2014 Movie Preview: #5 - Transcendence

Release date: April 18

Plot summary: Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him. However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Will's thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.

My take: While Christopher Nolan has nothing to do with this film, his DNA feels infused in the project. Wally Pfister who was the cinematographer for many of Nolan's film is directing this film. There's also several people in the cast who are Nolan mainstays like Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy. Then you've got a plot that seems to be a real sci-fi mind bender. All of that adds up to a very engaging film for me to want to check out.

Depp recesses of the mind

It shouldn't be newsworthy when Johnny Depp plays a normal human being that isn't caked in ghoulish makeup in a movie, but it is. Here is a teaser trailer for his newest movie, a sci-fi thriller called Transcendence that is being directed by Wally Pfister who is a first time director but long time cinematographer for Christopher Nolan.

Getting a Jump start on the new year

More trailers keep rolling in previewing the 2014 slate. This time it's the sequel to surprise reboot of 21 Jump Street, this time named 22 Jump Street. I'll let the awesome Nick Offerman explain why.

RBR: Dark Shadows

Certain movie stars seem to gravitate towards particular directors. This is certainly true for Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, who have collaborated on a number of great films. But with their latest effort, Dark Shadows, there are signs that they may be due for a break from each other. Based on a cult favorite horror soap opera from the 1960s, Dark Shadows revolves around Barnabas Collins and his family. Collins is turned into a vampire after spurning the advances of a witch. Buried for nearly 200 years, Collins is dug up in 1972 and has to deal with living in a new world while trying to bring his family back into prominance. My description of the plot barely scratches the surface of what's going on in this film and that's one of the problems. There are a ton of subplots, none of which are the least bit interesting. The film meanders from one plot to the next only to try and cram resolutions to all of them within the last 15 minutes. I kept wondering what the point to all of this was. The humor falls flat, the scares are mild at best, and the sexual escapades are more cartoonish than enticing. If there's a strength to the film, it is its look. Of course, with Tim Burton directing, that's almost always going to be a given. In this outing, however, it's all style and no substance. I fail to see how this movie appeals to anyone. Fans of the original show will no doubt find this to be an injustice and the film offers nothing that would attract new fans. If you're a fan of the Depp/Burton team, skip this disappointingly dull effort and rewatch one of their earlier films instead. Rating: **

RBR: The Rum Diary

You would think that adapting gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's novel about an American journalist on a bender in Puerto Rico would make for a wild, thrilling film, but you would be wrong. This film, starring Johnny Depp as protagonist Paul Kemp aimlessly moves from one adventure to the next with no sense of direction or purpose. Along the way, we meet several unique characters including Kemp's editor (Richard Jenkins in a bad wig), a paranoid writer (Giovanni Ribisi), a slimy entrepreneur (the oily Aaron Eckhart) and his attractive girlfriend (Amber Heard). Kemp is down in Puerto Rico because that's the only place that will hire him to write. Of course, he still doesn't do much writing while down there as he's too busy boozing it up and causing trouble. I kept watching waiting for to understand the point of all this, but it never came. I was left feeling as if I inherited the hangover his character should have been suffering from. I understand Depp's affinity for Hunter S. Thompson (he played him in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but even he couldn't make this material worthwhile. I'm not sure who the audience for this film is, and its box office numbers were indicative of that. Just like alcohol, the cast and story of this film may initially make it appealing to you, but if you actually go about consuming it, you'll regret it in the morning. Rating: **

NMR: Rango

This is such an odd film that I'm having difficulty identifying my feelings towards it. I think ultimately I admire the film more than I enjoyed it. This animated feature about a lizard (voiced by Johnny Depp) who's trying to find himself creates some interesting ideas, but I'm not sure if all of them work. Advertised as a kid's film, I'm questioning whether or not kids will actually enjoy it. The creatures that make up the cast aren't very cute or nice to look at. There's also several scenes that seem like they would come from the mind of Hunter S. Thompson. They're so bizarre and trippy, that they will downright confuse most younger audiences. The film also features homages to spaghetti westerns - another touch that's likely lost of kids. While I can appreciate those efforts more, I'm not sure if I was really seeking an animated Western that delves into the ideas of a existentialism. Still, the movie is absolutely gorgeous looking with wonderful colors and textures. I also think Depp gives a great three-dimensional performance voicing the title character. So while the film is technically sound, from a narrative standpoint it's searching for an identity as much as its main character. I don't see young kids enjoying this and I'd only recommend it for adults who enjoy the style or genre of film I've attempted to describe here. Rating: ***