Netflix And Chill: Project Power (2020)

Although I liked the look of Project Power when it first came out, I never had it too high on my list of prioritized viewings. Despite a twist on the idea, it was basically another superhero movie, and we have certainly had more than our fair share of those throughout the last decade. Still, I was always going to get to it eventually. Today was the day. 

There’s a new drug on the street. Once you activate and swallow it, you can gain incredible power, but just for five minutes. Everyone can have a different reaction though. Some may become impervious to physical damage, some may burst into flames, some can become a human chameleon. There are also some people who just immediately explode. Like any drug, not every experience is guaranteed to end well. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a New Orleans cop trying to fight back against those using the drug, and he does this by occasionally taking it himself (rendering him pretty invulnerable for five minutes). His supplier is Robin (Dominique Fishback), a young woman doing whatever it takes to get the money needed to help her sick mother. Robin is eventually targeted by Art (Jamie Foxx), an ex-soldier who claims that he is working his way up the supply chain to find his daughter. Whether working together, or working against one another, these three people will end up trying to fight against some villains that have no qualms about powering themselves up for a fight.

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (who have had a varied filmography for years now, from Catfish to a couple of Paranormal Activity movies, from the fun of the Australian Psycho short to Nerve), this is fairly entertaining and predictable fare that actually manages to make good use of the gimmick at the heart of it. Writer Mattson Tomlin doesn’t necessarily have the same range of experience as Joost or Schulman, but he has a few projects tucked away in his filmography that feature other interesting ideas he has now been able to refine and mix into something with a bit more widespread appeal. The superpowers are fun to watch, but the action and thrills are all lifted slightly by the relationships that develop between main characters.

Fishback is decent enough in her role, struggling sometimes to hold her own alongside the veteran players, but always likable, and quite believable, while Foxx and Gordon-Levitt both seem to enjoy themselves in different ways. Foxx gets to do his tough act he can do so well, but also shows himself as a man unable to ease his pain or rest until he finds his daughter, while Gordon-Levitt is a typical good cop who is willing to bend the rules in order to get results and keep his city safe, goddammit. Rodrigo Santoro is a suave dealer, Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly, urgh) has a mercifully small role, and is thankfully on fire for most of his screentime, and you get some time for Courtney B. Vance, Andrene Ward-Hammond, and Amy Landecker, as well as various others ready to help or hinder our leads.

While obviously not able to throw around the kind of money that the likes of Marvel and DC invest in their properties, Project Power doesn't feel too cheap. There are some good special effects throughout, and one or two not so good ones, and the whole thing feels refreshingly well-paced and lean when compared to the more bloated and interconnected jigsaw pieces that we've seen in cinemas recently. The earliest scenes are the least interesting, getting everything set up for the plot and characters, but it soon gets going, really settling into the fun action thriller it wants to be when Foxx comes onscreen, his first encounter with a fiery foe proving to be a real highlight.

Will this be a decent enough alternative for those suffering superhero movie fatigue? I doubt it. But, if you have taken a break from the established names and properties, you may just end up enjoying this as much as I did. It's nothing spectacular, but it's a decent enough flick to spend some time with if you like the leads and the sound of the concept.

7/10

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Mubi Monday: I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

Also . . . there's a horror movie review coming along later. Not going to miss a day here just because MUBI hasn't yet put up any genre offerings.

Co-directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, who also wrote the script based on the book by Steve McVicker, I Love You Phillip Morris is a fantastic comedy, an amusing look at the life of a con man, and an astounding true story.

Jim Carrey stars as Steven Russell. Steven seems to have his life in order. He's a police officer, he plays the organ at church, he has a loving wife and two daughters. He's also very much gay, something that he keeps a secret until a bad car crash leads him to realise that he cannot go on living a lie. Well, he cannot go on living THAT lie. All other lies are fine as long as they allow him to spend lots of money he otherwise wouldn't have to treat himself, and loved ones, to a lavish lifestyle. This leads him to prison, which leads to him meeting Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). And so begins a series of audacious cons as Steven aims to spend as much time as possible with his new love, whether in prison or enjoying their freedom.

I don't want to spoil things for anyone who hasn't seen this movie, suffice to say that the biggest con that Russell pulls is as incredible as it is reliant on some very human oversights/errors and it's the focus of the third act, quite rightly so. The script takes great pleasure in sprinkling events with a few little rug-pulls here and there, making it easier to accept some of the more unbelievable true details of the story.

Requa and Ficarra do a good job with the direction too, keeping things light and upbeat (helped by a wonderful score from Nick Urata that often tiptoes very close to emulating "Aquarela do Brasil" by Ary Barroso). There may be no such thing as a victimless crime but this is a lot easier to enjoy thanks to the targets picked by Russell, usually either financial corporations or those in positions of power in the US penal system.

Carrey is on top form in the central role, flying through most of the scenarios with a mixture of optimism, charm, and bullshit. McGregor is also very good, acting very sweet and making it easy to see why the relationship between the two could blossom so quickly. Leslie Mann does well in her small role (she's the loving wife who somehow doesn't outright resent and hate her husband when she is told the truth about him), Rodrigo Santoro is fun as Carrey's first main male partner, and Antoni Corone and Brennan Brown are two businessmen who enjoy Carrey making money for them without noticing that he's taking a decent amount for his own account.

As much about the things people will do for love as it is about someone who seems unable to stop living a life that requires theft, lies, and fraud, I Love You Phillip Morris is an entertainingly light treatment of material that could have easily been dark and painful. You may think it's the wrong approach, but I happen to think it works perfectly.

8/10

You can buy the shiny disc here.
Americans can buy it here.
Or you can click on those links and buy whatever the hell you like.

300 (2006)

This is review number one, for those wanting to read a decent, standard review. Review number two can be found by scrolling to nearer the bottom of the page.

Based on the source material by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, 300 is a sword & sandals epic for the MTV generation. It's full of inaccuracies, can be interpreted in a number of different ways by people looking to drag the film down a notch or two, and almost every line of dialogue borders on the snigger-inducingly ridiculous (due to either the wording or the sombre delivery). It's also a rollicking good time, visually lush and rarely dull.

Gerard Butler plays King Leonidas, a fearsome Spartan leader who stirs up some trouble when he decides to stand up to the Persian army. He's not authorised to take the army into battle so just goes for a wander instead. With 300 men (hence the title). One fight leads on to another, and that's pretty much the entire movie.

Directed by Zack Snyder, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Kurt Johnstad, 300 is the usual stylish product that you'd expect from him. Many are quick to accuse him of making movies that are nothing but style over substance, but I think that he often blends the two very well. Oh, his emphasis is very much on the style, undoubtedly, but his movies often warrant further exploration beyond whatever lies on the surface.

300 remains one of his best movies, although his very best is still his feature debut (that fantastic remake of Dawn Of The Dead), and this is due to the enjoyable source material and to the solid cast.

Butler is all that is man in the main role, with a six-pack to make even healthier specimens than myself feel slightly inferior. He is, as all the actors are, believably tough and fearless in his role. Standing by his side in battle are the likes of David Wenham, Michael Fassbender and Tom Wisdom. Lena Headey is the strong and beautiful Queen who does her best to gain support for her husband while he's at war, Stephen McHattie tries to offer her some sound advice, and Dominic West plays a character who is clearly more of a conniving politician than warrior. And then there's Rodrigo Santoro, making quite the impression as the towering Xerxes, a man who believes himself to be a god, even in the face of such strong opposition from the Spartans.

You could say that this entire movie is just a small group of men fighting a much larger group of men and you'd be right. But there's also a bit more to it. It has enough content to encourage some interesting thoughts and conversations, even if all of those thoughts and conversations call into question a number of decisions made in the creative process.

Review number two: "This . . . . . . IS . . . . . . . . . SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blu-ray-Region-Free-Gerard-Butler/dp/B000VE2NQ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380229438&sr=8-2&keywords=300