DOCTOR STRANGE

SFX OUTSHINE CUMBERBATCH

Film Review by Fiore 

I’m fine with superhero movies.  Unlike my colleague and friend Ed Blank, I don’t mind knowing the superhero will always win and never really face a disastrous death.  That said, the current cinema craze for superheroes is bringing many to the big screen who should truly stay on the inked page.  This is the situation with DOCTOR STRANGE.  It is a film totally dependent on its own special effects, wasting the talents of top cast and crew members.  Director Scott Derrickson pilots a venture into mysticism and magic with convoluted visual effects and a mere mundane plot.  With a budget of over $165 million, this film is nothing more than a group orgy by computer geeks.

Dr. Stephen Strange is a brilliant surgeon.  Like most brilliant surgeons, he is arrogant, egotistical and self-centered.  A car accident deprives him of the use of his hands.  Numerous operations fail and in an act of total desperation, he seeks to return to his previous glory through magic and mysticism.  His quest brings him into a totally new world.  Like MEN IN BLACK, he is made aware of alternate universes and the malevolent creatures who abide there, intent on destroying worlds, all occurring under the unwitting eyes of the public.   DOCTOR STRANGE goes from surgeon to a Guardian of Galaxies in the span of a montage.

This template is standard fare in the world of superheroes.  Yet, while watching DOCTOR STRANGE, I had a strange (pardon the word usage) deja-vu experience.  Then it occurred to me this script, penned by Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill is basically the same story in Ryan Reynold’s GREEN LANTERN; a film many comic fanboys despised, but I enjoyed.  I immediately thought of Mr. Big’s son coughing: “Rip-off, rip-off”.  Even the evil presence from the Dark World (no relation to the one Thor visited) bears a striking resemblance to Parallax. 

KEY SCENES TO LOOK FOR: 1.      STRANGE’S BATTLE WITH LUCIAN 2.      THE ASTERAL BODY OPERATING SCENE 3.      THE FOLDING CITY IN THE ROOM OF MIRRORS Benedict Cumberbatch plays Dr. Stephen Strange. It is not his best performance, with the script partially to blame.  I’ve never seen Cumberbatch in a poor performance, but this may set a new low for him.  He even delivers his lines in a higher registry than normal, and I’m not sure why.  It is distracting. One can easily see he is trying his best in key scenes, but the transition from ego-centered surgeon to alternate universe warrior is haphazard and the script requires him to bounce up and down, much like a child playing with a yo-yo. Tilda Swinton is the Ancient One, an all-powerful mystic who recruits Strange.  Swinton is a chameleon actress, changing her look into bizarre caricatures with every outing.  Here, she does her best impression of Master Po.  While she attempts to bring gravitas to the endeavor, she is stilted by The Ancient One’s insistence of repeating the same mantras, as if somehow, they will gain more meaning.  Even Master Po knew to say it once, and let Grasshopper comprehend the message. Much more comfortable in their roles are Benedict Wong, as Wong (really, I couldn’t make that up), Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo and Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecillius. They have embraced the absurdity of this superhero tale and seem to be reveling in its milieu.  To be fair to Cumberbatch, there are two extra scenes during the end credits.  In the first, he seems more comfortable in the role as he has a discussion with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), but arriving at that point is painful.   Rachel McAdams appears in an extended cameo as Dr. Christine Palmer.  She serves merely as comic relief and a lame romantic side.  And, you can look for stuntman turned martial arts action star Scott Adkins as Lucian in a small but enjoyable segment. Behind the camera, kudos abound for Production Designer Charles Wood.  Folding realities upon one another is no easy feat, and in 3D IMAX it does look spectacular.  Of course, Director of Photography Ben Davis is complacent in this look.  It is his use of cant camera angles and arc camera movements that allow worlds to collapse on one another. There is a rousing score from Michael Giacchino that occasionally toys with older pop tunes, like Chuck Mangione’s “Feels So Good”.  And, DOCTOR STRANGE utilizes two editors.  I’m not a fan of this practice.  When you add more than one editor, the film’s visage is generally disjointed.  Wyatt Smith and Sabrina Plisco, in tandem, do not have a clear concept for the story’s timeline.  Often, topics resolved in earlier reels keep surfacing in latter ones. The folks at MovieGuide, headed by Dr. Ted Baehr, issued a release claiming DOCTOR STRANGE is nothing more than an indoctrination to the occult and Satanism for young people.  I wouldn’t go that far.  Part of the appeal to some themes is the play off traditional religious themes.  This is what made the SyFy Network’s DOMINION and FX Network’s LUCIFER interesting.  They toy with established norms, though solely for entertainment purposes, and not to honor or praise those alternatives.  The alternate universe theory is one prevalent in many superhero tales.  LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, FLASH, ARROW and even STAR TREK have all dealt with the topic without leading anyone to Satanism. DOCTOR STRANGE is not a bad movie, but like its main character, it suffers from an identity complex. There is not enough seriousness to make it stand with CAPTAIN AMERICA; and not enough comedy to parallel GUARIANS OF THE GALAXY.  With Cumberbatch in the lead, this film should be most noble, but one of the stage’s best actors is beat back for the sake of over the top SFX.  The computer geeks rule this film, and it didn’t have to be so.  There is enough talent here that story and character development would have succeeded far more nicely. THE GRADE FOR DOCTOR STRANGE = C

HACKSAW RIDGE

GIBSON EXCELLENT FILMMAKER

Film Review by Fiore 

HACKSAW RIDGE is proof positive Mel Gibson is a most excellent filmmaker.  It is, without question, one of the best films of the year.  What is disturbing, is the current trend of non-American filmmakers who can capture the essence of American values and culture in movies better than the progressive, looney liberal infected filmmakers in our own country.  Mexican directors backed by drug cartel money, Arab filmmakers backed by oil money, British anti-gun weenies, and especially Australian filmmakers depict the American way of life, and understand the American film goer better than indigenous producers, delirious with their own quest of shaping the world into an Utopian existence crafted in their own image.  It is the largest form of hubris in Tinseltown.

But none of that is present in HACKSAW RIDGE, the tale of Desmond Doss, the only man to ever be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic deeds while maintaining his strong religious beliefs, and never lifting a gun, during WWII. 

Gruesome war scenes broke a glass ceiling with Tom Hank’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN; but the battles in HACKSAW RIDGE reach a new level of brutality. 

Production Designer Barry Robison unleashes war’s hell with no veiled sensitivities, making Doss’ deeds even more astounding.  By the way, kudos to the loving parents who brought their toddler into this R-rated film.  What a fine example of parenting you represent.  There are no acceptable alibis.

 

Mel Gibson has received a plethora of poor PR from Hollywood, mostly spun tales and edited videos to present him in a disparaging manner because of his successful snub of the Hollywood power machine with the release of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.  The revenge factor in Tinseltown is strong; and many will not move on and accept their defeat.  Likely, many will not recognize this film for the excellent values and strong religious convictions it presents.  Those themes are not what the hoi ploi of LaLa Land wish to disseminate.  Gibson experienced backlash with the creation of this film, reverting to his homeland of Australia for production.

Each night, star Andrew Garfield should pray to whatever deity he worships for Gibson salvaging his career.  Garfield was a young ingénue when he was given the coveted role of Spider-Man in the superhero’s reboot, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.  Quickly after the movie was released, Garfield stupidly sabotaged his promising career by whipping up a press interview tour, touting the need for a homosexual superhero.  He even went so far as to demand his next film in the Spider-Man series feature a homosexual tryst.  Talk about shooting yourself in the foot; this was more like shooting yourself in the head. 

Garfield became persona non-grata, especially among the ravenous superhero movie fan base.  Marvel cancelled the six-movie series and killed it after two.  Spider-Man is now going through another reboot, with Tom Holland, and a totally different storyline.  Producers were wary of Garfield, fearing another post-film destructive press tour.  Gibson, seeing an opportunity to let Garfield tout his liberalism while still preserving the American values necessary for the film, worked with casting director Nikki Barrett to bring Garfield into HACKSAW RIDGE.  The result could be a nod for Best Actor.

KEY SCENES TO LOOK FOR:

1.      THE NAKED RECRUIT

2.      TOP OF THE RIDGE

3.      STRETCHER DOWN

Gibson orchestrates HACKSAW RIDGE masterfully.  The film is easily divided in two; the second half concentrating on the battle and Doss’ attempts to save his ravaged battalion.   The first half establishes the characters and Doss’ internal conflict of wanting to help with the war effort, while still remaining true to his personal and religious beliefs.  This first section could easily have dawdled the film, but screenwriter Andrew Knight fills it with downhome humor, providing laughs and chuckles as a set-up for the horrors to come.

Starring with Garfield are Teresa Palmer, as Dorothy Schutte, Doss’ love interest; Vince Vaughn as Sergeant Howell; Sam Worthington as Captain Glover; and Hugo Weaving as Tom Doss, Desmond’s father.  Weaving’s performance is especially noteworthy.

Topping off the excellent cast is a rousing score by Rupert Gregson-Williams (he put in a hyphen, but he is still one of the dreaded three-name people).  There is a special thank you note to James Horner, music writer extraordinaire as it is apparent Williams patterned his music after the legendary composer.

Simon Duggan, a stalwart in cinematography, provides exemplary work in HACKSAW RIDGE, especially during the battle.  His use of camera angles is exceptional on the stretcher scene; strong enough to earn one of the key scene spots in this review.

Gibson, still demonstrating disdain for the Hollywood elite, crafts a fine film, returning to his homeland and incorporating a few family members into the cast and crew, to create a truly fine American film.  Don’t miss this one.  See it on the big screen.  It is that good.

As always, I arrived at the screening a half hour before showtime.  There was a group of folk sitting behind me, talking loudly as progressive liberals are wont to do, bragging about their charitable events of the day.  Talk turned to the film and immediately, they began to criticize Gibson, claiming he was a horrible person, though no one had met him, and just had atrocious political beliefs.  From Gibson, the talk turned to Clint Eastwood, who then suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous liberal indignation.  For a moment, I considered turning around and engaging in the discussion.  But, I bit my tongue; you just can’t fix stupid, even in the movie theatre.

THE GRADE FOR HACKSAW RIDGE = A

INFERNO

THIRD TIME NO CHARM FOR HANKS

Film Review by Fiore 

Professor Langdon, the cryptic symbolist, played by Tom Hanks, is getting better, but he still suffers from the same ailments that plagued his last escapades.  The same can be said of Director Ron Howard.  Dan Brown’s novels expose his Achilles heel as a director; but the problems for INFERNO, the third of Brown’s books to transform to celluloid, begins with Screenwriter David Koepp.

Brown writes intricate plots with a labyrinth of storylines.  The novels, seeped in historical conjecture, often run 400 pages.  In contrast, the average movie script is 120 pages.  It takes a special talent to tell a 400-page tale in 120 pages; and it is the boondoggle of the Langdon film series.  While INFERNO is slightly better than the first two outings, it still suffers, severely, from Koepp attempting to fit too much information into his allotted script.  Thus, INFERNO is mind-numbing.  Once the climatic final reel commences, the lines between antagonist and protagonist are so blurred, “you can’t tell the players without a scorecard”, as they say in Cleveland.

This latest episode from a line of tales penned to challenge current religious and literary beliefs, begins with Langdon in a hospital suffering from a head wound and temporary amnesia.  It takes only a few scenes before he discovers there are strong and powerful enemies set on his demise, though he can’t remember why.  Aided by his doctor, Sienna Brooks, played by Felicity Jones, Langdon begins a merry chase through Florence, Italy.  His pursuers include:  Omar Sy; Irrfan Khan and Ana Ularu.  His only ally appears to be Elizabeth Sinskey, played by Sidse Babett Knudsen; but as B.B. King intoned, “she could be jiving, too”, after all, she is one of the dreaded three-name people.

Ben Foster is the main antagonist, but considering he dies in the opening minutes of the film, he appears only in flashback and his role is reduced to a mere cameo.  It is a bit of a shame, for Foster is a talented actor worthy of a much bigger slice of the pie.

KEY SCENES TO LOOK FOR:

1.      VISUALIZATION OF DANTE’S HELL

2.      THE INTERROGATION

3.      ESCAPE FROM THE HOSPITAL

Behind the camera, INFERNO offers a cadre of talent.  Hans Zimmer provides an amazing score with all the energy and pulse of his MIAMI VICE days.  If you’ve never seen Italy, Director of Photography Salvatore Totino provides a panoramic vista of shots better than most travel brochures; besides he also makes great pizza rolls.

Howard must have known he had a problem with the complexity of the story, for he hired two editors, Tom Elkins and Dan Hanley.  Together, they still were unable to salvage a cramped plot. 

Thrillers always have a ‘plot reveal’.  This is when a main character, usually the villain, explains the hows and whys of the story.  Steve Martin and Carl Reiner did a marvelous job of spoofing the plot reveal in DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID.  There is usually one plot reveal during a movie.  By the time INFERNO offers its fourth, viewers are tired of the same old same old, much like the current shenanigans of the presidential election.

Beginning with THE DA VINCI CODE Professor Robert Langdon provides thrills galore, rooted in historical context.  The tales, however, do not translate well to film.  No one yet, despite tapping talent, has successfully adapted the novels to celluloid.  INFERNO is two hours long, but feels more like a week and a half.

THE GRADE FOR INFERNO = C