THE WAY, WAY BACK Review

Writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash who penned The Descendants together in 2011 have teamed up once again to both write and direct their first feature which has come to be known as The Way, Way Back. I was slightly disappointed it's taken this long for the film to reach my neck of the woods as I've heard nothing but great things and completely adored their aforementioned collaboration (The Descendants was my second favorite film of 2011). It isn't easy to tell early on what the appeal of the film might be. It is slow to start and almost irritating the way in which each character is so adherent to the dominating characteristics given to them by the script. Whether it be Steve Carell's prickly dirtbag Trent or our protagonist Duncan (Liam James) who not only doesn't stand up to his moms new boyfriend, but doesn't seem willing to try and talk or develop relationships with those who have no ulterior motives. He somehow manages to come across several people willing to open up to him and start a conversation, but it's clear he is simply an awkward kid in his early teenage years reeling from the realization of what a divorce brings with it and is finding it hard to fit in with people who seem to be anything but other objects who will do nothing but eventually let him down as his parents have done. The key to understanding what The Way, Way Back is hoping to achieve is to feel some kind of empathy with Duncan. Like George Clooney's Matt King in The Descendants Duncan is coming to terms with a kind of tragedy and trying to learn from it, eventually discovering that he's been missing out on a lot in life and that it's now time to make up for lost time and go on from this point with a different perspective with hopes of being who he wants to be and not what others necessarily expect from him. It is a classic coming-of-age story we've seen countless times before, but seeing as each and every single person goes through this process (to some degree) it is a story we can all latch onto. How well the story is executed is what makes trying to capture nostalgia on screen successful or not and The Way, Way Back just happens to be very well executed.

First Trailer for THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

It is not customary anymore to see a trailer for the first time when your sitting in a theater seat as much as it is in front of your computer screen. Given the power of YouTube and the ease of access it is no wonder things have wound up this way, but I still remember the rush of excitement that came with seeing new trailers in front of movies and having no idea what they might turn out to be. In many ways I'd thought this was something lost with the internet, but I was able to experience those feelings of surprise again last weekend when I sat down for a Thursday night screening of The Wolverine. The opening trailer began and I didn't immediately recognize it, yet as soon as we saw Ben Stiller I realized what we were getting. I've always been a big fan of Stiller's and especially of his directorial works. Both Zoolander and Tropic Thunder are high caliber comedies that last and offer big laughs every time I watch them. Having had his hand in the re-make of Danny Kaye's 1947 film for some time now, it is nice to see he has really taken the time and care to perfect what looks like his most ambitious project to date. Taking a very simplistic approach the trailer lets the images do the talking as we only get a few words from Stiller and not much from anyone else. We see glimpses of both Adam Scott and Kristen Wiig and how their roles in Walter's life influence what he becomes when he drifts into the fantasy-land that creates the hook for this tale about a seemingly boring proofreader at TIME magazine. The trailer has an air of profound understanding to it, a tone that tells the audience it is a piece of art that truly hopes to move you, to make you feel something. I'm truly excited for this film and will certainly include it on my top 10 most anticipated films for the fall of 2013. It is unclear of the Award chances the film stands, but if the film delivers on what the trailer promises I wouldn't be surprised to see Stiller in the running come February. Also, bonus points for the great use of Of Monsters and Men's "Dirty Paws". The film also stars Sean Penn, Patton Oswalt, and Shirley MacLaine. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opens on Christmas day.

On DVD & Blu-Ray: July 30, 2013

THE WOLVERINE Review

In the four years it's been since Wolverine last graced the screen much has changed. While the conflicted mutant is still as relevant as he always was the attempt to capitalize on his popularity with the "X-Men Origins" series that tripped out of the gate and followed up the underwhelming X3: The Last Stand in the live action series of films gave everyone a strong sense of caution when it came to future X-Men projects. Granted, 2011's First Class was a well-received hit, but was in somewhat of a different vein though clearly still taking place in the universe set up by Bryan Singer in 2000. There has always been an attraction to Wolverine that clearly stood above the rest of his mutant team and it is understandable that Fox and Marvel would want to give the adamantium-clawed anti-hero another chance so it was nice to see they at least seemed to be giving the film some real thought this time around at first hiring director Darren Aronofsky, a pure critical darling, and even when that fell through bringing in someone like James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma) to take over and flush out the film that would adapt one of the more popular comic book storylines in the Wolverine canon. The studios knew how the last solo Wolverine effort went over and they were intent on doing serious fan service this time around while at the same time attempting something different with the super hero genre. It is easy to forget that the original X-Men started this new wave of comic book movies that is still going strong today and whether you feel that is a good or bad thing it doesn't really matter because it is clear they are here to stay. That Hugh Jackman has now incarnated the character six times on screen (more than any other person has played any other superhero on screen) and completely owns the role says a lot about how much that first movie went in the right direction. I, personally, am a fan of comic book films. They are intriguing, most straddling the line between a real world setting with other-worldly elements while the current trend is to keep things as grounded as possible. The Wolverine does this with expert precision while not lettings its roots get away from it. This at once a thrilling character study while also delivering an interesting new story that truly stands on its own.

R.I.P.D. Review

R.I.P.D. desperately wanted to be a franchise. It will never happen, but man did it want to be. What's been done here is director Robert Schwentke (RED) decided that instead of sticking with the last obscure comic book adaptation he made and successfully turned into a hit (which coincidentally opened against this film) he would go on and make another one with the hopes that he could push another three or four films out of it and be set for the rest of his career. It makes sense and they obtained all the right parts to make R.I.P.D. a flashy summer bonanza. We have the two big name leading men, we have a large enough budget to pull off some serious action scenes and CGI and they have source material that in some corner of the globe has a fan base that might appreciate it while also riffing on plenty of other, very successful, summer blockbusters before it. Why this didn't work at all though seems to be from a lack of any kind of faith in the project. Though, the studio shouldn't have been surprised by its final product as this comes to us courtesy of the guys who wrote such things as The Tuxedo, Aeon Flux and Clash of the Titans. What exactly were they expecting? They wanted a mindless actioner that told the familiar story of a buddy cop film where the older, experienced cop gets a rookie partner and they fight at first and can't stand one another only to have that relationship blossom into something special by the end of their first adventure together. That, with Men in Black-level genre elements thrown in. It is an easy comparison to make, but that is essentially what R.I.P.D. is. Take out the aliens and replace them with dead people, take out the government and replace it with God. Simple as that. Hire a few studio writers and a director who was able to make a profitable enough hit with his previous potential franchise-starter and you have all the ingredients, right? The failure of this film presents solid proof that the system doesn't always work and the calculated way in which these studios try to push new franchises down our throats doesn't pay off when you're trying too hard and R.I.P.D. is trying way too hard to be something it didn't have to be.