January 25, 2017 “Bullets For The Dead” (*1/2 out of four) was a tired Western horror melodrama about a world-weary bounty hunter (is there any other kind?), a preacher, and a gang of outlaws who have to trek across the Western landscape in the 1870’s when the dawn of the zombie apocalypse strikes and they all have to fend for survival. Attempt to mix a Western with a zombie horror melodrama produces thoroughly stale result. Competently made but grows hokier and draggier as it goes along. By the end, you may as well be watching John Ford reruns. Continue reading →
January 24, 2017 “Jackie” (** out of four) was a static biography of the former First Lady (Natalie Portman) set in 1963 as she struggles to come to terms with the after-effects of her husband’s assassination to regain her faith, console her family, and to define JFK’s historic legacy. Never terribly moving or compelling, despite the fascinating subject matter and time period. Portman certainly looks like Kennedy but her performance (and others) is mannered and one-note under Pablo Larrain’s stiff direction. Only Billy Crudup livens things up with his effortless charisma as an interviewer meeting with Kennedy who frames the story. Continue reading →
January 24, 2017 “Beaches” (** out of four) was a synthetic remake of the 1988 Bette Midler/Barbara Hershey tearjerker about the friendship between two women (Idina Menzel and Nia Long) from childhood to adulthood and the various ups-and-downs in between. Lacks the rich emotion of the original and Menzel and Long lack the strong chemistry of Midler and Hershey. One of the rare movies also that could have been longer because it seems truncated and overly edited at times. A disappointment from director Allison Anders who scored big in the ’90’s with “Gas Food Lodging” and “Sugar Town.” Continue reading →
January 24, 2017 “Live By Night” (** out of four) was a hugely disappointing underworld melodrama about a Boston gangster (Ben Affleck) who is forced to relocate with his crew to Florida where he falls in love with a Cuban siren (Zoe Saldana) and clashes with local gangsters and the Ku Klux Klan. Visually shimmering but dramatically empty and lacking the fire of Affleck’s previous outings “The Town” and “Argo”. Crammed with style, beautiful costumes, and classy cinematography but needed a more original story and more firepower. After a while, it’s boring because there’s very little to keep you involved. Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane whose previous works “Mystic River” and “Gone Baby Gone” were made into much stronger films. Continue reading →
January 23, 2017 “Monster Trucks” (** out of four) was a heavy-handed children’s action comedy about a small-town kid (Lucas Till) who builds a “monster truck” from scraps and pieces of cars and a loving subterranean creature ends up invading the car and helping it to come to life but corrupt law enforcement and business officials (Rob Lowe, Holt McCallany, Barry Pepper) end up in pursuit. Silly story moves fast enough but lacks the magic and spark to make it take flight. Ironically, the film itself seems built from scarps and pieces of other (better) movies like “Short Circuit”, “Transformers”, and “Herbie The Love Bug.” Continue reading →
January 22, 2017 “Silence” (*1/2 out of four) was an impossibly dull, overlong historical drama of two Catholic missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan to find their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) at a time when Catholicism was outlawed and their presence forbidden and unwanted. Or something like that. One of director Martin Scorcese’s most personal film projects about the trials and tribulations of the beginnings of Catholicism- and also one of his worst. Film is so self-important and solemn that it winds up a monumental bore. And it goes on forever at nearly three hours! Of interest solely to Scorcese completists who might want to look at this as a companion piece to 1987’s “The Last Temptation Of Christ.” Continue reading →
January 22, 2017 “XXX: The Return Of Xander Cage” (** out of four) was an inferior third entry in the spectacular action series about the return of extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) who puts together a new team of thrill-seekers to re-obtain a powerful government weapon known as Pandora’s Box when it is stolen by an alpha warrior villain (Donnie Yen). Surprisingly dull for the first half and story and characters are abstract and hard to get involved in. Slam-bag final half hour finally provides the thrills and over-the-top action that the first two offered. Vin Diesel is game as always and Ice Cube makes a cameo towards the end as the last XXX Darius Stone. Continue reading →
January 22, 2017 “Sleepless” (*** out of four) was a breathless action thriller starring Jamie Foxx as a corrupt Las Vegas narcotics cop who accidentally steals money and drugs belonging to a casino owner/crime kingpin (Dermot Mulroney) which puts him and his son in the midst of a dangerous crossfire as he must retrieve the stolen goods, elude capture, save his son, and keep his composure as he comes under suspicion from his own police department. Increasingly ridiculous story is put over by high-energy and high-style direction by Baran bo Odar which never slows down for a minute. Foxx is dynamic as always but Michelle Monaghan is miscast as a tough internal affairs agent who investigates Foxx. Continue reading →
January 22, 2017 “Split” (* out of four) was a mind-numbingly stupid, ugly horror psychodrama from the pretentious mind of M. Night Shymalahan in which a serious sicko with 24 different personalities (James Macavoy) kidnaps three women and holds them hostage who struggle to escape while he struggles to come to terms with his own psychosis. If you make it to the end of this mess, you’ll know exactly how he feels. Even Macavoy’s first-rate performance(s) becomes monotonous and annoying after a while, just like the movie itself. Shymalahan exploitively tells a story about mental illness yet unnervingly tries to make serious comments about it as well and just when you’re sure it can’t get worse, he throws in a child molestation scene for good measure. Bruce Willis has a cameo at the very end, if you haven’t “split” already by then. Continue reading →
January 22, 2017 “The Founder” (***1/2 out of four) was a thoroughly winning and entertaining story about the start of the McDonald’s corporation and how an ambitious huckster (Michael Keaton) bought the McDonald’s restaurant chain from two naive brothers and eventually edged them out but turned it from a small-town eatery to a global phenomenon. Keaton’s outstanding performance dominates this exceptional story of big business, capitalism, and the American dream. That such an unlikeable character could form such a likeable and accessible story is a testament to Keaton and director John Lee Hancock. Continue reading →
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