This week is a litmus test for whether we believe Joseph Gordon Levitt can be a Nightwing- / Robin-type superhero. It’s also time for another horror movie that promises to be better than those released in January, but probably no better than any Idle Hands, Ring 3 endeavor. If you’re hoping for the possibility of critical satire, check out Hit and Run, but be prepared to chuckle more than guffaw. Or, you could check out Robot and Frank, a film that is bound to make you feel guilty about not visiting your grandparents — and bask in the irony that it took a film to teach you about the dangers of using technology as companions. Enjoy!
Hit and Run: While the presence of Dax Shepard makes me balk at recommending this flick, there’s an underlying irony to the plot that I find intriguing. Hit and Run pits Charlie Bronson (Shepard), a former getaway driver who busts out of witness protection in order to bring his girlfriend Annie (Kristen Bell) to Los Angeles so that she fulfill her dreams. The intrigue, first, is Shepard’s name, Bronson. This either signifies sloppy screenwriting or indifference on the part of government agencies. If it’s the former, I won’t be surprised. If it’s the latter, then the suggestion is that the state will do what it needs to get what it wants and cast you off under the illusory blanket of “protection.” The additional irony here is that Shepard flees the safety provided to him via a false identity in order to transport his girlfriend to a city where identity is key. In other words, how does one function without an identity in a culture where identity is paramount?
Apparition: The premise in this film is as silly as the moral in The Dark Knight Rises. (I know that I initially wrote a praising review of the latest Batman film, and I still feel it’s a solid third part to a trilogy, though I’ve recently focused on the numerous plot holes, most notably those in the third act, but that’s a topic for another essay.) Simply put, “when you believe, you die” is the tag line and lesson preached in Apparition, as if all occurrences in life are decided by recognition and belief. In part, this might be true. In that, when you pay for a terrible movie, you might not be angry until you admit it was terrible and you could have done so much more with your thirteen dollars. At the same time, the plot itself is hard to pull off convincingly.
Premium Rush: Dirty cops, bikes, bags, and incredible stunts. And, my use of incredible is the actual definition, in that, “I can’t believe the studios thought we would believe half of what happens.” In an film age besotted with superhero stories and preternatural powers, I suppose it’s possible that audiences would believe that our messenger (Levitt) could dismount his bike and maintain control of the handlebars while his feet glide along the concrete as if he were wearing Ziploc bags on an icy pond instead of Converses on gritty pavement – all while ducking under a tanker. Perhaps this is Hollywood’s way of gearing us up for the inevitable Levitt-as-superhero movie that’s destined to follow his recent role in The Dark Knight Rises.
Robot and Frank: While this isn’t something I would rush out to see in theaters, it’s a chilling reminder of the realities that exist in nursing homes and hospitals. Robots are now being used to provide company and comfort to those whose children and friends no longer come to visit. I’m not sure how I feel about this phenomena, but the scariest thing about furry gadgets taking the place of living beings is that the anticipation of relationships has been so diluted that it can be programmed, mechanized, and reduced to little more than quickly written code. The more important question to ask here is whether we have been streamlined or whether we’ve been fooling ourselves to believe that we are more important than inanimate objects with equally kind eyes and faint smiles.
