The script for “Cut Bank” appeared on Hollywood’s 2009 black list of the best-unproduced films. Whoever makes up that list must have been desperate for a Coen Brothers fix.
Set in the hamlet of Cut Bank Montana—“the coldest spot in the nation”—the action begins when auto mechanic Dwayne (Liam Hemsworth) accidentally videotapes the murder of the local postman (Bruce Dern). He reports the crime to the inept local sheriff (John Malkovich), hoping for reward money, but there are complications in the form of the suspicious father of his girlfriend (Billy Bob Thornton), a postal inspector (Oliver Platt) and Derby Milton, a reclusive man (Michael Stuhlbarg) violently obsessed with getting his mail.
On its surface “Cut Bank” has all the earmarks of a quirky Coen Brothers style romp. Like an wannabe “Fargo” it’s violent, occasionally funny and populated by a talented acting ensemble (in this case lead by Malkovich) which sounds like a winner but is sunk by an abundance of quirky characters in supporting roles— Stuhlbarg’s Milton is a cartoon come to life—and good looking but bland leads in the form of Thor-bro Hemsworth and Teresa Palmer as his budding beauty queen girlfriend.
Old pros Dern, Malkovich, Thornton and Platt cut through this material like a hot knife through butter, but it is mostly the sheer strength of their collective wills that they manage to keep the script, which is ripe with exposition, from rotting on the vine.
Director Matt Shakman has an eye for the setting—the Alberta locations look great—but the town should be a character à la David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” and here it is simply a backdrop to the action.
“Cut Bank” is one of those movies where there is more to every character than meets the eye, but ultimately is a blink and you’ll miss it experience.
Film critic Richard Crouse sits down with Nneka Elliott to look at some of the new movies out this week, including “The Penguins of Madagascar,” “Horrible Bosses 2” and “Foxcatcher.”
The new “Madagascar” movie spin off is brought to you by the letter P. P is for penguin and puns.
“The Penguins of Madagascar” is the punniest movie of the year. It never met a pun it didn’t like and these penguins give The Marx Brothers a run for their money in the word play department. Based on spin off characters from the “Madagascar” series, these shifty, flightless birds soar in a movie that is more entertaining than the films that introduced us to them.
Skipper (voice of Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (Conrad Vernon) and Private (Christopher Knights) are penguins on a mission. Dr. Octavius Brine, (voice of John Malkovich) is an octopodian evil genius on a mission to get revenge on a certain quartet of birds for a perceived slight. To save themselves, and perhaps all of penguin-kind, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private reluctantly team with an animal undercover organization known as The North Wind. Led by the suave wolf Agent Classified (Benedict Cumberbatch) they aim to aid the penguins, but will the high tech spies be more of a hindrance than help?
“The Penguins of Madagascar” has a lot in common with other big screen animated entertainment for children. It is paced at the speed of light, has several frenetic action scenes and seems tailor made to inspire a run on cute stuffed toys at Movies ‘R’ Us. The thing that sets it apart from its animated cousins is the spirit of anarchy in its casting, story choices and even the barrage of puns.
How many kid’s movies feature a cameo by the sublimely surreal director Werner Herzog? Can you name another children’s flick where a character says, “You didn’t have a family and we’re all going to die,” to a newborn? Then there are the puns. They come fast and furious, usually in the form of an off hand comment. The movie’s best running gag involves working movie star names into Dr. Brine’s instructions to his minions. “Nicholas! Cage those penguins!” It’s silly and by the time he gets to Elijah Wood, Drew Barrymore and Kevin Bacon, also hilarious.
“The Penguins of Madagascar” is good, zany fun. No lessons will be learned, no morals taught, nothing gained but a good time at the movies.
Knockaround Guys is an unremarkable coming-of-age story with a gangland twist. The four sons (Vin Diesel, Seth Green, Barry Pepper, and Andrew Davoli) of Brooklyn mobsters bond together to reclaim a quarter of a million dollars lost in a small Montana town run by a crooked sheriff (Tom Noonan). The money belongs to Matt Demaret’s (Pepper) dad, Benny “Chains” Demaret (Dennis Hopper) and his underboss Teddy Deserve (John Malkovich). If they don’t get it back, it’s one of the three Rs for them – roof, revolver or river. Written and directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, the same team who wrote Rounders, Knockaround Guys has a straight-to-video feel to it, although the uninspired story is rescued by some very good performances. John Malkovich chews through the screen as Teddy, the conniving Brooklyn Mafioso, and Dennis Hopper is a pleasure to watch in his cameo appearance as the big boss. Of the younger actors, Canadian Barry Pepper shows his chops as the conflicted Matty, while Vin Diesel oozes charisma, but by the film’s closing scenes you wish that these talented actors had more of a script to work with.
The bones for the story of Changeling, the twenty-eighth film from director Clint Eastwood, are borrowed from the infamous Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, a kidnapping and murder case from late 1920s Los Angeles. The sensational child murder case made headlines around the world, shining a spotlight on police corruption by the LAPD and making a media star of Canadian-born serial killer Gordon Stewart Northcott. Eastwood personalizes the story by focusing on the mother of one of the victims, Christine Collins (a goth looking Angelina Jolie).
Changeling’s twisted tale picks up steam when single mom Collins comes home after working some overtime hours to an empty house. Her ten-year-old son Walter is gone without a trace; the front door is locked, his lunch is still in the ice box and his bed undisturbed.
Cut to five months later. The LAPD gives Collins the happy news that they have located her son and that he is alive and well. Trouble is the boy they bring home is not her son. When she protests the police, concerned for the bad press her story would generate, try and convince then coerce her to accept the boy. When she refuses they have her committed to a mental hospital that makes Shock Corridor look like a hotel spa. Luckily she has anti-police corruption crusader Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich) on her side. With his help Collins exposes the LAPD cover-up and corruption and tries to get to the bottom of what actually happened to her son.
At two hours and twenty minutes Changeling takes its time to tell the story, expertly weaving the disparate elements—the disappearance, the police corruption and the unexpected serial killer angle—into one seamless, elegantly directed movie. It’s a complex story but one that is carefully laid it out, and while it would likely have been possible to trim a few of the “I want my son back!!” scenes, by and large there isn’t any fat here.
Eastwood sets the tone in the film’s opening seconds by draining the picture of any bright colors. This bleak palate—at odds with sunny California’s sparkling reputation—establishes the somber feel that permeates every scene.
Angelina Jolie’s resemblance to Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride embodies that gloomy feel; her face a sallow shell of the usually beautiful woman caught by paparazzi in the pages of Us Weekly. She’s in almost every scene of the film, delivering strong work as a mother who refuses to give up hope, but for every powerful Oscar bait moment there is another where she veers toward melodrama, relying a bit too heavily on the silent movie five poses of female subjugation technique. The delicate hand clutching at her mouth in despair is effective once, but on repeated use loses impact. It’s a performance that ranges from moving to shrill, but, nonetheless, will likely be nominated come Academy Award time.
Of the other above–the-title cast members Amy Ryan hands in solid work in her small role as a wrongly imprisoned prostitute and John Malkovich is showy, but just a bit too creepy as the fiery Rev. Briegleb. Of the new comers Eddie Alderson does stand-out work as a teen wracked with guilt while regular Law and Order guest star Jeffrey Donovan is suitably evil as Capt. J.J. Jones, the scheming and manipulative policeman.
Changeling often succeeds more as a portrait of a time and place—the recreation of 1920s Los Angeles is breathtaking, and the misogynistic attitude toward women makes the males on Mad Men seem enlightened—rather than a true-life crime drama, but despite its tendency toward melodrama Eastwood has created the first big movie of Oscar season.
The script for “Cut Bank” appeared on Hollywood’s 2009 black list of the best-unproduced films. Whoever makes up that list must have been desperate for a Coen Brothers fix.
