Review: The Drop – Well played sir.

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The Drop approaches a common subject in an original and surprising way. Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island) has crafted another brilliant crime narrative that shies away from cliché and common narrative tropes that tend to pepper cross-cultural, urban crime plots.

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The film follows Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) who tends bar at a local bar in Brooklyn owned by his ‘cousin Marv’ (James Gandolfini). Cousin Marv’s bar occasionally acts as a cash drop for the local Chechen mob. Two amateur thieves rob the bar, which creates tension between Marv and the Chechen mob, putting the lives of Bob and Marv at risk if they aren’t able to recover the stolen money.

Throughout the film we learn more about Marv and Bob’s pasts, their attempt and ultimate failure at establishing a gang when they were young and Marv’s reverberating desire to be infamous. Family ties play an important role in Marv and Bob’s relationship as they work to ensure their own survival.

Early on in the film Bob finds an abused puppy in a garbage can one night on his way home from work. This is how he comes to know Nadia (Noomi Rapace) a young woman with a troubled past and problematic ex. The puppy, who Bob names Rocco, is a catalase for Bob and Nadia’s friendship.

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I would hate to say too much more about the plot for fear of spoiling your experience of the complexities of these characters and the many layers at play throughout the plot.

The Drop is a very well crafted script directed with precision by Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead) in his English-language directing debut. Hardy, Rapace and Gandolfini bring expertly bring Dennis Lehane’s narrative to life. This film is extremely satisfying to watch, I highly recommend it.

Currently showing at The State Theater and other nearby locations.

PREVIEW: Second City Comes to the Ark

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The Second City is an improv comedy group founded in Chicago. It has been a beginning for comedians ranging from Tina Fey (Mean Girls, 30 Rock) to Stephen Colbert (The Colbert Report). Need I say more about this group’s ability to make people laugh?

When: The Ark, Friday 9/26 and Saturday 9/27 at 8 pm

Cost: If you show student ID, tickets are only $20! (At MUTO or the Ark)

Why: Exams coming up next week? Take a break from studying. Car broke down on the highway? Walk to the Ark and buy tickets to Second City. Disheartened that Michigan may have a losing football season? Nurse your pain with comedy tickets.

Finally, a video preview here: https://www.youtube.com/user/secondcity

Preview: The Skeleton Twins

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What: The Skeleton Twins

Where: The Michigan Theater

When: Opens Friday 26 September

How Much: $8 for students and veterans, $10 general admission

 

Starring Kristen Wiig (SNL, Brides Maids), Bill Hader (SNL), Ty Burrell (Modern Family) and Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde).

The Skeleton Twins is about the reuniting of estranged twins Maggie (Wiig) and Milo (Hader) who are each struggling in their individual lives. Together they trace back to where things went so wrong for each of them and realize that repairing their relationship with one another could provide the solution to fixing everything.

1 hour, 33 minutes, rated R.

 

PREVIEW: The Maze Runner

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You’ve probably of James Dashner’s best-selling book The Maze Runner, or even the other books in the trilogy (technically, a quadrilogy). Set in a post-apocalyptic future where a group of young boys live in a maze and long to escape…

It’s a simple premise, but aren’t most dystopian stories deceptively simple? (cough, cough, Hunger Games).

Where: The Maze Runner is playing at both Rave Cinemas & Quality 16 Cinemas

Cost: $10 for evening shows, cheaper for matinees.

When: The movie just opened so it will be around for at least a couple of weeks

You can view the trailer here

Preview: The Drop – CLOSES THURSDAY Sept. 18

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Written by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island, The Wire), the new crime-drama ‘The Drop’ examines Brooklyn bars that act as ‘money drops’ for local gangsters. Bartender Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) finds himself in the middle of a robbery gone wrong. He and his boss/ cousin Marve (James Gandolfini) are drawn into an investigation that looks into the past of the Brooklyn neighborhood.

Starring Tom Hardy (Bronson, The Dark Knight Rises), Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and James Gandolfini (The Sopranos, True Romance).

“The Drop” is showing at The State Theater and theaters nearby only until Thursday 18 September.

Review: Magic in the Moonlight – Leaves Something to be Desired.

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Woody Allen’s most recent film clips along at a brisk pace, leaving some viewers in the dust.
Starring Colin Firth (Stanley) and Emma Stone (Sophie), ‘Magic in the Moonlight’ has many humorous moments, beautiful cinematography and a fitting soundtrack, as one would expect from director/writer Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Manhattan, Blue Jasmine).

Set in 1928, ‘Magic in the Moonlight’ follows world-renowned magician Stanley as he attempts to debunk the telepathic talents of a young American from Kalamazoo Michigan, Sophie at the request of fellow childhood friend and magician Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney).

A majority of the film takes place on the French coast where Allen uses his cinematic talents when capturing the majestic landscape and lengthy panning shots of Firth driving on the winding roads.
The script, although witty and well structured cinematically, progresses at a rapid pace, which leaves the audience feeling like they might have missed something. Firth’s character is short changed with a rapid, unexplained shift in personality and appreciation of Sophie.

Allen is known for his quick-witted dialogue and plot sequences. Unfortunately he went overboard with the scatter-brained quirky wit when executing this particular project.

Magic in the Moonlight is currently showing a The State Theater in Ann Arbor.