Crisp Criticism - "Deadpool", "Zoolander No. 2", "Anomalisa", "The Choice"

by

Julien Faddoul

Deadpool

A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.

A film that is no different or better than the schlock it ridicules, except here the budget is lower, the characters are dumber, the situations are flimsier and the comedy is more impotent. An outstanding example of Hollywood smugness.

d – Tim Miller

w – Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick   (Based on the Character Created by Rob Liefeld, Fabian Nicieza)

ph – Ken Seng

pd – Sean Haworth

m – Junkie XL

ed – Julian Clarke

cos – Angus Strathie

p – Simon Kinberg, Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Shuler Donner

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Gina Carano, Morena Baccarin, Taylor Hickson, Brianna Hildebrand, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Andre Tricoteux, Jed Rees, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Paul Lazenby, Stan Lee

Zoolander No. 2

Derek and Hansel are modelling again when an opposing company attempts to take them out from the business.

A film more interested in celebrity cameos than anything else. Completely embarrassing and a total waste of time.

d – Ben Stiller

w – Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller, Nicholas Stoller, John Hamburg

ph – Daniel Mindel

pd – Jeff Mann

m – Theodore Shapiro

ed – Greg Hayden

cos – Leesa Evans

p – Scott Rudin, Stuart Cornfeld, Ben Stiller, Clayton Townsend

Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Penélope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Munn, Christine Taylor, Billy Zane, Kanye West, Fred Armisen, Cyrus Arnold, Justin Bieber, Beck Bennett

Anomalisa ***

A man crippled by the mundanity of his life experiences something out of the ordinary. Or does he…

Sad, witty stop-motion existentialist drama with its writer/co-director’s typical accentuation of human strangeness and surreal everyday experiences. Based on his radio play, Kaufman uses the art of stop-motion to underline common feelings of loneliness and isolation, and who, ultimately, is to blame for it.

d – Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson

w – Charlie Kaufman 

ph – Joe Passarelli 

pd – John Joyce, Huy Vu

m – Carter Burwell

ed – Garret Elkins

cos – Susan Donym

p – Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson, Rosa Tran, Dino Stamatopoulos

Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan, David Thewlis

The Choice

Two people first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.

The simplest and dullest Sparks adaptation yet, in which virtually nothing happens. Even the title is erroneous.

d – Ross Katz

w – Bryan Sipe   (Based on the Novel by Nicholas Sparks)

ph – Alar Kivilo

pd – Mark Garner

m – Marcelo Zarvos

ed – Lucy Donaldson, Joe Klotz

cos – Alex Bovaird

p – Theresa Park, Peter Safran, Nicholas Sparks

Cast: Alexandra Daddario, Teresa Palmer, Maggie Grace, Tom Welling, Tom Wilkinson, Benjamin Walker