American Ultra (6/10): Jason Bourne on drugs.

“I think I'm that tree. And I think you're the car and I think I'm stopping you.”

American Ultra is what you get when you combine any classic stoner comedy with The Bourne Identity. It is a hybrid of both genres which results in a fast paced action comedy. It is almost cartoonish at times despite trying to remain serious. There are scenes in this movie that reminded me of Pineapple Express because the action scenes are extremely violent at times, although the comedy is much more toned down here. The film never ceased to entertain me throughout its entire runtime, but at the same time I felt like the characters lacked a bit of personality and the story didn’t offer much. The cast is extremely talented, but the fast paced action scenes don’t give us time to center on the characters. I wouldn’t rewatch this film, but I still enjoyed it. American Ultra is Nima Nourizadeh’s follow up to his directorial debut, Project X. The main reason I wanted to catch up with this film however, was because it was reuniting Kristen Stewart with Jesse Eisenberg after their wonderful collaboration together in Adventureland. I loved the two together and I was looking forward to seeing them play love interests once again. Perhaps I ended up enjoying this movie more than others because I like the two leads, but I wasn’t even close to hating this. It does have several flaws, especially the decision to cast Topher Grace as the main villain because he is completely one dimensional. This isn’t a film for everyone, especially if you’re expecting a full blown out comedy because it is more of an action film that feels like a graphic novel adaptation at times. 

The plot revolves around a stoner, Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg), who doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in life. He is waiting for the perfect moment to propose to his girlfriend Phoebe (Kristen Stewart) who is the only person he cares for in the world. Mike isn’t the brightest kid, but he has a good heart. It doesn’t take long for us to realize that Mike has a special ability that he doesn’t even know about. He has been part of a CIA experiment that has trained him to become an assassin. Now the people that made him want him dead. Adrian Yates (Topher Grace) orders his agents to terminate Mike after their experimentation with the Ultra program has been abandoned. His former trainee, Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton), decides to activate Mike so he can defend himself against the onslaught of agents that are coming after him. Now Mike inadvertently discovers his new set of found skills and uses them to protect himself and Phoebe from the people that want him gone. Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Bill Pullman, and Tony Hale have small roles in this film, but are always a delight to see. Neither of them stand out, but they each deliver in the few scenes they are given. 

Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg both play characters we’ve seen in the past and that we know they can play in their sleep so there isn’t really anything new they bring to this film. If you’re not a fan of these actors then skip this film, but if like me you enjoy them, then you won’t be disappointed despite them not doing anything unique. Eisenberg has proved in the past that he can deliver stronger material (The Social Network) as well as Stewart (Clouds of Sil Maria), but here they seem to be in more comfortable territory and therefor don’t bring anything unique. American Ultra benefits from an interesting story even though it doesn’t live up to the initial setup. It starts off pretty strong, but ends up lacking a stronger finale.  

Cymbeline (4/10): One of the weakest adaptations of a Shakespeare play.

“On her left breast, a mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops I' the bottom of a cowslip.”

It’s been over 14 years since Director Michael Almereyda and Ethan Hawke collaborated together in the modern day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classical play, Hamlet. The film was warmly received by critics despite not being the first time that a Shakespeare play was adapted to modern times without changing the original dialogue (Baz Luhrmann did the same with Romeo + Juliet in 1996). Once again Almereyda decides to leave the dialogue untouched and change the setting to modern times for the adaptation of Cymbeline. The King (Ed Harris) of a biker gangster group known as Britain is upset that his daughter, Imogen (Dakota Johnson) has fallen in love with his protege, Posthumous (Penn Badgley), who she secretly married. The two have sworn eternal love to each other, but the King’s second wife, the Queen (Milla Jovovich), has other plans for Imogen. She wants her to marry his son, Cloten (Anton Yeltsin) so they banish Posthumous from their group. Meanwhile the bikers have decided to stop paying tribute to the Roman Police Department and a war is about to breakout between the two groups. Posthumous has fled to his friend’s house where he ends up meeting Iachimo (Ethan Hawke) and tells him all about his lover’s chastity. Iachimo makes a bet with him claiming that he can seduce her and prove that she’s not as pure as he believes her to be. He meets Imogen and is unsuccessful in his approach, but Iachimo fools Posthumous into thinking he did sleep with his lover and that is where the plot begins to take several unexpected twists.

If the short synopsis of this film felt a bit convoluted, it’s because the film actually has a lot going on in the opening minutes where it’s trying to introduce the main characters in a very rushed way. The dialogue doesn’t help either if you’re not familiar with Shakespeare’s play because the delivery is extremely fast and new characters keep on coming from all over the place. It’s strange that I’m complaining about how fast everything comes at you, because the pacing does get quite tedious and I was thankful the film only runs a bit past the 95 minute mark. But that doesn’t mean that the adaptation isn’t a mess because it’s all over the place. One of the reasons why this adaptation didn’t work for me is that the tragicomedy plays out as pure tragedy here and the comedy element is missing from the film. There was no time to get to know any of the characters or their true intentions and it seemed the entire purpose of this film was being able to adapt the play in a modern setting without touching the dialogue. Something that Whedon accomplished much better in Much Ado About Nothing because he focused on the comedy more than on the action. It’s funny that I say this because I wasn’t even a fan of Whedon’s adaptation although I recognized its artistic value, but here there’s nothing that worked for me.

Shakespeare’s plays might be timeless, but that doesn’t mean that all of them can be adapted to film. Cymbeline seems to be one of those plays that don’t translate well to the big screen due to the convoluted plot. The performances in this film aren’t bad, and I like most of the actors here, but the problem for me was that the adaptation didn’t work at all. Not even John Leguizamo can redeem the film despite how well he’s played Shakespearean characters in the past (Romeo + Juliet). Ed Harris and Ethan Hawke are both extremely talented actors, but there was nothing they could do to engage me with the film.  I love Shakespeare’s plays and despite never having read this one, I still could see some of his trademarks in the characters and writing, but unfortunately I didn’t care for them in this adaptation.  

John Wick (7/10): Keanu Reeves is back doing what he knows best

“People keep asking if I'm back and I haven't really had an answer, but yeah, I'm thinking I'm back.”

John Wick is as predictable and formulaic as the other 99% of revenge action flicks out there, but what makes this stand out is how well the action scenes are choreographed and what a breath of fresh air it is to see the action take place without all the extreme close ups and fast edits which never allow you to enjoy them. John Wick was directed by two former stunt men, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who seem to have a grip at what they’re doing because they don’t take any of the fun away from the action scenes. Derek Solstad’s screenplay is pretty straightforward. We are introduced to the main character, John, who is grieving over his recently dead wife. She leaves him a cute puppy which will help him during this grieving period, but a group of young Russian mobsters break into his home one night to steal his car and in the process they kill the dog. That brings John to his breaking point and we discover pretty soon that he is no common man. He was once a feared hitman who later retired after meeting his wife. Now he is set on getting his revenge and the action begins. John is the typical hero we can route for and identify with for his loss, while the villains are ruthless and deserve to be punished. We’ve seen all this in almost every other revenge film, but what makes this one stand out and feel fresh is that the action scenes are stylized and energetic. So despite having a predictable plot you are entertained with some of the coolest action scenes of the year. This is no Raid 2, but it does get the job done. There is one particular action scene that takes place in a nightclub that is fantastically choreographed. These are the strongest moments of the film, but if you are looking for an original plot look elsewhere because this is very predictable. There are some interesting elements that Solstad introduces in this world where the mobsters have a series of codes and rues that they follow giving it sort of a video game vibe to it at times.

In order for the action scenes to work for a film like this where they aren’t cutting the scenes every second you need to have an actor who can pull them off. They found the right one with Keanu Reeves who definitely knows his stuff. He delivers in every action scene with some fantastic choreographed moves. The mobsters build him up as someone they fear and respect, and once you see him in action you believe it. He also delivers during the quiet moments as well despite not having the best dialogue to work with. He was made for these roles and delivers. The supporting cast is excellent as well. Alfie Allen (from the Games of Thrones series) is getting typed cast as the hateful villain who behaves like a child at times. His father is played by the excellent Michael Nyqvist, who John Wick used to work for. He knows his kid made a mistake but tries to protect him nonetheless putting a generous reward on John’s head. Willem Dafoe, Lance Reddick, and Adrianne Palicki get some screen time as well and they were a lot of fun. The way everyone treated John when they realized he was back in business was also another nice touch that the directors made and help lighten the mood at times. This was an extremely entertaining film with some of the best action scenes of the year despite all of its predictability. Stahelski and Leitch succeeded in making this predictable story feel fresh and if you are a fan of Keanu Reeve’s work you will not want to miss this.

My Review: Chef (7/10)

"I may not do everything great in my life, but I'm good at this."

Oh please don't be so humble Jon Favreau, you do everything pretty much great, and you proved it once again by directing, starring, and writing this charming and feel good family film. If there were ever a time where the term food porn could be applied to a film review, this is it because everything looked so tempting and delicious. Please don't watch this film on an empty stomach because you will be tortured by every single scene where Favreau is preparing food, whether it be a complicated dish for his fancy restaurant or a plain cuban sandwich from his food truck. But this isn't just a film glorifying food, it uses this passion people have for it and metaphorically shows us how it's never late to reinvent and discover ourselves. It is quite a change of pace for Favreau whose latest films were big budget productions (Cowboys & Aliens and the first two Iron Man movies), but this small family road trip film served its purpose in its own way for Favreau to reinvent himself once again and go back to his origins. Chef was an improvement from his last two films, but I still think Iron Man and Elf are Favreau's best ones. What Chef has going for it despite a pretty simple premise is how charismatic and natural the characters are in this film. The family drama feels authentic and it's never forced like so many films in the genre are. The film takes its time to introduce each character and doesn't simply rush things to the fun parts (the road trip). It's a feel food film but one that avoids cliches and forced situations and simply takes us along for a reinventing and natural ride. 

The premise is pretty simple, but the way in which Favreau presents each character is refreshing in its own way. He is likable in the lead role despite being a flawed character who remains friends with his ex-wife (played by Sofia Vergara) and is trying to balance out his time working in a respected restaurant while trying to connect with his young son, Percy (Emjay Anthony). He seems to have lost his creative freedom and is restrained by the owner (Dustin Hoffman) to continue serving the same dishes that have given the restaurant its fame (nice nod to the movie industry in Hollywood which restrains the creative instincts from its talented directors so that they continue to serve their audience the same dishes). But when a famous food critic (Oliver Platt) criticizes his dishes an online twitter war breaks out between them. Favreau decides it's time to move on and following his ex-wife's advice he travels with his son to Miami and buys a food truck. This is where their road trip begins and the two begin bonding. John Leguizamo and Bobby Cannavale play Favreau's assistants, and they both are the reason why the film is so charming. I was surprised with Anthony's performance as well. Having seen a couple of old films recently I can't help but realize how child acting has improved over the years. You never get the feeling that Anthony is ever acting or reading out his lines because every word and reaction felt completely natural. There were also plenty of funny and warm moments throughout the film. It was good to see Robert Downey Jr. and Favreau reunited once again although it was only for a couple of minutes. There was nothing groundbreaking about Chef, but it was so authentic and charming that it was hard to resist. The cast plays a key role in the success of this film and so does the food.