Review: Lucy

by. Joe Moss
★★★

An existentialist trip with a twist, Luc Besson's "Lucy" easily reminds me why I love his movies. This movie may not be for everyone--like many Besson films--but if you are able to sit through 90 minutes of a scientific/theological discourse on humanity, evolution, the big-bang, the time-space continuum, and Einstein's Theory of Relativity all rolled into one, then you are in the right place. And, when you leave...MIND BLOWN!!

Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) finds herself involved with the wrong guy at the wrong time. He convinces her to take a "briefcase full of papers" to Mr. Jang (Min-Suk Choi) in a posh hotel in an unknown location in South Korea. An easy $500 turns into a nightmare afternoon of kidnap, implantation, and drug overdosing. Lucy is forced to be a mule for a new drug that will blow the minds of kids in Europe. But things get REALLY interesting when the drug implanted in her abdomen begin to leak into her bloodstream.

Simultaneously, as Lucy is getting the high of her life, at a science symposium concerning brain research and theory, Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) is waxing philosophical on the advances and intrigue of the human brain. He is providing a well balanced theoretical discussion on what the human brain has done evolutionarily, while indicating the shortcomings of our existence compared to other species. The room is abuzz with resounding questions and philosophy fathoming how humanity would handle use of more than 10-15% of their cerebral cortex. Professor Norman feels that the key to truly understanding humanity and the

intricate workings of the mind lie in our ability to surpass 20% --the mark set by dolphins' cerebral usage.

The film is a metaphor for the progression though human life, and what we are supposed to do WITH said life. Why are we here? What is our niche on the planet...the universe....time? We see an innocent babe (Lucy....a beautiful homage to the first complete human-like Australopithicus skeleton uncovered in Ethiopia's Afar Triangle by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray) who is thrust into the evil world and has to learn to adapt and survive. She has been provided with the ultimate knowledge and has unlocked the mysteries of universe with the consumption of the apple (the drug) and is ostensibly thrust from the Garden of Eden to face the horrors of what life has become. Does she wallow in self pity, or does she right the wrongs committed and try and fix what humanity has become. No spoilers, but I will say that by using 100% of the cerebral cortex, Lucy transcends life as we know it and truly BECOMES...omnipotent (maybe not the right word...maybe more universally introspective) in her struggle against the devil (Mr. Jang).

This film never lost my interest. While the plot development is simple, and the characters are few, Luc Besson does an amazing job posing questions that make the audience interact with the film as it plays. There are plenty of the typical humorous moments mixed into to allow the comic relief, but immediately following he makes you THINK. I found myself questioning many things that I felt I have known for years to be true. While I understand that much of what he presents is pure conjecture and maybe even utter BS, it was a fun journey. He is able to provide hidden symbolism throughout the film that now...only hours after I have seen the film...I am beginning to understand. I have had to allow this film to digest in my mind before writing this review. There was not quick write here.

Luc Besson gathered his team of old for this project. He had Thierry Arbogast as the cinematographer (beautiful) and Eric Serra created the hauntingly melodic soundtrack. This trio made this feel like a Luc Besson film of old--innovative plot, great sound and great cinematography. AND the film was produced by Marc Shmuger who was responsible for one of mine and Trevor's top film of last year, The Spectacular Now.

As much as I loved this film, I can see that many may be put off by the subject matter. And I did not give it 4 stars simply because some of the action sequences did feel very Matrix-like in their progression and implementation (Thanks Wachowskis for affording me that adjective). But I hope that many of you will see this film and be reminded of The Fifth Element meets The Big Blue as was I.

Review: The Family

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★

And you thought your family was crazy. Just wait till you see the family from “The Family”, the latest film from director Luc Besson.

The Manzoni clan is under witness protection from a New York City crime family. Giovanni (Robert De Niro) is a former mobster turned FBI informant. Since then, the mob has been after him for ratting out his own family. Now he’s on the run with his real family under the assumed name of Fred Blake. They’ve been bouncing around parts of rural France trying to hide out from would be assassins. Their new home is in Normandy.

His family is made up of his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and his high school aged kids, Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D’Leo). Since Gio/Fred is an aggressive ex-mobster, the rest of his family doesn’t fall too far from his tree. They’re all just as crazy as he is. One of the first things Maggie does in this new town is to detonate a homemade bomb inside a grocery store after the owner makes a joke about her being American.

As for the kids, Warren is calculating. He’s attempting to set up his own mafia style racket within the halls of the school. Belle has a very short fuse, much like her father. She’s not oblivious to the fact that she’s an attractive young lady who catches the eyes of many boys, but she will not let anyone come near her. Otherwise, she’s liable to beat them down to a bloody pulp.

Keeping the family hidden is FBI agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones). He’s very tired of the family not being able to keep a low profile, especially Gio/Fred who can’t seem to blend in anywhere, causing Stansfield to move him every few months. Stansfield is especially perturbed with the discovery that Gio/Fred is writing his memoirs.

“The Family” exists solely for the purposes of entertainment. It does not expand your outlook on life or force you to do any deep soul searching. And that is perfectly okay. This film is full of so much humor and entertaining moments that really move the plot along. And of course, De Niro’s one word catch phrase that you might find yourself repeating after the film is done.

De Niro doing comedy never gets old. His comedic timing is that of a seasoned comedy veteran. But he’s not really trying anything new here. He almost reminds me of his character from “Analyze This”. Tommy Lee Jones is another who seems to act like himself, but you wouldn’t want him doing anything different here, especially the way this role is seemingly tailor made for him. And then there’s Michelle Pfeiffer, who steals the scene right out from under her Oscar winning co-stars. These three roles aren’t much of a stretch for them to pull off, but they do it with amazing ease, which really makes the film more than worthwhile.

Director Luc Besson isn’t really known (at least in my book) for being a very notable story-driven filmmaker; he’s more of a visual guy (“The Fifth Element”). But he seems to have stepped out of his usual comfort zone here, and it works great. He keeps the pace of the film moving quickly and allows his actors the freedom to play these roles the way the chose. The screenplay, co-written by both Besson and Michael Caleo (who worked on HBO’s “The Sopranos”) seems to have been written with these three main actors in mind. It works perfectly to their strengths.

While “The Family” will probably be quickly forgotten, it's worth checking out. It's enormously entertaining and fans of De Niro, Pfeiffer and Jones will be extremely satisfied with seeing them all together in the same movie. It's enjoyable and very funny at times. That’s a lot more than many other typical September releases can offer.