Movie Review - Devil's Knot

Devil's Knot (2014)

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Alessandro Nivola, James Hamrick, Seth Meriwether, Kris Higgins, Dane DeHaan, Mireille Enos, Bruce Greenwood, and Amy Ryan

Directed by Atom Egoyan

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

On May 5, 1993, three young boys went missing in West Memphis, Arkansas, after riding their bikes one evening.  A few days later, their bodies were found naked and bound in a small river.  Nearly a month later, three teens were arrested for the crime after the police force and the town in general found the youths' love for heavy metal and penchant for learning the Wiccan religion to be red flags.  This is the true story behind Devil's Knot, a flick by Atom Egoyan that I found engaging, though a bit too "surface" to really have much of an impact.

Reese Witherspoon as the mother of one of the murdered boys is solid, bringing the requisite amount of emotion to her character (and actually probably faring a little better than even her Oscar-nominated work in Wild which I felt was a tad overrated).  As the heart of the movie, she pulls the viewer in, although her character's constant doubts concerning the guilt of the three teens plays much too obvious.  There is reason for doubt which I won't delve into here, but because of the time constraints of the movie, once the film shifts to the trial of the three teens, things feel rushed and forced.

This whole true saga has apparently been played out in three well-regarded documentaries which I can only assume allow for a little more thoroughness.  That said, Devil's Knot is better than the disappointing reviews it received and it certainly piqued my interest in this case as a whole which definitely isn't a bad thing.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Sabotage

Sabotage (2014)

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway, Terrence Howard, Olivia Williams, and Mireille Enos

Directed by David Ayer

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

I don't know why Sabotage looked compelling when I saw the trailer over a year ago, but for some reason, I had in my mind that this was an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie that I wanted to see.  I'm shaking my head now because this was certainly a waste of time with The Governator playing a DEA agent who heads a team of stereotypical characters as they attempt to take down a Mexican drug lord only to have the DEA team being killed one by one in an act of revenge.

David Ayer who solidly directed End of Watch and Fury fails miserably here, but with Schwarzenegger's poor acting (and really the poor acting of everyone across the board) failing to garner any sympathy for his character who is seeking revenge for the deaths of his wife and son at the hands of drug dealers, Ayer's task was unenviable.  Then again, Ayer also co-wrote the piece and the flick certainly disappoints heavily in that department, too -- particularly the film's final twenty minutes which ends with two ludicrously shot set pieces that laughably bring things to a conclusion.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - The Captive

The Captive (2014)

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Rosario Dawson, Scott Speedman, Mireille Enos, Kevin Durand, Alexia Fast, and Bruce Greenwood

Directed by Atom Egoyan

***This film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime***

The Captive is an odd movie.  From the opening scene, we know who the bad guy is since we see him keeping a teenage girl locked away in a room.  So the suspense of that aspect of Atom Egoyan's film is moot right from the get-go.  The question we find ourselves asking then is "Why has he kept this girl alive for eight years since kidnapping her?"

As Egoyan's film jumps around through time (to presumably keep things [unsuccessfully] suspenseful), we drift back to the day when young Cass was kidnapped out of her father's truck while he went in to buy a pie at a local Canadian diner.  Upon his return, Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) finds his daughter missing and his life turned upside down as his wife Tina (Mireille Enos) blames him for their daughter's disappearance and two cops (Rosario Dawson and Scott Speedman) think Matthew is hiding something from them.

Of course, we know that Matthew isn't the culprit.  Instead it's Mika (Kevin Durand), a put-together soft-spoken weirdo of a guy who keeps the now teenage Cass (Alexia Fast) locked up in a room, providing for her whatever she needs in terms of food, clothing, and other leisure items.  As part of this weirdly sick game Mika is playing (which doesn't seem to involve any sexual favors with the teen), he places cameras at her mother's place of work so Cass can still connect with her and promises Cass that he will allow her to see her father again for a few brief minutes.  Even when Mika's motive for keeping Cass alive is revealed, it seems odd -- just as odd as the twisted and completely far-fetched and unbelievable game he's playing with Cass and her family.

I can't say I hated The Captive.  I did find that it kept my interest mostly throughout, but that was partly because it was so strange.  It helps that Egoyan's eye behind the camera keeps the drab Canadian landscape seem like an ominous character in and of itself.  Also, Ryan Reynolds is quite good here as the beleaguered dad, proving he really can stretch his dramatic muscles successfully if he so desires.  Rosario Dawson also gives one of her better performances, but her character is unfortunately drafted into one of the more ludicrous aspects of the plot -- and the one that the film tries to "hide" from us as long as possible thanks to the time twisting.  Atom Egoyan unfortunately makes films that I find myself always thinking have potential, but never deliver and The Captive really isn't an exception.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - If I Stay

If I Stay (2014)

Starring Chloë Grace Moritz, Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley, Joshua Leonard, Liana Liberato, Jakob Davies, and Stacy Keach

Directed by R.J. Cutler

It's such a shame that If I Stay wallows in the typical cinematic tropes of standard teenage romances because at the crux of the film is a rather lovely and somewhat emotionally resonant contemplation of the afterlife.  On a snowy day, Mia (Chloë Grace Mortiz), her mother (Mireille Enos), father (Joshua Leonard), and brother (Jakob Davies) are all involved in a horrific car accident.  Mia immediately finds herself having an out-of-body experience watching herself being whisked off to the hospital only to find upon her arrival that her parents and brother are in similarly dire straits as well.

Unfortunately, while the aforementioned aspect of the film works surprisingly well providing more than one touching moment, the bulk of If I Stay is told in flashback with Mia recalling her final year of high school when she, a talented cellist, falls for Adam (Jamie Blackley), the guitarist of a punk band.  Her parents -- former rock band performers and groupies themselves -- find the pairing ideal, but Mia questions whether her burgeoning love is harming her chances of getting into a great music college.  This relationship is nothing short of typical, filled with the corniest of dialog, and many scenes of the teenaged actors pining doe-eyed at one another only to get flustered when one or the other questions their commitment to the romantic affiliation.

Chloë Moretz confounds me a bit here as I found her unbearable to watch in those relationship moments, but moderately intriguing in some of the celestial out-of-body scenes.  Jamie Blackley fares a little better, but his character is so damn stereotypical that I found myself not caring for him in the slightest.  While Mireille Enos makes out the best as Mia's mom, she's not given a whole lot to do which is unfortunate as a movie about her character's relationship with her husband would've made a better film.

The potential was here for something positive and while I can't help but give If I Stay a little credit for its final act which stands out a bit from typical teenage fare (this was aiming for a "D" rating until the film's final twenty minutes), it ultimately sinks itself with a horribly disappointing been there-done that teen romance angle.

The RyMickey Rating: C-

Movie Review - World War Z

World War Z (2013)

***viewed in 3D***

Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Fana Mokoena, David Morse, Sterling Jerins, and Abigail Hargrove

Directed by Marc Foster

The great thing about World War Z is that it just jumps right into things without even attempting to provide any modicum of backstory as to why humans on Earth are turning into fast-running, crazed zombies.  Dad Gerry (Brad Pitt) is simply taking his kids (Sterling Jerins and Abigail Hargrove) to school and his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) to work when craziness hits Philadelphia and the family finds themselves desperate to find cover from the chaos taking over the east coast.  Fortunately, Gerry has recently retired from a job with the United Nations which gets him access to a "safe house" of sorts on a huge aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean.  While on the ship, Gerry agrees to travel around the world to try and find the source of the virus that is wreaking havoc on the human race.

While it's true that World War Z doesn't waste any time getting started, it's somewhat unfortunate that the film spends a huge portion of its second act slowing things down and explaining things way too much.  I mean, quite honestly, I could care less where this "zombie virus" started and following Gerry from country to country (in an episodic fashion) grows tiresome.  That isn't to say that these set pieces -- a journey to Jerusalem, a frenetic plane sequence -- don't create tension, it's just that they're linked so tenuously to one another that the story never feels entirely cohesive.  Admittedly, the final act (which apparently faced a huge rewrite months after the film finished shooting) is a success and had me intrigued.  Having read what the original ending was, things are certainly infinitely better in the updated version, but the finale doesn't quite make up for a surprisingly lackluster middle hour.

You could certainly fare worse with summer action fare than World War Z and most everything and everyone in front of and behind the camera is solid.  Unfortunately, the story just isn't quite strong enough.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Gangster Squad

Gangster Squad (2013)

Starring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, Mirielle Enos, and Sean Penn

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Los Angeles.  1949.  Gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) and his goons have taken control of everything and everyone.  The cops.  The politicians.  The drug dealers.  Even a good cop like Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is being told by his superiors to let Mickey be.  However, police chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) hasn't been bought by the mob and he commissions O'Mara to form a gangster squad of cops under the table to infiltrate all aspects of Cohen's shady dealings.

I must say that two-thirds of the way through the "based on a true story" Gangster Squad, I was digging the slight buddy comedy-retro action vibe that was going on amidst O'Mara and his cronies played by Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, and Michael Peña.  There were enough hints of humor, drama, and action that it made each scene leading up to the final act interesting enough to not feel so derivative of movies past.  However, when the final act kicks in and the Gangster Squad actually comes face to face with Cohen, the film falls apart for me.  The action scenes prove to be bland and the big showdown with Cohen himself is a bit of a letdown.  No one was ever going to say Gangster Squad was fantastic, but it had potential that it somewhat squanders in the end.

However, the film has a real solid cast going for it.  I wanted to dislike Sean Penn immensely because I can't really stand the pretentious guy in real life, but he makes a decent bad guy here, and Mirielle Enos brings just enough of a stock character to life in her role as O'Mara's wife, helping to humanize and give a more well-rounded portrayal of her husband.

The stars, really, are Josh Brolin and his gang.  Brolin's actually the lead here (despite the fact that I thought this was going to be Ryan Gosling's show all the way) and he steps up to the plate in a role that, in a better written film, may have had potential to be something really special.  Still, as it stands now, he's completely compelling and makes his quiet scenes with Enos have just as much meaning as the ones with his cop buddies.  And it's in those scenes with his cronies that the film really springs to life.  Brolin, Gosling, Ribisi, Patrick, Mackie, and Peña really make each other better and play off each other quite well.

Like I said, though, the film flounders in the final act.  Perhaps it's because the film's end was reshot after 2012's horrible Aurora, CO, movie theater shooting and the whole thing just didn't come together, or perhaps the screenwriter just didn't have a solid way to conclude the flick.  While the first two-thirds certainly aren't perfect (a love story between Gosling and Emma Stone should've really been left on the editing room floor), Gangster Squad is a fun ride for about seventy minutes and a bit of a letdown in its final thirty.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+