The Paperboy Review

The Paperboy

Dir: Lee Daniels

Starring: Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman,

Matthew McConaughey, and John Cusack

The Paperboy is a steamy, sweaty mix of several different themes. A kind of pulp meets noir with dashes of racial conflict and journalistic ethics all wrapped in a crime story. Sounds like a bit of a mess, well at times it is. Still, Lee Daniels' film composes some interesting qualities amidst some startling and effecting sensations.

The film lingers towards other tangents but mostly surrounds the investigation of a murdered local lawman by one Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack), a crude swamp dwelling alligator hunter. Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) is the journalist, returning to familiar hometown surroundings, to examine the case of proposed injustice. Ward enlists the help of his younger brother Jack (Zac Efron),  a paperboy for the local newspaper, to assist in his efforts.

The story is narrated by Jansen family maid Anita Chester (Macy Gray); Anita is a hard-working and spirited woman who has a close relationship with Jack. Ward is given opportunity to interview Hillary in prison through Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman), a femme fatale of sorts with a fondness for incarcerated men. Jack becomes infatuated with Charlotte's misguided flirtations, while Ward trudges desperately deeper into mystery surrounding Hillary. And just as the swamps they encounter are murky and muddy so are the personalities and ambitions of the characters in this lurid tale.

Lee Daniels, who directed Precious, works hard to keep a firm grasp on the difficult narrative aspects of this film. There are stark moments when the film strays aggressively with sudden scenes for pure sensation, for instance a butchering scene involving an alligator and the treatment of a jellyfish sting involving urination. These moments, though not always gratuitous, unfortunately stall the progression of the film and redirect it in strangely muddled ways. Daniels seems too reliant on pulp qualities to forward the progression of the story, which is unfortunate because when it’s utilized as assisting factors the film moves forward with interesting substance. There are some genuinely good elements working in this film, the treatment of race, the examination of masculinity and femininity, and the process of journalistic integrity are all interweaved well throughout.

Lee builds moments of suspense in a mostly straightforward and non-surprising mystery by the excellent performances from the cast. Every character is hiding something, whether it’s crucial information or forbidden emotions, the maze of the mystery lies in the characters. McConaughey is again fantastic garnering an impressive streak of films this year. Efron does well to steady the film with a leading role, but is best when paired in scenes involving Anita or Ward. Kidman’s performance of the oversexed Charlotte isn’t bad though it’s not particularly good either. Whether it’s the script or simply the ambitions attributed her character, she is lost amidst the elements at times.

Some of the best moments in the film come from Ward’s traveling assistant Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo). Yardley seems composed of all the other characters defining qualities, and utilizes them in begrudging and motivating ways.

Lee Daniels doesn’t seem content with making a typical, run of the mill mystery story but instead opts for a film far more ambitious. At times The Paperboy works with stunning regard but sadly also falters by focusing too much on sensation instead of substance.

Monte’s Rating

3.50 out of 5.00

31 Days of Horror: Day 2

31 Days of Horror

Day: 2

Creepshow 2

Dir: Michael Gornick

Written by: Stephen King and George Romero

 Gelatinous monsters continue. I do enjoy a good anthology. Creepshow 2 might have the admiration behind it like the first one does but I can’t help but have a soft spot in my horror heart for anthologies, even not so good one. What Creepshow 2 does have is a great story, The Raft, about a killer lake monster that just happens to be a blob. Michael Gornick seemed like a great choice to direct this sequel considering he got his start on the television show Tales From the Darkside.

It doesn’t end with lake blobs in this feature either, who can forget the Old Chief Woodn’head story. To this day whenever I see a wooden native in front of a smoke shop, or in Frontier Land at Disneyland, I stop and strike a pose because of this film. I never really cared for the hitchhiker story, it seemed too much like the hitchhiker tale in Twilight Zone, but it’s actually quit funny. There are also some really nice embedded nodes to the original film as well. For instance, in The Raft, one of the girls is wearing a Horlicks University shirt, the same college from the creature in the crate story in the first film. Give this film another look, you might not appreciate it much more than you did, but it’s still better than a lot of the horror flicks we are getting today. Day 2 posing with The Chief. 

Looper Review

Looper

Dir: Rian Johnson

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis,

Emily Blunt, and Jeff Daniels

Rian Johnson has shown considerable promise as a director with his first two films; the youthful nourish tale Brick and the comedy crime caper The Brothers Bloom. Johnson’s third film is ambitious, tackling science fiction and the difficult concept of time travel. Looper, guided by a steady hand and strong characters, tackles the journey through time in the dystopian future with more than satisfying results.

Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a looper, a hired assassin, who works for a crime organization that operates 30 years in the future. Time travel is discovered and immediately made illegal, but criminals in the future are reaping the benefits to dispose of their problems, mainly people. Joe is intuitive, knowing his time as a hired hand is temporary he saves his earnings in hopes of traveling the world. The problem with this profession is looper’s are privy to company secrets, leaving the future organizations to close the loop once in for all. This leads Joe to an assignment that has him holding a gun to his future self (Bruce Willis).

There is an interesting relationship between the past and the future that Johnson develops early on with some creative environments and wardrobe decisions. It would be hard to identify the era if it wasn’t for the flying vehicles and hyper stylized nightclubs. Past is everywhere in Looper; from the flapper girl style of a high end stripper with a heart of gold (Piper Perabo) or Gordon-Levitt’s dapper 50’s fashion; it’s a nice touch of the “old is new” style. Casablanca even makes an appearance as Bogart and Bergman’s chance Paris nightclub adds to the tone of yesteryear. The past-future relationship is well executed and keeps the film grounded with a sense of realism.

The time travel aspects of storytelling can be overwhelming but Johnson offers a non-confusing, though still complex, explanation. The standout characteristic of the narrative is the development of the primary characters. Johnson spends a large portion of the first act dedicated to Gordon-Levitt’s Joe before we are introduced to Willis’ old Joe in a short montage of his aging and changed personality. It’s an ingenious contrast to see the promise of youth and the caution of age displayed in a character.  There are some slight missteps unfortunately, an introduction of a crucial character arch comes about late and some of the science fiction themes feel slightly overused.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an accomplished actor, again showcasing the range he is able to achieve, while Bruce Willis still handles the reins of an action vehicle with surprising ease. There is a great tension filled diner scene that displays both of their honed skills. Emily Blunt is also good as an overprotective mom with a gun. Her interactions with her son Cid, an excellent Pierce Gagnon, are touching and offer some great depth with their relationship.

Johnson utilizes violence with staggering and sudden effect, but it never feels gratuitous. The theme of desperation in the future world leaves its’ inhabitants in a constant mode of survival. Everyone seems to have a weapon, which makes everyone a threat; this gives Looper an underlying western gunslinger sensibility.

While the film might seem somewhat influenced by The Terminator, it’s more suitable to compare with the 1962 film La Jetée with a touch of 1995’s Twelve Monkeys. Looper is one of the better time travel films in recent memory.

Monte’s Rating

4.25 out of 5.00

31 Days of Horror: Day 1

31 Days of Horror

Day: 1

The Blob (1988)

Dir: Chuck Russell

Starring: Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillion,

and Art LaFleur

For horror fans, October is the best month of the year. For me there’s an added reward, it begins a tradition I started nearly 10 years ago. 31 days, 31 horror films. In the past I’ve tried to have some kind of theme, one year it was zombies, another it was Italian horror, and last year I decided to just pick films from my collection randomly. It led me in some interesting directions. This year I’m still picking somewhat randomly, but I will relate each new selection to the prior choice in some way. For instance, if I pick Halloween, my next selection might be another John Carpenter film, a slasher film, or a film that takes place on Halloween…you get the idea. So, here we go.

Nostalgia. I love it. I remember watching the 1958 version of The Blob on a Saturday morning creature feature as a kid. A gelatinous monster consumes everything, and anyone, who gets in its’ way and grows bigger every time it eats. It’s B-movie schlock all the way. In 1988 the remake came around directed by Chuck Russell, the director who gave Freddy Krueger fans the exceptional third installment Dream Warriors. Kevin Dillion, hot off the heels of Platoon, stepped into the role Steve McQueen played…yes Frank Bullitt himself was in the original. A virtually unknown Shawnee Smith became the Winnie Cooper of horror films after this performance, well for me she did.

 What makes the updated version of The Blob so good isn’t the grand cut and copy effects of the slow moving Glob (original name) hunched against buildings or oozing out of sewage pipes, it’s the gruesome practical makeup to show the acidic properties blob goo has on human flesh. The first victim effect is still eye catching. Also, Frank Darabont, the director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, wrote a large portion of the script with heavy references to Stephen King’s novel The Stand. Though it’s more than dated, and the acting is stilted, Chuck Russell’s film is still fun to watch. Day 1 and I’m consumed.