Review: 'Black or White' starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer

Let's be frank about Mike Binder's interracial dramedy, Black or White; it's absolutely ridiculous in just about every way imaginable. Whether as a vehicle to talk about race relations or as a courtroom film about a tangled custody battle, the film is utterly preposterous and pretty damned insulting. Coming on the heels of a comedy like Dear White People, which used comedy to ask serious and contemporary questions about race, Black or Whiteseems manufactured to show why an alcoholic white man is always better than triflin' ass black people.

Binder's pal Kevin Costner, who he worked with on the enjoyable but heavy-handed The Upside of Anger, stars as lovable drunk Elliot, a powerful but curmudgeonly attorney whose wife (Jennifer Ehle) has just died. That leaves him alone to take care of 8-year-old Eloise (the excellent Jillian Estel), the interracial granddaughter born to his daughter who died in childbirth. The father, Reggie (Andre Holland), is one of those triflin' ass black people; a crackhead who disappeared and has barely been in the girl's life. When he does show up it's usually to ask for money because...well, he's triflin'. Eloise's paternal grandmother Rowena (Octavia Spencer) thinks she should spend time with their side of the family, which is a fair request. She's not so bad, but she runs a bunch of sketchy businesses from her garage and enables Reggie's triflin' ass. So naturally Rowena and Elliot don't get along, and the custody dispute starts to get ugly when she hires her sleazy brother (Anthony Mackie) as the attorney.

On the face of it the whole thing is silly, but it gets worse as Binder puts down every single African-American in the film just to make his point. The depth of Reggie's personal demons unfolds any time Elliot's stability as a guardian comes into question. For instance, Elliot hires Duvan (Mpho Koaho), a dorky African tutor to help with Eloise's studies, but he ends up just being the driver for when he's too drunk to drive. Hardy har har. Elliot's alcoholism is merely a gimmick but is never portrayed as a detriment to his value as a caretaker. Even when he drops the dreaded N-word at one point it's barely an issue. On the other hand, Reggie's drug abuse is just the gateway to deeper issues that rule him out as a father-figure outright. Need him to be a shady grifter? Sure, there's that. Need him to be violent, too? Okay, got it. It wouldn't be so bad if Rowena, or some other character with melanin, had the opportunity to express their side of the debate. There are plenty of natural reasons why Eloise should at least split time with her families, but we never get to hear them. Any time a serious examination of race threatens to break out Binder either hides behind lame jokes (usually involving the super lame Duvan) or ugly stereotypes.

Costner gives a stern but engaging performance, though, and his scenes with Estell are marvelous. She's a real talent, and yes the character is a bit pre-packaged perky, but there's nuance as Eloise begins to play both sides of the family against one another in a bid for attention. In the midst of all their squabbling, the families kind of forget what the fight is really about. And of course, everything leads to a chance for Elliot to give a rousing speech on race, the kind that's supposed to tie up a complicated issue with a neat little bow. What's interesting about it is how frank Elliot gets in explaining his own prejudices, admitting that he recognizes race first. But then he judges people by what they do, and of course that's how it should always be in reality. However, it's only the African-Americans whose actions are in question, and of course they all come to see things as Elliot would have them see it because their opinions don't truly matter.

The worst thing about Black or White is that it's just simplistic enough that people who don't want to think too much about race relations will "get" where it's coming from. They may even think it profound. But it's not. Given the problems with race this country still has to contend with, Black or White isn't just bad it's completely ignorant.

 Rating: 1.5 out of 5

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Review: 'Black Sea' starring Jude Law and Scoot McNairy

They say in space no one can hear you scream, but the same can be said of the inky ocean depths. The best submarine movies tap into the visceral tension and paranoia of being trapped in a metal tube hundreds of feet underwater, but despite a number of classics such as Das Boot, Crimson Tide, and Run Silent Run Deep the genre is pretty much a dying breed drowning in homage. While Kevin MacDonald's Black Sea doesn't go far enough in trying to break the mold, it's a lean, mean old school sub thriller that could bring these movies back to the surface.

MacDonald has had a rough go of it since the acclaim he earned with The Last King of Scotland, and much like it Black Sea explores social ills under cover of a genre flick. Jude Law, who seems to have fully embraced the aging ruffian look (remember when he used to be a pretty boy?), takes on the role of Robinson, a submariner who just got laid off by his company and given a rather pathetic settlement. Drowning his sorrows in a British pub with other laid-off losers, each looking at a pathetic life of embarrassing fast food jobs, Robinson decides it's time to fight back. Fight back against what? The crippling effect of crony capitalism on the working class, that's what. Why should these fat cats get richer while he and others like him get kicked in the teeth? What were all those years of work, blood, and sweat really worth? There's a confrontational spirit to Dennis Kelly's screenplay that is immediately engaging, and Law seems to tap into that energy early on despite a wobbly Scottish accent.

Hearing from a friend about the possible discovery of a sunken Nazi sub full of gold in the Black Sea, Robinson decides it's time for the big payoff. With funding from a mysterious American backer, he buys a crusty old Russian sub and hires an even crustier crew of mates. Half the team is made up of angry old Russians, necessary to pilot the sub, while most of the others are comprised of volatile Brits and Aussies. There's Robinson's best friend Blackie (Konstantin Khabenskiy); Irish Navy pal, Reynolds (the great Michael Smiley); a handful of angry Russians with invaluable technical skills; and to give the film a touch of heart there's Tobin (Bobby Schofield), an 18-year-old rookie who is about to become a father. Between the Russians and the Brits the ethnic tensions are already at a fever pitch, and the spark to set them off is the psychotic Australian diver, Fraser (Ben Mendelsohn), who always seems to be on edge. There's also a shifty money guy (Scoot McNairy) sent to safeguard the investment.

The ship goes off without a hitch, but from there it's an all-too-quick descent into madness. Within minutes problems arise when Robinson explains that each crewmember is to receive an equal share of the loot, which drives Fraser dangerously over the edge. The simmering tensions are never given enough time to properly reach a boiling point, and most of the men are sketched out in the briefest of strokes. Even for Robinson, all we really know about him is learned from occasional flashbacks to a happy past (Jodie Whittaker plays his wife in these scenes but never utters a word), but that's it. The rest of the crew fare even worse and it's hard to gauge their personalities when allegiances begin shifting.

But there's also something pleasing in watching a bunch of roughnecks play out their personal vendettas in such a confined space. The Russians are superstitious (they think Tobin is a virgin, which is bad luck apparently) and stick to themselves, which drives Fraser even crazier until something terrible happens. Everything stems from the paranoia found in men on the verge of untold wealth; if all shares are equal then the shares get better when people die. The level of obsession driving these men, and the tensions that arise, don't stray far from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, only presented in a more workmanlike fashion. That extends to MacDonald's functional direction which keeps the pace moving and the anxiety building, although the visual effects are less than impressive. A brief walk across the sea floor is poorly lit and confusingly shot, but choreographing action has never been strength for MacDonald. At two hours in length audiences may start to feel enclosed in by the rusty metal surroundings in Black Sea and wish it would stop and come up for air. MacDonald has assembled a great collection of veteran character actors and watching them muscle in on one another is what the film does best, although it's Mendelsohn's mercurial performance that stands out from the rest. When it comes to playing the resident hot-head few can do it better.

While Black Sea makes for a solid popcorn thriller about tough men driven by greed, that it explores larger societal issues is a powerful torpedo in its arsenal.

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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The Long-Awaited First Trailer for 'Fantastic Four' is Here!

Here it is! After months of literally nothing from Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot, yesterday we got our first official set photo and now the trailer has arrived weeks ahead of schedule. From the beginning it's been clear that Trank was working from a very different version of Marvel's "First Family" than fans were accustomed to, and with the melancholic, deep sci-fi flavor of this trailer he seems to have hit the nail on the head. And the best part is that it still keeps plenty under wraps to be discovered later. Impressive, but the key is going to be how the fanboys react.

The film stars Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Kate Mara as Sue Storm, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, and Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm with Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom, renamed Victor Domashev. Here's the official synopsis:

FANTASTIC FOUR, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

Fantastic Four opens August 7th.

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Julia Roberts Remaking 'Batkid Begins'; Adam Sandler Casts 'Ridiculous 6'; Margot Robbie has 'Dangerous Odds'

Last weekend the inspirational documentary Batkid Begins made its debut at the Slamdance Film Festival here in Park City, and already there's good news about the movie's future prospects. Before the premiere even rolled, Julia Roberts had signed on to produce and star in a narrative remake of the film which centers on 5-year-old Miles Scott, a leukemia patient whose Make-A-Wish to be Batman for a day was granted. It became a national sensation with millions following along via social media, and thousands of San Francisco residents participating. As for Roberts' role, she could play Patricia Wilson, head of the San Francisco Make-A-Wish chapter.

Remember that awful-sounding comedy Western Adam Sandler was developing called Ridiculous 6? Paramount chose to have nothing to do with it, but now that Sandler has struck a multi-picture deal with Netflix the film is back on and has rounded up a huge cast of people you wouldn't normally pay to see. Nick Nolte, Blake Shelton, Whitney Cummings, Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Dan Aykroyd, Will Forte, Nick Swardson, Terry Crews, Jon Lovitz, Vanilla Ice, Luke Wilson, Steve Zahn, Danny Trejo, Chris Parnell, and Lavell Crawford, basically all of Sandler's pals, will star in the film which he co-wrote with Tim Herlihy. It centers on "a man who grew up as an orphan among an Indian tribe." Yuck, but at least it's on Netflix and should be easier to avoid, right? [TheWrap]

And the super red-hot Margot Robbie, who is here at Sundance for Craig Zobel's Z for Zachariah, has landed another gig. She'll star in the blandly titled Dangerous Odds, penned by Andrea Berloff (World Trade Center) and based on Marisa Lankester's memoir about "the creation of the first offshore gambling empire, which had ties to the mob."

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Emma Watson is Belle in Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast'

It seems Emma Watson just can't stay away from Beauty and the Beast. Awhile back she was attached to lead a version of the fairy tale led by Guillermo Del Toro, but that project never got moving. Now she's back in the lead role once again, only this time it's for Disney and director Bill Condon.

Because, obviously, she's not going to be playing a furry beast (although that would be interesting in a way?), Watson will take on the role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Chalk it up as another fairy tale reimagining for Disney, who have already given us Maleficent and will have Cinderella in the coming months.

Condon last got behind the camera for the Wikileaks thriller, The Fifth Estate, and will begin production on Beauty and the Beast this year.

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Sundance Review: 'Mississippi Grind' starring Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds

Maybe we're witnessing the rebirth of the modern gambling movie? Just weeks after Mark Wahlberg's remake of The Gambler, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden are giving us another look at those who like to risk it all in Mississippi Grind, a film about two guys teetering on opposite ends of Lady Luck's scale. Fleck and Boden, who excelled with the Ryan Gosling-led character drama Half Nelson, won modest praise for the documentary Sugar, and were completely ignored for the underrated It's Kind of a Funny Story, have dealt out an enjoyable but not entirely successful road trip story of second chances and the fickle whims of fate.

The ever-busy Ben Mendelsohn stars as down-on-his-luck Gerry, a guy who seems basically born to lose. It's like he's got William H. Macy's character in The Cooler (another great gambling flick) hovering over his life at all times. "I'm bad with money" he admits mournfully, but there's a cheeky smile when explaining that he owes money to "everybody". His losing streak comes to an abrupt end when Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) sweeps into a poker match and wins everybody's admiration, most of all Gerry's. Who is this cool cat, anyway? Curtis is a total pariah but he's slick, charming, funny, and always seems to know the right thing to say. He's got confidence in spades, something Gerry may have once had but hasn't for a very long time. After a thinly veiled threat from his bookie (Alfre Woodard in a surprising turn), Gerry convinces Curtis to go on the grind from Mississippi to New Orleans, hitting all of the action on the way to a high-stakes finale.

While the film has elements of buddy road trip comedies, it owes a much larger debt to the shaggy dog gambling films of decades past, from California Split to James Toback's original The Gambler. To emphasize the point, Toback even shows up in a brief cameo and the scene has all of the musculature one would expect if he were writing the screenplay himself. While we see Gerry and Curtis bond on their journey, ultimately the film is about their self-destructive qualities, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Curtis travels the country on a lark, stopping to visit the prostitute girlfriend Simone (Sienna Miller) he can't admit to loving. Meanwhile, Gerry is just a complete degenerate. At first we find his sadsack qualities somewhat endearing but that fades as he lies, cheats, and steals to feed his habit. Fleck and Boden fight to make him sympathetic again, but by the time Curtis has had enough of him it's a wonder he hadn't folded already.

The bromantic chemistry between Mendelsohn and Reynolds goes a long way, though, and the film is always worthy of our attentions. The gambling scenes have the energetic spark of high-risk action, and the dialogue runs fast and free like the spin of a roulette wheel. It's the somber, reflective moments that don't quite ring true. We keep hoping they'll find another poker tournament to enter when the guys start wallowing in their self-pity. Backed by a wonderfully bluesy soundtrack and smoky barroom cinematography, the film's aesthetic touches put you right in the moment waiting for the turn of the river and the roll of the dice.

Of course there's the promise of a huge payout at the end of Gerry and Curtis' journey, but Fleck and Boden don't seem to know when to cash out. Instead the film continues to play hand-after-hand, hitting the same themes repeatedly and passing on every natural point to wrap up. Perhaps they were waiting for the big score of a crowdpleasing finish, but it doesn't really mesh with the film's somewhat downbeat tone. Mississippi Grind has a number of strong cards in its favor but barely manages to play a winning hand.

Rating: 3 out of 5

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Sundance Review: 'Bob and the Trees' Directed by Diego Ongaro

How much is the cost of lumber nowadays? What's the harm in a broken wood chipper, or a sick cow? If there's a termite infestation in a few trees what's the big deal? On their own these things don't seem like they have the interest level to make for much of a big screen drama, but that they somehow make for compelling entertainment in Diego Ongaro's Bob and the Trees is a credit to him and the central performance by star Bob Tarasuk.

Set in the dense logging community of rural Massachusetts, the film centers on 50-year-old Bob (Tarasuk), a hardworking logger who has been in the trade for years. But for all his experience the industry is beginning to pass him by. The younger guys know how to market themselves using the Internet while Bob relies on word of mouth. His experience is great but it doesn't pay the bills, and with an already harsh economic climate out there it seems everything is standing in the way of his success. Against the wishes of his headstrong but whip-smart employee Matt (Matt Gallagher), Bob takes on an expensive and risky logging job that could pay off if successful, or sink them if a failure.

What begins to unfold is, in some ways, like a smaller, more docile version of A Most Violent Year where a businessman faces all kinds of moral hurdles to claim his slice of the American Dream. While you won't find much in the way of violence, and no real organized crime element to speak of, there's the sense that something not quite on the up and up is taking place in this small, unassuming town. One of Bob's cows is gashed by an unknown assailant; a virus is attacking the farm animals, and one of the younger local loggers seems to have an agenda.  Ongaro skillfully explores the crumbling of the middle and working class through Bob's insightful, often confrontational interactions with Matt, who is more of a realist than a dreamer.

While this could be seen as just another slow-moving indie "slice of life" drama, it plays with our expectations in fun and unpredictable ways. The greatest contrast comes from Bob himself who relaxes to the sounds of gangsta rap (DMX is a favorite, apparently) and has a silly streak a mile long. As the pressure begins to mount we see some of the light within him begin to fade and a more combative side emerge. Tarasuk starred in Ongaro's short film that inspired this feature length version, and he's perfectly in tune with the material and the life it depicts. His portrayal is sympathetic and honest, which extends to the rest of the cast and the film itself. What it doesn't have is any real central conflict, and while one wouldn't expect a fast-paced thriller out of a film like this the lack of urgency is a problem. We're still talking about a subject most people aren't going to want to go out on a limb for, and the relaxed approach Ongaro takes can make Bob and the Trees more mundane that it actually is.

Rating: 3 out of 5

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