Dark Waters

First Hit: An excellent portrayal of corporate malfeasance and arrogance, finally getting its comeuppance.

Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo), a corporate attorney, is a thorough pragmatic defender of corporations. He’s just made partner in his firm and is a powerful asset to the company because he’s so good at his work.

During an important meeting, he’s interrupted by Wilber Tennent (Bill Camp) and friend who come from a farm in Parkersburg, West Virginia. They come to see Bilott because Roberts’s grandmother, “Grammy,” is a friend of Tennent. They hand Bilott a box full of videotapes explaining that no local Parkersburg lawyer will help them with the problem of their cattle dying. They believe the animals are dying because the town’s largest employer, Dupont, is polluting the water with chemicals from their facility.

Bilott tries to deter Tennent and not get involved, but Tennent’s plea knags at him, so he visits his Grammy, verifies she knows Tennent and then drives to Tennent’s farm. When Wilbur shows him his field full of buried cows, “190 of them,” he realizes there is a problem.

Although Bilott’s firm doesn’t have Dupont as a corporate client, they are reluctant to take on a nonpaying client that is going to end up suing Dupont as it will hurt their reputation with their own corporate clients.

However, Tom Terp (Tim Robbins), Bilott’s boss, supports Robert continuing his investigation even though his client cannot pay. There is a great scene when all the partners convene to hear and discuss Bilott’s work.

Finally, Dupont sends over all the discovery information that Bilott had requested, and it is massive. Hundreds of boxes of memos, reports, and other documentation. Being a team of one, dutifully Robert sits down on the floor and begins categorizing each document by year and subject. This is a great scene because it cements Robert’s commitment to do the right thing no matter what it takes.

His years of research comes up with proof that Dupont knew that they were poisoning people and animals through the creation, use of, and byproducts from POFA (C8), a chemical creation used in Teflon© the non-stick coating that everyone was using. C8 is one of those chemicals that cannot be broken down by nature, let alone the human body and therefore it stays in the body and slowly causes various types of cancer.

The film takes us through this story as it develops over the years of difficult lonely hard work on Bilott’s part. The filmmakers did a great job of showing the passage of time by giving the audience quick glimpse of his three boys growing up in front of him. He barely interacts with them because he’s so clearly focused on this one case, this man is all in.

In the meantime, because of the court's slow processes, Dupont’s putting roadblocks at every turn, and the slowness of a medical testing company that was reviewing over sixty thousand blood tests, people were continuing to be poisoned and die from being exposed to C8.

We watch as the stress of doing the right thing for his client requires him to take reductions in pay because he’s spending all his time on this case that has no paying client. We watch him feel the pain while he watches his clients deteriorate because of the poison.

His wife Sarah (Anne Hathaway) tries to keep their family together, showing undying support, even as she sees the deterioration of her husband because of the deeply committed compassion to see this lawsuit through for the people who are being harmed.

One thing the film made sure of was the darkness of this subject. Every scene is dark in color or filled with gray skies.

Ruffalo was excellent as the committed attorney who gave up almost everything, including his life, to find and fight for the truth. Hathaway was superb as his supportive wife attempting to keep their family together while Robert fights for the truth. Robbins was influential as Bilott’s boss and senior managing partner of their law firm, showing support for Robert on this long trail to truth. Camp was terrific as the driven farmer and rancher who committed his life to making sure Dupont was charged for their crimes against his community. Victor Garber, as Phil Donnelly, a senior executive in Dupont, was supreme in his portrayal of being the mouthpiece of corporate malfeasance. Mare Winningham, as Darlene Kiger, a Parkersburg resident, was fantastic. It was lovely to see her on the screen again. Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan wrote a powerfully detailed script. Todd Haynes did a great job of creating the feel corporate malfeasance and the difficulty of making wealthy companies pay for their crimes against humanity.

Overall: This is an excellent story about the power of perseverance.

21 Bridges

First Hit: A solid, yet predictable, thriller about corrupt cops.

The set up for Detective Andre Davis (Chadwick Boseman) was robust. We are introduced to Davis attending a funeral. He’s a young boy, and he’s mourning his father’s death. His father was a cop and served with honor and was killed in the line of duty. There is also an early scene when Davis is being questioned by Internal Affairs because Davis has created a reputation for hunting down and killing cop killers.

With this setup, we follow two criminals Ray Jackson and Michael Trujillo (Taylor Kitsch and Stephan James respectively), breaking into an up-scale wine bar to steal thirty kilos of heroin. Finding three hundred kilos instead, they realize this could be trouble or a setup. Just as they begin to leave with fifty of the three hundred kilos, four cops appear at the front door and knock.

Not getting an answer, they break in the front and back because they find Ray and Michael’s getaway car running in the back alley. Michael and Ray are armed with automatic guns and start killing cops and the lone wine bar employee.

More cops come, and Michael and Ray kill them all. Michael is a sharpshooter and is ruthless in his picking off the police. The 85th Precinct Captain McKenna (J.K. Simmons), whose precinct where this crime is taking place, wants Davis on the case along with Drug Investigator Frankie Burns (Sienna Miller). Together, these two believe they’ve only got hours to find these cop killers or they will disappear into the civilian mass.

When the detectives find all the heroin still left in the freezer, Davis and Burns question why the cops were there and why their bosses’ story was that they came to break up a burglary. The crime scene doesn’t add up to a robbery of this type.

The FBI arrives and wants to take over the case, but Deputy Chief Spencer (Keith David) and Captain McKenna argue to let the NYPD handle it for the next few hours. If they don’t solve it in a few hours, the FBI will take over.

Setting up this urgency allows Davis the ability ask that all 21 Bridges to Manhattan Island be shut down, as well as all subway lines and trains. After doing this they start to “flood the island with blue” (cops).

At this point, the movie follows both Ray and Michael trying to evade the chasing cops, Burns and Davis. This cat and mouse game are well presented as the plot adds in new characters, the owner of the three hundred kilos, a money launderer, and the suspicion that something else is up.

Boseman is excellent as a detective that is focused on justice and the law. The final scenes with McKenna and Burns present a predictable conclusion. Miller is outstanding as the Drug Investigator who is really doing a balancing act. Simmons is sublime as a guy who believes he’s helping the department’s force with his actions. Kitsch is outstanding as the highly charged marksman of the criminal duo. James is a revelation in this role. He brings a perfect blend of viciousness and emotional heart to his character. His final few scenes clearly give the audience a man who is trying to find a way while honoring his brother’s impact on his life. Adam Mervis and Matthew Michael Carnahan wrote an excellent screenplay that encompassed well-choreographed action and intellectual endeavors. Brian Kirk did a fantastic job of bringing this story together and making it all feel believable.

Overall: This was a solid film, even though it was highly predictable.

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.

World War Z (3-D)

First Hit:  Despite the unrealistic plot and 2 hour length, it was very entertaining. First off, the buzz in the trades and in reviews is the argument of whether this film is or isn't a zombie movie. Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is introduced as a family man who makes pancakes for his kids. He’s not working and left his old job by choice. He's taking his family on a day trip when all of a sudden there is an outbreak of people who are being attacked and bit by people infected with an unknown virus. These newly bit people take on the same virus behaviors in about 12 seconds, which in turn create more infected people running around biting people. These infected people surround Lane's car so Pitt highjacks a motor home and they hightail it out of the city. What we learn about these infected people is they stand around moving little, in a zombie mode, until there is noise mostly human made noise depicting humans doing something and upon hearing the noise, they rush around in a crazy way to find, bite and kill the nearest humans. The rushing around is very un-zombie like. It didn’t appear that these creatures don't eat the un-infected humans, they just bite and kill them to pass on the virus. This is all done very effectively, however a weakness in the film is that Lane's character, without explanation or supporting information, as some very important United Nations guy who… solves problems? The film never lets the audience know his who Lane is and what is his background story. He’s not a doctor, researcher, but someone who has this undefined power to be important and to fix something that is wrong. Despite this lack of background, Pitt does a good job being this person. Of course they figure out how to conquer the virus and for the movie goer, the ride is enjoyable.

Pitt is very good as someone who figures out how to conquer the virus problem even though the script provides no background of who he is and what his capabilities include. Mireille Enos (as Karin Lane) is good in a minor and caring role as Gerry Lane’s wife. Daniella Kertesz (as Israeli soldier Segen) is good as the soldier who helps Lane figure out how to stop the virus. Matthew Michael Carnahan and Drew Goddard wrote a good screen play but it lacked context and background for the main character. Marc Forster directed this well enough. Some of the CGI effects of people climbing up very tall walls looked very much like how ants accomplish this when driven.

Overall: This film was entertaining despite little context to ground it.

State of Play

First Hit: Well filmed, moved into the tightly woven story, was well paced, but after the film was over while driving home in the car, I realized that the ending didn’t make sense.

This film has a lot going for it. The opening grouping of scenes creates the basis for a good story. A major Washington newspaper is on the edge of collapse. A murder of a homeless person and a pizza delivery man; are they connected? A congressman’s research aide is killed, is it homicide and why? A private security contractor being investigated by congress; pulling these pieces together is premise for this film’s story.

We are expertly guided along with strong acting by Russell Crowe, the reporter who is trying to be a friend and a reporter. We’ve got Ben Affleck, the friend and congressman; Helen Mirren, Crowes’ boss; and Robin Wright Penn, the congressman’s wife, all doing their part to create a strong story, only to have it make no sense at the end. Why?

Here it is the day after, and I still don’t understand why the writers and director let this film fall apart. The information presented in the story doesn’t add up when the end is played out.

Right after the film ended, I was OK but I felt questions developing. Exploring these with my girlfriend on the way home quickly exposed the flaws in the story. By the time we reached home the holes were wide open and big enough to drive a tank through.

The surprise is that this film fails at its objective, to tell a good cohesive story, and I don't know why.

Kevin Macdonald directed this film and I don’t know if it was him, the writers Matthew Michael Carnahan, Bill Ray, and Tom Gilroy, or all of them that let this thing flail and fall apart at the end. I don’t know if others will see and sense what we did, but when one takes the facts of the story and attempt to piece them together, you’ll find that the pieces of the puzzle don’t fit. Shame, though, the acting was really good.

Overall: Sad to have this very disappointing aftertaste when the appetizers were so good and the meal was excellently served.