August 29, 2016 “The Sea Of Trees” (*1/2 out of four) was an incomprehensible mess about an American businessman (Matthew McConaughey) who treks into a mysterious dense forest in Japan called the Sea Of Trees where many go to commit suicide. Once there, he encounters a Japanese man (Ken Watanabe) also about to commit suicide who inspires him and re-affirms his love for life and his aloof wife (Naomi Watts). Since McConaughey’s character is never likeable, it’s hard to become involved in the proceedings but it moves at a snails pace anyway. Director Gus Van Sant who can make great films (“Drugstore Cowboy”, “Good Will Hunting”) shows the worst of his pretentious tendencies here. Kasper Tuxen’s beautiful cinematography is this film’s only asset. Easy to see why this was booed off the screen at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Continue reading →
August 29, 2016 “Our Kind Of Traitor” (*** out of four) was a compelling adaptation of John Le Carre’s spy novel about a couple (Ewan McGreggor and Naomi Harris) on vacation in Morocco who meet a mysterious Russian stranger (Stellan Skarsgard) who convinces them to carry a package for him but this soon puts them in a political and criminal crossfire between the Russian mafia and the British Secret Service and find they can trust neither. First-rate cast helps keep this lively and intriguing through-out. In this critic’s opinion, this is a much better Le Carre adaptation than the overrated and tedious “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” from a few years ago. Continue reading →
August 28, 2016 “I Am Not A Serial Killer” (0 stars out of four) was a bottom-of-the-barrel bore about a very strange Midwestern teen (Max Records) with homicidal tendencies who becomes aware of supernatural forces in his nowheresville town that he must try to stop while also controlling and preventing his own mental health psychosis as well. If you make it to the end of this mess, you might have mental health problems as well. Bewildering and ugly to say the least and ineptly made and directed. Christopher Lloyd has a key supporting role as the boy’s neighbor but I’m sure he wishes he could go back to the past when he had much better roles than this. Continue reading →
August 28, 2016 “Careful What You Wish For” (** out of four) was a predictable romantic thriller about a young kid (Nick Jonas) who begins having an affair with the wife (Isabela Lucas) of a wealthy investment banker (Dermot Mulroney). To the surprise of no one but him, she kills him and claims it was self-defense but this embroils them both in hot water. Jonas is good in his first leading role but he should be more “careful” to pick better and more original scripts. Well-made but obvious and empty. Continue reading →
August 28, 2016 “Don’t Breathe” (** out of four) was a not-bad horror thriller about three friends who break into the house of an old blind man (Stephen Lang) who turns out to be a serious sicko and turns the table and terrorizes them as they struggle to break out of his home and stay alive. Some scares and tense moments but story becomes increasingly implausible and ridiculous, especially since Lang is 65 years old and his character is blind. Promising directing work from Fede Alvarez who directed the solid remake of “Evil Dead” a few years ago. Continue reading →
August 28, 2016 “War Dogs” (***1/2 out of four) was a bullseye comedy based on the true story of two young guys (Miles Teller and Jonah Hill) who became billionaire war profiteers by becoming involved in weapons deals with the Pentagon and Afghanistan and Albania. Razor-sharp and multilayered script is enhanced by the terrific performances of both Hill and Teller who also make a great team and have hilarious camaraderie together. Director Todd Phillips does an impressive job of maintaining a bouncy, light-hearted tone of a very serious story in what is easily his best movie since “The Hangover.” Continue reading →
August 28, 2016 “Miles Ahead’ (*1/2 out of four) was a superficial biography about legendary jazz musician Miles Davis (Don Cheadle) whose biggest enemy off the stage was always himself, which led to him becoming involved in drugs, crime, and self-destruction. Film never really shows you how or why Davis became so embroiled in music and why this became such a passion for him and instead focuses on his involvement in drugs and crime and his relationship with an investigative reporter (Ewan McGreggor). Cheadle is OK as Davis but his voice is strained and McGreggor is unusually awkward. This was a labor-of-love for star Cheadle in his directing debut but a great film about Davis still remains to be made. Continue reading →
August 28, 2016 “They Found Hell” (*** out of four) was a gory, stylish Redbox horror show about a group of college students who become trapped in Hell after a teleportation experiment goes awry and they soon have to fight for their lives as the inhabitants of Hell are out to devour them. Whopper of a story is told to the hilt with gruesome and imaginative special effects and some genuine scares. Performances range from amateurish to passable but they sure know how to scream and run and that gets the job done. Opening half-hour is awkward and very off-putting but stick with it because this movie’s kitchen-sink approach and over-the-top attitude bring back memories of early Sam Raimi and his “Evil Dead” series. Continue reading →
August 28, 2016 “Blood Father” (**1/2 out of four) was a reasonably endearing and engrossing melodrama starring a well-cast Mel Gibson as a temperamental former alcoholic who reunites with his estranged 16 year old daughter (Erin Moriarty) to protect her when drug dealers are out to kill her forcing both of them to take it on the road. Gibson is good in a role that in many ways obviously parallels his own off-screen behavior and Moriarty is terrific as his daughter; otherwise this covers all-too-familiar ground involving father and daughter reconciliation and road-movie cliches. William H. Macy and Michael Parks have good supporting roles as Gibson’s friends. Continue reading →
August 28, 2016 “Hard Target 2” (** out of four) was an unnecessary sequel to the 1993 Jean Claude Van Damme-John Woo action thriller about an MMA fighter (Scott Adkins) reeling from a recent death in the ring who is recruited by a millionaire businessman (Robert Knepper) and his wealthy cronies but soon finds he’s the prey in a “Most Dangerous Game” hunting match in which hunters kill people. Features enough fights and beautiful scenery to make it watchable for action junkies but starts to run out of steam in its second half. Actually, this bears more resemblance to “Surviving The Game” than the original “Hard Target”. Adkins’ one-note expressions and stiff line readings show he doesn’t quite have the acting canvas and poetic expressionalism of Van Damme Continue reading →
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