New in Theaters
(Playing at the Durango Stadium 9)
Captain Phillips.
If you saw Paul Greengrass’s “United 93,” a terrifying depiction of one of the doomed flights on 9/11, you know this director can evoke a harrowing, real-life event like few others. In fact, you may not have recovered yet from the experience.
So it’s no surprise that Greengrass has produced another expertly crafted, documentary-style film based on a real event – the 2009 hijacking of a cargo ship by Somali pirates and the five-day standoff that ensued, with the ship’s American captain, Richard Phillips, held captive in a stifling covered lifeboat after offering himself as a hostage.
A major difference is that this movie has a happy ending – for the captain, anyway, who was rescued in a dramatic high-seas Navy sniper operation. Three of the overmatched attackers were killed; the fourth is in a U.S. prison.
More cinematically speaking, the difference is that “Captain Phillips” is a star vehicle. In some cases, this can detract from the sense of veracity of a truth-based film. Tom Hanks, though, delivers some of his finest work here, playing the Everyman role he does so well, in this case a fairly ordinary guy forced by circumstance to be a hero.
And yet “Captain Phillips” is a remarkably unsentimental film, with an emotional catharsis coming only at the very end, when we’re all ready for some kind of release. This is where Hanks digs deepest as an actor.
Oddly, the film falters only at the beginning – in a brief and awkward domestic scene between Phillips, preparing for what he assumes is a routine voyage, and his wife, Andrea (Catherine Keener, in a tiny part). The two share stilted dialogue on a drive to the airport, with her asking: “It’s gonna be OK, right?” and him commenting stiffly that the “world is moving so fast.”
But once Phillips gets onto his ship, the movie truly starts. What Greengrass excels at is action – taut and visceral – and it happens as soon as the captain suddenly looks at a screen and sees two small dots moving toward the ship.
Two skiffs are carrying bands of armed men; from an early scene on a Somali beach, we know they’ve been whipped into action by their warlords. When they realize they’ve happened upon a U.S. ship, they can’t believe their luck.
What WE can’t believe is how a huge cargo ship is so vulnerable to small bands of armed men. But the Maersk Alabama has no gun power aboard, only huge hoses to repel pirates and their machine guns. They don’t work. Soon, four pirates have hoisted a ladder onto the ship. “I’m the captain now,” says their leader, Muse.
And the ordeal begins. Greengrass and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd are at their most effective in scenes like the frightening search – in tense, dark spaces, in extreme closeup – by increasingly angry pirates hunting down the crew.
On the other hand, this is where the camerawork gets ever more unstable and jittery. Good for dramatic effect – but bad if you’re susceptible to queasiness or nausea at such times. Be forewarned.
Things get even more intense in the lifeboat, where the pirates are locked in with Phillips for several agonizing days. With the U.S. Navy bearing down, it’s pretty clear where it’s all headed. The only question: Who will die?
The movie humanizes the pirates but is not inclined to forgive them. All four Somali actors are excellent, but especially Barkhad Abdi, memorable as Muse.
As for Hanks, his final moments are his best, as Phillips registers in an intensely personal way the cumulative effects of what he’s endured. It’s safe to say those moments will be what’s remembered most from this movie, and for a long time.
“Captain Phillips,” a Sony Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for “sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and substance use.” Running time: 134 minutes. HHH½ out of four.
JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer
Machete Kills.
When you cast Charlie Sheen as the foul-mouthed, shot-drinking, womanizing president of the United States and Mel Gibson as an utterly nutters villain, either you’re trying way too hard – or you’re going for the easy and obvious laughs.
“Machete Kills” does a little of both.
The first “Machete,” released in 2010 and inspired by a fake trailer that was part of Quentin Tarantino’s “Grindhouse” double feature from 2007, was bloody good fun. I kinda loved it. After decades of playing convicts and killers in dozens of movies and TV shows, Danny Trejo was front and center in Robert Rodriguez’s wickedly funny and cartoonishly violent homage to the B-movies of a generation ago.
With “Machete Kills,” the 69-year-old Trejo’s once again in the lead, surrounded by a hilariously eclectic cast ranging from the aforementioned Hollywood scandal kings to returning characters played by Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez to the likes of Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Hudgens, Sofia Vergara and Lady Gaga.
It’s equal opportunity exploitation, with the women talking at least as much trash and firing at least as many rounds as the men -- but the harder everyone tries to wring laughs out of the next hail of bullets or the next ridiculous plot twist or the next comedic decapitation, the duller the edge of the humor.
“Machete don’t tweet,” Machete scowls. Yes, but Machete DOES wear out his welcome.
Trejo’s Machete, a box-shaped killing machine who’s shorter than just about everyone else in the movie, but still commands attention with his Mount Slashmore face, never cracks a smile or shows much emotion, even when cradling a dead lover in his arms, vowing revenge against his foes, or making love with yet another vixen about a third his age. That’s the deadpan charm of Machete.
The president invites Machete to the White House, pours him a shot of tequila and offers a deal: If Machete can take down Mendez (Demian Bichir), the crazed Mexican revolutionary pointing a missile at Washington, Machete’s extensive criminal record will be wiped clean and Machete will instantly become a U.S. citizen. (Obviously this all takes place before the government was shut down.)
Amber Heard, Miss San Antonio, is really a federal agent who’s Machete’s handler. She’s undercover at the Miss Texas pageant, which seems to go on for weeks, according to the movie’s timeline, just so Ms. Heard can wear sparkly gowns and talk about her dual life as a secret agent and a pageant contestant worried about Miss Corpus Christi’s assets.
Weird as that is, Miss San Antonio’s only about the seventh most bizarre character in “Machete Kills.” Walton Goggins, Cuba Gooding Jr., Antonio Banderas and Lady Gaga all play the same character (really), with Gooding delivering the funniest performance and Gaga proving to be a surprisingly wooden actress in her brief screen time.
Sofia Vergara plays a madam who shrieks her lines and attaches weapons to her breasts and genitalia because someone thought that would be funny. It’s a god-awful performance.
There’s a lot of double-crossing and double-double-crossing going on here. For reasons muddled amidst the ever-mounting body count, Machete’s mission to take down Mendez leads him to the bizarrely costumed Luther Voz, an insane arms dealer with plans to start a nuclear war, which he’ll be able to survive by floating around in space in a station staffed by cheap labor. I think.
And did I mention Mendez has wired the triggering device for a nuclear missile to his own heart? It’s like he saw “Iron Man” and was inspired to come up with a sicko variation on the theme.
Gibson looks old and tired, but he adds a spark or two of humor as the ridiculously ruthless Voz. Say what you will about Mel, he understands the best way to play comedy like this is to act as if you’re not in on the joke.
We already know Sheen (billed here as Carlos Estevez) can poke fun at his own party image, so there’s not much of a joke in seeing him as a president who has three women in bed with him when the red phone rings in the middle of the night.
Rodriguez is far too talented a filmmaker to deliver a product devoid of some choice moments. Trejo’s sex scene with Heard has a terrific visual punch line, and Machete’s work with a sword described as “the Swiss Army knife of machetes” is slashingly creative. But by the time Machete makes his way to outer space, the B-movie touches have lost their novelty and the joke has worn thin.
It appears as if there’s going to be a “Machete 3,” but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the movie world if the trailer for the next installment remains just a trailer and not the promise of a trilogy. HH Rated R.
Machete don’t sequel too well.
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
(Playing at the Gaslight Cinema)
Instructions Not Included
(Not reviewed.) Valentin (Eugenio Derbez) is Acapulco’s resident playboy--until a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and takes off without a trace. Valentin leaves Mexico for Los Angeles to find the baby’s mother, but only ends up finding a new home for himself and his newfound child, Maggie (Loreto Peralta).
As Valentin raises Maggie, she forces him to grow up too. But their unique and offbeat family is threatened when Maggie’s birth mom shows up out of the blue, and Valentin realizes he’s in danger of losing his daughter- and his best friend. Rated PG-13.
Still Showing
Animas City Theatre
(128 E. College Drive 799-2281, www.animascitytheatre.com)
Short Term 12. A counselor in a care facility finds that she’s not too different than those in her charge. Rated R.
Durango Stadium 9
(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Letters to Jackie. (Wednesday only.) After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy received thousands of letters from the public offering their heartfelt condolences. Set against a treasure trove of archival footage taken during the Kennedy era, the moving letters are read by 20 of today’s top actors. Not rated.
Gravity. (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge.) George Clooney and Sandra Bullock star as astronauts stranded in space after a devastating accident in orbit. Rated PG-13.
Runner Runner. Ben Affleck is an offshore gambling tycoon and Justin Timberlake is a gambler who gets caught up in his mad, mad world. Rated R.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge.) Chester V’s evil machine is still creating animal-food hybrids, much to the chagrin of Flint Lockwood. It’s a sequel – hopefully someone understands what all that means. Rated PG.
Don Jon. A “player” (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds that all of his conquests can’t compare to the simple pleasures of Internet porn. Rated R.
Rush. Ron Howard does a smashing job of capturing life on the Formula 1 circuit. Rated R.
Prisoners. Hugh Jackman and Terrence Howard play fathers whose daughters go missing after a holiday dinner. A riveting search ensues. Rated R.
We’re the Millers. Jason Sudeikis creates a family from a bunch of derelicts to cover his drug-running activities. Rated R.
Gaslight Cinema
(102 Fifth St. Next to the railroad depot, 247-8133, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Haute Cuisine. Hortense Laborie (Catherine Frot), a renowned chef from Perigord, is astonished when the president of the Republic (Jean d’Ormesson) appoints her his personal cook, responsible for creating all his meals at the Elysée Palace.
Despite jealous resentment from the other kitchen staff, Hortense quickly establishes herself, thanks to her indomitable spirit. The authenticity of her cooking soon seduces the president, but the corridors of power are littered with traps ... Rated PG-13.
Populaire. Spring, 1958. 21-year-old Rose Pamphyle lives with her grouchy widower father who runs the village store. Engaged to the son of the local mechanic, she seems destined for the quiet, drudgery-filled life of a housewife. But that’s not the life Rose longs for.
When she travels to Lisieux in Normandy, where charismatic insurance agency boss Louis Echard is advertising for a secretary, the ensuing interview is a disaster. But Rose reveals a special gift - she can type at extraordinary speed.
Unwittingly, the young woman awakens the dormant sports fan in Louis. If she wants the job she’ll have to compete in a speed typing competition. Whatever sacrifices Rose must make to reach the top, Louis declares himself her trainer. He’ll turn her into the fastest girl not only in the country, but in the world! But a love of sport doesn’t always mix well with love itself ...(in French with English subtitles). Rated R.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Forest Whitaker plays the butler who served presidents for three decades at the White House. Oh, the stories he could tell ... Rated PG-13.
The Back Space Theatre
(1120 Main Ave., 259-7940, www.thebackspacetheatre.org)
Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O. Hyde
From cattle drives, rodeos and conservation battles, to wild horse rescues, personal heartbreak and new-found love, this is the self-told tale of a colorful 6-foot-5-inch cowboy, paralleling the old West and America’s growing awareness of the importance of protecting our natural resources. A testament for anyone who needs motivation on his or her own personal journey – and reassurance that each of us can truly make a difference if we try.
Ted Holteen and Associated PresS
