June 19, 2016 “Me Before You” (**1/2 out of four) was a heartfelt emotional drama about the relationship between a young caretaker (Emilia Clarke) who falls in love with a quadraplegic patient (Sam Claflin) who she’s taking care of. Takes too long to get going and too long to get where it’s going but Clarke’s endearing performance and moving final scenes make it hard to resist. Charles Dance is also really good in a rare sympathetic role as the boy’s father. Continue reading →
June 19, 2016 “Traded” (** out of four) was a languid Western set in the 1880’s about a former gunslinger (Michael Pare) turned family man who must leave his ranch and go to Dodge City to rescue his daughter who has fallen into the clutches of a sinister businessman (Tom Sizemore). Terrific performance from the underrated Pare makes this watchable but movie is too sluggish and features all the usual Western cliches (bars and whisky, horse-racing, brothels, fast-draw matches, etc.) you’ve seen hundreds of times before. Re-watch “Shane” or “Unforgiven” instead. Continue reading →
June 19, 2016 “Now You See Me 2” (** out of four) was an inferior sequel to the 2013 heist comedy about The Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo) and a new recruit (Lizzy Caplan) being forced by a tech nerd (Daniel Radcliffe) to pull off their most daring heist yet. Some cool magic tricks (one sequence involving Eisenberg stopping rain is a real wow) but lacks the freshness and clever intricacy of the original and is too long. Pleasant enough but overall a better thing to “see” is the original again. Caplan, of “Mean Girls” fame, is a virtual dead-ringer here for Katy Perry. Continue reading →
June 19, 2016 “Blackway” (** out of four) was an unexceptional thriller about a girl (Julia Stiles) who is aided and taken on the run by a super-intelligent former cop (Anthony Hopkins) when she is targeted by a ruthless and vicious criminal (Ray Liotta). With that cast, it’s easy to watch….but just as easy to forget. Not bad but not memorable either Continue reading →
June 19, 2016 “Eye In The Sky” (*** out of four) was an involving melodrama centered around a military officer (Helen Mirren) in command of an international terrorist operation in Kenya but sees the moral, emotional, and legal implications mount when a young girl enters a kill zone and leads to all of them questioning their next move. A rock-solid look at military obligations and responsibility is enriched by a strong cast of first-rate actors (including Alan Rickman in one of his final roles). Mirren is great as always in an unusual role for her. Only some slow spots keep this from scoring a direct hit. Continue reading →
June 10, 2016 “Cell” (** out of four) was a watchable, if not exhilarating, adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about a mysterious virus that erupts through people’s cell phones and results in the walking dead worldwide and an artist (John Cusack) and a few survivors (Samuel L. Jackson and Isabelle Fuhrman) who struggle to stay alive on the New England coast and make sense of what is going on. Potentially frightening story has the possibility for being a satiric commentary on society’s dependency on technology but settles instead for being a standard zombie thriller in the mold of a George Romero movie or “The Walking Dead”. Never really gets going but strong performances from Cusack and Jackson and Michael Simmonds’ moody noir-like cinematography keep you watching. Continue reading →
June 10, 2016 “Approaching The Unknown” (*1/2 out of four) was a lifeless drama that deserves to be left in the unknown about a determined astronaut (Mark Strong) on a mission to Mars that goes awry and leaves him stranded in space and forced to improvise to try and stay alive. Virtually identical to last year’s “The Martian” with Matt Damon but has no energy, pacing, or original storytelling. Strong is a solid character actor but he’s not charismatic or exciting to hold the screen for nearly two hours on his own. After this and “Interstellar”, maybe we can do without outer-space pictures for a while. Continue reading →
June 10, 2016 “The Bronx Bull” (*1/2 out of four) was an unnecessary retelling of “Raging Bull” about legendary boxer Jake La Motta (William Forsythe) and his numerous dealings with the mob and various underworld figures in NYC after he retired from the ring. Forsythe tries but he’s no Robert De Niro and director Martin Guigui is no Martin Scorsese. Film has authentic NYC locations, a sweeping music score by Ched Tolliver, and a dynamite supporting cast (including Tom Sizemore, Joe Mantegna, and Paul Sorvino) but they’re all drowned out by the unpleasantness of the story and its central character. Originally titled “Raging Bull 2” but was changed for legal reasons. Regardless of its title, it’s a raging disappointment. Continue reading →
June 10, 2016 “Casual Encounters” (**1/2 out of four) was a clever dark comedy about a guy (Taran Killam) who finds out that his girlfriend has dumped him on a morning radio program and he then becomes involved in the bizarre world of online dating. Sebastian Michael and Erik Steinmetz’ script takes the form of a satire of a romantic comedy and online dating and is sharper and funnier than you might expect but is weakened at times by some crude and dumb moments that are unnecessary. Killam’s winning performance and refreshingly compact running time of only 1 hour and 22 minutes makes this worth sticking through. Continue reading →
June 10, 2016 “Warcraft” (** out of four) was a visually dazzling but dull, derivative adaptation of the popular video-game series set in the peaceful world of Azeroth which becomes under siege from a race of invaders. When a portal opens connecting the two separate worlds of the civilization, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. Proof that you can have all the special effects and production work that money can buy but it’s all empty unless there’s a story and characters you care about. Visual effects are impressive but you’ll be satisfied after about a half hour. Hardcore video-game junkies may find more substance here. Continue reading →
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