Review of “Last Vegas”

The trailer promised four seasoned actors coming together in a movie that will leave you feeling warm and content. It even has Redfoo by a pool with sexy women in swimwear! I expect old people doing young people things to prove they still got it plus a couple dozen or so gags about the geriatric male body. But most importantly I don’t expect to be challenged by this movie. Fingers crossed, this film will be a perfect start of a night out followed by some beers. Showtime! 

It’s hard to talk about “Last Vegas” without comparing it to other movies. Fundamentally we have themes from several stories drawn together and blended into a factory processed ice cream sundae with ‘A’ list talent on top. Take the water downed Last Vegas adventures of “Hangover” and mix with the rejuvenation story of an alienless “Cocoon”. Now take your ‘Whatever became of them?’ questions from “Stand by Me” and make a movie set in sin city. That’s about it. I don’t think there is any deep meaning here. You probably might want to send a txt to an old friend or send an email to former acquaintances. It’s that kind of nostalgia. The pain of getting older is only magnified by loneliness so don’t live by yourself in your underpants and never leave the house. Also, don’t force love. You can’t make a forever with anyone. It’s never too late. Yada yada yada. It’s that kind of film. I just wanted to see some jokes about being old. And there are plenty! So that’s ok. Maybe I even hope that my old age will find me still having adventures and being impulse like the person I never was. And that’s okay too.

Mmmmmm....

So that’s what the trailer told us to expect and that’s what we got. What in hell makes someone go see films like this? I will tell you – Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline. That’s the only reason I went. It’s like finding a book in Waterstones with a title like “1001 facts about Granite” that has a plane grey cover. You wouldn’t look at it twice! But then you notice ‘written by J. K. Rowling’ and you think maybe there is something here… I’m not saying that “Last Vegas” was dull as dishwater, what I am saying is that it is completely pedestrian with four great actors along for the ride. There are other great performances in the movie (shout out to Marry Steenburgen) but I want to talk about the big guns. They camp it up and strut their stuff at all the right moments. Once again, that’s about it. We get all the jokes in all the right places and four feel good stores that each actor has the sincerity to make genuine. Part of me is worried and excited that what we are seeing is how our heroes actually do behave in their spare time. Only a little bit. De Niro gets more to play with as the recently widowed Patrick Colson. At several points his bitterness adds a shade of darkness to the story. While his comrades may be embarrassed by how young people treat them or worried by continued sickness, he is fantastically sullen. While ostensibly a plot hook, this behaviour almost spoils our enjoyment but only because it challenges the easy ride we have jumped on. Shame on De Niro for being a great actor.

Please add own caption.

“Last Vegas” is completely harmless and good fun. If you fancy a laugh get the DVD when it comes out. Perfect for a neutral social occasion.

I give “Last Vegas” two out of five Brian faces.

Review of “American Hustle”

Now with no spoilers! (I hope...)

This film was sold to me by a friend. “Basically, it’s Batman and JLaw with that guy from the ‘A’ Team and a British chick.” Sounds marvellous. But then I discovered it was directed by David O. Russell. His previous movie “Silver Linings Playbook” was one of my top five films of 2012 and won Jennifer Lawrence her first Oscar. [Note to future reviews – expect heavy bias in favour of the fabulous Jennifer Lawrence. Especially as she is scheduled to be in four movies this year!] Now I was starting to get excited. 

In the late 1970’s con artists Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are in a tight squeeze. They have been caught red handed by FBI agent Richie Di Maso (Bradly Cooper) and given an ultimatum – go to prison or work for him to catch corrupt public figures. Things soon spiral out of control as the scheme ensnares the naive but loved Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremey Renner) of New Jersey. As the scope of the trap is widened, Irving and Sydney get caught in a crush between their Federal handlers and the mob. They must now pull off their greatest con yet; but not for cash, this time it’s for their lives.

When the advertisements ended and the movie began we already get taken in by the magic hands of David O. Russell. You know those intros at the start of a movie were you see a short graphic for the film studio and special effect company? Well it took me a minute to realise that they were not sparkly new nor did the screen itself look particularly sharp. Realisation was slow in coming. Emersion! From BEFORE the credits, the director is immersing the viewer into the late 1970’s. It never losses this edge. “American Hustle” could have been made in 1978. Fact. It looks and feels it the whole way through. Magic stuff!

 

Director David O. Russell

Where to start talking about the cast? Just like “Silver Linings Playbook” this is a character driven film. With a punchy and smart script, a director who can herd humans into being humans, this was going to be a job! Bradley Cooper. Bradley what the hell Cooper. This is the guy from “The ‘A’ Team”, the “Hangover” trilogy and “Wedding Crashers.” When the hell did he learn to act and why did no one tell me? [Note – I have wanted to right this since seeing “Silver Linings Playbook” but didn’t have a blog back then]. He rocks it out as Di Maso. We are never quite sure if our FBI agent is smarter than the conning couple, a moron who got lucky or if in fact he is completely crazy. Or maybe just a small guy grabbing his chance to be big. Either way, you can never quite hate Di Maso and part of you will cheer for him (he is trying to stop political corruption after all).

Christian Bale still manages to own ‘leading male’ despite a comb over to die for and a pot belly. First off, great makeup. Secondly, a fantastic performance. However, Bale does it again and manages to not be the best male actor in a movie. This is a Christian Bale thing. I’m not sure if its bad luck, a lack of definitive presence or in fact great acting. Maybe he is so good that the movie becomes camouflage forcing the viewer to find something shinny like the Joker or Matthew McConaughey chasing dragons. Either way, Cooper dominates more in a supporting role. 

Amy Adams first appeared on my radar last year as Lois Lane in “Man of Steel.” I hope to see more of her after this movie! Adams nails the role of female lead. This is essential because “American Hustle” is about two con artists. It is so easy to think of couples as single entities’ but she brings a different energy to the natural man of the people role filled by Bale. Her sexiness and vulnerability are all crucial to the con trade and Adams gives it her best. Great stuff. Also, side boob. In about half her scenes. Seriously. Good stuff.

In one trailer for the movie, Rosalyn Rosenfeld (Jennifer Lawrence) was introduced by her husband as being “The Picasso of passive aggressive karate.” Now not only is that a beautiful line but it would be written on the side of her action figure packaging to boot. Lawrence has already won a Golden Globe for her performance in this movie. A second Oscar might be on the cards too. Brilliant performance. I could say more about her performance but it would all be good.

I don’t want to go on about the whole cast but special mention to Jeremey Renner and Robert De Nero. The script and director gave them a stage to shine and the actors to bounce off. Well played.

     Bradley sandwich. Now with the best bread in town!

“American Hustle” is a cinema treat. We are always left guessing over who is really being hustled. It even begins with the audience. Two characters get voice overs during the introduction stage. This is usually a treat reserved for the protagonist so by having two actors do it we are not quite sure who’s movie this is. This is a film about hustling. Get over it! It’s going to get you to think one thing while doing something else. It’s going to show you one side of a character but not the other. There is a lot going on and you have to keep up. Perhaps too much. What do I mean? When researching the film I discovered that it was a comedy drama. This surprised me. I had laughed many times during the movie but never would I have called it a comedy. On reflection I have changed my opinion, but this shows just how heavy the movie is. You have a film with so much substance to take in that your mind is engaged for the entire viewing. This active enjoyment is somewhat draining after two hours. But back to hustling. One of my friends asked me “Why is it called ‘American’ Hustle?” Good question. Hustle would have done just as well. After thinking about it I think the name is another angle of the story and one which Christian Bales character answers on screen. We all hustle for different reasons. Our two main characters do it to make money and then to survive. But always there is a sense that they are doing everything they can to ‘make it.’ We never quite focus on the people their scams ruin. Because it’s not their problem. Why the American Hustle? Because it’s just another side to the American Dream. 

Just a picture of Jennifer Lawrence dancing to “Live and Let Die” while cleaning. Deal with it society!

Once again I feel I have panned a movie I loved. Go and see this film. The story, acting, script and music are fantastic. It is genuinely entertaining and engrossing.

I give “American Hustle” four and a half Brian faces out of five.

Review of 47 Ronin

Spoiler Alert!

Life rule thirty one – Samurai are cool. While I would not call myself a Japanophile I have always enjoyed the visuals of Samurai warriors. This stems from a health exposure of ‘Legend of the Five Rings’ art work and my boyish love of all things colourful that can kill. The trailer for “47 Ronin” left me intrigued plus more than a little excited. I was vaguely familiar with the legend/true story of the 47 Ronin (or 47 Samurai in some telling’s). What got my katana in a twist was the blatant mix of story and fantasy. Big monsters? Magic ninjas? Super-hot sorceresses? Keanu Reeves? You sir, have sold yourself a cinema ticket! Showtime!

 

Samurai not appearing in this film.

Like all orphaned mixed race babies left to die in medieval Japan, Kai (Keanu Reeves) is taken in by magic sword making super killers and trained as one of their own. Realising that his masters are no more than Japanese hillbillies, he runs for his life and is adopted by the local Samurai lord as a kind of weird pet/slave combo. He falls madly in love with Mika (Kou Shibasaki) the daughter of said lord. They can do nothing about this because Japan. While hosting a tournament to entertain the current dictator, our friendly lord (Min Tanaka) is dishonoured after a rival uses a sexy witch (Rinko Kikuchi) to make him go crazy. Humiliated in front of his master, he must kill himself with a knife because Japan. His soldiers are forbidden to exact vengeance on anyone they perceive to be responsible. However, as Mika is spirited away to marry the baddy, Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada) reunites the disgraced Samurai (known as Ronin) to go and kill the dude in his castle. To be successful they first need a white man to join the group. With Keanu back in line the adventure begins. Our heroes set off to avenge their lord. They avenge their lord. As a token of his respect for their actions, the dictator lets them all kill themselves with knives. This is a happy ending. Because Japan. 

Upon leaving the theatre I went over to a beer garden and knelt. Taking out my phone, I scrolled to the tweet I had just written about the movie and placed it down by my side. I lifted my shirt and disembowelled myself with my cinema loyalty card. Before I could cry out, my friend brought a two day old stale French stick striking down, breaking my neck. It was a good death.

Not really. But I was dam close!

How? How can you take a movie with so many positive elements and make it so dull? How? That is the magic question. I have not a single problem with the acting (even Keanu!). Let’s face it; the story is set in a society that does not look kindly on emotional outbursts or open signs of passion or sensitivity. If anything, Mr Reeves was built for this part! The rest of the cast? Min Tanaka looks like she had an absolute ball playing the evil witch. Able to camp the role up to the max, she struts around the set like a pompous cat (or is that just cat?). As her character is inexcusably fantastical, when she does interact with the protocol of medieval Japan, we can see a little sense of boredom in all of her actions like a child forced to sit through a church service. Good stuff. The rest? They do a great job. Seriously, the acting is pretty good. Special mention to Hiroyuki Sanada as the determined Ronin leader and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as the stone faced Shogun. In fact, so much of the cast are well known names in Japan. Many are considered A list celebrities. What a shame they will have this on their conscience.

 

So what’s my problem? “47 Ronin” says as much about Japanese culture as “A Knights Tale” says about medieval Europe. The difference? At least “A Knights Tale” had some bloody fun! We have fantastic actors, amazing special effects and stunts combined with a script that is a western caricature of Samurai society. I don’t want to compare movies with each other but in “Seven Samurai” our heroes are all Japanese warriors but they are also people. We can identify with them while enjoying the toe dipping sensation of emersion in another culture. There is the crux of the review. “47 Ronin” feels long and boring with lengthy segments of talking between the few actions scenes. I cannot identify with any of these characters because they are not real. Rather than treating me to complicated and interesting characters I was instead inadvertently invited to an ‘Emotion Duck Hunt.’ How does that work? Basically you sit for thirty minutes getting slowly board until finally you desperately start to look for any reason to identify with your protagonists. If you see an emotion on screen you want to shout it out like gunning down a duck from the classic video game. “Regret! Ambition! Confusion! Sadness! Lust!” It’s that sad. 

Best big? The assault on castle Kira. Specifically prelude to the attack as the vengeful samurai get into position. Clever angles, great camera cutting and cool action make this great viewing. Essentially the heroes are getting into position why their target is enjoying a circus performance. They must silently take out the guards as they work their way towards him. There is a slowly building sense of tension that I could not help but get caught up on. Good stuff.

 

The lovely Min Tanaka. Also known as 'that chick from Pacific Rim'

It sounds like I have panned “47 Ronin”. I kind of have. This might stem from my high expectations rather than the movie itself. There are some fun bits. It does have fight scenes and it is very pretty. Perfect background material when your mates are over.

I hereby award “47 Ronin” two out of five Brian faces. Get your haiku ready. That said, 'Life rule 31' still stands unbroken!