Speak No Evil

Director: James Watkins
Starring: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Francioso, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, Kris Hitchen, Motaz Malhees
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: R

**The Following Review Contains Plot Spoilers For 'Speak No Evil' **

★★★½ (out of ★★★★)

Proving how the distance between a foreign feature's release and its eventual American remake continues to shrink, writer/director James Watkins' take on the Danish horror film Speak No Evil arrives only a couple of years after the original's release. Blumhouse likely set the gears in motion for an update a while ago, as viewers accustomed to disappointing adaptations prepared themselves for the worst. But this one's different.   

Yes, these characters sometimes make decisions that have us yelling at the screen, but they're not contrivances since it's believable based on their behavior and personalities. They see the red flags, yet keep feeding themselves excuses while walking right into the trap. But besides being surprisingly complex, it also features the onscreen reunion of two stars from one of TV's most underappreciated dramas of the past decade. And watching them play off each other again under drastically different circumstances is a real thrill, displaying their versatility opposite another performance that's downright maniacal. 

Married American couple Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy) are vacationing in Italy with their 12-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) when they befriend Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Francioso), a carefree British couple traveling with mute young son Ant (Dan Hough). As Louise and Ben's marriage remains fractured over his recent unemployment and her infidelity, they return home, later receiving an invite from Paddy and Ciara to stay at their farmhouse in Devon. 

Louise and Ben reluctantly accept the offer from these people they just met, but after arriving at their desolate, filthy residence, the unpredictable Paddy exhibits disturbingly passive aggressive behavior. Louise wants to leave while Ben urges her to stick it out as the two kids form a close bond. But when Paddy's unpredictable outbursts grow scarier and more volatile, any opportunity for the Daltons to get out shrinks upon discovering the real reason for this invite, drawing them into a fight for their lives.  

Watkins lets the situation breathe, spending about three quarters of the running length building tension between the hosts and their guests. Each cringeworthy scene becomes a "what would you do?" scenario wherein Paddy intentionally provokes the Daltons, creating a dynamic uncomfortable enough that the couple looks ready to crawl under the table. And it only gets worse, but in recognizably realistic ways heightened by a sinister McAvoy turn loaded with microaggressions and escalating manipulation. 

Whether he's mocking Louise's vegatarianism or simulating sex acts with Ciara in a restaurant to humiliate Ben, Paddy knows exactly which buttons to push, frequently punctuating his antics with an apology intended to coax both into blaming themselves for wanting to leave. And since the emasculated, unemployed Ben is much more willing to stand up to his wife than a sadistic Paddy, the latter's plan works even better than expected. 

Anyone who saw how brilliant Davis and McNairy were on AMC's late, great Halt and Catch Fire are in for a real treat here, as they seamlessly channel the platonic chemistry they shared on that show over to this unhappily married couple. What Davis does with Louise is particularly special since her character knows from the jump that the trip was a huge mistake and is constantly looking for a way out, if only for the sake of daughter Agnes, who clutches her stuffed rabbit "Hoppy" for dear life. 

Davis's facial expressions and body language really tell the tale, as you can see the unease all over Louise whenever she's talking to the wildly unhinged Paddy. If that wasn't bad enough, Ben tries to talk convince her into staying, both out of fear and a sadly misguided effort to prove he's man enough to put up with Paddy's abuse. Still sore over his wife's extra-marital affair, he may as well pin a scarlet letter to her chest for that indiscretion, dismissing her feelings at every turn. He may be a hapless cuck, but McNairy earns twinges of sympathy by not overplaying it, somehow managing to make the character relatably human. 

The film also creates a believable bond between the young kids, thanks to excellent child actors in Lefler and Hough. While the trailers falsely hinted at a supernatural component involving Ant's inability to speak, what actually happens is considerably more intriguing and well handled. It's rare in this genre for kids to be this intelligently written, but when critical information is shared in the third act it's even more impressive just how logical their actions seem.

Hints are dropped well before the big revelation, but it's still a relief to see the knowledge presented in a clean, straightforward manner. In other words, there's no scene with a cackling villain spouting off expository dialogue about how their evil plan came together. The true breaking point comes with Paddy's abuse of Ant, but by the time the Daltons can summon the will to leave and get help, it's too late. More force is now required to make them stay, culminating in a spectacularly staged finale that couldn't have been easy to film in such a tight, confined space.

Watkins uses every corner and crevice of this old farmhouse to great effect, as the claustrophobic setting provides an ideal layout for a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase that has the desperate Daltons scrambling for every household item and tool at their disposal to take down Paddy. True to form, Louise emerges as the badass we suspected, utilizing another weapon in Davis's acting arsenal previously present in Terminator: Dark Fate and Blade Runner 2049. Watching her here, it becomes even more perplexing she isn't already a massive star, action or otherwise.  

It's only natural fans would be up in arms over any deviation from the Danish original, but Watkins is in no way obligated to adopt that film's nihilistic ending. And while recognizing the potential shock of a mainstream release doing it, what worked the first time doesn't necessarily guarantee the same result for a different version. Watkins' conclusion feels like the better fit for his story, regardless of how far it deviates from the source. 

Trailers tried to sell Speak No Evil as horror, but this is a full blown psychological thriller, solidly grasping a thematic concept similar efforts have failed to completely capture. If anything, it shares more in common with 1971's Straw Dogs than its many inferior imitators, skillfully shaping its plot until it boils over in the final thirty minutes.                                                                               

It Chapter Two

Director: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Bill Skarsgård
Running Time: 170 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

Endings have never been Stephen King's strong suit. This is worth mentioning since It Chapter Two seems to allude to that numerous times with a wink and a nod, as if audiences were already going into Andy Muschietti's sequel to his really great 2017 film adaptation of King's epic novel prepared for disappointment. After all, they've experienced it before, with 1990's underwhelming It TV miniseries having a particularly problematic second half marred by a wretched conclusion. But to lay the blame entirely at King's feet rather than the filmmakers tasked with translating his work through the years, isn't exactly fair.

You need only see The Mist or The Shawshank Redemption to realize how taking creative license with King's material can yield extremely satisfying results that enhance the themes of his storytelling. Muschietti's It was one of the good ones, delivering a Stand By Me meets Stranger Things vibe bolstered by the 80's era setting, perfectly calibrated child performances, and Bill Skarsgård's demonic turn as Pennywise The Clown. Part-horror, part coming-of-age nostalgia, you could call it the quintessential King adaptation in how it streamlines the author's over-indulgences while accenting his strengths.

Chapter Two was always going to be challenging in that it couldn't be a period piece with the same young actors, unless there's a big deviation from the novel preventing the inevitable time jump that sees all the roles recast with adult counterparts. Plus, there's just something about kids at that age being confronted with supernatural horror, just as their imaginations and emotions are already running rampant. Not only does everything seem more important during adolescence, but the stakes just feel higher when pre-teens experience a loss of innocence, forcing them to grow into who they'll eventually become, whether they're ready or not.

Now, we find out exactly who these kids become in a solid, if a little messy, sequel that does a lot right in avoiding many expected pitfalls. It helps that the same director returns with a nearly identical vision, and while it may take viewers a bit to get acclimated to the cast, Muschietti employs a very similar structure that works heavily in its favor, making for an effective, but undeniably overlong experience. But it's a testament to him that the nearly three-hour running time doesn't feel like the drag it so easily could have.

It's 2016 in Derry, Maine when a man is brutally attacked by a gang of homophobic youths at the town's carnival and thrown off a bridge, into the waiting arms of the murderous Pennywise (Skarsgård). After investigating the crime, Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) realizes the clown has returned 27 years later and takes it upon himself to contact childhood friends Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy), Beverly Marsh (Jessica Chastain), Ben Hanscom (Jay Ryan), Richie Tozier (Bill Hader), Eddie Kaspbrak (James Ransone) and Stanley Uris (Andy Bean), summoning them back home to honor the promise they all made in 1989 as members of the Losers' Club to kill the clown if he ever returned.

All but Stan arrive back in Derry, but soon discover they only have partial memories of what occurred over two decades ago. But with Mike's help, everything comes flooding back and they're soon tormented by Pennywise with hallucinations from their own past and visions of the future, even as their tormentor seeks out new victims. Making matters worse is that teen sociopath Henry Bowers (Teach Grant) survived his fall into the well and is out for revenge, having recently escaped the mental hospital where he's been confined for his father's murder. Formulating a plan to stop Pennywise for good, the gang will have to make sacrifices of their own, retracing their steps as kids, and coming face-to-face with the painful memories they'd rather have remain buried. Only then, can they be prepared for what could be their final confrontation with Pennywise.

The film's opening is almost shockingly violent, and a reminder that this was a story that never played it safe or compromised in its first installment, and certainly not now, with the characters having long aged out of childhood. Homophobic attacks and sexual abuse aren't usually the first things that come to mind when considering King's catalogue, and while this entry does seem to be unusually hung up on the former, Muschietti deserves credit again for revolving Pennywise's supernatural reign of terror around the true-to-life challenges his victims face. Like its prequel, it doesn't hold back, again earning an 'R' which admittedly carried more of an impact the first time around with a cast comprised entirely of kids. While the genuine sense of danger, the ear for how the gang talked and felt, and Pennywise's attacks heightened the scare factor of the 2017 film, this seems more like a reunion, or greatest hits compilation of all the scariest story beats and scenes from that outing with a new cast.

The more the action gets going, the better it gets, as after all pleasantries are exchanged and we get a deeper read on the characters, you start to appreciate the tiny details and continuity that link the adult losers club protagonists to their childhood counterparts. Whether it's Bill's guilt over little brother Georgie's death at the hands of Pennnywise, Beverly's abusive upbringing, Ben's impossible crush on her, Richie's inability to fit in, or the long-term consequences of Eddie's terminally overprotective mother.

To its benefit, the narrative is flashback-heavy, cutting back and forth between the past and present, filling in details we weren't previously privy to, which takes some pressure off the new faces to top their predecessors. The biggest surprise is just how much the younger originals are in this, even if some of their scenes carry a visual awkwardness resulting from them having noticeably aged a couple of years. But mostly, it's done well, with each character's 2016 story mirroring the 1989 version, bolstering the unifying the two installments while further linking the chains that connect their traumatic childhood and adult experiences.

If there's one thing everyone knew we needed in this sequel, it was Jessica Chastain stepping in to continue Sophia Lillis' extraordinary work as Beverly. Rarely does a fan casting choice feel so obviously right on every level, and when the possibility of her playing the part suddenly became real, that hook was reason enough to continue. She doesn't disappoint, transforming young Bev's quirks into a darker, more psychologically wounded woman, while still retaining the character's tomboy spirit. In other words, she delivers exactly as predicted, with the added bonus of that uncanny physical resemblance to Lillis. Her and James McAvoy predictably shine, with the latter most registering when he needs to confront guilt-ridden Bill's mental anguish over his responsibility in Georgie's death.

Bill's career as a writer also becomes a clever meta device to reference Stephen King's aforementioned battles with endings, with the author himself even getting in on the joke with one of his more memorable screen cameos. The rest of the cast have varying degrees of success, with Bill Hader channeling the goofy eccentricities younger counterpart Finn Wolfhard brought to Richie and infusing it with an angrier adult sensibility. The bond between Ben and Beverly is revisited, this time with Jay Ryan attempting to project the formally awkward, bullied overweight new kid's insecurities as a handsome, successful architect. This sub-plot, which works better in flashbacks then present-day, should have been deeply affecting, but Ryan's kind of bland opposite Chastain, thus undercutting its impact as the story's big redemptive arc. There's also a distracting exposition dump involving Mike's theories on Pennywise's origins that make little sense and should have been excised entirely.

The cast does gel, just not to the level the kids did in the previous film, causing viewers to possibly readjust their expectations for a sequel already saddled with the burden of having to follow one of the best recent King adaptations. But Muscietti manages to tie things together at the film's most important point, and an extremely long third act where the narrative should be losing steam ends up being its highlight, aided in part by Skarsgård's less present, but still scary, performance as Pennywise and a strangely compelling final showdown wherein the script simultaneously juggles numerous narratives in the past and present. If nothing else, it's actually a well-edited three hours that doesn't leave you with that sinking feeling of disappointment prevalent in so many of the author's multi-part adaptations. Still a far cry from its first chapter, It's second half functions well enough as a companion piece to prove it was a story worth finishing.     

Split

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Brad William Henke, Sebastian Arcelus, Neal Huff
Running Time: 117 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

**Spoiler Warning: This review gives away key plot details**

While watching M. Night Shyamalan's Split with a mixture of excitement, dread and trepidation, the one question that kept reverberating through my mind was, "When is he going to blow it?" It isn't an unfair concern given the director's reputation and track record over the past decade, which resulted in the creative implosion of a career that's proven to be anything but unbreakable. This is his hail mary, a last ditch attempt to prove that flops like Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender and After Earth are anomalies. So now, after showing some renewed signs of creative life with 2015's The Visit, Shyamalan gives us Split, and right from its tense opening, it's obvious he's come to play again.

With a thrilling set-up, a fresh cast of rising stars mixed with established newcomers, and an ingeniously constructed script to support them, Shyamalan makes his best film. Hands down. And while that may seem like damning with faint praise considering I never quite shared the love others had for The Sixth Sense, it's not.  He gets everything right, firing on all cylinders, all while giving audiences the gift of two, maybe even three, award-caliber performances, one of which is so subtly powerful it's gone almost completely unnoticed. 

This is such a strong effort and the comeback so welcome that I almost feel guilty mentioning that giant elephant in the room known as the final scene. While it's a stretch to say he drops the ball as feared, and it does nothing to diminish the power of the overall experience, the decision to close the film in this way makes absolutely no sense because it has so little to do with anything preceding it. Shyamalan does something I've rallied against for years but has become so prevalent recently that it's reached epidemic levels, engulfing someone who could barely get his movies made just a couple of years ago. But what a homecoming this is, and even if its last 30 seconds cause concern, we should just relish what we're given: A compelling, meticulously plotted psychological thriller that methodically lays its groundwork before paying off in a pulse-pounding sprint to the finish that won't soon be forgotten. No twists. No games. To call this a return to form for him would almost be an insulting understatement.

Three teenagers, the popular Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula) and introverted social outcast Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) are being driven home from a party by Claire's dad when a mysterious bald-headed man attacks him in the parking lot and drives off with and abducting the girls. The man is Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), but the person responsible for the crime is "Dennis," one of Kevin's 24 personalities manifesting itself from abuse he suffered in childhood. Diagnosed with D.I.D. (Dissociative Identity Disorder), he's currently being treated under psychiatrist Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), who's pleased with his progress in balancing these personalities despite recent red flags that indicate he's struggling.

Locked captive in an undisclosed location, the girls are exposed to "Patricia," a female personality who's assisting the voyeuristic, obsessive-compulsive "Dennis," and 9-year-old "Hedwig," who Casey sees as the easiest to manipulate into helping them escape. With a panicked Claire and Marcia frantically trying anything possible to get out, it's clear that Casey's the introspective thinker of the three, laying back and assessing the most practical way out of what looks to be the most dire of situations. As Dr. Fletcher's suspicions grow, the girls fight for their lives while Kevin's personalities battle for dominance, including a dormant one that's potentially the most dangerous of all.

Like an expertly constructed puzzle box, the details of Kevin's unusual condition reveals itself the more dangerous and unpredictable he becomes. By taking a conceit that if taken at face value should be ridiculous and treating it every step of the way with a certain respect and plausibility, Shyamalan makes us buy in. While Multiple Personality Disorder is very much a real thing, the amplified version of it that this script presents most definitely isn't, but the movie explains it in such confident, mind-blowing detail through both words and actions that we wouldn't dare doubt any of it. But that's not to say this at all plays as some kind of dry psychology lecture, as it cleverly foreshadows what's to come, making and abiding by its own rules the entire way.

Two different cat-and-mouse games transpire simultaneously, with Kevin (or rather "Dennis") attempting to outwit Dr. Fletcher while the captured girls try to predict the unpredictable and forecast their window of opportunity for escape. It all clicks largely due to McAvoy, who prior to this came across as a dependable enough actor who carries a film just fine, the true extent of his talents remaining somewhat untested. But he does here is miraculous tour de force, dropping on a dime to believably shift gears between all these distinctive personalities, some of whom are even posing as other personalities. That we not only get this, but can determine with relative ease exactly who he is at any given moment, is a true testament to the high-wire act he pulls off.

At times a performance within a performance within a performance, how MacAvoy completely changes his voice, movements, posture, tone and even physical appearance (often multiple times during a single scene) defies and breaks the boundaries we have in our heads while watching. It looks exhausting, but if this performance doesn't work, the entire premise crumbles, and the psychological backbone of the screenplay doesn't stick. Also helping hold that up is Betty Buckley, who as Dr. Fletcher helps dispel the myth that there are no vital roles left for actresses over 60 not named Helen Mirren.

Buckley, last known to many for putting her head through a window in the Happening's most embarrassing scene is completely redeemed with a part far worthier of her talents. Going face-to-face with her troubled patient in some of the most important, narrative defining scenes, she's magnificent, finding just the right balance between motherly compassion and tough, brutal honesty, juggling some of the more expository exchanges and sudden revelations like a pro. She, like McAvoy, must switch gears at a moment's notice when the full, dangerous extent of Kevin's condition begins to surprise even her.

Due to the nature of the role, comparisons between Buckley's character and Donald Pleasance's Dr. Loomis in the Halloween films are practically inevitable, but I hesitate giving more credence to this being mistakenly categorized as some kind of horror slasher, which it surely isn't. There are points where Dr. Fletcher guides the narrative, but never to the extent that you'd think it's her story since Buckley provides such strong, low-key support opposite McAvoy's performance, invisibly steering each scene they share. Her work not only stands out as a real keeper, but feels absolutely crucial to the story's success.

Shyamalan has called Casey Cooke his favorite character he's ever written, so it's probably fitting that the actress cast as her, the still relatively unknown Anya Taylor-Joy, gives what ranks among the most powerful performances in any of his pictures. Anyone who saw her highly praised turn in 2015's supernatural period horror film The Witch or as college student Barack Obama's girlfriend in Netflix's Presidential origin story, Barry, already knew she had something really special and was worth watching. But as Casey, Taylor-Joy gets to dig fairly deep, playing a girl whose own volatile history equips her with the emotional tools necessary to not only cope with horrifying predicament she and the girls find themselves in, but connect with Kevin's personalities at a level no one can, aside from Dr. Fletcher.

From the opening sequence, time seems to stop as we're uncomfortably drawn into Casey's reaction, she uses only her giant eyes to convey all the terror, fear and unpredictability such an abduction would likely entail. This happens a lot throughout, as Taylor-Joy's most memorable scenes often have little to no dialogue at all and consist of her strategizing her next move in the presence of two girls who have far less interest in formulating a game plan.

While childhood flashbacks involving her father (Sebastian Arcelus) and uncle (Brad William Henke)  are sporadically used to explain the character's past, and they do work, I'm willing to believe we'd probably know anyway just by Anya's facial expressions, demeanor and body language throughout. Any information coming our way rarely feels like a shock or twist (as it often does in Shyamalan films) but rather a confirmation of what she was silently and subtly telling us the entire time.

Unconventional in both presence and looks, Taylor-Joy definitely doesn't fit your typical movie star mold, but in the best possible way, so it would be a shame if after two incredibly successful genre performances she gets pigeonholed as some kind of reigning "scream queen" when she should be competing for dramatic opportunities far beyond that. Her performance stands as the best from an actress so far this year, regardless of how you choose to classify it. Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula are fine in their underdeveloped roles, which require them to panic in various states of undress, but it's their co-star that commands all the attention as they fade into the background.

Strangely, it's hard watching the last third of this thriller without comparing it to another surprise sleeper hit from earlier in the year, Jordan Peele's Get Out. While the content isn't at all similar and this certainly doesn't carry the same subversive social commentary, both pull off the extremely difficult transition from psychological drama to full-blown horror without missing a beat. And they do it by setting up the premise so well and believably that when the train starts careening off the tracks, it makes sense within the context of the world that's been created. Shyamalan goes very far, but reasonably, likely surprising many who went in expecting a final twist of the knife, because, you know, that's what he does.

What we do get is something that feels like an additional scene past the point where the movie should clearly conclude. In a broader sense, the ill-conceived final moment doesn't make that much of a difference in that it doesn't effect the actual narrative and plays more as an Easter egg or add-on. But if that's the case, then why do it?  It's a real stretch linking the now 17-year-old Unbreakable with Split, and even if Shyamalan did it masterfully within this single scene (which he doesn't), there's still no justification for its presence.

The closing scene just doesn't belong here, and neither does Bruce Willis, whose distracting cameo is more likely to induce head-scratching reactions questioning its purpose rather than build excitement for a potential "Shymalaniverse." Someone needed to tell him this isn't a Marvel movie, and I say that as someone who wholeheartedly agrees that the unfairly maligned Unbreakable probably did deserve a sequel years ago and stands as Shyamalan's most worthwhile accomplishment, at least until this. But it only gets harder justify that when he continues to make these kinds of decisions.

There's this devastating, incredibly acted scene in the police car when Casey's told she's being sent back to live with her uncle that I wish was the last thing we saw in this film. It's just perfect, and could easily be used in an Oscar clip reel sent to Academy members touting Anya Taylor-Joy's lead performance. That's a pipe dream, but only because Shyamalan made it one by not knowing what he had. If he did, there's no way he would have wet the bed with that ending instead of putting the closing emphasis on a character who was actually in the film.

Let's not kid ourselves into thinking an Unbreakable sequel is happening for any other reason than the fantastic work Shyamalan does here on Split, but it seems that in his mind he's just making superhero movies, not realizing that the main appeal of his films was how they never outright acknowledged that.  While he's obviously done something far more substantial with this, it's that lack of self-awareness that's made him his own worst enemy at times. And yet, that's somehow fitting for a filmmaker who's spent a career both thrilling and frustrating audiences in equal measure.

Trance

Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel, Danny Sapani, Wahab Sheikh, Matt Cross, Tuppence Middleton
Running Time: 101 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, dreams and nightmares, and the conscious and unconscious, Danny Boyle's Trance plays as if Memento,Vanilla Sky, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception were mixed in a blender to create a concoction Alfred Hitchcock would have appreciated. The few ads there were when it was released try to sell it as a heist movie, and while there is a heist, this is more. Going into details beyond a very basic description is impossible considering if I told you even half of what went on in this movie, you wouldn't believe it. There's twist on top of twist for nearly all its running time and when it ended it occurred to me that I hardly even remember anyone talking about the film when it was released.

Despite relatively strong reviews and an Oscar-winning director behind the lens, this came and went without so much as a peep. As challenging and ambitious as anything released in the first half of the year, it's only drawback might be that the screenplay is almost too intelligent and original, threatening at points to overtake the character-driven element, which is also incredibly strong. And yet that risk is also part of the fun. It also takes the usually tired plot point of hypnosis and does something surprisingly deep with it, turning over on itself so many times I nearly lost count. With mind blowing visuals, one career high performance, kinetic energy and a hypnotic pull of its own, the movie is fittingly hard to shake from memory.

When art auctioneer and gambling addict Simon Newton (James McAvoy) finds himself owing a massive debt, he works out a plan with the dangerous Franck (Vincent Cassel) and his henchmen to rob his own auction house and steal the multi-million dollar painting, "Witches in the Air," by Francisco Goya. But the meticulously planned heist goes awry as Simon is knocked unconscious and in critical condition, greeted as a hero by the media when he eventually comes to. Suffering from amnesia and with no recollection of what he did with the painting, a furious Franck and Simon agree he see a hypnotist in hopes of jogging the repressed memory and locating the painting. That hypnotist is Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson), who ends up getting way too personally and professionally involved, to the point that we really start to question what's wrong with this woman and what her exact motivations could be. And everyone's motivations are constantly changing and allegiances shifting as they inch closer to retrieving Simon's memory of what happened that day. But what starts as an attempt to glean a single piece of information becomes more complicated, shaking the very foundation of what's real and what's imagined. 

With a fascinating fast-paced, narrated prologue that takes us inside the auction house detailing the  security plans and procedures in place to prevent a theft, it would be easy to think from the onset that we really were going to be watching a standard (if exceptionally well-made) heist film in the Scorsese mold. Then things start to become a blur, but not because the plot is necessarily complicated per se. What might be the most thrilling, impressive aspect to Joe Ahearne and Jon Hodge's script (adapted from Ahearne's own 2001 British TV movie) is just how straightforward and grounded it is. When the hypnosis comes into play, there's nothing too crazy like the characters entering each others minds or anything like that. Despite being under hypnosis at various points, it never feels as if anyone is acting without their own free will and memories are not accessed unless the subject is psychologically open and avialable to doing so. Of course, Simon isn't for a variety of reasons, which is where most of the drama lies.

All three of these characters have secrets and as they come out we find ourselves shifting our allegiances and support as much they do. In a gutsy move, there really are no heroes or villains here. Just complex characters using each other to get what they want, even when what we think they want is constantly in flux. And it's about much more than the painting. Dawson's role at first glance almost looks like it will strictly be a supporting one, as Elizabeth is cleverly introduced as what looks like a plot device, or at best a vehicle to further the feud over the painting. But with each passing scene the part seems to just grow in importance to the point that it overtakes the entire film in unanticipated ways. Strangely, it's really the first time Dawson's been dramatically tested in a major high profile role, and she responds by delivering the best performance of her career. Not only is she completely believable as a hypnotherapist, but as the mind-bending plot unravels with all its twists and turns, she subtly reveals facets to the character we couldn't have guessed at.

Elizabeth makes for a polarizing character because Dawson holds just enough back as to not give away her confusing motivations, pushing and not pushing certain buttons at just the right times. And prepare to be shocked and awed at just how much of  the actress you see in this, as it's surprising the notoriously prudish MPAA didn't give the film an NC-17 on the basis of her full frontal nude scenes alone. But much like everything else in the picture, it serves its purpose, making it easy to see why she took on the challenge. The always reliable Cassel is at most devious and charismatic here as Franck, playing a seasoned, sophisticated crook who isn't exactly unlikable and also has goals that are questionable from the start. He basically steals (no pun intended) the movie out from under McAvoy, who's supposed to be lead despite the very nature of the role making him a blank slate as Simon. Still, he does a commendable job as the hero who really isn't and few performers can top the actor at playing the scrambling, sensitive underdog.

The script, performances, Trainspotting composer Rick Smith's hypnotic score and Anthony Dodd Mantle's mind blowing cinematography all combine to create to what amounts to a seriously trippy movie experience in which the hypnosis sequences seem almost indistinguishable from reality-based scenes. There are many memorable shots, but there's a single reflective image (you'll definitely know it when you see it) in Franck's ultra cool apartment that's probably the most impressive of the year and London is given a visual makeover that makes it unrecognizably dreamlike. To say happenings get a bit convoluted in the third act is an understatement and it's hard escaping the nagging feeling that maybe it doesn't all tightly hold together as the characters become almost machinations of the plot. But there's an extended flashback sequence toward the end that attempts to fill that in and mostly succeeds. Those usually never work, but somehow this one's really compelling, adding rather than detracting from the narrative. 

It's hard to fault Boyle for over-ambition when he successfully follows through on so many of the ideas presented. Any criticisms that the Oscar-winning director is somehow "slumming it" by directing a psychological thriller should probably see it first. It represents what's becoming an  increasingly rare case of a first-rate filmmaker elevating what could have easily been standard, pulpy material. And if we want to really go there, it's time to admit that Slumdog Millionaire is one of the less painful Best Picture winners in recent memory. This is at least as strong as that or 127 Hours and definitely his most purely entertaining and satisfying effort since Trainspotting.

When characters are just watching themselves on an ipad and it's breathtakingly exciting, that's a sign you're in the hands of a master craftsman. Knowing how versatile he is, it's still tough to imagine Boyle had something like this in him, and yet easy to envision anyone else screwing it up. It could have been an all-out mess, or even turned out to be an almost equally well-made cheesy thriller like this year's Side Effects. What we get instead is a full throttle sensory experience that not only dares you to guess what happens next, but demands multiple viewings to fully absorb.

X-Men: First Class

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz
Running Time: 132 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

I've never read an X-Men comic, never saw any of the previous movies and have no familiarity with any of the characters in the superhero franchise. So saying that, the highest compliment I can give (and it's a big one) to Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class is that it made me care and want to see more. For a while  I even forgot I was watching a superhero movie and by the time it fully morphs into that by its finale, it's a transformation that's well earned and impressively handled from a technical standpoint. The origin story it weaves is compelling, making especially excellent use of its time period and setting to convey an atmosphere that makes the film play more like a lost James Bond entry (back when they were fun) than another cash grab for Marvel along the lines of Iron Man 2 or Thor. It's good to make money and build a franchise but you need a foundation to do it on and Vaughn gets that, crafting an entertaining, often mature PG-13 rated adventure that doesn't insult audience's intelligence and delivers thrilling action when necessary.

The origin story goes all the way back to to the swinging early 60's to show how young mutants Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy) and Erik Leshner/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) become allies when they're recruited by CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) to stop the villainous Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Seeking revenge on former Nazi doctor Shaw for the death of his mother years ago, Erik's bloodthirsty obsession and cynical outlook clashes with Xavier's decidedly more peaceful worldview, planting the seeds for an eventual feud between the two friends. We also meet Xavier's blue-skinned adopted sister Raven Darkholme/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) struggling to accept to her identity. She's joined by Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Angel Salvadore (Zoe Kravitz), Sean Cassidy/Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Alex Summers/Havok (Lucas Till) and Armando Munoz/Darwin (Edi Gathegi), all outcast mutants with special gifts they've yet to find the ability to fully control or understand.

The script juggles multiple storylines as the story jumps between settings and time periods with what seems to be little effort at all, making the over two-hour running time fly by in a flash. There isn't a dull moment to be found and given how many characters there are a suitable amount of attention is paid to each one that goes beyond just exploring their powers. Setting the action against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement and social unrest of the 60's could have easily been a clunky device but the story of these mutants being ostracized and used by the government resonates since it only enhances already existing themes.

Three performances are legitimately superb and they're the three most crucial to the film's success. Best known for his breakout supporting turn in Inglourious Basterds, Michael Fassbender kills it in his first mainstream starring role, simmering with low-key intensity and bitter, pent-up anger as Erik and believably selling his character's slow building transformation into Magneto. When the climactic encounter with Shaw arrives it's a testament to Fassbender that it not only feels epic, but its result earned. As a hard-partying womanizer turned peacemaking humanitarian McAvoy's in a far different mode here than we've ever been used to seeing him while Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence is the heart and soul of the film, bringing needed depth to Raven in showing how she gradually loses her innocence. Kevin Bacon chews scenery even speaks German at one point, having a blast as the villainous Shaw. Casting the physically striking but emotionally vacant January Jones as diamond-skinned ice queen Emma Frost was a stroke of genius considering it's her only big screen role so far that's efficiently covered up all her weaknesses as an actress, or at least has given her a convenient excuse for them. If she's the weak link, it doesn't show for a change. As the only non-mutant, Rose Byrne makes MacTaggert seem essential rather than the odd woman out.

Vaughn stacks the film with many memorable scenes taking full advantage the retro time period and setting, incorporating impressive production design and clever musical choices, such as a recruitment montage set to Gnarls Barkey's "Run" and the use of Freddy Cannon's "Palisades Park" during a club sequence. This is how a intelligent comic book movie should be made and it wouldn't be a stretch to say it raises the bar, especially for those still feeling burned by X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. If my average rating seems to betrays my enthusiastic reaction that's only because I still have my doubts as to whether the film will be worth returning to repeatedly if you weren't a fan to begin with. Here's hoping I'm wrong, and that's certainly possible given how much there is here to appreciate. It's fun seeing back stories of characters I've only heard about and seen pictures of play out in ways more interesting than I suspected. Whether a sequel can build on that remains to be seen, but at least I'd be looking forward to it. X-Men: First Class proves to be just the shot in the arm the superhero genre needs.

Wanted

Director: Timur Bekmambetov Starring: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Common, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: R

*** (out of ****)

There are some actors who I love to see stretch and challenge themselves, taking a wide variety of roles that push them out of their comfort zone. Angelina Jolie is NOT one of them. We all know why she's here. There’s no sense hiding it. It wasn’t to save the world or adopt babies. It was for her to expertly handle a firearm as her tattooed body hangs out of a dangerously high speeding vehicle. We want her to kill people and look hot doing it. Lately, she’s done neither, opting instead to star in a string of boring, emotionally draining roles that would cure even the worst cases of insomnia.

There are so few believable female action stars out there today that the loss of Jolie to more serious projects was a major blow, at least from where I sat. That’s why, if nothing else, Wanted should be celebrated as a return to form for her as she once again slips into the kind of bad-ass part she was born to play. If every role she took from here on out was identical to this I wouldn’t complain. She has a gift and should never hesitate using it.
My enthusiasm for her return to the genre that made her is tempered slightly by the fact that her character is underwritten and the film containing her big comeback seems more interested in drowning itself out in a pool of Matrix-like effects. But unlike that overrated piece of ‘90’s cyber-junk this at least has the decency to not pass itself off as anything more than disposable mindless entertainment. If you view it on that level it’ll work, despite its many flaws. The first hour introduces us to easily the whiniest crybaby protagonist of the year but you can't tell me it isn't entertaining. The movie have missed its calling as a workplace comedy in the vain of Office Space because it’s been a while since I laughed as hard during an action film as I did in the opening minutes of this one. What comes after isn’t nearly as clever, recycling a tired plot from other films, but it doesn’t really make a difference because it’s executed fine. Wanted can be sometimes be more annoying than enthralling but the overall result is a satisfying adrenaline rush.

Imagine nearly every social encounter you have being accompanied by a cold sweat, a flushed face and the sound of your heart beating out of your chest at 140 beats per minute. That’s the cubicle dwelling life of anxiety ridden office drone Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) an accounts manager who’s life is so boring that when he "Googles" himself nothing comes up. When not being verbally abused by his tyrant boss (Lorna Scott) he’s arguing with his bitchy girlfriend (Kristen Hager) who’s cheating on him with his best friend Barry (Chris Pratt) during lunch hour. What’s the highlight of Wes' day? Buying Barry condoms.

Everything changes when he encounters the sexy and dangerous Fox (Jolie) who rescues him from a drug store attack from Cross (Thomas Kretschmann) a rogue assassin. He finds out from Fox that his father (David O’ Hara) was really “Mr. X,” a member of a thousand year old group of assassins known as The Fraternity and he was just murdered on a rooftop by Cross. Fox and the organization’s head honcho Sloan (Morgan Freeman) take Wes under their wing with the goal of molding him into a fully-Fraternized killing machine capable of exacting revenge on this traitor who murdered his father.
The first half hour of Wanted is executed just about as perfectly as you could hope for. Thats' due to the hilariously deadpan depiction of Wes' pathetic existence at work and the spot-on narration accompanying it. The tone is just right and that combined with some clever editing makes the character relatable. Sure, it’s a rip-off of Fight Club but if you’re going to crib from a movie you may as well make sure it’s great one, and you better do it well. Then there's up and comer McAvoy, in a role that’s a complete 180 from his work in last year’s Oscar contending period drama Atonement. He plays a wuss so well it’s almost scary and does it with an American accent that rarely falters. Pratt steals nearly every scene he’s in with his smug delivery as the disingenuous “best friend” Barry, a jerk I’m betting many will recognize immediately from their everyday lives. As they will Janice, Wesley’s boss from hell who has an unhealthy obsession with her stapler. These characters are played with such gusto you’d think the actors are having the time of their lives. If not, they sure fooled me.

After being treated to the most entertaining use of a computer keyboard I’ve ever seen the material moves into more problematic territory with the training of Wesley and mythology behind the Fraternity’s “kill one, save a thousand” philosophy ( I’m still not exactly sure how that philosophy comes into play when you’ve just killed a trainload of innocent people). The screenplay is loosely based on Mark Millar’s graphic novel series and just about any other action film you could think of. You don’t go into a movie like this expecting a riveting, complex character study, nor is it one, but I was surprised by a well-placed twist that not only made sense and took the story in a much more interesting direction. It definitely raised the stakes, convincing me that it had more on its mind than I originally thought. It’s still dumb, but definitely not lazy.

Wesley’s training sequences also heavily borrow (steal?) from Fight Club and Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (of Nightwatch and Daywatch fame) can’t seem to get enough of that Matrix “bullet time” technology and heavily relies on many fast forward and slow-motion sequences. It works for this kind of film and Bekmambetov really knows how to shoot exhilarating action scenes but there were times where it felt more annoying than exciting. How many times do we need to see curving bullets or the point of view from one as it finds its (human) target?

McAvoy and Jolie play off each other well and when Wes first meets Fox his dumb founded expressions and over-the-top theatrics sell the whole experience perfectly. Though it occurs seemingly overnight, his transition from pencil pusher to certifiable badass killing machine works, which says a lot about his range of skill as an actor.

As Fox, Jolie has a smaller role than you may expect but she makes the most of it. I wish they did more with her but in this kind of a role just her presence is enough. She looks great (even if she could use a cheeseburger or two) and despite her slight frame she’s STILL incredibly believable with a gun in her hand. At times she looks bored with it but the important thing is that we’re not, a claim that can’t be made about some of her other film work of late.

If you’re an actress with that much screen presence and natural charisma the last thing you want to do is take parts that suppress it, which is why this is exactly what she should be doing. Forget about being taken seriously as an actress. Why bother? She’ll always be known as a celebrity first and this is the kind of part, more than any other, where we can check that distracting information at the door and just have some fun. Morgan Freeman once again plays his old, wise authority figure role but I appreciated that he at least took a little bit of a detour with it this time around.
Make no mistake about it, this is a dumb movie with little to no nutritional value, but it’s also a thrill ride that never lets up. The soundtrack rocks and features an original song by Danny Elfman (“The Little Things”) that would deserve inclusion among this year’s Best Original Song nominees if there isn’t some ridiculous rule disqualifying it (and I'm sure there probably is).

While I watching this I wasn’t even sure what I thought but then after it sunk in I realized it accomplished exactly what it needed to with style and precision, despite the fact there isn’t an original idea to be found. It almost plays like a clumsier version of last year’s superior Shoot ‘Em Up but just seeing Jolie in a role like this again is reason enough to recommend it. Two sequels are planned if for no other than to make a quick buck because this story certainly can’t support them. The fun here was watching the wimpy protagonist indoctrinated into this crazy world so without that I don't know what's left. But in a summer full of big blockbuster disappointments for me Wanted at least manages to hold its ground.