RBR: Gangster Squad

In 2012, this had been one of my most highly anticipated films of the year. On the surface it had an interesting story, a rising director, and a stellar cast. The interest in this film certainly was not by me alone as there had been a lot of buzz around the film in the months prior to its release. Then last July everything changed. After the horrible shooting at the Colorado theater, a major scene from this film involving gangsters opening fire in a theater had to be removed and replaced with an alternative scene. This pushed the film's release back to January of this year. This to me was a curious move. I understood the need for reshoots so as to be sensitive to the victims, but releasing the film in January, a time typically set aside as a dumping ground for bad movies, didn't make sense if the film was as good as it appeared. Turns out, it was apropos to give it that release date as this is a wildly disappointing film. While certainly not terrible, I sat in wonderment as to how such talented people could be involved in such mediocre work. The film is slow going to begin as it tries to establish all of its primary character. The central battle is between square-jawed good cop, John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and boxer turned mobster, Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). Penn, who I feel often overacts too much in his roles turns in a surprisingly forgettable performance here. You never really feel the menacing hold that he supposedly has over the city of Los Angeles. O'Mara puts together a group of fellow cops who's mission it is to take out Cohen. They include a number of decent character actors including Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena, Giovanni Ribisi, and Robert Patrick. As this squad comes together to find ways of picking apart Cohen's empire, the film does pick up a bit. These scenes work for the most part, but also don't offer anything that we haven't seen in other gangster films. If the focus had remained on the squad vs. Cohen, the film may have worked better. Unfortunately, they saddle the film with unnecessary subplots like the romance between Jerry (Ryan Gosling), who plays a renegade member of the squad, and Grace (Emma Stone), who is also seeing Cohen. I love Emma Stone, but she doesn't work in this role. The one performance that does work here is Mireille Enos, who plays Brolin's wife. Early on, it seems like she's just going to be the stereotypical cop wife who's constantly worried about her husband's safety. However, we see that she actually plays a more integral role in her husband's efforts to take down Mickey. Frankly, I would have actually liked to see more of their relationship and eliminate Emma Stone's character completely. As for the film's climax, it is not only unsatisfying, but also somewhat unbelievable given what we are told about Cohen's boxing background. With such a deflating ending, the whole movie vanishes from your memory almost as soon as its over. I'd like to say that the performances alone make it worthy enough to a be rental, but I can't. The only real crime being committed here is it stealing 2 hours away from audience's lives. Rating: ** 1/2

2013 Movie Preview (#30 - 25)

Now that we've survived the end of the world, we can begin looking forward to a new year. And with that comes a whole new slate of big movies to preview. This seems to be a particularly solid year of comedies, dramas, and action films. Without any further ado, here's what you can look forward to in the next 12 months.

#30. Gangster Squad (January 11)

Plot: Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and--if he has his way--every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop...except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart. "The Gangster Squad" is a colorful retelling of events surrounding the LAPD's efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time.

Personal Opinion: You may recall that this film was originally scheduled to come out last year, but after the tragic Colorado movie theater shooting last July reshoots were needed on this film in order to eliminate a similar scene. You may also recall that I had this on my 2012 movie preview and fairly high on the list at that. Its placement here should in no way indicate that I've lost faith in the film. Rather, I just felt that since I've already given it coverage and that it's coming out in just a couple of weeks that we should merely give everyone a reminder here and focus the rest of the list on the fresh films for 2013.


#29. Saving Mr. Banks (December 20)

Plot: Two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar-winner Tom Hanks topline Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks," inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory of how Disney's classic "Mary Poppins" made it to the screen.

Personal Opinion: This is one of two high-profile, awards season-caliber films starring Tom Hanks coming out next year. There are few bigger figures in Hollywood than Walt Disney, so it will be very intersting to see how Hanks depicts him here. From the little I've read about this story, it seems like it was quite the bumpy road getting the film version of Mary Poppins made, so I'm definitely excited to see this film and learn more about it. The only question is that since this is a Disney film, will the depiction of Walt be accurate or simply a puff piece that paints their founder in an entirely favorable light.


#28. We're the Millers (August 9)

Plot: David Burke (Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer whose clientele includes chefs and soccer moms, but no kids - after all, he has his scruples. So what could go wrong? Plenty. Preferring to keep a low profile for obvious reasons, he learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished when he tries to help out some local teens and winds up getting jumped by a trio of gutter punks. Stealing his stash and his cash, they leave him in major debt to his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms). In order to wipe the slate clean - and maintain a clean bill of health - David must now become a big-time drug smuggler by bringing Brad's latest shipment in from Mexico. Twisting the arms of his neighbors, cynical stripper Rose (Aniston) and wannabe customer Kenny (Will Poulter), and the tatted-and-pierced streetwise teen Casey (Emma Roberts), he devises a foolproof plan. One fake wife, two pretend kids and a huge, shiny RV later, the "Millers" are headed south of the border for a Fourth of July weekend that is sure to end with a bang.

Personal Opinion: I typically do not gravitate toward pot movies, but this one seems to be less about the wacky tabacky and more about the wacky road trip adventure of these characters. And the characters in this film include a large list of my favorite comedic actors. In addition to the cast members listed above, people like Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn will also pop up here. If nothing else, the story about Jennifer Aniston working a stripper pole in this movie was enough to convince me to check it out.


#27 Rush (September 20)

Plot: Set against the sexy, glamorous and spectacular golden age of Formula 1 racing, "Rush" portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed - handsome English playboy James Hunt (Hemsworth) and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Niki Lauda (Bruhl). Following their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.

Personal Opinion: The last time director Ron Howard teamed up with writer Peter Morgan, it was for the fantastic adaptation of Frost/Nixon. With Rush they're giving us a different face off, but one that sounds just as intriguing. Though I don't know much about these racers, the little that I've read sounds like a fascinating story. Given its placement in mid-September I would look for this to kick off the awards season buzz. And even if it's quality isn't up to snuff as it relates to the Oscars, the racing scenes should no doubt thrill audiences.


#26. Side Effects (February 8)

Plot: "Side Effects" is a provocative thriller about Emily and Martin (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum), a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist (Jude Law) - intended to treat anxiety - has unexpected side effects.

Personal Opinion: Based on the trailer I saw, I have mixed feelings on this one. It could be a very cool thriller on the dark side of experimental drugs or it could be a sad weepy that bores me to tears. Ultimately what wins out is that this is directed by Steven Soderbergh and will be his last film as he claims to be retiring. I typical love Soderbergh work so I'll be checking this out to see what he has in store for a grand finale.


#25. R.I.P.D. (July 19)

Plot: Based on the Dark Horse mini-series, "R.I.P.D." (short for "Rest In Peace Department") is Peter Lenkov's comedic amalgam of the police and zombie genres featuring two dead police officers whose job it is to help the dead "rest in peace."

Personal Opinion: With the recent success of The Walking Dead, you can expect to see a LOT of zombies on the big screen in the next year. Most of them I'll be skipping, but this one has a unique enough premise to even pique my interest. I can't rate it higher though given the mixed bag of a cast. It features Jeff Bridges, which instantly propels the quality of the film. However, Ryan Reynolds appears to be the film's lead and he has yet to prove to me that he's leading man material. His most recent features have all been underwhelming and his performance was often a reason for that. Hopefully Bridges' awesomeness wins out here.

Our Gang

Fall is shaping up to be as strong as the summer movie slate seems to be. After previewing Argo here earlier this week, here's the first trailer for The Gangster Squad featuring an all-star cast and directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland)

RBR: Drive

When I first saw this film advertised last fall I had quickly dismissed it as nothing more than a Transporter ripoff. Then the reviews started coming in and we baffling strong. At that point, I was predisposed to hate the film and the way it was being overpraised. But being the open-minded guy that I like to think that I am, I still decided to give the film a try. As much as I didn't want to admit it, the critics were right about the cool vibe that the film has. Often a film like this ends up trying too hard and becomes unhip, but this one struck the right note at being trendy and stylish. The film has a great look and an excellent score. And while I still don't think he's as good of an actor as many claim he is, Ryan Gosling does give a terrific performance here. He plays a stunt driver who also occassionally works as a getaway driver for two bit thieves. The driving sequences in the film are really well done and show the art that actually goes in to effectively eluding those who are chasing you. I only wish that the film had kept its focus on the driving throughout the film. As the story progresses, it settles into a heist gone wrong plot that has an all-too familiar feel to it. Thankfully, there's Albert Brooks playing a movie producer/mob boss to elevate those scenes and make them tolerable. I'm still not convinced that the movie is as good as some critics claimed it to be, but I will admit that this is a much better film than I thought it would be. I think the film's tone, solid acting, and decent action scenes are enough to make this worthy of a rental. If you were like me and were turned off by the excessive fawning over this film, do yourself a favor and give it a consideration. Rating: ****

March on Washington

Finishing up the second part of the double feature I saw last weekend, we now come to The Ides of March, a political drama that has Oscar aspirations about a man with presidential aspirations. In this case that man is George Clooney, who also directed and co-wrote this film. The film, based on the play Farragut North, examines the dilemmas faced by everyone involved in trying to be, or help someone to be the next leader of the free world.

While Clooney is the candidate running for president, the film spends more time with his staff as they run his campaign. At the forefront of that is Stephen Meyers (played by Ryan Gosling), he's a hotshot assistant who claims to have already worked on more campaigns than anyone ten years his senior. That experience doesn't seem to help him much as he quickly gets caught up in the game of dirty politics. He takes a meeting with the chief of staff of the guy Clooney is running against (played by Paul Giamatti). When Clooney's chief of staff (played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman) finds out about the meeting, he's none too pleased.

When you have a cast that features four talented individuals like this film does, you expect to have scene after scene of scenary chewing taking place and yet most of the dialogue between these characters falls a bit flat. I was expecting these scenes to be more explosive where you really felt the emotion behind their words. Perhaps I've gotten too spoiled by Aaron Sorkin dialogue and expected too much here, but I just didn't find these talky scenes to be as gripping as I expected them too. This is not to say they are bad by any means. I was just suprised I didn't love them more.

A lot of their discussions and strategizing are a result of the actions of a young staffer on Clooney's campaign played by Evan Rachel Wood. She takes an interest in Gosling's character, which causes a number of problems. Without spoiling too much about what she does, I will say that I didn't buy into this subplot. Her actions and motivations don't seem realistic and they drag the film down. When it's focused on her, it strays from being a political potboiled into an area of tawdry melodrama.

What this film does do right though is give us a fair, albeit frustrating depiction of the nature of politics. You see as you watch these characters operate that anyone who enters the political game is unable to come out of it unscathed. Everyone has to get a little dirty, it's just a matter of whether or not you embrace it or not. Those who think their ideals can rise above the mudslinging are only fooling themselves. Some moviegoes may be frustrated with that theme since it prevents them from having anybody that they can root for or rally behind in this film.

Though I've pointed out some flaws in this film, it is by no means a bad film. These flaws only get pointed out because the expectations for this film were so high in the first place. In that way, The Ides of March may be very similar to real life presidential candidates. While they make a good first impression, the more you peel back the layers the more disappointment you find. That should in no way suggest that you should ignore this movie like so many people ignore potential candidates. Though this may not win the equivalent of the Oval Office come Academy Award season, it still has a lot to say that should be heard. Grade: B