Movie reviews: 'The Equalizer 2' a gift for Denzel Washington fans

THE EQUALIZER 2: 3 STARS

Like a perfectly cooked egg, or popping the individual pockets of air on bubble wrap or the "pawooof" sound a properly opened bottle of champagne makes, watching Denzel Washington open up a can of whoop ass on bad people is extraordinarily satisfying. His latest film, "The Equalizer 2," the first sequel in his long and stories career, offers up a cornucopia of fisticuffian delights that should keeps fans of tough guy Denzel happy.

Denzel returns as former secret agent and righter-of-wrongs Robert McCall. Although he’s looking to scale back his ongoing quest to protect and serve the exploited and oppressed, when his former boss and close friend Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) is murdered, he goes looking for revenge. "You killed my friend," he says to the baddies, "so I’m going to kill each and every one of you. My only disappointment is that I only get to do it once." Cue the carnage, Denzel-style.

There’s more, like a subplot with a young artist McCall tries to steer away from gang life and some double crosses, but you don’t go to an "Equalizer" movie for the social messaging or the plot. You go to see Denzel reign holy hell down on people that deserve a punch or two. That’s why the first, largely plot free, half of the movie is more satisfying than the second. We see McCall in random situations doing what he does best, not getting bogged down by the vagaries of narrative style or thematic statements. The fight scenes are don’t vary much, he scopes out the room, mutters a killer one-liner and devastates those who get in his way. It’s in the second half, after Susan’s murder that it sags as the movie strays into procedural territory. McCall’s investigative work leads to another improbable "Equalizer" style climax, although this one, set in a beach town during a hurricane, isn’t quite as ridiculous as the Home Hardware shootout—who knew those places were so dangerous?—in the first film, but it still requires some suspension of disbelief. (Start by asking yourself, when did he have time to hang up all those pictures of Susan in a wild windstorm?)

Director Antoine Fuqua has snapped up the pace from the first film, showcased the action, and added in two great motivators, betrayal and grief. Washington brings gravitas and ferocity to a character stuck somewhere between atoning for his violent life by helping those around him and knocking the snot out of people who get on his bad side. This sequel muddies the character by presenting him as a one-man posse, meting out his own brand of over-the-top justice. You can root for him, just don’t get on his bad side.

Not as trashy as "Death Wish" or as action-packed as "John Wick," two other exemplars of the man on a crusade genre, "The Equalizer 2" is a solidly entertaining popcorn flick with pretensions of bringing Shakespearean levekl of pathos to the tale of vengeance. Instead, it’s "Taken" with the special set of skills and without the annoying daughter character.

EIGHTH GRADE: 4 ½ STARS

Ever wonder what it must be like to come-of-age in an era of information overload, motivational YouTube videos and school-shooter drills? With "Eighth Grade," a funny, blistering look at life in junior high, director Bo Burnham gives you a peak, morphing from creator/star of MTV’s "Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous" into the modern day John Hughes.

Elsie Fisher is Kayla, a newly minted teen struggling through the last week of grade eight. "The hard part of being yourself is that it’s not easy," the thirteen-year-old says in one of the many inspirational YouTube videos she posts to the web in a search for friends, validation and most of all, likes. Trouble is, she’s no JennaMarbles. Despite being glued to her phone and coining a perky catchphrase—"Gucci!"—she has no social media presence to speak of. "The topic of today’s video is putting yourself out there," she says, "but where is there?"

It’s not much better in IRL. Ignored by schoolmates, she’s only invited to the popular girl Kennedy’s (Catherine Oliviere) pool party because her mom (Missy Yager) has a crush on Kayla’s father Mark (Josh Hamilton). Speaking of her long-suffering dad, he spends his time trying to make contact only to be met with monosyllabic grunts as he desperately tries to distract her from her ever-present phone.

Ultimately "Eighth Grade" is all about Kayla’s attempts at feeling connected and finding a place in a world where screens separate people. "I’m nervous, like I’m waiting in line for a roller coaster," she says. "I never get the feeling of after you ride the roller coaster."

"Eighth Grade" is an unvarnished, pimples and all, look at adolescence and the anxiety that comes with it. Kayla may not always be able to exactly articulate the way she’s feeling but the movie has no such problem. It’s a study in her innocence and awkwardness that uses carefully selected moments to highlight Kayla’s mindset.

A pool party scene, where she has to wear a bathing suit in front of the cool kids from school, wordlessly displays her insecurities while her excited, sweet reaction to being invited to hang at the mall by an older friend is genuine and heartfelt. Later, a game of Truth Or Dare contains as much suspense as any action sequence we’ve seen this year.

Those scenes, combined with the discomfort Elsie Fisher brings to Kayla’s day-to-day, and the very dramatic music that underscores the highs and lows of her life and you have a slice-of-life portrait that feels completely authentic.

DON’T WORRY HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT: 4 STARS

"Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot" isn’t as much about the story of John Callahan, the Portland based quadriplegic who became a famous, if controversial cartoonist after a car accident, as it is about his personal journey.

The film starts at the end, beginning after the accident and backing up into Callahan’s story of misfortune, self-discovery, and redemption. Our first glimpse of Joaquin Phoenix as the cartoonist comes at a settled place in his life. From there director Gus Van Sant moves along the timeline of Callahan’s life. We see him on the bender that resulted in the car accident that left him in a wheelchair, his treatment,

Alcoholic’s Anonymous meetings presided over by sponsor Donnie (Jonah Hill) and at home with his helper (Tony Greenhand).

It’s fragmented approach that focuses on the themes in Callahan’s life rather than the events. His journey is a metaphysical one, from unhappy, aimless slacker to someone who embraces community. Van Sant and Phoenix explore the artist’s psyche, detailing how being put up for adoption at birth fuelled his alcoholism and unresolved feelings of abandonment. Phoenix, limited in his movement for much of the film, hands in a rich performance, both volatile and vulnerable.

He’s aided by a talented supporting cast lead by Hill. He’s tough love personified, a tell-it-like it is A.A. sponsor who calls his charges Piglets. The meetings at his home are a whose who of interesting casting from Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon as a Valium addict with a propensity of getting naked in public, Udo Kier and musician Beth Ditto’s unrestrained presence steals every scene she is in. Jack Black, in a small but pivotal role, gets to showcase both his gonzo and sensitive sides.

John Callahan is best known for his macabre drawings but the film of his life ois anything but. "Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot" is a breezy, life affirming look at a man whose misfortune was his salvation.

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