(Jesse's Take) Edge of Tomorrow 2014 * * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Doug Liman
Year: 2014
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton

Tom Cruise's character dies a lot in his newest science fiction endeavor, Edge of Tomorrow. In fact, about halfway through this 2014 release, I started to lose count (let's just say that it's anywhere between 50-60 times). Regardless, "Tomorrow" is intelligent, sophisticated film making and it stakes its claim as the best thing to hit theaters this year. It makes you think (but not too incredibly hard), it heightens your senses (just like a summer blockbuster should), and it reminds you the audience, why Cruise became a movie star in the first place.

Now as I've just mentioned, there is a Groundhog Day element in which someone relives the same 24 hour period over and over again. This radical tactic brought to life in a non-comedic fashion by director Doug Liman, works diligently until it somehow becomes a little repetitive and overwrought in the 3rd act. Regardless, in the director's chair Liman does a bravado job and that is evident by "Tomorrow's" ingenious plotting and capable editing (there might be a scene or two left out as a puzzle piece but I'll let it slide). In terms of staging action, Liman takes a page out of Alfonso Cauron's playbook (the guy who shot Gravity and Children of Men). He films some of the most stupendous combat scenes you'll ever see. He works with a large canvas consisting of thousands of extras (futuristic soldiers) and the chaotic bullet-ridden sequences featured, seem incredibly complex with a host of neat panoramic views.

Reminiscent of James Cameron's Aliens, featuring slinky, terrifying creatures that seem to be lifted from the Matrix movies, and containing the omission of opening title credits (I'm a huge fan of this), Edge of Tomorrow follows the back story free tribulations of one William Cage. He's a Major but his expertise is strictly in advertising. He's never fired a gun, never killed any type of extraterrestrial, but here he is ordered by an unreasonable General (General Brigham played by Brendan Gleeson in a standard Brendan Gleeson role) to go to Europe and fight a war against evil caricatures called Mimics (think mechanical zombies who hightail it fast and furious). Here's the kicker: every time Cruise's Cage gets killed in battle, he wakes up and finds himself in the same spot he was in when he first came to the army camp (for basic training). He's getting a do-over or a chance to fight again and again until the alien invasion has been conquered by humans. Over the course of the first initial deaths, Cage encounters a fellow soldier who had a similar experience. Emily Blunt is said soldier and she plays Special Forces killer Rita Vrataski. Tom Cruise and Blunt work well together as actors. Their relationship is strictly business as their characters both die again intentionally to try to reset the game plan and strategize their war tactics efficiently.

The performances in "Tomorrow" are mostly disciplined. There is a dose of mild humor but it doesn't register as much as other critics have noted. The Cruise character is initially seen as cowardly but unintentionally becomes a soldier transformed. The film seems like a personal journey for him and you feel the most sympathy for his plight. As for the other members of the cast, they aren't as likable. They actually seem aloof and off-putting (especially the combat fighters in Cage's battalion). Same goes for Emily Blunt. She has good intentions, excels as a sword wielding warrior, but comes off as very reserved. Her Rita Vrataski is distant and borderline unfriendly. Cruise's Cage starts to feel something for her, a sort of mulled over connection if you will. You as the viewer however, will be pain staked at trying to figure out why.

Anyway, the tag line for this film's poster reads, "LIVE DIE REPEAT." Based on my review and recommendation, I believe that this might be the current career path under which Tom Cruise is headed for in modern day Hollywood. Clearly on a science fiction kick, he bounces back this time after appearing in 2013's unoriginal Oblivion.

Overall, a bogged down final half hour doesn't keep Edge of Tomorrow from possessing the power to entertain. It has a fresh premise and it's its own movie even though residue from other science fiction fare sometimes seeps in. Will you be enticed to see it multiple times? Probably not. The effect if you're not patient, would be the equivalent of what Major Cage goes through time and time again (count me out, I've got other movies to see). But know this: compared to a lot of other summer flicks that have filtered in and out of multiplexes, Edge of Tomorrow teeters much further along the "edge" of greatness.

Written by Jesse Burleson

A Million Ways to Die in the West 2014 * * Stars

Director: Seth MacFarlane
Year: 2014
Rated R
Rating: * * Stars
Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Neil Patrick Harris, Liam Neeson

If you enjoy the sight of Liam Neeson's arse having a dandelion stuck in it, Neil Patrick Harris defecating into a couple of cowboy hats (and having the camera pan down to show a ton of poop), and the constant sight of horse dung, then by golly this is the movie for you. Yes, Seth MacFarlane is at it again. He did a fine job hosting the Oscars and managed to make the aggressively funny Ted. Here he strikes out with 2014's wild wild west spoof, A Million Ways to Die in the West. You see his 2012 release Ted pushed the envelope with a forced crassness that truly worked. With his latest release however, he doesn't get a whole lot of laughs. "West" is vulgar for the sake of being vulgar, crude for the sake of being crude, and gross for the sake of being gross. There is virtually no humor in the screenplay. The result: the jokes fall flat as pancakes and you as the audience member, start to look at your watch and nod your head in disbelief. MacFarlane, acting as star, director, and producer here, gets on a mini ego trip trying to do what the Zucker brothers did with Airplane (spoofing air travel and airports) and the Wayans brothers did with Scary Movie (spoofing the horror genre and every other genre for that matter). He fails most contingently with a fine cast (Oscar nominees/winners Charlize Theron and Liam Neeson who deserve better) and tired jokes that actually render things a little boring ("West" is probably 20 minutes too long).

Containing an obligatory musical score lifted from every single Western (known to man) and featuring a lingo of dialogue by which no human being would ever speak in the late 1800's, A Million Ways to Die in the West follows a whiny, down his luck sheep farmer named Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane). As the proceedings begin, he loses his girlfriend to a wealthy mustache shop owner named Foy (played by Neil Patrick Harris who provides the film's only real chuckles). Stark complains that the town he lives in is plagued by disease, murder, and death in general. When he befriends a new town resident named Anna (the stunning Charlize Theron), he is smitten with her. They become close, form a relationship, and ultimately fall prey to Theron's character's evil husband (Clinch Leatherwood played by Liam Neeson). This plot thread just mentioned, somewhat deviates from the general "so stupid it's funny" element thereby making "West" a sort of black comedy that doesn't quite gel. As things get closer to wrapping up, Theron's Anna teaches Stark to become a great shot so that he can eventually confront and kill Leatherwood. Everyone can live happily ever after and Stark can avoid leaving his small Arizona town in order to move to San Francisco.

Now the acting is fairly decent but certain characters seem to belong in a different flick altogether. Liam Neeson's Clinch Leatherwood is a prime example. He plays effectively, the outlaw or villain if you will. But there is nothing goofy or humorous about his performance. Everyone around him seems to carry a different tone. They are all playing for laughs while Neeson is gruff and out of place. As for MacFarlane, he's not a bad actor but doesn't quite have the chops to really carry a whole film. His Stark is ill-defined. It's as if he came from a different century or era. Heck, he talks about his gun slinging town as if he entered from the future and was stuck in some unforgiving time warp. All in all, he should probably just stick to doing roles like the voice of the despicable teddy bear from Ted. He brings the funny so much more when reading from a microphone in a sound proof booth.

Ultimately, this is a redundantly flat and uneven comedy. I didn't get the humor in the 1974 classic Blazing Saddles (of which this film was clearly inspired by) and I sure didn't get the humor in what's featured here. Bottom line: A Million Ways to Die in the West possesses about "a million ways" not to make you laugh. Just call it one of 2014's weakest entries so far.

Of note: (spoiler alerts) if you choose to purchase a ticket to this unfunny monstrosity, watch for the ending in which MacFarlane's character wins some reward money (in a gun-fueled shootout) and uses said money to buy thousands of sheep for his homestead (he's a lousy sheep herder so this makes no sense whatsoever). Then there are a couple of meaningless cameos in the form of Jamie Foxx (showing up obviously as a nod to his role in Django Unchained) and Christopher Lloyd (looking like he's 1000 years old) reprising his role as Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Their scenes are just plain arbitrary and too short to register.

Written by Jesse Burleson