REVIEW: “Lights Out”

July 26, 2016 by Keith Garlington

2016 has already delivered a couple of exceptional horror movies. “The Witch” and “The Conjuring 2” both offered up refreshing entries into a genre that could use a little energizing. Now we can add a third quality horror picture to the conversation – director David Sandberg’s lean, focused “Light’s Out”.

The movie is Sandberg’s feature film debut and is based on his own 3 minute short film from 2013. Here he stays centered on his subject barely stepping outside of his self-defined box. But that’s not a bad thing. It keeps “Lights Out” concentrated on its characters and on telling a good story within it’s compact 80 minute running time.

Sandberg’s film doesn’t reinvent the genre and you will quickly notice several of the usual horror movie tricks. Jump scares, creaky floors, flashlights with low batteries, temporary stupidity from the characters – it’s all here but in more measured doses. Sandberg embraces these genre devices but his film works because he is smart enough to know what is important.

So often horror movies fail because of their inability to create authentic human characters we can empathize with. “Lights Out” gets that right. At its core is a grounded story of a torn, suffering, dysfunctional family. It succeeds because the characters are given enough attention and are fleshed out through a couple of strong performances.

Teresa Palmer is really good playing a young woman named Rebecca who has been estranged from her mentally troubled mother Sophie (Maria Bello) since her father walked out years earlier. When she learns her stepbrother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is being terrorized by something from her family’s past Rebecca is drawn back into a reluctant relationship with her mother.

The movie’s title comes from its violent creature that only appears in the dark. Light serves as the only protection and weapon which gives Sandberg a fun playground. He steers clear of CGI mostly using practical effects including true lighting and even a prosthetic suit for the creature. One reason for this may have been due to the minuscule budget, but that only makes its effectiveness more impressive.

Overall this is a tightly packaged horror thriller with a good steady pace, some decent scares, and a small interesting group of characters. Palmer and Bello are especially good and are given roles that are a fresh step above the female horror movie norm. It does employ a few all-too-familiar tricks, but they certainly don’t undercut the many things the film deserves credit for.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

The Biggest Trailers From San Diego Comic-Con 2016

July 25, 2016 by Keith Garlington

San Diego Comic-Con isn’t what it used to be. The one time intimate comic book convention has turned into one of Hollywood’s biggest showcases for some of their most prized features and television shows. This year there were several big announcements. Some were exciting (Brie Larson as the new Captain Marvel). Others not as much (the trailer for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword). We did some big first looks at several highly anticipated movies. Here are a few thoughts on some of the biggest trailers from SDCC 2016.

“Wonder Woman”

My gosh, how can you not start with “Wonder Woman”? DC definitely gets their promotion off on the right foot for their 2017 Wonder Woman stand alone movie. Everything about this origin story looks great. The World War I setting is intriguing and offers a much different flavor. Gal Gadot looks very comfortable in her role (as much as a trailer can show that). Chris Pine seems like a perfect fit. The attention to a strong female lead seems to be more than just lip service. The action looks incredible. AND WE SEE THE LASSO OF TRUTH! The trailer did everything I need it to do – sell me, intrigue me, and make the geek-boy in me giddy with excitement.

“Kong: Skull Island”

I have to admit “Kong: Skull Island” wasn’t on my radar initially. It seemed like the perfect subject for another summer popcorn movie rehash. My perspective has changed. The new trailer did several things to get me on board. First off the cast – Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Tobey Kebbell all excite me. Second, the Vietnam War era setting instantly grabbed me. The attention to that period detail seems spot-on. I also love how we are only given glimpses of Kong, but what we see makes him look bigger and even more frightening. This could be a real treat and a wonderful flashback to the old school creature features that I have loved. Look for it March 10, 2017.

“Justice League”

“Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” may end up being the most talked about film of 2016. There are many who love to hate on it while others vehemently defend it. I was a big fan and had a much better experience than the many. But “BvS” left many people wondering about “Justice League”. Now we have the first glimpse of the film and it looks pretty good. This is clearly not an officially finished trailer. It’s an introduction meant to wet your appetite. The most obvious thing is the much lighter tone. Jokes, banter, a White Stripes song – it all points to a more lighthearted experience. That was never an issue for me but for those wanting a more Avengers-like tone should be getting it. I love the heroes (Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is a hoot) and I’m hoping the story delivers. We will know on November 17, 2017 but so far, so good.

“Doctor Strange”

The first trailer for Marvel’s upcoming “Doctor Strange” left me on the fence. Nothing about it looked that compelling. Things certainly opened up in trailer #2 and now I find myself anxious to see more. I kept thinking it looked like a mindbending, psychedelic experience visually inspired by Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” but on a much larger scale. That’s not a bad thing. Benedict Cumberbatch seems the perfect choice to play the eccentric Sorcerer Supreme and there are some supporting roles I can’t wait to see namely Mads Mikkelsen as the antagonist with a twist. You won’t have to wait long for this one. It hits theaters November 4, 2016.

So there a few thoughts on some of the biggest SDCC movie announcements. I would love to read your thoughts on these trailers. Excited? Skeptical? Let me know in the comments section below.

REVIEW: “Star Trek Beyond”

July 24, 2016 by Keith Garlington

I’ve come to terms with the fact that this new series simply isn’t the Star Trek of old. Despite their numerous callbacks it was fairly evident when the first film landed in 2009. 2013’s “Into Darkness” made it even more obvious. The third movie “Star Trek Beyond” more or less casts aside any doubt. This isn’t a series targeting the old school Trekkies. This series was clearly rebooted with the summer action movie crowd in mind. But that doesn’t mean Trekkies can’t have fun with it too.

A lot has happened since the release of the last movie. The sad passing of Star Trek icon Leonard Nimoy and the tragic death of cast member Anton Yelchin adds a sobering layer to this picture. Yelchin had finished shooting at the time of his death. In “Beyond” he is given a good hunk of screen time and has fun with it. Nimoy gets a fitting tribute that isn’t just shoehorned in. It’s smartly written while offering due reverence.

Several changes were made for “Beyond”. Justin Lin of “Fast and Furious” fame takes over the directing duties from J.J. Abrams (now the head honcho of the “Star Wars” franchise). In addition to his role as Scotty, Simon Pegg and Doug Jung make up the new writing team. For the most part this new installment stays in step with the previous two films. But there are moments where you do recognize the new influences. Sometimes it’s for better but not always.

The movie’s opening one-third is its best. With origin stories behind, Lin and company jump right into the story they want to tell. The USS Enterprise is now three years into its five-year mission to boldly go where no one has gone before. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) has grown tired of his diplomatic duties. Feeling that he and his crew need some time off, he docks the Enterprise at Starfleet’s newest most advanced space station called Yorktown (maybe the coolest and most visually impressive thing in the entire film).

As for the crew, Spock (Zachary Quinto) is having a personal crisis which has effected his relationship with Uhura (Zoe Saldana). Bones (Karl Urban) is still surly and cantankerous. Scotty (Pegg) is still neurotic and high-strung. Basically everyone could use some down time. But that doesn’t happen. An escape pod lands at Yorktown with a lone distressed survivor who tells of an attack on her ship. The Enterprise is sent out to investigate but run into a vicious alien warlord named Krall (Idris Elba).

Lin amps up the stakes after the crew finds themselves stranded and seperated on a nearby planet. It’s here that we get some of best character interactions. Spock and McCoy are especially fun. The writers do fine job of giving every character their moment and making them feel significant. We even get an interesting new alien character named Jaylah (Sofia Boutella).

But the further the film goes the more it seems to lose its footing. One big action set piece after another make up the entirety of the final act. There are some really impressive scenes during this run but there are also a couple that aren’t that well conceived. And then you have one particular sequence that is beyond silly and preposterous. I won’t say anymore but trust me, you’ll know it when you see it.

It should be said that the special effects are often spectacular. But there are a few instances where they are surprisingly generic. Also Lin knows how to shoot action as evident by many of the bigger set pieces. His shooting of fight scenes are a different story. Lin’s dizzying handheld cameras and quick cuts make some of the fights a chore to make out. Thankfully that only represents a small chunk of the action.

The bombastic ending is another clear reminder that this is a very different Star Trek series. But now we sit three movies into it and these films have earned the right to be judged on their merits and not those of past movies. “Beyond” is a fun and satisfying installment that fits nicely within the new franchise vision. It finally feels like the crew is exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new civilizations. At least until it turns into a fairly standard sci-fi action flick in the final act. Still it’s fun to be back with these characters and to see each of them given important roles within the story. That can often be difficult with such a large cast.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

2016 Blindspot Series: “Rio Bravo”

July 21, 2016 by Keith Garlington

The great Howard Hawks set out to direct “Rio Bravo” after a four year hiatus. Following the box office failure of his 1955 film “Land of the Pharaohs”, Hawks left Hollywood feeling he had lost his touch. But despite his uncertainties, his return to filmmaking resulted in one of the most entertaining and influential Westerns ever made.

The film was originally titled “Bull By the Tail” and was made as a rebuttal to 1952’s “High Noon”. Reasons for John Wayne’s dislike of “High Noon” were well known, but Hawks spoke specifically against the film’s cowering weak-kneed sheriff begging his reluctant townsfolk for help. Hawks and Wayne set out to make a film featuring a similar danger, but with a hero unafraid and willing to fulfill his public duty no matter what the threat.

“Rio Bravo” also marks an interesting turn in John Wayne’s career. It could be called the second stage of his career in Westerns. In the film you see him poking fun at the public image he had developed over the years. We see him as older, a little slower, not quite as fit, but ever the strong, stoic figure of his past films. Hawks utilized Wayne’s stardom but wasn’t afraid to shake it up a bit.

The story has Wayne playing John T. Chance, sheriff of Rio Bravo, Texas. Chance arrests Joe Burdette (Claude Akins) for murder and puts him in jail until the U.S. Marshall can arrive six days later. Joe’s brother, a wealthy cattle rancher named Nathan (John Russell), surrounds the town with his thugs waiting for his opportunity to bust Joe out of jail before the marshals arrive. At Chance’s side is Dude (Dean Martin), an alcoholic struggling with sobriety and Stumpy (Walter Brennan) a crippled elderly jailer.

You also have Ricky Nelson in a fun bit of casting. He plays a young gunslinger named Colorado who comes into town but is reluctant to get involved in the sheriff’s problems. A well known star from his work in television and music, Nelson may have been the biggest global star in the film.

Angie Dickinson (in what would be her breakout role) plays a traveling gambler named Feathers. Despite an obvious age difference, she and Wayne share a playfully combative onscreen relationship. Dickinson’s character fit the description of a ‘Hawksian Woman’. They often bucked the normal gender roles by presenting tough women who could easily hold their own with their male counterpart whether in character or in the performance. Dickinson more than holds her own.

The script was handled by Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman. Both had previously collaborated with Hawks on his film noir classic “The Big Sleep” (later Brackett would co-write “The Empire Strikes Back”). Their story seamlessly moves through its 140 minute running time, never wasting a scene or bogging down. The story’s premise is naturally intense and several films would pull inspiration from it including Hawks’ own “El Dorado” from 1966, 1970’s “Rio Lobo”, and even John Carpenter’s police thriller “Assault on Precinct 13”.

It also looks fantastic. The film rarely steps outside of its small western town setting and that serves as a strength. It allows the camera to focus more on the characters while giving much of the town an identity. Hawks’ camera is also instrumental in building up the tension in a number of different character interactions. Frame after frame features the director skillfully serving his story in one visual form or another.

Howard Hawks was one of the most versatile filmmakers of his craft. He made quality films in nearly every genre, from screwball comedies to gangster pictures. “Rio Bravo” marked a significant return for him as well as giving us a transforming performance from John Wayne. But the glue of the film may be the supporting performances. There is no way “Rio Bravo” would be as good if not for Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickinson. When you put all of these pieces together and view it as a whole it’s easy to see why “Rio Bravo” is considered a classic.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

TAKE TWO: Re-Reviewing “Hail, Caesar!”

July 20, 2016 by Keith Garlington

As many do, I often look forward to giving specific films a second look. There are certain instances where a movie simply doesn’t click for me. It may be a movie that I originally approached with ridiculously high and unobtainable expectations. It may be from filmmakers with a track record for creating movies I truly love. Everything I just said fits perfectly with my first experience with “Hail, Caesar!”. But what a shift following a second look. For that reason I feel compelled to dust off the old review and offer up some pretty dramatic revisions.

I have to think it takes a specific sensibility to pull of a Golden Age of cinema parody especially in today’s movie climate. Modern comedies seem content with sticking to tired formulas and they rarely step outside of those boxes. And unfortunately these retreads attract big enough crowds to keep the filmmakers comfortable in the genre’s monotony.

Enter Joel and Ethan Coen, a directing duo who has never played within the conventional or the formulaic. Over the years they have dabbled in a number of genres, never conforming to a popular norm and always putting their own special spin on them. Whether its comedy (“Raising Arizona”), action thrillers (“No Country for Old Men”), westerns (“True Grit”), gangster pictures (“Miller’s Crossing”), or even wild amalgamations of several genres (“Fargo”), the Coen brothers are always approaching things from a unique perspective.

Their latest is “Hail, Caesar!”, a comedy written, produced, edited, and directed by the Coens. The film is set in 1950s Hollywood where big studios still run every facet of moviemaking including their laborers. Josh Brolin plays Eddie Mannix, a real life studio “fixer” represented here with that expected Coen brothers twist. As a fixer Mannix’s job at Capital Pictures is to protect the images of Hollywood stars by hiding their bad and potentially damaging behavior from the public eye.

While the trailer shows off a star-studded cast, this is Brolin’s picture and he does a fine job. The film centers itself around the various ins and outs of his studio management. The supporting cast is mostly seen through bit parts, some of which are nothing more than glorified cameos – Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Tilda Swinton. The best appearances come from Ralph Fiennes and Frances McDormand. Fiennes is particularly great in channeling the same sharp comedic timing he showed in Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel”.

The bigger of the supporting roles go to George Clooney and Alden Ehrenreich. Clooney, the Coen’s favorite numbskull, hams it up as Capital Pictures’ biggest star who ends up kidnapped by a mysterious group known only as “The Future”. Ehrenreich plays a singing cowboy (think Gene Autry) who ends up terribly miscast in a stuffy period drama. He may be the biggest highlight offering up some of the film’s biggest straight-faced laughs.

The Coens throw out so many winks and tips of the hat to the people and the system of ‘Old Hollywood’. The film is a veritable collage of homage and parody. Much of it is sure to put smiles on the faces of classic cinema fans. We get a big dance number. We see scenes shooting on big studio lots. We see the politics behind making a Ben-Hur-ish prestige film. And of course communism rears its ugly ominous head. All of these things are a ton of fun and are laced with the Coens signature off-beat humor.

I think an argument can be made that this film lacks a satisfying narrative thread to bring together all of its quirky elements. Perhaps more focus on a central story would help. But the Coen brothers never restrict themselves to formulas and aren’t afraid to work with a ton of moving parts. “Hail, Caesar!” certainly has many moving parts. But unlike my first viewing which was clouded with irrationally high expectations, this time I was able to connect the dots and better define the Coens’ vision for the film.

“Hail, Caesar!” is very much an homage to classic moviemaking. It’s a wacky missing person caper. It’s a story of a man navigating personal and spiritual crises. It’s all of those things plus some. If you try to view it through a linear lens you’ll probably come away disappointed. This time my expectations were tempered, my focus was broader, and my experience was profoundly better.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “10 Cloverfield Lane”

July 19, 2016 by Keith Garlington

So I guess we can actually say there is now a Cloverfield franchise? That certainly seems to be the case with the release of “10 Cloverfield Lane”. Whether this is the first of several Cloverfield tie-ins, who knows, but I do wonder if the creators of the original film (a 2008 surprise hit) ever envisioned this thing being a series.

This film is nestled in the Cloverfield universe but is not a direct sequel. In fact it differentiates itself in a number of ways. Its narrative connections to the previous film are vague. The visual approach is significantly different. The first film used the once popular found-footage technique while this one (thankfully) stays away from it. The two films even dabble in completely different genres.

“Cloverfield” was a Godzilla-like science fiction monster movie. “10 Cloverfield Lane” plays around in several genres, but at its core it is a psychological thriller. Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Michelle who leaves New Orleans after an argument with her fiancé. Later that night, while driving across rural Louisiana, she has a car accident that knocks her unconscious. She wakes up to find herself chained to wall of a small concrete room.

A creepy and cryptic John Goodman plays Howard – the man who brought her to his fully furnished underground bunker. He explains that there has been an attack either by foreign countries or alien forces which left everyone on the outside dead and the air saturated with lethal radiation. An overwhelmed Michelle must determine whether to fear Howard as her captor or be thankful for him saving her life. There is one other piece of the puzzle. Emmitt DeWitt (John Gallagher, Jr.) is also in the bunker but the reason and his intentions are a mystery.

“10 Cloverfield Lane” ratchets down on the psychological thrills. For the majority of the film the events outside the bunker take a backseat to the intense drama within. In his directorial debut Dan Trachtenberg shows an impressive understanding of pacing and tension building. His focus on character dynamics serve as the main source of tension and suspense. It slowly builds through character interactions. Trachtenberg maintains a level of uncertainty while never tipping his hand.

He does overplay his hand a bit in the final act. I wouldn’t say the film has a poor ending, but the approach, both visually and narratively, clash with the tone the rest of the film worked hard to develop. In a weird way I appreciated the sudden jolt the final act gives. At the same time I couldn’t help but feel it belonged in a different movie.

I’m actually intrigued to see where the Cloverfield franchise goes next. This installment made over $100 million against a $15 million budget so I’m sure we will get more of them. I would love to see them follow this film’s blueprint of playing around with different ideas while making characters the chief focus. But hopefully they won’t feel compelled to tack on another popcorn movie ending that feels completely at odds with everything else they are going for.