THE DISAPPOINTMENTS ROOM Review

You may not recognize the name D.J. Caruso, but if you're under the age of thirty-five you've probably seen a few of his movies. Whether it be the 2004 Angelina Jolie mystery/thriller Taking Lives, the double feature he directed with Shia LaBeouf in 2007 and 2008 with Disturbia and Eagle Eye or even the sign his career wasn't headed in as promising a direction as we'd hoped with 2011's I Am Number Four adaptation. The thing is, I want to like Mr. Caruso as I hold a special place in my heart for Disturbia which was more or less a modernization of Hitchcock's Rear Window (which itself was based on Cornell Woolrich's short story 'It Had to Be Murder'), but done with the added elements of humor and teen drama to make it more appealing to a broader audience. That Caruso was able to take the tense and rather static story from which Rear Window came and infuse it with a sly charm while keeping the inherent tensions intact was a feat worth acknowledging, but in the near decade since Disturbia it seems the filmmaker has become more a director for hire rather than the auteur he seemed to show the promise of becoming. What happened to the director? Why is his next project a fifteen year later sequel to a Vin Diesel movie that was only greenlit in the first place because of the success of The Fast & the Furious? We may never know, but while The Disappointments Room might have been a much hyped spring/pre-summer release rather than a slight horror film hoping to be disposed of in the dumping grounds of September ten years ago (given both Caruso's clout as well as Kate Beckinsale's at that time were much higher) that is unfortunately exactly what we have today. Worse, The Disappointments Room suffers at the fate of being the first film to be released since Relativity Studios filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection on July 30, 2015. And so, with a reported budget of $15 million Relativity and its Rogue label are simply hoping to make some kind of profit by releasing this as quick as they can before its sits too long on the shelf. Despite all of what it has going against it though, it is easier than one might expect to understand why Caruso, who penned the screenplay with Wentworth Miller (Prison Break), had a desire to tell this story; the real issue being they chose to tell this story within the confines of a stale genre template.

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP Review

From the outset of director Whit Stillman's Jane Austen adaptation, Love & Friendship, it is apparent that this is unlike any Austen adaptation one has seen before and probably unlike any film one has seen set in the Georgian era as well. Joel Coen has said, and the sentiment has been repeated and discussed many times, that directing is more or less about managing tone and it is in this aspect that Stillman more than excels here by giving this distinguished era in British history a tinge of the sardonic. The Georgian era is most prominent for the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and how such changes brought about more tension between the social classes. Love & Friendship more or less capitalizes on such anxiety by putting our protagonist in a transitional stage between losing a wealthy husband and finding another suitor who might allow her to live out the rest of her days in comfort. This protagonist is the titular character of Austen's 1871 novella, Lady Susan, who has a duplicitous personality and a keen understanding of man's nature that makes such a transition all the more entertaining. And this is kind of the crux that allows for Stillman's latest venture to stand out in the way that it does as not only is it unlike any film one has ever seen set in this era or a similar one, but that it deals in its subject matter not as a Pride & Prejudice adaptation would, but rather with a tone that is sometimes screwy and a little eccentric, but always hilarious and maybe even more importantly-frequently impulsive. It can't help but to seem that films set during a time period such as this are met with preconceived notions that carry negative connotations by today's younger audiences, but Downton Abbey (though I haven't seen a single episode) has seemingly bucked that trend to a certain degree and it only seems Stillman has pushed these notions even further by creating a film of Victorian-like structure and style that resonates a certain freshness one would never expect from such material. I cannot emphasize enough how simply delightful Love & Friendship is if not for how surprisingly fun it is, but for the career best performance delivered by Kate Beckinsale.

TOTAL RECALL Review

I never really knew how great of an impression Arnold Schwarzenegger left on Hollywood, but for at least the past four years there has been some type of summer blockbuster that either continued a series he began or a remake hoping to cash in on his originals success and widespread adoration. While Terminator Salvation, Predators, and last years remake of Conan didn't exactly live up to anyone's expectations set by those originals this years Arnie tribute is easily the best of the bunch. While I was aware of the original film I never had any real interest in seeing Total Recall until the other night in preparation for this Colin Farrell re-make. While I found it to be classically cheesy in the best ways the Austrian actor makes things over-the-top cheesy it did indeed ask some interesting questions and as with any film based on a Philip K. Dick short story delve into its interesting premise with entertaining action and clever techniques. While I enjoyed this years update of the film more than the original simply due to the look of the updated special effects and overall quality of acting I can see where loyalists to the original will find faults with what is ultimately an unnecessary remake. Though it may be without cause, it has come to be and so I will take it in with summer action glee. There is plenty here to enjoy, though it does run out of steam about half way through and from there on repeats itself with one too many chase scenes and ten too many Kate Beckinsale comebacks.

Lori (Kate Beckinsale) and Chancellor Cohaagen
(Bryan Cranston) do away with the resistance.

For the first forty-five minutes we are strapped to our seat. Director Len Wiseman (the Underworld films) is a pro at orchestrating intricate action scenes and opens with a bang here before settling into the exposition his newly envisioned world requires. We meet Farrell's Doug Quaid and his beautiful wife Lori (played by Wiseman's real life wife Kate Beckinsale) as they go about their day to day and it becomes ever the more clear that Quaid is not content with his routine life that has him and his factory-like co-workers traveling in a tunnel through the middle of the earth for their cheap labor jobs building robot cops. You see, in this re-make their is no Mars, what we instead are given is an earth that is now uninhabitable because of chemical warfare with the exception of two areas: the British islands and a colony that was formerly Australia. Quaid and many others with his mid to low social status live in the colony but travel to the British islands or federation that is controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (a criminally underused Bryan Cranston) who is seemingly the leader of the free world. This all becomes much more important when harmless ole Quaid goes to a place called Rekall, a company that turns your dreams into real memories. Quaid is unable to avoid the temptation his ambition seeks and so when he visits Rekall one day after work things take a turn for the unexpected and Quaid lives out his "fantasy" of being a secret agent that is now on the run from Cohaagen and the robots he helped build due to the fact he joined the side of an underground resistance that includes the girl from his dreams (Jessica Biel) and is led by a mysterious and also underused Bill Nighy.

Doug Quaid (Colin Farrell) goes under at Rekall.

While the changes from the original are plenty and as a matter of fact, really understandable, there is one thing that changed I wished they would have kept the same. I don't know why it brought me so much annoyance, maybe the fact Beckinsale was given more work because her husband is in charge of the thing, but like Sharon Stone, she should have been killed off early on. Other than this, Mars isn't really necessary and the creativity the early scenes contain with the advancement in technology was impressive. The everyday appliances seemed logical next steps from where we are now and the sprawling city scape of the federation is easily the most impressive thing about the film. I hate to even criticize a movie on its lack of good storytelling methods when the thought and design of the universe these characters exist in has so clearly been labored over and thoughtfully rendered. Still, while the film may look nearly flawless the script is far from it. After that engaging first hour or so we start to see the pattern of Farrell and Biel being chased in a car, or through elevator shafts or on the transport through the core of the earth. These fast paced and overlong sequences wouldn't be so tiresome if they contained any sort of thrill or tension, but they simply exist to put in more action; the story is hardly moved along. Only when our protagonists come to a halt do we get a piece of interesting dialogue or a confrontation that deals with the questions the great set-up poses. The best parts feature Quaid deducing whether what is happening around him is real or fabricated, where he has to decide who is truly his friend and his enemy. These don't happen often enough and the movie doesn't keep the truth as vague as it should, but when they do we catch a glimpse of what could have been had the movie not got caught up in its own action.

Melina (Jessica Biel) has to fend for herself as a part
of Matthias's resistance against the Chancellor.

In many ways the effect that this re-make leaves you with is very much the same as the original. It is too much, it really is. Everything about it, from the bombastic set pieces to the extravagant fight scenes. The difference here is that everything looks much better. But while everything may be more slick in the new Total Recall there is the obvious absence of any kind of soul. While Farrell has always been an intriguing actor and gives the character more depth as to the line between fantasy and reality that he is walking what the actor lacks is that undeniable charisma Schwarzenegger brought to a man that felt betrayed by his own mind. We see in Farrell's performance that he is confused by the whole thing, baffled even, but in the original Quaid is clearly wounded by what his life has become and it is out of desperation that he searches for the truth rather than going along with the events that present themselves as Farrell's version does. It goes back to the idea that while there is better execution, maybe even more creativity in the justification for Quaid's story in the re-make we never feel emotionally connected with any of the characters. I literally can't remember one memorable aspect about Jessica Biel's Melina and she is the main love interest in the film. No matter how well you dress something up, the lasting resonance with an audience will undoubtedly come from the feeling the film left them with. Total Recall leaves you with nothing more than a shrug and maybe the occasional recollection of how cool something looked. It will take much more than that though to make me want to retain any memory of the film.  

         

TOTAL RECALL Review

I never really knew how great of an impression Arnold Schwarzenegger left on Hollywood, but for at least the past four years there has been some type of summer blockbuster that either continued a series he began or a remake hoping to cash in on his originals success and widespread adoration. While Terminator Salvation, Predators, and last years remake of Conan didn't exactly live up to anyone's expectations set by those originals this years Arnie tribute is easily the best of the bunch. While I was aware of the original film I never had any real interest in seeing Total Recall until the other night in preparation for this Colin Farrell re-make. While I found it to be classically cheesy in the best ways the Austrian actor makes things over-the-top cheesy it did indeed ask some interesting questions and as with any film based on a Philip K. Dick short story delve into its interesting premise with entertaining action and clever techniques. While I enjoyed this years update of the film more than the original simply due to the look of the updated special effects and overall quality of acting I can see where loyalists to the original will find faults with what is ultimately an unnecessary remake. Though it may be without cause, it has come to be and so I will take it in with summer action glee. There is plenty here to enjoy, though it does run out of steam about half way through and from there on repeats itself with one too many chase scenes and ten too many Kate Beckinsale comebacks.

CONTRABAND Review

The definition of contraband is goods that have been imported or exported illegally. Add to that a bucket of heist movie cliches sprinkled with some credible actors here and there, mix it all together and you have what is a completely average film. The star power can't outweigh the story and the ambition can't get past well, the story. Movies like this, ones we know by heart, are at this point all about the way they are told rather than what they are telling. "Contraband" is a by the numbers action flick that surprisingly skips out on a good amount of the action. After his good run with "The Fighter" in 2010 Mark Wahlberg sat 2011 out but returns early with this one and solidifies what I was always afraid of. The guy is a valid presence on screen sure, he carries himself well and has a certain charisma to him but if his material isn't strong neither is he. It showed in "The Happening" where he was a joke and "Max Payne" where he did about the same thing as he does here. Luckily the guy knows how to pick projects and this has held his head above the water his entire career. He's good when he gets it, he needs to keep exploring his range as he's done lately with ridiculous comedies like "The Other Guys" as well as dramatic material like "The Lovely Bones" where he was miscast, but he did a solid job. "Contraband" is not the next step Wahlberg needed to take, if anything it was one step back from where I expected him to go. To watch Marky Mark and his funky bunch smuggle goods throughout a two hour period while Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Foster are underused while carrying the more intriguing plot is not Wahlberg's fault but he might as well have been smuggling the money right out of our pockets.

Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) and Sebastian (Ben Foster) have
to return to their old ways to protect their family.

Not only have we seen the film before but we have seen Wahlberg play the role before. If you saw "Four Brothers" then you already know Chris Farraday. Wahlbergs character here is a retired criminal who used to be a world class smuggler. He has since become a family man, marrying Kate (yes as in Beckinsale) and settling down with their two sons. Also retired is Chris's best friend Sebastian (Foster). They have both since began their own businesses and seem to be adjusting well to a life with upstanding morals and little risk. Of course, Chris is soon forced back into his old ways when his brother in law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) decides to start making his own runs and ends up pissing off a drug lord. The tag line on the posters is "What would you hide to protect your family?" and though this would like to make you think that is the main focus of the story we all know why we are really here and that is to watch famous people steal stuff and almost get caught. This would be fun too, even thrilling if it weren't so dull and oddly paced. Like I said earlier though, for a January release that promises to be a mindless escape it depends too heavily on the cliches and twists the story piles on rather than just letting it play out while focusing on the excitement that these scenes should be inducing. While you could say if they had done that I would be complaining about the opposite fact that more time was spent on explosions than on development you would be wrong, because that is not the reason this movie exists. Even if it tried to make genuine people out of the characters on screen the actors would be hard pressed to create something original from the archetypes they've been given.

Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi) is a threat to the new found
peace of Wahlberg's family. 

The real mystery and intrigue of the plot though is the Ribisi/Foster story line. We probably see it coming and sorry if you consider that a spoiler, but it is clearly the more interesting dynamic of the film. If the whole run is going to center around the Panama shoot out we are going to need a balanced focus and more depth to the relationship and backstory Sebastian has with those around him. Foster is a more than capable actor who sways back and forth between generics like this and smaller, indie flicks. He does what he can with his role, as does Ribisi playing up every stereotype there is about a confused white drug dealer. The few spotlights they do get give us a glimpse at what might have been had the script taken that chance of moving from safe crowd-pleaser to insightful caper.

Sure Wahlberg is here to make sure his reputation as a bad ass action star stays strong, but Kate Beckinsale in a role that could be relegated to minor doesn't make much sense; not when she has the lead in a franchise film opening next week. Either she wasn't very busy or it's a great PR move to get her on screen and guaranteed Underworld trailers in front of this movie all weekend. Then you have Diego Luna who rarely takes a role in a big Hollywood production, much less a generic one such as this, as a crazed drug lord. Luna's character Gonzalo does set up the biggest action piece of the film where he and his gang hijack an armored truck to steal some priceless paintings (the fact these are Pollack's isn't revealed until the end, but it is the best running joke in the movie as they use the painting for a tarp). The film tries its best to make Panama a character in the film, but too little time is spent there as is it in the bayou of Baton Rouge where all of our characters reside. The thing is, most of the action takes place on these ships and in this regard the film succeeds as we become acquainted with every aspect of the vessel. We even get to know the dirty, smart alleck captain played by J.K. Simmons, another actor I was equally pleased to see as well as confused by why he was even there.

Chris has a lot on his shoulders when it comes to
smuggling all that cash.

"Contraband" is really nothing to get worked up about though. You go in expecting nothing more than what the final product delivers and it does, in the end, turn out to be a rather enjoyable film; just one you would probably never care to see again. It is a film completely manufactured on what a mass audience feels they need out of a film like this and to a certain degree there is nothing wrong with that. I went to the theater expecting a good crowd but not the nearly sold out one that was actually there. It became clear that what the people were there for was to allow themselves a slight getaway with a reliable star. Wahlberg may not know this many people rely on him to deliver a good solid film but here's hoping he begins to realize it and approaches every project with the care and dedication that he did "The Fighter". It would have made for at least a more engaging time at the movies if not a more action packed one. Because really, isn't that what we all really wanted to see this for?

CONTRABAND Review

The definition of contraband is goods that have been imported or exported illegally. Add to that a bucket of heist movie cliches sprinkled with some credible actors here and there, mix it all together and you have what is a completely average film. The star power can't outweigh the story and the ambition can't get past well, the story. Movies like this, ones we know by heart, are at this point all about the way they are told rather than what they are telling. "Contraband" is a by the numbers action flick that surprisingly skips out on a good amount of the action. After his good run with "The Fighter" in 2010 Mark Wahlberg sat 2011 out but returns early with this one and solidifies what I was always afraid of. The guy is a valid presence on screen sure, he carries himself well and has a certain charisma to him but if his material isn't strong neither is he. It showed in "The Happening" where he was a joke and "Max Payne" where he did about the same thing as he does here. Luckily the guy knows how to pick projects and this has held his head above the water his entire career. He's good when he gets it, he needs to keep exploring his range as he's done lately with ridiculous comedies like "The Other Guys" as well as dramatic material like "The Lovely Bones" where he was miscast, but he did a solid job. "Contraband" is not the next step Wahlberg needed to take, if anything it was one step back from where I expected him to go. To watch Marky Mark and his funky bunch smuggle goods throughout a two hour period while Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Foster are underused while carrying the more intriguing plot is not Wahlberg's fault but he might as well have been smuggling the money right out of our pockets.