Logan Lucky

Score:  A-

Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Riley Keough
Running time: 119 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  From the director who brought us Ocean's Eleven, Logan Lucky is another heist film - in a rather different setting.  Led by an impressive cast of stars (even Channing Tatum is great), the film quickly distinguishes itself from its predecessor.  It is a lot of fun, and funny, but it doesn't take the easy way out with redneck jokes, instead lifting up the culture of its characters.  Especially at this time of year, it's a top choice in the theater.  Highly recommended.


The Logan family seems to be anything but lucky.  Brothers Jimmy (Tatum) and Clyde (Driver) eek out a living due to regular misfortune.  Jimmy was once a star football player before suffering a leg injury, and finds himself laid off even from his construction job due to liability, while Clyde manages a bar having lost a hand while serving in the military.  After learning that his daughter is to move away with his ex, and suffering humiliation from out-of-towners, Jimmy decides that enough is enough.  He and Clyde devise a scheme to literally reverse their fortunes by robbing a nearby NASCAR race track.  But they'll need plenty of help, and so recruit their hairstylist sister, Mellie (Keough) and notorious safe cracker Joe "Bang" (Craig), among others.  While the Lucky brothers are surprisingly well-prepared, they still must heed their own warning that "shit will happen."

Logan Lucky has a very good cast, full of star actors in even small roles.  Channing Tatum is the lead as Jimmy Logan, an ordinary man struggling to get by in his rural hometown.  Channing owns the first part of the film, where he establishes his character as a man who has come to quietly accept that a significant potential of his life (as an athlete) is lost, though he is driven to keep moving forward for love of his young daughter.  It's some of the best acting I've seen from Tatum and gives the film a solid dramatic core.  Adam Driver's Clyde, Jimmy's brother, has less background but does a good job fitting in in the sibling relationship; he is even more hardened and stoic than Jimmy.  Daniel Craig gets the most colorful role in the film, seizing on the part of Joe Bang with great relish.  Very, very far from James Bond, Joe is at once wickedly funny and surprisingly disciplined and proud.  Riley Keough as sister Mellie is the most stable of the bunch, providing family (and criminal) stability but with attitude in a nice performance.  Fun or notable smaller parts abound here, from Joe's nitwit brothers, played by Brian Gleeson and Jack Quaid (sons of Brendan and Dennis, respectively), Katie Holmes as Jimmy's ex, Seth MacFarlane as an obnoxious Brit, Hilary Swank as an FBI agent, and many more.

The simplest way to describe Logan Lucky is "Ocean's Eleven taking place in West Virginia" (actually, it's North Carolina) but while very entertaining and somewhat familiar, the film is not a simple parody or remake.  A large part of what makes the film successful is the aforementioned cast.  It may not have the glitzy names of Ocean's - replacing Clooney, Pitt and Damon with Tatum, Driver and Craig - but this cast is every bit as skilled, and are all quite appropriate for their roles.  The very premise of the film risks condescension toward rural America, but (being from rural America myself) I feel it celebrated the culture, if anything.  Certainly much humor is based on the setting, and there are some broad stereotypes like Jimmy's daughter competing in a beauty contest, but little if any is judgmental.  In fact, the film rather pointedly shows how much these characters are like anyone else, how smart, hardworking, and community-based they are.  This portrait includes some very minor characters, either part of Jimmy's background (an old classmate) or part of the main plot (an unwitting racetrack employee) who might otherwise be dull.  Of course, the main heist is a big part of the film; it's more drawn out and less slick than Ocean's - while a bit disappointing, it also is a stylistically appropriate contrast with its predecessor and has plenty of surprises.  It can be a little challenging to follow the details of the plot (and the tone shifts and misdirects a bit), making a second viewing likely quite appealing, but we're left with an ending that is perfectly satisfying in a quasi-Hollywood way.

***

Despite its similarities to Ocean's Eleven, this is one of the freshest and most clever films I have seen in a while.  The critics are right on target in loving it (IMO), but it had an awful opening weekend with audiences with under $10 million.  Maybe a lot of people just don't know about Logan Lucky, because the premise seems like it should appeal to a large audience.  And unlike too many films with a good premise, this one follows through and more on its promise.  It is the kind of summer film that, again, should appeal to many:  a great, star-filled cast at the top of their game; a fun story that draws comparisons to a classic while finding its own unique path; and a feel good tone and ending.  I strongly urge you to go out and see this one in the theaters - we should convince Hollywood studios to make more like it!


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War for the Planet of the Apes

Score:  C+

Directed by Matt Reeves
Starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn
Running time: 140 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  The rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, which has been very strong but a little overshadowed by others (superheroes, etc.), gets a finale that sadly does not live up to the prior films. Andy Serkis returns as Caesar and the effects are fantastic, but the film is saddled with a generic set up made worse by a poor script, pacing, and a surprisingly ineffective villain played by Woody Harrelson.  Either go see one of the actually good films in theaters right now, or Netflix the first film, Rise, if you haven't already seen it.


An unstable, dangerous world continues on from this film's predecessor, Dawn, in which the remnants of humanity struggle to survive along with a separate community of super-intelligent apes, led by Caesar (Serkis). A human military group ambushes the apes, but when they are finally defeated, Caesar decides to spare the survivors as a gesture of good faith and attempt to end hostilities.  Unfortunately, the attacking military group was from a rogue group led by the Colonel, who is determined to wipe out the apes.  After suffering another sneak attack, Caesar is infuriated and resolves to get revenge.  While sending the rest of the ape community on a journey to a hopefully safer home, he goes with a small group of trusted friends to kill the Colonel.  Along the way, he learns of a potentially planet-altering development involving the remaining humans, and must decide what he is willing to sacrifice in order to keep his fellow apes safe.

Even more so than the first two films of the new Planet of the Apes trilogy, Rise and Dawn, this film features apes as the main characters.  Once again Andy Serkis, a veteran of motion-capture roles (Lord of the Rings, King Kong, etc.) is the lead as Caesar.  Serkis is so reliably good that it's easy to take him for granted, but he maintains the character so consistently well, from the physical (voice, style of movement) to the emotive.  Beyond the acting, the effects work is outstanding here; I can't think of a single poor frame, and the apes were completely convincing as regular characters (visually, anyway) throughout.  The two other main ape characters are Maurice, a peaceful orangutan who serves as Caesar's advisor; and Bad Ape, a new guy found along the way who can speak like Caesar and provides good comic relief (played by Karin Konoval and Steve Zahn, respectively).  The only notable human character is Woody Harrelson's villain, the Colonel.  Typically Harrelson gives strong, charismatic, unique performances but he's underwhelming here.  There's a lot of show, of course, but I did not feel the menace and danger the role required.

War for the Planet of the Apes retains some of the inherent strengths of its predecessors, but also unfortunately goes off the tracks in other ways resulting in a disappointing finale to the trilogy.  I note first that, like with Rise, I was deceived in a big way by the trailers; for Rise, the surprise was a pleasant one, but it was the other way around for War.  The overall structure of the story combines two very well-worn conventions: a good but embattled leader gets pushed too far and seeks revenge (will he go too far in turn?!), and the evacuation of a threatened community away from barbarians.  If executed well, this straightforward path could have produced a fine film.  And there are certainly strengths to be found; again, the visual effects are phenomenal, and Serkis's Caesar is a great lead (if a bit more generic this time around).  Bad Ape's humor is a very welcome addition, and the twist with the humans is pretty clever, and rather disquieting.  Unfortunately, the film gets bogged down not too far in, as the plot shoots ahead to what is normally a final act scenario - but it's only halfway through. The pacing becomes painful and the events telegraphed and decreasingly interesting.  I was counting on some pretty spectacular action, considering that this is the trilogy finale and Dawn had quite a bit already.  But this one goes out with a whimper, and features one of my pet peeves in being unrealistic even by the measure of its own rules.  Add in the fact that this is way too long at two hours-twenty minutes, and you have a classic letdown.

***

I'm pretty baffled by the critical raves War has been getting - it has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes!!  The film does try to address some more advanced themes than most other blockbusters, but it doesn't do so nearly as well as Rise or Dawn - yet it is better reviewed than either of those.  I had been hoping July 2017 might turn out to be one of the strongest months for movies, with Baby Driver, Spider-Man and Dunkirk preceding it, but War let the others down, just as it did its trilogy predecessors.  I would like to see the entire franchise again over a short period, once this comes on DVD/streaming, and maybe my opinion of it will improve.  Certainly the effects work remains strong.  But if you are a fan of the first two films and are wondering about this last one, I suggest you wait for Netflix.  And if you haven't seen either of the others yet - don't bother at all (there are plenty of superior options in theaters right now; or, if anything, just watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes instead).



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