Movie review: ‘San Andreas,’ ‘Aloha’

May 28, 2015 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

“San Andreas” (PG-13) 3 stars (out of four)

Ridiculous scenarios and a paper-thin plot and characters aside, it’s hard to, well, fault “San Andreas” – a wildly conceived and thrillingly executed natural disaster movie that is pure summer popcorn drenched with gobs of butter. Starring the affable Dwayne Johnson and featuring megatons of earth-shattering visual effects, “San Andreas” is certainly not the best movie of this young summer movie blockbuster season, but ranks among one of the most entertaining.

Johnson stars as Ray Gaines, a Los Angeles Fire Department Rescue chopper pilot who has no boundaries when it comes to risking his life to save others. Despite his achievements in the field, Ray is haunted by a family tragedy that led to the separation from his wife, Emma (Carla Gugino) and estrangement from their adult daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario) — so he’s willing to face hell on earth when “The Big One” hits.

The problem is, the event is not one big earthquake, but a series of them that begins at the Hoover Dam. Intensifying in power with each earthquake, the series of ultra-destructive events continues with a run up the entire San Andreas fault line. The biggest and worst one – along with a tsunami — is set to hit San Francisco, where Blake is holding on for dear life.

Amid the crumbling buildings, people scattering and the earth shattering, “San Andreas” follows three sets of characters: Ray and Emma, who plow through hazards in the air, land and sea in a desperate attempt to find their daughter; Blake, who forms a bond with aspiring businessman Ben (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and his younger brother Ollie (Art Parkinson) as they battle the harsh elements; and a reporter (Archie Panjabi) who helps an earthquake scientist (the always great Paul Giamatti) warn the residents of San Francisco of their impending doom.

Unlike Johnson’s previous action movie blockbuster “Furious 7,” “San Andreas” does its best to assemble a story amid all the chaos involving the characters. But as evidenced by the film’s nail-chomping opening rescue scene, “San Andreas” is all about the action and effects, and the intensity rarely lets up for the film’s 114-minute run-time.

The characters, while all likeable (apart from Ioan Gruffudd, who is perfectly slimy as Emma’s weasel boyfriend), are really only pawns to support the film’s majestic visual effects, which to director Brad Peyton’s credit, sometimes boom out of nowhere so loudly that you can’t help but jump out of your seat. “San Andreas” is one of those movies that has to be seen on the big screen if you want to experience its full effect, and for Californians, it’s one that will leave audiences quaking in their boots.

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“Aloha” (PG-13) 1 1/2 stars (out of four)

God only knows what exactly writer-director Cameron Crowe’s intentions were with the ambitious but ultimately ambivalent “Aloha,” a disappointing dramedy that has all the right talent but can’t seem to figure out what to do with it. Awkward, disjointed and sometimes just plain confusing, “Aloha,” which stars Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone, seems to be suffering from an identity crisis. Is it a romance? Is it a comedy? Is it a tale of redemption? Is it a tale about Hawaiian spirits? Is it a cautionary tale about weapons of mass destruction?

As odd as it sounds, all of those elements are dancing inside the frames of the 105-minute film, but never quite seem to gel.

Cooper stars as Brian Gilcrest, a former, starry-eyed Air Force veteran who fell from grace while making a shady living as a defense contractor in Afghanistan. Despite a stormy past with billionaire businessman Carson Welch (Bill Murray), Brian, a gifted private aerospace contractor, is recruited once again by the shrewd industrialist to oversee a game-changing, super-secret satellite project. Seems that Brian not only has the technical wherewithal to launch the risky project, but has a rapport with the Hawaiian natives to calm their fear and skepticism about it.

Cold and removed, Brian’s return to Hawaii after 13 years seems to soften him up, as he encounters an old flame (Rachel McAdams), who is now married with two kids; and a flaky but intelligent Air Force Captain, Allison Ng (Stone), who possesses the same enthusiasm for space that Brian lost years before.

For the sake of the story, Brian’s potential future with Allison eventually leads us to the film’s predictable third act, where Brian is forced to confront his past misgivings and make a decision that could save his soul but ultimately ruin his life. Coming far too late in the proceedings, it’s the only part of “Aloha” that seems to make any sense.

Cooper, coming off the blistering success of “American Sniper,” is likable in “Aloha,” but the problem is, he’s not supposed to be. Cooper’s natural charm and charisma overshadow Brian’s shifty demeanor, and it’s shame to say, but he was simply miscast. Starting off as an annoying character, Stone’s character softens enough by the end to become tolerable, even though her motivation in the film is horribly contrived.

In supporting roles, Murray is his usual great self as Carson, and Alec Baldwin is a hoot as a hot-headed Air Force general. McAdams’ character is more or less a functional role, which spins off into a subplot involving her dejected husband (John Krasinski), who becomes jealous of Brian.

Ultimately, the pitfalls of “Aloha” fall squarely on the shoulders of Crowe, who seems to have peaked with his brilliant autobiographical 70s music tale “Almost Famous.” With “Aloha,” it just feels that he’s desperately trying too hard to tell a unique story, yet he never quite gets his arms around the sprawling narrative tight enough to rein everything in. There are mere flickers of Crowe’s brilliance in “Aloha,” but nothing near to “Almost Famous” or his memorable sports agent movie “Jerry Maguire.” For all the talent “Aloha” has in front of and behind the camera, the film is hardly a movie fan’s paradise.

Tim Lammers is a veteran entertainment reporter and a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and annually votes on the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Locally, he reviews films for “KARE 11 News at 11” and various Minnesota radio stations.

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Film, Movie Reviews

Movie reviews: ‘Tomorrowland,’ ‘Poltergeist’

May 21, 2015 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

“Tomorrowland” (PG) 2 stars (out of four)

By Tim Lammers

The future is not so bright in “Tomorrowland,” a preachy, agenda-pushing sci-fi tale that’s tucked within what is supposed to be a PG family mystery adventure film. Directed by the immensely talented Brad Bird, “Tomorrowland” seems more intent on shaming its audiences instead of inspiring them with optimism – something one of the main characters in the film aspires to do. Given the level of talent involved both behind and in front of the camera, the Disney theme attraction-based movie is a huge disappointment.

“Tomorrowland” starts promisingly, with a grown-up Frank Walker (George Clooney) explaining his exploits as a young inventor (Thomas Robinson). Trying to sell his jetpack at the 1964 World’s Fair, young Frank has a chance encounter with Athena (Raffey Cassidy), a pre-teen recruiter for “Tomorrowland,” a place in the future that houses the best and brightest minds in science and art whose purpose is to build technology for a better tomorrow.

But just as old Frank’s story goes sour, optimistic teen Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) steps in and tells her story from a more positive point-of-view. The daughter of a soon-to-be unemployed NASA engineer (Tim McGraw), Casey has the outlook that problems, no matter how big they are, can be fixed – and that comes in handy when Athena also recruits her to Tomorrowland to fix a problem that could drastically affect Earth’s future.

“Tomorrowland” seems to borrow inspiration from a variety of different movies, from the studio’s own “Rocketeer,” Bird’s animated classic “The Iron Giant” and “Men in Black” (and in perhaps a bit a coincidence, it also feels a bit like Christopher Nolan’s space opus “Interstellar”), yet manages to craft its own narrative. The problem is, the film’s approach is wrong-headed and feels jumbled as it goes out of its way not to introduce the big reveal of the plot too early (but you can get a pretty good sense early on in the movie in a scene with Clooney). By the time the motivation presents itself, the remainder of the two-hour, 10-minute film feels rushed.

Without giving away too many details, the film eventually takes on Frank’s pessimistic tone, where the leader of Tomorrowland, Nix (Hugh Laurie) says in no uncertain terms that earth is going to hell-in-a-hand-basket fast, and its greedy inhabitants are responsible for it.

It’s here where the film turns hypocritical, because Tomorrowland is supposed to be a place where its genius minds can do what they do best “free of politics and real world restrictions,” yet the very people bringing the movie to us are too fervently entrenched in their political and ideological causes (er, Clooney) to see it.

Don’t get me wrong, while I’m as concerned about the fragile state of our environment as the next person, there’s no place in a movie (unless it’s a documentary) for actors and filmmakers to spout off their political and ideological beliefs, no matter which side of the aisle they’re on – especially a movie marketed to a younger demographic that pretends to be something that it’s not.

It’s a shame that “Tomorrowland” is such a turn-off from a narrative standpoint, because it does have a lot going for it acting and tech-wise. Naturally, as a science fiction film, “Tomorrowland” has its fair share of awe-inspiring visual effects, from the immediate time shifts from present to future and it’s expansive and futuristic landscape, to robots big and small, and thrilling jetpack scenes.

In front of the camera, Clooney is naturally playing Clooney again, but there’s no question he’s solid at it (although he has one very awkward scene with Cassidy near the conclusion of the film). He’s easily out-shined by his younger co-stars, though, including the effervescent Robertson, whose star continues to rise after her wonderful turn in the Steve Carell dramedy “Dan in Real Life”; and Cassidy, whose character is not all that she seems.

Robinson is also terrific as the young Frank, especially in his scenes to kick off the film. It’s too bad “Tomorrowland” didn’t share its young performers’ youthful, un-jaded optimism, because the film would have been a lot better for it.

“Poltergeist” (PG-13) 2 stars (out of four)

There are things that go bump in the night in “Poltergeist,” but they hardly resonate as loudly as they did in the memorable 1982 original. Instead, this lackluster remake feels like it’s going through the motions with few surprises and only the occasional jump-out-of-your-seat scares.

The set-up for “Poltergeist” is virtually the same as the original, as a family of five settles (led by Sam Rockwell and Rosemary DeWitt) into a house in the suburbs that, as it turns out, was built on a former cemetery. Turns out that the relocation of the bodies wasn’t as complete as the residents were led to believe, though, and the youngest daughter (an effective Kennedi Clements) – who can communicate with the dead – is sucked through a portal to the netherworld in a closet by the malevolent spirits. Only paranormal experts and a ghost hunter (Jared Harris, in the film’s best performance) have the ability to save her, and it’s only a matter of time before she’s gone for good.

Even though it’s a PG-13 film (the original, amazingly, was PG), “Poltergeist” is, well, merely a ghost of the 1982 original. There’s no real blood to speak of (the 1982 film had the ghastly “face-off” scene), and instead, director Gil Kenan concentrates on the creep factor with only moderate success. While there’s a secret stash of clown dolls that’s discovered that’s very effective, the poltergeists, when revealed, feel par for the course.

Sam Raimi, who produced the film, would have been a much better choice to direct the film given his “Evil Dead” history, rather than Kenan, whose horror film credits, if you wanted to call it that, directed the animated hit “Monster House.” While not bad, “Poltergeist” just feels like a missed opportunity.

Film, Movie Reviews

Movie reviews: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ ‘Pitch Perfect 2’

May 15, 2015 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

By Tim Lammers

“Mad Max: Fury Road” (R) 3 1/2 stars (out of four)

All engines are not only a go – but completely ablaze – in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” writer-director George Miller’s spectacular update of his original “Mad Max” movie series. In an age of franchise reboots and re-imagined film concepts, Warner Bros. was clearly game to give their full support to Miller to bring his ambitious vision to life; and given the technological resources not available to him 36 years ago with the release of the original film, he takes full advantage of the opportunity. Minus original franchise star Mel Gibson (who’s been replaced by the charismatic and completely capable Tom Hardy), “Fury Road” feels like the “Mad Max” movie Miller has always wanted to make.

“Fury Road” works on almost every level, apart from the occasional garbled dialogue consumed by the fast and furious sights and sounds that surround it. Thankfully, the premise of “Fury Road” is not an complex one – it’s a survival story at its core – so the narrative isn’t entirely difficult to grasp despite its roadblocks.

The set up for “Fury Road” is pretty simple: Max Rocketansky (Hardy), a road-hardened warrior wandering alone through the stark, post-apocalyptic desert landscape while plagued by frightening images of his dead daughter, is captured and enslaved by the vicious thugs serving Immortan Joe (a menacing Hugh Keays-Byrne). A skeleton-masked tyrant who rules with an iron fist over a desert canyon community called the Citadel, Joe who holds sway over people desperate for the precious commodity of water.

Eventually wrangling loose from Joe’s sadistic imprisonment devices and managing an escape, Max reluctantly joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (a bald and beautiful Charlize Theron), who’s just boosted a “War Rig,” a tanker loaded with weapons, from the Citadel. More importantly, Furiosa has stored aboard the rig Joe’s beautiful and precious harem of “breeders,” whom he impregnates to help populate his empire of madness – all in the hopes of finding the promised land Furiosa was torn from as a child.

On the run from Joe and his band of maniacal mercenaries, Max and Furiosa – along with the help of one of Joe’s “warrior boys,” Nux (Nicholas Hoult) – try to defy the harsh desert and other deadly elements until they decide to turn the table on their hunters.

Anchored by Hardy and bolstered by yet another risky, kick-ass performance by Theron, “Mad Max: Fury Road” fits snuggly within the “Mad Max” and “Road Warrior” movie experience and easily captures the tone that made the films cult classics. Probably best considered a pseudo-sequel to the first two “Mad Max” films, “Fury Road” contains everything “Mad Max” films could hope for.

Like the “Mad Max” films before it, “Fury Road” takes place in a surreal setting, involves a dizzying road chase by the freaky masked villain and his bizarre soldiers, and has lots of visual pyrotechnics – yet everything is amped up to the nth degree. The great thing is, you don’t necessarily have to be a fan of the original movies as “Fury Road” works great as a stand-alone picture.

While diehard fans may have trouble adjusting to a new actor in the role of Max, there’s no question they’ll love the rebirth of Miller’s overall vision: Hyperkinetic throughout, “Fury Road” is, for the lack of better words, bat-s*** crazy, thanks to its breakneck pacing and non-stop action, whacked-out vehicles commandeered by whacked-out characters, acrobatic stunts, a visually arresting landscape, and bombastic, operatic score.

Ultimately, the key to the success of the “Fury Road” – unlike the last “Mad Max” entry, 1985’s PG-13-rated, “Beyond Thunderdome” (starring Gibson and Tina Turner) – is that it disposes of the silly effort to rope in a younger demographic and employs a hard R rating to recapture the ultraviolent murder and mayhem that helped define the first two “Mad Max” films. Forget about crazy-good: “Fury Road” is crazy-great.

“Pitch Perfect 2” (PG-13) 3 stars (out of four)

While it falls far short of the perfection of its 2012 predecessor, “Pitch Perfect 2” still manages to find its groove. Despite all its faults, the movie is still very likable, stacked again with winning cappella performances from the Barden Bellas and several other groups. What “Pitch Perfect 2” lacks in story execution, it definitely makes it up with heart.

“Pitch Perfect 2” begins with the a cappella collegiate champions the Barden Bellas performing in front of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (in what is clearly stock footage), when, suddenly, a perfect performance is ripped to shreds, literally, as Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) has revealing wardrobe malfunction in front of president. Embarrassed by the coverage of the incident, the school’s administration suspends the group from further collegiate competition; and the only thing that can make the singers eligible again is if they win the world a cappella championship.

Featuring the directorial debut of actress Elizabeth Banks, the biggest issue facing “Pitch Perfect 2” is the lack of clear direction. In fragments, Banks puts together some pretty dazzling and funny sequences, but instead of focusing on the world championship, the movie spins off into several different directions. On one hand it tracks Becca’s (Anna Kendrick) attempt to break free of the Bellas because college is coming to an end and everybody has to move on; and another we’re treated to the hilarious courtship of Fat Amy and Bumper (Adam Devine).

The movie also introduces Hailee Steinfeld (“True Grit,” “Begin Again”) as a legacy member of the Bellas who wants to perform her original songs, which comes into play when Becca suffers a pre-career crisis.

Of course, “Pitch Perfect 2” works best when its actors are singing, whether it’s the sharp performances of the Bellas, or the knock-out numbers performed by the group’s rivals from Germany as the movie heads toward its conclusion. All in all, “Pitch Perfect 2” is an admirable feat considering the monstrous expectations the sleeper success of the first film created. Perhaps the only performers exceeding expectations are Banks and John Michael Higgins, who top their turns in the original “Pitch Perfect” as a pair of misinformed a cappella commentators. Apart from Wilson and Devine, they turn the movie’s most hilarious performances.

Film, Interviews

‘Christopher Nolan: Moving Through Time’ retrospective

May 8, 2015 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

By Tim Lammers

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to see filmmaker Christopher Nolan in Dialogue with Variety’s Scott Foundas at the Walker Art Center’s film retrospective “Christopher Nolan: Moving Through Time” in Minneapolis.

In conjunction with the event, where all nine of Nolan’s films are playing through May 24, I had the opportunity to write for the Walker a retrospective piece on the director based on the interviews I’ve done with him over the years. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s only appropriate that Christopher Nolan’s May 5 visit to the Walker Art Center came on the heels of the dizzying release of the latest teaser trailer for “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.” Fresh off his own trek to the outer reaches of space with the spectacular sci-fi adventure drama “Interstellar,” Nolan 38 years ago was, like countless moviegoers worldwide, forever impacted by the George Lucas’ 1977 space opera. But unlike most starry-eyed fans, Nolan was inspired to expand the “Star Wars” universe in his own cinematic way, and in doing so, he was inadvertently laying the foundation for a legendary, Lucas-like career of his own as a writer, producer and director.

“I started making Super 8 films when I was 7 years old,” Nolan told me in 2006, in the first of four conversations we would have about his films over the next eight years. “My first few films were little action-figure extravaganzas, and soon, as ‘Star Wars’ came out and changed everything, my movies were ‘Star Wars’ ripoffs for years, with spaceships and action figures. They were little, mini-epics. It was great fun.”

Read the complete interview on the Walker Art Center’s website.

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Monthly Archives: May 2015

Movie review: ‘San Andreas,’ ‘Aloha’

Movie reviews: ‘Tomorrowland,’ ‘Poltergeist’

Movie reviews: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ ‘Pitch Perfect 2’

‘Christopher Nolan: Moving Through Time’ retrospective

Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers