Review: "Serena"

Director: Susanne Bier
Runtime: 109 minutes

Even the brightest super-star duos stumble once and a while. That's exactly the case with Susanne Bier's long-delayed Serena, which strands A-listers/frequent co-stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in a jumbled, albeit sincerely made, attempt at old-school melodrama. Even fans of the two leads would be advised to steer clear of Bier's latest attempt to find success outside of her native Denmark. 

What's instantly clear about Serena is that, despite the strong credentials, just about everything rings hollow. Characters are established via stray lines of dialogue rather than meaningful conversations or actions, and the actors trudge through their material while sounding like they've never spoken a word of English until now. Set in Depression-era North Carolina, Serena is a romance and a tragedy set among the state's struggling timber industry. George Pemberton (Cooper) is doing his best to grow his business into an empire, while his new wife Serena (Lawrence) is coping with her inability to produce an heir. It's a set-up rich with dramatic potential, with Serena's quest for a male heir instantly calling to mind the not-so-merry wives of Henry VIII. Unfortunately, the beautifully shot trees are the least wooden subjects on display.

Cooper and Lawrence have proven themselves as talented, charismatic performers, but in Serena they are distressingly out of sync with their material and each other. George's first line of dialogue to Serena is an out-of-the-blue marriage proposal, and it's all downhill from there. For a while, Serena is more focused on George's battle against officials who want to stop his deforestation efforts to create a national park. Despite the grim faces and appropriately dusty period attire, the plot thread never takes hold. Parks and Recreation traversed similar narrative ground with greater heft, even with Leslie Knope's undeterred, sunny optimism. So, after about 45 minutes and one murder, Christopher Kyle's script (based on Ron Rash's novel) gets cold feet and shifts to the pregnancy drama. 

The traumas and tragedies that follow over the remaining hour are a mish-mash of cliches that aren't done any favors by Bier's handling of the tone, which switches between disinterested and dour at the tip of George's wide-brimmed hat. Cooper is stuck trying to pull off an unconvincing accent, while Lawrence conveys the poise required for the role while still being distractingly underage. As with American Hustle, there are pieces of a solid performance in Lawrence's work, but they require a level of maturity that can only come with time. Sometimes, screen presence just isn't enough.

As the dueling story lines awkwardly slug it out for dominance, Serena unravels at a tedious pace. Photography, costumes, and sets all hit their marks, capturing the period and setting without creating false glamor. But with an unwieldy plot barely propped up by the wet blanket chemistry of the leads, even the visuals start to seem phony by the end. Given the rumored re-shoots and re-edits of the film, perhaps there's a version of Serena that actually passes muster as a noble failure, or even a minor success. Yet, in it's current form, the romance lacks heat, and the tragedy lacks even an ounce of genuine pathos. Some movies, no matter how much sense they make on paper, just never find the spark required to create compelling drama. Here's hoping the next Cooper/Lawrence vehicle (David O. Russell's Joy, due by year's end) gets these two A-listers back on the right track.

Grade: D

Review: "The Amazing Spider-man"

With only 10 years separating Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-man from Sam Raimi's Spiderman, and only five years between Webb's film and Raimi's last Spidey flick, it's easy to understand complaints regarding Sony's decision to reboot the character so quickly (origin story and all). Despite the crashing disaster that was Spider-man 3, Raimi's first two films were both big hits and popular with the public (and even the third made bucket-loads at the box office). Even if the reboot was good, there was still one critical question: was another stab at the origin story necessary so soon? The answer remains 'no,' but in fairness, Webb's reboot is mostly a success even as it's forced to hit so many of the same story beats. 


Having made his name with (500) Days of Summer (2009), Webb wasn't the most obvious choice for the job. However, his skills with emotion and his surprising flair with action set pieces make me hope that he'll stick around for the rest of this Spider-man series. Even when Peter Parker/Spider-man (Andrew Garfield) is battling the hulking Lizard (Rhys Ifans) in close quarters, Webb and his camera team nimbly capture both figures (and their CGI avatars) with a herky-jerky sense of movement that proves surprisingly effective and actually allows you to see what's going on. Webb also deserves credit (though I suppose some of this belongs to the script as well) for giving audiences the best obligatory Stan Lee cameo, working it fluidly into an action scene in a way  that proves hilarious.


And speaking of humor, that's another thing this Spider-man has going for it. Raimi's films were never devoid of humor (or attempts at humor), but much of it felt somewhat like pandering. Here, Peter Parker/Spider-man himself is allowed to either be funny or be in funny situations, and it pays off. Whether he's quipping while battling a carjacker or satisfying some spider bite-induced munchies, the sense of humor feels more organic, built more out of the situations than in some desperate attempt to keep the proceedings from becoming "too grown up."


Of course, funny lines or scenes can exist on the page, but can be horribly botched if the person involved in them on screen isn't pulling their weight. Thankfully, Garfield carries the humor off with great skill, using his spindly frame to perfect effect. Like Webb's film, Garfield is generally adept at both drama and comedy, though it has moments where it falters. Emma Stone as love-interest Gwen Stacy remains as engaging as ever, even though she's technically not given much to do despite abundant screen time. Sally Field and Martin Sheen also give nice, albeit limited, turns as Peter's aunt May and uncle Ben. Rhys Ifans is certainly convincing as Dr. Connors, the man who eventually becomes the Lizard, even though the script's developments with him are among the film's weakest.


The script, unfortunately, provides the film with its best and worst elements, particularly when it comes to the story elements that are being redone. The changes to Peter's personality work wonders, but other aspects, like the demise of uncle Ben, feel so much weaker. The staging of the robbery that eventually leads to Ben's death in Raimi's film had enough separation in it so that it really hit home when Peter discovered what happened. Here, the scenario feels contrived, with Ben trying to chase down Peter to talk to him, only to have him run into the robber who delivers his untimely death sentence. On the super hero front, the script often seems completely unconcerned with the general reaction of New York City to Parker's web slinging alter ego. Yes, the NYPD puts out a warrant for his arrest, but other than that, one never gets a sense of the masked hero's developing notoriety. 


The same can also be said for the developments regarding the Dr. Connors/Lizard, who seems to lurch from one big moment to the next. And when the two collide, things get even shakier, with Peter's realization that Connors is the Lizard feeling like a minor development when it should be so much more. Webb generally controls the tone effectively, but there are scenes where it all feels a little too casual considering the stakes. Even the vastly better romantic subplot with Parker and Stacy occasionally becomes too forced and cutesy, with both of them awkwardly/adorably stammering at each other to the point where you want to shake their lines out of them. And for all of Garfield's good scenes on the dramatic front, there are a few where his emoting feels distressingly weak. 


Thankfully, these are problems that get better as the film progresses. Webb has crafted a slick, emotionally engaging film, one that would have been so much better if it hadn't felt the need to cover the origin story again. It's the familiar that keeps The Amazing Spider-man from reaching its full potential, which is a shame because of the strengths clearly on display. One can only hope that the inevitable sequel will, like Spider-man 2, significantly raise the bar for this new series.


Grade: B-/C+

Reboot Central: "The Amazing Spiderman" and "The Bourne Legacy" Trailers

When Sony first announced that it would scrap Spiderman 4 in favor of a series reboot, I thought it was one of the dumbest big studio decisions in quite some time. Spiderman 3 wasn't exactly, er, good, but it wasn't bad enough to kill the Raimi-helmed franchise. Sony continued with the plan, and after months of on-set photos and a brief teaser (featuring some bizarre first person footage), a proper trailer has arrived, and it's pretty solid all around. I have to admit, I really like this more sarcastic, humorous Peter Parker/Spiderman; not all heroes need to brood and sulk in existential crisis 24/7. And as much as I love this cast and the inclusion of the Lizard (Rhys Ifans) as a villain, there's a certain punch that's missing from the action shots. Part of this is likely due to the fact that the film is still in post-production, where additional sound mixing and VFX work will be done. Even so, what we're given here looks like more of the same, and still brings up that initial question: why do we need to start this story over, despite the different characters? While I'm glad that the trailer doesn't focus on the origin story part of the film, part of the result is that one simply wishes that Raimi had been given the chance to make another good Spidey film, one free of the studio meddling that sank Spiderman 3 (critically/fan-wise, at least).

Trailer Grade: B

Also being given a major make over: the Bourne franchise. No, Jeremy Renner isn't the new Jason Bourne, but his character - Aaron Cross - is part of the same story. In fact, many characters, including those played by Albert Finney, David Strathairn, and Joan Allen, are all back along with new faces like Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz. Though the trailer itself doesn't have as much footage, I like how this one pulls out its reveal gradually, and builds an intriguing set up: Jason Bourne's story was only the beginning. So even though Damon and director Paul Greengrass are gone, the smart and talented Tony Gilroy (who wrote the first three Bourne films along with writing and directing Michael Clayton) is a comforting replacement in the director's chair. Renner is another plus, a strong actor who can be the character actor or the leading man (or both), as well as a convincing thinking man's action hero.

Trailer Grade: A-

Teaser Trailer: "The Amazing Spiderman" (2012)

Summer 2011 sure is taking a lot of time preparing us for summer 2012. Whether it's the teaser for Pixar's Brave, the build-up movies for The Avengers, or the just-released The Dark Knight Rises teaser, Hollywood can't wait for next summer. Joining that roster, after months of shooting and only a few publicity stills, is Marc Webb's The Amazing Spiderman, which recasts Andrew Garfield in the role of Peter Parker/Spiderman. Though it could be a nice, fresh start after the dismal Spiderman 3 (2007), the biggest obstacle Webb's film has is that it's taking us through the origin story AGAIN. I understand the desire to create a new universe and atmosphere, but couldn't it have been done without hitting the reset button? Still, the cast is intriguing (Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans basically ensure that I'll see this), and I'm curious about the last segment of the trailer, which takes us into first person mode. Even if Webb's Spiderman isn't quite 'amazing,' at least it looks like something different from the Raimi films.