James Franco and Anne Hathway are teaming up for the Oscars.
Anne Hathaway
She's a bubbly yet respected up-and-coming actress likely to fill the big-toothed void left by Julia Roberts. He's a sometimes-serious actor with a penchant for lipstick and making people wonder whether he's being serious.
Anne Hathaway and James Franco, both currently earning raves in big blockbuster films — she in Love and Other Drugs and he in 127 hours — seem a mismatched, if relevant, duo. Say Oscar producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer of the pair: "James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons — fresh, exciting and multi-talented."
They're certainly multi-talented. Hathaway came from The Princess Diaries to Rachel Getting Married and survived the crumbling of relationship foiled by felony fraud along the way, while Franco has dedicated equal energy to roles in the Academy-Award winning Milk and a stint on General Hospital.
So it's not that either on their own would make for a questionable host, we're just unsure what to expect when it comes to their dynamic. They've never worked together, have no personal history and where Hathaway comes off as relatively down-to-earth, the admittedly type-A and über-educated Franco comes off as, well, a bit off.
What do you think of this year's selection for Oscar co-hosts?
The career of actor Chris Hemsworth is a curious one, as it feels like he’s a huge star (mostly from playing Thor in Marvel movies) and not at the same time, with most of the non-MCU movies featuring him in a lead role failing to become big successes. But he still has a certain presence about him, which is why he’s being given another chance to prove his star power in the new thriller, Crime 101.
Hemsworth plays Davis, a talented thief who knows how to get what he wants without resorting to violence. When a job early in the movie turns slightly sideways, it makes him think twice about working with his handler (Nick Nolte), who seems to prefer someone with a stronger touch, like the up-and-coming Ormon (Barry Keoghan).
Davis is the main character, but two others who come into his orbit get their own subplots. Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is a slightly schlubby LAPD detective who’s convinced he knows the pattern of an unknown thief that likes to hit places close to Highway 101. Sharon (Halle Berry) works for a high-end insurance agency known for working with ultra-wealthy clients, the types who might be a great target for a thief like Davis.
Written and directed by Bart Layton, the film has a decent propulsion to it that comes with most crime thrillers. Davis and Ormon represent the yin and the yang of criminal approaches, and and it’s interesting to see the juxtaposition between the two as their simmering rivalry heats up over the course of the film. When the film commits to actually showing its crimes, it has an excitement that’s worth watching.
Unfortunately, Layton displays a real lack of focus, taking the audience into subplots with each of the three main characters that prove unnecessarily distracting. Lou’s marriage problems may explain his disheveled appearance, but there’s no need to see him deal with them with wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Sharon’s troubles with her male-dominated company prove slightly pivotal, but still don’t merit the time put into exploring them.
The most baffling subplot is Davis pursuing a relationship with Maya (Monica Barbaro), a woman he randomly meets. At different points in the movie, including many of his interactions with Maya, Davis seems like the most uncomfortable, antisocial person in the world. And yet he somehow morphs into a suave smooth-talker who’s able to convince anyone to do what he wants at other key points, making it unclear exactly what kind of person he really is.
Hemsworth does relatively well in the lead role, but he’s still missing that certain something to make his character, and therefore the movie, truly compelling. The rest of the cast is fine, too, but each of them seem to be putting in just the minimal amount of effort to make the film watchable. Ruffalo and Barbaro come off the best, but with the talent in the cast (11 Oscar nominations and one win), they could have been used better.
Crime 101 has most of the ingredients to be another great entry in the genre, and it succeeds when it actually decides to deliver on its promise. But too much of the film is spent on things that have no real bearing on plot or character development, leaving the movie in the middle of the pack.
James Franco
James Franco and Anne Hathway are teaming up for the Oscars.
Anne Hathaway
