Edge Of Tomorrow

Director Doug Liman’ Edge Of Tomorrow is a taut, action-packed thriller with a unique plot and an interesting brand of alien vermin that has infested Western Europe and is preparing to move east and west over the Earth.

Tom Cruise plays against type as Major Cage, who is responsible for PR and whose only combat training was in ROTC.  When he tries to get out of being embedded with the troops going into battle with the aliens, General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) has him forced into the invasion as one of the troopers.  Killed within minutes of the fighting, Cage is caught in a time loop and forced to re-live the day over and over.

Why that is is cleverly revealed in the deft screenplay written by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth.

 

While it would be easy to compare the plot to Groundhog Day, the stakes are higher and the best action happens when Cage comes out of the loop. 

Cruise, eventually, comes into his super-hero form and is matched all the way by Emily Blunt, who is absolutely fabulous as the heroine of a previous invasion, when she was caught in the time loop, as well.

Doug Liman is a master of action, but his true mastery is in being able to keep the viewer clear as to what is happening and why.

I give Edge Of Tomorrow a 4 out of 5.

The Fault In Our Stars

When I was very young, I was told there are only 3 ages…child, adult and dying.  Director Josh Boone’s The Fault In Our Stars bears this out with its main characters, 17-year-old Hazel Grace (Shailene Woodley) and 18-year-old Gus (Ansel Elgort), both dying of cancer.

They and others in their support group think and act in ways far different than their contemporaries.  And, when Writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber are on, which is most of the time, we get to experience the different world of the dying, yet noble, teens.

Nat Woolf as the blind youth Isaac, Laura Dern as Grace’s mother and Lotte Verbeek as Lidewij, the kindly secretary of the teens’ favorite novelist Van Houten (Willem Dafoe) add to the excellent performances of Woodley and Elgort.

Though Director Boone and Cinematographer Ben Richardson are on most of the time, as well, I was expecting even more from this film.  After all, one could have a hit with the amazing Shailene Woodley reading from the phone book.

Nevertheless, I give The Fault In Our Stars a 4 out of 5. 

Maleficent

Writers Linda Woolverton and Charles Perrault have created a wonderful revision of the Sleeping Beauty tale with Maleficent and it’s been admirably brought to the screen by Director Robert Stromberg.

The production is Disney at its best, with amazing forest creatures, flights of fantasy and a story that would touch the hearts of anyone except those sick souls, who are in to “honor killings” or raping the environment.

Anjelina Jolie is the perfect actress for the part of the tragic Maleficent, who began life as a happy pixie, but was betrayed and violated by a greedy human she befriended.  Her ultimate transformation from hate and revenge is a lesson for young and old alike.

If you have or are a daughter, this film is a must-see. 

I give Maleficent a 4+ out of 5.

                                                                                          

A Million Ways To Die In The West

The person who seemed to be having the most fun in the theater where I saw Writer/Director/Producer Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways To Die In The West, was the onscreen actress Charlize Theron, who was playing down to the rest of the cast with a wry twinkle in her eye, indicating she knew this was just a lot of nonsensical fun…at least, for her.

For me, not so much…although I did appreciate the light slumber the first part of the film induced.  That’s not to say there weren’t a few chuckles later and even a few good scenes toward the end, especially the one provided by the Indians.  But, though it tried to be, this was no Blazing Saddles. To paraphrase the old political rebuke, “I’ve studied with Mel Brooks and Seth MacFarlane is no Mel Brooks…at least, not yet.”

Much ado about nothing sums it up.  The main weakness was the script.  No story to care about and no characters to care about.  Cinematographer Michael Barrett made beautiful images, but a comedy doesn’t want or need beautiful images.  It’s supposed to look quirky.  The nice look sent the wrong message.

The overreach is best summed up when Neil Patrick Harris’s character has to defecate in bystanders’ hats. Gross, yet funny.  But, then, to show what’s in the hats!  A mess, to be sure.

On the other hand, if you enjoyed Neighbors, you’ll probably like this film, as well.

As for me, I give it a 3 out of 5…and that’s mostly for Charlize Theron, Sarah Silverman and Giovanni Ribisi...three, who know how to be funny.

Words and Pictures

Director Fred Schepisi’s Words and Pictures is one of the great finds of the year. 

Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche play rival teachers of Advanced English and Advanced Fine Arts at a prep school in Maine.  Their rivalry concerns what is more important to humanity, words or pictures?

 

Spoiler alert: they both are, but not just words and pictures, but music and feelings, as well.  But, knowing that doesn’t ruin anything.  The words supplied by Screenwriter Gerald Di Pego are witty and wise, the paintings supplied, surprisingly, by Binoche are world-class, the music by Composer Paul Grabowsky is spot-on and the chemistry between Owen and Binoche is pure magic. 

If you want to have cinematic fun without guns and digital effects, Words and Pictures is for you.

The only tragedy is that this battle between words and pictures is not being waged in both public and private schools throughout the nation.

I give Words and Pictures a 4+ out of 5.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

 X-Men: Days of Future Past delivers on all levels.  First, it has a great story Writer Simon Kinberg developed with Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn.  Director Bryan Singer, backed by Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, Production Designer John Myhre, Visual Effects Designer Richard Stammers and Editor/Composer John Ottman, has turned their work into the best action film, so far, this year.

 

In an all-star cast, including Michael Fassbender as the Young Magnito, Ian McKellen as Magnito, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Halle Berry as Storm, Peter Dinklage as the villainous Dr. Trask, Ellen Page as Kitty Pride, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Nicholas Hoult as Beast and Omar Sy as Bishop, the standout performances are Evan Peters as Quicksilver, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, James McAvoy as the Young Professor X and, best of all, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven.

 

Now, if you’re not a viewer of the previous X-Men films and don’t know who those characters are, you’ll still have a great time seeing this film.  If you are a fan, you’ll be ecstatic with this production.

I give X-Men: Days of Future Past a 4+ out of 5.