Gangster Squad 2013 * 1/2 Stars

Director:  Ruben Fleischer

Year: 2013

Rated R

Rating: * 1/2 Stars

Cast: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling

Gangster Squad is a big, shiny, mess of a movie. It's loud, violent, and very mean spirited. This January release (red flag there) harks back to the organized crime days of 1940's Los Angeles. The film is loosely based (I mean that sincerely) on the story of the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) forming a "Gangster Squad unit" to stop crime boss Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) from causing havoc and taking over the city. The unit is comprised of Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin), detective Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), and Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling). Also, you got a wire tapper named Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi) and Robert Patrick's character, Max Kennard. The unique thing about these guys is that they are deep undercover. They basically aren't cops anymore. They are vigilantes. That's the gist of the film and you kinda get the feeling that everyone involved was trying to remake the acclaimed motion picture The Untouchables (1987). Nice try.

"Squad's" biggest problem lies in the screenplay. The words the actors say don't justify anything that's on screen. The script feels like it was written in a half hour. And what we get for the entire running time (1 hr. 53 minutes) is sparse dialogue between the characters followed by violent shoot-em-up scenes that have virtually no set up and no payoff. Don't get me wrong, the action scenes are well done, but it's hard to care about anyone involved because we don't know much about the the villains or the good guys. And the little we do know, isn't enough leverage to embrace what happens to them. It's sad because the film was directed by Ruben Fleischer. His last two movies (Zombieland in 2009, 30 Minutes or Less in 2011) are ones that I would recommend. He brings a lot of energy to the proceedings. He misses the boat however, on this one because it lacks the character insight and juicy, playful banter between the actors in the two movies just mentioned. 

The other problem with "Squad," lies in the acting. Sean Penn is the only one in the cast that does any of it. His performance is over the top but it's decent. The bad part though, is that it also feels like it it's from another movie, a better movie. All the other actors in the film literally seem like they're going through the motions. Let's face it, they're being lazy. It's as if the director yelled cut and everyone went to their trailers for a nice long nap. These are actors that I like (Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte). Added to this disaster is the casting of Emma Stone as pretty much the only woman in the film. She is Grace Faraday, the so-called love interest. It's obvious that she looks out of place. When you see her all you think of is the other movies she's done. I'm talking teenage films like Superbad (2007) and Easy A (2010). And did anyone else find it creepy that she played Sean Penn's character's girlfriend? Yeah me too. Finally, there is the look of the film. You notice I said "shiny" earlier in this review. I'm serious. If this movie ever made it back to theatres for a reissue (it's probably not gonna happen), you'd find out that "Squad" is so slick and glossy that you could probably see your own reflection on the movie screen.

You get the point. It's not necessarily that this film should have never been made, It's just that there was another film like this made earlier and with much better results. I tend to use the term "popcorn flick" a lot in my reviews. The definition of "popcorn flick" is a movie that's good or bad, but not monumental. A "popcorn flick" can actually be a good waste of time.  Gangster Squad is a bad "popcorn" flick because as a moviegoer, it's more than a waste of your time, it's two hours out of your life you can't get back. Oh, it's a "popcorn flick" all right. It's of the stale, microwave, and burnt kind. 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Minimize

Close

• 0

Colors 1988 * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Dennis Hopper
Year: 1988
Rated R
Rating: * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Sean Penn, Robert Duvall

Before the films Training Day (a flick that I believe was inspired by the one I'm reviewing), Menace II Society, Boyz in the Hood, and even the real life L.A. riots, there was this gritty take on gang violence that was directed by the late, not to mention taskful Dennis Hopper. Colors from an initial viewing, seems like an accurate, almost deftly authentic message movie that is brutal in nature and almost tries to scare a moviegoer away un purpose. I believe that it was made (unintentionally) for accuracy and less for catering to your everyday cinematic experience. Hopper, who had only made 3 films prior to this one, used a few of his early camera techniques from his masterpiece Easy Rider to set the tone for this sort of dramatic (not action oriented) buddy cop movie. He does this with the opening shot of the two leads driving through crime ridden L.A., and towards the last half hour or so with some ariel stuff. He was a unique director who seemed to envision what a motion picture could be long before anybody else. With the casting of two legendary screen icons (Robert Duvall and Sean Penn) and what seemed like total freedom to shoot anything and everything around the City of Angels, Hopper shot Colors and it hit theaters (with a lot of buzz) in the spring of 1988. Truth be told, there are a lot of things to admire about this vehicle. What kept me from recommend it is simple. Colors doesn't quite know what it wants to be (this is especially inherit in the relationship between Penn and Duvall). It also doesn't have a clear direction of where it wants to take the viewer. Scenes of police interrogation go on too long and seem repetitive. They don't allow anything to really take shape. Like I said earlier, Colors seems accurate. But I'm afraid, it's almost too accurate. And what you get is something that could only be tolerated by say, a real police officer who has been in the trenches and can access the films subject matter. Where as the similar Training Day was thought provoking, suspenseful, and confidently climatic, Colors just feels like a bruised and battered slog. 

With actual, real life gang members as extras and a lingering feeling that all the main actors rode with (observed as well) actual cops (role researching must have been at an all time high) before filming began, Colors takes you through the armpit of Los Angeles (notably East L.A. and South Central L.A.) where police officers Bob Hodges (Duvall) and Danny McGavin (Penn) try to maintain and possibly rid their territory of gang violence among the Crips, the Bloods, and Hispanic street gangs. Hodges is a veteran officer who is mellow in his actions. McGavin is a hot shot, hot tempered, and high strung rookie who wants to take every measure of veritable force to get the job done (there are a couple of scenes where Penn's character hits a prisoner in custody. To my knowledge, this is probably against police procedure, but it's never noted in the film). As mentioned earlier, the luke warm dynamic between Duvall and Penn's characters is never fully realized. Throughout the two hour running time, you can't really figure out where their relationship stands. Yeah, this has the feel of a buddy cop movie where two the protagonists are constantly at odds with each other, but scenes between these guys escalate and then don't find a resolution. It's a shame that two acting heavyweights who are so good at their craft, feel like they don't belong in the same movie (if I'm not mistaken, they haven't been on screen together since). Their performances are adequate but one of them is miscast and I could never figure out which one.  

In conclusion, there is a lot to admire upon viewing Colors. It's got decent acting, solid direction, and at least it's about something that was relevant at the time. Yes, the events depicted are slightly outdated and there is a sort of preachiness to the proceedings (the soundtrack by the talented Herbie Hancock is wrong for what's on screen because it deflates the dramatic momentum), but it's as strong of a mixed review as I could ever give a motion picture. It has good intentions, promotes a strong message, and makes you think ever so slightly. As an unintentional sort of staged docudrama, it gets the job done. As entertainment value or something viewed as a hearty movie going experience, Colors sadly, is just "black and white."  

Written by Jesse Burleson