Richard and CP24 anchor Nneka Elliot talk about the weekend’s big releases, “X-Men Apocalypse,” starring Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence, Johnny Depp in “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and “Mr. Right,” starring Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell.
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Whit Stillman has made just five films since his 1990 debut Metropolitan, but those movies, despite being set in various countries and time periods, are remarkably consistent in theme. Fascinated by privilege, he has chronicled the lives of young, beautiful rich people in art house movies like “Barcelona,” “The Last Days of Disco” and “Damsels in Distress.”
His latest film, “Love & Friendship,” fits snugly beside the others. Based on the Jane Austen novella “Lady Susan” it is places the action in the 1790s, but the subversive glimpse at upper class society is pure Stillman.
Kate Beckinsale is Lady Susan Vernon, a broke, recently widowed aristocrat whose scandalous behaviour in London has whittled down opportunities for social advancement for her and her daughter Federica (Morfydd Clark). “We don’t live,” she says, “we visit, entirely at the convenience of our relatives.” An acid-tongued schemer, Lady Susan survives on the kindness of her former sister-in-law Catherine Vernon (Emma Greenwell). Opening the doors of her country estate to Susan only exposes the hostess to the widow’s Machiavellian dealings, the attempted seduction of Catherine’s brother Reginald de Courcy (Xavier Samuel) and a plan to marry off Frederica to the wealthy but di-witted Sir James Martin (Tom Bennett).
“Love & Friendship” is a comedy of manipulation and ill-manners that must be the funniest Austen adaptation since “Clueless.” Stillman regular Beckinsale (she appeared in “Last Days of Disco”) is letter perfect as the seductively icy, pennilessly haughty Lady Susan, “the most accomplished flirt in England.” Rattling off the breezy dialogue with ease, she’s an anti-heroine who at one point admonishes a man for approaching her on the street, threatening to have him whipped if he says another word. “I know him well,” she says to her American confidante Alicia (Chloe Sevigny, another “The Last Days of Disco” alum), “I would never speak to a stranger like that.” She’s fantastically unrepentant, a paragon of self-absorption who looks down on everyone.
A uniformly strong cast—including the scene stealing Tom Bennett whop hands in one of the great comedic performances of the year—help Stillman bring the world to life. The set decoration and costuming is very “Masterpiece Theatre,” but the feeling of the piece is very modern.
This is the feel bad movie of the year.
Based on Stewart O’Nan’s 1994 novel of the same name, it is the tragic story of loss of innocence in a small town. It’s the kind of movie that can be difficult, but rewarding to sit through.
Structured like a film noir Snow Angels begins in the present before jumping backwards in time to show us the events that lead up to the two mysterious gunshots that kick off the movie. We meet Annie Marchand (Kate Beckinsale), a single mom and waitress in a Chinese restaurant. She is recently separated from her high school sweetheart, Glenn (Sam Rockwell), a recovering alcoholic and born-again Christian who has trouble holding down a job, but is desperately trying to change his ways to earn back the right to spend time with their four-year-old daughter Tara (Grace Hudson).
Working with Annie at the restaurant is busboy Arthur Parkinson (Michael Angarano), a shy boy dealing with his parent’s recent separation. His life changes for the better when he meets Lila (Olivia Thirlby), a charmingly offbeat girl who brings him out of his shell.
Inevitably these storylines mesh in heartbreaking ways, brought together by Annie’s affair with Nate Petite (Nicky Katt), the husband of her hard-edged co-worker Barb (Amy Sedaris).
Director David Gordon Green does a fine job of balancing the stories, skillfully weaving Arthur’s coming-of-age story throughout the considerably more morose story of Annie’s sordid life, but make no mistake there are few bright spots here. The story is almost unrelentingly tragic but Green and his cast keep things compelling by creating believable, convincing characters.
At the top of the heap is Sam Rockwell’s take on the troubled Glenn. One of the best and most underrated actors working today, Rockwell brings a tangible sense of despair to his character. He presents Glenn as someone who recognizes his shortcomings, but is almost incapable of straightening up, no matter how hard he tries. He’s by times charming and funny, by times dangerous and unhinged, but never less than interesting.
Kate Beckinsale also impresses. Best known for her leather clad vampire “Death Dealer” character from the silly Underworld movies, she proves there is more to her than the tight sweaters and the high wire action of her best known franchise. Her Annie is a quietly desperate character, a woman whose life has become frayed at the edges and the struggle to maintain normalcy for herself and her daughter is wearing her down. Beckinsale does a nice job at identifying Annie’s world weariness while putting on a brave face to those around her.
The misfortune in Snow Angels breathes the same air as the family heartbreak of The Sweet Hereafter in that they are both riveting slice-of-life dramas that examine the effects of tragedy on life in small communities. It isn’t easy viewing but its taut and uncompromising look at the dark side of relationships turned sour and great performances make Snow Angels worth a look.
For years philosophers have contemplated the question, “Who am I?” “Total Recall,” a remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie starring the less muscled Colin Farrell, asks the same thing, but does so with guns, three breasted women and explosions galore.
Set in a dystopian world where most of the world is uninhabitable, Farrell plays a troubled factory worker desperate to escape a life of grinding drudgery. Without telling his wife (Kate Beckinsale) he goes to Rekall Corp. to have a virtual vacation. They sell implanted memories, like videogames for the mind. But something goes wrong and soon our hero is thrown into a deadly world of intrigue where he can’t be sure what is real and what isn’t.
The original “Total Recall” was simultaneously beaten up on release for its level of violence and praised for its complex story. The same can’t be said for the remake. The body count is still high, but the story plays more like a high tech version of “The Fugitive” than a sci fi mind bender.
It’s a bit obvious in its set-up. Characters say things like, “Are you actually happy with the way your life turned out?” as Farrell grimaces and mulls over a memory implant and the scene breakdown goes something like this: exposition – action – more exposition – EXPLOSION! – gobbledygook – action – action – kiss – action – stare into the camera – kiss #2 – closing credits.
But having said that it works pretty well as a chase movie set against a “Blade Runner” backdrop. Farrell is much more of an everyman than the cartoony Arnold, but is convincing as he runs and jumps, shoots and stabs. Which is good because that’s essentially all this movie is. The sci fi falls flat, but the afore mentioned running, jumping, shooting and stabbing attempts to keep the eye occupied, even if the brain isn’t.
Your humor center won’t be stimulated either. Between scenes of carnage the original had some funny moments to break the tension. The legendary three-breasted hooker raised a smile, for instance, but this movie is more po-faced, taking itself a bit too seriously while intoning standard action movie lines like, “You really know how to pick ‘em.”
You can also tell this is a big American action movie when the camera luxuriates over people getting blown up, innocent bystanders being mowed down and explosions! explosions! explosions! while the one glimpse of nudity is dispensed of within 2 seconds. This movie clearly values bullets over breasts.
One thing the new movie does better is hand over roles to women. The original reduced its female characters to set decoration, whereas Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel are given meaty, action packed parts. Beckinsale uses all he tricks she learned on the “Underworld” movies, kicking butt and taking names in very scene she’s in, and while Biel won’t need to wake up early on Academy Award day, she hands a physically energetic performance.
What this reimagining of “Total Recall” lacks—that would be imagination—it more than makes up in visceral thrills and action.
Vacancy is a new thriller that offers up two bits of advice for people on long road trips. First: Never get off the interstate and Second: When possible, stay at the Four Seasons.
David (Luke Wilson) and Amy (Kate Beckinsale) are a couple on the verge of a divorce, their once happy union broken apart when their only child suddenly passed away. In their final public appearance as a couple they attend a large family function. We meet them on the way home, after they have veered off the highway and their car has broken down on a desolate country road.
Tired of the road and each other they find their way to a seedy motel. The innkeeper (Frank Whaley) is a creepy dude who makes Norman Bates seem like Conrad Hilton. He puts them in the Honeymoon Suite, a dirty, cockroach infested room with no heart shaped tug but enough grime to make germophobes scream. As they try to settle in, mysterious things start to happen. It seems there’s more wrong with this room that no hot water. Strange sounds come from next door and the in-room videos appear to be snuff films shot in the very room they are staying in!
Turns out they have stumbled upon the Cecil B. De Mille of snuff, a man who lures innocent travellers to his rooms, only to have them killed on camera. The quarrelling couple must plan their escape, but will they get out alive?
Vacancy is the latest in a series of hotel horror scenarios with titles like The Shining, Hotel Horror and Motel Hell, that should convince any right thinking person to just stay home, or perhaps, if they must hit the open road, to buy a Winnebago. The granddaddy of the all, Psycho, put people off showering; Vacancy should make people think twice about staying in run down, roach infested hotels that offer “killer” deals.
Vacancy is a fine, menacing thriller with a few jolts that should inspire a nightmare or two. Too bad the ominous atmosphere is shattered in the closing moments of the film when the director, newcomer Nimrod Antal, drops a Hiroshima sized cheese bomb just before the closing credits. Without giving away anything, I’ll say it’s a bad move that takes the audience out of the reality of the terrifying situation and brings an abrupt end to a movie that up until then had been a pretty good thrill ride.
