Anyone But You

Director: Will Gluck
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet, Bryan Brown, Rachel Griffiths, Charlee Fraser, Joe Davidson
Running Time: 103 min.
Rating: R

★★½ (out of ★★★★)  

The most surprising detail about the romantic comedy Anyone But You is that it features two ascending talents who happen to have a lot of on screen chemistry. The premise isn't terrible either, especially when the focus remains on them rather than an overstuffed cast of exes, in-laws, siblings, spouses and parents. But even its likable leads can't seem to stop this from losing its way, as a promising concept becomes increasingly familiar. Director and co-writer Will Gluck does a decent enough job hiding it, but there's just no escaping the fact this mostly hinges on single piece of information we know that the main characters don't. At some point you realize this will eventually settle into the rhythms of a more traditional rom-com, despite taking a more circuitous route to get there.

What we're left with is a mixed bag that should increase everyone's appreciation of its leads, both of whom do their best to elevate the material. And while one seems more at home in this genre than the other, the mind still races at all the possibilities of them re-teaming, hopefully in a project better than this. The film's unexpected commercial success can largely be attributed to their perseverance amidst a smattering of gags from the supporting players that rarely connect. It's a strain most felt in the latter section, as multiple complications work to delay what should be a fairly simple, satisfying payoff.

While frantically attempting to obtain a key to the coffee shop restroom, Boston University law student Bea (Sydney Sweeney) meets finance broker Ben (Glen Powell) and they immediately hit it off. After spending the rest of the day together, she stays over at his apartment that night, but a misunderstanding unfolds when she abruptly leaves the next morning. They don't see each other again until months later when Bea's sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) begins dating Ben's best friend Pete's (GaTa) sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp). 

At each other's throats over the disastrous ending of that date, Bea and Ben must temporarily put their differences aside for Halle and Claudia's destination wedding in Sydney, Australia. But tensions further escalate when their exes, Jonathan (Darren Barnett) and Margaret (Charlee Fraser) arrive, prompting Bea and Ben to hide their mutual disdain and pose as a couple. It's game on, at least until they come to the realization they may not be over each other after all.

After an awkward but promising start, a relatively straightforward narrative is hijacked by an overabundance of characters and obstacles, losing trust in its two leads to do what they mostly excel at the whole way through. In fact, you argue they actually improve together as this progresses while everything and everyone surrounding them distracts from that, undermining the film's central purpose. 

Bea is initially depicted as a total disaster, and while the setup works, it relies on goofy physical comedy that puts Sweeney in a tough spot since she fares better when playing a sly, sarcastic schemer in her scenes opposite Powell. Displaying great comedic timing and a charismatic presence that recalls a younger Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt, Powell's upside is such that this role can at least be referenced down the line for launching him into future stardom. That both capably glide through some of the more problematic sections on their interplay alone is no small feat considering you need a detailed chart to track the other characters, which also include Bea's helicopter parents (Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths) and Margaret's oafish surfer boyfriend (Joe Davidson). 

Supposedly, this is loosely based on Much Ado About Nothing, albeit very loosely. We know only one thing matters, but Gluck sure does jump through hoops to delay arriving at that destination. Some jokes, like ones involving Titanic and the use of a ubiquitous pop song are cutely clever, even if others flop hard. Still, there's something to be said for him sticking the landing with one of those showy, impossibly romantic endings that lesser filmmakers always manage to botch. Anyone But You may be slightly better than its generic title suggests, but too much of what comes before is iffier, holding this back from completely besting expectations.    

Scream VI

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Starring: Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Mason Gooding, Roger L. Jackson, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Jenna Ortega, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, Skeet Ulrich, Samara Weaving, Hayden Panettiere, Courtney Cox
Running Time: 122 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)   

Ghostface takes Manhattan in Scream VI, a bigger, more brutal follow-up to the 2022 requel rightly credited with resurrecting the franchise after some underwhelming entries. And high expectations accompany it, mostly due to a drastic shift in setting that moves the action from Woodsboro to New York City. With the series currently riding high on momentum, the idea makes perfect sense, and while the execution isn't flawless, it's still a worthy next chapter that marks an official torch passing to the next generation of characters.

The "Radio Silence" duo of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett resume directorial duties, proving their last outing wasn't a fluke by again hitting the right balance of thrills and meta humor we've come to expect from the stronger entries in the franchise. As for Neve Campbell, she's hardly missed, since it's hard to imagine a version of this story where Sidney Prescott doesn't feel shoehorned in. Even if her reasons for opting out are entirely valid and future appearances could still be in the cards, the timing couldn't be better for focusing entirely on the new cast. Utilizing legacy characters has always been a challenge since their impact tends to lessen the more you lean on them. This wisely centers around two fresh faces who in short time have built just as strong a connection with audiences.

A year following the Woodsboro killings, sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) are now living in New York City attending Blackmore University with twins Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) when another string of murders indicate Ghostface (voiced again by Roger L. Jackson) is back. Leaving previous killers' masks behind while seemingly framing Sam for the crimes, those "core four," along with Mindy's girlfriend Anika (Devyn Nekoda), Sam and Tara's nosy roommate Quinn (Liana Liberato), Chad's awkward roommate Ethan (Jack Champion), Sam's secret boyfriend Danny (Josh Segura) all emerge as suspects. 

On the case is Quinn's dad Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) and FBI Special Agent Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere),who returns after surviving the 2011 attacks. Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) is also back, attempting to help despite having penned another book exploiting the sisters' recent ordeal. With a traumatized Sam still coming to terms with her lineage as Billy Loomis' (Skeet Ulrich) illegitimate daughter, she attempts to protect a fiercely independent Tara, as the new killer looks to Woodsboro's past for inspiration. Bolder and more dangerous, Ghostface leaves a bloody trail, targeting Sam as the final victim.

For horror fans, the NYC setting was bound to invoke numerous comparisons to the much maligned Friday The 13th Part VIII, which mostly took place on a boat, failing to fully capitalize on its urban surroundings. This stands in stark contrast, as apartment buildings, congested streets, restaurants, bodegas, subways and parks are all put to use, with the filmmakers making good on their promise to have the action differ from anything that came before. It has a tough opening to follow after the last entry, but kicks off with a shocking Ghostface swerve that'll have you do a double take. The story then sort of settles back into what we'd typically expect, while still managing to be clever and subversive.

The strained sibling relationship between Sam and Tara evolves, but an increased focus on the former's trauma elevates Sam to main protagonist. In a timely, inspired twist, she's essentially becomes a public pariah, with online conspiracy theories and misinformation circulating that she's the killer. Things have gotten so bad that even her therapist (Henry Czerny) wants nothing to do with it. Tara responds by wildly partying to bury the pain and move on, continuing to resent her sister's overprotective ways. But if the last film belonged to Ortega, it's Barrera who owns this one, effectively filling Campbell's shoes.

With a script that digs deeper into the psychology of Sam, Barrera knocks it out of the park in a tough, sympathetic portrayal that carries the picture through its highs and lows. Ortega again impresses, particularly when it comes to her realistic registering of genuine fear and terror when confronted by Ghostface. A thrilling sequence where the shotgun wielding killer hunts both in a bodega is a highlight that finds the actresses at the top of their respective games.With Campbell and David Arquette gone, Courtney Cox carries the torch for the original legacy cast, even as she goes through the usual paces as Gail. Aside from an excitingly staged apartment showdown with Ghostface, there's just not much left for her, which isn't a travesty since Cox still excels in serving the character's diminished purpose. 

Considerable mileage comes from Panettiere's return as more hardened Kirby, whose role as an FBI Agent is larger than you'd expect, with her motives generating curiosity and suspicion. The same could be said for the others, as any one or more could easily be Ghostface, whose warehouse shrine to Woodsboro's history hugely factors into the plot and eventual reveal. The intrigue in determining the killer is still ridiculously fun and this ending might be the craziest yet. As usual, it rarely holds up to logical scrutiny, but the enjoyment in speculating who's behind the mask makes up for it.

The only obvious flaw involves Ghostface, who's never been this ruthlessly violent, but strangely claiming few victims. The far lower body count could stem from a desire to subvert expectations, but too many targets miraculously survive certain demise. Hesitation to kill off anyone in an extremely likeable cast is understandable, but sometimes it has to be done, especially when the characters openly tout how all bets are off under these "new rules." Sometimes the only thing that really raises the stakes and suspense for subsequent encounters are deadly consequences, which are in shorter supply here. Aside from that, there's little to complain about.

Scream VI will ultimately be remembered for two masterful set pieces. The first involves an unbearably tense ladder escape with a gruesome payoff and another finding the group in crowded subway full of masked Ghostfaces. Clocking in as the longest entry yet, a slight trim wouldn't have hurt, but it's offset by the performances and those sequences, which rank among the series' best. Should the franchise stay this course, there's reason to believe even better sequels could await. And that's a resurgence few saw coming, especially for the sixth installment of a decades old horror staple.      

Jobs

Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, Dermot Mulroney, Matthew Modine, J.K. Simmons, Lesley Ann Warren, James Woods, Ahna O' Reilly, John Getz,Victor Rasuk
Running Time: 122 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

There's a scene in Joshua Michael Stern's biopic, Jobs, when Steve Jobs is informed by his pregnant girlfriend that he's the baby's the father. He screams at her, asking how she could do this to him, before kicking her out without so much as an explanation. He looks at himself in the mirror, shaking and sweating uncontrollably before pulling back his long, messy hair and making a decision. From this point on, NOTHING will get in the way of him building his company. Not even his own daughter, whom he disowns. And with that, Jobs' transformation from free thinking hippie to meglomaniac begins, kicking off the film's strongest section, which details Apple's early days in the late 70's and early 80's. While everyone was understandably worried about Ashton Kutcher's casting, this is the portion where he really excels. The star can't be blamed for the film's problems, which are fewer than expected. It's a standard, efficiently made biopic of an American visionary that highlights both the advantages and pitfalls of taking the conventional approach with such a deeply complicated figure.

The paint-by-numbers biopic is a tricky beast. It streamlines an entire life, zeroing in only what's important to making thematic sense of the subject while often simultaneously coming off as the cliffs notes version of a far more intriguing story. Both are definitely at play here and with all the ground that needs covering there is a lingering feeling this material could have been better served as a TV miniseries. For the most part, it's all condensed well, with the exception of one huge gaping hole. While an important chunk of time is left out, it definitely opens the floodgates for its potential exploration in the upcoming Aaron Sorkin-penned biopic. What's delivered is better than expected, even if complaints that it only skims the surface are somewhat valid. With a subject like Jobs, the depths to plumb just might be endless. 

After opening with Steve Jobs' (Kutcher) 2001 introduction of the iPod at a town hall meeting, the film flashes back to his drug-hazed days auditing classes at Reed College in the mid 70's. Influenced by calligraphy, eastern religion and LSD experimentation, Jobs and best friend Daniel Kottke (Lukas Haas) trek to India before he returns home to Los Altos, California to work for Atari. With poor social skills and an inability work for anyone but himself, he ends up forming a business partnership with longtime pal Steve "Woz" Wozniak (Josh Gad), who's built a revolutionary personal computer that later comes to be known as the Apple I. They work out of the Jobs family garage with a group of friends (who would all later become millionaires) before earning their first sales contract and eventually attracting the interest of Mike Markkula (Dermot Mulroney), who bravely invests in Apple, seeing its potential. The rest, as they say, is history. But it's a complicated history, wherein Jobs sabatoges his personal life and alienates his closest friends to reach his goals before eventually being ousted from the very company he founded.

There's a real sense of discovery in the early scenes in the garage with Jobs and Woz as we watch them share in their germ of an idea that would eventually become Apple Computer. Hustling, they move the product with no experience at all, even if it's obvious that Jobs is the natural salesman and Woz the idea man. Their relationship is painted in broad strokes by Stern, to the point that the real Woz has taken exception to its depiction. It's not hard to see why, since the character is portrayed as sort of a sidekick to Jobs, stuffing his face with burritos and cracking jokes as his more determined, motivated friend gets increasingly serious about the direction of the business. But Woz is no dummy, nor is he depicted as such, as his technical expertise is suitably highlighted. It's an affectionate portrayal livened by Gad's performance and as far as the creative liberties go, it seems like a small offense to not present the partnership between the two as equal. In Jobs' mind, it likely never was anyway.

The depiction of the man himself seems more in line with what we've seen and read, with little exaggeration. It's almost impossible to watch the early 80's Apple heyday depicted without thinking of the narrative of The Social Network, a film that took even greater liberties with the truth (and was far stronger because of it). While this comes closer to a TV movie version of that, the similarities are undeniable, with a volatile, forward-thinking, Aspergers-like genius who even ends up screwing his friends out of their shares of the company. It's here where Kutcher really comes alive and what's most surprising is just how closely he physically resembled the real man, which strangely wasn't so obvious until he put on the suit and tie. Storming through Apple offices and publicly humiliating and firing employees, his obsession with functionality, design, and aesthetics is what drives him (while also driving employees crazy) . In a way, the entire movie is almost completely about history proving Steve Jobs right when everyone else was wrong. Whether that justified the behavior or not will ultimately be up to the viewer, but the result is a portrayal that's both accurately unflattering and somewhat saintly all at once.

While Sorkin's Social Network script basically slandered Mark Zuckerberg (and that's coming from someone who ranks it amongst their all-time favorite films), it had the courage of its convictions. Inside him was a giant hole left by his success that could never be filled. His inability to fit in and get the girl drove his every action, eventually culminating in an unforgettable finale. There are no such revelations about Jobs here, despite him being just as complicated a figure, if not more so. The only difference is that he's more universally respected, which could have contributed to the touchy-feely treatment. Him disowning his daughter Lisa and their eventual reconciliation is clearly Jobs' "Rosebud," but the latter isn't shown. The biggest business mistake he ever made is though, as he tops a long list of rebellious innovators who decided to go public, with disastrous results.

With his installation of Pepsi CEO John Sculley (Matthew Modine), he essentially signed his own pink slip as he now had a board to answer to (led by a clueless Arthur Rock, well played by J. K. Simmons). It was an obvious recipe for disaster for Jobs, but also begs the question of just how free a spirit he really was. Reconciling the rebellious, drug taking hippie at the film's start with a businessman who basically sold out to the highest bidder is always bubbling under the surface, but never quite breaks through. It comes up a lot in our culture and is why I always felt a biopic of George Lucas is great, uncharted territory, as his personal and professional life would make him the only public figure with the potential to yield as many interesting questions as that of Jobs.

Other than Kutcher, the only other portrayal of Steve Jobs on screen came from Noah Wyle in the 1999 TNT movie, Pirates of Silicon Valley, which covered much of what makes up the most exciting time frame in this, only juxtaposed with a young Bill Gates' rise to prominence as founder of Microsoft. The only capacity in which Gates is acknowledged here (but not shown) is when he's on the receiving end of a verbal tirade from Jobs for allegedly stealing Apple software. While it's probably unfair to both actors to compare performances from different mediums, it's the only previous incarnation of Jobs we have to go on. Wyle's performance was much stronger, which is really saying something since Kutcher's quite good throughout. In fact, Wyle so inhabited the role that Steve Jobs (who hated the movie) went so far as to invite the actor to appear at conferences impersonating him. A huge compliment, but he was right. Wyle completely nailed it, and if we're going down this road again soon with a second biopic, he deserves to top the casting wish list.

With the exception of those aforementioned big money scenes at the Apple offices, Kutcher never completely disappears to the extent Wyle did. You'd figure the actor would most excel portraying Jobs in his early hippie phase, but the biggest surprise is that doesn't end up being the case. What does hurt him (and the film) is the huge ten-year time leap that requires Kutcher to suddenly appear as the middle-aged, resurrected, black crew neck and jeans Jobs triumphantly returning to retake the reigns of his company and mentor designer and spiritual successor Jonathan Ive (Giles Mathey). The movie literally jumps forward an entire decade, skimming over his time spent running NeXT and the reconciliation with his daughter.

The biggest unanswered question is what flipped the switch in him, transforming an anti-social pariah into the visionary leader he's now remembered and respected as. Did age and experience just simply mellow him? We don't know, at least for now. But it makes things very difficult for Kutcher, who has to do much of the heavy lifting conveying that in the final act. I'd be lying if I said that it still wasn't fascinating to see him try. The trademark walk, the very succinct manner of speaking. His performance does turn into a series of tics and mannerisms, for the first time confirming our fears that the actor would be too charming and "cool" to play the notoriously cerebral Jobs. It's hard to say he necessarily digs deep, but harder to claim the material in this section even allows it. Still, it's the best performance Kutcher's given, and that he's successful at all, in the face of an admittedly enormous challenge, is relief enough in itself.

None of this was easy to pull off. Stern had a really tough job and delivered admirably considering the budget and looming shadow of a far larger, more anticipated Jobs film waiting in the wings. He also needed to cover an unwieldy span of time that runs all the way from Bob Dylan to Toad The Wet Sprocket. For an indie film about one of the most important and complex figures of our time directed by the guy who made Swing Vote, I'd say the end result not stinking is a small miracle. It does feel like a TV movie, but it's mostly well directed and shot, rarely coming off as cheap or exploitative, all while reaping the benefits of having a subject that makes a standard biopic rewatchable. In so far as its depiction of the man, it feels like the first part of a much larger conversation. But it's one definitely worth having.
 

The Grey

Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, Joe Anderson, Nonso Anozie, James Badge Dale
Running Time: 117 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

The Grey is a survival movie where it doesn't matter who survives. Or if anyone does. I thought I had the film all figured out within its first half hour, but then it slyly morphs into something else, with ambitions greater than the conventions of its genre usually allow.  At the very least the blueprint is there for your standard action survivalist story. Plane crash. Men vs. wolves. When I first saw the wolves I expected the whole thing to devolve into a gruesome horror. The presence of Liam Neeson as the lead did little to temper the feeling it would be predictably fun, but forgettable. I wasn't completely right.. The wolves are beside the point. So is any potential rescue. Instead what director Joe Carnahan presents, in a surprisingly emotional way, is a spiritual parable about life and death. Mostly death.

A moment early on sets an unusual tone, and it comes after the plane John Ottway (Neeson) shares with a team of oil riggers crashes in a blizzard. He not only tells a mortally wounded passenger point-blank that he's going to die, but exactly how he'll feels and what he'll see. Then every after death after that (and there are many) allow us to actually see and practically feel that the description is accurate. Each fatality somehow seems monumentally important, despite the fact that we aren't given much time to get to know Ottway, Diaz (Frank Grillo), Hendrick (Dallas Roberts), Flannery (Joe Anderson), Talget (an unrecognizable Dermot Mulroney) and Burke (Nonso Anozie). At first they all seem interchangeable and merely bait for an eventual wolf supper, with only a fireside chat providing any background or history for the characters. Without spoiling too much, I'll say that changes in a big way as the the situation becomes more desperate and the body count climbs. It's only through their deaths that we get a better handle on who they were.

If any complaints could be made about the wolf attacks, it's not in the CGI (which is impressive), but the speed of them and the darkness, sometimes making it difficult to see what's happening, or to whom. But the attacks never merely play as an excuse for gore or action, and by the end there's a good case to be made that having so many of them is the more realistic approach. Having crash landed right in their territory it's unlikely many would survive for long, or at all. And even if the wolves don't get to them first, the elements will. The wolves' unpredictable behavior lend the story that same sense of not knowing who's going to go next. And then the script, rather cleverly, makes it clear that it doesn't even matter. This is about how people face death and the wolves just happen to be the means of arriving at it.

The characters are types, but they're drawn intelligently. This marks yet another bad ass role for Neeson, who at the age of sixty has evolved a full-fledged action star for the first time in his career, and a believable one at that. But this isn't an action role. At least not how Taken was. There's action in it for sure but mostly it relies on Neeson's intellectual abilities as an actor. Quietly intense, but also terrified himself, Ottway is the only man capable of rationally giving these men their best chance at survival because he deeply understands death and was touched by it somehow. We're not sure at first why he understands it so well, but Neeson makes sure we don't need to. And when we do finally know, the performance seems even deeper in hindsight. He might be the only action star working today capable of actually elevating the material he's in, adding a sense of genuine believability to the most extraordinary of situations. When he's in command it never feels like we're going through the motions of an ordinary action plot. 

The other standout is Frank Grillo, who's given what's traditionally the most thankless of survival movie characters to play. He's that cocky asshole who's very existence in the story requires he pick fights and make enough dumb decisions to put everyone in danger. But Grillo--previously so believable as an MMA trainer in Warrior you'd think he was one--carries that same conviction here, turning what should be a one-dimensional cartoon into the film's emotional center. His performance really sneaks up on you, as you're prepared for one thing, but blindsided when he shifts gears and takes the character into a different mode that's entirely unexpected. 

That this comes from the director of Smokin' Aces and The A-Team is surprising not because those films are particularly awful (well, The A-Team kind of is) but they're first and foremost mindless entertainment and it's customary to expect a certain type of movie from someone who makes those. This isn't that, despite me thinking at certain points during the opening act it would be. The cinematography and score are also huge steps up from any other project baring Caranhan's name, or even most releases dumped into theaters during the historically dreadful moviegoing month of January. If anything, it proves Neeson is one of the few great actors who's also a big draw in everyman action roles. Many will predictably dislike the ending of The Grey, which requires the audience to let go of their preconceived notions of the genre as much as the filmmakers do. But that's okay, since it isn't that often a story like this asks anything of its audience at all.