Action

“Creed” Drips with Directorial Style and Poignant Performance

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The boxing ring is an attractive setting for exploring themes of determination, courage, and discipline. You won’t find a better offering from this century than Ryan Coogler’s Creed. This fantastic film manages to respect the stories that came before it in the Rocky universe while contributing a freshness to the standard underdog story. Coogler’s direction is apparent and smart, especially during the thoroughly engaging boxing sequences. Coupled with powerful performances from the leads, Creed delivers far more than the satisfying knockout punch of the standard boxing flick.

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The Derivative “Spectre” Wastes Performances and Spins Wheels

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How has James Bond become a poor-man’s Ethan Hunt?

Spectre, the twenty-fourth film of the James Bond franchise, meanders through action set pieces but doesn’t really have anywhere to go. Directed by Sam Mendes, who had much more success with his previous foray in to the world of Bond with Skyfall, the film wastes a potentially great villain by providing no motivation and a cookie-cutter surveillance plot which was done better by both Mission Impossible and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Sadly, the latest Bond film offers nothing new to the franchise and feels like spinning the wheels in anticipation of the next reboot.

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Classic Review Friday – Tony Scott’s “Man on Fire” (2004)

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A slick, stylized violence permeates Tony Scott’s Man on Fire, which is as much a story about rebirth as it is about revenge. The critics balked at the vigilantism of Denzel Washington’s John Creasy as he tears through a Mexican kidnapping cartel responsible for the death of a young girl, but this film is much more about a man’s abortive redemption than pleasure-seeking violence. Far from glorifying Creasy’s rampage, Scott imbues the narrative with a decidedly blunt and tragic trajectory. Man on Fire is less about retribution, and more about a damaged man falling apart one last time in service of his highest value.

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“Sicario” is a Tense and Grim Look at the Futility of the Drug War

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Last week on Plot and Theme we had an entire week devoted to the feature films of Denis Villeneuve, and now we get a nice cherry on top: Sicario. Villeneuve’s seventh feature film stars Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio del Toro, and tells the story of a FBI SWAT agent Kate Macer (Blunt) who is whisked away on a special task force dedicated to hunting down the head of a Mexican drug cartel. The film is comfortable exploring gray areas and dwelling in the nooks and crannies of the legal justice system, but ultimately cannot find any effective answers.

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“The Martian” Champions the Mind and Compassion

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It is remiss to classify The Martian as “Ridley Scott’s” or “Matt Damon’s” or with any other possessive; it is a true ensemble film. Though the story begins in serious medias res with the crew of the Ares III mission escaping a Martian dust storm and leaving Matt Damon’s Mark Watney behind on the red planet, this is not Cast Away where we dwell on our lone character for the majority of the runtime. The success of the narrative and the impact of the theme require that seemingly infinite characters aid in Watney’s survival, but also that Watney himself is capable of titanic intellectual feats. What results is a film dictating that the strength of humanity is found in the reasoning mind – from an isolated individual struggling to survive to large teams working towards effecting a rescue.

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The Hateful 8 Trailer is Pure, True-to-Form Tarantino Beauty

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The first official trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s eighth theatrical feature, The Hateful 8, was released yesterday. The film appears to be a mish-mash of Django Unchained and Reservoir Dogs, fusing the Old West bounty hunting of Django with the ensemble cast and bottle-episode feel of Dogs (possibly with some non-linear storytelling thrown in for good measure). We get to see a number of Tarantino regulars in the trailer, plus a few newbies, bumping elbows in a log cabin in the middle of the winter. Check it out:

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Review of “Deadpool” Trailer Trailer and “Deadpool” Trailer Review

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The Merc with a Mouth had something to say to us on Monday about the trailer for his new movie. Like the hipster asshole that he is, Deadpool narrates the trailer to his trailer with some bourbon and a pipe in full costume (which makes holding the pipe in his mouth fairly difficult). His voice … Read more

“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” Ascends to Brilliant Heights

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Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation revels in its tropes. Heists, MacGuffins, and double/triple crosses abound and elevate the film to the very apex of the spy film genre. Director Christopher McQuarrie (director of Jack Reacher, writer of Edge of Tomorrow) ably adds his touches and always keeps the action intelligible, but this is unequivocally Tom … Read more

“Ant-Man” Offers More Wit, Subtlety, and Heart than Standard Marvel Fares

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Every new entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has multiple obstacles to overcome. First, and most importantly, the film must fit into the rest of the MCU in a way that feels genuine and earned. Also, it must be careful not to retread old ideas and instead offer us something fresh. The latest offering, Ant-Man, … Read more

Visual Power Structures in the “Spectre” Trailer Promise Greatness

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The first full trailer for the next entry in Daniel Craig’s James Bond begins with Ralph Fiennes’ M chiding Bond for carrying out an unauthorized operation in Mexico City. Fiennes stands behind his desk and towers over a seated, subservient Bond asking, “Mexico City: What were you doing there?” We cut to the event in … Read more