On assignment for Looper.com, Tim talked with “Dune” star David Dastmalchian about playing Piter de Vries in the film, along with his huge response to his role of Polka-Dot Man in “The Suicide Squad,” and more. Click below to read the interview pieces on Looper!
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “Let’s Talk Movies with Tim Lammers” with Tim Matthews on KRWC-AM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11”.
Joaquin Phoenix gives a masterful performance in an otherwise flawed but still riveting movie in “Joker,” writer-director Todd Phillips’ heady examination of origins of the Clown Prince of Crime in what appears to be – at least at this point – a standalone movie in the DC Comics movie universe. Of course, the iconic Batman arch-nemesis originated in a comic book, but there’s no question Phillips wanted to take the character in the direction of the gritty, 1970s and ‘80s crime films by director Martin Scorsese, specifically “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy.”
Phoenix mentally and physically transforms himself into Arthur Fleck, an extreme outcast and loner who works as a party clown and has grand aspirations of becoming a stand-up comedian. Living a meager existence with his damaged mother (Frances Conroy), Arthur is a man living on the edge of a mental breakdown, and after a couple brutal beatdowns by bullies, snaps with repercussions that he’ll never be able to recover from.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Joker” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Forging a new identity as a murderer who masquerades in clown makeup, Arthur’s murderous ways inspires the malcontents of Gotham City to rise up against the rich, where suddenly powerful citizens like Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen) become the target of hatred. Making matters worse, Arthur’s idol, talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro), crushes the fragile comedian wannabe when he mocks his stand-up talents on the air. Because the segment was so popular, though, Murray invites Arthur to appear on the show, marking Arthur’s complete transformation into Joker.
“Joker” without question takes a deeper dive into the character than we’ve ever seen on film, and it’s a blessing Phillips got somebody as enigmatic and talented as Phoenix to take on the ambitious role. With the edge taken off the challenge of being the first person to assume the role after legendary performance of Heath Ledger (Jared Leto was the unfortunate soul to do that with “Suicide Squad”), Phoenix clearly isn’t trying to outdo Ledger in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” (or for that matter, the brilliant Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton’s classic 1989 “Batman” film), but make the role his own. His uncontrollable laughter (passed off as a medical condition) in “Joker” is chilling (and yes, somewhat grating), but his subtle behavior and the way he contorts his body are the attributes that make the ultra-intense performance complete.
While Phillips clearly creates a new back story for the main character (including a major plot twist that will have purists buzzing), “Joker” could still be considered a part of the DC canon. Not only does the action take place in Gotham pre-Batman, the inclusion of Thomas Wayne in the plot, as well as a young Bruce Wayne (Dante Pereira-Olson), eventually takes the story down the path readers associate with the character of Joker. If the story were to continue, it could easily turn into the classic confrontation of Batman vs. Joker; something Phillips has insisted will not happen, despite director Matt Reeves’ new version of the Caped Crusader called “The Batman” (starring Robert Pattinson).
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Joker” with Paul Douglas and guest host Mike Max on “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO-AM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
While “Joker” populates the Gotham-centric story with Phoenix’s brilliance and solid performances from the likes of De Niro and Zazie Beetz (as Arthur’s neighbor and object of his desire), it’s far from a perfect film. The set-up lumbers along until the point where Arthurs is provided the tool that will lead to his self-destruction, and in-between, a huge plot device meant to be a twist screams predictability. Still, there’s no denying the overwhelming power of the third act, which despite the fact that you can see what’s coming, is a shocking piece of cinema, nonetheless. It’s here that fear in the news media about the film’s excessive violence finally presents itself, and it leaves you with a gut-sickening feeling long after you leave the theater. For all the different ways the character has been presented to audiences before, there’s no doubt that this “Joker” is no laughing matter.
Lammometer: 7.5 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
Most – but not all – systems are go for “Ad Astra,” writer-director James Gray’s ambitious space drama that blasts off in spectacular fashion but desperately spins out of control at the end. It’s no doubt a spectacular film from an audio-visual standpoint, and the doomsday story line is quite engaging with Brad Pitt in the lead. But as the film nears the end of its two-hour star trek, the plot becomes jumbled and the endgame for the key narrative disappoints.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Ad Astra” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Set in the not-too-distant future, Pitt stars Roy McBride, a highly disciplined but emotionally distant astronaut in a government military organization called U.S. Space Command. Space exploration has advanced significantly in Roy’s lifetime, to the point where his father, Space Command’s top dog Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), embarked on The Lima Project, a mission to explore the solar system for extraterrestrial life that began when Roy was just a boy. But 16 years into the mission, Clifford disappeared near Neptune.
Thirty years after his father’s disappearance, the adult Roy is working on a mission just above Earth when a sudden electrical storm wreaks havoc on a towering space antenna he is working on, causing death to not only some of his colleagues, but massive fatalities all over the planet. With 40,000 people dead and the entirety of Earth’s population in peril as the electrical storm moves closer, Roy is recruited to embark on an interplanetary mission to contact Neptune, where Space Command believes the phenomena is originating from. Making more matters complicated, Roy’s superiors believe that his father is still alive and may have something to do with the deadly phenomena, and believe the younger McBride may be the only astronaut capable of effectively communicating with him in a bid to stave off the inevitable.
As far as space dramas go, “Ad Astra” feels much more like Christopher Nolan’s 2014 intergalatic epic “Interstellar” than it does the classic “2001: A Space Odyssey,” although there’s no question that “Ad Astra” has a vibe closer to the esoteric Stanley Kubrick film. The thing is, as advanced, technologically, as “2001” and “Interstellar” were at the times of their respective releases, the visual effects seem to have taken an even bigger leap forward as Roy’s ship blasts off, first to a fully operational base on moon before heading to a similarly advanced base on Mars, where Roy is expected to make contact with his father. Thanks to a brilliant IMAX presentation of the film, not only do you feel like you’re strapped into the spaceship with Pitt, you can literally feels the rumbling of the rockets underneath your seat as he takes orbit.
While “Ad Astra” is effectively a story about the strained relationship and hopeful reconciliation between a father and a son, the film, doesn’t wallow entirely in the film’s heady narrative. The action scenes are spectacular, especially when its revealed that colonization is so advanced on the moon that, thanks to the commercialism of space travel, corruption and crime have taken a foothold on the moon, as space pirates attempt to hijack Roy and his crew in a thrilling space buggy chase sequence on the lunar surface. The story also takes some unexpected twists and turns once Roy finds his way to Mars and meets a scientist (Ruth Negga) who reveals a dark secret about The Lima Project.
As much as “Ad Astra” has going for it throughout the movie, it feels discombobulated and ultimately a bit dull as it lumbers toward its ending. Plus, without giving too much away, the final act feels like a cheat as it relates to the all the hoops Roy had to jump through to begin the mission. That’s not to take away from Pitt’s acting, as he delivers yet another solid performance. But while industry tastemakers and fans are already chanting for a Best Actor nomination for Pitt, the performance comes nothing close to his smaller, but far more memorable turn in Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to 1969 Tinseltown, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” a couple months back.
While “Ad Astra” is clearly Pitt’s movie, Jones no doubt has a presence, albeit a small one in the film. One thing’s for certain: Gray gave Pitt, Jones, Negga and Donald Sutherland (who appears in a small turn as Clifford’s former astronaut colleague) far more material to work with than Liv Tyler, who despite being prominently featured in the film’s trailers, barely appears in a stereotypical role as Roy’s resentful wife, who is left out in the cold because of her husband’s vacant emotions.
Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
The first movie misfire of 2019 is here with “Serenity,” an embarrassingly bad sci-fi tinged mystery that completely squanders the talents of a top-notch ensemble cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou and Diane Lane.
The set-up seems simple enough. McConaughey plays Baker Dill, an Iraq War veteran struggling to make ends meet as a tuna fisherman off the coastal waters of Florida. His fortunes appear to change, however, when his ex-wife, Karen (Hathaway) turns up on his boat one day with a proposal to kill her new husband, Frank (Jason Clarke), a sadistic drunkard with criminal connections. Even though he’s offered $10 million to do the deed, Baker is hesitant to carry out the task until he finds out the vicious contempt Frank holds for his son with Karen.
AUDIO: Listen to Tim’s review of “Serenity” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show.” The segment begins at 3-minute mark.
The strange thing about “Serenity” is that it begins as a potboiler mystery tale, but then takes a hard-left turn into an alternate reality that includes wayward characters who make little sense, as well as revealing scene where McConaughey taking a skinny dip for apparently no other reason than show audiences to show off his bare backside.
Once it becomes clear the direction in which “Serenity” is headed, the film feels like no more than an inept attempt to capture the mysterious vibe of a “Black Mirror” episode – specifically the show’s acclaimed “U.S.S. Callister” tale – but the end result doesn’t even come remotely close. The tone is bizarre, the writing is bad and the acting by Hathaway and McConaughey is especially hideous (in sharp contrast to their polished performances opposite each other in Christopher Nolan’s“Interstellar”).
In the end, “Serenity” is the perfect example of how actors – even Oscar winners – can’t act their ways out of bad scripts. Instead, McConaughey and Hathaway have earned the distinction of being the first two “worst acting” front-runners vying for next year’s Razzies.
Lammometer: 2.5 (out of 10)
AUDIO: Tim reviews “Serenity” with Paul Douglas on “Paul & Jordana” on WCCO-AM. The segment begins at the 11-minute mark.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
