Sucker Punch

I know movies with the word "Suck" in the title are ripe for certain kinds of jokes, but I'm sure that's already been done for this particular film so I'm going to stay away from such generalities. Still, Sucker Punch is not good. With director Zack Snyder on board, I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. I was sort of ambivilant about his first project, 300. It was fun, I guess, but nothing revolutionary. I hated Watchmen. I think Sucker Punch is at least as bad, if not worse than, Watchmen. And now I am very scared that he is in charge of rebooting the Superman franchise. During the two hours of this movie, all I kept thinking was, "Poor Henry Cavill." He thinks he is finally getting his big break, about to portray one of the most legendary superheroes of all time... and Zack Snyder is totally going to mess it up.

Anyway, back to Sucker Punch. First things first, it's not all bad. There were a couple performances that I'd like to single out as being pretty damn good. I've been on the fence about Abbie Cornish for quite some time now. I've seen her be very, very good in certain movies (Bright Star, Somersault, Stop Loss) but there's something about her that I don't quite like. I could never decide if I like her or not. Now I can say that I do. She's the best thing about a bad movie. Her performance is so layered and complex and it's really a joy to watch. Plus, she is the most ass-kicking of all the bad ass girls in the movie. Then there is Oscar Isaac as Blue, an actor I'm not at all familiar with but who completely wowed me with his volatile villainous turn. He's simply fantastic and I really wish the movie was better so it could be a vehicle for him to get better and bigger roles. Sadly, he's overshadowed by silly effects and bad writing. Jena Malone is also quite good in a rather limiting role. Another plus was the soundtrack. I loved the soundtrack. I can't say enough good things about the soundtrack. From the eerie opening version of Sweet Dreams, to the soaring crescendo of White Rabbit, the soundtrack fricking rocks! But, as far as good things go, that's where I've got to stop being positive, because the bad definitely outweighs the good.

Look, I'm all about movies that empower women. I'm all about the message of this movie which, I guess, is something like "You have all the tools to fight and free yourself from whatever it is that is holding you back. Take control of your life." The message is FANTASTIC. It's just, there seems to be a degrading sub-message that includes insinuating that you can only do that if you wear thigh highs, heels, cute mini skirts and a lot of eye makeup. I'm not sure the movie is sending the right message at all to young girls who might see these bad ass babes and think, "Okay, let me go buy a skimpy body suit and a push up bra and I can fight monsters too." And believe me, I know this movie is aimed at a certain demographic who enjoys that sort of thing and that's fine. It's also fine that a certain demographic will enjoy the slow-mo camera work that Snyder has already done to death (it would be a revolutionary form of camera work if he were to ever actually make a GOOD movie with his skills), the action scenes (that, I guess, were pretty good), and the incredible (and overpowering) CGI. I mean, the whole movie is practicially CGI. It's not necessarily that this is such a bad thing, per se, but when it plays off less like a movie and more like a series of splashy music videos, then we've got a major problem.

Even more of a major problem? There is no cohesive plot! I mean, I guess there is a plot. Yes, one exists. It's just that it's... stupid. I can't really think of a better word to describe it. Emily Browning (pouty lipped, cute and just fine in the role) plays Babydoll, a girl whose mother dies and then she is taken to Lennox House for the mentally insane by her awful step father. There she escapes reality via dancing seductively for high paying men and has to fight monsters / steal objects in order to escape and find freedom. She is joined by her ridiculously named friends Sweet Pea (Cornish), Rocket (Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens, who is far too precious to play tough), and the normally named Amber (Jamie Chung, somehow the most successful alumni of the Real World, even though there are surely more talented people to come out of that show). So, there is, indeed, a plot. The existence of everything in this movie relates soley to the visuals. Zack Snyder thinks it would be awesome if there was a fight scene with World War I fight planes and dragons and zombie Nazis, so be it! Let's do it! Who cares if it connects to the "plot" in the clunkiest, sloppiest, silliest way possible. People are paying for the visuals, I guess, not an actual story line. All of these things - dragons, zombies, Nazis, ancient ninja warriors, stripper / hookers, hot girls in Sailor Moon outfits, bombs, Samurai swords - sure seem like it would be fun if you rolled it all up and put it in a movie. Instead, it's just silly nonsense.

I could go on, believe me, I could, but I think by now everyone gets the point. If you are going to see this movie, make sure you are fully aware that it's going to be nothing more than a visual orgasm. If you are looking for a movie with any substance whatsoever, any real honest to God PLOT, then please go see The Lincoln Lawyer instead. Abbie Cornish and Oscar Isaac are GREAT, but even they can't save a movie that is buried under overwhelming and nonsensical effects, bad writing and just... silliness.

Grade: D

Limitless

Okay, so there is this little pill called NZT. If you take it, it completely opens your mind up to a world of new possibilities. Instead of only using 20% of your brain, you use all of it. You can recall facts that the normal you wouldn't even realize you knew. You can learn languages in a matter of a weekend. You can teach yourself to play the piano in three days. Oh, and you can learn all kinds of algorhythms that will help you crack the code of the Wall Street world and make you a millionaire in less than a month. Would you take it? What if you found out, after the fact, that all the other people who took the experimental drug are now either dead or very sick. Would you still take it? That's the dilemma that Bradley Cooper's Eddie Morra is faced with.

Eddie starts off the movie a hot mess. He has long strangly hair. He starts drinking at noon. He'd just been dumped by his publisher girlfriend (Abbie Cornish). He's a writer with a book deal but he sits and stares at the computer for hours before writing a single sentence (I know how that feels!). Then he bumps into an old friend, Vern (Johnny Whitworth). Vern was a one time run of the mill drug dealer but now he's better dressed and maybe into something a little more... prestigious. He introduces Eddie to a pill called NZT which Eddie immediately takes. He goes home and he writes 90 pages of his novel in an afternoon. He's feeling better, seeing things differently, having sex with a woman who used to hate him. So, he wants more.

That's just the beginning of Limitless, which is a damn good movie - exciting, adrenaline inducing, thrilling, intense. It's just a fast paced movie, it sort of takes your breath away with its frenetic pacing which only serves this movie about a man whose brain is working faster than yours ever will. The paragraphs above? That's only the first 20 minutes or so of the movie. There are plenty of twists and turns (some of which you see coming a mile away). Limitless has such a fast pace, that it's almost hard to nitpick, but nitpick I will. Like I said, there are particular plot twists that you see coming almost immediately. There are certain big action sequences that get resolved through very implausible ways. The movie focuses almost entirely on Cooper (which is fine because he's great) but almost wastes Robert DeNiro and completely wastes Abbie Cornish. Some of the hokier filmmaking choices I could have done without (letters falling from the sky as he's writing his novel, etc.).

As I said, the movie focuses almost entirely on Bradley Cooper and he is more than up for the challenge. In fact, he's superb in every aspect of this role - as the vulnerable, shy, sort of miserable man at the beginning and then as the confident, charming man throughout the rest of the film. His eyes even seem to shine a little brighter when he's on NZT. I think it's refreshing to finally see him carry a film, and do a damn good job doing it! He's been resigned to playing jerks in supporting roles for so long that it's nice to watch him be the star, and be someone who is more likable than not. Screen icon Robert DeNiro is very nearly almost wasted as a big shot Donald Trump-esque character. It's a shame that kids today only know him as that funny old guy from the Meet the Parents movie. There's an entire generation who don't know that he was once considered a living legend and one of the greatest actors of all time. I wish he'd do more films like this because when he actually has screen time he's damn good, like the DeNiro we all remember and want back so desperately. The same can't be said for Abbie Cornish, who I really am trying to like. I'm finding it hard though and this one note role isn't going to help her case with me. She's got one good scene and it involves her prowess as an ass kicking action star and not her acting skills. That said, I'm more excited to see her kick ass in Sucker Punch next week now!

Overall, Limitless certainly has it's flaws, but it's such a thrilling ride from start to finish that you almost won't even care. Plus, it can open a fun little discussion with your friends over whether or not you would take NZT.

Grade: B

Harsh Times and Candy (DVD)

Harsh Times - The concept of Harsh Times sounds brilliant. Iraq vet Jim Davis returns home with post tramautic stress disorder, applies to the LAPD and in the meantime, gets caught up with local gang life. Davis has no problem sinking into an unsavory lifestyle because, let's face it, he's done worse. As an added bonus, the filmmakers hire two of the best working actors for the leads: Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez. Instead, Harsh Times mostly falls flat, despite solid performances by Bale and Rodriguez. Taxi Driver this film is not. Bale's Davis falls dangerously close to stereotype while Eva Longoria offers little more than eye candy. The really sad part is that writer/director David Ayer has traversed this territory before and with much better results (Training Day). Harsh Times is so good in spots and then... it just goes so wrong. It does suffer from worrisome editing and pacing at times. Had the film been whittled down to 90 minutes, it might have fit the "intense" bill that Ayer was aiming for. The dialogue is laughable at best. Someone even utters the words "hella cool" at one point. Now that I'm done complaining, allow me to praise one of my new favorite actors: Freddy Rodriguez who shined with his dark and realistic role. He definitely tried his hardest to keep the plot and climax from falling, managing to do so at times. Creating one of the only truly touching moments in the film, he tried his best to communicate with Bale on the theme of brotherhood and deception. Loved Rodriguez, and loved specific parts of the movie very much. It's just a shame that they couldn't carry the same intensity throughout the whole film.

Grade: C-

Candy - Granted, the drug genre is a bit tired. If I see another painful withdrawal scene, I think I'll scream or something. Still, within this tired genre, a true gem squeaks through every now and again. Candy is a good movie that could have been great but at least gives us a few incredible performances from Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. Ledger stars as Dan, a troubled yet likeable juvenile-come-poet who is in love with Cornish's Candy, a part time artist who falls head over heels in love with Dan... and heroin. Ledger's understated performance gives Dan a boyish vulnerability that would otherwise leave him less sympathetic. He has a great ability to use his eyes to communicate his emotions (which was probably what got him an Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain). Cornish, too, is brilliant as the often abrasive troubled artist. She's at times an innocent and beautiful angel and other times a wasted bitch. Geoffery Rush is superb as well in a supporting role. What sets it apart from other druggie movies is the love between Dan and Candy. Call it Trainspotting meets Romeo & Juliet. Maybe that will help you get through some of the grittier and depressing scenes. Their story is affectionate, painful, hopeful and hopeless. It's an intense and unpleasant film but it's still very watchable and well done. It's harsh but beautiful. It's not a perfect movie (it drags a bit now and then) but it's still worth watching (as is the career of Abbie Cornish).

Grade: B+