Double Feature: R.I.P.D. and Turbo

The common theme for today's double feature is Ryan Reynolds. Back in the early 2000's, the Van Wilder actor was going to be the next superstar of the big screen. Unfortunately, while still a talented performer, he's never quite achieved the level of career prosperity that folks once predicted, and his Hollywood experience has consisted of peaks and valleys, with most of his appearances coming in supporting roles and his biggest draws being shared with bigger, more prestigious actors (Denzel Washington in Safe House, Sandra Bullock in The Proposal). He's certainly been busy this year, with roles in TWO animated features (the first was The Croods) and one sci-fi action film. We'll look at the live-action flick first, as Reynolds teams up with Academy Award-winner Jeff Bridges in RED director Robert Schwenke's R.I.P.D.

When Boston Police detective Nick Walker (Reynolds) is killed in the line of duty, his soul does not go to Heaven or Hell. Instead, it is transferred to the Rest in Peace Department, an afterlife police agency that tracks down bad souls on Earth that have escaped judgment. Partnered with former US Marshall and curmudgeon cowboy Roy Pulsipher (Bridges), the pair clash frequently in their search for hiding "Deados". But when an ancient artifact is discovered that threatens to return the dead to the Earth, Nick and Roy must settle their differences before the world as they know it comes to an ectoplasmic end.

Bridges is of course playing Rooster Cogburn.

On paper, R.I.P.D. seems to look something like a cross between Men in Black and Ghostbusters, with a decent amount of Ghost thrown in. Based on the comic book series of the same name from Dark Horse Comics, you figure that there would be plenty of material to mine in putting together the story. Unfortunately, Schwentke's final product is rushed, cramming potentially two and a half hours worth of material into a slim 96 minutes. Everything is hurried, with no chance for the audience to slow down and adapt to the idea of the R.I.P.D. and its role in protecting the planet in secret. The result is that the story comes off as phony and unbelievable, and the films that should have been sources of inspiration (the three above) are instead mined for specific imagery, their theft leaving R.I.P.D. without an identity all its own. The special effects are at least better than you might expect, but the quality isn't consistent, switching between good and mediocre in a heartbeat.

R.I.P.D. even stole M.I.B.'s secret locale.

There are two factors in which the film does redeem itself, however: humor and acting. Annoying physical humor aside, R.I.P.D. actually has excellent dialogue, which is crisp and helps alleviate the mediocrity of the overall story. And that humor really comes across thanks to a cast not just composed by its leads, but also by Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, and Kevin Bacon, who has really enjoyed a career renaissance on screens big and small the past couple of years. They manage to elevate the movie by a couple of rungs, and both Reynolds and Bridges carry the film through the strength of their constant interactions.I do wish the director had stepped away from the duo a bit more to focus on the support cast, but otherwise I can't really complain, as the result is entertaining enough.

Get to the choppah!

But despite some fun that can be had, it's hard to get around the fact that R.I.P.D. could have been much, MUCH better than it turned out. It's just too derivative to fully get behind, and while it's not nearly the train-wreck that many critics have attested, for the money that was allegedly spent ($130 million got us THIS?), it's definitely going to go down as one of the most disappointing comic book adaptations this year. It might be worth a rental in a few months, but don't rush out to see it just yet.

A much better Ryan Reynolds jaunt (and one for the whole family, no less) is the latest animated film from Dreamworks, Turbo. If you were to take Ratatouille, change the animal in question from rats to snails, and then fuse it to Cars, you have an idea of how this one plays out. Theo (voiced by Reynolds) is an average gastropod, weary of his slow-paced existence and dreaming of becoming a world-class racer like his heroes on the NASCAR circuit, much to the chagrin and embarrassment of his sensible older brother Chet (Paul Giamatti). When a freak accident with nitrous oxide turns Theo into the super-fast snail Turbo, his dreams of going fast quickly become true. Soon, he is teaming up with fellow dreamer and taco truck driver Tito (Michael Pena), whose family business is suffering due to its poor location. Tito and Turbo hatch a plan that's so insane and unbelievable that it could only happen in a Dreamworks movie, as Tito uses all his saving to enter Turbo into the Indy 500, racing against the top car racers in the world. But could Theo's powers be only temporary, and if they are, what will happen if he slows down during the big race?

Turbo; a snail with a plan.

Like all Dreamworks animated pictures, Turbo is quite pretty to watch, but not quite on par with its superior competition. The company's response to the idea that they aren't as deep or emotional as those put out by Pixar (even over the last couple of years, Dreamworks has struggled to maintain its second-place status on the animation front), the response has apparently been to crib the best themes from Pixar's highlights (in this case the excellent Ratatouille). First-time feature director David Soren at least does a decent job with his second-hand story, mixing the idea of never giving up on your dreams with a healthy mix of characters.

Just stand back and let the merchandise sales roll in.

And it's the characters that stand out most in Turbo. Excellent actors such as Paul Giamatti and Michael Pena hold key roles, and the gang of renegade racing snails (which feel remarkably akin to the Fast & Furious gang), are a lot of fun. They're led by Samuel L. Jackson, but Soren never relies on them to pick up the slack elsewhere. In most films, that would be a great sign of restraint, but here it seems a little foolhardy. Turbo, and Reynolds as his voice, are interesting enough to maintain their lead character credentials but is a bit vanilla for an animated lead. Though there's a great cast in here, they can't quite make up for an uninspired lead.

In the grand scheme of Dreamworks animated films, Turbo is certainly not bad. On a scale between the excellence of How to Train Your Dragon and the much-reviled Shark Tale, their latest comes in somewhere around Kung Fu Panda. While the concept is almost as absurd as it is derivative, kids will definitely get into seeing this animated feature on the big screen, and unlike a lot of Dreamworks' other titles, Turbo has enough for adults to get into the act, especially if they're fans of the still-growing race culture. But with Monsters University and Despicable Me 2 still in theaters, I can't see any reason you should rush out your door to see it either, unless your kids really love the idea of racing snails. Or if you do. No judging.

Clever, Smart, Love

I'm still finishing up the last of the July film releases as we finish the first week of August. Now that I'm back on track with the new films, and this month has some of the less anticipated titles for the summer, I considered this an opportune time to catch up on one of my must-sees. In this case, it was the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love starring Steve Carell alongside an ensemble cast that simply oozes talent and charisma. The film was also directed by Glenn Ficara and John Requea, whose debut 2010 Jim Carrey project I Love You Phillip Morris was an under-appreciated gem. These contributing factors, not to mention a hip and fun trailer (about divorce, no less) that ironically inspired love at first sight, made me very excited for this summer release. Sure, I've seen a large number of romantic comedies this year, but most of them have either been bad beyond comprehension or entertaining but with completely derivative plots and storylines. One look at Crazy, Stupid, Love seems to dissolve all those fears, and now that I had time to visit theaters, my friend - the Rom-Com expert Anne - and I checked out a show this past week. Despite the trailers being fairly clear on what story to look forward to, it was the breakdown of said plot that would most determine whether this film would stand atop the year's best or wallow in the mess that has consumed most of Hollywood's 2011.

Carrell shouldn't have told Gosling about his problems with "Little Stevie"

Carl Weaver (Steve Carell) has just gotten a divorce from his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) in response to her cheating on him with a co-worker, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon). Naturally this throws the pair and their two children into an emotional tailspin, especially Carl, who had become so ingrained to married life that he has no idea how to re-enter the dating scene. While bemoaning his fate at a local bar, Carl meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a smooth-talking ladies man who agrees to help with Carl's physical and emotional makeover. Soon, Carl is entering the wild world of modern dating and casual sex, but Jacob finds his own path diverting when he meets Hannah (Emma Stone), who makes him look at his relationship with women in a whole new light. While both are going through their changes, Carl's son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) pines after his babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who herself has a major crush on Carl.

"If you want them to be President, you have to start them off at an early age"

From what you can see of those intermingled plot points, Crazy, Stupid Love gets very complex very quickly, with a large number of events simultaneously occurring on multiple levels. That said, most of the film focuses on Carl and other characters' actions around him. This makes the most sense, as just about every other character has some sort of connection to him, but it slightly damages the ensemble feel of the cast by focusing so much on Carl and his problems. This is especially true since while he is interesting in his own right, Carl pales in comparison to Jacob, who as a character could easily headline his own film. In fact, the Jacob/Hannah storyline is shunted into the background a bit too much (though there is a reason for this), and Carl gets a little tiring by the time we're not focusing quite as much attention in his direction. These are small missteps and surprising ones considering how strong the storytelling was in I Love You, Phillip Morris, but not so bad as to cause any actual demerits to be dispensed unto this title. The story behind Crazy, Stupid, Love might have been told slightly more in tune, but in the end it's unpredictability works wonders to make up for that offense.

I wasn't kidding. Carell is in every screenshot I could find for this film

Oh, yes, the unpredictability. It would not be uncommon for you (as if was for Anne and me) to place your hand over your eyes and face for much of Crazy, Stupid, Love, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. While I can't (and won't, you'll have to figure it out for yourself) go into too much detail, you will see things go completely out of control, only for it to be compounded by more things going out of control than you had ever anticipated. It's not an entirely comfortable scenario, but one that manages to be a lot of fun nonetheless. The result is you half-hiding your eyes from the screen while witnessing this madness, yet the film never really lets you look away. You're easily compelled to see it through to the end, which is the mark of any good film.

Auditioning for the next "Oceans" movie, are we Ryan?

Of course this movie would have to be populated by interesting characters to be truly good. As you probably gathered from the previews, Ryan Gosling is just amazing as ladies man Jacob, a role that doesn't quite fit with his career thus far. Though he failed to rightfully garner a Best Actor nomination at the last Academy Awards (no offense Jesse Eisenberg, but I would've rather had him over you), Gosling has finally gotten the attention of mainstream Hollywood after building his career on small but well-received films Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, and Blue Valentine. Now that he's getting star treatment, you might think his output would drop right into the deep end like so many others who have made the transition from indie to the big leagues. However, Gosling is a lot of fun and keeps all of his strengths on board while playing Jacob, and never does he do something which isn't completely believable. Carell is the film's star, and he tries his best to give us the same charm he does in just about every Steve Carell movie. Performance-wise, this is probably the closest he's come to his Little Miss Sunshine peak, but still doesn't deviate too far from his usual fare. He's still good, and as a lead he's more than serviceable, but I was hoping for much more from the character we're expected to mainly follow for two hours. Emma Stone is once again a lot of fun, though her character's major decision between sex with the hot bar guy (Jacob) and her boring relationship with boring lawyer Richard (Josh Groban) is hardly the stuff of legends. Her main source of power is her boundless energy, which here she displays in spades. Is Julianne Moore's career going to turn into a revolving door of cheating spouses now? First it was her great work in the widely overrated The Kids are All Right, and now she's doing the same here. Hopefully this is just a glitch in her resume and not full-blown typecasting, but she at least puts on a good show for the audience. She's completely sympathetic, unlike so many similar characters who would be instantly hated by the audience. I will watch Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon in just about anything, but while both do great jobs, neither is used to their full advantage in supporting roles. Analeigh Tipton is surprising on two counts. One, far more of the story is dedicated to her point of view than I had anticipated; and two, the young actress is actually quite good as the Weaver's teenage babysitter. She carries a certain innocence to her that isn't apparent in the trailer, and she's easily better than Jonah Bobo, the young Weaver spawn who eventually becomes the film's most annoying character.

Here's looking at you, kid... seriously, you're young enough to be his daughter

Looking at love from too many angles to count, Crazy, Stupid, Love really goes without sleep to deliver a strong narrative that makes you feel every emotion that the filmmakers want of you. Not the least bit subtle, the film makes up for that fact by presenting everything to you on a silver platter of fun, empathy and wisdom that can't help but charm. It's not the best romantic comedy I've seen this year (that would be Woody Allen's  Midnight in Paris) but it's right up there among the year's smartest and most heartfelt releases. To say it's worth seeing would almost seem like a disservice, but then again I would have to worry about anyone who can't get behind the excess of charm and heart that this film delivers to its audience. So go see it; Ryan Gosling deserves your patronage.

Class is in Session

When I first heard that the X-Men film franchise was going to be rebooted with an origins story of  Professor X and Magneto, I wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, another X-Men film in the same vein of the first two series titles is overdue, as the superhero team is one of the more popular comic book organizations out there with hundreds of interesting characters and forty years worth of interesting stories to tell (there's a reason Marvel Comics has had dozens of spin-off titles to accompany their original X-Men series). On the other hand, well, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was merely okay, and don't even get me started with all the mistakes made with X-Men: The Last Stand. Thankfully X-Men First Class has a lot going for it. First you have the amazing cast that includes James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, January Jones and Rose Byrne. Next you have director Matthew Vaughn, who has done an amazing job with story-based action films Layer Cake and last year's Kick Ass. Finally, the film seemed to step away from the popular-but-overused characters of Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm to allow other, newer characters to grow into the franchise. That would allow for the inevitable staleness of the previous trilogy's cast to refresh, and make these characters more viable down the line. Still, in a summer full of superhero film fare, I wasn't sure whether X-Men First Class would rise to the top, or sink deep beneath the waves of the likes of Thor, Captain America and Green Lantern.

Obligatory cast shot! And go!

As I stated before, the film focuses on Professor Charles Xavier (McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Fassbender), and takes place during the height of Communism and the Cuban Missile Crisis. When CIA operative Moira McTaggert (Byrne) accidentally discovers the existence of mutants while conducting investigations into a secret society called the Hellfire Club and its leader, Sebastian Shaw (Bacon), she asks for help from Xavier, who is the foremost expert on genetic mutation. Of course, he is no mere observer of these events; Charles possesses a mutation himself, full-blown telepathy that he uses to read minds and communicate with others. With the CIA's help, they put together a full team of heroes to combat Shaw, including Raven Darkholme (Lawrence), a shape-shifter and Charles's childhood friend; Dr. Henry McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), a malformed athletic mutant trying to discover a cure to his physical appearance; Sean Cassidy (Caleb Landry Jones), who can create sonic bursts with his voice; Alex Summers (Lucas Till), who can absorb and discharge blasts of energy; and Lehnsherr, a former concentration camp victim with a lifelong grudge against Shaw and an affinity for moving metal with his mind. Together they hope to stop the Hellfire Club, whose goal is global domination and the rise of the mutant as the world's dominant species. From these beginnings comes the origin of comics' most unique superhero team.

Emma Frost about to come out of your screen, Ring style

X-Men First Class features one of the best stories I've seen from the superhero genre in quite some time. Almost epic in feel, the film doesn't rush a single detail, introducing the audience to Charles, Erik and Raven at young ages and the manifestation of their powers, before setting up the film's main story. Even then it doesn't rush things; even though Charles and Erik are the focus of the tale, they don't even meet for the story's first third. Nothing is sacrificed in the name of forcing the plot forward, and every pain is made to humanize each of these characters before going full steam ahead. Once everything is in place, First Class does go ahead quickly, but nothing feels lost to time spent. Even though the film runs well over two hours, it doesn't seem like anything close to that, as looking back I'm sure I could have sat through another hour comfortably.

Seems wrong to see Magneto wearing the classic X-Men colors... that doesn't last long.

One of the things I most enjoyed was getting used to all the different characters, many of whom haven't appeared in previous X-Films. Though comic fans will be quick to point out that the first actual X-team (according to their bible which is Marvel's database) was comprised of Cyclops, Beast, Angel, Iceman and Jean Grey, I'm okay with only Beast getting this first cut. Of the other notable additions, it was good to see lesser-known X-Men Banshee, Havok and Angel make their debuts on screen, even if the characters aren't nearly as fleshed out as are Professor X and Magneto. Sure, it's odd seeing Magneto and Mystique (two future X-Men villains) wearing the colors of the good guys, but the payoff by seeing their turns to the other side makes it all worth the while. I also loved the dichotomy between the mutants like Xavier who wanted to blend into society and could because they exhibited no physical abnormalities, and those - like Mystique and Beast - who knew they never could because they had to hide theirs. It made for great sources of conflict amongst the team, and a great commentary on human society as a whole.

Somehow, I don't think "I didn't do it" is gonna cut it.

The casting was also amazing, with only a few actors failing to live up to their perceived talents. McAvoy is once again amazing as Charles Xavier, as he proves himself a talent worth following. Somehow he's been overshadowed by his co-stars in many films, but any who don't appreciate the seriousness McAvoy brings to every performance simply can't recognize his immense charisma and acting chops. Of course, as I say this, he IS overshadowed by one of his co-stars by quite a degree. Michael Fassbender has amazed me this past year, with starring turns in Centurion and Jane Eyre catapulting him to stardom. Hell, even his performance in the otherwise-awful Jonah Hex was more than worth the price of a $1 rental. Fassbender far and beyond exceeds the talent potential for ANY action film, let alone one with superheroes, and so his role here as one of the X-Men's greatest enemies is a tour de force (see, they can't use that term just for serious films anymore) for the genre. Simply amazing. Bacon, meanwhile, feels half-baked. While he really seems to be trying in some parts, you can't help but feel that even HE knows he's just a placeholder for the next generation of X-Men villainy. Better is Shaw's number one, Emma Frost, played by Mad Men's January Jones. Though hardly a deep role, Frost has gotten more or less the shaft from previous films despite being one of the most important characters in the X-comics today. Still, Jones barely shows any range in her monotonous dialogue, though that only exhibits that she was perfectly cast for the role. Rose Byrne is good if underused as Moira McTaggert, a CIA operative who seems to be assisting the mutants while not actually seeming to be doing a whole heck of a lot. She's another actress with huge potential; it's a shame this film doesn't make use of it. Most of the secondary characters, played by Till, Jones, Hoult and Zoe Kravitz, do some interesting things but don't really get a chance to shine like McAvoy and Fassbender. At least they're more interesting than the "normals" like Oliver Platt as a nameless CIA agent. Most disappointing however is Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence, who rightfully earned an Academy Award nomination for last year's Winter's Bone, doesn't seem fully in command of her character, Mystique. Compared to just about everyone else on the cast, her dialogue seems forced, with little to no conviction in her delivery. That's not a good sign, but hopefully this is a fluke and not a sign that her performance in next year's Hunger Games will be less than stellar.

"The Magneto!" is the new dance hitting Hollywood this year

Thankfully, that is the only major quibble I had with X-Men First Class. While I thought some of the special effects and makeup work was less than amazing (and really, no Stan Lee cameo?), the strong story and acting from most of the parties involved more than made up for any misses director Matthew Vaughn might have made. So far, it's the best superhero film I've seen this year, coming in at #3 for 2011. If you absolutely have to see one comic-book film this year, make it this one.