The Bottom Line

The Soloist

Directed by: Joe Wright
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener
Rated: PG-13 for thematic elements, some drug use and language.
Parental Notes: This is a thoughtful film, and occasionally disturbing. It's aimed at mature viewers, so while it doesn't contain much in the way of disturbing content, youngsters will likely find it boring.

On its face, "The Soloist" looks like a racially problematic film: homeless, schizophrenic black man is redeemed by professional, well-to-do white man. But under that surface, there is a lot more going on here. No one in this film is perfect, and their flaws run deeper than the shallow, token flaws of so many Hollywood characters, particularly those of the tired "white man saves black man" trope. Indeed, this feels a lot more like an indie film than a Hollywood production in some ways, from its slow, thoughtful pace to its refusal to offer up a pat, simplistic ending.

"The Soloist" is essentially the story of a friendship: LA Times journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) comes across musician Nathaniel Ayers and writes a column about him, which touches both the author and his audience. The more Lopez learns about Ayers, the more he wants to help him, but what do you do for a mentally ill man who doesn't want help? The script, based on the book by the real-life Lopez, shows us the ups and downs of their friendship and doesn't pull any punches.

The two performances at the heart of this film, Foxx's and Downey's, are top-notch. Foxx is able to show us Ayers' passionate love of music as well as his mental illness, and he makes the man at once sympathetic and unsettling. We can see why Lopez wants so much to help, because we can't help wanting Ayers to get well too -- but at the same time, Ayers' unpredictability and paranoia make him somewhat frightening. Downey, for his part, offers us a man who is deeply, deeply flawed but ultimately well-intentioned. Lopez isn't a saint, but he is doing his best -- even if sometimes his best is utterly the wrong thing.

"The Soloist" doesn't offer easy solutions. There's a rehab center with a staffer who offers Lopez advice (often ignored) and Ayers a place to sleep inside (ditto), but his suggestions for Lopez are not simple ones. Just be his friend, he says: the last thing Ayers needs is one more person telling him he needs medication. But being the friend of someone who drifts in and out of reality is not an easy thing, and Lopez has had his fill of difficulties. Even so, the connection between the two men is a strong one, and Lopez can't bring himself to abandon Ayers completely.

There is no pat ending here, and as the credits roll we know that although things seem to be heading in a good direction for Ayers, the nature of his mental illness makes each step toward healing a precarious one. This is not a film for those who want their stories to end simply and with a straightforward happy or tragic finale. This is a story taken from life, and life isn't always that simple.

Crank: High Voltage

Written and Directed by: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam, Efren Ramirez, Art Hsu
Rated: R for frenetic strong bloody violence throughout, crude and graphic sexual content, nudity and pervasive language.
Parental Notes: To say this film is not appropriate for children is an understatement. Teens will likely enjoy the frenetic action, but parents may find the content problematic.

Watching "Crank: High Voltage" forcibly reminded me of weekends in college spent drinking way too much caffeine and playing video games. This is a hyper-focused, intense, over-the-top film, much like the first was. If anything, this one makes an effort to push even more boundaries, to be even more insane and logic-free. This is a film for folks who find films like "The Transporter" too tame and cerebral, folks who just want as much action and lunacy packed into 95 minutes as humanly possible.

The plot is very bare-bones: hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) miraculously survives the fall out of a helicopter from the end of the first film, and wakes up in a makeshift hospital to discover his nigh-indestructible heart has been stolen, replaced with a shoddy, battery-powered artificial heart until his other organs can be harvested. He escapes and sets out to get his heart back, destroying anyone who stands in his way -- and periodically having to electrocute himself to keep his artificial heart going. There's a subplot about a Mexican gangster out to get him as well, which ties into the first film -- but it's hard to believe that not having seen "Crank" will cause "Crank: High Voltage" to make any less sense than it already does. Most movies ask you to suspend your disbelief a little; the "Crank" films demand that you strangle it, chop it to pieces, and possibly do lewd things to the remains.

Every possible boundary of taste or decorum is smashed to smithereens here. There's public sex, lascivious elderly people, a gangbanger sodomized with a shotgun, plenty of gun violence with gouts of blood everywhere, racial stereotypes and epithets, heaps of nudity, and more misogyny than you can shake a stick at. That Chev's girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) beats up a few folks herself hardly makes up for the fact that nearly every woman in the film is at least half-naked, mostly helpless, and a sex object. Not that the men fare much better -- nearly all of them are crazed caricatures with absurd character traits, from the indestructible Chev to effeminate hustler with "full-body Tourette's" Venus (Efren Ramirez) to David Carradine as Poon Dang, the creepy, ancient leader of the Chinese gangs.

All of this should add up to a heaping pile of garbage, and for some viewers, that's just what "Crank: High Voltage" will be. The gleeful way in which every standard action trope is amplified past the point of absurdity will appeal to other viewers, however, and those are the sorts of people the film was made for. What makes "Crank: High Voltage" a blast is that the entire cast and crew are obviously having a fantastic time. Even without watching the outtakes that run during the credits, the entire film radiates the kind of fun had by a group of overcaffeinated friends excitedly talking about their favorite action movies. "Crank: High Voltage" was obviously written to include as many things that made the writer-directors say, "Oh, man, this would be AWESOME!" as possible.

Fast & Furious

Directed by: Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, John Ortiz, Laz Alonso, Gal Gadot
Rated: PG-13 for for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual content, language and drug references.
Parental Notes: The trailers give a good sense of the film. The violence isn't particularly bloody or graphic, the sexual content is largely restricted to kissing, groping, and dancing, and the drug references are mild.

When it comes to the "Fast and Furious" franchise of films, the only thing you really need to know is whether the film in question fits in with the previous ones in terms of style. "Fast & Furious" definitely does. It's a brainless car action film, with plenty of scantily-clad women, muscle-bound men, cheesy dialog, and long, thrilling car races and chases. If you're in the mood for more "Fast and Furious" action, this should hit the spot.

The plot is largely irrelevant, a mere device to provide an excuse for the action. The story takes place between the events of "2 Fast 2 Furious" and "The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift," but that piece of information is largely irrelevant. Once-disgraced cop Brian O'Connor is now an FBI Agent (not sure how that happened), on the trail of master criminal Braga. Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) is doing what he does best, crazy heists using fast cars. When a mutual friend of theirs is murdered and the trail leads toward Braga, Dom and Brian team up to take him down.

This, of course, involves lots of car chases, some gunfighting and hand-to-hand combat, and a surprising amount of standing around and talking meaningfully about what's been going on. The latter is frequently mockable, though, which makes the wait for the next bout of action more endurable. None of the actors have particularly difficult roles, but they all turn in solid performances. Walker and Diesel are appropriately smoldering and macho, the various girls are properly attracted to them, and the villains chew scenery enough to be entertaining.

The real stars of the picture are the cars, though -- flying through the air, whipping around corners, crashing into one another. I'm no car expert, of course, but the lines about technical details are delivered with enough conviction that I don't care if they're accurate or not. Real gearheads' mileage may vary. The chases and races are thrilling and fairly easy to follow, however, which is the important part for a film of this sort. This is about action, not realism.

Whether you will enjoy "Fast & Furious" depends heavily on what you're looking for. If you want an hour and a half of brainless fun, it should be right up your alley. If you're looking for character development, complex storylines, or realism, go elsewhere.