Flight (2012) - Movie Review

You gotta love when a movie starts with an out-of-focus boob shot...

Yes, in opening moments of Flight, the latest movie from Robert Zemeckis, airline pilot Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) wakes up in bed with a hot, fully nude flight attendant (Nadine Velazquez).  The thing you learn from this scene is that Whip is a pimp.  Well, that's not all you learn, but we'll get to that.

Shortly after, on a short, routine flight from Florida to Georgia, there's a mechanical failure on the plane.  It's not a spoiler to tell you that Whip is able to miraculously crash-land the plane with a minimum of casualties.  Even though it's only a few minutes, it's another time where I wish the trailer wouldn't have shown as much as it did regarding the crash.  It's still an extremely tense scene though.  I would imagine if you fly a lot, then it's really going to play with your head.

In the aftermath of the crash, the NTSB investigates to find the cause.  This casts a light on Whip, as it was found he had drugs in his system at the time of the crash.  It's not as simple as him just having a few beers the night before or being a little hung over either.  This is a serious offense, and can mean prison time, so a lawyer, played by Don Cheadle, is sent in to help Whip get out of trouble.  That's where the movie takes a different turn from where you think it's going.  Flight is more of a character study about struggling with denial and addition.  Initially, the accident sobers him up, but once he realizes he's under investigation, the stress throws him in a downward spiral.

You get frustrated and angry watching him, and you see that he's not exactly a great guy.  There's a reason he's divorced and hasn't seen his son.  He pushes everyone away that is trying to help him, and just can't get out of his own way.  It's an example of a high-functioning alcoholic that doesn't see a problem with his behavior.  He points out that he just did this amazing thing that nobody else would have been able to do, and that his state has nothing to do with the mechanical failures of the plane.  While he has a point, there's still a certain responsibility he doesn't want to accept.

Despite all of this, Whip still manages to be sympathetic.  This is mainly due to the great performance from Denzel Washington. Is it an Oscar-worthy performance though?  You bet! Seriously though, Denzel is the type of actor where anytime he takes on a serious role he's going to get some consideration.  One thing that's great about his performance is that it's not larger-than-life or too similar to his performance in Training Day.  It's more subtle than that, and there's a sadness that comes through.  It is performance worthy of consideration, but he's going to have some stiff competition, like from John Hawkes in The Sessions.

It's isn't a perfect film though.  The story itself covers familiar territory, sometimes done better in other films.  While the movie is funnier than I expected, sometimes the humor seemed a little out of place.  Additionally, there's a character introduced at the beginning of the film, played by Kelly Reilly, that's also an addict.  As the movie starts you wonder why she's even in the film.  While it makes sense as the movie goes on, it seemed like they focused on her a little too much in the beginning for the amount of time she actually got as the story went on.  It's nothing against Kelly Reilly's performance though, as I also thought she was very good.

The supporting cast is another strength.  John Goodman has a small role and provides some comedy relief.  There's something about him lately where I simply enjoy seeing him on screen. Don Cheadle is strong as well, and it was fun to see him and Denzel square off during the film. Bruce Greenwood is also good as a friend of Whip's, who's just about the only guy left that's in his corner.  Melissa Leo even has a small role towards the end, but I was so focused on Denzel, I didn't realize it was her.  This is the Denzel show though.

Robert Zemeckis has always been a favorite director of mine, and he didn't disappoint me here after taking a long break from live-action films.  As mentioned earlier regarding the humor, the tone of the film can be a little uneven.  I did think it stopped short of being overly melodramatic though, which is a good thing.  There are a few times John Gatins' screenplay did some things that were a little frustrating to me, and could have almost ruined the film, but overall the strengths outweigh the weaknesses.  I always talk about pacing, and while Flight is almost 2 hours and 20 minutes, I felt like it was gone in a flash.  I was stunned when I checked my phone after the movie and saw what time it was.

Flight is a really good, but not perfect film.  If anything, I'm sure it will make you take a really hard look at the pilot the next time you fly somewhere, or maybe yourself the next time you take a drink.  All kidding aside, it's a tense character study that's worth seeing alone for Denzel Washington's brilliant performance (and the opening sequence).  I highly recommend it.

4 (out of 5) Death Stars

10 Years (2012) - Movie Review

Is Channing Tatum omnipresent?  I feel like he's everywhere now.  I suppose it's the year of Channing Tatum, and this was before they pushed back G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

I was a little leery when I heard this was yet another high school reunion movie.  We already had American Reunion earlier this year, which is an increasing disappointment the more I think about it.  How many more variations can we have on the reunion theme? Fortunately, 10 Years is what American Reunion could have been if it had any humanity about it.

The story focuses primarily on Jake (Channing Tatum), who goes to his reunion with his current girlfriend (played by his real-life wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum).  You meet most of the major players at a small pre-party gathering, hosted by former jock Cully (Chris Pratt) and his wife Sam (Ari Graynor).  They've settled down and had a few kids, but Cully is looking forward to cutting loose.  He also desperately wants to apologize for the bullying he did to several of his classmates.  There are close friends Marty (Justin Long) and AJ (Max Minghella), who both really want to see the hot, popular girl Anna (Lynn Collins).  Marty, in particular, is hoping that maybe there's potential for some reunion hook up action.  You have Garrity (Brain Geraghty), who comes with his wife (Aubrey Plaza), but she isn't too thrilled to find out how he used to be back in high school.  There's even the now-famous Reeves (Oscar Isaac), who wrote a hit song, and is anxious to talk to the girl he used to have a crush on.

As the alcohol flows, you find out more about everyone and their stories from high school.  For some of them their old high school personalities resurface, and some get nervous to talk to their old crushes.  You see how even though 10 years has passed, some are still struggling with adulthood. There is a realism to 10 Years that I don't normally see in a movie like this.

It seems that they went to a fairly small school, as nearly everyone was to be fixated on whether or not Jake's ex, Mary (Rosario Dawson), will show up.  She eventually does, with new husband (Ron Livingston), and you could feel the tension in the room.  They build up that something happened between them, but when you find out what it was it seemed a little overblown. I get that because they were homecoming king and queen that all eyes might have been on them, but it's been 10 years.  Not all high school sweethearts work out.  People grow apart and move on.  It's not that it wasn't significant, but with the way everyone was acting, I was thinking it was going to be something more earth shattering.  Thankfully, Jake and Mary get a chance to talk like adults, and the movie doesn't go down a predictable path for these two.  It might have ruined the film if they had.

As for the others, Marty and AJ do catch up with Anna, but it's funny to watch Marty become increasingly frustrated with AJ competing for her attention. Why are you cock-blocking your buddy, AJ?  Bad form!  You also spend a lot of time with Reeves and his crush (Kate Mara), and at first it seemed like they were getting too much time in the movie, but then their story has a nice payoff that made it worth watching.

Cully gets his opportunity to apologize, but as he gets progressively more drunk, he becomes a bully of a different sort.  It's uncomfortably hilarious for us to watch.  As he's shown how he can be on Parks and Recreation and The Five-Year Engagement, Chris Pratt is hilarious throughout the movie.  He was definitely the highlight.  Ari Graynor was also great as she continues to babysit him and get frustrated with his antics as the night goes on.

I almost forgot about Channing Tatum.  He was one of the producers of the film, and even though the movie primarily followed him, it felt like he took a back seat to much of the cast.  It gave the movie a sense of balance, where you didn't feel like the other characters didn't matter.  It was also cute seeing him with his wife.  They had nice chemistry on screen and are a gorgeous couple that will have super babies when their lives take them down that path.

This is the directorial debut for writer Jamie Linden (Dear John, We Are Marshall), and he did a good job of balancing a fun cast and getting good performances out of everyone.  When the movie starts, I was getting excited when I saw people like Aubrey Plaza, Justin Long, Ron Livingston and Anthony Mackie, but I was worried that the cast might be too stacked.  Fortunately, they all get to have their moments as the night goes on. Despite everyone's flaws, they all felt very real and and sympathetic.  I also appreciated that nobody came off as an over-the-top high school stereotype. 10 Years is very funny without trying too hard or going for silly and obvious jokes.

10 Years isn't breaking any new ground as far as premise.  However, it goes to show you that if you have a likable cast and don't fall prey to melodrama, you can still have an engaging and entertaining movie.  As someone that recently had his 20-year reunion, this felt like a very realistic and consistently funny look at one.  10 Years is in limited release, so I strongly recommend it as a rental once it becomes available.

3.5 (out of 5) Death Stars