Watch the whole thing HERE!
Watch the whole thing HERE!
CAST: Mark Wahlberg, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry, David Strathairn, Giancarlo Esposito. Directed by Elegance Bratton.
REVIEW: Set in 1966, and loosely based on real life FBI agent Lindley DeVecchio, “By Any Means” sees Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a by-the-book FBI Agent who passionately believes in Civil Rights for Black people, desk bound in his bureau’s file department. “America won’t be right until Mississippi is right,” he says.
When a prominent Black voting rights advocate is murdered by the Klan the FBI runs into a wall of silence from witnesses who fear retribution from the KKK.
With no witnesses willing to speak, the Agency takes the drastic action of pairing the Mississippi-born Strider with a man “uniquely qualified for the job,” the Colombo family hitman and FBI informant Gregory Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg, playing a character based on a real-life hitman for the Colombo crime family of New York City). “I do whatever I want,” he says. “No rules.”
They are a classic odd couple, forced to form an uneasy alliance. Strider is led by morality and a belief in justice. Scarpa, on the other hand, is a violent psychopath, whose actions are condoned by the FBI as long as they yield results. He believes in nothing but himself.
“I knock some heads around and crack the case,” says Scarpa. “Making people disappear does not solve the problem,” says Strider.
Doling out justice and vengeance in almost equal measure, Strider and Scarpa’s antics bring a morally ambiguous tone to “By Any Means.”
It’s a sort of Good Cop/Really Bad Cop scenario that, for all its talk of doing the right thing and playing by the rules, plays like a historical riff on “Death Wish’s” orgy of retribution.
If there is an ethical cost of Scarpa’s actions—torture and beating confessions out of suspects—it’s one the movie isn’t keen to explore. Scarpa’s coercive violence yields results but his methods are justified rather than questioned. Stride doesn’t like it but, after a spell of feeling helpless when his commitment to law and order fails him, eventually tacitly agrees that a cigarette burn to the chest or a baseball bat applied to the kneecaps are powerful tools in coaxing folks to spill the beans. But with no complexity to the film’s study of the ends justifying the means the effectiveness of the message is blunted. There is a cathartic vibe to seeing the Klansmen get knocked around, but it is a visceral thrill, not an intellectual one.
“By Any Means” is a handsome looking movie, with stylish direction from Elegance Bratton and a powerful performance from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. He’s as stoic as Wahlberg, decked out with a giant Spirit of Halloween fake nose and elaborate combover, is swaggerlicious.
“By Any Means” is an entertaining late summer crime drama, but in its treatment of morality is more wish-fulfillment revenge than treatise on systemic complicity in illegal and methods used in law enforcement.
SYNOPSIS: In “Captain America: Brave New World” the newly crowned Captain America, Sam Wilson finds himself at the center of an international incident after meeting with President Thaddeus Ross. “You may be Captain America,” says Ross, “but you’re not Steve Rogers.”
CAST: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford. Directed by Julius Onah.
REVIEW: When Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) handed his shield to former pararescueman Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), a.k.a. The Falcon in the finale of “Endgame,” it marked an exchange of power that went on to be explored in the Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”
The new film picks up the story as Wilson and President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), who previously butted heads about how much latitude “enhanced individuals” should have, are on the same side with a plan to rebuild The Avengers. “Work with me and we’ll show the world a way forward,” Ross says.
It’s all hunky dory between them until a daring assassination attempt places them at odds. Unless Wilson, and his sidekick Joaquin Torres / Falcon (Danny Ramirez), can get some quick answers, a cherished friend and the future of a worldwide peace treaty are in danger.
“Captain America: Brave New World” gets caught between its (relatively) grounded conspiracy story and its high-flying aspirations.
Dragged down by stitching up loose story threads from other films, it over explains the action, showcases Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) a diabolical but dull villain—although catchphrase, “Please, don’t be boring,” is pretty cool—and feels more like a Disney+ show than a big screen event.
And yet, it does have entertaining aerial scenes and, in the Red Hulk, a role that allows Harrison Ford, the best angry man in movies, to let his freak flag fly. It’s also nice to see Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley, the Korean War era Captain America, make the leap from the miniseries “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” to the movie.
At the heart of the whole thing is Mackie. As a Captain America with no superhuman abilities, he is a more grounded character. Sure, he flies through the air with the aid of advanced technology, and his vibranium shield comes in handy when things go south, but his inner turmoil over his place in the world of superheroes and his progressive nature make Wilson a hero for the modern age.
The political conspiracy story of “Captain America: Brave New World” serves as an official introduction for Wilson as Captain America, but by the time the end credits (and the one post credit scene) rolls, it’s the Red Hulk antics that stick in the memory.
SYNOPSIS: “Megalopolis,” a new fable from legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, now playing in theatres, is a mix of Ancient Roman politics, sci fi, and even a little bit of mime.
Visionary artist Cesar (Adam Driver) has plans to build a utopian city to inspire hope within the rotting framework of New Rome. “When we leap into the unknown,” he says, “we prove that we are free.” He’s up against the corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), agent of chaos Clodio Pulcher (Shia LaBeouf) and the threat of partisan warfare.
CAST: Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D. B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
REVIEW: As idiosyncratic a movie as we’re likely to see this year, “Megalopolis,” the forty-years-in-the-making passion project from Francis Ford Coppola, is equal parts hammy and hopeful, dense and dazzling. It’s the work of a filmmaker with nothing left to prove, and brims with imagination, ambition and, unfortunately, self-indulgence.
Coppola, who says he rewrote the script for “Megalopolis” at least 300 times, empties out the idea drawer, producing a script that overflows with his thoughts on legacy, survival and hope for the future. Using lessons learned from the intrigue of Roman history, he throws in a dollop of sci- fi—Cesar Catalina (Driver) can stop time with a flourish of his hands—to tell a story of utopian values pitted against city hall.
It’s a mix of Ayn Rand and Marcus Aurelius, and not unfamiliar ground for the director. He has essayed the effects of power, political paranoia and the bloom of love in previous films like “The Godfather,” “The Conversation” and “One from the Heart.” The difference is, those movies, while often epic in scope, didn’t take a kitchen sink approach to the storytelling.
“Metropolis” is overstuffed to the point of bursting. The grand vision of warring billionaires and politicians is rendered almost incomprehensible by scenes that never lift off or, worse, feel randomly inserted into the narrative.
Coppola sets his story against a city in a fall of the Roman Empire decline, which should bring along with it very high stakes, but there is never a sense of danger or tension.
Instead, head-scratching line readings, spontaneous Shakespearean monologuing, and unintentionally funny, heightened performances distract from the actual story. “Megalopolis” is operatic in its ambition, experimental in its execution and rather baffling in its intentions.
Perhaps the film’s most telling line is a quote from Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius: “The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority.”
And so it goes with “Metropolis.” Despite the presence of big-name talent like Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza, this is a deliberating non-commercial film. Coppola’s vision is experimental, difficult to penetrate, impossible to pigeonhole, and occasionally thrilling, but mostly a slog.
LOGLINE: A look into the sleazy world of 1985 Los Angeles after dark, the new DePalma-esque film “Maxxxine” stars Mia Goth as the title character, a porn star who gets a big mainstream break just as her sinister past comes back to haunt her. She may have left her past behind, but her past is not done with her.
CAST: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon. Directed by Ti West.
REVIEW: Over three movies, “X,” the prequel “Pearl” and now “Maxxxine,” writer/director Ti West has constructed a weird and wild look at the movie business and the ruthless ambition it takes to become famous in that industry. From the beginning years of film, straight through to the excess of the mid-eighties, West’s films center on Maxine Minx and Pearl, both played by Mia Goth, who share dreams of stardom and a willingness to spill blood—other people’s blood—to become famous.
Each film is distinct in style and feel—there’s “Pearl’s” Technicolor splendor, the 70s slasher feel of “X” and “Maxxxine’s” giallo grit—and yet they hang together as a whole because of Goth. The characters Maxine and Pearl provide the throughline that binds the films together, despite whatever flight of fancy West places them in.
Goth does fearless work, her trademark toothy grin an uncomfortable beacon of menace amid the film’s scenes of brutal, grindhouse violence. It’s a wonderfully strange performance, a unique take on an anti-hero who is simultaneously alluring and repulsive in her burning desires. It is Goth’s committed performance in “Maxxxine” that ushers the franchise along to the kind of garish finale fans expect from West.
A star-studded list of supporting actors—Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito—add color to the story, but it’s Kevin Bacon, as a smarmy Louisiana private investigator who steals every scene he appears in.
“Maxxxine” is likely the end of Goth and West’s edgy movie trilogy, and it goes out with a bang. In crafting a character who is both victim and a villain, a woman shaped by her upbringing and unbridled ambition, West and Goth have created a “final girl” horror icon who gets her due, and much more, in the trilogy’s final film.
Lots of kids like to play with their food, but the main character in “Abigail,” a new vampire film now playing in theatres, takes it to a new level.
The story begins with a plan to kidnap Abigail (Alisha Weir), the twelve-year-old ballerina daughter of a well-known underworld boss. Ringleader Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) makes it sound simple. He directs his ragtag team, including ex-cop Frank (Dan Stevens), hacker Sammy (Kathryn Newton), medic Joey (Melissa Barrera), musclebound enforcer Peter (Kevin Durand), ex-Marine Rickles (William Catlett) and get-away driver Dean (Angus Cloud in his last completed role), to contain Abigail and babysit her for twenty-four hours until a sizable ransom is paid.
How hard can that be?
With little effort, they pick up the unassuming looking rich girl, and secret her away to a secluded mansion where she is blindfolded and tied to a bed for safe keeping.
Things take a twist, however, when it’s revealed that Abigail is a bloodsucking fiend, quick to kill and drop a witty one-liner.
“I’m sorry about what’s gonna happen to you,” she tells one of her soon-to-be victims.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, collectively known as Radio Silence, blow the plasma budget, filling the screen with gallons of bloody goo and arterial discharge. In its last half it is a splatter fest that provides the satisfying guts and gore horror fan expect.
But, in its own limited way, it’s also a family drama, a story of lost, lonely people, looking for approval from loved ones. That element gives the movie a nice grace note, but the focus here is popcorn thrills and chills.
As in “Ready or Not,” a Radio Silence movie from 2019, “Abigail” is largely set in a grand old gothic mansion. Trapped like rats in a labyrinth, the kidnappers flail helplessly, looking for, and finding, danger around every darkened corner.
Against that setting, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett stage several memorable scenes. In one, a newly-turned vampire acts as a puppet, performing an undead dance under Abigail’s telepathic control. It’s bizarre, kinda cool and diabolically funny.
The film’s beating heart, or rather, unbeating heart, is Weir, a kinetic presence who blends ballet with bloody vampiric attacks. Her shift from helpless child to two-hundred-year-old bloodsucker is the film’s coup de grâce.
“Abigail” goes on a little too long, puts a bit too much space between the gory set pieces and gives some characters the short shrift, but ultimately delivers a gory good time for genre fans.
When I first heard there was a new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie in the pipeline, I wondered, “Why?” From their beginnings as a superhero parody comic by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird to becoming a surprise cultural phenomenon, the anthropomorphic turtle brothers have been rebooted as a television show, toys and a bunch of movies.
The difference this time around is that “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” a new animated adventure now playing in theatres, captures the irreverent, rambunctious spirit of the comics that inspired it, without losing any of the heart that made turtle brothers— Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael—so beloved in the first place.
An origin story, the new movie is a coming of age for the resourceful Donatello (Micah Abbey), the charming Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr), the reliable Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu) and the brave Raphael (Brady Noon). Raised by a mutant rat named Splinter (Jackie Chan) in the sewers of New York, under the orders of their overprotective, adoptive father, they only visit the human world to gather supplies. Splinter does not trust humans, and fears for his son’s safety if they are exposed to the human world.
But the turtles are restless. They long to be accepted, to go to high school, to do the things they see human teenagers do on television and in movies. “If we weren’t monsters, shunned by society, what would we do?”
On one of their clandestine visits to the city, they meet April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri), an aspiring journalist who wants to tell their story. “This is insane,” she says. “Turtles. Mutant. Karate. Teens. I want to know everything about you.”
Meanwhile, New York City is being terrorized by Superfly (Ice Cube), a mutant housefly with a plan to kill and capture all humans and turn all animals on Earth into mutants. “Humans will be executed, enslaved, turned into food. Could be pets,” he says. “Any crazy thing you can think of, pitch it.”
Teaming with April, the turtles plan to take on Superfly and become heroes. “We take out Superfly and then everyone will think we’re cool,” says Donatello. “They’ll accept us!”
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” has a loads of scrappy heroes-in-half-shell spirit. The gorgeous rough ‘n tumble animation is computer generated, but feels organic, like a mix of the hand-drawn aesthetic of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and Gerald Scarfe. It’s vibrant, exciting and will give your eyes a workout.
The story isn’t quite as exciting. It won’t take you anywhere really new, superhero movie wise, but it does update the TMNT lore. The use of actual teenagers to voice the four turtle brothers brings youthful energy that also adds some oomph and even poignancy to their coming-of-age/outsiders storyline.
The real stars of the show are Edebiri, Chan and Ice Cube. No longer just a supporting character, Edebiri gives April three-dimensions, with foibles–sometimes her nerves get the best of her—and objectives that help guide the story. Chan is very funny, but also humanizes the rat with his overly protective fatherly concerns. Ice Cube brings a considerable amount of swagger to the megalomaniac Superfly, spitting out his lines with humor and some cartoony menace.
Seven feature films in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” does something kind of remarkable. It takes a decades-old franchise and makes it feels contemporary with humor and heart while still providing a nostalgic blast for long-time fans.
In March 2016, production was shut down on Maze Runner: The Death Cure when star Dylan O’Brien was hurt filming an elaborate stunt. O’Brien, who rose to fame as the resident heartthrob on Teen Wolf, was strapped in a harness on top of a moving vehicle when he was suddenly thrown and struck by another car. WorkSafeBC reported his injuries included “concussion, facial fracture and lacerations.”
With production postponed, O’Brien’s publicist Jennifer Allen said, “His injuries are very serious and he needs more time to recover.”
Director Wes Ball tweeted, “Well, it’s been a whirlwind of emotions these past few days. I’ve been overwhelmed with feelings of anger and sadness and guilt. But, ultimately I find myself left with just a deep love and respect for Dylan. He is one tough cookie.”
The film, originally scheduled for release on Feb. 17, 2017, was delayed until this weekend.
O’Brien says he was “in a really fragile, vulnerable state,” and during the early days of his recuperation thought he may never act again. “I’ve gotten to a place where I’m OK with it,” he told People, “but it was definitely a rough year.”
The 26-year-old isn’t the first actor to be hurt performing a dangerous deed. Jackie Chan is famous for doing all of his own stunts — and breaking almost every bone in his body in the process — while Mission: Impossible 6 was recently put on hold after Tom Cruise broke his ankle attempting a jump across a building gap.
Sylvester Stallone broke ribs on the First Blood set and Charlize Theron herniated a disc in her spine while shooting Aeon Flux. Jason Statham joked about almost being drowned during the making of The Expendables 3, but it is serious business. How far should filmmakers go in the search for realism in stunts?
Industry insiders say the best way to keep everyone safe is to let the professionals do their jobs. Arnold Schwarzenegger, no stranger to films with wild action scenes, said, “With stunts, we have a rule that if you can get injured or killed, you let a stunt guy do it, because they are much more skilled in how to do the falls, being on fire, how to deal with all those things.”
Stunt driver Richard Lippert asserts that, stunt-wise, actors only have to know how to do three things: first, how to convincingly fake a punch; second, how to drive on and off a mark; and finally, how to credibly handle a weapon. Other than that, he says, “actors shouldn’t plan to do their own stunts no matter how ‘cool’ or exciting it may seem.”
Other than personal danger for the actor, one wrong move can shut down a set costing everyone their livelihoods. “Taking a job away from someone to stroke your ego is not a good way to become popular,” says Lippert.
CGI is another option, although many top directors prefer real action. After years of “following the CG evolution,” using computer-generated images to create beautiful animated films like Happy Feet and Babe: A Pig in the City, director George Miller used actual stunts performed by stunt men and women in his action epic Mad Max: Fury Road. “It was like going back to your old hometown and looking at it anew,” he said.
