Tag Archives: Action

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Offers a Fresh Start

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Over the years as latter films in the Star Wars pantheon have produced diminishing returns, there’s been a bit of a grading curve – “pretty good acting … for someone in a Star Wars film,” “fairly cool action scene … in an otherwise lackluster prequel” and the like. So it’s good news indeed that J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (A-) earns its accolades outright in terms of solid acting, layered characters, genuine high stakes, some earned comic relief and relentless action. The film achieves most of its delirious highs in the first hour as it splendidly introduces four fantastic new characters (Daisy Ridley as fierce scavenger warrior heroine Rey, John Boyega as naive reformed Stormtrooper Finn, Oscar Isaac as cocksure pilot Poe and the precious spherical astromech droid BB-8). There’s considerable descent into incomprehension (alas Abrams gets rather Lost) during the final acts with strange pop psychology that only works in spurts and some tedious retreads of some action moments already depicted in six previous films. Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren makes for a so-so villain, albeit with an awesome lightsaber, and his CGI mentor is a bit of a misfire. Harrison Ford is a highlight reprising his role as everyone’s favorite rakish scoundrel Han Solo, this time showing more of his soft side along with his trademark quips. The art direction and physical production are gloriously rendered and are such a welcome return to form: sequences in the desert are lush and the first glimpse of evil TIE Fighters sleek indeed. The film works best when it functions as an archaeological dig into the myths and iconography of the original trilogy; in fact, much of the most spectacular parts of the quest – rescuing antiquities, piecing together lost maps, being chased in the desert and around sinister corners and plumbing the well of characters’ souls – resemble an Indiana Jones installment. The fresh storyline of new characters is actually the film’s novelty since Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill are shamelessly underused. But it’s hard to begrudge a big studio enterprise that is this packed with thrills and adventure, good characters and surprises. It largely hits the mark and sets the stage for some great new revelations.Save

2015

Game Over: “Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2”

imageIt’s days of whine and poses as Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen trudges along to the prolonged conclusion of Francis Lawrence’s excruciating The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (D+). For a heroine who came on the scene so strong in the original film, it really was a long slog through three more movies to drain the character of any recognizable character whatsoever. After treading water and biding time for more than an hour, the film introduces an oil spill sequence and a slime-zombie battle to rattle the narrative out of complete somnolence. The plot to assassinate President Snow (Donald Sutherland) meanders and fizzles; the inexplicable Peeta versus Gale fauxmance wobbles into utter nonsense and the whole enterprise just teeters to the finale. Aimless in direction, bleak in set design and imagination and largely existent to squeeze more money out of the franchise, this sequel is notable for career-low wooden performances from Oscar winners Lawrence, Julianne Moore and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. For completists only, this part four is a complete bore.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Sicario” a Smart Thriller on U.S. Border

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imageA meditative and engaging slow-burn thriller about U.S. operatives infiltrating the drug culture on our Southern border, Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario (B) unravels its mysteries in small bursts but doesn’t quite achieve the expected heft of its high-minded messages. For a while it is so focused on visuals of topographies such as highways and desert passageways that it could have been directed by Google Earth. Enter FBI agent Emily Blunt who transforms from spy to soldier when she seeks to understand the machinations behind the horror of kidnappings related to drug kingpins. Blunt does an admirable job in a rather inert central role, but the meandering screenplay marginalizes the protagonist a bit before the final act. Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin play the men who call our heroine to action, and they too are effective in their underwritten roles. Del Toro gets to shine in a climactic encounter and embodies the Byzantine traits of warriors in a convoluted and unwinnable drug war. The most engaging sequence of the film showcases a shootout in broad daylight in heavy traffic in which multiple killings don’t even make the nightly news. Viewers may get the feeling that even a highly trained squad with history of infiltrating drug lords is only scratching the surface. The film does very little for the Juarez tourism board. Overall the movie is taut, tense and transportive. It just barely misses the mark of becoming the definitive film on its subject.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Ex Machina” is Surprising Slow-Burn Sci-Fi

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imageSlow and cerebral but definitely worthwhile viewing, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina (B) is a fascinating drama about a meek computer engineer (Domhnall Gleeson) lured to the secluded home of the reclusive head of his tech company (Oscar Isaac) to interrogate a gorgeous cyborg (Alicia Vikander) he has created. There’s an air of mystery and oneupsmanship among the central actors and an eerie romantic chemistry between Everyman and A.I. Creation. Deft performances, well integrated effects, moody lighting and interiors and a general atmosphere of foreboding add up to a chilly and austere experience. Many of the themes here have been more vividly explored in superior films, but this heady chess game is an unexpected entry into the sci-fi cyber-canon.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“The Gift” (2015) a Psychological Surprise

Writer/director/actor Joel Edgerton pulls off the surprise of the summer with a psychological suspense film that gets at the heart of relationships, memories and truth. The Gift (B+) centers on a relationship between Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall as a couple relocating to the hills of Los Angeles, hoping to rekindle a spark dimmed by tragedies. Both actors are superb. A reunion with Edgerton’s creepy character propels a series of unexpected events and fuels a taut thriller. The Australian auteur creates sparks with his debut film, which folks should see before spoilers get out.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” an Enjoyable Action Entry

imageIn a series that hit its peak in the previous installment, Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (B-) is nonetheless a perfectly competent thriller with a durable action star. There’s one really great heist sequence involving having to swim to unlock a computer code, but it’s mainly mission improbable with car chases and thwarted torture and opera assassination attempts. Tom Cruise and ensemble may be able to crack a code but rarely crack a joke in this straightforward and overlong spy thriller.

2015

Game Over for “Pixels”

imageThere’s lots of inspired stuff in a movie about a 1982 time capsule that prompts modern-day extraterrestrials to co-opt nostalgic video game iconography to attack the planet, but director Chris Columbus and an Adam Sandler-led comedic ensemble drain Pixels (D-) of any sense of wit or charm. The filmmakers barely summon hand-eye coordination in mishandling a story about how a rag-tag group of misfits conjure their inner joysticks and roller controllers to topple Galaga, Centipede, Pac-Man and a gaggle of galactic meanies. When a film employs intentionally dated graphics and an absurd premise, it requires credible acting and a logical thematic through-line; that’s why Ghostbusters worked so brilliantly. Alas the game is over long before it starts for Pixels, with everything from Tom Arnold playing the U.S. President as Sandler’s best friend and Michelle Monaghan as Sadler’s love interest being but two of the plot points catalogued in the not-credible category. As Sandler and Josh Gad exert their action antics and moribund comedy to a not-at-all thrilling conclusion, one simply wonders what would have happened had the studio chosen a different adventure with better talent to tell this tale. For a better foray into the 8-bit heyday, I recommend the documentary King of Kong.

2015

Paul Rudd Lends Charm to “Ant-Man” (2015)

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imageLike a pest at a picnic, Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man (C-) is all over the place and quite irritating. Paul Rudd provides his cat burglar turned miniaturized superhero with about as little charisma as possible and certainly none of his trademark comedy. He and love interest Evangeline Lilly, villain Corey Stoll and physicist impresario Michael Douglas could power a Polar Express with their glassy-eyed lack of expression. Only Michael Peña shines in a comic role as a heist henchman with a penchant for telling thrilling backstories. While the special effects are adequate (shrinking hero on a neon disco floor was a nice look), this is definitely storytelling on a small scale with CGI ant armies displaying about as much charm as crowd sequences at a George Lucas pod race. Most elements of the film are simply average. Capable of bringing out the superpower of snooze, this is a lesser entry in the Marvel universe if ever there was one.

Note from our sponsor: I did enjoy the sound quality. Thanks, Dolby! #dolbyatmos

2015

“Jurassic World” Exhumes Fossils of Structure Without Meat

imageYou know your movie is weak when it compares unfavorably to that monster-invades-a-theme-park classic Jaws 3-D. Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World (C-) neither rediscovers nor reinvigorates its dinosaurs-on-the-loose franchise and squanders its inevitability as a blockbuster hit with a soggy script, ho-hum effects and misplaced momentum. Aimlessly dispatching stock characters like a Sims game on continuous loop, the film attempts to up the ante of its cinematic predecessors by introducing a genetic hybrid dinosaur and newly minted action figure Chris Pratt. The hero does what he can with his dreck dialogue. Vying for most annoying cast member are Bryce Dallas Howard as park administrator most identified by her red shag wedge and Vincent D’Onofrio as a bloated villain in waiting. There are a total of two suspenseful sequences, one involving two rather unengaging teenage brothers and another when Pratt is in the cage with his dino-nemesis. Trevorrow adds nothing to the prehistoric pantheon with what could most charitably be described as paint by numbers.

2015

“Tomorrowland” a Dubious Destination

imageDisney’s history of imagination is unparalleled, but the studio’s shaky track record of sci-fi is paved with the likes of The Black Hole, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and Tron Legacy. So the squandered opportunity for redemption is mighty in Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland (C-), an ambitious film that is full of ideas but misses the mark on executing most of them. The vapid protagonist played by Britt Robertson speaks mainly in cliches, and when she partners with George Clooney in what is basically an extended cameo, he doesn’t add much either to the proceedings aside from faux Han Solo gruffness. There’s lots of overreach about saving mankind from its own destiny, but Bird doesn’t do a good job outlining the plot to properly take audiences along for the ride. What’s left are a few lovely nostalgia scenes, some half-sketched visions of the future, some awkward robots (TV’s Small Wonder was more believable) and an underdeveloped sense of majesty. The film, overstuffed with good intention, is mostly a bloated bore.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Mad Max: Fury Road” is Intense Action Thriller

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imageThe first act of director George Miller’s latest post-apocalyptic epic left me a bit mixed on Max, but as the propulsive parade of vehicular adventure progresses, it became clear that we do indeed need another hero. The adrenaline filled reboot Mad Max: Fury Road (B) is precision tuned in its breakneck stunt work, gloriously specific in its troupe of odd denizens aboard citadel towers and on monster trucks and near operatic in its pacing with few words punctuated by Junkie XL’s thrilling percussion and guitar. Ridin’ dirty in lead acting roles are Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron; and despite their character development coming a bit too little too late, they are strong physical actors for the journey. The film contains unexpected subtext about female empowerment as Theron’s character is delivering the villain’s wives to safe territory, and she is fierce in the role. Sequences with near-impossible odds, such as when Max is fighting with one arm chained to a car door and the other cuffed to a comatose man, showcase Miller’s strong action instincts in their rawest and most entertaining form. Hardy reclaims road warrior-dom from white collar execs and flexes uncanny instincts even when his character is going from one unpleasant challenge to another. Filmed in an orange hue that would make John Boehner envious, it’s a visceral ride into a thunderous domain.

2015

Superhero Ensemble Continues in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)

imageJoss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron (C) assembles all of the superheroes from the original hit but little of the wit for a flimsy follow-up. Lumbering, uninspired and overlong, the film now carries the burden of having to extend the franchise that’s now in spinoffs, on TV and cross-platform. It all seems like a perfunctory business exercise; attempts to elevate the excitement and the scale of the fight sequences just become lugubrious. Without a clear protagonist and with a metal villain whose intentions beyond destruction are unclear, the film limps to its inevitable box office triumph. One sequence with the heroes all trying to hoist Thor’s hammer captures the potential charm of this many greats in one comic movie; the rest is forced.