Creed

       How can one not walk into the theatre without a feeling of dread of yet another ‘Rocky’ sequel (perhaps spinoff is a better word)?  ‘Rocky’ was the first franchise that became synonymous with the big studio sequel machine that produced sequels of less and less quality as they progressed.  Two things gave me a small glimmer of hope when I purchased my ticket: One was the fact that the last sequel, 2006’s ‘Rocky Balboa’, was actually an under-appreciated  quality piece of work that went relatively unnoticed by the public due to the public’s reflexive eye rolling at ‘Rocky’ sequels and two was that ‘Fruitvale Station’ Writer/Director Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan teamed for another project.  My curiosity got the best of me and my glimmer of hope was more than rewarded with a unique take on Rocky’s world that captured all the magic of the original ‘Rocky’, yet is able to stand uniquely on its’ own.

I think the thing that intrigued me the most was that Stallone put his ego on hold and played a supporting character role.  There is no macho bravado when Rocky is introduced, only a man in the latter stages of life for whom every person he ever cared for has moved on. However; I am jumping ahead of myself, because this film is squarely about the title character; Creed.  The film opens on a troubled boy named Adonis Johnson in the juvenile detention system not able to control his temper or feelings of abandonment,  One day a mysterious woman named Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad) shows up and offers him a home and a name:  Creed.  Mary Anne is Apollo Creed’s widow who has discovered that Apollo fathered a love child from an affair.  Mary Anne takes it upon herself to do what is right in her mind and take the boy in. Flash forward to adulthood and we find Adonis having everything he could want, but still restless and troubled.  He quits his high paying white collar job in favor of underground Tiajuana boxing matches.  He is a fighter at heart and wants to break into professional boxing, but no one will accept someone they consider the silver spooned son of Apollo Creed as a legitimate contender.  Adonis leaves his L.A. home to travel to Philadelphia to see if the only man who ever beat Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa’ will train him.  After checking into a low rent flop house, Adonis shows up to Rocky’s restaurant to enlist his aid.  What Adonis finds is an old man who is long past his days in the ring.  While moved by Adonis’s plight Rocky can only say “No”.

Adonis isn’t so easily deterred and trains religiously at Rocky’s old gym and shows up repeatedly to convince Rocky he is worthy.  Predictably, Rocky relents and agrees to see if Adonis has what it takes.  I think what sets this film on its’ own unique path is Adonis’s love interest with Bianca, his musician neighbor who is progressively losing her hearing.  Bianca isn’t just there for a generic love interest or provide Adrianne style support. She has a life journey of her own that will end with her loss of hearing and not being able to pursue the music she loves. Some of the best moments were the interaction of the two.  Second is Adonis’s ultimate opponent in the Irish World Boxing Champion ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan (Tom Bellew).  Conlan is someone whose story I wished they would have developed more.  He is the undisputed World Champion, but is unfortunately facing a 7 year prison term for weapons possession. He knows he will be past his prime when he gets out, so he is desperate to have a big payday in order to provide for his family.  When he learns that Creed’s son is entering boxing, he decides that type of name recognition could draw a big crowd.  Again, despite Conlan’s bad boy antics, we feel for his plight and him as a person.

Like what made the first ‘Rocky’ film great, “Creed’ is about character development.  The last 15 minutes of fighting is visceral and exciting to be sure, but the true magic comes from our caring for these people and what has brought them to this point in life.  There are plenty of nostalgic throwbacks to the Rocky franchise to appease our thirst for that, but this film stands squarely on its’ own with a modern take on the boxing world.  If I have any complaint, it’s that we couldn’t spend even more time developing the relationships.  The relationship between Mary Anne and Adonis was too interesting to be such a brief part of the film and ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan had a story worth being told in its’ own right.  

If you are an eye roller at the thought of another ‘Rocky’ movie then I strongly encourage you to give this film a chance.  If you are a ‘Rocky’ fan then go prepared to thoroughly enjoy the ending of the ‘Rocky’ saga, but the launch of a new one.  Even if you don’t fall into either of these categories, I still highly recommend this film.  Stallone has never been better and I wouldn’t be surprised if his performance will earn him a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ nomination (Supporting?  In a ‘Rocky’ movie?).  I don’t know how it’s possible after all these years that Stallone can still portray Rocky as the underdog.  That takes skill.

I give this film **** stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3155604249?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1

Spectre

          I don’t know whether it’s because I’m getting older, but it feels like Daniel Craig just started as James Bond but ‘Spectre’ is his fourth film in the role and probably his last turn as Bond.  Each actor has brought their own style to the Bond franchise, but in my humble opinion, Daniel Craig was probably the most dynamic and exciting Bond so far.  He left behind the campiness of Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan and took Bond on a grittier journey that more closely mirrored the books and reflected more modern post 9/11 sensibilities.  As far as I am concerned, Craig’s first outing ‘Casino Royale’ is the gold standard for Bond films.  I wasn’t too impressed with the subsequent offerings, but at least ‘Skyfall' tried to be innovative and break from a formula that has become tired after 24 films.  ‘Spectre’ takes a step back and revisits the old formula and, while I enjoyed the film, I can’t say it will be particularly memorable.  The film relies too heavily on cliche Bond style action sequences and seductions as well as throwing in a little too many nostalgic throwbacks from previous films to stand on its’ own.

‘Spectre’ starts off promisingly enough delivering a visceral action sequence in Mexico City.  I enjoy when they explore cities we have not seen before and this definitely upped the ante for future action sequences.  After the opening sequence, things become predictable.  M is furious with Bond and puts him on notice.  Of course, Bond rebels and follows a personal agenda regardless.  All of this leads to Bond uncovering global level plot of villainy along with women to seduce.  Been there done that and have seen it done better in other films.

I was excited to see the crime organization Spectre reintroduced as it has an illustrious history in terms of the Bond franchise.  Although, I did find it odd such a pivotal organization was being introduced at the end of Bond’s career.  I was even more excited that Christoph Waltz was tapped to be Blofeld, the head of the massive global crime syndicate.  Who does a villain better than Waltz?  My excitement was short lived as the limited screen time that Waltz had was really not all that impressive.  Scenes that were supposed to heighten Blofeld menacing demeanor came across flat and almost boring. Twists, turns, and connections between Bond and Blofeld towards the end were thrown in that seemed forced and unnecessary.  Sometimes less is more when it comes to plot twists.  Truly a waste of Waltz’s villainous capabilities.

Of course there are the Bond women.  They always seem to fall into two categories.  The first one is the wife or girlfriend of the villain, who finds Bond irresistible to the detriment of their health.  Monica Bellucci takes on this role and adds an Italian class that does the role justice.  At 50, she is the oldest Bond woman to grace the screen and is stunning.  The second category is the spunky damsel in distress.  This is usually someone, through no fault of their own, have found themselves in a villainous situation from which there is no way out (except with Bond’s help of course).  We find this in the character of Madeline Swann play by the beautiful Léa Seydoux.  Like all Bond women her attractiveness is without question, but I always roll my eyes when they seemingly realize that Bond is the love of their lives in a 72 hour period.  Still, the scene between Bond and Madeline in the restaurant railcar harkens back to the glamour and beauty of the 1940’s and she plays her role well.

The thing I loved about Craig’s first outing, ’Casino Royale’ is that they significantly scaled back on the over the top special effects and gadgets.  ‘Spectre’ doesn’t take this lesson and relies a little too heavily on pyro technics over story.  However, even though it seems i’ve mostly criticized the film, ‘Spectre’ is old school Bond and a fun ride with a little nostalgia thrown in.  While my critique may be harsh, I found myself enjoying it like any other Bond film.  Everyone has their favorite Bond and Daniel Craig is mine.  I will miss him without question, but some of the names that have bandied about have me very excited (Please please let it be Fassbender).  All said and done; ‘Spectre’ is worth the price of admission.

I give this film ** 1/2 stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3362042649?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1

Burnt

         I so wanted to like this film more than I did.  Having a love of good food and being a great admirer of Bradley Cooper’s recent work, I had incredibly high hopes for a film that seeks to explore behind the scenes of what goes into creating a great kitchen and restaurant.  I suppose I had a great taste in my mouth from last spring’s ‘Chef’ where Jon Favreau truly explored the passion and artistry of creating haute cuisine. I even had fond memories of Anthony Bourdain’s cynical literary expose of the New York kitchen scene in ‘Kitchen Confidential’.  Both pieces of work surprised us with the brutality of the kitchen, but also charmed us with the humor and creativity one found there.  Unfortunately, Director John Wells brings us a look into kitchen life that takes itself way too seriously and sucks whatever joy one finds at witnessing the creation of food that rises to the level of art.

        The story centers around down and out Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper), who is doing penance in New Orleans for destroying his rock star culinary career in Europe with drugs and alcohol.  After his self imposed exile of shucking oysters comes to an end, he moves to London to see if he can start over and earn an impossibly coveted 3rd Michelin star. Even though Adam has burned almost every conceivable bridge, Adam is able (albeit through the same dirty tricks that got him thrown out of Paris) to land the head Chef job at a prestigious hotel run by his old acquaintance, Tony (played by the always fantastic, Daniel Brühl). Tony isn’t very good at his job and only runs the hotel restaurant because his father owns the hotel.  Despite the bad history between he and Adam, he believes Adam can create something that will make tony’s father finally proud of him.  Of course, to create a great kitchen a chef needs to have a great team, so Adam repairs previously burnt bridges as well as recruiting talented newcomers.  Since every movie like this needs a romantic foil, of course Adam recruits the lovely Helen (Sienna Miller) as his up and coming protege.  She is clumsily worked into the story, but how else does one interject the further drama?

         This is where the film takes a downward turn as the stress of creating Adam’s vision causes him to revert to his previous self destructive ways.  Adam’s totalitarian and abusive ways of running a kitchen become difficult to watch despite the beauty of the culinary masterpieces being prepared. Good food is about joy and life, but the Director chooses to spend the majority of the time lingering on the stress and mental violence of working in a kitchen.  The few glimpses of art being created are quickly overpowered by the overall dour and heavy tone of the film.

         I get what the Director was trying to do.  All great artists are tortured.  Great art comes from pain.  Chefs at this level are truly artists and the truly great chefs are tortured artists.  Point made, but that doesn’t make for a great story or something I want to spend two hours watching.  The opening of the third act becomes ludicrously depressing to the point of farce.  Sometimes less is more when trying to make a point.

         It’s a shame because there was some great talent in this film.  I already mentioned Daniel Brühl and Sienna Miller, but there were also some great, if not pivotal, roles played by Mathew Rhys, Omar Sy, Emma Thompson and Uma Thurman.  I got the feeling that some of this was just an excuse for celebrities to get together and hang out in London and eat great food.  Since I already started down the unsubstantiated proclamation route, I’l also say that much of this seemed like a vanity project for Bradley Cooper.  The intensity and the over acting as well as taking advantage of his French speaking background all seemed a little contrived.  

        I respect the concept of this film, but the execution was lacking.  Any film about food or art has to include the ability to enjoy what was created, not just the angst behind it.  I won’t say I’m sorry i plucked down money to see this, but it can definitely wait until it comes to the small screen.

I give this film ** stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3936727577?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1