The Infiltrator

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Brad Furman/Starring: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, Juliet Aubrey, Amy Ryan, Olympia Dukakis and Benjamin Bratt

Brad Furman's The Infiltrator seems like something we might have seen back in the 90s' when films about federal agents bringing down South American drug lords were all the rage. If Furman's film feels like an anachronism in that respect, it also makes us overlook that shortcoming by being a taut thriller with excellent performances. It's in very limited release, which is a shame because unlike other films on the same subject, it makes a statement about the banking institutions and shady financiers who enabled kingpins like Pablo Escobar to flourish. I may have neglected to mention the film is based on a true story.

Set in 1980s' Miami, Bryan Cranston plays Customs official Robert Mazur, who devises a plan to cripple Escobar's operations by focusing solely on the money transactions involved in Escobar's business rather than the cocaine traffic between South America and America. Taking on a dangerous case means selecting a suitable partner for undercover operations, which brings Mazur and a colleague named Emir Abreu (an excellent John Leguizamo) together. It also means endangering his happy, stable home life and the lives of his wife Evelyn (Juliet Aubrey) and two children.

The early scenes with Mazur and Abreu are amusing for the humorous banter. One such moment takes place in a cemetery, where the two men select names from tombstones for their undercover aliases. Selecting the name Robert Musella, Mazur and Abreu begin work.

With Abreu's street connections, Mazur is able to make contact with Escobar's low level, Miami-based father and son team Gonzalo Mora senior and junior. Adopting the persona of a wealthy business man with a successful aviation business, Mazur makes a business proposal to the Moras, which entails washing vast sums of money generated by Escobar's cocaine trafficking. Wary of the offer, the Moras suggest Mazur first handle a small sum to prove his competence.

Required to join the Moras in after vice, Mazur finds himself in a stripper bar. When Mora junior buys him a sexy stripper to enjoy, Mazur balks, loathe to cheat on his wife. Puzzled, Mora asks him why he doesn't partake. Mazur tells Mora he is engaged to be married and doesn't care to jeopardize his relationship. Mazur manages to narrowly extricate himself from the sticky situation, though the mention of a fiancee adds a wrinkle to his Robert Musella charade.

Annoyed that the mention of a fiancee necessitates actually finding a female agent willing to join the operation, Mazur's no-nonsense boss, Bonni Tischler (Amy Ryan) introduces a young, beautiful woman named Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger) as his bride to be. Abreu's reaction to seeing Ertz enter the room is priceless. After Abreu quizzes Mazur and Ertz about marital details to keep the agent's stories mutually consistent, the investigation continues.

Fitted with a lavish home and the trappings of luxurious lifestyle, Mazur and Ertz go to work following the trail of money laundering. Along the way, they meet bankers and money men from several nations; all willing to accommodate Mazur and his money laundering schemes. Mazur and Ertz also come into contact with another of Escobar's key personnel; Javier Ospina (Yul Vazquez); a sexually carnivorous dandy who makes a pass at Mazur, only to be aggressively rebuffed.

Seeking higher-ups in the Escobar organization, Mazur pursues Escobar's top money man Roberto Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt). Mazur undergoes a harrowing ordeal, which includes watching a man get shot by Escobar's men, to gain access to Alcaino. Upon making Alcaino's acquaintance, Ertz proves herself to be a convincing fiancee when she charms both Alcaino and his wife Gloria (Elena Anaya). Growing ever closer to the Alcainos; the deception begins to take on a life of its own as Ertz and Mazur begin socializing with the couple and forming a friendship. To make matters worse, Mazur and Ertz's faux-marriage becomes a little confusing as the stresses of the operation bring them closer together.

Mazur's undercover work begins take its toll on his marriage and family life as his wife suspects an affair. Evelyn is subjected to a ignominious experience when she and her husband step out for their anniversary dinner, only to run into Mora Sr. at the restaurant. In danger of blowing his cover, Mazur pretends his wife is actually his secretary and the dinner her birthday celebration. When the anniversary cake is delivered to the table, Mazur subjects the waiter to a humiliating divo exhibition that leaves Mora grinning and his wife silently aghast. His wife's dismayed reaction on the ride home is one of the more memorable moments in the film.

Everything comes to a head during Mazur and Ertz's faux wedding; where several of Escobar's associates, including Alcaino and his wife, as well as international bankers and money men, are lured into a bust. For Mazur and Ertz, watching the mass arrest go down is only a partially satisfying. The arrest leaves the Alcainos feeling betrayed while Mazur and Ertz can't help feeling treacherous.

Though the film is based on fact, elements reminded me of Donnie Brasco, including the scene where Mazur tees off on the waiter to deflect suspicion and the final scene, where the hero betrays his nemesis. But the film manages to succeed on its own terms.

I can't say enough about the exceptional performances. Cranston is especially good at capturing Mazur's conflicted feelings toward his job and his wife and the inherent fear that comes with risking his life. Bratt makes an intimidating underworld figure charming and worthy of the audience's sympathy. Leguizamo may not have Cranston's screentime but he is every bit as good while Kruger more than holds her own against the leading man.

Furman does well managing tension and drama and more than makes up for his earlier works; Lincoln Lawyer and Runner, Runner

Furman's film is unfortunate enough to open the same week as Ghostbusters so it will wander about the few theaters in which it is currently playing until it is assigned oblivion. For those who care to see it, fear not; nothing truly fades if streaming has a say.

Central Intelligence

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber/Starring: Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Amy Ryan, Danielle Nicolet and Aaron Paul

Central Intelligence has Hollywood mass market, factory product written all over it, which means the movie will be more about star power than quality movie-making. But in spite of the movie-from-a-mold look and feel, director Rawson Marshall Thurber's comedy isn't a drag. It actually goes down smoothly but I wished the creative minds behind the project had gotten more out of the pairing of its two very likeable stars: Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson. Thurber and company are very aware of their glaring, physical differences (how could one not be?) and they do employ role-reversal--Johnson plays the character with self-esteem issues while Hart's is the former high-school star. But the shortcomings of these films are always the same: lack of creative reach and formulaic characters though Central Intelligence also encumbers itself with a clunky, CIA plot. If not for both actor's charm, Thurber's film would be disposable on arrival.

Beginning twenty-years in the past, we see Robbie Weirdicht--(Dwayne Johnson); a grossly overweight high school kid (Johnson's face CGI'd onto a real body), taking a shower in the school locker room. Seemingly alone, Robbie dances merrily, unashamed of his beefy frame. Unbeknownst to him, a group of bullies watch from around a wall. They approach Robbie shortly thereafter, looking to make his life miserable. Meanwhile, in the school gymnasium, the school's track star and most popular kid; Calvin "The Jet" Joyner (Kevin Hart) enjoys the enthusiastic applause of the student body. While he addresses the gathering, the gym doors burst open. The bullies then hurl Robbie's naked, large body onto the gym floor. Humiliated before his peers, the one person who offers him help is Calvin, who removes his letterman jacket to provide Robbie the means to cover his nakedness. We know the events in the school gym will he a key moment in the character's lives. (question: why would Robbie be taking a shower during a school assembly?)

Twenty-years later, in the present, we see Calvin at his job at an accounting firm and at home with his beautiful wife, Maggie (Danielle Nicolet). Feeling acute disappointment that his life has failed to build on his success in high school and is less than exciting, his anxiety is made more acute when he receives an invitation to his high school reunion. Calvin is determined not to go, in spite of his wife's urging,
A perplexing Facebook invitation from a Bob Stone turns out to be none other than Robbie Weirdicht. Robbie's invitation to have a drink leaves Calvin uneasy but he accepts nevertheless. Expecting to see an older version of Robbie, Calvin is flabbergasted to see Robbie has transformed himself into a towering mass of muscle. As the two sit for a drink, the pretty blonde waitress can't help throwing herself at Robbie while she looks dismissively at Calvin. It is particularly funny to see Robbie wearing a corny, unicorn t-shirt; which the waitress loves but looks utterly ridiculous on a muscle-bound man. Robbie showers Calvin with compliments and reminds him that he was the only one who helped him during his degrading ordeal in high school. Robbie is honest with Calvin and forthcoming about his unhappiness and boredom with his life. When a group of bar toughs challenge Robbie to a fight, Calvin tries desperately to defuse the situation until he watches Robbie give all three men a sound beating.

Calvin soon discovers his friend is into something fishy when Robbie asks him to look into some accounting records that contain alarming lists of sizeable payments. The next day, a CIA agent named Pamela Harris (Amy Ryan) finds Calvin at his house and questions him as to what he knows about Robbie. Harris tells Calvin that Robbie is a rogue CIA agent and is in possession of top secret information concerning satellite codes. Before long, Calvin is drawn into Robbie's cat and mouse game with Harris and the CIA, who believe him to be The Black Badger; a terrorist intent on selling the codes to the highest bidder.

The CIA stuff is less interesting than Calvin and Robbie's relationship, which develops in spite of the espionage nonsense the movie takes too seriously. Robbie's quest to regain his self-esteem, which still bears scars from his high school years, and Calvin's search for a more interesting life, are the real stories within the over-cooked plot.

We know how this will play out. The characters will work out their problems and Robbie will get even with the high school bully (a cameo appearance by a well-known actor) at the high school reunion (where another well-known actor makes an appearance). And of course we know the real Black Badger will eventually emerge.

As stated earlier, I found the CIA angle boring and cliched. If only they had made Harris a funny parody of a CIA agent, it would have expanded the comedy quotient. At least they played with Dwayne Johnson's onscreen tough-guy persona by giving him body-image issues and making more unsure of himself. Hart's character and performance was more on a default setting. We've seen him play this character before and it's wearing thin. Time for something new.

When I first heard Hart and Johnson were to star in a movie together, the idea had great appeal. The very sight of a Goliath like Johnson and a diminutive actor like Hart playing anything onscreen together seemed like a can't fail enterprise. As I mentioned earlier, they could have done much more with the story but Hollywood seldom thinks past casting in movies of this ilk. The movie manages not to be dull, which is due largely to both actors, who have a lot of screen presence and charm.

I'm trying to recall particular moments in the movie but they are quickly eluding me as the days pass. If you see the film, you may suffer the same movie-goers dementia as I have. See the movie if you can't resist Kevin Hart or Dwayne Johnson. Otherwise; wait for something better.