Posts Tagged ‘Adrian Grenier’

Marauders

Director: Steven C. Miller

Cast: Christopher Meloni, Bruce Willis, Dave Bautista, Adrian Grenier, Lydia Hull, Tyler Jon Olson, Christopher Rob Bowen, Ryan O’Nan, Jonathon Schaech, David Gordon

Producers Randall Emmett and George Furla are known for making a whole stack of action films normally set in random US cities most notably 16 Blocks and Broken City. Their latest venture is Marauders directed by Steven C. Miller focusing on a series of well-orchestrated and brutal bank robberies plaguing Cincinnati, Ohio.

Marauders cast includes Christopher Meloni as a FBI agent Montgomery, Dave Bautista (Spectre, Guardians of the Galaxy) as Stockwell and hot shot investigator Wells played by Adrian Grenier (Entourage). There are also appearances by Ryan O’Nan (Eat, Pray, Love) and uncredited role by Jonathon Schaech (Legend of Hercules) as Mimms, a Cincinnati cop who by his interference in the case becomes implicated in it.

A grizzled looking Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction, Die Hard) plays the CEO of a large Midwestern bank Hubert, whose main monologue at the beginning of the film focuses on a spider climbing a rain drenched skyscraper to get to the top.

Marauders is not a great film, purely because the plot is so convoluted and confusing that at times one doesn’t know who the real enemies are. The murky nature of the intrigue is perhaps the most thrilling part of the film, although what is fascinating about Marauders is its study of declining masculinity.

All four major characters are suffering, particularly Montgomery for brooding over the brutal death of his wife leaving him alone to contemplate glasses of unfinished red wine in the city’s bars or Mimms, who is dealing with his dying wife suffering from pancreatic cancer. All the men are devoid of a feminine influence in their lives to tame their violent tendencies which is instinctive and primal.

Ultimately, that’s where Marauders viewership lies: adult males who love watching violence on screen.

The plot centres on a corrupt Bank CEO, a shady Ohio senator played by David Gordon, and a botched kidnapping in Costa Rica which went south when Hubert’s much younger brother is supposedly killed by a group of rogue State rangers, just before he is supposed to inherit a substantial share of Hubert National Bank.

Despite the murkiness of the plot, the action is good and the acting is saved by a cocky performance by Christopher Meloni who outshines Bruce Willis. Meloni who was so good in White Bird in a Blizzard actually holds the film together while Adrian Grenier does not have much to work with, only really embracing his character towards the end as the film’s denouement is revealed.

Marauders like many of Emmett/Furla films are not superb, but watchable and cater for a specific sub-genre of action films, which appeal to the thirty to forty plus age group of male cinema-goers.

The female characters in Marauders are virtually non-existent, making this a real macho action film about thieves in Cincinnati whose real intention is to seek revenge on the man who set them up five years ago in Central America.

Recommended viewing for those that enjoyed End of Watch, Lone Survivor and 2 Guns.

Entourage

Director: Doug Ellin

Cast: Jeremy Piven, Kevin Dillon, Kevin Connolly, Jerry Ferrera, Adrian Grenier, Mark Wahlberg, Billy Bob Thornton, Debi Mazar, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Armie Hammer, Ronda Rousey, Haley Joel Osment

It’s not always easy to translate a 30 minute HBO series into a full length feature film but the producers of the hit HBO series Entourage do that with a certain degree of success. For those oblivious to the carousing of the gang in the original series, Entourage focused on four friends in Hollywood, Eric, Vince, Johnny Drama and Turtle as they navigate their way through scoring girls, attending wild parties and the intricacies of the entertainment industry. Naturally it’s Hollywood on steroids.

Produced by Mark Wahlberg and Doug Ellin, the latter of whom directs the film version, Entourage the film is like a watered down version of Robert Altman’s scathing diatribe on Hollywood, The Player and also uses a similar self-reflexive technique of blending actors playing onscreen characters with real film stars which include Liam Neeson, Armie Hammer and Mark Wahlberg.

Most of the action of this celebrity style Bromance takes place in Los Angeles with a brief opening sequence on a yacht in Ibiza, which looks like an offcut from Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.

As the brat pack make their way to stardom through a series of parties, optimal seductions and behind the scenes Hollywood dealings, Entourage has some extremely funny moments, mostly littered with foul language, less glamour and lots of stuff guys obsess about: sex, money and girls.

Jeremy Piven as the angry and hilarious film producer Ari Gold, lifts Entourage out of a banal narrative which does not really go anywhere and his brilliant performance is counterpointed by that of Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade) as a Texan film investor, Larsen McCreadle along with his buffoon of a son, Travis wonderfully played by Sixth Sense star Haley Joel Osment.

Entourage is in fact saved by Piven whose unbelievably energetic performance as Gold makes the film worth watching while the rest of the cast drift through the film in a sort of narcissistic American machismo unique to Hollywood, where the only thing that matters besides their egos is their sex lives.

Audiences should watch out for some fabulous cameo appearances including singer Pharrell Williams, Armie Hammer, Liam Neeson, Jessica Alba, Piers Morgan and Billionaire Warren Buffett playing themselves. Kevin Dillon, younger brother of Matt Dillon and Jerry Ferrara provide the laughs as Johnny Drama and Turtle while Piven’s character of Ari Gold makes the film thoroughly enjoyable.

Entourage is a B grade film about Hollywood with appearances by some A grade actors as themselves, with a cast that does not have to do much but just be the annoying yet lovable guys they were in the original series, cruising around Sunset Boulevard living the dream. Recommended for viewers who followed the HBO series and natural fans of the immensely talented Jeremy Piven.

However, this film version of Entourage is a far cry from the more subtle Hollywood parody expertly done by Robert Altman in The Player back in 1992, but worth watch purely for the entertainment value.