American Ultra: Surprisingly Fun

If expectations alone were sufficient to determine a film’s worth, then certainly American Ultra would have required a ritual sacrifice with its leads burned in effigy among a bellowing crowd disgusted fans. But sometimes surprises happen and premonitions of catastrophe averted. Directed by Nima Nourizadeh, American Ultra is just such a tale: where we expected disaster and instead watched a film that might be considered likable.

Premise: A comedy-Spy thriller hybrid that revolves around Mike Howell who must use his unearthed skills to survive. Result: More fun than expected.

Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) and Phoebe Larson (Kristen Stewart) live their sheltered lives as filthy stoners in the middle of no place, West Virginia (a possible redundancy) living in a hovel and working at the local mart. The mundane is their existence and they couldn’t be happier in their situation. But when Howell attempts proposal on a perfect trip to Hawaii, he is unable to board the flight due to a terrible panic attack.

This sets of a chain reaction at Langly, where it is revealed that Howell is really part of some buried government program to create some sort of elite military force. Formerly under the protection of Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton), Howell has now been subject to termination by Adrian Yates (Topher Grace), a ruthless new overlord at the CIA. And so it begins.

Now You See Me: A Unique Thriller Worth Seeing

Director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, Clash of the Titans) has produced one of the more enjoyable films of the early summer, using magic in this thriller to entice audiences.  While the film is far from perfect and has a few notable misses, it is fun, interesting and exhilarating from start to finish.

Premise: Four independent magicians unite to form The Four Horsemen, a new magic act that appears to have some seriously criminal implications. Result: A fun crime thriller with a unique magical spin that is sure to delight all the way through.

The fundamental premise of Now You See Me is that magic, if nothing else, is entertainment.  But hidden in this entertainment, this joy brought to observers, is a certain power, as magic is also, at its heart, the art of trickery and audience manipulation.

It is these two concepts that pervade this story, introducing four magicians, each at a different stage in their lives and careers: J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), an acclaimed magician on the world scene; Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), Atlas’ former love interest and assistant who terrifies audiences with death-defying stunts; Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), a former hypnotism juggernaut who has somewhat fallen from grace in recent years; and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), a novice who is still too unaccomplished to use his skill for more than petty theft.

But all four are brought together by some mysterious agent who introduces them to a plan that was “designed long ago.”  Quickly audiences are transported to a year later, where the motley crew has transformed into The Four Horsemen, an astounding magic act financed by insurance czar Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) and stalked by notorious magic-debunker Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman). It is here that they begin their true magical journey, robbing a bank in Paris as one of their great illusions.

Instantly, the “crime” goes Federal, bringing in FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and InterPol agent Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent) to figure out just how these Horsemen robbed the bank. And yet even as they interrogate the suspects and attempt the same with Bradley, there is never the sense that they or other high profile agents like Fuller (Michael Kelly) and Evans (Common) are ever any closer than many steps behind.

Instead, the four magicians simply become more powerful, leveling several more fascinating targets through some really intriguing acts.  This all amidst a hapless Rhodes and company who appear genuinely out matched throughout; but rather than detract from the film, it simply elevates the excitement of these characters and their amazing feats.

It should also be noted that audiences will also take extreme delight from Bradley’s explanations of the truth behind the magic, transforming the film from a series of unexplained events into a crime thriller with delightful twists and turns, some which importantly, even Bradley cannot explain. Audiences inadvertently play the contradictory roles of wide-awed children and incredulous adults as they are both thrilled by the magic but wish to uncover the mystery it in its own right.

Add in some entertaining car chases and an extremely memorable “magic” fight scene between Rhodes and Wilder and the film successfully lands the punches needed to keep audiences invested.

Of course, the film does have a few weaknesses.  First, Rhodes comes off more as a moronic cop than a genuine FBI agent – while this ultimately is explained, it could have been delivered with a bit less scenery chewing.

Additionally, the introduction of The Eye, doubts about Dray, and several other plot lines are only partially explained, leaving a certain sense of unfinished business.  This is particularly evident in the film’s resolution: while it is an extremely enjoyable twist overall, it is delivered poorly, lingering a bit too long in the realm of over-dramatization.

Fortunately, the performances in the film hit their respective marks.  Harrelson’s performance is most consistently the funniest and most memorable, but Fisher, Franco and Eisenberg all hold their own (this is a film where Eisenberg’s one character works again).

Ruffalo is fairy consistent throughout although there are a few too many valleys that shadow the performance. Laurent is good as always although her mysterious demeanor never really pays off in this film; she is almost too mysterious for the eventual outcome. Freeman and Caine are each quite effective, as would be expected, and their back-and-forth is delightful.

Ultimately, Now You See Me is a pleasure for fans of magic, crime thrillers, or exciting mysteries.  While the result somehow seems a bit rushed and possibly too light for the build-up, it still leaves a strong impression.

Rating: 7- A refreshing Champagne that a cute bartender comp’d you

30 Minutes or Less: Talk About False Advertising

The title of this film is apt in its messaging: it only really has about that much total humor despite being 83-minutes in length. Director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) manages to sew a deeply inconsistent cinematic tapestry, with some fine scenes and artful humor juxtaposed with over-the-top dialogue, uneven performances, and an often unbelievable plot.

Premise: Two dumbasses kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and force him to rob a bank in order to secure funds for their own sinister purposes. Result: A movie that is trying too hard to be fresh, shocking and funny and instead just gets messy as it loosely strings together random jokes and events.

The film begins very slowly by introducing two storylines that might seem disparate but are careening towards eventual collision.  On the one hand, there is Nick (Jesse Eisenberg), an aimless pizza delivery boy, whose shining accomplishment is his chemistry with Kate (Dilshad Vadsaria) a beauty who happens also to be his best friend’s (Chet -Aziz Ansari) sister, On the other hand there is loser dynamic duo, Dwayne (Danny McBride) and Travis (Nick Swarson), who basically live the American white-trash dream of blowing s%$t up in a junkyard and dreaming of one day operating a prostitution ring out of the back of a tanning salon. Dare to dream, fellas!

Boring beginning of the movie montage: Nick and Chet get in a fight over Nick sleeping with Chet’s sister Kate eight years ago; Dwayne becomes fed up with his father, the Major (Fred Ward), making him feel like a loser (despite his impressive qualifications); Dwayne gets lap dance from Juicy (Bianca Kajlich) who dances for money but provides hit man consultation services at no extra charge thereby convincing Dwayne to have the Major killed to get his full inheritance; Dwayne hires Chango (Michael Peña) – which by the way translates to Ape- to kill his father for a fee; Dwayne and Travis decide to kidnap Pizza Boy Nick and strap a bomb to his chest and force him to rob a bank to get the money to pay for the hit man. Phew!

While audiences may ask themselves what could possibly go wrong, the answer is pretty much everything. The remainder of the film is a circus of hit and miss comedy events, some of which hit home and others somewhere else, far far away.  Enlisting support from his estranged friend Chet, Nick haplessly preps for the robbery.  There are several hilarious moments such as “rape kit” accusation from the Family Dollar clerk or the running Sandra joke from the calamitous bank robbery.   Others, such as the getaway scene that makes The Fast & Furious films look like moped rides, tend to detract from the film. 

There are certainly a few good laughs in this film, but they are scattered and loosely connected.  It became clear early on that the humor in this film was designed to unsettle audiences, like a modern day Clerks with clever phrases and taboo content.  But instead, it becomes far too much, too often.  Yes, we get it guys, you’re outrageous…yes so shocking!  We get it!  Unfortunately, audiences will get it so much that halfway throughout the film they are likely to overdose.  After all, there is only so much that dead-baby-joke quality humor can do without crossing the line.

In fact, for a time, I was reminded of a South Park episode some years back where they formally put their then competition, The Family Guy, on notice.  Like in that storyline, I wondered if the writer of the film was not Michael Diliberti as advertised, but instead a bunch of over-stimulated manatees randomly selecting beach balls with words on them to string together the plot and jokes in this film. 

Ultimately, audiences will be left to wonder just how dangerous stupidity can be…on the one hand Dwayne manages to think through almost none of the details and is perfectly willing to have people die left and right mainly because that is what he has seen on T.V. Travis, possibly worse, actually thinks that this can be pulled off with no one getting hurt. He doesn’t want anyone to get hurt but straps a live bomb onto a stranger and sends him to rob a bank. What could go wrong??

In some ways, this is actually an interesting critique on people today: those clueless halfwits that wander around wreaking havoc due to poorly laid plans and awkwardly hatched schemes.  From this angle, we can stand outside ourselves and laugh at these characters, only to then be filled with a shivering terror that while the plot may seem far-fetched, with many people today, it is more and more plausible.

From an acting perspective, there is surprising inconsistency.  McBride and Swardson are typically funny in their irreverence; McBride’s character, in particular, manages to find in his comedic sweet spot, making him the most believable character, for better or worse.  Peña as Chango the unstable hit man is often hilarious as a crazed, ridiculous character (it should also be noted that with this role, Peña may have played every possible permutation of Mexican characters/stereotypes that could ever be – all that may be left is Pancho Villa and one of those guys selling oranges by the side of the road).

Eisenberg and Ansari, for their parts are surprisingly mediocre.  Eisenberg, fresh off a well-deserved Oscar nomination from The Social Network, is completely miscast in this role.  Here, he comes off as a bizarre cross between Mark Zuckerberg and an ornery hipster bad-ass wannabe, a combination as preposterous on screen as it sounds written here.  Unlike his previous comedic performance in Zombieland where he delivered a brilliant, nuanced sense of humor, here his character just comes off as annoying. 

Ansari, for his part, cannot seem to remember how to deliver lines.  We know he can from his brilliant stand up and his role on Parks & Recreation, but here, he constantly cuts lines too short or disjointedly as if he were still in rehearsals or trying out each line in front of the mirror.  Also, please use the outraged shout more sparingly: it’s funny, it’s your brand – got it!  But in this film he was one step looking like he was having an aneurism on screen.

Overall, 30 Minutes will make audiences laugh.  With a mediocre (but not bad) plot, some funny turn of events, and a cast that is at least talented despite some clear missed opportunities, there is definitely something there to make audiences smile. The issue is how often they will be laughing with versus at the film.

Rating: 5 – A luke-warm Pinot Grigio