Pompeii Review

Pompeii

Dir: Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring: Kit Harrington, Emily Browning, and Kiefer Sutherland

There is a substantial amount of visually extravagance in Paul W.S. Anderson’s sword and sandal disaster film “Pompeii". Apart from that, the rest of the film is a mix of other films seen before, and executed better, than this one.  A volcano rains fire and ash while a tidal wave consumes a city all amidst a love story between a slave gladiator and the daughter of an aristocrat.  Anderson attempts to make this all into something interesting, but the disorganized narrative and overly familiar elements make for a disappointing experience.

The film begins with a massacre of a Celtic horse tribe by Roman soldiers. Milo (Kit Harrington) is the only survivor but is sold into slavery and forced to fight as a gladiator. While being transported for greater fighting potentials in Pompeii, Milo falls into the appreciation of Cassia (Emily Browning) who is traveling from Rome back to her governing noble family. Cassia is captivated by Milo and attempts to help him but Senator Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), an enemy from Milo’s past, has come to Pompeii to take Cassia for his own.

Anderson’s film never finds handle on the numerous developments in the script. At one point it’s a story of a gladiator fighting for freedom, then it transitions into a romantic story about two people from different worlds, and then turns into an all out disaster film making it all feel like highlights from several different scripts. Most of these themes have been handled in better films; take for instance the tidal wave destruction straight out of “Day After Tomorrow” or the blatant copied structural formula from “Gladiator”.  It’s unfortunate that “Pompeii” never finds continuity from scene to scene because the special effects are good enough to provide the visual excitement to make it a 90 minute mindless entertainment film. Without the script providing a foundation for the action and special effects the film ends up being a varied and uninteresting collection of harvested past ideas.

Kit Harrington, known mostly for his role of Jon Snow from “Game of Thrones”, plays the physical aspects of the gladiator Milo quite well but struggles with the emotional aspects, though in his defense the script didn’t help much. Emily Browning is convincing as Cassia though she is not given enough time to develop the character beyond a few glancing moments with Milo and an aggressive scene with Senator Corvus. Their romance together comes along suddenly, as disaster forces Milo into action to save her, though it adds the needed device to force the film into the final battles of action. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is best in the film playing the supporting role of Atticus, a fellow slave and champion gladiator that offers camaraderie with Milo.

There is an exciting, if copied, moment involving an uneven arena battle for Milo and other gladiators in which Anderson displays his flair with action. Beyond that familiar scene, there isn’t much left in “Pompeii” that would propel it into the league of the films that inspired it.

Monte’s Rating

1.50 out of 5.00

Holy Ghost People Review

Holy Ghost People

Dir: Mitchell Altieri

Starring: Emma Greenwell, Joe Egender, and Brendan McCarthy

Faith can be viewed judgmentally from those not associated with religion, but for those practicing it’s as normal as anything else they do throughout the day. Belief in a higher power, from whatever religious foundation one may claim, requires a large amount of blind faith. Though there are some religious groups that claim healing powers and the ability to perform miracles all meant to propose visual validation of faith. “Holy Ghost People”, directed by one half of the Butcher Brothers Mitchell Altieri, explores the more extreme approaches of faith with a film focused on a young girl looking for her sister she believes has been kidnapped by a snake handling religious group. Altieri, assisted by some convincing performances, crafts a thriller that is blemished by structural issues within the narrative though still surprisingly feels wholly authentic.

Charlotte (Emma Greenwell) is in search of her drug-addicted sister who joined a church that practices deep in the Appalachians Mountains. Before she sets out to confront the church she enlists the help of a down on his luck war veteran named Wayne (Brendan McCarthy) to play the role of her father in order to invade the religious community. Once in the church’s boundaries the two met Brother Billy (Joe Egender), the charismatic preacher and leader of the church. Charlotte is suspicious of Brother Billy, though things are far more sinister than she expected.

There is an unsettling undertone that Altieri incorporates into the film. The environments are shady bars and dark alley-like streets that move into a maze of wilderness, it’s a nice touch that succeeds in keeping a tentative atmosphere.  If only the narrative could offer some assistance to accommodate the settings, “Holy Ghost People” could have turned into something more intense and examining. The story is simplistic, perhaps overly so, and it shows in the lack of depth given to the characters and the foreseeable movements within the story. Films like Sean Durkin’s “Martha Marcy May Marlene” and Zal Batmanglij’s “Sound of my Voice” examine both the certain and doubtful positions of faith and how they affect those both within and outside the group. In “Holy Ghost People” there are opportunities to explore this dynamic and in some scenes, particularly a quietly tense conversation between Brother Billy and Wayne, it is achieved with great results. The church worship scenes, filled with snakes and a juddering congregation, especially assist in displaying the lengths at which faith consumes people.

Part of what keeps the film afloat is the confident performances by the cast. Emma Greenwell gives Charlotte resolute ambition while Brendan McCarthy provides Wayne with a protective quality away from the intimidation and violence he demonstrates in other moments. Joe Egender is very good as Brother Billy, giving the character a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” quality and a charisma that makes his leadership within the group feel validated. 

“Holy Ghost People” may play rather familiar for genre fans but the religious approach is still well realized and the performances make the story feel genuinely authentic.

Monte’s Rating

3.00 out of 5.00

Robocop Review

Robocop

Dir: José Padilha

Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Keaton

Another remake of another genre favorite; seems to be a never-ending theme the last few years. Director José Padilha takes the unenviable task of rebooting “Robocop”, which fortunately in this instance the term “reboot” fits quite well. Paul Verhoeven’s fantastic 1987 original still stands the test of time with a mix of R-rated violence, satire, and keen social awareness of the products that composed the 80’s. Padilha’s version, most noticeable PG-13, works to a large extent due to its diversion from the original and by making a film that more closely resembles the social climate reflected in current society.

Omnicorp is the conglomerate that is advancing robotics and drones for use as defensive tools in hostile nations. This heavily armed technology has created a world controlled by fear, however the U.S. hasn’t allowed Omnicorp opportunity to take power away from human law enforcement. This company is run by Raymond Sellers (Michael Keaton) and his chance to move his company into U.S. favor arrives in the form of Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman), a Detroit police officer nearly killed by a car bomb. Murphy is the new defense product of Omnicorp, a robot built with the body (an impressive effect) of Alex Murphy.

Padilha’s best decision with his “Robocop” was distancing itself from the source material. This film is more of a straight up action film. The addition of some great actors also assists the film tremendously. Dr. Dennett Norton, played by Gary Oldman, offers a paternal figure in the form of a controlled scientist struggling between ethical and corporate persuasions. Oldman is always interesting to watch and offers some much needed emotion here. Samuel L. Jackson is also a pleasant surprise playing a news reporter who’s scenes casually intercut into the narrative in an effort to offer some depth by discussing issues related to the social and political climate of the world.  It’s an effective touch that wisely correlates the film within the issues plaguing our world today. Another narrative element that is utilized well is the added emotional quality of Murphy’s wife and son. This component, only slightly used in the original film, adds a humanistic struggle for Murphy who is constantly being reprogrammed to fit Omnicorp’s strategic plan.

Unfortunately there are also a few glaring missteps. The film lacks a proper villain, even though a few are proposed. Michael Keaton’s company head is the obvious bad guy choice but the character is too restrained. Jackie Earle Haley’s security lead takes a few verbal shots at Robocop but he more often is outwitted. Even when Murphy’s family is threatened it never feels overly dangerous for them. Another shortcoming is that the narrative develops some interesting questions but it never journeys far into exploring them. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, due impart to the great performances that accommodate the limitations of the script, it is an aspect that feels like an attempt to merely meet the creative bar instead of raising it. This, depending on what you are expecting from this “Robocop”, could be a positive attribute.

My initial impression of a new “Robocop” movie was negative and even though this film doesn’t live up to the imprint left by the original, it’s not a terrible film and that alone is an achievement.

Monte’s Rating

2.75 out of 5.00

The Monuments Men Review

The Monuments Men

Dir: George Clooney

Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, and Cate Blanchett

“The Monuments Men” was written and directed by George Clooney and continues his streak of crafting movies that harken back to Hollywood’s more classical approach to filmmaking structure. With an interesting ensemble of terrific actors, Clooney sets out to make an uplifting historical film about the fight/hunt to retain artistic works from the Nazi’s. While there are uplifting and lighthearted moments the film has a difficult time finding a tone and becomes uneven resulting in a film that has significant promise but falters in the final execution.

The film revolves around the U.S. Army’s Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program. The focus is on a group of artists, architects, and historians who ban together to search for and recovery art during War World II that Hitler is stealing for his own museum. Frank Stokes (George Clooney) is tasked with organizing and leading a small group to join with Armed Forces throughout Europe. These men are not soldiers but rather civilians who are quickly trained and sent into enemy territory and, in some instances posed by the film, without much cooperation by military personnel.

“The Monuments Men” is based on true events but the characters are fictional representations of the people actually involved in the military program. George Clooney and his producing partner Grant Heslov wrote the script and Clooney, capable enough, directs the film with a mix of thematic tones. The film begins with a stirring introduction of dismantled art amidst a war torn soundtrack but soon shifts into a lighthearted, somewhat comedic, meet and greet with the ensemble cast. This movement of mood continues throughout the film, in one moment the group is cheerfully bantering with one another and another moment they are beset with the atrocities of war. While one argument could defend this constant shift as a resemblance of how one might deal with the emotional stress of being in constant danger, the narrative never makes that connection. Instead the changes in the narrative overlook character development and the narrative never hits a stride of establishing itself but instead resembles little pieces of the comedy of “M.A.S.H.”, the suspense of “The Train”, and the character aspects of “Saving Private Ryan”.

The cast is a collective of excellent actors but most are underutilized and only a few are given room to challenge. Still, the cast offers some interesting moments. Clooney again offers his leading man charm to the role but is limited to a few invigorating speeches. Bill Murray and Bob Balaban are most amusing but are rarely on screen for any length of time that would properly develop their characters, the exception being one emotional scene involving Murray and his family at Christmastime. Damon and Blanchett are given the most room to explore, and Blanchett is quite good as a standoffish French museum record keeper who helps in tracking the Nazi’s.

“The Monuments Men” is mostly lighthearted, staying well away from realistic violence and the in depth exploration of the psychological aspects that war films venture towards. Clooney tries to operate the many moving parts of this film but it mostly runs away with him. Still, amidst the errors lies the redeeming quality of a story purposed with offering an uplifting message of the importance of art and the recognition of history.

Monte’s Rating

2.50 out of 5.00