Review: Homefront

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★

I wouldn’t mind seeing the stacks of screenplays Jason Statham must have on his desk at home. They’re probably all full of the most generic tough guy stuff anyone can dream up in an afternoon. I then have to wonder how he chooses his roles or if someone chooses them for him. Or maybe he owes his friend Sylvester Stallone a favor. I’m not really sure what drew his attention to “Homefront” other than a desire to try something a little more dramatic.

Jason Statham attempting the flex his dramatic muscles.

Phil Broker (Statham) is an undercover DEA agent looking to take down a biker run crystal meth operation somewhere in Louisiana. The leader of this drug outfit is a guy named Danny T (Chuck Zito). Danny’s son is gunned down and killed by the DEA agents during the takedown, and of course he holds Broker personally responsible for it.

Two years later, Broker has left the force and has moved to a very small town with his soon-to-be 10 year old daughter Maddy (Izabela Vidovic). One day at school, a bully named Teddy (Austin Craig) tries to pick on Maddy but she ends up taking him down with two hits. Her dad is Jason Statham after all, so of course she knows how to do this. Teddy’s mom Cassie (Kate Bosworth), who is high on meth most of the time, holds Broker personally responsible (sensing the pattern yet?). She tries to get her husband Jimmy (Marcus Hester) to stand up for them, but Broker easily takes him down. Oh, it’s on now.

Feeling nothing more than disrespect, Cassie turns to her brother Gator Bodine (James Franco) to get back at Broker and his daughter. Gator runs his own meth kitchen as well. He pays off the town sheriff (Clancy Brown) to look the other way so he can cook and sell without being caught. Gator sends out a couple goons to take down Broker, but Broker takes them down first (typical Statham). Gator breaks into Broker’s home to see what he’s up against and discovers Broker’s DEA past. He sees the connection to Danny T and enlists the help of a meth groupie (yes, they have those apparently) Sheryl Mott (Winona Ryder) to offer up Broker to Danny T’s people. In exchange he wants distribution of his own meth statewide.

“Homefront” fires and misses on just about every level. It’s not a total disaster, especially if you like tough guy-Statham. This is a pretty typical role for him, but the only difference is that “Homefront” plays more like a drama rather than the explosive action movies he usual makes. The action sequences are few in numbers, but do play really well when they’re on screen. Credit that to director Gary Fleder. He’s done well with the drama/thriller genre before with films like “Kiss the Girls” and “Runaway Jury” but this is his first foray into the action genre. For his first time out, he pulls that off nicely.  

Outside of that, “Homefront” is miserable bore. That blame falls squarely on screenwriter Sylvester Stallone who adapted this from a novel by Chuck Logan. Stallone leaves a lot to be desired with the story. The entire driving force behind the conflict here is disrespect. They want Statham dead because he disrespected a man in public. The voices of reason in town (they're the only people in town without Southern accents, so you can be sure which character isn’t a white trash redneck) chalk it up to typical southern feuds (i.e. Hatfield and McCoy). They don’t take too kindly to folks who ain’t from around these here parts.

So our villains are feuding rednecks from Deep South Louisiana going up against Statham. It’s not a very solid foundation upon which to build a story. There’s nothing to differentiate the characters from one another. Bosworth plays a tweeked out redneck while Franco plays her brother: a tweeked out redneck, except he has a bit of a brain on him. Furthermore, Franco’s character isn’t someone I understand either. He seems to be doing pretty well for himself in this town especially since he’s got the sheriff in his back pocket. Suddenly he turns greedy and will stop at nothing to see Statham go down. All because his brother-in-law, a man he doesn’t even like, is disrespected in front of teachers. There’s nothing to grasp here.

Franco isn’t believable as a villain either. I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but I think it’s going to be very hard for me to take him seriously again after this past summer’s “This is the End”. And then there was his parody of the Kanye West video that was released this week where he once again acts like a goof with movie star BFF Seth Rogen. I know he can act because he’s been solid in dramatic roles before. Since his “Homefront” character is about as flat and clichéd as just about everything else, I can’t help by laugh at him. And he’s got a horrible Southern accent too.

Statham is Statham. You either like him or you don’t. He brings nothing new to his performance in “Homefront”. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if he has any desire to try some more dramatic roles like this he’s going to need practice. Vidovic, who plays his daughter, is also somewhat of a letdown. After a commanding first scene, I thought she would be the show stealer. Her character is never really allowed to develop. They’ll throw little bits of dialogue in there that try to draw sympathy from the audience, but overall she comes across as annoying. That’s not necessarily her fault. That’s more on Stallone for giving her nothing to work with.

“Homefront” is fairly decent when it’s trying to be an action film, but it falls flat on its face when it turns into a drama. If tough guy-Statham is something you like, there are a lot of things you might find worthwhile here. You’re going to have to sit through a lot of exposition just to get there though. With a better screenplay and better performances, this might have been enjoyable. Instead, it’s a frustrating experience that will soon be relegated to a truck stop DVD buy-one-get-one bin and lost forever.  

Review: This is the End

By Joe Moss

★★½

All that kept flowing through my head while watching “This is the End” (penned by the comedic duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg) movie was….no, not the Backstreet Boys that kept reoccurring through the movie…”It’s the End of the World (As We Know It)” by R.E.M.  All expectations about the END of the world are definitely addressed throughout this film. The movie is set in Hollywood and basically has a cameo by almost…well…EVERYONE of the younger comedy generation—with the cast lead by Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson. The script was so BAD that the movie [strangely enough] worked. I found myself laughingly at every sarcastic, pot-based, penis-induced remark made.

I guess if the rapture is upon us, who better to spend the end of days with than your friends at a party over-flowing with booze, sex and drugs galore. Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel initially met up as a means to rekindle their friendship that has been drifting apart as Seth Rogen continues to ‘sell-out’ to the Hollywood crowd.  After hours of pre-gaming at Seth’s house, he decides that they need to attend a house-warming party at James Franco’s new house at the base of the Hollywood Hills. Thus ensues the shenanigans and almost effortless delivery of lines (most of which I guaranty are ad-libbed) that make to movie what it is, a glimpse into how younger Hollywood addresses the common stereotypes associated with actors.

This movie is truly in a class by itself. While it has moments similar to “Pineapple Express” and “Superbad,” the stripped down version of everyone in “This is the End” makes it so mass appealing that you have to enjoy it for what it offer—basic plot development with no twists or turns. I loved the way that all of the actors poked fun at EVERYONE shamelessly—Channing Tatum as a gimp, love slave to Danny McBride anyone? “He’s got GI JOE on a leash.” That was perhaps one of the funniest moments of the movie. Just to see everyone relaxed and completely ‘out of character’ to the point of truly showing their raw acting ability. Emma Watson even has a few cameos in the film that show she has great ability to deal with the cowardice and poor behavior of these guys. “Emma Watson just stole our food” as delivered by Danny McBride after a Jay Baruchel induced awkward conversation concerning 5 guys and 1 girl alone in a house. Hmmmm? Don’t mess with Hermione and an axe!!

Place aside any of your prejudice and expectations and just go see the film for yourself—and be prepared to laugh continuously!

Review: This Is the End

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★★

If you’re going to try and survive the apocalypse, who would you want to be with when it all came to an end? In Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s case, you’ll probably want to be spending it with some really close friends. That’s the question “This Is the End” attempts to answer, Rogen and Goldberg’s latest laugh-fest that will probably leave you shaking your head from the stupidity, but will leave you gasping for air in between your laughs.

Jay Baruchel has just arrived in Los Angeles to spend a weekend of getting high with his best friend Seth Rogen. Seth suggests that they attend a housewarming party at James Franco’s new house. Jay is reluctant because he doesn’t really know James Franco. Plus, Jonah Hill will be there and he really doesn’t like him. But he agrees, since he’s here to see Seth.

The party is filled with celebrities you’ve pretty much come to expect to see in movies produced by Seth Rogen: Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Mindy Kaling, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Martin Starr and Paul Rudd among others. Rihanna’s even there. So is Emma Watson.

But at one point in the night, all hell breaks loose. A massive earthquake strikes which brings on the beginnings of the apocalypse. Jay even swears he sees people getting sucked up into the sky in bright blue lights, despite no one else believing it. Before long, only Jay, Seth, James, Craig and Jonah are left in the house alone. And, of course, Danny McBride, who they didn’t even know was there.

The rest of the film is spent with them trying to ride out the apocalypse and figure out what’s going on. Food rationing is an issue, along with the shortage of alcohol and drugs. Also, there might be some kind of a monster or demon lurking around James’ house.

Rogen co-wrote the film with his longtime writing and producing partner Evan Goldberg, and both make their directing debuts here as well. “This Is the End” is quite similar in tone to another film they wrote together, 2007’s “Superbad.” Both films are vulgar, raunchy, perverse and at times pretty vial. And it’s really just plain stupid at times, even by their standards. But just like “Superbad,” it’s also a side splitting riot that makes you laugh so long and so often that you might miss the next joke.

One of the most humorous elements is how everyone is portrayed in the screenplay. Everyone is playing a fictionalized version of themselves. Michael Cera, for example, is portrayed as cocaine-using womanizer. Quite the far cry from what we’re used to seeing with him.

Danny McBride steals the show, as he typically does whenever he’s in a movie. The star of HBO’s “Eastbound & Down” plays his part very close to that of his famous Kenny Powers character. He’s loud and abrasive, imposing his will on just about everyone in his path. He serves to antagonize the group more than anyone else. But just like Kenny Powers, he’s fun to watch.

The film is stacked with so many meta moments that it would make the writers of “Arrested Development” jealous. Everyone talks about the work they’ve done in the past, whether it was good or bad. They know they’ve been in the movies for awhile and that they have recognizable faces, yet its who they are, and they’re not afraid to talk about it. Without citing any specific moments, I can’t really go into it anymore than that. Rest assured, all reference are designed to be interjected at the most appropriate – and hilarious – times possible.

At times, the film feels like a thematic continuation of “Superbad.” In “Superbad,” Seth and Even (Hill and Cera) were ready to go off to separate colleges at the end of the summer. They were lifelong best friends who had never been away from each other. The film ends before they head out on the separate ways. In “This Is the End,” we have Jay and Seth who are also lifelong best friends. They’ve been away from each other for a long time. Now they’re back together again. The film explores how their time apart has changed them and whether or not they’re as close to one another as they once were.

Friendships seem to be an underlining theme in Rogen and Goldberg’s screenplays, which also includes “The Pineapple Express.” Both Rogen and Goldberg are lifelong friends and it shows in their writing and in their characters. If Rogen is really as loyal in real life as he portrays himself here (and to some extent in the character Hill portrays in “Superbad”) then he must be a genuinely good guy and not the typical pompous Hollywood elitist that most in that city tend to be.

Despite the fact that the film is littered with stoner and bodily function jokes, “This Is the End” is a genuinely humorous film. It doesn’t have nearly the same sized heart as “Superbad,” but that probably would have been a little out of place here. This is yet another one of those films were you have to ask yourself, “what what were you expecting?” If you can’t stand Seth Rogen, well then why would you pay for it? Otherwise, “This Is the End” probably won’t disappoint.