HACKSAW RIDGE Review

It has been a decade since Mel Gibson directed his last film. Almost as much time as there was between Braveheart and Passion of the Christ, but in this latest interval Gibson has unfortunately become more discussed for things besides his filmmaking talents. With Hacksaw Ridge, the story of WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss who refused to kill people as a Conscientious Objector, Gibson is very much back in the playing field he seems comfortable with. That said, Gibson seems to have also taken the time away to pull in other influences for his art as many of the early scenes here in which the director develops and builds the character of Doss with actor Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, The Amazing Spider-Man) feel as if they were constructed to be a love letter to Hollywood's golden years. This, of course, deeply contrasts the usually stark and brutal tone that Gibson's films take on, but don't fret as those qualities are sure to come still in Hacksaw Ridge. More, Gibson understands that by painting these early, more serene portraits of where his pacifist of a protagonist comes from he by default makes the bloody and downright horrific war sequences that inevitably take place that much more affecting and that much more powerful. Though somewhat working at odds with one another given how realistically and viscerally Gibson paints his scenes of war with a story that more or less condemns such actions these two elements of what we're seeing and what train of thought we're being encouraged to consider come to work in each other's favors. For as quickly as we see how easily a life can be snuffed out and how faithful Doss has to be to trust that he can "run into the hell fire of battle without a weapon to protect his self," and still survive the point is made that the violence of war is senseless and that, after such an experience, most soldiers would likely agree with such a sentiment. Gibson isn't just making a war film to show off how skilled an action director he is or to revel in the gluttony of violence, but more he is using this profusion of blood and gore to align us more with the mentality that Doss brings to the battlefield and why, despite popular opinion, that might not be such a bad thing. The greatest accomplishment of Hacksaw Ridge though, is that it accomplishes relaying such ideas without preaching them, but instead more by standing with its lead character who stands by his principles even in the great circumstances of a world war.

First Trailer for Mel Gibson's HACKSAW RIDGE Starring Andrew Garfield

Mel Gibson's first directorial effort in ten years has finally received a trailer and I couldn't be more excited to see what this feature has in store for us. Set to have its premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month and then be released in early November of this year it seems as if Lionsgate will be putting a lot of stock into this potential Oscar contender while at the same time doing their best to skirt the fact this is indeed a Mel Gibson movie. Though the trailer proclaims that Hacksaw Ridge comes from the Academy Award-winning director of Braveheart there is no mention of Gibson's name at all. Instead, what we are treated to is a nice summation of the true story concerning Desmond Doss, a conscientious collaborator and Army medic who refused to bear arms during World War II, but ended up saving 75 men during the bloodiest battle of the war without firing a single bullet. To go along with this inspiring tale is the pairing of some pretty spectacular visuals as Gibson has teamed with cinematographer Simon Duggan who has worked on films such as I, Robot and The Great Gatsby. The real highlight of the trailer though is the focus on Andrew Garfield's performance and given he has this as well as Martin Scorsese's Silence coming out this year it could be a huge awards season for the guy. Though the British actor puts on something of an exaggerated southern accent here it doesn't sound terrible, but rather is made to be endearing by the end of the clip which I assume is what the actor was going for given his plight could certainly be seen one of two ways depending on the audience member. The story is ripe for the feature film treatment and Gibson along with co-screenwriter Andrew Knight have hopefully tapped into the complexities such a story can provide rather than delivering more of a generic war film. Based on the trailer it seems Gibson intends to become known more for his art rather than his antics again, but of course only time will tell. Hacksaw Ridge also stars Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, Vince Vaughn, and opens on November 4th, 2016.

First Trailer for POINT BREAK Remake

Confession time: I've never seen Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 film, Point Break, that starred Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in what are now considered classic roles. Even if you've never heard it before, Reeves character name, Johnny Utah, sounds like something from classic pulp lore. Naturally, as it's been nearly twenty-five years since the original Hollywood decided it was time for a remake and so we now have the first trailer for director Ericson Core’s (Invincible) reimagining of the material that stars Lukle Bracey in the role of Utah and Edgar Ramirez taking over for Swayze as Bodhi. Having not seen the original it is difficult to make any comparison on how this seems to measure up, but taking the new Point Break on nothing but its own terms it looks to be a visually stimulating action ride at the very least. Sure, there are a few moments here where I was laughing at something wholly unintentional of being comedic, but that is largely relegated to the stilted and clichéd dialogue whereas the action sequences are captured with a verocity and tone that feels incredibly attractive and practical. Honestly, the whole premise seems a little silly and little more than an excuse to show off some insane stunts, but then again, this may have worked for the original as people seem to love it and again, I'm not sure how much of the story has been modernized for today's audiences. That said, I'll definitely be checking out the original before wandering into theaters to see the remake this holiday season. Point Break also stars Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer Delroy Lindo and opens on Christmas Day.

THE NOVEMBER MAN Review

At the age of sixty-one and twelve years after his last film in the role of James Bond I imagine Pierce Brosnan doesn't necessarily want to be starring in second rate excursions of Bond movies as someone called Peter Devereaux. I imagine he'd like to be making more calm, thought-provoking dramas or interesting character pieces, but that just doesn't seem to be in the cards for the poor guy. He seems to have tried his hand at making low-risk romantic comedies and dramedies all of which have seemed to fail to give his career any kind of life after his exit from his most famous role. He has played in this genre before outside of the Bond franchise with 2005's little seen The Matador, but not since have we seen Brosnan so blatantly admit to audiences that he misses playing the British Secret Service Agent. He would seemingly like to be a well-regarded leading man in more mature fare, but it is likely he sees no other options in maintaining his relevancy and so we will continue to get things such as The November Man (I hear they're already moving forward with a sequel to this!) until he finds a role that will earn him an Oscar (though admittedly probably much later in his life) that will leave his legacy as something of a real cinematic presence and not just as the guy who once played James Bond. That would be the ideal way for things to go, but if he is determined to live in the now rather than with some sense of perspective he may pigeon-hole himself into the guy who never got over being Bond. It is easy to see Daniel Craig moving on after his term in the suit (despite the fact his non-Bond efforts have either failed commercially, critically or both since taking over the role), but that is an article for another day. Now, we are here to discuss The November Man and the merits of being a late-August release and how the fact this is a film as generic as anything we've seen this year will still get a passing nod because there simply isn't much else going on. I like Brosnan, I always feel I'm rooting for him and I found myself doing that here even though, every few minutes, I had to ask myself where these characters were, where they were going or what exactly they were doing to further the plot. It's that kind of movie, but when the credits roll you shrug it off an move on, no harm done.

New Trailer for THE BEST OF ME

I don't think I've watched a Nicholas Sparks adaptation since maybe Dear John or The Lucky One, but even if that's true I don't remember much from either of them. Last years Safe Haven looked pretty horrible though I hear the ridiculous ending is worth a rental. For some unexplainable reason though I can't help but hold out a little bit of interest in the latest incarnation of Sparks' love story that centers on two young lovers who were driven apart in their teens and reunite after twenty years only to have the same demons arise once again to test their love. I mean, that sounds ridiculously cheesy already, but the trailer doesn't make it look half-bad and conveys the theme of not being able to make up for lost time, lost experiences and all that come with it in a rather affecting fashion. The unexplained can only be brought some kind of understanding by the level of casting at play here. Paul Walker was originally slated to play the lead role, but was replaced by James Marsden after his untimely death. With Marsden as well as Michelle Monaghan in the leads there is a better sense of credibility to the proceedings while the scenes featuring the younger versions of their characters may not come off as such. Liana Liberato has done solid work in the past (trust) though I can't judge Luke Bracey by anything but this trailer. I highly doubt this will break the Sparks mold in any fashion, but there can always be hope it might be slightly better than the standard. The Best of Me also stars Caroline Goodall, Gerald McRaney and opens on October 17th.