Movie Review: 'Non-Stop'

*** 1/2 out of 5
106 minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some language, sensuality and drug references

Article first published as Movie Review: 'Non-Stop' on Blogcritics.

Joel Silver may not be producing a lot of great action films lately, but that hasn’t stopped him from trying. Silver’s golden age is behind him after cranking out hit after hit, including classics like Predator, the first two Die Hards, all four of the Lethal Weapons, and the Matrix trilogy. It’s been awhile since he delved into his Dark Castle Entertainment brand—remaking the William Castle classics House on Haunted Hill, Thir13en Ghosts, and House of Wax. He just hasn’t been able to rekindle that old spark. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the best thing he’s done in the past 11 years and probably next month’s Veronica Mars movie. Now, Silver is rejoining forces with the director and star of Unknown—Juame Collet-Serra and Liam Neeson (or Neesons), respectively—to bring us an even more redonkulous film than their last with Non-Stop.

Bill Marks (Neeson) is an alcoholic air marshal about to board a flight from the U.S. to London. While he can’t keep from being suspicious of everyone in the boarding area, Bill has been having angry conversations with someone on the phone. On board, passenger Jen (Julianne Moore) switches seats with fellow passenger Zack (Nate Parker) so that she can have a window. After the flight takes off, Bill starts to get mysterious text messages on his secure network, informing him that if $150 million isn’t transferred into an off-shore account someone onboard will die every 20 minutes until the demands are met. Soon enough, Bill is up to his neck trying to save the passengers in a fight to the death where he soon becomes the prime suspect.

Director Collet-Serra keeps the suspense building even while the plot continues gets sillier by the minute. The first 15 minutes feel more like the opening to a Final Destination film than it does a suspense thriller. Screenwriters John W. Richardson, Chris Roach, and Ryan Engle manage to prove that the too many cooks cliché still stands as each scene becomes more outlandish than the last. Let alone the fact that they keep throwing more red herrings at the audience than any of the Scream films. Issues about national security are hammered over our heads at the last minute and the passengers find time to take a United 93 stance.

Once a bomb comes into play, all logic is finally thrown out the window and the fun level kicks into overdrive. There’s always room for more zero gravity shootouts. The film is way more fun than it has any right to be. Unfortunately, it winds up being too little, too late. Anyone who knows anything about the flight industry will be able to nitpick every plot hole. Non-Stop’s saving graces wind up being the film’s sense of humor and watching Neeson do what he does best: kicking ass and taking names. Hopefully we’re never saddled with a sequel which my friend, who saw the film with me, has already titled Non-Stop 2: Round Trip. Thankfully, Non-Stop is our last stop through the doldrums of the Hollywood wastelands that are January and February.

Photos courtesy Universal Pictures

DVD Review: 'Memory of the Dead'

Article first published as DVD Review: 'Memory of the Dead' on Blogcritics.

Horror has seen a fantastic resurgence lately. From television to theaters, everywhere you turn there’s something horrific to watch. Unfortunately — at least for lovers of the genre — not everything is always gold. What one person may obsess over — The Walking Dead — others may find a complete bore. If there’s anywhere horror has a good reputation is internationally. Not being hampered by the MPAA and able to conjure up some of the all-time best splatterfests around — see Peter Jackson’s early works Bad Taste and Braindead (aka Dead Alive) for prime examples — I was hoping for something better than what co-writer/director Valentín Javier Diment has conjured up in his zombie offering Memory of the Dead.

Here we find Alicia (Lola Berthet) waking up from a horrible nightmare involving her husband Jorge’s (Gabriel Goity) death. When she wakes up to tell him about it, she finds out that he has died during the night. Alicia gathers Jorge’s best friends at her house to reminisce and pay their respects. Included are Hugo (Luis Ziembrowski), Nicanor (Matías Marmorato), Mauro (Rafael Ferro), Fabiana (Jimena Anganuzzi), Mónica (Lorena Vega), and Ivana (Flora Gró). Everyone offers a wide variety of friendship to Jorge; from ex-lovers to a cousin to a childhood friend. Everyone that is, except Ivana, the one outcast amongst the group. Once Ivana’s deceased daughter shows up outside and kills her, the group discover that the dead are coming back to haunt them and there may be an even more dangerous game afoot once Alicia’s ulterior motives begin to take shape.

While there is a lot of blood and guts strewn about through the quick 89-minute runtime, Memory of the Dead is never as much fun as director Diment is hoping. There are also no special features aside from a theatrical trailer and trailers for additional Artsploitation Films: Hidden in the Woods, Horror Stories, Toad Road, and Wither. While wearing his Dario Argento inspirations on his sleeve, not even the surprise ending is enough to make up for the rest of the film. The cast overacts through every scenario, never grounding things into even its own reality. Armed with three co-writers (Martín Blousson, Nicanor Loreti, and Germán Val), you’d think they’d be able to come up with more entertaining ways to dispatch their victims. Alas, it’s all just a way to string along the plot to the big reveal which is about the only thing that leaves an impression; the title is all you’re bound to remember.

Movie Review: '3 Days to Kill'

*** out of 5
117 minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language
Relativity Media

Article first published as Movie Review: '3 Days to Kill' on Blogcritics.

There’s a clue that you’re watching a Luc Besson film. It comes in the form of a bazooka showing up in the first 10 minutes. Always loaded with a mishmash of wacky action and oddball heart, his movies pinball from one antic to another. Back when he was directing his own screenplays — The Big Blue, La Femme Nikita, Léon: The Professional, and The Fifth Element — he had a superb control on his shenanigans. However, the man has written far more films that are the very definition of hit and miss. His latest collaboration with director McG — the Charlie’s Angels films, We Are Marshall, Terminator Salvation, and This Means War — makes it clear that even he doesn’t know what to do with a Besson screenplay. With 3 Days to Kill, it’s just another notch in Kevin Costner’s resurgence belt.

Here we find Ethan Renner (Costner) on his latest case of espionage as he tracks down a man known as “The Albino” (Tómas Lemarquis) who is in cahoots with “The Wolf” (Richard Sammel). The two are selling high grade weapons and after a shakedown goes wrong, rogue CIA agent Vivi (Amber Heard) recruits Ethan as he’s the only living witness and knows what “The Wolf” looks like. Ethan has also learned he has terminal cancer and wants to reconnect with his estranged family: wife Christine (Connie Nielsen), and teenage daughter Zooey (Hailee Steinfeld). Now, Ethan is back in Paris with Vivi offering him an experimental drug to cure his cancer, so long as he’s willing to help take down “The Wolf” in a case of kill or die. Meanwhile, Ethan is forced to take on his most dangerous mission: watching Zooey while Christine is out of town for three days.

Hijinks ensue as they usually do in a Besson production, but this time, McG is forced to make a daddy/daughter film amidst the ol’ one last job cliché. Because of this, the runtime becomes padded with things like bike riding and dance lessons. All stuff that really could have been a completely separate movie. It’s not like this is the first time there have been so many ideas happening at once in a Besson film. Thankfully, this film is better than the last time Besson co-wrote something with Adi Hasak: From Paris with Love. McG also has a far better cast. Costner and Steinfeld make a good daddy/daughter pairing and Heard gets to vamp things up to the highest degree. At least no bones are made about her being cast to be as sultry as possible. A subplot involving a family of squatters is surprising funny, and there’s plenty of action to satisfy for a February release. 3 Days to Kill is a lot more than it deserves to be — it is definitely dumb, but at least fun — and will stand as one of the year’s biggest guilty pleasures.

Photo courtesy Relativity Media

Blu-ray Review: 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' - The Criterion Collection

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' - The Criterion Collection on Blogcritics.

When Wes Anderson’s stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox came out in November 2009, I said that Anderson had truly outdone himself — and I stand by that. Chock-full of something new to notice with each viewing, Fox will go down as one of the best animated films no one saw. With a tiny box office return — $46 million worldwide against a $40 million budget — hopefully it saw new life when it hit video in 2010. With a surprising lack of extras it was only a matter of time before Criterion managed to get their hands on it — especially since they’ve released the rest of his films, packed with all the cussin’ extras you could dream of in a Blu-ray/DVD Dual Format on February 18.

By now, who doesn’t know the story of the Fantastic Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and his battle against farmers Boggis (voiced by Robin Hurlstone), Bunce (voiced by Hugo Guinness), and Bean (voiced by Michael Gambon). Twelve fox years after being forced to give up squab stealing, ‘Foxy’ Fox, his wife Felicity (voiced by Meryl Streep), and their son Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) live in a literal hole, while Fox works as a newspaper columnist. After the arrival of his nephew Kristofferson (voiced by Eric Anderson), Fox begins dreaming big — first he buys a new home within a tree near the three farmers’ land against his lawyer Badger’s (voiced by Bill Murray) advice. Thus begins hatching a scheme to steal from the farmers with the help of Kylie Sven Opossum (voiced by Wally Wolodarsky), setting off a string of events that puts all of the local wildlife in danger.

The original Twentieth Century Fox disc was already damn near perfect, could Criterion release a new version merely four years later that could better that presentation? Not really. Framed in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, Fantastic Mr. Fox looks just as fantastic as it already did. I have seen one site that still insists on banding in the vista shots, but it’s amazing what a properly calibrated TV can project. Film grain will never be visible because it simply doesn’t exist. Captured with the HD Nikon D3, Anderson constantly reminds us in his commentary that the film is literally a case of watching still photography come to life. Aliasing is never an issue.

Detail is impeccable, breathing real life into the woodland creatures and all their boiling fur. Blacks are perfect with one scene in particular showing superb shadow delineation when the Fox family is underground. Colors are as robust as they should be and most shots consist of immense depth, allowing for that 3D pop we look for in the best Blu-ray presentations. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track never pushes the limits being as front heavy as it is. However, a few key background noises make directional use of the rear speakers and bass kicks in appropriately. Dialogue is crystal clear and songs are never overbearing.

Now for the best part: the supplements! A brief “Introduction by Petey” kicks things off and runs just 72 seconds. The true highlight however is the Wes Anderson audio commentary recorded last year that is almost funnier than the film itself. Right from the start he mentions that he has no idea whether the film is a Twentieth Century Fox release or a Fox Searchlight, the opening logo is for Twentieth Century which I myself didn’t realize was different. The film was released in theaters under the Fox Searchlight banner. Anderson offers tons of anecdotes about the production, shedding light on every homage and reference packed into every nook and cranny of the film. Whether it’s a helicopter design to his favorite scene, he’s also never shy to admit that he has no idea why he made some of the film’s choices. A true highlight.

Also included is a full “Animatic” version of the film running 75 minutes consisting of storyboards and recorded dialogue. “The Making of Fantastic Mr. Fox” runs a combined 32 minutes and is broken down into the following seven segments: 1. Recording the Voices, 2. Puppet Tests/Early Animation, 3. References for Art Department, 4. A Visit to the Studio, 5. Time Lapse Photography, 6. Music, and 7. Miniature Objects. Another highlight is next with “Roald Dahl read Fantastic Mr. Fox” and features the author himself enthusiastically reading his own book which runs for 53 minutes.
“Awards Speeches” are two fully animated pieces celebrating the film’s nominations and wins.

Unfortunately, the film was nominated against Pixar’s Up at the Oscars so it only won a Special Achievement Award at the National Board of Review. “Set Photography by Ray Lewis” consists of 50 pictures which can be navigated with your remote arrows. “Publicity Featurettes” is broken up into six sections showing the excruciating detail it took to bring the film to life and runs 31 minutes. The best part is seeing Bill Murray shadowing the production team and Anderson. “Sony Robots Commercial” is a quick one-minute commercial for the Sony Experia. The only explanation to its inclusion has to be that the same production company brought it to life.

“Discussion and Analysis” features two children: Jake Ryan and Jeremy Logan who attempt to discuss and analyze the film but considering they’re two kids, it gets annoying super quick and runs way too long at 11 minutes. “Fantastic Mr. Dahl” is a great television special clocking in just over an hour to celebrate the opening of the Roald Dahl Museum. Clips from television appearances featuring Roald are included. “Witch’s Tree” is a fast 103-second segment featuring Dahl himself discussing how the story came to life. And finally — seeing how the film’s trailer has been omitted — “Dahl’s Manuscripts” is a neat peak at 18 pages of a first draft between Dahl and editor Fabio Coen at Alfred A. Knopf.

As you can see, there are more supplements than you can shake a stick at and the director-approved video should tell you that this will be the definitive version of the film for now. Fantastic Mr. Fox will continue to be one of the best animated films in years, even bettering the last few offerings from Pixar. A double-dip is a no brainer and if you don’t own the film on Blu-ray yet, this is the version to buy which is no surprise when it comes to any Criterion release.

Photos courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Searchlight

Movie Review: 'A Field in England'

Article first published as Movie Review: 'A Field in England' on Blogcritics.

I’ve seen my fair share of head-scratching cinema over the years, but nothing quite like director Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England. Anything written by Charlie Kauffman, to Christopher Nolan’s Memento, or better yet, his own Slamdance debut, Following, for example. Even mainstream film has its way with us too: The Usual Suspects, Fight Club, and back to Nolan again with Inception. A good director can have his cake and eat it too so long as the end result was worth the trip. All Wheatley’s latest does is offer a trip of the psychedelic kind, but leaves you pondering what the hell you just watched — and not in a good way.

The plot revolves around a literal Field in England during a battle of the English Civil War. Whitehead (Reece Shearsmith) is fleeing the battle field and comes across two army deserters, Jacob (Peter Ferdinando) and Friend (Richard Glover). Off they go in search of an ale house when they come across an Irishman, O’Neill (Michael Smiley), whom Whitehead has been sent to arrest for theft. O’Neill alerts the group that there is buried treasure in a nearby field and while they set off to find the loot, all hell breaks loose amongst them.

Considering I had to rely so much on Wikipedia for a synopsis should tell you how confusing the scant 91-minute runtime is. I will give Wheatley kudos for coming up with some pretty cool visuals, none of which necessarily serve the story. Laurie Roses’ black-and-white cinematography offers a striking look, and considering the miniscule budget, Wheatley manages to come up with some cool shots while not relying on CGI. A scene where the group appears to move in slow motion shows just how great the actors really are. I’ve read the film described as thriller, horror, and comedy, but Amy Jump’s screenplay only has two laugh-out-loud moments and it’s the furthest thing from thrilling or scary.

I had high hopes for A Field in England, especially with Martin Scorsese being quoted so prominently in its marketing as: “Audacious and wildly brilliant – a stunning cinematic experience.” Unfortunately, A Field in England only results in blank-faced screen-watching, never living up to the hype.

Photo courtesy Drafthouse Films

Movie Review: 'RoboCop' (2014)

** out of 5
118 minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action including frenetic gun violence throughout, brief strong language, sensuality and some drug material
Columbia Pictures

Article first published as Movie Review: 'RoboCop' (2014) on Blogcritics.

The best thing to be said about the RoboCop remake is that at least it’s not a complete disaster. Before the film even started we were slinging puns like “RoboCop-out” and “RoboFlop.” Poor director José Padilha has been burdened with bringing an update of a beloved ’80s character back to relevance. Considering the amount of trouble the production went through to get RoboCop version 2014 to the big screen, it’s a miracle the film is even watchable. But when the high point this edition is that they incorporated Basil Poledouris’s theme from the 1987 film — including throwback title cards —plenty of wrinkles still needed ironing out.

In this edition of RoboCop we get introduced to Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson) hosting “The Novak Element,” focused on the politics surrounding the use of mechanized crime control to keep the peace in Tehran — suicide bombers take out the EM 208s (robotic officers) and the ED 209s — showing that they are useful in keeping American soldiers alive. In Washington D.C., politicians are debating the machines’ effectiveness since they can’t feel. With no sense of right or wrong they could potentially harm the innocent along with the bad guys.

At OmniCorp, CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) takes to his marketing team to give the people what they want: a machine that can feel. Meanwhile, Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is injured in an explosion on orders from Antoine Vallon (Patrick Garrow), a cop killer kept clean by crooked cops. Sellars sees his chance to put a man in a machine and uses Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) to convince Alex’s wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) to sign the necessary paperwork. Now, the city of Detroit may have the cop of the future in their midst, that is if they can keep him from suffering all the major setbacks of new technology. Meanwhile, Alex must come to terms with what he’s become, and potentially solve his own murder.

For a good while, Padilha’s new RoboCop stands pretty well on its own. There’s a rather unsettling scene where Alex asks to be shown what’s left of his body, but along with the rest of Alex, a much needed human element is also missing. Screenwriter Joshua Zetumer keeps everything as cold and mechanical as any of the robots, and you never really care about Alex or his relationship with his wife and son. There’s a very particular scene where everything really starts to fall apart. When they finally download the police database into Alex’s brain, he has a seizure and they dope him up causing the technological side to take over leaving him in an almost zombie-like state. Everything feels the same from there on out.

The action is far sparser than you’d expect, with Padilha relying on the overused shaky-cam, and a particular fire fight sequence is so visually obnoxious I had to look away a few times. It’s so bright and flashy you can’t tell what’s going on, so you won’t miss anything anyway. There are no surprises here, and all RoboCop offers is a slicker, PG-13 rated, watered down version of a classic that didn’t need rebooting to begin with. I watched the original over the weekend and it holds up extremely well. Also, Fox’s Almost Human is doing the cyborg stuff way better here on a weekly basis that we can watch for free. Unfortunately, that show is bound for cancellation whereas RoboCop will probably make a decent dent at the box office.

Considering this RoboCop is padded out to be more like an origin story, it’s a shame that it becomes far less fun once the action finally kicks in. The only person who ever feels like he’s having a good time is Jackson, and he’s only in a handful of scenes and is hell bent on overacting as much as possible — Mr. Glass hair-style and all. We didn’t come to hear Rush Limbaugh diatribes, we came for the action. You’re better off staying home and watching the newly released remastered Blu-ray, which is only priced at $7.99 on Amazon, costing less than most matinee prices. It’s just as nice and shiny now too, only enforcing how clear it is that the original RoboCop will always be the definitive.

Photos courtesy Columbia Pictures

Blu-ray Review: 'Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon'

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon' on Blogcritics.

I’ve read a lot of glowing reviews for director Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, but I still have yet to see it. Considering how positive the word-of-mouth was, I was anxious to see how his follow up — Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon, a prequel — measured up. Hark isn’t known for his storytelling skills, but he sure can direct the hell out of an action scene. And while the story of Young Detective Dee starts to edge over into convoluted, Hark keeps the tone light and the action ramped up enough to keep it chugging along. Now, the Sea Dragon can rise in your own home on Blu-ray, February 11.

In the Imperial Capital, Empress Wu (Carina Lau) has just begun her reign when an attack at sea takes out a fleet of ships. Wu sends Detective Yuchi (Feng Shaofeng) to investigate and gives him ten days to close the case or lose his head. Meanwhile, young Detective Dee (Mark Chao) has just arrived in the Imperial Capital to work as part of the Da Lisi justice department. Dee and Yuchi immediately clash when a sea monster attacks during a ceremony trying to get his hands on Yin (Angelababy), a young courtesan being used as a sacrifice to the sea gods. After Yuchi imprisons Dee, he escapes with the aid of doctor Shatuo (Lin Gengxin). Now, everyone is embroiled in a case that’s much bigger than the rampaging sea monster —who happens to be Yuan (Kim Bum) — whose famous teahouse has produced an addictive poisonous tea sweeping all the up to the Emperor himself.

Well Go USA delivers Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon on a flimsy 25GB disc, but have no worries. In typical fashion, the genre label delivers another top notch transfer. Detail is sharp as a tack, lending every stitch of clothing, ruffling feather, waving flag, or makeup effect as realistic as possible. I’ve read some have spotted a few instances of banding, but it never showed up on my TV. This isn’t demo worthy material, but it delivers the production design and cinematography in all its glory. Colors pop but never bleed.

Blacks are dark but never crushing, with shadow detail easily discernible. Aliasing or shimmer never rears its head either, something that shows up more than anything else in most Well Go USA transfers. The Mandarin 5.1 DTS-HD Master is spot on as well. Directionality is impressive whether it’s a character talking while moving around screen, pouring rain, flying debris, or even a random lightning strike. LFE is deep and booming making the action hit as hard as it should, and the finale against the sea dragon even livelier. A 2.0 Mandarin track is also included, along with English subtitles.

Convoluted as it all may be, the story is fairly easy to follow, and the action scenes certainly make up for the plot confusion. The last battle with the sea dragon is a doozy, easily on par with the biggest Hollywood budgets, namely the Pirates of the Caribbean Kraken attack. Hark throws a lot of objects at the camera because it was originally in 3D, which makes some of the CGI elements questionable. But the end battle would certainly be an even bigger event if Well Go USA had taken the time to release the 3D Blu-ray. Considering there are absolutely no special features on hand — all you do get is the film’s theatrical trailer — it would have been a truly welcome addition.

Chao turns the young Detective Dee into a precocious Sherlock Holmes who loves outsmarting Detective Yuchi, and they have a fun rapport as the characters continue to try and one up each other. Hark continues to impress as always with his action direction. Considering most of the film takes place during the day is also a nice change of pace for an effects-heavy film. Typically all of this would have taken place in the dead of night and probably doused with rain to cover up the visual effects. It’s nice to be able to see what’s going on. Something a lot of directors should take note. Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon may not be the best entry in Hark’s canon, but it’s a great way to spend an afternoon.

Photos courtesy Well Go USA