Movie Review: Ant-Man (2015)

by Tony Dayoub


Let's forgo all of the groaners about good things coming in small packages and so forth. Ant-Man is a pleasing enough take on the superhero movie that it doesn't need any help, tired jokes or otherwise, from a hack like me. Ant-Man is neither overstuffed epic like the recent Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron, nor clever, brooding thriller a la Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Ant-Man is a perfectly modest adventure about a man out of his depth in all levels of life who finally finds his niche in the disorienting world of the sub-atomic.

Movie Review: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

by Tony Dayoub

The filmmakers behind any potential sequels to Joe Johnston's Captain America: The First Avenger would be crazy to abandon its wonderful World War II period setting. Sure, the Sentinel of Liberty's required appearance in the upcoming Avengers movie demands that the character be contemporized. But there's good reason not to do the same in his own episodic franchise.

DVD Review: Cassandra's Dream - Serviceable Thriller Mired by Predictable Plot

by Tony Dayoub

Woody Allen's latest European foray, Cassandra's Dream, is a serviceable thriller, with a great cast of British actors. Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor play Terry and Ian, brothers who are in need of money. Dumb, but noble, Terry needs it to pay off some pretty high gambling debts. Smart schemer Ian, needs it to impress his new girlfriend, Angela (Hayley Atwell) with his latest half-baked investment plan. They turn to rich Uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) for help. But Howard takes the opportunity to enlist the boys for a favor of his own. He'll help them IF they get rid of a business partner about to sell him out to the cops over some shady dealings.

Part of the fun here is to see the spectacular cast squirm, manipulate and betray each other through the proceedings. McGregor is particularly oily in his performance, bullying his younger brother into conforming with the plan in order to avoid jeopardizing his new relationship. On the flip side, McGregor is also up to playing his character's naivete, as his actress girlfriend is obviously a golddigging tart already sizing up her next conquest before his eyes. Wilkinson is effective in his brief part, conveying his desperation while not letting the boys' inexperience in crime bring down his own plans. Farrell is the one who's most sympathetic, as his simple-minded gambler, seems to at least have his heart in the right place, if not his head. He generally has noble intentions, wanting to provide for his fiancee, but is unable to shake his gambling addiction.

The main flaw is the predictability of the plot. We've all seen this noir staple before. Sidney Lumet even depicted a variation on this theme to better effect in the superior Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. But where Lumet used pace, setting, and circumstance to affect a tone of believability and surprise, Allen's direction is mired in cliche. For example, out on a date with a coworker, Ian drives past a car broken-down on the side of the road with a woman working under the hood. He turns around to help, and meets his future love, Angela, who will lead him to his inescapable tragic fate. Now, why is it that I, a somewhat nice, average guy, rarely stop to help a stranded driver, yet these cinematic ne'er-do-wells, always do?

Allen is lucky to have actors at his beck and call, most likely because of the reputation he's earned on his older films. But he should slow down his prodigious output and put a little more effort into the stories he's been churning out lately.

Still provided courtesy of Genius Products and The Weinstein Company.