Gimme Shelter

Indiefest:  Gimme Shelter (2014) PG-13   Apple Bailey (Vanessa Hudgens) has lived a hard life, living in foster homes while her-drug addicted mother (Rosario Dawson) is in jail. Fed up with her living conditions, she decides to try and find her father (Brendan Fraser), a man whom she has never met.  Hudgens, who is almost unrecognizable in the role, is the reason to see this film.  She is brave in her portrayal of a young woman who is trying to find her place in a very tough world.  Hudgens gives everything she has to the role but is let down by a script that never can quite capture the subject matter.  The film has a good supporting cast with James Earl Jones playing a priest who helps Apple and Ann Dowd playing Kathy, the woman who runs the shelter where Apple ends up.  This film is an earnest film that just doesn’t quite hit the mark, which makes it seem more like an “afterschool special” from the 1970’s.  My Rating:  Bargain Matinee  Gimme Shelter Website

Indiefest:  The Invisible Woman (2013) R  Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes), during his time, is the most famous person in the world. His books are best sellers, and his book tours sell out every time. It all could come crashing down when the married Dickens meets Nelly (Felicity Jones), a young actress with whom he becomes romantically involved. Will Dickens risk scandal to be with the love of his life? This is an extremely slow moving film, as it takes forever for Dickens to finally bed Nelly.  I thought that Jones was perfect in the role of the feisty girl who wants to be independent in a time that looked down on that thought.  I didn’t like Fiennes in the role of Dickens.  Dickens was a rock star of his time, someone who was instantly recognized and was known for his book tour performances.  Fiennes plays him as a rather restrained person, and I never got the Dickens charisma from Fiennes’ performance.  It’s an interesting film but doesn’t quite have the passion that it should have for the romance between two strong individuals.  My Rating:  Bargain Matinee  The Invisible Woman Facebook page

Forgotten Film:  Sisters (1973) R Brian De Palma directs this film which plays like a horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  Grace (Jennifer Salt) is a reporter with a reputation for being tough on cops in her articles.  She witnesses, from her apartment window, a murder of a man by a woman in an apartment across the street.  Grace calls the cops, but they can’t find any trace of the murder.  With the help of a private investigator (Charles Durning) she tries to find out if there really was a murder and, if so, who did it.  This murder mystery has so many twists and turns, it’s sometimes hard to figure out what is happening, but Salt is so good in the role of Grace that you will want to stay and help her figure out what really happened.  My Rating:  Full Price  Sisters Info

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014)  Sequal to Planes (2013), which made many critics bottom ten lists.  Disney, please quit releasing to theatres movies that were meant to be direct to video films!  Planes: Fire & Rescue Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD/Blu-ray):  Captain Phillips (2013)  PG-13 Based on a true story, the American ship, Maersk Alabama, captained by Richard Philips (Tom Hanks), becomes the first U.S. ship in two hundred years to be hijacked by pirates.  The Somali pirates want millions of dollars to return the ship and its crew.  Can Capt. Philips and his crew stall long enough for help to arrive? This is Tom Hanks' best performance in years as he plays the New Englander Capt. Philips to perfection.  The last five minutes of the film show why Hanks Oscar snub for Best Actor is so wrong.  My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again  Captain Phillips Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Invisible Woman:  Hair coordinator: crowd

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You:  Godzilla (2014)  The film has really excited the fan-boys because of a killer trailer where you only get glimpses of the monster.  The film had me at “starring Elizabeth Olsen and Bryan Cranston.”  Godzilla Website

Until Next Time!