Star Trek Beyond

My View:  Star Trek Beyond  (2016)  PG-13  The USS Enterprise is halfway into their five-year mission. The ship is attacked by an unknown alien force and, after having to abandon ship, the crew finds their lives are hanging in the balance. This is the first for the reboot series not to be directed by J.J. Abrams, so no more lens flare in every shot. What I liked about this film is that this series is no longer the Kirk and Spock show as this movie allows the rest of the cast to share the spotlight, especially Zoe Saldana, who plays Uhura, whose character is just as important to the plot as Kirk and Spock. Idris Elba is everything you want in the bad guy, strong and powerful with a great screen presence. The film moves at a fast pace, the action sequences are well done, and the film deals well with the passing of Leonard Nimoy, who was such a vital cog in the first two reboot films. You will love how they battle the bad guys near the end of the film. Overall, even a mild Star Trek fan is going to thoroughly enjoy this movie. Beam me up Scotty!  My Rating: Full Price   Star Trek Beyond Website

Family Faire:  Ice Age: Collision Course  (2016)  PG   Manny (Ray Romano), with the help of Buck (Simon Pegg), must lead his family and friends on a journey to try and find a way to stop an asteroid from hitting the earth.  Can Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox please stop making these films?  The series wasn’t the strongest of animated ideas, to begin with, but now it’s downright annoying.  The film features the weakest of the Ice Age characters, Scrat, the acorn-addicted squirrel. This movie isn’t fun or funny, and the kids that were at my screening couldn’t care less about the film. You know it’s a bad film when you look at your watch two hours into the movie, and it’s really only been thirty minutes.    My Rating:  You Would Have to Pay Me to See It Again   Ice Age: Collision Course Website

My View:  Lights Out  (2016) PG-13   Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) and her brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) are being tormented by a spirit that is only visible in the dark.  I normally don’t like the “jump out of the dark” kind of scary movies, but this is the exception to the rule. The bad guy in this film is some sort of Demon who lives in the dark and can’t stand the light. Teresa Palmer is perfect as the strong-willed and slightly flawed Rebecca.  Maria Bello, as Rebecca’s mentally unstable mother, is ablaze on the screen, giving a frenzied performance of a woman on the hinge of insanity. There are plenty of screams built into this rollercoaster ride of a horror film.    My Rating: Full Price   Lights Out Website

My View:  Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie  R  Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley) are having to hide out in the south of France after causing a worldwide incident by knocking Kate Moss into the River Thames.  I was a big fan of the TV show so I’m sorry to say that the Ab Fab girls should have stayed away from the big screen.  The laughs are too few and far between, and the humor is very broad, which most of the time lands with a thud. The film feels as if it was only made for a British audience.  I didn’t recognize some of the countless cameos in the movie that maybe were lost on me.  I guess we just can’t revisit the 90’s, at least not with these two.  My Rating: Cable   Absolutely Fabulous Website

Indiefest:  Captain Fantastic  (2016) R  Ben (Viggo Mortensen) is raising his family of six kids “off the grid” in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. His wife suddenly dies while she was away in an institution for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Ben, against the wishes of his wife’s parents, decides to take the family on a road trip to his wife’s funeral.  Mortensen is a force of nature on the screen as the father who is trying to keep his very unusual family together. Right from the start you know this is not a normal family, as we see the kids hunt down and kill a deer with only a knife. We see the family dynamic at work as the family returns to their home out in the wilderness.  Some of the kids are dressing the deer as others read or make art, all the while the father tells them they have training in an hour. This film is a treat to watch, mostly due to the kids in the cast.  Each one of them has great chemistry with Mortensen, making this strange family seem real. This is part a coming of age film and part travel film, as the family experiences things like junk food for the first time. This movie is a joy to watch, and you will root for this family to succeed in its “mission.”    My Take:  Full Price   Captain Fantastic Website

Indiefest:  Microbe and Gasoline  (2015)  R  Daniel (Ange Dargent) and Theo (Theophile Baquet) are two misfit kids who decide to build their unique car and travel across the country.  I enjoyed this coming of age adventure which explores two boys trying to figure out their place in the world. Microbe comes off as the much more serious of the two, with his several perceived problems always weighing him down. Theo is more of a fun-loving kid with a devil-may-care attitude. What I liked about this film are the conversations that the two boys have as they are on their adventure.  The chemistry between Theophile Baquet playing Theo and Ange Dargent playing Daniel is spectacular. The two share a bond on the screen that makes this film entertaining and work so well. Microbe & Gasoline is an adventure with two boys on their way to manhood.   My Rating: Full Price   Microbe & Gasoline Info 

Forgotten Film:  The New Centurions  (1972) R  Roy (Stacy Keach) is a rookie cop who has joined the LAPD to make ends meet while he finishes law school. His partner is a gruff veteran (George C. Scott) who breaks all the rules to keep the streets of L.A. safe.  This is a gritty look at what it looked and felt like being a cop in a big city in the early seventies.  Scott is brilliant as the vet cop. I especially enjoyed the performance of Rosalind Cash, who plays the love interest for Keach. The film has a few flaws, feeling especially dated from time to time, but Scott and Cash make it worth a watch.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The New Centurions Info   

Weird Credits: From the credits of Star Trek Beyond: Off Camera Singer

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Suicide Squad  (2016) PG-13  A secret government agency turns to a group of super-villains to stop a black ops mission.  If the movie is half as good as its trailers, it’s going to be astonishing. I think this will make Margot Robbie a superstar.    Suicide Squad Website

Until Next Time!

SaveSave

Alice Through the Looking Glass

My View:  Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) PG  After being away for three years, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to Wonderland to save her friend, The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). I hated the first film of the series, Alice in Wonderland. I can say that this film is better than the first, but it’s still a bad film. The film is too long with its almost two hour run time. I didn’t care about the characters in the first film, and I certainly don’t care about what happens to The Mad Hatter or Alice. I enjoyed the beginning, though, as Alice, captain of her father’s ship, evades pirates by navigating through a perilous reef. Unfortunately, the film goes downhill from there with a storyline that is boring and un-imaginative. It’s sad when the one character you really like is a church mouse that is rarely on-screen. The movie was not shot in 3-D, so save your money.   My Rating: Cable   Alice Through the Looking Glass Website

My View:  X-Men: Apocalypse  (2016)  PG-13  An ancient cyber-mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) has awakened and plans on using his Four Horsemen to take over the world.  It’s up to the X-Men to stop him and his team. This is a film where you walk out of the theatre and go “blah.” It’s not a bad movie; it just doesn’t bring anything new to the table. I knew almost from the start how the film was going to end. The only actor in this film I was interested in watching was Michael Fassbender because his Magneto character was one of the few that wasn’t entirely predictable. While the film was shot in 3-D, I didn’t think it was used to capitalize on the effect, so save the money. There is a scene after all the credits that may just set up a few of the next Marvel films, so stay till the final credits.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee   X-Men: Apocalypse Website

Indiefest:  Love & Friendship  (2016)  PG  Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale) decides it’s time for her and her daughter to find husbands. She will manipulate anything and anybody to make that happen.  You don’t normally equate funny with Jane Austin but this film surprised me on just how fun and whimsical it is. Beckinsale is a delight as the woman who seemingly pulls all the strings to better her situation. She has excellent comedic timing, delivering lines with droll delivery that just kills every time. The film moves at a ripping pace, and it’s a blast to watch. If you are a fan of Jane Austin, you will love this farcical tale.  My Rating: Full Price   Love & Friendship Website

Indiefest:  Weiner  (2016)  R  Documentary on disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner’s campaign for mayor of NYC.  Weiner was a fast rising Democratic congressman who was brought down by a texting scandal in 2011 that was fodder for late night talk show hosts. This is a fascinating film that is, at times, hilarious, cringe-worthy, and, very often sad. Right from the start the filmmakers are given access that no other politician would allow. While Anthony Weiner is the front and center character of the film, the far more fascinating person in the film is Huma Abedin, Weiner's wife. When the film opens, the husband and wife are playing with their child, but there is almost no interaction between Anthony and Huma. Most of the conversations that they have on camera are short and one-sided with Anthony doing most of the talking.  It’s a brilliant film that even the filmmakers are amazed at the amount of access they have gotten. Near the end of the film, one of the filmmakers asks Weiner off camera, “Why did you let us film this?” Weiner doesn’t have an answer, and we don’t either, but we get a movie that is mesmerizing to watch.   My Take: Full Price    Weiner Website

Indiefest:  The Lobster  (2016) R   Set in the near future, David (Colin Farrell) is at “The Hotel” where he has 45 days to find a partner.  If he doesn’t find one, he will be turned into an animal of his choice. I liked this film and loved Colin Farrell performance but this is a film that not everyone is going to be comfortable with or even enjoy. It’s funny at times but it also has some truly sad parts and you never know where it is going to go next. Part comedy, part satire, and occasionally mean-spirited, the film is a mix that while doesn’t always hit the mark, it keeps trying. A bit of warning, there are several animals that are killed on screen.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Lobster Website

Forgotten Film:  Trespass (1992)  R  Bill Paxton and William Sadler play two firemen who find a map in a burning apartment of an old man who confesses that he stole a collection of old gold artifacts from the church many years ago. The two men get caught with the gold in an old building by a gang. Now the fireman are going to have to fight their way out in order to keep the gold and their lives. Action is what makes this movie worth watching. Walter Hill, who directed 48 Hours and The Warriors, knows how to direct action sequences and there are plenty in this film. I also really enjoy Bill Paxton’s performance as the straight laced fireman who decides his future is more important than his present.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   Trespass Information

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Alice Through the Looking Glass:  Thatcher

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Captain Fantastic  (2016)  R    A father (Viggo Mortensen) has been living in the forests of the Pacific Northwest with his six kids. His wife dies while visiting her parents, and now the family must travel to the big city for the first time for the funeral. The film did really well at the Cannes Film Festival and director Matt Ross won the Director to Watch award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.    Captain Fantastic Website

Until Next Time!