FLIGHT

It's weird and upsetting to know that Flight was directed by Robert Zemeckis. The man made Back to the Future and Castaway, proof positive he can make films with interesting characters, good pacing, and few wasted moments. Neither of those films could be considered the best ever made, but they were certainly made right. Flight? This film is just made wrong. It is proof positive Zemeckis can also make films with predominately uninteresting characters, horrible pacing, and bucket loads of wasted moments.

Denzel Washington plays Whip Whitaker an alcoholic airline pilot who happens to pull off an impressive in-air maneuver/crash landing that makes him a hero. But this isn't really what the film is about; it's about Whip's crash and burn with his addiction to drugs and alcohol. The breakdown of his character is more important than the plot and that's a pity because the plot is intriguing while Whip Whitaker is not. He is an irksome character who comes across as frustratingly boring. When it came to the acting, Washington was convincing as a pilot. But Washington as an addict? Not so much. Yes, he looked drunk and had dark circles under his eyes for much the movie, but I’m pretty sure my 12 year old nephew could have done just as good a job given the chance. I know, my young nephew would have been a strange casting choice but if it had been him playing the part, I probably would have cared a tad bit more about Whip. And I probably wouldn’t have found myself making imaginary casting changes and hoping his story would quite stalling and end already.

(Paramount Pictures)

Writer John Gatins must have realized Whip was too insipid to carry the whole film, so he sprinkled in a variety of characters to add depth and prop Whip’s story up. This doesn't work out too well with his ex-wife and son. And it certainly doesn’t work with the flight attendant he was sleeping with (I think her name is 'naked chick' or something similar to that). Of course, they aren’t as extraneous as the character Nicole, played by Kelly Reilly. Nicole is a recovering heroine addict who, I'm sure, was in the film solely to help develop Washington's character. She has a substantial amount of screen time in the film, most of which feels wasted. The funny thing is Whip meets her at the same time he meets a cancer patient who seems to do more to affect Whip in three minutes than she does in her exorbitant screen time. But for as much as I don't care for her being a part of Whip's story I would rather watch a movie about Nicole, the addict, than Whip Whitaker, the addict.

The characters who actually do add something of interest to the film are played by Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and Brian Geraghty. They have the best bits, but they are few and far between. Their characters are written well and played superbly. None of them are enough to save the film from being the life-sucking machine that it is though. To be honest, the plane inversion and crash scene isn't enough either. And that scene comes so early in this considerably long, drawn-out film, it gives a false sense of awesome. Flight is a flimflam of a film. That is all.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Silver Linings Playbook isn't all that special. It is a typical romantic dramedy with some atypical and interesting cinematography. And it is set in a world were people don't seem to understand that sidewalks are for pedestrians and streets are for cars.

The plot of Silver Linings Playbook is corny and extremely formulaic. It falls into the polished turd category of film making. The two main characters are crazy before they fall for each other, then they are crazy for each other. Bradley Cooper plays Pat, a man who moves back in with his parents after an 8 month stint in a mental institution. Jennifer Lawrence plays Tiffany, a woman who has "poor social skills," and a dead husband. Pat is bi-polar and hyper-focused on getting back with his cheating wife who has a restraining order against him. Despite the fact he's obsessed with his wife, there is some sort of master plan to get him together with the lovely and kooky Tiffany. Cooper seemed to be playing a slightly more mentally unbalanced person than he did when he played the fictionalized Anthony Bourdain in the short-lived television series Kitchen Confidential. (If you are a fan of either Buffy and/or Freaks and Geeks, Kitchen Confidential gives you a little slice of Nicholas Brendan, aka Xander, and John Francis Daley, aka Sam Weir, that you can't get anywhere else.) Cooper's role wasn't much to write home about. It didn't blow me away. Lawrence, on the other hand, I gotta say, whether or not Lawrence thinks acting is stupid doesn't change the fact that she's damn good at it. I can't imagine anyone else playing her role. I didn't try that hard to imagine it, but still. She's good. I could go complete cheese-ball here and call her the silver lining of the film, but that would inaccurate.

Of course, I still have cheese-ball tendencies and the film does have a silver lining, two in fact: Chris Tucker and Robert De Niro. Chris Tucker was one of the main reasons the movie kept my interest. His character, Danny, was the perfect complement to Pat. He showed up at the exact times that he was needed. Whenever Pat was hesitant and being a whiny baby about doing anything, Danny would pop up to take Pat's place and/or show him what's what. At first, I was disappointed that Tucker didn't get more screen time, but looking back I think it was just right. The balance his character provided to the film was necessary. Too much of him would have taken away from that.And Robert De Niro, he was impressive. He plays Pat's OCD father so well that I can almost forgive him for Analyze This and Analyze That, Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, and, of course, Showtime! This film reminded me why I like Robert De Niro.

(The Weinstein Company)

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

My motivation for seeing Seven Psychopaths was simple: I liked In Bruges so much that I just had to see what Martin McDonagh would come up with next. And what he came up with was a different kind of beast. Different enough for me to try to avoid any direct comparison to In Bruges, except to say that casting Colin Farrell for both films was a wise choice.

The characters worth mentioning in Seven Psychopaths are as follows:
-- Farrell, who plays Marty, is a drunk and struggling Irish writer. Yes, that's correct. Martin McDonagh named the main character in his film Marty. And the title to the screenplay Marty is working on just so happens to be "Seven Psychopaths."
-- Sam Rockwell, who plays Billy Bickle, is Marty's BFF and an actor/dog-napper.
-- Christopher Walken, who plays Hans, is Billy's fellow dog-napper. He is the one who returns the dogs for a finder's fee.
-- Woody Harrelson, who plays Charlie, is a gangster with an unhealthy love/addiction for his adorable little Bonny, the Shih Tzu.
-- Bonny, who plays the Shih Tzu named Bonny, is one of the best parts of the film.
-- And Tom Waits who plays Zachariah, is a bunny-lovin' lunatic and another one of the best parts of the film.

The whole film is convoluted in a good way. There are stories within stories. Flashbacks on top of flashbacks. Intertwining real-life relationships mixed in with brainstormed fictional relationships for Marty's screenplay. So I will only offer up some of the highlights: Marty is having a bit of writer's block and Billy decides to help Marty get over this hump. They are BFF's after all. Billy "convinces" Marty to interview real psychopaths so he can use them in his script. Marty isn't particularly keen on the idea, but Billy gets the ball rolling on this idea before giving Marty the chance to protest. Psychopath Zachariah is the first to tell Billy his story with a bunny in hand. His story puts the whole movie into perspective and Waits cuddling up on some bunnies is definitely a sight to see. Then you have Billy and Hans dog-napping Bonny. Of course, Charlie finds out about Bonny's dog-napping and plans revenge against them at any cost. Things get a little dangerous when it comes to Charlie. Imaginations run wild and a fair amount of shenanigans occur, some of which happen in town and some in the desert. All the while, you see a guy called the Jack of Diamonds going around town killing mob men, Marty and his girlfriend going through a tough time, and Bonny staying cute from the beginning of the film to the end. [SPOILER ALERT] If Bonny had been killed in the film, it would have ruined the film for me. The film did not get ruined.

While I'm throwing spoilers out, here are two more:
1. This movie poster will give you the wrong expectations. There are less than seven psychopaths in the film depending on how you define psychopath.

(CBS Films, Inc)

2. Although there are two women on this poster, you aren't going to see much screen time for Abbie Cornish or Olga Kurlyenko.

In fact, the film makes fun of how females rarely do much more than act like imbeciles and get themselves killed in films like this. And in case you somehow missed that point...Hans tells Marty that he has awful female characters in his script. It's true and fairly depressing. It reinforces stereotypes rather than changes them. In this case, I will forgive Martin Donagh for taking the easy way out, mostly because he managed to inject the right amount of unpredictability, fake blood, and humor in this convoluted crime comedy. Seven Psycopaths is self-aware, has a smart little script, and may cause you to search the internet for adorable pictures of Shih Tzus.