THE WAY, WAY BACK Review

Co-writer/directors Jim Rash and Nat Faxon have delivered a simple summer pleasure and perfect alternative fare for the season with their "The Way, Way Back," a less major work than their co-written Oscar-winning "The Descendants" under the direction of Alexander Payne. The movie is like a mix of the coming-of-age turmoil found in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and the eclectic environment of "Adventureland" and is pegged as a comedy hailing from the team behind "Little Miss Sunshine." The lighthearted comedy, which is more pleasant and delightful than laugh-out-loud funny, is kept from being too frivolous by actually daring to break your heart bringing up honest truths about teenage angst and adolescence caught adrift in a family torn apart. It's drama that fittingly plays out like the beating, rushing currents of a wave pool.

Fourteen-year-old Duncan (Liam James) goes with his mom, Pam (Toni Collette), and new stepdad, Trent (Steve Carell), to a breezy beach house to spend the summer. While it may seem like a calming getaway, that's not the case for Duncan who's at battle with Trent whose oppressing attempt to remold a new family comes off as condescending and downright mean-spirited. Upon first arriving to the summer getaway, we're introduced to Allison Janney's boozy Betty, a whirlwind of a woman who's playful, sexual energy lights up the screen. She also comes with her daughter, Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb), who looks as miserable to be there as Duncan.

While Duncan's parents laze around wining and dining with fellow vacationing couple, Kip (Rob Corddry) and Joan (Amanda Peet), Duncan takes refuge at the nearby waterpark, Water Wizz, where he meets an eclectic cast of characters (Nat Faxon, Jim Rash and Maya Rudolph are among them) lead by the ringleader of the bunch, Owen, played effortlessly by Sam Rockwell. The actor has always been a commanding talent, wrapping his characters in personalities full of wonderful, endearing oddities. His Owen, a stand-in father figure and role model for Duncan, is no different. He shines and brings newcomer Liam James' character right out of his shell.

Also notable here is Carell playing perhaps for the first time a realistically unlikable character. He's unbeknownst to himself completely selfish and controlling. His relationship with new girlfriend Pam is like high school love and this summer vacation like a spring break for adults. After coasting along amiably, there's a moment in the film's third act that strikes a chord and might even put a lump in your throat as tensions come to a head and the reality of a newly forced family situation emerges. It raises the film's screenplay above some otherwise trite and non-organic moments sprinkled throughout.

"Iron Man 2" (2010)

"Iron Man" set the bar high for its inevitable sequel to come. Other superhero movies have done the same before. Christopher Nolan set the bar with "Batman Begins" and then subsequently made the triumph of "The Dark Knight," which made the first one feel like a mere warm up. Sam Raimi, on the other hand, set the bar with "Spider-Man 2," what was at the time the best superhero movie ever made, and then crashed and burned with the release of "Spider-Man 3." So, now there's Jon Favreau and "Iron Man 2." How does this superhero sequel fare among the others? It unfortunately falls to the fate of the latter example by being a disappointment, plain and simple. As the first blockbuster to kick off the summer, though, it does its job just fine, and so it's not that it doesn't deliver but that it doesn't deliver on what really matters.

It really is hard to pinpoint what went wrong with "Iron Man 2," but I'm willing to place the blame on the script by Justin Theroux, the writer-actor who helped write "Tropic Thunder." The snappy and witty writing allows Robert Downey Jr., returning as the lead role of Tony Stark, to shine. His gleeful narcissism pervades the entire movie, and he adds twice the snarky attitude to Stark since last time around. But when the script isn't giving Downey his breathing room for enhanced egotism, it meanders without any forward momentum. In these slow slumps, even Downey seems desperate in figuring out what to do.

Unfocused is the word that comes to mind. It's not that the screenplay tries to fit too much in but rather that it isn't sure of what it even wants to do. There's a painfully slow and dull midsection of the movie that almost entirely ruined it for me where actors trip over each other's lines and the story simultaneously goes everywhere and nowhere. There's something about Stark's father who brought Stark Industries its success. And Stark has a failing heart from high blood toxicity after wearing the suit too long, but he drinks and parties like a teenager inflated with the excess of celebrity status. He needs to discover and create a new element to fuel him. All of this pseudo brooding doesn't add emotional depth; instead it just drags down the fun.

The movie's villain, Whiplash, is introduced in the very best scene near the beginning. It takes place at the Monaco Grand Prix where Stark decides to drive his own sponsored car. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), the tattooed Russian, shows up on the track slicing through the cars like paper with his powerful electric whips. Rourke proves to be a fine villain delivering his lines with cold assurance. The problem is that his villain is never really put face to face with Stark for a final showdown. Rourke is accompanied by Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), another weapons developer like Stark. He wishes to exploit Vanko and create an army of iron suits to rival Stark's own Iron Man. Rockwell gives a dastardly comedic performance that complements Rourke's well. If only these characters were put to more effective use.

The cast is big with great performers all working together with a smart sense of humor. This star power feels underused, however. Gwenyth Paltrow returns as the delightful Pepper Potts as Stark's assistant, now CEO of Stark Industries, but this time she is just bickering and shoved to the sidelines. You know that scene in the trailer where she kisses the Iron Man helmet just before Stark dives out of the back of the airplane? Yeah, not in the actual movie. Don't you hate when that happens? Especially with such a scene. Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as Stark's buddy Rhodey with a role that gets beefed up but to no useful purpose except to have another metal suit blasting away at enemies in the action sequences.

The action looks great and escalates to an impressive final set piece. The movie itself looks great, too, with the Iron Man suit shining as it soars around in the night sky. There's a moment, though, where Rhodey and Stark get into a brawl while wearing the suits that is muddily motivated and comes off as a sorry excuse for just a bit more action.

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury working for whatever organization it is they work for should've been saved for the next sequel because they're altogether wasted. Johansson is sexy, as is the norm with any role she's in now, and she gets one shining stunt wearing her tight, leather jumpsuit. Jackson gets only two scenes sporting that eye patch of his. These two showing up is a faint side note.

While it may think it's satisfying the requirements of a sequel, "Iron Man 2" is no "Iron Man." It's too in love with its newfangled hardware and less in love with its characters. Here's to hoping they figure this out in time for "Iron Man 3," inevitably to be shot in 3-D.

My review of the original "Iron Man"

Archive: 'Choke'

Movie Review
Choke (2008)


Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) is a medical school dropout and a raging sex addict. He would be perfectly content if life was constantly in the state of an orgasm. He prowls Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings looking for women to hook up with. His best friend is Denny (Brian William Henke) who compulsively masturbates. They work together as the "backbone of colonial America" at a tourist attraction representing the wonders of the 1700s. These two men are no role models, and yet "Choke" somehow allows viewers to root for their sleazy and careless existence.

When not involved in sex, Victor spends his time visiting a nursing home to see his senile mother, Ida (Angelica Huston), who thinks her own son is a different person each time he visits. One day there, Victor meets a nurse named Paige Marshall (Kelly MacDonald) who provides him with some hope for answers about his mother and also a surprising path to something other than just mere sexual gratification. Victor Mancini is also a scheming con-man whose motto is "What would Jesus not do?" He goes to fancy restaurants and purposely chokes on large hunks of food theatrically twirling about holding his throat in the hope that he is saved and lands in the lap of a wealthy patron who will go on to send him checks. He believes he's doing those people a favor.

The movie is based on Chuck Palahniuk's (author of "Fight Club," which turned into a much better movie) novel of the same name, and while his dark cynicism and satirical voice is quite intact, there just seems to be some lack in connection. The pieces are all there, but they just don't ever fit together properly. Sam Rockwell does a superb job giving Victor such a raw and pessimistic attitude, but the script should've provided him with even more. The raunch of the book is certainly all there, and the movie rightfully earns its R-rating, especially with one hilariously wrong scene which I'm shocked and pleased got included from the novel. But while paying tribute with such scenes, there also needs to be some equal level of density and not just a retread of pages out of obligation.

The movie is funny with a tinge of sadness, as well, and is sometimes rather poignant. It just feels like they got the wrong director for the job. "Choke" was written and directed by actor-director Clark Gregg. If there was a more experienced director involved, I feel like this could've and should've been something great. Under the conditions, however, the movie only comes up as pretty good. My disappointment is fueled by the fact that I've read the book, so minus that perspective, maybe those who are only seeing the movie will be more satisfied, and maybe it's actually a better movie on its own terms. Either way, "Choke" touches on one of my biggest pet peeves: an ending change. The novel ended on the perfect note, and for the sake of Hollywood, it got changed in the translation to the screen. And the disappointment remains.