"Demolition" Review

OP-ROB RATING: BENCH

“Demolition” is a film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée about an investment banker named Davis Mitchell who suddenly loses his wife in a horrific car accident. Davis is portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal, who turns in an excellent performance as the distraught widower.  However, is Davis distraught because of the loss of someone he loved? Or is he distraught because he doesn’t know how to feel about it?  After the car accident, Davis goes to the hospital where he trys to purchase a packet of Peanut M&M’s from a vending machine.  The bag gets stuck.  He returns home in his blood spattered clothes and eats a bowl of cereal, watches Animal Planet, and neglects the gifts of concerned neighbors outside of his door.  Davis doesn’t seem to be at all distressed over the loss of his former wife, Julia (Heather Lind).  In fact, to the surprise of his boss and father-in-law Phil (Chris Cooper), Davis returns to work a few days after the the tragedy.  The overall conflict in the film revolves around Davis and his inability to feel “normal” about losing his wife.  Everyone around him seems to be more upset than he is.

Davis’ confusion with how to feel manifests itself in mini demolition projects.  In order to figure out why his refrigerator is leaking, Davis tears the thing into every individual piece.  He does the same with his laptop, and even a squeaky stall door in his office bathroom.  The story becomes more complicated when Davis writes several comprehensive letters to the vending machine company that couldn’t fulfill his candy purchase.  His letters are answered by Karen Moreno (Naomi Watts), a woman who takes an interest in Davis and his situation.  Karen and Davis meet up and appear to be headed into a romantic relationship. However, the story takes another turn when Davis starts hanging out with Karen’s rebellious teenage son, Chris (Judah Lewis). Together they embark on several adevntures including a demolition of Davis’ luxurious home in the suburbs.  The odd tag-team goes about the house with sledgehammers destroying everything from counter tops to flat screen TVs.

Before “Demolition” Vallée directed the "Dallas Buyers Club" which won Matthew McConnaughey the Academy Award for best actor. He also directed "Wild", which flew relatively under the radar two years ago.  Both films were based on true stories and involved a fair amount of soul searching.  "Wild" was about a woman named Cheryl Strayed who went backpacking up the Pacific Coast Trail on a journey of self-discovery.  "Wild" focused completely on its main subject portrayed by Reese Witherspoon. Throughout the film her background story was built up in such a way that we felt her pain and anguish over the sudden death of her beloved mother, or at least we could understand it.  “Demolition” shares many similarities with “Wild”:  a sudden death, an exploration of a relationship, a broken individual.

This idea of having a relationship end abruptly is one that should be familiar to many people; it's certainly familiar to me. Having someone suddenly drop out of your life kind brings about a reevaluation of what that particular relationship meant. How does one feel when this occurs? It could be a death, or a breakup, or a sudden move.  There is a need to metaphorically take the relationship apart piece by piece and figure out what happened, or what can be learned from it.  The first third of “Demolition” is superb, and presents Davis as an interesting character with a background worth exploring.  His anguish feels genuine. Personally, I was excited to see what he could discover about his relationship with Julia.  However, “Demolition” shoots off in so many different directions, there is ultimately very little to take away from the film.  There is a storyline involving Karen and her boyfriend. There is another storyline involving Chris and his sexual orientation as a young teenager.  Finally, there is a shocking revelation near the end of the film about Julia that quite frankly adds nothing to the film but unnecessary confusion.  “Demolition” has more than enough with Davis Mitchell and unfortunately his story is sacrificed for several other half-baked ones.

There is a well-executed film to be made out of “Demolition”.  One that explores a man’s struggle to cope with the fact that he never really knew his wife.  It may even involve some of the seemingly ridiculous dismantling of household appliances.  But by the time Davis has begun skipping work, growing a beard, hanging out with a teenager, and taking a sledgehammer to his multi-million dollar home, we have to wonder just how serious he is about his situation.  Is this a a real human being?  Or a talented actor being paid to have a mid-life crisis?  For a film with so many worthy assets, it’s disappointing to see it fail under misdirection.  The opening third of “Demolition” may end up providing the groundwork for an excellent film,  but the rest of it is going to have to be demolished.

"Miles Ahead" Review

OP-ROB RATING: STARTER

            “Miles Ahead” is a film about the Jazz musician Miles Davis directed by Don Cheadle and starring Don Cheadle as Miles.  The basic premise of the film revolves around an encounter between Miles and a nosy reporter named Dave Braden (Ewan McGregor).  Set in the 1970s, Miles is living in his New York City home as a recluse and cocaine addict, refusing to produce any new music.  Braden manages to break into Miles’ house insisting on an interview and is promptly socked in the face by the Prince of Darkness. Infuriated by the invasion of privacy, Miles travels to Columbia Records with a gun in order to lambast his producers. It is in the studio headquarters where Miles is introduced to a jazz musician named Junior (Keith Stanfield) and his sleazy agent, Harper Hamilton (Michael Stuhlbarg).  Miles promptly leaves the studio when Braden promises to score them some quality cocaine.  During a house party at Miles’ later that night, Junior and Hamilton steal a new recording from a drawer in the house. Through a series of events, Miles and Braden end up as a kind of tag team to retrieve the stolen recording.  Throughout the adventure they encounter a series of obstacles and run into various amusing situations.         

What separates “Miles Ahead” from an average biopic is the way in which Cheadle directs and tells the story through two distinct lenses: the mythic Miles and the factual Miles.  There are essentially two storylines, one that is strung together throughout the film on a consistent timeline and another that is delivered in intermittent flashbacks.  The flashbacks typically reveal an event in Miles’ life that really occurred:  moments in studios making the music that defined an era of jazz, scenes of tumult with his wife, and the infamous the assault outside the Birdland music venue in 1959.  Cheadle’s cuts to the past are always creative, and usually flow from what is going on in the 1970’s storyline.  In one scene Miles is holding a punching bag and encouraging Braden to take lick at it.  One of Braden’s punches cuts into a flashback.  The most interesting technique Cheadle employs occurs after Miles has an emotional conversation on the phone with girlfriend Frances (Emayatzy Corinealdi) in which he asks her to marry him.  After Miles sets down the phone he returns to a bed occupied by two nude women.  As Miles climbs back in with the women the camera moves over a series of Polaroids scattered around the bed depicting the sex fueled night.  Without a cut, photos of Miles and Frances’ ensuing wedding enter the lineup and the scene leads into the actual wedding day.  It is an unconventional and telling sequence depicting Miles’ double life.

The fictional adventure involving the stolen record plays out much like a light and engaging heist flick.  The flashback driven, realistic storyline in "Miles Ahead" often gives meaning to the overarching fictional one and brings the biopic together.  Scenes of Miles’ turbulent marriage and wild sex life depict the many facts that comprise this unbelievable personality that is portrayed in the fictional story.  The assault outside of Birdland helps explain why the mythic Miles is so abrasive towards white people.[1]  While the flashbacks do provide many hints that characterize mythic Miles, they certainly don’t tell the whole story.  For viewers unfamiliar with Davis' life, there will be a significant disconnect between the two storylines.  Those uninformed won't realize that Davis sees himself in Junior, who is a struggling trumpeter and heroin addict. This relationship is subtle, and can only be accessed with the knowledge that Davis was heavily addicted to heroin himself in the early 1950s.  

Cheadle’s performance as Miles is terrific; he nails the raspy voice and mercurial flare of the late musician.  Although this film is not catered to a wide audience, it is clear that Cheadle himself is a Miles Davis aficionado, and wanted the film to be for similar fans.  In one scene Miles listens to a man on radio proclaim his record Kind of Blue a “masterpiece”.  Hearing this, Miles phones into the radio station declaring the record a “miss”.  Miles Davis understood what people wanted from him.  He knew what was popular, i.e. Kind Of Blue.  But Davis didn't want to be popular; he wanted to push the limits of those people who thought they knew his music.  In many ways, a Miles Davis biopic could be crafted without much innovation in terms of the actual storyline.  Get a good director, a good lead actor, a good screenwriter, and the product wouldn’t look too shabby.  However, as a Miles Davis admirer, Cheadle takes a lot of risks by going on an unconventional route with a fragmented storyline and a completely fictional cover story.  Amazingly, the risks pay off.  The film is quirky, entertaining, well directed, and always unpredictable.  “Miles Ahead” is a fitting tribute to its larger-than-life subject.

[1] One of my favorite Miles quotes left out of the film is, “it’s like, how did Columbus discover America when the Indians were already here? What kind of shit is that, but white people’s shit?”  An actual quote from Miles Davis, it reveals the kind of biting wit and attitude that is infused in the mythic Miles portrayed by Cheadle.

"The Jungle Book" Review

OP-ROB RATING: STARTER

“The Jungle Book” is a children’s adventure film directed by Jon Favreau. Personally, Favreau always brings to mind D-Bob, the loyal best friend he portrayed in the Notre Dame football gem “Rudy” which came out in 1993.  However, in recent years Favreau has become one of the most touted directors in Hollywood, and deservedly so. He has directed“Elf”, “Iron Man”, “Iron Man 2”, “Cowboys & Aliens” and “Chef” as well as a few others.  Favreau’s “The Jungle Book” is an adaption from both Rudyard Kipling’s book as well as the 1967 animated film that many people know so well.  The main character in the film is Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a boy who has grown up in the jungle raised in a pack of wolves led by Akela (Giancarlo Esposito) who is strict, but just.  Under the tutelage of both Akela and a black panther named Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) Mowgli does his best to live as a wolf, learning their hunting tactics and their oath “The Law of the Jungle”.  However, Mowgli is forced to leave the pack when he is threatened by a tiger named Shere Khan (Idris Elba), who holds a grudge against all humanity for an altercation that left him burnt and blinded in one eye.  Bagheera volunteers to bring Mowgli to a nearby “man-village”, because that is where a “man-cub” belongs.  On their way out, Shere Khan attempts to kill Mowgli and is thwarted, but the failed attack leaves the man-cub and Bagheera separated.  On his journey, Mowgli meets various animals including a devious snake named Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), a Himalayan brown bear named Baloo (Bill Murray), and a power-hungry Gigantopithecus ape named King Louie (Christopher Walken).

The live action aspect of this remake is precisely what allows it to expand into a full-length feature film.  The 1967 Disney original was mostly a series of songs and outrageous comedy sequences that ran for a mere 78 minutes.  Favrea’s “Jungle Book” is a 105-minute adventure with a fully fleshed out story.  For a PG rated kids movie Favreau’s “The Jungle Book” is also surprisingly gritty.  The jungle is not a colorful fantasyland; in fact it is often harsh and unforgiving.  In one scene Mowgli stands in a muddy ravine dodging a stampede of water buffaloes.  All of the fighting sequences are brutal.  The animals grapple and slash at each other.  Shere Khan’s abrupt assassination of Akela involving a swift chomp to the neck must have shocked many of the youngsters sitting in the theater.  Although most of the animals can talk, there is not much else that is tame about this jungle.

The best aspect of “The Jungle Book” is the voice cast.  There is not a poor showing from any of the actors and actresses involved in bringing the animals to life.  Both Kingsley and Elba bring their characters Bagheera and Shere Khan a level of elegance absent from the original film.  Murray, as always, is absolutely charming in the role of Baloo.  The scenes with the witty brown bear are the most fun to watch.  Who would be better than Murray to portray the “fun uncle” mentor for Mowgli? 

Despite powerful voices the live-action aspect of the film works against itself in the expressions of the animals.  There is one particular scene in which Shere Khan speaks with Akela regarding Mowgli’s departure.  Akela stands upright looking into the distance while Shere Khan lounges on a rock below him.  They do not make eye contact and speak with one another in a serious tone.  Yet, if you were to mute the scene it could easily be mistaken as a live shot of animal planet or a scene at a zoo.  These animals can talk but their faces often say nothing.  Perhaps more attention could have been paid to the eyes and the mouths of the animals during production, because this is an area in which the original film excelled.

Another deficiency in “The Jungle Book” is the blatant shifts in tone throughout the movie. Although Favreau’s realistic approach is enthralling and original, it conflicts with the lighthearted aspects of the 1967 film that he incorporates.  One scene will be light and happy, and the next will be dark and intense. The “I Wan'na Be like You” scene with King Louie is the best example of this strange dynamic.  Having been kidnapped by monkeys and confronted King Louie, Mowgli is in a very real and very scary situation.  Christopher Walken is as creepy as ever voicing the massive ape.  However, when Louie breaks into song the scene is drained of all suspense.  Paying homage to the original is undoubtedly important, yet Favreau’s new take on the story and the colorful musicality of the first film often do not mix.

The standout weak link of “The Jungle Book” is Neel Sethi’s performance.  Mowgli is an innately likeable character and somehow Sethi manages to make him annoying.  Perhaps it is a lack of poise in his voice compared to the likes of Kingsley, Murray, Elba, and Johansson.  No matter the situation Sethi always seems to be yelling, speaking out of exasperation.  A scene in which this occurs is when he and Bagheera are walking toward the man-village in the beginning of the movie.  Mowgli pleads to Bagheera not by genuinely having a discussion but by complaining like a spoiled brat.  His reaction to the news of Akela’s murder is equally poor in its delivery, “You knew, you both knew!” he screams at Bagheera and Baloo.  Sethi reminded me a lot of Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker in “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”, everything he says is a kind of over dramatization.  “The Jungle Book” features a single human; a solid performance from this individual is a simple bare necessity.

Overall “The Jungle Book” is too good in certain areas to condemn for its inconsistencies.  In time, the movie will prove durable amongst the younger crowd.  Perhaps one day kids will remember this “Jungle Book” like so many other adults remember the animated version. 

OP-ROB NOTE: There is a great reference in the form of a cowbell. Keep an eye out for it.