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Starring David Oyelowo
Starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Anna Kendrick
Starring Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams
The problems don't lie with the story, which is adventurous and somewhat unbelievable in the way the best true stories are. It follows the Monuments Men, a unit of art curators and historians tasked by President Franklin Roosevelt to retrieve and protect some of the finest works of art stolen by that art-lovin' fiend, Adolf Hitler. Clooney gets the flattest role of all as Frank Stokes, the leader of the group who, after convincing the President to greenlight his little squad, is pretty much left to his own devices. So he assembles his unit full art geeks, sculptors, and curators, but certainly no combatants which could be a problem out on the battlefield. Bill Murray, John Goodman, Matt Damon, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Jean Dujardin make up this squad of misfits, which is put together so hastily that we learn practically nothing of who they are out of uniform.
It's a problem that stretches on as the story takes its odd shape. Almost as soon as the old guys clear basic training, they are immediately separated and sent to different corners of Europe, killing any momentum and the chance to build a believable camaraderie. These missions prove to be extremely random and uninvolved for the most part, and isn't helped by an unsure tone stuck between harsh reality and Clooney's natural flip sense of humor. A look back at the film's somewhat troubled production shows that Clooney has always been concerned about hitting the right tonal balance, and apparently it's something he never quite mastered. The brutality of war too often bangs up against moments clearly meant to be played for laughs, so that when characters pay the ultimate price (it happens on a couple of occasions), it's tough to take seriously despite Alexandre Desplat's tear-jerking score telling us to. 
Some of this could be overlooked if there seemed to be any rhyme or reason to the Monument Men's investigations, but there doesn't seem to be. They luck into most of their biggest finds and do very little in the way of research, which is an issue if these are supposed to be the best art minds we can muster for the task. Most of the men don't have any clear goal or sense of direction, and Stokes basically plays centerfield vaguely watching over them all without any direct action. The only one who gets something to work with is Damon as James Granger. Sent to the newly-freed Paris, he meets up with suspicious French rebel Claire Simone, who has been undercover with the Nazis and knows where all the art has been taken. There's a hint of sexual tension as Granger tries to convince her to reveal what she knows, and it's about as close as we get to genuine emotional bonding. She's pretty much the only female in the movie and one can't help but wish she and Damon had a bit more time together to take things further. 
Clooney means well, and through soaring speeches he makes the case for the importance of culture, and how it should never be allowed to vanish in the face of war. As a central theme it's one of real value, now more than ever, but it's easy to overlook because the film is such a thudding bore. In his biggest film to date, Clooney presents an authentic version of the period, and really seems to hit on the loneliness of a soldier out on the frontline. His respect for the material and the real people involved sometimes comes off as overly earnest, but let's be honest in that all of Clooney's work has that tendency. It's to Clooney's credit that his passion runs so deep for this little-known piece of our history, but The Monuments Men is no work of art and perhaps would be better off as a documentary or TV series where it can be done proper justice.
Dude, it's Zoe Bell. Okay, those who know me understand that's more than enough reason to get excited over Raze, which pits the insanely-tough Bell against Rachel Nichols and dozens of other beauties in an exploitative, grindhouse-style flick that's a little bit Fight Club, a little bit Quentin Tarantino.
Ever since his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, I've been impressed every single time George Clooney has stepped behind the camera. Not only is he always able to snag a great cast, but he manages to make big social or political points while telling an entertaining story. The Monuments Men may be his most ambitious film yet, and while the delay has me somewhat concerned, I trust he'll be able to nail the difficult balance of drama and humor.
Here's one I'm looking forward to even though it might be atrocious. The darkly satirical films of Paul Verhoeven have been popular targets for remake of late, and after that awful first trailer it looked like Robocop may turn out like Total Recall and totally miss the point. But the most recent footage, backed by Samuel L. Jackson's boisterous boasts about the future of our country's war on terror have renewed my faith, and I'm starting to warm up to Joel Kinnaman as the robotic defender of justice. Honestly, I could care less about the sleeker suit or that you can see Kinnaman's eyes or whatever the latest complaints are. All that matters is that he's believable both as an ass-kicker and a family man, which shouldn't be too tough to pull off.
Against my better judgement I'm surprisingly excited for 300: Rise of an Empire. Sure, Zack Snyder has moved on to helm the Man of Steel's next killing spree, handing the reins to the totally unproven Noam Murro. But the Smart People director seems to have captured the visual style and bloody swords 'n sandals action that made the first film a smash. Even if it lacks the same level of star power without Gerard Butler, it's more than made up for by the chance to watch Eva Green as she makes a bid for world domination. Yes, she can lead me into impending doom anytime.
I don't think anybody could have predicted Veronica Mars would make it to the big screen. Not even the most loyal marshmallow could have forseen the Kickstarter juggernaut it would become that got us to this point, but since I'm one of those who happily donated some cash you best believe I'm happy about it! Of course there are some concerns that what worked on TV won't fly as a movie, but as long as Kristen Bell is back as Veronica, and you've got Logan, Weevil, and good ol' Keith Mars joining her, there's every reason to believe fans of the show will leave happy. 
So what if the response out of Cannes was mixed on Guillaume Canet's Blood Ties? I've never been let down by Canet, who directed the excellent crime thriller Tell No One, nor co-writer James Gray. The sprawling 1970s crime tale actually reads like something closer to Gray's sensibilities, with Clive Owen and Billy Crudup as brothers on opposing sides of the law. It's territory Gray has tackled plenty of times before in Little Odessa, We Own the Night, and The Yards, but he's never had a cast that stretches this deep. The combination of Canet and Gray's talents with an incredible amount of star wattage is too tantalizing to resist. 
Maybe it makes me a dirty old man but I'm hella excited for Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac, and yep, it has everything to do with seeing how far he's going to push the envelope. The trailers and clips we've seen up to this point have suggested a depraved corunucopia of fornication, with von Trier seemingly hitting on every sexual sub-group he can find. Now that the film is out in Europe we've started to hear some advance word, and it sounds like there's some sort of method to his madness, which pretty much sums up every film he's made. I think mainly it'll be interesting to see how our country deals with the in-your-face material. We had a hard enough time handling a couple of lesbian sex scenes in Blue is the Warmest Color. What are people going to think about a film that goes well above and beyond that?
What do I know about Divergent? Not a lot, really. It's about humans divided into ideological factions or something, but I don't know why that's cool or anything. What I do know is that it stars Shailene Woodley, and so far she's batting 1.000 in making movies that speak directly to me, and the chance to see her rejoin The Spectacular Now's Miles Teller is simply too good. How is he not the love interest here, too? Fire the casting director, post haste! I don't know if this will be "the next Hunger Games" or "the next Mortal Instruments", but Divergent has my attention. 
All of the sudden it's like everybody wants to make a Biblical epic. Okay, cool, but the one that should be the most impressive is Darren Aronofsky's big budget Noah, which he's been consumed with trying to adapt for quite a long time. Frankly, I'm less interested in the familiar tale of the guy charged by God to build a giant floating zoo to spare himself from a watery death, and more interested in Aronofsky's specific take, which has already ruffled the feathers of a few religious groups. Ruffle away, my friend.
It's only been out for a couple of years and already The Raid: Redemption is a stone cold classic, and one of the few martial arts movies from overseas that have made a genuine impact on our shores. If you saw it, then you know already know it reaches incredible levels of violence at a pace so furious it's hard to stop and catch a breath. The sequel, believe it or not, promises to be even bigger with director Gareth Evans taking the action topside and onto the street where all types of new, vicious threats await. I can't wait!
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