The Heat

My View:   The Heat (2013)  R  FBI agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) has made it her life’s work to take down the bad guys, and, to the point where she has no social life. Now she’s hot on the trail of a ruthless drug lord, and her investigation takes her to Boston. But, her worst nightmare happens when she gets partnered with a local Boston cop, Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), who hasn’t had a partner in years for good reason - no one can get along with her.  The film is directed by Paul Feig, who directed the 2011 comedy hit, Bridesmaids.  Melissa McCarthy is brilliant as the tough Boston cop whose own police force even fears her.  Bullock holds her own with McCarthy and is able to keep up with her in every scene, which is amazing as McCarthy, in this film, is a bulldozer in a china shop.  The storyline is one we have seen before, but because of the talents of the two leads, the film seems fresh and moves at an incredibly quick pace.  This is one of those films you will have to see twice because you will be laughing so hard, you won’t hear all the lines.  One bit of warning - McCarthy says the F word about every other line (that’s part of a gag near the end of the film), so be warned the language in this film is filthy.  But it’s so much fun, I just want to know how much of McCarthy’s lines were scripted, and how much did she just make up on the set.   There is a bonus scene right after the first of the closing credits.  My Rating:  Full Price   The Heat Website

My View:   White House Down  (2013)  PG-13  A capitol policeman, John Cale (Channing Tatum), with dreams of someday working in the Secret Service, is on a White House tour with his daughter (Joey King) when it’s attacked by a terrorist group. Now Cale may be the only thing between the terrorists and the President (Jamie Foxx).  This is a film that goes way over the top, but in a good way.  It’s as if when the idea for the film was created, the director said “we could do this as a serious picture or we could just say screw it and have fun with it."  There is more comedy in this film than some of the recent Adam Sandler films (I know, that’s not saying a lot), as the characters spew out lines that are meant to be outrageous and possibly repeated by the audience as they leave the theatre.  The action is fast and well done, with each explosion getting bigger as the film goes on (so do the weapons).  The film doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, though.  You can see where the film is going from the start as it really doesn’t try and hide its villains, but it’s a blast (no pun intended) to watch and Foxx /Tatum are fantastic playing off each other in their bromance.  Don’t expect much from this film, but do expect to be entertained.  My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   White House Down Website

Indiefest:  Fill The Void  (2013)  PG  An 18-year old girl named Shira (Hadas Yaron), who lives in a Tel Aviv ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community, is about to meet her potential husband in this world of arraigned marriages. But Shira’s life changes when her older, married sister dies giving birth to her first child. Suddenly, Shira is pressured by friends and family to marry the husband of her late sister. If she doesn’t marry him, he may move with his newborn to another country.  This is an interesting film about a world we know little about.  Hadas Yaron gives a moving and complex performance as she tries to decide between her happiness and her family’s wishes.  It’s a well done film about a complex world where religion rules over people’s lives.   My Rating:  Full Price   Fill the Void Website

Forgotten Film:  Election  (1999)  R  A high school civics teacher (Matthew Broderick) decides that he will teach his students about the democratic process.  So, he enlists the school’s star football player (Chris Klein) to run against Tracy (Reese Witherspoon), an overachiever who is determined to win at any cost.  Reese Witherspoon has never been better as the student who sees the election as a life or death moment.  Broderick is funny as the teacher who doesn’t like Tracy and will do try, at all costs, to see her defeated.  But it’s Jessica Campbell as the football player’s sister who steals the movie when she decides to run as well and gives an incredible speech about government being a sham in front of the student body.  This film is funny with incredibly quick dialogue and brilliant performances by the cast.  My Rating:  Full Price   Election Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD):  Quartet  (2012)  PG-13  Directed by Dustin Hoffman, this film stars Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly and Tom Courtenay as residents of a retired musician's home. The annual fundraising concert is disrupted by the arrival of Jean (Maggie Smith), an Opera diva who is the former wife of one of the residents. Think The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel but set in Great Britain and with music.  It’s an enjoyable film where the actors are far better than the script.  My Rating:  Full Price   Quartet Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of White House Down:  Pre-visualization artist

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  20 Feet from Stardom  (2013)  PG-13   A film about the world of backup singers,  like Merry Clayton and Darlene Love, who, while in the background, really shape the music we fall in love with.  The film features interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and others while featuring old performance clips from TV and concerts.    20 Feet from Stardom Website

Until Next Time!

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

My View: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) It’s been fifteen years since Hansel and Gretel escaped from the blind witch’s gingerbread house, and now Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and his sister, Gretel (Gemma Arterton), dedicate their lives to hunting down and killing witches, aided by the knowledge that, for some reason, they are not affected by the witches’ spells. They may have met their match, though, in the evil sorceress, Muriel (Famke Janssen), who is planning a mass sacrifice of children during the upcoming “Blood Moon.”  This film is not for kids as there is quite a bit of violence, a little nudity, and a whole lot of cussing.  It's rated R , so this film is appropriately not meant for the below age 17 audience.  This is what I call a popcorn movie where you should just sit back and enjoy the action, and don't worry too much about plot lines or the writing.  It's worth seeing in 3-D as it was shot in the format, and the action scenes use it to great advantage.  Both Rennet and Arterton come-off as bad asses in the action sequences and they have great chemistry on-screen.  Femme Jenssen makes a fine evil witch, the special effects are well done as is the makeup of all the bad guys.  While not a great film, it's a fun film to watch and is much better than some of the other action films that have come out in the past months.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee    Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Indiefest:  Quartet (2013) Music fills the manor that serves as a retirement home for musicians, and it's time to stage the annual fundraising concert at the home. But things might never be the same with the addition of a grand Opera singer, Jean Horton (Maggie Smith), whose pride may keep her from helping stage the musical. Dustin Hoffman picked this film to be his directorial debut, and he picked correctly. The film will be compared to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, but it is a much better script, with fully fleshed out characters and a much better storyline. The cast is first rate with Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins and especially Tom Courtenay standing out. Maggie Smith gives her usual flawless performance, perfectly portraying an Opera Diva with an ego the size of the manor she has moved into. The remarkable thing about this film is that most of the supporting cast are musicians that toured with national companies. This film is warm, funny, and touching, and it's a film where you leave appreciating how music and its performers make up an important part of our world.   My Rating: Full Price   Quartet Info

Indiefest:  Rust and Bone (2013) Ali (Matthais Schoenaerts) gains custody of his young son and moves from Belgium to Antibes to live with his sister and her husband. While working as a bouncer at a night club, Ali meets Stephanie (Marion Cotillard), a woman whose job is to train killer whales at a Marine Water Park. Stephanie is injured in a freak accident at the water park and has to have both legs amputated at the knees. She now reaches out to Ali and a strange, wonderful relationship starts up between the two as they figure out their places in this new world. Cotillard is the reason to see this French/Belgium film, as she brings a full range of emotion and strength to the role of the troubled and damaged Stephanie. It truly is amazing to see the bond that develops between Stephanie and Ali, two people who, at the start of the friendship, have no idea how important each other will be to their growth and happiness.   My Rating: Full Price   Rust and Bone Website

Forgotten Film: Pride Of the Marines (1945) Al Schmid (John Garfield) is a happy-go-lucky factory worker who loves to hunt and hang out with his best friend, Lee (Dane Clark). Life is good for Al, he has a good job, good friends and his life gets better when he starts dating Ruth (Eleanor Parker), a girl who is as fun and carefree as Al. All this changes when Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese and Al joins The Marines to fight for his country.   He may never come back to Ruth, though, and if he does, will things between them ever be the same? John Garfield is perfect in the role of Al, and makes us like him the first time we meet him. What I love about this film is a long, drawn out scene, where Al is having Sunday dinner with Lee and his family, and they slowly learn through radio reports about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This film also contains a horrifying scene (especially for the time period that it was made) of a Japanese attack on Al’s small outfit somewhere out in the Philippines. The film does a great job showing the transition that Americans, both the men who joined the military and the families that they left behind had to make, rising from a peaceful, ideal world to one that was carrying on a World War.   My Rating: Full Price   Pride of the Marines Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD): Taken 2 (2012) This film made my bottom 10 list as I hated this silly, stupid film starring Liam Neeson who is trying to rescue his wife and sometimes his daughter from mobsters who want revenge for what happened to their family in the first Taken film. Quickly, I said quickly, run from this movie!   Taken 2 Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  The Haunting of Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013) In what must be the most confusing title of the year, I can’t tell if the ghosts move to Georgia and start haunting in Connecticut or if it’s the other way around. Let’s just say I want to call my travel agent and go anywhere this film isn’t playing.   The Haunting of Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia Website

 

Weird Credits: From the credits of Gangster Squad: Environmental Steward

 

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) The film about the origins of the Wizard of Oz (way before Dorothy), directed by Sam Raimi and starring James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis. Just the poster makes me want to see this film!   Oz the Great and Powerful Website

Until Next Time!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

My View:  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)  Set sixty years before “The Lord of the Rings,” a Hobbit named, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), is picked by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to journey across Middle Earth with thirteen Dwarves to reclaim their homeland from a giant dragon. I think the biggest problem with the film is that it tries to show too much - as if Director Peter Jackson tries to capture and film everything that happens in the book. Films based on books usually have to be cut back, because they would just be too long, but Jackson seems determined to make three films out of one single book. The film is way to lengthy, at times looks like a video game, and just doesn't quite have the soul and majesty of the Lord of the Rings films. I liked Martin Freeman as Bilbo, a sort of everyman's Hobbit, but there really isn't a standout Dwarf in the film like in the Rings films where so many distinct characters created such a rich character-based film.  I was excited to see the creepy Gollum again (the character from Lord of the Rings) but alas, his part, while important, is small in a very long film. I also didn't like the 48 Frames Per Second look of the film as it gave almost an HD TV look to.  Check your theater's website to determine if it's being shown chains in HFR for High Frame Rate. The film was shot in 3-D and it is worth it to see it in that format.  Overall this is an enjoyable adventure film, but just doesn't measure up to the Rings Trilogy.   My Rating: Full Price    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Website

Indiefest:  Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)  Set in 1939, this film is about the love affair between President FDR (Bill Murray) and his distant cousin, Margaret Stuckley (Laura Linney). The backdrop of the film is the coming to America of King George IV (Samuel West) and the historic meeting at Hyde Park between the Roosevelt's and the King/Queen of England. This is an interesting film, especially since we get to see the behind-the-scenes workings of the FDR White House and how the press and others treated Roosevelt being confined to a wheel chair. While I liked Murray's performance (he has the smile down pat, but not the voice of FDR), it's Linney, as his shy distant cousin, whom we see grow more confident as she spends more and more time under the spell of FDR. While it's not the level of another historical drama about a President (Lincoln), it is a film that is enjoyable to watch.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Hyde Park on Hudson Website

The 50 (A Movie From My Best/Worst Film of All Time)

#11 Worst Film

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot  (1992)  Anytime the words comedy and Sylvester Stallone are mentioned, you should run the other way. Golden Girl Estelle Getty plays his mom who gets involved with a case that her son is working on and high jinks abound. Look!  His mom has a gun as big as she is! Stallone considers this the worst film in his career, so that says a lot.    Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot Info

Forgotten Film:  Explorers  (1985)  Ben (Ethan Hawke) is obsessed with space travel and aliens and reads comics and watches old B-movie sci-fi films. One night, he dreams of a circuit board, and, with the help of his friend, Wolfgang (River Phoenix), they set out to build not only the board but the spaceship they are convinced will take them to space. Will the ship fly and what will they find when they get into outer space? This film is about taking chances and the will to live your dreams. Hawke and Phoenix are perfect as the two mismatched boys who get together to create the impossible. My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Explorers Info

In Case You Missed it (A Film Just Released on DVD):  The Bourne Legacy (2012) I like Jeremy Renner taking over the Bourne films as I think he makes a credible action star. The plot, though, is confusing, and takes place at the same time the last Matt Damon Bourne film is happening, but the final chase sequence leaves much to be desired.  The film seems to end abruptly and left me unsatisfied.   My Rating: Cable    The Bourne Legacy Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I've Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea): Texas Chainsaw 3D  (2013)  Okay, there is only one Texas Chainsaw film that is worth seeing, and that's the original 1974 film. This looks a lot like a Saw knock-off but with Leatherface.   Texas Chainsaw 3D Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Equine horse make up artist

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Quartet  (2012)  Directed by Dustin Hoffman, this film stars Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly and Tom Courtenay as residents of a retired musician's home. The annual fundraising concert is disrupted by the arrival of Jean (Maggie Smith), an Opera diva who is the former wife of one of the residents. Think The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel but set in Great Britain and with music.    Quartet Info

Until Next Time!