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Saturday, October 31, 2015

Burnt 2015 * * * 1/2 Stars

BurntDirector: John Wells
Year: 2015
Rated R
Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Jamie Dornan

Burnt (my latest review) is well done. There I said it. Let's get all the puns out of the way shall we. With fast cutting that will make your head spin, close-ups of food that will cause your mouth to water (even though I noshed right before a viewing, I still had a hearty appetite), and a showcase for what I believe to be the best performance of Bradley Cooper's career, this 2015 release is only the third foodie flick I've seen. No Reservations and Chef are the other two and they're mere child's play in comparison.

At times overdramatic as well as borderline predictable, Burnt is nevertheless, highly effectual. This is due to the speedy direction of John Wells and an enormous attention to detail. You wanna see the distance measured between forks on a table setting? Oh you'll get that. You want to witness cooks being unsanitary by putting their hands in people's food for taste testings? You'll get that too. You wanna see a culinary staff clean the bejesus out of a kitchen (by scrubbing tables till their hands fall off)? You'll get that as well. Finally, do you have a taste for noticing lead Bradley Cooper making an employee apologize to a piece of fish (for not cooking it well enough)? That happens about a half hour in. Ultimately, Burnt is the be-all, end-all of restaurateur pics. Along with its eccentricities baited towards a dinner service, the eateries featured here are so sterile and white walled, it's as if Chili's, T.G.I. Fridays, and Ruth's Chris Steak House never even existed.

Shot at a whirlwind running time of just over 100 minutes, Burnt registers former drug addict/cooking aficionado, Adam Jones (Cooper). He lost a restaurant years ago due to some messed up behavior (he also planted rats in another chef's sit down spot while calling the health inspector at the same time). After punishing himself by shucking oysters back in the states (1,000,000 to be exact), Jones then ventures to Europe once again, this time clean and sober. He needs to get a crew together for a comeback tour. He enlists his former head waiter (Daniel Bruhl as Tony), an up-and-coming female cook (Sienna Miller as Helene), a distant rival cook (French actor Omar Sy as Michel), and a paroled criminal (Riccardo Scamarcio as Max) to open up a London hotbed with his name on the title. Bradley Cooper who's in pretty much everything these days, is all will as Jones. With a cocksure way about him, various enemies, and very little in pocket change, his Adam is still able to get the whole world on his side. Jones doesn't like people, he doesn't normally count on them, and he's kind of an a-hole. His heightened intelligence about food though turns the beat around (this includes his acquaintances who despise him). The first hour of the film displays this notion and it's the strongest section. Burnt unfortunately starts to bog down towards the end but everything that happened past tense, washes away the shortcomings.

Image result for burnt movie scenesAll in all, the look of this vehicle is slick and unblemished. The screenplay by Steven Knight (he wrote and directed 2013's Locke) is juicy in that it deals with themes of anger, absolution, irony, and alienation. In terms of casting, Bradley Cooper really brings to life the persona of an unsound, head chef (this is based on all the Food Network shows I tend to watch). The role of Adam Jones really caters to his fast-talking, manneristic style of delivering lines. About a quarter of the way in, this messy character study acknowledges that Jones is striving to get his third Michelin Star (the mark of excellence given to only a few European eating establishments). Heck, I'll just bite and give Burnt about three and a half of them. Bon appetit!

Written by Jesse Burleson

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Rock the Kasbah 2015 * * 1/2 Stars

Rock the KasbahDirector: Barry Levinson
Year: 2015
Rated R
Rating: * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson

If you haven't heard by now, the flick I'm about to review is currently bombing heavy at the box office. Case in point: Just yesterday, I happened to be the only audience member to attend a midday screening. I guess you gotta score one for the nation's critics who managed to keep consumers away in droves (everyone wants to see The Martian for the umpteenth time, who knew).

Anyway, QED International's Rock the Kasbah, feels a little unfinished. It also gives off the whiff of a few scenes being left on the cutting room floor. There are some undeveloped personas, some recognizable actors/actresses that don't quite submit (Scott Caan, Danny McBride, Taylor Kinney, and Zooey Deschanel are on and off the screen faster than a freight train), and a closing credits sequence that actually makes Bill Murray look unfunny (I didn't think that was possible). Darn it though if this fall declaration isn't mildly entertaining not to mention wholly original. As a fan of Barry Levinson, I think his direction and pacing here are more than adequate. And "Kasbah" with what looks like the most accurate of locales (Afghanistan appeared genuine to me), has been getting an unfair ribbing from anyone who's ever written a star-crossed assessment. Hey I'm not preaching this to be four star material but heck, it's better than um, Ishtar (ha ha).

Rumored to initially have the problematic Shia Labeouf as one of its costars and featuring a soundtrack full of 70's classics as well as covers of 70's classics, Rock the Kasbah is a personality-driven, fish out of water story. Tom Selleck had Mr. Baseball back in 1992, Michelle Pfeiffer had Dangerous Minds back in 95', Paul Hogan had "Crocodile" Dundee back some thirty years ago, and now lead Bill Murray gets his Shareef on in 2015. He plays Richie Lanz, a once prominent rock manager now living in a seedy, Van Nuys hotel. He used to work with legends like Stevie Nicks and John Mellencamp. Now he's almost broke, owing back child support to his young daughter who he has to talk to through a window (ouch). You see Lanz has one client left, a whiny female singer named Ronnie (played by Zooey Deschanel). Together on a tip from a drunken bar patron, they travel to Kabul, Afghanistan to partake in a famed, USO tour. As they get settled in some 14,000 miles away from home, Ronnie gets cold feet, steals Richie's passport (and wallet), and flies back leaving him all alone with no identification. Richie's solution: Wait two weeks for a new one, find a way to raise some cash (illegally), and discover a current singer to appear on Afghanistan's version of TV's American Idol (an actual show called Afghan Star). Murray quips and cops with one-liners and a capella versions of Deep Purple ("smoke on the water, a fire in the sky"). He's in every frame with do-rag in tote.

Image result for rock the kasbah movie scenesAll in all, "Kasbah's" main fallout from getting anyone to see it, might be its target audience comprised of only hardcore Bill Murray fans (I'm one of them). Then there's the fact that its title is pretty darn conventional (two other movies via the past three years, are named Rock the Kasbah. Plus, there's that 1982 ditty by The Clash you know). Finally, the point in this condensed, 100-minute exercise, is cantankerously mute. The proceedings feel a little pasted together (the notion of a delayed release shows) with Levinson letting things drift from drama to road comedy then back to drama. He does it with some real, mild strokes.

As for Murray, he plays Lanz not entirely for laughs. He doesn't push this character as much as you might think (don't let the trailer fool you). In hindsight, he's more dry and unconcerned than anything else. This is his one-man show with a sandy, South Asia backdrop to boot. Other big time movie stars help him contribute (Kate Hudson as a sultry, Kabul prostitute and Bruce Willis as a gun-toting mercenary) but come on, they're just a blimp on his radar. Bottom line: Wilmette's favorite son has this uncanny ability to carry a film good or bad. As Joe Strummer belts (in the actual song, "Rock the Kasbah"), "the king called up his jet fighters, he said you better earn your pay", well everyone involved (the filmmakers, the cast, and especially the main trouper) at least gets a slight raise. My rating: 2 and a half stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Bridge of Spies 2015 * * * Stars

Bridge of SpiesDirector: Steven Spielberg
Year: 2015
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, Mark Rylance

Spielberg and Hanks. Hanks and Spielberg. Their collaborations have become legend. You've got 1998's Saving Private Ryan which I never went gaga over. Then there's The Terminal, not an awful film just meh. Finally, we have Catch Me If You Can, the duo's entertaining masterpiece (this is just my opinion). Bridge of Spies (my latest review) is the current synergy between these two celebrated, Hollywood giants. It's cinematic hot chocolate recommendable because of historical significance. "Bridge" with its darkly-lit scenes and bloated two hour-plus running time, falls into Steven's two categories of movies being hyperactive, action adventures and historical sagas. It hightails into the latter meaning it's talky, draggy, and mostly devoid of anything compelling. I felt as if I was watching Lincoln again minus the circa range of 1865. Translation: No second viewing for this camper.

Taking place during the Cold War via 1957, featuring a cast of virtual unknowns (a Spielberg emblem), and written by none other than the Cohen brothers (Ethan and Joel Cohen of course), Bridge of Spies chronicles real-life insurance lawyer, James B. Donovan (Hanks). He's a family man, a dude bent on doing the right thing. When he gets saddled with defending a Russian spy (Rudolf Abel played uniquely by Mark Rylance), Donovan helps said spy avoid the death penalty while attempting to trade him for two American refugees (a fighter pilot and a graduate student who are both detained by way of espionage). The flick then involves globetrotting within the territories of Germany, Russia, and you guessed it, Brooklyn, New York. Scenes build to a slow creep combining negotiation dialogue that spews mannerisms at verbatim (Tom's James B. has the flu, we get it). I sensed that I'd been in the theater for ten hours and sat through three drawn-out endings (the final sequence is reminiscent of 1985's White Nights. It looks like a soundstage which is uncharacteristic of the mighty Steven Spielberg).

In retrospect, the acting (as expected) is solid with Tom Hanks being well, Tom Hanks. We all know he's the quintessential everyman. Will he get a nomination from the Academy? Maybe but this is October so there's sixty days left in the fiscal year. Bottom line: The World's most socko director provides us with admirable storytelling, technical skill, and period detail of the highest order. Does he entertain the moviegoer in the process? Not entirely. Be sure to bring heightened intelligence and an attention span (the size of Texas) to actually feel immersed. This is a "bridge" too far if you ask me. Rating: 3 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Friday, October 16, 2015

The Walk 2015 * * * Stars

The WalkDirector: Robert Zemeckis
Year: 2015
Rated PG
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon

With his unique way of slipping into roles like some confident chameleon, you might as well belly up and call Joseph Gordon-Levitt a full-blown movie star. He can headline anything that an a-lister takes on. Whether he's imitating Bruce Willis (Looper), playing a likable muscle head (Don Jon), or just slinging high stakes at poker (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), this once adorable child actor is now the real deal. Bring on Snowden even if it is in delayed release.

Anyway, if you are afraid of heights, it might be difficult to watch certain portions or especially the last bit of his 2015 release, The Walk (my latest review). This film is based on the true story of Philippe Petit, a high-wire artist who caught the world's attention sauntering across the Twin Towers (of the World Trade Center). Directed by special effects maestro Robert Zemeckis, "Walk" has Petit (played with heavy discipline and a broad French accent by Gordon-Levitt) traveling 140 feet on a thick, heavy cable. It's a moment that you need to see to believe.

Zemeckis nurturing the concept of 3D on his mind, shoots The Walk as if he's revisiting his own Forrest Gump (1994's Best Picture winner). Tom Hanks sat on a bench and narrated most of that epic in flashback. Here, Gordon-Levitt does the same thing but from high atop the Statue of Liberty. The difference between the two films is simple: "Gump" is more Homeric with storytelling that's not negligible. "Walk" isn't plotless yet not enough seems at stake. The trailer looked mighty compelling. The end result is breezy and almost comical in nature.

Having its climatic gesture taking place in August of 1974 and its running time clocking in at just over two hours, The Walk chronicles Philippe's drive and passion, his relentless persona of being difficult to the people who work for him. You see he wants to be the greatest wirewalker known to man and while living in France, he injures his tooth (street performing). In the waiting room at the dentist office, he sees a picture of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers (mentioned earlier). Petit becomes obsessed. During "Walk's" next hour or so, he trains heavily with each wire becoming longer and longer in length and higher and higher off the ground. Eventually, he finds his way to New York City traveling with his cutesy girlfriend (Anne played by Charlotte Le Bon). They befriend a photographer, a life insurance salesman, a stoner, and various other accomplices. All these half-strangers help Philippe succeed in pulling off the ultimate, illegal stunt (I think you can figure out where things are headed). This gives The Walk a sort of caper feel. 2001 had Ocean's Eleven. Here we have Petit's seven.

All in all, the three-dimensional space in "Walk" is sumptuous and avant garde. The look of it is salt and peppery, the sense of time and place is physically real, and the performances by all the actors are thoroughly impactful (especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Edited quickly yet overwhelmed by large amounts of buildup (is said French dude finally gonna be "Mr. Man On Wire" and cross over?), this thing still keeps you interested. Even the film score is Forrest Gumpian. My rating: 3 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

The Martian 2015 * * * Stars

The MartianDirector: Ridley Scott
Year: 2015
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels

2015's The Martian (my latest review) is different from any film Ridley Scott has ever done. Yeah it's science fiction and all but you won't see aliens swallowing up Harry Dean Stanton whole, you won't see Harrison Ford retiring any replicants, and Russell Crowe ain't cutting off people's heads while yelling, "are you not entertained!" (oops, wrong genre). No this is probably Scott's first foray into feel-good territory, a sort of channeling within his inner, fantasy geek (Bill Nye and characters on The Big Bang Theory would be mighty proud). With "Martian", you gotta think All Is Lost in outer space (ha ha, get it), Cast Away on a planet millions of miles from Earth, and fictional splendor in the form of Apollo 13 (with added humor that sometimes deflates dramatic momentum). Matt Damon in the lead role, gives us an effectual, Hanks-ian performance. He even loses weight in the flick's third act to make it look legit.

Featuring a sun-drenched, bleached look (that's Ridley for ya), title cards when various troupers are introduced (I remember seeing this in Scorsese's The Aviator), plenty of bubble gum, seventies soundtrack hits, and dialogue that doesn't seem as clunky as was featured in last year's Interstellar (Matt Damon was also a stranded space cadet in that monster, box office hit), The Martian chronicles astronaut and goofy botanist, Mark Watney (played by Cambridge's favorite son). You see Mark is left for dead, stranded on Mars. His crew thinks he got pulverized by debris in a hellish sand storm. To make matters worse, NASA informs the world that he's departed and even has a bodiless funeral for him. Watney's solution: Try to stay alive long enough for anyone listening, to realize he's not in the grave and come back to pick him up (that could take up to three years). He figures out how to grow his own food, create water from almost nothing, and locate the Pathfinder probe (a robotic spacecraft from 1997). By detecting this probe, he will get the chance to regain contact with Earth.

Now based on "Martian's" trailer, I thought it might be silly for NASA to garner many man-hours, fork over millions of dollars for a rescue mission, and have five of their crew members risk lives to save one dude. I was erroneous. This vehicle makes you care about it all and then some. The actors do solid work across the board. You have Oscar nominees (Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor), villainous heirs (Sean Bean), and comedic veterans (Kristin Wiig, Mackenzie Davis) contributing threefold. The film's only heavy is perhaps, space and time (you could also throw in Jeff Daniels as Teddy Sanders, a snobbish, cocksure NASA contingent). Ah heck, it's safe to say that The Martian is darn predictable (you know Watney's gonna make it home, come on). The journey to get there though is still pretty alluring and seat-grabbing (if you wanna be Iron Man, just puncture your vacuumed suit and let it ride, hint hint).

In conclusion, various, big time directors have tried their hand at making quality cinema via the "Red Planet" (that includes the swooping Brian De Palma and John Carpenter). They failed miserably where Scott at least succeeds on a few levels. In the past, some of his work has lacked sentimentality relying on violent images and distant temperaments to get the job done. Here, he paints a picture more human, more amicable. Yeah The Martian is a bit overlong (a two hour running time could have sufficed things) and it sledgehammers comedy in the face of death and dying. However, when the lights go down and you have popcorn in hand, there's entertainment value plus intellectual insight to keep everyone occupied. Oh and you know what, David Bowie's "Starman" never sounded so good. Rating: 3 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Everest 2015 * * * 1/2 Stars

EverestDirector: Baltasar Kormakur
Year: 2015
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Jake Gyllenhaal

Most movies associated with historical significance, are four star affairs or Academy Award darlings. The one I'm writing about doesn't quite reach that plateau (it has an episodic, pilot feel during the first half). Darn it though if the proceedings don't come incredibly close (with cigar firmly in reach).

So OK, let's meet the antagonist of 2015's Everest (my latest review): The mountain itself, all 29,029 feet of it. There's plenty of ice, plenty of "detachments", and a lack of oxygen. With it comes man versus nature, "David and Goliath", reach the summit or reach quietus. Now let's encounter this film's protagonist: Every freaking climber who tries to conquer Earth's highest point and gets their butt kicked. "It's not the altitude, it's the attitude" quips co-star Jake Gyllenhaal (he plays real-life, expedition group leader Scott Fischer). Well attitude can only get you so far when low atmospheric pressure and frostbite take hold. Just a walk in the park boys! Yeah right.

Echoing 1993's Alive (I don't know, I guess it's the particulars of red cheeks and sleeping in frigid, blustery weather that reminded me) and based on a true story circa 1996, Everest chronicles a dozen or so climbers bent on arriving at its grand, pointy peak. At a running time of two hours, it starts out as a slow burn. There's fascinating stuff here, a lot of educational fodder (this thing is a playbook on how to climb any apex-enhanced structure), some TV movie interludes, some film strip pauses, and plenty of brief character introductions. Yeah a few climbers make it to the top, flags are planted, hands are raised, and heavy breathing commences. It all happens relatively fast. Then they try to climb back down while a brutal snow storm approaches (in the month of May no less). That's when the film kicks into high gear. You think the journey to get up to Chomolungma was your baby. Well, you'd be dead wrong.

Now with Everest, there are muscular portrayals by all the actors. Well-known stars (Jason Clarke, Sam Worthington, Robin Wright), Oscar nominees (Gyllenhaal as mentioned earlier, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, John Hawkes), and relative unknowns (Michael Kelly, Tom Wright) contribute to its realism, its accuracy. Granted, this is the type of fluff that mountaineers will pay attention to, be glued to, really feel in their blood. I know nothing of their sideline but alas, my stomach was in my throat, I forgot to breathe, and panic set in. Oy vey!

Overall, beautiful cinematography, a considerable cast, and accurate locales (certain scenes were actually shot in Nepal's South Base Camp) make Everest a candidate for one of the year's best. A powerful, powerful moviegoing experience. Rating: 3 and a half stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson