Fantastic Four (2015)

Three strikes and you're out. Hang it up, Fox, and give it back to Marvel. You clearly don't know how to make a good Fantastic Four movie. This might be one of the most disappointing superhero films ever. Even with lowered expectations, this reboot of Fantastic Four still managed to come up short. It's so bad that even Stan Lee didn't do a cameo. It makes the first two Fantastic Four films look halfway decent in comparison.

On paper it has a lot going for it. I was optimistic that Chronicle's Josh Trank was directing, but whether his vision was off (I heard he had limited knowledge of the source material) or the studio interfered, it's just so lifeless and dour. I heard they did massive reshoots due to all the backlash (like Dr. Doom being a blogger, not from Latervia, and named Domashev), but even with all the reshoots the tone is all wrong. It's not just the tone, but entire film lacks the color the Fantastic Four should have.

It also had a great cast. Unfortunately, they are all misused. While Miles Teller and Kate Mara are a step up from Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba as Reed and Sue, they have zero chemistry together. They barely flirt and give you nothing to see how they'll eventually be husband and wife. Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan, while fine actors, don't compare to the fun that Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans had playing the same roles. There's no sense of family, and none of the bickering you'd expect. Everyone plays their role mopey or detached. Was anyone having fun at all?

We get yet another origin story. I like that it was grounded in science, but two thirds of the film (it's barely 100 minutes) is dedicated to showing the team working on computers, building stuff, and then eventually get their powers as if an afterthought. Oh, and how they handle Sue Storm will drive fans nuts. Once they get their powers, the story immediately jumps ahead a full year. Have they mastered them and are a successful team saving the world at this point? No, the government has stepped in and is training them as weapons, as if that trope hasn't been beaten to death. We only get one scene of them at the end working together. Doom is reintroduced as the bad guy and then resolved in like ten minutes. There's no threat or stakes at all.

Outside of The Thing (his look was probably the lone improvement over the original), the effects weren't all that impressive. The Human Torch looked okay, I suppose, but it's nothing you haven't seen before. Where this movie really failed was the look of Dr. Doom. He looked like a cross of that stupid computer monster in Superman 3 and someone on their way to a rave. It looks homemade, but I've seen better cosplay than this. His powers, origin and motivation are all off.

There's nothing about Fantastic Four that warrants seeing on the big screen. Any film that casts Chet Hanks in a role does not deserve to be seen. It's not a complete disaster, but it's still an overall failure. Save it for rental if you want to punish yourself. I don't actively root for films to bomb, but I really hope people don't go out and see this. Please don't encourage Fox to attempt this again.

1.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

That Awkward Moment (2014)

I don't have a ton to say about That Awkward Moment, so this may be one of the shortest reviews I've ever put out there.

It's not that I found That Awkward Moment particularly awful, but there's no plot, no real setup, and nothing happens.  The catalyst for the current situation is that Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) comes home, finds that his wife has been cheating on him and wants a divorce.  He seeks the solace of his buddies, Jason (Zac Efron) and Daniel (Miles Teller), who are living the single life.  They want to get Mikey back out there, but all vow that none of them will get into a relationship, which is just fine for Jason and Daniel, as neither one of them has any interest in that.  So how long before all of these guys find themselves in complicated relationships?

From that point, That Awkward Moment isn't much more than a mashup of buddy and romantic comedy cliches.  Again, it's not that it's terrible, but there's nothing original about it.  It really drags along as you wait for something, anything, to happen.

When you add that it's not particularly funny, it makes it that much harder to get through.  Even the one part of the film where you can tell they were going for the the big, funny event is all based on a misunderstanding that's taken to a ridiculous extreme.  It's one of the few "awkward moments" in the film.  Another one involving everyone walking into the same bathroom at the same time was so contrived that lost any believability.  What are the odds that three guys happen to walk into the same bathroom at a fancy house party at the same time?  Two of them had only arrived at the party just moments before.  Plus, nobody seemed to be interested in locking the bathroom door.  That will tend to lead to more awkward moments.  You could credit one of the characters for actually pointing the lack of door locking out, but a line of dialog doesn't explain how four different people committed the same behavior within a minute.

Tom Gormican's script, (he also directed), is very underwritten.  It's a shame, as the leads are all fairly charming and have good chemistry together.  I can't really fault any of the actors, as they did the best with the material.  There's just not a lot to their characters to really identify with, and nothing particularly distinctive about any of them.  They can pretty much be broken up into the following:

• Funny guy that nobody takes seriously.  He's the first to get into a serious relationship.
• Guy that's still trying to reconcile his previous relationship.  He can't get involved with anyone else until then.
• Consummate player that's so afraid of commitment, that he doesn't recognize the good thing in front of him.

I'll let you guess who's who. Without even seeing the film, I bet you get them all correct.  Outside of some throwaway line about going to college together, we don't even know anything about how they met, or how long they've known each other.

It's interesting that two of the female characters had a lot more going on than the guys. Ellie (Imogen Poots) is an author that's getting a book published, and Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis) is a musician, but neither of these are explored with any kind of depth.  Chelsea also acts as the guy's perfect wingman, and appears to have been friends with them for a while, but their relationship is never really defined beyond that.  Was she related to one of them?  Was she also someone they knew from college?

That Awkward Moment is a collection of cliches you've seen in other films, lacking any creativity or a needed infusion of humor.  However, its biggest sin is that it's boring.  If you happened to catch it on cable or rented it for a buck, you might not think it was that terrible, but I can't recommend anyone going out to the theater and seeing it.  Don't waste your time and money.

2 (out of 5) Death Stars

The Spectacular Now (2013)

The Spectacular Now is the sweetest, most poignant movie about teenage alcoholism and enabling I've ever seen.

The Spectacular Now was a much different movie that I was expecting.  My first clue should have been that this was rated R.  You usually don't see a lot of light-hearted teen films with that rating.  My second clue should have been that this was directed by James Ponsoldt, whose last film, Smashed, dealt with a similar theme.  Apparently Ponsoldt's first film, Off the Black, also deals with it as well, but I haven't seen it.  Anyway, the tone of the film caught me a little off guard.  It's not like I didn't like The Spectacular Now, but I'm on borderline on putting in that category of a great film that I'm not sure I want to see again.

Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is a popular student approaching graduation.  He has a hot girlfriend, Cassidy (Brie Larson), and is the life of the party.  Sutter lives in the now, and it's spectacular.  Get it?  Fortunately, nobody actually says that phrase in the film, so you'd hear that collective, "Oooooh, that's what it means", from the audience.  Sutter has a few issues though.  One, he's more than just a social drinker, and is never without a flask or soda cup spiked with something.  Second, he's not a great student and doesn't have much in the way of ambition or plans after high school.  Cassidy dumps Sutter for these reasons.  After a night of binge drinking, he wakes up on the front lawn of a fellow student, Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley).  She's a bit of a wallflower, but the two of them hit it off and eventually become a couple.  As it's a case of opposites attracting, Sutter's friends think Aimee is a rebound, and Aimee's friends don't want Sutter to screw her over.

While their relationship is sweet, when Sutter gives Aimee a gift of a flask filled with booze, it appears that they may be heading down an unhealthy path.  Aimee is a good student and has a bright future ahead of her.  There's concern about what kind of influence Sutter might have on her.  Sutter genuinely wants the best for Aimee though and encourages her to go away to college and stand up to her mother, even though he doesn't seem interested in following his own advice.

As the case with many character-based stories, I felt it was a little on the slow side as far as pacing, but it picks up as it develops.  This comes to a head when Sutter reconnects with his estranged father (Kyle Chandler), and is disappointed to find out they aren't all that different.  He realizes he's heading down a similar path.  The fact that there's an arc and character growth is one of the things I really liked about the film.  You're left with a satisfying ending that didn't feel forced.

The chemistry between Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller is fantastic and they bounce off each other in a very real way.  Woodley builds on her critically acclaimed performance from The Descendants with another great one.  She's extremely natural and perfectly captures that shy girl falling in love for the first time.  It doesn't even feel like she's acting.  I was actually a little more impressed with Teller though.  I liked him in 21 & Over as a fast-talker in the mold of a young Vince Vaughn, but here he shows dramatic depth and that there's a lot more to him.  When he breaks down in front of his mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh), there isn't a dry eye in the theater.  Even in her limited screen time, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Sutter's older sister evokes a similar feeling.  The entire supporting cast is strong.  Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dayo Okeniyi, Brie Larson and Bob Odenkirk are all great.  However, the best performance of the film is by the kid that plays Aimee's younger sister.  He has no dialog, just flips the bird with both hands.  I can't wait to see how his career develops.  Okay, I'm kidding a little on that last one.  Wouldn't it be funny if he grows up and wins an Oscar and then we go back and remember his first role as the flip off kid from The Spectacular Now.

The dialog is very natural and captures the awkwardness of high school, being unsure of yourself and venturing into a relationship.  I expected nothing less from the Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who also wrote (500) Days of Summer, which is still one of my favorite films.  The Spectacular Now is based on a book Tim Tharp, but I had never heard of it prior to seeing the film.  Tharp doesn't even have a entry on Wikipedia.  Someone should correct that.  While this is a heavier film, James Ponsoldt does a great job of balancing the tone and elements.  It's serious when it should be, but sweet and funny when it's not.  You get the feeling that you're watching something important.  At the very least you have to appreciate that this is anything but a typical, predictable teen romance.  Nobody in the film is perfect or can be put in a box.  Like real life, you don't always know how things are going to turn out, and at some points it appears the worst may happen.

As much as I've been anticipating the film, I waited a few extra weeks to see it until my favorite theater, The Vine (www.vinecinema.com), was playing it.  One of the reasons why I love The Vine so much is that it's a theater that has restaurant food and beer.  While watching The Spectacular Now, I found myself drinking at a much slower pace that I normally do.  There's nothing like watching a film about alcoholism to make you take a hard look at yourself.

Darker and more emotional than this year's other coming-of-age offerings, The Spectacular Now offers a nice contrast to them.  It's one of those films that will stick with you well after watching.  It's honest, real, and anything but typical.  The great performances from Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller alone make it worth watching, and you can count this film among the year's best.  I highly recommend watching it.

4.5 out of 5 Death Stars

21 & Over (2013) - Movie Review

From the writers of The Hangover, it's yet another version of The Hangover...

High School buddies Miller and Casey visit their friend Jeff Chang on his 21st birthday. They want to take him out for a crazy night, but Jeff Chang's scary dad (Francois Chau) reminds him that he has an important job interview in the morning.  You know that's not going to stop Miller, who's role is the irresponsible one that's born to party. They talk Jeff Chang into going out.  He drinks a lot, they get lost, crazy stuff happens, they're worried Jeff Chang won't be able to make his job interview.  Get the picture?

When watching 21 & Over you'll constantly get the feeling that you've seen this all before.  This shouldn't be a surprise since the writing and directing team of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore are the same guys that wrote The Hangover.  21 & Over is just a variation on the same theme, and these guys are starting to feel like one trick ponies. I suppose there are lots of writers and directors that recycle themes from movie to movie, but they usually aren't as obvious about it.   As much as I wanted to hate the film for how recycled and silly it is, I kept finding things to laugh at throughout the movie.

21 & Over is rated-R, which is actually a strength in that the humor isn't tame or holds back.  I didn't feel like it was crude for the sake of being shocking or for cheap laughs.  Also, because of the stronger rating, some of the better gags in the film aren't spoiled by the trailer, which is yet another credit to the film.

However, the story doesn't hold up to any kind of scrutiny.  Yeah, I know a movie like this isn't intended to be smart, but just indulge me for a bit.  Like, when Jeff Chang is clearly hammered and being belligerent to bouncers, they are still letting him into bars, when you know they'd never let him in at that point. This is the point where even his friends should have cut him off and called it a night.  Plus, the whole idea of them getting lost in a small college town is pretty hard to believe in the first place.  None of these guys have the address programmed into their phone or something?  Maybe thinking ahead isn't their strong suit.  Also, Miller and Casey are generally sober throughout the film despite drinking heavily themselves.

Then, you think about the timing of how things are playing out, it doesn't work out at all either.  At one point they mention they are only six blocks away from their destination, but then proceed to drive for what feels like an hour.  Couldn't they have walked there faster?  It's after 11 PM when they first realize they are lost, and are talking to people that are wide awake, not drunk at all, but only just on their way to a rally or party.  When they arrive at the rally and then another party, you figure it's gotta be around 2 or 3 AM.  They schedule college rallies after midnight?  Keep in mind, I went to a 'commuter college', so I didn't have the campus college experience that many of you may have.  Maybe this is something that happens all the time.

The trio themselves are pretty stereotypical group of friends.  Miller (Miles Teller is doing his best Vince Vaughn impression) is the boorish one that hasn't grown up, Casey (Skylar Astin as Paul Rudd-lite) is the serious one that's forgotten how to have fun, and Jeff Chang (Justin Chon, in what is basically the Ed Helms role) is the one with the overbearing dad and stressing out with too much studying.  You know the night is going to teach them all a valuable lesson.  Everyone has to learn something in these movies, right?  Then, there's the cute girl that Miles is after, Nicole (Sarah Wright), who conveniently neglects to mention until much later that she has a boyfriend, Randy (Jonathan Keltz), who they've already had several run-ins with.  You kind go between finding these guys a little sympathetic or relatable, to wanting to smack them at times for being stupid.  Overall, I liked their performances, so that kept me watching their adventures to see what happens next.  If everyone would have been totally unlikable there's no way you'd be able to get through the movie.

21 & Over isn't anything new.  It's dumb and crude, but it does have a few good laughs here and there.  If you've enjoyed movies like The Hangover and The Hangover Part II, then this is just more of the same, except with younger actors.  It's not a bad movie to see with some friends, have a few drinks beforehand, and enjoy it for what it is.  It's a matinee if you see it that way, otherwise, save it for rental.

2.5 (out of 5) Death Stars