Monthly Movie Preview: April 2015

April generally isn't a great month for movies, not because the movies are bad, but because there tend to be significantly less.  The major studios are clearing the field for the summer season which opens the first weekend in May, and no one wants their moderately-sized movie to be pummeled only a couple of weeks into its run by the box office freight train that AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON will undoubtedly be.  Typically of the past few years, as it is with this year, April will get a running start out the gate with a tent-pole picture, in this case FURIOUS 7 (April 3), and fill out the rest with some scant lighter fare that is far on the spectrum from anything that will dominate the three-month summer season, such as romantic melodramas like THE LONGEST RIDE (April 10) and THE AGE OF ADALINE (April 24), an adult crime drama like CHILD 44 (April 17), a horror like UNFRIENDED (April 17), a pair of commercially-slight kids' movies like MONKEY KINGDOM and PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 (both on April 17) and a bizarre-looking Christian melodrama called LITTLE BOY (April 24).

April 3rd
FURIOUS 7  (ACTION-ADVENTURE)
Directed by James Wan; Starring; Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Lucas Black
Rated PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language. 
How cool is it that there's a Fast & Furious 7?  I mean, who saw that coming, right?  This franchise, which started out as crappy exploitation and has gone on to become really fun exploitation, just doesn't give a damn.  They keep looking for new ways to jump the shark, and it may not be "great", but when it comes to "dumb fun", the last couple of installments have actually been fun.  Plus they have Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham!  Picking up where FAST & FURIOUS 6 left off, FURIOUS 7 finds recently pardoned international super-criminals Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), as well as the rest of their crew, finally returning to their homes in the United States, but when Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the brother of an old enemy, kills one of their own and is seeking revenge on the rest of them, Dom and Brian go back into action.
The story doesn't matter so much; the plot just has to serve the purpose of providing opportunities for extreme vehicular stunts including, as promised in the advertisements, driving cars out of the back of an airborne plane and driving through one side of a skyscraper and out the other.  FURIOUS 7 will mark the final appearance of the late Paul Walker, who died partway through filming, requiring rewrites and stand-in work by his brothers Caleb and Cody.  This could prove to be problematic, since movies that have to deal with these kinds of revision problems in the midst of shooting tend to show loose seams, but as I said, the plot is a relatively minor player for this series, and with all due respect to Walker, he wasn't exactly the lifeblood of these movies.  There will groan-inducing schmaltz about "family" of course, and an outright defiance of the laws of physics, but those looking for over-sized mayhem will find it.  As Universal's only major film franchise, they've upped the scale considerably with a massive $250 million budget.

April 10th
THE LONGEST RIDE  (ROMANCE/DRAMA)
Directed by George Tillman, Jr.; Starring: Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood, Alan Alda, Oona Chaplin, Melissa Benoist, Lolita Davidovich
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, partial nudity, and some war and sports action.
Luke is a washed-up champion bull rider looking for a comeback.  Sophia is a college art student about to begin a career in New York City.  They don't belong together, but they're in love!  There's also an old man who shares his story of long-term love that inspires them to be together even more.  The previews shamelessly focus on the passionate kissing while literally tearing clothes off each other sex scenes, because there really isn't much to a Nicholas Sparks story or his character, and they really have little else to offer other than PG-13-safe erotica.  I love a good romantic movie, but the best one I've seen from the Sparks library yet was THE NOTEBOOK, and that was tolerable at best.  Plus, the biggest star in this is Alan Alda, which makes me curious how it will sell.  Whatever, if you enjoyed more than one previous Nicholas Sparks-based movie, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this one too.

April 17th
CHILD 44  (DRAMA/THRILLER)
Directed by Daniel Espinosa; Starring; Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Vincent Cassel, Paddy Considine, Jason Clarke, Josef Altin
Rated R for violence, some disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality.
This looks interesting.  Based on the novel by Tom Rob Smith, CHILD 44 is set in the Soviet Union under Stalin, where a disgraced MGB agent (played by Tom Hardy) is investigating a continuing series of grisly child murders, while the official state refuse to acknowledge the existence of such crimes in the USSR.  Obviously very dark, with an exciting cast and a script by veteran writer Richard Price (The Wire, THE COLOR OF MONEY), it looks like a fascinating exploration of police procedure and culture in the USSR.

April 17th
MONKEY KINGDOM  (NATURE DOCUMENTARY)
Directed by Mark Linfield & Alastair Fothergill; Narrated by Suraj Sharma 
Rated G
Disney continues their Disneynature documentary series with this look at a troop of toque macaque monkeys in the overgrown temple ruins in the jungles of Sri Lanka.  Narrated by Suraj Sharma, best known for playing the eponymous character in LIFE OF PI, MONKEY KINGDOM most likely will follow in the footsteps of the past few Disneynature releases, blending straight-forward nature documentary filmmaking with the slightly sillier, characterized "True-Life Adventure" series that Walt Disney produced in through the 1950s.  Disneynature is a little more fun than Nature on PBS, even if at the expense of honesty, but it's a decent, family-friendly way to introduce children to the animal kingdom in its natural setting.

April 17th
PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2  (COMEDY)
Directed by Andy Fickman; Starring: Kevin James, Molly Shannon, Neal McDonough, Daniella Alonso, David Henrie, Raini Rodriguez, Loni Love, D.B. Woodside, Eduardo Verastegui
Rated PG for some violence.
It's been over six years since the first PAUL BLART: MALL COP became an unlikely hit, but what would Happy Madison Pictures be without bad ideas?  Set six years after the first film, PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 finds clumsy mall security officer Paul Blart (Kevin James) on vacation with his daughter at The Wynn in Las Vegas, when the hotel is taken over by criminals, and Blart takes it upon himself to restore order.  There will be pratfalls, fat jokes and punching of old ladies.

April 17th
UNFRIENDED  (HORROR-THRILLER)
Directed by Levan Gabriadze; Starring: Shelley Hennig, Renee Holstead, Jacob Wysocki, William Peltz, Courtney Halverson, Heather Sossaman, Moses Jacob Storm, Matthew Brohrer
Not Yet Rated
Previously screened at film festivals as CYBERNATURAL, Universal is desperately hoping that this is the new 'Paranormal Activity' and is already considering numerous sequels.  The method is interesting, a film that apparently all takes place on a computer screen, disclosing the story through Skype chats, internet videos, social media, etc., not unlike some short films that have already been made, but as a feature.  A familiar horror plot of bullies getting their comeuppance, six friends join each other in a Skype chat on the one year anniversary that a high school classmate committed suicide in the wake of a humiliating video of her posted online and find their chat joined by the account of the dead classmate, tormenting them and turning them against each other, demanding a confession of who posted the video.  It's modestly interesting, but the previews are more unintentionally funny than intentionally scary, and the skeptic in me sees it as another horror concept hoping to be milked to death.

April 24th
THE AGE OF ADALINE  (ROMANTIC-DRAMA)
Directed by Lee Toland Krieger; Starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, Kathy Baker, Ellen Burstyn, Amanda Crew, Anjali Jay, Anthony Ingruber
Rated PG-13 for a suggestive comment.
An original story in a similar vein to contemporary young adult romance novels, THE AGE OF ADALINE follows Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively), a 27-year old woman who's been 27 for about 80 years as the result of a bizarre accident.  Secretive about herself and her condition, Adaline's only close friend is her own now-elderly daughter (Ellen Burstyn), but after striking up a romance with a charming young philanthropist, Adaline agrees to spend the weekend with his family and discovers that she has a past with his father (Harrison Ford).
Although the plot description suggests overwrought melodrama, the marketing and talent involved indicates something more low-key, and this could be on the upper end of recent onscreen love stories if handled right.  Check for reviews on this one.

April 24th
LITTLE BOY  (DRAMA)
Directed by Alejandro Monteverde; Starring: Jakob Salvati, David Henrie, Emily Watson, Ted Levine, Michael Rapaport, Ali Landry, Ben Chaplin, Tom Wilkinson, Toby Huss
Rated PG-13 for some thematic material including violence.
Executive-produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, the pair behind the miniseries The Bible and its reedited theatrical form, SON OF GOD, takes Matthew 17:20 ("verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you") and runs with it.  Unfortunately, if the trailer is any indication, they've failed to make a literal interpretation anything less than an unintended laugh riot.  7-year-old Pepper Flynt Busbee (Jakob Salvati) is a little boy with enormous faith in World War II, and in order to bring his dad home from the war zone, he's willing to use faith to stop fighter planes and move mountains.  LITTLE BOY looks hilarious, and I can't wait to see it in a legal way without that won't be voting for it with my dollars.

Review: INSURGENT

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT  (ACTION-THRILLER/SCI-FI)
2 out of 4 stars 
Directed by Robert Schwentke
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Octavia Spencer, Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz, Ray Stevenson, Daniel Dae Kim
Rated PG-13 for intense violence and action throughout, some sensuality, thematic elements and brief language.
119 minutes
Verdict: INSURGENT has a very talented cast who give some strong performances, but the story is so aimless and the characterizations so clumsy and unoriginal, that it's hard to take seriously, while playing it too safe to be an entertaining or interesting failure.
YOU MAY ENJOY THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT IF YOU LIKED:
DIVERGENT  (2014)
THE MAZE RUNNER  (2014)
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS  (2014)
THE HUNGER GAMES  (2012)
RED  (2010)

INSURGENT has Shailene Woodley, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller and Naomi Watts; all very talented actors, all apparently trying hard to make this movie work, but everything that INSURGENT wants to say is so ironic in the light of everything that it actually does, made only more ironic by an actual musing about 'irony' in the film's dialogue.  The first film in the series, DIVERGENT, released only a year ago, wasn't exactly the huge hit that immediately demands a sequel, and a substantially more expensive one at that, but it stuck better than most of the YA literature adaptations that Hollywood has been throwing at the screen like mad lately.  DIVERGENT was half-baked, but whatever interest it may have built up it well gone by the time INSURGENT has had its say.
Shailene Woodley, the lovely and talented star of THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and THE SPECTACULAR NOW, returns slightly miscast in the role of Beatrice "Tris" Prior, a fugitive "Divergent" in a dystopian future where society is sectored off into five factions based on each individual's domineering personality trait; Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite; but Divergents, who do not fit into a sole faction, are considered dangerous undesirables.  With her hunky formerly-of-Dauntless boyfriend Tobias "Four" Eaton (Theo James), Tris is on the run from Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), the leader of the Erudite faction, who believes Erudite should govern all the factions and wants to wipe out Divergents.  However, now, Jeanine finds that she needs a Divergent in order to unlock a box holding a secret message from their society's founders, which she believes will confirm her ideals.  While evading Jeanine's forces, Tris and Four are reunited with Four's estranged mother, Evelyn (Naomi Watts), who intends to lead the outcast Factionless in a revolt against Jeanine and her ilk.

Kate Winslet and Ansel Elgort in THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT

 INSURGENT might be convoluted if any of the plot threads went anywhere, or even expressed the intention of going anywhere.  There's a lot of wandering and encounters, stopping by different factions where Tris and Four are either interrogated or attacked, but for all its talk, there are no insurgencies, little is done, and by the end, it feels like everything has been resolved anyway.  There are, however, quite a few "Wait...what...why?" moments throughout
It's a shame, because Woodley is very good, even in a role that doesn't quite suit her strengths, and isn't well written besides.  Tris is a mismatched grab-bag of young adult hero cliches, plagued by nightmares, guilt, self-reluctance, angry outbursts, hormones and so on, and Woodley best gets to display her talents in emotional moments, but she's lacking the edge to convince in Tris' highly manufactured "bad-ass" moments.  Tris is rarely an interesting or particularly likable character, and her co-lead, James, while not necessarily bad, is so minimally written that he never gets the chance to show if can act.  As Four, he pouts his way through the movie, and granted, he's a handsome fella, but that often feels like the primary purpose of his role.  Miles Teller, who previously co-starred with Woodley in THE SPECTACULAR NOW, plays the somewhat antagonistic Peter, a character who Teller manages to make at least marginally interesting, while Winslet comes out the cleanest with the only character that has a clear motivation, that literally being to open a box.
Given that INSURGENT has both director Robert Schwentke's (director of the 2013 bomb R.I.P.D.) and co-writer Akiva Goldsman's (writer of the 2014 bomb A WINTER'S TALE) names on it but doesn't crash and burn spectacularly has got to count for something, but a crash and burn might have been more interesting than what we've wound up with.  The Divergent Series has one crucial obstacle to overcome, and that is proving that it is more than a retread of The Hunger Games series, but so far the most that it's done in that respect is to prove how superior The Hunger Games is in comparison.

Theo James and Shailene Woodley in THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT

Review: CINDERELLA (2015)

CINDERELLA  (FANTASY/ROMANCE) 
3 out of 4 stars 
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Lily James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie, Stellan Skarsgard, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Ben Chaplin, Hayley Atwell, Rob Brydon, Jana Perez, Alex Macqueen
Rated PG for mild thematic elements.
112 minutes
Verdict: Simple, sweet and very faithful to its source material (the Perrault fairy tale more than the 1950 animated film), CINDERELLA is a lavishly-produced costume drama with class and a return to form for director Kenneth Branagh.
YOU MAY ENJOY CINDERELLA (2015) IF YOU LIKED:
EVER AFTER  (1998)
CINDERELLA  (1950)
MIRROR MIRROR  (2012)
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING  (1993)
MALEFICENT  (2014)
Kenneth Branagh first came to the attention of Hollywood by adapting, directing, starring in and occasionally producing big screen versions of William Shakespeare's plays, with his directorial debut, a raw and gritty HENRY V in 1989, earning him recognition in the form of Academy Award nominations both for Best Director and Best Actor.  His lush, stylish and faithful-to-a-fault adaptations were always in the form of splendorous costume dramas and featuring illustrious ensemble casts, culminating in his unabridged and unsurpassed four-hour HAMLET in 1996.  His newest film (as director) CINDERELLA, primarily an adaptation of the classic fairy tale "Cendrillon", as written by Charles Perrault, but also in part a live action remake of Walt Disney Animation Studios' classic 1950 animated feature of the same name, is his third major studio tent-pole production in a row, following Marvel's THOR in 2011 and Paramount's JACK RYAN in 2014.  Unlike those however, CINDERELLA actually feels like a Branagh film.
In 2010, Alice Kingsleigh returned to Underland (not "Wonderland") to slay the Jabberwocky and end the Red Queen's reign of terror in ALICE IN WONDERLAND; in 2014, the dark fairy Maleficent was the heroine of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale and fought Princess Aurora's mad father in MALEFICENT; in 2015, CINDERELLA is just that, the story of Cinderella.  There are a few embellishments here and there, but nothing to change the main narrative.  Played by Downton Abbey's Lily James, Ella, or "Cinderella", as she is derisively called by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, lives by a motto of "Have courage and be kind," words instilled in her by her deceased mother (played by Hayley Atwell, best known as Peggy Carter in the Marvel Studios films).  Her widowed father (Ben Chaplin) marries the widowed Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), who brings with her two obnoxious daughters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger, another Downton Abbey alumni) and Drisella (Sophie McShera).  After Ella's father dies, her stepmother reveals the actual extent of her bitter cruelty, forcing her to sleep in the attic and do all the household chores herself without reward.  After a chance meeting in the woods with a Prince (Richard Madden), Ella and he are enchanted with one another, and since he is under pressure from his father the King (Derek Jacobi) to marry anyway, the Prince proclaims a royal ball to which the entire kingdom is invited, in hopes that his mystery woman, Ella, will appear.

Lily James in CINDERELLA

 Perrault's "Cendrillon" was first published in his collection Histoire ou contes du temps passe, translated as Stories or Fairy Tales from Past Times with Morals, and Branagh's film, with a screenplay written by Chris Weitz (writer of THE GOLDEN COMPASS and director of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON), fits such a description.  In its substance, it is a simple fairy tale with a good and prominent moral strain throughout.  The style is nothing to sniff at though.  Three-time Academy Award-winning production designer Dante Ferretti (for THE AVIATOR, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET and HUGO) has created a world for the film that is grandiose and beautiful, but with a crucial elegance.  Things get a tad clumsy in the more exaggerated moments, such as the animal characteristics of Cinderella's coach crew, but these are exceptions in a tastefully traditional and lavishly ornate world of costumed drama.  This is what Branagh excels at; luxurious period dramas with a touch of whimsy, shepherding (rather than molding) well-established material through his posh and painterly film landscapes.
Even in the midst of so many big-budget fairy tales that have made it to the screen in the wake of the box office behemoth that was 2010's ALICE IN WONDERLAND (and has since been reinvigorated by the bigger success of 2013's FROZEN), CINDERELLA is an unlikely picture, because it doesn't turn Cinderella into an action hero or feature any big special effects showcases.  It doesn't even bother to put a post-modern twist on the story.  It's content to be what it is, and while Cinderella is an active player in her story, rather than merely a long-suffering maiden in search of a man, the movie sees no reason to emphasize sexual politics, while neither offending.  It shows an uncommon restraint amongst recent family movies, colorful, but soft on the eyes; simple but heartfelt.  Its courage is in its subtlety, and its kindness it wears on its sleeve.

Lily James and Cate Blanchett in CINDERELLA

FROZEN FEVER  (ANIMATED SHORT)
2.5 out of 4 stars 
Directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee
Featuring the Voices of: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Chris Buck
Rated G
7 minutes
For those looking for something a little louder, CINDERELLA is accompanied by an animated short of no small note; FROZEN FEVER, a 7-minute follow-up on the adventures of Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel), Princess Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell), Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff) and Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad).  Further capitalizing on the immense popularity of Disney 2013 animated feature film that has become nothing less than a cultural touchstone, the Disney team has gone all in on the short, bringing back the directing team of Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, the original voice cast, and it comes with an all-new song, "Making Today a Perfect Day", from the original movie's Academy Award-winning songwriting team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.  On Anna's birthday, Elsa, Kristoff and Anna are planning a big surprise party, but Elsa has a cold that comes with unexpected consequences.  The song is clever (but not terribly catchy), the animation is gorgeous and it's an amusing set-up that finds a way to bring back almost every notable character.  It's a pleasant trifle, likely to enthrall children and mildly amuse adults.

Review: THE DUFF

THE DUFF  (ROMANTIC-COMEDY)

2.5 out of 4 stars 
Directed by Ari Sandel
Starring: Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Bianca A. Santos, Skyler Samuels, Nick Eversman, Allison Janney, Chris Wylde, Ken Jeong, Romany Malco
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual material throughout, some language and teen partying.
101 minutes
Verdict: It's corny and saturated with cliches, but THE DUFF has a terrific lead in Mae Whitman, and enough affability and inspired moments to make it watchable, if unremarkable fare, and teens particularly are likely to appreciate it.
YOU MAY ENJOY THE DUFF IF YOU LIKED:
EASY A  (2010)
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER  (2012)
MEAN GIRLS  (2004)
10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU  (1999)
PITCH PERFECT  (2012)

THE DUFF is nothing special.  It's far from subtle, usually corny and never feels particularly authentic.  It's another teen movie set in a Hollywood high school with social pecking order upheavals and unlikely love stories, but surprisingly, THE DUFF also has an affable quality, the occasional inspired moment and a thoroughly charming star performance.  It's not enough to stand out as one of the great high school movies, or even one of the really good ones, but it's worth a look, especially for the teenage audience that it will undoubtedly most resonate with.
Bianca "B." Piper (Mae Whitman, of TV's Parenthood and THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER) is a content high school senior who has her whole outlook on school life pulled out from under her when she learns that she is a "DUFF", a Designated Ugly Fat Friend, the approachable, exploitable one in her group of more attractive, popular friends.  In other words, she's the one that guys talk to in order to find out about and then hook up with her "datable" friends.  Devastated by this revelation, Bianca decides that the only way to get what she wants, i.e. the guy, the social stature, is to stop being a DUFF, so she enlists her crass next-door neighbor and school jock Wes (Robbie Amell) to advise her on how to shake her label and score with her long-time crush Toby (Nick Eversman).
The feature film debut of director Ari Sandel, THE DUFF blends a very polished portrayal of high school life reminiscent of '90s media with a contemporary zaniness including over-the-top fantasy-based gags.  Even by Hollywood standards, it feels artificial, and boy, is it corny.  Whitman can pull off looking the part of a high school student, which is more than can be said for some of her co-stars, but she feels too old for the role.  Regardless, she makes the role work for her in a way that few other actors could.  It's heavily self-deprecating, sometimes heavy-handed and cliched, but her comedic timing is perfect, giving a crucial hand up to a movie that otherwise gets by on charming mediocrity.
The cliches run thick, and the only surprises are that the movie is a watchable as it is, but even that is something.  It's unabashedly a teen movie however, and that's what counts, because while most viewers older than 16 will watch it and think little of it, those 16 and under will likely find it a comforting albeit highly stylized kindred spirit.  I probably would have back then, anyway.
On a side note however, I would like to point out that in my high school experience, a DUFF was a "Dumb Ugly Fat Friend".  It rolls off the tongue more easily.