The American Way..."War Dogs"

War Dogs (2016)  

Rated R

Starring Miles Teller, Jonah Hill, Kevin Pollak, Bradley Cooper,

Directed by Todd Phillips

The Story:

David (Teller) is looking for a better way of making a living when he runs into his old buddy Efraim (Hill). Efraim has been making a killing by bidding and winning low-level defense contracts that the big companies don't seem interested in. The two join forces and make their company grow exponentially. However, success goes to their heads, and they decide to bid on a contract that is so big, and so important, nobody else seems to want to touch it.

Naturally, this one is based on a true story.

In a world where the lives of the forces fighting for America's way of life are on the line, you want the lowest possible bidder to be in charge of supplying our troops with their protective gear and ammunition.

Or putting someone in charge that really has no idea what they are doing.

Many might claim I'm talking about the recent Presidential election, but no, I'm referring to two college age kids who get into the very lucrative defense contracting business, with no real clue what they are doing.

Using a bit of clever deceit, they would get information on other bids, and make sure they could come in with the lowest bid while still making a pretty penny.

It's when they decided to get greedy, really, really greedy, that things finally spun off the rails and the two ended up on the radar and facing charges.

The movie waffles between trying to be a comedy and a drama, so the tone is a bit uneven throughout. The dramedy can be difficult to pull off unless you commit early to it being funny, with serious moments, or serious with bits of humor and levity sprinkled throughout.

Still enjoyable, and the cast does a nice job of making their characters three dimensional and ones that you care about.

Final Grade: C+

How To "Get A Job" In The 21st Century

Get a Job (2016)

Rated R

Starring Miles Teller, Anna Kendrick, Bryan Cranston, Alison Brie, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jorge Garcia, Nicholas Braun,

Directed by Dylan Kidd

The Story:

Will (Teller), Jillian (Kendrick) and their friends are done with college and ready to set forth into their careers and life. Except they are all about to learn that life is never easy and whatever you thought you had planned, hopefully you wrote it down in pencil or dry erase marker.

This is an odd duck of a movie.

Apparently it was trapped in limbo for several years before it was finally released, seemingly direct to DVD.

Which is a shame, as the movie has a wonderful ensemble cast and it tackles the tough job of finding employment and balancing a life, whether it's straight out of college, or in the case of Will's father (Cranston) when he is suddenly let go and has to start over again.

The stories are a little disjointed, and could have used a tighter narrative to join them all together, but at the end of the day you have a cast of really likeable characters that are faced with the prospect of growing and learning or running and hiding.

The cast is essentially what makes this movie, and every character, from the leads to the supporting characters make the most of their personalities and screen time and will win you over as the movie rolls along.

You'll be proud of the choices they make, and while there may be "all happily ever aftered with a big bow on the end", it's just the sort of ending you would want them, or yourself, to have.

Can't beat that.

Final Grade:  C+

They Saved The Last For Last..."Allegiant"

Allegiant (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts, Jeff Daniels, Octavia Spencer,

Directed by Robert Schwentke

The Story:

Tris (Woodley), 4 (James) and their crew decide to leave the walled city of Chicago and see what truly lies on the other side. There they meet David (Daniels) who claims that Tris is the key to rebuilding the future. But can he be trusted?

At this point, can anyone in this franchise be trusted.

So, I've stuck with the franchise this long, you feel you might as well finish with it, am I right?

Well, judging by the box office, about half of the fans abandoned ship this go round.

Possible reasons?

Well for starters, Allegiant does not rhyme with Divergent or Insurgent. Clearly the pattern was broken, and people may have mistakenly thought this was a brand new Dystopian Future movie.

;)

More likely, people are simply tiring of the Young Adult books brought to cinematic life after all of the Hunger Games, this series, the Maze Runner and a few other films as well.

These aren't superhero movies. These are films about depressing futures.

Oh, so maybe they are just like DC superhero movies. ;)

Either way, perhaps the audience is growing tired of that genre.

Or perhaps they are simply getting tired of a storyline that seems just a bit padded at this point.

Because, quite frankly, it seems like the same thing that happened in the last movie happens in the next movie.

They escape the ruthless clutches of a power-mad leader, only to watch as all of the factions begin fighting amongst themsleves to see who becomes the new power-mad leader.

So the franchise is treading water.

And when you bring in less than 100 million dollars from your previous film, the 4th film in the franchise, 4th!!?? gets changed on the schedule from a next summer in theaters to a next year on tv as a springboard for a new TV show.

Good luck with that.

So on that note, I bid this series farewell.

Final Grade: C

'Fantastic'? Not Even Close... "Fantastic Four"

Fantastic Four (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey

Directed by Josh Trank

The Story:

Child genius Reed Richards (Teller) gets a scholarship to attend college so he can work on an experiment alongside Susan Storm (Mara) and Victor Von Doom (Kebbell). They get help from Johnny Storm (Jordan) when he has to pay off some debt to his father (Cathey). When the transporter shows that it works, the kids decide to send themselves to see what's on the other side. Reed invites his best friend, Ben Grimm (Bell) to tag along. When they arrive, things go horribly wrong, the teens are imbued with powers that change them into the team that would become...The Fantastic Four.

Oh. Dear. Heavens.

I believe this is a karmic payback for all who may have complained about the 2005 release of the Fantastic Four. That one is a cult classic at our house, we all loved it and shake our collective heads at the anger directed towards that film.  At least that movie got the majority of what made the Fantastic Four work, correct.

Evans and Chiklis made a dynamic duo of Torch and the Thing and much like the comics, that's my favorite part about the team.

Here, that banter and interplay is nonexistent and these characters are dull and uninteresting.

So too the dialogue.

Pedestrian acting by actors that can, and have, done better.

It's as if nobody wanted to be there, and for the audience, that relates to people that don't want to see the final effort.

Budget looking effects, a poor story where once again people feel the need to shoehorn Dr. Doom into the origin.

No.
No.
No!

He doesn't need to be there, and in fact, shouldn't be there.

And for heaven's sake, just put him in the armor and make him a despotic ruler of a small European country.

The Negative Zone. The Mole Man. ANYTHING but Doom at this point.

Or better yet, just give the rights back to Marvel and let them do things properly.

The Thing doesn't even wear shorts! How hard was putting CGI shorts on a model?

When Stan Lee won't do a cameo in your film, you need to realize: You're doing it wrong!

This is bad.

Not "oh my God, I can't watch" bad. Just wasted opportunity, and in the wave of amazing release after release from Marvel (and even Fox is finally on track with their X-Men franchise) this seems like a bargain basement offering for some small indie comic that should never have been made.

Not what you would expect, or deserve, from the comic that helped launch and keep Marvel Comics at the top for 60 years. 

Final Grade: D+  I'm feeling generous, and/or, bad for this franchise.   On second thought, the more I typed, the angrier I got about how they are failing us, and themselves with this franchise.

Revised Final Grade: F

Back To The Future..."Insurgent"

Insurgent (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller

Directed by Robert Schwentke

The Story:

Tris (Woodley) and Four (James) continue their fight for survival and to overthrow the current leadership that won't stop until the Divergents are wiped off the face of the earth. 

Did you see Divergent?

Then Insurgent picks up almost exactly where the other one left off as the further adventures of a dystopian future unspool before you.

Treachery.
Lies.
Betrayal.

And that's just Miles Teller's character throughout the series thus far!

The funny thing, the more of these I watch, the more they all begin to blend together.

Wait, there's a mysterious wall? Wasn't that the Maze Runner?

The secret to this society is revealed? That was done in one movie, The Giver. It's taken this franchise 2 films to do it.

I'm sure there's some similarity in The Hunger Games as well, but I've yet to dip my toes into that franchise.

I'm sure there's another part coming, but everything is really wrapped up rather nicely, so I'm not sure how much incentive I have to come back for a part 3.

Final Grade: C

J.K. Simmons Will Give You "Whiplash"

Whiplash (2014)

Rated R

Starring Miles Teller, J.K Simmons

Written and Directed by Damien Chazelle

The Story:

Andrew (Teller) wants to be a great drummer, the next Charlie Parker. At the prestigious music academy he attends, there is one teacher there, Fletcher (Simmons) who can help him realize that potential.

Be careful what you wish for.

It's everything and nothing that you've seen before.

A mentor takes a student under this wing and makes life for student miserable.

But in the end, the student excels and proves that they had the gift all along, and just needed the right push.

Enter Teller as the happy go lucky Andrew who gets into the band, and is immediately assaulted, verbally and physically by Simmons.

And the for the record, tell me Simmons spouting similar lines in a Spider-Man movie isn't something that would fit the character of J. Jonah Jameson to a t!

: )

Simmons can act, everyone knows that, and he deserves the award he won for the character. You know he's pushing the limits of what he can do to make his student better, but you're uncomfortable enough to wonder if you should root for him to continue his ways or to let go.

By the finale, the relationship between these two is going to take their weirdest, yet most satisfying turn yet.

Great movie, that I'm dinging for the subplot with the girl, and the unbelievable car crash/concert scene.

I get why both were included, but the credibility (or care-ability) of the story suffered accordingly.  When it's about the music, then the movie sings.

Especially when Simmons is involved.

Final Grade: B

The Future Is Decided By Facebook Personality Quizzes... "Divergent"

Divergent (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Miles Teller, Kate Winslett, Tony Goldwyn

Directed by: Neil Burger

The Story:

In a dystopian future (is there any other type?) the survivors of a war that ravaged the world (or at least America) have been divided between 5 factions to keep the peace.  You have Amity (Peaceful), Erudite (intelligent), Abnegation (Selfless), Candor (Honest) and Dauntless (Brave).  Each has its role in society and keeping the peace, and when children come of age, they take a test to see what their aptitude is, but they still have one last choice that they can make at a ceremony.

However there are those that the test does not work on.  They are called Divergents, and they are being dealt with, permanently.

Welcome to the latest Young Adult fiction to be turned into a trilogy (or larger) movie franchise.

The story centers around Tris (Woodley) who is a Divergent growing up in Abnegation but just doesn't feel it like her parents (Judd & Goldwyn).  At the ceremony, her brother chooses Erudite and Tris goes for the Dauntless.

Needless to say, their parents are a bit crushed.

The Dauntless then initiate the newbies into their ranks under the lead of Eric (Courtney) and Four (James).  Only they are upping the ante and kicking out the worst recruits as the tests get harder.

If you are kicked out of a faction, you become one of the faction-less, which is the future buzz-word for the homeless.

Not only does Tris have to survive her training and remain with Dauntless, once she learns that she'll be targeted if anyone finds out she's a Divergent, well, that takes the last half of the movie to unspool.

Believe me, it's a long movie also.

While she doesn't have the charisma or chops of Jennifer Lawrence, the rest of the cast, especially Four, try and keep the audience engaged.

However, some poor casting choices on several of the characters end up making several people irrelevant in the overall scheme of things because they are very difficult to tell apart from one another.

Final Grade: C/C+ range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I didn't love it, but I hardly hated it.  I'll be back to check out the sequels.

"That Awkward Moment" When You Realize The Film Is Actually Pretty Funny

That Awkward Moment (2014)
Rated for language, crudity and general naughtiness

Starring Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan

Written & Directed by Tom Gormican

The Story:

Mikey (Jordan) has been dumped by his wife.  His best friends, and perpetually single bachelors Jason (Efron) and Daniel (Teller)  tell Mikey he won't go through single-life alone.  They are in it together!  Then naturally, they both find the girls of their dreams and things get awkward.

Look out Hollywood, there's a new Judd Apatow in town.

A talented writer/director with a penchant for naughty, but with a slice of heart to go along with it, thus making that elusive R rated date movie Romantic Comedy that the guys love, and the ladies can tolerate.  Tom Gormican is that new talent, and for his first film, he's pretty much knocked one out of the park.

The story is a lot of fun, and the dialogue is funny, with several laugh out loud bits scattered through the movie.

The ladies aren't treated as just objects, they are multi-dimensional characters who are given quality time in the film.

However, it is the film for the guys to run with, and Efron continues to leave his Disney roots far behind him.  His sense of comic timing serves him well, and I've been suitably impressed with his dramatic and comedic offerings that he's worked on since graduating from High School Musical.

Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller play perfect best friends.  While not as much screen time as Efron, their stories are well fleshed out and they get to grow as characters throughout the movie.

If you haven't seen it yet, give it a spin, I'm pretty sure you'll laugh quite a bit.

Final Grade: B/B- range.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Probably not a purchase, R rated comedies have limited audience in my house, but if it's on cable in the future and I'm up late with the baby...I'm ready to laugh again!

The Older You Get, The More Juvenile You Become... "21 and Over"

Party Time!

The Story:

Miller (Miles Teller) and Casey (Skylar Astin) come to celebrate the 21st birthday of their pal Jeff Chang (Justin Chon).  The only  problem, Jeff Chang has a very important medical interview in the morning that Jeff Chang's dad (Francois Chau) is in town to ensure Jeff Chang does not miss this important meeting.  The pals promise Jeff Chang that they'll take good care of him... what could possibly go wrong?

Famous. Last. Words.

First, Jeff Chang is the only character with a first and last name in the film.  In fact, he is referred to as Jeff Chang throughout the entire movie, never just Jeff, so I feel the need to continue the reference in the review.

This movie is brought to you by the guys that wrote The Hangover, and they are striking out on their own as directors.

For a first effort, it's not that bad.  You've seen these gags before, sometimes executed better, sometimes worse.  We've got The Hangover, Weekend with Bernie, Animal House...heck you name it, there's probably nothing new. 

Unless you count what they do with that stuffed animal... : /

The movie takes place during the longest night of the year apparently, as these guys pack more into a 12 hour span than anyone else in the world ever could.

It's not nearly as raunchy as it could be, which again, sometimes it's a nice dial back when you don't go to total extremes in a film like this.

The cast is extremely likeable and they have a lot of fun with the movie.

It's silly. It's stupid.  But I'll admit, I laughed...several times. : )  If you like this type of movie, you'll probably enjoy watching this one at least once.

Final Grade: C+...B- area.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Low in my house. : )