Gangster Squad (2013)

Starring: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, Robert Patrick

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Rating: C+

I'm going to predicate this by saying that while I'm not exactly giving this a good review, I did enjoy it.  Gangster Squad was definitely over hyped and possibly even wrongly promoted, and as such going into it I was expecting one type of movie and got something a bit different.  This is a movie created by the guy who did Zombieland, and as such it's a movie like Zombieland kind of trying to be a movie like Godfather or something similar.  As such, it kind of ends up in between the two, to the detriment of the film, although throughout it it still manages to be entertaining and fun.

Gangster Squad is the kind of true, but not really, story of Mickey Cohen (Penn) and the police officers who formed a squad, the Gangster Squad, to stop him.  The head of this squad is Sergeant John O'Mara (Brolin), a decorated war hero who doesn't fit into the L.A. police scene simply because he won't take bribes and wants to persecute Cohen and his thugs.  O'Mara is joined by detective Coleman Harris (Mackie), wire-tapper Conway Keeler (Ribisi), gunslinger Max Kennard (Patrick), and his partner Navidad Ramirez (Peña).  His friend, Jerry Wooters (Gosling), who has rejected an offer to join the squad, meanwhile is carrying on an affair with Cohen's lover, Grace Faraday (Stone).

Okay, so let's see.  The action was fun, I enjoyed it.  With the exception of the Chinatown incident it all really flowed well and was, while not exactly believable, definitely entertaining.  There were a few moments that were a bit hockey, and a few add ins that made me feel like the film was trying to be the 1960s Batman - more than once I almost expected a "POW" to be displayed across the screen - but for the most part it was fun.  The humour was good too and really on key.  It wasn't an overly funny movie, but there were definitely a number of points when someone would say something that made me smile or chuckle a little.

I really liked the relationship between O'Mara and his wife, played by Mireille Enos, and really wanted more of it.  From the get go I felt the love and chemistry between the two of them and I worried about what was going to happen to each of them, and between each of them, more than any other character.  Actually, with all honesty, the only other characters that I really cared about here were the ones played by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone - although more because I like the actors themselves than because of any development of their relationship.  I do think that Gosling's Jerry was developed, and I really enjoyed the character, but Stone's Grace was less developed, and their relationship... somehow, despite the fact that I already know the two as a couple from Crazy, Stupid, Love and know that they can have amazing chemistry, the two don't really have chemistry here.  It's lacking, which sucks.  I want to see more from the two of them as a couple in this film so that I could really love them as a couple.  And now I just want to go watch Crazy, Stupid, Love again.  I will stick this out there, though, if you're filming a movie with Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn in it one of them should appear shirtless and the other should not.  I'm sorry, Gangster Squad, but you made the wrong decision there.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Chris Zylka

Director: Marc Webb

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Rating: A-

When I first heard that they were rebooting the Spider-Man franchise I rolled my eyes.  While the Sam Raimi trilogy had its fair share of problems I couldn’t help but feel like it was just a bit early to be rebooting the franchise – it wasn’t all that long ago that they were still discussing doing a Spider-Man 4 – and I didn’t really feel that it was necessary to tell another Spider-Man origin story.  At this point, everyone should know how Peter Parker became Spider-Man, it’s not that complicated of a story.  Despite my reluctance, however, I thoroughly enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man.  There was a lot about it that sent up red flags, but it overcomes its challenges and really stands on its own as a film, suggesting that this new series might even be far better than its predecessor.

The Amazing Spider-Man follows a young Peter Parker (Garfield) during his high school years.  Following a break in at his childhood home his parents go on the run, leaving Peter to live with his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field).  Some years later as a teenager Peter finds his father’s old briefcase, which contains papers describing his work in engineering a regeneration serum that enabled humans to take on animal characteristics – a science pursued by the elder Parker’s colleague, Doctor Curt Connors (Ifans), in order to regenerate his amputated left arm.  Peter seeks out Connors in an attempt to learn more about his father by sneaking into Connors’ lab at Oscorp, where he is bitten by a genetically altered spider.  This gives Peter the spider-like abilities that we’ve come to know and love in Spider-Man, increased agility and strength, an ability to crawl up walls and on ceilings, and precognition, although not the ability to create web – rather this Spider-Man’s web is a synthetically created biocable that Peter makes.  Peter’s change causes problems between him and his aunt and uncle, culminating in Peter storming off following a fight with Uncle Ben.  While looking for Peter, Uncle Ben is shot and dies – an event that leads Peter to seek out his murderer for retribution.  As he is embarking on his new found vigilante identity, Peter also embarks upon a relationship with Gwen Stacey (Stone), the daughter of police captain George Stacey (Leary).  Disaster then strikes when Connors tests his serum on himself, turning him into a giant, mutant lizard, who wants to wreck the city to shit.

Let's start by saying that this is an amazingly acted movie.  The Amazing Spider-Man brings to the table a huge celebrity presence, one that isn't really seen in the earlier movies.  While Andrew Garfield isn't a huge name yet, pretty much everyone else in major roles in this movie is, from Gwen Stacey and her father to Uncle Ben and Aunt May.  I really liked the way that Peter Parker is portrayed in general; rather than being a borderline cheesy, heroic figure, he's as screwed up as the rest of us and doesn't necessarily make the right choices.  Rather than being all about making the better decisions, he's all about pursuing revenge for his uncle, and only becomes a hero when circumstances force him to do so.  I also really liked the portrayal of Gwen Stacey and the way that she is attracted to Peter before he becomes Spider-Man; it's nice to see that despite the fact that he's awkward he's still desirable without superpowers.  My favourite character, however, probably has to be Denis Leary's George Stacey.  There is something about Captain Stacey that is just so a Denis Leary character, and something else about him that is so completely the opposite of a Denis Leary character.  It was really fun to see him step out of his usual niche and even better to see him be the voice of reason.

Moving beyond that, there was also the great special effects.  Despite it being a superhero movie, the CGI is used somewhat subtly and therefore doesn't look fake; this is best seen in both the portrayal of Spider-Man himself and the Lizard.  In the case of the Lizard it's awesome that even in Lizard form you can still see Ifans' characteristics.  The story was also great and did a lot to set up a grander Spider-Man story, much like Batman Begins did.  The Amazing Spider-Man is based on the premise that there is going to be at least one sequel, and that you are most definitely going to see it.  While some of the story is concluded at the end of the film, the whole thing isn't and some aspects that are portrayed as having been major elements of the film in the trailer are really only hinted at.  By the end of the film you're sitting on the edge of your seat, already eager for the next one.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Breckin Meyer, Lacy Chabert, Emma Stone, Michael Douglas
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
Rating: C+

For what it is, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is not a bad movie.  It definitely isn't a good movie, but nor is it bad.  It's rather lame and completely ridiculous, while also being fun, entertaining, and enjoyable.  If you don't like chick flicks, I would strongly advise avoiding Ghosts, but if you do, you won't regret seeing this movie.

Ghosts tells the story of Connor Mead (McConaughey) as he comes to realize just how little he has in his life.  Orphaned at a young age Connor and his younger brother, Paul (Meyer), are brought up by their womanizing, partying Uncle Wayne (Douglas).  While Paul turned out to be a pretty good guy Connor largely followed in his uncle's footsteps, becoming both a womanizer and a famed photographer.  All that changes, possibly, on the eve of Paul's wedding, when Connor is visited by a number of ghosts in an A Christmas Carol update.  Can Connor redeem himself, or is it too late?

The acting in this is not stellar, and to be honest few of the actors in it are really known for being amazing actors.  I was a bit disappointed by Douglas for accepting the role in the first place, although his film selection has been questionable, at best, in the last decade.  McConaughey and Garner both played their roles well, although I've never been a huge fan of either.  I do have to say that Garner is better suited for this type of film or a TV role than some of her other ventures.  I did enjoy Mecker and Chabert - Chabert's performance as a bridezilla was enough to make me never want to see her as an actual bride.  The show was stolen by Stone, in my opinion, who played Allison Vandermeersh, the titular Ghost of Girlfriend Past.  Of all the characters in this movie, I enjoyed Allison the most, despite the fact that the character was completely ridiculous.  Even though I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes when she was speaking I enjoyed watching her.  As for the story... it's a romance themed version of A Christmas Carol.  It is very much typical of both the story itself, which has been remade in one form or another about as often as Romeo and Juliet, and of romantic comedies.  Clearly not original, but since when did a lack of originality mean a lack of fun?  After all, there are only seven basic plots, so when it comes down to it nothing is entirely original.

The Help (2011)

Stars: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain
Director: Tate Taylor
Genre: Drama
Rating: A-

The Help can easily be considered to be one of the best movies of 2011.  I say that not in a “this is one of those movies that is so awesome and deserves to win a ton of awards” kind of way, but in a “this is the type of movie that people need to see.”  This is one of those movies that deserved to win a ton of awards, and it did win its fair share, but it’s different from so many other movies that win awards – unlike other movies, which I won’t mention here, which appear to value the awards potential more than the entertainment potential, The Help is a movie that both tells an important story while also being entertaining.

Based on the bestselling novel of the same name (because just about everything out this year is based on either a bestselling novel or a comic), The Help is the story of Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Stone), Aibileen Clark (Davis), and Minny Jackson (Spencer) as they embark on writing a book about being a black maid in Jackson, Mississippi, during the 1960s.  The film’s protagonist, Skeeter, has just returned to her childhood home, after having completed a degree at the University of Mississippi.  Unlike her friends, who have all gotten married and started families, Skeeter is attempting to embark on a career of her own, and as such essentially stumbles upon the issue of civil rights and the idea to write a book using the first hand experiences of the maids of her friends.  Yes, this is going to go badly.  Skeeter comes across the idea after developing a bit of a relationship with Aibileen and discovering just how racist her friends, particularly Hilly Holbrook (Howard), are.  So she decides to write a book. About how her friends and neighbours are horrible people.  With the help of the employees of her friends and neighbours.  This movie is the story of the making of this book.  Oh, and also, there’s a side plot surrounding the new job that Spencer’s character has as a maid for Celia Foote (Chastain), a redneck who’s risen up in the world through her marriage, to the great disapproval of all of Skeeter’s so-called friends.

Where the book alternates in focus between the three women rather evenly as they struggle with the world around them (either as a white misfit or as black maids), the movie focuses far more heavily on Skeeter’s story.  As such the movie does lose some of its character; the book is very much a story of southern black women during the Civil Rights era, with an insight into the eyes of a white woman, as written by a white woman.  The film does utilize many stereotypes, in its depiction of both white and black women, and fails to address many of the issues that the book addresses.  That just comes with being a film adaptation of a book, though, you cannot address all of the issues and storylines in a relatively short period.  The story that is presented does stay true to the book, and in its limited means does, in my opinion, a good job of conveying the issues of the time, carefully navigating between a serious tone and, at times, a humourous one.  The three leads each do an amazing job, although the film really is stolen by Spencer.