World War Z 2013 * * * Stars

Director: Marc Forster

Year: 2013

Rated PG-13

Rating: * * * stars     Cole's Rating: * * Stars

Cast: Brad Pitt, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox

Based on a novel by author Max Brooks and starring the venerable Brad Pitt (he's also a co-producer), World War Z is not your typical zombie movie. It doesn't have tongue and cheek humor like 2009's Zombieland, it's not overly depressing and dark like 2002's 28 Days Later, and doesn't involve a shopping mall (ha ha). My view on this definitive summer blockbuster is that it is a straight up thriller that takes place mostly in the daylight hours. It takes a much bigger approach on the military front and projects the conflict of events to cater to the whole planet (hence the title), not the confines of a town or village (Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead come to mind).

Honestly, this might be the most realistic entry in the zombie genre that I can remember and believe me I've seen them all. If the happenings in this vehicle occurred in real life, I'm sure that this is how it would go down according to "Z's" make-up (with the exception of the actions pertaining to the Pitt character. I will get to that later). Directed with a nice big canvas and delivering some atomic scares with minimal gore (that might have to do with the PG-13 rating), World War Z is a solid, fierce exercise. However, it's part of a long list of films that have shades of greatness but don't quite make it across the finish line. There is a lack of a build up in the opening ten minutes which renders it less compelling (without hesitation, the zombies attack and you barely get to know the main characters). Then there is the ending which was rumored to have re-shoots. It's got that blatant Hollywood feel and once you see it, you'd think that the studio execs were solely responsible (I may be wrong in saying this, but I'm pretty sure director Marc Forster didn't have a say in the final cut). I will recommend what's on screen though because it does effectively what a lot of scary movies are able to accomplish. For example, if you saw Jaws back in the day, you'd probably stay out of the water for a while. After seeing "WWZ," I didn't even want to venture out of the theater. I literally thought the undead were waiting for me. This sobering nail biter haunted me (it haunts me right now) and I believe that that's something only a good movie is able to pull off. Notice I said a good movie, not a great movie. Let's just say that when World War Z isn't chaotic, it's deflating. You anxiously wait for the next fight between Pitt and the crazily possessed. Everything in between is as bland as tap water (it didn't need to be though).

As the flick opens, we meet Gerry Lane (Pitt), who is a retired united nations investigator. In the opening scene, he's having breakfast with his wife and two children. Cut to downtown Philadelphia and Lane and his family are caught in rush hour traffic. Within seconds, a hoard of zombies storm down the road feasting on every human in sight. Lane, after observing how long it takes for someone to become a zombie after being bitten (12 seconds from what I remember), gets in his car and somehow is able to drive his family out of traffic and onto a back road. From then on, he gets a call from his U.N. superiors and boom, he's picked up on top of a building by helicopter and told that it's up him to save the world (he's not a doctor or a scientist but what the heck, it's a movie). Basically he has to travel to across the globe to find the host (the first attacking agent) and decipher what measures can be taken for survival. He does all this while his family is safely left behind (an odd plot point but it's not that big of a deal).

While watching "WWZ", I learned a couple of things that I initially didn't not know about the zombie world. For instance, they are drawn to noise. And I'm not just talking loud, richter scale stuff. Even the slightest clank or clutter sets them off. Also, they attack only healthy human beings. If you have a terminal disease and are near death, they run right past you. And make no mistake about it, these are the fastest zombies I've ever seen. They really snap to it by almost tackling each other to get to their human targets. If you've seen the trailer, you'll also notice that they to climb on top of each other relentlessly to scale a wall. The whole image is hair- raising and disturbing, but brilliant at the same time. Honestly, it was hard at times to see exactly what was going on in a lot of scenes (think the look of the car chase from The Bourne Supremacy). But being that everything happening is so chaotic in modern day thrillers, the confusion can work because it's rooted in facaded realism.

Then there is the Pitt performance which could be played by any professional actor. It doesn't require a whole lot but I'm certain that the producers wanted a big name star attached to the project (solid box office returns is a plus). Pitt really plays it low key through the entire 2 hour running time. Usually, he's as animated as any actor you'll find. But in "Z", he lets his facial expressions do more of the talking (when he runs from the zombies though, it looks more like light jogging). With this approach, his character has plenty of screen presence to burn (he's looking like 1980's Robert Redford more and more each day but what's up with the early 90's grunge getup). The rest of the cast does an adequate job despite the limitations of the script. I'm not sure though if it was the theater I was in (sound might have been a little off), but a lot of the actors mumbled their lines from time to time. It was an observation that I hope was definitively wrong.

In retrospect, there is a substantial amount of entertainment here. Flawed yet enigmatic and full of unbearable tension, World War Z is tailor made for the summer moviegoer. It also answers two important questions: Can this type of flick with a big name star like Pitt be effective? Sure why not. And can a PG-13 horror fest with minimal gore and reduced violent imagery still scare and haunt you? You betcha. So to sum up this review, I'll say this, "Z" gets my recommendation. It's a serviceable thriller and it gets a solid grade of a "B".

Written by Jesse Burleson

The Counselor 2013 * * * Stars

Director: Ridley Scott
Year: 2013
Rated R
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz

Every aspect of the 2013 release The Counselor (minus the philosophically damned script), tells you that this is a Ridley Scott film. If you enjoy the way he carefully directs by bringing scenes to a slow creep and then having things interrupted with an act or two of brutal violence, then this will satisfy you, the fan of said director.  I have to say that initially I had become bored with the first 30 minutes or so of this slick, trashy (might as well throw in stylized) sort of 2 hour resembling of a cable TV drama (rated for mature audiences of course). It started off as pretentious and self indulgent. You have actors constantly engaging in conversations with each other that go on longer than needed. And the dialogue is all about the meaning of life and such. Therefore, I kept thinking to myself, why does everyone in this vehicle have to be so smart? Although the performances were substantial (with the exception of the continuously miscast Cameron Diaz), it seemed as though the script required almost all the cast members to be Socrates (the supposed founder of Western philosophy).

Brought to life by rookie screenwriter Cormac McCarthy (his novices shows in his screenwriting even though he's a well accomplished novelist) and dedicated to Ridley Scott's brother (famed director Tony Scott) who committed suicide during filming, The Counselor examines a lawyer who on the side, gets involved in drug dealings with the Mexican cartel. Hoping to get a huge return back and taking different angles of advice from a drug kingpin named Reiner (played with a goofy stature and an even goofier haircut, by Javier Bardem), "Counselor" (he has no name, this is what everybody calls him) eventually gets in way over his head. He is warned by a middleman named Westray (played by Scott veteran Brad Pitt) that such a deal might be the wrong path to be taken. Furthermore, it doesn't help that he puts his I guess, pregnant wife (Laura played by Penelope Cruz) in harm's way throughout. Let me put it this way, I found myself more embroiled with The Counselor's fate as every other character begin to die off. I read a separate review that said this motion picture was sort of a dark neo-noir. By definition, neo-noir films deal with social ramifications so I guess that critic pretty much got it right.

Anyway, if you can get past the gnawing characteristic of the aforementioned tainted screenplay, then you'll find that this movie barrels along by becoming more intriguing and to a fault, more involving. You realize that Scott knows that there is a problem with the script (he didn't write it), but he decides to be in complete control of the camera anyway. He directs with confidence and funnels little nuggets here in there from his other movies, plastering them into this one. His cast is vast and diligent (a couple of cameos by some notable screen talents). He films sequences either from a long distance away or close up with two actors trading words in a small, claustrophobic space. Last but certainly not least, he puts a relatively unknown yet well seasoned Michael Fassbender in the lead role. Known in this flick as simply "The Counselor," he is able to carry the whole 2 hour running time quite well. He's in almost every frame (Fassbender looks a little like a young Jeremy Irons and has Ewan McGregor's manneristic smirk) and goes toe to toe with some big name actors (Brad Pitt anyone) that seem to fade in and out of the proceedings. In the end, you don't quite know what the future has in store for him. But you get a sense that his character is the type of person who falls prey to the notion of bad things happening to not so bad people.

All and all, The Counselor as a movie, likes to leave little tracings of symbolism here and there (especially in the opening scene). Its intentions are to let you know that it has deeper interludes that extend far beyond the simple art of a drug deal. Yes, there are little flaws that are evident (some of the dialogue is borderline laughable and cringe worthy) but in the end, it still comes off as weirdly sophisticated. It's for the moviegoer who can hold his or her attention span and not harbor to all the disposable drivel that's thrown in year after year (stuff like remakes of classics which I've been ripping on since March). To be honest, I don't know if I would put this thing on my top ten list of 2013. However, it resonates with you minutes after you see it. And that's something I look for when I want to garner a recommendation. It also has the type of ending shot that I like where the camera focuses on a main character's face, and then goes suddenly to blackout (without any type of fading). With The Counselor, you get a mostly trademark Ridley Scott film and heck, usually he's incapable of making anything mediocre. Halfway into the second act when things get dangerous, Brad Ptit's character states, "I'd say it's pretty bad, then muliply it by ten." Yeah, I'd say this flick is not so bad so I'll just add three stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Killing Them Softly 2012 * * Stars

Director: Andrew Dominik

Year: 2012

Rated R

Rating: * * Stars

Cast: Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta

Killing Them Softly is one those movies that even almost a year since its release, I'm still trying to figure out why it got made, how it was able to get made, and why would anyone want to make it. Its director Andrew Dominik, from what I found out in an interview, actually said that his film was sort of a comedy. We'll it is about as comedic as the movie Platoon (1986). In all honesty, Killing Them Softly is dour, depressing, and the cinematic equivalent of an oil sludge. It has a minimal amount of plot because some of the plot holes are the size of craters on the moon. Added to that, you have James Gandolfini (I kinda thought he was an important part of the story) enter the proceedings with two 5-10 minutes scenes only to be never be heard from again. Oh and I almost forgot, Sam Shepard, a well known actor, inhabits about 30 seconds of screen time without any lines of dialogue. Huh? In truth this film has other characters you feel sorry for and don't care about at the same time (not easy to pull off but nevertheless this is not a compliment). And believe it or not, what's on screen is based on a novel (Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins). With 97 minutes of virtually nothing of real importance, I'm sure that it must have been one epic novel.

Now I would never give a movie zero stars because well, I've never made one and I'm sure it's very hard work. I usually give a review a minimum of 1 star. With this one, I'll throw in another because the performances are pretty decent (especially Brad Pitt, who tends to give good performances in bad movies). His character Jackie Cogan, is a philosophical hit man who has to off a couple of guys that rob a Mob protected card game. He's gets the OK from Driver (Richard Jenkins, a mafia diplomat) and proceeds to also implicate another hit man to help out with the job (Mickey Fallon, played with schizophrenic void by James Gandolfini). That's basically the whole movie. Everything in between is conversations between 1-3 actors (usually most of the scenes are between two). This gives Killing Them Softly an empty, shut out feeling. Some movies succeed with a "behind closed doors" ramification. This is not one of them. As a viewer myself, I felt a sense of solitude and possibly needed to see a psychiatrist (you know I'm kidding).

Despite many of its shortcomings, I can honestly say that it was however, well shot. And Dominik seems to love to use special lenses. They highlight the images of a drug addicted haze through the eyes of some of the characters. This is done before they commit their crimes or get killed. But really what's the point. If there is any message to convey from all of this, it's explained in TV images throughout the film of Obama preaching out to the world during what I guess is the 2008 Presidential election. That's not enough for me. And I sure based on the box office take for Killing Them Softly, other moviegoers felt the same way. At the end of the film, Pitt utters the line, "America is not a country, it's just a business. Now pay me." That's sound advice. I wish I could go back in time when I saw this movie at the theater. I'd tell the manager at the box office that he or she needs to pay me to see this dud.

Written by Jesse Burleson