The Lucky One-Adaptations of Nicholas Sparks' novels have always been a grating endeavor. All that perfect golden lighting; all those doleful looks of romantic longing; all that disease. With the exception of the "The Notebook" (a glorious bit of cheese that's surpassed by huge lush emotions at every turn), none of his films have ever felt like more than a cheap excuse to stare at Hollywood's latest couple of it-kids with their perfect six pack and super shiny hair fall in love and then have it complicated by war, fate, or whatever the new hip malady-of-the-moment is."The Lucky One" starring Zach Efron might have hit an all-time low. Set in the bayous of Louisiana, the film chronicles Logan a Marine just home from a third tour of Iraq. He's trying to hunt down this mysterious woman he saw in a picture that he found while overseas that he calls his "guardian angel." Turns out this angel is Beth (Taylor Schilling) a dog trainer with her own slew of emotional and personal troubles including a geeky son and his easily-tempered sheriff father and a dead Marine brother. Throw in the wise elder (Blythe Danner) schilling her sage advice, the down home spirit of Sarah Palin's America, ooh and dogs, and you have a painful, molasses-covered hunk of every cliche possible stuffed into a bad fruitcake of a movie. Grade: D (Available now on DVD)
The Dictator- When this project was first announced, I had hoped (maybe naively) that Sacha Baron Cohen would be making his own send-up of Chaplin's classic "The Great Dictator." Unfortunately, what we got was another Cohen film filled with the same slightly racist, slightly sexist, slightly controversial comedy. Cohen and his team never seem to push any of the beats far enough for them to be truly daring or witty enough to make a flash of a crotch or an joke about Islamic misogyny anything more than what it is.
Cohen is fine as the out-of-touch northern African dictator. He certainly has comic chops, but this doesn't quite showcase how flavorful it can be. Anna Faris is wasted as his feminist, free-trade loving, politically correct "love interest?" and I kept thinking poor Ben Kingsley obviously must be going broke....because otherwise, why would he be in this. It's not until the final five minutes do we see Cohen's real intelligence, but at that point it's too late. Another missed opportunity. Grade: C- (Available now on DVD)
Battleship- This movie makes a "Transformers" movie look like "Citizen Kane." This clunky, asinine action flick has about as much to do with the board game that inspired it as a hand grenades have to do with tea parties. It certainly has its patriotic hat squarely on its head though. Between the supporting performance by the double amputee, the WWII veterans, and the multiple fly overs in Navy bombers, you'd think you were watching the pre-game festivities at the Super Bowl rather than shoot-em-up, maritime, alien flick. Taylor Kitsch (of "Friday Night Lights" fame) starts the film like a meth addict (all twitchy-eyed and jittery) then, suddenly half way through it feels like the personality vacuum came through and sucked his charisma dry. Poor Liam Neeson is- forgive me- left out to sea by a concept that is just too terrible for words. The only reason this isn't an F is because the plot points and the disgusting dialogue are too awesomely bad not to chuckle at....unintentionally of course. Miss. Grade: D- (Available now on DVD)
After the jump....Friends with Kids, Prometheus, and The Five-Year Engagement
Friends with Kids- Two "platonic" friends (writer/director/star Jennifer Westfeldt and Adam Scott) want a kid. Neither of them are finding that special someone and biological clocks are ticking. But neither of them want to turn into their formerly happy now morose, baby-strapped friends. So what are they to do? They decide to dive headfirst into the sitcomy and cliched arms of this stale romantic comedy.It's not all downhill though. Thankfully there are some deft supporting performances that dapple this familiar rom-com with surprising dramatic oomph. Jon Hamm and Kristin Wiig play a couple whose once roaring passion for one another has been left destitute by life and children. Hamm has a drunken monologue in the film's middle third that's particularly powerful. And Wiig, just as she did in key moments in "Bridesmaids," lets her silence speak volumes about her sadness. Megan Fox plays Scott's younger girlfriend with such a self-aware aplomb that it may cause us all to have to give her more credit than she deserves. Grade: C+ (Available now on DVD)
Prometheus- With a cast that diverse and cool and director Ridley Scott back dealing with his career-changing extraterrestrial lifeforms, it seemed like this prequel to the landmark "Alien" franchise could have been one of those rare, smart summer flicks. It could have been filled with real frights, elaborate set pieces, and dare I say it, ideas. Well....so much for that thought. "Prometheus" it turns out is all flash and no substance. Beautiful to look at, but with a garrulous and misstep-laden script.When two scientists while excavating Scotland find a map that connects with a number of other undetermined civilizations, they believe it to be a invitation from,"the engineers," the aliens who put the universe into motion. But when the crew of the ship Prometheus arrives on the planet they believe to be their home, things begin to go terribly awry.
Oddly despite the serious story-related flaws, the film is still very watchable, even enjoyable. First and foremeost, it is gorgeous to look at. Production designer Arthur Max has created this dynamic world half of machines and gadgets, the other of the dark caverns and prehistoric idols and temples both of which illicit as many scares and shocks as they should.
Michael Fassbender, like Ian Holm's Bishop before him, plays an amazingly controlled robot. If you thought he couldn't be any icier than he was in "Shame;" think again. Charlize Theron also plays with her own ice queen persona in fun ways as the steely bitch captain of the ship. She doesn't have enough screen time as I'd prefer, but she makes good use of her time. If you're a fan of the previous films, give this a try. You might just be surprised. Grade: B (Available on DVD 10/11)
The Five Year Engagement- For all his connections to the raunch comedies of Judd Apatow, Jason Segal is actually a bit of as softie. From his pitiable heartbreak in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" to the sugar-covered good humor of "The Muppets," Segal knows how to get his sweet nature embedded into his features. This time in "The Five-Year Engagement" with the warm and affable Emily Blunt, he brings that same care and smarts to this delightful tale of timing and the search for the right mate. The catch is when it comes to finally saying, "I do," you always seem to be behind the ball. Segal is his usual best as Tom a Bay area chef on the rise: occasionally mannered and quiet, occasionally goofy, but it's Blunt who really shines. From Matt Damon in sci-fi-tinged romantic dramas to Amy Adams in black comedies about cleaning up after grizzly crime scenes, Blunt has this uncanny ability to have chemistry and versatility with any co-star. There are subtle changes, but she talks to Segal differently than she does her family or her professors and even actors in other films. Her PhD candidate Violet falls for his goofiness without feeling like a dope herself. She also makes the audience feel the potential doom in Tom and Violet's relationship as more time reveals more cracks that seemingly can't be filled by their love alone.
Per usual in all great modern comedies, the supporting cast is just as important as the leads and this one has some great touches. Allison Brie, known to many as either Trudy Campbell, the long-suffering wife of Pete on "Mad Men," plays Emily's tarty sister with a pitch-perfect British accent and line readings to burn. She nearly steals the thunder away from the main couple.
Even though he may not have gotten his sweet side from Judd Apatow, Jason Segal and his director Nicholas Stoller do engage in some of Apatow's biggest excesses. The film does run about twenty minutes too long, and even within individual scenes there are these painfully long pauses seemingly waiting for the audience to get the joke or for the collaborators to appreciate their own cleverness. They're indulgent, and they encroach on spoiling the dramatic tension that seems to arise with such organic reality.
Secondly, the female characters still feel too happy to relegated to the role of slut, shrew, and general spoiler of all the fun. Blunt does her best to work against this problem by making sure Violet's wants and career desires are just as important; we can't ignore who she is.
When the film works it's breezy and light with little dollops of earnestness that make you root for the central couple all the more. At it's worst, it's excessive, long, and smug. Thankfully Blunt and Segal are there to smooth out the rougher edges. Making us laugh while our hearts cry. Grade: B (Available now on DVD)
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