Out of the Blue

Comic Book Fun is Rejuvenated
By
 Morgan P Salvo

The Losers starts off with a bang and a laugh-inducing somewhat jaw-dropping beginning that is guaranteed to take some steam out of the upcoming A-Team movie. Based on a DC comic book from the 70’s written by Andy Diggle, and illustrated by Jock, I thought I might hate this cartoonish, nonstop action movie but I have to admit that I found it pretty darn amusing.
The plot has a bunch of Predator-gone-turbo mercenary types shooting things to smithereens, blowing tons of stuff up and punching the crap out of everyone in their path (including each other). On a mission deep in the Bolivian jungle, the commandos find themselves betrayed by a powerful enemy known only as Max (Jason Patric). The team head honcho Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), computer-tech geek Jensen (Chris Evans), big-knife wielding Roque (Idris Elba), getaway driver Pooch (Columbus Short) and super sniper Cougar (Óscar Jaenada) are presumed dead and then surreptitiously hired by a mysterious sexpot operative named Aisha (Zoe Saldana) who has her own agenda. Their mission, if they choose to accept it, is to hunt down their enemy, exact revenge and regain their status among the living. Meanwhile the ruthless villain Max is hell-bent on enmeshing the world in a new high-tech global war. Losers then becomes a not-so-confusing tale of double cross and payback.
The screenplay by Peter Berg (Very Bad Things) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) keeps the wise-cracking dialogue quick and choppy. French director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard and I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer) keeps things moving at break-neck speed, throwing camera shots and styles from every angle, using different film stock, super fast editing, hand held camera and enough pans and zooms to make you dizzy. The movie moves to Dubai, Mumbai, Miami, New Mexico and Los Angeles yet it never really matters where they are because it’s all about how funny and over the top the next shoot-out, punch-fest or BSU (blow shit up) scene will be. Although blood spurting and gore is sacrificed to keep the PG-13 rating the use of shooting tranquilizer darts and/or hitting bullet proof vests somewhat redeems itself.
The good news about Losers is that the chemistry between the characters stays engaging. Looking like Robert Downey Jr. meets Javier Bardem, Morgan plays the sensitive yet gruff Colonel with all the right gravitas. Elba does steely, no nonsense with ease. Evans’ character quirkiness wears thin, and he has more t-shirt changes than wardrobe malfunctions on a Victoria Secret catwalk. Patric has maybe too much fun elaborating on Max’s smarmy evilness. His villainous take on CEO with the Michael Jackson glove is reminiscent of a skanky Bradford Dillman. Out of the Avatar’s “navi” blue, Saldana's lithe dancer's body looks good kicking ass Matrix-style but ridiculous holding a rocket launcher.
Colorful, quick and witty, the banter is well timed but eventually runs out of freshness. There are more “you better kill me now or else” kind of lines in this thing than you can shake a fiery exploding jet at.
My real gripe was the use of Journey’s “Can’t stop Believing” ( well… Journey in general). Not only did that song end The Sopranos, The Losers also chose to stop the song and film exactly where that exalted series did. That’s sacrilege.

Even though Losers has gaps and gets sappy it still holds your attention. With the “seen-it-coming-a-mile-away” twists and a silly ending nodding to the sequel, this is the definitive version of how comic books should translate onto the big screen: wacky characters without explanation, an insane plot devoid of a lick of sense, the right dose of humor, and good clean mindless action that doesn’t let up. Entertaining and stupid at the same time Losers condenses all the right amount of fun.

The Losers
Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Jason Patric, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Columbis Short, Óscar Jaenada
Directed by Sylvain White
2 ½ stars

When Super Humans Attack

Kick Ass Opens a Can of Whoop-Ass!
By
Morgan P Salvo


Kick-Ass is a goofy, mixed up movie that examines what would happen if regular people became super heroes. I don’t think this movie is sure what it is: teenage angst flick, revenge crime-stopper thriller, mob-boss-goons action flick, or sensitive slice-of-life indie slacker comedy. Oh, and tons of spurting blood combined with enough curse words to garnish an R-rating, plus an 11 year old heroine using the “c” word and chopping off as many limbs as a ninja assassin, accompanied by flying bullets to rival John Woo’s early work. Basically this movie has its moments, but it’s a mess.
Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a geeky high school student and comic book fan. His life is bland, he goes unnoticed by girls and he gets mugged by thugs in alleys. After pontificating that the world needs real super heroes to do the right thing even if they don’t have powers, he orders a super hero suit online and goes out to make the world a better place. Dave encounters his first battle and gets his ass kicked. This does not deter him from his quest however and he somewhat overpowers his next batch of thugs and is captured on video, spawning the legend of “Kick-Ass” and a huge internet craze. Meanwhile across town a father-and-daughter crime-fighting duo Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) are in training to fight a mob boss (a wildly funny Marc Strong), and soon both scenarios merge.
Drawing from Tarantino’s pop culture sensibility, director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) lays down the gritty and soft lens when needed, some insanely disconnected soundtrack music (theme from Banana Splits and Joan Jett) and strings together a bunch of intertwined events with a variety of excitement.. But the last act falls short deflating the novelty of a little girl slicing and dicing her way through mob henchmen.

Based on the comic Kick-Ass penned by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita Jr. while Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld describes this superhero interpretation as extolling "hyper-real super-violence". Kick-Ass is bloodier and funnier than one would think but it misses the mark more than hits any bull’s-eyes, skimming only the surface of Super Bad meets Ironman. Aside from some dazzling action sequences the best parts were the banter between the geeks dishing out sarcastic dialogue.
British actor Johnson brings real believable innocence to his confused alter-ego’s plight. Strong is still the best villain going these days and his tongue-in-cheek comic timing of a super serious bad-ass crime boss is hilarious, though he’ll get a lot of flack for punching a little girl…twice! Moretz is a great actress and steals the show but unfortunately she’s paired up with Cage’s stumble-bum acting style. Seemingly unaware of which direction to take, Cage plays goofy/wacky at first, than channels Adam West’s Batman for his super hero persona and then a stern yet sensitive ex-cop. These are not layers these are inconsistencies.
Kick Ass relies heavily on overused concepts, from having cartoons tell a back story to a Taxi Driver inspired “talking-to-the-mirror” scene. It also takes stabs at the power of the internet, skewering MySpace and YouTube and had a great twist about secret identities.

Combining family-movie sentimentality with grind-house debauchery Kick-Ass stays true to the comic book inspired idea that violence is here to shock and titillate, but then defeats its purpose by becoming way too formulaic: mob guys are dolts, real people are sensitive and there is no such thing as crime fighters, just crime killers. Like the teens obsessed with Kick-Ass comic books, we are supposed to share something in common with the film’s pop vigilantes, but all I shared was popcorn with my date.

Kick-Ass!
Starring Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz, Mark Strong
Nicolas Cage, Michael Rispoli
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
 2 stars

Propheteering

A Prophet examines a criminal’s metaphysical rise to power

  By Morgan P Salvo


A Prophet is a French prison/mob film that sucks you in from the first scene. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Picture, I guarantee this movie will inspire you to recommend it to others... a) because it’s that good and b) because…it’s just that good.
Prophet is the story of the transformation of impoverished young Frenchman of Arab descent, Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), and his Machiavellian rise to power within the prison system. Learning the ropes as he goes Malik is a quick study. From the Muslim gangs to the Corsican mob lead by César Luciani (Niels Arestrup), he constantly absorbs knowledge. Malik starts out nervous, illiterate and inarticulate but smart enough to take in everything around him. Serving as underling to the Corsican gang he also studies language and economics from Ryad (Adel Bencherif), an Arab with terminal cancer. Malik learns to smuggle drugs, play all sides of the fence, and to survive. For guaranteed protection he must also prove himself by murdering someone. This leads to an intense razor-blade-in-the-mouth scene with one of the hugest torrents of blood spurting in film history. His ongoing relationship with this “first kill” as a visiting phantom guides him through tough times, inspiring his visionary insight, hence the movie’s title. As he toughens up and achieves more of his goals, the end result is nothing we expect. But the intensity and the intellect of this film goes way beyond any stereotypical “behind bars” trappings. A Prophet is smart, superbly acted, and deftly filmed.

Dubbed as the "French Scorsese," director Jacques Audiard has said Prophet is the "anti-Scarface”, and its non-stereotypical take on racial behaviors provides the feel of an anthropological documentary. A combination of influential movies come to mind like, Midnight Express, Brubaker, Papillon, 1983’s Bad Boys (with Sean Penn), even Shawshank Redemption, but Prophet mostly resembles Andrew Dominik’s Chopper mixed with the gritty realism of Fernando Meirelles’ City of God and the surrealism of David Lynch or Takashi Miike.
The acting obtains absolute perfection. Arestrup commands the screen with true mob boss spirit, passive and friendly one minute, exploding into fits of cruel rage the next. His transformation from top dog to a thug whose days are numbered is devastating. Rahim is an actor who at first glance doesn’t seem all that special, but his portrayal of a gifted learner who can hide his thoughts, calculate his moves, and take courageous risks to get ahead proves nothing short of mezmorizing. Rahim’s performance is strong but not grandiose. You want to root for Malik, but his power playing keeps him mutating back and forth between loyalties so much that you that you get left in the lurch.
Steeped in plot intricacies close to that of Godfather II and The Sopranos, Prophet’s genius lies in exposing the fact that nothing is what it seems and it’s all right there in front of you. A Prophet derives as much power from surreal dream scenes as hard hitting realism. But what delves deeper is Audiard's minute deconstruction of socio-political power dynamics. This is Machiavelli's The Prince played out in prison –Malik never lies yet deftly gains power against others by using truth as his deceit.
Audiard shows extreme attention to detail, from the distant echoing yells from faraway cells to the compelling theme music, handpicked blues and the ending credits’ Mack the knife by Jimmy Dale Gilmore. The height of the drama includes an extremely original, dazzling yet claustrophobic shoot out scene that can only be described as a blood-spattered bullet-riddled cocoon-like rebirth.
A Prophet is an epic, riveting drama examining a survivor at the purest level, with an almost spiritual transcendence nearing redemption. At two and a half hours, it was just getting started.

A Prophet
Starring: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup,Adel Bencherif
Directed by Jacques Audiard
4 ½ stars

Rehash the Kraken!

Clank of the Titans revamps old school mythology with new school technology
By
Morgan P Salvo


I was never a big fan of the 1981 original. Face it, watching Laurence Olivier looking painfully tired as Zeus, and Harry Hamlin with flowers in his hair in a mini-skirt just didn’t do it for me. But the Ray Harryhausen stop motion special effects were cool. For decades he was the go-to-guy for all things monsters: Three Sinbad Voyage movies, Jason & the Argonauts, Mysterious Island to name a few. Faithfully this Clash of the Titans has all the monsters from the original with pumped up technology and CGI. Unfortunately Clash tried to cash in on the Avatar-inspired 3D craze as an afterthought adding it in later in production and suffers for it.

The story remains mostly unchanged. Zeus (Liam Neeson) the king of the gods, seeks help from his brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes), god of the underworld (not a good idea) and his son Perseus (Sam Worthington), a demi-god (half-man/half-god) leads a band of warriors on a dangerous quest to save the city of Argos, and prevent Hades from overthrowing Zeus.
Basically this version is a combination of 300, Jason and the Argonauts, The 13th Warrior and Lord of the Rings. True to spirit of the mythological voyage director Louis Leterrier ("The Incredible Hulk") relies on visual elements creating a dark and somewhat credible fabled world. Although this is a great kid’s movie, Avatar and even Van Helsing may have raised the bar too high with their non-stop action. Clash has lulls in the action, picking up the pace in the Underworld but the boring parts are sleep-inducing.

Basically here’s what you get: The hero from Avatar minus the blue skin (Perseus) goes on a tough guy pilgrimage with his guide/guardian angel, (Gemma Arterton), assisted by a warrior (Mads Mikkelsen ) who never smiles and looks like The Rock’s dad accompanied by some male models in togas. Perseus rides Pegasus, the black-winged horse, while the warriors do battle with and then later ride scorpion-crabs that ooze green slime. Some glowing blue-eyed pharaoh-looking dudes show up with granite-like-mummy faces and staffs of power, while Calibos (no longer a Minotaur), a menacing king-turned-hideous-slayer-demonic-ogre with half his brain exposed must be defeated. They encounter high-tech Wizard of Oz bat-winged-evil-monkey-demons, three nasty wrinkly-faced witches who share one eye, then battle and avoid eye contact with snake-haired Medusa otherwise she’ll turn them to stone. And if that’s not enough they have to save the princess of passion Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) who’s being sacrificed to The Kraken by a glam-rock hippie in a towel who looks like he’s lost it on acid.

The Kraken is referred to constantly throughout the film and is a serious let down - SPOILER ALERT! – When Zeus merely utters “Release the Kraken!” it raises from the sea, looks like it’s ready to do battle with a Transformer, and then gets about 30 seconds screen time.
The acting is riddled with pork, every actor hamming it up to different degrees. Worthington keeps a permanent scowl etched in his brow. Fiennes hisses a lot and looks like a cross between Huckleberry Hound and a heavy metal lead singer. Where Olivier’s paycheck performance looked sad and befuddled, Neesom is set to disappoint with his stern portrayal of Zeus. All glittery and flashing light he resembles a vagrant Liberace in a Vegas version of Mount Olympus
Bottom line: Clash was not a great movie then and it’s a bad movie now. Even with the advantage of modern day filmmaking and CGI this Clash of the Titans makes one yearn for the stop motion genius of Harryhausen. Combining both the original and 2010 version’s negative aspects including the fact that this one doesn’t have Harry Hamlin in it, I’d say it’s a wash.

Clash of the Titans
Starring Sam Worthington, Mads Mikkelsen, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos
Directed by Louis Leterrier
2 stars