Logan Lucky (2017) review

Steven Soderbergh has had one of the most unique careers of any director in the film industry. Since the late 80’s, he has done films in several different genres under varying budgets. First, he made his start with indie hits like 1989’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape, which won the Palme d’Or, the biggest award given at the annual Cannes Film Festival, at that year’s event. And while he hasn’t stopped making indie-level films since, like the 2008 biopic Che or 2009’s The Girlfriend Experience, which starred porn star Sasha Grey and has since been adapted into a TV series on Starz, Soderbergh has also made some big-name Hollywood projects as well. In the year 2000, he directed a pair of critically acclaimed films in Erin Brockovich, which won Julia Roberts the Oscar for Best Actress, and Traffic, which won Soderbergh the Oscar for Best Director. And, of course, one of his most famous directorial efforts was 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven, the star-studded remake of the equally star-studded 1960 heist thriller of the same name which went on to spawn a highly successful trilogy. However, in 2013, Soderbergh announced that he was taking a brief hiatus from feature filmmaking. For the next few years, he mainly worked in TV, directing all 20 episodes of the Cinemax series The Knick. But this year, one of the most famous ‘auteur’ directors in the industry is back on the big-screen with his latest feature, Logan Lucky. This is very much a Soderbergh feature; for one thing, it was financed almost entirely by Soderbergh himself instead of through the Hollywood system. But enough about that; what of the film itself? Well, to put it simply, Logan Lucky is more than just the ‘Southern equivalent of the Ocean’s films’.

The film opens with blue-collar worker Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) being fired from his current construction job in North Carolina due to a prior leg injury (that was sustained during his brief football career) that wasn’t disclosed to his superiors. To make matters worse for Jimmy, his ex-wife Bobbi Joe (Katie Holmes) reveals to him that she and her new husband Moody (David Denman) plan on moving to Virginia, effectively making it harder for Jimmy to spend time with his daughter Sadie (Farrah Mackenzie). Thus, frustrated with how life’s been going for him recently, Jimmy plans a heist along with his brother Clyde (Adam Driver), who lost part of his left arm in Iraq, and their sister Mellie (Riley Keough). The plan involves them stealing money from the Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Jimmy used to work, by utilizing the Speedway’s air-based money-moving system. To help them in their endeavors, they acquire the assistance of incarcerated safecracker Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) and Joe’s hillbilly brothers Sam (Brian Gleeson) and Fish (Jack Quaid). However, during preparation for the heist, the team finds themselves dealing with a new problem. Originally, their plan was to rob the Speedway during a car show, where security would’ve been easier to deal with. However, due to unexpected time constraints, they’re instead forced to pull it off during one of the biggest NASCAR races of the year, the Coca-Cola 600.

To be clear, while it may seem to some like this is just a Southern-set version of Ocean’s Eleven, that is far from the truth with this film. This is not a glitzy heist thriller set in the fancy world that is the casinos of the Las Vegas Strip. Instead, this is a down-and-dirty southern heist based around a cast of characters who often get into wacky hi-jinx. And that’s ultimately one of the best things about this film; it has a great sense of humor. There are a lot of great humorous moments in this film, from the very specific demands set by a rioting group of inmates to Joe Bang’s unique method of crafting explosives. All in all, this makes the film a good, old-fashioned, fun summer ride that benefits from great cinematography and editing, both of which were handled by Soderbergh himself as he’s a filmmaker known for more than just directing. However, when I say that this is a ‘good, old-fashioned, fun summer ride’, I mean that this is a ‘good, old-fashioned, fun summer ride’ and not much more than that. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great character moments here and there and, unlike the Ocean’s films, you are emotionally invested in the main protagonists’ plight. Still, for the most part, this is primarily just a simple heist plot, and that’s ultimately where Logan Lucky’s true similarities with the Ocean’s films lie. That and some parts feel a bit extraneous, namely with Hilary Swank’s character, FBI agent Sarah Grayson, who investigates into the robbery. Instead of being incorporated fully into the plot, Swank doesn’t appear until the final half hour of the film after the heist has already happened, thus making her role in the story feel rather tacked on.

Still, this film benefits greatly from a terrific ensemble cast. It’s all headlined by Channing Tatum, who’s become a new regular collaborator of Soderbergh’s having worked on films like Magic Mike and Side Effects. And through these collaborations with Soderbergh, Tatum has had some of the best performances of his career since breaking out in 2012. This is one of those great performances for sure, and he has terrific camaraderie with Adam Driver and Riley Keough, both of whom are just as excellent in their respective roles of Clyde and Mellie Logan. As for the film’s supporting cast, while they’re mainly limited to more minor roles, by comparison, they all have their standout moments here and there. This includes Seth MacFarlane as a pompous British business tycoon who the Logan brothers continually cross paths with and the duo of Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson as two of the three Bang siblings, who end up getting some of the film’s best humorous moments. And on that note, as I’m sure everyone else who sees this film will attest to, the biggest standout performance of the entire cast comes from Mr. James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, as the eccentric explosives expert Joe Bang. But, through this film, you don’t see Daniel Craig being James Bond; instead, you see him in one of the most transformative roles of his entire career. In other words, Craig absolutely steals the show whenever he’s on-screen and is an absolute riot.

Thanks to Logan Lucky, Steven Soderbergh has made a solid return to the art of feature filmmaking. It’s a film that is reminiscent of Soderbergh’s Ocean’s films, for sure, but, at the same time, it’s not just a carbon copy of those films. Its southern setting leads to a wackier heist when compared to the Ocean’s films while still being a highly entertaining heist thriller with a good sense of humor and a terrific ensemble cast. However, at the same time, I wouldn’t necessarily call this one of the ‘best’ films of the year, which I know a lot of other people are saying about it. Because while the film does have a solid amount of emotional resonance to it, more so than any of the Ocean’s films, it’s still ultimately just a simple heist plot and not much more than that. However, I do understand why this film has been such a big deal amongst film buffs. As noted in the intro, Soderbergh financed this film himself, primarily, so that he could have complete control over it in this current age of the studio system. Ultimately, though, as someone who doesn’t really get too worked up over the internet’s apparent need for more original, director-driven films, what I mainly got out of this was a simple, fun summer film, which was all that I was looking for, really. This is the best kind of film to watch as a temporary reprieve for one’s end-of-summer blues while also serving as a nice return for one of the most unique directors in the film industry.

Rating: 4/5

Ted 2 (2015) review

After creating one of the most successful shows of the 2000’s in ‘Family Guy’, a show that survived not one but two cancellations by Fox, Seth MacFarlane moved into film in 2012 with his directorial debut, ‘Ted’, the story of a Boston native by the name of John Bennett and his relationship with his talking teddy bear Ted, who came to life after John had made a wish on a shooting star back when he was a kid. The film ended up being a huge success, attracting solid critical reviews and grossing over half a billion dollars worldwide. Three years later, everyone’s favorite ‘Thunder Buddies’ are back with ‘Ted 2’. But of course, as we all know, comedy sequels are pretty darn tough to get right. Most of the time they end up being inferior to their predecessor, usually because they just end up rehashing the same jokes instead of doing something new. But at the end of the day, ‘Ted 2’ actually does manage to be one of the better comedy sequels out there, even if that may not necessarily be saying much given most of the other comedy sequels that have come out over the years. It’s by no means the absolute funniest comedy of the year, even when compared to the first film, and it does share some of the issues that plagued MacFarlane’s previous film, the general misfire that was ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’. But unlike that film, those issues aren’t really as prevalent in ‘Ted 2’, which is thankfully much more consistent in terms of its humor. And that’s primarily thanks to the film’s great leading duo of John and Ted, who ultimately are the main reason why these two ‘Ted’ films have been so much fun to watch.

The film picks up about six months after the events of the first film, with John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) coping with his recent divorce with Lori (in other words, Mila Kunis did not return for the sequel) while Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) marries his girlfriend Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth). One year later, the couple find themselves at great odds with each other so Ted suggests that they have a baby. But due to obvious reasons (i.e. Ted being a teddy bear), the two, with the help of John, instead have to resort to other methods to have a child. However, when they try to adopt, Ted learns that he is viewed only as ‘property’ by the government, which results in him losing his job and his marriage to Tami-Lynn being annulled. With nowhere else to go, Ted and John decide to take their issue to court to prove that Ted is as much of a person as everyone else. With the help of Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), a young up-and-coming lawyer who John and Ted immediately connect with due to their shared interests (e.g. marijuana), the ‘Thunder Buddies’ embark on a quest to get Ted’s life back by proving to the world that not only is he human but that he can also make positive contributions to society. All the while, the pals embark on another series of misadventures, including having to deal with the return of their nemesis Donny (Giovanni Ribisi), who once again hatches a plot to kidnap Ted, this time teaming up with Hasbro so that they can try and figure out what caused Ted to come alive so that they can produce more living teddy bears.

Like its predecessor, your overall enjoyment of ‘Ted 2’ will more than likely depend on whether or not you find MacFarlane’s general style of humor funny. ‘Ted 2’, just like the first film and ‘Family Guy’, is full of adult, immature, and sometimes even potentially offensive humor. It’s pretty much the live-action version of ‘Family Guy’, with John and Ted basically being the live-action equivalents of Peter and Brian Griffin. Me personally, I loved the first few seasons of ‘Family Guy’ but I haven’t watched the show in recent years mainly due to the simple fact that the show’s quality has dropped with each subsequent season that it is still on. But as for ‘Ted’, it was one of my favorite comedies of 2012 and ‘Ted 2’ is not too far off. Sure, like with MacFarlane’s last effort, ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’, there are some ‘dead air’ moments in ‘Ted 2’ with no humor, which is usually whenever the film tries to be serious, more so than it needs to be. That and perhaps the film does go on just a bit too long, which was also a problem with ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’. But unlike that film, the humor is a lot more consistent and like the first film, there are also some legitimately heartfelt moments even amidst all of the dirty humor. At the end of the day, all I can say is that it’s just really funny to see something like a teddy bear act so raunchy and that’s really one of the biggest strengths of both ‘Ted’ films; it’s just a fun and unique premise that only someone can Seth MacFarlane could pull off.

But once again, the best element of ‘Ted 2’, just like with the first, is the duo of John and Ted, who are just one of the best comedy duos of the past few years thanks to Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane’s excellent camaraderie. Sure, John and Ted can be immature and crude most of the time but there’s also something about them that actually still makes them such a likable pair, which is probably due to the strong bond of friendship between them. Mila Kunis doesn’t reprise her role of Lori in this film, which is disappointing not only because the plotline of her and John getting divorced basically goes against one of the most endearing elements of the first film (their relationship) but because she played just as big a role in the film as much as John and Ted and wasn’t just ‘the girlfriend who dislikes her boyfriend’s best friend’. But to her credit, Amanda Seyfried works just as well with Wahlberg and MacFarlane. At the end of the day though, John and Ted are the true heart of the film and whenever they aren’t onscreen, that’s where the film’s humor doesn’t hit. Usually this with any scene involving the character of Donny, whose plotline in the first film of him trying to kidnap Ted for his son was admittedly one of the weaker parts of that film. But, like with pretty much any MacFarlane production, you can also expect a whole bunch of memorable cameos, including Tom Brady, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson, the latter of whom is thankfully used to greater effect here than in ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’.

‘Ted 2’ is by no means the funniest comedy of all-time, especially when compared to the first film. That and it did share some of the issues that plagued ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ (e.g. ‘dead air’ moments and being just a bit overlong), even though those issues weren’t as big of a problem this time around. But still, at the end of the day, I had a good time watching ‘Ted 2’ which I would actually argue is almost just as funny as the first film. Like the first film, the main reason for this is the duo of John and Ted. They’re just a great comedy film duo and it’s fun to watch these two go on all sorts of misadventures and get into a bunch of hi-jinx. Yes, like its predecessor and MacFarlane’s iconic show ‘Family Guy’ (especially in recent seasons), the humor can be a bit harsh and mean-spirited at times. That’s just the kind of humor MacFarlane does and obviously it’s not for everyone. But what surprises me about both of these ‘Ted’ films is that despite all of that, there are still some moments that are actually legitimately touching, which again is usually due to the great friendship of John and Ted. All in all, ‘Ted 2’ does manage to be one of the better comedy sequels of all time. If you loved the first film, then I’m pretty sure that you’ll like this one too. But if you’re not a fan of MacFarlane’s brand of humor, then you’re better off with something else.

Rating: 4/5

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) review

After establishing his own animation empire with ‘Family Guy’, which continues to run after surviving not one but two cancellations, ‘American Dad!’, and ‘The Cleveland Show’, Seth MacFarlane transitioned into film with his directorial debut, ‘Ted’, and the film was a pretty big hit when it released in June 2012. Not only did it receive generally solid reviews from critics, but it also ended up becoming the highest grossing original comedy of all time with nearly $550 million worldwide at the box office. A few months later, MacFarlane was selected to host the 85^th Academy Awards and while he, as usual, attracted a lot of controversy due to his trademark style of humor, I was one of those who thought that he did a really good job and felt that his turn as host was a breath of fresh air for the annual awards ceremony. But now he’s back with his next directorial effort, ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’, and this time instead of just portraying a motion capture character as he did in ‘Ted’, he makes his live-action debut in the lead role. So how does this film hold up? Well, ultimately I can’t say that it was as good as ‘Ted’ for a few glaring reasons but overall it still provided a decent amount of laughs though how it will fare with audiences could ultimately depend on whether or not you’re a fan of MacFarlane’s work.

The film centers on Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane), a cowardly sheep farmer in Arizona who constantly complains about how awful the Wild West in 1882 is, and that’s mostly because there are multiple ways (‘a million’ to be specific) to die there; disease, outlaws, animals, the doctor, etc. His lack of courage ends up resulting in him losing his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) to the town’s moustache shop owner Foy (Neil Patrick Harris) after he withdraws from a duel. Albert then decides to leave for San Francisco, but ends up staying when a mysterious woman named Anna (Charlize Theron) moves into town. As she and Albert start to become friends, he starts to gain a bit more confidence as he attempts to win back the heart of Louise. But soon he finds himself having to stand his ground not against Foy, but against Anna’s husband, the notorious outlaw Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), when he arrives in town seeking revenge on Stark after he started to develop a relationship with Anna. In order to deal with this, Anna helps Albert by teaching him how to shoot better so that Albert can stand a chance against the most vicious gunslinger in the territory.

This film’s humor is exactly what you would expect from MacFarlane given his line of work; fairly crass and juvenile. If you’re someone who likes that kind of humor, you’ll probably enjoy this movie and overall there are a solid amount of funny moments in this film. I’ve heard some people say that the best stuff is in the trailer and for the most part they’re fairly right but there were still a few good funny moments peppered in here and there that weren’t featured in the trailers. However, the big problem here is that there are a few instances where there’s no humor at all. And you know some comedies do have moments where the humor doesn’t fly well but that’s not the case here because there are a few instances where nothing funny is happening for a good 10 to 15 minutes. A lot of critics have said that this film is ‘overlong’, and I have to say that I do agree with that. This film may only be about 10 minutes longer than ‘Ted’, but that film’s humor was much more consistent and ultimately had enough material to justify its runtime. This film, sadly, doesn’t have enough material to be nearly two hours long. In fact, the whole plot involving Liam Neeson’s character… is actually more or less just the subplot for the third act. Seriously, most of the movie’s buildup revolves around a duel between Albert and Foy, not with Albert and Clinch as the trailers are indicating.

But still, this film does benefit from a pretty solid cast even if they don’t always have enough good material to work with. In his first major live-action leading role, MacFarlane does a pretty good job and his chemistry with Theron, who’s really good here as well, is also really good. It always helps in a movie like this when the chemistry between the two leads is really good though remember what I said about those instances that had a severe lack of humor? That’s because those scenes are mainly focused on developing the relationship between the two and though it really is a nice little romance that these two develop, this film sort of focuses on that relationship a bit too much. All of the other major members of the cast, including Seyfried, Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, who plays Albert’s best friend Edward, and Sarah Silverman, who plays Edward’s fiancé Ruth, have their own moments to shine here as well. Unfortunately though, Liam Neeson doesn’t get much to do here; his character is pretty one-note, which is a shame after his hilarious turn as Bad Cop/Good Cop in ‘The LEGO Movie’. As for the multiple cameos in this movie (another thing you can expect from a MacFarlane production), there a few really noteworthy cameos here that produce some quality laughs though one cameo unfortunately had to be involved in probably the weakest post-credits scene ever. It’s a fairly brief scene and the cameo itself was pretty cool but quite frankly it just isn’t worth it after waiting through the entire credits.

I don’t think ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ is that bad; I feel that it’s better than a lot of comedies that are coming out these days and at the end of the day there are a good decent amount of laughs to be had here. However, as far as MacFarlane’s directorial efforts go, ‘Ted’ was the funnier film. This film just doesn’t have enough material to justify a near two-hour runtime. There are at least two or three instances where no humor is occurring for at least 10-15 minutes and while those scenes are setting up a nice little romance between MacFarlane and Theron’s characters, that romance is focused on just a bit too much. Still, the cast is pretty game for the material, there are a few really fun cameos here, and overall if you’re a fan of MacFarlane’s work you’ll probably like this. If you’re not a fan, well, obviously you’re probably not going to like this film. But really, if you haven’t seen ‘Neighbors’ yet, I’d recommend that film over this one because at the end of the day that is still the best comedy of this year so far. Again, I don’t think this film was that bad, but it’s a rather disappointing follow-up to ‘Ted’ and it could have been a lot funnier.

Rating: 3/5