UNCHARTED: 2 STARS
Movies based on videogames are either entertaining or eye-rolling. An interactive videogame that works at home on your PlayStation may not offer the same dopamine rush when translated to the one-way interactivity of the big screen. For every 鈥淒etective Pikachu鈥 that hits the mark there鈥檚 a dozen 鈥淏loodRaynes鈥 or 鈥淢ortal Kombat: Annihilations.鈥
鈥淯ncharted,鈥 a prequel to the wildly successful PlayStation series starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, and now playing in theatres, is the latest entry in the videogame sweepstakes.
Holland plays Nathan Drake, who, unlike Spider-Man, the actor鈥檚 other cinematic alter-ego, uses his sticky fingers to steal stuff, not scale the outside of tall buildings. Either way, both characters are adventurers who live outside the margins. In Drake鈥檚 case, it comes naturally. He鈥檚 a direct descendant of 16th century pirate Sir Francis Drake.
By day Nathan is a bartender in New York, by night he鈥檚 a thief. Day and night, he hopes to reunite with his long-lost treasure-hunting brother Sam who he hasn鈥檛 seen since he was ten years old. Big brother hit the road, with a promise to return, leaving behind memories and some cryptic clues to the location of US$5 billion worth of Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan鈥檚 lost gold. 鈥淭he gold isn鈥檛 gone,鈥 he said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 lost and if it is lost, it can be found.鈥
When fast-talking slickster Victor 鈥楽ully鈥 Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) asks Nathan to help track down the lost treasure, he agrees, hoping to find the gold and information on his missing brother. 鈥淭here鈥檚 only one rule,鈥 says Sully of their dangerous mission. 鈥淒on鈥檛 get caught.鈥
The pair, along with fortune hunter Chloe (Sophia Ali), travel the world in search of two crosses that serve as a key to the mystery, all the while trying to stay one or two steps ahead of ruthless rich guy Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who has a personal connection to the gold, and his team of mercenaries.
鈥淯ncharted鈥 mixes and matches the adventure elements of 鈥淩aiders of the Lost Ark,鈥 鈥淭omb Raider鈥 and 鈥淣ational Treasure鈥 into a generic action movie that loses its way early on. Not even the combined charisma of its stars, Holland and Wahlberg, can put it back on track.
Both play thinly sketched versions of characters we鈥檝e seen before and better. When he鈥檚 on-screen Wahlberg plays a riff on his trademarked sarcastic smart alecky character but this is a Where鈥檚 Waldo style role for him. He disappears for long sections as Holland takes center stage.
Holland plays Nathan as a cocky young man with a special set of skills. Sound familiar? It鈥檚 like watching Peter Parker do parkour without the webs but with an unnatural gift for figuring out puzzles that have confounded others for centuries. He鈥檚 fun on screen but he鈥檚 not doing anything here that feels new.
Together they banter in playful dialogue that often has the all the charm of an in-gown toenail.
Then there are the action scenes. The movie opens with a frenetic fight scene, heavy on the CGI, that sees Nathan flying through the air, battling bad guys. It鈥檚 high-flying action, but don鈥檛 worry if you are five minutes late getting to the cinema, the scene is repeated later in the movie. The large-scale action scenes are loud, frenzied but often feel like leftovers from Pierce Brosnan era 007. They fill the screen, but the movie鈥檚 flippant, light tone ensures there is very little jeopardy involved for any of the main characters.
鈥淯ncharted鈥 does have a pretty good villain, and no, it鈥檚 not Banderas who does little other than speak in a low whisper. Tati Gabrielle as the ruthless killer and schemer Braddock brings some spark to her scenes, but not enough to kickstart this inert action flick.
DOG: 3 1/2 STARS
In his first film in five years Channing Tatum trades in the g-strings and dance moves of 鈥淢agic Mike鈥 for a dog leash and self-awareness. 鈥淒og,鈥 now playing in theatres, is a pet project of a sort for Tatum, who not only stars but also makes his directorial debut in a movie about the power of the dog to change a life.
Tatum plays Jackson Briggs, a former U.S. Army Ranger sidelined by a traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Cut adrift of the military, in civilian life he is lost, separated from the only world he truly feels part of. He wants back in, but his medical status won鈥檛 allow a return to service.
When his best Ranger friend dies in Arizona, Briggs is offered a way back into the military. 鈥淵ou want to get back in the game?鈥 asks Ranger Jones (Luke Forbes). 鈥淧rove it. Sergeant Rodriguez was a legend. Family funeral is Sunday outside of Nogales. They want his dog at the funeral. You do this, and you鈥檙e back in the game.鈥
The dog is Lulu, a Belgian Malinois military working dog, who vicious nature worked well in the field, less so back on base. 鈥淥ne minute she鈥檚 good,鈥 says Briggs, 鈥渢he next minute she鈥檚 sending three guys to the ER.鈥
Despite Lulu鈥檚 temper, Briggs agrees to drive her down the Pacific Coast from Joint Base Lewis鈥揗cChord in Washington to the funeral in Arizona. The unlikely pair head out on an eventful road trip, one that may lead to redemption for both.
鈥淒og鈥 is a low-key man and his dog movie that quietly examines the after effects of trauma and the healing power of companionship and respect. As the miles tick by, Briggs comes to understand the shared bond between man and dog. Both are figuring out life outside the war zones that were their homes for many years, and both are forever marked by the experience. As their relationship deepens, it鈥檚 clear the key to their recovery is mutual TLC.
The movie takes some strange detours along the way鈥攍ike a long sequence where Briggs pretends to be blind to get a fancy hotel suite or an odd encounter with a cannabis farmer who believes Briggs is an assassin鈥攂ut the beating heart of the movie is the relationship between man and dog.
Tatum brings his likable self to a character who isn鈥檛 always likable. The film places Briggs is comedic and dramatic situations, which gives the movie an uneven tone鈥攖here are some 鈥渞uff鈥 spots鈥攂ut Tatum levels the field, providing continuity between the film鈥檚 goofy and gallant moments. Most importantly, he shares great chemistry with Lulu, who is actually played by three different canine actors. Tatum and co-director Reid Carolin make sure to include lots of close-ups of the Lulu鈥檚 soulful eyes, and in those scenes Tatum鈥檚 warmth shines through.
鈥淒og鈥 is not a movie that teaches a lot of new tricks to the dog or to the audience but it does end on an emotional note with a welcome, if well-worn message, of the healing power of companionship.
THE CURSED: 3 1/2 STARS
鈥淭he Cursed,鈥 a new werewolf movie now in theatres, shoots for the moon by throwing the traditional rules of lycanthropy mythology out the window to create a fresh and timely take on an old genre. But does it bite off more than it can chew?
The film opens in the trenches of the First World War during the Battle of the Somme. A French soldier is killed with a silver bullet before the action jumps back in time thirty-five years to the ancient province of Gévaudan in southern France and the true beginning of the story.
Coldhearted land baron (is there any other kind?) Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie) is unafraid to spill gallons of blood to protect his property, wife (Kelly Reilly) and children. When a Romani clan lay a claim to his land, Laurent retaliates, attacking, burning and mutilating every one of them. 鈥淒o you think you can ride into my country,鈥 Laurent sneers as his hired killers laugh and take photographs with the dead, 鈥渢ake my land and do whatever you like?鈥
As the last victim is being buried alive, she utters a curse, damning Laurent鈥檚 estate and entire family.
As the curse echoes in his ears, everything changes. Laurent鈥檚 family is soon affected and his carefully constructed life begins to crumble.
Son Edward (Max Mackintosh) suffers for the sins of his father. His weird dreams of creepy scarecrows and a set of strange metal teeth lead him back to the scene of the Romani massacre. When Timmy Adams (Tommy Rodger), the son of one of the other area land barons, finds the metal teeth buried in on the killing field, before you can say, 鈥淲erewolves of London,鈥 he puts them in his mouth and bites Edward, piercing his neck. 鈥淲e will all pay for the sins of our elders,鈥 says Timmy. 鈥淲e're all going to die.鈥
Timmy scurries off into the woods while Edward is tended to at home. When Edward disappears from his bed, a search party is convened but the boy isn鈥檛 found. Meanwhile, a bloodthirsty beast, whose bite either kills or transforms its quarry into a werewolf, terrorizes the area.
John McBride (Boyd Holbrook), a visiting pathologist with a personal link to the case, understands what鈥檚 going on and knows that the only 鈥渃ure鈥 for the werewolf outbreak is a silver bullet.
鈥淭he Cursed鈥 has a title that sounds as though it should be attached to exploitation fare, bloody with a side of gross. While there are bloody and gross moments sprinkled throughout, the bulk of the running time is quiet and austere, shot in the low light, greyish tones of so much 19th century horror on film. Director Sean Ellis builds to the scares, constructing a sense of dread and suspense that pays off during the attack scenes.
More interesting is Ellis鈥檚 reinterpretation of the werewolf legend. The curse and the silver bullet survived from established mythology but he throws the rest away to create a new look and feel for his creatures. These beasts don鈥檛 represent the duality of the werewolves of yore, the mix of animal and spiritual. They don鈥檛 wait for the full moon to turn. Nor do they look like the customary Lon Chaney Jr. monster. Instead, as one scene memorably details, the victims are enveloped in a werewolf casing.
No spoilers here, but the creatures are primal killing machines, not the tortured souls of other werewolf movies who are trapped by, but fight against, their nature.
鈥淭he Cursed鈥 is a fresh take on the werewolf legend but simultaneously feels like a throwback to the Hammer Horror films of old where charismatic Van Helsing types battled creatures and corsets and tailcoats were still in fashion. A mix of elevated and primal scares, of brains and schlock, it contains enough suspense and memorable visuals to make it worthwhile.
