The Dark Tower

My View:  The Dark Tower  (2017)  PG-13  The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), is locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim (Mathew McConaughey), also known as the Man in Black, determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.  While not a hit out of the park, this film is watchable and sometimes enjoyable. The problem with this movie is it feels incomplete coming in at only 95 minutes in length. McConaughey is brilliant as the bad guy; he’s so good you want more of his character, and this film gives it to you. Idris Elba is does an outstanding job as the hero, the Gunslinger, and he has exceptional chemistry with Nicholas Hamilton, the young boy who is the key to defending the Dark Tower. I have not read the books, but after talking to a fellow critic who has, the film is very different from the first book and may upset fans of Steven King because it is so different. This isn’t a bad film. It’s just not the spectacle that you want.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Dark Tower Website

Indiefest:  Step  (2017)  PG  Documentary of the senior year of a girls’ high school dance team. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in the troubled city.  This uplifting movie is one of the best films of the year. The film centers on three girls at a school whose mission is to have not only a 100 percent graduation rate, but also that every girl is accepted into a college. The three girls are very different. One is driven to get into Johns Hopkins, a second is distracted by a new boyfriend, and a third girl has never applied herself to school work and realizes that she has to do better in her senior year or she won’t fulfill her dreams. It’s a fascinating look at young women who are determined succeed, not only in high school but in life. The film hits all the right notes, and you just might clap at the end.  I know the audience that I saw it with did.  My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again   Step Website

My View:  Kidnap  (2017)  R  A mother (Halle Berry) is on a mission to save her son’s life after he is kidnapped from a park.  A note first: when I saw this film, the movie kept freezing for 10 to 15 seconds, so it made it very hard to judge the pacing. This is a one trick pony movie with Halle Berry’s character chasing after the people who kidnapped her son. It’s tough to keep a chase film going, especially when most of the movie is one car chasing another one. Some of the car chase sequences are not well done and are quite confusing. It’s a very shallow story, and it’s hard to watch Berry consistently go from crying to screaming and back to crying. I wish for the days where Berry was given a script where she could use all of her acting skill.  This just wasn’t one of those.    My Rating: Cable   Kidnap Facebook Page

My View:  Armed Response  (2017)  R  A team of special forces soldiers approach the designer of a high-tech military compound to investigate the disappearance of another team guarding the facility.   The compound, known professionally as a Temple, is an artificial intelligence powered facility designed for interrogating high-level prisoners.  Upon entering the Temple, the soldiers quickly find the earlier team horrifically slaughtered, but there is no evidence of who is responsible.  This is more of a psychological thriller than an action film, as Wesley Snipes only has one fight sequence in this movie, and it’s near the end. The cast features Colby Lopez aka WWE wrestler Seth Rollins, Dave Annable, and Anne Heche. The movie builds the tension well, and it has an intriguing ending. If you like thrillers and a bit of a horror movie thrown in, this could be your film.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Armed Response Website

Indiefest: Person to Person (2017)  The film follows a variety of New Yorkers as they work, live and play in the big city. I loved this movie about a bunch of New Yorkers living their lives. All the characters (there is a lot of them) are funny and strange and are just trying to find happiness in their lives. Some of the characters are interlocking but most are just part of the story. The standouts of the cast are Bene Coopersmith,  who is in search of a Charlie Parker rare album, Abbi Jacobson, who is working her first day on the job with a reporter played by Michael Cera, and Tavi Gevinson who plays a high school girl who is full of opinions and is just too cool for school. There are a few characters that aren’t developed enough but with such a large cast, it doesn’t really matter. Spend a little time with this quirky cast of characters as they live their lives in NYC.  My Rating: Full Price    Armed Response Info

Forgotten Film:  Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)  PG  Maindrian Pace (H.B. Halicki) and his gang are hired to steal 48 cars. They are successful until it gets to the last car, a supped up Mustang, because the police have been tipped off that the car was stolen. Maindrian is then chased by seemingly every cop in the greater LA area. This is a very low budget film (it was written and directed by the star), and some of the acting is horrible, but it has a 40-minute car chase that has to be seen.  This film was shot in the days before computers could animate everything, so every car crash you see in this film, and there are a lot of them, were done by stuntmen.  If you love car chase movies, this one is for you.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Gone in 60 Seconds Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Kidnap:  Biscuit Technician

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Ingrid Goes West  (2017)  An unhinged social media stalker moves to LA and figures out a way to become part of an Instagram Star’s life. Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen lead the cast of this film, so you know that I am there.   Ingrid Goes West Facebook Page

Until next time!