January 30, 2017 “Gold” (*** out of four) was a superficial but entertaining story of a down-on-his-luck prospector (Mathew McConaughey) who teams up with an eager geologist to discover gold in the ruins of Indonesia and the various ups-and-downs they go through after becoming millionaires. McConaughey’s usual dynamic performance makes all the difference and makes this story worth watching, even though it (by now) tells a familiar story of the rise and fall of American business and greed. Bryce Dallas Howard makes another strong showing as his supportive wife. Continue reading →
January 30, 2017 “Get The Girl” (**1/2 out of four) was a stylish but overdone comedy about a wealthy young kid (Justin Doobies) who is conned into staging a fake kidnapping of a girl (Elizabeth Whitson) he is in love with. When one of the kidnappers is killed, he has to save her life while trying to prevent her from finding out it was a ruse. Fast-paced movie holds your attention with high-energy and cool visuals but story gets uglier and more unpleasant as it goes along. After a while, you realize you simply don’t care about any of the characters or their plight. A solid directing effort from director Eric England but this still feels like warmed-over Tarantino and Coen Bros. Continue reading →
January 30, 2017 “Fantastic Beats And Where To Find Them” (*** out of four) was a splendid spin-off of the “Harry Potter” series set 70 years prior as writer Newt Scam anderson (Eddie Redmayne) attempts to defeat an evil force (Colin Farrell) among NYC’s secret community of witches and wizards. Overlong but nicely done and is loaded with startling effects and features sweet moments through-out. Redmayne is terrific but you may have to look hard to see Johnny Depp in a supporting role. Continue reading →
January 30, 2017 “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” (*** out of four) was a dazzling final entry in the popular vodeo-game adaptation series about Alice (Milla Jovovich) who attempts to thwart the Umbrella Corporation and their efforts to destroy the survivors of the apocalypse. Non-stop action and visual effects make this one of the best, if not the best, of the series. Jovovich is committed and charismatic as usual and director Paul W.S. Anderson provides plenty of style and cool visuals. Hardcore fans of the series may want to boost my rating by 1/2* but action/sci-fans in general should definitely check this out. Continue reading →
January 29, 2017 “Massacre In Aisle 12” (*1/2 out of four) was a dumb-and-dumber horror comedy about a none-too-bright hardware store worker whose first night on the job is disrupted by dead bodies, a duffel bag of cash, and other merry mishaps. Bad performances and stupid characters turn this into a real massacre. Send up of ’80’s horror movies needed a much sharper writer and director. Continue reading →
January 26, 2017 “Miss Sloane” (**1/2 out of four) was a hot-and-cold political melodrama about a powerful high-stakes political lobbyist (Jessica Chastain) who becomes involved in a lobbying case involving gun control and finds herself in dangerous moral and legal territory in which she has to question her desire to win and her desire for the truth. Cutthroat story about the wheelings-and-dealings and various muckraking in political ambiguity and the media is interesting and well-directed by John Madden but keeps you at arms length through-out. Chastain’s performance ranges from incisive to aloof, and the same could be said about the movie. Continue reading →
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 →
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