Movie Review: The Drop (2014)

by Tony Dayoub


Michaël R. Roskam's The Drop doesn't exactly venture into new territory. Its story places two small-scale hustlers, Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) and his cousin, known to all as Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini), at the center of a treacherous and complicated scheme right out of Noir 101. Now owned by Chechen mobsters, the eponymous Cousin Marv's Bar is robbed by two dim assailants on the night it happens to be the assigned drop bar receiving all of the Chechens' protection money collected at other bars. This instantly puts Bob and Cousin Marv in hot water with the bar's deadly owners who suspect an inside job. Though the robbers were masked, Bob notices a curious detail: one of the thieves was wearing a stopped watch. Mentioning it to lead investigator Detective Torres (John Ortiz) inexplicably raises Cousin Marv's ire and sets him against his soft-spoken relative.

TV Review: Luck: Episode 9, Series Finale

by Tony Dayoub

Go back to the first episode of Luck and you'll see how much is made of a little goat (known for his giant testicles) that hangs out in Turo's (John Ortiz) barn. Though the goat is mostly used as a form of comic relief in that episode, Turo is quick to point out that the critter is a necessary inhabitant of his barn because the horses like him. One can speculate about whether Turo is unnaturally attuned to the thoroughbreds he trains or if this assertion stems from a superstition revolving around chance. But in last night's series finale, the disappearance of the goat takes on a metaphoric importance.

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TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 8

by Tony Dayoub

Given the plentiful violence found in previous shows by executive producers Michael Mann and David Milch, early speculation on what Luck would feel like often ended up somewhere in The Sopranos territory. After all, Luck would take place in the shady world of gambling. Its cast would sport tough-guy actors like Nick Nolte and Dennis Farina. And it would air on HBO, which some say is at its most successful when exploring violent worlds like those of The Wire and Boardwalk Empire. Eight episodes in, it's safe to say that this at times sweet show about the community forming around the Santa Anita Race Track is nothing like that. But in this, the series's penultimate episode, Sopranos director Allen Coulter gives us a taste of what the darker Luck many of us had been wishing for might have been like. And it isn't pretty.

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TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 7

by Tony Dayoub

As in creator David Milch's previous HBO shows, Deadwood and the short-lived John from Cincinnati, one of Luck's central themes concerns the building of a community. This comes to the fore in episode seven, written by Amanda Ferguson and helmed by returning director Brian Kirk, which emphasizes the growing interaction between the denizens of the Santa Anita Race Track. It reinforces that the most successful of them rely on others, and those that don't are destined to fail.

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TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 6

by Tony Dayoub

There's no getting around the fact that this week's episode of Luck, written by Robin Shushan and directed by Henry Bronchtein, was overstuffed with exposition. Last week's entry was a bit of a respite after the turning point that was the fourth episode, letting us take in the state of some of the characters midseason. This week's episode is one where David Milch and the writers start setting the plates into motion that will keep spinning all the way until the first season concludes three weeks from now. As such, much of the plot mechanics are a little more obvious, particularly in the storyline involving Ace's (Dustin Hoffman) scheme to get back at former partner-in-crime Mike (Michael Gambon). So, given that Luck is strongest when the show is at its most elusive, eliding past plot points to get to a deeper truth, the strongest thread this week belonged to stammering jockey agent Joey Rathburn (Richard Kind), whose simmering financial/professional tensions have finally come to a boil.

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TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 5

by Tony Dayoub

After the emotional high points reached in last week's installment of Luck, it's only natural that this week's episode, written by Scott Willson and directed by Brian Kirk, feels a bit like a come-down. But the seeming pause in the action allows for revelatory moments of introspection which will inform the plot developments that arise as the first season heads into its backstretch. Characteristic of such introspection is the opening shot, trained on a reflection of Ace (Dustin Hoffman) before reframing on the man himself. Using mirrors both literal and figurative, this episode reminds us that three of Luck's characters, Ace, Joey (Richard Kind), and Marcus (Kevin Dunn), each bluff their way through many of their personal dealings considering their hidden good nature.

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TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 4

by Tony Dayoub

For the past few weeks, those unfamiliar with David Milch's style have probably been scratching their heads, wondering what, aside from the lush visual rubric established by Michael Mann, critics and fans see in Luck. As far as Milch shows go, Luck's characters, at least initially, are a good deal less likeable than, for instance, Dennis Franz's alcoholic, racist Andy Sipowicz was in Milch's NYPD Blue. Because the writer incorporates horse-racing terminology into his trademark stylized slang, Milch-speak as it's referred to, is made more impenetrable in Luck than it is in his period-accurate Deadwood—never mind the surfer-infused dialect of his failed John in Cincinnati. Tonight's revelatory episode, written by Daily Racing Form columnist Jay Hovdey and directed by Phillip Noyce, marks the turning point that should put any detractors' criticisms to rest.

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TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 3

by Tony Dayoub

If I had to select one image that best represents the central theme of this week's episode of Luck, it would be a medium shot of Marcus (Kevin Dunn), Jerry (Jason Gedrick), Renzo (Ritchie Coster), and Lonnie (Ian Hart), all holding carrots while they stand, befuddled, in Turo's stall. The episode's director, Allen Coulter, is known for the menacing edge he brings to his other projects for HBO, like The Sopranos. But what's often ignored is his ability to leaven such dark material with a healthy dose of humanity, and this week, Bill Barich's script provides just the right opportunity for Coulter to display his talent in this respect. A good number of our main characters are closer to catching on to what Luck's horse trainers, old Walter (Nick Nolte) and Turo (John Ortiz), seem to know already: These horses aren't just lucky talismans; they also possess a purity of spirit that rehabilitates many of the show's jaded characters.

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TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 2

by Tony Dayoub

Last week, Luck's introductory episode concluded with an exhilarating race that ended badly. The horse that "bug boy" (named for the bug-like asterisk that follows the jockey's name in the racing forms, signifying his apprentice status) Leon rode was put down after its front legs broke. That tragedy still hangs over the main plot of this episode (unlike most shows, Luck isn't naming its episodes). But it also thrusts Leon into a kind of limbo reflective of all of the show's characters. It's in this episode where one is first able to grasp how the different permutations of fortune (good, bad, indifferent) have washed the show's ensemble ashore onto the pretty and slightly desolate beach that is Arcadia's Santa Anita Park.

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TV Review: Luck: Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

by Tony Dayoub

Ace: Generally, how'd he look?
Gus: What do I know, Ace? All four of his legs reach the ground.

That exchange, between two of the leads on the new HBO series Luck, concerns Pint of Plain, the race horse that Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) owns by way of his driver and bodyguard Gus Demetriou (Dennis Farina). Gus is fronting for Ace, who's recently been released from prison and can't legally own a horse until he's off parole. But he knows as much about horse racing as most viewers probably do—which is to say, not much. Those expecting to get a primer on the sport will be disappointed by Luck's first episode, written by creator David Milch (Deadwood) and directed by his co-executive producer, Michael Mann. But that's not a criticism; what Milch and Mann have always been most effective at is getting to the substance of a specific subculture through stylistic means.

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DVD Review: Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem - Once Interesting Franchises Lose Steam in Flawed Misfire

by Tony Dayoub

Both the Alien and Predator franchises had a reputation for spotlighting the work of some of cinema's most promising directors. Here's the list:

Alien - Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Blade Runner)
Aliens - James Cameron (Titanic, The Terminator)
Alien³ - David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en)
Alien: Resurrection - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, The City of Lost Children)

Predator - John McTiernan (Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October)
Predator 2 - Stephen Hopkins (24 Season 1, The Ghost and the Darkness)

Predator 2 showed us an Alien skull in the Predator's trophy room. This led to a series of graphic novels that combined the mythos of both characters. They were popular and demonstrated how viable the idea was. So I was hoping that combining these two franchises on film (still a good idea) wouldn't necessarily end the trend. The first Aliens vs. Predator directed by Paul W. S. Anderson (Resident Evil) was not great, but it had some interesting ideas to build on. But the newest flick Aliens vs Predator - Requiem proves to be beyond the capabilities of the Brothers Strause in their feature film debut.

As set up in the last feature, the Predators, intelligent space-hunters, use Earth to hunt the Aliens. In that film, it's discovered that the Predators set up our civilizations by introducing their technology, in return leading to pyramids built in their honor. Humans would sacrifice themselves to breed Aliens that would provide the intergalactic hunters with their prey. However, if the Aliens proved to be too much to handle, the Predators would nuke the area to prevent infestation. Nifty idea for explaining how some of these civilizations just seemed to disappear, right?

As Requiem begins, an Alien chestburster pops out of a Predator from the last film. It grows up to be a Predalien. This one ends up in a small town in Colorado, killing the townspeople as it uses them as breeding stock, with a Predator not too far behind to clean up the mess. We get to know some of the townspeople, but not well enough for them to make a lasting impression. And that's a big problem, because if you don't identify with these victims, how can you truly be scared?

The Brothers Strause, owners of a famous visual effects house called Hydraulx, have got the blood and gore part down well. But I go to horror movies to be scared, not disgusted. When you have the disgusted part without the scared... well, what's the point? The directors fall into the trap that most novices from the vfx and gaming world fall into when making the transition to cinema. They feel they must take on the challenge of topping the last film by concentrating on the effects and gore, and not the story. For example, is it really necessary to show an alien burst through the chest of an 8-year-old boy? Or how about the Predalien (a creature which, in and of itself, is a bit over the top) stalking through the maternity ward in a hospital as babies cry in the foreground? Had enough yet? No? How about the Predalien impregnating an already pregnant woman in said maternity ward with baby Aliens? These cheap scares provide the filmmakers with some challenging visuals, but they are stomach-turning more than frightening.

And it's too bad, because they had the elements to make this one a little more relevant than previous ones. Setting it up in a small town was a winning idea. But it would be more effective if one actually got involved with the characters, like in Frank Darabont's recent The Mist. They have the beginnings of some nice subplots involving a couple of very good actors. Reiko Aylesworth (24) as a soldier returning from Iraq has some nice interaction with her young daughter (Ariel Gade), now distant because of their time apart. And the great John Ortiz (Carlito's Way) plays the town sheriff, so eager to overcome the stigma of his juvenile delinquency that he will lead his people into oblivion for fear of doing the wrong thing. Sounds great, but the Strauses spend about as much time exploring these avenues as it took you to read those sentences.

I'm sure we'll see a sequel to this film at some point. It's too valuable a pair of franchises for Fox to leave languishing on the shelf. But hopefully they will go back to using these films as a training ground for strong directors, rather than as a reward to a successful visual effects house and their founders.

Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem, is available today on single disc (rated and unrated) and two-disc (unrated) standard DVD, and Blu-ray.
Still provided courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment.