Monday, August 26, 2013

Crisp Criticism - "Elysium", "We're the Millers", "Red 2", "Paranoia", "Prince Avalanche"



by
Julien Faddoul



Elysium

In the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.
Politically facile, visually cheap, repugnantly acted and incomprehensibly directed. The film completely lacks any sense of itself, in both tenor and plot.

wd – Neill Blomkamp
ph – Trent Opaloch
pd – Philip Ivey
m – Ryan Amon
ed – Julian Clarke, Lee Smith
cos – April Ferry

p – Simon Kinberg

Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, William Fichtner, Brandon Auret, Josh Blacker



We’re the Millers

A pot dealer creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico.
Uncouth and unfunny comedy devoid of wit, tone or even amusement.

d – Rawson Marshall Thurber
w – Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders, John Morris      
ph – Barry Peterson
pd – Clayton Hartley
m – Theodore Shapiro
ed – Michael L. Sale
cos – Shay Cunliffe

p – Chris Bender, Vincent Newman, Tucker Tooley, Happy Walters

Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Will Poulter, Emma Roberts, Ed Helms, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn



Red 2

A retired C.I.A. agent reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.
Malkovich is funny, the rest are cashing cheques.

d – Dean Parisot
w – Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber   (Based on the Characters Created by Warren Ellis,  Cully Hamner)
ph – Enrique Chediak
pd – Jim Clay
m – Alan Silvestri
ed – Don Zimmerman
cos – Beatrix Aruna Pasztor  

p – Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian

Cast: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Byung-hun Lee, Jong Kun Lee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Neal McDonough, David Thewlis, Garrick Hagon



Paranoia


An entry-level employee at a powerful corporation finds himself occupying a corner office in exchange for spying on his boss's old mentor to secure for him a multi-billion dollar advantage.
Hilariously incompetent thriller with Oldman and Ford chewing the scenery nonstop while Hemsworth seemed like he required cue cards.

d – Robert Luketic
w – Jason Hall, Barry L. Levy   (Based on the Novel by Joseph Finder)
ph – David Tattersall
pd – David Brisbin, Missy Stewart
m – Junkie XL
ed – Dany Cooper
cos – Luca Mosca

p – William D. Johnson, Scott Lambert, Alexandra Milchan, Deepak Nayar
                       
Cast: Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, Amber Heard, Harrison Ford, Lucas Till, Embeth Davidtz, Julian McMahon, Josh Holloway, Richard Dreyfuss, Angela Sarafyan



Prince Avalanche *

In the summer of 1988, two highway road workers are in solitude as they repaint traffic lines down the centre of a country highway ravaged by wildfire.
A return to filmmaking form for its director, though one can’t help but wish his characters were more of interest.

wd – David Gordon Green (Based on the Screenplay by Hafsteinn Gunnar SigurĂ°sson)
ph – Tim Orr
pd – Richard A. Wright
m – Explosions in the Sky, David Wingo
ed – Colin Patton
cos – Jill Newell

p – James Belfer, David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Derrick Tseng, Craig Zobel

Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch, Lance LeGault, Joyce Payne