The Expendables 2 - 3 smiles

You have to be of a certain age to appreciate The Expendables movies and though “The Expendables 2” is corny and violent, its humor and self-deprecating macho appeal makes this ‘oldies-but-goodies’ flick very enjoyable. Where the first Expendables, directed by Sylvester Stallone, took itself too seriously, the sequel, directed by Simon West, is more entertainingly cartoonish. Our heroes from the first movie include Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Bruce Willis and a brief appearance by Jet Li. They are joined by Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Liam Hemsworth and Jean-Claude van Damme. They use every weapon available, from brass knuckles to army tanks to airplane propellers that double as instruments of decapitation, resulting in an incredibly high body count. Plus there’s an especially loud sound track, but the one-liners, written by Stallone and Richard Wenk, are quite funny. Stallone and his group of aging action stars celebrate mindless machismo, oiling their gun barrels, grunting one-liners, and blowing away bad guys. What fun.

The picture opens with a ludicrous action prologue, an insane rescue mission set in a hostile generic Asian hellhole full of sadistic maniacs. But the bullet-riddled heart of the story concerns simple brute force revenge, as the team seeks payback for the death of one of their own, killed on the orders of van Damme’s evil bad guy. There’s also the matter of retrieving stolen plutonium that might blow up the world. For the first time, the action dudes are joined by a kick-ass Asian female, Maggie (Nan Yu), a computer expert, who can hold her own in a fight. “The Expendables 2” is excellent B movie fodder and a great way to spend an afternoon. 8/17/12

The Odd Life of Timothy Green - 3 smiles

“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is a warm and pleasurable fantasy, the perfect family film that children and their parents will enjoy. Timothy isn’t born and he isn’t adopted. It seems he grew in the garden and director Peter Hedges, who also wrote the screenplay, wisely makes no attempt to explain how this happened. His new parents have tried everything to conceive a child of their own, but have been unsuccessful. One night, they decide to move on by first listing the things their perfect child should have and then putting the list in a box and burying it in the garden. After a torrential downpour, there’s Timothy (CJ Adams), covered with mud and with leaves growing from his legs. The Greens, Cindy (Jennifer Garner) and Jim (Joel Edgerton), are obviously surprised, but eagerly welcome this beautiful little boy into their home. During a family get together the following day, Timothy is so friendly that people just accept him, especially his lovable Uncle Bob and Aunt Mel (M. Emmet Walsh and Lois Smith). Things get a little complicated when the pencil factory that Jim works at threatens closure.

The supporting cast is full of familiar faces, including Dianne Wiest as the mean-spirited supervisor of the local Pencil Museum, Shohreh Aghdashloo as an official of the state adoption agency, Ron Livingston and James Rebhorn as the son and father who own the pencil factory and hop-hop star Common as the soccer coach. Young CJ Adams is pitch-perfect, neither too reserved nor too sweet and Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton are appealing together as far from perfect parents. Director Hedges spins a fable of love and life, told with real insight, warm humor and excellent filmmaking. And at a time when most movies focus on special effects and action, “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” will take you on a heart-warming journey and all will enjoy. 8/17/12

The Bourne Legacy - 4 smiles

Although this movie does not feature Matt Damon’s appealing vulnerable hero, it’s surprisingly good. Written and Directed by Tony Gilroy, who penned all three Jason Bourne movies,  “The Bourne Legacy” achieves its success with intelligence and imagination, building on the pre-existing story, expanding its characters and geography and leaving plenty of space for Jason to jump back in if Damon and director Paul Greengrass decide to return. Also in Gilroy’s favor is casting Jeremy Renner, who does a spectacular job as the hero. The story unfolds in a straightforward manner that, nonetheless, requires the audience to pay attention.

The movie opens thousands of miles away in Alaska, where another agent, Aaron Cross (Renner), is finishing a grueling training regimen, tramping over snowy wilderness, taking mysterious green and blue pills and going one-on-one with a wolf. It seems that Aaron is an agent for another shadowy group, Outreach, similar to Damon’s Treadstone. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Dr. Martha Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a medical researcher, is happily engrossed in her brainy work. When the leaders of Outreach (Edward Norton, Stacy Keach, Dennis Boutsikaris) decide to shut down the program, which means no agents, no medical researchers, no scientists. No exceptions. So Cross and Shearing are on the run. Renner and Weisz work well together as two hunted souls who initially need each other for practical reasons. She needs his protection and he needs the meds that keep him physically and mentally enhanced. Renner has enormous appeal and he and Weisz share believable chemistry, first as uneasy friends and then as something more. With “The Bourne Legacy,” Gilroy has brought taste and skill to a nearly impossible task: embracing the past without completely erasing it and giving setting the stage for future movies. 8/10/12

Killer Joe - 1 1/2 smiles

It’s interesting that the title psycho, played by Matthew McConaughey, is the least objectionable character. Dressed in black with a menacing smile and empty eyes, Joe Cooper, aka Killer Joe, is a cop and hired assassin. He is a welcome presence among a collection of despicable dimwits and the only reason to see the NC-17 rated “Killer Joe,” directed by William Friedkin. Chris (a miscast Emile Hirsch), a low-level drug dealer, decides the way to get the money he needs to payoff the local drug kingpin is to kill his mother for the insurance money. He’s the story’s first idiot. Chris shares his idea with his father, Ansel (Thomas Haden Church), a mechanic and the second nitwit. Ansel’s trashy wife, Charla (Gina Gershon in a wretched role) and Chris’s virginal sister, Dottie (Juno Temple) learn about the plan and add their support. Chris hires a hit man, Joe, and discovers that he’s signed on with the devil. Some of the enjoyment here, if you can call it that, is watching amoral idiots dig themselves into a hole of their own stupidity.

McConaughey’s magnetic murderer dominates every scene he’s in with a hushed voice that carries a threat and a coiled body that suggests a rattlesnake ready to strike. Thomas Haden Church, with his comic deadpan delivery and whiny voice, adds some humor to this very black tale. Hirsch’s character is so one-dimensional that it’s hard to see any actor bringing Chris to life effectively.  Temple walks a fine line of naïveté and lust and Gershon is just badly used. Two major characters get beaten to a pulp at close camera range and though neither is a likeable person, it’s still difficult to watch their faces turned into raw meat. The climatic last scene is graphic man-on-woman violence that goes on so long that it becomes sadistic. As a filmmaker, Friedkin is full of extremes and “Killer Joe” is a prime example. 8/12/12

Hope Springs - 3 1/2 smiles

Despite the promos that suggest “Hope Springs” is a fluffy romantic comedy, it’s a serious look at a marriage of 31 years that has stalled. Plus the two stars, Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, are perfect, especially Jones as a vulnerable, touchy and shy man who isn’t interested in getting in touch with his feelings. Arnold (Jones) is a moderately successful tax accountant, a creature of habit whose marriage has frozen into routine. His wife, Kay (Streep), is sweet and non-demanding although she wonders what happened to the man she married. Every day starts with his nose buried in the newspaper and ends with him asleep in front of the Golf channel. They haven’t slept in the same room for years. Desperate for a change, Kay signs them up for a week of couples’ therapy in the town of Great Hope Springs, Maine, where marriage expert Dr. Feld (Steve Carell) sees patients. Arnold goes along, but he complains all the while. Arnold is a curmudgeon of the highest order. In fact, if he isn’t complaining about something, he probably wouldn’t even talk to Kay.

Streep and Jones’ performances go a long way toward elevating the script. Their therapy scenes are expertly acted and paced, with their body language and expressions speaking volumes. Once they being answering questions, they reveal regrets and resentments, yearnings and fantasies they never dared speak aloud before. Jones’ Arnold is perpetually exasperated and emotionally closed off, but he’s convinced himself he’s content. And the way Jones’ reveals Arnold’s vulnerability adds depth to the character. And Streep is, well, Streep. She’s great, but then, she’s always great. Here, her Kay is slightly naïve and goofy, but she seems real. Kay longs to be loved, but you also realize that she is partially to blame for the state of her marriage. And Carell, who plays his role with calm seriousness, is very effective as the adviser who helps Kay and Arnold realign their marriage. The message is clear – it will take work to keep your relationship alive, but the effort will be worth it.  Thanks to tremendous performances from Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep, “Hope Springs” is a delightful film. 8/8/12

Total Recall - 2 smiles

As a fan of the original Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarznegger, I was surprised to hear that there was going to be a remake and that Colin Farrell was set to star. The two biggest differences is that there are no scenes set on Mars and the main character, Doug Quaid, is not played by Schwarznegger.  Farrell, who is arguably a better actor, just doesn’t have the same screen presence as the governator. Both stories concern a man who is involved without is knowledge or recollection in a conflict between a totalitarian regime and a resistance movement. In both he is happily married to Lori (Sharon Stone in the original and Kate Beckinsale in this one), but he is discontented with his life. Then he discovers that everything he thinks he knows about himself is fictitious and all of his memories have been implanted. There are plenty of plot twists, some different from the first film and lots of CGI. Eventually Quaid meets up with Melina (Jessica Biel), who is one of the rebels and he learns he is not who he thinks he is.

Essentially, this new version goes from one chase scene to another and some of these scenes director Len Wiseman orchestrates are exciting. But after a while they become tiresome and redundant. The script doesn’t call for a lot of acting from Farrell, but Beckinsale brings a menacing edge to her one-note character, making her a formidable villain. Biel provides a serviceable good-girl counterweight, but I have to wonder why she isn’t blond. After all, in the original bad girl Sharon Stone’s blondness contrasts with Rachel Ticotin’s dark beauty and since Beckinsale has dark hair, you’d think Wiseman would go for blonde in her opposite. Bill NIghy is underused as the leader of the rebellion. There’s plenty to excite the eye in Patrick Tatopoulios’ set design, but not much of the story or character development to engage the emotions or the mind. Unfortunately, this “Total Recall” doesn’t measure up. You’d be better off renting the original. 8/3/12