Movie Review - Criminal

Criminal (2016)

Starring Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Alice Eve, Gal Gadot, Michael Pitt, Jordi Mollà, and Ryan Reynolds

Directed by Ariel Vromen

***This film is currently streaming via HBO Now/GO***

Not that it matters to this reviewer at all, but for some reason I thought Criminal was a Ryan Reynolds-starring film.  Considering this was released shortly after the huge (unwarranted) success of Deadpool, perhaps the marketing did genuinely play up Reynolds' involvement, but let it be known that the actor is barely in this piece.  Reynolds is Bill Pope, an American CIA agent working in London who has recently been in contact with a hacker known as The Dutchman (Michael Pitt) who broke into a variety of computer programs and gained access to a slew of worldwide nuclear codes.  The Dutchman was working for Xavier Heimdahl (Jordi Mollà), an anarchist who, upon discovering the Dutchman's betrayal, sets out to find Pope and find out where the CIA agent is hiding the hacker.  Pope refuses to talk and Heimdahl has him killed.  (I promise, that's not really a spoiler as it happens within the first fifteen minutes of the film.)  London CIA head Quaker Wells (Gary Oldman), who is also unsure of the Dutchman's location, contacts Dr. Micah Franks (Tommy Lee Jones) who has been working on an experimental treatment for the government where he implants the memories of one individual into another.  Considering the risky operation, the CIA chooses a nasty convict, murderer Jericho Stewart (Kevin Costner), to test the treatment and, needless to say, Jericho doesn't necessarily follow orders when he's finally released from his isolated prison cell leading Agent Wells and his team to not only have to save the world from the Dutchman's boss, but also try and round up a criminal whom they've set loose in the city of London.

A long summary, yes, but the details at the start of Criminal are the most important...and frankly, the beginning is the only time this movie really works.  Sure, there's an obvious ludicrousness to the medical notions discussed, but it was at least moderately intriguing and slightly different which is more than can be said about the film's second two-thirds which devolve into a rote action chase film.  It's fun to see Kevin Costner as a bad guy -- albeit a bad guy with the memories of a good guy which sets up a slightly complicated character for Costner to sink his teeth into -- but the film Costner's Jericho Stewart is inhabiting is just too typical and ho hum to really become invested.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Decoding Annie Parker

Decoding Annie Parker (2014)

Starring Samantha Morton, Helen Hunt, Aaron Paul, Alice Eve, Marley Shelton, Rashida Jones, Corey Stoll, Bradley Whitford, and Richard Schiff

Directed by Steven Bernstein

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

Anyone who knows me knows my teenage infatuation with Helen Hunt.  Quite possibly the only teenager to fall for the Mad About You actress, Ms. Hunt still holds a special place in my heart.  And she's probably the only reason I even thought about watching Decoding Annie Parker.  Debut screenwriter-director Steven Bernstein's first feature film details the true story of Annie Parker (played by Samantha Morton), a Canadian wife and mother who has had her share of tragedy in life with multiple members of her family succumbing to breast cancer.  When she is told that she also has breast cancer, Annie sets off on a mission to learn all she can about the disease, trying to fight the then-popular opinion in the 1970s that there was no genetic familial connection.  In her research, Annie uncovers works by researcher Mary-Claire King (the aforementioned Hunt), one of the few scientists attempting to link breast cancer to genetics.

Bernstein's film bounces back and forth between Annie and Mary-Claire's stories and also meanders to and fro in the realms of comedy and drama.  The opening line of the film is a quote from Annie -- "My life was a comedy.  I just had to learn how to laugh." -- and despite the subject matter, Bernstein attempts to lighten things up.  Unfortunately, he doesn't quite succeed in creating an adequate balance and his script never quite elevates to anything more than a tv movie.

That being said, however, thanks to a nice performance by Hunt and an even better performance by Morton, Decoding Annie Parker manages to be a little better than the sum of its parts.  Helping as well is the true story of Dr. Mary-Claire King, an undersung hero in the field of genetic research whose contributions to the medical profession are nicely documented here.  It's still nice to know that movies have the ability to open our eyes to certain aspects of our history that we know nothing about.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Alice Eve, and Benedict Cumberbatch

Directd by J.J. Abrams

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

With the origin story of 2009's Star Trek reboot behind us, I was looking forward to seeing what J.J. Abrams was going to bring to the table in Star Trek Into Darkness.  I should preface things by saying that while I like Star Trek, I'm no über-fan.  I haven't really seen any of the original movies and essentially was a ST:Next Generation guy and that was it.  So, if this movie resembles another (which I heard it did upon its release last year), it's news to me.  So, with that caveat out of the way, I'll say that I found Into Darkness to be a truly fun ride that nicely paces its action sequences and never once feels like the typical non-stop in-your-face special effects spectacle that most summer action movies are -- and I mean that in a good way.

Into Darkness places an emphasis on story and that's a welcome treat.  As far as the story goes, however, I'm not going to delve greatly into it as there are a few surprises in terms of Star Trek lore that are best to be left unsaid.  Needless to say that the way director Abrams and his long-time collaborator screenwriter Damon Lindelof (along with writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman) are able to weave the old Star Trek with this new reboot are inventive and enjoyable.  I'll also add that even if you've never seen another Star Trek film, you can start with Star Trek Into Darkness and not be lost.  Although it's a continuation of the 2009 film in terms of character development, there's nothing presented here that will make you feel lost if you start your Star Trek journey here.

As I mentioned, I appreciated that those involved creatively didn't feel the need to place action scenes directly after one another in a whiz-bang fashion.  However -- and this is the film's one true detriment -- because of the lack of action sequences, much of the cast wasn't showcased to its fullest potential. Whereas in the first film, I felt that actors like John Cho, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, and Anton Yelchin all got their moments in the sun that doesn't necessarily happen here.  In some ways, that's better -- the film's focus on Kirk, Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the villainous renegade Star Fleet member John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) streamlines things a bit more and eschews the need for "action moments" simply to place characters in scenes.  However, with a cast this good, I missed seeing them at times.  That said, Chris Pine has taken the character of Captain Kirk and imbued him with just the right amount of the suavely chauvinistic vibe William Shatner brought to the character without taking things overboard that he's quite enjoyable to watch.  Actors in movies like this don't get a lot of credit, but I think what Pine is doing with Kirk -- making him a cocky guy with a lot of heart -- is great stuff.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Men in Black 3

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alice Eve, and Emma Thompson

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

It's been years since I've seen either of the first two Men in Black movies, but I remember finding them a bit better than typical action comedies.  They weren't anything fantastic, but I at least recall there being a slight enjoyment stemming from them (and if that isn't the case, at least they're remembered that way for their sake).  None of that sense of joie de vivre is present in Men in Black 3, a surprisingly joyless affair without any laughs and lacking either big or small action sequences to provide a sense of excitement.  This third movie just slogs along going nowhere in particular.

Men in Black 3 begins in the present day with alien outlaw Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escaping from his lunar prison and traveling back down to Earth to enact revenge on the man who put him away and blew off his arm in the process -- Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones).  Boris finds a time machine and goes back to the 1969 day before he lost his arm and was captured in order to kill Agent K.  Somehow or another, K "rids" the world of everything that K himself caused since that fateful day so when K's partner Agent J (Will Smith) wakes up in the modern world, he is told that K died back in 1969.  [Why this has to happen, I'm not sure..]  J then goes back in time to try and help K kill Boris (and help past K not be killed by the modern-day Boris) rather than simply capture him in order to save the planet from Boris's modern day nastiness.

Confused?  Yeah, I was, too.  There's no easy way to write the summary in a way that makes sense because the film doesn't really attempt to make a whole lot of sense itself.  Will Smith attempts to try and work his smooth-talking charisma, but his charming persona as J can't win over the audience here because the audience is left flabbergasted at the foolishness of the plot.  With the film taking place mostly in the past, Tommy Lee Jones sits on the wayside for nearly all of the film with Josh Brolin doing an impressive impersonation of a young 1969 version of Agent K, and although Brolin is a bright spot, the allure of the impression wears off after a few minutes.

With that, I'm going to draw this shoddily written review to a close.  When I can't find a way to explain a summary of a movie, I'm turned off from writing my opinion about it.  Just know that Men in Black 3 is the worst of the bunch in this series.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - The Raven

The Raven (2012)

Starring John Cusack, Alice Eve, Luke Evans, and Brendan Gleeson

Directed by James McTeigue

I have to be perfectly blunt -- The Raven never once captured my attention, so as I watched this thing, I found myself fading in and out of cognizance.  Oddly enough, I didn't even have my computer to detract my attention.  No, instead, I'd find my eyes wandering over to the ornaments on the Christmas tree or to figuring out why the Playstation controller wouldn't charge when plugged in to the system.  I don't think it's that The Raven is horrendously awful or poorly directed or horribly acted, but something just didn't click for me with this period piece that creates a murder mystery in the days immediately prior to writer Edgar Allen Poe's death.  

Admittedly, I think part of the problem is that I'm not exactly the biggest John Cusack fan and placing him in a period piece as the famous horror author didn't sit well with me from the get-go.  He doesn't exude 19th century anything, so I couldn't really buy him as the gothic writer.  It doesn't help that Poe is being set up in an off-putting modern-in-tone way by some madman who is using Poe's writings as a means of creating "copycat" murders throughout the town of Baltimore.  Maybe something like this would've been possible in 1849, but I found the whole thing incredibly unbelievable.  There was never any sense of tension derived at all.  [So maybe it was poorly directed and horribly acted after all.]

Once again, the grade below is possibly unfair and unjust, but the plain fact is that I tried to give this one a shot and since I made it all the way through, I feel that the thing's gotta be graded.  Maybe you'll love it (and it wasn't the worst thing I've seen this year), but this one didn't work for me.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - ATM

ATM (2012)

Starring Brian Geraghty, Josh Peck, and Alice Eve

Directed by David Brooks

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

In the same vein as 2010's Buried, ATM conjures up a claustrophobic feel by taking three folks and trapping them in an ATM vestibule with an insane killer watching them on the outside.  The three co-workers on their way home from an office Christmas party go through the expected emotional and plot-driven rigmarole -- fear, escape attempts, blame, anger, defeat, renewed fervor to break out -- only to conclude with an ending that can only be deemed a bit of a let-down.

Surprisingly, considering the limited nature of the film, director David Brooks does a pretty solid job of keeping the florescent lighting and boxy nature of the ATM booth visually appealing and he manages to conjure up some decent performances from his trio of three young actors.  Brian Geraghty is certainly best known for his work in The Hurt Locker (he landed on my Top Five Best Supporting Actor list that year) and I'm surprised he hasn't gained a little more traction from his role in that Academy Award-winning film.  Granted, he's not reinventing the wheel with his performance here, but he's definitely able to hold your attention throughout the film.  Josh Peck (a former Nickelodeon child star) is fine as a smarmy, egotistical, yet lovable SOB who has the misfortune of getting his friends into the predicament they're in.  Alice Eve rounds out the trio, but her role is too bland and one-note to allow for anything beyond acting jittery and nervous.  Still, the trio does a decent job running the gamut of emotions needed in a scenario like this.

Looking beyond the ludicrous premise, ATM is better than it probably deserves to be.  However, the silly concept coupled with an ending that feels incomplete can't help but knock this down a couple notches.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-