JUSTICE LEAGUE: 3 ½ STARS
The old truism 鈥渓ess is more鈥� has been thrown into the interdimensional void with the release of the new jam-packed superhero film 鈥淛ustice League.鈥�
At almost two hours, and featuring the talents of not one but two high-powered directors鈥擩oss Whedon took over for Zach Synder who stepped away in post-production due to personal issues鈥攊t features the top-line DC heroes like Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) plus a host of others like Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Mamoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). Then there鈥檚 odds and ends like Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta, villains such as Lex Luther (Jesse Eisenberg) and the motion captured Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf and significant others like Martha Kent (Diane Lane), Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and James Gordon (J. K. Simmons).
Phew. That鈥檚 a whole lotta movie. I wonder, is there anyone left to make other superhero films?
鈥淛ustice League鈥� takes place months after the events of the grim-faced 鈥淏atman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.鈥� Superman, apparently, is out of the picture鈥攚e see a newspaper with the headline 鈥淒isappearing heroes. Did they return to their planets?鈥� accompanied with photos of David Bowie, Prince and Superman. So billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (Affleck) and Diana Prince (Gadot) a.k.a. Princess Diana of Themyscira assemble a team of super-dupers including the world鈥檚 fastest boy, Barry Allen (Miller), merman Arthur Curry (Momoa) and man-machine Victor Stone (Fisher). 鈥淭here are enemies coming from far away,鈥� says Wayne. 鈥淚 need warriors right now.鈥�
Their job? To combat alien military officer Steppenwolf鈥斺�淚 am the end of worlds!鈥濃�攁nd his army of winged shock troops called Terror Demons. How do we know Steppenwolf is the villain? He has big silver horns and says things like, 鈥淧raise to the mother of horrors!鈥� These are bad dudes, and if they lay their hands on the three earthbound Mother Boxes鈥攑erpetual energy matrixes that, if joined together, destroy as they create鈥攏ot even the combined forces of all the DC superheroes will be able to save the planet and stop Steppenwolf from taking his place among the new gods! 鈥淥ne misses the days when the biggest concerns were wind up exploding penguins,鈥� moans Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons).
The first hour of 鈥淛ustice League鈥� is essentially a long origin story, detailing the backstories of each of the new characters. It鈥檚 still sombre and underscored with a very dramatic soundtrack by Danny Elfman. At the same time, it doesn鈥檛 take itself as seriously as 鈥淏atman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.鈥� It鈥檚 hard not to find the humour in Bruce Wayne pseudo-seriously asking Aquaman if he can talk to fish. The funny stuff is a welcome addition. The downhearted tone of Synder鈥檚 previous film was oppressive, sending the audience on a one-way trip to Bleaktown, U.S.A.
鈥淛ustice League,鈥� by comparison, has hills and valleys. Moments of weight play off the lighter scenes, combining to create an overall more enjoyable experience. It even ends on a hopeful note. 鈥淗eroes remind us that hope is everywhere,鈥� Lane writes at the end of the film. 鈥淵ou can see it. All you have to do is look up in the sky.鈥�
鈥淛ustice League鈥� features a typical destroy-the-whole-damn-planet-and-bathe-in-your-blood style villain, and there鈥檚 still way too much CGI, but allowing the characters to acknowledge the ridiculousness of their situations鈥擨鈥檓 looking at you Aquaman!鈥攄oesn鈥檛 make it a silly movie. Rather, it makes it a self-aware film that winks at the audience while providing a simple, action-packed story of good vs. evil.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI: 4 ½ STARS
鈥淭hree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri鈥檚鈥� story of a mother鈥檚 unconventional war with the world is simple enough; it鈥檚 the complexity of the characters that elevates it to the level of great art.
Academy Award winner Frances McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, a fifty-eight year old grieving mother. Seven months after her daughter was abducted, raped and killed, the Ebbing, Missouri police have no suspects, no leads. Frustrated, she takes matters into her own hands, renting three billboards on a local road to help 鈥渇ocus their minds.鈥� Against a bright red background and written in bold black letters she sends a message to the local constabulary. 鈥淪till No Arrests?鈥� 鈥淗ow Come, Chief Willoughby?鈥� 鈥淩aped While Dying.鈥�
鈥淭he more you keep the case in the public,鈥� she says, 鈥渢he better chance you have of solving it.鈥�
The billboards aren鈥檛 popular with the police or the town folk. Dixon (Sam Rockwell), a dim-witted, hot-tempered cop tries to intimidate her by arresting her best friend, her dentist tries to pull her tooth without novocaine and her priest tries to talk her out of using public shame as a tool. More nuanced is the reaction of the salt-of-the-earth Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson). He is sincere in his search for the killer but simply has no clues to work with.
Matters are complicated by Willoughby鈥檚 terminal illness, an arrogant ex-husband (John Hawkes) and Mildred鈥檚 growing anger.
It鈥檚 the performances that make 鈥淭hree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri鈥� so remarkable. It鈥檚 a whodunit of sorts, but the crime is a McGuffin, the thing that gives us a reason for the characters to interact, rather than the main focus. This is a character study of people whose lives are changed by forces beyond their control.
Troubled by her final, argumentative conversation with her daughter, Mildred is a flinty presence, strong willed but vulnerable. She鈥檚 mad as hell and isn鈥檛 going to take it anymore, and yet there is an undercurrent of pain in everything she does that is heartbreaking. She鈥檚 mean and mighty, but it鈥檚 the haunted look behind her eyes that tells her story. McDormand is remarkable playing an ordinary woman pushed into an extraordinary circumstance.
Her character鈥檚 duality is firmly on display in a scene where she is at odds with Willoughby. In the midst of their argument he coughs, spitting up blood. She leaps into action, calling him 鈥渂aby鈥� and running for help. Her empathy is clear, even if he represents everything she is rallying against.
Then there is Rockwell, who breathes life into a stereotype: the small-town racist cop. As Dixon, he鈥檚 a nitwit鈥攁 violent mama鈥檚 boy who undergoes a life change. The thing that makes it so effective isn鈥檛 just the character鈥檚 redemptive arc but that Rockwell plays it realistically. After his transformation, Dixon may be a better man in some respects, but he鈥檚 still a dim bulb who makes rash, ill-advised decisions.
Supporting work from Sandy Martin as Dixon鈥檚 boozy mom and Samara Weaving as a young woman who gets life advice from bookmarks are also memorable.
鈥淭hree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri鈥� is a comedic tragedy whose idea of justice doesn鈥檛 offer easy answers. Unexpected twists keep it compelling, but it鈥檚 the acting you鈥檒l remember.
STEGMAN IS DEAD: 3 STARS
The spirit of Quentin Tarantino hangs heavy over 鈥淪tegman is Dead,鈥� a down 鈥榥 dirty action thriller from director David Hyde. Quirky characters, a badass female assassin and bent morality blend to create a queasy cocktail that feels like the stepchild of Tarantino and every 1990s crime thriller that followed in the wake of 鈥淧ulp Fiction.鈥�
The action begins when the title character, the late not-so-great Stegman, tries to finance his burgeoning porno empire by blackmailing Don (Michael Ironside) and his former gang of thugs with a VHS surveillance tape of a ten-year old crime. Rather than pay up, Don decides to take a more hands-on approach, sending his henchmen to retrieve the tape, only to find Stegman ventilated with bullets.
With Stegman out of the way, the blackmail is done. But what about the tapes? Desperate to get his hands on them, Don calls safecracker Gus (Michael Eklund), a married career criminal whose wife Diana (Andrea del Campo) is a MILFChat.com model and not pleased about the situation. Ambitious, she wants Gus to forget about Don and graduate to bigger and better crimes to afford them and their adorable six-year old daughter (Linnea Moffat) a more lavish life.
Add to that a mysterious assassin Evy (Bernice Liu) and you have a film that feels like a throwback to quirky crime thrillers like 鈥�2 Days in the Valley鈥� and 鈥淭hings to Do in Denver When You're Dead.鈥�
The Winnipeg-shot 鈥淪tegman is Dead鈥� makes the most of its limited palate. It鈥檚 derivative for sure, but director David Hyde brings enough verve to the filmmaking to keep things interesting. Stars Eklund and Liu mostly play it straight and don鈥檛 allow the story鈥檚 eccentricity to weigh down their performances. Ironside is reliable as always, while others play into the movie鈥檚 wackiness when they aren鈥檛 dodging bullets.
鈥淪tegman is Dead鈥� is a darkly funny B-movie that embraces its B-movieness. There鈥檚 a subtext about the importance of family, but this isn鈥檛 really about that鈥攐r the heist, or Stegman鈥攁s much it is about entertaining the audience for ninety minutes.
