FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2016 • 7C
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Moore grasping at straws in ‘Where to Invade Next’ Where to Invade Next WHERE(R) TO INVADE NEXT (R) 1 1/2HHHH out of 4 stars By Michael Clark Movie Critic
The title of the 10th feature from filmmaker Michael Moore doesn’t at all line up with the content. It’s not, as one might surmise, an indictment of U.S. military policy but rather a series of jaunty visits by Moore to an array of European Chloë Grace Moretz stars as Cassie Sullivan and Zackary Arthur as Sam Sullivan in “The 5th Wave.” (Special Photos: countries. Chuck Zlotnick/ Columbia Pictures) As he did in “Sicko,” Moore sets out to prove how bad life is in America compared to the rest of the world and in his usual angry, myopic manner plays fast and loose with the facts. More on that in a bit. Beginning with “Roger & Me” in 1989 through “Fahrenheit 9/11” in 2004, By Eddie Cockrell hardened, ruthless surviv- Moore infuriated conservaReuters al machine. Nevertheless, tives, delighted liberals and, she understood intuitively for lack of a better term, LOS ANGELES — that humanity was all she became a movie industry Taken on its own, “The had left against an unseen rock star. Love or hate 5th Wave” is an effectivehim, there was no denying yet brutal foe. ly decent post-apocalypthat Moore’s movies were This message gamely tic, young-adult, worldentertaining and he singlesurvives a screenplay in-the-balance survival handedly turned the staid by Susannah Grant, thriller. and dry documentary genre Akiva Goldsman and Yet the multitudinous into something resembling Alex Pinkner that seems devotees of Rick Yancey’s sexy, even if he decidedly perversely determined to wildly successful 2013 keep the best parts of the was not. novel may have more is“Where to Invade Next” book out of the movie. sues with what has been finds Moore at his most belDirector J. Blakeson, Ron Livingston, center left, Chloë Grace Moretz, center edited or left out entirely licose, delusional and “Ugly right, and Zackary Arthur, below center, star in “The 5th whose only previous than with what’s survived Wave.” American” worst. Sporting feature was the small but the transition. well-received British kid- his trademark frayed ball Still, the film will ride cap, rumpled wardrobe and nap thriller “The Disapunseen, they soon make the way, she’s shot by a the inevitable wave of pearance of Alice Creed” bulldozer personality, he their intentions clear by mysterious sniper on a fandom and newcominteracts with an array of (2010), works well with mounting a series of ofhighway clogged with ers alike to moderate generally quaint and accomhis generally fine cast, fensives. derelict vehicles (shades box office and a healthy modating people in distant yet seems increasingly The first wave is an of “The Walking Dead,” afterlife, allowing produc- electromagnetic pulse lands while trying to find which shares with the film unsure of the film’s pace ers Tobey Maguire and out why they can do things and flow. that darkens the planet; Georgia locations and Graham King to move Moretz makes the most better than we do. the second wave consists more than a little visual forward with production The problem is he’s of a script that gives her a of massive tsunamis and iconography). of the other two books in thunderous earthquakes; cherry-picking. Moore is softer Cassie than on the She wakes up in the the author’s proposed tril- the third wave decimates under the misguided impresrustic cabin of Evan Walk- page, while Livingston, ogy, “The Invisibly Sea” sion that by sheer will (and who’s looking more and most of the survivors er (Alex Roe), a Chris (2014) and “The Last the endless redistribution of via a deadly virus that Pine-ish hunk who insists more like George ClooStar,” to be published later claims Cassie’s mother, wealth), every woe can be on accompanying her but ney, and Schreiber, who this year. rectified and everyone evcan pivot plausibly from Lisa (Maggie Siff), but seems to be harboring a Enough of Yancey’s am- to which some remain erywhere will get everything good to evil on a dime, secret of his own. bitious narrative has made immune; the fourth wave they want; you know, like The final act takes place play it like the pros they the final cut to reflect an it happens in Utopia, La-La are. reveals that selected huat the base itself, and involves both the fate of the arrestingly original spin As the before-and-after and Neverland. mans, dubbed Silencers, on trendy genre tropes. If you employ the adage are actually Others intent children and the improba- faces of Cassie’s budding In the present day, Ohio on hunting down the har- ble reunion of Cassie with sexuality, Robinson and that “even a broken clock is Ben (by now nicknamed teenager Cassie Sullivan right twice a day,” you might Roe make up in soulful dy few who’ve scattered “Zombie”). Key players in looks what they lack in (Chloe Grace Moretz) buy into Moore’s faux-rosy to the wind; and the fifth this sequence include the charisma.Craft contribudoes what modern young wave is, well, the final mindset. If you’re a drugtough-as-nails Goth teen people do: drink beer at tions are above par, led by dealer or a heavy user of the two-thirds of the film. warrior Ringer (Maika unsupervised house parJon Billington’s evocative same, you might want to Showing up at a refuMonroe), the composite ties, moon over boys — in gee camp in the woods, consider relocating to Porand detailed production character Sgt. Reznik this case, oblivious hightugal. The cops there tend to design; the sound mix Cassie, Sam and Oliver (Maria Bello in a thankschool football heartemphasizes gunshots and look the other way and your are just in time for the less role) and a clutch throb Ben Parish (Nick explosions to a distracting chances of getting busted arrival of Vosch (Liev of frighteningly young Robinson) — dote on her Schrieber), a take-charge are low, but in Iceland if degree. soldiers whose mission is little brother Sam (ZackLike the adaptations of you’re a shifty banker, you military colonel who ary Arthur), and banter will likely go to jail. Stephen King’s “Dreamorders the children bused not what it seems. Yancey’s influences with her laid-back father, to Wright Patterson Air Let’s say you like the catcher” and “The Mist,” Oliver (Ron Livingston). idea of extended maternity “The 5th Wave” suffers Force Base and the adults are as obvious as they But Cassie’s cozy leave, paid vacations and to the camp meeting hall. are legion, yet the source primarily from a few key novel managed to blend suburban cocoon is soon decisions that undercut the two-hour lunches. You need What happens next is the bittersweet yearnings shattered by the arrival of chaotic but necessarily to move to Italy. Don’t want good intentions. Yet with a massive alien ship coto pay for college? Start two films left in the trilinevitable, leaving Cassie of an adolescent girl on incidentally floating just checking out institutions of ogy, the filmmakers still alone and on the run with the cusp of adulthood with the demands of a above their street. Though a scavenged M-16 and a higher learning in Slovenia. have the time and opporcinematic global catastro- tunity to get this quality its occupants, dubbed “the determination to rescue It might even be possible Others,” are silent and Sam from the base. Along phe that forged her into a material better than right. to find a school not close to a still-warm Croatian war zone. If you’re leery of what your child is being fed in school, hoof it over to France. They include highend cheeses and never offer Coca-Cola. By and large, Zac Efron, left, French children hate Coke. and Robert De Who knew?! Niro star in the If one wanted, one could new raunchy visit every country in the comedy “Dirty world and discover that they Grandpa.” Visit
Wasted ‘Wave’ Movie a mediocre adaptation of quality material
Efron, De Niro star in ‘Dirty Grandpa’
www.gwinnettdailypost.com to read Michael Clark’s review of the movie, which hits theaters today. (Special Photo: Bob Mahoney/Lionsgate)
MORE ONLINE Visit gwinnettdailypost.com for a review, trailer and photos from “Dirty Grandpa”
do at least one thing or another quite well. China, for example, is great at population control, and the citizens of Japan are experts at getting the most out of skimpy amounts of real estate. The Germans, the Belgians and the Dutch all make better beer than anybody. As for vodka and caviar, fuhgettaboutit, the Russians are world champs. North Korea has cornered the market on crazy. Want cheap gas? Today it’s $0.18 a gallon in Venezuela and $0.48 in Saudi Arabia, although there a gallon of drinking water will cost about $10. Moore isn’t a documentarian as much as he is a master of agitprop. He picks a cause (war, guns, health care, capitalism, et al.) and he does all he can he can to tear it down. His answer to everything lies in what they’re doing over there, wherever “there” might be at the moment. If you’ve ever wondered why Moore struck such a chord and found out stuff no other documentary filmmakers could, there’s a reason. He fudges. How and why Moore twists his findings are many and far too lengthy to go into here, but if you’d like, there are two other movies that will lay it all out in detail. The first — “Michael Moore Hates America” from 2004 — was made by a conservative (the amiable Mike Wilson) who tried to get Moore to consent to an interview (much like Moore did with Roger Smith in “Roger & Me”) with about the same level of luck. The second — “Manufacturing Dissent” from 2007 — was made by liberal Canadian filmmakers Rick Caine and Debbie Melnyck who set out to make a flattering bio-flick about Moore, but once they saw what he didn’t want them to see, they changed their minds and the complexion of the narrative. In all fairness to Moore, you would be hard-pressed to find any documentary that doesn’t come with some sort of political or social slant; it’s nearly an impossible task. The same can be said about most news-dispensing organizations. Every entity has an agenda; some just hide it better than others. Moore isn’t interested in gathering and then reporting facts; his biggest concern is in promoting Michael Moore. When a reporter becomes the premier element of a news story, it’s no longer news but rather editorial propaganda and/or shameless self-aggrandizing. In the beginning of his career, Moore got away with this because he chose big, fat, easy targets and did it in an interesting, entertaining way — much in same manner some people find crashes at car races to be fun to watch. “Where to Invade Next” finds Moore aiming for lowhanging fruit, grasping for straws and looking painfully desperate while doing so. It’s almost embarrassing to witness but if you view it as a crash at an auto race, you might find it to be oddly, darkly and justifiably poetic. (Dog Eat Dog Films)
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