have I heard of such a format before?

Oh yeah, every reality TV competition ever.

Okay, boys and girls. It's time to run down the sports dance movie movie checklist!

Drunken coach? Check. We covered this.

Overbearing team owner? Check. Literally, in the very next scene after agreeing to let Jason coach "his way," Dante starts bitching about how Jason is coaching. Asshole.

Supremely talented, but selfish superstar? Check. This guy is played by Chris Brown, a real life supremely talented, but selfish superstar. Seriously, of all the celebrities, he's the most perplexing to me. The dude is a great, I mean a GREAT dancer, and an aiight singer. On the other hand, what I know of him as a person screams spoiled brat that I would not want to be in the same room with. Hey, that's exactly like his character! Should be easy playing a version of yourself, right? Well, Chris Brown is a great, I mean GREAT dancer. Not so much on the acting.

Game-changing injury to said superstar? I would say check, but I don't want to spoil anything.

Lots of in-fighting while our boys grow as a team? Check. Basically, it's like one of those "Real Housewives" show with less hair and makeup. Just to ensure that's the case we get enough different types together. We already mentioned the superstar. There's also his rival from the neighborhood. Then we have the gay dude, the guy who hates gay dudes, and so on.

Awe inspiring sports dance scenes? Check. This is the one thing Battle of the Year has going for it. Literally. the dance scenes are kinetic and acrobatic. They're fun to watch even though it appears the frame rate has been sped up for these. Or, do I mean slowed down? I forget how that works. Whatever. The moves look too fast.

Wait...what am I doing? Praising something about this movie? Let's get back to our regularly scheduled program. Let's talk about the acting. It's not universally bad, but the people asked to do the most acting are just not good. Exempting Chris Brown from the conversation, let's move on to the others. The rest of the dancers were as bad as Mr. Brown or worse. Laz Alonso was pretty good, but continuing to speak about that doesn't fit my movie bashing agenda so let's move on to Josh Holloway. He's that odd kind of bad. He's really into it, and is arguably a better actor than anyone else in the cast. The problem is he's so miscast I don't believe a single word out of his mouth. There is no way I can roll with the idea that this guy was a former b-boy with legendary battle wins under his belt. I'm guessing Channing Tatum, or Columbus Short were both busy...or got a look at the script and chose wisely. I wish I had.

Damn family.

Happy Friday the 13th

Okay, but seriously folks...

R.I.P. Ruby Dee

October 27, 1922 - June 12, 2014

Another great has left us. The great Ruby Dee has passed today. If youngsters knew her, they did so as the widow of Ossie Davis, or that old lady from that movie. If her passing accomplishes anything, it will be to teach people that she was so much more than that. Sure, she was an actress with a great number of roles under her belt. Most notably, she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in 1961's A Raisin in the Sun. Ms. Dee would get nominated for the same award in 2007 for her role in American Gangster. She didn't win that award, but did take home a number of honors through the years. She won an Emmy, a Screen Actors' Guild Award, and an Obie.

Aside from acting, she was also a poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and most importantly, an activist. She even won a Grammy in 2007 for Best Spoken Word Album. During the 1960s, Ruby Dee and husband Ossie Davis were on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement. In fact, they had a vantage point very few did because they were good friends with both Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They participated in marches. Dee herself emceed on occasion. She was truly a legend and will be missed.