Public Enemies

In the age of the gangsters, the 1930s in Depression-era America, one name stands out above the rest. Sure, there's Pretty Boy Floyd, the Barkers, Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, Alvin Karpis, even Bonnie and Clyde. But the name John Dillinger stands out, Public Enemy No. 1, a gangster, bank robber and possible killer who rose to notoriety in the early 1930s. I reviewed this movie from 2009 that works as a quasi-biography, but rewatched it recently and updated the review. Here were go with 2009's Public Enemies.

It's 1933 in Crown Point, Indiana and John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) has been caught and is just being brought to prison, or so his guards think. Instead, the notorious bank robber has arranged a breakout, a group from his gang busting out with him. With his gang back together again, Dillinger goes on a spree, robbing banks all over Chicago and into Indiana and Wisconsin. The gangster feels the noose tighten around his neck, his notoriety forcing the government's hand in bringing him to justice. The Bureau of Investigation (the FBI) is in its infancy, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) placing a young but capable agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), in charge of bringing Dillinger to justice. Using all the technology available to them, Purvis and his agents do everything they can to capture Dillinger, but can the notorious bank robber continue his crime spree?

This 2009 crime thriller is based off a book of the same name, Public Enemies, by author Bryan Burrough. It's a great read, non-fiction at its best. Burrough's book covers a ton of ground about one of the more violent, turbulent times in American history. The 1930s were the time of the gangster, killers, bank robbers and thieves working on a grand scale with a trail of fast cars, money and riches and dead bodies. Almost every single one of them died bloody and violent. It was a bloody, violent, fascinating time in American history. Originally thought of as a miniseries, Burroughs turned his research into a book. With so many people, places and incidents, the film version was condensed to John Dillinger vs. Melvin Purvis. It's a wise choice because Burroughs' novel as is would have been overwhelming.  

We meet other people, but this is Johnny Depp's movie as he brings John Dillinger to life. A sympathetic character? No, not quite. It is on the other hand a fascinating character to watch. The people who met him during his crime reign of terror, a lot of witnesses said he was charming, likable and friendly. One of the biggest movie stars around, Depp is the best thing going in this movie, making Dillinger a human being, not just a historical name. Depp's Dillinger seems to know the life he's chosen necessitates a live-fast, live-hard mentality. Knowledge of the historical facts or not, you just know Dillinger is leading a doomed life. Sooner or later, his luck will run out. It's really the only character here given any sort of development or characterization too, John given a love interest in Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), a coat check girl from a poor background who falls hard for the gangster, as does he for her. Depp and Cotillard have a believable, real chemistry, giving the story that necessary human element.

Who best to direct a high-arcing crime thriller? How about a director with movies like Heat, Thief, Last of the Mohicans and The Inside to his name? Michael Mann takes the helm here for this style-heavy period piece.  'Enemies' was filmed on location in Chicago and around the Midwest where much of the story actually took place. Chicago serving as a backdrop for a story is never a bad thing, giving an air of authenticity here. The suits, the hats, the gentleman gangsters, the cars, it all adds up a to a more than worthy time capsule to 1930s Depression-era America. If there's a fault, Mann is too interested in the style, not the substance. He shot with a digital format, giving those scenes an odd, fuzzy look. The editing is fast and hard -- almost schizophrenic -- to the point the movement is hard to follow. Replace some of that aggressive style which doesn't necessarily work with some more story and characterization, and then we're talking.

Depp's movie, no doubt, but in star power, Christian Bale isn't far behind. It's just star power though. Bale is a really good actor, but he's given little to do here. The real-life Melvin Purvis was a bit of a dunce, the movie choosing not to delve too much into that angle. Bale is okay, but it's a necessary, workmanlike part, nothing more. Crudup does a good job with his quick scenes as Hoover, a glorified cameo. As for Dillinger's gang, look for Jason Clarke, Stephen Dorff, David Wenham and another violent gangster, Stephen Graham as maniacal Baby Face Nelson. Stephen Lang is memorable as a Texas lawman, Charles Winstead, brought in to help Purvis, Rory Cochrane playing one of his fellow Chicago FBI agents. There's also quick parts for Channing Tatum, Carey Mulligan and Giovanni Ribisi, and in the case of Tatum and Mulligan, don't blink or you'll miss them. There's plenty of other appearances that probably deserve some attention, but they're not around long enough to mention.

That's one of the weaknesses in Mann's film. Condensing Burroughs' book and doing so with just one focus -- Dillinger -- is still a daunting task. I think it tries to accomplish too much. A year-plus of story, countless speaking roles, and a whole lot of history. Depp is excellent, that's not in question. The action is very exciting, especially the infamous Little Bohemia shootout. Mann does action and does it well. The heavy, automatic machine guns, the B.A.R.s, the heavy pistols, these are guns that pack a punch so there's something visceral and adrenaline-pumping in the action scenes. Something is missing though. It's cool, but the movie doesn't have a ton of heart. The last 30 minutes are the movie at its best, Purvis and the FBI closing in on Dillinger. One what-if scene has Dillinger walking into the Dillinger Squad office, surreal and cool. The same for Dillinger's death, a stylish, cool scene aided by Elliot Goldenthal's musical score.

A good movie but with some serious flaws. It could have been a classic, and maybe with a miniseries it would have been. Still, Johnny Depp is cooler than you.

Public Enemies (2009): ** 1/2 /****
Rewrite of July 2009 review

The Magnificent Seven

Why do some movies stick with you more than others? I grew up watching westerns and war movies from the 1950s and 1960s, movies that still dominate my all-time Top 10, movies like The Alamo, The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Professionals and several others. They still resonate now more than a few years later. Oh, and of course, 1960's The Magnificent Seven. Several years back I reviewed all four movies (the original and the 3 sequels), and it's been too long. Time for an updated review. The original and still best, one of the best westerns ever and a personal favorite.

South of the border in a small farming village, a bandit named Calvera (Eli Wallach) rides in and steals almost everything he and his gang of 40 bandits can carry, leaving just enough for the village to survive and start all over again. The villagers decide they've had about enough, riding north into Texas to buy guns so they can fight back against Calvera's gang. Instead, they meet Chris (Yul Brynner), a mysterious gunfighter clad in black who recommends they hire men rather than buy guns. Chris agrees to help, recruiting six other gunfighters from varying backgrounds, including an amiable drifter and gunfighter, Vin (Steve McQueen), to help out. The money is poor, the mission is more than difficult and the odds are stacked against them. Chris and the six gunslingers ride south, ready to help the village and fight off Calvera, odds be damned.

What a good movie. From director John Sturges (a master of 'Movies for Men'), 'Seven' came along at an interesting time for the western genre. Things, they were a'changing. Westerns were becoming more cynical, darker, more introspective, eventually transforming into the spaghetti western and the folksy, revisionist westerns of the 1970s. As fondly remembered as 'Seven' is now, it struggled in theaters in the U.S. upon its initial release, finding huge success in Europe and Asia before being re-issued in the U.S. several years later. It is an Americanized version of Akira Kurosawa's classic film, Seven Samurai, transplanting samurais for wild west gunfighters. It's interesting for any number of reasons, from the music to the budding star power on display, the dark tone to the exciting action scenes. A favorite of mine, a four-star review, and I won't really debate it. So there!

How about that casting?!? Much of the cast would go on to become huge stars, but here in 1960, they were relative unknowns. Brynner was the established star, The King and I, The Ten Commandments already to his name, and he's the pulse of the movie. His Chris is the unflappable leader of the group, a capable gunfighter who's also got all the qualities a leader should have. Loyal, strong, and tough. McQueen steps up to the plate in his first starring role. His Vin is easy-going, a drifter looking for work, quite good with his gun but maybe looking for something else in his life. Brynner and McQueen had a tumultuous relationship on the set -- McQueen trying to upstage the established star -- but the result is more than solid. Their chemistry crackles, their scenes together that perfect dynamic between the commander and his right-hand man. As the bandit Calvera, Wallach is an effortless scene-stealer, disappearing for huge stretches only to return with a vengeance.

And then there's the rest of the seven, because Brynner and McQueen weren't enough, right? Right?!? First, there's Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly, a half-Mexican, half-Irish gunman who has quite the reputation for cleaning up nasty jobs and his price is high...usually. He bonds with three boys from the village who "got him," promising to watch over him and care for his grave should he die in battle. Then, there's James Coburn as Britt, the laconic, knife-throwing specialist who has few equals with knife or gun. Coburn says about 30 words the entire movie and steals every scene he's in. Next, Robert Vaughn as Lee, a hired gun who's lost his edge, convinced he is facing his death. Next up, Brad Dexter as Harry Luck, a friendly gunslinger convinced there's more to the job than Chris is saying. Finally, there's Horst Buchholz as Chico, the young, unproven kid looking to make a name for himself with his more established cohorts.

As if that star power wasn't enough to carry a movie, I liked the characterization of these gunslingers more than anything. That's something I've picked up on repeated viewings as I got older. The portrayal of these hired guns is honest, not looking to glamorize these men. They're tied down by nothing, drift along from job to job, all the while risking their lives knowing that any job could be their last. What do they have? Their guns, their horse and maybe most importantly, their word. 'Seven' boasts one of my all-time favorite scenes, in westerns and films in general. Given a chance to run from a battle against seemingly insurmountable odds, they opt to stay. Coburn's Britt famously says "No one throws me my own guns and says run....Nobody." When offered the chance to run, Vaughn's Lee is told "Go ahead, Lee, you don't owe anything to anybody." His answer? "Except to myself." That's the essence and spirit of the movie. Men in a nasty situation doing what's right because it's what they should do, what is right. Profoundly simple, it always sticks with me, these men living by their code and what they believe in.

As for the villagers, look for Vladimir Sokoloff as the Old Man, the village patriarch who has little use for the whiny farmers, Jorge Martinez de Hoyos as Hilario, the fiery farmer ready to side with the gunmen, Pepe Hern and John Alonzo his close friends, Rico Alaniz as Sotero, the quasi-mayor of the village trying to weigh all his options and lastly, Rosenda Monteros as Petra, the young woman in the village who takes a liking to Buchholz's Chico. Also look for familiar western faces Robert J. Wilke and Whit Bissell in quick scenes.

More than anything else though, I think what's lasted the longest in the social conscience is composer Elmer Bernstein's musical score. The soundtrack is one of the all-time greats, the main theme a whistle-worthy track that will be running through your head for days. This is what big movie soundtracks can be. They add something to the movie itself, like a new but essential character. If you're not familiar with it (and even if you are), listen HERE. Just a great score, moving, adrenaline-pumping and emotional as needed. An all-time great score from an all-time great composer.

The story covers a lot of ground over its 128-minute running time. The story is fairly episodic, starting with the essential and entertaining recruiting of the team, Brynner's Chris seeking the gunmen out for the job. Each snippet gives each actor his chance to stand out on their own before becoming part of the group. Coburn's classic introduction especially stands out. From there, it's one great scene after another, both as entertainment value but also for delving into all the characters from the Seven to the villagers to Calvera. There isn't a ton of action, but the gunplay stands out, two featured sequences as the Seven tangle with Calvera's gang. It's the final battle that packs the emotional punch, the odds finally taking their toll on this group of gunfighters we've come to like and root for. It's a downbeat ending when you really consider it, but it's the right ending for this story and the characters.

Just a great movie. It was a favorite growing up and always will be. One of the best westerns ever, and an easy one to recommend for fans of the western genre or for someone just being introduced to the genre as a whole. A classic, plain and simple.

The Magnificent Seven (1960): ****/****
Rewrite of September 2009 review

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Joel and Ethan Coen are the movie director equivalents of chameleons. They do a little bit of everything from a horrifically violent, dark crime thriller like No Country for Old Men to genuinely funny (and still horrifically dark) comedies like Burn After Reading with all sorts of classics and near-classics among their filmography from Fargo to Big Lebowski, Blood Simple to Raising Arizona. But how about a story based (even loosely) off of one of literature's greatest works? A daunting task for sure. That's 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou?

It's 1937 in the deep South and three convicts, Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), Pete Hogwallop (John Turturro) and Delmar O'Donnell (Tim Blake Nelson), have managed a daring escape from their chain gang. Their reasoning? Everett told his fellow prisoners that he hid away a huge treasure from the robbery that ultimately landed him on the chain gang. He's only got a few days before the treasure's location is washed away, a valley being turned into a lake as part of a hydroelectric project. Chained together at their ankles, the fugitive trio is working against the clock, the road ahead of them full of obstacles both external and internal amidst a gubernatorial race as well. All sorts of people stand in their way, both those hoping to help them and those trying to stop them and in some cases, stop them. Time is running out, and Everett has a secret up his sleeve.

There just aren't too many directors out there with more visual and storytelling style than the Coen brothers. How many directors could pull off a transition from a poem from classic Greek mythology to a similar story in pre-WWII deep south with a heavy reliance on folk music, quirky characters and an episodic story that could be called downright random? Not too many as I sit here writing this review. The Coen Brothers on the other hand make it look pretty effortless. It is a fun movie from beginning to end, the generally random shifts in tone, humor and laughs moving things along at a brisk pace in a 107-minute movie. In other hands, things might have gotten bogged down but that certainly isn't the case here. A very solid, entertaining movie.

Through all the zaniness in the deep south, we follow our intrepid trio on their journey. The chemistry is pretty perfect, Clooney, Turturro and Nelson showing off that effortless chemistry that simply works. The Coen brothers also wrote the script, their quirky humor showing through in the three convicts. Clooney as the vain, motor-mouthed, ultra-confident Everett, the unofficial leader of the group. His preference for Dapper Dan hair pomade consistently gets him and his traveling companions in trouble, his insistence on looking his best (he wears a hair net to sleep to not muss his hair) providing some great moments. He uses $20 words when a $1 word would cut it. His long rambling monologues are pretty great, a man trying to show others how smart he is. Turturro as Pete is a bit of a wild card, prone to frustrating outbursts as their plan unravels. The best characterization goes to Blake Nelson as Delmar, the sweet, thoughtful and generally naive convict who simply has a nice, positive outlook on life.

These three out-there escaped convicts are searching for Everett's buried treasure from an armored car robbery. But naturally, what do they end up doing? They become renowned folk singers, Everett thinking quick on his feet to name themselves The Soggy Bottom Boys (based on The Foggy Mountain Boys, their hit song a cover of Man of Constant Sorrow. Whether it's the Soggy boys singing or T-Bone Burnett's folk-heavy soundtrack, the music is a hugely successful, essential ingredient to the movie's success. The music is always there, always catchy, driving the story forward, the score transitioning scene-to-scene. It's the music and style that works, the Coens using digital color correction to give 'Brother' an almost washed out, sepia look to the story. All those little things that add up to a really enjoyable movie.

We've got three crazy characters to follow across the south, but following Homer's footsteps in The Odyssey, our trio meets some odd characters on the road. Part of the fun is figuring out who's who in relation to the poem. We've got a loving-life bible salesman (John Goodman), a gubernatorial candidate (Charles Durning) seeking reelection, his hot-chasing opponent (Wayne Duvall), Everett's frustrated wife (Holly Hunter) and her new beau (Ray McKinnon), infamous gangster Baby Face Nelson (Michael Badalucco), down on his luck musician Tommy (musician Chris Thomas King), a blind radio programmer (Stephen Root), the sheriff (Daniel von Bargen) in hot pursuit, the blind seer (Lee Weaver) who warns the convicts of what awaits them and lastly, Pete's cousin (Frank Collison) who's curious why Pete just showed up...in chains.

When the Coens decide to do something, they commit to doing it right. From the set design and style to the script and the characters, their movies create these little worlds that are folksy and real and authentic. A very enjoyable movie with some great parts and a lot of laughs. An easy one to recommend.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000): ***/****

Hours

With some events -- both good and bad -- through history, the story resonates long after the event has passed. You remember where you were when you heard about it, watched it on TV, when someone informed you for the first time. I remember pretty clearly which class I was walking to when the effects of Hurricane Katrina rolled into Bloomington, Indiana. Torrential rail unlike anything I'd seen but nothing like the hell experienced by those in New Orleans during the hurricane. For a very interesting story about one man, check out 2013's Hours, a film that didn't get a theatrical release I'm aware of, but it certainly deserved one.

As Hurricane Katrina descends on New Orleans in August 2005, Nolan Hayes (Paul Walker) brings his pregnant wife, Abigail (Genesis Rodriguez), to the hospital as she deals with some horrific pain. Doctors tell him to wait in the waiting room, and an hour or so later he's dealt both amazingly good and horrifically bad news. He has a daughter, but Abigail died giving birth. Nolan doesn't know how to handle both pieces of news, but he doesn't have time to think. Katrina is throwing the brunt of its strength at the city -- including the hospital -- and almost the entire staff and every patient that can be moved is being evacuated. Nolan on the other hand is going nowhere. His prematurely born infant daughter is in an incubator that's helping her breathe. The doctor's estimate on when she can breathe on her own? Two days...hopefully. Responsible for running a backup generator with an ever-decreasing battery, Nolan keeps his daughter alive and waits. And waits. And waits for help.

Most of six months since his tragic, surprising death in November 2013, it's still hard to believe Paul Walker is dead. He will be in the next Fast and Furious in some fashion or another, and he has another movie scheduled to come out in the coming weeks, Brick Mansions. So for Walker fans, embrace these movies, appreciate them. Unless I missed it, I don't remember seeing this film from director Eric Heisserer (also writing the screenplay) in theaters at all. Why was that? No idea in the least. Probably because it isn't a movie that's going to break box office records. Instead, it's a brutally straightforward premise with a touch of realism and authenticity with Hurricane Katrina serving as a backdrop to a very emotional story. No theater run, no problem. This was a pretty good movie.

I would wager most people are aware of Paul Walker because of the Fast and Furious movies, myself included. I've never thought of him as a great actor, but more a likable, charming star with a solid on-screen presence. I know I'm not alone in that sentiment. Well, this movie does a good job proving otherwise. Paul Walker can act and can do it well. While there are other speaking parts, this is almost the film equivalent of a one-man show. Walker's Nolan is in every scene in the movie. This is an emotional part, a husband and new father forced to deal with a whole lot on his plate in a hellish situation. We see him get worn down over the course of the movie, see the exhaustion in his eyes and face as his impossible situation gets worse and worse. Movie star or actor -- your call -- Walker is a very natural on-screen presence so it's cool to see him embrace such a quality dramatic performance and run with it.

What works so well though isn't just the big moments. It's the quiet moments. The trailer (link below) would have you think this is an action-packed, thrill a minute kind of movie. It isn't. The moments that resonate are those of a father bonding with his newborn daughter, helpless and dependent on a machine to keep her breathing. He sits next to her and winds up the backup generator every three minutes so the battery won't run out. Nolan sits and simply talks to his daughter, telling her about him, about his life, her mom, and how they met. These could be sappy, even cheesy moments, but they work. We also get three or four quick flashback scenes as we see how Nolan met Abigail, them at a dinner party, getting ready for said party. It's just really quick scenes -- a minute or two here and there -- but it helps to humanize Nolan as he tries to bring his daughter through the ordeal. The situation is extreme enough that you're rooting for him, but that human element goes a long way.

Rodriguez is very good in a small part as Abigail, relegated to those handful of flashbacks. She has an excellent chemistry with Walker, two halfway decent looking people if there ever were. The rest of the cast is limited to small parts of the people Nolan meets during the storm, including a doctor, a nurse, a cook in the cafeteria, a rescue dog with an injury, three different looters (two more dangerous than the first) and a lone voice at the other end of the radio. This is Walker's movie, the focus is clearly on him, and he doesn't disappoint.

Wrapping up in 97 minutes, 'Hours' drags a little at times in the second half. There's only so much you can have him do in such a situation before it becomes either dull or repetitive. At the same time, Nolan seems to accomplish a lot in the 2-to-3 minutes he has before he's got to recharge the ever-dwindling battery. It needs to happen for the sake of the story so it's not a huge issue, but it is something I noticed as the story develops. These are flaws but nothing that cripples the movie as a whole. An interesting movie that deserved more of a theatrical release, more positive buzz in the news. Something, anything. It's an excellent, tense film with a highly emotional ending, including a great final shot. Definitely worth checking out.

Hours (2013): ***/****

Day of the Animals

A few years back, October 2009 to be exact, I reviewed a dud of a movie made on a clearly pretty tight budget that rose above its cheapness to be 'So bad it's really good.' Okay, at least funny in an unintentionally way. That movie? 1976's Grizzly. It was a surprise success at drive-ins with fans to the point that a year later the stars and director returned with a similarly schlocky, generally pretty bad flick again dealing with some angry killer animals. Here we go with 1977's Day of the Animals.

In the mountains in northern California, experienced trail guide and outdoor enthusiast Steve Buckner (Christopher George) is readying to take a group of hikers on a several day hike. It's a mini-vacation offered away from society with little in the way of supplies, a way of getting back to nature. His group includes about 15 people, most of them city folks enjoying their time away from city life. But being dropped off by helicopters high up in the mountains, Buckner and his group quickly discovers something is very, very wrong. Animals are attacking them at an almost non-stop pace. What's going on? Can they survive or will the waves of animals wipe them out? They don't know it, but down below in the lower altitude towns, the population is dealing with exactly the same issue. Humanity....seems....doomed!!!!

Yikes, what a dumb, really dumb movie. Having directed Grizzly the year before (with George also starring and returning), director William Girdler is at the helm of another ultra-low budget drive-in special. It was made for cheap and intended for some cheap thrills. Can't go wrong, right? Well, you would think so. I liked the B-movie/disaster movie potential, but it never comes together. What exactly is driving the animals mad? The possibility that humans use of aerosol cans is ripping apart the ozone layer (Okay, we're doing a good job of that) and....lets radiation beat down on the Earth that turns animals into vicious, unstoppable killers. Oh, and some humans too but not all humans because that would make the story rather predictable, wouldn't it? I like my B-movies ridiculous and over the top, but don't hit me with a message!

Still, I figured there was enough going on here to make it watchable. Following the disaster movie formula, 'Animals' brings together a group of disparate individuals and lets us start guessing as to who will survive and who is just fodder for the vicious animals. No huge star power here, but definitely some familiar names. Going back to TV's The Rat Patrol, I've always been a fan of George, and he's having fun. His friendly, charming trail guide doesn't stretch any acting muscles, but it's not meant to be. Some of his hiking group include Richard Jaeckel as a bird-watching, photography-loving professor, Leslie Nielsen as an advertising executive with some anger issues, Michael Ansara as the wise Indian who knows all, and Ruth Roman has a Mom trying to bond with her nature-loving son.

That's as far as the name recognition goes, but there are some other interesting parts. Mrs. Christopher George, Lynda Day George, plays a TV newswoman trying to get away from work, Paul Mantee as an aging NFL star with a serious medical issue, and everyone else from a married couple looking to mend some wounds, a young couple in love, and Roman's son who needs a father figure. Who will make it? Who won't? Will anyone? That's part of the fun.

It cracked me up more and more as the movie went along. The premise is pretty cool, a variation on the Lost Patrol idea with a group of individuals banding together to survive, an enemy hovering all around them waiting to pick them up. Something never clicks though. The low budget most affects the actual animal attacks with some very cheesy special effects. For the most part, the sense of doom works better than anything. We see animals moving parallel to George's group, waiting to strike. Cheap filmmaking technique? Animals can look pretty scary just filming them so all Girdler had to do was film animals walk around and set those scenes to impending doom music from composer Lalo Schifrin (his score a bright spot). There are some scares along the way, but never as good as it could have been.

That's the entire movie. I wanted to like it, but it doesn't work. It's mindlessly entertaining but it's also a tad sluggish and never really picks up any momentum. Sure, it's cool to see character actors like George, Jaeckel, Nielsen and Ansara get their shot, but there's a limit. My limit? Nielsen's ad executive progressively getting hit with radiation. That translates to him taking his shirt off (All that is MAN!!!) and threatening to kill the men, rape the women and fight all the animals. By far, the funniest scenes in the movie.

Day of the Animals (1977): * 1/2 /****

The Losers

Well, it's time to take a trip in the Way-Back Machine. Yep, we're going all the way back in April 2010 when I was relatively new to this whole blogging thing. Some movies need a revisit, like 2010's The Losers, an ultra-entertaining action flick that my cousin got me for a birthday present a couple years back. Timely, no, but I caught up with it this weekend. Yes, still an excellent, entertaining movie.

An elite black-ops team working with the U.S. Special Forces has been deployed into Bolivia to take out a compound run by a drug cartel. Headed by their commander, Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), they've worked together for years, including Roque (Idris Elba), Jensen (Chris Evans), Pooch (Columbus Short) and Cougar (Oscar Jaenada). The mission isn't everything it seems to be, the team rescuing a group of 25 young children being held as drug mules and hostages. The kids board the helicopter intended for the team, but the helicopter is struck by a missile. Clay and Co. have become targets. Who wants them dead? More importantly, why? The man's name is Max (Jason Patric), a C.I.A. operative gone rogue. Trapped in Bolivia and believed dead, the Losers are left with no alternatives, getting help from a beautiful, mysterious woman, Aisha (Zoe Saldana), who promises to help them. Can this group pull off the impossible and survive the suicide mission ahead of them?

Hitting theaters in spring 2010, 'Losers' received middling reviews and did okay in theaters but was far from a hit. It seemed to have some horrific timing, released in a wave of men-on-a-mission movies like The A-Team (June 2010) and Takers (August 2010). Of the three, I liked this one best, director Sylvain White turning in a stylized, fun, shoot 'em up that more than holds up on a repeat viewing. Does it rewrite the genre? In a word? No. It doesn't need to. It is one of those perfect popcorn movies. Just sit back and watch it, clocking in at an action-packed 97 minutes. Very stylish, lots of cool characters, bullet and explosion-riddled action scenes. An easy movie to recommend. Too bad it didn't do better in theaters. I would have loved to see where the Losers went from here.

What works so well is the casting, and probably was at least part of the movie's struggles in theaters. There just ain't a ton of star power on display here. Now for me, I count that as a positive, but we're not talking Ocean's 11 star power to round out the Losers. The dynamic works, the men-on-a-mission premise that's one of my favorites. Each team member has a specialty, Clay the no-nonsense leader, Roque an expert in tactics and detonation, Jensen the nerdy tech specialist, Pooch able to drive anything with an engine and wheels and Cougar proficient in long-range eliminations (Yes, we've got ourselves a sniper). Their backstory is never spelled out, just hinted at, but we know they're damn good at their job...right up until they're betrayed and left out in the dark. Of the group, there's no weak spots, but I especially liked a scene-stealing Evans ("That's right. I've got a crossbow, bitches."), Morgan, Elba, Short and Janeada all getting their chances to shine too.

'Losers is actually based off a graphic novel series that was adapted into a screenplay written by actor/director Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt. And that's where we get a surprising angle on the movie. With graphic novels, character development isn't the first thing that comes to my mind, but here it is an essential part of the story. We get that development through dialogue, lots of quick, fast-firing conversations among the team. One that especially stands out has Jensen and Pooch debating whether to take a car or not, the back and forth coming in almost monosyllabic grunts, one-word answers in rapid fire succession. If there isn't more star power, so be it. The chemistry with the cast is spot-on perfect from beginning to end. This is a fun movie, and the cast is clearly having a ton of fun making it. We've got tough guys on a suicide mission with lots of action, funny, memorable one-liners and a great chemistry. That's a winning formula if you ask me.

Adding some sex appeal to the action-heavy hijinks is Zoe Saldana as Aisha, a mysteriously beautiful woman who wears slinky and/or tight outfits but who can also handle herself when the bullets start to fly. What's her motive? What's her end-game? Well, that's part of the fun. Hamming it up and clearly enjoying himself is Jason Patric as the maniacally evil Max. It's a ridiculous character, but Patric commits and it works in a big way. This is a villain that seems ripped from so many over-the-top 1980s action movies, but it fits right in with all the craziness. Holt McCallany plays Wade, Max's much-maligned enforcer, the straight man to Max's off the wall antics.

Onto the action! There's no time to waste in a 97-minute movie so in between scenes of the team bitching and moaning, ripping each other almost non-stop, we get action. LOTS of action. The opener at the drug compound sets the tone, quick and flashy and fun. The same later for almost back-to-back sequences, the Losers taking out Max's heavily armored convoy in Miami, the follow-up Jensen trying to navigate a well-guarded building with security on his tail. The obvious high-point is saved for the end though, the Losers forced to stop Max (and his diabolical, ecological-minded plan) at the Port of Los Angeles -- because all action movies require a good shootout at the Port of L.A. Like the whole movie, it's fun. Get some popcorn, sit back and appreciate it for all its entertainment value. Your time will not be wasted.

The Losers (2010): ***/****
Rewrite of April 2010 review

12 Years a Slave

Just a year ago or so in theaters, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained was a huge hit with audiences and critics alike, making over $425 million. It was a story about a pre-Civil War slavery that was horrific and over the top, almost cartoonish in its portrayal of slavery. An interesting companion piece because it tackles the same historical issue in far darker, far more somber fashion, 2013's 12 Years a Slave.

It's 1841 in Saratoga, New York, and Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black man. He works as a carpenter, is also a skilled musician and lives comfortably with his wife and two young children. When his family goes away on a quick work/vacation, Solomon is approached by two musicians who offer him a two-week job working with their traveling circus performers. Solomon is intrigued by their offer, dining and drinking with them one evening. He wakes up the next morning in chains, realizing he was drugged the night before. Solomon has been kidnapped and will be shipped south to be sold as a slave in the deep south. Listening to other kidnap victims in the same situation, some runaway slaves, he learns he's in more of a spot than he thought. If he tries to convince anyone of his plight, they'll punish him (with the possibility of whipping) if not kill him. Can he survive? Can Solomon find a way to endure and somehow gain back his freedom?

Wow. What a movie, one of the most uncomfortable experiences I've had watching a film in years. Technically speaking, it's excellent, but this next part might sound obvious. Anyone who knows their history -- or even those who don't -- realize that slavery existed in the U.S. less than 200 years ago in the 1860s. It's a known thing, but knowing and seeing the horrors are different. It is a terrifyingly uncomfortable movie, and it's supposed to be. It pulls no punches in telling the true story of Solomon Northup, director Steve McQueen (not that one) at the helm of a movie that won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. Be forewarned heading in. This is a film, not a popcorn movie that you come away with with a smile on your face. '12' is a film to watch and appreciate for what it is. A true story from one of the darker periods in American history. I won't be revisiting this one anytime soon. Once was enough.

Chiwetel Ejiofor or Matthew McConaughey? Which actor for the Best Actor Oscar? Having seen both '12' and Dallas Buyers Club, it's fair to say that either man deserved the win. It's a push, both performances worthwhile in their own respect. For Ejiofor, this is a great performance and hopefully one that propels him into stardom. I've always thought he was a solid actor with some poor choices in films (2012, Four Brothers), but this film shows his ability. Playing Solomon Northup, this is an emotionally draining, physical, very expressive part. Ejiofor allows the rest of the cast to chew scenery at times, letting a quick, hard-hitting diatribe here and there fill in the blanks. He does so much with a look here, his tired eyes telling the story. Dubbed Platt (the name of a runaway slave from Georgia), Solomon tries to survive however he can, almost willing himself to keep on and return to his family. This is a human, visceral performance. Unbelievable stuff.

In a part that won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Lupita Nyong'o delivers a gem as Patsey, a young slave who's hard-working, does her job and puts her head down, unfortunately becoming a favorite of the plantation owner, Epps, played to evil perfection by Michael Fassbender (nominated for his part, didn't win). Nyong'o is strong across the board but won the Oscar with one key, emotional gut-wrenching scene late. A great supporting performance. Fassbender (a favorite of mine) is intensity personified, a vile slave owner who quotes the Bible at all times, making his slaves do odd, bizarre things to suit his random wants and desires, Sarah Paulson playing his equally unhinged wife. Some other key supporting parts include Benedict Cumberbatch as Ford, a decent slave owner but still a slave owner, Paul Giamatti as a bottom-line slave dealer, Paul Dano as an angry, clueless overseer, Alfre Woodard as a slave woman turned mistress, Garret Dillahunt as Armsby, a hopeful overseer, and Scoot McNairy and Taran Killam as the men who kidnap Solomon.

As I mentioned, this was a difficult movie to sit through. It's not boring, the subject matter just hard to watch. '12' is 134 minutes long and does drag at times. The story isn't the most pointed thing, drifting along at times. My biggest issue is that there is no sense of time having passed. I kept waiting for a title card or something to pop up on-screen and say '8 Years Later.' There's no way to tell how much time has passed. Has it been weeks or months? Has it been years? The incidents are horrific, the truth of the story hard to fathom, but then out of nowhere there's a solution to it all. That was my biggest issue with '12,' no idea of the time that's passed. It sounds simple and something minor to complain about, but it's a legit issue.

This is a difficult movie to watch, plain and simple. I do like where it heads in the last third or so, Brad Pitt making a memorable appearance as a Canadian carpenter working in the south who meets Solomon while working on Epps' plantation. We get several scenes analyzing the horror and truth of slavery that come across as slightly heavy-handed, but that said, I guess there's very little subtle about slavery itself. The ending is heartbreaking in itself, especially the title cards that play out before the credits. Also worth mentioning is Hans Zimmer's score, almost minimalist in its execution, a simple, soft, trance-like theme resonating the most. Listen HERE. An interesting movie, one you're not necessarily going to like, but one you'll be able to appreciate and experience.

12 Years a Slave (2013): ***/****

Johnny Cool

Some faces just stick with you as you watch more and more movies. A glare, a stare, a smile, a laugh, a maniacal laugh at that, just something easily remembered. Henry Silva qualifies on basically all of those things, a character actor who made a career out of playing supporting parts, usually crazy, psychopathic villains. He was GOOD at it, beyond good, a great bad guy. Then there's 1963's Johnny Cool where Silva got a starring role as the definition of an anti-hero bordering on out-and-out bad guy.

As a young teenager in 1940s Sicily with World War II raging, young Salvatore Giordano sees his mother killed by a German soldier. He joins the Italian partisans, becoming a hero across the countryside both during the war and after. Years pass and now Salvatore (Silva) is infamously known around the country and even internationally. Some know him simply as a bandit chieftain, others as a modern day Robin Hood. An exiled American gangster, Johnny Colini (Marc Lawrence), arranges a faked death for Salvatore as he has far bigger plans for him. Colini teaches Salvatore how to act and look like a gentleman, but more importantly he turns him into an unstoppable killer. His intended targets? The men who helped orchestrate Colini's exile. If Salvatore -- taking the gangster's name -- can pull it off, Colini's empire will be his.

Yikes. What a vicious, brutal movie. From director William Asher, it's even darker when you consider it was released in 1963. Playing like a hard-boiled, brutal, in your face film noir, 'Cool' is the definition of a B-movie. It's gritty and doesn't feel faked from beginning to end. While there are indoor/studio shots, there is also plenty of on-location scenes from New York City to Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The gloomy, impending doom, jazz-heavy score from Billy May and Johnny Worth permeates Asher's gangster/underworld story. This is a story based in smoky nightclubs, in backroom gambling halls, in gangsters' offices in high rises. Filmed in black and white, there's a great, throwback style throughout. I didn't love the movie -- little slow-moving at times -- but it does have a lot going for it.

From possibly unhinged supporting player to...partially unhinged leading player....Yeah, okay, maybe this part isn't a huge departure for Silva, but it's a chance he doesn't disappoint with. While there's a strong ensemble working with him, this is Silva's movie, plain and simple. It's cool to see the transformation his character goes through, from revenge-seeking teenager to infamous bandit to killing machine. It would have been cool to see some more background, more motivation -- is he solely interested in riches and fame? Is it something else, something more? -- but we see a man who becomes obsessed with achieving his goal. It's pretty apparent from the second we meet Salvatore/Johnny that this is one doomed dude, but the route he takes is certainly fascinating. Silva brings that intensity we've come to expect from the veteran character actor. A very interesting part.

The rest of the cast has its positives and negatives. Ever seen 1960s TV sitcom Bewitched? Yeah, Samantha herself, Elizabeth Montgomery plays Darien, a divorced woman looking for some excitement and getting more than she figured when she joins up with Silva's Johnny. How about some of Johnny's hopeful victims? There's Telly Savalas (sporting some hair), Jim Backus, John McGiver Brad Dexter and Mort Sahl. If that wasn't enough, also look for Joey Bishop, Sammy Davis Jr., Richard Anderson, Elisha Cook Jr. Beyond Montgomery and Savalas, no one on this list is around for more than a couple minutes, the story almost becoming a revolving door of quick cameos. Still, cool to see some big names like this all in one cast.

Mostly though, this is a dark movie to sit back and watch without much in the way of a sympathetic character. Silva's Salvatore/Johnny becomes a killing machine who's beyond saving. Fascinating to watch, far from an even remotely sympathetic anti-hero. Much of the violence is off-screen, but it's pretty hardcore just the same. You don't have to see it to know that a man getting bashed in the head with a shotgun is gonna be rather graphic. People are dispatched with no build-up, no tension. Just BOOM! You're dead. And that ending....wow, just wow. We don't see what's going on, but the foreshadowing is rough. An interesting movie, but beware of what you're getting into.

Johnny Cool (1963): **/****

The Undefeated

Considering the extreme and far-reaching effects the Civil War had on American history, it's odd there haven't been more movies about the most costly war in the United States' relatively young history. The western genre has done its fair share of quasi-Civil War movies, the war becoming a jumping off point for a shoot 'em up story. What to do once the war is over? Like Major Dundee and Vera Cruz, many went south into Mexico. We can add 1969's The Undefeated to that short list.

After four years of bloody fighting, the Civil War has come to a close, leaving both the North and South to figure out where to go forward. With some of his remaining soldiers, a former Union cavalry officer, Colonel John Henry Thomas (John Wayne), rounds up a herd of 3,000 wild horses with the intention of driving them south into Mexico where they'll sell them to Emperor Maximilian's forces. A former Confederate officer, Colonel James Langdon (Rock Hudson), who had outfitted his own regiment, is leaving his plantation behind, moving south to Mexico with his surviving men, along with their wives, children and family in hoping to start a new life. In turbulent times for both the U.S. and Mexico, these two groups' paths may cross, and with wounds from the war still fresh on both sides.

This portion of history has always fascinated me, especially in movies like this, Major Dundee and Vera Cruz. I grew up watching this John Wayne western, and in spite of its flaws, I've always been a fan. From frequent Wayne collaborator and director Andrew V. McLaglen, 'Undefeated' is a fun western with a very good, deep cast, authentic locations in and around Durango, Mexico (Dundee fans will appreciate some familiar spots), a memorable score from composer Hugo Montenegro (listen HERE, disregard the odd video choice), and in general an entertaining quality that lifts it up past the flaws. It plays like a lot of Wayne's later movies; easy to sit back and watch, some action and shootouts, some drama, some romance, and some laughs here and there. When westerns were changing so dramatically in the late 1960s and heading into the 1970s, it can be fun just to watch an old-fashioned western with good guys and bad guys. No more, no less.

In a pretty cool casting choice, Wayne goes toe to toe here with Rock Hudson. It's not the most obvious pairing, but it works, simple as that. Wayne is playing a variation on his archetypal cowboy part, the leader of a small, surviving group of volunteers that rode with him throughout the Civil War. Now, he's looking for some cash to start over with, hence the immense horse drive. Hudson's Langdon too is looking for a clean start, the horrors and severe losses of the war still fresh on his mind. They're two different men, but they also have many similarities. They're fighting men who stand by what's right, loyal to those who ride with them, and ultimately try to do what they should do, not what's easiest. Their scenes together are the high points of the story, an easygoing charm with just a little Union vs. Confederacy animosity lingering. Two parts I liked a lot.

Working with a big story and a whole lot of characters, there's a lot going on in 'Undefeated,' clocking in at 119 minutes. Both halves -- Union and Confederacy -- are interesting, but I liked Wayne's half more. His trail-worn, loyal riders include Ben Johnson as Short Grub, his right hand man, Harry Carey Jr., John Agar (his part was heavily cut, including his early death scene), Don Collier (a familiar face, often a stunt man in Wayne movies), Jerry Gatlin and Dub Taylor as McCartney, the cantankerous cook who's always looking to fight, a mangy cat, High Bred, at his side. NFL quarterback Roman Gabriel joins the cast too as Blue Boy, Thomas' adopted Cherokee son. With so many western regulars, there's an ease to these scenes that are just fun to watch. Also look briefly for small parts for Paul Fix, Royal Dano and Pedro Armendariz Jr.

With the kinda-sorta episodic story that amiably drifts along, half of the focus is on those Confederates. It's never boring, but it's also not as interesting as their Union counterparts. We meet Langdon's wife (Lee Meriwether), his buxom teenage daughter, Charlotte (Melissa Newman), and his widowed sister-in-law (Marian McCargo). His men include Bruce Cabot, NFL star Merlin Olsen, Jan-Michael Vincent, Robert Donner, Edward Faulkner and whiny Big John Hamilton. We get to see young, pretty Charlotte hold off Jan-Michael Vincent's Bubba Wilkes' advances (she like Blue Boy). We get to see worrying wife Lee Meriwether....well, look worried. Olsen's Little George hangs out with the kids, then fights the Union cavalry. There's plenty of familiar faces, some good parts, but it's simply not as interesting to watch. Not bad, just not as good as it could have been.

Certain portions of the episodic story drag, but some certainly stand out. The pre-credits sequence wraps up the Civil War in a quick Union attack on a Confederate position. Later, Wayne and Hudson must team up to hold off a bandit attack on the Confederate wagon train, a good, exciting sequence. My favorite though is a late battle between the Union riders and French cavalry, the horse herd used as a weapon and negotiating ploy with a Mexican officer (Tony Aguilar). I'm wavering here. It's not a great western -- maybe not even a good one -- but I'm always entertained watching it. John Wayne fans, western fans alike should like this one.

The Undefeated (1969): ***/****