Josh Brolin Double: Everest and Sicario

After seeing Snowpiercer the night before, it was time for another cold looking flick, the mountain climbing turned deadly expedition true story Everest. The third movie of our weekend took place at Cinemark's new theater in Playa Vista at The Runway. We frequent this spot frequently and the hostess called us regulars. It's generally slow and empty but on a Saturday night the bar and restaurant were pretty happening. Sadly it really slogged down service and our server could not keep up. It wasn't a bad experience per se but definitely not great, such a shame. In the 90's, climbing mount Everest had turned into a business where guides would take the rich and adventurous up to the summit, weather permitting. But at the cruising altitude of a 747, the body is literally dying so extreme caution and preparation are exercised. Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) heads up Adventure Consultants, he's kind, funny, level-headed and expecting a baby daughter. Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) is more care free and a bit of a hippie but with so many climbers creating log jams at dangerous passes, they team up to get their clients up the mountain. Unfortunately Mother Nature has other plans as a surprise storm strands several climbers and tragedy strikes as multiple mountaineers meet their demise.

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur (TWO GUNS!) based on a script from William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy, Everest plays out pretty straightforwardly; briefly introducing the characters along with the danger and majesty of the mountain. They go up, shit goes bad and sadly people don't make it home. Clarke plays Hall likable and intelligent while a deep cast of familiar faces includes Martin Henderson, John Hawkes, Josh Brolin as a likeable yet somewhat pushy Texan, Emily Watson, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley and Gyllenhaal. Sure some of the mountain scenes look a bit like a set but there's also some stunning shots of the range, snow and avalanches. A scene involving a helicopter shot from the cockpit as it plummets is particularly intense. Two friends complained that the film had too many half baked characters you couldn't differentiate, even by their different colored jackets. It made me want to watch K2, the 90's rock and mountain climbing mini-epic featuring Michael Biehn and Matt Craven as best friends who join a billionaires crew heading up the second highest mountain in the world. That film benefited from focusing on two characters and their opposite attitudes but then again wasn't touted as a true story. It also made me wonder about the amount of bodies left on the mountain along with used oxygen tanks and trash.

On Sunday it was off to Century City's AMC for Sicario, the currently limited release thriller from Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve that tells the story of a female FBI agent recruited into a government task force out to shake things up with Mexican cartels. Blunt is Kate Macer and she's enlisted by the odd, funny and straight shooting Matt Graver (Josh Brolin again!) and the mysterious badass Alejandro (Benecio Del Toro) to cause a ruckus that will cause a prominent cartel leader to be called back to Mexico and hopefully unnerve the violent drug ring to the point they make a mistake. Like Everest it's a straightforward film but does a great job of revealing layers of story and character so you're always wondering where the film will go next. Like Prisoners, Villeneuve shows his skill at the slow burn thriller built on strong characters and shocking bursts of violence.

Actor turned writer Taylor Sheridan crafts a factually inspired look into the workings of vicious drug gangs and how the U.S. has to act a bit nasty to keep up and make an impact. While I enjoyed the film, I couldn't help but think Sicario was like a classier version of Sabotage, the fantastic David Ayer-Arnold Schwarzenegger flop that explored revenge, money and the Mexican cartels. Both films have a mythical drug war lead who's good in a fight, a female character who gets caught up in the intricate web of deceit and revenge while showcasing the brutal reality of today's war on drugs. While Sabotage reveled in the grimy world special operators lived in with entertaining macho-ridiculous relish, Sicario keeps things high brow, looking to shock the viewer with the facts Sabotage just accepted as part of the world. It's nice to see Del Toro regaining some of his career steam after coming down from his Oscar win with underrated under performers The Hunted and The Wolfman. As for the second dose of Brolin, he exudes a tough charm that just borders on darkness. Or basically he's taken his role as the young Tommy Lee Jones in Men In Black 3 too far and morphing into the reliable yet grumpy cinematic standby. If you can't make it out to the theater, both K2 and Sabotage are on Netflix, enjoy!

Fall Flicks: Fury

It was a guy's night out for Brad Pitt's latest, the World War II set, tank riding action-drama, Fury.  Written and Directed by future Dammaged Goods Hall of Famer David Ayer, Fury opens up deep within Nazi Germany in 1945 where a desperate Hitler has every man, woman and child fighting for their dying cause.  We meet the crew of Fury, a Sherman tank that has treaded a bloody path through Africa into Europe.  Leading the outfit is Wardaddy (Pitt), a hard ass who whips his men and kills the bad guys but suffers in solitude.  Behind him is Bible (Shia LaBeouf), bespectacled, respectable, little brother type to Wardaddy who always seems to be on the verge of tears.  Loading the cannon and fixing Fury is the scary and brutish Coon-Ass (Jon Bernthal) while been there, done that know it all Gordo (Michael Pena) drives the big rig.  When their gunner is killed in a skirmish, meek administrative typist Norman (Logan Lerman) is assigned to the crew and learns the ways and horrors of war from the experienced team and first hand.

To start, I found Fury to be terrific.  If you read this online journal regularly you know that World War II movies are among my favorites.  So one with a big budget and a talented cast and crew behind it is right up my alley.  Fury is brutal, it's intense and it's funny.  If you're familiar with any of Ayer's previous work like Harsh Times, Street Kings, End of Watch or Sabotage, you know to expect a gritty, reality based tale of (mostly) men working in violent professions and the bond between them.  While that hard edged machismo can come off near ridiculous in modern affairs, it suits Fury perfectly as Ayer doesn't glorify violence as much as show you the consequences, physically and mentally, in a time when the enemy was clear cut and soldiers were asked to execute and endure harsh realities.  Wardaddy pushes his men to stay on their toes and do their jobs, which is to kill Nazi's.  Especially crime against humanity extremist members of the Schutzstaffel or SS.  They get it first and they get it bad.

Story wise, Fury doesn't explore anything we haven't seen in World War II movies before.  War is hell, our troops were spread too thin, under trained and the finale is a few versus many.  What makes it resonate into it's own memorable feature is the camaraderie between the crew members, the depiction of brutality of what these men had to do in order to survive and ultimately win the war.  Brad Pitt is solid as Wardaddy, in a sense he's like the father of his men, riding them so they'll rise to the challenge and not get themselves or others killed.  He's also surprisingly still yoked for 50 years old as a lingering shirtless scene shows Pitt's still got it and must have his Troy workout routine written down somewhere.  LaBeouf is like the sensitive little brother and doesn't have the same kind of necessary mean streak as his comrades.  Jon Bernthal is straight up terrifying as the savage of the group and I wondered if he was going to end up squaring off with Wardaddy or turning on the team.  Ayer alum Michael Pena gets a lot of laughs as the wise ass while Lerman injects his role as the greenhorn who must adapt or die with believable nervous, boyish humanity.

All of Ayer's work focuses on the daily lives of characters who live and work in dangerous worlds.  End of Watch and Sabotage neared docudrama levels as it felt like the audience was basically along for the ride.  Fury, with it's period setting, shares the same closeness but doesn't come off quite so mechanical as just tagging along.  The action is violent with faces and limbs being blown off and people being burned alive.  There's a great fight between the Sherman and the German's faster, better armored Tiger that must be among the best depictions of close quarter tank battle ever put on the big screen.  There's a mention of tracer rounds so you can see what you're shooting at but it seemed like every shot fired in the film was traced in a green or red line, giving it a strange, laser beam like feel.

While some might find the film nihilistic, I found it to be inspiring and a reminder to the great men and women who gave up their daily lives and were transported halfway around the world to fight, suffer and die for the greater good.  Ayer continues to be one of my favorite directors working today with his unrelenting, raw and realistic approach to familiar genres where punches aren't pulled and an R rating is guaranteed.

Hey Arnold: Body Fat Guys & Sabotage Blu-Ray

*HARSH YET HILARIOUS LANGUAGE AHEAD*

"Don't fucking scream at me!  You dumb fuck, you.  Look at you, with your fucking 48% body fat!  And you, scrawny little bastard.  Fuck you guys!"
     - Arnold Schwarzenegger as John "Breacher" Wharton in Sabotage

Oh man Sabotage hits digital download this week and disk on the 22nd of July.  Dammaged Goods brought in July 4th in true Dammaged Goods style and sat down to view the flick on home video after seeing it twice in theaters on two consecutive nights with different factions of friends.  While the story was a bit confusing upon the first viewing, I think I got it the 2nd time around and definitely the 3rd, maybe...Basically Arnold is a drug war god for the DEA who has found and brought down the man(s) who couldn't be found or brought down.  When his team starts to get killed off after skimming $10 million from a cartel bust, Breacher and local Atlanta detective Caroline investigate who is coming after his guys and gal.  Bro-down, talking all raw, gunfights, betrayals, head shots, Chevy cars and trucks, Oakley visors, McClure's Whiskey and vehicular mayhem on the streets of Atlanta ensues.  The flick looks great on the small screen with the high definition, hand held style very smooth if not epically cinematic as we're more or less a fly on the wall following these characters.  The gunshots are super loud and it's a fun yet brutal flick that has a solid performance from Arnold in a role that uses his baggage as an actor and icon to push him in a more serious direction versus the simple, crowd pleasing, muscle flexing, machine gun toting, one liner tossing caricature we knew and loved from the 80's.  Headlining a terrific cast that includes Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Williams, Terrence Howard, Josh Holloway, Max Martini, Mirelle Enos and Harold Perrineau, Arnold continues to show us his business and career intelligence by aligning himself with talented cast and crew.

Ably directed by Harsh Times, Training Day and End of Watch's David Ayer, Sabotage packs the same gritty yet bro-funny feeling of the above titles and paints a slice of life insight into the dark dealings and thin line our protectors and criminals tread.  Co-written by blunt action guy Skip Woods of Wolverine: Origins, A Good Day to Die Hard and The A-Team fame, Sabotage seems like a simple story but feels a little too complicated for it's own good as I still couldn't tell you EXACTLY who kills who or is responsible for what.  In the end it's a very enjoyable flick with a nice mix of action, thrills, laughs and mystery.  I'm sure Sabotage will find it's audience on home video after being sadly left high and dry at the box office.  Like the under performing Harsh Times, people are just missing out.

The Blu-Ray comes with some decent special features like deleted scenes, 2 alternate endings and a short making of.  *SPOILERS*  Deleted scenes give us a subplot of Atlanta PD working a missing child case that Breacher helps crack, the aftermath of Caroline and Breacher's one night stand complete with Arnold side butt shot, quick glimpses of Sugar (Terrence Howard) and Lizzie (Mirelle Enos) partaking in some debauchery, etc.  None of the scenes are overly interesting and if included, would have made the film even darker and made you feel grimier.  Alternate endings really turn Arnold evil with a surprisingly brutal fight scene between Breacher and Caroline then Breacher shooting it out with local cops to escape.  *END SPOILERS*  The under 10-minute making of is packed with info as we learn Arnold wanted to work with Ayer after seeing End of Watch 4 times.  Ayer wanted to make Arnold a complex character and step away from the heroic roles audiences knew him for and do something different.  The Oak liked the fact that it was an ensemble piece and not just an action picture.  Given Ayer's military background, all on screen tactics and maneuvers were by the book with the actors participating in two months of training that taught them law enforcement basics as well as bonding them.  I think the flick could have used a commentary from Woods, Ayer and some of the cast but ah well.  I'm definitely happy to have the flick as is.

Vernal Viewing: Sabotage

I've been looking forward to Sabotage for quite some time.  Writer/Director David Ayer has had a hand in some great flicks from Training Day to fucking classic Harsh Times to enjoyable cop thriller Street Kings to the surprisingly solid End of Watch.  He takes a reality based approach to the seemingly tired genres of cops and soldiers but delves into the nitty gritty of the highly trained, under cover agents that operate in the shadows of society's shitholes.  So when I heard Ayer was doing a movie with Arnold, I knew it would be something different that wouldn't try to recapture The King of Kings' former glory and would move him into a new direction. 

Sabotage follows John "Breacher" Warden (Ah-nuld), a living legend in the DEA's under cover unit who has taken down a top cartel leader but lost his family in a retaliatory kidnapping and double murder.  Now, Breacher is obsessed with taking down the bad guys and finding the man who killed his wife and son.  The movie starts with his team taking down a safe house with $200 million in cash sitting in the basement.  Breacher's team hides $10 million and blows up the rest but when they go to retrieve it, the money is gone and soon they are all under investigation by the DEA.  After being cleared of the charges, Breacher's team begins getting killed off one by one in extremely gruesome manners, attracting local Homicide detectives.  After that, it's a slow burn mystery thriller with bits of debauchery and tactical military style action placed throughout.

Hands down, this has to be Arnold's darkest, craziest, bloodiest, funniest, macho-ist, raunchiest, filthiest, bro-down of his career.  His turn as Breacher is more realistic than anything he's done in years, maybe ever.  As a highly trained, motivated leader and operator; Arnold's trademark physicality, sense of humor (an interrogation scene and a remark about 48% body fat had us laughing for 5 minutes) and penchant for cigars makes him badass with a touch of menace instead of a cartoon character.  The supporting cast is superb as well as you get a nearly unrecognizable Sam Worthington (Avatar) as Arnold's 2nd in command Monster, TV star and all of a sudden Arnold BFF Joe Manganiello's Grinder shows off his impressive size and gets one of the best/worst lines in the movie, Josh Holloway from TV's bullshit Lost puts in a funny/wise ass performance as Neck, Pacific Rim's Max Martini shows up as trouble maker Pyro, Terrence Howard plays smooth devil's advocate Sugar, World War Z's Mireille Enos convincingly plays an action and controlled substance junkie while real life military advisor Kevin Vance gives some honest credibility as Tripod.

Co-written by Skip Woods (A Good Day to Die Hard), Sabotage plays like an amplified version of Ayer's directorial debut, Harsh Times, where Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez basically drive around Los Angeles drinking and getting into trouble.  That "up to no good" vibe is cranked up here and every character is raw, every other word of dialog is "fuck" and there's booze, tits and guns galore.  Once Breacher's team starts getting killed off, the mystery is well done but when everything is revealed and we head into the final act, the movie can't top itself and seems to shift down gears.  Parts of the flick confused me, such as the inciting incident where Breacher's team steals the money then blows up the rest.  His superiors have a rough idea of how much was there from a parallel FBI investigation but if some of it burned up, how would they know what was missing?  And is the cartel upset that they blew up the money or that they might have stolen some?  Or both?


Sabotage comes on the heels of Arnold's comeback starring vehicle The Last Stand bombing at the box office then his team up with Stallone, Escape Plan, which did peanuts in America but cleaned up overseas.  Opening up this past weekend in a crowded market against Darren Aronofsky's Russell Crowe starrer Noah, defending YA champ Divergent and faith based God's Not Dead, Sabotage opened at # 7 with a pitiful $5.3 million take.  That makes it Arnold's worst opening since the early 80's behind titles like Raw Deal and Red Sonja.  Open Road Films, a relatively new distributer owned by AMC, has had trouble marketing their films in the past as The Killer Elite, The Grey and Sabotage are not your typical slam-bang action picture but instead are actually dramatic thrillers with action.  Props to them for trying to sell the movie on Ayer's past credits and the supporting cast but it just wasn't enough.  Arnold seemed to be everywhere to promote the film and while his internet videos rack up millions of views, that exposure isn't driving patrons to the theater, sadly.  A friend didn't want to see the movie after hearing it tanked but I told him to stop being a mainstream sheep of the masses.  He ended up joining us and having a blast while learning new life skills.

Listen all y'all its a Slap da Chop!