NON-STOP

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE: D

Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, Linus Roche, Lupita Nyong'o

Screenplay by Chris Roach and Ryan Engle

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

It's time Hollywood had an intervention for Liam Neeson. First off, let me say that I while I do not think Taken was a terrific film, I found it entertaining  enough, and Neeson gave the film a star presence that really sold it. I admit I even had fun with the  ridiculous sequel, which was thoroughly idiotic but fast paced and fun. The Grey was a drama  disguised as an action film that delivered as both, and I genuinely LOVED The A-Team.  But 20 years ago right now, Neeson was the immortal star of one of the greatest achievements  ever to grace celluloid. Now he's getting large salaries to lend a sense of prestige and credibility  to action thrillers. Okay, that's not the worst thing in the world. But with Unkown, Battleship, Clash  and Wrath of The Titans,  and now this latest embarrassment,  the movies keep plunging downward so  drastically in quality to the point that he's genuinely becoming a staple of bad films. It's not a matter of  getting back to the point when he was Oskar Schindler: I'd settle for back when he was Qui-Gon Jinn. In Non-Stop, Neeson plays Federal Air Marshall Bill Marks, who is stuck sitting on an overnight international flight from New York to London, which is he is none too happy about because he doesn't like his job. In fact, he hates flying. But he was fired from the N.Y.P.D. and became a drunk when his daughter died. He needed a gig, and having seen Denzel Washington mix alcohol with airplanes so successfully in Flight, it seemed like the thing to do.    During the flight, Marks receives a series of threatening text messages, stating that a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into a secret bank account. When the bank account is discovered to be under Marks' name and a bomb is found aboard the plane, Marks is branded as a hijacker.  This is all very by the numbers, but there is potential for entertainment here. But the clumsy plotting and stock characters don't help, and corny dialogue and shoddy fight sequences that play like Jason Bourne Meets The Three Stooges all combine to make sure that this movie never gets off the ground. What's worse, when we finally learn who is doing this and why, the reasoning is not only too preposterous believe,  it's borderline offensive. It's impossible to escape the fact that no one could plan a hijacking that was this dependent on coincidences and sheer dumb luck and have is possibly succeed in any form. In the end, director Jaume Collet-Serra desperately wants to be another Hitchcock, but simply doesn't have the skill or brains for it. The closest thing to a saving grace is the interplay between Neeson and Julianne Moore as a passenger on the plane, but even then her character's cornball back story destroys any sense of reality to the relationship. Non-Stop is rated PG-13 for violence, profanity, mild vulgarity, smoking and alcohol use.

ROBOCOP

Reviewed by Paul Gibbs

GRADE:  B

Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jennifer Ehle, Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Jose Padhilla

In this age wherein even Lucky Charms commercials are revered as classics by a portion of the population as long as the were made in the 1980s, the original Robocop has been elevated to masterpiece status by its many fans. And, for what it is, its a good movie, containing some very funny dark satire and a distinctive goofy charm. But it's also excessively juvenile in its over the top and rather pointless violence, profanity and everything else adolescent males of the 80s loved, and since a curious phenomena causes most of them to still be adolescents living in the 80s today, many of them are outraged by the idea of a PG-13 remake that dares to take a character who clearly belonged on a toy shelf next to He-Man and Optimus Prime and remove the highly artistic excess which defined why they had to watch it when their parents weren't home. However, those who do manage to get past that might find themselves enjoying a flawed, slightly less charmingly quirky movie that could use a bit more of the original film's sense of humor but sometimes succeeds at being a bit more thoughtful, has a stellar supporting cast, and also boasts 100% less Nancy Allen.

Joel Kinnaman mumbles his way through the role of Alex Murphy, a cop in the future who gets blown up for getting a little too close to busting a major crime ring. This happens to come right at the same time that a major arms manufacturer named Raymond Sellers (Michael Keaton)  is trying to sway public sentiment toward allowing his robot killing machine drones to be used as Police Officers. Sellers is assisted by a thinly disguised Fox News with Samuel L. Jackson as its spokesman, in a piece of admittedly heavy handed but largely effective political satire that barely avoids causing right-wingers to burn down the theater because the use of the word "drone" also implies criticism of the Obama administration. 

Murphy, of course, becomes the title character, aided by scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman, giving the best performance in the film). The new Robocop is a hero for the masses, a man inside a machine who can sway public opinion. Except that his human emotions cloud his killing abilities, and when reprogramming suppresses those emotions, he's not really human anymore.

Kinnaman becomes less mumbly and more expressive as he moves from Murphy to Robocop,  but it's hard not to feel the film would benefit from a stronger lead performance, and his Robocop isn't going to be the pop culture icon that Peter Weller's was. But the supporting cast is strong enough to make up the difference, and director Jose Padhilla handles the action well, building into a much stronger flow after a slow and problematic first half hour. But it's the satire of the relationship between politics, media and warfare and the way they try to convince us that the only way to be safe from things that go boom is things that make a bigger boom, that elevates the material and makes this flawed but entertaining remake worth a look. No, it wasn't really necessary, and no, it's not a great film. It's a flawed but interesting and sometimes entertaining sci-fi action satire, much like the original. Which version you prefer is honestly largely a matter of personal preference. For me, a little Paul Verhoeven style excess goes a long way, and given the choice of which one to watch again I'd take the remake, even if there isn't a single moment as memorable or funny as the weaponry test in boardroom from the original. But if ultra violence and gore is your thing, stick to the 1987 version. 

Robocop is rated PG-13 (what kind of God would allow that?!!!) for an astonishing amount of admittedly bloodless gun violence, some profanity (including mediocre bleeping of Jackson's signature word) and mild sexuality. At least fans can take comfort in the fact that it's still not suitable for children.

THE MONUMENTS MEN

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE: A+
George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville and Bob Balaban
Screenplay by George Clooney and Grant Heslov 
Directed by George Clooney

George Clooney has certainly come a long way from Batman & Robin, emerging as one of Hollywood's top actors, producers (winning an Academy Award for Argo) and as a director, with a growing body of work that has occasionally had critics split but has always been unique and thought provoking.

The Monuments Men is based on the true story of an Allied squad during the waning days of World War II,  tasked with entering Germany with the Allied forces to rescue works of art that have been plundered by the Nazis. saving them from destruction or damage, and returning them to their rightful owners.

The squad is made up of seven men: museum directors, curators, and art historians. When Frank Stokes (Clooney) presents the concept of this "rescue mission" to high command, he suggest sending in a team of young art historians. But when it is rightly pointed out that the young art historians are already in Europe fighting alongside the young everyone else, Stokes must lead the team himself. His unit is comprised of six men: museum directors, curators, and art historians. Four Americans:  Lt. James Granger (Matt Damon); Sgt. Richard Campbell (Bill Murray); Sgt. Walter Garfield (John Goodman) and  Pvt. Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban), and englishman, Major Donald Jeffries (Hugh Bonneville), and Lt. Jean Claude Clermont (Oscar Winner Jean Dujardin) from France.

The Monuments Men face a daunting task, as Hitler has seized literally millions of priceless works of art throughout Europe, and the importance of the mission is questioned at every turn. Are paintings, sculptures and the like really important enough to risk the lives of allied soldiers? What's more, they encounter resistance on other fronts: when Granger seeks the aid of Claire Simone (Cate Blanchett), a French woman who is being held prisoner by the allies as a collaborator, but was in reality risking her own life to track where works of art were being taken, she is surprisingly uncooperative, not altogether convinced that these men's motives are that different from those of the Fuhrer himself. She believes they want the art for American museums, and  it is with great reluctance that she assists Granger.

The team follows multiple leads throughout both occupied and newly freed territories throughout Europe, and it's not long at all before these men become more than mere observers to the war and are right in the middle of the danger, facing great danger to life and limb for their cause, but never wavering in the belief that the recovery of this art is essential: these are not just objects, they are history. They are the accomplishments of civilization, of individuals and nations alike, and they must be saved.

The presence of Clooney and Damon has lead critics and audiences alike to jump to the conclusion that this is Ocean's 11 in world War II, and those expecting a hip heist movie are finding themselves disappointed. That is really a shame, because this is a terrific film that deserves a far better reception than it is getting. Clooney tends to be something of a throwback as a director, and here he is combining the style of 60's World War II epics with a touch of the modern sensibilities of more contemporary fare, ranging from M*A*SH to Saving Private Ryan (in fact, many of the sets, particularly in and around Normandy, appear to be the same ones used in Spielberg's classic.). While the importance of the legacy and preservation of art is at the heart of the film, we are reminded of the larger and more sinister destruction going on: Pvt. Sam Epstein (Dmitri Leonidas) explains that despite living in Europe as a child, within walking distance of a priceless Renoir, he was not allowed inside the museum to see it. "My grandfather told us it was because we were too short." He explains. "Then Hitler came along and everyone was 'too short' for him."  Later on, when the men are marveling at the treasures they are finding, Pvt. Savitz is delighted by a barrel full of small gold objects, playfully examining an handful, until Granger quietly points out "those are from teeth."

The look and feel of the film is old fashioned but expertly handled, and Alexadre Desplat's delightful musical score echoes both John Williams and Elmer Bernstein. The cast is uniformly excellent, with Murray and Balaban predominantly serving as comic relief but also a few very poignant moments, and John Goodman and Jean Dujardin (last paired in The Artist) and Hugh Bonneville providing an all too real sense of humanity and mortality. Writers Clooney and Heslov have crafted a heartfelt story full of memorable but not self consciously witty dialogue, and the real triumph here is that we are so swept up in this cause. It's hard to imagine looking at a piece of art again without thinking about it's history and lasting impact, and in turn of this film, which, like many works of fine art, may not be fully appreciated in it's time but I suspect will remain will stand the test of time.

The Monuments Men is rated PG-13 for violence and some profanity.

THE LEGO MOVIE

Reviewed by Paul Gibbs

GRADE: A

Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman

Written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Once in a while Hollywood comes up with an idea so asinine that it's impossible to believe somebody is actually making that movie.  The first Pirates of the Caribbean somehow turned out be a brilliant idea disguised as a terrible one, while Battleship was worse than a Biblical plague. Happily, The Lego Movie falls into the first category.

Emmett Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), is just another face in the crowd in the Lego World, a construction worker who makes a point of doing everything the same way everyone else does. One day, Emmett stumbles upon a strange artifact and is recruited by a beautiful revolutionary named "Wildstyle",  (voiced by Elizabeth Banks), who takes him to meet Vitruvius, a wise old man (with the voice of Morgan Freeman) who prophesied of the coming of "The Special," the most extraordinary person ever, who will save lego kind. Joining forces with Batman (voiced by Arrested Development's Will Arnett), they attempt to overthrow the diabolical President Business (voiced by Will Ferrell, doing what struck me as a parody of Mitt Romney), who plans to unleash a super weapon called "The Kragle".

Parody seems like a lost art in Hollywood these days, with only increasingly awful Wayans brothers movies or worse as current examples of the genre.  But writer/directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs) have created a hilarious film that parodies The Matrix, Star Wars, multiple superhero movies and even Ray Bradbury, but does so in a surprisingly cohesive story that actual turns out to have moments that are genuinely thoughtful and touching. The script is nothing short of a triumph, and it deserves to make these two among the most sought-after writers in Hollywood. 

Of course the animation is eye popping, and the voice cast (which also includes a delightfully silly Liam Neeson as the personification of "Good Cop/Bad Cop.") is top-notch. But it's the writing that lifts The Lego Movie from being a lame commercial into a movie that will entertain audiences of all ages and likely go down as a pop culture classic. Against all logic, The Lego Movie is great.

The Lego Movie is rated PG for mild comic violence.