IMPERIUM Review

There have been a number of different, interesting, and downright strange roles Daniel Radcliffe has taken in what publicly has felt like an attempt to distance himself from the role that will forever define him, but Radcliffe seems a smart enough fella to understand and realize that no matter what movies he makes in his post-Harry Potter years that it is "the boy who lived" that he will forever be most known for. Rather than necessarily distancing himself from that role, Radcliffe seems more intent on exploring territory he never was able to during his years at Hogwarts. Whether that be Allen Ginsberg, a guy with mysterious horns sprouting out of his head, or a farting corpse-Radcliffe has ventured into areas that even the fearless Mr. Potter might have had some trepidation towards. There is no exception with Radcliffe's latest film as the actor portrays Nate Foster in a story inspired by real-life FBI agent Michael German, who helped co-write the script with director Daniel Ragussis. How is Foster different than anything Radcliffe has played before if he's simply an FBI agent you ask? Well, after displaying the necessary skills in the eyes of higher-up Angela Zamparo (Toni Collette) to go undercover Zamparo requests Foster infiltrate a radical white supremacy terrorist group. In short, Radcliffe is a skinhead in a role that asks him to play with the moral complexities of remaining true to the identity he has assumed while attempting to navigate this dangerous world without forgetting the principles that brought him to this line of work in the first place. It is a role worth salivating over for sure, but the question with such potential in a leading role is will the movie itself be able to keep up with what this intriguing character is doing on its own. With Imperium, the answer is 50/50. Though there are plenty of tense moments via Ragussis' script that come with the nature of the subject matter and a few sequences that test the resolve of Radcliffe's Foster it is largely Radcliffe's performance that brings the otherwise meandering narrative to possess real purpose. It isn't necessarily that the plot is bad as it follows a somewhat standard undercover storyline where the viewer can't help but feel our protagonist is under suspicion because we know the truth thus giving way to moments when that protagonist puts on display why they were chosen for such a mission. Beyond the routine story beats though, is there something the film is trying to say? It feels like there is and that there should be with Imperium, but what exactly those things are never come across.

First Trailer for IMPERIUM Starring Daniel Radcliffe

After seeing Daniel Radcliffe last week in Swiss Army Man it was difficult to imagine the actor going further out on a limb to distance himself from the role that will always define him and yet now we have a trailer for Radcliffe's next film and while it certainly might not be initially as strange as playing a farting corpse it could definitely prove as challenging. In director Daniel Ragussis' new film, Imperium, Radcliffe plays a neo-Nazi. Before you get too concerned, Radcliffe is actually playing Nate Foster, a young, idealistic FBI agent who goes undercover to take down the radical right-wing terrorist group, but nonetheless-most of what you see in the trailer is skinhead Radcliffe. All of that said, while some aspects look rather generic, the film looks like it has a fair amount of intensity to it and could be a fairly exciting drama if not exactly the type of entertainment one necessarily likes to use to escape. With director Ragussis not having much of a filmography and only this first look trailer to gauge exactly what we'll be getting I can only hope and assume that the film not only tackles the obvious conflicts one would have with going undercover as a white supremacist, but having to deal with the psychology of those who truly believe in and live their lives by what they believe in even if it is as crazy as their own race being superior to another. There are definitely a few moments in the trailer to make us believe this is the case and that much of the film might deal in the contacts Radcliffe's character makes and how the nurturing of these types of individuals only continues to breed ignorant mindsets, but we'll have to wait and see if Ragussis is more of a layered and thoughtful filmmaker or if he is here purely for the action such characters can provide. Imperium also stars Toni Collette, Tracy Letts, Nestor Carbonell, Burn Gorman, Sam Trammell, and opens on August 19th, 2016.

SWISS ARMY MAN Review

Swiss Army Man is an odd film. One should know that first and foremost. When seeing the quotes on the posters or other marketing material that claim, "you've never seen a movie like this," you should take that to heart. Sure, I get it, you've probably heard that countless times before, but if you continue to read such quotes you'll get reassurance that such hyperbole is accurate when discussing Swiss Army Man. It is in this wholly unique fashion that the film naturally finds its own identity, but also finds a way to convey what is essentially an existential crisis by our main character, Hank, played by Paul Dano. Of course, when the film opens and we meet Dano's character as he attempts to kill himself by hanging we don't know any of this. We assume, given the writings we glean on pieces of trash floating in the water, that Hank is the lone survivor of some type of sea-faring accident and that he has more or less reached his breaking point. It is as he readies himself to step off a cooler with the noose around his neck that he notices a body has washed ashore. Though this body belongs to Daniel Radcliffe it is clear the soul inside has long since gone on to greener pastures. For Hank though, this body he eventually deems Manny is his saving grace. It becomes apparent almost immediately that directors and screenwriters Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as Daniels) enter into Hank's personal reality and are insistent on not letting us out of such a world until they have made a clear statement on each individuals own necessary version of sanity. We all need a different kind of rational to deal with our different set of circumstances. When it comes to Hank we have a very fractured and uncomfortable human being who, as we discover more about him, comes to be this man that doesn't feel he meets the basic standards of normal that society requires. While Swiss Army Man may feel like and project to be an outlandish buddy movie of sorts between a man who at first glance likely belongs in an insane asylum and a corpse the movie certainly has bigger ideas in its head than the fart jokes that have made up much of the conversation around it.

NOW YOU SEE ME 2 Review

2014's Now You See Me was an unexpected hit that made $351 million worldwide on a budget of $75 million and so here we are, two years later, with what is ultimately an unnecessary sequel. There is no need for this movie to exist, there was no reason for these characters to have another similar adventure to that of the one they experienced in the first film and yet, because the dollars dictate it, The Four Horsemen have returned to give us another trip through the secret world of magicians and to point out just how detached from reality they've become if they think they can trick us into believing magicians would ever garner the kind of media attention they do here. I digress, but I can't help but to be a little perturbed by the fact there is a sequel to a film that was a perfectly smart and entertaining one off story that will now forever be tarnished by the existence of this unnecessary successor. In short, NYSM2 is a whole lot of nonsense that doesn't necessarily go anywhere meaningful or comment on anything relevant, but in its defense is something of a crowd-pleaser. It is easy to see the broad appeal of what is at play here as all of the actors are engaging and clearly audiences enjoyed the first one enough to presumably show up and give what is essentially more of the same their money. NYSM2 is a sequel in the tradition of those retreaded sequels that used to be the norm, before the whole expanded universe thing came along, and thus could serve as an example under the definition of guilty pleasure. There is nothing particularly fresh this movie intends to do with the premise and character traits that were defined in the first film, but more NYSM2 desires to expand upon story aspects of the original to the point they no longer make as much sense or hold as much weight as they once did when this was a contained story. There might be new characters played by Daniel Radcliffe and Lizzy Caplan, but they aren't really new-they're just excuses to tread the same water the first film did with updated facades meant to trick the audience into thinking this sequel has something new and exciting to offer. Don't be fooled. There isn't much to see here. Though the film is more consistently funny than I expected and the rapport between the actors even smoother than before the final product still feels more like a magician blowing hot air at their audience for two hours rather than actually daring to dazzle us.

First Trailer for SWISS ARMY MAN Starring Daniel Radcliffe

If there was one film that made the most noise out of Sundance earlier this year for the strangest reason it would definitely have been Swiss Army Man which became a popular topic for featuring Daniel Radcliffe as a farting corpse. That's right, Harry Potter himself is dead and yet consistently flatulent. Still, there had to be more to the film than this, right? It seemed some thought so while others didn't as Swiss Army Man proved to be one of the more divisive films of the 2016 festival, but that didn't stop A24 from picking up the distribution rights for the film and today the studio has delivered the first look at the film to the rest of the public and I have to say-I'm extremely intrigued. The way in which writer/directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert have utilized the role of Radcliffe's corpse seems to be a wholly unique take on what I expected after simply hearing bits of the synopsis earlier this year. This utilization looks to make much of the adventure Paul Dano's character is on a largely metaphorical one, but nonetheless the cinematography looks gorgeous as the island aesthetic with the rich blues and greens seems to have been beautifully exploited. Manchester Orchestra also composed the score for the film and we hear bits and pieces of that in this first trailer that also adds a layer of a different and distinctive tone to this comedy/drama. Radcliffe's character even interacts with the soundtrack at one point in the trailer and so I can't wait to see how far the Daniels push things with this peculiar, but completely individual movie. Swiss Army Man also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and opens in what I presume to be limited release on June 17th, 2016.

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN Review

The first thing that took me by surprise concerning Victor Frankenstein was it's soundtrack. Of course, it could have been any number of things-the artificial environments of the early 1800's or the horribly arrogant narration dialogue Daniel Radcliffe was given that makes his Igor more irritating than endearing. But of course, as opposed to those last two things the soundtrack made me optimistic we might actually be in for something of a treat here. Chris Morgan's score, while traditionally orchestral, has a distinctive flavor to it at least in the early scenes. There is something almost wholly fantastical to it that suggests it may bring the darkness of this story a new layer of marvel and fun that has always been interpreted more along the lines of dark and grimly serious. Even the arrival of James McAvoy's titular character elicits something of a magical moment and whether or not this is due purely to the recognition factor or not, Morgan's score elevates this instant to something that instinctively elicits actual excitement. These optimistic thoughts could only prevail for so long though as Victor Frankenstein quickly devolves into a by the numbers retelling of the Frankenstein story that we've seen numerous times before. There are hints here and there of the script wanting to pull out more caveats of our core characters origin stories as it does in the beginning, but given we all know how things end up it seems screenwriter Max Landis (Chronicle, American Ultra) felt he had nowhere else to go and thus ultimately delivers exactly what we expect rather than subverting those expectations and giving us something new to chew on and ponder. We've heard it all before and despite a hugely credible cast as well as Landis spearheading the project there ultimately seems no need for it. With each incarnation of this story the question will always be what new or original aspect can be brought to the table and if there is nothing new to bring then why tell it again at all?

Teaser Trailer for NOW YOU SEE ME 2

When Now You See Me opened a little over two years ago no one expected the small-ish Lionsgate heist thriller with a rather credible cast and cool premise to outgross the Will Smith sci-fi flick it was opening against, but Now You See Me then went on to gross over $350 million worldwide on a budget of $75m. Cue the need for a sequel and almost three years to the date after the premiere of the Louis Leterrier-helmed original property we will receive the Jon M. Chu directed sequel. Now, Chu is coming off one of the worst box office performances for a movie ever with Jem and the Holograms and so this will be a perfect opportunity to rectify whatever damage Jem might have done to his career. I haven't seen Jem and the Holograms so I can't speak to the quality of that film, but the reputation it has garnered alone for it's poor box office performance and the fan backlash it received for seemingly straying so far from it's source material (again, I've never seen the 80's cartoon that inspired it) has been nothing short of pure vitriol. Chu has also made several of the Step Up films as well as the G.I. Joe sequel that was, if nothing else, better than it's predecessor speaking to the fact the guy is more than capable. From this initial teaser it looks as if Chu has at least kept Leterrier's kinetic energy intact and has enlisted the likes of Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Radcliffe to fill fill the hole left by Isla Fischer as well as carrying on the ongoing struggle between the Four Horsemen and Michael Caine's Arthur Tressler as Tressler's son, Walter, intends to mix things up. Now You See Me 2 also features the return of Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and opens on June 10, 2016.

First Trailer for VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN Starring Daniel Radcliffe

There are a few things concerning this latest incarnation of the Frankenstein story that have me interested despite my better judgement telling me it doesn't have much chance of being good. The first two factors are that of leads James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe. Despite the fact actors have little influence over the final product, both of these guys tend to choose projects they're legitimately drawn to rather than simply for the sake of having a possible hit to their name. It doesn't hurt that screenwriter Max Landis (Chronicle) is behind the script for this one either. There is of course the look of the film that paints it as another ugly cousin to the likes of I, Frankenstein or Dracula Untold, but I can only hope that director Paul McGuigan (Sherlock) is only employing this aesthetic for the sake of the time period while utilizing the rather above-par factors that are his actors to convey something new and fresh. As Hollywood is virtually unable to leave properties alone these days the least we can hope for is some kind of twist or interesting take on the material and that seems to be the basis for this production. The trailer focuses in on the relationship between Dr. Frankenstein (McAvoy) and his faithful assistant Igor (Radcliffe) which could turn out to be fun as it's clear the two actors have a nice rapport in the introduction for the International trailer. If nothing else, the film will at least clarify to a few generations that Frankenstein is the the name of the scientist who brought the monster to life rather than the monster himself. Victor Frankenstein opens on November 25th and also stars Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott, and Freddie Fox.

TRAINWRECK Review

Judd Apatow is something of an enigma due to his seeming omnipotence over the comedy world in television and film. In truth though, he's only made five feature films and directed a handful of TV episodes for series he had a hand in creating. I understand the complaints lodged against Apatow and his comedies, but regardless I'm a big fan of his. In a strange way, Apatow seems to want to do with comedy what Christopher Nolan is doing with mainstream blockbusters. His movies are large in length, deep in character and entrusted with themes bigger than just those intended to make people laugh. Apatow is telling human stories and including the humor so often involved, but so difficult to naturally convey. To capture the genuine way we exchange laughs and cultivate jokes through piles of conversation and inside references is no easy task, but Apatow is attempting to crack this the best he knows how and, if nothing else, he should be applauded for the effort. Apatow wants to make comedy as epic and cutting to others as it is to him. While his last two features (Funny People and This is 40) didn't receive the warm critical reception of his first two (The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up) I couldn't help but feel I understood the journey he was on and the goal he was trying to reach. With his latest, Trainwreck, Apatow has ventured into new territory which is likely for the best when considering his career trajectory while simultaneously keeping his legacy intact. Trainwreck, though, doesn't feel like an Apatow film. This is due to the fact that it really isn't. Trainwreck is an Amy Schumer film through and through and there is nothing wrong with that, but any seasoned comedy director could have delivered this product. This is Apatow's first feature directing gig where he didn't also write the script and the lack of investment becomes apparent. Beginning with a shot that elicits the quality of the photographs produced in the early eighties I imagined we were going to get a full throttle collaboration between two solid, comedic minds that understand perception and honesty to the point of delivering it in a funny manner. The comedy isn't the problem, the characters aren't an issue and the story is fine for what it is, but the directing seems to default to autopilot rather quickly so as to competently document The Amy Schumer Show. Apatow let's Schumer take the reigns and doesn't infuse the project with his own flavor, making him feel more like a director for hire than a collaborator.

HORNS Review

In the opening moments of Horns, Daniel Radcliffe and Juno Temple lay in a green meadow fawning over one another and exchanging hip yet still cheesy dialogue about being horny and then loving one another for the rest of their lives. It is a short scene that quickly moves us forward to after the major incident that defines the narrative of the film, but is an exchange that makes you wonder. Wonder in the sense that these two intelligent and clearly ambitious actors who want to make art that is substantial and means something have this opening that works contrary to all of that. Radcliffe has been picking projects in hopes of distancing himself from his Harry Potter counterpart for a few years now, but as he and Temple exchange this obvious exposition dialogue clearly intended to tell us these two are in love and doomed because of it (while ironically forcing it to counter-intuitively feel effortless) I wondered what they saw in this script. What about these opening moments made them think this was a good idea? What spoke to them? From that point out the challenge was for the film to make me feel more weight to this exchange that I openly chuckled and slightly cringed at for its seeming contrivances. In short, mission accomplished. In only his fourth big screen appearance after retiring the scar and glasses Radcliffe has made a horror picture, a romantic comedy of sorts and a historical drama where he played poet Allen Ginsberg. I have yet to see that rom-com, now titiled What If with Zoe Kazan which I think might be the most radically different thing he's done to date. With Horns though Radcliffe has done more than I would have ever given him credit for based on the trailers in making strides to be an actor the public actually sees as an actor and not just representative of a single role. The supernatural is somewhat of a comfort zone for him and while I appreciated the aesthetic and throwback style that comprised The Woman in Black, Horns is a much deeper-minded film with more on its mind than giving audiences the creeps or gutting them with dark humor, but instead it is a rather insightful study of who we are as a race and who we desire to be as human beings and how tough it can be to discern the difference.  

THE WOMAN IN BLACK Review

Patience. Patience is a virtue and we must not only possess this characteristic to watch Danny Radcliffe's new ghost story "The Woman in Black" but we must have it in order to relate to his character Arthur Kipps. There is a point in a ghost story where you just get the hell out of there and never look back. No doubt this doesn't usually bode well for characters in a movie but at least we can respect them enough because they have the sense to flee when they have the chance. Mr. Kipps is not looking for a way out. He embraces his involvement with the supernatural and to a point we can understand why, but in the end things are just a little too grim, a little too bleak that he could actually conceive to find any real hope in his situation. This train of thought doesn't exactly go along with the conclusion of the film which was actually a nice break from modern horror flicks, but as depressingly sad as it was there was a hint of peace in it. That it is actually what our protagonist wanted, and if that is the perspective you take on it (I surely did) it will feel all the more haunting to you. That is the accomplishment of "The Woman In Black"; it is not a gory all out screamfest. In fact, dialogue is few and far between. The movie is all about tone and telling a good ole fashioned ghost story in the most effective of ways. It may not break any new ground or offer as many scares as I originally hoped for, but it succeeds in becoming a haunting tale I wouldn't mind hearing around a campfire.

Mr. Daily (Ciaran Hinds) helps our protagonist go about
his business when visiting his small town.

The tale of the woman in black is one that has its origins in the early eighties. A novel is the source material for the menacing spectre that was later adapted into a stage play that still runs in London's West End and is the second-longest running play in the history of the West End. It was also adapted into a television film in 1989 but I had neither seen any of these previous incarnations nor had I read the novel. I went into the movie knowing little about the story other than what the trailer indicated and I love experiencing a scary movie that way. "The Woman In Black" begins as dark as one might expect. A chilling sequence in which the stage is set for our title villain. We meet the young lawyer Kipps as he is getting ready to travel to a remote village for work on sorting out the estate of a deceased couple. It is clear upon arriving that the locals intend to get him out of town as quick as possible, but Arthur is hard pressed to prove his worth at his job. You see, he recently lost his wife during the birth of his child and has been in a state of grieving ever since. The film shows us this without over explaining. It gives us small clues and indicators as to who these characters are by their decisions and not by having the script's dialogue tell us. Slowly the clues become more evident as to what the ghost of a woman does to the local villagers and why they fear her. Why they all believe in her. It is taken with an ease of acceptable truth. Only the town's wealthy Mr. Daily (Ciaran Hinds) tries to ignore the rumors of the haunting. Mr. Daily becomes a sort of companion in Arthur's struggles to get past a personal complication with the local town and just to do his job and bid him goodbye. If those that came in contact with the woman in black could escape her there would be no story though and so we know Arthur will do his best to put the towns and his own sorrows to rest.

Arthur Kipp (Daniel Radcliffe) starts to believe in what the
locals have been whispering about... 

The real point of interest in the film though is if Radcliffe is able to begin a post-Potter career that will set him apart from the character that has encompassed most of his life. Though it feels he is a little young to play the widowed father of a four year-old he takes on the responsibility of the role well and reacts to the scary moments with just the right expressions. It is hard to judge how his career will go from here not because the performance isn't any good or not convincing, no, he just isn't required to do much here. Much of the film he is lurking through the dark mansion holding a candle waiting to see what lies just around the corner. There is little action despite his characters one attempt at a rescue but even in this moment the best of the film shines through. It is a quietly creepy movie that offers plenty of chill-inducing moments. It is not the type of film we are used to seeing Radcliffe in which is to say he isn't playing a version of Harry Potter and though this may put off some of the audience who expects that, it is a good indicator that Radcliffe is trying to show range and if he continues to try he certainly will. Though Arthur Kipps is nothing if not a common man, for that reason alone he couldn't be any less similar to the boy wizard, and Radcliffe keeps in tune with the films tone and gives a quiet, haunting performance that creates a coherent film that is dressed in period costumes and sets to add prestige to its ghost story proceedings. It works. It lends to the atmosphere that is necessary for an audience to buy into the unreal things going on. Writer Jane Goldman (Kick Ass, X-Men: First Class, Stardust) understands her message and world enough to make everything she puts into the script compliment these two items; these two items that allow this to stand above the standard ghost story.

Arthur Kipps attempts to set right what has caused
much heartache for the woman in black.

Parts of the film certainly drag and there could no doubt have been a bit more exposition that delve deeper into the back story of our antagonist seeing as it is her movie, but again, this is all about mystery and in many ways feels like a more grown up horror story than those the cinema usually delivers. "The Woman in Black" may not even be that great of a film, but with literally the only good "scary movie" last year being "Insidious" movie-goers are desperate for decent films that deliver the scares and "The Woman in Black" certainly delivers more than a handful of genuine moments where you look around the dark theatre to make sure no one is standing over you, watching. It is good fun and a refreshing look back at horror movies of yesteryear. I can't say that it is something everyone will love, but it has a strong story behind all of its "gotcha" moments and in that story we receive a few genuinely touching moments that build together with the reasoning for our existing ghost to create a feeling of something more bittersweet than bloody. The resolution comes at the expected time, but it turns the entire film around in what direction you expected it to go that you are taken aback and begin to reevaluate the themes that are at work here. It seems odd to call a scary movie touching, but this film is an exception to the rule on almost every level as far as horror flicks go as of late. Good for you Danny boy, you may just have a little magic left in you yet.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK Review

Patience. Patience is a virtue and we must not only possess this characteristic to watch Danny Radcliffe's new ghost story "The Woman in Black" but we must have it in order to relate to his character Arthur Kipps. There is a point in a ghost story where you just get the hell out of there and never look back. No doubt this doesn't usually bode well for characters in a movie but at least we can respect them enough because they have the sense to flee when they have the chance. Mr. Kipps is not looking for a way out. He embraces his involvement with the supernatural and to a point we can understand why, but in the end things are just a little too grim, a little too bleak that he could actually conceive to find any real hope in his situation. This train of thought doesn't exactly go along with the conclusion of the film which was actually a nice break from modern horror flicks, but as depressingly sad as it was there was a hint of peace in it. That it is actually what our protagonist wanted, and if that is the perspective you take on it (I surely did) it will feel all the more haunting to you. That is the accomplishment of "The Woman In Black"; it is not a gory all out screamfest. In fact, dialogue is few and far between. The movie is all about tone and telling a good ole fashioned ghost story in the most effective of ways. It may not break any new ground or offer as many scares as I originally hoped for, but it succeeds in becoming a haunting tale I wouldn't mind hearing around a campfire.