RAMPAGE: 2 STARS
Dwayne Johnson has finally found a co-star bigger and with more muscles than him, a giant silverback gorilla named George, the only living thing on earth large enough to flip the rock in the bird and get away with it.
Based on the 1986 arcade game 鈥淩ampage,鈥 the new film directed by Newfoundland native Brad Peyton, sees a genetic experiment go horribly wrong. 鈥淲e鈥檝e created the next chapter in natural selection. Project Rampage works.鈥 Except when it doesn鈥檛.
George, the giant but gentle silverback gorilla, a winged wolf and a reptile are transformed into monsters with an appetite for destruction. That鈥檚 right, there鈥檚 a gorilla so big it makes The Rock, who plays Davis Okoye, a Dr. Doolittle talking-to-animals type with king-size muscles, look like a first grader by comparison.
Luckily Okoye raised George and they share an unbreakable bond, a connection so strong the primatologist just might be able to reason with the gorilla and put an end to the invasion of the mega-beasts.
I鈥檓 no different than anybody else. I鈥檓 happy to spend cash to watch nature go wild as humungous beasts (including the pumped up Johnson) battle one another. It should be loads of fun, peppered with Johnson鈥檚 trademarked one-liners, some heavy beast-on-beast action topped off with an evil corporation with an appetite for destruction and a scientist with something to prove but instead it鈥檚 a about spectacle and little else. Don鈥檛 give me wrong I didn鈥檛 expect 鈥淐oriolanus鈥 with a giant flying wolf but in the CGI era when anything is possible I know the visuals will pop.
I鈥檇 also like the script to do some of the work as well. It鈥檚 the kind of big budget b-movie where it takes four credited writers to come up with bon mots like, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe we survived that,鈥 and 鈥淭hank you for saving the world.鈥 (That is not a spoiler. You know the world will survive the rampaging creatures.) Johnson is an engaging performer, so is co-star Naomie Harris, but imagine how much better the movie would be if they were given better things to say than, 鈥淒avis, try not to get killed.鈥 Without characters you care about who cares if giant beasts made of pixels destroy a pretend city?
鈥淩ampage鈥 isn鈥檛 the only oversized fiend film coming this year. To warm us up for 鈥淩ampage,鈥 they showed a trailer for 鈥淭he Meg,鈥 a.k.a. 鈥淛ason Statham and The Giant Shark.鈥 Call it the year of the gigantic beast if you like but so far鈥擨 haven鈥檛 seen 鈥淭he Meg鈥 yet, bigger isn鈥檛 always better.
INDIAN HORSE: 3 ½ STARS
Based on author and journalist Richard Wagamese鈥檚 book of the same name 鈥淚ndian Horse鈥 is a personal story that brings issues of cultural assimilation and displacement policies to the fore front.
Structured like a film noir, the story begins at the end with Saul Indian Horse (Ajuawak Kapashesit) in rehab, recounting the details of his life. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 understand where you鈥檙e going if you don鈥檛 know where you鈥檝e been,鈥 he says.
Flashback to 1959. Saul is orphaned and left in the care of his grandmother before being scooped up and sent to the St James Residential School. Ripped away from his family and culture he says, 鈥淭he world I had known was replaced by a black cloud.鈥 Indigenous children had their mouths washed out with soap for speaking Ojibwe, their names changed to 鈥済ood biblical names 鈥渁nd they were disciplined with paddles and fists. When that didn鈥檛 work, they were sent to 鈥渃ontrition,鈥 a dank basement prison. 鈥淥ur goal here is to help you succeed in this world,鈥 says Father Quinney (Michael Murphy).
A school in only the loosest sense of the word, piousness was valued above everything else. 鈥淭he only test was our ability to endure,鈥 Saul says. The youngster survives in part because of his love of hockey. Teaching himself to skate, he uses frozen horse manure as make-do pucks. Despite his young age he has an innate ability, honed by watching hockey on TV, and can outplay the older boys. With the encouragement of kindly priest Father Gaston (鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥欌 Michiel Huisman) he flourishes and is soon recruited to an outside league where his ability attracts the attention of Toronto Maple Leafs recruiter Jack Lanahan (Martin Donovan).
In the big city, he is subjected to abject racism and feels even more removed from his cultural roots. 鈥淭here is no better life for me,鈥 he says to Lanahan. 鈥淭here never will be.鈥
鈥淚ndian Horse鈥檚鈥 portrayal of the cruelties of the residential school system is uncompromising and horrific. It鈥檚 not overly graphic but the human effects of the humiliating and dangerous treatment the students were subjected to are undeniable and unforgettable. Director Stephen Campanelli鈥擟lint Eastwood鈥檚 steadicam operator from 鈥淭he Bridges of Madison County鈥 to the recent 鈥淭he 15:17 to Paris鈥濃攕ets the stage for Saul鈥檚 later-in-life trauma with matter-of-fact storytelling and characters that embody the results of cultural alienation.
Overall the film could use a little more nuance but there is no denying the important and timely nature of the story.
LEAN ON PETE: 2 ½ STARS
The boy-and-his-horse story of 鈥淟ean on Pete鈥 sounds like family fare but it is anything but. The cast should be the first clue. Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny and Steve Zahn, all edgy 90s indie virtuosos, are the above-the-title stars, hinting that this isn鈥檛 going to be another 鈥淣ational Velvet鈥 remake.
At the beginning of the story fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson (Charlie Plummer) and his single father Ray (Travis Fimmel) are starting their lives over in Portland, Oregon. Charley鈥檚 mom went out for cigarettes years ago and never came back. Since then father and son and moved around the country, Ray chasing work, Charley trying to find a place to fit in. They are more like friends than father and son. Ray offers up dubious fatherly advice鈥斺淭he best women have all been waitresses at some point鈥 and finds a new women in every new town.
To pass the time, Charley gets a job tending to an aging Quarter Horse named Lean on Pete. Working for crusty old horse trader Del Montgomery (Buscemi), Charley finds purpose and despite the warnings of jockey Bonnie (Sevigny) not to get emotionally involved with the horse鈥斺淒on鈥檛 think of them as pets,鈥 she says, the teenager coddles the horse even as it becomes clear Pete isn鈥檛 going to win any more races.
When Del decides to get rid of Pete, to 鈥渟end him to Mexico鈥濃攊.e.: the glue factory鈥 Charley makes off with the horse, embarking on a road trip in search of a better life for both of them.
There are many good messages here for kids about resilience and loyalty but again let me remind you this isn鈥檛 a kid鈥檚 movie. Del鈥檚 foul language and a scene where Charley beats a homeless man with a tire iron rule that out. What we鈥檙e left with is a story that feels like it was written for a young adult audience but made by someone weaned on mid-period Wim Wenders. Tonally it feels as though it has one hoof in YA, the other in more adult fare.
Tonality aside, the first hour works very well. Plummer is magnetic, quietly creating the character of a desperate young man who does bad things for mostly the right reasons. His scenes with Buscemi and Sevigny sparkle with a gruff warmth, setting up the lesson in resilience that dominates the second half. As Charley sets off into America鈥檚 hinterland, Bonnie鈥檚 statement of fact, 鈥淭here鈥檚 only so many times you can fall down, right?鈥 is proven wrong time after time. It鈥檚 a road trip of misery that sees Charley survive in very trying circumstances. Paced a little too leisurely in its second hour, the road trip section, despite the dramatic events portrayed, is far less interesting than the character work of the first hour.
鈥淟ean on Pete鈥 is an effective portrait of a lonely boy but ultimately simply becomes a laundry list of Charley鈥檚 bad decisions.
BEIRUT: 3 ½ STARS
Here鈥檚 the overview: In the new thriller 鈥淏eirut鈥 former 鈥淢ad Man鈥 star Jon Hamm plays a world-weary but sharp-tongued man who has crawled inside a whiskey bottle to numb the pain of his existence.
Now here鈥檚 the six-word pitch: Don Draper does the Middle East.
The story begins in 1972 in the title city. U.S. diplomat Mason Skiles (Hamm) has lived there on and off for much of his life. He understands the country鈥檚 delicate balance of religion and politics but more importantly, he loves the country. Tragedy strikes when Karim (Yoav Sadian Rosenberg), a thirteen-year-old orphan Skiles and wife Nadia (Leila Bekhti) treat as their own, turns out to have a terrorist brother.
Cut to a decade later. Skiles is now a whiskey-in-his-coffee kind of man living in Boston running a small labour-dispute consulting firm. 鈥淗is career has gone from Kissinger to the crapper,鈥 says a former colleague. When he accepts an offer (and thousands of dollars) from 鈥渢he Agency鈥 to return to Beirut, he finds a city in ruins, torn apart by a decade of civil war. Escorted by handler Sandy Crowder (Rosamund Pike), he must delve into the murky world of CIA dirty tricks and political agendas to negotiate the release of his onetime best friend, CIA agent Cal Riley (Mark Pellegrino).
Written by 鈥淩ogue One: A Star Wars Story鈥 scribe Tony Gilroy, 鈥淏eirut鈥 allows Hamm鈥檚 now trademarked Damaged Man Routine鈩 to stay front and centre. It鈥檚 a spy story with intrigue and danger鈥攁lthough it should be said there is not much action鈥攖hat relies on Hamm鈥檚 rugged charisma. His struggle is the motor that keeps things interesting, not the character鈥檚 ulterior motives or the intrigue. For instance a major a plot twist (NO SPOILERS HERE) is actually more of a straight line than a twist so it is up to Hamm and cast to provide the tension.
鈥淏eirut鈥 feels a tad long, as though some of the scenes of Skiles contemplating the bottom of a glass could have been replaced with something a bit more interesting, like trying to get a release for his old friend. Although Hamm is very good here, those lapses鈥攁nd the typical pouring-of-the-booze-down-the-sink scene鈥攕eparate 鈥淏eirut鈥 from other, superior talky thrillers like 鈥淢unich鈥 or 鈥淭inker Tailor Soldier Spy.鈥
YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE: 4 STARS
鈥淵ou Were Never Really Here鈥 is about a man with a special set of skills who rescues young women and yet it couldn鈥檛 be any more different from 鈥淭aken鈥 and other recent guardian angel action movies.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Joe, a bulky, bearded veteran who lives with his mother. When he isn鈥檛 rescuing young girls from human traffickers he鈥檚 doing household chores, helping his mom clean the silver wear or, when memories of his violent past overtake him, trying to kill himself.
Driven by vengeance and haunted by memories of childhood abuse, he gives out punishment to human traffickers, violently beating them with fists and hammers. 鈥淐an you be brutal?鈥 asks a client. 鈥淚 can,鈥 he replies calmly.
When a job retrieving Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov), the eleven-year-old daughter of a high-ranking New York politician (Alex Manette), from a pedophile ring goes sideways, Joe is forced to delve deeper than ever before.
There is violence in 鈥淵ou Were Never Really Here鈥 but don鈥檛 expect a Liam Neeson style action flick. First of all, Joe鈥檚 special set of skills mainly include surveillance and ball peen hammer assault. Secondly Joe doesn鈥檛 have any catchphrases. He鈥檚 a secretive man of action, plagued by PTSD and driven by a sense of righteous justice. Think Travis Bickle, not former Green Beret and CIA operative Bryan Mills.
Phoenix delivers a deceptively simple performance. A man of few words Joe expresses himself in other ways and Phoneix finds way to do much while doing very little. The pain in his eyes, amplified by random flashbacks to his troubled youth, reveals both his personal torture and why he works exclusively with mistreated children. More importantly are the traces of humanity that slip through Joe鈥檚 blank façade. The way he dotes on his mother or holds a dying man鈥檚 hand, singing along with a syrupy pop song, as life slips away. In another scene he instructs his pre-teen rescue to close her eyes, trying to protect what little innocence she has left, before he bludgeons one of her captors to death. It鈥檚 in these moments that Joe becomes a fully rounded character and not simply a killing machine.
Scottish director Lynne Ramsay never gives away the game, doling out the details only as necessary. The flashbacks are jagged, poking into the story like a shard of glass slashing through silk. Those elements, bolstered by an anxiety inducing score鈥攍oud, abrasive yet beautiful鈥攆rom Radiohead鈥檚 Jonny Greenwood, combine to present an intriguing, elliptical portrait of a tortured soul.
BORG vs MCENROE: 3 ½ STARS
Shia LaBeouf鈥檚 reputation serves him well in 鈥淏org vs McEnroe.鈥 The story of one of the all-time great sports rivalries, this film from Swedish director Janus Metz turns the actor鈥檚 hot-headed persona into a terrific performance as John McEnroe, the 鈥渟uper brat鈥 of tennis.
A non-traditional sports movie, 鈥淏org vs McEnroe 鈥 ends with the Wimbledon matches in the 1980 final but spends the vast amount of its running time as a behind-the-scenes character study of polar opposites. On the court their games were as much psychological as they were physical, and this movie delves into the backstories that fed their individual styles.
We learn of McEnroe father鈥檚 unrelenting push for perfection. Whether it was doing complicated math tricks for dad鈥檚 friends or on the court, young McEnroe developed a perfectionist streak that lead to extreme discipline and a hair trigger temper when his lofty standards weren鈥檛 met.
In public life Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) was nicknamed the Iceborg, a play on his chilly demeanour but flashbacks to his early life with coach Lennart Bergelin (Stellan Skarsgård) reveal a similar upbringing to McEnroe. The difference between the two competitors came with Borg鈥檚 ability to suppress his anger, unlike the combustible McEnroe, who became famous for his on-court outbursts. 鈥淭hey say Borg is an iceberg, keeping it all in,鈥 says one commentator, 鈥渦ntil he becomes a volcano.鈥
The film digs deep, accentuating the similarities between the two players, not their differences. It鈥檚 an unusual take for a sports film. Typically sporting films play up the differences between competitors to amp up the conflict but this isn鈥檛 a standard sports story. It鈥檚 more an existential drama concerned with the why鈥檚 of their personalities not the hows of their game. Many people will know how this story ends鈥攁nd no, it doesn鈥檛 rewriter tennis history鈥攕o director Metz wisely focuses on the journey, not the destination.
Perhaps of his own history of public behaviour, LaBeouf brings fire and empathy to his portrayal of McEnroe. A performance that could easily have drifted into caricature instead offers a nuanced look at the demons that fuelled the champion鈥檚 antics.
Gudnason is a dead ringer for Borg and does a nice job of hinting at the self-doubt that was always just under his icy exterior.
鈥淏org vs McEnroe鈥 gives insight into the lives of these two gold star athletes, revealing the men behind the game.
