Tomb Raider

My View:  Tomb Raider  (2018)  PG-13  Laura Croft (Alicia Vikander) is the daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when Laura was a teen. Laura decides to solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance. After discovering the mythical island that was his last known destination is real, she decides to go to the island and find out what happened. Just getting there will be an adventure. I like Alicia Vikander, and she usually can make any film seem interesting but not with this film. The studio decided to make a straight-up action movie, but what was needed was some warmth and humor. There isn’t any joy in this film - it’s just like Laura Croft, gritty and determined, but that makes for a rather dull film. Vikander looks the part; we believe that she can climb mountains and outrun anyone, but she’s made into a superwoman, much like the Rock is in his superhero movies, where she suffers almost no ramifications when falling off a cliff or fighting with a man twice her size. Video games and the action movies they are based on them are supposed to be fun.  This one wasn’t.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Tomb Raider Website

Indiefest:  Love, Simon  (2018)  PG-13  Simon (Nick Robinson) is a gay high school student who hasn’t come out, even to his best friends. He is in love with an anonymous classmate whom he has only talked to online.  Now, Simon’s life is going to change in a big way.  This is one of those rare movies about teenagers where the characters on the screen are real, with real problems, ones we can relate to and feel. Nick Robinson gives an intelligent and moving performance as the teenager who is afraid to come out. Simon just wants to last until he is out of high school before revealing he is gay. He also doesn’t want to rock the boat with his closest friends, especially with his best friend, Leah (Katherine Langford), whom he has known since childhood. Love, Simon is a funny and sweet movie that hits all the right notes. At the screening I attended, when the big scene near the end of the film happened, teenage girls jumped up out of their seats and cheered at the top of their lungs. Go see this film, and you just might do the same.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Love, Simon Website

My View:  7 Days in Entebbe  (2018)  PG-13  An Air France flight from Tel-Aviv to Paris via Athens is hijacked by terrorists and is forced to land in Entebbe, Uganda, the home of a crazy dictator named Idi Amin. The Jewish passengers are separated from the rest of the passengers, and the terrorists demand that Israel release 50 Palestinian prisoners. Israel decides to send a Special Forces squad to attempt to rescue the passengers.  Based on a true event, this film makes an unbelievable story seem bland and ordinary. Even a dazzling actress as Rosamund Pike can’t save the script that plods along. The only interesting aspect in this film is a modern dance troupe that we see practicing a routine throughout the film. When the big raid comes at the end, we see the actual performance that the troupe practiced inter-weaved with scenes from the attack, but that bit of excitement can’t save this film.   My Rating: Cable   7 Days in Entebbe Info

Indiefest:  Oh, Lucy!  (2017)  Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima) is a lonely, chain-smoking office worker in Tokyo who is past her prime. She decides to take an English class and discovers that she can create a new identity through speaking English, a character she calls ‘Lucy.”  She falls for her instructor, an American named, John (Josh Hartnett). When John disappears, Setsuko sets out on a quest to find him and travels all the way to Southern California.  I loved this film and the character Setsuko. Setsuko is a hard character to like, but I give credit to Shinobu Terajima for making us slowly fall in love with Lucy. Terajime gives one heck of a performance as the sad sack woman who is desperate to be loved. Writer/director Atsuko Hirayanagi takes on both an emotional and physical journey, where Setsuko keeps being dragged down by life, but continues to get off the floor for more. Take a chance on Oh Lucy! and on a journey with Setsuko as she searches for a reason to live.  My Rating: Full Price   Oh, Lucy! Website   

Forgotten Film:  Normal Life  (1996)  R  Chris (Luke Perry) is a cop who falls in love and marries Pam (Ashley Judd). Pam is all wrong for Chris as she is an alcoholic and a drug user who likes to spend money. Chris loses his job and is about to lose Pam if he doesn’t quickly do something. The reason to see this film is Ashley Judd. Judd gives one of her better performances as the overly emotional, self-indulgent Pam. It’s a smashing performance that makes you wish Judd would have taken more roles like this one. Perry is the weak link in the film as the part is out of his acting range, and you will only notice him when Judd isn’t on the screen.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Normal Life Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Tomb Raider:  Chargehand Dressing Props

Coming Soon to a theatre near you:  Hichki  (2018)  Hichki (Rani Mukerji) wants to be a teacher but she can’t get hired because she has Tourette Syndrome. After numerous rejections, she gets her dream job at a prestigious school. She soon learns that her dream job is a nightmare because her class is full of misfits and rejects. Instead of giving up, Hichki decides to help her students realize their full potential. The trailer is amazing, so I have high hopes for it.   Hichki Facebook Page

Until Next Time!

The Internship

My View:  The Internship (2013)  PG-13  Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are salesmen who see the business they work for destroyed by the digital world. They decide, when you can’t beat them, join them, as they talk their way into an internship at the ultimate digital workplace, Google. Now, they must compete with fellow interns who are younger and much more tech savvy to land a job in the fast paced, high tech world.  The film is one long, and I do mean long, infomercial for Google.  The Google name is plastered across the screen so much that, at times I thought I was watching an instructional video on how to do a search on the web.  The characters are all one dimensional, the scenes are all predictable and the film rarely is funny. While Vaughn and Wilson do play off each other well, there just isn’t much to the script to make it interesting.  If you are asked should you see this film, you don’t need to Google it - just say no.  My Rating:  Cable   The Internship Website

My View:  The Purge  (2013)  R  In the near future, all crime has been eliminated due to The Purge. It’s one night, where, in a twelve-hour period, anybody can commit any crime and get away with it. The Sandin family is set for the night, as their house is literally a fortress. But a stranger begs his way into their home and, suddenly, they are the target of some devious hit-men out to get the stranger.  This is a violent film that uses the “shakey cam” (where the camera shakes for effect) for much of its action sequences.  In this Hunger Games for adults, the people in this film don’t really seem real, as their character development is almost paper thin.  Ethan Hawke and Lena Headly aren’t given anything to work with, and Headly, whom I like as an actress, comes off as a screaming crybaby.  I couldn’t tell if the filmmakers wanted this film to be a satirical look at American society or if they just wanted to make a siege picture with lots of killing.  Either way, it doesn’t work.   My Rating:  Cable   The Purge Website

Indiefest: The Kings of Summer  (2013)  R  Three teenage boys (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias) decide to get away from their rather strange and controlling parents by running away to build a house in the middle of the woods.  This is a great film for the summer.  It’s funny, moving and full of fine performances.  While viewers will see this film for the supporting cast, which is full of great comedians like Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, it’s the three lead boys (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso and Moises Arias) that make this film so exceptional and a joy to watch.  Nick Robinson, playing the leader of the gang, Joe, is absolutely perfect in the role of a kid who is so tired of his life that he just wants to run away.  Gabriel Basso does a terrific  job of portraying Patrick, the boy who just goes along with Joe’s ideas, and Moises Arias steals the  movies as he plays the strange but loveable Biaggio.  The film is a wonderful coming of age story where the boys find out that running away doesn’t always solve problems.  My Rating:  I Would Pay to See It Again   The Kings of Summer Website   Please note that the film is being released by CBS Films and I work for the CBS Television Stations Group.

Indiefest:  Stories We Tell  (2013)   PG-13   In this documentary, Actress/Director Sarah Polley has known that her family has harbored some secrets for some time now. So, Sarah decides to interview members of her family and let them, in their own words, tell what really happened.  This is an incredibly moving documentary about a woman who is determined to get to the truth.  It’s a fascinating film that explores how people remember events in their lives and how those stories are shaded by their own beliefs.  It’s a funny and touching film that is not to be missed.  My Rating:  Full Price   Stories We Tell Website

Indiefest:  Violet & Daisy  (2013)  R  Violet (Alexis Bledel) and Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) are not just your ordinary teenager girls. They do love clothes and the music of their favorite pop star, Barbie Sunday. But, the girls are a little different from your average teenager, as they are assassins for hire. When they discover that Barbie Sunday has designed a costly dress, they take a hit job – a job that may change their lives forever.  This is one of those strange “Indie” films that just doesn’t quite hit the mark.  It tries to be quirky but ends up being kind of clunky in its storytelling.  I liked Bledel and Ronan as the two lead characters, but the film tries too hard to be unconventional, making the film hard to really like.  Visually, it’s an interesting picture, but the storyline and the wordy dialogue slow down the picture to a degree that you really hope for any sort of action to speed things up.  It’s an ambitious film that never quite figured out what kind of film it wanted to be.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   Violet & Daisy Website

Forgotten Film:  The Warriors  (1979)  R   Set in the future, gangs control New York.  A dynamic gang leader has decided that now is the time for all of the gangs to come together and take over the city.  But the gang leader is assassinated,  and the gang from Coney Island, The Warriors, have been framed for his murder.  Now this one gang must make it across the city with everyone out to get them.  This is a fun film to watch, as long as you don’t take it too seriously, with each gang wearing different outlandish outfits.  The film moves incredibly quick and most of the film was shot at night, on location, which gives the film an almost surreal feel to it.  Fast, action-packed, it’s a film that was way ahead of its time.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee    The Warriors Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Internship:  Personal Makeup Artist for Mr. Owen

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  The Way, Way Back  (2013)   PG-13  A big hit of the Sundance Film Festival, this film is brought to you by the same writers that did The Descendants (2011).  The film is about a teenager (Liam James) who, during a summer vacation, works at a water park and grows from being a withdrawn, shy kid to a confidant man with a girlfriend.  The cast includes Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Amanda Peet, Rob Dorddry, Toni Collette, Allison Janney and Maya Rudolph.    The Way, Way Back Website

Until Next Time!