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 →
January 22, 2017 “The Harrow” (*1/2 out of four) was a harrowing bore about an unstable guy (Tom McKay) in a nowheresville town whose sanity is on the fringes after the murder of his wife a decade earlier; when a new girl (Maggie Geha) arrives in town trying to uncover the truth about her mother’s death, they soon fall in love but find that the mysteries of their past have interlocking secrets. Potentially interesting Southern Gothic melodrama is undone by molasses pacing and overlength. Geha and McKay’s sincere performances are wasted. Continue reading →
January 21, 2017 “Detour” (**1/2 out of four) was a flashy but empty revenge melodrama about a young law student (Emory Cohen) who gullibly enters into a pact with a man who offers to kill his stepfather whom he feels is responsible for a near-fatal crash that sent his mother into a coma but all does not go as planned. Well-directed and well-told to hold your attention but story itself takes some strange and unpleasant detours and leaves a bad taste. Still worth watching and better than most direct-to-Redbox junk. Continue reading →
January 21, 2017 “My Father Die” (*1/2 out of four) was a violent, ugly redneck melodrama about a deaf and mute small-town kid (Joe Anderson) who trains for nearly two decades to avenge the death of his brother. Upon finding the assailant, his plans hit a corkscrew when he finds out the murderer was his father. Strictly for those who never miss an episode of The Jerry Springer Show or who own all of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Willie Nelson records. “Movie Bad” would have been a better title for this mess. Re-caulk your bathtub instead. Continue reading →
January 20, 2017 “Apple Of My Eye” (**1/2 out of four) was a good-natured kids story about a young girl (AJ Michalka) who is traumatically injured after a horse-riding accident and receives a new miniature horse named Apple to be her companion and surrogate eyes and is then trained by a former horse trainer (Burt Reynolds) who becomes her mentor. Story about determination, survival, and the bond between owners and animals aimed squarely at kids who should like this a lot. Passable for adults with a nice role for 80-year old Reynolds and also Amy Smart as the girl’s mom. Continue reading →
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