Zero Charisma (2013)
In his thirties, overweight, and living with his grandmother, Scott’s life revolves around the weekly Dungeons and Dragons game he hosts in his basement.
When one of the regular players quits to save his marriage, Scott recruits Miles, a successful blogger, to replace him. Eventually, his jealousy of Miles’s success and popularity with the other players leads to a confrontation.
Scott’s sad tale is a warning. Superman, The Simpsons, and Pokémon are healthy outlets, but when we take our passions too seriously, we deprive ourselves of the joy they provide. As Scott’s idol, Greg Goran, counsels him “it’s a game… if your players aren’t having fun, you’re not doing your job.”
This low-budget, passion project is amateurish, but feels more genuine than most blockbusters.
Road to Perdition (2002)
Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is an enforcer for Irish mobster John Rooney (Paul Newman). After Michael Sullivan Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) follows his dad to a meeting and witnesses a murder, Sullivan’s family is targeted for assassination to keep the murder quiet, but father and his son survive to seek their revenge.
Tom Hanks is too likable and carries too much goodwill to be a believable hitman. The film would have been better served with a slightly more menacing lead, like Tommy Lee Jones or Josh Brolin.
Newman is fantastic as the conflicted mobster who loves his top lieutenant, Sullivan, more than his own son, Connor (Daniel Craig).
Craig is serviceable as Rooney’s overmatched son, but his role is not as large as it could have been.
Stanley Tucci shines as Frank Nitti, but it feels like he was shoehorned into the story because his connection with Al Capone provides an air of credibility to the film.
Jude Law is Harlan Maguire, a contract killer who moonlights as a scandal photographer. While Sullivan claims a moral code governs his less than savory behavior, Maguire exists outside of morality. This character was not in the original graphic novel and the scenes involving him feel like they belong in a different film. I love the character, but would have preferred more of the Rooney family dynamic.
Tyler Hoechlin currently stars as werewolf Derek Hale in the MTV series Teen Wolf. I won’t claim it’s good, but I watch out of nostalgic loyalty.
Sam Mendes films offer a bleak view of humanity. Try watching American Beauty (1999) and Revolutionary Road (2008) back to back.
This film boasts great performances by Law and Newman, and an excellent ending, but it tries to do too much.