Review: Prisoners

by. Joe Moss
★★★1/2

Denis Villeneuva is relatively unknown on the American film circuit, but with his ultra-suspenseful, stylish and well-paced "modern" film-noir, "Prisonsers," I feel pretty positive that is about to change drastically [especially considering he already has another movie "Enemy" in the works also starring Jake Gyllenhaal].

This movie forces the audience to empathize with all of the screen characters. You will find yourself alternating between feelings of despair and sympathy to disgust and even horror. This extreme emotional roller-coaster is only achievable via the phenomenal screenplay written by Aaron Guzikowski ("Contraband"), the panache delivered from a cast of veteran Oscar-nominated actors, and the fresh vision of Denis Villeneuva.

Longtime friends the Dovers (Hugh Jackman and Maria Bello) and Birches (Terrance Howard and Viola Davis) meet  for a small Thanksgiving celebration that quickly turns into chaos. After dinner, the youngest children Joy Birch (Kayla Drew Simmons) and Anna Dover (Erin Gerasimovich) decide to head back to The Dover house to look for a lost toy. When the girls cannot be found a couple of hours later, the oldest children, Eliza Birch (Zoe Borde) and Ralph Dover (Dylan Minnette of "Let Me In") are questioned about what transpired earlier that day when they were all playing together. Both mention a mysterious RV camper that was parked in the neighborhood.

The authorities are notified and Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), along with the entire state police force, begin to look for this RV. Found a few hours later at a Gas Station, the driver, Alex Jones (Pual Dano of "Looper"), is taken into custody and the RV seized for forensic investigation. In the meantime, his Aunt Holly Jones (Melissa Leo of "The Fighter") is notified of the arrest and her home is searched as well. With no leads obtainable in the short 48-hour window an arrest warrant offers, Alex is released to his Aunt's recognizance. Thus ensues the true horror of the movie as Alex becomes subjected to the wrath of Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) until information about his daughter is obtainable.

Not wanting to give too much information away (and ruin the suspenseful premise of the film) I will stop there with the plot-story and focus on the acting.... WOW!!! That truly sums up the movie in one single word. I will say it again WOW!!!!! Hugh Jackman showcases his ability to draw an audience into a movie once again. It has always amazed me that he is so capable an actor that EVERYONE wants to believe in him whether he is Wolverine, Jean Valjean, or a father in the throws of emotional hell (PRISON) searching for his abducted daughter. His commanding screen presence is once again the center of this movie--even with other acting greats alongside him.

That being said, Melissa Leo as Holly Jones plays a nice counterpoint to Hugh Jackma's character. Initially you are sorry for her plight in life as we discover more about her during the lead toward the climax at the hospital, but once the bomb drops--a mushroom cloud of "I DID NOT EXPECT THAT" encompasses the entire theater. I was stunned. Melissa Leo, kudos to you once again--this supporting role was as well cast for you as "The Fighter"!! I'm still in awe.

I hope to see much more of Aaron Guzikowski's films in the future. I especially enjoyed the duality of the title--prisoners as a reference to those taken into custody by the police...and as I alluded to above with Hugh Jackman...people trapped in a prison of their own emotions.  Both my wife and I enjoyed Guzikowski's last screenplay ("Contraband" starring Mark Walhberg) --a very under-appreciated, but well written film that just fell into the "1 too many of the same story" category during the 2012 movie year. Give it a try now that the "woman in distress" sequence has had a chance to rest this year.

Ultimately, if you are in the mood for a true suspense movie (in a modern twist on the film noir vein of classic Hollywood) that will leave you guessing even at the end...GO SEE THIS FILM. You will not be disappointed.

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.

What We Learned from the Summer Movies of 2013

The summer movie season has come to a close, and with that we'd like to offer our readers a few things we've learned from our summer at the movies! And we also have some awards to hand out as well:

• "Iron Man 3" proves that sometimes gapping plot holes and questionable endings don't always ruin a film completely. Sometimes, a movie can still be a lot of fun even with a terrible screenplay!
• Just because Jay-Z produces a movie ("The Great Gatsby") doesn't mean he has to litter the soundtrack with his songs, especially when the film is set during a time period when he wasn't even alive.
• J.J. Abrams loves lens flares almost as much as Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich love casually murdering thousands of innocent civilians in every one of their movies.
• Also, "Star Wars Episode VII" is going to be in good hands with J.J. Abrams behind the camera.
• Just because a movie does well in the box office ("The Hangover") doesn't mean you have to lie to the public and say that you originally envisioned it as a trilogy for sake of making two more. Yes, "Part III" was better than "Part II" but, come on, sometimes less is more.
• Men like watching fast cars and things blowing up. Women like Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. As long as these two fundamentals do not change, "Fast & Furious" movies will keep coming out every year.
• Richard Linklater can keep putting Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy together every nine years as long as all three are still breathing and we'll be more than happy to pay to see it.
• Also, Ethan Hawke shouldn't act in any more movies unless Richard Linklater is involved.
• If M. Night Shyamalan didn't direct anything else ever again, no one would miss him.
• Brit Marling (from "The East") is an actress on the rise. She's mesmerizing to watch, and you should be on the lookout for her star power to increase over the next few years.
• Emma Watson was Hermione Granger? How quick we have forgotten!
• Owen Wilson as Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as Vince Vaughn starring together in a movie worked once. It didn't work again. Let's stop these two right there and make sure they don't appear together in a movie ever again.
• Seth Rogen as Seth Rogen starring alongside his best friends DOES work and we'd love to see more.
• "Man of Steel" was awesome. There, we said it and stand by our reviews. We know we're the only ones. We're looking forward to the sequel too!
• Pixar is the only studio you can trust.
• While we don't normally condone original films being turned into franchises, more Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy would be great!
• And more "Despicable Me" would be great, too.
• Disney spends too much money ("The Lone Ranger") and no one ever sees their PG-13 movies anymore. But just because it flops doesn't mean its bad!
• Unless its Roland Emmerich blowing up the White House....again.
• People really don't like original ideas, do they? They say they do! But when it comes down to it more people would watch a mediocre sequel to a mediocre movie ("Grown Ups 2") rather than an awesome original idea ("Pacific Rim").
• Comic book adaptations of extremely small series ("R.I.P.D.") don't do well just because they're comic book movies. Knock it off.
• Marvel characters not owned by Disney ("The Wolverine") are just as awesome as the ones Disney owns ("The Avengers"). Now, why don't you studios play nice and put all these people in the same movie together, okay?
• Woody Allen has released a movie every year since 1982 and we're okay with him continuing to do that.
• Just because a director released something amazing as his first feature film ("District 9") doesn't mean that his next film will bring you more of the same ("Elysium"). Sometimes, its just bad!
• Ashton Kutcher does look a lot like Steve Jobs.
• "Lee Daniels' The Butler" is the only film that opened this summer that we can guarantee a nomination for Best Picture (doesn't mean something else won't be nominated, but this one is a sure thing).
• Coming of age stories ("The Way Way Back", "The Spectacular Now", "The Kings of Summer") absolutely OWNED the summer of 2013.

And now for our Summer Awards for 2013:

Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias and Nick Robinson in Joe's pick
for Best Picture of the Summer, "The Kings of Summer"

Joe's Awards:
Best Picture of the Summer: "The Kings of Summer"
Best Director: Richard Linklater - "Before Midnight"
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan - "Fruitvale Station"
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"
Best Original Screenplay: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash - "The Way Way Back"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater - "Before Midnight"

Trevor's Awards:

Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller in Trevor's pick for
Best Picture of the Summer, "The Spectacular Now"

Best Picture of the Summer: "The Spectacular Now'
Best Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts - "The Kings of Summer"
Best Actor: Miles Teller - "The Spectacular Now"
Best Actress: Shailene Woodley - "The Spectacular Now"
Best Original Screenplay: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash - "The Way Way Back'
Best Adapted Screenplay: Scott Neustadter, Michael W. Weber - "The Spectacular Now"

Review: The Spectacular Now

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★★

“The Spectacular Now” revolves around popular high school senior Sutter Keely (Miles Teller). He’s the self-described life-of-the-party wherever he goes. As the film opens, he’s in a relationship with one of the popular girls at school, Cassidy (Brie Larson). But just like many relationships in high school, it soon ends. This sends Sutter on an all night drinking binge.

He’s discovered the following morning sleeping on the front lawn of someone’s house by Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley). While Sutter may be one of the most popular guys in school, Aimee is one of the most quiet and shy girls. She keeps to herself, reading science fiction books, and doesn’t think too many people notice her. Sutter’s attraction to her couldn’t be more odd. But its not surprising to see why Aimee is attracted to Sutter since he’s so popular. Its not everyday when one goes from thinking they’re not noticed by anyone to catching the attention of Mr. Popular.

The film’s focus isn’t set just on Sutter and Aimee. Their relationship is a large part of the plot, but the film is all about Sutter. He is on camera for the entire duration of the film. We get to know him very well. He’s a slacker who doesn’t really care about school at all. Remember that guy in high school? He’s a party animal, constantly drinking alcohol, which makes him a boarder line alcoholic at the young age of 18. Remember that guy in high school? There’s a lot of familiarity with Sutter’s character.

Sutter likes to talk about living in the “now” and not looking back to the past or looking into the future. This is the mindset of many teenagers. Unfortunately, as many seniors are getting ready to graduate and move on, the “now” mindset is replaced by a hopefulness about the future. Not for Sutter. Even his deadbeat father (Kyle Chandler) shares the “now” mindset. 

“The Spectacular Now” is coming-of-age storytelling at its absolute finest. This film is full of heart and of emotional depth, and its built on such a simplistic premise. Here’s a movie chalk full of all the poignant connections we see in other humans and its only 95 minutes long. It relies only on its characters and its story to draw you in and make that connection.

The screenplay, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber who wrote the brilliant romantic comedy “(500) Days of Summer”, is full of subtle passages of dialogue the drive each scene. It never becomes long or monotonous. Instead, we merely have the honor of following Sutter throughout his final year in high school and seeing how the people in his life shape the outlook of his future. I could view this film a dozen more times and learn something new about these characters with every new viewing. I’ve often said that Bob and Charlotte of Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” were two of the most realistic characters ever captured in cinema. You can now add Sutter Keely and Aimee Finecky to that list.

But only part of the credit for Sutter and Aimee’s realism can be given to the screenwriters. Director James Ponsoldt (who directed last year’s “Smashed” with Aaron Paul and Mary Elizabeth Winestead) also deserves much credit for being able to bring all the happy and sorrowful moments from the script into the performances of his young cast. Ponsoldt has a keen eye for the depths of human emotion found in the screenplays he directs, and possesses the innate ability to draw the performances he wants from his actors. Keep an eye on him.

The most sensational aspect of this film is without a doubt the performances of Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. While the screenwriters and the director help create the characters, Teller and Woodley bring them to life and they are so realistic with their portrayals. These are two young performers who have as good of a grasp on their craft as any veteran. Both are mesmerizing to watch.

“The Spectacular Now” is one of the finest films made this year. Its a poignant coming-of-age story and a subtle masterpiece; I loved every single frame of this film. The film is full of all the emotions we experience everyday and is really a solid display of what films can and should be. 

Review: Jobs

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★

A man sitting next to me in a screening of “Jobs” was moved to such boredom that he took out his iPhone in the middle of the film to check in on his various social media sites. I wonder what Steve Jobs would say about that. I don’t think he ever envisioned someone would be watching a movie about his life and would become so bored that they would have to turn to their iPhone. Unfortunately, that’s what “Jobs” is : a tedious bore that will make you want to turn to any number of Apple or Apple-inspired products to keep you awake.

We all know Steve Jobs already. Almost all of you are probably reading this review on something Jobs designed (if you’re on a desktop, you’ve got your mouse; if you’re on a Smartphone, our website statistics suggest its probably an iPhone). What “Jobs” attempts to show us is the personal side of the man, and how he built a computer company from his adopted parents’ garage.

We begin with Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) dropping out of Reed College in the mid-1970s. We see his interest in the calligraphy classes he continued to audit. We see him travel to India with his friend Daniel Kottke (Lukas Haas). He eventually finds himself working for Atari helping to design games. With the help of his best friend Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak (Josh Gad), the two design a great game for Atari called “Breakout”.

One day while hanging out with Woz, Jobs discovers a computer motherboard Woz has been working on that connects to the television. With Jobs’ insistence, the two decide to market the motherboard under the name Apple Computer. Soon, they’re given an investment from Mike Murkkula (Dermot Mulroney) to help pay for the mass production of what will become the Apple II. What follows is pretty much common knowledge within the world of business and technology. The film moves along up until the late 1990s.

That’s twenty years of time covered in 122 minutes. We’ve seen this time span covered before in other films, but in “Jobs”, the pacing is so painstakingly slow that it feels like they could have easily made it to the release of the iPad in the late 2000s. The film meanders with no guidance or direction, and feels more like a cheaply made TV movie.

This is not, however, a knock on the performance given by Kutcher. He’s done some drama roles here and there before taking on “Jobs”, but I think this is the first serious role he’s had. He turns in a truly fantastic performance. I’m not so certain this is exactly what Jobs was really like or not. I’ve heard that Jobs was so intimidating that Apple employees wouldn’t even get on an elevator with him when the doors opened and he was standing in there. That’s power based on fear. Kutcher portrays Jobs as a driven and determined individual. He shows a few fits of rage that Jobs was known for, but overall Kutcher portrays him as a man with such determination that he always seems to be on the verge of tears.

As for his best friend Woz, comedic actor Josh Gad turns in an equally impressive performance. Gad is probably most well known for his most recent appearance as a series regular on the short lived series “1600 Penn” and also as an original cast member on the Boradway musical “The Book of Mormon”. He can now add to his resume that he’s also a proficient dramatic actor as well. Occasionally he provides the comic relief, but for the most part he plays the part very well. The scenes featuring only him and Kutcher are some of the best in the film.

The performances can only go as far as the script allows them, and unfortunately the screenplay isn’t really worth a whole lot. Written by first timer Matt Whiteley, the screenplay lacks any direction or overall vision. There’s no story being told here. It flows out like a documentary with no story structure at all. We’re taken from one well known episode of Jobs’ career to the next without any guidance. I wish I could give Whiteley a pass for being a first time screenwriter, but I can’t. Jobs led an interesting life but according to this film, his life must have been pretty boring.

He highlights Jobs’ drive and passion, but we never really see what it is that drives him. The desire to be the first and to be innovative maybe, but that doesn’t ever sink in to the film. Anyone who has done a little reading on Jobs (I have, as I am not afraid to admit my Apple admiration and addiction) probably knows his drive is based on making the best products out there; being at the crossroads of technology and innovation. But where did this come from? We’re treated to a sequence of Jobs tripping on LSD, and then suddenly he’s criticizing how the individual circuits on the board are a little lopsided. The screenplay just assumes we know he’s attentive to detail, and asks us to accept that this is the way it is. Walter Isaacson wrote an immense biography on Jobs shortly before his death in 2011. I’m sure there’s a wealth of information that could have been gained from that unprecedented access behind shroud of secrecy that was Jobs’ life. But it appears Whiteley didn’t want to do the research into Jobs’ life, only the life of the company he created.

Director Joshua Michael Stern couldn’t even save the film from its dry script. He plugs the audience along on this two hour journey about as quickly as the original Macintosh 128k renders graphics. It makes me realize that the only reason this film was made was to show off how much Kutcher resembles Steve Jobs. Showcasing how much he’s grown as an actor seems to be a fringe benefit. Stern has seemed to let the script direct him instead of the other way around. That never ends well, as evident here.

While “Jobs” isn’t a complete disaster – thanks to the wonderful acting – it is by no means a great film. There are plenty of fascinating documentaries available that move along at a much more brisk pace than this. This felt rushed. The man has only been deceased for less than two years, and we already have a biopic about him. Another movie about Jobs is in the works which is being scripted by Aaron Sorkin. I think that might be the definitive Steve Jobs film. It’ll at least move fast. Unlike this unimaginative bore. A movie about Steve Jobs shouldn’t be unimaginative, unoriginal or boring. These are three words exactly zero people on this planet would use to describe Steve Jobs. 

Review: We're The Millers

by. Joe Moss

★★★

Rawson Marshall Thurber, best known for "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," has struck gold again with 2013's "We're the Millers." At times the movie seems a throwback to the National Lampoon's adventures of the 1980's. There's plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor to keep the majority of the audience laughing tirelessly throughout the entire movie. Sure, there are a few down points that make you roll yours eyes, but the movie picks up quickly and you hardly even realize the 110 minutes have flown by...then the blooper reels start to flash. DEFINITELY stay through the bloopers as it ends with the BEST scene that should have remained in the film [in my humble opinion]. 

David Clark (SNL Alum Jason Sudeikis) is a happy-go-lucky, small-time drug dealer with no cares or major responsibilities. He inadvertently helps his awkward, teenage neighbor, Ken Rossmore (Will Poulter) stop a homeless girl, Kasey Mathis (Emma Roberts), from getting mugged. In the process--HE gets mugged, looses his sales money and has to pay the ultimate price for his spontaneous "good guy" moment--become a drug smuggler for his boss, Brad Gurdlinger (Ed Helms) or be killed.

In order to pull this drug smuggling venture off (drug smuggling IS different from drug dealing), David realizes that he needs the perfect cover--and is struck by the revelation that he needs to have a family traveling in an RV. He enlists the help of Ken and Kasey easily; however, a guy with 2 kids looks rather weird and "perverted." David needs a wife--so he asks another of his neighbors, the stripper, Rose (Jennifer Aniston). Initially, she rebuffs his offer, but once her boss decides to "up the ante" of what is offered at work, she has an immediate change of heart for David's offer. Thus the shenanigans begin...with a multitude of SNL type interplay and plenty of sexual innuendo to keep everyone laughing til tears begin to fall.

The screenplay by Bob Fisher and Steve Faber, the creative team behind the 2005 mega-hit, Wedding Crashers, have another gem on their hands. They have definitely written the screenplay with their actors' personalities and strengths in mind.

Even so, Aniston is far and away the STAR of this film--providing not only the glue that keeps the plot together, but is by far the most believable presence on screen.  Her lines are delivered effortlessly allowing everyone else to quickly fall into sync and showcase their own personalities without having to attempt to overact. I think that she has shown the best evolution as an actress over the past decade. If this film is any indication of things to come, watch out Meryl Streep.

This film also introduces everyone to the comedic genius of English-born actor Will Poulter (Voyage of Dawn Treader). While Aniston clearly runs away with the commanding presence of the film, Will has some of the best comedic moments and is clearly not afraid to sacrifice his body for the easy laugh. Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew) provides a solid counterpoint of cynicism to his awkward, but hilarious moments on screen.

Having gone into this movie fully expecting all of the funny moments to have been included in the trailer, I have to say that my wife and I laughed continuously the entire film. It was easily one of the funniest films I have seen this year. If you are a big fan of Saturday Night Live (c) or Chelsea Lately (c), you should easily love this film.

Review: Elysium

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★

“Elysium” takes place in the year 2154. At this time, the citizens of earth are split up into two different classes. The very wealthy live on a pristine space station orbiting above the planet called Elysium. Everyone else lives on the surface of earth which is a very poor place, overpopulated and heavily diseased. On Elysium, there is no disease because each house comes equipped with a med-bay that scans your body and fixes anything wrong with you. Cancers are cured, paralyzed people can walk again and broken bones are healed.

The story revolves around a citizen of earth named Max (Matt Damon) who works for a top defense contractor called Armadyne, which provides all the police robots on earth and the security systems on board Elysium. He’s also a reformed felon trying to keep himself on the good side of the law. His former partner in crime Julio (Diego Luna) even tries to get him to join in on new jobs, but Max refuses to participate. He’s also reconnected with his childhood friend Frey (Alice Braga) who he hasn’t seen in years, and he’s eager to see if there might be a future between the two of them.

Things change for Max when he’s exposed to a high dose of radiation and is given only five days left to live. He knows the med-bays on Elysium will cure him, so he asks the local crime boss Spider (Wagner Moura) for help getting up there. Spider wants Max’s help stealing something from a rich guy first. They want to steal the thoughts from Armadyne CEO John Carlyle (William Fichtner) in order to get bank numbers and other valuable information about Elysium.

What they don’t know is that Carlyle is working with Elysium Secretary of Defense Delacourt (Jodie Foster) on plans that would remove the current President from power and install her as the new leader. When Max and Spider steal the information from Carlyle, they get this information as well. Delacourt sends out Kruger (Sharlto Copley), a ruthless agent, after Max to get that damning information back.

Writer/director Neill Blomkamp, known for directing the 2009 Best Picture nominee “District 9”, is, in my opinion, too smart to be making movies in the first place. Listening to him do interviews is like listening to an astrophysicist talk about what they do for a living. “District 9” was a smart film and a modern day sci-fi masterpiece. But all the things that made “District 9” so great have been scrapped from “Elysium”. Instead, Blomkamp has given us way too many dense subplots that distract from the main characters and plotline of the film.

Its hard to care for your protagonist when there are so many other people clogging up his screen time. Not once did I find myself caring whether of not Max would get up to Elysium and be cured. I know that sounds harsh, but that’s Screenwriting 101. How can you care about someone when setup and development are sacrificed in order to give an equal amount setup and development to a supporting character? Supporting roles do not need the same type of attention that lead roles require.

Blomkamp should know this. His screenplay for “District 9” was so well done because it was so simple. There was one character and we were shown what he was like before the traumatic events on the film began to unfold. He was easily identifiable with the audience. In “Elysium”, Max doesn’t fit this mold. He’s set up as an everyman working in a low paying yet physically demanding job, he’s trying to better his life, he’s trying to reconnect with a former love interest. It couldn’t be anymore forced or contrived if they tried.

None of the talent on screen is overly impressive either. We’ve seen Damon and Foster in these roles before. The only actor who’s actually doing something we’ve never seen before is Copley. His role as Kruger is quite the polar opposite of what he was in “District 9” which is refreshing. I did enjoy Kruger’s character in this film. He’s a ruthless man out for blood, and Copley plays it very well.

Its also full of sharp action sequences, which isn’t a surprise given that Blomkamp has already demonstrated himself as a proficient action director. But polished action scenes and fancy special effects alone do not make a good movie. I feel like Blomkamp rushed this one, which is weird given that its been four years since we’ve seen anything from him. What looked like a promising break from the typical summer films, “Elysium” falls into the exact same traps that plague every other movie that comes out of Hollywood during the hottest months of the year. From the man who gave us something as brilliant as “District 9”, this is quite a disappointment.