Tag: Movie Reviews

Dead Man Down doesn’t match the hype

· Leave a comment ·

(older movie reviews with a fresh coast of paint)

Dead Man Down asks us to take a ride with two tormented souls on their journey to revenge.   In the end, the run isn’t worth the sweat any moviegoer will produce after finishing this film.  The story is a decent setup and gives high hopes for an entertaining thriller.  Victor(Farrell) and Beatrice(Rapace) are neighbors who discover that they share a common trait and goal.   Someone has wronged them in the past and they find a little courage in each other to set things right.  Throw in a little blackmail, some romance, a dead family with a scarred face and you have this twisted uneven poorly paced action thriller.  Farrell and Rapace are wasted in woodenly written roles that create zero sparks between them and Terrence Howard relies on his old overplayed tricks in playing a bad man meeting his fate.

Dead Man Down can’t decide if it want to be a straight up action thriller or something more, and it takes forever figuring that out.   In the process, my patience was fried.  Director Niels Oplev, who helmed the original Girl With A Dragon Tattoo with Rapace, seems lost here in this clichéd American thriller.  There are elements of an action film, thriller, romance ingrained in this film but neither ingredient tastes good when the dish hits your table in the nearly 2 hour running time.  (more…)

The Place Beyond The Pines review

· Leave a comment ·

“Natural law.  Sons are put on this earth to trouble their fathers.”

-John Rooney(Paul Newman) in Road To Perdition

 The Place Beyond the Pines is the first great movie of 2013.  A powerful tale of fathers and sons that hits close to home for any parent and sinks its hooks deep into you that stay there long after the credits roll.  Writer/Director Derek Cianfrance made this movie for artistic and personal reasons and you feel that when you watch it. This is a movie that matters and carries the epic ambition of a renegade filmmaker and Cianfrance has the cast to back up his words and direction.

Ryan Gosling plays Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stunt man who travels with a circus and performs a daredevil stunt with his crew, “Luke and the Hearthrobs”, where he and two crew members ride around a metal globe for minutes.  Outside of his gig, Glanton suffers from detachment and an empty vessel of a future until a past love Romena(Eva Mendes, radiating urgency and grace hand in hand) shows up after his performance. (more…)

Pain and Gain: A Michael Bay comedy

· Leave a comment ·

(older movie reviews with a new coat of paint)

“God gave me many gifts and one of them was the ability to knock somebody the fuck out!”-Paul Doyle(Dwayne Johnson)

Michael Bay takes wild comedy to a whole new level and unleashes the outrageously vast talents of Wahlberg and Johnson in his “small” movie about bodybuilders seeking the rich and famous life in Miami in the 1990’s.  People forget that Bay is capable of bigger and better things than staging a robot war around Shia Laboeuf.  Here, he makes a movie that makes The Hangover seem like Little House on the Prairie.  Wahlberg is Daniel Lugo, a muscle head who wants to live life on the other side of the fence, where the dollar bills grow like grass on the lawn in front of mansions.  To do that, he schemes to rip off Victor Kershaw(Tony Shalhoub), a rich prick who cares little about fitness yet thinks he owns the world.  Joining Lugo are Paul Doyle(Johnson in full throttle hilarity mode) and Adrian Doorbal(the always reliable Anthony Mackie).

Paramount Pictures

Kidnapping, extortion, and murder join the party and things go very very bad.  Bay doesn’t forget to remind us in a scene involving a cokehead barbecuing body parts that this is a “true story”.  That only adds to the enjoyment and takes the entire film to another level.  Pain and Gain’s plot carries the same energy of a cocaine addict.  Highs, lows, craziness, over the top events, unpredictable actions and a paranoid meth addict ability to stun the audience. (more…)

Mud: A Jeff Nichols gem

· Leave a comment ·

(older movie reviews with a fresh coat of paint)

Matthew McConaughey anchors a fine cast that elevates a simple tale about the innocence of kids and the sins of men.  Set in Arkansas, Mud takes you on a good ride.  Director Jeff Nichols tale hits like a real and personal journey and the viewer is sucked into the dangerous adventurous dark world of Arkansas.  McConaughey once again slips into the skin of a beast he hasn’t approached often in his past yet is starting to bite into more in the twilight of his career.

Roadside Attractions

Mud isn’t a perfect man and is full of tricks yet the work of McConaughey pulls us into his story. The kids are played with their own dose of innocence but the best supporting performance here comes from Ray McKinnon, who plays Ellis’ troubles father.   (more…)

Iron Man 3: Shane Black buys you a drink

· Leave a comment ·

Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. first worked together on Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, a detective noir action comedy that sparked the fuse box on Downey’s resurgence back into the world of film, reminded people of Black’s quirky talents and also gave Val Kilmer a life line.  This time they have a few more million(more like 200) to work with.  The director and star are teamed back together here in the second sequel to Iron Man, and the result is one of the most kickass highly enjoyable films you will see in 2013. If you go in expecting the Christopher Nolan chapter of Tony Stark, you will be very disappointed.

Marvel Entertainment

Comedy is also never forgotten here and is the signature blend of any Tony Stark story.  Black and RDJ keep things light and snarky, while pulling the story of our genius billionaire turned hero to another level with a credible story.  Connecting Stark’s current state of anxiety with flashbacks to 1999 and the ending of Avengers lingering in his mind(you may have some panic attacks if you nearly died saving the world from a fleet of aliens storming New York’s skyline), this movie places Stark in his comfort zone, which turns out to be discomforting self-doubt and pure introspection. (more…)

The Equalizer: Premium Denzel

· 2 Comments ·

(older movie reviews with a new coat of paint)

“It’s about a guy in night shining armor except he lives in a world where knights don’t exist anymore.”-Robert McCall

Before the movie started, my fellow critic Landon Burris warned me that The Equalizer looked like “diet” Denzel. Thankfully, Mr. Burris was wrong. This movie rocks and it does so on the heels of another commanding performance from Washington, reteaming with his Training Day director, Antoine Fuqua for a simple yet highly enjoyable action experience.

Sony Pictures

By simple, I don’t mean it settles for cheap thrills or denies the viewer fun. It’s easy on the eyes, keeps the action moving and Denzel elevates any kind of material. He plays Robert, a seemingly nice wise fellow who works at a hardware store, looks out for his fellow employees and likes to go out to his neighborhood diner for hot tea and a book. Robert also can’t sleep and that is due to a past that slowly reveals itself as the 130 minute running time unfolds. This is where Washington excels with these action heroes. He doesn’t try to wax Oscar pathos on a fun action role. He supplies just the right amount of weight to the old lion hanging around the young man’s den. (more…)

Rudderless: Darkness without melodrama

· Leave a comment ·

(older movie reviews with a new coat of paint)

Few films can go to dark places and resist becoming melodramatic or weighing down a viewer in the process. William H. Macy’s directorial debut(he also co-wrote the script with Casey Twenter and Jeff Robison) stays balanced by pulling the best work from Billy Crudup in years and infusing the viewer with great music to produce a part bleak part uplifting take on the healing power of music.

Samuel Goldwyn Company

Crudup plays Sam, a successful businessman who calls his kid after a big deal goes through and wants to meet him for lunch, college work be damned. When the kid doesn’t show up. Sam happens to see a television with a school shooting on it and that’s all we get before seeing Sam spiral out. We see him next on a boat working manual labor and keeping to himself. It’s not until his ex-wife(played well by Macy’s wife Felicty Huffman) that Sam starts to come back to life. She gives him his son’s books of music lyrics and demo tapes. (more…)

‘Fruitvale Station’: As powerful as it gets

· Leave a comment ·

(older movie reviews with a new coat of paint)

It’s a rare feat when a movie is so well done and powerful that it forces you to take a walk after seeing it, thus delaying the rest of your day.  Sometimes, movies take a piece of you with them and hold onto it for dear life.  They make you ask yourself tough questions, rediscover why you love film, and look at other films like boys playing a man’s game.  Right as the summer heat kicks in, Fruitvale Station kicked down my door, snuck up inside my body, and bought real estate in my soul.   This true story tale will amaze, haunt and stick with you for days.  Truth be told, it will kick your ass.  When you see it, leave the Kleenex at home and wear the tears that shed from your eyes like a badge of honor.   There’s no shame in showing emotion for this poetic tragic tale of 22 year old Oscar Grant and the last day of 2008 in his world.

The Weinstein Company

Do yourself a favor and avoid reading about the details of this true story.  Writer/Director Ryan Coogler did the hard leg work, left nothing out, and gives you the visceral story in a quick moving tense 86 minutes.  This movie will hit harder if you know the end or not, but try to see it on fresh terms.  The best thing Coogler does here(except for creating an Oscar worthy movie, yes you heard that right) is he leaves the kool aide at home and just tells the story. (more…)

‘Drinking Buddies’: Olivia Wilde at her best

· Leave a comment ·

(older movie reviews with a new coat of paint)

Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson are so good as Kate and Luke that you nearly forget you are merely watching actors play best friends.  As the sentence finishing and lingo infused duo of a brewing company who have been drowning a burning attraction for years with laughs, food and a LOT of beer, the actors are pure revelations.  The material is simple enough.   They are friends and their spouses and co-workers are simply waiting for the dynamite stick of romance to drop.  Whether it does or not is writer/director Joe Swanberg’s magic trick that will keep you looking until the final pin drop.  This isn’t your normal romantic comedy people.  Please don’t write it off as just another “they will get together in the end and the latest coolest pop ballad will fill the background with a smooth digestive flavor”.  Drinking Buddies moves in mysterious ways and the reason  it works so well is the top flight acting crew assembled, anchored by the new kids on the block to real drama and that’s Wilde and Johnson.

Magnolia Pictures

You may know the two.  Wilde is the drop dead gorgeous beauty who battled aliens with Daniel Craig and romanced Ryan Reynolds while Jason Bateman was stuck inside his body.  Johnson spins bottles with Zooey Deschanel on Fox’s New Girl and has dabbled in supporting roles in films such as 2012’s Safety Guaranteed.   Here, the two are joined by the always reliable Kendrick and Livingston (so cool on screen that he appears to be floating through air while making his lines up as he goes).   This is a four part play set inside a movie. (more…)

‘Homefront’ is a Jason Statham gem

· Leave a comment ·

(Older movie reviews with a new coat of paint)

When you sit down for dinner this weekend and start selecting your portions, keep a spot open in your stomach for this latest slice of Statham mayhem.  A throwback to the old school guns blazing bone crunching action flicks of the 80’s, this movie delivers on the promise it made in the trailer.  Bad ass Statham,a daughter, and lots of mistakes made by feeble bad men who think fighting this seasoned action stud is an easy task.

Mention Jason Statham and people either shake their head in disbelief or nod in approval.   I laugh when people associate his name with acting in these certain action showcases.  If you want to see him act, watch Snatch, Bank Job or Revolver.  If you want to see sit down and see him kick ass and take names, watch this movie.   He is so convincing during his fight scenes that he heightens the material.  Unlike most action stars who rely on hours of choreography and still look awkward, Statham is in his comfort zone when taking on 2-3 guys at a time.  Ever since he dished his first real kick in The Transporter, he has owned the action hero genre.  Sylvester Stallone seems to think so.  He wrote this film specifically for the bullet headed Brit and it shows.  This is the kind of vintage good/bad/ugly flick that Sly made an artform back in the day.  Statham is a necessary and reliable action hero. (more…)