Jane Got a Gun

For F*** Magazine

JANE GOT A GUN

Director : Gavin O'Connor
Cast : Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Ewan McGregor, Rodrigo Santoro, Noah Emmerich, Boyd Holbrook, Alex Manette, Todd Stashwick, James Burnett, Sam Quinn
Genre : Action/Drama/Western
Run Time : 98 mins
Opens : 18 February 2016
Rating : NC-16 (Violence and Some Coarse Language)

In Marvel’s ongoing Thor comics series, Jane Foster is the current wielder of Mjolnir. In this western, Jane Hammond (Portman) wields more conventional weapons. It is 1871 in New Mexico territory and Jane lives with her husband Bill “Ham” Hammond (Emmerich) and their daughter Kate. When Ham rides home seriously wounded after a gun battle with the Bishop Boys gang, Jane has no choice but to turn to her ex-fiancée Dan Frost (Edgerton) for protection. John Bishop (McGregor), a notorious outlaw from Jane’s past, has returned to torment her. Dan is still broken after losing Jane to another man, but he resolves to help Jane protect her family and her home as the Bishop Boys come a-knocking.

            Jane Got a Gun was plagued by numerous production problems, and it will be remembered more for its behind-the-scenes tumult than on its own merit as a film. The original screenplay by Brian Duffield was a hot property, landing on the Black List of best-liked screenplays in Hollywood back in 2011. Natalie Portman was attached to star and produce, with Lynne Ramsay of We Need to Talk About Kevin fame directing. Severe disagreements led to Ramsay dropping out on the first day of principal photography, with a bitter legal battle ensuing. Warrior director Gavin O’Connor was roped in to replace her, but the film’s troubles were just beginning. Michael Fassbender, Jude Law and Bradley Cooper were all attached at different points and Edgerton ended up switching roles from the villain John Bishop to the ex-fiancée Dan Frost. The release date was shifted back multiple times, with distributor Relativity Media dropping the film and The Weinstein Company later acquiring it.

            For all the drama involved in getting the film made, one would expect it to, at the very least, be bad in an interesting way. No such luck. Jane Got a Gun is soporific and dreary, sorely lacking in a key element of any revenge story: passion. It looks, feels and sounds like a western, but there’s so little energy and momentum behind it. The title suggests a fun genre piece with a feminist twist, perhaps something akin to Kill Bill in the American frontier. Some of the expected ingredients are there, including a tragic back-story and a score to settle with an old enemy, but it’s so plodding and self-serious that getting invested in Jane’s tale is quite the task. It’s sometimes a pretty movie to look at, but most of the time it’s visually dull: the picture is sepia-tinted, then the flashbacks appear to have another layer of sepia tinting on top of that and this stylistic touch ends up creating even more distance between the audience and the story.

            Portman may be playing the titular protagonist and has championed the film through the myriad obstacles it faced in getting made, but Jane Hammond will not go down as one of the great ass-kicking female characters in cinema history. There’s some emotional impact to Jane’s tortured past, but her supposed transformation into a gun-toting damsel no longer in distress is underwhelming. The love triangle between Jane, Ham and Dan bogs the movie down in melodramatics instead of creating any fireworks and nothing unconventional comes of the dynamics between the three characters. The villain in a revenge western should get to chew a good deal of scenery, but McGregor has too little screen time and too little material to work with, unable to create a particularly intimidating or striking villain. With Padmé, Obi-Wan and Owen Lars in the same movie, it’s a mini Attack of the Clones reunion.

            Jane Got a Gun has a round or two in the chamber: the climactic standoff brims with tension and the sombre atmosphere is sometimes effective. It is morbidly fascinating to read about how a straight-forward western got mired in so many production troubles and it is admirable that last-minute replacement director O’Connor was able to salvage it all. However, in the aftermath of this hullabaloo, all Jane Got a Gun has to show for it is mediocrity.

Summary: Dour and slow, Jane Got a Gun fails to make good on its promise of a fun genre piece starring a dynamic female lead.

RATING: 2 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong 

The 33

For F*** Magazine

THE 33

Director : Patricia Riggen

Cast : Antonio Banderas, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jacob Vargas, Juan Pablo Raba, Coté de Pablo, Juliette Binoche, Rodrigo Santoro, Gabriel Byrne, Bob Gunton

Genre : Drama

Run Time : 120 mins

Opens : 19 November 2015

Rating : PG (Some Violence)

From the Atacama Desert in Chile comes the true story of courage and perseverance under pressure and underground. On Thursday, 5 August 2010, a major cave-in at the San José copper–gold mine traps a group of 33 miners 23 000 feet under the surface. The group is led by Mario “Super Mario” Sepúlveda (Banderas) and shift leader Luis "Don Lucho" Urzúa (Phillips). Among the 33 is Álex Vega (Casas), whose wife Jessica (de Pablo) is pregnant with their first child, and the troubled Darío Segovia (Raba), who is on poor terms with his empanada vendor sister María (Binoche). As the loved ones of the stranded miners grow restless with no news on the well-being of the 33, Minster of Mining Laurence Golborne (Santoro) coordinates the rescue efforts, collaborating with chief engineer André Sougarret (Byrne). As the nation of Chile and the world at large rallies around “Los 33”, rescuing the miners becomes a priority for the Chilean government, headed by President Sebastián Piñera (Gunton). In the face of insurmountable odds, faith and blue collar spirit must win the day.

            The 33 is based on the book Deep Down Dark, journalist Héctor Tobar’s account of the 2010 Copiapó mining accident. The film is in the English language and is clearly gunning for mass appeal, couched as an inspirational tearjerker that is a celebration of the “triumph of the human spirit” and all that good stuff. It may seem cold of us to be this cynical, but nearly every move The 33 makes seems right in line with established disaster/survival story formulas. Also, the ordeal was so well-documented that practically everyone who goes to see the film would already know the outcome, and the process leading to said outcome as depicted here is rather tedious. Structurally, The 33 is primarily comprised of a “three steps forward, two steps back” dance of some progress being made, only for the rescuers and/or miners to run into a setback before breaking through again. It gets repetitive rather than riveting the longer it goes on.

            Director Patricia Riggen does make some solid stylistic choices, and even though the 33 miners are cooped up in a small refuge underground, the story does have sufficient scope to it. The scene of the initial collapse is frightening and harrowing and the production values can’t be faulted, with the environment coming across as suitably foreboding. In a bid for added realism, actual news footage is spliced in and Chilean TV present Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, better known as “Don Francisco”, plays himself. The miners’ Catholic faith and how their belief played a key role in sustaining them is also showcased.

            There is a scene in which the exhausted, starving miners fantasise about their loved ones bringing them the favourite foods they have so craved. It is corny and a little silly, but it possesses a combination of warmth, levity and sad longing that lifts the film above the standard tropes it presents us with up till that point. This reviewer found that to be the movie’s single most memorable moment.

            Every time a film based on a true story is made, there must be a bit of a dilemma with regards to casting. While a marquee name draws the crowds, thus drawing attention to the film, this might also pull the viewer out of the story. Banderas does bring plenty of star quality to bear as the charismatic and earnest “fearless leader”, though his performance is a touch theatrical at times. Phillips is something of an underrated actor and he’s excellent here as the second-in-command. Naturally, 33 characters is too many for each to be meaningfully developed, so the fact that most of the miners blend together can’t be held against the film.

            The casting of actors of different nationalities and ethnicities from the real-life figures they’re portraying achieves varying degrees of success. Binoche is commendably convincing, but Gunton’s accent slips a whole lot. Santoro is well cast as the slick Minster of Mining, because we’re conditioned to expect that a handsome government guy in a suit won’t actually get anything done. The interplay between Golborne and head engineer Sougarret is sometimes more interesting than the interaction among the miners themselves.

            There’s a scene around the middle of the film when de Pablo (who is actually from Chile), sitting with others around a fire at the base camp, tearfully sings a ballad expressing how she years for her husband to be returned to her side. That’s only one of many melodramatic moments in The 33. Sure, there are parts that manage to be genuinely moving, but it’s all pretty obviously engineered. Engineered entertainment value is a whole different ball game from engineered pathos. One gets the feeling that this story would be better served by a documentary featuring interviews with the real-life miners, their family members and the engineers and officials who orchestrated the rescue interspersed with re-enactments, as opposed to a generic survival drama movie.

Summary: The true story of the 33 Chilean miners is inspiring, but this film is a rather rote affair that is occasionally lifted by good performances and strong production values.

RATING: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong  

Focus

For F*** Magazine

FOCUS

Director : Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast : Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, BD Wong, Robert Taylor, Adrian Martinez

Genre : Romance/Drama

Run Time : 105 mins

Opens : 26 February 2015

Rating : NC-16 (Scene of Intimacy and Coarse Language)

In Batman Begins, Henri Ducard had this piece of advice for Bruce Wayne – “always mind your surroundings”. In Focus, Will Smith plays Nicky Spurgeon, someone whose stock in trade is preying on those who don’t mind their surroundings. A seasoned, talented conman, Nicky is skilled in the art of persuasion and deception. He’s prepared for everything – everything except Jess Barrett (Robbie), an attractive young woman eager to learn the tricks of the trade and become a grifter herself. Nicky has never let down his guard and let his feelings get the better of him, but Jess gets closer than anyone else does. While Nicky is in the employ of billionaire racing team owner Garriga (Santoro), Jess’ presence threatens to throw him off his finely-honed game.

            Escapism is a large part of what makes going to the movies appealing and there’s an undeniable allure to movies that offer a peek into worlds only the privileged few have access to. Focus very effectively seduces the audience, beckoning them into a dizzying, dazzling world of lies and shiny objects. There are certain dangers associated with the subgenre of conman movies – the audience should feel like they’ve been taken on a ride, but not for a ride, the difference almost imperceptible. Nobody likes the feeling of being invested in a film for two hours only to feel played out by the big reveal. Writing-directing duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa manage to quite masterfully negotiate that, having a firm grasp on the film’s tone throughout. It’s funny and playfully sexy, but there are stakes and the thrills click right into the proceedings where they could have easily felt out of place.

            The other danger of conman movies is that they can often come off as smug, as if the filmmakers are taking particular delight in feeling smarter than the audience. There is a little bit of that in Focus, to be sure, but that’s definitely better than if it were an altogether dumb affair. Real-life sleight-of-hand artist and “deception specialist” Apollo Robbins serves as the consultant on the film, choreographing the elaborate pickpocketing sequences which are very exciting to watch. While most of the jokes do work, there are a few too many at the expense of overweight comic relief sidekick Farhad, played by Adrian Martinez. The character also supplies more crass sexual innuendo than is strictly necessary.

            Remember how Will Smith tried to play against type as a stern, emotionless father in After Earth, to disastrous results? Focus is far more in his wheelhouse and absolutely plays to his strength as an actor. Three parts charming, one part goofy, it’s very easy to buy Smith as the shark with a heart of gold. He’s also the kind of guy who could go out with a woman 22 years his junior and it really isn’t that creepy because he’s that likeable. Margot Robbie, who impressed in The Wolf of Wall Street, is excellent here as well. Jess is simultaneously an ingénue and a femme fatale, Robbie nailing both aspects of the character. We can’t wait to see them together onscreen in next year’s Suicide Squad. At one point, Ben Affleck and Kristen Stewart were attached to star – I think we can all agree that would have had, uh, markedly different results. The devilishly handsome Rodrigo Santoro makes for a sufficiently formidable romantic rival to Smith. B.D. Wong threatens to steal the show in his one scene as an overly-excited high roller.  

            Ficarra and Requa’s previous film was the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love, which is considered one of the better examples of the genre in recent memory. With Focus, they have crafted what is almost the ideal date movie. Romantic comedies that crowbar in elements intended to appeal to men have often fallen flat on their faces - This Means War or Killers, anyone? Focus does more than serve up a shirtless Will Smith and Margot Robbie in a bikini, it attains an admirable balance of sexiness, laughs and intelligence and features a central romantic pairing that is unique and happens to really work.

Summary: Focus is sharp, slick and sexy, gliding along on the chemistry of its leads.

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong 

300: Rise of an Empire

For F*** Magazine

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE

Director: Noam Murro
Cast:         Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro, Hans Matheson, Jamie Blackley, Jack O'Connell, Andrew Tiernan, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham, Mark Killee
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Run Time: 103 mins
Opens: 6 March 2014
Rating: M18 (Violence and Sexual Scenes)

The comedians at Rifftrax theorised that a sequel to 2007’s 300 would be named 300 2: 301. Instead, we have 300: Rise of an Empire, best described as a Bourne Legacy-style side-quel. Athenian general Themistocles (Stapleton) leads the Greek fleet at the Battle of Artemisium, a naval engagement that was unfolding concurrent to the Battle of Thermopylae fought by King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans. The Persian navy is led by the ruthless Artemisia (Green), cunning, manipulative and skilled with the sword. Themistocles also visits Leonidas’ wife Queen Gorgo (Headey) to petition for access to Spartan ships, and we get some back-story about the Persian god-king Xerxes (Santoro).

The first 300 film is very similar to the first Matrix movie in that both utilised a visual style that was captivating and ground-breaking initially, but that quickly got run into the ground by imitators in the years between the original and the sequel(s). While the two Matrix sequels arrived four years after the first Matrix, 300: Rise of an Empire comes a whole seven years after 300. In that time, everything from Immortals to the Spartacus TV series to The Legend of Hercules to the Malaysian film Vikingdom has tried to recapture the striking aesthetic of Zack Snyder’s movie. As Snyder was busy with Man of Steel, new director Noam Murro dutifully duplicates 300’s look, but the novelty and charm has slowly eroded away, annoyance taking its place.



Nobody’s going to call this a “historical movie” with a straight face (say hi to the sea serpents), but then again, that’s part of why 300 became such a huge hit, its stylisation of Ancient Greek history and its interpretation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel original and eye-catching. Here, we get another parade of chiselled physique, pixelgallons of computer-generated blood and what can best be described as “sexfighting”. The blood here seems already semi-coagulated when it is drawn, seeming more like chocolate fudge than anything else and slopping across the lens with regularity. We guess there’s nothing wrong with an R-rated action flick in an age where every studio executive wants every movie to be rated PG-13 to reach as wide an audience as possible, but 300: Rise of an Empire crosses into unintentional silliness all too often, due in part to the excessive, cartoony violence.

If King Leonidas came from the Scottish section of Greece, then Themistocles came from the Australian section. Themistocles is a more measured, less choleric protagonist than Leonidas and Sullivan Stapleton does look the part of an action hero, but he’s also far less charismatic than Gerard Butler was and does at many times feel like an also-rans substitute. Eva Green, a dab hand at playing the femme fatale, glowers and pouts her way through the film in a scenery-chomping turn that is just impossible to take seriously, though that was probably the intention. It seems she took inspiration from Angelina Jolie’s equally ridiculous performance in Alexander and it is difficult to buy Green as a battle-hardened warrior. It’s also eye-roll worthy that someone as formidable as Artemisia has to fall back on her seductive wiles. It is nice to see Lena Headey return though, for the primary purpose of providing a lengthy voice-over or two.



This isn’t a terrible movie, but it’s more of the same seven years too late. 300 was far from the most sequel-ready of films (spoilers for something that took place 2500 years ago: all the 300 Spartans died) so this seems unnecessary and forced. A lot of the film is taken up by exposition and flashbacks and all the naval battles blend together into an indistinguishable mash. There’s also a father-son subplot with Scyllias (Mulvey) opposing the idea of his son Calisto (O’Connell) joining the fight, an unsuccessful attempt to inject pathos into the proceedings. And to top it all off, co-writer Kurt Johnstad sneaks in the line “an act of valour” which has got to be a reference to the movie of the same name he wrote. Still, it’s entertaining, there’s an effort made to establish continuity, it isn’t poorly made and the 3D is pretty fun.

Summary: Madness? THIS! IS! A! MEDIOCRE-BUT-WATCHABLE! SIDE-QUEL!

RATING: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong

Nerd HQ: Conversations with I, Frankenstein and 300: Rise of an Empire

Actor and well-known geek Zachary Levi has set up a nice little outfit called the "Nerd Machine" that has a side event held at Comic-Con every year, known as Nerd HQ. It's been going for about three years. Nerd HQ was set up as a more intimate alternative to Comic-Con, and the highlights are definitely the "In Conversation" panels. Each event is ticketed and the proceeds go to benefit Operation Smile, a charity that gives life-changing surgeries to young children with cleft palettes. I was able to snag tickets to two such panels: one for the upcoming action/horror/sci-fi film I, Frankenstein, and another for the 300 sequel/spinoff 300: Rise of an Empire. Both are films that I'm honestly not all that excited for, but it was great seeing such personalities as Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green, Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski and of course Zachary Levi himself in the flesh. All the panels were recorded, streamed online and are now available for viewing on Nerd Machine's YouTube Channel  Scroll down for embedded vids! 

Skip to 16:47 if you would like to see me make a fool of myself. 

And at 33:32, I asked Eva Green about her role in the upcoming Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, which she was thankfully very happy to talk about.