2 Guns

Posted on August 1, 2013 at 6:00 pm

A+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Preschool
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for violence throughout, language and brief nudity
Profanity:	Strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drug dealers
Violence/ Scariness:	Constant intense and graphic peril and violence, some very disturbing images, torture, guns, chases, explosions, many characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	August 2, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	November 19, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00BEIYN9Q

The couple with the most electrifying chemistry on screen so far this year is Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg in “2 Guns.” As the title of the the graphic novel by Steven Grant and Mateus Santolouco suggests, it is a double-barreled shoot-em-up. It is very violent, and it seems that the two stars think they are making a more light-hearted, escapist bang bang frolic than the movie can deliver. The other characters in the often-sour story seem to be in a different movie. But as long as the two stars are trading quips in syncopation with the rounds of firepower, it is very entertaining.

Washington plays Bobby, a DEA agent who has been undercover for a couple of years infiltrating a Mexico-based drug ring. Wahlberg is Stig, working undercover for the Navy for the same reason. We’re told they are the best at what they do, but somehow when they are trading banter about the best doughnuts in three counties and the drug dealer henchman who has been separated from his head they never figure out that they are both working for law enforcement. Me, I think I might suspect that Bobby was not the usual bad guy when he stops in the middle of a robbery to pick up and soothe a crying baby. But Stig is too busy being cool to notice. Other than that, and repeatedly trusting the wrong people, and not making much progress in getting anyone arrested or confiscating any drugs or weapons, they are both crackerjack detectives.

Bobby has some issues. He is a loner. He does not “have people.” He has a sometime girlfriend, a Justice Department attorney named Deb (Paula Patton). “Did you ever love me?” she asks him when they are in bed together. “I meant to love you,” he says. Stig is more easy-going, but he may be too far in the other direction when it comes to trust, not able to see when his “people” are less loyal to him than he is to them. That may be part of the explanation for their mutual blind spot in not figuring out that they were both doing the same thing. Neither they nor we have much time to think about that as very quickly it turns out that they have been set up and betrayed, and they will need to find a way to work together in the midst of being hunted down by three separate groups who want to kill them.

After that, it’s just banter, chase, banter, shoot-out, banter, a couple of torture scenes, banter, betrayal, more quippy banter, and then ludicrous even in the context of this movie side-story about the perils of illegal immigration, then pay-off (literally). It is an uneasy mix, but the stars own the fizzy dialogue with such brio, electricity and pure charisma that they provide the real explosive power.

Parents should know that this film includes constant comic book-style violence, some graphic and disturbing images, torture, guns, explosions, chases, fights, many characters injured and killed, non-explicit sexual situation, female nudity, some strong language, and pervasive corruption.

Family discussion: The issue of loyalty occurs several different times in this movie. How do Bobby and Stig show their views about loyalty? How does Deb? How do their views change over the course of the story?

If you like this, try: “Lethal Weapon,” “Shoot ’em Up,” and “The Other Guys”

Fruitvale Station

Posted on July 18, 2013 at 5:51 pm

The sadly timely release of Sundance award-winner “Fruitvale Station” begins with the shocking real-life cell phone footage shot in a San Francisco subway station on New Year’s Eve 2008. A young black man named Oscar Grant was handcuffed and lying on the ground when he was shot and killed by a policeman.

We then go back in time to see how Grant (a star-making performance by Michael B. Jordan of “The Wire”) spent the last day of his life. First-time writer-director Ryan Coogler creates an intimate, documentary feeling to the story, candid in its portrayal of a young man who has made some mistakes (he was a drug dealer, he has served time in prison, he cheated on his girlfriend, he gets fired for being late). But, with a transcendent performance by Jordan, we see that Grant was a devoted son and father who wants very much to be the man his mother, girlfriend, and daughter deserve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceVVVils8z4

We follow him through the day, seeing him charmingly assist a woman at the grocery story by calling his grandmother to advise her on a recipe, celebrating at the birthday party for his mother (Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer), and defusing a tense situation with a store owner. And all that time, we know he will be dead in the earliest hours of 2009. By the time it happens, we are different people than we were the first time we saw him get shot. We care about Oscar in a way that will make it harder to jump to conclusions about a young black man ever again.

Parents should know that this film includes some strong language, sexual references and situations, drug dealing, and a shocking murder.

Family discussion: Why was Oscar Grant shot? Do you agree with the punishment for the man who shot him? How does this relate to the debate over the verdict in the George Zimmerman/Treyvon Martin case?

If you like this, try: Melonie Diaz in “Raising Victor Vargas”

Related Tags:

Based on a true story Crime Drama

Charade

Posted on July 8, 2013 at 8:00 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and violence, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	1963
Date Released to DVD:	July 8, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00COHGPNS

I’m delighted that one of the all-time great romantic thrillers is being released for the first time on Blu-Ray this week. Director Stanley Donen out-Hitchcock’s Alfred Hitchcock with this witty, elegant, sophisticated bonbon starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. It has a swoony score by Henry Mancini and a nicely twisty plot. And one of the most delicious last lines in movie history.

Hepburn plays a Parisian woman whose estranged husband is murdered and thrown off a train. She realizes she knew very little about him. And she realizes some very bad people knew a lot about him. When he was in the army, he and some of his friends stole some money. And then he stole it from them. They are after the money, and that means they are after her.

I won’t spoil any surprises by saying more. But I will strongly recommend that after you watch the movie, you watch it again to listen to the commentary from director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone, filled with marvelously entertaining anecdotes about the making of the film. I love the story about Cary Grant’s haircut. My favorite part, though, is whenever a close-up of Audrey Hepburn comes on the screen. They just pause. And then one of them says, a little breathlessly, “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Yes, she is.

Despicable Me 2

Posted on July 3, 2013 at 10:00 am

Is there more to the story of “Despicable Me” after Gru (Steve Carell) isn’t despicable anymore? The original, with Gru and Vector (Jason Segal) as warring super-villains, was one of the best animated films and one of the best family movies of the past several years. The characters, brilliantly designed by illustration great Carter Goodrich, were a magnificent contrast, Gru all musty gothic and Victorian, with heavy carved wood and hammered metal and Vector all sleek and mid-century Creamsicle colors. The happy ending had Gru’s heart warming to three adorable orphan girls and saving the day.

With all of that resolved, this movie never quite reaches the emotional resonance of the first, and this edition’s villain (I will try not to give away any surprises that occur after the first third of the film) is not as interesting as Vector, visually or in terms of plot or character.

But it is still wonderfully imaginative and fun, with a masterful use of 3D and breathtaking, precision-timed, action sequences that are both exciting and hilarious. And there are minions.

The adorable yellow creatures who appear to be made from marshmallow peeps and serve as Gru’s version of ooompa-loompas are even more effective scene-stealers than they were in the first outing, whether wearing a fetching maid uniform, reacting to the taste of a very bad batch of jelly, or suffering the effects of a transforming serum called PX41. Watch the end credits — they appear to be poised to take over the next chapter.

There are some new characters in this sequel, too, most delightfully Lucy, an agent for the Anti-Villain League who recruits Gru to help her save the world. She is charmingly voiced by Kristin Wiig (a different accent and a different character from the orphanage director she played in the first movie), and deliciously drawn, with Lucille Ball-red hair and a fearless but charmingly dorky personality. A local mom keeps trying to fix Gru up with her single friends and the girls want him to try a computer matchmaker. But it is Lucy who makes him consider for the first time getting over the childhood trauma that made him decide that romance was beyond his ability. Lucy is adorkable, both coltish and rubber-limbed, cheerily explaining to Gru that he should not announce his weapon until after he uses it, and then demonstrating by singing out “lipstick taser!” as he seizes and jerks on the ground.

Meanwhile, there is a new super-villain to track down. The Anti-Villain League has traced him or her to the local mall (witty and imaginatively conceived). So Gru and Lucy go undercover with a cupcake shop called Bake My Day and try to figure out which of the local merchants has the PX41. This is much more exciting than trying to make an honest living manufacturing jams and jellies, especially after the departure of his long-time aide, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), who leaves for evil-er pastures.

In the midst of all this, Gru still has his parental responsibilities, including some worries over oldest daughter Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), who has spotted a cute boy named Antonio (“Kings of Summer’s” Moises Arias), who has Beiberific hair and all the charm of a future Latin lover.

A chase scene that has the minions trying to protect Gru is one of the best action sequences of the year and Gru’s entry into the super-villain’s lair is cleverly designed. It is fun to see Gru try to manage a 6-year-old’s birthday party (like Steve Martin in “Parenthood,” he has to step in as the entertainment) while redefining himself as a man the girls can trust and respect. It isn’t the villain who’s his match this time, it’s his partner in non-crime. While not as liberatingly refreshing as the original, it is still a blast and one of the best family films of the year.

Parents should know that this film has several instances of potty humor and some violence and peril (mostly comic but with weapons and drug-induced personality transformations). There’s a brief shot of a bare minion tush and a joke about being drunk.

Family discussion: Why was it hard for Gru to tell Lucy how he felt? What “despicable” qualities did Gru have that helped him be a better good guy?

If you like this, try: “Despicable Me” and “Megamind”

The Heat

Posted on June 30, 2013 at 10:33 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
Profanity:	Constant strong and crude language, use of bad language as an expression of freedom
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drunkenness (as an expression of freedom), scenes in bars, drug dealing and some drug use
Violence/ Scariness:	Law enforcement violence, chases, explosions, murder, torture, characters in peril, injured, and killed
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie, but a number of insults of a character with albinism
Date Released to Theaters:	June 28, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	October 14, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00BEIYJ8G

By my count, I have seen some sixty jillion buddy cop movies, and they follow a format as rigid as a sonnet. One cop is by-the-book. One is free-wheeling and impulsive. There is a frustrated superior officer. There is a scene in a nightclub. There is a bad guy with access to some inside information. One is catnip to the opposite sex; one is romantically challenged or solidly married. And our heroes, initially antagonistic, learn to respect, trust, and like each other. Some buddy cop movies have more comedy, some have more action. Some buddy cop movies are PG-13, some are R. There are always many wisecracks. Quite often, we get to meet the family of one or both. Sometimes the leads are white, sometimes they’re black, sometimes it is one of each. But all of them, all of them, all of them have one more thing in common. They’re both guys. Until now.

So thoroughly conforming to the conventions of the genre that the opening credits could have been lifted from a 70’s movie, “The Heat,” is not interested in breaking any new ground except for the considerable change of a gender switch. For the first time in decades, there is an action comedy with two female leads. It even passes the Bechdel rule. That is a major breakthrough. Everything else is, well, by the book.

Sandra Bullock, basically carrying over her “Miss Congeniality” role, is the by-the-book FBI agent named Ashburn. According to her supervisor, she has inspired “countless complaints of arrogance, competitiveness, and showmanship.” She is assigned to a new case and has to work with a tough, brash, impulsive, profane local cop named Mullins (Melissa McCarthy, basically carrying over her last three roles). “If you’re not in trouble, you’re not doing your job,” she explains. She also has an exasperated boss (Thomas F. Wilson, Biff the bully in “Back to the Future”).

Pretty soon they are battling over jurisdiction and getting caught as they both try to go through the doorway at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0HWlvP1xdk

Cue the wisecracks. “What is this, ‘Training Day?'” asks Ashburn. And there are some bonding moments, including a makeover in a nightclub ladies’ room, a joint appreciation of an impressive arsenal, and a drunken dance to “Groove is in the Heart” by Deee-Lite with Lady Miss Kier. But it feels like putting women in the lead roles was such a stretch they did not want to take any other chances with the genre.

They visit Mullins’ family, who appear to be visiting from “The Fighter.” (Nice to see Jane Curtin, Nathan Corddry, and NKotB-er Joey McIntyre, though.) Her brother’s girlfriend has breasts so significant to the character they deserve their own credit. Wait, they do. The girlfriend, Gina, is played by Jessica Chaffin, and the credits helpfully note that Gina’s boobs are played by “Jessica Chaffin’s boobs.” So, not quite the step forward for gender equality we might have hoped. And the Yale-educated Ashburn’s acid critique of a bad guy’s poor grammar loses some of its punch when she immediately follows it with a sentence that begins, with “me and her.” Not quite the step forward for literacy, then, either.

Bullock and McCarthy are both terrifically appealing and talented actresses and they have such evident pleasure in playing these roles that they are fun to watch. Maybe next time, though, they could put some more effort into the script.

Parents should know that this movie has non-stop strong, profane, and crude language with sexual references (and strong language is an expression of being free), drinking and drunkenness (including drinking as an expression of being free and open-minded and drunkenness as humorous), law enforcement violence with shooting, stabbing and explosions, murder, characters injured and killed, dead bodies, and drug dealing.

Family discussion: How are Mullins and Ashburn different from each other? How are they similar? Who is right, Mullins or her family?

If you like this, try: “The Other Guys” and “48 Hours”