Magic Mike

There is a certain expectation going into Magic Mike, and that expectation is a lot of sexy men with chiseled abs.  And those who saw the red-band trailer can expect plenty more.  But for those only expecting that may be in for a surprise.  As with any stripper movie eventually the plot turns from fun and campy dancing to a look into the fast life of the exotic dancer.  That doesn't take anything away from the movie; it just becomes something different than was advertised.  Magic Mike is a fun, fast, and sexy movie for the first half and then becomes more of the same with a slip into darkness and melodrama by the halfway point.

Steven Soderbergh seems to have a lot of fun with the film and unlike many of the men in the audience doesn't seem all that uncomfortable with half naked men.  Soderbergh loves flipping the norm and focusing on the women ogling the men instead of what we usually see on the screen.  Some of the best scenes take place back in the club whether it is back stage or out there shaking it all for the women.  The group numbers are fun and will have the women cheering knowing they got exactly what they came for.  The choreography for the group dance numbers especially "Its Raining Men" are terrific.  And all the quick cuts of the guys doing their own thing are for the most part hilarious.  We even get to see Channing Tatum return to the moves that made him popular in Step Up.  And I think we get an actual look into how women act behind closed doors when allowed to, hell I think this may be the watered down version of that interaction.

The second half of the movie takes a look at the different life styles that come with stripping, including getting into the drug selling business.  This part focuses more on Alex Pettyfer as "The Kid" who was brought into this world by Tatum's character Mike.  While "The Kid" is based off of Tatum when he was 18 and getting into the stripping world (here's photographic proof of that) the drug portion is reportedly fictional.  No stripping movie can get away from this part of the story as the turn seems reminiscent of Boogie Nights or Showgirls, but the story reminded me most of Saturday Night Fever.  Indeed the movie begins with some the good times inherent with dancing and the freeing experience and then it takes the same dark turn inherent with too much freedom.

Tatum is still a stiff actor and I don't know if he will ever break himself of that trait.  I'm sure none of the women will mind as one friend who saw the movie only had one comment after seeing the movie: "He is gorgeous."  Tatum though seems to be at his best when he is allowed to riff a little bit and improvise what needs to be done.  Much like 21 Jump Street the character is written to his strengths, which makes sense as the screenwriter is also his producing partner.  Matthew McConaughey does a great McConaughey as he even slips in a couple of "alright, alright, alrights."  But he is not just a blazed actor looking to collect a paycheck; he embraces the role and portrays it not as a fool, but a savvy business man who knows what his customers want.  While all the other dancers don't add too much dialogue to the story, they do share some subtleties to the lifestyle that help develop both Magic Mike and The Kid. The dancers do much better than Cody Horn and Olivia Munn who were really only there to objectify the men, which typing now I realize is probably the point.

Magic Mike starts with women cheering and begging to see what they all came for, and while it delivers that early, it becomes a much darker if not predictable movie.  The movie is vividly shared by Soderbergh and the male cast, but it just loses any momentum it was moving towards by injecting the drug angle.  But the reason you are going to see it is for the looks and not the substance.  I see you scrolling down, hey ladies my thoughts are up here. B-

Haywire

Steven Sogerbergh has been talking about retiring from the film industry for some time now, that being said this is his 25th film in a little over 20 years. He has never done a movie involving so much fighting as he is usually known for his dark shots and dialogue heavy stories. He is still able to put his own spin on the genre and makes Haywire an enjoyable movie even if it leaves no long lasting impression.

Newcomer Gina Carano stars as a black ops agent seeking revenge after being set-up on her latest mission. She was plucked from television after Steven Soderbergh saw her beating up a woman in a cage. At one point she was ranked number three in her weight class and was referred to as the face of women's MMA. It didn't hurt that she was also listed as number 16 on Maxim's Hot 100 List. Taking all that into account while she is a very talented and blessed woman, acting is not one of her strong suites. Soderbergh seems to understand that and builds up the movie around this fact. She is asked to deliver very little dialogue and instead just be herself whether it calls for total bad ass or drop dead gorgeous. He also puts a litany of huge and talented male counterparts at her disposal to carry any scene and also get lined up for an ass whooping.

It is clear that Steven Soderbergh is one of those directors that can get any actor he wants. With almost no money in his budget he is able to go out there and gather amazing talent to surround his leading lady. He is clearly able to get his actors to do anything he wants as well, he gets Antonio Banderas to put on a horrific beard, Ewan McGregor to sport a dorky looking hair cut, and puts Bill Paxton in a mustache which is always a ridiculous look, with some notable exceptions. The limited dialogue which is important to getting the story across is delivered by men who have more training than Carano. She instead is put in her comfort zone and handles the hand to hand combat throughout the movie with nameless punks along with Channing Tatum and Michael Fassbender. Despite his much larger size her encounter with Tatum still looks believable and her sequence with Fassbender in a hotel room is the coolest in the movie. The opening sequence may be jarring for those who are not comfortable watching a woman get her ass handed to her but as McGregor's character states in the movie "You shouldn’t think of her as a woman. No, that would be a mistake." She knows how to handle herself.

In a time when fight sequences have become full of quick cuts and body doubles Soderbergh takes a refreshing look. He shoots most of the sequences in long view and wide shots. He also uses long continuous shots to show off just how talented his leading lady is. He cast her for the very purpose of being a believable action hero who could handle the men around her. There is also no music over these sequences, he isn't trying to over-dramatize the scenes and lets the audience hear every hit and grunt. This is Soderbergh's first attempt at a martial arts film and makes it his own allowing the actors to do the heavy lifting instead of over dubbing everything with effects.

Soderbergh's head is clearly involved in the action and not so much the plot. The story is kind of ridiculous so don't try and overly concern yourself with it. Even Len Dobbs, who wrote the story and has worked previously with Steven, boils the plot points down by the end of the movie. It lacks any kind of convincing story to get the audience to care about his characters. The story seems more concerned with the visuals whether it be an action sequence or the background as he takes his movie to various locations across the globe. And if the writing staff isn't worried about the story I wouldn't either, just sit back and enjoy

Haywire is a solid action movie that runs at a brief 90 minutes. Gina Carano does a fine job as the indie-female version of Jason Bourne. It is a fun movie and much of that is clearly attributed to Soderbergh. He does a great job getting what he needs out of everyone on his staff and knows when to take his foot off the gas and let the audience enjoy the view. Plus it is always fun watching a woman kick ass. B-