Baby Driver

Spoiler-free!

Ansel Elgort is Baby. Baby likes two things and dislikes one -- music and driving, and talking. He's a getaway driver for Doc (Kevin Spacey) a mastermind of bank heists. Doc likes to switch up his teams, but he's been working with Baby for a long time. Some of the hired thieves are unnerved by their driver's penchant for silence filled with groovy tunes. Like Griff (Jon Bernthal), he's a little gruff, and Bats (Jamie Foxx), he's crazy. But others, like the married couple Darling and Buddy (Eiza González and Jon Hamm) get it -- sometimes you need to have that killer track. Lily James is a diner waitress named Debora. She likes Baby, and he likes her. Now he likes three things, and that's when the trouble begins.

B-A-B-Y, Baby.

The movie is written and directed by Edgar Wright. He likes music too, and stylish movies, so he made a movie to the beat of some cool music. He called it "Baby Driver," and set it once upon a pair of wheels.

Only Edgar Wright can make a film with hype this big and still deliver a movie so charmingly aloof from the pressures of expectations. The enlightened few who have seen his Cornetto Trilogy are a people crazy for exceptional movies, and expected no less from Wright's latest experimental effort. Wright is not in the business of fan service, and thank goodness, because making movies he thinks are good inconsiderate of others' potential opinions is the best way for him to serve his fans and uninitiated viewers alike.

Wright cuts off potential doubts and criticisms at the pass by opening the film with firm establishment of the film's tone, style, and character of its lead in the first five minutes, saying, "this is how this movie is gonna be." And with a smile on our slack-jawed expression and our toe tapping to the beat, we adjust our expectations accordingly. Then he does it again in the next three minutes. The rest of the movie, so perfectly grounded by the cold open could have gone in any direction with me happily in tow, but in the end the direction it takes is one of, well, direction.

The plot isn't at all complex, but it takes us where we want to go.

Comedy is put into the details as a highlight, and fun is a constant because what's a film that isn't entertaining, but then the underlying base of this film is high-stakes, important, and often intense. It has heart, it has meaning, and there are smart themes to appreciate. This is mostly due to writing that is brilliantly aware of the movie as whole even in the midst of smaller scenes, able to thoughtfully connect it all in ways invisible until the conclusion of the picture. Sure the film might only exist because someone was inspired to set a movie to music instead of the usual reverse, but then effort was put into making the story worth telling even beyond the wacky gimmick. The result is a flick that confidently stands alone, supporting its elements instead of leaning on them.

Another important conductor of the film's compelling nature is Ansel Elgort. In true form for Baby, Elgort wins us over without having to say a word. He immediately proves he's capable of handling the film's action and cheekily comedic elements, and performs precisely timed choreography to the music with gleeful aplomb. In short, the kid is adorable, and the movie is better for his presence. On the dramatic and dialogued side of Baby, he takes on a stoic demeanor and gets to underplay with just enough subtlety. Lily James is also adorable, and the two were probably incapable of not being cute together. Debora is less of a player in plot as she is a motivator of it, with not a lot of screen time, but certainly makes the best of what she has.

A simplistic but extraordinarily charming romance.

Other supporters feel no less characterized and caricatured. Kevin Spacey is cool and confident with a splash of complexity. Jamie Foxx is fun and always unexpected with his unstable and batty Bats. Jon Hamm becomes surprisingly sympathetic, perhaps because of his innate charm. And Eiza González's Darling is an insanely likeable chick. Details like tattoos on Darling and Buddy that read "his" and "hers" are present for gleaning more out of the characters if you so desire. It adds an implied history, enriching the characters, even if specifics are left out. Everyone involved plays comedy and drama inseparably in classic Wright fashion -- the way humor and light charm can enhance seriousness is not lost on him, and it is applied with complete disregard to screen time, making even side characters full and compelling.

But good characters or not, this movie's full focus is on action. Obviously, there are car chases, and there are gun fights, and other things you'd expect from a movie about bank robbers, but there's also some unconventional action, in the form of scene business done in rhythm with the music. As exciting as the car stunts and shootouts are -- always set memorable locations and performed and shot for maximum entertainment -- it's those precise scenes of specific and casual movement done in difficult long takes that impress with their style and the ease with which they come off on screen. The true shoot-'em-up action never forgets the music either, and while it's more sporadically synchronized, synchronized it still is. It is a thing glorious to behold and thrilling to experience.

I loved it at ten seconds in. What's really impressive is that the longer it ran the more I loved it.

I sometimes despair that the art of filmmaking has reached its limit and nothing will be original anymore, and then a movie like this gem will come along and restore my hope. Masterfully crafted out of a spectacular passion for filmmaking, and using all the elements of the art to push the limit to groundbreaking places, Edgar Wright and Baby Driver puts music in our ears, spectacle before our eyes, and a love affair in our hearts. My love of music and movies is refueled.

Shaun of the Dead

This review is Spoiler-free.

In the first -- and the strawberry-flavored -- movie of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's wonderfully brilliant Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, Simon Pegg is Shaun, a twenty-nine year-old, uninteresting, uninterested electronics salesman, who never bothered to get his life in order. He lives with his best friend Ed (Nick Frost) who is even more of a do-nothing than he is. And Shaun's girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) has reached a breaking point -- a breaking up point. But things must always get worse before they get better, and that's where the Zombie apocalypse comes in.

Yes, Shaun, if the city is overrun with the undead, then you probably don't need to go into work.

In spite of (or perhaps a bit because of) Shaun's unmotivated attitude, he is still easily Pegg's most endearing character of the "trilogy." The everyday, well-meaning, average guy, who can be extremely motivated when it comes to things he truly cares about, Shaun is a fantastic character, a deceptively simple stereotype, and so easy to love and root for. If you don't like him at the beginning, but do by the end, it's not because of any change in him, but because of you, realizing that he's really been a great person the whole time. And Simon Pegg's performance as him cinches all those endearing qualities. I wonder at why mainstream movies always keep Pegg in the "quirky comic-relief side character" category. He is totally brilliant at comedy of course, but is no less great at drama. Real, actual, deep drama. Yet it seems like he rarely gets real drama to play outside of these three films. Makes them all the better for it I suppose!

These two. Oh man, these two.

And he and Nick Frost make a wonderful duo. I mean, that's an obvious thing to say, but they really really do. They work off each other and make each other funnier, and more compelling. Frost's character of Ed here isn't as endearing as Shaun, but is still very funny and goofy, and gets his dramatic moments too. Kate Ashfield as Liz basically equals Ed's character for second main character, and while she isn't characterized to be super funny, is definitely a good character. Liz's flatmates Dianne and David (Lucy Davis and Dylan Moran) don't really reach the great humorous heights of the other three leads, but they support very well, and that is plenty. Penelope Wilton is amusing as Shaun's shell-shocked mum, and Bill Nighy is as good as ever as his step-dad. Jessica Hynes (Stevenson) is Shaun's female doppelganger, and Martin Freeman has a bit-part as her boyfriend, in one of my favorite gags in the movie.

Wait a minute...

Humor is this film's main source of brilliance. The beginning shows dead-eyes humans slothing about with no purpose, and they aren't even zombies yet. The sequence of Shaun doing his morning routine, and then doing it again the next day, not noticing that zombies have replaced all the people around him, is fantastically amusing, and also pretty fantastic storytelling. I also just adore the scene of throwing records at the zombies, trying to decide which ones are worth breaking. From the extended jokes, down to the smallest hilarious expression, this movie, it's script, and it's actors, and of course the director, all really know how to handle the comedy, and it's what makes the movie as great as it is.

And that's why, when the comedic tone fades into a serious dramatic one with only a side of comedy in the third act, the tone change is too obvious, and it suddenly feels like the film had gone downhill -- just a little. Thinking about it, I like the drama; I like that this movie has a deeper meaning to it than just killing the undead in humorous ways, and I love that it has an underlying heart beneath all the strawberry-flavored gore. If it could have those things without having to cut back as much on the hilarity though, it would have been that much better. There are still often funny and amusing moments, but it gives way to the drama, instead of letting it come up beside and work in tandem. It's not the worst trade in the world though; Simon Pegg is a great crier, looking so incredibly and pathetically sad, and the dramatic twists and conflicts give much more interest than people whacking zombies on the head.

Not that whacking zombies on the head isn't fun or anything...

Understandably, this film is rated R, with some language, and one particularly violently gross spot. And, I have to say that I don't love the ending. I respect it, but it's not what I would have wanted to do. But then again, what I would have wanted to do wouldn't have matched the style of the rest of the film, so I suppose I have to admit that it was the right ending. With Edgar Wright's brilliant directing vision, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's winning combo, all the wonderfully original and incredibly smart jokes, and the endearingly off-kilter style, Shaun of the Dead absolutely kills.

Ant-Man

This review is Spoiler-free.

Don't worry; I'll refrain from the size jokes.

Ant-Man is the newest Marvel flick, and it's been a while since we've seen a solo introductory Marvel film. The solo film's style should reflect accurately the character of the hero it features, and it's an important task to get right as it sets the tone for that character for the rest of his movie career. In that, and in many, many other things, Ant-Man knocks it out of the park.

Standing in the tub trying to get the full view in the bathroom mirror. Things we can all relate to.

Scott Lang is a burglar. He very strictly only does non-violent crimes of sneaky thieving and even takes cues from Robin Hood. But he still gets caught. We pick up as he's just finishing his three-year stint in prison, and he's determined to go straight -- for his daughter. That doesn't work so well though, and eventually he decides to take just one last job -- for his daughter. But this job of burgling one Dr. Hank Pym's house gets him way more than he ever asked for, and exactly what he needs; a chance to become the good guy, save the world, and be a good dad -- for his daughter.

"Save the world" sounds exactly like what you'd expect from a Marvel flick, and it's true that the fate of the world hangs in the balance in this plot, but, it hangs in the background. There's no immediate danger of aliens or robots actively destroying the world. I say this not because it features a guy who shrinks, but because it's true; Ant-Man is just plain on a smaller scale than any Marvel film so far. And I love it. 

A smaller scale never means there's any less heart.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a superhero spy movie; Guardians of the Galaxy was a superhero space movie; Ant-Man is a fantastic superhero heist movie. And heist movies, by definition, do not make a lot of noise. It was wonderfully refreshing to not see massive destruction and hordes of casualties in this one; but at the same time, when, say, a suitcase, or a miniature city gets completely obliterated, it gives the impression of the superhero destruction and delivers on all the visual thrills that entails -- just without all those bothersome consequences.

Paul Rudd at the lead of this film is just as cool and charming as you would expect out of the newest Marvel movie superhero, but his Scott Lang has a lot more to him that I did not expect; being a new and determined convert to the ranks of "family man" for one. For Scott it's more about his daughter than anything else, and that's a particularly sweet thing to see in a movie like this. He also gives the impression of just being a regular guy better than any of his super predecessors. His hard work and determination makes him worthy of his superhero status, and his charm and humor makes him a lovable lead for the film.

He was also automatically cool, as a burglar... but he probably would have been cool anyway.

Michael Douglas is the resident movie veteran, so of course he is great. Dr. Pym is the creator of the Ant-Man suit, and is Scott's mentor and trainer, but he has plenty of his own character development to worry about, and some of may be a bit contrived, but he handles it all like the pro he is. Evangeline Lily is Pym's daughter; source of much snark and cynicism, and the general greatness we've come to expect out of her. She is fun and involving and lovely, and a little bit deadly. The villain is Corey Stoll, and he does a fantastic job with what he has, but doesn't get to go quite as crazy as he is capable of and I was hoping for. Still he was a classically sinister kind of villain which was great, and was very well-dressed.

When you look this good, you really should rule the world.

And Judy Greer was there, as Scott's ex-wife and mother of his daughter, and I liked her so much I felt kind of sad that there didn't seem to be any chance of their getting back together. Bobby Cannavale was her fiancé and a cop, so of course there's clashing between him and Scott which helped makes things more personal and closer to home. Hayley Atwell and John Slattery also make appearances as their Peggy Carter and Howard Stark. Plus there's one very fun surprise appearance that I won't ruin.

Evangeline, hard to recognize under that hair.

Scott's team of fellow burglars is Luis (Michael Peña) Kurt (David Dastmalchian) and Dave (T.I.) Used mostly for comic relief, they were all funny, and helpful to the plot to boot, but Michael Peña stands out for miles and miles with his scene-stealing and hilarious character. At least a little bit of the credit for his hilarity though, has to go to the writers for writing that one awesome gag and knowing who to give it to for the best effect. There were several writers -- Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, the great Edgar Wright and even Paul Rudd himself -- so I don't know who gets credit for that bit, but I get the feeling it goes to Wright. The director Peyton Reed also certainly deserves props here too.

Three funny dudes.

I knew I'd love this movie, and I was right, but what I couldn't predict was why, and how differently I love it from the way I love other Marvel flicks. This movie reminded me of what I loved about movies as a kid, and made me feel like I was that little kid again; being thrilled by the sheer inventiveness and involved in the classic, old-fashioned-type plot events. I was even slightly more shocked at the little language and slightly disturbing violence than I normally would have been. Things that I would normally find too silly I suddenly found easy to forgive as well, and even sometimes quite easy to accept and enjoy, just because the movie itself embraced and wasn't ashamed of the silliness. I feel sentimental about this movie, like it's a childhood favorite, and I only saw it yesterday.

One cool thing I didn't expect was how much the ants were used. They were totally helpful and unique, and yes, pretty darned cute too.

This film is one of the more family-friendly, and definitely the most family-oriented Marvel films to date, but don't think that means it leaves our more refined adult side bored and wanting. It easily holds its own against the plethora of more obviously enticing and effortlessly marketable superhero flicks already in existence -- with its tongue in its cheek, its head held high, and its sights focused on its own sky-high goals. Goals that are reached with heart and humor and a determined effort. Ant-Man is a fun and fantastic caper that caters to the child in all of us. And let's be honest; if we're watching a superhero movie, we already have a child inside, just waiting to be catered to.