Synopsis: Jacq Vaucan, an insurance agent of ROC robotics corporation, routinely investigates the case of manipulating a robot. What he discovers will have profound consequences for the future of humanity.
Release Date: October 10, 2014
Thoughts: Gosh, so many other movies raced through my mind as I watched the trailer for this futuristic sci-fi flick starring Antonio Banderas (The Expendables 3). Visions of Minority Report and, most vividly, I, Robot were dancing around in my brain and perhaps that wasn’t quite a bad thing. Both are solid films with some interesting social messages to them and if Autómata has something to add to the conversation then I am all ears. Banderas hasn’t led a film in quite some time so I’m curious to see how this one turns out for him, especially considering his estranged wife Melanie Griffith (Working Girl) is part of the cast as well. I’ll never turn my nose up at a slick slice of life look at robots in the future so my battery is cautiously charged for this one.
Synopsis: Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his “manager”, the duo quickly finds themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.
Stars: John Turturro, Woody Allen, Liev Schreiber, Sofia Vergara, Sharon Stone, Vanessa Paradis, Max Casella, Bob Balaban, Aida Turturro
Review: For his fifth time behind the camera, writer/director John Turturro brings to the screen another off-kilter slice of life dramedy that is advertised as being about one thing (man becomes gigolo) but is really about something totally different. Turturro is lucky that this other thing is actually more intriguing than the gigolo angle and while the film is enjoyable for the 90 minutes you’ll be in your seat, it fades from memory before your seat belt is in place for your journey home.
Let me back up – what made me most interested in Fading Gigolo was director Woody Allen making a rare appearance in a film that he didn’t write or direct. Moreover, Allen (who scored big with 2013’s Blue Jasmine) and Turturro (Gung Ho) aren’t familiar collaborators, with Turturro having a small part in Allen’s 1986 Hannah and Her Sisters and the two sharing some screen time in 2000’s Company Man. So what would draw Allen to the film?
Turns out, Turturro has given Allen a nicely Allen-esque role as a book dealer strapped for cash that winds up pimping Turturro out to a string of lonely NYC ladies that enjoy his services. It’s a peculiar film, to be sure, but one that feels based in some sort of reality and not the kind of reality that only seems to exist in NYC. At times, the film is so reminiscent of Allen’s work that I had to keep reminding myself who was responsible for the creation of the film.
Three stories are really told here. The first is Turturro’s burgeoning relationship with a Hasidic widow (Vanessa Paradis, coming across as Marion Cotillard lite) and how his presence in her life causes a ripple effect in her deeply traditional community. These quiet scenes between Turturro and Paradis are quite lovely in their simplicity with Paradis especially impressive as a woman torn between the rules of her faith and a need to feel love.
A very different relationship is found with Turturro and two women (Sharon Stone, Lovelace and Sofia Vergara, The Three Stooges) who want him for a ménage à trois. Stone looks like a million bucks and is granted some nicely bitter with a side of regret dialogue, though it’s really Vergara that has a breakthrough here…showing that she’s more than an overemphasized accent and nice boobs.
The final thread in Turturro’s cinematic knot shows Allen making a home with a black woman and her children. These scenes provide some nice comedic moments while giving Allen the chance to nervously hem and haw as only he can. Turturro’s set-ups are so richly interesting that they almost seem like a condensing of several scripts into this one film. I for one would love to see a full movie with Allen running around NYC with his brood of wise-cracking children.
Though its charm doesn’t extend past the closing credits, I found myself engaged and invested in Turturro’s tale of love in NYC. It’s not out to redefine the genre with snappy dialogue or contrived occurrences but is content showing characters that feel real to live their lives while letting us watch. A fine film with extra fine performances.
Synopsis: Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his “manager”, the duo quickly find themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.
Release Date: April 18, 2014
Thoughts: Making a rare appearance in front of the camera without also being the writer/director, Fading Gigolo finds Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine) as a nebbishly down on his luck guy that winds up pimping out his amicable friend, John Turturro (Gung Ho). The film has the look and feel of a, well, Woody Allen film so I have to believe that director Turturro wrote the film with Allen and his influences in mind. With Sharon Stone (Lovelace, Total Recall) and Sofia Vergara (The Three Stooges) on hand as oversexed vixens the film is ripe with possibility…but I’ve found Turturro’s previous work to be complicated and hard to warm to. Perhaps a little Allen vibe will help smooth out his rough edges.
Synopsis: The true story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man. When finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor daughters have any clue about his real profession.
Stars: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, David Schwimmer, Robert Davi, Danny Abeckaser, Stephen Dorff, James Franco
Director: Ariel Vroman
Rated: R
Running Length: 105 minutes
TMMM Score: (7/10)
Review: While everyone is all abuzz about the Scorsese-lite 70’s crime drama American Hustle, there was another true crime film released in 2013 that featured another impressive cast list decked out in period attire – and for my money it winds up dancing circles around the overlong Hustle.
Michael Shannon (Man of Steel) leads the parade of familiar faces masquerading behind wigs and porn ‘staches as Richard Kuklinski, a New Jersey family man that leads a double life as a hardened contract killer. The film follows Kuklinski over three decades as he marries his sweetheart (Winona Ryder, Frankenweenie, Homefront), gets wrapped up in shady dealings with Ray Liotta (The Place Beyond the Pines), and offs a formidable amount of character actors. Kuklinski treated his work like any other 9 to 5 job; he shows up for an assignment, dispatches an unlucky soul, and makes it back in time to have dinner in suburbia with his wife and two daughters.
Eventually given the name The Iceman because of his habit of freezing his victims for later disposal, he also earns the moniker for his unwavering dedication to his role. You see, this work puts food on the table and clothes on the backs of his family so anyone getting in the way of that can’t be let off with merely a warning. The film doesn’t glorify the violence enacted by Kuklinski but doesn’t shy away from showing the bullets to the head.
When your lead is someone we’re not supposed to feel sympathy for, casting is everything. You need an actor that can play a duality that makes you understand his rationale for his proceedings while condemning it at the same time. Shannon is the perfect fit for this type of role and the actor becomes one with the character in frightening ways.
He’s matched well by the ageless Ryder, slowly advancing her comeback after taking a few years away from the lights of Hollywood. Her Jersey housewife is no Carmela Soprano; she’s clueless to her husband’s second life but also isn’t naïve enough to think that their quaint life is the picture of perfection. Her concerns are more about her marriage and family than anything her husband has going on the side.
Popping up in smaller roles are Chris Evans (Marvel’s The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Robert Davi (Licence to Kill), James Franco (This is the End, Lovelace), Stephen Dorff, and David Schwimmer. All are solid performers that serve their purpose in giving Shannon room to breathe life into a villainous anti-hero in director Ariel Vroman’s hard-boiled drama.
While the film is set over a large time period, it wouldn’t be that hard to imagine the events taking place in the present. Vroman gives his film a timeless feel, which winds up adding to its authenticity. The production design is handled with a lighter touch than most period films so rather than pounding our eardrums with endless tunes of the era or dressing our actors in excessively retro costumes there are hints here and there about where we are in history.
While audiences and googly-eyed critics may be doing the Hustle at your local cinema, fire up The Iceman (available on Netflix) and watch how to make a solid character study that’s more about performance than production.
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Synopsis: A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord.
Release Date: November 27, 2013
Thoughts: Just looking at the poster for this thriller you’d get the impression that this was merely another Jason Statham (Parker, The Expendables 2) beat-down movie. While the latter half of the preview indicates that butts will be kicked by Mr. Statham, I was impressed that the set-up seems deeper than similar movies that have come out of Statham’s wheelhouse. Boasting an impressive stew of actors (and James Franco, Oz the Great and Powerful), Homefront is mysteriously arriving during Thanksgiving where I’m wondering if it will have any target audience available to buy a ticket when other higher profile films are releasing around that time. Time will tell if Turkey Day will find crowds lining up for this or Frozen, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Oh, did I forget to mention this was adapted from Chuck Logan’s novel by Sylvester Stallone for his old pal Jason Statham? It actually makes me more interested…
