August 13, 2016 “Bad Moms” (*** out of four) was a winning comedy about three overworked single moms (Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn) who become fed up with all their responsibilities and attempt to have an overdue shot of freedom and fun but one mom (Kunis) is brought into a personal and professional battle with the bitchy head of the P.T.A. (Christina Applegate nicely cast). Not all that much plot per se but has enough laughs and high-spirited performances to make it worthwhile, especially for single moms who will appreciate this even more. Kunis in particular is terrific as usual. Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Edge Of Winter” (** out of four) was a spare melodrama about two child brothers who are stranded in the winter wilderness with their estranger father (Joel Kinnaman) and gradually begin to realize how unstable he is and how this endangers all of them. Beautiful photography fails to elevate the blahness and unplesantry of the material. For a much better film about estranged fathers and sons and their personal baggage, go 30 years earlier and watch “At Close Range” with Sean Penn and Christopher Walken instead. Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Suicide Squad” (*** out of four) was an explosive, colorful adaptation of the DC comics series about a secret government agency who recruits imprisoned criminals when the world is threatened by the terroristic power of The Joker (Jared Leto). Full of great visuals and action scenes as you would expect and the script has some unusually sharp and snappy dialogue as well. Will Smith and Margot Robbie are standouts on the team but Leto’s Joker is sadly wasted and underused. More fun than DC comics’ previous entry “Batman vs. Superman” and much more entertaining than critics have been saying Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Lights Out” (*1/2 out of four) was a tedious horror thriller about a young girl (Teresa Palmer) whose younger brother starts exhibiting bizarre behavioral symptoms which she thinks are tied to evil entities in her house involving their mother (Maria Bello). Many horror fans praised this movie but they must have had other things on their mind. Both Palmer and Bello are good but it’s yet another story about (what else?) a demonically possessed child and a haunted house. Watch this before you put the lights out only if you’re having difficulty with sleeping. Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Arachnicide” (* out of four) was a bottom-of-the-barrel Netflix timewaster about an elite group of U.N. commando operatives who are set on a deadly mission to Albania where they are besieged by a sinister plan of killer spiders. As confusing as it is boring, and feels overlong at even 90 minutes. Watch “Arachnophobia” again instead. Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Mechanic: Resurrection” (*** out of four) was a dynamite sequel to the 2011 remake starring Jason Statham as a retired assassin forced to come out of retirement when the love of his life (Jessica Alba) is kidnapped by a ruthless businessman (Sam Byzantine) who wants him to kill 3 targets. Dazzling stunts, lots of hand-to-hand combat, and beautiful scenery make this not only better than the 2011 original but one of Statham’s best action movies ever. And casting Jessica Alba was definitely a plus! Tommy Lee Jones also has a small but crucial role as one of Statham’s targets. Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Rough Cut” (** out of four) was a murky underworld thriller set on the French Riviera about various back stabbings involving the police and the mob revolving around synthetic diamonds. Attractive scenery and camerawork can’t compensate for a script and story hard to follow and (thus) hard to care about. Neither the best nor worst of its kind but not worth chasing after. Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Daylight’s End” (** out of four) was a derivative post- apocalyptic thriller about a rogue drifter (Johnny Strong) trying to survive after a mysterious plague has devoured the planet and he stumbles upon a group of survivors and tries to lead them all to safety. Just a series of ideas borrowed from other (and better) movies but at least it moves at a reasonably fast pace. One wonders if Danny Boyle gets royalties everytime “28 Days Later” gets ripped off on a weekly basis. Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Batman: The Killing Joke” (**1/2 out of four) was an animated sequel involving The Dark Knight (voiced by Kevin Conroy) who hunts for the escaped Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) especially after he viciously assaults Batgirl (voiced by Tara Strong) and engineers a diabolical plan to attack the Gordon family. Dazzling animation and the dialogue and story are stronger than you would expect. Batman and Batgirl have interesting characterizations and a new kind of relationship in this entry. Ironically, though, the story starts to sag once The Joker is introduced and later becomes campy and over-the-top. Still, a better-than-expected entry in the series and worth checking out for comic-book fanatics. Continue reading →
August 13, 2016 “Newcomer” (** out of four) was a murky underworld espionage thriller about a rookie field agent (James Floyd) whose mistake costs him the lives of his team and his mentor (Anthony Lapaglia). When he is forced to take it on the run, he must piece together what went wrong with only the audio recordings of the incident to guide him. Intriguing storyline never builds significant momentum, despite good cast and gorgeous cinematography. Worth watching for fans of spy melodramas and John Le Carre fans but overall comes up empty. Continue reading →
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