Film

Bear necessity

The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book, Disney’s latest live action take on one of their animated classics, actually contains sly nods to Apocalypse Now and Saturday Night Live. Jon Favreau’s delightful and funny take on Rudyard Kipling’s tale of a boy raised by wolves is a winner. Kids and adults will love the talking and sporadically singing animals, while adults and some of the cooler kids will like the movie references and clever Easter eggs. The story is pretty simple: A young boy raised in the jungle is pursued by a pissed-off tiger (Idris Elba) who had his face burned by a human when he was young (shades of Darth Vader). When plans to leave for a human village are rudely interrupted, Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi) winds up staying in the jungle longer than he planned, and he must keep wearing the same pair of red baggy shorts. He encounters Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), an evil temptress snake, and other perils while building a special friendship with a big bear. And, as far as I could see, he never stops to wash those red shorts. A swim in the river doesn’t count. You need detergent. Bill Murray is, indeed, a masterstroke of vocal casting as Baloo, the big bear who befriends Mowgli on his extended jungle trek. Casting Christopher Walken as King Louie, the Kong-sized master of all apes in the jungle, actually tops the Murray casting feat. It gives Favreau’s film an opportunity to become truly weird, very funny, and even a little scary. While not a bona fide musical, Favreau does find some clever ways to mix musical performance into the movie. Baloo and Mowgli happily sing part of “The Bare Necessities” together while floating down a river, accompanied by a full orchestra led by John Debney. It’s great, but it’s not the film’s musical highlight.

The highlight comes when Walken’s King Louie, portrayed with undertones of Brando’s Colonel Kurtz, suddenly busts out “I Wanna Be Like You.” Walken is perfect for the song and perfect for the character, making the scene an instant classic. Johansson performs another song from the animated movie, “Trust in Me,” during the credits. by Bob Grimm The story is in service of some incredible special effects that seamlessly mesh live bgrimm@ animals, motion-capture work and puppetry. newsreview.com The talking animals actually look like they are really talking as opposed to animals with 4 cartoon mouths yapping away. Other voices include Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, the panther that raised Mowgli, and Lupita Nyong’o as the wolf, Raksha, that acted as his mother. Giancarlo Esposito, a.k.a. Buggin’ Out, lends his chords for Akela, leader of the wolves, and Garry Shandling voices Ikki in what turned out to be his final film appearance. If you have a couple of extra bucks, go ahead and shell out for the 3-D or, better yet, IMAX version of the movie. Favreau directed his movie very conscious of that technology, and it gives the movie some nice extra scope. Tree branches look like they are going to poke you in the face, and it almost seems as if Kaa might get you into her death coil. The 3-D also makes the pop-up book end credits sequence all the more fun. It’s worth noting that the movie, which appears to be a very outdoorsy film, was filmed entirely on studio sets and made within computers. Every landscape you see is artificial, making the filmmaking achievement something of a miracle. Sethi, the only live actor with a big part in the film, is good enough as Mowgli, although interest in his character’s plight is perhaps diminished a bit by the fact the film is so much cooler when any of the animals are at the center of the action. It’s not surprising that Baloo and King Louie steal the movie. Talks are underway for a Jungle Book 2 already, with Favreau returning, so the adventures of Mowgli might continue. Perhaps a main plot point could be Mowgli finding some new shorts or a bathing suit. He’s going to get a fungus in those red shorts! Hopefully, Murray will get over his sequel stigma and be back as Baloo. And Walken … I gotta have more Walken! Ω

“No, I don’t love Baloo more than you ... Quit guilt tripping me already.”

1

Poor

2

Fair

3

Good

4

Very Good 5

1Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice This is definitive proof that director Zack Snyder should be banned from the DC universe. The man who gave us Sucker Punch has effectively knocked the wind out of two great comic book heroes. This film is a crime to every geek who has ever picked up a graphic novel. Hell, it’s also a crime afflicted upon hardcore Ben Affleck fans. Affleck could be a fine Batman. Actually, he could be a great Batman. But, like George Clooney before him, he winds up looking quite ridiculous running around in a messy movie in which his character simply doesn’t fit. A nice effort by Affleck to portray a nuanced, older, somewhat weary Bruce Wayne—not to mention a badass suit—is utterly wasted. As for Henry Cavill’s Superman, I’m longing for those short-lived days of Brandon Routh as Kal-el. While it isn’t entirely his fault, Cavill’s Supes is officially a dud. A sequel to the dreary Man of Steel, also directed by Snyder, Batman v Superman is a soulless step in the wrong direction. Snyder, who made a great graphic novel movie with Watchmen, has just completely lost the ability to put together a cohesive, exciting movie. The film drags, the character motivations make no sense, and the film totally lacks any sense of joy or humor. It’s sad that somebody can’t make an entertaining movie with two DC classic superheroes, but that’s exactly what Snyder has done. He’s completely failed the fanbase, and he needs to be stopped.

4Eye in the Sky A drone pilot (Aaron Paul) has a missile shot all lined up and is about to pull the trigger on a houseful of terrorists when a little girl parks herself within the blast zone to sell some bread. This is just one of the dilemmas brilliantly depicted in writer-director Gavin Hood’s tense thriller about drone warfare and the political ramifications of collateral damage. Helen Mirren is superb as Colonel Katherine Powell, determined to take out multiple targets on Great Britain’s terrorist list, but needing to check the legalities of all her strategies before she can make a single move. In his last live action screen appearance, Alan Rickman is terrific as Lt. General Frank Benson, drolly responding to the bureaucracy that’s keeping him from doing his job. Paul brings his best big screen acting yet to the role of Steve Watts, a drone commander torn between killing an innocent child or preventing potential scores from being killed in a terrorist bombing. Phoebe Fox gives a breakthrough performance as Carrie Gershon, drone cocommander. The film poses many questions and many dilemmas, and wisely doesn’t take sides. It presents you with the frustrating situations and the consequences, and the viewer is left to mull it all over. This is one of the better-acted films in the first third of 2016.

3Hello, My Name is Doris Sally Field plays the title character, a 60-something office worker who gets a crush on John (Max Greenfield), a much younger co-worker. The two become friendly, and then Doris gets a little carried away into a fantasy world regarding him. Yes, she’s a bit of a stalker, but it’s Sally Field doing the stalking, so it winds up being kind of cute. Directed by Michael Showalter (The Baxter, Wet Hot American Summer), the film mixes goofy comedy with some of a darker variety. Field, who hasn’t had a chance to shine in a comedy in a long while, gives us a multi-dimensional character to go with the laughs. Greenfield is excellent as the object of Doris’ desire, and he actually has a palpable chemistry with Field. You never really know if something might happen between Doris and John, and even though Field is 30 years older, hey, it’s Sally Field. Showalter, who co-wrote the film with Laura Terruso, put together a nice supporting cast including Stephen Root and Tyne Daly. Showalter didn’t get his due with his sweet and funny feature directing debut, The Baxter. His movies show he can go beyond the realms of outrageous comedies and deliver material with a dramatic oomph—while still managing to be a bit silly.

3The Invitation Dinner parties tend to suck, don’t they? You bring a stupid bottle of wine nobody will like. You have no small talk for others gathering at the table other than the weather and your stinky feet problem. Your hosts may or may not be trying to kill you. Will (Logan Marshall-Green) is visiting his ex-wife, Gina (Michelle Krusiec), for a dinner party. Gina has been away for some time, and she’s gotten all smiley in the wake of a tragedy she and Will suffered. Her new boyfriend, David (Michiel Huisman), is a bit of a weirdo, all happy and perhaps a bit too pleasant. In contrast to his pleasant demeanor, he shows the party a video of a woman, surrounded by members of some cult, dying by choice. That puts a strange damper on the party, but they all eventually make it to the dinner table, where things get even weirder. Director Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, Girlfight) does nice work within the scary cult genre, getting good performances from Marshall-Green and John Caroll Lynch as a friend with a sketchy past. There’s a good mystery at play here, with a final act that delivers on the build up. It’s a good ensemble cast in service of a decent script and effective director. (Available for rent or download on iTunes, Amazon.com and On Demand during limited theatrical release.)

4Midnight Special Michael Shannon, who has appeared in all of director Jeff Nichols’ films, plays Roy, father to young Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), a mysterious boy who must wear goggles all of the time due to fits where his eyes shoot out blinding light. He has the power to down satellites, to channel radio broadcasts, and to transmit military secrets. So, yeah, the government is after him, and the Texas cult he grew up in sees him as some sort of prophet. Roy takes Alton away from the cult, led by the forever haggard Sam Shepard, races towards some undetermined location, because he knows his boy is important and that mystery meeting with something or other is important. The film has elements of Duel, E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind on the Spielberg front, with the mystery and wonder of the best Twilight Zones. It also has the look and feel of some of Clint Eastwood’s best offerings, the dramatic intensity of Scorsese films, and even the better aspects of last year’s poorly received Tomorrowland. And, yet, it feels very original. Shannon is typically strong as the worried yet emotionally closed-off father who doesn’t have all of the answers but will do everything he can to help his son. Joel Edgerton gives his best performance to date as Lucas (yep … a George Lucas homage), a former state trooper along for the ride. Kirsten Dunst plays Alton’s mysterious birth mother. There’s also Adam Driver as the sympathetic government guy (think Peter Coyote in E.T.) in full nerd mode, doing much to make us forget that sinister villain he played in that little indie film that came out last year. Nichols is, quite simply, one of the finest directors making movies today. If you haven’t seen Take Shelter or Mud, and consider yourself a film connoisseur, then get on it.

3Mr. Right Yes, this is another one of those hitman comedies. There are many, too many to recount here, so I’ll just get to the point. This one is pretty good because it has Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick in it. Actually, it’s only good because it has Rockwell and Kendrick in it. Kendrick plays a woman just out of a relationship after catching her boyfriend cheating. (She has a drunk-closet scene that is very funny.) Rockwell plays a hitman who wears a clown nose, dances when he kills, and likes to kill those who hire him to kill because killing is wrong. The two meet in a store and start an unorthodox relationship. They like the same sort of things and both have the ability to catch knives thrown at their face. She finds out he kills people and that sort of complicates things but they still give it a go. It’s all stupid, well-worn territory, but the leads are good and they pull the material through. Kendrick, who is in a million movies lately (actually, six this year, not counting this one), has solid comedic chops and she should be a bigger star than she is. She also brings a bit of the crazy, and it’s convincing. Rockwell is Rockwell, and I can think of nobody better to play a dancing hitman. Tim Roth shows up as the guy who trained him. I have no idea what kind of accent Roth is doing at first. It’s sort of a Texan Christopher Walken kind of thing and it sounds pretty annoying. He actually winds up having a pretty good reason for the weird accent, so it’s forgivable. Anson Mount plays a crime lord with anger issues, and he’s one of the funnier things in the movie. It’s all kind of forgettable, but mildly enjoyable while it’s going on. (Available for rent on iTunes, Amazon.com and On Demand during limited theatrical run.)

dine out and save!

purchase gift cards for up to 50% off

2D Wok: $20 gift card for just $10 Batch Cupcakery: $10 gift card for just $5 Bavarian World: $25 gift card for $12.50 Boomtown Steakhouse: $25 gift card for just $12.50 Mellow Fellow Gastropub: $10 gift card for just $5 Nikos Greek Kitchen: $10 gift card for just $5 The Bridge Restaurant & Bar: $20 gift card for just $10 Beefy’s Reno: $10 gift card for just $5 Noble Pie Parlor: $10 gift card for just $5 Nothing to It!: $25 gift card for just $10 Ryan’s Saloon & Broiler: $10 gift card for just $5 Sierra Safari Zoo: $20 gift card for just $10 National Auto Museum: $10 gift card for just $5

www.newsreview.com