THE BUTLER  3.3 ****

        Some years ago a television mini-series was made from Lillian Rogers Parks' memoir  “Backstairs At The White House” where Leslie Uggams as the White House maid and author of the book chronicled here years from Taft to Eisenhower. “The Butler”  continues the saga of life in the White House from Eisenhower through Reagan from the perspective of Cecil Gains, a White House butler. We also get a view of the history of the times as it effects the Gains family.

Cecil Gains, played by Forest Whitaker, comes from about as humble of circumstances as you can find. He and his family were sharecroppers and as a child he saw his father murdered and his mother raped by the white plantation owner. He runs away from the plantation and time and circumstance land him in Washington, DC where he's hired as one of the White House butlers. From there he sees history made as the Civil Rights era passes and he lives long enough to see the incredible progress made toward racial equality  in the USA. It affects his family as well. His wife, played by Oprah Winfrey, is anything but the perfect wife. She smokes and drinks to help her endure the loneliness of a workaholic husband. The oldest son, played by, David Oyelowo  is heavily and personally  involved in the civil rights struggle which his father strongly disapproves of . Whitaker and Winfrey do not have a Cosby type family marriage by any means. Their marital problems are realistically portrayed but they manage to endure because there’s  real love there between them through it all.

The Butler” should have several Oscar nominations.  Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey for sure as well as John Cusack who plays  Richard Nixon ( in all his nuances) and  Liev Schriber who plays LBJ ( it’s hysterical AND accurate.)

Those who lived through  the Civil Rights Movement will easily connect with “The Butler” . But even more so the movie is an excellent history lesson for those who don’t know what it was like during such a  tumultuous time in America's race relations. This is an important movie that should transcend time and become a lasting contribution to the portrayal of the Civil Rights movement. Future generations must learn what really happened and how this difficult time  impacted America.

Clark

PARANOIA  2.3****

 

 “Paranoia”  (an awful title as the term really has nothing to do with the story) is a techno want-a-be thriller starring Liam Hemsworth and Amber Heard together with Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford.

 

I bet dollars to doughnuts that most of you have not heard about this  film, even with its star packed cast. Well August is often considered a death slot for a  movie for the summer season. This is often where studios send movies that they have little faith in to die. Studios will, with rare exceptions,  spend less time and money doing any marketing for movies being released in August, and if a film happens to do well, it’s an unexpected blessing to them more than anything else.

Why do I tell you all this? Because it's clear to me this is how the studio felt about this movie. Nearly every twist and turn is telegraphed a mile away by anyone paying the closest bit of attention. Because of that moments that should have had  you wondering what will happen next, well  you usually already have the answer. Ultimately the movies greatest sin is lack of a cohesive story and a likable lead character. That isn't to say this is a bad movie. It just could have been so much better.  The film has the benefit of a relatively strong and motivated cast and it’s a testament to these actors natural ability that they could do as well as they did with so little to work with.

 

Liam Hemsworth (Thors little brother, yes he is as cute) plays Adam Cassidy a young technician for a multimillion dollar cellular company. He is up to his eyes in bills paying for his sick father (Richard Dreyfuss). He is offered the proverbial golden goose by his boss played by the eternally awesome Gary Oldman; who per usual puts all his passion, his accents and his ability to blend into any role he has. . All Adam has to do for his boss is fake being a successful executive in a rival company so he can steal valuable trade secrets from them. The owner of the other company is played by an oddly almost bald Harrison Ford who does a fairly good job of going toe to toe with Oldman in the acting department. . The supporting cast is surprisingly talented and believable in their roles. Amber Heard as the love interest and Lucas Till as the geekier best friend are standouts.

 

Save your money and wait for this to show up on TV.

 

Clark

 

ELYSIUM  3.2***

 

 

       Elysium is a science fiction movie that takes place on both a ravaged Earth and a luxurious space habitat called Elysium. It explores political and sociological themes such as immigration, health care and class issues. It stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster; and it was written, co-produced and directed by Neill Blomkamp, who also did the excellent film, “District 9”.

 

It’s 2154 and  Earth's wealthiest have abandoned the filthy scourge that has become our home planet and taken up residence on Elysium, a Garden of Eden type space station equipped with ultra- advanced medical technology. It's all just a quick shuttle ride away from Earth. Close enough to be realistic, but just outside the reach of the masses. The dismal picture that the movie paints of our future as a species is grim. Los Angeles in 2154 resembles the worst of the slums of today’s India and Mexico

Matt Damon plays Max, a former criminal trying to get this life back on the straight and narrow, but the Los Angeles of 2154 where he resides makes it difficult. After a run of bad luck he is dealt a deadly dose of radiation while working at his factory job. He only has 5 days to live. Max's only chance of survival is to get to Elysium for a curing treatment.  Max just happens to be on a first name basis with Spider, a mastermind hacker crime boss that has the means to get Max to Elysium.. After  a scene were Max is fused to with a robotic exoskeleton ( somewhat similar to the “Ironman” thing but much less ) , all he needs to do to attain his passage is hijack data from a corrupt official's brain and download the data to his own ( after all, a simple task in 2154).  Damon is a pleasure to watch, sort of like a futuristic Bourne, but without all the glitter…and he has one primary adversary rather multiples.

This is a very entertaining film. Blomkamp  kept the plot concise and the cinematography and special effects are stunning (although there was too much hand held camera going on that makes for a somewhat herky jerky picture)  It's easy to follow and its political implications are smart and relevant. It's a good summer action sci/fi flick.

 

Clark

 

2GUNS  2.75 ***

       Every movie poster and preview for this movie prominently shows off Denzel Washington and  Mark Wahlberg, and practically nothing else. And it's an accurate description of the movie - the two stars carry the entire film from start to end. And that's not really a bad thing...the two of them work very well together. They seem to gel naturally and have fun together, almost to the point where you wonder if some of the script is being ad-libbed by them. You really don’t need much of anything else - just give these two stars enough bodies to shoot at and enough screen time to talk in between the shooting.  

The story itself is all over the place. The action begins with smoothie Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and fast-talker Stig Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) starting a grease fire in a diner as a diversion and then robbing a rural Texas bank across the street that contains $43 million hidden in the safety deposit boxes. It turns out neither bank robber is a bad guy and neither knew the other was also a government undercover operative, Denzel with the DEA and Wahlberg with Naval intelligence. Both agents were on a covert mission to infiltrate the powerful Mexican drug cartel headed by Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), a mission they botched. In the ensuing chase for the money that is lost  everything goes wrong for our boys including that they are hunted by the DEA, Naval intelligence, the CIA and the Mexican drug cartel. The boys have to re-connect with each other after separating and must now learn to trust each other, as they've both been double-crossed by people they trusted and are in danger of losing their lives.

The movie isn't believable for a second, but is always entertaining, slick and well-acted.  It's a playful buddy flick, in the mode of the Lethal weapon duo of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, and its anti-hero heroes are amoral and its villains are scoundrels of the lowest order. It's that kind of a fun but unremarkable thriller.

The violence, some brief nudity and adult language give the movie its R rating, which is equally refreshing. It's nice to see a movie that isn't aimed for the whole family and one that doesn't rely on CGI for every scene. A movie where actual actors take center stage is becoming increasingly rare in superhero obsessed Hollywood these days. The movie almost feels old fashioned and I mean that as a compliment.

 

Clark

THE WAY WAY BACK   3.5***

 

   There are some movies which sound so simple that it's hard to convey to people just how good they are. "The Way, Way Back" is one of those movies.  I have to go "way way back" to remember a  coming-of-age  movie that made me (and my wife feel so good.

 

 The film stars teen actor Liam James as 14 year-old Duncan who is an isolated, painfully shy teen who hates the idea of  a summer vacation with his timid mother Pam (Toni Collette), her arrogant boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell), and Trent's narcissistic daughter. Their vacation spot is at Trent's beach house somewhere in New England..  To spice up things there are eccentric neighbors ... the always tipsy( she drinks a LOT) but hilarious Betty(Allison Janney), a divorcée with three kids. Having a rough time fitting in with the beach house crowd, the introverted Duncan finds an unexpected friend in gregarious Owen (Sam Rockwell), manager of the nearby Water Wizz water park. 

 

 In  their Oscar-winning script for "The Descendants," writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash showed remarkable skill for showing the fear and confusion adults face when they reach a major crossroads in their lives. With "The Way Way Back,", which they also directed, they use that same sparkling writing style to show the emotions young people deal with during their own life-changing moments.

Liam James is exceptional as Duncan. He makes the character so socially inept in the beginning that it's amazing he can even speak. Equally good is Steve Carell, who takes the smart script and gives it a wicked spin in being so hateful to Duncan. On the  other end is Rockwell's brilliant performance as the mentor/father figure in Duncan's life. There are times when his character seems like a joke of a manager at the water park, but in a wink he becomes insightful and sympathetic through the strength and intelligence he shows toward Duncan .

"The Way, Way Back" is an  exceptional  account of an introverted adolescent being told to grow up by a bunch of adults who can't seem to practice what they preach. With movies like "The Bling Ring" showing  how terrible young people can be, it's  nice to see a film  showing young people trying to get it right. It captures the right emotions at the right time and explores not just their cause but also their solution.

 

Clark