September 19, 2016 “Sully” (***1/2 out of four) was an excellent biographical drama of Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) who became a hero after making an emergency landing along the Hudson River saving all 155 flight crew and passengers aboard only to be interrogated and chastised by administrators for acting unprofessionally. Director Clint Eastwood tells the story simply but eloquently and frames it with powerful flashbacks to the crash and how everyone miraculously survived. Hanks is first-rate as always but so is Aaron Eckhart as his first officer and co-pilot who faces the blame and heroism. Movie is also refreshingly quick and short at about 90 minutes. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “The Good Neighbor” (*1/2 out of four) was a badly done melodrama about two annoying suburban brats (Logan Miller and Keir Gilchrist) who begin to eavesdrop and spy on an unsuspecting neighbor (James Caan) and gradually uncover that he may be a murderer! Not that different at all from 2007’s “Disturbia” with Shia Labouef but except this one shows a disturbing lack of brains. Ineptly directed and told and has some major gaps in logic. Only Caan keeps this one barely afloat with his effortless charisma and style. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “The Perfect Weapon” (** out of four) was a murky action melodrama set in the not-too-distant future where society is ruled by a powerful conglomerate and one hitman for the state (Johnny Messner) reunites with a former enemy (Steven Seagal) he thought was dead and this results in him rethinking his agenda and motivation for the kill. Visually dazzling at times, with art direction and production design clearly influenced by “Blade Runner”, but story and characters are hard to care about or get involved in. Messner is cool but one-note in the lead; Seagal is stiff and blank and in it very briefly. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “Rob Zombie’s 31” (*1/2 out of four) was a wretched horror drama Zombiefied into yet another white-trash exercise in excess and gore. On the day before Halloween, five carnival employees (including Sherri Moon Zombie) are kidnapped and held hostage in an isolated compound known as “Murderworld” and are thrown into a game of 31 in which they have to survive 12 hours against a gang of maniacs dressed like clowns. Crude, stupid horror show once again shows Zombie’s affection for “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Last House On The Left”, and other grindhouse cinema but you’d be better off re-watching those classics than watching this mess. Let’s hope for a White Zombie reunion before he steps behind the camera again. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “Blair Witch” (** out of four) was an inferior third entry in the horror series about the brother (James Allen McCune) of Heather from the original who believes she may still be alive and mounts an expedition into the Maryland woods to find her but the curse of the Blair Witch is still very much alive and well. I wasn’t a huge fan of the 1999 original but this is virtually a scene-for-scene remake until the final third which provides some scares. A definite improvement over the second entry but that’s not saying much to put it mildly. Relentlessly shaky hand-held camerawork may cause you to reach for the dramamine after a while. Continue reading →
September 19, 2016 “Snowden” (** out of four) was a hugely disappointing true story of Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon Levitt) who was a brilliant NSA technician but later became a whistle-blower of their illegal surveillance techniques in what became one of the biggest government scandals of the last decade. You would think this fascinating political material would be a perfect fit for director Oliver Stone but film is surprisingly dull, superficial, and it goes on forever. Gordon-Levitt is rock-solid as usual as Snowden but film hardly tells you anything about him or what his motivations were. Shailene Woodley makes her mark again as Snowden’s girlfriend and conscience. Continue reading →
September 15, 2016 “Unthinkable” (***1/2 out of four) was a penetrating melodrama about an international terrorist (Michael Sheen) who has placed three nuclear weapons scattered across the U.S. and is subsequently captured but refuses to reveal their locations. As the clock ticks down, an interrogation specialist (Samuel L. Jackson) and an F.B.I. agent (Carrie Anne Moss) are brought in to obtain vital information to save the world but both have completely opposite spectrums of how to do this. What seems like an ordinary setup for an action thriller soon becomes a multilayered story of moral responsibility involving terrorism, hidden truths, and torture if need be. Riveting performances dominate the screen, with Jackson in what may be the best performance of his career as a man dedicated to his job and saving lives at any cost! Searing screenplay by Peter Woodward is tensely directed and staged by Gregor Jordan. A dynamite surprise. Continue reading →
September 15, 2016 “Morgan” (** out of four) was a lackluster sci/fi thriller about a corporate risk-assessment specialist (Kate Mara) who is deployed to Alaska where an artificiallly created woman named Morgan (Anya Taylor Scott) has been showing violent tendencies and behavior and she has to decide whether to terminate her or not. Some interesting plot points about artificial intelligence and computers are enervated by film’s dreary pacing and by-the-numbers storytelling. Mara is good in the lead but Paul Giamatti, Michelle Yeoh, and Jennifer Jason Leigh are all frivolously wasted in supporting roles. A lukewarm directorial debut for Ridley Scott’s son Luke Scott. Continue reading →
September 15, 2016 “Cardboard Boxer” (**1/2 out of four) was a heartfelt but limited melodrama about a world-weary homeless man (Thomas Haden Church) struggling to live on the streets and survive and is recruited by a group of rich kids to compete in a fighting contest circuit against other homeless people. Haden Church is outstanding in what may be the best performance of his career and makes this worth watching for at least a few scenes. Film has some pertinent scenes and comments about the plights of the homeless but they’re unfortunately plugged into a story that’s conventional and contrived. For a more raw and powerful look at homeless people trying to survive, watch “The Saint Of Fort Washington”, “The Pursuit Of Happyness”, and “No Place Like Home.” Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “Knucklebones” (0 stars out of four) was a dreadful horror thriller for knuckleheads about a group of bored and none-too-bright college students who unwittingly unleash a sinister force that begins murdering them after they play a game of dice with discarded bones. You can only wish that the script of this mess was discarded with as well. Terrible filmmaking and low-rent production turn this into a real horror show and the film is snail-paced and boring to boot. Re-caulk your bathtub instead. Continue reading →
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