Interview: Jeff Daniels says decisions in ‘The Martian’ grounded in reality

Jeff Daniels in 'The Martian' (photo - 20th Century Fox)

By Tim Lammers

Given his diverse resume over the past 35 years in the film and TV business, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that within the past couple of years, acclaimed actor Jeff Daniels has swung so widely across the character spectrum. After all, how many actors can you see taking on a screwball comedy like “Dumb and Dumber To,” the TV drama “The Newsroom” and new sci-fi action adventure “The Martian” in one-fell swoop?

“It’s by choice. If you live in the Midwest with the business taking place on the coasts, you better come up with something that is going to make your career last,” Daniels said in a recent phone conversation from Toronto. “I’ve always been interested in characters and character acting, and certainly that’s the way I was brought up in the New York theater. You’re never told, ‘You know what you did in the last play? Do it again for us’ — but that’s what they say in Hollywood, where it’s about branding and image-building. You can get around that if you go there being able to go from a ‘Dumb and Dumber’ to a ‘Newsroom’ to a ‘Martian’ if you’re up to the challenge. I know I’m up to the challenge of making each one believable. I want you believe that I can be the director or NASA in ‘The Martian,’ but also have an IQ of 8 as Harry Dunne.”

“The Martian” stars Matt Damon as astronaut Mark Watney, who is presumed dead on Mars following an intense storm that hits Watney and his fellow crew members on the Red Planet. Defying the odds, Watney not only survives the storm, but is able to sustain himself and eventually communicate to NASA that he is alive.

But with the lack of time and resources to get to send a mission to save him, NASA director Teddy Sanders (Daniels) is faced with the cutthroat decision of risking the lives of Watney’s crew to reverse course and save their fellow astronaut, or possibly leave the astronaut alone to die, 140 million miles away from home.

Opening in theaters nationwide on Friday, “The Martian” also stars Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara and Aksel Hennie as Watney’s fellow crew members; and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Kristin Wiig, Donald Glover and MacKenzie Davis among those back on Earth, agonizing over the astronaut’s fate.

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“The Martian” marks the first time Daniels has worked with legendary director Ridley Scott, who, of course has directed such classic sci-fi films as “Alien” and “Blade Runner.” The interesting thing about this Scott film, however, is that the monster or enemy doesn’t come in a physical shape, but rather an unrelenting force called “time,” and time is running out quickly for both Watney and the people trying to save him.

“The movie does a great job of making everything accessible to its audience, and that lack of time is a great example of that — time and the ticking clock, and we can all relate to that,” Daniels said. “It’s a universal theme, and when that clock does stop, Mark Watney faces a cold, brutal death in space. That’s a feeling that’s in the room of every scene in this movie. You can also hear that ticking clock in every scene.”

The interesting thing is, if viewers watching “The Martian” want a villain, they can at least try arguing that Daniels’ character is one because he’s tasked with a decision that could seal Watney’s fate. One thing viewers can’t forget, Daniels explained, is that his character is more of a realist, and the last thing he wants is to have one astronaut die on his watch, let alone five more trying to rescue him.

“Certainly someone has to make that call, and as Chiwetel’s character’s says, ‘We don’t have to decide that, Sanders does,'” Daniels said. “So he has to decide, ‘Do you let one die, or risk killing six — and by the way the risk of those six succeeding is 1 percent. It’s maddening, but I don’t think it’s the first time in government or military endeavors where one has to decide whether they have to cut their losses or not. It’s a tough call.

“You get to see a lot of people make tough calls in this movie, but as Jessica’s character says, ‘Work through the problem.’ I think that’s another reason the movie is so accessible to people,” Daniels said. “They will be asking themselves, ‘What would I do if I had to decide what Sanders had to decide?’ ‘What would you do if you were Watney?’ That really pulls us in.”

Movie reviews: ‘The Intern,’ ‘Sicario’

Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in 'The Intern' (photo -- Warner Bros.)

By Tim Lammers

“The Intern” (PG-13) 3 stars (out of four)

“The Intern” is one of those rare movies that, no matter how predictable it is, a talented filmmaker like Nancy Myers at the helm and stars like Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway have you walking away with a big smile on your face. Even with the trailer it’s pretty evident exactly how “The Intern” is going to unfold, but it’s expertly executed.

De Niro stars as Ben, a 70-year-old retired widower, who, while he keeps himself busy, bores easily of retirement. Hoping to make himself useful somewhere, Ben becomes a senior intern at a highly-successful Internet clothing e-tailer, the brainchild of a smart but hyper Jules (Hathaway). Assigned to Jules, Ben soon discovers that the business magnate really has no time for him, until his clear knack for business and his affability around her colleagues makes her realize that his experience in work and life could help her get out of the rut of the company’s growing pains.

A smart comedy that artfully plays to both millennials and adult moviegoers, “The Intern’s” strongest suit comes with not only De Niro and Hathaway’s performances, but wonderful supporting turns by the likes of Adam Devine (“Pitch Perfect” and its sequel), Rene Russo (as an office masseuse who catches Ben’s fancy), Andrew Rannels (as Jules’ business confidant). Linda Lavin turns up, too, and is playfully hilarious as a fellow senior of Ben’s who tries her not-so-subtle best to lure Ben on a date.

De Niro is as brilliant as usual in “The Intern,” demonstrating once again that there’s no genre he can’t play in. A mild-mannered, chivalrous gentleman, De Niro is so effective as Ben that even his subtle facial expressions speak 1,000 words. Hathaway, meanwhile, is completely charming as the exasperated Jules, who’s desperately trying to balance the demands of work life and her suffering personal life as a wife to stay-at-home dad (Anders Holm) and mother to a young daughter (JoJo Kushner).

The biggest struggle Jules faces in “The Intern” is the investors’ insistence to hire a CEO to take her place because she has too much on her plate, at least until its revealed that a personal crisis leaves her facing the biggest dilemma of her life. Ben, of course, tries to guide her through this dilemma, but the outcome – which will have a lot of moviegoers asking, “What would I do?” – may leave a whole lot of people disappointed. It’s the sort of unpopular creative decision Meyers (who also wrote the film) makes that holds “The Intern” – a good film – back from being a great film.

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“Sicario” (R) 3 stars (out of four)

“Prisoners” director Denis Villeneuve tackles another bleak landscape — but with uneven results — with “Sicario,” a take on an American drug enforcement unit’s attempt to dismantle a deadly drug Cartel in Mexico. Unlike “Prisoners,” which left open a tiny bit of mystery, Villeneuve leaves the audience pondering a solution for what seems to be a hopeless situation. Part of the frustration on the moviegoer’s behalf stems from the fact that there’s no real resolve to the Central American drug import problem in real life.

British actress Emily Blunt plays a FBI agent who reluctantly reports to an operation run by a shady CIA agent (Josh Brolin) and ambiguous Department of Defense advisor (Benicio Del Toro). A by-the-book agent, Blunt’s character, Kate, immediately becomes troubled by how Matt (Brolin) and Alejandro (Del Toro) are willing to get their hands dirty to bring the cartel leader down.

With a running time of about two hours, “Sicario” (which mean “hitman” in Mexico) somehow feels slow despite a fascinating premise. It’s not exactly predictable, either. Perhaps it’s just that, in the end, they just haven’t gained any ground from a narrative standpoint. It’s too depressingly close to real life.

Reviews: ‘Black Mass,’ ‘Everest’

Johnny Depp in 'Black Mass' (Warner Bros.)

By Tim Lammers

“Black Mass” (R) 3 1/2 stars (out of four)

Johnny Depp gives a frightening, transformative performance in “Black Mass,” a fascinating look at the rise of real-life Irish-American mobster James “Whitey” Bulger in South Boston. Concentrating on a 20-year period of Bulger’s life beginning in 1975, director Scott Cooper’s period thriller may not be as polished as Martin Scorsese’s sprawling gangster thriller “Goodfellas,” but there’s no question “Black Mass” is easily one best movies of the year to date.

“Black Mass” concentrates on the complicated “alliance” of Bulger and FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), who offers the man who he grew on with and admired an opportunity to provide information to the agency to bring down Italian mafia in New England. But while the FBI was deconstructing Bulger’s rivals, the mobster ran his operation unabated and built a criminal empire of his own in brutal fashion.

Depp, like he has many times before, becomes his character. Fitted with piercing blue contacts, Depp is menacing with his piercing stare, giving one of his most frightening and fascinating performances to date. Edgerton is also brilliant as Connolly, as is Benedict Cumberbatch as Billy Bulger, Whitey’s influential state Senator brother. The great thing is, Cooper and Depp allow for several other performers to deliver the goods, including Kevin Bacon as Connolly’s skeptical FBI boss; Jesse Plemons as Kevin Weeks, a pivotal member of Bulger’s Winter Hill gang; and Corey Stoll as assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Wyshak – the man who confronted Connolly and began an arduous 25-year operation to apprehend Bulger.

“Everest” (PG-13) 3 1/2 stars (out of four)

Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Brolin skillfully guide us on one of the most compelling action adventure movies of the year with “Everest,” a dramatic re-telling of a tragic Mount Everest expedition in 1996. Even though the tragedy – which involved two climbing parties – has been well documented, it’s completely engrossing from the get-go, as expeditions led by Rob Hall (Clarke) and Scott Fischer (Gyllenhaal) are doomed by a brutal blizzard that hits Everest just as the climbers hit the summit. Keira Knightley also gives a heartbreaking performance as Hall’s pregnant wife, Jan Hall, who struggles to keep in touch with her husband in the face of doom. While Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur’s visuals in the film are thrilling, they never trump the human emotion of the characters in their hours of desperation.

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Reviews: ‘The Visit,’ ‘War Room’

'The Visit' (photo -- Universal Pictures)

By Tim Lammers

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

Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan re-visits the brilliance of his twisty horror roots – but only briefly – in “The Visit,” a shaky cam, documentary-like thriller that can’t quite decide what kind of film it wants to be.

Kathryn Hahn stars as a single mom long-estranged from her parents, who finally want to meet their daughter’s two children more than 15 years after she tumultuously left home. Armed with a pair of video cameras to document the event, 15-year-old Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and 13-year-old Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) take a train to a Pennsylvania farm to stay with the grandparents – Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) – they never met. But as soon as they settle in to their week-long stay with the grandparents, the elderly couple begins to exhibit some very strange behavior that becomes more bizarre with each passing day.

Surprisingly rated PG-13, “The Visit” first feels like a cross between “The Blair Witch Project” or “Paranormal Activity” and an episode of R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” for the first 70 minutes, only to take a hard-left turn in the final 20 minutes into some truly horrifying territory. The problem is, the expertly-concealed twist immediately gives way to some demented scenes where the young teens are terrorized by the film’s antagonists. Parents lulled into bringing their kids to the film because of its seemingly family-friendly rating and “horror comedy” billing should be fair warned. The final scenes contain things that nightmares are made of, and it hardly can be considered entertaining.

Apart from getting some brief glimpses of greatness, those diehard fans of Shyamalan’s hoping a return to the brilliance he showed in “The Sixth Sense” will be sorely disappointed. Following his disastrous turn at the helm of the Will and Jaden Smith bomb “After Earth,” whatever convinced Shyamalan to go with the overly-tired found-footage reality horror format is truly baffling. Despite some solid performances by the five leads (although Hahn appears in the film 10 minutes at best), “The Visit” would have worked far better as a narrative horror film with much older principal performers than the two teens. As a pseudo-documentary that’s mostly void of music (apart some embarrassing rap songs by Oxenbould), “The Visit” mostly feels barren and awkward until it’s bizarre conclusion. It’s a huge disappointment.

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“War Room” (PG) 3 stars (out of four)

The new faith-based drama “War Room” is remarkable, if for not for any other reason, how it’s defied Hollywood standards and become a No. 1 film at the movie box office despite its $3 million budget and virtually no stars to attract moviegoers. But three weeks after its release and more than $30 million in receipts (and counting), the film continues to roll along with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

The War Room is a place where a wise, elderly widow Miss Clara (Karen Ambercombie) goes to pray to get her through times of strife. It’s also the place she introduces her real estate agent, Elizabeth Jordan (Priscilla C. Shrier), to, when the distraught woman confesses that her marriage to Tony (T.C. Stallings) is dying. Through the power of prayer, Elizabeth creates a war room of her own to pray for Tony to become a better husband and better father to their pre-teen daughter (Alena Pitts).

As a micro-budget movie, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the acting is subpar and the atmosphere feels hokey. Still, the difference between a movie like the “War Room” and the miserable remake of “Left Behind” last year starring Nicolas Cage, is that you get the sense the cast and director Alex Kendrick believe in what they’re doing. You don’t have to be a fan of secular films to recognize that the film’s story is being told with passion and resolve, and for that it’s viable alternative for faith-based filmgoers who are looking for most of the crap Hollywood is putting out these days.  Better yet, for a movie about faith, it’s not preachy – it’s about prayer.