RoutineViewing

The new Netflix original film Wheelman hails from Joe Carnahan and Frank Grillo’s War Party Productions. It follows a getaway driver (Grillo) who is double-crossed during a bank robbery gone wrong. With his family on the line, he races to find out exactly who betrayed him before time runs out. The gimmick being that the entire movie is filmed from the inside of the car. If you already have an idea of what a Grillo/Carnahan/Car movie is going to look like, you’re probably right on the money. Luckily, if you’re a fan of those involved, you’ll probably drive away entertained. A film set entirely within the confines of a car is not the most original idea. In the past five years alone we’ve seen Locke, Vehicle 19,and Brake attempt this premise with varying degrees of success. What sets Wheelman apart is its constant onslaught of crime movie tropes that do enough to change up the typical formula, but never so much as to complicate the film’s effective, streamlined plot. There’s twists, turns, and double crosses galore, all adding up to a very solid debut outing from writer-director Jeremy Rush (fittingly named). Every time Wheelman feels like it’s stretching its premise too thin, there’s another twist to **** you right back in. That these seams are visible is a flaw, but it’s to be expected when trying to contort to a one location gimmick. Annoyingly (minor spoilers), the film briefly breaks its own rules by following the Wheelman outside of the car. I was left wondering what the point was of all the previous efforts to keep all of the action inside the car if they’re just going to abandon it when work-arounds get more difficult to pull off. It’s a bit of a premise breaking moment in what is an otherwise well thought out exercise. Rush’s sleek visuals and rapid pacing keep the film engaging throughout. Truly, though, this is Grillo’s picture from top to bottom. He owns this movie, holds it all together, shellacking over any blemish he comes across along the way. Without Grillo’s gravitas, Wheelman is a D-grade B-movie. With Grillo behind the wheel, this engine’s got some real nice kick to it.

In Happy Death Day, a college student relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer's identity. So, basically, Groundhog Day meets generic teen thriller, heavy on the generic teen thriller. Tree Gelbman* (Jessica Rothe), our lead heroine, is classic movie sorority girl. All she cares about is how she looks and how guys think she looks. The film follows Tree on her birthday and quickly establishes that she’s inconsiderate to everyone in her life that doesn’t fall into those categories. This includes her roommate, other students on campus, and even her own father. Tree’s birthday ends with her own murder at the hands of a masked killer. She then wakes up to find that she has started the day over and must continuing dying until unmasking and stopping her killer. Along the way she may just learn to… you guessed it… become a better person. *Yes, her name is Tree. No, it’s not explained. As Tree tries to solve her own murder, she is helped by a fellow student named Carter. It’s Carter’s bed that Tree wakes up in every morning, but they had only just met the night before. Carter is the awkward, nice guy that Tree would never usually go for. Can you see where this is headed? The usual popular girl/nerdy guy trope gets complicated here due to the fact that the defining feature of Carter that clearly and visibly wins Tree over is that he did not take advantage of her when she was drunk. This is her baseline for a nice guy. The revelation that Carter didn’t sleep with Tree is played for swoons. It comes off as problematic. Where Happy Death Day tries to put itself above other generic slashers before it is its sense of fun. When head sorority girl Danielle asks a sister, “What even is breakfast, Becky?” I was relieved to realize this wasn’t a film taking itself too seriously. When Danielle later explains to Tree that deja vu actually just means someone is thinking about you while ****, I realized I would much rather watch a movie about Danielle. Hell, I’d watch that every week on tv. Awful sorority girls saying awful things while people are being viciously slaughtered all around them? Sounds like a show Ryan Murphy would make. They could even call it “Scream Queens”. I’m sure it would be a huge success. Ultimately, Happy Death Day is a movie that works, if only in the slightest, in spite of its many flaws. It’s got a fairly generic plot told in a fairly safe way. The many deaths of Tree aren’t especially creative. She is stabbed under a bridge, she is stabbed in her room, she is stabbed in some guy’s room. It’s the comedic bits, as hit-or-miss as they are, that hold this film together. Is it a good movie? No. Is it an entertaining movie? Sometimes.

Bradley Thomas (Vince Vaughn) is a simple man. Go to work, provide for your wife, leave your past demons behind you. For the most part, he does a pretty great job at that. He’s got a decent job, he’s got a supportive wife, and he’s checked his alcoholism and violent tendencies at the door a long time ago. Then he loses his job. This doesn’t phase Bradley too much. He understands business is business and walks away with his head held high. When he returns home to find his wife, Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter), in the car and ready to leave him for another man, he cracks. This is personal, and in response Bradley rips apart Lauren’s car piece by piece with his bare hands. He is a giant, hulking beast, but only when he allows himself to be. Having released all of his anger, he goes inside to have a very calm conversation with his wife. They decide that they want to start over and rebuild their life together. Bradley can be a very violent man, but he knows when to fight and when he needs to relax. Brawl in Cell Block 99, the movie revolving around him, follows the cues of its star. It’s reluctant to be violent and knows when to hold its punches. But whenever it finally does decide to throw down, it’s a real knockout. After deciding to restart his life, things actually begin pretty well for Bradley. He and Lauren are expecting a baby, with a better relationship than ever. His work as a drug runner for his friend, Gil (Marc Blucas), has given him a means to provide above and beyond for his growing family. It all comes crashing down again when Gil goes into business with a new cartel head, whose men botch a delivery and open fire on the pursuing cops. It is here that Bradley finally unleashes his violence onto others, turning on the cartel to save the cops. This decision results in his arrest and a stretch of prison time. Things go from bad to worse when the head of the cartel, looking to seek revenge, has Lauren kidnapped. For her release, Bradley has to cooperate. There’s an inmate the cartel wants dead who’s held in Redleaf Maximum Security Prison. The only problem is that Bradley is currently in the minimum security prison. To reach his target, he’s going to have to do what he does best: fight. For a movie titled Brawl in Cell Block 99, there’s very little actual brawling. Director S. Craig Zahler has his sights set on something much deeper and personal. The violence in the film comes out in very sparse and quick bursts. Bradley is so skilled and disinterested in all of the violence, there’s a matter-of-factness to many of the fight sequences. This is very much a character study of a man trying to do right, who is wronged at every possible opportunity. These deep, powerful themes are supplemented with some great grindhouse, genre fare. The threat against Bradley isn’t just his wife’s life. It’s that an abortionist will surgically remove the limbs of his unborn daughter. It runs the danger of feeling out of place, but it’s such a specific danger, handled so deftly that it actually feels more dangerous than simple life-or-death stakes. The violence also gets pulpier the further Bradley goes through the prison system, but by the time the film gets there, it feels earned and in no way exploitive. All of these elements are ingredients to a great film, but it would all fall apart if not anchored by the dazzling performance of Vince Vaughn. Making a home as the wise-ass comedy lead for many years, Vaughn has made the turn toward serious fare as of late. A leading role in the disastrous second season of True Detective and a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated Hacksaw Ridge haven’t succeeded in showcasing his talents. With Brawl, Vaughn has found the best role of his career and turned in one of the year’s greatest performances. He fully inhabits this role and throws himself into the character so completely. Like Bradley, Vaughn knows when to pull his punches and when to throw them. He plays everything calm, knowing his imposing body can do most of the talking. When he does let loose, it’s an emotional wallop to the gut. While there is a lot to love, Brawl is not a perfect film. It does drag in certain parts. While overall the conclusion works wonderfully, the final image it decides to end on doesn’t feel like a good representation of the powerful drama at work throughout the rest of the film. Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a simple film, but it knows how to pack a punch. There’s a scene when Bradley first gets to prison and is given a strip search. One of the guards inspects his manhood and remarks, “He’s an A-.” That sounds about right.