JUSTICE LEAGUE: 3 ½ STARS
The old truism “less is more” has been thrown into the interdimensional void with the release of the new jam-packed superhero film “Justice League.”
At almost two hours, and featuring the talents of not one but two high-powered directors—Joss Whedon took over for Zach Synder who stepped away in post-production due to personal issues—it features the top-line DC heroes like Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) plus a host of others like Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Mamoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). Then there’s odds and ends like Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta, villains such as Lex Luther (Jesse Eisenberg) and the motion captured Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf and significant others like Martha Kent (Diane Lane), Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and James Gordon (J. K. Simmons).
Phew. That’s a whole lotta movie. I wonder, is there anyone left to make other superhero films?
“Justice League” takes place months after the events of the grim-faced “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Superman, apparently, is out of the picture—we see a newspaper with the headline “Disappearing heroes. Did they return to their planets?” accompanied with photos of David Bowie, Prince and Superman. So billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (Affleck) and Diana Prince (Gadot) a.k.a. Princess Diana of Themyscira assemble a team of super-dupers including the world’s fastest boy, Barry Allen (Miller), merman Arthur Curry (Momoa) and man-machine Victor Stone (Fisher). “There are enemies coming from far away,” says Wayne. “I need warriors right now.”
Their job? To combat alien military officer Steppenwolf—“I am the end of worlds!”—and his army of winged shock troops called Terror Demons. How do we know Steppenwolf is the villain? He has big silver horns and says things like, “Praise to the mother of horrors!” These are bad dudes, and if they lay their hands on the three earthbound Mother Boxes—perpetual energy matrixes that, if joined together, destroy as they create—not even the combined forces of all the DC superheroes will be able to save the planet and stop Steppenwolf from taking his place among the new gods! “One misses the days when the biggest concerns were wind up exploding penguins,” moans Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons).
The first hour of “Justice League” is essentially a long origin story, detailing the backstories of each of the new characters. It’s still sombre and underscored with a very dramatic soundtrack by Danny Elfman. At the same time, it doesn’t take itself as seriously as “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” It’s hard not to find the humour in Bruce Wayne pseudo-seriously asking Aquaman if he can talk to fish. The funny stuff is a welcome addition. The downhearted tone of Synder’s previous film was oppressive, sending the audience on a one-way trip to Bleaktown, U.S.A.
“Justice League,” by comparison, has hills and valleys. Moments of weight play off the lighter scenes, combining to create an overall more enjoyable experience. It even ends on a hopeful note. “Heroes remind us that hope is everywhere,” Lane writes at the end of the film. “You can see it. All you have to do is look up in the sky.”
“Justice League” features a typical destroy-the-whole-damn-planet-and-bathe-in-your-blood style villain, and there’s still way too much CGI, but allowing the characters to acknowledge the ridiculousness of their situations—I’m looking at you Aquaman!—doesn’t make it a silly movie. Rather, it makes it a self-aware film that winks at the audience while providing a simple, action-packed story of good vs. evil.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI: 4 ½ STARS
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’s” story of a mother’s unconventional war with the world is simple enough; it’s the complexity of the characters that elevates it to the level of great art.
Academy Award winner Frances McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, a fifty-eight year old grieving mother. Seven months after her daughter was abducted, raped and killed, the Ebbing, Missouri police have no suspects, no leads. Frustrated, she takes matters into her own hands, renting three billboards on a local road to help “focus their minds.” Against a bright red background and written in bold black letters she sends a message to the local constabulary. “Still No Arrests?” “How Come, Chief Willoughby?” “Raped While Dying.”
“The more you keep the case in the public,” she says, “the better chance you have of solving it.”
The billboards aren’t popular with the police or the town folk. Dixon (Sam Rockwell), a dim-witted, hot-tempered cop tries to intimidate her by arresting her best friend, her dentist tries to pull her tooth without novocaine and her priest tries to talk her out of using public shame as a tool. More nuanced is the reaction of the salt-of-the-earth Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson). He is sincere in his search for the killer but simply has no clues to work with.
Matters are complicated by Willoughby’s terminal illness, an arrogant ex-husband (John Hawkes) and Mildred’s growing anger.
It’s the performances that make “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” so remarkable. It’s a whodunit of sorts, but the crime is a McGuffin, the thing that gives us a reason for the characters to interact, rather than the main focus. This is a character study of people whose lives are changed by forces beyond their control.
Troubled by her final, argumentative conversation with her daughter, Mildred is a flinty presence, strong willed but vulnerable. She’s mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore, and yet there is an undercurrent of pain in everything she does that is heartbreaking. She’s mean and mighty, but it’s the haunted look behind her eyes that tells her story. McDormand is remarkable playing an ordinary woman pushed into an extraordinary circumstance.
Her character’s duality is firmly on display in a scene where she is at odds with Willoughby. In the midst of their argument he coughs, spitting up blood. She leaps into action, calling him “baby” and running for help. Her empathy is clear, even if he represents everything she is rallying against.
Then there is Rockwell, who breathes life into a stereotype: the small-town racist cop. As Dixon, he’s a nitwit—a violent mama’s boy who undergoes a life change. The thing that makes it so effective isn’t just the character’s redemptive arc but that Rockwell plays it realistically. After his transformation, Dixon may be a better man in some respects, but he’s still a dim bulb who makes rash, ill-advised decisions.
Supporting work from Sandy Martin as Dixon’s boozy mom and Samara Weaving as a young woman who gets life advice from bookmarks are also memorable.
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” is a comedic tragedy whose idea of justice doesn’t offer easy answers. Unexpected twists keep it compelling, but it’s the acting you’ll remember.
STEGMAN IS DEAD: 3 STARS
The spirit of Quentin Tarantino hangs heavy over “Stegman is Dead,” a down ‘n dirty action thriller from director David Hyde. Quirky characters, a badass female assassin and bent morality blend to create a queasy cocktail that feels like the stepchild of Tarantino and every 1990s crime thriller that followed in the wake of “Pulp Fiction.”
The action begins when the title character, the late not-so-great Stegman, tries to finance his burgeoning porno empire by blackmailing Don (Michael Ironside) and his former gang of thugs with a VHS surveillance tape of a ten-year old crime. Rather than pay up, Don decides to take a more hands-on approach, sending his henchmen to retrieve the tape, only to find Stegman ventilated with bullets.
With Stegman out of the way, the blackmail is done. But what about the tapes? Desperate to get his hands on them, Don calls safecracker Gus (Michael Eklund), a married career criminal whose wife Diana (Andrea del Campo) is a MILFChat.com model and not pleased about the situation. Ambitious, she wants Gus to forget about Don and graduate to bigger and better crimes to afford them and their adorable six-year old daughter (Linnea Moffat) a more lavish life.
Add to that a mysterious assassin Evy (Bernice Liu) and you have a film that feels like a throwback to quirky crime thrillers like “2 Days in the Valley” and “Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead.”
The Winnipeg-shot “Stegman is Dead” makes the most of its limited palate. It’s derivative for sure, but director David Hyde brings enough verve to the filmmaking to keep things interesting. Stars Eklund and Liu mostly play it straight and don’t allow the story’s eccentricity to weigh down their performances. Ironside is reliable as always, while others play into the movie’s wackiness when they aren’t dodging bullets.
“Stegman is Dead” is a darkly funny B-movie that embraces its B-movieness. There’s a subtext about the importance of family, but this isn’t really about that—or the heist, or Stegman—as much it is about entertaining the audience for ninety minutes.
