Flight (2012) ‘Review’

So getting back to an Oscar movie that I didn’t get around to before this year’s awards, I decided to pick up Robert Zemeckis’ (Back to the Future) drama that was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. Flight is a story about a man that has a lot of vices, but is still a pretty successful commercial airline pilot. Denzel Washington plays Whip Whitaker, an alcoholic, drug addict, and this is very apparent from the time the camera fades into him right before he needs to make a trip from Florida to Atlanta. Things don’t  go too smoothly though for a few reasons, leading to a very tense opening twenty minutes. Following that, an investigation is held into the nature of the plane crash, and the movie sort of turns into a one-character story, which is good when Denzel is on top of his game. Washington, of course, was nominated for Best Actor (l. to Daniel Day-Lewis), and it was easy to see why when he had a lot of different personalities on screen throughout the movie. As an alcoholic, his mood would swing when he was with his girlfriend, a drug addict that he befriends in the hospital (Kelly Reilly, Sherlock Holmes). He keeps pushing people away, including his best friend, attorney, and friends.

The movie does a good job showing what drugs and alcoholism can do to people. There are also many instances of Christian symbolism  and unsubtle music choices. The music reminded me of Randy Newman-esque songs, that literally declare what is going on. For instance, while Whitaker is high on cocaine and standing there with his friend (Bruce Greenwood, Star Trek) and his attorney (Don Cheadle), the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” is playing in the elevator. Yeah, subtle. Not like it was distracting or anything, but it almost felt too easy and an easy, cliche’ choice to make. Not like I can do any better, of course, but it was just an observation. The big thing I was watching anyway in the movie was Washington’s acting, knowing that he was nominated for the Oscar. Whip Whitaker, to me, was actually pretty unbearable in terms of how much of a jerk he was (and that is putting it nicely). But then again, I watch Mad Men, and there are not any non-jerks in that show. In the end, it is a credit to to Washington’s acting, making him watchable and interesting to watch (in the good way).

I guess, in the end, I don’t know what to say. My critical gears are not exactly whirring today. However, I will say that the movie is well-paced, but perhaps have a few too many moments of recurring issues. Like the same obstacle keeps coming up, which sort of becomes stale. Denzel Washington is very good, and there is some good supporting acting as well. The first twenty minutes are very tense, and then the movie becomes a crawl to the finish line, but not completely in a boring way. I was fully interested the whole way through, and thought the ending was very good considering the rest of the movie. Sorry for such a short review, but like I said, sometimes I just have to sit back and enjoy the movie for what it is. Nothing really to hate about Flight, so if you can make it through the 2 hour runtime, paying most of your attention to the lead actor, you’re going to be fine.

Iron Man 3 (2013) ‘Review’

I have to say I am happy to be at this point in my blog: This is the first summer film that I am reviewing! I saw this on opening day last Friday with Zach while we were in Ohio for work, since we had the night off after a successful day of shooting softball. I was so pumped to see this, and since I am a little late to the reviewing party, I am sure you have probably heard your fill, but I will give it a try anyway.

Iron Man 3 is the third installment of the Iron Man franchise, which I would say was the superhero that started it all when you are talking about The Avengers. While I think I enjoyed the original the most, this three-quel has the brains and energy of the first, with none of the stupidity of the second. Iron Man was a very well-done origin story on film, introducing everyone to the snarky, quip-tastic Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Iron Man 2 was your typical sequel, fulled of brain-dead action and a comparatively weak pair of villains. Not to knock on Mickey Rourke or Sam Rockwell, but the pairing definitely didn’t work, and the movie overall lacked the heart of the first. With a change of directors (Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) now, who also co-wrote the screenplay) the series changes too. It finds the energy that it lost in transition from first to third gear, and combines it with a deeper look at how Tony Stark was affected by the events of The Avengers, specifically the attack on New York and his death-defying gambit to nuke the Chitauri mothership. Is Iron Man 2 referenced in this film? Pft. Who cares, it wasn’t very good in terms of the story. (And no, I didn’t hear anything.)

The mood of Iron Man 3 has that sort-of darker feeling that has somewhat become the norm since the Dark Knight series, but still includes the humor that you have gotten used to from Mr. Stark. And on that note, Robert Downey Jr. is at his best, being allowed to not only be the confident millionaire playboy philanthropist, but to take a deep look at who he is, and at the people in his life. This leads to a nice structure, talking about life in general, but everything makes sense as far as I could tell. Also included in the film: Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow, with a more complete performance) and Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle, finally able to flex his muscle here) return for larger roles, while Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau, having fun since he is not directing anymore) and Jarvis (Paul Bettany) are familiar faces… er… and a voice, that provide some smiles. And then there is the long list of villains and others included,, and while that sometimes muddles things as seen in perhaps Spider-Man 3, I guarantee it all makes sense here. I haven’t seen Memento yet, but regardless, I believe Guy Pearce puts in an amazing performance as Aldrich Killian, a scientist  working on something called Extremis. Sir Ben Kingsley is the psychological-type of villain I like as the Mandarin, and he sounds really awesome so you know, he has that working for him too (I am one of the people who thought Bane’s voice in Dark Knight Rises was cool because it was different).  And there are some cool performances from James Badge Dale (24) and Stephanie Szostak (If you saw Dinner for Schmucks, she played Paul Rudd’s girlfriend).

The action is fun and great, but if you are hoping for all-out action start to finish, be prepared for something different. Like I said before, Tony Stark finds some time to really think about things, and it allows for some slower moments, but meaningful ones. I personally loved the pacing of this film, but if you’re the kind of person that wants all action all the time, the third act should probably whet your appetite. Overall, Iron Man 3 felt like the perfect start to the summer movie schedule, and was a lot of fun. Reading other reviews, I seem to notice that a lot of people are not only disappointed, but have vitriolic hate for this movie, citing plot-holes and getting away from the comic books in terms of something that happened. I didn’t read the comics, so I thought everything was fine. There was a point where I was like, “Really? That’s what’s going on?”, but it all made sense eventually. And really, thinking about the build and pacing of the movie, I thought it was a great thing. As though you need any other reasons to see Iron Man 3… are you still reading this? I mean really, you have probably heard enough, right?