by George Wolf
Ant-Man
A legendary movie icon once coolly remarked, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” Ant-Man seems to know his, and comes equipped with enough style, wit and attitude to move past most of them.
As you might guess, the Ant-Man gets his name from being very small and extremely powerful. But, those qualities only come from wearing the special Ant-Man suit invented by Dr. Hank Pym, super- genius (Michael Douglas). Hank’s been looking for a younger suit-filler, and he hand picks ex-con Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who’s looking to go straight after serving time for some illegal high tech hacking.
Scott’s in line for the gig because Hank’s original protege, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), had to go and turn to the dark side, trying to sell all their shrink technology to HYDRA.
See, Hank has a history with S.H.I.E.L.D., and living so ironically in the Avengers universe is one of the things Ant-Man gets right. The writing team of Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead/Scott Pilgrim), Adam McKay (Anchorman/Step Bothers), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) and Rudd (Role Models) brings some serious cred, with solid instincts for what this hero needs to stand out in the Marvel lineup.
Ant-Man’s backstory just isn’t that memorable, so the film wisely doesn’t spend too much time trying to chase some universal humanity that just isn’t there. Instead, the script brings that wisecracking, wry humor the writers know well and Rudd excels at delivering. He makes Lang instantly likable and Ant-Man easy to root for, even in the midst of some clunky exposition.
Collateral damage from the dude-a-thon? Hank’s daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly). Sure, you can knock the entire Marvel franchise as one extended bro-down, but this under-written character is so poorly realized it just becomes a distraction, failing to justify the future that seems in store.
Director Peyton Reed (The Break Up) jumps enthusiastically into the superhero pool, providing a number of memorable set pieces and some truly dazzling visuals as the tiny Ant-Man navigates his immense surroundings. A Thomas the Tank set suddenly becoming a gigantic battleground of rolling tracks and cheeky engines? I’m in.
The payoffs get bigger as our hero gets smaller, and the origin story fades farther in the rear view. Expect some Avenger cameos and two extra scenes after the credits start rolling, and enough self-aware vibe to make Ant-Man‘s corner of the Marvel playground seem like a cool place to hang.
Trainwreck
Ten years ago, The 40-Year-Old Virgin introduced the new voice of cinematic comedy. A decade later, 40 writer/director Judd Apatow is – for the first time – directing a film he didn’t write. Why? Because there’s a new sheriff in town and Apatow has the clout to ensure that the next voice in cinematic comedy gets heard.
Trainwreck is the bawdy, wise, hilarious, about-time romantic comedy written by and starring Amy Schumer. Startlingly honest and utterly lacking in pretension, she followed up years of refreshingly raw stand-up comedy by destroying cable TV with her brilliant Inside Amy Schumer. (YouTube 12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer immediately to see just how savvy a writer she is.)
She and Apatow collaborate on this sometimes touching, boisterously funny upending of rom-com clichés. (As Amy narrates the lovey-dovey montage backdropped by the Manhattan skyline, even she finds it cloying, quipping, “I hope this love montage ends like Jonestown.”)
Schumer plays Amy, a heavy drinking, sexually active (very active) writer for a magazine that runs stories like “You’re Not Gay, She’s Boring.” Her editor – the ever glorious Tilda Swinton – assigns her a piece on a sports doctor (Bill Hader), and Amy is reluctantly pulled into the world of monogamy.
The screenwriting is ingenious. This is a role reversal romantic comedy, basically, but it’s far too crafty to rely on that as a gimmick. On the surface, Amy’s the same protagonist trapped in an extended adolescence that has become commonplace in Apatow’s filmography, but there is no denying Schumer’s ability to find something new and authentic to bring to the mix.
She’s aided by an impeccable cast. Bill Hader has quickly become one of the most versatile and authentic actors of the SNL alum. Swinton’s magnificent, LeBron James is deadpan hilarious and a very good sport, as is John Cena, and Dave Attell is a hoot. Cameos galore draw belly laughs in a comedy that has something to say underneath hundreds of well-aimed gags.
Trainwreck might be the best romantic comedy since Bull Durham.
The Stanford Prison Experiment
“Should we step in?”
“No..let’s see where this goes.”
“THIS IS where it goes!”
Imagine watching the ugliness of human behavior materialize in front of your eyes and realizing you not only lit the spark, but enthusiastically fanned the flames?
That very scene proves a pivotal moment in The Stanford Prison Experiment, a completely mesmerizing account of the legendary 1971 psychology study.
If you’re not familiar, the experiment was Dr. Philip Zimbardo’s attempt to study the effects of incarceration with a 2 week prison simulation in the Stanford University psychology building. Attracting volunteers through an offer of a $15 per day salary, Zimbardo and his research team assigned 24 young men to roles as either “guard,” or “prisoner” and monitored the events via video camera.
After 6 days, the guards’ behavior turned so depraved, Zimbardo shut the project down.
Wait, didn’t this movie come out five years ago?
The Experiment did, but that was a fictionalized version based on a novel. This time, director Kyle Patrick Alvarez draws from Zimbrano’s own book, as well as the actual transcripts from both the experiment and the exit interviews, to craft an unflinching look at just what we’re capable of.
In the years since it took place, the experiment has reappeared in pop culture numerous times – most notably during the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. But while the possible conclusions drawn from the SPE continue to be debated, the film wisely keep its focus on the lives affected during those 6 harrowing days.
We watch events unfold through Zimbrano’s perspective, delicately delivered in a career performance from Billy Crudup. From innocent beginnings, through an angry defense of his methods, to the moment the doctor realizes what he hath wrought, Crudup is riveting, aided by a taut script from Tim Tabott that doesn’t tiptoe around Zimbrano’s culpability.
The stable of young actors in the supporting cast are uniformly stellar, led by Ezra Miller as the first prisoner to break down, and Michael Angarano as a power drunk guard who insists on imitating Strother Martin from Cool Hand Luke. Nelsan Ellis shines as an ex-con conflicted by his spot on Zimbrano’s team, and Olivia Thirlby, as Zimbrano’s girlfriend, effectively provides a badly-needed conscience.
Alvarez, in just his third feature, turns the screws with a precision that leaves you shaken by events you already know are coming. Though seemingly more trivial, his subtle flair with the period details bathes the entire film in a stark authenticity from first frame to last.
Did an “evil place win over good people,” did the situation attract sociopaths waiting to strike, or was the execution too flawed for any conclusion? To its credit, The Stanford Prison Experiment offers no concrete judgements, just a gripping, sadly relevant look at ourselves.
Lila & Eve
Two things land Lila & Eve on the big screen: one great lead, and one big twist in the script. Okay, maybe one and and a half things, because without Viola Davis, this is next week’s episode of CSI: Some Big City.
Davis, truly one of the most gifted actors around, plays Lila, a single mother who loses her oldest son to stray bullets from a drive-by shooting. Struggling to cope, she joins the “Mothers of Young Angels” support group, where she meets Eve (Jennifer Lopez), who has lost a daughter.
Eve doesn’t really have much use for the group’s advice, and both women are distressed at how little interest the authorities seem to have in helping them.
So, they hit the streets, determined to do whatever it takes to uncover the lead their local detective (Shea Whigham) says he needs to move forward.
The script is the debut for writer Pat Gilfillan, which is a fairly evident. There’s nothing original or seasoned at work here, as Lila & Eve is just a mashup of Jodie Foster’s The Brave One and another title I won’t mention for fear of spoilers.
But really, that will only save you about the first twenty minutes or so, until the breadcrumbs to where the film is going start to glow like a bright neon exit sign. Director Charles Stone III (Drumline) sets an early pace that’s too rushed, leaving the ladies’ choice for vigilantism unconvincing, and the racial aspect of legal foot-dragging overly played. He slows down during the big reveal to let the drama resonate, but instead provokes an eye rolling disbelief at the notion we’ve been caught by surprise.
It’s no surprise that Davis elevates the material. Lila’s grief and desperation both ring true, as does the delicate flirting with her neighbor Ben (Julius Tennon, Davis’s real-life husband). Lopez is passable, though she’s more naturally hamstrung by the weaknesses in script and direction, and has trouble moving Eve beyond a standard generalization.
We’ve seen this movie before, almost note for note. There’s only so much that one superior performance can do, and Davis’s can’t save Lila & Eve.
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