Review: Dolphin Tale 2

171. Dolphin Tale 2
Morgan Freeman's role in "Dolphin Tale 2" is a little, but only a little, more than an extended cameo. I was relieved to see that he must not have wasted too much time making the film. This relief was one of the only things I liked about the movie.

The film is inoffensive enough, and younger kids are bound to enjoy it, but when there have been other, better films that they're bound to enjoy so much more, I have to wonder: what's the point? For most adults (including me), the film is too sickly sweet in a way that relentlessly permeates the whole thing. Rather than limiting itself to telling a story and hoping that the story will inspire emotion in its audience, the film spends the entire runtime telling the audience exactly how they should feel. Practically half the movie was made up of reaction shots that were blatant in their attempts to manipulate the viewers' emotions. If something happened that we were supposed to find cute, you can bet that there will be at least five shots of various characters also finding that thing cute, as if we couldn't figure it out on our own. The same goes for any other emotion the audience is meant to feel. I picked up on this crutch when I saw the film's trailer, and hoped that the actual film would be more subtle, but that was not to be.

Another mistake was making the film's central character a kid who can't act. My complaints from the last paragraph would still be there, but could have been mitigated if I had been able to get invested in the story the film was trying to tell. Nothing can make that harder than putting a kid who can't act in the central role. The role isn't even that demanding. There's not much range required. But, much like the film, the kid's emotions are so forced that I could never forget that I was watching someone trying to act. Not for a second did I believe I was watching an actual character.

Sometimes movies surprise me. I love nothing more than the times I'm expecting to dislike a movie, but it ends up becoming a new favorite. Other times, the films I don't expect much from end up being even worse than I'd feared. This was one of those times.

D

Review: The Identical

170. The Identical
I ended up enjoying this more than I expected, but it is still barely above the level of a television film. Some nice, toe-tapping musical numbers keep things fun, though the plot itself is nothing to write home about.

In the beginning of the film, two identical twins are separated shortly after birth, as their parents are only capable of raising one. The other is adopted by a minister. He grows up resistant to his adoptive father's wishes for him to also enter the ministry, instead developing an interest in music. He is especially interested in the career of a new music superstar who, unbeknownst to him, is his long-lost brother. Their paths nearly cross a few times throughout the years, and the effectiveness of these moments in the film is mixed. In one sense, they work. The actors do their best to sell the subtext of the scenes. Often, however, the moments are very contrived and coincidental. Even when they're pulled off well, it's hard to silence the voice in the back of your head pointing out the unlikelihood of it all. It's all a matter of setup. Some of their near meetings are set up well, and they're the ones that come across the best. The others, however, feel like lazy writing, what you'd expect from a melodramatic television movie.

None of the film's songs are particularly memorable, but most of them do have a nice beat and are entertaining enough in the moment. They elevate the film slightly from what the plot deserves. The contrived writing can go down a little easier when it's accompanied by a tune that's fun to listen to.

The film is inoffensive and pleasant enough to watch, but there's no single factor strong enough to merit a recommendation. It's a good example of a time-waster: good for killing an hour or two, but you're unlikely to remember much about it a week later.

C+

Review: Kundo: Age of the Rampant

169. Kundo: Age of the Rampant
A South-Korean take on the Spaghetti Western genre, "Kudo: Age of the Rampant" often wears its Quentin Tarantino influence on its sleeve, even going so far as to frequently play a musical selection taken from "Django Unchained". While an imitation can't reach the heights of the real deal, the film still manages to be a highly entertaining, years-spanning revenge film that features several complex characters.

At first, the film seems to be about a group of bandits fighting the unjust rich and ruling class on behalf of the less fortunate. They're basically a more violent version of Robin Hood. They don't just steal from the rich--they often kill them, too. After an introductory sequence, however, the group retreats to the film's periphery for a while, as we move onto Act II (the film is divided into five acts). Now we're introduced to Dolmuchi, a butcher (helpful onscreen text informs American audiences that it South Korean society at this time, a butcher was regarded as little better than a slave). Dolmuchi makes a deal with Jo Yoon, illegitimate son of a wealthy noble. When Dolmuchi fails to follow through on his end of the deal, his mother and sister are killed, and he is left for dead, but rescued by the bandits, who he joins. For the next several years, he goes along with their attempt to fight the rich, but never forgets about his own need for vengeance against Jo Yoon.

There are many tangents the film allows itself to go on. While they may at times be too indulgent and contribute to a runtime that's a little too high, they mostly work. A whole sequence is devoted to Jo Yoon's childhood, showing the struggles he endured as an illegitimate child, especially once a legitimate son was born. While he is clearly the villain and does despicable things, the audience does feel some degree of sympathy and understanding for him. In some places it can almost be difficult not to root for the guy--he gets ambushed at one point, but manages to fight off dozens of attackers on his own. In the end, he is only defeated because of an act of kindness. In the same way, Dolmuchi is a great character. He has a big arc, changing both internally and in his appearance as he goes from despised butcher to respected member in the bandits' hierarchy.

The film is peppered with great martial arts sequences that, while often extreme, are also grounded. There's no excessive, physics defying wire work to be found here. That these sequences are often accompanied by Spaghetti Western style guitar music sets them apart even further.

The story takes several twists in the last hour, and I am loathe to say much more so as not to give anything away. The film deserves to be experienced. It's a sweeping revenge epic with some memorable characters that mixes several different styles together to create one that is all its own.

A-

Review: Mary Kom

168. Mary Kom
Now this is how you do a biopic. I'm sure it helps that the subject, Indian boxer Mary Kom, is only 31 years old now (and the film ends when she's around 25 or so), giving the filmmakers much less ground to cover. Regardless, it is very concentrated in its presentation, delivering a story that would have been captivating even if it was entirely fictional.

The film benefits immeasurably from the decision not to tell the story of Mary Kom's life, but a story of her life. There is one, very brief scene of her as a young girl, but the film doesn't waste any time with the extended childhood flashbacks that a lot of biopics include (you know the kind I mean--where they try to draw some Freudian link between a childhood event and the present). It maintains a clear focus on Mary's desire to learn to box, her successful rise in the sport, and her struggle to return to the sport after marrying and having children. No matter how successful she becomes, the film always manages to come up with a new situation or complication to make her the underdog once again. By not allowing its lead character to become complacent, the film saves itself from the same fate. It is always moving forward.

Many biopics go overboard trying to answer the cerebral question of "who" their subject really is. "Mary Kom" explores the title character's psyche, but does so in an organic way, demonstrating her personality through her actions. Her strong will is personified when she goes against her father who forbids her to box, and again later when she defies her coach who believes she is destroying her career by becoming a wife and mother. Her efforts to prove him wrong, the focus of the film's second half, provide a fun role reversal as, contrary to your typical film, her husband becomes the one taking care of the children and providing her with encouragement while she focuses on personal goals. I've read some places claiming that the film is sexist and attempting to emasculate Mary by focusing so much on her motherhood, but I strongly disagree. Watching her struggle and succeed to balance both the maternal and professional aspects of her life makes her a well rounded and, in my opinion, stronger character.

You can't write about a boxing film without including something about the quality of the fights and training sequences. The film succeeds on both counts. The boxing matches are well staged and exciting, even when you usually know what's probably going to happen. The final fight crosses a little too far into melodrama territory, as it's intercut with scenes of one of Mary's sons near death, being operated on. The moment when his vitals pick up again, followed by her sudden ability to turn the tide in the match (a psychic link perhaps?) was worthy of an eye roll or two. The final training sequence preceding the fight is top-notch as well. It's in an outdoors, wilderness setting, and would fit in well in any "Rocky" movie.

I'm sure the film made some deviations from the true story on which it is based, but I don't really care. All that matters is that it works as a movie. Very little feels out of place, so any moments, characters, or incidents invented to enhance the drama seem to have done the job seamlessly. I've enjoyed many of the foreign films I've seen this year, but it's rare for one to almost make me forget I'm watching a foreign film.

A-

Review: Cantinflas

167. Cantinflas
This was another biopic that falls into most of the usual traps. It's more concerned with hitting all the big moments of its subject's life, and rarely lets us truly get inside their head. "Cantinflas" further highlights this problem by featuring a separate storyline that is actually more interesting than what the bulk of the film has to offer.

Most of the film concerns itself with the career rise of Mario Moreno (professionally billed as Cantinflas) as he goes from working in tent shows, to becoming a comedian who plays to large theatrical houses, to becoming the biggest star in the Mexican film industry. Intercut with this is a storyline where producer Michael Todd, preparing to make the film "Around the World in 80 Days" seeks to put together an all star cast filled with cameos from international celebrities. His list includes Cantinflas, which is how the storylines eventually intersect.

While Cantinflas' storyline takes place over years, Todd's lasts about a week. This makes Todd's story infinitely more involving and relatable. Each time we cut back to Cantinflas, something has changed. Often, he's moved onto the next rung of his career ladder. Eventually his marriage is in trouble, hampered by his occupational obligations. The problem is that we rarely see the progression in any of this. There is no slow onset of marital stress. We just return to his storyline and the focus is suddenly on the state of his marriage. You can almost feel the screenwriter checking off each "life event" he feels obligated to include in the film, using the interludes provided by the Michael Todd sequences as an excuse to jump right to the next event when returning to Cantinflas' storyline. Each time we return to Todd's story, however, he is in the same state we left him in, trying desperately to put together the cast for his movie. This gives his storyline a strong sense of continuity, and its easy to get behind this character as he is consistently attempting to accomplish a clear, singular goal. Are his sequences brilliant? By no means. But they do tell a clear story while calling attention to the fact that the rest of the film does not.

In general, I'm just not a big fan of the biopic genre, as they're very hard to do well. When a film actually manages to pull it off, it can be a fantastic achievement. "Cantinflas", while sometimes entertaining, doesn't pull it off.

C+

September 12 Weekly Preview

There is no way I'm going to make it to all the movies coming out this week. Including several foreign films, there are nine different movies making their debuts in local theatres. While I'm sure to make it to a few of them, the wider release films I'm certain to see are:

The Drop- I've seen the trailer for this several times, but fortunately it doesn't seem to give away tons of information about the plot's direction. It's a crime themed film and, if I had to guess, more of the brooding variety than a full out thriller.

Dolphin Tale 2- I haven't seen the original and my expectations for this are not high. I just really wish Morgan Freeman was stretching himself with more interesting projects instead of picking up the easy paychecks for stuff like this. I say this from a place of love. He has incredible range. He just needs to show it off more.

No Good Deed- Seems to be your typical home invasion thriller. Could go either way.

Love is Strange- About a gay couple played by John Lithgow and Alfred Molina. Not sure if it's a comedy, a drama, or a dramedy. After his turn in the fourth season of "Dexter", I'll watch Lithgow in anything.

Review: The Trip to Italy

166. The Trip to Italy
While I got a few laughs and genuinely enjoyed significant chunks of "The Trip to Italy", I don't feel like I can give it a good rating. Many of the film's troubles stem from the method of its construction. It is edited from a six episode season of a television series, which totaled about 180 minutes. For the film, this was cut down to 108. It's also the sequel to a 2010 film titled simply "The Trip", which was similarly edited from the show's first season. While I can't speak to the quality of that film (I wasn't aware it even existed until after I'd seen this one), this sequel is not well served by the television to film transposition.

The film gets incredibly repetitious very quickly. It follows a road trip through Italy with Steve Coogan (who I'm familiar with) and Rob Brydon (who I'm not) playing fictional versions of themselves as they dine at different restaurants and see the sights. Much of the film was apparently improvised by the two actors as they sit down to eat and riff on popular culture, liberally seasoning the conversation with imitations of the likes of Michael Caine, Roger Moore, and others. Their chemistry is great, and some of these moments are really funny. But then they go to another location and repeat the process. Over and over again. This was almost certainly more palatable when presented as an episodic television show. Getting a half hour weekly dose of improvised comedy in a new, beautiful location each week might have been fun. When presented as a film, however, it becomes a repetitious slog that I was ready to see end by around the halfway point. There were still jokes to be made, and I still sometimes laughed at them, but the film felt incredibly stagnant.

The attempts made to provide the film with a progressive through line were also weak. Coogan had an arc about trying to connect with his son, while Brydon got storylines where he cheated on his wife and auditioned for an American film. These were transparent attempts to inject some "plot" into the film, and they didn't really work. There also didn't seem to be a good reason for why the actors were playing versions of themselves. If you're going to do something like that, it should really add something to the film. In this case, they might as well have been purely fictional characters and the impact would have been the same.

The two lead actors are great talents, but this episodic mish mash can barely even be called a movie, its television roots are so glaringly present. Their comedy chops are the only reason for the "plus" I'm putting on my rating.

D+