Review: The Counselor

by. Joe Moss
★★½

The latest Ridley Scott venture, "The Counsleor," is a sexy, thrill ride of drugs, debauchery, double-crosses and death all rolled into an all-star ensemble cast. While there is a little lag time throughout the film, there is plenty of high octane (or rather high testosterone/estrogen) to quickly get a rise out of the viewer almost instantly after the lulls.

Michael Fassbender (The Counselor) is a generic lawyer who mixes with some seedy, wanton, yet EXTREMELY high priced clientele. With these various connections, he finds himself at the crux of a 'deal he cannot refuse' to make mucho dinero mas rapido--a deal centered on international cocaine smuggling. A deal he takes with minimal thought to continue to support his lavish lifestyle inclusive of the mountain-top views of New Mexico, the Bentley convertibles, and the 8 carat diamond ring for his finance, Laura (Penelope Cruz). But...as all of these schemes do, this deal goes south quickly due to a few errors that seem just TOO coincidental. Killed runners and missing trucks all linking back to Fassbender's character do not ingraicate him to the finaciers. Excuses and crying abounds, yet the drug barons could care less, they simply want their money and they want it immediately--or else. For all of the plotting and running, Laura pays the ultimate price even though she was the clueless by-stander in all things.

Fassbender's chief connection to the crime world, Reiner (Javier Bardem), seems to float through life without a care. While he helps set the deal, he offers absolutely no insight whatsoever into how to actually handle the stress when things go wrong. He and his sexy girlfriend, Malkina (Cameron Diaz), run a bar, raise cheetahs, and throw wild parties with seemingly endless supplies of cash, drugs, and liquor. Westray (Brad Pitt), Fassbender's seecond contact, supplies the common sense and guidance; but even he doesn't listen to his own advice in the end. Once the events of the double-cross are set into motion, nobody is safe from the vengeance to come.

Cormac McCarthy's (No Country for Old Men) story-line is mesmerizing and true-to-life in the twists and turns, yet the movie falls just a little flat and almost one dimensional. There were many cliches embedded throughout the film that showed an extreme lack of vision. With the all-star cast assembled, there should have been a little more use of Penelope Cruz's character than the (maybe) 10 minutes of screen time allotted. I would liked to have seen a little more back-story on Fassbender's character to show how he really became associated with this underworld. And the use of Rosie Perez in the film should have had more than 4 minutes, considering how her role becomes integral in the downfall of all things Fassbender. However, that said, the screen time for Cameron Diaz was nothing short of amazing.

Cameron Diaz epitomized the sexy, temptress double-crossing femme fatale in this role. She OWNED the entire cast from the get-go. Her character Malkina, intertwined herself into every wrinkle, and fold of the goings-on and did it with such aplomb and wiliness that not once was she suspected of her deception. People treated her like a backdrop to the setting, and she used this to her advantage. I feel that Cameron Diaz is OSCAR-WORTHY for this role and would feel it an extreme injustice if she is not mentioned repeatedly in the coming months. The movie truly starred and showcased her acting ability. Cameron absolutely stole the entire movie!!

Final recommendation--Go see this if you desire a movie that is about the pitfalls of the drug-trade mixed with an almost X-rating AND if you really want to see that Cameron Diaz can act.

Review World War Z

by. Joe Moss
★★

OK…so… Marc Forster’s (Quantum of Solace, Stranger than Fiction, Monster’s Ball) “World War Z,” starring Brad Pitt, is Hollywood’s attempt to hone in on the massive Zombie craze started a few years ago and kept going with the huge success of “The Walking Dead” television series. The only problem is that we have seen a variation of this plot before—and better done—11 years ago in Danny Boyle’s sleeper hit “28 Days Later.”

The basic premise of the film is easy. In the not so distant future (or maybe now…it is never specified) we are shown the family life of Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former UN investigator who has retired early to spend time with his family in the wake of many worldwide catastrophes. He is driving is family to an outing (we are never told where they are going) that takes them through the heart of Philadelphia. Where all hell breaks loose on the city while they are—surprise—in a massive traffic jam. Brad Pitt and his wife Karin (Miriella Enos) must fight through the ensuing craziness developing as “walking dead” creatures begin to ravage the cityscape. They escape in an RV to make it to Trenton. While on the way, Brad Pitt is called by the Undersecretary General of the UN, Thierry (Fana Mokoena), where he is told they will evacuate him if he can make it to the morning.

            Sound familiar yet…. Just wait…there’s more. Brad then is trafficked with his family to a ship 200 miles off the coast of the US where he is given the ultimatum. Help the UN find the cause of the pandemic, or you and your family will be dropped back in Philadelphia immediately. Hmmmmm. So what does Brad do? I am sure you are all waiting with baited breath? He signs up for duty and proceeds with a small team—one other PhD from Harvard and 4 Navy Seals (who make it a few more scenes into the film)—into the wasteland of Korea, Jerusalem, and Wales to track down the cause of the zombie disease.

            While the plot is tired and doesn’t create much in the way of NEWNESS to the zombie craze of the last five years, I do have to give it to Brad Pitt. He does manage to carry the entire film by himself which says a lot about his screen presence and his ability to draw empathy from an audience--even though we are not given much in the way of character information other than what I previously mentioned. Additionally, while not a huge fan of zombie movies, I did find this film very entertaining and easy to watch. It was wrought with suspense and Marc Forster as well as the film editing duo of Roger Barton (The Grey, A-Team) and Matt Cheese (Quantum of Solace, Stranger than Fiction) do a fantastic job on the final cut of the film. Had it gone much longer, the audience would have lost interest and the major holes of the screenplay (by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Drew Goddard with contributions from Damon Lindelof) would have become much more obvious.

            So basic recommendation, if you have 2 hours of spare time and have seen all other action movies in the theater this week, World War Z is a much better alternative to The Purge.

Review: World War Z

by Trevor Kirkendall
★½

You don’t have to look to far for movies, TV shows, video games and books about zombies these days. I’m a big fan of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and look forward to its new season later this year. The show focuses on a group of survivors and how they deal with the new world after the apocalypse. Zombies play a small part. Then there’s Danny Boyle’s horror masterpiece “28 Days Later” which, again, focuses on survivors and very little on the actual zombie. So when “World War Z” was announced, it was an intriguing idea. Now, we’d actually see the world fall into disarray rather than having the movie begin several months later when some guy wakes from a coma. Unfortunately, that’s not what we get. We’re left with flat and boring film complete with video game effects that don’t look all that great.

News broadcasts open “World War Z” telling us about a deadly virus that’s been spreading. Next, we meet Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), family man and stay-at-home dad. He and his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) are packing up to leave their Philadelphia home with their two daughters (Abigail Hargrove and Sterling Jerins). I don’t think they ever really explain where they’re going.

But while trying to leave, all hell breaks loose. Swarms of infected people pour through the street, biting anyone they can catch which in turn infects them. The movie doesn't try and hide what it is these people have become: they’re zombies – flesh hungry zombies with the speed of Usain Bolt and the distance jumping abilities of Carl Lewis.

Because Gerry used to be some former go-to employee for the United Nations, he and his family seek refuge onboard a Navy ship. There, he’s asked to venture out and try to find answers about what this disease is and where it came from. His wife and kids remain on the ship awaiting his return while every other nation on earth crumbles at the hands of this dreaded disease.

From the start, “World War Z” never fully grabs ahold of its audience. Its a medical mystery drama masquerading as a zombie thriller. I almost expected Dr. House to emerge from the shadows in the final act and give his solution. Sure, there are moments of tension, but its so forced that it doesn’t even come across as organic.

Director Marc Forster (“Quantum of Solace” and “Monsters Ball”) creates the tense moments by putting our hero in the middle of all the hysteria and running after him with a handheld camera. This is supposed to give you – the audience – the sensation that you’re really there with them. When done properly, this can be effective (see anything by Paul Greengrass). Here, the effect leaves you dizzied and confused. Confused by what exactly is happening in the scene. You know these zombies are chasing them, but a shaky camera inside a massive amount of people isn’t tense.

And it doesn’t help that there’s nothing tying us to the characters of this film. The film opens with Pitt being a family man by making breakfast and showing us that he gave up his job to spend some more time with his girls. He even seems like he misses it, and that he might very well regret the decision. So he’s a dad and a father and we’re supposed to identify with that. But its difficult because he and his family have friends in high places that are able to pluck them up and take them away from the action.

How is surviving the zombie apocalypse relatable when the person you’re supposed to identify with is someone with the personal connections to stay ahead of everything? Furthermore, the establishment of Pitt’s character is so brief. The complexities of his character are sacrificed in order to get the zombies in as soon as possible. He’s an impossible character to root for. Not that I want to see him die, but everything is just so flat and one-dimensional that it wouldn’t ruin my day if this guy never made it back.

“World War Z” is based on a novel of the same name by Max Brooks. I have not read the book, so I have no other information to go on other than what was presented by the screenwriters. And speaking of screenwriters, there are four people credited to the contribution of the script (screen story credits to Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski and the screenplay by Carnahan along with Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof). This never works. Four different people with for different four different visions of how the plot should work. That’s a recipe for disconnection.

If there’s something that’s missing from the film that was in the book that might make me actually care for the Lane family’s survival, then it should have been put into the film. Instead, what we’re left with is a movie that just wants to bring in some cash from the fans of the book. I’m sure the book is great and I’m not trying to knock on it. The film, on the other hand, suffers from a complete lack of development and direction, which really makes it tedious.