IRRESTIBLE

Steve Carell     Rose Byrne     Chris Cooper     Mackenzie Davis

     Jon Stewart (writer, director, producer) is at his best in comedy mixed with high drama, while ultimately making killer points about issues within a larger scope. Fine acting from the principal players makes it all work.

     The scene opens in a small town in Wisconsin that has lost its main industry and is dying.  The mayor and other city leaders have a proposal that appears not to be in the interest of the town of Deerlaken or its citizens.  The measure has almost passed when in strides local farmer Jack Hastings (Cooper) with a passionate argument against it.  However, he appears not to be making much headway with the leaders or the townspeople.

     When Democratic political consultant Gary Zimmer (Carell) hears about the situation and Hastings, he has the bright idea to shape Hastings into becoming a mayoral candidate in the upcoming election, who is confident he can “turn” Jack and the whole Republican town into Democrats.  

     Gary’s colleagues are extremely skeptical, but he has such confidence in his judgment and skills, he takes off for Deerlaken with high hopes, only to be consistently shocked by the nature of a small town versus a city like Washington D. C. (Example:  He only has to order lunch at the local watering hole, and meet a couple of people, for everyone he meets immediately after to know him by his new nickname, “D. C. Gary”, and he is greeted by everyone he meets as if they’ve known him forever.)

     Gary is successful in convincing Jack to run as a Democrat, and the campaign forges ahead.  There will be jolting upsets when Gary’s archrival, Republican Faith Brewster (Byrne), hears what he is up to and likewise descends upon Deerlaken.  But she is supporting the re-election of the mayor (Brent Sexton), backed by big bucks.  This, of course, results in Gary intensifying his fund-raising efforts.  The subsequent no-holds-barred rivalry of the two serves as part of the production’s entertainment.  

     Chris Cooper is ideal as a countrified character with an “aw-shucks” attitude overlaying a canny, strategic mind, and his background includes being a war veteran.  Gary sees that the principles underlying his arguments adhere perfectly with explicit aims of the Democratic Party.  A widower, Jack has a grown daughter Diana (Davis), who is devoted to her father, and enthusiastically joins his campaign.  

     The odds favor first one campaign then the other, with Faith shown to be a ball-busting flirt without principles and Gary handing it right back to her and gradually increasing his edge.  But as time goes on, the two factions are portrayed more even-handedly, and the viewer is shown more clearly the source of the problem.  Nice wrap-up!  But since I think the very ending is surprising and masterful, I won’t reveal more than that.

I have sorely missed Jon Stewart’s Daily Show on the Comedy Channel, so was highly gratified with many of the lines appearing throughout the film that are signature for him and truly funny and provocative, e.g., “Good people have to do s----- things in service of the greater good” and “We’re spending to start something; they’re spending to stop something.”      More substantively, Jon interviews Trevor Potter (whom I became acquainted with on the Steven Colbert Report show), former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission and current President of Campaign Legal Center stating how it is legal to hide billions of donations to a campaign that later can be diverted to other projects.  Thank you, Supreme Court, for the Citizens United ruling.

For political enthusiasts, this film hits home in the most delightful ways—all to make a provocative statement about the United States today.

Grade:  A                                                By Donna R. Copeland

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

Arnold Schwarzenegger     Linda Hamilton     Mackenzie Davis     Natalia Reyes     Gabriel Luna

     Opening the film is an apparently normal teenager in Mexico making out with her boyfriend in an isolated area when they see a woman fall off a high bridge. They investigate and determine that she needs medical help, but when they’re approaching potential assistance from policemen who have appeared, they’re seen as suspicious and the police are ready to take them in.  But something amazing happens.

     Be prepared.  Shortly after that, this film directed by Tim Miller, a special effects artist, proceeds with a half-hour(?) of that which is dear to his heart:  All kinds of vehicles (including a plow truck driven by an AI and a pick-up driven by a modified human with a mission) sensationally chasing and crashing into one another on freeways and country roads, with the AI having the ability to throw out a black tar-like substance that magically transforms into a weapon and even his own reconstitution.

     Gradually we hear about the background leading up to this moment.  Cryptically, Grace (modified human majestically portrayed by Mackenzie Davis) has been sent to protect Dani, the teenager (Natalia Reyes), from the AI Rev-9 Terminator (stoically played by Gabriel Luna). They will meet up with characters from previous renditions of the Terminator, a grieving Sarah Connor (Hamilton) and her nemesis T-800 (Schwarzenegger).

     It continues the Terminator theme of man vs. machines, with the message that even though it seems like a losing battle, one should never give up hope of human supremacy.  In the dream world created by the screenwriters of this gem (David S. Goyer, Justin Rhodes, and Billy Ray), where anything can happen and need not have a smidgen of reality or logic attached to it, yes, they can make it happen.  The only problem is that the writers’ imagination is not very imaginative and the dialog is so trite, that after 2+ hours the film becomes tedious to watch:  It’s essentially a series of special effects.  

     Inconsistencies that can be bothersome to a viewer based in reality are frequent, such as Grace being able to bound 50 feet into the air and swoop down with the speed of lightning, but when boarding a train, she walks gingerly up the steps. Sometimes the characters do miraculous feats, yet other times, those same feats are not available to them.

     One of my biggest problems with the film is the glorification of guns, even though they’re often shown to be woefully ineffective.  Still, what is shown is meant to appeal to gun-rights champions.  The joke was on me at one point when the small group of fleers realizes they need weapons—lots of them.  It’s then revealed they’re in Texas, and I laughed, not catching on (thanks to my colleague) to the fact that many in the audience were laughing for opposite reasons than I was.  Was it a laugh at or a laugh with Texas? 

     The only sequence of substance that I picked up on was T-800 Terminator (Schwarzenegger) describing what transpired in him after he became inactive.  He spent the time learning to be human, i.e., having a purpose, seeing the value of caring for others; and learning what a conscience is, which he acts out behaviorally even though the experience is beyond him.  This is a clever bridge between technology and humanity.

     This film is obviously for viewers who love an emphasis on special effects and are less interested in human interactions and the value of well-written dialog that illuminates beyond thrills and chills.

Terminator devotees will likely find the film satisfying; others are likely to find it tedious and boring.

Grade:  D+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

TULLY

Charlize Theron     Mackenzie Davis     Mark Duplass     Ron Livingston

            Watching this movie is difficult first of all because we’re made to experience what a depressed mother goes through, but also, it’s so hard to see Charlize Theron’s gorgeous body gone to pot.  Her character Marlo is pregnant, but she is also huge, and sits slouched down with breasts hanging and feet splayed out in front of her.  I understand Theron gained 50 pounds to look like the character, but also felt she needed to eat poorly as well to get within the character’s mind.  Her intentions are entirely successful.

            Beyond simple depression, Marlo has developed cynicism and a defeated attitude that makes her feel and act incompetent. Her relationship with her husband Drew (Livingston) is indifferent, with not one spark of emotion.  Marlo has a testy relationship with her brother Craig (Duplass) and his wife who seem to have everything together, which only makes Marlo feel worse.  But her brother does care about her and offers to provide her with a “night nanny” after her baby is born.  She is negative about this, as she is in general, and vacillates back and forth before finally giving the woman a call.

            Tully (Davis) appears on the scene like Mary Poppins, getting the household organized (even though she only works in the evening) and functioning as it should ideally.  But she does much more than that; she’s almost like a live-in therapist, providing the mothering that Marlo clearly had missed as a child. She counters Marlo’s cynicism and self put-downs with positive statements about her abilities and accomplishments.  This has a profound effect on Marlo.  We see her gradually begin to enjoy life, relate to her family with warmth and ease, and give some attention to her health and appearance.

            What about these changes?  Will they last?  What happens when the nanny’s service is ended?  Director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody give us some inkling, but major drama will take place in the meantime, with an unbelievable twist at the end.  The twist is the most implausible  aspect of the film, serving more as a gimmick than contributing to the quality of the film.

            Reitman seems to possess an unusually perceptive awareness of women, as shown by his previous films like Juno, Labor Day,and Young Adult, as well as this one.  He seems to have an understanding of their basic psychology and links that to how they confront problems and manage them.  This time, he demonstrates how invaluable an experience of being mothered is to being a good mother. Although I deeply appreciate that aspect of his work, this story bogs down in places, although, granted, the subject matter pulls it down too.  Rob Simonsen’s music counteracts this to a great extent, contributing significantly to the drama, and enlivening the emotionality of every scene.

            I admire Theron’s ability to transform herself into so many diverse characters, as in Mad Max:  Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, and Monster, and wonder if perhaps this role was more difficult for her to enact than the others, in that the character is more everyday and depressed, as opposed to a fiery femme fatale.  It certainly demonstrates with the others, the phenomenal range of her abilities.  Ron Livingston and Mackenzie Davis convincingly support the main character, each showing a significant transformation in the course of the story.  

            The import of Tullymay not be immediately obvious, or may seem mundane or banal.  But given further contemplation, it can be regarded as a film that highlights the dilemma of many American mothers who are completely unprepared for motherhood and its challenges in today’s world. 

Ask yourself how well you might handle the situations presented in this film.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BLADE RUNNER 2049

Ryan Gosling     Harrison Ford     Robin Wright     Ana de Armas     Jared Leto     Sylvia Hoeks     Mackenzie Davis

   The cinematography (Roger Deakins), special effects and other-world atmosphere (production design by Dennis Gassner) give this film’s story the mystery and spookiness it deserves.  The 1982 Blade Runner film, based on Philip K. Dick’s graphic novel, has been updated by screenwriters Hampton Fancher (who also worked on the earlier film) and Michael Green under the excellent direction of Denis Villeneuve.  It’s fast-moving and suspenseful, leading the viewer down garden paths that make it seem predictable, but ultimately is not.

     ‘K’ (Gosling) is a blade runner charged by his supervisor Lt. Joshi (Wright) to track down out-moded replicants made by the Tyrell Corporation and retire them.  The new ones, manufactured by Niander Wallace (Leto), who bought the Tyrell Corporation, are considered to be so human-like a special test has been devised to distinguish between replicant and human.  ‘K’ must be tested each time he returns to base to be sure that he has not been tampered with.

     Something comes up in one of his investigations that arouses his curiosity, and he begins to pursue it, against the orders of Joshi.  This search constitutes the main part of the story with all its complexity, assortment of figures, and dangerous encounters.  He does eventually find Deckard (Ford), the original Blade Runner, who has become a recluse, and who is not very happy to see him, but K has burning questions Deckard can answer—or so he thinks.

     The picture of the future that Blade Runner 2049 constructs is alarming as well as fascinating.  Identities merge and transform with ease, paranoia about who is who is rampant, sophisticated space ships for rapid travel seem to appear out of nowhere any time, and most of the buildings look like tool shops inside.  Digitized figures (many especially in the form of sexy women) tower over the city, which is teeming with multitudes.  At one point, a character says, “We’re all just looking out for something real”, which is like the viewer’s experience throughout the story.

     2049 continues with the existential questions of the first Blade Runner, having a lot to do with issues about what it means to be human.  Yet, although it is enlightening to be familiar with the previous film, 2049 stands on its own; it’s not necessary to have seen the first film to grasp the import of the current rendition.

With robotics in our near future, it behooves us to consider what it is to be human.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland