Tim joined Tom Barnard and the morning show crew on the “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM Thursday to review the new theatrical release “The Outfit.” He also reviewed the film with Paul Douglas on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM. Click to listen to below. All of Tim’s segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
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, “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”.
VIDEO: See Tim’s review of “Ready Player One” with Ellery McCardle on KARE 11.
“Ready Player One” (PG-13)
You’ll need a speedy internal processor to completely absorb “Ready Player One,” director Steven Spielberg’s overly-ambitious yet entertaining foray into the world of virtual reality video game playing. A high stakes game of life and death set in a dystopian future where virtual vistas and avatars offer people their only true chance to escape the depressing doldrums of everyday life, the film no doubt boasts a unique concept and impressive visuals throughout. Yet while it embodies Spielberg’s youthful spirit, it largely will only appeal to the film’s key demographic and leave others struggling to keep up in the virtual world that envelops them.
“Ready Player One” is set in the not-so-distant future, in 2045, where just enough time has passed where the world’s population literally has humanity stacked on top of each other in mobile home parks, and technology has advanced to the point where virtual reality gaming is the only recreation of choice. It’s the only way 18-year gamer Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) can escape the harsh surroundings of Columbus, Ohio, which for reasons unexplained, is the fastest growing city in the country. Everybody from the haves to the have-nots like Wade all venture daily into the OASIS, a haven for 70s and 80s pop nostalgia, which was invented by a Steve Jobs-like eccentric named James Halliday (Spielberg’s new go-to actor Mark Rylance).
But when word breaks that Halliday has passed on and has created a three-part challenge as a way to bequeath his half-trillion-dollar fortune and control to the OASIS to the winner, everybody from Wade to IOI — the second-most powerful corporation in the world after Halliday’s — embark on the treasure hunt. Employing an army of players to hunt down the Easter Egg that Halliday has hidden, IOI’s ruthless leader, Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), instantly shows his muscle, and proves that he has no problem going to extreme lengths to secure the prize and control of the OASIS.
Not surprisingly, “Ready Player One” is loaded with eye-popping visuals, giving Spielberg a chance to unleash his inner-kid once again, which he probably welcomes following the heavy narrative of his awards season true-life drama “The Post.” Populated with too many pop culture references to keep count (many of them Warner Bros. and Spielberg properties since it’s a Warner Bros. and Spielberg film), the film is wonderful trip down memory lane for children of the ’70s and ’80s and early ’90s, and perhaps enough to keep them interested in a film that, despite a fairly straightforward plotline (seek prize, find prize, rule the virtual world), has a lot of data to process. Seasoned gamers will no doubt get all the jargon that helps propel “Ready Player One,” but for everyone else, keeping pace with what’s going on can be a chore.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Ready Player One” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ 92 Morning Show.”
The other issue is that because Spielberg’s involved, he has the clout to make it a 2-hour, 20-minute adventure when it really doesn’t need to be that long. With two-thirds of the film set in the virtual world, “Ready Player One” already suffers from sensory overload, but thankfully grounded players like Sheridan, Olivia Cooke as Wade’s virtual and real-world teammate, Rylance, Mendelsohn and Simon Pegg (in a pivotal supporting role) give the film just enough heart to keep things interesting on a human level.
Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)
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.
Hear Tim’s review of “Dunkirk” on KQ92 with Tom Barnard.
“Dunkirk” (PG-13)
Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan continues to amaze with “Dunkirk,” a World War II epic that is spectacular from filmmaking standpoint yet strains itself with the way the narrative unfolds.
A story most certainly unknown to most American audiences, “Dunkirk” isn’t so much a war film than it is a harrowing tale of survival. Set in May 1940, the film recounts the miracle evacuation of more than 300,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk, France, where German forces have the soldiers trapped. With Allied ground forces unable to penetrate the enemy’s stronghold, fighter planes attempt to ward off the enemy while every naval and civilian vessel available attempt to cross the English channel to reach the soldiers before they meet a most certain cruel demise.
“Dunkirk” is told from three points of view — by land, by sea and by air, in three different time frames in a non-linear manner. And while it’s fascinating in the way the film eventually comes together, “Dunkirk” will no doubt confuse audiences if they’re not paying rapt attention.
While the film features stellar performances by Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance, there’s no real star in “Dunkirk” – in fact the attention is more focused on the plight of the ground soldiers, including newcomers Fionn Whitehead and One Direction singer Harry Styles (a great move by Nolan that will surely get younger audiences interested who would have ignored the film otherwise).
An ensemble film with far less dialogue than Nolan’s previous efforts, “Dunkirk” feels more like a docudrama than a narrative feature; so despite the extraordinary story that inspired it, the film ultimately doesn’t have nearly as much emotion as last year’s true-life World War II drama “Hacksaw Ridge.” Faults aside, you still have to applaud a filmmaker with as much clout as Nolan to inform audiences of important stories like “Dunkirk” that have been buried in history, especially smack-dab in the middle of the summer movie-going season that’s generally packed with mindless drivel.
Michael Fassbender gives one of the year’s best performances in the title role in “Steve Jobs,” a fascinating look into the complex mind of the Apple Computers genius. Foregoing the traditional biopic format, director Danny Boyle successfully opts to tell Jobs’ story in three thrilling acts, each taking place before product launches of the Macintosh Computer in 1984, the NeXT black box in 1988 and the iMac in 1998.
Unlike the previous Apple co-founder biopic — the 2013 Aston Kutcher bomb “Jobs” — “Steve Jobs” pulls no punches when illustrating the Jobs’ scornful behavior. Some of the most notable scenes chronicle his ugly child support battle with his ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston), the public lambasting of co-founder Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen, in a familiar feeling portrayal), and Macintosh co-designer Andy Hertzfeld (an excellent Michael Stuhlbarg); as well as an examination of his volatile relationship with Apple CEO John Sculley (the always great Jeff Daniels).
If it’s to be believed (Apple and Jobs’ widow have raised objections over the film), Jobs was hated by most everybody he worked with (the exception being his loyal marketing guru Joanna Hoffman, expertly played by Kate Winslet). The interesting thing is, Boyle, through Aaron Sorkin’s searing script, tries to examine just why Jobs was the way he was — mostly because he was a socially inept genius who simply thought about things on an entirely different plane.
There’s a telling line early in the film where Jobs tells Sculley something to the effect of, “I like you John — you’re the only one who sees the world the same way I do”; to which Sculley responds, “No one sees the world the way you do, Steve.” In a way, it tells us that Jobs’ prickish behavior wasn’t necessarily born out of hatred, but rather his frustration that people simply don’t understand him. There’s no question Steve Jobs was one of a kind, and so is this movie.
“Crimson Peak” (R) 2 1/2 stars (out of four)
Gifted filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro sadly falls short of delivering on his film’s promise with “Crimson Peak,” a beautifully constructed and admirably acted Gothic horror thriller that is hobbled by its predictable story-line.
Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in Wonderland”) stars as Edith Cushing, an aspiring American Gothic romance novelist in the late 1800s who is swept off her feet by Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), a charismatic British aristocrat. After marrying Thomas, Edith moves to her husband’s native England along with his suspicious sister, Lucille (a creepy Jessica Chastain) — only to discover their family’s mansion houses gruesome secrets, and there is no way to escape.
There’s no question Del Toro has an incredible handle in filmmaking, as he artfully brings back to life the types of settings and atmosphere that gave the Hammer horror films of the 1960s and ’70s a special brand of eeriness (plus, Edith Cushing’s surname is an obvious ode to late, great Hammer star Peter Cushing). While at its heart “Crimson Peak” is a haunted housed thriller (Del Toro’s ghosts are as creatively fashioned as anything you’ve seen in his previous thrillers), the script feels as vacant as the sprawling Sharpe mansion. True, the scenes with the specters of Edith’s, Thomas’ and Lucille’s haunted pasts are thrilling, but ultimately, the motivation of the siblings and their lurid back story come as no big surprise when they’re finally revealed.
Ultimately, “Crimson Peak” isn’t a bad movie; just a disappointing one that fails to meet its potential given the level of talent involved.
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“Bridge of Spies” (PG-13) 2 1/2 stars (out of four)
“Bridge of Spies” has almost everything you would hope for out of a Steven Spielberg film: It transports you back to an important set of events in U.S. history, while being beautifully photographed and having a cast of colorful, convincing characters, including an Oscar-worthy performance by Mark Rylance. The theater veteran’s performance is so strong in fact, that it can’t help but highlight the film’s glaring weakness, involving someone in the cast that you’d least expect.
Tom Hanks stars as James B. Donovan, an idealistic New York City attorney tasked by the government to represent Rudolf Abel (Rylance) after he is detained in the city and accused of being a spy at the height of the Cold War. Asked to go through the formalities for a quick and speedy resolution — effectively, to put on a show so that no accusations could be levied saying that Abel didn’t have fair representation — Donovan instead represents the alleged spy in earnest. It’s a move that ultimately saves Abel’s life, and makes him a valuable asset for trade when an American pilot is shot down during a spy mission over East Germany.
Spielberg effectively presents “Bridge of Spies” in two acts: first, as it concerns the trial, and second, the exchange of spies with the Soviets in East Germany. For those looking for an intense spy thriller, you’ll only get it in the second act, and the thrills are limited at best. Action-wise, “Bridge of Spies” only has one scene of note, when the American pilot’s plane is shot-down in the enemy’s air space.
While “Bridge of Spies” has several strengths, the biggest problem with the film, honestly, is its leading man, as Hanks’ umpteenth turn as the good guy is starting to wear dangerously thin. There’s no doubt that Hanks can act, it just at this point feels like he playing the same type of role over and over again. It would have been interesting to see him take on Rylance’s role, which is played with brilliant ambiguity. Instead, we get another film where it feels like Hanks is just reading lines. In the wake of “Bridge of Spies,” somebody needs to infiltrate Hanks’ management and urge that the Oscar-winning actor start taking more risks. His career will be all the better for it.
Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers
