COLLATERAL BEAUTY Review

Will Smith is the people's actor. He is a presence that radiates the kind of everyman persona that the actual everyman would like to envision themselves as. It's nearly impossible not to find the presence of Smith in any film he chooses to participate anything other than a force of genuine charisma, but not here. In director David Frankel's (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley & Me) Collateral Beauty Smith is relegated to looking as depressed as possible for the limited amount of time he actually appears on screen despite being touted as the lead of this ensemble piece. It's true-the films wackadaisical plot hinges on the actions of Smith's Howard Inlet, but it doesn't ultimately pay that much attention to him. Still, given it is Smith we care about this human being who is clearly and rightfully dealing with a tragedy on his own terms. Reeling from this great tragedy of losing a child we come to sympathize with Howard mostly thanks to the pain Smith conveys in his eyes that are constantly attempting to fight back both pain and tears. Still, we never become as invested in the character as it seems Frankel or screenwriter Allan Loeb (The Switch, Here Comes the Boom) imagined we might. Moreover, we are too shocked by what actually plays out in Loeb's screenplay as opposed to what type of movie the trailers sold this one to be. Going into Collateral Beauty there was a line of thinking that, being it was the holiday season, Loeb and the studio had intentionally written the story to take place at Christmas and released it around Christmas due to the similarities it seemingly shared with Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. While Smith's Howard is certainly no Scrooge it seemed Loeb had more or less reverse engineered the situation and played things out as if Bob Cratchit were the boss of his own ad agency and whom he moves forward enough that Tiny Tim does in fact pass away only to have the three ghosts that are this time incarnated as Love, Death, and Time rather than Past, Present, and Future come visit our protagonist revealing the secrets to happiness long thought to be lost. Loeb certainly could have played with a few different ideas and themes coming at the story from this new perspective, but ultimately Collateral Beauty was never brave enough to try and update and/or re-engineer that Christmas classic, but would rather be as deceptive about what it actually is the same way many of its characters are.

First Trailer for COLLATERAL BEAUTY Starring Will Smith

Like I said in my article Saturday counting down my most anticipated films of this fall/winter a trailer could drop any time for the Will Smith-starrer Collateral Beauty, but for some reason I felt the film, directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley & Me), would be delayed given it was supposed to arrive this Christmas and we'd yet to even see a production still from the picture. My train of thought went in this direction because it is what happened to Frankel's 2011 film, The Big Year, that carried the weight of names like Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Steve Martin in the same movie together. That movie came and went without so much as a peep. I was hopeful Frankel's latest venture wouldn't be of the same variety given, aside from Smith, it has a cast to die for despite coming from prolific if not exceptional screenwriter Alan Loeb (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Just Go With It). That all changed today as the teaser for Collateral Beauty has arrived and the film looks to pull at the heart strings as it it tells the story of a man (Smith) who experiences a tragic event that sends him into a downwards spiral-causing him to examine life and the things that connect each of us-our longing for love, our constant wish for more time, and our fear of death. The debut trailer tells us Smith's Howard Inlet begins writing letters to these things-to the universe-as a therapeutic way of dealing with this tragedy. What he doesn't expect is a response and yet he gets some in the form of Helen Mirren, Jacob Latimore, and Keira Knightley. Though the music hits you a bit over the head this certainly looks as if it will hit the strong emotional beats that Frankel was able to do in his "Why People Love Dogs" story that had every theater it was shown in in tears. I don't know that we'll necessarily see the film in contention come awards season, but this looks like a genuinely great movie to see with the family during the holidays and hopefully Frankel and his A-list cast can convey all the ideas and emotions this trailer sets up in interesting and powerful fashions in the final product. Collateral Beauty also stars Edward Norton, Michael Pena, Naomie Harris, Kate Winslet and opens on December 16, 2016.

First Trailer for JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT

Though I've never read a Tom Clancy novel nor have I seen any of the previous incarnations of this character on screen whether it was by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, or even Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears I'm always game for an espionage thriller and this looks to fill that quota this year quite nicely. While last year I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed the gritty, back to basics approach of Jack Reacher and while Ryan seems to have taken a more flashy, Daniel Craig-ish Bond approach to the globe trotting the cast is more than appealing and Kenneth Branagh is at the helm which lends this project more credibility than I would have granted it otherwise. Branagh stepped into large-scale, blockbuster filmmaking with his last effort, Thor, and was able to turn what is arguably the most outlandish of the Marvel superheroes into a certifiable hit and a film that is almost universally liked. I appreciate the fact Paramount took Branagh on his good will from that film and gave him a shot at directing what could have easily been a throwaway chance to capitalize on a recognizable name as nothing more than a cash grab. As for the actual trailer, as I said it looks slightly new-age Bond mixed with some Jason Bourne-like stylings, but what doesn't these days? Chris Pine looks to be his typically charismatic self if not a little more humble and reserved than his Kirk interpretation while his supporting cast featuring Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley and the director himself as the baddie make this a teaser that delivers on its purpose. As of right now Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is scheduled to open in theaters on Christmas Day, but could change to early 2014.

ANNA KARENINA Review

There is something magical about the way in which Joe Wright creates his films. There is a definitive eye for craft and a grand amount of attention paid to detail. It has resulted in some of the more beautiful shots of the last decade whether they be the glorious steadicam shot on the beach of Dunkirk in Atonement or some of his more subtle work in overlooked films such as Hanna or even The Soloist. There are moments in each of these films where you could simply sit back and marvel at the craft and skill being put into it rather than care about the story that is unfolding. In his latest effort, a retelling of Leo Tolstoy's meditation on love known as Anna Karenina Wright again enlists his muse for period pieces Kiera Knightley and takes us on a spectacle that may be his most beautiful film to date, but suffers from not having the emotional core that his other period pieces have contained. I am a huge fan of Atonement and have followed Wright's career since that film captured my heart. I was anxiously awaiting what the director would do having the opportunity to again venture into his comfort zone and while the results may not have been as spectacularly moving as I'd hoped there is no doubt this is a fine film. The acting is top notch and features an array of characters that all compliment the central theme in a way that writing seems to have lacked for some time. Adapting Tolstoy is no small task and Wright along with screenwriter Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love) have not only brought to life a story that likely didn't need to be told again but have condensed it so as to elicit a central idea, a study of an emotion, and the way in which it controls our lives with an unnerving direction.

A DANGEROUS METHOD Review

I will be the first to admit that I am not a David Cronenberg follower. I have seen snippets of his last two films also starring Viggo Mortensen but have either fallen asleep or not been able to finish them. I hear nothing but great things about both and before you cry foul know that it is not because I think his work unworthy. I actually have found most of what I've seen intriguing but more importantly a real craft and passion for the story he is telling. This comes especially in hand with "A Dangerous Method" as Cronenberg delivers a film all about ideas that can hardly go a scene change without documenting some kind of ideological speech that is being given. It is a talky film, but one that is relentlessly engaging. For a film that is essentially discussing the root causes of human behavior and the psychological meanings of it all the film is very matter of fact. Presenting its ideas in a way you don't have to dig to discover meaning in. It is clear the director has a fascination with the mind and Freud's ideas that sexual drives are the primary motivational forces of human life. Which leads me to wonder why, despite this presenting countless interesting theories, that passion that seems to be evident in Cronenberg's desire to tell the story actually ends up delivering a film that feels more cold and distant than any of the bits I have seen from his other films. Don't get wrong, I found "A Dangerous Method" both troubling and complex but in the end it was not exactly entertaining; something that wouldn't factor in if you were writing a research paper, but still counts when you're making a movie.

Freud (Viggo Mortensen) attends to his student Carl
Jung (Michael Fassbender) after he receives a difficult patient.

The film opens on a frantic Keira Knightley as she is taken from a train on her fathers request and put into the care of Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender). Knightley as Sabina Spielrein is what seems to be an impossible case for the young doctor Jung; a student taught in the ways of his mentor Sigmund Freud. I was unfamiliar with the story that is supposed to be based on fact before seeing the film but it can essentially be summed up in a way that makes it sound more like a cliché-laden romance novel than it actually is. The script was adapted by Oscar-winning writer Christopher Hampton from his play, The Talking Cure which certainly suits the film more. The studio no doubt adjusted the title in what both they and I expected to become a more uneasy, S&M film at the hands of Cronenberg but instead the main conflict comes not from the actions on screen, but in the theories and dissections of dreams that are carried out between Jung and Freud. The simplicity of the overall plot is elevated when Jung begins an affair with what the film portrays as his cured patient in Spielrein that has a taste for the rough stuff. Now, clearly this exercise in breaking societal rules has an effect on the discussions Jung and Freud have, but the forward approach to the analytic process hardly compliments the plot. This causes a kind of disbandment in the tone of the film that is only brought together by the period clothes and set dressings.

Sabina Spielrein (Knightley) and Dr. Jung break a few rules
of the doctor/patient agreement. 

What elevated the film for me, besides the fact the debates are extremely interesting, was in fact the great performances. I had heard many complain of Mortensen's casting as Freud before the film debuted but Cronenberg clearly has an affection for Mortensen who is more than a capable actor. He plays Freud with an air of regal arrogance that is justified by his level of intelligence. It is a fine supporting role and one that may not be as influential in the film as you might expect. The real surprise here for me was Knightley, who we've seen in a number of period roles before but here she pours her heart and soul into Spielrein. In the first ten or so minutes of the film after being taken from the train and forced to complete a session with Jung she nearly comes out of her skin with rage and an irritable tick that doesn't sell us short on the fact there is something wrong with the woman. It is in fact almost too much, but thankfully Knightley brings it down a few octaves and by the time her and Jung begin to get it on we see her performance go from showy to down right cunning. In what is a more interesting piece of casting in Fassbender is that in ways Jung compliments his character in the drastically different but similarly themed "Shame". His character in "Shame" could easily have been one of his patients in "A Dangerous Method" and though I haven't seen the Steve McQueen film yet it almost seems Fassbender's character there would resemble Otto Gross (the always appealing Vincent Cassel) another of Jung's patients that opens his eyes to the restrictions of our delusional society. Fassbender has had quite a year with his role as Mr. Rochester in "Jane Eyre" and a young Magneto in "X-Men: First Class" and he continues to deliver excellent work here with a commanding performance that though not as flamboyant as Knightley's keeps up with hers at every turn.

Jung goes from a young idealist to a cynical vet through-
out the course of "A Dangerous Method".

I didn't expect to get your average movie-going experience with "A Dangerous Method" and that certainly came true, but while I did prepare myself for somewhat of a lecture, a discourse of academic thinking spouted by credible actors in fancy costumes, I didn't expect it to be so appealingly forward. Appealing might be the wrong word as the film is pretty open about its discussions and thoughts on sex and its nature, but the fact remains we all have desires and dreams that can be analyzed and interpreted many different ways. What this film does is extend a glimpse into the minds of some of the more famous neurologist's of the late twentieth century. Cronenberg dresses his actors and sets in stark blacks and whites making it a classy but colorless landscape that is also slightly bland, but allows the visual style not to over take the content of the words that are so often expressed. "A Dangerous Method" features some great performances and plenty of interesting ideas but if you're not up for a talky drama you might find yourself more bored than invested.

A DANGEROUS METHOD Review

I will be the first to admit that I am not a David Cronenberg follower. I have seen snippets of his last two films also starring Viggo Mortensen but have either fallen asleep or not been able to finish them. I hear nothing but great things about both and before you cry foul know that it is not because I think his work unworthy. I actually have found most of what I've seen intriguing but more importantly a real craft and passion for the story he is telling. This comes especially in hand with "A Dangerous Method" as Cronenberg delivers a film all about ideas that can hardly go a scene change without documenting some kind of ideological speech that is being given. It is a talky film, but one that is relentlessly engaging. For a film that is essentially discussing the root causes of human behavior and the psychological meanings of it all the film is very matter of fact. Presenting its ideas in a way you don't have to dig to discover meaning in. It is clear the director has a fascination with the mind and Freud's ideas that sexual drives are the primary motivational forces of human life. Which leads me to wonder why, despite this presenting countless interesting theories, that passion that seems to be evident in Cronenberg's desire to tell the story actually ends up delivering a film that feels more cold and distant than any of the bits I have seen from his other films. Don't get wrong, I found "A Dangerous Method" both troubling and complex but in the end it was not exactly entertaining; something that wouldn't factor in if you were writing a research paper, but still counts when you're making a movie.