Review: 'Life of Crime' Starring John Hawkes, Jennifer Aniston, and Yasiin Bey

The works of famed crime novelist Elmore Leonard are a popular source for directors looking to dip their toes in the genre, but few are able to fully capture the author's snappy narrative voice. A few managed to get it right; Quentin Tarantino with Jackie Brownand Steven Soderbergh's sexy Out of Sight, and some would probably say Get Shorty although for me that film has always been somewhat overrated. Dan Schechter, whose last film was the lively indie, Supporting Characters, brings that same creative energy to Life of Crime, easily the best Leonard adaptation since Out of Sight steamed up theaters sixteen years ago.

The background on this one is as twisty as one of Leonard's plots, although knowing the history isn’t necessary to enjoy the madcap criminal shenanigans at play. Seeing as Leonard's book, The Switch, is the inspiration, and is a prequel to Rum Punch, which Tarantino adapted into Jackie Brown; Life of Crime follows the early exploits of characters we already know pretty well. Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and John Hawkes are the young Ordell and Louis (played by Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro in Jackie Brown), and the petty crooks have happened upon their next "get rich quick" scheme. That eerily familiar plan involves kidnapping Mickey (Jennifer Aniston) the socialite wife to rich Detroit businessman Frank Taylor (Tim Robbins), and scoring a hefty ransom. But the duo, who we know will have a long history of not thinking things through, didn't bother to research their target. It seems that Frank has been skipping town often under the guise of business trips, when he's actually down in Florida vacationing with his mistress, Melanie (Isla Fisher, played by Bridget Fonda in Jackie Brown), who he plans to marry.

So what does that mean for their hopes of extorting $1M in cold cash to return Mickey to her "loving" husband"? It means things are only going to get more complicated, especially as Mickey comes to realize that her supposedly wedded bliss may not be all she thought it was. As her relationship with the clearly-smitten Louis deepens, tensions arise between the two old buddies when Ordell begins to suspect the jig has been compromised. Does he trust his friend to see their scheme through to the end? What if things get ugly and there needs to be violence? The question of just how far Louis is willing to go proves to be the film's driving force, with Hawkes turning in yet another terrific performance. Those used to De Niro's later portrayal may take a little time getting used to Hawkes' quirkier approach, but by the end of the film you can see how and why Louis evolves as he does. Hawkes and Aniston trade barbs and emotional exchanges in equal measure, and while they have good chemistry together comedically they don't share much in romantic chemistry. Schechter, who wrote the script on spec in hopes Leonard would approve (he did obviously), has his sights set on laughs rather than stirring up passion. The film's best bits are the funny ones, and many of them center on Mark Boone Junior as Richard, a racist, Nazi-loving dufus (he likes Ordell, though, just enough) who can't get anything right. He's stupid but dangerous, and when the stakes suddenly ramp up it's because of his dim-witted actions. Ultimately, it's Mickey's beauty that becomes the biggest obstacle as Will Forte plays a wimpy friend whose crush on her threatens to blow the plan up before it's even started. Schechter leans hard on the '70s soundtrack and authentically dated outfits, perfectly fitting for the era even if they seem a little weird on the decidedly modern Aniston.

As much fun as Life of Crime turns out to be it does struggle to conjure up fresh surprises due to the familiarity of a plot we've seen far too often. The characters keep it light and engaging, a testament to the strength of Leonard's writing and Schechter’s direction. The author himself may be gone, but as long as enjoyable films like Life of Crime are out there his work will endure.

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Kit Harington and Andy Samberg Serve Up '7 Days in Hell'; Allison Williams is Peter Pan

 Being a part of the HBO family comes with many perks. Not only are you a frequent target for Emmy nominations, but it also leads to some pretty big opportunities outside of the network. And now we're seeing two members of the HBO fam taking on new projects, one that sounds potentially awesome and another that could be disaster in the waiting.

First up, Game of Thrones star Kit Harington will team up with Andy Samberg for the star-studded tennis mockumentary, 7 Days in Hell. Check out the cast being assembled for this one: Fred Armisen, Lena Dunham, Will Forte, Karen Gillan, Howie Mandel, Soledad O’Brien (!!!), Michael Sheen, Mary Steenburgen and Oscar nominee June Squibb. Samberg and Murray Miller developed the story with Miller writing the script, and it follows two fierce tennis rivals during an epic 7-day match at Wimbledon. SNL's Jake Szymanski is directing. [Deadline]

And then there's Allison Williams, who plays vocally-challenged wannabe singer Marnie Michaels on Girls. She'll kind of get her wish in a sense as Williams has agreed to play the boy who wouldn't grow up in NBC's Peter Pan Live. She'll sing and dance alongside Christopher Walken as Captain Hook, and hopefully this won't be as terrible as their live version of The Sound of Music. Ratings be damned, that thing sucked.

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Check Out 'The Lego Movie' Blu-Ray Short Film 'History Cops'

Is there anything Phil Lord and Chris Miller have gotten wrong yet in their careers? Ever move they've made has been golden, and this year promises to be their best yet. This weekend will see the release of 22 Jump Street, which is looking like it may surpass the original hit film at the box office and in critical response. But they've already done pretty well for themselves with The Lego Movie, which came out of nowhere, racked up $460M, and is considered by many to be the animated jewel of 2014.

While they won't be directing the sequel, handing the reins over to Chris McKay, a special feature from The Lego Movie's upcoming Blu-Ray serves as a reminder of why that film was so beloved. Lord and Miller wrote and directed this faux-trailer for Michaelangelo and Lincoln: History Cops, with Will Forte reprising the voice of Lincoln. It's pretty funny, and one more reason to pick up The Lego Movie when it hits shelves June 17th.

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VFF Review: 'Nebraska' Directed by Alexander Payne

Alexander Payne has always been a filmmaker who walks to the beat of his own drum, and his sixth movie Nebraska is no different. Only Payne could find a way to follow up the Hawaii-set The Descendants with a film that is both completely different and yet hits on familiar beats of family legacy, deep-rooted secrets, and the bond between parent and child. But whereas The Descendants' paradisal locale hid uncomfortable truths, the bleak depiction of the economically-depressed Midwest belies the sweet, sturdy father/son story at Nebraska's heart.

In a curmudgeonly performance already earning Oscar raves, Bruce Dern plays Woody Grant, a close-mouthed elderly alcoholic perhaps in the early stages of dimentia. Woody's convinced by one of those junk Publisher's Clearinghouse mailers that he's won a million dollars, and is determined to make the trek from Montana to Nebraska and claim it. Even if that means walking the distance himself, which he tries repeatedly to the infuriation of his pestering wife Kate (June Squibb), who doesn't believe he's won a darn thing. Neither do his sons, aimless retail salesman Dave (Will Forte) and small-town news broadcaster Ross (Bob Odenkirk) who fear that their old man has finally lost it. It's clear from the beginning that Woody isn't someone given to big expressions of emotion, and the distance between he and his sons has impaired what little relationship they have. In an effort to mend it, Dave decides to indulge his father's millionaire fantasy and drive him to Nebraska himself.

Payne has always been partial to the simplicity of the road trip movie, but Nebraska bears little resemblance to his wine-tasting buddy comedy, Sideways, or coming-of-old age film About Schmidt. In this case the journey from point A to B doesn't signify an emotional evolution, as the bulk of the character arcs occur before the destination is ever in reach. In fact part of the film's mystery is whether Dave and Woody will even reach Nebraska, as they are waylaid early on by the old man's drunken mishaps. Instead they end up staying in Woody's hometown with family, but the stay is anything but a pleasure trip.

Once word gets out that Woody has come into some money, family and marginal friends come from everywhere looking for a hand out. It's in Woody's reactions to these people who are obviously trying to take advantage of him that we, and Dave for that matter, learn more about the man's character. While he comes off as hard and emotionless, he's quietly generous and sensitive. As he becomes something of a local celebrity, we see a man who perhaps has never felt any measure of appreciation all his life, and is looking for some small glimmer of meaning in his golden years.

Many will take exception to Payne's depiction of flyover country and its simple, homespun residents, especially since most of them are portrayed as devious (especially Stacy Keach as an old "friend" to Woody) and venal. But Payne is a Nebraska boy through and through, and there's genuine appreciation of their lack of pretension. He finds great comedy in the simple observations of their lives, like the men who only break from silence to talk about football, money, or cars. This is a film of quiet, subtle character moments of introspection, but Payne finds room for touches of broader humor. Most of this comes from the extraordinary June Squibb as Kate, a spitfire of a woman who always seems to have something negative to say about everybody, including Woody. But underneath all her fiery rhetoric there's a softness, a gentleness that shines through. She's the most aggressive character in a film full of reactive ones.

But this is a film that lives and dies by its two leads, and both Dern and Forte hit all the right notes. Dern is getting all of the accolades for what is a truly understated performance that requires him to portray years of hard living and disappointment without the use of much dialogue. One especially tough scene occurs when they visit Woody's old home, and you can sense a flood of old painful memories washing over him. Comedians making the transition into drama generally have a tough go of it but Forte slides comfortably into a hangdog performance as Dave.

Shot in a beautiful, vintage monochrome style the film is a gorgeous, visual poem of small-town America. Nebraska is a small-scale movie that plays on such a restrained fashion that its impact in the final stretch, as Dave finally begins to understand his father for the first time, hits harder than one might expect. While some of the conclusions Payne draws about family life are ones we're used to from him him, the warmth he brings is a surprising and refreshing change of pace.

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Review: 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2', Starring Bill Hader

Imagine an island where you’d never starve because there are gigantic food portions everywhere. No, the gigantic portions of food are not a reference to Big Macs, though there is a giant cheeseburger spider-thing, complete with fries for legs. If you thought that the first movie had a lot of food, think bigger because Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 really goes all out and gets delightfully creative with the food this time around.  

Exactly eight minutes after Flint Lockwood (voice of funnyman Bill Hader) saves the world from enormous food portions, he gets with meteorologist Sam Sparks (voice of Anna Faris) and makes his dad Tim (voice of James Caan) proud. Together with Mr. T-like cop Earl Devereaux (voice of Terry Crews) and former bully Brent (voice of Andy Samberg), the group agrees to work together.

Immediately after the pact, in swoops Chester V (voice of Will Forte), a scientist the likes of Bill Nye the Science guy, only much more sinister in nature. Flint quickly falls for his act of goodwill because he’s admired the scientist his entire life and fanboys over him while Chester takes charge and boots Flint and his friends from the island.

He convinces Flint to join his company, Live Corp, where the younger scientist spends six months attempting to please Chester. Flint is ultimately drawn back to help get rid of the food animals that now inhabit the island. But Flint and his friends begin to question whether that’s the right thing to do.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (and isn’t that a mouthful?) is a different kind of sequel. The first film has Flint seeking approval. The sequel is a quest movie. Flint is on a quest different in nature; one is to destroy, and later help the food animals, and the second is the quest to realize that he now has friends he can trust and doesn’t have to rely on himself anymore. 

The characters are actually better rounded this time and evolve in fun ways. Now that they’re all together, the dynamic of the film is much more fun and lighthearted. It’s what the first film kind of lacked and what the sequel has in spades. The voice cast is spot on and Will Forte as Chester V is especially entertaining. You’ll laugh at him and get frustrated with him in the span of five minutes.

The creative team really put in a great effort to bring to life the food animals. Flamangoes, cheese spiders, and a little strawberry named Berry bring amusing and cute touches to the film. Probably the funniest moment comes when the strawberry named Berry translates what Flint is saying to the other food animals. Classic and the highlight of the entire movie. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is better than the original on first watch and will entertain at every age.

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First Trailer for Alexander Payne's 'Nebraska' with Will Forte and Bruce Dern

For all of the quirkiness of Alexander Payne's The Descendants and Sideways, both films were relatively low-key affairs, emphasizing the relationship between characters above all else. His next film, the black-and-white dramedy Nebraska, debuted at Cannes and has already created an upswing in Oscar talk for the director and veteran actor Bruce Dern.

The first trailer and poster have been released, and Payne is clearly in familiar territory exploring the comic and bittersweet moments between loved ones. Dern plays an older man with a tenuous grip on reality, who comes to believe that he's won $1M in a sweepstakes. But to claim it he must make the journey from Montana to Nebraska. Will Forte plays his son, who agrees to accompany him even though he knows there's no money. The question becomes whether or not he's willing to destroy his father's dream just for a moment of sanity.  The trailer really captures the 1970s vibe Payne is going for, and this looks even more of a small-scale effort than his previous films.

Nebraska will open the Middleburg Film Festival here in VA on October 24th, before hitting theaters November 15th.


Alexander Payne's Nebraska - Official Trailer by FanReviews

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First clip from Alexander Payne's 'Nebraska'

The last time Alexander Payne made his presence felt at Cannes it was more than a decade ago with About Schmidt. Since then he's gone on to direct the beloved wine-drinking comedy Sideways, and scored his biggest theatrical hit with The Descendants. With the festival kicking off tomorrow, a new clip from Payne's latest film Nebraska has hit the web, and...well, it has all of the filmmaker's trademarks fully in place.

Starring Bruce Dern and Will Forte as Woody and David Grant, the long-developing film centers on the father/son duo as they make the trek from Montana to Nebraska to collect on a sketchy $1M lottery win. The clip features another screen veteran in Stacy Keach, who plays an obvious enemy friend Woody'a past. Payne's biting dialogue is apparent, especially as Keach's character reveals some crushing secrets without a second thought. Yet the tone still remains lighter than expected, a rare balance Payne has always been able to walk effortlessly.

Nebraska will open in limited release on November 22nd.


Nebraska by Alexander Payne Clip #1 by Flixgr

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Will Forte and Tim Robbins join 'Jackie Brown' prequel, 'The Switch'

All of the talk surrounding Quentin Tarantino right now can only be a good thing for the producers of The Switch, even though the director has nothing to do with it. However, it is based on the Elmore Leonardo novel which served as a prequel to Rum Punch, which Tarantino adapted into Jackie Brown. Got all that? We haven't heard anything about it in a couple of months, but now a major change in the cast shows that it's still progressing along quite nicely.

Tim Robbins and Will Forte are replacing Ty Burrell and Dennis Quaid in the film, which already boasts the talents of Jennifer Aniston, John Hawkes, Yasiin Bey(aka Mos Def), and Isla Fisher. The film takes place fifteen years before Jackie Brown, following prison buddies Ordell(Bey) and Louis(Hawkes)as they scheme to kidnap the wife(Aniston) of a wealthy real estate developer, only to get more than they bargained for in the process. Robbins will play the rich guy, while Forte is a witness to the kidnapping. In case you forgot, Ordell and Louis were played in Jackie Brown by Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro.

Written and directed by Dan Schechter, The Switch is set to begin filming next month. [Variety]

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Sure Shots: Robert Zemeckis; Kevin Costner; Alexander Payne

* After years away from live-action flicks, Robert Zemeckis is making his return with the Denzel Washington-led drama, Flight. Next up, he'll take over directing Taking Flight, and no, it isn't any kind of sequel or follow-up.  Zemeckis will now take over the project from David Gordon Green(Pineapple Express), who has apparently dropped it, likely to full concentrate on his Suspiria remake. Based on Bob Friel's proposed book,  Taking Flight: The Hunt for a Young Outlaw, the film follows Colton Harris-Moore, a young criminal who started stealing cars and boats at a young age, teaching himself how to fly in order to evade capture. At the age of 18 he escaped a halfway house and kicked his criminal activities up a notch, earning the nickname the "Barefoot Bandit" because on occasion he committed his thefts without shoes on. Earlier this year he was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison. Dustin Lance Black(Milk) is writing the script.[THR]

* Let the comeback of Kevin Costner continue! Already shinin' after the success of Hatfields & McCoys, along with his upcoming role in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, Costner has lined up two more projects. Costner is in talks to join Paramount's Jack Ryan reboot, which has Chris Pine starring as a younger version of the Tom Clancy character. Costner would play a mentor to Ryan, similar to the Admiral Greer character James Earl Jones played in Patriot Games. Actually, Jones is expected to reprise his role as Greer in the prequel, which is pretty cool in and of itself. Kenneth Branagh is directing, and hopefully we'll get a title for the film soon.

Luc Besson and his Europacorp studio are also looking at Costner for the role of a dying assassin in Three Days to Kill, a film which Besson is co-writing along with Adi Hasek. Sounding like The Professional with a ticking clock subplot, the story centers on the ailing killer who wants to reconcile with his daughter before he dies, while also tackling one final assignment. Apparently, McG(This Means War) is circling the directing gig, which means the movie may suck something fierce. [Deadline]

* Years in the making, Alexander Payne(The Descendants) is finally going to see his road trip comedy, Nebraska, headed to the big screen. The film has officially been greenlit, and will star Bruce Dern(Big Love) and Will Forte(MacGruber) in the two lead roles, that of an aging, hard-drinking dad who goes on a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his underachieving son to claim a sweepstakes prize he may not have actually won. Budgeted at $13M, this is a pretty big opportunity for both Dern and Forte, especially in the wake of Payne's recent Academy Award success. The script comes from Bob Nelson, with a recent polish by Payne. No word on when filming begins, but Paramount's plan is to have it ready by next year's awards season. [Deadline]

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MacGruber

MacGruber is a lot like the gadgets he pieces together out of random spare parts.  Some parts don't quite seem to fit, some don't make any sense at all, the whole concoction seems likely to fail. Yet when put together the experiment is a resounding success. Or at least more effective than expected. MacGruber started as a skit on Saturday Night Live, a show that has a substantial history of taking mildly successful ideas and expanding them on the big screen until they're unrecognizable. Let's just say that being the best SNL movie is a lot like being the thinnest kid at fat camp. It's not much of a measuring stick. But if I ever cobbled together a list of my favorite SNL flicks, there's no doubt that MacGruber might be near or at the top of my list.

MacGruber(Will Forte) is an American hero. He's got 16 purple hearts and a half dozen other honors reserved for America's finest. He's the best there is at what he does, although it's not quite clear what that is exactly. He seems stuck in a perpetual world of 80s action films. He's got the mullet, the vest jacke that looks like he's about to on a nature hike, and he carries around his tape deck like a briefcase. He's a lot like Austin Powers in the way he's a character trapped in time. Retired and living as a monk after the murder of his wife(Maya Rudolph) on their wedding day, he's content to live out a life of relative peace...except for the local kids who keep stealing his stuff.

It's not long before the past comes knocking on the door of his cave, and the military is lookin' to bring MacGruber back into the fold. His old enemy, Dieter Von Cunth(Val Kilmer, doing a Nic Cage-type wacko thing), has returned and he's acquired a nuclear missile.  MacGruber believes Von Cunth is responsible for his wife's death, the pain of the memory enough to bring him back into active duty. Rounding up a team of burly pro wrestlers(Mark Henry, Kane, Chris Jericho, MVP, The Great Khali, and the Big Show) he sets off to do battle. Let's just say that things end rather explosively, and MacGruber's machismo is shattered. Forced to team up with iron jawed rookie Dixon Piper(Ryan Phillippe) and former flame Vicki St. Elmo(the hilarious Kristen Wiig), MacGruber is back on the case.

One of the biggest problems with Saturday Night Live movies is that they choose skits that have a very limited range of appeal. Let's take Tim Meadows' The Ladies Man for example. It's a funny concept, an oversexed 1970s African-American male stereotype who's sole purpose was to mack on chicks. It's good for a 5-minute bit, and to be fair The Ladies Man is good for about 5 minutes. Then a plot is required and the shortcomings of the premise become readily apparent. I thought MacGruber would suffer the same fate. Let's not forget how the original skits were structured. It was basically a MacGyver spoof, which always ended with MacGruber blowing himself up. He was the human version of Toonces the driving cat(I want THAT movie!!). Writer/director Jorma Taccone wisely expanded the MacGruber concept, making it a fun riff on the entire action genre. It was like watching one of those awful 80s action B-movies with Rutger Hauer or Fred Ward, only funnier.

Will Forte shows he's got a lot more big screen comedy cred than he displayed in the horrendous film, The Brothers Solomon, from a couple years back. He plays MacGruber not as a character from a spoof, but as a legit wild card with a delusional overconfidence in his own abilities. The real stars of the show are Phillippe and Wiig. I've never really found her mousy, deadpan approach all that effective in other films(Adventureland being a prime example), but it works as a contrast to MacGruber's over-the-top antics here. The same goes for Phillippe, who plays the classic straight man forced to exist in the chaotic world MacGruber creates. Val Kilmer is toned down way too much, and isn't given nearly enough screen time to be nearly as fun as he could be.

MacGruber is a silly, often stupid film. It revels in that stupidity, which is why it works so well. There's no attempt to deviate from the crackpot tone kicked off in the rockin' opening credits, with title credits that explode at you like a rocket grenade. Not at all for the kiddies, there's no shortage of nudity. All of it male, unfortunately. All of it involving vegetables of some sort. Don't ask. There's even some corpse desecration humor for you sickos out there. Enjoy!

MacGruber isn't going to win any awards, but it does what it set out to do. It sets up MacGruber as an action/comedy hero with potential franchise appeal. Featuring great character work by Wiig and Phillippe, a fast paced script with rapid fire jokes that never seem to let up. Usually, SNL characters run their course afer a couple of appearances, but I actually want to see MacGruber come back for another mission.

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