Movie Review 3:10 to Yuma

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Directed by James Mangold 

Written by Halstedt Welles, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas

Starring Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster, Gretchen Mol 

Release Date September 7th, 2007

Published Septembeer 6th, 2007 

Director James Mangold made a splashy directorial debut with the gritty crime drama Copland. Though most remembered for star Sylvester Stallone's weight gain for the lead role, Copland was in fact quite good. His next feature earned him even more acclaim. Girl Interrupted was nominated for multiple Oscars and won one for Angelina Jolie's tremendous supporting turn.

Then Mangold drifted toward the mainstream with a pair of forgettable studio efforts, the dull time travel romance Kate & Leopold and an oddball thriller called Identity. Both were pro level efforts but they lacked heart. Then in 2005 Mangold found himself again and delivered Walk The Line. The biography of Johnny Cash was everything one could ask for in a bio of the legendary man in black.

As great as Walk The Line was however, with 3:10 To Yuma James Mangold has crafted his first masterpiece. This moody, manly western, based on an Elmore Leonard short story, stars Russell Crowe as Ben Wade a badass outlaw whose gang is a group of mad dog killers who will follow him straight to hell if need be.

The plot of 3:10 To Yuma is as stripped down and straight forward as any classic western. One brave man must escort a murderer to the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. There the killer will be hanged for his many crimes. Complicating manners is the bad guys gang of badass killers who will ride through hell or high water to rescue their boss.

It's not the plot that matters, but rather the motivations, the actions and interplay between the exceptional characters. Russell Crowe inhabits the evil Ben Wade with snaky charm and a sharp tongue. Though admittedly a killer and an obvious menace, Crowe's Ben Wade has the kind of charm that few women could resist and few men can compete with.

Compared to Crowe's Wade, Christian Bale's stalwart good guy Dan Evans is a bit of a wet blanket, initially. Part of the story of 3:10 To Yuma is Bale's Evans earning the respect of Ben Wade and those of us in the audience harboring a secret affection for Wade's charms. This battle between good and evil, shaded with the gray of desperation, fear and greed, is played out with blood, guts and bullets but more than anything, great old school filmmaking.

James Mangold's direction of 3:10 To Yuma is nearly flawless. From his dusty western landscapes to the brilliant interplay between Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, Mangold manages a classic western that never feels stale. Though this is a remake, there is no retread vibe here. 3:10 To Yuma modernizes the western aesthetic without gimmicks like modern scoring or quick cuts but rather with the awesome star turns of Bale and Crowe.

In the supporting cast I especially loved the inclusion of Peter Fonda as an old west lawman. Fonda has not been this good in awhile and his inclusion is yet another nod to the old school western, his dad Henry made a few pretty good westerns back in the day. The supporting performance that nearly steals the film however, belongs to young Ben Foster whose intensity almost exceeds Crowe and Christian Bale, two of our more ferocious leading men period.

As he showed in Alpha Dog and 2005's Hostage, Foster can play live wire with the best of them. In 3:10 To Yuma it's more of a controlled burn than a live wire but it's as fierce as those performances with a touch more maturity. Foster is developing into an excellent go to character actor and may have found a real niche with this performance.

My favorite scene in 3:10 To Yuma is one of the more quiet moments in the whole movie. Dan Evans and a small posse are hiding Ben Wade, preparing for the trip to Yuma, at Dan's farm. Wade joins the family for dinner and when Evans leaves the table to check in with the posse guarding the doors, Wade begins a conversation with Evans' wife played by Gretchen Mol, in her dowdiest school marm frocks. Mrs. Evans is fearful of Wade but its not long before you wonder if she'd be willing to run off with him if given the chance.

Crowe gets much of the attention in this scene but Ms. Mol's subtle changes in expression, her flushing cheeks and darting eyes are near perfect. The scene is perfectly captured by Mangold with tight close ups and framing that seem to draw the two actors into the same frame without them moving an inch. Though I noticed these subtle movements, I was watching for them, most audiences will experience them seamlessly and, I think, be as mesmerized by them as I was.

There are a number of similarly strong scenes in 3:10 To Yuma including much of the third act which takes place in a single hotel room as Evans waits to take Wade to the train even as the place is surrounded by Wade's gang. The original 3:10 To Yuma spent most of its runtime trapped in one hotel room under similar circumstances, these scenes in the new 3:10 To Yuma are as much a nice throwback nod to the older film as they are a necessary piece of plotting.

3:10 To Yuma is a masterpiece of style and substance. While some may fault the films logic of manhood and respect above all else, I dug the old school western values. I especially bought into the idea that Crowe and Bale's characters would hold these ideals above all else and be willing to give their lives for them.

When awards season rolls around in late December and early January expect to see 3:10 To Yuma on a number of lists. Especially keep an eye out for Russell Crowe who delivers a performance here that is arguably the best of his career.

You must see this movie!

Movie Review Pandorum

Pandorum (2009) 

Directed by Christian Alvart 

Written by Travis Malloy

Starring Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse

Release Date September 25th, 2009 

Published September 25th, 2009 

Pandorum, we are told during the movie of that title, is a form of mental illness that develops from prolonged exposure to the nothingness of space. The crew of the Elysium space ship are more than a little prone to this ailment. Their trip is longer than any man has ever undertaken and there is no going back, Earth is gone.

As we join the story, the Elysium crew is informed that they are the last of humanity. From there we are shot into the future, how far is part of the film's mystery plot. In a hypersleep pod awakens Cpl. Bowers (Ben Foster). He has no idea who he is or where he is, only the vague notion that he has a mission. Next to him in another pod is Lt. Payton (Dennis Quaid). He is supposed to be the ship's captain when it is his turn but finds himself and Bowers trapped in one room far from the control room.

Bowers soon has escaped through an air duct to search for help and finds himself in the middle of what can only be described as an alien invasion. Worse yet? These are zombie-cannibal aliens with a deep need for human flesh. With the ship hurtling toward nowhere, Bowers needs to crank up the engines for survival all the while avoiding getting eaten.

On his journey Bowers meets Nadia (Antje Traue) a ship's scientist turned survivalist and Manh (Cung Le) a member of the crew's foreign contingent; he speaks no English. These three alternately save each other's lives and call on one another to run away quickly from danger.

Meanwhile, Lt. Payton is joined in his little corner of the ship by Lt. Gallo (Cam Gigandet). He comes in the same way Bowers escaped only Gallo is covered in blood and balling like a small child with a skinned knee. He has an idea of what happened to the rest of the crew but may be too far gone mentally to help. Worse, his illness may in fact be Pandorum which points to one very disturbing reason for his being covered in blood.

Pandorum is directed with some flair by newcomer Christian Alvert. Alvert bathes the familiar plot inside his talent for atmosphere and tension. It's not until you leave the theater and really reflect on the movie that you realize how much of the story adds up to different characters yelling 'RUN'.

While you are watching Pandorum however, it's easy to get swept along by its creepy I Am Legend meets Alien plot. Dennis Quaid is his usual stabilizing, fatherly presence, even as he starts to lose it at the end. And Ben Foster is a surprisingly effective lead. Taking strong advantage of his odd vibe, Foster turns his weakness, skinny-nerdiness with a dash of creep, into a strength, his heroism is so unexpected.

He sparks well off of Traue's Nadia and their rather perfunctory scenes together take on a bit of life beyond all the running and the yelling of the word run.

If Pandorum comes up short for most audiences it is really more in the faded glow after it's over. While it's on, it is effective and compelling. Well acted, atmospheric and rarely boring. That may not be enough for some audiences, those who cannot endure the post show disappointment that comes from being hoodwinked, but for the forgiving audience, Pandorum is kind of fun while it lasts.

Movie Review: Alpha Dog

Alpha Dog (2007) 

Directed by Nick Cassavetes

Written by Nick Cassavetes 

Starring Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, Ben Foster, Bruce Willis

Release Date January 15th, 2006 

Published January 15th, 2006

The true story of small time pot dealer Jesse James Hollywood should never have become a movie. Hollywood was just another punk teenager in the San Fernando Valley selling weed and acting like a gangster. He would have gotten popped by the cops eventually and spent a couple of years in jail and never been heard from at all.

One fatal decision, one stupid moment, and Jesse James Hollywood went from poser to being the youngest person ever placed on the FBI's most wanted list. How Jesse gained such infamy is the backstory of the movie Alpha Dog from writer-director Nick Cassavetes. Compelling yet pointless, Alpha Dog wants to be a Shakespearean tragedy but acts more like an out of control episode of MTV's Laguna Beach.

Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) was a low level drug dealer in the San Fernando Valley who lived for money, sex and the adulation of his small band of friends and hangers on. Johnny's father Sonny (Bruce Willis) was a successful criminal with rumored ties to the mob. Johnny used his father's connections to make himself a mini empire.

On the periphery of Johnny's little kingdom is Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) a tweaked out ex-con with a serious drug problem. Jake owed Johnny 1200 bucks and when he can't come up with the cash a violent encounter leads to a deadly rivalry that escalates eventually to murder. Jake's little brother Zack (Anton Yelchin) gets dragged into the fight when Johnny and his pals Frankie (Justin Timberlake) and TKO (Fernando Vargas) grab him off the street as a hostage.

At first the kidnapping is a bit of a goof. Just a group of teenagers playing gangsters and imitating what they have seen in the movies. As things start to get more and more out of control an air of inevitability settles in and a story that should have ended with Zack heading home and telling his mom and dad he ran away for a few days, ends with murder.

Alpha Dog is a true story. A 20 year old drug dealer named Jesse James James Hollywood is the real life Johnny Truelove. He was a drug dealer and after the death of the younger brother of his rival, he became the youngest person ever on the FBI's most wanted list. What director Nick Cassavetes movie tells us is that we should never have heard of Jesse James Hollywood.

Had Jesse and his pals just let their hostage go, everyone would have walked away unharmed. Sure Jesse and his boys would have ended up in prison eventually but not for this senseless murder.

Writer-director Nick Cassavetes has said that this film is not really about the crime committed as it is about the parents who allowed it to happen. The film is dotted with moments where those who should know better, from Johnny's criminal dad, played by Bruce Willis, to Frankie's pot dealer dad, parents had many opportunities to realize what was going on, but were either too selfish or too clueless to stop it.

One of the sadder moments of Alpha Dog occurs between Dominique Swain as Susan and her mother Tiffany played by Alex Kingston. Susan is the only one of the teens to realize the danger that Zach was in and when she attempted to stop it by speaking to her mother, the blow off she gets is the film's ultimate example of parental neglect.

There are a number of good scenes in Alpha Dog. The one I just mentioned between Swain and Kingston is powerful as are scenes featuring Ben Foster as the crazed Jake Mazursky. Foster is frightening as a tweaked out druggie who is likely more dangerous than anyone else in the story and yet he is more together in the end than Johnny and his crew.

One of the most surprising things about Alpha Dog is the strong performance of pop star Justin Timberlake. With his effortless charm and natural good looks, Timberlake has that “it” quality that defines a star. His Frankie is sympathetic and gregarious and watching Frankie, who takes up more screen time than you expect, makes the film's conclusion seem so devastatingly avoidable.

Anton Yelchin is heartbreaking as Zach Mazursky the kidnapped kid. One of those kids who just aimed to please, Zach never made trouble, even after getting beaten up and tied up and gagged in a strangers bathroom. Zach remained affable and friendly with his captors as they threatened his life. Eventually, his winning innocence won over a few of his captors who made him one of the group, got him high, and helped him meet girls. His acceptance guarantees he never would have talked to the cops about his captors, yet another heartbreaking detail of this horrible story.

The performances in Alpha Dog are, for the most part, quite good. However, the one performance that was needed to really make the film work is missing. Emile Hirsch as Johnny never emerges as the focal point of the picture. Johnny is the driving force of the awful events that take place and yet, too often, he disappears.

Alpha Dog is a sad, awful, terrifying story of what happens when parents don't pay enough attention to their kids. Had one adult injected himself in this story with some authority, that 15 year old kid would still be alive. Unfortunately, the teenagers in the story of Alpha Dog were allowed to run wild in the streets and that kid is dead because of it.

Nick Cassavetes tells this story with urgency and purpose. Parents pay attention to your kids. If you don't stupid, stupid things happen and innocence dies.

Movie Review: Big Trouble

Big Trouble (2002) 

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld 

Written by Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone, Dave Barry 

Starring Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Ben Foster, Stanley Tucci, Johnny Knoxville, Tom Sizemore, Jason Lee

Release Date April 5th, 2002 

Published October 14th, 2002 

Of the many things to be lost in the shuffle after 9/11, one of the strangest was the movie Big Trouble. 

A comedy based on a book by humorist Dave Barry and directed by Men In Black’s Barry Sonnenfeld, Big Trouble stars Tim Allen as a Dave Barry-like newspaper columnist who becomes involved with a plot to buy a nuclear weapon. Because the nuclear weapon was at a certain point in the film on an airplane, the film became a hot potato and was pulled from it’s September 2001 release. After nearly 8 months on the shelf the film finally made it to the big screen on April 5th and tanked badly. Now the film is available on DVD, and it deserves a second chance.

Tim Allen stars as Eliot Arnold who, after being fired from his job writing for a newspaper, takes up advertising only to find his sense of humor unappreciated by clients who believe naked flesh is the best way to sell products. Outside of work Eliot is dealing with a divorce and a teenage son who thinks he is a loser. Ben Foster is Eliot’s son Matt who is constantly making fun of Dad for driving a Geo Metro, a perfectly Dave Barry bit.

Matt is pursuing a girl in his school named Jenny Herk, whose father, Arthur (Stanley Tucci), is jerk who is in trouble with the mob. Jenny’s mother, Anna (Rene Russo), is slowly realizing that she hates Arthur and can’t remember why she married the jerk. After Matt attempts to shoot Jenny at her house with a water gun as part of a twisted high school game, Eliot comes to pick him up and he and Anna hit it off. 

Meanwhile Arthur is being pursued by two hitmen, played by Dennis Farina and Jack Kehler, and Arthur is attempting to get back at the mob by purchasing a nuclear weapon from a pair of Russian bar owners. As Arthur is making his purchase at the bar, two moron thieves, Johnny Knoxville and Tom Sizemore, decide to rob the place and end up stealing the nuclear weapon. All of these people come together when the morons kidnap Arthur and go to his place to rob it. 

Also in the cast are Patrick Warburton and Janeane Garofalo as cops, and a very funny cameo by Andy Richter as a bumbling mall security guard. Also, Jason Lee as the film's narrator Puggy, a homeless guy who witnesses everything while living in a tree outside the Herk’s home. Let us not forget Heavy D and Omar Epps as FBI agents with an executive order that allows them to do anything they want.

The film is often very funny, but it’s also very muddled. There are numerous moments where the film's story could have been tightened up. For instance, though I thought Andy Richter’s cameo was funny, it has nothing to do with the main story and easily could have been cut without affecting the central story. Director Barry Sonnenfeld likely had to keep the Richter cameo just to keep the film feature length. The film is a mere 89 minutes long.

Despite the running time and the occasionally lackadaisical scripting, Big Trouble is still a very funny movie. It’s all in the dialogue, screenwriters Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone smartly retain most of Dave Barry’s original dialogue. It is the dialogue and the spirited cast that make Big Trouble so much fun. Given the release date shenanigans and the unfortunate 9/11 related issues, it's a wonder that Big Trouble made it to release at all. Now that it is available on home video, I hope people forget the trouble and give this movie a chance. 

Movie Review: Contraband

Contraband (2012) 

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur 

Written by Aaron Guzikowski

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, J.K Simmons, Ben Foster 

Release Date January 12th, 2012 

Published January 11th, 2012 

Contraband is a mediocre action movie that rises above mediocre because Mark Wahlberg is so darn compelling. I've been a Mark Wahlberg fan for years; despite his having starred in such duds as The Happening, Maxx Payne, and Shooter. Wahlberg simply has that intangible star quality that makes you want to follow him on whatever film journey he's taking. Contraband could not survive with a lesser star.

Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) was once known as the Houdini of the smuggling world. With his sidekick Sebastian (Ben Foster), Farraday could smuggle anything without ever getting caught. Now, Farraday is a civilian, running his own security company, happily married to Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and raising two sons. He’s gone soft, he’s gone legit, and anyone who’s ever seen a movie about a bad guy gone good already knows where Contraband is headed. 

Yup, Farraday is dragged back into the smuggling underworld when his boneheaded brother in law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) pulls a drug smuggling job and ends up dumping the drugs in the river when Customs boards his boat. Not surprisingly, Andy's employer, Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), is none too happy and he wants Chris to pay Andy's debt or else. Pulled back into the business, Farraday calls on Sebastian for one more run. 

There are no surprises in this set up; Contraband is not original or unexpected. What works in Contraband is the businesslike, conservative approach of director Baltasar Kormakur who gets down to the business of smuggling with only the most necessary bits of exposition. When Mark Wahlberg and his crew finally get on a ship ready to smuggle the pace is methodical and to the point.

Giovanni Ribisi is not exactly the most intimidating bad guy one could imagine and this does undermine a few scenes where he's supposed to be playing tough. One scene that will test an audience's ability to suspend belief finds the wiry Ribisi pushing around Kate Beckinsale. Anyone who's seen and enjoyed the Underworld movies knows Kate Beckinsale could snap Ribisi like a twig if she wanted.

(Yes, I'm aware that movie magic makes Beckinsale a badass vampire in "Underworld;" I was being cute.)

The key to raising Contraband above other, similar action thrillers is Mark Wahlberg. Since his bold and ballsy Oscar nominated work in The Departed Wahlberg has really come into his own as a movie star and that movie star quality is the one thing working in favor of Contraband. Without Mark Wahlberg, Contraband is an exceptionally average movie. See "Contraband" for Mark Wahlberg or maybe to chuckle at Giovanni Ribisi's tattooed tough guy; both are strong reasons to see "Contraband."

Movie Review: The Mechanic

The Mechanic (2011) 

Directed by Simon West

Written by Lewis John Carlino, Richard Wenk

Starring Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn 

Release Date January 28th, 2011 

Published January 27th, 2011 

If by some chance you have managed to avoid every other movie about coolly efficient assassins who live alone like monks and share a warrior's code with old school samurais then you might find the new Jason Statham film “The Mechanic” interesting. If, however, you are like me and you have seen any hit man movie ever you will find nothing the least bit original or fascinating about this rehash of sub-genre cliché.

Jason Statham is Arthur Bishop a classical music fan who also happens to be the coldest of the cold blooded killers in the world. Arthur's specialty is hits that don't look like hits and in the opening montage we watch as Arthur murders the head of a South American cartel by making the death look like an accidental drowning. The murder is clever but more in a B-movie fashion than in the sleek, cool fashion the film seems to think it's pulling off.

Arthur's next hit will not be as efficient; he's been hired to kill his mentor. Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland) taught Arthur all that he knows about killing people. But now that Harry is aging and in a wheelchair he has become a greedy liability to the higher ups who give the contract to Arthur out of a sense of decency and respect, or something. The expectation is that Arthur will make the old timer's death quick and painless.

Arthur has a son, Steve (Ben Foster), and though the two were not close Steve wants revenge for his father's death. Lucky for Arthur, the unpredictable, hot headed Steve doesn't know who killed his dad. Out of guilt or sympathy, Arthur takes Steve under his wing and begins teaching him the tools of the trade for a 'Mechanic,' aka assassin, a man who fixes problems.

Simon West directed “The Mechanic,” taking the bones of a forgotten Charles Bronson flick from the early 70's and taking out anything vaguely arty like the original's wordless 15 minute opening in which Bronson lays out a complicated kill and cover up without feeling the need to narrate the proceedings the way Statham's Arthur does temporarily and fitfully throughout the new film.

The original “The Mechanic” was no art-house film but it had more ambition than this knock off and in Bronson a more compellingly stoic and fascinating lead. Jason Statham's one note performance, compounded by the dull and needless voiceover, has the same lack of energy and innovation as Simon West's direction. It's a shame because Statham is capable of being a charismatic presence but The Mechanic sucks the life out of the bullet headed action hero. 

Ben Foster is the truly unfortunate one in “The Mechanic.” This talented young actor who has brought vitality and unpredictability to roles in other not so great movies like “Pandorum” as well as great movies like “3:10 to Yuma” and the military drama “The Messenger,” where he helped Woody Harrelson to an Oscar nomination, is stranded in the one note role in The Mechanic. Much like Statham, Foster is hamstrung by an uninspired script and Simon West's dull direction. 

Dreary, derivative, and deeply uninspired, The Mechanic is a complete failure. It's indicative of every other movie Simon West has directed, a dull, often insulting rehash of genre cliches, slickly produced with little care for character or storytelling. 

Movie Review: The Messenger

The Messenger (2009) 

Directed by Oren Moverman 

Written by Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman 

Starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone 

Release Date November 13th, 2009 

January 31st, 2010 

There are many jobs to be done in the American military and it is likely a great movie could be made about any of those jobs. Writer-director Oren Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon have chosen a particularly difficult job and crafted a great movie from its many emotional and professional complications.

The Messenger tells the story of Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a recently injured soldier home from Iraq. Though Will is desperate to get back to the war his injuries need more time to heal and his commanding officer (Eamonn Walker) has a temporary job for him to do while he heals.

Will is assigned to work with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) in the Casualty Notification Service. It is Captain Stone's duty to inform the families of soldiers who are killed in battle. Captain Stone has been at this job a very long time and has some hard and fast rules for Staff Sgt. Montgomery to live by.

The first and most important rule is being professional. Do not engage emotionally with the family. Stick to the script which informs the family that the Department of Defense is sorry to inform them of the death of their loved one. Never touch the victim's family, no physical or emotional attachments are essential to performing this task.

The rules are practical to military standards but also provide a distance for the men of the casualty service who need the rules to keep the sadness and despair at the heart of the job at bay. Montgomery understands but cannot resist a natural tendency toward helping people. In battle he was often the first to rush to help a downed soldier, and in his new duty keeping his distance from the wounded is difficult.

It was inevitable then that one of the victim's families would get through Montgomery’s shell of professionalism. The wife of a late soldier, Olivia (Samantha Morton), strikes something deep within Montgomery and he cannot help but engage with her, eventually beginning to fall in love with her all the while trying to keep Tony from knowing about his breech of conduct. Of course, Tony is well aware of what is happening and seeing the young man make this mistake leads Tony to his own breech of conduct when he returns to drinking as a way of coping with the job. As these two men bond and battle the story takes on a tornado swirl of emotions.

Director Oren Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon structure the story of The Messenger as a series of vignettes strung together with scenes of male bonding through alcohol and immature sexuality. There is an inherent disconnect from emotion in this structure, one that actually plays very well to the overall story.

By structuring the film as a series of beginning middle and end encounters with victims families followed by scenes of Montgomery and Stone getting to know each other off the job, we get the disconnected feeling that Stone urges as the most important part of the job. This makes it even more effective when Montgomery begins to allow the job to bleed over out of the vignette and into the other portions of the story.

By the end, the wall that Stone so carefully crafted as a means of distancing himself from the tragedy of his job is nearly destroyed and it nearly destroys him. Montgomery meanwhile finds himself again through the despair and heartache and finds a renewed purpose that gives the film a hopeful yet nervy end.

The Messenger is a film of remarkable poise, poignancy and empathy. It features performances by Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson that are hard but sensitive, tough yet compassionate. Oren Moverman made his mark as screenwriter in 2007 and now is a full fledged filmmaker with his exceptional work here.

Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon were nominated for an Academy Award for this original screenplay while Woody Harrelson earned a much deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination. This film deserved even more than that. The Messenger is powerhouse filmmaking.