“The Divergent Series: Allegiant, Part 1” (PG-13) 1 1/2 stars (out of four)
A promising big screen adaptation of the “Divergent” book trilogy hits the wall full-force with “The Divergent Series: Allegiant – Part 1,” a dull and predictable first act in the four movie saga. A familiar-feeling tale akin to “The Hunger Games,” “Allegiant” appears to be heading to an even worse big-screen fate than its literary predecessor “Mockingjay.”
Shailene Woodley is back as Tris in the post-apocalyptic city of Chicago, where the city’s residents are no longer divided into five factions based on different virtues: Abnegation (those who are selfless), Amity (peaceful), Candor (honest), Dauntless (fearless) and Erudite (intelligent). The system was an devised to prevent anyone willfully acting out on their own and threatening the other residents of the city.
However, when an uprising against the system (detailed in the second film) yields unpredictable results, Tris and her Divergent companion, Four (Theo James), along with a small group escaped the towering walls of the city to discover high-tech facility housed at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, where they discover they’ve been part of an experiment – and it’s not over yet.
While the first “Divergent” posed an interesting premise and the sequel, “Insurgent,” maintained that promise, “Allegiant – Part 1” has just turned plain silly. Once gritty and engaging, the series makes a jarring shift into a sleek, plastic sci-fi film with the new film, where even the actors seem bored. The acting is terrible and even stalwarts like Jeff Daniels, the architect of the experiment, seems to be phoning in his performance. The filmmakers and actors for “Part 2” have some serious work cut out for them if they’re to salvage the series.
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“Eye in the Sky” (R) 3 1/2 stars (out of 4)
An intense debate over the costs of a deadly but necessary military action plays out in the deeply compelling “Eye in the Sky,” an expertly-directed war thriller by Oscar-winning filmmaker Gavin Hood. Helen Mirren is at her best as Katherine Powell, a no-nonsense British military colonel who after six years ferrets out a group of high-level Al Shabaab terrorists holed up in Kenya. But when the mission turns from capture to kill as it’s discovered two of the members are being prepared for a suicide bombing, a crisis of conscience arises as an innocent 9-year-old girl wanders into the kill zone to likely become a victim of collateral damage.
Aaron Paul also stars as an American drone pilot wrestling with dread as he prepares to pull the trigger on the mission; and Alan Rickman appears in his final big-screen role as decisive British general trying to get the go-ahead on the mission from a group of wishy-washy politicos.
“10 Cloverfield Lane” (PG-13) 3 1/2 stars (out of four)
Producer J.J. Abrams has successfully pulled a fast one over moviegoers once again with the brilliantly-conceived and marketed “10 Cloverfield Lane,” another underground (quite literally, in this case), super-secret movie project that came out of nowhere with a mysterious trailer two months back. Coming out eight years after his equally brilliant found footage horror thriller “Cloverfield,” “10 Cloverfield Lane” could hardly be considered a sequel. There are some similarities, though, however, slight, that will have film sleuths mulling over the whether the films are distant cousins. Perhaps through more “Cloverfield” chapters, somehow we’ll find that they tie together when all is said and done.
John Goodman gives a career performance as Howard, an extreme survivalist in the Deep South who is convinced that the world has come under attack, but is not sure how. Before he locked himself into his airtight bunker underneath his barn, he rescued, or so he says, a distraught woman, Michelle (an excellent Mary Elizabeth Winstead) woman who crashed her car as she fled her apartment after breaking up with her boyfriend (Bradley Cooper supplies the voice of the beau in a phone call). Waking up, chained to a wall in one of the bunker’s cells, Michelle is apparently being held captive for her own good because if she escapes her confines, she faces certain death with the polluted air outside. Also trapped down below is Emmett (an impressive John Gallagher Jr.), who helped Howard build the bunker when he realized the attack was underway.
Questioning Howard’s sanity – his theories range from a chemical attack, invasion by Russians or maybe even Martians – Michelle and Emmett struggle with their seemingly few options. On one hand, the bunker is stocked with years of supplies and they could live comfortably, only worrying about Howard’s instability and clues of his lurid past; or they could tempt finding a way to escape, even though there’s evidence outside to back up Howard’s theories of an attack.
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There’s no question Abrams is a genius shepherding young filmmakers through these lower-budgeted projects, and for the second film in a row (Matt Reeves expertly directed the first “Cloverfield”), the filmmaker has found an extremely talented director in Dan Trachtenberg, who creates a claustrophobic atmosphere throughout.
Staged about 80 percent of the time in the bunker, Trachtenberg creates an indelible slow-burn with “10 Cloverfield Lane,” as the tension – only broken occasionally by Gallagher’s well-placed comic relief – ratchets up in an unnerving manner throughout the film. The film has no predictable outcome and leaves you guessing throughout. Is Howard suffering some sort of paranoid psychosis and holding his captives for something more sinister? Is the air really contaminated outside, and why? Are there monsters outside? Is Howard the monster, or merely is he someone who is slightly off-kilter? The possibilities are endless until the last act of the film reveals the truth, which for obvious reasons, can’t be explained her.
One of modern film’s best character actors, Goodman steals the show in “10 Cloverfield Lane,” going places he’s never gone to in his career with the explosively unpredictable Howard. Of course, we all knew he could be funny, and he’s certainly had a his fair share delivering in dramatic roles. But “10 Cloverfield Lane” displays Goodman in an entirely new light. It’s great to see an actor of his stature, especially at this point in his career, willing to take risks instead of doing the same, old stereotypical roles for a paycheck. He may not be the model citizen of “10 Cloverfield Lane,” but he’s perfect person to dwell in the unpredictable world of “Cloverfield.”
The Oscars have attracted a lot of attention this year over the controversy surrounding the lack of diversity among the nominees, but it’s also remarkable in that no clear front-runners have emerged. Since the guild awards – the typical bellwether of what and who will win the Oscar because several guild members are also Motion Picture Academy members – have been all over the place. Sunday’s ceremony could yield a few surprises.
Here are my predictions of who/what will win come this Oscar Sunday in the big six categories, followed by who should win.
Best Supporting Actor nominees: Christian Bale, “The Big Short”; Tom Hardy, “The Revenant”; Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”; Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”; Sylvester Stallone, “Creed.”
Analysis: Bale already has an Oscar, so count him out because winning that second statuette is tough. Hardy was spectacular in “The Revenant” and could pull an upset if “The Revenant” commands the evening. Ruffalo and Rylance gave the best performances in the films they were nominated in, but they didn’t have the wicked, metaphorical left hook that powers this year’s presumptive winner.
Who will win: Stallone. Idris Elba won the SAG award in this category and wasn’t nominated for an Oscar; while Stallone wasn’t nominated for a SAG Award, yet is the front-runner here. No matter the oddity, Stallone is clearly in his element in “Creed.” Not only does he comfortably slip back into the role, the character has matured with “Creed” and Stallone beautifully captures Rocky Balboa in the twilight of his life.
Who should win: Stallone. He is no doubt a sentimental pick, but there’s no question he’s strong in the classic role he created 40 years ago. Besides some less-than-stellar films in-between “Rocky” and “Creed,” there’s no question Rocky Balboa is a career-defining, legendary role, and it should be recognized as such.
Best Supporting Actress nominees: Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”; Rooney Mara, “Carol”; Rachel McAdams, “Spotlight”; Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”; Kate Winslet, “Jobs.”
Analysis: Leigh gives the performance of her career as Daisy Domergue and was best thing about “The Hateful Eight,” but given the outcry over the lack of diversity of this year’s nominees, it’s very unlikely Academy voters will honor a role about a hateful, N-word slinging murderess. McAdams is good in “Spotlight,” but any number of actresses could have been as good in the role if not better. Mara redeems herself from the dreadful “Pan,” and while the role is risky, the front-runner has too much momentum.
Who will win: Vikander. The Swedish beauty is Hollywood’s co-“It-Girl” along with Brie Larson. She can do it all, from playing the stunning android in “Ex-Machina” to conveying the subtle pain of a woman dealing with her husband transitioning into a woman in “The Danish Girl.” She’s been the busiest actress of the bunch this year, and will benefit from her SAG win and a performance that’s even better than her co-star Eddie Redmayne
Who should win: Winslet. She commands the screen in every film she’s in, and delivers along with Michael Fassbender a powerful one-two punch in one of the most under-appreciated films of the year. If she was Oscar-less going into the ceremony, she would win hands-down, but she already has a Best Actress statuette so count her out.
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Best Actor nominees: Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo”; Matt Damon, “The Martian”; Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”; Michael Fassbender, “Jobs”; Eddie Redmayne, “The Danish Girl”
Analysis: Cranston was The King of the Emmys with four Best Actor wins for “Breaking Bad,” but the Oscar ceremony, as he will find out, is an entirely different animal. He’s great, no doubt, playing blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, but he’ll go home empty-handed. Only two actors have won back-to-back Oscars in history and Redmayne, last year’s winner for “The Theory of Everything,” doesn’t have a chance of becoming the third. Damon played Damon in “The Martian,” and while he is good in the film, he’s the weakest of the five nominees and shouldn’t even be in the category.
Who will win: Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s shredded by a bear, eats raw buffalo liver and sleeps naked in a dead horse carcass. It’s everything an Oscar-bait role is made of. Besides, after six nominations (five for acting including this one and one for producing), Academy members will finally come to the conclusion DiCaprio has paid his dues. Plus, his SAG Award and other critic honors is a pretty clear indicator of how things are going to go.
Who should win: Fassbender. Sure, he doesn’t have as rough a go as DiCaprio in “The Revenant,” but he’s compelling in a complex, dialogue-driven role as Steve Jobs and electric in every scene he’s in. Truth be told, though, Johnny Depp should have been nominated and winning this Oscar for “Black Mass.” He’s towers above all other performances this year for his menacing turn as vicious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger.
Best Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett: “Carol”; Brie Larson, “Room”; Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”; Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”; Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”
Analysis: Jennifer Lawrence was great in “Joy,” but it’s the weakest of all her Oscar-nominated performance and her second Best Actress Oscar will be hard to come by; Ronan has been lauded for years by the industry and critics, but will fall short in her first bid for an Oscar; Rampling’s nomination is clearly for sentimental reasons and to consider it one of the five “best” is really a stretch. She shouldn’t even be nominated.
Whowill win: Brie Larson. Hollywood’s new “It Girl” (note again the shared honor with Vikander) is saddled with the difficult task of bringing to the fore the true-life horror of a woman held captive for seven years in a storage shed with a young son who was fathered in a sexual assault by her kidnapper. While it’s not the best performance of the year, the momentum is with her with her SAG win and virtually every other statuette on the planet this awards season.
Who should win: Blanchett. Like Kate Winslet, she’s great in every role and her risky turn has a housewife who has an affair with a younger woman is a head and shoulders above her competition in this category. But having captured two Oscars already – the most recent for Best Actress for “Blue Jasmine” two years ago – getting that third statuette won’t come until years down the road for Blanchett. Look how long the Academy made Meryl Streep wait for No. 3 (and she should easily have a half-dozen).
Best Director nominees: Adam McKay, “The Big Short”; George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”; Alejandro G. Inarritu, “The Revenant”; Lenny Abrahamson, “Room”; Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight.”
Analysis: Four of the five nominees are worthy, with Abrahamson being the head-scratcher of the bunch in favor of Directors Guild of America nominee Ridley Scott for “The Martian.” McKay takes huge strides away from comedy in Scorsese-like fashion and has a great shot sharing a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar; and McCarthy, as deserving as he is for “Spotlight,” will be honored instead with the Best Original Screenplay Oscar (with co-writer Josh Singer). The race will come down to last year’s Best Director winner Iñárritu and Miller.
Who will win: Miller. This will be the biggest upset of the night because the winner of the DGA Award – this year it’s Iñárritu – almost always goes on to win the Best Director Oscar. Two things are working against Iñárritu, though: winning back-to-back Best Director Oscars is a rare feat; and recognizing Miller (a previous winner for directing “Happy Feet” in 2007) will be a way of the Academy honoring the film with the second-most nominations this year.
Who should win: Miller. It was the most inventive, expertly-directed film of the year. Given the resources to make the “Mad Max” film he’s always wanted to make, Miller brought filmmaking to an entirely new level with his bat shit crazy post-apocalyptic vision.
Best Picture Nominees: “The Big Short”; “Bridge of Spies”; “Brooklyn”; “Mad Max: Fury Road”; “The Martian”; “The Revenant”; “Room”; “Spotlight”
Analysis: It’s exceptionally rare for a film to win Best Picture without its director being nominated, so you can automatically count “Bridge of Spies,” “Brooklyn” and “Spotlight” out of the race. Academy members will recognize “Room” with Larson’s win, and again, “Spotlight’s” time to shine will come with a Best Original screenplay win. True, it won the SAG Best Ensemble Award – the equivalent of a Best Picture win – and only for that reason does it qualify for a shot at the top prize. The same goes for “The Big Short,” which is a serious contender thanks to its Producers Guild of America win for Best Picture.
What will win: “The Revenant.” It’s the sort of epic Academy voter’s love, and it will have momentum going into the ceremonies with a leading 12 nominations.
What should win: “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Cinematically, it’s far better than any of its contenders, but don’t count on a win because the snobby Academy almost never – apart from “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” – recognizes sci-fi or fantasy. It’s too bad, because “The Revenant” is far from being the best film of the year. “Fury Road,” “Spotlight” and “The Big Short” are far more deserving.
Relative newcomer Stephan James is brilliant all the way through the finish line as groundbreaking Olympic champion Jesse Owens in “Race,” a stirring biopic that chronicles the legendary track and field athlete’s struggles to break through the color barrier in the 1930s. Beginning with the racial strife Owens faced as a collegiate star at Ohio State University, the film increases in intensity as it moves along into the Berlin Olympics in 1936 as Adolf Hitler pursues his vision of Aryan supremacy in Nazi Germany.
“Race” feels similar in tone and look to “42,” and like the compelling sports biopic about Major League Baseball groundbreaker Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman), the film benefits from the casting of an unknown instead of an established personality. James brings a quiet sense of determination and complexity to his portrayal of Owens, which is complimented by a surprising dramatic turn by former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Jason Sudeikis as Owens’ college coach and confidant, Larry Snyder. The always-great Jeremy Irons also stars as Avery Brundage, the then-American Olympics Committee head (and future International Olympics Committee president) who enters into a shady deal with Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels (an unnerving Barnaby Metschuart), who aims to use the games to push Hitler’s agenda.
‘Risen’ (PG-13) 3 stars (out of 4)
Director Kevin Reynolds presents a fascinating, alternate look at the resurrection of Jesus with “Risen,” a biblical epic that examines the events in the weeks after Christ’s crucifixion through the eyes of a non-believer (Joseph Fiennes).
Fiennes stars as Clavius, a fearless Roman Military Tribune ordered by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) to investigate what happened to Jesus (Cliff Curtis) after his body disappeared from his tomb. First skeptical of claims of the risen Messiah, Clavius begins to question his doubts as he tracks down Christ’s disciples and experiences events he thought weren’t possible. “Harry Potter” star Tom Felton also stars as an aide tasked with helping Clavius solve the mystery.
Quick Takes:
“Deadpool” (R) 4 stars (out of 4)
“Zoolander No. 2” (PG-13) 2 stars (out of 4)
“Where to Invade Next” (R) 1/2 star (out of 4)
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (PG-13) 3 stars (out of 4)
“The Finest Hours” 3 1/2 stars (PG-13) (out of 4)
“Kung Fu Panda 3” (PG) 3 stars (out of 4)
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Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers
