Review: The Accountant

Convoluted But Compelling

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: October 14th, 2016 – U.S.

Rating: R

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Running Time: 128 minutes

Director: Gavin O'Connor

Writer: Bill Dubuque

Cast: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, 

J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, 

Jeffrey Tambor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, 

John Lithgow  

Chris Wolff (Ben Affleck) is "supernatural" at crunching numbers and even more adept at crunching skulls. Companies bring him in to look over the books – he is, after all, "The Accountant" – but he's willing to get his hands dirty with more than just ink if necessary.

He's also on the autism spectrum. This aspect of his character instantly elevates the film and makes it endlessly fascinating. I have no idea how accurate Ben Affleck's portrayal is – I'm no expert on autism – but it seems like a great performance to me. He dials down his natural charisma and charm without ever appearing robotic or losing his humanity.

I'm surprised there hasn't been more of an "uproar" about the movie and this character from various "rights" groups. Portraying someone with autism as an efficient killing machine has to be controversial to someone, right? But I think the film earns goodwill and a free pass because the main character's autism isn't ever just a one-note gimmick. You see his quirks (parking a certain way every time – diagonally, a compulsion to finish everything he starts, his lack of sarcasm), his strengths (numbers, efficiency, shooting), and the drastic steps he takes to function in the world as a person with autism (a long routine involving loud music and bright lights – a sensory overload nightmare). It also helps that his past history is explored and explained in great detail.

Chris's father (Robert C. Treveiler) realizes his son is "different" and forces him and his little brother (played as kids by Seth Lee and Jake Presley) to learn military-grade fighting techniques so they can eventually face the unforgiving world and defend themselves and each other if they have to. Again, whether this is plausible, I wouldn't know. Probably not, but it works for this particular story.

After a stint in the military, Chris ends up in prison, where he is mentored by an older inmate (Jeffrey Tambor), who furthers his training in a different way – by teaching him social cues and other basic human nuances.

Ray King (J.K. Simmons) is the head of the Treasury Department's Crime Enforcement Division. He recruits Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and strong-arms her taking a job as his assistant by revealing that he knows about her past criminal record. That information is supposed to be sealed, she points out with outrage, but King obviously has his ways. He needs her help, her tells her, in locating The Accountant.

Meanwhile, a robotics firm run by Lamar Black (John Lithgow) hires Chris to inspect their finances. While there, he meets a pretty young co-worker, Dana (Anna Kendrick), who takes a liking to him despite his unorthodox demeanor.

Brax (Jon Bernthal) is a dangerous hitman with an intense dislike for fraudulent corporate activity. Through various twists and turns, he soon finds himself pitted against Chris.

All of these different characters and situations eventually come together in a frenzied finale.

"The Accountant" is a great blend of action, drama, and even some very well-timed black humor that had the entire theater chuckling almost inappropriately. Good luck trying to explain the finer details of the story to anyone afterward, though. The plot can be convoluted and the film feels overlong, but it's also undeniably compelling to watch. That's primarily because of Ben Affleck. An "accountant" with autism is undoubtedly one of the most original and interesting characters I've come across in a very long time.

Review: Jobs

Ashton Kutcher is Surprisingly Superb as Apple Founder Steve Jobs

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: August 16, 2013 – U.S.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Biography, Drama

Running Time: 128 minutes

Director: Joshua Michael Stern

Writer: Matt Whiteley

Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, 

Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, Matthew Modine, 

J.K. Simmons, James Woods, Kevin Dunn, 

Giles Matthey

Watching "Jobs" is somewhat like operating an iPod Shuffle; it rapidly shuffles through the highlights and lowlights of Steve Jobs' "insanely great" life. It races through the facts covered in biographies such as Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs, Infinite Loop, and others. "Jobs" never lingers on any one event for too long, which is both a positive and a negative: the story moves at a breakneck pace, but the film provides only a cursory, skin deep, surface treatment of its subject.

Critics and fans alike have easily dismissed Ashton Kutcher over the years, but I've always defended his talent. Here, he delivers the performance of his career as Steve Jobs, expertly channeling the Apple founder's voice, inflections, and reported facial expressions and mannerisms. It is clear that Kutcher has poured his heart and soul into his portrayal of Jobs. He, dare I say, deserves an Academy Award nomination. After all, Meryl Streep won the Oscar for her incredible acting in the otherwise unbearable Margaret Thatcher biopic, "The Iron Lady." Both films are similar in structure: they present a rushed highlight reel of people, places, and historical events. Of course, Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, so she can get away with being rewarded for great work in a movie that isn't nearly as good as she is. Kutcher obviously does not have the same reputation or cachet. Like Streep, Kutcher is better than the film he's in, but "Jobs" is ultimately far more enjoyable and effective than "The Iron Lady."

Some might nitpick the "facts" of the film, but it never stays with anything long enough for any real controversy to arise. (Jobs' ill-fated NeXT project is briefly covered, but his years at Pixar are strangely absent.) In cases where there are disputing stories, the movie picks a side and sticks with it – for better or worse. One example: Steve "Woz" Wozniak (played here by Josh Gad) claims that Jobs cheated him on the payoff for the Atari game "Breakout," but Jobs steadfastly denied that his entire life. In this instance, Woz's version of events wins out.

Gad does a great job, playing Woz as a sweet innocent who never quite adapts to corporate life. The idealistic Woz eventually becomes a fish out of water at Apple as the company and his relationship with Jobs gradually changes.

In addition to Kutcher and Gad, several other notable actors show up: James Woods as Reed College professor and dean Jack Dudman, Lukas Haas as Apple employee Daniel Kottke, and Kevin Dunn as eventual Apple CEO Gil Amelio, but the highlights are Dermot Mulroney as entrepreneur Mike Markkula, Matthew Modine as former Pepsi head John Sculley, and J.K Simmons as investor Arthur Rock. 

It's fun to watch Rock the way J.K. Simmons portrays him – as an office terminator with scary '80s hair and '70s glasses. In anyone else's hands, it might have come across as cartoonish and excessive, but Simmons is skilled enough to make it realistic. Meanwhile, Mulroney's Markkula is depicted as a skittish stooge who will go in whichever direction the wind blows, and Modine's Sculley comes across as an uptight, buttoned-up, too-corporate, sugar water salesman who doesn't quite seem to understand what he's selling now. All three actors are top-notch, as usual.

The real Steve Jobs with the first iMac.
(Picture courtesy of computerhistory.org)

English newcomer Giles Matthey is also wonderful in a small role as Jonathan Ive, who holds a torch for what Apple used to be and wants to help restore the organization to its former glory. That's demonstrated in the film with Ive's bold, stylish design of the first iMac.

As Atari higher-up Al Alcorn (David Denman) says in the film, Jobs is an "asshole." That's probably true, but as great as Kutcher is in the role, he's limited by the script, which shoehorns him into showing mostly the negative side of computer icon. His Jobs walks around acting like a psychopath – pouting perennially like a toddler on the verge of a temper tantrum. There are only fleeting glimpses of the charismatic, charming Jobs that changed the world. That approach reminds me of Michael Mann's overrated "Ali," in which Will Smith portrays the famous boxer as an angry activist who rarely cracked a smile. The real Ali could light up a room. So could the real Jobs.

One of the bigger missed opportunity in "Jobs" is its depiction of the famous "sugar water" pitch. To lure Pespi CEO John Sculley over to Apple, Jobs baited him with an irresistible hook: "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life," he challenged, "or do you want to come with me and change the world?" Instead of showing the hypnotic meeting between Jobs and Sculley, the movie has Sculley tell the story in a joking manner while everyone around him laughs appreciatively. Perhaps that's meant to show what an ill-fit Sculley would turn out to be for the Apple culture, but I would have still preferred to hear the line from Kutcher's magnetic version of Jobs.

"Jobs" is a mixed bag overall, but I like it enough to recommend it. Ashton Kutcher may not get to bring every aspect of Steve Jobs' fascinating personality to life, but it's still far and away the best performance of his career. It's a shame that his astonishing work as Jobs will mostly go ignored because the movie – like the Lisa Computer – was a critical and commercial bust.

Full Disclosure: This review was written on a Windows PC.  

Review: Dark Skies

An Insidious Alien Invasion

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: February 22, 2013 – U.S.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Running Time: 97 minutes

Director: Scott Stewart         

Writer: Scott Stewart

Cast: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, 

Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett, 

J.K. Simmons

What if an alien invasion already happened and their hidden presence is now a fact of life like death and taxes? That's the situation facing the Barrett family in the sci-fi horror hybrid, "Dark Skies."

It begins with a mess in the kitchen and an open sliding door – a typical break-in scenario. But something seems off right away. It feels bizarre.  

The situation continues to escalate over the next few nights. In response, security systems are installed – first an alarm and then cameras – but those only leads to more issues and additional mysteries. The investigating officer wonders if there are any problems in the family. Maybe one of the children is acting out for attention?

Lacy (Keri Russell) and Daniel (Josh Hamilton) have been under stress because he has been out of work and their income is dependent solely on her success as a realtor. They have been arguing – which their two little boys, Jesse (Dakota Goyo, "Real Steel") and Sammy (Kadan Rockett), can't help but overhear.

Jesse is about 13, hangs out with an older boy, watches porno videos starring the world's ugliest performers, and has entered that rebellious, hormonal stage where he notices girls and doesn't want to be treated like a little kid anymore.

Sammy is several years younger and still fears mythical creatures that exist solely to harm children. No one pays him much mind when he has bad dreams and claims to be receiving visits from the "Sandman."

It's only when Sammy wets his pants and has a screaming fit do his parents realize that something is amiss. Perhaps he needs therapy?

But it isn't long before a series of strange occurrences sweep over everyone else in the household too.

Desperate for help and answers, Lacy and Daniel turn to an eccentric "expert," Edwin (J.K. Simmons), who lays out the bare facts for them. His approach is blunt and matter-of-fact, and his information is not at all comforting – but the plain, cold truth never is.

"Dark Skies" uses unsettling dream sequences, blackouts, strange bodily marks, animals, tripped alarms, and distorted video footage to create a genuinely spooky atmosphere and dreadful sense of foreboding. The movie succeeds because it takes a fantastical situation and approaches it in a completely realistic manner.

However, the ending comes out of nowhere, and in retrospect, the overall plot structure is nearly identical to another recent horror movie (which I won't name). My initial reaction to the final scene was: "That's it?" It almost seems like only half the story has been told and a sequel is being set up on the spot. Yet, it also works in a way – by leaving the viewer with a feeling of lingering darkness.