[Review] Louder Than Bombs

In his first English-language film, director Joachim Trier (a distant relative of Lars von Trier) presents Louder Than Bombs--a dour drama about a family mourning loss.

Gene (Gabriel Byrne) is currently overseeing an upcoming exhibition of work from his deceased wife Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert), who was a renowned war photographer. Meanwhile, Gene struggles to connect with his morbid teenage son (Devin Druid). His eldest son, a college professor (played by Jesse Eisenberg), travels home to spend time with the family and sort through the gallery.

Despite the title, this is an immensely quiet film, thriving on subtle but potent moments of grief and somber reflection. Even though we sympathize with the characters, they're too flatly drawn to render themselves as particularly interesting or memorable. This aspect, combined with the snail's pace and mundane flashbacks--make the film difficult to engage in. The flashbacks should serve as a device for us to get to know Isabelle better, but they fail to do that because she's also thinly developed.

As for the good, there are some nice moments of beauty, poetic pondering, and flourishes of literary dialogue throughout. Reveals from the past create new conflicts in the present. The divisive Jesse Eisenberg (for the record, I think he's great) is one of the more intriguing aspects, breaking through the one-dimensional tone and making the best out of the material he's given.

While the film underwhelms, Louder Than Bombs does convey a certain truth--Sometimes the aftermath of a loved one's death comes with intense introspection and deafening silence.

6/10

[Review] The Family Fang

Jason Bateman's directorial debut Bad Words was a profane comedy that came with mixed results. His follow-up, a VOD & limited theater release The Family Fang--is a more assured film. Here, he also stars alongside the likes of Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken, and Maryann Plunkett.

Raised in a household of manipulative guerilla performance artists, siblings Annie (Kidman) and Baxter (Bateman) Fang are now slightly scarred and untrusting adults. After Baxter winds up in the hospital by getting shot in the head with a potato gun (yes, really), their estranged parents (played by Walken and Plunkett) come to visit. But when the parents suddenly go missing, Annie and Baxter are tasked with figuring out whether it's real or another elaborate prank.

The premise is as bizarre as it sounds. When we first meet the parents, we immediately begin to understand why Annie and Baxter are a bit... distressed. Christopher Walken is perfectly cast as a deep-thinking smooth-talker who is extremely passionate, deceptive, and also a bit loopy about his head-scratching improv installations and questionable parenting outlooks. Nicole Kidman is solid as she takes the determined leading role in attempting to solve the mystery.

The story wanders around for a while and doesn't actually seem to catalyze until close to the midway point, but it constantly possesses a fitting spirit of strangeness. While the film doesn't nearly seem to achieve the potent tragicomedy tone that it's aiming for, it provides some interesting takes on the lengths, lines, and meanings of art--whether you agree with them or not.

The Family Fang is a film that I wouldn't recommend to everyone, but I couldn't help but intently wonder what the characters were going to end up discovering.

6.5/10

[Review] Captain America: Civil War

Understandable echos of superhero movie fatigue have been ringing out, but as long as Marvel keeps delivering films as entertaining as this, the hype doesn't seem to be dying down any time soon. Captain America: Civil War blasts into theaters as the third installment of the very solid Captain America series, and the 'I lost count' addition to Marvel's cinematic universe. As expected, the film packs in a lot of material. And for the most part, it's a wonderfully satisfying crowd-pleaser.

Opening amidst a rapid fire chase and street fight sequence, the team is back at it: Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). They dismantle the bad guys, but in the process there's an unfortunate explosion. Afterward, the government comes down on the Avengers in regard to the innocent casualties of their plight for the greater good. This creates major conflict between the squad, and especially propels the highly anticipated rift between Captain America and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.).

We have some newcomers here too, including Chadwick Boseman as the swiftly cool Black Panther, and Tom Holland as Spider-Man (another one), who adds some fresh and naive babyfaced nerdism to the ensemble. Recent recruit Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) carries over the everyman awe and spunkiness from his solo film, and he's a great burst of humor. Then there's the returning Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)--still brainwashed and caught between it all, while also playing a very significant role in this story.

Even with the abundance of characters, the film surprisingly never feels too messy or over-bloated. Sure, you might be wishing for some more screen time from certain heros, but the multi-plot leaves a lot of room for them to each get their shine on. It also helps that this thing is nicely paced and constructed, gliding together relatively smoothly even given its 150 minute runtime--unlike another big screen comic book battle from this earlier this year, Batman v Superman (you knew it was gonna come up).

Compelling and meaningful, Civil War earns our investment into its fights. (Although if you haven't been keeping up with these franchises, it's probably just a bunch of stuff flying around and pounding each other.) The highlight setpiece of the film is an extended showdown at an empty airport, where all (and I mean ALL) the characters spectacularly go head-to-head. It's a giddy and well-executed scene that boasts a smorgasbord of diverse powers uniting and clashing. The stakes don't necessarily feel like an ultimate life or death situation (which is fine), but it's a rumble that's a whole lot of quippy and exuberant fun anyway. Shouts out to the Russo Brothers for pulling this together.

If you've been along for the entire ride of this film series, it's difficult to witness former comrades (and friends) Captain America and Iron Man seriously go at each other. But they both strongly represent an age-old weighty moral dilemma, and it also makes for a pretty dang good blockbuster.

* 8.7/10 *


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[Review] Keanu

Sketch comedy sensations Key & Peele make the leap to the big screen with their first (and hopefully not last) feature, Keanu. It might sound crazy, but believe me when I say that this film is like a mashup of Scarface and Homeward Bound.

Rell (Jordan Peele) is down in the dumps after a recent breakup. One day, an adorable little kitten shows up at his doorstep and saves him. He names the precious furball Keanu (a sly reference to the action flick John Wick, in which Keanu Reeves annihilates a bunch of criminals who killed his dog). When Keanu goes missing, Rell and his uptight best bud Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key) are led to a gang boss who goes by Cheddar (played greatly by Method Man). From here, Clarence and Rell are sucked into a wild chain of events involving mistaken identities, an unfortunately named strip club Hot Party Vixens (HPV), drug deals gone wrong, and ruthless shootouts.

Seeing a hardened Method Man lovingly holding a tiny little kitty is worth the price of admission alone. It's also amusing to watch Key & Peele pretend to be stone cold assassins, only to nervously fret as they get deeper and deeper into their dirt. It's even funnier to think it's all over a cat. (To be fair, the cat is worth it.) Other hilarious highlights include Will Forte doofily playing a weed-dealing wanksta, and a coked out Anna Faris partying in her Hollywood mansion. Early in the film, Peele takes glorious calendar photos of Keanu recreating movie scenes from Mad Max: Fury Road, Point Break, and The Shining, to name a few. I want that calendar.

The laughs aren't always consistent, and some scenes stretch longer than they need to, but there's still enough humor to embrace this thing. Yes, it's ridiculous. And yes, a lot of the plot is driven by farcical coincidences, but what were you expecting form a movie whose promo poster is a kitten rocking gold chains and a bulletproof vest? The soundtrack is awesomely fitting too, boasting booming anthems from the likes of Kevin Gates and Future.

I'm definitely looking forward to whatever these guys come up with next.

7/10

[Review] Green Room

A group of scrawny punk rock kids fighting their way out of a club full of neo-Nazis? Sir Patrick Stewart playing the villain? It's lit.

Green Room has been generating amp feedback for a while now, and it's finally gotten a fairly wide release. The film is the third feature from Jeremy Saulnier, the buzzing director of 2014's grisly Blue Ruin. And it's safe to say that this vicious thriller delivers on its promises.

Anton Yelchin and Alia Shawkat ("Arrested Development") play in a struggling hardcore band. They don't have enough gas money to make it home from their tour, so they desperately book a show in the backwoods--at a warehouse run by skinheads. Shortly after The Ain't Rights (that's their band name) set, they witness a murder backstage. When the venue's employees attempt to cover up the crime by calling in their menacing leader (played by Stewart), a hostile standoff ensues, and things go from bad to worse to frighteningly insane.

This film is quite frankly the epitome of "Well, that escalated quickly." It's a tense and brutal experience, not for the queasy or faint of heart. There's a lot blood here. Knives, bullets, and teeth penetrate flesh and bones, and it comes with gnarly close-ups of the aftermath. A point of no return arrives where Green Room aggressively delves into a helter-skelter war zone and fully embraces the carnage, even ushering in some slasher flick, "last one standing" vibes. Blue Ruin came with a lot of savagery, but that almost seems restrained compared to this.

The harsh ugliness is exquisitely framed with careful display of rich detail and brooding low-key lighting. A motif of fittingly green hues fill the screen throughout the duration (I wonder if Saulnier's next film will entail Red 'something'?). There's actually the slightest edge of self-aware humor to the tone, sort of in the same way that Tarantino or even the Coen Bros can pull off such hideous violence with a wink. My only wish is that Patrick Stewart's character had done a bit more than bark orders, but I suppose the guy didn't really need to get his own hands dirty. So it's not a major complaint.

Green Room might just be the most intricate, over-the-top warning about hitting the road as an amateur punk band.... Or simply that neo-Nazis are the worst. That seems more accurate.

* 9/10 *