Seventh Son (5/10): An epic fantasy adventure that wastes an all star cast

“We will meet again.”

Seventh Son is Sergey Bodrov’s (Mongol) latest fantasy epic film starring Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, and Ben Barnes. It’s a big budget adaptation of Joseph Delaney’s novel, The Spook’s Apprentice, which failed to make a splash at the box office. It is set in a Tolkien-like fantasy world where supernatural forces live among humans. There are witches, warlocks, boggarts, ghouls, and many other dark morphing creatures, and then there are spooks who protect the people by hunting down these monsters. Bodrov relies heavily on the CGI effects, but the film does look good thanks to its production design. Bridges plays the sole remaining spook, Master Gregory, who is trying to hunt down the extremely dangerous witch, Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore). Malkin plans on using her powers to reunite her followers and unleash evil across the world. After losing his latest apprentice (played by Kit Harrington), Gregory must train the young seventh son of a seventh son named Tom (Ben Barnes) who really doesn’t seem to be an interesting prospect. He only has a week to train him before reaching Malkin and preventing her from fulfilling her evil plan. Along the way, Tom falls for a young witch named Alice (Alicia Vikander) who has been spying on them. She isn’t a dark witch, but is following her mother’s orders.  Seventh Son doesn’t take itself too seriously and Bodrov jumps from one action set piece to the next without spending too much time on the characters and thus not allowing the audience to think too much about the silliness of it all.

The greatest disappointment is of course the weak screenplay that never allows us to engage with the characters despite being played by a fantastic cast. It’s inevitable not to thing about The Big Lebowski when seeing Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore working together again. Moore had a fantastic year, winning the Oscar for her lead performance in Still Alice, but here she doesn’t have anything interesting to do. She plays a typical and cliched villain. Bridges goes extremely overboard with his character, reminding us that we shouldn’t take this adventure film too seriously. It’s hard to understand his drunken mumbling which will remind us of his work in True Grit. Olivia Williams and Djimon Hounsou also have some small roles in this film, so it is a huge disappointment to see such a talented cast wasted in a big budget film like this. Barnes and Vikander are young talented actors that try to do the best with the material they are given. The Swedish actress has taken Hollywood by storm after her performance in the Danish film, A Royal Affair, and she has five films coming out this year. She’s an actress I will be keeping my eyes on. 

Seventh Son has been receiving terrible reviews, but it wasn’t as bad as I had expected. The plot moves along very quickly and in a very predictable manner, but it never tries to take itself too seriously and that is Seventh Son’s greatest strength. The action set pieces are fun and the film is short (under 95 minutes). Of course it isn’t a good film either, but considering it is light for the eyes it’s not a difficult film to watch. If you’re bored you might find the film entertaining and it’s a good way to kill time, but there is nothing memorable about it either. More than anything it’s a huge disappointment for wasting such a talented cast. There’s no character development, but the impressive set designs and quick pace make up for it.    

My Review: The Giver (2/10)

“Our community was built on rules. Differences weren’t allowed.”

It’s not an easy feat to make Meryl Streep look bad in a film, but The Giver manages to do so with this simplistic and dull film. Based on the best selling novel written by Lois Lowry, this adaptation is yet another film geared towards a young audience centering on a dystopian society. The plot centers on a community where everything is apparently perfect because since no one actually feels anything there is no pain. Everyone has a specific role in society and must do as they are told. The similarities with Divergent came up more than once while I was watching this and unfortunately The Giver makes Divergent seem like a masterpiece. I have never read the novel, but I doubt it is close to being anything like this film because it is very bland and predictable. For a film that is attacking sameness it really doesn’t do anything to try to stand out from other films in the YA department. The social critique seemed like it was written by a young teenager who was spelling out everything for the audience, and there really isn’t anything deep or thought-provoking about it either. These themes have been explored in the past in much better films. Perhaps I’m just tired of the teen dystopia genre, but this easily wins my vote for one of the worst films of the year. The only good thing I can say about this film directed by Phillip Noyce is that the cinematography is gorgeous so at least the movie looks good, but there really isn’t much going on story wise. There really isn’t much more I want to say about this film because I felt it was a complete waste of time, but I’m surprised it has worked for so many people. 

Despite how much I like Merly Streep and Jeff Bridges I didn’t really enjoy their performances here. Alexander Skarsgard and Katie Holmes may not be considered amongst the best actors out there, but I usually enjoy their performances. It wasn’t the case in this film either and I don’t think they added anything to the film. Some actors can elevate the material at times, but there wasn’t anyone who could’ve done it here. Brenton Thwaites plays the lead character in this film and he doesn’t do a bad job. Odeya Rush and Cameron Monaghan’s characters aren’t really developed, but I guess it is sort of the point considering they live in a society where there is no feeling and everyone is expected to act in the same way. I never really got engaged with the film or the themes it was trying to explore.

My Review: R.I.P.D. (3/10)

"Until they pop, they look like regular people, so no one except us knows they're monsters inside."

The trailers made me think RIPD could be the MIB of this generation, but this film is nowhere near it. The comedy never delivers much laughs and the action scenes were mind numbing. RIPD is almost so bad that it is good, but it doesn't quite reach that level either. Director, Robert Schwentke (Flightplan, The Time Traveler's Wife, and RED), failed to bring Peter M Lenkov's Dark Horse comic to the big screen despite having Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds in the lead roles. These are two actors I really enjoy watching on screen, but they have made some terrible movies in the past as well. I haven't seen Reynolds in The Green Lantern, but this is probably on that same level. For Bridges this is probably by far his worst film although some people enjoyed his performance. He seemed to be making fun of his own performance in True Grit. The story was a little too wacky for my taste and the characters were all formulaic. We've seen these partners in hundreds of other films who are forced to work together but eventually grow on each other despite their differences. There are few surprises in this buddy comedy, which easily makes it one of the worst Summer movies of 2013. 

I will try my best to explain this whacky plot. Nick (Ryan Reynolds) is a Boston cop who is murdered by his partner, Hayes (Kevin Bacon). Upon his death he is recruited by the Rest in Peace Department. Proctor (Mary Louise Parker) explains to Nick what his new role is and introduces him to his partner, Roy (Jeff Bridges) a veteran in the force who has been dead since the 1800's, which explains his Wild West cowboy looks. The RIPD is responsible for hunting down dead souls who have escaped judgement and refused to leave the living world. Their job is to hunt them down and bring them back for judgement. These souls are disguised as regular people, but Roy teaches Nick how to discover and reveal their monstrous side with some Indian food. Nick and Roy aren't seen in the living world as their normal selves, they have avatars so no one they knew in their past lives can recognize them. Roy is a beautiful blonde (Marisa Miller), while Nick is given the body of a middle aged Chinese man (James Hong). This prevents Nick from making any contact with his widowed wife, Julia (Stephanie Szostak), whom he desperately wants to reach. Nick and Roy uncover an apocalyptic plot and will be forced to stop the monsters responsible before they achieve their goal. They will have to leave their differences behind and work as a team.

I feel like this is just way too much writing for such a dumb and mind numbing movie, but I can't quite figure out how the producers were willing to spend over 130 million dollars in this film without trying to come up with a better script. The villains in RIPD look way too cartoonish and the action scenes are extremely over the top. The funniest moments in RIPD have to do with the revelation of Nick and Roy's avatar bodies. The only problem is that you can simply watch it in the trailers and avoid seeing this movie. RIPD could've been executed better by a more talented director. I could forgive the stupid plot if the characters were better developed, but not even the talented actors could engage the audience with the material they were given. RIPD is one of those movies that you don't even worry about trying to get your time and money back; you simply hope that you can forget all about it and erase those cheesy images and dialogues from your head.

My Review: True Grit (10/10)

¨You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God.¨

At first sight fans of the Coen brothers might not recognize True Grit as one of their works since it is a bit different from most of their other movies. First of all they never made a remake before and True Grit is actually one which stared John Wayne back in 1969. Sometimes we have so much high expectations from the Two-Headed directors that we expect original work from them, but I have to admit that this film is really superior to the original and the Coen`s have made one of the best westerns of the decade. True Grit is based on the novel of the same name written by Charles Portis, and the Coen brothers did an excellent job with the adaptation of the screenplay. The language feels so real for the period the film is depicting (set in 1880) and it just adds to the authenticity of the story, along with the great performance from the entire cast. However in my opinion the highlight of the film is Roger Deakins`s beautiful cinematography. Deakins is a regular collaborator for the Coen brothers and he is definitely one of the best in the field. True Grit won`t rank among the Coen`s best work (it isn´t Fargo, The Big Lebowski, nor No Country for Old Men), but it is an excellent film nonetheless and I can`t judge this film solely on my high expectations for it. True Grit is an excellent and perfectly executed Western and it will stand out as one of the best among the genre.

The movie takes place in a small town in Arkansas where a 14 year girl named Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) narrates the story of how her father has been cowardly murdered by a thief who goes by the name of Tom Chaney (Josh Broslin). Mattie is not your typical teenager; she is very smart and mature beyond her years. She decides to hire a U.S. Marshall to help her catch the runaway fugitive across the Indian nations. The man she is looking for is Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a man who has proven over time to have ¨true grit¨, although he looks more like an old and wasted alcoholic. Together they decide to chase Chaney across the Indian nation. Chaney seems to be working with Lucky Ned Pepper`s (Barry Pepper) gang, and they seem to be hot on their trail. Rooster and Mattie are not alone in their chase however, as a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) is along the ride with them. He is after Chaney for a crime he committed against a Texas Senator a few years back. Mattie wants Chaney to be brought back to justice in her town in Arkansas for murdering her father and doesn´t really want LaBoeuf to catch him and bring him back to Texas where he`ll die for killing a politician. The three of them form an unlikely bond on their pursuit of the fugitive.

The movie combines the right amount of action with comedy. You can tell Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges had a lot of fun with their roles, and they were great in this movie. Hailee Steinfeld had the most serious role as she played the uptight teenager, and she pulled it off really well. Her character actually did deliver some laughs due to her mature behavior. Steinfeld is the true star of this movie, although she has been considered for an Oscar in the Best Supporting category. There is no way she was a supporting character in True Grit; she had more screen time than anyone else in this movie and more than most of the actresses that are up for Best Lead Actress in the Oscars. I don´t know how she pulled it off, but she managed to outshine both Bridges and Damon in this movie, who were really great as well. True Grit received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and I do agree with those nominations although I don`t think it will win many. If Deakins doesn`t win an Oscar for Best Cinematography then there is no justice in this world. It is just amazing. The film actually did really well in the Box Office, which isn`t usually very typical for a Coen brothers movie, but maybe Steven Spielberg`s involvement as the Executive Producer had something to do with that. I actually enjoyed True Grit and I can´t find anything negative to say about this movie. It is perfect even though it won`t live up to Joel and Ethan`s best work. True Grit is without a doubt one of the best films of the year.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: Tron Legacy (5/10)

¨I was paged last night; came from your dad's office at the arcade. That number's been disconnected for twenty years! ¨

The hype for Tron: Legacy has finally come to an end after several months of being bombarded with the cool trailers and all I can say is that I was a bit disappointed with this film. The first 40 minutes were great, the visuals, the light cycle races, and the disc gladiator games were breathtaking, but after the novelty of being introduced into the digital world the movie began to drag due to a weak script and plot. The movie runs a little over two hours and after the first 40 minutes it begins to go downhill until it reaches a pretty anticlimactic ending because we never really got to care too much for the characters or the story because the focus seemed to always be on the visuals which got old after a while. Tron made for a very exciting trailer and perhaps could have been one of the greatest music video videos thanks to some cool soundtracks from Daft Punk, but as a movie the pieces didn`t seem to fit together. The first forty minutes are really worth your time however and many might enjoy this film, but I was just a little disappointed because I had some high expectations for Tron: Legacy which marked the directorial debut for Joseph Kosinski. The weakest link for Tron has to be the screenplay written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (both happened to collaborate together as producers and writers for Lost).

Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner are back playing their duo roles from 1982`s original Tron. Bridges is Kevin Flynn, the CEO of Encom and a virtual world designer who is trying to create a better world. He has found a way into a digital universe and in his intention of creating a perfect world which he calls The Grid he also creates an alter self known as Cleo (played by Bridges as well) that will help him program The Grid while he is back with his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) in the real world. Boxleitner is back as Alan Bradley, Flynn`s main security chief in both worlds (in The Grid he is Tron). One night Kevin is telling Sam about how he is going to change the world, but after leaving for his office he is never seen again, until about 27 years later when Sam manages to find a way to get in The Grid and discovers that Cleo has betrayed his father and left him trapped inside the digital world. In The Grid Sam will have to search for his father and find a way to get him back to the real world. Here we meet some interesting characters such as Quorra (Olivia Wilde), Gem (Beau Garrett), Jarvis (James Frain), and Castor (Michael Sheen).

Tron: Legacy could have been much better considering that the producers had 28 years to come up with a decent script for the sequel of the original cult movie. The visuals were great, but they got tiresome after the novelty of the digital world wore off. The performances were ok, Jeff Bridges will probably not be remembered for his role in this movie as much as he is being considered for his work in True Grit (he also comes fresh from an Oscar win for his performance in Crazy Heart). Garrett Hedlund gave a good performance as the lead role and proved he can be a star player as well. Olivia Wilde was also good as a supporting character, but who really stole his scenes was Michael Sheen as Castor. His performance was a little out there, but he made it work because he is just such a talented actor. Overall I wouldn’t recommend this movie unless you are a fan of the first film or are really into the visual and special effects. The story falls short for me and the visuals alone weren`t enough to save this movie.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: The Men Who Stare At Goats (5/10)

¨I did what so many men have done throughout history when a woman has broken their heart. I went to War.¨

The Men Who Stare at Goats is one of those movies that really seems funnier in paper than in the big screen; it is one of those rare films in which the black humor is more effective when read then it is when executed. I laughed more reading the quotes from the film then I actually did while watching this movie. It isn`t a terrible movie and it`s short enough to not wear the viewer down, and with low expectations it can be enjoyed because there are some good performances from great actors such as George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, and Ewan McGregor. Director Grant Heslov worked in the past with Clooney in Good Night and Good Luck, but in that occasion they worked together writing the screenplay which was nominated for the Oscars. In The Men Who Stare at Goats the screenplay was written by Peter Straughan and it was adapted from Jon Ronson`s book of the same name. The film claims to be inspired on some true events which is hard to believe because the film is ridiculous, but I guess it is a spoof on the psychic activities that went on in the Army. I have to give some credit to director Heslov for making a different kind of film and it is original, but it just wasn`t funny enough to save the movie even though it had such talented actors. The movie had the potential to be so much better and that is what left me disappointed by the end of the film.

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a reporter who has just had his heart broken by his wife that leaves him for a one armed editor. Bob is devastated and decides to go cover the war in Iraq in order to forget about her. He can`t get into Iraq so he covers the war from Kuwait where he meets a special forces operator named Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Bob remembers hearing about Lyn from a report he did years ago on a man named Gus Lacey (Stephen Root) who claimed to have been trained by the US Army in paranormal and psychic activities. Gus mentioned Lyn to be the most powerful student of the group. Bob interviews Lyn and he tells him about the special Army Unit that he was trained in called the New Earth Army. The founder of the group was Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), a Vietnam veteran who travelled around the States studying the New Age movement and adapting it for the army. Lyn was the best student, but he had a rival, Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) who had a different vision of the New Earth Army. The men were trained to become Jedi Warriors and the purpose was to manipulate the minds of the soldiers so they could put an end to war. The story is narrated by Bob and it has several flashbacks as he interviews Lyn while at the same time travels with him on a mission across Iraq having to experience these psychic abilities first hand.

The film has its funny moments but the pace of the movie doesn`t work very well. The performance from the cast is great, but they only remind you of the potential the film had with so many talented actors and how many other great films these actors have made. The movie also claims to be based on true events, but the film is more of a spoof and makes fun of these soldiers and it is really hard to make sense of what are the true events or what even inspired them. The funniest thing in the film is George Clooney`s hippie look with the long hair and the mustache, but you can laugh at that in the trailers. Jeff Brides also reminds us of his great character in the Big Lebowski, but as a soldier now. The movie really had some great potential, the material seemed good to work with, but the final product really didn`t deliver. The material is dark and sometimes you have to be very careful with it if you want it to work, and in The Men Who Stare at Goats it just doesn`t work.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: Crazy Heart (8/10)

¨Pick up your crazy heart and give it one more try…Whiskey has been a thorn on your side and it doesn`t forget the highway that calls for your heart inside. And this ain`t no place for the weary kind.¨

(8/10) Those lyrics are from The Weary Kind, the theme song of the film Crazy Heart, which was composed by T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham. The song has been nominated for the Oscars and in my opinion it has a good chance of winning. But who really has the biggest chance of taking an award for this movie is Jeff Bridges for his performance as a washed up country singer known as Bad Blake. Last year Mickey Rourke showed us some wrestling moves, and this year Bridges shows us some musical talent. If you`ve seen both these movies then you understand that comparisons between them can`t be ignored. In The Wrestler Mickey Rourke used to be a wrestling star who struggled with health issues and when his career seemed to be going downward he met a girl that changed his life, while in Crazy Heart Jeff Bridges`s character goes through a similar phase because he is at his lowest point of his career when his life is changed around after he meets a female journalist. The outcome is different this time but the memories from a nostalgic past are very similar in both cases. This is Scott Cooper`s first film as a director after having acted in Gods and Generals and Austin Powers. He also wrote the adaptation of Crazy Heart from Thomas Cobb´s novel of the same name.

Crazy Heart focuses on the life of Otis Blake, better known by his artistic name Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges), a washed up country music legend who now has to settle for small gigs in bars, and yes, even bowling alleys. The opening scene reminded me a lot of one of Bridges`s better known characters, the Dude from the Coen brothers film The Big Lebowski. He was also a heavy drinker and always hung out in bowling alleys, but this time his character is very different even though he is a heavy drinker as well. Blake has a serious problem with his drinking and shows up drunk in most of his shows. His career seems to be going downward along with his personal life due to all the smoke and alcohol he drowns himself into, until he meets a journalist named Jean (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal from The Dark Knight and Donnie Darko) with whom a nice relationship develops. Jean has a four year old boy named Buddy (Jack Nation) who seems to get along really well with Blake. Things begin to look better for Blake when he receives a call from his manager telling him if he wants to open for Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrel from In Bruges and Miami Vice), the country music star of the moment. Blake hesitates at first because Tommy used to be his touring partner and he taught him everything there was to know about the business. Now that Tommy is a big shot he doesn`t want to do a record with him so Blake has hard feelings toward him. Oddly enough when we meet Tommy we discover he is nothing like Blake described him and is actually very grateful for everything that Blake taught him. His record company won`t allow him to make a record with Blake, but he offers him to write music for him. Blake is still resentful and continues struggling with alcohol until one day he has a car accident which makes him stay at home for a while and off the road. The doctor tells him that if he continues on the same path he is not going to live much longer. Another interesting character in this film is Wayne (Robert Duvall who also was a producer of this movie) who is one of his better friends from back home. Jean and Wayne are pretty much the only people he has a relationship with, but can any of them help him recover from his problems or is it just too late to make a change?

I really enjoyed the soundtrack of this movie and it reminded me a lot of my days in Nashville. There are a lot of good country songs, many of which are performed really well by Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrel themselves. Along with Walk The Line and Almost Famous, it is one of the best films about the music industry. It also proves that it is never too late to make a change in your life no matter how bad you have messed it up. I really liked the story and the message, but what really makes this film standout is Bridges`s performance. He is just great and definitely deserves the Oscar for best performance this year. Gyllenhaal was also good although I don`t think she will win the award for best supporting actress. Colin Farrel and Robert Duvall have received less credit because they were outshined by those performances, but I think they were really good as well. This is a good movie, one that you cannot miss if you like country music. Even if you don`t like the music the story works and it is just worth your time for Bridges`s performance alone.