Hello children! It has become quite obvious that H’wood has fewer and fewer ideas as every week brings us another sequel or prequel. Honestly, the jig is up, L.A., so let’s take a peek and see what’s good.
War of the Planet of the Apes ####
It is not often that a newer big-budget rendition of something can one-up the original, but the latest addition to the Planet of the Apes series has done just that, and it is mighty impressive. In this latest epic, we find embattled Caesar (Jason Serkis) in command of his tribe of Apes as they are under attack by a stronghold led by The Colonel (played to exquisite aplomb by Woody Harrelson). Spoiler alert…when one of the armed human raids results in the death of Caesar’s family, revenge has to be set into motion, and boy is it ever. Director Matt Reeves seems to have found a way to remake Apocalypse Now (1979) with apes instead of the Viet Cong. No joke…at one point, soldiers even refer to them as “the Kong”. That said, the film has its abysmal point of formulaic battle scenes and an unending sense of melancholy that reverberates around the film, as if knowingly winking at US citizens and Brexiters and saying, “You’re next!” The times, they are changing and this film stands a cut above the rest.
Baby Driver ###-1/2
It is true that this film starring young actor du jour Ansel Elgort has the action-packed adrenaline to propel him to box office heights. Although, I found it hard not to see this film as yet another way of having a music loving director get his ya-yas by mixing and filming a movie with his/her favourite songs. The plot goes as such: Baby is the designated driver for a creepy Atlanta crime boss who calls himself Doc, played by Kevin Spacey. Members of Doc’s heist team change, but Baby remains a constant, with headphones in and minimal talking. Is he a mute? Mentally-handicapped? No, however, after a terrible crash that left him with a constant ringing in his ears, he uses music to drown out the noise. Baby’s juvie past aids him in his sprees and also puts him in Doc’s debt. The plot is slick and the direction by Edgar Wright will solidify the Brit as one to follow. When you add in actors such as Jamie Foxx in a rather cliché role and The Walking Dead’s John Bernthal, you have a perfect set up for fun. I just wish I’d bought the story more.
Patriot’s Day ####
There is no doubt in my mind that this could quite likely be the most patriotic American film to come along in some time. Using Boston-bred Mark Wahlberg to tell the story of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing case serves to bring even more realism. It should also be noted that the performances by all actors in this film are on point. Director Peter Berg and Wahlberg team up again with a plethora of great actors like Kevin Bacon, John Goodman and Michelle Monaghan. It is not easy to turn a horrific tragedy into a major motion picture, especially when emotions are still tender after just four years. Lately, Wahlberg loves making these ‘based on true events’ films (see Deepwater Horizon). Here he plays Sgt. Tommy Saunders, a hothead police vet who has recently returned after a recent suspension. We also meet the victims, whose emotional energy is rather revved up. The challenge of playing the Tsarnaev bomber brothers (Themo Melikidze and Alex Wolff) is incredible and downright executed to perfection. Is the film too patriotically American? A tad, yes. Is it good, though? Hell yes!
Their Finest ####-1/2
I had a huge grin splashed across my face for the majority of this film, and I can honestly say that it has been one of the most refreshing films I’ve seen this year. Premiering at the BCN Sant Jordi fest in April, it shows actress Gemma Arterton as a thing of beauty as she flits and forges her way into a man’s domain. Set against the backdrop of the bombing of Britain during WWII, Arterton plays Catron Cole, a youngish Welsh wife and occasional copywriter, who is quickly scooped up by the British Ministry of Information to write The Slop, otherwise known as women’s dialogue for propaganda movies. She takes the position, of course, and in doing so becomes the household breadwinner as her husband’s war wounds limit his work abilities. But when the powers that be deem her writing good enough to follow the film shooting, things get interesting. From this point on, the mixing of a possible affair, a marriage full of lies, a stressful British movie shoot and WWII come together to give us what is undoubtedly one of the year’s most unexpected pieces of celluloid quasi-perfection.