New in Theaters
(Both playing at Durango Stadium 9)
Noah.
Russell Crowe stars as Noah, a man chosen by God for a great task before an apocalyptic flood destroys the world. Perhaps you’ve heard the story before. Rated PG-13.
Sabotage.
If you arranged all the plot elements in “Sabotage” in linear fashion and started pinning photos to a bulletin board, and then you added charts and diagrams connecting the carnage and identifying the culprits as they do in movies like, well, “Sabotage,” you’d be left scratching your head and realizing this is some bat-bleep crazy stuff, and not all of it can be explained.
Like how did that body wind up THERE, and why did THAT villain stuff that corpse THERE, and how in the world did that RV end up OVER THERE anyway?
But this brutal, bloody, dark and at times gruesomely funny thriller isn’t some David Fincher-esque mood piece where all the clues come together at the end. It’s more like a modern-day Georgia version of a spaghetti Western, with the 66-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger actually donning a cowboy hat at one point to drive home the point.
Co-written and directed by David Ayer, who penned the script for “Training Day” and directed the criminally underseen L.A. cop film “End of Watch” (please add it to your queue now!), “Sabotage” stars Schwarzenegger as the head of an elite DEA task force populated by the wildest bunch of hard-partying, trash-talking sharpshooters and combat veterans ever hired by the federal government.
They’re all pretty much jerks, as evidenced by the neck tattoos, the fights in strip clubs, the constant crap they give one another and the way they mourn when one of their own has fallen. (It’s not much different from the way they party on any given night, only there’s one fewer of them around to do the tequila shots and knock out somebody’s teeth.)
Everybody’s gotta have a nickname in a movie such as this, so here we go. Arnold is John “Breacher” Wharton. Sam Worthington is “Monster,” Joe Manganiello is “Grinder,” Josh Holloway is “Neck,” Terrence Howard is “Sugar,” Max Martini is “Pyro,” Kevin Vance is “Tripod” and Stockard Channing is “Rizzo.” Oh wait, different movie.
In a few cases we’re told where the nickname comes from. Often we’re not. We’re better off with the latter.
That’s a strong cast right there -- and it gets even better when we mix in perhaps the two most intriguing characters (and performances) in the film: Mireille Enos plays Lizzy, an apparent sociopath with a hardcore drug habit, and oh, by the way, she’s part of the DEA squad and she’s married to Monster, and Olivia Williams as Atlanta homicide investigator Caroline Brentwood, who is alternately appalled and fascinated by these maniacs from the DEA.
With a storyline that occasionally skips around in time (Ayer is particularly fond of taking us into a present-day crime scene and flashing back to a day or even hours earlier, when the blood started flowing), “Sabotage” is primarily focused on what happens to the agents after they steal $10 million from a drug cartel’s safe house -- and somebody steals the $10 million from them.
Six months down the road, with an investigation into the missing $10 mil at a dead end, Breacher and the team are off the bench and back in the game – but in between bouts of knocking down doors and gunning down bad guys (it doesn’t seem as if this bunch spends a lot of time testifying in criminal trials), the hunters become the hunted.
One by one, the members of the crew are murdered, in ways so creatively bloody Hannibal Lecter would slow-clap his approval. I don’t think Ayer and the special effects and makeup wizards would be offended if I said this film is gratuitously violent and seems to savor gross-out moments guaranteed to make some viewers groan and then chuckle at the madness of it all. I think that’s sort of the point.
The Atlanta cops and Breacher believe members of the cartel are picking off Breacher’s crew. Investigator Brentwood tries to enlist the help of Breacher’s bosses, who couldn’t be less interested. (Arnold delivers the best line of the movie in another encounter with the same suits.) In addition to the fine work from Enos as the crazed Lizzy and Williams as the alternately dedicated and ditzy Atlanta cop, Terrence Howard puts his usual unique spin on his character, Sam Worthington is the most human and vulnerable of the DEA crew, and Arnold is still Arnold, even with a ridiculous haircut and an accent that’s never explained. (Why bother? He’s Arnold. He’s playing a guy who’s a legend in the DEA. That’s enough.)
Here’s another thing I liked about this movie: When the law enforcement types and the bad guys are shooting it out on the streets, innocent people don’t always hop out of the way. Sometimes they become roadkill. Kudos to the filmmakers for acknowledging this is what most likely would happen if maniacs were racing down city streets while shooting high-powered automatic weapons at one another.
When we finally find out who’s the saboteur and why, it’s not the most satisfying conclusion ever, but it’ll do. Besides, Breacher’s still got some unfinished business after the main mystery, and he’s all about the TCB, baby. We still believe if Arnold goes against two dozen, it’s a fair fight.
Open Road Films presents a film directed by David Ayer. Written by David Ayer and Skip Woods. Running time: 109 minutes. Rated R (for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use). HHH½
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
Still Showing
Animas City Theatre
(128 E. College Drive, 799-2281, www.animascitytheatre.com)
Walking the Camino. Six strangers embark on a journey as they attempt to cross an entire country on foot – with only a backpack, a pair of boots and an open mind. Driven by an inexplicable calling and a grand sense of adventure, each pilgrim throws themselves heart-and-soul into their physical trek to Santiago and, most importantly, their personal journey to themselves. Not rated.
Gaslight Cinema
(102 Fifth St. Next to the railroad depot, 247-8133, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Stalingrad. The top-grossing Russian film of 2013, Stalingrad is an epic look at the battle that turned the tide of World War II. A band of determined Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected to a Russian woman who has been living there. The scale of the battle contrasts dramatically with the human drama of the Russian soldiers, the few remaining civilians and their invaders into Stalingrad. Rated R.
Son of God. The New Testament gets a larger-than life treatment. Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer. Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado portrays Jesus as the film spans from his birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection. It marks the first motion picture about Jesus’ life since “Passion of the Christ,” released 10 years ago. Rated PG-13.
Durango Stadium 9
(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Muppets Most Wanted. The entire Muppets gang goes on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe’s most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine – the World’s Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit – and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, a.k.a. Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais. The film stars Tina Fey as Nadya, a feisty prison guard, and Ty Burrell as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon. Rated PG.
Divergent. In a future world where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities, Tris Prior is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all Divergents, she must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it’s too late. Based on the mega-best-selling books by Veronica Roth; she’s sold more than 11 million of them, so there should be no shortage of young ticket buyers lined up to fill the seats. Rated PG-13.
Need for Speed (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge). Fresh from prison, a street racer (Aaron Paul) who was framed by a wealthy business associate joins a cross country race with revenge in mind. His ex-partner, learning of the plan, places a massive bounty on his head as the race begins. Rated PG-13.
300: Rise of an Empire. A bloody affair in which Themistokles takes on the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and Artemisia, the vengeful commander of the Persian navy. Rated R.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman. (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge) Mr. Peabody, the most accomplished dog in the world, and his mischievous boy, Sherman, use their time machine, The WABAC, to go on the most outrageous adventures known to man or dog. But when Sherman takes The WABAC out for a joyride to impress his friend Penny, they accidently rip a hole in the universe, wreaking havoc on the most important events in world history. Rated PG.
Non-Stop. Liam Neeson stars in a suspense thriller played out at 40,000 feet in the air. During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) receives a series of cryptic text messages demanding that he instruct the airline to transfer $150 million into an off-shore account. Until he secures the money, a passenger on his flight will be killed every 20 minutes. Rated PG-13.
The Monuments Men. George Clooney and Matt Damon star in what passes for a true story in Hollywood about a special unit on the hunt for Nazi art plunder during World War II. Rated PG-13.
Ted Holteen and Associated Press
