Criminal

For F*** Magazine

CRIMINAL 

Director : Ariel Vromen
Cast : Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Alice Eve, Jordi Mollà, Antje Traue, Michael Pitt
Genre : Action/Thriller
Run Time : 107 mins
Opens : 21 April 2016
Rating : NC16 (Violence and Coarse Language)

Like most moviegoers after the release of Deadpool, this action thriller finds Kevin Costner with Ryan Reynolds on the brain. Costner plays Jericho Stewart, a hardened criminal who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child, making him the ideal candidate for a top secret experimental procedure. When CIA agent Bill Pope (Reynolds) is incapacitated in London while tracking down hacker Jan Strook (Pitt), CIA station chief Quaker Wells (Oldman) enlists the help of neurosurgeon Dr. Franks (Jones). Dr. Franks has spent 18 years developing a way to implant the memories of a dead person into a living human being. Jericho is coerced into completing Bill’s mission, but things do not go according to plan. Jill (Gadot), Bill’s widow, has to come to terms with the fact that a complete stranger now possesses her husband’s memories. Even though he wants nothing to do with the mission, Jericho must prevent a flash drive that Strook has from falling into the hands of ambitious anarchist Xavier Heimdall (Mollà).

            Criminal plays a lot like a high-concept 90s action movie repackaged in a strait-laced, post-Bourne espionage thriller style. The sci-fi tinged concept of memory implants is akin to the face-swapping plot device in Face/Off, albeit slightly more plausible. There’s no eye-catching bombast, but the slightly overwrought names like “Jericho Stewart”, “Quaker Wells” and especially “Xavier Heimdall” seem like they belong in a Bond movie. Criminal boasts a cast that is more star-studded than one would expect for a thriller with a relatively low budget, estimated at a mere $31.5 million dollars. Even though there are many moments that reminded this reviewer of any number of direct-to-DVD action flicks, the production values are sufficiently high and there’s a visual effects sequence involving a submarine that looks surprisingly good. The shootouts and car chases are far from inventive, but the action keeps things chugging along.

            Even though it’s largely generic, Criminal does possess a unique trait: it’s protagonist is, well, a criminal, with completely disregard for human life. He’s not a charming rogue, he’s not a conflicted hero; he’s a heartless, emotionless brute. Naturally, some character development occurs as the personality of his “memory donor” intrudes into Jericho’s mind. Jericho is introduced chained up in a prison cell, sporting scraggly long hair and a beard, being recruited against his will for a clandestine mission – not unlike Sean Connery’s character in The Rock. Incidentally, the screenwriting team of David Weisberg and the late Douglas S. Cook also penned The Rock. Suffice it to say that Costner is no match for Connery in the charisma department, but the character’s resourcefulness and violent unpredictably help mitigate Costner’s blandness somewhat.

            The supporting players, Oldman and Jones in particular, definitely seem above this material and not very much is asked of them. Oldman’s Quaker Wells stands about the situation room fretting and gets to throw his signature yelling fits. Jones frowns and looks worried. Perhaps some viewers might find that their presence subconsciously lends this silly action movie some prestige. Reynolds is in this for a very brief amount of time since, well, his character’s death is the catalyst for the plot. It’s a little funny to see Reynolds in another mind swap flick so shortly after Self/Less. Gadot is called upon to emote and she does sell that sense of loss, anger and confusion with the little screen time she’s given. Mollà is basically being discount Javier Bardem here, with his character’s motivation outlined via an interview with Piers Morgan. Actor/stunt performer Scott Adkins shows up as the right hand man to Quaker, but alas, he doesn’t get to bust any of his famous martial arts moves.

            This reviewer derived an extra level of enjoyment because a large portion of the cast has been a part of movies based on DC Comics. Just imagine: Jonathan Kent is implanted with Hal Jordan’s memories thanks to a procedure invented by Dr. Two-Face, Hal Jordan’s widow is Wonder Woman, his boss is Commissioner Gordon and the henchwoman on Jonathan Kent’s tail is Faora. It’s evident that the plot, even with its sci-fi elements and ticking clock, wasn’t compelling enough to hold our full attention. There are attempts at being topical - Edward Snowden is name-dropped – but these are ham-fisted rather than helping make the movie seem relevant. It’s somewhat ironic that a film with the plot device of memory implants will not remain in anyone’s mind for long, but its competently directed by Ariel Vromen, it doesn’t look cheap or messy and the central character is (or at least starts out) fairly different from run-of-the-mill action heroes.

Summary: Criminal is about as generic as its title suggests, but the action is decent if unremarkable and the A-listers in the supporting cast help to prop it up. 

RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

For F*** Magazine

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Director : Matt Reeves

Cast : Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Judy Greer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirk Acevedo, Nick Thurston, Terry Notary

Genre : Sci-Fi, Action

Opens : 10 July 2014

Rating : TBA 

Running time: 132 mins

Three years on from the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, this reviewer is still impressed with how effective, intelligent, innovative and just plain good that reboot was. In this sequel, set ten years after the events of Rise, earth’s human population has dwindled at an alarming rate in the wake of a devastating “Simian flu” pandemic. Caesar the chimpanzee (Serkis) leads a flourishing shrewdness of apes, including his son Blue Eyes (Thurston) and his aggressive advisor Koba (Kebbell). The human remnant sequestered in what remains of San Francisco is headed by military man Dreyfus (Oldman). Malcolm (Clarke), one of the survivors in Dreyfus’ camp, forges a fragile alliance with Caesar in order to gain access to a hydroelectric dam to generate power for the human settlement. Caesar grows to accept Malcolm, his wife Ellie (Russell) and their son Alexander (Smit-McPhee). However, having been severely mistreated by humans while in captivity, Koba strongly disapproves of this arrangement and incites an explosive conflict between the apes and the humans.

            Dawn of the Planet of the Apes sees Matt Reeves of Cloverfield fame taking over the director’s chair from Rupert Wyatt, working from a screenplay by Rise scribes Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, with Mark Bomback. This is everything a good sequel should be, furthering the plot in a logical and intriguing direction without slavishly re-treading the story beats of its predecessor and without trying to be superficially “bigger and better” in terms of bombastic spectacle. Equal storytelling attention is given to the apes and the humans and the audience is fully able to buy into this world and accept each player in this story, be they human or computer-generated ape, as legitimate, well-formed characters. There’s a whole lot of meaningful character development going on and admirably enough, much of the conflict is derived from the characters’ individual nature instead of contrived circumstances. Despite the ten year time skip, there is still very strong connective tissue linking Dawn to Rise, building on the emotions generated from Caesar’s early years as depicted in the previous film.  

            Of course, credit has to be given to visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri of Weta Digital. The many artists and technicians involved give vivid life to the performance capture work of actors like Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell, applying their expressions and physicality to intricately-crafted CGI apes. The interaction between the apes amongst themselves, the apes and the environment and the apes and the live-action human actors is seamless. As impressive as the animation in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was, it is stepped up here, to the point that the film’s opening shot is a tight close-up of Caesar’s eyes – those eyes lifelike and actually acting. Serkis, Kebbell, Thurston and the other actors portraying the key apes all deserve praise for essaying these figures with such nuanced physicality, but the visual effects wizards carrying that baton to the finish line should be duly recognised as well. In Dawn, great acting and great effects go hand-in-paw to create not just creatures, but honest-to-goodness characters.

            The human cast is our way in, and Jason Clarke, Keri Russell and Kodi Smit-McPhee are all convincing as the members of the family central to the story. The terseness between Malcolm and Caesar that eventually gives way to mutual respect and understanding but is always threatened by both apes and humans is played exceedingly well by both Clarke and Serkis. Gary Oldman’s role is not as big as the promotional material would have you believe, but he brings a heart-wrenching humanity to Dreyfus in addition to his signature explosive scenery-chewing (delivered in just the right amounts).

            1968’s Planet of the Apes was a landmark achievement for being an entertaining film that also pushed the boundaries of filmmaking technique (particularly in terms of special effects makeup) and was very thought-provoking. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is commendably similar in all those regards. There’s always been a silliness inherent in the premise, but following Rise, Dawn continues to effectively mitigate that. The film is unflinchingly brutal, even disturbing when it has to be but also articulates genuine emotion. It can be construed as anti-gun, interesting considering that the star of the original Planet of the Apes, the late Charlton Heston, was the president of the National Rifle Association. However, that is not where the focus lies – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, like Rise before it, is a true character piece. Many summer blockbusters are touted as “character pieces” and that fools no one, but here is a film that intelligently and compellingly comments on prejudice and war while delivering the action flick goods and visual effects spectacle. A fine antidote to Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Summary: A new day is dawning, as the revitalised Planet of the Apes franchise marches onwards in just the right direction.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong 

RoboCop (2014)

For F*** Magazine

ROBOCOP

Director: José Padilha
Cast:         Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Run Time: 121 mins
Opens: 30 January 2014
Rating: PG13 (Violence & Brief Coarse Language)

It’s been 27 years since Peter Weller stepped out of a police cruiser and into pop culture iconography in Paul Verhoeven’s now-classic RoboCop. A violent, biting and darkly comic piece of sci-fi action satire, the film had a lot to say about the state of late-80s America and cleverly hid all that beneath its franchise-ready action hero. The 1987 film spawned two sequels, various incarnations on TV both live-action and animated, comic book crossovers (Robocop vs. The Terminator!), video games, toys and the like, and after years in development hell, Alex Murphy returns to the big screen in this reboot from director José Padilha.


It is the near future and robots manufactured by conglomerate OmniCorp are helping to keep the peace abroad, but are still banned from enforcing the law on domestic streets by a bill passed by the U.S. senate. OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Keaton) enlists the help of his chief scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Oldman) to create a robot-human hybrid to convince Americans of the viability of a robotic police force. Dr. Norton’s guinea pig arrives in the form of Detroit cop Alex Murphy (Kinnaman), near-death after being caught in a car bombing. Murphy’s wife Clara (Cornish) and son David (John Paul Ruttan) are uneasy about his new form, while fiery political commentator and TV host Pat Novak (Jackson) champions the arrival of Robocop onto the scene. Murphy is now a souped-up crime-fighter, a shiny commercial product, a poster boy – but is he still a human being under all of that?



Change is painful. We at F*** are geeks and fans and we totally acknowledge that and this review is going to be filled with comparisons to the original RoboCop. The RoboCop reboot has been met with outright hostility from the moment of its announcement, many holding Verhoeven’s film sacrosanct. The internet erupted with cries of “I won’t buy that for a dollar”. Robocop’s matte-black suit was revealed, and what followed was possibly the largest backlash against a cosmetic change to a character since Michael Bay put flames on Optimus Prime. And what’s up with that ungloved hand? Suffice it to say that we definitely had our doubts going into this but the end result was surprisingly decent.

Yes, we’ve all heard that remakes and sequels are the only things that get made these days, but a remake/sequel doesn’t have to be bad and first of all needs to make a good case for its existence. RoboCop 2014 does that to a degree. There’s still satire, the targets are different and it’s heavy-handed, but it’s still there. Most of it is provided in the form of Samuel L. Jackson’s future-Glenn Beck who proclaims America as “robophobic” and whose show The Novak Element helps establish and frame the world of the film. An opening scene is set in “sunny Tehran” where suicide bombers protest the presence of American OmniCorp robo-troops – uncomfortable, questionable in terms of taste, but more daring than we expected from this movie. Greedy mega-corporations take the most hits – which is more than a little ironic seeing as this comes from Columbia Pictures, a Sony entertainment company.

Joshua Zetumer’s screenplay is well-written, there’s forward momentum to the story and it doesn’t drag its feet, though some references to the original movie are somewhat awkwardly shoehorned in. The story differs in quite a number of ways from the 1987 film. The PG-13 rating does mean that the brutality is less in-your-face, but this does not cripple the film and there are several very impactful scenes of body horror. However, it is disappointing that the character of Anne Lewis, the tough cop who was also the primary refuge for Murphy’s humanity after his reconstruction, has been dropped. Robocop is built in a lab in China and his new, sleek Iron-Bat-Dredd look can’t compare with the charm of the shiny, bulky Detroit steel designed and built by Rob Bottin for the 1987 picture. The camera also has a rather annoying tendency to swoop 360 degrees around characters whenever they’re having a conversation, in addition to going all shaky-cam during action sequences.

This is Joel Kinnaman’s first major lead role, and he’s not bad, but this reviewer did miss the distinct physicality and vocal performance Peter Weller brought so memorably to the part of Alex Murphy. The weakest part of the film is probably the relationship between Murphy and his wife, seeing as how Kinnaman and Abbie Cornish have next to no chemistry so the audience can’t feel the loss and hurt of separation and of Murphy possibly losing his humanity as deeply as would have been possible. A scene early in the film where they’re about to make love but stop short because, well, PG-13 is markedly rote and passionless. This take goes into the impact that Murphy’s transformation has on his family in greater detail and a good chunk of the movie is spent contemplating philosophical issues far deeper than the title RoboCop would suggest, but to mixed results, seeing as Murphy’s lack of closure in the 1987 film was a heart breaking driving force of the narrative and he actually gets to see Clara and David again here.

In the midst of the jeremiad of gripes stalwart RoboCop fans had about this reboot, one would occasionally hear “well, that supporting cast sounds awesome” – and that is wholly accurate. Gary Oldman lends the film heart and credibility, completely believable as a well-meaning but ultimately flawed scientist and in some ways he’s even more of a “wife” to Murphy than Clara is. Michael Keaton, replacing the initially-cast Hugh Laurie, is oh so deliciously slimy as corporate creep Raymond Sellars. Samuel L. Jackson brings the bluster and the posturing, perfectly cast as a larger-than-life, hyperbole-prone TV personality. Jackie Earle Haley entertains as well as the mercenary who’s put in charge of training Robocop and is none too fond of Murphy, dubbing him “tin man”. Haley has the remarkable ability to raise one eyebrow and form wrinkles on only one side of his forehead; he makes this face a lot.



Nothing’s going to replace one of the best films of 1987 but let’s face it, a carefully-handled update might win the original a new generation of fans and it’s not like it’s going to wipe Verhoeven’s movie from existence. Director José Padilha has put together a remake that’s slick, sharp and yes, a little sanitized, but not completely de-fanged nor pointless and soulless. This ends up trumping 2012’s Total Recall, also a remake of a Verhoeven sci-fi action flick. The prime directive here is to entertain, and that, RebootCop does. And hearing Basil Poledouris' original theme tune over the opening titles will probably put a smile on your face even if you were dead-set against this remake.

Summary: It won’t be easy for die-hard fans of the original to warm up to this remake, but Padilha’s RoboCop is a surprisingly solid outing, benefitting from several clever story changes and a killer supporting cast.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong

The Dark Knight Rises

For F*** Magazine, Singapore

(The following review is spoiler-free)

Movie Review                                                                                                             18/7/12

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

2012

Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange
And in your darkest hour, I hold secret’s flame
You can watch the world devoured in its pain

            So go the lyrics to Smashing Pumpkins’ The End is the Beginning Is the End, from 1997’s Batman and Robin. It seems at least a little ironic that a song from the worst Batman film ever made seems to sum up the plot of what is possibly the best Batman film ever made. Christopher Nolan, his brother Jonathan, wife and producer Emma Thomas, co-plotter David S Goyer and their whole production posse seem to have had a Sisyphean task thrust upon them in topping 2008’s The Dark Knight, widely hailed as the best comic book-based film ever made and having bragging rights as the only Batman film that won an Academy Award in an acting category. Laconically put, they have. They have made a Batman film better than The Dark Knight.

            Eight years have transpired since the events of the last film, and a frail and battered Bruce Wayne (Bale) has gone into self-imposed exile within the walls of the rebuilt Wayne Manor, haunted by his perceived failure as the Dark Knight. Gotham City has settled into a comfortable position as a hellhole reformed, and there seems to be no further need for Batman or his ally Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), himself tormented by the fateful death of Harvey Dent all those years ago. The new CEO of Wayne Enterprises Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) is facing the absorption of the company by the amoral John Daggett (Ben Mendelssohn)  and appeals to Bruce Wayne to put the fusion energy machine developed by Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) into action.

            However, the sinister, brutish yet ruthlessly cunning masked criminal Bane (Hardy) has revolution on the brain. He puts into motion a devastating and far-reaching master plan that will lead to Gotham’s downfall, giving the greedy and corrupt elite the retribution they deserve. Meanwhile, Bruce catches the thief Selina Kyle (Hathaway) stealing a precious memento from him, and they play their requisite game of cat-and-bat. The rookie cop John Blake (Gordon-Levitt) sees that there is hope yet for his broken city, as deputy commissioner Foley (Matthew Modine) dismisses the efforts of Blake and Gordon. Now more than ever, Wayne feels the weight on his weary shoulders and must pull himself together to save and liberate the city that turned on him.

            It’s quite safe to say that there has very rarely been a film with such hype and anticipation heaped onto it, a film so widely viewed as an event rather than a mere movie. There has also very rarely been a tougher act to follow than The Dark Knight. However, those involved seem to have taken this immense challenge head on and spectacularly shattered the brick wall of lofty expectations with a motion picture that delivers on such a grandiose scale Cecil B DeMille would be jealous. It’s not so much the filmmaking tools that were available to Nolan, as there are many movies with high production values that fall flat story or character wise. It’s the sheer craft and dedication plain to see which make it all the more satisfying to soak in.

            Nolan has said that he and his brother were inspired by Dickens’ classic story A Tale of Two Cities, and that it just so happened that the recession and the “Occupy Wall Street” movement occurred, so if he is to be believed, it is partial coincidence that this is a very, very timely story. Bane’s role in the story is that of zealous liberator who sees himself as a saviour who “frees” Gotham from the clutches of the 1% by ambushing the stock exchange, isolating Gotham City from the country at large and seizing control through intimidation and bravado. There are many parallels to be drawn to such events as the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, the 9/11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing. This is also echoed by the characterisation of Catwoman, who steals from the rich not to give to the poor, but rather to spite the rich. Bane launches an attack on a sports stadium right after “The Star-Spangled Banner” is sung, and there is a shot of a tattered American flag. A city’s resolve broken, with Batman and his allies stepping in to patch it up in the face of insurmountable odds.

            While no one actor in the film matches the tour de force of the late Heath Ledger’s turn as the Joker in the previous instalment, the overall effect of this film certainly carries more impact. For one, it follows a solid plot line and doesn’t lapse into false endings the way The Dark Knight sometimes did. Some felt that Nolan might fall into the trap of a tangled web of subplots and extraneous villains along the lines of Spider-Man 3, but it is safe to say he didn’t.

The big thing this one does that Part 2 didn’t was it ties back to the previous instalments, making character arcs come full circle in a deeply satisfying manner. Also, it is more faithful to the source material than one might think; this isn’t merely a war movie with Batman characters tacked onto it. There are some explosive plot twists and revelations – comic book devotees may see these coming a mile away, but Nolan plays a game of “maybe I will, maybe I won’t”, so that when such turning points occur they are truly sensational.

            Bale has made it clear that this will almost certainly be his last outing in the cape and cowl, and as the backbone of the trilogy, he has done an outstanding job. His portrayal gives Batman the combination of a tortured psyche, an iron resolve and a remarkable physicality, and it is great to see him rise again. Michael Caine’s Alfred has a slightly reduced role in the story, although he is given a rift with Bruce Wayne and it is intriguing to see the strongest relationship in Bruce’s life undergo quite the testing. Newcomer Joseph Gordon-Levitt could have felt out of place in Nolan’s grim Gotham, but as John Blake, his fresh-faced, idealistic optimism may actually be his greatest asset.

            Compared to other villains who have appeared in Batman films, Bane is a relatively recent introduction in the comics, having made his debut in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 in 1993. Tom Hardy does quite the job of making Bane more than Batman’s mental and physical match. Half his face obscured by a mask that is a cross between an attack dog’s muzzle and venomous spider, the actor still manages to be charismatic and larger-than-life while displaying commendable restraint. This certainly is very many notches up Robert Swenson’s portrayal of Bane in Batman and Robin, in that film reduced to a barely-articulate, brutish errand boy. Throughout the whole film, Hardy talks with a Sean Connery-esque lilt that makes him sound amused by all the suffering he has caused – but he briefly switches to a more sinister tone during his brutal one-on-one encounter with Batman in the middle of the film.

Despite being widely lauded for his strengths as a writer-director, Christopher Nolan’s Achilles heel is widely regarded to be writing women. He breaks that spell with Catwoman, her characterisation damn near perfect and portrayed with very surprising skill by Anne Hathaway. This reviewer was amongst the scores who doubted the decision to cast the actress best known for playing kooky sweethearts as a dangerous femme fatale, but Hathaway sure did pull this one off. Her Selina Kyle is confident, self-assured, oh-so-seductive and quick with a scathing remark, but Hathaway also conveys the well-hidden torment within her. And she also performs one of the best exasperated eye-rolls in cinematic history! Marion Cotillard fulfils the more traditional damsel-in-a-degree-of-distress role, her Miranda Tate kind and disarming, and it is easy to see why Bruce Wayne would fall headlong for her. Of course her character has her own tragic past, and Cotillard can be counted upon to deliver that aspect of Tate too.

            Beyond the story and performances, The Dark Knight Rises looks, sounds and feels like the event it is touted to be. Cinematographer Wally Pfister throws in some very inventive shots, including a brief moment where a charging Batman is lit by muzzle flashes, and delivers dizzyingly gorgeous panoramas as well. Chris Corbould and his practical effects crew help stage several awe-inspiring action set-pieces, and the tone is set well with an opening scene involving a staged plane crash orchestrated by Bane. There is a level of admiration to be had when a film fits a massive brawl shot on Wall Street, the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, India and a terrorist attack on a football stadium (Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field) into one movie. It’s also of note that most films of this kind try to cram in shiny gadgets to sell more toys, but apart from “The Bat" most of Batman's gadgets are recycled from the second movie in the name of practicality.

            Christopher Nolan and co. have brought the curtain down on their trilogy in truly bittersweet fashion. These three films were emblematic of The Dark Knight rising, rising from an outrageously campy, seemingly franchise-killing film. This is the final cape flourish, the big send-off, the tearful goodbye. As Dickens wrote in the book that partially inspired this movie, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” – this is the Caped Crusader’s finest hour, and seeing this incarnation hang up the cape and cowl is quite saddening indeed.

SUMMARY: The Dark Knight Rises takes Nolan’s trademark blend of spectacle and thought-provoking substance up to eleven, delivering a meaty, satisfying last course of the Batman set meal – and you’ll want another taste as soon as you’re done.

RATING: 5/5 STARS

Jedd Jong Yue