The Disappearance of the Action Star

Every once in a while there will be a murmur through theatre lobbies, "what happened to action stars?" It is a legitimate question and one that has been offered more and more. Over the years there has always been a marquee star of the action genre, but there is a noticeable absence at the moment. Jason Statham is the closest we have to an action star now, but his star burns nowhere near as brightly as the action icons of the 80s, men like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Jean Claude Van Damme, who dominated the cinematic landscape for years without anyone questioning their status.

So what changed?

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Review: Sins of the Father (Place Beyond the Pines)

It is said that the path to hell is paved with good intentions. In this tale of fathers and sons, hell just may be the best they can hope for.

Luke (Ryan Gosling) lives his life completely uninhibited as a stunt rider in a traveling carnival. Luke being introduced by his profession is an important note, his trade is not a spectator sport for its grace, people watch Luke because each time he steps into that cage, he could die.

This evening in Schenectady is like any other, that is, until he sees Romina (Eva Mendes). The two had a brief, but passionate fling and he hasn't seen her since. He wants to reach out, though it's too little, too late. Luke drops Romina off, yet something keeps him from leaving town. He comes back the next day to find a son he never knew about. The moment he found out he was a father, Luke quits the road.

Money is hard to come by for an out-of-work carnie, he is taken in by an auto mechanic (Ben Mendehlson). Robin has only seen talent like Luke's maybe a handful of times, he rides like lightning. Robin has robbed four banks before, and he stopped before he got caught. He offers his system to Luke, if he wants to provide for his new family, he can do it quickly.

Robbing banks comes with its own set of circumstances. Luke isn't just riding in a steel cage anymore, the ride is not choreographed, and those men waiting for him will put him in prison. Men like Officer Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper).

There is a speed at which movement is impossible to comprehend and the eye is just frantically throwing pieces together. Some would complain that everything is a blur, but the visceral thrill from taking everything at the speed Luke sees is unmatched in white-knuckle intensity. Sean Bobbitt captures these chase scenes beautifully.

Place Beyond the Pines shifts narrative focus several times over the course of the film. Once finished with Luke's story, Derek Cianfrance places Avery under his scope. Avery starts out as a beat cop, but with his family pedigree (his father is a former Supreme Court Justice), that won't be the case for long. If he is to do so, he must navigate the waters of his department, waters filled with sharks like Lt. DeLuca (if there is a face that suggests a lack of morality more than Ray Liotta's, I haven't seen it).

Are some just predetermined to be successes or fuck-ups? Jason (Dane Dehaan) never knew his father, but the paths he and A.J. Cross (Emory Cohen) are about to cross will irrevocably change both families.

Cianfrance could have coasted off the success of Blue Valentine, but with Place Beyond the Pines, he delivers a much more ambitious picture. Instead of capturing the love built and lost between a husband and wife, Cianfrance sweeps the camera over a city and generations of men who enforce the law, men who break it, and those for whom that line is grey.

It's not an indictment, but a well-acted display of whether or not our lives are determined by fate, or our own choices.

****

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Neon-Lit 'Only God Forgives Poster'

"Time to meet the devil," I'm not sure if they could have picked anything more ominous sounding. This motion picture will shoot you in the face? Expect violence, expect style and expect a bloodied Ryan Gosling. Only God Forgives hits theatres July 19th.

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Vastly Improved 'Place Beyond the Pines' Poster

Much, much better than the first poster put out for Derek Cianfrance's follow-up to Blue Valentine. No floating heads generally makes for a better piece of art. Eagerly awaiting this film, heading to theatres in limited release on March 29th.

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Review: The Vacuum of L.A. (Gangster Squad)

Gangster Squad starts with Sgt. John O'Meara commenting on the current state of Los Angeles in 1949. Several characters mention the City of Angels has turned into a cesspool since the arrival and subsequent takeover by gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). What we see and are shown never alludes to anything other than a hell-hole, but Sgt. John O'Meara's words must mean something.

To Sgt. O'Meara (Josh Brolin) honor and integrity are tangible things, they can be sought out and reclaimed. He has returned from The War to see his home ravaged and manipulated into a gangster's playground. His wife is pregnant and just wants him to take the check and keep low. After busting up an entire operation by himself, O'Meara has let it be known: he won't take this sitting down.

Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) has taken the opposite approach: retreat into liquor and women because the worst has not gotten here yet. Wooters' apathy hides a great deal, but O'Meara knows better. A travesty outside a nightclub Wooters frequents changes his mind pretty quickly. With the addition of several street-savvy members to the crew, including a gun-slinger and a wireman, O'Meara is ready to take down Cohen.

What follows next is almost cartoonish in its depiction of destabilizing a criminal organization. Faces are bludgeoned to a pulp, cops are out wasting thugs left and right, explosions go unnoticed, every procedure is thrown out the window. One expects tough antics, but when fisticuffs take place instead of slapping cuffs on in every occasion, the film makes it hard to take any of the proceedings seriously.

As jarring as some of those scenes are, the film's true downfall is Sean Penn's Cohen. Penn gnashes his teeth against everything in sight: fellow actors, scenery, his lines. His fierceness is never doubted, but it is hard to picture who would let his man be in charge of anything. Psychopaths tend not to be the masters of economics that they think they are.

On paper, Gangster Squad could easily have been the next Untouchables, but it rarely has the drive or charm that film had. The shoot-outs are loud and often though they leave no mark. For all of the action sandwiched into the runtime, it is hard to care about the stakes. A shame considering the worthwhile cast and lively cinematography. Gangster Squad is so reminiscent of other better flicks that it has no identity of its own.

**/****

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'Only God Forgives' Teaser

Nothing good ever happens to Ryan Gosling...

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Ryan Gosling is a Bad Father in 'Place Beyond the Pines'

Been looking forward to this trailer being released for some time. Derek Cianfrance's epic about fathers, crime and order was originally due to be released this year, but was pushed back to March after being acquired by Focus Features. Count this as my most anticipated film for 2013.

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A Very Sore Ryan Gosling Presents 'Only God Forgives' Poster

Ouch. Anyone catch the plate of that truck that hit Ryan Gosling? Nicolas Winding Refn is no stranger to brutal violence so why beat around the bush? Gosling is going to get beaten badly.

Julian (Gosling) lives in exile in Bangkok where he runs a Thai boxing club as a front for the family’s drugs smuggling operation. When Julian’s brother Billy is killed, their mother (Kristen Scott Thomas), arrives in the city. She wants revenge and forces Julian to find the killer. Julian’s contacts in the criminal underworld lead him directly to The Angel of Vengeance, a retired police officer who serves as both Judge and Executioner. Jenna demands that Julian kill The Angel of Vengeance, an act that will cost him dearly.

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What to See in Toronto

The Toronto Internation Film Festival is the most accessible of film fests, but this year a few of the artier films are making their debut along with the more mainstream fare. Two of my most anticipated films are included on that list such as Derek Cianfrance's followup to Blue Valentine and Ben Affleck's third directorial effort. The film that is sure to get the most attention, however, is Terrence Malick's To the Wonder. Whatever the reaction will be to Malick's latest tone-poem, it will be fun to see first-hand.

The Place Beyond the Pines
Derek Cianfrance, USA (World Premiere)
Luke (Ryan Gosling) is a professional motorcycle rider who turns to bank robberies to support his newborn son. But when he crosses paths with a rookie police officer (Bradley Cooper), their violent confrontation spirals into a tense generational feud. The Place Beyond the Pines is a rich dramatic thriller, tracing the intersecting lives of fathers and sons, cops and robbers, heroes and villains. Also starring Rose Byrne, Ray Liotta and Eva Mendes.

To The Wonder
Terrence Malick, USA (North American Premiere)
After visiting Mont Saint-Michel — once known in France as the Wonder — at the height of their love, Marina (Olga Kurylenko) and Neil (Ben Affleck) come to Oklahoma, where problems soon arise. Marina makes the acquaintance of a priest and fellow exile (Javier Bardem), who is struggling with his vocation, while Neil renews his ties with a childhood friend, Jane (Rachel McAdams). An exploration of love in its many forms.

Argo
Ben Affleck, USA (World Premiere)
When militants storm the U.S. embassy in 1979 Tehran, six Americans manage to slip away. Knowing it’s only a matter of time before they are found, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist comes up with a plan to get them out of the country: a plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies. Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Kyle Chandler.

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Second 'Gangster Squad' Trailer

So much testosterone. Between Sean Penn and Josh Brolin alone, they could get flood the entire state of California.

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Ryan Gosling Retires

First Steven Soderbergh, now this. Ryan Gosling announced his retirement today. He was quoted as saying that his appearance in Nicolas Winding Refn's Logan's Run remake will be his last film. "I want to focus on creating a family for myself," he had hinted at this in a previous interview from September when he said, "I don't want to act much longer...It'll be over whenever the inspiration dries up." It's sad to see such a talent go, but in the future hopefully he will return to work.

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TWC Buys 'Only God Forgives'

The Weinstein Company's VOD shingle has purchased the rights to the next Nicolas Winding Refn/Ryan Gosling team-up Only God Forgives. 

Only God Forgives centers around Julian (Gosling), who has lived in exile in Bangkok after killing a cop ten year ago. He runs a Thai boxing club with his brother as a front for the family's drugs smuggling operation run by mother, Jenna (Kristin Scott Thomas). Julian's brother bites off more than he can chew when he murders a prositute, and the cops call on retired cop Chang--aka The Angel Vengeance--to determine the outcome. With his brother in mortal danger, Julian is forced to seek vengeance or risk his own death.

That leaves one wondering if Drive was going to be one of the cuddlier Refn films. Either way, I'll be there in theatres, or online.

(Courtesy: The Playlist)

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NY Times' Cinematic Villainy

If you ever wondered what Wall Street would be like with Michael Shannon as Gordon Gekko, A Clockwork Orange with Rooney Mara, or Brad Pitt in Eraserhead, wonder no more. The New York Times has answered all of these questions and more.

(Courtesy: The New York Times)

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