Contraband

Mark Wahlberg + Ben Foster + New Orleans = Contraband. 

If you missed this the first time around, but caught Wahlberg's ode to Boston, Ted, you might want to give it a look. Giovanni Ribisi was wicked creepy as the guy who wanted to buy Ted, and he's Wahlberg's villain in Contraband as well. Here, he plays Tim Briggs, a creepy drug runner operating out of Nola (that's how we Southern-hearted refer to New Orleans), whose latest shipment ends at the bottom of the ocean. Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) may have left the life behind, started a company, making an honest living, but he puts family first. He then takes it upon himself to help his brother-in-law Andy set things right. The only way to do it: join the crew of a cargo ship and run contraband. He has two weeks to raise $700K, and honest work just won't cut it. How he goes about getting and transporting the goods is complicated and I don't want to go into details here. While Farraday is away, Briggs amps up the pressure, making threats to his family and causing Chris to ask his best friend Sebastian (Ben Foster) to look after his wife and kids. Sebastian, of course, has his own agenda.

A heist film with family values? Perfect, let's cast Mark Wahlberg. There's no real doubt that Wahlberg is his totally watchable self, but as ever, it's Ben Foster that's the one to watch. Foster has a knack for making his roles more interesting than his costars'. He's a crucible of intensity, riveting and fun to watch. He doesn't miss a beat, and he manages to be frightening in a way that Ribisi can't quite pull off. Beckinsale is almost unrecognizable as her opposite: a blonde American. I always enjoy seeing J.K. Simmons pop up in a movie or TV show; most recently he cameo-ed as Bradley Cooper's father in The Words. He gets some great lines in his projects. Hell, he probably took the role so he could say, "Don't piss me off more, or you'll be flippin shit burgers down at McDonald's faster than you can say 'minimum wage.'"

This is director Baltasar Kormákur's first major American film, which is what gives it the unique pace, and I imagine, the reason for the complexity of the plot at sea. The Nordic director - born in Iceland, of half Spanish descent - is famous in Europe, but relatively unknown here in the US. In any case, Contraband is a pretty good, if mostly forgettable, action-heist. Pop some popcorn and be entertained for a couple hours.

The Dark Knight Rises

Lots, lots to say today, folks.

Such, such an amazing film. I'm not going to lie and tell you that it's a short three hours; but is it worth the time? Yes. Perhaps tepid reviews stem from the feeling that you're watching a three-part miniseries back-to-back. While writer/director/producer Christopher Nolan has decided it's time for him to give up the mask (though not the cape, evidently, as he's produced the forthcoming Man of Steel), he's given us one final film for the franchise. He's also proven that The Dark Knight can be bested. 

Nolan drives the film as he's been wont to do - with gripping action sequences punctuating somewhat languid plot movement. He's good though, and he has good editors; whereas other directors or films highlight the action as chaos that needs to be ordered, Nolan's sequences are about the plot, making sure not to put too much emphasis on destruction (of which there is plenty). Plus, we now know who our villain is: Bane. The other man-in-a-mask figure, played by Tom Hardy, is a massively muscled, impervious mercenary on a mission to bring anarchy to Gotham, to let fear and corruption drive the citizens to destroy one another. Why this is a goal for villains, I will never understand. But okay. 

As I was saying... In the eight years since the death of Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent, Commissioner Gordon has restored order to Gotham while Bruce Wayne and his alter ego have been out of commission, in mourning and in hiding, respectively. Rumors fly about the playboy-turned-recluse, but not until a young cop (Joseph Gordon Levitt) pays a heartfelt visit to Wayne Manor does the caped crusader come out of retirement. Of course, it's not as easy as putting on the suit - it never is - there are a few new faces trying to make life difficult for Wayne. First there's Bane, then there's this sneaky little vixen, a cat burglar (ergo: catwoman) by the name of Selina Kyle. 

The fact that Caine, Bale, Freeman, and Oldman give great performances is no surprise. It's consistent with the first two films. In fact, they're all better, without the burden of a weak female lead. Anne Hathaway is surprisingly versatile as cat burglar Selina Kyle, with a dash of unexpected sex appeal. There was a lot of doubt and some serious backlash when the first screenshots of Hathaway were released. What Nolan's done, though, that's really smart, is to start Hathaway off in a modest guise: a meek personality, submissive, and unthreatening. It makes the transition from Mia Thermopolis (face it, she's still The Princess Diaries girl) to Selina Kyle go much more smoothly. Especially fun is the moment she slips past Officer John Blake to escape a crime scene. Joseph Gordon Levitt is Blake, an idealistic cop who seems to be the only one willing to do the right thing. He looks up to Bruce Wayne as a fellow orphan who's made something of himself, and he quickly becomes an ally for Commissioner Gordon. Levitt makes a strong case for a character that is not a villain and not a part of the first two films - and the fact that Christopher Nolan has assured us that he will not be making another Batman film means that we are unlikely to see Levitt in the role again. Still, another new character is Miranda Tate, played by the fourth Oscar-winning actor in the cast, Marion Cotillard. I may be more than a little biased toward Cotillard, but she really is excellent. I'm not the only one whose jaw dropped - you'll know when, and why, when you see the movie.

If there's one generalization to be made for the films of Christopher Nolan, it's that he works from a tight, if complex, script, and with a dynamite cast. While his list of credits may not be prolific, it's proof that quality is what counts. My interest in this third Batman movie comes primarily from the casting choices, and what he's done with these characters is so very good that I am actually a little disappointed at the positivity with which Nolan rejects the idea of a fourth film. Maybe it's for the best, though. We wouldn't want Nolan to be the next George Lucas, would we?

Extra Stuff:
- On a personal note, I wonder if Nolan is also a fan of Tarsem's The Fall. I recognized several locations shared between the films. This includes the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
- The Dark Knight Rises borrows heavily from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. I could write a whole separate essay on the similarities.

- Marion Cotillard is the fourth Oscar-winning actor to join the franchise. Other winners include Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules and Hannah and Her Sisters), Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), and Christian Bale (The Fighter). Cotillard won for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose.

- The Dark Knight trilogy features several performers that have had roles in other Christopher Nolan films. 

     > The Prestige: Bale, Caine

     > Inception: Caine, Cotillard, Hardy, Levitt, Murphy, Watanabe

//rant: Baz Luhrmann should have cast his Gatsby entirely out of Nolan's Inception. That way he could have DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Joseph Gordon Levitt as Nick Carraway (muuuuuch better idea than Tobey MacGuire), Marion Cotillard and Tom Hardy as Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Ellen Page as Jordan, Cillian Murphy as Owl-Eyes... that's over half the principal cast right there. //endrant.

Trailer Notes: 

- Trailer for Oz - Somewhat promising, though Rachel Weisz is looks like she'll easily be the most interesting part (oh, wait, she usually is). May look too much like Alice in Wonderland for my liking, though. I'm all about recycling, but it's CGI. Come on, now.

- Trailer for Django Unchained - Looks awesome. Of course, I'm afraid that what I'm hoping for is the next True Grit, and what I'll get is Kill Bill Goes South. 

- Trailer for The Campaign - WTF? What are you doing here? Why does this even exist? 

- Trailer for Man of Steel - I know you're tired of superhero movies (even though you're seeing the THIRD Batman movie), and I know the last time they tried this, it sucked (especially for Brandon Routh, who is now a punchline in the movie Ted). I hope it's not too late for this one. Marketing is certainly doing their best to get you to consider it. There's barely a glimpse of the suit and cape in the promo, and need we remind you it is produced by Christopher Nolan (whose THIRD Batman movie is what you are about to see). Plus it was directed by Zack Snyder! You liked 300, right, 18-35 year old demographic and target audience? I mean, right? But seriously, I liked Henry Cavill back when he did The Count of Monte Cristo, and I thought he should have played Superman the last time Hollywood tried. Not sure he's Superman enough to have saved that film though...

Double Feature: Safety Not Guaranteed and Your Sister's Sister

It happens, sometimes, that the same actor is in two movies released at the same time. Last Sunday I ventured to Kendall Square Cinema to catch Safety Not Guaranteed; this week I returned to catch the indie hit Your Sister’s Sister. Both films feature Mark Duplass, albeit in very different starring roles.

Safety Not Guaranteed
In Safety Not Guaranteed, Duplass plays Kenneth, whose personal ad seeking a companion for time travel becomes article fodder for a magazine reporter (Jake M. Johnson of Zooey Deschanel’s comedy New Girl), and whose scientific endeavors may or may not have attracted government attention. Darius (Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza) is the female intern who is drawn to Kenneth even as she fears what her investigation for the article might turn up.

I’m still not sure I know what I want to say about this film. I still adore the trailer, and the potential that I saw in it. In the end, the film was a disappointment. From the trailer, I had hoped that Safety Not Guaranteed would have the best element of The Science of Sleep - the creative beauty reminiscent of rocket ships out of cardboard boxes, masking tape, markers, and buttons: “I believe that there are purists out there and that’s why I put that ad in the paper.” From the title, I supposed there would be an element of risk to the love story (because what else could it be?), but found the film sorely lacking in excitement, adventure, or danger. It was missing a little Wes Anderson - not because I’m a fan of Anderson’s (I’m not), but because the dry quirkiness and sadness didn’t quite settle right. To go in another direction, perhaps the Duplass brothers could have studied the Polish brothers’ work. Twins Mark and Michael Polish wrote and produced Northfork - a visually imaginative film that lacked the authenticity of the characters in the Duplass screenplay.

The film’s marketing would have you believe it is the cleverest indie comedy this year, but the laughs are relatively few. Duplass is reminiscent of John Krasinski, but his Kenneth is more Dwight Shrute than Jim Halpert. Without Dwight’s self-confidence and superiority complex, Kenneth is just sad, and if we’re supposed to laugh at him for our humor... I know I didn’t. There’s too much quirk and not enough personality for Kenneth to be our hero. Nevermind the fact that the secondary plot - revolving around reporter Jeff - is an entirely different film. While the film boasts that it is from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine, Safety Not Guaranteed is missing the one thing that made Little Miss Sunshine so special - the right blend of comedy, drama, regret, and adventure. Satisfaction not guaranteed.


Your Sister’s Sister
The title is not as confusing as it sounds, and the picture is every bit as good as its buzz. Lynn Shelton wrote and directed the movie, a kind of beautiful poem set off the coast of Washington. Iris (Emily Blunt) sends her best friend Jack (Mark Duplass) out to her family’s cabin, where he stumbles in on Iris’s sister, Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt). Jack’s supposed to be sorting out his life with some alone time; having broken off a seven year relationship, Hannah was planning to do the same. A bottle of tequila later, Jack and Hannah have slept together - and Iris is at the door.

Of course Iris is in love with Jack, and complications ensue, but it’s the honesty and intimacy of the film that make it work. Life and relationships are never anything but complicated - it’s how you deal with those complications that makes it worthwhile (or not). Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt are completely believable as sisters, which is rare, and the playfulness between Blunt and Duplass is delightful. From their first on-screen conversation, Iris and Jack are fun to watch. Duplass is at least fifteen times more interesting and charming than he is in Safety Not Guaranteed, and seeing him with Emily Blunt kind of makes me wonder if that’s what her marriage with John Krasinski is like. DeWitt is fascinating to watch as we get to know Hannah, bringing a different, very grounded energy to her scenes.

Your Sister’s Sister reminds me of Nicole Holofcener’s Walking and Talking, and I mean that as a complement. It will be interesting to see where Duplass turns up next, and I would certainly like to see more from Lynn Shelton - and soon. 

Notes

- Your Sister's Sister is not the first time Shelton and Duplass have worked together; Shelton had a small role in Safety Not Guaranteed. She also wrote, directed, and acted in Humpday, which also starred Duplass.

- Did you catch all the TV credits for the actors in these films?

  Mark Duplass: The League 

  Jake M. Johnson: New Girl

  Aubrey Plaza: Parks and Recreation
  Kristen Bell (featured in Safety Not Guaranteed): Veronica Mars, Heroes, Party Down
  Rosemarie DeWitt: United States of Tara, Mad Men
- Both Safety Not Guaranteed and Your Sister's Sister are set in Washington state.

*Listing this entry as Recommended for Your Sister's Sister.