UNDERWATER

Kristen Stewart     Vincent Cassel     T. J. Miller     Jessica Henwick

     I could empathize with characters in this film being trapped underwater, with the creaking of the ship, periodic explosions, and rushing water blasting through the halls.  I felt the same way in the theater, being trapped in a movie where I couldn’t see much of what was happening, couldn’t hear what little dialog there was other than, “Can you see me?”  “Can you hear me?” “Are you OK?” and got sick of hearing underwater sounds and the creaking of the ship.  Major things, like death, occurs, but you might miss them altogether.  I can’t remember when I wanted to walk out of a movie more than I did at this screening.

     The setting is a deep-sea drilling ship, with researchers on board.  We get a little glimpse of Kristen Stewart’s character, Norah, in the beginning, brushing her teeth (which has come to be a motif for filmmakers these days), and pondering about her life, including the thought that, “there’s a comfort to cynicism; there’s a lot less to lose.” These musings are interrupted by an earthquake, which sends ocean water flooding down the halls.  Hundreds of people are killed, but Norah barely escapes with one other member of the crew.  They manage to get to another part of the ship where the captain (Cassel) and two others have survived, but it’s clear the ship is sinking, and the captain decides they will don sea-diving gear and walk to the main station, hoping they have enough oxygen to last.

     But the elements are not the only threat.  It seems there are huge sea monsters that have appeared, all too ready to toss them about like rag dolls.  The audience is petrified, waiting to see whether they’ll reach their destination.  

     The actors play their parts well, albeit on mostly one note:  panic, with little variation and without much dialog. Director William Eubank has chosen to make the picture very dark, so that it’s difficult to get a good look at the monsters.  Perhaps this was intended to make it even more scary?  

Unless you’re into horror movies with little character development or dialog and a lot of creepy sounds, you’re not likely going to want to see this film.

Grade:  F                                    By Donna R. Copeland

JASON BOURNE

Matt Damon   Tommy Lee Jones   Alicia Vikander   Vincent Cassel   Riz Ahmed   Julia Stiles

          Matt Damon is back again as the unstoppable, hunted and haunted Jason Bourne.  In this journey, he is still off the grid, earning a living in physical fights.  Tommy Lee Jones is the current Director of the CIA playing his usual double-dealings with his agents.  New on the scene is Agent Heather Lee (Vikander) as a computer whiz who can spot and track targets and assets all over the world.  The terrifying, ruthless CIA asset is played by Vincent Cassel who carries a grudge toward Bourne from way back and pursues him relentlessly, impervious to the scores of bodies he leaves behind as collateral damage.

       In addition to searching for Bourne, the CIA has proposed a secret surveillance program (Iron Hand) that it desperately wants Aaron Kalloor’s technology company to agree to.  The proposal is highly relevant today in light of the U.S. Government’s recent efforts to get Apple to allow it to look at terrorists’ e-mails and search for anti-government hackers who have invaded the government and U.S. companies’ websites. The CIA wants Kalloor’s social media platform, Deep Dream, to allow it to search its posts, but Kalloor is having the same response as Apple, saying that privacy is freedom and we need to protect that.

         Bourne learns about this from Nicky Parsons (Stiles), in addition to her finding out more about his history and about his father.  She and others have pulled an Edward Snowden maneuver and gained access to the CIA’s data set about black ops. She wants him to help them bring the CIA’s operations to light.  When the Director of the CIA learns of this, he goes after Bourne and Parsons with a vengeance, sure that they intend to expose his department.  He then sends out the asset to kill them by whatever means necessary, and when that is not entirely successful, his plan gets hopelessly convoluted.

        Damon puts his all into this role as in all the previous Bourne films, and pulls off superhuman feats in planning ahead and evading the pursuers with clever strategies and all kinds of vehicles; he’s always one step ahead, startling his adversaries with his acumen.  I must say, though, that I much prefer seeing him as the quirky botanist in The Martian. Jones can play a mean, double-crossing s.o.b. easily, giving the appearance of an all-knowing father.  There is probably no better actor to play the calculating, vindictive killer than Cassel. 

         It’s refreshing to see Alicia Vikander again take on a completely different role from those she has excelled in previously, and here she comes across as extremely intelligent and accomplished, but with feminine intuitions that serve her well.  She has read Bourne’s file and thinks she has such a keen sense about his psychology that she can “bring him in” again. 

          Riz Ahmed is an up and coming actor to watch; he is winning high marks for his roles in Nightcrawler and the current television drama, “The Night of.”

Paul Greengrass directed this production of Bourne and helped write the screenplay with Christopher Rouse.  They have succeeded in making the pace fast and furious, with nerve-wracking close calls and scenes of high suspense.  I only wish the car chase and hand-to-hand combat at the end had been shortened by half.  The camera is so jumpy, it’s hard to follow the action, and it ultimately becomes simply boring.

Another Jason Bourne thriller that hits the same high points.

Grade:  C                        By Donna R. Copeland

TALE OF TALES

Salma Hayek     Vincent Cassel     Toby Jones     John C. Reilly     Shirley Henderson     Christian Lees     Jonah Lees

           This could be one of those fairy tales that doesn’t turn out happy ever after…except maybe sometimes.  Matteo Garrone, director and his fellow writers (Edoardo Albinati, Ugo Chiti, Massimo Gaudiso) based their production on an Italian folklorist (Giambattista Basile) who wrote 50 tales, and this is three of them.  (Basile pre-dated the Grimm brothers in Germany.)  

    Garrone (Gomorrah), who is known for weaving in the fantastical with the mythical/psychological, does so again here inTale of Tales.  The tales all involve kings who embody the human condition of chasing after the elusive, being thwarted by fate/magic, and being ultimately undone (or not). 

       The three kingdoms of the kings are Longtrellis, Highhills, and Strongcliff.  The first king, played by John C. Reilly, has a barren wife, and in deference to her, is willing to do anything to produce an heir.  They are visited by a seer who says, “You want a child?  Every new life is cause for a life to be lost.”  Heedless of the caveat, they say they will do anything.  Little do they know what costs will be extracted from them and that the twins, born to different mothers, have an extraordinary connection to one another.  This will be significant in that one twin’s mother is the queen, but the other one’s is a scullery maid.  (More than a touch of magic here.)

         The second king, played by Vincent Cassel, expecting any woman he has a yen for to succumb to him, is bested by deceit and duly horrified.  But soon, he thinks he has found his true love.  Only…he doesn’t know how that love came to be. 

        The third king, played by Toby Jones, has a beautiful daughter whom he dotes upon, but in getting preoccupied by a flea and tending to it, he loses track of priorities and puts her at great risk.

        Themes running through Tale of Tales are meaningful (thoughtless parenting, sibling rivalry, bargains with the devil, obsession, and the main one, narcissism), but they are presented as more of a curious look at human behavior than illustrating moral principles.  That conclusion is left up to the viewer. 

         I did enjoy humorous aspects of the film (a woman thrown out of a castle window being caught up in tree limbs with her lover’s crimson bedsheet still around her, a flea turning into an exotic beast as a result of the king’s fascination, a woman desperate for regaining her youth willing to do anything), but the lack of integration among the three stories and the absence of any obvious moral principle made the film seem less important.

         Cinematography by Peter Suschitzky and music by Alexandre Desplat more than made up for this drawback.  Hayek, Cassel, Jones, and Reilly were regal figures with very human qualities; they can be considered masters of acting.

Retelling three ancient fairy tales.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland