Ricki & The Flash

(PG) ★★★

Director: Jonathan Demme.

Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer, Rick Springfield, Audra McDonald, Sebastian Stan.

"Push the little daisies and make them come up!"

MERYL Streep doesn’t give bad performances. She never even gives average performances.

Occasionally she stars in average films (perhaps increasingly so), but never is she anything less than great, even when everything around her is exceedingly average.

Such is the case in this strangely lifeless comedy-drama, which lacks the laughs to be a comedy and the bite it would need to be a strong drama.

Luckily Streep, perhaps the greatest actor who has ever lived, is present to elevate things, bringing all her charisma to bear as Ricki Rendazzo – a woman her walked out on her life as a married mother-of-three named Linda Brummel to follow her rock ‘n’ roll dreams.

A couple of decades on from her divorce, Ricki is doing it tough, playing in the house band of a Californian bar with her boyfriend Greg (Rick “Jessie’s Girl” Springfield) by night and working as a check-out chick by day.

A phone call from her ex-husband (Kline) drags her back into her past, forcing her to reconnect with her recently dumped daughter (played by Streep’s real life daughter Mamie Gummer), her estranged sons, and the damage done by her departure all those years ago.

Much has been made of Streep’s rock chick persona and the fact that she (in true Streep fashion) is really singing and really playing guitar. While her guitarwork looks shaky at times, she nails her vocals, using them as just one of facets of another excellent performance that is typically multi-facted. Ricki is intriguingly flawed – she’s comfortable with who she is, but she's increasingly uncomfortable with how she got there, and it makes for a compelling character, especially in Streep’s guitar-playing hands.

Her chemistry with Kline is excellent, but almost everyone else – particularly Gummer and Springfield – is struggling to keep up with her talents.

The script, written by Oscar-winner Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult) is oddly tame. Its set-up, characters and cast suggest this should have been funnier or tougher or both, but instead it is neither.

None of this is helped by Demme, whose perplexing directorial choices (too many awkward slow zooms) and his inability to nail the “dramedy” tone leave the film blowing in the wind with no direction home.

So why watch this? For Streep, of course. The extended musical interludes, which are at first slightly tiresome, end up being the most memorable bit. The perfect example is the unsurprising ending, which is cornier than a popcorn festival in a cornfield but sucks you in thanks to the fact Streep and her band look like they’re really giving it their all and having the time of their lives.

As a result, for all it flaws, Ricki & The Flash becomes watchable and almost enjoyable purely on the back of Streep and her Suzie Q attitude and Joan Jett moves.

Vacation

(MA15+) ★★

Director: Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.

Cast: Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Skyler Gisondo, Steele Stebbins, Chris Hemsworth, Leslie Mann, Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo.

Remake of Vacation or Duel?

AS discussed last week while reviewing the millionth reboot/remake/rehash of the year (the actually quite good The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), rebooting/remaking/rehashing is not necessarily an automatic fail.

If the idea at the heart of whatever is being rebooted/remade/rehashed remains valid after all these years, then, by all means, go for it. Mankind has repackaged and retold the same stories again and again for millenia.

The rehash in question this week is Vacation, a reboot and direct descendant of National Lampoon’s Vacation (and European Vacation, Christmas Vacation, Vegas Vacation, and the best-forgotten made-for-TV spin-off Christmas Vacation 2).

As with its predecessors, it centres on the Griswold family taking a holiday and everything going wrong. The patriarch here is Rusty, the son of Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold from the 1983 original. It’s a character that’s been played as a kid by Anthony Michael Hall, Jason Lively, Johnny Galecki and Ethan Embry but here he’s brought to life as a middle-aged loser dad by Ed Helms.

At the core of the story is Rusty trying to redo the mission of the ‘83 original – a family vacation to theme park Walley World – as a way of getting his family out of a rut and to reconnect with each other.

The bad holiday scenario is worth revisiting and many of the original Griswold adventures are fondly remembered as comedy classics from an era when Chevy Chase was a household name. But although this doesn’t totally disgrace the family name, it’s certainly not a comedy classic like some of its forefathers.

Its laughs – and there are a few mild chuckles here and there – aren’t that far removed from the tone of the original films, but it’s the three Ps of profanity, poop, and penises that tend to get the biggest giggles. Unfortunately there are no moments that will live long in the memory – no quotable quotes or bits you’ll be telling your friends about (except perhaps Christina Applegate projectile vomiting her way through a sorority dare and Chris Hemsworth’s showing off Thor’s hammer, if you know what I mean).

There are bigger throwbacks to the original, including a typically idiotic car in which to undertake the journey, while Lindsay Buckingham’s awesome theme song Holiday Road gets a good work out (as does Seal’s Kiss From A Rose for some reason). There’s also a slightly ham-fisted attempt to poke some self-reverential fun at the whole reboot concept, but it falls flat.

Part of the reason that doesn’t work, and indeed why the film doesn’t work as a whole, is Helms. He’s so good as the straight-laced Stu in The Hangover, but here he’s a weird mix of slapstick goofiness, oblivious idiot and decisive patron that never quite gels, and unfortunately his performance keeps the film off-balance.

Far better is Applegate as his wife Debbie, and showstealer Hemsworth as Rusty’s slightly inappropriate yet successful brother-in-law. Chase also turns up for a welcome cameo, and the film is dotted with drop-ins that range from the welcome (Charlie Day as a rafting instructor having a bad day) to the nonsensically stupid (Norman Reedus’ truck driver).

But largely, nothing feels fresh, none of the sequences really hit it out of the park, and nothing makes the film stand out. It’s not a total misfire, but it’s unlikely to be remembered down the track, except as that attempt to reboot a franchise that was perhaps best left alone.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

(M)  ★★★★

Director: Guy Ritchie.

Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Grant.

Just when they thought they were alone.

EVERYTHING old is new again.

It’s an adage that’s been the unofficial motto of Hollywood since it began. People tend to forget that Alice In Wonderland was filmed six times before Walt Disney got his hands on it, and there had been at least four versions of The Wizard Of Oz before Judy Garland tried on the ruby (originally silver) slippers in 1939.

So while it’s easy to write off this update of an almost forgotten ‘60s TV show as part of a modern-day trend to reboot, remake and rehash everything, really it’s just Hollywood’s inbuilt predilection to re-use good ideas in the hopes they work from generation to generation.

Maybe no one has been clamouring for a new version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but maybe people want to see a film about two Cold War spies from opposite sides of the Iron Curtain forced to work together to save the world. And that just happens to be the plot for The Man From U.N.C.L.E., so rather than re-invent the wheel, why not just remake it instead?

British actor Henry “Superman” Cavill plays debonair CIA agent Napoleon Solo, who was created by 007 mastermind Ian Fleming to be American TV’s answer to James Bond, while American actor Armie “Lone Ranger” Hammer plays KGB operative Illya Kuryakin, a by-the-book Russian with anger issues.

Despite having crossed paths as rivals in East Berlin, the pair is teamed up to hunt down a former German scientist who is believed to be making nuclear bombs for a criminal organisation.

With its cool ‘60s setting and its Cold War friction, it’s a compelling set-up, and it’s easy to see why it’s been kicking around Hollywood for 20 years, with everyone from Quentin Tarantino to Steven Soderbergh almost sitting in the director’s chair and Clooney and Cruise among the names that almost played Solo.

It’s Guy Ritchie, enjoying a career rebirth on the back of the recent Sherlock Holmes films and a divorce from Madonna, who has stepped up to the plate and he clearly relishes the opportunity to direct what is essentially an impossible dream – a ‘60s-era James Bond film with a ‘70s-era Bond, made with modern movie-making sensibilities.

The Bond-isms are hard to escape – after all, that franchise pretty much defined the spy genre in the era when The Man From U.N.C.L.E. takes place. Solo’s dapper style, the Roman locations, the femme fatales, the gadgets, and the set-pieces help make this the Bond film that never was.

But the great thing, believe it or not, is an ever-so-light Roger Moore-ish touch. While Bond has increasingly become something to be taken very, very seriously in the Daniel Craig era, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. fills a void we’d not realised was empty – it reminds us that spy films can be fun and give us a laugh, without being spoofs or resorting to Austin Powers (or latter era Roger Moore) levels of silliness. In that sense, it’s like a more refined, mature companion piece to Kingsman: The Secret Service ie. less blood-spurting and fewer inappropriate jokes about sex acts.

There are no enormous Mission: Impossible-style, edge-of-your-seat set pieces, nor is the plot overly complex. This is just good old-fashioned spy-vs-spy shenanigans with an odd-couple twist.

Cavill is ideal as Solo and Hammer is good as Kuryakin, but together they’re great, engaging in an almost endless game of one-upmanship against a backdrop of nuclear annihilation. Aussie Debicki makes for a decent but non-descript villain and Vikander is a handy offsider, however Hugh Grant is the most memorable bit-player, swooping in on occasion to steal a few scenes.

Ritchie does a great job, even if his attempts at some flashy ‘60s-inspired cuts and split-screens get in the way a little bit. Generally though he keeps the tone light and the plot moving along.

The look of the film is particularly superb. The costumes and set design are perfect, and some tasty CG helps recreate Cold War Berlin in the film’s excellent opening act.

Maybe this is a remake no one was asking for, but in that category it is more like Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films – stylishly successful – than Hammer’s noisy flop The Lone Ranger.

Fantastic Four (2015)

(M) ★★½

Director: Josh Trank.

Cast: Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey, Tim Blake Nelson.

"I sure hope that's not our careers getting sucked into that skyhole."

TWENTIETH Century Fox has big plans for the Fantastic Four.

Marvel Comics’ so-called “first family” (they’ve been a cornerstone of the company since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created them in 1961) is already lined up for a sequel scheduled to be released on June 9, 2017, and the actors have all signed multi-film deals.

There are also talks of the characters teaming up with Fox’s other Marvel-made heroes, the X-Men.

Of course, none of that is going to matter if this first film isn’t any good.

The short answer to that unspoken question is “not really”. It’s certainly better than the corny, groan-worthy Fantastic Four movies made in the ‘00s but in an oversaturated market where even Ant-Man is gleefully making the most of his moment in the sun, this origin story doesn’t take its opportunity to step out of the shadows.

The quartet in question is brainiac Reed Richards (Teller), his long-time friend Ben Grimm (Bell), a hot-headed mechanic named Johnny Storm (Jordan) and his adopted sister/also brainiac Sue (Mara).

Richards’ experiments in teleportation attract the attention of Johnny and Sue’s dad Franklin (Cathey), who recruits Richards to work with his children on a similar project backed by the government.

Along with fellow bright spark Victor Von Doom, the group succeeds in opening a pathway to a parallel dimension, but an accident leaves them with a bizarre array of superpowers.

Unfortunately, this origin story is all origin, no story. The long build-up wouldn’t be so bad if it built up to something worthwhile, but it takes so long to set up its heroes and their transformations that it forgets to give them something to fight against, leaving the final (and only) battle of the film to be squeezed into five minutes at the end.

In place of a story we get a mildly interesting bunch of characters, hanging out and doing science, with little in the way of actual conflict, dramatic or physical.

Fantastic Four seemingly wilfully ignores the superhero movies that have gone before and instead buries itself in science montages, grand speeches (all made by Cathey’s Franklin Storm), and minor character interactions, rather than laying on the wow factor of spectacle, excitement, and strange people using strange new talents. Again this would be okay if the speeches and interactions led to deeper themes and stronger characters with intriguing arcs, but they don’t, and we’re left  shortchanged in the spectacle departments.

Unlike other movies starring Marvel characters, Fantastic Four (or “Fantfourstic” according to the poster title) takes the gritty and serious route, making it closer in tone to comic book rivals DC and their recent Superman reboot Man Of Steel than anything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

That’s not a criticism necessarily, although the tone does sit uneasily when they try to work in some humour (most of which falls flat) and there is no deeper theme to give all the gravitas a purpose. In some ways, Fantastic Four is admirable in its different-ness, but it’s sadly unmemorable and unsurprising.

The big shame here is that the casting is spot-on – it’s the script that's off. Teller is perfect as Reed Richards, while Mara, Jordan and Bell all fit their roles nicely. Kebbell underplays Doom pretty well until it all goes down the insane drain at the film’s end.

For the superfans, most of the requisite boxes are ticked. Ben says “it’s clobberin’ time”, Johnny says “flame on”, and someone says the name “Fantastic Four”, although it all feels so lacklustre. The use of the origin story from the Ultimate Fantastic Four comic book series works nicely, making all the characters younger and dispensing with the “we got our powers from a cloud in space” origin, which is good.

But Dr Doom looks weird. Really, really weird. And not in a good way.

There are some good moments in here – it’s not all a total waste – and for fans of the genre it offers something different. There’s certainly some novelty value in seeing the direction the film takes when compared to the 2005 iteration.

But cynics might be right in suggesting this movie was only made to ensure Fox retained the rights to the Fantastic Four, preventing the characters from reverting back to Marvel.

After this, we may see the rights going back to their comic book home sooner rather than later.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

(M) ★★★½

Director: Christopher McQuarrie.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin, Simon McBurney.

Buying tickets is for chumps.

In case you missed it, the Mission: Impossible film series is America's answer to James Bond.

The gadgets, the action, the women; these things are part of the likeness, but perhaps the biggest similarity is in how we remember the films – we tend to remember the Bond and M:I movies not by their plots, but by their stunts and/or villains.

In the case of the first Mission: Impossible, we remember the now legendary roof drop sequence. The second one had the mountain climbing opening. The third one had Philip Seymour Hoffman. The fourth one had the impressive Burj Khalifa stunt and the dust storm chase.

Continuing this theme, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (the fifth in the series) will be remembered for Tom Cruise hanging off the side of a plane as it takes off and doing a heart-stopping free dive into a water-cooled computer chamber, and Sean Harris’ Solomon Lane, who looks like an evil cross between Tintin and Dobby the House Elf.

Everything in between is the usual blur of encrypted files and crosses and double crosses you’ll struggle to remember in years to come when trying to discern the difference between the films.

The actual plot involves the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) being shut down (which seems to happen in every M:I movie) and Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt going rogue to track down The Syndicate – a group that Simon Pegg’s agent Benji Dunn helpfully describes as “an anti-IMF”.

It’s one of those plots where you shouldn’t think too hard about the fact it relies on chance or particular characters doing exactly what it was hoped they’d do, but it’s a serviceable plot all the same.

The film is front-loaded with its best stuff so the finale feels strangely low-key, yet somehow the whole is still satisfying.

That probably comes down to Cruise. His off-screen eccentricities are hard to ignore, and it's been at least a decade since his last truly great performance, but he still churns out highly watchable fare on a regular basis thanks to having a likeable on-screen persona.

But what we really forget is he is a seriously impressive old-school action star in an age where CG trickery has largely made that role somewhat redundant. Sure, there are digitally erased safety lines when he's hanging from a plane and digitally added cars when he's riding a motorbike flat out, but that's really Cruise, putting himself out there and in danger, and it's still seriously impressive.

The most welcome addition to M:I5 is an increased amount of Simon Pegg. He’s mostly just comic relief (although he does get one brief fight scene) but it’s good comic relief.

Ferguson is also a welcome addition, providing solid support as a kind of female Ethan Hunt, while Rhames and Renner are reduced to sidemen, which seems to be their lot in life. Harris also gives good villain.

Overall M:I5 is enjoyable, occasionally impressive, deftly paced, and smarter than most actioners, but not beyond the odd moment of idiocy. Lalo Schifrin's memorable theme gets a good workout – almost as much as Cruise’s 53-year-old body.

In other words, it’s everything you’d expect from a Mission: Impossible, if you choose to accept it.

Ant-Man

(M) ★★★½

Director: Peyton Reed.

Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña.

The latest Psycho remake was weird.

MARVEL is getting cocky with its cinematic universe these days.

While comic book rivals DC are throwing all their big guns – Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman – into one film in a desperate attempt to catch-up, Marvel are doing whatever the hell they feel like.

Case in point is Ant-Man, the debut appearance of a character who, despite being one of the original comic book Avengers, is laughably named, oddly talented (he can control ants!) and weirdly antiquated in this day and age.

But Marvel are going to have their cake and eat it too, which is part of what makes this film so fun. They know it’s ridiculous so they make jokes about its ridiculousness. The script is acutely aware of how absurd the entire premise is but enthusiastically embraces the absurdity.

Dr Hank Pym (Douglas) is a brilliant professor and the original 1960s Ant-Man – a secret government weapon whose super-powered suit allowed him to shrink to the size of a bug and marshal an army of ants.

But when his former student Darren Cross (Stoll) gets close to cracking the secret of the Ant-Man costume and threatens to sell it to the bad guys, the long-retired Pym goes in search of a new hero to take up the miniature mantle and stop the villains.

Enter Scott Lang (Rudd), fresh out of prison and boasting a particular set of skills that Pym needs to save the day.

What’s different about this origin tale is that it comes in halfway through the telling – Ant-Man has already saved the world and hung up his helmet by the time our new protagonist Lang comes on the scene. It’s as if this is Ant-Man: The Next Generation, but in a practical sense it adds to the rich history in the increasingly complicated tapestry that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU as the fanboys and fangirls call it).

Thematically, it’s covering some old Marvel ground. It’s about being worthy of what is presented to you (Thor), that technology is not inherently bad or good (Iron Man, Avengers: Age Of Ultron), the need for redemption and second chances (Iron Man again and anything with Black Widow in it), and the importance of family (Guardians Of The Galaxy).

But the strength lies in its fleshed-out characters. Lang is a little bit straight-up-and-down, but Pym, his daughter Hope (Lilly), and Cross are all well nuanced. Pym in particular is an interestingly flawed protagonist, with Douglas’ gravitas giving the science-babble weight and delivering the emotional needs of the story with aplomb.

What’s surprising is the film is not quite as funny or off-the-wall as anticipated. There are still plenty of laughs and Rudd is solid but he is largely restrained, which is confounding for someone with a reputation as a comedic actor. Also you can’t help but feel that writer and ex-director Edgar Wright was pushing for this to be funnier and even more off-the-wall, but that the version we’re seeing is Marvel’s dialed-down take.

If that’s the case, it’s a little bit of a shame. The best moments are the humourous ones and Ant-Man really excels when it’s taking the mickey out of itself and its pint-sized action, which is fleshed out with some novel-looking and wonderfully executed special effects. A fight between Ant-Man and an Avenger is a highlight, as is the climatic showdown which takes place primarily in a child’s bedroom.

While this is not quite on the MCU top shelf alongside Iron Man, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and The Avengers, it’s not far below them. It’s also further proof of Marvel’s self-confidence and ability to make sure each film works yet bears a distinct feel (this is basically a heist film) and look.

With its small-scale action and tongue-in-cheek irreverence, Ant-Man is a welcome relief from the large-scale destruction and save-the-universe shenanigans of recent superhero movies.

Magic Mike XXL

(MA15+) ★★★

Director: Gregory Jacobs.

Cast: Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodríguez, Gabriel Iglesias, Andie MacDowell, Amber Heard, Donald Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith, Elizabeth Banks.

The film's budget did not extend to shirts.

ON the surface, Magic Mike was billed as a ladies-only adventure that was all about Channing Tatum’s abs and Matthew McConaughey’s butt cheeks.

The surprising thing is that it was something more. Yes, it was predictable and a little thin and packed with men tearing off their clothes, but it was also funny, wonderfully shot, and featured a collection of interesting characters, with Tatum and McConaughey turning in career-best performances (which they have since surpassed).

Second time around, the story is even thinner – it’s barely an L, let alone an XXL. Dallas and The Kid have taken up a business offer in Macau (an excuse to write McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer out because they didn’t want to do a sequel), leaving the remainder of The Kings Of Tampa strippers high and dry.

Mike (Tatum), who has been out of the stripping game for a few years, reconnects with the Kings and decides to join them on one last road trip to a strippers’ convention before they all hang up their leopard-print g-strings for good.

Despite the slightness of story, Magic Mike XXL works as a fun road-trip movie because the characters are good value and the naturalistic dialogue carries plenty of laughs.

The film recaptures the upbeat vibe of the previous one’s best bits, dispensing with the “drugs are bad, stripping is bad” moralising that darkened it and focusing on keeping it light – no punches are packed, and no messages are driven home.

Each of the characters has their moment and their issues, mostly based around what to do with their lives after stripping, but it’s never heavy and just ensures the film is engaging. Without characters to empathise and laugh with (and at), Magic Mike XXL would be a total waste of time.

It’s the laughs that are key though. The finale routines are pretty funny, and Manganiello’s Richie gets a larger role, which helps fill the void left by McConaughey’s absence. A sequence where he attempts to get a service station attendant to smile is a hilarious highlight.

The choreography is excellent once again, and the addition of Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino is welcome, plus Tatum’s chemistry with Amber Heard is a million times better than what he shared with Cody Horn in the first film.

The biggest flaw lies in the length – maybe Magic Mike XL would have sufficed. A detour through a club Mike used to dance in drags on and on, packing in a lot of “male entertainment” routines and slowing proceedings down considerably.

Matched with the general thinness of the story, such delays are frustrating. The road trip’s goal of reaching a stripper’s convention of Myrtle Beach seems to take forever and then is dealt with fleetingly.

Fans of the original will come for the stripping, but stay for the laughs in this solid sequel.