Trying Too Hard..."Concussion"

Concussion (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse,

Directed by Peter Landesman

The Story:

Dr. Bennett Omalu (Smith) is a forensic neuropathologist in Pittsburgh who happens to be on duty when the body of former Steelers great Mike Webster (Morse) arrives at the morgue. As Bennett attempts to discover what really killed Webster, he makes the discovery of CTE: chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This discovery should be heralded as a scientific breakthrough, but instead threatens the very nature of the NFL.

In the 2015 edition of Trivial Pursuit, this will be the answer for why Jada Pinkett Smith boycotted the Oscars.

This was Will Smith's Hail Mary (see what I did there?) at an Oscar nab.

The problem is, the movie is rather uneven and therefore not worthy of Oscar buzz.

He gives a fine performance, but when he spoke for the first time with his accent, all I could think about was Eddie Murphy doing a similar accent decades earlier and laughed.

Probably not the correct first reaction to a riveting drama!

The science, the football, it's all good.

The sad decline of some of the NFL's fiercest warriors and the grim realization that Dr. Bennett was right years after bringing it to the attention of the NFL, and largely being ignored, brings the movie to a somber close.

What really isn't that great is the relationship with Prema (Raw). Whether it happened in real life like it does in the movie, I'm chalking that portion up to "who cares?" .

It seems tacked on and very poorly conceived, almost a tender romance bone to throw to the ladies in the audience that have to endure a football movie with their husbands.

Hands down, the best character in the movie is Bennett's boss, played by Albert Brooks. When he's onscreen, the movie picks up and hums along nicely. Sadly, he's not there nearly enough.

Still, no discounting the subject matter.

There was much potential here, but just like the NFL, the opportunity to do something historic was fumbled.

Final Grade:  B- / C+ range

Jamie Foxx as a Leading Man? Will Viewers Take the "Bait" ?

Not an Oscar Winner...

The Story:

Small-time crook Alvin Sanders (Jamie Foxx) is doing time next to a big-time robber (Robert Pastorelli) who stole some gold.  He's hidden it, and won't tell the Feds or his partner (Doug Hutchison) where it's hidden.  However, as he's suffering a heart attack in prison, he passes a message about the possible whereabouts of the gold.  Agent Clenteen (David Morse) decides to free Alvin from jail, and using some high-tech dentistry, he now has some bait out on the streets to either lead him to the gold, the partner, or preferably both.

A star was born.

Okay, technically, Jamie Foxx showed he could be a star in Any Given Sunday, but Bait was his chance to shine as the leading man...

And he does an admirable job.

He is solid as an actor, and he tosses off his one-liners with the best of them, keeping a light edge to an otherwise gritty thriller.

It is amusing watching him frustrate the Feds with his decisions as they use him as an unwitting accomplice.  He makes decision after decision that literally drive them crazy, and they pretty much want to kill him as much as the bad guy does.

Foxx has come a long way since then with his Oscar winning performances in Ray and his outstanding work in Django Unchained.

Want to go back and see where it all began 13 years ago?  Give this one a whirl again.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nothing earth-shattering, but it was fun to revisit after over a decade.  Holds up pretty well.

Let's Make a Deal... "The Negotiator"

 

One of the movies that missed being on my Top 100 of All Time...

What was I thinking?

15 years ago...

The Story:

Skilled Chicago hostage negotiator, Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is sucked into a web of deceit and lies within the Chicago police department when his partner is found murdered.  Roman is the prime suspect, all the while maintaining his innocence.  Driven to the edge, Roman barricades himself in the Internal Affairs department taking several hostages and the lead Internal Affairs inspector (J.T. Walsh) whom Roman believes is involved in the scheme to defraud the pension fund.  As Roman's entire police force gathers around the building to take him down, they question his innocence and guilt, and some have more motive to see him dead than others.  With nobody to trust on the outside, Roman requests the negotiator come from another precinct, and he calls in Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey) to work the scene.  Sabian's only goal is getting the hostages out of there safely, and he too begins to question who he can, and cannot trust in this thriller.

Directed with precision and skill by F. Gary Gray who apparently picks and chooses what movies, and when, he wants to direct, took on this one a few years after his previous big hit... Friday.

Talk about a change in direction!

: )

Jackson carries the considerable weight of the film on his shoulders, but he is surrounded by an all-star cast... sort of.

What they did was provide a veritable who's who of character actors to play all of the bit parts, names you may or may not recognize, but if you see the faces you go, oh yeah, I know that guy!

Some of those: Paul Giamatti as Rudy and informant in the wrong place at the wrong time.  David Morse as Captain Beck, the tactical side of SWAT who wants to take Roman down.

And therein lies half the fun of this movie.  You really don't know which cops you can trust because they are dirty... or just because they are unlikeable characters just trying to do their job.

The twists, turns and revelations continue throughout, and you remain riveted to your seat until the credits roll.

They don't make movies like this anymore, or if they do, they're flying way under my radar.

Final Grade: A

Would I Own It: Yes I would, and I highly recommend a viewing/repeat viewing if you haven't seen this one since it came out in 1998.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.