Turbo Kid Review

Turbo Kid

Director: François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissel

Starring: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Edwin Wright, Aaron Jeffery and Romano Orzar

Some call it a guilty pleasure while others, like myself, wholeheartedly defend the action, science fiction, and horror films of the 1980’s. The heroes were larger than life, the science fiction combined numerous genres, and the horror films relied on practical special effects. Looking back at those films it’s easy to identify the recognizable aesthetic pieces; the music, the costume, the composition of the action scenes; you can feel the 80’s permeate every frame. “Turbo Kid”, from the directing team of François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissel, is an homage to all the era specific qualities you’d see from a science fiction, action, and horror film combined into one. The fact that this film gets nearly everything in tune with the 1980’s is remarkable; the fact that it is also has an earnest and humorous story is an unexpected plus.

The year is 1997 and the world has crumbled. The Kid (Munro Chambers) rides around the dystopian wasteland on his BMX bike, looking for remnants of the past but also for the precious commodity of water. The Kid meets a wayward and strange girl named Apple (Laurence Laboeuf) who begins to follow and journey around with him. The water is controlled by a tyrant named Zeus (Michael Ironside) who, along with his henchmen, brutally murders anyone who gets in the way of his quest for power. The Kid, while being chased, discovers the costume and high tech weaponry of his favorite comic book hero Turbo Rider; the suit gives The Kid special powers to fight back against Zeus.

“Turbo Kid” feels like “Road Warrior” with BMX bikes, it’s a stylistic endeavor filled with touches from the past but also subtle references to the films that the audience knows are being imitated. But even when elements are being satirized so precisely, like the over-the-top gore, 80’s synth rock soundtrack perfectly emulated by composer Le Matos, and deliberate filmmaking style that pulls and pushes with attention grabbing ferocity, there are also some nicely composed moments that separate this science fiction environment from others like it. The vast emptiness of the landscape is accomplished by a combination of photography styles, the chase scenes are comically rendered with bikes instead of flying vehicles or speeding cars, and the gore, wow the gore, is drenching by the buckets full. These little differences help keep “Turbo Kid” exciting instead of becoming derivative by resorting to repeated efforts of the style it is mimicking. 

The narrative is filled with a consistent comedic tone, from situational humor, to a character that spouts intentionally verbose speeches, to cheesy one-liners, it’s laugh-out-loud funny at times. Unexpectedly there is also a pleasant charm that comes from the friendship between The Kid, who is a bit of a loner, and Apple, who is looking for a friend. They need each other more than they know. In a film that functions as a tribute, having this little character piece allows the viewer to invest more intently with the film. 

It’s easy to say that this isn’t a film for everyone. The design feels low budget at times, the CGI can come off a little sloppy, and the gore will turn many away at first sight. Still, once "Turbo Kid" utilized a “Soylent Green” reference the smile never left my face for the remainder of the film. It’s pure fun, constantly energetic, and completely nostalgic, and if that’s not enough for you, Michael Ironside plays a villain named Zeus!!! That last line alone would have brought me to the theater.

Monte’s Rating

4.00 out of 5.00

   

No Escape Review

No Escape

Dir: John Erick Dowdle

Starring: Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Sahajak Boonthanakit, and Pierce Brosnan

Going to a foreign country shouldn’t be as terrifying as director John Erick Dowdle makes it in his unnerving action thriller “No Escape”. This isn’t the first time the theme of fear has been explored by the director; Dowdle’s last film, “As Above/So Below”, was a horror film about a group of young explorers who get trapped in the catacombs below Paris. Dowdle has made quite a career exploring terror, which doesn’t make it surprising that “No Escape” has a few anxious and unsettling moments. While the film utilizes good techniques to maintain a consistent level of apprehension, the story never comes close to reaching the same quality.

Jack (Owen Wilson) and Annie Dwyer (Lake Bell) are moving with their two young daughters to a foreign country. Jack has taken a job with a multinational water company as an engineer.  Trying to make the most of this unwanted situation, Jack and Annie put on brave faces for their children. On the plane ride The Dwyer’s meet a scruffy and scared man named Hammond (Pierce Brosnan) who ends up helping them to their hotel amidst their cultural confusion. Things take a turn for the worse as a violent political coup takes place in the unnamed country, leading the group of rebels to hunt and kill the people who are taking their water.

The film doesn’t take long in establishing The Dwyer’s situation before moving into an all out violent action film. Jack finds himself in the middle of a street confrontation between the rebels and police; things don’t end well for the police who are over powered. Jack weaves through the maze of shops and back alley passages, dodging knife and gun wielding rebels at every corner. Dowdle keeps the pacing frantic and the distress peaked by utilizing handheld techniques but also keeping the framing of the film tight, rarely giving the viewer perspective of the city and focusing on the expressions and movements of the actors. There is an anxiousness that is established by these techniques, a reflection of the title of the film.

Unfortunately the narrative is filled with action movie clichés. The character development during a particularly pivotal moment doesn’t make much sense or give much reasonable explanation, and the establishment of the group of antagonists is pushed aside by lame, dumbed down reasons in a blundering attempt to add a political angle to the situation. The violence that has overtaken this city, placing innocent residents in terrible peril, is focused by the narrative on The Dwyer family, never looking back at the hundreds of executed residents laying on the streets, many who were merely trying to stand up amidst the opposition.  The one character from this unspecified country is given a sliver of story, relegated to being a Kenny Roger’s loving sidekick for Pierce Brosnan’s shady character.

The actors do a good job of looking terrified. Owen Wilson and Lake Bell portray the aspects of being a parent well, calming and motivating their two children at the most extreme ends of the emotional spectrum. “No Escape” maintains an anxious and action packed tone throughout, but unfortunately the clumsily pieced together and culturally misguided narrative turns this film into one long chase scene with nothing to say.

Monte’s Rating

 2.25 out of 5.00

Straight Outta Compton Review

Straight Outta Compton

Dir: F. Gary Gray

Starring: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge, and Paul Giamatti

In 1988 the rap group N.W.A. released one of the groundbreaking hip-hop albums of all time. “Straight Outta Compton” was an album peaked with hostility, desperation, frustration, and profanity laced defiance, a calling card to a Los Angeles community dealing with poverty, violence, and racial profiling. The group started as five talented unknown artists who progressed into a dominating force in hip-hop music; featuring the collective of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince. Director F. Gary Gray, known for “Friday” and “The Italian Job”, directs this biopic of the group’s rise to fame and their ultimate aggressive separation into individual artists. The result is an exceptional film that portrays the story of talented and disgruntled young men who utilized words to reflect the emotions and experiences of their world, a group that would transform hip-hop music.

Andre “Dr. Dre” Young (Corey Hawkins) is a DJ for a local club, supporting his girlfriend and child while living in his mother’s house. Dr. Dre is utilizing music as a means of escape, a tool to support his family. Dr. Dre is the creative force behind the music, crafting a sound built on the shoulders of classic soul and R&B records. The voice for his sound arrives behind the crafted lyrics of O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), a young man who writes about the world outside his school bus or seen on the nightly news report with unabashed sincerity. Needing money to get the group off the ground, Dr. Dre enlists funding from a local drug dealer named Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, a charming hothead who could easily pull a gun as quick as he could make one crack a smile. These founding members, along with friends MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) and DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.) would become N.W.A., the most controversial group in rap music.

The film opens with Eric “Eazy-E” Wright (Jason Mitchell) standing toe-to-toe with a drug dealer in a house filled with narcotics, weapons, and the kind of tension that defines the best kind of confrontations in gangster films. In a blink, a Los Angeles tank barrels through the front door and Eazy-E darts through the house and out a window narrowly escaping a fate that would have derailed the future success waiting for him. It’s an action sequence that has all the flair of gritty crime films but it also serves as a representation of N.W.A.’s rise to fame; a rise that maneuvered over obstacles and beyond walls, narrowly evading the grasp of the people that wanted to stop them.

We’ve seen this story before, the peaks and valleys of a music group that succeeded beyond the boundaries set before them. In this regard “Straight Outta Compton” is completely familiar and predictable. However, in the talented hands of director F. Gary Gray the story turns into something immersive and compelling; an extensive historical account that touches on all the milestones but also features specific insights purposefully composed for fans that followed the story of the group and the individuals that would eventual find success of their own. While some scenes may come off a little contrived during more dramatic aspects, like an outburst by Ice Cube in the Priority Records offices, the atmosphere of the environments, attitude of the actors, and placement of the music is always spot on. There is a great scene during the early production of an Eazy-E song called “Boyz-N-The-Hood” where the group struggles to make the song come together, it’s a heartfelt and comedic scene that displays the friendship that drove these young men to take a risk.

“Straight Outta Compton” goes even further, exploring the lives of these men later in their career, showing Dr. Dre make the choice to align with Suge Knight, watching Ice Cube writing the script that would eventually become the movie “Friday”, and seeing Eazy-E’s health fail after contracting HIV. The film is somewhat overly meticulous with the history, fans will be delighted with some of the subtleties and surprises placed throughout while others not familiar may find these moments distracting.

The acting is surprisingly good. Paul Giamatti, the veteran of the young group of actors, makes manager Jerry Heller somewhat of a mystery and O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s striking resemblance to his father's smirk and smile will make you feel like you've been put in a time machine. There are moments when the script lingers within scenes, this is the only time tat you will notice the 147 minute running time that otherwise progresses with exceptional pacing.

 There is an undeniable essence to this film, which becomes evident when you realize that Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E’s former wife Tomica Wright were heavily involved in the production. “Straight Outta Compton” is a film that rides on the shoulders of the giants that are still influencing rap music today.

Monte’s Rating

4.25 out of 5.00

Fantastic Four Review

Fantastic Four

Dir: Josh Trank

Starring: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, Reg E. Cathey, and Toby Kebbell

A new superhero movie seems to be coming out every few months, that’s exciting for comic book fans but also a risky gamble to maintain that old mantra of “quality versus quantity”. It unfortunately would seem that the “quantity” aspect has won out with the latest comic book property the “Fantastic Four”. It’s a seemingly rushed film that lacks on numerous levels, most notably the primary reason fans flock to the theaters…because they want to be entertained.

The film starts at the beginning, with a young Reed Richards (Owen Judge/Miles Teller) standing at the front of the class telling his bewildered classmates about a science project that would allow his machine to transfer matter from one dimension to another parallel one. No one believes him except Ben Grimm (Evan Hannemann/Jamie Bell), who helps Reed complete the machine only to have it blow the power in the entire neighborhood.

Director Josh Trank, who helmed the ingenious science fiction film “Chronicle” in 2012, sets up the origin in a great way. Introducing the audience to these pivotal friends before they become supporting superheroes helps establish their bond, an emotional component that connects them beyond the conflicts that are coming. We see these two characters grow from inquisitive kids to exceptionally gifted teenagers who are targeted by a research center in Manhattan.

Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) is trying to accomplish the same result as Reed’s experiment; Franklin recruits Reed to join his team that also includes his daughter Sue (Kate Mara). Upon arrival in Manhattan work begins quickly once two new members join the team. Franklin’s son Johnny (Michael B. Jordan) joins after crashing his vehicle in a racing incident and Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell), a brooding intellect who left the research center, joins reluctantly. The team, amidst pressure from a government agency that plans to take over the project, sneaks a secret trip to the parallel dimension but things go terribly wrong resulting in unexpected powers for the team.

The film feels like one long, exaggerated introduction. It’s hard to call it an origin story because it takes nearly half the movie to finally explain how this team gained the super powers displayed in every trailer for this film. The film drags along after the quick introduction of the characters as children, before the top billed cast takes over acting duties, which is when the entire tone of the film stalls completely. The first ten minutes displays promise, only to then lose grasp of the narrative movements and linger aimlessly towards the wrap-up. You’ll wonder to yourself, once the villain returns, why there is nothing intimidating or threatening about him. It’s because nothing has been earned, a quality that unfortunately exists with a majority of these characters.

“Fantastic Four” is a missed opportunity to make up for past incarnations of the comic book super team. Other superhero films have made even secondary comic characters completely interesting and entertaining, the same attention should have been given to these iconic characters in the Marvel comic book universe.

Monte’s Rating

1.50 out of 5.00

Ricki and the Flash Review

Ricki and The Flash

Dir: Jonathan Demme

Starring: Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer, Kevin Kline, Rick Springfield, Sebastian Stan, and Audra McDonald

Sony Pictures

102 Minutes

You know that cover band at the dive bar you use to go to back in the day? The better-than-average band that played all the classic rock hits just well enough to tell friends that the bar played good music. That band was Ricki and The Flash. Director Jonathan Demme and writer Diablo Cody examine Ricki, a female lead singer of a rock band who left her family to chase her dream of making it to the mainstage in Los Angeles. Meryl Streep stars and sings in “Ricki and the Flash” and provides a great performance that holds this lopsided and tepid film together from start to finish.

Ricki (Meryl Streep) is alive on the stage. Singing covers of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty with the kind of love for music that can be felt in the back row, or in Ricki’s case the booths in the back of the bar. Ricki’s love for music has led her to Los Angeles; she is an entertainer by night and grocery clerk by day struggling to make rent for her apartment and taking life one small step at a time. Though at one time Ricki was married and had three children, a life she abandoned to chase her dream. An unexpected phone call from her ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline) brings Ricki back to her uneasy family and closer to a life that will need her to pick up the pieces.

 Jonathan Demme is a great film director, known most for “Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia”, who has recently transitioned into more television and documentary work. Demme’s film catalog is painted through a plethora of genre and stories about people whose choices are never easy and sometimes never resolved but always a reflection of the world that has shaped them. You can feel many of these qualities trying to peak through in “Ricki and The Flash”, unfortunately the narrative never seems content to explore these different places. Ricki has lived a life marred by failure, though she masks many of her insecurities with life lesson quips amidst a smug attitude. You can sense in small moments that there is much more going on underneath the heavy makeup and zipped up leather jackets, a unexplored history that holds pertinent truths for her character. The people in the film are a mix of perspectives, the sacrificing and selfish views from parents, the angry and forgiving mentality of children, even very blatantly the division of the liberal verses conservative viewpoints displayed when Ricki stops to talk to her fans. These are stimulating ideas to explore when analyzing the dynamic of a broken family influenced by numerous societal elements. However, everything remains fairly superficial and the result is highly predictable.

What saves the film from faltering completely are the performances. Meryl Streep is great here, taking her character and giving her a rockstar personality capable of singing recognizable songs with her own distinguishable style and approach. Streep’s voice is raspy yet heartfelt. Mamie Gummer, Streep’s daughter in real life, portrays the rage and angst of a woman scorned by a terrible man, it’s over-the-top and subtle at the same time. Kevin Kline adds something nice to every scene here, giving his character the good-to-a-fault persona Kline has done many times before. While it’s familiar it’s also perfectly placed in this film, providing a supporting balance to the many stronger emotions on display.

“Ricki and The Flash” has some very good musical moments, completely owned by Meryl Streep. These song choices play to the narrative as much as formal dialog does between characters. It’s unfortunate that this detail wasn’t reflected throughout the narrative and composition of the characters. “Ricki and The Flash” is very much like the better-than-average cover band at the bar, you’ll appreciate that they don’t mess up any of the songs and tell your friends that you saw a good band playing at a dive bar.

Monte’s Rating

3.00 out of 5.00