Deepwater Horizon

First Hit:  Although this could have been an interesting film, the disappointing and needless jerky camera work took away from actually seeing what was happening.

I found myself engaged in this film was when the ideological conflict arose between BP (British Petroleum) and Transocean, (owners of the drilling platform). However, I wasn’t engaged as much when the well blew up and everybody was running around trying to save themselves and others. What made these scenes worse was the shaky camera work and lousy editing. It simply was difficult to be engaged with anything when nothing gets into focus. The conflict between the Transocean and BP was, at times, riveting as each side wanted something. BP led by Vidrine (John Malkovich) wanted to hurry the project along because they were 43 days behind schedule. Transocean led by Mr. Jimmy (Kurt Russell) wanted to execute all the appropriate and timely tests to ensure that drilling hole was secure. The lead role in this film was the view from Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) who worked for Mr. Jimmy and was responsible for all the operating systems on Deepwater Horizon. However, as much as we wanted to care about Williams, his wife Felicia (Kate Hudson) and his daughter Sydney (Stella Allen), the real story in this film was about the differences of opinion between BP and Transocean.

Wahlberg was good in this role, however where he was supposed to shine was in the saving of crewmembers from the exploding rig. However, the lousy camera work and poor editing made his segments of the film far less interesting. My favorite part of his role is when he detailed a listing of issues that needed to be fixed on Deepwater Horizon while talking to Vidrine. Malkovich was OK in his role of pushing BP’s agenda. His accent was odd to me, however his intensity was excellent. Russell was wonderful as the know-it-all General Manager of Deepwater. I loved his tenacity and presence to stick to what was important. Hudson was good as Williams’ wife. Gina Rodriguez (as Andrea Fleytas) was engaging and I would have like more from her part. Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand wrote a strong script. What failed this film was the direction by Peter Berg who focused on the blowing up of Deepwater Horizon and doing it in a way that didn’t allow the audience to see what was happening. Shame, this could have been good but this shows you how lousy direction and focusing on blowing up stuff doesn’t always make a good picture.

Overall:  Really disappointed how the director got swayed by the possibility of blowing up something and not focusing on the story and reason for the explosion.

Red 2

First Hit:  Tongue in cheek fun, watchable and entertaining.

During the cold war Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) created a nuclear device, which was hidden in the Kremlin. He is also the only one alive that may know where the device was hidden.

The issue is that he's been lock up in a semi-insane asylum/prison. A team of retired black-ops people is reunited get him released and track down this bomb and return it to the US. This team, led by Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), is cobbled together and includes an aging Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren).

In a tangential way the team also includes Han Cho Bai (Byung-hun Lee) and Frank’s wife Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker). Frank is in love with Sarah and spends a lot of film time trying to protect her. However, Sarah is up for adventure, and is quirky enough in character to make her role very fun.

Trying to subvert the team is Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who wants the bomb as well. What everyone doesn’t know is that Baily is not crazy, just a man on a mission to make right a wrong he thought was done to him.

The actors here appear to have had fun in their roles and there is always a sense that there was a slight wink and an nod as they did their scenes together.

Hopkins is the most brilliant in his role as he switches from off his rocker to singularly focused to right a personal wrong. Willis is always a bit tongue in cheek and here he’s in his swim lane. Malkovich is great as the sidekick that is always one hair away from being off his rocker. Mirren is fabulous as the unsuspecting older refined woman that has a "take no prisoners attitude". Parker is sublime as the quirky wife looking for adventure in her life and marriage. Zeta-Jones hams it up and is in her glory. Lee is really good as the guy who switches sides for just a moment to gets what he wants. Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber wrote a fun and entertaining script. Dean Parisot married the actors and script in a way that made all this work well. 

Overall:  This is a fun film but don’t look for everything to hold together, it wasn’t meant to.

RED

First Hit: A silly fun film which showed off the quirkiness of some great actors.

I like films like RED which are a farce but reasonably put together enough to make it fun. I like when the implausible is made plausible enough so that I can sit back and just go for the ride. RED is one such film.

Is any of it plausible? No, but that isn’t the point. The point is to create enough of a plot with some writing which fit the actors range, yet move them enough outside their norm to make it enjoyable.

Frank Moses (played by Bruce Willis) is a retired CIA spook who, years ago, happened to be on a mission in Guatemala where the current Vice President got himself skewed by giving favors to a corporate executive named Alexander Dunning (played by Richard Dreyfuss).

The story begins to leak and a reporter is killed as are others who were on the mission. Moses was on the mission and is now being hunted. He innocently gets hooked up with a Social Security Claims associate named Sarah Ross (played by Mary-Louise Parker) because he likes the sound of her voice over the phone but meeting Moses means she is hunted as well.

To get out of this mess Moses finds others who were on the same mission in Guatemala to warm them that a CIA operative is out to kill them because they know the Vice President’s past. There is Joe Matheson (played by Morgan Freeman) who is dying of cancer, has nothing else to live for and thinks stopping these useless deaths is important.

Then there is Marvin Boggs (played by John Malkovich) who is paranoid, thinks the government is always after him and may mistakenly think a particular person is out to kill him but is often times right. These people are joined by Victoria (played by Helen Mirren) who is steely eyed and ready to kill someone at the drop of a hat (just to keep her finger in the pie).

All these older CIA covert operations people (RED Retired Extremely Dangerous) are out to expose the truth because if they don’t the current CIA will kill them.

Willis is great with his typical sarcastic wit conjuring up a way to resolve the crisis he finds himself. Dreyfuss is fine as the man behind the scenes with money and the stings which are pulling on the VP and soon to be President. Parker is a perfect fit as the girl living in Kansas City who’s never seen or done anything in her life as she gets pulled into the espionage mess and enjoys the change of life. Freeman is perfect as the sound thinker and always ready to do the right thing for the team even if it means pulling a trigger or being on the other end of the bullet. Malkovich is perfect as the right on the edge guy who spent many of his early years in the Army’s LSD program. Mirren was funny in her out of character role firing machine guns and wasting other’s lives. For fun Ernest Borgnine the CIA deep dark records keeper is a joy to see again. Jon and Eric Hoeber wrote this in a funny tongue-in-cheek sort of way while Robert Schwentke made the best of his actors and a tight script that moved things along in a silly funny sort of way.

Overall: It was a romp, easy to watch, predictable and engaging.

Secretariat

First Hit: A predictable, well shot, feel good film.

In some ways it is unfortunate that I followed Secretariat’s success when it actually happened in 1973.

My in-laws always traveled to the Kentucky Derby as they were from that state and liked the whole extravaganza of the Derby.

Watching television that day I watched as Secretariat came from behind and won the race in record time. The newspaper write ups kept me interested enough to watch the subsequent two races in the Triple Crown.

This Disney production brought back those memories in spades. However knowing the story made the film lack suspensefulness for me, yet there were enough audience members who didn't know the story which created an energy in the theater that was fun to feel.

Diane Lane playing the owner Penny Chenery, John Malkovich playing unlucky trainer Lucien Laurin, Nelsan Ellis as stableman Eddie Sweat, and Otto Thorwarth as jockey Ron Turcotte made a wonderful team around this amazing horse.

This is a story about a horse being allowed to run and a woman learning about her internal strength and perseverance. The best shot of the film is the rounding of the far turn at the Belmont.

The film goes silent and camera points down the inside rail from the finish line towards the end of the turn home. There is nothing, a camera shows the faces of the race watchers, you wonder, but it is just the moment before each of them realize they are seeing perfection.

The perfection of a horse running the race of our lives and as the horse rounds the home turn the sound comes back in and we are now all in concert with the beauty of this moment.

Lane is wonderful as Penny Chenery and clearly holds the screen when the horse wasn’t the central focus. Malkovich was funny and strong as the unlucky trainer who had great horses before Secretariat but they seem to lose the big races. Ellis as the stableman was perfect in showing his internal love and belief in the horse. Thorwarth was great as the Turcotte the jockey who knew how to communicate and let this house run. Mike Rich wrote a solid and predictable script. Randall Wallace did a great job of mixing drama with the drama and beauty of a horse running.

Overall: Regardless if you saw the event when it happened, it is wonderful to relive the moment once again.

The Great Buck Howard

First Hit: I rather enjoyed this light hearted film which loosely mimics some of the Amazing Kreskin’s life.

In this film Buck Howard is played by John Malkovich who has more than enough ego to satisfy the role and its requirements.

Howard is a mentalist and who was invited on to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 61 times is seen playing a circuit of small towns like Bakersfield in half full houses, but the crowd who comes to see him, love him and are enthralled. He does a combination of magic tricks, hypnosis, and mentalist tricks like guessing a number between 1 and 100 as written down by one of the audience members.

However his coup de grace is when the audience hides his performance fee and he comes out from his dressing room, where he is being watched by two audience members, and finds the money. He has performed this trick successfully all his career; this is his signature trick.

The film moves along with the introduction of Troy, his new personal assistant played by Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks who makes a couple of appearances in the film as Troy’s father). The story of Buck is told through the eyes of Troy and when he meets press promotion person Valerie Brennan (Played by Emily Blunt) both Buck and Troy’s lives are changed subtly.

This film is about change, doing what we love to do, chances, and acceptance.

Sean McGinly both wrote and directed this film with a real taste and feel for letting the characters breathe. He didn’t let the audience get caught up in sentimentality and it was also a reminder of letting me not forget that there were odd and interesting people like the Amazing Kreskin whom I loved watching on Johnny Carson’s show.

Overall: I liked the film for its lightness and nostalgia without being too much of either.