'Logan Lucky' Review

[This review was originally written in August 2017 and is now being published to coincide with the digital home media release. For an explanation of this, visit my Fall 2017 Important Update post.] 

Logan Lucky pits audiences out in West Virginia, where tough times have convinced Jimmy Logan to team-up with his one-armed brother, his speed-demon sister, and a detained demolitions expert in order to break into the Charlotte Motor Speedway during a NASCAR race and pull off the gutsiest hillbilly heist of a lifetime. 

Despite announcing his retirement from directing four years ago, Steven Soderbergh races back into feature filmmaking with Logan Lucky. Unconventionally, Soderbergh decided to independently distribute the film because he wanted to ensure his vision made it into cinemas with no studio meddling. Another quirky fun-fact is that Soderbergh likes to handle the cinematography and editing himself under false pseudonyms (Peter Andrews and Marry Ann Bernard). I bring this up not only because it's interesting and informative, but because the film's credited screenwriter is Rebecca Blunt (who has no prior credits and is believed to be another pseudonym for either Soderbergh or his wife).

Steven Soderbergh had a tricky task ahead of him in trying to balance the dramatic heist elements with the comedic sensibilities, but across the board Soderbergh ensures Logan Lucky remains entertaining and inoffensive with a jovial tone and smart screenplay. This film could have easily veered into offensive areas by ridiculing rednecks, but Rebecca Blunt paints an authentic portrayal of the America's Deep-South instead. The characters are constructed in such a way that they don't come off as caricatures since the film takes great care to put everything into proper perspective. The situations these character find themselves in are real, so the characters are relatable to-a-degree.

One especially intriguing element to Logan Lucky is how it provides viewers a general sense of the heist, but enough information is withheld so the film never reaches a point of predictability. There are moments that seemingly meander, because the audience is kept in the dark at times, but the pay-off allows for plenty of pleasant surprises along the way. Oh, and the script is surprisingly sharp with tons of zany one-liners and hysterical moments all throughout.

Channing Tatum keeps it all together in his most venerable performance yet as the genuine family man Jimmy Logan. Alongside Tatum, Adam Driver imbues Jimmy's brother Clyde with a reserved nature and Riley Keough flexes her resilience as their sister Mellie. The one actor who took me completely off-guard was Farrah Mackenzie as Jimmy's daughter, Sadie. Mackenzie demonstrates a knack for playing out the sweetness and innocence associated with children, but takes it a step further by leaving a sizable impression for every moment she's onscreen.

Daniel Craig's the one who steals the show though as the outrageously eccentric Joe Bang. I'm really only familiar with watching Daniel Craig in the recent Bond flicks, so it was loads of fun to see such a drastic departure from the straight-laced, straight-faced gentleman spy. Bang's brothers are portrayed by Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson, who are an absolute hoot as well. You'll also likely recognize much of the supporting talent sprinkled throughout the cast, but I won't ruin their inclusion here.

Steven Soderbergh's return to cinematic storytelling is immensely entertaining and easily of of the year's more unique entries. Logan Lucky doesn't totally transcend the heist genre, but it's a refreshing change of pace well-worth watching due to its fixed direction, some eccentric performances, and off-kilter humor.

Film Assessment: B+

'Mad Max: Fury Road' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; George Miller, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.

Won: Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

Mad Max: Fury Road is everything the Fast and Furious franchise wishes it could be, an insane crazy action packed film with amazing visuals and a very sophisticated story. George Miller directs the film and really manages to bring this bizarre post apocalyptic world to life incredibly well. the film is charged by it's high voltage action that really helps to elevate the film throughout with some incredible chase action sequences filled with insane stunts. The cinematography is gorgeous and seamless from beginning to end and the visual effects are a delight. Miller also wrote the film and really managed to do a phenomenal job of bringing the more sophisticated themes to the surface of this film. The performances from the ensemble in this film are top notch, although there are a few weak links. Charlize Theron makes for an awesome female lead in the role of Furiousa as one of the best action heroines in film while maintaining a sense of emotional gravitas that really adds to the character. Tom Hardy portrays the character of Max and his performance was a little bland in my opinion as his character grunts quite a bit which I found to be so strange and a bit bothersome, otherwise I'd say Hardy did a great job but was really outshone by his costars. Nicholas Hoult was incredible onscreen with a very strange character, obsessed with the film's villain but still manages to provide a captivating performance with an interesting character arc for him that comes full circle at the end of the film. Now there are a group of women who are the villain's “breeders” portrayed by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Megan Gale, and Abbey Lee respectively. Each do a serviceable job in their roles but aren't ever really given too much to do aside from function as a plot device to propel the chase sequence into a full two hour film. The antagonist, Immortan Joe, was portrayed by Hugh Keays-Byrne and was hard to understand at times because of his character's mask (similar to costar Hardy's performance as Bane in the The Dark Knight Rises) and felt like a very static boring villain who never quite felt menacing or all that powerful but rather very selfish. I honestly had no plans to watch this film before it was released since it looked very strange and out there for me as a film and trust me it's pretty weird. I've heard tremendous buzz about Mad Max: Fury Road since it opened in theaters with critics essentially praising it as one of one of the best films ever made and I have to respectfully disagree. I do think that Mad Max: Fury Road is a great film but I don't think I'll feel compelled to watch it multiple times, which is a characteristic I feel is very crucial to a film. I would recommend it for those who at least have some relative interest in the film. For those who think the film looks too weird, I can only agree that it is indeed strange but suggest you at least attempt to watch it and if you can't make it past the first thirty minutes without being weirded out then it's not quite worth your time. 

Film Assessment: A-