X-Men: Days of Future Past

In a dystopian future, the Sentinels – giant adaptive robots – hunt and exterminate mutants and oppress their human allies. A group of mutant survivors led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Erik “Magneto” Lensherr (Ian McKellen) devise a plan to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back to 1973 to prevent Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating Sentinel creator Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) and making him an anti-mutant martyr. Upon arrival in the past, Wolverine must also recruit and reunite reluctant younger Xavier (James McAvoy) and a dangerous younger Magneto (Michael Fassbender), who have had an ugly falling out.

When Superman reversed time by flying rapidly around the Earth in 1978, he helped codify the superhero movie as escapist idealism, a genre where anything could happen with the thinnest of explanations. Later films would challenge that, of course: Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy achieved an unprecedented level of gritty realism while this year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier was both cynical and topical. This latest entry into the X-Men film series feels like a marriage of those two competing visions, bringing together the fantastic and the fathomable, the big ideas and the personal struggles. In a less abstract sense, Days of Future Past also welds the storylines of the original X-Men trilogy and the First Class reboot. That a film can make any conceivable sense of all of these disparate influences is commendable; that it does so this well is remarkable.

It helps that nearly every aspect of Day of Future Past’s production is blessed with proven talent. Bryan Singer (who helmed the first two films in the aforementioned trilogy) is back as director, bringing with him X2 editor/composer John Ottman and much (look for Halle Berry’s Storm, Shawn Ashmore’s Iceman and several cameos) of that film’s cast. They join First Class’s Matthew Vaughn and Simon Kirnberg (writers/producers) and returning cast, minus a few inter-film casualties. The source material is a modified version of X-Men writer Chris Claremont’s well-received miniseries of the same name, and the newcomers include a Golden Globe winner (Dinklage) and a current TV star (American Horror Story’s Evan Peters). If you are going to cram too many characters and creative visions into a film, this is the way to do it.

But there is more to this movie’s appeal than a preponderance of big names. It delivers a healthy dose of introspection and character growth without sacrificing entertainment. In its lighter moments, it revels in Wolverine one-liners, gaudy 70s fashions, and carefully crafted allusions and in-jokes. Peters, in his brief role as Quicksilver, is hilariously flippant, using his character’s super speed to slow down time and cause foes to punch themselves in the face. On the other hand, this is no light-hearted romp. McAvoy’s Xavier is a broken, jaded alcoholic who must rediscover hope and empathy while Mystique must grapple with what evil she feels is necessary for the greater good. And then there is Fassbender’s young Magneto, the Holocaust survivor who completes his transformation into an utterly ruthless mutant supremacist without, astonishingly, sacrificing audience sympathy. Issues of identity and a prominent existentialist current run through this movie, lending substance to the comic book canard of using power responsibly.

Despite all it has going for it, Days of Future Past also harbors some significant flaws. The premise, which isn’t even time travel (Wolverine’s “consciousness” is sent back 50 years to his 1973 body) is ridiculously convoluted, even by comic book standards. Several prominent characters are shunted aside, including Ellen Page’s Kitty Pryde, protagonist of the comic book miniseries. And despite the chaos his creations unleash, Dinklage’s Trask isn’t a particularly threatening villain. Though unethical, he lacks the menace of X2’s fanatical William Stryker (ironically, a young Stryker is Trask’s subordinate here) or various incarnations of Magneto.

Purists will likely hate the changes to the storyline and non-fans may find the character count confusing, but for the vast viewership that lies in between, Days of Future Past stands several notches above standard superhero fare, even in this age of elevated expectations. Stylish, well-acted, thoughtful, and kinetic, it has the added bonus of erasing its much-loathed predecessors (The Last Stand and Origins: Wolverine) from continuity and establishing the next film (Apocalypse) in the still-vibrant series. Not bad for a patchwork composite.

8.5/10

August: Osage County

The suicide of alcoholic poet Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard) brings his family together for a funeral in rural Oklahoma. His widow, Violet (Meryl Streep), is a shamelessly sharp-tongued pill addict suffering from oral cancer. Oldest daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts) is as headstrong as her mother, bringing her into conflict with her husband (Ewan McGregor) and teenage daughter (Abigail Breslin) alike. Middle daughter Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), who stayed behind in Oklahoma, is viewed as a disappointment and is secretly in love with her cousin, Little Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch). Youngest daughter Karen (Juliette Lewis), who fled to Florida, is oblivious to the sleazy behavior of her new fiancé, Steve (Dermot Mulroney). Together, the family tries to pick up the pieces, but the secrets they have been keeping from one another frequently threaten to boil over.

Tracy Letts’ adaptation of his Pulitzer-winning play pushes the boundaries of how much misery a film can inflict upon an audience without losing its attention. Impeccably acted and darkly comedic with a mean streak a mile wide, August: Osage County is an emotionally wrenching melodrama whose staginess sometimes gets the better of it.

To put it simply, subtlety is not in Letts’ lexicon. His characterization verges toward universally toxic, and while this makes for bold and funny moments, it takes a stellar cast to turn the Westons from caricatures to characters. A few of them are clear in their alignment (Chris Cooper’s easygoing elder Charles is hard to dislike while Mulroney’s Steve has no redeeming qualities), but most reveal in their complexity. The always reliable Streep attacks her role with aplomb, showing Violet to be as much a victim of circumstance as a selfish manipulator. Roberts does some of her best dramatic work as the foul-mouthed Barbara, whose attempts to keep her family together fail despite the force of her personality. Cumberbatch is surprisingly effective going against type as Little Charles comes across as a good-natured ne’er do well, and Margo Martindale is solid as his cynical, disapproving mother. On the other hand, McGregor and Breslin feel underutilized, a shame given their talents.

If you can look past the strength of the acting – admittedly, no easy task – what remains is decidedly less impressive. August: Osage County is a decidedly talky film with little in the way of plot or inertia. Though there are a few shots of the desolate plains, the setting comes across as occasional window dressing rather than a significant part of the proceedings, and we can’t accept Osage as some kind of godforsaken place unless we see more of it. John Wells, a perfectly competent television director (ER and The West Wing), doesn’t dazzle anyone with technique here. The film feels small and a bit claustrophobic at times and could benefit from more texture.

August: Osage County is one of those films that resonates because it punishes. Watching it will leave you in awe of the cast and emotionally drained. It isn’t until after the fact that you will wonder what it all added up to.

7.75/10

The Lego Movie

In the Lego universe, megalomaniacal Lord Business (Will Ferrell) seizes a weapon called the Kragle from the wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) and blinds him, but not before Vitruvius prophesizes that “the Special” will find a Piece of Resistance that will thwart Business’ plans. Eight years later, the Piece is accidently discovered by – and fused to – Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt), an ordinary city-dwelling construction worker who is swept up by Vitruvius’ disciple Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) in a plot to fulfill the prophecy and prevent now-President Business from freezing the world. To the consternation of all involved, Emmet proves to be a thoroughly unimaginative, mediocre conformist. However, Vitruvius never gives up hope that Emmet can become something more.

Directed and written by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the team behind Clone High and the 21 Jump Street reboot), The Lego Movie defies categorization. Though merchandise-driven, it satirizes the homogeneity of corporate America. While a kid-friendly animated feature, it contains humor and cultural allusions designed to appeal to adult viewers. Part comedy, part adventure, and part message movie, its disparate pieces (pun intended) produce plenty of inconsistencies, but it entertains more often than not.

The building blocks of The Lego Movie’s appeal are its clever script, top-notch voice cast, and skillful animation. At first, the story evokes another dip into the clichéd “chosen one” well, but it isn’t long before it becomes apparent that the plot is ultimately a subversion of that trope. Emmet isn’t just a loveable loser: his inadequacy is an outright liability. Ironically, his blandness is his lone saving grace for much of the film as it keeps him under the radar. In a further deconstruction, the heroes, a presumptive ragtag bunch of misfits (including a cyborg-pirate of sorts and Batman!), are a deeply dysfunctional lot. While the conclusion that the film reaches is ultimately rather pat – any of us can be special if we tap into our potential – the plot takes enough interesting turns before dropping that anvil on us. Along the way, Legophiles, comic book fans, and other pop culture connoisseurs will revel in the number of in-jokes, stealth puns, and other shout-outs. Everything from Austin Powers (sharks with laser beams!) to Clash of the Titans (“Release the _______!”) gets some play here.

The cast includes a mixture of current TV stars (Pratt, Nick Offerman as the aforementioned cyborg pirate, and Allison Brie as an overly chipper unicorn-cat) and screen veterans (Freeman, Ferrell, Banks, and Liam Neeson as a morally conflicted corrupt police officer), all of whom do good work here. Among the smaller roles, big names make for amusing cameos. The Green Lantern shows up as an overly eager fanboy to a reluctant Superman, and they are played by 21 Jump Street partners Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Meanwhile, Cobie Smulders, fresh off of playing Marvel character Maria Hill, pops up as Wonder Woman, a live-action role she was previously considered for.

Purists may bemoan The Lego Movie’s lack of traditional animation, but the computer graphics mimic stop-motion somewhat convincingly. There is a certain amount of comforting fidelity in the way the Lego characters look and move, blockily, across the screen.

Undoubtedly, The Lego Movie’s biggest misstep – and it’s a significant one – is when it enters full-bore message mode toward the end. While this is necessary to an extent (it accompanies a major reveal and it gives the proceedings some thematic substance), the execution is saccharine, momentum-draining, and nearly kills the audience’s interest. That the movie is able to recover from this (and from a particularly grating theme song) is a testament to its overall capacity to entertain.

Toy-to-film adaptations should engender a certain amount of eye-rolling, but this irreverent, knowing take on the Lego phenomenon (as well as the state of entertainment in general these days) shows that they can be fun as well.

8/10

Sweet Potatoes

Located at 529 N. Trade Street in Winston-Salem’s Downtown Arts District, Sweet Potatoes offers Southern-inspired cuisine for lunch and dinner. There is a full bar, daily specials, and a Sunday brunch.

In homestyle Southern cuisine, execution is everything. Those who grew up with a grandparent’s recipes will have a strong basis of comparison. Those who didn’t may need a considerable amount of pull to be converted. Thankfully, Sweet Potatoes has the chops (figuratively and literally – drunken pork chops can be found on the dinner menu) to please both contingents.

The restaurant’s Trade Street home isn’t very big, but what it lacks in space, it makes up for in style. Vibrant green trim and original artwork (one piece of which, admittedly, was a bit off-putting) trim the walls and comfortable jazz plays steadily in the background. Even as Sweet Potatoes fills up, it maintains a comfortable ambiance.

The menu also offers plenty of enticement. Dinner entrees include such attention-getters as a bacon-wrapped whole trout stuffed with sweet potato cornbread and crabmeat, but even the more limited lunch menu has its standouts. For our first visit, my companion and I sampled a fried green tomato and okra basket, a three-cheese macaroni and country ham soufflé, a blackened salmon Nicoise salad, and, of course, a sweet potato. The tomatoes and okra were well-breaded and held their crunch, the soufflé had both sharp and mellow notes, and the sweet potato, topped with butter and brown sugar (though additional options abound for an upcharge) was appropriately sweet. My companion’s salad had a tasty tang, but the fish and potatoes were dry – watch for potential inconsistencies.

During our visit, our server was helpful and showed good knowledge of the menu. Both pricing and wait times for the food were reasonable given the location. Salads and sandwiches (with one side) fall in the $7 to $10 range, and portions are ample.

If you’ve had good Southern before, Sweet Potatoes may not be a revelation. But assuming you can get a table, it is very likely to satisfy.

 8.5/10

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) continues to fight crime as masked superhero Spider-Man while maintaining his relationship with overachieving Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). A promise he made to Gwen’s late police captain father to keep her safe puts a strain on their relationship, as does Peter’s determination to find out what happened to his scientist parents, who disappeared years ago. Meanwhile, Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a lonely, put-upon electrical engineer fancies himself Spider-Man’s biggest fan, but a freak accident gives him the chance to become something more. And Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), Peter’s estranged childhood friend, returns from boarding school to take the reins of the company that ties all of the characters together.

If this past year’s Thor and Captain America sequels showed that even mid-range comic book follow-ups can offer substantial improvement, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 reminds us that will not always be the case. The Amazing Spider-Man was an unnecessary but relatively successful reboot. Its successor is not without some winning elements yet comes across too often as muddled and directionless.

To the movie’s credit, aptly-named director Marc Webb still hits more than he misses on a stylistic level. The film is shiny and slick and the action sequences competently executed. Though the movie feels long at times, the momentum never stalls out completely. Hans Zimmer’s score effectively adds gravity at all the right moments. However, it is undermined by a bombastic soundtrack featuring Alicia Keys and Pharrell Williams.

In attempting to expand characterization, the film’s acting and especially its script strike some false notes. In contrast to Tobey Maguire’s neurotic geek, Garfield plays Peter as brash and (relatively) well-rounded with a New York accent that comes and goes. It’s a refreshing approach, and he does retain some residual angst, but it’s harder to get behind Peter as a character when he is less of an underdog.

Motivation problems trip up the film’s villains as well. Foxx as Dillon/Electro starts off as compelling, lashing out at a world that ignored/rejected/belittled him. But the more powerful he becomes, the more generically megalomaniacal are his intentions. And the character design, while an improvement on the classic lightning-bolted green spandex of the comics, still has him looking like a second-rate Dr. Manhattan. DeHaan experiences a similar decline as he powers up. As Harry, he pulls of petulance while remaining sympathetic. As the Green Goblin, he is wasted: for all of the character’s plot-importance, he makes a very brief appearance and lacks genuine menace. Truthfully, his subplot would have been better served playing out over the course of two movies rather than abruptly terminating at the end of this one.

Aside from the reliably competent Stone (who plays Stacy as fearless and smart) and a tragically short appearance by Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn (sickly, but no less cold or dastardly), the biggest standout here is Sally Field as Aunt May. Whereas other interpretations cast her as a kindly but doddering grandmother-type, this May is a hard-working blue-collar single mother, the type of kind-hearted and strong woman who could convincingly inspire the values Spider-Man is supposed to fight for.

Tragedy strikes toward the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but before Peter or we as an audience can fully absorb it, a sequel hook is quickly shoved into place. The promise of seeing even more villains adapted to screen will raise the hopes of some fans, but were they paying attention to this movie, they should take caution not to lift them too high.

7.25/10

12 Years a Slave

In 1840s New York, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a skilled free black carpenter and violinist, is hired by a pair of traveling entertainers to perform on tour in Washington D.C. Upon arrival, however, Solomon is drugged and sold into slavery. Working at first for the relatively benign William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), he defends himself against a jealous overseer (Paul Dano) and is sold to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), an alcoholic sadist who believes slavery is biblically sanctioned. To make matters worse, Epps has become obsessed with slave Patsey (Lupito Nyongo), which draws the abusive ire of his wife (Sarah Paulson). Though bearing witness to such savagery has taken its toll on Solomon, he refuses to give up hope that he will regain his freedom. A chance meeting with an abolitionist Canadian laborer (Brad Pitt) could prove the opportunity he is looking for.

Slavery, like the Holocaust, is a difficult subject to commit to film, not merely because of its inherent monstrousness, but because showing that monstrousness time and time again risks rendering it passé. Thus, the twin challenges faced by would-be filmmakers are giving the subject its due while finding new ways to engage an audience. Django Unchained dispensed with any pretense of historicity and dared to be funny (as well as incredibly violent) while still managing to get at slavery’s poisonous heart. 12 Years a Slave takes as different (somber, frank, and graceful) an approach as is possible yet is no less impactful.

Directed by Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave is stylistically arresting and full of verisimilitude. Shot on several former plantations, it features convincing costuming and other period detail. The use of bright, sunny hues forms a sharp contrast with the onscreen cruelty. Hans Zimmer’s score may evoke his previous work, but it is no less elegant. And give or take a few embellishments, John Ridley’s screenplay hews closely to Northup’s carefully verified memoir of the same name.

The acting here is top-notch. Ejiofor gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the resolute, dignified Solomon, a man who refuses to abandon hope despite the direness of the circumstances. He is matched by newcomer Nyongo, who imbues the doomed Patsey with toughness and grace. Channeling Amon Goeth, Fassbender is chilling as the psychopathic, fanatical, whip-happy Epps while Paulson plays his jealous wife as cold and cruel in her own right. Only minor hiccups (Pitt’s decidedly un-Canadian accent, the perfection of Nyongo’s teeth) throw the movie off-kilter at times, but it quickly rebounds.

Brutal and uncompromising, 12 Years a Slave is not an easy movie to watch. However, its violence, wretched characters, and harrowing circumstances are all reminders that human dignity should never be taken for granted.

8.75/10